Dania
Dania
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The steady rapping of fingers against a desk filled the room.
At the source of the sound sat a massive man, lounging with bored indifference as he regarded the woman standing before him.
"My hearing's not what it used to be. Mind saying that again?"
"…The killer possesses the physical strength to overpower an adult man with ease. According to the accounts, he is a tall man nearly two meters in height."
The giant of a man found the woman truly brazen.
"Heh heh… Is that so? And have you pinpointed this man's location?"
"My apologies. We are still searching for information regarding his whereabouts."
The woman bowed her head, looking genuinely contrite as she begged forgiveness.
"Hmm…"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The man mulled it over for a moment, then lifted the desk as lightly as if it were a feather.
"Seems people everywhere are starting to take me lightly."
"…Boss?"
In the blink of an eye, the desk came flying straight at the woman's face, accompanied by the man's smile.
"…!"
Unable to dodge, she threw her arms up to shield her head—
CRASH.
"Guh—!"
She couldn't absorb the impact. She crumpled straight to the floor.
"Wouldn't you agree, Dania?"
"Kh… Boss… What is the meaning of…"
"A girl with monstrous strength."
"…!"
"The story I heard and the story you just told me seem very different, don't they?"
"So you already knew…"
"Kahaha! Did you think you were my only subordinate?"
The massive man—Bram—seized Dania by the hair and yanked her head up so she was forced to look at him.
"Ugh!"
"Why would a clever little thing like you do something this stupid?"
"…"
"Looking at that girl made you think of your little sister, did it?"
As if proving him right, Dania's pupils began to tremble violently.
Bram wrenched her hair even harder.
"Even knowing you want me dead, do you know why I keep you around?"
"Aaagh—!!"
"Because you're a competent subordinate who gets things done? Or because you're one of the few mana users left in this city?"
"Let—go of me!"
Dania glared up at Bram with her eyes wide open.
"That little sister you treasure far more than your own life."
"Ruining her would be nothing to me."
The moment Bram released her hair, Dania's head dropped toward the floor with enough force to crack against it.
"You know that too. That's why you pretend to obey me so meekly."
"Hic… hhuk…"
"Tsk. Filthy."
Bram flicked the torn strands of hair from his hand and strode out the door.
"I'll let it slide this once. You'd do well to make sure nothing like this happens again."
If she wanted her little sister to stay safe, that is.
In the place he left behind with a smile, nothing remained but a woman's wretched sobbing.
Trudge. Trudge.
Dania walked with exhausted steps. A deep sorrow and helplessness clouded her eyes.
After walking for some time, a shabby, dilapidated house came into view. It was a flimsy building that barely held its shape—but to Dania, it was a precious home.
I can't let Lily see me like this.
Slap.
Dania struck both her cheeks with her hands, jolting herself free of her dark thoughts. She forced a smile onto her face and opened the door.
"Lily~ Unnie's home."
What greeted her when she opened the door was her little sister—so dear she could have held her in her eyes and never felt a sting.
"Unnie!!!"
Lily came running and threw herself into her arms.
"Why are you so late today…"
Stroking her hair, Dania answered,
"I'm sorry… Work ran long today. But in exchange, I'll cook those potatoes you love for dinner."
"Really? Unnie, you're the best!!"
Lily beamed up at her with a smile as bright as sunlight. Looking at that radiant expression, Dania felt tears welling up all over again before she could stop them.
After dinner, as Dania cleared the dishes, Lily came up to her.
"Unnie! I've got something to show off!"
Lily looked at Dania with a proud little smile.
"Oh? And what might that be~?"
"Hehe… Watch this!"
Lily picked up a kitchen knife and walked out into the open space. She squeezed her eyes shut, drew in a deep breath—
"Hyat!"
"…!"
—and swung the blade down in a sharp vertical arc.
At a glance it looked like nothing more than a simple swing. But to Dania's eyes, which could perceive mana, it was unmistakable.
"That magic you taught me—I can do it now too!"
Lily… used mana?
The technique Lily had just performed was a simple Enchant spell—imbuing a weapon with mana. Afraid that if anything ever happened to her there would be no one left to protect Lily, Dania had been teaching her mana control and self-defense whenever she could spare the time.
Fortunately, Lily had the talent to sense mana. A few more years of training, Dania had thought, and she would be able to use it properly.
But Lily could already channel mana and wield its power. It was proof of extraordinary talent.
A flicker of hope stirred in a corner of Dania's heart.
With this… it's possible.
The goal Dania had clenched her teeth and endured under Bram for—getting Lily into the Academy.
Regis Academy operated on pure merit. Anyone who could sense mana was qualified to enroll, and the institution held a firm principle of disregarding status entirely. Even Lily, who had lost her origins and held no standing whatsoever, could enter so long as she had the skill.
And once Lily was inside the Academy, Bram would no longer be able to lay a hand on her.
Dania pulled Lily into a tight embrace and praised her.
"My Lily. I'm so proud of you. Unnie is truly happy."
Lily giggled in her arms.
"If any bad people try to hurt you from now on, I'll teach them a lesson! Don't you worry!"
Perhaps it was the weight of the day she had endured. Lily's earnest words nearly brought the tears flooding back. Swallowing hard against the ones that threatened to spill over, Dania managed,
"Hic… I'm not worried at all!… Thanks to you, Lily… Thank you, Lily."
