TL/Editor: Butter Cat

    Status: 4/week mon-thurs

    Illustrations: none

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    〈 Chapter 78 〉 Chapter 78. Aesop''s Fables.

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    ((

    There''s an afterword. (TL Note: Spoiler, there wasn’t… Or at least no shown author afterword in the raw, or maybe it isn’t an ‘author’ one.)

    ))

    ***

    "—Alice, are you awake?"

    "........."

    A sigh.

    An indescribably creepy breath brushed against my ear as I lay quietly in bed.

    A rustling, uncomfortable sensation, as if a small insect had crawled into my ear and was moving around.

    It took me a moment to realize that it was Elli''s voice.

    Elli had noticed the slight disruption in my previously steady, rhythmic breathing while sleeping, and thinking I was awake, she had called out to me.

    Asking if I had slept well.

    If I had any nightmares.

    The careful, polite way of waking me. A question I''d heard countless times over the past two years.

    If it were the usual me, I would have rubbed my sleepy eyes, gotten up, and wrapped my arms around Elli''s body to answer her.

    Telling her that she had appeared in my dream today, so it wasn''t scary at all, and Elli replying that I had also appeared in her dream, we would have talked about that interesting coincidence of having dreamed about each other.

    And on days when I was especially sleepy, I would have pleaded with her to let me sleep just a little longer, using my cute charms until she finally relented, and Elli would have gently stroked my head until I woke up on my own.

    Small joys of everyday life. Sёarch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But.

    But for the current me, it was too much to ask.

    I was struggling just to suppress the something welling up inside me, let alone respond to Elli''s words.

    "........."

    It''s noisy.

    I said, it’s noisy.

    Everyone, shut up.

    Elli''s voice, which used to sound clear and beautiful, like a bird''s song.

    But now her voice reaching my ears felt somehow awkward, like the static from a broken cassette tape.

    No, it wasn''t just Elli''s voice.

    [''Let gooooo!! I''ll kill that bastard and then go see Aris!!!'']

    [''This crazy princess!? Aish! Why is she so strong!? Hey, you! Go somewhere! Don''t just stand there looking pathetic, go somewhere!!'']

    The sound of Remi and Sia arguing, seemingly coming through the walls.

    The rattling of the window panes, shaking in the wind.

    Even the gurgling of water flowing through the pipes from upstairs to downstairs, all of it.

    Sounded like a grating, unpleasant noise.

    —Thump!

    "....I don''t want to..."

    "—Ah."

    I pulled the blanket over my head.

    Because I didn''t want to face this cruel reality, and because I couldn''t believe that I was still alive.

    I squeezed my eyes shut, covered my ears, and burrowed deep into the suffocating warmth of the blanket.

    Neither Elli''s gaze that I could feel watching me, nor my reputation that would fall into the abyss because of this, held any meaning for me.

    Because what remained for me already no longer existed.

    But.

    Even with the blanket pulled over my head.

    "Why....! Why...!"

    "....Yes. I''m here."

    Even as I desperately tried to cover my ears with my one remaining hand.

    The bright sunlight streaming through the window pierced through the blanket, through my eyelids, and struck my retinas.

    And the sounds around me, as if mocking my feeble attempts to block them out, easily penetrated my hands and rummaged through my brain.

    Even when I tried to hold my breath and strangle myself with my hand, my trembling fingers couldn''t even do that, and the noise entering my now defenseless ears only intensified.

    In the end, I had to admit that even the eternally joyful song of the canary would eventually come to an end.

    No.

    ".....Alice?"

    Was it me who was broken from the start?

    Today, my ears went deaf.

    In the distant past, a time I couldn''t even remember, or in the memories that felt as vivid as yesterday, I received only an inorganic touch that couldn''t feel warm.

    Even before that, I had lost the ability to smell the sweet fragrance of flowers. And in the eternity that seemed to stretch on forever, I must have lost something else.

    Losing, and losing more.

    What will the world take away from me tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow?

    What else will I be robbed of.

    Tick-tock, the hands of the clock hanging on the wall, pointing to three o''clock, moved relentlessly.

    If I pulled out those hands, or broke the clockwork that moved them, I might be able to stop the clock right in front of me.

    But that doesn''t mean I could stop this moment.

    No matter how tightly I clasped my hands together to scoop up water from the sea, the water in my hands couldn''t exist forever.

    And the small, unavoidable gaps between my fingers would sadly let the water trickle back down.

    Drip, drip, the droplets would eventually fall.

    To live a day, is to die a day.

    Even in this moment that I''m alive, I was slowly dying.

