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Table of Contents
Illustration

Prologue I: Surrounded by Thoughts of the Past—

Chapter 1: Dreaming

Chapter 2: Dreamless

Chapter 3: A Hated Dream

Denyuuden Volume 5 - Prologue II: —Yet We Cannot Return to the

Past

Credits

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Prologue I: Surrounded by Thoughts of
the Past—
She spoke inside a near empty classroom.

“…I love you, Ryner,” she whispered, and gently petted his head.
That was all it took for her chest to tighten with happiness. But her
words didn’t reach him.

They were in a classroom of the Roland Empire’s Royal Special

Academy. Morning and afternoon classes were both over already.
They had battle simulations in the evening, but… Ryner had been
sleeping here at his desk ever since morning classes.

“Geez, Ryner, you’re so unfair,” Kiefer said from where she sat
beside him. “How can I wake you up when you love sleeping so
much? We have to go to training, but… at this rate I’ll end up
skipping too and they’ll think poorly of me.”

She gazed at his sleeping face kindly as she spoke. The sun was
already sinking down the horizon. The red of the sunset filtered in
through the window, and when it hit Ryner’s black hair it made it
appear just a little red…

It matched her own short red hair now. The thought made her
happy.

It was a quiet classroom, empty save for the two of them.

“I love…”

She’d started to repeat herself, but stopped halfway. Because she

knew her words wouldn’t reach him. Because she knew that she
wasn’t qualified to love him.

Her eyes narrowed, and she remembered that day two years ago.
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---

She’d smiled that day.

It might’ve been the first time she really smiled since leaving her
home country, the Kingdom of Estabul, and entering the Roland
Empire as a spy.

Her time in Roland was a tightrope between life and death. Her job
was to sniff out the movements of Roland’s military and report back
to Estabul. See the situation in Roland and report back to Estabul.

It was something she did as revenge against Roland, which killed

both her parents. It was something she did to protect her mother
country of Estabul from Roland’s evil.

Twenty people had been sent to Roland as spies.

Out of them, only Kiefer and her sisters remained. Her older sister
Naia and her younger sister Remire.

Naia had been just seven years old when their parents were killed.
Since then they’d been inseparable, always huddled together to
support each other.

The Estabulian army picked them up and taught them after their
parents died. They stuck together even when they were sent to
Roland as spies, and lived supporting each other as much as they
could. Their older worked as hard as she could to protect them, and
their younger sister worked as hard as she could to support her older
sisters…

They worked hard. As hard as they could.

And so they, the three sisters who had lost their parents, were sent
to their country’s enemy, Roland, for two years.

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They fought madly against death.

They hid, collected information on Roland’s military, and worked for

just enough money to survive with.

And so they alone lived.

It appeared that Roland’s military still wasn’t aware of them. They’d

manage to get through this alive.

That’s what they thought, anyway. So they were smiling that day.

A festival had come to Roland’s castle town, Reylude, and they went
there to play…

They were walking along the shopping district, peeking into the night
stalls lined up on the streets.

The three of them really resembled each other. THough they were
different heights, they all had the same red hair and the same
dignified red eyes down to the same taste in clothes.

Naia was three years to Kiefer’s senior, more feminine, and kind.
Kiefer loved her. She caught the eyes of men as she walked through
the streets. Kiefer felt proud to be her sister.

Then there was Remire, who was two years younger than Kiefer.
She’d just turned twelve at the time. A stall selling sweets had caught
her eye. “Hey, Naia, I want one!” Remire said as she raced towards it.

“Wait, Remire! No!” Kiefer said. “You just had some sweets!”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t enough!”

“Say that and you’ll end up eating so many sweets that you don’t
have room for dinner,” Kiefer said.

Remire looked to Naia. “I can have some, right?”

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Kiefer turned to Naia as well. “Naia, you can’t spoil her! She’s eaten
nothing but sweets lately.”

“Th-that’s not true!” Remire said. “That was just today!”

“You say that every single day! You tell her too, Naia!”

Naia looked a little troubled by their argument. “Hmm, but there’s a

festival today, so I think she should be able to as much as she
wants…”

“You’re making excuses for her again!?”

“Yay!” Remire said, then stuck her tongue out. “I love you so much,
Naia! And I haaate you, Kiefer!”

“And I hate little sisters who don’t listen!” Kiefer said, and stuck out
her tongue just like Remire…

Remire puffed up her cheeks in annoyance, then turned back to the

sweets stall and entered.

Kiefer watched her go, then turned to her older sister. “Naia, you
know how many sweets she’s already had today, right?”

Naia smiled wryly. “Mm-hm. But there’s a festival today… go easy on

her. More importantly, is there anything you want, Kiefer? It’s a
festival, so feel free to get it. Well, as long as it’s not too expensive.”

“Um, well, y’know. I said it before too, but I don’t think we’ll have
the money for that after buying candy from that stall. And I think
she’ll definitely want clothes or toys later and regret spending it all
on candy, too. Geez, I can picture it perfectly,” Kiefer said, smiling at
the thought of her little sister’s disappointment. “But it’s okay. We
finally have a day off so I’ll give Remire my portion of the money too.
I think she needs to be able to have fun memories like this too. She’s

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worked hard, always being in the middle of our enemy country… and
she’s always dealt with it well, so…”

Naia suddenly pet her head, her hand gentle. “You’ve always been
such a good kid. But you don’t need to worry about those things.
You’re still just a fourteen year old girl. Tell me if there’s anything
you want…”

Naia’s words trailed off. Her eyes narrowed.

“…You two are already too good of kids,” Naia finished, almost
sighing her words. She looked to behind Kiefer and waved.

Kiefer looked back. Remire was there, running with three sticks of
candy pops. “I bought one for you, Naia! And, um, one for you too,
Kiefer,” she said. She handed it over a little clumsily.

“…Geez, you’re not the brightest,” Kiefer said. “We really are out of
money now that you’ve bought three.”

Remire grimaced. “Yeah, b, but… they looked so tasty, I wanted you

guys to be able to eat them too…”

What a thing to say…

Kiefer patted her little sister’s head kindly like Naia had just done for
her.

Remire, happy, hugged her in return.

Kiefer smiled. “Hey, Naia. You said that I should tell you if I want
anything, right?”

“Yeah. Did you think of something?”

Kiefer shook her head and tugged Remire close. “I already have
everything I want. I’m happy as long as I get to be with you two.”

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She really thought so, too. That was enough for her. She already had
everything that was important to her.

Naia smiled and held Kiefer.

It was comfortable. Perfectly comfortable. And with just that, she

didn’t want anything else. She was able to think that. As long as the
three of them could be together…

“Ah!? S-sorry, Kiefer! I just got candy stuck to your shirt!” Remire
said, flustered.

“Huh? Are you serious? Remire,” Kiefer started, but Naia cut her off.

“Ah… Kiefer, mine got in your hair…”

“What!? Why are they all stuck to me!?”

Remire smiled mischievously. “I think it’s ‘cause you’re such a

blockhead!”

Naia nodded solemnly. “Yeah, it’s because you’re always saying

‘geez, hey, wait,’ and all…”

“You guys are terrible!” Kiefer said. “You’re the ones who got them
stuck!”

Naia and Remire exchanged a glance, then stuck their tongues out
and laughed.

Kiefer scrunched up her nose in anger. “H, heeey… don’t laugh at

meee…”

But they were laughing even as she said it…

They looked at each other, in the midst of lively festival stalls, and
they all burst out laughing.

They were laughs that truly came from the bottom of their hearts.
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And then… someone spoke from behind them.

“Hey, are you guys sisters? Man, you’re cute. Real lookers, and all
sisters.”

Kiefer and Remire were already used to being called out like that,
though. Men called out to their older sister one after another… and
then Kiefer and Remire glared at them and they ran off. That was
their usual routine. It’d already happened twice at this festival alone.
This was the third time.

So Kiefer and Remire looked at each other, nodded, and then glared
back at the man.

The man looked troubled. “Huh? Do you two hate me or

something?” He asked and smiled.

It was an innocent smile.

Even so… Kiefer’s expression warped. So did Remire’s and Naia’s.

This man… this man’s armor. When they got a good look at it, they
couldn’t help but shiver.

“Wh… why…?”

That was all they could say.

He was wearing strange white armor and a navy blue robe.

Kiefer knew that armor. She couldn’t forget it.

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It was the uniform of Roland’s strongest corps, the Magical Knights.

Ten years ago, monsters wearing that armor killed their parents in
mere seconds.

He smiled as the girls glared. “So, Estabulian spies. What’re you

doing laughing in a place like this? Feelin’ good because you’ve
pulled the wool over our eyes?”

With that, the atmosphere was enveloped in killing intent.

“Ah…”

The pressure was overwhelming.

He was a demon of the battlefield, part of the strongest corps in

existence. There was no mistake about it.

“Uuh…”

He was, unmistakably, one of Roland’s Magical Knights…

His bloodlust was engulfing her.

They couldn’t escape it. Just feeling it was enough to know that. He
was far too strong.

They’d be killed.

Just then, Naia leapt in front of them. “Kiefer! Take Remire and run!”

Even if she said to… Kiefer couldn’t move. She couldn’t run. There
was no way she could escape a monster like this…

“Hurry!”

Kiefer had never heard Naia sound so stern before. “A, alright…!” She
said. It was like the spell binding her had been broken. She hoisted
Remire up in her arms and ran as fast as she could.
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As she frantically weaved her way through the festival crowds, her
sister in her arms, she turned back to look.

Naia had grabbed onto the clothes of the other festival goers for
cover, and they turned to accuse the Magical Knight in turn. Then,
having lost sight of Naia, he caught Kiefer’s eye and broke out in a
run towards her.

Good.

It was a lively festival. There were people everywhere. They might be

able to hide amongst the crowd and get away.

She really thought that.

But then he laughed like a boar and rose a hand to the air. He drew a
magic circle of light before himself.

He was casting Roland’s magic. Estabul’s was completely different - it

was letters of light rather than magic circles. And if she recalled… this
particular magic circle was called Lightning Flash. It was an offensive
spell.

“Y-you’re joking,” Kiefer said. “Fire that and all these Rolanders will
be hurt too!”

The man just laughed. “So?” He asked. With that he recited the spell.
“I wish for thunder - Lightning Flash!”

Thunder welled in the center of the magic circle. It shot ahead of him
with a distinct electrical roar.

No one even screamed. They just clattered to the floor one after
another.

The man nodded at his handiwork. “Cleared a nice little path, didn’t
it? Run all you want, bitch. I’ll catch you and kill you either way,” he

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said. He stepped over the fallen Rolanders… over the people of his
country, his brethren, and he just stomped carelessly over them as
he ran to catch her.

Screams rose up around them.

Obviously. People had just died in front of them.

“Quiet!” He yelled. “This is military business. If you aren’t quiet, I’ll

kill you all.”

With that, the town became silent. Nobody moved.

Kiefer grimaced. The people here were used to this. They were used
to being subordinated by their country and their military.

It was Roland, after all. A country that’d gone completely mad.

The man was approaching her with frightening speed, calm as he

stepped over the bodies of his countrymen.

And then she heard Naia yell.

“Don’t stop, Kiefer! I’ll hold him back!”

“But—”

“It’s fine! Just go, I’ll definitely catch up to you later! Take Remire
and run! Run to the Estabul border!” Naia said. Then she turned and
drew letters of light. Kiefer recognized it as one of Estabul’s strongest
spells, too difficult for all but the country’s elite mages.

Naia had been called a genius at the training facility. That was why
she was entrusted with the duty of coming to Roland as a spy.

Kiefer was proud of her - her beautiful, feminine, and above all,
strong older sister…

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Naia finished writing in the air. “I dedicate the words of our contract
- give birth to the beast of malice sleeping within the earth!”

Naia’s body began to glow. It was a strong spell that brought one’s
body to the absolute limit of its abilities, far beyond what it could
normally do. She accelerated with the spell’s power. She flew
towards the Magical Knight with incredible force.

Kiefer tore her eyes away. “Let’s go, Remire!” She said. She grasped
her sister tightly and ran.

“No, we can’t!” Remire said. “Our sister, she…”

“It’s fine! She’ll be fine! You know how strong she is, Remire! She can
do it! But if we stay, we’ll just slow her down.”

“B, but…”

“Listen to me! It’ll be fine!! We’ll definitely get to go back to the

three of us together!!” Kiefer said.

She wasn’t just saying it for Remire. She was saying it for herself, too.

It’d be okay. It had to be okay.

Things had gone well until now, after all. They thought they’d die
many times, but as long as they supported each other, they managed
to live.

This time had to be the same. They’d make it somehow as long as

they didn’t give up… and then the three of them could continue to
live together.

So she had to run. “Let’s go!” Kiefer yelled and forced Remire
onwards.

“Noooo!!” Remire screamed from her side.

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A shiver wracked her whole body. Remire’s eyes were filled with
tears, and she just kept screaming. It made Kiefer shiver.

Remire’s face was just so despair-stricken. It was scary. It was scary

that she had to make that kind of face.

This shouldn’t be happening. It shouldn’t be happening. They’d tried

so hard. They’d just been laughing about candy stuck to her shirt a
minute ago.

So… there was no way…

Kiefer continued to listen to Remire’s screams. She listened… and she

turned back… to the sight of her older sister crumpled on the
ground…

The Magical Knight had a disgusting smile, and he grabbed Naia’s

arm and held her up high… as if to show Kiefer and Remire.

Blood was spurting from her, raining from her pretty little arm.

The man just grinned as he watched Kiefer and Remire for a reaction.
“What’re you gonna do now, Estabulian bitches? Will you throw your
sister out and make a run for it? Or will you come save her?”

“N-Naia!” Remire screamed and tried to run to her.

“Don’t!” Naia yelled. She pressed a hand to her bleeding shoulder

and stood up, away from the Magical Knight. She forced her bitter
expression into a kind smile. “I… I love you, so… hurry up and get
away. I’ll definitely come find you later,” she promised.

“No!!” Remire screamed.

But Naia just continued to smile. She moved her gaze to Kiefer.
“Take… care of Remire, okay?”

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Kiefer didn’t want to hear that either. She wanted to scream, too.
But she couldn’t. She was jealous of Remire, crying and screaming as
she was.

Naia seemed to see right through her and shook her head. “You’re
her older sister, aren’t you? Stay strong,” she said.

Kiefer couldn’t respond. Tears were spilling from her eyes…

“Please, Kiefer.”

She didn’t want to hear that.

She was crying. She couldn’t stop crying.

She didn’t wipe them. She just moved to grab Remire’s hand. “We’re
going!” Kiefer said.

“No! No! No, let me go! I can’t leave her!” Remire said and tried to
break free. But Kiefer wouldn’t let her.

“I hate it when you don’t listen!” Kiefer yelled. “I said that before,
too, didn’t I!”

Remire turned her tear-streaked face to Kiefer. But she stopped

screaming.

When Naia saw that… she smiled. It was like she was truly happy.
“Good. You’re such a good kid. Aha. I really love you two. You’re
both such good kids. I didn’t deserve you two, proud as I am,” she
said.

But… it was really the other way around. Naia was someone that
both Kiefer and Remire could look up to and boast about. She was
their beautiful, talented, and kind older sister. Of course they’d be
proud.

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Kiefer wanted to be like her someday. She’d always, always thought
that since she was a kid. She’d always admired her so much.

And yet… time would continue to pass, and Kiefer would surpass her
age… even though she’d just been a burden… She was still a burden
even now, at the very end…

The man looked happy. “Those little sisters you’re so proud of are
gonna die soon too, y’know.”

Naia didn’t react to him at all. She just continued in that perfectly
kind tone of hers. “You don’t have to be afraid. It’s okay. I won’t let
him go. You two will definitely get away. Now go.”

With that, she faced off against the man once more.

“I… I love you too,” Kiefer whispered. There was no way her sister
could hear here from there, and yet…

“You don’t have to say it!” Naia said. “I already know!”

Of course.

Because they were always together. They’d always been together

since they were born. Of course Naia would understand.

So Kiefer steeled her resolve. “Let’s go, Remire,” she said and took
her hand once more as she screamed ‘I love you!’ from inside her
heart. She screamed that she didn’t want her to die, that she didn’t
want Naia to leave them over and over inside.

“I… love you too,” Naia said, as if replying to her. “So you absolutely
can’t get hurt. I’ll pay my life to…”

Naia’s voice got farther and farther away until she couldn’t hear it
anymore. She flitted through the crowds, then ducked into an
alleyway. Remire sobbed behind the entire time. But there was no

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way they Kiefer could stop and cry with her. Because, just like Naia,
she was Remire’s big sister. She had to protect her. So she ran
frantically, picturing a map of the city in her mind and choosing the
best route based on it.

When she turned back and looked, the man was nowhere to be seen.
Because Naia had stopped him for them.

They’d make it. She really thought so.

They’d get away at this rate.

They made it out of the city’s center. There were fewer and fewer
people the farther away they got. They’d made it pretty far already.

Remire was breathing heavy behind her from all the running.

“Are you okay, Remire?”

“Y, yeah, I’m…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence. She was too out of breath. If they
stopped for even a moment, she probably wouldn’t be able to go on
anymore.

Kiefer turned into another alley. It was a dark place, completely void
of people. They could hide here. “We’re probably… far away enough
now…”

And yet… a voice rose from the pitch black of the alley. “You
Estabulian bitches are no faster than dogs.”

It was the man from before. Kiefer was struck with the urge to
scream. But she held it down. “Remire, get awa…”

Her voice trailed off. Because the man… tossed what he’d been
holding in his hand, and it rolled on towards her…

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Kiefer couldn’t move.

It was… a head. Her big sister’s… Naia’s… head…

“‘I’ll pay my life to protect you…’ haha. As if a cheap life like hers
could pay for anything.”

A cheap life. That was all he had to say about the life Naia had given
to protect them.

“I, I’ll kill you!” Kiefer screamed. “I’ll definitely kill—”

“No! Stop, let go!”

Kiefer turned back to Remire. Two other men in Roland’s Magical

Knight uniform had appeared and caught Remire…

“N… no, this can’t be…”

“So what’re you gonna do? Kill me?” The man asked. “Go for it. But if
you do, your little sister gets it next… so what’ll it be?”

He snickered. He was enjoying this, and his mocking tone was proof
of it.

“……”

She couldn’t think of a single way to break this deadlock.

But she had to protect her sister. Naia had asked her to. Even if it
took her life…

Kiefer turned, then slammed her fist at one of the Magical Knights
holding Remire captive.

“Ugh!?”

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A kick slammed against her back. Her vision went white and her body
slumped against the wall, then fell to the ground. She couldn’t move
her legs. All she could do was shiver.

“Uugh… ahhgh…”

Her ears were ringing horribly.

“…Sis! Kiefer!!”

She understood that Remire was screaming. But they were already
surrounded by four men… One kicked Kiefer again. Her head jerked
and her lip bled. Then they slammed her head against the wall. She
fell back down, but they didn’t stop. They beat her again and again,
punching her, kicking her to their heart’s content…

She couldn’t fight them. She couldn’t put up any resistance at all. She
couldn’t protect Remire. She couldn’t even move… All she could do
was listen to her sister scream.

“Stop! Please, stop! You’ll kill her! You’ll kill her!!”

The beating abruptly stopped.

Kiefer had collapsed, completely unable to move. She didn’t even

know what hurt anymore. It just did. She was sure that some of her
bones were broken. She could see her right arm and leg jutting out at
strange angles… but she didn’t pay them any mind. She didn’t care.
There was something more important…

She forced her head up to look at the men smirking down at her.
“Uu… p, please. I can’t do anything now… so please. My sister’s just a
kid… so please…”

“Nah. We’ve gotta torment the two of you just like I tormented your
sister, then kill you both. Those were the orders: ‘deal with all of
Estabul’s do—’”
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“P-please,” Kiefer interrupted. “Please… I’ll do anything, anything…
you can do anything to me. I’ll do anything you ask. So please… let
my sister…”

“Stop! Enough!” Remire said. “I’m fine… it’s fine, so let’s all… let’s all
just go to the same place as Naia together…”

Kiefer couldn’t answer her. She just watched the men.

They all laughed.

“You want to save your sister?” The first man asked.

Kiefer nodded frantically. She was fine with whatever came to her…
as long as Remire…

“You’d even betray your own country?” The man asked. “Can you
betray your country to save your sister?”

She didn’t hesitate. “I will do whatever you say.”

“Haha, get a load of this. She’ll sell her country out just like that.
That’s what makes an Estabulian spy, huh? Ha, you’re all worthless.”

One of the other men laughed. “Here I thought Estabulians wouldn’t

betray their country even when faced with hostages… guess I
thought about it too hard. We should take the girl captive. I’ll make
good use of her sister…”

The other men looked at him enviously. “Damn, you’ll have lots more
fun… we just get the kid. Well, whatever. That’s how the job goes.”

One of them grabbed Kiefer by the hair. “Welcome to Roland, then.

From now on you’ll send the fake information we tell you about to
Estabul. We’ll let your sister go if you do a good job. But until then
we’ll take care of her. Work hard so she doesn't end up dead, you…”

He looked down at her for a moment.

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“…Traitor,” he finished. Then he spit on her.

But she didn’t mind. Kiefer turned to face her sister… and smiled.
“It’ll be okay. Things will go well,” she promised. “So wait for me. I’ll
definitely save you…”

Remire just cried.

Kiefer wanted to pet her head. She wanted to tell her that she was
doing a good job. Remire was only twelve years old… she’d been
doing so well. She wanted to pat her head and tell her that she was
sorry about everything.

But she couldn’t. Her bones were broken and she couldn’t move.

She just wanted to save Remire so badly…

Someday… she’d save her. Because they were sisters. Because Naia
asked her to look after her.

Even if it meant becoming a traitor… even if it meant letting them do

whatever they wanted with her… she’d definitely save Remire.

Kiefer made a vow. She’d definitely, absolutely save her.

That was how she became a traitor.

---

There was a chilly breeze coming in through the window.

How long had they been sitting like this, petting Ryner’s hair? It’d
became night before she realized it.

“…We have to go back… Come on, Ryner. It’s already nighttime. Get
up so we can go.”

“…Mm? Today I’m like… mmgh,” Ryner mumbled and yawned. But
before long his breathing slowed once more.
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“Come on, sleepyhead…”

All the little movements he made were so precious…

She asked herself how this had happened.

It’d been two years now since she was separated from her sisters.
She should have been tense that entire time. She shouldn’t have
opened her heart to anyone, no matter how kind they were to her…

So how’d she manage to fall in love with Ryner then?

She reached out to pet his hair once more. She began to repeat the
same words from before. “I love…”

…But she stopped there. Because she wasn’t qualified to say it.

She’d betrayed her own country… and her own friends. Sion, Tyle,
Tony, and Fahle… She’d betrayed them all. And from now on, she’d
betray Ryner too.

Because there was going to be a war. She’d follow her instructions to

make it so.

Everyone would be killed then.

Everyone… everyone would be killed. All of these people were

important to her, and they’d all be killed. She’d kill them herself.

“……”

She felt like sobbing. But she gripped the clothes on Ryner’s back and
overcame the urge.

Save me. She swallowed those words.

Ryner, save me. She swallowed those words.
I just want to die.

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She didn’t want to kill anybody… she didn’t want to kill everybody.

Save me, Ryner. Ryner. Ryner. Ryner.

Save me… please save me.

Tears spilled from her eyes all on their own.

And then Ryner yawned. “Uwah, why’s it dark? You’re kidding, right?
It’s night already!? Whoa, I got to sleep a whole bunch~!” Ryner said
and stood, then looked around the dark classroom…

“Geez! Ryner, you sleep too much!” Kiefer said loudly, half-yelling.
“All you’ve done is sleep since this morning!”

Then she smiled. It was a perfect smile. She always smiled like that,
no matter what. It was a smile without any tears or gaps. Because
she was a traitor.

She just kept telling lies. Because she was a traitor.

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Chapter 1: Dreaming
The carriage disappeared into the forest path.

It was an uneven, rough path that was hardly ever maintained. Right
now, a horse-drawn carriage was racing along it, armed soldiers
chasing from behind.

“Hold it!”

“I’m gonna kill you!”

“Stop right this instant!”

“I’ll cut you into eight strips!”

And so on and so forth. They yelled and yelled as they chased the
carriage.

It was a tense scene. The carriage had to race forward to avoid being
caught by the soldiers, each of whom radiated unmistakable killing
intent.

Ryner was sitting in the driver’s seat. “Uugh… shit,” he muttered, the
horse’s whip in hand.

Rare as it was, today he looked serious.

It was hard to tell if his usual bed-head was in place due to the wind
sweeping his black hair aside, and his usual lanky and motivationless
body looked different as it sat up tensed to keep balance and focus
on driving the carriage.

He was wearing the white armor and robe of Roland’s Magical

Knights, known as their strongest troops on the street… and right
now he strangely looked the part.

Page | 29
Last but not least, his valuable black eyes. Normally half-lidded from
sleep, today they were opened wide and wet with tears. They
narrowed slightly. He was pensive, worried, and a single tear fell past
his cheek.

“Augh… I can’t do this anymore… I’m sleepy, I’m gonna fall asleep.
Can’t I just sleep? I’m telling you, this is impossible… The horse has
gone on running for forty two hours. That means it hasn’t slept in
forty two hours… and if you’re gonna switch the horse, then switch
the driver too, got it? I mean, seriously. Ugh, my body’s at its limit.
The wind’s making my eyes dry, my eyes… ahh… I wanna close
them… fuwaah… g’night.”

With that, Ryner’s eyes closed. His expression turned to one of bliss
as he was transported to the world of dreams…

“Don’t sleep and drive,” a woman said from inside the carriage. She
thrust a sword at him from behind, and pressed it into his neck…

“G-gyaaahhh!! Hey hey hey hey hey I was just joking! Ferris, you
asshole! You were seriously gonna cut me!” Ryner said, awakened
with vigor. He dodged her sword as he yelled.

