A Long Way to Go
A Long Way to Go
Inside the car, on the way back to the Academy.
Claire, hands on the wheel, stole a glance at the rearview mirror. The quiet atmosphere was unchanged from the drive to the auction house.
The girl who'd looked a little dazed ever since she first stepped onto the stage.
Her shabby appearance, her frame smaller than other kids her age, her gaunt body—Claire didn't need to investigate to understand what kind of treatment she'd received at that facility.
Maybe that was why.
Whether it was exhaustion weighing heavier than any worry about what lay ahead, or whether the girl was just naturally spacey—
The child dozed in the man's arms, clutching his large hand tightly as she drifted off.
The man simply stared at her face.
'Maybe I should've kept him alive and locked up after all.'
No matter how she looked at it, the way he treated the child in his arms was anything but ordinary. As if handling a truly precious treasure. Every movement was so careful that Claire could sense a level of caution she'd never once felt from him before.
'It'll be fine.'
If he'd intended that, he would've given the order before leaving the auction house. Claire was sure of it.
'No signs of abuse, either.'
In the first place, there was no reason to damage the value of goods meant for auction—whatever their intended use.
Claire pulled her gaze from the rearview mirror and faced forward again.
The Academy, a place no different from a small city of its own.
The boundary wall that separated it from the outside world came into view.
Thirty meters high. A wall that Enhancement-type Awakened of sufficient level could scale without difficulty.
But there was nothing to worry about.
That tall wall on the surface was, quite literally, just a wall.
What actually protected Arena Academy was what lay beyond it—a thin, dome-shaped membrane.
One of the Academy's defining symbols: it never permitted unauthorized entities inside, and it repelled every form of magic.
What kind of magic was it? Was it even magic at all?
Something unknown, whose structure even the renowned and rigid mages of the Clock Tower had failed to analyze.
Some called it the power of an ancient Artifact. Others said it was one of the Chairman's unique abilities.
Only the Chairman who founded Arena Academy would know the truth—and he clearly had no intention of discussing it.
Claire gradually slowed the car and turned her eyes back to the rearview mirror.
The child was completely conked out, drool and all. The man, unbothered, kept staring intently at her face.
The checkpoint drew closer.
The vehicle was registered under the temple, so normally they could pass straight through into the Academy without stopping. Both the driver and the man were already registered, after all.
But there was a new passenger aboard now—and that passenger wasn't registered with the Academy. Which meant a pass was required.
'An apprentice priest should do.'
Claire was mentally constructing the girl's temporary identity when—
"Just drive through."
The man's soft voice, which hadn't spoken a word until now, reached her ears.
"I will."
Claire asked no questions and did exactly as he wished.
The car reached the checkpoint. The scanner registered the license plate, and the gate swung open at the same moment.
The stopped vehicle slowly accelerated and passed through.
Nothing went wrong.
No alarm sounded. The child wasn't repelled or ejected.
'...Is he acquainted with the Chairman?'
A Black Ring.
This man of unknown identity wore a ring that seemed to hold the night sky itself, drawing the eye.
The god had called him Disaster, yet the man with the child in his arms looked like nothing more than a slightly unusual adult.
Having finished her observations, Claire pulled smoothly into the temple's designated parking area, parked, and unfastened her seat belt.
She looked into the rearview mirror and spoke.
"What sort of documents should I prepare for the child?"
"Guardian."
Claire nodded.
"The documents can be prepared within an hour. In the meantime, at our temple—"
"No. I'll visit the temple tomorrow."
"Understood."
The man wiped the child's drool with his hand and looked up.
"Do you take your meals at the temple?"
"Yes. Everyone, myself included, eats within the temple."
"Good. Then prepare enough of what you enjoy eating—enough to cover tomorrow morning as well."
"What I... enjoy eating."
"Is it unsuitable for a child?"
"No. Not at all. A child could also... honestly, it would be easier and better for her."
"I'll leave it to you, then."
The man stepped out of the car with the child still cradled in his arms.
Claire, briefly flustered by his unexpected request, quickly regained her composure and followed him out.
"Where should I bring it?"
"The Infinite Labyrinth."
His answer caught Claire off guard again.
That was a place she, too, had once challenged—and failed.
**
"She sleeps well."
Did she even know what kind of person I was, to sleep with such a peaceful face?
I shut the door and hung the coat I'd draped over the child on a hook. Then I gave her body—dozing off as if she didn't have a care in the world—a light shake.
"......?"
Her gently closed lids lifted.
Between the long bangs, clear, transparent eyes blinked once, then rolled upward to look at me.
"Walk on your own now."
"......'Kay."
She answered shortly, voice still half-drowned in sleep.
I set her down. She stood steady on both feet. The only thing that nagged at me was that she still wouldn't let go of my hand.
'First, she needs a wash.'
The grime was secondary—hygiene came first.
Magic was an option, but magic wasn't omnipotent. Washing with actual water felt fundamentally different.
