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---
Chapter 70
The front door of Roswaal Manor opened shortly before dawn.
Charizard did not try to enter.
For the first time since it had been built, nobody cared to discover how a three-meter machine could disappear inside a room on the second floor.
The automaton landed in front of the steps, folded its wings, and lowered its body until its belly touched the ground. The flame on its tail illuminated the garden while the sky began taking on a bluish-gray hue behind the mountains.
Rem climbed down first.
She did not wait for the belts to finish coming loose.
She jumped from the saddle, landed on the steps, and immediately turned toward her sister.
Link was still carrying Ram.
The pink-haired maid was conscious, but the pallor of her face, her restrained breathing, and the way she protected her right side prevented her usual composure from fooling anyone.
Rem extended her arms.
—Give her to me.
Link obeyed.
He did not argue.
He made no remark about Ram having insisted that she could walk.
Nor did he mention that she had spent much of the flight assuring him that her ribs were merely "slightly displeased."
He carefully placed Ram in Rem's arms.
The blue-haired maid supported her beneath the legs and back, adjusting the pressure so she would not touch the injured shoulder.
—Nee-sama.
—Rem.
—Where does it hurt?
—In the places one would expect after being thrown against the ground, a tree, and the gardener's lack of judgment.
Rem looked up.
Link had already taken a step backward.
—I can explain.
—Later.
One word.
Said quietly.
Link would have preferred a shout.
Rem climbed the stairs carrying her sister.
Emilia appeared in the entrance with a blanket around her shoulders. Her silver hair was disheveled, and Puck floated beside her despite there still being several hours before his usual active period.
—Ram!
Emilia moved aside to let them through.
—The treatment room is ready. Beatrice is already inside.
—Thank you, Emilia-sama —Rem replied.
Ram lifted her face from her arms.
—Emilia-sama did not need to wake up.
—Of course I did.
—The manor would have continued functioning.
—That doesn't mean I could sleep knowing you were out there.
Ram did not answer.
Her pink eye closed for a moment.
Not from exhaustion.
From acceptance.
Rem crossed the foyer.
Emilia followed.
Puck stayed behind.
The small spirit looked first at Link.
Then toward the ruined area that could not be seen from the manor but whose scent still clung to him.
Blood.
Ash.
Miasma.
Melted earth.
And something new.
Puck narrowed his eyes.
—You smell awful.
—Thanks.
—I wasn't talking about the blood.
Link looked down at his body.
The kagunes were retracted.
That did not stop him from feeling them.
Six.
Two more than before.
Folded beneath his back, thin and tense. The dark texture still covered them even while they were not manifested. He could sense the miasma as though a layer of smoke were breathing inside his flesh.
—I know.
Puck circled him once.
—Are you conscious?
—Yes.
—Are you you?
Link looked at him.
—I think so.
—Wrong answer.
—I don't have another.
Puck descended until he was directly in front of his eyes.
Link's pupils were human.
For now.
—Do not go inside until Betty examines you.
—Ram needs—
—Rem is with her.
—I gave her mana.
Puck stopped moving his tail.
—You did what?
—Her Gate was nearly empty.
—How?
—With my hands.
—That explains nothing.
—It worked.
—That also does not reassure me.
A weak sound came from Charizard's saddle.
Something snorted.
Then bit metal.
Puck turned.
A black kagune partially emerged from Link's back. It displayed no fangs and did not move violently. It formed a basket around a small creature covered in dark plates.
The Wagpig cub poked out its snout.
It tried biting the stone edge of the saddle.
Its teeth left little more than a wet mark.
Puck looked at Link.
—What is that?
—A survivor.
—I know what species it is.
—Then the question was badly phrased.
—Why is it here?
—I adopted her.
The cub snorted.
Puck closed his eyes.
—Naturally.
Subaru finally managed to free himself from the straps that had held him during the flight.
He fell from Charizard's side.
Landed in the old snow gathered beside the bushes.
—I'M FINE!
Nobody had asked.
He got up, brushed snow from his hair, and pointed at Link.
—I need to confirm several things. One: you have six kagunes. Two: they're covered in something that looks like angry smoke. Three: you fired a Nappa technique from your mouth. Four: you almost murdered Ram. Five: you came back carrying her like a princess. Six: you adopted a newborn stone hippopotamus.
Link raised one finger.
—She doesn't look like a hippopotamus.
The cub opened her mouth.
The resemblance weakened his defense.
Subaru pointed at the animal.
—SHE HAS THE ENTIRE FACE OF AN ANGRY HIPPOPOTAMUS!
—She's a Wagpig.
—That means rock pig.
—You don't know the language.
—THE NAME EXPLAINS ITSELF!
Roswaal descended from the sky.
His boots touched the ground without raising dust.
His cloak settled behind him.
He observed Charizard, the cub, Subaru covered in snow, and finally Link.
—How much terrain?
Link crossed his arms.
—Good morning.
—How much?
—An amount.
Roswaal looked at Puck.
Puck answered:
—A lot.
—He wasn't there for the main part —Link added.
—I saw the corridor when we arrived.
—The forest was in the way.
Roswaal smiled.
—Ram will report it.
The calmness of the response was worse than any accusation.
Link looked toward the entrance.
—Can I see her?
—When Beatrice is finished.
—I need to explain—
—You will do so in front of everyone.
—That sounds like a trial.
Subaru approached.
—Because it is a trial.
—You're not a judge.
—I'm a collateral victim of your existence.
Charizard turned its head toward him.
Subaru hid behind Roswaal.
The automaton raised its thumb.
The Wagpig cub tried to imitate the motion with one leg.
She lost her balance inside the kagune.
—The creature first —Puck said—. Then you.
—She's hurt.
—You've also been altered.
—I'm not injured.
—That is the problem.
Puck pointed toward the side entrance.
—Take her to the animal room. Not the Wolgarm enclosure.
—They might accept her.
—They might eat her for breakfast.
Link looked at the cub.
She was biting one of the black filaments on the kagune.
She could not break it.
—They won't eat her.
—You are not finding that out today.
Roswaal raised one hand.
—I'll prepare a separate space.
Link looked at him suspiciously.
—How much are you going to charge me?
—I don't know yet.
—That means too much.
—Ram will keep the accounts when she recovers.
Subaru placed one hand on Link's shoulder.
—Brother, you just saved the baby of a species that tried to kill you.
—Yes.
—That's very you.
—Thank you.
—You also burned her entire family.
Link pushed his hand away.
—Go take a bath.
—You smell worse.
The Wagpig cub squealed.
Link lifted her with the kagune.
—She's hungry.
Puck sniffed.
—She's also marked.
Link stopped.
The spirit approached the animal's neck.
A barely visible black line ran along the skin beneath the plates.
It did not spread.
It did not drain.
It remained dormant.
—That's my curse —Link said.
Puck slowly looked at him.
—Yours.
—Yes.
—Not the Wagpig's.
—Mine.
The spirit's face lost its playfulness.
—Do not touch anyone.
—I wasn't planning to.
—With the kagunes.
—I know.
—Not Rem.
—I know.
—Not Subaru.
Link looked at the Japanese boy.
—That depends on his behavior.
—HEY!
Puck bared his teeth.
Not like a cat.
Like a spirit.
—This isn't a joke.
Link held his gaze.
The smile vanished.
—I won't touch anyone.
—Good.
Luci descended onto his shoulder.
The tiny luminous figure had regained some stability after the flight. Even so, her lower half occasionally dissolved into a golden tail.
—Ram —she said.
—She's inside.
—Pain.
—Yes.
Luci pointed at Link.
—Bad.
Subaru nodded.
—The wisest creature in the manor.
Link sighed.
—Let's lock up the little pig before everyone decides to put me on trial in the garden.
The cub bit his arm.
Her teeth did not penetrate his skin.
—I'm not food.
She bit harder.
—That wasn't an invitation.
Beatrice took forty minutes before allowing anyone inside.
For the first ten, Rem did not leave the room.
During the next fifteen, Emilia appeared three times asking for water, clean cloths, and a box of small healing lagmites that Roswaal kept under lock and key.
During the final fifteen, Link paced up and down the hallway until he wore a mark into the carpet.
Subaru sat against the wall.
Puck floated above a lamp.
Roswaal had withdrawn to prepare the study.
Luci remained on top of Link's head.
The four lesser fire spirits waited nearby.
They had not strayed since the battle.
The Red Flame glowed less brightly than usual.
