episode_0163

“…!!”

Suddenly, it seemed as though I heard someone’s voice.

It wasn’t an ordinary voice, but rather a scream filled with terror.

My whole body shuddered with goosebumps, trembling violently, and I dropped the beach ball I was holding.

I shot a hard stare in the direction the sound came from.

What is it… What’s happening…

I even caught a whale, so is it going to be another strange incident—

Tok tok—

That short train of thought was swept away like dust, by Yuri.

“Unni…?”

“Oh— yeah, why?”

She made a somewhat serious expression, placed her hand on my cheek, and slowly checked my complexion.

“Is anything hurting…?”

“No, no. I’m fine.”

“But… your face is pale.”

I swept my bangs aside, placed my hand on my forehead, then gently tilted my head to match hers.

Wiping away the seawater on her lips and cheeks while examining me all over was quite cute.

Honestly, my unnecessary thoughts vanished.

“Goodness— this cute thing—”

“Kyaat—”

I grabbed Yuri’s waist and lifted her, holding her like a princess in my arms.

It’s a pose she’s become too accustomed to to be surprised by, so she wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned gently against me.

“I was just thinking about something else.”

“Thinking about a woman?”

“Mmm…”

Honestly, the reason I froze after hearing someone’s voice was because it was too similar to Eve’s voice.

I defended myself, saying that since it had been quite a while since I last saw her face, it was only natural that I would think of her occasionally.

But Chief Justice Yuri gave me a guilty verdict.

Gripping my cheeks, she met my gaze directly.

She chuckled, her eyes capturing the surprised expression on my face.

“Anyway, you’re incorrigible. I understand you can’t be satisfied with just one… but to say even five aren’t enough.”

“…Don’t you like it?”

“No—”

She buried her face in my chest and closed her eyes.

“Being the ‘first’ of such an amazing person… I’m so proud of myself.”

“Well… you do so much for me.”

Gently stroking her head, smaller than my chest, I walked toward the shore, parting the sea.

Shwoooosh— whoosh—

“What should we eat today?”

“How am I? I prepared something different this time.”

“…Shall we share?”

“No-! Of course, you have to eat it all by yourself, hm.”

With a happy smile, Yuri giggled in my arms.

“Then what will you eat…”

“I’ll… eat this!”

“Ugh—”

She slipped her hand inside my bikini, starting to massage my breasts.

Her touch was somewhat rough, causing a half-moan, half-scream to escape my lips.

“That’s your punishment for thinking about other women.”

“You said it was okay a moment ago— urgh—”

“I didn’t say it was okay— Eit-! ”

Pinch- pinch-

And so, despite the guilty verdict, I received a cute, mitigating punishment, before returning to where everyone else was.

Now… I wanted to hear the voice closer to me, rather than the voice I heard from afar.

* * *

Tuk- thud-

Rain falls on the street outside the window.

The Empire’s train cuts through the cooling air, speeding along the tracks.

Whoooooosh— clunk- clunk—

The remaining black smoke trails fill the sky.

The outline of my body, previously blurry in the window, becomes sharply defined.

Eve reached out her hand, slowly towards the window, naked.

The windowpane was cold enough to make her fingertips tremble.

Just a few days ago, the weather was clearly muggy, but everything has changed just by being in the neighboring country.

The roads are different, the buildings are different, the people are different.

The clothes people wear are different, the things they hold are different, and the expressions on their faces are different.

How… could two countries directly facing each other with only a mountain range between them be so different?

It’s all due to the lack of communication, the rigid ideology, and ultimately, it’s the fault of those in high places who prioritize the invisible.

A girl faintly visible beyond the window smiles with a servile expression.

“Ha… Ha ha…”

As I gently stroke her cheek, raindrops on the glass lightly wet my fingertips.

Tok- thud-

Raindrops beat down on the outside, streaming down, making it look like tears are streaming down the girl’s eyes.

“Haaah…”

Actually, that wasn’t the case.

When I put my hand to her cheek again, hot tears were really streaming down.

Why am I crying?

Once I properly carry out their orders, everything will return to normal.

The goal is right in front of me.

If I just do a little more, I can meet him again.

Eve didn’t even realize her heart was breaking as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, as if to shield them from the sky.

And at that moment.

Rustle—

A creepy presence appeared from behind.

I didn’t need to look back to know who they were.

