episode_0021

Survival instinct.

In a world where the law of the jungle is a dog-eat-dog world where it’s not strange to be eaten at any time, the instinct to help the weak survive without being killed by the strong.

It is said that when the survival instinct is stimulated, the ability to focus on one’s surroundings increases greatly, and memory and comprehension also improve greatly for a short period of time.

This survival instinct exists not only in wild animals but also in humans.

The survival instinct has helped humans survive in many desperate situations, and even now, it helps us avoid various threats by making us feel emotions such as anxiety and fear.

Anyway, but.

Why does that instinct seem to be coming out now…?

“Sister…where did you go…?”

Lily looks at me with deeply sunken eyes.

My intuition tells me.

If you don’t answer properly now, a big threat will come.

“Li..Lily.. That..”

I tried to quickly explain to her, who was hugging me so tightly that I couldn’t breathe.

‘But…how should I explain it..?’

In fact, Athena kidnapped me and forcibly injected me with mana, so I couldn’t refuse her.

But it’s okay, because in exchange for becoming her slave, I promised to protect you and Sister Dania!

….No way.

It’s a true fact without a single lie.

I was warning myself in my head, grabbing me by the collar, that I shouldn’t say things like that.

“That..So..”

When I was hesitating and unable to answer.

“Hera.”

“Sister Dania..!”

Dania’s voice calling me.

It felt like a helping hand from heaven.

Maybe Dania could calm Lily down.

Let’s look at her with eyes asking for help –

“Where have you been?”

“Hi.”

She looks at me with a smile on her face.

Although his expression was clearly smiling, there was an inexplicable eerieness within that smile.

‘Oh…so scary..!’

Cold sweat is running down my face.

Two eyes were urging me to give an answer right away.

As I was mumbling my words with my eyes shaking as if there was an earthquake,

Lily began to squeeze harder.

“…….Sister?”

“Ugh..”

‘Lily…Lily is this strong..?’

Lily doesn’t budge no matter how much force is applied.

I felt like prey wrapped around a snake.

“Stop.”

But something incorporeal pulled me and Lily away from me, forcing us apart.

Lily was pulled towards Dania.

I am.

Po-ok

“I hate it when people touch my stuff.”

He flew into Athena’s arms and was held in her arms.

“Ah..Athena..”

“Those people? The family-like people you were talking about.”

“Ugh..”

As I affirmed, Athena turned her gaze to Lily and Dania.

She looked at Lily and laughed, then looked at Dania.

“…..”

He raised one eyebrow and stared at Dania intently, as if he was displeased with something.

To be exact, the chest area.

“I don’t like it..”

I leave Athena muttering something,

I wondered if she had gotten hurt somewhere. I turned my head in the direction Lily had flown away.

Her expression was unusual.

Lily.. Lily?

Why are your eyes like that?

“…..Did you just call my sister an object?”

Lily spoke to Athena in a growling voice.

She was glaring at Athena as if she was going to kill someone.

I was afraid that if things continued like this, something big would happen, so I quickly tried to explain to Lily.

“Lily! That’s not it. – Ugh!!”

Athena covered my mouth with her hand, so I couldn’t say anything else.

And she looked at Lily with a bitter smile.

“Yeah. It’s my stuff. So don’t cling to it carelessly from now on?”

“You….”

Lily had that kind of murderous aura around her that made it seem like she could run off to Athena at any time.

No, Lily.

Athena must not be touched.

In the novel, the character who wipes out all the forces that oppose her is Athena. Whether they are monsters, demons, or humans.

It may be kind to me, but not to Lily.

If Lily had attacked her, she would have been badly hurt.

I took Athena’s hand off my mouth and shouted at Lily.

“Lily Oh my gosh!!”

“..Do you misunderstand?”

Lily stops moving in an instant as she hears me.

She was looking at me as if she needed further explanation.

“Ugh..! Athena and I are close.. so I was just joking!”

“You two are close..?”

Let’s look at Athena earnestly with eyes that say, please kiss me.

She started talking, laughing as if she found it ridiculous.

“We will never be apart from each other again.”

But Athena’s answer only made Lily even angrier.

“Who are you to be with my sister… My sister promised to stay with me.”

“Huh.. Hera. Do you want to tell me? What is our relationship?”

Athena then whispered in my ear.

“You have to keep your promises, right?”

promise?

What promise?

‘no way.’

“It’s not just the two of us now, right?”

“Are you crazy? This isn’t the time for that!”

In exchange for me getting Lily and Dania’s safety guaranteed by her.

The conditions she put forth.

It was a promise to call them master and speak politely if there was even one person around.

No matter what, it’s a bit much in this situation.

I felt like I couldn’t handle bringing up the subject of the main contract at a time when I was busy trying to explain what had happened.

