After leaving Norman’s research institute, we headed to the next spot on our itinerary, The Statue of the Holy Mother. According to our schedule, this was the final group activity of the day.

A giant sculpture of a woman loomed over us.

The dwarven guide stood in front of it. “Let’s see. This is a statue of Lady Aisha, who raised the Demon Lord and Lady Olivia.”

She continued. “Everyone knows the Demon Lord and the legendary apostle, Lady Olivia, were like siblings after they met in the slums and bonded… Isn’t that right, Lady Olivia?”

“…Yeah.”

“In the holy texts, the details of their difficult life are evident.”

“…Well, yeah.”

“Left without parents, they craved affection. One day, Lady Aisha suddenly appeared and showered them with love as if they were her own children!”

“…You’re not wrong…”

“However! The Evil Gods found out about the Demon Lord’s existence and set a wicked plan into motion, targeting the lives of the Demon Lord and Lady Olivia! Lady Aisha risked everything to save them…and they were set free—in exchange for her life! There, she met her tragic end!”

Tears streamed down the guide’s face. When I looked around me, I saw all the students were in the same condition.

“Aah…! How terrible…!” Ireena sobbed.

“I’ve read the holy texts more times than I can count…but their parting always brings a tear to my eye…”

Ireena and Ginny dabbed their eyes with handkerchiefs.

“…? This is different from the story I know…” Sylphy was the only one who tilted her head in bewilderment.

It was true we had been raised by a dwarf named Aisha, but she only taught us how to pickpocket and cheat at gambling. And she was a huge cheapskate…

“What?! This is all you earned today? Jeez! You’ve got nothing going for you! I should have just saved up on my own!”

She used to complain we were cheating her out of the money that we earned, subjecting us to one of her inebriated rants as she drowned herself in alcohol. Honestly, no one would have objected to calling her a piece of shit. Obviously, I had no respect for her.

Even the story about parting with her was complete garbage.

Aisha didn’t die. In fact, she didn’t even protect us. She had used every means at her disposal to escape.

I had cleaned up our attackers in a heartbeat. Around that time, Olivia and I had raised our rebel army…but that was a story for another day.

That was the last time I saw Aisha. She either died on the roadside or rose to riches. At any rate, I had zero interest about her whereabouts.

…I seriously never thought she would be revered as a Holy Mother. Aisha! Of all people!

“Lady Aisha is a role model to women of the world! Listen up, young ladies! When you have children, aspire to be a mother like Lady Aisha!”

If Aisha was their mom, any kid would rebel. How did history get the facts all wrong?

…Not that I could do anything about it.

“Lady Aisha is the paragon of motherhood!”

“Let’s buy miniature bronze statues as keepsakes!”

“It’ll remind me to be on my best behavior if I put it in my room.”

After listening to a series of fictions, it was time to break off into small groups.

I was disturbed knowing those fake anecdotes would be handed down across generations.

Ireena felt otherwise. “The story of Lady Aisha made me think of my own mom!”

Ireena had a mother. As we all tended to. Not that I’d ever seen her.

“I always admired my mom. I think she’s amazing, like Lady Aisha…which is why I want to be like my mom, too!”

I see.

She didn’t want to be a mother. She wanted to be like one. The tales about the Holy Mother must have ignited those dormant desires.

I could see where she was coming from. It was like when my old creativity came back after reading books on architecture. It made me dream about building another castle.

“I’m not very confident I’ll be a good parent to my children… I’m starting to doubt if I can even be a decent one, let alone one like my mom.”

“Well, they say parenting isn’t easy. …But Miss Ireena, I don’t think you need to be concerned about that now.”

“What do you mean?”

“…Don’t you know where babies come from?”

“What? S-stop making fun of me! I obviously know where they come from! It’s easy…! Y-y-y-you…kiss the love of your life…and then, boom! Baby time! That’s what Daddy taught me!”

“Um… Ireena… Even I know that’s wrong. Listen closely… Babies are brought by a stork! Heh-heh!” Sylphy chuckled.

“You’re way off the mark, too,” Ginny said.

“What?!”

There was no reason for Ireena to worry about parenting. Not now. I mean, she didn’t even know how babies were made.

I didn’t have a problem keeping it that way. In fact, I wished she would never come by that knowledge.

Even I knew she would eventually bear children, though.

Imagining it made me want to murder the father…! Ireena was my best friend. She was almost like a daughter to me! There was no way I would let anyone touch her that way.

Even though I wanted her to be happy, this was nonnegotiable.

I prayed she would never meet someone who would have children with her…!

I was in the middle of my thoughts.

That was when the space near us fissured.

All faces tensed as they witnessed the phenomenon, and not just the girls. Everyone in the area went pale.

“…I get that the point of these incidents is they come out of the blue, but I sure do wish they would give us a break during our trip,” I muttered, squinting to observe the sliver floating in empty space.

It was slowly opening… Just as I heard a low thud, someone pounced outside.

A person… An elf, based on the pointed ears.

A girl. She seemed…young, wearing our school uniform, even though she couldn’t possibly be a classmate.

The elven girl appearing before us looked like…

“M-Miss Ireena…?!”

Exactly. She looked like young Ireena.

“W-who are you…?!” Ireena hesitantly asked her mirror image, who looked back with a somewhat nostalgic expression.

Her bearing became determined as she straightened her spine. “My name is Elis! A soldier from the future!”

We all gawked at her. Elis pointed at Ireena.

“On this very day, something awful will befall you! I’ve come from the future to prevent it and protect you! If I fail…”

“…the world will be destroyed!”

A little girl had popped up unannounced and declared she was from the future.

All eyes were on us.

…How should I say this? This was really bad.

“Umm, Elis? Would you mind coming this way?”

“What?! Are you pitying me? I can see it in your eyes. Don’t touch me, perv!”

“Now, now. This way… Follow me, guys.”

We booked it out of there, switching locations to a deserted back alley.

I directed my attention to Elis. “Where did you come from? Tell me who you are and what you want.”

“What?! Do you have no brain cells? I just told you everything! I’m Elis! I’m a soldier who has come to protect Mo…um, Ireena! Jeez! Stop making me repeat myself!” She glared, giving me some major attitude.

“…A soldier from the future, huh? That’s not…,” Ginny trailed off, looking as incredulous as everyone else.

A messenger from the future. It was hard to accept. After all, we couldn’t travel to the past on our own.

I asked her if that was the case.

“What? God? Who?”

It seemed my guess was wrong. Then how did she get here?

“That’s a secret! I’ll never tell! And Da…I mean, that dirty old man told me to keep my mouth shut! Something about a ‘temporal paradox.’ Like, what? Give it to me in layman’s terms!” Elis pointed to me in anger for whatever reason.

“…Ard, do you think she has any relation to the demons?”

It was definitely possible. But…I couldn’t figure out what their motive might be.

If all this was connected to the suspect I had in mind…

I cast a detection spell to investigate that possibility, procuring the location of a certain someone before casting a summoning spell.

It only took a moment for a magic circle to manifest on the cobbled street.

Smoke billowed around the summoned. The genius. The walking disaster. The magic scholar. One of the former Heavenly Kings.

Verda…

Plus one.

“AAAAAAAAAH!”

Norman was sprinting inside a machine that looked like a big wheel.

…What the hell?

Rattle-rattle-rattle. The wheel spun.

Its power source sprayed sweat. “RAAAAH! By the way! What will this experiment prove, master?”

“You’re—well, you know… Something?”

“Hey! Obviously not. Who do you think I am? You know me, myself, and I. Get with the program… Erm. What was your name?”

“Norman! It’s Norman! Could you please remember already?!”

“Oh, I suck at remembering the names of boring people.”

“But I’ve been your pupil for decades!”

…Seriously… What the hell was going on here?

My cheek twitched. “Um, pardon me,” I called out to Verda. “May I speak with you for a moment?”

“Hmm? Hey there! If it isn’t Ard! What are you doing here…? Oh. Looks like we’re somewhere else. I guess you summoned us here?”

“Yes… Let me cut to the chase. Time is of the essence. Is she yours?” I glared at Verda, probing her for the truth.

Elis had to be Ireena’s clone of sorts. I wouldn’t put it past Verda to use her for some sort of stupid scheme.

…That had been my guess.

“What? Not to my knowledge.” Verda cocked her head.

Ireena and the others eyed her suspiciously.

Meanwhile…I had broken out in a cold sweat.

Verda wasn’t lying. I had cast a number of undetectable spells on her. They told me whether her statements were true or false, and those spells…proved she’d been honest with me.

“Is she actually from the future…?”

“What? Who’s from the future? Where? Oh! Could it be this little girl? Hmm? I can feel her spirit is out of the ordinary. All right. We need to start dissecting—”

“Sorry to bother you. That was all. Please return to wherever you came from.” I cast another spell and sent Verda and Norman on their way.

…Next up.

“As. I. Said. I’m a soldier from the future, birdbrain!”

…She wasn’t lying either.

“C-could it be true, Ard?” Ginny asked.

“Yes. It seems safe to say she’s from the future.”

“That means…” Ireena started piecing things together.

“Something awful is going to happen!” Sylphy yelped.

We exchanged a look before staring at Elis.

…How on earth did this happen?

…There was no way around accepting it was the truth.

“Okay, Elis. And what might that bad thing be?”

“No clue!”

“…Cool. And when will it happen?”

“Beats me!”

“……”

“Hey! Stop looking at me like that! It’s not my fault! It happened out of the blue, okay? The world started collapsing out of nowhere, and when Da… I mean, when the pervert checked out the situation, he realized the world was gonna fall into ruin because Mo…I mean, an elf named Ireena got caught up in some trouble!”

“You’re saying you don’t know anything else?”

“Uh-huh! And something about ‘disturbances in space-time’ and some ‘observations’…but I tuned it out because I didn’t get it!”

“…I see.” I couldn’t stop a long sigh from leaving my lips. “My instinct is…to lock ourselves away in another dimension. We can wait there until the day ends. How’s that?”

“That won’t work! That’s what Da… I mean, that creep told me. Even if we isolate Mo… erm, Ireena, we can’t alter the incident because of causality and facts or whatever!”

Causality and facts, huh. Unless we rewrote destiny, any effort would be in vain. The incident would be set in motion, even if we resisted. Which meant we couldn’t alter the danger set to befall Ireena.

“When it all goes down, we will take out the ones who intend to harm Ireena… That’s our only option.”

“Great! Finally, something I can understand!” Sylphy exclaimed.

“We have Ard with us, so I don’t see an issue,” Ginny added.

Everyone except Elis seemed relieved. I knew Ireena had more faith in me than anyone else. There wasn’t so much as an ounce of fear on her face. In fact, she let her lips form a gentle smile.

“We’ll wait until it happens. That’s all we can do. We can’t change anything by worrying. There is one thing we can do to pass the time, though,” Ireena suggested. “Travel! And you’re coming, too, Elis!”

“…Okay!”

For whatever reason, Elis warmed up only to Ireena. With a huge smile, she buried herself in Ireena’s chest.

We left the back alley and started on a new journey with Elis in tow.

“Hmm. So this is what Kingsglaive looked like.”

“Does it look different in the future?”

“Yeah. Not as many people… This feels new!” Elis’s eyes sparkled as she eagerly took in her surroundings, like a typical tourist. “Hey, Mo…Ireena! I’m hungry! Ooh, I wanna eat that!”

“Honey bread? Sure, I’ll buy it for you.”

“Yay! I love you, Mo…I mean, Ireena!”

Ireena and Elis trotted over to the stall.

I watched this exchange feeling as though…

“Nom-nom… This is great!”

“Is there bread in the future?”

“Yeah. I mean, our time periods aren’t too far apart.”

“Huh. You seem to be enjoying it.”

“Nom-nom… That’s because… Om-nom… eating is… Munch… my second-favorite thing… Nom…… Bleh! My throat!”

“Here. Have some water.”

“Chew. Didn’t your mother teach you that?”

“…Yeah. Sorry, Mo…um, Ireena.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. By the way, you just said eating is your second-favorite thing in the world. What’s better than eating?”

“Spending time with Mo… I mean, Iree… Um. I think I can say this… Spending time with my mom makes me happier than anything else in the world!”

“…Me, too.”

The two smiled at each other.

It made me feel as though…

“They’re like mother and child,” Ginny said.

…Well, that was true. They were basically doppelgangers and had immediately developed a bond that gave no indication they were strangers.

…On the outside.

Maybe Elis was just her doppelganger. It was still in the realm of possibilities.

“I wanna eat that one next! Please, Mom…? Oh! S-sorry! I meant—”

“Ha-ha-ha. Don’t worry about it. When I was your age, I accidentally said that to ladies in the village, too.”

“Y-yeah! It was an accident! Sorry! Hee-hee-hee!”

…Nothing was definite. Not yet.

“Ah.”

“Whoa! Elis! Are you okay? You need to watch where you’re going. Otherwise, you’ll trip again!”

“Ah… Waaah! Oww! I scraped my knee!”

“Oh, don’t cry! Did you know tears wash away joy?”

“Hngh…”

“Yes, that’s it. Stay strong.”

“Yes! Pain, pain, go away! All better! Right?”

“Uh-huh! Thanks, Mom!”

…So much for hiding it.

I found it hard to believe. Or maybe I just didn’t want to accept it as truth.

This Elis girl had to be… Well, it more than likely wasn’t the case.

But there was a small possibility…that she was Ireena’s daughter.

There was no way. It couldn’t be true. Obviously.

After all, Ireena was the living embodiment of innocence—an angel walking among us. If she received some random guy and bore his c-c-child…!

It was absolutely inconceivable! I would never let that happen! If it did, I would never consent to Ireena becoming anyone’s wife!

Never! Ever!

“H-hey! What’s wrong, Ard? You look so…ogrely,” Sylphy observed.

“Don’t worry about me. Just planning to rip the limbs off an imaginary enemy…cough, future husband, cough.”

“…Now I’m even more curious. What’s up with you?”

Ignoring her dubious stare, I let my imagination run wild for a long time…

Day fell into evening.

Under the darkening sky, Elis was no longer smiling and chatting exclusively with Ireena. Ginny and Sylphy had managed to infiltrate her inner circle as well. It didn’t take Elis long to open up to them.

…But even though Elis had warmed up to practically everyone, I was somehow the exception.

“Elis, careful where you’re walking. You’ll trip again.”

“…I don’t need you telling me that.”

