Volume 1 Chapter 12 Drop And Ice
Ice's whole life had been constantly denied by Drop.
"Reading is boring! Come on, I'll throw it away for you, so hand it over."
"Crafts? Such a gloomy hobby! I'll make you stop!"
Ice's favorite fairy tales about princes and princesses were burned, and her crafting tools were broken. Even when she was with a group of friends, everyone looked down on Ice, and it wasn't fun.
"If Drop-chan wasn't here, there'd be no way we'd play with Ice-chan."
"Ice-chan is a loner! Ice-chan is always a loner!"
Among the giggling crowd, Ice was the only one who kept her mouth shut, always wanting to be where Drop wasn't.
So on her 15th birthday, without telling her family, Ice enrolled in the adventurer training school.
"Hey... Are you sure about this, Ice...? You're timid and delicate. You won't fit in with rough adventurers who come from the slums, will you...?"
After enrolling, when she was unpacking her bags, her father said that. She didn't think he was wrong. After all, she is timid. And not strong either. But still, home was a place under Drop's influence, not where Ice wanted to be.
But after enrolling, Ice encountered Drop.
"Oh! It's Ice! What a coincidence! I also wanted to become strong enough to protect myself on my own, so I decided to become an adventurer!"
For Ice, it was close to despair. The person she tried to escape from was somehow in the same place. It felt like a dead end, telling Ice, "there's no escape."
At the training school, Drop kept following Ice around, which was really annoying. Doing training together, eating together, and worst of all, sharing the same dorm room.
All the time, Drop imposed her own thoughts on Ice, as if Ice had no will of hrt own.
However, Drop was excellent.
If she ran, sometimes she could beat the other guys and be at the top. Even in practice battles, she could win by overwhelming her opponent with speed. But the result was always second place. Ice couldn't count how many times she looked up at Ice and thought, "I can't beat her."
There was only one person who could surpass Drop, and that was Wade.
She knew about Wade. When she first entered school, she remembers his father barging in and being chased away by the gatekeeper, and Wade was laughing at him. She thought he was a mean person.
The first time she saw him, he was skinny, short, dirty, and looked like a stray dog. When she heard he was from the slums, it made sense. Everyone kept their distance from him.
But he grew up quickly. He ate well, slept well, and trained hard more than anyone else.
Before she knew it, he had become a tall and muscular young man.
"Ugh! If only Wade weren't here, I would have been the top performer!"
Listening to Drop's frustrated voice, Ice couldn't count how many times she felt uneasy. Ice naturally admired Wade.
Indeed, Wade was extremely talented. He ran fast and was sharp-minded. He was the only one who could easily defeat Drop even in practice battles.
So when Ice heard that he became a Slow Magician in magic training, Ice held her breath.
Her admired person turned into an object of pity. And at the same time, Ice became anxious. Would she be able to receive proper magic? Would she be unable to gain decent magic?
Those fears turned out to be true.
"Ice Magic. That's the magic that resides within you."
Upon hearing those words, Ice felt despair. Ice Magic. Also known as half-baked magic. Useless magic that can only be useful as a companion to Water Magic, unwanted magic.
And unbelievably, Drop had that Water Magic. Ice was scared. Would she have to live forever as Drop's lackey? Would things always be like this?
"Ice, I've gathered the party members. Of course, you're included too."
Drop said kindly, thinking she was being nice. Ice instinctively shook her head. No. She didn't want to be Drop's doll anymore. She was human–––
"What are you doing?"
It was Wade who saved her.
With ease, he separated Drop from her. Not only that, he encouraged her. There are things Ice can do with just Ice Magic. After all, he can manage with Slow Magic.
His words held not only verbal but also persuasive power. Just as his practice battle is won against Fire Magic using only Slow Magic. Magic isn't everything. It was an encouraging feeling.
Before she knew it, Wade was no longer just a pitiful figure, but had become someone admired by her, her first love.
Her feelings were growing stronger. He quickly defeated goblins with magic during shallow training and praised her for assisting him. When he went to help someone in distress, he looked like a hero.
When she defeated a rampaging manticore, Ice couldn't believe it. She never thought she could defeat such a strong enemy or be the one to save Drop.
It was all thanks to Wade. Ice gained confidence and was able to separate from Drop, all because of Wade.
That's why.
"Um, Ice... Do you know if Wade has a crush on someone?"
When Drop asked with a face like a lovesick maiden, Ice froze in place.
"Th-tha-that's, uh, what, why...?"
Cold sweat dripped down from her temple. She couldn't speak properly. But Drop didn't seem to care.
"U-umm, it's not like it matters to Ice! ...I just, thought he might look kinda cool, that's all. I didn't mean anything else!"
Drop, turning away with a huff, looked cute even to Ice, who disliked her. Maybe that's why a sense of unease was growing inside her.
"I don't know, but... maybe Wade-kun isn't comfortable with Drop-chan."
Ice blurted out, startled by her own words. Drop glared at Ice upon hearing that.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Uh, well, I, um, it's just..."
Drop took a step towards Ice. Feeling intimidated, Ice stepped back.
"What? Did he actually say that? Or are you just saying it on your own?"
"Um, well, it's, uh..."
"If he said it himself, you wouldn't be so flustered, right? So, you must be just saying it on your own, right?"
"Umm..."
"Hey."
One step at a time, Drop steps forward. Ice has no choice but to step back.
"Why? Why are you saying that? Ice, you weren't the type to say things like that before. You've always been a good girl who listens to me, right?"
Good girl. Those words have bound Ice tightly.
One step at a time. Ice is losing her way out.
"You don't like that I'm interested in Wade, do you? Oh, I get it now! Ice-chan, you like Wade too, huh? I see!"
Drop's smiling face brings a moment of relief to Ice. Taking advantage of that moment of carelessness, Drop pushes Ice away.
"Ouch..."
"Don't play around."
Backed against the wall. Ice is completely cornered. Drop's hands hit the wall, making sure Ice can't escape.
"There's no way Wade would turn to someone like you. Someone with half-baked magic like you, Ice."
Up close, Ice felt intimidated by the glare. Her nerves were at her breaking point. It felt like she was about to faint.
"Or is it not that? But you know yourself, right? If I were serious, there's no way you could stand up to me! So you're trying to interfere with someone else's love life. What a mean-spirited girl."
Her cheek stung. It took a moment for Ice to realize she had been slapped. Overwhelmed by fear, Ice started to cry.
"Aww, crying, huh? You think someone will come to rescue you if you cry? But too bad! Kind Wade-kun isn't here to save you. ...Say something!"
"U-uhhh..."
Pathetic. Shaking, crying, unable to say anything back. Where did the confidence Wade gave her go? Where did the "I'm useful" feeling go?
"...Hmph. Well, let's leave the punishment for stinky Ice-chan at this level. After all, from now on, Ice-chan will cooperate with me, right?"
"...Huh?"
"Huh? That's not it!"
Ice was slapped on the cheek again.
"Listen, Ice-chan. You're going to support me in my love life from now on. If you do that, I'll take care of you. Got it?"
What does "take care of you" mean? She doesn't know. But she does know one thing.
Drop is demanding two things. One is that Ice continues to follow Drop completely as before. And the other is to give up on Wade and give in to Drop.
The person she admires. Her first love. That person is being taken away by this terrible girl.
―――When Ice thought that, something snapped inside of her.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)