82 – shadow(5)

“Lyria?”

She just stares at me as if in silent protest.

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Just in time, a piece of the play ends and the curtain falls on the stage to move on to the next chapter.

I made small talk to lighten her mood.

“Have you ever seen a play, Lyria?”

Lillia kept her mouth shut for a while before speaking reluctantly.

“… … Nope.”

“How do you see it? You seem to be quite focused.”

“fun… . many.”

Her expression is complicated. It’s a face that makes me angry because it’s a lot of fun. Is it because it’s the place Trisha brought her to?

On stage, someone pushes the curtain with his hand. A woman with a sallow complexion, wearing glasses and her long hair roughly pinned together, squats in front of the stage.

Then he pointed in our direction and signaled to come closer.

At this, Trisha stood up and said.

“A senior in the theater department is calling. keep watching! I’ll be back later.”

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Just in time, Trisha left and Lilia put on a relaxed face. Lilia seems to be quite uncomfortable with Trisha.

The curtain opened again and rehearsals resumed.

And Trisha didn’t come back until the play was all over.

***

The stage is empty, and the audience seats are slowly emptying.

Lyria and I sat there and waited for Trisha for a while, but she didn’t show up.

Lyria nodded her head as if she was getting sleepy from waiting.

“Lilia.”

“Ah, yes!”

She was half asleep and her eyes widened in surprise at my call.

You look very tired. I’m going to stop holding on to it now and leave slowly.

“Where is the carriage?”

“Oh, it’s at the front door. I’m an outsider, so I can’t bring a wagon in, so… .”

“Next time, instead of a normal carriage, come on the one with the seal of Eternia on it.”

“… Yes!”

“And… .”

I removed the crystal necklace that detects the warlock and put it on Lyria’s hand.

“Lilia is wearing this until I ask for it back.”

Seeing the necklace, Lilia, embarrassed, held her breath for a moment.

“Damian, this is… .”

“Just remember. When this necklace vibrates, take refuge in the professor’s mansion and send me Stitch. Uh…and don’t come out of the professor’s mansion for a while. Food is left to the servants.”

Lillia nodded vigorously without questioning why.

“Yes!”

I stuck with Lyria all day and couldn’t protect her. that breaks a part of my heart

“Should I fill it now?”

“Yes.”

Lillia immediately grabs the string of the necklace and wiggles her hands to connect it from the back of her neck. However, it was difficult because the hair kept getting caught in the ring.

“Hey Damian… .”

Then he looks at me with a face that says he needs help.

“Give me.”

A smile appeared on her face, but she held it back and answered brightly.

“Yes!”

I return the necklace to my hand, and she straightens her hair with both hands and lifts it slightly.

Then I grabbed the string of the necklace and stretched out my arm to Lillia. She also twisted her body slightly, and I took a position as if I was hugging her.

I think I’ve been through this situation before.

After connecting the necklace line, a voice suddenly rang from the stage.

“What are you guys doing?”

It’s Trisha’s voice. I quickly put my body back in place, fearing that there would be a misunderstanding.

On stage, she jumps up and down. Then they sit at the end of the stage and look down at us. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to see it.

I calmly cleared my throat and said.

“You waited. But more time has passed than I thought, so I have to go back soon.”

“Have you waited long? Then, now we have to send the maid back.”

“No, I want to go with Lyria.”

He planned to return to Silverin’s mansion. It was a bit uncomfortable to send Lilia alone, and I had to look at Zverev’s notebook, which had become the property of the black magician in Silverin’s mansion.

Trisha tilts her head slightly and expresses her question.

“Where are you going with the maid? You should come with me!”

I shook my head.

“I’m going back to the professor’s mansion, not the dormitory. Because I have personal business to do.”

Tricia’s expression hardened slightly. She glared at Lilia slightly without revealing, then said.

“You two want to play without me? I get bored when I am alone.”

“Cecile and other friends were there. They’ll be at Whitdruff’s too.”

