(Alddan POV)

We just finished lunch.

Nora seems to be in a good mood.

“Nora.”

“Yes?”

“Did something happen?”

She looks at me puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

“You… How do I say this…? I didn’t expect you to work or fit with the others so easily. I mean, if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought that you already lived here.”

“Ah, I see… Well, it’s just that…”

She puts her finger on her chin, to indicate she’s pondering about something.

“It’s…?”

“I uh, I was reluctant at first but… Haylie convinced me that I should give it my all. That people here need to work to pull their own weight. Otherwise, uhm...”

Otherwise what? We get thrown out? We don’t eat?

“Otherwise?”

“Otherwise… Well, otherwise!” She yells and smiles.

“Uh?”

“Otherwise! Hehe!”

She’s trying to change the subject eh?

“Oh?” I look into her eyes and keep a straight face. “Miss ‘Elisa’, did I ever tell you how much you suck at hiding things?”

“Whatever do you mean~~?” She replies still smiling.

“Oh? Pretending to be ignorant?”

She stays silent while we keep looking at each other. Nora tries to hold her smile, while I just stare at her expressionless.

After a few seconds, I can notice some sweat appearing on her forehead.

I’ll leave her be for now.

“*sigh* Whatever.” I lean back on the trunk of the tree.

If she doesn’t want to tell me the rest, then fine. It’s not worth making fuss over it.

I stretch my legs and put one on top of the other.

This breeze sure feels nice.

I feel something hard on top of my thighs.

“Now I’m a pillow?”

“Yup~!”

Nora just lied down and is using my legs to rest her head.

“Hmm.” I shrug and put my hands behind my head.

“Today is so hot… Weird.”

“It sure is.”

This morning was reasonably cold but the temperature rose just like that. It’s unusual at this time of the year. Well… At least it used to be in my time.

She keeps moving her head, trying to find the most comfortable position. She keeps her eyes closed, as if she wanted to sleep.

“So, what do you think of this village?” She asks.

“Me? It’s not your usual village, that’s for sure.”

“Hmm?”

“The old man is hiding something, some of them are criminals who ran away from their homes, and they are somehow connected to Qahs Holm.”

“Uhm, they are smuggling people there, so…”

“I meant besides that. The old man said that Qahs Holm supports this village when it’s needed. So they have a stronger connection than just simple smuggling.”

“Oh.”

Sooner or later, I’ll find out the details anyway.

“By the way, you remember that man that you met earlier?”

“That creepy guy who complimented me?”

“Yeah, that guy. Keep away from him.”

“I wasn’t planning to be anywhere near him, but why? Did he do something?”

“Not really, but I have reasons to think that he’s not someone to trust.”

“Ok, you didn’t need to tell me that though.” She turns her gaze to me. “Besides, even if something happens, you can protect me.”

“Don’t push your luck missy. I’m just one guy. Just the other day you almost got killed.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me…”

“And that’s why you are going to train, right?”

“Hmm-hm.” She nods and closes her eyes again.

Speaking of which, I never discovered who that assassin was or who she worked for.

It’s a vexing situation, but there’s not much I can do right now. I can only assume that she’s probably with the faction that framed us for the prince’s death.

“Nora, I’ve been meaning to ask, why did you learn Inner Magic?”

It’s a dangerous magic to use and learn. One mistake and we can screw up our body in more ways than we can imagine. In my time, there were cases where students blown up their own arms due to carelessness.

“Hmm, when I was little, probably 5, I was playing in my house. I don’t remember well what I was doing, or how I did it, but the huge wardrobe in my mother’s room fell on top of me.”

“And you didn’t get hurt?”

A wardrobe falling over a child wouldn’t be a pretty thing to see.

“I was lucky. The door was open so I got stuck inside of it. I remember the maids screaming and calling for help. I tried to push it as hard as I could, but it wouldn’t move an inch. I was so scared that I even thought that I would stay in there forever.” A weak laugh escapes from her mouth. “I felt so weak, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get out of there. Feeling trapped like that… I don’t want to feel like that ever again.”

