Episode 31 — Hollow
～ Part 1 ～
“Haa~…. It’s peaceful…”
“Yeah, peaceful—“
The alraune Hanazono Hana and the thunderbird Kaminari Totoha leisurely looked up at the sky.
The farmland spreading outside the royal capital was full of green, right now was exactly the start of the harvest season. The field spread as far as the eyes can see, and in the back were misty mountains. There was no such things as utility poles to obstruct the view, and also no cars to pollute the air. This kind of scenery wasn’t something that could easily be seen in Japan. In the blue sky, a bird that they had never seen before flew across while raising a cry like a black kite.
“It’s peaceful…”
It hadn’t been a week since they started staying in the kingdom, but life here was peace itself. The time they lived at the base while trembling in fear of foreign enemies, in fear for tomorrow seemed like a distant memory now. There was also a strong sense of security since a lot of humans were around.
Hanazono and Kaminari weren’t the kind of monsters with so terrifying outward appearance. In that part alone they were extremely blessed as they were different from Kensaki and Okumura who would cause screams and troubles everywhere just by going out into town. When they were looking at the farmland spreading outside the royal capital, some of the landlords accepted them when they said that they wanted to help out, this might just be thanks to their outward appearance.
“Ne~, Kaminari-san. What will you do after this week?”
“Yeah, what should I do…”
While looking up at the blue sky, they had such a leisurely conversation.
Yesterday at the 3rd class meeting in a different world, Ryuzaki made a notice to the entire class. Namely, to leave this country and return to their world, or accept the protection of this country and live leisurely. Although it was something they had to decide someday, their classmates were unsettled.
A convenient story such as living safely in this country, and then join up when the prospect of returning home was assured after meeting the sage wasn’t allowed. There was also the problem of the distance from this country to the forest where the sage lived. If they were to thoughtlessly stayed here in this country, it would almost be certain that they would never ever see everyone else again.
“I, is it fine even if I don’t return…”
Kaminari muttered. Strangely enough, Hanazono was also thinking about the same thing, she looked up at the thunderbird sitting next to her.
“Kaminari-san too?”
“Yeah…. I think that Miya is going to return. But I don’t have that much lingering attachment to our world. That’s why I’m lost.”
I have no dream, not even a favorite person in mind. In that respect, I might be a little envious of Nekomiya Miya who have both, Kaminari said.
Since she had a close friend called Sugiura Aya, Hanazono also understood the story well.
Hanazono liked to grow plants. But it wasn’t to the extent that you can call it a dream. When she came to this world and became an alraune, she was able to exchange words with the plants she raised. When she considered that returning to being human meant letting go of this ability, that was too lonely.
“As expected, perhaps we should remain here.”
Hanazono also nodded. Surely Sugiura is going to feel lonely. But I’m afraid when thinking that I’m going to have to live everyday in fear of something from now on.
Shall we return to work soon? Hanazono slowly stood up. Just then, they saw a group of heavy knights rushed through the highway. As they were thinking about what was going on, the knights stopped in front of the mansion of the landlord who owned this farmland and started talking with the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper immediately backed off and invited the knights inside the mansion.
The other farmers looked at each others and started talking about something, it seemed that this was something unusual. Hanazono felt a strange uneasiness.
“Ah, Hanazono-san. That.”
Kaminari said so and pointed to the shadow of a different person running along the highway. That was an unexpected person.
Utsurogi Kyousuke and Himemizu Rin. It was the appearance of the combined form of those two (named Stream Cross). There was also Hino Akira flying right beside them.
“Hanazono, Kaminari!”
Kyousuke ran up to the two people while waving greatly. Akira was being careful not to burn the growing vegetables.
“Yahhoo, Hana-chan and Totoha-chan.”
Rin also stretched out her arm from Kyousuke’s shoulder and gave an energetic greeting.
“This is unusual. What’s the matter you three?”
“Ah~ yeah. Well a little.”
“I don’t think it’s at the point of just a little, but…”
Kaminari also was a little confused as she glanced at the other farmers. A knight came out from the mansion and spoke to the farmers, they then rushed into the mansion with blue faces.
“Did something happen?”
“Saying if there’s anything, there is.”
When Hanazono asked about the situation, Akira nodded.
“Ghouls appeared.”
“Eh…”
Hanazono and Kaminari reflexively looked at each other.
“Ghouls, that thing, from the other day…?”
“Ahh, it’s from that time.”
