Soft quilts enveloped Red in every direction. A warm bed, a fluffy pillow, and a heavy blanket turned her mind to mush as she melted in its embrace.

“It’s so… So…!”

“Ahaha. It’s not the best, but it’s better than sleeping on the ground.” Snow cheerfully watched as Red squirmed beneath the covers, brushing her arms and legs along the soft fabric with glee.

“Sooooft~! I’m melting! Snow, this is amazing!” Red cried, snapping upright with stars in her eyes.

“I’m glad. I will be behind this wall if you need me.”

“Hm? You’re not going to sleep too?” Red asked, causing Snow to smile before she dipped out of the open doorway. “Rockie! Maybe you should wait outside!”

“Brrrr?” Rockie, who curled itself up at the foot of the bed, whined as if to beg Snow to let it sleep here.

“It’s ok. This isn’t my room. You’re using my guest bed. My patients usually stay here overnight, but since I have no one to look after, I thought it’d be better for you to use it.”

“You’re like an angel~! Good… Night, is that the saying?” Red exclaimed as Snow softly laughed again, slipping away into a rather simple living room.

“It is. Goodnight, Red.”

“Brrr?”

“You too, er… Rockie?”

“Brrrrr~!” Rockie buzzed happily, elating Snow who lingered at the door for a moment before disappearing for good.

Snow believed in function before form, and it was reflected by her rudimentary home. Wooden logs bulged from the corners of her wooden home, and cold, stone bricks lined the floors. There were no doors to separate the rooms, allowing the warmth of a cozy fireplace to warm the entirety of her tiny home.

It was a humble establishment, with no more than a desk, several chairs, a table, a tiny kitchen, a hardly touched washroom, and a bed in one last separate room. All of these could be seen if one stood in the center of the living room.

Snow hummed a delightful melody to herself as she sat herself on a chair beside the hearth of her fireplace. She plucked a book from a nearby desk, dipped a feathery pen into a bottle of ink, and began writing into a diary.

Golden leaves served as the cover of the diary, and smooth brambles from a rose bounded the pages together. When held open and viewed from behind, it would appear like a golden apple.

It was clearly an extraordinary book, but to Snow, it was just a simple diary.

The contents made her giggle to herself as she overheard Red’s ecstatic moans throughout the night. Suddenly, as the crackling logs of the fireplace punctuated the silence, Red called out to her with a solemn voice.

“I always wanted to see what the stars were like. I didn’t expect people to be bright like them too. Thank you, Snow. For letting me come here.”

The Red that spoke was like an entirely different person.

“You don’t have to thank me that much.” Snow shut her diary.

“I feel like I should. It was the first time I was allowed to eat something tasty.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“A-Aha. You said you woke up a few days ago. You must have been famished before that. Some of my patients were like you.” Snow began, trying to rationalize Red’s absurd existence as well as to put Red’s own delusions to rest. “They lost their memory when they used the Hyperlinks. Since you’re a Blessed, it’s possible that you used one recently before you ended up here.”

Hyperlinks were crystal installations that allowed the Blessed to teleport from one Hyperlink to another. Collectively, it was called the Hyperlink Network. However, her theory had one problem.

The Hyperlink Networks in Emvita were badly damaged. Although, this could have contributed to Red’s mental impairment. Snow tried to further conjure an explanation, a finger tapping her chin as she looked down at her knees.

“Mhm. Something like that.” Red answered positively, causing her to smile with relief.

“With enough rest your memories will gradually return. You must have been an amazing Adventurer in the past with abilities like that. Really, it was silly of me to take you seriously when you said you were born just a few days ago.”

Red didn’t respond. Instead, she stared at the ceiling. Her lips moved but no words formed.

“Is it scary?” Snow suddenly asked.

“Scary?”

“I mean… Sorry. I meant not knowing where you came from. Why you suddenly woke up in the Shallows.”

“… it’s always been that way for me, so I can’t say it’s scary when I don’t know what normal is supposed to be.” Red answered truthfully. “What is normal anyway? That’s what I want to figure out. As for why I’m here… I remember a train, and that’s it.”

“Train!? Are you perhaps….!” Snow suddenly jumped from her seat, rushing to Red’s doorframe.

Red braced herself. She realized she had revealed something she should not have. The only train that arrived into this place was the one that carried a shipment of Corrupted. If Snow realized just what she was…

… then would she stop talking to her?

“From Brandar!? The Nex Megalopolis!?” Snow squealed.

“Eh? I…”

Yes, Red. Go along with the plan. She said to herself.

“Yeah! Heh. How’d you know? Of course I’m from Brandar! And the Wax Megapolice.”

Snow’s face lit up.

“Aww. I’ve always wanted to visit the Nex Megalopolis! I heard they have multiple Academies of magic – I mean… sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself. You still don’t have your memories. Hmm~”

“Can you tell me about that place? Maybe it’ll help me remember.”

Red now had the perfect excuse to ask about her uncertainties. That way, it would be impossible for anyone to learn that she used to be a Corrupted. So long as she played this newfound memory-loss card, then the world was her oyster.

“Too bad the voice in my head is useless. Agate.”

Useless

< The act of not being useful >

“Grrr. Do you see this!? I can see it smirking at me through the prompt!”

“O-Oh! It’s just the message?” Snow was suddenly relieved to hear that the Blessing of the Nexus was the source of the ‘voice’ in Red’s head. “It’s normal. It can answer some questions, but only if you have the right Skills! Um… you’re not analyzing everything in this room, are you?”

“I shouldn’t be doing that? How else am I supposed to level up my Skills?”

“A-Ahaha… You really do have the mind of a Blessed.”

For some reason, Snow was overly relived. Red noticed how Snow clasped at her chest before she moved in to pat her head tenderly.

“Mhm. Goodnight, Red. I hope your memories come back soon.”

Suddenly, her hand was snatched by Red.

“Eh…!?”

And she fell atop her, her arm seized by the vice grip of the girl.

“R-Red…!? Red…?”

To her shock, Red’s eyes immediately shut as she snuggled close. Before Snow had a chance to comprehend what was happening, Red began to silently snore.

“Huh? Eh? Red? You’re already asleep…?”

Indeed. By the time she was pulled into Red’s bed, Red had entered a deep sleep. Not even her voice could rouse her awake. Snow stared at her sleeping face, wondering just how fatigued she must have been.

Red’s body was smaller than hers, and yet those shoulders carried a horrific life of bloodshed. It was easy to say that Red was always strong, or that she was born with such high Stats that allowed her to live such a life without complaint.

However, such a person would not have been able to sleep with such an innocent face. She was oddly happy that Red could find comfort in her presence. Furthermore… it was hard to call Red ‘dangerous’ if she was willing to befriend a Rock Bug of all things.

Even Three Paw wasn’t hurt by her, despite her undying hatred of wolves.

It was strange.

But endearing.

So endearing that Snow allowed Red to keep her for that night.

That duality made her all the more curious about this girl.

As her eyes closed, Snow could not help but to echo the question Red asked and wonder just what was ‘normal’ in this world.