It had already been four days since I sent the black magicians to a world filled with nothing but the souls they had so dearly loved.
Because it had been late at night, the children I had temporarily left at a small nearby church—fortunately, all except three—had been reunited with their parents.
Of the three, two appeared to be orphans somehow surviving in the slums, and the remaining one was a child who had been kidnapped and dragged here from afar for human trafficking. The church there had also decided to take them in, saying it was the Lord’s will.
It was a slightly unsettling ending, but not everything in life could be beautiful.
One slightly sad fact was that the groceries and backpack I had bought that very day had disappeared, stolen as if it were only natural, and I had no idea where they had gone…
Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Among the rescued children, there was the son of a merchant who ran a trading company—though not a large one—and thanks to that, I received far more reward than what I had lost.
I hadn’t done it expecting money, and rescuing the kidnapped child had been something of a bonus while I was crushing the black magicians in the first place. But since they offered, I accepted without refusing.
“Master, look at this, there are gold coins too!”
The closer one got to the center of the continent, the more common gold became, and the value of gold coins had dropped.
Even so, a gold coin was a gold coin. Just one of these was worth more than everything I had lost.
And I received four such gold coins, fifteen silver coins, and a pouch so full of copper coins that it felt heavy.
With this, I wouldn’t have to worry about money for the time being.
Especially since the number of mouths to feed was about to increase by two soon enough.
◇
If there was a problem, it was that the girl I had rescued and brought back from the laboratory still hadn’t opened her eyes.
There were only two beds, and it felt a bit wrong to make Kasian sleep on the floor, so I had laid her down in my bed. But she had remained with her eyes closed until now.
When I had first brought her here, her condition had truly been life-threatening—if left untreated, she would have died.
Although her soul was intact, her body had suffered severe damage from the strain caused by mana.
Her body was one that couldn’t resist mana at all, and she had been continuously exposed to high concentrations of it. It was only natural, if anything.
The situation was even more serious than I had thought. I stayed up all night, tending to each damaged cell one by one, barely managing to keep her alive.
However, although she looked fine on the outside, both her body and mind had been pushed to their limits, so she still seemed unable to wake up.
———Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
“Master, I boiled some porridge. Here, along with bread.”
“Yeah, thanks. Put it over there.”
Not knowing when she would wake up, I was pretty much always waiting in my room. I replaced proper sleep with brief catnaps in my chair, dozing off now and then.
But going without food entirely was a bit too hard to endure, so I had Kasian bring me meals like this.
“…She still hasn’t woken up?”
“Right. It’s about time she woke up.”
Hydration and nutrients were fine since I was supplying her with intravenous fluids I made with magic. But that aside, lying down for so long in an already weakened state couldn’t be good for her health.
I gently wiped away the small beads of sweat that had formed on the girl’s forehead.
—
Day 5.
The girl still showed no signs of waking.
But the fact that she occasionally twitched her fingertips and was gradually beginning to show reactions was a good sign.
—
Day 6.
Signs that she was slowly beginning to wake were now appearing.
Her eyelids fluttered periodically, and though very faint, she also let out groans.
When I lightly pinched the back of her hand as a test, her hand reacted and her expression slightly scrunched up at the same time. It seemed she didn’t have much longer before waking.
—
And then, Day 7.
The sun had passed its zenith, and a yellow hue was just beginning to spread at the edge of the sky.
The girl, who had been lying unconscious for a full seven days, finally came to her senses and slowly opened her eyes.
With eyes as blue as her hair, the girl looked around her surroundings briefly. Soon finding me, she slowly sat up and faced me directly.
And just as I had expected, her reaction was…
…extremely cold.
◇
The girl grabbed the cloth quilt tightly with her hands and covered herself as if hiding.
Then she pressed herself flat against the wall, crouched her body, and glared at me.
She slightly lowered her head so that her pupils were turned slightly upward, and her mouth was firmly shut, showing that she wouldn’t say a word.
It was while the girl was in that state, rolling only her eyes to look me up and down in wariness.
———Knock, knock!
Startled by the sound of knocking from outside, the girl pressed her body even closer to the wall. She seemed ready to slip inside the wall if she could.
“Come in.”
“Master, the porridge today too…”
When Kasian entered, the girl flinched dramatically and curled up even tighter. The eyes that had been directed at me now fixed upon Kasian, then soon she rolled only her eyes to look back and forth between me and Kasian.
“Huh, what. She’s awake?”
“Yeah.”
As I answered, I brought my index finger to my lips, signaling him not to say anything. Kasian seemed about to say something, but after looking into my eyes, he nodded slightly.
Right now, rather than speaking to her recklessly, she needed time alone to organize her thoughts.
I got up from my chair and placed a bowl of porridge and a cup of water on the table beside the bed.
