by Takehaya
“Looks like it’s just up ahead.”
Any normal animal or person probably would have run off after hearing that groan. However, Maki simply smiled and picked up the pace. Intimidation of that level didn’t work on her.
“Found it!”
Pressing on another several dozen meters after hearing the groan, Maki reached a large open area in the cave that seemed to stretch at least twenty meters in all directions. It was there she spied the demon standing across the room.
Its body was about two meters in height and covered in tufty white hair. It stood up on two legs like a human, but its silhouette was closer to that of a beast than a man. It looked a little like a lion being forced to stand upright. But what stood out most of all were the wings on its back and the shape of its head. Both features reminded Maki of a falcon or eagle.
All in all, it appeared as a white behemoth standing on two legs, with the head and wings of a bird of prey. It was the master of the cave—a demon. It certainly looked like a devil or the stuff of legend. Based on its powerful looking body and the vast mana it held, Maki believed it was quite a high-ranking demon.
“Y-Yu! Wy di yu com her?! Do yu com her to kil me?!”
But as the demon looked at Maki, it started backing away. It was rare for a high-ranking demon to back off even in the face of a strong enemy. Maki had encountered many powerful demons before, but this was the first time she had seen this kind of reaction.
It sounds like its speaking Ancient Folsarian...
Maki tilted her head in confusion at the demon’s behavior and began speaking to it in the same language it had used. The language it was speaking was something that high-ranking magicians like Maki studied daily.
“Calm down. I only came here to make a deal with you. If possible, I want to make a contract with you as my familiar.”
Maki was upfront with the demon, honestly declaring her intentions.
“Yur lyng!”
However, the demon rejected her immediately. It then glared at Maki and tried to intimidate her by growling.
“Guuuuuoooooooo!”
“Wait! I really did come to make a contract with you as―”
“Silen! I kan tel tha yu ar lyng! Vadra ar komin her! Yu ar Vadra aly, righ?!”
“Vadra...?”
The demon spoke a strange word that Maki didn’t recognize. Based on the context, it seemed to be a proper noun, but since the demon’s throat hadn’t been made to speak human language, Maki couldn’t quite understand him.
“What is ‘Vadra’? What are you so scared of?”
Whatever that word meant seemed to be the source of the demon’s fear. And whatever it was, he was horribly frightened that it was approaching. If she didn’t do something about this fear, Maki wouldn’t be able to make the demon her familiar, so she wanted to find out what this “Vadra” was.
“Yu kan no ful me! I kan smel Vadra on yu! Yur ar hir tu stahl mi, no?!”
“Vadra’s smell? Stall you?”
“Hir! Vadra is hir! Almos righ hir! I wil be kiled! Wil kil me wit Signatin! I hav to kil tis oen an run!”
However, Maki wasn’t able to get to the bottom of the matter. Without answering her question, the demon, frightened and frenzied, attacked her.
Koutarou and Yurika reached the cave in question several minutes after Maki had entered it. Yurika believed that Maki was up to something magical, so instead of blindly searching for her, she had tried to track any traces of mana on the mountain. Her search had led her to the same place Maki’s had.
“Here?”
“It looks like it. Maki-chan is probably in there.”
Koutarou stared into the cave curiously. As Yurika looked at him from behind, she began thinking that it was about time to put him to sleep. Maki was somewhere inside that cave. Or, if it wasn’t Maki, then something else magical and powerful. Since she wanted Koutarou to believe that they were just looking for Maki as classmates, she believed that it was best if she put him to sleep and hid him somewhere safe outside before he entered the cave. Having made up her mind on the matter, Yurika pointed her staff at Koutarou.
“Satomi-san, since it’s dark inside, I’ll cast some more light magic.”
“Yeah, please do.”
Having had several spells cast on him already, Koutarou didn’t question Yurika approaching him from behind with her staff.
I feel kind of bad for tricking him, but... this is for Satomi-san’s own good...
Yurika pointed the staff at Koutarou, but instead of using the staff’s magic, she began incanting a spell of her own. Since she was going to cast a mind-affecting spell, she wanted to use her own magic instead of the staff’s to make sure she had proper control over it.
What if I let him have a nice dream? Something like Satomi-san, me, and Sakuraba-senpai going out to play somewhere...
Yurika began casting her spell, mixing in her own wishes and mischief into it.
“Combine: Deep Sleep, Control Dreams! Modifier: Effective Time, Twice!”
Two spells—one to put the target to sleep, and the second to manipulate their dreams—combined into one indigo light around Koutarou.
“O-Oh...?”
Koutarou had a quizzical look on his face as he watched the indigo light surround him, but only for a moment. The effects of the combined spell quickly took effect and seized hold of his mind. Since Koutarou was accepting of her spell, he easily fell into a deep slumber.
“Goodnight, Satomi-san.”
Yurika smiled at Koutarou and held on to him so he wouldn’t collapse.
“W-Wah!”
Koutarou’s body was heavier than she expected, but she was somehow able to support him.
“Phew... Now all that’s left is to hide him somewhere safe. He should be fine if I put up a ward.”