Link remembered striking it.
Not clearly.
An image.
The little spirit trying to put itself in front of him.
One of the kagunes knocking it aside.
The memory produced unpleasant pressure behind his sternum.
The Red Flame would not approach his shoulder.
It stayed beside the wall.
—You can leave —Link said.
The flame flickered.
—You don't have to stay with me.
It did not move.
—I tried to hit you.
The flame produced a spark.
—That doesn't answer anything.
Luci raised one hand.
—Bad.
—Yes.
The Bluish-White Sphere orbited the Red Flame.
The Ember Bird settled on the frame of a window.
The Golden Light floated near Luci.
All four were still there.
Link lowered his gaze.
—We'll talk later.
Subaru had been watching him.
—With them or with yourself?
—Both.
—Seems necessary.
Link stopped pacing.
—I don't need commentary.
—You're about to drill through the carpet.
He looked down.
A dark line ran along the same route between two pillars.
—Ram will charge you for that.
—Ram will probably charge me for the forest.
—This time it wasn't my fault.
Subaru raised both hands.
—Do not use that phrase in front of Rem.
—I lost consciousness.
—After drinking blood.
—Not voluntarily.
—After eating Mabeast meat for weeks.
—I needed food.
—After never telling anyone that your body might react badly.
Link clenched his teeth.
—I didn't know.
—That is the only point saving you a little.
—Then stop accusing me.
—I'm not accusing you.
Subaru stood.
The theatricality disappeared.
—I'm trying to make sure you understand what is going to happen when that door opens.
Link looked toward the room.
—Rem is angry.
—Rem is terrified.
The word struck harder.
Subaru continued:
—Not because you have six kagunes. Not because you destroyed the forest. Not even because you almost killed Ram while you were unconscious.
—That should be the main thing.
—The main thing is that she spent weeks giving you exactly the food that ended up causing it.
Link turned.
—It wasn't her fault.
—I know.
—Then—
—She can still feel like it was.
Link went still.
The concentrated broth.
The dried meat.
Rem calculating how much he needed after every training session.
Rem searching for ways to feed him without making him eat raw meat.
Rem cooking Wolgarm because it was the only thing his body accepted without rejection.
They had measured by hunger.
By recovery.
By how long it took him to stop trembling.
Never by miasma.
They had not known they were supposed to.
That would not stop Rem from thinking about every plate.
—It wasn't her fault —Link repeated.
More quietly.
—Tell her that —Subaru replied—. Not as a defense. Tell her until she believes it.
The door opened.
Beatrice appeared.
She wore a frown, her sleeves were stained with blood, and she held one of the Crimson Heart fragments between her fingers.
—Ram is stable.
Link stepped forward.
—Can I see her?
—In a moment.
—The ribs?
—Four cracked. Two fractured.
—The shoulder?
—Set before she arrived. In a surprisingly rough manner.
Link raised one hand.
—I did that.
—Betty already assumed so.
—It worked.
—That does not make your method elegant.
Puck descended from the lamp.
—Her Gate?
—Tired, but not empty.
Beatrice looked at Link.
—The mana you gave her is still inside.
—Is it hurting her?
—No.
Link released his breath.
—Then it worked.
—Do not celebrate yet, I suppose. Betty still hasn't figured out why her body accepted it.
—Because we both have horns.
—She doesn't.
Link closed his mouth.
Beatrice noticed the expression.
—Her structure is still Oni even though she lost the organ. Your mana found the incomplete routes and entered through them.
—Is that bad?
—It could have been if you had released more.
—I reduced it.
—After nearly flooding her.
—She told me.
—Ram said the first discharge felt like you were trying to pour a river through a straw.
Subaru covered his mouth.
Link pointed at him.
—No.
The Japanese boy lowered his hand.
—I didn't say anything.
—You thought it.
Beatrice raised the collar fragment.
—This is more important.
The piece was tiny.
Blackened metal.
Part of the mount.
The hollow where the lagmite had been.
—What did it do? —Link asked.
—Exactly what Ram described.
—That doesn't explain how.
—That is why Betty is irritated.
The door remained open.
Rem appeared behind her.
She did not look at Link.
—Nee-sama wants to give her report before resting.
—She needs to rest —he said.
—Rem told her.
—And?
—She answered that she would not allow others to tell the story incompetently.
Subaru nodded.
—Ram is fine.
Rem looked at him.
—No.
The Japanese boy lowered his head.
Link approached.
Rem kept her hands together in front of her apron.
There was dried blood on one sleeve.
Ram's.
—Rem.
—Roswaal-sama is waiting in the small sitting room.
—I need to tell you something.
—After the report.
—It wasn't your—
She raised her eye.
Link stopped.
Her expression was not hostile.
It was too controlled.
—After —Rem repeated.
She turned away.
Link followed.
Ram refused to give the report from a bed.
Roswaal compromised enough to move the meeting into a room adjoining the treatment chamber. They had placed a long sofa near the fireplace, pillows behind her back, and a blanket over her legs.
Her right arm remained immobilized.
Several bandages surrounded her torso beneath borrowed clothing.
The destroyed collar lay on a table.
Ram held a cup in her left hand.
Her face had regained some color thanks to Link's mana and Beatrice's treatment, although her breathing remained shorter than normal.
Rem sat beside her.
Not as a maid.
As a sister.
Emilia occupied a nearby chair.
Puck floated above the backrest.
Beatrice remained beside the table, the pieces of Crimson Heart spread across a cloth.
Roswaal stood in front of everyone.
Subaru leaned against a wall.
Link was placed in the center.
A chair waited.
—Sit —Beatrice ordered.
—I can stand.
—Sit.
—I'm not hurt.
Rem spoke.
—Link.
He sat.
Luci descended onto his shoulder.
The four lesser spirits remained behind him near the door.
Roswaal clasped his hands.
—Ram.
The pink-haired maid took a sip.
—The initial estimate of Mabeast numbers was incorrect. The packs converged from several routes, drawn by blood, territorial displacement, and residual mana.
Link raised one finger.
—Before you start—
Ram looked at him.
The finger lowered.
—The gardener used an unauthorized artifact containing an Earth lagmite.
Beatrice slowly turned.
—What?
Link looked toward the door.
There was no escape she could not block.
—I built it before the rules.
—What artifact?
—A glove.
—Where is it?
—It broke.
—Naturally.
—It worked well for most of the battle.
—Who inspected it?
—Me.
Beatrice lifted her book.
—That does not count, in fact.
—An Earth user from Arlam showed me some principles.
Emilia tilted her head.
—Who?
Link gave the villager's name.
Rem recognized it.
—He works repairing roads.
—Yes. I gave him chocolate in exchange for lessons.
Ram continued:
—The glove allowed him to use Dona, El Dona, and Al Dona.
Beatrice struck the book against the table.
—Al Dona is not a small output.
—The circuit limited the amount.
—And it broke.
—After several uses.
—It broke on your hand.
—My hand is fine.
—Your hand is always fine. The rest of the world is what suffers.
Roswaal hid a smile.
—Ram, continue.
—The gardener and Ram reduced the first packs without considerable difficulty. Then we discovered that the real number could not be accurately counted.
—Did you use Clairvoyance? —Rem asked.
—Yes.
Rem touched her sister's left hand.
—Your mana was already too low.
—Ram knows.
—Nee-sama—
—Later.
Rem closed her mouth.
Ram turned toward Roswaal again.
—A Wagpig rammed the gardener while he was distracted. He recovered and threw it aside. Later, another tried to attack Ram from behind.
—I saw it —Link said.
—And shouted unnecessarily loudly.
—I was trying to warn you.
—Ram had already begun the spell.
—I couldn't know that.
—You could trust.
Link opened his mouth.
Rem squeezed his hand.
He looked at her.
She did not take her eye off Ram.
Link remained silent.
—Ram cut the Wagpig open through the belly —the pink-haired maid continued—. Its blood reached the gardener's mouth.
Emilia looked down at Link.
Puck stopped moving his tail.
—The reaction was immediate. Abdominal pain, loss of coordination, modification of the kagunes, and complete manifestation of both kakugan. The gardener understood part of the problem before losing consciousness.
Roswaal looked at Link.
—Explain.
Every gaze turned toward him.
Link rested his forearms on his legs.
—My body doesn't function on mana alone.
—We already know that —Beatrice said.
—Not completely.
He chose his words.
He could not explain a biology none of them knew using terms that did not exist there.
