She says I’m quiet when I’m with her. I thought about what that could mean, but nothing came to mind.
Of course I talk when I need to — what else?
“Why, were you bored?”
“No.”
“What, you want me to request some music or something? They’ve got it in the room service menu.”
“No. I mean, no.”
“Then what?”
“Don’t mind me. Go. That girl seems like something’s wrong with her.”
Her head, turned slightly toward the window, stayed fixed on the scenery.
Rebecca’s words could be blunt, but she didn’t say meaningless things. I thought it over again — still didn’t get it.
And just then—
From the narrow gap by the picture frame behind Rebecca’s back, someone poked their head out.
That guy.
Been a while since I saw the familiar peeking spirit of the Constellation of Espionage.
This time, he wasn’t alone.
Below him was something else.
What’s that one supposed to be?
Another Constellation of Espionage?
But I’d never seen one shaped like that before — the eyes were odd, the head not round but kind of angular.
“Let’s go.”
Okay.
Either way, I took Eve with me to Glory’s compartment.
***
“Eve is your younger sister — a female Hero who hasn’t killed anyone.”
It landed about the same as saying: I’m the armored giant, and she’s the super-giant.
“...What?”
Glory froze, mouth opening and closing. Understandable.
He’d just been hit with a secret-of-birth reveal out of nowhere.
“What is that...?”
“You really didn’t know?”
“Sister? I think there’s some mistake... I’m an orphan. From Wonderland Village...”
“You and she were found together by the village chief.”
Then I explained to Eve as well — this is your older brother, a Hero who can’t wield the Holy Sword because he killed someone.
“...!?”
She was just as oblivious. Looking at Glory in wonder like she’d just learned something new.
Eve signed something to me, asking a question for Glory.
“What’s that signal?”
“It’s sign language. A way to talk with your hands. Eve’s hearing is impaired. She can’t hear a word you say no matter how you say it. You didn’t know?”
“Had no idea. Or... maybe I heard something like that...”
“......”
I’d always thought Eve’s slightly ditzy moments were because she was a demon — maybe it was hereditary.
Two elephants that only know how to fight.
“Anyway, Eve’s asking why you killed.”
“...I didn’t want to.”
“She’s asking why you did something you didn’t want to.”
“...I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“She says you dodge questions when you’re at a disadvantage.”
“......”
It clicked for me then — that ‘Waaaugh!!’ Eve had described earlier — Glory must’ve reflexively lit up his eyes and glared at her.
Smack!
I cuffed him on the head.
“Eyes.”
“...Sorry.”
“We’re supposed to be saving the world together. No need to be that aggressive.”
“...I’m sorry. I behaved poorly.”
“Why’d you do it earlier? She says you blew up at her.”
“...It’s nothing serious. I just... have some mental issues...”
A standard case of cracked mental health, apparently.
“I’ll refrain from now on. Could you pass my apology to Miss Eve?”
I taught Glory the sign for sorry.
Better to say something like that directly, not through a messenger.
'Sorry.'
Glory signed it.
...凸
The elephant flipped him off.
“That’s sign language too, right? What does it mean?”
“She’s telling you to screw off.”
“......”
Glory wilted.
Eve seemed well and truly spooked.
“But—”
I was curious.
When the sword was drawn, Glory had failed and Eve had succeeded.
Would he be unable to use it even now?
With that in mind, I told Eve to take out the Holy Sword.
By now the train had entered an underground mine. 「Peacebringer†」 shone with a gentle light all its own, casting a soft glow in the darkness.
A beauty worthy of the name Holy Sword.
“......”
Glory stared at it, slack-jawed.
Like Kim Jong-un looking at a nuke.
Like Qin Shi Huang gazing at the elixir of life.
Like Kim Gu watching the K-pop phenomenon...
'Let him try it?'
'Sure.'
First, I tried touching it myself.
The moment my hand touched the hilt, a soft yet powerful resistance met me.
< Sorry. >
< You can’t hold me. >
That’s what it felt like the weapon was saying.
Tried again — same thing. A force pushing my hand away in midair; I couldn’t even get a grip.
Eve’s expression was twisting in real time, so I quickly passed it to the next candidate.
“...You want me to try?”
“You holding it is the point here. Come on, hurry up. Eve’s a demon — holding the Holy Sword too long will injure her internally.”
“...Ah.”
Glory blinked, then reached for it cautiously, fingertips trembling like aspen leaves.
Crack!!
A rough arc of lightning snapped — [Mana Scar]. Glory jerked his hand back, fingertips scorched black.
“...It rejects me.”
“...Seems so.”
Different from the refusal it gave me.
Rougher. More direct.
< Get lost! >
That’s probably what it meant.
Eve was clutching her stomach, face screwed up, like her guts were twisting — told me to put it away, quick.
Meanwhile, Glory was like Kim Jong-un without his nuke — his face crumpling, on the verge of tears.
What kind of man has mood swings like this? Even with his mouth turning square as he cried, he still managed to look handsome — strange, that.
“Hey. Cut it out.”
“......”
“No need to take it so... you know, to heart.”
“......”
“Besides, you’ve got your magic sword.”
...Wrong thing to say?
Glory burst out sobbing even harder.
The guy wept like it was the end of the world, mouth open wide enough to fit a rice ball.
“Leave me alone...”
“What about her?”
“Handle it yourself...”
So we got kicked out into the corridor.
Smelled something nice.
'Food?'
'Yep!'
Might as well feed Eve.
