GDWY 04

Chapter 04

“Goodness! What a complete mess!”

It was a bright morning that laid bare the scene of last night’s secretive slaughter.

A man in a black suit stepped lightly through the village, taking care to step only on the cleanest patches of ground amid the destroyed houses and bloodstains.

He had come to this village because it was the closest place available after his mission was assigned.

From a glance, the traces of Lamia were unmistakable: adult humans were killed, and only children had their flesh eaten.

“…Seems like there are no survivors.”

The Lamia must have fled alive.

Wanting to leave this decrepit village quickly, the man checked in his notebook that there were no survivors and prepared to depart.

He could never have imagined that the Lamia might be dead, still brimming with magical energy, or that there might be a survivor.

He had been patrolling the village just in case, and, annoyed, had almost given up when he sensed a faint trace of magic. Curiosity led him to follow the energy, and what he found was astonishing.

A Lamia corpse—and a living survivor.

“An unexpected find.”

The Lamia was indeed dead, still steeped in magical energy. That meant the one who killed it possessed magic, and in front of the Lamia’s corpse lay a girl, seemingly dead but radiating magical energy.

Her magic was faint, hardly enough to believe she had killed the Lamia, but the fact that she possessed magic was undeniable.

Her eyes were closed, so confirmation was impossible—but pale pink hair…

A hair color impossible for ordinary humans.

The man took off his jacket and draped it over the bloodied girl with her torn clothes, then lifted her small frame into his arms.

“I guess it’s time to prepare for a new family member.”

Humming to himself at this unexpected gain, he left the village.

The most painful and horrifying memories surface even more vividly in darkness.

Rosha stood alone in a pitch-black darkness where she could see nothing ahead.

It was strange. Rosha had never known such deep darkness.

She had hid alone to avoid others before, but she had never been alone when she wanted someone by her side.

Where is this? Where is everyone?

“Mother, Father! Where are you?”

Even calling desperately for her family, she had never gone unanswered before.

“Today, let’s go out together and have dinner. Ah, it would be nice to take Polly for a walk too.”

‘Come to think of it, I went out with my brother…’

She remembered having ice cream with Dein in the village, seeing a strange newspaper article posted on a wall, and on the way home, Polly had suddenly barked and run off…

“Ah…”

As she traced her memories to that point, a sudden light pierced the darkness.

“R-Run…! Get away…!”

Her brother’s voice, shouting for her to run even as the Lamia devoured him, unfolded vividly before her eyes as if it were happening right now.

Then, in the dreamlike space where Rosha had chosen oblivion, the catastrophe that had struck her home flashed in her mind.

“Li, Lily…”

Rosha ran through the pitch darkness.

“Lily! Lily, where are you?!”

To find her sister. But the firmly closed door of oblivion opened, and Rosha recalled all her memories in order.

“Come with me… I don’t want to go alone…!”

She remembered spraining her ankle and sending her sister to the village first, leaving herself alone to be eaten by the Lamia…

Her memories replayed like a picture in the darkness.

“…….”

But her memories were hazy after being devoured. She vaguely remembered opening her eyes again, going down to the ruined village, and signaling the monster.

She even faintly remembered the monster collapsing at that gesture.

‘If the village was attacked by Lamia…’

“I… I’ll definitely bring the adults!”

‘What happened to my sister, who went toward the village?’

Her mind spun.

Memories of arguing with her parents, walking home while eating ice cream with her brother, pulling her sister from under the bed—they all mingled in a haze.

On the ceiling, walls, and floor of the darkness, the memories of that day were painted.

Everything was confusing, but one conclusion was clear:

She had to find Lily.

Since she hadn’t found a corpse, she could not assume her sister was dead. If so, she had to find her.

To find her sister, there was only one thing Rosha could do now.

She had to stand on her feet in this darkness.

Unknowingly, she had been sitting, but she rose. The memories of that day began to crack like a wall. The cracks spread from the top to the bottom until the wall split in two, and a pure white light seeped in.

It was the exit from the dream.

