Stigma Effect

Proofreader: kuroneko_chan

“It was here where I had that experience.”

Helio followed, but the princess did not pay any attention to him. Treating him as someone nonexistent, the princess who held Yuriel's hand, stopped in front of the ruins. The princess said in a longing voice.

“Really, I saw something great.”

It seems that the person Helio was talking about was the princess. The princess' eyes closed languidly as if dreaming. The golden eyes shining under the half-closed eyelids looked hazy.

It was a face intoxicated with ecstasy. A princess with a unique atmosphere that was not like an ordinary person looked into the air. She seemed to be staring into a world that was invisible to ordinary people.

Yuriel wondered what the princess had seen. What did she see that gave her such an ecstatic expression?

“What experience did you have?”

Yuriel couldn't contain her curiosity and asked. The princess curled her lips and smiled softly at Yuriel, who tilted her head questioningly.

“It is a secret. If you tell me you're coming , I can tell you. Of course, after you pledge to keep your mouth shut.”

“Oh, I think it’s okay if you don’t tell me….”

Yuriel slowly withdrew. The princess, who pulled Yuriel's wrist as she backed away and blurred her words, entered the ruins.

Entering the huge main entrance, she saw a corridor that surrounded a wide courtyard. As soon as she walked through the entrance, she felt the air around her change. It looked like it wouldn't hurt to walk barefoot on the flat floor with no corners. Even if she goes down on her knees, she thought it would be fine.

Yuriel admired the neat appearance of the ruins as if time had not passed.

“It must have been a place to pray.”

It was vague to call it a temple, and it seemed like a place made for people to pray.

The princess passed through the solemn courtyard and passed through the door further inside. This time it was a place with a ceiling.

The high ceilings were full of paintings. Most of them were unknown. There was a hole in the center of the ceiling, and it felt like a painting was drawn around it.

Yuriel moved in a daze. The air felt as if it had settled heavily.

Sunlight came in through the hole in the ceiling. It left a circular light mark on the floor according to its shape. On the spot where the light fell, there was a stone that protruded out a little from its surroundings.

Through the light, the dust floating around the ruins looked visible.

Yuriel hesitated and looked at her feet on the stone. Looking around in that state, she could see that the place where this stone was located was the center of the building.

She looked around, then involuntarily raised her head. She frowned at the light pouring from above.

“Ugh.”

Yuriel hurriedly spread out her palms and covered the light. Her eyes turned white for a moment.

“Sir Helio, Princess?”

And when she lowered the hand that covered her eyes, Yuriel faced an empty space where nothing was visible.

＊＊＊

If the mysterious experience was to walk in this empty space blankly, Yuriel changed her mind about wanting to experience the mysterious experience again.

“Sir Helio!”

She was walking in a space where she couldn't even tell which side was the front. She called for Helio at the top of her throat, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“How long do I have to walk….”

Yuriel sat down and muttered. She didn’t know when this experience would end.

“The princess said she saw something amazing, but why is mine like this?”

Yuriel, who was staring at nothing, hugged her legs and buried her head. After walking for an hour, Yuriel decided to rest for a while.

She couldn't sleep properly last night. In Raphlet's barracks, with only one screen in between, Yuriel looked at his bed all night long. She had spent the night with her eyes wide open and it was already dawn when she thought that she should sleep a little.

She had stayed up all night like that.

After walking and sitting comfortably, she felt sleepy. For a moment, she wondered if it would be alright to sleep in this strange place, but the thought disappeared due to drowsiness.

Yuriel nodded and began to fall asleep. A sleep like death fell upon Yuriel.

“Yuriel!”

At the moment, someone suddenly shouted her name in her ear, waking Yuriel from her deep sleep. She started blinking her tired eyes as she looked to see who shouted in her ear.

It was the princess.

“What are you doing here alone? Now, this illusion lasts quite a while. Get up."

Her vision, which was all black, brightened with the appearance of the princess. The princess took Yuriel's hand and made her stand up. Yuriel looked at the sudden change in the surroundings and bewilderedly held the princess's hand.

“I’ll show you something interesting.”

“Is this an illusion?”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been through once at the ruins. I wanted to see this scenery again, so I visited several times, but nothing happened. Yuriel, you seem to be my luck. I’m seeing this again because I came with you.”

