'It doesn't seem like she's against it… I guess I should think of something.'
Taking the girl's silence as approval, Light crossed his arms and began seriously pondering possible names.
After nearly a minute of thinking, he finally spoke.
"How about Clair? …Or Sandra?"
Even as the words left his mouth, he grimaced slightly. Coming up with names clearly wasn't one of his talents. Just remembering his own name made him cringe sometimes.
The blind girl gave no reply.
She simply stared in his direction with the same blank expression as before.
Still… for some reason, Light felt like she hated both suggestions.
"Okay, okay, don't look at me like that," he sighed. "Let me think a little more."
'She really is strange. She looks obedient, but she's surprisingly stubborn.'
Searching for inspiration, Light activated his blessing again.
A translucent panel quietly appeared before him.
[Name: ??? ???
Blessing: Warfare
Brilliance: Mediocre
Title: ???]
'Warfare…'
His eyes narrowed slightly.
'That's a pretty dangerous-sounding blessing.'
Yet no matter how he looked at her, the girl in front of him seemed fragile enough to collapse from a strong gust of wind.
'A battle maniac? No… I can't imagine it.'
After another moment of thought, he finally gave up.
"Let's put the naming thing aside for now. I'll come back to it later, okay?"
Honestly, he felt a little embarrassed. Suggesting something so confidently only to fail this badly was painful.
Expecting her usual cold stare in response, he braced himself.
Instead—
"Okay."
The answer came immediately.
Light blinked.
'At least she's calm. Euphy could learn a thing or two from her.'
Before he could continue, a knock echoed from the door.
Knock. Knock.
Standing up from the bed, Light opened it to find Master Merric holding a wooden tray filled with food.
"Dinner's ready. Here you are."
The innkeeper handed over the tray and immediately turned away.
"I'll be taking my leave now."
He disappeared down the hallway as quickly as he came.
The door shut softly behind him.
Almost instantly, the warm aroma of freshly prepared food spread throughout the room.
The rich scent of thick stew filled the air first—slow-cooked meat simmered with root vegetables and fragrant herbs. A faint smokiness lingered beneath it, likely from the firewood used to cook it.
Beside it sat a bowl of creamy porridge, carrying the gentle scent of butter and herbs.
And to the side—
Fresh bread.
Warm. Crispy. Still dusted lightly with flour.
It wasn't luxurious by any means, but for an inn meal, the portions were generous enough to make Light genuinely grateful.
Carrying the tray over, he placed the porridge and bread in front of the blind girl before sitting back down with the stew for himself.
'She needs proper nutrition first. Heavy food might be too much for her.'
At least, that was the excuse he used to justify keeping the better dish.
Without paying much attention to her, Light began eating.
But after a few bites, he noticed something strange.
There was no sound coming from the girl.
Glancing over, he froze slightly.
She hadn't touched the food at all.
'…Why isn't she eating?'
Then realization struck him.
This girl had been a slave her entire life.
Judging by how thin she was, there was a good chance she'd spent more days hungry than full.
His expression darkened.
'She's waiting for permission.'
A bitter feeling rose in his chest.
He still intended to remove the slave contract eventually.
But not yet.
Blind or not, she possessed a blessing related to combat. Until he understood exactly what kind of person she was, he couldn't completely lower his guard.
Still…
"You don't need permission to eat anymore," he said softly. "If you're hungry, then eat. Go on before it gets cold."
The girl hesitated.
Her fingers tightened slightly against her clothes before she slowly reached forward, carefully feeling around the tray until she found the spoon.
Then she took a bite.
The moment the porridge touched her tongue, her expression changed.
Her shoulders relaxed.
Her empty eyes widened slightly in surprise.
And before Light could take another spoonful from his own bowl—
She finished everything.
Light stared blankly at the empty dish.
'…There goes her restraint.'
The speed alone told him enough.
He could only imagine how many nights she had gone to sleep starving.
Looking at her frail body again, Light let out another quiet sigh.
He really had been sighing a lot lately.
'How am I supposed to explain this to Euphy?'
Not only had he nearly died, he'd also spent all their money.
And now he was bringing home another person to feed.
"…Yeah, she's definitely going to yell at me."
Muttering under his breath, he looked down at his half-finished stew before silently sliding the plate toward the girl.
He kept the bread for himself.
"Here. You can eat this too. I'm not that hungry."
'So much for not giving her heavy food.'
The girl turned toward him.
For a brief moment, she paused.
Then she gave a small nod before devouring the stew just as quickly as the porridge.
Watching her eat, Light felt strangely at ease.
As if something broken in the world was slowly repairing itself.
Soon, both plates were completely empty.
The red-haired girl sat quietly once more, though this time there was a faint sense of satisfaction on her otherwise emotionless face.
Taking a deep breath, Light straightened himself.
There were still too many things he needed to ask.
"Do you know what your blessing does?"
He already expected the answer.
"No."
"…Do you know what mana is? Or how to control it?"
"No."
"…Do you remember when you awakened your blessing?"
"No."
Light's eyebrow twitched.
'She really only says the bare minimum…'
The conversation felt like trying to push a cart through mud.
Taking a moment to calm himself, he studied the blind girl quietly staring in his direction.
Then an idea came to him.
Standing up from the bed, Light walked over and crouched in front of her.
'If explaining it won't work… maybe letting her feel mana directly will.'
Extending his hand slightly, he focused inward.
Gentle energy flowed through his body before gathering into form.
A moment later—
Clink.
Metal chains materialized from thin air.
The familiar Soul Chains wrapped loosely around his arms, emitting the faint sound of rattling steel.
At the same time, Light felt a sharp drain of mana leave his body.
Weakness immediately washed over him.
Still, this time he endured it.
The girl tilted her head slightly toward the sound.
"Mana is difficult to explain with words," Light said calmly, hiding the exhaustion in his voice. "Since you can't see… maybe it'll be easier if you touch something made from it."
He slowly extended the chains toward her.
"Follow the sound."
The girl hesitated briefly before lifting her hands.
Her movements were slow and uncertain as she reached toward the faint rattling of metal.
Then—
Her fingers touched the chains.
Instantly, a violent pain exploded near Light's heart.
"Gh—?!"
His vision blurred.
Every ounce of strength vanished from his body.
And before he could even understand what happened—
Darkness swallowed him whole.