A rainbow formed, mirroring the one Elzen had summoned earlier with his ‘Water Movement.’ Beside us, a pillar of water—thin and translucent, delicate as flower petals—spiraled upward.
“Pretty!”
I beamed at the golden jellyfish drifting within the current. Elzen let out a soft laugh and manipulated the water, lifting me gently into the air.
“Don’t forget that I am very grateful to you, little one.”
“……!”
“It was your life that saved mine. If it weren’t for you, I would have never met my partner. Joey is very grateful, too.”
Honestly, I hadn’t really done much.
The Emotion Spirit King was the one who helped!
But even as I tried to explain, only a series of ‘cheep cheep’ sounds escaped my lips.
“Whatever happens, whatever you do, Joey and I will always be on your side. Unconditionally.”
That… that’s lovely, but!
I couldn’t answer, dissolved in giggles from the ticklish sensation of the water.
After bouncing me a few more times, Elzen brought me back to the water’s edge.
“Shall we head back now? Raywood only let you stay with me because he knows you’re in my care, but if we stay away any longer, he’ll get agitated. He’s quite the control freak.”
“What’s a ‘control freak’?”
“Someone who gets angry when things don’t go their way.”
Is Raywood really like that?
He had always seemed so composed. Perhaps because of their connection to water, the Pashayen bloodline generally felt elegant and quiet.
Except for Micard, that is.
“Elzen, there’s someone here.”
The moment she spoke, Joey snatched me up and pulled me behind her. She drew the dagger at her waist, holding it in both hands.
“I don’t know what it is, but if it’s dangerous, let’s leave now, Joey.”
“No, the presence is ambiguous. It looks like a human… but there’s no murderous intent.”
Joey crept toward the bushes and swung her arms, hacking away the branches. Even then, I couldn’t see a thing past the foliage at my height!
“What, what? Is it the person I was chasing earlier? They suddenly disappeared!”
“Hmm, no. Isn’t this a bit too obviously a trap?”
Elzen sighed, scratching the back of his head. Unable to understand his hesitation, I trotted over and stood on my tiptoes.
By craning my neck just enough to peek, I finally spotted a girl lying in the clearing.
“Ah, it hurts. I came to pick fruit and twisted my ankle. Wouldn’t some kind baby rabbit help me?”
The girl, posed like a character in a play, touched her forehead with the back of her hand. A rattan basket with berries sat overturned beside her, making it look convincing enough.
“Chu will help!”
“Wait, Shu. That’s a trap.”
“A trap…?”
Elzen grabbed me before I could run, clicking his tongue.
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ tells you to look closely at the hand resting on the ground.]
[Even if she wears a commoner’s clothes and a headscarf, she cannot hide those delicate hands.]
Oh, I see.
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ is worried.]
[That girl’s heartbeat spiked the moment she saw you.]
Why?
I pushed aside the urge to help and narrowed my eyes.
Just as the Spirit Kings said, her hands were far too refined. Her sprawled posture seemed almost performative, and her visible lips were like ripe cherries. She looked like a girl of twelve or thirteen, but if she wasn’t a local, why was she here?
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ says that the opponent has no hostility.]
[Rather, she seems to have come because she wants to be friends with you. I can feel her goodwill.]
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ is concerned.]
[But it is a problem if her family is the issue… though, preconceptions are not good.]
Reading the Spirit Kings’ words one by one, I tilted my head.
‘For now, I like people who are pretty.’
Just as the word ‘delicious’ doesn’t describe the same taste every time, ‘pretty’ could be many things. There are people who are subtly pretty, and people who are gorgeously pretty!
If Rasepher was the height of gorgeousness—almost overwhelming—Elzen was the definition of subtle, cute, and fragile beauty.
And this girl… I don’t know why, but the word ‘dignity’ kept popping into my head.
She’s coolly pretty, I suppose.
“What brings you here? Since your identity is already exposed, why don’t you take off that ridiculous headscarf.”
“Oh my, I’m just an ordinary village woman who doesn’t know anything, you know?”
A trace of laughter colored her smooth tone.