—There is a part of me sustained by the flesh of certain creatures. Regeneration, kagunes, hunger... all of that belongs to that part.
Rem lowered her gaze.
Link saw it.
He continued before she could speak.
—Ever since we discovered Wolgarm meat worked, I started eating it regularly. I didn't know my body was also accumulating miasma.
—Accumulating? —Puck asked.
—I think so. It wasn't reacting to the amount of meat. It was reacting to what was inside it.
—The Mabeasts' energy —Emilia said.
—Yes.
—And the Wagpig had more?
—Much more. Or it was simply the final amount I was missing.
Beatrice crossed her arms.
—You ate it for weeks without knowing how much you were absorbing.
—There was no way to measure it.
—You could have asked.
—Who? The other unknown hybrid with six kagunes?
—Betty.
—We didn't know there was anything to ask about.
Beatrice pressed her lips together.
She could not refute that.
Puck found another angle.
—You noticed hunger.
—Yes.
—You noticed the meat restored you.
—Yes.
—You noticed your body changing after consuming it.
—No.
—Your senses.
—I thought they were stabilizing.
—Your mana reserves.
—I train every day.
—Your regeneration.
—It was already fast.
Puck stared at him.
—You didn't want to investigate as long as it worked.
Link fell silent.
The accusation struck the right place.
—No —he admitted.
Rem tightened her hands on her skirt.
—Rem prepared the broth.
Link turned immediately.
—No.
—And the dried meat.
—Rem.
—Rem calculated the portions based on how long Link took to recover.
—Look at me.
She did.
—You didn't know.
—But—
—Neither did I. Neither did Beatrice. Neither did Puck. Nobody knew. I asked for that food and ate it because it worked.
—Rem was responsible for his meals.
—Not for a part of my body even I didn't understand.
Link's voice rose.
Not into a shout.
Into something that needed to cut through the guilt before it could settle.
—You are not carrying this.
Rem kept her eye on him.
—Link almost killed nee-sama.
The air grew heavier.
—Yes.
—Because his body accumulated what Rem gave him.
—Because I hid the fact that I didn't understand my own body.
—You didn't hide it.
—I behaved as if it didn't matter.
Rem lowered her gaze.
Link stood.
Beatrice made a gesture to force him back into the chair.
Ram raised her left hand.
The little spirit stopped.
Link walked to Rem.
Knelt in front of her.
He did not touch her body.
Puck had been clear about the kagunes, but his hands remained safe.
Even so, he waited.
Rem was the one who extended her fingers.
Link took them.
—It wasn't your fault —he said—. Not even a part of it.
—Link cannot decide what Rem feels.
—No.
—Then do not order her.
—I'll repeat it.
She looked at him.
—Until you believe it.
Rem squeezed his fingers.
Her face remained calm.
Her eyes did not.
—Rem should have noticed something.
—I live inside this body and didn't notice.
—Because you always try to ignore what happens to you.
—That part is my fault.
Ram took another sip.
—Finally, a correct conclusion.
Link did not look away from Rem.
—From now on I won't eat anything from a Mabeast unless Beatrice examines it first.
—Betty did not agree to become a meat inspector, I suppose.
—You will.
—You do not give Betty orders.
—I'll pay you in ice cream.
Beatrice closed her mouth.
Subaru raised one hand.
—Negotiation concluded.
Rem breathed.
The pressure of her fingers weakened.
—Rem will prepare other foods.
—Until we know what I can eat.
—Yes.
—And you won't blame yourself for this.
She took time.
—Rem will try not to.
It was not a complete promise.
Link accepted it.
He kissed her knuckles.
Rem closed her eye.
Then pointed toward the chair.
—Sit down.
—Are you still angry?
—Very.
Link obediently returned.
Subaru murmured:
—Perfect domestication.
Ram gave him a look.
—Barusu wants to test the new curse.
—No.
Roswaal resumed the meeting.
—What happened after Link lost consciousness?
Ram set down her cup.
—The four kagunes split.
Link felt movement beneath his back.
—He now has six —she continued—. Thinner. Their surfaces are covered in condensed miasma, and the tips developed structures resembling mouths with mana fangs.
Emilia looked toward Link's back.
—Can he show them?
Rem answered before he could.
—Not here.
Beatrice nodded.
—Not until barriers are prepared.
—I can control them —Link said.
—You regained consciousness less than two hours ago.
—I can feel them.
—You could also feel the Earth glove and it broke.
—That has nothing to do with it.
—To Betty, everything you do comes from the same root of stupidity.
Ram continued:
—Every strike from the kagunes applied the Wolgarm curse.
The silence changed.
Puck descended from the chair back.
—Every strike?
—Scratches, punctures, and glancing contact. They did not need to bite.
—Immediate activation?
—No. The mark remained dormant until the gardener decided to use it.
Link frowned.
—I wasn't deciding anything.
—Your body was.
—That isn't me.
Ram held his gaze.
—We will discuss that distinction later.
Beatrice walked around the chair.
—What did the curse do?
—It drained mana —Ram answered—. Also life force.
—How far?
—Hearts stopped.
Emilia paled.
Subaru stopped casually leaning against the wall.
Rem released Link's hand.
Not to move away.
To put it on his shoulder.
—Can he do it now? —Roswaal asked.
Link thought about the mark around the cub's neck.
—Yes.
—Do you know or assume?
—I can feel it.
—Explain.
Link placed one hand over his chest.
—When a kagune touches something alive, the mark appears. I don't need to think about it. Afterward, I can feel where it is.
—At what distance? —Puck asked.
—I don't know.
—How many at once?
—I don't know.
—How long does it take to kill?
—Depends on how much force I use.
Beatrice narrowed her eyes.
—Can you regulate it?
—I managed to stop the cub's.
—That doesn't answer whether you can prevent it from being applied in the first place.
Link remained silent.
The answer was already there.
Unpleasant.
—No.
Rem squeezed his shoulder.
—Then you will not manifest your kagunes near anyone.
—I need to use them.
—Not near people.
—In the kitchen—
—No.
—I can cover the tips.
—No.
—With metal.
—No.
—With ice.
—Link.
—Fine.
Ram lifted the cup.
—The manor will recover some of its peace.
—Until I learn to disable the application.
—First learn not to lose consciousness.
Link looked at Ram.
The bandages.
The shoulder.
The broken collar mount.
He said nothing.
Roswaal lifted another blank report.
—Your physical strength also changed.
—Yes —Ram said—. Speed, agility, regeneration, and endurance increased. The gardener launched an adult Wagpig with his knee before the transformation. Afterward, he threw another through several trees without using his kagunes.
Subaru raised his hand.
—I need to know how many trees.
—No —everyone replied.
—It was for scientific scale.
Ram continued:
—The new kagunes possess much greater speed. They change direction after beginning an attack and can use trees, the ground, or bodies to propel the user.
—That explains how I was moving —Link murmured.
Rem looked at him.
—You remember?
—Fragments.
—Nee-sama?
Link did not answer immediately.
The broken collar seemed to be watching him from the table.
—I remember ice.
Ram touched the mount.
—Crimson Heart.
Beatrice spread out the cloth.
—That brings us to the second anomaly.
—It wasn't an anomaly —Link said—. It was a success.
—You did not design that function.
—It's still my artifact.
—If a cooking pot starts walking, the cook doesn't get to claim credit.
—If it walks where I need it to, yes.
Beatrice raised a fragment.
—Crimson Heart was supposed to regulate Ram's natural temperature.
—It did.
—Much better than you believed.
—What does that mean?
Puck approached the table.
Beatrice arranged the pieces into the outline of the old core.
—The circuit was constantly learning Ram's temperature. It did not preserve a fixed number. It recorded how that temperature changed according to activity, rest, mana flow, and physical condition.
Ram touched her bare throat.
—Ram never felt cold.
—Nor would she have suffered ordinary thermal burns —Beatrice replied.
Link raised his head.
—It blocked fire?
—It blocked harmful temperature change. A flame trying to burn her skin would lose heat as it entered the collar's range. An ice spell trying to freeze her would receive enough heat to prevent it.
Puck added:
—It does not make her immune to impact. An ice spear can still impale her. A fire explosion can still throw her into a wall.
—But she won't burn or freeze —Emilia said.
—As long as the collar has charge —Beatrice replied.
Link slowly smiled.
—That's better than I planned.
—That is the problem.
—Why is that a problem?
Beatrice pointed at the fragments.
