"...Is there something on my face?
He stroked his cheek and asked cautiously.
"Ah... No. Excuse me. Please come in."
After bowing respectfully at my words, he came inside the house.
The house, so cramped that there was hardly anything to even enter, seemed to be completely filled by just one man.
So, with the children on either side, I faced the man.
With those strange red eyes, Zion glared at him with eyes full of wariness.
"..."
He opened his mouth after a long while, feeling the children's stinging slap.
"...My name is Noelier Lamiere. I have so many questions to ask you, but before that, I would like to apologize first for what happened in the forest."
It was a more polite greeting than I expected.
...That’s unexpected. Could it be that he doesn’t know I’m a wolf?
I cautiously waved my hand to indicate that I was okay.
Actually, it wasn't that I didn't understand. Since he had found someone holding his younger sibling in the North, a place practically an enemy, it was only natural to think of me as a kidnapper.
Of course, that didn't mean I wasn't angry.
I really almost died. I nearly left this world, leaving only a mouse behind. That's what I'm saying.
Thinking about that filled me with such intense anger that the chill lingering in my body vanished in an instant.
So I thought I should get a big reward for this work, but I thought it would be fine even if I received a little less than I had expected.
The reason was because of his face.
'A kind face but a not-so-kind attitude...'
My nostrils flared uncontrollably. My half-wolf instinct, distinct yet undeniable, was running wild. Then, the man asked back with a worried look.
"...Are you feeling unwell? You don't look well."
Oops, I quickly came to my senses.
"I'm fine. After all, I survived. I would have done the exact same thing myself. Me, that..."
I slowly trailed off, carrying the nuance of, "Don't you have something to tell me?"
Understanding the meaning, Noelier quickly continued speaking.
"I have once again committed the rudeness of not even explaining myself. I am sorry. I am Rachel's older brother. Rachel left home and disappeared without permission, so I came all the way here to look for her."
"If it's Rachel...?"
I tilted my head, pretending not to know, with a brazen face.
"The child in your arms is my sister, Rachel."
Noelier gestured toward Rachel in my arms and said, "But."
"Who are you?"
"..."
He didn't seem to know what Rachel's condition was yet.
Noelier touched his forehead, making a sound like "Oh my."
"Why have you been pretending not to know since earlier..."
He muttered in a voice full of exhaustion. However, Rachel merely shook her head with a look of knowing nothing.
"Sister, this older brother is weird. He keeps calling me his little sister."
Rachel snuggled into my arms, whimpering.
“Rachel.”
Noelier seemed quite shocked by Rachel's behavior.
Otherwise, there is no way that handsome face would look so utterly drained.
I pretended not to know and pulled Rachel into my arms with a serious expression, as if I were actually the child's guardian.
"...Is this an official release? My child is so scared; how can I trust that?"
“Ugh, I’m scared.”
Rachel also burrowed into my arms with a tearful expression.
Seeing the wary look in my eyes, he hurriedly added.
"It's not a lie."
Noelier reached out his hand toward Rachel as if to prove that he was her brother.
White, smooth fingers touched Rachel's fingertips.
"This is proof that we are siblings."
A small spark rose from Noelier's fingertips. Then, as if in response, a spark also rose from Rachel's hand.
It was then.
"Aaah!"
Rachel let out a short scream and burrowed into my arms, whimpering.
"My hand, fire is coming out of my hand! Sister, I'm scared. Ugh..."
Oh no! I urgently hugged Rachel. Having lost her memory, Rachel seemed unaware that fire was her power.
"Oh my god!"
I shouted with a surprised look on my face. Actually, I wasn't that surprised since I had expected it, but I pretended to be completely unfazed. It's strange to do that too.
"Surprised, weren't you? It's okay, it's okay. Here. Let's hold hands."
I patted Rachel's back as if to calm her down and held her hand as I always did. The coldness emanating from my body cooled Rachel's fever.
"Ruby?"
"Ah. Zion."
Just then, Zion called out to Rachel with a confused look on his face. I turned my head toward where Zion was.
'I guess it might be a bit scary.'
Zion was purity itself. It was no wonder he was surprised to see fire, which he had only ever seen in a furnace, shooting out of his hands.
