TN: Thank Nepper for the chapter.
TL/PR: Ruminas; ED: novicelily
When Ariel opened his eyes in the hospital room, a new world, distinct from before, unfolded.
Starlight overflowed within his body, and all objects and people seemed to move slowly.
It felt as if he alone was detached from the flow of time, like he had stepped into a world where everything was cast in black and white.
‘Is this the influence of the stars?’
It seemed like it would take quite some time to adapt. Everything felt unfamiliar and looked different.
When looking at humans, he could roughly see how strong they were and what path they had walked because his vision was overlaid with starlight.
And then.
The moment Iria entered the hospital room, his perception changed once again.
She harbored an alien energy within her body that Ariel had never seen before. Was she even human to begin with?
He wasn’t sure.
He had never seen such an ominous aura before.
Ariel extended his starlight to get a general idea of what kind of person Iria was, but,
“Ugh?!”
He was rejected.
Ariel couldn’t read anything about Iria. Instead, Ariel’s head felt like it was about to split from the attempt.
Iria’s mere presence negated the star’s vision. It was an enormous presence that contrasted with her seemingly harmless appearance.
Did others not even notice such a massive presence?
Come to think of it, Ariel hadn’t noticed until he awakened the star’s vision. Perhaps this feeling was something only he was experiencing.
That’s why he called her out to a place without people. Just as Iria was interested in Ariel, Ariel was also concerned about her.
Iria followed Ariel’s call without saying a word. She was still a dazzlingly beautiful girl, at least in appearance.
Long, flowing silver-white hair and a cold impression that exuded a somewhat mysterious atmosphere.
But that couldn’t be all there was to her.
Iria’s red eyes resembled something non-human. What did they resemble? Ariel thought for a moment as he looked into her eyes.
And he realized.
Iria’s eyes looking at Ariel resembled those of the wolf he had seen that day.
Was Iria human?
To the question that arose in his mind, the stars answered that she was not.
Ariel didn’t believe what the stars said. He wanted to meet her and find out for himself.
***
A heavy silence hung between the two on the mountainside behind the academy, where ordinary people didn’t tread.
The stars were wary of Iria. Therefore, Ariel was also skeptical of Iria. But Ariel hadn’t called her out to be hostile.
Rather, it was to clear up any misunderstandings.
He wanted to conclude that the massive presence he had felt was close to just a feeling and that Iria was still a harmless being.
He felt that a conversation with her was necessary for that.
“Iria.”
“Yes.”
“There’s something I want to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
As both were not very talkative people to begin with, the conversation consisted of short sentences.
But the emotions in the conversation were not shallow. Ariel hesitated to say what he wanted to say, and Iria was slightly tense.
While maintaining her usual expressionless face, she was subtly observing Ariel’s expression.
She could just erase his memory if worse came to worse, but that was impossible with Ariel, which was the problem. Not only could she not read his memories, but hypnosis and brainwashing didn’t work on him either.
All mental attacks were ineffective against him. It wasn’t this bad even when putting Sera or Albert to sleep.
So she had to answer carefully to the incoming question. Since she couldn’t erase his memory, she would have no choice but to kill Ariel.
After some time had passed, Ariel opened his mouth.
“……Are you human, Iria?”
It was indeed a difficult question to answer.
Iria remained silent. Of course, she couldn’t tell the truth. The moment it was revealed that she was a monster, destruction would follow.
Should she lie?
“……”
But how?
Iria was not good at lying. She never needed to learn. She was strong from the beginning and could manipulate people’s memories at will. There was never really a situation where she needed to lie.
Uttering a clumsy lie would be no different from confessing herself. So Iria swallowed her silence, unable to answer.
Ariel slowly continued. It was to deny the whispers of the stars. At least Ariel wanted to believe that she was human like him.
“……I’d like you to answer just this.”
“I don’t understand the intention of your question.”
However, as this was a sensitive issue for Iria, her attitude was sharp.
Although her expression or voice did not change, Ariel thought she seemed angrier than usual.
No, upon closer observation, there were changes.
Her eyebrows and the area between them trembled slightly. It was a subtle change that Ariel wouldn’t have noticed if this was his first time seeing Iria.
But having seen her continuously for the past few days, he knew. Today’s Iria was sharper than usual.
Had his hasty question provoked her instead? Ariel swallowed dryly.
