Chapter 5: Starting Knight School

Chapter 5: Starting Knight School

The day was finally here! I had turned thirteen, and now it was time for my entrance ceremony into knight school.

“Next up is the representative for incoming students, Serephione Granzeus.”

“Okay!”

I was the representative; I’d gotten the highest score on the entrance exam by far. I walked toward the stage calmly in my school uniform, a deep navy button-down with a standing collar. Both boys and girls wore pants with it. It was simple and designed to be easy to move in, but it also stressed discipline; students weren’t permitted to dress the uniform down.

The uniform requirement was a relief for me. Considering I was going to be living on my own in the dorm from now on (with Lou, of course), it would be too much extra work to pick out a dress for myself every morning, and I didn’t know how to dress my clothes down and still look fashionable. But with my uniform, I was ready to take on anything! Yay for military style!

There was also a rule that girls had to keep their hair out of the way. I went to the guild and asked Matt, who had recently gone from bald to having a mohawk, to chop my hair short, but he started crying and stopped.

“Are you trying to get me killed?!” he’d asked. I had no clue why.

Everybody I pointed my scissors to refused, quivering in fear. They’d mutter vague things like “The demon lord...” or “Bloody shurikens will come down...” before running away as fast as they could.

I had no other option, so I asked Lara to show me some trendy braided hairstyles that would stay put even during fighting classes. Braiding my own hair made my hands cramp so badly...it would have been so much easier to just cut it.

When I got onto the stage, I saw my papa and Lou waving at me from the back and smiled. Looking over at the visitor’s seats, I saw General Avenger crying and my grandmother sitting next to him with a clearly faked serious expression. That meant all the employees already knew who I had at my back...

Was I nervous? Of course not. I was close to forty! It wasn’t like I’d get fired or die if I screwed up this speech. Compared to the scary-face gang at the guild, big shot old men looked almost cute to me.

“...I vow to continue my unrelenting hard work. This has been Serephione Granzeus, representative of the incoming first-year Class 1.”

All right, done!

The parents and guardians left as the ceremony came to an end; however, I was able to see off my father and grandmother with a simple bye. Even though I was going to live in a dorm from now on, the break schedule wasn’t as strict as at the magic academy. Half the students at knight school were commoners and had to help out at their family’s shop, farm, or other business. I myself planned to go home every weekend so I could show my face in my domain and guild and sharpen my skills.

Lou went off to explore the school. He would probably come back to my room once he got hungry.

The new students headed toward the classrooms. The first-year class had fifty people, split into two classes of twenty-five. I was in Class 1. I stepped into a room full of people I’d never met in the book. It was exciting and nerve-wracking.

When I went into the open back door, the mood of the classroom suddenly shifted. We only started school today, but people are in groups already! Did they all form cliques when the test results came out? Shoot, I’m late... I decided to just say something to the group near the entrance for now.

“Um, is there assigned seating?”

Nobody said a word. Hmm, what to do?

A boy from another group suddenly raised his voice. “Hey, you’re short, so go sit up front. You’re not gonna be able to see the blackboard otherwise! Ha ha ha!”

Well, he’s not wrong... I walked past the boys and sat down in the window seat in the front.

I looked outside to see Lou having fun chasing little birds. He seemed like he’d settled in.

So peaceful...

The fact that Lou and I had entered knight school equaled a significant departure from the novel. Now that I was here, it was nearly impossible that I’d be made to withstand the peril of enrolling in the magic academy.

The magic academy started its new semester at this same time, and this was when the book began. According to my father, a commoner had enrolled on a scholarship for the first time in years. It was the heroine, no doubt.

Now that we were in different schools, there were many fewer opportunities for the heroine and I to cross paths. After all, the reason I tried so hard to get into knight school in the first place was to be as far away from her as possible while still being with my beloved family.

I rested on one elbow and watched Lou frolic outside, stifling a yawn. So sleepy...

“...Hey! You!”

Oh no! I fell asleep for a moment! I hastily looked to my side where the voice came from as I checked to make sure I wasn’t drooling. There was a boy standing there with short, sunset-orange hair who was rather large to be the same age as me. His brown eyes widened as I met his gaze.

“Hey, were you crying?!” he asked.

“No?”

“Damn it... Hey! You guys!” He raised his voice so loud that it echoed throughout the class. “Are you jealous of her or something? If you got a problem with her, you gotta go through me first! Got it?”

Having said that, he decisively sat down in the seat next to me. He was sticking up for me, I guess?

“Um, thank you... But you don’t have to get involved? I can handle things on my own.”

“Yeah, I know full well you’re strong. I lost, but I got in anyway ’cause you’re out of my league. But this is different from showing your skill, right? You’re tearing up right now.”

No... I was just yawning... Huh?

I stared at him wordlessly. He flushed red all at once.

“I mean... You may be strong, but you’re still a girl.”

He said he lost? And he got in? Oh!

“You’re the boy from the skills test! The one who carried the sun!”

He put his head down on the desk. “I did not! But I know I was a coward back then. I wanted to apologize to you first thing after I got in. I’m Nicholas. You can call me Nick. Sorry I aimed at your face. My parents gave me a good thrashing for that after I got my results and told them about it.”

Huh? He thought that made him a coward? To me, that was preschool-level... What a nice kid!

“Don’t worry about it. I’m Serephione. It’s a long name, so you can just call me Serephi.”

“You’re a noble, right? A commoner like me can’t just call you by a nickname.”

“Huh? But they call me that at the guild.”

“You’re already in a guild?”

“Yeah! I need the money!”

“M-Money...? I guess I have heard about ‘starving nobles’ before... Which guild in the capital?”

“Oh, I’m not in a capital guild. It’s a bit far away, but I’m in Trundle.”

Suddenly there were frantic whispers everywhere. The others had been listening in. So even students knew about Trundle.

“T-Trundle... Yeah, I guess titles would be meaningless over there. They treat each other as equals by using each other’s names regardless of status... That’s really cool. Got it, I’ll call you Serephi too! I wanna be in that circle someday.”

“Hm? I don’t get it, but sure! Nice to meet you, Nick!”

Serephione befriended Nick! The jingle when a new companion joins your party in an RPG played in my head.

The bell rang, so everybody got in their seats. Shortly after, the door opened. It was the teacher.

“Huh?”

It was a drunkard I knew who had a scar on his cheek, red hair, and sanpaku eyes. The students paled at his intimidating face.

“That red hair... The scar on his cheek from the battle with a junk bear... You’re the Red Devil of Trundle!” Nick said, his mouth hanging open in shock.

Kodak had an impressive nickname. The Red Devil far overshadowed the Black-Eyed Fairy!

“So, I’m Kodak. I’ll be in charge of this class. I’d been a fieldwork instructor for all four years up till now, but I’ve been forced to become a teacher this year. I’ve got four years of military service followed by six years of academic service under my belt, and I’m a gold plate. Any questions?”

Yes, Kodak had risen to A-rank! The A-rank promotion test was conducted by someone higher than A-rank, naturally. That meant his examiners were Ziek and my grandmother, both S-rankers. His opponent was my S-rank brother. Ziek and my grandmother both certified him as A-rank just for not dying in the face of my brother’s ridiculously skilled shuriken attacks.

