- It's snowing.
The roof outside the window is dyed uniformly white, and the mountains visible in the distance are like large shaved ice.
The snow accumulated at the base of the telegraph pole seemed very much to me at this time, but when I was just ten years old, I had enough distinction not to do it.
"Kansai!
To the torso of the snowman, he pierced the branches that were his hands, and she said:
Next door, I have a seven-year-old sister.
Her sister was helped to make a snowman half as hard as she could.
"Uh, well, let's get it done -... Banzai! Banzai!
Imitating TV again......
She immediately imitates what she sees on TV.
Today was an imitation of the politicians who won the election.
It's always abrupt, so usually no one takes a ride. It was the same this time.
As she tilted her neck, she grabbed both hands of her sister.
'Look, xx. Banzai! You're gonna do it, aren't you?
"... Banzai?
'Yes, yes. Banzai!
"Banzai!
"Banzai! Banzai!
"Banzai! Banzai!
That's how I laugh at you two together.
I watched the two of them with a snowman with nothing but my torso.
The snowman making competition ended in a victory for her and her sister, the Allied Coalition.
It's a fragment of a rubbed memory.
Memories that should have been happy, disappearing on the other side of the nightmare.
◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆
A tung tung and a little bird were ringing.
"... eyelids..."
I rub my eyes with my left hand.
In the morning...... I feel like I've been having a lot of nostalgic dreams...
"Mm-hmm..."
Right in front of me, there was Phil's face.
Her eyelids move tightly and are slowly lifted.
Big eyes, blurry, stared at me from close quarters.
"... ji-kun...?
"Morning."
"Oh dear....... ah"
After returning his greeting, Phil accidentally blushed.
Hand over the duvet, put your mouth - cover your lips.
When I saw that trick, I remembered what I was doing last night, just before I went to bed, and my face got hot too.
"... eheh"
Seeing that, you reassured me that I was the same, and Phil smiles a lot less powerful.
I got embarrassed and turned away.
"Good morning, both of you"
Called upon, his shoulders bounce bickerly.
In a window chair, Rachel was combing her hair.
Were you awake earlier, I'm already dressed from bedtime.
Me and Phil woke up.
"Good morning... Master"
"Mm-hmm. Why are you saluting me in the morning?
"Oh, no, somehow..."
"Yeah."
That's what Rachel said, and she saw me and Phil.
"We're both really close"
"" Huh?
"When I woke up, you slept with your hands together."
"Oh, that's..."
Phil pulled the hem off my bedding.
"(None)"
... Well, you can't say I've been tutting next to you in my sleep without getting tired of it extensively.
My response wasn't particularly waiting, Rachel stood up when she finished combing her hair.
"Then I'll go. You two can sleep a little more"
"Oh, yeah. Okay."
"Bye."
So Rachel left the room.
Two, me and Phil, left behind, look at each other's faces.
"... er"
"Yeah."
"Uh... haha"
"hehe"
Say things that don't make sense to each other and laugh at each other without meaning.
I honestly don't really remember last night because I was too obsessed.
Until daylight yesterday, even though it was as vague as whether she had ever seen Phil as such, only then could she help but look cute.
... Actually, I still have that feeling a little bit.
Like leftover incense.
Like aftertaste.
"... Phil"
"Ahhh.... Ji-kun?
When I realized I had one hand on Phil's cheek.
tangle her sara hair on her fingers.
... the feeling that existed all last night, but not now.
The rash is itchy.
If you say so yourself...
I miss my lips.
"Uh..."
But, well, after all, you should get permission, right...?
I was from over there yesterday, and what can I say...
"Eh heh."
When I was lost, Phil laughed at me.
"Yes?
My heart hurts so much.
Phil's long eyelashes...
Clear eyes.
There's a slight red cheek.
Your lips look wet.
- Everything looked shiny.
Oh, no.
I've probably never been so aware, even in my previous life.
Me - I like this guy.
Drink one spit and slowly close your face.
Phil closed his lid, so I rush to close it too.
Feel her warmth.
A damp breath hit my half-opened lips.
And...
"Sorry, I forgot to say one thing"
- At the same time that the door to the room opened, we jumped away.
I roll out of bed and hit my back on the floor.
"Yikes!
