Every ending in <Winter of the White Forest> is death for Calliope.
Except for one: the hidden ending.
The production company let slip a spoiler: 'Nobody dies in the hidden ending.'
I'd forgotten all about it, but seeing the filial piety meter jogged my memory.
It was a total shock to see "Noah's filial piety meter" pop up for me. I figured it was totally unrelated to me.
'Anyway, that means…'
To actually survive, I had to follow the quest and become Noah's guardian.
Even if it's just temporary, and I'm not his real guardian.
'This is way better.'
Instead of freaking out even after breaking the death flags, it's way better to just focus on raising that filial piety meter.
Yeah! Finally, a way for me to survive is right in front of me!
I punched the wall.
"A fire-attribute filial son is still a filial son! There's hope!"
The game starts about six months from now.
Until then, I've got to turn Noah into a total softie of a filial son.
'I get to live, Noah doesn't have to suffer, and his guardian gets a break.'
'Okay, perfect. Even if I have no clue how long it'll take to make up for negative 99.'
But, the thing that totally flipped my relationship with Noah on its head happened way sooner than I expected.
I picked out a few fairy tale books from the library and returned to the annex.
Soon after, fat raindrops started pitter-pattering on the window.
A few hours later, it was pitch black outside, and the rain was coming down in sheets.
"Leave the lights on downstairs. You can turn them off before you go to bed."
"Yes, Miss."
I hated the dark; it creeped me out.
'Come to think of it, Noah also hated the dark, right?'
Actually, he was terrified of the dark. I heard it was because of something that happened at the Marquis's place.
'After getting lost in the woods until nightfall on a rainy day, he became super scared of being left alone in the dark…'
If we're talking about the forest, I think there was one not too far from the annex.
“……”
No, of course, I’m not sure that incident will happen today.
“……Maid.”
“Yes?”
"Go to the servants' quarters and see if Noah's alright."
"R-right now? It's pouring out there!"
"Do you want to see what my fist falling feels like?"
"Yikes! I'm going, I'm going!"
The maid looked totally deflated, which was weird considering her build. She looked like she could break my wrist if I tried to hit her, but she was acting all pathetic. It was kind of impressive, actually.
The maid came back as I instructed and reported.
"Miss, Noah went out in the afternoon and hasn’t returned yet."
My heart sank.
"Afternoon, when?"
"Uh, they said it was before the rain started...so, like, four hours ago."
I jumped up, grabbed a raincoat, and yelled.
"Grab a lamp! And make it a bright one!"
Whoosh— The rain was coming down like the sky had ripped open.
The raindrops were so thick, even the trees couldn't stop them. They were probably stinging the poor kid, since he didn't even have a raincoat on.
"I can't find my way…"
It was so dark he couldn't even see his own feet. Noah’s heart was beating faster and faster with fear.
"Didn't you get punished? Swinging a wooden sword a thousand times, all alone in the back forest? All 'cause you messed up an errand."
"And while you're at it, grab a basketful of wild strawberries. If you do, maybe we'll let you have some with dinner."
Noah, as if he were hypnotized, took the basket and headed into the forest.
It was tough, but he did what they told him.
Up until then, the forest had been all nice and fragrant.
If only it hadn't gotten dark so suddenly with the rain.
"I can't see the path... Whoa!"
Noah slipped and rolled down the slope.
Luckily, it was a gentle slope, but falling and tumbling in the pitch black was still a huge shock for the kid.
Noah trembled and crawled back up the slope.
He finally found a spot where the rain wasn't as bad and huddled there.
It was so dark he couldn't tell how far away anything was. It felt like monsters were going to jump out any second.
Whoosh— every time the wind blew, he got goosebumps all over.
Noah closed his eyes tightly.
'I wish someone would come get me…'
But no one would come.
Noah knew this well from the orphanage.
Since food and clothes were always scarce, Noah, being quiet and shy, was a prime target for bullies.
But there was one day when he wasn't bullied, when everyone felt like they were in the same boat.
It was when someone got lucky and was adopted.
The kids who weren't chosen were super jealous and wondered when they'd get parents.
Noah got curious too, but not in the same way as the other kids.
"What’s so good about having parents?"
"Mom and Dad are the people who love me the most! Like in this picture.”
Someone handed Noah a picture book that was so beat-up, the pages were practically falling out.
It was a picture of a child crying because he was lost.
A mother came to find the crying child, and then a father appeared. The picture of the three people hugging each other as one, with the child in between, looked very warm.
'It looks happy.’
