In her life, Tower Master Yuna could count on one hand the times she’d been so startled. Imagine if a fully formed fireball suddenly greeted you with “Hello, creator, I am about to explode. It’s been a short but fun existence.” Wouldn’t anyone be surprised?

 

Considering her experience as a grand sorceress, it seemed that the unintended synergy between artificial intelligence that acted autonomously and the faith-driven power source from the fishelectronics had gone awry.

 

He wouldn’t have intended this. If he had, he would’ve told Yuna in advance.

 

“What in the world did you create…!”

 

Yuna exclaimed in a shrill voice while looking towards the campfire. They were quite far apart, so the conversation between the two was only a faint vibration, but both Yuna and Pharaoh were well aware of the kind of conversation taking place.

 

Communication was needed first and foremost. To Yuna, it felt like Pharaoh’s and her objectives pointed in the same direction. It was the happy ending of this story. Being able to communicate with each other would be of great help.

 

They needed to hear the boy’s heart. What he wished for, and how he wanted to adorn the story.

 

————-

 

The campfire flickered.

 

After Pharaoh had trudged into the darkness, Reahro wiped the smile from his expression. Swirling in his pupils was the residue of anger.

 

After burning down all the constructs atop his heart, only embers remained in the ash heap.

 

Reahro confessed plainly.

 

“This is petty revenge.”

 

“…Against whom?”

 

“Against Espero. In the end… I know this whole story means nothing. No amount of shouting accusations will bring back a fallen hometown. If you ask whether it was really Espero’s doing, it probably wasn’t.”

 

Reahro’s gaze fell. His hair tilted, casting an ashy curtain over his eyes. The once buoyant voice completely submerged.

 

“Moreover… I know you won’t be particularly moved by the story. It’s just another person’s tragedy after all.”

 

“Then why tell it to me? Reahro.”

 

From Noble mtl dot com

 

“Espero seemed quite happy. I don’t hate him enough to want to stab Espero to death. However, I’m not noble enough to calmly watch him live his life joyfully. I wanted to at least spit at him.”

 

Elaine frowned at the odd sense of repulsion she felt, and so she asked.

 

“Do I have to hear that story?”

 

“I knew you would ask that. But, this story is about ‘the reason why it is dangerous to take Espero as a companion’. You must want to know the boy’s danger level… Lady.”

 

“……”

 

As long as Elaine was bound by the value of survival, she could not deny Lealo’s words. Despite the slight discomfort she felt in her mind, she nodded mechanically.

 

That’s what she had been doing.

 

Elaine liked the boy enough to tolerate the inevitable physical contact, but she had been keeping a distance and doubting him in her heart. There was no such thing as innocence in this world. Especially in a world where destruction was imminent.

 

The boy who had met her gaze with pure eyes, might have had a wicked intention in fact. The short time they had smiled happily together, might end up being a burden she had to cut off.

 

“Espero has the power of healing. He was kind to the guests who came to the village. Thanks to that, the news of the boy with the healing power spread quickly… and it reached the ears of the dangerous ones.”

 

“……”

 

It seemed that the destruction of Pero and Lealo’s hometown was caused by the raiders who coveted the boy’s power. The people who Pero said died in the ‘plain of meeting’, must have been referring to their hometown.

 

One question was solved. How did the little boy survive? It was because he had the healing power that everyone wanted.

 

“That’s the first reason. Even after Espero ran away to the wilderness, there were still many people looking for him. I don’t know why Espero came back now. But if you continue to travel with him… you will definitely catch their eyes.”

 

The reason to cut off the boy increased by one.

 

The scale tilted.

 

A jewel was a big trouble for those who had no power to protect it. The groups that survived from the mutants would have considerable combat power. Elaine could have swept away the mediocre ones, but she always had to think of the worst case scenario.

 

If she faced an enemy that she could not handle…

 

No. No.

 

Elaine shook her head slightly. If the boy used his healing power for her, the group chasing him might not be a big threat. Also, he could help her in various dangerous situations.

 

She picked up the reason not to abandon Pero, the boy’s usefulness, on the other side of the scale.

 

Lealo smiled with a meaning that she could not understand. And he opened his mouth again.

 

————-

 

She had to hear the boy’s story.

 

But in this situation, effective communication was impossible. Then she would solve it with magic.