"... what are you doing, Jack"
Rachel, who opened the door, looked at me with a frightened eye.
"Yes, no, just fall asleep..."
"I'm sagging. If I were an assassin, I'd be dead by now."
"Shh, excuse me..."
It was the ultimate in "sagging" so I can't give you a verbal answer.
"Shit! I thought you forgot to tell me?
You're going to help the ship. When Phil said that, Raquel also told me back, "Oh, yeah," he said.
"Today, I am off training in the morning because of an emergency"
"Urgent?"
Rachel nodded as I got up and asked.
"The gift I said yesterday. Looks like we're ready, so I'll get it. I'll be back in the afternoon, so you can play until then."
"Bye," Rachel said, leaving this time.
A gift……. I wonder what?
"Ji-kun."
Twisting his neck, Phil calls while sitting on the bed.
"Uh... hey, do you want to start over?
Reminds me of Raquel's reappearance and the shock of falling out of bed that was blowing my face off again.
If you want to start over, I want to start over... but again from Ichi... ahhhh, haha!
"............ ma, see you next time......"
Saying so barely as he missed his face, Phil was embarrassed.
"Okay.... See you next time?
In just one day, in just one night, … the way people look at you is something that changes.
Whatever Phil says anymore, I'm thrilled.
"- Oh, yeah!
Phil accidentally raised his voice and jumped out of bed.
"Shit, you said you were off in the morning, right? Then let's go now!
"Go? What?
"You forgot? Gift I'll give you, go buy it with me!
Oh... Speaking of which, we talked about that.
I forgot what happened after that was too intense.
"Right...... Let's go. Looks like Rachel's gift will be ready in the afternoon, too, and it feels like we're gonna trade it."
"Alright! Let's go!!
Back to the way it always was, Phil declared so.
◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆
- Then, roughly six hours later.
I woke up on a cold stone floor.
"Ugh... WHEN...!
My back of my head hurts slightly.
Because of that, my last memories were vague.
What...? Me, why are you sleeping on the floor like this...
"Hmmm......"
I heard voices from next door.
When I saw it, Phil was falling into a depression.
"Phil!? Hey, you okay?!?
"Say... Ha? Ji-kun...?
When he hurries up and hugs him, Phil looks up at me with a blurred face.
... Looks like he's not hurt. Good......
"Ji-kun... here, where...?
Phil looks around, so I finally got my attention on the surroundings, too.
What woke us up was a cold stone hut.
Yes, the barn.
There is an iron lattice in front of me and a dim hallway across the other side.
On the other side of the iron lattice, a small window was opened, whether for lighting or ventilation.
But it's near the ceiling, and we can't even reach the shoulder car.
Besides, there was also a plaid fitted in there that looked sturdy.
Half underground, stone jail.
We were trapped in a place like that at some point.
"... you noticed"
Confused, suddenly there was a new voice and we looked back freaked out.
Moments, even once again, come as a surprise.
In the darkness of the corner of the bathroom, a bunch of kids our age held their knees, hardened as if they were mold in the bathroom.
It was the boy at the head of it who talked to me.
I ask the boy.
"Are you...? Where the hell are we?
"Don't you remember...? When they brought me here..."
Brought to you, when...?
I explore last minute memories.
The pain ran in the back of his head, vaguely blurred memories gradually starting to tie the focus.
Oh... yes...
Me and Phil, we went out to the city.
And the two of us went around the store a lot...... sure, at the fourth or so trinket store, bought hair decorations. The two of us gave each other a dime...
... after that.
I tried to make a shortcut to get back to the mansion.
Trying to get through an unhappy alley.
Unexpectedly, there were signs of people.
As a result of Rachel's training, I entered a reflexively alert but momentarily late.
Right after, Zun! and the shock ran...... to this day.
"... I see..."
I hold my head and sigh.
"We got caught..."
"Did you break the plate?
Phil tilting his neck properly.
It's a terrible mistake.
"Yesterday, your master noticed you, didn't he?" Crimson Cat "is about the Bandits. Maybe they brought us this far."
"- Ah!... Oh, I just remembered!
"You're too bad at lying, you."
"Mmm...... It's not my fault. It's Ji-kun's fault."
"Why not?"
"Since last night I've been full of heads about Ji-kun!
