Chapter Text
The roar of the boat’s engine died down, leaving only the murmur of people and the screeching of immaculate white birds circling above the dock. I stepped off with my luggage, feeling the wooden planks creak under my feet.
“Wow… what a picturesque little town.”
So… this is the kingdom of Baver, huh? I muttered to myself, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this fairy-tale place was actually real.
Sure, it looks kinda rustic and old-fashioned compared to Japanese cities, but…
For some reason—for some damn reason—it felt way too familiar, like I’d been here before.
The trip had been pretty long. The kingdom of Baver is on the European continent, and while it’s relatively close to Japan compared to other countries, that’s not the only thing that sets it apart.
…Huh? Why does it smell like PISS?
I noticed my skirt was wet and… wait… why is it warm?
“Hey! I told you not to do that! I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY!”
A girl with orange-red hair rushed toward me. From between her feet, a small blue gelatinous blob jumped away with a weird squelching sound.
“Ah, hehe, it’s fine,” I said, forcing a smile as the warm wetness spread across my thigh.
Damn it, not even two minutes in and I’ve already received a “warm welcome.”
“OH WOW! Is that one of those famous slimes people told me about?”
“Yeah, it’s a baby. I just found her, so she doesn’t have a name yet,” the girl replied, wiping away imaginary tears of laughter. Her eyes, practically bursting with energy, scanned me from head to toe. “But hey, you don’t look like you’re from around here. Are you Asian? Your English is surprisingly good. You don’t seem very smart, though.”
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean? My English is perfect, listen—”
And then, betraying me completely, my mouth decided to belt out the opening notes of
“I Want to Break Free”
“Hold up, fridge…”
…I feel like I just disappointed every single Freddie Mercury fan…
“PFFT—HAHAHAHA! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” She doubled over laughing, clutching her stomach. “Not only are you pretty, you’re hilarious. You’re not single, are you?” she added, pointing at me with a flirty wink.
“Are you mocking me, miss?” I asked, trying to claw back the tiny shred of dignity I had left. “Ah, sorry— what’s your name?”
“Oh, my apologies! Allow me to introduce myself…” She announced dramatically. Suddenly, a phone popped out of her pocket blasting some obnoxiously loud pop song. What followed was a full-on performance: spinning poses, heart shapes with her hands, and a blinding smile. “MY NAME IS LANA LAHNA!”
For some reason this girl reminded me a lot of gyaru.
“I’m just a humble commoner, and today I have the honor of being your personal tour guide, Miss Rei Ohashi!”
“SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I lunged at her, clamping both hands over her mouth. “NOT THAT NAME! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!”
“AH! Sorry, sorry,” she whispered, eyes wide as she realized her mistake. “Your name is ‘Rae Taylor.’ Sorry, I almost forgot, hehe. Though…” She lowered her voice even more. “Your ID says something else. But don’t worry, my lips are sealed. You can trust me.”
Weird. Definitely the weirdest person I could’ve possibly run into. And somehow… I felt like it was true. I could trust her—at least for now.
Technically, though, she wasn’t my first contact with the kingdom. My boss had already shown me the basics through screens and encrypted messages. But being here in person was completely different.
And as for why I was using a fake name… well, that was the core of this whole mess.
I wished I were on vacation. But no. Here I was, getting exploited once again by my stupid, useless boss—a man whose face I could only picture with a shark-like grin.
Ahhh… damn it! Calm down, Rei. Inhale, exhale. Think of prime numbers. 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13… The list got lost in a sea of anxiety.
I came here because someone specifically requested my services to “clean” some digital bank accounts and deliver a ring. How could a regular company afford to pay for this all-expenses-paid trip?
Simple: they didn’t.
Everything reeked of a covert operation. I came to the kingdom of Baver with forged documents, a borrowed identity, and the constant fear of getting caught. The only thing keeping me sane was the number: 316,000 dollars they promised me. With that, I could disappear forever. A peaceful life at 20 in Malaysia… sounded way too good to be true.
But first, I had to deliver the ring… and not screw it up.
“ANYWAY!” Lana snapped me out of my thoughts, shaking my shoulders with energy that should be classified as a weapon. “WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE FIRST? THE BEACH? THE RESTAURANTS? Oh…” She leaned in, giving me a mischievous grin and an exaggerated wink, dropping her voice to a husky, sexy tone. “Are you one of those girls who goes straight to the h-o-t-e-l? Huhhh?”
“Hey, don’t get too comfortable that fast,” I sighed, though a smile slipped out anyway. It was impossible not to catch her energy.