The window separating the carraige’s inside from the driver’s seat
slid all the way open to reveal the woman’s face. She was beautiful,
unbelievably so, with glossy blonde hair and clear blue eyes, and a
face so handsome that it was odd. She was a world-class beauty on
the same level as a goddess. Men and even women who looked at
her sighed in wonder at the overwhelming sight of her…

She stared at Ryner with a perfectly blank expression. “Mm. You

dodged. Then how about this?” She asked and stabbed her sword at
him again, just as fast as before.

“Whoa!” Ryner said and hurried to dodge. “Look, look—,” another

stab, “—Wah, wait, what!? Wait… wahahwa!?”
Page | 30
Ryner dodged over and over again, putting that balance he’d been
working so hard to maintain at risk of collapse. The footholds were
poor and they were going too fast. He felt like he’d fall at any
second…

But for some reason, the beauty looked a little happy as she thrust
her sword at him over and over again. “Heheh. Dance, dance,
criminal. Dance your death waltz until you go mad…”

“Aaaaauuughh!! What kind of exposition is thiiisssss!!” Ryner yelled

from just below her sword’s range. But she tugged her sword around
to slice him with…

She finally pulled her sword back inside the carriage and sighed.
“Hm. Anyway, sleeping and driving is dangerous…”

“Your sword’s way more dangerous!” Ryner yelled. He turned his

half-lidded eyes to stare at the beauty.

She was nothing but pretty on the outside, but on the inside she had
a deathly personality.

Ferris Eris.

“So did you sleep well?” Ferris asked.

“I told you, I haven’t slept more than five seconds in the past forty
two hours!”

She nodded, satisfied. “That’s enough. You can keep going for about
two hundred more hours now, right?”

“I, I’m gonna die… I’m definitely gonna die if this keeps up,” Ryner
whispered through shivers.

By the way, the armed soldiers chasing them hadn’t stopped while
they argued.

Page | 31
“Come on, just stop!”

“I’ll kill you, dammit!”

“I’ll beat you ‘till you’re covered in bruises!”

They just kept yelling and running at them.

“Stop at once!”

“God will bestow punishment upon you for defying us!”

And so on and so on…

“Ugh, they’re so loud,” Ryner complained. What’s with this god of

theirs in the first place… Is that the kind of god they are?” He
wondered aloud, and shot a tired glance back at them.

When he did he saw a carriage pulled by four horses. The men were
waving their swords around threateningly from on top of it. Their
armor wasn’t all that impressive - it was just leather. The crest
fastened to their chests was different from Roland’s - it was Runa’s
coat-of-arms that professed faith in God; it featured a woman with
her hands joined at her chest in prayer.

They almost appeared sacred because of it… but unfortunately, the

soldiers were all bearded men, nothing but muscle. And to top it
off…

“Hyahahaha!! I’m gonna kill you! I’m gonna kill you, y’know!”

Ryner was sick of them. “So are those guys like, Runa’s regular
soldiers? They talk like bandits. I wish Runa’d educate them a little
before letting them run around yelling about punishing people in
god’s name…”

“Mm,” Ferris said from behind. “This way they’re no different from
you.”
Page | 32
“What? When’d I ever talk like that?”

“Mm? Every night when you go to chase after women on the streets.
‘Hyahaha, no matter how much you scream, no one will come to
save you. This is a soundproof room.’ And then they yell, ‘No!
Someone save me!’ And you say, ‘Uheheh. It’s no use, Missy. Just
accept it and do what I say.’ ‘Noooo!!’ And so it repeats, night after
night—”

“That doesn’t happen!” Ryner interrupted. “Where would I even find

soundproof rooms travelling with you like this…”

Ferris’ expression suddenly tensed as she looked around. “It can’t

be… this carriage is one of those famous soundproof rooms, isn’t
it!? You’ve tricked me, Ryner! What do you intend to do here!?” She
all but screamed, glaring at Ryner.

But all Ryner could do was stare.

“……”

He didn’t have anything to say. He was at his limit.

“.......I-it can’t be, this is one of those famous soundproo—”

“You don’t need to repeat it!”

“Leaving all that aside…”

“You’re the one who started it all!”

“Don’t blame others.”

“I-I’m seriously gonna kill you after this…” Ryner said, but his voice
quickly trailed off. “I’m joking, ma’am, I’m joking. I don’t mind our
back-and-forths at all. So could you please stop pointing your sword
at my back…?”

Page | 33
And as they spoke with each other…

“H, hey! Stop ignoring us!” One of the soldiers yelled. Apparently it
was bothering him that Ferris and Ryner weren’t facing them
seriously.

“Hm? We weren’t ignoring you,” Ryner said earnestly. We were just

talking about the tone you guys are taking with us—”

Naturally, they didn’t let him finish. “Stop looking down on us and
return that stolen demon child at once!”

…Demon child.

That was what they called him.

Ryner’s eyes narrowed. He turned back to Ferris. “How’s Arua

doing?”

“He’s still unconscious,” she said and pointed to her lap where a
young boy was using her as a pillow.

Arua was about six years old and had the same dark hair as Ryner. He
was also the boy the Runan soldiers were calling a demon. His face
and body were covered in bruises… Ryner’s eyes narrowed at the
sight.

Arua, the ‘demon child,’ had endured the worst torture imaginable
up until yesterday at the hands of the Runan military. They covered
him in wounds, killed his mother, and beheaded his father before his
very eyes…

And a Runan noble watched it all with a smile. “Now, hurry up and go
berserk,” he’d said, hitting him over and over again and destroying
everything important to him. “Go berserk, demon.”

All with a smile.

Page | 34
A seal was engraved in the boy’s eyes. It was the exact same as what
was in Ryner’s - a scarlet pentagram. It could copy any kind of magic
with just a glance, no matter what it was or how it was performed. It
gave understanding and ability with just that one glance.

Those eyes were called the Alpha Stigma.

All who had them were feared and loathed, called monsters and
demons…

And then they stopped caring about anything… and went berserk…

Then massacres occurred.

They didn’t want it, but they still ended up killing everyone around
them, even those who were precious to them. So it couldn’t really be
helped… if people called them demons… And it couldn’t be helped if
people called them monsters…

But then weren’t the ones who hit a child over and over again and
killed his parents in front of him while smiling demons too?

Ryner recalled it every time he closed his eyes.

Their smiles.

Their smiles as they tormented and tortured them… Their joy as

they killed people he loved, people who were precious to him before
his very eyes.

Weren’t they demons?

And yet even people like that called them demons…

Ryner’s expression clouded over.

The Runan soldiers were still yelling their heads off. “Stop that
carriage already! If you don’t, God’s punishment awaits you!”

Page | 35
Ryner smiled self-derisively. “Hmm. Does god’s punishment work on
demons?”

Apparently the soldiers were happy that he’d finally acknowledged

them, because they puffed their chests out. “Hah! Your fear has
come too late! Isn’t it obvious that God can shoot you down and ruin
you?”

“Hm. He should give it a try and see if his godly power can ruin us
demons then.”

With that, Ryner raised his right hand to the air and drew letters of
light with incredible speed. It was a spell he’d copied when fighting
Estabul’s Magical Knights.

“M-magic!?” The Runan soldiers said, flustered. “And magic from

another country! Intercept i—”

Ryner shrugged. “Too late. “I dedicate the words of our contract -

fire the beast of light dancing within the heavens!” He recited. A light
appeared above him, and its indeterminate shape soon mimicked
that of a dog-like beast… and ran straight for the horses leading the
soldiers’ hooves.

Then it exploded in a painfully bright flight on the ground.

“A, aahhh!!”

“It’s atta… waugh!”

They screamed and fell from their horses and into the forest road.

“Do you think you’ll win that easily, demon!?” A soldier yelled, but
the distance between them was growing.

“Mm. It’s over. Good work,” Ferris said.

Page | 36
“Man, you could’ve helped a little,” Ryner said, exhausted. “I’ve been
driving for so long now. It’s the least you could do to drive them
away.”

“No. I’m busy.”

“With what?”

“Protecting this child.”

“Oh, well… yeah, I guess so. It’d be dangerous for him to ride back
there alone. He could hit his head on a bump and get hurt…”

Ferris shook her head. “It’s not that. He has black hair and black eyes,
and to top it off he’s an Alpha Stigma bearer. He’s the son of a
certain master pervert… so I am protecting him from becoming a
man like you who abducts women.”

What a thing to say…

“I told you, he’s not my son! And who’re you callin’ a kidnapper…
Um, I mean… anyway, what now?” Ryner asked. He turned back
again to look, but was met with the clunk of Ferris’ sword warning
him.

“Stop! Come any closer and you’ll contaminate Petite Ryner!” Ferris
shouted.

“…Hey… do you enjoy saying stuff like that all the time?” Ryner
asked, exhausted.

Ferris nodded. “Mm. To kill time.”

“Hah!? If you’re free, then switch with me! Come drive for a while!”

“I’m busy—”

Page | 37
“I swear I’m gonna kill you! Ugh… ugh, just whatever… Talking with
you never goes anywhere… it’s kinda peaceful, actually…”

Ryner sighed. His grip on the reins weakened and the horse slowed in
turn. He leaned out to look behind them and make sure that the
Runan soldiers weren’t catching up.

“Well, they’re not all that threatening, so we’re probably fine for a
while like this,” he said. The horse continued to slow. He turned back
to Ferris again. “So what now? I think we’ll be able to get away from
our Runan pursuers…”

“I told you yesterday, didn’t I?” Ferris said with ease. “We go back to
Ridget Village to get monetary compensation from the girl who
requested that we save Petite Ryner, and then we go to Runa’s
capital to try out their famous dango—”

“No, you can leave out the dango part. Anyway… the girl’s name was
Kuku, right? And she’s Arua’s childhood friend? She really didn’t look
well-off enough to be handing out money as a reward… But it’d
probably be pretty bad if we didn’t go see her. We have to tell her
that we saved Arua… and…”

Ferris’ eyes narrowed. “Mm. It’s possible that Runa’s army will have
come back there.”

Ryner nodded. “Right. They’ll want us to hand Arua over… But they
killed both his parents. They’ll want to trade his childhood friend for
him next. And that’s not all. Kuku was being beat by the villagers just
because she was Arua’s friend…”

Ryner recalled the villagers yelling “It’s your fault!” and hitting her.
He grimaced.

That was a common enough thing. It used to happen often in Roland.

The nobles always tyrannized the weak…
Page | 38
This country, the Runa Empire, had been allied with the old Roland.
He could see why…

The country had gone completely mad.

The military ran wild and used their power to support the haughty
nobility. It was a mad country where the common people had to live
in the fear of the nobility and military’s shadows.

“…Man, we’ve gotten ourselves into a real pain of a situation,” Ryner

said and sighed.

“You’re telling me,” Ferris said from the carriage. “You have women
give birth to your children and throw them out with ease, and then
ask for my hand in going to save the kids later… It’s very
inconvenient.”

“…Hey, you. You’re still not done with that?”

“Mm. I’m just killing time until we get to Ridget Village, after all.”

“Ah, then, um, do you want to drive for a while or something,

maybe?”

“Hmm. Sorry. I suddenly became very busy again.”

Ryner was silent for a moment before replying, the defeat in his tone
palpable. “Right, right, understood, Princess…”

“Mm. Onwards, Slave.”

“I swear I’m gonna kill youuuuu!!!”

And so their usual, unproductive conversation continued as they

headed towards Ridget Village one step at a time…

---

Page | 39
At the same time in another place, even farther south than the Runa
Empire where Ryner and Ferris were, in the southernmost tip of
Menoris: the Roland Empire.

Recently people were even calling it a great country. It’d become

strong.

It had annexed the Kingdom of Estabul, its enemy of old, and

improved relations with the neighboring Imperial Nelpha after a
critical situation between the two countries. Its alliance with the
Runa Empire was steadily strengthening with age as well.

All of those changes had occurred since a new king, Sion Astal, took
the throne. An illegitimate son of the previous king, he’d risen to the
top of the military in a single breath thanks to his achievements in
the Roland-Estabul war. Then he started a revolution, dethroned the
mad previous king, and became known as the patriot who’d saved
his country: the Hero King.

He was king at the young age of nineteen, overflowing with all the
things needed to be king: charm, power, and looks. He used his
assets skillfully to amass a tremendous following in the common
people…

He was the ideal king that everyone had been waiting for.

…No, that was just what they wanted him to be.

Everyone expected things of him, had hopes of him, and lived inside
a dream of him.

Because the country had been so, so rotten. Because they’d prayed
so, so hard that a king like him would appear.

So Sion was the perfect king. So he had to be the perfect king.

So…
Page | 40
Roland Castle, the home of the king.

Sion smiled happily atop the throne. “You needn’t bow. I understand
your loyalty to me even without it,” he said to the nobles prostrating
themselves before him.

They were all frightened.

The nobility, who’d always been so haughty with him, was bowing
deeply, pale as could be.

“Th-then would you forgive our numerous slights until now, Your
Highness?”

Numerous slights…

Sion tilted his head. What ‘numerous slights?’ If they meant rude
remarks, then sure, they’d said all sorts of things. They probably had
tons of plans to trap Sion that he never knew about, too.

And then there were the definite slights. His previous secretary, Fiole
Folkal… they’d killed him to threaten Sion.

He recalled Fiole’s smile at once.

“Sir, you’re always working too hard when I’m not around,” he’d
said, troubled but smiling nonetheless.

And he recalled Fiole’s smile when he’d told Sion that he was happy
to be able to raise his little sister, his pride and joy, under Sion’s
rule…

And he recalled… Fiole’s body, chopped up into so, so many pieces…

just to make a point to Sion…

He’d wanted to kill all the nobility back then. He wanted to kill them
all for rotting their country to its core. But… he knew that wasn’t

Page | 41
what Fiole would want. He wanted Sion to become a good king. To
become a perfect king that led their country on a just path.

So Sion shrugged, pretending like he had no idea what the nobles

were talking about. “Slights, you say? Whatever do you mean? When
have you ever slighted me?”

“Er, well…”

“It’s alright,” Sion said with a smile. “You needn’t worry. You haven’t
done anything wrong. Please, be at ease as you lead the people
down the right path.”

Tears were already flowing down their cheeks. “O-of course. We will
devote the governing of our domains to Your Highness—”

“To the people,” Sion corrected. “Work so that you can see your
people’s overjoyed faces. That is the quickest path to making Roland
prosper, after all…”

He wouldn’t allow any more of the tyranny they’d used to fill their
own pockets with up until now.

He’d change Roland. He’d change it into the country that Fiole… that
everyone had always dreamed of.

The nobles nodded, flustered. “O-of course. We owe everything to

our people…”

It took some effort to not let his bitterness leak into his smile. Whose
mouth was uttering those words, again?

Sion nodded and motioned for the nobles to rise. They did so
nervously and made to leave, but… a man came in through the door
they meant to leave from.

Page | 42
He was tall and model thin with beautiful, straight pitch black hair
that he kept long. His face was breathtakingly handsome, but… how
many people really noticed that? They were far more likely to notice
his cold, deep blue eyes… They were frigid, cutting, like they looked
down on everyone else, and easily stole attention from the rest of
him.

Lieutenant General Miran Froaude…

Rather than Roland staying the Roland Empire, Froaude wanted it to

take over the rest of the continent of Menoris and become the Great
Roland Empire, with Sion at its throne.

He said he’d take care of all the dark and dirty work necessary to
reach that goal, and he’d done just that since he’d come.

He’d purged all of the powerful nobility who opposed Sion by

himself… in a complete massacre. He even killed his adoptive father,
Karlal Froaude, then…

The result… was the remaining nobility shivering and prostrating

themselves before Sion. They bowed down, seeming to shrink
entirely as they passed Froaude to leave.

Froaude noticed them as he entered. “My, my. Were you three here
for a courtesy call to His Majesty?”

They turned back. “Mgh… how dare you be so rude? Who are you…”

The noble’s words trailed off as they got a good look at Froaude, and
then they suddenly smiled.

“Ah… I see. Lord Lieutenant General Froaude, yes? You even killed
your own father, Marquess Froaude, for His Majesty’s Great Purge…”

“You just wanted to punish your own father,” the noble next to him
said. “So you buttered up to His Majesty without remorse to get back
Page | 43
at him. You’ve survived like that for so long now… in our opinion,
you’ve gotten a bit too carried away with it.”

Froaude’s eyes cast downward as he thought about their words.

“Carried away… I see. Yes, that may be the case. To be more precise,
being more flattering, even unctuous towards His Majesty may
invoke his anger…”

Froaude turned his gaze to Sion as he spoke. Sion just shrugged,

bored. He couldn’t picture Froaude being as purposefully smarmy as
they were implying he was.

But the nobles laughed anyway as if to ridicule him. “You’re trying to

butter His Majesty up even now, aren’t you! Such a dumb man. We
shouldn’t have people like you in Roland!” He said, raising his voice
so Sion could hear him.

Sion met their pitying eyes. They were being stupid in order to make
a stand against Froaude…

But Froaude nodded. “Yes, it is exactly as you say. If that were true I
probably should not be in Roland.”

“Haha, he’s become self-aware, has he?” One of the nobles jeered.

“Yes,” Froaude said. “I too have seen that reflected in my excessive

conduct here and there, and in my praise of His Majesty… If His
Majesty would allow me, who has become carried away, serve him
once more… then I would like to speak of our next prey,” he said,
looking right at the nobles. That alone made them draw back.

Froaude dealt with them in his own way: controlling the nobility with
words alone…

“But, well… You did come here to pay respects to His Majesty…
Surely there won’t be any shadows lurking behind the three of you.”

Page | 44
The nobles nodded, flustered. “N, naturally. We, we intend to serve
His Majesty to the best of our ability…”

“Then be at ease,” Froaude said and bowed lightly to them.

Finally freed of the conversation, the nobles scrambled to bid

farewell. “Th-then we’ll be leaving now,” one said, his voice wavering
as they made their way out.

“Th-the hell is wrong with him,” one muttered. “He’s completely

mad—”

The door shut and cut his words off. Froaude turned, his cold eyes
settling on Sion. “Are you in good spirits, Your Majesty?”

Sion grimaced. “Is that the ‘flattery’ you were speaking of before?”

Froaude stepped closer. “Did I do well?”

Sion shook his head. “No. You’re doing well. A mad murderer named
Froaude serves me… and killed his own father without remorse in
order to receive my praise. Hm. That rumor will spread soon enough.
The brunt of the grudge for the purge and their fear of another will
move from me to you… It’ll be easier to meet with the rest of the
nobility from now on, too. but…”

Sion narrowed his eyes.

Froaude’s methods would provoke antipathy. There were even those

who abhorred his methods among Sion’s most trusted confidants. If
Fiole were still alive… he’d surely be the most opposed to Froaude
out of everyone.

Froaude had chosen to walk the most effective path possible, no

matter the sacrifices. But they were truly effective methods… This
purge scandal was the same. He used cutthroat methods against the

Page | 45
nobility. But that wasn’t the be all end all of it. It would change not
just the nobility but the entire country.

Even if it was only a facade, the nobles came day after day to show
their obedience to Sion now. And Sion was even more popular with
the people for purging the nobility instead of continuing to let them
do whatever they pleased.

Roland’s government had improved significantly in a short amount of

time thanks to Froaude’s purge. But many nobles died as a result.
There may have been those who weren’t anti-monarchy among
them. And yet… they were all killed just the same.

“……”

Sion grimaced.

The ‘purge’ was ‘indiscriminate slaughter.’ That was what Froaude

had really done.

But the people were ecstatic about it. They’d screamed praise for the
hero king when they heard of the purge - finally the hero king had
done something about the nobility for them. He satisfied their
grudge… and the people rejoiced.

Of course, a large part of that could be Froaude controlling what

information made it to them. Maybe he hid the dirty parts, the parts
nobody wanted to see, and exaggerated Sion’s ‘heroic efforts.’

But the truth was the truth. He’d killed a great many people… and
the people were overjoyed.

Wasn’t that strange?

How was this any different from the old Roland?

All that changed was the pool they selected sacrifices from.

Page | 46
They switched it from the commoners to the nobles.

Froaude’s cold stare was bearing into him. “Your Majesty, are you
still wanting to create a country without killing anyone at all…?”

Sion shook his head. “No, your choice was the one with the fewest
casualties. Leaving the nobles as they were would have led to our
government progressing slower. We… no, our country doesn’t have
the time for that.”

With that, Sion silently approved of Froaude’s conduct.

He might have killed innocents. Sion still approved of it.

It was no different from the nobles who’d killed Fiole, completely

free of sin as he was.

Sion sighed. The purge was necessary. But he still sighed.

He was the one who had created a situation where a purge was
necessary. His inadequacy had created it. Or maybe it was just too
late for anything else.

His spies abroad reported situations that led him to believe that their
time was nearly up. The world had already started to move. A
disturbance larger than anything Menoris had seen before was going
to occur. If he was going to protect Roland throughout it, he couldn’t
just stand and do nothing now.

So he approved of it.

It didn’t matter how dirty he became if it meant protecting as many

people as possible…

Sion crossed his arms. “The problem is that you didn’t kill the entire
anti-nobility party. You only killed the openly active members…”

Page | 47
Froaude nodded. “However, Duke Staelied who’d they’d been taking
orders from was killed by an unidentified individual rather than
myself.”

“Yeah. And that guy who killed Staelied and attacked you was from
another country, right? That was the worst part of it all.”

On the day of the purge… Froaude fought someone from another

country within Roland’s borders. The same person had even come to
attack Sion.

“Yes. It was quite the unfavorable situation. I soon realized that

there was a noblestronger than Duke Staelied pulling the strings
behind the scene… and that they have links with foreigners… one of
whom killed Duke Staelied… and he even acted on orders to
assassinate Your Majesty… Furthermore, he has proved difficult to
locate.”

Sion nodded.

It was exactly as Froaude said.

A powerful noble above Staelied would stand out just by that fact.
Finding them should be easy. They could be waiting and pretending
to obey Sion while waiting for the chance to catch him by the tail.

But it was different if other countries were involved. It could be a

minor noble as long as they were backed by a foreign power, hiding
their power behind an innocent background.

“This is… messy, isn’t it?” Sion said. “Risky measures such as purges
are meant to settle things all at once, but…”

Sion grimaced.

Froaude narrowed his eyes. “Even so, things are progressing. This
country is certainly changing. The people are grateful to you, Your
Page | 48
Highness. Even if just a single rotten noble were to die, the country
would change wonderfully… no, saying it like this won’t lift the
weight on Your Majesty’s heart at all, will it…”

Sion’s grimace only deepened. “You’re right. You’re really not

comforting in the slightest. Anyway,” Sion started then paused to
gaze at Froaude. To glare at him with intense eyes. “The way you’re
saying it implies that you think it’s best if every noble dies.”

Froaude’s lips curled up in a small, difficult to notice smile… but it

was a smile nonetheless, and it shivered just so. “If that is what Your
Majesty—”

“Quiet, Froaude,” Sion interrupted. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I

don’t wish for unnecessary blood to be spilt.” His glare deepened.
“You’re certainly capable, and I do think you’re necessary as an
employee. But I won’t forgive you if you prioritize your own
judgement again. I have thought about the way I want the world
myself. The one who decides how I want it is me, not you. I am the
king. Not you.”

His words came from the heart.

Froaude’s plan was completely based in logic, and he’d made the
best choice possible. Even so, Sion had to give him a warning. It was
so that they’d be able to advance on the same path at the same
time… so that they’d be able to make a better country.

But if that couldn’t happen…

“You do not wish for unnecessary blood to be spilt, however… are

you saying that you would kill me if necessary?” Froaude asked.

Sion shook his head. “I won’t kill you. But I may imprison you if you
get in my way.”

Page | 49
Froaude smiled faintly. It was the same dark and demonic smile as
before, but it was somehow happy. “I will keep that in mind. But it is
unthinkable that I would betray you. Serving you is my greatest joy. It
is just unthinkable that I would betray you.”

Froaude was insufferable. Sion scrunched up his nose. “What, now

you’re flattering me?”

Froaude shook his head. He seemed to be enjoying himself. “It is the

truth. So you would even kill your subordinates if necessary… You
definitely will not betray my expectations. You wish for the
commoners’ lives to be peaceful first and foremost, and yet you are
a king who makes sacrifices as necessary for the greater good. You
are horribly weak, so much that you may crumble if touched, and
wound easily… even so, you are a king who would sacrifice himself.
And you are a king who will not stop moving forward. That is why I
chose you as king. And from now on as well, as long as you should
wish it, I will…”

Froaude placed his hand on his chest and knelt to the ground.

“Whoa, whoa, shit’s gross. Usually it’s just gloomy nobles in here
kissing up to Sion day after day, but today it’s Froaude?” A man said,
perfectly blunt.

Sion raised his head. A tall redhead with a sharp face stood in the
doorway. He was in his mid-twenties and his body was trained to the
point that it was hard like steel. He’d been following Sion as his
direct subordinate since before they were king and marshal… and he
was the only person in all of Roland now who referred to Sion plainly
as a friend would.

He was Claugh Klom, marshal of all Roland’s army. Or maybe it was

better to say that he’d finally sat down in the marshal’s seat?

Page | 50
The upper rings of Roland’s military had always been filled with
nobles exclusively, and even after Sion became king, he had a hard
time getting Claugh to become the marshal. That’s how powerful the
nobility was. That’s the kind of country Roland was.

But now Claugh stood at the top of the military in both name and
reality. He’d made the jump from his previous position as major
general.

There were currently three marshals: there were two nobles, and
now Claugh was the third. But that was just fine. Claugh truly
deserved to have that kind of power. Obviously. There was no match
between the people who’d reached the rank of marshal due to their
noble birth alone and Claugh, who was both powerful and popular
with the people.