Iria took a step closer and continued speaking.
“Is that all you have to say after calling someone to a place like this? I’m not some doll that stays still even when hearing rude words.”
“That’s not what I……”
“Do I look like a monster to you too, Ariel? Without even knowing how much of a curse it is to be born with red eyes in this world.”
She pressured Ariel, continuing to speak in a calm voice devoid of inflection.
She wasn’t really angry. To begin with, Iria was less adept at feeling emotions than humans.
She thought this was the only way to avoid answering while making excuses. Since she was poor at lying, she mixed what used to be truth in the past with lies in a subtle way.
Even Iria herself couldn’t recognize the lies mixed in with the truth. That’s why Ariel couldn’t utter a word until she finished speaking.
Iria’s red eyes were flashing.
“Are you saying that I’m not even human in your eyes, Ariel? If you doubt my identity, you can kill me right here. There would be no witnesses now.”
“Iria!”
“……What?”
Even while uttering cruel words, Iria’s expression remained unchanged.
That’s because her words weren’t mere bluster. If someone had the ability, she could die for anyone. Rather, she felt like asking them to do so.
But it’s questionable whether such a being exists in this world.
Iria drew Ariel’s sword for him, making him grasp it. Then she placed the blade against her own neck.
Her red eyes didn’t move an inch, even with a sword at her throat. They were just staring intently at Ariel’s eyes, emitting a clear light.
“You can find out whether I’m human or not by cutting me. I’m giving you the opportunity to confirm the truth.”
In truth, if the current Ariel were to swing his sword as Iria said, red magical energy would burst out reflexively, slicing Ariel’s neck.
At a glance, it might seem like she was betting on her own life, but in reality, it was the opposite. Iria held Ariel’s life in her neck.
Since one of them would have to die someday anyway. Even if that happened a bit sooner, Iria had nothing to lose.
And above all.
“……”
“……”
She knew he couldn’t do it anyway.
Although she couldn’t read Ariel’s thoughts, she had grasped his human nature so far.
Ariel couldn’t swing this sword. Even now, his hand holding the sword was trembling.
Iria waits again today.
The monster, who is clumsy with emotions and unable to choose for herself, passes the right to choose to others.
Waiting is something Iria is good at. There was nothing else she was more accustomed to.
And silence follows the wait. It took some time for Ariel to show any reaction to Iria’s eccentric behavior.
Ariel.
“……I’m sorry.”
He apologized.
He steps back a few paces and sheathes his sword.
Knowing nothing about Iria, he seems to think that his verbal misstep had touched on her trauma.
That wasn’t his intention, but he ended up hurting her again this time.
The conversation between the two ended more anticlimactically than expected. After hearing the apology, Iria immediately turned around as if there was no more value in continuing the conversation.
“Ariel.”
“……I’m listening.”
“Don’t try to know too much about me.”
It was too early for Ariel to understand Iria.
Even though he had become stronger than before, he hadn’t yet been given the qualification.
If he continues to grow like this and a day comes when he can talk to Iria as an equal, he might naturally come to know.
“Forget about today.”
At least, that wasn’t now.
If he tried to dig any deeper, one of them would die. And the person dying would most likely be Ariel.
Today’s Ariel was enchanted by the monster of the back alley.
***
Ariel had attempted to have a conversation with Iria but failed.
He didn’t expect Iria to react so sensitively to his question.
-Do I look like a monster to you too, Ariel?
-Without even knowing how much of a curse it is to be born with red eyes in this world.
Was he lacking in consideration?
Perhaps Iria had grown up being treated as something non-human since childhood.
After all, humans with red eyes are truly rare to find.
With that premise, he could somewhat guess what kind of past Iria had. She must have grown up in a dark environment.
She seemed very accustomed to being treated like a monster.
As if she had heard it to the point of being sick of it before.
But even though her sensitive spot was poked, she didn’t show signs of being shaken. Although her attitude was sharp and she acted eccentrically, she didn’t lose her characteristic calmness.
That appearance also made her look like someone who had become numb from repeated wounds.
“……”
Ariel blamed himself. He should have been more careful before asking the question.
Iria’s eyes looked similar to a monster’s for a moment, and he seemed to have been focused only on that.
From that day, Ariel’s gaze towards Iria was engraved with sympathy and compassion.