Giving a Name to the Shameless

"There really is a swamp!" Helise exclaimed.

The five adventurers walked through the Eisole Forest, and before long they reached a swamp. Its boundaries weren't very distinct. Perhaps because of the rain, the ground was waterlogged and muddy, making the swamp dangerous in its own way.

Fatenai followed them onward. Forresten had stopped walking beside Wickel and moved to the front instead. He raised the staff in his hand and began a lilting chant that sounded like some kind of song. The other two mages wore entranced expressions, but Fatenai couldn't understand a word of it.

The chant stopped as suddenly as it had begun. If Fatenai hadn't clearly seen the Mana change its flow with Forresten's chanting through her Eye of Connection, forming a "new" stretch of land across the swamp, anyone unable to see it might have thought nothing had happened.

"Come on, let's keep going. Don't worry, the headmaster has made us a new path," Helise told Fatenai, realizing she was unsure.

Fatenai nodded and stepped onto the swamp. A transparent ripple spread out from beneath her foot and eventually disappeared into the forest.

"I've never heard of mages having academies, too. Aren't mages born knowing how to use Mana?" Fatenai remarked softly.

"Not at all." Helise laughed at Fatenai's naïveté. "Lots of people can use Mana, but most of them don't know they have that ability, let alone how to use it to help themselves. Our academy exists to find those people and teach them to use their abilities."

"Starlight has been around for hundreds of years, continually training outstanding mages," Wickel couldn't help adding. Forresten heard him, and his smile grew wider.

Fatenai looked thoughtful. "That really is impressive. Are all of you mages?"

"Of course. This is an academy for mages," Helise replied.

Fatenai said nothing more. She walked step by step along the path laid out with Mana. No one could tell what emotions were hidden behind her expressionless, pale face.

"Ah, that looks like a red berry! It's so lucky to find one that hasn't turned black at this time of year!" After they'd walked for a short while, Helise cried out. Her eyes fixed on the red fruit in the undergrowth. Its appearance was truly unexpected—even though only a spot of red was visible beneath the overlapping leaves, she was about to go over and pick it.

"Wait," Fatenai couldn't help saying.

"Don't worry, Forresten and I are here," Wickel said, noticing the warning in Fatenai's voice. He looked relaxed, since adventurers had thoroughly explored the outer reaches of the Eisole Forest, and nothing serious ever happened there.

"How could there be red berries in the Month of Trekking?" Fatenai retorted, then started forward. "Helise, put it down!"

Helise hadn't thought much of it, but just as her hand was about to touch that patch of red, "it" suddenly moved.

The red in the thicket flashed. With a rustling sound, it revealed its true form: the eyes of a Berserk Boar glowed red. It stared fixedly at Helise, blood still flecking its tusks.

"Damn it, why is there a boar in this area? Helise, get back!" Wickel seemed to be the quickest to react. He drew his sword, its silvery gleam shining in the darkness.

Helise went pale and trembled slightly at Wickel's shout. A few syllables escaped her lips as she hurriedly took two steps back. The boar sensed her movement and immediately charged!

"Ah—!" Helise screamed, but what happened next took everyone by surprise. Her eyes widened as she saw a frail figure dart forward and slam into the boar's tusks.

Blood spread across Fatenai's abdomen. The pain nearly made her pass out. If she'd been standing directly in front of the boar, she might have been impaled.

The boar took a step back, its tusks pulling free. Fatenai clenched her teeth and gripped her sword, dropping to her knees and trembling all over.

"Fatenai..." Helise was at a loss, her voice small and unsteady. But she quickly came to her senses and rushed forward to support Fatenai. She raised a hand, ready to chant, the bewilderment in her eyes giving way to anger in an instant.

Wickel had already charged forward and thrust his sword. The boar, which had been about to launch an even more powerful attack, was badly wounded by the force of his strike. Wickel's sword made the extent of his strength clear. As the boar howled, he pulled his blade free and, expressionless, swung his arm, cutting the boar in two!

Even with pain blackening her vision, Fatenai could feel the force behind that blow. If Wickel's opponent had been her instead of the boar, he would probably have needed only one strike to deal with her.