Of course there’d been some backlash by appointing a commoner,

Claugh, as a marshal. There was the possibility of a noble-led
rebellion…

But… right after his appointment, Froaude massacred just about

anyone who could have led such a rebellion… and with that, the
remaining nobles were as silent as the dead.

Anyway…

Claugh’s expression was the perfect picture of loathing. “Even if you

disagree with those nobles who really oughta be ashamed about all
this, you’re still comin’ in here and sucking up just like they are,
aren’t you? Geez, if you come in all haughty and then get all
submissive I’m gonna feel like I’ve gone crazy.”

Sion smiled wryly. “Yeah, guess so. When people who are usually all
self-important suddenly become subservient, it ends up making
everyone else feel gross,” he said and looked at Froaude.

Page | 51
Claugh nodded and also turned to look at Froaude…

“…Might you be referring to me?”

“The fuck do you think? Just seeing you kneel is enough to make me
wonder if it’s gonna snow today.”

“That is quite rude, Your Excellency Marshal Klom,” Froaude said and
stood. “Do I truly make such a habit of presumptuousness?”

Claugh nodded easily. “Yeah. To the point where I sometimes gotta

think, ‘You sure you’re not the king here?’ You’ve got so much
confidence in yourself that it’s irritating…”

“Whoa, whoa,” Sion said. “Are you saying that I don’t look like the
king here?”

“Of course not,” Claugh said, smiling in satisfaction. “You’ve always

been the same to me, ever since we met - you’re my capable
superior, Marshal Sion. I mean, geez, now you’re king and I’m
marshal? That’s crazy. I won’t insult you if you go back to being
marshal, y’know. Then I’ll be able to quit being marshal with a clear
mind…”

Sion was sighing before Claugh could finish. “That again? You’ve
done nothing but complain since Miller turned down switching posts
with you.”

Claugh’s eyes suddenly started shining like he’d been waiting for this
conversation all along. “That! That’s what I wanted to talk about. So
when I went to see him, Miller said ‘you’re more suited to the role
than me,’ with that sour look he’s always got on his face and didn’t
listen to what I had to say at all, so today I sent him a letter between
jobs that said ‘okay, make Luke the marshal then. And so…”

Claugh pulled a letter out of his pocket and handed it to Sion.

Page | 52
“Read this, okay?”

Sion took the letter and opened it to read its meticulously written
words.

Your Excellency Marshal Claugh Klom,

Sergeant Luke Stokkart is presently on duty outside of the country,
therefore I cannot give him this order.

Sion looked back up to Claugh. “So?”

“Don’t ‘so’ me,” Claugh said seriously. “Luke’s a sergeant major? The
fuck? Me and him did the same work for you in the revolution, right?
Why’s he still just a sergeant? I’m on my way to a quick death by
paperwork as the marshal and he’s still a sergeant?”

“There’s nothing I can do about that,” Sion said and smiled bitterly.
“He said he doesn’t want to be promoted above Miller.”

“Then promote Miller! Seriously, don’t you think it’s crazy that I’m
the marshal? There’re so many other guys made for the job…”

This time Froaude spoke. “No, I believe you are most suitable for the
job…”

Claugh scrunched up his face like he truly hated hearing that, and
stared unblinkingly at Froaude. “Whoa there, don’t go sucking up to
me now… What’re you scheming?”

“I was stating my honest feelings…”

“Liar! There’s no way you’ve got anything good to say about me! I
won’t let you trick me. I have no faith in you!”

Froaude didn’t appear affected by his words in the slightest. “Is that
so. Well, I do not mind in the slightest if you trust me or not.”

Page | 53
“Ugh. See, that’s the part of you that’s so irritating. I can never tell
what you’re thinking…”

“As for me, what bothered me regarding you is that I think that you
are a genius in military leadership.”

Claugh’s eyes widened at Froaude’s sudden words. “Huh? What…”

“And yet your thought processes are so unbelievably simple. Pair

that with your charm and the soldiers follow you naturally. I could
not do that. Clearly you are the one who should lead this country’s—
”

“Are you makin’ fun of me!?”

“No, I was complimenting you…”

“What part of that was a compliment!?” Claugh yelled.

Froaude tilted his head, a little troubled. He took a moment to think

as if trying to choose his words. “Well… in the end, what you think
doesn’t particularly matter to me.”

“I’m gonna rip you a new one…”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough,” Sion said, smiling bitterly. You two
really don’t get along, do you?”

“Does anyone get along with this guy?” Claugh asked, indignant.

Sion thought about it for a split second. “…That aside, Claugh. Did
you just come here to complain about that again? Are you even
getting your work done? You come in here to complain every chance
you get.”

Claugh grimaced for a moment, but quickly smiled instead. “O-of

course I am. Obviously. I’m havin’ my subordinate Shuss help with all
that paperwork and shit—”
Page | 54
“You mean you’re making him do nearly all of it,” Sion interrupted.
“And here I thought you’d gotten used to the workload since you
barge in here daily…”

“Like hell I could get used to it! I’ve always left the paperwork to
other guys ever since I joined the military!”

“Hey, is that really something you should sound so proud of?”

“But see,” Claugh said, suddenly serious. “My role is to do the

dangerous jobs that no one else wants. You know that. I hate seeing
other people die, and I hate the idea of watching people die from
somewhere safe even more. I’m the kinda guy who should be on the
front lines… So I gotta ask you something. Where’s Luke right now?
According to that letter that called him a sergeant , he’s on a mission
abroad… What order did you give him?”

Sion shrugged. “I didn’t give him anything. Luke gets his orders from
Miller.”

That wasn’t a lie. But Sion did give orders to Miller…

“Huh? You telling me it’s a mission so secret I don’t even get to

know?” Claugh asked. His sharp eyes narrowed further. They were
eyes like a hawk watching its prey. “So if you’re sending a guy at
Luke’s level abroad, then in the current political climate… it’s
Gastark, yeah? You sent him on a scouting mission in Gastark… am I
wrong?”

He was sharp. Sion couldn’t help but let out a little groan.

Froaude had just made fun of Claugh for being simple-minded, but…
not about this stuff. He was more clever than the best at this.

No matter the strategy, no matter the battle, no matter how

dangerous the situation was, he lived with the best results possible.

Page | 55
He wasn’t simple at all.

Claugh had mentioned Gastark, which was presently Roland’s

number one problem.

The Gastark Empire was in the north of Menoris, far away from
southern Roland. It should have been a small, emerging country
that’d just been founded, too small for anyone to know the name of.
But that small country was making the world move. It annexed many
other small countries, and soon even began to enroach on the
militaristic Stohl, a northern country five times as powerful and large
as Roland, winning battle after battle against them with landslide
victories.

The northern sides of various countries fortified their defences as a

result. But that too was talk of a faraway problem. The flames of that
conflict wouldn’t reach Roland, but… The world was truly changing, a
small country like Gastark was quickly becoming the center of it…

Froaude looked to Sion and spoke. “I see. I cannot allow this

conversation to pass without commenting. So you have sent a spy to
Gastark, Your Majesty.”

Sion shook his head. “No, Luke isn’t in Gastark. He has a different
mission.”

“A secret one?”

Sion again shook his head. “Nothing really has come of it yet, so I
don’t know what will happen at all. So I need to keep the details on
the low for now.”

Claugh wrinkled his nose at him…

“What? Does me hiding things hurt your feelings?”

Page | 56
“Like that’d hurt me,” Claugh said. It came off a bit angry. “I already
told you. The thing I hate is when other people die and I can’t do
anything about it. So I like to be on the front lines… But right now I’m
just doing paperwork while Luke is in some other country on a secret
mission? That’s not fair… What about me? Isn’t there some secret
mission I could be doing?”

Sion laughed. “Are you serious? A flashy guy like you could never do
a secret mission.”

“Aah!? Even I could be all secretive during the revolution—”

“No, that’s not it,” Sion said, exasperated. “You’re too famous. It’s
impossible. Crimson-Fingered Claugh Klom, whose hands are stained
red from the blood of many battlefields… You’re just as famous
abroad as Roland’s Magical Knights. How exactly do you think
someone that famous is going to successfully complete a secret
mission?”

Claugh grimaced and groaned.

But Sion didn’t stop there. “Now compare yourself to Luke. Even if
you were in the same revolution, he’s a sergeant who’s unknown
abroad. It’s obvious which one of you is more suited to secret
missions, isn’t it? You should take the role of marshal gracefully.
There is a point in having you, who’s so well-known abroad, become
the marshal. Ah, by the way, I’m praising you.”

Claugh’s grimace deepen. “So… what about sending me to Gastark?”

“There’s no way I’d do that,” Sion said, tired of this.

“However,” Froaude said, “Even if sending His Excellency the

Marshal to Gastark is impossible, it is still necessary to send someone
trustworthy to the Gastark Empire at once…”

Page | 57
Sion nodded. “Yeah. But I need to appoint new, capable personnel
first. The purge left a lot of openings, and now I should be able to fill
them with people who’d been unable to advance until now due to
their birth. The nobility shouldn’t try to rebel now…”

Claugh made a face.

But Froaude, the one behind the purge, continued. “However, there
were ill effects as a result of the purge as well. First, Your Majesty’s
reputation has fallen in other countries as a result. They are
beginning to think of our methods as oppressive due to the
suppression of the Estabulian rebellion and the killing of our
nobility… Believing Roland’s new king to have an aggressive nature,
are they not imagining that Roland might invade them next? Despite
the kindness that His Excellency Marshal Klom has shown to Princess
Noa Ehn, might Estabul’s nobility not fear for themselves and
attempt a second rebellion?”

“The hell, you make it sound like there’s more cons than pros after
all,” Claugh said. “Makes it sound like you just went berserk and
killed ‘em all…”

“No matter the dangers it has caused, it was necessary to end those
nobles’ lives,” Froaude said. “This way our country can make a stand
anew rather than stand on decayed foundation. And so…”

“It’s so that we can make a stand against the changing world,” Sion
finished. “Right? The current Roland may be able to fight Nelpha or
Runa should push come to shove, but not anything stronger. I hate to
say it, but the purge was necessary, Claugh. Now none of the nobility
can disobey us. The country can start to change now. First, we’ll
change the system. We’ll end the preferential treatment towards
nobles. Then we can assemble every outstanding person in Roland
together. The ones I have the highest expectations of among them…

Page | 58
are Estabul’s people. They’re more promising than the nobles who’ve
just started to suck up to me.”

Claugh nodded. “Ah, that’s true. I was just fighting in Estabul

recently… they’re pretty well-trained. I bet we can find some good
ones with just a little looking.”

“And with that, I’ll leave the search to you, Claugh,” Sion said. “Go to
Estabul’s former territory and find promising individuals to
promote.”

“Nah, I can’t really do that,” Claugh said. “They’re behaving with our
army divided across their territory, but if we centralize it again they’ll
just rebel. They’re very patriotic, and their promise is proportional to
their loyalty. You think that kinda person’ll do well in Roland’s
military? They’re just as likely to purposefully destroy Roland’s army
from the inside…”

“That’s exactly why I’m leaving it to you,” Sion said. “Princess Noa
Ehn is very popular with her people, and she’s on great terms with
you.”

Claugh’s expression went blank. “Are you… asking me to use Noa?”

“Do you dislike that?”

“Obviously!” Claugh yelled. Then he glared at Sion as he spoke. “You

already get it, don’t you? She has every reason to see us in a harsh
light. Thanks to that unreadable guy right there’s plan, a bunch of
her allies were killed and a bunch of people had to be sacrificed just
to save their people… She came to Roland prepared for people to call
her a traitor, y’know? She’s just seventeen. She’s always smiling and
looks like she’s okay with things, but… she’s just a teenager. She
came to the heart of her country’s enemy all alone. It’s gotta be
hard.”

Page | 59
Claugh paused for a moment before continuing. “Even so, she asked
her people and nobility to entrust her kingdom to us instead of
dreaming of its revival. That’s why things are peaceful now. Estabul’s
behaving because their princess is in our castle. And now you
wanna…”

Anger filled Claugh’s eyes.

Anger and disappointment…

Even so, Sion didn’t avert his eyes. His met Claugh’s, and he nodded.
“Right. That’s why I want to clear her reputation of being a traitor. I
will recruit Estabulian soldiers on Lady Ehn’s recommendation. We’ll
repurpose Estabul’s dismantled army as one that fights for Roland’s
sake. We’ll make it impossible for them to revive Estabul as an
independent country. They may say that Lady Ehn sold Estabul to us.
But what of it? Do her people intend to gather and revive Estabul on
the basis of her reputation alone?”

“Well—”

“Claugh, I’m not playing around.” Sion interrupted. “Estabul’s revival

is impossible as long as I’m king. I'll declare it now - as long as I’m
king, Estabul’s revival is absolutely impossible. So it’s just a question
of how to gain Estabul’s cooperation now that it’s part of Roland…”

Sion’s eyes moved from Claugh and back behind him. Someone had
appeared there.

Sion raised his voice as he continued. “No, perhaps cooperation os

just a platitude. I’ll say it another way. I want to be able to make use
of Estabul’s power as quickly as possible in order to minimize
casualties as much as possible. Even if it means only one less person
dies…”

Page | 60
A serene, mellow woman stood in the entryway. She spoke to him
clearly. “Your Majesty, are Estabul’s people included in these
casualty numbers you speak of?”

Claugh turned back, flustered. There stood a woman with long, dark
blue hair, a color rare in Roland. She had firm blue eyes and a
graceful sort of beauty. Her gaze held a dignified intelligence that
one wouldn’t think belonged to a girl of seventeen.

She was Noa Ehn, princess of the former Kingdom of Estabul that
they were presently discussing. Her heart had been hurt in the
Estabulian rebellion, when her nobility took hostages and went on a
power-hungry rampage…

She stood up to the nobility on her own, surrendering in order to

take the path of fewest casualties. She was heralded as a hero for
her sacrifice, and allowed to enter the ranks of Roland’s nobility in
return.

That was the story, anyway…

But reality was different.

She’d protected the hostages against Froaude’s various plans against

Estabul, and then despite knowing it’d earn her criticism, she
accepted the offer to join Roland’s nobility in order to protect her
people.

That was exactly why she expression she was showing now was
earnest. She looked directly at Sion as she spoke. “Please answer me,
Your Majesty. Are you including Estabul’s people in your count of
Roland’s people who you so dearly wish to save?”

Sion nodded deeply. “Of course, Lady Ehn. Because Estabul’s revival
is impossible, Estabul is incapable of becoming my enemy. You are all
my precious citizens.”
Page | 61
Noa’s eyes did not leave Sion. She stepped closer. “Can I really trust
you? At one point you took not just Estabul’s people, but also
Roland’s as hostages…”

“No,” Froaude said. “At that time I was acting on my own

judgement—”

“It’s fine, Froaude,” Sion said. “Her words are the truth. No matter if
it was you acting on your own or not, Roland did oppose Estabul, and
as Roland’s king, I must take responsibility. Even so, I want you to
believe me. I want you to believe that I wish to protect Estabul’s
people and prevent any further fighting between our countries.
We’ve already lost so many people to the conflict. Our countries
went mad because of the long war.”

Sion closed his eyes as if to remember the distant past.

“Noa Ehn,” he continued, “I once had a friend named Kiefer Knolles.

It was a long time ago, before I was king of this country. And that girl,
Kiefer, was one of my friends… She was a bright and lively girl, and
she was in love with another one of my friends… I loved seeing him,
her, and our other friends smile. We could have fun and be happy
even inside mad, conflict-ridden Roland… And I was able to forget
the brunt of my worries when I was with them…”

Sion felt a faint smile rise to his lips as he spoke of them. He recalled
their faces. Kiefer, Ryner, Tyre, Tony, Fahle… and he remembered
the days spent together with them…

“At the time, I thought it might be nice if things just continued like
that forever. I wondered if anything really needed to change. I
thought I was the only one worrying myself about changing this
rotten country… but was change really necessary? Did anyone else
want things to change?

Page | 62
“That was how happy everyone looked when they smiled back then.
My precious friends could live smiling that brightly… so did I really
need to change anything? We could find happiness and we could
smile. Wasn’t it okay to just protect those smiles? I thought I just
needed the power to protect my friends. But…”

Sion opened his eyes.

He looked to Noa, who stood by Claugh’s side.

“Nearly all of my friends died. Kiefer Knolles was a traitor. She was an
Estabulian spy and a traitor…”

Noa looked dubious. “Then do you hold a grudge against Estabul,

Your Majesty?”

Sion shook his head. “As if. Kiefer is my precious friend even now.
She’s in a far off place now, but… the fact that she was my precious
friend will never change. Certainly, my friends might not have died if
not for her betrayal. But there was nothing she could do about that.
She came to Roland as a spy along with her two sisters… but Roland’s
Magical Knights killed her older sister and took her younger sister
hostage. She became a double agent.

“She was afraid of her little sister dying, so she took orders from
Roland’s nobility… no, from my siblings. They had her move in order
to kill me who was a nuisance to them and trick Estabul. But the fact
that she was my friend wasn’t a lie. She smiled so much when she
was with us… I can’t possibly think that smile was a lie, too. She had
to betray her own country, betray us… I’m sure she wished we’d save
her many, many times.

“But I… didn’t realize that!! And her little sister was killed before
long. She cried as she betrayed us, and even her sister who she’d
betrayed us for was killed… It’s rotten… This country is rotten. The

Page | 63
haughty nobility, and my vulgar father who’d been the previous
king… And that mad war… Estabul won’t live again. I…”

Sion stopped for a moment before continuing. “It’s unthinkable that

Roland and Estabul will fight again as long as I’m king. Estabul’s
people are among those who I want to protect. So I’d like you to
cooperate. I want to protect this country from attacks from abroad…
I wish for the cooperation of all Estabul’s people, Lady Noa Ehn.”

Sion bowed deeply to Noa.

“Will you trust me?” He asked.

“Your Majesty… you needn’t bow,” Noa said, flustered. “And before
your subordinates Marshal Klom and Lieutenant General Froaude…
There is nothing for me to forgive you for. I understand your feelings
well, Your Majesty. I will do anything in my power to aid you.”

Sion lifted his head. “Even if you should be called a traitor…?”

“I already am called one. And if anything should happen to me, I’m

sure that Marshal Klom will once again come to protect me.”

Claugh wrinkled his nose. “Hey, don’t tell me you heard me talking
about that earlier…?”

Noa looked to Claugh happily. “You do have a loud voice, Marshal.”

Then she turned back to Sion. “Your Majesty, please be at ease. I will
introduce Estabul’s best to Marshal Klom.”

Sion smiled sincerely. “I’ll look forward to it.”

She’d surely be fine. She was sensible and strong, and then there
were her eyes when she looked at Claugh…

Those two would be fine. Surely their two countries could get along
if Roland’s marshal and Estabul’s princess were this close.

Page | 64
“That’s that, Claugh. You will integrate Estabul’s army into Roland’s
to boost our power. And so your workload as marshal climbs ever
higher…”

“Huh? Wait, what? No way, that’s impossible. I’ll die if I get any
busier than I am now, y’know. The noble marshals aren’t working like
this, are they?”

Sion nodded, then turned to Noa. “Could you recommend some

outstanding people within Estabul to me? I’ve been thinking of
appointing a forth marshal to keep Claugh here from dying of
overwork.”

Noa was flabbergasted. “Wh… a marshal? You’d like to make an

Estabulian a marshal?”

Sion nodded. “Yeah. Claugh, any objections?”

Claugh shook his head, and somehow seemed happy. “Nah. I’ve got
none as long as they cut my workload in half.”

“S-still—”

“I’ve already made my decision,” Sion said. “I want to place Estabul’s

people in important positions in Roland’s military, and if I’m going to
do it, I might as well do it while the nobility’s feeling obedient, right?
And it’s not like we have much time. Head to Estabul at once and
bring someone back quickly.”

Claugh grinned. “Guess we better get goin’, Noa. Man, Sion, your
thought process has always been weird…”

With that, Claugh took Noa by the arm to lead her out.

“W-wait, Marshal…”

Page | 65
“It’s fine,” Claugh said. “He’s sayin’ to do it, so it can’t be wrong.
Anyway, we’re gonna leave now, okay Sion? Don’t be surprised when
I bring tons of people back, alright? I’ll leave them the marshal’s
workload and make my way on down to Gastark.”

With that, Claugh took Noa right on out, despite her protests.

Sion smiled wryly on after them, then turned to Froaude. “I wonder

if he seriously thinks I’ll let him stop being a marshal?”

Froaude ignored his question. He stared straight at Sion. “Were you

serious about that conversation?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“About your intent to appoint an Estabulian as marshal. Is it not a bit

too soon for that? Certainly there is meaning in promoting
Estabulians in order to quell any further thoughts of rebellion. But to
bring one to the top of the military… Is that not bestowing a tad too
much power—”

Sion shook his head. “You said it too, didn’t you? We don’t have the
time for that. We need the power to defend ourselves against the
great country of Stohl and against Gastark, which even has the
power to break Stohl. Roland needs to accumulate a lot of power in a
short amount of time. We need to become a stronger country. A
more bountiful country. We need our people to become more
ambitious… and make a country where everyone can grow up
smiling. If this country can become that before other countries
invade, it’s our win, and we might even avoid war…”

Froaude narrowed his eyes. “You are saying that with better
government alone, we will be able to invade other countries… that
we should gather outstanding personnel within Roland as other
countries collapse around us? I see. Certainly that is the route with
the fewest casualties. So that is your choice then?”
Page | 66
“Can’t stomach it?”

Froaude shook his head. “No. You may say that it is the path of
fewest casualties, but Your Majesty, it invites danger all the same. If
appointing an Estabulian as marshal serves its function well, it could
have a tremendous effect; in reality, war still occurs - we just end up
the invaders.”

Exactly.

That was how much value lay in appointing an Estabulian as a

marshal of Roland.

It was telling other countries that if they lost against Roland, they’d
be treated justly. They might be able to live their lives just as they
had before. Their fighting spirit would dwindle if nothing bad would
happen to them if they lost.

And then if they lost… maybe they’d even try fighting on Roland’s
side…

It was Roland’s win if they could make the other side think that, even
if only for a moment.

But…

Froaude continued. “And then if an Estabulian who you appointed

marshal were to revolt, you would kill them without hesitation… You
are someone who could do that. You will advance towards a military
rule on the shortest path possible. You will kill a few to save the
many… You are someone who can do that. That is why I obey you. I…
am thinking of going to the Runa Empire.”

“Runa?”

Page | 67
“Yes. It will take some time to create the country Your Majesty is
picturing. In order to make the best use of that time I would like to
strengthen our bonds with Runa.”

Sion nodded. “There’s no way we’ll end up fighting our neighboring

Imperial Nelpha or Runa Empire now. Relations with Nelpha have
improved since I visited as king, but… our alliance with Runa was the
previous king’s doing… I’d been thinking it was best to confirm the
state of it…”

“In addition there is the matter of Duke Staelied, whom I killed,

apparently having borrowed Runa’s power to premeditate Your
Majesty’s murder. Was it the power of Runan nobles, or was it the
power of Runa’s king… That we don’t know. We must show them the
cost of raising their hand against Roland.”

Sion considered it for a moment. “That’s a pretty dangerous job. I

can’t guarantee your life if you make a wrong move, you know.”

Froaude responded without hesitation. “As long as Your Majesty is

safe, it will cause no problems to Roland—”

“I told you before,” Sion interrupted. “You’re still necessary to this

country. It’d be troublesome if you died now.”

Froaude was shocked for a moment and hesitated before answering.

“I will take note of that from now on,” he said, placing his hand to his
chest and bowing.

Sion smiled and nodded. “Yeah, do take note of it. Then you’ll go to
Runa, and…”

Right then, a woman’s voice came from the entryway. It was a calm
voice different from Noa’s. “Your Majesty. The Silwert family has
arrived in accordance with your request for an audience.”

Page | 68
Froaude turned to face her. “Silwert…? They are an old family on par
with the swordsman clan, the Eris family, which is renowned for their
martial arts… are they not? I had heard that they were chased to the
countryside by the last king due to his distaste for them…”

The woman stepped forward to reveal herself. She had beautiful

black hair that flowed down her back. She looked a bit older than
Sion, like she might’ve just hit twenty. But she had at atmosphere
about her that betrayed her youth.

Her smile overflowed with confidence. She had calm, sharp features.
Her movements were eye catching. She wore formal, somewhat stiff
clothes that she wore like armor around her thin body… and she
carried a massive lance.

She shouldn’t have been able to bring a weapon into the throne
room, and yet… she’d brought a lance in. She prostrated herself
before Sion at the entrance.

“Please, forgive me for not greeting you sooner. Your Majesty Sion
Astal, congratulations on your enthronement.”

Sion smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you. If I recall… you’re the head of
the Silwert family, Tealnawest Silwert?”

“Yes. Please address me as Teal,” she said as she maintained her

bow.

Sion nodded. “Now then, Teal. I’ve been waiting for you. Have you
polished your skills in the years you spent in the countryside on the
previous king’s orders?”

Teal raised her head… and looked not to Sion, but somewhere
beyond him. “Of course. To the extent that I could not lose even to
the Eris family when it comes to protecting Your Majesty… It is for
that purpose that I brought my lance.”
Page | 69
Sion smiled as well. “Are you listening, Lucile?”

There was no reply.

Sion shrugged. “Well, even if you don’t answer…”

He looked to Teal.

“Show me that power of yours,” Sion said.

Teal smiled faintly. “I see. That courage… Roland is truly blessed with
a wonderful king. I perfectly understand why you chose him, Lucile.”

Her form burst, her lance warping.

That was how quickly she moved. She crossed over to Sion in a
moment… and lunged her staff forward.

But…

“You’re still too slow, Teal.”

