"S-Sis?"
"…."
"I-Is that really you, Sis?"
Staring wide-eyed at Lilien who had appeared before him, Kairen began asking in a trembling voice.
"What, do you think I'm some monster? Get a grip."
"…Sis!"
"Who's your sis…. Never mind."
Glancing briefly at Kairen like that, Lilien soon quietly turned her head away.
'What an idiot. He searched until he ended up like this?'
Kairen, whom she met again after just two days, had gone beyond merely disheveled—he looked utterly wretched.
His right arm was bleeding profusely with clear bite marks, as if it had been chomped by the Forest Lord. His clothes were torn all over, scratched by claws.
Moreover, as if he'd fallen into some lake, the remaining scraps of clothing were caked in dirt and moss. Even his feet, barefoot from losing his shoes while fleeing, were too pitiful to look at.
"…."
But what pierced Lilien's heart the most painfully was Kairen's fingernails, broken and caked in dirt.
She couldn't know for sure, but it seemed he'd been digging everywhere in search of the earring she'd mentioned.
Distracted by that search, he'd probably been chased by the Forest Lord, who saw him as an intruder rummaging through its territory.
'…This forest is huge to begin with. No way he could've found it.'
Thinking that, Lilien recalled the earring still safely kept in her drawer and quietly bit her lip.
"Anyway, stay right there…. Ah."
She shook her head vigorously to snap out of it and was about to give Kairen instructions with a dark look in her eyes—right then.
"…I was going to tell you not to move."
Despite his body's condition, Kairen staggered forward and hugged Lilien from behind.
"I'm sorry."
"…Sorry for what?"
Lilien froze blankly at the sudden contact, then tilted her head slightly at the subdued voice from behind.
"B-Because of me. You came all the way here…."
"…What?"
"I troubled you, Sis."
At that, Lilien unconsciously gritted her teeth again.
"A-Actually. I knew there was no earring here. I just came to look good in front of you."
"…."
"I'm really sorry for causing trouble with my stupid actions…."
"Hey, shut…. No, just be quiet."
Even after things had come to this, Kairen was still defending her.
How could someone—especially one who bore Belverk blood—be this pure?
"…If you say that, I really have nothing to say."
Moreover, if he'd entered knowing there was no earring, that was an even bigger problem.
If he'd done this just to avoid being hated again, she couldn't even imagine what it must've felt like to walk into the trap of his own accord.
"Hey, Kairen."
"…Yes."
"I'm not going to apologize to you."
But after gritting her teeth and bowing her head for a long while, Lilien opened her mouth with a cold expression.
"Don't get the wrong idea. The reason I came here today isn't for you—it's for me."
"…."
"I'm going to use this incident as a chance to rescue you and boost my reputation again. You just stay quiet. Got it?"
That was Lilien's final act of resistance against Kairen, who had shaken her heart relentlessly these past few days.
"Th-Then. Before we go back, let's kiss!"
"Huh?"
"I'll get scolded by Mother. And I'll say you saved me. I won't mention the earring at all!"
But even that final resistance fizzled out at Kairen's urgent words from behind.
"So, please forgive me…."
As he said that and hugged her a bit tighter, Kairen's trembling body conveyed directly to her.
"…Are you really an idiot?"
Even as she said that, in that moment, Lilien understood Kairen.
That despite his outwardly bright and carefree appearance, his insides were just as rotten and festering as hers.
"Well, that's only if we survive here, though."
"Huh?"
"Rookie, step back now. It's coming again soon."
And the next moment, Lilien pushed Kairen back fairly forcefully.
"Ah, you weren't dead yet…."
"You kidding? That's a top-grade monster. It's the one you're supposed to face in the coming-of-age ceremony."
Because the Forest Lord, which had been knocked away by the unexpected blow, was now preparing to rise again.
"Th-Then. I'll fight too!"
"What?"
"I can fight too! Yesterday while running away, I threw one of my shoes at one chasing me and hit it!"
Lilien, who had been glaring at it while taking deep breaths, burst into a chuckle at Kairen's words from behind and replied.
"…Don't even think about it. Stay behind me."
"But…."
"You don't know my ability well yet anyway."
Right then, Lilien's eyes began to blaze crimson, as if lit with fire.
"…I've already adapted."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
- Groooar…!
The Forest Lord staggered to its feet and lunged at Lilien without giving her time to react.
"…Hup."
But Lilien dodged the strike with absurd reaction speed, then landed another blow on the Forest Lord's face, sending it flying back.
"There, that's my ability."
The reason she was so confident even in this disadvantageous situation was the Unique Ability provided by her Crimson Eyes.
"It's truly grateful—making even someone as lacking in adaptability as me forcibly adapt to anything."
Its nature was 'Adaptation.' Lilien's Crimson Eyes granted her the ability to adapt in real-time to any being hostile toward her and counter it.
"It takes some time to prepare, but once adapted, it's over. I can copy their physical specs, skill proficiency, even magic or Unique Abilities entirely."
After briefly explaining her ability, Lilien added in a low voice.
"Hey, Kairen. I'm telling you this because we're allies."
"Ah…."
"So don't go telling anyone."
Of course, with her eyes fixed on the enemy before her, Lilien didn't see it, but she somehow felt Kairen grinning brightly behind her.
