After the Sorcerer King revealed who Sasaki really was, he led them toward a gondola station located on top of a barn. The fog had fully cleared up and revealed the farmland for what it truly was. All that could be seen are sparse crops, no cows, not even chickens or goats. Just empty wooden fences and old tractor wheels.
Yuki's eyes traced the thick rope rising from the barn rooftop all the way up to the mountain peak. Up there, the mansion sat like a scar against the sky, distant but looming. Even from here, she could tell it was massive.
Why would Riko live alone in the city when her family had a big mansion here?
The moment they stepped inside the pale grey farmhouse, she caught the smell of old hay baked into the wooden walls.
"Was this really a working farm? It smells awful," she muttered.
The Sorcerer King turned around and glared at her, like she'd said something offensive.
Yuki took a step back, caught off guard by the look in his eyes.
What's his deal?
Sasaki, feeling the tension, quickly clapped his hands to get the Sorcerer King's attention.
"Hey, Sorcerer King... how about you show us the way to your mansion? We're all dying of hunger and also, personally, I'm in desperate need of a shower."
The Sorcerer King's jaw tightened. His gaze lingered on Yuki for a second too long before shifting back to Sasaki.
"…Fine. Follow me. But keep your comments to yourselves. My patience is not bottomless."
A single drop of sweat clung to Yuki's forehead as she forced a nervous smile.
I guess I'm keeping my mouth shut, especially around him.
At the very back was a staircase. It was narrow, with entire planks missing from the middle. The whole thing looked like it could snap in half at any moment. Each step groaned under her weight, the sound was like nails pulling loose from the ground. However, She kept climbing, hand brushing the wall for balance, trying not to think about how easily the whole thing could collapse.
As they neared the gondola platform, she spoke up.
"Hey, Riko… why don't you just open a portal instead of using this thing?"
Riko glanced back with tired eyes.
"I would if I could, but I burned through all my mana during the crash. You saw what I had to do right? I opened multiple portals just to keep us alive. It'll be at least a day before I can use my relic items again."
Yuki had a puzzled look on her face. She remembered hearing the term 'mana' before but couldn't put her finger on it. Then, it clicked. It was during middle school at the end of the school year, her teacher would allow the boys to play their MOBAs and MMORPG games. And she would hear that term flying in the room nonstop.
She then wondered, would she ever be able to use one of these relic items herself? Even if she wasn't a born sorcerer? Using a relic item to defend herself sounded a lot better than relying on her Deathmark.
The Sorcerer King turned to face them, as he raised his right hand toward the group.
"Alright, there are four available gondola pods that can hold two people max each. Of course, you're with me, Death. We have lots to discuss."
Sasaki let out a stiff smile, while covering his face with his hand.
"As you wish, Sorcerer King Daigo."
Then, with his casual strength, he grabbed Sasaki by the arm and shoved him into the gondola pod, and then stepped in after him. Their gondola began its ascent uphill.
That left only Riko, Sayuri, and herself.
Sayuri looked at her and pointed her finger toward Riko. It was almost like she was saying she should ride with Riko instead. So, she did exactly that.
Soon they were in the air, the gondola swaying back and forth as it moved higher up towards the mountain peak. The farmland below grew smaller until all that could be seen was a patchwork of greens and browns.
Yuki had never felt anything like this before. It was her first time riding a gondola or anything like it, plus the feeling of being so high up made it hard to hide her smile.
Riko on the other hand stared at her.
"Hey, Yuki, have you never been so high up before?"
Yuki turned around with gleaming eyes.
"Never! This is amazing, it feels like I'm flying."
Riko couldn't help but laugh.
"Really? I'm surprised your parents never took you on a gondola ride before. I mean, they've been around forever."
Yuki's expression completely changed. Her smile dropped at the mention of the word 'parent'. She hadn't had time to assess her feelings on her parents being hospitalized due to her negligence, not with all the chaos that had happened to her over the past few days. But due to being reminded of it made everything sink in all at once. She had a hard time bringing herself to even think about them, let alone talk to them.
Riko placed her arm around her shoulder.
"Are you okay, Yuki? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, no… it's nothing, it's just that my parents are in the hospital..."
Riko's eyes widened.
"What! What happened to them?"
Yuki was silent for a moment, looking down at her hands as she noticed the faint tremble in her fingers. Then she spoke words that had been buried in her heart.
"Four years ago, my parents became bedridden. And I just… I just kept pretending. Pretending everything was normal. Using my dolls to replace them. Because… I couldn't deal with the pain. I wanted a normal family just like everyone else at school. Truly, that's all I ever wanted."
Riko grabbed her arm as she tried pulling her closer.
"Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you."
Anger flashed across Yuki's face as she shrugged Riko's arm off.
"Help? What do you mean by help?? How could I, when you were hiding things too? You never told me you're a sorceress, or that you have a whole mansion outside the city. You never really opened up to me either, not even when we first entered high school. And your last name… it isn't even Fuyumi, right? It's made up!"
Riko's eyes widened, her lips trembling as she struggled to get the words out.
"It's… it's not a fake name…"
Yuki frowned in confusion.
"Huh?"
Riko was silent for a moment looking at Yuki with a saddened expression. After a long growling second she finally spoke.
"It's… it's my mother's name… she died when I was fifteen years old."
Yuki instantly felt bad after her bold accusation, she didn't know what to say anymore, I mean, what could she say? Anything she said from this point on would just make her sound like a villain, and she knew she was wrong here, nothing could change that.
"Riko, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that."
"No, I'm sorry too, Yuki. I should have been more open about myself. I ended up hurting you instead of protecting you. Could you please forgive me?"
This apology from Riko felt sincere to her, it was a no-brainer to accept it, but as she opened her mouth to let the words out, a gnawing feeling crept into her head.
It was doubt itself, a little seed planted by her paranoia trait. It sank its claws deep into her brain until it's whispers blended with her own thoughts.
She's lying… she's lying, she's only saying this to clear her guilt… she doesn't care about you… she never did… she's just using you… using you… using you…using you…
Her fingers clawed at her scalp, scratching through her hair like she was trying to rip the voices out by force.
"Hey—are you okay?" Riko's voice cut in, reaching out her hand toward her.
—but Yuki slapped her hand away without looking.
Her mind snapped. She couldn't bear the voices anymore, their whispers clawing at her from every direction. It was breaking her and she didn't know how to stop it.
Then, it finally stopped. A cold emptiness bloomed as her eyes lost all light.
Her head turned with eerie slowness as she said.
"I refuse."