episode_0044

Yeah. That’s why Ellie is here.

No matter how much I think about it, doesn’t it seem strange?

So, I asked out of the blue to clear up this awkward atmosphere.

Was it a bit too much to ask the questions right after waking up?

Hmm… the reaction…

“Hey, Blanc? Yes?”

If someone talks to you, you have to respond. What do you want them to do if they suddenly avoid eye contact?

And by the way, why is Ellie wearing a scarf…?

Didn’t you have a scarf on earlier?

“Ellie…? Why are you wearing a scarf…?”

“That, that’s it…! It’s a little cold… ?”

“Really… ? Is it a little cold? It’s a little chilly outside, but it’s warm here… ?”

“Ahaha… I catch a cold easily. You know that too, right?”

“Wait a minute, Ellie. Come to think of it, you always say that your blanket is hot… !”

“Ahahaha… Hahaha… That, that’s right! Vinny! How come you weren’t in Marina and you were here?”

“Stop beating around the bush. If you don’t answer me quickly, I’m going to get really pissed. It’s been a while since we last met, so you don’t want to see me pissed off, do you?”

“Ugh, huh! Of course!”

“Then take that scarf off first.”

Why does he react so sensitively to being told to take off his scarf? He hurriedly adjusts his scarf and becomes conscious of me.

It seems like he’s also keeping an eye on Blanc’s feelings.

As I was hesitating while looking at Blanc, she also intervened and said something.

“You’ll find out anyway. Isn’t it better to just show it?”

“That, Mr. Blanc… I guess… ”

“Why? What are you afraid of?”

“Ah, no… That, that’s… ”

But, did Ellie know Blanc that well?

I don’t remember that happening.

In the battles that Ellie goes into, there is a redhead rather than a Blanc…

I guess that’s what it was like…

What is it now…? It’s acting like it’s found its weakness.

“Blanc, what happened with Ellie that she’s freaking out about you? Ellie, what’s wrong?”

The first one to answer was Blanc.

“Ah, that… Hmm, wouldn’t it be better if the person involved showed it themselves?”

“Why are you like that? If Ellie is here with you, doesn’t that mean you’ve captured her somewhere? It seems like you’ve taken away even what we protected in Ragnarok.”

“Ah, how did you know that… ”

“This is a simple inference. I had a lot on my mind and things were complicated earlier, so I’ll stop… ”

“Ah, aha… Ellis, then it’s okay if I take that scarf off, right?”

“Ah, that, ah… ”

“Look carefully. Isn’t Vine doing the same thing anyway?”

“Ah, wait. Huh, huh…? Ah… ”

“Doesn’t it matter?”

“Ugh… Yeah… ”

With those words, Ellie took off the scarf she was wearing.

My eyes were drawn to a single necklace that proudly showed off its presence around her neck.

Ha, well. If you think about it, that’s only natural.

“Yeah. Ellie is cute even when she does that. Unlike me. I don’t know if this will comfort you, but she’s pretty. It suits her well.”

“Haha… Really… ? Thanks, Bin.”

“So Blanc, what happens to Ellie? If Ellie goes to Marina too, umm… haa. Please send me to Marina too. I’ll sleep there with Ellie.”

When I told Blanc that, he was embarrassed and quickly told me that was not the case.

“Bine, don’t worry. If I can prove that this child is not dangerous, I will send him back to where he used to live. He helped you wake up, so I can’t send him to Marina. But, more than that, I’m worried about what you’re going to do in the future… ”

“What’s the worry? A villain like me is a worry for magical girls… It’s a little strange… Haa… If Ellie is okay, then I can solve that worry, right? If Ellie knows why I collapsed, she should know how to prevent it in the future, right?”

“Yeah, so I asked you all about how to prevent it. Yes. You know the secret of your magic core, right?”

“Are you talking about the secret of my magic core? No, the doctor was the one who checked my magic core, so I don’t know… Is there a problem with my magic core?”

“No, that’s… Haa, Ellis, you explain.”

“Ah, yes, Blanc. Vine. Listen carefully?”

“Yeah.”

Ellie began to explain to me with a serious expression.

That my magical core has a lock, and that in order to generate magical power, that lock needs to be unlocked, and that unlocking that lock requires a certain amount of ‘evil deeds’.

And the standard for that evil deed is…

“The standard is what you personally think is bad, what your subconscious thinks is bad. Like the fear energy we used to collect, one type of energy that the mind emits is the key.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that there was something like that? Ellie, why?”

