The Harvester of Hearts
I wanted to explain things in a more orderly way, but every time, one of the three would cut in.
Which of them could I actually talk to properly? I took a moment to study the three carefully.
First, there was the one named Aochi—definitely not someone I could talk to right now. Under normal circumstances, he was probably the most reasonable of the three. But for whatever reason, he was completely consumed by fear. He’d need more time.
Also, by the way, why the hell did this guy show up for a boat trip in a suit?
What about the bespectacled one in the middle, the one who spoke politely? He looked weak, but he wasn’t afraid. In fact, he seemed more afraid of the bird than of me, which was impressive. The guy had some discernment. But he was too devoted to Aochi, desperately trying to shield him from me. He might not be able to listen objectively.
Then there was the tall, pale man. He seemed to be the oldest, the calmest of the three. But I couldn’t read him. He wore a white sweater that nearly matched his skin tone—and his heart seemed just as concealed behind a similar shade.
...This wasn’t good. I didn’t feel like talking to any of them.
"Say something, will you," the pale one said at last, quietly losing patience.
Fine. I decided to face that one, at least for now.
"Aside from being from the same hometown, don’t you three have anything else in common?"
The three exchanged glances. So they did have something in mind.
"We were just talking about that, before you shot the bird," the pale one said. "Each of us had a strange experience in childhood, and somehow they seem connected."
"Well, that saves some time then."
They were more efficient than they looked. I had to give them that.
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“You three share the same heartbeat. That’s why you ended up here together.”
“Same heartbeat? What does that mean?”
Figures. They had the efficiency, but none of the intuition.
"It means you share a vivid impression. What else could it be?"
They all fell silent. See? From my perspective, they had more in common than not. Different personalities, different looks—same rhythm of the heart.
"I still don’t get it. Us being here is a coincidence. We just happen to work at the same company, come from the same place, and happened to miss out on tickets home, so we were offered a ride on a ship. Not this ship, though..."
"If you want to call it coincidence, go ahead. But there are others on this ship with the same heartbeat."
Again, they exchanged glances.
"That’s what we were talking about. But in our case, it was about birds and... the dead," the tall one said, before falling silent again. Oze, was it?
"Doesn’t matter if it’s an animal or someone you think died a long time ago. What matters is the heartbeat. That’s all."
The one with glasses asked, making no effort to hide his anxiety:
"So why did you gather us here?"
Ah yes—I needed to explain that. The most important part.
"To save you. But I can’t save all of you."
"...Save us? From what? Isn’t this ship safe?"
So the bespectacled one wasn’t a coward after all. He even had the presence of mind to glance at Aochi with concern.
"It’s the other way around. It’s the world outside the ship that’s not safe. I’m trying to save you from that. I’d like to bring all of you safely across, but before that, birds will come—blending in with the flock—trying to devour you. We call them the heart-eating birds."
"We...? Who’s 'we'?"
"There are countless Harvesters. Even now, countless ships are adrift on the sea, carrying people who share the same heartbeat. The hearts floating in the sea? Those belonged to the ones we failed to save. Hearts of those who died mid-journey. We recover them and use them as fuel. This ship is running on someone’s heart."
...What was with this silence? I was being helpful, explaining everything—and they all looked like they were at a funeral.
"So, uh... someone from among us is going to be eaten by the bird?" the bespectacled one asked, now oddly calm in his confusion.
"Unfortunately, that’s probably the case. I’ve tried my best until now. Even when you abandoned me, I was dropped by the bird and ended up there."
The bespectacled man’s face froze. Looking closely, he actually had a handsome face.
"Dropped by the bird...?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. I’ve been fighting to protect weak-hearted people like you. Sometimes I’ve lost—been caught by a bird’s talons, lifted high, and slammed to the ground. That time, it happened in that alley."
With uncharacteristic drama, I let out a long sigh. Come on, that was supposed to be the punchline—but they were all frozen.
"Uh... sorry about that," the bespectacled one said reflexively.
"Never mind that. Why the hell do we have to be eaten by birds anyway?" the tall one said.
What do you mean, never mind that? I almost died.
"Because—"
"WAAAAAAAH!!"
The bespectacled one’s scream drowned out my words.