    Yes.

    Really, that''s exactly it.

    "....My chest... hurts, Big Sis Elli… It hurts so much."

    "....Is that so."

    The loud commotion from the other room, two people''s voices raised high, showed no signs of subsiding.

    When I removed the blanket that had completely enveloped me, the intense sunlight asserted its presence even though my eyes were closed.

    The sunlight, bathing my entire body, seemed to be berating me, reminding me that I hadn''t died, and I felt resentful towards it.

    —Swish.

    "......"

    Looking at Elli, whose face seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment, I slowly got up from my bed.

    What should I do now, as I stand on this fragile ice sheet that''s slowly melting away in the warm sunlight, singing of its demise.

    When this ice melts away, all that awaits me is the inevitable fate of sinking into the depths of the deep sea, where even light can''t reach.

    And all I could do in those crashing waves of fate was to desperately cling to something, anything within reach.

    Even though I knew, better than anyone, that it wouldn''t save me.

    Even though I knew that the ending I would face would be nothing but being surrounded by sharks in the blue sea, my bones the only thing that remained.

    The only thing I could do.

    The only rebellion and resistance I could offer.

    Was to repeat that meaningless act again and again.

    I said,

    "...I, I want to go outside."

    "..........."

    Even the greatest empire that ruled the world couldn''t last a thousand years.

    And even a play that seems like it will go on forever will eventually come to an end, the curtain falling.

    Let''s go outside.

    Let''s go outside, tear out my heart, and burn my soul.

    To put an end to this wretched life.

    —Crunch….!!

    "I want to go outside and see Anna."

    "....I understand."

    Like a drowning person hopelessly grasping at straws, I tightly clutched something, anything within reach.

    And the innocent blanket, caught in my grip, could only crumple helplessly without any resistance.

    Were those wrinkles, my final words.

    **

    This one and that one, every single one of them, I found them all displeasing.

    That scoundrel who suddenly appeared before me and Aris as we were enjoying our reunion after so long, claiming that she had been protecting Aris all this time, and declaring that I had no right to take her.

    And that scumbag over there, who should have just died a quiet death somewhere if she wanted to atone for her sins so badly, shamelessly appearing before Aris, the victim, and saying she wanted to apologize.

    They were all just selfishly clinging to their own desires and hopes, wrapping them in sweet words like ''for Aris''s sake''.

    What makes them think they''re so great that they can try to come between me and Aris

    Really.

    I didn''t like it, not one bit.

    "....Aris."

    "...Anna."

    The door opened with just enough space for two fingers to fit through.

    Creeeak, the pathetic sound of the door opening filled the living room.

    But surely, it was just the sound of unlubricated hinges grinding against each other. Then why did it sound like Aris was crying out in pain.

    As if Aris was saying, it hurts.

    That she couldn''t hold on anymore─

    "—BIG SIIIIIIIIIIIISSS!!"

    "....! A-Aris!?"

    No.

    That''s just how it sounded to me.

    "....I missed you...!!"

    "....Ah, no..Aris…don''t come to me...."

    Aris didn''t slow down, but ran straight towards Anna and threw herself into her arms.

    A soft thud echoed through the living room, silencing Anna Akaia''s cry.

    It was a sight that would make anyone watching let out a small gasp.

    "...! Ah!"

    ".......!"

    At Aris''s actions, which could be called hasty, that Sia girl who was holding me back and the woman watching Aris from inside the room were fidgeting their bodies around.

    And I, seeing their half-hearted reactions, let out a small sigh.

    But Aris, oblivious to their gazes, only sought to be held by the woman who had tried to kill her.

    Anna, trembling and at a loss for what to do, tried to push Aris away, but Aris only burrowed deeper into her embrace the more Anna tried to push her away.

    Deeper.

    And even deeper.

    Like a lost child clinging to their parent after being reunited.

    Rubbing her cheek against Anna’s chest, burying her face in her arms.

    Aris was finally able to fully enjoy the embrace of her beloved big sister, the one she had missed so much, the only person she remembered even when she had once lost all her memories

    —Squeeze…!

    "I''ve…missed you…so much…!"

    "....Ah... Aaah...!"

    But, just as everyone was breathing sighs of relief at this seemingly happy scene.

    My eyes were focused on the small gap between Anna''s chest and Aris''s face, a gap that no one else seemed to notice.

    "........"

    And as I saw the blue-green eyes shimmering within that gap, I was certain.

    That the only person here who could truly understand Aris and make her happy was none other than me.

    "...I see."

    More painfully than anything else.

    **

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