When It Rains
〈Sana〉
“What the hell’s going onーーwhat’s with these monsters!?”
“I, I don’t know! It, it’s as though, they’re like humansーーstoo, stopp! GUAAAaaa!”
The guild that’s directly under the Kingdom is getting killed one by one.
One person, after another.
I was watching the adults, who are getting killed, while tightly hugging the trembling Runa.
Screams reverberate in my ears.
It hurts. Help. Stop it.
Only such voices reach me.
And then, Felistina Chivalric Order’s leader, Exvein-san, looks at Runa and me and shouts.
“Don’t just stay there watching, lend a handd!”
In response to those words, I shook my head while crying.
I can’t muster any strength into my leg. I can only muster strength into my arms that are tightly hugging Runa.
There’s no way we can win.
There’s just no way we can win.
I mean.
These monsters, that suddenly appeared, they’re different from other monsters.
“Captain! Orders, please give us your orders!”
“……Why, why! Why do monstersーーOgres, possess occupations!”
The strong Felistina Chivalric Order that took the lead, is feeling afraid and is retreating.
It’s those large men with two horns and sharp fangs from their mouths that are making them so.
Those are Ogres.
It’s an Ogre that holds a thin, long, and curved sword, and an Ogre that covers its entire fists with Sorcery Seals.
They’re both abilities of occupations that I know of.
“Sana…..where’s, Otou-san1?”
“That fellow, he ran away……. He left the two Ogres to the knights-san and us, and he ran away”
Our father, Gale・Feriril, ran away.
It’s always like this. When his situation takes a turn for the worse, he leaves it to somebody and immediately runs away.
He left it to the Chivalric Order, left it to us, and he ran away by himself.
I’m sure, he’s already running away from this fortress.
“”Our target is gonna be the quest called Goliath Fortress Invasion Battle! If we clear this, we should be able to take care of Okaa-san2‘s medicine fees somehow!””
I was deceived by that fellow’s sweet words again.
Again, I exposed Runa to danger.
“……Sana³3, we’re going to run away”
“Eh, but. The knights-san areーー”
“We won’t be of any help even if we lend our hand. There’s nothing we can help with anymore. If we don’t run away, we’re just going to be killed”
“But if we run away here then the knights-san will……let’s fight. We’ll cooperate with the knights-sanーー”
“Runa!”
I understand.
I understand what she wants to say.
I mustn’t do something like using the knights-san as decoys and run away……I too, at least understand that.
“I hold Runa’s life above all else. Protect Runaーーbecause that’s, what I promised Okaa-san”
“……”
“As for Okaa-san’s medicine fees, let’s work hard and save it up with the two of us again. It’s for the sake of that, that we desperately trained together, right?”
“……Un”
I grabbed Runa’s hand and ran away.
I want to block my ears with both hands so that I can’t hear the knights-san’s angry voices that are audible from behind.
But because Runa has a kind personality, if I let go of the right hand that I grabbing and pulling, she’s going to stop right where she is.
Whether to escape, or whether to fight the Ogres.
She’ll think about it……can’t decide on it……and be killed.
I don’t mind even if I’m told that I have a terrible personality.
As long as I can protect Runa, as long as Runa’s around, I’m fine with it.
“”Sana is a little bit of the elder sister, so protect Runa, who’s the younger sister, okay””
It’s slightly before Okaa-san was plagued with illness.
It’s the last words that I was toldーーa promise that I have to keep even if it costs me my life.
Hence, I’ll sacrifice everything and run away with Runa.
“Let’s hide here”
I hide in a dilapidated house with Runa.
Ogres suddenly appeared. By any chance, they might’ve appeared so as to not let us escape if we were to try to leave the Goliath Fortress.
I catch my breath that’s ragged from running.
Until just now, we were near the Third Gate, now, we can see Second Gate right before our eyes.
We ran quite a bit. We ran away quite a bit.
It’s fine. It’s fine now.
“Hey, Sana. As I thought, I wonder if it’s a mistake to have followed Otou-san”
“……I don’t know. But we only had one choice”
That fellow’s rotten to the core.
But still, he’s an A Rank Adventurer.
