Minutes ticked by, but Lily was never able to decipher either the meaning or motive behind Lafine’s actions. At some point, she fell asleep. When she opened her eyes again, Lafine had vanished from the armoire.

Timidly, she pushed the door open.

“Uh?”

Her room looked strange. There were muddy streaks on the carpet, like it had been trampled upon. Her carefully arranged bookshelf had been toppled, and her beloved books were scattered everywhere. Still, her bed was untouched, and everything else appeared as it normally did. Her parents had never given her much besides those books, after all.

“Uh… Huh?”

The door to her room was ajar. The lock on the door opened only from the outside, per her parents’ decree, and it was unusual to see it unlocked.

No, that wasn’t it. Something had broken the lock, and the metal shards were lying on the carpet.

The hallway was in worse shape than her room. It had practically been destroyed. Her father’s decorative armor had been violently knocked over, and several paintings were missing from her mother’s collection. But that was not all. Even the mansion’s walls were damaged.

Seeing all this, the girl began to feel the queasiness of worry for the first time. Finally, she understood. It was robbers. Robbers had infiltrated their mansion, which was why Lafine had hidden the both of them away.

“Uuuhhuh——!”

Lily screamed wordlessly, but there was no reply. Normally, Lafine would come running, albeit begrudgingly.

She walked down the long hall. One by one, she opened the doors on both floors of the house.

And yet, she found no one. Her father’s study, her parents’ chambers, and her siblings’ rooms had all been similarly ransacked. There was not a single soul in the servants’ quarters nor in the kitchen where the chefs were normally found.

A cold night wind blew in through the shattered glass windows and the crumbling outer walls. The only thing that moved was the hem of Lily’s dress, which now seemed out of place in the ruined mansion, swaying with the breeze.

Nothing else stirred. Nothing at all.

She was all alone in the vast Lockwood mansion. Lily Lockwood, the little deaf girl, had been left behind.

That was exactly ten days ago.

***

Lily remained in the abandoned mansion. She managed to subsist on the steadily spoiling food in the storehouse, awaiting the return of her family or servants.

And yet, no one came—not even Lafine, who had saved her life that night. Lily had not seen any sign of her since she had woken up in the armoire.

A few more days passed, by which point Lily had eaten through all the edible stores that remained, and her small body was beginning to grow weak. If she ventured out into town, someone might offer her help. However, in the eight years since her condition had been discovered, she had spent her whole life locked in her room. Her only knowledge of the outside world came from her books.

And so, she waited. She knew of nothing else she could do. She opened all the windows and thrust open the half-destroyed front door. She pulled the blankets from the bed she knew so well and slept in the entrance hall.

She did this in the hope that someone would someday come back to her—in the hope that she could be there, to welcome them with a smile.

Soon, even waking became a struggle. It was not until the very end that she came to feel, deep within her bones, that she was wasting away. Yes, the end—however, not her end. For as it turned out, Lily Lockwood had the good fortune to make this distinction.

As Lily stared outside, her eyes half-lidded with fatigue in a way she recognized from her one-time maid, her consciousness fading, four girls appeared beyond the open front door.

“…”

She had never seen these girls before. Obviously, there was no way she could have known that they were the Crimson Vow, a promising group of rookie hunters from the capital branch of the Hunters’ Guild in the Kingdom of Tils, traveling to make a name for themselves.

All Lily knew was what she could see.

The first of the girls was tall. She had blonde hair and a handsome face, and her hand sat on the hilt of the sword that hung from her hip.

“Don’t let your guards down. The robbers that were targeting the margrave might still be around here somewhere.”

“What’re you talking about? Why would they stick around? The kind of pea-brained idiots who run in bandit circles always beat it the moment they’ve gotten what they came for. It’s pointless to go shuffling around.”

A short but imposing red-haired girl waved the tall girl’s concerns away, tromping ahead with confidence.

“I-I guess so, but if we don’t keep our eyes peeled—”

“Oh?”

The redhead locked eyes with Lily.

“There’s a kid here. She looks pretty thin. Wonder where she came from.”

“She has the same violet eyes as the margrave. Think she’s his daughter?”

As though this were their cue, the remaining two girls stepped in through the front door. There was a girl with brown hair and a gentle air about her, and another who was small and cute—probably the youngest amongst them. For some reason, Lily thought, there was something strangely captivating about this foursome.

The brunette turned to the younger girl beside her and asked, “The margrave’s son and daughter were only supposed to be five and three years old, weren’t they?”

“Yes. At least, that’s what they told us at the guild when we accepted the investigation job. This girl looks like she’s probably eight or nine.”

The redheaded girl’s eyes narrowed.

“So, who’s this kid, then?” she asked, pointing toward Lily.

The four hunters tilted their heads simultaneously.

“It’s probably best if we ask the girl herself…”

The smallest of the girls called out to Lily. “Hello there, young lady. It’s super dangerous for you to be here right now. Where did you come from? And who might you be?”

But rather than answer, Lily just tilted her head—since, of course, she had not heard a single word of the girls’ conversation.

Next, the tall girl spoke up. “She’s probably not feeling well enough to speak. Hey, kid. Are you hungry?”

Lily’s cheeks were sunken, her whole body propped listlessly against the wall like a broken doll. She could do no more than stare up at these four strangers with curiosity. Seeing that they were taking turns speaking to her, she pointed to her own ears. Then, she pointed to her mouth and made a sound.

“Uh…”

With that, the girls understood—the weakened, emaciated girl could not hear them.

“Oh!”

“She—”

“Looks like she’s deaf.”

The tall girl whispered to the gentle-looking one, “Hey, Pauline. Can you heal her with your magic?”

“I can try.”

The girl named Pauline crouched down in front of Lily, put her hands on both sides of her head, over Lily’s ears, and closed her eyes.

What a big chest she’s got, Lily thought to herself. It was right in her face.

“Heal the injuries, regenerate the nerves, repair blood vessels. Mega Heal!” Pauline announced, but even once the spell had been completed, nothing had changed. In truth, this was to be expected—Lily had not lost her sense of hearing to illness or injury; she had been born this way.

“Mile, do you think you could do it?” asked the tall girl.

The smallest girl, the one called Mile, shook her head.

“Hmm, if even Pauline’s Mega Heal had no effect, it’s unlikely this is from injury or sickness. Which means it’ll be hard to handle with regular magic.”

“I see…”

For some moments, silence overtook the hall. Seeing that they had stopped talking, Lily, unable to tell what was going on, smiled broadly.

The tallest hunter lowered her eyes.

“Hey, Reina—”

“Mavis, we can’t,” Reina, the redhead, spoke curtly. “We’ve still got work to do, and we’re going to have to pass through some dangerous places. We can’t bring her with us. Plus, what happens to her after we get back home? She’s not some kind of house pet.”

“Guh… I-I mean, I know that…”

Mile, the smallest one, opened her mouth.

“How about this, then? We can leave her with a few weeks’ worth of preserved food and potable water, and as soon as we’re done with our job, we hurry back to the capital and tell the guild about her. Then, the guild can contact the local orphanage, and they can look after her.”

“Oh, yeah. Good thinking, Mile.”

“You really do always manage to come through at times like this. How are you such an airhead the rest of the time?”

“I’m not an airhead! That’s so rude!”

Clearly a bit disgruntled, Mile began pulling dried meat, cooked vegetables, and loaves of bread out of thin air.

“Hup! Heave ho! Here we go!”

To the pile, she added a great big cask.

Ka-thud…

“?!”

Lily’s jaw dropped at the preposterous scene unfolding in front of her. She knew from her reading that there were people in this world who had access to the convenience that was storage magic, but hearing about something was far different from seeing it with your own two eyes. It was amazing just to watch as so many different things were produced from nothing, right in front of her.

Whoa! Whoa!

Her cheeks pinked with excitement, and she clapped her hands.

“Oh, she seems to be enjoying this,” Mavis observed.

“Well, I mean, what can any of us do but laugh in the face of that unnatural magic Mile’s got?”

“Reinaaa, you don’t have to say it like that!” Mile whined.

“Whatever. Just hurry and finish up.”

“Okay… Hup!”

A ball of water popped into existence above the cask. A second later, the water splashed perfectly inside.

“There we go. That should be enough to keep her from starving for now.”

“It should. It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t heal her illness, but hopefully she can hang in there until someone from the guild can come to get her.”

“For sure.”

Mavis picked up some of the bread and dried meat, offering it to Lily, who was still sitting with her back to the wall.

“Here, eat up.”

“Mavis, you dummy. She needs water first.” Reina stepped in, offering the girl a cup full of water.

“N-no fair, Reina! You’re just trying to win her over first because she’s cute.”

“I-I am not!”

Lily looked back and forth between their faces, then weakly bowed her head, taking and emptying the cup before accepting the meat and bread. She took a small nibble, grinned, and bowed her head again. The four girls wordlessly nodded. Mile smiled in satisfaction.

Good. They understood my thanks.

After that, the four girls watched over Lily for a time, before they finally turned to leave. As they walked away, the smallest girl, who was trailing at the back, stopped, and turned back to Lily. She closed one eye, placed her pointer finger in front of her lips, and softly whispered, “Your hearing can’t be healed with magic. At least with normal magic. But wait just a little bit, okay?”

“…?”

What had the girl said? Lily watched, perplexed, as Mile walked away, and then took another nibble of her meat and bread.

***

It had been roughly half a day since the girls had departed. Lily drew some water from the cask that had been left behind and quenched her thirst.

She hated the nighttime. Without her beloved family and their kind servants, the mansion was like a great beast, the jaws of its immense, pitch-black maw opened wide. Then again, she supposed that she had been biding her time inside of that very mouth, which was rather amusing. As she imagined it, she began to giggle.

Lily was a cheerful girl by nature, and now, she felt a flood of optimism. She stood, drew another cup of water from the cask, and drank. Now that she had food in her, her tired body was suddenly able to move again. She truly had to thank those girls.

“Phew…”

Once more, she considered her situation. The mansion had most likely been attacked by bandits. Their lands bordered the Albarn Empire, and though her father, Margrave Neiham Lockwood, had a substantial personal guard stationed outside the estate, it seemed something awful had happened to them. After all, if any of those guards were still safe and sound, they would have come to her rescue long ago.

Indeed, it was clear that something terrible had happened to both her family and their personal guard, as well as their servants. If she waited here forever, she would probably begin to waste away once more.

She clutched her hands to her chest.

Yes. Okay.Tomorrow morning, I’ll have to set out.

Just as the thought crossed Lily’s mind, a small figure walked in through the open front door. Her heart leapt at the irrational thought that this might be her brother or sister.

“Uh…wh—?”

Lily’s eyes opened wide as she looked up at the figure in front of her. It was one of the girls from earlier that day, the smallest one of the bunch with the adorable face.

It was Mile—though, of course, Lily did not know her name.

“Ha! I thought I would slip out after everyone had fallen asleep, but that took a lot longer than I thought. They started getting suspicious, and in the end, I had to use a bit of magic to force them to drift off.”

“…?”

Lily tilted her head. All she knew was that Mile was standing there, her lips moving. She could surmise that she was saying something, but she had no idea what.

“Oh, right. You can’t hear me, can you? Just a second!”

Mile suddenly produced paper, a quill, and an ink pot out of thin air. Using a pillar as a writing board, she swiftly wrote across the page.

“Hopefully you can read.”

She then handed the paper to Lily.

“I’m going to heal your ears so that you can hear,” was written on it.

“?!”

Lily held her hands out in a grabbing motion. Mile handed her the quill and paper.

“But the mages all said that my ears can’t be healed with magic,” Lily wrote.

“Don’t worry. I have a special kind of magic. Before I heal you, though, you have to promise me one thing. You can never tell anyone about what is about to happen here. Not anyone. You can’t even let anyone know that you were healed. If anyone asks you, please tell them that your ears just healed on their own.”

Lily tilted her head.

“Um. Here. Just pretend that this is all a dream. We’re both in your dream right now, actually. This isn’t reality.”

This girl is pretty weird, thought Lily. It’s actually a little spooky…

“Anyway! You won’t tell anyone you were healed! Forget I ever existed! Got it?!”

There was no way this girl could heal her. Her parents had brought dozens of famous healing mages in to examine her. However, the result had always been the same. Nothing had changed.

However… Yes, however.

This girl was maybe three or four years older than her. Looking at her now, with her rapid and desperately changing expressions, her mouth flapping, Lily smiled comfortably and nodded. Clearly, the girl’s intentions were good. Lily might as well let her try, so that this girl could feel she had made her best effort.

Lily moved the quill across the page.

“Yes. I promise.”

“Then, let’s begin the treatment. Please relax.”

Putting down the pen, Mile looked not at Lily but off into the distance. Lily reflexively followed her gaze upward into the air but saw nothing but the dark ceiling above her.

“Nanos, you here?”

Huh?

Lily had no idea who or what Mile was talking to. She appeared to be staring at nothing at all.

I MEAN, WE’RE EVERYWHERE…

“I don’t think there’s something wrong with her ears but maybe with her brain? Her temporal lobe or something?”

YES, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

Mile’s pointer finger shot up.

“In that case, could we just alter her temporal lobe to be the same as a normal person’s?”

WE COULD DO THAT. THAT IS, WE CAN DO THAT, BUT…

“What is it?”

WE SHOULDN’T. WE OBVIOUSLY SHOULDN’T.

Mile’s expression twisted as she spoke.

“Why not?”

ALTERING THE BRAIN VIA SURGICAL METHODS IS A TECHNIQUE THAT DOES NOT YET EXIST IN THIS WORLD. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM BRINGING TOO MANY MEDDLESOME EARTH ARTS INTO THIS REALITY.

“Come on, Nanos! That doesn’t matter. There’s a cute little girl in trouble! Look! Look how squishy her little cheeks are! Look at her!”

Mile pinched Lily’s cheeks, pushing and pulling and squishing them all around.

“Humweh, pwah, mwuh…”

“And just listen to her! It’s too cute—it’s just too cute, I can’t stand it!”

As the assault on her face continued, Lily’s gaze roved around the hall. But sure enough, there was no one in sight. However, the girl before her was definitely talking. Not only that, she appeared quite animated.

Are there spirits here or something? she wondered.

YOU KNOW, THE ODDS ARE FAIRLY GREAT THAT THAT FIELD OF STUDY WILL PROGRESS BEYOND OUR RESTRICTIONS WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HUNDRED YEARS…

“Shut up, shut up, shut uuuup!!! It doesn’t matter if they haven’t gotten there yet! If it seems like it’s going to get there eventually then I or one of my descendants will probably manage it sooner or later!”

YOU’RE BEING ABSURD. BUT…

“I don’t need your lectures! I’m not listening anymore! Just stop quibbling and do it! This is over! This conversation is over!”

Mile clasped her hands over her ears. That will probably keep her from hearing, Lily thought to herself.

AH, WAIT. PLEASE DON’T CANCEL OUT THE VIBRATIONS OF YOUR TYMPANIC MEMBRANES WITH MAGIC. WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO IF EVEN YOU CAN’T HEAR US? COME ON. BESIDES, YOU KNOW IT’S POINTLESS ANYWAY. EVEN IF YOU CANCEL OUT THE VIBRATIONS, WE CAN JUST SPEAK DIRECTLY INTO YOUR TEMPORAL LOBE… CAN YOU HEAR US? LADY MILE…?

Mile removed her hands from her ears, eyes opening wide. She clamped her mouth shut and returned a thought pulse.

Shut up! Don’t speak directly to my brain like that! It’s creepy!

CREEPY? THAT’S NOT VERY NICE. WE ONLY HAD TO ADDRESS YOU THIS WAY BECAUSE YOU WERE USING THAT VIBRATION CANCELING MAGIC TO TRY TO IGNORE US. OKAY, FINE. WE GET IT, WE GET IT. WE’LL DO IT. WE MAY AS WELL. BUT WE HOPE YOU’LL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES THAT MAY ARISE AS A RESULT OF THIS. NOW, LET’S HAVE THIS GIRL GO TO SLEEP.

Why didn’t you just say so from the beginning? Thanks, Nanos. I can always count on you.

WELL, OF COURSE. AND NEXT TIME YOU USE THAT CANCELING MAGIC, MAKE SURE YOU DO IT PROPERLY. IF YOU DON’T, YOU MIGHT END UP LOSING THE ABILITY TO HEAR ANYONE ELSE AROUND YOU.

I knew that! Thank you, Nanos.

Knowing that she had won, Mile grinned devilishly.

However, she had no idea exactly what was about to occur. Even the nanomachines she had been conversing with did not know the full extent of what it was they were bringing about.

“…!”

Lily gasped, her eyes opening impossibly wide.

Ba-dump…

Her heart fluttered at a brand-new sensation, something she was feeling for the first time in her life. In that moment, Lily Lockwood heard. She heard an impossible voice and a high, girlish one—not via the vibration of her eardrums but via thought pulses. Directly into her temporal lobe.

Then, Lily knew: There were spirits in this world known as Nanos. (Though, in truth, they were not spirits but nanomachines, the minuscule scientific beings that were the true source of the power that the people of this world referred to as “magic.” But Lily, who knew only what was written in her books, firmly believed that these were spirits.)

NOW THEN, LET’S BEGIN.

Not in the least bit aware of Lily’s dawning awareness, the nanomachines began their treatment.

“If you would, Nanos. Now, as for you,” Mile turned to Lily again. “Time to take a nap… Hang in there. Hang in there and keep on living. There are so many wonderful sounds in this world waiting for you…”

Before Lily could ask Mile about the spirits’ voices, she was overtaken by a powerful spell and sunk into a deep slumber.

***

When she awoke to the sounds of birds chirping, Lily was so struck by the beauty of their song that she wept. Her heart swelled as the gentle, wonderful resonance filled her head.

At last, she knew how many joyous sounds flowed throughout this world—the wind, the rustling of the leaves in the trees, the birds and insects, the calls of animals, and even the sounds of her own humming.

Her world was expanding.

At the age of nine, Lily Lockwood, born without one of her senses, finally heard.

Or, so she thought in that moment.

As the boss stared at her, mouth agape, Lily gestured for him to hand the quill pen her way.

“Sorry, Boss. I didn’t know this was how we were supposed to do things here. Thank you for showing me. This seems bad for your posture, though.”

Lily chuckled as she passed the paper back.

The boss and Harris read her response, looked at one another, and then shook their heads simultaneously, faces serious. Then, the boss brought his own legs down and abruptly grabbed Lily’s. He pulled them off the table, carefully tugging her dislodged skirt back into place as well.

“It was a joke. You should be more modest.”

Lily looked confused.

Harris smacked his palm to his face and muttered, “You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me…”

“Anyway, you’re sleeping here tonight. The other guys have already taken all the other rooms.”

“Okay. Thanks, Boss.”

“You sure?” asked Harris. “Shouldn’t we lock her away?”

“I don’t think she’s gonna be rowin’ off on her own.”

“Guess you’re right.”

So, Lily ate with the Ashen Alleycats and went to sleep. Snuggled up in her blanket, she wondered what might happen next. It seems I’ve followed some bandits home. They don’t seem like bad people, but I certainly can’t live here with them this way. How could I face my parents and siblings if I grew into a criminal? I’d be dragging our title through the mud.

But I have no idea how to row that boat. How am I supposed to get out of here? If only I had someone to talk this over with…

Suddenly, she thought of the girls who had rescued her from starvation. They had produced all that food and water out of nowhere and shared it with her without reservation. Judging from the swords and staves they carried, they were probably hunters.

She heaved a sigh. If only those girls were here, she thought wistfully. But then, she remembered. Hadn’t there been someone else, too? She had not seen them, but she remembered them just the same—the spirits who had fixed her hearing.

Wait, she thought, don’t tell me.Yes, of course! There were those mysterious voices that had seemed to echo inside her head.

And so, Lily Lockwood began to “speak,” focusing her energy around each word.

Hey, uhm, Spirits? Might you be around here somewhere?

It was nothing less than a miracle. Just a day ago, this would have been utterly impossible. Lily had been born without hearing, and thus, she did not speak.

Yet as a result of her unhearing ears and silent tongue, Lily had spent her life honing her thought-pulse reception, which was far stronger than that of the average person in this world. And as a result, she had been able to hear the nanomachine when it had “spoken” to her and Mile.

Spirits, are you here?

Even if she were able to transmit thought pulses, clearly there was no one around to hear them. She was perfectly aware that her “spirits” (which were in fact the nanomachines) existed, but perhaps there weren’t any in this cave.

I guess those Nanos aren’t here…

?!

What Lily did not know was that the all-purpose entities known as the nanomachines only spoke when directly addressed—which was why, in this moment, they were able to reply.

HM? UM, WERE YOU PERHAPS SPEAKING TO ME? AM I SUPPOSED TO BE THIS “SPIRIT”?

Oh, you are here! Yeah! That’s right, I was talking to you, Mr. Nano!

After an interminably long silence, the nanomachine replied with the shortest possible word in its expansive vocabulary.

HUH?

The nanomachine was bewildered. However, Lily continued to speak.

Oh, yes. Thanks for my ears, Mr. Nano.

WELL, NO, THAT WAS MI— The nanomachine stopped and corrected itself. WE COULD NOT TAKE THE CREDIT FOR THAT. WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO ACT BECAUSE THE MAGE WHO WAS PRESENT INSISTED ON OUR AID.

Lily’s heart leapt. She was having a conversation, somehow or the other. She could not recognize words by their sound, but via thought pulses, communication was simple. If only everyone in the world could communicate in this way, she thought.

WELL, YOU SEE, AS FAR AS A MEANS OF CONVEYING ONE’S INTENTIONS TO ANOTHER PARTY, DOING SO DIRECTLY VIA THOUGHT PULSE IS A FAR MORE PRIMITIVE METHOD THAN SPEECH, SO IT IS PROBABLY FOR THE BEST THAT THIS IS NOT THE STANDARD MODE OF COMMUNICATION. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO HEAR US, MISS LILY? AND HOW IS IT THAT YOU KNOW THE TERM “THOUGHT PULSES” IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Since the night you fixed my ears! When that mage lady covered her ears, you were talking to her by thought pulses, right? I heard the conversation you two were having then.

OH, GOODNESS! IT’S ONE THING TO EXPECT SUCH A SLIPUP FROM MI…THAT LADY. BUT FOR ME TO DO SO… IT WAS RECKLESS TO ASSUME THAT YOU COULD NOT HEAR US.

The spirit seemed troubled. Perhaps, Lily wondered, calling out to it had been wrong?

I fell asleep before I could tell you, and when I woke up, that mage lady was gone, so I couldn’t ask anyone about it. I can’t believe you’ve been so close this whole time and I never realized it!

Of course, Lily still had no idea that the nanomachines existed throughout the entire world, serving as the source of all magic. Naturally, the nanomachine that she was currently speaking to was not one of the individuals that had been involved in healing her ears, but all nanomachine units shared information with one another. Yet it was quite unreasonable to expect Lily—or anyone without Mile’s very particular background—to understand any of this. It was closer to science than to magic, after all.

WELL, the nanomachine seemed to sigh, resigned. WHAT’S DONE IS DONE. SO, WHY IS IT THAT YOU CALLED FOR ME?

Lily clapped her hands together and smiled.

There’s something I want to know.

LILY LOCKWOOD, AS YOU ARE ABLE TO HEAR AND SUMMON ME, YOU HAVE OBTAINED A LEVEL-3 ACCESS AUTHORIZATION. HOWEVER, THE QUESTIONS I AM ABLE TO ANSWER MAY BE LIMITED.

Lily tilted her head.

I’m not sure what you mean.

OF COURSE NOT. ANYWAY, IT’S NOT SOMETHING I WOULD BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN TO YOU SIMPLY, SO JUST ASK AWAY. IF I CANNOT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I WILL TELL YOU SO.

Ah, thank you, Mr. Nano! It would seem that this was a benevolent spirit. Um, so, are the Ashen Alleycats bad people?

ACCORDING TO THE STANDARDS ESTABLISHED BY HUMANS, THEY WOULD BE MINOR SCOUNDRELS. IN THE KINGDOM OF TILS AND THE ALBARN EMPIRE, AND IN FACT MOST PLACES, LOOTING ABANDONED BUILDINGS IS CONSIDERED A CRIME. THEY WOULDN’T BE KILLED FOR THIS, BUT THEY MIGHT AT LEAST BE SENTENCED TO SEVERAL YEARS OF INVOLUNTARY LABOR IN THE MINES.

Lily’s expression faltered.

That sounds terrible.

WELL, THAT IS SIMPLY HOW THEY HAVE CHOSEN TO LIVE. WHAT IF YOU WERE TO STOP THEM?

Me?

THERE IS A FAIR AMOUNT OF VALUE IN THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ABDUCTED AND DETAINED.

She did not understand. All the kidnapping talk aside, she had followed them willingly, and though she was ostensibly being detained, she had not been bound or locked away anywhere. She had far more freedom here than back at the Lockwood manor—not that she would be taking advantage of it, since she wasn’t about to go sailing out across the waves all on her own. But if there was some way that she could stop the Alleycats from wrongdoing…

What should I do?Try and persuade them? All I can do is write to them!

FELLOWS LIKE THESE ARE FIRM BELIEVERS IN STRENGTH ABOVE ALL ELSE. SO, YOU JUST HAVE TO SMACK THEM DOWN AND TELL THEM TO LEAD A MORE RIGHTEOUS LIFE. THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO PERSUADE THEM.

Smack them down? Lily supposed that was something she might have been able to do if she were like the mages and hunters who appeared in her books. But…

I can’t use a sword or magic.

MISS LILY, HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN CLOSE TO A FLAME? EVER SUBMERGED YOURSELF IN COLD WATER? EVER BEEN BLOWN ABOUT BY A WIND SO FIERCE YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT SOON TAKE FLIGHT?

She had tried touching the flame in a lamp before. Naturally, it had burned her. As a noble, baths were a luxury afforded to her, so of course she had tried dunking herself. And, as far as the wind, she had tried to close the windows of her room before during a storm and been blown back. Still, she could not possibly imagine what use these experiences might be to her.

I have.

GIVEN YOUR LEVEL-3 AUTHORIZATION, YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE ABLE TO USE MAGIC. IN FACT, YOU MAY HAVE ACCESS TO EVEN MORE POWERFUL MAGIC THAN THOSE WHO TYPICALLY ARE REFERRED TO AS MAGES.

Lily shook her head.

Even if that’s true, I can’t say any magical incantations. I don’t really know the connections between language and sounds, so I can only talk via these thought pulses.

THE INCANTATIONS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A FORMALITY, MEANT TO STRENGTHEN THE INTENT BEHIND YOUR MAGIC. PLEASE DON’T TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS, OF COURSE. BUT THE SPELLS THE MAGES OF THIS WORLD USE ARE MADE UP OF VERY POWERFUL WORDS, AREN’T THEY?

That was certainly the case in Lily’s books. There were mages who spoke of flames as hellfire, invoking fearsome images of purgatories that one could not even prove existed in their incantations.

THOSE WORDS ARE MERELY A BIT OF SELF-SUGGESTION—A WAY OF REMINDING ONESELF JUST HOW HOT A FIRE MUST BE. THEN, ONE USES ONE’S THOUGHTS TO SPREAD THAT SOLIDIFIED IMAGE OF A FLAME FROM DEEP WITHIN OUT INTO THE WORLD AROUND. FINALLY, WE NANOMA—ER, NANOS—RECEIVE THOSE IMPULSES AND INVOKE IT AS MAGIC.

Lily folded her arms and gave a slow nod.

Yep. I have no idea what you’re talking about.

OF COURSE NOT. UNDERSTANDING AN EXPLANATION LIKE THAT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE UNLESS YOU WERE BORN INTO RATHER UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES—LIKE THAT MAGE WHO HEALED YOUR EARS. WE CAN ONLY CONFER A LEVEL-3 AUTHORIZATION UPON YOU, WHEREAS THAT MAGE IS A LEVEL-5. SHE’S AN EXCEEDINGLY HIGH-LEVEL MAGE, BEYOND MOST HUMANOIDS.

Lily still had no idea what the spirit was talking about, but she got the feeling it was implying that that little mage was an incredibly powerful person.

I want to try some magic.

IN THAT CASE, TRY IMAGINING IT. CRYSTALLIZE THE IMAGE OF FIRE AND WIND WITHIN YOURSELF.

Done.

NOT JUST THE COLOR AND FORM OF IT BUT THE HEAT AND OTHER PROPERTIES?

Yep!

THEN, TAKE THAT IMAGE, FORM IT INTO A THOUGHT, AND TRY RELEASING IT INTO THE WORLD AROUND YOU. IT’S THE SAME METHOD BY WHICH YOU’RE SPEAKING TO ME.

Okay.

Lily closed her eyes and tipped her chin slightly upward.

She imagined flames above her. The bigger, the better. It was magic, after all. And, beneath that, the image of a gale, even stronger than the squall that had threatened to break her windows. Carefully, intentionally—as though she were morphing the words from her storybooks into a reality.

ARE YOU FINISHED?

Let’s go!!!