—Because it kept learning.
The smile disappeared.
—The hidden function was not a separate spell. It was the circuit's final conclusion.
Subaru tilted his head.
—Explain that in the language of people who failed basic magic.
—The collar had a primary command —Puck said—: keep Ram in her proper physical state.
—Correct —Beatrice continued—. Day after day, it recorded her temperature, her flow, and how mana traveled through her body. It created a complete thermal image.
Ram looked at the remains of ice still kept inside a container.
—The statue.
—That was the image —Beatrice confirmed—. When it detected that the next impact would destroy Ram's heart, the circuit interpreted that it could no longer fulfill its command while keeping her in the same place.
Link leaned forward.
—So it moved her.
—It used the entire lagmite at once. The heat expansion caused a small explosion that threw Ram outside the trajectory. At the same time, it inverted the remaining temperature and froze moisture into the form it had spent weeks memorizing.
—A substitution —Roswaal said.
—Once —Beatrice corrected—. The core destroys itself.
Subaru looked at Link.
—You built an extra life without knowing it.
Link did not answer.
He disliked that way of putting it.
Too close to things that could not be explained there.
Ram touched the broken chain.
—The kagune pierced the statue.
Rem closed her fingers around her hand.
—And nee-sama was moved out of the way.
—Yes.
Link looked at the blackened fragment.
—The collar understood that it needed to protect you better than I did.
Ram lifted her eye.
—The gardener was unconscious.
—The collar still worked.
—Because you built it.
—Without knowing how.
—It worked anyway.
The answer did not remove the guilt.
It did stop it from growing for several seconds.
Emilia approached the table.
—Can you make another?
Link answered before Beatrice.
—Yes.
—You don't know that —the small spirit said.
—Now we know the principle.
—We know the result.
—We can reconstruct the circuit.
—The thermal memory took days to form.
—I'll make a new one and Ram will wear it.
Ram raised an eyebrow.
—Ram will decide that.
—It saved you.
—It also exploded against her throat.
—Details.
—The gardener considers her neck a detail.
—I didn't mean—
Rem spoke with dangerous calm.
—Link will not test the next collar on nee-sama.
—I wasn't planning to launch a lethal attack at her.
—Nor a nonlethal one.
—We need to confirm the thermal immunity.
—Use Barusu.
Subaru raised both hands.
—Why me?
Ram drank.
—Because the world loses less.
—I'M SURROUNDED BY MONSTERS!
Link was still looking at the fragments.
Routes were already appearing in his head.
A primary lagmite for regulation.
Another smaller one, separate, intended only for the final defense.
A replaceable core.
Perhaps a directional discharge so the user would not be thrown into a tree.
A more durable statue.
A warning beforehand.
—Two cores —he murmured.
Beatrice heard him.
—No.
—One thermal and one emergency.
—No.
—The second lagmite could be Fire and the first—
The book struck his head.
—Do not design during the trial.
—Ideas don't wait.
—Then let them die.
Ram looked at the collar.
—Ram will accept another when Beatrice-sama approves it.
Everyone looked at her.
Link reacted first.
—Yes?
—Don't smile.
—I can't help it.
—It must be smaller.
—I can do that.
—Without an explosion against the neck.
—The explosion saved you.
—In another direction.
—I can add channels.
—And no naked statue.
Silence fell.
Subaru turned toward the wall.
Emilia opened her eyes wide.
Rem looked at her sister.
Link stammered:
—The statue had clothes.
—A thermal imitation of the outer clothing.
—Then it wasn't naked.
—There was nothing underneath.
—IT WAS ICE!
Ram closed her eye.
—Ram is establishing conditions.
—I'll accept them.
—You don't know all of them.
—I'll negotiate.
Beatrice struck the table.
—Nobody is building anything until Betty finishes studying the pieces.
Link's enthusiasm dimmed.
—Fine.
—And the next name cannot contain "Second Heartbeat," "Resurrection," "Phoenix," or "Last Chance."
Link shut his mouth.
Subaru pointed at him.
—You thought of Second Heartbeat.
—It was a good name.
—It was horrible —Rem and Beatrice said.
Ram considered it.
—It was not the worst.
Link smiled.
Beatrice raised the book again.
The report continued.
Ram described Breaker Cannon.
Roswaal asked for its direction.
Puck estimated the range.
Beatrice calculated how much energy it had consumed.
Link answered whatever he remembered.
When Ram reached the part where the kagunes decapitated corpses and turned toward her, Rem said nothing.
She only kept one hand around her sister's.
Link listened to every word.
The first activation of Crimson Heart.
The pierced statue.
The pursuit.
The final extension stopped beside Ram's neck.
Ram softened nothing.
Nor did she dramatize it.
She did not need to.
—Why did it stop? —Roswaal asked.
Ram looked at Link.
—Ram mentioned Rem.
The blue eye turned toward him.
Link placed his hands on his legs.
—I don't remember clearly.
—The kagune stopped —Ram continued—. Then the body began resisting.
Puck observed the hidden horns.
—Emotional recognition.
—Or conditioning —Roswaal said.
Rem did not look away from Link.
—You came back.
—Yes —Ram answered.
—Before killing you.
—Barely.
Link closed his eyes.
—I'm sorry.
Ram raised the cup.
—Ram already heard that during the flight.
—It isn't enough.
—No.
—I don't know how to make up for it.
—Begin by not losing control again.
—I'll do everything I can.
—Then rebuild the collar.
—Yes.
—Pay for the treatment.
Link's head rose.
—How much?
Roswaal smiled.
—Ram will keep the accounts.
—She's injured.
—She can write with her left hand —Ram replied.
—This is financial abuse during a crisis.
—You will also pay for the staff.
—I didn't consciously break it.
—Your hands did.
—The body wasn't—
Rem squeezed his shoulder.
Link stopped talking.
Ram took another sip.
The barely visible satisfaction confirmed that her recovery was progressing.
Roswaal raised the last issue.
—The cub.
A squeal came from the hallway.
Something struck a door.
Then Petra's voice:
—No, you don't eat that!
Another impact.
Link stood.
—She needs help.
—Sit —Rem and Beatrice said.
He sat again.
Roswaal looked toward the entrance.
—Why is she alive?
—Because she was small —Link replied.
—That does not stop her from being a Mabeast.
—She didn't choose to attack.
Ram raised an eyebrow.
—She attacked.
—She was a cub surrounded by corpses.
—She bit you.
—It didn't break the skin.
—She tried.
Link crossed his arms.
—Any animal in the forest would kill her if we left her there.
—She could also grow and kill animals in the forest —Puck said.
—Then I'll train her.
Subaru raised a hand.
—You already have six Wolgarms.
—They're not pets.
—And this one is?
—She's a baby.
—A baby that will become larger than a carriage.
—She can pull one.
Ram closed her eyes.
—You keep returning to that idea.
—Because it's useful.
Roswaal lightly tapped the desk with one finger.
—Can you control her?
Link thought about the dormant mark.
—Not like the Wolgarms.
—Then no.
—She has my curse.
—That is not a contract —Beatrice said.
—I can feel her.
—That is worse.
—If she tries to attack someone, I'll stop her.
Rem looked at him.
—By activating the curse?
—I don't want to.
—But you can.
—Yes.
The answer worried them more than it reassured them.
Emilia spoke.
—We can keep her separated while she recovers.
Everyone looked at her.
She brought her hands together.
—She's a cub. We can't take her back to the place where all the others died.
Link pointed at Emilia.
—Exactly.
—She also cannot live inside the manor —she continued.
His finger lowered.
—I hadn't suggested that.
Subaru coughed.
—Yet.
Puck sat on Emilia's head.
—A separate enclosure, away from the children and Wolgarms.
Roswaal nodded.
—Link will be responsible for it.
—Yes.
—All expenses will be added to your account.
—No.
—Then she doesn't stay.
Link clenched his teeth.
—I accept.
Ram raised the cup.
—Ram will add feeding, terrain repairs, reinforced fences, and any future damage.
—Can I pay with the money from Charmander?
—Part of it has already gone toward the chains.
—I hate those chains.
—The chains hate you too.
The door opened.
Petra entered while being dragged by a rope.
At the other end was the Wagpig cub.
Bandages had been wrapped around her abdomen, and a splint covered the hind leg. Despite the injuries, she moved with enough strength to pull the girl down the hall.
—She escaped!
Link stood.
The cub saw him.
Released the rope.
Ran.
