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I created a clean path through the dense forest like a siege weapon.

Without needing to use magical powers, every time I swung Ezetus with pure strength, the tip of the spear broke and twisted all the trees blocking my way.

However, as Osnia’s presence drew closer, it became harder to push through the forest. If I kept destroying it like this, she might get caught up in the chaos.

But we were already close enough. Even if my senses were disturbed again, I had no more worries about losing her.

Clutching Ezetus, I stepped boldly into the forest.

-Paah!

Just when I felt I had ventured quite deeply into the woods, the surrounding environment suddenly changed in an instant, as if by magic.

Just a moment ago, I was in a dense forest filled with towering trees, but now I found myself walking down a narrow street of a tranquil rural village.

“Ha…”

Not just showing a person, but transforming the surrounding scenery as well—a truly stunning illusion.

I took a moment to calm myself and carefully looked around.

At first, I thought it was showcasing my hometown where I lived with Ella from my memories. This village looked strangely familiar.

However, I realized it was simply that rural villages look similar to each other. Upon closer inspection, this place bore no resemblance to the village I grew up in.

Then, it must be a world born from Osnia’s memories.

Aside from having a fairly large Goddess Church in the center, Osnia’s village was an unremarkable rural place you could find anywhere.

However, this village was eerily silent, as if the residents had suddenly vanished into thin air. The buildings and gardens bore clear traces of life, but, quite literally, there were no people.

Why? Was it simply that the illusion couldn’t manifest the villagers?

That seemed unlikely since the buildings and surrounding scenery were too detailed. If they were going to omit the people, then it wouldn’t matter if the buildings were omitted as well.

Putting aside the questions I couldn’t answer for now, I focused on finding a place where Osnia might be.

The only house that looked like someone lived in it was a cabin with thin smoke rising from its chimney.

As I approached the house, I sensed multiple presences inside. Peering through the window, I saw a family that seemed cozy, like a beautiful painting.

They were tenderly expressing love while holding a little girl who looked just like Osnia.

“I love you, Osnia.”

“Our daughter, Mommy loves you.”

I stiffened at their conversation.

“…Osnia?”

A child that young?

Osnia usually looked smaller and younger compared to her peers, but this girl looked to be only about 5 or 6 years old—she was just a child.

At first, I thought this might be a fake created by the illusion. However, my well-developed instincts sensed a liveliness emanating from young Osnia that felt different from the fictional man and woman.

Was the illusion making Osnia appear younger, or did she wish to return to her childhood in this illusion?

Regardless, Osnia seemed unable to break free from the illusion on her own. I needed to get her out before it delved even deeper.

When I opened the door to the cabin and stepped inside, the wary gazes of the man and woman I presumed were Osnia’s parents were fixed on me.

“W-Who are you? Why are you here?!”

“We have nothing! Please leave this place…!”

Ignoring their questions, I focused solely on the young Osnia, whose eyes were filled with a mix of fear and curiosity.

“Osnia. Wake up.”

But Osnia showed no reaction.

I spoke firmly once more.

“This is all fake. You need to get out of this illusion.”

Yet Osnia remained silent. Rather than responding, it seemed my words only increased her unease, causing her to cling even tighter to her mother.

“…….”

This was frustrating. What should I do now?

The lack of response to my claim of it being fake meant that it was highly likely Osnia was deeply immersed in this illusion, unable to recognize the truth.

Or perhaps, even knowing it was fake, she might not want to escape from the happy illusion before her.

I could have swung Ezetus to shatter the illusion, but I had no idea what consequences that would bring to Osnia.

If she was too deeply involved in the illusion, in the worst-case scenario, even if the illusion disappeared, her mind could be trapped in an eternal childlike state, losing her current self forever.

To help Osnia, she first needed to realize that this was an illusion and escape on her own. Breaking the illusion would come afterward.

I put Ezetus back into the dimensional space, concentrating entirely on Osnia as I called her name heavily.

“Osnia Hebring.”

She cautiously lifted her head to look at me.

Though she appeared as a child, I hoped the real Osnia was listening to me and opened my mouth.

“This is not your hometown. Don’t be mistaken about where you are.”

“…?”

Osnia blinked her innocent eyes like a child who didn’t understand anything.

Finally, Osnia’s father couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed my shoulder, attempting to pull me away.

“Hey! What are you doing to my daughter?!”

But no matter how hard the rural man tried, my body didn’t budge an inch.

I remained fixed in place, observing Osnia’s reaction, and her mother positioned herself protectively around her, turning her back to me.

“You can take everything in the house, but please don’t touch our daughter! Please…!”

