A gap was visible.
A hole that even a small child's eye couldn't fit through. A single beam of light came through that tiny space.
All around, there was nothing but pitch-black darkness. Unable to control her wildly beating heart, the young girl hugged herself tightly instead.
Even though the girl was more afraid of the light than the surrounding darkness, she still brought her eye to the small gap.
Ouch. Her body trembled violently, pricked by a small thorn protruding from the hole. However, such minor pain did not capture her attention.
The girl peered outside through the light. The scene outside was so gruesome that she wanted to look away immediately, but she forced herself to keep looking.
In her field of vision, another girl appeared. Although she wasn't much older, in the girl's eyes, she seemed already grown up.
She continued to watch the other girl. She was holding a large sword that looked heavy even at a glance.
Both the sword and her tattered clothes were stained with blood of unknown origin. She was fighting someone.
Shifting her position, the girl adjusted her view through the gap. Something came into sight.
An indescribably unpleasant creature.
Standing on four legs, its body was smaller than an adult, but its blood-red skin and amber eyes without pupils were alien and threatening.
At that moment, the four-legged monster charged at the girl. It moved swiftly, like a burst of fire. The girl also rushed forward, swinging her sword.
Then the following scene.
Bang! Blood erupted fiercely as if everything stored up had burst out at once, and the girl's heart was then….
"No⎯!"
She woke up screaming. Her rough breaths and the sweat soaking her body clung to her. Her lungs, laboring heavily, were no different from when she was in that darkness.
She scanned her surroundings with dilated pupils. It wasn't the old, decrepit house she vaguely remembered.
It wasn't the rickety wooden building that seemed ready to collapse at any moment. It wasn't the creaky bed that she had no sense of how old it was.
She saw furniture that looked expensive even at a glance and the still early blue light streaming in through the large windows.
Tears welling up in her eyes, trickling down her cheeks. She wiped the liquid away with her slender hand.
Gradually, her heavy breathing stabilized. Her rapidly circulating blood and the dilated pupils returned to their original state.
"...."
She understood the situation.
She had fainted after exhausting all her magic yesterday. Her memory up until just before she lost consciousness was hazy, but there were faint remnants.
"If I don't get ready quickly…."
Although remnants of the tremors still lingered in her body, Emma couldn't afford to dawdle. She had a busy schedule to attend today as well.
She rose from the bed and arranged the blanket. Her right hand trembled as if from the cold, but she grasped it with her other hand to steady it.
However, the resistance of the tremors was strong. The vibrations transmitted to the other hand that tried to hold it still, making it difficult even to stand.
Thud.
Eventually, unable to bear her body weight, she collapsed to the floor. Hugging her shoulders with both hands, she desperately tried to stop the shaking.
"Please… stop."
The nightmare she hadn't had in a long time was still vivid as if it happened yesterday. The unbreakable shackles continued to torment Emma.
---
"Haha, being in the carriage with everyone like this feels like we're on a trip! Don't you think so, Miss Emma?"
"… Yes… no, not at all! Although you haven't told me where we're going, since it's the Master's will, it must be something worthwhile!"
"… Why are you changing your words after looking at me?"
"Master, are you asking because you don't know? When you glare at us with such fierce eyes, of course, we have to watch our words and change what we say. Isn't that right, Miss Emma—?"
"Well…."
Though sitting upright, Emma cautiously glanced at me with a wary look in her eyes. It was quite an unpleasant gaze.
"Ouch!"
"Don't ask why you were hit. Sometimes, it's necessary to figure out the cause on your own."
"Wow, Miss Emma's skin is so fair that it turns incredibly red."
"Teacher Lisa, if you continue to disrupt the atmosphere like this, I'll have no choice but to eject you, so be careful."
"… I feel like you might really throw me out, so I'll stay quiet."
Lisa finally sat back and closed her mouth.
If only she could fix that boisterous attitude of hers, returning to Academia would be much easier. Despite her talents, she remained on probation because of that.
"Ah! You were about to tease me about being on probation again, weren't you? I can feel it when you look at me like that!"
"… That look?"
"Uh, I mean… oh, Mr. Rick, it's been a long time. You've been so busy with the Master's missions lately that I haven't seen you at all!"
Lisa talked to the man who had been silent next to her.
That guy turned his head along with his words. With an expression as if nothing happened.
How impudent.
"… Yes, it has been a while."
"You still talk so little! Oh my, look at these thick arms. You seem to be getting more muscular by the day!"
"Get out."
"Mr. Rick? No… Master? Did you just tell me to get off this moving carriage?"
Lisa looked at me with a bewildered expression. Why was she making such a ridiculous face? I was sure I said it clearly.
"You're an excellent magician. Not being in the carriage wouldn't prevent you from following us."
"But… the carriage is much more comfortable…."
"Get out, Lisa."
Lisa's throat bobbed as she began to laugh nervously. She intended to pass it off with a joke.
Before her noisy mouth opened again, I emphasized it once more.
"Teacher, have I ever joked with you?"
"Never…."
"I trust that a smart person like you has understood fully."
"Hoho… understood, Master."
It had been a while since I heard such a feeble laugh. It was much less irritating to the ears than her usual boisterous noise.
The door of the running carriage swung open.
Lisa leapt out with great force.
"Ugh! It's cold!"
Until we reached our destination, she clung to the side of the carriage, braving the winter weather head-on.
No one could mistake her for anything other than a wizard, riding a large staff as she did.