Caught in One's Own Snare
Twenty-nine, thirty... Ugh, I'm getting tired.
That's enough for today.
Hmm? Already?
What do you mean already?
We barely just started!
If you're disappointed, feel free to do the rest yourself.
And while you're at it, could you step aside? You're in my way.
Without hesitation, Tyria turned and left the training grounds.
...
Ever since the day she arrived, Tyria set a goal for herself. The moment she met it, she walked away, complaining she was tired despite not finishing her training quota.
Of course, that kind of training wasn't particularly efficient, and it wasn't as if her skills were far ahead of the other members either.
The image of her cutting down a powerful monster in a single strike when I first met her was nowhere to be seen. If anything, her current performance felt slightly diminished.
Whenever I expressed concern, Tyria would just say, "It's hard to perform properly in away matches"...
Was it really okay for her to keep approaching training this loosely?
You want to know why I joined the Journey? I don't see why that matters to you.
Didn't we agree to stay out of each other's business?
Hmm... I suppose that's fair.
All right. I'll tell you.
I only joined the Journey because I was pushed into it. That witch begged me to, you see.
By "that witch," you mean...
Alicia.
The high-and-mighty Lady Alicia herself came all the way to plead me to join the Journey.
She tugged at my heartstrings, so I had to accept.
Alicia personally came to ask you to join the Journey?
It was hard to believe.
...Well, maybe "plead" is an exaggeration. But she did come speak to me in person!
So I ended up joining against my better judgement. But then I gave it some thought, and I realized... if I complete the Journey, I'll inherit the power of the Star Savior, right?
That means it's not a bad deal for me either. Power like that isn't something you normally gain in just a year.
What would you even use that kind of power for?
Hmm. I suppose I'd start clearing away the things that annoy me, one by one.
For example, blowing away an annoying city like this...
As her words trailed off, Tyria looked at me and grinned.
Or putting a hole through someone's stomach. Like a certain someone did to me once.
Just like when we first met, killing intent glimmered again in her red eyes.
Is your goal... revenge against someone?
Revenge... huh.
I don't know. That sounds too grand to call it revenge. Hehe...
Thinking back on that conversation, it was clear that Tyria was quite intent on completing the Journey.
*Sigh...*
Yet, looking at the training equipment scattered across the unused and empty training grounds only made my worries grow heavier.
At times like these...
Guiding the Journey member so she could complete the Journey, and adjusting her training methods.
That responsibility rested entirely on me, the Journey Captain.
Even if Alicia personally asked her to join, this opportunity was just as hard-earned for Tyria as it was for anyone else.
I resolved to help make sure she didn't lose this precious chance.
Twenty-nine... Nnngh... Thirty...!
S-something feels off... Why does it feel so difficult today...?
Next is jump rope!
...I-I know that.
One... Two...!
*Tap*
...?
That's strange... The rope somehow feels longer...
Mm. It looks fine to me.
...
Let's try focusing a little more on the training.
Yeah, yeah... Ngh, one... Two...!
*Tap*
Why?!
Even though Tyria trained about as much as she normally did and returned completely exhausted...
She probably gained far greater results from the training than before.
Hehe...
*Rustle*
Thinking that, I carefully adjusted the training equipment Tyria would use tomorrow.
As I tightened the bolts on the punching machine and added more sand into the sandbag, I even felt a faint sense of satisfaction.
Whoosh!
Suddenly I felt an eerie gaze behind my back. I turned around just in case...
...Maybe it was just my imagination.
After confirming the training grounds were empty, I continued my work.
...I knew it.
What is this...?
Then the next day, the moment I stepped onto the training grounds... I was speechless.
The sandbag was split open at the side, the punching machine with its padding torn apart, and jump ropes with their handles ripped off and cords tangled...
Everything was scattered across the ground.
Pfft.
As I stood there stunned, Tyria snorted from where she stood in front of me.
They don't look like they're in very good condition today.
From what I can see, there's nothing left here you can train with. Oh dear, what should we do now?
Those tools were perfectly fine yesterday...
And now they're all broken?
What a shame.
Things that were perfectly fine can break overnight. That's just how the world works.
Tyria glanced at me, then nudged the torn sandbag with the tip of her foot.
Watching the sand spill out in a heap, I couldn't shake the suspicion that someone had interfered.
Oh? So when equipment that looked perfectly fine yesterday suddenly changes like this today...
You start suspecting someone secretly swapped out the training equipment overnight?
Actually, I came by here last night too, and I saw something interesting.
...Th-then last night...
The gaze I felt... was Tyria.
Well then, do your best fixing everything.
...Wait.
I couldn't just let her leave like this.
At this rate, instead of guiding a member who wasn't especially outstanding and wasn't putting in enough effort through the Journey...
I'd be left hoping nothing went wrong in the upcoming trial.
...What?
Of course, she had come from far away and still might not have adjusted to NOA's environment, which she hadn't liked from the start.
If that was the case, then at the very least it was my responsibility to help her adapt here and correct her slackening attitude.
Tyria was my Journey member and she had a reason she absolutely needed to complete it.
As the Journey Captain, I had the responsibility to guide Tyria to the end.
*...Sigh*
Do you even realize what you're saying right now?
You're saying that if I don't work harder, my skills won't be enough. Is that it?
I'm sorry if that upset you.
But—
You'd better stop talking right now.
A cold killer's intent spread from Tyria.
The freezing pressure weighed down on me until my breathing grew shallow, and then a violent wind swallowed my vision.
At the edge of my fading sight, I saw Tyria standing there with her black wings spread wide, her red eyes blazing.
Just like the day we first met.
That gaze looked ready to pierce straight through me at any moment, when...
Kgh!
Tyria flinched and frowned, and the cold air surrounding us quickly dissipated.
Damn it. This cursed NOA...
The crushing pressure that had made it hard to even breathe vanished just as suddenly.
It didn't seem like she had withdrawn it herself, and Tyria ground her teeth in frustration at that realization.
Don't tell me...
Unlike the overwhelming strength she had displayed near the border, here in NOA she couldn't use her full power...
The mysterious black wings I hadn't seen since that day.
And the cold aura surrounding her, as if...
...That's right. The entire city of NOA is surrounded by a massive triple-layered Divine Barrier, so most Voidborn can't even enter.
Even if they manage to get inside thanks to the special power of the Grand Witch Alicia...
Because of the influence of the Divine Barrier, Voidborn can't fully utilize their strength here.
The stronger the Voidborn, the greater the effect. And for Executors, who are ranked as a Duchess, it's even worse.
Then that means...
...These wings are the mark of the Executor of Aldebaran, the one who serves Aldebaran, the Void Star.
*Sigh* Figures this city would be this annoying.
Things already aren't what they used to be, and I can barely move on top of that.
Still muttering complaints, she lifted her red eyes and glanced at me sideways.
Do you understand now?
You're not the one who's frustrated. It's me.
...
This city, you... there's nothing I like. Even after all that time.
I shouldn't have come here.
Without giving me time to process the fact that she was an Executor, a kind of Voidborn, she turned her back again.
...I'm tired.
All I could do was watch Tyria's back as she walked away coldly.