We held nothing back in tossing the blood-covered Kodak into the air. It was a moment to celebrate!

Remembering that time, I shot Kodak a wink. He flushed red, put one hand on the table, and covered his face with the other. Aw, is he nervous since he’s not used to being in front of the class?

“Do you know him?”

“Yeah, we’re drinking buddies.”

I was good at sneakily refilling drinks from my past life. I had been playing with Kodak like that when Gil got angry and told me not to hide my presence just to fool around.

“Yeah... Trundle really is the place to aim for...” Nick nodded as if he’d come to understand something.

Kodak sighed. “Okay, let’s go over how things are going to work starting tomorrow!”

School was six hours a day, five days a week. Upperclassmen had extra practice on top of that.

Courses were half compulsory and half elective. We had compulsory lectures in this class on general education subjects, management and strategy classes to become a military leader, and education methods. We were also to select a martial art suited to us personally. We had to fully master one by graduation.

“Lastly, this school isn’t a place for spoiled brats to kill time. You’re living off the kingdom’s money, the people’s taxes. If you have a problem with somebody, don’t just gossip behind their back, make them submit upfront with strength! Got it? Okay, go unpack your belongings and get to sleep.”

Thanks for the wonderful meathead speech! I figured I would do as he said and go rearrange my room to be easier to live in, but just as I stood up...

“Serephione, Alma, stay after for a minute!”

My teacher suddenly told me to see him after class! Ahh!

I waved Nick goodbye, and then there were only two people left in the classroom. This other person must be Alma.

I looked up at Alma. This person was huge! Around 170 centimeters? For reference, I was 150 centimeters... That was normal for a thirteen-year-old in my past life!

They had short yellow-green hair, caramel eyes, and when I glanced down—gigantic boobs! I-I’m not jealous! I’m gonna get bigger and catch up... Wait, boobs?

“Alma, you’re a girl?”

Alma nodded, quite literally looking down on me.

“Ugh, let’s get this over with,” Kodak groaned. “You two, arm wrestle each other.”

Arm wrestling was the standard way to settle a fight between two drunk men.

Why this out of nowhere? And Alma is glaring at me for some reason?

“Give it your full power, got it? All right, you’re both right-handed. Ready, go!”

I still didn’t understand why, but I listened to my teacher, put my elbow on the desk, and... Bam! Instant win for me.

“W-Wait a second...”

I heard Alma speak for the first time. She’s thirteen, right? What’s with the sexy voice?

“One more time, Alma?”

“Yes, please.”

“Go against her again, Serephione.”

I don’t get it... I quietly put my arm out.

“Ready, go!”

Bam!

Yeah, I one-shot her again, what of it? I looked up at Kodak and at Alma, whose arm I was still holding down on the desk.

Alma’s mouth was half-open as she wordlessly stared at our clasped hands.

“You get it now, Alma? Serephione didn’t cheat to get into this school. Regardless of her gender, she’s a new student with exceptional strength. Speaking of which, Serephione has a silver plate at Trundle Guild. Trundle is impartial. Just look at how the king has a wooden plate.”

Alma was silent.

“That means you have the potential to make it to the top, even as a girl. Don’t put yourself down just because you’re female! Go up against the guys and give them a good beating!”

Alma...had tears in her eyes.

“You two are the only two girls in the incoming class this year. Support each other for these four years!”

My huge lone female classmate bit her lip and shed a single tear... The sight was truly that of a thirteen-year-old girl.

I couldn’t just stand and watch as the middle-aged lady I was! I took hold of both of Alma’s hands.

“Nice to meet you, Alma! Let’s do girl stuff together, like taking walks, and eating sweets, and catching Marre bees in the forest, and going wolf-hunting!”

Alma didn’t meet my eyes, but she gave me a small nod.

“Miss, those last couple were...not girly at all. Well, whatever. I’ll show you two to the girl’s bathroom and changing room. Follow me!”

“Okay!”

“...Okay.”

After Kodak showed us the girls’ facilities, Alma gave a neat bow and ran off.

“Kodak, you only became my teacher because my grandmother forced you, right? Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it, miss. It’s true that the master asked me to. But I’m also coming up on thirty, so I need to learn to do desk work. I can’t enjoy myself outdoors forever.”

“I can get behind having you as my teacher, though. You’ve been looking out for me in little ways ever since we met. When I saw you come into the classroom, I was like, oh, he got me!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“So, what was the deal with Alma just now?”

“You got the idea, didn’t you? She was born and raised in an aristocratic environment with a patriarchal attitude, and then, after she tried her absolute best to be recognized and make it into knight school, the class representative was a weak-looking girl who probably got in through connections. She identified you as an enemy on sight. Well, you’ll probably get similar treatment from the boys. That’s one thing, but there are only two girls in this class, so I figured I’d clear the misunderstanding up between you two before things got complicated.”

“Me, a weak-looking girl? Alma gives off that impression way more than I do! She even has those gigantic boobs going for her!”

“Well, I can’t deny that...”

Bam! I kicked my teacher in the shin.

“Ow... Well, anyway, you’re small, and people have preconceived notions about you since you’re from the magical Granzeus family. Keep in mind that they’ll think you’re weak. They’ll quiet down when skills tests start, though.”

Kodak accompanied me to my dorm.

“Thank you, teacher! Looking forward to learning with you.” I dipped my head, waved to him, and entered the dorm.

“A job change is nothing...as long as it keeps our lady alive...” muttered Kodak, too quietly for me to hear.

There were two dormitories, one in the east and one in the west. The entire third floor of the west dormitory was a girls’ dorm, and the girls’ bathrooms and bathing areas were on the same floor. The cafeteria was on the first floor, and it was co-ed. The menu had two options which changed daily, and we could eat for free if we went within certain times.

My castle for the next four years was a tiny single bedroom. It was a bleak place with nothing more than a bed and a desk on a bare floor, but it was all paid for. It was more than enough for somebody who had struggled to pay rent in Japan.

That said, I was a girl, so I had to have a curtain. After I tidied up the small room, I took a curtain and a fluffy rug out of my Magic Room. Both of them were heartfelt handmade gifts from girls in my domain in celebration of me entering school.

Lou and I had received some kind of blessing from the territory just for walking around in it. I did heal the children’s wounds with medicinal herbs I had on me, I suppose. It was probably as thanks for that. I was grateful.

When I put out the curtain, which was inspired by the blue mountain ranges of the north, and the rug, which reminded me of fluffy fresh snow, the room suddenly felt familiar. This was officially a no-shoes zone! I set my shoes next to my door and plopped down onto the rug.

“Lou, time to eat!”

Lou appeared a couple minutes after I called out to him. “Are we going to the cafeteria?”

“Matsuki made us celebratory lunch boxes, so let’s eat those. We can do cheers together!”

“Sounds good.”

The lunch consisted of a salt-grilled sea bream, head still attached, enshrined in the center, surrounded by an assortment of delicately arranged vegetables cut into decorative shapes. Whose engagement gift is this?

“Matsuki’s improved.”

“You’re right. I wonder where he’s headed?”

“Where he’s headed?! No! Don’t let go of Matsuki, Sere!”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Lou had formed an extraordinary attachment to Matsuki...

