She couldn't understand it. They had clearly made a promise.
'It wasn't on purpose. It can't be.'
Though she habitually said it didn't matter if she died, Esperanza knew better than anyone that she wasn't reckless enough to blindly rush into such danger. She must have been swept up in sothing. But why? How could such a thing happen? Her stiffly frozen mind refused to think.
Esperanza abandoned the monster she was fighting and spread her wings to get inside the warship's railing.
Under slowly blinking eyelashes, hazy eyes seed to discover Esperanza and showed a faint trace of a smile.
Only then did Esperanza realize that Cider was injured. And quite severely. The vest worn over his white shirt was soaked black with blood. The fact that he, who cared considerably about dignity, was sitting slumped on the bare floor wasn't just because he was tired.
"Why, why......."
I should have known sooner. If I had just looked properly once, if I had finished the battle quickly without dawdling, no, if I had just killed Daria before the dungeon appeared in the first place.
"You ca."
"Th, that, shut up."
Esperanza, who had sat down with her back to the battlefield, spoke in a terribly trembling voice. She tried to put strength into it to hide her tears, but that only made it more obvious. When Cider opened his mouth to say sothing, Esperanza shouted sharply.
"Stay still. Don't talk!"
Where is it? Rummaging through her inventory with one hand, Esperanza anxiously moved her lips. I'm in a hurry, why can't I get hold of it!
"Why, why are you hurt this badly? You, you can't die. Do you hear ?"
Don't move, Cider nodded with a loose smile as if chiding her.
"Good heavens. What is this? Why like this......."
With so many perfectly fine people around, why did Cider Claiborne of all people have to suffer like this? From his arm to his stomach crushed, and the shirt under the vest soaked black was so bad you could barely find white parts. At this rate, it's more miraculous that he's alive.
"Stay still. I'll, right away. Right away."
The words wouldn't co out as if stuck in her throat. Esperanza took out a potion bottle with shaking hands. She was fortunate at least one remained. If she couldn't save Cider now because of that pathetic sympathy she'd shown at Pinent House, it would have been unbearable. Esperanza forcibly opened the potion with her strengthless arm and poured it over Cider's body.
The wounds healed rapidly. However, the process of torn flesh filling and broken bones beginning to nd was more painful than when injured. Cider gritted his teeth. When Esperanza grasped his hand, he finally exhaled deeply.
Their gazes beca deeply entangled. Cider's gray eyes took on a faint blue tinge. It was a ti of careful exploration.
How long had it been? The emotions that couldn't be contained in a single small piece of letter paper seed about to overflow. Her throat constricted tightly. What should she say? There were so many things she wanted to say, but the emotions were too big to pull out through her narrow throat. All she could do was hold his hand.
Eventually, Cider re-grasped Esperanza's hand. Once the pain of recovery subsided, he raised his eyes. Moving his lips that held a faint smile, he whispered low.
"I'll make you the spaceti machine."
Ah. Her mind slowly turned. Only then could she trace back to the beginning of the conflict that had kept them apart for so long. For Esperanza to return, Cider had to make her the spaceti machine. If Cider didn't make it, Esperanza couldn't return. After their conflict, they had decided to postpone all of this until Cider decided of his own will.
And only today had he made his decision.
'But why, why am I not happy?'
Esperanza asked herself blankly. Why am I not happy at all?
"You should smile."
Cider, who had slowly leaned his back against the wall again, said. Right, I should smile. But her heart, muddied as if thoroughly stirred, couldn't create even a false smile. Esperanza turned her eyes away with a distorted face.
"......You're injured. Pouring potion doesn't cure everything. Wait, I need to show you to a doctor quickly."
Esperanza got up and looked around. Though there was a bit more breathing room than before, finding a ship's doctor on a vessel still in combat was nearly impossible. What to do?
Then, sothing caught her eye. In the vast sky, the only place within the dungeon's range that wasn't affected by today's disaster, there was an answer.
'It's an airship!'
Though much smaller in scale than the air purification airship that passed over Nine Holder twice a day, it was a primitive form of manned airship. Quickly checking with binoculars, she could confirm navy markings on the hull.
The airship approached rapidly. Before long, it lowered a long rope ladder, and navy personnel ard with magical weapons landed on the warship.
"Lord Sterling! Over here!"
Though not navy, Alastair Renfrew was also among them.
"Good heavens."
Approaching, he sighed at the sight of Cider's clothes soaked in blood.
"I've given urgent treatnt for now. You ca to get the wounded, right? Hurry up and take everyone away."
