Chapter 27
Alice briefly commented on that opinion.
“The sea is indeed a weakness for all land creatures.”
“Hey, that’s not what I mean. Isn’t it strange that they specifically mention it in their rules? A cliff in front of rough seas already looks dangerous. There must be another problem.”
“Coming from someone who almost died in a way other than drowning, that’s quite persuasive.”
Despite the sarcastic remark, Arno muttered his thoughts.
“Would the residents die if they ate the herbs that came out of my stomach? Or maybe if one of them went there, they’d die without even getting to eat the herbs…”
“Mr. Arno, it seems like your head isn’t working yet. You should sleep on it.”
“It seems like your jabbering is making me feel more coherent. Keep going… Ugh.”
“…Please don’t vomit on the floor.”
Arno grabbed a bucket. Nathan pretended not to hear anything—though his brow was furrowed—and asked a question.
“Alice. I’m sorry for asking late, but did that big guy help save Arno? You couldn’t have carried him all the way here by yourself.”
“Yes. I was shouting for someone to help, and he suddenly came over to assist.”
“Why the sudden change of heart?”
Nathan stroked his chin.
“Did he want to put us in his debt? Or did he know we had become distrustful of the residents and wanted to make us trust at least one of them?”
“Well, it didn’t seem like there was any serious scheme behind it.”
“…Alice.”
Ah. She realized too late that she had interrupted Nathan with baseless comments.
Nathan’s cold voice continued for a while.
“You really built some rapport with him… No, he was never a patient. Did you feel any attraction towards him?”
“Huh? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
“You’re making me say unnecessary things! If you keep looking at him favorably without any basis, what do you expect me to think?”
“At least not something as ridiculous as that!”
The reasoning came to her belatedly.
It was the caramel that had ended up in her hands after everything.
“I think he seemed to appreciate that I treated Cherry.”
“You were the one who caused that mess in the first place.”
“Even after apologizing for turning on the fire, I kept going back to check on her. Now Cherry’s attitude has softened a bit… and I’ve met a few other residents.”
“……”
Nathan’s gaze swept over Alice’s hands. She could tell what emotion was contained in his slightly distorted expression. He probably wanted to shout if she had touched something that might have escaped from a freak show.
Well, should she praise him for not treating Alice like a pathogen and keeping his distance?
“Alice… what if you end up in trouble too?”
“The issue is with the rules; it’s not about the residents themselves.”
“You trust them so easily.”
“And the residents probably know better than we do what’s beyond the cliffs.”
Nathan quickly grasped the meaning of her words.
“Ha, you want to dig for information from the residents? Do you think they will give you helpful stories while laughing at how you dragged Arno along?”
“But Fiore didn’t laugh at me.”
“……”
“If Cherry had been there, I don’t think she would have laughed at me either.”
She wasn’t entirely sure about that last example as she spoke it.
If it were Cherry, she might have laughed so hard her throat showed. Still, Alice thought she would have walked with her so she wouldn’t feel lonely.
“We can only go so far by just brainstorming among ourselves. So I think it would be better to approach the residents even a little.”
“……”
Nathan’s throat bobbed as he swallowed some irritation.
After observing for a while, Arno interjected.
“It’s like the North Wind and the Sun! Though, rather than that grand metaphor, you two are more like a cold or some awful-tasting licorice candy.”
“……It doesn’t seem like someone who went out to gather information about ‘treatment’ only to return empty-handed a few days ago should be talking.”
“Who knows? Maybe Fioré helped me carry me today because he liked the caramel she got from me that day.”
It seemed like Arno knew how ridiculous that sounded as laughter slipped through his lips. However, Nathan couldn’t win this kind of verbal sparring against Arno.
In the end, Nathan shook his head.
“I get it; let’s say your broad minds are like the sun. Gather information but don’t trust too easily. In the meantime, I’ll look into the herbs Arno consumed.”
“Will that help?”
“Have you done anything to help me, either?”
“Ha…”
Arno filled his mouth with curses. Nathan turned sharply as if signaling that their conversation was over and stood up.
“I’m going back up now.”
He returned toward his own fortress. As Alice heard the door slam shut, she released one of her tension strings.
Damn, it had been such a long day.
There were still things she needed to handle before falling asleep.
“Then Mr. Arno, you should rest too.”
“……I should.”
However, Arno did not get up from his seat. He bent his legs and glanced at her.
“Um… can I rest a bit longer?”
It was sunset. Wanting to rest a little longer was a subtle way of saying he didn’t want to leave.
The usual Arno wouldn’t have put it that way.