See example above.

“Elis, want anything else to eat?”

And another case.

“Eli—”

“Can it. Your breath stinks.”

Case. In. Point.

Where did I go wrong?

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!” Ireena scolded her between these episodes, causing Elis to tear up, but it wasn’t enough to check her attitude.

…Not that I cared if some random kid hated me.

Even though Ard Meteor was an average nobody, I used to be the man known as the Demon Lord. I wasn’t about to spend my time currying the favor of some little girl—or worse, worrying what she thought about me.

…So it should be understood that the following question was posed only out of pure curiosity.

“Elis. Do you dis-ngh…dislike me?”

So I might have fumbled midway, but I wasn’t on edge or anything.

In fact, I didn’t even care if she revealed she actually hated my guts. I wasn’t at all torn up that I was the odd one out or that this could be bad for…reasons.

…And the weather was warm, so it was totally normal to sweat a little.

Elis turned and stared at me. “What would you think of a married man who has tons of women waiting on him?”

“What? Um…pardon my language, but he would be a piece of shit.”

“So you agree?”

“Yes. A married person should never have relations with anyone other than his or her spouse.”

“And if his cheating makes her cry?”

“That would be unforgivable.”

“Should obviously die.”

“Yeah. There’s your answer.”

What was that supposed to mean?

…In the end, our free time came to an end without Elis ever warming up to me.

“I guess we should return to the inn.”

“Nothing has happened yet. I think,” Ireena observed.

“We still have five hours until the end of the day. I assume it will happen then,” Ginny reasoned.

“Let’s bring Elis back to the inn with us!” Sylphy suggested.

As I walked behind Elis on our way there, I let myself get carried away by my thoughts.

Strolling along, my thoughts turned as I looked at Elis from behind.

There hadn’t been a single moment where I’d felt something was about to go down. Not even the tiniest of omens. I’d been keeping an eye on the town with a detection spell, but it hadn’t picked up on anything or anyone suspicious.

The demons weren’t lurking in wait. Even Verda was on her “best” behavior. I really didn’t get the vibe that a showdown would happen within the next few hours.

Which made me suspect one thing: Was Elis lying?

There was no doubt she was from the future, but what if she’d lied about something bad happening today? What if that was her way to get closer to Ireena…?

That would make Elis the real enemy.

…I couldn’t deny that possibility but knew it was just conjecture at this point.

Staying vigilant was the only reasonable course of action.

Possibly because I was trying to convince myself of this…

Something was wrong. I cast a defensive spell as soon as felt it.

A magic circle fanned out of the ground, manifesting into a semitransparent barrier around us.

“What’s happening?” Ireena seemed baffled.

At the same moment, water bullets exploded against the wall. From the impact, I could tell it wasn’t a serious attack. Even without our defenses, we wouldn’t have been in real danger.

But something was off about this. The attack wasn’t aimed at Ireena but…Elis.

What in the world was going on? Before I could ask, my attention was directed upward.

The orange sky had ruptured. Racing across the void was a young girl in a robe, its hood masking her face.

“…I take it you’re an enemy?”

No response. She just looked down at us.

That seemed to touch a nerve with Elis.

“You’re the culprit! Right?!” she started to yell. “I dunno what you’re planning, but I won’t just let you do whatever you want! I’ll take you down and save the future!”

The girl in the sky trembled…as if she were the embodiment of rage itself.

“Rude. This is all your fault, you know.”

When I looked closer, I could see her mouth under her hood twitching.

“Come again? Speak up!” screamed Elis.

That had apparently pushed the girl to her limits. She clicked her tongue in irritation.

“What are you talking about?!”

“Oh, come on! Did you have no brain cells when you were younger? Fine! I’ll explain it in a way even you can understand!” The young girl grabbed her hood with her hand and yanked it down.

One look at her face and…

“I’m Iris! A soldier from the future to make you return to your own time! It’s time to go back to the future, Mo… I mean, Elis!”

Iris was the spitting image of Elis and Ireena.

“What do you mean…you came from the future…?!”

Elis was shell-shocked by this unexpected twist. The rest of us were more or less shaken.

“H-hey, Elis. Is she your friend?”

“I… I have no idea who she is…” Elis started to perspire.

Iris glared daggers at her. “Duh! I’m from further in the future than you!”

“What?” This only seemed to confuse her.

Meanwhile, I was beginning to get a grip on the whole picture.

“Iris, right? Can I ask you a few questions?”

“…What?”

“About the paradox created by Elis. I think that’s what you said.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Meaning…this incident occurred because Elis traveled across time. Is that right?”

“Hey! What are you trying to say?!” Elis went bug-eyed.

Iris nodded. “Exactly. I assume Mo… I mean, Elis told you there would be an incident concerning Gran… I mean, Ireena. And that it would bring the world to extinction.”

Good grief.

Iris shrugged, hovering above us. “There will be an incident, but I don’t know the details. There is one thing for certain: This is all happening because Mo…cough, Elis traveled to the past.”

“Wh-what?! That’s impossible!” Elis screeched in a panic.

I ignored her, focusing my attention on Iris. “If that’s true…are you implying that nothing will happen if Miss Elis returns to the future?”

“It’s possible. At the very least, it’ll cancel out the paradox in my own generation.”

“Then—” I started to say, but Elis interrupted.

“Are you telling me to go back to the future?!” she barked at Iris. “Peabrain! There’s no way! I mean, you could be the enemy!”

Elis had a point, but this bickering would never settle anything.

“Sigh. I never knew you were so stubborn when you were young,” Iris said. “I guess there’s no way around wrestling you back to your own time.”

“I’d like to see you try…!”

I guessed this was the only natural conclusion. They became militant, preparing to fight it out right there.

Ireena planted herself between them. “W-wait! If you make a mess here—”

In the middle of her sentence…rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble…the ground started groaning and shaking violently.

“I-is this an earthquake…?!”

“I-I’ve got a bad feeling about this!”

Sylphy was right on the money.

When the vibrations settled down, the cobbled road nearby began to crumble…and the earth split open.

In a mass panic, people started scrambling away. I cast a spell, saving those who were late in escaping before they could plunge into the chasm.

It started to dim…revealing a certain someone.

“Erm, hello! I’m Uriel. I’ve come to save the original universe from annihilation.”

This young woman was another duplicate of Iris, who had the same features as Elis, who looked exactly like Ireena.

“Umm…Uriel, right? I’m sorry, but would you mind repeating that?”

“Sure thing. Erm, hello! I’m Uriel. I’ve come to save the original universe from annihilation,” she repeated in a downbeat tone.

This woman had the appearance of Iris, Elis, and Ireena in a few years.

“Did you come from a time after Iris?”

“Nope. Lady Iris is from Universe 187,582. I’m from 98,545.”

“Uh, so in other words…you’re from a parallel world?” Ireena asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“This is getting bigger than I thought…”

“Hey, guys? I’m not following…”

I sympathized with Ginny and Sylphy, but somebody had to get the ball rolling.

I must have looked like I was wasting away. “And…what’s your goal?”

“Oh, right. I need to stop Elis and Iris from fighting. By engaging in battle, Universes 84,858,817,422 to 108,548,758,445 will be annihilated. If you continue, all original universes will continue to die out…until every reality is destroyed. Including this one, Universe 487.”

“So basically, nothing will happen if Iris and Elis don’t fight, and they return to their own worlds and their own time periods,” I guessed. “And…that will save these ‘original universes,’ or whatever, from annihilation.”

“Exactly.”

If I was being honest, this talk about infinite universes was a situation all on its own. Welp. No use worrying about that now. There was a greater problem that needed my immediate attention.

“W-who are you?! I swear you popped out of nowhere!” Elis exclaimed.

“You’re suspect. I don’t trust you,” Iris added.

This was an issue.

“Hm… This could be a problem. Yggdrasil was right. I can’t stop the two without trust, so I’ll have to resort to force. I was hoping we could end things without a scuffle, but…well, I suppose this is out of my control.”

In that moment, Uriel seemed thirsty for blood. Shining blades flashed behind her.

“This is going to sting, but please try to endure it,” she suggested, facing Elis and Iris and raining down the blades.

“Hah! Bring it on!

“This doesn’t change my goal…!”

A three-way melee broke out.

Uriel looked just like Iris, who bore a resemblance to Elis, who was basically Ireena’s clone. Their battle ravaged the ancient capital of Kingsglaive.

“I’m guessing this is Elis’s ‘dangerous incident,’” I murmured.

We were standing in the very center of the main road, observing the mayhem, but…our view started opening up as more edifices were blasted into smithereens. We eventually ended up with a panoramic view of the vanishing city, even though we were on flat ground.

“A-Ard! We have to stop them! O-or else the town will…!” Ginny pressed.

“You’re right…” I crossed my arms, looking conflicted.

I could have stopped them in about two seconds.

But…I actively chose not to intervene.

Why?

Because watching this capital burn felt so good.

…Obviously, Kingsglaive wasn’t built overnight. It had taken a great deal of work, and I had grown attached to it.

But…this place was the source of my trauma.

And it was all Lydia’s fault!

See example below.

“Ack! Watch out for the stage where the Demon Lord was once a jester!”

They were referring to the tiered stage in the middle of the road, destroyed just a moment ago. As the story went, the Demon Lord had dressed as a jester for the people’s amusement…but they couldn’t have been more wrong.

It hadn’t been of my own volition! I was forced into the role after losing a game…!

“I win! As your punishment, I order you to dress up as a clown and put on a show.”

“…Don’t be ridiculous. A ruler would never.”

“Bok-bok! Chicken! I guess you’re a ruler with no talent in the arts! My bad! I never would have guessed you didn’t have a funny bone in you, since you walk around with that huge ego and—”

“Who are you calling a chicken?! I can do anything!”

She’d totally set me up. I had a stage constructed in the most crowded part of town and put on the performance of a lifetime.

Lydia had been the only one in the audience who’d laughed. The general public had cringed at their king’s desperate show.

My heart had been crushed.

At least now one of the reminders of that traumatic event had been destroyed… To be honest, I was feeling pretty good.

“Ack! Look out for the bridge where the Demon Lord streaked!”

Amazing! That thing could split in two.

“Ack! Not the legendary restaurant where he dined and dashed!

And now it was out of business. Hooray!

I was shocked it hadn’t gone under for thousands of years. Now that was impressive.

“Ack! Spare the hole he wanted to crawl in!”

Not a trace left! Heh-heh. This was turning out to be the best day of my life!

“Ack! Watch out for the statue commemorating one of his explosions!”

And there it went, into teeny-tiny smithereens. I mean, what was there to commemorate? An explosion was nothing to celebrate.

Good riddance.

“Ack! Save the statue of the Demon Lord yelping in pain after his kneecap was kicked in by the Champion!”

Only Lydia’s face was smashed to pieces. Served her right.

Heh-heh-heh-heh. I was ready to tell the trio to kick it up a notch—

“Ack! Watch out for his castle!”

……Hold up.

“Ack! All their attacks are concentrated on it!”

Wait!

“Ack! One of the towers has been blown into oblivion!”

Wh-wh-wh-what…?

What the hell do you guys think you’re doing?!

My castle! Castle Millennion! Smashed beyond recognition!

How could they?!

After all the love and labor that had gone into creating it!

After all the times Lydia had split it in half…and Sylphy had blown it up…which was so…many…times…!

I’d repaired and remodeled the castle until it was perfect!

How could they turn it into a junkyard?!

Some crimes could never be forgiven! They needed to be subjected to the punishment of a serious ass-whooping!

My nerves had set my legs into motion…but something happened before I could take a single step.

“What the heck are you donkeys doing?!”

In an instant, Elis, Iris, and Uriel trembled in fear and stood still.

Ireena sprinted toward them. “Elis, lower your sword! Iris, put away your magic! And Uriel! You come down right now!”

No one dared defy Ireena, whose face flushed red in anger.

The three of them meekly obeyed.

“On your knees!” Ireena barked.

“““Y-Yes, ma’am!”””

“I’m not saying you can’t fight, okay? But you need to learn to restrain yourselves.”

“B-but they—,” Elis started.

“And don’t talk back!”

“I’m sorry!”

“And you, Uriel! You know it’s dangerous to throw knives! What if someone got hurt?”

“E-erm, actually, this is hardly considered dangerous in my world…”

“My house! My rules!”

“R-right on…”

“Jeez! Stop being a downright public nuisance!”

“…Says the one shouting,” Iris pointed out.

“Excuse you?!”

“Eeek! I-I’m sorry!”

“And no nitpicking!”

The young woman and two little girls shrank back.

“You’ll each be spanked one hundred times! Elis, you’re first!”

“What?! N-no way!”

“Don’t talk back! I swear this girl will be the end of me…!”

Ireena looked downright pissed as she doled out their spankings.

She really had the makings of an actual mother.

We made a speedy decision for Elis, Iris, and Uriel to return to their respective eras.

Elis was hesitant at first, but…

“Are you…disobeying?” Ireena threatened.

“Eek! But! Even if I return, there’s no guarantee that everything will be fine—”

“We’ve got a guarantee.”

“What? Wh-where?”

“My intuition! There’s nothing to top it!”

“Ummmm…”

“What’s with that look? Are you asking for another spanking?”

“O-of course not!”

Ireena was invincible. With no further objections, the three girls returned to their respective times and worlds.

Iris and Uriel practically dived into the fissure, trying to escape Ireena as fast as humanly possible. On the other hand, Elis floated above hers.

“…It was a short run, but I had a ton of fun.”

“Me, too. Hang out with me whenever you’re free. You’re always welcome here,” Ireena assured her with a grin.

Elis returned a smile, though she didn’t seem too convinced, scratching her cheek sheepishly.

“Umm… I hate to tell you this, but I can’t do that. Traveling across time requires so much magic, I can only do it once in a lifetime.”

“What? Does that mean…we’ll never see each other again…?” Ireena was crestfallen.

Elis giggled for some reason. “That’s not true. We’ll definitely meet again.”

“We’ll see each other again someday, Mom.”

Elis beamed, joy bursting like flowers, before returning to her own time.

“I knew it. She’s Miss Ireena’s daughter.”

“What? Excuse me? Elis? M-my child?”

“Ooh. That actually makes sense. I mean, they’re basically twins!” Sylphy agreed.

Ginny and Sylphy had reached the same conclusion. Ireena’s eyes darted in confusion.

