Swamp Girl!

Chapter 13

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A dream.
Again.

–

There was an elm tree growing in the back garden.
A huge, majestic tree.
I loved that tree, and ██████ would get mad at me for it, but I would often climb up and play in its branches.
Even though I got scolded, I climbed because I liked the scenery from up there.
To be honest, I could see the same view from the second story of the house, but when I gazed out from that high perch all by myself, I could imagine that it belonged to me alone, and it looked even more wonderful.

The wind blew, and the foliage shook. A rustling sound. Motes of sunlight filtering through the leaves.
Far in the distance, I could see a mountain range. It would change from green, to yellow, to white, colors to match the season.
The sky was all sorts of colors too. Soaring blue, distant red, sprawling indigo.
Deep inside, I felt that I would never tire of it.

One day, ██████ came.
At first, I found ██████ hard to deal with. He might have felt the same way. The first time we met, I didn’t know how to act around a boy who was roughly the same age as me.
Nervous, but curious, I snuck peeks from behind. I didn’t know what ██████ thought of me, acting like that. ██████ would steal glances at me too, but only to look at me in bewilderment.
In the end, I inched closer little by little, and took ██████’s hand.

“██████”

I said.
██████, confused, nodded.
I was happy. Me, and ██████ too. We probably both wanted to get along, I think.

And so we became friends. Not friends. Brother and sister.
██████ was Big Brother. I was the little sister. Because I was younger.
But even so, I was glad. If I could be together with ██████, if I could call him family, I’d be happy. I loved ██████, and ██████ always pulled on my hand.
But that elm was the only exception.
I climbed the elm less frequently than before. Playing with ██████ was important to me.
Besides, ██████ wouldn’t climb the elm. No matter how many times I asked, he wouldn’t do it. So every time I gave up, helpless, and secretly climbed it by myself. But I was found out every time, and he’d look up at me and yell that it was dangerous.
Even though it would be better to climb it together. Even though I wanted to look together. Even though the view that belonged solely to me, would be even better if the two of us could share it.

And yet, ██████ wouldn’t come.
But I wanted both of us to see it someday, for sure.
That would definitely be even more wonderful. I just knew it.

–

“……”

Collecting my dazed consciousness, I awakened as myself.
When I opened my eyes, I could see the bed canopy.
Ah, I’m here.
Maybe it was because that weird dream, but it was a relief to find myself in the same place as yesterday.

Dream?

Was that really a dream? Aren’t dreams usually more abstract and bizarre?
Not to mention, the contents of my dreams were worrying me more and more. Even when I dug through my memories, I couldn’t find a single trace of that place or those children.
It wasn’t as if I’d never dreamed of places and people I didn’t know until now. So in that respect, there was nothing particularly mysterious about it.
That was how it should be, but these strangely vivid and not-irrational dreams gave me a sense of discomfort I couldn’t put into words. If I had to say something, I’d go with:

Mystery dreams.

…that’s it in a nutsh.e.l.l.
In conclusion, I suddenly felt foolish, and I decided not to pay too much attention to them.

“Hahh.”

“Oh, you’re awake?”

…Again?
With a slightly fed-up look on my face, I sat up in bed and turned toward the source of the voice.

There was Leon, sitting on the chair next to the wall just as he had been yesterday. When our eyes met, he raised a hand in greeting, his expression calm.
…But if there was something different from yesterday, it was the hint of dark shadows under his eyes. They were only slightly darker, but given Leon’s originally chiseled good looks, they stood out even more.

“What’s with the bags under your eyes?”

So, I asked him straight out.
Frankly speaking, I didn’t see a reason to be delicate with Leon. I mean, the guy goes into people’s rooms whenever he feels like it all the time — well, for a second time, anyway.

“…Do you remember what happened yesterday?”

Leon’s expression grew dubious.

Yesterday………–!

How could I forget?
I hurriedly checked both sides of my right hand.
Sure enough, there was nothing there.
Not on my palm, of course, nor on the back of my hand. That strange floating pattern was completely gone without a trace. I rubbed my right hand with my left to make sure, but as I thought, there was no sense of discomfort.

“What… was that?”

I was confused.
I was happy that there was nothing there, sure.
The truth is, if that glowing pattern had been floating there, I would’ve been even more confused. But its absence was unsettling too. There was no doubt in my mind that something happened yesterday.

