By Zephyria 
We can’t just keep standing here facing each other. It seemed better for me to move first. Since a person came out unharmed, wouldn’t that mean there’s nothing strange inside the alley?
Still, Sakira would worry if I disappeared, so I was just planning to take a quick look nearby and come back out. I walked past the man standing as if nailed to the ground and turned toward the corner, but the next moment, my forearm was grabbed.
I frowned involuntarily at the unexpectedly strong grip. Before I could even open my mouth to complain about the pain, a bird suddenly appeared, hovering in mid-air before landing on the suspicious man’s head.
“Chirp.”
It was definitely the same bird that had been in my room just a moment ago. Feeling something moving against my leg, I looked down to see the black cat with three tails rubbing against the suspicious person’s leg.
Did it have an owner? Come to think of it, it was strangely friendly for a monster.
“Get lost.”
“……?”
No sooner had I thought that than a strange voice spoke. The man waved his black-gloved hand dismissively over his head to chase away the bird and kicked away the rubbing cat. The monsters, as if abandoned by their owner, chirped sadly before disappearing into the alley.
They looked back several times as they left, which made them seem pathetic.
My gaze was drawn to them despite myself, but more than that, I couldn’t figure out who this person was who kept grabbing me and wouldn’t let go.
I tried to twist my arm free before telling him to let go, but it was no use. Rather, the more I struggled, the stronger the grip on my forearm became, as if in reaction.
Then, I was pulled in sharply and ended up being embraced, which only filled my head with question marks. It was hard to guess his intentions, as his arms around my head and back were too careful for him to be some shameless pervert trying to grope me.
Of course, I didn’t want to stay like this. I pushed him with all my might, intending to knock him over completely. But my efforts were in vain, as the man didn’t budge and instead whispered reproachfully.
“Stay still.”
I had been a little flustered since encountering this suspicious person, but I hadn’t been greatly emotionally shaken until the breath tickled my ear, which made me recoil in horror.
I swung my arm toward his face with strength I didn’t know I possessed. With the sound of my fist hitting something, the hood covering the man’s face was knocked off.
Through the pure white hair that swirled before my eyes like a hazy mist, I saw a face so pale it was almost white. A displeased frown creased his brow, and his crimson eyes stared straight at me, along with blood-tinged red lips…
His appearance was so shocking that I couldn’t explain it, and I had no interest in the shimmering light emanating from my body.
I wasn’t a firefly, but how could I not be surprised that light was coming from my body? But right now, the face before me was more shocking than my bug-like glowing state.
“…….”
“…….”
The man, who had been looking at me with a scowl, raised his hand and lightly pressed his lips before taking it away. A little blood stained the back of his hand. It was a small and simple series of actions, but it shocked me even more than I already was.
Was this what it felt like to see a living, breathing ocean? Was this what it felt like to have a towering mountain peak suddenly speak to me? I didn’t know what I was babbling about, but I had no way to express the emotions I was feeling.
Then, I suddenly became aware of my dazed appearance and barely managed to close my gaping mouth.
“I know you’re angry, but I didn’t do it on purpose…”
I looked at his face again at his mumbling, as if making excuses. I was too shocked to see it properly before, but now that I looked closely, the shape of his pupils was strange. The way he looked, and the elongated pupils, meant he was definitely not human, no matter how generously I looked at it.
The white teeth and red tongue glimpsed inside his lips as he spoke, the softly moving jaw, the night-sky-like dark blue eyes… No, weren’t they a different color than before? Or was it just me, still out of my mind?
“Are you listening?”
The man asked, studying me. His gaze was filled with a mixture of emotions. Only then did I realize that my back was soaked with cold sweat.
Sensing something was wrong, the man suddenly ripped off his gloves. As the black gloves that had been covering his hands were removed, dazzlingly white skin was revealed.
For some reason, I was even more surprised than when I saw his face when the hood was removed. I took a step back involuntarily as I watched his long, delicate fingers approach, when I heard a familiar voice from behind.
“Aska!”
I exhaled the breath I had been holding and turned my head sharply. Sakira was running toward me. I watched her for a moment before turning back, but no one was there.
“…….”
“Aska!”
Ignoring the sound of her calling me, I looked around with a bewildered expression for the man who had been there just a moment ago. But no matter how much I looked around, checked beyond the corner, or even tapped the ground where he had been standing with my foot, I couldn’t find him.
“What are you doing here?”
“Where did he go?”
“Pardon?”
“No, I just… Didn’t you see someone here?”
Could I have been hallucinating?
“Someone? I didn’t see anyone. Weren’t you alone the whole time?”
“…….”