Well, I guess that confirmed it. There was a future waiting for me where some random man sweeps Ireena off her feet…!

No! I haven’t given up just yet. The future was for me to decide.

I would never back down! I was ready to crush my horrible destiny in my grasp!

I raised my fist with new hope, thrusting it into the heavens.

“Waaah! This is horrible! Everything is going to shit!” I heard someone shout.

It was Verda. She raced toward us with heavy footsteps, golden hair bouncing.

“Phew… I’m beat. Hm? Where’s the little time traveler?”

“She just returned to her time.”

“What?! That’s too bad. I would have loved to dissect her. Even just the tip,” Verda moaned.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Can I help you? I believe you were shouting about something.”

“Oh, right! I think I told you a few hours ago that I didn’t orchestrate this whole thing.”

“My bad! That was a lie!”

“…Come again?” I felt a bead of cold sweat trail down my cheek. “Um, what are you saying?”

“Well, I just found out about it! Hmm… Where to start? Maybe with the birth of this wonderful scholar prodigy?”

“…I would appreciate it if you focused on the most important points.”

“Come on… Fine. I’ll start…with what happened three hundred years ago. I was creating magical tools to interfere with parallel worlds, but I gotta say, it was pretty tricky. Even my divine intellect was having a tough time.”

“…And you abandoned your experiment?”

“No way! A good scholar never knows when to give up! I trudged forward with my studies. I finally managed to figure out a prototype…but something went wrong, and the thing wouldn’t work.”

“I see. You were ready to begin the experiment, but it wouldn’t cooperate.”

“Uh-huh. Even though I’m as mild as they come, I totally blew my fuse! I started screaming at it, you know: ‘Why can’t you listen to what I’m saying?’ ‘Why do you make eyes at other people?’”

“…Sure.”

“But it wouldn’t budge! So I reached the end of my rope. I was like, ‘Fine! See if I care! I never want to see you again!’ I kicked it to pieces and then found a new lover…cough, experiment to help me forget all about it…”

“This is about an experiment…right? Because you’re making it sound like a love story.”

“It’s been three hundred years. I’ve moved on. But one look at Elis…and all my feelings came rushing back. I thought I was over it! But…it’s been eating away at me.”

“I went to go see it for the first time in a long while…and I found out it had turned on! While we were taking a break for all those years, it had started to operate! I had to ask if it was trying to toy with my feelings, but I got no response.”

“I mean, it’s an inanimate object. Just a magical tool.”

“But it was too late for us to get back together! Because I had something new in my life! Still, it refused to talk to me… I was starting to feel like I was crazy, you know, but—”

“I’m sorry. Could you explain this better? I can’t tell if this is about your love life or your experiment.”

“Sigh. Fine! I’ll wrap things up.” Verda paused for a moment. “I made a magical device to meddle with parallel worlds…three hundred years ago. It works now! The little time traveler must have come around then.”

“…Did her arrival impact the machine?”

“Yep. Now I have a question for you: Has anyone else dropped in?”

“Two people. Is something the matter?” I asked.

“…Oopsie.” There was a bead of sweat forming on her cheek.

In that moment, I started to see the entire picture.

We thought we had solved everything by returning Elis to her own time.

But we were horribly wrong.

We weren’t even close to resolving the issue… In fact, it hadn’t even begun.

“Uh-oh. Seems like it’s rampaging.”

“…Explain yourself. Now.”

“Well, in layman’s terms, the machine can bring entities from the other side to their counterparts in this world.”

“Well, you’re not wrong, but listen closely. This is important… I designed the device to summon one entity at a time. Except there were three people this time. Which means the machine is defective. If this keeps up—”

“You can’t mean…”

I immediately imagined the worst possible future.

A second later, the darkening sky started to split in half, opening to the void…

“I am God Ireena. I have come to purify this world.”

Before us was something giant, divine, and resembling Ireena.

And that wasn’t the end of it. Something else ripped through space.

“I am Memory Ireena. I‘ve come to document this world’s affairs.”

That wasn’t the end of it, either. Something else ripped through space.

“Aaaaaah! It is I! Royalty of the Underworld! Blood Ireena! Blergh!”

That still wasn’t the end. Something else ripped through space.

“Raaaah! I’m Mountain Ireena! Oh yeah!”

And so on…[INTENTIONALLY OMITTED]

“’Tis I—Mysterious Ireena!”

“’Ello there! I’m Thousand Ireena!

“Hiya! Metamorphose Ireena at your service!”

“Greetings! Metallic Ireena!”

[INTENTIONALLY OMITTED]

“I’ma Ultimate Ireena!”

“I’m known to all as Gigantic Ireena!”

“What’s up, guys? It’s your girl, Cosmetic Ireena!”

They just kept jumping out of their parallel dimensions.

If our first day on the trip was this chaotic, how would we handle the next few…?

I could feel myself burning out as I stared at this living nightmare.

“GAH…AAAH! BAH! BLERGH!”

““Yeah…no.””

Nothing had worked: gagging her, blocking her nostrils, scribbling on her face… Everything had made the problem worse.

“Sigh. I guess we just have to deal,” Ginny lamented.

“…Let’s stay up until we can fall asleep.”

They nodded and began to make small talk. Even though it seemed they were at odds all the time, they had no reason to get heated without Ard.

…Just as long as he wasn’t involved…

After two hours, there was nothing more for them to talk about…until Ginny finally broached the forbidden subject.

“Hey, Miss Ireena. Do you have a crush on anyone?”

“It wouldn’t feel like a sleepover without that question.” Ireena chuckled sarcastically, falling into silence.

She didn’t need to say anything. Ginny made no attempt to press her.

They started chatting about their romantic experiences that didn’t involve the guy in question—everything from their first loves to their ideal partners.

Eventually, though, it all circled back to him.

“I just can’t find it in myself to cosign your dream. Just the thought of a harem makes me sick.”

“I doubt we’ll ever see eye to eye on the matter.”

“…I just don’t get it. How can you be okay with other girls hanging around your crush?”

“I don’t think one person is enough for him.”

Ginny had thought she was certain about this…but something in her heart made her unsure.

“Right back atcha,” Ginny replied.

The conversation started to die out, leaving them heavy with drowsiness.

Even with Sylphy causing a racket, they might have been able to sleep now.

“Let us save this for another time.”

“’Night.”

Ireena and Ginny closed their eyes, and the commotion started fading further away…until Ginny let her consciousness slip away completely.

When she came to her senses, Ginny was standing in a forest. There was a warmth that made her feel as if she’d landed in a fairy tale.

The place was far from normal.

The sun in the sky had a chiseled face and a smile that was way too bright.

The bugs in the forest chirped in a peculiar way.

Dum. Du-du-dum-dum.Dum. Du-du-du-du-du-du.

Dum. Du-du-dum-dum.Du-du-du-du-du. Dum.

This blaring chorus rang through the air as small animals danced madly on their hind legs.

“…This is a new kind of nightmare.”

“Oh, jeez. What am I supposed to do now?”

With the chorus of bugs and dancing animals in the background, Ginny crossed her arms.

“Hyuck-hyuck-hyuck. Hello, little lady. Would you like an appl—”

“I’m good.”

“Let me finish, buzzkill!” someone barked back, kicking the ground in rage.

…Surprisingly, it wasn’t an old woman in a black cloak.

“Why are you in my dream, Lady Verda?”

Verda. One of the former Heavenly Kings and legendary troublemaker.

“Heh-heh. Even though this seems like a dream, you aren’t dreaming, Ginny. I’ve entered your subconscious for a certain plot… Hey! Listen to me! Stop climbing that tree!”

“I thought I might wake up if I jumped.”

“Jeez! I can’t believe you’d even try! I mean, you barely know where we are! You should fear the unknown! Holy shit! Even I’m surprised. Modern humans are out of their damn minds!”

“Says you… Anyway, how can I help you?”

“Oh, right. I veered off on a tangent… Let’s get down to business.” Verda broke into the creepy smile that was constantly gracing her childish face.

She lifted her right hand toward the sky, her palm facing up. It immediately began to shine.

“Whoopsie. Wrong one.”

Ginny watched as a sacred sword or something materialized and Verda chucked it to the side.

Her palm began glowing again…and a few moments later, a tiny bottle appeared in her hand. It was filled to the brim with a clear liquid.

“Something you’re dying to have. A love potion.”

Ginny raised a brow. “A love potion? …Don’t need it.”

“Oh, really? I can practically see your heart on your sleeve.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Don’t you want to be everything to Ard?”

Ginny went silent. If Verda had asked her earlier, she would have immediately retorted it was impossible! Now, though, something was stopping her.

What was it?

Verda seemed to be listening to Ginny’s internal monologue, flashing a wide smile and answering for her.

“Because you finally found some confidence, Ginny. You used to be a negative Nancy before you met him. Even after you became acquainted, things didn’t immediately change. You had a weird way of approaching things. By that, I mean your harem.”

Ginny tried to argue, but realized she had nothing to say. After all, she couldn’t refute Verda’s assessment.

“It was all because you were dunking on yourself. You never thought you’d be enough for him. You didn’t let yourself think you could be the only object of his affection. There was no way. You used to think backward, but now…things have changed.” Verda pointed at Ginny. “You’ve grown in body and soul. More than anyone else. More than Ireena, your rival. That’s why you’ve stopped hating yourself…and you’ve been freed from those strange thoughts.”

Verda approached slowly. “You’re not who you used to be,” she whispered. “That’s why… You have the right to make him yours and become his everything.”

What a sweet temptation. It certainly didn’t make her feel bad about herself.

But…she just couldn’t bring herself to admit this.

It sounded like Ginny was just stringing random words together. None of it seemed to come from her heart. Verda gave voice to the shadows of doubt that she’d clearly recognized.

The corners of Verda’s mouth curled up, as if she could read Ginny’s mind. The scholar held out the small bottle in her hand.

“Well, it’s up to you. No harm in taking it. Right?”

Do I take it or not? Ginny hadn’t made up her mind, but her body started to answer honestly for her.

Before she could stop herself, her left hand went for the bottle as if drawn to a lure…and accepted the love potion.

“Nice choice.” Verda smirked like a witch from a fairy tale. “Okay! Now that that’s out of the way, allow me to lay out the rules!”

“What rules?”

“My love potion isn’t your run-of-the-mill snooze fest. It won’t work just by chugging it! If you want the other person to love you back, you gotta follow the rules! I’ll only say them once, so listen carefully!”

“Um, oh, okay.”

Verda began rattling off the steps.

PREREQUISITE ACTIVITIES

Number 1: You must drink half of it yourself!

Number 2: You must complete any of the three Basic Actions within 12 hours!

Number 3: You will be given one point per completed Basic Action listed as follows.

Once you have three points, the potion will work its magic! Please note the exception related to Action Number 3! Details as follows.

BASIC ACTIONS

Number 2: Kiss your target!

Number 3: Make the target drink the potion directly! If successful, you’ll earn all three points in one go!

“With that out of the way, we’ll commence a fair fight. Follow the code of sportsmanship and engage in a battle for love! See you around!”

As soon as she started to wave, Ginny began feeling woozy. Verda knew it wouldn’t even take three more seconds before she woke up.

“Oh! Shoot!” Verda swore. “I forgot to tell you! There are hidden rules to the Basic Actions—”

But Ginny’s consciousness cut off midsentence.

“N-ngh…,” groaned Ginny, furrowing her brow.

When she slowly blinked her eyes open, she realized she was no longer in the strange forest, but back in her assigned room at the inn.

“Was that…a nightmare…? It had to be a dream… I find it hard to believe the real Lady Verda would understand my true feelings…,” she murmured to herself.

Just then, she noticed a strange sensation in her hand. Ginny slowly withdrew it from under the covers.

“This is…”

Her fingers gripped the small bottle Verda had given her in the dream. The clear liquid swished in the darkness.

“I…,” whispered Ginny, her voice melting into the night.

Before she realized it, she found herself recalling their conversation.

Don’t you want to be everything to Ard?

…Verda had hit the nail on the head.

Ever since she’d met Ard, Ginny had grown in mind and body after experiencing a series of unbelievable events.

Gone was that weak, pessimistic girl.

Deep in her heart, she had let herself acknowledge…that she wanted him to notice her.

I want him to look only at me.

I don’t care if we’re surrounded by the riffraff. As long as I always come out on top.

“…All I need for my wish to be granted is this potion,” Ginny said, gulping as she stared at the tiny bottle. “…But I won’t use it.”

There was true grit in her voice.

If she used the love potion, it would be all too easy to steal his heart. Ginny wasn’t weak enough to employ this spineless tactic, though. Her pride wouldn’t allow it. She would use her own charm to capture his heart. It was part of her identity as a succubus, passed down for generations.

“Apologies, Lady Verda, but I need to decline your offer.”

Ginny got up to toss the potion away.

“N-ngh…,” moaned Ireena in the bed next to her as she slowly opened her eyes.

For a few moments, Ireena shifted under the covers before sitting upright. She must have needed to use the bathroom or something.

Ginny didn’t think anything of it…until…

“Hm? What’s that bottle?”

“A-ah, this is—” Ginny scrambled to come up with an excuse.

Before she could think of something, Ginny’s eyes caught a glimmer in the dark coming from Ireena’s hand.

“M-Miss Ireena…! I-is that bottle…?!”

“…I guess I wasn’t the only one who dreamed about Lady Verda.”

For a few moments, all they could do was breathe and take in the situation before they sat down on their beds across from each other. Befuddled, they clutched their little vials.

Silence hovered over them…until Ireena nervously piped up.

“What should we do?”

After a little sigh, Ginny decided to share her thoughts. “I’m getting rid of mine.”

“Yeah?”

“Obviously. What satisfaction would I get out of being loved this way?”

“I hear you.”

“I want him to choose me on his own. Don’t you agree?”

“I’m totally with you.”

“Only a coward would use this potion to steal his heart.”

“Exactly. I don’t have anything else to say.”

“Miss Ireena. Let’s throw these out together.”

“No thanks.”

………

……

…What did she just say?

“U-um, I must have misheard you.”

“Which part?”

“Ah, well… I thought I heard you say, ‘No thanks.’”

“Uh-huh. What about it?”

“What?”

“What?”

“…Let’s clear this up. I don’t intend to use the love potion. It’s the coward’s way, after all. And you agree…right?”

“Then…you know what we need to do about these bottles. Are we going to use them? Let’s say it together… No.”

