Chapter 4: The Name Beneath the Rain
“Sisterā¦?”
I woke up because I couldn’t feel my sister’s warmth, and it turned out it wasn’t her back!
No wonder!
Nahida ran to her sister, wanting to feel her warmth again.
‘I’m going to sleep with my sister!’
My sister lifted me up in a flash and lay down next to me.
Feeling her sister’s warmth again, Nahida grew sleepy.
Nahida’s eyes slowly began to close.
The last thing she felt was a warmth on her forehead before she fell asleep.
And when she opened her eyes again, the warmth was gone.
“Sisterā¦?”
She looked all around, but her sister was nowhere to be seen.
“Sniffleā¦.”
Nahida was scared and started to cry.
The terrifying thought that her sister might have abandoned her crossed her mind.
“Sob, sniffle.”
Just as she was sobbing, she saw her sister in the distance, calling her name and running towards her.
Overjoyed that her sister hadn’t abandoned her, Nahida hugged her tightly and cried.
Until Nahida fell asleep.
‘The fruitā¦ I have to go back and find it.’
I dropped the fruit while rushing over.
I knew I had to go back for it, but I couldn’t, having just seen with my own eyes the disaster that occurs when I leave Nahida alone.
‘I guess I have no choice but to wait for Nahida to wake up.’
While waiting for Nahida, I was thinking about our destination.
A destination where Nahida and I could hide.
First, Port Ormos and Sumer City were out.
As I thought before, they’d be crawling with people from the Akademiya.
Gandharva Villeā¦ Is it worth a try?
“Hmm, good.”
Our destination is Gandharva Ville.
RUMBLEā
“Hah.”
Startled by the sound of thunder, I opened my eyes.
‘When did I fall asleep?’
Outside, dark clouds had gathered and it was raining.
The occasional sounds of thunder and lightning created a sense of fear.
A cold wind brushed past my cheek.
But I felt warm.
The reason was easy to guess.
Nahida, sleeping soundly in my arms, breathing softly.
Nahida’s warmth was keeping me from feeling the cold.
I hugged the sleeping Nahida tightly.
My frame was bigger than Nahida’s, so she fit perfectly in my arms.
‘She’s so softā¦.’
If it were up to me, I would have waited until the rain stopped, but we are being chased.
We can’t waste any more time here.
“Nahida, you need to wake up.”
I gently held her shoulder and shook her.
She let out a small groan and shifted.
“Ughhhā¦ Nahida wants to sleep a little moreā¦.”
Stretchā
I pinched Nahida’s cheek and pulled, and she seemed to wake up as if from a dream.
“Ughā¦ I hate you, sisterā¦.”
I stroked the pouting Nahida’s head.
“Sorry, sorry. We have to leave quickly.”
I gave her a gentle smile to soothe her.
I could see the corners of her mouth lift, as if she secretly liked it.
“Alright, let’s go.”
I placed a large leaf in Nahida’s hand and picked one up for myself.
“You hold it like this to block the rain.”
I don’t know if it’s because Nahida and I are small, but the leaves were large enough to use as umbrellas.
The pitter-patter of the drizzling rain hitting the leaves echoed in my ears.
The feeling of walking with Nahida through the dense forest, smelling the rain, was quite pleasant.
The scent of rain seems to calm a person’s mind and body.
‘Ah, but I’m not a person, I’m a god.’
‘By the way, what kind of god am I then?’
‘Since Nahida is the God of Wisdom, am I a god related to that field too?’
As I walked, lost in such useless thoughts, I was snapped back to reality by the voice of Nahida, who was trailing behind me.
“Sister, sister.”
“Yes?”
Nahida looked up at me with her characteristically innocent face and tugged gently at my sleeve.
“Sister, what’s your name?”
‘Ah. I haven’t even told her my name until now.’
As I marveled at my own genius, I quickly started racking my brain for Nahida, who was waiting for my answer.
‘A nameā¦ a nameā¦.’
‘What was my nameā¦?’
I stopped walking as my head started to throb.
Nahida gave me a strange look for stopping so suddenly, but that wasn’t what was important.
When I tried to recall my name, my mind went blank, as if covered in fog.
“Sisterā¦?”
“Asara. It’s Asara.”
A single name suddenly came to mind.
I blurted it out without thinking.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Thinking back, it was strange.
Nahida had acted as if she knew her name was Nahida from the very beginning.
Before I had time to think about it deeply, Nahida ran up and hugged me.
“Sister Asara!”
As I smiled slightly and stroked Nahida’s head, her expression softened.
‘Right, that’s not what’s important right now.’
‘Protecting Nahida from the sages of the Akademiya. That’s the number one priority.’