"Go on." Alwyn crossed his arms.
"Tch."
"We don't have all day. You don't want me to use a mind spell on you, am I right?"
"..."
"You're pissed at me? Or did that thing tell you to keep it a secret? I bet that's it. Cunning things they are, shades. Fool naive kids like you and—"
"I wasn't 'fooled', okay!? It was nothing like that."
"Ha, it was exactly like that. What was it having you do, anyway? Was it the one telling you to kill? To explode half a town into dust?"
"Why're you so dead-set on her being evil?"
"...'Her'? Shades aren't people, Lin. They don't retain such things as gender once passed. They're just the nasty leftovers from a human after they die."
"I don't even know what a 'shade' is, okay? But she was... good."
Even I hesitate in saying it. She wasn't 'good' exactly, at least, that wasn't the motivation behind our working together. No, it was... what, exactly? Guilt on her part? Or is she just using me to find Pischt?
"She helped me. She didn't tell me to kill or do anything sorry or bad, I swear."
"Helped you to do what? What did you need help with? What was its business in helping you? Do you seriously think you had a guardian angel or something?" he laughed sarcastically.
"What is this supposed to be? An interrogation?"
"Ha! You're only realizing that now?"
How much do I say? Do I just tell him? I mean, it's not even bad, is it?
"How long are you guys gonna take? I really need to pee!" Mari called out from the camp.
"Why do you need to pee over here? Just go somewhere else!" I yelled back.
"It's too dark! You're by the only lantern!"
You know fire magic...!
"But—!"
"Alright, alright." Alwyn stopped me. "We may not be knights, but that doesn't mean we don't treat women with chivalry."
Chivalry!? You get into fist fights with Aliza every day! Well, not recently...
We walked back to the camp where Aliza was already asleep. Alwyn's temporary incapacitation had allowed her condition to worsen. Presumably, a temporary incapacitation as well.
Prince slept soundly and deeply. Typically I'd make fun out of the useless boy sleeping like a beat farmer, but this time, I admit, he deserved his rest.
Whilst Mari and I were fetching Liora, he had miraculously defended Aliza and Alwyn's room from dozens of assassins, all by himself, no less.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it, the mound of slumped foes. I hadn't had time to ask for the details, but I swore then to never call him useless or weak again.
Of course, it would be a promise poorly kept.
Lastly, Liora too was sleeping. But this sleep was not from fatigue or sickness, but from a potion of drowsiness. A mighty powerful one at that.
The closest place sure to have a fix for the potion turned out to be unsettlingly convenient. Osvarra, the place the shadow—no, the shade—had tasked me with visiting (through the siren's message).
Despite Alwyn and Aliza's carefree attitudes, Mari was becoming increasingly nervous about our pursuers. Prince seemed a little too uninterested considering... no, I made a promise. To be fair, at first it was just the knight—a continental threat in itself—then the southern Khazar guy was tacked onto it.
Two incredibly powerful people with soldiers at their disposal. And a grudge. Simply, Mari wasn't convinced Alwyn would be strong enough to fend them off if they found us.
Thank god, at least, that they aren't working together. Actually... wouldn't it be good if they met? They could destroy each other!
"Nya!"
"Oh, Lady! I haven't seen you in a minute!"
"Nya! Nya!"
"You're getting bigger, aren't you? Have I been feeding you too much?"
"Nyahah."
"Is that a no?"
She climbed on top of my chest and curled into a ball. I tried to lay perfectly still, but I could only keep it up for so long. It's not like I was going to get any sleep anyway. I rolled over without thinking and sent her into the dirt.
"HSSsssss!"
She ran off into the woods.
She'll be fine, right?
"Awooooo!"
Is that howling? Do wolves eat cats?
"NYYYAAAAAAAHAAAAA!!!!!!"
I leapt from my sleeping sack and ran into the night.
"Lady? Come back here! Lady~!" I shouted out with a cutesy baby voice.
"Nyuh."
"Lady? Is that you?"
I squinted through the dark. It seemed like she was behind a tree to my left.
"NyuUUh."
"Why do you sound weird? Did you eat something bad?"
I turned around the tree. I did not see Lady. No, instead I saw an incredibly thin, towering creature, with a humanoid face and pale white skin that shined in the moonlight. Its beady black eyes stared into mine and a slimy smile stretched across its face.
It dropped open its jaw and revealed inside needle-like teeth. From deep within his throat, an unnatural sound resonated.
"NYyuhuhuhhh. AWWWOOooooo!"
...What the hell is this thing!?
"DIIIIE!" I let out a shrill scream.
I raised my arms to cast a spell, but the spindly arm swung through the air and clumsily hit me. Clumsy in form but not strength, though, and I flew into a tree.
"DIIIIIEEEE!" the creature mimicked, walking towards me.
OMIGAUDIMGONNADIE!
I got up and started to run. You might be wondering why I didn't just, you know, light it on fire or cut it in half or something. I ask you to be understanding, it was the scariest thing I'd ever seen in my life. I'd never even heard of anything like it. In a situation like that, you aren't thinking clearly!
I weaved through the trees, but every time I looked back over my shoulder, the thing was right behind me. Slowly, each step echoed through the night. Its limbs created whooshing sounds through the air, and I jumped every time it felt like it was about to grab me.
I tripped on an exposed root and face-planted.
"Help... me...!" it groaned.
I definitely didn't say that...! Was that from a previous victim or something!?
It reached out to me, but right before its fingers met my face, it froze. I heard a churning noise from its stomach, but if I didn't know any better, I'd have thought it was a statue.
"F-F-FIIIIIREEEE JAAAWWSSS OF HELLLL!!!!!!"
The name was fancy, but I wasn't really sure how to create jaws of fire, so it ended up more like a big fireball. Like most of my spells. Was I only good for fireballs?
"HELP ME! NYUHUH! AWWOOOOOOO! HELP ME!"
It still stood but was on fire. It shook and writhed, but it didn't drop.
"DIE! DIE! DIE!"
I cast fireballs over and over until it dropped to its knees, silent. As it was falling over, Lady clawed out from its mouth and jumped onto my face. She was smoking, a little fried, but alive.
"You were inside of that thing that entire time...? Eugh."
"Nya."
"Help... me..."
"WAH!"