Chapter 59: Walt Wanu Waudu

――That day, I decided to live my life having abandoned every happiness an ordinary person could hope for.

I was born into the Waudu tribe in the Great Forest, and my childhood was plagued by the extraordinary hearing I had been born with.

The rustling of leaves and grass, the flapping of birds’ wings, the footsteps of beasts, the babbling of streams... These were all sounds that should have brought peace to the heart. But when they came together, they became noise. My exceptional, almost inhuman hearing tormented me throughout my childhood.

However, someone who would later become my archery master taught me that this was a talent I could put to use with a bow. I began training to control my hearing. The sound of the wind, the sounds made by my prey... Little by little, my archery took shape, allowing me to turn every sound into an ally.

It didn’t take long before I came to be known as the finest archer among the elves. My days continued, devoted entirely to pursuing the way of the bow.

I thought I would continue living in the Great Forest forever. Unlike the other young elves, I had no longing for the outside world. I never doubted that I would spend my entire life in stagnation, together with my beloved little sister and the members of my tribe.

...At least, until the day the elves’ sacred treasure was stolen by someone.

Long ago, the conceptual spirit of “Winter” had bestowed a magical crystal upon the elves. This sacred treasure, a cornerstone of the Great Forest’s defenses, suddenly vanished without a trace.

To avoid causing panic, the matter was kept secret from ordinary elves and disclosed only to a select few, including the elders. However, I had already become the strongest warrior among the elves, so I was informed of the theft and personally entrusted by the elders with the mission of recovering the treasure.

According to our laws, no one who left the forest could ever return, regardless of the reason. Both the elders and I understood this perfectly well.

I had friends, a father and mother, and a little sister. The number of things I would leave behind was beyond counting.

Even so, I accepted the mission. The treasure was that important, and being entrusted with such a responsibility was an honor in its own right.

I would be abandoning forever the kind of “ordinary” happiness in which one lived in the forest where they were born and raised, married a partner chosen by their respective families, had children, and grew old. Instead, I chose a journey in which I would devote my life to my mission.

And so, I traveled for years and years, searching for the treasure’s whereabouts and journeying across the various regions of Chaos.

Yet I couldn’t find even a single clue. Day after day, I struggled and floundered, accomplishing nothing.

And then...

It happened when I was passing near the Great Forest for the first time in several years. There, I picked up a sound that should never have reached my ears.

My little sister, who should by now have been living a peaceful life in the forest, married and settled down. For some reason, I could hear her sounds coming from outside the forest.

Puzzled, I followed the source of that sound—

—and met that woman.

What words should I use to describe that woman, Tierra As?

She devoted herself to cooking and cleaning, healed others in battle, and supported her companions from behind the scenes. She even gave up her “swimsuit” for one of her companions.

She was meddlesome and caring, yet somehow maintained a certain distance from others.

No, perhaps it was the opposite. Perhaps she was the kind of woman who constantly reminded herself that she had to keep a step back, yet couldn’t bring herself to abandon someone and ended up reaching out to help them anyway.

...Whenever I looked at Tierra, something stirred uneasily in my chest.

Like my little sister, she was reckless and unpredictable. I never knew what she might do next.

But Tierra was clearly different from my sister.

What, then, was that woman to me?

Back in the Great Forest, I had devoted myself to training. After leaving it, I had dedicated everything to my mission and pushed forward without looking back. As someone who had lived that way, I couldn’t find the words to describe her.

...But, yes. Perhaps the closest word would be “friend.”

The time we spent talking about our “little sisters” by the lakeside had been genuinely enjoyable.

Having settled on an answer to the strange, unfamiliar feelings within me, I continued following the group centered around a boy named “Kizuna.”

My greatest reason was that I was worried about my little sister. But it was also true that I had grown somewhat interested in Tierra, her companions, and the journey they were taking.

...And then, I learned of the threat approaching the Great Forest.

The overwhelming calamity posed by the Machine City and its mechanical soldiers.

That is why I am now standing alone, continuing to fire my arrows.

Tierra and her companions are certainly quite capable. Even so, they cannot stop every single mechanical soldier.

The Great Forest is vast, and the enemy’s numbers are great. If any mechanical soldiers stray beyond the range of their attacks and enter the forest, all their efforts will be for nothing.