“Today’s cake is a fruit roll cake. I also have enough chocolate cakes from Matsuki to last you until the weekend, Lou. They’re in my Perishables bag. He says to eat those when I go to the cafeteria.”

“Matsuki...” Lou teared up.

We said our thanks to the chef and ate our food. Lou had patrolled the school all day, and apparently, he didn’t sense any danger.

“Should we go to the seaside next time? There might be some good materials. I’ll check the guild commission requests.”

As we were cheerfully exchanging information, there was a small knock at my door. I met eyes with Lou. I don’t remember inviting any visitors... I cast illusion magic on Lou just in case.

“Hello?” I opened the door to see two girls I didn’t know and Alma behind them. Wait... They’re all huge!

“Nice to meet you! We live on this floor, and it’s just us four including you, so we came to say hello. We’ve gotta stick together since there are so few of us, right?”

A girl with long black hair in a sleek ponytail and cool sky blue eyes stood before me, the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile.

It was a...a samurai!

“U-Um, my room isn’t anything special, but please, come in...” I stuttered.

I cleaned up the Dream Bream meal, cut the fruit roll cake into pieces, and served it with tea. I felt Lou staring daggers into my back. I couldn’t blame him; he’d been eyeing that cake. I’ll send Enrique a request for a cake refill!

“I-I’ve never seen a cake that looked so much like a jewel...” The girl with curly blonde hair and red eyes was looking longingly at the cake.

I know, right? Our Matsuki is out of this world.

“Wait, we can eat afterwards. Let’s get what we came to do out of the way first!”

The samurai cut snack time short. What they came to do?

“Shall we start with arm wrestling?”

Yeah, I beat them instantly, what of it?

“Wow, sorry I doubted you, Alma. This girl really is strong. Well, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Elise, and I’m a fourth-year. I come from a family of priests, and I’ll probably be a temple guard after I graduate.”

The samurai’s name was Elise. I took a mental note.

“I’m Sasara. I’m also a fourth-year. Elise and I have been the only two girls for so long, so I’m glad to have newcomers! I’m a commoner, and I’m thinking of joining the military for a few years after I graduate in return for them letting me study here. After that, I’ll probably go back to my orphanage.”

The one with the curly blonde hair was Sasara. I made another note. If we were going clockwise, that made it my turn.

“My name is Serephione. I’m a noble, but I’m training in a guild, so please just call me Serephi. Oh, and thank you for taking off your shoes.”

“I’m Alma. I’m also a noble, but you don’t have to use a title for me. I want to be a military advisor in the future. It’s nice to meet you.”

After we finished our round of greetings, we all ate our cake without a word. Everyone looked happy... It warmed my heart as an adult woman! And sorry again, Lou!

Sasara gave me and my room a once-over and smirked. “Ahh, that was good. Your room looks nice. It’s hard to think it’s the same layout as ours. Also, those...pajamas you’re wearing? I feel exhausted just looking at them.”

Did something look weird? I checked my own appearance. I was in a soft, loose, blue terry cloth tunic that reached to above my knees, and I also had on loose pants that came to just below the knee. Basically, I was wearing the platonic ideal of PJs! I made the pattern myself since the floor-length negligees in this world weren’t comfortable to sleep in, and Lou complained that it was immodest that he could see my butt through them. My hair was down, pulled back in a matching headband.

The other three girls in front of me had only taken off their uniform jackets. They still had on the white shirt and pants.

“Should I not change into pajamas?”

“Well, it’s not that you shouldn’t... How can I put this...? Personally, I don’t really feel comfortable relaxing like that and giving the boys an easy target. I don’t want them to make fun of me for being girly,” Elise mumbled.

I know my appearance is relaxed, but it’s not girly... There’s no lace or ribbons...

“Hmm. I think you’re overthinking it! My grandmother is really strong, and she loves these. I know! Do you want to try on some of my pajamas? They’re really comfy!” I retreated into a corner and took my extra pajamas out of my Magic Room.

“Serephi, I appreciate the thought, but our sizes...”

“It’s okay! I have some in your sizes!”

“Why?”

“I plan to grow into them!”

The other girls said nothing.

I forced each of them to try on a set that matched their eyes—sky blue for Elise, deep red for Sasara, and soft beige for Alma.

“Wow... It’s so soft.”

“This feels so nice... So comfy... These might turn me into a lazy person...”

“...”

“He he, you all look nice. My grandmother says variety is the key to getting stronger. You have to do something you like along with training—whether it’s fashion, or baking cakes, or something else—or you won’t improve. You won’t make any progress if you feel constrained and stressed.”

As I went on with the air of an expert, Alma suddenly stood up and glared at me.

“Wh-What would you know? You can only say those things because you’re talented and pretty and everyone likes you! And who is your grandmother to talk like she knows anything, anyway?!”

“A-Alma!” Elise hastily stopped her.

I screwed up... I went on a preachy monologue to somebody I just met. I was just glad to have a girls’ night after all these years, so I got ahead of myself... I feel bad...

“I’m sorry, Alma, I didn’t mean to patronize you! My grandmother is Erza Trundle. If I seem talented, it’s because she’s trained me since I was six. Would you like to visit the Trundle domain together sometime? I think she would be happy to meet my fellow students from knight school.”

“The Wicked Lady Erza...”

“Trundle’s Mother of Devils...”

“Lady Erza? The... The undefeated tactician? The one who my grandfather couldn’t defeat... My...My ultimate goal... Waaaah!”

“Alma...”

Alma must have been fighting alone to get here.

All girls who came to knight school came from a similar background. In order to break through, they went through many times more struggles than a normal girl would have to, and they made it here through their own determined efforts.

When Alma was done crying, I made another pot of tea and passed out chocolate cake to everyone. She gave me a bashful smile, perhaps having come around. We were going to become strong girls who still loved cake and pajamas!

The knight school girls’ pajama party ended up being a great success...

“Sere!”

...apart from the way it upset a certain angry fluffball with steam coming out of his ears...

◇ ◇ ◇

“S-Serephi, what’s wrong? You look tired.”

“Yeah, I didn’t get enough sleep...” I collapsed onto the counter of the guild as I answered Lara.

I hadn’t slept the night before. The heavenly beast who had been watching me hand out his cakes one after the other to the girls blew up on me.

I, his poor, lowly servant, donned my ninja outfit in tears as soon as the night before break came, slipped into the night to go back to my home in the capital, and shook Matsuki and Martha awake. I baked chocolate cakes, cheesecakes, tea cakes, and matcha cakes on the open stovetop with all the ingredients I could find and spent three hours whipping cream. Then I prostrated myself in apology to the other two for leaving without cleaning up and ran back to my dorm before the sun came up.

Lou was intently eating the cakes at my feet. “Learn from this mistake and don’t do it ever again, Sere... Nom, nom...”

Yeah, I’ll never do it again... I won’t let anyone see Lou’s stash...

“I haven’t seen Larouza lately. How is he?” Lara asked. “He has commission requests for him specifically.”

“He’s been going to the western desert to catch red scorpions for the last ten days. Apparently, he can make some kind of new medicine with the poison from a hundred of them? He’s been reading secret books and going off to collect them in the name of ‘research.’”