Or tried to.
The immobilized leg turned the run into a sequence of clumsy hops.
She reached him.
Bumped her snout against his leg.
Then bit his pants.
Link crouched.
—Hello.
Rem watched the animal.
—She is hurt.
—Beatrice stabilized her —Petra said—. But she tried to eat the bandages, a pillow, a piece of the door, and my sleeve.
The cub kept biting Link's pants.
—She's hungry.
—She already ate —Petra replied—. A lot.
Subaru approached.
The Wagpig released the pants.
Growled.
Subaru stepped back.
—She hates me.
—She has good instincts —Ram said.
Link stroked her back.
He did not use his kagunes.
The dark plates were softer near the neck.
The cub stopped growling.
Rem knelt on the other side.
The animal sniffed her hand.
Tried to bite.
Rem withdrew her fingers before contact.
—No.
Her voice was gentle.
Firm.
The cub tried again.
Rem touched the top of her snout and pushed it downward.
—No biting.
The Wagpig snorted.
Sat.
The injured leg remained extended to one side.
Link smiled.
—She obeys you.
—Rem knows how to teach.
—That explains a lot —Subaru murmured.
Rem heard him.
Subaru moved away.
Emilia approached.
—She needs a name.
Link examined the cub.
—I thought of Chicharrón.
Rem looked at him.
—No.
—It was temporary.
—No.
—Rock.
—Too simple —Subaru said.
—Magma.
Puck shook his head.
—She isn't Fire-aligned.
—Yet.
Beatrice raised the book.
—You will not turn the animal into another automaton, I suppose.
—She is biological.
—That has never stopped you.
The cub bit his pants again.
Link studied the broad snout.
The tiny ears.
The red eyes.
The stubborn way she clung to the fabric.
A name appeared.
—Pepa.
Subaru went motionless.
Link looked at him.
The Japanese boy covered his mouth with both hands.
His shoulders began trembling.
—No.
Subaru shook his head quickly.
—I didn't say anything.
—Don't laugh.
—I'm not laughing.
A strangled laugh escaped between his fingers.
—I'll kill you.
—IT'S PERFECT!
—Shut up.
Emilia tilted her head.
—Pepa is pretty.
Rem stroked the cub's back.
—Easy to remember.
Ram looked at the animal.
—Pepa will grow to weigh several tons.
—The name will still work —Link said.
Roswaal smiled.
—Then Pepa will remain under strict conditions.
The cub released the pants.
Snorted.
—Pepa —Luci repeated.
The Wagpig raised her head toward the quasi-spirit.
—Pepa —she said again.
The Golden Light produced a small flash.
Pepa tried to catch it in her mouth.
Missed.
Fell onto her side.
Link repositioned her.
—She already knows her name.
—No —Beatrice said—. She is merely chasing lights.
—Let me enjoy this.
Rem looked at the black mark on the animal's neck.
—You need to remove the curse.
Link's smile faded.
—I don't know whether I can.
—Then you'll learn.
—I can keep it dormant.
—That isn't enough.
Pepa rested her snout on his knee.
Link felt the mark.
A dark thread between them.
He could activate it.
He could leave it still.
Removing it was different.
He could not find a way.
—Beatrice.
The little spirit examined the mark.
—Betty will study it. Do not try tearing it out by force.
—I could try—
—No.
—Just—
—No.
Link nodded.
Pepa closed her eyes.
The name was decided.
The examination began after breakfast.
Link did not receive breakfast.
Rem stated that he would eat nothing until Beatrice determined what he could consume without mutating again.
Subaru ate in front of him.
Not out of deliberate cruelty.
At least not entirely.
—This bread is excellent.
Link stared at him from the middle of the training courtyard.
—I'm going to curse you.
Subaru stopped chewing.
—That is no longer a comedic threat.
—Then eat quietly.
Three barriers surrounded the area.
The first belonged to Beatrice.
The second to Puck.
The third to Roswaal.
Emilia watched from behind them.
Rem stayed beside Ram, who had insisted on attending from a chair protected by blankets. Pepa was inside a small temporary enclosure, biting one of the stakes.
Petra watched her from outside.
Charizard remained nearby, prepared to block any attack directed toward the manor.
Luci and the four spirits floated around Link.
—Manifest them —Beatrice ordered.
Link breathed.
All six kagunes emerged.
The transformation was not clean.
The two new extensions first appeared as black lines beneath the original four. Then all of them unfolded at once.
Thinner.
Longer.
Their red surfaces were covered in jet-black miasma. The texture resembled fur while they were still and smoke when they moved. Dark sparks constantly jumped between the filaments.
The tips opened.
Rows of white mana fangs appeared inside.
Emilia tightened her hands.
Subaru lowered the bread.
Pepa lifted her head.
The Wolgarms in the enclosure began howling in the distance.
Beatrice did not move.
—Keep them still.
—I'm trying.
All six extensions swayed.
Two coiled around themselves.
One traveled across the ground without touching it.
Another faced the barriers as though it possessed eyes.
The final pair stayed behind Link, opening and closing their teeth.
—Before, they obeyed complete movements —Puck said—. These react to smaller impulses.
—I can feel everything around me.
—Through them?
—Yes.
Link closed his eyes.
The tips oriented toward every presence.
Roswaal.
Puck.
Beatrice.
Rem.
Ram.
Subaru.
Emilia.
Pepa.
The four spirits.
Charizard.
—Do not point them —Rem ordered.
The kagunes immediately rose toward the sky.
Link opened his eyes.
—Sorry.
Beatrice wrote something.
—Your response to Rem remains intact.
—That isn't a magical ability.
—It is the only order you obey without arguing.
Ram raised one hand from her chair.
—Not always.
Rem looked at her.
—Nee-sama.
—Ram reports accurately.
Roswaal created an object in front of Link.
A small clay creature emerged from the ground. It had four legs, a rounded body, and a simple lagmite embedded in its chest.
The golem began walking.
—It is not alive —Roswaal said—, but it has mana flow.
—Will that work?
—We'll find out.
Link extended the nearest kagune.
—Only a graze —Beatrice ordered.
The tip closed.
Miasma still covered it.
It brushed the side of the golem.
A black line immediately appeared.
The object kept walking.
—Mark confirmed —Puck said.
Link felt the thread.
—I can activate it.
—Not yet.
Beatrice approached the edge of the barrier.
She examined the mark.
—It is not identical to the Wolgarm's.
—What's different?
—The original is introduced through a bite and awaits an order from its creator. Yours adheres through the miasma on the kagune.
—Can I remove it?
—Try switching it off first.
—It's already dormant.
—No. It is contained.
Link focused.
The mark was a knot.
He did not have to untie it.
Only loosen it.
—I'm going to activate it slightly.
—Can you decide how much?
—I think so.
Beatrice created another barrier around the golem.
—Do it.
Link mentally pulled the thread.
The mark ignited.
The golem stopped.
Its lagmite dimmed.
A black current left the clay body and traveled through the air toward the kagune.
Link felt the mana enter.
It was not much.
Even so, his body accepted it immediately.
Regeneration accelerated despite there being no wounds.
His muscles tightened.
His reserves increased.
—Stop —Puck ordered.
Link closed the flow.
The mark dimmed.
The golem fell onto one knee.
Its lagmite retained part of its energy.
—It obeys me —Link said.
—For now —Beatrice replied.
Roswaal created another golem.
Larger.
This time, he added a circuit resembling a pulse.
—It is not true life —he explained—, but it will imitate the function of a heart.
Link grazed its leg.
The mark appeared.
—Activate it until it stops —Roswaal said.
Rem turned.
—Is that necessary?
—We need to know the result.
Link met her gaze.
—I can do it.
She did not look convinced.
Ram spoke.
—He already did it to Mabeasts. Ignoring the ability will not remove it.
Rem kept one hand over her sister's.
—Do it —she finally said.
Link activated the curse.
The golem lost mana.
The circuit in its chest began failing.
The pulses grew irregular.
One.
Two.
A pause.
Another.
The artificial life energy followed the same black path.
It entered Link.
The sensation differed from mana.
Denser.
Warmer.
It did not fill the Gate.
It fed the body directly.
The pulse stopped.
The golem collapsed.
Link cut the curse.
The thread vanished.
—Cardiac arrest —Puck said.
Emilia lowered her gaze.
Subaru no longer touched the bread.
Beatrice wrote.
—You can drain mana and vitality separately, although you don't know how to distinguish them well yet.