“And that’s why you decided to learn Inner Magic?”

“Yes. I thought that if I was stronger, I would never get stuck anywhere again. Of course, things are not as simple like that. I can’t resolve all my problems with just pure strength, but at the time I thought I could. *giggle* Father didn’t let me learn it until much later though.”

“And you weren’t afraid?”

“A little, but miss Madeleine, my instructor, was nice and encouraged me. She taught me how to maintain my calm and focus under pressure, and only then how to use Strength Inner Magic.”

“I see.”

Good enough reason as any other I suppose.

We stay silent for a few minutes, enjoying the shade of the tree and the gentle gusts of wind.

“So, what do you think about the people here Nora?”

“Hmm… I don’t know…”

“Too soon to ask?”

“I only spend a morning with them. There’s not really much I can say.”

“True enough. Dumb question.”

“Hmm-hmm” She shakes her head. “It isn’t... Well, I can say at least that I respect Haylie.”

“Oh, I noticed that. *sigh*”

“Haha, you really don’t like her?”

“Let’s just say that I would rather befriend a dragon.”

“Do dragons even exist?”

“Thankfully, probably not. Legends say that they needed to be killed at least seven times, and normal magic didn’t work on them. And to top it off, their skin was harder than steel, so… Not a monster I would like to meet.”

“You could use Inner Magic to give you an edge.”

“True, but then again, legends also say that they themselves were powerhouses that could move really fast.”

“But, in those legends, heroes of lower rank than you managed to defeat them. You could easily take care of them.”

“They were strong.”

“But you are stronger.”

“Meh.” I shrug.

“You don’t think so?”

“I just wouldn’t want to fight a dangerous thing like that for no reason, that’s all. If you haven’t noticed, I don’t enjoy fighting.”

“Hummm! Don’t take it seriously please!” She puffs her cheeks. “It was just pretend!”

There’s the ‘please’ again. I’m starting to wonder if this command thing is more troublesome than useful.

At least I’m grateful that she really cares that much about her promise of not giving me orders.

“Sorry ma’am, next time I’ll ruin the joke on purpose.”

She sighs.

Honestly though...

… What was I going to...

I’m kinda…

Feeling weird.

There’s something…

I don’t know what…

I’m feeling a bit nauseous.

It’s as if I am about to throw up.

A little push and the the lunch I just ate would come out.

My head feels heavy, as if I am about to pass out.

What the hell… Is happening...?

I rub my eyes and try to control my insides.

“Al?”

“Y-yes…”

I’m trying to not let it show, but no luck. Nora noticed that something is going on.

“Are you alright? You look pale!” She looks at me worried.

“It’s nothing… Just give me a minute…”

My insides are torturing me. I should just let it go and throw up.

No, control yourself!

“Al!? Seriously, are you ok!?!?”

I need to…

“Aah, aah…” I take deep breaths, but they don’t help at all.

I look up, as if looking for something to help me to get rid of this torture.

I see the branches of the tree with some red and green leaves.

There’s a crow. As black as it can possibly be. I would never see it if it was in the dark. Even its beak is dark.

My vision becomes worse as soon as I look at it. It’s as if I am about to shut down.

It’s because of that bird. It has to be.

I don’t know why, but I don’t like it.

I hate that thing. I despise it. That bird disgusts me.

Such trash shouldn’t be allowed to live.

It has to die.

I am going to erase it from existence.

I extract 900 mana units to smash that thing into a paste.

“What are you doing…?” Something asks me.

As I am about to guide the mana towards the bird, it flies away. As if it sensed the immediate danger.

But it’s not flying fast, it’s just casually flying away.

Whatever, I’ll just kill that thing.

I move the mana towards it again.

“Hey Al! What are you doing!?”