A lone man suddenly appeared behind Teal. He was a blond with

features so overwhelmingly beautiful that they didn’t even seem
human. He kept his eyes closed.

He was a horribly beautiful man.

It was the sort of beauty that made one uneasy, suspicious… and
above all inhuman.

He moved a hand around Teal’s back as if to hug her… but used it to

immobilize her lance. He smiled. “It’s not enough. Your lance still
can’t reach me,” he whispered into her ear.

His movements were so quiet that one wondered if he’d always been
there.

He had been.
Page | 70
He was Lucile Eris, the current head of the swordsman clan - the Eris
family - tasked with guarding Roland’s kings through the ages, and
he’d been there all along.

As long as Lucile didn’t want to be seen, nobody saw him. That was
just how it was with him. He could completely erase his presence…
and by doing that, he disappeared completely from everyone else’s
awareness…

He was a monster.

Lucile had always been an oppressive monster. Nobody should’ve

been able to keep up a fighting spirit against him, and yet…

“Your carelessness… will make way for your defeat this time,” Teal
said as she squeezed Lucile’s arm hard.

Suddenly two men came from behind Lucile, approaching him with
lances in hand.

“Die, Lucile Eris!” The men screamed.

They were fiercely fast, moving even faster than the country’s most
powerful Magical Knights.

But Lucile didn’t turn to face them.

He didn’t seem to think of them as a match for him at all…

All he did was smile faintly. He again moved his face to Teal’s ear.
“Hm, are they your little brothers? They’re pretty fast. So—”

It was instantaneous.

An enormous presence enveloped the room. It hadn’t really felt like

anything was there at all until now, and yet…

Page | 71
Sion felt like he’d choke. Lucile’s overwhelming presence left him
completely unable to form words.

It didn’t feel like it belonged to a human. It was a beast… no, part

beast at best. It was a demon…

“…Can I destroy those?” The demon whispered.

Teal’s face warped. “Ah… uugh, stop! Wen, Sil!”

Her little brothers stopped their lances mid-swing. But they’d gone
pale. Their whole bodies were covered in sweat, and they shivered in
fear…

Lucile smiled like he was enjoying this. “Congratulations on narrowly

escaping death. Good call, Teal. You have gotten stronger compared
to before. Your little brothers are excellent, too. My little sisters are
better though…” What do you think as referee, Sion?”

Sion nodded. “Yes. I can see that they’re all wonderfully able…”

“Good. I’m partial to Teal in particular. She can definitely be of use to

her, so get along, okay?” Lucile said. He completely disappeared
again.

Sion watched the place he’d disappeared for a moment. It was

bizarre, yes, but he’d gotten used to it. “What, are you
acquaintances?”

“They aren’t acquaintances!” The man - or maybe teenager was

more apt - that Teal had called Sil said. He had black hair and closely
resembled Teal. “We’re comrades in arms; he is more skilled with
swords and the like than we are with lances—”

“Quiet, Sil! We are in the presence of His Majesty!”

“Ah, hrgh, sorry, Sis…”

Page | 72
The man that Teal had called Wen looked a bit older than Sil. He
spoke. “She is not your ‘sister,’ Sil. She is the Family Head.”

“R, right, sis… er, Family Head. I apologize.”

Teal looked down a bit, troubled. “We have shown you something
most disgraceful… My younger brother Sil is still immature, you
see…”

Sion smiled wryly. “Immature, and yet he moves like that… it’s
reassuring. I can see your strength clearly. Now, to go back to what
we were talking about before… you and Lucile are?”

Teal looked conflicted. “Well… we competed once and only once in

the past. It was when I was twelve…”

And the result? Sion didn’t have to ask to know. He’d just seen it
clearly. The swordsman Erises…

Although Lucile didn’t use swords now. Sion had never seen him use
one. No matter how strong his enemy, all it took was the slight wave
of Lucile’s hand… with that alone, his opponent’s head was severed
from their body, their blood dancing in open air.

“Leaving aside what my brothers… what the others of our Silwert

family say, to me Lucile has always been my objective.”

Well, that was pretty obvious though.

Students of martial arts who met Lucile could see him in one of two
ways: they could admire him or they could fear him. Of course,
seeing him fight made one more likely to fear him…

“So Lucile is your objective… I see. But that’s troubling. If you

surround a monster like him, you’ll stop breathing.”

Page | 73
“Please do not worry,” Teal said with a smile. “It suits those who
have reached that level…”

She sounded happy.

Her little brother, Sil, looked frustrated at that. Wen spent some time
calming him down.

In any case, it did seem that Sil was still immature, and that he
abhorred the Eris family. But that in itself was interesting…

Sion looked at him mischievously. “Ah, I’ve juust remembered

something I need to pester him about…”

Teal looked up at his quiet voice. “Huh? Um, what are you referring
to?”

Sion shook his head, flustered. “Oh, nothing, nothing. Anyway, I can
see your power clearly. I’m different from the previous king. I
consider people based on their worth. Are you prepared?”

Teal, Sil, and Wen all knelt. “Yes. You are the master the Silwert
family has been waiting for.”

Sion nodded. “Then stand. We don’t have the time for any more
ceremonious greetings. You’ll be busy from now on.”

They really didn’t have any time left.

He had to acquire the capable people scattered across the country.

Not just those in Estabul’s army, but the regular people of Estabul as
well, and the people controlled by nobles in the dark side of
Roland…

He had to change this country. He had to change Roland before it

was overwhelmed by conflict. He had to prepare the country inside
and out… and change the trend of only allowing nobles to excel…

Page | 74
But they also needed to know what was going on in other countries.

Sion turned his gaze back to Froaude, who nodded as if he already

knew what Sion was thinking.

“Excellent. You are thinking of it well. Then I had better begin

preparations for Runa.”

With that, Froaude bowed once more and left.

“Then I guess we ought to start,” Sion said. He looked to Teal and

then to the Silwert brothers. “You three will be going on a mission
abroad. I have chosen you first and foremost because of your
exceptional ability. But another part of what makes you qualified is
that you cannot use magic. You will not leak our country’s magic
even if you should be captured abroad… but the flipside of that is
that if you’re taken prisoner, I won’t save you. We can’t appear
weak.”

Teal lifted her head a bit. “I see. Will Roland to to war with the
country we are being sent to?”

Sion’s eyes narrowed.

War…

“It will likely come to that. I’m hoping it won’t, though.”

The world was moving in that direction, after all.

And… there wasn’t anywhere they could run anymore.

Sion looked at Teal and her brothers. “Have you heard of a country
called Gastark?

Page | 75
Chapter 2: Dreamless
Why was she here?

It was weird. She’d betrayed them. Everyone died because of her.

She deceived him, Sion, Tyle, Tony, and Fahle… So he shouldn’t have
been kind to her. And yet…

When he looked at her, it was that sleepy but kind face, and he
smiled. He did even when they traded places in jail. He’d smiled on
the other side of the bars with the same listless expression as always.
He made a bad joke and smiled.

She didn’t get it.

Why? Why? Why?

She… she’d killed everyone, and yet…

“Wh-why…?” Kiefer had asked with a warbling voice. “Why would

you do this for me…? How can you be so kind to me…? I… I betrayed
everyone. I got Tyle, Tony, Fahle, and everyone else killed…”

“That’s not true,” Ryner had said, tired. “People don’t kill people.
Monsters do, Kiefer. The monster is war. The monster is countries.
Greed is a monster, too. And I’m also…”

Ryner stopped and smiled at her. His smile made her want to cry.
Why was he looking at her with an expression like that?

She was a traitor. She betrayed her precious friends, her precious
allies, and the person she loved. And… her little sister who she did it
all for was already dead… and her older sister was killed before her
eyes, Kiefer unable to help her…

Page | 76
What value did she have? There was no reason for her to live. Her
life wasn’t valuable in the slightest. She couldn’t save anyone, and
she’d betrayed her friends and caused their deaths. She was the
worst kind of person imaginable…

And yet he looked at her kindly. “But you’re human, Kiefer. So you
don’t have to worry. Do you understand?”

When he said that, she understood everything. She understood why

she’d fallen so hard for him and why she just couldn’t help but love
him.

It was because he was so extraordinarily kind.

She’d always misunderstood it. She’d thought that it was his

complete lack of motivation and caution that made her feel safe and
fall for him, but that was wrong. In reality she’d been attracted to
this impossible kindness of his.

And… within the depths of that kindness lay a horribly painful

wound…

“And I’m…”

A monster.

He’d been smiling so kindly when he said that. It was a horribly kind
and horribly sad smile. One that’d already given up on everything.

“But you’re human, Kiefer,” he’d said. Human!

She felt like she was going to cry. The loneliness she felt from him
tugged at her tears.

He lived in the depths of an incomprehensible darkness… but he

smiled like that.

Because he was a monster… because he was a monster…

Page | 77
She’d seen that smile time and time again. The first time she told him
she loved him, his listless face was smiling at her just like that. When
Sion invited them to his group, his listless face smiled just like that.

He gave up on everything, shut himself up inside a deep darkness,

and closed himself off to the world so he wouldn’t hurt anyone
anymore, especially not those who were precious to him.

So he smiled, defeated. Just how much had he suffered? How much

sadness had he endured?

She was a traitor so she couldn’t love anyone or get close to

anyone… that’s what she thought.

But he hadn’t been able to even touch others since he was born.
Because he didn’t want to end up killing them…

So she reached into his cell and pulled him close by his clothes. She
pressed her lips to his even though she knew he wouldn’t do the
same.

It was a promise. A promise that she’d save him, who had vowed to
never touch anyone. A promise that he wouldn’t have to be alone
anymore, even if he closed himself up alone, unwilling to come
out… It was a promise that she’d definitely bring him back here. It
was a promise she made inside her heart.

She gazed at him and spoke. “You’re not a monster or anything like
it. I don’t think you’re a monster at all. I’m alive, see? So thank you,
Ryner. And… I’ll definitely…”

Her words trailed off. She didn’t need to say the rest right now. But
she made a vow. She’d definitely save him. She’d save him… from
the depths of that darkness.

---

Page | 78
“Kiefer! Kiefer Knolles!”

Kiefer came to her senses at the sound of yelling.

Her eyes widened.

She wasn’t looking at that time she’d spent with Ryner two years
ago. She was looking at the present, at reality spread out before her
eyes.

Light burst, followed by a thunderous sound. And then… people died.

They died one after another, in tune with the light of magic.

She watched the people die.

Kiefer was standing a little away from the conflict, watching the
soldiers die one after another like it was some kind of joke. It was a
scene just like one she’d seen before.

Her friends… were split in half, their heads and torsos flying through
the air… It was a hellish scene. She didn’t want to have to see it
again.

Even so, here she was on the battlefield again.

The battlefield.

Blood spurting through the air, the hum of magic, inescapable death.

They just… kept dying. She grimaced as she watched.

She was watching a battle involving the developing country of

Gastark. But one wouldn’t think them a newly formed country by the
way their army fought. They were strong, bizarrely so. Strong enough
that the militaristic Stohl, said to have the greatest army in the north
of Menoris, was completely unable to win against them. All they
could do was run…

Page | 79
There was an overwhelming difference in power between the two.
Her red eyes stared into the battlefield.

Her hair was the same red as her eyes. Now it reached her shoulders.
Her graceful body wore armor professing affiliation with Imperial
Stohl.

“Kiefer! Run! There’s nothing more we can do here!” Kiefer’s

commander said as he made a run for it himself.

“…But… Instead of running in that direction, shouldn’t we give

priority to refugees in that village?”

Her commander sneered. “Who cares what happens to the village?

The Magical Knights are coming soon! We can’t get wrapped up in a
battle between our Magical Knights and Gastark’s army…”

She stopped listening there. She already knew what he was trying to
say. A village like this would disappear in a second at the sheer
power of the Magical Knights.

Her commander was pale as he hurried to escape. Her other

comrades were following after him…

Kiefer sighed. “It’s not like I don’t understand your urge to escape…”

The squad she was currently part of wasn’t very well-trained. They
were stationed here in a village deep in Stohl that should’ve been far
from the fighting…

Gastark shouldn’t have been able to conquer that far. They shouldn’t
have come here to where Kiefer’s replenishment squad was… and
there were lots of civilians here, too. It was really very far from the
front lines. At least it should’ve been.

It just went to show how intensely powerful Gastark was. Impossibly

so.
Page | 80
Stohl was a country in Northern Menoris of unparalleled strength.
Nothing should have been able to bring it to its knees.

She understood her allies’ shock and desire to escape. But she just
gazed into the battle calmly.

“…Exactly as expected.”

Even if they were a poorly-trained squad far from the front lines,
they still had the important task of sending goods to the soldiers on
the front line. Knowing those facts… one could come to expect this
outcome.

There was no one left in Stohl who could turn this around. Able
fighters were sent to the battlefield at once where they died, and
then there was nobody left.

She stuck her tongue out. “Aa~h, this sucks. I picked the wrong
country to enlist in. Here I thought the biggest country in the north
would have the most info on Ryner’s… on the Alpha Stigma, but…”

That was the reason she’d come all this way.

The Alpha Stigma.

What exactly was it?

That was the only reason she’d enlisted to Stohl.

She entrusted Ryner’s escape from that dungeon to Sion and set out
on a mission of her own.

She lived to research now.

It was so that she could save Ryner, to get him out of the darkness he
lived in…

Page | 81
She travelled north from Roland - to Runa, to Cassla, to Veiole, to
countless other countries. Now she’d entered the largest of them all,
Stohl… in order to research.

She looked back through the dust at Gastark’s army. “I really did pick
the wrong country to side myself with…”

She never could have guessed that a large country like Stohl would
have become such a battlefield. Its complete destruction was a
plausible outcome.

If she was going to leave, now was the time. Otherwise she’d end as
Private Kiefer Knolles, died in battle at Foiz Village…

It was easy to leave in a situation like this, so if she was going to, now
was the time.

The villagers were running around frantically, screaming and crying

as they tried to escape. All she had to do was remove her armor and
join them.

A horn suddenly sounded. When Kiefer turned to face it, she was at a
loss for words.

It was a massive army belonging to Stohl. If she had to guess, it was

over 100,000 soldiers.

That was the power of Imperial Stohl, the best of the north.

According to her commander, part of these reinforcements included

the Magical Knights, a squadron said to be so strong that one
Magical Knight could defeat 10,000 regular soldiers. They were
abnormally strong.

10,000 Gastarkan soldiers were as strong as 30,000 men. If they

fought on even ground, they’d be destroyed.

Page | 82
The villagers’ screams turned happy. “They came! The Stohl army
came to save us—”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Because his body was pierced
mid-scream by an arrow coming from the direction of Stohl’s army.

Then innumerable arrows shot from Stohl’s army… They used magic
to control the wind to shoot them farther than they should have
been able to go.

Most flew right above the village and hit Gastark’s army, but…
several hundred arrows fell to pierce the village anyway.

Kiefer avoided them with agile movements.

“…I really picked the wrong country.”

She grimaced as she watched the villagers fall sacrifice to friendly

fire, screaming as they did. Even so, she didn’t move to save them. At
this point she just wanted to save herself…

She ran amidst the arrows. They fell and pierced villagers
indiscriminately: men, women, the elderly…

She couldn’t save them. She just wasn’t able to save both them and
herself. She’d die soon enough if she tried in this situation…

Even so, Kiefer watched with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, but I can’t
die here. I made a promise—”

Just then… an arrow flew towards her. She moved to the side to
avoid it, but then her eyes followed its trajectory, and… right there,
in the path she’d just moved out of were two girls. They were still so
young, nothing more than children. They looked like sisters. The
older of the two was frantically pulling the younger along, but… she
ran uncertainty.

Page | 83
Arrows were flying. They weren’t stopping any time soon.

Dozens of arrows were already littered on the ground the girls were
walking on…

“I’m sorry,” Kiefer mumbled. “But I can’t save you right n—”

The younger of the two tripped.

An arrow was flying right for her.

Her older sister had realized that, too. She knelt between her sister
and the arrow…

“I dedicate the words of our contract - give birth to the beast of

malice sleeping within the earth!” Kiefer said. It was a spell to push
her nerves past their limits and grant her speed.

It was a spell her own older sister had once used to protect Kiefer
and their little sister. Kiefer had only learned how to use it recently
herself. How many years late was she compared to her sister who’d
learned it when she was thirteen years old? Naia really was a genius.
Her magic had been impossibly skilled.

She used her speed to reach the sisters, flying in front of them to
shield them with her body.

A sharp pain ran through her right leg.

“Uugh…”

She fell to the ground, hugging the girls to protect them.

“Are you two hurt at all?”

The two girls just stared, tears in their eyes…

“I asked if you were hurt! Answer me!”

Page | 84
They shivered, shocked, and vigorously shook their heads.

“Good! Then get out of here!” Kiefer said and stood. Sharp pain
again rushed through her right leg as she did. “Gh…”

She looked down to see an arrow lodged into that leg. As far as
wounds went, it wasn’t terribly deep. It hadn’t gone too deep into
her muscle, but leading these girls to safety would be tough.

If she was going to escape, she had to quickly remove Stohl’s armor
and hide somewhere these arrows wouldn’t hit. Somewhere that
wasn’t battletorn… And even then there was no guarantee that she’d
live.

“Ugh, this really sucks… Why’d I go and do that? Guess sisterly love is
my weakness…”

She surveyed her surroundings, looking for somewhere to hide. First

she’d find a civilian house to use as a shield, and try to escape from
the relief troops’ eyes in the center of the village…

Her thought process stopped there.

“…Oh…”

She looked up. Darkness was obscuring the light of the sun…

The sight of that sky filled her with despair.

Arrows… Thousands of arrows were filling her vision from every

angle.

“You’re kidding me,” Kiefer muttered.

Even if she tried to escape, she wouldn’t be able to find a house to

use as a shield in time. If it was just her, she’d be able to do it.
Because she could use magic on herself to increase her movement
speed… But she couldn’t do that for the girls…
Page | 85
Kiefer narrowed her eyes. “Man, this really sucks…”

She looked back up at the falling arrows. Death was fast

approaching. The odds were overwhelming.

But she didn’t move.

“…It looks like… I won’t be able to keep my promise after all.”

That’s how things always ended. She was never able to protect the
things she wanted to save…

Naia, Remire, everyone… And Ryner, too…

As soon as she thought she could save someone, something got in

her way!

She was resigned to this. As soon as she thought she could save them
both, it became certain death. She was resigned to that fate.

In the end, she couldn’t save anyone. Just like always.

She was someone who couldn’t save anyone.

Always, always, always…

“…I’m fed up…”

Fed up with her weak self.

Naia definitely could have found a way to break through this

situation. And if she were Sion, who’d been called a genius at their
school… No, if she were Ryner…

“I can do it!” Kiefer suddenly yelled. “I can do it, too! I can’t save
Ryner if I die here! I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!”

Page | 86
She turned back. “Get behind me in a line, you two! We probably
won’t be able to defend against them all. So get in as much of a line
as possible in the shadow of my armor!”

Then she brought her hand to the sky before her, where it danced to
write out characters of light to cast an Estabulian spell from her
motherland.

“I dedicate the words of our contract—”

She was going to use Estabul’s strongest offensive spell. How many
arrows would it be able to destroy? How many would still hit them?

She had no choice but to use this spell.

“—Fire the beast of light dancing within the heavens!”

Light gathered before her in a difficult to discern shape that soon

molded into a beast. Then it shot forward, into the arrows.

And the arrows… fortified by magic as they were, broke right through
the fire of Kiefer’s spell.

“Wha…”

Not a single arrow fell from her attack. Each and every one continued
on their paths towards her…

She raised both her arms up at once, spreading them as far as they’d
go. Anything to keep even a single arrow from hitting the girls behind
her…

She let out a groan as she prepared herself to be pierced from every
angle. But then… the scene in front of her eyes suddenly changed.

A man appeared and stood in front of her.

Page | 87
“Here we go!” He said and swung his sword. It wasn’t just any sword.
It was a huge longsword three times the size of Kiefer. Could it even
be called a sword at that point? It was so big that one wouldn’t
expect a human to be able to hold it… Its black blade had purple
veins stretched all across it in a systematic pattern.

The man swung his massive sword with ease, and when he did… the
arrows broke into dozens, no, hundreds of pieces and fell to the
ground, useless. Not even her magic could pierce those arrows…

“……”

All Kiefer could do was stare at the strange scene, dumbfounded.

No… what she was staring at dumbfounded was the man. He was
resting his longsword against his shoulder. He wasn’t muscular
enough that she’d think he could use it. He had wavy brown… no,
peach-colored hair. It was a peculiar color for hair.

And what caught her eye most of all were his eyes, overflowing with
confidence. They were eyes capable of sucking others in. They
carried a strong will, a strong ambition… and those eyes fixed on
Kiefer for a moment before sweeping across their surroundings.

“Judging by your armor, I guess you’re one of Stohl’s soldiers? But

there are no other Stohlian soldiers around here. Did Stohl shoot
those arrows without evacuating the villagers first?” He asked, then
looked back to Kiefer for an answer.

“I take it you’re one of Gastark’s soldiers?”

He nodded appropriately. “Yeah, something like that,” he said and

went back to looking around. “Doesn’t feel like there’s an ambush
waiting or anything… Seems like Stohl’s army really left the people
and made a run for it. Even so, you stayed here on your own to
protect these girls… are you some kind of idiot?”
Page | 88
“Huh? I-idiot? Why’re you calling me—”

“I mean, Stohl already gave up on this village, right? But even so, you
stayed. What can you do alone? Did you just want to die a
meaningless death? There’s no way you could protect anyone like
that.”

Kiefer grimaced. His reasoning was sound. It was sound, but…

“…You don’t understand anything,” she spat. “This is why I hate

war.”

There was no helping small sacrifices to save the majority. Maybe

that was true. But she’d never say that her sisters’ deaths couldn’t be
helped. So…

“…This is why I really hate war… People like you calculate who should
live or die like we’re just numbers and then act like you’re better
because of it…”

“Why’re you fighting in the Stohlian army if you hate war so much
then?”

“Isn’t it obvious!? Not a single person in the world loves war!” She
yelled.

“Hmm,” he said calmly. “I like you. Are you hoping to distract me

with a yelling match or something? That way the kids can get away…
Pretty good plan. And that magic you used before wasn’t like Stohl’s
at all. You aren’t even a Stohlian soldier.”

“Wha… So you knew…”

“Who are you then?” He continued. “You’re smack-dab in the middle

of a battle between Gastark and Stohl even though you’re not a
Stohlian soldier, ready to die trying to protect some villagers all on

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your own… My reasoning leads to the conclusion that you’re an idiot.
Using your lives to save others is an idiot move…”

Kiefer glared at him.

She hated hearing that sort of thing most of all. Why was it so bad to
risk your life for others? Why was it so bad to want to save others
even if it meant becoming a sacrifice yourself?

Naia had died to protect Kiefer and Remire. Ryner went to jail in
exchange for her freedom.

It was because of people like this man, she thought as she glared up
at him. It was because of them that war existed at all.

And yet, for some reason, he smiled happily. “Y’know, I love idiots
like you.”

“Huh?”

“See, I really hate war too,” he said, still smiling. “I hate blood, tears,
tragedies, all of it. But…”

Suddenly men cloaked in black appeared to surround the man and

Kiefer. They had no presence, and they’d come without any sound at
all.

Unbelievable.

She’d already braced herself to flee as soon as he left an opening,

too… but she’d already been surrounded by people she couldn’t have
perceived at all.

They were monsters…

This wasn’t the first time she’d felt this sensation. It was the same as
when she’d encountered Magical Knights in the past. When she’d
been surrounded by Roland’s. When she was attacked by Estabul’s.
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They prostrated themselves before the man in front of her.
“Preparations are complete, Your Majesty.”

“Y-Your Majesty!?” Kiefer repeated. “Th, then you’re…”

The man shrugged in response, then turned to the men in black.

“Have the people been shown to safety?”

“That will be finished shortly. These three are the last ones
remaining.”

“And how’s the situation?”

“The Magical Archers have surrendered. Large-scale magic will begin

shortly.”

Kiefer shivered instinctively. Large-scale magic was magic used

during wartime that was meant to destroy. It took dozens of casters.
It wasn’t like normal, every day magic at all. Hundreds of people died
with each cast.

The time they took to cast depended on the country, and they were
typically fired while armies clashed. A whole Mage Troop could cast
it once or twice, and no more. Usually armies cast them at each
other to more or less cancel the effects out and minimize casualties,
but… Whether they cancelled each other out or not, large-scale
magic would level a little village like this.

Then one of the men spoke. “Your Majesty, please do pull back. For
you yourself to take to the battlefield—”

“Nope. I came here to try that out for the first time, after all.”

The prostrated men were immediately flustered. “B-but Your

Majesty…”

“I beg you not to! If you should use that…”

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“Nope. I’m usin’ it,” the man said, smiling innocently like a child
might.

“But…”

“I don’t need to hear any more opinions,” the man said. “I already
told you. I made up my mind to do this since before coming here.
There’s all sorts of meaning in doing it here and now. You guys
understand that, right?”

“……”

Though they were clearly pained by it, the men didn’t object.

Kiefer didn’t understand, though. What were they talking about

doing? “Hey, um… I’m not following here. What exactly is ‘that’?”

The man turned to face her. “Ah, sorry about that. They interrupted
our conversation, didn’t they? Man, this is why I hate war…”

“No, I don’t mean that conversation!”

But the man ignored her completely, pointing to the men in black
cloaks. “I hate it when my allies die.” Then he pointed to the girls.
“And I hate seeing children die.” Then he pointed to Kiefer. “And it’s
such a waste for beauties like you to die, so I absolutely don’t want
any of that happening… and that’s why I hate war,” he said, his eyes
narrowing with sadness.

His expressions changed often. He smiled innocently, then smiled

like a crook, and now… now his eyes were narrowed with very real
sadness.

