An Uninvited Visit

"Rumble—"

Low thunder rolled over the city, tearing through the silence of the night. Dark clouds spreading in from the horizon swallowed the sky like an ink-black tide, casting a vast shadow over the ground. The damp, earthy smell of soil rose in the air, and the wind began to stir uneasily.

In the courtyard, a boy was swinging a sword with total focus.

His movements were simple and steady, each slash cutting the air with a brief, sharp whistle. The dark hair at his forehead was damp with a thin sheen of sweat, clinging to his skin; beneath his plain coarse training clothes, the lines of adolescence had begun to show in his taut shoulders and back.

After repeating the same motion who knew how many times.

He suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.

"Pat—"

A drop of rain fell from high above and landed right between Tantris's brows.

Then more and more raindrops fell from the sky, quickly turning into a fine drizzle.

Judging by the look of it, it would probably rain even harder soon.

Tantris put away the wooden sword he used for training and turned toward the mansion.

He had to close all the windows and doors before the rain started in earnest.

The moment he turned around, he paused.

Someone was sitting quietly beneath the eaves.

Isolte sat curled up at the edge of the dim yellow glow of the eave lamp, her arms wrapped around her knees.

She wore a plain nightdress, the hem revealing slender, straight calves and fair, jade-white bare feet. Her long black hair, faintly tinged with blue, hung loosely over her shoulders, and a few strands were stirred by the breeze, lightly brushing across her absentminded cheeks.

She looked up at the sky, where dark clouds were steadily spreading, lost in thought.

"Still not resting, Isolte?"

Tantris reminded her in a flat tone, "If you have to get up early tomorrow, you should be resting by now. If you don't get enough sleep, then even waking up earlier will only get you half the result for twice the effort."

"Mm, I know, Brother."

Isolte smiled and nodded, but showed no sign of getting up.

Tantris frowned slightly at the sight.

But he did not urge Isolte to go rest again. Instead, he sat down beside her and followed her gaze up toward the sky.

"Has something been bothering you lately?" Tantris asked.

Their parents had died young, and the so-called relatives who had swarmed in like flies drawn to blood had only barely been driven off thanks to the current Water God, Lady Leda, upholding justice. That was the only reason the Kruel family had been saved from complete ruin.

But Lady Water God had heavy duties of her own to shoulder. The dojo and her divine office mattered far more than family trifles.

In the end, this family had only him and Isolte left to depend on each other.

No one had told him to, but Tantris had taken the responsibility upon himself.

As the saying went, an elder brother was like a father.

Even though there was not much of an age gap between them, he still believed he had to become someone his little sister could rely on. Paying attention to her mood was, in his view, only part of his duty.

"Something on my mind... Mm, I wouldn't exactly call it that."

Isolte watched the sky as the rain gradually grew heavier, murmuring absently.

"It's just that I can't seem to calm down no matter what. It feels like something has already happened, but I've been left out of it, and by the time I notice, it's already too late... Something like that."

"..."

The problem seemed rather serious.

Tantris rubbed his chin. To be honest, he was not very good at dealing with psychological issues.

Especially because he had vaguely noticed it recently as well.

Isolte had also reached adolescence.

She seemed to have become aware of the differences between men and women too.

In the past, after taking a bath, she would still run around the house naked.

Now, even without his reminder, she would prepare the clothes she wanted to change into ahead of time, and he could no longer see that kind of scene.

He could not help feeling that growth always came with loss.

"Did something happen at the dojo during the day?"

"Mm... I don't think so. I was training with Hilde the whole time today too."

Hilde again...

Lately, Isolte and Hilde had been getting closer and closer.

"Speaking of Hilde..."

Isolte seemed to remember something.

"When she left the dojo today, she was in a big hurry, like she was going to look for someone. After that, I went to the place where she works part-time. I'd only planned to get something to eat... but I didn't expect the people at the shop to say she hadn't come in today."

"I see."

"Still, Hilde has always done whatever she wants. I expect that when I go to the dojo first thing tomorrow morning, I'll find she got there ahead of me and is already training," Isolte said, talking to herself.

"Mm, possible."

Tantris really could not get a word in, so he could only give a couple of casual replies.

Isolte slowly stood.

Smiling, she gave Tantris a slight bow.

"Thank you for worrying about me, brother, but I'm really fine. I just felt a little restless, so I came out for some air. I feel much better now, so I'll go back and sleep."

"Mm. I'll tidy up a bit, then I'm going to sleep too."

Tantris stood as well.

While the two of them had been chatting, the rain had grown quite heavy.

If they delayed any longer, some parts of the house were going to start flooding.

Just as the two were about to head back inside...

"Knock, knock, knock—"

From the courtyard gate came a series of slightly hurried knocks.

The two exchanged a glance.

"I'll get the door. You stay here."

Tantris stopped Isolte, who had been about to go check the situation, and pointed at her nightclothes.

"Dressed like that, it's not convenient for you to meet anyone."

"Yes." Isolte's pretty face flushed slightly.

Tantris casually took down a sword from the rack beside him. It was not a wooden practice sword, but a real, sharpened blade.

Though he had no idea who would be knocking at this hour, he imagined it was nothing good.

Having a sword was better than not having one.

He walked up to the gate, and before he even pushed it open, he smelled the thick stench of blood coming from behind it.

It was as if someone had rolled through a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

Even the rain pouring down nonstop could not wash away that bloody reek.

Tantris turned his head and glanced at Isolte under the eaves, silently giving her a look.

She understood at once and immediately picked up a sword as well.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The knocking sounded from behind the gate again.

Tantris took a deep breath, slowly pushed open the gate, and then his eyes widened.

Outside the gate stood Hilde, soaked from head to toe.

At her waist hung a broken sword with only the hilt remaining. Her slender legs trembled faintly, and one hand pressed against the doorframe, barely supporting her body.

Her somewhat thin clothing was completely drenched in blood, its original color almost impossible to make out, and her whole body gave off a rusty, bloody smell.

Her originally soft, beautiful long golden hair had also turned wet and dripping. Strands at her forehead hung with droplets, clinging listlessly to her shoulders. She looked utterly wretched; it would not have been strange if she collapsed at any moment.

Even so, that slightly childish face still wore its usual utterly plain expression.

"Good evening. Forgive the sudden visit. Sorry to disturb you."

Hilde gave a slight nod in greeting.

Tantris was stunned by her composure.

It was as if this were not a thunder-and-lightning rainstorm at night, but a sunny summer afternoon, and the two sides had met on the street and were asking whether to go to a newly opened dessert shop for afternoon tea.

"Could I borrow a place to get out of the rain?"