Chapter 31

1. The Unhatched Wish “Your soul is different from the souls of the people in my world.” That was what Shizuku’s traveling companion, Erik, had told her. He’d been by her side for the entirety of her journey, which must have been how he’d come to this realization. Erik, a mage and researcher specializing in the magic script, had appointed himself as her chaperone after she’d found herself transported away from Japan and into this new world. In return, Shizuku had been teaching him new languages. Eventually, their journey brought them to the magic kingdom of Farsas. Not even Farsas Castle could offer Shizuku a means of getting home; however, the royal family did share some secret lore with her. Thanks to that revelation, Erik and Shizuku had become aware of cursed artifacts capable of interfering from outside the world—and that some individuals could wield artifacts that could counter those mystical objects from beyond. And so the pair’s next step had been to leave the country in pursuit of any relevant clues. Just before they were supposed to depart, however, Shizuku and Erik realized something that set the two of them apart. In this world where magic was commonplace, every person was born with inherent language skills, and children learned to use the most basic of words before the age of three without anyone having to teach them. This was completely different from what Shizuku knew; in a way, it was even more unfamiliar to her than the existence of magic. However, this difference posed a grave threat to Shizuku, since an illness that deprived children of their innate language skills had begun to spread. If someone found out that Shizuku came from another world where innate language did not exist, they might suspect her as the cause of the illness—even though she knew nothing about it. As such, the pair had decided to exercise even greater caution during their ensuing journey. Or at least, that was the plan… “All right, give us an answer. We’re running out of time. You need to decide whether you’re coming with us or not.” “…Huh?” squeaked Shizuku, so anxious that her throat had gone dry. The man had made it sound like a question, but it was a threat. Shizuku scanned the small room with her eyes. It was one of the rooms inside Farsas Castle. There shouldn’t have been any way for suspicious individuals to break in, yet these two men had paid Shizuku an unexpected visit. One of them was the gray-haired mage Shizuku had seen twice before—once before reaching Farsas, and once within the castle grounds. The other person, who was currently hurling questions her way, was a man called Faneet. Faneet had suddenly stormed in and started demanding that Shizuku come with him, and his muscular arms held a bow and arrow at the ready. He was aiming at Erik’s back, out through the window and into the courtyard. “That’s…not really a question, but a threat,” Shizuku managed to strain her voice enough to say. “Hurry up and make your decision. There’s a barrier in place, so no one’s coming to save you,” the young mage said impatiently. Standing in front of the door with his arms crossed, he made no effort to conceal his prickly attitude. Yet this actually made Shizuku feel somewhat calmer. She looked back at him and responded, refusing to hide her resentment. “‘Hurry up?’ There’s no way I can make a decision when you’re pressuring me like that. Besides, who even are you people?” The two men hadn’t even introduced themselves yet. By threatening her into agreeing, they were just trying to make it look like Shizuku was going with them of her own accord. The young mage sensed a faint hint of hostility from Shizuku. “Ask Faneet,” he snapped. “This has nothing to do with me. I mean, what can an ordinary girl like you do for us?” “An ordinary girl?” “Enough, Niké,” Faneet said dismissively. Niké snorted in response. Despite being on the same side, they didn’t seem to make a great team. And going by their brief exchange, although Faneet knew about Shizuku, he didn’t seem to have informed Niké that she was from another world. Faneet nodded as if to confirm Shizuku’s assessment. “I have no intention of needlessly publicizing your situation. What matters is your skills.” “I don’t have any skills… Besides, where are you planning to take me?” asked Shizuku. “We’re going to Kisk. The large nation east of here.” “Kisk?” Erik had mentioned that place before—a Great Nation where the younger sister of the king was famed for her cruelty. Shizuku posed a question to Niké, who was in front of the door. “Were you from Kisk all along? You were posing as a Farsasian mage.” “I don’t remember ever claiming to be from Farsas,” Niké retorted. “I go anywhere my master commands.” Was his master the notorious princess? The thought made Shizuku shudder. Then she turned her gaze toward Faneet. “…Are you planning on examining me? They’ve done plenty of that already here in Farsas.” “I am aware. It seems the king was persistent in his tests.” “It’s true, but I’d rather not be reminded of it…” After being seriously injured, everything from Shizuku’s organs to her blood had been analyzed. From then on, she had been subjected to regular physical and mental tests by the king. She lost her appetite whenever she recalled those intense, daily