“But we’re gonna have war as long as we have countries,” he

continued. “The very framework invites conflict. So what’s the route
of fewest casualties? How can we lessen the sadness in this world,
even if only a little? I’m always thinking about that. I’m always
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suffering because of that,” he said, and this time he really did seem
to be suffering, his face contorting with anguish.

He looked back to Kiefer again and continued. “You said you hate
people who only think about life and death as numbers, right? Then
how do you intend to save people? What guides you of not
numbers?”

“……”

She was unable to answer him.

Her guide…

“Depending on the person, one might say that people are moved
only to save the people reflected in their eyes… and that’s enough.
That they’re fine as long as they can protect the people precious to
them… But I want to save the people who aren’t important to me
too. I don’t just want to save Gastark’s people. I want to save Stohl’s,
too… no, I want to save all the people of Menoris, of this world, and
eliminate war itself. That’s my dream.”

His words were very charming.

So he wanted to rule over the whole continent to eliminate war

itself.

But…

Kiefer stared right at him, the king of Gastark, and spoke. “So you
fight wars to eliminate war? Isn’t that contradictory? Your dream is
one that’ll be granted at the top of a mountain of corpses. And to top
it all off, you’re a king. You can hide somewhere safe while your
soldiers - your people - suffer. I’m sure it’s easy for you to say all that
from where you’re standing.”

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He nodded easily. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s why I’m going to use
this,” he said, moving his sword from where it rested on his shoulder
to the palm of his hand. Blood flowed from where the blade
connected with his flesh… and crept up the purple veins drawn on
the sword. The sword was soon dyed red as it absorbed the blood.

It began to pulse, beating vigorously like it was alive.

“Wh, what…”

The air before her distorted as she whispered in disbelief. It swirled

as if it was being swallowed up by the sword in its quest to gather
light…

And then… a voice descended from the sky.

“Thou who has made a contract… I shall answer your call once
more.”

It was quiet, quiet as could be… and yet the pressure of it was
horribly overwhelming. It echoed around in her head.

Kiefer’s voice wavered. “Th-that’s…”

She’d had this experience before, too. It was identical to what had
happened when Ryner’s Alpha Stigma went berserk…

The voice echoed, resounding from somewhere, descending upon

them, echoing directly in their heads. But this voice was a little
different from the thing in Ryner. Ryner’s had caused uneasiness to
well up inside of her. But this voice was solemn, and it somehow
embraced and calmed her fears…

“I shall answer you,” the voice said. “I shall answer you. Now, offer
your sacrifice. Doing so will release my power.”

The man smiled. “Devour my left eye. I need the power.”

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“H, huh? Your left… eye?”

One of the men beside her answered with a grimace. “That is a holy
sword usable only by the hero’s descendants… In exchange for
allowing His Majesty to use its great power, it will steal him piece by
piece.”

“Its power?”

The man nodded. “The next time His Majesty uses that sword it’ll
take his sense of smell. Then he’ll offer up his right leg. Just a
moment ago you said that His Majesty could watch from a safe
place, so it was easy for him to talk big, correct? But we do not obey
that kind of king. Our king is one who sacrifices his very life in order
to save the world…”

“Those’re just pretty words,” the king said. “I’m going to kill a horrific
amount of people from here on out. And the cost for that just my left
eye… They’d be better upping the price of this thing. Even so, I need
to use this sword here and now. I have to use it to save many, many
more people so that I can become king of the world… and save
everyone in it!”

She could feel his conviction through his words. He was, without a
doubt, Gastark’s king.

The king raised his sword high. “Now, Glowvelle: Give me power, and
let’s go!”

The voice descended once again. “The contract has been sealed.
Power will be granted.”

The sword glowed red, redder… the color of blood.

Many massive lights appeared in the direction of Stohl’s army, too.

Because they’d completed their large-scale magic, and it was

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beginning to fire. Countless destructive lights headed their way…
Even just one of those lights could kill hundreds of people. This entire
village. And yet the men around her weren’t afraid at all. They just
gazed at their king with sharp eyes…

They looked at the light coming their way, then in the direction of
the opposing army…

They just watched like they were unable to tear their eyes from the
scenes before them.

“…I definitely won’t let these lives be in vain. I definitely won’t forget
this moment. My sins definitely won’t disappear. I am a mass
murderer. A mass murdering king. If that’s something that can be
cursed, then curse me. But even so. Even so, I must keep moving
forward… Now…”

He swung his sword up and took a single step forward.

“Level it all!”

He swung his sword down.

The world changed at once.

It disappeared. It all just disappeared. A great power scattered

destruction across the landscape. It trampled on the village, the
earth, the lives of many people.

Out of the hundred thousand Stohlian soldiers, tens of thousands

must have been obliterated.

And so the match was settled, just like that.

That sword had an explosive power capable of rendering even large-

scale magic meaningless.

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It was the same as that time, the same as Ryner’s rampage… He’d
destroyed the Magical Knights so easily, as if they were just toys
compared to him…

And so… she associated that dreadful despair with the power of
god…

There was no concept of god in Kiefer’s home country of Estabul.

Roland and Stohl didn’t have organized religions, either. Even so, the
power she was seeing now… was clearly an act of God.

She was intensely afraid. She was violently afraid. She was fervently
afraid.

God… or perhaps a devil…

It certainly wasn’t human power. That was why it needed

compensation to work.

Ryner was saddled with deep darkness because of this power. And
Gastark’s king…

A strange sound best described as a pop or a bang came from his

eye, and then blood spurted forth from it.

The king pressed a hand to his eye as he groaned. “Guah…”

The men instantly lost their composure. “Your Majesty!?” They

yelled and ran to his side.

But the king pushed them away. “I’m fine. More importantly,
someone needs to tell Stohl that they need to surrender if they don’t
want to take another one of those attacks. That should end the war.
If it doesn’t, those tens of thousands of lives just now will have been
in vain.”

With that, the men hurried to obey.

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The king turned back once he saw them off.

Kiefer studied his face. Blood flowed from under his hand with no
sign of stopping. But he was smiling, like it didn’t really hurt at all. It
was a sad smile, like he was chiding himself.

“Do you… regret it?” Kiefer asked.

The king shrugged like he’d done at the beginning of all this. “People
who don’t regret killing others are trash.”

His words resounded in her chest. He just said it so simply and

honestly, not a trace of a lie in sight.

She felt that she understood Gastark’s ideals.

And the power of that sword… no, its price was too high. It wasn’t
something they could use all the time. The true power of this country
was their king’s charm. It was a country led by a strong king who
never hesitated, one who understood the pain of the people and
worked to overcome it.

He gazed at Kiefer. “So I said it before too, but… I don’t hate idiots
like you. If you don’t try and save the people before your eyes, who
will you save? Maybe it’s okay to just save the people important to
you. Even so, if you ever want to save more people than just that,
come to me. Come to me, Riphal Edea…”

With that, he reached a hand out for her to take…

His men returned to stand before their king… before Edea. “Your
Majesty, Imperial Stohl has surrendered. Their king is headed our
way in surrender…”

Edea nodded. “Good. Round up the Stohlian army as soon as

possible. Let’s do this right the first time so we don’t have any

Page | 98
pointless fighting later,” he said, then looked back to Kiefer. “Come
with me. I’ll get those wounds treated for you.”

Kiefer shook her head. “I apologize, seems as you have gone out of
the way to offer, Your Majesty… but there are still things I must do in
Stohl. May we one day meet again,” she said, her tone far more
polite than before.

Edea’s remaining eye narrowed. “Things you need to do in Stohl?

Hm, now just who are you? If you plan to come someday, then just
come now. See you later.”

With that, Edea left.

Kiefer watched him until he was out of sight, then turned to the girls
behind her and patted their heads, then told them the war was over
now… and set off again on her own in another direction from both
Stohl and Gastark.

First she had to research what kind of country the neighboring

Gastark was. Entering without knowing anything about it would be
far too inconvenient.

Just what kind of place was Gastark? What kind of person was that
Edea guy? How were his birth and lineage? And… what was that
sword? Important keywords to search for rose to her mind one after
another.

The hero’s descendant. Contract. The voice that descended upon

them, just like what’d happened with Ryner.

Kiefer smiled. She had all sorts of leads. There had to be an answer
here. An answer to the question of how to save Ryner.

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She stopped for a moment to remove the arrow in her leg, then
gazed at it. At her own blood on it. If Edea hadn’t saved her back
there, she’d be dead now. She wouldn’t be able to save Ryner.

Kiefer’s eyes narrowed as she recalled Edea’s words - if you ever

want to save more people than just that…

Kiefer shook her head. “Save the whole world, huh… It does sound
pretty charming. A charming king, a charming country… But to me
right now, saving Ryner is more important than saving the world.”

She tossed the arrow away and looked back. “Sorry, but I’m going to
use you, Riphal Edea,” she whispered, then continued on her way.

---

It was an unbelievably bloody place, with dead bodies everywhere.

But that was where they’d first met: the traitor girl and the man soon
to be known as the one-eyed hero king - King of all Gastark.

And that…

---

Moving far in space and time, we reach the Runa Empire.

Ridget Village, a town near the Nelphan border.

Ryner, Ferris, and the boy that’d been on Ryner’s shoulders were a
little ways away from a house, watching it from a nearby grassy
knoll.

“Ugh, as expected, Runa’s soldiers are here for an ambush…”

The village was a strange sight to behold.

The villagers themselves were still afraid to go outside, but now

there were armed soldiers wandering the village, too. They weren’t
Page | 100
all normal soldiers, either - two wore peculiar circular armor plates,
so sharp just touching them would cut anyone. It was obvious that
they were Runa’s Magical Knights. They stood outside the house
Ryner and Ferris were watching as if guarding it.

Ryner pulled an annoyed expression. “They’re definitely there to

ambush us, right…? Looks like rescuing Kuku’s gonna be a pain,
too…”

That was why they’d come here - to rescue Arua’s childhood friend,
Kuku, from this town. From how unruly the Runan soldiers they’d
seen until now were, it was very likely that they’d eventually kill
Kuku.

Ryner narrowed his eyes and looked up at Arua, who he was carrying
on his back. His sleeping face was innocent as could be. It’d crinkle
up in sadness again if Kuku died, just like it had when his parents
were killed before his eyes - his face had warped horribly in sadness,
in despair…

Just like how Ryner’s had back then…

“……”

Ryner’s tired, listless expression changed.

Ferris noticed and nodded. “Mm. Saving Kuku will certainly be

difficult. But can we really just leave her here? We won’t get any
money for saving Arua if Kuku dies now. And then our grand dream
of a magnificent party would be dashed…”

“No, that’s not the problem… wait, our dream? Why’re you acting
like it’s my dream too?”

Page | 101
“What are you saying?” Ferris asked without hesitation. “You say it
every day. ‘M’lady the Princess’ wishes are mine as well. I reckon I’d
die happy as long as M’lady’s happy.’”

“Who the hell’s that supposed to be!! Man, I really can’t just have a
conversation with you… Anyway, leaving that aside… what should we
do? The regular soldiers are whatever, but the Magical Knights are
bothersome…”

‘Bothersome’ wasn’t really an apt description. The Magical Knights

were the strongest soldiers in the country, after all. They were
terrifically powerful on the battlefield, and normal people couldn’t
even begin to compete against them, monsters as they were.

But…

“Hm,” Ferris said. “There are two Magical Knights there. It’s unlikely
that there are any more than that. One is here to hunt for Arua and
the other is to hunt for Kuku. So since there are only two Magical
Knights… they won’t be a challenge for us, will they?”

She said it so easily…

Ryner shrugged. “I guess someone as strong as you has the right to

say that, yeah. But I’ve got to carry Arua—”

“Even with Arua, can two or even three Magical Knights stop you?”
Ferris interrupted.

“I mean, I might be able to take them… but like, I’ve been super sleep
deprived lately… I like, can’t move all that fast…”

Ferris tilted her head. “Hm? What exactly are you trying to say?”

Ryner looked like he’d been waiting for her to ask. “I was just
thinking, y’know? It’d be soo easy for you to take both the Magical

Page | 102
Knights and rescue Kuku all on your own while I keep Arua safe here.
That way I don’t have to like, run, and—”

Ferris’ sword slowly slid out of its sheath. “And?”

Ryner sighed at her predictable response. “I mean, it was just a

thought… I’ll do my best so I don’t die, ma’am.”

He looked back to the village with his blood-shot, sleep deprived

eyes. They were guarding the village pretty carefully, but not so
carefully that getting in would be impossible. His eyes slid to the two
Magical Knights, then across the five regular soldiers.

If it was Ryner and Ferris against them, then…

“Should be a pretty easy victory,” Ryner said as he looked around,

examining the Magical Knights and soldiers carefully. “If Kuku’s alive,
it’s probably in that house.” There was no mistaking that.

If she were a hostage with great importance to Runa, then things

would be a little different. They’d have the Magical Knights guard
Kuku’s house as a trap to lure them in, but really keep her
somewhere else.

But they’d be fine even if that was what was happening here. But
there was also the possibility that they’d killed Kuku right off the
bat.

“Do what we say if you want to rescue his childhood friend.”

That’s the kind of prideful method the nobles used. Like when they
killed Kiefer’s little sister right off the bat…

“That’s fine as well,” Ferris said. “If she’s not here, then we’ll just
torture the soldiers and Magical Knights until they tell us where she
is.”

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Ryner smiled bitterly. “Torture, huh… That’s reassuring. You’re right.
If the nobles are gonna play dirty, we can too. We have to show
them we’re serious. Let’s do this,” Ryner said and stood.

That alone was enough to alert the Magical Knights of their

presence.

“Oh, they’re just as good as I thought they’d be. So what’s our plan?”

“We don’t need a plan for enemies on their level. Let’s go,” Ferris
said, and leapt out towards them with alarming speed. She reached a
Magical Knight in the span of one breath and swung her sword…

The Magical Knight hurried to dodge, then tried to counter. But he

couldn’t match Ferris’ speed at all. He finally raised his voice to alert
his allies. “Enem—”

But Ferris’ sword whacked him on the head before he could finish.
He fell to the ground. He hadn’t lost consciousness, but he’d taken a
big hit.

The other Magical Knight stepped away to put some distance

between himself and Ferris, but Ferris closed the distance easily and
swung her sword. He stepped back until his back was pressed to
Kuku’s house. “Gh… Reinforcements!” He yelled frantically. “Hold
them back! I knew we should’ve brought more Magical Knights…”

Not a single soldier came to his call for help. All five had already been
defeated…

“Sorry, they already got got,” Ryner said, feigning innocence. The
other Magical Knight, too - he’d started chanting so Ferris held her
sword to his neck to make him faint “Alrighty, that’s the end of that.
Heeey, Ferris, the coast is clear. You should finish up too.”

Ferris nodded. “Then should I get serious?”

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“Huh?” The remaining Magical Knight said. He made a dumb
expression as Ferris’ movements sped up even more, like her
previous speed was just a joke. She swung her sword with incredible
vigor…

The Magical Knight held his sword up like a shield. But Ferris’ crushed
it with ease. The difference in their power was just too great. Ferris
skillfully hid the Roland coat of arms on her armor as she attacked.
Her sword made it to the nape of his neck before abruptly stopping.

“So as you can see, you’re no enemy to me,” Ferris said. “The man
behind me is many times stronger than you as well. On top of that,
he’s a sex maniac who indiscriminantly pursues all, from girls to men.
If you value your chastity, you’ll tell us where Kuku is.”

The Magical Knight angled his grimacing face up to get a good look at
Ryner…

“He believes you!? And why am I always playing the pervert’s role,
anyway… I mean, it’s fine if it works as a threat, but still,” Ryner
muttered.

“Sh, she’s in the house,” the Magical Knight said, still staring at Ryner
with that look on his face.

“You’re lying,” Ferris said easily. “I don’t feel anyone’s presence

inside that house.”

That was true. Ryner had noticed it as soon as they got up close to
the house. It didn’t feel like anyone was in there at all, and it wasn’t
a big house. Kuku probably wasn’t there.

“You can’t escape by lying and running while we confirm your lies,”
Ferris said. “Or maybe I should say that your situation will worsen
the more you lie. Come, Ryner. You want to play with this man, don’t
you?”
Page | 105
The man once again looked to Ryner fearfully…

He couldn’t just say that he didn’t want to play with him at all, even
if it was the truth. He was on the verge of tears. “Ggh… um, so, uh… I
guess I’ll play with you a little now…”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ferris, who’d been totally
expressionless until now, smiled…

Ryner felt like he was losing something precious. He was crying on

the inside.

Ryner moved closer to Ferris and spoke to the Magical Knight. “It’s
better for your body if you just tell us now. I don’t mind killing you
and asking one of the soldiers out there instead. I know they haven’t
had training on how to endure torture, so they’ll spill fast. But do you
really want to die a meaningless death here? Or do you want to liv—
”

A head flew as he was talking. Ryner’s eyes widened.

“Wha…”

Something had broken through Kuu’s wall and sliced the Magical
Knight’s head clean off. Now it looked to Ryner.

“This is bad…”

Ryner made to dodge, but it was fast. Too fast. He was going to die…
His head would fly just like the knight’s.

But Ferris lunged over and grabbed him by his hair and yanked him
out of the way.

And then… the broken wall turned to ice. A frozen fragment of

Kuku’s house glinted in the light as it flew away.

It was an odd sight.

Page | 106
Blood spurted out from the Magical Knight’s head… but it didn’t flow
freely. It froze in midair, and the cut neck froze and sealed itself too…

Ryner had seen this before.

“This is the worst,” he muttered. He and Ferris stepped back as much

as possible, making sure to support Arua, who was still sleeping on
Ryner’s back.

When they did, two people appeared from the destroyed house. One
was a lanky man named Sui, who stood just a little taller than Ryner.
He looked sorta wimpy, and he was all smiles. His most defining
feature was his hair - it was a rare color, more pink than brown…

A girl with the same long pink hair stood at his side. She was Sui’s
little sister. Her name was Kuu, and she appeared to be thirteen or
fourteen. Her bangs were cut to her eyebrows and she had a pretty
face, almond-shaped eyes, and an elegant sort of beauty to her. She
held a scythe, and it wasn’t an ordinary one - it had cut the Magical
Knight’s head off and broken the wall, freezing them both. Things
were easier to destroy when they were just ice, after all.

The massive scythe was made up of a metal that was an unfamiliar,

saturated blue.

It was one of the Heroic Relics that Ryner and Ferris were searching
for. It held an otherwise unattainable power. At one point Ryner and
Ferris had fought against that staff. They’d been certain that they’d
die. There hadn’t been any competition at all. That was how much
power lie inside that scythe…

“Well, if it isn’t Ryner and Ferris,” Sui said in that weak voice of his.
“To think that we’d meet again here. I suppose this must be destiny.”

Ryner glared at Sui. “It’s not like we wanted to see you guys again…”

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Sui opened his eyes that’d been closed until now and narrowed them
at Ryner. “Really? That’s not very friendly of you. I mean, we’re
interested in you, Ryner. You’re a special Alpha Stigma bearer… I
mean, we’ve hunted numerous Alpha Stigma bearers and stolen
their crystals… but your power is so clearly different from that of the
others… it’s far too strong. You even broke the Rule Fragment
Elemio’s Comb like it was just a toy…”

Sui held his left hand out as he spoke. His left had should have been
gone. It’d been destroyed. And Ryner’s rampage had also destroyed
the heroic relic he called Elemio’s comb.

But Sui raised his left hand. It wasn’t an arm of flesh and blood, but
an artificial one. An elaborate one made of iron with strange jewels
buried inside that Ryner couldn’t place.

In any case, it seemed like Sui could move his prosthetic arm just like
a regular one, and he was lifting it up to show them. “And on top of
everything, you went back to normal again after going berserk. It’s
the first I’ve seen anything like it. Just what are you?”

“I wouldn’t have to worry about it so much if I already knew that!”

Ryner spat, his eyes narrowing.

What was he? He’d been asked that again and again, to the point
that it was sickening.

What was he? A human, or a monster?

And… why… had he been born? What meaning was there in it?

Sui looked at him dubiously. “Really? But that kid on your shoulders…
that thing’s an Alpha Stigma bearer, right? Why protect him when
you could steal his crystallized eyes? I thought you knew how to use
them…”

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Ferris cut in before Ryner could reply. “Hoh. Interesting remark. You
know that Arua is an Alpha Stigma bearer…”

“That’s obvious, isn’t it?” Sui asked. “We’re here to hunt Alpha
Stigma bearers. But I didn’t expect that Ryner would have that kid
with him.” He scrunched up his eyebrows. “We can’t awaken that
child’s eyes with you here. We can’t beat your awakened power,
after all…”

“If you were of Runa, you wouldn’t want us Rolanders to know of

you,” Ferris said. “But you did get the information that Arua is an
Alpha Stigma bearer from Runa, didn’t you?”

Sui smiled. “Exactly. That’s why this is so bad. We’re so interested in

Ryner’s Alpha Stigma, but we have to have him die here. Such a
shame,” Sui said, his smile never faultering. “Kuu.”

Kuu just barely nodded. “Mm…”

She raised her scythe up high…

“Ryner!” Ferris yelled.

“Got it!” Ryner said and broke out in a run. He traced letters in the
air with his fingers as he did. “I dedicate the words of our contract -
give birth to the beast of malice sleeping within the earth!”

His body accelerated with the spell, bringing him farther and farther
from Sui and Kuu.

Sui spoke from behind him. “You can’t run from Kuu.”

He said it so happily.

And just as he’d said, Kuu caught up to Ryner with ease despite his
spell.

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That too was one of the scythe’s powers. It bestowed advanced
physical capabilities on its user…

She swung her scythe back up with cutthroat force, and began to
lower it…

He couldn’t avoid it.

Ryner turned back. Just when he did, he saw Ferris shoot between
him and the scythe.

He smiled. “Okay. Let’s think about this together.”

Ferris didn’t reply. She just raised her sword to take the brunt of
Kuu’s hit with. The force of Kuu’s scythe slamming into her sword
propelled her backwards… or maybe it was more apt to say it sent
Ferris flying.

Kuu’s power was eerily powerful to the point where it could really
send Ferris flying…

Ryner grabbed onto Ferris’ shoulder plate and jumped with her. That
let them put some major distance between themselves and Kuu.
They landed, but continued to run with that momentum.

“Ryner. Let’s split up to confuse them. Then we’ll meet up at—”

“—The place we hid the carriage.”

“Mm.”

With that, Ferris headed to the right and disappeared into the forest.
Kuu ran after her.

Once he made sure of that, Ryner turned back… but Sui wasn’t there.
It looked like he hadn’t intended on pursuing them at all. Obviously.
They were far too fast for Sui now. He’d probably given up, knowing
that he’d never reach them.
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Kuu probably wouldn’t catch Ferris either.

They’d be fine. They could escape.

Ryner broke out in a run again, but he suddenly heard Sui yell from
afar.

“Ah, Ryner! I wanted to tell you something before you get too far to
hear! That boy’s childhood friend is being confined in the mansion
belonging to this domain’s noble!”

Ryner turned back to the direction he’d heard Sui from. Though he
couldn’t see him… he knew what expression Sui was making: the
same calm and smiley expression as always that seemed to see right
through them…

“I’ll be waiting for you there,” Sui finished.

Ryner grimaced. “You shithead,” he muttered and resumed running.

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Chapter 3: A Hated Dream
A warm sun was shining over the road and the large prairie it cut
through. Clouds drifted across the sky, and a gentle breeze tickled
the prairie grasses.

He gazed out at the peaceful scenery. “I get all sleepy looking at

places like this,” he mumbled to himself, sleep-deprived as he was.
“No, more than that, I haven’t slept in forever. I want to sleep for
two hundred years straight, no, I wanna sleep so long it transcends
time and have great dreams the whole time. But instead of sleeping
for two hundred hours I’ve gone days without sleeping. What do you
think of that?” He tried asking the boy sleeping in the grass beside
him.

Obviously he didn’t reply…

Ryner shrugged, then looked around their surroundings. It was

peaceful as far as the eye could see.

“…Ferris is late. Maybe Kuu caught up to her…”

He shook his head.

“No, she wouldn’t mess up like that.”

But… if Kuu did catch up to her… no. Ryner stopped that thought in
its tracks. Worrying about it wouldn’t accomplish anything. He
looked back to Arua and grimaced.

The situation sucked. Sui and Kuu were working with Runa to get to
Arua, and if Ryner wasn’t there with him… they’d probably make
Arua go berserk and gouge out his eyes.

Ryner recalled what Sui had said when they fought before.

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“You’re a valuable Alpha Stigma, so we won’t let you escape. We will
crystalize and steal those eyes of yours.”

Apparently that ‘crystallize’ thing meant making them go berserk and

harvesting the power in their eyes…

Then Sui had held a crystal up to show them.

“You don’t know about these crystals?”

At that time, it seemed like the crystal in his hand was supposed to
be the same thing…

Sui tossed the crystal, and it resonated with his words… and then
Ryner’s eyes went berserk.

He’d wanted to destroy everything in that moment. Everything,

including all that lived. Even Ferris, who’d been there by his side…

Again. His eyes were going to steal from him again. To him, they…

“……”

Ryner wordlessly brought his hands to his eyes. He pressed hard

against them with his fingers…

“…Geez, what are these things?” Ryner muttered to himself listlessly.

“They said they’d crystalize them… so are those crystals eyes like
this? Would they become those crystals if they were gouged out?
And what would happen to me if they were gouged? I mean, I’d
definitely go blind, but… if I just gouged them, could I be a normal
person…?”

Ryner pressed even harder, tensing his hands and pressing his fingers
in as deep as he could get them.

“…If something so easy could free me, then…”

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Ryner’s hands stopped there. He laughed quietly, tired, and looked
up at the sky.

“…Things would be so simple then… and it’d be so easy. But I’ve

already tried that so many times,” he whispered.

