Pajama Party?
"So you're telling me it hasn't even been a full day?"
"Well, yeah, but she vanished right after saying she was going to the bathroom!"
"Did you call her? Have you tried?"
"Ah—the phone…!"
Sienna's eyes narrowed to slits.
"You didn't even call?"
"I was too panicked at the time…"
"…"
Sienna let out a long, heavy sigh and muttered under her breath.
Crazy woman.
Yerna, meanwhile, patted herself down several times—then went pale and cried out,
"I—I don't have my phone!"
"Unbelievable…"
Sienna pressed a hand to her forehead and glared at her. Only now, as some semblance of reason returned, did Yerna look away, shamefaced.
"Hey. Do you still think about that day?"
"…"
Yerna said nothing. She kept her gaze averted, her expression gone rigid.
Well. Of course she did.
Maybe it couldn't be helped. Yerna had almost certainly been seeing that child overlaid on Luke. So her desperate protectiveness wasn't entirely beyond understanding…
Still. If only she'd thought a little more rationally, the way she usually did…
Sienna had only shared her theory in the hope of getting Yerna to let the child go. Instead, Yerna had dug her heels in even harder, insisting that was precisely why she couldn't send Luke just anywhere.
Maybe she's trying to ease her guilt through that kid…
Sienna sighed again and said,
"Let's start by making a call, at least."
In a darkened room, two children sat on the sofa, blankets pulled over their heads, each clutching a pillow to their chest. Their faces flickered in the light spilling from the television.
Merry and Luke.
Merry's eyes, especially, shone—damp and bright, as if tears might spill at any second.
"Kyaaah!"
"Merry, that is a public nuisance. It is the middle of the night."
"But the monster…!"
"Honestly…"
Luke shook her head in mild exasperation.
What they were watching was a horror film—the only thing the late-night broadcast had to offer. Merry did not like horror, and none of her friends did either. And yet…
Watching a scary movie with a friend had been one of those things she'd always wanted to try. Luke happened to be right there, and Merry had decided there was nothing to be afraid of. That was why she hadn't changed the channel.
"You could simply put on something else, even now."
"But if I don't see the ending, I think I'll feel even worse…"
"Hmm…"
Was that so? Luke wasn't entirely sure. She shrugged and stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Merry, on the other hand, trembled from head to toe, gripping her pillow like a shield as she stared at the screen.
Merry was simply terrified. Luke, watching the same film, was thinking something else entirely.
Why let them go there? If the goal is to kill, a single crush of grip strength would finish them without fail…
Luke identified with a different side of the story than most people. Unlike that spirit-girl puppet show, this film had a strangely realistic setting—which only made the contrivances stand out more.
Was the monster's purpose not slaughter, but amusement?
Enemies of that type were all the same: utterly unremarkable. Always the ones who trusted their own power and grew complacent. Weaklings who rested on innate talent and never pushed beyond it.
Luke could feel nothing toward such foes.
And sending only four people into a forest cabin where people keep vanishing is absurd in itself…
Missing persons in the woods. To search even a fraction of the surrounding area, you'd need thirty people at minimum, wouldn't you? The cabin itself was fairly large, and these weren't even superhuman-class personnel—yet they'd sent only four.
It was, without question, an act of pure stupidity.
The film's outcome had been sealed before it even began. This wasn't horror. It was simply footage of a tragic accident waiting to happen. They were dying because of a commander's bad judgment.
While Luke was thinking, another one died.
"Aaaah!"
Merry screamed again—though this time she at least had the presence of mind to lift the pillow and muffle her face. Progress, of a sort. The shriek dropped to a dull, smothered wail.
If the commander had made a proper assessment from the start… if the officer had been a little more competent… if the team had been a little more careful… it never would have come to this.
The ending, though, was faintly anticlimactic. After every twist and turn, the sole surviving female officer escaped and called for backup—and the movie cut to black.
The moment it ended, Merry's shaking hands jabbed the remote and killed the television.
Time for bed, perhaps.
She turned to Luke.
"That was so scary… Luke, you didn't look scared at all."
"Well now. I was every bit as frightened as you were."
"Really? You didn't seem like it."
Merry tilted her head, puzzled. Luke smiled faintly.
"It is not the monster one ought to fear. Human malice is what is truly terrifying."
In the film's middle act, the commander had issued false orders to the surviving officers to cover his own mistake—and gotten them killed.
Yes. In this movie, the thing to fear was not the monster. It was the human being.
"It has always been so. Humans are more dangerous and more lethal than any monster. That is why you, Merry, must grow into a truly fine person."
"Uh… Luke, you sound like a little old grandma."
"Haha. Do I, now?"
Merry couldn't quite grasp what Luke meant. Still, somehow, the words were reassuring.
"Whew. I'm really glad you were here, though."
"Is that so."
"If I'd watched alone, I would've been too scared to finish. Thanks to you, I got through the whole thing. And when I got scared, you even patted my head…"
Merry flushed and looked away from Luke's gaze.
Luke, however, answered with genuine confusion.
"Who patted your head?"
"Huh? That wasn't you?"
"I did no such thing. Are you certain you aren't mistaken?"
She had held Merry's wrist when the trembling got too bad—but she had never stroked her hair. Merry was taller than Luke, and reaching up to pat her head would have required an awkward stretch.
