All Days Before and Those Yet to Come

 

Looking back, I have this to regret,

that too often when I loved, I did not say so.

—David Grayson

 

We reached the shore in the afternoon of the next day.

Just to be safe, Tia cast the invisibility spell on us before we landed.

As casting it on everyone would make us invisible to each other and risk getting separated, I decided to proceed as I was, along with Rin who had transformed into a human form.

"But even so, it's been thirty years… If we run into someone who knows my face, we're out of luck."

Rin, unable to speak, tilted her head as if to say, "Is that so?"

"If it were just me, I could maybe pass it off as resembling my deceased father when he was young. But with Rin, it feels like excuses won't work. One conspicuous person is enough, maybe Rin should hide with invisibility too?"

Rin shook her head vigorously in response to my words. It seemed like she was saying, "I don't want to."

"Alright, alright. Let's try to proceed without being noticed…"

"It's amazing how you can communicate like that."

I heard a voice near my ear and involuntarily shuddered.

"Tia. Are you sitting on my shoulder?"

"Yes. It's easier this way, right? No worry about getting separated."

I figured that she definitely just wanted to take it easy, but kept walking without saying it out loud.

"… There it is."

After walking for another half day, as the day was about to end, we finally reached the cave.

"Lufelle, are you still with us?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mentor."

When I called out behind me, Lufelle appeared right next to me. Tia's invisibility even silenced footsteps, making it completely unclear where she was.

The cave wasn't big enough for Lufelle's body, but fortunately, the mural was right at the entrance.

Peeking in from outside, she began to chant the incantation.

"Immovable one. Unshakable one. Unforgettable one, capable of speaking. You, the earth elemental Gnome, answer my voice and respond to my call."

With the incantation completed, a Gnome even more delicate than the one from before appeared.

"Gnome. It's been a while. Do you remember me?"

"I remember."

The gnome replied clearly, though with a stilted tone.

… Success!

Suppressing my bubbling emotions, I asked him.

"Then… do you remember who painted this picture?"

"I remember."

"What kind of person were they?"

The gnome looked troubled by my question.

Honestly, elementals weren't very smart. They seemed about as intelligent as three-year-old children.

They can't really answer complex questions well.

"Sorry, let me change the question… Was it a woman? Or a man?"

"One."

"One person? Or were there several people drawing?"

"One."

"Then… do you know the name of the person who was drawing?"

I asked a question that might touch on certainty.

"… Don't know."

However, the gnome shook his head. That makes sense. If someone was here alone drawing the picture, there wouldn't have been an opportunity to mention their name.

I decided to change my question.

"Do you know what is depicted in this picture?"

"Tree."

Tree… Indeed, now that he mentions it, it does somewhat resemble a tree…

Hmm. No, still, it's not very good. It's hard to see it as a tree. What I thought might've been the hand of a devil, if I were told it's a branch, then maybe…

"When was this painting made?"

"Long… ago."

"Can you be more specific? Do you know how many nights have passed since then?"

"… Don't know."

Being an earth elemental, his memory wasn't bad.

But counting or making inferences were intellectual tasks that Gnomes fundamentally lacked.

Despite all the questions I could think of, we ended up not learning much and decided to return to the ship with the invisibility spell cast on us again.

"… Sorry. Despite coming all this way."

"It's a shame, Mentor."

"Well, it's fine. The boat trip was quite enjoyable."

Being comforted instead when I apologized for not achieving any results after years of effort was rather embarrassing.

"Since we've come all this way, why don't we take some souvenirs? Maybe some rare fruits or something?"

Tia kept talking on the way back, perhaps trying to be considerate. This time, both Rin and I were wearing the invisibility cloaks, probably to prevent us from getting separated.

"That's a good idea… I don't remember seeing any, though. Rin, what about you?"

I spoke to Rin, who should have been walking beside me, but there was no reply.

"Ah, right. You're in human form, so you can't speak. Maybe it's okay to be in merfolk form while you're invisible?"

Still, there was no response from Rin.

"… Hey, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Me too…"

Oddly enough, so did I.

At that very moment, my fear became reality.

"Mentor, can you hear me?"

Rin's voice came through a scale communication device.

"Rin, where are you now!?"

"At the cave from earlier. I forgot to ask something."

… I knew it!

"I'm coming. Hide until I get there."

"It's okay, Tia's magic is still working."

Indeed, we were still invisible. The effect of the spell would remain the same whether Tia is near or not.

"Tell me, Gnome."

Elementals didn't vanish even when the magic's effect wears off.

Once summoned, their form would remain like a crease on a piece of paper.

Just as Yuuki summoned Jack Frost under Ai's command, it was easy for Rin to summon the Gnome that Lufelle had just called.

"What did the person who drew this call this picture?"

