Isolde struck me in the stomach with a firm punch, leaving no room for hesitation before following up with a direct hook to my jaw. I activated wind magic at the last second, dissipating some of the impact’s force and avoiding unnecessary pain. It worked.

  I slid my body to the left, jumped, and launched an upward kick. She stopped it with her bare hand. Of course she stopped it.

  Without wasting a second, she channeled mana and blasted me with a gust of wind, sending me headfirst into some bushes.

  “Agh!”

  The impact hurt, but it was part of the training. Some call it “pain tolerance.” It sounds sophisticated, but in reality, it’s just an excuse to beat each other with full force until our bodies get used to it. Whether it’s effective or just a creative form of self-destruction is a debate I have no interest in settling.

  “Lucy, are you okay?! Are you hurt?” Isolde ran toward me, her voice filled with concern.

  “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m fine. I think that’s enough for today,” I said as I got up and stood beside her.

  “Yeah! I’m exhausted.” Isolde brushed the dust off my face, gently running her hand over my cheek.

  It’s no exaggeration to say she’s exhausted. We’ve been at this for at least six hours straight. The difference from a few months ago is obvious; back then, we’d tire out after just a few minutes of running. Now, we can keep up the pace. Demanding, but necessary.

  “Will you come explore with me?” I asked, my gaze fixed on a narrow alley that led to a structure that had piqued my curiosity for a while now.

  It was tall, but the surrounding buildings hid much of its silhouette. Cathedral or castle, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that I needed to see it up close.

  “Don’t you think Mom will worry if we’re late?” Isolde’s voice dropped, as if we were planning a crime.

  Probably. But it’ll just be a quick look.

  “Just a quick glance.”

  Being curious isn’t a crime, right? Observe, analyze, and then head back home without any issues. There was no reason for anything to go wrong. And if we got scolded, I’d take the blame. It was my idea, after all.

  “Okay! Let’s go!”

  I took her hand, and we headed toward the alley. We paused briefly to let a cart pass, then broke into a run. As we entered, the darkness grew more pronounced.

  I don’t like the dark. I don’t admit it out loud, but it’s a fact. Spending months locked in a closet with little food and no company leaves its mark. It’s not exactly the kind of experience one looks back on fondly.

  But my current parents… they’re different. When I accidentally break something, instead of hitting me like the previous ones did, they just talk to me calmly, tell me it’s okay, but to be more careful next time. It’s strange. Pleasant, but unsettling, as if a part of me refuses to accept that this kind of affection can be real.

  The sound of Isolde’s breathing snapped me out of my thoughts.

  “Is something wrong?” I turned to her, noticing her tense expression.

  “No, it’s just… this is a little nerve-wracking,” she replied, squeezing my hand tighter.

  Ah. So she’s afraid of the dark too.

  I hugged her gently.

  “Sorry. Let’s just go home.”

  I don’t want her to go through this. I don’t want her to feel what I felt.

  “No… it’s okay, let’s go where you want.”

  “But…”

  “Come on, Lucy, I don’t want you to miss out on exploring.”

  I hesitated. Part of me insisted that it was better to turn back, that it wasn’t worth forcing her through this dark place just to satisfy my curiosity. But her insistence wasn’t superficial. She wanted us to keep going.

  And, deep down, so did I.

  We made it through the alley successfully, though fear clung to us like a persistent shadow. Isolde didn’t let go of my hand for a second, squeezing it with a strength that seemed determined to ensure I wouldn’t vanish into the darkness. I didn’t complain. I understood. The pain was a small price to pay for her peace of mind.

  And, well, after navigating that narrow, oppressive passage, the structure that had intrigued me so much finally loomed before us. Massive. Colossal. A monolith of dark stone whose mere presence seemed to alter the atmosphere. Its twin towers rose with unshakable solemnity, piercing the cloudy sky as if defying the gods themselves. Every flying buttress and every gargoyle was carved with impossible precision, as if the builders had been closer to the divine than the human.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  The wooden doors, adorned with intricate reliefs, remained closed, as if mocking any attempt to pass through them. Above them, a stained-glass rosette tinted the scarce sunlight with shades of red and blue, casting ethereal shadows on the blackened stone. The wind whispered among the spires and pinnacles, a distant murmur, a veiled warning.

  I observed the cathedral in silence. Imposing. Immutable. As if it had been here before the first men walked the earth and would remain long after everything else had vanished.

  “It’s huge!” Isolde exclaimed, tilting her head back as far as her gaze would allow.

  It would have been more accurate to say that “huge” didn’t do it justice. The twin towers had to be around 148 meters tall, perhaps more. The central nave easily reached 58 meters, and the grounds stretched no less than 86 meters. It wasn’t just its size that was imposing, but the feeling that something dwelled within it. Something ancient. Something that watched from the stained-glass windows and hid in the shadows of the columns. From the upper windows, I could make out what seemed to be something hanging from the ceiling, but the distance kept me from confirming it.

  “Yes, it certainly is,” I replied, not looking away. “Do you think it’s wise to go inside?”

  Isolde hesitated.

  “Mom will definitely scold us if we take too long.”

  I couldn’t argue with that. I turned my head toward the street and searched for the giant clock in the distance. Its structure reminded me of Big Ben, though taller, vaster… more in line with the scale of everything in this place.

  “Yeah… it’s already night. We should head back and come again tomorrow. Does that sound good?”

