Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

When I returned to the hut, Kuzuha-chan was curled up asleep on the straw. With her clothes being so short and revealing, and torn in places, the straw must be pricking her.
The way she slept, using her own tail as a pillow, made her look somewhat lonely.
I set her mother down near her, as if she were sleeping while seeking comfort from someone who wasn’t there. I laid her down on the straw.

I thought about waking Kuzuha-chan, but I didn’t really want to disturb someone else’s sleep. I’ll explain when she wakes up.
The straw was completely covered by the two of them. I took out a blanket, wrapped myself in it, and sat down, leaning my back against a nearby pillar.
I’m a little tired, so I’ll sleep. Just as I was about to close my eyes, I sensed a slight movement.
I stopped closing my eyes and turned my gaze toward the pile of straw.

“Mm, mmm…?”

Kuzuha-chan sat up, letting out a small sound.
Her yellow eyes were glazed over, but there was definitely a spark of awareness in them.
Her forked tail rippled, sending the surrounding straw and dust swirling.

“Arje, san…?”
“Did I wake you? I’m sorry.”
“No, that’s fine… but… what’s happening? I can smell Mother right now…?”
“She’s right there.”

Where my finger pointed. Kuzuha-chan’s mother was lying down right next to her.
As Kuzuha-chan took in what my finger was pointing at, a smile spread across her face.
Looking incredibly happy and affectionate, she threw herself into her mother’s arms. Just like a little fox playing with its parent.

“Mother!!”

Repeating “Mother, Mother” over and over, Kuzuha rubbed her face against her mother’s chest.
She proudly recounted how she had worked hard to follow the lord’s orders, staring up at her with eyes pleading for praise as she kept repeating “Mother.”
But, of course, her mother didn’t respond. She didn’t open her eyes, nor did she move a single finger.
Eventually, Kuzuha-chan seemed to realize something was wrong, and her expression clouded over.

“M-Mother? What’s wrong?”
“…Your mother will never wake up again.”
“Eh…”

Kuzuha-chan turned her yellow eyes toward me, then immediately looked back at her mother.
She was a child, innocent and easily deceived.
But she wasn’t so young that she didn’t understand the meaning of my words—that her mother would “never open her eyes again.”
Her tail, which had been wagging cheerfully, and her ears, which had been standing straight up, wilted in an instant. Her small shoulders trembled, and her large eyes widened in shock.
A single tear fell onto her mother’s cheek.
Her daughter’s tear.

“Mother… Mother, Mother…!”

Kuzuha didn’t scream or thrash about; she simply stared at her mother’s face, calling out to her and continuing to shed tears.
She didn’t ask why, nor did she wail in anger. She simply repeated “Mother” over and over, her tears overflowing.
Her shoulders trembling, her sobs choking her, she kept calling out “Mother, Mother.” I reached out my hand toward her head—and stopped myself.

……To touch her, to stroke her. What good would that do?

It might offer some comfort. But it wouldn’t save her.
Her mother isn’t going to come back to life, so what’s the point of doing that?
All I can do is heal her wounds. That’s all.
I can’t bring the dead back to life.
What’s the use of offering comfort with hands that can’t save her?

In the end, until Kuzuha’s tears ran dry, I just stood there watching. Without speaking, without touching her.

“……I’m so sorry. I’ve shown you something unbecoming.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“I’m so grateful to hear you say that…… Thank you for bringing my mother here.”

After she’d cried her fill, Kuzuha-chan turned her tear-swollen eyes into a smile and bowed deeply.
She raised her head—which she’d lowered so far that the tips of her fox ears were turned toward me—and sniffed. I reached out to her.
What I touched wasn’t her skin, but her collar.

“This collar is from the lord, isn’t it?”
“He told me to wear it so Mother could track my location… that it would put her at ease knowing where I was, even when we were apart. That’s what I was told, but I suppose it was a lie.”

Kuzuha-chan isn’t going to be fooled anymore.
Of course not. She didn’t ask “Why?” when her mother died.
She saw her mother’s body and understood. She realized the truth. That’s why she didn’t ask anything—she just cried.