That was a question that had completely slipped my mind.

No one would introduce themselves when alone. But if they weren't… even if not with another person, but with a thing, they might name it.

Magic was born from wishes and took form through names.

—If that painting was the wish of the person who painted it.

Then it must have a name.

"Promise of Return. The Place to Return."

Gnome told me in his halting speech.

"Mentor's home."

"Ahh!"

I involuntarily raised my voice.

That was it… yes.

A tree. Indeed, as Gnome said, it was definitely made of wood.

Not timber, but the tree itself.

The lines stretching to the sides were branches. And the square above was not a devil's face, but a cabin with windows. What looked like a mouth with ragged teeth was the entrance fence.

My first log cabin-like structure. The first school.

Before even Scarlet or its predecessor settlement.

The small, tiny house where Ai, Nina, and I lived.

Ai was here. Living here… remembering me.

"There's the monster!"

That voice reached my ears at that moment.

"Eh, no, why…?"

Rin's voice was filled with confusion.

We were still invisible, so her form should be invisible too.

Even if separated from Tia, the duration of the effect wouldn't change.

However, it was certain that Rin had been discovered. Tia's invisibility spell lost its effect instantly if someone pointed out its presence. And… since she had made a sound, her form was not human. She was in her true form, that of a merfolk.

"No… stop!"

Rin's anguished scream echoed. It wasn't a cry of fear, but one of pain and suffering.

"Rin!"

There was no time to worry about appearances.

I transformed back into my dragon form and flew through the air, breaking branches along the way.

The distance that took half a day to walk passed in an instant and I saw villagers with torches. In the middle of the flames, surrounded by magical light, was Rin.

"One thing to note. This invisibility makes you like a shadow. It makes no sound, has no smell, and you can't feel it if touched. But, if illuminated, your shadow can be seen. Be careful."

That was what Tia had warned us yesterday, but Rin had turned on a light.

I landed there at full speed, almost crashing. The villagers quickly distanced themselves from my dragon form, avoiding being crushed, but that was just a coincidence.

My eyes had already caught sight of it.

Lying on the ground was a beautiful body with a merfolk's tail and slender arms.

But, something that should have been there was missing.

A little distance away, it lay rolled on the ground.

A head with blue hair—a girl's.

"Did you… kill her?"

I asked. No one answered. The humans just stared at me dumbfounded.

"You people! Did you kill Rin?"

My shout burst into flames, striking the ground and exploding.

The villagers screamed and scattered like spiders.

I had no intention of sparing them.

If I unleashed my flames at full power, I could turn the entire village into a sea of fire from this distance. I was about to do just that when…

At the last moment, I refrained.

Not because I was afraid of killing people. Not because I remembered the couple who had welcomed us.

I simply did not want to harm Rin's body in any way. That was the only reason.

"Rin…"

I transformed back into a human and stumbled forward, kneeling before her body.

"Phew, I thought I was dead."

Just like that, as if slipping out of a blanket, Rin emerged from her own body.

"Wha… Rin?"

"Ehehe. Sorry for worrying you."

Rin slipped out of her body that had lost its head as if shedding skin. Though slightly smaller, her body was unscathed—except for one difference. Her long hair that had reached her waist was now cut short at the shoulders.

"Tada! To be honest, this is just my hair."

Rin picked up the head from the ground, giving it a light shake. It transformed into a mass of long blue hair and fell to the ground.

"Rin!"

I couldn't help but embrace her.

"Hey, hey, Mentor! That hurts! And it's embarrassing! I'm not wearing anything, you know!?"

Indeed, her clothes were covering the fake body that had become a husk, and Rin was now completely nude. But that didn't matter right now.

"You overcame aging by sacrificing your memories, right?"

She had always evaded my questions about the cost.

But now it was clear. She hadn't become childlike or forgetful because of rejuvenation. Rather, she'd cunningly hid it.

She couldn't have forgotten such a crucial point we discussed just yesterday. It wouldn't be mere forgetfulness if so.

"Tell me. What exactly did you sacrifice?"

"… New things."

Rin murmured softly.

"I forget almost everything that happens every day once I cross over to the next."

 

 

So that's it… The Rin who had lost her aging now had no tomorrows. The Rin who loved new things and was full of curiosity.

"Please promise me. Don't do anything this dangerous ever again."

"Sorry. I'd love to promise, but… I might not be able to."

"Because you'll forget the promise?"

Rin shook her head and looked down at her now smaller body.

Right. Such a drastic change couldn't come without a price.

It wasn't just about getting smaller.

What she had overcome was death. Rin was not only ageless but had become immortal.

What could balance the scales for such a thing?

"I'll probably forget… not just why dangerous things are bad, but even what the dangers are."

Rin had placed something on the scale.

It was all her days before—and all those yet to come.