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Chapter : 3
I was standing at the end of a dead-end road, thick with fog.
Ahead of me, people wearing black masks and greedy expressions were approaching, but my body did nothing except tremble violently, unable to move.
The men grabbed me, tied my arms and legs, and bound me tightly to an examination table so I couldn’t even twitch.
“Pretty young lady, they say they need your eyes. I don’t know why either, but it’s an order from someone important, so there’s nothing I can do. It’ll be over quickly.”
“It’ll hurt, but just bear with it a little, okay?”
One of them roughly held my face so I couldn’t close my eyes, while the others gripped their knives.
The sharp blade shot straight toward my eyeballs.
I opened my eyes.
Sunlight streamed dazzlingly into the room through the thin curtains covering the window.
“Haa….”
That nightmare again.
Cold sweat trickled down my back. When would I ever be free of it?
I gulped down a glass of cold water, changed my clothes, and threw on my robe.
What I needed to take were the blindfold lying on the bedside table and the small bundle of belongings I had packed the night before.
Starting the very first morning of my departure with a nightmare that reminded me of events from years ago didn’t exactly put me in a good mood, but I couldn’t delay my schedule. Letting out a deep sigh, I slung my bag over my shoulder and stood up.
Just as I was about to open the door, someone opened it faster than I could.
“Rieeennn!!!!”
“…Alec?”
Alec looked up at me with swollen eyes, as if he had been bawling nonstop.
“You—you’re leaving the tower without even telling me!”
As if overwhelmed by sorrow, tears welled up again in his big eyes.
It was a sight that never matched his large build.
“You locked yourself in the lab yesterday. I knocked on the door so many times, but you didn’t hear me.”
“…Sierra’s gone, and now you too—what am I supposed to do by myself?!”
Smiling, I patted Alec’s back as he teetered on the brink of bursting into tears.
“It’s not like there are only the two of us spirit callers in the tower. You’ll be fine.”
“Do you really have to go…?”
“Alec.”
I have to go.
“…Should I pass along my regards to Sierra?”
“Yeah.”
After clinging to me and then finally giving up, still sniffling, I escorted Alec back to his room. Then, as I slowly descended the stairs, I halted.
At the entrance of the tower leading outside stood a familiar old man.
The master of the Spirit Tower, who had brought me here when I was on the verge of starving to death three years ago—someone like a father to me.
“…Jema.”
“I’ll allow you to pursue your revenge, but if you don’t come back quickly, I’ll tear those bastards’ limbs apart myself. Keep that in mind.”
Jema said it flatly, his face expressionless.
But I could feel the concern hidden beneath his words, so I smiled brightly and hugged him.
“…I can’t breathe, you brat.”
His tone was gruff, but he didn’t push me away. Secretly cute, really.
“I’ll be back.”
“…Fine. You hopeless thing. Send a letter once you arrive.”
Smiling, I nodded.
“…Haa.”
I stepped outside the tower and took a deep breath.
There were two towers on the continent.
The Spirit Tower and the Magic Tower.
Among them, the more powerful force was the spirit callers of the Spirit Tower.
Spirit callers.
Unlike the mages of the Magic Tower, who could only manage basic healing, minor attacks, or defensive magic, spirit callers were so powerful that it was said any nation under their protection became a great power. Even among them, those who acted openly were few in number, making spirit callers rare and highly valued.
Three years ago, when I had been driven to the brink of starvation in the slums and filled with endless hatred toward all the people who had turned me into what I was, the spirits came to me like a miracle.
But having spirits didn’t mean one could control them perfectly.
Jema, the master of the Spirit Tower, and Sierra, a spirit caller, happened to be passing through the slums and found me. For three years, I ground my teeth and worked relentlessly, growing into a proper spirit caller.
Only one thing remained for me.
A deep-rooted hatred for the people of the Aisien ducal family, the crown prince, and Arienne.
I had been building my strength all this time to take revenge on them.
I wanted them to feel all the desperate emotions and despair I had felt.
I wanted to drag them down into the abyss.
In my hollowed-out self, only that desire for revenge remained.
That was my sole goal for leaving the tower.
No matter what, I would destroy them.
By any means necessary.
Stretching my stiff body, I got down from the carriage.
It had taken quite some time to travel from the tower in the northern part of the continent to the Lufium Empire in the west.
