Episode 72 – Triche (2)
“What’s your true identity?”
“Is that all you think about my answer?”
In her eyes, reflecting the glow of the crackling campfire, I could see my own form.
“… I’m not a fool… I wouldn’t deliberately go out of my way to become your enemy.”
“You’re more cautious than you look.”
Triche smirked at the corner of her mouth.
“What about me?”
“Hmph… That’s enough about you. I actually have several jobs, and among them, I’ve taken care of healing people before.”
“Are you a doctor?”
“… In a way, you could say I am.”
Triche paused for a moment. After contemplating while looking at the end of the campfire, she opened her mouth again.
“I want to hear your thoughts.”
“What is it?”
“Healing… Does it only count as complete healing if you save a person’s life?”
“… Healing is fundamentally about curing illness or injuries, so doesn’t that make sense?”
I stated the extremely ordinary definition of healing that was in my head.
“… As I thought…”
Triche muttered under her breath, perhaps expecting my reaction. Although the surroundings were quiet, I could hear her.
“Then what do you think healing is?”
“Healing is… curing the illness of someone who is sick to bring them comfort.”
“That’s not much different from what I said, is it?”
“It’s different. Just hear me out.”
Triche spoke firmly.
“What if… you were in a situation where you couldn’t heal someone with any illness, or the disease was incurable even with the best medical skills currently available? What would you do?”
“… If there’s nothing that can be done after trying everything…”
“Wouldn’t you want to keep trying to heal them even if there’s no hope?”
Triche and I spoke the same line.
Could it be that Triche has the ability to read my thoughts?
“… How did—”
“How did I know? It’s simple… I have a habit of observing people, and I knew you would say something like this. It was just a test, like you did earlier. A timid revenge.”
I’m afraid that if we keep poking at each other like this, we might actually end up hurting each other in a different way.
“… Well, anyway. This still doesn’t change my stance, does it?”
“Not yet… The difference between you and me is, you only make the patient better, and I bring the patient comfort away from the sickness.”
Triche crossed her legs.
And resting her chin on the crossed leg, she continued.
“My healing… begins with taking a life.”
“Th-that’s… like euthanasia?”
“You could say that, in terms of providing rest…”
“… I’m starting to feel a bit scared of you.”
“… Is that so? But upon reconsideration, perhaps death might indeed offer the truest healing.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I asked her about her intentions as the atmosphere grew increasingly strange.
“I was just saying something. As the dawn approaches, I find myself becoming emotional without realizing it.”
With the end of this quiet conversation, a pleasant silence flowed between us.
In the dawn, the harmonious silence of nature blended with the artificial crackling of the campfire.
We remained close to the campfire, unable to drift away from it.
It was still that time before the sun set and sunrise began, with the chill of the dusk lingering.
In the middle of a world that seemed to be asleep, we shared the same campfire, even sharing the sound of its crackling.
The calm vibe from that moment made me gradually forget the warnings I always heard from Chaewon about not letting my guard down within the Gate.
Simply put… I had relaxed my guard.
This flowing pleasant stillness settled my complicated feelings.
Perhaps Triche felt the same way.
I never imagined that I could gain energy from staying up all night, an act that shortens one’s lifespan.
The serenity that can only be felt in nature flowed in the ambiance around us.
“… Hey.”
In that flow, Triche broke my calming silence and asked me.
“It seems like you have nothing else to say, so can I take it as my turn now?”
“Your turn?”
“The act of asking a curious question. Isn’t it my turn to ask you? I don’t think it’s fair if I’m the only one answering questions.”
“Y-yeah… Just ask whatever, as long as it’s not awkward, I can answer anything.”
“Really?… Still, be careful with that ‘anything’ statement.”
“I did say as long as it’s not awkward…”
She moved a little closer to me.
It wasn’t a full attachment, but if it was originally about 50cm apart, now it was about 20cm.
Triche’s light purple hair kept capturing my attention.
It felt as though she was from a fantastical world.
Or maybe she actually came from a fantasy world within the Gate.
The beautiful sparkle of her light purple hair reflecting the dawn light gave off a dreamlike feeling, as if starlight was dancing.
Her skin, only illuminated by the rough light of the campfire, appeared clear and transparent, blending seamlessly with her unique purple hair, making her look almost like a beautiful doll.
