Chapter 41

"Please, I would very much like to work with you. Could you not give it some thought?"

---

Mari, was your name Mari Squanor, by any chance?

Yuman Luprenon. From what I can tell, his name doesn’t seem to have any connection to animals. Perhaps it’s his name that makes the narrow-eyed, red-haired boy seem so suspicious. No, surely not everyone involved with Rabi has animal names. Still, he’s too suspicious.

Noticing her puzzled expression, Yuman slowly formed a smile. It felt like a cunning smile, perhaps because despite being around Rabi’s age, he seemed so composed.

"Work together... or rather, oppose Nella?"

"Yes, that’s right. That woman, Nella Hary. Don’t you find her infuriating? She was originally a maid in your household, wasn’t she? And now, she’s casually clinging to the prince, and the prince himself allows it."

Yuman clicked his tongue in frustration. "This country is mad." The words he spat out seemed genuine, but the idea of working with Rabi was still unclear. "What do you mean?" he asked lightly. "I just want to get that girl out of this academy. It’s just a small prank, nothing more."

"Please don’t overthink it," he said, clasping his hands together as if to flatter her. "A prank?" she asked, feeling a bad premonition.

"Heh, just a small prank. Putting bugs in her desk, splashing water, anything. It’s not like we’re going to do anything criminal. If we did, it wouldn’t be a joke anymore."

In the game, such pranks didn’t end as jokes. (Actually, this is exactly what Rabi did to Nella in the main story of Harenez...) In other words, he is an official collaborator with Rabi. She had always found it strange. In the game, Rabi was much weaker than she is now and had no followers. So, she had to torment Nella herself, but physically, she couldn’t.

What Rabi couldn’t do, Yuman could. What Yuman couldn’t do, Rabi could. They might have been working together. The Rabi from before would have jumped at the chance. Ordered to torment Nella, she would have obeyed without resistance, believing she had no choice. Just like the Rabi from back then, she would have gone along with it, without any resistance.

"You’ve also had your fiancé stolen. You must have plenty of reasons to want to strike back. I’m just here to help you."

It was a sweet offer.

The chance to torment someone she hated so much without getting her hands dirty. Her dark feelings overflowed, and she couldn’t stand it—yet, that was in the past.

"I refuse. I’m not so foolish as to team up with a stranger."

She laughed through her nose, feigning arrogance.

Yuman is not on Rabi’s side. In the main story, when Nella was condemned as the Holy Maiden, his name never came up. He had pushed all the blame onto Rabi and fled. Left with no allies, she was executed. She had no intention of repeating that mistake.

Besides, Sai’s face suddenly came to mind.

She didn’t want to become someone who couldn’t face him. Perhaps that was the biggest reason. Yuman’s eyes widened in surprise at Rabi’s response. "What a pity. But if there’s another opportunity..."

As he said this, the sound of running footsteps approached. It was Sai. She immediately recognized him. In the brief moment she turned to look, the boy had vanished without a trace. It was a strange presence.

(Maybe that was also part of Nella’s trap...)

There was no such thing as being too cautious when it came to Nella. If she couldn’t approach directly, it wasn’t impossible that she had sent a pawn.

"Miss Rabi, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting."

"No, it’s fine. What happened?"

The sound earlier was not normal. Sai frowned. "Water... water?" He himself looked confused. "Yes. The students said a large amount of water attacked them. But when I arrived, there was just a lot of water scattered around..." The students were crying, and the desks and floor were soaked.

For a prank involving magic, it was on a massive scale. Flooding an entire classroom would take the combined effort of several people. Her heart raced with a bad feeling.

---

That night, it rained softly. It reminded her of the day she realized she was Rabi, the day she became aware of her own light. She loved the rain. Yet that night, she tossed and turned, scratching her chest in her sleep.

Fer, whose Shadow Day might have been revealed to Nella. Nella, the Holy Maiden, and Rabi, the prince’s fiancée, whom Nella was trying to bring down. The enslaving magic that could control a low-magic individual. The Shadow Day, known only to her.

Various thoughts jumbled in her head, forming a sense of something being pieced together. Don’t lose. You can’t lose. If you’re pulled in, you’ll fall.

There was a young girl, not yet ten, with long chestnut hair floating in the sea breeze. A slightly taller boy with golden hair gently held her hand.

This was the game’s opening. Since regaining her memories, she had often dreamed of it, waking up in a cold sweat. She had seen it many times, and it was a memory she had recovered.

Ah, I just want to fall asleep quickly. I want to fall into a place without dreams. But they wouldn’t disappear from her mind. Even in her dreams, Rabi was tormented by Nella. She wanted to close her eyes, but she could only stare at them. (I’m tired of this) The words she wanted to say couldn’t be conveyed.

Slowly, the girl turned to look at her, still holding the boy’s hand, and stared at Rabi.

"...What?"

No.

"It’s not Nella..."

They looked similar, but they were different. She also noticed something odd. Rabi met Nella when she was six. These two, who looked like Nella and Bard, seemed to be around that age. However, Nella didn’t immediately form the relationship with Bard that she has now. They gradually deepened their relationship as Rabi’s madness progressed. Also, this place. With the sparkling sea in the distance, they stood in a meadow.

It’s in the game. She hadn’t thought much about it, but Rabi didn’t know such a place. At least, not a place a small child could go.

"Who are you..."

The boy looked very much like Bard, to the point where it was easy to mistake them. The girl slowly moved her lips.

"You shouldn’t end up here. You can’t lose."

It was a familiar, cute voice, but it wasn’t Nella’s.

(When I watched as a player, I didn’t notice...)

The heroine didn’t have a voice, so she had mistaken the girl’s voice for Nella’s.

"What, what do you mean?"

Rabi couldn’t understand. The girl, whose name she didn’t know, smiled. It was an unexpectedly mature face for her appearance. "I am the 'third' Holy Maiden. I’ve already sent you a letter. Since I’ve gone to the trouble of preparing it, please find it." She smiled, and the story creaked and began to move. Rabi trembled, feeling a mix of fear and indescribable emotion. She woke up, looking up at the dim ceiling.

"A letter..."

Ah, I understand. There’s only one place I can think of. Despite thinking it couldn’t be that letter, she couldn’t help but check.