I stood still for a moment, staring ahead. Inside the room I thought would be empty after Missha left, there were two people: Missha and Erwen.
It's impossible that the two of them know each other. Could Erwen have come to visit me and I have met her by chance?
As soon as I entered the room, as usual, I analyzed the cause and effect based on the given circumstances. However, that was all I had.
Kablam!
Unlike the air outside, humid from the torrential rain, for some reason the fresh air remained in my small single room. The room was filled with questions.
What…? Why is he so upset?
Since we'd been together for months, I could tell just by looking at her face. Missha was very, very angry right now, incomparably more so than the time she caught me taking only the meat and throwing away the carrots from my meal. Seeing that even the hairs on her tail were slightly raised, she seemed suspicious of something too. Erwen was acting strangely as well.
Is he… crying?
She had tears in her eyes. She wasn't letting them fall or anything; it seemed like she was trying hard to hold them back. More than crying from sadness, it seemed like she was grinding her teeth in rage.
Did they have a fight or something?
Based on the information presented, I concluded that Erwen and Missha had had a fight. The reason? Well, I wasn't sure. I didn't think either of them were the type to get emotionally involved with someone they'd just met.
Rattle.
When I closed the door, both of their eyes turned toward me. Perhaps it was the sound of the rain and thunder, but it seemed that they only felt my presence after I closed the door.
Missha spoke first. "Ah, you're here, Bjorrrn? This is your guest." Missha smiled and greeted me as usual. For some reason, her eyes weren't smiling at all.
"Waaaa! Lord…!" Erwen burst into tears she'd been holding back and leaped toward me. I dodged her with lightning reflexes. I guess this wasn't the image she'd pictured. Erwen landed with the poise of an agile character and bit her lip as she asked, "Is it… because of that woman?"
What was this guy talking about? For some reason, she seemed very different from the last time I'd seen her, but... Well, it had been a long time since then.
"Because of that woman?"
"It's no big deal!"
When I asked if they had really fought, Erwen shuddered and shook her head. Then she looked shyly in Missha's direction.
"Bjorn, why did you take so long?" Missha looked me in the eye and approached me with quick steps. "You left in a hurry earlier, did something happen?" It was a nasal voice that I couldn't get used to at all.
For some reason it gave me goosebumps, but for now I answered the question. «It was nothing. Kharon was accused of being a looter, but it ended well after I spoke to them».
«Ohh, I see. That must have exhausted you». Missha said strange words and caressed my arm. Normally, she would have patted me on the forearm or back.
At this point, I had no choice but to ask honestly. «...What's wrong with you?»
«What do you mean? I'm just praising you for doing a good job. Barbarians are no strangers».
I involuntarily tilted my head. That wasn't even my question in the first place and that answer itself was full of contradictions. «Aren't they strangers?»
«Because? Don't barbarians and beast people get along?
Were they? Well, I guess on better terms than with fairies.
«Here's a towel!» I was going to say something else when Missha jumped up and put a towel on my head. «Dry your hair first. You're going to catch a cold».
«Ah, oh... yes». It seemed a little suspicious, but I looked away at Erwen as she dried my hair. He couldn't leave the guest unattended. «Erwen, did you come looking for me?»
«Excuse me? Oh yeah...» When I turned to her, Erwen rolled her shoulders and avoided my eyes. Wasn't she the one who ran towards me before? Was it because I avoided her?
«Anyway, thank goodness you're here», I said. «I've wanted to visit you for a long time-«.
«Excuse me? Were you looking for me?»
«...?»
«Really? I'm glad. I thought you had forgotten about me...»
I responded with a smile at the atmosphere that had changed with just a few words. «I could never forget the comrade from my first exploration».
«True? That's special for both of us, right?».
Hey? Feeling a strange incongruity, still, I nodded, overwhelmed by Erwen's serious eyes. «...I guess so?»
«Yes! That's how it was after all!» I didn't know what had happened, but Erwen's face suddenly lit up at my response.
It was enough socialization, so I decided to ask what I was curious about. «Anyway, it's been a while. How have you been?»
«I? Are you curious to know how I've been?»
«¿Sí...?»
«Then I'll tell you!»
Shortly after, Erwen non-stop recited the things that had happened since our farewell, like the chirping of a bird. Most were stories related to the labyrinth. He climbed the floors with his sister, defeated monsters and absorbed new essences. Oh, and you said you usually spent the day locked in your room practicing day and night?
«Look at this! Now I can handle the Four Great Spirits! I have completed the lighting of three of them!»
"¿What? ¿Is there his very? ⁇
«¡Sí! ¡Trabajé muy, muy wait!»
To be honest, I was a little surprised. Even if it was cultivated on his sister's back, it was hard to believe that this was the result of a few months.
Is this called talent?
She was different from me in many ways. If I became stronger with advanced essences and equipment, she further flourished her skills with actual practice.
An archer fairy who managed to illuminate three attributes in less than a year...
This was definitely weird. If the four main attributes lit up, something would be possible in the last half of the game.
Welp, if it weren't for your sister I could have put her on my team.
It was a shame to lose a talent like that. However, I chose not to say anything. It wasn't like he was teaming up right now, anyway, and there was no way he was abandoning his family.
«Anyway, I'm glad you were busy with training. I thought you couldn't find me because I moved inn. It's about time you focused on growing up and not on me».
«Ah, that's not entirely true...»
«Yes, Bjorn is right. If you haven't completed a year as an explorer yet, you should look for your own ways to Survive, right?» Missha, who had been listening to the conversation silently, stood up and wrapped her arms around Erwen's shoulders.
Erwen stiffened and nodded weakly. «True...»
Was it my imagination or was I self-conscious about Missha's reactions? Remembering the atmosphere when I first entered the room, I asked belatedly: «Oh, and what happened to you while I was gone?».
