Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash: Volume 1

Awaken.

He opened his eyes, feeling like he’d heard someone’s voice.

It was dark. Nighttime, maybe? But not pitch black. There were lights. Fire. Above him. Some kind of lighting. Candles, it looked like. Small ones affixed to the wall. Not just one, but many, spaced evenly, continuing as far as he could see.

Where was this place?

It was kind of hard to breathe.

When he tried touching the wall, it was hard and rocky. This was no wall. It was just bare rock. Little wonder his back was sore after lying against it. His butt hurt, too.

Maybe he was in a cave... A cave? Why would he be in a cave...?

Those candles were pretty high up. He might be able to reach one if he stood; that was how high they were. Moreover, they didn’t even give off enough light for him to see his hands and feet.

But he sensed the presence of others nearby. When he listened closely, there was a faint noise that sounded like breathing.

Humans? What if they weren’t? He might be in trouble. But they sounded human, somehow.

Is anyone there? he asked hesitantly.

Uh, yeah, a man’s voice shot back.

I’m here... came another response, likely that of a woman.

Another man’s voice gave a short, Yeah.

I figured as much, another person added.

How many of us are there?

Should we count?

And... where are we, anyway?

Dunno...

What? Doesn’t anyone know where we are?

What’s going on?

What is this?

Seriously. What the hell was this? What was he doing in a place like this? And why? How long had he been here?

He clutched at his chest tightly, as if trying to claw something off of it.

He had no clue what was going on. How long had he been here? Why was he here?

When he began to consider his situation, something began to tug at the back of his mind. But it suddenly vanished before he could latch on to it.

He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything. He was at a complete loss.

Sitting here won’t solve anything, said one man in a low, husky voice.

There was a sound, like someone stepping on pebbles. It sounded like the man had stood up.

Going somewhere...? a woman’s voice asked.

Following the wall, the man answered. Going to try heading towards the light. The man’s tone was surprisingly calm.

Wasn’t he scared? Why wasn’t he shaken up by this?

The man was now beneath the second candle from him, and he seemed very tall.

He could make out a bit of the man’s head in the candlelight. The man’s hair wasn’t black. Was it... silver?

I’m going, too, the woman said.

Me too, I guess, a man’s voice said.

H-Hold on, guys! I’m coming, too, then! called another man.

There’s the other direction, too, said yet another person. The voice sounded slightly high-pitched, but it was probably another male. We can probably go that way. There’s no candles, though.

The silver-haired man said, If you want to go that way, be my guest, and started walking.

It looked like everyone would be following the silver-haired man. I had better go, too, then, he thought. He stood up hurriedly, not wanting to be left alone.

He nervously stepped forward, keeping a hand on the rock wall. The ground wasn’t smooth. It was uneven, but easy enough to walk on.

There was someone in front of him, and someone behind. He didn’t know who, though.

Judging by their voices, nobody here was all that old. I don’t know any of these people... at least, I don’t think so, he thought.

Who were the people he knew? Acquaintances. Friends. But just exactly who were they?

Strange. He couldn’t think of anyone. No, it was more like whenever he tried to work backwards from the faces that did come to mind, they would suddenly vanish.

He didn’t know.

It didn’t just happen with just friends. Family, too. It wasn’t that he didn’t know them at all. It was more that he ought to have known them, but he was forgetting.

Maybe it’s best not to think about it, he said out loud.

Did you... asked a voice from behind. Definitely a young girl’s voice. Did you say something?

No, it was nothing—

He stopped.

Nothing important? Really? Nothing important? How was it not important?

He shook his head to clear it.

At some point, he seemed to have stopped walking. I should continue on, he thought.

He needed to keep walking. It was better not to think about it. The more he tried to remember, the less he felt like he knew.

The row of candles continued. There was no end in sight.

How long had he been walking? Had he walked a long way, or not? He couldn’t say which. His sense of time and space had become dulled.

There’s something here, said someone up ahead. It’s bright. There are... lamps?

The silver-haired man said, It’s an iron grate.

D-Do you think it’s the exit?! exclaimed a different man, his voice shrill and excited.

The sound of the heavy footfalls lightened. Even in the dark, he could tell that everyone was hurrying ahead.

He could see the light sources now. They were much brighter than the candles had been. Those were definitely lamps. Were they hanging on the wall? The lamps were illuminating what looked like an iron grate.