Annoying thing… Person...?

“Just shut up for a second.”

“Wha--”

I speed up the mana, but then I sense someone else extracting negative mana.

That mana catches up with mine as it was getting to the crow.

This annoying thing stopped me from killing that bird. Why is it against me?

“Hey Al! What’s wrong with you!?” It shakes my shoulders.

“You also want to die, don’t you?”

“Wha--!?”

I grab her neck with my left hand get up. Then I summon an arrow in my free right hand.

“Gah!! A-Al!?”

************************

(Nora POV)

“A-Al!?”

What’s happening!?

His eyes are devoid of life, but his gaze could penetrate even the most hardened veteran.

He pulls me up from the ground and puts me on my feet.

“Should have killed you all as soon I was summoned. You bloody nobles don’t deserve any right to live. Should have killed every single one of you. You, your friends, their Servants---”

“Ah-aahh---!” He’s hardening his grip on my neck.

“Your blood… Full of precious mana… I wonder...?”

!!!!!!

I try to push his fingers away, but he’s too strong. He won’t let go.

“Al! Ach, please! You’re hurting me! W-what’s wrong with you!?”

“...”

He keeps looking at me with his intense stare. I can’t break away from his eyes.

I don’t know what’s happening, I promised that I would never order him again, but--

I really have to! I’m sorry!

“Agh, Al! Let go of me!”

He keeps staring at me. I try to pull away but his grip stays the same.

He… He ignored my order…?

I can’t get away from him. He doesn’t let me go.

Ah… This must be, this must be a joke! It can’t be real!

He’s really going to kill me if I don’t escape!

“Let me go let me go let me go!!!”

I order him many times, but he still doesn’t obey.

I’m panicking. My legs are shaking.

What should I do!? I have to… I don’t know what to do!

I can’t believe what’s happening!

He keeps looking at me. He’s not moving at all. He just keeps grabbing me and looking.

He involved us both with negative mana. Even if I try to use positive mana, it will just get neutralized as soon I do. I can’t compete with him in magic.

His fingers keep my blood from flowing. My vision is fading.

I can’t breath. At this rate, I’m going to...

“Al, please! Stop!!!” I scream, desperate for him to listen.

Tears are flowing from my eyes.

He doesn’t respond. He just keeps standing there.

After a moment, he tilts his head. His gaze loses its threatening aura.

“N-Nora? Why are you…?”

He looks at his hand grabbing my neck and then his other hand with the arrow.

His eyes open wide in surprise and he immediately let’s go of me.

“W-what…?”

*cough cough cough*

I fall on my knees and put my hands on my neck and cough. My breathing is too erratic.

He looks at his left hand. He stares blankly at the arrow, but then it disappears.

“Nora… What just happened? What... Was I about to do?”

“Y-you were…” I try to reply, but my voice gets stuck.

I was really afraid. I’m safe? Right? He’s back to normal right?

No, I’m still afraid.

I try to control my trembling arms, but I can’t. I want to run away.

“I-I…” He tries to say something. “You don’t know what happened to me just now, do you? Just… Don’t get near me!”

He steps back and runs away.

“Al…”

What happened just now… It think it wasn’t his fault, but I can’t help how I feel.

I feel relieved. Relieved because he went away.

What happened…?

I take deep breaths.

I never heard of a Servant acting like that. He didn’t obey me and he was hurting me. He was defying our contract.

And then he talked about my blood? It’s as if he was thirsty for mana.

Wait Nora… Think… Stop and think.

He suddenly started to feel sick. It was written in his face that he was about to throw up.

Then he looked up.

There was a crow. And he for some reason was about to do something to it.

Did that crow…?

I can’t imagine how or why that crow made Al react like this, but I don’t have any other idea.

That crow did something to Al.

I have to find it!

“Let me see…”

I get up and look in the direction it flew off.

“He went towards the village. I’m going to find it no matter what.”