Cider frowned, but Esperanza didn't care. Alastair grabbed and supported Cider.
"Miss Hunter......."
"If not , who's going to clean up this ss?"
Those words weren't wrong. Alastair gave an awkward smile. Esperanza didn't go anywhere else and provided cover until Alastair supported Cider back to the airship.
"How did Lord Sterling, who isn't even navy, get here?"
"He volunteered. Miss Hunter's acquaintance arrived, but when he said he still hadn't found Lord Avondale, I thought he'd probably be here."
When the heir he'd barely rescued insisted on going out to the even more dangerous sea, the Duke nearly fainted, but they reached an agreent on the condition of accompanying Major Renfrew.
"Fortunately, among the personnel available for imdiate departure, there was no one who knew Lord Avondale's face, so we could also convince the navy. He's such an important figure that it would be terrible if he were missed."
Duke Dunbarton's heir was an equally important figure, but when he said he would go himself, there seed to be no other choice. It was truly an extrely exceptional occurrence that could only happen in a disaster situation. From those words alone, Esperanza could clearly see how much of a headache the Duke must have had.
"All wounded have been collected!"
Esperanza, who confird the airship's departure, sighed. It was a more terrible dungeon than any before. She could clearly feel her stamina had dropped.
And the dungeon was only just beginning.
[Dungeon Boss 'Leviathan' has appeared!]
[The boss's location is displayed on the map.]
[Lower monsters are affected by the boss. Attack Power 40%, Health 3%, Agility 20%]
[The boss is affected by lower monsters. Agility 30%, Critical Hit Rate 40%, Accuracy 15%]
Esperanza gripped her scythe properly and flew without hesitation toward the whale larger than the warship.
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
The transparent barrier covering the burning red sky disappeared. Like curtains being drawn back beyond the horizon. Not many people felt this fact, but in so way, people realized that day's disaster had ended.
It had been a terrible day. Collecting corpses, repairing the damaged square....... How long would it take to return to before all this happened? How different would the world be after today? Fear and deep sorrow heavily oppressed the entire city.
Earl Sterling's country house was also sunk in the sa darkness. However, when the heir who had been swept up in the disaster returned safely, the mansion's atmosphere also brightened a little. Though they couldn't rejoice aloud, rich food, colorful clothes, and modest accessories were permitted.
Sharp wind entered through brick crevices. Esperanza put on thick outerwear over her winter pajamas and left her room.
Since they had checked out of the hotel early, they were staying at Alastair's mansion. This mansion had the very fatal disadvantage of Duke Dunbarton being there, but there was nowhere else to go. Cordelia feigned illness to avoid formal dinner with the Duke, and Alastair was busy covering for Cordelia's lies.
And Cider had been sleeping since being transferred to the mansion. The doctor said he was just sleeping, but Esperanza watched his quietly closed eyes for a long ti.
She went down to the quiet first-floor garden with muffled footsteps. There was a spacious bench in the desolate winter garden, and an unwelco guest was sitting on it.
"I heard from Annie. You saved that girl?"
The maid, who wasn't as bold as Cordelia or Alastair, asked "Are you hurt anywhere?" as soon as she t Esperanza again and cried for a long ti. How sadly she wept.
When she asked Annie, who had finally stopped crying, "You're not hurt anywhere either, right?" Annie dabbed her reddened eyes with a handkerchief and told her.
'We were taking a carriage to the naval base shelter when monsters appeared and it was almost dangerous. But that gentleman who's your acquaintance appeared and saved us. Though his hair color had turned red unlike when we saw him in Nine Holder, I recognized him imdiately. He used a big sword like a knight in fairy tales...... He recognized .'
Annie, who had said that, added with a slightly embarrassed face.
'I thought that person was very arrogant, soone who wouldn't even treat a maid like as human, but he spoke politely to . Well, since he's your acquaintance, he couldn't be a bad person. I think I misunderstood and passed along bad words to you for no reason.'
Esperanza had thought while stroking Annie's head.
'He is a bad person though.'
She didn't say it. But suspicion remained.
"I didn't know you'd recognize that girl."
Cyrus gave a bitter smile. He had thought only very dry conversation about future plans would pass between them, never expected to have such a conversation. He could also guess what kind of existence he was in Esperanza's mind. A cold-blooded person without blood or tears, a monster, a ghost crazy for money.
Though it was intentional, it left a bitter taste.
"She says she's grateful."
Cyrus's face twisted strangely. As if seeing sothing that didn't make sense.
"......It's nothing to be grateful for."
Reviews
All reviews (0)