That is precisely why I am positioned away from Tierra and the others, continuing to snipe the mechanical soldiers that slip past them.

I conjure arrows with magic, nock them, distinguish sounds with my ears, draw the bowstring, and release. I fire countless arrows, wiping out mechanical soldiers across a wide area.

Even as I repeat this monotonous cycle of combat over and over, my thoughts remain consumed by a certain “man.”

A little while ago, just before my little sister and the others entered the Machine City.

A strange-looking man with suspicious mannerisms, calling himself “King Circus,” had joined their group. At that time, I recalled something Tierra had muttered.

“Mr. Siscon. It’s him.”

Her mutter had been incredibly quiet, but my ears had caught the sound perfectly.

There was a nine-in-ten chance that “him” referred to “King Circus.” And “siscon” was a word I had heard when I met Tierra by the lakeside. She must have been referring to me.

Furthermore, I had told her about my circumstances when we spoke by the lake. Therefore, I could interpret her muttered words to mean that “Circus was somehow involved in the theft of the sacred treasure.”

Why did Tierra know that? Why hadn’t she told me when we met by the lake, only to bring it up now? My questions were endless, but strangely enough, the thought of suspecting Tierra never once crossed my mind.

I trusted her words and paid even closer attention to “Circus” and his behavior.

However, judging by the sounds I could hear, he didn’t seem to have the sacred treasure hidden on his person. Even if he was involved in the theft, he didn’t appear to be carrying it around with him at present.

On top of that, my little sister was traveling with them, and I found it difficult to face her. In the end, all I could do was remain vigilant.

Before I knew it, things had progressed to the battle against the mechanical soldiers. Even as I continued fighting, I kept my attention on “Circus”...

And then, I noticed.

The sound of Circus had changed.

“Damn it! Where is he?! Where the hell did he go?!”

The battle against the mechanical soldiers had stabilized after a mysterious girl who laughed exuberantly joined the fight.

So I left the battle and ran around searching for Circus, whom I had lost track of.

The “Circus” who had seemed to be fighting the mechanical soldiers all along was nothing more than a remarkably well-made puppet. A fake.

And now, the sound of the original Circus I had heard at the beginning was nowhere to be found.

I couldn’t pick up his sound.

Under ordinary circumstances, I should conclude that he was no longer nearby. With my natural hearing, it should normally be impossible for me not to hear someone. But if the culprit behind the sacred treasure’s theft—the one I had spent years searching for without finding a single clue—really was Circus, then... If that were the case, it wouldn’t be surprising if he could conceal himself so completely that even his sounds and presence disappeared.

“What’s happening elsewhere? What about Pahal and Tierra...?”

As though suddenly remembering them, I focused my hearing on the other locations.

...Tierra was still lying unconscious.

I didn’t know the details, but it seemed that Tierra had gone to fetch the conceptual spirit of “Winter” and suffered serious injuries in the process.

However, thanks to her bringing Lord Winter here, the situation that had nearly erupted into a fight had dissipated. Everyone had instead begun expressing their feelings in words. At last, even the elders had relented, and it seemed the elves had united to fight against the mechanical soldiers.

Kizuna, Pahal, Lies, and Himeros had gone ahead to rejoin their other companions. They intended to enter the Machine City and make another attempt to persuade its city leader.

Tierra, on the other hand, showed no signs of waking up. Lord Winter and the elves who had stayed behind had apparently decided to protect her in the Great Forest until everything was over.

“That woman really does push herself too far every time. She needs to stop with all this self-sacrifice... ...?!”

At that instant, I noticed it.

Beside the sleeping Tierra, there was a space devoid of sound.

And so—

My decision was instantaneous.

――Nock.

“Know that you have nowhere left to run.”

――Draw.

“Final Arrow.”

――Release.

The arrow soared high into the sky before hurtling straight toward its target.

It was a shot beyond all expectations. A cold-blooded reaper that took lives from beyond the reach of perception.

The arrow struck its target squarely in the heart—

“Well, well! I see, I see! What a dangerous strike you have there! To think you would force me to reveal myself.”

The man...

The clown who had suddenly appeared out of empty space...

King Circus spoke with effortless fluency.

With an arrow buried deep in his chest.