I recalled last night.
The rock that I thought was a invocation stone was absorbed into my palm.
A merciless dizziness a.s.saulted me, the pattern appeared on the back of my hand, and lines radiated from it, running up my arm and disappearing toward my back. At the same time, a large version of the pattern imprinted itself on my vision.

…Speaking of which.

“Hey, Leon. What happened to me yesterday?”

Thinking back, at the end, Leon came flying into the room with a completely unfamiliar expression on his face. I even remembered thinking, ‘Huh, so even Leon can make a face like that.’

“Well, you see, I heard you screaming at the time so I thought something happened and rushed over. I should have knocked, but your voice didn’t sound normal.”

“No, uh, that’s not what I meant.”

The problem was what came after that.
Or rather, since I was continuing to wake up to this situation with Leon, I was surprised he could talk about knocking with a straight face.

“Then the moment I came in, and you were collapsed on the floor, holding your head? I’d like to know what happened myself.”

“…The pattern.”

“Pattern?”

“…No…”

When Leon repeated the word, looking curious, my words became muddled.
He didn’t see it?
I could see that glowing blue circle so clearly.
But maybe only I could see it.
In that case, if I started talking about it right here, right now, I’d ultimately have no choice but to reveal my secret.
I… still wasn’t mentally prepared for that. Right now, I still didn’t want to talk about it.

“…No, so many things happened, I think I was still half-asleep.”

So I made up a suitable lie instead.
Hearing that, Leon turned a bit pensive, but for now he said,

“…Is that so?”

with an expression that could be taken as either agreement or doubt.
Which one?
Well, whichever it was, I was going to have to come clean today or tomorrow.

“I understand. But the issue with your physical condition… No.”

With a rare flicker of bewilderment, Leon cut himself off.
What?
Before I had the time to wonder, his smile returned.

“I would like to start the operation. The other two are already ready and waiting, so you’re the only one left. After you’ve changed, please join us in the conference room we used yesterday.”

As if he’d said what there was to say, Leon got up and left the room.

…It wasn’t like I was expecting to be escorted or anything, but somehow I felt unsatisfied, or maybe disappointed. Like it betrayed my expectations.
Well, maybe it was something like that.
Anyway, I wasn’t a guest here anymore.
After this, it was all about the job.
‘If that’s the case, then that’s normal, right?’ I decided.

–

By the time I entered the meeting room, Palmira and Aira were already waiting, just as Leon had said. And they had even changed into the slightly grimy sack-dresses, too.
Speaking of which, I get it. Still, changing back into these clothes for a second time…
Though I understood that we were becoming slaves, it was enough to dampen my mood considerably.

“Somehow, this makes me feel like everything up until now was a dream.”

While maids applied make-up, Aira said this with a half-smile. The make-up seemed to be for the purpose of making our eyes look sickly, but unconcerned about the intention, the two maids went to work with zeal.

“Now then, would you please change into this as well?”

Another maid handed me clothing. She’d been the one to dress me the day before yesterday. Perhaps drawing a clear line, she maintained a stoic expression.
It felt lonely, somehow, but it couldn’t be helped. I accepted the sack-dress in silence.

–

It was gloomy, and to make things worse, the pa.s.sage we were walking down was narrow and damp.

Ahead of us, holding a light, was Lieutenant Vyde of the First Platoon.
His silent figure, striding along, was an oddly good fit for this place. Wearing the sack clothing, Aira, Palmira, and I followed behind him. The mood being what it was, no one said anything.
Behind us was Irene. It seemed that because her enchantment magic had a time limit, she was coming along in order to cast it at the last possible moment. Even she kept her mouth shut, unsurprisingly.
Following her were around ten soldiers.
Well, I say that, but — and this applied to Vyde too — they’d changed their earlier armored look. If anything, they looked like a ragtag band of adventurers. Slavers being the idea here.

After that, Leopard and the local troops arrived to commence operations.
Like so, we moved to what they said was the main building. Pushing aside the stove at the back of the hall, Leopard saw us off as we descended the staircase that appeared.
It was just like a n.o.ble’s mansion to have a secret escape route like this. I bet they come standard. From the slight surprise on Irene’s face, this one must have been kept top secret. If not, then it wouldn’t work as a normal escape route either. 1

In the end, Leon never showed his face.
‘At least see us off. That’s not too much to ask, is it?’ I thought, but… I ended up telling myself, ‘Well, I’m sure he’s busy.’

