“Even if you’re curious, don’t leave my sight. And no matter how curious you are about the beasts, don’t go near them. If you’re really that curious, I’ll catch one for you.”

“You’re too talkative, Ethan.”

Unable to bear the endless nagging, If finally covered her ears and pouted.

Ethan smiled as he watched her pout, his eyes lingering on her lips.

She was someone who needed an explanation for everything, and if she didn’t get a proper answer, she would always make her dissatisfaction clear like this.

For days he had been telling her what not to do without giving a reason, so it was only natural that she started to complain. In fact, her reaction came later than he had expected.

“Well, that’s what happens when you don’t know anything.”

Ethan chuckled, teasing the pouting If.

“You’re the one who knows even less.”

“You don’t even know why I keep telling you not to take your clothes off.”

“That’s because you can’t explain it properly, Ethan.”

Ethan laughed dryly at her absurd remark.

How was he going to convince her not to show herself n*ked to other boys? Just the thought of having to explain something so obvious made him feel like he was going grey.

Every time he tried to justify a single action, it felt like they were exchanging dozens of question marks and periods. There was still a long way to go to correct their behaviour, but the effort to explain was already exhausting, so now he was just going ahead without much explanation.

“If people find out you’re from ancient times, it’ll only cause trouble.”

“Why would that be trouble?”

“Humanity, creating ancient artefacts like magic, even without having any mana. Do you think any fool would just leave something like that alone?”

At his words, If tilted her head.

“Mana? Ancient artefacts?”

She had suspected as much as she didn’t know about herself.

Ethan pushed the bushes aside and leaned forward. If followed his lead and lowered herself as well, the bushes brushing past the top of her head.

Staring at them, If finally realised what had been bothering her all this time.

Before, she used to have to get out of the way herself.

When she saw bushes in her path, she would either have to lift her body to move over them or circle around to avoid them.

But now even her posture felt more natural.

She gently touched Ethan’s hair as it brushed against her cheek.

Yes, it had become more comfortable – but in a way that felt different from the comfort provided by android robots.

“At least pretend to listen.”

“Hm?”

“But still, this is important, so listen. It’s basically common sense.”

Ethan quickened his pace. His nose twitched at the scent in the air. Judging by the smell of the approaching rain, it was going to rain heavily.

As soon as they reached the cave, Ethan, moving with practiced ease, revived the embers in the centre and got a fire going.

Having always travelled light and slept in the open with nothing but himself, Ethan clicked his tongue as he looked around.

Bundles had piled up, more than he realised – the furs of a Grips spread out on the floor, wooden utensils carved by hand.

It wasn’t long before the butchered meat was cut into proper portions, skewered and placed around the fire.

When everything was done, Ethan sat down on the furs, directly opposite If, who was staring blankly, her eyes glowing.

“First, mana.”

Her green eyes rolled to the meat skewered in front of the fire. Ethan let out a small sigh and gently turned her chin back to him. Only then did her green eyes return to their proper place.

“Mana is a power that every human should have. The only ones without mana are beasts – and corpses.”

“I don’t have anything like that.”

If murmured, opening and closing her hand as her eyes wandered. Or maybe she did, but it was just called something else now?

“Of course you don’t. From what I’ve heard, the Ancients had no mana at all.”

After a long life as a mercenary, Ethan had heard all sorts of things. Among them, the stories of ancient humans – supposedly without mana – had stuck in his mind, whether he wanted to remember them or not. That being the case, it was only natural for him to be curious.

“The amount of mana a person has varies, but in general, nobles and royalty are the strongest. Or you could say that they became nobles because they were powerful.”

“So what’s so great about having mana?”

“Magic.”

“Magic?”

“Yes. High nobles can use their own magic – things like ice or fire. And they say that royals can use powerful offensive magic.”

No matter how strong a mercenary is, they’re useless against magic. After all, you can’t block an invisible attack with a sword or a bow.

“You can do these things without mana.”

She said, tilting her head, finding it hard to understand.

Ice. As long as you had a freezing function, you could not only make ice, you could freeze anything. If you could freeze a human, what couldn’t you freeze?

Fire. That wasn’t difficult either. Electricity, light, metal – you could make fire out of anything.

And then attacks. She wasn’t sure how broad the definition of attack was, but if there were no restrictions, then the ice and fire mentioned earlier could also be considered attacks.

Especially if you had artificial intelligence, you could deal with almost anything.

“That’s exactly why.”

“Hm?”

“The reason why ancient humans are targeted. Because even without mana, they can do things that are like magic.”

“Anyone can do that.”

If replied casually – that’s what science was for.

Ethan gave a crooked smile as he looked at her.

“And it’s those ancient artefacts that make it possible.”

