[V10C25] Please Don’t Be Sad, So I Selfishly Wish
Translated by Jodas 10: A Job for a Con ManWhile Tia was out on her late-night reconnaissance mission, the other Apprentice Mages took shifts sleeping.
Currently, Sevil and Ella were awake. Also, Rukiye had left the room to go help out at the Management Office. Everyone else was sound asleep in their blankets.
While the Monsters may have been cooped up in the Wedge Tower, there was no telling when they might venture out and attack people. Precisely because anything could go down at any time, Sevil insisted it was imperative that they get as much rest as possible.
By the faint light of a lantern, Sevil and Ella filled sheets of paper with writing as they discussed in soft voices.
“To be frank, things are looking pretty bad right now, huh…”
“They are. At minimum, we must find a way to clear two obstacles: bolstering the human forces and unsealing Rose and Sophie.”
Then, there was a soft knocking at the window. Tia had returned from her scouting mission.
Upon opening the window, Tia collapsed the wings of her Magical Flying Device and stepped through the window frame. Compared to when she first used the Magical Flying Device, Tia’s control of it had become much more natural and fluid.
“Welcome back, Tia.”
“Tia, are you unhurt?”
Tia nodded sharply when Ella and Sevil asked, whispering so as to not rouse their sleeping companions.
“Yeah. Um, you see, I couldn’t make it inside the Wedge Tower. There were thirty-ish bird Monsters flying around. But I did find an underground entrance. It’s between some trees to the north of the Wedge Tower. The hole leading underground is covered by a board and hidden under some dirt.”
Appearing to have decided to start with the most pressing details, Tia spoke fluently. With nary a single “piyo-piyo.”
Ella must have found this as unsettling as Sevil had. Nervously, Ella spoke up.
“Um, Tia…”
“What’s up?”
“Um, well… Are you feeling okay?”
“What do you mean?”
Her smile looked pasted on.
Tia, a Harpy, had no habit of disguising her expressions. This was presumably because she had no need to do such a thing while living among the flock of Harpies.
This now was the face of someone who wasn’t yet sure what to think. As she did not know what expression to make, she feigned a smile to keep Sevil from getting too worried about her. This was Tia’s way of being conscientious.
Whatever had occurred during her reconnaissance, it was most assuredly something they couldn’t discuss in Ella’s presence.
Sevil reached out both hands and gave Tia’s head a thorough rubbing.
“Well done, Tia. Tomorrow, let us share what we’ve learned once the others are awake. For now, try and get some sleep.”
“…Okay. Um, actually. Before I go to bed, I was thinking of going on a little walk first.”
It was the middle of the night. On top of that, they were on high alert for Monster attacks. Ordinarily, such a thing wouldn’t be permitted, but Sevil nodded. “I don’t mind.”
“Rather than walking about in daytime, I suppose there will be fewer complaints now. Just be sure not to leave the village. And get back before too long.”
“Got it! Be back in a bit!”
With that, Tia hopped over the windowsill and activated the Magical Flying Device.
Eyes fixed on Tia’s departing form, Ella mumbled.
“Did something happen on Tia’s reconnaissance trip…?”
Ella had noticed it as well. Tia had not chirped “piyo-piyo” or tweeted “pefu-pefu” once.
According to her, that distinctive chirping was a way of training her voice.
Tia once said that, since there were subtle differences between a Harpy’s throat and a human throat, she did those things to make sure she doesn’t forget how to use her Harpy voice. In the time she’d spent pretending to be human, it had become something of a trademark for her.
Yet now, Tia had been so backed into a corner that she didn’t have time to waste making those kinds of noises.
“Ella, you’ll have to excuse me. Can I trust you to hold down the fort for a second?”
“Yes.”
Ella nodded, then started to jot down the information Tia had just relayed.
While she did that, Sevil threw on her coat and shook Wren’s sleeping body.
“Wren, get up.”
“No touchie~ The pretty boy is sleeping~…”
Not taking no for an answer, Sevil pulled on Wren’s ears.
After flying out of the room with the Magical Flying Device, Tia promptly landed and continued waddling on foot. She couldn’t just waste the mana in the Magical Flying Device. Human magical devices would become unusable if the mana they started with ran out.
As a Harpy, Tia had plenty more mana compared to humans. So it was tempting to pour her own mana into the device, but it would take revealing her identity if she wanted to have someone install a feature to let her do that. If a human tried pouring mana into a device like that, they would be completely drained and suffer from mana deficiency before they knew it.
So Tia learned to conserve the magical device’s mana.
