Chapter 3: Sena
“Hey.”
“What is it?”
“No, what are you doing?”
“Bed sharing.”
“Why?”
“You were about to die.”
“Yeah, I got that.”
“You were about to die.”
“Why are you repeating yourself? I feel like I’ve heard that line before… Is this déjà vu?”
“…”
“Why are you silent? It makes me look like the bad guy, doesn’t it? What does it say about me that I made my savior go quiet?”
“Bed sharing.”
“Are we even communicating here?”
After that, we ended up sharing a bed quite a lot.
My days with her passed like this. It took a little over two weeks for me to recover somewhat.
To break it down, it took three days before I could hold a spoon, a week to stand up, and another week to walk.
Because of that, she took care of me in various ways. Until I could hold a spoon, she brought it to my mouth, and I ended up causing her all sorts of trouble that I can’t even mention. I later learned that the bed sharing was for when my condition suddenly worsened.
Now, humans are quite resilient. No matter where you end up living, you eventually get used to it after some time, and you start to feel a bit more at ease in your heart.
Once that happens, things you didn’t pay much attention to before suddenly start to catch your interest.
So, please indulge me for a moment as I recount my days with her.
As my strength returned, I was able to exchange words with her. Gradually, I began to have conversations with her.
“Thanks to you, I was saved. I truly appreciate it.”
Once I could speak, my first thought was to express my gratitude.
“It’s nothing.”
She replied nonchalantly, without changing her expression. I felt a radiant aura emanating from her.
“It feels strange to keep calling you ‘you’ or ‘you there.'”
I wanted to know the name of the girl who had taken care of me.
“My name is Ichiro Yamada. Please call me Ichiro.”
She blinked a couple of times, then lowered her gaze for a moment.
From her divine and beautiful expression, I couldn’t discern what she was thinking, but in my heart, I wondered, “How old could she be? She must be younger than me, right?” and thought, “Her eyelashes are so long!!” My heart raced with excitement.
“…”
While she hesitated over something, I waited patiently. The hem of her kimono floated gently in the air.
“My name is—”
“What’s your name?”
I prompted her.
“Sena.”
She answered, as if savoring the words.
“Ah, so your name is Sena.”
“Yes, my name is Sena.”
“Sena, huh? That’s a nice name. For a while—”
For a while?
There’s no reason for me to be here now that I’ve recovered. If anything, I wanted to live in seclusion.
But she already lived here, so what reason would I have to stay by her side? As I pondered this,
“It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
“You can stay here as long as you like, Ichiro.”
It was as if she could see right through me, granting me permission.
“…Thanks. I owe you one.”
My heart was full, and that was all I could manage to say.
At some point, I asked Sena about something that had been on my mind.
“About this little hut we’re in, how did it come to be?”
“…?”
Sena tilted her head, not quite understanding.
“Sorry, that was my fault. I meant to ask who built this hut?”
The hut we were sharing was far from impressive. The trees used for its construction were uneven, causing the roof to tilt, and there were gaps between the trees here and there. I thought it would be quite breezy, but it wasn’t at all; the wind barely passed through, yet it didn’t get uncomfortably hot either. Life in this hut was surprisingly comfortable. So, I simply wondered what kind of skill it took to create such a peculiar hut.
“The person who built the hut…?”
“Yeah. I’ve been curious about it. Not just the hut, but also the futon I was using.”
The futon, the dishes, the cups, and all the other necessities were all made in a clumsy manner like the hut, yet they were all surprisingly comfortable and oddly functional, leaving me perplexed.
Sena looked up as if she were releasing some divine particles.
“The hut and everything in this house were made together with Sensei.”
“Sensei?”
“Yes, Sensei…”
From this exchange, I understood. Sena didn’t intend to elaborate on this Sensei person. But I hadn’t revealed anything about myself either. It was a mutual understanding. Besides, if Sena had been the type to pry, I would have left the mountain as soon as I recovered.
Thinking about it, this comfortable environment where we didn’t pry into each other’s lives was likely what allowed us to coexist peacefully.
“The house was made from the Elder Demon’s Trent found in the forest area just behind the mountain.”
“The Elder Demon’s Trent? That sounds like a rather ominous name.”
“Just a weakling.”
Is there really a weakling with such a name!?
“It was noisy, so Sensei and I did a major logging operation. Don’t worry. They’re harmful trees that cause environmental damage just by existing.”
According to Sena, the Elder Demon’s Trent absorbs Mana and nutrients from the ground at an alarming rate.
“By the way, the cups, dishes, and spoons are all made from the Elder Demon’s Trent.”
Oh, come on.
“You’ve already put those in your mouth multiple times.”
“Haha, what a cheeky joke,” I forced myself to accept.
“And that futon is made from the Anti-Gravity Worm’s silk.”
“Whoa!? What kind of dangerous worm is that!?”
Not only was the worm dangerous, but Sena also began to share more alarming stories about how she and this Sensei person had dealt with it.
Despite her delicate and graceful appearance that seemed incapable of harming even a fly, she was anything but!
When the conversation finally settled down, I was still far from fully recovered and lay down on the aforementioned futon, exhausted. I offered a silent prayer to the worm. May it be safe.
“So, what are you doing?”
“Bed sharing.”
“No, I mean—”
“Bed sharing.”
You don’t have to answer so quickly! Sigh. And so, another day passed.