“Says you, and you have every right to choose that path. But don’t force your decision on me.”

“…That’s not what I’m trying to do. Didn’t you just agree with me? Don’t you think it’s pathetic to use this potion?

“Yeah.”

“And what would be the logical thing to do?”

“Throw it away, I guess.”

“You do understand! Okay. Let’s get rid of them!”

“Nah.”

“Why not?!”

“Why wouldn’t I use it? With this, Ard will only have eyes for me. That would be a huge weight off my shoulders. Nothing you dangle in front of him will tempt him anymore, and I won’t have to be annoyed by you. It’s perfect.”

“…Please wait just a second.”

Ginny’s head was starting to pound. She pressed her temples.

“Don’t you have any pride? Won’t that break your heart? You just said you knew it would be pathetic. Then why would you choose to use it?”

“Well, yeah, it would hurt my pride. And my heart. I wouldn’t want to use it if I had another choice. But…”

“But?” Ginny repeated.

Ireena sighed, forming a belligerent smile. “If this crushes your plans, my pride can go to the dogs.”

Ginny’s cheek twitched involuntarily as she processed this challenge.

…Right. This had always been the case.

Such was the nature of their relationship.

“Hey, Ginny. I don’t know how you feel about me, but I think…”

“Oh-ho. Don’t bother. I feel the same way.”

They snarled at each other, sharing the same sentiment.

She’s my enemy!

“Miss Ireena. I’ve always hated you. After all, you’ve always been his…favorite. You’re lounging in the place that I want to be.”

“Yeah? Well, I hate you, too. You keep wedging yourself in between me and Ard. You’re the most annoying person in the world.”

Heh-heh-heh.

Hee-hee-hee.

Though chuckles poured out of their lips, their eyes shot death glares at each other.

“I’ll take you down, Miss Ireena.”

“I’m gonna crush you, Ginny.”

The curtains rose, commencing a bloody battle between two maidens in love with the same man.

Early that morning, the students started waking up and filling the inn with chatter.

Ginny and Ireena each held their love potion to their lips, downing exactly half of it.

A dialogue box popped up above their heads.

“I hope you won’t regret the next twelve hours.”

“Oh, please. I’d bet my life I’ll beat you!”

Victory will be mine. Both girls wore the stern look of a general heading to war.

After that, they shook Sylphy awake and headed for the cafeteria side by side. The other students had already made their way to the dining hall…

“Good morning, Ard!”

Ireena dashed forward as soon as she caught sight of him, like a happy puppy welcoming her master.

“Good morning, Ireena. You’re in a good mood as always.”

“Uh-huh! Because I’m with you!” Ireena grabbed his arm with a smile as bright as the sun…and pressed up against him.

His arm was squished and squashed between her breasts…as if she was trying to show off to Ginny.

This is normally where I’d grab his other arm and turn up my charm…but not now.

Miss Ireena. You’ve made a poor choice.

Ginny intentionally kept her distance from Ard as they ordered breakfast and brought full trays back to their table. Even as they went to put them down, Ireena remained glued to him.

“Hey, Ard, can I sit next to you?”

“Of course.”

…Then she looked at Ginny and snorted.

She’s clingier than usual. She’s trying to provoke me.

How pathetic. The race has just started, and she’s already made major miscalculations.

Ginny sat across from Ard with Sylphy.

“…Is something wrong, Ginny?”

“What?”

“Um, nothing. It’s just that you usually…”

Ard must have picked up on the fact that she wasn’t sitting next to him.

She answered him with a smile… “Oh. I just want to sit here today. It gives me the perfect view.”

…because she could respond appropriately to any situation.

If she were on the offensive, she would glue herself to his side, too, because it would give her an advantage to catch him saying “love,” kissing him, or making him drink the potion.

However…offense wasn’t the only part of the game. Defense was just as important in this equation.

In that case, Ginny was in a prime position. By maintaining a moderate distance, she could keep an eye on her opponent. Ginny could react instantly if Ireena exhibited any suspicious behavior, and she could switch to the offensive if the opportunity presented itself.

The biggest downside was that she couldn’t go in for a kiss…but this was part of her elaborate scheme.

I’ll start with Basic Action Number 1…and focus on getting him to say “love.”

My opponent will let her guard down if it’s obvious I can’t kiss him. That’s when I’ll go for a surprise attack and plant one on him! Even though this distance doesn’t make things easy, I have my ingenuity.

The key is balancing offense and defense.

Even though Ireena was in the perfect spot for offensive action, Ginny had placed her in check. Her advantage meant nothing if she couldn’t score points.

You’ll pay for provoking me, Miss Ireena. Ginny smirked.

Something about her attitude must have touched a nerve…because Ireena immediately made her move.

“Hey! Ard! Look!”

“At what?” Ard asked, turning away.

Ireena immediately yanked the bottle from her cleavage, and in one fluid motion, she popped off the lid, ready to dump it on his plate.

Basic Action Number 3… She was going in for the kill.

But Ginny refused to let that happen.

“Oh! A fly—” With a small smile, Ginny grabbed a knife…and threw it at Ireena’s fingers without hesitation.

“!!” Ireena managed to dodge it on instinct, but she didn’t succeed in drugging him.

The knife whizzed past the students across from them, lodging into the wall with a zing. They went pale, but Ginny couldn’t care less.

“…? Um, Ireena? What did you want me to see? …Hello? Earth to Ireena. Are you listening?” Ard asked.

Ignoring him, Ireena glared at Ginny.

“Hee-hee-hee. Maybe it was a figment of your imagination,” Ginny suggested. “I don’t think you got a wink of sleep because Miss Sylphy was snoring all night.”

“Huh?! Wa-was it that bad?” Sylphy whimpered.

The vibe was still mild, but something was brewing between Ireena and Ginny—something violent and murderous.

“Hey, Ard! Wasn’t yesterday just the worst?”

“Yes. The world was nearly destroyed, after all…”

“But you saved all of us! You were so cool. I got goosebumps when you delivered your finishing line to Healing Ireena. Can you say it again?”

“Hm? …What did I say?”

“Come on! Don’t you remember? You looked at her and said you were going to yank her by her…”

“Hips?”

“Nope! Here’s a hint: It starts with the letter ‘L.’”

“An ‘L’? Oh. I said—”

“ ‘—Lower back,’ right?” Ginny interrupted.

Ireena slammed her head on the table.

“I-Ireena?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Ginny remained perfectly composed even as Ireena glared at her. After all, she’d just given the wrong answer. The correct response was “love handles.”

Ireena’s switched to Action Number 1…but that won’t do her any good, because I’m ready to keep fending her off.

It was a war of wits.

“Hey, Ard! I know it’s early to start thinking about winter break, but do you have any plans?” Ireena asked.

“Hmm… I think I’ll go home for a short while. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed village life.”

“I think I remember hearing it’s surrounded by mountains,” Ginny added.

“I used to hunt in those mountains all the time.”

“If it’s snowing…won’t you get cold?”

“Hm? Well…then I can just wear a pullov—”

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

“…Nothing. I could just…feel it.”

“Feel what?!”

Ginny chuckled in her head. You’re so obvious, Miss Ireena. You were so close to making him say “pullover.”

But Ginny had seen through Ireena’s plan and tried to seize it for herself.

Even though she’d failed, Ginny had figured out the trick to completing Action Number 1.

Hee-hee-hee. You don’t understand a thing about Action Number 1, Miss Ireena.

The key is predicting your opponent’s next steps—finding out where they want to take the conversation or how you can catch them off guard. It tests your deduction and improvisational skills. That’s the name of this game.

The strategy is easy: Be a closed book and weaponize her topics to get him to say it. It’s about being resourceful, and that’s…my forte.

Ginny’s lips curled as she planned her next move.

“Oh yeah. Did you hear the news about that actor, Ard?” Ginny asked.

“About Reybach?”

“Yes. Weren’t you shocked? I never imagined the esteemed performer basically lived in a pig sty!”

Ireena’s face lit up when Ginny broached this subject. She knew her next move!

What an open book.

“Totally. I was stunned!” Ireena exclaimed. “I didn’t peg Reybach as slov…”

“Slov…,” Ard started

“…Slovenly!” Sylphy shouted.

“Why?!”

“Enough of that. Anyway, I was floored. He may have been a mess in his personal life, but his performances were stellar,” Ginny said.

“Tell me about it. As an actor, he’s belov—”

“PLERGH!” Ireena dove at Ard like a wild animal and used her entire body to cut him off.

“Wh-what’s with you, Ireena?”

“…Oh, you know. I saw a feral plergh and got startled.”

“What in the world is a feral plergh?” Ard asked, understandably confused.

Ireena broke out in a sweat.

Ginny was the only calm observer. Oh dear. I almost had him… He was just about to say “beloved”…but she thwarted me.

She hasn’t gotten a good read on me, though. Her panicked responses prove that.

As long as I keep trying to get him to say the unexpected…she’ll fail sooner or later.

And then I’ll score my first point…!

Ginny skillfully employed the art of conversation to mess with Ireena. The succubus intentionally dropped hints for the young elf but kept shifting the topic away when Ireena got too close. The fake-outs were starting to drive Ireena crazy…

“BLERGH?!”

“O-ow! I don’t think my elbow joints can take that, Ireena!”

Ireena had started injuring Ard. Everything was going according to Ginny’s design. At this rate, she would score the first point.

Confident in her approach, she continued pestering Ireena…

“AY-YO!”

“Ouch! That soup is burning hot!”

…and Ireena’s behavior was starting to border on the extreme.

“HI-HO!”

Meanwhile, Ard was beginning to hate his predicament.

She’s a tenacious one. I didn’t expect Miss Ireena to be this stubborn…

Ginny needed a final push to give her an edge.

Ireena scraped chunks of pie off Ard’s face, wiping him down with a handkerchief.

“All better. I’m sorry, Ard.” Ireena gave him a big hug for whatever reason.

“It’s all right… That aside, Ireena, you’re acting…”

Something rocked Ginny’s entire body.

Time stretched on forever.

One phrase flashed in her mind.

…Lovey-dovey.

…Damn it! Ginny whipped around toward Ireena, who stared back at her.

Her smirk was enough to tell Ginny this had been her plan all along.

It suddenly dawned on her.

S-she got me! It was all an act! She wanted me to block her attempts at Action Number 3. She toyed with me for Action Number 1! Miss Ireena played dumb to accomplish her true goal!

It explained the excessive PDA. Ginny had thought it was to provoke her. It never crossed her mind that the act might be contrived.

Why had she missed it?

…Because Ginny had arbitrarily decided Ireena was below her.

She didn’t think the elf stood a chance against her mind games.

Ginny swore she could read her thoughts:

They always warn against being too sure of yourself. ‘A cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal.’ Haven’t you heard that saying?

When it comes to intelligence, I’m the fox, which makes you the jackal. But even a fox will rack its brains when it’s cornered.

You didn’t anticipate that, though. Your ego got in the way…and basically spoon-fed me a point!

Those confident eyes made Ginny wince.

Shit. Ard was already opening his mouth. There was no time to stop him.

She was going to lose. The point would go to Ireena. A single point, but an incredibly important one. Ginny would have to stomach that…and accept that Ireena was better at everything than her.

That would signal the end for her. If she spiraled out of control, the tide would shift in her opponent’s favor.

“How should I put it?” Ard asked.

No. Stop. Don’t say anything else.

Please!

No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no…!

“You’re acting…very assertive.”

…………

………

……

…

It felt like the silence would never end.

She was the first to accept the reality of the situation.

“What’s wrong, Ireena? D-did I say something…?” Ard worried.

As Ginny watched Ireena take her frustration out on the table, it finally hit her.

“Hee-hee-hee. Justice prevails once again…!”

She had no idea why she said this.

At the moment, though, she was euphoric.

Ginny sipped a spoonful of soup. “Delicious…! Divine…! Want some, Ard? Miss Ireena? Though I suppose we have completely different tastes.” Ginny did her best to suppress a giggle.

“Grr!” Ireena bit her lower lip.

It was the anguished cry of failure. Her expectations had been crushed, and neither of them had managed to score any points. What an amazing feeling.

“Is the soup that good?” Ard picked up his spoon, startled by Ginny’s mood.

She watched him from the corner of her eye.

Phew… The luck of the draw. I never thought he would call her “assertive.” Seems the Demon Lord is on my side! The fate of this battle lies with me!

It’ll take Miss Ireena some time to recover from that one…!

She’ll find no fortune this time around!

There is no way she could possibly recover from—

Ginny was certain of her victory…

Ard spooned the soup into his mouth…

ACTION COMPLETED!

IREENA SCORES ONE POINT!

“……What?”

“Are you all right? Ginny? Um, Ginny? Can you hear me? Hello? Anyone home?”

Ard waved a hand in front of her, but Ginny couldn’t see him.

How…did Miss Ireena score that point?

…When?

“M-Miss Ireena!!” Ginny barked, facing her enemy.

What did you do? Did you plan to fail earlier to get this point now?

But Ireena didn’t look triumphant. In fact, she appeared downright confused.

Even the victor had no idea what had just gone down.

Was this part of her act?

She wasn’t that good of an actress.

…Then, how did this happen?

How did Ireena earn that point?

This mystery was starting to chip away at Ginny’s psyche.

The end of breakfast meant the official start of the second day.

They kicked it off with group activities, the same structure as the previous day. Each class visited their assigned sites to enjoy old Kingsglaive.

During these activities, Ginny and Ireena were still locked in battle, but they weren’t attempting to complete any more Actions after the morning’s events. Instead, they were theorizing what had happened, and both were absorbed in their own thoughts.

It was just before noon. Six more hours left.

“Sorry, guys! I need to take care of some business, so I need some alone time,” Sylphy announced, hurriedly trotting off on her own.

Under normal circumstances, her sudden exit would have raised some brows.

Their current priority, though, was…figuring out what had happened this morning.

“Where do you want to go?” Ard asked.

“Your choice, Ard!”

“Wherever you want to go, Ard!”

Though nothing about their conversation was unusual, their behavior told another story.

Ginny maintained her distance three steps behind Ard. Ireena did the same, refusing to be attached to his hip so she could keep an eye on Ginny.

“Um, guys? Please don’t take this the wrong way, but…you’re both really far away. And I don’t think I’m making this up.”

“I’m good!”

“Perfectly fine.”

“…With what?”

