Prophecy

"Ugh..."

"F-Frey. You okay?"

"M-Master...?"

Rescued from Isolet's room, I sat there with a blank expression, surrounded by Lulu and Irina.

"Snap out of it, Frey. Come on, snap out of it."

"...Please snap out of it, Master."

I'd been spacing out, replaying what had just happened to me, when a cool clarity suddenly washed over my mind. I lifted my head.

"N-No big deal. It was nothing like that."

"Y-Yeah. Exactly."

Lulu was talking to me with her Demon Eyes gleaming, while Irina nodded frantically beside her, clutching my hand.

"........."

But even so, my mouth wouldn't open easily.

Was it because what Isolet did to me was so shocking? Or was it some strange feeling that had welled up for some inexplicable reason during it all?

Normally, I'd have gotten my emotions under control right away, but for some reason, I just couldn't settle down.

Guess there was a reason Isolet’s progress status hadn’t been completed yet.

"D-Do something...! You're a mage, right?!"

"W-Wait. Let me cast a mental contamination removal spell..."

"Calm down, you two."

As I calmed Lulu and Irina, who were fussing in front of me with those thoughts in mind, I took a deep breath and stood up.

"Let's go."

"Y-Your face is red, Frey."

"...I said let's go."

I must have been pretty shocked to have something like that done to me by someone I never expected—by Isolet, no less.

Wait, what am I even thinking right now?

Isolet sis was just trying to teach me a lesson. There's no way she'd actually pounce on me for real.

She was just acting that way to drive home the point that it's not about lust, but about making others submit.

So, let's just forget about what happened earlier.

"It's dangerous... Even if the four of us hold back, it won't be enough... Danger lurks everywhere..."

As I walked with those thoughts, Irina muttered something serious from behind me.

"Can't hand Frey over to that old maid danger squad... Gotta stay sharp..."

That sounded pretty dangerous. If Isolet heard "old maid danger squad," she might demand a deathmatch that very day.

Though Isolet was still in her twenties... and looked so youthful she was often mistaken for a student at the academy, she was hypersensitive to comments like that for some reason.

"......."

Shaking my head as memories surfaced of getting headlocked for hours after jokingly teasing her about that sort of thing in the past, someone suddenly appeared in front of me.

"U-Uh..."

It was Lulu, fidgeting right in my path before I knew it.

What now?

"M-Master. Um, I have a question..."

"Yeah?"

"D-Do you... like being pounced on?"

My face went blank for a second at her words, and Lulu rushed on with a desperate look.

"I-I can be a big dog too! I... I'm good at pouncing and licking... Or I could be a hunting dog that's hard to handle..."

"...I said calm down."

"Y-Yes...!"

I sighed, patted her head, and headed to the mansion's parlor with a weary expression.

"......."

There sat the holy knight on the sofa, prim and proper.

"Hm."

I thought I'd been seeing things earlier, but now, looking again, it was clear.

Her face was almost identical to the goddess I'd seen in my third Trial.

Of course, unlike the goddess, she wasn't mature-looking or particularly young-faced, and instead of that dumb, vacant aura like Perloché's, she exuded a mystical vibe.

Still, she was close enough to the same person.

"Hmmm..."

Fascinated by the situation, I stared at her intently, and she glanced back with a cold expression.

'Staring like that, she kinda looks like the Demon God too?'

The Sun God and Demon God from the third trial had remarkably similar faces.

Probably related to them calling each other sisters...

So, which one did this girl resemble? The Sun God, who had that vacant, Perloché-like look? Or the Demon God with her blatantly evil grin? Or maybe a third person entirely?

"...What."

Oh no—I'd been lost in thought and ended up glaring at her the whole time.

She was already wary of me; this wasn't good.

"Oh, uh... I mean..."

Scratching my head awkwardly, I forced a smile and tossed out a question.

"Wanna grab a meal together?"

Not long after, she and I headed to the mansion's dining hall.

.........

"...Sigh."

Mid-meal, I spotted Isolet's floating affinity boost and dismissed the system window to the side, my blank expression fading as I sank into thought.

'This is nuts...'

Isolet's face, pressed right up to mine as she pinned me down, kept flashing in my mind.

I never expected the aftertaste to linger this much.

Was the gap from her usual self really that big a deal?

"Crunch, crunch."

Lost in those thoughts, I heard odd noises from across the table and looked up to a bizarre sight.

"What... are you doing?"

"Eating salmon, obviously?"

"No, I can see that, but..."

The holy knight in front of me was chomping on a salmon steak... with her hands.

What the hell?

"D-Do you not use a knife and fork?"

"These?"

She glanced blankly at the knife and fork neatly placed in front of her, then cautiously picked them up.

"Crunch."

And bit down on them with her teeth.

"Ow."

She winced, naturally, and covered her mouth with her hand.

"You... don't know how to use a fork and knife?"

When I asked carefully, she frowned—even her teeth seemed to hurt—and answered in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠low voice.

"I've never been formally trained."

"...What?"

"I came out to the world sooner than planned, so I only completed combat training... Urk."

She suddenly cut herself off.

"You don't need to know that."

With that, she began carefully licking the fork.

"........."

I stared at her blankly, then quietly opened the system window.

"Hm..."

This status window gave me a lot to think about.

The question marks on the name and special notes, the disposition...

For now, the key was her intelligence stat.

At 8.8, she'd be considered a prodigy even at Sunrise Academy.

"Ptooey."

But watching her meticulously lick the fork only to spit it out from the metallic taste made her seem dim-witted.

