Extra 5: Long-lived Species and Love
Extra 5: Long-lived Species and Love
Sparks crackled deep inside the fireplace.
Everyone remained silent, listening to the lingering sound.
The old woman takes a breath and puts down her teacup, and the atmosphere in front of the fire relaxes a little.
"... Phew. So far, this is the story of how the girl named Mia became accustomed to the adventure group."
"That means... from here on out――!"
The princess leaned forward, not noticing when the blanket slipped off her shoulders. Her eyes were sparkling, her mouth was in a smile, and her face was full of anticipation.
"It's love, right?! It's love, isn't it?! From here to with the knight's son!!"
The girl—the wizard girl, now hugging her knees by the fire—looked at the princess with faint eyes, a dark shadow cast over her cheeks, and without the light of the fire she would have looked dead.
Next to her, the hero had his arms crossed and a rather troubled expression on his face. The firelight illuminated his somewhat stern profile. When the swordsman asked, "What's wrong?" the hero scratched his head.
"That conversation just now... She feels like she's met someone she know very well... No, I know it was 60 years ago."
"You're overthinking it."
The princess exclaimed triumphantly, then turned her attention to the old woman, who chuckled softly as she took a sip from her teacup.
"That's right. The next story is about a boy she met in town - the son of a knight."
★
Mia and the knight's son met on a street corner at dusk, before any pursuers were around.
While waiting for Filina, who was shopping at a store, Mia was alone at the edge of the road, with the sun shining in at an angle, holding her hands up towards the ground. Her fingers were twisted, then bent, and at first glance her hands looked strange, or rather, awkward.
However, the shadow that fell on the ground was surprisingly a cat.
The shadow of a soft, gentle cat, sitting with its back hunched and its ears perked up.
The girl making it was blushing slightly as she tweaked her fingers, and a boy was watching from the other side of the street.
He was still too young to be called a young man, but he was dressed in a knight's uniform and had straight eyes. He couldn't help but stop in his tracks. It was so strange.
"...Does that hand shape create that kind of shadow...?"
The girl smiled softly, as if satisfied with the shadow. Then, as she gently touched the shadow with her finger, the cat's shape softly collapsed and disappeared.
The knight's son saw this and forgot to call out to her, and for a while he was unable to move.
•
•
The next day.
When he happened to see the girl again on the market street, he couldn't help but call out to her.
"...Umm, yesterday. The cat..."
The girl turned around quickly, widened her eyes, and then laughed.
"Oh. Were you watching? You were pointing in a weird way."
"...Yeah, but...it was amazing...how did you do it?"
"It's a secret!"
Saying this, she makes small cat ears with her fingers.
He thought at that moment.
I want to know more about this child.
•
•
It was still early afternoon.
On the outskirts of the camp, crouched in a corner of the rocks, the girl Mia was frantically waving her wand around, which she had borrowed from the wizard Kaya.
Her hands were shaky and her movements were unsteady. But she was still trying her best. With a branch resting on a small stone in front of her, she focused with a pout, determined to make a change.
...But nothing happened.
"...Uh"
Mia stared at the branch, her lips pursed slightly, her face looking like she was about to cry.
A boy was silently watching all this from behind a rock a short distance away. He was the son of a knight.
He sat quietly in his knight uniform and watched without saying a word. He opened his mouth several times to speak, but stopped himself. Mia's expression was dead serious.
•
•
...After several failed attempts, the girl finally realized.
"……Eh?"
When she turned around, she saw a boy with straight eyes.
Mia jumped to her feet, her face bright red and her mouth rambling.
"Wh, wh, what were you looking at?! You were looking at it, weren't you?! That's not true! It was just... practice! I wasn't being serious!"
The boy answered honestly to the panicked Mia.
"Yeah, I saw it."
"Ugh, I thought so..."
"But it was amazing."
"How?! Nothing happened!"
"...But even so, you didn't give up, right? That's why."
Mia was quiet.
The boy stood up and crouched down to Mia's level, making eye contact with her.
"I thought it would be nice to have someone to applaud when the magic worked."
That was all he said.
But Mia couldn't find a way to say anything back. She felt like something was slowly melting inside her chest.
"...I guess there's no other way."
Muttering softly, she turned away and once again raised her hands. This time, her back seemed to be a little straighter.
The boy just watched the whole thing in silence.
"Ah, look! The branch just moved!"
