The Truth Revealed by Light

"Annette. She's talkative... and she had long hair tied back... with dimples on both cheeks when she smiles... Hmm, probably two or three years older than me?"

I asked the kids one more time.

"I really have no idea..."

"Have you seen her before?"

"No, I've never seen a girl like that either."

The children looked at each other's faces again and shook their heads.

Is my memory wrong?

But it was too vivid to dismiss as a simple mistake. I'd eaten lunch here with Annette and the other kids just a few days ago, and we'd gone to Eggnew Village together.

If anything, my memory was tampered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with... This isn't something I can brush off as an illusion.

I scanned the kids once more. They were sharing the leftover desserts and chatting casually—no signs of putting on an act to prank me or hiding something.

Doesn't seem like the kids are playing a joke...

As I searched for anything unusual about them, my gaze naturally drifted to a certain part of the children.

The Mark of Faith...

On the napes of their necks, the marks they'd received from the nuns that morning stood out clearly.

Could the reason the kids suddenly forgot Annette be connected to these marks?

The Mark of Faith was definitely a buff that boosted resistance to illusions and mental manipulation.

Does that mean the kids... have been under an illusion all this time? Or maybe it's me.

Either way, an ominous feeling crept over me that something was happening in the monastery.

"...Ugh, my stomach's churning..."

At that moment, one child clutched her belly and spoke in agony. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her face had gone pale.

"Huh... Now that you mention it, my stomach hurts too..."

"...I'm gonna go to the bathroom..."

"...Ugh, my head's spinning too."

One by one, the kids shoved back their chairs and staggered to their feet. As more children suddenly complained of pain, the dining hall erupted into chaos in an instant. Some buried their faces on the tables and groaned; others dropped plates to the floor and collapsed to their knees.

"What's wrong with everyone!?"

"Hold on! I'll go get a nun right now!"

The children's voices tangled and echoed through the hall. The dining hall turned into pandemonium in seconds.

"..."

Come to think of it... my stomach was starting to ache too. Nausea roiled inside me like my guts were twisting, cold sweat poured from my body, and my legs grew weak.

The infirmary reeked of medicine and stale sweat. Children lay on every bed, moaning, with occasional labored gasps escaping their lips.

The nun who'd finished her examination lowered her hands and approached me and Isaac, who were sitting unscathed near the entrance.

"It's severe food poisoning."

She said it flatly, but her eyes quickly scanned us.

"You ate food from Eggnew Village and collapsed?"

"Yes... I'm sorry."

Isaac bowed deeply, his voice barely a crawl. His small shoulders slumped and trembled.

"You went to Eggnew Village two days ago, right? ...Did you eat the same things?"

"...There were a lot of different foods... I'm not sure if we ate the same ones."

I answered first.

"I see. What about you?"

But her gaze was fixed on Isaac, not me.

"I didn't eat it."

"Why not?"

Her voice dropped low and sharp, pressing him.

"I... I ate a lot at breakfast already."

"Breakfast? So you're saying it was fine then? Is that the excuse you want to make?"

"...That's not it..."

Isaac's voice lost strength and trailed off.

"It might've been okay in the morning but spoiled by lunch. You always have to be careful with food."

"...I'm sorry."

"Don't ever eat old food again! And don't share it! Got it!?"

"Yes..."

The nun straightened rigidly in her chair and stood.

"Isaac, the abbess wants to see you. Go."

"Yes..."

"Teresa... how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Good. Then go back to your training. If your stomach feels queasy or anything seems off, tell your supervising nun right away."

"Yes."

As we left the infirmary, Isaac approached me with his head hung low.

"Sorry..."

Instead of replying, I turned my gaze to the mark engraved on his nape.

That mark... it glowed when I touched it, right?

I stepped closer to him.

"...T-Teresa?!"

"Hold still for a sec."

"...O-Okay... alright."

He must've thought I was about to hit him—he tensed up, thrust his face forward like he was offering it for a slap, and squeezed his eyes shut.

Sigh... I'm such a pacifist... Whatever, this actually makes it easier.

I placed my hand on Isaac's nape.

Not him...

But this incident felt too contrived to be mere coincidence. Or was someone else involved?

"Teresa?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not gonna hit me?"

"I never planned to in the first place?"

Only then did Isaac relax a bit, letting out a sigh of relief.

"You're not mad at me?"

"Well... if you'd done it on purpose, I'd be furious... Hmm, but it doesn't seem intentional. I'm trying not to jump to conclusions."

"I see... You're pretty cautious, Teresa... Didn't expect that."

"You picking a fight right now?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, and he panicked, waving his hands frantically.

"No! I mean... I just saw a new side of you... It's surprising... or maybe a little happy... Anyway... sorry."

"Fine. Apologize properly to the other kids when they wake up."

"Yeah... I'll head out then."

He left first, and I headed to the stables for training.

Today's session was the same as last time: tending to the animals.

By some prank of fate, the animal assigned to me today was Dulri, the donkey I'd handled before. As I brushed her fur, I chatted with her.

"Come to think of it, you're... friends with Isaac, right?"

Dulri turned her head slightly, flicking her ears back in a "not really" gesture.

"Yeah... figures, with your personality."

She rolled her eyes dramatically and shook her body as if denying it.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I ignored her and continued.

"Hmm, anyway. Seen anyone suspicious around the monastery?"

Dulri perked her ears once more, leaned against me slightly, and gave me a look that said, 'That's you.'

"...Wanna die?"

She pursed her lips defiantly, lifted her head proudly, and struck a challenging pose.

I didn't need to check—I could guess what she was thinking.

"...Sigh, whatever."

I sighed, ignored her, and hurried to finish the work. It went much smoother than last time.

After reporting to the stablemaster, I headed back to the infirmary.

I knocked on the infirmary door, but no answer came.

"...Excuse... me."

I cautiously opened the door and peeked inside. Only the recently carried-in children were there—the supervising nun must've stepped out.

Perfect timing.

I approached the nearest child. Most were asleep, but even in slumber, they writhed and moaned. Their limbs twitched faintly in evident agony.

No matter how I look at it, this is too severe for simple food poisoning...

I carefully placed my hand on the child's nape.

Not this one...

I went to each child in turn, touching their napes the same way.

"..."

Finally, when I touched one child's neck, no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠light emanated from it at all.

Found you.