 

The great mage who possessed the boy’s body reached out his hand to the air. As he had done in the modern session, he was now bound by the illusion magic that only allowed him to use Pero’s abilities, but it didn’t matter.

 

The format of the magic he drew was telepathy. He planned to connect his and Pero’s consciousness and have a conversation without wasting time.

 

Nothing changes. If you believe firmly, you can do it. Yuna was a master of illusion magic and the owner of the purple tower, and this was just illusion magic…

 

…If you can think and talk, isn’t this not illusion magic?

 

Boom.

 

“Ouch!”

 

The magic failed due to the sudden headache. A purple light cluster burst out and disappeared. Yuna cursed her disciple in her mind for a moment, and then cast the magic properly. The boy and the great mage’s minds were connected.

 

“Oh, ah, hello? Nice to meet you. I’m Yuna… Huh? Who are we? Well, that’s, I don’t think it’s good to think about that right now…”

 

⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯!

 

“Huh? Ah, um… Yes! That’s right, I, I’m the mutant that came in when you drank the water… No, no, no! Don’t cry, you don’t have to cry… I’m a good mutant! Yeah… I’ll leave on my own in a little while. No, I don’t mean I’ll break your skull and get out…”

 

————-

 

“In this barren ‘Plain of Encounter’, how do you think I could have met you? By chance?”

 

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

 

“I was following the traces of a giant mutant. Originally, I wasn’t someone who would set foot in the ‘Plain of Encounter’… I thought I had to figure out the cause. If the ecology had changed, I had to be careful from now on.”

 

Lealo took out a shattered sphere from his bag. It was the bait that Pero had taken out of the bag and Illien had kicked to fend off the giant mutant.

 

“There… I found this bait. It was used in my hometown. I saw this shell and thought that Espero, that guy, had come back. The day my hometown was destroyed, Espero and I each took one and ran away.”

 

“We were talking about the danger, as far as I know.”

 

“It’s not irrelevant.”

 

Lealo stepped on the sphere and pulled out a knife to cut it in half. Inside, there was something white. Something that looked different from any animal he had ever seen. The closest thing he could find was a bug.

 

“It’s a mutant’s offspring. This… when it enters an animal’s body, it erodes the brain. And it makes it mutate into a strange shape. This is their way of reproduction… and in the early stages of erosion, it causes hallucinations, illusions. In the late stages, it shows the inability to control its own body.”

 

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

 

“Mutants have another habit. They try to protect their young ones that haven’t fully grown yet. As if they have some kind of maternal instinct… This bait takes advantage of that trait of the mutants.”

 

Illien shuddered.

 

The giant mutant appeared from out of sight and chased them persistently. If Lealo’s words were true, it was highly likely that it was after the mutant larvae.

 

Then, was it because of Pero’s bait that they were chased?

 

That wouldn’t be the case. Pero was weak, but not stupid. He remembered the sight of the bait being carefully sealed with cloth, even though he had only seen it briefly. When Illien kicked it away, the cloth was torn.

 

The cloth around the bait acted as a barrier. That was a reasonable inference.

 

“Why do you think you were chased?”

 

Lealo asked. It was not a question, but a gesture to make the listener realize for himself. Illien gave the answer. Someone was infected by the mutant larvae.

 

It wouldn’t be Illien. She had only fallen into this strange world for five days. And she didn’t feel any signs of abnormality.

 

Then the remaining answer was one, Pero was infected.

 

Pero, who had fled far away after his hometown was attacked, and returned by the compass on a long journey. So, it wouldn’t be strange if he was infected at some point. But, what if.

 

In Illien’s mind, the memory of making Pero drink the contaminated puddle came up. What if, there was a mutant larva hiding in that puddle…

 

Then, it would mean that she had driven Pero to death.

 

Illien hid her trembling hands.

 

“That’s the second reason. Espero has a high chance of being infected. If you travel with him, all the mutants around you will flock to you. It’s too high a risk to take for the healing ability… Even if you’re as strong as you say, you’ll die.”

 

Another reason was added to cut the boy.

 

The balance tilted.

 

As expected by the giant mutant’s raid, Learo’s words were highly likely to be true. If all the mutants in the neighborhood were after Elaine, she would eventually get exhausted. And then, death.

 

The unfortunate situation of the boy was regrettable, but Elaine had to survive.