“If you’re going to keep pretending, how about you get rid of that sickle you’re pointing at our necks?”
“Hey, that’s just a greeting.”
I looked around, confused, and was shocked.
The woman, who seemed to flicker with a strange blurriness, was holding a large sickle in one hand, the blade pressed against the necks of both Elzen and Joey.
That pretty girl did that?
“Anyway, hello, little one. I came to see you.”
“Why?”
“Because… you were just so cute!”
Huh?
“I actually really like cute things. I like them so much that I keep them close to me. Would you like to see the portraits of the puppies I raise?”
“Puppy portraits…?”
“Yes. I also raise five cats. Everyone is happy at the moonlit mansion I own.”
So many puppies and cats!
I was tempted, but after looking at her smiling face, I firmly shook my head.
“Don’t want to. A person who gives candy and asks me to go with them is a bad person.”
“My, you’re so smart. Then I won’t ask you to go with me. I promise.”
I looked back and forth between the strange girl and Elzen, then glanced at the Spirit Kings once more. Since the majority suggested it was safe, I felt at ease and trotted forward.
“Big sis, get up. If you stay there, your mouth will get twisted. And get rid of that sickle, too.”
“Are you worried about me? How kind. But what would you do if I were a monster who eats little children?”
“No. A monster is something that’s born because I believe you’re a monster. You aren’t a monster, big sis.”
I repeated earnestly what the Carrot Class teacher had taught me. The teacher always said that everyone is born good.
“Ughhh! I can’t stand it anymore!”
“Shuperti!”
The girl’s sudden hug and Elzen’s shout happened at the same time.
Caught in her embrace, I tilted my head back to look at her face and gasped.
“Red eyes, like rubies…”
Snow-white skin without a single blemish. Upturned corners of her eyes and a nose bridge as elegant as a painting. And silvery hair fluttering in the wind.
She was like a crescent moon—cold and sharp, yet pushing away the darkness to bring out the light.
“I hear that often. Nice to meet you. So you’re the one who scolded Goliath?”
“Goliath?”
“Ah, perhaps you don’t know his name? You were kidnapped once, weren’t you? The idiot who serves that old man with the burlap sack.”
The girl, having stood up at some point, lifted me into her arms. The dark, shadowy woman holding the sickle had vanished.
“Put my sister down.”
Elzen was bristling with anger, but the girl ignored him.
“You know I have no hostility. And our relationship isn’t bad, is it, Elzen?”
“What does that have to do with you showing up here?”
“So prickly. I heard you recovered from your illness, so I came to congratulate you. We get along quite well, don’t we?”
“You, the one who pulled a shadow out of thin air?”
Uh, so the two of them really do know each other?
The girl looked down at me and gave a playful, eye-smiling look.
“I am the third daughter of the Bellarion family, Dioroz Bellarion.”
“Gasp!”
Wait a minute! They said the Bellarions were the enemy?!
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ laughs heartily.]
[Not everyone is an enemy. Dioroz Bellarion has great ambition and a broad perspective. It will be helpful to make her your ally.]
As the Fire Spirit King spoke, the other Spirits agreed.
‘It’s my first time seeing the Spirit Kings speak so highly of someone.’
Besides, I could smell a nice scent from somewhere.
“Dioroz sis—”
“…ni.”
“Hm?”
“The scent is ni-ce.”
Since she was a person protected by the Spirit Kings, my heart felt at ease. Perhaps that was why it was so hard to resist this scent, which reminded me of fresh yogurt.
“I like you too, Unni, even with this scent.”
“Oh, my.”
I burrowed into Dioroz’s arms and clung to her tightly, rubbing my soft cheek against hers. Elzen, watching us, let out a dry, disbelieving laugh.
“You don’t even know what’s dangerous, *sigh*.”
“Dangerous? Not at all. I have no intention of doing anything bad to this child. I only came here today to help you all.”
“What? No, fine. Let’s talk. Who told you the Pashayen family was going on an outing here today?”
Elzen narrowed his brows.
Dioroz chuckled softly and pressed her index finger against Elzen’s lips.