But no matter how many times he tried to ruin his eyes or gouge
them, they remained completely unharmed. As if protected by some
principle he couldn’t understand, his eyes alone were impossible to
wound…

So how were Sui and Kuu stealing them?

They’d said that, too.

They said they made them go berserk and then stole them.
Apparently it was possible as long as the bearer was berserk.

Going berserk, huh…

Ryner looked to Arua, who was still sleeping. “Would that… save
you? Or would it kill you? I wish I’d asked. If gouging your eyes could
save you before you hurt anyone, before you hurt your own heart…”

Otherwise… he’d just live an unsettling life.

Arua was despised as a monster by the sole reason that he was born
with those eyes. They were the entire reason his parents were killed
in front of him. Now his childhood friend was even being held
hostage because of him…

Ryner grimaced. “This has all gotten to be so much effort. It’d be bad
if we didn’t rescue Kuku… but we have to fight Sui and Kuu for that.
They’re just too strong…”

Right then, Ryner heard a sound from his side.

“…Mm.”
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“Oh? Finally waking up?”

The kid opened his eyes, but squeezed them shut soon after, the
world still too bright to look at… then reopened them slowly a few
moments after.

Ryner looked at his eyes. Even now there was a faint, difficult to see
crimson pentagram. It was the same cursed symbol that lay in
Ryner’s eyes, feared and loathed by all…

The boy sat up and looked around. “Ah, um… where am I…? And
where are my mom and dad…?”

Oh no…

“Great, you’re awake,” Ryner said, avoiding the question. “Do you
hurt anywhere?”

Arua shivered horribly, then glared up at him. “Wh, who are you! My
mom… and my dad… my d-dad…”

Arua’s words trailed off for a moment, and then his face suddenly
distorted.

“Ah… uuah… no…”

Arua shivered.

Ryner understood why very well. He was remembering how his

father was decapitated before his very eyes…

“U, uuuoooaagh!! He was killed… killed… aaaghh!!” Arua screamed

madly.

That was a normal reaction. Both of his parents had been killed in
front of him, after all.

Ryner looked at him with disinterested, half-lidded eyes.

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Arua screamed like he’d gone mad, tears flowing down his cheeks…

“I, it’s my fault… My mom died… because of me… A-augh… I hate it…
I hate it, I hate it… Everyone… I’m…”

He glared back at Ryner.

“Y, you… You killed my parents… I’ll kill you!” Arua said. He stood up
suddenly, then clasped his hands together to chant a spell…

“You’re too slow,” Ryner said and grabbed Arua’s hands, then
pushed him over onto the ground, interrupting his magic with ease.

Arua groaned from his spot on the ground, then looked up at Ryner
with a pained expression. “Why did this happen… what did I do for
this to happen!” He yelled.

Ryner shrugged. He didn’t have anything to say for that.

“Just stop,” Arua sobbed. “Enough already… Why did… it’s my fault
that my parents died… What did I… enough, I’m so tired… enough,
enough…”

Arua covered his face and his sobs with his hands.

Ryner watched him with a bored expression. “So do you wanna run
away? Where can you even run? Do you want to see what it’s like to
die? I won’t stop you. Do whatever you’d like. Don’t you think you
should be the one to decide what it means for you to be saved?”

Arua uncovered his face to glare back up at Ryner. “You… you guys
want to kill me, don’t you!? You… I’m a monster, so… you killed my
mom and dad already, so just kill me too! I’m just a monster! So
hurry up and kill me… There’s no point in a monster like me being
alive—”

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“Right,” Ryner said. “There might not be any point in living at all.
But…”

Ryner raised the eyelid of his left eye just so. When he did, it glowed
brightly, a crimson pentagram appearing within its depths.

Arua was surprised and about to comment, but Ryner spoke before
he could. “I’ve thought about what you’re thinking now so, so many
times. There’s no point in living, is there? All I do is hurt the people
who are important to me… shouldn’t someone kill me? And on top of
everything, I’m a monster that everyone fears and loathes… so why
am I even here? Why was I made? I cried and screamed but nobody
answered. And yet…”

Ryner pulled his hand away from his eye. It narrowed in sadness.

“And yet… despite everything, I lived. Pretty dumb, right? I should

have died. I still haven’t found a point in me living. Do I really need to
be alive? Nobody wants me. Because just the fact that I live hurts
people and makes them hate me. So I should die. I’ve thought that
so, so many times… and yet…”

Ryner’s exerted expression scrunched up as he continued. “But in

that time, people said they were glad that I was alive. There was the
king that has strange tastes so he said he wanted me even though I
was a monster. Then there’s the girl who kept trying to persuade me
I’m not a monster at all… and recently even the girl who keeps
bullying me and calling me her slave… It weakened my perception.
Made me think there could be a point… and if there was, couldn’t I
just keep living?”

Ryner held his head in his hands. “That’s why… I started to want to
make a world where I won’t lose the people who are important to
me anymore… aah, sorry, that got dumb. A-anyway, what I’m trying
to say is, like…”

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Arua stared up at him, amazed. “Y, you’re just like me… Then that
means you saved me…?” Arua whispered. “For me, there’s… no one
who wants me alive anymore…”

“What did your dad say just before he died?” Ryner asked.

“Ah…”

His dad had earnestly yelled out to them to save Arua. He told him
that it wasn’t Arua’s fault that he was dying as tears fell from his eyes
and his face crinkled in sadness.

“The one who asked us to save you from the Runan nobles was a
childhood friend of yours,” Ryner said. “A girl called Kuku.”

Arua’s eyes widened. “Kuku!? Is Kuku here?”

Ryner shook his head. “No. She’s being held in a noble’s mansion to
lure you out. I’m going to go save her, so… what’re you going to do?”

“I’m going too!” Arua said.

Ryner smiled. “Then you can’t die here, can you? Dying’s pretty
serious. You can’t do any of the things you need to do anymore
then… what a pain. I’m so sleepy I could die… and you’re awake now,
so how about you keep guard while I sleep? I’m seriously at my limit,
so goodnight!”

With that Ryner lay down on his side in the grass.

“Ah… um, wait, what about rescuing Kuku…?”

“Nope, not yet. We gotta meet up with my partner in crime first.

She’ll wake me up when she gets here. Then we’ll go save Kuku…”

Ryner’s words trailed off as the plan to go save Kuku spun around in
his head. He recalled the problem: Sui and Kuu were aiming for Arua.
If Arua left his side, they could easily force him to go berserk and
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steal his Alpha Stigma. So they couldn’t let Arua out of their sight as
long as they were going against those two… So they had to bring
Arua with if they were gonna save Kuku. So they had to be able to
protect him even as they fought… And they’d be tough opponents
even if they had Ryner and Ferris’ full attention. Sui and Kuu were
both amazing fighters, after all…

Ryner sat up to look at Arua. “Amazing fighters, huh… I wonder how

much you can do if I start training you now?”

Arua’s eyes widened. “Huh? Wait, what?”

Ryner completely ignored him and crossed his arms in thought. “I

mean, you’re an Alpha Stigma bearer, so you can easily use any spell,
no matter how hard it is… You should be able to back us… wait, no…”

“That’s… bro—”

“Ryner Lute. Call me Ryner.”

“Then, then, Ry—”

“No, actually you should call me Professor. We don’t have any time
so I think we should channel your feelings towards that kind of
thing.”

“Huh? Profess…or? Then…”

Ryner stood up, then looked down at Arua. “Alright. Let’s get
started.”

Arua looked confused. “Um… with what?”

“Well, we don’t have much time so let’s keep the explanations short.
You wanna save Kuku, right?”

“Oh, um, yes. I did say that, but…”

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“Then you’ll help us save her, right? But you’re weak - no, you aren’t
even useful now. So, um… man, what’d she say at times like this
again? A long time ago, Jereme - that’s my master - told me, uh, I
think it was like…”

Ryner looked up into the sky as he recalled it, then spoke in a

monotone as he recounted it like he was reading out of a textbook or
the like. “‘You want to protect people when you don’t have any
power of your own? Don’t be such a brat! I’m gonna send you to a
hell so hot you won’t be able to worry about anyone but yourselves.
So worry about your own lives from now on. If you want to escape,
then you need enough power to kill me!’ …I think that’s how it
went?”

“S… sounds like a scary person…”

Ryner grimaced horribly like he was recalling something terrible.

“She wasn’t just scary. Like, when we first met she introduced herself
like, ‘I am Jereme Crysler. That is the name you will all heed as God
this year. Remember it well. Because I will kill you if you should
ignore my orders.’”

“K-kill you…? Even if it’s just a threat…”

Ryner shook his head. “No, she was serious. She definitely would’ve
followed through on that. Even Ferris… oh, she’s the one who’s
coming here in a minute - my partner in crime. Anyway, even she
was serious on the day we first met and she put a sword to my neck
and said I looked like I wanted to die. Man, women are seriously
scary,” Ryner said, grim.

For some reason Arua looked at Ryner’s exhaused expression with

great respect. “So like, Ryner… I mean, Professor. It sounds like
you’ve had a very rough time. But you still listened to me whining
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about wanting to die… I’m really sorry. B-but I’m gonna do my best
from now on. You’re going to train me, right, Professor? So we can
go save Kuku? I’ll do my best to answer to your expectations. So
please don’t look so sad.”

Even after he finished, Arua continued to gaze at Ryner with deep

respect…

“Oh, um… you respect me that much now?” Ryner said. “W-well,
whatever. Anyway, first I’ll tell you a little about the foundation of
magic…”

Arua nodded real big. “Yeah!”

“Havin’ an apprentice might be kinda nice after all,” Ryner said, not
entirely dissatisfied with how things were going. “Anyway, let’s get
this started.”

And so Professor Ryner Lute’s first lecture on magic got off to a great
start here in the middle of a prairie.

“So like, when the military or whoever teaches this, they usually start
with talking about what magic is, but I guess I gotta put it in a way
that a kid can understand…”

With that, Ryner patted Arua’s head lightly.

“What do you use when you need to think about something?”

“Um… I guess I use my head?”

“Right? You use your head, right? Well, really it’s your brain inside of
your head. You use it to think and tell your body to move and stuff.
But there’s another part that we don’t use much so it just sleeps. You
need to wake those many sleeping nerves up to like… you need to
look at the flow of energy through the world.”

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Arua looked around. “Are you talking about the floaty and sparkly
gold things you can see if you look real hard?”

Ryner snapped his fingers. “Exactly. Perfect. Normally it takes awhile

meditating and training your discipline to see those floaty sparkly
guys… like, over a year usually? But because we’ve got these special
eyes we can see them pretty soon. Anyway, congrats, you’ve passed
your first year of magic training. Great. Time for year two.”

They were advancing at an unthinkably fast rate. That was the power
of their eyes. They could see things that normal people wouldn’t… so
someone like Arua would probably be regarded as a magic genius.
Because he had a power that surpassed what humans could do…

But Ryner wouldn’t call him that. He himself had never wanted to be
called that even once. He never wanted to be a genius all those years
ago…

Ryner continued his lectures in high spirits. “Anyway, those floaty

sparkly things are the flow of energy through the world, like I said
before. Sciency people call them spirits.”

Arua’s eyes shone. “You mean like ghosts!?”

Ryner shrugged. “Well, there’s theories like that, but… right now no
one’s really sure what it is. But we do know that they’ll obey orders
we give them. It’s kinda hard to explain? But depending on how they
line up, they can cause all sorts of things to happen. Like you can
make them shoot fire or lightning…”

Ryner’s fingers danced in the air as he spoke.

Someone incapable of using magic would say that he drew letters of

light in the air, which then caused magic to fire.

But that wasn’t really right.

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Someone who could use magic would see it as precise meddling with
golden particles - the energy of the world - to make them do their
bidding…

And when an Alpha Stigma bearer saw it…

Arua’s fingers moved naturally as he watched Ryner’s magic as if in a

daze. As his fingers copied Ryner’s, the particles following his
fingertips.

Even when Ryner’s fingers stopped, the particles moved to fill the air
as if solving a puzzle, drawing letters of light…

“I dedicate the words of our contract - fire the beast of light dancing
within the heavens!”

A mass of light appeared above Arua that soon solidified into a beast.
Ryner controlled its movements with his fingers.

“I dedicate the words of our contract - yada yada, make the light go
dark,” Ryner said. It was hard to tell if he meant that as some kind of
spell or not…

But the light liquified and a dark beast sprung from it. Then it
disappeared as if painted over by darkness…

Arua watched it, shocked. “Wow… That was amazing. Professor, did
you just invent a spell?”

Ryner beamed. “Man, teaching you is great. And yeah, that was a
spell I made on the go. That’s how you can make them. As long as
you say something that conveys what you want to the sparky floaty
guys, they’ll do it. And when you say the incantation at the end, you
need to picture what you want to happen really strongly. That image
is the same thing as your magic’s power - the stronger you can
imagine it, the stronger your spell will be.”

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Arua nodded along even though the topic was getting difficult. “I see.
So that’s why my magic’s so weak. My imagination’s not strong
enough…”

“Yeah. And if I could add one more thing, the way you line the floaty
sparkly things up is still a little inexperienced. Anyway, your magic’s
power depends on the strength of your imagination and how you
line the floaty sparklies up. Militaries around the world are doing
research to remove the limits on how much you can line up and
how… The form and effect of magic changes completely with that,
after all. That’s why magic’s so different everywhere. But that also
means that anyone can improvise it and make spells up just like I
did.”

“But compared to the spells scholars spend a long time inventing…”

“Yeah. It doesn’t stand up at all. Homemade magic can’t stand up to

regular spells on the battlefield. By the way, the spell I used as an
example is from a place called the Kingdom of Estabul. You could tell
it was well-made, right?”

“Yeah. The sparklies arranged themselves beautifully for it.”

“Right? I think it’d be real hard to improve. It’s already really well-
made. It’s quick and efficient, and the incantation lets you vividly
picture the image you need. Roland’s spells are usually about the
same grade, but… Lightning Flash might be a little better. I’ve been
messing with it recently ‘cause it’s got more room to change things
around with.”

“Lightning… flash? What’s that?”

“That’s a whole different conversation. But if you gotta know, it sent

me flying for a good three years. It’s used in battle simulation
training… Anyway, let’s move on to magic acquisition. You should

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learn spells if you just watch me use them, so… really, this is comin’
in more handy than—”

“That’s dangerous!”

Arua suddenly disappeared from Ryner’s line of vision. No,

disappeared wasn’t right… Someone had picked him up with
lightning fast speed, making it look as if he’d disappeared
altogether.

Arua shrieked from where he’d been carried to behind Ryner. “P-
professor! Help me!”

Ryner didn’t react other than his eyes going slack. “I don’t know
what’s dangerous about this, but… welcome back, Ferris.”

Ryner turned around to see a peerless beauty holding Arua under

her arm.

“Arua, don’t be deceived,” she said. “I don’t know what sort of

perversions this man has taught you, but… don’t trust him. He’s a
prime example of a bad adult. He just sleeps instead of working, gets
drunk, makes girls unhappy, and crawls the city at night and…”

For some reason, Ferris’ face went red there.

“…Uugh, I can’t say another word in front of a child like this…”

Arua looked at Ryner. “Is that true, Professor!?”

“Don’t believe her! Anyway, she’s the one I told you about before.
My partner in crime, Ferris…”

This time Arua looked up at Ferris. “Really…? But she’s so pretty…”

“Don’t be fooled. She’s got a personality so bad it could cause the

end of the world one day…”

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Sure enough, Ferris unsheathed her sword and poked at Ryner’s
shoulder with it. “Mm? What did you say?” She asked, staring at
Ryner with those abnormally clear eyes of hers.

Ryner opened and closed his mouth silently a few times before
finally finding the words. “So, um… she’s actually a beautiful angel
who saves the world from ruin time and time again… yeah? Yeah.”
For some reason, Ryner sounded teary for the second half of that.

But Arua just laughed as he watched them. “Ahaha. You guys are
really close, huh? You’re actually dating, aren’t you?”

“No, where’d you even get that impression?” Ryner asked without
missing a beat.

Ferris put her sword back in its sheath where it belonged in a

stunning display of self-control. “Hm. Clearly anyone would admire
me, a high-class flower whose beauty hits like an avalanche. But
what can that flower do about the love of a slug writhing around on
the bare ground?”

“Whoa, those’re some fancy new words… Slug? Avalanche…?

Anyway, you’re right, there’s nothing the slug can do about that. It
can’t live somewhere an avalanche is gonna smush it at. I pity you,
Slug. Disaster will befall you at the hands of that heinous woman
who bullies people with swords…”

“I hear it begging me for death.”

“Ahh, it’s joking! It’s just joking. You don’t have to grant its wish…
And you just put your sword away! No need to get it back out!”

“Granting wishes is a beautiful angel’s duty to the masses,” Ferris

said. “And I’m zealous about my work. Praise me.”

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Ferris had pulled out her sword again. Ryner sighed and looked back
to Arua. “She wants me to praise her for that. What do you think?”

Arua smiled. “I think you guys are really close!”

“Seriously, what part of this is giving you that impression?”

“Huh? Um, it’s like what me and Kuku do?”

“…What? Seriously…?” Ryner asked, then went silent for a moment.

“I think I’ve been misunderstanding things then? Um… I know it’s
kinda late for this, but maybe we should like… give up on saving
Kuku… urgh!?”

Ryner was blown away by the same lightning fast whack on the head
as always, courtesy of Ferris’ sword. He rolled around on the ground
until he came to a stop.

“I see,” Ferris said. So you plan to go save Kuku as well?” She asked
Arua.

“Oh um, yes, ma’am.”

“Don’t just ‘yes, ma’am’ her, Arua!” Ryner shouted. “Aren’t you
worried about your professor!? She just hit me, you know!”

Arua looked back to Ryner for a moment, concerned, before looking

back at Ferris. “So, um, yeah, I was gonna come along so we’ll be
working together to save her… Professor Ferris…”

Ferris nodded. “Mm. Fine. I’ll make you nice and strong.”

“…He’s got a good business sense alright,” Ryner muttered to

himself.

Ferris looked back to Ryner. “So from what you were saying before,
your plan is to have Arua provide support while we fight that pink-
haired gang?”
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Ryner stood, cradling his aching head with his hand. “I mean, I think
it’s pretty rash, but… we don’t have any other options, do we? I
guess it’d be a different story if we found Heroic Relics like the ones
they’re using though…”

“Do you have something in mind?” Ferris asked. “Any leads in the
legends and fairytales of Runa?”

“We won’t be able to make it in time,” Ryner said. “It’s not like I
don’t have anything in mind, it’s just… it’s most likely just a false
lead. We wouldn’t be having any trouble if it was that easy from the
start. And it’s like I said before - all the legends from Runa are related
to the royalty, so there’s not gonna be any real info on them
anywhere but the capital. We could make for the capital now but we
might still not find anything… and I’m honestly not confident that I
could protect Arua…”

Ryner trailed off for a second.

A new idea occurred to him. “What if we ask Sion for

reinforcements?”

“In Runa? That’s impossible. If word gets out that Roland sent troops
into its ally Runa, Roland’s reputation would fall with every country.
Worst case scenario, Runa is saved by another country and Roland is
destroyed. And what if we appeal for reinforcements and are
attacked by Sui and Kuu while we wait for them? And we can’t leave
Arua alone. Sui and Kuu aren’t our only worry. The Runan military is
aiming for him, too.”

Ryner crossed his arms, troubled. “Right… And if we wait too long,
they’ll kill Kuku… We really do need to train Arua…”

“Um, sorry for making you do all this for me,” Arua said.

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“There’s no need for you to worry,” Ryner said. “We seriously don’t
have any time, so your training’s gonna be pretty harsh… Soon you’ll
be saying sorry ‘cause you want us to make it stop. Anyway, give me
a week, Ferris. A week and he’ll be battle ready.”

“Hm. A week, you say. Fine.”

“Right, that settles that. I’m literally about to die out from sleep
deprivation so I gotta sleep. Teach him martial arts while I do,
Ferris… it’s probably better if you teach him that instead of me
anyway.”

“Mm? You’re just leaving it to me because you want to sleep…”

“No, you have it all wrong. I sincerely think that, as a swordswoman,

you’re the ideal person for this job.”

Ferris looked oddly touched. “Hm. I don’t know what you’re

scheming by complimenting me, but… fine. Come on then, Arua,”
Ferris said, and led him to a place a little into the distance.

“That’s true, but like… I mean, even if I said you’re ideal… your
personality’s seriously a different story,” Ryner muttered to himself.

But he really did think that she was perfect for this job. Ferris was
faster than Ryner even when he was using magic to push his body to
its limit. Her physical ability was outside the realm of what humans
should be able to do.

Ryner was far slower than her, and she could easily hide her
presence entirely and steal her opponents’ lives before they ever
realized she was there.

Ryner was someone who many called a genius. Even so, he couldn’t
begin to follow Ferris’ movements. Her reaction speed,

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swordsmanship, and hand-to-hand ability were all far more
impressive than Ryner’s…

Ryner didn’t know who’d win if he used every spell at his disposal
against her. That was exactly why they were a good match.

Ryner, who’d been called the greatest magician in all of Roland… and
Ferris, whose ability as a swordswoman was right at the limit of what
was possible.

They might even be able to win against Sui and Kuu, who had the
power of Heroic Relics on their side.

Ryner looked over at Arua, who was being led away by Ferris, from
his place on the ground. “Wonder how much of a prodige he’ll
become from all this…”

He’d be learning swordsmanship from Ferris and magic from Ryner,

who was also an Alpha Stigma bearer. Of course he should keep his
expectations reasonable, though…

Ryner closed his eyes. “But he should at least be useful by the end of
the week.”

And right then—

“Aaaahhh!! Y-you’re kidding! You’re kidding, right!?” Arua screamed

in the distance. “F-f-f-forgive me… j, just forgive me already…
Gyaaahhh!!”

“Knew it,” Ryner mumbled without even opening his eyes. “Knew
this’d happen. Good luck, Arua~”

Ryner drifted off to sleep despite Arua’s screams echoing through

the prairie.

---

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The Runa Empire was built on faith in God. That fact was reflected in
facets of everyday life as well as events and functions.

For example, women could not enlist in the military. A doctrine said
by the faith to have been left by God said the following: “God made
men to protect His country; after that He made women so that they
may soothe and support men.”

And so women could not enlist. That was one of many examples of
the scripture defining law…

“…How inefficient,” Froaude whispered as he surveyed his

surroundings.

He was currently in the center of the Runa Empire - the heart of it,
even. Within the massive castle at the center of its capital city. The
walls depicted Runa’s guardian deity here and there, strange designs
with crosses linked by stars adorning the walls.

Those present were evidently greatly religious. They viewed the

imagery with modest expressions.

In reality…

“The doctrines themselves are altered to the royalty’s convenience,”

Froaude murmured as he viewed the facade.

He was in the audience chamber.

There was also an unbelievably pale woman present. She was

Princess Ena Asto, well-known for her beauty within Runa. She was
truly pale to a ridiculous degree, to the point that one wondered if
she’d been outside even once in her life - a very sickly pale. She had
delicate, graceful arms, and a necklace embedded with scarlet red
jewels around her small neck. She bowed to him…

Froaude’s eyes narrowed.

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The people lived wholly modest lives while the royalty lived in open
splendor… It appeared that nobility did not change no matter the
country…

“…You are an ambassador from Roland, correct?” Asto asked.

Froaude slowly put a hand to his chest, then bowed to her. “Yes. I am
Lieutenant General Miran Froaude, affiliated with Roland’s military,
Princess. I have come to further deepen the bonds between the
Runa Empire and the Roland Empire. As you are aware, the Roland
Empire recently enthroned a new king…”

Asto nodded. “Yes, I have heard. Lord Sion Astal, correct? Despite his
young age, he governs well and is a wonderful king with the full
support of the peasantry. That is what my father says as well.”

Froaude bowed once more. “I feel reassured as a representative of

Roland to hear that the King of Runa has said such a thing. As the
alliance between Runa and Roland was a pact from the previous
king’s time, my king worried that his enthronement may cause it to
break at the seams…”

Really, the seams would soon rip wide open… Runa’s threatening
activity made that amply clear.

“And groundless rumors have spread on our streets,” Froaude

continued. “For example… that Runa’s and Roland’s nobles conspired
to assassinate Roland’s king…”

He meant his words as a threat.

They’d already uncovered everything, so now was the time to stop.

But Asto just looked at him with surprise. “My, have you really heard
such rumors?”

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“…Yes. Of course His Majesty does not believe them. But there is
always a chance, however improbable, of any rumor being true.
Though the thought of our allied countries fighting is unthinkable…”

Asto nodded. “Obviously. Cooperating to avoid conflict is a doctrine

of our faith passed down from God. We would not step on the good
relationship with Roland that we worked so hard to cultivate.”

Froaude gazed at Asto’s face. But her expression did not waver. It
appeared that she was sincere.

And because she was sincere… many nobles within the crowd visibly
paled.

A smile rose to Froaude’s face. A dark, icy smile…

“Princess, I will convey your exact words to Roland’s king… And if at

all possible, I believe the words of Runa’s king himself would be a
great boon to us as well…”

“I… do wish that you could, since you have come all the way from
Roland, but the king and queen are currently out of the country,”
Asto said, apologetic.

“Hm, and in which country are they presently? I have not heard of
them visiting Roland… so I assume you mean Gastark in the north?
Or perhaps Imperial Nelpha?”

Asto fretted her eyebrows. “I am sorry. I also do not know, but I

believe they are on official business rather than tourism… It is quite
embarrassing, but I am not really involved in any of that…”

Froaude shook his head. “No, I was prying. Women are not involved
in politics in this country, are they. Even so, you have most
considerately come to greet an ambassador from Roland. I am
grateful for that, Princess.”

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Froaude pressed a hand to his chest and bowed once more.

