Transmigration: I Made A Deal With A Man in Yellow

I stretched my hand toward the girl, but before she could even reach for it, her body suddenly gave out.

I reacted immediately.

Darkness gathered behind her and formed into a soft cushion-like construct just before she hit the ground. Her head landed gently against it instead of the dirt.

Not that I thought the fall would’ve seriously injured her. She was an Awakener, after all. Something as simple as hitting her head on the ground shouldn’t be enough to cause any real damage.

"It seems like she fainted from experiencing too many emotions at once," I said as I sensed the negative emotions still lingering around her.

Fear.

Grief.

Shock.

Guilt.

There were so many of them mixed together that I wasn’t surprised her body had simply shut down.

My shadow stirred beside me.

Ezio slowly emerged from it and looked toward the unconscious girl.

"Poor girl," he said. "I can’t imagine what it must feel like to watch your entire party get killed in front of you while being unable to do anything."

"Yeah." I looked down at her. "And she seems to be around my age too."

A month had already passed since we entered these lands, which meant it was almost time to return to the mansion. The Rite of Passage would begin in five days, and I had already spent most of the month doing exactly what I came here to do.

Training.

I hunted monsters, sparred with Ezio, practiced controlling my powers, and tested the limits of my new abilities. Considering everything I had gained during that time, I could confidently say the trip had been worth it.

Ezio and I were already making our way back toward the border at a relaxed pace. He could’ve easily transported us there through the shadows, but there wasn’t any need to rush. We still had plenty of time to reach the Laurent Duchy on foot.

Originally, we had been traveling south because I wanted to avoid the Spider Nest entirely.

Not because I was scared of spiders.

Obviously.

I wasn’t scared of anything.

I simply hated them.

Seriously, imagine a creature covered in fur with eight legs and eight eyes crawling around everywhere. That was already disgusting when they were small. Making them several times larger than a human only made things worse.

It gave me the creeps.

So naturally, I wanted nothing to do with their nest.

Unfortunately, Ezio had noticed something strange while we were passing nearby. According to him, an unusually large number of spiders had gathered in one area instead of spreading throughout their territory.

That was suspicious enough for us to investigate.

And he had been right.

We encountered large groups of spiders as we moved toward the nest, forcing us to kill our way through them. Along the way, we also found several human corpses scattered through the forest, most of which clearly belonged to adventurers.

What caught our attention was that the spiders seemed to be heading somewhere.

So we followed them.

That eventually led us to this girl’s party.

I recognized them almost immediately. They were the same adventurers we had met near the border and used as cover to enter these lands earlier.

Unfortunately, by the time we found them, almost the entire party was already dead.

She was the only one left.

And the Spider Queen had been moments away from killing her too.

That was when I stepped in.

Killing the Spider Queen itself hadn’t been particularly difficult.

But that didn’t mean Greater monsters were weak.

Not even close.

Sister Friede—may her soul rest in peace—was proof enough that two monsters of the same rank could have completely different levels of strength.

Still, as I looked at the bodies scattered around us, I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.

It wasn’t my responsibility to save them.

I knew that.

But if we had arrived earlier, or if I had sent Ezio ahead the moment we noticed something strange...

Maybe some of them would’ve survived.

Unfortunately, situations like this weren’t uncommon in these lands. Adventurers died every day because of how unpredictable everything was. One wrong decision could turn a successful expedition into a massacre.

I looked toward Ezio.

"The bodies."

Ezio nodded.

His shadow expanded across the ground and reached toward the corpses. Before storing them, he pulled several blankets from his spatial ring and carefully wrapped each body.

Then he suddenly jumped into the trees.

His figure disappeared among the branches for several seconds before he dropped back down.

There was another body in his arms.

A headless man.

He wrapped that one as well.

I turned my attention back toward the unconscious girl.

Opening my spatial ring, I took out a healing potion and carefully poured it into her mouth. The effect spread throughout her body immediately, closing the cuts and healing the other injuries she had received during the fight.

Since we were already returning to the Laurent Duchy, there was no reason to leave her here.

