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“There’s one more thing I haven’t given you yet. Can you come with me to the private practice room for a moment?”

“Do you mean the private practice room with Ray?”

It wasn’t me who responded to Siabel’s words, but Princess Shione herself.

I wondered what kind of gift she was planning to give and if she intended to take me separately to the private practice room.

The thought of Shione’s curiosity sparked by Siabel’s intentions went unanswered as Siabel glanced at me.

‘…The atmosphere feels different from usual.’

The usual carefree and playful glint in Siabel’s eyes had faded.

She seemed to have returned to the moment when we first entered the Beltlin Mountain Range, where I had just caught the troublesome spider. She looked at me like an interesting and amusing person, sometimes showing a deep curiosity.

The evidence was in her bright yet slightly chilling smile and her clear, azure eyes, now mixed with subtle emotions as they gazed at me.

“Yes, the private practice room. If you have some free time after this, I’d like to take you there for a moment.”

“I have enough time… can I come along too?”

“Unfortunately—”

Siabel slowly shook her head.

“It might be a bit difficult today. I have some things to discuss that should be just the two of us.”

Just the two of us.

The subtly changed atmosphere of Siabel and that phrase seemed to ignite something in Shione.

She blinked, staring up at Siabel in a daze.

Then she seemed to wear an expression of discontent, different from before.

Perhaps it wasn’t the bombshell of wanting to borrow me at dawn like last time, but such trivial dialogue seemed to bother her slightly.

Since Friel had come to the Count’s house recently, Shione had become quite sensitive about such matters.

‘By the way, just the two of us—’

It would have been fine to just go with Shione and end things that way.

What kind of gift did Siabel prepare that she would want to talk to me alone in the private practice room again?

While I speculated about Siabel’s intentions, Shione and Siabel were deeply locking eyes with one another, as if finding it easier to gauge each other’s thoughts without a word.

If, amid the meeting of their bright emotions that had been filled with the clarity of a serene sky, there was an exchange of feelings, it seemed that for some reason, a couple of clouds were slowly emerging in that clear sky.

“If it’s a conversation meant just for us…”

“I think it could be a pretty important conversation for our relationship as priest and disciple. I’d prefer if it was just the two of us.”

Siabel began to gently stroke Shione’s head.

“Besides, I’m tied to the Count’s house, so if we leave now, it won’t be easy to chat until we come back. Please, Shione.”

Shione thought for a moment, then eventually nodded.

“…Then I’ll wait in the room.”

Siabel looked down at her younger sister and then swiftly raised her gaze to meet mine.

She only smiled subtly, as though she had achieved something.

*

With only the sounds of us and the distant chirping of insects as the backdrop, the private practice room was still quiet.

I couldn’t just spend time idly in the silence-filled practice room.

It seemed that Siabel felt the same way, quietly pacing the room until she faced me again, straightening her posture.

With her arms crossed naturally, tilting her head slightly, she asked me.

“So, Ray, do you want to receive your gift first? Or shall we chat a bit first?”

Gift and conversation.

The gift was likely a sword or ring, something I had previously received from Shione. As for the conversation… Since she mentioned wanting to share something significant with me, it might be better to have the heavier discussion first and then receive the gift before returning to Shione.

“I think it would be better to discuss what you wish to talk about first, Siabel.”

“Hmm.”

It seemed my choice was lucky as Siabel showed satisfaction.

“After all, this conversation is partly to satisfy my curiosity. I hope you’ll answer properly and not treat me like a fanatic.”

What exactly was she going to bring up? Asking me not to treat her like a fanatic felt a bit over the top.

Though I felt a hint of doubt, well, I wouldn’t treat her like a fanatic. After all, the most zealous among the elves were those completely immersed in the idea of superiority, and what was so great about demons that they would burn their lives away like a mere twig.

I simply shook my head at Siabel’s words.

“How could I treat you like a fanatic, Siabel? That’s simply untrue.”

“I appreciate the words. Well then, let’s drop the small talk and move on to the main topic.”

Her mood deepened instantly.

Her calm, composed eyes, steady like a forgotten lake without a ripple, seemed to reflect upon me and my thoughts.

“I heard everything from my mother. The reason you and Shione are heading to the Great Forest. The High Elf received counsel from the World Tree.”

Siabel’s tone shifted to that of when we’d first had an earnest conversation, a heavier voice reminiscent of that time when we had to deal with the annoying wolves in the Beltlin mountain range.

“It’s hard to believe that only you and Shione can twist the doomed fate of the elves and the Great Forest. The weight of those words is undeniable, especially since that daughter of the Arielte family even swore an oath to the World Tree and the spirits.”

“The fact that you two are heading to the Great Forest is primarily due to that sacred sword your ancestors left behind. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come all the way to our Count’s house to use it.”

“Therefore, I’ve thought deeply about how our Shione came to bear the burden of altering that destiny, and how this opportunity aligns with the path she’s been walking…”

As Siabel’s gaze hardened, the stillness of the lake seemed to freeze in the face of her coldness.

“Until last year, our Shione had no trace of the will to overcome her situation, nor even the slightest capability.”

Siabel didn’t send Shione back to her room for no reason.

If that objective, almost emotionless assessment was heard by the sensitive Shione, she might very well cry herself to sleep under the blanket at night.

“To think that someone who can’t even get their own fate and broken exterior in order would twist another’s fate. It’s nothing but a silly joke.”

I focused on Siabel’s strong words from the beginning.

“So I’m sorry, but I don’t think our Shione is someone destined to twist the fate of others. However—”

Step by step, Siabel confidently approached me.

