TWCT 10

Chapter 10

 Her Confession
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The village, after the battle, was shrouded in silence.
From the corpses of the fallen ogres rose the mingled stench of blood and burnt flesh.
Villagers and captured bandits alike still stood in orderly lines, waiting for my command as if frozen in time.

“…Everyone, that’s enough. Rest.”

At my words, they all sat down at once, motionless.
Lifeless. As if their souls had been drained away.

“…It’s really disgusting, when you think about it.”

The words slipped out before I realized it.
I had stripped them of their will and was using them like puppets.
My skill—this power—was far too abnormal.

◇

Beside me, Rine stared quietly into the campfire.
The flickering light illuminated her face, which looked as though it held some deep, unspoken resolve.

“Yuto… there’s something I need to tell you.”

“…What is it?”

She stayed silent for a moment, then exhaled softly.

“I… am not a daughter of this village.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“Eh…?”

“The truth is, I came from a distant country.
But… due to certain circumstances, I had to hide my identity.”

Rine spoke carefully, choosing each word with precision.
I stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue.

◇

“My family… fell from power.
My father was once a frontier lord, but he lost in a struggle for authority and lost everything.
Only my life was spared—and I’ve been hiding in this village ever since.”

Her voice was calm, yet beneath it I could hear the smoldering anger and sorrow she carried.

“So, I’m not just some village girl.
The reason I can use fire magic is because I learned the arts passed down in my family.”

◇

I was speechless.
I had thought she was just an ordinary girl I’d met by chance—
but she turned out to be someone with a past, a fallen noble,
and an inheritor of powerful flame magic.

“…I’m sorry for hiding it from you.”

Rine bowed deeply, her shoulders trembling.

I stayed silent for a moment, then finally spoke.

“…It’s fine.
If you hadn’t fought back then, both I and the entire village would’ve been wiped out.”

When she lifted her head, tears shimmered in her eyes.

“…Yuto…”

◇

But before the warmth of that moment could settle, a horn blast echoed from beyond the village.

“…An attack…!”

The wolf growled again, and the subjugated villagers rose to their feet in unison.

“Looks like… this time, it’s not just monsters.”

I caught my breath.
In the distance, silhouettes of armed soldiers flickered in the firelight.

Rine straightened her expression and took her place beside me.

“Yuto… our next enemies are humans.”

◇

A heavy weight pressed down on my chest.
My power of Subjugation—it could work on humans, too.
But… should I really use it?

In the darkness of night, the sound of the horn drew nearer.
Without realizing it, I clenched my fists.

Afterword

Thank you for reading this far!
In Episode 10, a part of Rine’s true identity has been revealed.
She’s the daughter of a fallen lord and the inheritor of flame magic.
And next—what approaches is not a beast, but a human army.

How will Yuto use his subjugation power, now that it can reach humans as well?
In the next episode, the story enters an even greater turning point.