While supporting Koutarou, Yurika looked around the area and spotted a large rock near the cave. She thought she could probably hide him in the shadow of that rock. However, before she could carry his body there, something happened.
There was a loud sound that could have easily been mistaken for cannon fire. Not a second later, a large amount of snow came blowing out from the entrance of the cave right in front of Yurika. In the burst of snow, she caught a glimpse of Maki.
“Kyaaah! Wait, M-Maki-chan?!”
“Nijino Yurika?!”
In the brief instant they passed each other, Yurika and Maki’s gazes met. Maki then continued flying on and crashed into the snow. Yurika blankly stared at her as she held up Koutarou.
“Guuuuuoooooooo!”
The next moment, a white demon came flying out of the cave, chasing after Maki. The demon looked like he was about to attack the collapsed Maki, but the moment he saw Yurika, he stopped moving midair.
“Gaaaaaaaah! Vadra! Vadraaaaa!”
The demon then flapped his wings violently as it changed directions and came charging at Yurika.
“Kil! Kil! Vadra! Vadra!”
His hands shone red for an instant before both his arms were surrounded by a white snowstorm. It was a manifestation of the ice magic this demon used.
“Oh no!”
Realizing the demon was now coming for her and Koutarou, Yurika hurriedly began chanting.
“Quick Cast Greater Protection!”
She cast the strongest defensive spell she knew how to use, and the yellow light it produced surrounded both her and Koutarou.
“Dieeee!”
The demon attacked with its magic, sending the white snowstorms from its arms to surround Yurika and Koutarou.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Caught in the whipping winds and snow, Yurika let out a scream. As the snowstorm wrapped around her, its density rapidly increased and it turned into a column of ice. Within a few seconds, Yurika had been sealed into a giant ice pillar.
Meanwhile, Koutarou only felt a cold rush of air over him as he slept. That was thanks to Yurika’s defensive spell and the fact that she had pushed him away before the snowstorm hit. P
rotected by a yellow light, he had rolled several meters away from her.
“Y-Yurika...”
Maki pulled herself up out of the snow and saw Yurika trapped in the ice. She was completely frozen with her eyes wide open. Maki wasn’t even sure if she was alive or not. With the sudden arrival of her rival and the crisis she was in, Maki momentarily forgot about the demon.
“Die! Dieeeee! Vadra! Dieeeee!”
But even if she hadn’t forgotten, she probably couldn’t have avoided his next attack. The frenzied white demon conjured up a huge avalanche.
Koutarou and Yurika had left the hotel a little after 9:30PM. Roughly an hour and a half had passed, and it was almost time for bed for the Kisshouharukaze students. Because of that, the amount of people in the lobby had drastically decreased.
Theia had come to the lobby as things had started to quiet down for the night. She was getting worried about Koutarou and the others who still hadn’t come back yet. Without thinking about it, she’d found herself in the lobby waiting for them.
Where is Koutarou...?
Theia looked around for Koutarou. She knew he would contact her on his way back. She had no doubt about that. So even looking for him now, she knew she wouldn’t find him here. Still, she couldn’t help herself.
I’m such a fool... Hmm?
It wasn’t Koutarou, but Theia spied a familiar face as she looked around. She smiled slightly and approached the girl.
“Sanae.”
Sanae was sitting on a sofa and staring at the entrance’s automatic door.
“Huh? What is it, Theia?”
Sanae had been so focused on watching the door that she hadn’t noticed Theia until she called out to her. It even almost startled her.
“It’s nothing. I just sort of found myself here and thought I’d say hi.”
Theia sat down next to Sanae. She felt like staying here and talking with Sanae for while.
“Hmph. I’m waiting for Koutarou to come back.”
Sanae pouted and pointed at the automatic door. Sanae seemed to be in a bad mood despite waiting for Koutarou.
“Once he gets back, I’m going to let him have a piece of my mind.”
“Why?”
“Because he didn’t take me along for something so interesting.”
While expressing her dissatisfaction, Sanae emphatically pointed at the door. Koutarou and Yurika left while Sanae and Kiriha were at the hot spring. Sanae was unhappy because it felt like Koutarou had left her behind on purpose.
“Theia, you should say something too.”
“Me too?”
“Yeah. Isn’t there a thing or two that you want to tell him too?”
“Well, yes, but...”
Theia smiled wryly. There were indeed some things she wanted to tell Koutarou, but it wouldn’t be what Sanae had in mind.
No, in the grand scheme of things, it might be the same...
In the end, the reason Theia and Sanae were waiting in the lobby was the same.
“You take those suppressed feelings and use your maiden spirit and guts to―”
The entrance door opened. Both Sanae and Theia immediately turned to look.
“We finally made it, papa!”
“It’s already so late at night... Jeez...”
“I’ll check us in right away. Just hang on, honey.”
A young couple with a child entered the hotel. They seemed to be guests and walked over to the receptionist.
What... Oh, it’s just some guests...
Theia’s shoulders drooped despondently. It wasn’t who she’d hoped to see.
“Sanae?”
“...”
Theia looked back towards Sanae, but Sanae was looking elsewhere. Her eyes were following the family of three. The young couple and the small girl—most likely their daughter—was something that caught her attention.
