Volume 3 - CH 5

It hardly felt real.

The moon, bright in the sky, reflected upon the soft waves of the river. The faint lights from the city were reflected back at it, too, but they seemed to disappear like bright dots on the surface.

It was the dead of night. So dark that it seemed to swallow the city’s lights.

Ryner Lute was standing on a large wooden bridge utop the river.

His hair lacked direction and his eyes lacked motivation. He had his back to the railing and was staring absently into the sky.

“Ahh… I woke up at a weird time,” he mumbled to himself, depressed. “I knew that going two days without eating or sleeping was a terrible idea… What time even is it?”

He moved his neck around to search for a clock tower, but he didn’t see any. When he looked back, he saw the same scenery: the river carrying on endlessly, as if removed from reality.

Then he looked to the left. The residential area was as silent and as dark as death. He stared into that darkness for some time, but he still couldn’t see a clock tower.

Then he looked to his right.

“Hm?”

His eyes narrowed just so. At some point, a girl had appeared there. She had red hair down to her shoulders, big red eyes, and a pretty face with full lips. She looked about… fourteen or fifteen, maybe?

She had a dark expression, as if her thoughts were tormenting her.

She stood up, onto the railing of the bridge, where it looked like she might fall into the river below… 

She was, without a doubt, planning to end her life by jumping into the river.

Then they locked eyes.

“Wh-what!” She said, “You can’t stop me! I’m serious about this.”

The air was tense around them.

All she needed was a cue. Then she’d jump full-force through the wintry air and fall far to her death in the cold river below, that serious expression still on her face. She’d already steeled her resolve.

Ryner had two options.

One: Try to persuade her to come down.

Two: Go for all or nothing and try to remove her from the rails.

He stared for a moment, the two choices spinning in his head. 

He thought, and thought, and thought… then raised his face to look back up at the sky.

“…Who gives a shit about what time it is,” he mumbled. “Looking for a clock tower’s such a pain… More importantly, I wonder if I can find somewhere to eat in the middle of the night like this?”

……Was that supposed to be the second option?  

“That’s not the pooiiinnntt!” The girl yelled, far louder than her cute face would imply that she was capable of.

Ryner looked at her with a gloomy expression. “Huh? What’s not the point?”

“H-how are you even asking me that…? I can’t believe you!”

“Me? I’m Ryner Lute, currently starving…”

“No one asked you to introduce yourself!”

“Ugh, god… So you’re the type of person who’s always telling other people to do what they want them to do. What a pain. So? You started talking to me. What do you want?”

Her face reddened. “No, um, well… I’m a lovely fourteen year old girl who still doesn’t know anything about the world, and I’m about to jump into this river, you know? Any adult in their right mind would try to stop me.”

“It’s a pain so I don’t wanna.”

“It’s not a paaiiiinnn!” She yelled, clenching her fists.

Ryner looked around, uneasy. “Hey, kid. People are trying to sleep.”

“Oh, so you’re in your right mind about that!?” She snapped. But the despair-ridden expression that’d plagued her before was gone. She was full of energy now.

Ryner sighed. “Anyway, kid. Jokes aside.”

“Don’t call me a kid! It’s Wazer. Wazer Nether.”

“Hmph. Alright, Wazer. See, I’m currently dying of starvation. That’s why I need something to eat—”

“I thought you were done joking around! Augh, talking to you makes my head hurt… Normally, we’d start from the beginning here, right? You’d ask about my story, and I’d tell you all about my past and the scars it’s left on me, and then we’d reach some mutual understanding, and it’d plant the seeds of love or friendship or whatever. It’d have a happy ending.”

“…You read too much fiction.”

“Don’t look down on meee!”

Ryner sighed. “This kid sure yells a lot,” he mumbled to himself. 

Wazer sat down on the rails stubbornly, refusing to move off the rails, then crossed her arms. “Alright.”

Ryner tilted his head. “‘Alright’ what?”

“Isn’t it obvious!? I’m going to tell you my story! Make up for your past mistakes by hearing me out. I’m ready to tell you the story of why a lovely fourteen year old girl would try to throw herself off this bridge to kill herself.”