“Oh... I see. You two are a hardworking pair as always. Let’s see, milady—I mean, Serephione—the requests that would fit your schedule today are...an E-rank fruit collection request in the Hier Forest and a C-rank snake hunting request in the swamp. Oh, actually, even this is too far.”

I peeked at the map in Lara’s hands. The swamp was on the edge of Trundle territory and would take two days to reach by horse. However! I had a super fluffball on my side!

“I’ll hunt the snake! I can probably get the fruits too, based on the geography, and it’s just inside Trundle territory.”

I made it into knight school just fine, and I met some nice female friends. I’m off to a great start! I’ll ride this wave, take a bunch of requests, and save up some cash!

“...Spares no effort in solving issues within Trundle territory... Noted.”

“Lara?”

“Okay, time to get down to business!”

As usual, I put adequate distance between myself and the guild, checked that nobody was around, and took off my mantle. I appeared in my all-gray ninja outfit, and Lou, who had been resting on my chest, stepped onto the ground.

“Lou, let’s go!”

“Got it, Sere!”

Lou’s body shined in rainbow colors, and he instantly grew to full size. He was about the size of a large motorcycle, to put it in my past life’s terms. There was a sense of stability to him.

I hopped onto his shoulders and started rubbing my cheek against his fur despite myself.

“Sere, that tickles! Come on, where are we going?”

“Ah, sorry! Um, let’s just head in the direction of those ginkgo trees for now. Let’s go!”

“All right!”

My silver-white partner kicked off the ground powerfully.

The swamp was deep in the forest, just at the territory border. All throughout it, trees had been torn down, and something had trampled the grass and flowers.

“Lou, I heard a giant snake attacked some hunters around here. How do you think we can draw it out? If it bleeds, it might attract other animals, so should we take it out with one lightning blast? Since it’s probably water-based?”

“Sereee, I’m tired! I’m hungry!”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. Did you already burn off that cake from earlier?”

I wearily took a tea cake and a sealed container of cream out of my Magic Room.

“This is a new creation of Matsuki’s. He said to tell him how sweet it is afterward.”

“Ooh, cream on the side. That way we can move around and it won’t make a mess. Good idea, Matsuki. I trust him unconditionally on matters of sweetness.”

What kind of trusting relationship is that?

Lou returned to fluffball size and sunk his teeth into the cake on my lap. I looked for Hier fruits on the map that I’d made using new magic after becoming an adventurer. Hier fruits had a cooling effect when broken open, so if you mixed some with flour and applied it as a paste to an injury, it acted as a painkiller.

Found them. There were some at the top of some shii trees. Hier fruit was good for Martha’s hips, so I figured I’d take some extra.

“Sere, we have a visitor.”

“Hm?”

There was a tiny snake, about ten centimeters long, in front of us, and it had the same blue-green color as the swamp. It was staring at us, its sickle-shaped neck lifted. I really wasn’t a fan of snakes...but this one was tiny, so it was okay.

“Um, hello... A visitor, you said?”

“Apparently, this little one’s dad got hurt and needs a doctor. Let’s go, Sere. It’ll lead us there.”

The holy beast Lou was one hundred percent a friend to all creatures of the forest. I obediently followed the snake and fluffball.

I followed the snake in a half-circle around the swamp, crawling on my hands and feet through the gaps where vines covered the trees. It wasn’t the intended purpose of my ninja outfit, but it fit the job perfectly. I would have been covered in scratches from the thorns and sharp twigs without it.

We entered an empty space about the size of a small room.

“Eek!”

At the base of a cedar tree in the very back, a gigantic snake—about thirty centimeters in diameter—was curled up, collapsed with its head to the ground. This was no doubt the snake from the commission.

The baby snake slithered up to its papa’s side and gave his face a little lick with its thin tongue. A dim light came to his eyes, and he tried to lift himself up, maybe because he saw Lou, but he collapsed all at once again.

“Stay quiet for now, Sere.” Lou turned to the snake. “What happened?”

I sensed that the snake was responding to Lou. As Lou listened to the snake’s story, I examined him. About two-thirds of his body had the skin peeled off, and he was covered with deep gashes that appeared to be caused by lightning magic. Lightning magic does tend to do the trick, after all.

“I’ll explain afterward, Sere. You need to heal him first.”

“Okay!”

It didn’t matter that I had a commission to hunt this snake. I obeyed Lou no matter what. He didn’t make mistakes. I turned my magical power up to max so as to not prolong the snake’s pain.

“Pain, pain, go away! Go away from papa snake!”

A bright white light shot out from my hands and surrounded the snake’s body. It looked as if the snake himself was emitting light. The light gradually faded over the course of about five minutes—and then it was gone.

“How do you feel?” I asked the snake.

“Amazing... My pain is gone! I feel like a new snake.”

Uhh... Did I just hear a snake talk? I vaguely remember there being a protagonist from a fantasy movie in my past life who got into some crazy situations just because he could hear snakes...

I clutched my head.

“Sere! He received some of your magic, so he should be able to communicate telepathically with you now.”

“Really? So my ‘magic words’ are directly transferring magical power?”

“Your magic words are your thoughts themselves. It doesn’t work the same as normal magic, which activates using magical power; your magic words grant what you wish using a direct flow of magical power.”

So that was the difference. I’d been unknowingly transferring magic all this time. Magic transfer was the utmost act of love! I couldn’t give it away so easily! But I didn’t think I’d used magic words on anybody except myself, Lou, and this snake, so it shouldn’t be a problem... I’d be careful when using it from now on.

“So, papa snake, could you tell me what led to you being hit with lightning magic?”

“I have long lived here with my clan. We and the others in this forest have coexisted peacefully with humans.”

“Okay.”

“A few days ago, there was a commotion beyond the western edge of this swamp. I went to investigate and was suddenly attacked by many bursts of lightning magic.”

“From the capital?”

The swamp was the border, so west of it was the capital region.

“I heard cheers from the humans. I managed to escape here. Humans from this side of the swamp are not cruel to us. However, I had lost much of the water in my body and was resigned that I would not live much longer. I owe my life to your and the holy beast’s arrival.”

Of course. My grandmother’s faith in Lou was hundreds of times stronger than most new religions. Now that Lou had forbidden killing the forest creatures, nobody in Trundle territory dared to lay a hand on them.

It was an overconfident gesture to shoot magic from the capital region into Trundle territory at what was most likely the guardian of this swamp and forest. They would most certainly be back—what to do about it?

But don’t they say if you mess with a snake who hasn’t done any harm, you get cursed? Was that just a saying from my past life?

“I came here because I was told you attacked some Trundle hunters.”

“I have an agreement with the holy beast not to attack humans. However, I am aware that I became violent and out of control from the pain after being attacked and escaping here. I may have accidentally hurt them.”

“So he says, Sere. What should we do?”

“One second, Lou! ...Finished! Baby snake, can you get on top of papa snake? Yes, like that! Let’s go!”

I pictured a flat rectangle and used both my hands to cut it out. A piece of glass appeared in front of the two snakes, shone rainbow colors, and transformed into a mirror. It was then absorbed into their bodies.

“Ooh, you’re going to bounce it back?”

“Yep! I call it magic reflection. Next time they hit you with lighting magic, it’ll bounce back to the user at triple strength! I made the saying come true that if you harm a snake, you get cursed!”

