Chapter 47: 1. Let’s Have a Battle

The method Luna suggested was quite discorting 

Well, when she said she figured out a way to tell us apart, I expected something that only I would know.

But instead, she flat out declared that the one who’s closer to her is the real one.

And if we’re going by that standard, then that fake Irene is way closer to her than I am!

‘Hmm… maybe this isn’t as easy as I thought.’

And if that Irene is a manifestation created by Luna’s consciousness…

Then wouldn’t she basically be Luna’s ideal version of me?

Just from a brief glance, I could see how casually they talked and acted all chummy with each other.

If we take her at her word, then I basically have no chance of winning this.

That would be the logical conclusion.

“What do you think…? Not bad, right?”

Even as she spoke, Luna couldn’t stop smiling.

And the way she was clearly excited gave it all away to me.

‘Ah. She knows everything.’

Of course she does.

Sure, Luna’s a multi-elemental magic freak with a timid and innocent personality who tends to be easily fooled.

But she’s also a high-ranking mage.

She may have chosen a weird path with her multi-element magic, but if we’re talking pure efficiency and mana capacity, reaching Rank 10 wouldn’t even be difficult for her.

With someone like that, distinguishing between the real and fake Irene?

Come on. That’d be trivially easy.

The difference in mana output alone is absurd.

No matter how well the fake Irene is made, at best she’s “high-level.”

But me? With Luna’s mana detection, I’d probably come up as unmeasurable.

Once I finished thinking that far, another question naturally came to mind.

‘…Should I just play along?’

Honestly, I could just end this trial immediately.

Actually, forget the trial—I could just blast this space apart with my mana and be done with it.

Whatever kind of trial this is, it’s still magic in the end.

Even if I do that, kind-hearted Luna would follow me right away.

She wouldn’t even hold a grudge.

She’d probably just feel guilty for spending so much time with the fake Irene.

“…I guess I should play along.”

But if I don’t, and the trial ends in failure, that’d be even more annoying.

Besides, it’s not like she’s asking for some over-the-top act or cutesy nonsense.

All I have to do is act like we’re close.

Sounds like a good deal to me.

“It’s not hard at all. Especially since it’s Luna we’re talking about.”

So, I decided to join Luna’s silly little game.

I mean, just how lonely do you have to be to set up a contest over who’s closer to you?

If it’s a wish that small and shy, then sure, I’ll play along.

Just as I was about to strategize a bit—

The fake Irene suddenly walked up to Luna.

“E-Eek!”

“You can’t win. We’re super close. Right, Luna?”

She locked arms with Luna and clung to her tightly.

Even though Luna probably knows who the real one is…

Her face turned so red it looked like it was about to burst into flames.

…Seriously, what kind of cunning fox is Irene in Luna’s imagination?

“I’d do anything for Luna!”

She even pouted cutely.

I couldn’t help but sigh.

That’s exactly how I act around Luminil when I call her ‘big sis’ and pout.

But I couldn’t afford to lose here, so I moved to approach Luna too—

Only for my instincts to stop me.

If that were Luminil, I’d have already locked arms and started happily playing “Is it real or not?”

But this wasn’t Luminil. It was Luna.

And I didn’t have that kind of relationship with her.

…And the thought of doing that with Luna, knowing Luminil’s watching somewhere…

It felt a lot like cheating.

‘Maybe just holding hands is okay?’

Or is it?

Yeah, as long as it’s not more than arm-linking, I guess.

Besides, it’s too late to back out of this bet now.

If I bail, it’ll look like I actually dislike Luna.

And if I fail the trial on top of that, I’m the only one who loses out.

“…Alright. Let’s go, Lu—Luna… unnie.”

Determined to play this ridiculous game, I moved to stick close to Luna.

“…Sh-should we? Irene!”

And then—

With a popping sound like bursting balloons, everything suddenly vanished.

The plaza, the fountain…

Even the fake Irene who had been clinging to Luna was gone.

All that was left was a vast, empty, blue void.

This… this might be the most surprised I’ve ever been.

If it was going to end like this, then what was the point of that whole bizarre contest?

Then Luna, who had been walking, suddenly stopped.

She stretched her arm out toward me, hesitantly.

Her voice made it clear she wasn’t used to speaking informally.

Of course she’d be awkward.

It’s probably the first time she’s ever talked like this to the real Irene.

Well, I didn’t really mind either way.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

And just like that, Luna’s expression lit up even more.

