Chapter 15
Creak.
When the tightly shut door opened, the storage room was silent.
“Ion? Little one?”
There was no response, so Amoter went all the way inside and snapped his fingers.
The surroundings lit up with a soft glow.
Amoter walked past the shelves, heading deeper inside.
But he didn’t get far before stopping in his tracks.
“……”
Ion was leaning her small body against a pile of grain sacks, fast asleep.
He had clearly shown her a room. Was the room uncomfortable?
He’d even decorated the bed beautifully, and Ion had looked like she liked it, so he thought it was fine. Why, then, was she sleeping here?
“Little one.”
He called gently. Ion, curled up like a squirrel, stirred slightly in her sleep.
“Sa-kyungg…”
She was in such a deep sleep that she even muttered nonsense in her dreams.
The once-clean dress she wore was dusted here and there with white flour from the sacks.
Amoter cleaned her dress with a touch of magic, then carefully picked her up in his arms.
“Let’s go back to your warm room.”
Back at the room, someone was standing silently in front of the door.
At that instant, Amoter shielded Ion’s face with his hand.
The glow that had lit the surroundings vanished like a snuffed candle, and in the darkness, the tip of a massive greatsword stopped just short of Amoter’s face.
Erev had closed the distance in an instant, blade aimed straight at him.
“Didn’t expect to meet you here. No wonder the aura clinging to this house felt so unpleasant.”
The bright smile he had shown in front of Ion was gone. His face now radiated pure killing intent.
“So you managed to survive. When did you break free of the seal? I thought you were dead.”
Despite the words, Amoter looked utterly calm—almost as if they were old acquaintances.
Ion, meanwhile, was sleeping soundly, completely oblivious.
When Erev saw the child held protectively in Amoter’s arms, his body stiffened.
The moment he confirmed it was Ion, he immediately withdrew his greatsword.
“Give me back my sister.”
“That won’t do. She’s my daughter.”
Sparks crackled in the air between them as their wills clashed.
Meanwhile, having finished his tasks for the day, Mafius rested his chin on his hand as he stared into the World Orb.
It was a crystal sphere designed to let him peer directly into the worlds he managed.
Mafius raised an eyebrow and drew the image closer with a gesture, checking to see if Ion was adapting well—if she was preparing properly to save the world.
He had been opening the World Orb every so often earlier as well.
“Oh my, what’s this?”
Had he miscalibrated the view?
He spoke with surprise, yet couldn’t tear his eyes away.
What he saw was Erev in full armor, brandishing his greatsword, and Amoter White holding Ion.
Why on earth were they fighting?
Mafius’s eyes narrowed.
After confirming who the two were, his gaze grew sharp with intrigue.
“Well, well. To think she’s already summoned the two of them, piercing through those odds.”
He thought it would take longer.
Speaking theatrically, as though narrating a play, Mafius licked his lips with interest as he watched them.
“Quite the talent you have, Miss Ion.”
To summon the two strongest beings in the world, one after the other.
Or—no. Was that obvious, since he was the one who set up the system?
Sure, he had designed the probabilities inside the capsule machine, but the one who actually drew the lots was Ion.
Whether she chose to fully accept those two as family, or use them as tools, was entirely up to her.
Though most likely the former.
Even if she retained memories of a past life, at the end of the day she was just a twelve-year-old girl. In fact, her new life had reshaped and corrected those memories, making her more like a special seven-year-old child.
Normally, her memories should have been erased completely, but due to a certain request, he had no choice.
In any case, she was now an unusually special little girl.
He had hinted at the possibility, but there was no way Ion would ever think of using people as mere tools. The idea of her scheming about how to use them was laughable.
“Well, anyway, this one’s on me.”
It seemed that, because this was the first time, their memories hadn’t been fully adjusted upon summoning.
Still, since it wasn’t the wrong kind of memory, perhaps it wasn’t too big a deal.
With a snap of Mafius’s fingers, the murderous aura between the two vanished without a trace.
Their past memories reshuffled and settled properly.
「Hand over my sister, Father.」
「So insolent, son.」
And so, Ion once again found herself caught between a father and son bickering.
“Good. Looks like it’s all properly adjusted now. Well then, I’ll leave you to adapt. For my sake—”
Smiling in satisfaction, Mafius shut the World Orb.
So bright.
Was sunlight streaming in?
So soft. Was this a feather pillow? Why was it so fluffy?
It even smelled nice. Gentle.
With her eyes still closed, Ion rubbed her cheek against the soft fabric and giggled, enjoying the sensation.
It felt like she was rolling around on clouds.
She wiggled her bare toes, utterly intoxicated by the softness.
Whenever the breeze blew, it felt as though someone were gently stroking her hair.
She thought she could stay like this forever.
Smiling to herself, Ion wriggled happily against the blanket.
“Dummy, are you dreaming?”
A low voice suddenly cut in, and Ion’s eyes flew wide open.
Right in front of her were a pair of smiling navy-blue eyes.
“Who… kyaaa!”
She yelped, startled, and scrambled backward.
Sleep vanished from her in an instant.
The touch that felt like wind caressing her hair hadn’t been her imagination—someone had actually been stroking her head.
“Surprised? I was just watching because you looked so fascinating, and then you started mumbling. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Blink, blink.
“Oh.”
Memories from yesterday rushed back.
Without his amor, she hadn’t recognized him at first.
“Dummy, are you still hurt? No, right?”
Shff!
Ion darted to the farthest corner of the bed, eyeing the boy who was worrying over her with suspicion.
What the heck? Who are you? You’re not the same as yesterday!
Even weirder than before!
Wait… how did I even get here?
She remembered waiting for Mafius in the storage room, then getting sleepy and closing her eyes for a bit.
And yet, here she was in some place she had never seen before, sleeping so soundly, without even dreaming!
Shaking her head belatedly, she muttered,
“I’m not hurt at all. But… aren’t you leaving?”
Rubbing her drowsy eyes, she asked. Erev just smirked.
“Where would I go, leaving you behind? Why do you keep trying to send me away?”
“Because I don’t need an older brother…”
“Doesn’t matter what you say. I’m not leaving. I’ll never leave you again.”
Ion paused at those words, staring at him with disbelief.
“‘Never again’? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Huh? Did I say that?”
…Idiot.
Didn’t even realize what he just said. She had thought he was odd from the very start.
Compared to him, Mr. White was practically an angel.
“Never mind. I must’ve misheard.”
Scratching her cheek awkwardly, she hopped down from the bed.
“But seriously, why are you here first thing in the morning?”
Was this a shared room?
“Oh, right. Get up—we’ve got things to do.”
“Things to do?”
“First, breakfast.”
Ion hesitated, doubtful, then gave a reluctant nod.
She was hungry, after all. And besides, he didn’t look like the type to listen even if she refused.
Strangely, though they’d only met yesterday, she already felt she could see exactly how he’d act in the future.
“…Fine, but I’m washing up first!”
“We’ve prepared warm water, young miss. Would you like to bathe now?”
Even before Ion stood up, Sarah, who had been bustling about tidying things, spoke up as though she had read Ion’s mind.
“Oh, yes! Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it.”
With a smile, Sarah brought over a silver basin just the right height for Ion. Warm water rippled inside.
“I’ll take the towels.”
Erev stretched out his hand toward Sara, his expression nonchalant.