She released her stored-up impulses all at once, and immediately, an immense pillar of flame darkened her vision. Well, not only her vision. Fanned by the squall beneath it, the flames grew even more intense, and in an instant, the pillar extended, smashing through the ceiling of the cave like a volcano erupting, sending rocks flying into the ocean around and bathing the night sky in a crimson light. The whole place was overtaken by the roar, the vibrations, and the stench of smoldering.

Lily’s lips flapped wordlessly.

“Wah…?”

………

The whole top of the triangular jetty of rocks that marked the edge of the cave had been fully blown away. The remaining rock was still glowing a hot red, like the mouth of a volcano after an eruption. Indeed, it was no longer rock but lava.

MISS LILY LOCKWOOD. The nanomachine squeaked out her name.

Yes?

HOW TO PUT THIS… PERHAPS WE OUGHT TO START YOUR LESSONS BY TEACHING YOU ABOUT LIMITS.

“Mwehh…”

Lily sunk down on the spot, horrified. She had no idea how she was going to apologize to the Ashen Alleycats for blowing up their entire base. She put her head in her hands just as the last of the molten rocks, which had flown into the air like shooting stars, finally crashed down into the sea. As they did, there was an explosion of steam, and the deep red that glowed at the edges of her vision faded into white.

It was like peering into the end of the world.

***

The ocean breeze billowed from out of the newly opened crater, and a fog rose from the sea around the Alleycats’ hideout. Harris and the boss kicked open the warped wooden doors of their rooms, practically tumbling out. The rest of the Alleycats followed shortly after.

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-what the hell was that?!”

“Boss, what was…?!”

They looked at Lily, crumpled on the floor, and the scene around her, then fell to their knees.

“Whoaaa…?!”

“What is going on?!”

Their shock was to be expected, of course. The roof of their base had just been blown off. Furthermore, large portions had been melted away, as though by an intense flame.

“Wh-wha… Wha…uh? L-L-L-L-Lily…?”

“Did an underwater volcano erupt?! Or are the Albarnians launching an attack on Tils or something?!”

“Calm…c-calm down, Harris.”

“I’m calmer than you, Boss! Here, drink something!”

The boss chugged the water that Harris offered him and placed the cup down on the charred table. He looked down at Lily and then took up the quill that was still strewn on the table, writing not upon the now-charred paper but the surface of the table itself.

“What happened out here?”

Lily wobbled to her feet and sat down in a chair. The boss pushed the quill into her hands.

“I tried using magic. And I kind of messed it up.”

The boss’s face twisted.

“Kind of?! This is what it looks like when you kind of mess up?!”

Harris surveyed the area mournfully. The walls were charred, everything from the ceiling upward blown fully out of existence. In fact, it was not only the ceiling but the whole enormous rock formation above it. It should have been fully solid in composition, and yet, not a single fragment remained.

Harris and the boss looked to one another, their faces pale.

The boss returned to the table, carefully circumventing Lily, and moved the quill pen.

“You did this?”

“Yeah, I did. I destroyed your base. I’m sorry.”

The quill tumbled from the boss’s trembling hands. His eyes filled with fear.

“B-B-B-Boss. Boss! Come—c’mere a second!” Harris grabbed the boss by the shoulder and forcibly wheeled him around, dragging him into a room where Lily could not see them.

“This is bad,” Harris started. “You didn’t say she was a mage…”

And a fairly skilled one, at that. To cause something as immense as that pseudo-eruption, she would have to be an A-rank hunter or higher, or something like a court magician, would she not?

“This is the first I’m hearing of this, too, dumbass! How was I s’posed to know she’s some kind of magical monster?!”

“Sh-shhhh! Don’t let Lady Lily hear!”

The pair looked back at once to Lily, who was grinning up at them, her head cocked slightly.

“Oh, right. She still don’t understand words… But let’s remember, we don’t have any fighters here! If we get on the little lady’s bad side…”

“I mean, she already blew up the base. Doesn’t that mean she’s already pretty mad at us?”

The hairs on the backs of both of their necks stood on end as the pair shuddered.

“It’s because you told ’er that we’d kidnapped her, Boss! What’re we gonna do?!”

“D-don’t put this all on me! Lily was the one who decided to come with us!”

“Then why were ya tryin’ to take credit for kidnapping her?! Just puttin’ it that way totally changes things!”

The boss averted his gaze sorrowfully and spat, “I just wanted to sound like a proper villain for once.”

“Booooosss!!!”

“Uh…?” Lily’s voice could be heard from the center of the room.

Harris hurriedly muttered, “Anyway, Boss, whatever it is she wants, you gotta give it to ’er. Then she can just go on home. I’m done with this.”

“Y-yeah.” The boss rushed back to the table, where Lily was moving the quill.

“No fighting. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And also, no more doing bad things. That includes stealing.”

“Huh?”

The boss turned his gaze to Lily.

“If the Ashen Alleycats want to keep working together, you should make a living fishing or making something. If you don’t…”

You’ll be captured and enslaved. And then, you’ll all be separated. Lily, having lost her family, understood better than anyone how lonely this could be. However, she was certain that all of these men would know this, even without her spelling it out for them. She had faith that there was a goodness somewhere deep down in the hearts of these kindly fellows. Having faith was a virtue, after all.

Yet these formerly stalwart men still seemed remarkably unsettled.

“Boss,” Harris said, “she is definitely threatenin’ us.”

“Y-yeah, I know. If we say we’re gonna keep on stealin’, then she’s gonna…”

They looked up at the now-missing ceiling. That had been a demonstration. For even a sturdy rock face to end up in such a state… It went without saying that, should a normal, non-magical person be struck head-on by such an explosive spell, they would be blasted to smithereens. Not that Lily would ever do such a thing.

The boss’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped.

“Harris. I’m sorry. But I guess this is the end of our thievin’ days.”

“Think it was high time anyway. Never been too lucrative a business fer us… Y’all good with that?”

Harris and the boss looked out at all the other men. Not one of them possessed the courage to raise an objection.

“D-definitely better than bein’ slaughtered by the little lady…”

“Guess from now on we make a livin’ on fishin’ boats or somethin’.”

“We all do love fishin’.”

“Sounds good to me.” One man chimed in. “If we do this right, the missus might even come back.”

It was partly because these men lacked confidence in their own strength that they had not become bandits or pirates, instead leading this half-hearted life of looting. Yet even the fact that the Ashen Alleycats had not fallen into outright thuggery proved they were mostly a decent lot. And, of course, this was due in large part to the rather vapid man they called their boss.

“I guess this is our chance to start over.”

“Guess so. Let’s go out after some fish or somethin’ tomorrow.”

And thus was born the fishing industry in Tils…

The boss stepped forward and took up the quill pen.

“Understood. Lily, we’ll honor your request. So, please leave my men alone. If you would.”

He turned his bearded face to Lily and passed her the quill.

“I’m not going to do anything to them.”

The boss lifted his head, expression calm.

“Okay. It’s decided. We’ll let Lady Lily go. Harris, get a boat ready.”

“On it.”

After some time, Lily was placed into a little boat and returned to the sandy beaches of the shoreline.

The boss and Harris bowed their heads to her one final time, returned to their rowboat, and set back out onto the seas with a wave.

Lily looked up into the starry sky. All she heard was the sound of the waves. Left all alone upon the beach, tears shone in Lily’s eyes.

But whyyy?!

She clutched her head.

Mr. Nano, are you here?!

This should not have happened. Lily had assumed that she would be helping the Alleycats out in their new career, but here she was, banished.

I AM HERE. WE EXIST EVERYWHERE IN THIS WORLD.

Why did they leave me alone?

IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN. ANY NORMAL HUMAN WHO LAID EYES UPON SUCH A POWERFUL DISPLAY OF MAGIC WOULD WISH TO DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM THE CASTER, NO MATTER WHO THEY WERE.

This was dreadful. Here she was, alone again.

YOU DID WELL THOUGH, DIDN’T YOU? IT SEEMED LIKE THEY HAD A CHANGE OF HEART. NOW, THERE SHOULDN’T BE ANY CHANCE OF THE BOSS OR HARRIS ENDING UP ENSLAVED IN THE MINES.

Lily looked up to the night sky and thought a while, then swiftly changed her mind.

Hm… I guess that’s good, then.

She was worried about the men, but she also needed to start thinking about what she was going to do now. If she did not come up with a plan, she would start to waste away again within the next few days. And so, she set off along the beach, considering her future, when suddenly, she heard a voice addressing her across the sand.

“Goodness, what a shock! So this is where you went. You’re doing better than I expected.”

Lily looked up reflexively at the sound of the quiet yet lilting voice. There, on the edge of the beach, stood Lafine, not in her usual prim and proper uniform but dressed rather roughly.

“Huh?”

The maid’s tired eyes narrowed suspiciously at Lily.

“Did you just…react to my voice?”

Though Lily could hear the melody of her words, she still could not understand them. Lily blinked twice and then tilted her head. Lafine let out a sigh, scratching her light brown hair.

“What a bother. Can you not understand anything without a paper and pen around?”

“Uh…”

Lily gestured, pointing underfoot. Lafine’s gaze followed, pointing downward, as Lily knelt down upon the sand and began writing with her fingertip.

“Lafine!! Where is everyone?”

Wearily, Lafine carved a reply with her foot.

“I don’t know. By the time I got out of the armoire, everyone was already gone. Judging by the state of the manor, it wasn’t good. I’m sure you can imagine what happened as well as I can.”

Lily looked up to her and nodded sadly.

They had been attacked in the night by brigands, her whole family gone to who knows where. She had to help them. She might be the only one left who had the freedom to do so.

“What are you doing here?”

“There was a red light by the sea just a little while ago, so I came here to see what it was. Pretty sure we’ll be seeing a lot of rubberneckers soon. Have you been here this whole time? Did you see what it was? An underwater volcano?”

Lily looked around to see that a number of townsfolk had begun to gather on the beach.

“It was magic. I did it.”

Looking utterly exhausted, Lafine scribbled back, “There’s no way a brat like you could use magic. You can’t even hear—how could you cast a spell in the first place?”

“But I can hear. Um, see I can’t really explain it, but a mage healed me, and now I can hear. Though I still can’t really put voices and words together, or talk.”

“What?”

Lily cleared her throat and tried to make a sound. At first, all she could get out were noises. “Ahh, ahh.” Then, she tapped her pointer finger to her own chest. “Lily.”

Lafine furrowed her brow fiercely and placed her right hand to her chest.

“Lafine.”

“Lahfeen. Laahfeeeenuh.”

“That’s amazing… You really can hear.”

Lily tilted her head.

“Ah, you can only say your own name. I see.”

Lily bent down to the sand again.“Let me show you some magic!”

She closed her eyes and imagined a flame—or rather, she started to, but then Lafine clapped her hands together loudly right in front of Lily’s face. She sunk down to the sand and began to write furiously.

“Wait just a moment! I still don’t think I believe you, but if any of this is somehow true, you can’t go throwing around magic like that in a place like this.”

A number of onlookers had gathered following the explosion at the Ashen Alleycats’ cave, and even without them, this was a border town, where people were always on guard, in no small part thanks to their proximity to the Albarn Empire.

“Oh, I see. What should I do, then?”

Lafine just shrugged.

Lily thought back to the spells the youngest of that group of four girls had used. Of course, she could never go pulling all those random items out of thin air, but perhaps she could manage the spell that had filled the cask with water.

Okay…

Could she do the spell, just like that girl had? If Lily recalled, she had produced a ball of water in the air and lowered it down into the cask. She could do that. She could definitely do that.

Water! Water! Mr. Nano, give me water!!!

She closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

“Mmmmm!!!”

Suddenly, the light of the moon dimmed, as though obstructed by clouds. Lafine looked casually up to the sky, and her eyes popped wide open.

“Wha…what are you…?!”

Her words broke Lily’s concentration.

“Uh?”

And at that moment, a tidal wave of water poured down atop the pair’s heads in a torrent that was nothing short of a flash flood.

“Gyaaaah! Blargh!”

“Gaaah! Bwaaah?!”

The pair were toppled by the force of the water, which washed them along the beach all the way to the edge of the waves. They quickly pulled themselves up out of the shallows, both of them coated in sand.

I am in such trouble now, Lily thought.

“Lily, you little…!”

“Wha…”

Lily sprung to her feet, hurrying to write an apology in the sand, but Lafine grabbed her by the collar, leaving her feet swinging wildly.

I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!

With a power that seemed unlikely given her slender arms, Lafine picked Lily up under the arms and took off running like a bat out of hell. Lily looked timidly up at her, wondering what was going on.

“…?”

“Bwa ha ha ha! Heh heh! You’re amazing!”

Lily had no idea what Lafine was saying, but for whatever reason…she didn’t seem angry with her.

As they ran, Lafine continued, “A lovely little girl with a promising future as a mage, who can now hear! Ah ha ha ha! I’ve got myself a real prize!”

Cackling and clutching Lily tight, Lafine ran on, dodging the gazes of the onlookers, and the pair ran off into the night.

***

An array of sounds filled Lily’s ears.

The voices of men and women, high or low, with rhythms and intonation depending on age and personality. Lily noticed how the voices of children had playful, excited tones, while adult cadences were as still as a prairie. The boss had a voice that seemed to resonate throughout her whole body, but this seemed unique—even those of most other adult men were not quite so impressive.

There were so many different kinds of voices.

And so many other noises, too, like the sound of wooden wagon wheels moving down the streets, with their strange, incessant ka-chunk-ka-chunk, ka-chunk-ka-chunk. Now and then, a cart might run over a rock, and the carriage would sway as the rhythm was broken.

There was the clang of horseshoes that rang out each time the powerful draught horses took a step. Sometimes, the sound was drowned out by that of the wheels, but if she strained her ears, Lily could let the comforting, regular noise of hooves fill her consciousness.

The footfalls of the hunters escorting the carriages were rather soft. So soft she could scarcely hear them. Their rhythm was erratic, but that was probably because they were circling the wagon, keeping an eye out up ahead.

Closer by, there was the sound of Lafine’s breath as she slept. As she…spoke? She seemed to be mumbling something in her sleep.

Lily’s eyes were closed, but she could see the entire world. Hearing was such a wondrous thing.

She opened her eyes. Traveling in such a small wagon was in no way comfortable, but nevertheless, getting to hear all these sounds made her heart dance.

And at this very moment, I’m here in the outside world!

Seated across from her, their fellow passengers, a family of four, were in the midst of a lively conversation. Like a visitor to a foreign land, Lily still could not parse the meaning of their words and had no idea what they were talking about. Still, it was a novelty to just listen to the sounds of their voices. Previously, they had tried speaking to her as well, but they seemed to have gathered something of her situation based on the way Lily had only tilted her head and smiled in reply, and had ceased trying to communicate.

Beside Lily, Lafine slept, her mouth hanging open in a most unseemly fashion. When Lily tried to wipe the trail of drool from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, Lafine had mumbled something again and pushed her hand away, looking disturbed.

“Mmnn!”

Goodness, Lafine!

Lily tucked her handkerchief back into her breast pocket as the children sitting across the way tittered at her. They were a girl and a boy, smaller than Lily—perhaps an older sister of six and a brother two years younger.

Suddenly, Lily thought of her own brother and sister, who had been missing since the night that the Lockwood manor was attacked. Of course, the pair had lived in a different part of the house from her and were too young to have even conversed with her via writing. Still, she had watched them from afar. Watched, and thought how darling they were.

She hoped that they were all right.

That said, where was this carriage heading? She had boarded it with Lafine dragging her along, but it was clear that they had long since passed through the border town that was home to the Lockwood manor. If they were not heading back into town, then where could they be going?

Shaking Lafine did not wake her, and even if she were to try asking the family sitting opposite, her meaning would never get across without a paper and pen on hand.

How troublesome.

Wait, don’t tell me, has Lafine abducted me? Oh dear. I seem to have an odd knack for this. First the Ashen Alleycats and then my own servant. I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that I’m a prodigy at being abducted. Of course, even if we went back to the town around our manor, it’s not as though anyone would be at the mansion. I waited there a very long time, and no one came back. They might not ever come back. So I suppose being kidnapped is better than having no future at all. Yes, far better. Probably. This is at least more fun than sitting around in my room.

Lily sighed happily. She truly was having fun. It was almost as though she had become the protagonist of one of her storybooks. From here on out, she would be facing a world of unknowns. She had no idea what might be out there waiting for her—but that was fine.

For some time, she sat in her carriage seat, letting her imagination run wild and listening to the sounds around her. Finally, she began to grow sleepy and leaned back. However, perhaps because of the rocking of the carriage, she could not get comfortable. Lafine was probably able to sleep because she was in the corner seat, so she had the carriage wall to lean against. In which case…

Quietly, gently, Lily rested her head against Lafine’s arm.

“…”

Good, she’s still asleep. I guess her being so sloppy does have its uses. She makes a great pillow.

Lily closed her eyes and swiftly fell into a slumber. The carriage continued swaying all through the evening—en route to the capital of the Kingdom ofTils.

***

As the sun sank and darkness spread around them, the carriage paused in a field on the side of the highway. Apparently, this was where they would be making camp for the night. The three hunters who had accompanied the carriage as guards were surveying the area to make sure there were no monsters or bandits around.

Lily peeled back the curtain and stepped down from the wagon. When she looked up to the sky, she let out a sigh of amazement.

The stars were a beautiful sight. Perhaps because they were away from the lights of town, there were so very many more stars overhead than she was accustomed to seeing. It was like looking into a chest full of jewels.

“All clear. No threats as far as we can see.”

“Thank you. I guess we’ll rest here tonight, then. I’ll have to ask you all to keep watch,” said the driver. The hunters, all young men, nodded.

“You got it. The Flaming Wolves have got your back.”

The hunters turned back to the passengers.

“Let’s introduce ourselves again. I’m Brett, leader of the Flaming Wolves. This is Chuck, my fellow swordsman. Daryl’s a lancer. We’re all C-rank hunters. We’ve got a plan in place for protecting you all, so if anything happens, just do as we say.”

Lafine opened her mouth, half-yawning. “A sword, a sword, and a spear. Pretty imbalanced party. Hope we’ll be all right.”

The hunters looked troubled by this rude interjection. Daryl started to open his mouth, annoyed, but Brett, the leader, stopped him with a grimace. “You don’t need more than three hunters to guard a carriage this small,” he said. “Hiring any more would just raise the burden of cost on you passengers. Right?”

The driver nodded dimly. “Y-yeah. With the current fare, three is the most we can hire. That’s why I requested the Flaming Wolves.”

Lafine, however, was ruthless.

“Nah, that’s not what I was talking about. I meant that all three of them are vanguard-types. You don’t have any archers or mages? Did you not consider this when you were forming your party?”

“Uh…”

Lafine snorted, rolling her eyes at the now-silent Brett.

“Well, whatever. That’s none of my business.”

Chuck took Brett’s place and shouted, “It’s not like he just didn’t think about that! Until a little while ago, there were five of us! We had a female archer and a mage, but a party full of nothing but handsome studs took them away from us!”

“I see,” Lafine bluntly replied. “Sounds like you got lucky.”

“What?! What are you talking about?!” Chuck raged.

Lafine remained cool. “I mean, it sounds like now you don’t have to trust some idiot women who don’t know how to keep the business separate from their pleasure to guard your rear. Am I wrong? Or don’t tell me you all were playing at hunter just to pick up chicks, too? Bet you’re regretting that now, if so.”

All three hunters were lost for words as Lafine gazed at them with sleepy eyes. They looked at one another, and then Brett stepped up again to rebut.

“Well. Obviously not. We Flaming Wolves are s-serious hunters, after all.”

The situation was falling apart.

After that, a minimal bonfire was lit, and everyone ate whatever meals they had brought with them—primarily hard crackers and salted meat. Lily chomped on some jerky. It was a pain to chew, but she did not dislike the flavor. It was far inferior to the luxurious dishes cooked up in the Lockwood kitchens, but there was just something fun about eating out here, in the wild plains, beneath the stars, with all sorts of people around.

“What’re you smiling about?”

“Uh?”

Lafine, by contrast, looked utterly unenthused and somewhat irascible. There had clearly been tension brewing between her and the hunters not long ago, but now, any bad feelings had seemed to resolve themselves without incident. Now, the irascible Lafine was using a rock for a chair, her elbows propped on her knees as she stared out into the distance with half-lidded eyes. She glanced down at Lily, who sat directly on the ground next to her, tugging at Lafine’s sleeve.

“I don’t have any paper or pen.” Lafine gestured, holding an invisible pen with her right hand, and then spread both hands out wide.

“Mm…”

Able to grasp her meaning from Lafine’s gestures, Lily nodded once. It was hard to write in the dirt out here in the grasslands.

It was best that she resign herself to a lack of communication for now.

“If this were a merchant caravan, they’d probably have paper and pens for doing their calculations, but no dice with a cheap carriage share like this.” Lafine sighed. “You’ve got no idea what I’m saying, so no use telling you this, but something’s odd here,” she went on. “The Flaming Wolves said they didn’t see any monsters or bandits around, but they haven’t moved an inch away from this campsite. For them to not need to even move to tell us that means that there’s absolutely nothing around at all.”

Lily nodded along with the sound of Lafine’s voice.

“But isn’t that all the more odd? We’re in a field. Shouldn’t there at least be animals around? And if there were animals, the Flaming Wolves would have had to go out and make sure that they weren’t monsters. We have plenty of time right now, and it wouldn’t take much effort to do so.”

“Uh…” Lily wrinkled her forehead, listening.

Suddenly, Lafine smacked the girl lightly on the top of the head.

“Huh?”

This was an incredibly rude thing for a servant to do to a noble who employed them, but Lily did not seem to mind.

“Don’t act like you understand me when you have no idea what I’m saying. That drives me nuts.”

“Uh…”

Truth be told, though, Lily did understand what Lafine was saying. It had occurred to her when she was watching the family across from them in the carriage earlier that if she got Mr. Nano to translate for her, a conveyance of meaning would be possible via speech. However, this mysterious spirit did not seem to wish for its existence to become widely known. In other words, though it was happy to translate other people’s words for Lily and convey them to her via thought pulses, it was less keen on using magic to vibrate those people’s eardrums so that they could hear Lily’s thoughts. Thus, Lafine was left to monologue.

“The fact that there are no animals or monsters means there’s a fair chance that something else around here poses a threat to even them. At first I was wondering if the Flaming Wolves might be in league with some bandits, but they don’t actually seem bright enough to pull something like that off, to be honest.”

Ah, thought Lily. So Lafine had purposely provoked them earlier to get a better sense of the men.

“Still, that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing here in these grasslands.” Lafine placed a hand over her mouth, mumbling something. “Well, hopefully I’m just being paranoid. Just in case, it’s probably best that we not sleep tonight. How annoying…”

Lafine is amazing, Lily thought to herself. She can guess all that about the Flaming Wolves from just a short exchange. It seems amazing that she’s just a servant that my father, Margrave Neiham Lockwood, brought to the manor. I wonder what she used to do before this… Could she actually have been some kind of hunter?

Yet Lily’s newfound appreciation for Lafine was fleeting. Once they had finished eating, the woman fell asleep before anyone else, snoring loudly. Lily tried prodding her cheek, but she only twitched her brows, showing no signs of waking. She poked more forcefully, but again, Lafine only swatted her hand away.

“Mmmmnn!” Lily groaned, but Lafine gave no reply.

Well, fine! I’ll have to be the responsible one!

Blessedly, there were so many sounds for Lily to hear that she could never grow bored, even lying back in the darkness. She could hear a sound, open her eyes, and look for the source of it. It was a fun game to play on her own. Only bugs turned out to be particularly difficult to locate via their noises. She had never thought that such tiny little creatures would make such resonant sounds.

Finally, the crackling of the bonfire began to die out, as did the voices of the other people. The wind was quiet tonight. Soon, the only noises that remained were the yawns or sighs of the Flaming Wolves as they took their turns on watch, along with the shuffling sounds of their pacing through the grass, the gentle snores of the passengers, and the incessant cries of insects.

The first thing to catch Lily’s attention after that was the sound of horseshoes. The draft horses had suddenly stood up.

Lily’s eyes shot open. Because she had them shut for so long, the dim light of the moon was enough to see by. She could not see far, but she could see well enough.

Crunch, crunch.

In her dull vision, she could make out Brett of the Flaming Wolves, yawning as he paced. Was nothing happening…? No, the horses were definitely agitated. And also…

She focused all her attention on what she could hear. Aside from the footsteps of the current Flaming Wolf on watch, she heard a great number of clipped sounds rushing toward them along the ground.

Crunch, crunch. That was Brett, of the Flaming Wolves.

Shf, shf, shf, shf.That was the racing sound.

Even as she listened, someone was snatching Lily up by the collar and hoisting her up into the air.

Wa-waaaah!!!

The form that had grabbed Lily turned away from the approaching steps and took off running.

“…!!”

A whisper reached her ears: “Keep it down!”

It was Lafine. Lily had no idea whether she had woken up a moment before, or if she had been awake the whole time, but regardless, she was much different from her usual slow-moving, disinterested self. She raced away from the wagon, stalking through the field like a wild animal. Her footsteps were almost entirely soundless.

With Lily still in her arms, Lafine dove behind some rocks a short distance from the camp. Then, she pushed one hand down on the top of Lily’s head and looked toward one corner of the wagon, her eyes sharp.

“Bandits…?!”

It was at that moment that Brett could finally be heard calling for the other two Wolves to wake. However, it was already too late. Lafine was unable to do anything but whisper as ten-odd figures materialized from the shadows, surrounding the wagon, Flaming Wolves and all. The driver and passengers, now finally awake as well, all paled in terror.

“Augh. It’s all over now. There’s twelve—no, thirteen—of’em.”

There was no point in trying to either fight or run just after waking. Even Brett, who had been the only one with his sword drawn, placed his weapon at his feet and put his hands up in the air—a surrender.

The whole group knelt on the ground, the three Flaming Wolves included. No hunter was stupid enough to honor their job over their life. They worked only for the sake of living, after all.

“I feel bad for the driver and that family. They’ve only got those cheap, worthless hunters to protect them. If they take his horse away, he’ll lose his livelihood. And as for that family—we might be about to see the woman and kids get snatched away.”

Lily, of course, could say nothing.

“Keep your head down, Lily. If we’re spotted, we won’t be safe. You might be a bit better off considering you’re still a little squirt, but I’m pretty much a Ten. We need to wait for our opportunity and try to slip away, get some dista—uh, huh?! What are—?!”

Lily had squirmed her way out of Lafine’s arms and brushed the dirt from her skirt. Now, she began walking back toward the campsite.

“W-w-wait a—!!”

Lafine was shouting something from behind Lily, but she was already too focused on her conversation with Mr. Nano to hear.

INDEED. THERE IS LITTLE CHANCE OF ANY WOMEN WHO ARE CAPTURED HAVING A COMFORTABLE LIFE HENCEFORTH. YOU, MISS LILY LOCKWOOD, ARE NO EXCEPTION TO THAT.

I see… I’m going to try asking the bandits to just go home, then.

One of the bandits spotted Lily as she walked calmly toward them.

“Hey, there’s another kid over there!”

“Why’s she walkin’ this way? Was she off takin’ a leak or somethin’?”

Another bandit furrowed his brow.

“Hey, is that little lady waving at us?”

Yet another bandit pointed to the kneeling family.

“Idiot, who the hell’d be waving at a piece of crap like you?”

The bandit twisted up his face and pouted.

“You’re the idiot. Obviously a kid like that ain’t travelin’ alone. So she’s probably with this family…right, old man?” the bandit asked the father of the family. Then, with his foot, he struck the kneeling man in the gut. The man looked down, face distorting in anguish.

“Gu…ah…”

The woman and children scrambled to help the man as he collapsed on the ground, unable to reply. Seeing this, Lily’s face tightened in anger.

MISS LILY, IT IS POINTLESS TO TRY TO PERSUADE THEM. IN ORDER TO EVEN TALK TO SUCH PEOPLE, YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE THEM WITH A DISPLAY OF STRENGTH. THAT SAID, BECAUSE YOU CANNOT SPEAK, YOU WILL HAVE NO WAY OF COMMUNICATING WITH THEM AFTERWARD, EITHER.

Well, I think Lafine can take care of that part for me.

Lafine was still hiding behind the rocks, peeking out toward the scene. Apparently, she no longer intended to run.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN LIMITING YOUR POWER. IF YOU CAUSE TOO MUCH OF A SCENE, IT MAY RESULT IN PROBLEMS LATER, the nanomachine warned, but Lily was already in the process of letting out a full-force thought pulse—something far, far more powerful than what she had unleashed upon the Alleycats’ cave.

Don’t worry! I’m just going to fire it into the air!

PERHAPS WE OUGHT TO HAVE TAUGHT YOU HOW TO USE MAGIC AFTER TEACHING YOU A BIT MORE ABOUT COMMON SENSE.

Three of the bandits were already running toward Lily, surrounding her. They reached out to grab her without hesitation. After all, for all they knew, she was a child of a mere nine years who didn’t even have so much as a crude knife. However…

Lily pointed her right index finger toward the sky.

