“What do you think?”

  Isa had lost her motivation to build her own fun.

  Now they sat next to each other on the same seat of the swing chair, swaying gently as they looked out over the amusement park in their mindscape.

  The park stretched wide and colorful before them, filled with unfinished rides, half-formed stalls, and pathways that curved into the distance.

  “Isa doesn’t know…” the girl murmured. She pushed the swing weakly with her legs. The motion lacked her usual energy.

  The swing swayed gently back and forth.

  The chains creaked, their sound repetitive.

  A soft breeze drifted through the park, carrying the scent of grass, brushing against their hair and skin.

  Izzy thought for a moment. Although the idea that somebody else might have built this space was terrifying, they could not escape it.

  This place was technically their mind. There was nowhere else to hide.

  She had a feeling that if this place was damaged, so were they. This space was already tied to their existences.

  *sigh*

  An inexplicable sigh escaped her lips.

  There was one way to find out, but the thought made her hesitate. Izzy didn’t know if the other party would really answer, or even if they were friend or foe.

  “…Isa.”

  “Yes?” The girl stopped swinging the chair, her green eyes looking toward her attentively.

  “...”

  Izzy hesitated, not sure if this was a good idea…

  But what use was that? She couldn’t solve anything by standing still. She needed to slow down, take it one step at a time.

  “Could you build a huge monument at the center?” Izzy pointed at the center plaza and used her fingertips to draw a huge triangle in the air.

  “Monument?” Isa tilted her head a little, her gray hair falling over her delicate shoulder.

  Izzy’s gaze lingered there for an instant longer than she intended, watching the silver strands slide across pale skin.

  “Yes, just a huge monument, at the center of the plaza.” She stroked her chin and nodded. “Something tall enough to see from anywhere in the park.”

  “Oke, anything for you, Izzy!”

  Isa jumped down from the swing and hurried off, almost flying across the plaza as translucent blocks began to appear around her, responding eagerly to her will.

  Izzy needed a building, maybe just a black wall, or a tower, conspicuous enough for them to see clearly from every corner in this place.

  ‘A monument. How ridiculous.’

  Izzy chuckled dryly. Uninvited memories flashed through her mind.

  In her original life, a massive monument had once been built on the outskirts of Co.Nest, erected to remember those who had lost their lives in the war.

  A stone obelisk engraved with hundreds of names, a place for mourning and remembrance.

  Yet just a month later, it was destroyed by the Central Authority.

  ‘Damn hypocrites.’

  They blamed the soldiers they had hired for the loss of the war. Blamed them for incurring the anger of the Dragon King. Blamed them for provoking a threat that nearly wiped them out.

  The soldiers had become convenient scapegoats for the Bureau.

  The surviving soldiers became sewer rats. They changed their identities, fled, hid themselves from public view. The Bureau sent hitmen after them, silencing them, threatening them to seal their mouths.

  Lives were lost. Countless sacrifices were made for Co.Nest.

  Yet in the end, they only cared about saving face before the public eye.

  Izzy stroked the bridge of her nose, a wave of exhaustion washing over her.

  ‘Maybe I need some sleep,’ she thought. Maybe she would feel more refreshed afterward.

  “Isa, I’m going to sleep. Call me if something happens.”

  Isa’s hands froze mid-motion. She turned and looked at Izzy with a strange gaze, as if scrutinizing whether Izzy truly meant it.

  But it was only a split second, before Isa nodded and threw one hand to her head in a sloppy salute.

  “It’s oke! Isa will protect you!”

  Izzy smirked and shook her head.

  ‘Right, as if.’

  Since Isa wasn’t being mischievous or annoying, Izzy took her words at mind value.

  ‘Sure, suit yourself.’

  Izzy turned away from the soon-to-be play center and the rest of their mindscape. Her awareness dimmed as she slowly shut off her consciousness.

  That night, Izzy slept peacefully.

  —

  “Hmm~ hmm~”

  “Are you done?”

  “Ah, I’m done with my task, Izzy!”

  After a good night’s sleep, Izzy’s head felt refreshing as ever.

  She turned her attention to the center of the plaza.

  A huge black tower stood there, dominating the entire space. A monolith of pure darkness, with smooth surface, as if it swallowed color instead of reflecting it. It rose straight upward, rising impossibly high against the colorful backdrop of their mindscape.

  “...”

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  She looked up. It was so high it made her head hurt a little. The tip disappeared into the rainbow sky, piercing through clouds.

  ‘Maybe… it’s a little too overboard?’

  Izzy grimaced. She didn’t expect this girl would be so effective with her job! When she’d said a monument, she’d imagined something modest, not something that looked capable of impaling the heavens!

  Now wherever they flew in their mindscape, they could see this huge black tower. It was visible from the theatre, from the amusement park, From the pastel rides to the half-built play center, from the rainbow rivers to the empty stretches of white ground, from every corner of their mindspace.

  Izzy flew over to the black tower, and with a flick of her finger, a white trail of light extended from her fingertip. The substance flowed like liquid ink, glowing softly against the black stone.

  She began to write. The letters formed one by one, written in the language of her past life.

  [“Who are you?”]

  She paused, then continued beneath it.

  [“Are you the one creating this place?”]

  [“What happened to us in the past few days?”]

  The words settled into the black monument’s surface.

  This was only a test. Izzy wanted to know if there really was someone else here and hoped they could answer their questions.

  For now, all they could do was wait for this strange existence to show their malevolence… or their benevolence.

  “Let’s go.”

  “Yes!”

  They withdrew from the mindscape and returned to their respective vessels.

  Through Arriet, Izzy opened her eyes and looked outside.