"Keep up."
"'Kay."
Maybe she'd woken up properly now—she looked at me with bright, alert eyes and gave a big nod.
'The glasses... is it because of the glasses?'
I didn't know the reason, but it was a relief that she seemed to accept me so easily.
Holding her small hand, I headed straight for the bathroom.
The house wasn't large, but it had everything it needed.
Shaaaaah—
Water streamed from the showerhead.
Steam soon began rising from the spray.
"Wow."
The child, who'd followed me into the bathroom still clad in her rags, stared at the hot water pouring from the showerhead and gave my hand a small tug.
"The water's warm."
"So it is."
"At the place I was before, it was always cold."
"......So that's why you didn't wash."
"Yeah. Hate winter 'cause it's cold. Summer's good 'cause it's cool."
An utterly simple reason.
The facility that gave children that kind of environment in this weather was the real problem, of course.
"You know how to wash, right?"
"I know."
"Then wash up and come out."
"'Kay."
She immediately tossed the rags she was wearing onto the bathroom floor and climbed into the tub. I gathered up the fallen scraps and stepped out.
'Should I... keep these for now?'
Throwing them away could wait. Things thrown away were hard to retrieve.
'I should ask for clothes when the food comes.'
The only thing that might fit her was a shirt, so I brought that back to the bathroom.
—All done!!
"Dry off and come out."
—Okaaay~
"......."
Something about this felt strange.
Maybe the warm water had put her in a good mood. The cheerful child opened the bathroom door and stepped out—and I frowned.
Her hair was still a tangled mess, and the smell hadn't faded.
"What?"
"......Get back in."
I took her back into the bathroom and showed her, step by step, how to wash properly. What to use on her hair, what to apply to her body. And most importantly—
"Aaaahhh!! My eyes sting!!"
"......Haa."
—I taught her exactly what happens when you don't close your eyes tight.
After finishing her second shower, she sat on a chair wearing my shirt.
"Mm-hmm-hmm~"
She swung her legs back and forth, basking in the warmth of my hands and the gentle breeze as I dried her hair.
—Growl.
I don't feel hunger. So this sound obviously came from the stomach of the child in the chair.
But the little one showed a slightly unexpected reaction.
She'd dozed off in my arms without a care, spoken casually without lowering her guard, said whatever was on her mind. I'd assumed the moment she got hungry, she'd demand food.
"Mmm......."
Instead, she just stopped swinging her legs. She didn't ask me for a thing to eat.
Something tightened in my chest. I let out a sigh of a different sort.
"If you're hungry, it's okay to say so."
"......Really?"
"Yes."
She turned from where she sat, looked up at me, and then shook her head.
"No. 'S okay. They said food's 'spensive. I know that."
"......."
What could a kid who didn't even know how to wash her hair possibly "know"?
Just as I was about to rest my hand on her unkempt white hair—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
—It's Claire. I've brought what you requested.
Claire, cloaked in my mana, had passed through the Infinite Labyrinth.
"Wait here quietly."
"'Kay."
I left her for a moment and headed to the front door.
Claire was already there with the door open, waiting.
As I approached, she held out a slightly large paper bag.
"What you requested."
I took the bag and checked the contents.
A brightly colored cereal box and two cartons of milk.
"......You enjoy light fare, I see."
"Please keep this from becoming known to others."
I had nothing particular to say to that, so I nodded.
"I'll ask for a set of clothes tomorrow as well."
"I'll prepare a few sets. Simple girls' clothing."
"Until tomorrow, then."
"Yes. Have a pleasant evening."
Claire left her polite farewell and departed.
'Well. It's certainly something a child would enjoy more.'
This hadn't been my intention, but it suited the situation well enough. I took the bag to the kitchen.
Then I prepared the cereal in an adult-sized bowl and brought it back to where the child was waiting.
"Gulp......."
The moment she saw what I was holding, she swallowed hard, her dangling legs beneath the chair beginning to sway.
Her gaze wouldn't leave the bowl. I placed the cereal in front of her and pressed a spoon into her small hands.
She held the bowl between her two balled-up fists, drool pooling in her mouth. Then her blue eyes darted toward me again and again, gauging my reaction.
【Really... you're giving this to me?】
【Thank you. I'll eat it well.】
【......That bread you gave me back then. It was good.】
All I'd done was give up a single piece of bread. And Wolf—the girl—had tried to save my life for it. Sacrificing herself.
'Never again.......'
I let the unbidden memory drift past and spoke.
"Don't worry about watching me. Just eat."
"......Really?"
"Yes."
When I nodded once more, a huge smile spread across her face. And then.
Splat—!!
She face-planted straight into the cereal bowl.
"Pwah~!!"
She lifted her head, gasped for air.
Splat—!!
And slammed her face right back down.
I watched this entire sequence unfold, then quietly closed my eyes.
'A long way to go.'