You Know Me, Don't You?

"You know me, don't you?"

"Ahem...!"

In many ways, Mikhail seemed to have grown up well. Not in any lewd sense, of course, but both mentally and physically. I could swear it on my conscience.

"Well..."

In the darkness, I could tell. Mikhail's face had turned as red as a ripe peach. I glanced at her expression and spoke in an embarrassed voice.

"That must have been quite difficult to hide."

"Ah..."

Mikhail nodded shyly and carefully opened her mouth.

"I wrapped it with bandages."

"Ah... I see."

"Lately they've gotten even bigger, so I started using two bandages..."

"You don't need to explain it in that much detail."

"I thought you might be curious..."

"..."

We spent a few awkward minutes in the dark.

Rumble...

A faint vibration echoed from the ceiling. Mikhail looked at me with trembling eyes, her lips jutting out in a pout.

"What do we do... The ceiling again."

"Shh."

"Yes...?"

"Just a moment."

Mikhail squeezed her eyes shut, then stared at me with reddened eyes. I nearly laughed at the sight of her burning with the will to live, but I held it in, knowing she'd only feel more embarrassed. Instead, I offered her a small smile.

"It seems my friend has arrived."

"Your friend?"

"Didn't I tell you? I called for help."

"But we're trapped, so how..."

"There's always a way."

I winked at her.

"Telepathy."

Thump-thump-thump-thump!

...Thump!

Mikhail clutched her chest as if her heart ached, ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her face flushing. The most important thing for a knight was heart health, yet she already seemed to have issues. I made a mental note to send her some mandrake tea.

About a minute after delivering that hopeful message, a loud voice boomed from above along with a thunderous noise.

"Saintess!!!"

Mikhail looked up at the faint sound and muttered softly.

"Saintess...?"

"..."

"Did they just say Saintess?!"

"...Ignore it."

With a giant question mark floating above her head, Mikhail gave a heavy nod and looked up at the ceiling.

Whoosh...

Along with falling pebbles, pale dawn light began to seep through the ceiling.

"It must already be dawn."

"...It seems so."

Light. As a sliver of it touched our darkened vision, Mikhail reached out and felt its warmth.

"It's warm."

"The rain must have stopped."

"Thank goodness."

Thud-thud-thud.

At the sound of digging growing closer, I smiled. Beneath the widening hole of light, Mikhail looked at my face and beamed.

"We can get out now!"

"You're awfully happy. I suppose you didn't want to be alone with me any longer."

"No... Honestly, staying a little longer would've been fine too...!"

"Saintess!!!"

At the sound of Hans's voice from above, I gave a bitter smile. All we had to do now was get out.

Sigh...

One worry kept my heart from feeling light.

Milady.

I couldn't think of what to say to her. I needed an excuse for being late to bath time... and that wasn't even the real problem. Sooner or later, I'd have to introduce Mikhail to her. I needed to find a reasonable way to explain everything. The relationship between Milady and Mikhail was too sensitive for me to interfere with directly.

The fact that Mikhail was a woman. And Milady's negative feelings toward her existence. Their past was too tangled to simply call it "old memories." If Milady ever found out Mikhail was a woman...

...She'd kill her.

The thought terrified me. Even now, I doubted Milady would have anything kind to say if she saw Mikhail. Nearly three years had passed since they'd been apart, and I still hadn't mustered the courage to resolve the tension between them. I'd only just begun to sort things out myself, but Milady...

"Ugh... Scary."

Even imagining it was frightening. With a worried expression, I looked up at the sky.

"It'll work out somehow."

Since I couldn't picture a solution yet, I pushed the complicated thoughts aside. Beneath the thin stream of light, I smiled at Mikhail.

"My friend is here."

"..."

"Don't be surprised. It's someone you know too, Misa."

"Okay."

"You may have bad memories of them, but they're not a bad person..."

Gom?

"Huh?"

I stared at the familiar face of Gomtangi peeking through the hole, a question mark hovering above my head.

Why are you here?

Gooooom!

And Mikhail...

"Ah... Hello. I'm Ricardo's friend, Misa."

Gom-gom.

"You have quite a lot of fur. You seem very warm and friendly."

Gom.

"May I touch you?"

Gom-gom.

"Thank you."

"Misa, this friend is my pet."

"Oh..."

She'd mistaken Gomtangi for my friend. As Gomtangi dug through the earth to widen the hole, Hans's voice rang out from above.

"Saintess!"

