Anticipating the impact with the solid light, I pce my hands in front of my eyes to avoid burning my eyes. When I slowly lower them, I’m surprised to find that the light, though om, isn’t blinding. Two immense braziers burn oher side of the vast circur room, and no one seems worried that the pnt-covered ceiling might catch fire. The floor, made hly smoothed stones, opens up before me to reveal a basin stretg from one side of the room to the other. It’s just wide enough that it ’t be stepped over, and a small arched wooden bridge allows passage across. Colorful fish I’ve never seen before bask in this shallow pool of water, tinuing their pilgrimage tirelessly, as if unaware of their captivity. Portraits lihe walls, separated by engravings of the seven symbols that adorn the wings of the so-called legendary wolf.

  — The barrier seems to still be intact. Sorry to have worried you for nothing.

  Surprised this voice, I turn my gaze toward the ter of the room, beyond the wooden bridge. Kneeling equidistaweewo braziers, with a third casting a vermillion veil over her shoulders that I’d reize anywhere, the girl who haunts my nights has her bae.

  ～ It’s not surprising—after all, she lives in this forest too.

  — It’s nothing. Better to be too cautious than not enough, responds a middle-aged woman fag Kana. But too much zeal be harmful to your health.

  This robably the “Mother” I’ve heard so much about—is seated at the far end of the room on a throhat holds the title only due to its privileged position. It’s certainly not just any wooden chair, but it doesn’t pare in any way to that of the Geika Izar. The woman, with her gleaming bald head, seems taller than average. Her slender figure is hi through her loose e clothing which, like her throne, carries nance. Her white pupils, encircled by pale blue irises, give her the appearance of a blind person who sees everything. I’ve never seen eyes like hers before, but looking at them too long makes me unfortable, as if every time my sciousness dives into them, something inside me is pulled into those immacute orbs. She doesn’t seem to have noticed my prese—or at least, she’s very good at pretending.

  ～ Maybe she really is blind?

  She stares at her interlocutor with a warm but measured expression, a slight shift at the ers of her lips capable of turning her face as severe as the coldest winter.

  — You’re excused from training tomorrow m, so take the ce to rest, she orders more than suggests.

  Besides the twonists, the only people present in the vast room are me, Mai, and another middle-aged woman whose presence is so discreet I hadn’t noticed her until now—and even then, I still sider the possibility that she’s a mirage jured by the acrobatic fmes. pletely motionless, she stands just a few meters from the head of the room, fag the se with a serioushat feels disproportionate for a simple suggestion to rest. Her straight hair forms a violet curtain that stops just before her shoulders, cutting across her face diagonally and casting a shadow over her one visible, unblinking eye. ail seems to escape her cyclopean gaze, and it doesn’t take long before she notices our presence. As startled as if I’d seen a statue move, I watch apprehensively as the medium-height proaches the throne and leans in to whisper in the mistress of the house’s ear.

  — If I may, I’m perfectly able to attend tomorrow’s training, and I’d be upset to be left behind while everyone else is hard at work, answers Kana, making no effort to hide her disapproval.

  The “Mother” casts her colorless eyes straight into mine, and my instinct makes me take a step back. Then, as her assistant straightens up, she shifts her attention back to Kana.

  — Do as you please. I’ve given you free time; it’s up to you how you use it, she sighs, aware that her authority won’t bend such a zealous pupil. In any case, even if I forbade you from training, you’d end up practig alone in the forest.

  — Mother, thank you for your uanding.

  — More importantly, it seems uest has finally arrived, she annouurning her gaze bae.

  ～ Maybe she’s not blind after all.

  — uest? Kas, fused, before standing and looking behind her back.

  — Hey! I greet her simply with a nervous smile.

  For a few seds, her lips remain sealed, while her eyes are wide open.

  — YOU AGAIN?!?

  — Yep… If I didn’t believe in fate before, I definitely do now.

  — Kana, do you know this man? The matriarch asks, without taking her eyes off me.

  — Uhm… yes, well, no. I met him in town. Yeah, yesterday, while shopping. I’d never seen him before, she lies with a panicked voice.

  — You haven’t fotten my ability to read lies, have you, young dy? Interjects the woman with the diagonal fringe.

  — Kana?

  The head of the house leans forward in her seat, and her bewitg gaze finally leaves me to settle on Kana. The tter fidgets nervously, unfortable uhose blind eyes that strip you bare, peering into your inside in total ignorance of your outside. I feel sorry for Kana, but I’m relieved not to be the target of those two ocur pearls anymore.

