The White Dog and the Red Rabbit
Werner, fully aware that the two would start fighting, had deliberately seated Glacia and Airi far apart from each other. While that might have prevented them from trading punches, he apparently hadn’t considered that it wouldn’t stop them from trading sharp words.
Airi was the first to speak.
“Hey.”
But Glacia simply shot her a look that said she had no interest in getting involved and turned her gaze toward the wall. It was an act dripping with contempt, essentially declaring that she would rather stare at a wall than waste her breath conversing with someone like Airi.
Airi had wanted to apologize. She knew what kind of feelings Glacia had harbored toward Werner before the regression. After all the battles had ended, Glacia had stayed in front of Werner’s grave, refusing to eat or drink until she wasted away and died. Airi hadn’t wanted to lose her teacher, but knowing just how deeply Glacia loved Werner… she felt guilty for ruining the long-awaited engagement ceremony.
Besides, although her relationship with Glacia hadn’t been particularly good, Airi still considered her a comrade who had endured hardships alongside her.
“…Hey, are you deaf? Red rabbit eyes over there.”
Red rabbit eyes was the nickname her comrades had given Glacia because of her white hair and red eyes that made her look like a rabbit. It had also been the codename Glacia used during infiltration missions, so Airi had chosen it thinking it might be something she’d like.
“…..”
“The noble lady whose fiancé ran away when she was nine years old.”
Glacia had been fully intent on ignoring everything Airi said, but the moment she heard the accusation of impersonating a fiancée, she snapped. After all, she was officially—and in the ‘physical’ sense—Werner’s fiancée. The fact that Airi, whom she viewed as a parasite leeching off Werner’s life, would dare criticize her clearly rubbed her the wrong way.
“How dare a lowly milk cow open her mouth like that.”
“What did you just call me? A milk cow?”
“Lord Zeke is a hero of outstanding character, and Lady Media is wise and kind… so I can’t help but wonder how such an ignorant cow like you could have come from them.”
“Don’t insult my mom and dad. I’ll kill you.”
“I was insulting you. To think you’re so dense you couldn’t even understand that. So the only thing you inherited from Lady Media was an oversized chest? Did you leave all the wisdom and character behind in her womb?”
Glacia’s criticism was razor-sharp. If one were to unpack what she had said, it essentially meant, Your parents are such wonderful people, so how did you turn out like this? Did you leave all the good parts inside your mother’s womb when you came into the world?
Of course, Airi understood the meaning behind the insult perfectly. Burning with anger, she decided to return exactly what she had received.
“Hey, want to hear an interesting story?”
“……”
After spewing out that tirade, Glacia had turned her head back toward the wall and was staring at it again. It was complete and utter disregard for another human being, but Airi simply smiled and began telling her ‘interesting story.’
“In the city where my teacher and I used to live, there was this famous dog. It was a really pretty white dog.”
“…And?”
“But even though it didn’t have an owner, it would just stand in the same spot, always staring in the same direction. When I asked the auntie at the nearby shop, she told me it had been abandoned by its owner eight years ago.”
“What a cruel owner. To abandon such a loyal dog.”
“But that white dog kept waiting for its owner to return, wagging its tail for eight whole years. Everyone around thought it had been abandoned, but in its own mind, it seemed to believe its owner had just stepped away for a little while.”
Glacia suddenly felt a wave of discomfort. Perhaps it was because something about the story felt strangely familiar. She stopped staring at the wall and began looking directly at Airi’s face.
“…Continue.”
“So that dog waited in the same spot for eight years like an idiot, believing its owner would come back. Foolishly unaware that it had been abandoned.”
“……”
Glacia’s suspicion was slowly turning into certainty.
“Then one day, the owner finally appeared. And in his arms was a brown puppy that was younger and cuter than the white dog.”
“And what did the white dog do when it saw that?”
“It ran up to him, still believing it was his dog. Completely oblivious to the fact that it had been abandoned, not understanding what it meant that its owner hadn’t come looking for it in eight years. It was honestly pitiful, the way it kept wagging its tail.”
