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The Young Girl’s Past
“Haku-chan. It’s hot, so please eat it slowly, alright”
Saying that; Priscilla hands a bowl of piping hot porridge to Haku. Haku scoops the porridge with a spoon, and because Priscilla says it’s hot, she timidly brings it to her mouth, and then chomps down. It looks hot, but it seems it’s edible.
“……delicious”
Priscilla smiles radiantly like a blossomed flower when Haku says her thoughts. She then went out of the room to take a change of clothes for Haku. She says Haku had probably been sweating, so she’ll take the things to wipe her body together with it.
I’m looking at Haku, who’s blowing and eating her porridge in the meantime. Her face is expressionless, but she’s eating it deliciously. Her spoon hasn’t stopped since just now after all. And then
“Ooh, you cleaned the plate up huh. Were you hungry?”
“Nn”
She’d finished eating everything in the bowl. It seems Priscilla had cooked it with the thought that it’s better to have leftovers than to not have enough, but she ended up finish eating everything. It’s amazing how it went into such a small body. Priscilla, who brought a change of clothes and came back, saw that and looked extremely happy.
After that, Haku says she’s changing her clothes, so I went outside. Priscilla is staying behind in the room to help her. As one would expect, I can’t remain inside as well to help, so in the meantime, I decided to wait in the living room. I could’ve played with Eclat if she was around though.
I waited for about an hour with this and that happening. Priscilla and Haku came down from the second floor. Haku is wearing one of the white one-piece dress that Caro bought yesterday.
“Oh, that’s a lovely look, isn’t it”
“……nn”
When I say that, Haku looks downwards slightly and grasp the hem of her one-piece tightly in embarrassment. Priscilla is looking at that and smiling. How lovely. After that, Haku takes a seat, and while Priscilla is preparing beverages for us, Haku
“……Onii, thanks, for, helping me”
thanks me. However
“It’s not something you need to thank me for. It’s natural for me to help my family, right? Haku, don’t be reserved from now on”
“……nn”
In my opinion, a family is something like that; a family is built upon everybody helping and supporting each other.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, the painful stuff, is gone”
“I see. I’m glad about that”
It’s because I cast heal on Haku while she’s sleeping as well. I’m glad that it’s effective. Her physical wounds are a given, and it seems her headache has also healed.
After that, Priscilla returns and distributes beverage to everybody; as we’re passing our time relaxingly while drinking that
“……Onii……I want you, to listen……I have something to talk about”
Haku makes an extremely serious face and looks over at me.
“Is it an important topic?”
Haku nods
“It’s about……me”
and says. If it’s about Haku, then is it about what happened when she was at the Empire? However, that should be Haku’s traumas. In reality, Haku’s body is slightly trembling even now, and Priscilla is hugging her tightly.
“……Haku. You don’t have to force yourself to talk about it, you know. If it’s painful, then we won’t forcefully ask about it”
However, Haku shakes her head.
“……I’ll talk about it. I think……it’s necessary……for becoming……family”
Saying that; she looks over at me with determined eyes. ……it can’t be helped. If she’s that resolute, then I guess there’s nothing for me to say.
“I got it. However, it’s fine to stop if it becomes painful, alright”
When I say that, Haku nods again. Beside her, Priscilla is staring extremely worriedly at Haku. In the midst of that, Haku started talking about herself bit by bit. It’s an unbelievable story that goes beyond our imagination.
◇◇◇
I was there for as long as I can remember. It’s a place that’s surrounded by walls, where even the sunlight doesn’t hit. It’s damp, and there are insects as well. A place like that was my everything.
Over there, hundreds of children were gathered and made to do martial arts training and training to acquire other skills every day. We get beaten by the adults when we lose. We get beaten if we fail at our training. Every passing day was like this.
And then one day, several of us amongst those children were gathered.
“We’re going to have you guys, enter the next training. Bring it over”
When the adult says that, somebody else brings a cage-like thing over from somewhere. And when they open it up, there were animals inside. As I was wondering how we’re going to use such adorable animals in training
“We’re going to see if you guys, can kill them without hesitation”
And what we were handed next was a knife. The me at that time couldn’t do something like that; because I still, found them pitiful. But, something like that doesn’t slip past the adults.
The kids who could immediately kill the animals returned to training; the kids who killed them, but took some time, were beaten; and the kids like me, who couldn’t kill the animals were beaten and on top of that
“Kyaa!”
we brought to a certain room. And then
“You’ll reflect here for an entire day; together with this fellow”
They stabbed the knife into the animal that I couldn’t kill before my eyes and left it in the room. The animal, perhaps still alive, is making a feeble sound. As I’m looking at that animal, the adult left and locked the room. In that instant, the entire surrounding was enveloped by darkness.