  — Alright, it’s possible I ran into him by ce the day before yesterday in the forest, she finally admits.

  — WHAT DO YOU SAY!? Excims the woman, rising from her throne.

  Maybe it’s my imagination, but it seemed like the braziers fred up for a moment.

  — He was being chased by the sacred wolves, and he suddenly burst into the meadow. I—I just helped him get out by blindfolding h—

  — Enough!

  Before such authority, even the wildest of beasts would croud lower the head, and Kana is no exception, she obeys without dey. The woman sits back down with a sigh.

  — I uand your about the barrier much better now. Well, what’s done is done. If this young man mao enter despite the barrier and the guards… who knows, perhaps it was fate.

  — If I may, I really don’t think this man is—

  — However, she interrupts Kana abruptly, the fact that you deemed it appropriate not to inform me of a stranger's intrusion into Sylvheim warrants a discussion.

  — But—

  — We will tihis versation ter, Kana. I do not wish to keep my guest waiting any longer.

  Kana es her o shoot me a gre as dark as a night with no moon nor stars.

  — Please, young traveler, e closer, invites me the woman with a soft void a slight flick of her wrist.

  If possible, I would have preferred not to move any closer, but my body moves on its own, responding to a will that is not mine. After crossing the wooden bridge, I tinue forward with slow steps until I stop in front of Kana, whose beastly stare chills my back. Strangely, the heat radiating from the two enormous braziers is not suffog, and overall, the forest does a good job of shielding against the summer temperatures. Mai pces her hand on the bay head, urgio bow.

  — So, Mai, may I ask who this young man apanying you is?

  — It was Natsuki who—

  — My name is Ishizora, I interject without much hesitation, sierrupting others seems to be a on practi these woods. Mai looks more surprised by my boldhan offended by my rudeness. As you have gathered, I am a traveler, and I arrived in this forest by ce two days ago. I met Kana here, who showed me the way to the capital and made me promise not to speak of this pce to a without some threats, I add to tease Kana, whose pierg gaze alone firms that I hit the spot. I swear that I haven’t spoken about this forest to anyone sihen.

  — Very well, I believe you. In any case, if you were lying, Sasha would notice immediately. So speak freely, my child.

  I g the woman with the diagonal fringe, whose narrowed eye is locked right between my own. I swallow hard before tinuing.

  — I have no reason to lie to you or hide anything, but if I must talk about myself, I would at least like to know to whom I am speaking.

  A frightening aura suddenly triggers all my senses, givihe same jolt as an archer ’s sting. Mai discreetly kicks my ankle, making me win pain, but when I turn, I realize the aura came from Kana, who hasn’t moved an inch.

  — It’s alright, says the woman with an amused smile, easing the tension among her disciples. He is absolutely right. My apologies, Ishizora. My name is ce, and I am the matriarch of the Shinzu Geika. The woman at my side is Sasha—she’s my sed-in-and, in a way. She assists me with nearly everything.

  Sasha bows so slightly that one might think she simply rexed her shoulders.

  — Well then, now that introdus are out of the way, would you care to expin how you ended up back here a sed time?

  As I ret the events of my day, she listens attentively, resting her on the backs of her csped hands. When I finish, ce remains deep in thought for a long while, the only sound in the room being the soft crag of the braziers. Eventually, Kana breaks the heavy silence.

  — That idiot Natsuki. He knows full well he’s not supposed t the first friendly stranger he meets into Sylvheim. Mother! Let me deal with him. I’ll make sure he never gets the urge again, she says coldly while crag her knuckles.

  — Natsuki is not to bme, replies ce sharply. And this was bound to happen sooner or ter.

  — What do you mean, Mother? Asks Mai, perplexed.

  — Kana said it herself—the barrier meant to keep intruders from entering the forest is intact. Do you know how many lost travelers have mao get in since my predecessor entrusted me with this position? … Well, you’re looking at the first one, she decres, to the great surprise of my neighbors. And not only did he mao ehe oldest of forests, but he also ventured all the way to the Sylvheim, braving the fastest and fiercest wolves in all of Historia. Two days ter, he just happens to run into Natsuki in town and gains his trust? Does such a ce exist?

  The silehat follows is all the more unfortable since I am the subject of it, yet the only one who does not uand anything they are saying.

  ～ I don’t like being the ter of attention, especially when I feel like a stranger who has no reason to be here.

