CHAPTER 5
My training with Rapiel continued day after day.
She thoroughly destroyed me.
Then, she would inject Holy Magic to forcefully heal me.
And the next day, she would beat me up again without fail.
My belief that nobles were at least intellectuals was hereby revoked as of today.
Nobles are all just as savage!
But frustratingly, Rapiel’s training was effective.
Three weeks later, as soon as I learned the theory of Holy Magic, I succeeded in using a low-level Holy Magic spell.
It was just a basic spell that healed a scraped wound, but the moment I heard the theory, my body knew how to use it.

"Hmm, it looks like the Seed of Light has properly taken root."

“A Seed?”

“The path of magic is a process of growing a giant tree inside your body.”

Rapiel took out a magic book and showed me an example.
In it, the process of a single seed growing into a tree was depicted in five stages.

Stage 1: Germination
Stage 2: Rooting
Stage 3: Flowering
Stage 4: Maturation
Stage 5: Seeding

I hadn't even entered Stage 1 yet.

“No matter how much you want to use magic, you can’t unless the Seed takes root. It’s purely in the realm of talent.”

I knew it. For some reason, I'd wanted to use Holy Magic from the start. I knew I had the talent.

“The quality of a mage changes depending on how they nurture this Seed. The reason street mages are looked down upon is that their Seeds are half-bloomed and rotted.”

There was a reason magic was divided into orthodox and unorthodox schools.

“And there are innate differences in talent even among Seeds. From their size to the fact that, depending on the person, a separate Seed besides the seven attributes can be created.”

“What is my Seed like?”

Rapiel’s lips curled into a smirk.

"It's incredibly large and sturdy. You can be proud of it."

It was a class far above the average.
The savage This-worlders wouldn't even dare to compare.

“However, because it’s that sturdy, it will be hard to crack.”

“Crack it? Shouldn’t I be cherishing it? Why would you say something so scary!”

“It has to crack to become a tree, of course. What are you talking about?”

“I will endeavor to become a baobab tree.”

I'll nurture it well and become the biggest tree in the world.

"How you grow it is up to you. It's a Seed of Light with that much purity, so do your best to cultivate it."

“So, am I done being beaten now?”

“No, we have to keep doing that too.”

I cried.
The training continued on and on.
Today, as I was rolling on the ground again, I felt a presence at the entrance to the training grounds.
It was Shishiroka.
She was peeking her head out from the entrance, watching me.
Shishiroka did not train with me.
Instead, she only took theory classes.
I once asked why we didn't do the same training.
「Shishiroka was born with a weak body. If that child did the same training as you, she wouldn't be in this world for much longer.」
The reason for Shishiroka’s weak body was her talent.
The one who had the special Seed Rapiel spoke of was Shishiroka.
Shishiroka was born with a Seed.
The Seed of Hanna.
It was a Seed that was eating away at Shishiroka's body.
The Seed of Hanna sprouts not based on mana, but on the physical body.
Therefore, Shishiroka’s body was constantly being gnawed away by the Seed.
She was 18 years old this year.
The reason I had thought she was a middle schooler was that her body hadn't been able to grow properly because the Seed was consuming it.
For now, it was okay because her growth hadn't yet been overtaken by the consumption.
But the moment the rate of consumption became faster than the rate of her growth.
Shishiroka would not have much time left.
There was only one way for her to live.
She had no choice but to reach a state where Holy Magic was constantly active.
The Holy Magic would neutralize the Seed of Hanna, extending her lifeline.
Naturally, reaching a state like Rapiel’s was not common.
Even Rapiel was of the Angel Tribe, a minority race with an innate talent for the Light attribute.
Was it really possible for an ordinary human to reach such a state in their twenties?
It was a sad story, but reality was cruel.
Shishiroka was struggling to survive death, but death was tightening its grip around her neck.
My eyes met Shishiroka's.
The reason she was watching me now was perhaps to research if there was any way for her to train in Holy Magic to live even a little longer.
Some people live because they can't die.
Some people live because they don't want to die.

What a fucked up world.

“Shishiroka-sunbaenim.”

I got up from my dusty spot.
Shishiroka flinched.

“If you wish to observe, I will graciously include you.”

Shishiroka’s hair stood on end, and she fled.
Perhaps because I teased her a bit on the first day.
Shishiroka would run away whenever she saw me.

“You, you’ve gotten quite close to Shishiroka, haven’t you?”

“Of course. Sunbaenim and I are fellow disciples. It’s only natural to get close to my senior sister.”

"You're so shameless."

Rapiel looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

“Still, for Shishiroka to treat you like that, she probably doesn’t see you in a bad light. Be good friends with her.”

She looked toward the entrance where Shishiroka had disappeared with a look of pity.

“Because I can’t be a friend to that child.”

Even Rapiel couldn't cure Shishiroka.
Perhaps because of that, Rapiel showed a particularly soft side to Shishiroka.
Getting close to an 18-year-old girl… that's a high-difficulty task even for me.
But it was my master's command.

“Then, if I become friends with Shishiroka-sunbaenim, please teach me that.”

I pointed to the whip she used to beat me with recently.
It wasn't an ordinary whip.
It was a whip made of light.

“You really want a means of attack, don’t you.”