But Athena was resolute.

“You were the one who asked first, Hera. At this rate, I have no intention of keeping my promise.”

“Ugh… But now…!”

“Sister…”

Lily’s voice sounded hollow, almost hollow.

“What are you two talking about?”

“Lily…”

As I hesitated to answer, Athena gave me a pat on the back with a single word.

“If you want to protect them, keep your promise.”

As I was pushed forward, Lily came to me without hesitation and grabbed both of my hands tightly.

I stared blankly into her eyes, which were filled with some kind of sticky emotion.

In recent months, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Lily.

Except for the time I was sleeping, I spent half of the day hunting monsters with Lily.

I had warm times with her and Dania at other times too.

Maybe that’s why. Lily always tried to stick by my side and relied on me quite a bit.

She used to only follow Dania around, but now she’s relying on me like this. It must mean that she accepts me as family deep down in her heart.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

A family that welcomes me warmly.

A relationship I’ve been desperately longing for for a long time.

Before I became a shaman, I was a working person.

An ordinary office worker who is caught up in the cycle of going to work and coming home from work.

When I returned home after finishing work at the company, all that greeted me was an empty, deserted space.

My life was so lonely and desolate, without anyone I could call family.

But now it was different.

Lily, who always gives me a bright smile, and Dania, who greets me with a warm smile.

I have been staying here for the past six months, receiving so much love from them.

I am so grateful to these wonderful women who filled my lonely heart.

okay.

It’s for the happiness of both of them.

If they go to the Empire, they will be able to live a much more affluent life than they do now.

Lily will be able to make many friends in the Empire.

Having lost her parents when she was young, she lacked human affection and friends were very necessary for her.

Right now, there’s only Dania and me by her side.

If she could make new friends in the Empire, it would be of great help to her.

Even though I will be separated from them, it doesn’t matter. After all, since we are in the same empire, I will be able to visit them several times if I want.

I held Lily’s hand tightly and spoke to her.

“Lily. Let’s go to the Empire.”

“Is…the empire..?”

Lily is greatly embarrassed by my words.

“Yeah.. Athena decided to help us.”

“….”

“With her help, I can move to the empire..! Then-”

“Just like that?”

“Huh..?”

Lily said, looking at me with sharp eyes.

“There’s no way I can help you.”

Lily is right.

Just as there is no such thing as a free lunch,

There is no such thing as goodwill without a price.

Lily must have known that too, which is why she brought it up.

I decided to tell the truth.

“…..I decided to work at her mansion.”

At my words, Lily’s expression hardened in an instant.

And without a moment’s hesitation, she rejected my offer.

“No need.”

Lily shakes her head vigorously, squeezing my hand so tightly it hurts.

“Lily. When you go to the Empire, you’ll make new friends-”

“No need!!!!”

I flinched at her scream and stepped back.

It was the first time.

She screamed at me so sharply.

As I blankly stared at Lily, she was breathing heavily and looking at me with cloudy eyes.

“You don’t have to go to the empire. Stay here with me, sis.”

“Ha..but..”

“You said you wanted to see me after I graduated from the academy. You said you’d wait here with me.”

It’s unfamiliar.

Lily, who usually only gave me a warm smile.

But the woman in front of me had an empty expression on her face, as if she had seen everything in the world.

“Have you been lying to me all this time?”

When I saw her slowly approaching me, my body flinched for no reason.

With each step she took, his shoulders stiffened.

When I met her eyes, an inexplicable, deep emotion was transmitted to me.

“There’s no way, Lily!”

“But why!!”

She came up to me without me noticing, and grabbed my two arms tightly as if she wouldn’t let me go.

“You’re trying to get away from me.”

I looked closely into her eyes.

Her eyes were red, as if she had been holding back tears.

A feeling of pent-up emotion came over me.

‘….I don’t want to go away either.’

I don’t want to be separated from Dania and Lily either.

Starting the morning with them gave me energy to get through the day.

The daily life I spent with them gave me unparalleled memories.

There’s no way you’d want to be separated from those girls.

As far as my heart was concerned, I wanted to run away with them to a place where no one could find me.

But that can’t be done.

Her mana planted within me.

You will never let me go purely.

Did Lily’s tears spread?

Or maybe it’s because the desire to not be separated from them that was hidden inside me has burst out.

“Stay here with us.”

Tears began to form in my eyes too.

“Ugh… Lily… I’m sorry…”

Tears that, once they start, don’t seem to stop.

“Me..Me too..I want to do that..Actually..Me..”

I knelt down and hugged Lily tightly, sobbing as I spoke.

“Me…me…her…”

“…..Sister?”

“No… I became a slave…”

“…..What?”

Just then, the last bit of light that had remained in Lily’s eyes faded away.