The Damn Family Is Back Again

390. The Time Ahead (3)

Harunier, nestled within my embrace, began to weep, to truly wail.

With each sob, her sincerity washed over me.

She had felt confused, she confessed.

Angry, even.

And terribly, terribly frightened.

Her innermost self, once festering, revealed itself in her delicate trembling.

Sometimes, her hand would clench, a silent rebuke aimed at me.

Other times, she would pound against my chest in fury.

She shuddered, as if unable to bear the memory of those moments.

…Yes. This was a time for my repentance.

I had to feel the weight, heavier than ever before, of her arms clasped around me. This sensation, of my chest becoming soaked with her tears, I had to remember.

I opened my ears, determined to hear every word.

Her emotions. Her state of mind. Her thoughts.

Bearing all of that, I descended into a truly lengthy period of self-reflection.

Eventually, that period of introspection, which was by no means brief, came to an end.

Harnier disentangled herself from my embrace, dabbing her tears with a handkerchief.

“…Forgive me. Your body hasn’t even fully recovered, and here I am, clinging to you like this.”

“It’s my fault, isn’t it? You can still let it out, if you need to.”

“Mm, I’m alright now.”

She shook her head.

“If I just keep clinging and crying like this… it’ll only reopen your wounds. You need to rest too.”

She seemed to have released enough of what she’d been holding back, wanting to stop here.

“But… can I ask just one more thing?”

“Yes.”

“Now… there won’t be anything this dangerous again, right?”

“No. There won’t be.”

I hadn’t been able to muster a single response to any other words, but this question I could answer with certainty.

“The status window says that the demonic World Tree, Yggdrasil, has been destroyed. Belian and Aksius as well.”

Along with the Seed of Genesis, the Treant aberrations are no longer spawning as enemy entities, and their threat level isn’t even registering.

Wederos’s Eye is currently unusable, but… perhaps by a hair’s breadth I was ahead of Belian, so the seeds scattered throughout the region must have been somehow dealt with by the Westerners.

Decisively, Episode Cleared. And Chapter Cleared.

A message plainly declaring that the Yggdrasil Project had been thwarted hung in the air, so there was no need to worry.

“…That’s a relief.”

After relaying that, Harnié exhaled a long, heavy breath, as if unburdening herself.

“Oh, and is there anything ailing you? Miss Flora instructed me to ask about your condition the very first thing after you opened your eyes.”

“I am rather sore… though I suppose it’s my own fault. My senses feel quite numb, but that’s only because the pain is so severe. My body itself seems to be in order, I think.”

“Is that so? Hmm… even so, it might be best if I fetched Miss Flora. Wait here.”

-Tap.

“No.”

I grasped Harnié’s hand, halting her as she turned to summon Flora.

“…Karstein?”

Harnié gazed at me with bewildered eyes.

A patient, awake, refusing a doctor? Refusing an examination?

A strange thing indeed.

But there were words that needed saying.

How heavy-hearted she must have been, seeing me like this. I apologized to her countless times, the one who held my hand and prayed just before I awoke, the one who confessed to being gripped by the fear that I might die…

Still, I wanted to say it one more time.

“I am sorry.”

“Pardon?”

“I am sorry for acting so selfishly all this time, for behaving as if I had no one, for only causing you worry.”

A repetition, yes. She had already said it was alright. But these words needed to pass my lips.

They might seem paltry, but they were words I had to utter, myself.

And…

This, too, must be said.

“Thank you. For always being by my side.”

“…”

“Thank you for holding onto such a foolish, idiotic man. For trying to persuade a blockhead who only knows himself. For letting me know that even when the world is cruel, I have someone on my side.”

Harnier’s pupils begin to widen.

“Without you, I would have broken. No, I *was* breaking, in truth. Blindly staring only at my goal, not looking back, not looking around, I advanced only forward, and might have faced the worst of ends. Thank you for melting my ice-cold blood.”

“…Karsein.”

The same reaction.

Overlapping completely.

A reaction no different.

From Ji-eun.

It could be no other way, I suppose.

For in reality, they would not be different.

Therefore.

-Wait, just a moment!

-Aah, no! Things like this…can’t be. Absolutely not!

-…I told you it wasn’t all over yet, you fool!

-Words like that… S-say them in r-reality…

Just as Ji-eun said, this time, I will convey it properly.

“You are the benefactor who saved my life. A person so precious that even offering everything I own would not be strange. Therefore.”

– *Suk.*

“The time to come, I wish to spend it with you, Harnier.”

Hand clasped over hand.

Her hand, and mine, joined together.

I delivered my sincerity, plainly.

The one who caught me as I strayed.

The one who advised me so I could walk a proper path.

The one who breathed a handful of warmth into my chilling blood, bringing me back to my senses.

And.

The most precious person to me.

I intend to spend all of my time to come with her.

For a lifetime, I say.

“…”

Having heard those words, Harnier stared at me, blankly, for a long while.

Was it odd, perhaps, to hear such words from my mouth?

Or was it that I confessed my sincerity too soon?

Or perhaps… was there some other reason?

…I don’t know.

I cannot know the reason.

Such a thing, I was neither taught, nor experienced, nor even could I imagine.

It was, quite literally, a realm of emotion. A place so very far removed from reason.

