The Spirit's Whisper
"What… what the hell……"
I couldn't believe my eyes. It felt as if the grizzly bear had simply vanished from right in front of me. An illusion? The sight was so impossible that I almost preferred to believe I'd hallucinated the whole thing.
Tree roots writhing like living things. The earth splitting open on its own. And now, as though nothing had happened at all, the forest had fallen silent once more. The sudden return to stillness only made my skin crawl.
Shivering with fear, I sank to the ground and stared blankly at the spot where the grizzly bear had been. I didn't dare move. One wrong step and I might end up just like it.
Rustle……!
"Ugh……!!"
I swallowed the scream that tried to escape and whipped my head toward the sound. My nerves were already stretched to the breaking point; even the smallest noise set me on edge. Was it the owner of that voice from earlier? Another monster? Or had the knights already caught up to me?
But what stepped out from between the bushes was a person. Not just any person—one I recognized. Someone I never expected to see here.
"……Lady Ophelia?"
"……"
Fiery red hair and crimson eyes. She narrowed those eyes at me, her usual sullen expression in place. She was probably trying to remember who I was. That was just like her—utterly indifferent to anything that didn't catch her interest.
Meeting her at all had only been possible because of my parents. Our first encounter hadn't left the best impression, though we'd only met twice. Ophelia had always favored those with exceptional magical talent—people overflowing with ability or steeped in theory. That was why she'd liked my mother and father. The fact that she didn't remember me meant……
She must have already seen it.
That my talent was the worst.
I smiled bitterly, fear momentarily forgotten, until her voice pulled me back to the present.
"……Calbrandt?"
"Yes, that's right."
After digging through her memory for quite some time, she seemed to place me. The way her brows stayed furrowed suggested she was still uncertain. That was how faint my presence was in her mind—despite two meetings and four days spent under the same roof.
I answered calmly and looked at her. I hadn't expected much anyway. I didn't know why she was here, but Ophelia wasn't the sort of person who helped others out of kindness. She wasn't cruel, either. She simply had no interest in doing anything that bored her or failed to spark her curiosity. Few people could live that way, but she was one of the rare few who could.
"……What was that just now? Did you do it?"
Exactly the reaction I'd expected. Instead of asking why I was here or warning me that the forest was dangerous at night, she went straight to what interested her. It was a perfect snapshot of who Ophelia was.
"I don't know. I heard a voice by my ear, and then something attacked the grizzly bear and it disappeared."
I explained the situation as calmly as I could. Even if she hadn't cared about my answer, I still hoped she might know something about what had happened. Ghosts? Demons? Those were the only possibilities that came to mind. I didn't believe in ghosts, and demons were creatures from ancient texts, but nothing else explained what I'd seen.
"……You heard a voice?"
"Yes."
Part of me had wanted her to dismiss it as nothing—just a trick of the mind or an auditory hallucination. Without that reassurance, I wasn't sure I could keep going through this forest. But Ophelia only frowned, her expression turning grave.
"That child was definitely…… So that's why……?"
She muttered to herself, lost in thought. I stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue. Truthfully, I couldn't move even if I'd wanted to. I was terrified that whatever had taken the bear might come for me next.
"……Follow me."
After a moment of contemplation, she looked at me and spoke.
"Is it safe to move?"
"……I have no idea what you're talking about. Just hurry up and come along."
She gave me a baffled look. Swallowing hard, I nodded and began following her. This wasn't the situation I'd planned for, but right now it was the best outcome I could hope for. Whatever had piqued her curiosity, as long as I stayed by her side, nothing would dare touch me.
Ophelia, the Archmage. That was the weight her name carried. Even the empire's highest nobles wouldn't dare lay a hand on her. Not even the emperor would risk fabricating charges against her. In a world where magic itself kept everything running, an Archmage was untouchable.
Ophelia strode forward on her long legs, pushing through the undergrowth. I quickened my pace to keep up, worried I'd lose her. Her steps were thoughtless and inconsiderate, but that was just like her. I was mulling over that pointless thought when I noticed her pace had slowed slightly.
……Must be my imagination.
Of course it was. Ophelia had no reason to show consideration for anyone, least of all me. She hadn't even recognized me properly when we'd first met. And now that she was here in this forest……
She probably doesn't know what happened to the family, either.
The lord and lady of House Calbrandt were dead. And that I possessed no magical talent whatsoever. Though, now that I thought about it, she'd probably already seen that last part for herself.
I smiled wryly at the thought. Then her voice drifted back from ahead.
"……Come in."
Ophelia opened the door to a small cabin and spoke. It looked like an ordinary, modest cabin, but I could feel the magical barriers woven around it. Even without talent, the warning was unmistakable: an Archmage lived here—do not trespass. I swallowed and stepped inside as instructed, trying not to imagine what would happen if I ignored that warning.
"……"
Once inside, I barely managed to stifle a gasp as I took in the interior. Incredible. From the outside it had seemed tiny, but the inside was as spacious as a proper mansion. A crackling fireplace drove away the night's chill, a large and plush sofa sat invitingly, and a soft carpet covered the floor with a small table in front of it. Everything needed for comfort had been prepared. It wasn't an illusion shrinking the exterior—it was expansion magic enlarging the interior. Knowing how difficult that spell was, I was reminded once again of an Archmage's greatness.
"Now, explain it again. What exactly happened?"
Ophelia had already settled into the finest seat on the sofa, her eyes gleaming with interest. She hadn't even given me time to sit. I thought for a moment about what she meant by "it," then recalled the events in the forest and answered calmly.
"It's exactly as I told you earlier."
"More details."
"……Even if you want details, that's all there is. I entered the forest, ran into the grizzly bear, and right before it reached me I heard a voice. Then something swallowed the bear whole."
"Swallowed it?"
"……More like buried it, I suppose."
If the earth had been alive, it would have been swallowing. If not, then burying. Either way, Ophelia still looked unconvinced.
"The tree roots wrapped around the bear's entire body, and the ground split open and pushed it inside."
I described everything I'd seen in detail. Ophelia's eyes lit up, and she licked her lips. The gesture felt strangely sensual, and I swallowed without thinking. She curled the corner of her mouth upward.
"……Found it."
Found it? Found what……?