“Quite nefarious of you, my lady.”

“No, you, my governor!” I giggled sinisterly.

Now that I had the swamp protected, I had to do something about that hunter who hurt the snake. I had no plans of offering papa snake up. I glanced at his body and saw that while the wounds were healed, there were well-defined scars remaining, and the scales around them were peeled up. Apparently, snakes of this size had scales.

“I’m sorry you have scars left. I don’t mean to offend, but would you mind giving me your scales that are peeling off? If I take those back, I can present them as proof that I completed the mission.”

“My scales? Of course. Now that you mention it...my skin is itching now that my wounds are healed. Wait a moment.” The papa snake suddenly stretched high into the air and curled around a large tree. He was ten meters long altogether! And then...

Swish!

His skin came off all at once, starting from his head.

“Shed skin!”

The white, scarred snakeskin in front of me was the length of about ten carp streamers.

“You may take that back with you.”

Didn’t they say in my past life that if you keep a snakeskin in your wallet, you’ll gain money? Could I give it to the hunters with those magic words used on it? But I could take enough for a thousand... Couldn’t this make me a lot of cash? I see wealth in my future...

Hm? I can hear papa snake more easily now, I think? I looked from the shed skin back to his body itself.

“No way...?”

Curled around the tree was no longer the blue-green snake covered in blood and pus from before, but a magnificent silver-scaled snake.

“Oh, so this was your ten-thousandth time shedding your skin,” Lou observed. “The silver scales are a gift from the goddess for only those who have lived a good life. Congratulations. Your days as a snake are now over. From now on, you are a lesser dragon.”

“Holy beast, contractor, it is thanks to your kind magic that I have lived to see this day. My daughter and I pledge to serve you both as our masters for the rest of our lives.”

So, the baby snake was a girl... Oh, her skin is turning silver too!

Wait...they pledged what now?!

“Good for you, Sere. Snakes can hide anywhere. They’ll make perfect spies!”

I’m not recruiting spies, Lou!

“Lady Sewephi? I’m Miyu. Thank you vewy much!”

“Sere, if we don’t hurry, we’ll be late to dinner, and Matsuki will be mad.”

Lou, he only gets mad because he worries when we’re late coming home!

But we didn’t have time to dawdle, so Lou and I parted ways with the lesser dragon and Miyu, promising to meet again. I put the Hier fruits I collected and the snakeskin that smelled of money in my Magic Room for safekeeping.

“Let’s go, Sere!”

“Wait! I want to investigate the west side of the swamp.”

Lou had been standing by at full size, so I had him go back to fluffball size and covered us both with illusion magic just in case. The swamp there was still Trundle territory, but it had dried footprints from multiple people in it. The footprints were fresh, and one set was about the same size as mine. A child? A girl?

“Four people. Judging by the scent, they were here yesterday.”

“Papa dragon’s injuries were from a week ago, so does that mean they come here often?”

“It would seem so... Speak of the devil. I smell something strange.”

I applied a new layer of perception-disruption magic and ducked into the grass, silencing my breath.

I heard voices approaching, chatting away with no sign of apprehension.

“I don’t see it today either. Shouldn’t it be dead by now?”

“You shot so much lightning at it, after all. It should be burnt to a crisp!”

I twisted my face at their unpleasant conversation. There were three men in black robes. The robes meant they were national magicians.

“You need to learn to hold back some, Maribelle. Just because we’re here to see how strong your magic is doesn’t mean you should use it like that! You won’t be able to control it at the academy.”

Maribelle?

A young girl with fluffy, curled pink hair came vividly into view from the shadows of the dark adults. I felt goosebumps rise all over my skin.

“Well, you’re the one who told me to take it out with all my power!”

“Think about the money like the commoner you are! It’ll be worth more intact than as a burnt corpse!”

“Well, it’s not like I’m going to be a commoner in the end. I already had the meeting event with the prince, after all! Hey, it’s probably in the back of the swamp. Take me there!”

“This is the border, stupid! Trundle territory starts at this swamp! Go ahead, step in without permission, and don’t come crying to me when you get killed.”

“I’m not stupid! You are! There’s no way I’ll get killed. I’m the heroine! Hurry up and go! Who knows, that snake could be a holy beast. Well, I’ll get a super-strong holy beast anyway, but the more the better.”

A holy beast?! Right, Lou!

I forced my brain out of its frozen shock and looked at my feet to see Lou.

Lou was quivering hard, putting one foot out and then back, over and over. His sky-blue eyes were bloodshot red.

“Lou?”

His voice was strained. “Sere... Something isn’t right... Some force is pulling me toward this girl I’ve never seen before... My heart and body are both screaming to go to her... Even though...I know...this isn’t the right time...”

The heroine has finally made her appearance...

Lou originally found mutual love with Maribelle, not me. This was the plot trying to force itself back on track.

Lou growled in distress and gazed fondly at Maribelle. He stared at the ground as if to swallow his feelings, drool dripping from his mouth.

Everything that had happened since I met Lou flashed through my mind. It had been ten years—not a short time at all—yet I still couldn’t beat the heroine. Lou would soon fall to Maribelle.

His eyes, which were only on me for so many years, were now reflecting Maribelle. The gaze he directed at her had an unmistakable heat, completely different from the calm looks he gave me.

Why? Why...? Lou... Why her? Am I going to lose to her? But I love you hundreds of times more than the heroine ever will!

No...Lou was resisting for my sake. He knew this wasn’t the right destiny after our ten years together. He was standing firmly by my side. It confirmed what I already knew—Lou would never betray me. He dug his claws into the ground and shook his head violently. Was he masking his impatience? Clearing his thoughts? This was no good...

But... There was no need for Lou to suffer like this. Even on Maribelle’s route, Lou would be one of the powerful, amazing heavenly beasts... He would live a happy life. He had a happy ending in Maribelle’s world.

It was selfish of me to want him to stay with me. I wanted Lou to be able to run and play happily all the time...because I loved him. I adored my confident, straightforward, egotistical Lou—my Lou who surrounded me with warmth even while being a supreme being.

As long as I have the memories of being loved for these past ten years...I can live on. Even if my fate leads me down the same dark course as last time, these unmistakably real ten happy years with Lou will give me warmth in the end.

I knelt down in front of Lou. “Lou? No—Loudarylphena. You can go to her. Don’t make yourself suffer.”

Lou’s reddened eyes opened wide.

“Thank you for everything... Thank you...for resisting fate...” Tears were helplessly running down my face. “You can erase our contract, Lou... I love you... Good...bye...”

It probably didn’t have the intended effect while I had tears streaming down my cheeks, but I smiled. I smiled, so Lou could go to Maribelle without feeling bad for me. So he wouldn’t resent me.

My vision was blurred with tears, but I heard Lou growl. “I see how it is.”

Rip!

I heard an alarming sound, and at the same time, the scent of blood reached my nose. I hastily wiped my eyes on my sleeve.

Before me was Lou, his clear blue eyes shining fiercely—and his mouth awash in crimson, blood gushing from his front right leg.

“Lou!” I leapt to his feet to stop the bleeding.

“Don’t touch me, Sere!”

I flinched and recoiled slightly.

