In the back alleys of the Central Empire, there was a monster.

A monster with white fur lures in passing people and eats them.

That’s why you must never go near.

If you hear the voice of someone you know from deep within that darkness, if you see the form of someone you know, it is not human.

It is merely a hallucination shown by the monster.

That is the kind of existence the monster of the Back Alley is.

Or so Wendy said.

Actually, nothing has been clearly revealed, and it’s still just a rumor.

“It’s probably just a rumor. There’s no way monsters like that exist.”

Of course, Rena didn’t believe it.

Even if it were true, it would have been exterminated long ago.

The Imperial Knights are not to be underestimated.

And there were no victims to speak of.

If someone had died there, it would have been in the newspapers in some form.

But Rena had heard nothing about the Back Alley.

So, the rumor is false.

It’s just a made-up story.

At least, that’s what she thought.

“There are no victims yet, but there are frequent sightings of the monster. Like seeing glowing red eyes in a dark place or hearing the voice of a dead family member when going near the back alley.”

“They must have been heavily drinking that day. I didn’t think you would believe in such things, Wendy.”

“Well… actually, I don’t really believe it either. I’m just curious. But it’s scary to go there myself. That’s why I’m saying we should send Celine.”

Rena wondered what sending Celine had to do with Wendy being scared, but she didn’t question it.

She knew better than anyone what kind of feelings Wendy harbored towards Celine.

In the end, Wendy was going to keep bullying her until the very end.

Rena just thought her friend had a nasty personality.

“She probably can’t even feel fear anyway. Let’s just tell her to go look inside and see if there really is a monster.”

“What if there really is one…?”

“Celine is monstrously strong. Someone like her should have no problem, right?”

“Still…”

Celine was not a doll.

She was just a somewhat dull human.

When Rena realized this, she could no longer treat Celine roughly.

She, too, has emotions.

She was just clumsy at expressing them.

“I don’t think that’s right. Let’s just stop.”

For the first time, Rena stood up to Wendy.

After talking with Celine, Rena had a chance to reflect on herself.

Watching Wendy and Celine from afar, she wondered how her behavior must have appeared from an outsider’s perspective.

She must have appeared as a despicable person blinded by jealousy.

None of it was Celine’s fault.

Being born excellent was not wrong.

One’s mere existence cannot be wrong.

Her will is not reflected in the circumstances of her birth.

So this is wrong.

What was wrong was ourselves.

Wendy was walking the wrong path now.

“Why are you stopping me?”

“It’s dangerous.”

“What is?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

“You just said it was only a rumor. So what danger is there?”

“…”

The Back Alley was a dark and eerie place.

Anyone with common sense would not think of sending someone to such a place.

Who knows what’s in there.

Even without the rumor of the monster, it’s a dangerous place.

It’s a place where unrefined magical energy clings, and it may be a den of criminals.

Wendy made the excuse that she was just curious, but Rena, having known her for a long time, knew what she was thinking.

The bullying that continued until Celine showed some kind of reaction.

She seemed to think of it as a kind of game, forcibly eliciting a reaction from the unimpressive girl.

“Anyway, no. I can’t allow it this time.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“What?”

“Why are you acting all self-righteous now? After enjoying everything to the fullest, do you think your sins will disappear if you wash your hands of them now? I hate hypocritical people like you the most.”

Wendy reacted sharply and snapped at Rena.

She looked ready to burst at any moment.

Rena, who had anticipated some reaction, stepped back with her hands ablaze.

It was the first time they had faced each other outside the arena.

But they didn’t take action.

It would just end in a tie anyway.

It would just lead to a meaningless draw.

“If you don’t want to do it, then leave. Don’t talk to me again.”

That’s when Rena’s relationship with Wendy grew distant.

After that, Rena no longer associated with her.

***

It seems Wendy ended up taking Celine to the back alley.

Of course, nothing happened.

There’s no way there could be monsters.

According to what Rena heard, Celine didn’t get scared even in that dark back alley.