They weren’t even listening to him anymore, though. They were lost in their own worlds.

How to Turn On the Effects of the Love Potion… Or “How to Turn Him On” for short.

For this, we must choose from three Basic Actions.

Action Number 2: Kiss the target.

Action Number 3: Make the target drink the potion directly.

For the first two options, we must successfully complete them thrice. The last option is the only exception, but it’s also the most obvious, which means Miss Ireena can block all my attempts at it.

…But when Miss Ireena scored, she didn’t fulfill any of the necessary conditions. What happened?

Ginny recreated her conversation with Verda.

Just as she was waking up, Verda had said, “There are hidden rules to the Basic Actions.”

Miss Ireena must have completed one to get that point.

What was the hidden rule?

Ginny started replaying the events in her head.

Ireena had earned the point when Ard sipped his soup.

I’m curious about that soup…and his spoon. I imagine it has to do with the latter.

Just before he took a sip, Ireena was slamming the table. That must have mixed up their spoons.

As a result…Ard gave her an indirect kiss, which must be the hidden rule…!

Ireena must have reached the same conclusion. Gone was her antagonistic glare.

Even though I’ve discovered this loophole, nothing has changed if she’s realized it, too. It means she knows to block any indirect kisses. I guess I shouldn’t bother trying this method.

…I thought this game was all about strategy and deception…but I guess it comes down to creativity. The one to puzzle out and weaponize these secret advantages will win!

All the other mind games are the cherries on top. I need to be more aggressive in my approach…!

On their way to the next location and on site, they tried to play out their unique strategies.

“I GOT YOU!”

“DIDN’T THINK SO!”

Was this coincidence or fate?

“Help, I’m falling! I might accidentally kiss Ard—”

“Ah! My hand slipped! Watch out! It’s going to smack your face, Miss Ireena!”

“Yeek?!”

They kept coming up with the same ideas and countering each other. That meant they couldn’t test out their new theory. They were only wasting time.

A standstill, huh, Ginny thought, biting her nails as they traveled to their next destination. I need to devise an unforeseen attack. Otherwise, she’ll continue to foil me.

But any crafty scheme would mean nothing if it isn’t part of the rules.

…I have to change my approach. I need to remain one step ahead of my opponent.

I need to take a gamble…and put all my chips on a single plan…!

It only took a second for Ginny to find another tactic, and she immediately began laying its foundation.

“Oh! I’m feeling faint!” Ginny announced, sinking to her knees on the cobbled road.

She was seconds away from touching the ground.

“G-Ginny?! Are you all right?!” Ard swiftly supported her dainty body.

Ireena’s eyes flared. Any funny business, and I’ll crush you.

But Ginny didn’t shrink back, boldly moving forward with her plan.

“What’s that supposed to—”

“I’m already feeling better. Sorry for worrying you!”

Ginny separated herself from Ard, flashing him a bright smile. Ireena seemed to have her suspicions, but…it was unlikely she’d guessed Ginny’s intentions.

The groundwork is done. All I can do is wait, Ginny prayed, reengaging in their battle of blockades.

Even though they’d discovered this new rule, the two girls were focused on tripping each other up…and no one had succeeded in scoring another point.

This, however, was still part of Ginny’s plan.

It’s about time. She’s starting to lower her guard to my earlier actions.

It’s now or never…!

Ginny closed the distance between them. She was aiming for a kiss…but not on the lips. Her target had a greater surface area: his torso.

Action Number 2 says to kiss your target…but with no specified location. Meaning I can score a point with any area. That could be another hidden rule!

But a simplified plan with reasonable doubt…allowed the enemy to get one step ahead.

“Did you think I’d let you?” Ireena asked, easily blocking her.

Just as the succubus drew near her target, Ginny was hammered by a gale of magic that blasted her away.

An unforgiving attack…

…but exactly what Ginny wanted.

“I-Ireena?! Wh-what’re you doing?!” Ard shouted.

“…I felt something gross in the air.”

“…I’m fine.” With a smile, Ginny looked into his eyes…then promptly glanced to the side. “Having fun, Miss Ireena?”

“Yeah. I had a flash of inspiration.”

Ireena’s arms were crossed, and her feet were planted firmly on the ground. Ginny’s eyes narrowed as she crawled along the earth.

“Um. What’s with the tension? Why are you looking at each other like that?”

They both ignored Ard.

“What do you mean by ‘a flash of inspiration’?”

“Um, could you please answer my question—?”

“I’ll tell you since you’re dying to know! I found a certain way to win!”

“Wait… Ireena. Win what?”

They froze him out of the conversation.

“What is it?”

“I used to think the same way as you: that the one to ‘turn him on’ would win.”

“Turn what on?”

“But I was wrong the whole time.”

“Hello? Can you hear me? You’re not listening at—”

“I’m not like you, Ginny! I’ve got two options!”

As the cold-shoulder treatment continued, Ard started feeling self-conscious.

Not that the girls noticed.

“What two options?” Ginny asked.

“Your only choice is to ‘turn him on’ first! But I can just wait out the clock!”

“What’s so funny?”

“Hee-hee. You just have no clue. I find you so hilarious… You’re pathetic, Miss Ireena.”

Ireena frowned, twisting her lovely face.

Ginny smirked at her. “You’re the one who challenged me, yet you consider running away a victory? It’s as if…you’ve admitted your defeat.”

Ireena’s face flushed.

Ginny’s smile seemed to widen. “Oh, Miss Ireena. You realized you couldn’t beat me, hence this choice. You only want to play this game while you’re ahead, and now that things are looking bad for you, you’re ready to call it quits. How sad. Hee-hee.” She chuckled haughtily.

Ireena’s cheek twitched…but she managed to hold back her anger, electing to straighten her back and proudly cross her arms instead.

“Who cares what you think?! I win regardless. Too bad, so sad. You’ll never beat me, Ginny! Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” She let out a fit of laughter.

She knew how this would end. All she had to do was wait.

“I’ll prove you wrong right now.” With a crescent smile, Ginny turned to Ard. “Hey, are you ready to start?”

“…Can you see me now? Have you stopped ignoring me?” Light returned to Ard’s sad eyes.

Ireena looked nervous.

She has no idea. She’s studying my next move! Ginny thought to herself.

Nonetheless, Ireena’s eyes were bright with the confidence that she could put a stop to anything.

Except there was one thing she couldn’t have guessed.

“Okay, Ard. Come here. Like I told you before.”

Ginny wasn’t the actor in this situation.

Ginny waved him over…and he got on the ground to…

“…Rollover?! …Oh no!”

By the time Ireena realized this, it was far too late.

Ard reached Ginny’s feet…

ACTION COMPLETED!

GINNY SCORES ONE POINT!

Ginny had earned her point.

An instant later, Ireena’s eyes grew wide, and her knees sank to the ground.

“N-no way…! That’s…!”

“Wh-what’s wrong, Ireena?” Ard asked.

“Hee-hee-hee. How unsightly, Miss Ireena.”

“Can you stand up on your own?” he asked.

“Ginny…! You’ve been planning this all along…!”

“Not really. It just occurred to me. I didn’t know if it would work. It was a gamble.”

“…And I’m back to receiving the cold shoulder. Very cool,” Ard sulked, but no one seemed to care.

Ginny displayed an easy smile. “I got him to act out the word love instead of saying it. I thought it might be another one of those secret rules. Obviously, I could only test it out to see if I was right. I got lucky this time…but that isn’t the important takeaway. I was able to execute the plan in my head. Do you get it now?”

Ginny’s smile broadened. “You thought the game would be in a standstill when we both switched to defense. But you were wrong. You can outmaneuver your opponent with full use of your intellect. In this battle, at least. This score proves my point…and another thing.”

Ginny raised a finger to direct at her enemy.

“There is no certain path to victory, Miss Ireena. Capisce?”

All Ireena could do was groan. In this game, Ireena couldn’t win just by blocking Ginny. She needed to keep an eye on Ard, too…which Ginny had realized…and Ireena had not.

Her path to victory was a castle built on sand.

“Grrrr…! This doesn’t mean you win! We still have three hours! Your little tricks won’t work on me anymore!”

“You’re such a sore loser. I think this is an important lesson for you: Your dreams are over when you give up, but with persistence…they’ll come true someday.”

“Got it. I am persisting, Ginny,” Ard begged. “Please stop ignoring me.”

“A resilient spirit will bring you victory.”

“I commend your heroism, but this is so cruel. I mean, look! You’re being mean to me! Right now!” Ard protested.

Ginny and Ireena glared at one another, gearing up for their climactic battle…!

Kingsglaive was home to many tourist attractions. The strangest of all was the ocean in the middle of town. It was a vestige of the ancient world.

One attack from the Evil God had been enough to split the continent in half. Ocean water had flooded the great divide, creating the city’s unusual terrain. Sandy beaches faced the waters, and it was a popular summer destination.

This day was no different. People came in droves to enjoy the summer sun.

But in the evening, the beach was completely deserted. It was like the earlier crowds had been some kind of mirage.

No audience meant no casualties.

It was the perfect place for their final battle.

“Wh-what do you think, Ard?”

“W-well, I think you look lovely,” he told Ireena as blood rushed to his head.

“Take a look at me, Ard. How is this swimsuit?” Ginny asked.

“I-I like how bold it is?” He kept looking away, refusing to make direct eye contact with either of the girls…

…because the swimsuits in question were very risqué.

Ginny wore one that was crimson and high-cut. It was basically just straps. Her white skin was on full display…including her plush butt and sightly breasts.

Ireena’s swimsuit was equally racy. Her white micro-bikini top and thong left almost nothing to the imagination. It barely covered the essentials, leaving her thick ass completely exposed.

However, they hadn’t selected these swimsuits for his enjoyment.

“Um… I… I don’t know where to look.”

“Hee-hee-hee. If that’s the case…,” Ginny started.

“It’s the perfect time for a blindfold!” Ireena cried.

“Oh. Are you going to spin me around? Is this where I smash a watermelon with a baseball bat? I know it’s a summer pastime, but…”

There was no watermelon.

It was never about breaking a watermelon.

“Okay, Ard. Open up your mouth nice and wide,” Ireena prompted.

“A-Ahh. Like this?”

“Uh-huh. Now, I want you to cover your ears.”

“…Um, what are we playing?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I have a bad feeling about—”

““Don’t worry about it.””

“…Seriously?”

Nevertheless, Ard obliged, even though he looked miserable.

Eyes blindfolded. Mouth wide open. Ears covered.

Without sight or sound, he had no clue what they were up to.

Then, he sensed no one around him at all.

“…I think we’re ready.”

“Let’s get this show on the road.”

They backed away from Ard and faced each other.

Their bodies felt light, unrestricted by their school uniforms. This was the reason for their swimsuits. The closer to nude, the more fluid their motions. To prepare for this moment, they needed to eliminate all other factors.

They were ready to fight…literally.

No more time for logic and reason. This was going to be a violent smackdown.

“We should have done this from the beginning,” Ireena said.

They had one hour left and two points each. In the end, they had chosen a resolution that was pure in every sense of the word.

“The winner of this duel can make Ard drink the love potion. That’s the plan, right?”

“No objections. After all…I’m going to win this one.” Ginny’s smile was almost insulting.

Ireena snarled at her.

“Giga Flare!!”

“Windstorm!!”

Their high-level spells canceled out each other’s attacks, creating a violent shock wave.

It was time for a showdown between two maidens in love with the same man.

“TAKE THIS!”

“AS IF!”

They were evenly matched. The stalemate must have vexed the girls because their bickering intensified.

“ARD IS MINE!”

“NO! HE’S MINE!”

They had gone berserk in this magic battle, casting high-level spells that carved out craters on the beach, but neither was winning. Meanwhile, the war of words between the aggravated girls was nearing its climax…

“I CAN LIST MORE THINGS ABOUT ARD THAT I LIKE THAN YOU!”

“NO! ME!”

This started a fight over who could heap more praise on her crush.

The compliments had reached more than a hundred…

“Hff-hff. Looks like…you’re out of magic.”

“Says…you.”

Magic was no longer an option, but so what?

“Here I come, homewrecker…!”

“Bring it, musclebrain…!”

They pounced on each other for the catfight of a lifetime.

These were budding young ladies, though. Punching and kicking was out of the question.

“Owie! Wat oor ou oing?!”

“Hee-hee-hee! What stretchy cheeks you have!” Ginny laughed, pinching Ireena’s face.

“Take dis!”

“Glerck?!”

“Ha-ha-ha! Little Miss Piggy!” Ireena squealed, shoving her fingers up Ginny’s nose.

Honestly? A fight between kids might have been more mature.

Still, they were bound to get exhausted after a protracted period of this.

“Huff…Hff… Why don’t you just… give up…?!”

“No… You…!”

Both were pushing their limits. Even their catfight had failed to give either of them an edge.

In the end, the difference between victory and defeat would come down to mental stamina…

NOT.

It’s almost time…! Ginny steeled herself, observing Ireena and stepping forward.

Ireena had used all her energy and was covered in wounds…but Ginny had some power to spare.

This wasn’t coincidental… It had been her plan all along.

“Haaah!”

“AAAH?!”

It was the love potion.

“What?! No way! You can’t possibly…?!”

“Oh, but I am…!” Ginny popped off the lid and launched it toward Ard’s open mouth with her last shred of energy.

“Hey! Ch-cheater!” Ireena barked.

“According to who? Call me a strategist!”

This was the final phase of Ginny’s scheme. No self-proclaimed intellectual would agree to participate in a barbaric duel. The whole altercation had been an elaborate ruse to deceive Ireena and clear Ginny’s path to certain victory: Action Number 3!

“Miss Ireena! You can’t even move! Which means I wi—”

“Don’t think this is over yet!” Ireena broke past her physical limits, cutting short Ginny’s verbal victory lap.

She leaped to her feet. Who could say where this energy came from? Ireena whipped out her vial from her cleavage and yanked off the lid.

“Heh! Don’t even bother,” Ginny said. “Even if you throw it now, it would never reach him in—”

“HIYA!” Ireena belted, letting go of the bottle.

Ard, however, wasn’t her target. The vial…dropped in front of her foot, which she drew back to deliver a kick.

“What?! Oh…! Our legs are three times stronger than our arms…!” Ginny observed. “B-but mine will still reach him before yours! And that’s a fact!”

“Nuh-uh! See for yourself!”