"Really? Now that you mention it, maybe that's true..."
•
•
Then again, a while later.
"Ano! Would you like to duel me?"
"...?"
Filina turned around. There was the son of a knight who had recently become good friends with Mia. That much was fine. But a duel? Why? It didn't make sense. In fact, it was barely the first time she'd even spoken to this boy, so why a duel? A berserker? Is he a berserker?
Many thoughts crossed Filina's mind, but she asked without showing it on her face.
"Why do you want to duel?"
"I was told to defeat the lieutenant in order to become friends with Mia."
When Filina turned around, she saw the members laughing happily.
Filina was unsure what to do. She could accept the duel, but the outcome was obvious. Mia would surely be dejected. But...
In her confusion, Filina noticed an empty lot where some of the group's free members were training.
In a corner of the square, in a small space set aside for sword training, while the members of the adventurers continued to take turns fighting, a boy in a somewhat out-of-place uniform was swinging a wooden sword with single-minded concentration.
His opponent was a tall member wielding a large sword with one hand. No matter how many times he tried to attack, his sword would bounce off and he would lose his balance.
"Hey, are you okay, young knight? How about you just join in on the training..."
"……One more time, please!"
Out of breath, the boy readied his sword, his forehead covered in sweat and his arms already shaking.
But his eyes never once strayed.
One of the members, who was watching from a distance, muttered as he shaded himself with a pot lid.
"Hmm, to be honest, he doesn't have any talent."
"But he didn't run away, did he? That was his fifth one, right?"
"What, seriously? If it were me, I'd be on my knees after the third one..."
And behind them, some distance away in the shade of a tree, were two people watching intently. They were Filina and Mia.
Mia hugged her knees and stared intently at the boy's back. Her gaze was strangely serious. It was rare to see her, who is usually carefree, looking at someone like this.
"...He's doing his best."
Hearing the muttered voice, Filina glanced at the girl out of the corner of her eye.
"Yeah. That kid is doing his best."
Mia twirled her fingertips and created small cat ears with her finger shadows.
The shadow swayed beautifully in the wind.
•
•
At dusk, the aroma of hotpot wafts through the air.
Several people were already seated around the log table set up in the adventuring group's camp, each one munching on a steaming dish. The boy stood a little ways away, holding a plate with a hot pot in his hand, looking lost. He didn't seem to know where to sit.
Seeing this, Filina stood up without saying a word, moved the plate she was holding to another seat, and made room for him, sitting next to Mia.
"..."
The boy was about to say something, but Filina remained silent and just tilted her chin slightly.
The boy's eyes widened, then he bowed slightly and sat down in the empty seat.
"……thank you"
Hearing that, Mia laughed softly next to him.
"Yeah, I wasn't the one who moved though."
"But I'm glad this place is empty."
"Fufu, that's good."
The other members of the orchestra did not listen to their conversation, but instead remained completely natural, quietly looking at them. Many warm glances were cast at them.
•
•
Another day.
Filina and Mia are standing side by side at the campfire.
A thin mist drifted slowly from the depths of the forest, enveloping the edge of the campsite in a white blanket. The smoke from the campfire found no escape into the sky, and instead drifted along the ground, creeping along at our feet.
In the middle of the room, a boy was baking bread. He always bought a big round piece of dark bread in town. Everyone else picked the soft part in the middle first, so most of the time, only the crust was left.
"...It's a little hard, but I think it would be fine if I roasted it over a fire."
They placed the skewers on the edge of the charcoal fire and arranged the bread crusts on top. A sizzling sound accompanied a fragrant aroma. Suddenly, Mia spoke up.
"...I like bread crusts."
"Eh?"
The boy turned his head in surprise, and the girl frowned slightly, still staring into the depths of the fire.
"Filina and everyone else likes the soft part in the middle, but... the crunchy ones... have their own survival strategy."
For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the crackling of the campfire.
The boy remained silent for a few seconds with a puzzled look on his face.
Eventually, he bursts out laughing.
"Haha, that's interesting. I'll remember that."
The girl said nothing, but narrowed her eyes slightly as she stared at the fire. Next to her, Filina was also there.
Everyone thought that these peaceful days would continue on... However...
--The day after this, the pursuers from the Ministry of Science appeared before Mia.