It was actually something I was curious about from the beginning. However, at my question, Missha tilted her head nonchalantly as if I were asking something strange. «Hmm? Nothing happened».
«Nothing has happened? I thought you two were fighting-»
«Nyaha! Why would we fight? We have gotten so close. Right, Errrwen?»
«Yes, Miss Karlstein...»
«Miss Karlstein? Call me Sis.»
«Sí, Sis...»
She was like a bully dragging an innocent student into an alley. It was clear that something was up, but as long as they kept their mouths shut, it seemed like it would be difficult to hear the answer I wanted.
I would find out what happened in due time.
I walked past the two of them and opened the window wide. The dark clouds in the sky had already cleared. The sun was shining on the wet pavement. Therefore, I gave the order to leave. «It has stopped raining. You should come back now. I want to wash and rest a little».
For some reason, fatigue was setting in.
***
After leaving Mister's room, Erwen found herself in a difficult situation.
«Hey? Are you going here too?»
«Yes because?»
«Then you go first. I'll leave a little later».
He was going in the same direction as the beast woman. Fortunately, this woman didn't seem to want to go with her either.
«Then you go first. I'll go later».
«No. You go first.»
This was the biggest headache. Go later? How could I believe those words? It seemed that as soon as he left, this woman would return to her room. From the looks of it, it was clear that Missha had the same doubts.
«Phew...» Erwen and Missha sighed at the same time.
«So let's go together?».
«Yes, that would be betterrr».
On the way back, there was only an awkward silence. No one spoke and they only concentrated on walking. It was to be expected. Although Bjorn was told that nothing had happened, in reality it was not.
«Don't know. Don't you already know what I mean?»
Hearing those words, Erwen felt like a screw came loose from her head. His heart was beating like crazy, and he couldn't take it anymore. So, without realizing it, the words came out.
«Naughty cat...!» For the first time in his life, he cursed someone, and that wasn't enough. When he came to his senses, his hand touched the dagger he was carrying around his waist. That's when Erwen found out.
«You, are you sick in the head?»
If it weren't for that word, she would have come to her senses only after brandishing the dagger. The beast woman was strong. This was not just an assumption, but the truth. Fairies were sensitive by nature and could sense the spiritual power of others.
She's two... no, maybe even three times stronger than me.
There was a huge difference in spiritual power, which meant that this woman had absorbed so many advanced essences. He could also sense from her posture and energy that Missha was not simply an explorer struggling with the abilities of her essences. The moment he realized this, vertigo took over Erwen.
Missha Karlstein: This woman was the enemy, but he couldn't defeat her in a fight. That is, something precious would be taken from him, like that time. Yes, it would be taken from him. Feelings separate from reason stirred within him. The momentary memory etched in his brain paralyzed Erwen's thinking. Buried in emotion, her mouth moved on its own.
«Please don't take it away from me... Please...» Miserable pleas, something he would never say if he were of sound mind, those words flowed one after another.
«What...?» The beast woman, who had been staring at her with cold eyes, opened her mouth, dumbfounded.
Erwen knew in her head how ugly and grotesque she must look, but at that moment she thought that if she protected something precious to her, she could do something even worse. I really could have burst into tears and prayed on my knees if he hadn't arrived just in time.
Ding.
«Waaaa! Sir...!»
He shook his head as if to shake his thoughts. It was an embarrassing memory that I didn't even want to think about. For some reason, it was difficult to think rationally when Mister was involved.
...I probably looked like a strange woman.
Blushing with embarrassment, Erwen looked at Missha. He was now at a fork in the road.
«I'm there, where are you going?»
«Luckily... I'm in the other direction».
«Mm, of veo...»
The time had come to break the awkward silence, but they both stopped to look at each other, unable to move their feet.
The first to speak was Missha. «You... you're not coming tomorrow either, are you?».
«Yes, I'm going».
«Ha... how did it occur to me...» Missha grabbed her forehead as if she couldn't believe she was in this situation.
Erwen felt the same way. As she ran towards him, all she could think about was seeing Mister again and laughing.
"Anyway, I'm leaving. You go home too. Understood?" Missha said.
"Um ..."
"Hey?"
Erwen grabbed Missha as they headed toward the other fork in the road. She had something to say, though she didn't really want to say it. "...Thank you."
"Because…?"
"Because of what happened before, which you didn't tell the man about."
"What did you try to do to me with your dagger?"
"True..." Erwen lowered his head.
Missha let out a big sigh. "Forget it. Let's make a promise."
"Do you promise?"
"You're coming, even if I say no, right? So we're going to keep what happened between us a secret from Bjorn. Well... you're probably just like me, but... I don't want him to worry about something like this."
"....OK."
"Then I'm leaving. You have to go home too, okay?"
"OK."
Then Erwen parted from Missha and headed for his bedroom. It was a considerable distance, but it didn't seem long to him, perhaps because his mind was so preoccupied.
When she opened the door, Daria greeted her with a worried expression. "Erwen."
"Daria..." Erwen collapsed into his sister's arms.
"That person... did you know them?"
"Yes. He was really alive."
"Really...? That's great."
She cuddled in her sister's arms for a while to comfort herself, then she resolved. "Daria, I'm going to get stronger."
"Stronger...?"
"Yes. Does that seem strange to you?"
"No, I thought you wouldn't want to train anymore."
At her sister's meaningful words, Erwen tilted her head. Why would she stop training? Well, when she learned that Mister was alive, the time she spent training in her room had lost its purpose. Instead, Erwen felt a roaring desire, stronger than before. "I have to defeat someone, so please help me a lot in the future."
If she didn't want them to end up stealing something from her, she had to be the one to steal.