Odilia suddenly screamed in shock at the feeling of something pulling at her body.
Then, somehow regaining her almost toppled balance, she turned her head to check what was tugging at her.
What she saw as she glanced back was…
“Rope?”
It was indeed a rope. Glowing faintly blue, it extended from Rise’s hand all the way to her neck, and the holes along the way suggested that the rope was shaped like a chain around her neck.
A thin chain.
A pale blue rope made of divine power.
And… a red choker wrapped around her neck.
“What is this…?”
Odilia could see the red object around her neck in the mirror. It was radiating a red hue, glowing softly, and appeared to be made from divine power like a chain.
Remarkably, despite it wrapping around her neck, she felt no sensation at all, seemingly reflecting the characteristic of Rise’s divine power that exists on the boundary between the material and immaterial.
The divine power choker was like a mirage. It existed but had no tactile feeling, and when Odilia attempted to touch it with her hand, it simply wouldn’t appear to be grasped. It was as if it were a hologram, and the only thing she could feel was her own neck. Furthermore, the chain connected to the choker was also intangible, and only after raising her life force slightly could she feel a bit of resistance.
But that resistance, while present, still felt as if it could be passed through.
If what she felt before raising her life force was like a hologram, then the slight tactile sensation after raising it felt akin to moving through water.
Odilia was convinced that if she seriously increased her life force or refined it to concentrate, she could touch this.
And as that certainty arose, the first thought that crossed her mind was not to break this collar.
What flashed through her mind was a question.
Why?
Why had that nagging, obnoxious Japanese girl dared to put such a thing around her neck?
Odilia frowned and glared at Rise.
“What did you do?”
With her head lowered, Rise held something in one hand.
It was a ring the same color as the one around Odilia’s neck.
The red ring rested on her palm, reminiscent of a dog collar.
No, it certainly was a collar.
Wasn’t it exactly like what dogs wear when they go out for a walk?
“Can you not hear me? What is this supposed to mean?”
Odilia’s displeasure grew even further.
Now that she was certain that what hung around her neck was indeed a collar, how could she not feel upset?
Odilia’s expression twisted more and more, on the verge of exploding.
Having been pent up for so long, her anger was boiling up rapidly towards its tipping point.
And just when her fury was about to burst…
Rise slowly lifted her head.
Her hair fell downward and gradually returned to place, revealing the eyes that had been hidden in shadows.
Those eyes lacked luster.
As if they contained an abyss, they seemed devoid of sparkle.
The moment Odilia locked eyes with those fish-like eyes, she flinched in surprise.
The anger that was about to erupt instantly cooled, and the fiery rage dissipated, replaced by a chill creeping over her body. Rather than calling them eyes, the peculiar madness within them seemed to warrant calling them something else entirely, like eye-sockets.
However, even as she tried to subtly avert her gaze, Rise’s eyes followed her movements.
Persistently.
It was as if she emphasized, “I’m watching you,” with that relentless gaze.
That posture maintained, her eyes seeming to harbor an abyss, she fixed her sights on Odilia.
Those were the types of eyes Odilia disliked—eyes often seen in those overflowing with madness.
Normally, Odilia would avoid someone bearing such eyes at the first sight…
Unfortunately, the rope was tied around her neck.
Connected by that mad one’s hand, a thin chain made of divine power.
“….”
“….”
She felt it.
The gaze felt palpable.
A hot yet strangely chilling stare.
It felt as though the gaze could pierce through her skin.
An intense glare descended upon her neck and face as if to move along the rope.
For some reason, it felt like her neck was tightening and the chain was tautening.
And that gaze grew more intense whenever she instinctively shifted toward the door, the sense of choking around her neck steadily increasing.
“….”
“….”
It was hard to withstand that gaze, so she shifted her eyes.
Then, naturally, she brushed past those eyes that seemed to be staring at her, and their eyes collided.
Their gazes met.
As if there were some gravitation at play, they drew closer together, inflicting an unspoken pressure through their stare.
Without uttering a single word, the madness contained in those eyes seemed to say, “Don’t even think about leaving, come here quickly.”
How could a little girl, practically a fragile thing, exert such pressure?
