By Zephyria =======
“Wolf…”
Red Eagle flinched. Silver, who had been yawning until then, furrowed his brow.
“Is that an intuition? Or do you have, I don’t know, some kind of evidence?”
“The latter. I’ll give the detailed explanation to Uncle.”
Silver shut his mouth. His Alice-blue eyes stared intently at Wolf. It felt as if the surroundings had suddenly turned into a midwinter sea.
After a moment, Silver spoke in a whisper.
“Step away from this. If your conclusion is wrong, Aunt dies. Can you handle that?”
That was something Wolf hadn’t considered. Silver added, brushing back his hair with one hand.
“If you want to take full responsibility, you open the chest instead of Aunt. Though she probably won’t stay quiet. She’s the one who told us to all just die together.”
After hesitating, Wolf turned around. He trudged through the water toward the Eyepatch Woman and Black Weasel, who were fooling around, and spoke.
“I’m not sure I can handle the guilt. But number 2 is correct.”
“Tsk, we should’ve just died together. Why bother with this useless effort?”
Silver flicked the water with his toe.
“Hey, let’s hear this great deduction of yours. Why are you so confident?”
“I told you I’d explain it in detail to Uncle.”
“Can’t answer, huh? Backing down?”
Even the sarcastic Silver changed his expression once he actually heard Wolf’s explanation. Seeing the look of curiosity in Silver’s eyes made Wolf want to straighten his back for no reason. How was it, Silver? I was pretty good, right?
“Hmm, let’s open chest number 2? Is there a woman with a big ass hiding in there? Not enough liquor, so they’re giving us a woman too? This is the best! Is this heaven?”
Meanwhile, Black Weasel, who had become completely wasted, was rambling. The Eyepatch Woman, with her arm draped over his shoulder, pointed a finger accusingly at Wolf.
“You brat! I told you let’s commit mass suicide, but this little kid just keeps being stubborn, huh! Honestly, you Atania folk are nothing but cowards!”
“Um, but what if we change the order of opening the chests? I could do it instead of Aunt…”
Wolf spoke hesitantly. In an instant, the Eyepatch Woman’s eye flashed.
“You little shit, who do you think you’re cutting in line in front of! The first player to open the chest is me, me! You guys can keep the mental anguish! I’m going to die peacefully!”
The Eyepatch Woman began wildly beating Wolf with her crutch. Just before she grabbed him by the hair, Silver grabbed Wolf’s arm and hurried him away.
“See. I told you so.”
Silver spoke bluntly as he stopped in front of the chests. Wolf leaned his hands on his knees, panting for breath. The moment he steadied his breathing and stood up, the voice was heard again.
〔The Jester’s sixth rotation has ended.〕
〔The Jester begins the seventh rotation.〕
“Wolf, let’s wait until the ninth rotation ends. This might be Aunt’s last drinking session.”
Silver looked Wolf straight in the eye.
“If it’s not number 2, promise me you’ll die with her. The blacksmith woman the Ice Armor Warrior met—he said she was a lunatic. The longer we hold out here, the more miserable it’ll be. The Prince’s condition is already strange. Look.”
Wolf hurriedly looked back. In the distance, Red Eagle was mumbling to himself, groping the air with both hands.
“Princess… Charlotte…”
The sight made Wolf feel so distressed he could hardly breathe. Silver gripped Wolf’s shoulder.
“It’s not your fault. Just look forward.”
“Yeah… I’ll bring the Prince back.”
Wolf rubbed his eyes with his fingertips. The chests were more than halfway submerged in the rising water.
〔The Jester’s seventh rotation has ended.〕
〔The Jester begins the eighth rotation.〕
The eighth rotation ended in the time it would take to take about five sips of tea.
The ninth rotation.
Red Eagle managed to stay relatively sane as long as Wolf stayed by his side. He clung to the hem of Wolf’s clothes, trying not to let go, but he didn’t show any abnormal symptoms like mumbling to himself. The adults ignored the boys and continued their loud, drunken revelry.
At some point, Silver cast a glance at Wolf.
“Bring Aunt over.”
As soon as those words were spoken,
〔The Jester’s ninth rotation has ended.〕
The voice spoke. Wolf suppressed his tension and walked toward the Eyepatch Woman.