The princess said in a tone full of affection. Yuriel recalled the expression of the princess she had seen before coming here.

A face intoxicated with ecstasy. Is this the place the princess was thinking of with that face? It was a landscape that had not changed at all in Yuriel's view. They were still inside Krug's Ruins.

“As expected, I really adore you.”

“It must have been a coincidence….”

“What is a coincidence. Oh, Yuriel. Go ahead, use your powers. Look at how many monsters are here now.”

"Yes?"

"Hurry."

Yuriel did not like the princess’ favor on her, so Yuriel answered with a dull voice. The princess continued her words, ignoring Yuriel's lukewarm attitude.

The princess urged her to use her powers as soon as possible. It was a face looking forward to something. Yuriel reluctantly used her powers as the princess looked at her with twinkling childish eyes.

As soon as she used her ability, Yuriel sharply sucked in her breath.

“Pri, Princess. I think it's dangerous for us. Once we find Sir Helio, we have to think about how to get out of the illusion....”

Using her strength, Yuriel grabbed the princess' forearm and pulled her towards herself.

The energy of the monsters was all around. There was no energy inside the building where Yuriel was now, but the energy of countless monsters was felt outside.

There seemed to be many monsters circling around the building.

“What do you think?”

“There are a lot of monsters around. If we go out like this, we’re going to be in big trouble, so let’s find the other knights and find a way to break the illusion.... Princess! Where are you going!"

The princess smiled mischievously and grabbed the arm that Yuriel was holding on with her other hand. Yuriel was terrified of the princess holding her own arm and running defenselessly out of the building.

“It’s dangerous to go outside!”

While working as a maid, she often saw unruly nobles, but among them, the princess was the worst of all. The princess did whatever her heart wanted.

Yuriel screamed her heart out at the behavior of the princess who did not go out alone, but dragged Yuriel out of the door too.

You can't go out! It’s infested with monsters, and if you leave, you will be attacked....

Yuriel, who was dragged out by the princess' hand, blinked at the unfolding sight.

“The monsters will attack….”

As Yuriel couldn't hide her surprise and looked around, the princess let go of her hand and smiled.

In reality, the monsters that attacked people were moving quietly like domesticated animals. Perhaps it was mobilized for construction, the monsters carrying stones were heading somewhere. The end of the long line was not visible.

“The monsters here are not dangerous. They were all bred by us.”

The princess looked around and said.

“All the dangerous things that humans do are replaced by monsters.”

“You can’t breed monsters, but this is….”

“No, Yuriel. It can be bred.”

The princess lowered her voice and spoke as if she was telling a secret only to Yuriel.

“As I’ve seen here, you can raise enough monsters.”

The princess spoke in a greedy voice and bent her eyes.

The princess smiled and guided Yuriel. Although it was an illusion she had only seen once, she was accustomed to wandering around here.

Yuriel could see how much she recounted these fantasies by the princess’ natural appearance.

“Monsters are a great resource. Core, skin, strength. If you tame them, they are worth a fortune. Right now, I'm just satisfied with using the monster's core as power, but.... Look, Yuriel!”

Monsters were moving and repairing Krug's Ruins in a splendid way. People roamed among the monsters with ease. Occasionally, if there was a monster that revealed its claws, they pulled out its core immediately.

“If you tame them, you will be able to pass on all the war, work, and all sorts of filthy things. A person can live comfortably if we use a monster.”

“Princess. It’s just a fantasy.”

Yuriel frowned and said. For some reason, seeing the monsters working hard made her heart ache.

The princess who could not see Yuriel frowning at her, spoke.

“Yuriel, can’t you see the difference? The difference between the monsters and reality.”

Yuriel looked at the monsters with her eyes narrowed. Soon, she was able to find the difference.

“All the cores are exposed. It was originally hidden in the body.”

The cores of the monsters were all exposed in places that were easy to attack. The monsters were defenseless, and humans could simply destroy their core. That seems to be the way to tame the monster.

The princess whispered softly.

“I believe we will be able to see this in real life.”

Yuriel held her own shoulder and stiffened her body at the voice of the princess whispering.

“This is the future, Yuriel.”