—I can learn.
—You must learn before touching anything alive again.
Link looked at his six kagunes.
—The marks are applied even if I don't want them.
—Yes.
—Then I need some covering that blocks the miasma.
—Or to keep them inside —Rem replied.
—I can't always do that.
—You will learn.
Puck created several needles of ice.
—Now speed.
Link took a stance.
—How many?
—A few.
Twenty needles appeared.
—That isn't a few.
—For you, now it is.
He fired them.
Link did not manifest his horns.
The first projectile aimed for his shoulder.
His body moved aside before he finished seeing it.
The second passed beside his face.
The third was caught by a kagune.
The following ones arrived from different angles.
All six extensions moved.
Not like shields.
Like predators.
One bit a needle.
Another changed direction twice and sliced through three projectiles.
Two stabbed into the ground and launched Link upward.
His body spun.
The remaining kagunes deflected the ice while he was airborne.
Link landed behind where he had started.
One final needle grazed his cheek.
The wound closed before the blood could descend.
Subaru opened his mouth.
—That was fast.
Puck created forty.
Rem raised one hand.
—No.
The needles vanished.
—I was only checking —the spirit said.
Beatrice entered the first barrier.
—Retract the kagunes.
Link obeyed.
All six extensions disappeared.
The pressure of miasma decreased.
—Hand.
Link extended his right hand.
Beatrice created a Yin blade.
—What are you doing?
—Measuring regeneration.
—Don't cut too much.
The blade pierced his palm.
The wound reached the bone.
Emilia grimaced.
Link barely had time to see it.
The flesh closed around the blade.
Beatrice had to pull it free before it became trapped.
The skin rebuilt itself.
No scar remained.
—Faster —Puck said.
—Much faster —Beatrice added.
Roswaal raised an evaluation stone.
—Strength.
A reinforced block appeared in the center.
Link positioned himself in front of it.
—With horns?
—Without them.
He punched.
The block disappeared from the waist upward.
It did not crack.
It was not thrown away.
The pressure pulverized it.
Air blasted dust against the barriers.
Subaru raised the bread to protect it.
—That was the test without horns.
Link looked at his fist.
—I miscalculated.
—Exactly —Rem said.
Beatrice walked over to him.
Placed one hand over his abdomen.
Closed her eyes.
The examination lasted longer than the previous night's.
Her expression progressively worsened.
—What? —Link asked.
She did not answer.
—Beatrice.
The little spirit withdrew her hand.
Looked at Puck.
—His reserves grew.
—He absorbed hundreds of Mabeasts —Roswaal said.
—It isn't merely stored energy.
Puck approached.
Rested one paw against Link's chest.
The young man felt cold.
Not pain.
The spirit examined his Gate, the horns, and the new pathways.
—He has more space —Puck concluded.
—How can new space appear? —Emilia asked.
Beatrice tightened her hold on the book.
—His body converted part of the miasma into its own structure.
Link looked at his hands.
—So the mutation was permanent.
—Yes.
—More strength.
—Yes.
—More speed.
—Yes.
—More mana.
—Yes.
—Better regeneration.
—Yes.
The smile began appearing.
The book struck his forehead.
—You almost killed Ram.
The smile died.
—I know.
—Do not celebrate yet.
—I wasn't celebrating.
—Lie.
Link turned toward his partner.
Rem was watching him.
Not with rejection.
With enough concern to make any excitement feel small.
—I won't use the curse without authorization —he said.
Roswaal raised an eyebrow.
—Mine?
—No.
—Then—
—Rem's, Beatrice's, or Puck's.
Subaru raised his hand.
—Me?
—No.
—Emilia-tan?
—Probably.
Emilia frowned.
—Do not give me decisions I don't understand.
—Then no.
Ram drank water.
—Admirable authorization system.
—It's temporary.
—That is more concerning.
The Red Flame still would not approach.
The test ended.
The barriers disappeared.
Roswaal took Ram back inside on a magical platform. Rem walked beside her. Emilia and Puck returned to continue the treatment.
Subaru accompanied Petra and Pepa toward the new enclosure.
The cub chased him for several meters.
Not from affection.
Because she was trying to bite his cloak.
Link remained in the courtyard with Beatrice, Luci, and the four spirits.
Charizard sat nearby.
Its tail burned with a reduced flame.
Beatrice stored her notebook.
—Something remains.
Link looked at the Red Flame.
—Yes.
The small manifestation floated near a bush.
—I hit them.
—One of them.
—I could have hit the others.
—Yes.
—And they're still here.
Beatrice watched him.
—They are not contracted.
—I know.
—They can leave.
—I know that too.
The Red Flame produced a spark.
Luci descended until she was in front of Link.
—Bad.
—I know.
—Pain.
—I know.
—Fear.
Link looked at all four.
The Bluish-White Sphere remained stable, but its light shrank whenever the new kagunes moved beneath his back.
The Ember Bird maintained its distance.
The Golden Light partly hid behind Luci.
They had not left.
That did not mean they felt safe.
—I don't want them to stay out of obligation —Link said.
Beatrice crossed her arms.
—There is no obligation.
—Then they can leave.
None moved.
—I won't chase them.
The Red Flame moved a little closer.
Stopped.
Link crouched.
—I lost control.
A spark.
—That isn't an excuse.
Another.
—I can't promise it will never happen again.
The flame dimmed.
Link pressed one hand against his knee.
—But I can promise I'll learn. And I won't treat you like tools that will always be there anymore.
The Bluish-White Sphere slowly orbited him.
The Ember Bird descended from a branch.
The Golden Light approached Luci.
Beatrice exhaled.
—A contract would be more useful than a badly phrased promise.
Link looked at her.
—Do they want one?
—Ask them.
—They don't speak.
—Luci does.
The quasi-spirit raised both arms.
—Together.
Link looked at Beatrice.
—Can you prepare a contract?
—Betty can.
—Now?
—She already did.
She pulled a sheet from the book.
Link opened his mouth.
—When?
—During breakfast.
—You weren't eating.
—Exactly.
The sheet had four circles around a fifth central symbol. The one in the center belonged to Luci. A small figure resembling a flame with arms and a luminous tail.
The other four spaces were empty.
—They do not need true names yet —Beatrice explained—. Their mana signatures are sufficient.
—What conditions?
—The ones you agree to.
Link took the sheet.
The writing was too small and elegant.
—I can't read all of this.
—Betty knows.
—That was unnecessary.
—Listen.
Beatrice pointed at the first line.
—Link will provide mana voluntarily and will never absorb the spirits' essence.
—I accept.
—The spirits may leave the contract whenever they wish.
Link looked at the four.
—I accept.
—They cannot be forced into artifacts, into combat, or to carry out any order they consider dangerous.
—I accept.
—Luci retains coordination, but not ownership.
—Yes.
Luci raised one arm.
—Luci. First.
—First partner —Link corrected.
She glowed.
Beatrice continued.
—The four will help regulate fire, pathways, and artifacts whenever possible. They will also warn Link if they sense him losing control.
—They already do.
—Now it will be an accepted responsibility.
—Fine.
—Link must listen.
—That condition is vague.
The book struck his shoulder.
—I accept.
—And you will protect their spiritual cores before any artifact.
Link looked at Charizard.
Then at the four.
—I accept.
The Red Flame advanced.
It settled on the first circle.
A fire mark appeared.
It did not burn the paper.
The Blue Sphere descended onto the second.
It left a white ring with a pale-blue center.
The Ember Bird spread its wings above the third.
A small incandescent feather was engraved there.
The Golden Light touched the final one.
A solar point surrounded by four sparks appeared.
Beatrice handed Link a quill.
—Sign.
He wrote.
The tip scraped across the paper.
Beatrice watched the letters drift downward, overlap, and turn the final portion of the name into something resembling a root.
—That is not a signature.
—It's my signature.
—It looks like the paper tried to escape.
—It has personality.
—It has an injury.
Link finished.
All five symbols lit up.
The contract responded.
Light left the page and wrapped around his left wrist.
Luci's mark appeared first.
Then four smaller figures formed a circle around it.
Link's mana flowed toward them.
Not like a discharge.
Like an invitation.
The four spirits accepted.
The Red Flame was the first to approach.
It settled on his shoulder.
Link remained still.
—I'm sorry.
The flame touched his cheek.
The heat was small.
It did not burn.
Then it produced a spark directly against his nose.
Link recoiled.
—That one did burn.
