Chapter 90.2
{???: ――I’ve finally found you}
――Who’s there?
{???: Sorry… I’m sorry . I’m so sorry… for leaving you here alone . I’ve been searching forever . Constantly, and constantly, I’ve been searching and searching for you}
――Where… am I? It’s so… cold .
{???: I’ll get you out right away . ……Such a lonely place, all by yourself…… why did a child have to go through…… why did it take me so long to……}
――Say… who are you? Why…’re you crying?
{???: ――Because you’re the most lovely thing in this world . Because I’m so happy to see you again}
――You’re… that glad?
{???: Yes . It was for you…… it was in order to see you again, that I was reborn}
――Who are you?
{???: I…… I’m your greatest companion . Your one greatest, truest companion}
――Then, you’re my……
{???: ――Yes, that’s right . From this day forth, I will be your family . From this moment onward, you’ll never be alone again . ――This, I promise you}
――Really? Then, I’m……
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
[Emilia: ――reeaally glad]
Emilia held her hands to her chest, reminiscing on a happier time .
Listening to her words, Subaru felt his mouth rapidly drying .
Emilia, sleeping inside the ice .
In the Great Tree of Prayers of her homeland . Frozen within its trunk, Emilia remained there until Puck saved her .
Just how long a time was it――?
[Subaru: Emilia… the place you lived in would be Elior Forest, right? The one that was frozen a long time ago, where the ice is gradually spreading even now?]
[Emilia: Mn, it is . By the time I woke up, they were calling it the “Ice Forest” . ――But it was a bright and luscious place bathed in sunlight before I went to sleep . It never snowed when I lived there with everyone]
[Subaru: Luscious…… no, more importantly… who’s everyone?]
Subaru didn’t know much about that place, so the before-and-after of Elior Forest was unknown to him . But here, it was something else that caught his attention .
[Emilia: Everyone is everyone . Everyone I lived with in the forest…… all the Elves]
[Subaru: The Elves…… then, your family was there too? Your mom and dad, and…… maybe siblings, too]
[Emilia: ――――]
However, seeing Emilia’s eyes filled with sadness, Subaru once again realized that he had misspoken .
Emilia must’ve said it at some point before . That Puck was like her foster parent, and her only family .
Subaru was supposed to have known that Emilia had lost her family in one fashion or another .
[Subaru: I’m sor…… I didn’t mean……]
[Emilia: It’s fine . You’re just worried for me, Subaru . ……But my family wasn’t in the forest . Everyone in the village was very kind to me, and always smiled at me, but…… I had no blood-relatives in that forest]
[Subaru: ……if there’s no one, then, your parents are……?]
At that question, Emilia quietly shook her head .
She fiddled with the ends of her braid as if to distract herself, then,
[Emilia: They were both gone by the time I was self-aware . I didn’t think it was all that strange at the time . ……I did have someone who was like a mother to me… who was reeaally kind, and strong, and cool…… I had someone like that]
[Subaru: ――――]
[Emilia: But that person, and everyone else…… when I fell asleep, they all went to sleep as well . Even now, deep in Elior Forest, so many people remain there in unwaking sleep]
[Subaru: Hha――!?]
Speaking in a dispassionate voice, Emilia seemed to be tasking herself to state only the facts . Subaru’s throat clogged up at the content of her words, but Emilia paid it no mind as she continued .
[Emilia: After I woke up, Puck and I went on watching over everyone sleeping . So that someday, when someone wakes up like I did, they wouldn’t feel lost, not knowing anything…… thinking this, we stayed there]
[Subaru: ……Hold on a second]
The information load was so dense that Subaru’s brain was struggling to keep up .
What on earth happened in Elior Forest on the day Emilia first saw it snow?
[Subaru: From what I know, Elior Forest began freezing…… a little over a hundred years ago…… I mean, I must’ve heard it while I was in the Royal Selection Hall or something]
[Emilia: Mm . I was reeaally surprised too when I went to study at the Mansion and learned of this]
[Subaru: So, you were there when Elior Forest first froze, right? Do you know how it happened?]
[Emilia: ――No, I don’t]
Emilia shook her head to Subaru’s question .
Seeing Subaru furrow his brows, she looked down with a pained expression .
[Emilia: I really don’t . Whatever happened back then…… I can’t remember it clearly at all . All I remember is that I was little, and I was terribly scared . But since I went on sleeping for so long, those memories are vague too……]
[Subaru: You mentioned that you were little… but about how old were you back then?]
[Emilia: ……I think… I was around seven]
[Subaru: Seven…… and it’s safe to assume that Elves count their age the same way as humans, right?]
At this, Emilia nodded .
If Elves count their age the way people normally do, then it’d increment by one every passing year . Elves are well known to be a long-living race, and Emilia, being a Half-Elf, should be the same . On the other hand, even the long-living Elves must go through a childhood, so the seven-year-old Emilia was beyond any blame .
Although, with some simple arithmetics, this means that Emilia’s current age would be seven plus a-hundred-odd years .
[Subaru: The age gap’s nothing to worry about at this point… And considering we’re from different worlds to begin with, that’s nothing, really…]
[Emilia: ……Subaru, what’s wrong? Did I say something funny, or……]
[Subaru: Nope, nope . I was just thinking that you and me have a really serious age gap, that’s all]
While putting his thoughts in order and catching his breath, Subaru threw in a joke to lighten the mood . Although the joke was probably lost on her, Emilia’s tense cheeks did relax somewhat as she let out a small sigh,
[Emilia: We do… but since I was asleep and unconscious for so long, I’m not really sure I’ve matured to my real age……]
[Subaru: Really? I don’t exactly know how fast Elves grow, but if it’s anything like humans, I’d say you’re pretty matured]
Subaru casually looked over Emilia on the bed before snorting off her worries .