Ryner was quiet for a moment before sighing again. “I feel like my head’s the one that’s hurting over here… Why is everyone I meet like this lately?”

“Hm? Do you have scars, too? Maybe romantic ones?”

“Like hell I do,” Ryner said. Then he looked back up at the dark sky and shrugged. “Well, whatever. It’s not like any restaurants are open now anyway. I’ve got time to kill, so I’ll hear you out. So why’d you try to kill yourself?”

“You’ll listen to me!?”

Ryner nodded. “Yeah.”

As she thought about it, Wazer’s expression turned just as dark as it had been when he first saw her. She was silent for a moment before speaking. “I wanted you to listen, but I really don’t know where to start. I didn’t think anyone would actually listen to me. I have so much to say, but when I try to say it, nothing comes out… Where do I start?”

“Hm. If you don’t have anything to say, then I’m leaving,” Ryner said, and moved to do just that.

Wazer quickly jumped down from the railing and grabbed him tightly by the arm. “I thought you were going to listen to me?” She said, and her eyes grew wet. 

She stared and stared, her eyes boring into him… 

He heaved his biggest sigh yet. “This has become an ordeal… Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll listen. That’s all you want, right? Start from the beginning. What happened that started all of this?”

Wazer’s eyes sparkled. “The beginning… the beginning, huh. I had this piano, see.”

“Yeah, okay, a piano. Like the kind you play,” Ryner said. But he was only saying enough so that it sounded like he was interested. He didn’t actually care.

“Yes, that kind of piano. See, my mama and papa are famous pianists here in Iyet,” she said happily. “They’re really good. They can play all kinds of songs - beautiful ones, sad ones, fun ones, happy ones… So I’ve always liked the piano, too.”

Ryner yawned.

“I’ve played the piano for as long as I can remember. My parents taught me, and it was so fun. They said that I was really talented… And I was happy when I was praised for it, so I practiced, and practiced…”

She paused for a moment before continuing. “I started participating in a lot of competitions when I turned ten so that I could win medals. But I didn’t really want to win anything, you know? That’s not why I was practicing. But my parents praised me when I won them, so… And besides, I loved playing the piano so much. So I played and played, so that I could make the same elegant sounds that my parents made someday… “

Then her expression changed, suddenly warping with sadness. “And yet… and yet…”

Her left arm began to shiver, so she grasped it with her right. “Four months ago, at a concert, I’d just finished my performance. But then there was an accident - the candlestick on my piano fell on my left arm, and since then, since then…”

Tears began to fall from her eyes, slowly at first, but then they fell quickly, as if the dam holding them back had collapsed. “Since then, I haven’t been able to move my fingers very well…”

Ryner was silent for a long moment. He gazed at the girl, eyes narrowed, and waited until her tears had calmed to speak. “So you wanted to kill yourself because you can’t play the piano anymore?”

“I love the piano!” Wazer said. “It’s my everything!  Playing the piano, having my parents praise me… That’s all I need to be happy. I don’t need the competitions. I mean, I definitely can’t compete in them now… But if I could just play enough to make me happy… And yet… It’s not just me. My parents look so sad when they see me trying to play the piano. They tell me that it’s okay, but I… I was just playing because it made me happy. I don’t want people to watch me like it’s a shame, but they always, always do… Just me being there makes them…”

“So you want to kill yourself? That’s a pretty stupid reason,” Ryner spat.

Wazer was surprised. “Huh?”

Ryner ran a hand through his hair. “Aah… I can’t believe you’d make me listen to such a boring story while I’m over here starving…”

“Boring!? Why would you say that!?”

“Oh, did I make you mad? Sorry.”

She glared at him, tears pricking at her eyes a second time. “Wh-what’s with you? You’re totally unmotivated to help me… People who live their normal lives without any problems can’t understand me!”

Ryner’s expression hardened. “Yeah… that’s true. I’m not you, so I obviously can’t understand your feelings. To be blunt, whether you live or die has absolutely nothing to do with me.”

“I-I…”

Ryner raised an eyebrow. “What? So you wanted me to stop you since the beginning?”

