Episode 43
"...Ugh."
Letting out a short groan, I slowly opened my eyes.
Then, darkness without a single point of light pervaded everywhere.
"W-what's going on?"
Flustered, I tried to spray star mana in all directions, but for some reason, the mana wouldn't activate.
'...Damn it, I really hate the dark.'
I quite dislike dark places.
To be precise, I absolutely hate being in a pitch-black space with no light whatsoever.
Of course, the space I'm in now appears vast and wide, but since I can't see its end, I hate it just the same.
"Ugh..."
Because of that, I was flailing around with a grim expression when I started feeling something at my feet.
"Meow."
"...Meow?"
A black cat... no, a cat doll was gently nibbling my foot.
"...Thank goodness, at least you're here."
Thanks to that, I felt slightly relieved and lifted the creature up, but the cat doll started shedding tears and began fiercely licking my face.
"W-why are you doing this?"
"Meow... meow..."
I tried to peel the cat doll off, but suddenly it pounced on me, knocked me down, and started licking my face continuously.
"...What is this?"
Having been defeated by a small cat doll in an instant, I ended up scratching my head and had no choice but to let it lick me for a while.
"Meow..."
By the time my face became slick and glossy, the cat doll curled up on my chest and started rubbing its face against mine.
'...Is this sleep paralysis?'
Since it was too cute and happy a dream to call sleep paralysis, I just lay there, but suddenly the darkness all around began to fade.
- Shuuu...
Before long, blue fields and trees started appearing around me, and only then was I able to figure out what this situation was.
'...It's the same dream I experienced back then.'
Probably, this situation is similar to when I saw Perlotte's past appearance.
"...Mom?"
Sure enough, my childhood self began to appear in my field of vision.
"...Right, I got lost while playing hide-and-seek in the forest back then."
Back then, I had gotten lost while playing hide-and-seek with my mother in the forest.
That must have been it.
That's how it should have been...
'...Something's strange.'
Now that I think about it, something is off. Why would I get lost while playing hide-and-seek? How could my mother, who was a stellar mage superior to anyone else, forget about her young child?
"Mom... where did you go...?"
The words that soon came from my mouth were, as expected, quite different from my memory.
"Mom... how long do I have to keep hiding...? Mom..."
My young self, wearing an anxious expression, kept calling out for mom, but my mother was nowhere to be seen, and so the night of the forest began to deepen.
"I-I'm scared... waaah..."
I had been trembling with fear, waiting for my mother, then leaned against a tree and cried my eyes out until I eventually grew tired and fell asleep.
"Grrr..."
And a short while later, a wolf discovered young me, fast asleep, and started slinking closer.
'...That happened?'
I was tilting my head at a memory completely different from what I had been thinking, when a fireball flew in at high speed from somewhere.
- Hwarlk!!
"Yelp!!"
The wolf, hit by the fireball on its tail, fled with its tail on fire, yelping desperately.
"W-what?"
Young me, awakened by the commotion, looked around and discovered a red-haired girl right in front of me.
She was young Irina, with whom I had formed a small acquaintance after I kept one-sidedly trying to talk to her while sneaking out to the alleyways without my parents' knowledge for several months before the dream's perspective.
"Y-you..."
"Frey, what are you doing in a place like this?"
"Well..."
Young Irina, who was lighting a fire with one hand and looking at a crudely made piece of paper with the other, soon crumpled the paper, put it in her pocket, and started muttering.
"Alright, found the missing Duke family's first son... if I receive the amount written here, I'll be able to eat for a year."
"...W-what does that mean?"
When I asked her, slightly frightened, young Irina frowned deeply and answered.
"The noble young master doesn't need to know."
"B-but..."
"Enough. As I always say... I absolutely hate talking with nobles. I'm only doing this job for the money in the first place."
"...Huh?"
"Hurry up and get up. Don't you want to go home?"
Young Irina snapped at young me's continued interruptions, and young me urgently got up and shouted.
"I want to go home! I want to see my mom!"
"Then shut up and follow me."
"Okay..."
Like that, young me and Irina started descending the mountain, cutting through the darkness.
"...But what was that paper earlier?"
"......"
"And how did you find this place? Hmm?"
"...Ugh."
Irina, who had been silently descending the mountain, narrowed her eyes at my continued questions and then started getting irritated.
"Be quiet!! You're interfering with finding the way!!"
"...But I know the way too?"
"What?"
But when young me answered brightly, young Irina, who looked slightly flustered, soon frowned and asked.
"Then why were you missing?"
"Missing? Me?"
"Yeah, according to this paper..."
Saying that, Irina looked down at the paper carefully, then froze for a moment before clearing her throat and changing the subject.
"Ahem... anyway, let's go down."
"If we go down the mountain, can I see my mom?"
"........."
"Mom told me to never show myself and to keep hiding..."
"...Let's go."
Like that, the two of them, having once again shared a conversation that wasn't in my memory at all, started trudging down the mountain.
'"Awoooo...!"'
"...Ha?"
Then, the sound of wolves howling began to be heard from somewhere.