“Offense is the best defense, they say.”

“I don’t know what makes you so obsessed with attacking, but…”

Rapiel’s lips curled into a smirk.

"Alright. If you become Shishiroka's friend, I'll teach you."

From this day forward, any attack on Shishiroka would be considered an attack on me.

From that day on, I followed Shishiroka wherever she went.

“Sunbaenim, are you having a meal? Let’s eat together.”

"Hiiik!"

"Sunbaenim, you must be hungry. Have a snack."

"Kyaak!"

“Sunbaenim, you sneezed. Here is a blanket.”

"Hyaaaak!"

Perhaps because I kept popping up out of nowhere.
Shishiroka screamed and ran away every time.
But she was slow, so I caught her and brought her back.
Shishiroka seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit.

“Shishiroka is sorry. You don’t have to call me sunbae anymore, so please stop bothering me.”

“Bothering you? This is merely an expression of respect.”

“R-Respect? This is?”

Shishiroka had a terrified expression on her face.

"This is just how seniors, juniors, and friends normally interact."

“Oh, i-is that so?”

Shishiroka had no friends.
So she seriously pondered if this was what being friends was like.

“So, what do you say? Are we friends, Shishiroka-sunbaenim?”

“...Shishiroka is not an idiot.”

“Of course not. You’re a genius, Sunbaenim.”

Shishiroka looked at me as if I were a completely incomprehensible being.

“Why are you trying so hard to do things for me?”

Well, it's to learn how to conjure light weapons.
But it felt like I shouldn't tell her the truth.

“Because I’m a Transferee, I don’t know anyone in this world.”

My human relationships were limited to Bulldog at best.
The rest were just thieves trying to steal my wallet and the perpetually annoyed staff at the adventurer's guild.
So it was safe to say my social life was completely shattered.

“I’ve lived for several months after being dropped into a world where I know no one, and now I have a senior sister under the same master. It’s only natural that I’d want to get close to you.”

I still don't have the strength to survive on my own.
If that's the case, I have to prolong my life by latching onto any relationship I can, like a parasite.

“When you called me your junior, Sunbaenim, I was happier than you might think. It felt like you were accepting me.”

“...”

Shishiroka fell silent.
She wasn't a Transferee.
So she probably couldn't fully empathize with my words.
Honestly, I wasn't saying it for her to empathize.
A life where I have to live like a parasite off these savage This-worlders.
It was a miserable life, but to survive in this fucked-up world, I had to do my best right now.
Rapiel treasures Shishiroka.
If I get close to Shishiroka, I can get closer to Rapiel too.
Shishiroka’s blue eyes stared at me for a moment.

“...Since Shishiroka is not a Transferee, I don’t think I can perfectly understand how you feel, Harua-hubae.”

Shishiroka was thinking the same thing as me.
Then, she raised her hand.
She stood on her tiptoes, trying to make herself taller.

Her small hand gently patted my head.

"You've done well."

I was suddenly praised.

“Done well?”

“You’ve survived in a world where you knew no one. Shishiroka has so many people looking out for her, and even then, it hasn’t been easy to live.”

Shishiroka’s life was much harder than mine.
Her life was shortening with each passing day.
One might think that's true for everyone, but for her, death was an all-too-close presence.
On the other hand, what about me?
I survived even after having my limbs torn off by a cult, I survived being stabbed to death by bandits, and I survived having my head cut off by a serial killer.
Compared to Shishiroka, my life was, at the very least, immune to death.
And yet, this Shishiroka was telling me I'd done well.
For some reason, a small laugh escaped me.

“So you know how to smile like that too, Harua-hubae?”

“I’m always smiling.”

“It feels different from that smile.”

Is that so.
If that's how it seems, then I guess it is.

“Shishiroka-sunbaenim, what do you think? Do you think we can be friends?”

“It’s a difficult thing.”

Shishiroka considered it seriously.

“But if I become friends with you, Harua-hubae, then I’ll have another precious friend.”

I understood one thing.
Why Rapiel cherished Shishiroka so much.
Shishiroka knew how to speak beautifully.

“I have found another thing to learn from you, Sunbaenim.”

“Is there something to learn from Shishiroka?”

"A lot. This isn't something I say to just anyone. I only say it to people I've acknowledged."

I only acknowledge a very small number of savage This-worlders.
Shishiroka straightened her back, looking a little proud.
Her adorable appearance made me smile a little.

“More importantly, you had other friends?”

“Sh-Shishiroka has friends! A friend Lady Rapiel introduced to me.”

I'm surprised, I thought she didn't have a single friend.
Then again, isn't that just an acquaintance rather than a friend?
Shishiroka cleared her throat and changed the subject.

"If I become friends with you, Harua-hubae, I think every day will be a commotion."

“If you wish, I am confident I can run through the noble district carrying you right now.”

“Then we can’t be friends. You must never do that.”

“If I don’t, can we be friends?”

Shishiroka covered her mouth slightly and smiled.

“Yes, probably.”

Perhaps I might make my first friend since coming to this world.
Shishiroka and I laughed while talking about such silly things.
It was a feeling of warmth I hadn't felt in a long, long time.
And then, one month later.
Shishiroka collapsed and was confined to a sickbed.