“I thought from the start you weren’t ordinary, but this is just too much. Making everybody cry.”
“S-sorry...”
“Idiot. We’re saying thank you... Your words probably let Shawn go in peace. You’re the only one who even tried to think from his side, and you never even met him.”
Coco’s red lips moved behind the black mourning net.
When she finished speaking, those lips twisted at last, unable to hold back the sobs leaking out.
I decided I’d pretend not to notice Coco crying. I wasn’t going to tease her over this. Maybe Coco understood that too, because the sound of her crying gradually got louder.
One of Seton’s subordinate knights sank to the ground and cried as well.
“Brother... I’m sorry.”
“......”
At Hugh’s voice, strained out like he was wringing it from his body, Seton only patted his shoulder.
After the final farewell, the coffin lid closed and hid Shawn from view.
Kirky hurried everyone along, saying Shawn would be late on his way at this rate. One by one, we each took a handful of dirt and scattered it over the lid of the coffin, and before long Shawn’s coffin was swallowed completely by earth.
“It’s... raining hard.”
I hadn’t even realized how much stronger the rain had gotten. All our shoulders were soaked through. The umbrella the maid had first opened when it was only drizzling was lying abandoned on the ground now, and Coco and the maid leaned on each other, quietly sobbing.
Coco’s rain-soaked purple hair hung limp, plastered all over her dress. Everyone looked a mess. Only after I consciously noticed the rain did I realize my body was trembling.
Luman strode over, took off his own cloak, and wrapped it around me. It was soaked too, of course, but even so, it made me feel a little warmer.
We returned to Coco’s castle drenched from the rain.
I washed in water heated until it was almost too hot, then changed clothes.
I took cold medicine ahead of time, and when no one was looking, I chewed down a whole bunch of herbs too. That should keep my body okay for three or four days at least. Right after a fit, it always gave me a kind of compensation—sometimes for a week, sometimes for nearly a month, my body wouldn’t be too bad.
No, seriously, I absolutely could not get sick this time.
I couldn’t go and come back from a funeral properly, then collapse and get pathetic right after. That would be a total pain in the ass for everybody.
That didn’t mean Coco had looked pathetic, though.
The rain was still coming down hard, but deciding it couldn’t be put off any longer, my brother and I chose to leave. I went to Coco’s room to say goodbye.
“Huh? Luman!”
On the way there, I spotted Luman and Seton standing in the garden.
Somehow Luman heard my voice from all the way there—Heroes’ hearing is terrifying—and looked up at me right away. Then he grinned and waved lazily. I waved back too, then got embarrassed and dropped my hand, walking on like nothing had happened.
No, we’ve been together this whole time, so what the hell was I so happy about that I called out to him?!
I felt a little ashamed of myself.
What am I, a little kid?
I hurried off and knocked on Coco’s door. A faint voice told me to come in.
“Coco.”
She was laid up with a nasty cold. Whether it was from the fever or not, her face was redder than usual.
“Why the hell don’t you use an umbrella? Are you stupid?”
When I grumbled that, Coco raised her eyes.
Seeing her lying there made me feel bad for her and irritated at the same time. Why the hell are you sick and causing a scene?!
“Stop talking and just... get out already.”
Coco’s voice was unlike usual—really, really, really small.
She seemed genuinely sick.
I wanted to comfort her, but I had no idea what to say, so I decided not to say anything. We were leaving in twenty minutes. I just sat there and looked at Coco in silence.
Time passed like that.
After changing the damp cloth on her feverish forehead about twice, I finally spoke.
“...Thank you.”
“Whatever.”
“......”
“......”
Even in a moment like this, neither of us could just be honest.
It was so stupid it made me laugh. Coco seemed to feel the same. We looked at each other, laughed, then went serious, then laughed again.
It was an idiotic moment.
“Me too.”
“For what?”
What the hell are you saying all of a sudden?
I stared at her blankly, and Coco jerked her head away.
“For thanking you. For saving me.”
“Uh... whatever. And it wasn’t me who saved you, it was my brother—”
“You... can’t you ever just take a compliment for once? What the hell is wrong with your personality?! Hah!”
“You’re one to talk!! Screeching all the time like some demon hag!”
“What? Did you just say all you wanted to say?! Are you calling me wrinkled?!”
“What? Since when are you wrinkled? You’re young! Out of every girl I’ve seen, you’re the prettiest one. Your personality just sucks.”
“Hah!”
“Hmph!”
“...Whew. Kids these days are seriously impossible. Ren, we’re leaving soon, so say goodbye and come out.”
“Luman! Make some noise when you walk around!!”
Deja vu.
Luman snickered and closed the door again as he left. Why the hell does he walk around like a cat? No, are all Heroes like that? Please, for the love of God, make some kind of presence known!! Weren’t you just talking with Sir Seton in the garden? Why the hell did you suddenly come upstairs?!
God, that’s humiliating! So embarrassing!
Coco and I both trembled all over, trying to forget what had just happened.
Coco cleared her throat awkwardly and broke up the weird air.
“You were right too.”
“About what?”
“About your brother. About him being a Hero who never fails his mission.”
“Obviously! I told you that!”
I puffed my chest way out. Coco swept me with a look that said I was insufferable, but all she did was twist her mouth.
“I’ll tell my brother you said so too. Hehe.”
“You’re that happy?”
“Of course. He’s my brother.”
