When Ina woke up the next morning, she was lying on a futon in an abandoned house.
And the boy named Qualia just happened to be entering the house.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could’ve taken you to my house, but… It would be terrible if my father or Arrows found you…”
“…”
Ina did not know how to react. If it was the kind of human she was tired of seeing, like the ones that showed her nothing but violence and hostility, there would be no confusion.
But the boy named Qualia was different. Too different. He looked at her with a natural warmth that had never been directed at her before.
But that just perplexed her. What was she supposed to do about a human who looked at her with the same kindness as her brother? She had never experienced it before.
“…Hum, what’s your name?”
“…Ina.”
“Why are you covered in wounds, Ina? You even have a fever too. You might’ve died.”
“…Uh?”
Ina looked down at her body, and saw there were bandages all over it. And it seemed to have been wiped clean, because the blood and mud that was stuck to her whole body was gone.
Ina looked at her bandaged body, and saw Qualia was flustered for some reason. And he looked red.
“S-sorry, I’m really sorry. But your whole body was covered with sweat, blood, and dirt, and I figured your wounds weren’t going to heal if I left it like that… I didn’t do anything bad, so…”
“…W-what do you… Ah…”
She saw her clothes drying after being cleaned.
Also, other than the bandages expertly wrapped around her, she was wearing nothing.
That meant this boy named Qualia saw her completely naked.
For just a moment, she felt she got back a very natural emotion called shyness.
“Why did you go that far to save me…? You’re a human and I’m a beast person. It would’ve been normal to leave me…”
“Well, I mean, if you died, that would leave a bad aftertaste, right? I’d definitely regret it.”
Qualia seemed to be unaware of how much that feeling did not match the rest of the world.
“You’re weird.”
Ina said without thinking, and Qualia scratched his face with a troubled expression.
“Yes, I get that a lot. But people call me worse things, like a failure.”
A dry, lonely smile was pasted on his face, as though he was used to hearing others call him this sort of thing.
“Where’s your home? I can at least take you there.”
“Home… I don’t have one.”
“And family?”
“…I have… Had a brother. I don’t have… Anyone anymore… You humans took everything…!”
“…I see…”
Ina spoke with hate, as she gripped the futon tightly and bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
She gasped for breath and looked down, and eventually realized something. Qualia’s sad face showed that, like her brother, he sympathized with her pain.
Afterwards, Qualia left Ina alone in the deserted house for a while.
She was scared, as she was not used to being alone, but as she slowly processed the reality that her brother was gone, she began to calm down.
Eventually, she looked at the carefully placed bandages on her body.
Every wound was properly treated, and her whole body had been wiped with clean water. It really did not seem like the work of a noble.
But thanks to that, she was feeling better. The bandages were warm, and so was the futon.
(Why did he go this far…)
Maybe he had no reason. Maybe that was just how he was.
She got that feeling from his innocent face, and from how flustered he was when she realized he had seen her naked.
Finally, a feeling of guilt began to sprout inside her.
She had yet to thank him for looking after her so much, and only directed abuse towards him.
He was one of those hateful humans, but Ina felt restless. She had never been treated that way by a human, and began to feel perplexed.
“…Are you awake, Ina?”
“Ah.”
She even forgot to put up her guard, as Qualia walked over to her almost like he was family.
It did not feel bad. In fact, it felt comforting.
And it smelled nice, although that was coming from the beef stew that released steam next to him.
“I figured you were hungry. I’ve never cooked, but I tried doing it… You can eat… If you want…”
The scenery became fuzzy, as the recollection was beginning to end.
“Wait… Mister Qualia.”
She whispered, but it did not stop it from concluding. The still twelve year old Qualia slowly became more faint.
She reached towards him, but could not reach.
“I haven’t said thank you yet…”
“Request understanding. Ina, Qualia is positioned right here.”
Her hand was taken by Qualia’s.
Ina’s hand was that of the fifteen year old Ina again, and Qualia’s fifteen year old hand gently grabbed it.
“Mister Qualia… Excuse me. I… Was dreaming apparently…”
“Request explanation. Are there any abnormalities with your hardware?”
“Hard… No, I’m fine…”
Then, Ina smelled something nostalgic. It was beef stew, the same thing the twelve year old Qualia had brought her.
“Request that you eat. It is assumed that you are in a condition called ‘empty stomach’. Request that you eat to aid in the repairs of your heart and body.
However, it is possible that it partially deviates from the ‘tasty’ condition. If no ‘tasty’ is perceived, it is recommended that you don’t eat.”
There was some hesitance in Qualia’s usual robotic tone, but the concern that it would not please Ina was a very human one.
Basically, Ina saw the continuation of that dream.
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