Chapter 46 – Pale girl

“Chrom!”

I undo the acceleration after taking out the mage that was after us, and go back to El like nothing happened.

She looks at me, and runs my way.

“Look look! They said it’s flower ice! Ice cream in the shape of a flower. And this red part here, it’s jam made from Almana’s flowers.”

“Eh… that’s pretty interesting.”

“Here’s yours.”

“Thanks.”

I take the ice cream from El with a smile, as a commotion starts behind us.

“Hey, someone’s on the ground here!”

“Uwah. What’s with all the dead flies!?”

“T-this guy is carrying a bloody knife!”

“Are people from the black market fighting…?”

“C-call the guards!”

People start running in a panic.

“…Hnu? Did something happen?”

“Who knows? But the capital isn’t as safe as Almana, so we better watch out too.”

“Yes.”

I turn around while evading the question.

(That takes care of one pair of eyes looking at us, but there’s one more…)

I look at where this gaze is coming from, and see someone quickly hiding behind a building.

She’s supposed to be stealthy, but people around are looking at her, wondering what she’s doing.

I have a pretty good idea of who it is.

(…Neither sister is good at stealth, I guess.)

I figure I can leave it alone, since she doesn’t pose a lot of danger.

But just as I’m thinking this…

I bump into a girl that’s walking towards me.

“…”

“Ah, sorry.”

I quickly lower my head.

But… Strange. I was looking away, but I don’t think there was anyone near enough for me to bump into them.

“Are you all right?”

“…Yes.”

“Ah, here.”

I pick up the book she dropped, and get a good look at who I bumped into.

“…Eh?”

White.

That’s my first impression.

Her hair is pure white like a blank sheet of paper. White clothes, white skin… There’s still some child-like innocence on her face, and I can’t read its emotions at all. It’s like a doll’s face.

Almost transparent, fleeting…

Something about her makes me feel like I’ll forget her quickly, like a white page inside a book.

That is what I feel, but…

(Uh? I feel like I’ve seen this face…?)

It triggers something in a corner of my memory.

The corners of my eyes start feeling warm, and emotions I have no idea why they’re here start welling up.

(Do I know her…?)

I feel that way for some reason.

I get the feeling that I’ve met her in the faraway future, and she was very important.

And yet… I can’t remember.

I have to remember.

This is making me feel restless, but my memory is a hazy mist.

“…Can you… See?”

The pale girl asks with an emotionless tone.

“See what…?”

“…”

She doesn’t answer, and she’s just going to keep walking like nothing happened.

“W-wait…!”

Before I can even think about it, I reach out and grab her hand.

“…?”

She tilts her head in confusion, with the same emotionless look on her face.

“Chrom, what is it?”

El peeks over at me, sounding perplexed.

I’m perplexed too to be honest.

Even I don’t know why I suddenly grabbed her.

But somehow, I felt I had to. Like she would disappear if I didn’t…

『Who?』

A white, hazy voice echoes deep inside my mind.

『Will you… Kill me?』

This voice isn’t coming from the girl in front of me, but… It’s the same voice.

『No matter how many times I forget… I will remember you… I will find you every time. So come stay…』

Are these my memories?

I don’t know these memories.

『Any more demon king cells… Will be dangerous.』

『I have to be stronger… So I don’t lose any more… So no one else has to cry…』

Fragments of my unknown memories rush to my head.

『If I’m going to the past, then the two…』

『No, only you can go…』

『Then we can live in this time…』

It’s like thousands of scattered pieces of memories.

One piece alone isn’t enough for me to see the bigger picture, but then…

Remember.

“…”

A sharp pain rushes through my head.

It forces me to let go of the girl’s hand, and grab my head.

“W-what’s wrong, Chrom?”

El asks, sounding worried.

“Are you all right? Does your head hurt?”

“N-no, I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

I say while looking around.

“More importantly… El, you saw me bump into that white-haired girl, right? Where did she go?”

“…White hair?”

El tilts her head like she has no idea what I’m saying.

“I didn’t see anyone like that.”

“…Eh?”

I look around again… And don’t see her either.

The pale girl disappeared like a phantom.

She was small, so did she disappear among the crowd of the capital as soon as I took my eyes off her?

Or was she just… A phantom?

(…No, that can’t be.)

The flow of magic energy in the air was clearly disturbed.

But that means she…

(No… There’s no point in thinking about it now.)

If it’s who I’m thinking, I wouldn’t catch her even if I went after her now.

More importantly, I need to make sure I don’t worry El.

“Sorry, it’s all right now. My head just hurt because I ate the ice cream too fast.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Well then, I think it’s time to go to the scarlet mansion.”

And then, we start walking again.

“…”

I sneak a peek behind me, but… The pale girl really is nowhere to be seen.