Ch.4444. An Explanation Is Needed

“Right. Why is Ellie here?

Doesn’t it seem strange no matter how you think about it?

So, it was out of the blue, but I asked to erase this embarrassing atmosphere.

Was it not enough as a question to ask right after waking up?

Hmm… the reaction is…

“Um, Blanc? Hello?”

When someone speaks, you should answer, what am I supposed to do when you suddenly avoid eye contact?

And, why is Ellie wearing a scarf in the meantime…?

Wasn’t she not wearing a scarf earlier?

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

“W-well…! It’s a bit cold…?”

“Really…? Is it cold? It might be a bit chilly outside, but it’s warm in here…?”

“Ahaha… I get cold easily. You know that well, Vine, right?”

“Wait a minute, Ellie. Come to think of it, you always said the blanket was too hot…!”

“Ahaha… haha… Th-that’s right! Vine! How come you’re not at Marina and why are you here instead?”

“Stop trying to change the subject. If you don’t answer quickly, I’m really going to get upset. We haven’t seen each other in a while, and you don’t want to see me upset, do you?”

“U-uh! Of course not!”

“Then take off that scarf first.”

I wonder why she’s reacting so sensitively to being told to take off her scarf, hurriedly adjusting it while being conscious of me.

And she seems to be watching Blanc’s reaction too.

As I hesitate while looking at Blanc, she chimes in with a comment.

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

“B-but, Lady Blanc… still…”

“Why? What are you afraid of?”

“N-no… it’s just…”

By the way, has Ellie always known Blanc this well…?

I don’t remember that being the case.

In battles where Ellie participated, it was the redhead rather than Blanc…

That’s how it was…

What’s going on now…? She’s acting like Blanc has some leverage over her.

“Blanc, what happened between you and Ellie that’s making her so nervous around you? Ellie, what’s going on?”

Blanc answers first.

“Ah, that… hmm, wouldn’t it be better if she showed you herself?”

“What’s going on? Ellie being here together means you must have captured her from somewhere. It seems like you’ve taken away even what was protected at Ragnarok.”

“Ah, how did you know…”

“It’s simple deduction. Earlier my head was complicated and a lot was happening, so I just…”

“Ah, I see… Ellie, then wouldn’t it be okay to take off that scarf?”

“Ah, um, aah…”

“Look. Vine is wearing the same thing anyway, right?”

“Ah, wait. Uh, huh…? Ah…”

“It shouldn’t matter, right?”

“Ugh… yes…”

With those words, Ellie unwrapped the scarf she was wearing.

My eyes were drawn to a necklace proudly displaying itself on her neck.

Sigh, well. Thinking about it, I suppose it’s only natural.

“Yeah. Ellie looks cute with it too. Unlike me. I don’t know if this is any consolation, but it’s pretty. It suits you.”

“Haha… really? Thanks, Vine.”

“So Blanc, what’s going to happen to Ellie? If Ellie is also sent to Marina, hmm… sigh. Please send me to Marina too. I’ll sleep there with Ellie.”

When I conveyed this to Blanc, she was flustered and quickly told me that wasn’t the case.

“Vine, don’t worry. Once we prove this child isn’t dangerous, we’ll send her back to where she was living. She helped you wake up again, so we can’t send her to Marina. But more than that, I’m more worried about what you should do from now on…”

“Worry? It’s strange that someone like me, a villain, would be a concern for magical girls… sigh… if Ellie is okay, couldn’t we solve that worry? If Ellie knows why I collapsed, she would also know how to prevent it in the future, right?”

“Yes, that’s why I asked her everything about how to prevent it. Vine, do you know the secret of your magic core?”

“The secret of my magic core? No, it was the doctor who checked my magic core, so I don’t know much… Is there a problem with my magic core?”

“No, it’s… sigh, Ellie, you explain.”

“Ah, yes, Lady Blanc. Vine, listen carefully, okay?”

“Okay.”

Ellie began explaining to me with a serious expression.

She told me that there is a lock in my magic core, that unlocking it is necessary to generate magic, and that a certain amount of ‘evil deeds’ is required to unlock it.

And the standard for those evil deeds is…

“The standard is what you personally consider, what your subconscious thinks is bad. Like the fear energy we used to collect, it’s a type of energy emitted by the heart that serves as the key.”

