The Yasha King’s Beloved (6)

“You were being held captive by exorcists?”

The fox Aberration that had wandered in unsteadily tearfully told Ryoga that it had been kept like an animal by a certain exorcist and tormented.

“If that strange girl hadn’t healed me and helped me escape, I would have died.”

At those words, Ryoga’s eyes widened.

Everything the fox described overlapped with Ryoga’s memories of that day.

“What happened to that girl? Is she well?”

When he reflexively asked, the fox twitched its whiskers as though wondering why he would ask such a strange question, then shook its head.

“No. It was terrible. She was always covered in injuries, and the exorcists were constantly insulting her. And yet she would heal us and help us escape.”

The revelation struck him like a blunt weapon to the head, leaving him unable to breathe.

Refusing to believe such a thing could be true, Ryoga sent someone to investigate the place where the fox had been held.

And then he learned the truth.

The girl was the daughter of an exorcist. Because she had been born with the power to heal, she was despised and abused. And her name was Mei.

(—Mei.)

Why had he not investigated sooner? Why had he not taken her and run away that day?

Mei, who had saved Ryoga, had been suffering all this time. There must have been days when she cried, days when she was hurt.

And all the while, he had complacently enjoyed a peaceful life. He had known nothing and had not even tried to learn.

He realized that telling himself their difference in species meant it was enough merely to watch over her from afar had been nothing but self-indulgence.

Ryoga wept bitterly at his own pathetic failure.

(—I will save her. No matter what.)

The exorcists’ estate was protected by powerful barriers, so all he could manage was having small Aberrations investigate her condition. If he caused any kind of disturbance, it would create an uproar. Mei might be put in danger.

Tormented by the frustration of being unable to do anything, Ryoga simply prayed for Mei’s safety and waited for an opportunity.

Then that day came.

Mei left the estate and entered the mountain where fissures connecting this world and the other were prone to appear.

Ryoga kept the Aberrations away so things would not turn bloody and watched from a distance the entire time. How could he take Mei away without frightening her?

While he was thinking that, an unbelievable sight unfolded before his eyes.

(—I should have killed him.)

Not only had the young exorcist injured Ryoga’s retainer, he had also struck his own companion and Mei when they tried to stop him, filling Ryoga with murderous rage.

Had the boy not been related to Mei by blood, Ryoga would have pierced straight through his back as he fled.

When Mei bowed her head for the sake of her worthless younger brother, Ryoga felt so ashamed of himself that he wanted to cry.

No. That was not what he wanted for her.

He only wanted her to smile.

He swore that in his world, he would cherish her as carefully as though wrapping her in soft cotton.

He wanted to teach her that her existence had value. That she had been born to be loved. He wanted to show her the changing seasons and the beauty of countless flowers.

The days that began from such selfish wishes became filled with light.

Mei was always within reach.

She laughed with delight, her eyes shining, and smiled shyly whenever her ability was praised.

Compared to the fantasy he had carried from the past, the real Mei was far more beautiful.

He loved her so dearly, yearned for her so intensely it nearly drove him mad, and every passing day only deepened those feelings.

But Ryoga had never intended to tell her.

(—My feelings don’t matter.)

A man who had failed to save Mei when she was suffering most had no right to whisper words of love to her.

(—I love you, Mei.)

Please be happy.

Please always keep smiling.

For that, I would do anything.

Yet that vow collapsed all too easily.

When Ryoga realized Mei was keeping her distance from him, he was stunned by just how badly shaken he became.

He had told himself that being able to watch over her from nearby was enough, but long ago, that had ceased to be enough.

How should he tell her?

What if she was disgusted that he was saying it only now and abandoned him?

(—Even then, it’s fine. I want to apologize. I won’t ask you to forgive me, but I want you to know how deeply I regret it and how strongly I feel.)

He wanted to tell Mei how precious she was to him.

That was why.

“I will bring her back. No matter what.”

The grinding of his clenched teeth echoed aloud.

Blood from the wounds his fangs had opened in his lips spilled across his tongue, numbing it.

(—Please be safe.)

For the first time, Ryoga felt he could understand, if only a little, why humans prayed to gods.

Mei was imprisoned in a tatami-lined cell beneath the estate.

