"What in the world happened to you...?"
"Nothing happened to me, I was just training."
The first place I visited was Aletus’s mansion. In the drawing room, Aletus wore a bewildered expression, as if contemplating whether to call a doctor or the guards. I told him not to call either.
"It was more effective than I thought. Would you like to try using some magic on me? With wind magic, and have it graze past my ear."
"... Very well."
Aletus made a gentle breeze brush past my ear. I could see it, but I couldn't see it.
"?"
It seems the magic‑reinforced body I learned is exclusively for heart‑realm magic. The training method should be the same, so the cause must be the mana field. Training in a place overflowing with normal mana.
And training in a place overflowing with ‘abnormal’ mana, had brought about different results.
"Hmm..."
At least in my personal opinion, this was much better. Once I could feel the mana of the heart‑realm, it seemed I could also see the distortions caused by the foreign mana. The wind Aletus just shot at me was invisible in itself, but I could see it cutting through the Deep Sea, so I was able to avoid it.
If you paint with white on a white canvas, you can't see anything. But if you first paint over it with a dark blue, then apply the white paint, you can see what’s coming. It felt like that.
But I think my resistance to attacks will be lower. Or maybe not? As I was considering the various possibilities, Aletus dispelled the wind with a look of wonder.
"Can you really see it? Though it is still elemental spells, it is strange that you can react."
"Karin certainly said it would take at least a year to acquire a magic‑reinforced body, and that you would melt and die before then..."
"These wounds weren't for nothing, then."
I gently tapped the eye that was bruised a dark blue.
"I cannot deny it, but I’m still not sure if you truly had to use such a method. Weren't you practically gambling with your life?"
"Isn't all training like this?"
"No, it is not. What do you take a knight's training for? If we did that to a child like you, a hundred out of a hundred would have their spirits broken and give up the path of a knight."
"For a child who does not possess a body of steel and a heart of diamond, it would only be a waste of talent."
"My training with Dersia was similar to this."
"No, why?? Weren't you learning magic?"
"Uh... yes."
It was magic, but I learned it while getting beaten up. Of course, I knew it wasn't ordinary, but thanks to that, I didn't find Brimdal's training all that strange either. Aletus sighed and replied.
"Sir Brimdal is certainly an outstanding knight. Despite being a dwarf, he does not feel great hostility toward human culture and has achieved many great deeds by honing his skills."
"However, since his retirement, he has repeatedly taken in squires full of dreams only to make them all give up being knights."
"You didn't stop him?"
"... Well, usually. Children dream of becoming knights, and their parents are in the position of dissuading them."
"So if Sir Brimdal beats the dream out of them, it may be crude to put it this way, but it's a situation that benefits both sides."
"Being a knight is a glorious thing, isn't it?"
"Only for commoners. Among nobles, the perception is strong that it's a foolish endeavor when they could just learn magic."
"Conversely, the parents of commoners are willing to accept a little risk if their child can be trained by the best knight."
I had wondered why no one had branded Brimdal an enemy while he was breaking countless squires, and it seemed this was the reason. In any case, the effects were just starting to show, so I had no intention of quitting.
As I sipped my tea, I thought about stopping by the orphanage on my way out, but then I felt that something was missing. The noisy, silver-haired furball was gone. I asked with a puzzled face.
"By the way, where is Elysia?"
"Ugh..."
Aletus hung his head low. His reaction didn't give me a good feeling.
"Of course, it's not your fault, but she insisted you had abandoned her after promising to come every day, so I had no choice."
"I gave her permission to go out. She probably went to find you, so you must have just missed each other."
"... I'm sorry."
"Don't worry. Since that day, I've had shadow knights secretly follow Elysia, along with a location tracker. Even if the worst should happen, we can at least ensure her escape."
It seemed he had prepared thoroughly after his daughter had been through two major incidents.
"And I know you are also trying your best to survive, so I cannot say anything. Your life is the most precious thing, is it not? Ah, and I was going to send this by mail..."
Aletus handed me a small dagger. It was a beautiful object decorated with sparkling jewels and ivory, seemingly not made for practical use. Though bewildered, I accepted it.
"What is this?"