She advanced into the darkness where nothing could be seen without hesitation.

And she came back unharmed.

No.

Can you really say she was unharmed?

“Celine, you…”

“…?”

After hearing the news, Rena immediately checked on Celine’s condition.

At first glance, she didn’t seem to have changed much.

She wasn’t injured and didn’t seem to be in pain anywhere.

But she was different.

Looking again, her expression was not emotionless.

Celine had an extremely sad expression.

Her expression was tinged with more emotion than ever before.

The liquid flowing from Celine’s eyes ran down her cheeks.

“…”

Is she crying?

Why?

Rena asked Wendy, but she just kept repeating that she didn’t know.

Celine changed after visiting the back alley.

What did she see there?

Wendy didn’t bother Celine today either.

It seemed like it would be dangerous to bother her now.

She must have felt an instinctive threat.

If Celine were to use force, Wendy would not be able to handle her.

A few more days passed after Celine became strange.

She seemed to be clinging to something, slightly different from her previous self, and didn’t look very well.

Rena thought that maybe this was the change in Celine that Wendy had wanted to see.

The Back Alley that had been as still as a stone statue for a long time changed her.

But how?

Rena was curious but got no answer even when she asked Celine.

Actually, she didn’t expect one.

She was always like that.

One day, after school ended, Celine walked in a different direction than usual.

“…”

Rena followed her.

Celine didn’t stop walking for a long time after leaving school.

It was impossible to know what she was thinking.

It was always impossible to know, but today especially so.

After walking for a while, it became a bit late in the evening.

Celine walked further and further into darker places.

It was the Back Alley.

Rena finally caught up to Celine and grabbed her shoulder, asking.

“Where are you going?”

She didn’t expect an answer when she spoke, but Celine slowly opened her mouth and replied.

“…The back alley. I’m going there again tonight.”

And for the first time in a very long while, Rena heard her voice.

She still had a sad expression.

“Why the…”

“My parents are there. I saw them that day. I thought they were dead.”

“What…?”

Celine, stopped in her tracks by Rena, started spouting strange things.

Her parents were there, in that back alley?

It was absurd.

No one lives there.

It’s a place where magical energy clings, a place where humans cannot live.

If she saw something there, it would not be someone she knows.

“Celine, that’s…”

Rena tried to convey that fact to her.

But it didn’t reach.

Celine was not in a state to have a conversation right now.

She wouldn’t listen.

She wasn’t listening.

Seeing her like this, Rena realized Celine was also a fragile human being.

The Back Alley is a place that pokes at the most sensitive parts of humans.

Celine already seemed to be captivated by some being inside.

Rena followed behind Celine as she walked into the deep darkness.

She tried to stop her somehow.

But she couldn’t keep up.

Celine had a strong body, but Rena did not.

“Ugh!”

A heavy amount of magical energy is harmful when it touches the human body.

Being exposed to it continuously made Rena’s head dizzy.

‘Should we have come this deep?’

She had to hurry and take Celine out.

In a place where magical energy lay like black fog, Celine stood still.

She was looking at something beyond the back alley.

As Rena approached, she saw it too.

A woman with long, hanging green hair and black eyes, with an appearance similar to Celine’s, was standing there.

Celine slowly approached her.

There was no time to stop her.

She could only stare at the surreal scene unfolding before her eyes, unable to look away.

As Celine got a little closer, the figure of the woman standing deep in the back alley began to distort little by little.

The green hair turned white, the black eyes dyed red.

The distance was too far to see her appearance clearly, but one thing was certain–that she was not Celine’s mother.

Rena struggled to hold onto Celine as she walked deeper into the back alley.

If you go that way, you’ll die.

The one in front of you is not the person you know.

But Celine brushed off Rena’s hand and walked beyond.

She probably knows it deep down, too.

She seems to be desperately trying to deny it.

Maybe she wanted to meet that person from her memories just once, even if it meant dying.

And what happened next was as expected.

The white monster brutally killed Celine.

After that day, she was never seen again.