“Haha, fair enough. So… do you have the thing they asked you to bring?”
“You mean this?” I asked, pulling a small blue velvet pouch from an inner pocket. I opened it carefully, letting the sunlight play across the gem inside. It was a ring of understated but commanding beauty. The gold band was thick, engraved with tiny runes I didn’t recognize, and at the center sat an opaque, deep blue stone—like a miniature ocean trapped in crystal.
Besides the bank accounts, my mission was to transport this jewel. I didn’t understand any of it, but whoever my client was, they were willing to pay 316,000 freaking dollars for it. It had to be either incredibly important… or incredibly dangerous.
Eh, whatever. I don’t care.
“Perfect!” Lana said, rubbing her hands together excitedly. “Then let’s head to the meeting point.”
“Uh, sorry—do you think we could stop by the bank first? I need to withdraw some cash. I don’t want to be broke in a new country.”
“SURE! LET’S GO ON OUR FIRST DATE!”
“IT’S NOT A DATE!”
- • <<────≪•◦⚜◦•≫────>> ••
Walking through the streets of Baver felt like strolling through a dream. The street lamps weren’t electric; they held glass spheres with tiny dancing lights inside—are those fairies? Will-o’-the-wisps?
“I wonder if I could do magic,” I muttered, mostly to myself.
“Oh right, other countries don’t have magic, do they? Must be boring.”
“You have no idea. Do you know how much I’d give to have wind magic and never pay for air conditioning again?”
She laughed. Baver was a place where the fantastical was everyday life. Monsters like slimes, elemental magic—fire, air, earth, water—were just normal, as Lana explained casually. It was like a classic RPG, but without visible health bars or menus. A magical, peaceful place like this… what could possibly go wrong? I thought, with an innocence that now feels downright criminal.
The bank branch was an imposing white marble building with stained-glass windows depicting epic battles between warriors and beasts. The place screamed “security.” The irony was thick.
“Number 719, please proceed to the teller,” a calm female voice announced over the speakers.
“Your turn.”
“Finally.”
I approached the counter, pulling out my fake documents with a knot in my stomach. I was about to clear the first hurdle, take the first step toward my new life.
NOTHING CAN GO WRONG!
HAHA—HAHAHA HAHA —“Stay still.”
The voice cracked like a whip, sharp and loaded with authority that allowed no argument. The air in the bank instantly froze.
“HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD! GIVE ME YOUR PHONE AND YOUR WALLET, NOW!”
…You’ve got to be kidding me…
Seriously?
A robbery?
On my first day? The universe has a truly awful sense of humor.
“Uh… excuse me,” I said, my voice pathetically shaky, “but how am I supposed to give you my phone if my hands are above my head?”
The silence that followed was scarier than the shout. “…Are you mocking me?!”
“NO, NO, NO! I’M JUST NERVOUS, OKAY? I only have my phone and… and…”
And then I saw her. Really saw her.
Time slowed. A woman stepped out from the shadows near the door. Her hair was a cascade of pure gold, tied in a bun so perfect and tight it looked like a statement. But it was her eyes that caught me: the color of the sky right before a snowstorm—cold, distant, yet with a spark of fire deep inside, challenging. She wore casual clothes—a beige cardigan and loose blue pants—but in her right hand she held a short-bladed knife that looked like an extension of her body, pointed straight at the vulnerable pulse in my neck.
And yet…
Despite the fear freezing my blood, despite the obvious danger, something inside me broke. An absurd, powerful, completely genuine emotion took over. The fear melted into something else—a certainty as stupid as it was irrevocable. My lips parted and two words slipped out, soft as a sigh, heavy with reverent awe:
As if it were an undeniable truth.
“I love you…”
An awkward, confused silence filled the space between us. The other robbers—two girls, one with pink hair and another with freckles—stared.
“…Huh?” She blinked. For the first time, her hard mask cracked, showing genuine bewilderment. A faint blush crept across her cheeks.
OHHH SO THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE! THE FAMOUS, IDIOT-MAKING, INEXPLICABLE LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!
My heart hammered in my chest—not just from fear, but from an electrifying euphoria. I couldn’t stop looking at her. I knew it was wrong, ridiculous, potentially lethal—but I couldn’t help it. It was like my soul had recognized something my mind still couldn’t process.
“I said I love you, miss!”
“SHUT UP ALREADY!”
