“Keyek-!”
A sudden scream echoed through the forest.
The scream, boasting quite a loud volume, startled several birds sitting calmly on the branches, sending them soaring into the sky.
The creature that let out that scream was a monster resembling a human with a dry, wrinkled face devoid of hair, an excessively gaunt body, and hastily mixed bird wings and legs—a harpy.
The harpy’s scream was a call for its companions.
However, there were no companions who could hear that scream.
Because this area was already shrouded in silence.
The fact that only three birds had scaredly flown away earlier proves that.
“Bion!”
I unleashed a pre-stocked spell as a trigger, aiming my cane at the harpy.
Instantly, the magic shot forth from the tip of my finger, paralyzing the harpy’s nearby muscles without any warning.
The harpy, now unable to use its wings, screamed again, this time out of pure confusion and fear.
Thunk!
The fallen harpy didn’t die but flailed about.
Flying monsters usually do not perish after a fall due to their light weight.
At least no one in this forest would be unaware of that fact.
As he calmly grasped the neck of the powerless, fallen harpy, it flapped around for a while with wide-open eyes before going limp.
He then opened its eyelid with a finger, confirming the eyes rolled back, and casually tossed it away before looking up at a rather large tree.
At that moment, a notification sound from his pocket communication device rang out.
He promptly took it out from his waist.
“Is it done over there?”
“Yeah, I was just about to check the nest.”
He agilely climbed the tree, his movements surprisingly light for his size, approaching a structure that seemed haphazardly woven from branches.
That was probably the nest of the harpy he had mentioned.
Inside the nest, there were only a few eggs, some trash, and scraps of cloth and leaves; nothing he was looking for.
“There are no signs of the child.”
“Yeah, it’s the same on this end.”
Footprints of a child had been discovered in the forest.
Because of those footprints, an urgent search operation had been hastily initiated, but it did not involve many relatives.
“What are the police saying?”
“They said there are no reports of any missing child around ten years old.”
“Are we mistaken about something? Yerna.”
“Maybe.”
If it were a misunderstanding, that would indeed be a relief.
Since there had been no reports filed, it was likely that nothing serious had happened.
He checked his watch.
It was lunchtime.
No matter how important it was to search for the child, one still needed to eat.
The search operation was quite energy-consuming, and with no proper report yet, the morale of the team was not very high either.
If it turned out that the footprints of the child were not actually made by a real child, the search would lose its meaning.
Though there might be cases like ‘Luke’…
Human trafficking—such events were not common, and the traffickers were not necessarily mentally impaired either.
It was improbable that the same incident would happen twice in the same place.
“Yerna, it’s lunchtime now; how about we eat and then resume the search?”
“Yeah. Dayton, you should start heading back now too.”
“Uh? Okay.”
Confirming Yerna’s communication had ended, Dayton scratched his head with a vacant expression, thinking,
“Huh, I didn’t even need to convince her.”
How could Yerna, who makes irrational decisions when it comes to children, act like this?
Hmm, perhaps this is thanks to Luke.
—–
Yerna marked the corpse of the griffon she had killed with a GPS device for the retrieval team and stood up.
Once again, there were no additional traces anywhere.
Equally, there were no signs of cannibalism, and at this point, she began to seriously doubt if any child had ever existed in this forest.
Could it be that one of the forest keepers was just playing around?
If so, what punishment should be dealt…?
After briefly contemplating the severity of punishment, Yerna let out a deep sigh.
“Yeah, it’s probably just a misconception.”
She decided to stop worrying about events that had not occurred.
As she worried excessively, her body would wear down, and then Luke would start worrying again.
Worry breeds more worry; it would be best to stop for the sake of Luke.
By the way, she heard that Luke was going to Beriton for a field trip; she thought it was a wonderful opportunity.
It seemed that Luke had been quite bored with his routine for a while.
He hadn’t been practicing his cello or humming tunes lately.
Yet now, while preparing for the outing, she began to hear a joyful tune, indicating he appeared quite elated.
The outing must be quite enjoyable.
Though she had some concerns about the cost, that was alleviated because Serena had said, “I mentioned before that I would fully support the tuition, right? Please just tell Luke to get along well with Shirud,” and had covered all travel expenses.
What a wonderful person she is.
By the way, Beriton is really a great country.
There are many elves, the World Tree is spectacular… If one loves beautiful natural scenery, visiting Beriton is an excellent choice.
So Luke would likely enjoy it a lot.
Luke loves taking walks in the forest.
This might be Luke’s first trip abroad.
He must be quite excited.
Still, having to be apart from Luke for a while, that was a source of concern for her.
What if he couldn’t adapt during his time overseas?
What if he got lost or got caught up in some incident that led to a big problem?
Could… could a guardian not follow the children on their outing?
Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since she had gone back to her hometown; perhaps it was about time for a visit.
Okay, I should go see my mother after a long time.
However, if she went along with Luke, that would stand out a lot, right?