Clenching my hands, I run towards the village.

...

I reach the center of the village.

“Where is it?”

I look for it on the rooftops, but I can’t see him.

Everyone already had lunch and are doing their chores.

“Oh, hey! Uhm, Elisa, was it? Did you bring the basket?”

A girl about my age asks.

“Uh, uh!? Oh, no! I’m sorry!” I forgot about it. “I’ll get it later ok!?”

I run away from her while looking at the rooftops.

“Ah, hey! What’s the matter!?” She yells, but I just ignore.

I have to find that crow. I’m tired of not knowing why all these weird things are happening!

…

Twenty minutes have passed and I still can’t find it.

I already ran all over the village, but It didn’t show up.

Damnit!

I can’t give up!

I keep running and checking all sides of all the buildings. Front, back, left, right. I have to make sure I check each building properly!

The only birds I find are seagulls.

“Please be on this one!”

I check this house from all sides, but no luck.

Crows like to be in high places right?

But what if it flew away from the village? Or what if it didn’t even come to the village and just kept flying?

“Ugh…”

No, even if he isn’t here, I have to keep looking. I have to find out what happened.

“Alright, next house!”

I check the front of another house. Nothing.

But as I run to check the back.

“Ah! There it is!”

A black bird.

It’s the crow we saw! It’s on top of the rooftop.

It’s looking at me.

“Ah! Found you!”

… Now what?

Argh, I’m so stupid. I looked for it without knowing what I would do if I found it.

Ok, keep calm… Think logically.

The easiest would be killing it, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. I should capture it alive.

Ok. Alive. That’s easy.

There’s no one watching.

I can use… Physical Magic maybe? But I might kill it by accident.

What if---

*Cah!*

It caws and flies away.

“Oh no you don’t!”

I start running after it.

Damnit, I can’t use magic while running! Else I’ll kill it by accident.

I have to run after it until it stops.

I don’t know where it’s going, but it’s flying outside of the village.

It can fly wherever it wants, I won’t give up!

It’s going north, and we are already a good distance from the village.

The crow starts descending and lands on the ground.

“Ah-ah! Got you!”

But as I was about to cast magic to hold it down, it started to morph.

“E-Eh?”

It started to grow.

Its wings started to lose it’s form and transform into human arms. Its legs also transform into human legs. The body and the head assume a human appearance.

As all of that happens, all of its feathers disappear.

“Wha-at…”

A blue haired man appears where there used to be a crow.

It looks young, but older than me. His body is muscular and he’s wearing a formal black attire.

He’s just like a doll I used to have. He looks just like it.

“Who-o… Who are you?” I ask.

He gives a gentle smile.

“You don’t need to know that. Just know that I am your guardian angel.”

That voice!!!

“Y-you’re the one from back then!”

The voice I heard when I was at my mansion, when Al got killed!

“Yes.”

“Who are you!? Why did you help me!? Why---!?”

“Shhh, please, don’t ask all those questions. You only need to know that I want to protect you, nothing more.”

“Protect me?”

Who’s he in the first place!? And why does he care about me?

“You were running all over the village looking for me. Sorry for just appearing just now, but I had to make sure that I could bring you somewhere where no one would see us.”

“W-what?”

He raises his hand.

“Nevermind that. Just know that what happened earlier wasn’t your Servants fault. It was mine. Servant’s nature react very strongly to our existence. I was selfish and got more close than I should. I’m really sorry, you I got you hurt.” He bows.

“W-what do you mean?”

So he really isn’t human? Then what is he? What does he mean that he was selfish?

“I meant what I said. Servants hate my kind.” He raises his finger. “Let me explain, mages believe that there are only three types of mana, but in truth, there are more.”

“More types of mana? You mean, besides neutral, negative and positive?”

“Exactly. Even I am unsure how many there are, but I can safely say that there are at least 5. I don’t have neutral mana inside of me like you have, instead, I have another type of mana. We call it the Dark Mana.”