“Eh, but, why…”
Hanazono’s agitation could completely be felt from her voice. Even though I thought it’s peaceful. Even though I thought it’s safe. It felt as if that assumption of her had just suddenly turned to dust. It seemed that Kaminari was the same, her eyes were shaking.
Kyousuke opened his mouth so as to continue the story.
“The reason we came here was to report about that, and then there’s something we would like to talk about with you two.”
“Something you want to talk about?”
“Yeah. It’s about the matter of the class meeting one week from now.”
It was exactly what they had been talking about. However, how Kyousuke suddenly came out with that topic was a little unnatural. Hanazono couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
Her answer seemed to have been decided already. They were going to stay in this country. She believed this country was peaceful and safe, and she also didn’t want to lose the ability to converse with plants. Receiving a report about the ghouls out of the blue had surely shaken her, but she was still more inclined to stay after all.
“Th–that … we were thinking about staying but…”
“Ah yeah, I thought that would be the case…”
Kaminari said so, Kyousuke scratched his head as he was a little troubled.
“But I want you to think about it a little more. If there’s any troubles or…”
“Utsurogi-kun.”
Rin’s tense voice interrupted Kyousuke’s words.
“They’ve come close.”
“Nn, really…”
When Kyousuke and Rin looked over, Hanazono group also turned their eyes toward that direction.
As if in a horror movie or horror game, they could see a group of living dead with partly decomposed bodies coming this way from the direction of the highway. It seemed that the knights from the mansion had confirmed it as well, leaving some people for protection, they got on their horses and headed there.
They’re ghouls.
Hanazono clenched her fists tightly. The disgusting monster of death was much too unsuitable for the peaceful farmland.
It feels as if they have come just to shake our own hearts. However, if we leave this country, surely swarms of monsters even more terrible would be waiting for us. Thinking about that, her senses became more and more tense.
“Utsurogi-kun, I will protect these two. Utsurogi-kun and Hino-kun please drive away the ghouls.”
“That’s fine but…. Isn’t it better if Kaminari just escape by flying…”
“But Totoha-chan has acrophobia!”
“Ah, uh, that’s right. Sorry…”
Rin separated from Kyousuke who apologized and slipped onto the ground. Immediately, Kyousuke nodded to Akira, 『BLAZE CROSS!』, while matching the timing of their shouts, they combined into a single figure. While floating up into the air so as not to burn the crops with the flaring flames coming from his whole body, Kyousuke looked at Rin from above.
“Himemizu, please take care of the rest!”
“Well, leave it to me~.”
Making her whole body into a V sign, Rin sent off Kyousuke who flew to the group of ghouls.
“Errr—, Surarin, I, it’s thunder that I’m afraid of and not high places, but…”
Kaminari spoke timidly.
“Yeah, I know. You had no problem climbing the lighthouse on the first day of the field trip after all.”
“Then, why…”
“Because I thought that it would be difficult for Kyousuke to persuade you—.”
Persuade. In response to that word, Hanazono’s body stiffen.
Again, she intends to talk about the class meeting one week from now. Saying persuade means she intends to change our mind. Although I had a feeling but to say it so openly like that, that’s so typical of Rin.
“Well, calm down you guys. It’s only ghouls, Kyousuke and Akira are more than enough. However, for the sake of safety, I want to talk in a place with water.”
From the appearance of Himemizu Rin who bounced up and down ∗tappon tappon∗, her expression could not be read at all.
Rin group moved to a place near the flowing irrigation channel of the farmland. A little distance away, Kyousuke and Akira were kicking around the ghouls in cooperation with the knights. The number of ghouls were more than reported. It was unknown whether the report was simply mistaken or it was an indication that the victims were increasing.
If it was the later, then there should be more ghouls than just the ones here. It would be great if Kensaki group that were moving separately managed to find them safely.
In such situations, Rin was persuading the two people. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to do something at such time, Rin was forcibly holding it down. For Rin, the separation of her class and the increasing damage from the ghouls were equally serious problems.
Hanazono and Kaminari was clearly being vigilant while being brought here. Well, it’s natural. The way Kyousuke started the conversation is poor.
Utsurogi Kyousuke is a kind guy. Though there were various things on her mind these days, Rin wasn’t going to change that recognition of him. She liked him and had also been helped many times. However, persuading these two was going to be difficult for that Kyousuke. That was why she butted in.
“Ne~, Rin-chan, what’s your intention?”
Hanazono said in her usual carefree tone with some tension mixed in.
“Yeah, I wonder what’s my intention is~. No, I’m not playing dumb, it’s nothing much. However.”
