Etude of the Frog Taking Shelter From the Rain | Chapter 5

[healingbonds]

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Lennox: ...Dr. Figaro, you're quick to give up.

Figaro: Give up? On what? I haven’t given up on anything. Can you say "move on" instead?

Lennox: Then you’re quick to move on.

Figaro: There’s no good reason to get attached. They’re all like raindrops anyway: they never stay in one place, they change form on a whim, and eventually they disappear into nothingness.
For the brief moment that they touch your palm, you feel affection for them; you might be deeply moved. But the feeling only lasts for that moment. That’s all there is to it.

Lennox draws his chin in and smiles. At the same time that it looks like an irritated smile of frustration, it also seems gentle and bitter. I’m bewildered.
I still can’t read the expressions of these wizards who have lived for centuries.

Lennox: I’m the overly persistent type, you see.

Figaro: Oh, that’s right.

Lennox: So I envy you.

Figaro: ..........

Figaro narrows his eyes in response to Lennox’s praise. His bitterly cold gaze lays his displeasure bare, and I feel terrified.
But there’s also a strange casualness to it, as if he’s shrugging off a persistent offer. Lennox shrugs and exhales.

Lennox: I’m worried, so I’ll go check on them. There might not be much for me to do, but the two of them were looking forward to this mission, so.
I want to make this an enjoyable memory for them.

Figaro: I agree.

(Rustle)

Figaro nods like it’s nothing, and Lennox takes off like it’s nothing. I’m not sure what I should do, but I choose to follow Lennox.

Akira: Lennox. I’ll go with you. Um.... Can I ask a question?

Lennox: Sir Sage.... Yes, go on.

Akira: Were you two... Just fighting?

Lennox furrows his brows, as if troubled.

Lennox: We don’t fight. Dr. Figaro is a great wizard, while I am a common average wizard, after all....

Akira: Ah... Really? That’s a relief....

Lennox: .........
Dr. Figaro tends to give up easily.... Ah.... I mean, he’s quick to move on.
And he’ll let go of someone’s hand before it looks like they’ll let go of his. I think that’s what happened with Sir Faust, too.

Akira: With Faust...?

Lennox: The reason he left the revolutionary troops. He made Sir Faust his pupil; he wanted to spoil him, and make his dream come true....
But Sir Faust wouldn’t stop obsessing over his revolution with Sir Alec, saying, "Alec this, Alec that," so he kind of lost interest..... That’s what Dr. Figaro said.

Akira: ...Does Faust know about this.....

Lennox: He does not. I only learned of it when I met Dr. Figaro again through my travels. At first I was furious; I didn’t know what to make of it. But.....
As I got to know Dr. Figaro, I realized that it was a clumsy sort of joke.
But then... As I got to know him better, I began to think it was actually a fragment of his hidden feelings.

The sound of rain reaches our ears as we approach the oasis of greenery. Lennox releases a short sigh.

Lennox: I don’t know which is true. ....I can’t believe he’d say those two are mere raindrops when he adores them so much.
Regardless of whether it’s a bluff, or a reflection of his true feelings — the world viewed through the eyes of long-lived wizards seems like a soundless drawing in the sand.
"There’s no good reason to get attached," huh.... I guess there’s nothing you can do about your reason for living. Because once you lose that, you’re left behind forever.

I can’t say anything. Because Lennox, who says all this while scratching the back of his neck, seems like a plenty long-lived wizard himself.
The strange sound of rain shows no sign of letting up under the bright desert sky.

✦✧☾✧✦



Akira: Woah....! What is this place....!?

What looked like an oasis from afar turns out to be a mysterious space that appeared out of nowhere.
Purple, blue, and pink rain pours down from giant trees shaped like dewdrops.
Charming water mills, bridges, and lakes make the space look like a colorful garden. I lick a pink droplet of rain that comes falling my way.

Akira: It doesn’t taste like anything......

Lennox: ....You licked it?

Akira: W-was that a bad idea?

Lennox: There’s always a chance of poison, so..... Though I think you’d be fine, because Dr. Figaro is with us.

Bradley: Yo, Sage, Lennox.

We look up upon hearing Bradley’s voice.
He takes his rifle and stabs the lower trunk of a dewdrop-shaped tree.
The dewdrop tree begins to shake, and as the vibration spreads through the tree, a heavy downpour falls upon us.

Akira: Wo...ah, I got soaked..... What is this tree? A rain tree....?

Bradley: Who knows? It’s probably a magic tool doing all this.

The raindrops cloud Lennox’s glasses as he gazes up at the dewdrop tree.

Lennox: ...I feel like I’ve seen these trees before.....

Bradley: Seriously? Oh right, you said you’d traveled around the world.

Lennox: Where are Rutile and Mitile?

Bradley: Mithra took them away. He said he’d take care of them, so we’re supposed to investigate on our own.

Akira: Take care of them.....

Bradley: Don’t know what that means. ...Hm?

Bradley frowns.
He stares beyond the mysterious garden at the desert we came from.
Then, he prepares his rifle with one eye closed, taking aim and then pulling back over and over again.

Akira: ...What’s wrong?

Bradley: Come here, Sage. Hold the gun and look here.

I do as Bradley says, and take aim with the rifle while peering through the sight.
As I stare at the scenery, I come to realize a surprising truth about the garden.

Akira: Ah......

Lennox: What is it, Sir Sage?

Akira: The view of the desert keeps changing, bit by bit...... ....This garden is moving.....

Lennox: ....Moving....?
....... .....This might be..... Chloros's traveling watering place.......

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