This, too, was perhaps a way she’d grown more human.
(It’s not like I want to be human. But…)
Her sister’s lament echoed in her mind.
“I wanted to be human too…”
“I’ve always wanted to live long enough to become a grandma myself. I wanted to grow old with the person I love.”
“I don’t want to reproduce in a loveless affair. I want to do it as an act of love with the person I love! I wanted to give birth to his children…!”
Her sister fell in love with a human.
It was different from the way Tia ‘liked’ Wren or Sevil. Different still from the way Harpies usually felt towards the males they preyed on.
Her sister wished for the kind of romance where she could love a human as a human. Where she could share her life with him.
How must Tia, who abandoned her reproductive abilities to gain a human body despite not really wanting to be human, have looked to her sister’s eyes?
“Tia.”
Not expecting to hear her name called, Tia nervously raised her head.
From a window in the building next to her, Rukiye was looking straight at her. For whatever reason, it looked like she had borrowed the village’s workshop to do some work. Behind her, she could see glimpses of some of the Management Office’s mages.
“What are you doing here? Is there an issue with the Magical Flying Device?”
“N– No…”
“You went to do some reconnaissance, right? Have you checked in with Sevil already?”
“Yeah…”
Tia hung her head and fell silent. As she did, she could hear the sound of the window closing with a thud. Rukiye had shut it. Was she trying to say ‘If you don’t need anything from me, go away?’ … Or so she thought, but then she heard shuffling footsteps. That was Rukiye approaching.
Rukiye threw a blanket around Tia, draping it over her head. She must have looked like she was cold.
“If you’re not feeling so great, you should head to the Medical Office. I can take you there if you want. I don’t want you falling and hitting your head on the way.”
The tone of her voice reminded her of her sister.
She couldn’t really say what exactly they had in common, but Rukiye was just a little bit like her sister.
Tia sniffled.
“…Rukiye, it hurt when your family rejected the path you chose, didn’t it?”
“Tia?”
“I rejected my sister.”
Unable to understand the words her sister was saying — that she wanted to live long enough to be a grandma and spend her life with the man she loved — Tia grew fearful, and said this:
— Sis… What are you talking about…?
Those words definitely hurt her sister.
Still staring at the ground, Tia clenched her hands on the blanket. The one in front of her right now was Rukiye. Not her sister.
Tia was aware that there was no point in throwing these words at Rukiye, but nevertheless she couldn’t help letting all her emotions come spewing forth.
“I think I hurt Sis. I’m sorry… but I just don’t get it. I can’t understand what Sis is saying, and I’m scared… I just can’t bring myself to be supportive.”
Just being side-by-side should be enough for the Harpy sisters.
However, those days they spent flying and singing together would never come back.
“I couldn’t be the person who understands Sis…”
Rukiye grabbed the edges of the blanket, and wrapped it tightly around Tia. Her face was exposed, but the rest of her upper body was all wrapped in this blanket. It was seriously warm and comfy.
While tying the blanket in place, Rukiye spoke.
“Your sister is an adult, isn’t she? She has to take responsibility for the decisions she makes. You don’t have to beat yourself up if you can’t go support her in those decisions.”
“But Rukiye…”
Rukiye’s father had not been understanding about her lifestyle.
She probably didn’t have any regrets about running away from home and choosing the life of an artisan. Regardless, she had to have at least felt a little guilty about not being able to pay back the favor to those who raised her.
“You were sad when your family rejected you, weren’t you?”
“I’ve long since made up my mind about that. I don’t need their support, and I don’t mind if they decide to treat me as if I was never there. That’s why…”
Rukiye’s face shifted. She smiled, but in a way that barely concealed her bitter emotions. A truly human expression.
“That’s why I’ve always hoped my family don’t get too sad over an ingrate like me. … I’m sure your sister feels the same way.”
Tia did not think Rukiye’s words were cold.
Rukiye’s heart had always been solitary. To Rukiye, that solitude was not a bad thing, but an integral part of herself. She must have thought of it as something to be treasured. Yet, that didn’t mean she was unfeeling.
Once she was done wrapping the blanket, Rukiye removed the Magical Flying Device from Tia’s back.
“Pefu…” Tia chirped. She had a feeling this was the first time she’d made that kind of noise in a while.
“Rukiye, the Magical Flying Device isn’t broken yet.”
“I’m just gonna do some last-minute adjustments. In the meantime, you should go see the people who support you.”
Rukiye jerked her chin as she said that. In that direction were the forms of Wren and Sevil, approaching with a lantern in hand.