The Archipelago (7)
The moment I caught sight of my own reflection in those eyes, every sound around me vanished.
Was I moving and speaking exactly as I willed myself to? Had I lost the brazen swagger of the Mesugaki skill, and now stood there looking utterly bewildered?
I snatched a mirror out of my Inventory in a hurry and studied the girl's face staring back at me.
Since stepping foot into this world, I'd seen Lucy's face so many times I was sick of it. That impossibly cute, pretty face had long since stopped registering as anything out of the ordinary.
Which is exactly why I knew, better than anyone, the limits of what my own face could express. The constraints of the Mesugaki skill simply did not permit me weakness.
And yet the Lucy in the mirror right now was different. Where her habitual arrogance and imperiousness should have sat, there was only confusion — and for once, she looked like a perfectly ordinary girl of her age.
Am I dreaming right now? Have I still not escaped Lucy's illusion?
"Ow."
I grabbed my soft cheek and yanked hard, and a pained little sound slipped out of my mouth all on its own. What the hell.
This isn't a dream? I can actually act without the Mesugaki skill's constraints?!
Unable to accept reality at face value, I made every expression I could think of at the mirror.
I smiled, then furrowed my brow, then pulled a crying face, then pouted my lips out. I was so absorbed in watching my expressions shift and change in the glass that I didn't come back to my senses until Karia snatched the mirror away from me.
"Boss. What on earth happened in there? I know you wear your heart on your sleeve, but this is a whole new level."
"If I knew, would I be acting like this, you old bat? Ugh. You're ancient and you still have zero sense — no wonder there's never a man anywhere near you."
"Why is THAT coming out of your mouth right now?!"
Ignoring Karia's genuinely wounded shriek, I kept my thoughts rolling.
Only moments ago, I'd been about to tell Karia, quite normally, that I wasn't sure. But the words that had actually left my mouth had been anything but gentle.
What that meant was clear. The Mesugaki skill still lurked inside me. It was simply that, comparatively, its grip had loosened.
Except something was off. Until just recently, there had been a faint gap between when I *thought* words and when they actually came out of my mouth — and that gap was gone now. That subtle discrepancy had vanished without a trace.
'Grandfather. Grandfather. Something's strange about the way I'm speaking right now, isn't it?'
<Rather than calling it strange, I would say you have found correctness. To my eye, you seem far more natural now than before.>
'Is... that so?'
<Indeed. The discrepancy — it is gone, is it not?>
Was it? I dug through old memories at Grandfather's words, but I couldn't quite feel the difference myself. Well, if the old man insisted that strongly, it must be true. Hmm.
'How did this happen?'
<Asking me will get you no answer, I fear. Whatever change has come over you was born from what you witnessed within.>
So in the end, to get a real answer, I'd have to figure out what that pathetic Chief God was up to.
"Boss?! Are you even listening to me?!"
"Lady Karia, please, calm yourself. Our young lady acting like this is hardly news at this point, is it?"
"...That's true, but still."
"And no one alive would dare deny that you possess beauty, Lady Karia. Whatever our young lady may say, the truth does not change with her words. Would it not be wiser to laugh it off and keep your dignity?"
A handsome enough face to have half the female students at the Academy nursing crushes, paired with a gentle voice and immaculate diction — and with Carl's signature silver tongue layered on top, Karia's expression softened, if only for a moment.
But it didn't last. Karia saw straight through to Carl's true feelings hiding behind that knightly composure in an instant.
"Hey. You're thinking 'what a pathetic old fool' right now, aren't you."
"...I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."
"I put up with your nonsense because I owe the Boss a debt. You? You owe her nothing. Watch your back. I'll make you regret it, properly."
While cold sweat trickled down Carl's forehead under Karia's thinly veiled fury, Heishan sidled up beside me and held out the map.
"You did find something in there, my lady, didn't you?"
"It was a dungeon some third-rate hack had thrown together on a budget imagination. Zero fun in it whatsoever."
"Then might something have changed on the map?"
Understanding her meaning, I took the map and poured divinity into it. Sure enough, a new image bloomed across its surface.
"It seems we'll have to make the rounds of every island after all."
The new image had been drawn over the outline of a different island. Was it telling us to uncover yet another secret there?
Having grasped the Chief God's intent, I let out a small snort of laughter and handed the map back to Heishan.
I still didn't know exactly what had changed in me. Whether it leaned positive or negative for me, either. But one thing was certain: I had to see this journey through to its end.
Once I'd cleared every last dungeon, I figured I'd finally understand what the pathetic Chief God was trying to tell me.
By the time I noticed the black sky bleeding into violet, I stretched with a long yawn and got to my feet.
Back to the lodgings, then — a couple hours of sleep, at least.
Far too much had happened in a single day.
Time to rest a little.
The night before. Joy, having thoroughly teased a scarlet-faced Arthur, had flopped onto her bed the moment she returned to her room, wearing a smile of pure satisfaction.
To think she'd finally paid back even a fraction of the humiliation — to the Prince, of all people, who was usually the one doing the tormenting!
Thanks to Lady Alrn's mischievous streak, it had genuinely been so much fun. She hoped the Prince would treasure that rabbit headband for a good long while.