***
We had dinner together. Eve eats like an elephant, so it took a good two hours. By then, Glory had stopped crying.
After sending her back to her room, I returned to mine — Rebecca was sitting there alone, posture as upright as ever, staring out the window.
“You were gone a while.”
“Yes.”
“Not bored? Without Sir Layme around.”
“I’m fine.”
“All right.”
I sat down, figuring it was nothing — but something about her mood seemed faintly off.
Normally, with that serial killer temperament, she’s probably in a bad mood 23 hours and 50 minutes a day, so I ignored it.
But this time, she spoke first.
“It’s evening.”
“It is.”
“Turns out it’s quite a long trip.”
“The airships aren’t flying, so it can’t be helped. Even if it’s inconvenient, we’re almost there — maybe an hour left.”
“I wasn’t complaining.”
“If you’re bored, I can put on some music.”
“...I’m not bored.”
“Then what do you need?”
“No... Would you like to eat? It’s mealtime.”
“Hungry? Want me to order something?”
“What about you?”
“I already ate with Eve while I was out.”
“...I see.”
Just then, the two little creeps behind Rebecca changed expressions.
│ㅅㅇ)
│ㅅ♥]
Why.
What.
A moment ago they were all smiles — now blank-faced.
And why the hell are they even here?
“Oh, right. Speaking of — Eve’s Glory’s sister, and the two of them are siblings.”
“Siblings?”
“That’s how it is. And ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Eve’s not purely human. She’s also hearing-impaired.”
“That much is obvious.”
“Some people didn’t know.”
“......”
Rebecca glanced at me.
“Did you already know sign language?”
“No.”
“It looked natural. Or do you know someone else who’s hearing-impaired?”
“Never did before. Learned it after meeting Eve.”
“Why?”
“What do you think? So I could talk to her.”
“That’s unusual.”
“What is?”
“You seem awfully considerate. I didn’t think that was your nature.”
I was idly answering while looking at my scuffed shoe — then looked up.
“What?”
“What what?”
“What’s your problem, Princess?”
“No problem.”
Really?
Maybe I was imagining things.
It was a very subtle feeling.
When I was a kid, if my uncle so much as coughed at the dinner table, I could tell what mood he was in.
This felt the same — peaceful words with something oddly tangled underneath.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No.”
“Is it uncomfortable sharing a space? Glory also asked to be left alone earlier.”
“Why would it be uncomfortable? We’re married.”
“Married?”
I couldn’t help but laugh — Rebecca smiled faintly too.
Not once since our contract marriage had I thought of it that way.
“Cut the awful jokes.”
“Awful, is it?”
“Come on, you think I’m awful too, don’t you? We only signed that contract because we both wanted to hunt demons.”
“True. Even if it were real, I’d be the one losing out.”
“I’d be the one losing.”
“I doubt it.”
“No, I would.”
“What nonsense. I’m eight years younger, and a princess. If it were real, you’d have to treat me like royalty.”
"..."
Whatever the case, even talking hypotheticals about that wasn’t pleasant.
“Right.”
I waved it off.
Knock knock!
Someone rapped at the door — when I opened it, a train staffer startled and bowed deeply.
“It’s an honor to serve a royal guest. My apologies for not realizing sooner.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I liked being able to travel quietly.”
“Shall I prepare a meal for you?”
“No, thank you.”
Rebecca smiled politely, all princess-like.
“You said you were hungry.”
When I asked, she shook her head.
On the [Mini-map], I could see train staff lined up against the corridor wall. 【Script】 chat read, Oh my, it’s the princess. That’s Dante... and so on.
I’d gotten plenty of looks like that in Redmilk too — plenty of people curious about what was between Rebecca and me.
Then blood dripped from Rebecca’s nose.
A lot of it.
It ran down her chin and stained her white clothes.
“Ah.”
The aftereffects of her internal injuries hadn’t fully healed.
Rebecca wiped at it with the back of her hand — I pulled a tissue from the box and handed it over. She took it and dabbed at her nose. Then she said—
“When it’s someone else bleeding, you wipe it for them — but with me, you just hand me a tissue?”
Someone else?
Thinking about it, that could only mean Eve.
“So what do you want me to do?”
“Something. You need to get in the habit now so it looks natural when others are watching. Don’t you know there are eyes on our compartment?”
Get in the habit...
Absurd — but maybe worth considering. I was keeping too much distance from her. The most I’d ever done was link arms before the king.
“...Fine.”
Not thrilled about it, but I decided to act friendly in advance.
Tissue in hand, I approached Rebecca to wipe near her upper lip where the red had spread.
She was looking away, which made it less awkward — my hand was just about to touch her mouth when—
Bang!
The door burst open — Eve again. I pulled my hand back and turned to her.
“What now? Glory kick you out again?”
Eve grinned and signed — Glory had cried himself to sleep, and she was bored.
'Then stay here.'
'Okay!'
I relayed that to Rebecca.
“Let her do as she wants.”
Eve gave Rebecca a half-bow and sat beside me.
The compartment had a stack of picture books on the side shelf — Eve pulled one out and held it to me.
'What’s it about?'
Since she still wasn’t great with written words, I had to translate the contents to her in sign language.
I could feel glances now and then — Rebecca, who’d stared out the window when we were alone, was now watching over here.
“What? Want me to read you a picture book too?”
“...I can read.”
“I know.”
So I only read to Eve.
Rebecca didn’t say another word after that.
“......”