episode_0025

Of course, there was no reason for us to stick together.

The help I needed was already fulfilled by dealing with the cursed shaman.

Now, all that was left was to go our separate ways and engage in a fair competition for victory…

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“You know this is a test, right?”

“Yeah.”

Arin didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

“If I find the crystal first, I’ll break it before you?”

“Yeah.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

She was a total yes-woman. Sighing at her constant hesitation, I just gestured for her to come closer.

The moment she saw that, she scurried over and stuck right by my side.

When we first met, I thought she was a cat, but at some point, she’d turned into a dog.

Why is she acting like this all of a sudden? As I pondered the reason—

She silently approached and rubbed her head against my arm once before pulling away.

“…”

When I stared at her in shock, she blinked blankly, as if asking if there was a problem.

Let’s just not talk about it.

At the very least, having someone to talk to wasn’t bad when we still had at least another day of walking ahead.

As we climbed the snowy mountain, a sudden curiosity made me ask:

“By the way, that weird thing you do—what exactly is it? It’s not magic, right?”

“Don’t know.”

“If you don’t want to say, you don’t have to.”

“Really don’t know. I’ve just been able to do it since I was little.”

“…Since birth?”

“Yeah. I can make my body hot, and things I hold too. And also—”

“Wait, don’t go into that much detail.”

“Why?”

“…You shouldn’t just go around telling people what you can do. Someone might misuse it.”

“Okay. Got it.”

After about five hours of walking, it was getting dark.

Of course, with the blizzard, the difference between day and night wasn’t that stark, but we still needed rest.

I dug out a small snow cave and asked Arin:

“Want me to make one for you too?”

“Wow.”

Instead of answering, Arin crawled into the cave I’d made and asked curiously:

“How does it not collapse?”

“It’s not dug out. It’s pressed. Well-packed snow is harder than most wood.”

“I see.”

Seeing no sign of her leaving, I dug another snow cave nearby and crawled in.

Taking turns keeping watch wouldn’t have been bad, but…

We probably killed all the nearby yetis.

If they still don’t pass us after this, I’ll have to ask Firnaea to beat them up.

With that pointless thought, I slowly closed my eyes.

Exhausted from the day, sleep came instantly.

Arin didn’t sleep.

To be precise, she couldn’t.

She had never once slept in her entire life.

So she always wondered—what were dreams, the things sleeping people saw?

Silently, Arin reached out to the snow wall beside her.

Ssshh—the moment her hand touched it, the snow melted instantly, leaving behind a small hole just big enough not to collapse.

“…”

Soon, she could see him.

A man with sharp features—Virdem.

His breathing was so shallow he might as well have been dead, eyes closed.

What kind of dream was he having?

As Arin reached out to touch his face, she froze.

She could feel it—if she stretched her hand any further, Virdem would sense the threat and wake up.

Knowing the exact range of someone’s awareness was another thing she’d been able to do since birth.

“…?”

Unable to shake her disappointment, Arin suddenly felt a disconnect.

Why had she tried to touch his face?

And why did she feel disappointed?

No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t understand.

So she stopped thinking.

Instead, she just stared at his face until dawn.

Careful not to be caught before he woke, she made sure to gather snow and pack it back around the hole.

“What the…?”

When morning came and Virdem woke up, he muttered in confusion before stepping outside.

Arin, noticing him about to enter her cave, quickly pretended to be asleep.

“Wake up. We have to reach the crystal today.”

“…Yeah.”

Once again, Arin couldn’t understand her own emotions.

Why had she pretended to sleep?

Why hadn’t she wanted to be caught?

She had no idea. Not even a little.

So, as they walked, she asked:

“Virdem.”

“…What, all of a sudden?”

When she said his name—one she’d overheard—he reacted with slight panic.

“I don’t actually sleep.”

She confessed honestly.

“…Oh? Then why’d you pretend to?”

As Virdem’s expression shifted to something like, Huh, weird—so what? she continued:

“Blades don’t pierce my skin. I don’t get tired. I don’t really understand sadness. When my grandmother died, no tears came. Other things too… I don’t get them.”

“And?”

He actually said it out loud.

Arin tried to speak further but felt the words stuck in her throat.

She knew that feeling. The only emotion she was certain she had.

Fear.

The most primal instinct, created by beasts to govern their masters, stopped her next words.

It was strange. The same feeling she’d had right before death was now surfacing just from trying to speak.

She wanted to know what she was afraid of.

So she spat it out.

“Do you still think I’m human?”

“Hmm. Probably not.”

Arin thought:

Ah, so that’s what I was afraid of.

Watching her, Virdem suddenly smirked and answered:

“But honestly, that alone isn’t enough.”

“…?”

Not enough?

Arin couldn’t understand what Virdem meant.

“If you want real non-human, I’m talking about bending steel with pure telekinesis. You’re still far from that.”

“Who’s that?”

“My master, whom I revere to the end.”

“You serve something that’s not human?”

“…Watch your words. The young lady is human.”

Arin tilted her head.

“You said she wasn’t.”

“Obviously, it’s a metaphor. Just because someone’s a little different, you’re gonna call them a monster?”

“No… right?”

“Whether you sleep or not, breathe with gills or skin, or don’t breathe at all—it doesn’t matter. What’s so special about being human? If you think you’re human, then you are.”

“Me too?”

“Of course.”

She understood.

“I have no idea what kind of answer you were even looking for, but yeah, you’re human.”

That was exactly the answer she’d wanted.