The movement was so fast I barely saw it. The knife handle slammed into my skull with precise, brutal force. A white explosion of pain burst behind my eyes and my legs gave out. I hit the cold marble with a dull thud.
Love hurts… and it hurts like absolute shit, I thought, watching stars dance in my vision.
The blonde—Claire, as I’d soon learn—didn’t waste time. She knelt beside me and searched me with brutal efficiency, emptying my pockets of my phone and wallet. But when her expert fingers found the small velvet pouch hidden in a secret lining, she froze. She pulled it out, opened it, and the blue-gem ring rolled into her palm.
The change in her was instant and alarming. The color drained from her face, leaving her ghostly pale. Her eyes, once filled with cold fury, widened with a mix of disbelief and… fear?
“You…” Her voice was now a hoarse whisper, loaded with urgency that completely transformed her from professional thief to something far more complicated. “Where did you get this?”
She grabbed my arm with a force that made me yelp and dragged me to a corner, away from the other hostages and her companions. The knife still pressed against my neck, but her full attention was locked on the gem, which seemed to drink in the bank’s dim light.
- • <<────≪•◦⚜◦•≫────>> ••
“Are you an idiot?” she hissed, her hot breath hitting my ear. “Are you completely insane? How does a foreigner like you have that ring?! And you’re carrying it around in your bag like it’s some damn accessory?!”
“Hey, at least give me some context—” I tried to talk to her, but she turned away and ignored me. Instead, she brushed aside the hair covering her ear, revealing a small communication device—a microphone, plain and simple.
“Girls, come to the left room. The robbery’s canceled.”
A few minutes later, three girls entered.
A tall, athletic-looking woman with short hair and freckles across her face.
Another with cotton-candy pink hair and emerald eyes, smiling like a sly cat.
And then…
“Claire, what’s going on?” asked a girl with ash-white hair and red eyes, carrying herself like royalty, like actual nobility.
“Look.” Claire showed her the ring. Her hand trembled slightly.
Manaria blinked in surprise—not just her; the others stared in shock at the ring too.
She took it, examined it, then a strange, almost maternal smile curved her lips. She looked at Claire, then at the ring. With deliberate theatricality, as if toying with her, she took the blonde’s hand and pretended to slide the ring onto her ring finger.
“Wow,” Manaria whispered conspiratorially. “With a ring like this, it almost looks like a proposal. You’d be a hard bride to please, Claire.”
Something primal and burning exploded in my chest. It wasn’t just jealousy; it was visceral, irrational, scorching possession.
Because somehow, deep down, I already felt that Claire was mine. That intimate scene—even though it was obviously fake—was unbearable.
“HEY!” I shouted, my voice strangled by an emotion I didn’t understand.
I lunged forward, dodging Claire’s knife by centimeters, and snatched the ring from Manaria with a strength I didn’t know I had.
“It’s mine!” I declared, eyes brimming with tears of rage and confusion.
“Excuse me, miss,” Manaria said, addressing me like we were old friends, “but I’m going to need you to hand over that ring right now, please.”
“FOR WHAT?! SO YOU CAN DO THAT CRINGE SCENE AGAIN?!”
And before reason could stop me, before Claire could react, I shoved the ring onto my own ring finger.
The effect was immediate and violent. A searing heat, like I’d plunged my hand into magma, raced up my arm, followed instantly by a bone-chilling cold that froze me to the core. The blue gem pulsed with inner light, and for a second I felt an entire ocean roaring inside my skull. A high-pitched buzz filled my ears and a colossal, ancient, wild energy stirred in my chest, eager to break free.
“…She just…”
“…No way…”
“IDIOT!” Claire and Manaria shouted in unison, voices thick with horror and fury.
“W-what?” I stammered, dazed.
I tried to pull it off, but… it was useless. The metal wouldn’t budge even a millimeter. It was as if it had fused with my skin and bone, as if it had always belonged there. A deeper, different panic began to take hold.
“It’s the curse of the elemental rings!” Claire explained, voice loaded with fierce frustration. “They bond with the wearer’s soul the moment they’re activated.”
The only exception is if the person has zero magic in their body, but… now that you’ve awakened its power, it’s part of you! Congratulations, idiot! You just turned yourself into a walking, talking target for every treasure hunter, religious fanatic, and demon in this world and beyond!
You literally just doomed your life over a jealous tantrum!
Her words finally pierced me like fiery spears. 316,000 dollars didn’t matter anymore. My fake identity didn’t matter. I’d sealed my fate with one stupid jealous act.
“Did I just… hear that right?”