"Take a deep breath. Let me check your wound first." Wickel's expression was grave as he hurried over and crouched in front of Fatenai, setting his sword beside his feet.

Fatenai pressed a hand to her wound. Blood stained both her hands.

"Sir, can you cast a healing spell?!" Helise turned to Forresten, helpless and frantic.

Forresten hurried over, frowning.

The scarcity of Mana meant that people could use it, but couldn't rely on it too much. Fatenai's wound wasn't terribly serious, but it wasn't minor, either.

Fatenai knew that healing spells in this world could only be used on people capable of wielding Mana. If they couldn't gather Mana, the spell wouldn't have any effect.

"Cough, cough... Behind you..." Fatenai lifted her head slightly and spoke just as they were about to approach her.

Bang—!

A pack of wolves suddenly burst out of the thicket. Their blood-red eyes and mouths full of sharp fangs were terrifying, growls spilling from their throats. Dozens of them poured out, howling as they charged.

Wickel frowned. As the wolves rushed at him, one knocked his sword off the ground. Barehanded, he was no match for the ferocity of the pack. When he turned to carry Fatenai to safety, he was horrified to discover that the wolves were targeting her. Helpless as she was, one of them had already seized her in its jaws and was carrying her away, across the swamp.

Fatenai's eyelids felt heavy. Even as she was carried away, with the wind rushing past her ears and someone cursing... Was that Wickel?

Those two really were alike...

With that thought, she fell asleep.

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A towering building.

In the depths of a winter night during Rose Month, wind howled across the plain. The last few scattered leaves still moving in the wind were crushed to pieces and slammed hard against the ground.

On the building, ivy that had climbed along the reliefs had withered into black vines. It seemed frozen in a moment when time had stopped, stretching toward the windows in front of thick panes of glass. Outside, the world was bleak and desolate; inside, people hurried about.

Where was she?

The confusion from the moment before carried over into the present, leaving her at a loss. One question lingered in her mind, as if it had no answer. She felt surrounded by a warm, chilly sensation. How strange. Why would it feel like this?

With effort, she forced her heavy eyelids open. As the scene before her came into focus, she saw an incomparably beautiful face. The woman was deathly pale and weak, but her platinum-blond hair gleamed, and her sparkling eyes were like a star-filled night sky, drawing her in.

"My darling..." The woman's weak voice was still captivating. She bent down, a soft fragrance drifting from her hair. She would lose herself in it at any moment. "Why... why did you have to be a girl..."

She jolted awake.

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"You're awake, Arthur." A voice sounded beside her ear.

She slowly opened her eyes. Lifting her heavy eyelids was difficult, but as the scene gradually came into focus, she saw the night and the forest. She turned her head sluggishly and spotted Merlin beside her, tending a campfire. He turned to look at her.

In truth, his face showed no expression at all.

"How long was I asleep?" Fatenai slowly sat up, her voice hoarse. As she spoke, she rubbed her hair, as if trying to clear her head.

"Almost a day," Merlin replied. "Your wound needs treatment."

Fatenai froze. As her senses returned, she became aware of the pain in her abdomen. The wound had been bandaged tightly, but she still couldn't ignore it when she moved.

"Did you treat my wound?" Fatenai asked.

"Yes, but you can't go adventuring anymore," Merlin told her, then handed her a few fruits.

"Thanks." Fatenai took them and bit into one. "When will those people catch up with me?"

Merlin's beautiful eyes watched Fatenai, their light flickering. "I led them off the trail. It'll take them half a day to get here."

Fatenai nodded. After finishing the fruit, she got to her feet. She stood up too quickly, tugging at her wound and drawing in a sharp breath. She nearly fell again, but managed to steady herself, then staggered toward the forest alone.

"Is this your choice, Arthur?" Merlin stood up. With a light sweep of his sleeve, he snuffed out the flames.

"I'm not Arthur," Fatenai said after a moment of silence, then continued into the forest. "Nor do I possess any noble chivalric spirit. I'm grateful for what you've done for me, but you know my methods aren't exactly honorable. If that makes you uncomfortable, you can leave."

Fatenai's figure slowly vanished into the forest. Cold sweat kept sliding down her forehead.