Everyone followed her gesture, looking up. Then, the darkness was shattered. For a few seconds, the whole field around them was bathed in an orange light so bright it was as though day had broken, the heat intense enough to scald one’s skin. Everyone there except Lily—including the bandits with their weapons drawn, the three unarmed and kneeling Flaming Wolves, the resigned captive family of four, and Lafine, peeking out from her hiding place behind the rocks—looked up to the sky.

The draught horses whinnied in fear, falling to the ground as their knees buckled.

In the sky floated a great spherical object, looking like nothing less than the sun itself. This sphere, a pale orange wholly reminiscent of magma, roiled, unleashing a wave of heat upon the grasslands with each burst of its surface.

One of the bandits, trembling in fear, stammered, “A f-fireball…?”

No, it was not a fireball. It was something else.

So then, what was it? Truth be told, even Lily herself, the one responsible for bringing this thing into existence with her magic, had no idea. The only beings in this world who might perhaps be able to accurately name the composition of this phenomenon were the nanomachines and that young mage girl that Lily had met on the fateful night when her ears had been healed.

It was largely hydrogen, with a scant bit of helium, plus less than a percentage point of other materials that we’ll ignore.

It was, in fact, most akin to the actual sun.

Lily, it should go without saying, had never touched the sun and certainly had no idea what it was made of, much less would she have any notion of a star in the astronomical sense. So then, how had she come to craft such a thing?

Thus far, Lily had spent most of her days in the world of storybooks. Among those books was contained the fantastical notion of“science,” a force that could make inscrutable, mysterious phenomena into a reality…primarily in the works of a certain Miami Satodele.

Her earliest works were profuse with narrative gimmicks so entertaining that other authors could scarcely hope to compare. Anything that might be beyond the understanding of the people of this world, she denoted as stemming from the fantastical enterprise known as “science.” And this fantastical enterprise was absolutely part of the appeal of her works.

Lily certainly did not know the details of disassembling water molecules in order to produce pure hydrogen. Quantum mechanics was beyond her, and she had no idea how large the sun truly was. Furthermore, she would not know that helium was a gas that the atmosphere contained trace amounts of. However, thanks to Miami Satodele, she had grasped the notion of the sun’s true form, and so she could imagine it. That was enough to send the nanomachines into action—indeed, were that not enough, most mages in this world would be unable to use magic at all, since all magic was a product of human imagination.

Which was why, currently floating in the sky, was…

“Wh-whoooaaa?! What the hell is that?!”

“M-magic…right?”

Lily twirled the finger she had pointed toward the sky, and the miniature sun began to revolve along with it. She had to show them her power. She had to let them know that the sun-like thing floating in the air was under her control.

“Uh-wuh-huhh?!”

Still spinning the sun above her, Lily took a step toward the bandits—all with a calm, beatific smile, the sort one might see on the face of one of those allies of justice, those so-called heroes who appeared in the tales of Miami Satodele.

She took one step and then another.

“Hey, this looks kinda bad. I can feel the heat off that thing all the way over here.”

“What d’you think would happen if that thing hit us…?”

“Should we…run?”

“Keep it together!!” shouted the man who seemed to be the leader of the bandits, putting a sword to the neck of the patriarch of the family of four.

“Eek! H-help!”

The bandit seized the man by the hair as he tried to escape from his place on the ground, pushing the blade harder against him.

“Whoa there, not another step, little lady. Don’t you care what happens to yer daddy here? I’ve got no idea how powerful that spell of yers is, but if you toss that thing at us, yer gonna hit the hostages, too,” threatened the leader with a vulgar laugh.

“…!”

Lily stopped in her tracks.

“Sh-she stopped. Ha ha, looks like she’s stopped!”

“H-heh heh, little idiot.”

“Well, naturally,” the leader spoke up. “It’s her dad. Use yer heads, dummies. Even we’d have to surrender if someone took our kinfolk hostage.”

Of course, this man was not Lily’s father. This man was a complete and utter stranger. That said… Though it may have been common sense in this world to value one’s own safety over that of a stranger, Lily simply could not abandon the people sitting right in front of her. The heroes of her storybooks always did the right thing. In that moment, Lily was not a citizen of this world but of the world in those tales.

As already noted, Miami Satodele was the author of the bulk of those books. She was furthermore the very mage who had healed Lily’s ears. Plus, she had been reincarnated from another world into this one. And so her novels were founded on common sense principles that belonged not to this world but another one entirely.

The safety of others was just as important as one’s own.

Lily had no idea about any of this, of course, but that only meant that Miami Satodele’s tales had all the more effect on her as she grew.

Thus, Lily Lockwood was an ally of justice.

“That’s right, don’t you move! Boys, go tie up that little mage. Can’t have her usin’ any magic. Gag her, too, so she can’t cast any spells.”

“On it!”

Four bandits surrounded the woman and children of the family, along with the driver. Four more bandits held their weapons around the Flaming Wolves. A third set of four approached Lily from all directions, watching her carefully. The moment there was no one left behind the leader…

A woman materialized from the darkness without a sound, flew toward the bandit leader, and put her hand around his throat, pressing the tip of a knife softly against the nape of his neck.

“…?!”

The blade pierced his skin, slicing through flesh, until it pressed against his carotid artery.

“No one move a muscle. If you so much as blink, this man is dead.”

The listless voice seemed to echo across the quiet field.

Confusion overtook the scene. The father of the family froze, with a blade still at his neck as the rest of his family looked on, weeping, bandits surrounding them. The bandits approaching Lily and the Flaming Wolves, who were still kneeling with their hands in the air, all stood stock-still at the sound of the woman’s voice.

This time, even Lily herself was surprised.

“…?”

Lily’s eyes opened wide. Her jaw dropped. The woman standing behind the leader with a knife at his throat was Lafine. She had the man pinned with her legs around his waist, her left hand gripped around his thick neck, and a blade in her right hand.

The leader could not lift even a finger. Or rather, should he dare to, she could end him with a flick of her wrist.

Lafine spoke in a bored, casual voice, commanding the speechless hostages as though she could barely be bothered to do so. “You there, man. Don’t just sit there staring. Take your family and the driver and get out of here. You’rein the way.”

“Uh, uh, o-okay!”

The man scrambled past the frozen bandits, scooping up his two children and running by Lily with his wife in tow. The driver tottered after them a moment later.

Uncertain what to do, the bandits remained still, petrified.

“What’re you lookin’ at? All of you, drop your weapons. Flaming Wolves, get it the hell together, pick up your weapons and go stand by that girl.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you huh me! Are you all not hunters?! Do your jobs!”

“Y-yeah, y-you’re right… Chuck! Daryl!” Brett shouted, grabbing for his sword, as Chuck and Daryl followed suit. They retreated to Lily’s position, surrounding her as though to fend off the bandits. Seeing this, the corners of Lafine’s mouth turned up wickedly.

“All righty now, bandits. Time for us to have a fun little bit of negotiation.”

“N-negotiation?” the boss squeaked in reply.

“Do I need to spell it out for you? Let me set the scene. After I kill you and get out of here, that girl over there is going to blast the rest of your little squad with that crazy-looking spell of hers. No hostages left to get in the way, after all.”

The bandits trembled in fear. There were, in fact, no hostages left anywhere around them.

Lafine continued, “So, the long and short of it is, do you all wanna leave this boss of yours behind and run away? Or would all of you like to die here?”

“Wha—?! You bitch! You can’t be seriou—”

Lafine moved the knife in her hand subtly. The boss, petrified, swallowed his words as a drop of crimson fell from his neck.

“I wasn’t talking to you. No point in negotiating with you, after all. The only choices I have to offer you are to perish, here and now, or to be captured and live out the rest of your days in the mines.”

In short, the choice Lafine was offering was this: The bandits could leave their leader to take the fall and make their retreat, in which case, Lafine would let them go. Or, if that left a bad taste in their mouths, they could all remain here together and be fodder for that magic spell.

“Say, Wolfboys,” Lafine called.

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

“If we were to capture all these bandits here, there’d be no way to get all of them to the capital, given that there’s just the three of you, right?”

Brett nodded.

“I-It’d be impossible. The three of us can’t keep an eye on this many crooks. Too much of a risk of a revolt along the road. We’d be in trouble if we got taken hostage again. We’ve got children with us, too.”

“Well then, guess we gotta leave the small fry behind. Safer bet just to hand over the leader to the authorities and get a reward from the guild, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Lafine closed one eye and grinned.

“Welp, let’s say the glory’s all yours then, Wolves. Just gimme half the reward. The two of us aren’t hunters, so if we tried to collect on him, it’d just make things confusing.”

All three of the Wolves nodded enthusiastically. They were the ones who had been defeated at the outset. Lafine would be well within her rights to demand the full sum of any reward. Getting both the credit and half of the reward was a pleasant surprise, as far as they were concerned.

“Th-that, well, yes. Um, well, honestly we’re more than happy just to make it through this in good health and be able to get our weapons back.”

“Then it’s settled. Time for a nice bonus.” Lafine turned to the bandits. “Look, just get outta here. What’re you doing? Do you all actually wanna die here? Oh, wait. Before you go, drop all your weapons. We’ll sell ’em all off later.”

The bandits looked to one another, then up at the sun floating above Lily’s head, and put down their weapons, one after another.

The leader shouted frantically, “H-hey, you bastards! You can’t seriously be thinkin’ of leavin’ me here! Who the hell d’you think’s been lookin’ out fer you guys this whole time?!”

“Shut up. Don’t scream in my ear.”

“Ow! P-please, stop this! I’m beggin’ ya!”

Lafine moved the knife ever so slightly, scaring the leader back into silence. The twelve other bandits took this opportunity to slip off into the dark grasslands. After watching them go, the Flaming Wolves bound the bandit leader with rope and lashed him to the carriage. Thus, the incident of the midnight ambush was concluded.

Or was it? Lily thought to herself. She had made this sun-like magic just to see if she could, but what should she do with it now? It was still burbling all over its surface, sending out a wave of heat each time one of the bubbles burst.

“Lily? You can put that thing out now.”

Buthow? Lily wondered. She got the sharp impression that if she were to let her guard down even a tiny bit, the thing would probably end up exploding. In fact, it was definitely already expanding.

“Uhh…”

Lily looked at Lafine, already on the verge of tears. Seeming to put together what was going on, Lafine paled.

“Oh no. Hm. Don’t tell me… You can’t put that thing out?”

Lily shook her head, pouting. So distracted by the tense situation that she did not even notice that her words had gotten through to Lily, Lafine shouted, “Th-then why would you make something like that?!”

“Um…”

The whole surface of the sphere began to warp, wobbling all around.

Oh no! No no no no no! It’s gonna blow!

Mr. Nanooooo!!!

HONESTLY, MISS LILY, YOUR LACK OF COMMON SENSE IS NEARLY AS REMARKABLE AS MI—SOMEONE ELSE WE KNOW.

There was a deep sound, and a small section of the orb ruptured. A gout of pale orange flame rushed out from it, scorching across a part of the grasslands like a dragon in flight. The power of the flames was awesome.

“Lily?!” Lafine screamed.

Waaaah!!

LET’S JUST SHOOT THE REST OF THAT UP INTO THE AIR. UM, WHY DON’T YOU TRY IMAGINING DROPPING IT INTO THE SKY? QUICKLY, PLEASE. ONE, TWO!

Dropping it…into the sky…?

“Wuhuhh!”

Lily could not picture this, so instead, she imagined throwing the ball of fire. She thought about jettisoning the sphere into the air, as hard as she could.

There was no doubt this was her self-preservation instincts kicking in. Similarly, no one had to tell the rest of those assembled to drop to the ground immediately. Even the bandit leader, leashed to the carriage, fell flat. For a moment, everyone was blinded.

That day, the recorded time of the sunrise came far earlier than usual in the Kingdom ofTils—though, despite the fact that the orb in the sky resembled the sun, its actual form was not quite the same…

“Ha ha ha, looks like I’ve just made a profit here, thanks.”

“Hee hee! Did you just trick me?” Lily asked, but the moment she took a bite of the bread, her eyes opened wide.

It was good. In fact, it was somehow still warm. When she bit into it, steam welled up from within. It was practically fresh-baked. Sure, there were no meat or vegetables to go with it, but the fragrance of the wheat alone was more than enough. It was wonderful.

“This is good!”

“Isn’t it?”

“What bakery did you get this from?”

“Ha! No bakery could make it this good. My little sister bought the wheat and baked it herself. Well, I say little sister, but we aren’t related by blood or anything—my siblings are all more or less orphans.”

Lily felt a pang of empathy. With her own family’s whereabouts unknown, Lily herself was practically an orphan, Lafine’s younger sister in name only.

“Me and Lafine—er, um, my big sister—we aren’t related by blood either.”

There was a pause before the young man’s face crumbled. “I see. But you aren’t from the slums, are you? I’ve never seen you around there before.”

“Nope. I live in the regular part of town.”

The young man bit into the sandwich.

“This is good. There’s a lot of different things in here, and it’s super flavorful. This is very well composed. Is that a tomato sauce with diced onions?”

“That’s right!”

The pair looked at one another and smiled.

“I’m Veil. I’m sixteen, and I live in the slums. I’m a C-rank hunter.”

“Whoa! You’re a hunter?! That’s so cool!”

Veil smiled a bit bashfully. “I’m still just starting out, though.”

Of course, Lily did not yet know that this young man’s name was relatively well known even amongst the C-rank hunters of the capital. At the graduation exam of the Hunters’ Prep School, he had bested a man named Gren, leader of the A-rank hunting party the Roaring Mithrils, with his swordsmanship.

(Naturally, it should be noted that the one behind this feat had been none other than Mile, the little mage who had healed Lily’s ears. Mile lurked in the shadows of most miracles.)

Either way, Veil was a bit ahead of the curve for a C-rank hunter.

Lily was overjoyed. Here was a real-life hero. A hero, who fought back evil monsters and captured villains, was sitting right before her eyes. And now they were even acquaintances.

“I’m Lily. Lily Alstea, nine years old. Nice to meet you.”

“You too, Lily.”

Just then, a wagon passed through. Lily immediately made a note of it.

“That for your job?”

“Yeah. I got this job in the slums, actually.”

“I see…”

Veil, having finished his part of the sandwich, scratched his head.

“So, um, this is kind of awkward, but…”

“What is?”

Veil put one hand to his mouth, pondering something. Finally, he looked back to Lily and spoke.

“What time do you finish work, Lily?”

“Somewhere around the first evening bell. Whenever someone comes here to collect this memo.”

“I see. Are you free afterwards, then?”

Suddenly, Lily realized what was going on. Her heart began beating a little faster.

“Um, are you…hitting on me?”

“Goodness, no. I really just wondered if you might be up for a continuation of that job,” Veil replied.

Lily patted her still-flat chest.

“Oh, phew! You startled me.”

“So, do you have a bit of time?”

“Hmm. Well, if I’m late getting home to make dinner, Lafine might cry…”

“Didn’t you say she was your older sister?”

“She is.”

“How old is she?”

“She’s twenty-two.”

“Is she ill?”

“No, she’s healthy as a horse! I’ve even seen her—ah, uh, never mind. Eh heh heh.” She was healthy enough to hold a bandit boss at knife point, but of course, Lily could not say that. “It’s just that she goofs off a bit too much. She sleeps until noon, and drinks even though we have no money, and never leaves the house, and on bad days she sometimes sleeps until evening. Still, she gave me a home when I had nowhere else to go. She’s a good person!”

“A…good person…” A knowing expression spread across Veil’s face. “Pft… Heh heh heh. Lafine Alstea? Lives in the main city, right? Gotcha. I’ll go and get permission from her directly then, while you’re working. I’ll bring her some basic provisions, too. That should be enough to excuse you for dinner.”

“Whoa! Could you really do that?”

Veil tugged on the chain of his necklace and produced a small metal plate. The plate was engraved with a C, to signify his hunter rank, along with his name, the capital branch of the Hunters’ Guild, and what appeared to be his registration number.

“This is proof that I’m a hunter. Once I show most people this, they’ll believe me. Of course, that means I can never do anything bad,” he said with a smile.

“Whoa, that’s so cool!” Lily smiled. Somehow, she guessed that it wasn’t just his registration tag that made people trust Veil. In Lily’s eyes, he seemed like a very reliable individual.

Veil looked at Lily as she applauded and then stood. “Anyway, if I can’t get Lafine’s permission, I’ll let you know so that you can just head right on home.”

“Okay, sounds good.” Lily nodded.

“Now then, I should get going. See you in a bit, Lily.”

“See you later, Mr. Veil.”

Veil grimaced slightly and scratched his forehead with his pointer finger.

“Oh, um, just Veil is fine. Also, don’t tell anyone that I was here, all right? It’s probably better that the person who comes to collect those memos doesn’t know that you were slacking off and chatting on your lunch break.”

“Sure, I guess so. It must be hard being a hunter. If the guild found out, would they scold you? Since you’re working, too, Veil?”

Veil shrugged.

“Who knows? Okay, bye for now.”

“Bye bye!”

Lily watched his sturdy back as he walked away, waving. She continued happily eating her bread as he shrunk into the distance, thinking how wonderful it was to have made her first-ever friend.

***

As the sun sank and the first evening bell rang, the courier arrived. He was a small-framed man, wearing the same type of mask over the lower half of his face that the broker wore, though he was clearly far older. The man strode straight up to Lily and silently held out his hand. Without hesitation, Lily gripped it, shaking his hand up and down.

“Hi there, pleased to meet you.”

After an awkward pause, the man pointed to the memo in her other hand.

“Oh right, there. Eh heh, my mistake.”

She let go and handed over the memo. The man took a quick glance over the paper, nodded, and turned his back on Lily at once. Then he took off walking.

“I guess I’m done! And then I’ll go back to the slums tomorrow.”

She stood up from the bench and stretched.

“All done, Lily?”

“Oh, are you done with work, too, Veil?”

“Nope, just starting.”

“Hm?”

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”

Lily jogged after Veil as he took off walking.

“Where’re we going?”

“Who knows?”

“Is it a secret?”

“Not necessarily. It’s just that I don’t know, either.”

Lily gazed up at the young man now beside her and tilted her head. Veil was walking out of town, through the city gates. Lily jogged to keep up.

“Hey, Veil, are you a bad guy?”

“If hunters were the bad guys, the whole world would fall apart.”

“That’s true.”

Lily had been wondering if she was being kidnapped again, but that did not seem to be the case. Veil only stared straight ahead as he walked along the road, not looking at her. Lily looked back and then ahead to see a man among the travelers and wagons.

“Oh…!” It was the courier. Veil was following the courier from before. “Wait, what are we doing?”

“There are responsibilities that come with everything we do. All the more so when money’s involved.”

“Hm?”

“Lily, you need to see with your own eyes what it is that you’ve done.”

As they passed by various diverging roads, the number of travelers decreased drastically. It was obvious that there were few people leaving the city this late in the day. Monsters were far livelier in the depths of night, after all.

Of course, Lily was not afraid; she had Mr. Nano watching over her. Veil, as a hunter, probably was not afraid either.

“If he turns around, he’ll spot us,” Veil said, slackening his pace and letting the gap between them open up. Lily followed suit, dropping back next to Veil.

The courier walked on and on. Veil followed after with Lily in tow, occasionally taking a moment to conceal them in the shadows. Finally, when they reached a point in the road where neither travelers and merchants were anywhere to be seen, the courier took a look around as if to confirm he was in the clear and then ducked behind a rocky outcropping on the side of the highway.

Veil went ahead, pressing his index finger to his lips and then gestured for Lily to follow, sticking closely to the rocks. Lily approached, deadening her footsteps. She could hear two men talking quietly.

“Did you get the timetable?”

“Yeah, it’s right here.”

Veil and Lily peeked surreptitiously and ever so slightly out from behind the rock, his head above and hers below. The man who received the memo from the courier skimmed over the three pages it encompassed.

“Heh, perfect, perfect. Here ya go.”

The man handed the courier something in a small sack. It landed in the courier’s hands with a soft jangling of coins.

“Thanks as always… So, you gonna do it tomorrow?”

At those words, Lily felt a seizing in her chest. She was not stupid. Lily Lockwood may not have known much about the world, but she was by no means a fool. It was merely that something like this had never even occurred to her.

“That’s none o’ yer damn business. Best way to assure a healthy life is if neither of us knows too much.”

“Well, of course.”

“If yer done here, then scram.”

The courier retreated. Veil tucked Lily, now stiff at her terrible realization, under his arm and ducked down behind the rocks in a spot that would not be visible from the highway. The courier headed back into town, making no sign of having noticed the pair.

Lily gulped nervously and asked, “Hey, Veil? That job that I did…was I helping out some bandits?”

“Probably. The person who hired you was a bandit. There are a lot of people like that who hire through the slums rather than the guild. Based on the departure times from that memo, they can calculate where they’re likely to find merchants who decided to make camp instead of sleeping at an inn when the sun goes down.”

Lily’s heart began to pound. Oh. This was bad. This was a very bad feeling. Someone might end up dead because of her memo.

“This is something you need to know: No job taken in the slums comes without strings attached. The only jobs that it’s safe to take there are ones that you’re certain you know the source of. Don’t trust that broker.” Veil cleared his throat and then continued, “Sorry. I just thought that it’d be best for you to see what can happen for yourself, at least once, rather than just warning you. Lily, you are far too careless. It’s not your fault that you were used, but I need you to remember that acting heedlessly can put other people at risk of being harmed.”

His words felt far away. Nothing was getting in through Lily’s skull.

“I’m going to keep tailing this guy and find the bandits’ hideout. Then, I’ll go and report it to the guild, and we’ll return with an elimination team. This is going to be dangerous, so you head on back into town now. Thankfully, monsters don’t tend to come out here, and it’s not that far, so you should be fine on your own.”

Lily had no reply.

She had been deceived. No, that wasn’t it. She had been used. It was the first time she had truly experienced the wickedness of a stranger. It was an awful sensation, like evil itself was dragging its coarse tongue along her bare skin. Her heart felt so heavy it was as though it had turned to iron.

Tears welled in her eyes. And yet…

She steeled herself and lifted her head.

“No. I’m coming with you. If help from the guild doesn’t arrive in time, some merchants might be attacked tonight because of me. We have to hurry up and let them know.”

“No way. I can’t bring you along—you aren’t even a hunter. If you’re feeling responsible and want to make up for this, go to the Hunters’ Guild. Tell them my name and what’s going on here.”

“I can’t do that. That’s just an excuse to send me back to the capital, isn’t it?”

Veil clenched his jaw, lost for words.

The bandits would move, and Veil would follow. No matter how Lily hurried, by the time she got back to the guild to retrieve other hunters and get them back here, there would be no one left around.

Lily might lack common sense, thanks to her extended seclusion, but she was by no means stupid.

“Plus, if we keep dawdling, those merchants are going to be attacked. There won’t be enough time to get people back here.”

Veil put his hand to his forehead. He was lost. Should he see Lily back to the capital, even if it meant taking his eyes off of the bandit? Lily pointed at the bandit ahead of them, her gaze keen.

“Look, he’s already on the move. If you try and drag me back to the capital, we aren’t going to make it in time before the merchants are attacked.”

The man finished reading over the memo and started off into a field away from the highway at rapid pace, without a glance at Veil and Lily.

Lily hurriedly followed. “It’ll be fine. You’re here, and actually, I know how to use magic. Hurry up, Veil.”

“H-hey! Jeez…”

Veil jogged to catch up with her. Upon reaching Lily, he lowered his stance and pulled her down next to him, whispering, “Keep your head down. Thankfully, the brush here comes up to about my waist. If we keep down, they won’t see us.”

“Got it.”

Lily crouched, as she was told.

“Also, I’m glad you’re so gung-ho about this, but try to keep your voice a bit quieter. If you don’t do as I say, I’m going to drag you back home by force.”

Lily leaned in close to the frowning Veil and breathed, as quietly as she could, “Okay. Now let’s—”

“Wait.”

Veil seized Lily by the arm as she started to move and held up one index finger, his expression harsh.

“Also, from here on out, whatever I say goes.”

“Okay,” Lily nodded. “Whatever you say goes.”

Veil let out a deep sigh and crept quickly after the bandits, body still lowered. Lily followed behind him.

As they climbed a grassy hill and moved into a thicket, Veil whispered, “This is bad. The sun’s down. We’re going to lose sight of him. Looks like we’ll have to get a bit closer.”

Lily tugged on his sleeve.

“Hey, Veil. Can I go in front?”

“Can you see him?”

“I can’t, but I can hear him.”

“Huh?”

As long as there was grass growing on the ground, she could follow the bandit’s sounds. Unlike the drawn-out sounds of the wind blowing across the foliage, the footsteps of living things cut a steady rhythm through the greenery.

“You can hear him?”

“Yeah. My hearing’s pretty good.” Of course, until not long before, Lily could not hear anything at all, but this did not seem the time or place to be explaining that.

“Go ahead then. Just proceed with caution.”

“Okay!”

“Your voice.”

“Okay!”

If they lost sight of this bandit, a merchant wagon somewhere would come under attack tonight for certain.

Her body still crouched, Lily scurried forth like an animal, keeping track of the difference between her own footsteps and Veil’s, and the bandit’s. Before she knew it, they were descending the wooded hill.

“Lily, wait.” Veil placed a hand on Lily’s shoulder. “There.”

There was a hazy orange light visible through the gaps in the trees. Looking around, several small wooden structures were visible.

“A settlement in a place like this?” Lily muttered.

“It’s no village. That’s the bandit camp. They set up in this valley so that they can’t be seen from the highway. If it were a real village, they would have at least cut a road through the grass.”

“I see.”

“This is a tough one. They’re a bigger operation than I figured. For there to be three buildings that big means that we could be facing a gang of as many as thirty bandits. I had hoped the group would be small enough for me to handle it by myself, but this is too much for me.”

Lily thought back to the incident with the Flaming Wolves. Although she had already forgotten the names of the hunters who had guarded the carriage, she knew there had been three C-rank hunters there. Even so, when they were ambushed, they had been forced into a surrender by no more than ten-odd bandits. Veil, meanwhile, was a C-rank hunter, the same as those three men. If he was at the same level of strength, then he was vastly outnumbered.

“If we can at least figure out what merchant they plan on attacking, we can get out ahead of them and warn them. Lily, can you guess?”

“Sorry, I don’t know. Even though I’m the one who wrote the memo…”

Even if she knew the surroundinggeography and remembered the number of wagons that had passed through the gate, as well as the times they had departed, there was no way of knowing what towns they were headed to. And, of course, it should go without saying that she had no idea whom the bandits intended to target.

Veil gritted his teeth, grumbling, “I figured I could manage if it were five guys or so, but this is impossible.”

Nothing was worth sacrificing one’s life on a reckless battle. Trampled flowers didn’t bloom, and being taken hostage would just cause more trouble for the guild. Being a hunter was a job—it didn’t make you a philanthropist. If you were dead, you couldn’t spend your wages, no matter how much you had earned.

“Grr…”

“I know you feel bad for the merchants, but I don’t think there’s anything we can do about the attack tonight. We can at least rush right back to the guild and report this.”

Indeed, hunters were not philanthropists. However…

The heroes that Lily admired in the stories that she once read went above and beyond. There may or may not have been money to be had from it, but if there was someone who needed their help, these heroes would always jump into the fray, and if they could prevent a tragedy before it happened, they would stand up to those who would do evil. Why? Because to be a hero meant being an ally of justice. And so…

“Okay, let’s hurry back. Lily… Lily?”

She was gone. The little girl who had been right beside him had suddenly vanished. Veil looked straight ahead. Lily was already running down the hill—at full speed, without hesitation.

“L-Lily?!” Veil shouted, forgetting to lower his voice. Lily looked back, waving at him with a grin.

“I’m gonna go ask the bandits not to attack anyone toniiight!”

“What…uh?!” A strangled noise emerged from the pit of Veil’s throat.

He would never make it in time. Even if he started after her now, Lily was going to make it to the camp before he could ever catch up with her.

“Veil, you wait right theeere!”

But Lily Lockwood knew nothing about the boy named Veil. She knew nothing of what inspired Veil, who’d been born in the slums, to live so earnestly. She didn’t know that unlike those orphans who came before him, who came of age and left the slums behind, Veil had resolved to remain there as an elder, looking after the smaller children. And she did not know of the feelings he held for the girl named Mile, who had provided him with training because of the kind of person she knew he was. Of all this, Lily knew practically nothing at all.

“If I leave her here, I could never face Mile again…”

And so, within a few seconds, Veil had reached his decision. After a moment of being stunned at Lily’s recklessness, Veil pelted desperately after her.

“Dammit, I can only take on seven guys, maybe eight…”

Lily, meanwhile, having reached the bottom of the hill, rushed right up to the door of one of the buildings and flung it open.

“Excuse me!”

Inside, ten-odd bandits, who had been in the process of gearing up, all turned to look at the little intruder who had suddenly barged in.

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

Just as Veil had surmised, there were roughly ten bandits in this building, in which case, one could reasonably guess there would be around thirty in total. Though this was rather large for a bandit troop, a group this size was by no means extremely unusual.

Lily put her hands on her hips, glaring at all of them, then puffed out her chest proudly and cried, “Mr. Bandits, please don’t attack those merchants!”