drills, but they had significantly improved her physical stamina. Shizuku realized she should be grateful for that—but she still had no intention of viewing the experience in a positive light. Still, this wasn’t the time for sulking. Faneet’s hands remained steady holding the bow. It must have required considerable strength to keep the bowstring drawn, yet he seemed unperturbed. He must have been well trained. “…If you want me to go to Kisk, then tell me why, and what I’ll get in exchange.” “You are wanted as the princess’s playmate. As for your compensation…that’s up to you; however, I guarantee you’ll have everything you need.” “Her ‘playmate’? Is the princess a little girl?” “She’ll turn nineteen this year.” “So she’s the same age as me…” Was this princess the king’s younger sister? If so, it was a dangerous proposition. Shizuku didn’t want her insides being opened up for examination again. She pretended to think things over for a moment, then nodded calmly. “Fine…I’ll go.” “Then let us make our preparations. Niké will open a transit gate.” “I’ve already packed my stuff.” Slipping past Faneet, Shizuku reached for her bag. She shoved in some items that were sticking out and discreetly took out a small magic sphere. Then Shizuku slung the bag over her shoulder and looked behind her. Faneet had begun to lower his bow, and Niké was chanting an incantation to create a teleportation gate. All Shizuku needed was a brief opening. This was Farsas Castle—if there was a commotion, someone would be sure to notice it. Shizuku ran as fast as she could, then hurled the magic sphere at Faneet’s face. “What the…?” Faneet attempted to deflect it with his hand, but at that very moment, the room was engulfed in a flash of white light. The light was so powerful that it made the man’s eyes burn, and he used an arm to shield himself. Meanwhile, Shizuku had shut her eyes and was sprinting straight toward the exit. Niké was still standing in front of the door, but it looked like he had also been blinded by the sudden light. This was her opportunity to push him aside and flee into the corridor. As Shizuku was running, she opened her eyes slightly to see Niké covering his face with his hand, just as planned. She rammed into his shoulder, causing him to stumble, and reached for the door. “I-it won’t open?!” “…I told you there was a magic barrier in place, you stupid woman,” Niké responded in an irritated voice. At the same time, someone grabbed Shizuku’s arm from behind and casually yanked her toward them—Faneet. Holding onto her arm and half-hoisting her into the air, he peered at her face. “Don’t you think that this kind of behavior will undermine the trust we have for each other?” “Nothing you’ve done so far has made me want to trust you.” Shizuku was no longer trying to hide the animosity in her words. Faneet chuckled self-deprecatingly and returned his bow to its original position on his back. A wave of relief washed over Shizuku. Now he couldn’t use Erik to blackmail her. Plus, if Shizuku was the person they wanted, she doubted they’d go so far as to take her life. All she needed to do was buy herself as much time as she could. When Mea came back, she would notice that the door wouldn’t open and call for help. “I’m not going anywhere,” she told them. “You two can keep the princess company instead.” “There’s always somebody keeping the princess company. If you don’t come, a sick child will bear the brunt of it,” Faneet said. “…A child?” Faneet let go of her arm, then reached for her again. Shizuku found his large hand a little creepy and instinctively recoiled. The man spoke calmly, his hand still outstretched. “If you fail to please the princess, the child will be killed. In three months, a baby will be born in the castle…however, their existence will be covered up if they are determined to be sick. What will you do? If you insist that the illness in question is not an illness at all, you should be able to meet the princess’s expectations and raise that child.” “Huh…? A child’s being born…? Whose child?” “It will be the child of a particular noblewoman. Due to certain circumstances, the princess is taking care of the pregnant mother. However, how long she protects the woman will depend on the baby’s condition. If it turns out that the child has been afflicted by the epidemic, they will be useless to the princess.” “Useless…? But they’ll have barely left the womb.” Would the child be viewed that way because they didn’t have innate language skills? Issues like that were totally fixable. Besides, no one should be deemed “useless” because they can’t speak; they just need to be taught. That’s all it would take for them to grow up like anyone else. Feeling a flicker of annoyance, Shizuku furrowed her brow. She cast a glance through the window. “…Let me ask my companion about this. If I go, then he’ll have to join me.” There was a chance that these men were tricking her—but the story they’d told her was too disturbing to ignore. That was why Shizuku wanted to tell Erik about it. However, Faneet shook his head in response to her request. “I don’t recommend that. The princess knows that a certain mage was responsible for managing Farsas’s curses. If he were to come to Kisk, it would almost certainly spark a new conflict.” “By