Rin dropped her body into the irrigation channel, absorbing the water, her body grew bigger ∗gun gun∗. In the unlikely event that a group of ghouls appeared from a different direction, she had to use her body as a shield, literally.
“Both I and Kaminari-san intend to say here, but…. You want to persuade us, that talk?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I came to push my opinion onto the two of you.”
Rin clearly said so since she had no intention of smoothing things over in a strange way.
Hanazono and Kaminari exchanged glances.
“The two of you want to stay in this country because you don’t really feel like going back to our world and because it is safer than outside, is that how you feel?”
“Do you want to say that inside of this country is not that safe?”
“Ah, you can think of it like that.”
Rin nodded while looking at the group of ghouls.
“There are small and large danger anywhere, you can say without exaggeration that no place is safe. I believe that our lives are always at risk, well, so — that — no, that wasn’t what I want to say.”
Suddenly compressing her enlarged body, Rin crawled out from the irrigation channel.
“I simply do not want to say bye-bye to you two.”
“But I don’t think we and Rin-chan are close enough for you to say such words…”
“When we go back to our world, rather than saying 『Ah, even though not everyone is here, it’s good to be back!』, don’t you think it will be better if we say 『Ah, it’s good to be back together with everyone!』 instead?”
This was Rin’s honest opinion. Even then she was firmly aware that it could be said to be a selfish opinion that she was thinking precisely because she was part of the upper caste of the class. At the time they were humans, Rin who had a bird’s-eye view of the class from a high position thought that their class was a very good class. Even though there were some students who was difficult to get along with, she thought the class wasn’t particularly problematic and that everyone was having fun.
Once she fell to the bottom and looked at things, she understood that not everything could be seen from the surface. There was a different in degrees of enthusiasm between the center and the outer part of the class. Even so, since Rin liked 2nd year class 4, she thought that she wanted for everyone to go back together. It was self-righteous thinking that didn’t consider individual circumstances. Ryuzaki’s thought was surely the same.
“Beside, since our relationship isn’t that good, I can say such selfish things. If it was Miya-chan and Aya-chan, they will hesitate thinking about your feelings.”
It could be seen that the two of them were quite shaken when the names of their respective best friends were mentioned.
Rin had listened carefully in the bath.These were the words of Nekomiya Miya and Sugiura Aya.
Nekomiya was thinking that she wanted to return with Kaminari. Although Kaminari lacks self-confidence and is cowardly, she has talent that shine brightly like lightning and is essentially vivid on the stage. I want to put her on the stage once everything is okay. However, if Kaminari herself said that she wants to remain in this world, then I don’t have any right to detain her.
Sugiura was thinking that she wanted to return with Hanazono. Every time Hanazono talks about the flower bed that she grew in the gardening club when we’re still humans, I think that I want to see it once we go back to our world. Together with her if possible. However, if Hanazono herself said that she wants to remain in this world, then I don’t have any right to detain her.
What they could not say because they were best friends, Rin who wasn’t a best friend said it in their stead. Melt the words, digest, extract and express them in her own words.
“…that, aren’t you just saying suitable words to make us feel that way?”
Kaminari also sharply attacked without concealing her wariness. But Rin didn’t falter.
“I said what I said because I want you to understand. I am in this form now. The spoken words can also be changed conveniently. It’s winding. Like water, it changes shape according to the containers.”
While saying so, she unwound the compression of her body and greatly enlarged it. She stretched thinly, turned into a circular shape, undulated, and finally gathered back together and compressed. Kaminari and Hanazono were astonished, their gazes followed the phantasmagoric movements of Rin.
“But no matter how much its shape changes, the molecular formula is still H2O. Even if the shape has change, the most important thing doesn’t change.”
“What is the most important thing?”
“I won’t say because the words will change if I say it. It’s the same as ultra pure water. No matter how pure the water you made, once it comes into contact with the air, something will be mixed in.”
It was Kaminari and Hanazono themselves who had to remove the unnecessary impurities and find the most important thing from the elusive words just like water.
I hope that they will find it, Rin thought.
If they decide to part with their best friends here, Nekomiya and Sugiura will surely be sad. It is painful to look at when my classmates are depressed. If Nekomiya’s spirit goes down, it will affect her battle and morale. If Sugiura’s spirit goes down, the meals she cook will become unpalatable. That will be troubling.
Well, it will be all right either way. If some more push is needed, it will be the turn of the best friends of those two.
“Well now, how is Utsurogi-kun group doing…”
When Rin looked over, Kyousuke and the others were delivering the finishing blow to the last remaining ghouls.
To be continued…
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