Chapter 210
When I asked the Lef sergeant majors for their opinions, they said they would be delighted for me to search for a way back to the "surface world." However, about three of them had fallen ill and probably wouldn't be able to come along.
That was why they thought it would be dangerous for just Asha and me to go.
Even so, once they realized how firm our resolve was, they finally accepted our decision.
"What about Sumelia?"
When I returned to the mansion that night and asked Kimidori Mama, I was told that Sumelia had holed herself up in her room and would not come out.
At worst, we might not even be able to say goodbye...
We were planning to leave early the next morning.
"Come to think of it, Kimidori Gorn-san isn't here either."
"That child, huh? It seems they've found something they want to do, and they've been holed up in their room too, nu."
Ah, Gorn must be developing magic, I thought—
"It's just like when Gorn was conducting that incomprehensible research by the lakeside."
"..."
Still, it had to be better than the "boiled-egg classifier"...
"—Reiji-san."
While I was getting ready for the journey in my room, Asha spoke.
"What... do you think about Sumelia-chan? I... um, I think we should take her with us too."
It was an unexpected statement.
Although Sumelia and Asha could hardly be said to get along, if they traveled together, they would probably do nothing but fight.
"...Why?"
"I understand the loneliness of being left behind alone, and I understand how hard it is to be all alone in a town of another Race... Ah, b-but I think it was a brave decision for you to save Sumelia-chan, Reiji-san. But, um... er..."
Asha repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hands, floundering for words, but—
"I'm, I'm sorry... I don't know anymore. My thoughts have gotten all tangled up... I'm not used to putting my feelings—my complicated thoughts—into words like this."
"Shall we take her with us?"
"Huh?"
"If that's what you want, Asha, I don't mind taking Sumelia with us."
Asha's surprised expression gave way to a soft smile, as if she had just stepped into a pleasantly warm bath.
"Yes!"
But—
"I'm not going."
A voice came from the doorway. I turned around in surprise, and there stood Sumelia.
The door was open only a crack, and her red eyes gleamed through it. It was just like a horror movie, but knowing who it was made me feel safe, safe... No, not safe. Why was Sumelia here when she was supposed to be shut in her room? I wondered, when—
"I'm going with you."
Sumelia flung the door open as she spoke. Then she scampered over and grabbed my arm. Though she was older than I was, her behavior was unmistakably toddler-like.
"I was planning to."
"Planning to?"
"Mm."
After giving a deep nod—
"But I decided not to."
"Why...?"
Sumelia stared intently at Asha.
"Don't want to be taken along. Go or don't go. I decide."
Asha's back straightened as though those words had struck her.
"You wanted to decide for yourself..."
Coming from Sumelia herself, those words carried weight.
I was the one who had taken her away from the underground city without asking. I didn't know what she had been thinking as her memories faded, nor what had happened in her past. Perhaps even the Talent Jewel had been given to her without her consent.
She wanted to choose her own future.
That was why she didn't want anyone around her to decide it for her.
"Are you sure about this, Sumelia-chan?"
"Mm."
"You may not be able to see Reiji-san again."
"Nuh-uh."
Sumelia shook her head from side to side, then pointed at Asha.
"I won't lose."
"Huh...? What do you mean—"
The next thing Sumelia did was completely unexpected.
She tugged on my arm and pressed her lips to my cheek. They were soft, though still a little rough, and made a tiny "smack."
"N-n-n-n..."
Asha trembled,
"Reiji."
Sumelia took hold of my face and turned it toward hers.
"We'll meet again. I'll come to see you. Definitely..."
With that—and in a tone that sounded like a declaration of war—she scampered out of the room.
Her failure to close the door properly was toddler-like too; it stopped halfway open with a creak.
"Whaaaaaat?!"
Boom, boom, boom, boom—fireballs burst around Asha.
Asha and I left the dragonfolk city early that morning.
Many dragonfolk came to see us off, and some were even crying... Though the ones saying, "How are we supposed to manage without the communal baths from now on, nu-roh...?" were the elders.
"Reiji!"
Then Kimidori Gorn-san came pushing through the crowd of well-wishers.
It had been a while since I'd seen him, and his clothes were dirty and worn out.
And he was carrying a water pitcher and something that looked like a metal box.
"Did you finish it?"
"It's only a prototype, nu."
Water trickled from the pitcher. When it struck the metal box, bubbles rose and a faint wisp of steam drifted upward.
The steam was golden in the morning sunlight.
"You probably don't need me to tell you to be careful... but let me say it anyway. Let's definitely meet again, nu-ra!"
"Yes."
When Kimidori Gorn-san pulled me into a tight embrace, I caught the gloomy smell of metal and catalysts.
Yet the strength in that embrace was unmistakable.
"I'm off!"
And so Asha and I left the dragonfolk city.
We set out to follow La-Fitsa's trail.
Somewhere on this continent, there had to be a route back to the "surface world."