“Dark… What?”

I don’t get it.

“You don’t need to understand, but you should question some things that you learned. Not everything is like how it’s explained in those books you studied.”

“...”

He continues. “Dark Mana. It’s a different kind of mana. It’s not like the three types you know. It’s a passive type of mana. It makes everything react to it. It can’t be used.”

“React?”

“Yes, just by being close. As you could see, Servants are the most extremist examples. Alddan went mad just because I was close to him, imagine if I touched him. Meanwhile humans react differently...”

He gets closer to me.

“Differently?”

I think about stepping back, but I can’t. My legs won’t move.

“Yes…” He stops right in front of me. “They dream.” He touches my forehead.

A huge sense of sleepiness falls on top of me. My head feels heavy and my eyes just want to get closed.

“Wha…..”

I fall on the ground, too tired to even consider to move...

I’m too tired to think....

“I thought you deserved to know at least this much. I’ll make sure that someone picks you up and brings you safely to the village.”

“...”

I try to look at him, but I just want to close my eyes…

“Sleep well Mander. Just remember, no matter what happens, I’ll always be by your side.”

He says so with a warm smile just before I close my eyes.

Mander…?

I can’t stay awake anymore... I should just let myself fall asleep...

**********************************

(Alddan POV)

My mind is blank.

One moment I was just relaxing with Nora, the next I was strangling her. It’s like if time skipped.

I was just there, seated, and then I was strangling her. Just like that.

No fade out. No weird memories. No nothing. Just skipped from one scene to the other.

What the hell happened!?

I just don’t know how… Or why…

Am I going nuts? Until now I was just joking to myself when I thought about me being paranoid, but now I really think I am losing it!

Is this some kind of side effect...?

Side effect to what, you stupid!?

Too many questions, too few fuckin answers!!!

“AAAGH!!!” I scratch my head as hard as I can.

I crouch on the ground and look at the grass.

“Aaaafuuuu…” I take a deep breath.

And then another.

That’s right. Above all else, I must keep my cool.

What’s happening to me is not normal, but it isn’t an excuse to lose my calm.

I… Need to speak with her…

I know very well what happened. I hurted her. But I need to know the details.

Why I did that? Did something happen? Did she order me to do something? How did I managed to hurt her despite our contract?

I need to know what happened. Everything that she might remember is important.

She must know at least something… She must…

“She… Went towards the village, I think?”

I look at the village.

Can I really talk to her? Am I allowed?

I don’t know if I have the courage…

… No. It doesn’t matter if I shouldn’t in a moral level. She’s my only lead.

If she doesn’t want to talk to me, then fine, I’ll try to be respectful and give her some space. But sooner or later I’ll have to make her talk.

“...”

I kind of hate myself right now. For thinking those thoughts.

I shake my head.

Let’s leave my pathetic personal dilemmas for later. Right now I should find her.

I run towards the village.

…

After ten minutes running around the village, I couldn’t find her.

She must be inside of some house. Maybe Fatwoman’s house?

“Huh, hello, are you looking for someone?”

I look behind, and there’s a girl with a broom on her hand.

“Yeah, did you see my friend? Elisa.”

“Oh, I saw her earlier. She was running around the village, and I don’t know why. I called her, but she just ignored. I think she was looking for something.”

Looking for something? Does that mean that she knows what happened!?

“I-I see. Do you know where she is?”

“I saw her running outside of the village. I was going to call her but then I thought she was going to meet you. *gasp* Should I have stopped her…? Is she in trouble!?”

“Don’t worry about it. Where did she go?”

“That way, to the north.”

“Thanks!”

The moment she points me where she went, I start running.

...

Soon after, I exit the village from the north side.

I’m starting to feel…

Ugh, did her sandwiches have something rotten?

No matter! I’ll just suck it up for now!

I look in the distance, and see a man.

Who’s he?