All the same, walking down this dark underground pa.s.sageway, it was like we were being taken to some heathen ritual to be offered up as sacrifices.
And in a sense, that might be true. In that we were being offered up.
The reality is, we’re women. Since the old days, it’s been a young woman’s lot to be made a sacrifice.
Wait, but I’m a young man. The heathen G.o.d will have some pretty complicated feelings about that, I’m sure.

It looked like we’d reached the end while I was thinking about all that useless junk. Vyde suddenly came to a stop.
I stumbled forward, but manage to keep from running into him.
It was a dead end with a small iron door set in the wall. Without a word, Vyde took a key out from somewhere and slid it into the keyhole.
Kac.h.i.n.k. Vyde pushed against the door from the inside, opening it with a creak. Sunlight shone through the gap.
The brightness was dazzling, but when my eyes adjusted, I realized we were in a deep forest.

“This way.”

Hearing Vyde’s voice for the first time, I timidly stepped outside at his urging.
We were in a deep forest after all, as it turned out. Looking around, I saw that the door I had just come out of was set into some kind of stone monument, twisted and covered in ivy.
I see, the exit was hidden too. I approved of the choice.

“We’ll walk a little further. Watch out for undergrowth.”

Vyde told us to pay attention in a subdued voice. He really kept his words down to the minimum, didn’t he?

–

Once we left the forest, which didn’t even have an animal trail running through it, we emerged onto a highway.
At the same time, as if they’d been waiting nearby, two wagons pulled up to us.
This operation was like a well-oiled machine.
One was an extremely unremarkable covered wagon, but the other was that sealed wooden box from before.
That was our ride. It was just as depressing as wearing the sack.
Aira and Palmira were also looking at it with rather complicated expressions.

“Well then, I’ll cast the enchantment inside.”

Irene spoke with as little emotion on her face as possible and got into the box.
When I looked at the other two again, our eyes met.
Seeing their lost looks, I braced myself and got in. Then, the other two followed.

“…Okay, let’s go in turns.”

As soon as we were all inside, the casting began.
The invocation stone and the light of the spell illuminated the wagon’s dim interior. It was a more wondrous sight than yesterday’s.
First up, Aira.
Same as before, Irene stuck her finger in Aira’s mouth. Then Palmira’s.

“Last but not least, Chris. Open your mouth, okay?”

Having gone through it twice before, Aira was still calm, but Palmira had her hands clapped over her ears just as Aira had.
My turn came up while I was watching them, and I turned to Irene.

“…I trust you’ll be gentle.”

I put on a face of bravado over my slight dread.
Irene gave me a tiny nod and wrote the symbols in the air a third time. That done, she stuck her finger in my mouth as she had with the others.

Snap–

There was a popping sound toward the back of my head. Irene withdrew her finger.

(H–Huh?)

Irene’s voice echoed in my head. When I looked over at her, she was staring at the tip of her finger with a perplexed expression.
Whaddya mean, ‘huh’? You’re making me nervous.

(Ah, it looks like the enchantment took hold properly… I thought it felt a little different than usual, for some reason.)

What? Could she hear my thoughts just now?
It was amazing, but it was scary to think that someone was listening in.

(Once you get used to it, you’ll be able to transmit only what you want to.)

(Big Sister, it’s okay. Even I can do it.)

(…How very unnerving.)

Following Irene, I could hear Aira and Palmira’s voices.
Anyway, it seemed like everything was okay. I mean, it was still a weird feeling, and I couldn’t suppress my disorientation, but I thought I’d get used to it sooner or later.

(Well, everyone, do your best. Chris, I haven’t forgotten what you promised.)

With that, Irene gave us a little thumbs-up and got out.

The door shut behind her.

More and more, I felt strongly that we’d rolled back to being slaves. Unsurprisingly, I grew uneasy.
After a short while, I could feel the wagon start to move.

“…Snff.”

Aira sniffled, on the verge of tears.

(It’s okay.)

The only thing I could do was pray that would hold true.

Author’s Notes
Guuhhh–, the story hasn’t advanced much at all…
I guess I should cut the cut parts.

Footnotes
1. こうしたものは、そうでなければ非常の脱出路にはならない ↵

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