Episode 10: “It’s Time”
“Fiine, it’s about that time, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I have to take her back now.”
Checking the clock set up in the garden, Fiine took a step forward. The instant she did, Claudia pulled Christa into her arms, shielding her.
“Claudia-sama. It’s time.”
Nearly a full day had passed since the magic doll’s creation. Time to say goodbye.
“…Fiine-san. Isn’t there any way to extend the time somehow?”
“There isn’t.”
“I’ll pay however much you want, please. Even just a little longer would be fine. A week — no, even one day, just one more day, please…”
“It isn’t possible.”
“…There’s truly no way?”
“No.”
“Ev— even just one hour?”
“That’s impossible,” Fiine said flatly, coldly, and held Claudia’s gaze without flinching. She couldn’t afford to let herself be swayed by emotion.
Even if she extended it by another hour, Claudia would only repeat the exact same thing all over again.
“…No. Don’t take her away.”
“Mother, I…”
“No! I don’t want this! I don’t want this!!”
Claudia screamed like a stubborn child and clutched Christa tighter. It was only natural. She hadn’t wanted to hear the truth spoken from her own daughter’s mouth.
(Can’t be helped. Guess I’ll have to resort to force.)
She drew her wand from inside her coat and swiftly traced a magic circle in the air. Grass shot up and bound Claudia in place.
“You can use earth-attribute magic too?!”
Heinz turned to Fiine with wide, astonished eyes. Having only seen her use wind magic the day before, he’d apparently assumed she was purely a wind-attribute mage.
“I can use all attributes, more or less. And please don’t worry — this spell is only for restraint.”
In contrast to Heinz’s stunned silence, Christa cried out at the sight of her bound mother.
“Mother!”
“It’s all right. It’s a spell that doesn’t hurt.”
She took Christa’s shaken hand. Their eyes met, and Christa nodded back with an expression far too understanding for her age.
“…Goodbye, Mother. Goodbye, Father.”
“Wait! Christa, wait—!”
“…Fiine-san, could I have just a moment?”
“Just a moment, then.”
She released Christa’s hand. Christa ran to where Claudia was bound and gently embraced her, tangled in the grass as she was.
“I was so happy to see you again, Mother.”
“No, I still want, I still want to be with you…”
“Mother. I’m already dead. You know that too, don’t you?”
Claudia didn’t answer, only groaned in pain and glared down at the ground. Christa kissed her mother’s cheek.
“I love you so much, Mother. Please make sure you eat properly, even without me.”
“…Christa.”
“Father, please take good care of Mother.”
Turning her back on her mother, Christa took Fiine’s hand. The instant she did, Claudia screamed wait! once more.
Fiine didn’t think it was excessive. It was the natural response.
(And forcibly taking her away, right here, right now — that’s my job.)
Still holding Christa’s hand, she turned her back on Claudia and began to walk. Even so, Claudia’s screaming didn’t stop.
“Wait, wait, please…!! Give her back, what are you going to do with her…?!”
The screaming itself was probably something Claudia needed to do. She understood, after all, that Christa was fake.
This was, in all likelihood, a kind of parting ritual.
If so, then Fiine had to see her own part of that ritual through to the end. She’d already resigned herself to playing the villain.
“Give her back, you…, you murderer…!!”
A sharp, dry crack rang out, and Fiine spun around in alarm.
There stood Claudia, stunned, pressing a hand to her reddened cheek, and Heinz glaring down at her.
“That’s enough.”
At the low, ground-scraping voice, Claudia flinched, her whole body trembling.
Heinz turned to Fiine and bowed his head deeply.
“Please forgive my wife’s rude words.”
“Eh? Ah, no, it’s — please don’t worry about it, it’s fine.”
She’d been in a state of near-collapse. And besides, it wasn’t entirely undeserved.
“Claudia. If Christa saw you like this right now, how do you think she’d feel?”
“…My lord…”
Fiine understood at once that the “Christa” in Heinz’s mouth this time didn’t mean the magic doll.
“We have to be parents Christa can be proud of. And for the sake of the child about to be born, we have to look forward. That’s why I asked Fiine-san for this.”
“Mother.”
Christa walked back to Claudia once more and gently stroked her reddened cheek. Then she smiled brightly.
“Pain, pain, fly away!”
“Christa…”
“You know, Mother. I love your smile so much. So at the very end, I want you to smile.”
As if steeling herself, Claudia drew in a breath. Then, crying, she forced a smile.
“I love you, Christa.”
“I love you too, Mother.”
“…And… goodbye, Christa.”
Trembling, Claudia still managed to speak the words of farewell.
“Okay. Goodbye, Mother.”
This time, it was truly, finally over.
Holding Christa’s hand, Fiine began to walk. Christa didn’t look back — instead, tears streamed endlessly from her eyes.