When we entered the village, I ran into the king. The king seemed happy to see me.
"You won, Rei!"
I nodded in confirmation.
"I brought two more friends. I hope that's not a problem?"
"No, it's not. Let them settle in as they wish."
"Thank you."
Akari looked at me.
"Rei, I ordered a potion from the witch. I'm going to go pick it up."
"Okay."
Celebria came over to me and took my hand. She was looking at me with affectionate eyes and started pulling me toward the back of the village.
"Rei, come on, let's play a game!"
After casting a glance at my friends indicating I'd be back, I headed to the back of the village to spend time with Celebria. Haru and Lie headed toward the buildings to rest—the game had been exhausting. Meanwhile, Akari was making her way toward the witch's swamp.
Within thirty minutes, I arrived at the witch's swamp. I gently knocked on the wooden door and opened it. The witch, seeing me, began to look at me.
"Are you here for the order?"
"Yes. How much was the potion I wanted?"
"One thousand game coins."
"Didn't you say five hundred?"
The witch rolled her eyes with a bored expression.
"My potions were forcibly taken. I had to raise the price. You wouldn't understand. Buy it if you want, or don't."
"But you can't change an order. This is something prearranged."
"What do you care? It's my potion. Do you have a problem?"
"Yes."
"Is that so? Then let's settle this with a contest."
The witch pulled a bronze coin out of her pocket.
"Play a little game with me. If you win, I'll give it to you for free. If I win, you pay five hundred game coins. How about it?"
I thought for a short moment.
"What's wrong? Scared?"
"Fine, let's play."
"There we go. Show a little courage."
I sat across from her at the wooden table.
"How does the game work?"
"The game is very simple. We'll take turns hiding the coin behind our backs and place it in one hand. Then we'll hold both hands out as fists and ask our opponent to choose. If the opponent guesses correctly, the turn passes to them. If they can't, the turn stays the same. First to three wins. Understood?"
"Yes, I understand. The game seems simple."
"Here you go. You start."
The witch held out the coin to me. I took the bronze coin.
"Hide it in one hand behind your back, then show your hands closed. I assume you've understood."
I did as she said. I brought my hands behind my back—the witch couldn't see them. I noticed a crystal object was positioned at an angle that suited my hand, but I didn't let it show. I understood this game was a swindle. I pretended to place the coin in my left hand, then swiftly placed it in my right. Then I held both hands out, closed.
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The witch pretended to think and touched my left hand. I opened both hands—the coin was in the right one. I had deceived her using the crystal's reflection. The witch was momentarily surprised, but kept herself calm so as not to show it.
"One-zero. Good job. The hiding turn is yours again."
So this girl has already figured out the crystal. She must have noticed that I noticed. She'll pretend to switch it again and this time place it where she would have hidden it first...
She put her hand behind her back again and repeated the same motion. She brought her hands forward and held them as fists.
Thinking I had done what she expected, the witch touched my left hand again. I opened my hands—the bronze coin was in my right hand once more. The witch was surprised again, but continued to act calm.
She deliberately did the same thing again, knowing I would think that. This woman is practically reading my mind.
I looked at Akari's face and noticed she was looking at my ear.
Could it be that I unconsciously move my ear toward where I'm thinking? My senses are sharp. Now I understand. Even though she'd figured out the crystal, she was watching my ear the whole time. She was using the crystal to fake the coin going to the opposite side of where my ear moved. Her hands are fast. Was she a gambler before or something...?
I'll deliberately move my ear and choose the opposite.
"I'm ready. You can start."
I put my hands behind my back again the same way. I was pretending to watch her ear. Noticing this, the witch deliberately moved her right ear. I pretended to toss the coin to the left behind my back. In the witch's mind, the crystal's viewpoint was magically coming to life.
Her hands are too fast—I can't fully make it out. But she should have tossed it to the left...
No—or she could have led me to think that. There's only one point left anyway. I'll deliberately choose the right again.
I held my hands out as fists. The witch struck my right hand firmly, looking at me with ambitious eyes. When I opened my hand, the bronze coin was in my left hand. This time, the witch couldn't contain her shock.
"How..."
She read my mind again. Knowing I would think this way, she placed it in the left again. I was deceived...
The witch looked at me with sorrowful eyes.
"I'll give you the potion, but don't tell anyone about this, okay?"
"Fine. As long as you give me the potion, no problem."
The witch sadly held out the potion to me. I left her wooden house and departed from the swamp. Within some time, I returned to the village. I had stored the potion in my inventory. I asked one of the elves where everyone was—they said they were staying in the main building. I ran into Rei in the corridor. He said he'd arranged my room with Lie so there wouldn't be any issues. I nodded and went to the room. Lie was in the room, watching outside through the window. When she saw me, she smiled and gently patted the bed where she was sitting, signaling me to sit next to her. I approached and gently sat beside her. Lie hugged me gently and was being attentive.
"Did your potion pickup journey go well?"
"Yes, it went well. Thanks for asking."
"Um, I've been wondering—maybe you could tell me. What's the deal with the cult matters and what's your past with Rei?"
"Are you really that curious?"
"I'm sorry..."
"It's fine. Let me tell you a little."
Hearing that I was about to share, Lie began listening to me carefully.
"Rei was in a different division than me, but his achievements affected me. Because of his successes, my instructors saw us as inadequate and compared us to him. Because of this, we felt inferior. I worked very hard and got the chance to face Rei when we were children. The instructors put us into a competition. Rei easily beat me, despite all my effort. After that, I began to misunderstand Rei. Because I lost, everyone's attitude toward me changed again."
Lie continued listening to Akari.
"After the defeat, Rei walked away without saying anything. Because of that gesture, I thought he looked down on us, that he saw himself as superior to us. So I harbored a hatred toward him. As the years passed, I dedicated myself to improving. I grew as I strived. By manipulating the people around me, I made them believe in a false symbol and built my own small cult. I did all this to get revenge on Rei. The authorities who noticed I'd formed a cult didn't care as long as it could be controlled. But when my ideas stopped serving their interests, they used the cult formation as an excuse and sent me to the same dungeon we ended up in before. After spending some time in the dungeon, I learned that Rei had arrived here. After learning that, I carried out some indirect attacks and actions. But later I found out that Rei wasn't the kind of person I'd thought. I used to think he was arrogant, but that wasn't the case. Even though he doesn't show it much, deep down he cares about his friends—he cares about us. I realized this during the Island Game. When I noticed his gentleness, my hatred began to fade. As time went on, I started to trust him more. Now my hatred is gone. I see him as a friend. And even though we're here, I feel good."
Lie felt strange in response to what she'd heard.
"I see. Your shared past really is deep. If you're feeling good now, that's great. I also think Rei isn't as cold as we thought. Since you told your story, would you like me to tell mine too?"
"Sure."
Over some time, Lie recounted the memory of the school massacre and told her story. Akari hadn't expected such a past. The fact that this innocent-looking girl had done something like that drew her interest.
"I see. You've had an unexpected story. But you did well—they deserved it."
When Lie was validated, she felt good and smiled. When she realized there was someone other than Rei who approved of her, she became even happier. She hugged Akari tighter.
"Thank you..."
I smiled and returned her embrace. It had been a long time since I'd felt affection from different people, so I felt good. I felt like I had friends.
"You're welcome..."