Because she only knew of one group that exuded such a strong magical presence.

“What brings you here…”

“—That’s a question we should be asking.”

Eve slowly turned around.

In the dark room, two men with black smoke visibly rising around them bowed their heads.

“Why are you here?”

“You shouldn’t be in the Empire.”

They maintained a semblance of formality, but they started to immediately lay out what they had to say.

Because their faces were hidden by dark masks, Eve couldn’t gauge their expressions.

“…Don’t worry. I haven’t left any traces.”

“Don’t be mistaken. We’re not concerned about you, we’re here to demand retribution for your transgression.”

“…….”

“Why did you return to the Empire without any contact? Depending on your answer, a suitable punishment will be given.”

Kwaak—

Eve bit her lip.

They must be mere named individuals different from the ‘Seeker’…

Perhaps due to their excessive assimilation with their master due to their strong magical presences, each word was terrifyingly similar to the Seeker’s.

So, as always, she lowered her head, avoiding eye contact, and moved her lips silently.

“…I’m sorry. After finishing a semester at the academy, I was only concerned that staying there would raise unnecessary suspicions.”

“If there’s a problem, report it in advance. If you act against our instructions without any prior notice…”

“Remember that this is sufficient grounds to be considered rebellion.”

With trembling face, Eve slightly nodded.

Faceless ones.

Like beings without hearts, I couldn’t sense even an iota of emotion in their voices.

From those who are practically dead… Eve felt a pang of sympathy.

“…By the way, these are unfamiliar faces.”

“We’re newly ascended named individuals after the defeat of the ‘Shadow Blade’. I am ‘Black Step’—”

“I am ‘Black Hand’. Please accept my apologies for the late introduction.”

Instead of the answer they had hoped for, men simply gave the answers dictated by the Seeker’s ‘will’. Even the tone of their voices was uncertain.

“What were your previous names…?”

“It’s not important.”

“…Can you tell me?”

“…….”

‘Step’ and ‘Hand’ hesitated to respond for the first time.

Perhaps because this was the first time someone had asked about their original name, they were carefully considering whether it was going against their predetermined ‘will’.

“Felt Watson—”

“Lloyd Watson.”

“…!!”

Upon hearing their names, Eve recoiled in shock.

Unlike before, when she didn’t even understand why she was crying, she covered her mouth with her hands.

Feeling a clear sense of empathy, she wept hot tears.

“Why… why, you too…!!”

“We have no memory of our past. During the induction process, we memorized our names temporarily.”

“We are about to erase it from our minds according to the Seeker’s will soon.”

Eve knew their names.

Because they were among those who had pulled her away from the darkness when she first started on the wrong path.

Maids, butlers, knights… countless people had offered a ray of light to Eve as she was sinking into the abyss. Felt and Lloyd, the twin brothers, were among the servants who had cared for her.

But in the end… this happened.

Jurrook—

Eve wept inconsolably, gently covering her body with her hands.

Even though it wouldn’t hide her, she felt the need.

Unless she was a mere magical puppet devoid of emotion or reason… if it were the two of them from her memory, showing a lady’s naked body would be quite shameful.

She twisted her thighs to hide the mound of her groin, and wrapped her arms around her body to cover the peaks of her breasts.

“For my transgression today… this level of shame should suffice. Allowing respectable gentlemen into a lady’s room…”

Moonlight, filtering through the gaps in the rain clouds, poured from outside and illuminated Eve’s body.

The sight of her standing before the Seeker’s will in her naked, white body.

Even in the eyes of the two ‘apostles’, there was no sign of rebellious intent.

“We’ll stop here this time.”

“However, if you repeat the same mistake… next time, it won’t end this smoothly.”

“…Yes.”

Whirrrrrr—

As soon as they heard Eve’s reply, the two men flickered like shadows and disappeared into the darkness of the room.

Thud- thud—

Her body drained of strength due to the relief of tension, Eve threw herself onto the bed.

Suddenly, a distant past memory resurfaced.

Not long after meeting him, on the day she first felt love. She had been forced to show her naked body to a man.

“If it were you… it would have been okay to show you this…”

Huk— huk—

A faint sob muffled by the pillow echoed in the room.

For some reason, that day’s face didn’t come to mind clearly in Eve’s blurry memory,

And beyond that blurry image, like a hole had been ripped out, Nari’s smiling face appeared.