In the embrace of nature, time passed quickly after a long absence.
Having become accustomed to living hidden in the land of unknown humans, Roarock would naturally leave the cave he made his home every morning to hunt for food as the sun rose.
During this time, Nerwen remained in their dwelling, either tending to her wounds while waiting for Roarock to return with food or gathering the fruits and acorns she had picked in advance.
It was a stroke of luck to find drinking water not far away. Thanks to Roarock’s lighter, they were able to feel warm even in the cooler forest nights.
However, as this peaceful life continued day after day, there came a point when weariness crept in.
“Damn it.”
Such was the state of Roarock Ironhammer now. Roarock disposed of all the ammunition that had rusted or had become unusable from moisture seeping into the gunpowder inside.
What remained was a single bullet that had already been chambered in the gun. It would have been better not to have any at all.
“Ugh… damn it! For crying out loud!”
Roarock scratched his beard irritably while venting his frustration. He refrained from firing the gun for fear of alerting the humans, and thoughts of ‘If I had known I would waste ammunition like this, I would have just used it recklessly—’ began to consume him.
Not long ago, it had been unexpectedly pouring rain, which Roarock found frustrating. He sighed heavily.
It had been a mistake to keep the gun and ammunition right by his head while sleeping, ready to respond to sudden situations. While frantically trying to repair the dwelling amid the downpour, water that had seeped in from the ground had flowed directly toward the ammunition.
“How stupid…”
He should have widened the drainage earlier. Being in human territory, he never thought about the average rainfall or climate here, which had led to this predicament.
In a way, he had been too complacent.
Roarock roughly stuffed the now unusable bullets, which lay uselessly on the floor, into a leather pouch.
Although it was pointless at the moment, he thought there might come a time when they could be useful again.
“Roarock…”
Suddenly, a weak voice echoed from deep within the dark cave. Roarock hastily tossed the leather pouch aside and quickly walked into the cave.
“Cough! Water….”
“…Nerwen.”
It was Nerwen, the elf he had met here for the first time. The wound on her thigh had healed, but as time passed, her condition became more and more ghastly, complicating Roarock’s thoughts.
Roarock immediately brought over a water container. He poured water into a wooden mug he had skillfully crafted and handed it to Nerwen.
“Ugh… thanks.”
Nerwen received the mug with a faint smile. Seeing her like that made Roarock unable to suppress his gloomy feelings.
“Damn… when are you going to get better?”
“……”
“Your wounds have all healed, but why do you keep suffering? I need to know what the problem is.”
“Haha…”
“Don’t give me that! Stop smiling and answer me!”
Roarock’s face scrunched up in frustration. He wasn’t angry at Nerwen, but he was indeed angry.
“Don’t be angry, Roarock.”
“……”
Nerwen shook her head gently, still maintaining her smile. Seeing her like that only made Roarock angrier.
Eventually, Roarock turned away. He was fed up with the war that had brought them to this point, and he was frustrated and angry at himself for having developed feelings despite knowing the outcome.
‘Humans at least have religious folks who can provide first aid… Damn it! Why don’t we have that?!’
What made Roarock more angry was that he was entertaining impossible scenarios in his mind to relieve the ever-pressing frustration.
For example, a passing human priest comes to help. Or he wakes up from a nap to find that Nerwen is completely healed.
Or, a rescue team arrives right now to save them.
– Crack—
All of it was impossible. Roarock clenched his rough fists. He hated that he could do nothing for the ailing Nerwen.
Just then, a soft voice flowed from behind him, tickling his ear.
“…Roarock. Roarock Ironhammer.”
“Why do you call?”
Roarock answered bluntly without realizing it. Though he regretted it internally, he couldn’t show it on the outside.
“…I’m sorry.”
Nerwen pressed a nail into Roarock’s chest.
“Because of me, you can’t go out to hunt freely… I’m really sorry…”
“…It’s not that. You ear-twitcher.”
“No, I know everything…”
Elves had the ability to vaguely read the feelings of others. That was part of their ability.
And Nerwen could faintly sense Roarock’s innermost thoughts. She understood that he was reducing his time outside to take care of her.
“It’s okay. You can go out…”
“……”
Nerwen gave Roarock a faint smile. She tried to show as bright a smile as possible, but it had turned into a sad smile instead.
Roarock’s beard trembled. Holding back something surging from within, he remained silent.
He felt that if he spoke now, the emotions he had restrained would burst forth at any moment.
Roarock didn’t particularly like Nerwen. He was wary of her because she was an elf, argued with her every time she said something annoying because she was an elf, and could share the hardships they faced on the battlefield because she was also an elf.
The more he tried to express his dislike for her, ironically, the more he accepted her. They were the only ones left to talk to and empathize with, making that an inevitable step.
“I’m fine, so you really can go out.”
“…Stop talking nonsense, ear-twitcher.”
As this lifestyle continued, Roarock inevitably began to see Nerwen as his only friend. Perhaps it was the same for Nerwen; her initially annoying tone had softened considerably over time.
Unable to utter further harsh words, Roarock finally collapsed in front of her. Nerwen raised her upper body slightly to face him.
“…Nerwen.”
“Cough! Why… do you call?”
“Uh, well… I feel a bit inappropriate saying this, but…”
Roarock had an instinctive feeling about how little time Nerwen had left.
And it was something that Nerwen, who called herself a child of nature, would know even better. Roarock scratched his neck awkwardly and asked.
“Not meaning anything in particular, but… if you were to die, how would you want to be buried?”
“…….”
Nerwen’s eyes widened in surprise. Until now, she had subtly brought up the subject of death, but each time, Roarock would explode in anger, saying ‘Don’t ever say that again!’ So, she had restrained herself recently.