“…”

“What? What is it?”

Arin took a small step closer to Virdem.

He stared at her with an unreadable gaze.

And then Arin realized something new.

She liked it when he looked at her.

This time, she thought she knew why.

“That it?”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

“Hmm…”

The crystal was much larger than expected.

It was so transparent you could see right through it, and about the size of a grown man—breaking it wouldn’t be easy.

After examining the crystal for a while, Virdem took Arin’s hand.

Arin felt her heart drop for a second.

“Wh-what?”

“Let’s break it together.”

“…Why?”

“Judging by its structure, it’ll take a while to regenerate. It should be able to teleport two people at most. You don’t wanna stay in this blizzard forever, do you?”

“What about first place?”

“Would be nice, but honestly, I just need to pass.”

“Okay.”

Arin agreed, but the strange sensation lingered.

“Hup!”

CRACK!

When Virdem swung his sword, the crystal shattered into dust far more easily than its size suggested.

Almost instantly, the scenery shifted to a lavish waiting room.

“Ugh, finally out of that blizzard.”

Of course, aside from Virdem and Arin, no one else was there.

“Can we go to the academy now?”

“Huh? Yeah. They said they’d take up to three, and we’re the first two.”

“Together?”

“…? Yeah. Together.”

That was good.

Arin quietly sat down on a chair, then scooted closer to Virdem, who was tapping his foot impatiently.

Closing her eyes, she imagined the future ahead.

It felt… pretty nice.

“Sigh… guess I’ll rest a bit…”

As Virdem lay back on the couch and closed his eyes—

He suddenly snapped them wide open.

“Wh-what the—?!”

“…?”

Arin blankly stared at him.

Virdem stood up like he couldn’t believe it, then tilted his head, listening.

Arin did the same. A faint, clicking sound of heels reached her ears.

“Those shoes… no, why?”

Muttering in disbelief, Virdem suddenly changed.

Like someone had flipped a switch, he straightened his clothes, stood at attention, and faced the door.

His appearance hadn’t changed much, but his aura was completely different. Arin, unable to follow the situation, stared at him in confusion.

Then—the door opened.

In walked an elderly butler with graying hair.

“Mr. MacLaine?”

“Virdem…”

MacLaine gave Virdem a look mixed with pity—one that said, “You’re screwed.”

As Virdem processed that, MacLaine opened the door wider.

“Lady Firnaea.”

“Long time no see, Virdem.”

The moment the woman entered, Arin felt chills.

First, her appearance.

Silver hair so pale it was almost white, and skin so fair it seemed translucent.

Her black dress contrasted starkly, making her breathtakingly enchanting.

Even Arin, who hadn’t seen many beautiful people, could tell.

…She’s like a princess from a fairy tale.

Firnaea smiled softly at Virdem, then quickly scanned the room as if looking for someone.

Her eyes met Arin’s.

“…Hmph.”

Firnaea’s gaze held no hostility.

If anything—it was mocking.

Arin shrank back, feeling small.

Firnaea’s eyes cooled instantly as she turned back to Virdem with a smile.

“Seems you finished the special exam well.”

“Ah, yes. But why are you here?”

“I used a scroll.”

“Excuse me?? Why would you waste something so precious…?”

“It’s not like I had anywhere else to use it. Consider it a congratulatory gift for my one and only butler passing.”

“What if I hadn’t passed?”

“That wouldn’t happen. You’re my butler.”

“Sigh…”

Even Arin, who wasn’t socially adept, could tell.

The familiarity in their exchange spoke of a trust built over years—not something forged in a day.

For some reason, she felt lonely and tried to step closer to Virdem.

“…?”

But her foot wouldn’t move.

An invisible, overwhelming force pressed down, refusing to let her advance. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move.

Arin looked at Firnaea again.

The woman wasn’t even looking at her.

“…”

Something boiled inside Arin.

Another first. Channeling that feeling, she forced her foot forward.

Only then did Firnaea glance at her—just slightly.

With an indifferent gaze, she watched Arin struggle before…

Silently mouthing:

‘Know your place.’

GRRRRRRR—!

An invisible, colossal force shattered Arin’s feeble resistance completely.

It was like dozens of orcs clinging to a single arm.

Slowly, step by step, Arin was pushed back.

—That’s how it was meant to be.

“Oh, right, my lady. This is Arin—”

“…”

Arin couldn’t answer.

Trapped by the immense force, she was forced into a chair, head bowed low.

Virdem tilted his head and called her.

“Arin?”

“….”

She couldn’t even open her mouth.

Firnaea watched and murmured innocently.

“Seems she’s asleep. Must be exhausted, no?”

“Huh? But she—”

“Shh, don’t wake her. Let’s go. She must be tired too.”

“Ah, right. Understood…”

Virdem gave Arin a puzzled look before leaving the waiting room.

It took three full minutes for the force gripping her to fade.

“…….”

The moment she was free, Arin slumped forward.

Firnaea’s monstrous strength.

The fact that she’d almost died just now—

All of it was buried under one thought.

“…She took him.”

She’d never felt weak before.

If she wanted, she could escape anyone.

That had been enough. There was no reason to fight unless provoked.

The stronger the opponent, the less she wanted to.

“…”

Arin’s blank eyes stared at the closed door.

Slowly, her irises began to tinge red.

A reason?

She’d just found one.

[Variable Occurred]

“GODDAMN IT, NOT THIS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!”

“Sis, please… we’re in public…”