The fingertips of his hand pulling one knee were trembling slightly.
“I’ll just… stay in the corner.”
“……”
That was almost a signal of surrender.
Seeing the fear-filled gaze looking toward the sea, Alice thought for a moment before nodding.
For now, talking seemed to be all they could do.
Alice opened the window and leaned against the wall to ask,
“You said you forgot what happened at the beach.”
“That’s right.”
“But you also said that you would have talked to them instead of just barking at their voices, right?”
“I think I would have at least replied as an experiment. That’s probably how I ended up like this.”
“Why would you break the rules? You saw how much trouble I went through.”
“I believe I’m more clever than you, miss.”
“Of course you do.”
“But, even though I can’t remember…”
Arno covered his face with both hands. A sound that seemed to mix a groan with cursing came out.
“I think I saw something… really strange…”
“……”
The incomplete handprints left on his shirt were enough to indicate that Arno’s experience was anything but ordinary.
During the short time that moonlight seeped through the first-floor window, Alice tidied up. Meanwhile, Arno, who had been sitting in the corner as if trying to keep his promise, seemed to realize something and opened his mouth a little late.
“You’re uncomfortable with me here, aren’t you? I can tell because you’ve been moving around non-stop.”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s life. I can’t sleep either, since I’m worried you’ll sell me out to the villagers, roast me into a nice barbecue, and share me with them.”
“You do realize that doesn’t sound like a joke, right? It sounds way too serious.”
“Half of it is serious.”
Arno let out a laugh that sounded half like a sigh.
“When you said you were looking after the residents, it sounded like you felt more pity for them than for us.”
“No way.”
“Well, I have nothing to be cherished for, so that’s understandable. But what’s your relationship with that teacher?”
“You know, we were teacher and student during college. He helped me from my entrance into medical school until graduation, which made it impossible for me to refuse Marie La Serda’s request.”
“Well, it doesn’t seem like a debt big enough to send you to such a dangerous place. It doesn’t sound like you’re treating him as a benefactor either.”
“Are you really that curious about it?”
“No.”
“……”
“Anyway, knowing your personality, I doubt you could sleep while leaving me here; if you’re going to stay up all night, let’s chat.”
“Ha…”
So brutally honest.
That aspect was comfortable for her; plus, it seemed he had no interest in her life at all.
A story tucked away in the drawers of memory spilled out.
“The professor was a friend of my father.”
“A friend of your father? That guy doesn’t look even forty; how did they become friends?”
“When he needed rare medicines, he received help from my father, who worked for a trading company. Thanks to that, he was favored by the faculty and became a full professor quickly.”
“Ha, I thought he was clueless but maybe just towards subordinates. Your father must have had quite some patience with his ‘friend.’”
“Please don’t be so sarcastic. After my father passed away, the professor worked hard on my admission in place of my father. If he had only seen my father as a means to an end, he wouldn’t have gone that far.”
“Your father passed away? Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s been ten years already; it’s fine now.”
In truth, it wasn’t fine at all. Compared to the weight of her younger brother, the pain of time had simply washed away over time.
“I guess giving a guarantee for a friend was a mistake. One day, our once abundant wealth turned into massive debt. My father confessed this fact and worked day and night… then collapsed and that was it.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s alright. I’m grateful that he admitted his mistake honestly and faced it head-on before leaving us.”
She meant it. Every time she thought of her father’s back as he did his best, even small resentments toward him washed away.
Arno clicked his tongue.
“You were really unlucky then. If it was ten years ago, weren’t you caught up in that major shipping disaster? Many merchants went bankrupt back then.”
“My mother asked if my father had been involved in that; he firmly denied it. If it had been due to natural disaster, he could have blamed it on that but insisted it was entirely due to his own foolishness.”
“That’s a peculiar way of thinking. I think I understand why you grew up to be so… perfectionist.”
“Ha. What about you, Mr. Arno? How did you grow up to be like this?”
Arno chuckled.
“That’s an excellent question! You should examine what was in my father’s head when hearing stories about him! My first memory of my father is hiding under the bed to avoid him…”
***
Fiore tried not to pay attention.
Really, about anything.
‘They’re going to die anyway.’
Whether long or short, the end for these unwanted guests is destruction. No matter how much Madam Adelaide laughs and comforts them, one by one they walk toward death.
No one has adapted to this town; no one even wanted to adapt at all. That’s just how humans are.
So for the past ten years, Fiore tried to ignore these unwanted guests again…
‘Damn.’
Under the moonlight while walking toward one clinic, Fiore thought he should start admitting something.
That something was gradually twisting.
Especially concerning one human being.