“Cecile is always busy, so I decided to stay away from that group for a while. Sisters and cousins keep arguing. I’m alone. The theater department is over.”

“… .”

“I want to go too.”

“What is that… .”

“I want to go too.”

“You are in the dormitory… .”

“When you were down, I was allowed too. That’s right, Professor Silverin’s mansion. I heard that it was safer than the dormitory because it was the original residence of the first principal. Not far. He said he only needed to accompany you to school.”

“… .”

Trisha crosses her feet, shakes them, and smiles slightly at me.

“Then I will go too.”

Why is he so stubborn? It’s a bit embarrassing, but there’s nothing wrong with it. If that statement is not a lie and the school really gave permission.

While I was organizing my thoughts for a moment, Lilia grabbed my shoulder blades and pulled me. Then he looked at me and pleaded.

“I’m Damiani… … .”

never take it away

***

The sun slanted and colored the sky. The carriage was passing along the golden river of Eternia.

I’m sorry for Lyria, but in the end, Trisha also accompanied her to the mansion. To make sure she wasn’t lying, she eventually went to Professor Ella and got a confirmation that she wasn’t lying. And at that point, I couldn’t bear to refuse Tricia’s request.

Lyria’s expression was dark for a while, but now she leans her head against the door and blinks in a semi-sleep state, probably tired of everything. And Tricia, who is sitting next to me, is engrossed in admiring the scenery outside the window.

Trisha spat out a small exclamation.

“It’s really pretty… .”

“Speak as if you are seeing it for the first time.”

“I’ve seen it a few times, but I can only count it on my hands. We always passed by in a windowless carriage.”

A wagon without windows. What was his true identity that he was treated like that? Even when convicts are escorted, they let you see outside through iron bars.

“… .”

“You and other people will see such a scenery whenever they want and go on picnics and outings to their heart’s content, right?”

There is a faint hint of envy and loneliness in her voice. Seeing that, I can understand why he insisted on going with me.

The sunset enters the carriage and illuminates the entire interior in golden light.

The sunset dyes people sentimental. Trisha was also stained like that.

“No matter how good it is, if you see it every day, it becomes dull. I like to see you sometimes like now.”

“… Will there ever come a day when I accept such scenery as my daily life?”

I am very young, but I talk like a terminally ill person with only a few days left to live.

I’m not in a position to sympathize with Tricia either. When Sylverine comes back, my free time is over.

“It’s not too late to worry after the sun goes down. I just have to enjoy it now.”

This was also something I was saying to myself. Right now, forget about the warlock, Zverev, and Luna, and Silverin… I decided to leave it as it is and put my mind at ease.

Trisha stares at me for a while. What are you thinking about?

“what’s the matter?”

“… Nothing.”

Tricia looked out the window again.

Then, as if she had noticed something strange, she fixed her eyes on the riverside and said,

“that… what?”

Then he pinched my forearm as if to watch it together.

“… yes?”

“There, on the sandbar… Isn’t that word a phantom beast?”

I also turned my gaze to the window.

As Trisha said, a white horse was standing by the riverside, drinking. Its silver mane glistens in the sunset, and horns rise from its head.

It is distinctly different from the common wild horse.

Come to think of it, Silverin said before that griffons, pegasus, and unicorns would come down here.

“It certainly doesn’t seem like an ordinary word… .”

“Isn’t that Pegasus?”

Trisha bangs her fist on the driver’s side. Soon the carriage stopped and she shouted as if she had a golden opportunity.

“Let’s go. The phantom beasts that come to Eternia are all kind! see you See you!”

When she opened the door and started to run out, I grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

“Because you don’t know, take it slow… !”

Then Tricia took my hand in reverse and pulled me out of the wagon.

“You go too!”

I wondered why I was so strong with such a delicate body. Trisha almost dragged me outside.

“Oh, Damian!”

As I was dragged out, Lilia also jumped out of the carriage.

