I’m an Immigration Officer!

Erzena spoke with an icy voice.
“Elaine is a Princess of this nation.”

“That’s correct.”
Who wouldn’t know that?
“And by royal decree, you’ve been entrusted with her safety.”

“Also correct.”
“In that case, while staying close to the Princess for protection, you should also be cautious to prevent any unsavory incidents.”
“Your words are logical… but…”

Why was she telling me this now?
Erzena, listing off the most obvious facts imaginable, only made me feel more out of place.
“Were the two of you… fighting, by any chance?”

The response came immediately.
“No?”
“Mmmph?”

Yeah, right.
The divine power and telekinesis were practically leaking out into the hallway.
If these two got serious with their powers, this entire building would collapse.

“Waaah…”
Only the Gustatory Officer, sniffling from the corner, betrayed the truth with her expression.
Neither of them looks willing to talk.

You could tell just from their faces.
Erzena’s expression was stiff, like something was seriously bothering her.
No, more like… she seemed on guard.
And Elaine looked startled, flustered, and defensive all at once.

What the hell happened?
What could’ve gone so wrong in under an hour to turn things into this mess?
I scanned the surroundings quickly.

Times like this, you looked for clues.
My eyes landed on the cards spread across the desk.
“Friend… and Man.”

Ah.
I had a general idea now of how this all spiraled.
“So you were talking about me.”

Flinch.
The two women reacted in unison.
“No, Nathan, it’s not like that, this is…”

“I know, Erzena. Of course it’s confusing, I suddenly entrusted the Princess to you. You two only met yesterday, after all.”
I let out a bitter laugh.
“But I had no other options. The situation was urgent, and you were the only one I could rely on.”

At those last words, Erzena’s expression softened.
“Someone you could rely on…”
The divine power slowly dissipated.

I turned my gaze to the Princess next.
“And Elaine.”
“…Mmm.”

“As I told you earlier, Erzena is no longer part of the Holy Order. You don’t need to be so wary. Looks like there was a simple misunderstanding. Isn’t that right?”
They were still awkward around each other.
Naturally, they’d ended up talking about me—the only common link between them.

And clearly, something had gone off the rails during that exchange.
“…You’re right. I misunderstood.”
Erzena finally agreed.

“Friend and man. That’s all it is. Correct, Elaine?”
She asked again, as if confirming it.
Seeing that, Elaine also withdrew her telekinesis, nodding slightly.

“…Mmm.”
The situation finally deescalated.
I’ll need to talk to them both separately later.

But that wasn’t the priority right now.
“Elaine. Erzena.”
I called the two of them.

“Would you follow me for a moment?”
 
****

Once we climbed up the border wall, the vast plains stretched out before us, glowing under the fading red light of the sunset beyond the horizon.
The western sky burned crimson, like the sun releasing its final burst of flame, while the east gradually sank into a deep violet night.
The statues lining the top of the wall stood frozen in place, their unfeeling gazes fixed beyond the border, backs turned to the divided heavens above.

“Wow…”
Erzena, who had followed behind, let out a soft gasp of admiration at the majestic scene.
The Princess also silently widened her eyes.

“Elaine.”
At my call, she finally tore her gaze away from the sunset.
“You see that rock, buried out there in the middle of the plains?”

I pointed toward the horizon, where a single jagged rock jutted out from the earth.
“During the Holy War fifteen years ago, that was one of the boulders launched by the Holy Order’s catapults, trying to breach the border. They threatened to tear down the wall if we didn’t yield.”
In response, King Rio had awakened the golems our ancestors contracted, using them to form the border’s defense line.

It’s a meaningless story now, but traces of that war remained, slowly sinking into the ground over the years.
The exposed portion of that rock above the surface was only a small fragment.
Staring at the ancient stone, I spoke.

“Try pulling it out. Without leaving a single scratch.”
A sudden request.
[That?]

“Yes.”
It was a strange demand, but Elaine obediently stretched both hands toward the rock.
Grk…

As she exerted her power, the visible part of the stone trembled.
But—
Crack!

Like tofu splitting apart, the upper portion crumbled instantly.
She let out ragged breaths.
“Haah… haah…”

Expression unchanged, I spoke.
“Pull it out, completely intact, without a mark.”
[I… I can’t.]

A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead.
[I can break it… but I’ve never once pulled it out whole…]
She looked at me, utterly confused.

[Why are you making me do this…?]
“…”
I stayed silent for a moment before answering.