Remembering the sight of Arthur desperately scrambling to explain himself to Frey, Joy let out a small giggle — but the laugh didn't last.
Her body, starved of proper sleep for days on end, had decided survival came first and dragged her down into the depths of slumber.
She slept so soundly she didn't even dream, and woke only to sounds rising from below.
Rubbing her eyes as she sat up, Joy gazed out the window at the pale pre-dawn scenery and yawned long and wide.
Had Lady Alrn, who went out last evening, only just returned? There was still plenty of time before departure, so she'd sleep a little more and greet her in the morning.
She laid her head back down on the pillow — but sleep would not come. Her body, wrung through the brutal training of the Alrn Knight Order, had already judged its sleep quota filled.
Sensing that lying there would only mean misery, Joy sighed, rose from her bed, and made herself presentable in short order.
By the time she'd finished her preparations and descended to the first floor, she found the knights nursing their fatigue at their tables — and Lucy seated among them.
Lucy was perched on a chair, swinging her short legs that couldn't reach the floor, humming a little tune to herself. Had something good happened, perhaps?
There wasn't a trace of her usual viciousness in that adorable sight, and Joy was wearing a fond little smile as she came down the stairs when Lucy, sensing her presence, turned her head.
"Airhead Lady. You still haven't slept? Guess you weren't tired enough after all. Should I work you harder next time?"
The words spilling out of her mouth were as murderous as ever — but her expression was different.
The look on Lucy's face was brighter and more radiant than anything Joy had ever seen in all her years at Lucy's side.
At that smile, Joy found herself struck, anew, by just how pretty and adorable Lucy truly was.
Ordinarily, Lucy's face was a permanent mask of haughtiness, perpetually looking down her nose at everyone around her.
Her looks were so exceptional that even with that insolent expression, she remained impossibly beautiful — beautiful enough that no one could deny it. And yet that signature scowl of hers did her appearance no favors whatsoever.
It was simple common sense that a bright, open face was prettier than a scrunched-up one. In other words, Lucy was forever forgetting her own beauty existed.
But now, the girl who had always drawn gasps even while scowling had broken into a radiant, unguarded smile. The sheer impact of it could only be devastating.
Joy stood frozen, staring blankly at Lucy's smile, and it wasn't until a tremendous crash rang out that she came back to herself.
"Carl. What's wrong with him?"
"He must have been purified by the sight of the young lady's smile."
"Her smile is beautiful, I'll grant you, but this is a bit much."
"...If the Head learns of this, he'll be promoted."
"Shall we say our prayers for him in advance?"
Lucy's knights traded remarks over the collapsed Carl, whose face was frozen in an expression of pure bliss — but none of it reached Joy's ears. She was far too busy grappling with her own heart, which was pounding at an absurd, inexplicable speed.
Entirely oblivious to Joy's turmoil, Lucy tilted her head, then hopped lightly off her chair and came to stand before her.
"What's wrong, Airhead Lady? Feeling sick? Have you finally gotten so scatterbrained that even your body's given up on functioning?"
In the eyes gazing up at her, there was a worry that Lucy Alrn had never once shown in her life.
What is this? Is this really Lady Alrn? The Lady Alrn I know would never, ever make that face?
Am I still dreaming? I thought I'd woken up — but did I never actually leave that dream?
Trembling in her confusion, Joy felt something soft press against the tip of her nose, recoiled in shock — and landed flat on her backside on the stairs.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Wincing in pain amid her bewilderment, Joy realized just how foolish she must have looked a moment ago, and her face burned crimson.
Then, drifting into her ears, came a laugh she knew well — only somehow clearer, brighter than she'd ever heard it.
"Pfffhaha. You look like a total idiot."
Joy scrambled to her feet, hiding her utterly molten face behind her fan as she stole a glance at Lucy's — and cleared her throat.
"Ahem. Lady Alrn."
"Hm? What is it, Airhead? Are you going to beg me to stop teasing you because you're just so, so embarrassed?"
Of course I want to, but begging you wouldn't make you stop anyway, would it?! You'd just use it as more ammunition! Do you have any idea how many times I've fallen for that trick, my lady?!
Grumbling furiously to herself, Joy drew in a long breath to steady her heart, then ventured her question with care.
"Did something happen during the night, my lady?"
"My, how perceptive of you, Airhead. That's unlike you. Yes. Something did."
Lucy didn't deny the question. She had acknowledged that something had occurred — something that had changed her.
"Are you curious?"
"Yes. Very much so."
"Hmmm. Anyone else and I'd tell them nothing, but Airhead Lady is a friend, so I'll tell you. And so, last night—"
Given that offhand attitude, Joy hadn't dared hope for a real answer — and true to form, Lucy refused to indulge her.
"Pfff. Pffhahaha. Look at you, all wound up with expectation. Did you actually think I'd tell you?"
"...I beg your pardon?"
"Since our little Airhead is just dying to know... I'll make it a seeeecret. Not telling you."
At the sight of Lucy grinning with pure mischief, Joy buried her face in both hands.
Is a person even allowed to be this cute?! That is straight-up illegal! A flagrant foul!