"This year is almost over, is it not? I never heard when your birthday was."
"... Ah."
"My apologies if I'm late, but it's a birthday present."
He was right. Being an orphan, I couldn't be sure of this body's exact birthday, but... Slowly, I was also turning eleven.
"Thank you."
I took the dagger and put it in my pocket.
Somehow.
It was a strange feeling, to have survived in this Deep Sea for a whole year already.
Dersia was still asleep. I wasn't sure if 'asleep' was the right word for it, but she was muttering as if possessed at the table, writing something down, and the letters she wrote were still incomprehensible. It was around one o'clock.
If I stopped by the orphanage and then headed back, it would be about three. As I was about to stop by a bakery to buy more gifts for the orphanage with my Magic Tower No‑Interest‑Loan‑Card, the area around me grew hot.
"...?"
Whoosh, a wave of heat directly warmed me. Since my world is the Deep Sea, I don't feel heat very well, even if I'm in front of a bonfire. I looked around and saw a child in a hood, dripping blood as they walked.
Their breathing was heavy. It was obvious they weren't well, so I cautiously kept my distance, but other people approached the child with puzzled expressions.
"Child, are you alright? What is all this blood?"
"Let's see... my goodness! Your body is like a ball of fire!"
"Oh dear, you must be sick. Shouldn't we call a doctor?"
This is not good. I clicked my tongue as I watched people crowd around the child. We were in the middle of the capital, and it just had to be a young child.
That greatly lowered people's guard. I looked around, but there were no knights in sight. Even if there were, it would be extremely dangerous at that distance.
A fruit vendor lifted the child's robe and—his face turned deathly pale.
"W-wait a minute, this child is the one who was being dragged away earlier—" Feeling the water around me begin to boil slightly, I let out a sigh.
No matter what, I had to stop this.
"Ah—" "I've been looking all over for you. What are you doing here?"
Before the merchant could scream, I cut in and grabbed the shoulder of the child who was reaching out her hand. It was literally as hot as a ball of fire. Breathing as if I had just run over, I fumbled inside my coat.
"This is my younger sister. She got pneumonia after getting badly hurt while playing, and her wound needed a few stitches, but she still wants to play like this. I'm sorry for the trouble."
"Y-your sister? But..."
I showed the key I'd taken out to the stammering fruit vendor and explained calmly.
"Jern Aspandil, an apprentice of the Black Magic Tower. If by any chance this child has caused any problems, please contact the Magic Tower, and we will resolve it swiftly."
"Ah, yes! There was no problem at all."
The reputation of the Magic Tower was no joke. The crowd dispersed as quickly as it had gathered, and I led the child by the shoulder into an alleyway.
"Come along quietly."
"... Hmph!"
Something flashed from under the hood.
Resistance.
But it was weak. As I covered her with my currents, the flames that erupted instantly turned to smoke. The smoke was devoured, unable to rise to the sky.
I then manipulated the currents to gently squeeze and release the child's neck. To make her understand who held her life in their hands.
"...!"
"It'll be better for you, too."
Perhaps because she saw the difference in our power, a gap that left no room for even a trace of battle. Or perhaps because she knew I was one of her kind. After that, she followed me obediently.
I pushed the young heart‑realm mage against a wall in the alley and, after checking several times with Tide Sense that no one was around, I asked.
"How did you escape?"
The Divine Punishment Knight who had been in charge of this one couldn't have been an easy foe. The child under the hood opened and closed her mouth a few times before answering cautiously.
"The one who caught us, he went to report..."
It seems she escaped during the brief moment the Divine Punishment Knight was making a report. But they wouldn't have been guarding her so carelessly as to let her escape just because one person was gone.
"Then, that's when Greg... he was crushed to death."
"Greg?"
From the context, it seemed he was another fallen one. The child clutched her shabby hood as if it were her only armor, trembling, and confessed with a voice mixed with tears.
"My brother..."
"Aha."
"He said he couldn't hold on anymore, so he gave up trying... All the other knights fainted. That's why, I was able to escape..."
"Hmm."
So a fallen one finally couldn't endure, went berserk, and ended up knocking out even the knights. This was another terrible situation. If I were that Divine Punishment Knight, I might go mad over this absurd coincidence.