“When you use that power… how does it feel?”
She hesitated.
[It hurts.]

Elaine clutched her chest as if stabbed by an invisible blade, face twisting in pain.
[Every time I reach out… this aches.]
That’s right.

The Princess’s power was rooted in emotion. The more intense her feelings, the stronger her abilities erupted.
That’s why the Queen suppressed her.
Using divine power, Queen Helena had tried to crush her psyche, erase her emotions.

But that flawed approach only taught Elaine pain and sorrow for fifteen years.
That became her sole way of interacting with the world.
“Elaine, you’ve lived a painfully difficult life. That’s why the only memories your power brings forth… are «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» sad ones.”

If the foundation itself was broken, no matter how she looked at the world, it would never feel bright.
It started wrong.
I should’ve done this first.

Taught her not to hate her own strength.
Emotions come from memories and expectations—the things you’ve felt, the things you imagine will happen, the Director of the Magic Society had said.
There was truth in that.

Elaine was trapped by her past. Her tragic, bitter past.
Even after escaping the Queen’s control, those memories clung to her like thorns.
And those won’t ever disappear.

In that case, she needed to find something else inside them.
Happiness buried within the tragedy.
She needed to discover emotions she hadn’t yet realized existed.

I came to a conclusion and spoke.
“This time… try remembering something good.”
 

****
Good memories.
At the unfamiliar words, Elaine blinked and looked at the Chief Officer.

Did she… even have those?
But Nathan didn’t say anything more.
“…”

It was something she had never attempted.
Once again, she reached out both hands toward the fractured rock.
Crack…

The moment she exerted strength, fissures spread across the surface.
Elaine quickly pulled her hands back.
What do I do…

Breaking and destroying things—that was easy.
It didn’t matter how deep or massive that rock was.
All she had to do was pour this pain into her hands and squeeze.

She could grind it to dust, without a trace.
But extracting it whole, without so much as a crack?
She had never done that.

Did I even have good memories?
She sifted through her mind.
Nothing from the Capital.

She hated even remembering those days.
But paradoxically, whenever she used her power, those memories always resurfaced.
Then…

She searched the recent past.
Hannah.
Her maid, her friend, her precious companion who stayed by her side.

Elaine pictured that red-haired girl’s bright, beaming smile.
How it felt when Hannah returned to her, defying the Queen’s oppression.
The one warmth she clung to during those frozen, desolate days.

Grk…
The rock shifted ever so slightly.
Her memories dug a little deeper into the recent past.

Nathan…
Her friend, her sole understanding companion.
The first person who saw her suffering and felt pity—not fear.

She recalled the letters they exchanged.
The relief that flooded her when he came running all the way to the Capital.
That radiant, sunlit warmth, soft yet irresistibly compelling.

Rumble…
The rock began to tremble.
“Ah…!”

Elaine let out a small gasp.
It’s working!
But that was the limit.

The massive stone shook with a heavy sound but refused to rise.
“Ah…”
So close, yet not enough.

Determined, Elaine dared to dig deeper into her memories.
Her happiest days.
When was that?

Did I… even have days like that?
Before meeting these two, her only memories were pain.
For her, the past was nothing but screams.

If only you didn’t have that power…!
No, Rasen—Rasen!!
Look, the one who killed her own brother…
Shh, keep your voice down. Someone might hear…
Whispers of resentment and terror.
That was all she’d known in the Capital. Fifteen years of it.

No matter how hard she searched, there was only that.
It’s no use…
Just then, a faint voice drifted through her mind.

Elaine, look! A flower crown! I bet it’ll suit you perfectly…
It’s okay. Power or no power, you’re still my little sister. That’ll never change.
A boy’s face shimmered faintly before her eyes.

…Brother.
Rasen Castor.
The days when he was still alive.

Those memories finally clawed their way out from beneath the pain.
Remember the hand he reached out with in the palace courtyard…
Warm, gentle, and strong—her brother’s hand, always guiding her.

The clumsy voice that read fairy tales to her at night.
The fragrance of flowers in the crown he placed on her head.
Just a boy—but more than anyone, he protected her.

Yeah…
She had them.
She’d had happy days, once.

“Ah…”
Her vision blurred.
Something hot trailed down her cheeks.

Elaine closed her eyes.
To remember it more clearly.
And slowly, she reached one hand forward.

In her fragmented memories, she grabbed hold of her brother’s hand—here, in the present.
Grip…!
The rock’s trembling stopped.