“Eat if you’re hungry. You can leave it if you want.”
Leaving only those words, I left the room with Kasian. I didn’t forget to close the door carefully so as not to startle her.
As soon as we were outside the room, Kasian looked at the door as if somewhat dumbfounded.
“What’s with her? You saved her, but she doesn’t say a word?”
“Just leave her be. Right now, she probably doesn’t even understand what’s going on.”
In a way, it was a natural reaction. I didn’t know exactly how long she had been held by the black magicians, but a child who had endured ruthless experiments for a long time had no reason to blindly trust people.
If she had at least been with other children of similar age in a prison, it might have been different. But she had been locked up alone.
When I asked the other imprisoned children, not a single one had ever seen the girl.
So it was clear that everyone around her must have seemed like someone she couldn’t trust. Everyone other than herself would have been known to her only as people who inflicted pain upon her.
Deep wounds inflicted on the heart at a young age did not heal easily. The reason it remained a wound and had not yet become a scar was simply that it could still be healed someday.
It was a problem that time would eventually solve.
◇
More than a month had passed since the girl woke up.
Counting the days, it was exactly thirty days.
Perhaps because the psychological wounds she had suffered were so deep, the girl’s heart showed little sign of opening during that time.
For the first few days, she kept her mouth tightly shut, only nodding her head at questions like whether she was hungry or needed water.
Her attitude of watching me warily remained the same. Even so, I continued to stay by her side without minding.
Because patience was the most important part in healing this type of wound.
Around ten days later, her habit of crouching and resisting had almost disappeared. Moreover, though in a very small voice, she had even begun answering with her voice.
Most of what she said was just “Yes,” so it wasn’t very meaningful, but it was progress nonetheless.
Another ten days passed, and this time she showed a bit of defiance. For example, she would refuse to eat when food was brought, or pretend to accidentally drop a cup and spill water.
But I knew these were tests—acts to see if I would attack her even so—so I brushed them off without concern.
And then another ten days passed.
Now she no longer showed such defiant behavior, and the unconscious wariness in her actions had softened considerably.
The biggest improvement was that she had finally begun speaking properly. Though it was still only short phrases, it was proof that the girl was opening her heart.
◇
Perhaps because of her past experiences, the girl often suffered from nightmares. She would break into a cold sweat during the early morning, sometimes even shedding tears, but when I carefully stroked her, she would soon regain her peace.
Tonight as well, I stayed up watching to make sure the girl wouldn’t have nightmares. I could doze off and get some sleep when it got quiet later.
Thanks to that, I was incredibly tired, but I could still endure it for now.
As the morning sun rose and faint sunlight entering through the window brightened the room, the girl’s eyes flickered, then slowly opened, and she got up.
Unlike when she had first seen me, wariness no longer dwelt in her eyes.
“Did you sleep well?”
“…Yes.”
The girl stared at me, then slowly nodded and spoke.
I had Kasian bring porridge earlier, and now I reheated it with magic and held it out to the girl.
“Eat when you want. You can leave it if you want.”
“…Thank… you.”
The girl slowly picked up the spoon and carefully began to eat.
After the meal, silence. I sat in my chair looking out the window, while the girl looked around the room or stared at me without a word.
Only small noises from downstairs filled the room.
The past few days had been like this. The silence was stifling, but this was good enough.
Then, suddenly, I wondered if it would be alright to ask now, and opened my mouth.
“What’s your name?”
Actually, I had asked several times so far, but she hadn’t answered properly until now, so I hadn’t been able to hear it.
Hearing the question, the girl looked at me briefly, then lowered her head deeply and fidgeted with the blanket with her fingers, mumbling.
Just as I was thinking I wouldn’t get an answer today either, the girl slowly opened her mouth.
“Name… I don’t really know.”
As the girl slowly spoke, tears had slightly welled up in her eyes before she knew it. However, her expression was one of not understanding why tears were forming in her own eyes.
“My memory… I don’t really remember.”
She couldn’t remember. It was an answer that hinted at how young she had been when captured by the black magicians.
The black magicians probably didn’t even know her name, and even if they did, they wouldn’t have called her by it…
It seemed possible that she had forgotten it.
Still, it would be a bit inconvenient not to have a name.
“Then, until you remember again, I’ll give you a new name.”
The girl looked at me without saying a word, then slowly nodded. It was a movement with slight hesitation, but no sign of refusal was visible.
I recalled having given names to many children. Kasian was also a name I had given.
Most of my disciples had lived their lives with the names I gave them, so this child would likely be the same.
“Then, from now on, your name is…”
I pondered for a moment.
Having decided in my mind, I opened my mouth.
“Illiana. Your name is Illiana.”
Illiana.
In the ancient imperial language, it meant “the shining one.”