“Don’t heal me! This will keep me in my right mind. You can heal me when we get home!”

I knew that Lou had bitten off his own paw...but I couldn’t understand why.

“Lou... Why...?”

Lou set his bloodied leg on my lap. “Sere, do I disgust you?”

I shook my head. “No one could ever be more beautiful to me than you, Lou.”

“Then kiss my wound, Sere.”

I still didn’t understand, but I didn’t hesitate to kiss his still-bleeding injury. The taste of iron numbed my tongue.

A bright ring of light appeared above me and Lou. This was the second time we’d seen this light; the first time had been when I met Lou. The light descended to surround both of us, closed tightly around our bodies, and vanished into us.

I stood dumbfounded.

“I received your blood a long time ago. Now we have a mutual blood contract, the strongest and most equal kind of contract. Sere...don’t cry. I’m yours.”

Lou smiled serenely and then collapsed toward me.

“Lou!”

Just as I squeezed him into a hug, I heard Maribelle shouting. “What was that light?! Could that be a heavenly beast descending? Magicians, let’s go!”

The four misguided people stepped into Trundle territory. Without taking my eyes off Lou, I shot a combined magic attack at them, one that was akin to bullets of light.

Boom!

“Ahh! What was that?!”

“Crap!”

“Get out!”

“Aahhh!”

The four were surrounded by several people dressed in ninja outfits before they could react. They were my grandmother’s spies.

I released the illusion magic around just my immediate area, leaving the perception-disruption magic.

A man in a black ninja uniform appeared and knelt before me.

“My lady.”

“They’re intruders. They harmed a silver dragon who protects this swamp. Please take care of the rest.”

“As you wish.”

I cradled Lou to my chest and dashed off at full speed.

I used both physical-strengthening magic and illusion magic and bounded toward the Granzeus mansion in the capital as fast as I could, mustering every last bit of strength in my body. I passed through the entryway with Lou in my arms; he was covered in blood.

“Welcome back, miss—Lou!”

I rarely heard Enrique raise his voice, but I couldn’t worry about that right now.

“I have to heal him right away... I need to concentrate, so don’t let anybody in my room,” I said softly before I dashed to my room on the second floor.

“Haah... Lou, we’re home...” I said through ragged breaths. “I kept...our promise... I’ll heal you now...”

The second I entered my room, I sat down on the floor, supporting the limp Lou with my left hand. I used my other hand to release a large amount of magic at once while chanting my magic words.

“Pain, pain, go away! Pain, pain, go away! Pain, pain, go away!” I struggled to get the words out. “Pain, pain...”

When his bleeding stopped, I gently embraced him and prayed for him to get well, stroking his back. He’d lost a lot of blood. Picturing an anti-anemia medicine, I transformed my magic into something similar to iron and folate and sent it into him to increase his red blood cell count.

“Lou! Lou, get better! Please!” I begged through tears.

About ten minutes later, I felt something soft and wet against my cheek. Lou’s blue eyes were giving me a piercing gaze. He licked my cheek, wiping my tears away.

“Lou...”

“Sere...let’s get in the bath first and wash this blood off. We can talk afterward.”

Lou and I got in the bath attached to my room and washed off the blood and dirt. Then I put on my soft blue pajamas, brushed Lou as I always did, and dried him off with my hairdryer magic.

Somebody knocked softly on my door.

“Will you be having dinner, young miss?” asked Martha.

My chest felt tight with all manner of emotions. I didn’t feel like I could eat.

“I won’t have any tonight. Sorry. You can go back down.”

“All right... Let me know if you feel like eating anything, okay?”

After Martha went back downstairs, I realized that I hadn’t considered Lou. “Sorry, Lou. Were you hungry?”

“Of course not! You transferred about two months’ worth of magic to me. I’m stuffed.”

We sat down on the fluffy rug by the window. Lou lay in my lap, and I slowly stroked his back out of habit.

“Do you feel like talking now?” he asked.

I didn’t answer.

“Ever since you were little, you’ve had times where you get a troubled look on your face beyond your years... You keep silent, put a wall up around your heart, and your magic rages violently throughout your body. Whenever that happened, you’d always start being even stricter with your training the next day.”

I remained silent.

“You didn’t say anything, so I figured it was fine... But all the heavy feelings you’ve been bottling up finally erupted into the open. You were always crying in your heart, but today they finally came out as tears.”

“Lou...”

“My one and only contract partner was sobbing in front of me and telling me to break our contract... Doesn’t that sound like the right time to intervene?”

“I... You’re right.”

It wasn’t like telling Lou the truth would change anything, but I definitely didn’t want Lou to distrust me for hiding it. Also...I was tired. Tired of resisting the plot all on my own.

“Lou...you know how I always take my shoes off and sit down when I enter a room? That’s because it’s a habit I can’t break from the world I lived in before.”

“Hmm... So, you’re a Reborn.”

“There’s a term for it?”

“Yeah. I hear they appear extremely rarely. You’re the first one I’ve met. So, your open-mindedness is because of your past life... Makes sense.”

“He he. Does it bother you?”

“Why would it?”

“Because it’s heresy.”

Lou gave my cheek a light smack with his left paw. It was the first time he’d done anything like that... It shocked me.

“Open your eyes, Sere! I chose you because your magic feels nice. That’s all there is to it. Don’t you remember what that snake said today? Your magic is gentle. Magic is the person themself—it reveals everything about their character. Now look: I’m Loudarylphena, one of the four heavenly beasts. Us holy beasts are never anything less than fully honest and upright. Your magic is suitable for me. I chose you. Understood?”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

“You’re my one and only, Sere. Nobody could ever replace you!”

“Waah, aaahhhh! Ahh...” I broke down crying. Lou licked up all my tears, covering my face in his saliva.

I opened up to Lou about my past life. I told him about how my past life was in a completely different dimension than this one, and how I died at around thirty. I explained that this world was the exact same as a book I read in my past life, and how I awakened to it all on that snowy day when I met Lou.

I told him how, in the book, I had been a powerful magician and had gone to the magic academy. I recounted how I was then thrust into the role of the villainess and how everyone close to me cut off ties with me only to gather around the protagonist, Maribelle. I described how I was persecuted—captured, incarcerated, sucked dry of my magic, and left alone to wither away and die.

I told him that, after my awakening, I’d been struggling to avoid that fate by choosing the opposite path at every possible opportunity.

I told him everything I thought of as I thought of it.

“So, when you have those times where you look troubled or like you’re going to cry, is it because you’re feeling bad about your past life?”

“Not really. I had a fulfilling life, I think. But it’s strange... The things written in the book became like things I’d experienced myself, and I have emotions associated with them now. When a person or a place or what have you triggers a memory, the way things were back then comes back to me, and...it’s disturbing, and it’s painful... It feels like I have two past lives. I’m not making any sense, am I...?”

“When you said ‘everyone close to you,’ does that include your father and Larouza?”

I nodded.

“And me too?”

I no longer felt up to the task of choosing words. I just nodded again.

“That would explain what happened earlier... You were afraid that the good guys had shown up and the time had come for me to turn on you.”

My chest stung just remembering it. “I know you won’t betray me! But...there was obviously something wrong back there! You were looking at Maribelle so lovingly, and suffering so much... I thought I had to free you from it...” I began to cry again.

