6

"See you later, Lily."

Dania smiled as she patted Lily's head.

"Okay! Come back safely, sis."

Clack.

As soon as the door closed, Lily's smile vanished instantly.

The warmth that filled the room moments ago had disappeared, leaving only a chilling atmosphere behind.

***

'Did I just… use my power?'

Though it was only for a brief moment, I activated my unique ability.

When I snapped back to my senses after Charlie's words clouded my mind, I saw a large crack and my foot stuck in between.

'I was angry, but I didn't intend to kill anyone.'

Could it be that I can use my powers even without murderous intent, just by harboring hostility?

"Ahhh!"

Charlie, seemingly so shocked, must have forgotten how to walk on two legs and scampered away on all fours.

"W-What is this…?"

Charlie's face was filled with deep confusion as he still couldn't grasp what had just happened.

"Hmm…"

As I pondered how to explain it, I made eye contact with Charlie.

"Hiiik…!! I'm sorry! It was a lie!!! It was just my selfish desire!! Please, spare me just this once."

Charlie blurted out desperately.

So, it was a lie after all.

It was annoying, but I could understand.

In a place like this, someone as pretty as me must be a rare sight, so it kind of made sense that he would fall for me.

But still, it made me feel uncomfortable.

As I imagined a scene where a guy shyly confesses with a red face, anger began to simmer up again.

'I'm holding it in…'

It's frustrating, but if I saw a beautiful girl I'd never seen before and she claimed to have lost her memory, I might've made a similar mistake myself.

I calmed my anger and tried to pull my foot out by exerting some strength on my leg.

Huh?

"Urgh…!!"

It wouldn't budge.

"Hnngh…!"

No matter how hard I tried, my leg wouldn't move an inch.

"Hera…?"

Charlie's face, which had previously looked at me with fear, now held an expression that seemed to say, 'What are you even doing?'

"…Help me out a little here."

"You don't know how to get out of this either?"

Charlie, now a bit calmer, reverted back to speaking casually to me.

"Yeah. Sometimes this just happens without me knowing."

"Hmm… Did you take some kind of drug?"

There was no benefit in explaining my unique ability to Charlie, so I played dumb. It was also too bothersome to explain.

'There's no need to tell him.'

"Maybe it's related to the memory loss?"

"Oh."

The almighty excuse of amnesia.

There's no need to come up with any complicated explanations.

Since he's willing to try to figure out the situation for me, I just have to go along with it.

Charlie made various speculations on his own, but ultimately couldn't come to any conclusions. Realizing that thinking further wouldn't help, he sighed deeply in defeat.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"Huh?"

"You said you don't remember anything. Weren't you planning to recover your memories?"

"Hmm…"

What am I going to do now? I'm going to take down Bram, of course.

That's the plan, but Bram is sitting at the top of the hierarchy in this area. Even if I wanted to meet him, it wouldn't be easy.

Maybe if I start by taking out his lackeys one by one, I'll eventually get to him.

"For now, I'm going to focus on mastering this power."

Charlie nodded as if agreeing with my plan.

"Well… With that kind of power, at least you won't starve to death…"

Remembering what happened earlier, Charlie shuddered as he added the comment.

"Still, be careful. Things outside aren't looking good right now."

"Is something happening?"

Charlie lowered his voice as if he was about to say something important.

"There have been more and more bodies showing up on the streets, stabbed with knives. People think it's just another string of knife attacks, but I think it's different this time.

It's an intentional act of crime."

"Someone's deliberately committing murder?"

"Yeah. It's hard to notice because the bodies have been mutilated, but all of the recent victims have a stab wound in the same spot. Right at the back of the head."

"Were they ambushed?"

"Probably. I think the killer strikes the fatal blow in an initial ambush, then mutilates the body to make it look like an ordinary murder."

Hmm. That's scary.

"But how do you know all this?"

Charlie smirks at my question, puffing out his chest.

"I may not look it, but I'm pretty skilled, you know? Figuring this stuff out is easy for me. So, what do you think? A guy like me— hmm, hmm… Sorry."

Maybe he saw the look on my face, because he quickly corrected himself.

Still talking nonsense, huh? Annoying.

After a brief pause, Charlie continued.

"Oh, and there's one more thing. A headless body was found nearby."

What?

"I heard that the victim was someone from Bram's side. Seeing how he's released his men all over the streets to find the killer, they must've been close."

"That was probably me."

"So right now… huh? What did you say?"

Charlie blinked at me, dumbfounded.

"The headless body. I think I was the one who did that."