The silver-haired man grabbed the iron grate. Not only was his hair silver, the man was dressed like a gangster. He shook the iron grate violently, like a gangster would, and it began to move.

I’m opening it, the gangster called, pulling the grate inwards. With a creaking noise, the iron grate door opened.

Oh...! several people cried out at the same time.

Can we get out?! exclaimed a woman dressed in flashy clothes who was standing behind the gangster.

The gangster headed through the door. There are stairs. We can go up.

Through the door was a cramped, moldy corridor. Beyond that, there were stone steps. There were no lights, but light was shining down from above.

The group ascended the stairs in single file, one step at a time.

There was another iron grate at the top of the stairs. This one looked like it wouldn’t open.

The gangster bashed the grate with his fist over and over again. Is nobody there?! Open the door! the gangster roared, like a beast.

The flashy woman joined in, shouting, Hey, someone, anyone, open up!

From behind them, a guy with curly hair shouted, Hey! Open the door! Hey!

They didn’t have to wait long. The gangster took his hand off the grate and stepped back. Apparently someone had come.

The flashy woman and guy with curly hair went quiet, and there was the sound of a lock turning. The iron grate opened, and a man’s voice said, Get out. He assumed the voice belonged to the man who had unlocked and opened the door.

They ascended the stairs, and there was a stone room. It was windowless, but brightly lit thanks to the lamps. In addition to the stairs they had come up, there was another set of stairs going up to a higher level.

The whole place feels too old, like it doesn’t belong in the modern world. The man who opened the gate is dressed weirdly, too. I mean, those aren’t clothes he’s wearing. That metal stuff he’s wearing is... armor? I’d call that headgear he has on an armored helmet, too. And that object hanging from his waist, it doesn’t look like a nightstick. Was it a sword... or something similar? Armor, a helmet, and a sword? What era did this guy come from? Then again, I guess that’s not the problem here.

The man in armor pulled a blackish switch on the wall.

The wall and floor shook slightly, and a heavy sound echoed through the room. The wall moved.

It opened. Part of the wall slowly opened.

It sunk down, leaving a hole. An oblong, rectangular hole.

The man in armor simply said, Get out again, gesturing towards the hole with his chin.

The gangster went outside first, and the flashy woman followed. Everyone followed after them, going through the hole one after another as if being pulled along.

Outside.

This time, they were really outside.

It was either predawn or twilight. The dimly lit sky spread out as far as the eye could see.

This was the top of a small hill.

When they turned around, a large tower rose in front of them. They had been inside that tower... or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, beneath it.

Counting everyone in the group, there were eight males including Gangster, Curly, and himself, and four females including Flashy. Twelve in total.

It was dark, so he couldn’t see that much detail. Still, he could make out their figures, roughly what they were wearing, hairstyles, and general facial features. As he had thought, he didn’t recognize anyone.

You think that’s a city? asked a slender man with silky hair. He was pointing to the other side of the hill.

Looking in that direction, he could see buildings crowded together.

A town. It certainly looked like one. It had to be a town. Except that the town was surrounded by a high fence— No, not a fence. It was surrounded by high, solid walls.

Rather than a town, said a thin man wearing black-rimmed glasses, it’s almost like a castle.

A castle... he whispered, but for some reason his own voice sounded like someone else’s.

Um... a petite girl behind him timidly asked, where is this, do you think?

Look, asking me isn’t going to help.

...Right, of course. Um, d-does anyone... know? Where is this place?

No one said anything. Unless they were deliberately trying to trouble the girl, or were concealing the information for some other reason, that meant none of them had any idea.

Curly scratched at his curly hair and said, Seriously?

I’ve got it! said a man who looked like a playboy, clapping his hands together. He wore a bordered cut-and-sew outfit. Why don’t we just ask that dude?! Y’know, the one who was in, like, armor or whatever!

Everyone turned to look at the tower.

And then it happened.

The entrance began to shrink. The wall rose up again, filling in the hole.

Whoa, whoa, wai—

Playboy made a panicked run for it. He was too late.

The entrance vanished, leaving the spot where it had once been indistinguishable from the surrounding wall. Playboy tried touching and hitting the wall in all sorts of places while crying out things like, Oh, come on, you can’t be doing this! Wait, wait, stop it! Please, man... But nothing happened.