Her limbs were fully grown, and her body had all the curvatures of femininity . Her melancholy amethyst eyes and dream-like features anointed her with a mysterious beauty, traveling in between that of a girl and woman .
Emilia was plenty enough matured already .
But it seems Subaru was missing the point of Emilia’s worries, while with a [No], she shook her head .
[Emilia: Sleeping in the ice did not stop time for me, but only put my consciousness to sleep . So my body kept growing even inside the ice . Controlling my body felt so different from when I went to sleep that, for a time after I woke, I stumbled over so many things]
[Subaru: So being in that ice…… also has its flaws, huh]
Having her seven-year-old body when she fell asleep turned into a fully-grown woman when she woke must have been bewildering for her .
It happens quite a lot in animes and mangas for children to have their bodies suddenly turned into adults, and the adaptation must not be easy . It’s only natural that Emilia would’ve been distressed by the discrepancy between her mind and body .
[Emilia: When Roswaal brought me out of the forest to study outside…… and I learned that I had slept for nearly a hundred years, I was reeaally shocked . To find out that I had been sleeping for so long…]
[Subaru: If people age normally inside the ice… then for anyone other than long-living Elves it’d be all ov……]
“Over”, was what he was about to say, when he noticed that he had just been told an incredible fact .
[Subaru: Hey, Emilia…… you just said you slept for almost a hundred years?]
[Emilia: I did, yeah……?]
[Subaru: And you were about seven before you went to sleep, right?]
[Emilia: I was . Subaru, what’s……]
[Subaru: Emilia . How long has it been since Puck woke you up?]
At least, from what he had heard, Roswaal brought Emilia out of the forest about half a year ago . Which means Emilia would have lived with Puck in Elior Forest until then . The question is, how much time had passed between her falling asleep, waking, and meeting Roswaal?
Still with a troubled expression, Emilia placed her finger to her lips .
[Emilia: ……About, six or seven years…… or so]
[Subaru: ――――]
Hearing Emilia’s answer, Subaru’s suspicion turned into absolute conviction .
The fact shocked through Subaru’s body like a lightning bolt .
Seven years after she was born, she spent nearly one hundred years sleeping, then spent another seven years awake .
Which would mean that――
――Emilia is around 107 years old . Looks like she’s 18 . While mentally, she’s 14 .
[Subaru: Her actual age, apparent age, and mental age…… are all messed up……]
That kind of discrepancy was only possible because she is an Elf .
So many questions Subaru had about Emilia’s behavior up to now suddenly made sense .
Subaru had found her rather ignorant to flattery for an over-a-century-old Elf, and he couldn’t help noticing her disproportionate lack of experience of being around people, plus the cuteness of her occasionally childlike demeanor was always quite conspicuous .
So all of it was the result of having spent the majority of her life in the ice…
[Subaru: Fourteen…… that’s no different than Felt……]
Why did a girl this young have to shoulder such great responsibility? Subaru’s irritation towards the Royal Selection and for Roswaal was only mounting .
Then, reflecting on how the topic he brought up to lighten the mood had completely derailed, Subaru cut into another certainly-not-unrelated topic .
[Subaru: Earlier, you said you don’t know why the forest was frozen . So then what did you see in the Trial? That vague memory of before you were frozen…… that’s what you saw, right?]
[Emilia: ……I think so . The scenery was definitely from before I went to sleep…… so I think it’s a memory of a time that really existed]
[Subaru: So then, maybe the fact that you’re so terrified of the memory is because in it you encountered whatever froze you and the other Elves, and you’re subconsciously rejecting it……]
[Emilia: ――That’s not…]
[Subaru: I mean, it doesn’t get scarier than that, right? The Trial shows you your greatest regret . So maybe what you’re seeing is……]
[Emilia: I said you’re wrong!]
Emilia shouted, shattering Subaru’s overheated train of thought .
But she immediately blinked as if regretting raising her voice, and then closed her eyes to shake off her hesitation as she turned her watery eyes to Subaru .
[Emilia: That’s not…… what I saw in the Trial . It wasn’t anything like that . ……What I saw was……]
[Subaru: E-Emil……]
[Emilia: ――Devil-child]
A chill like an icy spear pierced into Subaru’s spine .
Emilia buried her face in her hands, hiding her expression . From beyond her covered face, her voice continued quietly, without emotion .
[Emilia: The seed of disaster . Silver abomination . The creature that should never have been born . Source of all hatred . Unforgivable spirit . Demon . ――The Witch’s Daughter]
[Subaru: ――――]
[Emilia: Everyone who was kind to me, who smiled at me, said those things to me in the freezing snow, and……]
Emilia’s limbs, and her entire body, was faintly trembling .
[Emilia: I don’t remember anything that happened after I was inside the ice . But I can’t forget how everyone must have cursed me, frozen there . And how they must continue to curse me still]
[Subaru: ――――]
[Emilia: And so, I want to free everyone from the ice…… and apologize]
Absently, with her face in tears, Emilia looked up, as if seeing them, before quietly bowing her head .
[Emilia: I’m sorry I caused you trouble . ――Everyone, I love you all]
-=Chapter 90 End=-