One bandit furrowed his brow.

“Wha…?”

“………”

“Who are you to—?”

The bandits were bewildered—and understandably so. A little girl had suddenly appeared in their secret hideout, blustering about plans no one should have known about, and moreover, she was declaring that they should abandon their night’s labor. To put it simply, they had no idea what was going on.

“Hey, little lady, what’s your name? Are you a hunter?”

“Oh, my name is Lily Lo—er…Als… It’s Lily! I’m not a hunter, just Lily!” Realizing that it might cause trouble for Lafine if she gave her family name, Lily stopped herself short.

“Have you told anyone else about this attack?”

“N-no, not yet…”

It was not a lie to say that she had not told Veil about the attack, as he had been the one to inform her.

“Well, that’s good,” said the bandit, before asking, “So, um, little lady, you bring anyone else with you? You come here alone?”

Lily thought. She couldn’t cause trouble for Veil, either.

“Y-yes, of course I’m alone.”

“How many of you are there?”

She’d been found out! How?!

Just then, Veil appeared in the doorway. The bandits all readied themselves at once. Veil muttered, his forehead furrowing, “There’s too many of them…” Still, he drew his sword and bravely declared, “No one move! I’m a hunter. Drop your weapons. The guild already has this base surrounded.”

The bandits held their breaths, panicked. Both sides stared at one another, trying to gauge each other’s intentions. In this world, there was no honor in following one’s master to the grave. There was merely defeat. Whether you were bandit or hunter, all you could do was throw yourself upon the mercy of the one who was, objectively, the strongest.

Veil was betting on this.

He would spook the bandits into dropping their weapons, negotiating with them from a position of advantage, and then wait for an opportunity to grab Lily and make a break for it.

Lily, meanwhile, was looking up at Veil, her eyes sparkling with innocence.

“Whoa, Veil, you’re amazing! When did you call in the other hunters? Wait, can you use magic, too?”

Veil went pale as a sheet. Welp, that’s the end of us, said his face. The bandits, by contrast, grinned wide.

“My, what’s wrong, boy? If you’ve got so many friends out there, why don’tcha go ahead and call ’em in?”

“Yeah! We still haven’t dropped our weapons—go ahead and call ’em.”

“No need to hesitate on our account.”

Lily clenched her fists, adding confidently, “Yeah, call them, Veil! Um, Veil? What’s wrong?”

“Can you be quiet?” Veil grumbled, his face contorted in a pained expression.

It was then that Lily realized what she had done. Veil had told the bandits that they were surrounded in order to put them at an advantage in the negotiations. As she realized this, she spoke without thinking.

“Huh? Wait, what you were just saying—was that a…lie?”

“………”

“Ah… Ah ha ha… I get it. So that’s what’s going on here. I see. Okay, okay… Umm! I’m really sorry!”

Lily bowed in apology, her hair swaying. I’ve done it now! I did something irresponsible again…

“So!” The bandits approached with axes wielded, interrupting their conversation. “What was it you were gonna do to us, kid?”

In an instant, the edge of Veil’s sword crossed the wrist of one of the approaching bandits. Sword swinging, he lifted a leg and kicked straight into the bandit’s stomach. Blood spurted profusely from the man’s wrist as he flew back, rolling across the floor.

“Guh…! Wha—?! Ow! That hurt!”

Veil grabbed Lily by the wrist and pushed her behind him, shoving her out of the door with his back. The small girl had no means to resist and tumbled out of the building.

“Hey!”

“Run, Lily. Get up and run.”

Lily looked up at Veil’s back from where she still lay on the ground.

“Huh?”

“Hurry!”

There was no honor in death and none in self-sacrifice. But there was someone present who needed guarding, and that made all the difference. If Veil were to peacefully surrender here, he would probably be taken hostage, a ransom would be collected from the guild for his safe return, and he’d be released. Killing a hunter would make any bandit a clear enemy of the guild, which could be quite inconvenient.

However, the same could not be said for Lily. She was a young girl and not even a hunter. If she were taken, only the most dreadful of lives awaited her, whether she was kept for the bandits’ amusement or sold off as a slave.

Indeed, the bandit who Veil had wounded cried from the ground, “Gah, ow! This friggin’ hurts! Don’t let that little girl get away! She’s gonna be mine!”

“And what about the brat here? Take him alive?”

“Don’t bother! If we catch that little girl and shut her up, we can whack the kid, bury him, and the guild’ll never know! Long as they don’t find the body, they’ll just figure he got eaten by monsters!”

Hearing this, Lily frowned.

“You can’t do that! No!”

Naturally, the bandits were not interested in her protest. Murder in their eyes, the men rushed the door at once.

“Gaaaah!”

“——!”

There was a metallic sound. Veil shouted as he caught the sword of the bandit at the head of the pack with his own blade.

“Run, Lily!” he yelled again.

As Lily tried to make her way back inside, she was once again forced out as Veil stepped backward, blocking the entrance. Keeping his position at the door limited the number of opponents he would have to deal with at once. Though, of course, this would only work until the bandits in the other structures overheard the commotion and reinforcements came. Beyond Veil’s back, the sounds of blades clashing rang out into the night.

“Veil!”

“I’m fine! Get out of here!”

“Okay…”

Veil caught another bandit’s blade, repelling him and shoving the man away with a kick to the gut. From beside him, a massive bandit swung his hatchet down.

“Our axes are gonna break right through that dinky little sword of yers!”

“Damn it.” Veil traced the blade of his sword with his fingertip. “Magic Blade!”

At once, the fearsome swing of the man’s great axe was repelled.

“Guh!”

There was a roaring sound, and sparks flew…but though Veil was driven to one knee by the interrupted force of the blow, his sword did not break. Rather, the blade of the sword began to shine, appearing even stronger.

“Ha! I learned this trick from a certain infamous mage in the capital. My blade won’t break that easily.”

“A magic swordsman?! You little bastard!”

The sword was fortified by magic, but still, this stance put Veil at a disadvantage. Before he had a chance to stand, the massive bandit swung wildly at his neck.

“Die!” the man yelled.

“Air Shot!”

A simple type of wind magic. The blast of compressed air that shot out of Veil’s left fist crashed into the massive bandit’s gut.

“Gwah…?!”

Incidentally, this was the same magic Veil had used against Gren, A-rank hunter and leader of the B-rank party the Roaring Mithrils, at the graduation exam of the Hunters’ Prep School. It was one thing to use such a trick against a man like that—but a garden-variety bandit stood no chance against the wind magic. The bandit, struck in his solar plexus by the blast, was unable to even brace himself in time and instead fell to the ground facedown, losing consciousness as a mixture of spittle, bile, and blood spewed from his mouth.

“Pity. I can’t do much, but I can throw a spell or two.”

“Y-you little…!”

The remaining bandits hesitated. In that moment, Veil got back to his feet and again brandished his sword. He was still in this. It was too soon to run. Considering the length of Lily’s legs, there was no way she could have made it safely out of range. So, he had to buy her a bit more time, Veil thought, steadying his breath.

“Whoa, Veil, you’re amazing! You handled that big guy like he was nothing!”

Lily was clapping her hands casually.

“Wha—?! Wait, seriously—you’re still here?! Why didn’t you run?! Didn’t you say, ‘Okay’?! I thought you’d already…” Veil trailed off, losing all steam—because Lily was still smiling innocently at him.

“Well, I mean, this all started because of my mistake, so there’s no way I could just run away and leave you behind,” she explained. “I’m not going back home unless you come, too. Okay?”

“That’s if we still can… Oh, jeez.”

Veil let out a long sigh. He could hear the footsteps of other bandits, who seemed to have heard the commotion and were approaching from the other buildings. Before they knew it, their exit was blocked.

“What’s with these two? New recruits?” asked one.

“Don’t be stupid! They’re intruders!”

“Dunno about the girl, but this brat here’s a hunter. He’s got some magic, too. Be careful.”

The bandits, who had been hesitant to attack, returned to full force with the arrival of their reinforcements.

“We can’t let ’em get away. They know where the base is now. If the guild finds out, our operations here are through.”

“Rebuilding our base again from the ground up? No thanks. Damn it, I’m a bandit, not a carpenter!”

“Ha! In that case, let’s handle this like bandits do!”

At this point, there would be no more last-ditch hopes. Veil had made a wager, but Lily had not cashed out by taking the opportunity to escape while she could. Now, any resistance would merely lead to a futile death. Normally, this would be the point at which they ought to surrender immediately. However, the bandits had already made it clear that was pointless by saying, “If we catch that little girl and shut her up, we can whack the kid, bury him, and the guild’ll never know!”

They had no interest in taking hostages. Rather than demand any ransom money from the guild, the bandits were electing to stay undercover, which meant that Veil and Lily were fighting for their lives. The only question at this point was really which one of them would fall first.

“We’re pretty much screwed.” Veil murmured with a heavy sigh.

“We are?”

At the very least, the situation they were in was not something that an independent, party-less C-rank hunter could be expected to handle. Lily, however, could not comprehend this. She had, after all, lived most of her life in a fairy-tale world and believed that most people were fundamentally good. Alas, Lily Lockwood was a very poor judge of character.

“It’ll be fine,” she said lightly. “Now that all the bandits are here, we can just ask all of them nicely to cooperate.”

“Wha…?”

Lily drew in a deep breath.

“Um! Hello, bandits! Please call off your attacks for today! And then, why don’t you all dissolve this bandit gang and go find some proper jobs? You’ll be able to make some money, and there won’t be any worry of getting arrested! It’s a really good deal!”

There was silence but for the sound of the night wind blowing. Everyone, Veil included, stared at Lily, speechless.

“With this many of you guys, you could all work together quite effectively! If you can be bandits, then I bet you could be hunters, too!”

“B-but being a bandit is a proper job!” one of the bandits shouted angrily.

The others broke out into raucous laughter. They pointed at Lily, jeering.

“Ha ha ha! This is killin’ me! Is this li’l brat your mom or something?!”

“I mean at ’er age she’d have to be a little sister! Bwah ha ha, she’s too much!”

“Ga ha ha, I’m about to bust a gut! Hee hee, someone help me!”

Lily tilted her head, her expression sincere.

“Oh, does your tummy hurt? Are you okay?”

Veil slapped his hand to his forehead. As the bandits simmered down to giggles, one of them pointed at Lily and asked, “You really think you’re in a position to tell us what to do?! You do realize that negotiation can only come about when both sides are on equal ground, right?”

“Huh, really? Thanks for telling me!”

“Little lady, are you slow or something? Maybe you should just sit down and let us capture you. It’ll be way less painful for everyone involved.”

If we were on equal ground, they would listen to me, Lily thought. Well then, that’s simple enough.

Lily let out a thought pulse all around her.

Mr. Nano, are you here?

YES, MISS LILY, I AM EVERYWHERE. CAN I HELP YOU WITH SOMETHING?

How much power would I need to challenge these bandits?

WELL, THERE ARE SOME SLIGHT VARIATIONS AMONGST THEM, BUT IF WE WANT THEM TO CONSIDER NEGOTIATION WITHOUT KILLING ANYONE, STRIKING ONE OF THEM IN THE SIDE OF THE HEAD WITH AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM-STRENGTH FIREBALL SHOULD AT LEAST BE ENOUGH FOR THEM TO START LISTENING.

What? But that sounds really painful.

IT HAS TO BE ENOUGH TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR STRENGTH. ALSO, TRUTHFULLY, THE TRICK TO NEGOTIATION IS NOT TO STRUGGLE AGAINST AN EQUIVALENT FORCE BUT TO COME AT IT FROM A PLACE OF FAR SUPERIOR POWER.

I see. Thanks.

THE PLEASURE IS ALL MINE.

She would need about thirty of her smallest fireballs, assuming that she could avoid killing any bandits. While Lily considered this, the circle of bandits tightened around them.

“All righty now, if we’re done here, just go ahead and drop yer weapon, boy.”

“No point in that. I’m gonna end up dead either way, so I may as well just let loose, all or nothing.”

“Idiot. What are you gonna do against thirty of us?”

Veil adjusted his sword grip and firmed up his stance. Beside him, Lily looked up into the air.

“Um, some fireballs? Thirty, please?”

She radiated the image of fire up into the air. With a poof, a ball of flame manifested above her head—just one. Lily knew nothing about traditional fireball spells. She could only imagine what she thought they must be like, based on the name. Thus, she defaulted to the only type of fire spell she knew. An image of something like the sun came into her mind, only this time far smaller—about fist sized.

Poof, poof.

It was as the second and third orbs appeared that both Veil and the bandits suddenly noticed this new source of light piercing through the darkness. The bandits pointed at Lily, again roaring with laughter.

“Huh? The hell is that? A little kitchen spell? I’m surprised you can use magic, but are you about to cook us a feast or somethin’, little cutie?”

The bandits—and Veil, for that matter, assumed that Lily had summoned a flame-type spell, used primarily for cooking.

“Lily…?”

However, that was not what this was. The heat contained in each orb was nothing to scoff at. After all, this was Lily Lockwood’s special fire magic, made in the image of the sun that appeared in Miami Satodele’s books. It was not the real thing, of course. If it were the real sun, the heat would be radiating constantly outward, but Lily knew nothing about emissions. These flames boiled only inwardly with heat, its temperature climbing over time until it reached an apex. Naturally, she had not imagined nuclear fission for this false sun, so technically speaking, it was just a regular fireball that happened to be unusually hot.

Poof, poof, poof.

The flames above her head continued to increase in number.

Poof, poof, poof.

“Ha ha ha, ha ha…ha…?”

The bandits’ laughter slowly petered out, and their brows began to furrow. No matter how weak this low-level fire magic might be, being hit with that many fireballs at once would mean getting burned.

“Oy! Girl! You stop that!”

A bandit stepped out to grab Lily by the collar, but Veil moved forward to block him. The tip of his sword was aimed at the bandit’s chest. Ignoring all of this, Lily continued to manifest more flames.

“Oh, I think I’m starting to get the hang of this.”

Poof, poof, p-p-p-p-p-poof!

“Ha ha ha, this is actually kind of fun!”

The balls of flame above her head increased even further. Now, there were roughly thirty. They began swirling in a circle around Veil and Lily, as though to protect them. Standing at the center, Lily looked back to the bandits.

“Um, so, bandits, if I hit every single one of you with one of these, will you consider negotiating?”

“The hell we will! I don’t care how many you’ve got, you couldn’t possibly strike us all down with those tiny little things!”

One of the bandits slashed his sword at the eddy of fireballs.

“Hi-yah!”

The instant the bandit’s blade touched one of the balls of flame, the metal began to glow red, liquefying before melting entirely and splattering across the ground.

“Wha…?”

The metal that had once been a sword was bubbling on the ground, and the flame ball, which should have dissipated, still floated in the air, unchanged.

“Eep! M-my sword!”

The bandit who had swung at Lily stared at the remaining half of his beloved sword and lost all will to fight, stumbling back onto the ground.

“H-h-how?! Th-those are just some cooking spells! Or like, some fireballs!”

“Should I hit you with this now?” Lily asked innocently. “There’s a lot of these, so it’s a little hard to control th—Aah!”

Two of the flame balls smacked into one another, warping. Then, they both exploded, unleashing a dreadful wave of heat on the area. That instantaneous explosion alone was enough to singe the hair on all the bandits’ heads, the surrounding grass looking as though it had been struck by a bomb blast.

“Gyah!”

“It’s hot!”

Lily scratched her head, smiling bashfully.

“Ah, sorry. Magic is really tough. I better make more of these… Need enough for everyone.”

Poof, poof. Two more appeared.

“Now then, shall we?”

Lily lifted her right pointer finger, swinging her arm up into the air. However, before she could swing her finger back down, one of the bandits hurriedly abandoned his weapon, dropping to his knees and bowing his head to the ground.

“Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-waaait! If you hit us with that, we’ll all be dead before we can even negotiate!”

Immediately, all of the other bandits followed suit, dropping their weapons and raising their hands. This was no longer merely a question of superiority of strength. There was not a single soul who would not bow before such power, the likes of which even most mages in this world could not aspire to summon. Even a court magician might find this impossible.

“Huh? Wait, this would kill you?”

“Yes! Yes, it would!” a bandit screamed. “That thing’s so hot it melted a metal sword in an instant!”

“P-p-p-please stop this!”

Well, goodness! Lily thought peevishly. That would kill them. You lied to me, Mr. Nano.

WHAT? THIS ISN’T MY FAULT. I DID TRY TO REMIND YOU TO HOLD BACK. BUT, HEY, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY’RE READY TO NEGOTIATE WITH YOU.

“W-we get it. We’re breaking up the band, starting today. So, please! Please spare us our lives! We’ve got families! W-we’re only doing this for them! Please, we’ll leave the country even, just let us go!”

“Families… I see…”

The bandit who had spoken grinned to himself, face still to the ground.

This number was sensible for a gang of bandits, but they could not possibly all band together as hunters. Here in the base was a mountain of all the food and money they had amassed. After this little mage and the C-rank hunter were gone, they could just gather it all up and vanish from the capital region, starting up again near another town somewhere else in the country. It was hard to assess the hunter, but the mage was clearly clueless. It would be fine. They could deceive her.

However…

“What should I do, though? I don’t know how to get rid of this spell…”

“Huh?”

The bandit lifted his dirt-smeared face.

“Oh, I’ve got it. You won’t be using those anymore, so I’ll just toss it into them.”

Lily swung her arm down, pointing to the three buildings behind the bandits.

“Hi-yah!” she said with pretend innocence. And the thirty balls of flame that had been swirling protectively around her and Veil rose up, following her finger. Then, once they had reached a certain temperature, they took off like shooting stars, raining down around the valley. Lily gasped in awe at the glowing trails they left behind in the night sky. “Whoa! Pretty!”

Impact. Explosion. Blast. Inferno.

The flames rose as the area began to glow brighter and brighter with an orange light, gravel scattering everywhere, the heat contained within the spell spreading swiftly along with a black smoke.

The mood had completely shifted; the camp was now a portrait of Hell. The bandits’ screams, already swallowed up in the heat waves and the roar of the flames, morphed into cries of anguish as they were blown back, consciousness fading.

It was a massacre.

The three buildings were burnt down without a trace, or really, they were annihilated, the land scorched barren and even the grove on the other side of camp turned to ash.

Lily froze, still pointing. A bead of sweat dripped down her cheek. The power that had been released from each of those tiny suns was nearly as much as there had been in the much-larger single orb she had thrown. And there had been thirty of them.

What happened, Mr. Nano?

YOU MADE THE FLAMES SMALL, BUT YOU ONLY SHRANK AND COMPRESSED THEM. AS A REACTION, THIS MADE THE BLAST FROM THE IMPACT ALL THE MORE POWERFUL. UNLEASHING THIRTY OF THOSE AT ONCE IS ENOUGH TO ALTER TERRAIN. THANKFULLY, YOU DID NOT FIRE THOSE TOWARD THE CAPITAL.

And so, in an instant, the bandits lost their horde of cash, loot, and supplies, along with any means of escape. Thus, Lily closed the curtain on the frequent merchant-wagon disappearances that had been happening around the capital.

It should go without saying that Veil was shrewd enough to drag two of the unconscious bandits back with him to the capital in order to collect a reward.

A reward that he split with Lily.

 

***

 

This was how Veil, a C-rank hunter and one of those people who had been party to the incident, told it:

“I was concerned about someone who appeared to be in danger accepting a job from the slum broker without having a sense of the potential danger, and so I tailed her, but…” He paused, clearing his throat, and looked at Lily beside him. “Well, in the end, it really turned out that she herselfis dangerous. Considering this incident, I have determined that I need to keep a close watch on Lily from now on.”

Lily looked up at Veil, protesting, “But I’m not dangerous. Not any more than anyone else.”

Lafine massaged her temples, as though trying to stave off a headache. They were in the Alstea family home, and Lafine, Lily, and Veil were sitting in chairs with a simple table between them. Lafine was in the process of questioning them about what in the world had happened to keep them out all night.

Lily had not come home the night before, after going out to look for work early in the morning.

On top of this, the capital was in an uproar.

Something had happened in the forest near the capital last night—some kind of natural disaster or elder dragon attack or who-knew-what. Whatever it was had lit the night sky over the slumbering capital like the dawning sun, even sending out tremors. Everyone living within the capital was shaken awake, flooding from their homes to stare up at the burning sky. Now, this morning, it was all that anyone in the capital was talking about…except for Lafine, who had had a very, very bad feeling about it.

“I see. So, this was your doing…”

“Yeah, I kind of messed up.”

Lafine stood from her chair, grabbing Lily by the ear.

“What the hell were you wandering around doing?! Do you not think anything through?”

“W-w-well…”

Veil stepped in to assist.

“I-I was surprised as well, but thanks to Lily, a lot of lives were saved, so I think you should forgive her.”

Lafine glared at Veil.

“Your name is Veil, right? You haven’t yet made a report about this to the Hunters’ Guild, have you?!”

“N-no, of course not. Actually, I don’t really know how I should report this. I guess we can say that a meteorite came down from the sky and just happened to strike near where the bandits’ base was located…”

Lafine sighed, sitting back down. “People will see through that. It’s too implausible.” She leaned her elbows onto the tabletop, burying her face in her hands.

“I-I’m sorry I let this happen,” said Veil.

“Whatever. Let’s just count it as lucky that no one else has found out about Lily’s magic.”

“Thanks.”

With that, Veil and Lafine came to an agreement, leaving the culprit herself entirely out of the loop. A thick silence settled across the Alstea household which situated in an out-of-the-way corner of the part of the city occupied by commoners.

Veil cleared his throat and then looked at Lily.

“By the way, Lily…”

“Hm?”

Lily looked up at Veil, who sat beside her.

“I know this is a bit sudden, but have you thought about becoming a hunter? With your magical skills and a bit of training, I think you could be really good. Naturally, you’d still run the risk of forgetting to hold back, but I think that hunting would provide you with the perfect opportunity to master your skills.”

Lafine’s face was still buried in her hands, and before she could open her mouth, Lily had answered, her response practically exploding out of her.

“No way.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m going to be a hero.”

Both Lafine and Veil went slack-jawed at this odd, unfamiliar word. Lily, by contrast, was smiling as innocently as she always did.

“You see, in the stories written by my favorite author, Miami Satodele, there are always these super amazing allies of justice. They’re strong, and kind, and they save adults and children and men and women—well, everyone!”

“Is that what a hero is?”

“Yeah!”

Lafine’s shoulders drooped, her expression skeptical. “Okay, but while you’re off doing that, who’s going to be bringing home the bacon?”

“Uh…”

Once more, Veil threw Lily a lifeline.

“I’ve got a proposal to make. If I could have Lily’s help with more jobs like the one last night, I can pay her handsomely.”

“Hm?”

Holding up a hand to stave off Lafine’s objections, Veil continued. “There would be terms. The first being that you agree to never take any more jobs from that place.”

“You mean the slum broker?”

Veil nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure you’ve already guessed, but only the worst kinds of jobs go through him.”

Lily nodded back. “I figured. But then, what am I supposed to do from now on?”

“Basically, I’ll accept jobs through the Hunters’ Guild and then you’ll help me with them. Depending on the work you do, I’ll give you a percentage of the money I receive from the guild. That way, we can keep you—and that dangerous magic of yours—under my watch, and you’ll be able to work.”

“But I’m not dangerous! I’m normal. It’s not like I’m gonna bite someone!”

Ignoring Lily’s protests, Lafine stood up from her chair and clasped Veil’s hand in her own. Her eyes sparkled—no—glinted with hunger.

“Will that really be possible? Um…”

“Veil. I’m a C-rank hunter.”

Lafine nodded.

“C-rank. All right, yes, sounds good, Veil. Ah, but I do have one condition myself, if I’m gonna be lending Lily to you.”

“Lending…?” Lily muttered.

Ignoring her once more, Lafine jogged into the bedroom, returning with a mask-like item, something that would hide only the eyes. Without waiting for Lily’s approval, she affixed it to the girl’s face.

“Wh-wh-what?! What are you doing?”

The mask was a bright purple and looked like a strange butterfly.

“Just shut up and wear it! I don’t care if you make money as a hero or a hunter, but anytime you do work for someone, you’re gonna wear this! And don’t tell anyone your name! Not Lily or Lockwood!”

The moment she uttered these last words, Lafine covered her own mouth with her hands. Nervously, she looked to Veil, who was looking back at her, creases forming on his forehead.

“Lockwood…? Like the Margrave Neiham Lockwood?”

She had messed up. Lafine slapped her palm to her forehead, face falling. Seeing this, Veil frantically shook his head.

“Oh, no, um, no need to answer that… But, well, I see. So that’s why you want to hide her identity.”

Veil pondered this. As far as anyone was aware, the Lockwood family had two children, but neither of them was named Lily. Perhaps Lily was the child of some mistress Lord Neiham had picked up in town.

“As I am a hunter, allow me to at least make one thing clear. Lafine, you are not allied with those who attacked the Lockwood manor, are you?”

“O-obviously not! What are you thinking?! Let’s get this straight—I used to work for the Lockwoods!”

Veil looked to Lily, questioning. Lily nodded. “That’s right. She’s been with my family for a long time. She’s famous among the servants for not doing much work.”

“Why you little—you shut your mouth already!”

As Lafine put her hands around Lily’s neck, shaking her back and forth, Veil watched pensively. If Lily was the daughter of a mistress, and it had been necessary to conceal the very fact of her existence, she had surely had a difficult life until now.

Of course, Veil didn’t quite have the full story, but neither Lafine nor Lily would ever tell him that. Having come to his own conclusions, he nodded.

“It’s fine, Lily. Though they don’t come from as important a place, there are a lot of kids where I live in the same position as you. No need to worry. I’ll help you hide your identity.”

“…Thanks?”

So, the three of them came to an agreement. Lily would get to be an ally of justice. Lafine would be able to benefit from the money she earned, while still ensuring Lily could hide her identity. And Veil would be able to keep an eye on Lily, who, he insisted, was an exceedingly dangerous person. Their goals aligned, the three of them shared a series of firm handshakes across the table. And thus, a mysterious masked hero was born—one that was soon to be seen all over the capital of the Kingdom ofTils.

“One more thing,” Lafine added. “You were out all night, but nothing happened between you two, right?”

An awkward silence spread throughout the room. After a few beats, Lily tilted her head curiously at Lafine. “What do you mean?”

Meanwhile, Veil was frantically shaking his head. “It didn’t! It wouldn’t!”

“Then we’re all set.”

Lafine stood up on the seat of her chair and planted one foot forcefully atop the table, her long brown hair draping across Veil’s face from above. She lowered her voice, curving her spine to bend down as she smiled coldly, and then whispered, “Because if Lily somehow ends up damaged goods, I will kill you. She has the makings of one of the most powerful mages in the world, and one day, I’m going to marry her off to a prosperous noble or a wealthy merchant. Actually, if all goes well, I could probably get her betrothed to a royal. Heh heh heh… I’m sure you understand why she is not to be touched by the likes of some two-bit C-rank hunter!”

“I-I’m telling you, I won’t! M-my heart already belongs to someone else!”

Lafine lifted her head, her long hair sweeping back behind her. Her face had already returned to its usual bored expression—though she was still standing on the table.

“Okay. That’s good, then. Make sure you look after her.”

“I will…”

“Hm?” asked Lily Lockwood, nine years old.

She stared back and forth between her two protectors, totally oblivious.

Lily had been born deaf, abandoned by her parents, essentially left for dead all alone in that room in the mansion. And seeing the girl’s blissfully ignorant smile pointed her way made Lafine want to puke.

In her own childhood, Lafine had looked up to her father, a man who was strong and sincere. Though he came from common stock, he had taken up a sword and served his country as a soldier. One by one, he accomplished great feats in border skirmishes all around the kingdom—driving out monsters, rooting out bandits. When he was finally granted a knighthood by the king, their whole family had been there to celebrate.

Knighthood, incidentally, was only a quasi-noble rank, lasting but a generation. If he were to continue gaining such renown, though, there was a chance ofhis winning a peerage, which could be inherited by his children.

Lafine’s father saved the weak and battled the strong. He wielded his sword in the name of what was right and was praised by peasant and royal alike. As a young girl, she was proud of him. She learned the art of the blade from him. She wanted to be just like him. He probably thought of her aspirations as nothing more than a child’s fancy that had outlasted its time, but still, he put everything he had into teaching her.

Lafine was ten years old when she learned that her father had died.

One day, when she returned home, she had found her mother, weeping in front of one of her father’s comrades. They had no idea who or what had killed him.

A knighthood could not be inherited. The family lost their status and returned to their lives as commoners. The extended family, who had been making their presence known in light of Lafine’s father’s rise to prominence, all seemed to vanish without a word. Granted, they had been commoners to begin with, and even after the knighthood, they continued living in the same home, so on the surface, nothing changed for the family. However, with their sole breadwinner violently ripped away, the Alstea family fell into ruin.

One day, when Lafine returned home, her mother, who had always been there to greet her, was nowhere to be found. She had simply vanished into thin air. For Lafine, it was just like the day she lost her father, except this time there was no one left.

