Interlude: Aqua, All Alone
"The western village seems to have been wiped out too."
"I see. It can’t be helped."
"It might be our turn soon as well."
I—Aqua—was born in the deep eastern forest.
There was a large tree in the center, and around it, small houses were built at even intervals.
By the time I became aware of things, I already had no family.
I asked why, but they had apparently left me behind and gone away.
We elves, as a race, have little capacity for emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness.
Love, the emotion needed for reproduction, is said to be fading throughout our kind.
The people who lived in the same place as me also just… existed, rather than lived.
Among them, for some reason, I was the only one who could understand the feeling called loneliness.
When someone disappeared, died, or I heard a village had been wiped out, it pained my heart.
But no one understood that.
That too, made me sad.
On the other hand, I still didn’t understand what love was.
Raised by adults since I had no parents, I never really felt any strong sense of affection.
We offer gratitude to the spirits and life, but I don’t understand why we do it.
There’s probably no meaning to it anymore.
It’s like not finding any significance in breathing.
Eventually, my village was wiped out—leaving only me behind.
I set out on a journey, driven by that feeling of loneliness.
Or maybe, I was searching for love.
I just remember wishing I could talk to someone.
"You're amazing. You can use such powerful magic?"
"Oh, you're an elf. No wonder you're good at magic."
"Elves are so cute."
It was my first time coming to a human settlement, but I had received a decent education.
In the first town I arrived at, I became an adventurer. I performed well in a party I was placed with, and people praised me.
The problem came after that—
"Why are you all moving so slowly? Why didn’t you dodge that just now?"
I found the humans’ movements extremely frustrating.
And with that one comment, I was kicked out just a few days later.
Bit by bit, I started to understand.
Human emotions are very complex.
They notice far more subtle things than we do.
I was invited into parties again several times after that.
But my casual remarks always got me expelled—or in the worst cases, caused the party to disband.
I did feel bad, but… did I truly understand it in my heart? No.
I just didn’t want to end up alone again.
Maybe it was around that time I began to grow tired of being an elf.
"Aqua’s really cute, but she says harsh things."
"That’s the elf Aqua, right? She’s got a bad reputation."
"That girl seriously doesn’t get how humans feel."
Why? Why is it?
Why can’t I understand other people’s feelings?
After that, I began to spend more time alone.
Fortunately, I was strong enough to complete quests without trouble and earn travel money.
I’d fight, complete the mission, and sleep.
That was my routine.
But I took pleasure in one thing—watching the magic I loved slowly grow stronger.
However, I wasn’t good at offensive magic.
They say that our generation of elves—the so-called Fifth Generation—is gradually losing aggression and becoming unable to harmonize with spirits.
So I usually fought by enhancing myself.
That was my daily life.
And then—
"Phew… the magic core."
"Huh?"
As I bent down to pick up a dropped item, there was a man beside me I didn’t recognize.
He had black hair and a cheerful smile. A young human.
But for some reason, he wouldn’t let go of the magic core.
"Please let go."
"Huh? No, I’m the one who killed this thing."
"No. I defeated it."
"What’re you talking about? I dealt the damage."
"No. I just—"
At that moment, I looked beside me and saw the fallen monster I had assumed I’d killed.
Apparently, I had been mistaken.
"I apologize."
I bowed my head and started to leave, but he grabbed my shoulder.
I instinctively raised my staff.
"Stop it."
There was a time when I’d been attacked by a group of men.
Apparently, they liked my face.
Of course, I drove them off.
But this man was clearly terrified.
"N-No! Wait, here, take it."
"… What do you mean? It’s not mine."
"You’re alone, right? It must be tough. Just take it."
He scratched his cheek and looked oddly embarrassed.
When I told him I’d accept it if he was offering, two others—probably his party members—showed up behind him.
"Nick, don’t run out ahead alone!—Wait, who’s this girl?"
"Our hunting grounds just overlapped, that’s all."
"You always go straight for the cute ones, huh?"
"N-No I don’t!"
So his name was Nick, it seemed.
