SAAE 25

Chapter 25

Haa… Will they count confessing in my head as a sin, too?

It’d be nice if they did.

I should casually ask the first one later.

The second one, who had just landed on the island, released Isahël’s collar from his left hand and then set me down from his right arm.

Isahël brushed off his collar with an annoyed look, then approached me.

“If you’re tired, why don’t you get some sleep like you said earlier?”

“Mmm. Should I?”

“Yeah. It’s not like there’s anything you can do right away anyway.”

“Mm.”

Without hesitation, I flopped onto the grass.

I stared blankly up at the sky and was just about to close my eyes when I sensed Isahël sitting down next to me.

“…Steak.”

“What?”

“I want steak.”

Isahël looked at me as if I had suddenly started babbling nonsense.

I ignored him and asked,

“What do you want to eat the most?”

“……”

He stayed silent for a long while.

…Guess he doesn’t plan on answering nonsense.

Tch.

It’s not nonsense—I seriously really, really want to eat steak right now.

Just wait until I get out of here.

I’m going to eat steak every single meal of the day.

“…Lemon sherbet.”

“Huh?”

I quickly turned my head toward the sudden voice.

And I saw Isahël’s face—with his ears slightly red.

I couldn’t believe it and asked again,

“Lemon sherbet? That’s what you want the most?”

He nodded.

“You like sweets, huh.”

“Yeah.”

“Sweets… yeah. They’re good. Sounds delicious.”

Lemon sherbet, huh.

After steak, that would make a nice dessert.

“When we get out of here, I’ll buy you lemon sherbet as a celebration.”

At my words, Isahël let out a small laugh.

“Then I guess I should buy you steak.”

“Nah, I’ll buy that too.”

I’m in the mood—I’ll buy everything.

He laughed again.

It was the kind of laugh that said he found me ridiculous, but still—he looked better smiling.

I smiled back and closed my eyes.

“Is this how you take revenge?”

Ah, for f—…

Again?

“I thought you were a person capable of rational judgment.”

I heard Louis’s voice from somewhere.

My vision was pitch black.

“Seems I was sorely mistaken.”

Since I’d already experienced this before, I immediately realized it was a dream… and Louis’s doing.

“Rosette, I never imagined you were such a cruel person.”

He kept talking nonstop to me, who just stood there blankly.

“Do you even realize Felix is lying on the brink of death because of you?”

I really didn’t want to talk, but I couldn’t let him stay wrong.

I answered in a tone full of disbelief.

“How is any of that my fault?”

“You abandoned Felix, did you not?”

“Yeah, I left him there nicely.”

I didn’t hurt him, did I?

I shrugged. Not sure if he could even see it.

“Ha… Unbelievably shameless.”

“You’re one to talk.”

God, I really don’t want to keep meeting this guy like this.

Isn’t there a way to stop him from invading my dreams?

…Should’ve studied magic harder.

A moment full of regret.

But I was born with so little mana that I couldn’t even successfully cast a single 1st-circle spell.

So even if I had studied hard, nothing would’ve changed.

“Leonard is extremely angry with you for endangering Felix.”

“And what do you want me to do about that.”

“…But don’t worry, I managed to calm him down.”

“I didn’t ask.”

I didn’t know how to escape the dream.

Therefore, the only thing I could do right now was piss him off as much as possible.

Why?

Because I refuse to be the only one angry.

So I tried.

“If you help us regain trust in you, Leonard promised he would consider taking you back into the group.”

“Hwushe-makee yaksok-hattae.”

“…Be rational. We have many members, and most of them are highly capable.”

“You have Felix though?”

“Surely you realize your chances of surviving the tower are much higher with us?”

“Eh? Don’t know.”

Looks like my efforts worked—he was getting irritated.

“Rosette Grace!”

Louis shouted for the first time.

“Do you think this is all a joke? People’s lives are at stake!”

His shamelessness made my blood boil, but I held it in.

What good was getting angry?

This wasn’t reality, and there was no way to actually hurt him.

So I spoke more calmly and rationally than ever.

“Your lives are your own problem.”

“Rosette!”

“For the last time, I’m not joining your group. Keep coming like this—nothing will change. I won’t change my mind.”

“……”

“Just like how the past—when you abandoned me—will never change.”

That was the moment—

“—Ah!”

Someone grabbed my wrist.

And the next instant, my vision brightened.

“Huh?”

As the darkness lifted, I quickly checked the hand gripping my wrist.

What if Louis grabbed me—

But no.

Holding my wrist was a small blond child.

“…Who are you?”

No way that Louis suddenly turned into a cute kid.

Louis had silver hair anyway, and there’s no universe where he looked this pretty and adorable as a child.

I blinked in confusion. The boy just stared up at me and then—grinned widely.

…He smiled?

“No way…? That’s impossible.”

Then I heard Louis’s voice.

“This is the space I created. My magic—was broken?”

I looked up. Louis stood in front of me, staring at me with a pale face.

“Don’t tell me the ability you were hiding… Rosette, are you actually a magician capable of using spells above my circle?”

What the hell.

I didn’t do anything.

“Answer me. Were you hiding your magic ability all this time!?”

I guess his magic breaking shocked him that much.

Enough that he couldn’t even tell it wasn’t me.

…Or maybe—he can’t see the kid?

The moment that thought occurred, a new voice entered my mind.

A childlike voice, far too young—pre-puberty.

‘Why did you come so late?’
‘I waited for you for so long.’
‘I’m really upset.’
‘But it can’t be helped.’
‘I’ll help you.’
‘Let’s get out of here.’

Several sentences echoed at once inside my head.

I couldn’t even separate them before I was suddenly—out of the dream.

When I opened my eyes in a daze, I was still lying on the grass.

And a spirit was gripping my wrist—more precisely, holding the bracelet I wore on my right wrist.

It had a small body, like a child.

Instinctively, I knew the child I saw in the dream was this spirit.

Unlike in the dream, it was just a pitch-black silhouette now.

“…Are you the third one?”

At my question, the spirit eagerly nodded once.

I sat up.

The first and second were not in sight, and Isahël was sleeping beside me.

I didn’t want to wake him, so I lowered my voice and spoke to the spirit.

“Did you help me get out of the dream?”

The spirit nodded again. Then pointed at my bracelet.

He talked so much in the dream, yet now he only moved his head?

Maybe he can’t speak in reality?

Judging from the nodding and gestures, that seemed to be exactly the case.

The second one was the same, and the third too.

Looks like the only one who can communicate directly with me is the first.

I asked the third spirit, who was pointing at my bracelet,

“You want this?”

The little head immediately bobbed up and down rapidly.

Without hesitation, I removed the bracelet and handed it to him.

“This was yours, huh.”

The third spirit was sucked into the bracelet as if absorbed—and then popped back out again.

Just like how the second one got its wings.

No matter how many times I saw it, it was amazing.

“Hey… you can use magic, right?”

The third spirit nodded vigorously.

Just as I thought.

A spirit that can use magic.

And one skilled enough to break Louis’s spell!

What a lucky jackpot.