I had come as far as the western continent with the help of Jema’s spirits, but even Jema couldn’t maintain mana all the way from the tower into the empire. In the end, I sent the spirits back near the imperial border and rented a carriage.
After spending days in a jolting carriage, my body was screaming with muscle pain.
Still, I’d made it inside the capital, so that was something. The water spirits I controlled couldn’t move as swiftly as wind spirits.
In the evening breeze, my jet-black hair—still unfamiliar to me—fluttered. I had dyed it from blue to black in case anyone might connect me in any way to the Aisien young lady.
Aside from my hair, my eye color was common enough, so I hadn’t bothered changing it.
Tired, and with the sun already setting, I gave up on going straight to Sierra’s estate in the busy district and instead entered a nearby restaurant to satisfy my hunger.
“Welcome!”
After ordering the first thing that caught my eye on the menu, I absentmindedly scanned the crowded interior.
Despite the late hour, the place was packed with people drinking and chatting boisterously, as if it were well known by word of mouth.
While waiting for my food and idly watching the lively atmosphere, the restaurant door suddenly slammed open. A young boy, no more than six or seven years old and deathly pale, rushed inside and tried to hide in a corner.
“P-please, someone help me…!”
Before anyone could even react, the door was flung open again with such force it nearly came off its hinges, and several burly men stormed in.
“Get back here right now!”
“You filthy rat!!”
“Eeeek!”
The men shoved people aside and overturned every table in their way as they advanced menacingly toward the child.
I watched the situation blankly from the corner. Judging by the scene, he looked like a runaway slave, and getting involved with slave traders would obviously bring nothing but trouble.
That’s what I thought—until the moment one of the men raised his hand to strike the child.
[What do you think you’re doing to Arienne right now?!]
[Have you forgotten the kindness of those who raised you?!]
[Father, brother, please… please believe me—ahh!]
“Damn it, Undine.”
I muttered a curse under my breath at the overlapping image of my own past reflected in the boy.
Tiny water droplets popped into existence in midair, and soon a small fairy-like spirit appeared.
“That man—”
Before I could finish, the spirits sensed my intent and fluttered away, landing on the right arm of the man who was about to beat the child.
The man’s face stiffened when he noticed Undine.
“What—what is this… aaargh!”
Soon, not only that man but all the men standing there began to have frost creep over both arms. With a cracking sound, they were instantly encased in ice.
Looks like eating is off the table now. Still, the kid didn’t get hit, so that’s enough.
With a deep sigh, I stood up.
“Y-you, you’re a mage…!”
Not a mage—a spirit caller.
“J-just you wait!”
I shrugged my shoulders, and the men, pale with fear, abandoned the child and bolted out.
Funny thing is, people who say that never actually come back for revenge.
With the restaurant completely wrecked, I couldn’t even smell the food. Gathering my things, I stepped outside and sighed. Where should I go now?
“Um—excuse me!”
I felt someone tug on my robe and turned around to see the same child from before, still trembling.
“…P-please take me with you too….”
His face was covered in injuries, likely from those men.
I said nothing, simply looking at the child—or more precisely, at his wounds. His pale violet eyes began to well up, looking as though tears might spill any second. Unfortunately, I wasn’t strong enough to resist eyes like that.
“P-please… okay?”
“…Haa.”
Letting out a sigh, I started walking. This area was clearly no longer suitable to stay in, and if we walked a bit, we’d probably find a decent inn.
“…Do whatever you want.”
At my words, the child froze for a moment, staring at me in disbelief, then hurriedly ran over and stuck close to my side.
“…What’s your name?”
At a small inn we found along the way, after securing a room, I asked while watching the child devour the meal the innkeeper had brought up, as if he might chew the bowl itself.
“Ah—uh, it’s Driel.”
He said his name as if frightened of something, then stopped eating and cautiously glanced at me.
“Where do you live?”
“……”
The child clamped his mouth shut, clearly unwilling to answer.
Well, everyone has their reasons.
I stood up, took off my robe, and set it beside my bag.
Since I planned to sleep and head straight for Sierra’s estate in the morning, I didn’t bother unpacking.
“W-what’s your name, miss?”
I turned my head.
For some reason, the child was looking at me with sparkling, almost burdensome eyes.
“…Rien.”
And so, a somewhat different night outside the tower quietly deepened.