They looked like a pretty close-knit party.
As I started to leave, for some reason he called out to me.
"Hey, you."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Would you like to hunt together? I think we’d make a good team."
"Uh… but I’m Aqua."
I had been staying in this town for a while, so my name was already known.
An elf mage with no social awareness and a selfish attitude—that was me.
This had happened before.
Once I gave my name, they would leave.
That one emotion I still had—loneliness—I didn’t want to feel it again.
"I know. So what?"
"Yep, Nick’s officially a flirt."
"Gahaha, same old Nick."
… I could have refused.
But if I could hunt safely for a while, maybe it was okay.
With that lighthearted thought, I decided to hunt with their party.
"Nick, don’t rush ahead!"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it!"
He charged forward like a leader should.
I cast support spells to protect him.
"… Whoa, I feel crazy strong right now! Thanks, Aqua!"
"You’re welcome."
"You’re amazing. I’m Eurie, by the way."
"Hello."
"I’m Zapp! Nice to meet you!"
"Hello."
It always starts like this.
That’s why I’m used to it.
And in the end, it seems I’ve done it again.
“Nick, you should hold back from rushing ahead a little. Eurie, your mana consumption is too high. Zapp, you're relying too much on brute force.”
After I said that, everyone froze.
Ah, I know that look very well.
—This is the end.
It was a short time, but I earned enough.
So, it's fine.
I’m used to being alone.
Or so I thought—
“Heheh, hahaha! You know, Aqua might be right. Sorry about that.”
“Thanks to Nick, I got scolded too.”
“My strength is number one in the world! But yeah, I guess that’s not enough.”
…?
“Didn’t I offend you?”
“… Offend us how?”
“Well, with what I said.”
“Not at all. You said it because you care about us, right? You were pointing it out so we could hunt safely—there’s no way we’d get mad at that.”
“Exactly. Nick's right.”
“Well, I kind of figured as much myself anyway!”
They were strange people.
They didn’t get angry at my words.
After that, I started working with them.
Their movements were still inefficient, so I pointed it out—but they’d respond seriously, saying, “We’ll be careful.”
“We’re really grateful to you, Aqua.”
“Seriously, you’ve become someone we can’t do without.”
“Totally!”
“… Thank you.”
Before I knew it, I had become a member of Nick’s party.
Little by little—just little by little—I began to understand.
What a human heart is.
“That’s... not okay, Nick. Um, it’s dangerous.”
“Yes…”
“Hehe, Nick looks so pathetic, it’s hilarious.”
Sometimes, I was the one being scolded.
“Aqua, the way you said that isn’t good. There’s a kinder way to phrase it.”
“… Yes.”
“People often say you don’t have emotions, but that’s not it. You’re just not used to them yet. Let’s keep working on it together.”
He was a strange person.
As if he could see right through everything.
Then one day, we decided to go into a dungeon.
We descended deep, all the way to the lower levels. For some reason, Nick insisted on pushing farther than usual, into an especially dangerous area.
“We should stop. It’s too dangerous for us to go on.”
“We’ll be fine, we’ll be fine.”
It was Nick who made the decision to fight the boss of the fifth layer, and continue on to the sixth.
I told them multiple times that we should stop. But they were determined.
I was the support.
If the leader makes the call, I follow it.
The boss was a wyvern.
It flew high through the air and breathed fire.
After a fierce battle, just as I thought we were in real danger—
“Nick, now!”
“Yeah—sorry, Aqua. Thanks for everything.”
“… Huh?”
Nick slashed my back from behind.
Then he shoved me toward the wyvern.
Its fangs sank into my left arm, and blood gushed out.
I struggled desperately to get away, but by then Nick and the others were already far off, heading onward.
Even the strong, kind Zapp was laughing at me.
“Gahaha! Sorry, Aqua!”
“… What is this…?”
“Sorry, Aqua. The truth is, we fought this boss before and lost. That’s when we realized something.”
“If we have a decoy, we can move forward. The door will close, but try your best to stay alive, okay? Actually, it’d be better if you died. We’ll grab the treasure and head back ahead of you.”