“N, no, but…”

“Then do it. You might think I’m living a casual life, but I’m really busy staring up at the sky and wondering what I’m gonna do to keep myself from starving to death, so I’m gonna leave. Sorry for bothering you. See, you can jump now. Personally, I think that’s the easy way out, so that makes it okay, right? Bye.” With that, Ryner turned his back to her.

“You’re horrible…”

Ryner took one step, then stopped. “Oh, but… I have just one thing to say before I go. My life might be stupid, but… I know tons of people who have problems way worse than yours. People whose whole families were killed. People who had no choice but to kill their families. People who live their lives by sacrificing themselves for others, all wrapped up in their own thoughts and unable to escape. And people who always, always thought they had no choice but to be alone…”

Ryner continued. “But those people are all alive right now, even though dying would have been easier. Do you think that’s stupid? Don’t you wonder why they don’t kill themselves, since their lives are miserable anyway? Honestly… I’ve thought about that. Dying would be easier. Abandoning everything and escaping on your own is easier. Why can’t we just do that and eat and sleep and eat and sleep forever? Everyone who doesn’t think that is stupid. They’re all taking the hard way…”

Ryner paused before resuming. “But… but that’s just me, looking at it from the outside. I don’t hate them. Actually, it pisses me off when people look down on them.”

“So… you’re telling me that it’d piss you off if I died here…?”

Ryner didn’t turn back to face her. “That’s why I said that I don’t get you. I don’t understand what it’s like to be you. Anyway, I’m…” 

Then she hugged him from behind, burying her face in his back. “Thank you… I don’t have anyone who would have said that to me. Everyone’s just pitied me ever since I got injured, like I myself am something to pity, even though I’m okay… I’m more than liking the piano. You’re right - I was running away. I feel really stupid about wanting to kill myself now.”

Her hugging him like that and saying such a thing was kinda… 

“Uhh, um.” Ryner grimaced. “I feel like I just did something super out of character… I thought the early bird was supposed to get the worm. This is the opposite of that. I got all wrapped up in this instead of getting food… I’m hungry…”

Even so, he smiled a bit bitterly, and reached his hand back to pat her head…

“Huh?”

His body acted on instinct, moving his hand as he felt a strange sensation.

It was in his pocket. The very pocket that he kept his wallet in. Her hand was in it, so he grabbed her by the arm.

Ryner was confused beyond belief. “What’s that supposed to mean…?”

He pulled her by the arm, bringing her in front of him. Wazer’s tearful face from before was gone. Now she looked like she’d been caught with her hand in a cookie jar. He just stared.

Wazer, meanwhile, was glaring full-force at him. “Fuck, I messed up! I was sure that my master’s swindling trick #42 would nab me some cash!” She said, her words somehow at odds with her flustered tone.

Ryner pressed a hand to his face. He was getting dizzy. “Haah? Master? Swindling? Uuh… Are you kidding me? This is what we’re doing? You made me say tons of embarrassing things for this? I’m done. I’m so done. Dying would be so much easier. The river is calling my name…”

That kind of contradicted everything he just said, though… 

“Shit! Let go of my arm! Pervert!” She yelled, so that someone might hear her.

“No, you need to get your hands off of my cash first.”

“Are you joking!? A lovely and youthful fourteen year old girl like me should be paid to hug a useless man like you, so that’s my money.”

“What kind of reasoning is that…?”

Ryner’s voice trailed off. Because he suddenly felt a massive, terrifying murderous aura from behind.

He jumped back. “What!?”

Agh, shit, there were more? Ryner cursed his own thoughtlessness. He could tell that his opponent was strong just by their aura. That’s what his perception was telling him.

If he faced them head-on… he’d be killed!?

He had to do something.

A sharp sound approached him, and there was nothing Ryner could do to dodge it. It was headed straight for his head.

“Whoa!?”

He was sent flying, and when he hit the ground, he rolled. Then he turned to face his assailant. 

“……Ah…”

He was speechless.

A familiar beauty was standing casually by the railing of the bridge. Her blonde hair was shining in the dim light of the moon, and her blue eyes were clear. She was the perfect picture of beauty in the dark scene surrounding her… but her expression was as nonexistent as always. In one hand, she held the sword that she’d just smacked Ryner upside the head with. In her other hand was skewered dango, which she was presently eating.