My answer came out so confident that, for some reason, Coco didn’t seem to like it.
She stared at me for a long time, looking like she was thinking hard. Even though I needed to be leaving any minute now.
“If.”
“If what?”
“If you ever want to run away, come here.”
“What? Why would I run away?”
I blinked.
What would I ever need to run away from?
“Ren. Listen to me carefully.”
Coco pushed herself up.
I reached out to help, but nearly got dragged down with her. Then she smacked my arm for no reason. Leaning back against the bed under her own power, Coco suddenly grabbed my wrist hard.
“What’s your problem?”
Her hand didn’t feel unpleasant, so I let her keep holding on. She really did seem to have a high fever—her body temperature was almost as hot as my brother’s.
Priest Kirky is here... so Coco will be okay, right?
“Having a narrow world is a scary thing. Family matters, but...”
“What are you suddenly trying to say?”
I didn’t like this.
Was she trying to say I was obsessed with my brother?
A surge of anger rose in my chest.
“Ren. I’m not attacking you...”
Coco bit her lip. Her purple eyes were full of worry. Reflected in them, I looked like I was about to cry.
“I’m just worried about you. So I’m saying you can come here anytime.”
Then Coco opened the drawer in her desk and handed me a small pouch.
“This’ll definitely help if you ever end up in danger.”
“What is it?”
“It’s no fun if I tell you. I hope you never have to open it. Ah, hold it tight.”
“Uh... okay...”
“Riela. Pelo. Arashi.”
“You... you can use magic!?”
“This is just a spell, idiot. You could do it too if you learned.”
“What did you just do??”
“Be quiet for a second! Okay, now say your name.”
“Huh?”
“Quick!”
“R-Ren.”
Coco gave me a flat, irritated stare like I was disappointing her personally.
Purple light and white light rose from the pouch like mist, then zip!—vanished right back into it.
“What is this?”
“If I told you, would you understand?”
Did you give me this just to mess with me? Did you seriously give me this just to mess with me?
Coco opened her mouth, looking smug as hell.
“It’s bound to you now. No one but you can use it.”
“Even if you asked for it back, I’m not giving it to you!”
I clutched the pouch tight in my hand.
Coco sneered at me, but I didn’t care.
My cheeks felt hot.
Without even realizing it, I’d clasped the pouch in both hands and pressed it carefully to my chest.
So this, this is...
a gift.
I just got a gift!
My heart pounded and pounded. It was enough joy to drive the shadow of grief back for a little while.
But what do I do now?
I don’t have anything to give Coco.
I drooped immediately. When I glanced at her, Coco made a scary face.
“Come visit later and learn horseback riding with me. I don’t want to learn alone.”
“Huh? Uh... that’s enough?”
“Yeah. If the weather were nice, we’d be going to see Lacus.”
Coco suddenly frowned hard.
Then, when I just stood there blankly without answering, she let out a disbelieving laugh. That “beautiful lake” Luman had asked about? Somehow I felt like Luman would’ve gone to sneak a look at it already.
What’s with that laugh?
“You... idiot. Can’t you function in society? How are you this dense?!”
“What? Why are you cursing at me all of a sudden?!”
I felt completely dazed, like I’d been smacked in my sleep. No, weren’t we doing fine just now...?
I stared at her with my mouth hanging open, and Coco—who’d been biting her lip with an annoyed look on her face—suddenly burst out laughing.
Now that I think about it, Coco’s got a weird personality too. She gets mad, then suddenly laughs. Scary. Really scary.
Coco laughed for a while, and only stopped when she broke into coughing. I handed her some water, and she gulped it down like it was nectar.
“When I say something like that, this time you’re supposed to say, ‘Then we can go see it next time I come visit! /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Or should we sneak out and go now?’”
“Right now you’ve got a cold, and who knows when next time will be— ...okay, got it.”
I nodded hard. Not because Coco’s eyes were gleaming like she was about to kill me. It was just that I felt bad for her because she was sick, so I was going along with it. But saying that out loud would’ve been awkward, so I just kept repeating, “Yeah, let’s do that!”
Coco’s eyes narrowed.
“You really have zero interest in famous places, don’t you? Do you only care about your brother?”
“How famous is it?”
“There’s a terrifying legend about it too. They say if you go there on a rainy day, the mermaid living in the lake will drag you under and eat you.”
“What!? Then why the hell were you talking about sneaking out there today...!”
“Coward! Hahaha!”
Coco’s eyes sparkled with mischief. Seriously. Is teasing me that fun? I looked at her dubiously, but in the end I laughed too.
“Ah, I really have to go now.”
“Yeah! Then go already!!”
Coco answered without even a trace of regret. Ahem. Somehow that made things awkward.
“Uh... get some rest.”
“See you later.”
“‘See you later’...”
“You don’t like that?” Coco narrowed her eyes.
I shook my head hard.
“No. Yeah. See you later...”
I waved awkwardly at her, then turned away, but I heard her mutter quietly behind me.
“You’ll see me sooner than you think.”
“What did you say?”
Coco was smiling bitterly.
“Nothing. Just be careful on your way. I’ll write you.”
“Okay.”
Why do goodbyes keep going on like this?!
I half ignored that last part and hurried off, grumbling to myself for no reason, like walking faster would make the lingering feeling go away sooner.
When I stepped out of the room, Luman was standing at the end of the hall, lazily beckoning for me to hurry up.
