303
BANG!
Ray swung his hand and struck Lea’s head without hesitation.
It was an almost purely reflexive action, but after the strike, Ray felt inexplicably refreshed.
Since stepping into this accursed illusion, Ray had never smiled so contentedly.
On the other hand, Lea, whose head had just been struck, had to put forth great effort to process the situation.
Frozen like a doll, blinking her eyes repeatedly, Lea finally understood what had happened when she saw Ray’s satisfied smile.
This time, it was Lea who struck Ray’s head.
THUD!
“…?”
As Ray felt his head ringing, he froze on the spot, unable to comprehend the situation just as Lea had moments ago.
Did I just get hit? By whom? By Lea? Did Lea really hit me? Does that even make sense?
“…”
The immense mental shock caused Ray to stagger around aimlessly… until he barely managed to gather his wits and understand the situation.
He immediately extended his hand.
WHACK WHACK!!
One hit deserved two.
Lea’s head swung left and right with each of Ray’s strikes.
Feeling her vision sway from side to side, Lea marveled.
Three times. Altogether three times now.
Adding the one she’d received earlier, Lea had been hit a total of three times.
At this shocking realization, Lea broke into a wide grin before suddenly frowning.
“Hey, you crazy woman!!!!!”
BAM!!
Lea swiftly reached out and grabbed a fistful of Ray’s hair.
She then began shaking her arm violently.
“Are you really insane?!?!”
With every tug, Ray’s head was jerked around mercilessly.
Stunned and unable to react properly until his hair was nearly being ripped out, Ray finally attempted to resist.
“Ack…! Aaaah!! Are… are you not letting go??!!”
“Will you do something if I don’t let go??!!”
“KRAAAH…!! How dare you, ungrateful woman…!!”
“Ungrateful?? You’re calling someone ungrateful?? Who exactly are you calling ungrateful, you crazy person??!!”
With one hand, Lea continued to yank Ray’s hair while using the other to start punching him.
Ray resisted with all his might.
But his body simply wouldn’t cooperate with his mind.
In the end, Ray could only endure being beaten up while having his hair pulled.
“Aaah! Aaaah!”
The pain of having his hair pulled was strangely unfamiliar and far more shocking than being punched.
Finally, Ray, screaming in agony, grabbed Lea’s wrist and pleaded pitifully.
“Hey!! Hey, wait a moment!! Just let go of my hair!!”
“Hey? Heyy~? Are you still not getting it?!”
“No, just let go already!!!”
“How can you be yelling at me like this??!!”
“Aaaahh!!!”
Due to his futile resistance, Ray endured even more hair-pulling from Lea.
*
“…”
Ray was currently being dragged along by the collar of his shirt by Lea.
Her violent behavior only ceased after Ray apologized sincerely with honorifics.
‘You piece of…’
His hands and feet trembled from self-loathing.
Even though he kept reminding himself that this was all an illusion, the psychological impact refused to fade.
This was truly a terrible nightmare. Even if he returned to reality, he would undoubtedly relive this nightmare repeatedly.
Dreaming again and again about being thrashed by Lea…
“…”
While being dragged along limply, Ray suddenly spoke.
“Aunt.”
“What is it.”
“…”
Calling Lea “Aunt” made Ray’s whole body shiver uncontrollably.
If Lea were truly his aunt, that would mean they were third cousins according to family relations.
If Ray ever had children, those children would also call Lea “Aunt.”
“…”
Ray examined a strand of his red hair.
For some reason, it felt oddly familiar.
The chest above his waist was noticeably large.
As Ray fondled his own chest, he pinched the bridge of his nose tightly.
An unpleasant possibility arose, making his head throb.
‘Hmph, no matter how much this is an illusion, it’s still…’
It was not a pleasant experience.
Just as Ray was seriously pinching the bridge of his nose, a cheerful voice rang out nearby.
“Have you been scolded again?”
Upon hearing the cheerful voice, Lea stopped walking, and Ray, who had been dragged along, stopped simultaneously.
Ray turned his head to look.
A pretty girl approached him with a playful smile on her face.
The girl, with lush black hair, had lively blue eyes.
“Didn’t your younger sister tell you to grow up already? You should have dignity appropriate for your age! How long will you act like a child?”
Saying this, the girl wore a smug expression.
Ray looked at the girl silently, then gestured for her to come closer.
“How dare you summon me with a mere gesture…!”
Despite pretending to be shocked, the girl closed the distance while muttering complaints.
“And I’ve told you several times to call me ‘older sister.’ Why do you keep addressing me so disrespectfully?”
“Why are you my older sister?”
“Wasn’t I born two days earlier?”
“Two days? Are you exaggerating?”
“If you’re annoyed, why didn’t you crawl out of the womb earlier? It’s your fault for taking too long inside!”
Despite preaching about dignity, her word choice was rather crude.
Ray extended both hands and slowly pinched the cheeks of the girl who had drawn near.
Her mannerisms, starting from her tone, were audaciously charming and reminded him greatly of someone.
Ray couldn’t quite predict what kind of expression he must have worn while pinching the girl’s cheeks.