He had heard many tales – like goggles that could light the darkness as bright as day, or glass-like devices that could create images instantly.

Even with mana, a person could only use one kind of magic. But the Ancients used all the magic that existed in the world, and their ancient artefacts allowed others to use it as well.

“I don’t get it. Why is this such a big deal?”

“Who knows?”

“You and your people are very strange.”

Your people. If had finally lumped them all together as one. Even though they had never treated him as one of them his whole life.

“I’m not ‘your people’. I don’t have mana.”

Ethan muttered, avoiding If’s gaze as he turned the skewers over the fire.

“Then you’re just like me, right?”

“What?”

“You have no mana. Neither do I.”

So that means you and I are the same.

As if saying that, she reached for the skewer Ethan was holding.

“It’s not cooked yet. Don’t eat it.”

Ethan pushed If’s hand away.

One of them was a Randall, not even treated as a human, while the other was a revered Ancient.

“When can I eat it then?”

“Soon.”

Ethan let out a dry laugh as he looked at If, her eyes drooping in a pout.

The way she casually said they were the same was both absurd and oddly amusing.

***

The meat tore along the grain, soft and tender. She moved her jaw slowly, feeling the way it wrapped around her tongue.

Her mouth, which normally had no reason to move except when speaking, now worked diligently to chew.

Her teeth clicked together with a slight vibration and the food nestled between them released a variety of flavours.

Since leaving the city and starting to eat real food, If had gotten used to the act of chewing. But she was still so slow that while she struggled to finish even one skewer, Ethan had already devoured more than ten.

Once he’d eaten his fill, Ethan glanced over at If’s clothes, now a mess as usual.

Just as she had said before – that she didn’t eat – she had no idea how to eat without making a mess.

Even when he gave her a cloth to use, it always got dishevelled while she ate, and she ended up looking like this.

Ethan reached out, wiped the corner of If’s mouth and brought his hand back to himself.

Bits of meat, stained with soot and greasy juices, clung to his fingers. Ethan stuck out his tongue and casually licked them clean, then took a quick look outside the cave.

A crackle. Sparks from the fire arced upwards in graceful curves.

Ordinary animals would usually run away at the sight of fire, but beasts were different — they never avoided it. If anything, they seemed to get more agitated, charging in even more ferociously.

Right now, they probably weren’t approaching because, after staying in this place for a while, they had come to see him as a top predator.

But beasts lived by instinct, driven by a kind of competitive urge.

The moment they sensed he had grown weak, they would attack without hesitation.

“Ethan.”

“What.”

“I’m done eating.”

Just a skewer – hardly anything. It was like birdseed compared to her usual appetite. No wonder she was so thin.

She was an average specimen by any standards, but compared to Ethan she looked remarkably small. With his broad shoulders and muscular build, if she stood behind him, her entire body would be completely hidden.

Ethan poured some water from the canteen onto a small piece of torn cloth. He gently took her hands, now outstretched to him as if it were routine, and wiped them clean. As he pressed the cloth to the corners of her mouth, her soft green eyes closed gently.

As he wiped thoroughly around her lips, the soot disappeared, revealing her pale skin once more.

When Ethan finally pulled his hand away, If blinked slowly and stared at him.

“What?”

Ethan asked, feeling her direct gaze.

Tilting her head, If replied.

“Nothing.”

“What do you mean, nothing?”

“Why should I be the one to ask why?”

“Huh?”

“You kept staring at me.”

She wasn’t very good at communicating with people, but she wasn’t stupid enough to ignore such an obvious stare.

The look that had followed her the whole time she had been eating.

No matter how eagerly If moved her eyes around, Ethan’s gaze had remained fixed on one thing – her.

‘If he had something to say, he’d say it.’

That was why she’d left him alone. But now that he was the one asking, she was naturally full of questions.

“…”

Ethan furrowed his brow and finally looked away, as if realising a little too late how much he had been staring.

‘Was I really staring so much that she called me on it?’

Still, he had no choice but to admit it.

“…Do you know what a Randall is?”

“No.”

Of course. Even though she was the one who asked, he hadn’t expected an answer. All of If’s knowledge came from him, and he had never spoken to her about Randalls before.

“A race without mana.”

“Like us?”

Ethan picked up a dry twig lying beside him and threw it into the fire. Us.

As if they could be grouped together – when one side was nothing more than a filthy existence.

“They crawl lower than slaves, treated as less than cattle all their lives.”

Perhaps to compensate for their lack of mana, their bodies were strong. But what good was strength in a world like this?

Because of that strength, they were treated like tools – bodies more useful than ordinary humans, and used all the more brutally.

This was the life Ethan had lived.