For some reason, Asto went red. “Ah, no, I… I am very happy that I
was able to meet someone like you, Lord Froaude… Um, how do you
plan on spending tonight, Lord Froaude…? Will you be staying here?
If so, what do you think of eating dinner together…?”

Froaude’s eyes narrowed.

He looked at her face, so happy that it seemed to shine…

“…You’ve got to be kidding, lady,” Froaude muttered. “Nobles really

are the same everywhere, whether they’re men or women…”

Asto didn’t catch it. “Hm? What did you just…?”

Froaude smiled sweetly. “Of course I will join you, Princess.”

---

Late that night, the castle was quiet as its inhabitants all slept.

It was a beautiful, cloudless night, the moon shining brightly across a

garden within the castle’s walls. Froaude was sitting on a garden
stone, watching the moon’s reflection in a pond. Then he looked up
at the sky. “It really is a beautiful night. Beautiful nights like this are
suited to pledging love to someone beloved, aren’t they…?”

“……”

The person he was speaking to did not respond. No, he couldn’t

respond. He was surrounded by shadows darker than the night itself
that took the form of beasts and surrounded him… He was frozen in
fear, unable to move even a single finger, much less speak.

He was a young nobleman - Ohnprome Bifira. He was a duke of Runa.

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Froaude leisurely turned his eyes to Bifira. “You needn’t be so afraid.
I won’t be rough with you as long as you answer my questions…”

Bifida finally overcame his fear enough to speak. “Wh, what are
these monsters…!? And you… you think you can get away with doing
this to me, don’t you? I, I have royal blood, you know. Don’t you
understand what that means?”

Froaude tilted his head. “Hm… What does it mean indeed?”

“It means I’m descended from God,” Bifira said proudly. “Descended
from the God that protects Runa. You will invoke God’s punishment
by doing this!” He yelled.

“That is scary. God will punish me if I kill you now, then?”

“He will! So release me at o—”

“Let’s test it then,” Froaude interrupted. If I kill you and god truly
punishes me, then my king will end up invading Runa. It seems that
god cannot win here.”

Bifira’s eyes widened. “What? You mean that Roland intends to

ignore our alliance and invade!?”

Froaude shrugged. “Your words are quite vexing. You are the ones
who broke the terms of our agreement first, aren’t you? Now then.
You conspired with Roland’s nobility to assassinate my king Sion
Astal. Now for my question - how powerful is the noble whose orders
you acted on?”

“Th-that isn’t right! This is a misunders—”

“I already understood the answer to this question during my meeting

with Princess Asto today. That plan was enacted by the Runa
Empire’s king himself… He plotted to assassinate Roland’s king, and
in the wake of his blunder, left the country to appeal to an ally for
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aid, did he not? An ally who also wishes for Roland’s destruction? A
country that he believes they could win against Roland with…?”

“I, I’m telling you, it’s a mis—”

A shadow beast’s jaws opened wide and moved soundlessly to the

nape of Bifira’s neck… where they stopped abruptly.

“Hh… ahh…”

Bifira fell on his butt in fear…

“They will eat you alive next time,” Froaude said. “I don’t necessarily
have to get my answers from you. You are not the only one who
paled in the audience chamber earlier today…”

Bifira’s face contorted with fear. “S, someone… someone might come
save me…”

“That’s impossible,” Froaude replied quickly. “My direct subordinates

are watching the area. So if anyone should come, think of it as your
end. It would be difficult for me if anyone were to see you here like
this, after all… so if that happened, you would disappear. Well… I
said this before as well, but if you responded honestly, we’d be
having a different conversation now…”

Froaude looked back up to the sky. To the moon, glittering just as it

was before.

“And… this really is a beautiful night,” Froaude continued. “Does it

not make you want to return home to those you hold dear?”

Those words were the deciding factor.

Bifira’s whole body was wracked by a shiver, and then he spoke on

Runa’s situation and on their king’s whereabouts.

Froaude smiled sincerely when he finished. “You did well.”

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“Th-that’s everything,” Bifira said. “Everything. Will I be saved now?
Will you s, save me from these monst—”

All it took was a wave of Froaude’s finger… no, of the strange black
ring on his finger. In the next moment Froaude was left alone in the
garden.

The beasts, Bifira, they were all gone…

“It really is a beautiful night,” he whispered once more.

---

Eleven days passed.

It was a pitch-black night, the moon completely covered by clouds.

But they had a brilliant fire, so they could still see.

Chezo Caltey was the ruling lord of the region that included Ridget
Village, Arua’s birthplace. His mansion was far larger than anything in
poor Ridget Village - nothing there could even compare to it…

“…Hey, Ferris… This is where we…”

Ferris nodded. “Mm. Where we found that carriage.”

“We didn’t really find it, we stole it… But anyway, this is where
they’re keeping Kuku. The Hero Arua has come to save Princess
Kuku… and how do you think that story’s gonna end?” Ryner asked,
turning around as he did.

There stood Arua, his whole body covered in wounds. But he was a
totally different boy from a week ago. He was overflowing with
energy now. He glared right at the mansion. “We’ll definitely save
her. Take the lead, Professors,” he said. He was already strong
enough to say that.

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He’d been taught martial arts by Ferris, and magic by Ryner, both in
the context of support in battle. Half a week ago he could have stood
his own against a normal soldier or mage from Runa, but now he
could take one or two on his own. Well, not if they were both mages,
though…

But give him another year or so and he might even be stronger than
Ryner was as a child. Maybe that was thanks to Ferris’ martial arts
training, or maybe it was thanks to Ryner, another Alpha Stigma
bearer, teaching him.

But there was one place where Arua was decisively different from
Ryner at that age - he was motivated. He’d really given it his all in
order to save Kuku.

Even so…

Ryner looked at him. “So I’m gonna ask one more time before we
head out, alright? Do you really wanna go with us? You should be
able to hide from Runa’s soldiers until we get back now. Even if they
find you, you’ll be able to get away on your own. You’d die if Magical
Knights found you, but… but if you come with us…”

Ryner’s eyes slid back to the noble’s mansion.

“I might die even sooner?” Arua finished for him.

“Yeah. So do you still wanna come with?” Ryner asked. He looked

back to Arua.

But Arua’s expression didn’t change. He stared right back at him. “Of
course. That’s why I’ve been training so hard. I know I’m still
inexperienced. But this past week… you’ve been teaching me how to
fight against these people called Sui and Kuu, right? I understood
that when we had to fight against normal soldiers - you taught me
moves and spells I wouldn’t need to use against plain old soldiers,
Page | 138
right? But these guys are enemies that you two can’t win against
alone. So…”

“Kids like you don’t need to worry about that stuff. You’re right,
that’s what our intention’s been… but like, this is gonna be really
dangerous. I don’t think they’ll kill you right away if they catch you,
but… They might take you as a hostage, so—”

“Still,” Arua interrupted. “Still, I want to go. Even if you try to stop
me. That’s the only reason I’m alive right now. I got my parents
killed, so—”

“You’re not the one who killed them,” Ryner said quickly.

That shut Arua up, but Ryner knew better than anyone that it wasn’t
any consolation.

It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault.

Those words followed them as long as they had their eyes.

Arua smiled sadly. “But I want to go. Because I’d already be dead if
you two hadn’t come to save me back then. You saved me because
of Kuku. Kuku saved me…”

“But you saved Kuku’s life before too, right?” Ryner said. “Your eyes
saved her when things got bad. You two are even. So you don’t need
to feel so respons—”

“I’m going. I’d just go on my own if you guys didn’t take me. I can do
that now.”

Ryner grimaced and looked to Ferris. “I think he grew up a little too

fast…”

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Ferris nodded. “Mm. He’s grown up wonderfully. He resembles his
mother. Good. It’d be rough if he mimicked his deadbeat father
instead.”

“…You don’t mean me, do you?”

“Mm? Who else? You’ve won the world championship for being a
deadbeat for the past few centuries…”

“I’m not that old!” Ryner countered. Their usual bickering aside, he
looked back to the mansion where Sui and Kuu were lying in wait…
and then he continued in a listless tone. “Anyway… I think we can
win based on our battle ability alone, and if worst comes to worst me
and Ferris can keep them busy while Arua escapes…”

Sui and Kuu were interested in Ryner’s Alpha Stigma. Arua and Kuku
might be able to get out unscathed if he let himself get captured.
Then Ferris could go back to Roland to regroup…

Ryner nodded to himself. “Alright,” he said. “We’ve waited until now,

the darkest night possible. Let’s go before the sun rises.”

Ferris and Arua nodded, and with that, the three began to move
towards the mansion.

---

The mansion was practically unguarded.

When they were here before, there were a bunch of guards just with
the carriage…

Ryner’s expression clouded over. “This isn’t good, Ferris. I can’t sense
anyone inside. If everyone here is at Sui and Kuu’s level, then…”

Ryner didn’t bother to hide his voice as he spoke. They broke the
lock on the gate with a loud sound, too…

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Ferris responded in her usual disinterested tone. “Mm. They
might’ve realized we’re here. But that’s part of your plan, isn’t it?”

Ryner grimaced. “Yeah, but… if possible, I’d like to go in while Sui and
Kuu are out… then take out the guards and the lord of the mansion
and save Kuku lickety-split. But it looks like they’re waiting here, and
that they don’t think they need to prepare for opponents like us at
all… They’re seriously underestimating us.”

“Correct!! Obviously. Even if you think you’re strong, there’s no way

you can win against my Scythe of Ailuchrono!” Kuu suddenly said
cheerfully from where she leaned against the top of the wide
stairwell just inside the mansion. She spoke like an entirely different
person from their last encounter. When she wasn’t using that
aforementioned scythe of hers, she talked so much that one
wondered if she even knew how to shut up.

So she continued, since she didn’t know how to shut up. “Geez, Sui,
get over here already! Are you gonna make me fight them alone? I
mean, I’m pretty sure I’d win, but… c’mon, those two Rolanders are
here.”

Sui emerged from the hallway, smiling calmly just like always. “My,
my, sorry for keeping you w—”

“Don’t tell them sorry! It’s been a week! A week!! You guys are cruel!
You heard that we were keeping a girl trapped here and you
neglected her for a week!! Sui, don’t just sit there quietly! Tell
them!!” Kuu said, apparently not caring that she herself was the one
who interrupted Sui.

“Huh? Um, sorry… Anyway, what I was going to say is that I’m sorry
for keeping you w—”

This time Ryner was the one who interrupted him. “No, you already
said that, it’s fine. So what are we gonna do now? Fight?”
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Sui shrugged. “Do we really need to? You guys came to save that girl
Kuku, didn’t you? Oh, she’s sleeping in the farthest room down the
hall behind us, by the way… The problem is that she’s sleeping
closest to—”

“Just say it,” Ryner said. “You’ll kill Kuku if we don’t surrender, won’t
you?”

“Exactly,” Sui said with a smile. “But I’d rather settle things without
that.”

Kuu nodded enthusiastically. “See, we actually hate doing cruel

things like that. Powerless people are the only ones who have to be
cruel. But we’re powerful so we don’t have to. But there’s something
my brother really wants to do, so…”

“Research my Alpha Stigma… right?” Ryner asked.

Sui looked at Ryner… no, at Ryner’s eyes. At his Alpha Stigma. “Right
as usual, Ryner. I’d regret losing those special eyes of yours… They
look just like other Alpha Stigmas, and yet… when you go berserk
you’re in a league all of your own. You even recovered your sense of
self afterwards. Is it because you’re strong of mind? Or is your Alpha
Stigma the only special thing about you…? Who are you? There’s no
end to my questions.

“Our king will surely want you, too. That’s why we’re ordering you to
surrender… so why don’t you try using that power of yours for our
country? I think you two would recieve quite the warm welcome,
considering your power…”

“What a ridiculous thing to say, without even introducing your king

or country,” Ferris said.

“It’s Gastark, Ferris,” Sui said. “We’re from the Gastark Empire, a
country far north of here. Our king’s name is Riphal Edea. There’s no
Page | 142
reason to hide it anymore. Roland’s probably already figured out
that we’re here—”

“That’s not it,” Ferris interrupted. “You’re only telling us because you
don’t plan to let us go back alive. If we don’t surrender, you’ll kill us…
won’t you?”

“No, well, yes, but… I think we have the advantage right now. The
world will belong to Gastark sooner or later. It will be a peaceful
world ruled by an excellent king. It’ll be a world without
discrimination where nobody is hurt, nobody cries, and everyone
grows up smiling. Our master, Gastark’s king, is someone who can
create that world. That’s why we work for him. So you too should—”

“Enough joking—”

“No, Ferris, wait,” Ryner said. “I feel like he’s saying something really
good…”

Ferris turned to look at Ryner. “Wha… What are you…”

Ryner ignored her and stared up at Sui. “A world without

discrimination where nobody is hurt, nobody cries, and everyone
grows up smiling… that sounds really nice. Is your king really aiming
for that kind of world?”

“Of course. But… well, his methods can be cruel. But it’s all to make
that world a reality.”

Ryner watched Sui’s expression as he spoke, then nodded. “Yeah.

Sounds like he’s a good king that you can put your faith in. Real
charming guy. I can see that just by looking at you. Your king really
might be able to make that kind of world if his subordinates like him
that much. Sounds like a great king. Being on your side might be
fun…”

Page | 143
“Then you’ll become our—”

Ryner suddenly glared at Sui’s smiling face. “So why do you kill
people? Why do you only fight dirty? You guys… have killed lots of
people. You use Heroic Relics… no, you call them Rule Fragments,
right? You get rid of everyone who knows about them so your
country can have a monopoly on them, and you gouge the eyes out
of us Alpha Stigma bearers.

“When you gouge them… we die, right? And when Alpha Stigma
bearers go bersker we can’t go back to before. You said that yourself.
We can’t be human again. So you gouge our eyes, right? You kill us!
You kill us! You kill us!!” Ryner spat.

“Just shut up already,” Ryner continued. “A world where everyone

grows up smiling? The same king who said that gave you the order to
kill us! I don’t belong there. Not somewhere where you don’t think
of Alpha Stigma bearers as human.”

“What the heck,” Kuu said. “We—”

Sui covered her mouth with a hand to silence her… and then spoke
just as calmly as always. “I see. It isn’t like I don’t understand what
you’re saying, Ryner… But Kuku and I will get a little mad if you say
bad things about our king like that. What do you know about His
Majesty? You’re talking about a fake, overly beautiful world. Why do
we kill people? Because it’s necessary. Our country is made with the
fewest sacrifices possible, and you’re saying that’s wrong? I’m not
saying I like it. It hurts us when we have to kill people too…”

“It hurts you? Aren’t you just killing them for your own dreams and
ideals? You’re walking the road of the fewest possible sacrifices, are
you? But then…”

Ryner grimaced.

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But then… what about Arua?

That was what he wanted to ask…

What about Arua, an Alpha Stigma bearer?

Just the fact that he lived meant that he might go berserk someday…
and if he did, he’d kill tons of people. Did they mean to exterminate
all Alpha Stigma bearers to avoid that?

Did they mean to kill all Alpha Stigma bearers now to avoid the many
potential deaths that each one could cause?

That was how Sui and Gastark’s king thought. And Ryner did
understand the appeal of that sort of thinking. Sui did say that it hurt
when he had to kill people… and that was true. Ryner knew that too.
Killing people meant that it was your fault that they died… and that
knowledge alone was enough to make one go mad.

No matter what dreams or ideals they fought for, the wounds made
from killing others wouldn’t disappear.

Even so, their king wanted to move forward. Even if it meant hurting
himself… he wanted to move forward on the path to save as many
people as possible.

It was certainly appealing.

But…

Ryner stared at Sui and continued. “I thought that would be nice. I

always did. I… I’ve already killed so, so many people. Because of my
eyes… I’ve killed so, so many friends. So when I hear you guys say
there’s no reason for someone like me to be alive… I think that might
be true. No, I’ve always thought that was true. There’s no reason for
monsters like me to be alive. But… Arua’s different. He hasn’t killed

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anyone yet. He might never kill anyone. But you’re still going to kill
him, even though he’s different from me… He still has a future…”

“But nowhere accepts Alpha Stigma bearers…”

“Sorry, but Roland’s different. Sio… Our king’s an unpleasant guy

who bullies me every time he gets the chance, but even so, he’s
different from your king. Our king’s a real idiot who says flat out that
he wants everyone to grow up smiling - he’s a greedy guy who says
he’s going to save the majority by sacrificing the minority, and says
it’s all his fault and is overly aware of every sacrifice… but…”

Ryner smiled. “But that’s why we’re lending him a hand. Because we
can live in the world he creates…”

“I see,” Sui said. “King Sion Astal, correct? According to what I’ve
heard, he’s a very talented person, but I wouldn’t call him talented as
a king… Yes, our kings are the same in that they both aspire towards
a rule with the fewest casualties possible, and yes, your king may
really be successful in keeping sacrifices to a minimum. But what
about saving the majority? If he’s saving you, then he’s being
contradictory, isn’t he?”

Ryner nodded with ease. “Yeah, maybe. But I still like the country
he’s making better than the one you’re making. Humans aren’t gods.
There’s a limit to how much power any one human should have. But
you guys push that limit so you can avoid killing. I don’t want to live
in the world you make…”

“Yes, but even so… even if your king is an excellent person, he’s
burdened with choices. Soon his ideals will differ from your own…
What will you do then?”

“Then I’ll give Sion a good punch so he goes back to before.”

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That shut Sui right up. Even his smile faltered, turning ever so slightly
into a scowl. “Hmm. Do you really think you’ll win against Gastark if
you’re glued to the idea of that perfect world of yours…?”

“We came here with the intention to win,” Ryner said.

“And what about little Kuku?”

“You always intended on killing her. You kill everyone who knows
things you don’t want them to know.”

“Then I suppose our negotiations have failed.”

“We were never gonna negotiate with you guys,” Ryner said. Then
he looked to Ferris and spoke quietly. “Are we about good now? It’s
been long enough, right?”

“Mm. Your speech was pretty good. I don’t dislike how you think.”

Ryner was surprised. “Hah? What’s this all of a sudden?”

Ferris looked right at him with the same blank expression as always.
“Hm. It’s because we could die here if we don’t fight well.”

They might die…

That was true. Death was a perfectly realistic outcome here. That
was how strong Sui and Kuu were with those relics they used freely.
To be honest, if they fought here ten times, they’d probably die ten
times. That was how despairingly strong they were. And they were
indoors this time. Escape would be difficult, especially since they’d
done that last time. Sui and Kuu wouldn’t let it happen again.

So they couldn’t just escape. They’d die if they couldn’t win.

Ferris unsheathed her sword. “What I meant to say… is that these

past few months of being your partner in crime weren’t bad. When I

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first read your naive report before all this, I wondered what kind of a
worthless guy you were…”

Ryner smiled bitterly. “Hey, you still call me that!” He said and
tensed his body for battle. He looked up at Sui and Kuu. “Are we…
gonna die?”

“We might.”

“But we have no choice but to do this.”

“Mm.”

Ryner was silent for a moment before speaking again. “Aw, what the
hell. It wasn’t bad for me either. I thought you were an enraged,
violent woman at first… Whoa, hey you. Don’t whack me now of all
times,” he said as Ferris angled her sword towards him. “But like, it
wasn’t so bad. You’ve saved me a bunch of times. Man, I’m always
the one getting saved. Milk, Bio, Jereme, Perio, Pia, Kiefer, Sion, Tyle,
Tony, Fahle, and tons of others have saved me… You, too… and Arua.
We can’t… just let them kill him.”

“Mm. The son of the woman you played with and threw away has
come back for revenge on his inhuman father. Even if you work hard
to show him something fatherly at the end… it won’t reach him. He’ll
still stab you to death. What an emotional resolution…”

“You saying I’ll die at the end? I hate unhappy endings…”

“So.”

Ryner nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do something nice for Arua so we get a

better ending than that. Now, Ferris…”

Ryner prepared himself for a fight, opening his usually sleepy eyes
for the scarlet pentagram to rise from their depths. It made him look
sharp. Like a completely different person.
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It was like a switch had flipped in his head, and he moved to kill,
murderous intent seeping from him like he was someone else… no,
perhaps it was better to say that he’d returned to the time he was a
genius named Ryner Lute, the greatest magician in all of Roland. He
was given that title because he outclassed other mages with ease. He
had a certain physical ability, and he excelled at one-on-one fights
and assassinations… and most of all, he was inhumanly skilled at
using magic. Everyone was afraid of him. He alone could do any job.
So he was called a genius.

He was someone who didn’t need allies. They just got in his way. He
couldn’t fight like he wanted to with them around. So he didn’t need
them. He was too strong for them, and he never once thought of
them as a necessary thing.

Don’t come near me. No one come near me. That’s what he was
always thinking.

You’ll get in the way, you’ll get in the way, you’ll get in the way…

Because I’m a monster. Because people who get close to me realize

that and hate me.

Ryner’s willful eyes didn’t waver and he didn’t turn back. “Hey,” he
said quietly. “I trust you, partner.”

“Mm. Naturally,” Ferris said. “We’ll win.”

Ryner smiled. “Yeah… naturally!”

They moved out with explosive speed.

“Kuu, get your scythe out. Unfortunate as it is, we’re killing them.”

“……”

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Kuu’s scythe seemed to appear from nowhere. She held it
wordlessly… and leapt at them, flying towards Ferris. As she did, Sui
took out the dagger-like Heroic Relic that Ryner and Ferris found
before, and stabbed it into his left arm just above where the
prosthetic was attached to his elbow…

“Guaaahh!!”

An ear-splitting roar rang through the mansion as Sui’s arm became

something else entirely. First a head formed, then sharp fangs and
scales, and finally crimson eyes…

It was a dragon. Sui’s arm had turned into a dragon. That was the
power of that dagger relic. In contrast to Kuu’s relic, which turned
everything it touched to ice, Sui’s let him control fire.

“Now… die for us, will you?” Sui asked, aiming his arm at Ryner.

Ryner’s hand danced in the air, drawing letters of light. “I dedicate

the words of our contract - give birth to the beast of malice sleeping
within the earth!”

Ryner’s body accelerated by the power of his spell. He kicked off the
floor to dodge the dragon and landed near the wall.

“Relics are amazing,” Ryner mumbled. “That fire… no, is it even really
fire? I can’t make out how it’s made even with my Alpha Stigma…”

And being unable to see that meant that he couldn’t nullify it with
magic…

“Shit, we’re at a disadvantage…”

“You can’t win against us,” Sui said. “It’s not too late. You can still
join u—”

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Ryner lifted his hand once more to draw in the air with magically
accelerated speed. “We might be at a disadvantage, but the match
isn’t decided yet. I wish for thunder—”

“Do you really think that spell can match Rule Fragments?”

“—Lightning Flash!”

Sui moved to dodge, but… “Huh?” He said, astonished.

Because the thunder from Ryner’s magic circle didn’t fire at Sui.
Instead, thunder crashed into the wall to his side, breaking it apart.

“What are you…!?” Sui muttered as he flopped onto the floor from
the impact, then used his dragon arm to bite at the thunder. It
disappeared into the dragon’s mouth… but across from them,
something was happening Ferris and Kuu’s fight.

The wall by Sui hadn’t been where Ryner shot his spell. He’d shot it
at Ferris, who cut it into pieces with her sword, then aimed her
sword at Kuu. Kuu moved her scythe to avoid it, but Ferris just
pushed it further towards her.

“…W, wall.”

A wall made of water sprout from the ground. Ferris found a

foothold in it without touching her charged sword to the water, and
let it shoot her up to the second floor where she pointed her sword
at Sui.

“I-I’ll burn you to a crisp,” Sui said.

“Won’t let ya,” Ryner said as he raced up the stairs, drawing a magic
circle in the air as he did.

Sui’s fingers moved up, down, left, right, forming a lattice of light.
“From the west, from nothing, from battle, from the sun—”

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“I wish for thunder—”

They started to chant their incantations at the same time, but Ryner
finished first.

“—Lightning Flash!”

Thunder fired towards him in time with Ferris’ sword.

Sui used the dragon’s fire to counter Ferris.

“Mm…”

Ferris pulled her sword away, twisting her body around to dodge.
She landed on the floor.

But Ryner’s thunder was still shooting towards Sui.

“—I bring forth brilliance!” Sui said to finish his spell off. A spear of
light shot from his lattice towards Ryner’s thunder.

But Ryner’s spell won. The aftermath of their two spells meeting
blew towards Sui.

“Ggh… shit…”

That wasn’t all. Thunder from the wall was headed for Sui too.

“This wasn’t… supposed to…”

Sui frantically moved his dragon arm to try to stop it… but it didn’t
make it in time. Sui’s expression turned to one of hopelessness.

“I lose…”

But then Kuu was there in front of him. She swiped at the thunder
with her scythe.

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“…You have another opponent,” Kuu said.

Ryner scowled. “Augh, shit! We couldn’t get him…”

“Mm. This is getting bad. Our surprise attack strategy was a failure.
Call him back.”

“Arua! The hole on the left!” Ryner yelled.

“Understood!” Arua said from outside. Then he poked his head out
of the hole made from thunder earlier. “Wh, what happened? Are
they down to one?”

Ryner grimaced and shook his head. “That was a bust. They know
you’re here now, too. It’s kiiindaaa…”

“The situation isn’t great,” Ferris said. “They fight with the
knowledge that they’re both overwhelmingly strong. If we can’t take
one out, then…”

Kuu helped Sui up. His narrowed eyes narrowed further as he stood.
“Amazing… It really is such a waste to have to kill you guys. His
Majesty would definitely want you. Geez, I’ve never fought a battle
this tough using Rule Fragments before,” Sui said, his voice filled with
admiration.

“And that wasn’t just any attack,” Sui continued. “Kuu and I didn’t
travel abroad by ourselves just for fun. We were ready to be
ambushed here, though not by someone like you. I didn’t ever think
they’d be a problem. Because you need to see your target to
effectively hit them with magic, right? And yet you were able to hit
my from outside with near perfect accuracy. How, exactly?”

