Mia awoke without a scratch on her. She felt heavy as she sat up and looked around. It took a few moments to regain her bearings and remember what had happened.
Her memories of defeat flooded back.
“…Ah.”
A single tear flowed down her cheek.
She desperately held back the rest and, with as much courage as she could muster, thanked the priest who had healed her injuries. With that, she left. She made her way down the hallway, then out of the school building. She walked, then walked some more, and finally began to run. That was the moment that the tears caught up with her. She ran straight to the dormitories and locked the door of her room the moment she was inside. Mia leaned back against the door, slid down to her knees, and slumped over. There was nothing left within her to hold back the tears now. Mia cried, ugly moans of despair escaping through clenched teeth as she sobbed. She wiped away her tears again and again, but they wouldn’t stop, and with them poured her jumbled feelings of regret, powerlessness, and frustration. Mia chose to stay in her shell for a time. She had no idea how long she had been like that when Lily and Abel came to visit, concerned about her. Mia ignored them both. She didn’t feel like talking to anybody at all.
Knock, knock.
Sometime later, there came another knock at her door.
Lily and Abel again? I’ve barely even spoken to either of them; why are they so worried about me?
“I don’t want to talk to anybody. Just leave me alone.”
There was a quiet anger and frustration in her voice.
Mia didn’t know why they seemed so insistent on bothering her, but whatever the reason was, she just wanted them to leave her alone. That was all she wanted.
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” came the unexpected reply, and it sounded even angrier than she was.
Mia immediately recognized the voice—it was Luke. That fact changed nothing, however. She wasn’t inclined to open the door for him any more than anyone else.
“Come out already. Let’s talk.”
“I told you I don’t feel—”
“Silence,” he interrupted. “You think I’m making a request? No, I’m telling you we need to talk.”
The way that Luke spoke was so arrogant, disregarding her feelings so thoroughly that it left Mia stunned.
“Hurry up. I’ll break down this door if I have to.”
“A-all right!” stammered Mia. “Fine!”
Mia reluctantly opened the door a crack, concerned that he might genuinely try to break it down if she refused. Luke pried open the door, her closed heart along with it, and stepped inside without taking off his shoes.
“What?”
“You look awful, Mia.”
His words were heartless. Mia felt anger bubbling up within her.
“Did it hurt?”
“…Eh?”
Her anger was immediately extinguished.
Luke had said so little, but Mia felt like every word wormed its way into her mind, seeping in through the cracks. She couldn’t understand what was happening, but in that moment, Mia felt a clear sense of calm wash over her. Then the tears came pouring down her cheeks once more. It took a moment for her to notice, but when she did, she wiped them away awkwardly in a fluster.
“I-is that all you came here to say?”
“No. I came to borrow a little mana.”
Suddenly, Mia felt the mana draining from her body. Everything was happening so fast it made her head spin.
“Wh-what do you think you’re—”
“Hmph, this is a fine element.”
A little chain twisted and spun rapidly around on Luke’s palm. Mia watched it in stunned silence.
“Healing’s great, of course, but Lightning and Chain are incredible too. I see… Lightning can enhance your physical abilities, but it works on different rules than regular enhancement magic, so theoretically, it could stack in an interesting way. It has its limits, but it’s a good element. Hm, I wonder if you could link Chain with Information magic to create an automated Counterattack spell.”
The chain on Luke’s palm split into pieces. Mia had only ever been able to control two at a time, but Luke had five. That wasn’t all—he had applied Lightning to each link. Mia gaped at the sparking chains, flabbergasted.
“Y-you…”
Incredible… He’s amazing.
Mia had known about Luke—or rather, had thought that she did. But it was in that instant that she realized:
He’s a monster.
Mia was made aware—not logically, but on an instinctual level—that the thing that was standing in front of her was not a person at all, but a monster wearing human skin.
“Hmph.”
In a flash, the spell that Luke had activated was gone.
“Right, then, I came here with a proposal,” he continued, as if nothing had happened. “Will you become my pawn?”
“Huh?”
Mia didn’t understand what he was saying. She knew what all of the words meant, but the proposal came so out of the blue that her brain refused to process it.
“Underling, servant… Call it what you will. I desire for one who will serve me and do what I say without question.”
The tone of Luke’s voice was conversational. He acted so casual about all this.
“I-I’d never join y—”
“Become my pawn, and you will never have to feel like this ever again.”
The words caught in Mia’s throat. She fell silent.
“As I just demonstrated, I am capable of guiding you. You want power, don’t you? You don’t want to feel like this any longer, do you? Become my pawn, then. I will free you from the fear of defeat.”
In the end, Mia succeeded in disregarding the ridiculous proposal—even managing to scoff at it. But Luke’s words had an unknown sort of power to them, sweet and dangerous. They bore a treacherous nectar that made Mia want very badly to believe what he was saying.
Wh-why do I feel like this?
Mia was truly afraid. Before she even knew what was happening, she found herself seriously considering becoming one of Luke’s pawns. Her choice was already taking root in her heart, and it almost seemed natural to her. She felt dizzy, like she was looking down at herself from somewhere above and shook herself back to reality. That bird’s-eye view of the scene was terrifying.
And yet, the sweet poison had already begun to seep into her heart.
“Your p-pawn… What would I have to do…?”
She just had to ask.
“Mwa ha ha.”
Mia’s expression, the slight trembling in her voice—from those small clues alone, Luke was confident that his experiment had been partially successful.
“Nothing difficult. I want you to lend me your powers when I have need of them.”
“You need my powers…?”
“Yes. I need your strength, Mia.”
Mia’s heart trembled at those words. Luke hadn’t come there to comfort her, nor to offer her any kindness. He had no respect for her feelings or boundaries. She’d told him she didn’t want to talk to anyone, and he half forced himself through the door, only to drain her mana and offer some insane deal to be his pawn?
And yet…
Luke says that he needs my powers. Just that fact alone… It makes me happy.
Mia felt a terrifying, intoxicating joy. She hadn’t spent much time with Luke up until that point, perhaps a few hours at most. But suddenly she found each word he spoke to her so sweet it melted her soul, immersing her in waves of warmth and comfort.
I want him to want me more.
An intense, irresistible, and primordial desire possessed her.
And yet…
“I need some time to think.”
In her heart, she wanted to obey him, but Mia somehow managed to stop herself from taking that step.
I shouldn’t make this decision on the spot. I need to stop and think this over.
Alarm bells were ringing in every rational part of her mind that remained functional.
“…Hmph. I see.”
For just a brief moment, Luke looked disappointed. It was only a flash, but the sight sent such pangs of guilt shooting through Mia’s body that she thought her chest might burst open.
I’ve made the wrong choice; I just know it. Oh, what have I done?
Waves of self-reproach assaulted her.
I should take that back. I have to.
But just as she resolved to speak again…
“I’ll ask again tomorrow, then. I have high hopes for your response.”
Luke lightly placed his hand upon Mia’s shoulder. The moment it made contact with her body, his fingers sent a brain-numbing sensation running through her, and her body shivered faintly at the touch.
“Oh…”
Mia’s legs buckled and she slumped to the floor.
“Huh? What’s wrong with you?”
Luke hadn’t expected that. At the slightest touch, the girl had collapsed like a marionette whose strings had been cut. He had no idea what was happening, and the situation only proceeded to get more chaotic.
“Wh-what are you doing?!”
Luke turned to see Lily and Abel standing in the doorway.