What should I do? Now that I've seen her, it feels wrong to just leave. As I was thinking, the child who had been crouched down suddenly stood up and grabbed my shoulders desperately.
"Please, please help me."
"Help you?"
"I'm scared. I don't want to be like this anymore."
"You're an apprentice of the Magic Tower, right? And you're fine, aren't you?"
"Please, I know there's no reason you should... but give me a chance, too! I'll do anything, anything...!"
I looked at the face under the hood. It was horrific. Burns were layered on top of burns.
If it weren't for the hood, most would have realized she was a fallen one. Above all, those eyes filled only with despair. I slowly nodded my head.
I wasn't so broken yet that I needed a reason to help a child.
"... Alright. I'll help you."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. I happened to buy some medicine just now. I'm not sure if it will help."
I took an ointment from my coat and handed it to her. A look of doubt filled the child's expression as she saw it.
"What is this...?"
"Medicine. It'll get a little better if you apply it."
"N-not this stuff. I've tried applying it many times, but it didn't have much effect..."
"It's better than not applying it, right?"
"But—" "Let's apply this for now and look for better medicine."
I glanced outside the alley and muttered cautiously.
"We'll have to apply medicine every day and look into a procedure to replace your skin with an artificial one."
"After that, we need to change your constitution. I don't know if it's possible, but by making your blood colder—" "W-wait a minute!"
The child stopped me, as if something was strange. When I turned to see what was wrong, she asked with a flustered expression, as if she thought I was hiding something.
"That's just... putting a temporary fix on top of another temporary fix."
"That's... right?"
"What do you mean... that enduring is all there is?"
"Umm..."
I scratched my cheek for a moment, then shrugged.
"That's right. That's all there is to it."
"... Don't lie to me!"
Anger filled the child's gaze.
Thump!
She rushed at me, pushed me against the wall, and gripped my neck tightly, glaring as she vented her frustration.
"You, you're fine. You know the way, don't you? You know how to escape from this! Tell me! I, I want to live too...!"
"There's no such thing."
I didn't get angry, because I understood how she felt. Just because a drowning person grabs at anything around them doesn't mean they have a wicked heart that wants to kill others too. I just met her eyes calmly and told her the reality.
"You endure this moment, and then you endure, and when a new burden comes, you endure that too."
"That's all there is. Even if it's painful, you bear it. Even if you feel like you're dying, you have to bear it."
"...?"
The child, who should have been choking me, widened her eyes as if realizing something, puzzled by how normal my voice was.
"You're, not, breathing..."
"That's right. I can't breathe easily in my world. I had my respiratory organs replaced."
The strength in the child's hands lessened, and she hung her head low. She had lost her will because I had proven my own words.
"... How long do I have to be like this?"
"Until you think dying is a better option."
"What...?"
"Until you feel you've resisted enough, that you've done all you can."
"Until you feel there's no meaning in desperately clinging to life. You have to endure. There is no end. And you can't escape."
Unfortunately, I didn't know how to wrap it in pretty words. Even if I did, giving hope to a fallen one is not something a person with a human heart can do. You can survive today.
You might not die tomorrow. That is the only comfort we can have. The child slowly raised her head.
My words must have meant something, because not a trace of hope could be found in her eyes.
"Why do you go on living then?"
"Because it pisses me off."
"?"
"I can't say that living is better than dying. I think that would be a lie."
The Deep Sea is a terrible place. Sometimes, I think several times a day that it would be better to die than to live like this. But if I had to choose a reason not to give up.
Hmm...
"Still, I don't want to lose to the world I created."
That would be the biggest reason.
"So, what are you going to do?"
I waited for the child's decision.
"If you want to struggle, I can help you. It's not a difficult thing."
"... Mom."
Suddenly, she said that and raised her head. Unlike before, her trembling eyes held a certain will. It seemed she had gained something from my short speech.
"If I'm going to die anyway, I want to see my mom one last time."
"That's an easy thing. Where is your mom?"
"In, in the Imperial Family..."
"?"
Perhaps— This child was no ordinary natural body.