The bank receptionist—a plain-looking woman with a professional smile—somehow walked into the room as if nothing was wrong.
“Sorry, dear,” Manaria interrupted, “this isn’t a good time—”
But the receptionist started laughing louder.
“Stupid humans,” she said.
The moment those words left her mouth, Claire and the others drew what looked like magic wands, bracing for inevitable combat.
…You… YOU HAVE ONE OF THOSE RINGS TOO, DON’T YOU?!
HAHAHA THIS COULDN’T BE MORE PERFECT!
The receptionist began to convulse. The sound of breaking bones and tearing cartilage filled the room. Her skin ripped with a wet, grotesque noise as her body expanded, deformed, transformed into a tall, nightmarish creature. Oily black feathers sprouted from her back, her arms stretched into membranous wings ending in hooked claws, and her face elongated into a cruel, curved beak. Her eyes—once human—now had yellow sclera and pupils black as the abyss, claws blending black and purple.
A demon?! Loretta screamed in terror.
Before we could react, the demon shook itself violently. I barely blinked before its claws sank into my waist.
With a shriek that echoed deep in my bones and froze the blood in my veins, the beast lunged. It ignored everyone else. Its eyes were fixed on me—or more precisely, on the ring glowing on my finger. Its claws, cold and sharp as steel, clamped around my waist with brutal force, crushing my ribs. Then, with a powerful flap that sent papers and people flying, it smashed through the bank’s stained-glass dome in a shower of colored shards like sharp tears, and soared into the open sky with me in its grip.
However—
“RAE!” I heard Lana’s desperate, distant voice from below.
The wind whipped my face, making me cry. The city of Baver shrank beneath me, a beautiful and terrible mosaic. I struggled, but the demon’s claws were like steel vices. Only the roar of wind and the beating of monstrous wings filled my ears.
We broke through the stratosphere.
And then—a figure grabbed onto the demon’s leg just above the claws holding me.
Claire! Her red ribbon, now undone by the wind, fluttered like a flag of defiance. Her face was pale, twisted with effort and the pain of her wounded arm, but her sky-blue eyes showed not a hint of surrender.
“Let her go—I saw her first!” she shouted, her voice almost lost in the gale.
With an incredible move, she drove her knife into the creature’s scaly leg. The demon let out a furious, pained screech but didn’t release me. Instead, it twisted its serpentine neck and, with a swift strike of its free wing, slammed into Claire. The knife flew from her hand, tracing a shining silver arc into the void. A much deeper crimson line appeared on Claire’s arm, and a genuine cry of pain escaped her lips.
“YOU CAN’T USE YOUR FIRE MAGIC THIS CLOSE, CAN YOU?” the demon taunted, shaking my body like a toy. “COME ON, TRY TO HIT ME WITH YOUR MAGIC—IF YOU EVEN CAN!”
“YOU DAMN BITCH! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH WE’VE GONE THROUGH TO FIND THOSE RINGS? I’VE SPENT FIVE YEARS OF MY LIFE SEARCHING FOR THEM!”
I WON’T LET MY DREAM SLIP AWAY!!
“Tch, what a loud little girl. Now do me a favor and die!”
Seeing her bleed, something snapped inside me. The cold, vast energy I’d felt earlier—the power of the ring—roared like a caged beast. It was no longer just a sensation; it was a torrent, an ocean contained in my veins. Fear vanished, replaced by a glacial, protective fury. I didn’t think. My body acted on instinct.
I stretched my free hand toward the creature’s side. I didn’t know what command to give, what spell to cast. I only felt one overwhelming need.
Protect Claire at all costs!
“GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU PIECE OF SHIT DEMON!”
My voice didn’t sound like mine. It was an echo, a command ringing with ancient authority. And the ocean answered.
From the calm waters of the harbor hundreds of meters below, an deafening roar rose. A massive iceberg—not a mere spear, but a jagged cathedral of blue-white ice—erupted from the depths at impossible speed. It didn’t just hit the wing; it impaled it. The sound was sickening: crunching bone, tearing membrane, the demon’s agonized scream blending into one symphony of destruction. The ice pierced, shredded, and trapped the entire wing.
The demon shrieked—a sound of pure agony—and its claws opened involuntarily.
As the demon’s body began to disintegrate piece by piece…
The fall felt eternal and instantaneous at the same time. Wind howled in my ears.
The impact with the water knocked every bit of air from my lungs. I thrashed, disoriented, seeing the surface shimmer like a distant mirage above me. Beside me, Claire struggled, her movements clumsy and spasmodic—the very definition of panic.