"What were you thinking!"

The moment I said I killed someone, Charlie jumped back, looking at me like I was some kind of lunatic.

Didn't this just happen earlier?

You sure get surprised easily, Charlie. With that much fear, do you think you could charm a pretty girl?

"I was defending myself! What, was I supposed to just stand there and get killed?"

"K-killed…"

So he's a bit of a romantic, huh? Charlie squeezed his eyes shut at my blunt statement.

"It actually works out for the best. I was planning to meet Bram anyway."

"Bram?! Are you insane? Do you even know what kind of guy he is?!"

"I think I could take down any kind of guy."

I clenched my fist, and Charlie flinched. But then he composed himself and looked at me again.

"Hera, Bram isn't like the common criminals running around here. He's the kind of guy who can subdue a wild monster with his bare hands. Even with your strength, going up against Bram is a bad idea."

To Charlie, Bram might seem like some kind of monster, but since I've read the novel, he doesn't scare me at all.

Compared to the protagonist, who slays countless monsters with a simple swing of his sword, or the heroine, who defeats demons with bizarre magic, Bram is just a background character. I can't imagine losing to him.

"I'll handle it. You don't need to worry about it."

Was I too cold? Charlie looked at me with hurt eyes, then sighed.

"Fine… It's none of my business, anyway. Do whatever you want. Whether you die or not, it doesn't concern me."

Ah. I think he's sulking. Seriously, a guy sulking over something like this? I quickly changed the subject.

"Let's stop talking about this. Just tell me what year it is."

"It's the 497th year of the Imperial Calendar."

He muttered, still grumbling. If it were a girl acting like this, maybe it'd be okay, but seeing a guy do it makes me want to punch him…

The 497th year of the Imperial Calendar… The main events of the novel didn't really start until the protagonist entered the academy in the 500th year.

'So we're still in the early stages. I thought I was further along in the story, but it hasn't even begun yet.'

This could mean I'd have to stay in Drax a few years longer than I thought. There were plenty of buildings around, so daily life wouldn't be a problem, but a few years here could get boring.

Well, what can I do? If I don't want to interfere with the protagonist, I'll have to keep a low profile.

'Though, I am curious to see the heroines' faces…'

It's not like I don't want to see the characters from the novel. I'm just holding back to keep the story on track. But once the protagonist completes his journey and peace is restored… maybe I'll go meet the heroines in person.

A saint, an elf, beastfolk, and all the other beautiful girls I've only read about. Seeing them for real might be the only reward I get in this world.

It'd be nice if we could be friends… or maybe even lovers… Oh, right, I've turned into a girl now.

Damn writer.

Besides, the protagonist will end up in a harem with all of them anyway, so there's no room for me. Damn protagonist.

Anyway, nothing changes.

I'll defeat Bram and live it up in the West.

With my goal in mind, I stood up quickly.

"Great! Shall we get started then?"

"Hmm? With what?"

Charlie tilted his head, looking at me curiously.

"What do you mean, 'with what?' I told you I'd make sure I could properly use my powers."

"…And?"

Charlie's eyes started to fill with unease. Oh, sharp instincts, huh?

"Well, we need to test them out."

"…No way."

I smiled with my eyes as I placed my hand on Charlie's shoulder, making sure he couldn't escape.

"You'll help me, right, Charlie?"

You like me, don't you? You can't even help with this?

Just like earlier. I think I can get the hang of it.

***

"The boss has ordered that nothing is to be done today."

A command given to Dania. No commotion, stay quiet.

"And the boss?"

"He went out into the streets."

Did he go to catch that girl? Bram was nowhere to be seen in the building.

The mysterious girl who suddenly appeared with extraordinary strength—Dania couldn't stop thinking about her.

'Is it because of Lily?'

Hoping that the girl was safe, Dania turned back towards home, her unexpected day off not feeling like much of a break.

'It's been a while since I've come home early… Lily will probably be happy.'

Dania thought about buying something on the way and stopped by her usual bakery to get Lily's favorite snack.

She imagined Lily smiling happily at the treat.

In this hellish world, Lily was her only refuge and source of joy.

For her younger sister, she would do anything.

'Academy enrollment starts at 17… If I can just endure for three more years…'

Three years. It was such a long time, but if it was for Lily, Dania could endure anything.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the front of their house.

Today, once again, Dania forced a smile onto her face as she prepared to greet Lily.

"Lily~ Sis is home."

But when she opened the door, what greeted her was…

"…Lily?"

Only the cold, lifeless air devoid of warmth.