(Cyve side)
I reassured myself and took the ring given by Norm-san, which he had taken care of all this time.
Without hesitation, I immediately put the ring on my index finger. If it were on the ring finger, that would only be for engagement or marriage.
I said goodbye to Norm-san to return home, but I only made an excuse.
I went to a rather open area, perhaps a field. There were no trees or grass in this area. It looked as if this place had been deliberately made.
It would take about 3 minutes walking from Norm-san's house. I wasn't sure whether Norm-san even knew about this place.
I just wanted to test it. Norm-san said this ring could enhance the light magic ability of its user... but I wasn't so sure.
I began chanting a spell, and the ring shone.
"The power of this ring... is it real??", I muttered.
Since the ring glowed, it meant the ring's power was indeed real.
And since I already felt somewhat convinced, I decided not to continue my chanting. Because it was already proven, wasn't it?
But, after I successfully stopped my chant, the ring continued to glow.
"Why won't it die down?", I asked. Since I had already stopped chanting, the ring's glow should have disappeared, right?
Instead of dimming, little by little the glow became stronger and hurt my eyes.
My index finger also felt a bit hot, surely because of this ring.
I used my left hand and tried to pull the ring off my index finger, but unfortunately, the ring didn't move at all.
It felt like the ring was shrinking and sticking tightly to my finger.
It was very painful, my finger was already tingling and might soon go numb.
Suddenly, the light grew even brighter and caused my entire vision to vanish.
The light seemed to have just consumed my body.
——
I don't ever want to use that ring again, it felt like Norm-san was messing with me.
Maybe the only one who could use that ring was Norm-san himself, after all, he had worn it all this time without such an incident happening.
I really wanted my light magic to become stronger and to be able to use many techniques.
But if it meant using a ring like that, I'd rather not.
Instead of waking up in that empty area, I woke up in a place cushioned by something soft.
I rubbed my eyes and then opened them slowly.
My body was lying on a stretch of sand, and when I looked further ahead, there were thick trees waiting for me there.
Still not fully conscious, I tried to get up and sit on the sand.
I looked behind me while hoping it wasn't something shocking.
The sea.
Yes, the sea. The place I saw behind my body was a vast ocean. I myself couldn't even see what lay within that sea.
From afar, I didn't see any islands or anything in the ocean. It was just like a calm yet engulfing sea.
I stood up and began brushing the sand off my clothes, which were covered all over. My clothes were dirty, and my body felt a little itchy.
I looked around this place, and it resembled an island in the middle of the sea.
I felt worried and afraid because there was a chance I wouldn't be able to return to the village.
And the aura emanating from this place felt rather eerie as well.
Perhaps because it was still bright, the island looked okay, but I was sure at night it would definitely be frightening.
I looked at my index finger and the ring was gone.
Maybe it was because of that ring that I had ended up here.
——
I decided to enter the forest. I wanted to build a wooden house so I wouldn't have trouble when I needed to sleep.
On some trees, I also found some fruits that looked like they might be edible.
Suddenly, I saw a large stone right in front of me.
Its height was perhaps twice as tall as my body, and in some parts, moss could be seen, indicating that this stone was very old.
I stepped closer and tried to inspect this large stone out of curiosity.
And on one side of the stone, I found something that really helped me.
There, I saw a tent made of several pieces of wood connected together, with a layer of cloth as the roof.
Then there was a large box which, when I opened it, looked more like a wardrobe.
Inside were some vegetables and fruits, and also some weapons like swords, bows, and spears.
There were also some white clothes that already looked worn out.
There were also some books I checked through, and one of them was a book about "humans."
——
From then on, I began developing many new skills.
I learned how to build a house in a short amount of time.
In my family, my father and mother could be said to be very intelligent. Maybe their genius was passed down to me.
Besides successfully building a house, I found many ways to survive.
Like how to make water, how to wash clothes, make a campfire, and especially when I wanted to bathe.
I kept studying and mastering all of these things. But none of it made me feel at home here.
I constantly hoped to get out of this place.
I always tried several light magic spells, but none of them could help me.
I also often checked my index finger just in case the ring reappeared on it.
Repeatedly I read the book "humans" and found many things about humans.
This made me even more fascinated by humans and made me want to meet them soon.
——
One night as I lay down looking at the sky, a shooting star lit up the night.
I immediately sat up and prayed.
"Please, let me see my family again," my voice sounded so sorrowful and desperate.
I also wanted to see my father and mother's faces again.
The next morning, I was shocked to see a mirror appear on the surface of that stone.
I tapped on the mirror, hoping something might happen.
And sure enough, the mirror immediately showed my house.
My eyes widened at the sight.
There I saw my mother and father sitting in chairs, both seemingly discussing something.
Perhaps because of this mirror's power, I could not only see them but also hear their voices and conversation here.
"When are you going to look for Cyve?", that was Mother's voice.
Did Mother already know that I had suddenly disappeared!?
"Cyve? Just leave her be.", Father just said something that shocked me.
"What do you mean!? She's your child, isn't she!?", Mother shouted at Father.
"I don't care about that, I was only kind to her because of you."
"I just want to live with you, nothing more than that... Cyve's presence only disgusts me."
"That girl may have inherited your beauty, but that's it."
"I truly hate her!"
I immediately turned my body and leaned against that mirror.
I bent both my knees and held them with my hands.
I had just heard the statement that the father who had always been kind to me was now glad to have lost me.
My heart felt so painful and shattered in just a few seconds.
It turned out the father I knew was not my real father.
——
It took a very long time to calm my mental state.
In the end, I decided to stay on this island for the time being, because I had no desire to try leaving again.
Even though Mother still wanted to meet me, I restrained myself from trying to leave here.
Since Father hated me, then I also had a reason to hate him.
I used to deliberately lock myself in my room because I wanted to read books, and now I wanted to lock myself on this island and build a life.
I hoped I could meet humans and a boy who would be kind to me.
Without realizing it, 10 years had already passed.
——
That day, I was out hunting wild animals to get meat for food.
I dug a fairly large pit to trap the animal.
After a while, I finally heard something fall into the pit. It must be an animal, I thought.
I added sleeping medicine inside the pit so nothing could escape.
When I looked into the pit, I saw a creature with a physical body exactly like mine.
He had two legs, two hands, one nose, and also two eyes.
The main difference was the ears. Short ears, unlike my own.
There was thick black hair on top of his head, just like Father's hair.
"This must be a rare animal!", I muttered.
I immediately tied his arms and legs to a tree trunk and began lighting a fire to cook the creature.
Unexpectedly, that creature suddenly spoke and squirmed as if trying to escape the bonds.
I thought he would make sounds like most other animals.
But instead, he shouted, "I'm a human!!!"
I was shocked to hear his words. At first, I didn't believe it, but in the end, I decided to release him.
If he really was a human, then he must be a male.
———
(Yukito side)
"Has Yukito-sama already understood why I could end up here?", Cyve asked me after telling her past.
I didn't answer and was still trying to digest Cyve's story—in essence, she ended up in this world because of a mistake.
I tried turning to look at Cyve's face.
Her face looked rather sad, the moonlight illuminating her gentle features.
She had lived alone in Weinz's game for more than 10 years all by herself.
Cyve... truly extraordinary.