He has the capability and the quality of the quests he can undertake is also different from us E Rank Adventurers.
Besides……he’s our biological father.
A parent who gave birth to Runa and me.
A parent.
A father.
A blood relative.
Although I hate it, that’s an unchangeable relationship.
So as a family of Adventurers, I have no choice but to challenge the quests with the guild that we created as a family.
Although I can’t go out with Okaa-san; I, Runa, and that person.
I want to leave the guild because I hate being with that fellow.
But if I say such a thing, I might end up being unable to have him let me meet Okaa-san, who’s bedridden in the house the whole time.
Besides, rather than the E Rank Runa and me doing our best, we can earn more of Okaa-san’s medicine fee if we undertook the quests that that fellow undertook.
“We, no longer have any other choice”
I hug my knees and bury my face.
There was no other way.
Obeying that fellow who would abandon his children.
Curing Okaa-san’s body that requires costly medicine.
Protecting the weakling and crybaby Runa so that she doesn’t get in danger.
Everything.
Everything everything everything.
I carried everything, alone.
Another choice, such a thing no longerーー.
“As I thought, at that time, to Egil-sanーー”
“We mustn’t do that! We mustn’t. We absolutely mustn’t”
It’s the person who gave Runa and I strength.
Although it’s a short period of time, it’s a person who’s enjoyable to be together with, a person who taught us how to fight, a person who smiled to us from the bottom of his heart.
“”If it comes the time when Sana can’t do anything about it, no matter what it is, I’ll help you””
I was happy at the words he last told me.
I wanted to talk about the circumstances I’m carrying and let the weight off my shoulders right there and then.
ーーHowever, that’s not right.
He’s surely, the type who will help you if you rely on him.
Hence, if I were to say ‘help’, say ‘help Okaa-san’, ‘help Runa’, Egil-san will help us unconditionally.
However, we mustn’t do that. Absolutely.
I can’t repay anything.
I can’t say something like save everything in my life, to Egil-san, who’s already seemingly the type who likes to look after people. I mustn’t say it.
“We, won’t meet Egil-san again. We mustn’t meet him”
“But……! But, there’s nobody but Egil-san who’ll save us anymore”
“Still, we mustn’t rely on him”
It’s raining heavy outside and the sky that was bright until just now changes into a cloudy sky.
It’s as though the weather is representing my heart. Although I hate the rain, I like it now.
“We’ll run away after a while”
“……Un”
Runa was keeping quiet on that note.
It’s thanks to the rainfall outside that it’s not dead silent huh.
Let’s wait for a little while more and we’ll return to Okaa-san’s side.
We’ll return, and then we’ll think about the future afterwards.
ーーwas, what I thought.
“GUOooooo!”
“Eh?”
There’s the voice of a beast from right behind.
It’s not a goblin. This isーー.
“Runa, run away!”
“Sana!?”
Right when I thrust Runa away, the wall that I was leaning my back on was destroyed.
“Kuhaa, uu!”
I too was sent flying along with it and my back crashed into the wall on the opposite side.
It was a large fist that flew over.
It’s the Ogre. It’s the mysterious Ogre with an occupation just now.
“Sana, are you alright!?”
“I’m, I’m alright……what about Runa?”
Runa’s tearing up but she’s alright.
Thank god. She’s not hurt.
I’m in a bad spot.
My body’s at its limit.
It takes all I have just to stand up.
I can just barely move both my legs and arms because of the impact just now.
“I……will be alright if I heal. More importantly, run away from here”
“Wha, what about Sana!? Sana, let’s run away together!”
“I, have to take on this fellow”
Even if we run away together here, we’ll be caught up anyway and both of us will be killed.
If that’s the case, at the very least, I want at least Runa to run away.
I make my legs, that are at their limit, run and head outside.
“Bombardment of LightーーAngel・Nova”
I launch an explosive sphere of light, but it has no effect even when it lands.
But it’s good enough. It’s good enough if I can draw its attention.
“Quickly run away, Runa. I can’t hold out for that long”
“I, I don’t wanna, Sana as well, togetherーー”
“Runa!”
