Chapter 108

Elcoco dismounted from the horse. She pounded her waist before tying the reins to a tree.

“I’ll go check first.”

“No. Since I’m the one who received the invitation, you wait here for a moment.”

Elcoco nodded and stepped back.

Quilbion looked at the house before him.

How should he describe it—it was an extremely shoddy house. He could see a wall of mud plastered over a foundation of log cabin. Glancing at the right side, that part had bricks added instead.

A house like patched-up rags.

The roof also had tiles and straw tangled together here and there as if fighting for territory.

He knocked on the door first.

One, two, three.

Even waiting for three, there was no response. He knocked again and waited to feel signs of life.

“What’s wrong?”

He turned around. He could see Elcoco standing on tiptoe watching.

“Nobody’s inside.”

“Huh?”

“I said nobody.”

“Th-that can’t be. The young lord wouldn’t make a mistake……”

Looking at how she didn’t finish her sentence, she must have seen Ruki make mistakes occasionally.

Elcoco approached and pressed her ear against the door.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m listening to see if there’s sound. They might be inside.”

Quilbion lightly pulled Elcoco’s hair. She wore an awkward face while stepping away from the door.

“It was a bit ominous. They rarely get up unless something unusual happens. That means they leave their seat when something unusual occurs.”

“I-I’ll apologize on behalf of the young lord.”

“Oh, so you’re in a position to do that.”

“……That’s also not quite right.”

Quilbion released cats to survey the surroundings. Seeing the small bouncing cats, Elcoco exclaimed in admiration.

“How can you deploy such various magic freehand? No wait, this is magic arts.”

“Just.”

“What a convenient ‘just.’ It would be so nice if I could also just use magic.”

Elcoco grumbled before heading toward the horse tied to the tree. She began muttering something next to the horse with teary eyes. It sounded like complaints.

The cats searched the entire area around the residence but couldn’t find the owner of the fur.

Did they go far away?

“Should we head back? The sun will set soon. We need to depart now to arrive at the village before night deepens.”

“You can go alone, right?”

“Huh?”

Elcoco asked back in surprise.

“It wasn’t a straight road, and even though we turned directions here and there along the way, you found this place in one go.”

“Well, because I’ve been here a few times.”

“So you can handle going back on your own too.”

“That’s true.”

“Leave before it gets dark.”

“Alone? On a dangerous road?”

“Are you declaring that this land governed by the lord is dangerous? That the lord’s management abilities are lacking?”

“Why are you saying it like that? It’s not about people—that’s right! What if wild beasts appear?”

“Then stay here. I’ll wait a day and then return.”

“Huh?”

Elcoco looked at the horse once, then at Quilbion before speaking.

“I didn’t bring a single thing needed for camping.”

“Did I bring any?”

“Even if it’s summer, it’s chilly at dawn. Plus, it’s so humid! I might catch a cold.”

“I’m fine. I’m perfectly fine even rolling around in snow.”

“……”

Quilbion lay down on the ground. Using tree roots as a bed, he’d spent over 100 years outside.

He felt more comfortable looking up at the sky than being in a house with a ceiling.

“Aren’t you going?”

Elcoco hesitantly approached and sat down beside him.

“It’s really dangerous.”

“That’s unknown. You only know whether it’s dangerous or not by experiencing it.”

“I’m telling you it’s dangerous.”

“You know well because you’ve been here a few times?”

“Yes!”

Quilbion organized his thoughts while looking up at the yellowing sky. The lord who introduced Elcoco, the room established in the castle and the enormous amount of books, how she’d been standing blankly behind Ruki rather than within his field of vision.

“Ah, right.”

Quilbion sat up and pretended to rummage through his coat.

“What’s wrong?”

“I forgot.”

“Forgot what?”

“The invitation.”

“What, really?”

“I think I dropped it along the way.”

“Without that, it really won’t work. They won’t meet you.”

Elcoco looked at the road they’d traveled with a serious face.

“I should say I threw away the envelope.”

Quilbion stood up and broke off a tree branch. Then he put it in his breast.

“What are you doing?”

“Preparing. Since I can’t say I lost it.”

“So why the tree branch……”

“Because what was in the envelope was a tree branch.”

“Huh? It was a tree branch?”

“Yeah.”

She blinked before whipping her head around and lowering her gaze to the ground.

Deep wrinkles formed on her dark brow as if she was agonizing.

“Coco.”

“Yes?”

Quilbion approached Elcoco and extended his hand. Elcoco, who’d been staring blankly, thought it was for a handshake and extended her hand.

Quilbion passed Elcoco’s hand and grabbed her neck.

Not understanding what was happening, she just blinked before soon speaking in terror.

“Why, why are you doing this?”

“People should be killed when necessary. I think it’s meaningless if you kill them just anytime.”

“Why are you doing this to me……”

“I want to see your reaction. If my cats couldn’t find them, this is quite interesting. I’ll apologize if my thinking was wrong.”

“W-wait a moment.”

He slowly put strength into his grip. Elcoco’s body lifted. Trembling while gripping Quilbion’s hand, she cried out.

“Master Flan! This person’s trying to kill me! Hurry!”

A pitiful voice spread out.

The sound faded. But there was no change.

“M-Master Flan? Flan! Hey, you bad rabbit!”

When Elcoco shouted again, the closed door smoothly opened.

Quilbion looked at the door with slight surprise. Even mobilizing cats to search not only inside the house but the entire surrounding area, he hadn’t found even a trace.