I’m… I? My head feels…

That guy… That thing… There’s also another thing on the ground…

Thing? She? He? It? Nora?

Why should I care about that thing on the ground? The other…

The other one should die!

**********************

The man crouches close to Nora, and caresses her sleeping face.

“Mander… If only I had been stronger…”

*BAAAM*

A loud sound comes from the sudden impact between the Alddan’s fist and the man’s face.

The man is sent a few meters sliding on the ground.

He immediately gets up and composes himself, then looks to where he was before.

There stands a black haired man, with such an expression that could kill a beast by just looking.

“Ah, I see. It’s unfortunate how I didn’t notice your approach.”

He just looks at the enraged man, as if he was never hit in the face.

“I doubt you’ll understand this, but no conventional magic or physical attacks work on me.”

Alddan ignores his words and jumps forward.

“AAAAHH!”

The man sighs.

As soon as Alddan gets close, the violet haired extends his right hand and grabs Alddan by the neck, and squeezes his hand.

He raises Alddan in the air and forces him to stand on the tip of his toes.

“Aaagh-aah!”

“Most people don’t know about this, but there are ways to knock out a Servant.”

“Ghh!!”

Alddan tries to break the man’s arm with Strength Inner Magic, but to no avail.

Then he extracts 900 mana units and burns the man.

“...”

But again, to no avail.

There’s no skin burned, or even hair. It’s as if he was never attacked. His face is clean as if he just washed it.

The man casually looks at Alddan’s face.

“Servants are just like humans, but they won’t die unless the brain is destroyed, or they run out of mana. But, if we cut the oxygen, the brain will die, temporarily at least.”

He squeezes his hand harder. His fingers start penetrating Alddan’s neck and blood flows through his arm.

“Ahh-gah!!!”

“You Servants really hate our kind, don’t you? Since forever, we tried to understand why, and how we could co-exist, but we never found out. We were forced to lock you away in your own worlds.”

“Ghhh!” Alddan keeps struggling as hard as he can, activating all kinds of magic and trying to hurt that man who just casually ignores his attacks.

“It’s really a pity. Some of you really have great stories to tell. I wish we could just chat forever and tell incredible stories... I even know your’s as a matter of fact.” The man looks down, with sadness. “But, it just cannot be… If only---”

Alddan summons one arrow in his right hand and stabs the man in the neck.

He casually looks at what happened, and back at Alddan again.

“Like I said, you can’t hurt me.”

Alddan pulls the arrow. It’s soaked in blue glowing blood.

Such blood is certainly not of this world.

The wound doesn’t shed any blood and heals immediately.

Alddan brings the arrow to his mouth and sucks the tip of it.

The man looks at Alddan, curious.

“Heh!”

Alddan grins and opens his hand in front of the man’s face.

And in just one moment, everything in front of that hand disintegrated with a flash.

The man’s head and the ground behind him disappeared. There’s just a big hole behind him.

The headless man let’s go of Alddan and takes a few steps backwards. His neck his gushing out blue blood everywhere.

Alddan just stands where he was, grinning while looking at the man. His right hand is now visible, since the front of his glove that he was using disintegrated as well.

The man’s head regenerates in few seconds. He looks at Alddan in surprise, with his eyes wide open.

“Heh… Hehe… Hehehehe…” Alddan laughs.

“What was…”

“Oh yes… Now we can fight fairly…”

Alddan keeps grinning and looking at the man, but his eyes are unfocused.

The man adopts a serious expression. He knows that he underestimated his opponent.

He’s now aware that Alddan just became a dangerous enemy.

“I fucking hate you… Hehe, your blood is delicious… I want it. I want that power. You’re going to give it to me.”

Alddan opens his eyes and focuses his vision on the opponent.

His pupils are glowing bright blue. His grin can almost touch both ears.

“I wonder how many times I’ll have to erase you until you beg for your life. Let’s find out, shall we?”