“That Shione, who was so weak, began to change at some point. She started losing weight, coming to the shooting range. She changed. It’s hard to believe she would be sparked by her own desire; someone must have altered her fate.”

Siabel placed her hand on my head.

In that instant, she held my gaze captive as I struggled to look away.

“And that moment coincides precisely with the day you began standing by Shione’s side. Isn’t that interesting?”

Her smile mirrored the first day she’d seen my magic in the clearing of the mountains.

“When I found out you were a man who wielded magic, and your swordsmanship surpassed expectations, it’s worth noting that the daughter of the Arielte family also said you would twist fates alongside Shione.”

Her red lips curved deeper into a smile.

“Yes. If the one capable of bending fate isn’t our Shione but you, then it wouldn’t be strange for you to be a man with magic, nor would it be unusual for an ordinary human to be knowledgeable about spirits.”

Siabel seemed halfway convinced that I held the ability to twist fates.

Shaking my subjectivity that had been built over several days wouldn’t be easy for any words I could offer her.

As there would be no harm to me, allowing her to think freely without giving futile excuses wouldn’t be a bad approach either.

“Then, here I ask you. Ray, do you believe you can twist fates like I say? If so… Can you tell Siabel Shianella how far my fate has strayed from its original path?”

Before I knew it, Siabel had captured my chin, holding me in place.

The pressure from her index and thumb fingers gradually increased, making me feel like if I remained silent, my jaw could crack at any moment.

So, I simply informed her of the superficial events I had shown to Shione thus far.

“I merely present several paths and choices, but everything is an achievement that Princess Shione has willed herself to accomplish.”

“Hmm.”

“Furthermore, if we can speak of your fate as changed, then all the new things intertwined with your new master and Siabel, be they minor or substantial, all reflect a new trajectory away from the original fate that you have walked.”

“Truly, it’s a case of the butterfly effect.”

With that phrase, Siabel finally released her grip on my chin and crossed her arms.

After some time looking down to gather her thoughts, she turned her gaze back to me and smiled.

“So, you propose a new fate, and it’s up to Shione to act on it, isn’t it?”

Having come to her own conclusion, Siabel shook her head lightly and began to comb through her hair again.

With her bangs pushed aside, when her blue eyes and smile reemerged, she added:

“I’m a bit disappointed.”

Siabel faced me with an unusually sincere smile.

“If you were by my side instead of Shione, and I were to take on Shione’s role, that would also be quite entertaining in its own right.”

“However, aren’t you also my swordsmanship mentor at present, Siabel?”

“Mentor, huh…”

Siabel stared at me quietly for a moment.

“Well, that’s not necessarily a bad term—”

Suddenly, she stepped closer and affectionately ruffled my hair.

“From now on, it wouldn’t hurt for the mentor to try hard to please the student.”

As she brushed past me, Siabel reached into her protective gear prepared in the practice room and pulled out a small wooden box.

“Here, take it.”

“What is this…?”

“Open it here.”

I opened the wooden box.

The energy emanating from within was so dense that my body instinctively reacted, leaving me wide-eyed.

“If our ancestors had given swords to the children of the Great Forest as a gesture of goodwill, they shared countless spirit stones with us.”

Spirit stones.

These precious gems that spirits aspired to possess contained the essence of natural spirits.

They could be used when summoning a spirit or forming a contract, or when carrying, slightly enhancing the effectiveness of spirit magic.

As long as the radiance of this jade-green gem remained, it boosted all abilities of a spirit mage.

Given that such spirit stones would rightly be deemed treasures among elves, I couldn’t take my eyes off it for a moment.

“I brought back the one with the densest energy among what remains in our family.”

“Is it really okay to give something like this to me…?”

“Why not?”

…What?

“Originally, access to spirit stones is stringently managed, so ideally, I would have to beg my mother just to bring it out for a moment.”

“Then how did you…?”

“I took it out sneakily, what else would I have done?”

A knight… stealing?

“If you keep it in that box, it keeps its energy concealed. So, at least until you leave the Count’s house, don’t take it out openly.”

“…But isn’t it something you shouldn’t take out from the storeroom? If it’s discovered missing…”

“It’s just been sitting there unused anyway. After you and Shione head off to the Great Forest, I’ll inform my mother separately. Don’t worry about it.”

“…”

“Ray, as my student, just listen to what your teacher says. As long as it doesn’t get caught before you leave the Count’s house, that’s all that matters. Understood?”

“But…”

“Understood?”

“…Understood.”

Finally, once I acquiesced, Siabel returned to her smiling demeanor.

“Besides, that gem will surely help you a lot just like it did for the elves who came to our Count’s house. Make sure you don’t lose it.”

“…I’ll remember.”

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“You need to hide the box in your clothes. It would be a bit odd to carry it around openly, right?”

“Oh.”

Under Siabel’s insistence, I carefully tucked the box into my clothes.

With that, our brief affair concluded, and we exited the private practice room, making our way back to the main building.

Standing in the corridor where Shione and Siabel’s rooms diverged, we engaged in our final conversation of the day.

“Oh, and once we get back, let me tell Shione something.”

“What do you want to say?”

“Currently, the Great Forest is home not only to elves but also to numerous soldiers from the Kalia Marquis family. Among them is Eunice Kalia, the Marquis’s daughter.”

Eunice Kalia.

“While I believe my mother will keep her in mind, it wouldn’t hurt for Shione to prepare a small gift that Eunice Kalia might like.”

…I would have thought she would be stationed on the borders, but to think an attractive noble would be in the Great Forest.

Sighing, I couldn’t help but feel the future was rather complicated.

 

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