She had surely never lived through a world war like Odilia.
How could she possibly send out such a sensation?
Such questions spontaneously arose in Odilia’s mind.
And along with them came thoughts like, “Who does she think she is, giving me those audacious eyes?” and “Entangling with those kinds of folks leads to no good…” which swirled through her head, making it harder to decide than whether to dip or pour sauce on french fries.
“….”
Odilia hesitated.
And decided.
“Ahem.”
Odilia lifted her handbag and retraced her steps.
Then she placed her handbag down in one spot and approached Rise.
Of course, she didn’t go empty-handed.
She raised her life force, ready to break the chain or to attack Rise at any moment.
Thus, as the distance closed between Rise and Odilia, they returned to a position similar to before.
Suddenly, Rise smiled.
Tilting her head just slightly, her eyes curved into a soft line, and a bright smile bloomed on her face, as if she were delighted they had come together. The earlier pressure vanished as instantaneously as a dream, replaced by an energy radiating from her enchanting smile.
With that smile, Rise brushed her hair behind her ear.
Her black straight hair brushed against her ear, flowing back, while fingertips glowed with a bluish hue and glided over her ear. The divine power released in that motion naturally connected to the tail made of divine power that emerged forth.
Then, just like something sticky had been applied, a few strands of tail fur stuck to her fingertips.
Rise placed the extracted tail fur on her palm and began to twirl it with her index finger.
Just like twirling spaghetti.
With every movement of her fingers, the tail fur began to intertwine until ultimately, it transformed into a small clump of fur.
Rise, clutching a tiny sphere made of the bluish glowing fur of divine power, looked at Odilia.
And with an unwavering smile on her face…
“Odilia! You still have so much left to do, don’t you?”
…Lightly uttered words suited to a workaholic that clashed with her refreshing demeanor.
“No matter how many times you prepare, it’s never enough! Preparation is always insufficient, especially if it’s something that needs to be performed, and it must appear natural too! Right now isn’t the time to be leisurely; you need to fragment your time and keep rehearsing—”
Though those words sounded identical to those numerous scoldings Odilia had heard up until that moment… strangely, they felt weighted with a pressing urgency.
If the words carry weight, surely the words coming out of Rise’s mouth now were heavy.
“—Why. Do you. Keep. Slacking off?”
And on top of that, they were frightening.
Rise interrupted Odilia’s thought with a steady gaze, picking her words carefully.
“….”
Was it perhaps the fact that Rise spoke Japanese?
Or was it the exotic feeling that contrasted with hearing it in English?
Whatever the reason, the pressure emanating from Rise felt distinct and out of the ordinary.
Unlike feeling it in German or English or the languages of other European nations.
It felt ever more novel, more exotic.
And perhaps because of that…
It felt strangely… chillier.
“…You. Right now—”
“Odilia.”
Odilia instinctively opened her mouth, trying to resist the subtle madness she felt creeping from Rise.
Yet the moment she opened her mouth, Rise casually cut her off, staring intently at her. Then, she materialized the collar hanging from Odilia’s neck, making it palpable, and slowly raised her hand as if to tug at it.
And then.
And then—
“Let’s practice hard together!”
With a bright, blooming smile that rivalled a flower, she removed the collar.
The divine power, shimmering with a bluish light, dissolved into the air, and like the gathered fireflies scattering beyond the darkness, the collar shattered. The red divine power entwined around Odilia’s neck transformed into a faint red dust, falling away and dissipating, while the handle in Rise’s hand vanished like dust in the wind.
“Here. Odilia! Please take this.”
Having removed the collar, Rise presented the sphere she had made to Odilia as if it were a gift.
“What is that…?”
Odilia, seemingly startled by Rise’s rapidly shifting expressions, asked in a small voice.
Yet, Rise appeared disinterested in answering Odilia’s question, merely extending the sphere with her smile.
As if to urge her to take it.
But Odilia refused to accept it, as if to assert she wouldn’t take anything until she received an explanation.
“Hrm.”
Rise tilted her head, seemingly accepting the refusal, and took it back. Then, in a playful manner, she clenched her fist.
“Odilia, let’s practice hard together!”
– Saying that, she seated Odilia back down.
