Chapter 23: Introducing Finn
I awkwardly stood there while Lilith continued hugging me like she had absolutely no intention of letting go anytime soon.
I had no idea how to deal with this girl anymore.
Eventually, after several moments, she finally loosened her grip slightly and looked up at me.
"...I haven’t seen you for months," she muttered quietly. "So you have to make it up to me."
I sighed softly.
"...Fine."
Lilith’s eyes immediately sharpened with interest.
"Tomorrow," I continued carefully, "I’ll take you with me."
The moment those words left my mouth—
Her entire expression brightened.
"...Really?"
Honestly, the speed at which her mood changed was terrifying.
"Yeah," I answered cautiously. "But you can’t complain the entire time."
"I won’t."
That was definitely a lie.
Still—
Seeing her suddenly look so excited made me feel slightly guilty for ignoring her so much lately.
Lilith stepped even closer.
"Promise?"
"...Promise."
A faint smile spread across her face.
One that honestly looked far too happy for such a simple thing.
I awkwardly scratched the back of my head before glancing toward the window.
It was already late.
And after spending the entire day working on blast furnace designs, my brain felt half dead.
"I’m going to sleep," I muttered while pulling off my coat.
Lilith immediately nodded.
"Me too."
"...Okay?"
I turned around briefly to place some books on the desk.
Then—
A few seconds later—
I noticed movement behind me.
I looked back toward the bed.
And froze.
Lilith had already climbed beneath the blankets.
Comfortably.
Like she belonged there.
I stared at her blankly.
"...What are you doing?"
Lilith looked up at me innocently while adjusting the pillow.
"Sleeping."
"...In my bed."
"Yes."
"...Where exactly do I sleep then?"
Without hesitation, Lilith casually patted the empty space beside her.
"Right beside me."
My brain immediately stopped functioning.
"...Excuse me?"
Lilith tilted her head slightly like I was the weird one here.
"There’s enough room."
"That is not the issue!"
Why was she saying this so casually?!
I pointed toward the door dramatically.
"Lilith. Get out of my bed."
"No."
"...No?"
She pulled the blanket slightly higher while staring at me calmly.
"I’m comfortable."
"That’s my problem?."
"I don’t see how."
I stared at her in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Lilith simply hugged my pillow tighter and rested comfortably against it.
The betrayal hurt deeply.
"That’s also my pillow."
"Mhm."
"Lilith."
"Yes?."
"This is insane."
"You promised to spend time with me tomorrow."
"That has nothing to do with this!"
She ignored me completely before burying part of her face into the pillow.
I watched in horror as she breathed in deeply.
Then smiled.
"...It smells like you."
My soul nearly left my body.
"Nope."
I immediately turned around.
Absolutely not.
There was no universe where I was surviving this situation with my sanity intact.
Lilith noticed me heading toward the door and blinked slightly.
"...Where are you going?"
"Guest room."
"You’re leaving!?"
"Yes!"
She looked genuinely annoyed now.
"But this is your room."
"Exactly!"
"Then sleep here!."
"No!"
I opened the door immediately before this conversation somehow became even worse.
Behind me, Lilith clicked her tongue softly in annoyance.
"Tch."
I pretended not to hear it.
Then, with the dignity I still barely possessed intact—
I fled the room.
————
Several minutes later, the manor hallways had gone completely quiet.
Meanwhile—
Back inside my room—
Lilith remained curled comfortably beneath the blankets.
A small satisfied smile rested on her face while she hugged the pillow tightly against her chest.
The room smelled faintly like Leon.
Which honestly made this significantly better.
Still—
A tiny pout formed on her lips.
"...Coward."
She buried her face deeper into the pillow while breathing in slowly again.
Honestly, she had imagined this going differently.
In her head, Leon was supposed to get flustered before eventually giving in and sleeping beside her.
Instead—
He ran away.
Rude.
Very rude.
Lilith rolled slightly beneath the blankets before hugging the pillow tighter.
"...At least the bed is warm."
After several moments, the annoyance on her face slowly faded.
A soft smile replaced it instead.
Tomorrow—
Leon was finally going to show her what he’d been hiding all these months.
And for some reason—
That thought made her incredibly excited.
—————
Knocking echoed loudly through the guest room door.
"Leo."
More knocking followed.
"Wake up."
I groaned and buried my face deeper into the pillow.
Why was she awake this early?
"Leon."
The knocking became more aggressive.
"If you don’t wake up, I’m coming in."
Half asleep, I muttered back toward the door.
"...The door’s locked."
Then I immediately closed my eyes again.
Surely that solved the problem.
A few peaceful seconds passed.
Then suddenly—
A heavy weight slammed directly onto me.
"GAH—"
My eyes snapped open in panic.
Lilith was lying directly on top of me.
Her arms rested against my chest while her long black hair spilled across the blanket around us.
