Chapter 4
The Love-Starved Monster, The Spring That Knows Love (3)
(Part 3)
A strong impact struck my back, yanking my nearly unconscious mind back to reality. My body bounced up slightly from the recoil, like on a trampoline, and then I tumbled down from there.
The next surface (?) was close by. I fell face-first into the snow and grass, my body wobbling up and down violently. Raising my head, I saw that I had luckily landed on a tree growing from the cliff face; the snow-laden, swaying branches and leaves seemed to have cushioned my fall.
Just how far had I fallen? Outside, the blizzard still raged fiercely. Even looking up, I couldn’t see the top of the cliff. The fact that I wasn’t dead probably meant it wasn’t that high, thankfully. For now, I couldn’t hear the guards’ voices, and there was no sign of them pursuing me.
For the first time, I was free.
But now that I was…
“…Ow…”
My back was one thing, but the wound No. 13 had inflicted on me at the facility was fatal. It probably hadn’t reached my organs, but I was bleeding heavily. Worse, in this blizzard, I’d get frostbite in no time.
In this silver world where even my breath was white and I could see nothing, my future wouldn’t change even if I was free. It was a miracle I was still alive now, but surely that miracle wouldn’t last long.
Still, this was a life I’d picked up by chance.
I didn’t want to just lie down and die here without doing anything.
Staying up in the tree wouldn’t save me. With unsteady steps from the snow and blood loss, I climbed down. Upon landing, I noticed a gap in the cliff face opening up like a small cave. If I weren’t in such a critical state, I might have rejoiced at my luck. Or rather, perhaps it was the guidance of God, or an angel, or whatever, telling me not to give up yet.
Thinking that was impossible, I broke off a few thin branches and entered the cave.
I piled snow at the entrance to make a simple windbreak barricade. I brushed off as much snow as possible from the gathered branches and stacked them in the center of the cave.
I don’t have flight or telekinetic abilities, but it’s not like I can’t use magic at all. I can’t produce anything useful for attack, but I can use magic to start a fire. My magical power is low, so I can’t create large flames, but I can manage to light wood on fire.
I used magic to ignite the stacked branches.
Because they were damp with snow, the branches didn’t catch fire easily, but after holding the flame to them for a while, the snow evaporated and the fire spread.
This would make things a bit easier, but the inside of the winter cave was still unbearably cold, far beyond what this small fire could handle. My feet and fingertips were freezing, becoming almost immobile. I had no way to staunch the wound on my chest. I felt dizzy and sleepy. I lacked the stamina to move around and could only stare out at the blizzard through gaps in the barricade.
“…Huh? …What’s that?”
Maybe it was my imagination, but for a moment, something glinted in the blizzard.
Was someone there? Could that really happen in such a storm?
Just as I thought that, I felt like I saw the glint again.
I wondered if it was ice reflecting light, but it seemed unnatural for only that one spot to be shining.
After thinking for a short while, I decided to head towards that light, clinging to a faint hope.
I knew it was insane to walk relying on a momentary glint in this blizzard. But if I stayed here, I would just die quietly. I’d only prolong my life slightly. In that case, it was better to bet on that light.
I broke down the barricade enough to get through and walked towards the light.
The strong crosswind nearly knocked me over multiple times, but I reached the vicinity of my destination.
At some point, I had lost sight of the light.
I searched carefully, wondering if there was something around here. My stamina was nearing its limit, and on top of that, the blizzard blurred my vision, making my eyes hazy.
“…Ah.”
I noticed something large buried in the snow at the edge of my vision.
Thinking it might be some luggage, I approached and found it was larger and more elongated than I expected… almost like a human…
“…!! Wh-what!? Are you okay!?”
Yes, there was a humanoid figure collapsed there.
Its body was half-buried in snow, its face deathly pale with closed eyes.
It was a man.
Well, maybe not human, but a demon? Right now, my vision was poor, and I didn’t have the physical capacity to stare closely and confirm the form of his soul. When I touched his skin, it was as cold as rock, startling me enough to let go momentarily.
The moment I released his hand, his tightly shut eyes slowly, heavily opened, meeting mine.
He said nothing—not “help me,” nor “leave me alone.”
“…You might not want anything to do with me, but I don’t have the luxury to consider that right now. There’s a small cave nearby; I’m taking you there. I’d like to hear your story then.”