“Huh? Where are you taking me? Are you my lover?”
“Hey, Prince! Why are you stealing my woman! Woman! Why are you following him so easily! Is a young guy really that good!”
The Eyepatch Woman and Black Weasel spoke nonsense in unison. Without a word, Wolf stood the Eyepatch Woman in front of chest number 2. He had finally come to this point. He felt as if a leather strap were tightening around his neck.
I might be making an irreversible mistake. The fairy could be in chest number 3.
“Hey! Why are you putting her in front of number 2? Didn’t we agree to open number 3 first? …Was it number 2?”
Black Weasel, who had followed them, blankly scratched his beard. The Eyepatch Woman turned her head to look at Wolf. Her gaze asked, ‘Why number 2?’ Wolf could have nodded vigorously to tell her to trust him, but he couldn’t. He quickly lost his nerve, and his gaze dropped to his toes.
“Eh, whatever.”
The Eyepatch Woman spat on the ground.
“I’ve drunk my fill, so it’s enough! You guys can keep trembling! I’m going—!”
Wolf lifted his head. Without even blinking, he watched the Eyepatch Woman. Every one of her movements seemed extremely slow. The Eyepatch Woman gripped the chest lid. She threw it back without hesitation. And then…
“Aaaagh!”
Red Eagle leaped up and screamed. The chest was bulging and swelling. Eyes snapped open on the lid, and arms stretched out from the sides. Wolf recoiled in horror. Silver lowered his center of gravity and drew his sword. Black Weasel, seemingly sobered up instantly, raised his axe.
The chest transformed into a giant monster in a flash. However, it wasn’t a finger monster. Compared to its long arms that reached the floor, its legs were short like a shrimp’s tail. The head was much larger than the upper body, and its features were utterly bizarre. Even the Branch-Nosed Flat-Footed Deer, a hideous animal that frequently appears as a laughingstock in Atania’s fairy tales, would have looked more graceful than this monster.
〔Waaah—!〕
The monster thrust its face toward the Eyepatch Woman. Inside its wide-open mouth, there were no teeth, only a mass of festering, bright red gums. Its breath poured out like scorching heat. The Eyepatch Woman’s hair fluttered violently. Wolf reached out an arm and shouted.
“Aunt!”
The Eyepatch Woman fainted and fell backward. With a splash, her body sank into the water.
“Wolf!”
Red Eagle gripped the hem of Wolf’s robe tightly. Wolf stared straight ahead, unable to breathe. The monster… was gone. It had vanished without a trace! In its place, a small tree fairy was drawing spirals in the air, fluttering its transparent wings.
It really was chest number 2!
〔How mischievous! Sister, what was that for?〕
〔I wanted to make an impressive entrance! Were you very surprised? It wasn’t too much, was it?〕
〔It was too much! You were so ugly!〕
The two tree fairies flew off somewhere, chatting among themselves. Wolf and Red Eagle stared at each other blankly. The Eyepatch Woman, who had pushed herself up from the water while spitting it out, looked around with a bewildered expression. Black Weasel and Silver simply blinked, still holding their weapons.
〔Rescue successful!〕
The voice spoke.
〔You have achieved this in the fastest time among the deployed observation subject groups! According to the regulations, I will grant you bonus points!〕
* * *
The midday sunlight pierces through.
There are no clouds. Birds fly.
Only traces of the forest remain. Uprooted trees, broken branches, clumps of earth, and stones are scattered like debris. Thin smoke rises from a tree stump.
The village has vanished without a trace. In the place where houses, stables, and temples once gathered, only a deep pit remains. It looks as if a giant spoon had scooped the village out.
In the middle of that pit, a man sits naked, staring up at the sky. His mouth is agape. His eyes are unfocused.
From a distance, a heavily armed cavalry unit watches the man. A priest draped in a white robe stands to the left of the cavalry captain at the front. To the right, a shabby boy on horseback is sobbing.
“Is that the person?”
The cavalry captain asks. The boy wipes his eyes.
“Yes… I went on an errand to the neighboring village, and when I returned half a day later… only that uncle was there. He’s someone I’ve never seen before.”
46 – Hell Execution Order