“Umm… so, uhh… well.” That was about as intelligent of a reply as Ryner could manage. He wanted to yell, but he just couldn’t find the words. Not until he calmed down and took a deep breath. “Ferris!? Youuuu! Where the hell did you come from!”

She looked at him like he was stupid, then pointed up at the sky. “Do you see that?”

“See what?”

“The moon, obviously,” she said, with no intonation whatsoever. “The moon is beautiful tonight. When one thinks of a beautiful night such as this, they think of…”

“Yeah, I know,” Ryner said, because really, it was predictable. “You want to eat dango while watching the moon, right? I’m not surprised in the slightest when you do things like this for dango. But that’s not what I was asking. I was asking where you came from. How’d you manage to hide long enough to get that hit in!”

Ferris sheathed her sword with a practiced hand. Then she nodded. “Mmh. It was extremely simple. The moon is beautiful tonight, which means that the reflection of the moon on the river will be beautiful as well. It is only natural that I would bring dango and tea to it. I of course removed my sword to gather my tea and dango from my waist. Then a perverted sex fiend apperared. Then he said that he would capture that fourteen year old girl.

“‘Hmph, aren’t you a cute girl,’ he said, ‘You’ll fetch a pretty penny.

“‘No!’ She cried. ‘Forgive me! I won’t do anything bad anymore! I’ll listen when my mom tells me what to do, so please! Please don’t sell me!’

“‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Wazer. Your family is too poor, and your mama is good for nothing.’

“‘H-help me! God! Angels! Anyone! Someone, please, save me!’

“And so she arrives - the beautiful angel who will save the world,” Ferris finished.

Ryner was at his limit. “I seee. I get what you’re saying. Wait a sec, umm… Where do I even start? It’s all wrong, but the most wrong part is that there are more characters than just us…? And what’s up with the beautiful angel thing? What else was there…?”

Wazer, who had been watching them in a daze, suddenly came to her senses. “I-I can get away while they…” 

But! Even though Ryner was still laying on the ground from Ferris’ attack, his arm moved quickly, as if it belonged to someone else entirely. He drew a magic circle of light in the air. “I wish for thunder - Lightning Flash.”

Light gathered in the center of the circle, then lightning shot out in front of Wazer.

“Wawagh!?”

“If you’re gonna run away, at least give me my money back,” Ryner said, tired. “That’s all of my allowance… Ferris won’t give me any more, so I’ll really die of starvation if I don’t get that back.” He sounded awfully pitiful for someone who just fired off such a showy spell.

Ferris looked like she was shocked. “You bastard… To think that you’d fallen so far as to not only attack girls, but also to steal from them…”

“That’s my money!”

“No, if I remember correctly, that is the money that I personally blessed you with.”

“Stop omitting details and picking fights with me!” Ryner yelled.

Ferris nodded, satisfied with herself. “Mm. Now, enough fun and games.”

“None of that was fuuuun! Ugh, I hate this. I’m always being pulled around by the chain with you. Always, always,” Ryner grumbled to himself.

Ferris ignored his whining and looked at Wazer emotionlessly. “Tell us about that ‘master’ you mentioned before.”

“Hah? Master?” Ryner repeated. “You were listening in from the very start, weren’t you!”

But Ferris ignored him. “I won’t forgive anyone who would make a sweet and cute girl like you his apprentice in thievery.”

Ryner was shocked. “Huh? What? Ferris, did you just say something admirable? Don’t tell me you want to save Wazer from a criminal organi—”

“You’ve exhausted your ‘master’s’ life,” Ferris continued. “You don’t know who you are, laying your hands on my money like this. Though I have no idea how much it is, that money is to be mine. Now call your master. If you don’t, your head will float down the stream of this lovely moonlit river.”

She unsheathed her sword just enough for the sound to threaten Wazer. 

It was all pretty crazy. First she said that she was here to save Wazer, and now this. It ran contrary to everything she just said and did… 

Ryner squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. “Just when I was starting to have a better opinion of you, you’re making me look like an idiot again…”

“Mm. You were an idiot even before I made you look like it.”