We could take her with us and drop her off at the Adventurers’ Guild once we reached civilization. They would know what to do from there.

I slipped one arm beneath her legs and another behind her back before lifting her carefully.

Then my gaze moved toward the remains of the Spider Queen.

I froze.

A painful realization entered my mind.

"Damn it."

Ezio raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

I looked at the massive corpse.

"I could’ve sold that."

A Greater monster’s corpse would’ve fetched an incredible amount of money, especially something like a Spider Queen.

And I had cut the damn thing into pieces.

What a waste.

I shook my head.

"Let’s go, Ezio."

He stored the bodies within his shadow before we left the area and continued our journey south.

By the time night arrived, we had traveled far enough from the Spider Nest to safely make camp.

Mia found herself surrounded by darkness.

She couldn’t see anything.

Then voices began appearing around her.

"You’re weak."

Mia froze.

A familiar figure emerged from the darkness.

Lucas.

Except he didn’t have a head.

His voice still came from somewhere around his body.

"Why are you still alive?"

Mia’s breathing became uneven.

Another figure appeared.

Angela.

"You should’ve died with us," she said coldly. "But you survived."

"No..."

Mia pulled her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"I’m sorry."

More figures appeared around her.

Her friends.

Every single one of them.

Dead.

Some were covered in blood, others were missing limbs, but every one of them stared at her with the same accusing expression.

"You couldn’t save us."

"You were useless."

"You should’ve died too."

"I’m sorry..." Mia whispered as tears rolled down her face. "I’m so weak..."

The voices grew louder.

She pressed both hands against her ears, but that did nothing to stop them.

"I should’ve been the one who died."

Suddenly, another voice reached her.

Calm.

Warm.

"It’s okay."

The other voices became quieter.

"You’re safe now."

And then they disappeared.

Mia opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was the night sky.

Countless stars covered the darkness above her.

Her heart was beating painfully fast.

Then the memories of the dream returned.

’It was only a nightmare...’

She raised her hands toward her face and realized that her cheeks were wet.

Tears.

And sweat.

She had been crying in her sleep.

"Where... am I?"

Mia tried sitting up.

Something warm shifted around her body.

A blanket.

She stared at it in confusion before slowly pushing herself upright.

Then she saw them.

Not far away, two people sat beside a fire.

One was the boy who had saved her.

The other was a tall man who looked like he had been dead for several days and somehow forgotten to lie down.

The boy was roasting meat above the fire while quietly speaking with him.

Mia stared at him.

Then everything came back.

The Spider Queen.

Her friends.

The boy appearing.

The impossible fight.

At first, she had thought he wasn’t real.

She had believed that her dying mind had created some imaginary savior during her final moments just so she wouldn’t have to face death alone.

But he had actually been there.

She was alive.

Mia looked down at herself.

Her injuries were gone too.

She should’ve felt relieved.

And she did.

But the guilt was much stronger.

Her throat tightened.

Her fingers clenched around the blanket as her entire body began trembling again.

Tears fell onto her hands.

If only she had been stronger.

If only she had been like him.

Maybe Lucas would still be alive.

Maybe Angela would still be alive.

Maybe all of them would still be sitting around a fire together.

Her eyes slowly moved toward the boy.

"Are they really all dead?"

Her voice came out hoarse.

The boy stopped speaking.

He turned toward her, and his deep purple eyes widened slightly when he noticed she was awake.

"Oh. You’re awake."

He stood and walked toward her.

"How do you feel?"

Mia’s lips trembled.

"I feel like shit."

She paused.

Then repeated the question.

"Are they really dead?"

The boy stopped in front of her.

For several seconds, he didn’t answer.

His expression softened slightly.

Then he sighed.

"I’m sorry for your loss."

Mia lowered her eyes.

"I see..."

Her shoulders began shaking.

Then she cried.

Not quietly.

"Wah... wahh..."

The boy didn’t tell her to stop.

He didn’t say that everything would be fine.

He didn’t try comforting her with empty words.

He simply stood there and allowed her to cry.