I couldn’t understand what they meant.
No—more than that, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it.
“Wh-why…?”
“There’s no way we’d ever be real teammates with someone as creepy as you. Elves don’t have emotions—it's freakish.”
“Hehe, let’s go, Nick.”
“Later! Gahaha!”
And I was left behind.
Since I had poured everything into support magic, I had no mana left.
The door closed, and the wyvern prepared to incinerate me.
But I couldn’t move.
“… Ah.”
This is my punishment.
I couldn’t understand people’s feelings. This is all my fault.
I must have hurt them somewhere along the way.
That’s why this happened.
It can’t be helped.
It’s my fault.
The infernal flames rained down on my body.
Ah… why was I even born an elf—?
“—Whoa, that’s one huge lizard.”
“What’s a lizard, meow?”
“It’s, like, the thing that flicks its tongue in and out.”
“Hoeeh~”
At that moment, a man stepped in to shield me.
But for some reason, I couldn’t see his face. Next to him, I heard the voice of a cheerful woman.
“Are you okay? It’ll be over soon. Just hang on a bit.”
“Alright, tonight’s dinner is lizard meat, meow.”
――――
――
―
From that point on, my memory somehow went blank.
When I came to, I was asleep in an unfamiliar inn in an unfamiliar town.
My wounds had healed, and for some reason, my clothes and staff had all been replaced with new ones.
My head hurt. I couldn’t remember anything.
It felt like I’d forgotten something incredibly important.
… I don’t know.
And so, I set out on a journey to search for the memories I must have lost.
I remembered Nick and the others, but I didn’t know what had happened to them.
Maybe I had lost my mind.
Eventually, I arrived at the royal capital, where a woman named Karin gave me a guidebook.
That was unusual.
At that moment, I found a certain photograph.
And then, I remembered.
Fragmented memories—and clear, undeniable ones.
"Hey, you okay?"
"You two are…?"
"I’m Yakumo Tabito, and this here’s Milfi."
"I thought you were gonna die, nyaaa. Your wounds are still healing, so don’t move around, okay?"
That’s right. They were the ones who saved me.
Why? Why had I forgotten them all this time?
No—that’s not it. That’s not right.
Since then, I...
"Aqua, if you’d like, why don’t you travel with us? We were hoping to find someone who can use support magic."
"I... I don’t want to form a party with anyone ever again."
"I see... That’s a shame."
I didn’t want to feel that kind of sorrow again.
"Then just stay with us until your wounds heal. Make sure you get proper rest, okay?"
"Why are you being so kind to me?"
"Hah, I’m Japanese. You probably don’t know this, but we’re the kindest people in the world."
Without expecting anything in return, he and Miss Milfi stayed by my side until my injuries healed.
They wiped my body for me and spoke to me kindly every single day.
Then, my memories blurred again.
I had been traveling with them.
"Aqua, you’re such a big help."
"Yeah yeah, every day’s more fun with Aqua around, nyaaa."
"… That’s not true. I’m the one who’s enjoying it."
Ah... I was smiling.
I’d learned how to smile again.
And then—there’s a hazy memory of fighting the Death General.
"Aqua, I’ll take the front. I’m counting on your support."
"Yes, Miss Bridget."
I see now.
I had truly found precious companions.
And then, the one who walked into the guild at that time was the last person I expected.
Yakumo Tabito.
—The one who saved my life.
And Miss Milfi.
Ah, I’m so glad I remembered. So glad I was able to remember.
But it’s not over yet.
I remember—my final memory.
"I absolutely… have to remember… no matter what…"
I pushed my mana to its absolute limit to make sure I wouldn’t lose my memories.
That much, I remember.
But they don’t remember me.
"Are you Yakumo Tabito? I’m Aqua."
"… Aqua?"
I am Aqua the Elf.
The support role in Tabito’s party.
I want to repay the debt of having my life saved.
For the sake of everyone who lost their memories, I will stay with them until the very end.
That is what I must dedicate my life to.
What do you think about this chapter?