“What is it, Sanae?”
“Theia... S-Sorry, what were we talking about?”
Sanae was only able to focus on Theia after the young family had disappeared into the elevator.
“It doesn’t matter. More importantly, what was that about? Was there something wrong with that family?”
“No. They just reminded me of papa and mama a little.”
Strictly speaking, Sanae wasn’t interested in the three people that had passed by. She was simply remembering her own parents. Because of that, Sanae’s normally cheerful smile had grown faint.
“Right. That’s what happened to you... Sorry for asking about something that brings up old memories.”
“It’s fine. Besides, that’s not all.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hmm... When I saw that family, I started thinking...”
Sanae looked away from Theia and down towards the lobby floor. Her already faint smile had now all but vanished. She was still smiling, but it was a sad, lonely smile.
“I was thinking that I can’t get married or have children, so I was envious of that mom...”
As a ghost, Sanae couldn’t do things most normal people could, including marrying or having children. No matter how much she wanted to, she would never be able to start her own family.
“Ch-Children...?”
That one word from Sanae pierced right through Theia’s heart.
That’s right, I... I’m the same as Sanae...
Theia was shocked at what she’d just realized. It was like her whole world had been rocked.
“Theia? What’s wrong? Your face is pale.”
Sanae was concerned about Theia, but her voice didn’t reach Theia’s ears. The sudden, massive despair that was born in her heart pulled Theia down into a very dark place.
I’m an alien...! No matter how much I love him and wish for it, I can’t provide Koutarou with a family...!
If she worked hard enough, Theia might be able to make Koutarou her vassal. It might even be possible for them to become lovers. If that happened, marriage wasn’t out of the question.
But that was it. The path ended there for an alien like Theia.
Earthlings and Forthorthians looked very similar, but in reality, they were completely different creatures that had developed in different ecosystems. Even for closely related species, a single generation of offspring was roughly the genetic limit. So when it came to two completely different species, the chances of being able to have a child were close to zero.
What... was I so elated for...? As an alien, I’m the same as a talking doll to Koutarou...
The great principle of life was passing things on to a new generation. But Theia couldn’t do that. She and Koutarou couldn’t even become a normal couple.
When she realized that, Theia’s heart grew icy. It was as if her soul was feeling the blizzard blowing outside the hotel. Her newfound resolution to believe in Koutarou and the warm feelings that had come from that had frozen over.
Escaping the Dungeon
Wednesday, February 3rd
The hypnosis Yurika had used to put Koutarou to sleep was powerful, but it wasn’t powerful enough to last through two full-blown magical attacks. Because of that, Koutarou woke up when the avalanche hit him.
“Whoooaaaaa! What is going on?!”
Koutarou couldn’t remember anything past Yurika casting a spell on him, which only added to the confusion of waking up in the middle of an avalanche. Swept away by the snow, Koutarou was carried at least a hundred meters down the slope. Fortunately, with the defensive spells Yurika had cast on him, he was only disoriented and not hurt.
“I-It’s stopped...?”
Koutarou pulled himself out of the snow and tried to get his bearings.
Did the avalanche happen when Yurika was about to recast her spell?
With what he knew, that was the only sense Koutarou could make of what happened.
“That’s right! Where’s Yurika?!”
If he had been caught in the avalanche, Yurika should have been too. As Koutarou got up to look for Yurika, he finally got a good look at his surr
oundings. He was in the woods down the mountain a ways. As the avalanche crashed into the forest, it lost momentum and died down before getting out of control.
“There! Yurika!”
Between the trees and snow, Koutarou spotted two things. The first was Encyclopedia, the staff he’d given Yurika. The second was someone’s head sticking out of a snow bank. It looked like they’d been caught in the avalanche and whisked down the mountain like Koutarou was. He assumed that it was Yurika.
“Just wait! I’m coming to get you right now!”
Koutarou quickly began running. He picked up the staff on the way and ran over to what he thought was Yurika.
“Good thing this staff was here!”
Koutarou used the staff as a shovel and began digging to uncover the person in the snow. Responding to Koutarou’s will, the staff began assisting him magically. Thanks to that, he was able to dig out the buried person before long.
“This... This isn’t Yurika!”
Of course, the person he saved wasn’t Yurika. Instead, it was the person they had gone out to look for—Aika Maki. She was unconscious, so Koutarou picked her up.
“Aika-san?! Why are you here, Aika-san?! No, more importantly, Aika-san! Aika-san!”
Koutarou shook Maki’s body in an attempt to wake her up.
“Hngh...”
As he did, Maki grimaced and let out a pained groan. Seeing that reaction, Koutarou immediately stopped shaking her.
“What’s wrong, Aika-san― Ah...”
That was when Koutarou realized that his hand was covered in blood, but it wasn’t his. It was Maki’s.
“Aika-san, you’re injured...”
Perhaps it was from getting caught on something in the avalanche, but Maki had a large wound in her side. Blood was pouring from it, running down her body and forming a red pool on the snow. It was enough that it was immediately obvious her life was in danger if she didn’t get help.
“All right, I’ll contact Theia and the others and have them come as soon as possible.”
