Chapter 100: Trap (4)
Let me go over what just happened, exactly as it was.
First of all, Kyren Amiel and Allen were walking ahead of us.
Just as we were about to follow after the two leading in front, they suddenly disappeared without a trace.
When Lyslin had tried to fool me earlier with her clumsy lie, I pretended not to notice and let it slide.
Because if you wanted to steal a treasure guarded by a dragon, you had no choice but to enter its nest.
But this situation was something I hadn’t anticipated at all.
Already stranded in a remote place, and now we were split apart once more.
No matter how I looked at it, the situation was anything but good.
And then, suddenly, someone appeared before us.
That person was none other than Cecilia Everglenn.
……In a situation like this, not being wary of her would have been the truly strange thing.
“Stop right there.”
The first one to step forward among us was Lancia.
She raised her sheathed sword, her thumb resting lightly on the guard so that she could draw the blade at any moment.
“Until it’s certain whether you’re an enemy or ally, I won’t allow you to come any closer.”
“I must admit, I nod at those words.”
Yuran said that as she formed a strange hand sign with one hand, her sharp gaze fixed on Cecilia.
“You may not come closer. I will test you.”
At their sharp reaction, Cecilia immediately halted in place.
Then, she looked at me, as if demanding that I be the one to make the judgment.
“……Cecilia.”
“Yes, Lian.”
After a brief moment of thought, I called her name.
And unlike a few days ago, she replied by calling me by my name rather than my family name.
“For now, I agree with the two behind me. At this moment, we can’t be sure whether you are truly yourself, or an enemy in disguise.”
As I spoke, I laid out the information I had gathered about the enemy who had attacked me before.
The ability to take on the appearance and voice of another.
The power to distort one’s senses.
And lastly, that the enemy was not a single individual, but multiple.
This was to explain to Yuran and Lancia, as well as to Cecilia—if she really was the real one.
‘I should have explained this sooner to the two ahead as well.’
I had hesitated, waiting for the right moment, only to end up missing it.
Blaming my own carelessness, I nevertheless did not take my eyes off Cecilia.
“That’s why I’ll ask you while keeping both possibilities in mind. Cecilia, you must answer properly.”
“Yes, ask as you like.”
Cecilia gave a small nod, as if to say I could ask her anything.
At that, I chose questions only she would know—yet questions that would cause no harm if revealed.
My first question.
“How are you here?”
I paused for a moment before continuing.
“You clearly said to me, ‘I found you.’ Which means you had been searching for me and the other missing people. But with the time that has passed and the circumstances, there are too many things that don’t add up. Explain this to us.”
To my question, Cecilia answered without hesitation.
“I was following behind Lian, who was following someone else. The way you were moving so cautiously, trying to avoid others’ eyes, gave me a strange feeling.”
As she calmly confessed to tailing me, she stole a glance at me.
When I showed no particular—no, to be precise, no displeased—reaction, she let out a small sigh of relief.
“I even saw you entering the old school building that’s no longer in use. No matter how long I waited, neither of you came out. So I went inside to investigate, opened the door of one classroom, and when I came to my senses, I was in the middle of the forest. I wandered for a while, then saw a light in the distance and came here.”
“……”
Hearing her out, there was nothing that struck me as odd.
Since I stayed silent, Lancia asked suspiciously.
“You followed behind your junior?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
At Lancia’s question, Cecilia gazed silently at her, who had stepped forward as if to protect me.
Why indeed.
Her brows furrowed slightly, as if something displeased her.
“……Because it’s a sensitive question about my relationship with Lian, so I’d rather not answer.”
“What exactly is your relationship with him that makes it so hard to answer?”
Cecilia replied as if it were nothing.
“A relationship others shouldn’t interfere with.”
“Cough, cough!”
“……!”
“……?”
At her answer, I choked for a moment and coughed awkwardly.
Lancia flinched slightly, her body trembling faintly.
Yuran, on the other hand, only tilted her head in confusion, as if to ask what we meant.
“……Cecilia, if you put it that way, people will misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand?”
“Saying that makes it sound… hmm.”
Honestly, I had expected her to say something simple, like that we were friends. I hadn’t expected that wording at all, so I was caught off guard.
Calming my startled chest from choking, I took a breath and spoke.
“It makes it sound as if the two of us… were in some kind of relationship beyond ordinary friendship, perhaps enjoying a honeymoon of sorts. Ahem! That kind of misunderstanding.”
“……Ah.”
Cecilia nodded blankly.
“We’re just close friends in many ways. Nothing like that.”
After a brief pause, she corrected herself in the same calm, steady voice as always.
She looked no different than usual, but I could see her pale porcelain-like face flushed red.
It wasn’t only because of the firelight.
“Also, I can’t explain in detail why I followed Lian, but Lian would know.”
At her words, both Yuran and Lancia turned their eyes toward me.
I nodded.
“Yes, that’s true. We spoke of many things before coming here.”
“And…”
As if to prove her point, Cecilia tilted her chin slightly and continued where I had left off.