After a while, Playboy sat down, dejected.

Well, this is a problem, said a girl with her long hair in two braids. She said the word problem with a funny accent.

You said it, replied Curly Hair, crouching down and hanging his head.

Seriously...? Seriously?

And, now, with that perfect tiiiiiiiming! a high-pitched woman’s voice rang out—

Wait, who...?

There were four girls in their group: Flashy, the one with braids, the petite and timid one, and an even tinier girl who had to be shorter than 150 cm. That high-pitched voice didn’t sound like it belonged to Flashy, Braids, or Timid. It probably wasn’t Tiny’s voice, either.

I appear, you know. I take the stage, you know. Where am I? I’m right heeeere!

Right where?! cried Playboy, standing up and shouting.

Don’t paaaanic! Don’t be alaaaarmed! But, still, don’t relaaaax. Don’t pull out your hair, eiiiither!

Singing something like Charararararahn, charararararahnrarahn. a woman poked her head out from the side of the tower, where she had apparently been hiding.

Is her hairstyle what they call twintails? he wondered.

Heeeey. Is everyone feeling fiiiine? Welcome to Grimgar. I’m your guide, Hiyomuuuu. Nice to meet youuuu. Let’s get along? Kyapii!

A man with a buzz-cut ground his teeth loudly. What an annoying speech style, he muttered.

Eek! Hiyomu ducked her head back into the tower, but soon stuck it out again. You’re so scary. So dangerous. Don’t get so maaaad. Okay? Okay? Okay? Okay?

Buzz-Cut clicked his tongue in distaste. Then don’t piss me off.

Yes, sirreeee! Hiyomu hopped out next to the tower, raising her hand in a salute. I’ll be careful from now on, sir! I’ll be reeeeal careful, sir? Is this okay? It’s okay, right? Teehee.

You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you?

Aw, you could teeeell? Ah, ah! Don’t get mad! Don’t punch me, don’t kick me! I don’t like being hurt! Generally, I want you to be niiiice to me! Anyway, is it okay if I move things along now? Can I do my job now?

Hurry it up, said Gangster in a low voice. Unlike Buzz-Cut, he didn’t look openly agitated. Still, his tone was intimidating.

All righty, then, Hiyomu began with a grin. I’m gonna do my job now, okay?

The sky was getting brighter by the moment. It was much brighter now than it had been earlier, which meant it must be morning, not dusk. The dawn was breaking.

For now, just follow after meeee. Don’t get left behiiiind! Hiyomu started to walk, her twintails swaying behind her.

Looking around, they saw a path from the tower leading down the hill. Grass fields spread out on both sides of a dark path of exposed earth that had been hardened with use, and there were large white stones scattered around the grass that covered the hill. A whole lot of them. Too many. It looked almost like they were in orderly rows.

It was as if someone had lined them up.

Hey, are those... Curly asked, pointing at the white stones. Could they be... graves?

He shuddered.

Speaking of which, he noticed some sort of writing carved into them. Flowers had been placed in front of some, as well. A graveyard. Could this hill be a graveyard?

At the head of the group, Hiyomu giggled without turning around. I wondeeeer. Well, don’t you worry about that now. Don’t woooorry. It’s too soon for any of you. I hope it’s too soon for any of youuuu. Hee hee hee...

Buzz-Cut clicked his tongue in distaste again, kicking the dirt. He seemed pretty ticked off, but it looked like he still planned to follow Hiyomu for now.

Gangster had already started walking. Glasses, Flashy, and Tiny followed him.

Playboy shouted, Whoa! Me too, me too! Me too! and began chasing after them, then tripped.

It looked like there was no choice but to go along. But where was Hiyomu planning to take them? Where was this place?

He sighed, looking up to the sky. Ah...

What was that? It was pretty low in the sky. It couldn’t be the sun. It was too big to be a star, though. It wasn’t even a full circle, anyway. Its shape was somewhere between a half and a crescent moon. Did that mean it was the moon, then? That’d be a weird moon, though.

It’s red, he said out loud. He blinked, taking another look at it. No matter how many times he looked, it was still ruby red.

Behind him, Timid gulped audibly. He turned around to see she was gazing at the moon, as well.