“That, that’s… ”

“Ellie, why didn’t you tell me? Huh? We told each other not to keep secrets. But why…?”

“It was for you. Believe me… ”

“Ellie. Is there something else you’ve been hiding from me? Is there another secret this magic core holds? Ellie. Tell me, okay?”

“There’s nothing else. Okay, got it?”

Well, I always trust Ellie, who gives me such answers.

But why is Blanc looking at Ellie with such a bewildered look?

“Ellis, you have to tell everything to Vinay?”

“Ugh…! Isn’t that a bit too much, Blanc-nim! T-To explain, I’d have to lose all of my status…! It’s embarrassing… ”

“Quickly, you should know what you need to know. No, don’t you already know? ‘Contract magic’.”

“Contract magic? What is that, Blanc?”

“Don’t you know?”

“If it’s a contract, isn’t it used to tame demons? I know it doesn’t work on humans… ”

“Haa… Ellis, didn’t you ever tell me?”

“No! I told you! Seriously!”

“Yes, why are you being so harsh to Ellie? You don’t have to be so harsh.”

It’s more uncomfortable than I thought because Blanc is very pushy when it comes to asking Ellie.

There’s no need to be so forceful.

I already neutralized Ellie, so I wonder why I should do that. And it’s not like Ellie wouldn’t tell me the story of Eden, which has already fallen.

“Sorry. But it’s something you need to know, Binnie. So that you won’t fall down like this again.”

“Hmm, now that we know what that lock is, isn’t that the end?”

“Let’s listen to what Ellis explains and think about it again. Ellis, tell me everything.”

“Haa… Yes… ”

Ellie started talking to me with a really disgusted look on her face.

I was going to tell her that if she didn’t want to hear it, she didn’t have to listen, but Ellie spoke faster than I did.

And, what Ellie told me was something that explained why she told me, even though she didn’t want to.

“Vine… You know… There’s a contract magic I taught you, and it actually works on freaks like us. And right now, I’m under contract.”

“We’re under a contract…? No, the contract applies to us in the first place…? That contract…? If it applies to us… ”

“Yeah, you have to follow orders unconditionally, and even if you want to live, if they order you to die, you have to do it by any means necessary… That thing.”

“Then, you… ”

“Yeah, haha… That’s what happened.”

“Who did you sign the contract with?”

“… ”

The answer to my question was obvious from the way Ellie just stared.

Blanc, why are you ruling over our Ellie?

huh?

Contract magic, that’s…

“Blanc, why do you possess Ellie? That’s what contract magic is. Why do you.”

“I’ll explain everything. You know I can’t lie to you, right? ”

“No, I don’t want to hear it. Not until I cancel that contract right now.”

“Vine, listen up. Ellis took out the magic core herself and asked us to make a contract.”

“Why did our Ellie make a contract with you? There is no reason for her to do so. The fact that she made a contract with you means that you were blackmailing her… ”

“I never threatened you. Isn’t that right, Ellis?”

“Yes, yes! Of course!”

“Isn’t the very fact that you’re asking me this question a threat? Of course, since I’ve put that contract magic on you, I have no choice but to answer in a way that won’t offend you.”

At those words, it was not Blanc, but Ellis who started to make excuses in a flustered manner.

“That, that’s it… Yes… I really did ask you to make a contract… T, you know… If I didn’t make a contract there, I thought I’d be dragged to Marina… T, to me, Blanc, who didn’t know about contract magic… T, ”

The redhead spoke while looking at Ellie’s sobbing sound with pity.

Wow, that guy was here too.

As soon as I woke up, I saw Ellie, Arin, and Blanc.

There was something too big going on over there to worry about.

“Ellis, let’s talk straight. Where did you sell the story about how you tried to make me yours by using a loophole in the contract magic and how Yunseul barely stopped you?”

“Ah, that, that’s… ”

“Ellie, what are you talking about…?”

“Oh, right? Like we always do… haha… ”

“Haa… ”

Seriously, this is ridiculous.

Why are all the people around me like this?

Blanc’s story, there was not a single lie in listening, and Ellie did not deny it in listening to the red-haired one.

After all, it’s true that Blanc is Ellie’s master, and it’s true that Ellie tried to dominate the redhead.

Sigh, I’m going crazy.

“Blanc, haa… What on earth have you been doing… ”

“Things to wake you up.”

“Why.”

Blanc’s answer to the last question is,

Yeah, that’s it.

I get it. Now.

That’s what it was.