With a unique aura and a sophisticated hairstyle, she could definitely catch the attention of onlookers in a busy marketplace during lunchtime.
The maid outfit she wore gave off a slightly refreshing vibe.
I could say that her maid outfit, tailored to fit her body, suited her well.
Uniforms adorned with frills, lace, and ribbons appeared even more unique because of their purple color.
It still remained unclear whether this world had a fixed dress code of wearing butler outfits for men and maid outfits for women or if it was just Violet’s mansion that was peculiar.
“… When I first heard about you from others, you were introduced as a guest from outside, like a foreigner coming to the mansion…”
“Ah… It was Alunus, wasn’t it? They did mention that when I first saw you. Why’s that?”
“The human called a foreigner, who doesn’t even know the human nation ‘Ring Guard’? There are many odd points about you: your clothing, your appearance, and finally, the notion of being a guest from outside.”
Triche lifted her skirt slightly.
In an instant, I saw her bare skin and almost lost my rationality, but recovered quickly.
Because of the two daggers on her garter belt.
No, now just one.
One remained on the garter belt, while the other was held in Triche’s hand.
That dagger seemed to be more specialized for stabbing rather than slashing.
Of course, it could slash, but it appeared to be focused entirely on piercing.
Triche was pointing the specialized dagger at me.
“… What about you? What’s your true identity?”
“… I suppose I don’t have to answer anything awkward, right?”
Hearing that, Triche pressed the blade even closer to me.
“Answer me.”
“This is a different conversation, isn’t it?”
“Are you out of your mind? Even with such a threat before you, you refuse to speak.”
She hesitated for a moment at my strong demeanor and then retracted the dagger.
She lifted her skirt again and placed the dagger back onto her garter belt.
“… Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“… I can’t help it. I thought the most unexpected place to hide a weapon would be under a skirt…”
Triche avoided my gaze and distanced herself again.
“Actually, it’s not particularly awkward… But before I say it, I’d like to know why you’re curious about this.”
“Is there a reason you have to be curious about something? I’m just curious. That’s all.”
“I see, I don’t really have anything to hide… I’m not from this world.”
“… Don’t lie. I understand that you might not want to share the truth, but if that’s the case, it’s better to say nothing at all. Why are you so intent on lying?”
Triche was giving me the look that suggested she didn’t believe my words.
But it was not a lie.
“Really, how can I make you believe me?”
“Is there any way to convince me that you’re from another world? That kind of lie… I’ll remember that it’s a better strategy than I thought.”
“Seriously, even if I’m really not from here… You said it yourself. A person who doesn’t know the human country… all the evidence and so on.”
“That’s…”
“Do you think I’m just acting? I can’t believe it. You must have noticed that I lack some common sense here?”
“Oh, maybe it’s simply because you’re foolish?”
“I can’t take this.”
I fell deep into thought, trying to come up with a way to prove myself to Triche.
We pondered for quite some time while keeping the night watch.
It was obvious that Triche was thinking about the same topic.
Was I truly from another world?
What could be the way to prove it?
The way to prove it… would be to show something that exists only in my world but not in this one.
It took me a long time to reach this conclusion.
Morning was already approaching.
Maybe it was because I stayed up all night; my brain wasn’t sharp.
“The clothes I’m wearing—”
“That could just be something designed to look unique.”
“I can’t find a way to prove it. Let’s just consider that a lie.”
“You’re a liar.”
As the sun rose, Ilya emerged from the tent made of tents, rubbing her eyes.
“Ugh… Isn’t camping at night too cold?… How was it for you? Oh?”
The reason Ilya was complaining about the cold was that Chaewon had been hugging her like a pillow while they slept.
Before I could ask why a ghost sleeps or doesn’t sleep, Ilya’s reaction was a bit strange.
“Weren’t you two… not sleeping at all last night? Those dark circles under your eyes are crazy!”
“Uh, we were standing watch—”
“What were you doing awake at night! No way… did you two end up mating?! We’re supposed to get married! This is cheating! Isn’t cheating prohibited? Making a baby out here?!”
Ignoring my words entirely, Ilya jumped to conclusions.
Ilya woke up in the morning with a grand misunderstanding.
We had to tidy up this situation and set out on our journey once more.
