RATBA 36

Chapter 36

Nayla’s flushed face had gone pale again.

As if the blood in her head had turned to ice, her lips trembled.

“Th-that’s…”

“As far as I know, this dress was something Claudia treasured.”

Nathan held up the torn garment, revealing its shredded edges—too clean to be accidental. It looked as though it had been slashed apart by a blade.

“Why was Claudia’s favorite dress found butchered like this? And among your belongings?”

“……”

“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t dig through your things intentionally. One of my men stumbled upon it in the warehouse.”

Nayla stood frozen, her silence louder than any confession.

That dress had been a gift from Claudia—an apology, given just before they arrived at Sharco Island. Now, its mutilated state laid bare Nayla’s festering resentment.

Nathan’s voice dripped with cold amusement.

“You tore it apart with remarkable hatred. This isn’t just petty spite.”

“……”

Biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, Nayla finally turned away.

“M-my apologies,” she whispered, fleeing the room like a shadow.

Nathan exhaled, watching her go.

His sigh wasn’t out of pity for her humiliation.

‘Claudia has no idea, does she?’

The thought of Claudia—kind, oblivious Claudia—calling this venomous woman sister made his chest ache.

The moment the spirit’s blue eyes met mine, they flickered violently.

He recoiled as if he’d seen something monstrous.

This… can’t be real. How?

His reaction made me feel like a criminal, though I’d done nothing wrong. I’d only let him read my memories—proof I was from another world.

But after diving into my mind, he could only stammer:

I… I couldn’t see anything. Your past is blacked out. Like ink spilled over it.

He’d glimpsed fragments of my life in this world, but everything before? A void.

“Is that so shocking?”

No one’s memories are protected like this. Do you even understand what this means?

I didn’t. So I asked.

It means something higher than spirits—higher than me—is shielding you.

“Ooh! Aliens?”

…A god,  he corrected, exasperated.  Nothing else could override a spirit’s sight.

I blinked. Well, that’s new.

I’ll accept you as my contractor,  he said suddenly. “If a god’s hand is at work, our meeting isn’t coincidence.”

“You mean… fate?”

Or something far greater. Beyond our comprehension.

The idea was absurd, but then again, so was waking up inside a game.

“Alright,” I agreed, taking his hand. “I’ll make sure you never regret choosing me.”

He was my first spirit. I wanted him to smile when our contract ended—to think he’d made the right choice.

Hold out your hand.

When I did, he pressed a kiss to my index finger. A chill spread from his lips, coiling around my skin until—

“A… ring?”

An intricate silver band now sat on my finger, its design like twisting branches crowned by a single azure gem.

This binds us. Never lose it.

“Got it.”

Now, name me. That will complete our contract.

After a pause, I decided: “Elliott.”

The moment I spoke, his form dissolved into water, swirling into the gem.

‘He’s not gone—just resting inside.’

But now, I had another problem: How do I get out of here?

As if in answer, the ring began to glow.

Nathan had just finished preparing the search party for Claudia when a soldier rushed in.

“Your Highness—something’s wrong with the men.”

On the sunlit beach, knights sat stripped of their armor, scratching at rashes blooming across their skin.

“A plague?” Nathan’s stomach dropped.

“They’re all complaining of itching. We thought it was from the armor, but…”

One knight, his skin raw from scratching, groaned: “It started after Lady Nayla applied those herbs.”

Nathan’s gaze snapped to Nayla.

“You used untreated kelshir leaves?”

“Y-yes, but Claudia said they’d help!”

“After telling you they must be boiled first,” Nathan hissed. “Was this her fault too?”

Nayla’s silence was answer enough.

Just as Nathan’s patience frayed, a shout cut through the chaos:

“Your Highness—look!”

A massive pillar of water erupted from the sea—

—and standing atop it, drenched but unharmed, was me.