2001 The Children of Bottle by Ryohgo Narita

Author:Ryohgo Narita [Narita, Ryohgo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Yen On
Published: 2017-09-19T00:00:00+00:00

In the castle’s drawing room.

Bright flames glowed in the fireplace, dimly illuminating Feldt’s bewildered face.

Sylvie and Czes sat across from his chair, on the opposite side of the table. They’d wanted to call Nile and Maiza, too, but they hadn’t been able to find them anywhere. They’d considered looking a bit longer, but in the end, thinking that being surrounded by the four of them would only scare the kid, Sylvie and Czes had decided to talk to him by themselves.

“Let’s see, where should I start? I’m Sylvie, and this boy is Czes. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Uh, um…I’m Feldt Nibiru.”

Even though he was flustered by this completely unexpected development, Feldt gave his name honestly. In the worst case, he’d thought the negotiations might not go well and he’d be taken prisoner. He’d never imagined he’d be welcomed so cordially and asked into the drawing room.

“Did you come to watch us?”

The boy beside Sylvie turned an ironic smile on Feldt. He’d nailed it. With no way to argue, Feldt looked down and said nothing.

“Czes, hey. Don’t say it like that! After he took us up on our invitation and everything…”

“But—”

“Honestly. Don’t glower at me. You’ll ruin your sweet little face.”

“……!”

Sylvie laughed merrily. Czes blushed scarlet and fell silent. That said, since they’d been speaking English, Feldt had no idea what was going on.

“I’m sorry. Don’t worry about it, all right? Oh, and the only one of us who doesn’t understand your language is Nile—the one in the mask—so it’s okay to relax and just talk.”

That was what Sylvie said, but Feldt didn’t know where to begin. He couldn’t abruptly say, “Get out of the village,” and the atmosphere wasn’t the sort that would let him begin negotiating about the sacrifices, either. In any case, if Elmer—the most important demon—wasn’t here, it wouldn’t do any good.

After he’d thought as much, something abruptly occurred to Feldt. Were these two also monsters, like Elmer?

That doubt gradually deepened, and he took the initiative in the conversation for the first time.

“Um…the man named Elmer… How are the two of you related to him?”

It was a rather roundabout question, but Sylvie immediately understood what Feldt was driving at. Smiling a bit mischievously, she began, quite matter-of-factly, to tell him the truth.

“This little guy and I, and the other two, are basically the same as Elmer. Immortal bodies that will heal up right away, no matter how badly they’re hurt—do you know what I’m talking about?”

She’d struck the heart of the matter so easily that Feldt couldn’t decide how to react right away. It was the conclusion he’d feared most, and yet the woman had spoken so serenely that he couldn’t think of it as a serious problem.

“Immortal… You really are…demons…then?”

Holding back the excitement that was gradually building inside him, Feldt timidly asked the rest of the question. In response, Sylvie answered him as readily as before.

“We’re not demons, and we aren’t devils either. We’re proper humans…although we did have help from someone we call a demon. Let’s see… Since we’ve made friends with you, maybe I’ll tell you about it.

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