“Don’t cry, Sere. I understand. Well, I don’t get what all that was about, but I understand how you feel. I’ll think about what happened back there.”

I had no response through my tears.

“Sere, what are we?”

I paused to collect myself. “One and the same.”

“Exactly.” Lou abruptly began to shine, and he grew to his full size. He wrapped me in his silver-white fur and rested his head on my neck. “Time to get to sleep, Sere!”

Lou nibbled my neck. His pure magic flowed into me.

“Lou?”

“Hm?”

“When you told me you would go on an adventure with me...I was so happy... It gave me the courage to struggle as much as I can.”

“I see. Good night, Sere.”

“Good night... I love you...”

A sudden drowsiness overtook me, and I couldn’t hold my eyes open any longer. My body and mind sank into Lou’s beautiful soft fur.

In the last moment before I shut my eyes, I saw Lou, his clear blue eyes gleaming gold and his fangs bared. He was more furious than I had ever seen before.

Was I dreaming?

◇ ◇ ◇

When I woke up, I saw Lou at his usual fluffball size, sleeping with his belly out. The sky outside was cloudy, but my heart felt far clearer than I’d expected. Is it because of the magic I got from Lou, or because I had a good cry?

“Good morning, Sere.”

“Good morning, Lou.”

A usual day for us began.

“Good morning, father.”

“Morning, Serephi.”

I sat down at the breakfast table and greeted my father, but he looked pale and worn out.

“Father, you look tired.”

He gave me a forced smile. “When I came home, I heard that Lou was hurt and you were hard at work trying to heal him. Of course, I’d get a bit worn out from worrying.”

I rushed over to him. “I’m sorry, father.”

Papa picked me up and held me on his lap for the first time in a long time. “Please, Serephi. Don’t hide away in your room any more. My heart can’t take it.”

I’m the one whose heart can’t take getting a hug from a handsome gentleman this early in the morning!

I noticed dark circles under his eyes, so I gave them each a smooch. It was a spell to absorb his exhaustion. His dark circles were for my sake, so I would bear them myself.

“Your magic really is gentle, Serephione...”

Wait, it was an absorbing spell, but it still transferred magic to him? I don’t get it.

“Serephione, Lou! I imagine you’re hungry? Matsuki made plenty of pancakes!”

“Good morning, Martha! Thanks for the food!”

“Extra cream for me, Sere!”

“Roger!”

After we finished breakfast, I left the house along with my father, who was on his way to work. I got on top of Lou; I had to go report what happened yesterday to the guild.

“...So, the snake was out of control because he was hurt. He apologized and gave this to me to bring back. It increases your financial luck if you put it in your wallet. Do you think the hunters could forgive him? Oh, and those Hier fruits... Here they are!” I doled out the shed skin commemorating the snake’s ten-thousandth shed and the Hier fruits like I was pulling kids out of the emergency exit chute during a natural disaster drill.

“Serephione, I’m floored... I’ll check with the hunters, but I don’t think there should be any problem. This completes your commission for the guild! Thank you for your service!” Lara politely handed over the agreed-upon compensation, so I signed for it and accepted it from her. Eight gold coins sparkled in the palm of my hand. I’d done it!

“Miss! I see you’ve wrapped everything up. Nice work! Are you raising your win rate by ten percent?” Kodak, my drunkard of a teacher, held up the glass that he’d been drinking out of since morning. He couldn’t drink at school, after all.

I got a cup of tea from the counter, sat down next to Kodak, and clinked our cups together. “Teacher, I managed to execute my mission successfully again! Thanks!”

I pretended I was drinking alcohol, letting out a big breath with a self-satisfied smile.

Kodak quickly turned away. Was that a nosebleed I saw? He must have drunk way too much!

“Could you come this way, Serephione?” A smiling Ziek appeared from the back, waving me over. I left my things with Lara and Kodak and went into the guildmaster’s office.

On the sofa where Guildmaster Ziek had been sitting last time I was in this office sat my stern-faced grandmother, wearing a chic dress with impeccable posture. As soon as the door clicked shut, the serene expression fell from Ziek’s face. My grandmother motioned for me to sit across from her, and Ziek approached the desk.

“So, milady, I’ll get right to the point. Could I ask you for a detailed report of what happened yesterday?” Ziek inquired.

Interrogation time. Well, I knew this was coming.

“First of all, grandmother, I’m sorry I had to make use of your private army.”

“I can’t judge that action until I’ve heard the whole story. Start from the beginning.”

“Okay. I went to the swamp on the outskirts of the territory for a guild commission, and I found a large snake there, a guardian of the area, who had been hurt by lightning magic and was on the verge of death. I healed him quickly and asked him what happened, and he said he was attacked by intruders from the capital. Thinking it was likely that they would come back based on the situation, I waited to see what would happen, and three national magicians and a young girl came. It seemed they were targeting the snake. The girl had trespassed onto our territory many times over to hurt him, and she came back yesterday when he was weakened to retrieve his body. The moment she stepped into Trundle territory, I called on your private army. After that, the snake went through his ten-thousandth regeneration and became a silver lesser dragon. I decided it would be bad if anything happened to him in the future, so I cast an armor spell on him.” I left Lou out of the report.

“Milady, you use healing magic as well?”

“Ziek! What’s said here stays here. And Serephione, I was told you were covered in blood when you got home?”

“None of it was my blood, grandmother. I wasn’t hurt.”

It was Lou who was hurt. I doubted I could fool my grandmother, but I wanted Ziek to think the blood was from the papa dragon.

“I see...”

There was zero chance she wouldn’t make a big deal over Lou being hurt.

“I’ll just ask you point-blank, Serephione. It seems likely that they were targeting you, does it not?”

It seemed Maribelle only hurt the dragon opportunistically, and her future goal was to have a holy beast under her control. What she ultimately wanted was Lou, one of the supremely strong holy beasts—and Lou and I were two hearts beating as one.

I shot Lou a glance and then made eye contact with my grandmother. “That may be the case.”

A burst of bloodlust erupted from my grandmother! And wait, another source of bloodlust? Z-Ziek? He had a devilish expression on his face in place of his usual gentle smile! A tornado was whirling behind him!

“Erza, permission to kill them?”

“Let them live for now. We’re still interrogating them. They can’t die until they’ve been of full use to us,” she responded.

“Um, are the four people from yesterday still here?” I asked.

“Terribly sorry, milady. We left them alive because we failed to consider that they were targeting you.”

“So, did you both meet them?”

“Yes. Erza watched from behind as her private soldier interrogated them.”

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me what they had to say?”

Ziek humphed. “They said the girl’s magic manifested after her birth, and they were teaching her the basics in the capital so she could keep up with the classes at the magic academy where she had newly enrolled on an exception. They claimed they didn’t mean to stray into Trundle territory, which is a blatant lie given how many footprints they left. The fact that they aimed attacks at Trundle territory in the first place is an act of war. As for the girl, she babbled on that the snake was hers and that she should be allowed to come get her own things. Are all magicians in the capital this idiotic?”

“Serephione, the Trundle family issued a declaration over two hundred years ago that we would slay anyone who entered our territory without permission. It’s even a notarized document. We went out of our way to warn people so they wouldn’t put themselves into danger... How reckless of them.”