It was just when I was about to add an explanation to help Zion understand.
"Zion..."
Rachel reached out her hand toward Zion.
"Hold my hand. I'm so scared."
Rachel spoke with a frightened expression, her eyes drooping at the corners. There was also a hint of desperation on her face. It seemed she relied on us just that much.
Zion pointed at himself with his hand and asked back like a fool.
“Me too?”
Rachel twitched her eyebrows. At that, Zion flinched.
'I guess it's because he's afraid of fire.'
I said soothingly.
"It's okay. Nothing bad will happen. Hurry up and hold it, Zion. Ruby is scared."
"Sister, I'm scared..."
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
“Why do I..."
At my urging, Zion took Rachel's other hand with a bewildered look on his face.
Rachel held my brother and my hands tightly, as if handling a comfort doll.
Faced with this absurd situation, Noelier could only move his beautiful lips and could not easily continue speaking.
“What the hell..."
He, who had only come to find his younger sibling, instantly became a fire-breathing monster sent to shatter the peace of the three of us.
***
Noelier looked at us with a bewildered expression.
'I feel a bit sorry for some reason.'
In the end, I explained what had happened.
It was just around the time when Rachel, who had collapsed alone in the forest, couldn't remember anything, and he had finished saying that he had no choice but to take her along.
"What on earth happened..."
For a moment, a murderous glint flickered in Noelier's red eyes.
I thought I heard the words 'damn wolf cubs' for a moment, but I tried hard to dismiss the voice as a hallucination.
I couldn't show that I was flustered.
I'm just a 'human who ended up living here by chance.' I'm definitely not a wolf. Hmm. Then. Of course.
Just as I was hypnotizing myself, Noelier, having dropped his fierce gaze, cautiously opened his mouth.
"...Isn’t it nothing?"
"Yes?"
When I tilted my head as if asking what he meant, Noelier fell silent. I realized the meaning of that silence.
He mistook me for a kidnapper and tried to kill me.
Through his red eyes, one could read his determination to unleash fire from his body.
However, Noelier could not kill me.
The flames that surrounded me subsided in an instant the moment I grabbed him. As if nothing had happened.
'How on earth?'
I thought of Noelier from the original work. His life, which was a little longer than my one-line death.
Befitting the leader of the South, Noelier was described as a figure possessing magical powers that no one could rival.
Born with a single heart, he used his innate magical power to control his heat.
That was the reason he, with his single heart, had been able to survive until now without a partner.
However, to put it another way, it also meant that control became impossible after emotions broke down.
'To think I ignited a fire that even its owner could barely control...'
No matter how much I thought about it, it was clearly a fascinating thing.
'If I had to guess the possibility, maybe it's because of the ice magic I have?'
However, all I could do with ice magic was make ice flowers bloom and create icicles.
That was the reason I attacked people with frozen apples as well. With the magic I possessed, it was difficult enough just to protect myself.
'Besides, there must be plenty of more skilled ice mages out there.'
What could be the reason? I was lost in thought.
Noelier seemed to share my thoughts, narrowing his brows and deep in thought while fiddling with the wrist that I had grabbed.
I could read confused emotions in that beautiful face. I slowly parted my lips.
"I think it might be because of the ice magic I possess. As you know, there are many wolves with ice abilities in the North."
“Then, you..."
In an instant, his eyes darkened. I composed my expression, pretending nothing was wrong. If I panicked, it would be no different than shouting, 'I'm a wolf.'
"I know what you are thinking. But I am a wolf..."
I slowly trailed off. After all, when deceiving someone with lies, you have to maintain a cautious yet confident attitude for it to work well.
I recalled the lies I had practiced countless times.
I am not a wolf, but a human. Both my mother and father were human, and they gave birth to me here. Trapped by the wolves, I could not easily escape this forest.
Yeah, just this much of a lie.
Even if he thought, 'Something's off,' he couldn't point out that flaw to me, the one who had looked after Rachel. This is the Old Atomic Buff!
Just as I parted my lips to reveal my false existence.
“Sister...!”
Rachel hurriedly tugged at the hem of my clothes. Thanks to that, the lie that had been swirling in my mouth snapped abruptly.
"Brother, no, that person is so scary."
Previous Next
Comments
Post a Comment