  — If I may, my meeting with Natsuki today urely tal. And as for my arrival here two days ago… well, I don’t know what this barrier you’re talking about is, but as for the wolves, I’m quite fident in my ability to outrun wild beasts.

  — Those wolves are not mere wild beasts…

  Realizing that I will never vince her that I’m just a passing traveler, I decide to keep quiet and atiently for the clusion.

  — Well then, whether your presence here is due to ce or the unfathomable web of the Vahna, any traveler who has walked the wild nds is wele at my table. Would you accept to share a meal with us tonight in exge for a few adveales? Everyone here loves them—especially the children.

  — I ’t accep—

  The same aura as before suddenly chills my blood, and I don’t o turn around to know where this terrifyiion is ing from.

  ～ Holy ro, how such a small woman have a presenir to that of a ferocious beast?

  — H-hm, if you insist, I would be delighted to share my adventures with you.

  — Then it's settled. Mai! Take care of him, if you would.

  — Yes, Mother, she replies, bowing solemnly. e o's go.

  As Mai pulls me by the arm, I follow without protest, uo ehe gaze of the chief and her one-eyed assistant any longer.

  — Kana, I’m not doh you.

  Knowing that she’s about to receive a scolding because of me, Kana shoots me a sideways ghat says everything about what she’ll do to me if we ever find ourselves alone iure. I make sure to stay as close to my dear guide as possible, and together we hurry up the staircase with its dang refles. Oside, I fill my lungs as if trying to create a vacuum around me.

  ～ The air is much less stale than on my first visit. It’s probably reted to the presence of that tree. What was it that Natsuki called it again? El-Elviar? Elvi—

  — You handled yourself pretty well for a first time.

  — Huh? What do you mean?

  — Maze—didn’t it make you want to hide behind your own shadow?

  — You couldn’t phrase it better. I was trembling like a leaf.

  — That’s the effect it has at first. But don’t worry, you get used to it.

  — Those eyes… Could she be, you know...

  — Blind? She sees far better than you, me, and anyone else. But you're irely wrong, since she 't distinguish colors or shapes. She sees souls, she decres as if it were nothing special.

  — Souls?!

  — When she looks at you, she see what kind of person you are. If you had bad iions, she would notice it at first g's as if she see your past—in other words, every version of yourself that has ever existed up until now, all densed into a single portrait.

  ～ My past? Could she have seen something about my memory loss?

  — It’s both reassuring and… terrifying.

  — I pletely agree, but she didn’t choose to have this gift. She was born with it. Apparently, at first, she could see normally. Her ability only maed as vague colors surrounding the people around her, but little by little, it overtook her sight, and she became uo see anything else.

  — That must not be very practical, seeing only souls.

  — Oh, if you think that makes her uo fight, let me warn you—no one in this Geika or any other match her. Even those arrogant fools in the capital wouldn’t stand a ce. After all, seeing an oppo’s hostility in its rawest form lets her anticipate even the dirtiest tricks. And for everything else, her other senses pensate.

  — I hought she was weak, not for a sed.

  — Oh? Then you must have a talent for judging oppos. That’s probably the best skill to have if you want to stay alive in this crazy world. Anyway, if you were talking about everyday life, Sasha helps her with anything that requires… normal visio’s say.

  — You mean the woman who was beside her?

  — That one. Mother took her under her wing at a young age because she has a visioed gift as well.

  — What kind of gift?

  — Well… like Mother said earlier, Sasha detect lies. As for how she does it, and why she keeps her sed eye hidden, no one knows except Mother and her.

  — Me, all I know is that sometimes, it’s better not to know.

  — In that case, you know far enough, she replies with a light ugh.

  I suddenly realize that she isn’t g in charm either—far from it—even though her style is pletely different from Kana’s. If Kana’s beauty is like a rough, cold diamond, Mai’s is more like a flower soaking in the summer sun atop a hill.

  ～ Why didn’t I notice it right away? I robably too distracted by everything that happened.

  — Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have something iween my teeth?

  ～ Huh, I heard that same line earlier today. She and Natsuki are closer than they let on. That must be what a sibliionship looks like.

  — And why are you smiling now? Will you stop that? You’re making me unfortable.

  — Sorry, I didn’t mean to.

  — e on! I’ll introduce you to the others, she suddenly excims, full of energy.

  — The others?

  — You’ll see, we’re one big family!

  She suddenly grabs my wrist and starts running. Her childlike excitement warms my heart, and I decide to let myself get swept up in her game.