•
•
In a back alley of town, as the sun began to set, Mia and the knight's son walked side by side along the deserted cobblestone streets. However, there was a strange presence in the shadows behind them.
The members of the adventure group were hiding in the shadows.
"I want to protect you forever."
When the boy said this in a slightly trembling voice, Mia smiled softly and nodded.
"Yeah. I'm happy."
The boy took a deep breath and, blushing, looked straight at Mia.
"...I want you to marry me."
"Eh?"
At that moment, there was a rustling sound coming from deep in the bushes. The eyes of the members hiding in the shadows glared at the source. Filina, who was tall and unable to completely hide in the bushes, crouched down again with an embarrassed look on her face. However, neither Mia nor the boy had noticed the whole thing.
"Huh?"
"What?"
"He wants to marry Mia."
"What's going to happen?"
As the adventurers looked on, Mia, who had been deep in thought, took a deep breath, blushed, and nodded softly.
""
"Huh?"
★
"Well, they're getting married... I guess there's a difference in lifespan and stuff."
The princess, who had been listening to the story, muttered with a somewhat stunned look on her face, a pure, girlish curiosity shining in the depths of her eyes.
"It seems he took that into consideration as well. But still, it's fine."
The old woman smiles and looks up into space through the fireplace.
"So, they're happy together... No, but there are those guys from the Ministry of Science."
"Yes. They called for reinforcements from the kingdom. There were so many of them. They must have been desperate."
The moment the word "kingdom" was mentioned, the hero and swordsman's gazes turned to the princess.
"N-no! I already said it's different one from my kingdom!"
The princess shook her hand in denial, a familiar exchange.
"……many?"
The swordsman asked in a rather stiff voice.
"Yes. They were stationed on a rocky outcrop deep in the forest overlooking the town. From what I could see, there were probably around 3,000 of them. That was enough to easily destroy a small town."
"So, what happened?"
The princess asked timidly. The old woman answered quietly.
"Various opinions were expressed. Some said we should surrender and offer the long-lived species."
"It's difficult for the townspeople... but the adventurers will probably be against it."
"It was Filina who first insisted on handing it over."
"What happened?!"
★
A clatter of voices echoed through the campground. Filina, wearing Mia's clothes and with them forced over her head, was loudly asserting her position.
"Look, I am the true long-lived species. So I'm going."
"No, Lieutenant, that's impossible."
Even after the adventurers tore off Mia's clothes, Filina continued to struggle for a while. The leader of the group looked at Filina, who was bound tightly with rope, in amazement and let out a big sigh.
Certainly, there was nothing that could be done. He didn't expect that many people to gather. They must be desperate as well.
The faces of the townspeople gathered in the square were gloomy. However, surprisingly, those who asked for the long-lived species to be handed over were in the minority. It seemed that the townspeople had been supporting the love story between the knight's son and Mia, and that Mia was now considered one of them.
However, the town still did not have the military strength to defeat 3,000 soldiers. Some people insisted that "we have no choice but to pray to the mountain god." They loudly proclaimed that there was a legend that if one offered a sacrifice to the mountain god, their wish would be granted, but just like Filina, they were bound tightly with rope and carried away.
The notice arrived the next morning, sent from the Ministry of Science.
"The location of the 'descendant of the long-lived species' has been confirmed. Please hand it over by the morning of the third day. If you refuse, we will take appropriate action in the name of the kingdom."
An unknown checkpoint had been set up on the southern highway leading to town, an unmanned guard post had been set up on the eastern valley road, and even the only back road leading into the mountains had collapsed without anyone noticing.
"Completely... unable to get out, huh?"
An elder in town muttered to no one in particular. The atmosphere became heavy. No one could say, "So, what should we do?"
Meanwhile, an old tailor suddenly said,
"--At the very least, we should let them hold a ceremony."
Someone asked back, "What ceremony?"
"It's a wedding. Of those two."
All around town, glances were exchanged. Someone laughed.
"In that case, I'll bring some flowers from my shop. The white ones will bloom soon."
"I'll make a costume. I still have the old pattern. I'll make one based on my daughter's."
"We still have a few bottles at the brewery. They were saved for the festival."
Everyone started speaking, little by little, as if they were sharing something.
--It's not hope.
--It's not giving up.
Still, it was a determination to "go through life as a human being."
The next day, the town quietly but surely became more and more glittering.
White cloth was handed from eaves to eaves, florists ran about, and handmade decorations were hung in front of their shops.
