Chapter 57

He received an invitation.

He entered the hut. The interior was fairly well arranged. Looking in the corner, he could see a well-sharpened kitchen knife.

“I picked it up last time. It’s dangerous, but if you go to the palace, there are many things you can’t get around here.”

“Palace?”

“Ah, it’s what we call it among ourselves. There are buildings about 10 kilometers from here. They seem to have been built quite a long time ago, but strangely, the items inside the buildings are intact. There are so many goblins that you have to approach with half your life at stake, though.”

“Buildings. Were there such things here?”

Even when he concentrated, nothing particularly came to mind.

The buildings Quilbion had seen were all ones he’d seen in dreams. No, he couldn’t call them dreams anymore. When he couldn’t even sleep, what dreams?

Even now it looked hazy. The carriage passing behind Royle. How long could he really maintain his sanity?

Ah!

Can’t tell whether I’m sane or not, right?

He giggled while striking his thigh.

Worrying was a luxury. In a few hours or days anyway, he’d forget the conversation here and the people he’d seen.

What remained in his memory were only the faces of those hateful betrayers and the kind residents within fantasies.

Wait a moment.

There was one more place.

But where was it? Besides reality and the fantasy where pigs ran around, there was one other place he’d stopped.

He couldn’t remember.

“Um……”

“Quil.”

Quilbion raised his index finger and pointed at his face.

“Call me Quil.”

“Ah, yes. Quil. I should have said this first, but I was so distracted I forgot.”

Royle straightened his posture.

“Thank you so much for saving my sibling and me back then.”

“It’s fine. I don’t remember well anyway.”

He did remember. He just brushed it off because it felt absurd to receive thanks from the fully grown Royle rather than the little kid in his memories.

It feels like it was just a few days ago.

“Your, your sibling? Are they doing well?”

Royle fell silent. That was answer enough.

“I asked something I shouldn’t have.”

“No.”

“The people who were with you, what was it. Da……”

“Aunt Daisy also passed away.”

“I’d better keep my mouth shut.”

He’d become a madman, but he hadn’t become an idiot. He could still distinguish between things he should and shouldn’t say.

Maybe not, but anyway.

“It’s enough that you survived. This is that kind of place.”

“Yes, it’s that kind of place.”

A woman entered while lifting the hut’s entrance. She looked about the same age as Royle. She put down water and fruit, then quietly turned and left.

“Your wife?”

“Yes. Should I have introduced her? Just in case……”

“No, you did well. Nothing good will come from me knowing her.”

Marriage.

Come to think of it, I did it several times too. I met various women in that world. Among them were pigs and wolves.

I didn’t know at the time, but thinking back now, it was chilling. How did we share a bed? No, did we?

Then suddenly, he realized Twella wasn’t among the countless ex-wives passing by.

A rotten laugh escaped. Even with an unsound mind, I avoided that woman well.

He thought it was fortunate.

Even if it wasn’t reality, he didn’t want to face such a terrible outcome.

“Quil?”

“Something filthy just came to mind. But more importantly, how long have you been here?”

“Since we settled here……”

“No, not here. I’m curious how many years have passed since you entered this fucking forest.”

“About 13 years have passed, I think. I’m not certain, though.”

“13 years.”

It feels like yesterday, yet it’s been 13 years.

How many years exactly have I lived here catching goblins?

“Do you know anything about me?”

“What?”

“Even trivial things are fine. I told you, right? That I’m not normal. Honestly speaking, saving you and your sibling feels like it was a few days ago. But 13 years? Ha, it’s so absurd.”

“I see.”

Royle said he’d step out briefly and left the hut.

Quilbion moistened his throat with water. Then he picked up fruit and brought it to his mouth. The moment he bit into it, he spat it out.

It was far too stimulating. Shockingly so. At the same time, he recalled.

“……When did I last eat food?”

Since hunger had disappeared, he’d never put food in his mouth. He’d only occasionally put water to his mouth when he remembered.

A monster.

It was certain he’d become some unidentified ‘thing’ that wasn’t human.

Quilbion swept up his hair, then gripped and pulled it.

Why he came to this place, why he was catching goblins, why he hadn’t left here.

He couldn’t remember anything.

Nothing.

“Quil, you should just di—”

“Shut up.”

He crushed Twella’s fantasy that had risen grayish-white with his fist.

Thanks to that, he remembered.

Live.

Somehow, live.

That was his sole principle of action. What else could be important besides that? Right, it’s enough to have survived.

“What’s wrong?”

Royle rushed in urgently.

“I was annoyed so I yelled a bit. Pathetic, right? But what can I do? My head’s gone bad.”

“……I understand.”

“You understand? You’re smart. I still don’t understand why I’m like this.”

The corners of Royle’s eyes drooped.

“I’m sorry. I said something unnecessary.”

“No. It’s because I haven’t talked with a living person in so long. When talking with fantasies, I killed them all if things went wrong. It’s more comfortable that way.”

At the word killing, he saw Royle flinch. He hadn’t meant to scare him. It was a joke, in a way. A joke with facts mixed in.

“Right, you said 13 years.”

The thirst he’d forgotten about while living shyly made its existence known. He drank water again. He didn’t touch the fruit.

“Is it livable?”

“We’re managing to hold on somehow, but the situation isn’t very good.”

“Living is truly hard.”

“That’s why we have to live. Isn’t that right?”

“Right, we have to live. After seeing all sorts of terrible and dirty things, we have to live out of spite too.”

