"U, uh...?"
In the dead of night, my eyes suddenly snapped open.
So this is happening again, I thought—but this time, it seemed I’d slept a little longer, so that was a relief.
Looking at the broken clock that was running about thirty minutes slow, it was probably around midnight.
...I take that back. I’d woken up even earlier than usual.
Still, if I’d woken up at this hour, maybe I could fall asleep again.
"Come to think of it, it’s a little warm...."
It should definitely be winter, so this was strange—but I brushed it off as my imagination and pulled the old blanket over myself, lying back down on the hard floor.
...The floor that was always cold felt warm today. Was this what those aristocrats’ boilers felt like? Thanks to that, my eyes started to close.
Not the usual cold, merciless floor, but a pleasantly hot one that warmed my back. A sense of satisfaction I’d never experienced before seeped into both body and mind.
Why was that? Was it just my imagination? Or was it because of the body heat of the guest who’d been staying here since yesterday? If I had to hope, I’d like it to be the guest’s warmth. I really would like to taste genuine warmth at least once.
Ah, still, this was really a relief. To be able to sleep so warmly. Tonight, I could sleep in such comfort.........
"..........H-hey..."
".....Land...lord..."
"Hey, landlord!!! Wake up already!!! Hey!!!"
"Y-yes?!"
But that satisfaction did not last long, and I was jolted awake by someone shaking me roughly.
And then—
"It’s, it’s hot....?!"
"Damn it, I don’t know what happened, but it looks like someone set something on fire.....! It’s chaos everywhere right now.....!!"
The floor that had only just been warm was now hot. Insanely hot. So hot I couldn’t understand how I’d been sleeping there at all.
And that wasn’t all. Just as the guest said, when I looked outside through the tiny window,
"...Huh?"
"H-help me!! Fire!!! Fire!!!"
"Water!! Bring water!!! Where’s the well!!!!"
"H-hiiiiii?! What is this?!! I didn’t think it would spread this far?!!!!"
"My lord!! My lord!!! Please save us!!!!"
"Aaaah!!! It’s hot!! It’s hot!!!!"
"Hurry up and get everyone out, starting with the fairies!!! If the workers all burn, we’re done for too!!!!"
There was fire.
The back alleys of Darlington. Flames devouring the slums.
Wavering and surging, swelling huge as if to swallow everything, greedy, reckless, and raging as they tried to spill out of the alley and onto the main road.
I didn’t know where it had started, but this was a fire I’d never seen before. The houses were all turning to ash. Most of the walls here were wood. Even if a house had stone walls like mine, it was rare for the roof not to be wood as well. To that fire, it was all good fuel.
Come to think of it, there was also a greasy smell hanging thick in the air. Stale and hot.
"Damn it, let’s get out of here already!! It’s insanely hot in here too!!!"
"Ah, yes!"
While I was staring blankly outside and losing my head, Capris’s voice snapped me back to my senses.
"The door... damn it, no choice....!"
Boom!
Right after that, Capris groaned and kicked the door open, sending the rusted slab flying into the flames.
The heat pouring off the door made it obvious there was a pillar of fire raging just beyond it, so we had to smash through before we got burned for no reason.
"...Shit. What crazy bastard started this....?"
"There’s fire, everywhere...."
And outside the house, as expected, a hell of searing heat was already in full swing. It was a miracle we hadn’t suffocated or been boiled alive already.
It was probably because of the nearby wooden buildings... no, there was no time to think about that.
Luckily, I was fairly used to fire and heat. The distance from the back alley to the road wasn’t that far either, so all I had to do was get out quickly and put out any flames on my clothes or body.
The problem was the landlady, Baban Si. Due to the hard life she’d been living, her body was already rather frail, so her basic physical stats as a fairy weren’t much to speak of either.
So,
"...Miss Baban Si. I’m sorry, but please excuse me for a moment!!"
"Y-yes?!"
I hoisted her onto my back and headed out into the street......!!!
Fortunately, she wasn’t all that heavy. In fact, she was so light that it was worrying.
"W-wait?! Just put me down!! If you do that, Capris will be in danger too!!"
"And you want me to repay your kindness of feeding and sheltering me with betrayal?!! Stay still, it’s dangerous if you move!!"
I ignored her resistance to being put down and told to go on alone. I wasn’t going to do that again, and I didn’t want to be the kind of bastard who repaid kindness with betrayal.
"Now, hold your breath!! Wrap yourself up tight!!"
"...Hup...!"
Toxic gas couldn’t be helped. I didn’t have a wet towel or anything like that, so I held my breath to keep as much of it out as possible, and just had to endure the fire.
Then I stepped forward.
"Hngh....!!"
Something hotter than the heat of the iron plate I’d been burned by two days ago tried to wrap around my body. So I had to move quickly.
But not too quickly. I was carrying someone, and if I tripped over something, it would be a disaster.
So one step at a time. Strong and fast, I made my way out of the back alley. Watching the heat around me and the flames trying to swallow us as closely as I could.
And of course, my body was hot. It felt like I was melting in the heat. The pain of being burned was miserable. I wanted to put Baban Si down this instant and run out of the street on all fours like a beast.
But this kind of thing, I’d already experienced plenty of times in the forge.
The heat that wrapped around my body had become familiar from the hammering forge where iron rang out. And the pain of being burned was bearable thanks to the mistakes I’d made over those clumsy first few years.
Besides, I hadn’t even been burned by the hot metal itself, so how could I stop now?
So,
"Phew..... We made it....!! You can breathe now, Miss Baban Si....!!"
"...Hup... phew.... Thank you for your hard work.."
We safely made it to the roadside, where people were already putting out the fire. Of course. This time, I hadn’t gone alone. Both of us survived.
Then I set the landlady I’d been carrying down on the ground. If we went over to where all the fairies had gathered, they’d probably pour water on us or give us first aid.
So hurry and go—
"Hey, hold on there, kid. Mind standing still for a moment? Sorry, but we need collateral for that woman too, you see!"
"...Huh?"
At that instant, a violent blow struck my temple.
And in that moment, my consciousness was cut off.
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