Chapter 63

“R-right. That makes sense. I thought something was strange anyway. The 41st Division’s been here for over a year... I-I didn’t hate having them around.”

Majia hurried to explain himself.

“They even took care of the monsters nearby. Their combat ability is really, really... I mean, it’s not like I disliked them.”

He averted his eyes and rushed through the words.

“B-but if he’s your b-boyfriend, why are you in a conflict zone, Lieutenant? Ah. You must’ve met him after you got here.”

Erabelle had not said a word, but Majia was already connecting the dots on his own.

He really had lost those memories.

She felt a little relieved.

“I-I should get going. I have work...”

“Oh. Okay.”

As Majia sprang to his feet, Erabelle stood as well.

“No, no. Don’t bother seeing me out. You’ve got a checkup, remember?”

He even refused the courtesy of an escort and hurried out of the infirmary alone.

“...”

Well... that worked out.

Erabelle watched his retreating back for a moment.

It was certainly a better farewell than shoving him out through a drone launch bay.

Much better.

When she turned and trudged back into the infirmary, Dezeb greeted her with a reproachful look.

“Flirt.”

“...Are you talking about me?”

“I knew what you were like back when you were still a hopeless fangirl.”

Does he lurk around fan forums or something...?

He stepped closer and traced the tip of his nose from the curve of her small ear down to the nape of her neck, breathing her in.

Erabelle shivered.

“It’s my fault for falling first.”

Dezeb sighed and pressed his lips to the back of her neck.

The sharp jolt made Erabelle squeeze her eyes shut.

***

The next day, the most seriously injured patients were given priority for evacuation to the rear.

Erabelle was on the list as well.

Unlike the others, she boarded Antares, the division commander’s personal ship, but either way, it was an enormous relief.

She had managed to escape the company before the rumor that she was the division commander’s lover could spread.

“...”

As the ship ascended, Erabelle looked not at the company shrinking below but at the dead planet looming ahead.

It drew closer, then rapidly receded again, leaving her with more thoughts than she wanted.

Is everything really going to be fine, like it was in the original story?

In the original, monsters and rifts had been little more than surprise events.

They had never developed into anything truly catastrophic.

It doesn’t make sense for that to change now...

She had wondered the same thing before.

Even if this was another world, were they really going to be okay?

It felt like watching the end of the world unfold with her own eyes.

Ha...

Resting her forehead against the window, Erabelle let out a long sigh.

Including the time she had spent unconscious, nearly three years had passed.

And in the end, she had not accomplished a single one of the goals she had set for herself.

The Platform had been half-destroyed by the Wave and shut down.

And despite all her failures, he had still saved her.

Her gaze dropped to the arm regenerated inside the Alloy Furnace.

She remembered the several vials of dark red liquid that had been fed into her body.

And his arm as well—

how it had turned black and cold like charcoal, then recovered at around the same time as hers...

how he had endlessly pressed his hand against her severed limbs inside the furnace...

...It moves just fine.

Her fingers moved freely.

Almost too freely.

Erabelle spread all ten beneath the light and wiggled them.

Then she flinched.

“What are you doing, finger exercises?”

Dezeb rested his chin on her shoulder and slipped his fingers between hers.

“Do that later. Pick a house first.”

“A house, sir?”

“Yeah. Somewhere to stay for a little while before we get married. A few months, maybe? Pick something small and cozy. That’s more your style.”

He spoke while loosely embracing her from behind.

“Choose carefully. I’ll compensate you generously.”

His arms tightened slightly.

“With my body. You can even take an advance.”

Erabelle was speechless for a moment before she finally stammered,

“I-I think taking payment in advance is a bad habit.”

“Really? I like it.”

He laughed softly against her neck.

He seemed to be in an unusually good mood.

“...”

Erabelle felt strangely unsettled.

Her thoughts kept tangling together, so she decided to think about work instead.

Depending on how things went, she would ask him what exactly she was supposed to do from now on.

The opportunity came sooner than expected.

***

“Work?”

On the way to the capital, Erabelle separated from Antares early to begin her leave.

Dezeb had even arranged her route so the shuttle would take her all the way to the border of the Count’s territory.

“Yes. What am I supposed to do from now on...”

Her voice trailed off when she saw him smiling.

“Rest well. Have fun. Eat properly. Then come back to me healthy in a month.”

“...Yes.”

“Oh, and don’t take any sedatives. I took care of things so you won’t need them anymore.”

“Yes...”