Somebody knocked on the window frame. My grandmother stood up and took a letter from outside it.

“My, how frightening... It says, ‘We will only ask you to spare the student. The magicians accompanying her are adults, so they can face the consequences of their actions.’ It seems they have no intention of compensating us for instigating war...”

If we let them go after declaring that we would kill them, people would look lightly on Trundle in the future, giving others an opportunity to take advantage of us. My grandmother’s face was icy cold. She had far more resolve than me... I was in no place to share my opinion.

“Grandmother, can I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“What did you think of that girl?”

“Well... She was vapid, frankly. I don’t know where she learned about them, but she kept whining about holy beasts, denying that she did anything wrong, and making excuses for herself. It might be that the magician’s association can’t get rid of her because her magical power is so much greater than the other magicians.”

“Were you, um...drawn to her at all?”

“What about her is there to be drawn to?”

“Uhh...how wild and free she is?”

“Freedom is a privilege earned only by fulfilling one’s duty. You know that, don’t you?”

What she said was too reasonable—tears came to my eyes.

“S-Serephi?”

“Thank goodness, Sere.” Lou nuzzled my cheek.

My grandmother hadn’t fallen to Maribelle’s charm...

Lou and I returned home immediately after the interrogation was over and shut ourselves away in my room.

“My grandmother and Ziek both met Maribelle up close, but neither were affected by her spell! What does it all mean...?” I deliberately called it a spell since Lou wouldn’t understand if I called it a “plot correction.” In the back of my mind, I had thought everyone who loved me would be captivated by Maribelle the second they saw her and that the plot would correct itself such that they would betray me.

The effect seemed unrelated to distance. There had been plenty of room between Lou and Maribelle, and my grandmother would have been much closer to Maribelle when she looked at her in the jail room.

“Was she choosing the targets of her spell?” I mused.

“Not possible. She wasn’t aware of me at the time,” Lou replied.

He was right. And if she could choose, she wouldn’t have left out my grandmother. My grandmother was extremely strong, close to me, and could cause the most damage if she turned on me—she would be the most relevant person to choose.

“She seemed to really want a holy beast. Maybe she targeted it at holy beasts in general.”

“Now that you mention it, Maribelle was awfully focused on holy beasts in particular...and Erza had that impression of her too. Sere, try to remember in detail what else she was running her mouth about!”

That’s right, I’d been too unsettled to properly assess what she’d said. Let’s see, what hurt me most was...

“I’ll get a super-strong holy beast anyway.”

She meant Lou. Maribelle knew about Lou and the fact that she would get him eventually.

And when the magician warned her against entering Trundle territory...

“There’s no way I’ll get killed.”

She didn’t understand the status my grandmother and the Trundle family have in this kingdom.

“I’m the heroine!”

She knew that she’s the heroine.

“Lou?”

“Hm?”

“I think Maribelle is a Reborn too.”

“So basically, she’s also a Reborn who read the same book of prophecy as you did?”

Wha? Since when was Wild Rose a book of prophecy?

“Yeah. The word ‘heroine’ comes from my past life, and she also mentioned ‘clearing an event.’ She was talking like she knew what comes next in the story.”

“Sere, did the book have any details about Erza or the Trundle family?”

“Huh?” I didn’t even have to think about it. It wasn’t a fantasy novel with very much worldbuilding at all; it didn’t describe the protagonist’s background in detail, let alone the villainess’s. “It didn’t. To be honest, before you and I met her, I didn’t know my grandmother even existed. The book didn’t mention the name Trundle, not even as an initial.”

“Then why did you think Erza and Ziek would turn against you?”

“I mean, everyone close to me betrayed me, and I ended up all alone! I didn’t have a single person left!”

“But neither Erza or Ziek were in the book, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And they definitely weren’t at the scene of any of the crimes?”

“They weren’t.”

“You know what that means? Maribelle only knows what was written in the book of prophecy. She can’t use her spell on somebody she doesn’t know.”

“Is that...what that means?”

Can I safely consider the influence of Wild Rose to be limited?

What was written in the book evidently holds some degree of influence over the people and things described within its pages, but if somebody isn’t in the book, does that mean it can’t influence their actions?

On the same token, the book only described a fraction of the details and events of this world. The vast majority of the people in this world are unrelated to the plot of Wild Rose, and some of those unrelated people will inevitably cross paths with the characters that appeared in the novel. Doesn’t that entail that the course of each character’s life—including mine—will shift, since the many people not in the story can act according to their own whims?

Even now, Lou and I have had encounters and experiences that weren’t in the book and gone down a different path. That meant things couldn’t possibly go one hundred percent the same as the original plot.

In any case, I don’t know the extent of the plot’s influence. I can’t take it lightly.

“Sere, think about that prophetic book right now and pull out every character who was mentioned in it, down to the smallest appearances. Anyone who’s mentioned by name. That would give us a list of everybody who could possibly be included under her spell.”

I silently nodded, went to my desk, and thought back on I Love You, My Wild Rose. I wrote down the name of every character I could remember who was mentioned by name, down to the gatekeepers and the daughter of the flower seller.

If I marked every person Maribelle was likely to come into contact with, avoided areas they would be in, and involved myself with a lot of people other than them, it should allow me to grow up peacefully—so I wanted to believe, at least.

Prince Gillain was a special case. I labeled an additional sheet of paper “Exceptions” and wrote Gillain’s name on it. After some consideration, I wrote “helps me after my conviction” next to him.

As I was lost in my work, a shadow loomed above me.

“‘Isaac Granzeus. Becomes furious when I break my engagement with Prince Gardner. Disowns me from the Granzeus family and tells me he never wants to see my face again.’”

A voice I shouldn’t have heard resonated above my head. I hid my notes under my hands, but it was too late. I turned to look back, and my father was there, on the verge of crying.

“Father...why?”

I glared at Lou. He should have stopped my father from sneaking up behind my back. Lou quietly returned my look. “I let him in on it,” he said.

“You did?!” I stood up, moved away from my father, and squeezed my arms around myself. I didn’t know what to do. I can’t look at his face! What do I do?!

Just as I was internally panicking, my father stepped in front of me and pressed me close to his chest.

“I’m sorry, father... I’m sorry...”

“Serephi, you haven’t done anything worth apologizing for. You poor thing, going through this suffering... Serephione, Lou told me everything. It’s okay. I won’t betray you. Lou promised he would stop me before I betray you.”

I lifted my face and looked at my father wordlessly. He was breathtakingly handsome with tears in his eyes.

“Would you include me when you make your counter-strategy, my dear Serephione?”

Holy beasts never made mistakes. If Lou made the decision, it must have been right.

I buried my face in my father’s chest again. He stroked my head, just as he had done when I was little.

“I was told that what happened in the book of prophecy feels as if it happened to you yourself. My betrayal must have hurt you most of all. Serephione, as long as I live in this world, I’ll never leave you alone. You may not be able to believe me when I say that, so I’ll vow it to Lou right now.”

Lou growled. Making a direct vow to a holy beast was tantamount to giving up your life. If you made a mistake, divine punishment was guaranteed. My father was truly resolved.

I gripped his jacket hard enough to crease it and cried into his chest.