  Sunlight streamed in through the windows. The sun had risen high, casting warm light across the mansion’s interior.

  Today, Arnold would go to the church and learn about this world’s language. After that, they would gather information from the thieves.

  Now the question was whether they would leave this place afterward.

  “...”

  For some reason, the thought of leaving made Izzy uncomfortable. It was as if this was the wrong choice. Something telling her that leaving would be dangerous.

  However, wasn’t it a given? They had barely gone outside before.

  Perhaps this unease came from stepping away from a place that had become a temporary safe haven, about exploring the dangerous outside world. The unknown was always frightening.

  To be honest, if there were no Herald as their active threat, they would likely stay here permanently without the need to escape, hiding away from the world without urgency.

  ‘Maybe later, after we know when the full moon will come.’

  Who knew? Maybe the full moon Benjamin mentioned would not arrive for weeks, maybe even a month. They did not need to live as if danger were breathing down their necks every second.

  Meanwhile, Isa took control of Arnold and skipped down the hallway, humming cheerfully while savoring the sweetness of candy.

  ‘Stop doing that.’

  ‘Yes, mom.’

  Arnold immediately stopped hopping and resumed walking normally, though the bright smile on his face refused to fade.

  He soon reached the foyer and spotted Erin outside, tending to the garden. The girl knelt among the plants, brushing soil from her hands as she adjusted a row of flowers.

  Her dress was stained with soil at the hem, her bonnet had slipped slightly to reveal tangled blonde hair.

  “Erin, good morning!”

  “Eh?”

  Erin looked up, blinking in confusion. Arnold’s bright smile and cheerful demeanor made her stare at him as if he were some unfamiliar creature that had wandered into the yard.

  ‘I know this will happen.’

  Izzy sighed inwardly. Well, sooner or later, this would likely happen.

  Arnold had been grim when they first met Erin, and now he was acting like a completely different person. No wonder the poor girl was confused.

  ‘Act more calm. Don’t you see? She’s looking at you like some kind of strange animal right now.’

  ‘Aha! Yes.’

  Erin straightened and bowed, nearly a full ninety degrees. She still showed respect, but there was less stiffness than before. Did she get accustomed to him now?

  “I’m off. Don’t wander around the attic. Mom will eat Erin alive. See ya!”

  “Eh?”

  Before Erin could fully process his words, Arnold had already passed through the gate and disappeared, leaving her standing there in bewilderment.

  —

  “Mary, good morning.”

  Arnold approached the church grounds and met up with Mary and the other children gathered nearby. The church bell had not yet rung, but the yard was already lively with murmurs, shuffling feet, and the scent of flowers and morning dew.

  As expected, only Mary greeted him.

  The other children either backed away at his appearance, his bandaged face and strange demeanor making them nervous, or they just stared curiously at him from a safe distance.

  “May the Monarch be with you, good morning, young master… um…”

  “It’s Arnold.”

  “Young master Arnold.”

  Mary adjusted her grip on the basket of flowers resting against her elbow.

  Today, she looked different.

  She was a lot cleaner than before. Her dress, while still plain, had been freshly washed.

  Her blonde hair was no longer braided. It flowed straight down to her chest, swaying gently when she moved.

  ‘There is something on her cheek.’

  His Field Vision immediately landed on her cheek.

  Even through the attempt to hide it, he could see a faint bruise on her skin, a shadow of blue and purple that someone had tried to conceal with powder.

  As expected, there was one.

  Izzy nodded. She had somehow, for some reason, known there was something on her cheek beforehand.

  She had gotten used to this feeling. That sense of recognizing something before her mind could explain why.

  Mary fiddled with her bangs, pulling them forward to cover the marked cheek.

  She must have noticed his gaze. Her shoulders stiffened, and she took a small step back, clutching the basket closer to herself.

  “I…I still have things to do! Please excuse me!”

  Mary bowed sheepishly and ran away, disappearing behind a stone pillar and a cluster of older villagers.

  ‘Well, it’s not my business.’

  Arnold turned his heel, heading toward the church school building.

  “Excuse me, brother…”

  Before he could take another step, a small voice sounded behind him.

  ‘What is it now?’

  He turned around, but immediately stunned.

  In front of him stood a cluster of children, far more than he had anticipated. They had formed a loose semicircle around him, some standing on tiptoe, others craning their necks to get a better look.

  There were at least a dozen of them, boys and girls both, ranging from perhaps eight to fourteen years old. They looked at him with curiosity.

  “W… what?”

  “Brother, what iz your relationship with sister?”

  The one who spoke stood at the front. A brown-haired boy, around 12-13 years old. He was much shorter than Arnold, but he carried himself with unusual confidence.

  He was wearing village attire, but it was much cleaner and much thicker than the rest of the children here.

  And he was wearing black boots.

  ‘Boots?’

  Arnold’s eyes dropped to them.

  ‘Who is this child…’

  They were proper boots, well-fitted to his feet, reaching halfway to his calves. The leather was worn, but well cared for, brushed clean and oiled.

  He had never seen a village child wearing boots around here. Most villagers went barefoot, or wore simple straw slippers.

  Black leather boots on a child? He went to school with it? That looked expensive.

  He could somewhat guess who this might be.

  ‘Is this Bennet? This has become so repetitive.’

  An answer formed in his mind.

  If he followed his gut, then the next answer should be—

  Arnold looked down at the boy, and answered wearily.

  “Just—”

  “Client?”

  The boy cut him off.

  *thump*

  ‘Huh?’

  Arnold’s heart missed a beat. A cold sensation swept through his mind, freezing his thoughts in mid-sentence.