[Makoto,]
…
[Listen to me.]
…
…
[You are not alone.]
…
…
[.... please.]
…
…
…
...
[Come back.]
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
[Before it's too late.]
—------------------------------------------------------------------
Shortly after I put my dead mother into my inventory, I started having the same dream while I was still in the Abyssal Dungeon.
Every time I slept. Every time I died.
I've never dreamt of anything this vivid in my life.
The sun shone like it never did before, uninterrupted by any cloud or smoke. Harmonizing with the ocean-like, clear blue sky. As if someone had taken a child's drawing and made it photorealistic.
A cool breeze brushed against the trees, rustling their leaves. The shade kept the river cool.
Lush, soft grass beneath my feet.
Giant green mountains standing at the edges of everything. No flood could cross them.
Where is this place, I wonder. I don't think it exists.
And yet I'm certain I've been here before.
Several times. Even after I wake up, the certainty stays.
I always try to remember just when exactly I visited it in my life before realizing that I never actually visited anything close to it.
And somehow, I'm still certain I was there.
While I'm there, I feel like laughing. Like dancing in the breeze. I don't need my armor here. I don't need to check for traps or poison or monsters.
I don't need to kill anything.
I'm dancing with someone else. Several someones.
The Wolfbeast I killed, now a small puppy with teeth that can't hurt anyone. Small enough to fit in my arms. I hold him close to my chest and pet his thick, gentle fur.
The goblin I killed, now a clothed child with warm eyes and a wide smile. Handing flowers into my palm instead of pressing a knife to my throat.
The skeleton I killed, now human, skin and all, sitting to the side reading from his book. Was he someone's grandfather? He has those eyes. Those hands that would pat your head softly if you accidentally broke something.
There were others, I think. From the Abyss. Azhar, oddly, was not.
There's a scent, too. The scent of the miso soup my mom always made. She never did tell me the recipe. I wonder why…
Then I look up.
Beyond the river I could see that very mother of mine. Standing there. Screaming at me, tears running down her face.
Mom.
'Why are you crying?'
And that's when I wake up. Back in the cold, gray world.
Except it wasn't cold at this moment, at least.
"Here now! Drink deep, the lot of ye!" A gruff voice interrupted. Pulling me out of my thoughts. It was that dwarf blacksmith.
Vorn.
The one who looked unsurprised as he saw me emerge from the dungeon.
"This be an unprecedented occasion! The end of the abyss and me life's work!" The dwarf Vorn bellowed as he slammed large wooden tankards before us.
The kind you'd see in viking movies. Foamy alcohol sloshed over the rims.
We all sat around the table inside the workshop.
Me.
The man called Hicks.
And, apparently, the princess of Aurelia. The same "prince" who'd been present when I was "executed".
From what I'd gathered, the princess had been betrayed by Hicks and tortured by a rebel group. Hicks had a change of heart and tried to save her.
I wasn't too sure on the specifics as she yelled a lot.
Though given the condition she was in before I gave her the elixir, I couldn't blame her.
And now we all stared at our cups.
Only one thing occupied my mind.
'Super Life Elixir is so stupid. How does a potion like that even exist?' I stared at my tankard through my visor.
'It can regrow limbs, but can't jumpstart a heart that stopped beating seconds ago?' I thought, subtly clicking my tongue as I thought about my mother, 'This world makes no sense.'
My eyes flicked to my inventory.
'That aside...' I glanced at the princess, then the guard. 'They're both from the kingdom. The kingdom that sent me to die.'
I exhaled.
'Haah. I've been over this. What's the point, even? If I were the king, I'd have done the same. Considering the curse is a dice roll. There was no way of knowing just what effect it had.'
My leg started bouncing under the table.
'But I also feel like shit not doing anything.'
It bounced harder.
'By this point, I'd have usually started drawing a map of the area, checking which monsters I have to face, and—'
"Ye'll shake my whole forge to rubble if ye keep rockin' that leg, lad." Vorn spat the words without looking at me.
I froze. Both the princess and Hicks glanced in my direction.
'Right… Get information out of them. Levels. This world. Loot. The kingdom. Kazuya.' My thoughts spiraled.
'For fuck's sake, where do I even begin? What do I ask?!' I blinked.
'Do I torture them? How do you even torture people? Would I need to? What if they have special abilities I need to look out for? Should I hide my identity? No, would they even remember my face?'
"DRINK UP ALREADY!" Vorn's fist slammed the table.
All three of us jumped.
"T-then... I'll drink, master blacksmith." Hicks nodded stiffly before taking a sip.
A beat of silence.
The princess glared at him.
"...You fucking traitor." She growled. "You motherfucking traitor. You CURSED—"
"PIPE DOWN, WILL YE!?" Vorn roared. "Bicker after ye leave me forge, ye foul-tongued whelp!"
Her eyes widened.