Airi smiled brightly as she delivered the story. One of her personal creeds was to repay everything done to her, so she felt incredibly refreshed right now—almost like she wanted to dance.
“That’s… quite a sad story. Still, maybe the owner had circumstances that prevented him from coming back for the white dog… Isn’t it possible he might have taken it back?”
“No. That was just a delusion the white dog had all by itself. You stupid white bitch.”
The insult was clearly directed at Glacia. She shot up from her seat, reaching for her sword.
“You damn milk cow…”
“Oh my, I was just talking about a famous dog from the city where I lived with our ‘teacher’ for fifteen years. Why are you reacting like this? Did you perhaps project yourself onto that story…?”
Airi covered her mouth lightly with her fingers and giggled. It wasn’t even that funny, but she laughed to provoke Glacia.
“Ah… now that I think about it, the situations are pretty similar. That dog and you…”
“You dare run your mouth when you don’t even know who caused Werner to suffer so much…”
“Obviously it was your fault. Trying to force someone into an engagement… How are you any different from those perverted nobles in romance novels who forcibly take powerless women? Oh, and in those novels, those nobles usually end up getting their heads chopped off, don’t they?”
No one had ever told Airi the reason Werner had lost his ability to use Grand Magic before the regression. It had been the final consideration for a girl who loved her teacher, and a form of respect for Werner, who had wanted to preserve his love even if it meant hiding the truth.
Despite that, Airi had threatened a god to turn back time, sacrificing the vast majority of her mana and many other things. Even now, she was strong enough, but if it had been like the old days, she could have easily subdued Glacia, Melissa, and Melchior—even if the entire family came at her at once.
Airi swallowed the metallic taste of blood in her mouth and thought to herself.
The burden of turning back time still remains. Every time I fall asleep, the throbbing pain returns. But even so, when I think of Teacher’s face, his voice, his scent… I can endure it.
‘It’s possible to fool the pathetic measuring tools at the adventurers’ guild… but fighting her is still annoying. The side effects are still pretty severe… In the past, I would have broken her arm instantly.’
The god who had appeared before Airi had asked if she truly wanted to turn back time. He had warned her that some people only end up with regrets even after doing so. But Airi had instead threatened the god and demanded he reverse time. With a sigh, the god had granted her wish.
The burden of reversing time was still there, causing sharp pain that stabbed at her every time she fell asleep. Yet whenever she recalled her teacher’s face, voice, and scent, she could bear it.
‘I have to keep acting like the clumsy disciple I used to be so Teacher doesn’t suspect anything… I’ve been holding back so I don’t accidentally show any guilt or regret…’
Airi regretted not doing everything in her power to stop Werner from being kidnapped that day.
But then Glacia had approached her and whispered.
“It seems you’re deliberately hiding your true strength in front of Lord Werner… If you don’t want me to reveal that fact, then behave yourself and leave quietly, won’t you?”
At the time, Airi’s mind had gone completely blank, forcing her to yield to Glacia’s threat. But after hearing from Camelia, it seemed Werner had already known about Airi’s true strength. And yet he still didn’t suspect her, which meant she hadn’t needed to worry so much after all.
Grinding her teeth, Airi had rushed all the way to the north, and that was how the current situation had come about.
Glacia’s anger had shot up to the top of her head for a moment, but she let out a sigh and sat back down. Airi had been planning to deliberately let Glacia hit her a few times, then tattle to Werner that Glacia had beaten her when he returned. It was a shame that Glacia had seen through the plan and backed off.
“It was my mistake to even try talking to a lowly milk cow like you.”
“As if you’d know any better.”
Thinking that Glacia’s insufferable personality was still the same as ever, Airi turned her head toward the door. She waited impatiently for Werner to open that door and come back.
Soon the door opened, and the two women who had gone out to fight along with the two men who had gone to stop them returned. But Airi’s expectations were cruelly shattered.
What appeared before Airi and Glacia was Werner, unconscious and bleeding from the mouth, being carried by Melchior.