Guided by Royle, he greeted people gathered around the huts. He’d said it was fine, but they grabbed his hands and begged, so he pretended he couldn’t refuse and was dragged around.

“The shelter people will come to like you.”

“Don’t do that. I’ll forget soon anyway. Ah, don’t misunderstand. I mean I’ll forget, not you.”

A little girl hiding behind another hut in the distance poked her head out slightly.

“Yale, come say hello. This is a very kind person who helped us.”

“What help did I give?”

When Royle gestured, Yale approached slowly. Unlike her cautious behavior, her eyes were full of mischief.

Quilbion looked at Yale’s face for quite a while.

First time seeing her.

It was definitely a face he was seeing for the first time.

But why doesn’t she feel unfamiliar? When he squinted at the intense déjà vu, Yale hunched her shoulders and fled behind Royle.

“Ah, sorry.”

Looks like I scared her.

“She’s very shy.”

Royle stroked Yale’s head. Yale bowed her head once, then ran behind the hut.

“This isn’t a place where children should live.”

“That’s right.”

“But I see there are quite a few people. Various age groups too.”

“It ended up that way somehow.”

He didn’t ask for details. Because he was someone who’d leave soon.

“Where exactly is this place called the palace?”

“Will you go see it?”

“I’ve wandered all around this area but I haven’t seen any buildings. I’m curious where exactly they’re tucked away.”

“Then tomorrow……”

“The sun’s still up. We can go now.”

Royle looked up at the sky before speaking.

“I’ll guide you.”

“Just tell me the direction.”

“It’s in a tucked-away spot. It’ll be easier if you’re guided.”

“Well, I won’t stop you.”

They moved west while receiving farewells from the shelter people. If he carried Royle and ran, they’d arrive quickly, but since it was only 10 kilometers, he decided to walk leisurely.

Nothing would change just because he hurried.

“There are many people living here and there. Strangely enough.”

“Everyone’s holding on.”

“Do you interact with other humans?”

“Yes, well. We meet occasionally to exchange goods. Though there’s not much useful stuff even if we call it goods.”

“What about food?”

“We manage with whatever comes to hand each day. At least because the weather’s fixed in this place, we could last a long time. Water that doesn’t dry up, fruit that keeps ripening. When we occasionally catch animals that entered this world, all the shelter people gather and hold a small festival.”

“You’re living well.”

Is it because he met people?

The fantasies that had been projected before his eyes whenever there was a gap and kept talking to him weren’t visible. Even that hateful Twella was quiet.

“It’s there.”

Royle raised his hand.

Beyond the densely packed trees, a wide plain was visible.

A paved road stretched out, and low buildings lined up on both sides of the road.

“It really exists.”

Why couldn’t I find this place?

It was simply amazing. Maybe he’d found it long ago but forgotten.

He stepped onto the cleaned road. A road where not a single blade of grass grew.

“Does someone keep cleaning it?”

There was no sign of people. As Royle said, the building exteriors were such a mess they’d crumble at a touch.

It doesn’t seem like people live here, so why is the road clean?

“Royle.”

He looked back. What was visible was only marshland with stagnant rotten water.

“Royle?”

Below his left eye twitched.

Royle had disappeared. He looked back toward where the buildings had been.

The orderly road wasn’t visible.

What entered his vision were only masses so swallowed by vines that he couldn’t distinguish whether they were buildings or giant plants.

“Ha, haha.”

Laughter mixed with a metallic sound came from inside his mouth.

Quilbion moved forward while stepping on weeds grown up to calf height.

Buildings were visible between the vines.

The architectural style used in the dormitories.

“Ah, right. Dormitory.”

It rose faintly.

Right, there was a dormitory. He’d lived there and cleaned tediously, and then, and then……

He lowered his gaze.

He saw a skull. It was small. Judging by its shape, it was a little girl’s. Maybe not, though.

Something was buried below the sternum. He roughly cleared it away with his hand and picked up what was buried.

It was black cloth. The moment he confirmed the faintly remaining silver embroidery, blue lightning struck in his head.

“Right. The special livestock pen. I was here.”

It was Twella. She’d been wearing the black robes that special children wore.

“You only just remembered? That day, when that person descended from the sky. The children wearing these clothes, right before your eyes……”

Quilbion grinned while looking at Twella.

“How could I forget that?”

“Liar. You’d completely forgotten until just now.”

When he rubbed his fingers, the black cloth crumbled and scattered into the atmosphere.

He moved his gaze following the scattered black powder.

Dormitory, livestock pen, the woman who descended from the sky, blood and flesh, and.

Quilbion traced around his eyes.

“My eyes became fucked.”

“That head too.”

Twella pointed at Quilbion’s head while smiling shyly.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“How long was I here?”

“That kid said 13 years earlier, so longer than that?”

“It was a fantasy. That bastard too.”

“Really? I don’t think so?”

Twella turned around. At the end of where she was looking was the shelter.

“Go and check.”

Quilbion exhaled and ran. He leaped up lightly and after stomping his feet a few times, he quickly arrived where the shelter had been.

He stood still and scanned the surroundings. No huts, no people were visible. The only thing remaining on the empty ground were bones.

Quilbion picked up a skull.

This one’s small too.

“Say hello, it’s Royle.”

Twella whispered.

He lifted the skull to eye level. He stared blankly into two small hollows sunken deep.

Right, it was all an illusion.

“Puhaha, puhahahaha!”

Uncontrollable laughter burst out.

He laughed until his eyes popped out.

After laughing.

He went wildly berserk.

It’s late, but he should at least hold a funeral.