"... ah. Ah."
Do you want to steam it back now?
".................. then you have no choice"
"Hey, hey, hey, hey"
I can't deny the side that was floating, either, and I can't tell you about people.
If I was in my usual mental state, this wouldn't have happened.
Well......
I was suddenly drained of poison gas, but it's definitely not a very good situation.
Or so desperate.
I need information on all of them.
I turned to the boy I was talking to earlier.
"Hey. You guys been grabbed here, too?
"... yeah"
The boy snorts.
"I was suddenly attacked, and before I knew why, I was brought here. Everyone else is pretty much the same.
I've only been here about three days... and some kids have been here about a week now. "
Not for a week...
There are roughly ten of them locked up in jails, except for me and Phil.
In common, my personality is thin and dirty, but once the meal is out, there is no starving appearance.
It's just... I had a bunch of kids with bandages on their arms, legs, or eyes.
If I'm not mistaken... arms and feet wrapped around in bandages don't have tips.
There was blood seeping through the bandage, and it wasn't that atmosphere that I lost in an accident back in the day, or that I wasn't born with limbs...
Obviously - that's what happened recently.
"Hey... what? That injury..."
"... that's..."
It was when the boy opened his mouth so hard to say.
I heard footsteps from the hallway outside.
"Shh... I'm here for 'Product Regulations'...!!
As the boy says in his trembling voice, the other children tremble and frighten.
What...? "Products"?
Footsteps came closer and closer, and before long, his Lord appeared outside the iron lattice.
"Hmm? He doesn't look like a very good grower."
That's what he said when he saw me and Phil over the iron lattice.
It was a woman.
Age, maybe, like, 30?
The reddish hair is bouncing over there, making you feel wild tiger-like roughness.
From the gap in the exposed clothes, there was a glimpse of the forged muscles.
Look at this, no one's going to take a bullshit because they're women.
Even bears are flesh that can fight.
Rachel said yesterday.
The head of "Crimson Cat" said she was also a leading woman as a spiritualist.
That means this guy...
"Hmm? Hmm."
The female leader looks at me and Phil casually.
I'm just convinced of what the boy said earlier.
I see - this is a 'product rule'.
"They're both pretty good. He's a kid. He's got a real face.
Yeah...... That's the aristocratic kid. It's going to sell high. Bye. "
You know I'm noble...?
You judged me personally?
The female leader turned to the man following behind her.
"Hey, you. Tell the others. He said he was going to start processing today."
"Whoa! How many are we gonna do today?
"With these two newcomers... yeah, you want another one or so"
As the female chief looked around the house, she felt the fear of the children rise.
... are you afraid of 'machining' and doing it?
The female leader looks around at the children all the time, pointing her fingers around the leading edge unmindfully.
"Let's do it to him. That's three of us."
"............................................."
It was the boy who talked to us.
He opens his mouth.
I am flabbergasted, as if my soul had escaped from it.
Everything fell out, like a shell. It's...
It was a look of despair.
"Ya... no... Shit...... Yahhhhhhhh!!!
The boy suddenly makes a golden noise and clasps on an iron lattice.
And you reach for the female leader, you mess up your face with tears and snot, and you're desperately desperate, you plead.
"Oh... please...!! hey, everything...... do everything first......!! Only 'machining'...... just 'machining' ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
"Weird"
Moments, I glance.
The boy suddenly blew up behind him.
What happened?
I could see the female chief waving away.
But the hand has not reached the boy in the iron plaid.
The female leader blew the boy away without touching a finger.
... Spirituality?
If so, what's the trick?
Left the squatting, sobbing boy alone, and the female leader kept an eye on me.
"... you, no, you're calm. Aren't you scared? Or a stupid diagram that still doesn't swallow the situation."
I'm gonna shut up - I was gonna, but I changed my mind.
"Baba's age smell is strong. I'm desperate to hold my breath."
To be clear, one eyebrow of the female leader moved perfectly.
"... whose what, what?
"Use your head for a little while. Anyone besides you? Fucking Baba. Oh, this, short for 'Baba Smells Like Fucking" "
Oh, the guy at the bottom is super freaked out.
That was funny and I leaked a laugh.
Moments, the female leader waves.
Hand - No, is that a fist?