A smile tugged at my lips at the welcome voice. I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked him to come quickly, but I hadn't expected him this fast. If only he'd stop calling her Saintess...

But then...

"..."

Who's that?

I narrowed my eyes at the silhouette of a woman barely visible above the pit. If she was a cultist, we'd be in trouble. She was sitting in a chair. Nodding off. And she had white hair.

Hmm?

Wait a second... Gomtangi and Hans were here, so...

Surely not.

A bad feeling crept over me. With trembling eyes, I looked up at the sky and asked Hans,

"Hans."

"Sniffle... I was so worried about you, Saintess...! It's all my fault for not finishing things cleanly. Please kill me!!"

"Shh."

"Sniffle...Keek... Keek..."

"Hans."

"Yes, Saintess?"

"That person up there..."

"Yes?"

"Is that our lady?"

"It is."

"...?"

"She tried to sneak out, but we got caught. The Saintess asked me to bring her along, so I did."

"Haa..."

Mikhail was staring at Hans with wide, trembling eyes. She hadn't heard that Milady was here yet. Still shocked just by Hans's presence, she eventually nodded with difficulty, as if to say it was fine, and muttered under her breath.

"Ricardo said it would be okay, so it'll be fine."

I shot her a glare. She had no idea there was an even greater danger waiting above. With a peaceful expression, she looked completely at ease.

Bwooooo...

"Misa."

"Yes...?"

"Listen carefully and don't be surprised."

Nod.

"How do you think you'll feel when you see our lady?"

"Olivia?"

At the mention of Olivia's name, Mikhail's face ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠twisted awkwardly as she lowered her head. She still didn't know how to face Olivia. As someone forced to hide her gender to keep a secret while being made to remember unforgettable memories, Mikhail seemed lost on how to treat Milady.

Clenching her fists, she answered,

"I don't know."

I spoke quietly to her.

"Do you think we can resolve this peacefully?"

"No."

"Then run."

I swallowed hard at the sharp gaze I felt from behind Hans's back.

"Milady is here."

Mikhail's expression hardened.

We climbed out of the pit and stretched, breathing in the fresh air.

"Hwaaaah!!"

"We're alive..."

The air felt so good it was better than any tonic. A small smile formed on my lips, but—

Bwooooo...

I couldn't laugh under that piercing gaze. With flaring nostrils, Milady glared at Mikhail and spoke in a sulky voice.

"Who are you?"

Mikhail glanced at me, took a deep breath, and answered.

"Ah... My name is Misa."

"Misa...?"

"Yes."

Milady stared at Mikhail for a long moment before giving a small nod, her inspection complete.

"Phew..."

I thought I was going to die. With flaring nostrils, Milady fixed her gaze on Mikhail before rolling the wheels of Fe*ri Unit 1 toward me and shouting,

"Ricardo!"

"Yes."

"Eeeeeeeek!"

"Haha... I'm sorry."

"Why did you have fun without me?!"

"Is that what you're mad about?"

"Yeah."

"Next time, let's go deeper together."

"Okay."

Milady's anger melted away instantly. She looked at Mikhail and muttered to me,

"Ricardo, about that kid."

"Yes."

"Bring them to our mansion."

"Pardon?"

"They're hurt."

Milady shot Mikhail a glare.

"That kid's in bad shape."

"You're a doctor now?"

"Yeah. They'll pass out in three seconds."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. That's what my gut says."

I was grateful for her kindness, but bringing Mikhail to our mansion...

Thud.

"Hmm?"

Milady shrugged at the sight of Mikhail collapsed on the ground.

"See? I told you it was serious."

"Wow."

"Her mana is completely drained, her legs and arms are fractured, and her ribs are broken too."

"I kicked her once..."

"Did she start the fight?"

"Yes."

"Then good job."

With a satisfied smile, Milady nodded and glanced at me.

"Hey, Ricardo."

"Yes."

"Is that kid your friend?"

"Ah... For now, yes."

"Hmm... Really?"

Milady looked at Mikhail with cold eyes and muttered,

"For now, I ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠see."

Blink.

Mikhail woke up in an unfamiliar bedroom, wincing at the throbbing pain. The effects of the hair-lengthening medicine would last about seven hours. With that reassurance, she clenched her fist.

And then—

"You're awake?"

At the cold voice and the familiar woman looking down at her, Mikhail's heart pounded. Olivia. With her white hair, Olivia sat in a chair, gazing down at her. Without a moment's hesitation, she spoke.