From then on, Noah started getting jealous of the kids who got adopted, too.
So, that's why...
"I’ll take that child.”
When that angel-looking lady with blonde hair chose him, his heart just about burst.
She said she was a sponsor, not a mother, but he didn’t care about that.
Because he didn’t really understand the difference between the two.
But now he knows.
Thinking about Calliope, he suddenly felt this wave of resentment.
“……”
But then he remembered her protecting him from that pile of books, and he got all confused.
"I'm not going to let anyone else lay a hand on you."
“……”
"Even a stray dog, you've got to take responsibility."
Was she being for real?
Noah shook his head, as if he were answering his own question.
The weather was still awful, and if he stayed put, he'd freeze his butt off.
Noah hesitated, then forced his shaky legs to move and started walking again.
If he could just see a light, any light, he'd head straight for it.
Slip!
"Ah!"
As he fell, something thin and creepy, like fingers, brushed his ankle.
It was just some grass, but it felt like hands grabbing his ankle.
"Hic- ahh!"
Freaked out, he kicked at whatever was tangled around his ankle and scrambled away.
But that creepy feeling of something grabbing his ankle wouldn't go away.
"S-someone, help...!"
His cry for help died in his throat when he looked up.
He only saw a pitch-black space where up and down were meaningless, and in it, Noah was alone. Forever alone.
Finally, he couldn't hold back the tears any longer, and they just burst out.
"Help me… save me…!”
And that's when...
Rustle!
He heard the bushes rustling, and then two small lights appeared.
It was the eyes of some animal, staring right at him.
“……!”
As if it sensed he was terrified, the animal started creeping closer.
"Noah! Noah, where are you?"
I kept shouting and headed deeper into the woods.
I was worried sick about where he was. Even though I knew nothing too bad could happen to him, since he's the main character of <Winter of the White Forest>, it didn't make a difference.
"Noah!"
I couldn't even see the servants who'd come with me anymore.
Even a small forest is tough to search alone at night, so I'd dragged those guys out of the servants' quarters.
And I bet some of them knew Noah was out here and were just sleeping soundly.
I was going to make them pay for that later.
"Noah! Where are you?"
Was he hiding because I was calling him?
Thinking about that, my voice got quieter on its own.
I was wiping the rain out of my eyes and looking around when...
"Ahh!"
A child’s scream was heard.
"Noah!"
I was startled and ran as fast as I could towards the scream.
The lamplight faintly illuminated the scene in front of me.
Some weirdo was on the ground, acting all menacing towards Noah.
'What the hell...?!'
My mind went blank for a second, but I snapped out of it.
First, I needed to get that creep's attention, so I walked up and yelled, trying to sound calm.
"You son of a bitch!"
Thwack!
I punched the bastard right on top of his head.
I kept hitting him, dropping the lamp and just wailing on him until he was totally dazed.
"How dare you touch my kid? You’re dead!”
[Synchronizing with ‘Calliope’.]
[Performing the role of ‘Calliope’.]
Calliope's body was tiny, so she wasn't exactly strong.
But she'd been a troublemaker for so long, she could beat someone up as easily as an office worker types with their eyes closed.
'I'm Calliope, the queen of the beatdown, you bastard!'
Pow pow pow!
Squeal!
The guy I was beating on finally made this animal sound and stumbled back.
That's when I finally got a good look at him.
It wasn't some crazy guy on the ground...it was a freaking wild boar.
'Holy crap.'
Wh-what have I done?
The boar was pissed and glared at me like it wanted to kill me. Its breathing was rough.
I was suddenly terrified, and my legs were shaking, but I forced myself to stand my ground.
Because I can’t protect Noah if I back down.
'O-okay, calm down. It's watching me, too. And...it looks pretty young, actually.'
It was much smaller than a wild boar should be.
'It looks like it's trying to decide whether to attack me or not.'
It seemed kind of hesitant, almost intimidated.
Looks like my surprise attack worked.
'Okay...time for a gamble!'
If I stay still here, I’ll just get attacked!
I spread my arms and legs wide like a bear standing on two feet. I didn't even care how ridiculous I looked; I just had to survive.
Hooo. I took a deep breath, like I was doing some kind of breathing exercise, and yelled as loud as I could.
"Get outta here!"
Squeal!?
The boar got spooked and took off.
'I...I'm alive...'
My fingertips started trembling like crazy.
Even pulling out Calliope's special moves, I got really lucky that time.
I'm never messing with anything stronger than me again.
After catching my breath, I turned around towards Noah.
"Are you okay?”