Every last shred of ardor was directed at their projectiles.

““COME ON!””

The vials went whistling through the air and…entered Ard’s mouth at the same time.

In the next moment, he gulped.

His Adam’s apple undulated up, then down.

“Who made it in first…?!”

The girls looked on with bated breath…until the judge handed down the verdict.

BOTH CONTESTANTS HAVE COMPLETED AN ACTION.

THIS GAME IS A DRAW!

THE CONTEST IS NULL AND VOID!

Null and void.

In other words…there was no winner or loser.

The two absorbed this news.

“Hee-hee.”

“Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee.”

““HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!””

Ireena and Ginny howled with laughter. Who knew who started laughing first? They had depleted all their energy and were left without an ounce of strength in their bodies.

That was why huge smiles settled on their faces even after they’d fought to the bitter end.

“Ginny.”

“Miss Ireena.”

Their battle had been a desperate one. Now that it was over, they had newfound respect for each other.

“There’s no messing with you.”

“Right back at you. I’d expect no less, Miss Ireena.”

They stepped in for a hug, gushing over each other’s strategies.

“Me, too. Want to buy something from one of the food vendors?” Ginny suggested.

Under the glow of sunset, the two beamed as they walked along the beach.

The battle between the maidens had come to a close.

No winner. No loser.

Just two happy girls.

“…Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”

No one was around to hear Ard beg for an explanation on the empty beach.

“Well… They had a Handle with Care sign near the knives.”

“Uh-huh. And?”

“…I thought the knives might be magical weapons in disguise. Wouldn’t it suck if a demon got ahold of them?”

“What ‘sucks’ is this situation! Why would you think knives would be magical weapons in disguise? They didn’t even have those in the ancient world! Even if they were, why would you set an explosive next to them? What if it went off from the heat and impact?!”

“…Your comeback is too long. And too boring.”

“Excuse you?!”

“Eek! I-I’m sorry!”

The vein on Olivia’s temple was starting to pulse in anger. Sylphy flung herself to the ground.

Olivia’s beast ears twitched in irritation. “It’s your fault the inn is a mess! Who sets a trap in the kitchen? Now all the potatoes are ash! How could you?! They only use potatoes from my garden at this inn! And you go around—”

“Ooh. Things are adding up now,” Sylphy muttered to herself.

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“…Sorry, my tongue slipped. Forget it.”

“Why won’t you look at me? Hey. What’s adding up? I promise I won’t get mad. Tell me.”

“Do you promise you won’t get mad?”

“Pinkie swear.”

“Okay. Let me take a breath… I was wondering why the potatoes sucked at this inn! I guess it makes sense, though, if they’re using your potatoes…! That’s what’s adding up.”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha! I see! Ha-ha-ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I’m going to kill you!”

This was their modus operandi.

The third day of our trip officially started after the inn was repaired with magic.

The schedule was basically the same. After group visits and hands-on activities, we’d break up into teams.

Our first stop was the local cathedral.

Since I’d left the ancient world, the Demon Lord had become a convenient symbol for politicians everywhere. They’d created a religion with me as the major deity—which I bet had been an attempt to incite the public in an act of demagoguery. The sect was called the United Creed.

Its namesake came from…my unification of the entire world.

It boasted the largest following on the planet, which was fine and all, but their main deity had some…issues.

“And thus the Demon Lord bestowed great wisdom unto his subordinates: ‘Their movements were as undetectable as a shadow in the dead of night.’”

I hated that my most embarrassing lines were passed down verbatim as proverbs…!

The priest wore a look of reverence as he preached about my cringiest moments… I wanted to die.

“The Demon Lord stood atop the hill and shouted to the refugees: ‘To the innocent, there is nothing to fear. Why? For I am here with you. And nothing in this world is more fearful than me.’”

Please! Have some mercy!

“Wow. It’s just like I remembered. He was always so cringy. Lydie and I used to laugh at him behind his back. He looked so serious! Pfft… Still gets me every time,” Sylphy chortled.

“…Cut it out. He was dealing with a lot back then,” Olivia snapped.

“Like what? Coming up with those cheesy lines?”

“No. He was going through puberty.”

“Gotcha. Yeah. That was a rough time.”

…I was mortified that they had been there.

But what did you expect? Everyone goes through an awkward stage. I couldn’t have been the only one who had a tough time with it.

All adolescent boys have a tendency to be sarcastic, refer to their vision as demon eyes, name their spells Ultimate Thunder, and rebrand themselves as the Destroyer. Right?

I’m sure we all had a time in our lives when we unironically said, “Don’t mess with this guy,” or “You don’t want to piss me off.”

So why was I the only one facing public embarrassment?

I knew I only had one choice: to reveal humiliating secrets of my subordinates. Maybe that would shut the priest up.

…Except…then Olivia would know I was the Demon Lord.

“And the Demon Lord said: ‘Heh! This world is becoming an extension of me.’”

“Bweh-heh-heh-heh! There it is! Cringe!”

“And the Demon Lord said: ‘This eyepatch has taught me that losing sight in one eye lets me see much more.’”

“Pfffft! What? He just thought the eyepatch was cool! I mean, I watched him sizing up his subordinate, the One-Eyed Dragon, and heard him say he was gonna try it out tomorrow…!”

“And the Demon Lord said: ‘These eyes are red from sin. As I fall farther from heaven and commit…acts of valor, they will become even redder.’”

“Yeah, right! He was changing them with magic! Even Lydie thought he should stop because it was so embarrassing! Did he think it made him look cool or something?”

You know what? I was starting to think exposing my identity wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Then, I could shut up the priest and Sylphy. Nothing else mattered in this world.

What was the point of this ceremony anyway? Did they want us to be touched by the words of the Demon Lord? Did they want us to take a good, hard look at ourselves? How could I possibly reflect on my actions when I had to relive a compilation of my worst memories?

“And the Demon Lord said—”

“Bweh-heh-heh! I remember that one! That was good!” Sylphy rolled around in laughter.

“I haven’t said anything yet.” The priest cast her a displeased look. “I’ve been wondering what’s wrong with you. What are you trying to do? How can you roar with laughter at the sound of his word? He is to be revered. This will send you straight to hell.”

A typical clergyman comment.

Who would send someone to hell for laughing at some random nonsense?

…Well, I would do it if I could, but I knew when to restrain myself. See? I could control myself, even if I wanted a certain someone to go to hell.

…Whatever. Sylphy was the real problem. I was worried she would unleash a tirade on the priest (“Excuse you? I could care less about what you think!”) and cause us double trouble.

…I could already see it ending with an explosion at the cathedral.

To prevent that from happening, I was ready to admonish her…

“Hmph,” Sylphy sulked. “What’s so great about the Demon Lord? But…I’m sorry. You have to forgive me now that I apologized!”

I was honestly surprised. I even managed to catch a glimpse of Olivia’s eyes widening.

“H-hey, Sylphy. Do you have fever?”

“What? Stop looking at me like that. I’m apologizing because I’m wrong. Big deal.”

“Yeah, but…” Olivia didn’t look entirely convinced.

I felt the same, frowning with the sense that something was off.

After that little incident at the cathedral, we needed to make our way to the next location.

The Colosseum.

An untamed battle was unfolding in the huge stadium. Every seat was occupied, and the crowd was roaring. We were among them.

“W-wow! This is getting the crowd going!”

“It’s been this way since ancient times.”

“Really? Didn’t the Demon Lord build this arena?”

I nodded, listening to Ireena and Ginny’s conversation. As they mentioned, I had designed and built the Colosseum, which still made audiences go wild, even in this generation.

At the time, I had been scheming to collect taxes, spread propaganda, and discover elite fighters…which had led me to build the Colosseum.

These epic fights made the audience thirsty for war. Nothing about that had changed.

The spectators egged on the warriors. Even Ireena and Ginny were joining in.

…But I was already over it.

“Oh, come on! Are you dawdling? For what? This is an easy job! One and done! Aim for the eyes! That’s right, the eyes! …Aaaaaah! No! You missed the perfect chance to kick him in the ass!” Sylphy spat.

It appeared she was rooting for a specific fighter…which I found surprising. I would have thought she’d be bored out of her mind, too.

Back in ancient times, Sylphy would come to watch games at the Colosseum, but these were aggressively mediocre. At the very least, I didn’t think they were enough to warrant her interest.

Why was she getting worked up? Add that to the incident at the cathedral, and it was easy to guess something wasn’t right.

“Be more aggressive! I know you can take him—come on! Get up and fight!” Sylphy cheered…or lamented.

Ultimately, her cries were in vain. Her favorite struggled to get back up. The match ended, and Sylphy slumped in her seat.

At the center of the ring, a man rushed over to the victor with a magic speaker. This match had been the main event of the morning. Now that it was over, the champion was accepting interviews and smiling through chipped teeth.

“You got that right! This guy was just another pipsqueak!” he boasted.

Either he was playing up his role as a villain or this was his true character. The warrior didn’t show an ounce of respect for his foe, openly criticizing him. This earned him a long boo from the crowd, but he laughed off their jeers.

“If you’ve got a problem with me, I’ll be happy to take you on! Come one, come all! Get your ass down here and fight me! I’ll give you my prize money if you can take me down!” he crowed, surveying the audience smugly.

He was brimming with confidence. No one dared challenge him. In truth, there was no one who cou—

“Wh-what does she think she’s doing?!” Ireena yelped.

“I-if Miss Sylphy participates…!” Ginny screamed.

Their fears were about to become reality.

“AAAAAAAAAH!”

“Eeek! Help!”

The fool had lost all control, rampaging with her Holy Sword.

Predictably, after a huge commotion, the Colosseum had turned to a pile of rubble…!

Somehow or another, we managed to survive the maddening events and approached our free time.

Sylphy was acting suspicious again.

“Um, I just remembered… I need to take care of business! I need some time to myself! Go and enjoy the sights! Later!” she announced, dashing off in a hurry.

We watched with narrowed eyes as she sprinted into the distance.

“How should I put this?”

“Her behavior has been…”

“…really fishy lately.”

Lately, as in since we’d arrived in Kingsglaive. Something had been up with her.

Even though she was never far from chaos…this was distinctly strange behavior. She didn’t sound like herself at the cathedral. She had a tantrum at the Colosseum. Now, she’d run off two days in a row.

“Do you think she’s up to something?” Ginny asked.

“Maybe…the demons brainwashed her?” Ireena speculated.

There had to be some sort of reason for the way she was acting. We couldn’t just leave this alone.

“““Let’s spy on her!””” we collectively agreed, hurriedly readying ourselves to pursue her.

Maintaining our distance, we sneaked along behind Sylphy, taking note of her whereabouts.

She had trotted off to…

“An orphanage, I think?” Ireena asked.

“Seems that way,” agreed Ginny.

The building was visibly rundown and decrepit.

It was one of several orphanages in Kingsglaive. Sylphy entered the lot and gave the door knocker a few quick raps. After a moment, someone came to the door.

It was a withered old woman, likely the headmistress.

“I’m back! And I brought presents!”

“Oh. Welcome. The children will be happy to see you.”

Sylphy slipped into the facility.

“Wh-what should we do?” Ireena asked.

“Sneak in?” Ginny suggested.

“We can use mirror magic,” I offered, redirecting my energy and casting a spell.

It manifested into a large object that was reflective like a mirror, displaying an image of Sylphy as she walked through the building.

Sylphy and the headmistress made their way toward the children.

“Look! It’s Sylphy!”

“Hey, Sylphy!”

“Ah-ha-ha-ha! You’re all balls of energy! Glad to see it—gweck?!”

The unruly children closed in on Sylphy, beating her up. It was a little hard to tell whether they were playing with her or downright bullying her.

“I need to talk to the headmistress! Adult business. Go off and play!”

“Okay!”

“Tiny tits! Adult, my butt!”

“Who just called me ‘tiny tits’? I’m watching you. I’m gonna kill you later.”

As soon as everyone left the room, Sylphy turned toward the headmistress.

“What do you need to talk to me about?” asked the headmistress.

“Like I said, I brought presents.” Sylphy fished through her pouch and took something out.

It was prize money. She’d earned it from beating the crap out of the fighter at the Colosseum.

“This is all for you.”

“Oh…! W-where did you get this…?!”

“I’ll have you know that I used honest methods. Nothing shady. This money is ‘clean.’”

…I doubted any money could be clean if it was earned by turning the Colosseum into a disaster zone and threatening an opponent.

Sylphy pushed the bag of gold coins onto the headmistress. “I think this will be enough to cover your costs. If anything, you can upgrade your meals!”

“U-uh-huh. This would certainly help…but are you sure, Sylphy?”

“Obviously! What other use would I have for it? I’ll be happy if I can see all the kids… I mean, if I can see you smile.”

“Oh, Sylphy…! Thank you so much…!”

“Hee-hee! I’ll come back when I have more! I promise to make this the world’s best orphanage!”

“I’ve gotta go,” she announced, leaving the orphanage.

Sylphy looked like she was walking on air, but we had no idea where her feet were taking her.

“Hm… This is it.” Sylphy halted.

Before her was a single shop. Based on the sign out front, I guessed it was a cheap restaurant.

“Maybe she’s hungry?” Ireena asked.

As if to answer, Sylphy entered the building.

I cast the magic mirror, and she appeared on its display again.

She wasn’t trying to find a seat among the other customers, electing to call out to a worker instead.

“Hey! I wanna speak to the manager!”

“One moment, please.” The worker headed to the kitchen looking puzzled.

It took no time for a dapper man with a suave mustache to greet her.

“Can I help you? What do you want with m—”

“Waaaah!” Sylphy sobbed.

Her behavior was…eccentric. As soon as she saw his face, she burst out into tears…and buried her face in his chest.

“Bleeeeh!”

“Hey! O-ow…! You’re hurting my back…! You’re seriously gonna snap my spine…!”

Before she could cause fatal damage…Sylphy seemed to get a grip on herself.

“S-sorry. I got too excited.”

“Um, well… Do you have any worries in life?!”

“Yeah. One thing. And she’s standing right in front of me.”

“Urp. S-sorry. Anything else?”

“I guess we have too many customers.”

“…Do you want me to stab them?”

“What?! In what world?! I meant I’m short-handed with staff! Damn! What’s wrong with you?!”

“Ooh! No problem! I’ll help you out!”

Obviously, the manager was reluctant, outright refusing her offer multiple times. When push came to shove, though, Sylphy was relentless…and the manager finally caved in and hired her.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Well, what did you expect?

