Chapter 25
The "road" Eldarin had described existed inside Twofold.
All Finn had to do was swim straight downward from beneath Kaian's floating body.
To Finn, there was nothing particularly special about the sensation.
If she had to describe what entering Kaian's inner world felt like in one word...
Hmm.
Muted.
That was it.
It felt like the pressure in her ears when swimming deep underwater.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
And everyone else really can't do something this simple?
Finn was delighted.
It made her feel like a special existence.
Even her short hair felt beautiful at this particular moment.
Just wait for me, handsome human!
Finn energetically swam toward the deepest darkness of Twofold Lake.
Then...
At some point...
A dry wind brushed against her cheek.
Whoooooosh...
The wind steadily grew stronger.
Finn squeezed her eyes shut and waited for it to settle.
When she opened them again...
A gasp escaped her.
"Good heavens..."
An enormous inferno had swept across the land.
Not even a blade of grass remained.
"Is this Kaian's inner world...?"
"This is..."
"It's a miracle he's alive."
The state of Kaian's inner world was much worse than Finn expected.
Anxiety filled her.
She quickly scanned the surroundings.
In the middle of the charred wasteland stood an old-fashioned mansion, completely untouched.
"Hmm."
"That place is perfectly fine."
Finn flew straight toward it, passing pillars of acrid smoke.
Anyone alive...
And anything pretending to be alive...
Would surely be there.
Unlike the wasteland outside, the inside of the mansion overflowed with life.
The first thing Finn noticed was the bright sunlight pouring through the windows.
She flew toward one.
Flutter.
What is this?
Outside the mansion, thick smoke from the fire filled the world.
But through the mansion's windows...
Finn saw only peaceful fields of green grass swaying beneath warm sunlight.
Is this an illusion?
Wait... then...
Finn's expression became serious.
Illusion magic was a type of high-level magic that directly interfered with another person's body or mind.
Finn had never imagined residual mana could use magic of that level.
Is this residual mana stronger than we thought?
A bad feeling passed through Finn.
Still...
She could not retreat now.
Finn crossed her arms and looked around.
Forget it.
Think about that later.
At least I seem to have reached the right place.
Now she had to decide where to begin searching.
House Valentin might have been considered frugal by noble standards, but its mansion certainly wasn't small enough for a tiny spirit to easily search alone.
And I don't know how much time Kaian has left.
After a moment of thought...
Finn entered a room where butlers and maids were busily carrying food.
Flutter.
Her mouth fell open.
"Whoa..."
A sparkling chandelier.
A graceful wooden dining table.
A feast covering its surface.
Finely crafted silverware.
Finn could barely process the sudden luxury.
She stretched her neck, peeking around the table.
Then one of the maids tried to place a roasted duck directly on top of her.
"Kyaaah!"
Finn desperately threw both arms toward the tray.
But strangely...
The tray and roasted duck passed straight through her body and settled safely onto the table.
Tap.
"Huh...?"
Finn's eyes rolled around.
Then she carefully sidestepped until she was no longer standing inside the roasted duck.
Afterward, she spread both arms and bowed elegantly.
"Ta-da!"
"An astonishing performance by the beautiful magician's assistant, Finn!"
"Thank you, thank you!"
After giving herself a round of applause and cheers, Finn happily left the room.
Judging from the atmosphere, the mansion was preparing for a party.
"A child like Kaian would probably be in the way on such a busy day."
Then Kaian was most likely staying quietly inside his own room.
Just as Finn herself had stayed in Eldargrove.
Having reached that conclusion...
Finn headed toward the quiet second floor.
"Wait for me, Prince!"
"I'll save you soon!"
Flutter.
Finn pressed an ear against every door on the second floor, searching for voices.
Only one room had quiet conversation coming from inside.
The room at the farthest end.
"This is it!"
Finn tried to open the door energetically.
Or rather...
She tried.
Unfortunately, it was firmly locked.
Finn hung from the doorknob and shook her entire body.
"Ughhh!"
Naturally...
A locked door did not open just because she pulled harder.
Finn landed on the floor with a solemn expression.
"Seriously..."
"I didn't want to go this far."
But a true woman would jump into fire itself to save her prince.
Finn snorted bravely.
Then she flattened herself against the floor.
And began forcing her body through the narrow gap beneath the door.
"Ugggghhh!"
Just as she began regretting this ridiculous idea...
POP!
Her body squeezed through.
Once inside, Finn quickly flew into the air and shook dust from herself.
Flutter flutter...
"Ugh. Cough."
"I never imagined I'd spend my life crawling across someone else's floor."
Still...
Her efforts had not been wasted.
Kaian was really there.
Finn screamed happily inside her mind.
Kyaaaah!
It's my first time seeing him since that day!
Depending on how one looked at it, their first meeting had been horrifying.
Or extremely dramatic.
Finn personally liked the fact that it had not been ordinary.
Still...
She had hoped their second meeting would happen while she looked more beautiful.
Something like a charming contrast.
Apparently, fate intended to make their reunion dramatic again.
Finn desperately tried to think positively.
I'm here to rescue him this time!
That's a great way to show off my charms, isn't it?
Finn started flying toward Kaian...
Then stopped.
Kaian was sitting on a sofa beside a beautiful woman.
They were reading a children's book together.
And the woman had extremely long, beautiful black hair.
