The Girl Who Spits Up Jewels

Volume Ⅰ The Girl Who Spits Up Jewels

Chapter 4 ― 3

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“So slow, you fool.”

　Clue woke up after hearing a jarring laughter.

　She immediately realised that what she had just seen was only a dream. Memories of the old Clue, her old nightmares. It’s probably because of where she is lying ― a rough, dusty, and sandy floor, resembling that old place. She thought that she was simply having a bad dream.

　Then she heard the sound of someone speaking from behind her. She tried to change her posture, and finally realized that she was tied. At the same time, pain runs from the back of her neck to her head.

　Where is this place? Why am I in such a dusty place? What happened to me? She spun her thoughts around and finally remembered. That’s right.

　Someone saw her spitting up jewels. It was a stranger.

　Immediately after, she received a shock on the back of her head, and could not remember anything after that. Perhaps afterwards, she was taken to this warehouse-like place. She felt a discomfortable chill stroking the bottom of her belly.

“This is bad, really bad, cop-like people are wandering around. It took a lot of time to shake them off.”

　Apparently, another peer of the kidnappers seems to have finally joined in. She moved her restrained limbs and managed to change her posture just enough to see the men. There were three men. Two of them have brown hair and the last has black hair.

　One of them, the man she met just before she fainted, has a nasty smile on his face, then frowned when he heard the words of the man who just entered.

“Well now, does that mean we are exposed already?”

“No, I think they are searching through the city right now. They don’t seem to have found this place yet. But it’s only a matter of time… oh.”

　The one who just arrived has brown hair, and the man with black hair is the one she saw just before she lost consciousness. So it is probably the other brown-haired man that hit her ― by process of elimination. Everyone had similar disgusting looking smiles on their faces.

“It looks like she’s up, that girl.”

　In response, three pairs of eyes look at her.

　Then.

　――Clue shivers.

“……?”

　She trembles and shakes because of something.

　She’s scared. However, it is not because of her fearing the men in front. It’s something different, but what is it? As Clue is terrified at the strange and unknown fear, the man who arrived last sat down in front of her, and stared right at her eyes.

“Your spitting up jewels, Young Miss. Please show it to me.”

　His deep brown eyes reflected her image, and her heart rings at the uncomfortable feeling rising up her belly.

　The fact that she was abducted by these men is not what makes her shiver however. If she does not return to the store before the opening time, Natsu, who should be watching the store, should realise that something went wrong, and the police will immediately be notified. Clue knew how good the security of this city is.

　She knew. ――Nevertheless, she is afraid of something.

　But what is it? She can’t exactly point her fingers at it.

　She felt irritated at the fear she didn’t understand what it is, and said in a low voice,

“……Noisy.”

“The f*ck did you―?!”

　When her voice finally came out, a swear immediately returned.

　Clue finally understood what she was scared of. The men are making a nasty face while spitting in front of her, however, she is not scared of them.

　The current situation felt very similar to back then.

　That place where there were older, nastier, and more violent looking men, where she was treated as an insect or a pig.

　It’s very similar to that place. ――At least it looked that way.

“……It’s different.”

　But it is different from what she saw in the past, and the men are different.

　She shouldn’t be there!

　Realising that her view is mixed up with those from her memories, she tries to calm herself down and deny it. However,

“Haah!?”

　One of the men shouted in agitation.

　The man’s shout left Clue’s heart in disarray and shock, the confusion that was slowly beginning to fade away little by little returned at that.

　It’s different. ――It’s different It’s different It’s different It’s different It’s different It’s different!

　To calm herself down, she bites and meshes her teeth together. She screams in her heart. That and ― this ― they are not the same place. They’re not the men who “raised” her without thinking about her well-being!

　Even so,

　Once her wounds open up, she doesn’t know how to close them.

“Ah… aaaah”

　The emotions that budded begin to grow rapidly. The wound at the bottom of her heart opens wider, growing larger, and she soon loses her words before she can regain her reasons. She doesn’t even know how to scream. Saliva drips from her mouth.

　The men “misunderstood” that the little girl is scared of them and laughed with huge grins on their faces. Even though she knows she is in a different situation, the memories of her past mixed into her voice and they became the subject of her fear.

　It’s different.

　A little bit of reason remains and she looks around. Her last remaining reason sounds an alarm, “Find him.” Find that person who helped her back then. Where is he? Back then, the one who stroked her when she laid on the dirty floor, fraying her hair and her forehead. The saviour with a neat-looking face, a boorish tone, and thin arms. He’s not here. Then where? Where is he? Where――?

　Her confused brain then creates an “impossible possibility” in her mind.

　――――Such a person wasn’t there from the start?

　It can’t be.

　She inhales. The dusty floor felt the same as the one in her memory.

　It can’t be. That shouldn’t be. That person and I definitely run a small jewelry store together.

　However, the small doubts that were budding eventually grew and distorted her view. That is ― The appearance of the men in front of her changed and they are laughing at her. As for the young man, was there such a person in the first place? That’s right, isn’t it? A beautiful young man helped a dirty little girl wearing a rag, wasn’t it simply just a Heroic Fantasy or something like that?

　Spit it up. Hey, spit it! The men’s voices are mixed with laughter, and they jumbled up with her memories in her head, making her dizzy. The old memories and the present ones are connected while skipping the more recent ones.

　The face of the young man whom she should have been living together with is becoming ambiguous.

　Was it just a dream? A dream. Only that?

“Can’t help it then, oi, let me help you if you can’t spit it up…!”

“――!”

　The tip of a shoe sinks into her belly. The pain she felt is certainly real.

　She felt the sensation of a foreign object moving up her throat, amidst her sadness, making a noise as it rolled down on the dirty floor.

“It’s exactly as you said! She is spitting up jewels, hey, it’s awesome.”

“No way!! Is this for real?”

　A man’s hand stretched to grab the jewel, her faint consciousness desires to resist.

　Do not touch it. It’s not yours.

　But her words do not come out.

　She had forgotten who was asking her for such in the first place due to her wounds opening up anyway.

　Her tears overflow as she is filled with fear, pain, and despair.

　Don’t touch it―― she shouted in her heart, but her wish was ignored.

　The man’s finger is about to touch the jewel, when――

　At that time,

　She hears a familiar voice.

“Who are the ones who dared to touch what belongs to me without my permission, haah?”

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