""Grrrr...""
Before long, a large pack of wolves started surrounding me and Irina, and Irina, who was watching those wolves with a pathetic expression, scoffed and ignited flames in both hands.
Then the wolf pack lowered their bodies and began to take attack positions, and young me, frightened, pressed close to Irina's back and peeked my head out to watch the situation.
"...Come at me all at once, you trash."
Meanwhile, Irina finished saying those words and aimed the flames at the wolves, but...
- Kung!!
Suddenly the ground around them began to vibrate, and when something walking on two legs started approaching from far away, she showed an expression of astonishment.
"W-werewolf...? Why is a high-ranking monster in such a worthless forest...?"
A 'werewolf,' a high-ranking monster known to be difficult for average knights or mages to deal with, started glaring at young me and her.
"...Hic."
Then young me started hiccupping from fear, and Irina, who was quietly stepping backward, whispered softly to me.
"Hey."
"Yeah..."
"Run."
And the very next moment, Irina fired a fireball behind her to blow away the wolves, then grabbed my arm and started running.
"Kwoooooh!!"
Then, the werewolf and wolves all began to chase after young me and Irina at once.
"Damn it, if it's come to this... even if the reward gets cut a bit, I need to call for support."
Irina, who was running frantically while holding my arm, frowned and then gathered fire in her hand and started shooting it into the sky.
- Pubang! Pang!!
Then the flames that soared high soon exploded and began to embroider fireworks in the sky, and the moment I was watching that scene quite interestingly... suddenly everything stopped.
"...What is this?"
I was momentarily flustered by the sudden situation, when the scene before my eyes disappeared, and then a new scene started appearing before me as if a painting were being drawn.
"Grrrr..."
"Haa... haa..."
The newly appeared scene was quite a desperate situation.
The wolf pack and werewolf were glaring at young me and Irina from beyond the barrier of fire that young Irina had created.
"W-what do we do now?"
"...Damn, what terrible luck."
Moreover, behind young me and Irina, a cliff was prominently waiting.
"If this continues, we won't last long."
"T-then..."
"So listen carefully."
Young Irina, who had been frowning for a moment, began to whisper quietly to young me, who was terrified.
"When I count to three, you run to the side. I'll land a hit on the werewolf in front and then follow you."
"B-but..."
"The wolves aren't a problem. If I can just injure the werewolf somehow, we should be able to shake them off easily."
Saying that, Irina pushed me to the side and started counting.
"One... two... three!!"
At that moment, young Irina ran forward with flames wrapped around her hands, and young me started running into the space that opened to the side.
"Hiyap!!"
"Grrk...!"
Irina, who agilely punched the werewolf's stomach while breaking through the flame barrier, immediately turned her body to try to escape, but...
"Kwoooooh!!"
"Damn it!!"
Because her cloak was caught by the werewolf, she ended up dangling helplessly.
"L-let go of this!"
The werewolf, who had lifted young Irina high as she struggled desperately to escape, moved the surrounding wolves back, then met eyes with her and began to bare its teeth, and the moment Irina closed her eyes tightly at that sight...
"L-let her go!!"
Young me, who had picked up a tree branch from somewhere, struck the werewolf's leg fiercely and shouted.
"Y-you idiot..."
"Grrk?"
Then young Irina started to show a hollow expression, and the werewolf, who had been tilting its head for a moment, soon kicked young me powerfully.
"Khhak!!"
Young me, who had been striking the werewolf's leg diligently until then, couldn't react in time and was hit directly by the kick, and as a result, tumbled on the ground and ended up hanging limply at the edge of the cliff.
"Grrrk!!"
Young Irina, who had been watching young me blankly, soon ignited flames in both hands and started swinging them wildly at the werewolf, but...
"L-let go! Let this g..."
"Grrk!!"
"Khhak!!"
The werewolf, who had grabbed both her arms, perhaps wanting revenge for the stomach punch she had landed earlier, struck her stomach fiercely, and she went limp just like young me.
"Grrr..."
The werewolf, who had been looking at her limp form for a moment, started licking its lips while looking at me in the distance.
"...It's a female werewolf."
"...Meow."
I, who had been watching the crisis young me and Irina were in with the black cat, noticed the werewolf's gender and started sighing.
"Kitty, my memory was definitely... I got lost while playing hide-and-seek during the day, was about to be attacked by a single wolf, Irina saved me and got a scar on her face..."
"Meow...?"
"But why is a female werewolf licking its lips at me in this dream? Since it feels similar to last time, it doesn't seem like a simple dream."
"Meow..."
"And why do you always appear with me when I have dreams like this..."
"Kyaaak!!"
I was pouring out various questions that came to mind to the cat doll, who was avoiding my gaze here and there, when suddenly a scream was heard from far away.
"F-Frey..."
"H-hold my hand tight! Irina!"
Irina, who had almost fallen off the cliff because the werewolf threw her, was dangling from my hand.
"Grrrk!!"
The werewolf, slightly flustered by the situation, started running urgently toward us, but...