Ahh, said Braids as she seemed to notice it, too. She blinked repeatedly, then chuckled. Mr. Moon is red. That’s super pretty.

The man with silky hair looked up to the red moon hanging in the dawn sky, standing still with an absent look on his face.

Curly said, Whoa... with a wide-eyed stare.

An excessively large, but seemingly quiet, man let out a low groan.

He didn’t know where this was. Where had he come from? How had he gotten here? He didn’t know those things, either. He couldn’t recall. But... there was just one thing he was certain of.

The moon in that other place wasn’t red.

A red moon was just weird.

1. All These Things We Don’t Know

In some parts of the town, the streets were lined with stone buildings, while in others there were nothing but wooden ones. The cobblestone street twisted and turned, making it hard to see far ahead. Next to the wide road there was an aqueduct, with water flowing through it that was mostly pure. At times there was a foul odor, likely of excrement, but as they walked onwards, it stopped bothering them.

Hiyomu led the group of twelve men and women into the town beyond the hill. From what she had said, this town was called Alterna. There were people living here, as might be expected from something called a town, and though it was early morning, they passed no small number of people who seemed to be residents. The residents all stared at the twelve as if they were an unusual sight. But the twelve found themselves staring right back. After all, the people were all dressed weirdly.

Wait... weird how? Compared to the twelve, their clothes were simple and shabby, not showy at all.

So, like, this place... started Playboy, is it, like, you know... a foreign country or something...?

Uh... Curly turned his head, trying to come up with an answer. ...A foreign country? A country? Come to think of it, what nationality am I, anyway? Huh? Weird, I can’t remember... Actually, I can’t remember my address and such either. Huh?

What, you hadn’t noticed? Gangster said in a low voice. My name is about all I still know.

The phrase still know caught his attention. It probably meant something different than just not having known at all. Maybe Gangster had been hit with that feeling of trying to trace his memories back only to feel them vanishing, too.

My name... Curly thumped his chest. My name is... Ranta. Other than that... Yeah. No clue. Whoa. Seriously? I’ve got memory disappearance...

I think you mean... He broke in without meaning to, and then immediately regretted it. Still, he couldn’t very well stop now. ...memory loss, right?

Listen, buddy... Curly said with a sigh. If you’re going to be the smart guy, can’t you do it better? It requires a certain spirit, you know. When you half-ass it like that, it’s awkward for me as the guy playing the fool for you. It kills the mood. Well, whatever. I’ll overlook it this once. So, who’re you?

You’ll... overlook it...

In what way had Ranta been playing the fool? What a horrible attempt at humor. He wasn’t fully convinced but...

A name.

What was his own name?

...I’m Haruhiro. I think?

Curly, a.k.a. Ranta, made an exaggerated tripping gesture, like a pratfall. You think? Hold on, buddy, you don’t even know your own name? Okay, I know we’re talking about how my name’s all I know, but...

This guy’s pretty annoying, Haruhiro thought, glancing over at Gangster, who was walking behind Hiyomu. He wondered what Gangster’s name was. He kind of wanted to ask, but he was too scared of the man. Though he didn’t intend it as a replacement for asking Gangster, he turned to the slender man with silky hair and asked, How about you?

Oh, replied Silky with a smile. He was a rather eloquent man. I’m Manato. Do you mind if I call you Haruhiro? No honorifics, or anything?

Oh, sure, that’s fine. Then can I call you just Manato, too?

I’m fine with that, of course.

When Manato smiled at him, he couldn’t help but smile, too. He looks like a good guy. I can probably trust him, he thought.

Ranta was annoying. Gangster scared him, and Buzz-Cut had a scary face. Flashy felt like she came from a world far removed from his, and it was hard to approach an intelligent-looking guy like Glasses. Braids, Timid, and Tiny. What about those three girls?

Timid he had talked to a little already, and she was close by. He figured he’d at least try to get her name. But, when it came to actually asking, he was a bundle of nerves.

Haruhiro cleared his throat. Uh, hey.

Y-Yes...?

N-Now, it’s not anything important, but, uh...

I’m Kikkawa, yesh! Playboy suddenly exclaimed, striking a weird pose. Hey, hey! Forget the guys, let’s hear from the ladies! You want to shoot off some introductions, or not?!

Braids shook her head. Not.

No way! Playboy, a.k.a. Kikkawa, looked pathetically shot down.