Chapter 7 : I Saw No One

Allen, that's the name that mother gave me.

I live in a place called a dungeon. One of the many rooms in this dungeon is my home, and my bed is inside a hollow tree. Every morning, when I open my eyes, the first thing I see is the chair beside my bed.

That chair is where Mother always sits.

Every evening, she would sit there, sharpening the blades of the swords mounted on the walls of our tree. The sound of metal scraping was loud, and when she used a hammer, the noise was even more deafening. But I had grown used to it. The clanging no longer bothered me. In fact, the sound comforted me—it was better than silence.

However, this morning, when I woke up, the room was empty. Mother wasn't there. I decided to go out and search the dungeon.

I saw no one…

Mother was usually around during the day and night. She must have left while I was asleep.

The next morning, I woke up and checked the chair again. Mother was still gone. I stepped outside and searched the area once more.

I saw no one…

I started doing this every day. Without even realizing it, searching for someone who wasn't there became part of my routine.

One day, as I wandered near a river, I noticed something strange—a patch of mud moving on its own. Curious, I reached out to pick it up. The mud seemed alive. It was small, able to move freely, and it suddenly jumped onto one of my wounds, absorbing my blood. Somehow I don't mind that the mud did that.

It named itself as Reig. I suddenly knew its name when that mud entered my shadow. I really wanted to tell mother, but whenever she came around, it ran away. I had the impression that it didn't want other people to know where it was, so I remained quiet about it since I didn't want Reig to leave me.

Reig became my companion. No one else was with me, so I was happy to have it around, even if it couldn't talk. It could move its shapeless body, nod, and shake its head, which was enough. I often spoke to Reig after training, but it wasn't enough. I wanted to talk to someone else.

A few days after meeting Reig, Mother came home earlier than usual. She brought something with her…

She brought humans!

…

When I woke up the following day, I always did my routine. I stepped outside my room and searched around. And now, near the rivers. Someone else was there, a human who looked different from me.

The next day,

the next day,

the next day

and the next day, whenever I stepped out of my room, I saw someone else near the river. Even though we don't speak the same language, I feel relieved that someone replied to what I said. After over 20 days, I no longer glanced over that lumber chair when I awoke. I just straight forward came out to see my human friends. And now we can finally speak the same language.

…

AaAaaaaah!!! I said some embarrassing things to her! I just confessed that I wanted to be with her forever, but she could not hear it clearly. I fall asleep on her lap, and as I do, she tenderly strokes my head. Because I am not used to sleeping in quiet situations, I thought I could not fall asleep. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how relaxing it was. I didn't know that lying on someone's lap could be this comfortable. I ended up falling asleep in that position.

…

And then today… When I woke up, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. The light emanating from the crystal in the ceiling hit my face. I recalled that I did not sleep in my tree room today.

I lifted my body and turned around…

I saw no one…

The chain is loose, and the human is nowhere to be seen…