The contradiction? She lacked knowledge, not intelligence.

Not a flower garden in her head like Perloché, but a completely empty one.

It was a guess that wouldn't fly with most people, but if I was right... she could very well be like that.

"What's your name?"

"...You don't need to know."

Cold rejection, as expected.

"Hobbies?"

"I said you don't need ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to know."

I'd started tossing out random questions to see what stuck, but her curt refusals sparked my stubborn side.

"Who do you admire? Why'd you pick Isolet as your mentor? You enrolling at the academy soon? What's your deal with the church..."

"This is getting annoying."

After persistently prodding her,

"...When's your birthday?"

I threw that out,

"Your words aren't even—"

And she, about to snap coldly as usual,

"........."

trailed off, her face twisting in confusion.

"...I don't know."

Her eventual answer.

"I can't remember my own birthday at all."

Hearing that, I stared into her eyes and quietly pondered.

'As expected... connected to the church's experiments?'

Of course, jumping to conclusions based on this info would be foolish.

So, until daytime Serena digs up details on the church's secrets and this girl, better not rile her suspicions more.

- Scrape...

As I stood to leave—planning to just ask her to take good care of Isolet from now on—

"Pfft."

I couldn't help but burst out laughing at the sight of her, salmon sauce smeared all over her mouth.

"What?"

She tilted her head at me.

A girl with a goddess-like mystical beauty making such a dopey face with sauce everywhere? Comedy gold.

"Why do you get so much on your mouth?"

After stifling my laughter, I pulled out a napkin and leaned toward her face.

"Guess the church didn't teach manners?"

With a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sly grin, I started wiping the corners of her mouth.

Her affinity for me was already rock bottom; this would make her hate me more.

Might as well cement a bad first impression.

"Wh-What are you—?!"

"Hold still."

As expected, she tried to swat my arm away, but panicked when I grabbed it.

'Yep, her strength is just a bit above average ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for her age.'

Her swordsmanship seemed top-notch from combat training, but raw power was as predicted—not that strong.

I'd guessed from the third trial, where she used Divine Power over strength for defense. Good to be right.

"Ow, that hurts."

"Hold. Still."

Forcing her hand back, I leaned in and carefully wiped her mouth with the napkin.

"Ngh..."

She resisted fiercely at first, then slowly stopped, gazing into my eyes.

"Wh-What... are you doing?"

Her voice trembled as she asked.

"See? Sauce all over your mouth."

I showed her the napkin with salmon sauce on it.

"You know... up close like this, you're kinda pretty?"

Grinning wide, I stepped closer and touched her hair.

"Ah, ahh..."

She suddenly let out a moan.

"Ugh......"

Then she staggered, breaking into a cold sweat.

"Wh-What? What's wrong?"

"I-I can see... the future. Why? I didn't even pray... Why all of a sudden...?"

I caught her on instinct, panicking at the sudden anomaly.

"You..."

After rambling and stumbling for a while, she looked up at me with vacant eyes and whispered softly.

"...You should run. Right now."

"What?"

With that, she lost consciousness and closed her eyes.

"...!?"

Stunned after this curveball while just wiping sauce off her mouth, I sat her in the chair, checked her pulse.

'No health issues.'

Confirming she was fine, I quietly headed to the entrance, muttering.

"Anyway... time to go. Those two are waiting in the carriage."

Stepping into the foyer with a lingering unease—

- Grip...!

"Eek!"

Someone grabbed my arm.

"Wh-What?!"

"...Frey."

I spun around in shock at the damp, eerie aura, and there before me was...

"Where... do you think you're going...?"

Isolet, drenched in sweat for some reason.

"Home? Oh, and... the food was great."

"........."

"Your new disciple was delicious too. She's passed out in the dining hall from exhaustion—better check on her quick..."

I started with my usual brazen act,

"Grind..."

"...Y-Yeah."

But seeing her glaring down at me murderously,

"Wh-Why are you like that...?"

Memories of earlier flooded back, and I shrank involuntarily, tense.

"This won't do."

- Bam!!

"Gah!"

Isolet shoved me against the wall by the entrance and spoke.

"Here's a proposal. Once a week, come to my house."

"Huh?"

"Like when we were kids."

"Wh-Why...?"

A chill ran down my spine at the ominous vibe, but shivering as if cold, she continued.

"To eradicate that rude, arrogant personality of yours. Follow-up training."

"Training? What kind—ngh!"

"No questions. Just obey. Submit to my control, and that arrogance will vanish."

I tried to squirm free from the weird chill, but she grabbed my arm again, thrusting her face close.

"It's a proposal for now... but keep acting up, and..."

Her other hand seized my throat, her hot breath ragged on my face as she finished.

"...I can change it to something else. Is that what you want?"

Silence fell.

- Squeeze...!

Her oddly damp hand tightened on my throat, sending shivers through my body.

"...I-I'll come."

No dragging this out or it'd go south—I squeaked like an ant.

"........."

Isolet stared down at me with a strange expression.

"Wh-What...? Where'd you go...?"

"...S-See you next week."

The holy knight's footsteps approached as she regained consciousness; Isolet snapped to and pulled away.

"........."

Still dazed from being slammed against the wall and pinned down again just moments ago,

"...Not leaving?"

I jolted at Isolet's words—her blank expression shifting to guilt mixed with something odd—and bolted out of the mansion, deep in thought.

'What the hell is going on here? And that girl... did she foresee this?'

I didn't know for sure, but next time I visited this house, I'd need to steel myself.