After a string of events, the restaurant was in flames.

In the mountain of rubble, the charred manager turned to Sylphy and offered her two final words.

“You’re fired.”

No surprise there.

After Sylphy left, I returned the restaurant to its previous state.

The manager wept tears of joy…which upset me even more.

Sylphy continued causing trouble wherever she went, and I had to run around cleaning up after her every time.

“Jeez… What’s the point of living…?”

“H-hey! Chin up! We figured something out by following her. And now we know what she’s after.”

Ireena was right.

Sylphy was hitting up spots that had been in the area for generations. In other words, she wanted to support the community.

…Nothing strange about that. Kingsglaive was her second home. I couldn’t blame her for trying to volunteer.

…But that didn’t explain the incidents at the cathedral or the Colosseum.

Was she acting on a whim?

Even as I tried to gather my thoughts, Sylphy was stomping across town.

She must have been hungry, because she stopped by a vendor and bought a bunch of honey bread before continuing on her way.

When she arrived at her next destination, all our previous theories were turned on their heads.

Sylphy wasn’t trying to contribute to the neighborhood.

After all, she’d just entered…

…the largest prison in Kingsglaive.

Its eerie exterior loomed above her.

“Om-nom… Dis hunny bwead is dewicious!”

Sylphy was strolling the grounds like it was her own personal garden.

After watching her go inside, I cast the magic mirror for a third time to observe her.

She headed for a certain room with a single reception desk. It was cluttered with tables and chairs, where people were sitting and chatting among themselves.

It seemed to be some sort of visitation room. Sylphy went up to the counter as she continued chewing on her bread.

“Om-nom. Do I have permission to see Daniel?”

The man at the desk looked stressed. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

Sylphy frowned. “…Why not?”

“As I informed you the other day, he’s a danger to society…awaiting his execution, which is in a few days. There’s no saying what he’ll do.”

“No problem. I’ll take full responsibility for his actions. Just let me see him.”

“…Unless you have explicit permission, I’m afraid I can’t allow that.”

“Please,” she begged.

He gently shook his head.

Her young face soured as she banged on the window bars. “I have every right to see him!”

“How?”

“I’m the Raging Champion! Sylphy Marheaven! I came to redeem him! Let me see him!” She continued pounding the bars separating them.

The man quietly clicked his tongue at the troubled child.

“…Listen. Even if you were Lady Sylphy, by some miracle, you wouldn’t be able to redeem him.”

“You don’t know that! He has a good heart!”

“People with ‘good hearts’ don’t become rapists or serial killers. His heart is rotten, which is why he’s going to be executed.”

“That’s not true! I—”

“Enough. Your request is rejected. Forever. Could you please let the adults handle adult business?”

At a certain point, she must have realized she wouldn’t get through to him.

“…I’ll never give up,” Sylphy declared, and with slumped shoulders, she left the prison.

Sylphy started to trudge back dejectedly.

She must have realized this was out of character, because she stopped in her tracks and sucked in a deep breath.

“AAAAAAAAAH!!” she shrieked from the bottom of her chest.

This seemed to help her feel better about the situation. A little pep returned to her step.

As she clutched her bag full of honey bread, Sylphy headed for her next stop.

It was a corner of the slums. Stagnant air blanketed this hub for drifters.

There was one reason why Sylphy had come here.

“I’m back, old man!”

“…Hmph. You’re a weird one.”

It was an elderly man with white hair, a white beard, and white eyebrows. Sylphy joined him, sitting on the bare ground.

“Here you go, old man. I got you some grub.”

“Honey bread? Thank you.”

He accepted it from her outstretched hand and sank his teeth into a piece.

“…You know, you should stop coming around these parts.”

“’Cause it’s dangerous?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Hee-hee. You don’t know me! I’m super strong!”

“Aren’t you gonna eat your bread?”

“Yes. Thank you. You know, my wife—”

“Aren’t you gonna eat your bread?”

“Uh-huh. One sec. Where was I? Ah, yes. My—”

“Aren’t you gonna eat your bread?”

“…Hey, you’re not going to let me talk, huh?”

“Guilty as charged.” Sylphy stuck her tongue out playfully.

The old man shrugged his shoulders and took another bite.

“Hff… I don’t have many years left. Let me tell you an old tale or two.”

“Sorry. No can do. I don’t feel like listening to any sad stories… But if you want to tell me your dreams for the future, I’ll be happy to lend an ear.”

“Heh. My dreams for the future?” The old man cleared his throat, stifling his laughter. It was self-deprecating. “I can’t say our conversations are boring. I’ve never felt this way before.”

“…Are you some sort of pedophile?”

“Hell no. I just get nostalgic when I’m talking to you.”

“Huh.”

“Well, I guess it’s weird for some brat to remind me of the good old days.” He chuckled, opening his eyes to get a good look at Sylphy. “Did I ever tell you I used to be a knight?”

“Yeah.”

“I see. Heh. I don’t want to get any older. You stop remembering the things you said yesterday… But there are some things you’ll never forget even when you die: your feelings of pride and longing.”

“……”

“Hey. You said you’re Sylphy Marheaven, right?”

“Yep.”

“Yep.”

“In that case… Please grant me one wish. Won’t you kill me right here?”

Sylphy didn’t answer.

The old man chuckled. “I became a knight because I admired Sylphy from the holy texts. But…look at me now. A great knight has become a beggar on the streets.”

“……”

“Hey. If you’re the real deal, I want you to put yourself in my shoes. My ego won’t let me waste away and die a failure… I’d rather be killed by someone I admire,” he explained.

“Are you stupid?”

Sylphy jumped to her feet and glanced down at him.

“An ego that eats you up from the inside isn’t worth shit. Listen. It takes pride to live. You don’t need pride to die… Lydie agrees with me, too.” Sylphy stared into the old man’s eyes. “Play dirty. Be ugly. Struggle until the end. Keep on fighting…and then you can die.”

A smile played across Sylphy’s lips. “And when that time comes, I’ll laugh over your death. That’s right. The Raging Champion will see you off with a smile.”

Sunlight shone down on the slums, illuminating Sylphy…who looked the image of a knight worthy of her title.

“…Heh. I see. You’ll see me off, huh? I couldn’t ask for a better end.”

“Hee-hee! Quit talking about shit and live! Hold on to it for dear life! I promise to visit from time to time!”

With this, Sylphy started to walk off, turning away from him.

Her cherubic face instantly became crestfallen. Without looking back, she spoke to the old man, offering him the entreaty of a young child.

“…I hope you’re cursed with a very long life, old man.”

There seemed to be no connection between the stops. We had initially suspected her of revitalizing the local community, but we had completely abandoned this theory…with no other leads.

Our free time was wrapping up. I imagined this would have to be her last stop.

When she stepped closer to the edifice…I suddenly realized her intentions.

She had come to a stone mausoleum surrounded by graves.

I was the one who had this place built. It was the final resting place of our forces…including Lydia.

“…I kept telling myself to stop by, but I couldn’t bring myself to come,” Sylphy admitted quietly, approaching the stone monument with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

She gently placed the bundle in front of it.

“It’s been a while, guys. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long to me, but…I guess it’s been thousands of years, huh?”

Sylphy managed to smile, but…it was a tragic one.

“It still feels like a dream. And how I wish it was… I still can’t believe thousands of years had passed when I came back. I trained so hard for you guys. I’d give anything to wake up from this nightmare.”

…Oh. I’d overlooked her terrible burden because she seemed so cheerful all the time.

Sylphy had gone off on her own journey to train…right before our forces were wiped out in battle.

There had been almost no survivors. But…there had been some people who were saved. Those had been the ones that Sylphy would give everything to protect.

But they weren’t here any longer.

Sylphy was the sole survivor. She never even had the chance to say good-bye. She was the last one standing.

“…This place was our second home. I thought you would have left some part of you behind. I searched everywhere for you.”

This explained her erratic behavior.

“I went out and met your descendants. They’re nothing like you… Well, some of them are.”

She wanted to see her old friends in some way—to feel their presence. That was the truth behind her madness.

“Well, it’s no surprise… You aren’t here. After all, they’re just your descendants.”

Sylphy’s lips trembled, and she reached out to touch the monument.

“Hey. What was your life like after I left? How did you die? Sometimes, I wonder…if you thought of me.”

No one said anything.

This town held nothing more than faint traces of her friends. She would do anything to see them, but they just didn’t exist anywhere anymore.

“…Lydie, you always told us to smile through everything. That was our motto. You taught us to smack the back of anyone who was anxious. We made sure to do that. But…there’s no one here to slap my back. And honestly…”

Her fists were balled tight. Tears pooled in her big eyes.

“I’m not sad at all! Not one bit!”

Sylphy didn’t cry. Instead, she’d put on a giant grin.

“I’ve still got my old friends! Like Olivia! And Verda…sort of. And Alvarto and Lizer…? If I can just find them. Whatever! I’ve got my old friends…and new ones from this generation.”

“And that’s why I’m not sad at all! I know you must miss me, but I’m not ready to join you! My new friends are all doozies! They’d be totally lost without me!”

She looked up at the heavens.

“Watch me succeed! I’m desperate to live! I want to hang on to life as long as I can! And when I’ve had enough, I’ll kick the bucket with a smile…”

Her grin was directed up to her friends.

“Then…I want you all to greet me and laugh over my death!”

Sylphy closed her eyes and began to say a prayer.

…I knew we couldn’t leave her like that.

“Sylphy…!” Ireena cried out, and we all dashed toward her.

We wanted to console our friend, who had become like a little sister to us.

Beep.

Right when we took a step toward the mausoleum, a strange sound echoed beneath our feet.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

…We were blasted by a ginormous explosion.

Sylphy whipped around toward us. “Well, well, well! I got you now, demons! I’ll protect…this…place…?”

Protect what? She’d blown the graves out of the ground…!

I had to stop myself from screaming at her.

““SHUT UP!””

“What?!”

Ireena and Ginny pounced on Sylphy. The explosion had singed their hair. They shoved her to the ground.

“Way to ruin the mood!”

“I can’t believe I got emotional! For what? I demand a refund!”

“What are you talking about?!”

As they struggled, the three of them kicked up a violent cloud of dust. The mausoleum was inching closer to complete annihilation, but…I imagined its residents were probably laughing at us.

I sighed and looked up at the sky, sending a heartfelt message to my sworn companions.

We’ll take care of this fool.

Just…watch over us and laugh.

…Inside me, Lydia’s spirit started to beat.

“She’ll never change,” Lydia seemed to giggle.

“…Tell me about it.”

I smiled back at her.

“…How do you know her so well?”

“Um, well… I-I can just tell!”

“Hmph. Let’s say you’re right. That doesn’t change my decision. We’re going to see Verda’s challenge. I’ve got a feeling we might see something interesting…”

Damn it…! I knew she was planning to use Verda to prove I was the Demon Lord…!

…I needed to stop her somehow, but it was out of my control. I ended up going with everyone to the plaza.

Verda and Norman stepped forward to greet us.

“Hey! Thanks for coming! We’re set and ready to go!”

“With my master’s support, I’ve completed my research projects! Allow me to give you a demonstration!” The bald doctor pointed at his experiments.

I managed a sarcastic smile before turning my attention…to the large stage behind them.

“I have a question. You mentioned earlier that there was going to be a presentation on magic. Will it take place up there?” I asked.

“Uh-huh! And for the public to watch you lick my shoes in defeat!”

“…Cool.”

This was already looking bad. After all, they’d constructed this excessive stage, and one of the former Heavenly Kings was planning to usher more people here. There was no way to avoid a growing crowd.

There was already a decent audience gathered around us. I estimated there was anywhere from a thousand to two thousand people there. I could only imagine what would happen if we started casting spells at each other.

“You got this, Ard!” Ireena cheered.

“May your name be known across Kingsglaive!” Ginny said encouragingly.

For example, Olivia might start smiling. Or Olivia might start smiling. Or Olivia might start smiling…

These three reasons were enough to stop me.

“Hmm. I’d say it’s time to get started,” said the old man.

Next to him, Verda nodded once and turned toward me.

“Okay…Ard and…um… Belman? Get on the stage!”

“It’s Norman… Heh-heh-heh, the time has finally come.”

“Fine,” I said.

Escape wasn’t an option. Even if I tried, it would only make Olivia smile.

I let out a long sigh as I trudged up on stage with Norman. The audience started to stir in anticipation, picking up that the show was about to start.

“You got this! Whatever this is!”

“Ard wins in the looks department!”

“I think I’m rooting for the bald guy!”

The crowd started to cheer in the plaza. Verda went up on stage.

“Hello, Kingsglaive! It’s me! Thanks so much for coming!”

“OOOH! LADY VERDA!”

“I LOVE A GOOD AGELESS ADULT!”

“Get ready to learn about some magical studies…aka A Battle of Lectures! Let’s get this show on the road!”

What in the world was a Battle of Lectures?

“The rules are simple! This bald guy will present first! If Ard admits defeat, the clash is over! But if he manages to show us something better, Ard will win! We’ll keep this up until the bald guy loses!”

…Huh. I wasn’t sure how this was going to play out, but it seemed I’d be able to get myself out of the woods this time.

All I needed to do was admit defeat during the first round…in the clumsiest way possible. That would certainly ruin my good reputation!

“That’s it for the introductory stuff! Let’s get started!”

“Feh-heh-heh! Here I come, Ard Meteor!” Norman bellowed, turning his palm toward the ground. “Behold the genius of the great Dr. Norman!”

When he cast his spell, a sweeping magical circle manifested in front of him. Its size was incredible, spanning the entire plaza.

“Oh? Is this…?” I involuntarily murmured to myself when I grasped his intentions.

“…A flight spell?”

Just as I voiced my guess out loud, the entire audience and I were lifted into the air…for an impressive…twenty celti.

“W-whoa?!”

“I-I’m floating!”

“Hey…isn’t this…”

“…a Lost Skill?!”

The corners of Norman’s mouth curled up when he heard their reactions.

“Yes!” he shouted. “Any spell involving flight had been impossible in our generation! But I have managed to recreate this Lost Skill with modern knowledge!”

He was almost looking up at the heavens in pride. “It’s not perfect! But the future is here! It won’t take long before we all soar across the sky! When that happens, you can thank me, Dr. Norman!”

He roared with laughter.