“If something like that exists, why didn’t you tell me? Ellie, why?”

“Th-that’s…”

“Ellie, why didn’t you tell me? Hmm? We said we wouldn’t keep secrets from each other. So why…?”

“It was for your own good, Vine. Please believe me…”

“Ellie. Is there anything else you’re hiding from me? Are there more secrets about this magic core? Ellie. Answer me, okay?”

“There’s nothing else. Yes, understand?”

Well, I always believe Ellie when she gives such answers.

But why is Blanc looking at Ellie with such an incredulous expression?

“Ellie, you should tell Vine everything, right?”

“Ugh…! That’s a bit too much, Lady Blanc! If I explain, my condition will also… It’s embarrassing…”

“Hurry up, Vine should know what she needs to know. No, doesn’t she already know? ‘Contract magic.'”

“Contract magic…? What is that, Blanc?”

“You don’t know?”

“Contract, isn’t that used to tame magical beasts? I understand it doesn’t work on humans…”

“Sigh… Ellie, you never told her?”

“No! I did tell her! Really!”

“Yes, why are you being like that to Ellie? There’s no need to be so rigid.”

It’s quite uncomfortable how forceful Blanc is being in questioning Ellie.

There’s no need to be that coercive.

She’s already neutralized Ellie, so why bother? I also think Ellie wouldn’t tell the story of the already fallen Eden anyway.

“I’m sorry. But it’s something you need to know, Vine. To prevent you from collapsing like this again.”

“Hmm, isn’t it enough that I now know about this lock?”

“That’s something we should reconsider after hearing what Ellie has to explain. Ellie, tell her everything.”

“Sigh… yes…”

Ellie began telling me with a really reluctant face.

I was about to say she didn’t have to tell me if it was something she was so unwilling to share, but Ellie spoke faster.

And what Ellie told me explained why she had to tell me despite her reluctance.

“Vine… you know… the contract magic I told you about, it actually does work on monsters like us too. And right now, I’m under a contract.”

“Under a contract…? No, did the contract work on us in the first place…? That contract…? If it applies to us…”

“Yes, you must follow orders unconditionally, and even if you want to live, if ordered to die, you’ll complete it by any means… that one.”

“Then, you don’t mean…”

“Yes, haha… that’s how it turned out.”

“Who did you make the contract with…?”

“…”

The answer to my question was clear from Ellie’s silent stare.

Blanc, why are you controlling our Ellie?

Huh?

Contract magic, that’s…

“Blanc, why are you possessing Ellie? Contract magic is that kind of thing. Why you?”

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

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

“Vine, listen for a moment. Ellie took out her magic core herself and asked to make a contract with us.”

“Why would our Ellie make a contract with you? There’s no reason at all. The fact that she herself made a contract with you means you must have threatened…”

“I never threatened her. Right, Ellie?”

“Y-yes! Of course!”

“The very fact that you’re asking her is a threat, isn’t it? Obviously, since you’ve placed that contract magic on her, she can only give answers that won’t displease you.”

At those words, it was Ellie, not Blanc, who hurriedly offered excuses.

“Th-that’s… Vine… I really did ask for the contract… You see… I thought I’d be taken to Marina if I didn’t make the contract there… So, not knowing about contract magic, I… to Lady Blanc…”

The redhead spoke while looking at Ellie’s whimpering with contempt.

Oh, that person was here too.

When I woke up, I saw Ellie and Arin… Blanc.

There was too much going on to pay attention to that side.

“Ellie, speak properly. Where did you sell the story about how you tried to use a loophole in the contract magic to make me yours instead, and Yunseul barely stopped you?”

“Ah, th-that…”

“Ellie, what’s that about…?”

“Ah, you know? Like we always do… haha…”

“Sigh…”

Really, this is ridiculous.

Why are all the people around me like this?

Listening to Blanc’s story, there wasn’t a single lie, and Ellie didn’t deny the redhead’s words either.

So it’s true that Blanc is Ellie’s master, and it’s also true that Ellie tried to control the redhead.

Sigh, this is confusing.

“Blanc, sigh… what on earth have you been doing…?”

“Things to wake you up.”

“Why?”

Blanc’s answer to my final question,

Yes, I see now.

It makes sense. Now I understand.

So that’s what it was.