"D-don't lie. Why would you…"
"It is not a lie. What reason would I have? Did you truly feel a hand stroking your hair?"
"…"
Merry went white.
She had always been pale, but now she was paper-white. And then, with her mind clearly short-circuiting—
"Ah—Merry…"
—she fainted clean away.
At which point Luke began to wonder whether she ought to raise her guard. Had the sensation Merry felt on her head truly been a monster? Even if not, an intruder would still need to be dealt with.
…?
And then, drifting gently into view above Merry's head, was a little blue spirit.
Luke sighed and shook her head.
"Pai. So it was you…"
Apparently, the one who had been stroking Merry's hair was Pai.
Vrrrrr…
With Merry unconscious and the room gone quiet, Luke felt a small vibration. A phone call, no doubt.
She laid Merry carefully on the bed, then checked the screen. An unfamiliar number.
"Who is this?"
—Ah, she picked up. Hey—! Wait a sec—
A burst of static, and the voice changed.
—Luke, is that you? Answer me!
The sudden shout made Luke pull the phone a little away from her ear.
"It is. That voice—Yerna, is it? Where on earth did you go? I was worried."
—That's my line! Where did YOU go?!
"I was at that restaurant the entire time… Did you not simply leave me behind?"
—There's no way… Haah. Thank goodness… Where are you now?
"The dormitory at Tig Academy. There was nowhere nearby I could impose upon."
—Just wait right there! I'll be there soon!
"Ah. Very well."
Luke truly could not understand why everyone was making such a fuss.
And sure enough, a short while later, Yerna arrived at the dormitory with Sienna in tow.
The moment she saw Luke, Yerna burst into tears and pulled her into a crushing hug.
They had only been apart for a little while. Why this reaction?
Luke shot a questioning look at Sienna, who was watching from behind—but Sienna merely shrugged one shoulder and said nothing at all.
"So… you went into the men's restroom?"
"I did. Embarrassing as it is to admit. That must have been where our paths diverged."
"What the… I feel like such an idiot."
"I gathered all the luggage myself, you know. Yerna, no matter how urgent it is, you cannot simply go scattering your belongings everywhere…"
"…I have no excuse."
Yerna scratched her head, looking relieved at last. Then her eyes finally registered Luke's outfit.
"Those pajamas—did a friend give them to you?"
"That is correct."
"Want me to buy you some?"
"No. The ones I have at home are perfectly sufficient!"
Luke refused flatly. She preferred sleepwear that felt a little like clothing—something with a touch of structure—over the kind so soft it felt like wearing nothing at all. Even so, the fabric was far finer than anything from her own era.
"Then… you're planning to sleep here tonight?"
"For the time being, yes. It is a holiday, so I would like to use the music room first thing when I wake… Ah, and I hear the school provides breakfast as well."
"…So it really is about the food, huh?"
"That is not the only reason."
Luke scratched the back of her head. She glanced at Merry, still peacefully unconscious through all the commotion, and gave a small, fond smile. The horror movie must have worn her out thoroughly.
"By the way, Yerna. Are you all right?"
"Me?"
"Earlier, you seemed rather feverish… I worry you may have caught a cold."
Only then did Yerna press a hand to her own forehead—and flinch. Sure enough, she was running a temperature. A cold, then.
"I'm fine. It's nothing this minor— cough."
She tried to brazen it out, but the timing could not have been worse. A cough slipped free. Yerna's face went red as she forced a dry little hack to cover it.
"Perhaps you ought to see a doctor."
"Don't worry. It's really nothing. Who even goes to the hospital for a cold these days?"
"A cold left untreated can become a serious matter. People have died from neglect."
Luke's tone was absolute. In the past, people who died of nothing more than a common cold had been beyond counting. How could she not worry?
Faced with that stern expression, Yerna went a little stiff. Did Luke know someone who had died of a cold? Nothing else would explain a look that grave over something so ordinary.
Luke sighed.
"If you cannot go to a hospital, a decoction of Miriph flower is excellent. Two petals in a teapot, steeped for thirty minutes. Honey improves it, but it is fine plain. Ah—do you know what a Miriph flower looks like?"
"I know. But… Miriph flowers are poisonous herbs."
"You are well informed. That is precisely what one uses. Poison, properly applied, becomes medicine. Thirty minutes in boiling water will neutralize the toxin enough to make it medicinal."
"How do you even know that?"
Yerna desperately hoped the answer was from a book.
Luke, however, did not lie.
"Experience. Which is why the effect is certain. Be sure to brew and drink it."
When it came to vouching for efficacy, nothing beat personal experience. Knowledge from a book and knowledge earned firsthand—the difference in reliability was vast.
"…"
Yerna nodded with a complicated expression. This time even Sienna had to pinch the bridge of her nose.
I am actually going to lose my mind… How has this kid been living until now?
Luke only tilted her head, puzzled. Being stared at with such open disbelief was rather awkward.
"You do not believe me? You may. It truly works remarkably well."
"I believe you. I believe you, so please just stop…"
Luke remained thoroughly baffled. A ten-year-old mage ought to have at least one personal cold remedy, shouldn't they? This was among the simplest recipes of the lot. Too simple to trust, perhaps? Well—Miriph flowers were toxic, so a little hesitation was understandable.
"If Miriph flower makes you uneasy, you could use Dorones herb to—"
"I'll drink it! I'll go home and brew it properly, I swear!"
Please. No more.