Vol 1 Chapter 8 – Change, Part 1【Vol 1 — A Happy Childhood】

Looking back on it now, I don’t remember ever making her promise not to leave the barrier.

I’d been so fixated on keeping our magic training a secret that I forgot the most important part.

Barely visible in the snow were the tiny footprints of a pair of shoes chasing after a rabbit’s tracks.
Those prints crossed over the defensive barrier that repelled monsters and continued deeper into the forest.

I grind my teeth without thinking.

This is my fault.
I forgot how dangerous it is just being in a forest where monsters live, and I didn’t keep a close enough eye on little Aria.

“…Tch.”

She shouldn’t have gotten that far yet.

I follow Aria’s footprints and sprint into the depths of the forest.

◯

“Ariaaaaa! If you’re there, answer me!”

Fortunately, thanks to the freshly fallen snow, the path Aria took is perfectly clear.

The farther I go into the forest, the thicker the trees grow, and the wild, menacing presence of nature grows stronger too.

My feet keep getting caught in the deep snow, but I force myself to move faster as I chase after Aria.

I’ve already been running for several minutes, but I don’t feel like I’m getting any closer. Which means she’s still, right now, heading even deeper in.

From her footprints, it looks like Aria has just been chasing that rabbit the whole time.
She’s probably so absorbed that she hasn’t even noticed she got separated from me.

That’s the thing.
When you think about it, she’s still just a little kid. There’s no way she can make the right calls all by herself.
I was the one who said it myself: toddlers live on sheer momentum.
She’s not like me. She’s not like me, someone who’s carrying memories from a previous life.
Why didn’t I realize it?

I push my frail three‑year‑old body past its limits, forcing my legs to keep moving, but I can feel I’m close to the edge. My whole body is horribly numb with cold.

If something happens to Aria—who was smiling and laughing so happily just a little while ago—I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

Just then, I feel something unpleasant in the air.
A taint in the mana.

It’s the presence of something that also has mana in its body and feeds on it, and so instinctively preys on humans, who possess high‑quality mana—
In other words, the presence of a monster.

I know this because Sophia taught me before.
Just in case something ever happened, she deliberately took me outside the barrier and made me feel it myself.
She told me, if you ever sense this, you run first and think later.

Right.
Sophia made sure to teach me all of that, and yet I never taught Aria anything…

“I have to hurry.”

My impatience spikes.

◯

When Aria lost sight of the rabbit and looked around, she realized she was somewhere she didn’t know.

There were lots of trees growing, and some fallen over.
There was a ton of grass too, and she felt like something was rustling somewhere.

“…Will?”

Feeling something unpleasant start to spread in her chest, Aria called his name.

But no voice came back.

“Hey, Will… are you not here?”

She tried calling again.

“Hey, Will, where are you!?”

She tried saying it loudly. But he didn’t answer at all. That was mean.

She could tell the unpleasant feeling in her chest was getting bigger and bigger.

Where is this place?
It wasn’t where she’d been just a moment ago.
It was different.
Somewhere she didn’t know.
She was scared.

Her eyes started to burn with tears.

And then…

“…Huh?”

She felt something strange.
It felt gross. Bad.

There was a rustling sound as something moved in the bushes.

That had to be him. He’d come to save her!

“Will…!”

Wiping her tears, she ran toward it—but the one waiting there wasn’t him.

It was a big dog with sharp teeth.
No, but it was a little different from a dog.
It had three eyes, and they were all bright red. It also had horns.

She was scared, scared. That scary thing looked right at Aria.
It came closer, making weird noises.

“…No.”

She was scared. So Aria ran.

She ran and ran; it was hard and it hurt, but she still did her best to run.
Something behind her was barking. She was scared.
As she ran, hiding behind big trees, the trees in front of her suddenly disappeared.

She thought it was strange, but she kept running—and then, in front of her, there was no more ground.

She knew what this was. A cliff.​

When she peeked over the edge, it was high. Way, way higher than Will’s big two‑story house.

If she fell, she would die… or so Aria thought.

The scary thing barked.

When she looked, the scary thing was there.
Even though she’d tried so hard to run away, it had already caught up.
It came closer. The scary thing came closer.

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She called his name. Her legs shook. Her whole body shook.

The scary thing opened its big mouth, trying to eat Aria.

Scary scary scary scary scary scary scary no I don’t want this. Help me, Will. Help me. Please, stay with me. Stay with me, forever, forever forever forever please. Will. Will. Will, Will, Will, Will Will Will――――…………

When Aria took a step back, there was no ground behind her.

“…Huh?”

Her body floated for a moment.

Aria fell from the cliff.​

And then—

“Ariaaa!!”

“…Will.”

Ah… thank goodness…

◯

By the time I finally managed to find Aria, the situation was already do‑or‑die.

Aria was standing right at the edge of a sheer cliff, while a dog‑type monster crept closer and closer to her.

I sprinted toward them with everything I had, caught the monster off guard, and tried to snatch Aria away.

But—

“…Huh?”

Everything I saw from that moment on felt like it was in slow motion.

The instant my brain registered that Aria had fallen off the cliff, I, who had been right next to her, leapt off at the same time.

It’s okay. From this height, it should be okay. I tell myself that.

I spot Aria as she falls. She seems to be in a daze.
That actually works in my favor. It would be bad if she started flailing.

As we plummet, I pour all my strength into building up a dense, high‑powered wind spell, not saving a single drop of mana.

I ride the wind myself to adjust my position.
Somehow, I pull the stunned Aria into my arms, then fire all the remaining wind straight down beneath us.

Maybe thanks to the cushion of snow and the fact that I wrung out every last bit of mana I could, I manage to land on my back without taking any serious impact.

I somehow steady my ragged breathing, and at the same time, try to calm my mind.

Okay, deep breaths.

“…Phew.”

Crap, that was seriously bad. I was scared out of my mind. Terrified.
Probably the scariest thing I’ve ever gone through, counting my previous life too.

The distance up to the top of the cliff when I look up is at least fifteen meters by my rough estimate.​
The dog‑type monster glares down at us in frustration, but after a while it disappears somewhere.

“…Haah.”

At last I can breathe. Thank god… I barely made it in time.

Feeling relieved, I look down at Aria in my arms—and see her tear‑soaked face staring back at me the same way.

Looks like she’s regained consciousness.

“Will, Will, Will… Will…”

Like she’s trying to make sure I’m really there, Aria calls my name over and over again.
She must have been terrified. Of course she was.

A suffocating wave of guilt crashes over me. If only I’d been more careful…

Watching Aria call my name in huge sobbing tears, I’m truly glad I was able to save her.
Aria clings to me with a painfully strong grip, and I hug her back.

The moment I finally let myself relax, a crushing exhaustion hits me.

My head hurts.
I feel heavy.
I can’t put any strength into my body.

What… is this?

Maybe Aria notices something’s wrong when I suddenly go limp, because she freezes and stares at me.

This is bad, my body won’t move. Something’s wrong, I shouldn’t have a single injury…

It’s hard to breathe.
Even just drawing air in is getting harder and harder.
This is obviously different from simple drowsiness.

“What’s wrong, Will!? Stay with me! Will, please!”

“…Ah.”

My eyelids are heavy.
My vision is blurry.
Ah, this is bad.

“Will, don’t die! Don’t die on me! Will!!――――”

In the very next moment, I lost consciousness.