Chapter 121: Trust
As if the concept of "analysing" her wasn’t even allowed.
And what frightened Kei even more... was what happened next. The very moment she used her Magic Eyes, Apate had simply looked back at her... and smiled. A gentle, motherly smile. Warm. Kind. Perfect. And yet Kei had felt every hair on her body stand on end. Because in that single glance, it felt as though every lie she had ever told, every secret she had buried, every calculation, every manipulation... all of it had been laid completely bare before that woman. For the first time since coming to this world, Kei had felt genuine fear. Until then, everything had been under her control. She was the one moving the pieces. The one hiding truths while uncovering everyone else’s. No one knew her secrets... while she knew theirs. But the moment she met Apate, that control had vanished, as if it had been casually snatched away from her with nothing more than a single glance.
’Truly... a frightening woman’
Kei still found herself gulping unconsciously whenever that memory surfaced.
Even now, just thinking about it made a cold chill crawl up her spine. After that day, she had done everything in her power to avoid the sweet, gentle sister whenever possible. She avoided eye contact. Avoided conversations. Avoided even being in the same room if she could help it. But of course... there were moments when avoidance wasn’t possible. And even if Apate’s status remained completely invisible to her, Kei didn’t need her Magic Eyes to understand just how terrifying that woman truly was. The pure, unfiltered wavelength of her mana alone was enough to scare the wits out of her. It was like standing in front of something so overwhelmingly vast that her instincts screamed at her to run before her mind could even process what she was feeling.
’Forget it...’
Kei shook her head lightly, trying to force the lingering chill out of her body.
’Maybe the only good thing that happened to us... is that we got away from her’
Letting out a quiet breath, Kei shifted her gaze back toward Kelly’s sleeping figure. Her eyes lingered on him for a moment as memories of everything that happened after she woke up, and dragged his unconscious body to safety, slowly resurfaced in her mind.
’At first... even I couldn’t see his status’
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she continued staring at him.
’Every time I tried... it felt like something was blocking my sight’
A brief silence followed. Then her expression grew thoughtful.
’If I had to describe it...Back then... his soul felt muddy’
Realizing it wasn’t possible to forcefully see his status, Kei changed her approach. If her Magic Eyes couldn’t give her the answer, then she would get it the old-fashioned way. Trust... or at least, the illusion of it. So she showed him her status first. Well... a carefully edited version of it... To make him lower his guard. To make him feel comfortable enough to show his own status voluntarily. That had been the plan from the very beginning.
’...And we all know how that went’
Kelly didn’t tell her anything. He simply... didn’t. And strangely enough, that frustrated Kei far more than outright refusal would have. After all, even Agawa’s status was visible to her. The so-called hero. The monster blessed with absurd talent. Even he wasn’t outside her sight. Yet Kelly... remained hidden. Completely. And that alone made him an exception Kei couldn’t ignore.
Then came the changes. Day after day, right in front of her eyes, Kelly kept changing. His senses grew sharper. His body stronger. His movements smoother. His instincts more refined. And after seeing what those wolf beasts were capable of... after seeing Kelly’s new appearance... Kei wasn’t stupid. She already had a rough idea of what had happened to him after the fall. And that realization didn’t comfort her. If anything, it frightened her even more. Because maybe his growth had taken a far greater leap than she originally thought. And Kei hated that feeling.
She hated the thought of standing beside someone who, if he truly wanted to, could do whatever he wanted with her... while she remained completely powerless to stop it. That kind of helplessness made her skin crawl. It reminded her of things she’d rather forget. For someone like Kei, strength wasn’t just power, it was safety. Control. Survival. And the moment someone stood above her reach... fear naturally followed.
’...Maybe I’m overthinking it’
Kei quietly looked at Kelly’s sleeping figure, her gaze lingering on his peaceful face.
’Hell... he came back for me when no one else did’
And yet... Kei knew better than anyone that human hearts changed. You never truly knew what someone was hiding. You never knew when a person would show their true face... or what motives were buried behind their kindness. And that... more than anything... was what made trusting someone so terrifying.
Maybe Kelly really was a good person. Maybe he truly was different. But what about later? What about the day he fully realized just how powerless she was in front of him? What about when circumstances changed? What about when he was angry... frustrated... broken? What if one day he simply decided to use her as an outlet for all of it?
Kei didn’t know. Maybe she really was overthinking. Maybe all of this existed only inside her own head. But for someone like Kei. Overthinking was far safer than trusting someone else. Trust got people hurt. Trust made people lower their guard.
And the moment your guard dropped... That was when people showed you who they really were.
’Just look at that creep, Daichi’
Kei’s eyes hardened slightly as old memories surfaced.
’For the last two years, he kept saying he loved me’
Flowers, Messages, Confessions, Promises. The kind of stupid things girls were apparently supposed to be happy about.
And for two whole years. He kept chasing her. Kept insisting. Kept acting like some loyal idiot. And when it actually mattered... When lives were on the line... When fear stripped away all pretences. He turned out to be exactly what she thought he was.
Just another stupid man. Reaching that thought, Kei let out a quiet sigh. Her gaze remained fixed on Kelly’s sleeping figure as her lips moved ever so slightly.
"I’m not much different..."