“As long as this is here, you can’t go anywhere?”
“That’s right. A curse so powerful that even I can’t break it has been cast upon it…”
“Please set it free.”
“Eh…?”

Those words were directed not at Kuzuha-chan, but at the collar.
A spell to break the curse. It removed the curse cast upon the collar.
The moment the curse was broken by the magic, a multitude of cracks spread across the collar. The iron collar shattered into pieces right then and there.
Kuzuha-chan stared blankly as the iron shards scattered at her feet, and

“Arje-san, how…?”
“You’re free to live as you please now.”

It wasn’t because she asked me to.
I have no intention of looking after her.
It’s not to repay a debt of gratitude.
I simply thought it was the right thing to do.
Just as I sleep when I want to, I thought she should do what she wants to do. After all, she knows everything now.
If she has a wish, she should follow it. If there’s anything standing in her way, I can at least help her push it aside.

“…I understand.”

As she climbed down from the straw, I could see a strong resolve in her eyes.
Her eyes told me she had made up her mind about something. A yellow glow I could never achieve myself.

“I’ll be back shortly.”

She bowed deeply, then pushed off the ground. With a huge leap, she cleared the hole in the hut’s ceiling and flew straight out into the open.

……some remarkable physical strength.

Guess that’s how beastfolk are. When it came to magic, she’d wielded fire-attribute spells powerful enough to break through my resistance, and she’d even shown me a clone technique.
She’s still a child, yet plenty powerful. Her only flaw is that she’s a bit gullible, but I’m sure she’ll be able to survive on her own.
She can walk on her own. She doesn’t need anyone’s help.

“It’s a little cold, isn’t it?”

I spoke to Kuzuha-chan’s mother.
I’m sure once Kuzuha-chan’s done what she needs to do, she’ll properly lay her mother to rest. There’s nothing I can do. And there’s no need for me to do anything.
Even though I knew that, I draped the blanket I’d been wearing over her body.

“Please stay warm until Kuzuha-chan comes back.”

Even though I knew there would be no response, I spoke to her again and stepped away.
I don’t really know why I’m doing this myself.
I just thought it was the right thing to do.

…Besides, I have a few extra blankets lying around.

I take a new blanket from the blood box, drape it over her, and step out of the hut.
Unlike Kuzuha-chan, I properly walk through the door and out into the open.
Dawn is still a long way off. A cold breeze brushes against my cheek. The scent carried by the wind is one I recognize.
The source of the scent appears from beyond the meadow and is before my eyes in the blink of an eye. Seems like he’s gotten quite a bit faster.

“Behaki. You came over?”
“Indeed. I sensed a slightly unsettling presence.”
“Unsettling?”
“No… it’s just that your heart seemed to be restless. I thought it was unusual, so I came to check on you.”
“Restless…? I’m not really sure what you mean, but thank you.”

……What does “restless” mean, exactly?

Behaki isn’t lying, I’m sure of that.
We’re connected through our Blood Contract. Just as I understand Behaki a little, he can sense me too.
I know, of course, that he wouldn’t lie.
That’s exactly why I didn’t understand. What does it mean for my heart to be unsettled?
To begin with, why am I so…?

“…………”
“……Arje”
“Ah, yes. What is it?”
“Ride me. You’re heading for the border, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. Thank you.”

I’m not entirely sure, but Behaki seems to have decided to end the conversation.
It’s not a question I can answer either. Since it’s a hassle to keep thinking about it, I decided not to press the issue.
I climb onto Behaki’s back. It’s easy—I just need to hold the reins, and he starts walking without me having to say a word.

“I’m going to take a little nap.”
“Alright. Call me out if you need anything.”
“Thank you, Behaki.”

I closed my eyes without hesitation, and drowsiness came over me immediately.
It seems the exercise had worn me out more than I’d expected. Just like sinking to the bottom of the water, I let my consciousness drift into a dream.