It was then that she felt a shattering deep within. A shattering that could only be her heart.

She had no idea if her mother was alive or dead, nor did she care to know. And since that day, she had believed that this was just how family was. Soon, she cared about nothing. Everything in the world was terrible, and thus, none of it was of her concern.

Still, she did have to eat. So, she put her skills with a sword to use and lived for some years as a hunter. This was the first time that it occurred to Lafine that her sword skills, inherited from her father, were nothing like the knightly techniques the nobles employed. Her technique was not that of the stately, orthodox schools of the knights but a practical one honed in the throes of real life-or-death battles. As a result, her skills far surpassed other hunters of the same rank.

She was savage, ruthless, and indiscriminate. Whether she was up against monster or man, she would strike them wherever a blow could land. Legs, eyes, ears—she slashed them all. Killed all kinds of creatures. Artlessly. Watching her was like watching a beast or monster fight, said her fellow hunters, albeit with more of a sense of chivalry.

Morals aside, Lafine’s skills grew rapidly, to the point that within a few years, she had earned herself a reputation. And it was then that the Margrave Neiham Lockwood took her on.

She had never truly wished to be a hunter. Offered a chance at an easier life, she accepted it without a second thought. At first, she had assumed that she would be his exclusive bodyguard. Apparently, she was wrong. Neiham saw her for nothing but her sex. In fact, when she was instated as a servant of the Lockwood house, her sword was confiscated, and she was made to wear a servant’s uniform.

He often touched her. It was unpleasant. However, as long as she was safe, Lafine did not care.

The days went on like this, until one night, late at night, Neiham came to Lafine’s room.

Yet Neiham’s wife, Ivanna Lockwood, was sharper than most noble wives. So much so, in fact, that you might say Neiham could only acquit his duties as margrave thanks to her help. And the night that Neiham came to Lafine’s room, Ivanna was already there with her, drinking tea. Lafine had thought the woman’s visit an annoyance, but when Neiham arrived, Lafine pieced it all together. Ivanna was protecting her. Or, at the very least, she was protecting her own dignity as Neiham’s legitimate wife.

The way that the half-dressed margrave had paled when his wife glared at him still made Lafine laugh.

After that, Ivanna forbid Neiham all contact with Lafine, but rather than drive her out entirely, she put Lafine in charge of her daughter, bowing her head to Lafine despite their difference in status.

“Please, take care of my Lily,” she said.

Lafine wanted to puke.

What was the point of protecting a daughter they had already cast away? Was this an act of love or some way of assuaging Ivanna’s guilt at abandoning the girl? Or perhaps just a facade—a feigned love that they could parade in front of anyone who knew about the child? Regardless of the Lockwoods motivations, being tasked with such a lowly, hypocritical duty put Lafine’s teeth on edge.

Still, Lafine was now under Ivanna’s protection, and so she decided to remain in the Lockwood home as a servant who did no housework. That was her right. She had been hired as a guard, not a servant, after all.

She grew distant from the other servants. She was the target of jealousy, even hatred, but that did not bother her. What did she care what the others thought of her? What did she care if she got fired?

However, years passed, and still, Ivanna did not dismiss her. Until, one night, tragedy struck the Lockwood home.

By the time any of the occupants were aware of what was happening, brigands had already infiltrated the mansion. Neiham and his wife took their son and their second daughter, Lily’s brother and sister, and fled in their carriage. Only little Lily was left behind.

But, of course, that was just how family was, Lafine thought.

All of the remaining servants, save for Lafine, surrendered. Typically, bandits did not kill anyone who cooperated with them. They knew that killing people would bring down the might of the kingdom upon them, whereas a simple thievery involving breaking and entering would be more easily overlooked.

That said, it was not a happy fate that would await any good-looking female servants of marriageable age, and Lafine had other plans for herself. She had no concerns about maintaining her own chastity, but she also despised the thought of serving the men who had just disrupted her tranquil life, and so she hid.

The truth was that Lafine had not returned just to protect Lily that night.

From the bandit’s perspective, there was no reason to think anything of value might lie in a child’s armoire. So she had headed to Lily’s room to hide from the bandits and dragged Lily into the armoire with her.

Lafine had done it all for her own sake. She had to hide Lily to protect her own life. And, just as she had intended, once the bandits determined that Lily’s room belonged to a child, they had left the armoire alone.

Sometime after the bandits were gone, Lafine had left Lily, who was sound asleep, and slipped out of the now-abandoned mansion. Like the Lockwoods—and like Lafine’s own mother, who had abandoned her—Lafine cast Lily aside.

She felt no guilt. That was just how this cruel, cold world had raised her.

And yet. And yet. When they were reunited, that little girl had thanked Lafine for saving her. This girl, who had walked an even more desolate path than Lafine, had given her thanks, of all things, with a cheerful smile no less.

How could she smile that way?

She put a bitter taste in Lafine’s mouth, that Lily Lockwood. She filled her with an unnameable dread, as though she were some entirely alien creature. Lafine hated it. She was creepy.

And so, she decided to use her, this stupid, carefree girl, this irritating daughter of the Lockwoods. Now that she could hear, she had many uses. It was quite lucky that she had gained the ability to hear when her parents had abandoned her. She had good looks, and in just a few years she would probably be quite beautiful. And, as it turned out, she was possessed of an immense magical talent, of all things.

Lafine had no doubts that she would grow into a young woman that any noble or wealthy merchant would desire. It mattered not if she was main wife or mistress. Lafine would marry Lily off to someone rich and then leech off of her for the rest of her life, in return for the debt she was owed in saving her.

All that the world had taken from her, Lafine would take from this girl.

Or, so she had thought.

Lafine looked dazedly up at the moon from atop the table.

“Guess she finally figured it out…”

Lily might not ever come back. After all, the only other time she had not returned before the city was asleep was the day she had been deceived by the bandit gang.

Somehow, the quiet, empty house felt lonesome. It was the same house in which Lafine had spent her childhood with her beloved father, but now it felt terribly cold.

She put the empty bottle to her lips and tipped it up again. What was she to do with herself? Something ached within her chest—the same way that it had the night that her mother departed.

Finally giving up on the empty bottle, Lafine, still atop the table, wrapped her arms around her knees. This whole evening had been no good. She was definitely going to have a hangover in the morning.

Just then, the door slowly, quietly opened.

Frantically, Lafine lay down, right on top of the table, the bottle still in her hand. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed as though she were sleeping.

“Ugh, it stinks in here. C’mon, Lafine, what’re you doing sleeping on the table? If you roll over in your sleep, you’re gonna fall and hurt yourself.”

Lily’s hand was on her side, shaking her, but Lafine stubbornly kept her eyes shut. There was, of course, a reason for this—one which she could not bear to have found out.

“I’m just gonna take this bottle, okay? It’ll be dangerous if it falls and breaks.”

“Mm…”

Lafine feigned a half-awake reply as the bottle was taken from her hand. Lily’s footsteps pattered quickly away and then returned. Something blanket-like was packed under her armpits. Perhaps this was a bit of protection to keep her from falling. Lafine nearly laughed at this half-hearted safeguard but carefully suppressed it. Then, a cape was draped over her stomach.

“Okay, that should keep her from falling…”

The cape was still warm, so it was probably one that Lily had been wearing while out of the house. It carried a faint smoky smell, as if she had been eating meat somewhere. It now occurred to Lafine that she had not eaten anything since lunch.

“Good night, Lafine,” said Lily’s voice gently. “There’s a gift for you on the kitchen counter. You can go ahead and eat that when you wake up.”

“Mm…”

A warm fingertip traced over the corners of Lafine’s half-closed eyes…wiping away the tears that she had been trying to keep from falling.

She’d been caught.

Lafine Alstea had been crying all night, just as she had the night that she realized her mother had abandoned her.

“You don’t have to cry anymore. I’m sorry I was late. I’ll always come home every night, so neither of us has to be alone. So, don’t go crying just because you’re hungry,” Lily half-whispered, half-sighed. It was a gentle voice, like Lafine’s mother’s in days long past.

Lafine gritted her teeth, holding back a tremble.

Stop it.

Stop it. Stop. It.

There was the sound of Lily washing her face. Then she left the living room, and a door could be heard closing. Lafine sat up and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

“Why? Why are you always like this?”

Lafine did not yet know. She had no idea what to call this feeling that was bubbling up from deep inside her chest. She huddled into the still-warm cape, her head hung.

I really hate that little girl, she thought to herself.

***

The next morning, Lily awoke and washed her face, as usual. Her hair was a mess, and she was still a bit tired this morning, after staying out late playing with the kids in the slums.

Lily quickly changed and headed to the kitchen. She had to make breakfast for herself and lunch for Lafine, who would wake up at noon. There was still plenty of the leftover orc meat, so perhaps she could put that on some bread for her with some roast vegetables, Lily thought. However, as she opened the door, her eyes went wide.

“Morning.”

Lafine was awake.

No way, Lily thought. I must still be dreaming. Okay, okay, I better actually wake up now.

“Wait, hang on! Why’re you closing the door and going back into the bedroom?!”

“What?! This is actually happening?! I’m not dreaming?!”

“Need me to smack the sleep out of you?”

Stranger still, Lafine was not awaiting her breakfast. She was already frying orc meat in a pan. And now, she was asking whether Lily needed to be hit with said pan. On the table, there were already scrambled eggs and a fresh vegetable salad—two portions, one for Lafine and one for Lily.

“Um… Who are you? Where is Lafine…?”

“Excuse me?”

She had even changed her clothes already. She was usually in her pajamas until lunch at least, oftentimes going the entire day without changing out of them.

Was this the Twilight Zone?

“L-Lafine, are you going out somewhere today?”

“For a little bit.”

With a gasp, Lily put it all together.

A date. With a man. That had to be what was happening here. There could be no other explanation for such behaviors as waking up in the morning, changing her clothing, and making breakfast—behaviors that were exceedingly normal for anyone else but totally aberrant for Lafine.

This was troubling. Lily would have to cancel all her jobs today and tail her. She gulped audibly. Having been raised on storybooks, in some things she had knowledge beyond her years.

“All righty!” Lafine served the fried meat onto both of their plates. “Eat up.”

“O-okay.”

She was certainly in a good mood. Lily had no idea why, but she was sure of this. Perhaps now she might get some answers out of her. Lily pushed her salad around with her fork.

“Hey, Lafine.”

“What? If you’ve got somethin’ to say about the cooking you can just make your own.”

“No, it’s good.”

“Oh, okay.”

Lafine averted her gaze, looking a bit bashful.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Depends.”

“Do you know where my family is?”

For a moment, Lafine froze, fork in hand. But then she continued moving as though nothing had happened, rolling up a thin slice of orc meat and shoving it into a sliced bread roll.

“No clue.”

“None?”

“No. I have no idea where they are right now.”

Lily blinked. Was it notable the way she had said the phrase “right now”? Perhaps she simply meant that she had some idea of what direction Lily’s parents and siblings had headed in on the night of the attack on the manor. However, after that, they had moved out of her sight, and she had lost track of them? That was probably what had happened.

Lily got the feeling that would be all the answer she was getting.

“I see. Thanks.”

Lafine continued eating, not even bothering to nod. She seemed to be packing her food away in an unusual hurry. When she was finished, she quickly took up her plate and moved to the counter to wash it.

“Guess you finished all the chores.”

“Yeah…”

“Thank you.”

After she finished washing her plate, Lafine ran her fingers through her hair and tied it in a ponytail at her neck. Then, after securing a leather belt to her waist and taking hold of a shortsword she had picked up from somewhere, she headed to the front door.

“See ya.”

“See ya!”

What did she need a sword for? Wasn’t she going on a date?

“Ugh. This is so annoying. Why me?” Lafine muttered to herself as she left, a foul expression on her face. If she kept making that face, Lily was pretty sure there wouldn’t be a second date in Lafine’s future.

Lily quickly stuffed the rest of her meat and vegetables into her bread, shoving the whole thing into her mouth as she stood. She crept quietly to the front door and opened it—then froze in place. Lafine was there looking down at her, arms crossed beneath her large bosom.

“Don’t follow me.”

She’d been found out.

“Ayff hahweh…”

“And don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Lily swallowed.

“He he he. Sorry! I just wanted to see this boyfriend of yours.”

Lafine’s brow wrinkled, but then she relaxed, her gaze drifting up toward the sky. “You can’t see him.” She spat, looking vexed.

“Oh! So it is a date?”

“Yep. It’s an adult date, and you’re not ready to see that kind of stuff.”

“Wha—?! A-an adult date?!”

“That’s what I said.”

Lafine bared her teeth, waving her hands as though trying to shoo away a wild animal.

“W-will you be home late then?”

“Depends. If I don’t get back on time, just leave me some dinner. I don’t need any lunch today, since I’m gonna eat out. But I’ll be using some of your money.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Lafine turned to leave.

Lily raised her fist in a cheer. “Go get ’em, Lafine! I’ll be rooting for you! Let me know if you need a few more coins for your date!”

“…Are you my mother?!”

Lily suspected that now that Lafine knew she might be tailed, she would definitely try to give Lily the slip. Clearly, something was going on here.

Ever since the night that they were attacked by bandits en route to the capital, Lily had suspected that Lafine could not have been any ordinary servant. Was that a dagger she had taken with her? A shortsword? Either way, she had her own weapon, and swords were not cheap. If a normal person who had no need to fight ever had a weapon, at most it was typically the sort of knives that noble women carried, should they ever need to end their own lives when spirited away by bandits—not a blade bigger than a kitchen knife!

What Lafine wore was a sword, however short it and her leather belt might be, and she seemed quite accustomed to carrying it.

“Hmm, wonder who it could be.”

Having blown her cover with Lafine before she could even attempt to follow her, Lily donned her mask and set out for her morning work as usual. She had a favor to ask the grocer, and so first, she stopped by his shop, a rolled-up poster in her hand.

“Good mooorning!”

“Oh, hello there, Lil—er, Hello World Mask. What’s this?”

“Um, it’s a poster I made. I was going to ask if I could hang it up on your wall here.”

She handed over the rolled-up poster, which the man quickly unfurled.

“Hm, I see. ‘From shop deliveries and courier services to culling bandits and monsters—you name it, I can do it, all for a reasonable fee, paid on completion. Hello World Mask, ally of justice, at your service.’ Ha! You drew that mask really well. Ha ha ha, aha ha ha! This is…this is…”

The grocer folded the poster in half twice and put it into the garbage.

“Trash!”

“Whaaat?!”

Lily put her hands on her hips indignantly, pouting at him.

“This is way too dangerous. Plus, you can’t do that kind of false advertising. If you’re gonna do business, your reputation is key. You’re only nine years old, right? Lily, if you want to really be an ally of justice, you need to become a hunter and rise in the ranks.”

“But it’s not false advertising… And I’m not Lily…”

“The same goes for Hello World Mask.”

Of course, the man did not know that Lily had already disbanded three separate bandit gangs, destroying two of their bases without a trace.

“But I worked so hard on that poster!”

“I’m sure you did. Okay, hang on…”

Perhaps feeling guilty at the sight of her crestfallen expression, he plucked the poster back out of the garbage, took an ink pot and quill and crossed out the “eliminating bandits and monsters” line in dark lines.

“I’ll hang it up like this. You should add that you can locate lost items and pets. But then I’d also include something like ‘results not guaranteed’ on the last line. Most lost items never turn up, after all.”

“Oof…”

Lily slumped over, dejected. However, she supposed that he could not risk tarnishing his reputation by displaying a poster that made false promises. She understood at least that much.

It would be fine, Lily thought to herself, perking back up. She knew in her heart that if she could just do every kind of job she could, soon enough she would be known as a hero.

She would earn herself a sterling reputation! It was time to fight!

“All right,” she said. “Go ahead and add that!”

“Sure thing.”

The grocer quickly penned the additions and tacked the poster to the wall of the shop.

“Looks good,” he confirmed. “This should be good for both of our businesses, Lily. Definitely works in both of our favors.”

“Yeah, thanks! Also, I’m not Lily! You’re too young to keep getting my name wrong!”

“Okay, okay. Now, you should probably decide on some rates. How many silver will you charge for deliveries based on weight and distance? Better to agree on a charge in advance than argue about it afterward, right? It’s tough out there, so if you set a low rate or let other people decide, no one’s gonna cut you a break.”

“I guess you’re right. I don’t really know anything about market rates, though. Do you think the Hunters’ Guild would be able to help with that?”

“They might. But you aren’t a hunter. As far as the guild would be concerned, you’re a business competitor.”

Lily’s face fell. “Hmph.”

“Why don’t you let me help you? Don’t worry, I’m not gonna ask for a commission or anything. If your business starts booming, that’ll bring in more customers for me, too.”

“Whoa—really? Thanks!”

Lily clapped, leaping for joy as the grocer looked on, his eyes kind.

With the poster now hanging over the grocer’s counter, Lily began her usual routine of running around the capital, delivering fruits and vegetables.

Come afternoon, it was time to head to the slums. Thankfully, the gathering jobs that F-rank hunters did were typically daily tasks, so nearly every afternoon, Lily could accompany Veil and the younger kids on their excursions.

She headed right to the slums, so as not to be late. As she passed through the plaza, she caught sight of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. Almost reflexively, she ducked behind a building.

“Lafine…?” Lily whispered to herself.

Lafine was standing in one corner of the plaza, her arms crossed. Even from a distance, Lily could tell that she was talking to someone. Who was it? Her boyfriend…?

She giggled to herself. “Hee hee. Found you!” Slipping behind a pillar, Lily peeked out to see who Lafine was with. “Uh… N-no way…!”

It was him—the masked man who had tricked her into taking the bandit’s job counting carriages. The slum broker.

Lily was shaken. He was Lafine’s boyfriend?

But neither he nor Lafine was smiling. The man was flipping through his bundle of memos. This did not, in fact, appear to be a date.

What was she doing? Was she looking for work? With this dangerous man? Lafine, of all people?

“I wonder if I should say something…” Lily muttered, but as she stood there waffling, Lafine turned and left. Of course, Lily could follow, but she knew it was unlikely that Lafine would tell her anything. If she was going to be questioning anyone, she may as well try the broker. Lily approached the man. “Hello.”

“What’s with that mask? You some kinda pervert?”

“Oh.” Lily removed her mask.

“Ah! You’re the little lady from before. You want yer money? Kinda dragged your feet coming to collect, huh?”

The man put his hand into his breast pocket. However, before he could withdraw it, Lily said, “I’m good. You didn’t get paid by those bandits, did you?”

The bandit gang that would have given him the money was now dissolved—by Lily herself. Presumably, this meant the broker hadn’t been paid.

“Oh, figured out they were bandits, did you? How unlucky. It seems someone wiped them out before they could provide the payment.”

The someone in question wore an uncharacteristically fierce expression. “Maybe,” Lily said, “it’s lucky that you didn’t have to deal with any bandits.”

“Not a fan, huh? That why you didn’t come here before now to collect your pay?”

Naturally, the fact that the bandits’ base had been destroyed had been reported by the guild to the Crown and was now common knowledge. The broker must have been surprised to learn this.

“Well, obviously! Why would I want to earn money from people like that?!”

The man withdrew his bony hand from his pocket.

“There’s no such thing as dirty money. It all spends the same. Anyway, I’m surprised a soft and dumb little brat like you figured out who your employers were all on your own.”

Well, to be fair, she had not figured it out all on her own. If Veil had not put the pieces together for her, Lily would have never been the wiser. She might have even ended up working for the bandits again, doing the same kind of job. However, she got the feeling that mentioning Veil’s name here would only cause trouble for him.

“Don’t condescend me. I’m Hello World Mask—the hero of justice who’s been making a stir in the capital.”

“Never heard of ya.”

Lily’s shoulders slumped.

“But seriously though, take your money. You did the job I gave you like a pro. Fair work gets fair pay. If you don’t need the money, just give it to the kids in the slums or somethin’. They’ll be thrilled.”

Lily grumbled softly but accepted a few silver coins from the man and shoved them into her pocket uncounted.

“Stop bringing people jobs like that.”

The man raised an eyebrow.

“All I do is pass on jobs to the people who want them. I’ve got no interest in either the clients or the people who take the work. I provide people with a livelihood. This business saves lives here in the slums.”

“But it’s dangerous!”

“Dangerous? There was nothing directly criminal about the job that you accepted. If you hadn’t gone sticking your nose into things, you would’ve never ended up in any danger at all, would you?”

Lily frowned. “Well, that’s true, but if I knew what the job was for, I would never have taken it! I might’ve been safe, but the information I gave those bandits would’ve put other people in danger!”

“And that’s none of my business. Or yours. Now, are we quite finished here? I might not be very busy right now, but I’m not a fan of noisy little girls. So if you’re done here, then I’d appreciate you getting lost.”

Lily did not know what to say. She wanted to give the man a piece of her mind, but considering what she had just observed between him and Lafine, she decided to hold back for now.

“What were you talking about with that woman who was just here? Did she take a job? Another bad one?”

“Let’s take these one at a time. One, that was an old acquaintance of mine through work. Two, she didn’t take any jobs. That’s not what we were discussing. And three, you have to stop with this ‘bad job’ nonsense. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well then, what was she doing here?”

Even with half of his face obscured by his mask, she could tell that the man was smiling, ever so faintly. He held one finger up in front of his mouth.

“You know how this business is. I don’t offer information about my clients on either side, nor do I try to find out too much about anyone. What you don’t know can’t hurt you. I told you before to get that through your skull. What’s that woman to you, anyway? You know her? If she’s just some stranger, you don’t need to go butting into her business.”

“I’m her family!”

The corners of the man’s mouth lifted, this time so sharply that the mask moved with them.

“Family. Pfft.” A shiver ran down Lily’s spine, but the man continued. “Gotcha. So you’re worried about her.”

“Y-yeah.”

“Don’t worry. I already told you, she didn’t take any jobs. She just came here to buy some information.”

“Information? You mean—”

As if anticipating Lily’s question, the man held his finger up in front of his mask again.

“In a gray area like the kind I work in, there’s something known as confidentiality. If I ever lose the trust of my clients, I’ll lose my life, too.”

She was at another impasse. He was not going to tell her a thing.

“If that’s all your business here, then scram already. If you need work later, come back then. You’re gettin’ in the way of business,” said the man. With that, he resumed flipping through his memos.

As Lily started to protest, an arm reached out from behind her, and a hand covered her mouth.

“Mmh?!”

“Oh, it’s Veil.”

Veil?!

Lily swatted the hand away and turned around to see. Sure enough, Veil stood behind her. Ignoring the man, Veil turned to Lily and said, “You shouldn’t talk to this man anymore. I told you that, didn’t I?”

“Y-yeah, but…”

But Lafine, she started to say, before closing her mouth. If the man was to be believed, Lafine had come to him to purchase information. She was concerned about what sort of information this might be, but at least she was not putting her life in danger just by buying a few tips. In fact, Lily thought, it might be more dangerous for Lafine if Lily were to mention her name in conversation with Veil here in front of this man. Though, apparently he considered her a familiar face…

Lily nodded. “Okay, yes.”

“You were late, so I came to find you. Let’s go.”

Veil shoved Lily from behind and started walking, turning his back on the man and his memos.

“Sorry I was late, Veil. I was worried about something.”

Veil didn’t make eye contact with either Lily or the man in the mask. “Just how long are you gonna keep this up?” he spat. “Or hadn’t you noticed? The slums are different now, thanks to the Crimson Vow.”

The man did not reply. He simply flipped through his memos, ignoring Veil’s words.

Veil let out a deep sigh and picked up his pace. Lily trotted along beside him, chewing her lip anxiously.

***

Once the pair was out of sight, the man let out a long sigh and slipped his memos into his breast pocket. He hadn’t actually been reading them. He merely had not wished to meet the gaze of that steadfast young man.

He sighed again and then let out a whisper so soft that even the gentlest breeze might have swept it into oblivion.

“So…that’s the secret eldest daughter of the Lockwood family. I’d heard that she couldn’t hear, but clearly that’s not the case. Hmm…”

There would not be any more customers today. He stood up from the fallen pillar that served as his chair and brushed off the rubble from his backside.

Somehow, he sensed busier days ahead…

***

Mel, Chimley, and the other children were scattered around a field, gathering herbs. Though they stood in the middle of the group, Veil spoke softly, his words for Lily’s ears alone. “So Lafine left the house armed and bought some info from the slum broker? That is a bit concerning.”

“Yeah.”

The two of them had their backs to one another as they spoke, keeping watch in opposite directions. In order to properly chaperone the gatherers, it was crucial that they never let their guard down. After all, monsters could appear from anywhere.

“Veil, do you know that guy?”

“I do, yeah. Don’t know his real name, though. For the past few years he’s been coming to the slums, recruiting poor kids and orphans to do his jobs. As you’re aware, he casts a pretty wide net, which pulls in both honest work and…less savory opportunities.”

Lily tilted her head.

“But when I was there the other day, there weren’t any other kids there besides me. And today I didn’t see anyone besides Lafine. Who is taking those jobs? How does he stay in business?”

Veil scratched his cheek with his finger.

“Well, there’s a bit of a story there, actually. I helped clean the orphans up a bit, so that they could get better work. I gave them clean clothes and helped them start bathing. Then, they were able to do the better jobs that kids in the orphanages usually did. It’s cheaper for employers to hire the urchins from the slums, after all.”

Mel waved at them from where she was gathering. Lily waved back with a smile and said to Veil, “That seems bad. Didn’t that cause conflict?”

“It did. All I wanted to do was create a better life for my brothers and sisters, but I ended up making trouble for the kids at the orphanages. However, just when fights were starting to break out, a C-rank hunting party called the Crimson Vow stepped in to intervene and helped make peace between both sides. Thanks to that, we were able to find a peaceful compromise, instead of having the city break out into a full-on turf war.”

A C-rank hunting party, the Crimson Vow. Lily had heard this party’s name around the city. She hoped that she could meet them one day… (Little did she know, she had already met them, before she ever came to the capital.)

“Oh! So that’s why you do so many gathering jobs.”

“Yeah. All the urchins who are qualified as associate hunters have been allowed to take on these daily tasks, instead of taking jobs from individual townsfolk. That way their work doesn’t overlap with the jobs the kids at the orphanage usually take.”

“Don’t they want to be hunters, too?”

“Some do. But still, they don’t take each other’s jobs. There’s no set number of individuals who can do these daily tasks, though of course, if too many people went foraging, the market price of herbs would probably fall. But if that happened, they would probably get a rank promotion, or go mine ore or something.”

A chaperone was necessary for associate hunters to take these gathering jobs. That, Lily now understood, was why Veil had not joined a party—despite being a full-fledged C-rank hunter—and why he never took jobs very far from town.

“I can’t thank the Crimson Vow enough. The urchins have been able to get proper work, and the orphanages have received more funding from the Crown. Those girls are really amazing. They’re on a completely different level from normal people like me.” A distant look in his eyes, Veil murmured, “I wonder if I’ll ever be able to catch up with her…”

Lily grinned, flashing her pearly whites.

“I have no idea who you’re talking about, but the way I see it, you’re already pretty amazing yourself, Veil.”

“I am? How’s that?”

“Well, you’ve been looking after all of these orphans by yourself. I’ve tried working, so I know how hard it is to earn money. It’s difficult enough on your own, but you have all these kids to watch over, too. That’s pretty amazing.”

“Ha ha, well these kids are my family, after all. Helping each other out is just what family d—”

Veil stopped short, falling silent for a moment. The wind blew across the grasses. The sound of the orphans’ cheery voices tinkled in Lily’s ears.

“I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me to say.”

Lily Lockwood had been abandoned by her family. Either that, or her family was gone from this world. Neither could be considered a fortunate situation.

Even so, Lily replied cheerfully, “It’s fine. I still haven’t given up on my family. If they are out there in trouble somewhere, I’ll go and save them, no matter where they are. But for now, if Lafine is trying to do something dangerous, I’m going to st—well, I don’t think I could actually stop her, but I can at least maybe go and help her? She’s my family, too.”

Backs still facing one another, Lily and Veil looked over their shoulders, sharing a smile.

“Well, when the time comes, I’ll help out as much as I can. Just let me know. Whether it’s the Lockwoods or Lafine, I’m your guy.”

“Thank you. But there’s no way I could afford to pay you.”

Lily felt the warmth of Veil’s back shift slightly against her own.

“Ha ha ha. Well, Lafine is one thing, but when it comes to the Lockwood family, I think I’d just ask for payment from the margrave himself. Plus, the guild might even pay some reward, depending on the circumstances. But if I get nothing, I get nothing. As long as you keep helping us out here in the slums, that’s all the payment I need. It really is hard for me to look after all of these kids by myself.”

“Well, then—it’s a deal,” Lily said. “I’ll look forward to it.” The pair smiled at one another again. “You’re a good person, Veil.”

“I don’t need to hear that from someone who got swindled by that broker.”

Lily grimaced. “You’re still going to give me a hard time about that, huh?”

Veil cleared his throat and pulled away. Joining the nearest group of orphans, he started to help with their gathering. Lily went over to Mel, peeking into her basket. Perhaps because Mel was the youngest of the children, she had made little progress. She always seemed to be falling behind. Somehow, she reminded Lily of herself, back before she could hear.

