“Sorry. It was too chaotic, wasn’t it?”
After the meal, I offered an apology to Ricardo.
“No. I enjoyed it.”
“If that’s the case, I’m glad.”
The face I had seen earlier had completely disappeared. In its place was a face full of wonder.
Ricardo slowly looked around my room, then suddenly chuckled.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because it’s so ordinary.”
I couldn’t figure out what he found funny.
At that moment, Ricardo’s gaze settled on something.
“Is that a painting you drew?”
“Oh, that painting was a gift……”
For a moment, I blinked, thinking I had seen it wrong.
What he pointed at was the framed painting Simon had gifted me. A painting that looked like a fireball or a beast—I couldn’t tell.
‘The painting changed.’
I still didn’t understand its meaning, but it definitely looked different from the one I’d seen before.
When I stopped speaking, Ricardo looked back at me with a puzzled expression.
“I-it was a gift from Simon.”
I barely managed to continue.
Did he cast a spell on it as a prank?
No. If it were Simon, he would’ve just played with words, not gone to this extent.
“I see.”
Ricardo paused for a moment in thought, then carefully opened his mouth.
“Bianca, are you by any chance attending the auction?”
“……”
Judging by the nuance, he must be talking about the Moon’s Shop auction.
How did he know about that?
There was no point in lying when he clearly already knew.
“Yes.”
“Seems like you’ve got something to buy.”
“That’s right. And what about you?”
Ricardo, who had been staring intently at me, quietly nodded.
“……Do you have something to buy?”
Surely it’s not the necklace.
“I’m still deciding.”
Ricardo’s expression darkened, as if he were deeply troubled.
First Hestia, now Ricardo?
‘I’m starting to lose confidence.’
No, there was no guarantee Ricardo would attend on the first day. He might just be a guest at the Moon’s Shop.
But it seemed he had a different concern than I did.
“……If we meet, may I stay by your side?”
“I don’t mind, but you probably won’t recognize me.”
At my words, Ricardo replied,
“Well, we’ll see soon enough.”
* * *
After Ricardo left like that.
I approached the changed frame.
Before I knew it, my eyes were drawn to the basket Penny had left behind.
‘She said the older the item, the more effective it is.’
Though I still didn’t know what kind of effect.
Still, if it was something from Atkins, it surely had aged more than I could imagine.
Whether resentment lingered in it was still a mystery. But since it changed appearance, I thought it might align with what Penny had said to some extent.
After a moment’s hesitation, I picked up the basket.
Tick, tick.
8:58 PM.
It wasn’t long until the time she had mentioned.
I held the black bottle in my hand and took a deep breath.
‘No matter what happens, don’t scream!’
I placed the frame on the floor and opened the bottle’s cap.
The liquid gave off a sour smell. It was strong enough to make me want to pinch my nose.
Tick.
Checking the time, I poured the liquid over the frame. Then, I quickly brushed over it five times with a twig.
“……”
Just as Penny had instructed, I finished everything by 9 o’clock, but nothing seemed to change.
‘Well, of course.’
I was disappointed. I turned around thinking I should at least ventilate the room.
Clatter……
From behind me came the crude sound of something turning.
“……!”
The black liquid that had spilled on the floor began to disappear, and the painting inside the frame started moving chaotically.
I hurriedly picked up the frame, and the shifting lines began forming something.
When the movement stopped,
a figure running toward somewhere appeared.
“Who are you?”
I asked, but the figure in the painting just kept running in silence.
‘So it can’t speak.’
In the end, I gave up trying to converse and focused on observing the painting.
The endlessly running shadow eventually reached the edge of a cliff. Even though it was crudely drawn, I could feel its despair.
After a moment, as if realizing there was nowhere left to escape, the shadow threw itself off the cliff.
“……”
At that moment, the painting inside the frame vanished completely.
‘What is this?’
It felt unsettling, like I had witnessed someone’s death.
“What are you trying to show me……”
It wasn’t something I expected an answer to. It was more of a monologue.
But then, from the once blank frame, letters began to appear one by one.
[Hahaha, the answer is the future~!]
“……!”
[Oh no, was my prank unpleasant? Your face changed into something strange.]
I bit the inside of my cheek hard to regain my composure.
“How much of this was a prank?”
[Of course, up to the point where I didn’t greet you. If you joke around with time, you’ll be scolded!]
“If what you say is true, then whose future did you show me just now…….”
But it seemed he wasn’t listening to me.
[Sorry for the late introduction! I am Arkan, the adventurer’s guide. And may I ask the lady’s name?]
An adventurer, huh.
It was a term that reminded me of Atkins.
Anyway, it seemed he wanted to alternate between questions and answers.
“Bianca Roygin.”
[Ohohoho, very nice! Long names are hard to remember, so I often go through the trouble of giving people nicknames. Fortunately, I won’t need to do that today!]
The letters vanished so quickly, it was hard to even read them.
“R-right. Arkan.”
[I really like you, my lady. It’s my first time meeting someone whose path of destiny is invisible, and my heart nearly burst with excitement!]
A picture of a thumping heart appeared beneath the words.
…Invisible destiny?
Then, the future I just saw wasn’t mine?
[Oh dear! It was my turn to answer this time.]
I swallowed dryly and kept my eyes on Arkan.
[To be honest, I don’t know either~!
It might be someone’s long-forgotten future, but I’m not sure!]
“……”
[Hahaha, I must have made a mistake while trying to pick a helpful future for you!]
What kind of guy is this?
No, was that "guide of adventurers" title even true to begin with?
“Then……”
[This time it’s my turn! Keeping the proper order is what makes a good adventurer, you know!]
I wasn’t an adventurer, but I didn’t have the strength to argue. The flood of words was overwhelming anyway……
So instead, I simply nodded to signal that he could ask a question.
[Do you have any intention of changing the future you just saw, my lady?]
Change the future of someone I don’t even know?
I don’t even understand the situation.
Just as I was about to shake my head, new words appeared.
[Haha! You don’t need to overthink it! As a guide, I simply want to lead you to a path that suits you~.]
“What lies at the end of that path?”
[If you’re curious, you’ll have to change it to find out!]
Accepting this out of sheer curiosity didn’t feel like a fair deal.
This was about preventing someone’s death, after all.
As if sensing my hesitation, more words appeared within the frame.
[My lady, this isn’t an obligation! As I said before, I’m a guide, not a companion who’ll join you on your adventure.]
[But even the weeds on the roadside know that if the future changes, many things will become more favorable. You might even find a brand new crossroads you can choose~!]
A new crossroads.
I didn’t want to admit it, but that was what I needed most.
If this world was shaped by the cruel word “destiny,” then no matter how hard I tried to escape it, the end would already be set.
[Oh my, a guest has arrived! I’ll be waiting, so call me anytime~!]
With that, the frame turned blank. Only then did I come to my senses and turn around—
there was a rat making a squeaking noise.
“You……!”
The rat’s head slowly grew bigger as it squirmed. A moment later, Penny’s face was revealed.
…Still in a rat’s body.
“Big sis!”
She shouted proudly.
“I found the Tower Master!”
“You found him?”
I was quite surprised, having not expected anything. Penny confidently puffed out her chest.
“Who do you think I am? Of course I found him!”
“Where is he now?”
“No need to worry! The moment I got close, he started firing off magic circles, so I’d say he’s doing just fine.”
Penny showed me the scorched ends of her hair.
“Y-you went through a lot.”
Then, I calmly opened my mouth.
“But… can’t you do something about your body…?”
It was a cruel thing to say, but her appearance was just too terrible.