That’s why it was difficult.

For me.

“…No help for it.”

This too, I had to learn.

Little by little.

Carefully, I called out to her, who simply stared at me without a word, without a twitch.

And then.

“Harnier.”

“…!”

…Somehow, her reaction was strange.

At that single word, Harnier flinched and her shoulders trembled.

And then.

“Ugh…!”

Her eyes fell upon the hand I held, and she pulled away from me.

Not just her hand, though.

Her body, too, receded.

From the bed, she who had been grasping my hand suddenly retreated to the other side.

‘…I don’t quite understand, but suddenly an immense distance has sprung up…?’

What was it? What made her create such a wide gulf so abruptly?

Was I truly guilty of some grave misdeed?

That query lingered, then…

“I, I, I’ll fetch a doctor at once! The attending physician. We must summon the attending physician before examining the—!”

“…Pardon?”

“Ah, no. That’s not it. Hwaaa…! Lady Flora performed the surgery, so… yes. Lady Flora requested to be summoned, thus it’s Lady Flora, not the attending physician, that we must fetch. Is that not so?!”

Suddenly there was talk of summoning the attending physician, and now they were off to fetch Flora instead.

Why did they seem so frantic?

‘This feels unsettling.’

Harnier was a woman of resolute character, habitually capable of surmounting even the most arduous tasks. Thus, cause for worry seldom arose, yet… experience gleaned from long observation revealed an exception.

“I, I’ll fetch her! Right away!”

Yes. Precisely now. This was when she grew so flustered.

A woman who held sway over every merchant and yielded to no noble, displaying a robust and brisk nature as she seized command, yet, strangely, that very charisma vanished utterly.

She became inexplicably hurried, stuttering or stammering, and her gestures, once possessing elegance, refinement, and decorum, resembled little more than frantic flailing.

And at such times, mistakes were invariably made.

Simple things were done incorrectly. Extremely basic details were overlooked. And also…

“Sh-she’s resting. I’ll fetch the Lady momentarily… Kyaa!”

…Yes.

Precisely like that, stumbling, unaware of what lay directly beneath her.

She would display such clumsy tendencies.

‘Fortunately, the position is ideal.’

The perfect position to catch her, as she fell.

Right behind her, the bed. And she was already half-risen, so catching her would mean a soft landing against the bed’s cushioning, no harm done.

‘The angle, the tilt, it’s perfect.’

Arms spread wide, I could catch her from shoulder to back with my abdomen. A clean catch, I’d calculated it all.

Arms open, ready to break her fall into the bed, that’s when the variable arrived.

– *Riiiiip!*

‘…Huh?’

What was that sound?

The sound of fabric tearing, something incredibly soft.

…Couldn’t be my clothes.

Which meant…

– *Riiiiiip!*

A splinter, sticking out like a thorn from the damaged table leg, had torn her clothing, changing her trajectory.

A slight friction, but enough to alter the angle.

‘Bloody hell. She could have just fallen straight back, now I have to shift my position too!’

…Or so I thought.

That wasn’t the problem.

– *Flop.*

‘…Eh?’

Torn and shredded, the rags of fabric, now loose, suddenly enveloped my vision.

“Um… like this, I can’t see where she’s going to fall…”

Blast it!

“Kyaa!”

With a soft thud, Harnié’s form landed snugly in my arms.

Thank heavens. Somehow, I managed to catch Harnié without her getting hurt, it seems. And my body doesn’t feel too badly injured either.

But…

A chill ran down my spine.

“Owww…”

-Gulp.

Now that my senses are returning a little, I think I know what’s touching me.

Soft skin is being pressed against me. Judging by how that pliant something is brushing against the only place I can vaguely feel… she’s only in her undergarments.

Yes. In a word, she’s practically enveloping me!

‘…This is perilous.’

This is dangerous in a whole other sense…

Very, very dangerous.

This, this position is truly fraught with peril!

You’re saying the position itself is nothing to worry about?

No! That’s exactly why I’m worried!

-Tap. Tap.

─Mother. Sister. Didn’t you hear a loud noise just now?

─Seems someone’s finally awake. Oy vey. Without a word, that stubborn mule!

─Let’s be quick about it.

Someone’s coming from outside!

The moment that door opens, it’s curtains!

“Ah, ah…!”

“Ha, Harnie. Calm yourself and listen closely. We…we’re in danger, alright? First, get off me and get under the blanket, grab whatever clothes you can and get dressed─”

But, alas, it seemed Harnie couldn’t hear a thing I said.

-Click.

“Figured I heard something! Hey, Karsein. If you’re awake, you should say so…?”

“Mama? Why are you covering my eyes?”

“Erm, erm. This is a scene Flora isn’t quite ready for.”

Ah.

I’m screwed.

“Ah, ahh…”

Harnie’s face was turning crimson at a rapid pace.

…Figures my bad premonitions always come true.

“S-sorry! Carry on!”

“The interloper takes her leave.”

“Mama? What is it? What’s so bad?”

-Thump!

“Ugh… Ughhh…”

After that.

Three sounds echoed in the room.

“Kyaaa!”

The first, a shriek born of shame from Harni.

– *Tchak!*

The second, the sound of a crimson handprint blossoming on my back.

“Ugh!”

The third, the voice that escaped my own throat.