“…Why do you look like such a beggar?”
Ray’s insult shocked the girl, causing her eyes to widen.
“This is an expensive dress!”
“It doesn’t look very expensive to me.”
Ray chuckled sarcastically, then suppressed the strange pressure in his chest and spoke again.
“Are you Alesya’s daughter?”
“How dare you speak the name of Countess so casually!”
Alesya lightly tapped Ray’s head with a feigned angry expression.
The soft tap made Ray feel dizzy.
No matter how many times he reminded himself that this was all an illusion, it was still terrifying.
An indescribable sense of despair kept distorting his expression, so Ray covered his face with both hands.
He felt his mental fatigue rising, so he needed a brief rest.
Seeing Ray covering his face and closing his mouth, Lea assumed he was sulking and resumed dragging him down the road.
The girl hummed a little tune softly while following behind Lea and Ray.
After pressing his face forcefully to smooth out the wrinkles, Ray took a deep breath.
“…Hey.”
“Call me older sister!”
“Hey, damn it.”
“…!”
How dare you say ‘damn it’ to your older sister!
The girl, shocked by the insult, stumbled for a moment before kicking Ray weakly as he was being dragged.
As Ray got hit by the girl’s feeble kick, he thought to himself.
What a disgraceful act of filial impiety. No, since she hasn’t done anything for me, isn’t talking about filial piety itself absurd?
While pondering this, Ray asked to confirm.
“Hey, do you not have a father?”
“…What did you say?”
“Do you not have a father?”
“Why are you looking for someone else’s father?”
The girl, genuinely bewildered, half-opened her mouth, emitted a sound of disbelief, and kicked Ray a bit harder.
“I don’t understand why you’re suddenly talking about fathers.”
“…”
“Just take pride in it. Our father was a hero whose legacy will live on in human history!”
“But why does the daughter of such a hero look so ragged?”
“I told you, it’s an expensive dress!”
With a coarse chuckle, Ray asked another question.
“Is your mother doing well?”
“She’s exhausted every morning due to numerous responsibilities!”
“…”
“Still, where else in the world will you find a better ruler for our estate than our mother?”
“…”
Ray sighed deeply and turned his gaze away.
They had already approached the residential area of Phillip’s County.
As Ray struggled to get up, Lea released his collar.
Ray slowly scanned Phillip’s County with his eyes.
‘Really… I’m going to lose my mind.’
The landscapes he had seen in the illusions until just moments ago didn’t resonate with Ray.
Even if he had seen a toilet, unless he knew whether it was originally someone’s living room or a bathroom, it would just remain a toilet. The shock could be absorbed calmly.
However, Phillip’s County was the most familiar place and landscape to Ray.
Therefore, the drastic changes were immediately apparent.
“Why does the estate look so desolate and poor?”
Upon hearing Ray’s mutter, the girl became genuinely irritated this time.
“Our estate is actually doing quite well. The count works hard to maintain the current state, so why do you keep saying such things?”
“…”
Without a word, Ray continued walking forward.
Setting aside the continent-wide material shortage, the faces of people walking on the streets were uniformly clouded with sadness.
There was hardly any vitality, and few were smiling.
Lifting his head, Ray sought the cause.
The red sky. That was the reason.
That unpleasant sky corroded people’s spirits.
“…”
Mental wounds can indeed heal.
And to heal those wounds, a good environment is necessary.
Simply strolling under a blue sky, breathing fresh air, and feeling a gentle breeze can help heal mental wounds.
Sharing delicious meals with old acquaintances or new friends, laughing boisterously, can also help heal them.
By accumulating such joyful experiences over time,
the pains and scars of the past gradually blur and form scabs.
The beginning of that healing process is the ‘blue sky’.
“…”
The red sky. The heavy air. The unpleasant wind.
A curse that prevents erasing the scars in people’s hearts and instead makes them fester.
Living in such a world, even humans with superhuman willpower cannot avoid their minds fracturing day by day.
“…Aunt.”
Turning around, Ray looked at Lea.
“Was there a war?”
“…We’re in the middle of a war, aren’t we?”
“Before this war, was there a civil war in the empire? Or was there another issue?”
“…What?”
Lea failed to fully grasp what Ray was asking.
Looking into Lea’s crimson eyes, Ray sighed deeply once again, losing count of how many times.
“Where is our mother right now?”
*
The World Tree.
The grand existence known as such in reality gazed at Ray.
Of course, for the grand existence, the act of ‘gazing’ was not equivalent to that of mortals.
The World Tree could not experience the same scenery that Ray was currently experiencing.
However, the World Tree could guide Ray close to the desired place and time.
Yet, as the World Tree guided Ray, it detected something… ‘abnormal’.
Ray was the apostle of El-Lam.
Though the form may differ slightly from previous apostles, that fact remained unchanged.
From Ray emanated a distinct trace of El-Lam.
Yet…
Why…
Can no restrictions be found?
Restrictions are indispensable for an apostle.
Yet if there are none?
Then…
When stepping beyond this boundary.
It would be possible to impose new restrictions.
Nonagram (2)