She looked openly happy now.

***

‘We held hands and started talking casually… in just one day…!’

Luna kept thinking back on today’s incredible milestone—

And began indulging in blissful daydreams.

To be honest, it was all kind of awkward.

The trial she thought had ended… hadn’t ended at all.

Time had rewound itself by a whole year, and she now stood by the dark fountain once again.

To Luna, it didn’t feel like she returned to the past—

It felt more like time had reversed itself.

And she really did feel that way.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself in the same plaza.

This was exactly how it looked one year ago.

Familiar, yet oddly unfamiliar—the contradictory sight made her frown slightly.

Noticing it immediately, Irene spoke up.

“It must feel weird. But… um. I don’t really have much advice to offer. I’m kinda in the same boat, you know.”

“The same…?”

Luna asked, but Irene didn’t answer.

Speaking casually still felt awkward between them—

But that awkwardness felt nice in its own way.

After all, this wasn’t a fake Irene created by her imagination—

This was the real Irene!

That alone was something to be happy about.

But the truly great part…

“Why? Is something on my face?”

“N-No?”

Was the fact that they were still holding hands.

Sure, Irene was the kind of person who could approach anyone if necessary—socially fearless.

But if you asked whether she was comfortable with physical contact?

Absolutely not.

In fact, how many people had even touched Irene at all?

Basically no one—aside from Luminil, who she reached out to.

Really, you could just say no one had touched her.

Even Elian couldn’t manage it during battle.

And now?

‘So warm…’

Irene was holding hands with her, Luna.

That made Luna the first person to ever make direct contact with Irene—

The first person to ever hold her hand.

When she thought of that as a symbol of how close they’d become—

Of course Luna was over the moon.

If she could, she would’ve fired up a livestream right now just to brag about it—

But she held herself back, afraid the sudden drop in viewers and the shift in tone would feel off-putting.

Instead, she chose to savor the moment.

As Irene stared at her for a while—

She suddenly placed her other hand on Luna’s wrist.

“Hmm… I don’t see any changes. Are you sure it worked?”

“Worked… what? Oh.”

Luna checked her own mana.

…To be honest, nothing had changed.

She had already passed this trial back when she was inside the illusion.

If anything, she felt weaker now.

The magical power Luna had built up over the past year was gone.

Even though the initial shock had already worn off,

She still pretended to be surprised as much as possible.

“Wow.”

…Which only made things worse for Irene.

“…Why are you acting surprised? Don’t tell me you failed?”

Irene looked up at her, clearly suspicious.

Only then did Luna hurriedly try to backpedal.

“Th-That’s not it! I was just surprised that it worked! That’s all…”

“Now you’re suddenly being polite too?”

“N-No! I’m just flustered, that’s all…”

Flustered as she was, Luna tightly squeezed Irene’s hand—

Which prompted Irene to pull her hand away immediately.

“You’re hurting me.”

***

“Just a random thought…”

In the quiet office,

A girl with long, flowing blue hair sat across from a woman.

It was such a familiar sight that Irene couldn’t help but look at her in disbelief.

But the Saintess just smiled wordlessly, showing no reaction at all.

“You look awfully caught off guard for someone who requested this meeting.”

As El sipped her tea and spoke casually,

Irene responded.

“…I mean, I never thought the Saintess of Salvation, who’s normally drowning in resurrection requests, would actually respond to a request from a Demon King’s officer.”

“I’m not busy anymore.”

That comment raised a red flag in Irene’s mind.

How in the world could the person in charge of resurrection be free in a place like Laios Fantasy?

What had happened?

Before Irene could press further, El gave the answer herself.

“The Guildmaster already cleared out the other dungeons.”

Of course.

She didn’t know the full reason why, but…

For some suspicious reason, the Guildmaster had been dead serious about defeating the Mirror Queen.

Choosing to reveal her identity—

And demolishing all the dungeons in less than three days.

Even the online community had started buzzing lately with posts titled things like “Mysterious Hidden Master Appears Out of Nowhere”—

Turns out, that was Exina.

El spoke up again.

“But before we go into that, shouldn’t I see what you’re capable of?”

Irene stood up naturally.

She couldn’t believe things were actually unfolding just like Exina had said.

The condition the Saintess of Salvation had set to join her party—

It was simple and clear:

“I wanted to see your strength. Besides, if we’re going to work together, we should understand each other’s abilities.”

El began to release her divine power.

“Shall we have a fight?”