A Deep Rift – Part 01
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Translator: Kell
The cold woke me up. When I got up, Zero, who should have been curled up in my arms, was gone.
I looked around the carriage and saw the Director curled up in a corner with a blanket over him, asleep.
“Witch?” I murmured.
“Outside,” came an immediate answer.
Pushing aside the canvas, I stepped out of the carriage to find that the snow that had fallen throughout the night was reaching the height of my waist, completely burying the wheels of the carriage.
“Wow. That’s a lotta snow.”
I squinted through my white breath, searching for Zero.
“Up.”
Apparently, she was on top of the carriage. As I climbed onto the driver’s seat, wondering what she was doing on the roof, I saw Zero hugging her knees in the snow without a blanket.
“You idiot! You wanna die from the cold?!”
“I am a witch. I will not freeze to death over this.”
“Says the one with the red eyes and nose.”
I pulled her down from the roof to the driver’s seat and set her down between my knees. Even through my thick fur, her body felt as cold as ice.
“What were you doing outside?”
“Thinking.”
“Couldn’t you have done that inside?”
Zero shrugged. “You feel warm.”
“I’m a beast, after all.”
“I love staying like this with you. I feel so safe. I wish to stay like this forever.”
“Uh, hello?” I peered into her face.
She simply stared into the distance, not meeting my gaze. Something didn’t feel right, but I could not figure out what.
“What about you?” she asked.
“What?”
“Do you like doing this with me? Do you want to stay like this forever?”
Suddenly I realized what was wrong. Up until now, Zero always said, “You like me too, don’t you?” in a confident tone. But now she wanted a clear answer from me.
I opened my mouth, and closed it. After hesitating for a moment, I put my arm around Zero, like a child holding a doll.
Zero let out a grunt of surprise and turned her head to me.
“I’m not good with words,” I said.
“Yes… I suppose that is true.”
“So, uhh… Is this enough to get my feelings across?”
“It is.”
Laughing, Zero rubbed her cold cheek against my arm.
“Anyway, there you have it,” I said.
There you have it? What does that even mean? I felt restless, the back of my neck stirring.
“But Mercenary.”
“Hmm?”
“I am a witch.”
“Yes.”
“You will die before me.”
I frowned. “Well, I’m not gonna live for five hundred years, no matter how healthy I am.”
“It is no laughing matter.” Zero pouted.
“Is that what you were thinking about?”
“I was thinking about a lot of things. The world, the Church and witches, my master, you and me. And what is the best thing to do.”
“Easy. Kill your master for a happy ever after.”
“Ah, I miss the priest’s quips. He would have struck your head and told you to shut up.”
It was my turn to frown. I lifted Zero onto my shoulder and returned inside the carriage.
“Just go to sleep,” I said. “Your falling sick will spell the end of the world. I suggest you do the thinking while you’re lying down in bed.”
“That is impossible.” Zero yawned. “It is too comfortable in your arms. I have no time to even think.”
If you were to ask me what the best sound to wake up to was, I would say that it depends on the person.
Birds chirping would be the best, but it could be the laughter of kids running down the streets. It could also be the voice of someone telling you that breakfast was ready.
“Wake up, you two. It’s way past sunrise, and I’m starving.”
But no one would want to be woken up by an old man pestering you for food.
In fact, my mood took a turn for the worse.
“I’m not getting up to cook food for a fucking lackey!” Grumpily I rose up and glared at Barcel. He had pushed the canvas aside, peering into the carriage.
“Whoa, there! I was joking. I prepared breakfast today. It may not be to your taste, but you can have some if you like.”
“What’s gotten into you?”
“I wanted to team up with you, remember?”
“As a matter of fact, I don’t.”
I completely forgot about it. Was he actually serious?
“Hmm… Is it morning already?” Zero got up as well, rubbing her eyes.
The Director had long since woken up. As usual, he was reading in the corner of the carriage. He had lost all of his Beastfallen abilities, but he still had his demonic power, allowing him to see the smallest words even in the dark.
“I think you can eat soft bread now,” Barcel told the Director. “We only had stale black bread during the trip, but this morning a logistics soldier delivered some freshly-baked bread.” He offered bread wrapped in a piece of cloth.
The Director stared at Barcel with half-lidded eyes. “I-If you’re looking for… someone to look after… go somewhere else.”
“I don’t have some kind of a disease that would kill me if I didn’t look after others. I admit that I wanted to kill you when you took the Captain, but the benevolent spirit in me wouldn’t let me just sit around and do nothing when I see someone so skinny.”
“I-I don’t need caring… I can handle my own… I want to be alone…”
“I guess he has to pay more attention to his health now than when he was a Beastfallen,” I said. “How about we take the Director out for some sun?”
“He’s not some worn-out pillow, you know.”
“No… I will stay here,” the Director insisted.
I dragged him out of the carriage and settled him down on a log beside the fire. He had neither fur nor fat, so I wrapped a blanket around him so he wouldn’t get too cold. After I piled up some luggage to create a backrest, his frown softened a little.
He tore off some soft bread and put it in his mouth. “Sweet,” he said, somehow expressing surprise with the same blank expression. “This body… has a different… sense of taste… I didn’t know… kneaded and baked wheat… would be this sweet… I understand now… why the books… say sweet bread…”
Barcel blinked a few times. “Food tastes different from when you were a Beastfallen?”
“N-No… Everything… is different… and I can speak easier…”
Now that I thought about it, he could speak somewhat more fluently than when he was a Beastfallen. While he stuttered a lot, he was able to string words together better. Apparently, his slurred speech from before was because of his inability to pronounce a lot of words correctly.
“I don’t think it’s that hard to speak,” I said.
“The reason he feels so different is because the Director had the soul of an insect,” Zero chimed in. “He must feel like he was reborn. If he was not a demon inside, he might not have been able to keep his sanity.”
Barcel nodded. “What if you become human? What would that be like?”
“Come on, man! You’re being insensitive right now.”
“Aren’t you curious?”
I was wondering about that too, but I was too scared to ask. Yet this guy just spilled it like it was none of his concern.
“Mercenary is…” Zero paused and stared at me. I completely forgot that she could see my human form. “…quite big.”
“That’s not very specific,” I remarked.
“And, uhm… How do I put this? He is my type.”
“Huh?!”
“Gallant, yet also charming. Wait, that is no different from your current form. Come here. I want a closer look.” Zero grabbed my face and looked me in the eye.
“Stop it, you idiot!” I pushed her away.
“After all we have been through, why are you getting embarrassed now?” Zero tilted her head. “You even held me so tightly last night.”
“Noooooooo! Stop! I only did that because you asked me a stupid question!”
“Why are you getting so rattled over embracing a woman?” Barcel said, regarding me with eyes full of pity. “Even a fifteen-year-old kid can be more dignified than you.”
“Shut up!” I roared. “It’s none of your business!”
“Appearance aside, what about his senses?” Barcel asked.
“His taste buds will probably be a little more sensitive than they are now. His sense of smell will be worse, of course. Hearing as well. His dynamic vision will be impaired, but his ability to distinguish colors may improve. A beast warrior is created from a spell that adds the strength of an animal to a normal human being. All senses are enhanced, but caution is exercised so that there is not too much discrepancy with their senses from when they were human. Or else they would not be able to live a fairly normal life.”
“That’s good news.” Barcel grinned. “You get to keep your sanity once you become human.”
I smacked him on the head. The fact that he had no ill intentions at all made him more difficult to deal with than the priest.
“Looks like you’re all having fun,” came a voice from behind.
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