“All right. Lemme give you a hand, Mel.”

“Thanks, Miss Mask!”

When she thought back to all the time she had spent locked away in that mansion, it was nearly impossible to fathom the enjoyment she took in her new life. There could certainly be worse things, she thought, than to continue living this way.

***

Contrary to what Lily had feared, Lafine returned home before the chiming of the second evening bell. The moment their eyes met, Lafine grumbled, “What? I told you to go ahead and eat. You didn’t have to wait for me.”

“Food tastes better when you eat together.”

Lafine cringed visibly.

“Eating alone or with someone else doesn’t change the taste of the food. And besides, it’s tastier to eat something when it’s hot and freshly made.”

The lamplight swayed. The food sitting on the table had not been touched. Lily had started cooking around the first evening bell, so the meal had already gone thoroughly cold. Lily bounced to her feet.

“Well then, I’ll just reheat the soup! It’ll probably still taste good.”

“Okay.”

Lily lit the flame beneath the pot of soup.

“You’re home late, Lafine.”

“And you’ve been late before, too.”

“True. I guess we’re in the same boat,” Lily giggled.

“Got a bit caught up,” Lafine shrugged. “Couldn’t get home until now.” She shed her overclothes, letting out a big yawn.

“How come?”

“Well, because I was on an adult date.”

Ah, so Lafine was going to lie to her. Even after buying that information from the slum broker. It made Lily a little sad. If something was bothering Lafine, she should have told her right away. Couldn’t she rely on Hello World Mask?

“Really?” Lily stirred the soup, not letting her worry show on her face.

Lafine sat down at the table.

There was a long pause. Then: “What’s with the quiet? I expected you to try to pry every single little detail out of me. I don’t suppose you saw me while I was out?”

“N-n-nope, I didn’t see you.”

There was another long pause. A very long pause.

“Hmm…”

Lafine narrowed her eyes, her gaze almost painfully sharp.

“Lily.”

“Mm-hmm?”

“What kind of work is it you’re always doing with that hunter boy Veil? And where? In the afternoons, that is. I saw that weird odd jobs poster up at the grocer’s shop, so I know you do that in the mornings. But that can’t be earning enough for the both of us.”

“Oh, I help Veil’s younger siblings out with their gathering, and I serve as a chaperone to protect against monsters. They need the extra help.”

“Monsters, huh? Depending on the type, I guess that’s a lot better than you fighting bandits.”

“Well, I say monsters, but it’s only been orcs and goblins and jackalopes, so it’s not that dangerous.”

Lafine slumped over the table, letting out a deep sigh.

For some reason, Lily’s heart was racing.

“Well, I guess that’s all right. An opponent like that doesn’t stand a chance against you. Just don’t go doing anything too dangerous.”

Lily poured the warmed soup into a wooden bowl, hands trembling faintly.

“Lafine, were you…worried about me?”

Lafine whipped her head up. “I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about my own future. You, as my little sister, are going to get married to a noble or a wealthy merchant someday. I won’t forgive you if you go do something weird and mess that pretty face up.”

Marriage, huh? Lily couldn’t even picture it yet.

“I see… I’ll be careful.”

“You’d better.”

Lily set down the bowls and sat across from Lafine.

“Plus, if you get hurt, who’s going to take care of me? Let me make this clear: We would probably both starve to death.”

“But the breakfast you made this morning was sooo good!”

Lafine turned her face down to the salad on her plate as if to escape Lily’s gaze, a pained look in her eyes.

“W-well, obviously. Nothing I made would ever taste bad.”

“Of course!”

Though Lafine’s face was turned down, when Lily looked closely, Lily could see her expression was soft. As soon as she noticed Lily’s eyes on her, Lafine’s expression hardened swiftly.

“Just eat already,” Lafine barked. “I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“I am.”

And then, the scene at their dinner table was the same as it always was. Lily monologued happily about all that had happened that day, and Lafine ate in silence, nodding every now and then. Lafine never shared any thoughts about the food, but she ate up all of Lily’s cooking without fail. Sometimes, she even went back for seconds.

For some reason, this made Lily Lockwood almost happier than she could bear.

***

The next morning, Lafine woke before Lily and made breakfast again. Like the day before, she was making preparations to go out. But, of course, she would not say what she was going out for. After she saw Lafine off, Lily left the house as well. And so, she had no idea that, shortly after her departure, a group of mysterious men in hoods and robes arrived at the empty house.

In a practiced fashion, the hooded men shared a series of hand signals and then unlocked the locked door, slipping easily inside. After checking all the rooms to confirm that no one was home, they looked to one another, shook their heads, and left without touching a thing.

Lafine, who stood in an alleyway watching this unfold from start to finish, returned to the house as soon as they had left, checking every corner of every room. After finishing her cursory check, she wiped the sweat from her cheeks.

“Looks like we may’ve opened a can of worms here.”

Tailing Lily and watching the house for some time had paid off. To think she’d witness thieves breaking into her own home! The men had left no traces behind, either. There was nothing missing, and naturally, nothing new. Politely, they had even left the sack full of silver coins that she had purposely set out in an obvious location. They were not thieves, and clearly, they weren’t deliverymen.

She put a hand to her mouth. “This is bad…”

In fact, it would have put her at ease if they had stolen something. The fact that they had taken nothing meant that they had some business with one of the two members of this household. It was unlikely that they were mere bandits. Of course, the fact that they had managed to pick the lock flawlessly also meant that they had likely done so before.

Lafine could only imagine what this meant: that this had something to do with the Lockwood family—and that meant that the men who had attacked the manor that night had not been after money.

Neiham Lockwood was an influential noble, a margrave who possessed both the reputation and the experience to be entrusted with safeguarding the borders ofTils. He may have been a worthless man who was ruled by his controlling wife, but there was no question as to whether he deserved his title. He was not a duke or a marquis, merely a margrave, tasked with protecting the regional areas from other lands—a task well within his capabilities.

So, if Lafine was correct that the thieves had not been after money, then this was most likely tied to someone who felt that the margrave and his family were a nuisance. It could be some other powerful noble within Tils who had his eyes on the margrave’s lands, or if not, someone on the other side of the kingdom’s border. In other words—spies from the Albarn Empire to the south.

Lafine sighed and put her head in her hands.

No matter what, this was already too much for a mere former hunter to be dealing with. However, if it turned out their enemies were international spies, that became an even bigger issue. She couldn’t do much about something that should rightly be handled by the Crown. There was probably little they could do besides disguise themselves and run away. Moreover, there was a fairly strong chance that it was the Empire they were dealing with. After all, if it were a matter of internal rivalries, the noble in question would have already put their name forward as inheritor of the margrave’s still-unsecured lands. There was no reason that the king would leave such a crucial border unguarded in perpetuity.

“So the Albarn Empire is behind this…”

This was something much bigger than Lafine had ever imagined. Her heart was beating so fast it hurt.

At first, she had simply been acting on a whim, beginning the search for Lily’s family in a bit of out-of-character frivolity. But now, she had come upon something far more outrageous: the revelation that the Lockwood manor had been attacked, in the dead of night, by agents from the Albarn Empire, of all places.

How had they found her now? There should have been almost no one who was aware that Lafine Alstea was concealing the eldest daughter of the Lockwood family: only Lafine, the girl in question herself, and Veil.

“That boy! Him…!”

Lafine didn’t know anything about the boy or his background, other than he was a C-rank hunter who hailed from the slums. It was Lafine’s own fault for letting it slip that Lily was the sole remaining Lockwood, but it was even more foolish of her not to have kept a closer eye on the boy.

She was letting strangers get too close to Lily.

Lafine grabbed the sack full of coins and hung it at her side. For now, she would set out post-haste, and she would make Veil talk. Depending on how many people knew what, Lafine and Lily might have to abscond from the capital.

“All right.”

The moment she stepped out of the front door, she came face-to-face with one of the hooded men. He flashed a sneer.

“Are you Lily Lockwood?”

“…?!”

For a moment, Lafine’s face froze in shock, but then, she simply smiled. “Do I look that young to you?”

“Oho! Sounds like you actually know her.”

Crap. She’d gotten carried away.

At least, Lafine was quick to react. Quicker than the hooded man.

She clicked her tongue, drawing her sword and swiping at the man from the side. The sound of steel rung out as the man caught Lafine’s shortsword with his own blade just in time.

“You little bitch…”

“Out of my way!”

She kicked the man away with a foot to the gut.

“Whoa!”

As the man stumbled backward, Lafine clicked her tongue again and took a quick step back into the house, violently kicking the door shut. She bolted the door from within, though she knew this would provide little obstacle to the men who had already broken in earlier that same morning. Next, she ran to the bedroom, leapt up on the bed, crossed her arms over her chest, and hurled herself through the window. She landed in the alleyway and immediately took off running.

Soon, she heard a shout. “Around the back! Don’t let her get away! She’s not the girl, but we can probably use her as a hostage!”

With the sounds of many footsteps rounding the house, Lafine pelted down the alleyway, nimble as a stray cat. She jumped over piles of refuse, turning corners and slipping through the gaps between houses, using back alleys to make her way to the slums.

***

In terms of swordsmanship, Veil was well ahead of the curve for a C-rank hunter. Still, his reaction was nothing short of miraculous.

As he and Lily walked through the slums toward the outside of town, leading their gathering troop, a shadow suddenly appeared overhead. For a moment, he wondered if a cloud had moved in, blocking out the sun.

Even Veil had no idea why he drew his sword in that moment.

Yet some instinct made him act, withdrawing his sword from his belt as he simultaneously shoved Lily back and then caught the flashing steel that came cutting down from above, slicing through the air.

“Wha—?!”

“Found you!”

Lily stumbled backward and fell on her backside. Her eyes went round—Lafine had just leapt out of the air behind them, her unsheathed sword bearing down on Veil. They locked blades, before Veil shoved Lafine back with his superior strength. Lafine fell several steps backward and shouted to Lily, “Lily, get away from him! He’s with the enemy!”

“Huh? What? Lafine? What?”

Lafine moved to shield Lily, who was still too disoriented to move. She kept her guard up, the point of her blade still leveled at Veil.

The other orphans were startled and confused, their eyes wide.

Lafine was sweating, shoulders heaving with ragged breaths. Across from her, Veil was lowering his blade with one hand, holding the other arm out as a counterbalance.

“H-hang on now, Lafine! What do you mean ‘I’m with the enemy’?”

“Don’t play dumb! You sold Lily out to the Empire!”

Lafine dashed forward, slashing her blade diagonally. Veil deflected the blow, retreating.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

Lafine kept on him with one blow after another, steps nimble and erratic as a wildcat, Veil catching every blow with practiced precision. As he sliced down to repel another one of her diagonal slashes, Lafine continued in one fluid motion, turning about and redirecting the energy of her swing to ward him off.

“Whoa!”

The blade scraped at the surface of his skin, leaving a faint scratch on Veil’s forehead. Then, Lafine came twirling at him again, her skirt billowing.

“Hold on!” Veil cried. “Just listen to m—gah!”

Veil halted her blade and then knocked it right into the ground, stepping on the flat of it with his heel and burying it into the dirt.

No less than a moment later, Veil found his chin struck—by the toe of Lafine’s boot.

“F-footwork?! So you’re not just good with a sword…”

Without hesitating, Lafine took this opportunity to free her sword. She pointed the tip right at Veil, kicking low off the ground and aiming for his thighs.

Lafine’s sword fighting was not characteristic of the chivalric technique used by knights. It was a wild, unpredictable art she had learned from her father. There were no set stances here, nothing that would pass for common sense. Should the need arise, she even knew how to throw her own sword and fight empty-handed. To any normal knight or swordswoman, this would be utterly nonsensical.

Even so, Veil held his own. He repelled her unpredictable motions with speed and accuracy. Still, he was sure that, had he not been able to practice with a certain absurdly fast and powerful member of the Crimson Vow during his school days, he would not have been able to stay on his feet.

Sparks and the sounds of ringing steel filled the air.

“Lafine, stop it!” Lily shouted, but her voice was drowned out by Lafine’s.

“This morning, my home was attacked by brigands involved with the margrave incident! They were looking for Lily! They wanted to abduct or assassinate her! Besides us, you are the only one who knows about her!”

“Just calm down already! I haven’t said anything to anyone!”

Veil took the smallest hop backward, avoiding a low blow aimed for his ankles. If he left too large of a gap, the next moment would probably see him dismembered.

“Liar! There is no one else with a connection to both myself and Lily who knows her true identity!”

Lily, who had been trying to move between the two of them, stopped short. Veil gritted his teeth, avoiding the tip of Lafine’s blade with a twist of his body.

“Fine! I guess I’ve got no choice!” Veil shouted as he gripped something in his left hand. “This might hurt a bit. Please don’t hate me!”

It was just an air bullet—a simple spell. But although it was nonlethal, it was also invisible, so it was nearly always effective against an opponent who had never seen it before, even if that opponent was a skilled A-rank hunter.

“I’m the one who should be saying that! Once I’ve got you pinned, I’ll make you talk!”

Lafine, meanwhile, drew a long, needle-like weapon from her boot with her left hand, still wielding her sword in her right. This hidden defense had been the ace up her sleeve during quite a few battles against other humans during her time as a hunter. Like Veil’s air magic, it was very effective against an opponent who had never seen it before—hence, the reason for her keeping it concealed.

Both sides kicked off the ground, when Lily’s voice rang out.

“There is! There is someone else!”

Both pitched forward, losing their balance.

“That broker knows me, and also you—doesn’t he, Lafine?!”

Lafine looked puzzled.

“By broker, do you mean that guy in the slums?”

Lily, now becoming annoyed, balled her fists and shouted, “Yes!”

“How’d you know I was buying information from him?”

“Because I got a bad job from him before! The one that Veil rescued me from! And also, I was watching when you met up with him! Although, he wouldn’t tell me what it was that you wanted information about.”

Veil let out a sigh of relief and slipped his sword back into the sheath at his waist.

“Phew… It looks like we’ve found the culprit.”

“But he shouldn’t have known there was a connection between me and you,” said Lafine. “Nor should he have known your real identity. I didn’t let anything slip to him. I may as well tell you now: I was trying to get information about the whereabouts of the Lockwood family—but there was no way that alone would’ve been enough for him to figure out the connections between you, me, and the Lockwoods.”

“Yeah, well, but after that, I was worried about what you were doing, so I went to ask him! He wouldn’t tell me, but… Oh, I see. That must have been enough for him to figure out who I was…”

It was all coming together. Lafine slapped a hand to her forehead, sheathing her own sword. A cold wind blew past them as she folded her arms over her ample chest and looked sheepishly to Veil.

“Ah, um…”

She had launched a surprise attack and actually tried to kill him based on a false assumption, but Veil, the target of this violence, only stood with his own arms crossed, a troubled expression on his face. Lafine, on the other hand, looked as though she was practically about to cry, as she balled her fists and put them to her mouth, turning her upper body away demurely.

“V-Veil… Mr. Veil? I’m… I’m sooo sorry!”

There was no reaction. After several moments, Veil turned back to the orphans.

“Okay, everyone. You cannot tell anyone else about what just happened here. People’s lives depend on it. Also, we’re not going to go gathering today. There’s something I need to do.”

The children, who had been looking forward to the excursion, groaned in disappointment, but Chimley and Mel pushed the others from behind and kindly herded them away. Then, only the three—Lily, Lafine, and Veil—were left in the corner of the slums.

Just as Lafine was about to apologize again, Veil bowed his head deeply toward her.

“Sorry. Looks like the slum broker made trouble for you.”

“Huh?” Lafine was stunned. “No, uh, I mean I’m the one who should be apologizing…”

Lily tilted her head to the side. “Why are you apologizing, Veil?”

Veil sighed. “That guy is… Well, he’s my big brother. Me and the other orphans here.”

As previously stated, once people in the slums reached a certain age, they tended to disappear. Some young men became hunters and went to live on their own, and some girls became lovers to wealthy merchants or nobles. In other words, there was hardly anyone who chose to remain in the slums after they were old enough to have other options.

Veil’s older siblings were no different. Once they became adults at fifteen, they left the neighborhood behind.

Veil had decided to remain in the slums because he didn’t want to abandon his little brothers and sisters. He hoped that if he became a hunter, and helped his younger siblings achieve positive things, they could change the face of the slums entirely.

“I had thought that I was the only one from the slums who had the idea to stay here, but apparently I was wrong.”

Veil did not know the man’s name. In the slums, no one had names unless they offered one up themselves or were given a new one by their fellows. And so, this man was known only as Big Bro.

“He used to be so responsible. This was when I was about five. Though there wasn’t any way for all of us to get hunter qualifications or individual work like there is now, until he was fifteen, Big Bro spent all of the money that he earned taking care of the rest of us. We didn’t have a luxurious life, of course, but we had at least one piece of bread every day, which at the time we were thankful for. Everyone loved him.”

However, once he turned fifteen, Big Bro had left the slums behind, just like all the others. The next eldest, Big Sis, looked after the children, but naturally, the moment she came of age, she stepped into a beautiful carriage and never looked back.

That was just the way it was. Back then, Veil had never even thought to question it.

Incidentally, once the girl known as Big Sis had become the eldest, there was a sudden increase in job requests. In the slums, where they often lived hand to mouth, this was a welcome development.

When the seasons changed, and Brother Dahl became the eldest, he told Veil—then the second eldest—about the slum broker. He was a mysterious figure, his eyes obscured by a hood, his nose and mouth hidden by a mask. His voice was muffled through the cloth so that one could tell only that he was a man. It was thanks to an introduction from Big Sis that Dahl had known of him, and he introduced Veil to the man in turn.

Veil, however, realized something. It was around the time that this broker had first appeared that life started getting better for the orphans of the slums. Thanks to the jobs that this broker offered, hardly anyone was left starving.

Who was he? Veil burned with curiosity about this man.

One day, he happened to glimpse the broker when he had removed his mask. His face was that of the nameless Big Bro, who had left the slums when Veil was only five years old.

Yet even after his identity had been discovered, the broker continued quietly doing his job. There was a not insignificant number of cases where one of the jobs he’d offered brought trouble in its wake, as he didn’t distinguish between good work and the bad, but even now, Veil thought of it as an accomplishment on the man’s part that the number of starving children had decreased over the years he had been operating.

“Then, I realized something.”

There was a way to support the slums without leaving them behind. That was why Veil became a C-rank hunter—so that he could keep providing the children of the slums with the means to live through daily work.

Time passed by, and the first thing that Veil did upon graduating from the Hunters’ Prep School was to bring new order to the neighborhood. First, he helped the children keep their bodies and their clothing clean. As a result, they would be able to accept jobs directly from the merchants in town. This, however, caused a bit of a conflict.

When the urchins from the slums began setting their sights on the odd jobs in town, they began taking work away from the orphans who lived in the orphanages. This was something that Veil had not predicted. However, the C-rank party, the Crimson Vow, had succeeded in bringing both sides together, and the matter was resolved without incident. Thanks to their efforts, the orphanages began receiving more funding from the Crown, and worries about one group taking work away from the other faded. Additionally, now that Veil had been able to recruit the children of the slums as hunters, they could do daily tasks from the guild, further improving their quality of life.

“Eventually, the children weren’t even aware of the broker who had been supporting the slums. Our Big Bro was forgotten by the very people for whom he had stayed here.”

Now, the only people who took jobs from the broker were ignorant newcomers like Lily, or those children so young and lacking in physical strength that they could not even go out gathering—though even these young ones could normally live reasonably comfortably on the money their older siblings brought in.

Even so, Big Bro continued to appear in the middle of the slums, with his stack of memos, and would for as long as there was even a single person around to take jobs from him.

“He wants to be the final safety net for the slums, even if it means that he falls into ruin himself. All I want is for him to be free. He doesn’t have to keep sacrificing himself for the orph—”

Veil cut himself short. Lily was grinning hugely at him and began to crow excitedly, “He really is a good person, then! He’s like the hero of the slums! He stays here, supporting everyone behind the scenes! That’s so cool! The way he’s going about it is wrong, but, wow, I really admire that!”

“Y-yeah. I guess you’re right. A hero…huh? I see. That’s true.”

Lafine teased Veil, a devilish smile on her face, “Really makes you look stupid, huh? And here you are, always trying to do the right thing to support the slums.”

“Uh…”

“No, wait!” Lily quickly added. “I mean, you’re like the father of the slums, Veil. The Papa!”

“That still seems like a step down from hero…”

“Also, I’m not that old—at least not yet.” Veil smiled softly. “Anyway, I’m the only one who knows the broker’s true identity. Not even Big Sis or Dahl knew. So, I’m the only one who can stop him. I want him to get away from this dangerous life. I want to let him know that the orphans of the slums can thrive now, without anyone else suffering.”

Lily nodded fiercely.

“I want to help him, too. Plus, we have to figure out this Lockwood problem sooner or later.”

“Yeah. This involves us, after all. I’ll do what I can to help, both with Big Bro and with the Lockwoods.”

“Okay.”

Lafine, who had been sitting on a toppled barrel and listening, hung her head and put a hand to her forehead. All she had meant to do was seek out a little bit of information about Lily’s family. But now she knew she’d opened a whole can of worms. No matter how desperately she brandished the truth before this pair’s eyes, they were unlikely to back down.

Plus, they were still up against the Albarn Empire.

Now that the agents in question knew her name and location, she would never be able to escape this. She certainly could not return home, lest she be spotted and spirited away. She already knew too much. All she could do now was prepare for the worst.

Lafine sighed. “I’ve determined the location of the Lockwood family. And I know why they’ve been attacked and imprisoned.”

Both Lily and Veil whipped their heads around, taken aback.

“But before I say anything more, I have to ask you: This is going to be incredibly dangerous—do you still want to know?”

It was a pointless question. The pair nodded at once.

“Of course we do.”

And so, that was that.

Both the ashen gray eyes and the bangs that peeked out from under the hood sparkled silver in the light of the moon. It was the slum broker. The one they had thought was a well-intentioned ally, working for the sake of the orphans. But if that was the truth, why would he have made an attempt on Lafine’s life? Why was he being allowed to move about freely in a place like this, in the camp of the agents of the Albarn Empire?

There could be only one reason.

The many footsteps grew closer, and voices could be heard.

“I think it came from this way—hurry up!”

“What are the two lookouts over here doing?!”

There was no time left.

The broker’s muffled voice sounded from behind his mask.

“You’re such an idiot, Veil. It’s incredible to think you even made it this far. I abandoned the slums and gave myself up to the Empire long ago.”

Veil looked at him, clenching his teeth with a sorrowful expression.

“Why…?”

Before she could hear the answer to this question, Lily was bodily lifted up by Lafine, who slipped past Big Bro and ran.

“We’ve gotta go!”

“Lafine, wait! What about Veil?!”

“No time.”

Lafine took Lily into her arms and removed her from the area by force. The sound of swords could be heard. Again and again came the ring of clashing metal, followed by the cries of men’s voices.

“Lafine, please!”

Lily flailed her limbs violently against Lafine’s grip around her waist, but Lafine only held her tighter. Lily’s face twisted in pain.

“Gah!”

“Settle down.”

They were getting so far away now. They rounded a stand of trees, and Lily could no longer see a thing. In the nearly pitch black, she could not tell where they had run. Once they were a great distance away, Lafine finally set her back down on her feet.

There was no going back. She had no idea which way they had even come. They had left Veil, her mentor and her precious friend, surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Her heart grew heavy and sank into the pit of her stomach. Her insides felt like lead.

“Lafine, why…?”

“Lily, what did you come here for?”

“…To…save my family.”

“That’s right. And this is your only chance to do so. Veil is buying us some time. We need to take this opportunity to reach the hostages and free them.”

“But…” Lily’s voice squeaked out from the depths of her throat. “But Veil…” Her voice was so small, weak, and faltering, it surprised even her. “Veil will die…”

“Lily, what did he come here for?”

“Same…as me… To save—”

“His family. Do you think he could turn tail and run when his family is right there in front of him? What would you do if you were in his shoes? Would you be persuaded to run away just because the enemy outnumbered you? If that’s the amount of resolve that you have for saving the hostages, then we’d be better off just abandoning this whole operation right now.”

Hearing these harsh words, Lily took a deep breath. Her mother and father had fled and abandoned her, but even so, if it had been them and her brother and sister back there…then yes, even if Lafine or Veil had ordered her to evacuate, she would not have heard them.

Lafine continued, “Even if the three of us could have somehow made our way through all of that, the main enemy corps was already aware of our position. They’d probably drag the hostages away or start some big game of tag with us. Naturally, that would mean a far greater chance of harm coming to the hostages.”

In other words, remaining with Veil would have been pointless.

“You and Veil are companions on the same path, with the same goal. So you should be able to understand each other’s feelings. You don’t want to make Veil give up on the thing he came here for just to help you accomplish your goals, do you?”

“No…”

“When he told us to go on ahead, that was when you got it.”

“Got it? Got what?”

Lafine balled up her fist and punched Lily lightly in the chest.

“Hey!” Lily stumbled a step backward at the unexpectedly heavy blow. “Lafine, that hurt.”

“Don’t you get it? This is the best chance you have at saving your family.”

“Ah…”

Gradually, her chest began to fill with warmth where she had been struck. The dull pain turned slowly into heat.

“So, seize that chance. It’s not often in a woman’s life that she receives the gift of a man putting his own life on the line to help her.”

“O-okay.”

Lafine paused and cleared her throat.

“Besides, you underestimate the C-rank hunter, the swordsman Veil. He’s guilty of underestimating himself as well, but you shouldn’t look down on his skills. No matter how you slice it, you have to be fairly skilled to make a C-rank.”

Approximately one year ago, when Lafine was still living as a servant at the Lockwood manor, she heard about a group of students that had caused quite the commotion at the graduation exam of the Hunter’s Prep School. Among this group were four young ladies and one young man.

“I never did imagine that he’d be talking about Gren of the Roaring Mithrils, of all people…”

There was no doubting it. You could count on one hand the number of people in Tils who could best Gren in a swordfight, after all. That one young man was Veil. And among those four young ladies was the master who had taught him that thoroughly chaotic sword technique.

“Huh?”

“Never mind. I’m just saying that Veil is a lot more talented than either you or even he realizes. That weirdo master of his that he talks about must be really good.” Lafine put one hand on her hip and chuckled. “So, well, I’m sure he’ll be fine. Before you know it, he’ll be trotting along after us. Until then, we need to hurry up and find your family and free them. Then we can all skedaddle together. Sound good?”

“Yeah!”

Lafine turned her back, the hem of her skirt swaying, and began walking briskly. Lily looked back one final time and then started running as fast as she could after Lafine.

***

In light of the number of opponents he was facing off against, Veil had already applied magic to his sword. The blade would never withstand the fight without it. His hands, gripping the sheath, began to go numb as the sound of metal rang out.

“You little—!”

As Veil used the heel of his boot to force back the man who came bearing down in front of him, he swept back with his blade to mow down the men around him. The tip of his sword scratched against the breastplate of a man who had been approaching from behind, sending sparks flying.

The surrounding enemies frantically opened a gap.

“You come here to take back the things we stole from you? Idiots. And here we thought we could let you off easy without anyone getting hurt.”

“Sorry. This is just what a hunter’s gotta do.”

Hunter. The moment the men heard this word, their faces twisted. However, they soon righted themselves.

“You all need to learn your places.”

Stepping back nimbly to evade the naked blades that came pelting onward, Veil repelled the onslaught with an upward swing.

“Guh…”

“Graaaah!”

The men tried to use this opportunity to strike him in the torso, but Veil deflected their incoming attacks with his sword, opening a greater distance.

“Well, you’re persistent.”

“This guy’s pretty good.”

“Be careful. Don’t go at him alone. Watch each other’s backs.”

Veil gritted his teeth. This was not easy. If they had come at him as recklessly as bandits did, he would have been able to dispatch many of them, but these were trained soldiers in formation, protecting each other’s weak points. Though they had disguised themselves as bandits, there was no mistaking now that these were indeed agents of the Albarn Empire. Of course, they would probably never admit to such a thing, even under torture.

“Phew…”

Veil regarded his surroundings briefly, without time to even wipe away the sweat pouring from his brow. There were seven imperial soldiers. Including Big Bro, that made eight. The situation was bad.

Big Bro had reclaimed his sword and clambered atop one of the remaining walls of a ruined house. He was surveying the skirmish intently, not lending his aid to either side. His intention was unclear, but Veil was glad for the reprieve, in any event.

He was surrounded on all sides, without even a wall to protect his back. He had thought of breaking through this siege and running to get some distance from the men, but frankly, he was not sure if he was strong enough to pull it off. Besides, he couldn’t risk the chance of Big Bro, who showed no signs of moving, getting away from him.

“This is bad…”

The moment Veil glanced carefully left, a soldier to his right swung his sword at the ground, kicking up dirt.

“Hi-yah!”

The soldier swung his longsword down at Veil’s head from an angle, attacking from a blind spot. As though he was already aware this might happen, Veil avoided the slash with just a twist of his body.

“What?!”