As if caught firmly by something invisible.
[Rasen…]
She called his name.

The one she loved with all her heart. Her one and only. Her first understanding companion.
The person who always stood by her side and affirmed her existence.
The sun.

In the ancient language, Rasen meant the sun.
My… sun…
She repeated the meaning to herself.

The memories that had pierced her like thorns burned now, becoming gentle flames.
Grkkkkkkk…!!
The rock began to shake uncontrollably, unable to withstand the force.

But something was different.
Rumble rumble rumble…
Instead of shattering under overwhelming pressure, the boulder slowly rose from the earth.

“…!!!”
“W-What in the world…”
Gasps of astonishment echoed nearby.

But she didn’t stop there.
She opened her clenched hand.
Then, like stroking her own cheek, she softly brushed the air.

Just as Rasen had once caressed her cheek in their final moment together.
Thud thud thud…
Dust and soil clinging to the rock tumbled away like tumors falling off.

The massive boulder floated upward, silhouetted against the setting sun.
And gently, quietly, it drifted toward the border wall.
Sssssss…

The statues gazed at the scene.
The Chief Officer and Erzena watched.
The setting sun watched.

[I’m not…]
You’re not a monster, Elaine. You’re my precious, adorable little sister.
The memory dug into her chest like a thorn.

But those painful experiences also illuminated the path ahead.
They held her steady, so she wouldn’t break again, so she wouldn’t crumble.
You are not a monster, Elaine. You’re my friend.

Happiness buried within tragedy was always the most precious.
Her power itself wasn’t wrong.
What mattered was how she used it.

If suppressed, it would explode like a bomb.
If neglected, it would rampage like a storm.
But if she guided it between sorrow and happiness—

It could become the strongest force of all.
[I’m not…]
Eyes closed, hand stretched forward, she pulled out the words buried deep inside her.

The words her brother once told her.
The words Nathan once told her.
The words both of her understanding companions had given her—the words she’d longed to hear.

[I’m not a monster.]
She spoke them herself.
Slide…

And finally, she felt the cool, rough texture.
Elaine opened her eyes.
Before her stood a towering eight-meter boulder, as tall as the border wall itself.

A fragment of the oppressive past, buried for decades, now hovered weightlessly at her fingertips.
Completely intact, without a single fracture.
“Ha… haha…”

Elaine laughed for the first time.
What was this overwhelming feeling?
She had only ever used her power to destroy, to tear, to shatter.

Elaine slowly turned her head.
And there he was—the Chief Officer, watching her with a faint, proud smile.
“Looks like the day finally came… where you’d smile.”

His smile carried no pretense.
 
****

Elaine’s smile, her very first, was bathed in the fading glow of the sunset, glowing with indescribable beauty.
I added quietly,
“The artifact those mercenaries tried to use—it was a bomb. Powerful enough to blow up the entire Immigration Bureau building.”

At my words, both women turned to me in shock.
“…!!”
“Elaine, you protected me. You saved the Gustatory Officer and countless immigrants. With your power.”

Even if it had been violent, she used her strength.
Not to break or destroy, but to protect something precious.
I slowly lowered my head.

“Thank you.”
I should’ve said this first.
Not sorry—but affirming what she did.

For the first time, acknowledging that Elaine had done something right.
“I ask you… in the days ahead, please protect me as well.”
I gave her a reason to stay.

Just as I would shield her from the Capital, I wanted her to guard me from danger in return.
I wouldn’t force her to depend on me one-sidedly.
“As your friend… I’m asking you.”

“…”
The Princess stared at me in silence for a long moment.
And before anyone could react—

Grab!
She threw herself into my arms.
“…!!! E-Elaine!”

“P-Princess!?”
Erzena and I shouted in surprise, but Elaine only hugged me tighter around the waist.
[Thank you.]

A quiet murmur, yet overflowing with meaning.
Grip…
[Thank you, Nathan… Thank you…]

She called me by name.
And at the same time, warmth slowly soaked into my chest.
The setting sun cast its final, brilliant light before sinking below the horizon.

And I could feel it.
I could hear it.
Elaine’s heart pounding—thump, thump—inside her chest.

A powerful, determined heartbeat, proclaiming life itself.
Ah.
A lump welled up in my throat.

“…Let’s start over.”
Swallowing the tightness, I gently patted Elaine’s back.
“Let’s make it a comedy, not a tragedy.”

Let’s start your life over, right here.
So we can finally set it right.