Roarock still seemed uncomfortable with this question; his fingers fidgeted incessantly, and his eyes darted around. Watching him, Nerwen couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Pfft…”
“…Did you just laugh?”
“Oh, no… that’s not it. Pfft…”
“Wha—! I went through the trouble of bringing it up!”
Roarock glared at Nerwen in annoyance.
Although his way of expressing himself was clumsy, Roarock was right. His question stemmed from genuine consideration for Nerwen.
Elves firmly believe in the idea that lives born from nature return to nature. They see it as natural for life that originated from the earth to return to the earth.
As such, the funeral procedures and graves of elves exhibited unique features compared to the other two races. Roarock probably asked that question because he didn’t know much about elf customs.
It was joyful enough to delight in gathering food with their short limbs, but seeing him awkwardly trying to be considerate with such a blank expression was quite amusing.
After quite some time spent laughing, Nerwen finally wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyelids and managed to stop laughing. Roarock’s face was already flushed bright red.
“Haah… I’m sorry, Roarock.”
“Forget it. I dare you to talk to me again.”
“I’m really sorry. I’ll especially apologize first.”
“…You’re just a pain the moment you open your mouth.”
Despite grumbling, Roarock turned back to face Nerwen. Once again, Nerwen barely contained her laughter and opened her mouth.
“This may be greedy of me… but if I die, Roarock… I want you to bury me with your own hands.”
“That’s only natural. Who else would bury you besides me?”
“Cough! Yes, that’s right.”
Nerwen gazed dreamily outside the cave. The clear sunlight filtered through the green canopy, illuminating the cave’s entrance.
“…That’s right. It should be. Yes.”
“……”
They remained silent for a while. The gentle song of birds filled the quiet stillness.
After listening to the chirping of the birds for a while, it was Nerwen who broke the silence.
“…I want to be buried in nature.”
“In nature…”
“In a sunny spot where beautiful sunlight streams in, where such lovely green light faintly shines…. In a flat, round grassy meadow deep in the forest, surrounded by singing birds… a place that blesses my return to nature… that would be nice.”
“That’s quite long. My goodness…”
Roarock rolled his eyes in exasperation, but he had somehow started writing in an old notebook he had brought along with charcoal. He wanted to keep Nerwen’s words in mind without missing any details.
“Pfft…”
Seeing Roarock like that, Nerwen couldn’t help but burst out laughing again.
“Ah, ahaha…!”
“Hey…! Stop laughing!”
“Aha…! Ahaha!”
“Stop laughing, you fool!”
When was it that he had laughed so hard he felt pain in his stomach?
And when was it that he had dreamed of returning to nature, longing for the end he had long been wishing for instead of meeting a miserable last moment on the battlefield?
While such thoughts flowed through Nerwen’s mind, Roarock hesitated before speaking.
“When Elphir comes to find you later, can I move your grave?”
“…No. That’s not necessary.”
“…What?”
Roarock asked, bewildered. To him, Nerwen smiled brightly.
“I am fine here.”
“…Hey, Nerwen. If you’re buried in this remote place after you die, nobody will remember you.”
“I don’t care.”
“Hey, you….”
“But, Roarock. Surely you’ll remember me.”
“……”
“That’s enough for me.”
Roarock was left speechless. His beard twitched for a moment before finally coming to a standstill.
As he listened to Nerwen, she suddenly sensed a downpour and laid herself down. Her lips slowly parted.
“Roarock. I’m sorry for changing the subject. You don’t have to go hunting today, so let’s make one request.”
“…What is it?”
“How about we take a nap together?”
“Together?”
“Yeah. Just like when we first met… together.”
After a brief hesitation, Roarock lay down next to Nerwen without further ado. Perhaps he was quite tired; as soon as he lay down on the soft grass bed, he felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him.
Looking at Roarock, who was blinking sleepily, Nerwen, who had closed her eyes first, whispered softly.
“Good night, Roarock…”
“Yeah. Good night to you too.”
“Ugh….”
“Damn it…. I have to go hunting tomorrow. The food is running low…”
“Yeah…. Tomorrow, for sure….”
*
Roarock woke up to the chill in the morning air. The sound of chirping birds resonated in his ears.
“Ugh…! Damn it…. I slept through the entire day.”
What a foolish mistake. As he scolded himself, he also comforted himself with the thought, ‘I must have been really tired.’
Reaching out his short arms to stretch, Roarock gently shook Nerwen, who was lying beside him with her eyes closed.
“Hey, Nerwen. Wake up. It’s already morning.”
“……”
“Hey, Nerwen.”
Nerwen did not answer. Roarock slowly sat up from the bed.
“…Nerwen.”
Roarock’s thick fingers began to tremble uncontrollably. He placed his hand back on her arm.
“……”
Nerwen’s body was already cold, devoid of warmth.
Roarock slowly withdrew his hand from Nerwen’s arm.
“…Hey, Nerwen.”
Still, there was no reply. Roarock continued speaking as if he hadn’t expected her to answer from the start.
“Did you know? You were the most unlucky elf I’ve ever met…”
“……”
“Under the blessing of the mother mountains, a bearded dwarf man does not shed tears of sorrow.”
Roarock moved closer to the bed. Closer, and even closer, to face Nerwen directly.
“The tears shed by a dwarf man are hot enough to melt the minerals of the mountains.”
Nerwen’s expression, which had departed for another world, looked incredibly peaceful.
“So, the reason I’m crying now… is not because I’m sad.”
– Drop. Plop.
“Your body is cold, Nerwen. I will warm you with my tears.”
Tears flowing as hot as the wrath of the earth boiling beneath the mountains cascaded down Roarock’s beard and dripped onto Nerwen.
“…Thank you.”
In the forest, the small dwarf lost the only friend he had left.
It was exactly one year since he began living in this forest with Nerwen.