Someone was drawing pictures on the side of the road. The children were holding the candy crafts they had been given and gazing blankly at the sky.
The town is now in the midst of preparations for the celebration - just like a big wedding.
•
•
It was dusk that day. The town was filled with a faint excitement in anticipation of the ceremony that was to take place the next day.
In a quiet room in a corner of town, two girls were facing each other.
Mia was sitting on the windowsill, swinging her legs.
Filina stood, looked around the room, and nodded in satisfaction.
"It's sure to be a big ceremony. Everyone is really excited."
"Yes. Thank you, Filina."
Suddenly, Mia's voice quieted.
"Somehow, it doesn't really feel real... I'm happy, but it feels like a dream."
Filina didn't reply, but instead muttered something while adjusting the curtains.
"It's fine if it's just a dream. If you can feel that way right now."
"Yeah. But I can't help but wonder if it'll all end after a while."
Mia's hands sway slightly in her lap.
Seeing this, Filina gave a small laugh, then quietly opened her waist pouch, took out a small cloth package, and handed it to Mia.
"...Yes. This is a gift from me."
"Eh...?"
When she opened the package she received, she found a small metal object inside: an intricately crafted hairpin in the shape of a cat's ear.
"I asked a craftsman in town to make it for me. I thought it would look good on Mia."
"...Wow...amazing..."
Mia smiled, gently hugging the hairpin to her chest.
"Thank you... I'm so happy. Hey..."
Mia looked straight up at Philina and said.
"I'll pay you back properly someday. I'll never forget what happened today."
Filina lowered her eyelids slightly and smiled.
The exchange was extremely calm and quiet.
That was the last conversation the two of them had.
★
The fire in the fireplace crackled.
The old woman finished her story, took the teacup in her hand, and quieted her mouth.
In the silence, the princess muttered quietly.
"...So? Mia's... gone?"
The old woman shook her head.
"No."
And bite your lip a little.
"The one who disappeared was Filina."
"…………Eh?"
★
The next morning, when the townspeople woke up, Filina was nowhere to be seen.
The room was neatly arranged, and there were no signs of forced departure or struggle. It was as if the person who had been there had simply disappeared naturally.
Amidst the confusion, news arrived that "all of the soldiers from the Ministry of Science who had been stationed deep in the forest have disappeared."
Still half-believing, the adventurers and the townspeople climbed into the forest, passing through the trees and heading for the hill where the enemy army was once stationed.
The deeper they went into the forest, the clearer the air became. For some reason, they couldn't hear the birds or the wind. Even the footsteps of the adventurers walking ahead of them seemed to be absorbed into the earth.
And then—light began to shine through the trees, and at that moment the view suddenly opened up, everyone held their breath.
The rocks that should have been there were not there.
The entire area where the soldiers were supposed to have been stationed had vanished without a trace.
Instead, what spread out before them was a lake.
The lake was so vast, deep, and beautiful that it seemed like it was not of this world. The crystal clear water surface was still, without a single movement, like a mirror imitating the sky.
The blue of the sky and the white of the clouds are all reflected so clearly that it looks as if the world has been turned upside down.
There were no waves. No rustling wind. Not even the shadow of a bird or the sound of an insect. Only silence spread. The silence was so complete that no one could speak.
There was no sign of the Ministry of Science soldiers. Not even a single remnant of their positions, flags, or weapons was there. It was as if nothing had ever happened to begin with.
But they must have been there. The soldiers were there. They were definitely here until that night.
Everyone who knew about it stood there in shock, unable to believe their eyes.
Someone finally said in a husky voice.
"...Is this really that place...?"
No one could answer. Only the surface of the lake remained motionless.
As if everything had been submerged forever.
•
•
After returning from the lake, the town square was still buzzing with activity, but Mia was walking alone, floating along towards the room.
To Filina's room - the quiet room where the two of them once laughed side by side.
She gently pushed the door open....There was silence.
There was nothing in the room.
The small items on the desk, the ornaments on the window curtains, and the chair that Filina always sat in - they had all vanished without a trace, as if no one had ever been there in the first place.
No. It didn't disappear.
From the beginning, all the evidence that "someone was here" had been neatly cleared away. Who? It was obviously Filina. She had cleared it all away. All by herself.
...I wonder what kind of expression she had on her face as she tidied up her room.