At the younger sister who leaks out a voice that’s about to cry, I raise my voice as an elder sister.
“Are you not going to listen to your elder sister!?”
“I mean, I mean……”
“It’s futile even if the both of us run away, you know that much, right!? If that’s the case, run away! Run away and help with Okaa-san’s sickness! For what did you become an Adventurer! Runa!”
“Uu, uuu, I’ll definitely, I’ll definitely come and help you, I’ll call somebody over!”
I can tell that Runa is running.
As she made splashing sounds on the puddled ground, Runa ran.
ーーDon’t go.
I’m scared. Don’t go.
Don’t leave me alone.
I swallow the words that I’m very close to saying.
And then I have a different feeling.
I’m glad.
I was slightly bothered.
By the fact that we left the knights-san behind and ran away.
Hence, with this, I can feel slightly less guilty about the fact that we left the knights-san behind and ran away.
I place my hand on my own body.
“Oh, Sacred LightーーHealing”
I heal my wounds with a first-aid treatment standard Healing Magic.
I can walk. It’s iffy whether I can run or not though.
“UGAAaa”
“GUOoo, GUOooooo!”
“It’s two against one huh. That’s, bullying”
Laughter wells up.
Although large build men are my type, as one would expect, it’s not my type if they’re so large and expressionless.
If I don’t think about such stupid things, I’d try to run away from this place.
Because I’m scared.
Because I’m so scared that my legs are trembling.
But let’s fight.
Until this life runs out.
“Alright then, come. I’ll be your opponent”
The Ogre that held a blade runs over terribly aggressively.
I recite my magic’s incantation while jumping back to dodge it.
But I didn’t make it.
Magic finally activates when one recites the entire incantation.
Hence, I have to always have somebody protect me.
For me, who’s by myself, I don’t have the leisure to be able to complete the incantation.
If I come in contact with the blade, I die.
If I come in contact with the fist, I die.
I won’t be able to heal or whatnot.
If I die then it’s meaningless to heal or whatnot.
My trembles instantly became worse after I thought of that.
Did Runa already manage to escape?
If she escaped, is it alright for me to also escape?
Even if I escape while hiding inside the houses and suchーー.
“Aah geez!”
That’s not it, right.
Runa’s cowardice might’ve passed on to me.
Nothing will change even if I escaped.
More importantly, let’s do something about these Ogres.
I chant my Holy Magic and stop my movements.
After I start moving, I stop moving again.
It’s a repetition of that.
Let’s do something about it.
Something.
…….
‘Something’.
How?
“It’s, over huh”
My magic power also has its limits.
I’m able to cast my magic just a few more times huh.
I stop my feet and look up into the sky.
Rain.
Heavy rain.
However, it feels slightly good.
My regret is that I couldn’t play with Okaa-san and Runa, the three of us.
I wanted the three of us to talk for one last time.
And…….
“I’m sorry. ーーMy promise that I’ll rely on you, I broke it”
The two Ogres that are before my eyes raise their blade and fist overhead.
It’s the end.
I closed my eyes.
I’m dead.
ーーI should’ve been.
“ーーInfinite Sword Dance (Endless Sword)”
Along with the voice, the two Ogres’ screams reverberate.
Eh. What? What happened?
I timidly opened my eyelids that I closed tightly.
In front of my eyes are Ogres that were stabbed with countless swords.
The number of swords is above 3○○. I can tell by the looks of it, that they’re suffering.
And I know just one person who can use this technique.
“……If, Sana is carrying some kind of burden, and Sana reached the end of the rope, I’ll help you. Didn’t I say that?”
“Wh, y……”
I turn around and over there, was Egil-san.
Beside him is an out of breath Runa.
Why are they here? before those words came out, I cried in front of my younger sister.
Although my tears aren’t visible because of the rain, I let my voice out and cried.
And then, I asked Egil-san for help.
“Please. Please, help Runa and me……”
Egil-san approached my side without saying anything, and ‘Pon’, he placed his hand on my head.
- Father
- Mother
- I think the Author is trying to say ‘Runa’ here but mistyped. The original text is Sana so I just kept it as Sana.