"Y-YOU DARE!? I'm Magus de Aurelia! Prince…ss of this kingdom!" She slapped her chest.
"Then strike me dead on the morrow, Yer Foulness! But ye'll not spit on ancient dwarven rite under my roof! DRINK!"
"YOU—"
"Be yer health and life not worth raisin' a cup to!?" Vorn cut her off, eyes blazing.
She paused. Narrowed her eyes at him. Looked down at the drink.
"...Fine." She clicked her tongue and took a sip. "I apologize. I lost my temper. But I shall only continue drinking once he leaves."
She shot Hicks a murderous glare.
"Then I shall finish my ale outside." Hicks rose without question, taking his drink and thanking the dwarf once more before stepping out.
'That was quick.' I watched her from behind my visor.
'...Oddly comfortable, not having anyone know I'm staring.'
"You." Vorn's voice dropped as he approached me. "Drink, lad. You of all earned this drink."
"..."
'There's no poison, right?'
'Inspect Item.' I focused on the cup.
[Item: Masterwork Dwarven Ale Tankard (filled with delicious dwarven ale!)]
[Rank: Uncommon]
[Description: Hand-carved oak vessel filled with fresh-brewed dwarven ale. Dwarven brewing methods are considered unmatched across Crucibulum. Drink up!]
'No poison.' I picked it up. 'So it's called a tankard...'
I brought it toward my visor.
I could feel the princess giving me a sideways glance as she sipped from her ale.
'...Right. My face. Can't show it. I still don't know how strong Royal Capital soldiers are, or whether they'd remember me.' My grip tightened on the tankard.
'The princess in particular. As for that guy... Hicks is probably some grunt, considering how brutally beaten he got. I have no quarrel with him, right? And since he betrayed her, he probably hates the kingdom too.'
I paused.
'...Fuck. Too many variables to think at once.'
"Well? Drink up, lad." Vorn's voice cut through my spiraling. "Ye cleared the Abyss. Yer eligible to all the ale my clan can brew till the day ye die."
'Till the day I die… huh?'
I stared at the tankard.
I slowly raised my visor, just enough to drink.
'Just a sliver. They wouldn't be able to see my face like this.'
The ale touched my lips.
It seemed like only yesterday I was still a minor who couldn't drink alcohol. I expected bitterness.
That burn people always talked about.
But it was smooth. Refreshing. Almost like a flavorless soda, if soda could somehow taste good.
I'd been living on potions and revivals this whole time. I hadn't even used Lord Azhar's water much, other than rinsing myself off when I returned from Earth.
Before I noticed, I was chugging. This was delicious. No burn at all.
'Really delicious!'
'He said it's alcohol but it coats my whole mouth like a konbu soup. It somehow has Umami and a rich texture whilst also being carbonated with foamy bubbles that make it feel refreshing.'
'How's that possible? Rich profile but refreshing like a sorbet without a flavor. All it's missing are a few ice cubes and it'd be perfect…!'
Before long, the tankard was nearly empty.
'No. Not ice cubes,' I stopped just before it was empty, looking at the table next to the tankard after placing it down.
'... Her miso soup would go best with it.'
A beat.
"You look younger than I thought."
A feminine voice. I turned my head toward the princess. The visor still covered most of my face.
She glanced at me while sipping from her own tankard, sitting upright. Relaxed.
'Damn it.' My hand clenched the tankard hard enough to crack the wood. 'I thought my face was hidden. How'd she see it? Does she have a skill?'
"..."
"By the Goddess..." She set down her drink, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"If I knew that you; someone who conquered the Abyss, would get so startled by this fair maiden's idle observation… I wouldn't have said anything."
She glanced back at her tankard, fixing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"..."
"How did you know?" I asked.
"...?" She tilted her head.
"Your chin. It appeared clean with no stubble. It was rather obvious from beneath your visor." She smiled.
"Besides..."
She placed her tankard down, then leaned on her elbow. Smirking.
"Why would you admit to it?"
I felt something twist in my chest. Uneasy. Twitchy.
"I merely said you looked young." Her smile widened. "Not that you were."
I blinked.
'What is wrong with me…? Both in the other world and here. Talking to other people is harder than facing a dungeon boss.'
Her elbow rested an inch from my arm on the wooden table. I hadn't noticed she'd gotten that close.
'Is my DEX stat asleep?'
"Thank you for the information, young knight." She leaned closer, her smile sharpening.
She looked directly into my eyes. I tried thinking just how could she even tell where my eyes were underneath my helmet.
'What does she want from me?'
I tried to maintain eye contact.
But I couldn't hold it. That comfort of the visor covering my face vanished as if it never existed under her gaze.
My heartbeat skyrocketed.
I wasn't even sure what I was feeling.
My head snapped in the opposite direction before I could stop it.
"..."
"My," She let out behind me.
"Aren't you the cutest little rabbit?"
'Fuck you.'