that…do you mean she’d coax forbidden information about curses out of him and put it into action?” Faneet nodded solemnly. When Shizuku turned around, she noticed that Niké was grimacing slightly from his position in front of the door. Forbidden spells were taboo for mages. Shizuku had witnessed their consequences throughout her journey. Moreover, she didn’t know what would happen if Farsas were to let other countries gain knowledge of their forbidden spells. The knowledge Erik possessed was just that dangerous. He’d refuse to disclose it, even if it meant putting his own life at risk. Shizuku gasped as she imagined the worst-case scenario. That was when Faneet courteously knelt in front of her. He extended his hand toward Shizuku, who was perfectly still. “I know I’m asking a lot of you. I apologize if you’re unsatisfied doing things this way, but please, give it some consideration. Are you willing to stand in front of the princess—and use your skills to save that child?” Shizuku looked down at the man’s hand as if it were some sort of foreign object. Suddenly, her memories of the past six months came flooding back. Why had she ended up in this world? She had so few clues. Once again, she pondered what she was there for. It only took a moment to teleport through the transit gate. Shizuku could see the castle garden through the window. It didn’t look much different from the one in Farsas. When Shizuku pulled her face away from the glass, she noticed that she’d left some fingerprints behind. Frowning, she took her handkerchief out of her pocket to wipe them off. As she absentmindedly cleaned up the smudges, the door opened and Faneet stepped inside. “Why are you polishing the window?” he asked, looking puzzled. “It was bothering me. Doesn’t it bother you when only part of something is clean?” Faneet seemed to give up trying to understand and continued as if she hadn’t said a word. “How are your preparations going? The princess isn’t strict about time, but we need to go sooner rather than later.” “Punctuality is important, no matter who you’re dealing with.” “You’re right about that—but the princess doesn’t even have a clock in her room.” “People actually live like that…? Well, she is royalty.” Shizuku couldn’t help but judge them for how freely they lived, but she also found that sense of freedom slightly intriguing. Royals seemed to be impossible for ordinary folk to understand. Lars was a perfect example of that. As she left the room, Shizuku found herself unconsciously glancing at her shoulder, but Mea was nowhere to be seen. She had wanted to bring her assistant demon with her and had asked the two men for permission, but her request was denied. They probably didn’t want to let her have any power. That was unsurprising, but for the first time since arriving in her new world, Shizuku felt like she was truly alone. It made her feel sad and helpless. Even so, it might have been fortunate that she didn’t go and meet this woman, nicknamed the “Bewitching Princess,” with Mea by her side. Shizuku clenched her fists tightly as she entered the antechamber. “You’re late.” Those were the first words out of Niké’s mouth. He’d been waiting for them, and Shizuku glared back at the man in the black robe. While Faneet was curt yet respectful, Niké’s attitude left a lot to be desired. His initial encounter with Shizuku had been terrible, so that was hardly surprising. At this point, it was evident that they wouldn’t get along. Shizuku remembered when she’d seen him dressed as a Farsasian royal mage. “Are you always getting up to this sort of trouble? Is spying your main job?” she asked him. “Wouldn’t you like to know. More to the point, I’m shocked that you still have a baby face—even in that outfit.” In preparation to meet the princess, Shizuku had changed into a long-sleeved blouse with a raised collar and a long skirt. She looked like a classic teacher, but her face was still the same. “Shut up, Samothrace,” Shizuku quipped back in a cold tone of voice. “Huh? What are you talking about? Are you stupid or something?” “Don’t look down on me just because I said something you don’t understand. That won’t get you anywhere,” responded Shizuku. “Why should I care about something irrelevant?” “Mind your manners, Niké. She’s the princess’s guest,” said Faneet, quashing any attempt for the pair to continue their unproductive exchange. “Her guest? You must be confused—she’s more like a toy. Know your place and stop being rude,” Niké told her. “That’s my line,” snapped Shizuku, the hostility clear in her voice. Niké tutted softly. “I shall inform the princess. In the meantime, you should come to grips with the position you find yourself in.” With that, Niké started walking toward the room. Once he’d disappeared, Shizuku found herself edging closer to the open door. She could hear Niké’s voice coming from inside. “Excuse me for intruding, Princess. I come with some news for you.” Not only were his words uncharacteristically servile, but his tone of voice sounded meek, too. A woman’s voice followed soon after. “So what’s the news? If it’s something trivial, I won’t hesitate to remove your head from your shoulders,” she said in an amused tone. “…Is she the Queen of Hearts?” Shizuku couldn’t help but murmur. Once the words passed her lips, Shizuku became dismayed by the ridiculousness of her own remark. She might have been living in a magical world, but that was a nonsensical fairy tale; characters like that couldn’t exist in real life. In fact, she wished the king of Farsas wasn’t a real person—but he was, whether she liked it or not. What Shizuku was hearing was also undeniably real. The princess’s tone of voice made it sound like she would take pleasure in peeling the skin off anything or anyone she touched. That alone was enough to instill fear in Shizuku. She held her breath, trying to remain unnoticed. “I must apologize. