This Hero is Sleeping!

Elric was in a cheery mood as the duo started filling up the graves with dirt.

One of his lifelong dreams had come true. His mental list of cool lines I absolutely must say had shrunk by one entire unit. Lend a hand? How fucking cool was that? And well, it seemed to have helped his friend suffering from a teenager's hormonal misbalance, he worried a little about how it would develop, but the risk was worth it.

After filling up the last of graves, the two of them fell to the ground.

"There's like, five extra…" Elric said.

"The old man, the accountant, and those three."

"Who three?"

"Haah, come along."

Claude pushed himself up. The kid was biting through the limits of his body, but he had done so more than a couple times already.

The night was fading away. Elric skipped over the ground, stretching his arms wide as he followed behind Claude. The two found themselves in front of the lord's manor.

Claude pushed through the front door, creaking it open. He ignored everything below and climbed straight up to the top floor with Elric in tow.

He had entered from the window before, and this time, the door was already open. In one room was the dead old man that had been hit by the aftermath of Elric's attack on Claude, while in the other was a skeleton that had rotten over the thirty years.

"How did that head not melt?" Claude asked as he heaved the old man over his shoulder.

"Magic? I don't know?" Elric explored the girl's room. He found some dusty sheets half eaten by moths. Then, piled up the skeleton into it and carefully dragged it out of the mansion with Claude.

Assembling it again would be a huge pain.

The two of them returned to the cemetery and placed the skeleton away.

"I guess he's breathing?" Claude said, placing his head against the old man's mouth.

"Really?" Elric asked. He walked over to the old man and placed a ear on his chest before backing away. "We already dug a grave. Too late."

Claude agreed whole-heartedly and the two threw the old man into the grave.

It seemed he used to be the accountant of this village, that would make him Remel's father. And also the father of the child that passed right after the drought started. Claude didn't feel a tinge of guilt, but there was a lot of bitterness.

The sun had started peeking out by the time they finished, dying the night sky indigo.

It was then that the ghost girl appeared in front of them again.

With her head peeking low, the ghost girl walked over to the two and held their sleeves, nudging them along.

Claude pointed at the skeleton they had retrieved, turning the blonde ghost pensive. But the young one regained her cool right away as she pulled on them again.

Elric wanted to summon another hammer and fling her away, but decided against it. The two of them followed the girl along to the debris of the church.

Right where they had left it, the body of the snake and the decapitated head of the woman still remained.

The young girl pointed at the head, but Claude waved his hands.

"Not like this," he said.

He didn't think there were any criminals here. But there weren't victims either.

None, expect this little girl and her family.

He moved into the debris and searched for Remel's corpse. It had been deformed grandly as the church had collapsed.

When the young ghost saw it, her eyes turned pensive yet again.

Needlessly making another trip. Claude insisted on buying everyone else first before he came back to the debris.

"I'll bury your mom and dad together," he said to the ghost. The young girl nodded grandly as he picked up the head. Before turning away, Claude looked at the snake.

The young girl gazed at it too.

"Is that you?" He asked.

The girl nodded.

She hadn't bothered them to find the rest of her mother's corpse. Claude had no doubt that the snake had eaten it.

"I can't bury that. It's evidence, they'll need to investigate things."

The ghost girl nodded her head.

Elric and Claude yet again moved to the cemetery. At last, the two of them placed the head and the skeleton together in the ground and started filling the graves up.

The shy sun had come out, announcing its presence with wild rays of light. With every second, Elric's mood soured further.

The whole night had passed and he couldn't sleep. He didn't know about Claude, but he was damn ready to take his revenge on this world for that.

"It's done…" Claude leaned on the shovel as he looked at the dozens of filled up graves. He had brought out a tooth of the snake and buried it in the last one as well, right next to the girl's family.

"It's done, but…" Elric added. His eyes fell on the ghost girl staring right at them. "You, go on. Pass away. RIP. Get lost now."

The ghost girl puffed her cheeks.

"What? I am serious. Go rest, leave us alone."

Claude scratched his head. This one wasn't easy.

Seeing as the girl kept staring at him, he reached into his pockets.

"This?" He asked, pulling out the diary. "I can't bury it either, it's great evidence. It'll show everything."

The ghost girl's mouth fell open.

"Haah, I really can't okay? I don't want any damned trouble here."

The ghost girl clenched her fists. Her body trembled as she lowered her head, and then, she ran away.

Claude and Elric watched her go before sighing. Claude scratched his hair and fell on his back.

They could just walk away…

They waited for a while, but the ghost girl showed no sign of returning.

To dig the diary now and tell retrieve it later, Claude didn't want to do something that insincere. He was certain the ghost girl would see right through it.

The sun started making its way further into the sky.

At last, Elric sighed.

He snatched the diary from Claude's hands.

"Don't run that thing—"

A rip sounded as Elric tore off the first page of the diary, the one with a small crayon drawing of their family.

Hearing the sound, from behind the distant trees, the ghost girl peeped at them.

Claude watched as Elric took the piece of paper along and moved some dirt with his hands. He dug into the loose grave and found the skeleton of her father holding the head and the tooth. Without a word, Elric placed the page in the skeleton's hand and filled the dirt again.

"Elric…"

"Let's go, that girl can decide things by herself."

Elric tossed the diary to Claude and started walking away.

Claude watched his friend go before turning back to the girl.

Tears streamed from her eyes. Long, many tears.

She looked back at Claude, and her figure slowly started to disappear.

His friends footsteps.

The ghost girl moved over to her grave as her hands started into ash. She slowly placed her body down and closed her eyes, her tears unceasing.

Claude stood up and turned away, leaving the ghost alone.

"Wait for me."

"Hurry. And bring that bag along."

The legs of the ghost disappeared.

"What's in it?"

"I hit their houses while you were tying the corpses. Made us some money."

"…"

"What? They were dead anyway?"

The girl's torso slowly dispersed into ash, her tears stopping.

"Ah fuck, it snapped. I shouldn't have worn sandals."

"I am going to sleep for four days straight."

Her lips curled into a smile.