Wait… don’t tell me… she can’t swim!
But, absurdly and completely incomprehensibly, even as she fought not to drown, her eyes were fixed on something sinking into the darkness.
“MY RIBBON!” she screamed desperately, reaching for it as if her life depended on it.
“Miss Claire, please get on my back—”
“But—!”
“There’s no time!”
Rage gave me clarity. I swam to her first, ignoring the pain in my ribs and the fire in my lungs. I grabbed her cardigan and, with a strength born only of desperation and a ridiculous crush, pushed her toward the distant shore with everything I had.
“Hey wait—why are you going back into the ocean?!”
“I’m going to get your ribbon back. Wait for me, please.”
“…You…”
Then I took one last breath I knew would be my final and dove again, swimming furiously toward the red blur fading into the bluish dark. My lungs burned, my vision blurred, but my fingers closed around the soaked silk.
Got it.
But it was too late. My body, at its limit, exhaled its last air in a silent stream of bubbles. The water’s pressure embraced me, cold and merciless. I felt it seeping into my lungs and then…
My body collapsed.
There was no more water. No more cold. Just an infinite white, silent space. I floated in nothingness, weightless, worry-free.
- • <<────≪•◦⚜◦•≫────>> ••
“Hello, Rae. It’s been a long time. I’m glad you have one of the four rings.”
A voice like the chime of crystal bells broke the silence—sweet and ancient.
Before me stood a small girl with silver hair down to her waist and red eyes. Her presence was both comforting and overwhelmingly powerful. There was no emotion on her face, only serene curiosity.
“Who…?” I tried to ask, but I had no mouth.
“I am Taim. But that doesn’t matter now,” she said, her voice a caress in my mind. “Wake up.
Now that you’re here… perhaps humanity will have a little hope.
Besides…
Claire is waiting for you.”
- • <<────≪•◦⚜◦•≫────>> ••
A deep, painful gasp yanked me back to reality. I lay on my back on cold, wet sand on a deserted beach. The rhythmic crash of waves on the shore was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard. I coughed violently, spitting saltwater that tasted like salt and… cherries?
Claire sat a few meters away, staring at the horizon where the sun began to paint the sky orange. I was still clutching her red ribbon in my hand as if nothing had happened.
But… my lips were wet. And they tasted sweet and artificial, like cherries. A faint pink color—not mine—stained the skin around my mouth.
“Miss Claire… did you…?”
She muttered without turning her head, voice hoarse from saltwater:
“Don’t think anything weird. It was CPR… I couldn’t let you die.”
A laugh bubbled up from my stomach—born of exhaustion, shock, and the sheer insanity of it all. It climbed my throat and turned into a hysterical, tearful cackle that shook my aching body.
“HAHAHA!” I laughed, salty tears streaming down my cheeks. “I just came here to work! To do some damn remote office job abroad! And now? What the hell am I supposed to do?!”
Claire stood up slowly. She looked pale and said,
“So if you want to live…” Her voice was low, rough, and completely honest. “If you want any chance of surviving what’s coming, join me. I’ll be your sword and your shield. I’ll protect you from now on.”
I looked at her. The woman who’d tried to rob me—and who had just saved my life. The woman I’d fallen for at the worst possible moment, in the worst possible place, under the most ridiculous circumstances.
Without hesitation, as if my hand had a mind of its own, I took hers. Her skin was rough and cold.
“I accept. I’ll be your partner.”
She snorted, a faint blush coloring her pale cheeks.
“Oh-hohoho. Don’t get the wrong idea—we’re pirates, after all. There’s no free ride on my ship. From this moment on, until I figure out how to get that damn ring off you, you’ll be my personal pet and servant. You’ll do what I say, when I say it. Understood, my plebeian?”
……
……
……
Claire + living with her = never having to go back to that shitty company!
My heart leaped with absolute, probably unhealthy joy. Seriously? Pet? THAT’S EVEN BETTER!
A radiant, wide, genuine smile spread across my face. I pressed my hands to my chest like a maiden in a knightly tale.
“It will be an honor and a privilege to serve by your side, my lady Claire!”
Claire blinked once, twice. Her stern, controlled expression shattered completely, replaced by pure, genuine astonishment mixed with deep bewilderment. Her brows shot up and her mouth opened slightly.
“…What the hell are you talking about?”
“WE’LL WORK VERY HARD STARTING TODAY, MISS CLAIRE!”
“What the hell are you talking about?!”
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