Inside the darkness, all I can hear is the animal’s soft cry. I banged on the door and pleaded for help over and over again, but nobody comes. Inside the total darkness, I cried and screamed.
……the next day. When I left the room, the animal wasn’t moving at all.
My hesitation in killing the animals disappeared amidst repeating such things over and over again. I mean, I don’t want to return to that room anymore.
After that, the target changed from animals to monsters, and then it didn’t that long for it to change to humans.
I don’t know where they brought them from, but I kill the goblins, kill the children whom I trained together with until now; I was killing all kinds of things every single day.
I mean, after all, if I don’t kill the goblin, I’ll just be captured and violated, or eaten; I’ll be killed if I don’t kill the other party.
One day, as we’re doing such things continuously, a certain child gathered us and started talking about escaping from that place. If it’s us, then it’s possible to escape this place; that’s what that child said.
All of the children agreed with those words; because we don’t want to live like this anymore.
And then that plan was executed. The children, who are trying to escape, display the fruits of their training until now, kill the adults one after another, and proceed onwards. The children push onwards happily. We can be free if we leave this place; that’s what we believe.
However, it wasn’t that simple. What appeared over there was
“It’s no good to try and escape, isn’t it”
a young man, who says and kills the children while laughing. Even when the children cry and plead, he ignores it and kills the children while laughing. We were helplessly pinned down.
“My apologies for troubling you, Gargante-sama. However, as expected of an S Rank huh”
“Haha, it doesn’t particularly matter. I’m taking your money after all. It’s just that I’ll soon have to go to another request, so today will be the last time”
“My, my. Well then, please enjoy the last time”
And then that man, in front of us, he started stabbing the child who came up with this time’s operation with his sword with a smile. He doesn’t stop no matter how much that child screamed and begged for help, and not only did he not stop, he healed the child’s wounds, and stabbed the child over and over again. Enough so that the child doesn’t die, but not enough so that he can make the child suffer.
In the end, it continued until the child begged to be killed. I had a feeling that it was at this moment, that the last piece of my heart broke.
After that, the adults became even stricter. We’ll be beaten if we do anything suspicious; we’ll be locked up in that pitch-black room whenever we fail something.
And then, once, we’re injected with an unknown medicine, and a few kids died from it. It was injected in me as well. My entire body was in pain; I puked blood; it was agonising and really excruciating. But, there’s also a part of me that thought, ‘ahh with this, I can finally die as well’. However
“Ooh! She survived that medicine!”
I ended up surviving. Maybe it’s because of the medicine, my body’s movements improved compared to before, and my senses also became sharper. I also became capable of using magic that I couldn’t use until now and the speed of my growth also went up considerably. As the price for that; my hair that used to be brown lost its colour and turned white, and my eyes also ended up becoming red though.
After that, I was the only one who’s sent outside. My excitement and enthusiasm for seeing the outside for the first time……were gone. I mean, everything looks black and white after all. It’s no different from the room until now. It’s because my heart was already broken and I couldn’t feel anything anymore.
◇◇◇
“After that……I killed……numerous people. However……I failed here. Then……I was captured, and it……comes to now”
“……”
“……”
Priscilla and I were both speechless. I knew from Haku’s mutters during the battle that she had awful things done to her. However, this is too awful. Even Priscilla is hugging Haku tightly while crying.
“At that time…….it was painful, excruciating, and I cried plenty……I didn’t know……the point of living”
“……Haku-chan”
“……numerous times……I thought……I want to die……”
“……”
“But……”
“Haku?”
“I’m glad I didn’t die……I’m glad I lived……I mean, I was able to……meet……Onii”
I was also crying before I know it. Haku also looks over at me while crying.
“Just now, after I woke up……the view……it was……coloured. I thought……it was beautiful. I thought……I want to see plenty of it!”
“In the case, let’s go and see all kinds of things with everybody! Let us, as a family, go and see all kinds of things, make all kinds of memories, and from now on, let’s live together!”
Priscilla and I, we hug Haku tightly with all our strength. We can’t truly understand the wounds in Haku’s heart. Haku probably doesn’t wish for that either.
If that’s the case, we’ll support Haku so that we can heal those wounds even ever so slightly; so that she can live and enjoy her life from now on even ever so slightly; so that her life can be painted with colours.
Even if Haku says she doesn’t want it, we won’t leave her, anymore.