Trisha took me by the hand and dragged me in front, and Lyria followed me by the sleeve of my dress. So we crossed the golden sand bar in a single file.

Her humble appearance evoked a faint nostalgia. Thanks to that, I couldn’t resist.

At the end of the wide sandbank, Trisha stopped with about 10 paces left with the mysterious beast. She observed it carefully and said.

“It’s a Pegasus, right?”

“It’s not Pegasus because it doesn’t have wings… It’s a unicorn because it has a horn.”

“yes? What do unicorns like?”

“Well.”

I don’t know anything about redemption. I turned to Lyria and said.

“Does Lyria know anything?”

“I don’t even know… I’ve heard of cases where unicorns were studied… .”

“What is it?”

“There is a myth that unicorns prefer younger women. Because of that, alchemists once studied the connection between unicorns and rejuvenating drugs with the patronage of noble ladies… . However, when the results came out, the support was cut off along with protests, and the data were discarded.”

“… why?”

“I don’t know… They say that research that doesn’t pay is often like that.”

To this, Trisha said confidently.

“I don’t like men. Damian, you are here. I’ll go.”

“… .”

Trisha let go of my hand and moved forward. Then he whistled to get the unicorn’s attention.

The unicorn stops drinking from the river and glances back at Trisha.

She holds out her hand and closes the gap step by step. The unicorn also showed interest in Trisha and stretched out its neck.

After smelling Trisha’s hands like that, he started rubbing his head against Trisha’s body as if his guard had been released.

“Look at this, it’s done!”

Tricia hugged the unicorn’s neck and stroked its fur happily.

“Your hair is completely soft. Oh, how pretty!”

In fact, I was going to slit his head if he showed any abnormal behavior, but fortunately it seems to have worked out.

Lilia, who had been watching the scene, slowly approached the unicorn with a crouching attitude, as if her curiosity was piqued. And then, without realizing it, I exclaimed.

“Wow… .”

When Lyria held out her palm, the unicorn licked between her fingers without warning.

“Wow!”

She freaked out and ran away and hid behind my back.

Trisha hears the screams, turns her head this way, and looks at Lilia with a little disapproval.

Then, as if something came to mind, he opened his mouth.

“Oh right. I know that? Our first common class next week is a deal about redemption.”

“yes? Where did you hear that?”

“Yes, animals with magical abilities are called phantom beasts, but if such animals live for a very long time, they say they become like native gods or high-ranking spirits. Because of that, a senior in the theater department said that it is advantageous if you know how to handle spirits.”

Wait, a spirit? As Trisha said, it becomes quite difficult if it is really related to spiritism. Because I’m not good with spirits.

“So only the elemental spirits were excited. Damian, do you know how to handle spirits?”

I said in a half resigned tone.

“I signed a contract, but not yet. If I had known it would be like this, I would have practiced a lot more intensively.”

not. Even if I practiced intensively throughout, there would not have been any significant results.

“I envy you. I want to deal with the spirits too. How do you train spirits?”

“The professor says you can feel and enjoy nature. That should be easier said than done.”

Trisha also makes a puzzled expression as if she doesn’t understand.

The unicorn walked away from Trisha and walked to the water’s edge, as if it had done all the fun.

“Where!”

She quickly threw off her shoes and followed the unicorn to the water’s edge.

The unicorn bowed towards Trisha as if to say goodbye, then accelerated.

Then, like magic, it ran across the water.

With such a graceful gesture, it spurred the surface of the river and disappeared into the forest on the other side of the river.

“… .”

All three of us were stunned by the unexpected mysterious ability and just stared at it.

said Trisha, looking in the direction where the unicorn had disappeared.

“It’s really not an ordinary animal… .”

Then, as if he couldn’t bear it, he splashed and kicked the river that was submerged up to his calf.

“Let’s go now. I will be late.”

“wait for a sec.”

Tricia said, bending over and peering at the riverbed.

“yes? come here What did he leave… ?”