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“Hm…?”

Looks like I must’ve blacked out after that sudden collapse.

“Suf… cough, Noch— khh”

This is bad—my throat’s ruined from shouting. I want to call out, but no sound comes. I have no choice but to push myself upright and sense for any presence nearby.

When I press my hands to the ground to sit up, I feel the slick touch of wet stone. As my eyes adjust, I can make out a mound of rubble piled up in pooled underground water.

“Su… cough”

If all of that fell down here, then the three of them must be…

A chill drains the blood from my face as I take a few steps forward—then suddenly realize.

I look up. The darkness above stretches on, and I can’t even see where I fell from. I had fallen from such a great height.

If that’s the case, I should be the one in the most danger. With my stamina, my body’s toughness, my reflexes—there’s no way I could survive all on my own.

My body moves just fine. I’m soaked and cold, but there’s no real pain. I don’t know how, but if I’m unharmed, then there’s a good chance the other three are safe too. I want to believe that.

Holding onto that thought, I start to move forward.

“!?”

Just then, a sudden blue light flares up in the water. Startled, I stop in my tracks and squint, letting my eyes adjust as I stare at it.

At the bottom of the water lies a lantern. Its blue flame flickers, casting shifting shadows around it.

It’s a strange phenomenon, a strange tool—I’ve never seen anything like it before. Yet as I gaze at that flame, for some reason, a wave of nostalgic warmth wells up in my chest.

“…?”

Drawn toward it, I reach out my hand. The lantern rises up from the water on its own.

Though the blue flame clearly burns with a strong light, I feel no heat even as I hold my hand above it. The lantern drifts toward me, almost as if it has a will of its own, until my hand finally touches it.

It’s solid—its real weight and texture pressed against my fingers. The frame encasing the flame feels sturdy like metal, unmoving beneath my touch, yet it’s as light as paper and carries no chill.

It sits perfectly in my hand, as if it was always meant to be mine.

What on earth is this…?

“…Alice?”
“Su…fi.”

While I’m distracted by the lantern, the voice I most wanted to hear reaches my ears. I spin around instantly to see Sufi sitting atop a pile of rubble, eyes wide and round as she stares at me.

Thanks to the light, I can see her clearly. She’s filthy and soaked through, but uninjured.

“Th… thank goodness…”

Relief fills my chest. I’m so glad she’s safe, so glad I didn’t lose her. Truly, I’m glad.

“Are you okay!? Alice!”
“And you, Sufi?”

Leaping over the rubble, Sufi throws her arms around me. Her body, chilled from the water, is cold—yet clinging to her like this feels warm.

“Sufi’s fine. Where’s Noche and Filia?”
“I haven’t— cough— seen them…we need to…”

Noche and Filia had fallen with us, so they had to be here. Thankfully, there was light.

“Mm… mmm… nya?”

When I raised my hand high to shine it around, I saw Noche and Filia lying on some black rubble.

Noche was closer to where Sufi had been, and Filia was right next to where I had woken up. I hadn’t noticed because of the rubble between us.

At a glance, they weren’t hurt, and their breathing was steady.

“You two!”

Thank goodness—really.

“Elder and younger wolf sisters…? Too bright, nya. Where are we?”
“I don’t know. The ground just went rumbling all of a sudden, and when I came to, it was bright…”
“It’s a miracle we’re even in one piece, nya.”

Noche looked over the pile of rubble and gave a wry laugh. Really, this was nothing short of a miracle.

“Alrigh— nyaaa!?”
“Noche!?”

Just as Noche tried to stand up, the black thing she’d been lying on writhed and vanished like smoke. A splash followed right after, and Noche fell into the water.

Sufi hurriedly reached out her hand, but it didn’t seem too deep.

“Fugyu!?”

Startled, I turned to look at Filia—sure enough, the black mass beneath her also disappeared, and she tumbled down as if from a ledge.

“What the heck, nya!?”
“Here, grab my hand.”

I left Noche to Sufi and checked on Filia, who was holding the back of her head.

“Filia, you okay?”
“Y-yeah… ow… where are we?”

At the very least, it was a relief to know everyone was safe.

■■■

Judging from the situation, this was even deeper inside the underground ruins, though we still didn’t know what that black stuff that had gushed out back then really was. As we discussed that, we sat on the rubble to rest our bodies.

From what we’d checked, there was no sign of that weasel nearby. It probably ran off to avoid getting caught up in that black thing. If something is that full of malice, it must have a fair amount of intelligence too—so it likely won’t approach us again for a while.

“That’s why we’ll act as a decoy and run around, and in the meantime—”
“N-no, I don’t want to! I don’t want to go through that again…”
“If it chases us again, we won’t be able to get away. Sufi and the Noche will be fine, so Filia, you take care of Alice—”
“But… but… A-Alice, say something too…”

Next to me, as Sufi and the others discussed how to escape, Filia’s voice was on the verge of tears as she turned to me for help—she couldn’t bring herself to make the decision to abandon her friends again.

Of course, I had no intention of sacrificing the two of them either. I never wanted to go through that kind of feeling again.

After having let my emotions explode once, my head felt strangely clear now.

I must’ve still been dragging along the influence of my previous life—suppressing my emotions and actions and following orders had become a habit. If I didn’t, who knew what kind of damage an Unknown might cause in that outwardly peaceful world.

But here, there are animals that use magic, and even humans wield supernatural powers. The things I had to hide in my previous life are simply a normal part of society here.

I’m not someone who needs to be protected by everyone, nor something that needs to be contained.

There’s no need to endure, no need to hide anymore. I won’t hesitate again.

“If Sufi’s —cough— staying, then I’ll —cough— stay too.”
“No, Alice. Listen to your big sister.”
“No.”
“Big sister’s order!”
“Cough… Refuse.”
“Muuuuuuuu…”

She bares her teeth with a low growl to intimidate me, but no matter what Sufi says, this is one thing I won’t back down on. I’ve already decided—if I’m going to die, it’ll be next to Sufi. I won’t go through that feeling ever again.

But even I know it—someone like me who can’t even run around on my own is going to have my selfishness ignored.

“Actually, what have you been doing, nya?”
“Experimenting.”

That black stuff that gushed out when my emotions exploded, and the strangely familiar lantern that had been right beneath it—thinking they weren’t connected would be more unnatural.

When I actually held it in my hand and willed it to burn stronger, the flame flared up and the flickering shadows grew darker.

Next, when I pictured a black rabbit or a puppy in my mind, the wavering shadows took on the exact shapes I imagined. They were as light as paper in terms of mass, but the texture to the touch felt closer to metal. Maybe they shared properties with the same kind of metal used in the lantern’s frame.