Sui looked at Ryner. “You fumbled with the spell, didn’t you? You
made it so that boy’s spell fired at the same target as yours…”

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Ryner shrugged. “So you figured out that much, huh? Amazing. Man,
I really don’t wanna fight you guys…”

Sui stared, his eyes fixed on Ryner. “I should be the one saying that.
You made that spell just to fight us, didn’t you? In just a week you
changed an existing spell into something new, no, made an entirely
new spell just to attack us… Alpha Stigma bearers… among the
Cursed Eyes, I never thought of you as high-quality goods… but
you’re real trouble. The most troublesome, even.”

“That doesn’t sound like praise,” Ryner said.

“That’s because it’s not… Fear is all I feel. Fear towards you
unfathomable monsters… Since the very first time I fought you
monsters, I understood. I understood why you were fundamentally
incompatible with humans.”

Ryner’s expression changed completely.

Monster…

He’d heard that word so much that he was sick of it.

Fear and hatred shone in Sui’s eyes. Ryner was already used to
seeing that expression.

But… that was a lie. He wasn’t really used to it. And being called a
monster still hurt.

Ryner looked back to Arua. He was gripping Ryner’s clothes in his

hand tightly, seeming to will Ryner to save him…

Ryner smiled and lightly patted Arua’s head. He watched Arua as he

spoke. “But… but even so, we’re alive. We’re more scared than you
are. We’re always scared and regretting that we were born… We’re
always, always worrying that we’re going to hurt people… Kill them,
even…”
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“Then why don’t you just die?” Sui asked. “Won’t you just die for
us…? You’re in the way. You’re too strong. You’re a huge obstacle to
Gastark. I’ve never been so afraid in my life. To be frank, I don’t know
that Kuu and I can win if we keep fighting. I don’t know what other
tricks you have up your sleeves and it’s two against three.”

Ryner smiled bitterly. “We don’t have any more tricks.”

That was a lie.

They’d planned two more with Arua in the past week.

He didn’t think they’d really win, but… it was possible. They didn’t
know everything that Kuu’s scythe and Sui’s arm could do yet… but
they might be able to win if they figured that out.

But Sui had probably figured that out, too. “If possible, I don’t want
to fight anymore…”

“But you aren’t just gonna let us go,” Ryner said. “So what’ll you
do?”

Sui shook his head. “I really don’t want to do this, but I have no
choice. Kuu.”

At his signal, Kuu disappeared with unreal speed into the depths of
the hallway.

“You’re taking Kuku hostage?” Ryner asked. “What difference will

that make? If we die here, Kuku will die anyway. So we…”

Sui shook his head and took a jewel from his pocket, raising it for
Ryner to see. “Remember this?”

“……”

Of course he did.

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It made his eyes go berserk.

“You can’t use that,” Ryner said. “Because you can’t win if I go
berserk.”

Sui nodded. “Certainly, we’d lose. But…”

Kuu returned, an unconscious Kuku in tow.

“Kuku!” Arua yelled. “What are you guys gonna do—”

“We aren’t going to do anything to her,” Sui said. “When I see you
reacting like that, I think this’ll be very effective indeed.”

“You’re not… no…”

“Exactly, Ryner. If I use this crystal, both you and the boy will go
berserk. But if I kill this girl, the boy alone will go berserk and never
regain his sense of self again,” Sui said and pulled Kuku close.

“N-no,” Arua said, his eyes going wide.

This was the worst possible situation.

Not this…

“Shit!” Ryner yelled and ran towards Sui.

“Too late,” Sui said. The dragon of his left arm opened its jaw,
inching closer to Kuku…

“Stooooop!!” Arua screamed.

But in the next second… a horrible gushing noise rang out… and
blood gushed up.

Ryner stopped dead in his tracks.

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Blood. Blood was getting everywhere. An unbelievable amount of
blood… but that blood wasn’t Kuku’s.

It was coming from Sui’s shoulder. It had been ripped violently at the
point it attached to his arm.

It was a strange sight. The shadows behind Sui sprung up and took
the shape of beasts, and ate Sui’s shoulder just as he tried to kill
Kuku.

Sui looked at it, dumbfounded. “Gu, aguh, aaaahh!!”

Even Kuu shivered when she looked at it. Kuu, who seemed to lose
all emotion when she held her scythe, shivered. “I… this shouldn’t…”

She swung her scythe at Sui to freeze the blood pouring out of him. It
stopped the bleeding, but the wound was still bad. Sui fell to the
floor…

“Wh-what… what is this…? Wh, what just… it’s the same type of Rule
Fragment as our brother Lir’s…”

Ryner had seen it before. He’d seen the shadow beasts that ate Sui’s
arm before.

Then someone spoke in a cold voice from the mansion’s entrance.

“Rule Fragment… that is a Heroic Relic, correct? That’s a term I

haven’t heard for them before…”

Ryner looked in the direction of the voice. He wore a dark, formal

outfit… dark like today’s moonless night.

Miran Froaude. That was his name. They’d fought him once before,
when he meant to kill Toale Nelphi, a prince of Nelpha, and all of his
younger siblings…

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He was probably acting professionally in the interests of some
country or other.

Ryner scowled. They’ve been fighting Sui and Kuu here in the Runa
Empire, and they fought Froaude back in Imperial Nelpha… and from
how Froaude just attacked Sui, it looked like they weren’t allies. That
meant at least two separate countries were moving now.

“…Geez, is anywhere peaceful nowadays?” Ryner muttered.

Froaude being here meant the situation had taken a turn for the
worse. They got out alive last time they fought, but Ferris sustained
major wounds… and if they’d continued to fight, she probably would
have died. He had a worse nature than Sui and Kuu, too. He didn’t
seem to have a guilty conscience at all, even when killing.

And… he was immeasurably strong.

Ryner stepped back. “Ferris.”

She nodded.

They had to run. Sui was injured and probably couldn’t fight, but Kuu
still had her scythe, and now they had to worry about those shadow
beasts… and Froaude’s Ring of the Dark Emperor. They wouldn’t be
able to protect Arua here.

Ferris moved quietly, aiming to save Kuku from where Sui and Kuu
were…

“Big bro… big bro…!”

Kuu was hanging over Sui, trembling. She wasn’t paying any
attention to Froaude at all. She was too busy with Sui, who had
nearly fainted due to blood loss…

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“K… Kuu… r-run. This’s… dangerous… if you can take me, then… go
to…”

“But… but,” Kuu protested, her face still entirely lacking emotion.

“Now then,” Froaude said. “You are the ones who have been
instigating here in Runa. You’ve done a bit too much, haven’t you? I
should have you atone.”

With that, Froaude raised his hand. His hand bearing that ring.

Beasts sprung up from the shadows… and headed towards Kuu. But
she didn’t move. She just sat there over Sui in a daze. And so the
darkness closed in…

“Aaaaghh dammit! I wish for thunder - Lightning Flash!” Ryner yelled,

firing off magic without a second thought.

The thunder hit the shadow beasts straight-on, but it didn’t seem to
have any effect at all. But Ryner didn’t stop. Ferris began to move,
too. She grabbed Kuku, then sent Sui and Kuu flying into the back hall
with a kick. “We’ll hold them back. You take Sui and run.”

Sui stared, shocked. “Why are you… saving us? We tried to…”

Ferris shot a look at Sui, careful to stay on her guard against Froaude.
“It’s a favor. You owe us one. You’ll repay us someday.”

“You’re still… so naive… someone will stab you in the back one day—
”

“I thought that too at first,” Ferris said. “I thought that acting like this
is horribly naive. That it can’t save anyone or anything… even
children understand that. Even so, Ryner… that guy hates seeing
people die in front of him. Because he’s weak. He hates people
dying, and he hates killing… but even so, he wants to save the world
in his own way. He’s like you in that regard. He’s a real idiot that
Page | 159
wants a world where nobody loses anything… so hurry up and leave.
Ryner can’t fight seriously with you guys around.”

Ferris pointed her sword towards Froaude. “That shadow guy is

strong. We can’t fight him while protecting you guys…”

Sui cringed. “You guys can’t be serious.” He stopped for a moment to

think before continuing. “Kuu, we’re calling it quits for the day.”

Kuu nodded, and wrapped an arm around Sui to help him up.

Froaude didn’t let that go without comment. “Do you really think I’ll
let you escape—”

Ryner began to draw another magic circle of light.

“…Hm. I don’t quite understand this situation,” Froaude said. “I came

here to eliminate the spies from Gastark that infiltrated Runa. I
eavesdropped on your conversation for some time. However… you
two are not from Gastark, correct? You are from Roland. Why exactly
are you protecting people from Gastark? Those two must be very
troublesome to you…”

Ryner glared at Froaude. “We’re not like you. You erase everything
that bothers you. What’s left then?”

Froaude made a face like he didn’t understand at all. “What’s left?

Hm. A peaceful world, without war… Is that the sort of answer you
want from me? That’s fine. For the sake of a peaceful world without
war, I will kill those two—”

“So you’ll torture them enough to hear the information you want
and then kill them, right?” Ryner said. “Like hell I’ll let you…”

Kuu had taken Sui to run through the hall while they were talking.
She swung her scythe against the back wall to break it open, then
jumped out into the night…
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Froaude did not pursue them.

“……”

He crossed his arms wordlessly, deep in thought…

He didn’t appear guarded in the slightest. Ryner had drawn a magic

circle and Ferris had her sword at the ready… and yet…

“…In this situation… I suppose I will let those people from Gastark go.
The Heroic Relics… Rule Fragments… Just what does His Majesty…?”

With that, Froaude turned his back to them and walked right out the
entrance he’d come in through.

“Huh? Wait, what?” Ryner said. “You’re not gonna fight us?”

Froaude turned back. “I do not feel that it’s necessary. But, I get it…
You are from Roland…… I see…”

For some reason he looked a bit troubled, and then a bit bitter…

“What country’s hired you?” Ryner asked. “If you don’t want to fight
us then it’s somewhere that has no relation to Roland, right? You can
tell us, it’s fine.”

Froaude looked even more troubled than before. “Someday,” he

said, then shook his head. “No. It seems that we will be seeing each
other often from now on, so I will tell you.”

“Huh…? Seeing us often? Then…”

Froaude ignored Ryner and continued. “I am affiliated with Stohl.

The militaristic Imperial Stohl. Do you know of it?”

“Oh, uh, it’s that huge country in the north, right? I see… Stohl, huh…
It’s pretty far. You went out of your way to come this far south…?”

Froaude smiled wryly. “Gastark is even farther north.”

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“Huh? Really?”

Froaude faced Ryner once more. “Um, this is rather forward of me,
but may I give you a piece of advice?”

“Huh? Advice?”

Froaude nodded. “Earlier you asked me… what would be left if I

killed everything that bothers me. I personally feel that what is left is
a world that is convenient to me. From your point of view, that may
be a world where all humans are killed so that Alpha Stigma bearers
can live in peace… and that would be peaceful for you, wouldn’t it?
People cannot live without fighting. We fight to eat, for the sake of
our pride, to live better than others, and to protect those we love…
People fight,” Froaude said.

“A peaceful world where everyone can grow up smiling… is nothing

but a platitude,” he continued. “A world like that is impossible. The
world isn’t as sweet as you think it is. There will always be painful
things that others don’t see…”

Froaude paused for a moment before continuing. “No… you Alpha

Stigma bearers understand how ugly humans are most of all, don’t
you. This really has been forward of me. I will stop now. That is all I
have to say… I will take my leave…”

Froaude made to leave the mansion once more.

“Ah, wait. What’s with that. I really don’t like you, but… you really
helped us out this time. Thanks for saving Kuku.”

Froaude stopped in his place, but he didn’t turn back. “Do you really
think saving her was my intention?”

“No… that was just when Sui let his guard down. Even so…”

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Froaude turned to face him for the last time. He looked at Ryner and
scowled. “What a shame,” he said. “It seems that I will kill you
someday… Your existence is extremely…”

Froaude left it at that and walked away again. Ryner watched him
disappear completely into the dark…

“Hey, Ferris,” Ryner said once Froaude was far out of sight. “Think I
said something to get on his nerves?”

“Mm. That’s a difficult question. You rank pretty high on the list of
Things That Get on One’s Nerves—”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m number one, aren’t I!” Ryner said before Ferris
could finish.

Then Arua began to shout. “Kuku! Kuku?” He said and ran to her.

“A… Arua?” Kuku said, opening her eyes weakly as if in reaction to

hearing her name. She hugged him when he came to her.

“Romance between children is forbidden,” Ferris said. “Don’t engage

in it or you’ll become a worthless person like this guy here.”

Kuku and Arua just laughed at Ferris’ nonsensical joke.

Just then, light from the sun flitted in through the windows…

Night would end soon. Little by little, the world would light up again.

Ryner narrowed his eyes. “Whoa, it’s already morning… Can’t believe
I pulled another all-nighter,” he said. But he was smiling too.

Ferris was badmouthing him to Kuku and Arua, but… he was still
smiling.

The sky became brighter and brighter. It drove the dark of night
away. The dark, loneliness of night…When he looked at Arua, Kuku,

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and Ferris, he felt like that was a thing of the past. Like dark and
lonely nights didn’t exist anywhere anymore.

Even if it was just make-believe, a willful deception, he wanted to

believe in that for awhile…

Page | 164
Prologue II: —Yet We Cannot Return to
the Past
Someone’s ideals.

Someone’s dream.

Someone’s love.

Someone’s joy.

They all entrusted those to him. They all wanted him to answer their
feelings. They all wanted him to take those in his hands. But one day
he realized that was impossible. No, he realized that everything was
impossible.

He couldn’t do it yet. He couldn’t manage to do it yet.

Not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet…

But he continued to respond to their endless, heavy greed, and to

those ideals…

He continued to respond, as if mad…

Not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet,
not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet… he said.

---

At present Sion was exceedingly busy revising laws.

There were all sorts of things he had to settle regarding Estabul now
when the nobility were still controlling their protests.

Really, there was a mountain of things that needed done.

Page | 165
Claugh and Noa had gone to Estabul’s territory to look for capable
people, and Calne and Eslina were busy with this and that too… so
nobody visited Sion’s personal office at all.

Sion, being Sion, hadn’t slept much at all for several days, choosing
to instead pour over unresolved issues…

Sion sighed in his empty office. He pressed a hand to his pounding

head. “This is pretty bad. If I don’t sleep soon… then I won’t be very
efficient…”

Sion leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. It was
white. Pure white. The whole room was simple and white.
Everywhere else in the castle was far too ornate, so he couldn’t
relax. He closed his eyes.

If he weren’t alone, and someone were here with him…

“Fiole would yell at me again, huh…”

Even though his eyes were closed, he couldn’t sleep. Whenever he

closed them he suddenly thought of matters that desperately
needed his attention, one after another.

His number one concern was the activity of other countries.

Froaude hadn’t returned from Runa yet. He was only supposed to go

there for an audience with the king, but…

Had something bad happened? Or did he learn something

important?

That wasn’t all. The turbulent atmosphere in neighboring Nelpha

hadn’t disappeared. He’d received information that nobles there
planned on a revolution. The reason was that other countries were
building their militaries while Nelpha’s king refused to do the same.

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The Nelphan nobility didn’t want Nelpha to be the only country left
unguarded.

Nelpha’s nobility was different from Roland’s… They were truly

putting their country first, so they wanted a revolution.

But…

“…If there was a Nelphan revolution, then the king would change and
our countries’ good relations would go back to a blank state…”

And if that happened, then eventually…

Sion opened his eyes and stared back up at the ceiling. It was a pure
white ceiling that made one feel somewhat empty. It was becoming
darker and darker as the time ticked along. The sun was already
beginning to set. Sion looked out the window.

“…I should turn the lights out soon,” Sion mumbled. But he didn’t
move. He just looked back up at the ceiling of this dark and simple
room.

“I wonder if we’ll eventually end up fighting Runa and Nelpha,” Sion

said to himself, his voice dark and emotionless.

He knew that nobody wanted that. People would die if they went to
war. Many, many people…

Sion was making every effort to avoid war. That was why he let
Froaude go to threaten Runa… and why he built up good relations
with Nelpha.

He intended on throwing all his power into this. But the world denied
that wish of his.

People would be killed. People would be killed, it said.

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Someone once spoke of a world with no war where everyone could
grow up smiling. He took those ideals on his shoulders and fought
with all his strength.

And then he said that he wanted a world where no one lost anything,
where it was okay to just nap all day… He took that dream on his
shoulders and fought with all his strength.

Love, happiness, hope… Everyone wanted him to give them those

things.

They all entrusted those to him. They all wanted him to answer their
feelings. They all wanted him to take those in his hands. But one day
he realized that was impossible. No, he realized that everything was
impossible.

Despair expanded across the horizon. But he didn’t stop fighting.

He should still be able to. He believed.

He should still be capable of it. He prayed.

Still, still, still, still…

But he continued to respond to their endless, heavy greed, and to

those ideals…

He continued to respond, as if mad…

Still, still, still, still, still, still, still, still, still, still, still, still…

Even if it caused the destruction of the world itself, he still…

Because he made a promise. Because he promised him…

Even if their methods were different, he couldn’t lose.

He reached his hand out towards the dim light illuminating the
ceiling. The sun had already fallen completely below the horizon.
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“I have to turn the lights out,” Sion mumbled a second time.

---

The scene returns to the mansion of a Runan noble. Ryner and the
others were still there.

They weren’t in the grand dining hall, but rather in the kitchen
nearby, consuming high-class ingredients greedily instead of cooking.

“This is sooooo good! Man, I haven’t eaten anything this good in so

long. I don’t wanna stop even though I’m full!” Ryner said as he
continued to eat the noble’s food… no, the noble’s ingredients.

Arua and Ferris were eating all sorts of things, too.

“Aw, Aruaaa, you sure got a big appetite while I was away,” Kuku
said, watching them with wide eyes.

“Huh? Really? But Kuku, you’re finally safe and I… Aaaaaaghhh, hey,
Professor! That meat is mine!”

“Hah hah hah! You don’t keep a close enough eye on it so it’s mine
now!” Ryner said. “See, this is training to keep it together until you
can’t bear to not eat anymore. Next we’ll have a contest to see who
can live with sleep deprivation for longer!”

What a conversation…

“You absolutely can’t become a stupid adult like him, Arua,” Ferris
said. “Just ignore everything he says.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Don’t ‘yes ma’am’ her…”

Arua smiled. “Oh, um, by the way. There’s something I’ve been
wanting to ask you.”

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Ryner’s hand stopped moving for more food, and he looked up.
“Mm? What’s up?”

Arua suddenly looked serious. “Well, um, it’s about what I’m going to
do from now on. I want to go with you—”

“Nope, not happening. Travelling with a kid is so much effort… Just

protecting that nuisance is enough… whoa, Ferris! Don’t throw plates
that still have food on them! Knives are a no-go too,” Ryner said,
then turned back to Arua. “But like, I think it’d be tough for you,
Kuku, and Kuku’s mom to live honestly in Runa now. How about
immigrating to Roland?”

Arua’s eyes widened. “Huh? R-Roland? That’s south of here, right…?”

“Yeah. See, I know the king. I think he’ll make it so you can live.”

Arua and Kuku exchanged a glance before Arua spoke. “But I want to
stay with you guys longer and get a little stronger—”

“You can get stronger in Roland,” Ryner said.

“But…”

“Hey, Arua. Do you remember why you wanted to get stronger?”

“Huh?”

“You said you wanted to get stronger so you could protect Kuku. But
now you’re saying you want to leave her in Roland while you go off
somewhere?”

“Well…”

Ryner smiled. “See? Go to Roland. This is how men settle down.”

Ferris nodded. “Though there are the worst kind of person possible
there, too - the sort who attack women.”

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“Ah, those are the men you say are good for nothing!” Kuku said.

“Mm. You remembered it well. I’ll give you a prize later.”

“Yay!”

Ryner put his head in his hands. “Ferris, I told you to stop telling kids
these those things…”

“Mm? But it’s the most important life lesson, one you can find in any
book - getting caught up with a worthless man is the end of a
woman.”

“No, your worldview is seriously skewed… Well, whatever. We’ll get

you guys to Roland soon. You can go with Iris, Ferris’ little sister,
or…”

Ryner scowled. He could think of someone else, too. Someone who

was perfect for bringing Arua and Kuku to Roland - a girl named Milk
Callaud. She was a Taboo Hunter with Roland’s military. That asshole
Sion sent her after Ryner to harass him.

A long time ago, she’d been at the same orphanage as Ryner… and
now she liked to yell about how they promised to get married a long
time ago while chasing him around…

“…I think it’s about time for them to show up again… They always
seem to know where we’ll go next, after all…”

Though he already knew why. Sion had to be telling them. Ryner

grimaced.

“That Sion really has some nerve messing with me like this… I’m
gonna punch the hell out of him next time I see him. But anyway, I
think we can trust them with this. Roland’s allied with Runa, so
they’ll definitely be able to get you out and over there safely.”

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“Hm. By ‘them’ I assume you mean that girl who you lured in with
promises of marriage and then threw away when you were done.”

“I’m tellin’ you, that’s not what happened—”

Ferris ignored him completely and started telling Kuku half-truths

again…

“Ugh, you’re not listening… whatever. Anyway, that’s the plan,

Arua,” Ryner said and looked back to the kid. His expression was still
saying that he wanted to stay with Ryner and Ferris longer… Ryner
smiled wryly. “You’ve gotten pretty attached, huh? Do you really
wanna go with us that badly?”

Arua nodded again and again and again. “But I can’t, can I?”

Ryner shrugged. “Well, travelling abroad is dangerous. And we’ve

made all sorts of enemies lately too… Protecting you would be a little
too hard.”

Arua looked like a kicked puppy…

Ryner smiled, truly happy. “I’m not saying that we’ll never see each
other again, so don’t make that face. We’ll go back to Roland when
we feel like it… so until then I’ll just tell you to enjoy yourself from
afar. Become strong enough that you can protect Kuku all by
yourself… and then become so strong that you can protect me—”

Then Ferris suddenly dragged Arua into her conversation with Kuku.
“See, you can’t take conversations between men seriously.”

“She’s right, Arua,” Kuku said. “That man’s a pervert and a criminal,
you know! Scary. You can’t go near him…”

“Huh? Really!? Professor??”

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Ferris was making a proud face that screamed, ‘Ha! I won,’ that she
stared at Ryner gloatingly with…

“…You believe her? You’re seriously gonna believe her just like
that…? W-well, that’s fine, but… well… anyway, you guys have fun in
Roland… yeah,” Ryner mumbled, on the verge of tears.

---
I hate it when people die.

I also hate killing.

I hate crying and I hate being made to cry.

What’s the feeling called when you know you can’t choose your life?
When your family dies? What about when the person you love dies?

Nobody wants those things to happen, and yet this world wishes for
pointless sadness, laughing all the while.

I’ve never wanted to change things. I know it’s futile. But I’ll keep
being sad if things don’t change, and I don’t want to lose anything
else…

This is a pain to write, but… I think it’s about time to move forward.
I’ve averted my eyes from the past until now, but if it’s necessary, I’ll
look at it. For the sake of making a world where nobody will lose
anything anymore.

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A world where that kid and Kiefer don’t have to cry, where Tyle,
Tony, and Fahle don’t have to die, where Sion doesn’t have to
torment himself over the state of things.

To a world where everyone smiles and it’s okay if all we do is nap.

Ryner Lute

“Ryner Lute,” Froaude whispered once he finished reading the

report. “A world where nobody loses anything…”

Froaude’s eyes moved to the next document he had his subordinates

assemble for him. It was a document on Milk Callaud, a girl tasked
with leading a Taboo Hunter team to pursue Ryner Lute. Then his
eyes moved to documents on her subordinates - Luke Stokkart, Lear
Rinkal, Lach Velariore, Moe Velariore.

Among all of those names, Luke Stokkart’s was the one to be careful
of. He, along with those such as Claugh Klom, assisted Sion Astal in
running the revolution.

It was strange.

Luke Stokkart’s achievements were just as numerous as Claugh

Klom’s. It would not be odd for him to be a marshal as well. He likely
had strength that wasn’t properly conveyed on paper along, and yet
he was Milk Callaud’s subordinate, sent outside the country to chase
after Ryner Lute.

Actually capturing Ryner Lute was not their objective.

Obviously. They were moving based on the king’s words.

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But why was it necessary for them to continue this farce?

That report, overflowing with idealism to the point that it was a

meme pipe dream…

Froaude’s eyes narrowed.

“…That bond… the bond between Ryner Lute and Milk Callaud,
perhaps. Perhaps it is to keep Ryner Lute from going too far from
Roland… no, from Sion Astal… and so this bond, this tie was used to
fasten him in place… there, Luke Stokkart plays the part of the
discoverer…”

Froaude removed a dagger made from an unknown from his pocket.

He’d stolen it from Sui and Kuu, assassins from Gastark. He turned it
around.

“Heroic Relics… Rule Fragments…”

He turned the dagger over, rolling it around again and again.

“…To create a peaceful world with the power of these, where people
never kill others…”

He turned the dagger over again and again.

“…Bonds to tie Ryner Lute in place… That is the king’s

weakness… Fear of Ryner Lute parting from him…”

Again and again.

“Ryner Lute wishes for a world where nobody dies, nobody is killed,
nobody is sad. An ideal world with an ideal king… and that in itself is
the chain binding Sion Astal…”

Froaude tossed the dagger away, then continued to talk to himself.

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“…But that will destroy His Majesty. The illusion of an ideal king that
answers everyone’s hopes destroys kings as well as people… It is
necessary to remove that illusion. Ryner Lute…”

Froaude stood.

“…No, I ought to start from his bonds first, shouldn’t I?”

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