For roughly forty-eight hours after leaving the company, Erabelle had been extremely busy.

Even while choosing a house from the catalog...

she had been busy.

Dezeb was, truly, far too generous when it came to compensation.

And he said all of it with a perfectly straight face.

Well...

That was simply the kind of person he was.

For Erabelle, however, it was a difficult subject to discuss.

“If you’re not going to let me do anything right now, then stop teasing me.”

“...”

“Behave yourself and come back.”

He placed a light kiss against her heated cheek, then added lazily,

“Don’t cheat on me.”

“I’ll try.”

“Mmm. You’ll have to try very hard.”

He chuckled and kissed the corner of her eye, then her cheekbone.

“Get some proper rest.”

He pulled out a cigarette and flicked a glance toward the Dogs.

They nodded.

In that brief moment, he stole another kiss before warning her once more.

“Seriously. Don’t cause trouble.”

Erabelle found that oddly unfair.

When have I ever caused trouble...?

“You charged thirteen APU units alone, self-destructed, blew off every limb you had, and sent the intelligence directly to Commander Dezeb...”

Inside the shuttle after it detached from the ship, Aries Cider began reciting her past deeds one by one.

Erabelle was only going home on leave, yet the entire surveillance team had come with her.

Does no one have anything better to do these days...?

She felt even more awkward around the Dogs than before.

Their polite speech toward her was becoming increasingly natural.

“You signed a waiver giving up your inheritance. There has to be some sort of problem waiting for us.”

Even when speaking among themselves, they remained perfectly formal.

And for some reason, they were unusually excited all the way to the Count’s estate.

“It’ll probably be the elders or some other relatives. She gets along with the Count himself.”

“Let’s test the new prototype puppet this time.”

“Ah, I’m looking forward to it. This should be fun.”

Listening quietly, Erabelle finally understood.

They were eagerly anticipating the inevitable appearance of some unknown group of relatives who would pick a fight with the Count’s commoner-born adopted daughter, whom the family supposedly looked down on.

And one month later...

No one picked a fight with her.

Of course they didn’t.

She had not left her room.

There were not that many people in the world deranged enough to start trouble for no reason, and even if there had been, they would first have needed to meet her.

***

“Wow. You’re incredible.”

During her month of leave, Erabelle genuinely rested for the first time in ages.

She had entered full weekend mode.

“Are you even human? Huh? Are you? How can a human being stay indoors for an entire month without going outside even once?!”

A provincial city far removed from every major character was, just as expected, peaceful.

“Get up! Come on, get up!”

Sanche Vermilion, the Count’s only biological son, grabbed her blanket and yanked at it.

“...What time is it?”

“Three.”

“Ugh... it’s still dawn...”

“No, afternoon! Three in the afternoon!”

“Why are you waking me up at the crack of dawn?”

Erabelle plugged her ears and rolled over.

“Please, just get up! You’re going to start growing mold! I’m going insane, so please get out of bed!”

Naturally, Erabelle did not move.

“Let’s at least go for a walk. A walk! That guy—what’s his name? James or whatever. His new movie comes out today!”

“...Watch your mouth. Call him Mr. James.”

“James bastard.”

“...”

Erabelle shot upright.

Sanche dodged out of reach, grinning smugly now that his provocation had worked, while she scratched at her messy, itchy hair.

“You’re awfully fearless. You’re not causing trouble at the Academy these days?”

“What Academy? I graduated ages ago.”

“You graduated?”

“Yeah.”

Erabelle stared at her younger brother.

A year since the accident.

Apparently, a year really was a long time.

“How? Did you buy your diploma?”

“I did not!”

“Next time, give me a warning beforehand. It’s harder to clean things up afterward.”

“Hey! I said I didn’t buy it! Go wash already! And stop scratching yourself! It’s disgusting!”

“When did I scratch?”

Grumbling, Erabelle scratched her lower back.

“Wash!”

Under Sanche’s relentless nagging, she was eventually driven into the bathroom.

With a toothbrush hanging from her mouth, she turned on the warm water.

Huh.

The showerhead looked unfamiliar.

Come to think of it, how long had it been since she last washed?

Erabelle scratched her stomach and tried to remember.

Maybe ten days...

“That’s trauma.”

Obviously.

This was all because of psychological stress.

There was no way anyone could go through such a horrific accident and come out completely fine.

The reason she had not washed was clearly a post-traumatic symptom.

It was not laziness.

Absolutely not her fault.