I stared at her in complete horror.
Meanwhile—
She simply smiled calmly down at me.
My brain slowly rebooted.
Then I immediately looked toward the door.
Still closed.
Still locked.
I froze.
"...How did you get in here?"
Lilith’s smile widened slightly.
She said absolutely nothing.
That somehow made it worse.
"...Lilith."
Still smiling.
Honestly—
That was terrifying.
I slowly sat up while trying to process the fact she had somehow bypassed a locked door.
"...You’re scary."
"I know."
She sounded weirdly proud of that.
After finally escaping the room and getting dressed, I stepped into the hallway with Lilith walking happily beside me like she hadn’t just materialized inside a locked room like some sleep paralysis demon.
"You took too long," she complained immediately.
"It’s still early."
"And?"
I sighed softly.
"...You’re impossible."
Lilith smiled proudly at that for some reason.
————
Snow crunched beneath our boots as we walked through the forest together.
The cold winter air drifted through the trees while early morning light illuminated the snowy landscape around us.
Lilith walked unusually close beside me the entire time.
Not that I was going to comment on it.
Eventually, after nearly an hour of walking, the clearing finally came into view.
And the moment Lilith saw it—
She froze.
The workshop stood proudly within the snowy clearing while smoke rose into the sky from the active furnaces.
The waterwheels beside the river slowly turned while connected bellows continuously pumped air into the two bloomeries.
Orange flames glowed from vents near the furnaces while piles of ore, charcoal, and metal tools surrounded the area.
It looked insane.
Especially for something built by two thirteen-year-olds in the middle of the woods.
Lilith stared silently at everything.
"...What is this?"
"A workshop."
"That does not answer my question."
She slowly walked further into the clearing while looking around carefully.
Her deep purple eyes scanned over everything with visible confusion and curiosity.
The bloomeries.
The moving bellows.
The stacks of refined steel bars.
The strange tools.
Then her gaze landed on the nitrate bed.
She stopped.
"...Why is there a giant pile of manure and straw?"
I coughed awkwardly.
"...Science."
Lilith slowly looked back toward me.
"...You built a giant pile of manure for science?"
"When you say it like that it sounds weird."
"It is weird."
Fair enough.
Still, despite her confusion, I could tell she was genuinely impressed by the workshop itself.
She lightly touched one of the steel bars resting near the forge before glancing back toward the moving waterwheel.
"...You made all of this?"
"Mostly."
Her eyes widened slightly.
Seeing her look genuinely amazed felt oddly satisfying.
Just as I was about to explain the bloomeries—
The workshop door suddenly creaked open.
Finn stepped outside rubbing his eyes tiredly while half awake.
His hair looked completely disheveled while his coat hung loosely over one shoulder.
Clearly—
He had just woken up.
"...Leon," he muttered sleepily. "Why are you here so ear—"
Then he noticed Lilith.
He blinked slowly.
"...Oh."
Unfortunately—
Lilith reacted first.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Dark purple mana erupted around her body violently.
Pressure slammed into the clearing like a physical force.
Finn’s expression instantly warped in terror before his body crashed violently onto the snow-covered ground.
The air itself felt heavier.
Oppressive.
Terrifying.
Finn couldn’t even scream.
His entire body trembled violently against the ground as the pressure forced him flat.
Even breathing looked difficult.
Lilith stared down at him coldly.
"Who are you?"
Her voice had completely changed.
Gone was the playful girl from yesterday.
Now—
She sounded dangerous.
"What are you doing here?" she asked sharply.
Finn’s mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out.
The pressure was too intense.
"What are you-"
That snapped me out of my shock.
"Lilith!"
She paused slightly.
I immediately stepped forward angrily.
"He’s my friend!"
The purple mana around her flickered slightly.
"Let him go!"
For a brief moment—
The entire clearing went silent except for the sound of the furnaces burning nearby.
Then finally—
The crushing pressure vanished instantly.
Finn collapsed fully into the snow coughing violently while gasping for air.
Lilith looked down at him coldly for several seconds before speaking.
"...Your friend?"
"YES," I snapped immediately. "My friend."
Finn weakly raised a shaking hand from the snow.
"...H-hello..."
Lilith ignored him completely and instead looked back toward me.
"...You never mentioned him."
"Well obviously," I replied in frustration. "I didn’t expect you to try killing him five seconds after meeting him."
"I wasn’t going to kill him."
Finn immediately coughed harder from the ground.
He didn’t seem convinced in the slightest .
Lilith stepped closer toward me while glancing back at Finn suspiciously.
"...Why is he here?"
"He works with me."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Works with you?"
"Yes."
Lilith slowly looked around the workshop again.
The bloomeries.
The steel.
The waterwheels.
Then back toward Finn laying half dead in the snow.
A long silence followed.