‘That must be the way out!’

Rosha reached toward reality without hesitation.

『Will you be alright?』

But the voice that reached her stopped her in her tracks.

A soft male voice.

“W-Who are you…?”

『You’ll never live an ordinary life like before.』

“…….”

The man did not answer Rosha’s question, speaking only his words. Yet Rosha could not feel offended.

『Even if you go out into the world, there is no family left to protect you.』

He had pierced Rosha’s fear exactly.

『Stay here with me.』

Suddenly, the surroundings brightened. Even in the clear view, the man remained unseen. Instead, on a small table were stacked the sweet treats Rosha loved. On the floor rolled her favorite dolls, toys, and flowers.

『If you stay here, I will give you everything you want.』

The man’s mysterious, sweet voice tempted Rosha. She picked up one of the dolls scattered on the floor—a doll she had once been forced to hand to Lily, making her cry.

“……I have to go.”

Rosha put the doll down. Such dolls meant nothing to her now.

『Don’t you think you’ll regret it?』

Rosha recalled the last face she had seen of Lily. If she didn’t go into the outside world, Lily would be alone.

Now, as her parents had instructed before their passing, Rosha had to take responsibility as an older sister.

“I won’t regret it.”

The man continued calling Rosha’s name. But ignoring him, she reached toward reality without hesitation.

Even if the real world might hurt her, there was someone she had to find.

“Ugh…ugh…”

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was the bright sunlight streaming through the window across from the bed. But what made Rosha frown wasn’t the light.

Pain seized her the moment she opened her eyes, causing her face to contort.

“Number 777, you’re awake?”

A voice came from somewhere as she clutched her clothes near her chest. Rosha realized someone was beside her and hastily sat up.

“Huh…ugh!”

The moment she moved, pain spread through her body. She clutched her chest and gasped.

“Don’t overdo it. I won’t hurt you.”

The tone lacked sincerity, but Rosha, still wary, struggled to look up.

A middle-aged man with a stern face held out a glass filled with deep green liquid.

“Drink. It will ease the pain.”

Although hesitant to accept a drink from a stranger, she could not resist.

“…Ugh!”

As the pain returned, she snatched the glass from him. The green liquid spilled onto the blanket, but Rosha drank it relentlessly, barely able to breathe through the pain.

“Tsk, tsk. The maid has more work to do.”

After finishing the drink, Rosha finally felt the pain in her chest subside. The liquid was bitter, but compared to the pain she had endured, it was nothing.

“Haa…”

Rosha finally caught her breath and looked around the room where she had been lying.

The walls of the large room were pure white, with no patterns. But an alarm clock, gold-framed paintings, and other decorations filled the space, giving it an elegant appearance.

A wooden bed frame with white drapes and a geometrically patterned carpet completed the luxurious interior.

“This place…where am I?”

Rosha asked belatedly. The man removed his monocle and clicked his tongue.

“This is the capital, Dilmun, far from your village.”

“Why…am I here…?”

“You survived by luck, and we found you.”

“……”

“Consider yourself lucky. If we hadn’t found you, even if you had awakened, you wouldn’t have survived the pain.”

The man in the white coat handed Rosha a hand mirror. She carefully lifted it, stunned.

Seeing her reflection, she could not speak for a moment.

Her hair and eyes were uniquely colored.

Her hair was a soft cherry blossom pink, and her eyes a deeper pink.

“Just so there’s no misunderstanding, no one dyed your hair. You know it’s impossible to change eye color too, right?”

“……”

“Ah, I know it’s a stupid thing to say, but sometimes young ones ask such foolish questions.”

“……”

“I wish they asked questions that showed some thinking. For example, why your hair changed color…”

“What happened to my village?”

Rosha cut off his increasingly long speech with her own question. The man, momentarily taken aback, fell silent.

“Aren’t you curious about your hair and eye color?”

“Something more important matters.”

The pain was gone, and she sensed the man wasn’t a bad person. Now there was something she needed to do.

“Did you see anyone who survived in my village?”