Before I could even hear an answer, I heard a sound—a soft, wet hacking from behind me.
It was frail, thin, and pitiful. The kind of noise that hooked into my chest, making it impossible not to turn around.
“Is someone sick…?”
Being sick is the worst. I hate it. I have a natural sensitivity to the sound of a cough.
“Hello? Are you okay?”
I scurried over and plopped down in front of the child collapsed on the floor. He leaned into me, his cheek pressing against my knee as he panted.
*Whoa.*
He looked a few years older than me, but… good heavens.
*How can he be this pretty?*
Until a moment ago, Elzen was the prettiest person I’d ever seen. That ranking had just been violently overturned.
The darkness was too thick to see clearly, yet he seemed to ripple with golden energy. He stood out like a flickering candle in a pitch-black room. Long lashes, reddish eyes, a straight nose, and lips that looked soft even in this gloom.
It wasn’t just “pretty.” He felt… forged from brilliant light.
“You’re beautiful.”
For a moment, the situation slipped my mind. I stared, spellbound. I couldn’t help it. It felt like a gravitational pull.
*Like the sun… I want to have him.*
Is that a strange thing to think? Maybe. But I really, truly wanted to have him.
[Honestly, that is a tyrannical level of beauty!]
As I reached out, bewitched, Eupheros suddenly flickered into view.
*‘Tyrannical…?’*
[It means his appearance is excellent, beyond compare. The highest grade of praise! At this level, they say a face like that could topple a kingdom.]
*‘Aha.’*
That sounded right.
I reached out to touch the hair of the boy resting against me. It was soft. He even smelled like sunlight. Was he kidnapped, too?
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ worries about the price of distorting the Law of Causality.]
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ says he cannot say anything right now.]
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ clicks his tongue, claiming he has never seen such a person before.]
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ defends the situation, asking if this isn’t pure love.]
Huh?
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ expresses joy.]
[Pure love! Another pure love!]
Why is the Emotion Spirit King suddenly so happy?
[The Spirit King of ‘○○’ ‘■■■’ speaks.]
[Fate is thrashing about. That price won’t be easy to pay. It’ll only grow with every passing second.]
Since the conversation was gibberish to me, I decided to use the twinkling letters as a nightlight.
“Sob….”
The boy on my lap began to cry.
“Don’t cry. You’ll get hungry if you do.”
I rummaged through my pockets and pulled out a handful of hard candies.
“I’ll give you a strawberry one, special. It’s the one Chu likes best.”
After handing it to him, I turned to the half-elf friends nearby.
“You guys try some, too. You’ll feel stronger if you eat something sweet.”
“Forget it! A human g-gave it!”
“It’s yummy. Look, like this. Yum.”
I popped one into my mouth to show them. After a moment of hesitation, the half-elves snatched the remaining candies off the floor.
“Keep eating. My older brother will come for us soon. Then we’ll all go out together.”
I’d take every one of them out. I wouldn’t leave a single person behind. I made that promise to myself before turning back to the boy.
“Thank you. I have energy now because of the candy.”
His voice was fading, but it made me shiver. Why did it sound like that? It was a voice I wanted to hoard—to hear only for myself.
“My name is Lashifer.”
“Lashifer.”
“Yes. And you?”
“Shuperti.”
His jewel-like eyes filled with joy. I felt like I could see something dancing deep within those pretty pupils; I couldn’t look away.
“Shuperti. My Shu.”
“Hm? Am I yours?”
“Ah, that’s right. Then I shall be yours. Your Lashifer.”
“Hm…?”
The conversation was a little strange, but I didn’t dislike it. I decided that this boy—Lashifer—wasn’t scary at all.
“Are you not scared?”
“Yes… no, I am a little scared.”
Wait. I thought he said ‘yes.’ Did I hear him wrong? I rubbed my eyes. There were tears pooling in the corners of his eyes.
*Ah. He was pretending.*
I didn’t want Lashifer to cry. But then again, he’d probably be pretty even if he did. I scolded the naughty part of my heart for that thought.
*You shouldn’t want a friend to cry!*
“You know, I’m the Class President.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So believe in me. I even knocked down Ricardo.”
I puffed out my chest, squaring my shoulders just like Micard. I began to count the people in this strange place.
*One, two….*
[There are three half-elves and two human children!]
Five of us total.
*Where are we? This doesn’t feel like a room.*
The ground was squishy. The walls were, too.
“Cloth?”
It felt like being an eraser tucked deep inside a pencil case. As I touched the wall, Lashifer stood up and drifted to my side, smiling.
“Yes, it’s cloth. I think we’ve been put inside a sack. And we’re moving.”
“Is there no way to get out?”
“Well. I think that’s impossible. What should we do? I’m scared.”
Lashifer shrugged, but he was still smiling. *Is he really scared?* I was suspicious, but that wasn’t the priority.
“Does anyone have anything sharp?”
Of course, nobody did. What kind of kid carries forbidden items?
*Hing.*
I wanted to escape before the Admiral arrived!
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ strictly says that good children do not touch knives.]
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ is pleased, saying it’s better to struggle than to stay quiet.]
“Huh?”
Just as I turned away, I caught Lashifer’s gaze lingering exactly where the twinkling letters were floating.
*He can see them too?*
“Ah, so this was how you were protecting us. I can rest easy now.”
“Hm? Lashifer, what did you say?”
“Nothing.”
That wasn’t true! But Lashifer just played dumb.
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ advises that it’s better for everyone to be in one place.]
I followed the advice and gathered the half-elves together. Lashifer followed me, and soon we were all huddled together like a ball of dough.
Roll, roll.
In the silence, only the sound of moving candy wrappers remained. How many seconds passed like that?
“Shall we sing a song?”
“A song?”
“Yes. Let’s sing. Maybe the Admiral and my brother will find us faster.”
I cleared my throat and sang ‘Little Chick, Chirp Chirp’ at the top of my lungs. The half-elves didn’t know it, but Lashifer did, and soon he was singing along.
“Little chicks go chirp chirp chirp! Mommy hen goes cluck cluck cluck! Chirp chirp chirp! Cluck cluck cluck! Let’s walk together!”
The cramped, dark space filled with our voices. I grew excited and jumped up, singing even louder.
“Little chicks go chirp chir—”
“……!”
*BOOM!!*
A tremendous roar erupted. The fabric tore, and the sunset’s rays came pouring in.
“I’ve come to save you, Little Crab.”
The savior was the Admiral.