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you any more about Farsas’s forbidden spell incident, howev—” There was a smacking sound, as if someone had just been slapped in the face. Shizuku found herself flinching, as if she were the one who’d been hit. The woman spoke again, her voice as cold as ice. “You’re a complete fool. A child would make a better emissary than you.” “…No words can express how sorry I am to have failed to live up to your expectations.” “I’m tired of listening to you. If a task this simple is too much for you, then there’s no point in keeping you around. How about I feed you to the livestock instead? It wouldn’t matter to you if you lost an arm, would it?” She mocked him in a way that only someone who knew their own power could. The tense atmosphere seeped out of the room, making Shizuku feel as though her legs were sinking into the ground. She’d heard that the king’s younger sister was cruel, so she was definitely living up to her reputation—and not in a good way. If she treated people who worked for her this badly, how would she treat everyone else? Shizuku covered her mouth with her hand. She’d been in life-threatening situations many times before, and there had even been moments when she’d had to face danger alone, having been separated from Erik. This time, however, was different: She had been the one to leave him. Shizuku had left Farsas and come to Kisk without telling Erik. She couldn’t count on him to save her, and she knew she shouldn’t drag him into any more trouble. She was more alone than she ever had been since arriving in this world. The fear made her skin crawl as that alluring voice continued to speak. “You should know better than anyone what fate befell those who tried and failed to ingratiate themselves with me. Don’t assume you’re any different.” “…I understand,” Niké responded, meekly accepting her abuse. It was as if he were a completely different person. Shizuku involuntarily took a deep breath in, then whispered to Faneet beside her. “Is she just threatening him? There’s a rumor going around about her gouging out the eyes of a mage who dared to criticize her. That’s got to be an exaggeration, right?” “No—it’s true. One member of the nobility who angered her was executed just the other day.” “…I see.” People would soon realize she was all talk if she kept issuing empty threats to her subordinates. It sounded like she had no qualms about executing those who displeased her, just as the rumors suggested. Noticing that Shizuku’s hands were shaking, Faneet expanded on his previous remark. “She’s unsparing, but not unreasonable. When she discovers that you can help her in a way that nobody else can, she’s sure to treat you accordingly.” “Can I, though…?” Shizuku was unique in that she came from another world—but that was hard to prove. Back in Farsas, she’d vowed to Lars that she was just human; however, this time the situation couldn’t be more different. She pressed her temples. “There’s a child on the way, right?” “Yes.” It was that piece of information that had driven Shizuku to come to Kisk. She couldn’t let a child be killed for having a language impediment. That said, up until this very moment, part of her hadn’t been able to fully believe the story. Somewhere in her heart, she’d deluded herself into thinking that nobody would ever do such a thing to a child. However, Faneet had been telling the truth. Shizuku could feel herself becoming more and more confused, so she gently shook her head. Then she closed her eyes and confronted her thoughts. She couldn’t let her anxiety paralyze her. She had to prepare herself for what was to come. There was no point in second-guessing herself now. The princess’s harsh personality was precisely what had spurred her to come all this way alone: to stand in front of the woman. Nobody else was going to do it for her. She had two aims. Her first was to ensure that Erik, who knew a lot about forbidden spells, didn’t become the princess’s target. Her second was to present education as a cure for the language impediment that was infecting the children of the continent. Those were the two objectives that Shizuku needed to accomplish. Both goals would be hard to achieve if she’d stayed behind in Farsas—the second more than the first. Lars was in Farsas, and he would never learn to tolerate Shizuku. If she touched on the issue of the children’s language impediment, there was a risk that Shizuku’s entire existence would be covered up, as Erik had warned her. However, there was a chance she could dispel concerns about the epidemic from inside another one of the Great Nations. Shizuku wanted people to accept her way