After that, we carefully went around and looked at each of the remaining houses. Fortunately, the village was small, and the houses were arranged in a way unique to this world that differed from my common sense, serving as a barrier against the blizzards. Therefore, the search was easier than we thought.
We went around about thirty houses and found twelve corpses. For the time being, we carried and transported them to the biggest house.
“……The fact that there are no children is not exactly a silver lining, is it?”
“Right. That’s the curse on this world.”
When I laid down a middle-aged man around forty on the floor, Harris, who had finished transporting earlier, answered.
Yes, children do not die in this world. That’s because they can’t even be born.
“So, what do we do with these people? Just throwing them out there is a bit…”
“Hmm, then let’s search a bit.”
“Search? Ah, Harris-san!?”
At Tia’s question, Harris who had said so went out of the house. When we hurriedly followed him, he started looking around the village.
“…… It’s probably there.”
“What is it?”
“A grave.”
Where Harris pointed, there was indeed a place where the snow was piled up. But it seemed different from a graveyard lined with graves, it was more like a small mound was formed.
“Is this the grave?”
“Yes. You will understand if you remove the surface snow.”
“I understand. Then I’ll do a bit of gravestone cleaning……….??!!!”
“Hey Tia!? What’s…!”
Tia, who had been brushing off the snow piled up, suddenly retreated and sat down on her butt. When I hurriedly approached and looked under the snow that Tia had removed…
“…… This is something.”
What was there were piled up corpses of people. There were so many that I didn’t even want to count, stacked up randomly. I instinctively covered my mouth.
“Like this! Something like this…!”
“Oh, so it was a grave after all. Then we can carry the other corpses here as well.”
“Harris-san!? This, is this what you call a grave!?”
Tia, who had stood up, grabbed Harris’s collar and accused him. But Harris’s expression didn’t waver, he calmly removed Tia’s hand.
“Yes. Didn’t I tell you? Even just removing the snow is a big job, we can’t dig deep into the ground. So there’s no other way but to do this. Fortunately, there’s no decay, so we don’t have to worry about the smell, and if we leave it, the snow will pile up and cover it. If we just leave them lying around, we might step on them, so this is the most practical burial method.”
“Like that……….”
Tia, who had kneeled on the spot, began to spill big tears from her jade eyes. When I gently put my hand on her back, Tia’s face dove into my chest… The warmest heat in this frozen world permeated my chest.
“Now, let’s pile the people from earlier here. So that they don’t freeze in loneliness, and when the blizzard stops, they can return to the earth with their comrades.”
“Understood… Are you okay, Tia?”
“… Yes. I’m fine. I’ll help too.”
“Are you sure? Just me and Harris-san–“
“No. Let me do it. Please.”
“… Understood. Then let’s all do it together.”
Pulling up Tia by her hand, we began to pile the twelve corpses we had gathered earlier onto this heap of bodies. During that time, the blizzard relentlessly blew, quickly obscuring this gruesome sight in a white blanket.
On the slightly heightened mound of snow, we offered our prayers. If it were Gonzo-san or Riel, they would have been able to utter some sophisticated scripture, but all I could do was wish for their peaceful rest.
""
“Really, this world has come to an end.”
Tia quietly muttered such a thing. She was no longer crying, but her eyes were filled with unbearable sadness. And then, Tia gently leaned against me.
“Sorry, Ed. I’m feeling unbearably cold right now.”
“Yeah, this world is… perhaps a bit too cold.”
Wrapping my arm around Tia’s shoulder, I drew her close as I replied.
I have seen countless deaths. Deaths caused by beasts rampaging, people being crushed by horses on the battlefield, and many more horrific, unbearable deaths.
However, it was the first time for even me to witness a scene where bodies that were alive until just a few moments ago were piled up so carelessly. It feels like reality is slipping away as if these were dolls or something, but that doesn’t change the fact that these are human corpses… remains of beings that once held life.
This is the true end of the world, this silence. The result of my “power to end everything” that I possess manifesting itself to its fullest. This sight of the end, far more poignant than a hellish scene smeared with blood and viscera.
“Okay, now that the burial is over, let’s rest for the day. We’ll have to get up early tomorrow.”
“Understood. Tia?”
“Mm.”
At Harris’s words, we decided to disperse. This time, there were plenty of empty houses, so Harris was in a different house.
“Sigh, I wonder if I made everyone worry again. Even though Harris-san should… no, Harris-san is much more hurt.”
“Haha, don’t worry about it. In fact, don’t worry at all.”
“Ed? Ahh!?”
Embracing Tia tightly, who had a somewhat strained smile, I can feel her surprise, but she doesn’t resist.
“W-What’s going on, Ed!?”
“You know, Tia. Sure, Harris-san must have had a tough time, and there’s a lot to think about living in this world. But that’s different from you being hurt, right?”
“Me? I am—”
“You’re not fooling anyone. Just because someone close to you is severely injured doesn’t mean your own wounds stop hurting. You don’t have to compare and hold back. When things are tough, you should be able to rely on me enough to say so.”
“Fufu, thank you. But isn’t that the same for you, Ed?”
“Huh? Me?”
Returning the counter with a smile when I tried to console her, Tia grinned triumphantly at my dumbfounded expression.
“That’s right. Harris-san is hurting, and so am I. Are you saying you weren’t hurt at all? Are you saying I wouldn’t know?”
“Ah, well, I am…”
On my about-to-open lips, Tia placed her index finger. At the feel of her frozen touch, I found myself unable to speak.
“We’re all battered and bruised. But that’s what living is. I’d rather bleed and hold each other like this than just watch from a distance to avoid getting hurt. That’s why I hate this world where there’s no one else. Even if I don’t get hurt, and even if I can’t hurt anyone… being alone is too lonely.”
“I see. This place wouldn’t suit the lively you.”
“That’s right! So let’s quickly defeat the Demon King and move on to the next world.”
“Hey, hey, aren’t you getting a bit ahead of yourself?”
Almost nose-to-nose, we exchanged banter. But suddenly, Tia pushed on my chest to separate us and spoke with a wistful expression.
“Fufu… It would be nice if Harris-san could come with us too.”
“…Yeah.”
No matter how we sugar coat it, we will eventually leave this world, leaving Harris behind. It’s an undeniable fact, usually an unchangeable future. But it’s premature to say there’s no possibility.
“If Harris-san wants to go to another world after defeating the Demon King… how about we think about a way then? Since you are here with me, I think there must be a loophole.”
“That sounds wonderful! Then, to make that possible, we have to defeat the Demon King.”
“That’s right.”
The last hero of the destroyed world, Harris. What does he desire after defeating the Demon King? To confirm that, we eat our preserved food and get some sleep.
The journey continued. But the end should not be too far off.