Beatrice stored the contract.
—It forgave you in its own way, I suppose.
The Blue Sphere moved over the burned area.
The pain vanished.
The Ember Bird landed on his head.
The Golden Light floated before his eyes.
Luci lifted both arms.
—Together.
Link looked at the five lights.
—Together.
Charizard raised its thumb.
The joints produced the same clicking sound Charmander had made.
—You too.
Beatrice looked at the marks of the contract.
—This will not solve the mutation.
—I know.
—Nor will it prevent you from losing control again.
—I know.
—But it may let them reach you more easily.
Link touched Luci's mark.
—I hope so.
—Do not force them to become chains.
—I won't.
Beatrice held his gaze.
The answer seemed sincere.
—Good.
Link smiled.
—Thank you, Master.
—Don't call me that.
—Teacher.
—Worse.
—Beako.
A door appeared beneath him.
Link fell through.
Disappeared.
The door closed.
Luci and the four spirits flew after him.
Charizard tilted its head.
Beatrice remained alone in the courtyard.
—Idiot.
The word sounded less irritated than expected.
Link came out of the door inside the new enclosure.
He fell onto straw.
Pepa was eating a board.
Subaru was trying to take it away from her.
—THAT HOLDS UP THE FENCE!
The cub pulled.
The board creaked.
—Link, control your daughter!
—She's not my daughter.
Pepa saw Link.
Released the wood.
Ran toward him.
The splinted leg caused her to trip.
Link caught her with both arms.
He did not use the kagunes.
—Slowly.
Pepa bit his chin.
—Not that either.
Subaru put the board back into place.
—You already signed with the spirits.
—Yes.
—Five contracts.
—Five total.
—That officially makes you the protagonist of a collection game.
—You're the one trying to ride Charizard without permission.
—Someday he'll accept me.
Charizard watched from outside the enclosure.
His eyes lit up.
Subaru stepped backward.
—Someday far in the future.
Link sat Pepa on the straw.
The cub sniffed the new marks on his wrist.
The Red Flame floated closer.
Pepa tried eating it.
The flame moved away and produced a spark on her snout.
The cub sneezed.
Then tried again.
—They'll learn to live together —Link said.
Subaru looked at the bitten fence.
—That sentence is going to cost money.
—Ram already wrote it down.
—How is she?
—Better.
—And Rem?
Link looked toward the manor.
—Angry.
—I asked how she is.
—Scared.
Subaru nodded.
—Go to her.
—Pepa—
—Petra and I will watch her.
The cub bit Subaru's shoe.
—Fine. Petra will watch her. I'll try to keep my feet.
Link stood.
—Don't feed her too much.
—What can she eat?
—I don't know.
—Excellent parenting.
—I'm not her father.
Pepa released the shoe.
Squealed at Link.
He returned.
Stroked her head.
—I'll come back.
The cub bit his hand.
Subaru pointed.
—She believes you.
Rem was in Ram's room.
Link stopped in front of the door.
He knocked.
—Come in —Ram replied.
He entered.
Ram rested on the bed.
Rem sat beside her, finishing changing a bandage.
The pink-haired maid looked at Link.
—Rem insists on treating Ram as if she were dying.
—You almost did.
—Ram did not die.
—That doesn't reduce the injuries.
Rem finished the knot.
—Nee-sama needs to sleep.
—Ram slept during treatment.
—You were unconscious for several minutes.
—Efficient rest.
Link closed the door.
—Can I talk to Rem?
Ram raised an eyebrow.
—Ram can leave her own room if the two of you wish to use it.
—That wasn't what I meant.
—Then speak.
Rem put away the bandages.
Link approached.
He did not sit until she indicated a chair.
Ram watched.
Link would have preferred the conversation without an audience.
He could not ask an injured person to leave.
—I don't know what to tell you first.
—The truth is usually useful —Rem replied.
—The truth is I barely remember anything.
—Rem knows.
—I remember enough.
The statue.
The kagunes.
Ram's throat.
Rem lowered her gaze toward her hands.
—Nee-sama told Rem everything.
—I didn't want to attack her.
—Rem knows.
—My body did.
Ram spoke from the bed.
—A part of it.
Link looked at her.
—That doesn't help.
—Truth is not obligated to help.
Rem extended one hand.
Link took it.
—Are you afraid of yourself? —she asked.
—Yes.
The answer was immediate.
Ram stopped watching with amusement.
Rem tightened her fingers.
—Of the kagunes?
—Of how easy it was. There was no struggle until the end. Everything that moved became a target.
—But you stopped.
—After almost killing her twice.
—You stopped.
—I don't know whether I can do it again.
Rem lifted his hand.
Placed it against Link's cheek.
—Then you will not wait until you lose control.
—No.
—You will not hide hunger.
—No.
—Nor pain.
Link hesitated.
Rem's fingers tightened slightly.
—No.
—Nor changes.
—No.
—Nor secret artifacts.
Link looked toward Ram.
She closed her eye.
—That was added by Ram.
—The glove worked.
—It broke.
—It can be repaired.
Rem turned his face back toward her.
—No secret artifacts.
—All right.
—Nor extra training outside the routine.
—That's too broad.
—Link.
—All right.
Rem withdrew her hand from his cheek.
—And you will not decide alone what you are allowed to eat.
—Beatrice will inspect it.
—Rem too.
—You don't need to—
—Too.
Link nodded.
—Too.
Silence settled between them.
Rem was still holding his hand.
—It wasn't your fault —he said.
She closed her eye.
—You already said that.
—I'll say it again.
—That will not change what happened.
—No. But you didn't put the miasma inside me. You took care of me with what we knew.
—And it wasn't enough.
—It kept me alive.
Rem opened her eye.
—That was enough.
—Then don't destroy everything good because of one thing none of us knew.
The blue gaze trembled slightly.
—Rem saw nee-sama return injured in Link's arms.
—Yes.
—She saw the destroyed collar.
—Yes.
—She saw six kagunes covered in miasma.
—Yes.
—And for one moment...
The sentence stopped.
Link waited.
—She thought she had lost both of you.
He brought Rem's hand to his chest.
His heart was beating.
—I'm here.
—Now.
—Now.
—You promised to return.
—I did.
—Almost not.
—But—
Rem leaned forward.
Rested her forehead against his.
—Do not use the result to justify the path.
Link closed his eyes.
The sentence found the same wound Subaru had pointed out.
—You're right.
—Rem does not want to be.
—I know.
They remained like that.
Ram stared at the ceiling.
She did not pretend to be asleep.
Nor did she interrupt.
After several seconds, Rem kissed Link.
It was not a long kiss.
It was firm.
A confirmation.
A mutual claim that the other was still there.
When they separated, she kept her fingers over his chest.
—You will sleep tonight.
—Yes.
—No training tomorrow.
—Yes.
—No Charizard.
—Yes.
—No Groudon.
Link opened one eye.
—Groudon isn't even—
Rem looked at him.
—Yes.
Ram spoke.
—Rem forgot to prohibit fireworks.
—No fireworks —Rem added.
—Ram.
—Nee-sama is helping.
—No.
Rem kissed Link's cheek again.
—You may go feed Pepa.
He smiled.
—You accept the name?
—Rem accepts the name.
—And that she stays?
—Rem accepts that she recovers here.
—That is almost the same thing.
—No.
—We'll discuss it.
Rem pointed toward the door.
Link stood.
Before leaving, he looked at Ram.
—I'll make another collar.
—Beatrice-sama will decide when.
—With two cores.
—Smaller.
—With the directional blast.
—And full clothing on the statue.
Link closed his eyes.
—It was ice.
—Ram remembers.
—Good night.
—It's morning.
—I'm going to sleep.
He left.
Rem waited until the door closed.
Then turned back toward her sister.
Ram had a small smile.
—No.
—Ram said nothing.
—You thought it.
—The mana was warm.
Rem froze.
Ram closed her eye.
—Also disordered.
—Nee-sama.
—And surprisingly intimate.
Rem picked up a pillow.
Ram was injured.
That saved her.
The pillow was placed more firmly behind her back.
—Rest.
—Rem is jealous.
—No.
—You lie worse than Emilia-sama.
Rem adjusted the blanket until it covered her sister to the chin.
—Sleep, nee-sama.
Ram closed her eye.
The smile remained.
The manor recovered some of its silence by nightfall.
Link slept for almost the entire day.
Pepa destroyed two boards, one blanket, and half a bucket.