of thinking about it, no matter how long it took. Not being born with innate language skills wasn’t a death sentence for children. If people came to realize that, they’d stop fearing the disease and grieving their children’s futures. Perhaps this was the reason why Shizuku had ended up in this world. As that grandiose fantasy crossed her mind, she couldn’t help but smile a little. She must have finally calmed down, because behind her closed eyelids she could see herself walking into the distance. “…I’m going to be fine,” Shizuku reassured herself. It was too early to retreat; she hadn’t even taken one step forward yet. Plus, if she gave up now, she was sure to regret it. It would haunt her forever if her cowardice got the better of her and she ran away from what she needed to do. That was why she was going to be fine. Shizuku raised her face, and she heard Faneet whisper something quietly to her. “Watch what you say. From this point on, you’re the only person who can protect yourself from the princess.” “I know.” In return for Shizuku accompanying him, Faneet had promised to keep her otherworldly origins to himself. He’d agreed to introduce her as someone who was simply trying to combat the illness, and to try his best to find a way for her to get back home while she was accompanying the princess. Faneet must have had his own priorities, but at any rate, he seemed to want Shizuku to stay safe inside the castle. And so Shizuku had accepted these conditions. She didn’t mention the meddling interlopers from outside the world—a confidential matter for the Farsasian royal family—but she did request a particular book that was key to her next objective. After all, there was a chance it was one of the interlopers’ cursed artifacts. The book in question documented secret histories and forbidden curses, and it was said to be in the possession of a woman in the northern part of the continent. This woman might have been the mastermind behind the forbidden spell incident in Candela, and Shizuku asked for help finding her. Now she just had to do what she could. “…All right, I’m ready.” Standing in front of the door, Shizuku pressed her trembling feet firmly against the ground. From this point on, she was solely responsible for carving out her own path. Gone were the mage who’d helped her out of the goodness of his heart and the demon girl who’d stayed by her side on lonely nights. She’d turned her back on their kindness. The least she could do was try not to complain. Until she was able to go back home, she had to do everything she could, no matter how much of a struggle it was. Venturing into the unknown was something that everyone had to deal with at some point, even if they might regret it. “Excuse me,” Shizuku said as she stepped into the room. The dimly lit space was filled with a suffocating aroma. It almost felt as if the air was tinged with color, and Shizuku automatically held her breath. Before long, though, she reminded herself to maintain her composure and carried on walking. The princess was slouching on a chaise longue in the center of the room. Hiding half of her face with her fan, she gave Shizuku a curious stare. Shizuku, however, didn’t look the princess directly in the eye. Instead, she smoothly lowered her gaze and knelt before her, just as Faneet had instructed her to do. Staring at the floor, Shizuku introduced herself. “It is an honor to meet you. My name is Shizuku.” “So you’re the girl that man has taken a liking to?” Shizuku stayed silent as the princess scrutinized her. She must have been talking about Lars. What kind of misunderstanding had been going around? Shizuku wished she could use some kind of dragnet to scoop up these mysterious rumors, but there was no use dwelling on what had already happened. For the moment, Shizuku’s priority was making herself seem like a valuable asset. “Raise your head,” the princess ordered. Shizuku obeyed her command and looked up. She met the princess’s glistening amber gaze. Ortea, the princess of Kisk, was a beautiful young woman who reminded Shizuku of a bewitching flower. Shizuku knew they were the same age, but it would have been hard to tell looking at her. Ortea seemed to be simultaneously a young girl and a mature woman, like a jewel that changed color depending on what angle you looked at it from. “Enchantress” was perhaps the most fitting way to describe her. She had several layers of pale, thin silks draped around her body, with a crimson sash loosely wrapped around her waist. Her bare, ivory-colored forearms had a captivating allure that even another woman like Shizuku could pick up on. While Leuticia was described as an ethereal beauty with an aura as unyielding as crystal, Ortea’s harsh yet enigmatic allure was more akin to obsidian. She may not have had features as fine as Leuticia’s, but Ortea was so curiously bewitching that it was hard to drag one’s eyes away from her. Whether one found her charm sinister or enchanting depended on the individual. Ortea narrowed her eyes at Shizuku. With her mouth still covered by her fan, the princess began to speak in a melodic voice that sounded almost as if someone were plucking the strings of an instrument. “I ordered you to bring the man who was accompanying her, too. You’re useless, Faneet.”