'I said that, but it's still a bit unfavorable.'
However, Lilien couldn't completely relax either.
Honestly, under normal circumstances, beating the Forest Lord wouldn't be an issue.
No matter that it was an opponent for the coming-of-age ceremony, the three Belverk sisters of this generation—tied with their mother—were called the strongest monsters in history.
The youngest among them, Lilien, also had the skill to subdue a top-grade monster like this, as long as she didn't get careless, even if it meant some injuries.
'…I overdid it a bit.'
But the problem was that to get here, she'd borrowed her personal maid's ability.
Lilien's personal maid was one of the rare black mages in the world, with the ability to travel anywhere via black smoke.
To copy that ability, Lilien had unilaterally taken the maid's attacks.
Of course, she'd blocked most due to the difference in level, but the attacks from maids raised as killing machines always targeted vitals, so the few she took were quite lethal.
"…Do you know why the esteemed second and eldest sisters haven't eliminated me yet?"
Yet Lilien raised her voice confidently, glaring at the Forest Lord before her and adding.
"At least in one-on-one fights, I've never lost to anyone."
It was true. Not just the second and eldest sisters—even Duke Astridje had no guarantee of superiority in a one-on-one with Lilien.
"So, don't worry and stay behind me."
However, every ability had its weaknesses.
In truth, Lilien's 'Adaptation' had a time limit.
Normally, she could endure with the vastly superior mana from her Crimson Eyes and her own stamina, but not now.
She'd already taken several lethal hits, and moving to this forest had consumed considerable mana.
On top of that, adapting in real-time to a top-grade monster's physical specs, proficiency, and abilities—her mana was depleting at an insane rate.
"…This much is nothing."
Above all, Lilien was just a child, only about two years older than Kairen.
No matter that she was called one of the Belverk monsters, she inevitably hit her limits faster than the other monsters.
"Sis! B-Blood!"
"…Your condition is worse, idiot."
"I-I still have healing potions left…."
"Don't come here!"
In that situation, feeling blood seeping from her forehead and waist, Lilien shouted urgently at Kairen.
"I'll end this in one go, so just watch quietly."
"…Th-Then. I'll somehow escape, so you pull back and recover your stamina too."
"No, even if you could teleport to the mansion right now, that'd be a problem."
As she prepared to counter again, glaring at the Forest Lord growling in a low stance.
"This bastard's already tasted your blood."
"…."
"If we don't eliminate the aftermath here, it will definitely…."
At that moment, the Forest Lord quietly backed away, widening the distance from Lilien.
"…Tch."
As its cunning gaze fell upon her, Lilien clicked her tongue quietly and furrowed her brows.
"The title of Forest Lord isn't for show, huh."
As expected of a top-grade monster, instead of clashing with Lilien, it chose to create distance and observe the situation.
"This is trouble…."
Her lips grew parched at its appearance, as if waiting for her to tire further.
If it had some overwhelmingly powerful ability, it would've been easier to deal with.
But this wolf, relying purely on stamina and physical prowess, had a bad matchup for the somewhat fatigued Lilien.
'No choice but to go on the offensive first.'
Knowing that well, Lilien steeled herself, drew a knife from her bosom, and prepared for close combat.
- Grrr….
Sensing it too, the Forest Lord lowered its stance fully, exhaling a chilling aura from its maw.
"…Ha, what a mess. What am I even doing?"
Sensing something from that posture in an instant, Lilien closed her eyes tightly and muttered inwardly.
'If it's come to this, I wanted to get a bit closer.'
As she quietly tucked back the crumpled doodle from Kairen peeking from her pocket.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"…Hm?"
Right as Lilien aimed her knife at the Forest Lord and was about to begin a desperate melee.
"What sound is that…."
Suddenly, a sound tearing through the sky echoed from afar.
- Boom…!
Soon, something flying from the sky at cannon-like speed slammed down onto the Forest Lord.
- Groooooaaarrr!!!
Even the Forest Lord, with its signature agile movements, couldn't fully evade and had its leg pinned by the unidentified object.
"This is…."
As the dust from the impact settled, Lilien, standing dazed in place, realized the identity of the flying object and widened her eyes.
"…A tree?"
A whole tree, seemingly uprooted forcibly, lay embedded upside down before them.
"S-Sis."
"What now…."
"…Look at that."
At Kairen's dumbfounded voice from behind right then, Lilien turned her head without thinking.
"…."
Her mouth fell open blankly as well.
"No way, this is."
The sky and earth before them had flipped, as if the world itself had been remade.
More precisely, the vast forest behind them was creaking as trees were uprooted en masse and floated into the sky.
"Wh-What is it? Did you do that, Sis?"
"…No."
That bizarre phenomenon, which had already turned half the forest into wasteland. In the darkness cast by the sky-covering trees, one figure with eyes dyed red was manipulating them.
"There's only one person in the world who can do something like this."
The moment she spotted the figure, Lilien dropped the knife from her hand as tension drained from her body, and quietly answered Kairen's question.
"Looks like Belverk's scariest monster has come looking for us."
At the same time, the figure began walking down the hill, emanating an eerie crimson aura that could make even monsters flee just from sensing its presence.
"…Mom?"
It was their mother. Duke Astridje.