"Ugh, aaah!!"
Because of that, the ground started shaking violently, and young me, who was precariously holding Irina, lost balance and fell forward.
"Aaaaaaaaah!!"
"Noooooo!!"
Like that, young Irina and I ended up falling helplessly to the bottom of the cliff.
"...So it is a dream? If that were real, there's no way Irina and I would be alive, right?"
"Meow."
I, who had been watching that scene blankly, started guessing for a moment that this might not be something that actually happened but just my dream, but...
- Shuuu...
When the scene started to change slowly, I changed my mind.
"Hey... wake up...!"
"Ugh... ugh..."
Young Irina, completely soaked, was shaking me, who was also completely soaked and had lost consciousness.
- Tadak... tadak...
To our right, river water was flowing fiercely, and to the left, firewood that Irina had ignited with magic was burning.
- Pubang! Pububang!!
"...Damn it, when are they coming?"
Irina, who had stopped shaking me for a moment and was gathering flames in her left hand and shooting them into the sky, snapped while looking at me lying limp on the ground.
"You idiot... you could have just run away... why did you come back?"
Saying that, Irina, who was lighting flames in her right hand to melt my frozen body, started muttering with an expression of disbelief.
"You're a successful noble young master... someone who came out to the streets for amusement and thinks becoming friends with a commoner like me is just a game... that kind of unpleasant noble..."
"Ugh..."
"But... why on earth did you come back..."
Young Irina, who had been muttering while looking at me groaning for a while, hardened her expression when she sensed something from far away and quietly rose from her spot.
"Grrr..."
The werewolf, which had chased us all the way to the bottom of the cliff, was slowly approaching us children.
"Grrrk!!"
Irina, who was glaring at such a werewolf, started igniting flames with all her might, but...
"Damn it, just because I used a detection spell for a moment, my mana is..."
Since she barely had any mana left in her body, she soon stumbled and collapsed.
'...Detection magic is a large-scale spell that requires at least 5 mages from the Magic Tower to use?'
"Grrk."
While I was momentarily astonished at the 'detection' magic Irina said she used, the werewolf, which had approached right in front of young me by now, started licking its lips while looking at me.
- Pububang!!
"Kwooooh!!!"
However, Irina, who had been collapsed on the ground, used every last ounce of her strength to hit the werewolf's face with a fireball, and the werewolf ended up grabbing its face and rolling on the ground.
"W-we need to... get out of here quickly..."
Taking advantage of that gap, Irina tried to stand up trembling and take a step, but...
"...Ugh!"
She stopped walking for a moment, glanced at me who was still limp, then started dragging me away.
"If we can just... get into that grass over there, we can hide our bodies..."
"Grrrk!!"
"Kyaaak!!"
But since my clothes were completely soaked with water and I had become heavy, there was a limit to dragging me, and eventually she was caught by the werewolf.
"Kwoooooooooh!!"
"Kyaaak!!"
Before long, the werewolf, filled with rage to the top of its head, started striking her repeatedly with its fist.
Then her clothes started tearing from the werewolf's sharp claws, and a deep cross-shaped scar formed on her cheek.
- Puk! Pubuk!!
"Ugh... ugh..."
The werewolf, who had been striking young Irina with adjusted strength to inflict maximum pain, smiled when she was on the verge of losing consciousness and aimed its sharp claws at her neck.
"Grrr..."
"This... shitty life..."
Irina, who saw that sight, shed tears from her eyes and spat out curses in a sorrowful voice, and the next moment, the sharp claws seemed about to dig into her neck, but...
- Ppak!!
"Krrrk!!"
Suddenly a dull sound was heard, and the werewolf foamed at the mouth and collapsed in front of her.
"Why... did you come back...?"
Young Irina, who had been staring blankly at that sight, soon discovered young me, who was holding a thick wooden stick and had his head deeply bowed behind the fallen werewolf.
"The Starlight Duke family..."
"F-Frey..."
"...is a heroic family that protects everyone, whether weak or strong."
Young me, who finished saying those words, added a short phrase, then lost consciousness and collapsed into Irina's arms.
"...That's what mom always told me."
And then, silence flowed for a moment.
"Over here!! The signal came from here!!"
'Young master!! Are you alright?'
'Son!!'
Before long, the Starlight family's servants and father started running urgently toward where we were, and at that moment, my vision was once again dyed in darkness.
"...Haah."
Like that, I, who had seen everything that was probably my past, let out a sigh and muttered.
"I definitely awakened my star mana only after seeing the prophecy... and that's how it's written in the settings too..."
"Meow..."
"I don't... know anymore."
Saying that, I hugged the cat doll, who was looking at me sadly, and lay down in the dark space.
.
'Young master... please wake up now...'
Meanwhile, at that time, in Frey's dormitory.
'...You promised to go out with me.'
Kania, who had just emerged from Frey's unconsciousness, looked at him with a haggard face and muttered.
'What are you going to do, postponing the promise for three months...'
Before they knew it, the first semester of Sunrise Academy was coming to an end.