Without waiting for a reply, I started pulling him back the way I came.
Putting in effort made the wound on my chest hurt even more, threatening to make me pass out. In this cold, the wound was worsening. The blood had clotted, and the bleeding had mostly stopped—a small mercy amidst misfortune.
It wasn’t too far, so I managed to get us back inside the cave.
I laid him down near the fire and sat with my back to the entrance. Maybe it would block a little wind.
I took a proper look at the man.
He was a handsome man with fine features. He looked about my age… around 20 years old. He was taller than me.
His snow-white long hair and eyelashes were breathtakingly beautiful and translucent, and his blue eyes were like crystals containing a deep sea.
He wore black trousers layered with several pieces of what seemed like high-quality white robe-like cloth—clothing I’d never seen before. I’m not very knowledgeable, but it felt aristocratic.
No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t suitable for mountain climbing. At first, I thought he might be a fellow demon, but his attire made that seem unlikely.
Sitting down, I caught my breath a little and spoke to him.
“Sorry for suddenly bringing you here like this. Um, are you human? Or a demon? My eyes are hazy, you see… I can’t see clearly.”
“…? Are you a demon?”
“Yeah, I am. Scared?”
“No, it’s just… I haven’t seen one in about ten years…”
So, he was almost certainly human.
I’d never met any humans other than the guards and their associates back there, but they say most humans in this world don’t have a good impression of demons.
Naturally so; I’m a monster who’s killed many humans myself…
“…Well, look, I don’t have much time left, so I have a selfish request.
Stay here tonight and recover some stamina. I think the fire will last until morning. Once you’ve rested, head down the mountain slowly. If you don’t know the way, climb up this cliff and maybe send up some smoke signals. A passing human might find you. If you’re human, they should help you.”
“……”
“Are you okay?”
“I thought… you caught me to eat me.”
“…Ah, some demons do that. I hadn’t thought of it. But I don’t need to.”
I lifted my jacket just enough for him to see for a few seconds.
There should be a large wound there, inflicted at the facility. Seeing it, his face twitched momentarily. It must have looked pretty disgusting. I felt a little sorry.
“Me… I’ll probably die tonight. Eating you wouldn’t change anything. …But right now, I’m barely alive. Surely, right now, I’m alive to help you.”
I took his hand. His hand was freezing cold too, but when I squeezed it tightly, I felt a slight body warmth deep within his skin.
It’s okay, you can still live. To reassure him even a little, I mustered the best smile I could. Right now, I must seem very unreliable. It couldn’t be helped if he thought I was crazy.
But my desire to save him was genuine.
I was raised without receiving any affection.
And someone like me, who has taken so many human lives, doesn’t deserve to be loved.
Then, since I’m about to die, isn’t it okay if I love someone, even just one person?
Wouldn’t it be alright if there was just one such small warmth in my frozen life?
Even if it’s just self-satisfaction… if, because of me, one life is saved, then maybe my life had a little value.
…Ah, but it seems I can’t hold on anymore.
I can barely feel my hands. My body is too cold, and my vision is too blurry to see his face clearly.
And above all, I’m incredibly sleepy.
I know if I sleep, I’ll die, but I can’t resist, and my body falls over sideways. My shoulder hitting the ground hurt. But I have no strength left to writhe in pain, nor the energy to even groan.
Before my eyelids fully closed, someone gently drew near.
It must be him. I feel the sensation of a hand touching my head, and just that spot feels a little warm.
He’s a good person, worrying about a demon like me. It makes me want him to survive and return home even more.
My body is freezing cold; far from being a good hugging pillow, I’d only lower his body temperature. Thinking of him, I wanted him to move away, but his actions made me happy, and I didn’t want to push him away.
It’s strange. Even in this freezing body, in this cold place, my heart feels as warm as if wrapped in feathers.
This is the first time, as far as my memory goes, that someone has lain beside me like this.
I didn’t know. Being touched kindly by another person… was something this warm.
It was something that could make me feel this happy.
“I wanted something warm…”
It was almost unconscious.
Perhaps because I thought it was my end, the longing I’d felt forever, more than anything else, spilled from my lips.
Tears flowed from my eyes. I was crying again.
But these were different from the tears I shed at the facility; these were tears of joy.
Thank you. It seems I can pass on without regrets.
“I finally found it…”