Mia stopped dead in her tracks in the room.
Her chest felt tight. It felt as if a cold hand had reached into her heart and grabbed it tightly.
She should have known. She vaguely knew that something had ended.
But--.
"...I said I'd pay her back someday..."
The moment the small voice spilled out, tears welled up in Mia's eyes.
The gentle smile she had when she gave her that hairpin.
The voice of herself saying, "I'll pay you back." The back of her face, smiling and saying, "It's okay."
Everything became crumpled deep inside her chest and she couldn't hold it in any longer.
Mia crouched down in place without making a sound.
She covered her face with her arms, and the tears she had been holding back fell drop by drop to the floor.
★
"...Since then, no one has seen that person...Filina, ever again."
The old woman muttered softly.
"But I believe. That person protected the town, protected us."
Silence fell over the room.
Eventually, the princess gently raised her eyes and spoke with a confused look.
"...Come to think of it, I've always thought you might be Filina."
The old woman narrowed her eyes slightly and shook her head slowly.
Then—after a pause, she smiled softly and said,
"Even long-lived species, once they run out of life, they age. Suddenly, like a bang."
For just a moment, no one could say a word.
The old woman laughed quietly.
"I'm Mia."
★
The leader of the Ministry of Science looked around at the soldiers lined up neatly on the rocks and nodded in satisfaction. Although it was an expedition using only the soldiers they had on hand, it was worth it.
That creature is undoubtedly a descendant of a long-lived species. If they capture it, their stalled research will make a big leap forward.
It doesn't matter if it's inhumane, it's for the future of humanity.
"...Leader, there is someone here who claims to be a member of the long-lived species..."
"What? Could it be that they came from the other side... Let them through!"
However, the person who appeared was someone who bore no resemblance to the girl.
A tall, lanky silhouette. There was no light in her eyes, and no expression on her face. Her limbs were stretched straight out, somehow lithe, yet strangely lean. Even the color of her skin looked somewhat like waxwork.
The leader frowned at the sight.
"...You're a long-lived species...? No, no, no, you're completely different from the one I saw in town the other day. You're probably 1.5 times as tall."
The woman nodded expressionlessly.
"It's okay. Pure long-lived species can "stretch and shrink to some extent", so there's no problem there."
"...I've never heard of such a thing!"
The leader's voice wavered slightly. He felt as if his pride, after devoting decades of his life to researching long-lived species, had been so easily denied.
"Are you planning to act as a decoy and let it escape? We can easily find out where the long-lived species are. It's pointless."
"So that's how it is... I think so, but I'll put it on hold for now. Also, it's not a lie that we can stretch or shrink."
"Then return to your original form here right now."
"Understood."
The woman's body shook.
Crackle, twisted, grind...
An unpleasant sound was heard as the body slowly shrank. Its shape changed as if its skeleton was folding and its muscles were twisting.
In the blink of an eye, her body shrunk to the size of a young girl. Her hair color, skin texture, and even the light in her eyes were all very similar to that of "that girl" from the other day.
"...!"
"Ah, I'm tired... But even so, this is what happens when you get found out..."
The girl muttered and looked up into space.
"Oh yeah, I have to bring this thing out too."
The girl stretched her hand out into the air, and a long spear appeared out of thin air.
The next moment, the spear began to distort and creak, twisting from the base. The handle became shorter, and the blade began to deform as if it had melted.
And what appeared was a somewhat sinister looking wand. The wand fit perfectly in the girl's small hand, as if it was meant to be that way from the beginning.
"Wh-Wh-What's that wand?! Who are you?!"
The leader's voice was trembling.
The girl smiled—too sweetly.
"...Because the adventurer group has Kaya. The leader said that if I was a wizard, my character would overlap, so he wanted a cool, quiet lieutenant."
As she said this, she lightly adjusted her grip on the staff. With just that, a red light suddenly swelled out from the staff, illuminating the ground in a dark red.
"Mia is getting married, so I don't want you to get in the way."
AN:
I'll finish with the thread's reactions and an epilogue.
(Note: This was difficult to understand)
From the line, "Even long-lived species, once they run out of life, they age. Suddenly, like a bang."
It seems that Mia had lived for several hundred years before she lost her memory and then meet Filina and others, (otherwise she wouldn't be considered long-lived), and then 60 years later, she ran out of life, and became a grandma.
Author's Note
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