It felt like tear stains, and Ibi was at a loss for words.

Instead, a strange feeling came over her.

Ah, that feeling again. The feeling of confusion, wondering why I am me and you are you.

Though clearly different individuals, we share something, and perhaps we are the same person, yet this strange feeling of being so distant.

Ibi once had a time when she smiled at someone like that.

Thinking of that time, Ibi silently stared at the maid for a moment, then took a step back.

Then, embracing her tumultuous emotions, she exited the room.

The feeble ones find salvation even in small things. And then, they desperately cling to it. Just like I did.

Ibi, who emerged from the maid’s room, tried hard to suppress her racing heart.

But it was not so easily done.

The ashen clouds that confined the sky were dark.

Or maybe it was because her fate was sold here among the various crossroads of Ibi.
In fact, Ibi felt strange from the moment she arrived here.

The destinations for the favored orphans of Biss were usually obvious, and places like this arena were commonly mentioned among them.

Unless one received the blessing of the gods like Ibi, their fate was indeed predictable.

No, even if one monopolized the gods’ favor, it would be the same if there were no opportunities to reveal it. An undiscovered gemstone is just an ordinary pebble.

So perhaps Ibi could have been here too, like that child. Inevitably, like countless others in this place who couldn’t avoid death, disposed of so cheaply.

“But I encountered her.”

Fortunately, I met the person who discovered me.

Ibi gently placed her hand on her chest. Then, she recalled the last words the maid had said.

“Even if it’s capricious for you, it’s salvation for me.”

Being able to say such words, that girl was much better than Ibi.

I suffered every day, thinking that the kindness of the old man might be just pity.

Always feeling miserable, thinking that salvation through a simple whim and hanging on was pitiful.

Looking at that girl, Ibi thought of herself as truly clumsy.

However, she had no intention of fixing this clumsiness because there was a new hope.

While placing her hand on her chest, Ibi closed her eyes tightly at the strong beats of her pounding heart.

Human fate is truly strange. It separates us into you and me in every place. It’s really strange, but the more I feel it’s strange, the heavier my heart beats.

Contrary to Uvia’s claim that life is soon to be connected, we all live as individuals separated into pieces.

Occasionally, salvation that comes doesn’t seem desperate to me, but for those who offer a helping hand, it’s mostly caprice, amusement, or self-satisfaction.

So, I tried not to expect it anymore, tried not to give my heart.

What if it’s not capricious?

If you are the one who came just for me.

Ibi clenched her painful chest. Then, it became even clearer.

The heartbeat that felt like it would burst with joy.

Ibi’s chest was beating so strongly that even under the cold mask, her face felt as if it were burning.

Ibi couldn’t help but be honest now.

Tonight, along with Uvia, the Earl of Laurel is coming here. So, she just had to wait a little longer.

Ibi wanted to meet that Earl as soon as possible.

However, Ibi’s elated mood didn’t last long.

“This is the promised reward. 80% is in gold, and the remaining 20% is enclosed in gems of corresponding value.”

The Earl’s secretary had come in the morning, bringing gold and jewels in a chest.

“Then, please leave immediately.”

While unexpectedly handing out the prize money that she thought she would never give, the secretary said this.

“Yesterday’s disturbance greatly angered the Earl. He says he doesn’t want guests who don’t know the pride of a warrior anymore.”

Stabbing in a seemingly absurd excuse.

“Please leave this place immediately.”
This was something Ibi hadn’t expected.

Around the same time, Zion was desperately avoiding the sounds coming from outside the door, burying his head under the pillow.

“Teacher!”

“Teacher, are you in your room?”

“Are you still sleeping? It’s lunchtime now!”

Calling out to Zion outside the door were the students whom he unintentionally neglected for the past month.

Zion had returned home just a few hours ago, in the late dawn.

Originally, Zion spent half of the month at the Tardes Front, and the other half in this small village. However, for the past two months, he had been neglectful on both sides, being constantly summoned to Teynda.

So, he stayed a few more days at the Front, taking care of the piled-up work after dropping off the awakened Amaneser. There was still a bit left to do, but the end was approaching, so he roughly covered it up and returned home.

Being a teacher with many side jobs, Zion was tired, and he lacked sleep. So, he ignored the voices of the guys and pretended to be dead.

“He’s probably not here.”

“No, he’s there. The door is locked.”

“Then let him sleep. Let’s come back later.”

The guys quarreling in the corridor soon fell silent.

Relieved as the guys disappeared, Zion went back to sleep.

However, the discreet slumber that had approached stealthily soon completely fled.

“Teacher is here!”

“Teacher, put on your pajamas and sleep! You’ll catch a cold!”

“Oh, teacher, why is your back so bruised?”

Zion, shocked by the voices not coming from outside the door but right next to him, abruptly got up.

Looking to the side, he saw three little ones clinging to the window. And this was the second floor.

Although there was much to criticize, when Zion’s eyes met the guys, he quickly closed the curtains.

This teacher, who was not only negligent but also reckless, had a habit of not wearing clothes well when sleeping.

Thanks to that, showing the guys a battered appearance, Zion groped the floor and found the shirt he had thrown last night, put it on, and opened the curtains.

Thus, although lacking manners, the cheerful disciples greeted him.

And the teacher’s mood, whose sleep and privacy were ruined, was lower than usual.

“Get down…….!”

“Teacher, in times like this, you should worry about danger first! Ahh!”

Zion, feeling too lazy to wrestle, grabbed the cheeky disciple’s face and applied pressure to his fingertips.

“Teacher is angry!”

“Hey, quickly get down!”

When one guy got retribution, the other two seemed to grasp the atmosphere and started to run away.

Wondering where these guys would escape to, Zion looked down and saw a ladder placed up to Zion’s window. It seemed like they had climbed up here using it.

Zion, feeling overwhelmed, asked the disciple who was still being tortured.

“Who brought the ladder?”

“Uh, it wasn’t us……!”

“Then who?”

Under the teacher’s interrogation, the disciple pointed to the small courtyard of the two-story house.

Zion, with blurred eyes after just waking up, turned to look at the courtyard.

There was a boy there. It wasn’t one of Zion’s students or a kid living in this village.
A boy with long white hair and exotic attire.

It was Uvia, left behind by Ibi Ariate.