The Wolgarms spent hours sniffing from the other side of the fence.
Charizard sat between both enclosures like a stone referee.
Luci and the four spirits explored the new marks of the contract.
Ram rested.
Rem worked less than usual by direct order of Roswaal and stayed close to her sister.
Emilia studied.
Subaru tried approaching Pepa with an apple.
The cub ate the apple, his sleeve, and part of the glove.
At nightfall, three people met once more inside Roswaal's study.
Puck arrived first.
Beatrice appeared through Door Crossing.
Roswaal was already waiting behind the desk.
There was no tea.
That made the seriousness clear.
On the table lay Ram's report, the remains of Crimson Heart, a drawing of the six kagunes, and a copy of the new spirit contract.
Puck floated over a chair.
—Lia is asleep.
Beatrice occupied another.
—Link too.
Roswaal touched the report.
—Are you certain?
Beatrice raised an eyebrow.
—Betty sealed his bedroom door with Yin.
—Pepa is inside with him —Puck added.
Roswaal looked toward the ceiling.
—You allowed a Mabeast inside his bedroom?
—She tried escaping the enclosure to find him —Puck replied—. Three times.
—She bit the wall —Beatrice added.
—The manor is beginning to resemble a collection.
—The person responsible lives beneath your roof.
Roswaal accepted the blow.
—Then let us discuss what happened.
Beatrice pointed to the drawing.
—It is not a natural evolution of the kagunes.
—Nothing about Link is natural —Puck replied.
—Before, they imitated an unknown organic structure. Now they have incorporated a Mabeast curse, condensed miasma, and pathways capable of absorbing energy.
Roswaal placed one finger over one of the six lines.
—Is he turning into a Mabeast?
—No —both spirits answered.
Puck moved his tail.
—Mabeasts are born with a specific nature. Link took an external property and made it his own.
—He devoured it —Roswaal said.
Beatrice tightened her hold on the book.
—Assimilated.
—Semantic difference.
—An important one.
Puck looked at the drawing.
—His body learns from what it consumes.
Silence fell.
Roswaal looked toward the window.
—First the flesh sustained his regeneration.
—Then the miasma expanded his reserves —Beatrice continued.
—And now the curse lives inside the kagunes —Puck concluded.
Roswaal took the report.
—What would happen if he consumed a more powerful Mabeast?
—We don't know —Beatrice answered.
—One of the Great Mabeasts?
Puck stopped moving his tail.
—We don't know.
—Someone carrying multiple curses?
—We don't know.
—Someone deeply saturated by the Witch?
Beatrice struck the desk.
—The answer will remain the same even if you ask ten times, I suppose.
Roswaal smiled faintly.
—Every unknown is a possibility.
—Also a way to die —Puck replied.
—Link seems resistant to that.
Puck looked at the margrave.
—His body does. His mind may not.
Beatrice opened her notebook.
—His reserves increased. His strength, speed, and regeneration as well. The growth is not temporary.
—How much?
—There is no useful measurement yet.
—Could he mutate again?
—Yes.
—Soon?
—Yes.
—How do we prevent it?
Beatrice closed the book.
—He will not consume Mabeast meat.
—He needs compatible food.
—We'll find another source.
—What if none exists?
Puck spoke.
—Measured portions. Analyzed miasma. Supervision.
—A slow process.
—That is the point.
Roswaal touched the pieces of the collar.
—The artifact concerns me more.
Beatrice raised her gaze.
—Naturally. It's something you do not control.
—It is something nobody designed.
—Link designed the primary command.
—Not the defense.
Puck descended onto the desk.
—The artifact expanded the meaning of the command.
—Can a lagmite interpret? —Roswaal asked.
Beatrice examined the burned hollow.
—A lagmite cannot. A circuit exposed for days to Link's mana, Ram's temperature, and a constant protective intent... perhaps.
—Charmander developed patterns.
—Through Luci and the spirits.
—Charizard preserves memory.
—Through the core.
—Crimson Heart protected Ram by itself.
Beatrice did not answer.
Roswaal continued.
—Luci evolved beneath his mana. The four spirits chose to remain. His artifacts learn. His body learns.
Puck tilted his head.
—You are looking for a single explanation.
—Is there one?
—Not necessarily.
Beatrice held one of the fragments.
—The collar spent every moment measuring Ram. Her heat. Her mana. The absence of her horn. The way the body compensated. When a lethal attack appeared, it executed the only interpretation that still fulfilled its command.
—Move her.
—Yes.
—And place a replica.
—A remnant of the thermal image.
Roswaal smiled.
—The artifact understood the promise better than its creator.
Beatrice tightened her fingers around the fragment.
—Don't say it like that.
—Why?
—Because Link will try teaching promises to everything he builds.
Puck imagined Groudon with an emotional command of its own.
His tail lowered.
—He must not know yet.
—He already plans to make another —Roswaal said.
—Betty will supervise every line.
—Can it be reproduced?
—The temperature regulation, yes. The lethal defense, perhaps. We do not know which part depended on time, Link's mana, or compatibility with Ram herself.
Puck looked at the report.
—Did the mana he transferred leave miasma?
—No —Beatrice answered—. I checked Ram three times.
—A curse?
—None.
Roswaal rested both hands on the desk.
—The transfer.
Beatrice knew they had reached the point that truly interested him.
—What about it?
—Ram accepted his mana.
—She was exhausted.
—She could have rejected it.
—She almost did.
Puck moved one ear.
—Then she stopped resisting.
Roswaal kept his expression still.
—Oni compatibility?
—Partly —Beatrice answered—. Link found the pathways leading to the missing horn.
—Could he supply her regularly?
—Probably.
The room grew colder.
Puck looked at Roswaal.
There was no visible jealousy.
No satisfaction either.
Only consideration that went too deep.
—It is unnecessary —the margrave said.
—Not yet —Beatrice corrected.
Roswaal looked at her.
—Ram receives what she needs from me.
—When you are here.
The painted smile lost a fraction of its softness.
Puck intervened before the conversation changed in nature.
—Link's mana is no longer stable. Transferring it frequently could expose Ram to changes we still do not understand.
—Then it will not happen again —Roswaal said.
—Ram will decide that —Beatrice replied.
The silence that followed was sharper.
Puck positioned himself between them on the desk.
—And it will be decided after we study the effects.
Roswaal withdrew his hands.
—Naturally.
Beatrice did not seem convinced.
—The spirit contracts will help —Puck said.
Roswaal looked at the page.
—Four more.
—They aren't soldiers.
—I didn't say they were.
—You thought it.
—I thought of stability.
Beatrice pointed at the marks.
—Luci can reach Link's intent through the contract. The other four now also possess defined pathways. If he loses consciousness again, perhaps they can transmit something.
—Stop him?
—No.
—Then—
—Remind him.
Puck understood.
Rem had managed to stop the mutation without being present.
Ram had used her name.
The spirits might be able to carry voices, emotions, or images through the bond.
They were not chains.
They were paths back.
—Will it be enough? —Roswaal asked.
Beatrice looked toward the wall separating the study from the rest of the manor.
—I don't know.
Puck rested his front paws on the desk.
—There is never one thing that is enough.
—Rem.
—Not enough alone.
—Subaru.
—Neither.
—The spirits.
—Neither.
Roswaal looked at the wooden piece representing Link on the map.
—Then all of them.
Puck nodded.
—All of them.
Beatrice closed her eyes.
—As long as he tries too.
Roswaal picked up the little flame.
It now had six extensions carved into it.
Ram had updated the piece from bed.
He placed it over the manor.
—One last question.
Beatrice frowned.
—You always say that before a worse question.
Roswaal looked at the report.
—Breaker Cannon disintegrated an uncountable number of Mabeasts. The drained energy increased his body. The mutation created a curse capable of stopping hearts. The collar developed a defense nobody ordered.
Puck waited.
—What will happen the next time Link consumes something more dangerous than a Wagpig?
Beatrice answered first.
—We'll make sure it doesn't happen.
Roswaal looked at Puck.
The Great Spirit gazed at the moon.
—And if it does...
His tail moved slowly.
—We'll make sure he still has somewhere to return to.
Inside a bedroom on the second floor, Link slept with Rem sitting beside him.
Pepa snored on a ruined blanket at the foot of the bed.
Luci rested over one of his hidden horns.
Four tiny lights floated around him.
Beneath Link's back, six shadows moved once.
Then went still.
For that night, they remembered who they belonged to.