  “Yes!” she replied with her usual enthusiasm.

  I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. Was this what people called charisma? Or simply the innocence of a girl who hadn’t yet seen enough of the world? I hoped she wouldn’t change. Her joy was loud but comforting.

  I took her hand.

  “Alright, let’s go home.”

  She didn’t resist, but as we headed back into the darkness, her grip tightened. I didn’t stop. I was scared too, but turning back wasn’t an option.

  “Don’t be afraid, Issy. I’m with you.”

  She looked at me and forced a nervous smile, but she kept walking. It was enough.

  The alley stretched before us, longer than I remembered. Though, thinking about it, maybe it was just my perception distorted by the size of my body. A child could never match an adult’s speed. For us, every journey felt twice as long.

  We were about to exit when…

  “Agh!”

  Something hard hit my forehead, knocking me to the ground and drawing an involuntary groan from me. My hand slipped from Isolde’s.

  “Lucy! Are you okay?!” Her voice was laced with alarm as she crouched to help me.

  I blinked, bringing my hand to my forehead.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. What did I…?”

  My voice trailed off as I felt something in front of me.

  “Ouch! That hurt!”

  It was a voice. A childlike voice complaining with indignation.

  I looked up.

  And I saw her for the first time.

  “Hey, you! Be more careful when you walk! You could’ve broken my forehead!”

  The voice protesting in front of me belonged to a girl with pink hair and pink eyes, an unusual combination that contrasted with the aggression in her gaze… though there was something else about her, something calm. Beautiful, I admitted silently, though this wasn’t the time to dwell on such things.

  I didn’t respond immediately. Come on, I couldn’t be blamed for bumping into someone in the dark. If we were assigning blame, I could just as easily say it was her fault for appearing out of nowhere. But I had no intention of starting an argument.

  “Hey, this is your fault! If you hadn’t appeared out of nowhere, my brother wouldn’t have crashed into you!” Isolde shouted before I could mediate. Well, so much for a peaceful resolution.

  “Excuse me?! If you hadn’t come through here, I wouldn’t have hit my forehead!”

  “Issy…” I tried to stop my sister, but her determination was impenetrable.

  “What?! It’s your fault. If you’d brought an oil lamp, you would’ve seen us.”

  She took a step forward, pointing her finger in that provocative gesture she used when she wasn’t willing to back down. However…

  “And why didn’t you bring an oil lamp?”

  …

  Silence.

  Come on, Issy, are you going to lose that easily?

  I got up from the ground and offered the girl my hand to help her up.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.”

  I gave a slight bow, just out of courtesy.

  “Hmph!”

  She turned her head away disdainfully. Seriously? I already apologized. What more did she want?

  “Haaa… Well, whatever. I should apologize too. I have to admit it was partly my fault.”

  Oh. That was unexpected. Wasn’t she going to keep up the stubborn act until I gave in? For a moment, I thought she’d be the typical archetype of a troublesome girl who refuses to admit mistakes, but she turned out to be different. Or at least she seemed to be. Maybe the first impression had been misleading.

  “How can I make it up to you for my rudeness?”

  “What? No, don’t worry about it. It was my fault.”

  “Come on, don’t leave me like this. I’ll feel bad if you don’t accept at least something material as an apology.”

  Seriously? Why was she so insistent? It’s not that I disliked receiving gifts, but accepting something from a stranger under these circumstances didn’t seem very wise.

  “It’s really not necessary. And, sorry, but we have to go.”

  I took Isolde’s hand, who seemed to be searching for a comeback after her earlier defeat. She didn’t like losing arguments. With me, when she lost in something trivial, she’d get her revenge by bothering me at night, climbing on top of me or throwing small water balls at me. A concerning habit.

  “What? Wait! Why don’t you want me to give you something?!”

  She kept insisting. How many times would I have to repeat myself?

  “Lucy, why don’t you accept what that ‘ugly’ girl wants to give you?”

  The last part was said with obvious provocation. Well, now the other girl looked genuinely annoyed.

  “Hey! Guuuh…! Huum! Forget it! I was trying to be nice, but now I’m mad!”

  Oh, drastic mood swings. Perfect. I take back what I thought earlier. Yes, she’s exactly the type of person I expected.

  “Let’s go, Issy. Mother will scold us if we’re late.”

  Without further ado, I started running, dragging Isolde along with me. I only turned my head once more to look at the girl. She wasn’t looking at us. Instead, she turned around and walked away.

  A strange encounter. But there was something about her… a sense of familiarity that was hard to explain. Did I know her from somewhere? Her appearance wasn’t exactly common. Maybe she was the daughter of some influential noble, though I preferred not to jump to conclusions.

  “Why didn’t you accept what that girl wanted to give you?” Isolde asked, running just behind me as we dodged the few people still left on the street.

  I stopped.

  It would be better to explain it to her now. Though, of course, with a little lie to make it more believable. No one had taught me this, but it was basic knowledge from my past life.

  “Father once said that if a stranger offers you something, never accept it, no matter how much they insist. It could be poisoned food… or an attempt to enslave you.”

  “I see… Well, if Father said it, then you did the right thing, Lucy.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Let’s keep going before Mother scolds us for being late.”

  We resumed our run. The day of exploration was over. Maybe tomorrow I’d continue exploring more places, a little faster and with fewer surprises.