“Shut ittt,” Ryner said, then finally stood. “But this is a good plan. We can never have too much money… Alright, Wazer. Lead the way, unless you want this violent woman to cut your head off… ah, no, you’re not violent, sorry. Please don’t send my head flying, too.”

Wazer shivered as they moved closer to her. “W-wait, Ryner,” she started, as if begging him. “What happened to saying that her ‘wanting to save a sweet and cute girl’ was admirable? Listen, wouldn’t the protagonist normally be on the side of justice in this scenario? You should be saying that you won’t forgive them for using me to steal! You really want to say that and save me, right?”

“You read too much fiction.”

And so the hope and dreams left Wazer’s sweet and cute eyes, crushed by Ryner and Ferris. “Ah, I knew it,” she said. “There are no gods or angels in this world…”

That aside.

“I still have my master, though,” she said and grinned with a sudden but empowered expression. That alone was proof of how much she trusted this master of hers. She was triumphant despite the odds. “You’d better be shaking in fear, ‘cause when my master comes, it’s over for you! All I have to do is play my magic flute, and my master will teleport here and save me!”

Ryner’s eyes widened. “T-teleportation!? You’re telling me that the Iyet Republic has teleportation magic? Forget difficult - every country’s been researching it, and no one has succeeded! We’ve all been assuming that it’s impossible. If you can really use it, then that means…”

Wazer laughed fearlessly. “Surprised? Oh, but don’t get the wrong idea. My master is the only one who can use teleportation magic. You can try to make up for everything all you want, but I won’t forgive you. Live in horror!”

She blew with all her might. A sharp sound pierced the night sky. 

Ryner tensed. Ferris rested her hand on the hilt of her sword.

“……”

“………”

“…………”

“……………Hmph. I will continue to eat my dango and watch the moon, then.”

“Oh, good idea. I said this before, too, but I’m starving. Can I have some dango?”

“Mm. Have some. I have tea as well.”

“Ooh! Really?”

And so Ryner and Ferris began to watch the moon.

Wazer just stood there, the triumphant smile on her face…

“……”

Maybe an hour passed?

Tears were forming at the corner of Wazer’s eyes, though she was still smiling as she watched the rare occasion before her. It was time spent drinking tea… at least for Ryner and Ferris.

But then, a loud sound started up in the distance.

“……zzeeerrrr… zeeerrr….”

It was a voice.

Wazer smiled widely. “Th-this voice… It’s my master! My master came for me!”

Ryner looked in the direction of the voice. Now it was close enough to be heard clearly.

“Waaaazzzeeeeeeerrr!”

A single woman frantically jumped into view with incredible vigor.    

Ferris poured Ryner his fourth cup of tea. “Is that what they call teleportation these days?”

Ryner shrugged. “Hm. I guess it’s new enough. Thanks for the tea, by the way,” he said and sipped.

Wazer glared at them and the warm atmosphere that surrounded them. Her expression said it all: she was sure that she’d already won. “Ha ha haa! It’s time to pay your tribute! Your enjoyable evening is over now that my master is here! Now, I’ll be having your leftovers…”

Her voice was cut off by her Master’s. “What were you thinking, calling thyne master out here in the middle of the niiiiggghhhhtttt!!”

Wazer’s master slammed a fist into Wazer’s head, sending her flying and knocking her out cold. 

Ryner and Ferris just watched, dumbfounded.

They honestly didn’t give a shit about Wazer. The problem was the fact that they knew her master.

Her master was a woman with long black hair who was dressed as a shrine maiden. She’d just run a long way so she was out of breath and her face was all red, but even then it was obvious that she was drop-dead gorgeous, just like Ferris was. She was about sixteen or seventeen. Her face was perfect and her skin was smooth. She was Estella Fiuerelle. They knew her, alright… and every time she showed her face, she was always a pain in the ass.

She was the head of a massive swindling organization in the Iyet Republic, and she was having an all-out fight with Ferris to determine which one of them was prettier. Basically, Ryner was already suffering just by the fact that she was there. He prepared himself to be swept up in her and Ferris’ maelstrom of trouble, but… 

Estella spoke in a hazy tone, like she was still half-asleep. “You have quite the spine, waking the sleeping goddess up from her beautiful dreams, Wazer. I had only just gone to bed after a long day of work, and the second I fell asleep, you woke me… And after everything, you are the one who gets to sleep deeply!? Why, I… I, I, I, I…!”

