The Legendary Programming Mage

"This is an F-rank rift, so no one would come after you, and if someone does, it will only be a goblin."

Those were the words Beatrice had told Allen before leaving him and venturing deeper into the cave.

In truth, she wasn't planning on going anywhere, to begin with, the gate wasn't an F-rank rift but an E-rank.

It wasn't that she disliked the boy called Allen Vanderbilt.

Honestly, she was fond of him.

After the demons had attacked their family estate when she was younger—killing everyone in their family except her and her younger sister—she had shut herself off from the world.

But strangely enough, the boy made her talk and interact with him.

It was partly her fault for pestering him, but that still didn't explain the bond she felt with him.

However…

That was far from the real issue.

Allen Vanderbilt was a virus.

Something that wasn't meant to exist in the order of the world.

A human who awakened without a rift.

An unknown rank.

And eyes that seemed far too mature, even for her, who was three years older than him.

That was why she wanted to know.

Who is Allen Vanderbilt?

Was he the boy Naomi raised? Or had he become something else?

But after killing the boss and waiting for another monster to appear before him, she regretted wanting to know.

"He killed an E-rank mana beast?" Beatrice muttered under her breath, her body stiffening.

'It shouldn't be possible.'

There were tales in history of F-ranks defeating E-rank mana beasts.

In fact, she herself could defeat an E-rank mana beast while still at F-rank.

But that was a long time after awakening.

By then, she had mastered mana control and learned how to use her affinity and spells.

Strange.

Yet again, he was doing something she had never been taught.

Unpredictable.

Even when people were called that, they still followed a set of unspoken rules.

Bandits might think they were breaking the law, but they still followed the norms of what a bandit must do.

The same principle applied to all things.

Before Beatrice realized what she was doing, her body moved toward the young man.

"You're ba—"

Allen, who sat on the ground, tried to speak to her, but instead of listening she crouched low beside the monster.

'It's dead.'

There was no trace of life left in it.

She had noticed it even when he killed the goblins, but he never hesitated.

If he wasn't a sheltered child raised by Naomi, she might have blamed it on his background.

But there was no reason he should be able to kill so easily, without hesitation, without even fear or trauma.

It was as if…

He had killed many people before.

Like someone who danced with death.

Glancing back at the handsome young man, who looked far too innocent and beautiful to be a killer, she asked:

"What exactly are you, Allen Vanderbilt?"

The question lingered between them before she rephrased it.

"Are you even Allen Vanderbilt? Just who are you?"

The young man didn't change his expression, not even a twitch.

The scent of the electrocuted bear mingled with blood in the air.

Allen finally sighed. "Princess, I don't understand what you're saying. What do you mean by 'who am I'?"

Her body stiffened.

'What am I even doing?'

Just because he went against what she was taught, she had jumped to conclusions.

'This is why you don't have a partner, Beatrice.'

She studied the young man's eyes, searching for even the faintest trace of deception.

But there was nothing.

Either he was an incredible liar… or he was telling the truth.

"Never mind what I said." She quickly looked away. "Let's clean up the dungeon since I killed the boss."

Allen nodded and rose to his feet. "I hope you didn't kill all the monsters."

"Don't worry, there are plenty of small fries left for you."

"That sounds weirdly insulting."

Beatrice almost chuckled but held it back. "Aren't you weak, though?"

Allen Vanderbilt.

She nearly smiled again.

He was certainly strange.

A rule breaker. A virus. An unknown.

But…

Maybe… that was what made him so interesting.

And perhaps, one day, he would be the path to finding her true self.

'Don't worry, you're stuck with me, Allen Vanderbilt…' Beatrice thought unconsciously. 'We can learn about each other no matter how long it takes.'

Beatrice suddenly froze.

She didn't know why such a thought came to her.

Only that…

Somehow…

It didn't feel wrong.

'What is wrong with me?'

---

Phew…

'That was close.'

To be honest, I had panicked for a second when Beatrice asked me that question.

Did she know who I was?

What gave me away?

Would I be killed?

Those questions rang in my head.

But you know what?

I ignored them.

Even if Beatrice suspected I wasn't Allen Vanderbilt, she had no proof to back it up.

To begin with, I doubted she truly knew I wasn't Allen Vanderbilt.

It felt more like she found me strange… or maybe intriguing enough to care.

Within twenty minutes of our conversation, I managed to exit the rift after killing all the mana beasts inside.

The rift closed almost immediately, and I could only stare at it.

"Allen."

The beautiful voice of Beatrice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Noticing my attention on her, she continued, "Wait here for a moment. I want to talk with the guard of this rift."

I nodded softly as she walked into the unfinished buildings.

'She sure is perceptive.'

Shifting my gaze to nothing in particular, I whispered:

"Status."

Immediately, a bright golden-and-black screen formed in front of me.

Ding!

... Loading status interface.