“Unless it’s Lian, I can’t help but suspect the two of you as well. So I’d rather not reveal too much.”
“……”
With that, Cecilia fell silent.
And at her answer, I too could only remain silent for a moment.
As mentioned earlier, I hadn’t felt anything particularly suspicious in Cecilia’s words.
Just as she said, the fact that she had followed behind me wasn’t something to doubt.
Because I was the one who had asked her to in the first place.
‘At least there’s no contradiction there….’
During the assault incident, the spider that had been by my side had sustained heavy injuries.
Fortunately, Cecilia had said she could heal it, but it would take time. In the meantime, the Mist Bird had stayed by my side to fulfill its role in the spider’s stead.
And when I had encountered Lyslin, I had immediately sent the Mist Bird to Cecilia.
It was to deliver the note we had agreed upon beforehand.
‘It’s a bitter blow that Professor Windy May was away at the time….’
The note contained the names of people from whom I could request aid, including Professor Windy May, along with a plea to alert the academy of the danger.
If it had been just any student, perhaps they wouldn’t have cared. But I was both the one directly involved in the Dungeon Field Class incident and the very person who had been attacked only days ago. The academy would not take my request for help lightly.
Since Cecilia and I had coordinated this in advance, when Lyslin had first approached me, I had thought it was instead a chance to strike at their weakness.
‘But I didn’t think she’d actually follow after me.’
I must have underestimated her resolve.
Just as I was thinking that, I suddenly noticed something stirring inside the bonfire.
― Ssshhk.
It was the Serpent of Flame.
I had seen it before in the library. The creature that had formed a contract with her lay coiled in the fire, quietly watching me.
When our eyes met, it gave a small nod.
There was no need for further doubt.
“She is indeed the Cecilia I know.”
At my declaration, Lancia lowered her sheathed sword.
Yuran, too, let her hand fall, though the shape of her fingers remained the same—she hadn’t let her guard down completely.
“Lian.”
“Cecilia.”
When I stepped forward, Cecilia called my name again, her face lighting up.
“Why did you follow me?”
“Don’t worry. I properly did everything you asked, and I even confirmed it.”
Her reply didn’t quite match the question I had asked.
“…What?”
“Before long, those you asked will come. You don’t need to worry about that child being attacked either, because the connection is still properly in place.”
“No, what I meant was…”
I looked at her and said,
“It’s dangerous.”
“…Then I’ll give that right back to you.”
Cecilia looked at me with a strangely sulky expression.
“And Lian isn’t in danger?”
“No, I mean…”
“Of course you are. You’ve even been attacked. And besides, I know you’re the type who doesn’t take care of yourself because you meddle in everything.”
As she said this, she placed her hand over her chest, as if to reassure me.
“Don’t worry. This time, I’ll be the one to help you.”
“……”
“And, well… um.”
Cecilia hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod as if firming her resolve.
“They say that’s what friends are for, right? To help each other.”
“……”
What more could I say?
In a situation like this, there was only one proper response I knew.
“Thank you, Cecilia.”
“We’re friends, aren’t we.”
She gave me a small smile.
I, too, smiled faintly.
“Friendship. A fine thing to see. But should we not be doing something else right now?”
A clap sounded.
It was Yuran, drawing our attention.
“First, we share what we know of the current situation. Then, we decide where to go.”
Yuran glanced around as she spoke.
“What will we do?”
“There’s no other choice, is there.”
Lancia answered.
The stern wariness she had shown toward Cecilia was gone; she spoke in her usual relaxed tone, though her expression remained grave.
“If, as junior said, this is the Forbidden Forest… then the best option is to get out immediately. Markers are placed throughout the forest for those who entered illegally or became lost, so as long as we follow them carefully, we won’t have to worry about getting lost.”
But…
Her voice sank with gloom.
“The problem is what to do about the two who were separated earlier.”
“You’re right.”
Yuran nodded.
“We can’t just abandon them.”
“There’s one more thing we need to consider.”
“The confusion of senses, correct?”
“Yes.”
I answered firmly.
“The distortion of senses is a problem even in battle. But in a dense forest like this, it becomes an entirely different issue. Even if we find markers, we might still wander endlessly. And in the worst case, we could become separated from each other too.”
“A real headache.”
Yuran muttered with a bitter smile.
“It would be best if they found us first….”
As she murmured this, Yuran pulled something from her robe.
It was a charm.
“Keep this with you. They react to one another, showing each other’s position.”
She handed each of us a charm, then looked back up at the sky.
By now, the sun had set completely, and the night sky was filled with stars.
“First, we’ll scout the surroundings, to search for them. By watching the stars’ positions, we can judge our own, and once we reach the place where they sparkle the brightest, we’ll move from there….”
It was then.
Once again, faint sounds of movement reached us from afar.
We remained on guard, though we held a small hope that it might be Kyren or Allen, as we turned our eyes toward the sound.
And someone appeared.
No—someones appeared.
“Huh?”
“Wh-what is this…?”
Breaking through the darkness, the ones who revealed themselves were none other than ‘me’ and ‘Lancia Jintia’.