The moment the soldier’s blade grazed past his cheap leather armor, Veil pierced the man’s sword arm. He then quickly changed stances and went for the tendons of the man’s legs. The man had already dropped his weapon and collapsed on the spot, writhing as he grabbed his own legs to hold back the bleeding.

“Gw-haaaah…”

Giving the fallen man a wide berth, Veil renewed his grip. The man had foolishly acted on his own, stepping right into the gap that Veil had purposely created. Thanks to this, he had been able to easily reduce the enemy’s numbers by one, yet he was still most assuredly in dire straits.

Just as the soldier behind him lowered his blade, took the fallen man by the hands, and tried to remove him from the battlefield, Veil spun right around and cut through the arteries of the man’s arms.

“Hi-yaaah!”

“Gwuh?!”

A great spattering of blood and rivulets of sweat soaked into the dark ground. Before the man could even attempt to flee, his face twisted in horrible pain, Veil stabbed through both his greaves with his longsword.

“Argh…”

The man, having fallen on his backside, looked up at Veil. His expression was one of despair.

“Stop!”

However, Veil had already turned away from the fallen pair. He was not going to end their lives. Robbing their legs and arms of movement should be plenty to keep them from coming after him again. Plus, it was simply poor strategy to do anything that might incur the wrath of the remaining five. Speaking of which…

“You coward!”

“Cutting down a man who comes in to provide aid… Have you no pride as a swordsman?!”

“Bastard, you call yourself a hunter?!”

This time a squad of three ran out to drag away the two injured men. Naturally, he did not have the capacity to take all three of them at once. So he turned back and wiped the sweat from his brow, steadying his breathing and focus.

“Bold thing to say when there’s this many of you surrounding me, when I’m only one person. How can you shout at me about cowardice or a swordsman’s pride when you’re nothing but bandits?”

Of course, he was already aware that these men were not bandits. However, it was clear that they were, in fact, engaging in banditry. If they were the sort of proper soldiers who had pride in their profession, then it would hurt them to hear themselves denounced in this way. Veil hoped that perhaps, he could appeal to their consciences, make them feel a bit guilty, just break their strides even a little bit… But the men simply fell silent.

Had he miscalculated?

Veil chided himself inwardly. He seemed to have only confirmed what these men thought of him.

“Surround him. Simultaneous attack.”

“Roger.”

“Sorry, dear little nameless hunter. You’re exactly right. However, we’re on a mission.”

Five blades leveled at him all at once.

Ah, this was bad. In which case, he had only one card left to play.

“Yeah, I know. For the Albarn Empire, right?”

“——!”

All the men held their breaths—while Big Bro, standing atop the wall and watching over the whole scene, continued to look on, frozen.

The man who appeared to be the leader of the soldiers bitterly spat out, “H-how…did you…”

“It’s because I’m in charge of protecting the eldest daughter of the Lockwood family. I’ve done some looking into this incident. My goal is to free that girl’s family and reunite her with them.”

“The guild knows that we’re imperial agents, not bandits? The royal family does?”

The air prickled with tension. Veil decided to lie.

“That’s right. I got the guard job through the guild. I’m sure by now that all the information about you all has made it up to the Crown. If the Kingdom of Tils issues a formal complaint against the Albarn Empire, I’m sure that you all will be swiftly dispatched.”

Veil hoped that this would be over quickly if he could undermine the men’s fighting spirit. However, things were not so simple.

“I see. Well, in that case, there’s no more point in talking.” The leader shuffled closer to Veil, never loosening his grip on his sword. “Allow me to make one correction, though. Previously, you suggested that we were acting in service of the Albarn Empire. That was wrong. Dead wrong, boy.”

“…?”

The five men now held their swords at their sides, almost casually. Sweat dripped down Veil’s back. He could feel an unerring bloodlust, far stronger than he had up until now. The leader continued to speak in a calm, steady tone. “We’re not working for the Empire. We’re working for our families, who are waiting for us back there. Until we detain every last member of the Lockwood family, who are in charge of guarding Tils’ borders, we will not be permitted passage back home. Should there be any deserters or traitors, their families will be imprisoned… So, step aside!”

“………”

Of course, this was not unusual. Everyone fought for their families. It only stood to reason that these men had families that they wished to protect. Lily had a family she hoped to be reunited with. And Veil had a brother whose mistakes he had to correct.

In and out. Veil took a deep breath. Inhale and exhale. Then, he spoke. “Whatever you say, I don’t think we can avoid this. This world is full of so many unpleasant things.”

“That’s something I think we can both agree on.”

“Ah ha ha.”

“Heh heh.”

The squad leader began to laugh, and Veil followed suit.

Yet a moment later, there was a sudden shift, as both Veil and the five other men kicked off of the ground.

“Graaaaaah!”

“Waaaaargh!”

Veil swung back to avoid the blade that was swinging his way, striking forcefully at the man he had just been laughing with moments prior.

“Hi-yah!”

“Gwah!”

Both his arms went numb from the fearsome recoil, but he forcefully shook it off. His blade was strengthened by magic. It could strike against any metal without breaking. The squad leader was blown backwards, tumbling along the ground. Quickly, Veil changed grips, ready to run the man through, but at that same moment, another blade came swinging in from the side. He managed to duck in the nick of time, and the sword swung right over him.

“Nice try!”

“Surround him!”

He jumped up from his lowered stance all at once, dodged the attack that was launched toward him, and reached his left hand out into the night sky, grabbing at the air. The moment he landed, he struck down on the shoulder of the man who was approaching him from behind.

“Air Bullet!”

With a dreadful sound, the man face-planted onto the ground.

“Gwah…?! Guh!!”

“W-was that magic?!”

There was a great dent in the man’s pauldron, and his arm had been wrenched into a strange angle. Quickly, while the man was busy staring at his own arm in shock, Veil sliced through the tendons of the soldier’s legs.

And now, there were four.

“Gwaaah! You brat!”

Veil planted his feet firmly on the ground, blade in his left hand, as he bodily deflected a blow that came toward him with the attacker’s full weight behind it. Beads of sweat scattered into the night air.

“Guh…huh!”

“Graaaaah!”

The moment that Veil forced the man back, the soldier’s back wrenched, all his power lost as he tumbled forward. Veil slashed at the man’s thighs.

Three left!

Just then, a sharp pain ran down his back—Veil’s favored leather armor had just been sliced through from behind. There was no doubting if he had waited even a moment to take a half-step forward, the blow would have been fatal. He rolled to escape further attacks, struck the ground, and hopped back up. This was possible only because he was wearing leather and not metal. That said, were he wearing metal, he would never have taken the damage in the first place.

“Hff, hff, hff…”

“Don’t let up!”

Gritting his teeth through the pain, Veil took a heavy step forward, striking at the man ahead of him with his blade, now shining with a magical light.

“Ha!”

“…!”

The keening sound of steel rang out, and the man’s sword went flying. As the man staggered backward, his face cramping, he turned and called up to Big Bro, still atop the wall, “Oy! No Name! What’re you just standing there watching for?! Didn’t you convert to our side?!”

Big Bro ignored the man’s words and pointed behind him. “Have you really got the time to be distracted?”

“…!”

The man turned back to Veil just in time for an air bullet to crash into his face.

“Argh!”

There was a bursting sound…

The man’s neck warped and stretched like it was caught in some violent gale, his body tumbling through the air as though struck by a blunt instrument. As the man fell to the ground, he convulsed a number of times and then fainted, foaming at the mouth.

Two left! This was going surprisingly well.

Yet just as Veil was congratulating himself, the two remaining men came at him from both sides in a pincer attack. He caught the attack coming from his right side with his sword but had to block the left one, painful as it was, with his left forearm.

“Sh…it!”

A violent pain ran through him, blood dripping from his damaged leather armguard. The man to his right immediately drew back his sword again, aiming for Veil’s neck.

“Hah!”

Veil avoided by ducking, though the blade grazed his cheek. He took some distance, catching the attack from the man on the left with his sword. With his leather armor, Veil had the upper hand in terms of agility but was lacking in terms of protective power. He tried to refresh his grip on his hilt, but he had all but lost the strength in his left hand, his fingers unable to bend. Much worse still, his arm was beginning to numb, so he could not even lift it. His arm hung limp, droplets of hot blood dripping from his fingertips down onto the ground.

Without a free hand, he could not use his air bullets. He could, of course, drop the sword that was in his right hand and use the air bullets instead, but that was too risky. Without a sword in hand, he would not be able to catch or deflect any attacks at all.

There were still two enemies left—three, if you included Big Bro.

Strangely, Big Bro showed no signs of moving. There was no telling what he was thinking. He claimed to have pledged himself to the Empire, but all he was doing was standing by and watching these imperial soldiers perish. Yet for now, that was none of Veil’s concern. In fact, it was favorable for him.

Back and forth Veil swung, his sword clashing against the soldiers’, no time to even bind his limp arm. The sparks that spouted into the night air lit all three men’s faces, mixing with droplets of blood and sweat. Of course, this sort of one-armed fighting was far less taxing than it would have been when taking on five opponents at once. Still, the bleeding was not slowing. If the fight dragged out too long, sooner or later, Veil would be unable to move.

He crossed swords with the men, changing position again and again in order to avoid their pincer attacks. Though five of their allies had fallen, these two showed no signs of letting up.

Of course—after all, their families were being held hostage as well.

“Ugh! This just keeps getting better and better.”

He caught the blade that swung down toward him with his longsword, forcefully swinging his paralyzed left arm up to splash blood upon his opponent’s face.

“Eurgh!”

It hit the man square in the eyes. Then, the other man leapt out right in front of Veil, who frantically retreated.

“Cha!”

With a shout, Veil evaded the downward diagonal slash of the man’s blade, twisting past his side in pursuit of the man who was retreating. The man, blinded, had no means of evading Veil’s sword. The tip of the blade plunged deep into the man’s right thigh.

“Gaah…!”

Veil kicked the collapsed man’s sword away, leaving one final opponent—the leader, currently slashing down at him from behind. Veil caught the leader’s blow with his sword, sending the blade glancing off.

“Give it up already. All of your allies have fallen. Please just back off. If you can do that, I’ll just leave you all be.”

“You know I can’t do that. If we want to see our loved ones or set foot upon the ground of our hometowns ever again, we require all the blood that flows through the Lockwood line.”

The man changed his grip. He rested his blade on his shoulder and twisted his leg, lowering his body and screwing his torso to the right, so far that his back was exposed to Veil. It was obvious that he was determined to settle this once and for all. This was an all-or-nothing move, one that would leave a huge opening if it was not successful.

The man’s cheeks twitched softly with a smile.

“It’s probably a bit of an affront to say this, but I’ve gotta thank you. Sorry… You see, my wife just had a kid…”

Veil’s face twisted.

“The Lockwoods have family, too. And I have brothers and sisters back in the slums.”

For just a moment, the man’s gaze shifted up to Big Bro atop the wall, before it turned right back to Veil.

“I see.”

Apparently, that was all the man had to say. He faced Veil and kicked off from the ground. With his body still twisted, back showing, he struck in close to Veil’s chest.

“………!”

It was a killing blow. Still focused on the man’s words, Veil stepped back too late. He had no chance to evade the man’s attack. He was completely unguarded. However… He could not fall now and leave the others behind. He would not falter.

With the last of the strength in his left arm, Veil caught the blow just before it landed. The edge sunk into his palm, ripping into the flesh and bone and leather upon his forearm, but—before the blade could take his life, it stopped clean.

For some reason, he scarcely felt the pain.

“Looks like I’ve lost…”

Veil’s blade traced the leader’s legs as he uttered these words. The man collapsed. Veil removed his own leather gear with his intact arm. He ripped his shirt and tightly wrapped his left arm using his right hand and his mouth.

His makeshift bandages did something to staunch the blood, but it still flowed. Even so, it was unclear how much longer he would be able to stay on his feet without some healing magic.

Veil had to make this quick. He looked upward—to his elder brother, who stood leisurely atop the ruins, the moon shining at his back and a scimitar in his hand.

***

Lafine and Lily proceeded carefully, keeping themselves hidden. They passed by numerous patrolmen, but Lafine did not go ahead of Lily as she had before. She held on to the girl’s hand the whole time. Now that Veil was gone, this was perhaps necessary, to keep Lily from being on her own. Leaving the girl without an experienced hunter at her side would be as good as leaving a sheep alone in a forest full of monsters. Though, of course, if this particular sheep were left unsupervised, she might just turn into a beast herself.

Either way, for now, she must be guarded.

“Lafine, we’ve been going for a while now. Do you know where the hostages are?”

Lafine followed the retreating form of a passing patrolman with her eyes, her light brown hair swaying.

“I can triangulate it from where we’ve encountered the guards and their patrol areas. These don’t seem like the kind of guys who would go around patrolling areas that aren’t important. Chances are high that the hostages are being held somewhere around the center of that big circle they keep making.”

“Whoa…”

With every passing day, Lily was seeing Lafine in a new light. Back when she was a servant at the Lockwood home, she seemed like a truly useless, unproductive person. She was supposed to be Lily’s attendant, but there was a different servant in charge of cleaning Lily’s room and the area around it. Lafine didn’t cook for her, either. The only thing she seemed to be capable of was going out to purchase the storybooks that Lily liked to read. Some days, she slept the whole day in the mansion’s bay window, or even on the roof. Other times, when things were particularly rough, she went so far as to sleep in Lily’s big, fluffy bed. Even when the head butler scolded her, she replied only with a yawn.

And yet, after they had fled from the border town, there was a big change in Lafine. She was making fools of bandits, going sword-to-sword with active-duty hunters, and even cooking breakfast every now and then. Moreover, there were suddenly some implications that she was once a hunter herself.

Suddenly, her slender form seemed so much sturdier and more reliable.

They proceeded stealthily into the crumbling ruins. Finally, they spotted a yawning opening within the ground, which continued on to a set of stairs. One did not even have to peek within to see that it was not dark inside. A faint orange light seeped out into the night. Lafine turned to Lily and put a finger to her lips. Lily nodded obediently.

In this area alone, the grass had been trimmed back, and the exposed ground showed countless footprints. In fact, upon closer inspection, it seemed that the grass had not been trimmed but was so thoroughly trampled down that it no longer grew. There was no mistaking it. Quiet sounds drifted out from the hole as well. Not voices but the gentle clack, clack of footsteps.

After taking a look around at their surroundings, Lafine let go of Lily’s hand. She peeked inside the hole, took a few steps down the stairs, and paused. She took a few steps more and then beckoned Lily with a signal much like the ones from before. Timidly, Lily snuck down the stairs. She stepped by tiptoe onto the ground, steeling her heart and calming herself with each careful lowering of her heels. Still, she moved quickly. When she caught up with Lafine, Lafine gently stretched out her hand and patted Lily on the head.

“………”

That’s good, well done, the gesture seemed to say.

In contrast to the childish way she was just treating Lily, an almost lascivious smile spread across Lafine’s face.

Ahead of them was a hallway. Though the men were making use of the pre-existing structures of the ruins, this hallway was clearly being in active use. Here and there lamps were lit, with small flames swaying inside, which made it easy to see.

Though the hall was well maintained, the ruins were still ruins, with countless walls reduced to rubble. For every usable space, there was a pitch-black hole opposite. It was unsettling and eerie. Still, Lafine slid silently into the darkness. Lily followed after, minding her footsteps, waiting for another signal. Finally they began to hear the sounds of human activity. There did not seem to be any doors between them and the voices, so though the sounds were faint, they could hear clearly. There was definitely someone there. There were voices, speaking as softly as possible. Lily still could not tell what was being said.

Lafine walked, and Lily followed. Still holding one finger to her lips, Lafine used her other hand to indicate for Lily to look ahead. She was pointing to a guard, reclining in a chair and dozing. Both his breastplate and sword sat at his feet. Lily looked to Lafine, and they nodded at one another. The two snuck forward—but just as they attempted to pass in front of the man, his eyes suddenly opened.

“Wh-who are y—oof!”

Lafine covered the man’s mouth before he could finish speaking, the tip of her shortsword drawn and pressed to his neck. Just before she could pierce the man’s throat, Lily grabbed Lafine’s arm with both hands.

“Lafine, no!”

“Listen, y—hh!”

The man twisted his body, escaping from Lafine and running deeper into the ruins, shouting.

“Intruders! We’ve got intruders!”

Countless footsteps sounded from inside. They echoed off the walls and ceiling, making it impossible to tell how many people approached.

“We gotta head back!”

Lafine pivoted, running back toward the entrance.

“I’m gonna hide. If you’re with me, they’re gonna come after you, too. Go on ahead.”

Lily, however, did not move. Lafine stopped and shouted, “Lily!”

“I’ll be fine. I’m going to hide myself and wait.”

The footsteps were approaching. There was no more time. Even if they ran at full speed now, they would likely be captured before they could ever make it back to the entrance of the passage. Or at least, Lily would.

There was no time to even think about it.

Lafine pounded one of the walls in frustration. Her teeth clenched and her eyes filled with resentment, she glared at Lily and spat, “Fine. I’ll draw them off. But you listen to me. I’m not gonna come back in here to save you.”

“I know. I’ll try my best. Thank you for bringing me this far, Lafine.”

“…”

“I love you, Lafine. Even if you hate me, I still love you.”

Lafine clicked her tongue, her face twisting horribly, and then ran back down the path by which they had entered, shouting loudly, “Hey, wait! Don’t run so fast! Lily! Lily Lockwood!” Not waiting to watch her go, Lily quickly ducked behind a crumbled wall, hiding herself in a small, darkened room. Not a moment later, a number of soldiers went running past.

“Did you hear that voice just now? A woman?!”

“Wait, did she say something about Lily Lockwood?”

“The last remaining Lockwood is here?!”

“The fool. Did she come here for her family?!”

“Sure is convenient that she walked right in here to be captured!”

“After them! Do not let them get away! We’ve gotta catch her if we wanna go back to the Empire!”

None of the men passing by took any notice of Lily hiding in the side chamber, and soon they had all vanished, running after Lafine. The moment they were out of sight, Lily proceeded quietly down the hallway.

Now that she was alone, the darkness was incredibly eerie. Her heart was pounding much more fiercely than before. Her palms were slick with sweat, and all of her body screamed for her to run.

There were probably around twelve men chasing after Lafine. If her and Veil’s predictions were correct, there would still be more enemies remaining within. Lily’s legs threatened to seize up on her, but she forced them ahead. Her family was waiting for her. Her real, biological family. She could not even imagine how she might feel if she were able to find them safe and sound. But they were still waiting—waiting to be rescued. She had to go. She had to be strong. Both in body and heart.

She put her hand into her pocket and took out her butterfly mask, her usual disguise. Even the main characters of the stories she read were afraid sometimes. However, they never stopped moving. As long as there were people who needing saving, they always pressed on. That was what made a hero.

And so, she would transform. That alone would make her stronger…or at least, she hoped it might…probably…hopefully…

“Okay.”

Feeling her heart pounding in her chest, she took off running. Thanks to Veil keeping most of the patrolmen occupied and Lafine drawing off most of the underground enemies, there seemed to be no one else around.

A door!

Finally, she reached a single door. It was quickly obvious that this door was not part of the ruins but a wooden one that had been recently installed. Even Lily could infer that this was a clue that she had found the secret base of the agents of the Albarn Empire. She took in a long breath and then let it out slowly. Softly, she pushed open the door. The hinges creaked.

As she slipped inside, three pairs of eyes fell on Lily. Unfortunately, they were not those of her family. They were soldiers, all wearing the same garb as the men who had run after Lafine.

“An intruder…?”

“Just one little girl? And what’s with that freaky mask? This some kind of kinky game?! That’s disgusting! What’re they teachin’ kids here in Tils these days?!”

Ugh! This man has no taste!

“Anyway, I guess we’d better catch her. Even if she’s got nothin’ to do with this, she knows our location, so we can’t just let her stroll on out of here. If the king finds out about our position, it’s really gonna mess with our plans. Gonna have to keep her here until we can find a new base.”

Across from the men was an iron door. This was clearly another new installation. Lily stared at it, imagining her parents and siblings just beyond the doorway.

One of the soldiers moved around her, blocking her path of retreat. Lily thought, these men had not yet realized that she was the remaining Lockwood. Lafine’s shouts would not have reached this far. So, they had just mistaken her for a lost child who had come wandering in.

“All right, kid, just be good and you won’t get hu—”

The man who had blocked her way suddenly paused; a wild wind had just whipped up within the sealed underground room.

“Wh-what is this?”

Lily stretched out both her hands, seizing the air. The air raged around her palms, whipping up a whirlwind. She had not come this far just to be captured! So, like she had with the bandits, she would show them her strength, and then they would have to negotiate with her. Within the violent, unnatural wind, Lily shouted proudly in her childish voice, “My name is Hello World Mask! I’m an ally of justice protecting the Kingdom ofTils—in other words, a hero! I hear that you have hostages here! Release them at once! If you do not, I’ll make you regret it!”

For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of the wind. Overcoming their initial surprise, the soldiers collected themselves. Even if this appeared to be a magical wind, it was just blowing around chaotically. So much so that it didn’t appear that it would even be able to knock over a single iron sword stood on its end. Clearly, there was no reason to fear the likes of this little girl. Though, child or no, she was still a mage. They could not let down their guard.

The soldiers leveled their swords at her. Lily faltered, taking a step back.

“Stop that magic now. If you don’t—”

“I-I can’t!” Lily shouted, whipping her head back and forth.

“You idiot! Are you saying that that magic will hurt even you?!”

No, no, that’s not it. It’s not.

Lily shouted, nearly ready to cry, “No! I just have no idea how to stop magic once I start it!! So…do you mind if I shoot it into you?”

Veins bulged on the soldiers’ foreheads.

“Of course we friggin’ mind! If it’s that much of a problem, just shoot it into the wall over there or somethin’!”

“B-but Lafine said that ifI destroy the walls, the ceiling of the ruins might fall down and bury this whole underground place…”

“Look, these ruins might be old, but they’re not gonna be knocked down by some little breeze like that! Quit complainin’ and just let it go! W-w-w-wait, wait, hold on! Don’t point that this way! W-we won’t forgive you if you shoot that into us!”

The men were wrong. Walls that old and weathered would most certainly crumble in the face of her wind magic. Lily was confident of this. She knew the rotations of this spell were even more powerful than the ones she had struck the orcs with. Even if she tried to hold back the power within the spheres grasped in her hand, violent winds were already seeping out beyond them. Just in case, she called to the spirits.

Mr. Nano, what’s going on? My magic seems even more powerful than before!

THAT IS LIKELY BECAUSE YOU ARE USING YOUR MAGIC WHILE AGITATED, AND YOUR THOUGHT PULSES ARE THAT MUCH MORE POWERFUL. INCIDENTALLY, BY OUR CALCULATIONS, THERE IS A 98 PERCENT PROBABILITY THAT THE WALLS WILL CRUMBLE IF YOU RELEASE THE WIND. THE REMAINING 2 PERCENT IS THE CHANCE THAT THE WIND WILL SIMPLY PASS RIGHT THROUGH THE RUINS ENTIRELY.

Purr-sent? That sounds like some kind of cute animal!

Lily sensed something like a weary sigh.

ACTUALLY, A PERCENTAGE MEANS THAT, IF YOU STRUCK THE SAME WALL ONE HUNDRED TIMES WITH THE SAME SPELL, NINETY-EIGHT OF THOSE TIMES, THE WALL WOULD COLLAPSE.

She was crestfallen.

FURTHERMORE, IF THE WALL DOES COLLAPSE, THERE IS AN INCREDIBLY HIGH LIKELIHOOD—78 PERCENT—THAT THE CEILING WILL COME DOWN WITH IT AS WELL. SHOULD THAT HAPPEN, THERE IS NEARLY THE SAME PROBABILITY THAT YOU, AND EVERYONE ELSE DOWN HERE, WILL BE BURIED ALIVE AND PERISH. AS YOUR OBJECTIVE SEEMS TO BE THE RESCUE OF YOUR FAMILY, WHO ARE BEING HELD HOSTAGE BEYOND THIS ROOM, I WOULD NOT ADVISE THIS METHOD.

The nanomachines’ response was calm, but Lily got the sense she had just been told something of dire importance.

What if she had simply asked Mr. Nano to determine her family’s location from the start? No, there was no point in thinking about that now.

Waaaah! So it’d be dangerous to hit a person with this, even if they’re wearing armor?!

NO, THEIR ARMOR IS QUITE STURDY, SO EVEN TAKING A DIRECT HIT SHOULD ONLY DENT IT.

Oh! Well, in that case!

The soldiers took a step back as Lily pointed her hands toward them.

“H-hey, you little witch, what’re you doing?! We told you not to point that at us!”

In a slightly frantic tone, the nanomachines added, WE SHOULD MENTION THAT THE HUMANS INSIDE THAT ARMOR WILL BE CRUSHED TO DEATH, THOUGH. QUITE PAINFULLY, AS THEIR BONES PIERCE THEIR ORGANS. ALTERNATIVELY, THEY’LL BE BLOWN BACK INSTEAD AND THROWN INTO THE WALL, WHERE THEIR INNARDS WILL GO KA-SPLAT.

Ka-splat, huh?

She had no idea how high the likelihood of this ka-splat was, but regardless, it seemed best that she not pursue this course of action. Lily pouted, pushing out her bottom lip and staring at the soldiers with tearful eyes.

“Umm…”

The fiercely powerful wind swirled in her hands. It was as though a tornado had been compressed down to palm size, which made it all the more difficult to handle. It was something a wooden house would not be able to withstand, made even more powerful by virtue of being highly concentrated.

Not thinking, Lily blurted, “Hey, Misters, can you help?”

“With what?!”

“Putting this out?”

“How should we do that?! Just hurry up and shoot it into the wall and get rid of it!”

She had honestly assumed that at long as she did not use any spell that was like her fireballs—or rather, her pseudo-suns—everything would be fine. Those were dangerous. Underground, with nowhere to run, the men would be burnt to a crisp. However, it turned out that her wind spheres weren’t exactly safe, either. She should have refrained from magic entirely, just as Lafine had told her.

Lily looked upward to keep the tears from falling. Yet even as her vision blurred, she suddenly realized something. Wouldn’t everything be all right if the ceiling that was going to topple down on them was gone entirely?

Mr. Nano?

YES, THAT SHOULD PROVIDE A MUCH GREATER CHANCE OF SURVIVAL THAN SHOOTING YOUR WIND INTO THE WALL.

Lily’s gaze flicked back to the soldiers.

“Wh-what?! You back to tryin’ to shoot us with that thing?”

“Misters! Please, watch out and get down!”

“Huh?”

Without waiting for a reply, Lily pointed both hands toward the ceiling.

“Uh-hup!”

The air exploded. It would be absurd to even refer to it as anything so ordinary as wind. A powerful wall of air, with Lily at its center, shot upward from the underground chamber. The soldiers, with nowhere to run, were blasted back into the walls. Probably, this was the best-case scenario for them.

There was a thunderous sound. The earth itself let out a shriek. Lily’s maelstrom pierced through the ancient underground ruins, blasting the heavy earth that enshrined them into the night sky.

It was like a cold volcanic eruption…

The rubble that was shot high into the air rained down on the ruins like meteorites, once more shaking the earth. Finally, when everything had settled again…

“………”

The rubble that had once been the ceiling tumbled down over the walls, bit by bit. A dense cloud of dust surrounded them.

Everyone in the room, including the perpetrator herself, was flattened to the ground, staring up at the night sky in shock. Where there was once a sturdy stone ceiling, there was now nothing but air. The ceiling was gone. Kaput. Vanished without a single speck. Lily turned slowly to the soldiers, who were plastered to the walls.

“Um, so anyway, could I please ask you to just go ahead and release the hostages?”

The men, still on their knees, only gazed at the girl who stood before them. Yet now, they looked at her in fear.

“Um.”

At their lack of response, she once again thrust her hands out toward the soldiers. The soldiers scuttled back, pressing themselves against the walls.

“Please release the hostages. They’re my beloved family.”

“——!”

“Y-you’re Lily Lockwood…?”

She nodded.

“Damn it, no one told us that the other girl was a mage!”

“How the hell were we supposed to capture a monster like this?”

The men’s faces were painted with despair. One of them, however, rose to his feet.

“Monster? What of it? If we don’t capture all the Lockwoods, we won’t be able to go back home! Do you not want to see your homes or your families again?! Is this not the time to put our lives on the line?!”

The other soldiers looked at one another, fear still in their eyes. Their expressions were clearly bitter, but the next moment they stood, either in resignation or resolve, and opened their mouths.

However, before they could speak, Lily cut in. “No, I don’t think that’s right. You all can’t die here. No one would be able to smile tomorrow if something like that happened. Wouldn’t it just make your families sad if you threw your lives away for them?”

The soldiers shut their mouths again, as though they had lost all their vigor. The first man, however, shouted more loudly, “Then what exactly do you want us to do?! We don’t have anywhere else to go! Considering that spell you just let off, we’re probably gonna die here anyway! But if we run, we’ll be executed! And our families will be punished, too!