She smiled as brightly as her precious little sister.
That night, Dania was able to fall asleep with a smile on her face.
"Unnie… are you asleep…?"
Lily called softly to her sister. Exhausted as she was, her unnie was already deep in slumber.
She was definitely crying.
Her sister had tried her best to hide it, but she couldn't conceal the marks at the corners of her eyes—or the smell of blood clinging to her.
Lily bit down on her lip.
To grow stronger, Lily practiced the techniques her sister had taught her without rest whenever Dania was out at work. Until the day she could use mana herself.
"I'm going to kill him… I'm definitely going to kill him…"
No matter how strong that man was, he was still human. A knife driven into the back of his skull would end him all the same.
As she nurtured her hatred and steeled her resolve, the look in Lily's eyes was colder and sharper than anything Dania could have imagined.
.
.
.
"You're gonna pay me back, right?"
A boy was hounding me over a debt.
"I'll pay it back, okay…"
This was unfair.
In my entire life I had never once caused trouble over money. Why was I getting scolded over a debt I hadn't even borrowed?
Wait—is he just lying?
He could have fabricated a debt that never existed, taking advantage of my amnesia.
But he doesn't seem like a bad guy… He did give me bread earlier…
Ah, whatever.
Money? Fine! I'll just pay it back. A man can't be petty about something like this.
Once I figured out how to use my innate ability, money wouldn't be a problem anyway. What mattered more right now wasn't cash—it was information.
"I'll definitely pay you back. So help me recover my memories."
The boy stared at me for a long moment, then sighed.
"What do you wanna know?"
I listened carefully to every word he said.
The name of the body I had possessed was Hera. Apparently she had been working as a pickpocket around here for some time. Ah—and the boy who had given me bread was named Charlie.
Two years ago they had run into each other by chance while trying to steal each other's things, and after that they had met up now and then to talk. From the sound of it, Charlie and I had both been thieves with skilled hands.
The place we were in was called the lawless zone of Drax—specifically, the West District on its western side. And that district was ruled by a man called Bram, whose word was law in the West.
"So even if you're stealing, you absolutely cannot touch anyone connected to Bram."
Charlie crossed his arms in a big X, making a clear gesture of prohibition.
The lawless zone of Drax. I remembered it.
It was the name of the city that had collapsed while Athena was fighting the monster Argentina. She had slain the beast, but the city had been left in ruins. Deciding reconstruction was impossible, the Emperor had dumped Drax on Athena under the pretext of a reward for the monster subjugation.
But Athena, who cared nothing for others, paid no mind to the abandoned city or its citizens. Naturally, it had turned into a lawless zone.
In the novel, Drax was nothing more than one of Athena's shady backstory hooks.
It had been nothing but a device used for Athena's past arc.
Ah. Lily had been here too.
One of the heroines, Lily—her place of origin had also been Drax. A yandere assassin who always stuck close to the protagonist. After losing her older sister, her obsession with love had grown even worse, hadn't it?
In the last stretch of the novel I had read, there was a scene where Lily recoiled in horror at the sight of Athena—and through that, I had been certain Athena was the mastermind.
Anyway.
Drax was nothing more than a setting for characters' backstories. It had nothing to do with the protagonist whatsoever. Which made it the perfect place for my goal of not interfering with the protagonist's path.
Athena may have been the city's nominal administrator, but that girl didn't care about Drax in the slightest.
Perfect.
A plan for the future began to take shape in my mind.
First priority: I needed to be able to use my innate ability. If I could manage that much, I could live more than comfortably even here. Drax was a gathering place for destitute commoners with nowhere to go and criminals of middling skill. People like that stood no chance against someone with an innate ability.
And in a lawless zone like this, the strong made the rules. I would be able to enjoy quite a few privileges.
I'll settle in as top dog here, live easy, and wait until the protagonist reaches the ending.
Good.
A flawless plan.
I really am a genius, no doubt about—
"Hey!"
"Hweh?"
Charlie's voice yanked me straight out of my thoughts.
"You spacing out with your brain left somewhere else?"
"S-sorry. What did you say?"
"Haa… I said don't touch anyone connected to Bram."
"Ah…"
Sorry, Charlie… That's going to be difficult.
There can't be two suns in the sky. As long as Bram was standing tall, I wouldn't be able to enjoy a prosperous life here. For the sake of my happy plan, Bram was someone I would have to step on no matter what.
Besides, he was just another criminal. I felt no guilt whatsoever.
"Ahem. Ahem…"
Charlie cleared his throat a few times, then looked at me carefully as he spoke.
"…And there's something I couldn't say earlier."
"…?"
Sensing the sudden seriousness in Charlie's demeanor, I pricked up my ears and focused on his words.
"You won't remember this, but…"
"Yeah. What is it?"
He was about to tell me something I didn't know. Was there more debt left besides what I owed Charlie? That would be a little troublesome.
"You… actually…"
"Yeah."
Or maybe the opposite—maybe there was someone I had lent money to.
"You promised to marry me."
"……What?"
"You said you'd marry—"
BOOOOM.
"—m… guh—?!"
My leg buried itself deep into the left side of Charlie's face.
"Don't pull that crap on me."
Who the hell tries a cheap underhanded trick like that, you bastard.
…
Huh.
Just now.
I think I used my ability?