 

The old emperor’s expectation that she must survive. The responsibility that she must become the pillar supporting the empire. She had lived for it. Breaking through the difficulties, removing the enemies, swinging the fist for the emperor’s seat that she didn’t even want.

 

At first, it was the sense of responsibility and fear, and now it was inertia.

 

So, if—even if the boy’s tragedy was a result of her mistake, she shouldn’t have wavered.

 

Oh, but.

 

Elaine grabbed her hair. It was not definite. It was just circumstantial evidence and the giant mutant might have been a coincidence. The possibility that Learo was lying to get revenge could not be ruled out.

 

She put the guilt that was pressing down on her and the shabby self-deception on the other side of the scale.

 

Learo whispered.

 

“Isn’t it just a temporary relationship, Elaine? If you felt positive emotions, it must be an illusion. Even if you did, it loses its meaning before survival. That little affection in the first place… Maybe Espero wagged his tail just to borrow your powerlessness. If you’re still troubled.”

 

He pointed beyond the campfire with his bony finger.

 

“Look at Espero.”

 

————-

 

The boy said that Elaine was nice.

 

When the Archmage asked why, the boy said he saw something similar in her eyes. The look of a fugitive. Aimlessly running away, losing direction.

 

The boy said he was the same. He lost his hometown and ran away, wandered through strange places and just lived. He said that even the journey to ‘Paradise’ after receiving the compass from the old woman was just a part of wandering.

 

He said he didn’t have anything he really wanted to do or a dream he sincerely wished for.

 

He said Elaine looked the same. He didn’t know what ‘Paradise’ was for Elaine but… he said she must be blindly pursuing something. He said he was glad that he found someone who was similar to him in the vast wilderness.

 

Then, he said he finally… gained a wish.

 

“I wanted to… tell you my feelings.”

 

The boy confessed his feelings while feeling shy.

 

He said he was afraid that Elaine might look at him with greedy eyes like the raiders who attacked his hometown after she learned about his healing ability. So he hid it.

 

He said he was afraid that Elaine might feel burdened or reject him if he confessed his feelings during the trip. So he hid it.

 

He didn’t plan to keep it a secret forever.

 

He thought it would be okay to confess his feelings after he found ‘Paradise’, secured his survival, and had nothing to worry about…

 

“It’s too late!”

 

The boy laughed awkwardly after hearing the Archmage’s complaint.

 

“I didn’t know it would be this time-limited. I didn’t know mutant larvae could hide in mucus. Lesson learned…”

 

“Two, I won’t crack your skull, okay!”

 

“But, still, um… mutant worm… sir? You, you can’t just stop when you want to, right…?”

 

“I, I’m a genius worm, so I can do it! Just, just let me loose in a puddle by the road, and don’t worry, just think of confessing your feelings!”

 

“…Something, makes me happy. I guess I was able to get along with mutants too. As a human.”

 

The grand mage who was mistaken for a mutant larva ruffled the boy’s hair. It would have been nice to talk more and clear up the misunderstanding somehow. But there was no time.

 

The evil mage was spewing all kinds of slander at the princess.

 

The grand mage and the boy agreed that they had to move. After some trial and error, such as moving their right arm and right leg at the same time, or trying to move their left and right legs at the same time and ending up jumping, Pero (Yuna) walked towards the bonfire.

 

Before it was too late, to confess their feelings.

 

————-

 

Where Lealo’s finger pointed, anyone could see, the unstable, twisting figure of Pero, who couldn’t control his own body. Pero smiled awkwardly and called Elaine’s name.

 

“…Elaine!”

 

“Pero…”

 

It was an undeniable sign of erosion.

 

Elaine’s eyes trembled. Guilt filled her to the brim, hindering her breathing. In her ears, the voice of the old emperor echoed. A clear, single fact shook her mind.

 

Pero was eroded and would soon become a mutant, and a disaster that would attract other mutants around him.

 

Even if he didn’t mutate, he would be a target for raiders as long as he had healing abilities.

 

He was a danger in the form of a boy.

 

…Just like ‘he’ was in the past.

 

————-

 

She immersed herself with trauma as a trigger. The narration dug in.

 

————-

 

Elaine── you remembered your days at the Hwahwa Palace.

 

About the starting point of your obsession with survival.

 

There were four imperial descendants living there.

 

First Princess Elaine.

 

Second Prince Irid.

 

Third Prince Sredo.

 

And, First Prince ▒▒▒…