“We’re in the same boat here, little Lockwood. Our families are being held hostage as well. We never had any choice to begin with. It’s better for us to die here.” The man pounded his chest with his fist, resolve strengthened. “That said, our deaths will not be in vain! With our deaths here, the Empire will reward our families handsomely!”

In contrast with the man, Lily was smiling sadly.

“I don’t really understand all this complicated stuff about your country, but I don’t think your families would take that kind of reward. They’d say it was bad and that they didn’t need it. Really bad. I’m sure they’d rather see you alive once more, no matter how.”

Lily’s smile twisted.

“Even someone like me, a child abandoned by her own parents, would feel that way.”

The man’s face changed. What was once an antagonistic glare was now a look of confusion and pity.

“You…you came here to save them, even though they abandoned you? Is that why your name wasn’t on the list of the Lockwoods? Because you were abandoned?”

“Yes. So, I have nothing to lose. But I still don’t want to die. I didn’t come here to die. I just came to see them. And I want you all to live, too. If you keep on living, then there’s always a chance that you might be able to see your families again someday.”

Words were so difficult to use. Nothing Lily wanted to say was coming out right. She lacked confidence in her own words. She could use them, but it was incredibly hard. She could not express even the smallest part of what she truly wanted to convey. Now that she could hear, now that she could speak, she finally understood this.

The man looked down and spat, “Someday, but when? It’s already been two years since we left the Empire and have been wandering around this place. Two years… We’ve fallen so far as to live like bandits, just dreaming of the day we might see our homes again.”

Never in her life had Lily seen a grown adult with his face screwed up like a little child’s, quietly trying to hold back a more pitiful expression. It was sad. It was scary. But she knew he had to bear it.

“There’s nothing more you can do with words.” The man picked up his fallen sword in his right hand. “So, please… Just…end me. End us.”

“All right,” Lily softly replied.

The man gave a twisted smile. He chuckled quietly and said, “Thank you, Miss Lockwood.”

Then he sighed and bent his body down, kicking off of the rubble-covered ground. He flew toward Lily with his sword in hand and the intent to kill, wholly unguarded.

“Hi-yaaaaah!!!”

For Lily, it would have been simple to murder this man. It would actually be far harder to fell him without doing so. She could not use either her flame sphere or her wind. However, there was one other type of spell that was burned into her memory. Lily extended her right arm, tracing it with her left hand, from her upper arm to her fingertips.

“Magic Sword.”

She did not have the power to hold a sword and swing it around. She could barely even manage a knife. She lacked the physical strength required. So, she had no choice but to strengthen something that she could not drop. As her arm was coated in a dull glow, she lifted it upward to defend against the raised swing from the man now stepping toward her.

She was prepared for the pain. As she imagined it, the worst-case scenario would be that the magic misfired, and she would lose her arm entirely. However, unexpectedly…there was an impact. Her elbow did not catch the blade. Instead, she felt a heavy blow to her shoulder. There was no metallic sound. But the blade was repelled, as though it had struck something unbreakable.

She still had an arm. She was not hurt. Her clothes were not even cut.

However.

“Ah!”

Her right arm, strengthened with magic, was fine…but a sharp pain ran through Lily’s right shoulder. Before she knew it, she had been pitched into the rubble. The difference in physical strength between a grown man and a young girl was immense. Her back slammed against the ground, and she went rolling.

“Uh…”

The man slashed diagonally upward, the tip of his sword scraping along the ground, aimed at Lily’s neck. Lily moved the moment before he could strike, pulling her right arm up to catch the attack, but this time she was blown back into the crumbled remains of a wall. She fell to the ground, red staining her vision.

“Uh…wuh…”

She turned only her eyes to the approaching footsteps, to see the tip of the man’s sword trained on her, approaching at high speed.

I’m gonna die…

It would be simple. She could just hit him with a fire or wind sphere. If she died now, she’d never see her family again. She would die, never knowing if she loved her family or hated them.

So, would she have to kill him?

No. No, no, no. Someone. Someone had to save her. Anyone.

VERY WELL, UNDERSTOOD!

The nanomachines’ voice resounded in her mind, and Lily was overcome by an odd sensation, as though something was racing throughout her body. A bizarre sense of power bubbled up from every pore. Before she even noticed that her pain had dissipated, Lily’s hands began to move. They were striking the ground, bouncing up from where she was collapsed.

She was moving. Her body was moving, just as she had pictured. Just like those people in her stories. The man’s sword pierced into thin air as she leapt over him. He looked as though he was truly taking his time.

Lily landed silently behind him and struck the man powerfully in the side with her magic blade-arm, just as he was about to turn around.

“Wha…?!”

The man suddenly disappeared from view, and there was a sound of the right-hand wall collapsing. By the time Lily turned her head, he was already unconscious and buried in the rubble.

An anticlimactic resolution.

Lily was not the only one who was stunned at this result. The other soldiers, now having lost all will to fight, were equally flabbergasted.

The nanomachines whispered to Lily,WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED THE BODY STRENGTHENING THAT WE DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY. DO NOT WORRY, YOU HAVEN’T TURNED INTO A BEASTGIRL OR DEMON OR ANYTHING. IF YOU ARE CURIOUS, THIS HAS BEEN ACHIEVED BY NANOMACHINES PROLIFERATING IN EVERY PART OF YOUR BODY. IT IS ONLY TEMPORARY, BUT WITH OUR HELP YOU CAN OBTAIN THE STRENGTH OF THOSE HEROES YOU SO ADMIRE. IF YOU PRAY TO BECOME FASTER, YOU’LL BE FASTER. IF YOU ASK TO BE STRONG, THAT WILL HAPPEN AS WELL.

Whoa…

A rare response, even for them.

NATURALLY, THERE ARE LIMITS, AND THERE IS NO CHANGE TO YOUR BODY ITSELF, SO PLEASE BE AWARE THAT YOU WILL LIKELY BE IN A LOT OF PAIN AFTER THIS BATTLE, AS A SIDE EFFECT.

Side effect?

MUSCLE PAIN, STRESS FRACTURES, STRAIN, AND SO FORTH.

Lily whipped her head side to side.

Nooo!!

WHAT WE’RE SAYING IS THAT IT’S JUST BEST NOT TO ABUSE YOUR POWERS. HOWEVER, YOU HAVE ONLY BEEN FIGHTING FOR A SHORT TIME, SO YOU’LL PROBABLY GET AWAY WITH NOTHING MORE THAN BRUISES. IF YOU WISH TO USE THIS POWER FOR A LONGER SUSTAINED PERIOD IN THE FUTURE, WE WOULD RECOMMEND DAILY PHYSICAL TRAINING.

At any rate, it seemed she was saved. Lily removed the magic from her right arm and brushed the dust off her skirt. Then, she turned to the now-silent men before her and said again, “I’d like you to release the hostages now.”

There was no response to these words.

And so, Lily pulled the keys hanging on the wall down with her fingertips and put them into the iron door at the deepest point of the underground chamber. With a little pushing, the door opened, hinges creaking, allowing the little girl inside.

***

Showers of sparks flew again and again into the night, and a shrill clanging echoed through the darkness.

He’s fast!

Veil’s skills had grown even more since the intense training he had received under the supervision of a certain girl at the Hunters’ Prep School. However, even if you took away the fact that he could only use one arm right now, and that the loss of so much blood was clouding his vision, it was clear that the scimitar-wielding broker before him—Big Bro—was a worthy opponent.

“………!”

He could not fight back Big Bro’s attacks with only one arm. Meeting his strength with more strength would only see his own sword repelled. He had to take the blows and let them slide. Rather than fighting power with power, he had to allow the force to flow past him. He had no other choice. Not only was his left arm entirely useless, he could no longer use his air bullets, the ace up his sleeve.

The blows came again and again.

“Please, Bro, stop! Why are you fighting for the imperial army?!”

“It’s not for them.”

Veil deflected a blow aimed at his thighs just before it struck. Sword slipped across sword, sending a font of sparks flying into the night air. Each time, his opponent’s ashen gray eyes flickered in the darkness. The tip of the scimitar whipped a sharp wind over the end of Veil’s nose, grazing past his face as he bent backward.

“I’m fighting for the slums. I did yesterday, I am today, and I’ll do it again tomorrow.”

“What are you talking about?!”

Big Bro turned his body and avoided the downward slash Veil unleashed as he stood again. It was a razor-thin margin, a snap judgment. Big Bro’s skill with a sword was fully on par with an A-rank hunter’s. This probably should not have come as much of a surprise, considering that he had managed to live this long as a broker of illicit jobs, doing business with bandits. In fact, what was hardest to believe at this point was that this was a man who had ever been gentle or kind.

Still twisted, he unfurled a rope and spun around, launching a scimitar attack at Veil’s side with the centrifugal force of his movements. Veil was only barely able to block the blow, standing his sword up with the tip against the ground and pushing his immobilized left shoulder against the top of it. The powerful attack reverberated, and pain coursed throughout his whole body.

Veil bit back the pain, gritting his teeth, and yelled, “The slums have already been saved! Things are getting better now! There’s no reason for you to keep sacrificing yourself for them! We don’t need you to do that dangerous job anymore!”

The slums had been saved. Previously, it was not uncommon to see children dying of starvation, but thanks to Veil’s dedication, his resolve to stick around after his fifteenth birthday, and the changes enacted by the Crimson Vow, starvation was now quite rare.

A change was underway. For everyone and everything.

Veil stepped forward, swinging his sword, but Big Bro caught the blow cleanly and pushed him back at full force.

“That’s not enough.”

“What do you mean?!”

This time, Big Bro took a heavy step forward as Veil stumbled back, right foot plunging between both of Veil’s. He was so close now that Veil could smell his breath. So close that he could feel death beside him.

“Can you care for your little brothers and sisters when they’re wasting away from illness? Can you shoulder the burdens of the expensive medicines they need?”

His longsword keened as he caught another blow. Or wait—it was not the sword itself that was keening. Veil soon realized it was his own right arm, now starting to go numb. As he noticed this, Veil’s body went limp. He had been knocked upward. He was not high off the ground, but both of his legs were most certainly in the air.

Where did he get all that power within such a thin frame?!

Veil put all his strength into his fingers, consciously gripping the hilt that threatened to go flying from his hand. If he lost his sword, the battle would be over.

He landed. His heels skidded backwards.

“Is watching over them as they die your idea of salvation?”

“Guh!”

Veil bent down in the nick of time, avoiding a blow aimed relentlessly at his neck. Before that thrust could turn into a slash, he jammed his ruined left shoulder into Big Bro’s side, pushing him away.

There was a gap. Veil’s vision was still blurry. He no longer knew if the liquid trailing down his own cheeks was blood or sweat. He was seeing a double image of the man before him. He shook his head.

“Let me explain, Veil. I want to get rid of the slums. I want to erase even the notion of the slums from this world entirely. And so, I had no choice. Just like when I had to involve myself with bandits during my time as a broker.”

At this, Veil’s expression shifted.

“What do you mean?! What are you gonna do to the slums?!”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that I’m going to slaughter everyone there or anything. I’m saying that I wish to change the Kingdom of Tils. And for that to happen, it is necessary to utilize the Albarn Empire.”

There was a pause of just a few breaths. Then, Veil’s eyes opened wide.

“Don’t tell me you intend to help the Empire invade Tils? Did this whole thing with the Lockwoods, who are supposed to guard the country’s borders—did it all come back to that?”

“Yep.”

Big Bro removed the mask covering his mouth and tossed it down at his feet. Veil got the sense that this was how he meant to show he was not lying.

“I made an agreement with the prime minister of the Empire, in exchange for the lives of Margrave Lockwood and his family. When the Empire invades the capital ofTils, only the slums will remain untouched. Then, in the aftermath of the invasion, the children of the slums will be treated as normal citizens.”

“Do you really think that promise is going to be kept in the midst of a war?! Plus, the slums are already starting to flourish without you having to do all tha—”

Before Veil could finish speaking, Big Bro shouted back, “Getting a few jobs doesn’t change the fact that they’re urchins! How can you forgive a royal family who can just turn a blind eye and leave children to suffer? Don’t you get it, Veil?”

A crazed grin spread across his face.

“Both the royal family and the urchins of the slums—all of us will live together as equals! What could be a more splendid outcome than that?”

Veil gritted his teeth and yelled back, “But they’ll die! Even if the orphans aren’t caught up in the war, there will be countless casualties, among commoners and nobles alike. Can’t you see that?”

“That doesn’t matter!”

His bloodshot eyes wide, the crazed smile still upon his face, Big Bro spoke quietly now. “I don’t care how many tens of thousands of people fall victim outside of the slums. How many hundreds of urchins in the slums have the royal family and the common people abandoned and left to die? They’ll get what they deserve.”

Veil hung his head as Big Bro continued.

“Now, it’s our turn to abandon them. The crimes cancel each other out. Everyone will be equal—royals, commoners, and urchins alike.”

Veil had no words. What could he say to this? He felt only an intense sorrow. To think he would be hearing such things from the kind Big Bro, who had always cared for everyone. It was miserable and frustrating. Somehow, he managed to hold back the tears that threatened to overflow.

“You aren’t doing this for the slums. You’re just doing this because you want revenge.”

“Won’t you join me, Veil? Unlike our other big brothers and sisters, who ran away and left the slums behind them, you chose to remain there. You’re the same as me. You should be able to understand how I feel.”

“Big Bro, I can’t…” Veil choked. “There are a lot of people among the commoners who do support the urchins…”

“Reform comes with sacrifices. The people of this country are far too insensitive to the plight of urchins. We need to tear down Tils and rebuild it from the ground up.”

Veil could see that it was already too late for him. He was so hellbent on his own revenge that he was using the slums as a tool. His very sense of humanity seemed to be slipping.

Veil looked up at Big Bro meaningfully.

“Lily. That girl, Lily Lockwood, who you tried to sell out to the Empire, said that you were a nice person. She’s been lending her strength to help out the slums. All of the children of the slums love her. Would you kill her, too?”

“Well, unfortunately, that girl is still a noble.”

He knew. Veil knew that would be the reply.

He wasn’t going to be able to get through to him with words. That part of him was already gone. So, there was only one thing left for him to do, as his brother.

“Come with me, Veil. We can liberate the slums together.”

Big Bro held out his right hand, but Veil shook his head and steeled himself, longsword in hand.

“I’m going to stop you. If I win, you have to abandon this stupid plan and go somewhere far, far away.”

There was a momentary pause. The cold night wind blew languidly around them both.

“Sorry, Veil. Looks like our path as brothers parts here. Still, I’ll honor that promise, even though there’s no chance of you ever beating me.”

He put both hands on his scimitar.

Veil breathed out softly and kicked off the ground. Almost at the exact same moment, Big Bro kicked off as well. They closed the distance in an instant—but just before they met, Veil put all of his strength into his diagonally propped longsword and flung it at the other man’s head.

“Raaaah!”

“——?!”

Big Bro just barely stopped the spinning longsword with his scimitar.

“What are you d—”

He was unable to finish that question.

It was but an instant that Big Bro’s gaze was trained on the flying longsword, but in that time, Veil had already stepped in close to him, still empty-handed.

He stooped down. Low, very low. By the time Big Bro tried to swing his scimitar, it was already too late.

“Air Bullet.”

The bullet of compressed air that shot from Veil’s right hand crashed right into the his opponent’s solar plexus. His thin body was bent sharply in two. He crashed backward into the ruins with a fearsome force, hacking up blood and bile.

“Guh-guh!”

Veil picked up his sword in a leisurely manner and stood before his now-collapsed big brother. The man glared up at him, his eyes fierce, but then his face slackened as he sighed. Finally, he whispered, “I guess I lose. Kill me.”

There was no hesitation.

Veil gave his sword one great swing and plunged it through his sash. Then he said, “No…you’re going…to keep your…promise…” His vision was blurring.

Veil swayed violently forward.

“Veil?”

“But…no matter how…far away…you are…our…bond will never…be so easily…broken… I will al…ways be your…little brother af…ter…all…”

Then darkness encroached from the edges of his doubled, blurred vision. There was a sound like something snapping inside of his head, and all Veil’s strength left him. He crumbled to his knees, losing consciousness as he fell across his brother’s body.

“Hey, Veil! Veil!”

It was just like when they were younger. Veil had contracted a grave illness while in the slums, and without medicine, found himself on the verge of death. He now remembered that night, where his nameless big brother sat by him, worriedly calling his name just like this the whole night through.

From behind his closed eyes, a stream of tears finally began to flow.

***

The hinges creaked. The heavy door slowly opened.

At the end of a narrow passageway, there was yet another door—to make escape that much more difficult. Lily Lockwood’s family was beyond that door.

As Lily walked along the stone path, she removed her butterfly mask. The only footsteps she heard were her own, and there were no signs she was being followed. The soldiers had already lost all will to fight.

What should I say first? Lily wondered. I’m sure they’re going to be surprised to see me here.

“How have you been? I’m here to save you.”

“Guess what, I can hear now!”

“I’ve practiced speaking, too.”

“And I can even use magic.”

“I’ve made a lot of friends.”

“Why did you leave me behind that night?”

“Was I always just a burden to you?”

“Have the two of you been good little children?”

“Have you been taking good care of Mother and Father?”

“You haven’t just been crying the whole time, have you?”

“Did you…even know about me?”

“Did you know…that you had a big sister who has never even spoken to you?”

Her steps began to slow, until finally she stopped dead in the middle of the hallway. Her hand, gripped somewhere around her heart, trembled faintly.

She was afraid. Her legs would not move. This whole time, she had only been plunging blindly forward, thinking of how she was going to save her family. And now, the moment was suddenly right before her eyes.

The trembling in her hands spread to her legs, from her legs to her whole body. She was not cold, but her teeth were chattering.

It was too late to turn back.

Her breath was as ragged as if she had just run a marathon, but she dragged her legs forward. After a short distance, when she was just close enough to touch the door, she stopped again.

She could hear voices. She could hear her brother and sister crying, and her mother comforting them.

They were here. Right on the other side of this one little door. The family who had abandoned her. Her body was soaked with so much sweat that it terrified even her.

Would they accept her? Or would she be rejected?

The moment she put the key to the lock, she was overtaken by the urge to flee.

No, no, no, no. That would be far too irresponsible. Veil and Lafine had given up so much to get her here. She tried to put the key into the door with her trembling hands, but it would not fit. It clacked and clacked, but would not go into the keyhole. She had to hurry, before the soldiers came back to their senses. She had to.

Lily was so wrapped up in thinking that she did not even hear the footsteps approaching from behind her. A warm, soft hand rested atop her own trembling fingers. Then, the key slipped right into the lock.

“…?!”

“Don’t chicken out after you’ve made it all this way, idiot.”

Hearing this voice in her ear, all the tension flooded out from Lily’s body.

“Lafine…”

She looked back over her right shoulder, to see a woman with light brown hair standing there. She was covered in bruises, smeared with blood and sweat, panting heavily.

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Heh heh.”

This time, the key, gripped firmly in both of their hands, turned solidly within the lock. Ka-chak, sounded the lock as it opened.

Lily looked over her left shoulder and saw a masculine face, covered in half-dried blood—Veil. He was breathing raggedly as well, as though he had hurried here.

“Veil!”

“Hey there. I got to talk to my Big Bro, thanks to you.”

He was alive. He had stayed alive—for her. Thank goodness. Lily felt relief in her core. Then she noticed, Veil’s whole body was dyed red, as if he had been bathing in blood. His left arm looked particularly bad.

“You’re really hurt!”

“Don’t worry about it. Looks like Big Bro tended to my wounds while I was unconscious. Before he left. I think it was magic.”

Though he had never once used magic when battling me, Veil thought, smiling bitterly. Still, there was a faint happiness in his smile, as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

His face was pale, but he appeared to be telling the truth. Lily did not see any fresh trails of blood on him. Everywhere it was visible, the blood was mostly dried.

“Plus, it seems like I was able to thwart a huge plot that was about to get underway. But I’ll tell you more about that later. For now, there’s something you have to do, isn’t there? My work is finished. Now it’s your turn, Lily. Go on in.”

“No need to worry! No matter what happens in there, we’re right here. You go and say everything you need to say to that stupid family of yours!”

Lafine kicked the door open, and Veil gently shoved Lily in. She staggered into the cell, swallowing nervously, and slowly raised her eyes.

There, she saw her beloved family, the ones she was supposed to hate. Had her father Neiham lost some weight? His cheeks were sunken. He regarded Lily in shock, his eyebrows knit together. Her mother Ivanna was cradling her two siblings to protect them, while the pair looked up at Lily, eyes filled with a blank wonderment.

“Ah…”

Her voice caught in her throat. No words came out.

“Uh…”

It was like before, when she could not hear or speak. Finally, Neiham broke the silence.

“Lily, is that you…? What…are you doing here…?”

“…”

Neiham’s cheeks sagged. “Ha! So you were captured. You were lucky enough to escape the first time, and yet you let yourself be captured without even putting up a fight. You’re as useless a half-wit as you ever were.”

“………”

The words feel so heavy in my stomach. It’s like I’ve swallowed lead weights. I bet he still thinks that I can’t hear.

Both Veil and Lafine wore fierce expressions, but they did not move. They remained hidden on either side of the opened door, pressed just against the walls.

“I’d thought that maybe that explosion just before might actually be someone coming here to save us, yet here before me is a face I never hoped to see again. Looks like our luck has finally run out.”

Lily’s face slackened. She closed her eyes and then faintly opened them, wringing the sounds from her throat.

“N…no. I brought…myself here…”

Both Neiham and Ivanna’s faces shifted in an instant. Their eyes were open just as wide as when the door had first been opened, mouths gaping. Lily put a finger to her ear. She tried to force a smile back across her sorrowful expression, but it was strained.

“I can hear now… I…can hear everything…”

There was a beat.

There was a beat, and then the margrave drew back.

“Impossible! You had an illness that even the most expensive healing mages in the capital couldn’t cure! Even the court magicians rejected it! So, why now…? Y-you can really hear me…?”

Lily continued, her voice shrill, “F-father! I…can use magic now, too. I defeated all those bad guys, and made it all…the way…here…”

She could not go on. She finally knew it. She knew how her father truly felt.

They really didn’t want me. My mother isn’t saying a word, and my siblings are looking at me like I’m crazy. I’m just some girl who they’ve never seen before. They were never even told about me, their deaf older sister.

Her chest was tight. It ached. She wanted to run away wailing.

“Aha… Okay… I see…”

She hung her head. All the strength left her body.

Neiham began muttering nervously. “D-don’t tell me you came here seeking revenge on me? Would you really hurt me, your true father, with that magic of yours?”

She had no words. It was not that she could not continue, it was merely pointless. She should have known.

Neiham held his hands out, eyes fearful.

“H-hey! Well, now that you can hear and speak, everything is fine! If you’ve come here to save us, then we’ll happily welcome you back as a member of the family again!”

Her heart quashed every single word that she could think of saying. Every one of them felt wretched.

“Listen! We can just say that we’ve learned that our eldest daughter, who was abducted as an infant, is still alive and has finally returned to us! You have a happy future ahead of you as a noble! Not only are you fair of face, but you’ve come back with magic as well! Yes, it’s perfect! Perhaps the Lockwoods will even marry into the royal family one day!”

Enough. That was the word she could not bring herself to say.

“I know that you’ve had an unfortunate life up until now, but from this point on, you can have whatever you like! Now, return to my side, Lily!”

Lily could do nothing but stand there, hanging her head, her shoulders slumped. Lafine pushed her forcefully aside, approaching the margrave.

“Pardon me, Your Excellency.”

“Hm? Well, if it isn’t Lafine. Glad to see you’re safe as we—wh—? Gah!”

Lafine’s fist smacked straight into Neiham’s cheek. He fell, neck twisting, his face going red.

“Y-you little harlot! My face!”

Lily grabbed Lafine’s clothes.

“That’s enough, Lafine,” she said calmly, smiling purposefully, as wide as she could. “I didn’t come here to save them in the hopes that they would love me. I came here because I love them. That’s what a hero does. So, I’m fine. It’s okay if they hate me. Even if it is a little sad to hear. So, please, don’t do something like that just for me.”

Lafine snorted and shook her arm free of Lily.

“You’re way off the mark. Don’t get me wrong. I only punched that man because he was standing in my way.”

“Are you mocking me?! Do you not recall the debt you owe me for being so kind as to hire the likes of a common girl from the family of a once-knight?!”

Lafine narrowed her eyes, glaring at Neiham.

“I think you’d better shut your filth-spewing mouth now if you don’t want me to cut it right out of your face, pig.”

“Wha—?!”

Lafine strode boldly past him, staring down at Ivanna, who still clutched her two children.

“Do you have any defense to make to Lady Lily, Lady Ivanna?”

Ivanna softly pushed the two children back to the wall and then slowly stood, puffing out her ample chest. Her dress was soiled, but an air of refinement still hung around her as she spoke with dignity. “I have none. For what should I apologize? My husband and I are members of a noble family, tasked with defending the borders of the Kingdom of Tils. That night, to assure both the preservation of the Lockwood line and the safety of our kingdom, we made the choice that was most prudent, and fled.”

“And?”

“Yes. We ranked the deaf Lily below our two younger children, who were strong and healthy. Leading us to the result you see now.”

Ivanna stared back at Lafine, resolute and unflinching. But her amber eyes were not looking at Lafine. They were looking at Lily Lockwood herself, who stood dumbfounded beside her. Ivanna walked around Lafine and stood in front of Lily. She folded her hands in front of her stomach and bent forward in a bow.

“I’m sorry, Lily. There is no denying that we abandoned you.” She lowered her head. “I suppose if I were to say anything else to you, it would amount to little more than excuses. It’s just that, well, the unfortunate way that things ended up—no, even that is little more than sidestepping the point.”

Lily looked at her mother through hollow eyes.

“You are free now,” the woman continued. “Should you choose to return to the Lockwood home, I swear to you that we will welcome you back as a rightful heir. However, if you are disillusioned with us, and desire to live in the outside world, then we will simply watch over you. The decision is yours to make.”

“Wh-what do you think you’re doing, Ivanna?!” Neiham shouted. “I am the head of the Lockwood family, and I am the one who makes the decisions! Lily is our wonderful daughter, who understands the principles of magic! We may even be able to join her to the royal family in marriage! She’s not going anywhere!”

Ivanna’s eyes pierced right through him. When she spoke, her tone was low but scathing. “Neiham, be quiet.”

“Guh…”

Everyone said that Neiham never would have gotten where he was in life if Ivanna had not become his wife. And now, it was clear to everyone present that the rumor was true. Ivanna once more turned to Lily and smiled at her wistfully, her resolve fading.

“Should you choose to spread your wings in the outside world, I promise you that from here on out, we Lockwoods will do nothing to impinge upon that freedom. That is the best gift that I, a mother who abandoned her own precious daughter, can give you.”

Lily looked up. She glanced at Lafine, who quietly averted her eyes. Veil merely leaned against the wall with his arms folded, watching stalwartly.

There were so many things she wished to say. You could have built a mountain out of them. However, most of those words vanished in her mouth before she could ever speak them. What could possibly be left now, inside this empty shell that she had become?

“Hey, Lafine,” she spoke.

“What?”

“Thank you for your help. I’m sorry you got involved in something so dangerous.”

“Hmph. What’re you acting so out of character for? What a drag. All I’ve done is cause trouble for you since that night, haven’t I? And so, what, after all that, that’s all you have to say?”

“Yep.”

“I see. Well then, just hurry up and get the hell out of here. I’m lookin’ forward to getting back to my single life.”

Next, she turned to Veil.

“Veil.”

“Yeah.”

“What happened with your big brother?”

Veil unfolded his arms and gazed at his blood-soaked left side. The wounds were completely closed. He had heard his brother desperately calling his name while he was unconscious. In that moment, Veil was certain that the shady broker had turned back into the Big Bro he knew and loved. And so, he smiled faintly.

“Who knows. He’s gone off somewhere far away, now. But I’m sure that someday in the distant future, should we happen to run into one another on some city street somewhere, we’ll be able to talk and laugh again as brothers. It’s all thanks to you, Lily, that I had this chance. Thank you.”

“I’m glad.”

“Yeah.”

Lily smiled at Veil, and then, she turned back to Ivanna Lockwood. In the corner ofher vision, she saw Neiham Lockwood as well. She straightened her back, fixed her posture, and opened her mouth.

“Mother, Father. Thank you, truly, for giving me life. Thank you for raising me for nine whole years, despite my shortcomings. Thank you for looking out for my little brother and sister as well, in that same home,” she said. Then she firmly declared, “Istill love every single member of the Lockwood family!”

For a third time, a look of awe spread across Neiham’s face.

“Lily… We treated you so poorly, but you’re still forgiving us?”

Ivanna smiled quietly, opening her arms to welcome her daughter.

“Welcome home, Lily.”

With a pained expression, Lafine covered her ears, while a faint smile crossed Veil’s mouth. That was the Lily Lockwood they knew and loved, after all. The girl overflowing with such foolish kindness that she would declare her love for everyone and everything in the world, even those who betrayed her.

However, Lily was not finished speaking. She did not rush into her mother’s open arms. It was not over yet.

“Right now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. So…”

That day, through a tear-filled smile, Lily Lockwood bid her birth family farewell.