The house owner had been home.

As if there was no longer a need to hide, they were also letting out a unique energy.

“Kids these days have no manners. Bad rabbit. Tsk tsk tsk.”

It was a rabbit wearing glasses identical to Elcoco’s on the tip of its nose. Except for wearing clothes like a human and standing on two feet, the appearance was unmistakably a rabbit to anyone.

A rabbit with a sense of age at that.

His gaze reached the large ears protruding above the head. Only the tips had white fur while the rest was covered in black fur.

Perhaps because of that, the two eyes shining particularly yellow were like moons hanging in the night sky.

Two moon lumps turned toward Elcoco.

“Are you going to kill that kid?”

“No.”

“For testing, it’s violent. I had a feeling from the moment I heard the story, but you’re too rough.”

“I’m sorry. I have an impatient personality. It’s also more convenient in many ways to try available methods first.”

“You’re perceptive, but living like that will bring great disaster someday.”

“If it’s that, I’ve already experienced it. To the point of being sick of it.”

He carefully set Elcoco down. Elcoco, with saliva smeared at the corners of her mouth, glared hard at Quilbion before running toward the black rabbit.

“Master Flan! I almost died.”

“No, you didn’t die. That guy had not even a feather’s worth of intention to kill you.”

“No! You don’t know because you saw from far away. I was right in front, so I know well. That human really tried to kill me. Without hesitation too!”

“If there was no hesitation, why are you alive?”

“……That’s.”

“Tsk tsk. Raising you gently made the kid a bit ill-mannered and dim-witted.”

“I’ve never been called stupid anywhere, you know? My memory is so good.”

“Are you bringing up memory in front of me?”

Elcoco sullenly answered “No.”

“You there, human.”

Flan gestured toward the inside of the house with their chin.

“Come in. Before entering, dust off your clothes well. I like clean things.”

Clean things?

Quilbion glanced once at the house that was no different from rags before smiling slightly.

“Here.”

As he stood before the door, Elcoco held out slippers. Her face was sulky.

“Since you deceived me first, I don’t need to feel sorry, right?”

“How, how can a person be like that? Do you know how scared I was?”

“You must have been scared. But you were just scared.”

“……I’m starting to dislike Lord Quilbion.”

“Finally, someone who sees me properly. It’s a joyful thing.”

He took off his shoes and put on the slippers.

Then he looked inside the door.

“……This is surprising.”

It’s that sensation he felt when breaking through the surface realm. Inside this space divided by shoddy walls would be a completely different world.

Before taking a step, a hand suddenly entered his field of vision. It was Elcoco.

“Why are you so hasty and fearless?”

“I’m just entering because I was invited.”

“You really don’t know anything.”

“Yeah, because I don’t know, I asked you many things. The stories you told were all good, every one of them.”

“……Was that so?”

“Yeah.”

Elcoco grinned bashfully at the words that her stories were good. Late teens, or maybe twenty. Either way, she was well past adulthood but her actions were completely immature.

Was it because of the being called Flan?

Or was it her nature?

“Ah, explanation. Okay! Inside here is a space where Master Flan’s mental world is manifested.”

“Mental world.”

“Think of it like an endlessly spreading ocean. You know what an ocean is, right?”

“I know.”

“Anyway, when you enter, you’ll see a blue line beneath your feet. You must never step outside it.”

“What happens if I step outside?”

“What do you mean what happens! You become a lost child fallen into the vast ocean. You can’t come back. Master Flan could find you if they helped, but they find that bothersome.”

“Interesting.”

“As long as you don’t make mistakes, it’s a special experience, so you could say it’s interesting. Anyway, stick right behind me. Check your footing well.”

Let’s go now. Elcoco entered through the door.

Elcoco disappeared as if swallowed by the darkness beyond the door. Quilbion also took a step.

“……Haha.”

A hollow laugh came out.

A clean carpet was laid out.

He turned his head left and right.

It was a space easily exceeding 10 meters in width. Various styles of paintings hung on the walls. Below each painting was a vase, and the flowers in the vases looked full of moisture. It was proof of meticulous care.

He looked at his feet.

As Elcoco said, he could see a blue line crossing over the carpet.

He raised his head following the blue line.

Far in the distance, he could see Flan lying in a hammock.

“Absolutely! Don’t go outside the line. What you see now isn’t everything. You’re thinking ‘It’s wide for this size, but getting lost here? That’s ridiculous,’ right?”

“No. I fully recognized it’s a dangerous place.”

Elcoco definitely must have heard but ignored him and just continued her own words.

“It’s really different from what you see. Just step outside by one step? The scenery will change. Then it’s over.”

“I told you I know.”

“Even out of curiosity, absolutely, absolutely don’t deviate to the side. Someone did that before and died. I never want to experience that again. Ugh, it was terrible.”

He moved following Elcoco who was talking earnestly.

It was a mysterious space.

It seemed similar to the surface realm yet different. To be able to create something like this.

It made him realize anew just how dangerous Winte’s disciples including Sheryl were.

“Wait a moment. Just let me finish this.”

Flan in the hammock spoke.

A single book was held in their hand.

A desk was placed beside the hammock, and books were also stacked on top of it.

Quilbion looked at books with no titles engraved and asked.

“May I look?”

Flan lowered their glasses slightly while gazing at Quilbion before speaking.

“You’ll be bored, so look. But if you look at that, you’ll have to run an errand.”

“It’ll be worth running the errand.”

He picked up the book with a smile.