Chapter 18

Why am I just an ordinary person? Why do I have no talent whatsoever for mysterious powers like magic or prayer?

No matter how good I am at wielding a sword, I couldn’t even put a scratch on the barrier. At the very least, mages and priests had managed to scratch it. It was repaired immediately, but that meant the possibility wasn’t zero. If I had their power, I wouldn’t have given up so easily. I would have tried until I broke through.

I had spent my time thinking such things while glaring at them until the blood vessels in my eyes burst.

But such delusions subsided after some time. Instead, I accepted my station and began to devise other methods. Come to think of it, just because I had no talent for magic or prayer didn’t mean I couldn’t use them at all.

I could use objects infused with them. So, I sought out Ugurtz, who had a long history with me and had once been Iel’s biological mother’s lover. I gave him all my wealth and asked him to gather as many energy items infused with magic and prayer as possible.

Since throwing a couple of items around wouldn’t be useful, I planned to break through the barrier by inflicting as much damage as possible at once. No matter how great that barrier was, if I prepared enough items to surpass the number of mages and priests in this country, a path for me to pass through would eventually open. Even a dozen or so had managed to leave a scratch the size of a fingernail, after all.

The collection process that started that way has continued until now. It happened to coincide with the period when item consumption skyrocketed due to mysterious phenomena occurring all over the country. Because of that, it took much longer than expected, but now, it was almost over.

My heart raced for the first time in a while at the hope that I could finally break through that thing once the items arrived.

Was she waiting for me? Or had she forgotten me completely? I used to hope she wouldn’t forget, but now I thought it might be better if she had. Because if she were waiting, she would be all the more lonely. Isn’t my loneliness enough? I hope Iel is living happily inside there without any worries.

The wagons loaded with items began to arrive one by one, a few days apart. Seeing the growing pile, some people around me felt it was more dangerous than they had imagined and tried to stop me late in the game.

“I’m saying this because you won’t just get hurt, you’ll die!”

“What’s the point of breaking the barrier! You’ll be turned into dust!”

“If you must do it, at least keep a minimum safety distance.”

When I asked what I should do if the damage repaired itself while I was running toward it, people gritted their teeth with serious faces and fell into thought.

“Still, this doesn’t feel right…!”

I scolded them, telling them to get lost if they were afraid of getting hurt, and finished unpacking the goods.

Before activating the items all at once, I equipped protective gear to avoid injury as much as possible. Also, the Saint who had remained until then cast a shield prayer over me.

When I had distanced myself enough so that the aftermath wouldn’t reach anyone, and there was no one in sight, I finally activated all the items at once.

Rumble—!

That’s it! That’s it! I’ve entered the barrier!

I was slightly hurt, but it was far better than I had braced for. Although I didn’t want to admit it, it seemed the Saint’s shield prayer had helped. I took off the protective gear I could no longer use and looked around the Lallanne territory, where heavy snow was falling.

Because of all the snow, low houses had long since been buried, and only a castle rising on high ground existed gloomily without a single light. There was no sign of life in the surroundings. I clenched my fists before I knew it.

…She must be alive, right?

I tried to suppress my anxiety and took a step forward.

The main gate of the Count’s castle was wide open, and there was no one inside. Making a path through the snow that caused my feet to sink deep, I entered the center of the inner castle before long. It was the place most likely for someone to be staying, as it was the safest and most comfortable.

Creeak—

I pushed open the stiff door, which lacked grease, and stepped into the inner hall. The hall, without a single light on, was extremely desolate. My anxiety deepened, but I clamped my mouth shut and steadied my heart. Soon, I began to check the inside by opening the doors in the inner castle one by one.

After opening several dozen doors, my heart leapt at the sign of presence I felt from the inside the moment I grabbed a doorknob. Unable to hold back the feeling of my heart, which had been sinking, jumping up in an instant, I put force into the door and threw it open.

I saw someone sitting in a chair. The surroundings were dark, but from the vague silhouette, I thought it was Iel. To be precise, it was a stubborn belief that it should be Iel, and I moved inside while calling her name.

“Iel?”

A sound of slight discomfort drifted over, as if someone who had been resting was moving after a long time.

“It’s Iel, right?”

The silhouette, which had been silent, this time covered its mouth with its hand and let out a yawn. I moved further inside. Finally, I was close enough to distinguish her face.

We made eye contact, and I stopped walking. The other person also froze with the same face she had while yawning.

“Iel…”

It really was Iel. I was moved by the situation of Iel, whom I had missed so much, staring at me blankly, but then I felt a sense of incongruity at the suddenly sharp, rising voice.

“…Huh?”

“Iel?”

“I was wondering who it was.”

Iel rose from the chair and continued, giggling.

“The enemy who turned my years of hardship into bubbles! How dare you, how dare you! A mere human crawling on the ground!”

Suddenly, a beam of light flew rapidly from directly in front of me.

As Felix quickly rolled his body to dodge, the beams of light that grazed past him shattered the entrance to the room with a thunderous roar. Cold wind pushed into the room, blowing my bangs back. Felix looked at the broken area for a moment and then turned his head to look at me. That stupid expression on his face really pissed me off.

“Die right now! You enemy!”

I fired another beam of light. The object of rage that had suddenly appeared in my boring daily life made me feel alive for the first time in a very long time.

Annoyed at Felix, who was dodging the prayer attacks here and there like a monkey, I moved my body directly to rush at him. I certainly believe my motivation and momentum were sufficient.

It was just that my body, which had lived like a still life for a long time, didn’t follow as I thought when I finally tried to move.

In my mind, I had clearly leapt at him like a lion, but in reality, I couldn’t even reach him, stepped on the hem of my skirt, and flopped forward magnificently.

“Oof!”

I flailed for a moment on the skirt, which was too voluminous to handle. The more I did, the more dust rose from my clothes and the floor, causing me to cough violently.

“Hack! Cough! Cough!”

“…”

When my coughing finally subsided after a while and I lifted my head, Felix was standing at a distance, looking at me with a very ambiguous gaze.

“…Who?”

“What do you mean ‘who’?”

I couldn’t understand why Felix was suddenly asking such a thing.

You know my name, don’t you?

Of course, I am Iel. My name on the family register is Meriel, but the name I am personally more attached to is Iel, my nickname from childhood.

Therefore, unless the relationship required formality, I still preferred to go by the name Iel. Could it be that he wanted to hear such a long-winded explanation? Well, if he wanted to hear it that badly, it’s not like I couldn’t tell him.

Or, ah! Did he forget my name? Well, three years is a bit long. He could have forgotten. Being the generous person I am, I decided to show the magnanimity of reintroducing myself in a new, cumbersome way, rather than blaming Felix’s goldfish-like memory.

I stood up, placed both hands on my waist, and opened my mouth confidently.

“I am Iel.”

My plan was to start with an impactful name, then follow up with supplementary explanations.

In fact, it was conversation after such a long time that I had already started to feel a bit fluttery, but I was a woman who had received a cultured education in my own way through my stepmother, the incarnation of elegance. Thus, I skillfully hid my fluttering heart. Even in Felix’s eyes, I must look very elegant.

I had just paused for a breath and was about to utter the second sentence while paying attention to the pitch and tone.

Suddenly, Felix drew his sword from his waist and pointed it at me. I was deeply shocked by his improper behavior. Pointing a weapon while a person is talking? In which world is this a way to say hello? Even monsters from other worlds don’t point weapons right away during introductions!