The sun's rays had begun to lean toward the horizon, and the sky was painted in shades of orange and purple. Haruka staggered on her feet, breathing heavily, every muscle in her body screaming from exhaustion. Her body was covered in leaves, dust coated her face, and her clothes were partially torn from thorns and frantic running.
At last, she reached the cabin after hours of breathless escape…
She ran to the door, threw it open forcefully, then slammed it shut behind her. She collapsed onto the floor, gasping loudly.
"I'm… still… alive…" she muttered, barely able to speak.
She slowly lifted her head to find Yu lounging in a chair, sipping cold juice, a piece of grilled meat placed in front of him, about to begin eating.
He looked at her calmly and said,
"Oh, you're still alive… how surprising."
She replied between breaths,
"Yes… unfortunately."
He said,
"Where did you leave the two leopards? Anyway."
She shouted angrily,
"If you want them, they're right outside the door!!"
He raised an eyebrow in surprise and stood up.
"What? Why did you bring them here?!"
She yelled while still on the floor,
"I barely managed to escape!"
Yu walked to the door and opened it carefully. The two leopards stood there—one growling, the other baring its fangs, their eyes gleaming fiercely.
But Yu didn't move a single step. He simply stared at them with a deadly sharp gaze, his eyes dark as bottomless abysses.
Just seconds…
The leopards began backing away in fear, then turned and ran back into the forest as if something far more terrifying was chasing them.
Yu closed the door calmly and turned to return to his chair—only to stop suddenly.
Haruka was now sitting on the chair, drinking the juice down to the last drop.
And the meat… was completely gone.
"Where… is my meat?!" he said in shock.
Yu froze in place, staring at the empty table, speechless.
Haruka let out a loud burp, wiped her mouth with a napkin, then looked at him and said,
"Thanks for the meal."
He stared at her in disbelief.
"Don't tell me you ate all of that!"
She placed a hand on her stomach with a satisfied sigh.
"Yes. It was absolutely delicious. Consider it a small revenge for what you did to me today."
"Revenge?!" Yu shouted. "That doesn't give you the right to eat my food!"
She stood up quickly.
"And you don't have the right to send leopards after me! You know very well I have no magic. I would've been eaten if I slowed down or hesitated for even a moment!"
He clicked his tongue.
"Tch… If they had eaten you, I would've finally had some peace."
She shot up from her chair, shouting,
"Is that a confession to attempted murder?!"
He didn't answer. He simply ignored her and started to leave.
She grabbed a pillow from the couch and hurled it at him with force. Without even turning, he caught it—but in doing so, he knocked over the vase in front of him.
When Haruka saw the vase shattered on the floor, she froze.
"Damn it… I'm dead."
He turned toward her with an angry smile.
"How are you going to pay for that?"
She stiffened in fear.
"I'll go work at the guild tomorrow. I promise."
He gripped the pillow and threw it with full force beside her face.
"Fine. Since you said that, I won't stop you."
Haruka's eyes slowly shifted toward the pillow. The wall behind her was slightly cracked from the impact.
She swallowed.
As Yu walked past her, he said casually,
"You'll pay for that wall too."
"Huh?!" she exclaimed.
He turned with a frightening expression.
"Did you say something?"
"N–Nothing," she replied, whistling innocently.
......
After taking a warm bath, Haruka felt some comfort seep into her exhausted body. She entered her room quietly and sat on her bed.
"Tomorrow, I'll go to work."
She remembered her old part-time job as a waitress in a café.
"Why am I remembering those days…"
She picked up a book she had borrowed from Yu's mother. It was about magic.
"What I understood from this book is that every person in this world possesses mana. That internal mana is converted into magic. Anyone can learn the four elemental attributes, but not everyone can use all four at once—it's difficult.
There are also people born with special magic—like Yu. This special magic only manifests at the age of twelve. They're called Unique Magic Users, and they're usually stronger than ordinary mages.
Most of them come from noble families, which gives them greater opportunities to enter prestigious academies and higher institutions. That places special-ability users at the top of the hierarchy. Below them are those who can use all four elements. And at the bottom are ordinary people who can only use one or two…"
She fell silent for a moment.
"And me… who has neither this nor that… I'm at the very bottom."
She rolled on her bed in frustration.
"Why? Why?! This isn't fair! If I was going to be transported somewhere, at least give me some magic. Just one spell… anything… or a sword with hidden powers… anything!"
As she grumbled, the small lizard crawled out from under her pillow and approached her, licking her cheek.
She held it gently.
"Isn't this unfair? Don't you think so too, you…"
She paused.
"Wait a second… what's your name? Come to think of it, I never gave you one. Hmm… what should I call you? Squishy? Rai? Royo? Riyu?"
When she said the last name, the lizard lifted its tail.
She smiled.
"You like that? Then I'll call you Riyu. Anyway, I need to sleep early. I have work tomorrow."
She hugged him, pulled the blanket over both of them, blew out the candle, and whispered,
"Good night."
She closed her eyes.
And with a long sigh… she drifted into a peaceful sleep.