After the mountain cow was defeated, we continued our way to Tanya’s house.
Tanya is leading the way, while Io and Hikari are walking beside her.
I’m following behind them, carrying the mountain cow.
The reason why I’m carrying it is it’s a waste just to leave it there, so it will be the dinner for tonight.
I’m thinking of making Fiona’s mountain cow fried rice.
Tanya’s cheeks were still as red as earlier as she leads the way and steals glances at me once in a while.
And while she’s like that, I called “our side’s” Tanya and talked to her.
「That girl is you right?」
『I don’t know. Probably? I think』
The maid ghost Tanya has a bright personality compared to the living Tanya.
She’s bright and lovely, and her difference with the always shy and timid Tanya over there is obvious.
But, their faces look the same.
They’re not just similar, but both are the real Tanya still, yet different.
The two Tanyas were like that, but she herself is saying she doesn’t know.
「Probably?」
『I can’t think that she’s unrelated to me. I think that she’s me, but I don’t remember much when I was alive. That’s why I don’t know』
「Was that the case?」
『Un, after all, when I noticed it, I was saved by Kakeru. I can only faintly remember when I was in the mansion』
「I see. It’s also the same with you huh」
In this world in the past, both Eleanor and Tanya, they are saying that they have no memories of meeting with me.
This, I wonder what’s really going on.
I flicked Eleanor with a finger and shrugged my shoulders.
「Well, it can’t be helped since this girl is already so old」
『Don’t treat me as if I’m a senile old woman』
「But you don’t remember, right?」
I felt her sulking.
It looks like she can’t retort back since I mentioned her not remembering.
「By the way, what do you think? Is that girl there the real Tanya?」
『The color of their souls are the same』
「He〜?」
『In that sense, that girl there is the real thing without a doubt』
「It’s becoming more and more mysterious」
It would’ve been easy to tell if she’s a one and only existence like Eleanor.
I followed Tanya while I thought of that.
The house Tanya led us to was mostly in the middle of the mountain.
It’s on the mountain that is quite a distance from the village.
It’s a house with a simple making in a remote place.
Not only it was a structure simply built, but it was also poor-looking inside.
There is no furniture that could be called as furniture, making you imagine the person living here is really living a poor life.
The mountain cow was quite a feast.
It was deliciously cooked by Io who has a long history of being an adventurer, so excluding Eleanor, the four of us ate it deliciously.
After eating, Hikari started to get sleepy, so Io accompanied her to sleep.
After the two of them slept, Tanya timidly started to talk.
「Uhm……Hikari-chan’s, Kakeru-san’s daughter……huh?」
「That’s right. Isn’t she cute?」
『Get a hold of your doting, you idiot parent』
Hikari is cute. There’s no objection.
「Y-Yes. She’s very cute」
「Un, un」
「Uhm……then, Io-san’s, your……wife?」
「Un? No, she’s not」
「Eh? But……」
Tanya looked at me, then looked at Io and Hikari.
I see. She misunderstood it like that huh.
She thought that Io and I are a married couple, and Hikari’s our beloved daughter. It also probably looked like that from her perspective.
「No. Io’s not my wife」
「Eh? Then……?」
Well, I also wonder what kind of relationship I have with Io.
One day, she suddenly asked me to enter her party, and since then, we would go on adventures and battlefields.
「Comrades, or party member, might be the closest」
「Comrade……」
She said out those words, then looked at me and Io back and forth.
「……I also have a chance」
Tanya whispered in a tiny voice.
She asked because of that, huh.
I wanted to answer, “yeah, of course you do”, but.
I glanced at my side.
I looked at the maid ghost Tanya who’s floating beside me.
Looking at her, the words I wanted to say naturally appeared in my mind.
I stared straight at the human Tanya, then said.
「I wanted to meet you」
「……eh?」
「I always, wanted to do this」
I grabbed her hand and pulled her to me.
Tanya lost her balance and fell to my chest.
「Ah……!」
Although she let out a small scream, Tanya did not resist.
Within my chest, she strongly holds to my clothes.
The ghost Tanya came to my side.
She floated beside Tanya and stared at me.
Her bright and cheerful face was looked painfully yearning.
Seeing the ghost Tanya, I patted the human Tanya’s head, held her chin and kissed her lips.
Tanya did not resist. She only froze for an instant, after receiving my kiss.
「……I’ve, given up for a long time」
「Give up? Why?」
「When I was born, my mother saw a dream. She was told in that dream, “Your daughter is cursed. She would receive 499 calamities in her person, she will be unable to go to heaven after death, and she shall be caught by the evilest existence in this world”」
Is Tanya’s mother a prophet or something?
Though I don’t know about the 499 calamities, the part of being captured by the evilest existence after death is correct.
Un, it’s quite right.
「In fact, I was met with many kinds of calamities, so even my parents threw me away, and I started to live here by myself」
「I see」
「That’s why, I have given up for a long time……Kakeru-san, Kakeru-san might feel eerie after hearing that, but, even so, Iーー」
「Don’t worry about it」
「Eh?」
「That evilest existence thing, I’ll do something about it. If you want, I’d even kick its ass for you」
Eleanor read the atmosphere and only sent me her laughter.
「Kakeru-san……!」
Hearing my words, Tanya was moved, embraces me more tightly, and started to cry in the end.
「I’m so sorry, I’ve shown such a pathetic side of me」
「Don’t mind it」
There must’ve been a lot of things that happened to her up until now.
Tanya cried loudly within my chest.
So that she won’t wake Io and Hikari up, I took Tanya outside while embracing her so that she could cry to her heart’s content.
After Tanya stopped crying, she noticed that we were outside and was quite surprised.
「When did?」
「Are you okay now?」
「Yes……thank you very much. Just hearing Kakeru-san’s words, Iーー」
「I’ll say this beforehand, I’m not just saying it with empty words」
「Eh?」
「Believe in me. That evilest thingy, I’ll do something about it」
「ーーyes, I believe you」
「Good girl」
I pulled her to me again and embraced her.
Tanya leans her body to mine.
I took out my Magic Cottage, and inside there, I’llーーbut when I was thinking of that.
「There’s a house over there」
「Let’s go and ask」
Someone approached.
Tanya’s body turned stiff and moved away.
From the darkness of the mountain, a pair of two appeared and approached us.
Although Tanya took distance with embarrassment, she was stealing glances from me.
I should hurry up and get rid of this pair, and once again, with herーー
「Excuse us, we just want to ask something」
「We heard that Maraton’s Spring is around here, do you know where it is?」
It was a pair of male and female.
Both of them are young and their faces look similar.
「If it’s Maraton’s Spring, it should be on the opposite side of the mountain」
Tanya who’s living on this mountain answered instead.
「Opposite side?」
「It means that we around this mountain once, huh」
「Uhm, what are you planning to do in the Maraton’s Spring? That place, it’s a holy place where neither animals nor monsters approach, but yet, it’s a place that is very dangerous」
Tanya asked with a worried expression.
He〜, it’s that kind of place huh.
The pair of two who heard that not only didn’t get scared, they even showed expressions of excitement.
「We know, that’s why we’re going there」
「Yes. We will go to Maraton’s Spring, to destroy the Evil God Rodotos, andーー」
「Destroy Demon Sword Eleanor」
『What?』
Words that I can’t ignore came out from the pair of man and woman.