episode_0028

“Ha, hat!”

The wooden sword, abandoned in the training ground warehouse, made a sharp sound as it cut through the air.

“Lift your arm higher!”

“Ugh!”

“Breathe regularly!”

In the training ground, filled with intense heat as always, Noah, after swinging the sword several times, brushed back the bright brown hair stuck to her face.

Her usually deep emerald eyes sparkled brightly. Juliana circled around her, satisfied, and laughed.

“It’s still far, but this level isn’t bad.”

She spoke as if it were nothing, but Juliana was impressed by Noah’s talent.

Teaching one thing led to mastering ten, learning skills that would take an ordinary person a month, she learned in just a few hours. It was a talent that left nothing to be desired, even if it was said to be a talent from the heavens.

Noah also felt herself growing stronger. Because of that, impatience grew within her.

“I have to get stronger faster.”

If it were a situation without a solution, it would be unknown, but it was a situation where sweet fruits were within reach and then out of reach. It was only natural for a body overflowing with talent to become more parched.

If Noah had possessed ordinary talent, she would have collapsed before building proper skills, but her dazzling talent only grew stronger as her body became more parched.

Because of that, Noah trained her body like a person addicted to training more and more as time passed. Her pupils sparkled beautifully with hope.

Unlike Noah, there was someone emitting a gloomy aura.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Pia, huddled inside a dusty guest room closet, groaned in pain, not properly taken care of.

“Sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m in pain, sister, I’m

Clutching her hair and screaming, she covered her eyes with hands so tight they hurt her scalp.

“Ah… Aah…”

From the roots, her dark brown hair, close to a reddish-brown, was dyed black halfway down. Her eyes, once close to pumpkin-colored, were gradually turning purple as if clear water was being mixed with murky water.

Exposed continuously to intense dark magic, her body was showing abnormal reactions.

“Sob… Mom, mom…”

With tightly closed eyes, Pia burst into tears. This time, her mother’s voice echoed in her ears.

“Pia, protect your younger sibling. You’re a strong child, you can surely do it.”

A tender voice and gentle laughter appeared before her eyes. Pia’s tears flowed as she trembled, her mouth quivering.

“Mommy…”

Pia ran towards the vivid illusion that came to her mind, crying loudly like a child of her age.

“Why are you alive?”

The bright background turned hellishly red, and her smiling mother now glared at Pia with a terrifying expression.

“I told you! Clearly! To protect! Your sibling!!”

“Sob! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Trembling with endless fear, Pia begged for forgiveness.

“You should have died,” the words echoed in her ears like a haunting refrain. The corners of Pia’s eyes began to darken.

“Lian…”

Instinctively, Pia thought of Lian, who had always comforted her. Thinking of him, yet unable to reach him, was due to her stubbornness and magic.

Why did her brother’s voice fade when Lian was around? Was it because Lian was a good person?

If Pia had held positive thoughts about Lian, her thoughts might have flowed in that direction, but she considered Lian as someone “putting on an act.”

Naturally, her thoughts inevitably turned negative. Moreover, half of the dark magic amplified negative emotions and made it avoid the place where the magic was dismantled. For this reason, Pia ended up avoiding Lian.

“This… It’s all because of that guy.”

Pia transferred all her endless fear to Lian. Only then could she breathe.

“Yeah, it’s all because of that guy, unni.”

As Pia’s mind collapsed beyond a certain level, her sister began to whisper different words.

“It’s all because of that white-haired slave. So let’s get rid of him.”

“Get rid of him?”

“We’re going to chase him away so he can never torment you again.”

If Pia had maintained even a little bit of sanity, she would have felt puzzled by her sister’s sudden change in attitude.

But her mind was teetering on the edge of a cliff. If left like this, she might even end her own life. Pia was so crushed by guilt.

When a guilty person feels remorse, they instinctively try to treat the victim well. It’s an attempt to ease their own mind through atonement.

Pia was no different from those people. Crushed by immense guilt, she blindly began to follow those words as if she were a slave to hallucinations.

“What… What should I do?”