As I continued to converse and react with the nonexistent illusion, the influence of the illusion in reality grew stronger. Therefore, it was best to completely ignore it and not engage at all.

However, despite knowing it was fake, the sight of the two desperately trying to protect their daughter stirred something strange within me.

“…….”

But something felt off.

Although Osnia’s parents were filled with love for their daughter, that very love created a strong sense of dissonance.

I knelt down on one knee to meet Osnia’s gaze and calmly asked her.

“Osnia. Have you really never felt anything strange, even once?”

Her father, risking everything to chase off outsiders to protect the family.

Her mother, wrapping her whole body around Osnia to keep her safe.

“Your parents love and care for you so much, so why do you look like this?”

The love and affection Osnia’s parents showered upon her were completely at odds with the state of their household, and above all, with Osnia’s own appearance.

Instead of looking like a precious daughter, she wore ragged clothes fit for a beggar, and her originally shiny silver hair had turned a dirty gray from who knows how long without washing. Moreover, there was not even a trace of food, toys, or bedding for a young daughter in the house.

The parents in the illusion were showing her a love that did not match the reality she faced.

At the same time, I realized something. The illusion shows what that person yearns for the most.

But it doesn’t guarantee that what it shows ever actually existed.

“Ah…”

Osnia’s eyes began to cloud with anxiety and doubt upon hearing my words.

“Ah, Dad… Mom… I… I…! Ugh!”

The young Osnia began to grimace in anguish, possibly realizing the imbalance between the love of her parents she desperately wished to believe in and the cold reality.

“I don’t want this, I don’t want this…! Stop it! I said stop!!”

As the turmoil within her intensified, the world inside the illusion started to turn more hostile towards me.

Osnia’s father finally began to hit and strike me, while the mother, abandoning her daughter, spat forth terrible curses and hatred towards me.

“Get out, disappear from my sight! Do you have any idea how much we suffer because of you?!”

“You’re nothing but worthless garbage unworthy of love! Everyone knows how horrible you are!”

At that moment, a sudden commotion erupted outside the village, where only the three of us existed.

Bang!!

The door of the cabin swung open violently, and villagers rushed in.

They wielded threatening weapons like torches and pitchforks, and every face was twisted with fierce anger and fear.

One villager pointed an accusing finger at me and shouted.

“That’s the one who brought calamity to the village!”

Another raised their torch and yelled.

“We’ve got to drive them out of the village! No, let’s burn them alive!”

Someone clasped their hands together and fervently prayed to the Goddess.

“Oh, Goddess! Please protect us from this wicked being…!”

Their words were filled with hatred, violence, and curses directed at me. But strangely, it felt like that hatred was being poured out not at me but at Osnia.

As if to prove it, the more the villagers yelled out their hateful words, the more Osnia trembled with fear.

“Stop, please stop…!!”

Her eyes were flickering with deep confusion and shock. In the end, she seemed unable to endure it any longer, tightly closing her eyes and covering her ears with her hands.

“Please…! I’m sorry, I was wrong…! So, please, I don’t want this anymore…!!”

Amidst the village filled with hate and madness, I calmly called out Osnia’s name.

“Osnia. Open your eyes.”

Osnia shook her head vigorously, as if refusing. Her long, messy silver hair swayed chaotically with her movement.

I did not rush her. Instead, I gently placed my hand on Osnia’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, you can open your eyes.”

Osnia slowly opened her eyes at my voice. Though they were still filled with anxiety and fear, she seemed to feel a bit of relief from my touch.

When Osnia opened her eyes, I crouched down protectively, shielding her with my back.

Though rage, hatred, and violence poured towards us, it seemed to only wound me and had no impact on Osnia whatsoever.

“This is an illusion that cannot affect you at all. None of it is real.”

She looked at me as if trying to comprehend why I was doing this.

“Why…?”

Knowing that this was just a simple illusion without any power to affect reality allowed me to treat it casually, and even in the absence of the illusion, such an attack couldn’t possibly injure me.

But putting that aside, it was my responsibility as an instructor to protect my student.

Rather than going into long explanations about why, I simply tapped Osnia’s shoulder lightly.

Just like when she first called me her instructor.

Osnia stared at me, mouth agape in surprise.

In that instant, Osnia’s lips parted, and a short word slipped out.

“Di—”

I couldn’t understand what Osnia was trying to say, but I could grasp her intent from her following words.

“-Dispel Magic.”

In an instant, the illusion shattered into pieces as the rural village melted away into a quiet and serene forest.

The angry villagers, the shabby cabin—everything vanished like a mirage.

 

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