CH 110

Chapter 110

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : The Fairy And Great Beasts Of The Prairie, Part 20 — Tears, Exhausted

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

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How much time had passed? Alfiris noticed that Lisa was standing beside her.

「Lisa…」

「How’s Aery?」

「She cried herself to sleep.」

Aerial, tired of crying on Alfiris’ back, went straight to sleep. Alfiris cloaked her, but she showed no sign of waking up at all. She didn’t respond at all to Lisa’s approach, which did not remove any sign of her. Aerial wakes up even when a winged insect approaches, but just now it was completely unprotected. That must have been how much she cried.

When Miranda had cried in front of Alfilis before, she had sobbed quite violently, but Alfilis thought that the same crying was very different. How about her?

「What are you thinking, Alfie?」

「Yeah, there’s a little…」

「…You must be very tired, go to sleep.」

「Thanks… but I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep for some reason…」

「Is it because that stupid-looking man is still alive?」

「! Lisa, you’re listening to that earlier…」

「No, it was just a hunch. He didn’t seem to die even if he killed him, didn’t he? Lisa thought it would be a bad idea for me to hear what you guys had to say, so I blocked off my ability to act as a sensor. I probed for a moment, thinking it was over, but it seemed Aerial was sleeping, so I came up.」

「I see…」

Alfiris looks at Aerial. She was sleeping with tears in her eyes. Lisa also checked on her and looked sad.

「But as a practical matter, if that guy is going to come after us, we have to get out of here, but without Aerial, we can’t do anything. So at least go to sleep with her until she wakes up.」

「Well… to be honest, it’s not a great story when he catch up to us…」

「Frankly, if he catch up with us, we will be wiped out no matter what we do. That may not be a possibility, though.」

「Why?」

「If he wanted to kill us, he would have killed us all right there. You may be offended to hear me say this, but that man seemed to have no fangs except for Phalanx. Would he chase after such an insignificant beings, a man who seems to move only by instinct?」

「…That may be true, but,」

「And if Phalanx goes that far, we may indeed be stuck, if not dead. So go ahead and sleep. Of course, there is no way to be sure, but if Lisa is the Sentinel, I will be the first to notice.」

「I understand. Well, I’ll take your word for it and go to bed.」

「Please take your time…」

Alfiris went back to where she could shelter from the wind with Aerial. Holding Aerial up didn’t wake her up.

After confirming that they had left, Lisa blurted out,

「Oh, I did say that… but by the time Lisa’s sensors catch on, it’ll be too late to escape. It’s honestly beyond my imagination that such a monster could exist. Moreover, aside from Alfiris, Lisa is completely turned off by that creepy boy. Lisa doesn’t feel alive either… Jake … You need to be there for your girl at times like this… Please come quickly to protect Lisa…」

Lisa stood on the rocky beach with her head down, whispering to herself in a voice that no one could hear.

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Alfiris returned to everyone’s place and gently laid Aerial down, which seemed to wake her up a bit.

「Alfie…」

「Hmm?」

「No, it’s nothing…」

Alfiris responds with a smile and tries to go to her luggage to put down her sword, but Aerial tugs at her clothes to prevent her from doing so.

「Where are you going, Alfie…?」

「I’m just gonna drop my stuff off.」

「No, please don’t go…」

「I don’t know if you’re supposed to say that…」

「I beg you, please…」

Aerial is shaking, eyes moist and catatonic. To Alfiris, Aerial had the image of a strong woman, but considering how she cried on the rocks earlier, it’s not hard to imagine that she is really a lonely woman.

Now surely she wouldn’t leave, Alfiris thought, and decided to sleep with her sword in that spot. Although flat, it was still difficult to sleep because of the simple rug on the rocks, but it seemed possible to sleep regardless due to the intensity of sleep her body desired.

Alfiris huffed one sigh and lay down next to Aerial. Then she deliberately made her tone brighter.

「It can’t be helped then～ Only for today?」

「Yeah…」

「You’re like a real handful for a sister.」

「Sorry…」

「No need to apologize. Then come sleep with me.」

「Okay…」

With that, Alfiris lay down on her side, and Aerial stuck close by. Alfiris was a bit embarrassed, but Aerial was already sleeping and seemed to be in a much more peaceful tone than before. Perhaps relieved by this, Alfiris promptly fell into a deep sleep…

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Aerial was dreaming——

The first is a dream of her parents. She was back to her childhood, and her own father, whose face she don’t know, and her mother are both holding her hands. Aerial was very happy to be loved by two kind people.

However, they were killed by a big beast that suddenly attacked them, and Aerial was so filled with hatred that she started chasing the beast. But although she stood in front of the beast, she was too crippled to move. She was frightened that the beast would kill her, too, but the beast didn’t kill her, on the contrary, it began to protect her.

Life with such a beast was not bad. Although the hatred was not gone, it was no lonelier than when she was alone. It may have been a little different from happiness, but Aerial was protected by something big and reassuring.

But once again, the happiness did not last long. The big beast was killed by an even bigger one, and the frightened Aerial finally fled the scene.

She thought she had grown up and become stronger, but she was still a child. Nothing had changed from the time when her own parents were killed.

Where she cried and fled, Aerial now meets a girl. The girl wasn’t as enveloping as before, but she was big and warm, yet somehow lonely. That is why she realized. Happiness is not something that is given to her, but something she have to protect.

This time, she will show her that she will protect this happiness. With her own hands—— So determined was Aerial that she returned to her former, full-grown self.

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When Aerial woke up, she was in Alfiris’ arms. Alfiris is sleeping quietly, but also seems to be moaning about something. Her voice is so small and whispered in her sleep that she probably wouldn’t notice it unless she was sharing a bed with Alfiris. Aerial gently listens.

「……Why…… everyone is…… avoiding…… me……」

And there were tears in Alfiris’ eyes. That’s when Aerial had a hiccup. Alfiris is usually so cheerful and upbeat that you’d think she’d have no worries, Aerial realized that this was a big misunderstanding.

「（Right, everyone is fighting something… not just me! So this time I will protect my… my own dear ones. I will take up arms to do so.）」

Aerial’s eyes had regained their strength at this thought.