Her sister, who had been spewing hatred, began to calmly instruct her one by one.

Creak—.

Pia staggered out of the closet and into the room. Due to the dark magic, her presence became very faint.

***

“No news is good news. No news is good news.”

Walking through the slightly chilly corridor, muttering to herself, Pia couldn’t find peace of mind.

“Where on earth are you!”

Mia’s eyes lit up at the mention of a new test subject, and she immediately rushed to the slave market. She searched through both the large and small markets but couldn’t find Iris.

That meant Iris had already been sold.

“Okay, okay, I’ll be fine,” she said, her legs trembling. Mia felt choked up, as there seemed to be no way to meet Iris other than passing through. It felt like she had swallowed a sweet potato whole.

Finally, in the middle of the hallway, she knelt down, clutching her hair.

“Ugh! There’s no way! No way!” she screamed internally, tears streaming down like a waterfall.

“But there’s an original work and the law of causality… somehow, it has to work out, right?” she thought, trying to ignore reality.

“Why did Odile run away? I treated her well! Fed her good food and dressed her nicely!” she raged.

“Should I just live here as an experimental slave? It doesn’t seem so bad, does it?” she resigned herself to reality. After going through several emotional stages, she reached a simple conclusion.

“Ah! Please drop the protagonist in front of me! Or send me to the protagonist through any available door! Where on earth are you, Iris?!”

Residents of the comedy world cry out their hopes desperately when in despair, then quickly regain composure. I’m just like that.

“Ugh, let’s go prepare dinner.”

Until now, I never imagined that the words I shouted would come true.

***

Swoosh, whoosh!

“Wow, you’re amazing today too.”

I watched Noah wielding a sword while sewing. It had only been a week since he had taken up the sword, and yet he was flying through the air with it.

“Wow, he’s like a prince.”

Every time he swung the sword like the hero of a dazzling martial arts film, Noah’s short brown hair shook. His eyes, reminiscent of a fairy tale prince, would captivate countless women in the future.

I’ll go check on that. Hmm…

Tears streamed down her cheeks. But these weren’t tears; it was raining. Even though this was an indoor sewing room, my point still stood.

She wiped her face lightly, dabbing at the tears and quickly moved her hands.

“What are you doing?”

As I shed tears, Juliana approached, watching me sew.

“I’m making a doll.”

“This?!”

After roughly mending Mia’s clothes, she had gathered unusable fabric and was making cute dolls.

I showed her the adult male fist-sized doll next to me.

“Oh, surprisingly convincing?”

The doll, about half the size of a baguette, was embroidered with eyes, nose, and mouth on its torso.

“That’s easy enough.”

Internally scoffing, I quickly made the doll. Juliana looked at me incredulously.

“No, do you really need to make so many?”

“At first, I was making a doll for Pia, who seems low-spirited lately, but I think if I only give one, the kids will be disappointed, so I’m making them all. This one’s for you, Juliana.”

“Is… is there one for me too?”

Juliana looked at the doll I presented with a wistful expression. It had the same glassy eyes, small mouth, and nose as the other dolls, but the hairstyle resembled Juliana’s.

“I can’t hold this… huh? Why can I hold this?”

“It’s a ghost, that’s why.”

“No, you can’t hold a ghost!”

Juliana hesitated a few times, then, as if her break was over, she glanced at Noah wielding a sword and swiftly flew away.

“Ugh… Finding Iris is a problem, but Pia is also a problem.”

I thought of Pia, who had been avoiding me lately. Every time we met from afar, she seemed to have a melancholic expression, as if something was bothering her.

It shouldn’t have been forced. Lily said it seemed okay if we talked.

If I didn’t like it, it would have been right to avoid it. There was a time when a female student who said she felt sick just by looking at things that didn’t look good in the comedy world vomited in front of me.

“If you don’t like it, you should avoid it.”

Once again, tears streamed down her face.

“Okay, it’s done now!”

After completing the last doll, I hugged it tightly.

“Should I put them on the kids’ beds?”

I headed to the lodging with a cheerful face to deliver the dolls.

And then I was kidnapped.