Sakira spoke with a puzzled expression before reaching out and touching my forehead.
“You don’t have a fever… Why are you sweating so much?”
“…….”
It was too vivid to be a hallucination. I clearly remembered his face, the words he had said to me, his voice, and even the sensation of his embrace and the strength of his grip.
But apart from that, it was also true that it felt unreal. I knew he was a monster, but such a… such a thing…
“Aska, shall we go home? Are you alright?”
At those words, I reflexively tried to nod, but then I looked back at the ground where the man had been standing. He was definitely there, so where on earth did he go?
I stared blankly at the spot before sighing.
“Let’s go.”
“Were you with someone?”
How should I explain this? Come to think of it, what was that light coming from my body? Had I finally gone crazy? Maybe it was some kind of mental disorder.
“…….”
As my thoughts reached that point, I became certain that the man I had met earlier was real and not a hallucination. That was because I had occasionally hallucinated when I was sick, but this felt distinctly different.
“I met someone a little while ago.”
“Yes. You met someone?”
Sakira, who had been waiting for my answer, urged me on with an anxious expression.
“What did you do after you met them? Was it someone you knew?”
I shook my head and continued.
“It was someone I’d never met before, and he suddenly came up to me and used a honey trap.”
“……Excuse me? A honey trap?”
Sakira’s face changed into an indescribably strange expression as she looked at me nodding. It was understandable that she was taken aback. But this was the only way I could express it.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
As soon as we returned to the mansion, Sakira called the doctor with a serious expression. And she sent someone to bring Abyss as quickly as possible.
“Well, his condition is very good. Much better than last night? Almost all the numbers are normal.”
“What? How is that possible?”
Sakira asked, sounding bewildered, which made the doctor even more bewildered.
“I should be asking you that. What on earth did you do after I left yesterday? Did you take some kind of panacea?”
Their gazes turned to me at the same time. I suddenly remembered the light that had been emanating from my body earlier, but I didn’t feel like telling them about it.
“I just slept well. And ate a good breakfast.”
“Were there any other special things that happened?”
“Not really…”
The doctor pondered for a moment before saying, “We’ll have to monitor his progress. There have been times before when he seemed to be improving rapidly, only to worsen again…”
“Aska!”
Just then, the door burst open and Abyss and Fatima entered. They looked as if they were being chased by a monster.
“Are you alright?”
“Oh? Yeah… Long time no see.”
Abyss, who knelt down in front of me as soon as he arrived, asked with a worried expression. I looked at Fatima with a dazed expression as I answered.
“Do you remember who it was?”
Fatima asked abruptly, without even greeting me properly.
“I’m sorry, if I had been by your side, this wouldn’t have happened…”
“It hasn’t been long, so we should be able to catch him quickly if we try.”
Abyss looked very mournful, and Fatima seemed somehow angry. I didn’t know why they were suddenly making such a fuss, but I first took care of the flustered doctor.
“Alright. Come every day starting tomorrow. As you said, it could get worse again, so it’s better to get checked every day. Discuss the details with Sakira again.”
“Yes, I understand. I have most of the emergency medicine, but please tell me if you experience any unusual symptoms.”
With that, the doctor left, and now only the four of us—me, Abyss, Sakira, and Fatima—remained in the room. I sighed and asked Sakira, “What did you say to make them like this?”
“I told them exactly what happened.”
“How?”
“That you were assaulted.”
When was I assaulted?
Before I could even feel dumbfounded, I heard the sound of something breaking. I turned my head toward the sound and saw that Abyss had punched the floor, leaving a gaping hole.
“I am clearly responsible for this unfortunate incident. I will accept any punishment you give me.”
“…….”
Abyss spoke mournfully with his head bowed, but I was simply dumbfounded by the whole situation.
“You weren’t even there, so why are you responsible?”
“I have no excuses to make. Please, give me a punishment.”
What kind of punishment was he asking for? It seemed like he would kneel all night if I said no, so I had no choice.
“Then go over there and stand with your hands up until I say you can stop.”
“Pardon?”
“And I wasn’t assaulted.”
I couldn’t help but sigh. Abyss seemed to have something more to say, but he reluctantly went to the corner and stood with his hands up as I had told him to.
“You weren’t assaulted?”
Fatima looked at Sakira with a puzzled expression. Sakira, who was just as puzzled, asked me, “You weren’t? But earlier, Aska…”
“When did I say I was assaulted? I said someone came up to me and used a honey trap.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“The nuance is different.”
Just then, Abyss, who was standing with his hands up, asked me, “So, nothing happened to you?”
“…….”
The brief pause was enough of an answer, and a heavy, cold silence descended in an instant.