She’d been the one who’d put her to sleep, though… But that didn’t stop her from continuing her attack. She removed Wazer’s belongings with a practiced hand, one piece after another. She was only satisfied after she’d taken everything that Wazer had.

“Now you will see! And I will go sleep! I am going home and sleeping. Should you wake me again… I will sell you at a high price, just as I do to stones on the side of the street!”

With that, Estella briskly walked away, not even sparing them a glance. Ferris and Ryner just watched her, then turned their eyes to Wazer, who was still unconscious… 

Ryner was the first to speak. “I guess being a thief’s pretty hard work…”

“Hm. I’m more bothered by the fact that Estella made off with my money along with everything Wazer owns. Though that has nothing to do with me now.”

“Shit, that’s right! Wazer did have my money, didn’t she!? Ferris, you bastard! You should’ve said so earlier!”

Ferris was pleased. “Heheh. I am different from the likes of Estella. A divine beauty such as myself, of whom both heaven and earth prostrate themselves before, has no need for petty change.”

“That’s my money!”

“Mm? A perverted sex fiend such as yourself would complain about me?”

“That’s not the point! Ugh, what the hell. What does that prostrating stuff even mean? Like, do people normally say that stuff about themselves?”

Ferris’ usually expressionless face suddenly reddened. Then her hand moved to her sword.

“Uwah! Shit… it’s coming! You shouldn’t attack me just because you’re embarrassed, asshole! It’s okay, it’s okay… I won’t lose this time!” He squared up on the side of the bridge.

Ferris stared at him for a moment, then looked down to the river, then to the horizon. “Hm. Dawn will soon break.”

“…Huh? What? You’re not mad?”

“I can’t get angry. I’m in a good mood.” She absolutely did not look like she was in a good mood, talking in monotone with a blank face… but whatever.

“You’re in a good mood…? Why?” Ryner asked.

“Alright. I’ll share a bit of my happiness with you. You see, I heard a hilarious story.”

Ryner tilted his head. “Really?”

Ferris nodded. “Mm. You’ll die laughing. It begins with a man and a girl. You see, the girl tried to kill herself, and the man said some hilarious things to try to stop her…”

Ryner’s insides iced over. “Don’t tell me that you’re talking about earlier…”

Ferris continued, completely ignoring Ryner’s feelings. “If I recall correctly, the embarrassing man said, ‘Oh, but… I have just one thing to say before I go. My life might be stupid, but…”

“Waaarghwaghwaaghhwwwaaaa!! Wh-wh-wh-why are you saying that out loud!?”

“Hm? I just felt that I had a duty to properly record history. And history said, ‘People who always, always thought they had no choice but to be alone…’”

“Gyaaaahhhh keep talking and I’m going to die! I’m seriously gonna die! I’m begging you, so please forgive me!!” Ryner yelled, his face beet red. “How do you even remember that word-for-word!?”

Ferris nodded. “It was so monumental that I felt the need to record it in my memo.”

“Throw it ouuuttt!!”

Ferris moved faster than he’d ever seen before. She seemed to disappear from the world entirely. Then she reappeared on the other side of the bridge. “I can’t do that,” she said. “It’s an extremely important matter. I will make sure that it reaches Sion safe and sound…”

A shadow fell over Ryner’s expression. His motivationless face turned serious. “I dedicate the words of our contract - give birth to the beast of malice sleeping within the earth!” A spell activated through letters he drew in the air. His body was wrapped in light, and he became far faster than before. “I’m not letting that happeeeennnn!”

Ryner flew towards Ferris on the other side of the bridge.

And then the bridge grew quiet, like the calm after a storm… All that was there was the water moving far below the bridge. 

The night was giving way to the sun as a new day rose upon the Iyet Republic.

---

Wazer finally opened her eyes that afternoon. She used her newfound consciousness to buy a pebble from Estella after being fed lies about it. It cost a month of her salary.

“Yes! I’ve finally bought the stone of happiness! I can finally be happy!” She yelled, having successfully escaped her hard and cold reality.