It was said to have originally been built to temporarily isolate exorcists whose minds had broken down under the strain of harsh work, but the place had hardly been used at all in recent years. Mei herself had entered it several times while cleaning, but this was the first time she had ever been locked inside.

(—I wonder how everyone is doing.)

Sitting with her knees drawn to her chest, Mei pictured the Aberrations who had been with her when she was taken and let out a small breath.

They were kind. Her disappearance had surely upset them, perhaps even saddened them.

The thought filled her chest with guilt.

Gen and Kyo, who both had strong senses of responsibility, might even try to storm West Suo.

What would happen if they came to a place overflowing with exorcists?

Just imagining it made her shrink with fear.

More than anything, what frightened her most was not knowing what Io intended to do. All she knew was that he meant to use her hair in some kind of technique.

And that whatever it was, it would not be good for Ryoga or the other Aberrations.

(—I have to find some way to tell them not to come here.)

Mei was a human of this world.

She had only been able to travel to the Otherworld by chance because of Ryoga, but this was where she was originally meant to belong.

From now on, she would probably be abused and looked down on again, used whenever convenient just as before.

Surely there would be painful, miserable things waiting for her.

But.

(—How strange. I’m not afraid at all.)

What frightened Mei far more was the thought of putting them in danger.

If everyone could continue living safely in that place, she could endure anything.

“Hehe…”

A tiny laugh escaped her without meaning to.

If the guards heard, they might think she had finally lost her mind.

(—I really did become stronger.)

Memories of the days she had spent with Ryoga and the others filled Mei’s heart.

Gentle Ryoga.

The Aberrations who adored her.

All the words of gratitude she had received.

Her chest was filled to overflowing with memories of those precious days that had been given to Mei when she had once been empty inside.

There was sadness, certainly.

She knew the day would come when she would ache so badly to return that it felt as though her heart were being torn apart.

Even so, Mei was happy now.

“It was fun.”

Those days had been so happy that she felt she could keep living even if the rest of her life became miserable, so long as she had those memories.

A tear slipped down and fell onto the floor.

“…Ugh…”

If only she could see him one more time.

She wanted to tell him that she loved him.

That there was no one in the world more precious to Mei than Ryoga.

Even if the answer she received was painful, she wanted him to keep some small corner of his heart for the existence called Mei.

That shameless wish overflowed and would not stop.

“Ryoga-sama.”

Merely speaking his name made the longing she could no longer suppress spill out.

As she wiped the tears running down her cheeks with her palm, she sensed something softly padding nearby.

“Princess.”

“…!”

Startled by the voice, Mei lowered her gaze and found the frog Aberration Io had dragged away sitting neatly beside her.

“You…!”

“Princess… glad.”

Its speech was more awkward here than it had been in the Otherworld, but the words were still understandable, and Mei’s expression softened.

When she gently held out her hand, the frog hurriedly climbed onto her palm.

“You’re safe…!”

Relief immediately drained all the strength from her body.

She had been so overwhelmed by her own situation that she had not spared a thought for it until now, and she felt guilty.

When she stroked its glossy back, the frog blissfully narrowed its eyes and croaked.

It did not appear to be injured.

When Mei asked where it had been all this time, the frog desperately explained in broken words that after Io grabbed it and brought it into this world, he had immediately thrown it into the grass.

While Io was distracted with Mei, it had slipped into their luggage and eventually made its way here.

“Princess… I protect.”

The gentle yet dependable words filled her heart.

It had worked so hard with such a tiny body.

All because it wanted to help Mei.

“Princess… saved me. So… I want save Princess.”

Tears of a different kind welled up in her eyes.

For so long, Mei had felt ashamed to have been born with this power.

Even after realizing she could be useful in the Otherworld, the feeling that she was defective as a human had never disappeared.

Even when the Aberrations thanked her, some corner of her heart had always continued to belittle herself.

But now, it was different.

“Thank you.”

It had not been useless.

It had not been meaningless.

The realization tightened her chest.

The heart that had been rigid with fear began to lift ever so slightly.

(—There’s still something I can do.)

As though the fog before her were clearing, she began to vaguely see what she needed to do.

Wiping her tear-streaked face with her sleeve, Mei looked at the frog in her palm.

“Can you get out of here?”

“Yes. I good at it.”

“I need you to do something for me.”

Her tears had already stopped.

At last, she understood that what she needed to do now was not cry.

She had to look forward and face what was coming.