Shortly after I thought so, I was blown away and rolled down the stone floor.
She holds her stomach and looks down at me groaning, and the female leader spits on the floor.
"When I remember you well, you fucking kid. Atashi is the leader of the Bandits" Crimson Cat, "Vicki of" Bloody Leopard ". Whoever fools Atashi will always see your bright red blood. It doesn't matter if you're a kid."
So he threw up the throw-up dialogue, and Vicki and I from "The Bloody Leopard" took the guy at the bottom and left.
When I can't hear my footsteps completely, Phil rushes up to me with my back round and squatting.
"Ji-kun! Daijbu!?
"It's okay."
I barely stood up.
Phil said, "Huh?" and make a dumb voice.
"Does it hurt... not?
"It can't hurt. I lost my weight and let the shock slip away.... No way, you didn't notice?
"Ki... I've noticed. Yikes?
"That's why I'm so bad at lying"
This one's working out with Rachel's accidents.
I know it's coming - no, you can't possibly prevent the attack I dared to make you shoot.
I'm hungry.
That feeling...... he hit you?
But I knew that woman - Vicki's hand hadn't even reached me.
"Than that."
I'll shelf anything I don't know for a second.
"Phil, you've been a good adult. I was more afraid of you doing something extra than that head of woman."
"Ugh... because I'm scared..."
"... are you scared or something?
"A Yikes!
Pooh swelled his cheeks, and Phil appealed to Okamuri.
I didn't know this guy had feelings of fear, too. Probably the best find of the day.
"More than that, Phil."
"Mm."
"Don't talk to me like that."
Crush the swollen cheeks with both hands.
There was puffy air coming out of Phil's mouth.
"I just contacted my masters and fathers. There's a bandit in here."
"Rika-yi."
"What...!
To our surprised voice, we turned.
All the other kids were looking at me with a flashy look.
I walk over to a boy blown away by Vicki and reach out.
"Are you all right? Can you stand?"
"Ugh...... yeah...... Um... I just contacted you..."
"Oh, that's..."
I was about to say,
"Come here, little birdie."
Phil called on an iron lattice fitted window.
Through a gap in the iron lattice, three birds jump into the barn.
"Uh. Will you find out where this is and let the Mansion know?... So, that's okay, Ji-kun?
"Oh. That's fine"
The little birds rang a tune and then flew out the window again.
A boy drops it off with a seductive look.
"What's that...?
"It's Phil's spiritual art. I asked for a liaison. From now on... well, in four hours' time, your father's unit will be here to help you."
"Shigeru will be here sooner. Just like Ji-kun's."
"Oh well. Well, that's about an hour and a half."
"Yes, in an hour and a half, help...!?
The boy glanced at him, like he couldn't believe it.
I ask him.
"You... what's your name?
"What?"
The boy blinked,
"Benny...... yeah"
"Right. Benny, listen carefully. And others."
I said to about ten children.
"I expect help in about an hour and a half. But before we do, we'll get you out of here. That's what you better do.... Phil, why do you think?
"Eh..."
When I shook the story, Phil repeatedly tilted his neck to the left and right,
"When the people who came to help me and the people who came to fight me..." Hitojichi "will take me! Is that it?"
"Correct."
"Yay! Why is that? Why is that?
So be it. Rarely.
The boys - Benny and the others - were still looking at us as if we were completely open in a shop.
"What the hell are you...?
"We 're- um, what can I say?
You know more about spirituality than people, and you're probably the one who can afford to feel?
I'm not wrong, but it's kind of lame.
Phil raised his hand and said I was lost.
"It was just a gibberish!
"... what? On the side of justice?
"Yeah! 'Cause you asked me, right? Ji-kun, you're only taught to play with Ji-Jin, aren't you?
... Rachel's guy, what kind of explanation is that?
No, but... right.
A righteous ally... a righteous ally.
Isn't that nice?
"Yeah, that's right. We're on the side of justice."
In the dark.
To the children with knees, I proclaimed.
"- I'll get you all out of here"
"Crimson Cat"?
"Bloody leopard"?
What's wrong with that? No, it's a name.
My sister was much scarier than you guys!
This is a veteran who's been in prison for five years.
A place like this - I'll leave you easier than home.