It would be better to get a separate plane ticket from Luke.
As she thought this, her steps carried her closer to the lodging.
As she approached the lodging, she began to hear what seemed to be Luke’s singing voice.
“That sounds a little different from the songs Luke usually sings.”
The songs he normally sang were very calm, leisurely, and relaxed, while the song Luke was singing this time had a somewhat urgent, vibrant, and frantic tone.
Well, it wasn’t that it sounded unpleasant.
Luke’s voice felt rather unfamiliar, merely bringing a sense of novelty.
Suddenly, from inside the lodging, she heard what sounded like someone running around.
“That’s strange. Is Luke running around?”
No, it sounded like there were two pairs of footsteps.
“That’s odd; could there be an intruder?”
That couldn’t be; if that were the case, Luke wouldn’t be singing; he would be screaming.
Still, Yerna approached the lodging with quicker steps.
When she finally reached the door, the more clearly she heard the voices from beyond, she briefly stopped her hand that was about to turn the doorknob.
“Stop it right there!”
Surely, that couldn’t be directed at her, could it?
If not, to whom were those words being directed?
Her contemplation didn’t last long.
She would know as soon as she opened the door.
With a slam.
The scene that entered her view was astonishing.
“Py, please! That’s still not done baking! Just stop for a second! At least wipe your feet before you move!”
“Si-ru! No way I’m letting go!”
“No, you’re going to dirty the floor! What on earth have you been tracking around with your feet!”
A girl with sky-blue hair strikingly resembling Luke and a boy with an apron over his pajamas, holding a rag in one hand as he chased after the girl, hair tied in a way he had done himself.
In that surreal scene, Yerna froze in astonishment.
‘W- who is this?’
——–
The blue-haired girl calmed down only after finishing the last of the dough as she ran away.
In the somewhat settled atmosphere, Luke began to explain about the girl.
After hearing Luke’s explanation, Yerna asked with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“So… this is Luke, the ‘spirit’ you usually talk about?”
“Probably, yes. Her name is Py, no, Pyris.”
“…I see.”
She thought it was just an imaginary friend…
Isn’t the concept of a spirit something seen only in fairy tales?
However, that seemed a bit different, given that Luke himself, who mixed with both a manticore and a dragon, was right in front of her.
Thinking like that, she couldn’t dismiss the existence of a spirit.
“But looking at her, she doesn’t seem like a spirit at all…”
A spirit shouldn’t have a body or be able to consume anything, right?
At those words, Pyris tilted her head.
“I am a spirit, though?”
As she said that, the girl exhibited the ability to vanish in an instant.
When Yerna turned her head in surprise to find out where she had disappeared to, she felt a tickling sensation at the top of her head and brushed her hair back.
“Py, get down from my head.”
“Got it, E-re!”
Pyris seems to believe that she is indeed a spirit, while Luke seems to have been able to see her from the very beginning for some reason…
“Spirits really do exist…”
Yerna gazed blankly into the girl’s turquoise eyes.
Then it seemed this child had left the footprints in the forest.
After all, those footprints on the ground were approximately the same size.
But what concerned her was how much the girl resembled Luke.
With her slightly pouty eyes, wavy hair, and cutely delicate features.
Especially the turquoise iris, which matched one of Luke’s eyes perfectly.
It could almost be said that they were twin sisters.
‘Could it be, they really are siblings?’
That idea did not seem entirely implausible.
It would be hard to explain such a resemblance otherwise.
What if some sort of experiments concerning spirits were being conducted somewhere in the world…
As Yerna contemplated that and stared at the girl, it appeared that Pyris accepted it as a cue to introduce herself, pointing at herself with an innocent expression.
“I, Pyris!”
“Right, Pyris.”
“Yep!”
The girl’s smile, different from Luke’s gentle smile, was an utterly pure and bright one.
It brought forth an impulse within Yerna to pinch the cheek of such a lovely child she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Anyway, Yerna decided to ask the question that had been bothering her.
“Pyris, why do you resemble Luke so much?”
“I’m not Luke, E-re!”
“E-re?”
“Somehow, Py calls me ‘E-re.’ I have no idea what that means.”
“Really?”
E-re, perhaps that might be Luke’s real name.
But as if reading that thought, Luke showed a slightly uncomfortable expression and said.
“Yerna, don’t call me E-re as well. I am Luke Irushi. Rather, just call me ‘Lu’ like usual.”
“Uh, okay, Lu.”
That sounds like a rather pretty name.
Could it be that he dislikes it because it reminds him of the past?
The girl might know about Luke’s past, or perhaps—
At that moment, Pyris tilted her head curiously and said.
“Yerna? That’s not right.”
“Hmm?”
Pyris pointed at Yerna with her finger.
“Karina, Karina Rispend!”
“…How do you know that name?”
Yerna’s expression stiffened abruptly.
That name was one she had previously never mentioned to Luke?