And strangely...

That silence helped.

Several hours passed before Mia finally stopped crying.

Her eyes felt swollen and heavy.

The pain was still there, but she had no more tears left to give.

Eventually, she accepted one simple truth.

Her friends weren’t coming back.

She would have to live with that.

Mia removed the blanket and slowly stood.

Only then did she realize that she was still wearing her armor. She dismissed it, leaving herself in the normal clothes underneath.

The night air immediately hit her skin.

It was cold.

"Here."

Something black flew toward her.

Mia caught it — it was a large jacket.

The boy nodded toward the campfire.

"Come sit with us. It’s warmer over here, and the food is ready."

Mia looked at the jacket for a moment before putting it on.

It was much larger than her, but it was warm.

She walked over and sat beside the fire.

"Here."

The corpse-looking man handed her a stick with roasted meat.

Mia hesitated.

The boy noticed.

"Don’t worry. I know he looks scary and ugly, but he’s not going to poison you."

The man slowly turned toward him.

His glare looked murderous.

Mia almost smiled.

Then she accepted the food.

"Thanks."

The man nodded before returning to his own meal.

The smell of roasted meat entered Mia’s nose.

Her stomach immediately growled.

She hadn’t realized how hungry she was.

Mia took a small bite.

Her eyes widened.

Then another.

And another.

Within seconds, the stick was empty.

"It’s... good."

The boy smiled.

"That’s Ezio’s specialty."

Ezio handed her another.

"Take one more."

Mia accepted it eagerly.

"Thank you."

She continued eating until her stomach was finally full.

For a while, nobody spoke.

They simply sat around the fire while the sounds of the forest filled the night.

Eventually, Mia glanced toward the boy.

"Why did you save me?"

He looked at her.

"Why wouldn’t I?"

Mia stared into the flames.

"I assume you’re an adventurer too. So you should know that most adventurers wouldn’t risk their lives to save someone they don’t know."

She had heard plenty of stories from Lucas.

Adventurers abandoning injured parties.

Ignoring cries for help.

Leaving others behind because helping them might put themselves in danger.

The Guild discouraged such behavior, but that didn’t mean everyone followed its principles.

The boy looked at her for a moment before answering.

"What kind of person would I be if I ignored someone who needed help?"

Mia raised her gaze.

"We humans are supposed to help each other, not hate each other," he continued. "Sure, I could’ve walked away and let that beast kill you, but what exactly would I have gained from doing that?"

He shook his head.

"My parents always taught me to be kind and help those who need it. You needed help, so I helped you. That’s all."

Mia listened quietly.

For the first time since waking up, a small smile appeared on her face.

She had originally wondered whether he saved her because he expected some kind of reward.

But nothing about his words sounded dishonest.

"Thank you for saving me."

She lowered her head slightly.

The boy’s expression changed.

"Don’t thank me."

Mia looked up.

"I couldn’t save the rest of your party," he said quietly. "If I’d arrived earlier, they might still be alive."

Mia felt another ache in her chest.

But she shook her head.

"It wasn’t your fault."

Her voice became quieter.

"Maybe... that was simply how things were meant to happen."

She sniffed and quickly wiped her eyes before more tears could escape.

Then she realized something.

"How rude of me. I haven’t even introduced myself to the people who saved me."

She straightened slightly.

"My name is Mia."

The boy smiled.

"I’m Yves."

Then he pointed toward the other man.

"And that ugly bastard over there is Ezio."

Ezio glared at him again.

Mia looked between them in confusion.

Ugly?

Ezio wasn’t ugly at all.

Actually, he was probably one of the most handsome men she had ever seen.

But something else quickly distracted her.

’Yves...’

That name sounded familiar.

Very familiar.

She slowly looked back at the boy.

Then her eyes moved toward his snow-white hair.

Her expression changed.

There was only one family in the Kingdom known for possessing hair that white.

And among the children of that family...

Only one had purple eyes.

Mia stared at him in disbelief.

"You..."

Yves raised an eyebrow.

"Are you a Laurent?"