…If I was being honest, this was…not a big deal. I would have expected a “wow factor” if Verda was backing him up. I could basically beat him in my sleep.

Nevertheless, I was going to admit my defeat, falling to my knees.

“I’ve…lost…!” I would cry with tears streaming down my face.

I embodied the image I’d conjured in my mind.

“Wow. Dr. Norman…”

Now, I needed to fall to my knees…

…but then the unexpected happened.

“Your presentation was weak. I couldn’t stand to watch it.”

…Huh?

“Wh-what was that?! You call my work…weak?!”

Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. Don’t get mad. I didn’t mean that!

I needed to explain myself.

“You heard me. That spell was garbage. Sloppy. Third rate.”

What the…?! Why was I saying stuff I didn’t want to?

Oh no! This stage…must have been the source of my problems…!

I glared at Verda, looking visibly annoyed.

She must have read my mind because her lips curled into a satisfied smile.

“Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you! That stage is a magic device made by yours truly! All lies become truths! No losing on purpose!”

Damn it! I’d screwed up! I’d let myself go soft, thinking this generation offered no real obstacles. I should have known no amount of caution would be enough when dealing with Verda!

“Ard Meteor! How dare you insult me! Garbage? Sloppy? Third rate? Come over here!” Norman screeched.

Wait! Just give me a second! This was all a misunderstanding! I want to admit defeat!

…That was what I’d wanted to say.

“I’m merely stating the facts,” I quipped instead.

“As you know, the study of magic relies on three main components: conceptualization, construction, and application. We test the propriety of a new spell by using magic to construct it and applying it in a practical setting. Basically, it’s about getting the spell as close to the original concept as possible. It’s just how it works. But your spell, Dr. Norman, is riddled with holes.”

“NGH-WHAAAAAT?! What are you talking about?!”

“You speak of a future where people can fly, but your spell only lifts people twenty celti off the ground. You shouldn’t talk big when this is your limit. I mean, it’s just stupid. And—”

Crap! Abort! Abort mission! I needed to shut up!

…Aaaaaaaaah! I couldn’t stop myself! My body was moving on its own!

“I’ll show you my vision for the new generation.”

…This sucked.

My body cast magic on its own, working up a flight spell that seeped out to encompass the entire audience…

“Whoa! I’m… I’m flying through space!”

They had vanished from sight, whizzing into the air. I controlled them from the ground, making them do a lap around the continent before returning them to the plaza.

“Holy shit!”

“Wh-what just happened?!”

“It was incredible! I was the wind! I was a bird! I was a bird in the wind!”

…I just needed to comment while watching their reactions.

“Huh. I’m floored this would even surprise you. You must not have interacted with magic much.”

Is he… I mean, am I an idiot?

Acting all high and mighty. For what?

Oh no…don’t ruffle your hair and close your eyes! Don’t sigh with ennui!

I was starting to make myself sick.

I’d had enough. I needed to die. Someone needed to put me out of my misery.

…That was what the heart wanted.

“I hope you don’t think you’ve won! I’ve got plenty more where that came from!” bellowed Norman.

“Heh. Do you think you can top me? I’d love to see you try.”

I guess I was trapped in hell…forever.

“How’s this?!” Norman challenged. “I’ve developed a magic device that allows anyone to perform a Double Cast—”

“Oh. Cool… And now it can do an Eight Cast.”

“SHIT!”

Please… Please stop…!

“Fine! In that case, what about this spell for full recovery? Look! Even if you cut your nails too short, it immediately—”

“Anyway, would you like a spell to revitalize dead hair roots? Like this?”

“What the—? New life has been found on my desert of a skull!”

Someone…! Anyone…! …Help!

“D-damn! Wh-what about this?! Here’s a spell for anti-aging! There’s no way you can beat this!”

“Oh my. You call that anti-aging? I can still see those laugh lines. I’ll show you what an anti-aging spell can really do.”

“Take a look in the mirror.”

“…What? Is this what I look like? No way. Really? You’ve got to be lying. I’m so young! And…handsome?”

“I also cast a spell for plastic surgery.”

“…What…?!”

This competition was becoming a big mess now that my subconscious was going berserk…!

“I’ve lost, Lord Ard. Please make me your pupil. What do you say? I’ll lick your shoes if that’s what it takes! Please!”

Norman was practically unrecognizable, declaring his defeat.

We didn’t really lecture on anything, I realized. I just administered some cosmetic procedures on Norman’s face.

“Gweh-heh-heh! I knew you had it in you, Ard!” Verda commended as she mingled with the crowd beneath the stage.

“…Can you please tell me this event is over?” I asked.

“Sure! The bald guy is the loser. I don’t mind calling it a day. This time.”

This was more anticlimactic than I’d expected. Knowing her, I would have bet she’d join in on the fun.

“Welp, I have to take care of something. Gotta go! Will I make it in time? Or will I be behind? ” Verda sang, bouncing off with a spring in her step.

…Weird.

I had a feeling the walking nightmare was planning to further subject me to her powers.

Verda’s Battle of Lectures made me stick out like a sore thumb. It meant I had to deal with Olivia’s annoying smile.

“Yoo-hoo! God’s back!”

Verda had appeared again before us.

“Oh… Are you here to put on another silly performance?”

“Nope! I just figured I’d take you to a few local spots since it’s your last day here!”

Though her offer seemed genuine, there was no way of knowing what was going on in her head. Based on my sources, she had not only been responsible for the chaotic incidents on the first day, but also the head-spinning events of the second. Though there had been none of her traps the day prior…I had a sneaking suspicion she’d been busy preparing for today.

I refused to take any part in her pesky plans. My friends seemed to agree with me, since I could feel them begging me with their eyes to find a way out of this.

“…We don’t want to take up your precious time, Lady Verda. I’m honored that you even—”

“No need to be shy! …Or are you trying to ditch me? Because if you are, I’ll air your dirty laundry to the world! Just what is Ireena doing to Ard every night in his sleep? What’s Ginny always up to during class? Or…what is Sylphy doing to Livvy’s—”

“L-let’s hang out, Lady Verda!” Ireena exclaimed.

“Nothing would make me happier than walking next to you!” Ginny shouted.

“I’ve been dying to play with you, Verda!” Sylphy yelled.

As blood drained from their faces, the three of them closed in on Verda.

…Just what did she have on them?

I was especially concerned about Ireena’s secret. What was she doing to me every night?!

“…I’d never dream of it, Lady Verda.”

After all, I had a few secrets I wanted to keep myself.

This was how we were roped into spending our last free period with Verda.

…Our guide, Verda, led us to local spots that were unexpectedly ordinary.

The first was a restaurant.

“I imagine you’re all getting hungry. It’s almost noon… This is my local haunt!”

According to her, this hole in the wall was known for its tomato pasta.

She was right. The food was really good.

“Welcome, Lady Verda.”

“Hey! If it isn’t the head chef! Compliments to you! The pasta was amazing…um… remind me of your name?”

“Welb.”

“Riiiight! Welb!”

After we ate with relish, Verda led us to the next location, a smallish theater. It seemed to be run by a minor troupe that put on a number of short comedic skits each day.

Verda’s recommendation had us roaring in laughter and clutching our stomachs as we wheezed.

“I love these guys. Especially that one actor… Aw, shoot. I can never remember their names,” muttered Verda, breaking out into a smile as the comedy worked its magic.

It could have been a figment of my imagination, but…I swore I could see sadness touch her young face.

…I had purposefully tried to keep my group away from here.

The National Museum of Kingsglaive.

It had been around for five hundred years, and no other institution on the continent could top its reputation…according to the sign at the entrance.

It was true that the museum exhibited ancient artifacts…and a decent collection of objects connected to the Demon Lord.

…To this generation, they were considered priceless historic materials. To me, they were just plain embarrassing.

“T-the Demon Lord’s toothbrush…!” Ireena whispered.

“His bathwater…!” breathed Ginny.

“What a blast from the past. He loved this spoon,” Sylphy remembered.

…I had something to say to the curators. Haven’t you ever heard of respecting someone’s privacy? I could easily interrogate them for a hundred days, if not more.

This was a nightmare. My used personal effects lined the walls.

I wouldn’t have cared this much if I were alone, but I was with Ireena, Ginny, Sylphy, and Verda.

“Gweh-heh-heh! And his erotica! I take it this was his fetish, huh? Hilarious!”

“I-I didn’t realize the Demon Lord was into smut …,” Ireena observed.

“Steamy Night with a Seductive Succubus… Hee-hee. A man of culture, I see,” Ginny giggled.

“I remember this! I was the one who discovered this book! It made my skin crawl, and I realized I shouldn’t be fooled by Var’s cute face! He was a real perv,” Sylphy confided.

Someone needed to strike me down. My stomach was in knots.

“H-hey, guys? Want to go to see his subordinates’ effects?” I asked, cheek twitching as I forcefully tried to pull them away.

…Far, far away from this corner of the exhibition to a room where my subordinate’s things were on display.

“Oh, wow! I haven’t heard this name in ages!” Verda exclaimed, peering into a glass case.

“An Article Belonging to General Locke…? Um… Like your pupil Locke?” Sylphy asked.

“Bingo! Locke was an interesting one, though he didn’t really have anything going for him.”

I remembered him, too. Verda’s criticisms were right. The guy had no real talent.

He was cunning in the worst ways, and no one had a better eye for people than him. He had enough of a silver tongue to foist his work onto others and then take the credit… Basically, he was human trash.

“What? Are we talking about the same Locke?” Ireena asked.

“Isn’t he known as the Father of Convenience? He was a great inventor.”

He’s known as what? Who gave him that nickname?

“I mean, look at all his inventions on display. This magical stone revolutionized the lives of the people and—”

Hold on. I could have sworn I’d seen this stove and all his other inventions somewhere before…

Oh yeah… C-come to think of it, he had pestered me in the past…

“What’s up, Your Majesty? So I was thinking I’d like to leave my mark on history.”

“…That’s random.”

“It’s all I’ve been thinking about lately. Like, you’re all cool as shit. I want my name to go down in history, too! Which is where you come in. Can you help me come up with a plan? Pretty please? Like… oh, I don’t know… maybe an idea for a sick invention?”

“You’re so shortsighted. If you don’t come up with it yourself, what’s even the—?”

“Hmm? Could it be you’re out of ideas? Ha-ha! I guess our ruler is only good on the battlefield, huh. Just another meathead. I guess that makes you the same as Lady Lydia!”

“…Pause. Did you just say I’m on the same level as that dipstick?”

“Yeeeeah. But I might change my mind if you give me a list of new inventions.”

“…Fine. How about…a magical stove?”

“Ooh! Nice! Another one!”

“Hmm… A magical fireplace?”

“You never let me down! You’re the greatest inventor in the world! I knew you were nothing like Lady Lydia!”

“Heh. Told you so. You could also invent a magical staircase and a magical printer.”

“I’ll take it!”

“…Take what?”

“Just talking to myself. Another one!”

…He had taken all my ideas!

I could almost see him smiling… I guess he managed to leave his mark, even though he contributed nothing to the world.

“Is something wrong, Ard? You seem…frustrated.”

“…You know, Ireena, I used to wish I’d experience defeat…but it seems I’ve lost without realizing it.”

My emotions were all jumbled together.

“Oh! This brings me back! I thought I lost it, but I guess it’s been on display the whole time!” Verda chirped, bringing me back to earth.

Our first and final group portrait.

Lydia was next to me. The key members surrounded us.

The Four Heavenly Kings. The Council of Seven. The Champions, Sylphy included.

All my irreplaceable companions.

“I-i-i-t’s like going back in time!” Sylphy managed to say, tears streaming from her eyes as she faced the images of the dearly departed.

I could feel the tiny seed of nostalgia blooming within me.

…I was the most surprised to see Verda gazing at the painting with a far-off look in her eyes.

“Those were the good times. You know…I think those were the best years of my life.”

She didn’t have on her usual eerie grin. Her young face went somber as she tried to piece together her emotions.

“I used to think I stuck by Var’s side to satisfy my own intellectual curiosity. That I was happy as long as I could experiment. That I didn’t care about anything else. But…” Verda sighed a little, narrowing her eyes. “I finally realized the truth when he was gone. I didn’t stick around to perform my experiments. I wanted to…hang out with my friends…who had also been rejected by society.”

Friends, huh. I never thought I’d live to hear Verda say it.

I’d only ever thought of her as a mad scientist who saw everyone else as lab rats. Whenever we used to see each other, she would try to slice through my guts or make me stick around to watch her weird experiments. I thought she hung around me merely as a means to an end.

But I guess it had gone deeper than that.

Ireena and Ginny weren’t sure how to respond. They just exchanged a confused look.

Meanwhile, Sylphy and I were shocked by this revelation… Our eyes were as round as saucers.

“With Var gone, we basically disbanded. Livvy blamed herself and wandered off… Even Lizer claimed to have lost faith in Var and went off on his own. Al…took it really hard. I mean, Var was his whole life. Without him…Al had a breakdown. It was the same for all of us. Even I was an empty husk.”

“You…?” I asked without thinking.

Verda offered me a strained smile. “Yeah. And you know, I finally realized something. That I loved Var from the bottom of my heart. After all, he was my best lab rat…and my best friend.”

Best friends, huh. I couldn’t stop myself from staring at her in wonder. I never expected her to say that… I found it hard to believe, but her expression was dead serious.

“Var gave me some of my best years. Never in my life had I felt so alive. I got to hang out with my strange friends. But…that’s not the case anymore. I can’t even remember names now. I can’t manage to find anyone interesting. That’s why…I’ve become a loner again.”

Desolation settled in Verda’s eyes. She almost resembled…me when I’d been crushed by the weight of my solitude as the Demon Lord.

She sighed and looked at me. “Hey, Ard. Are you enjoying your life now?”

Verda managed a sad smile.

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m having a good time, thanks to Ireena and Ginny, Sylphy, and Lady Olivia…and everyone else.”

“Lady Verda. If that’s the case—”

It was a decision even I found hard to believe. My past self would never have let me say such a thing, but this was something I needed to say to Verda right now.

I needed to ask her to be my friend.

Just before I could…

“Well…,” Verda started, letting the disturbing smile creep onto her face again. “I imagine my life is about to get more interesting.”

Her twisted lips let out a little giggle…

There was no warning for what was to come.

Our eardrums rang when something exploded.

“…?! Wh-what was that?!” Ireena yelped.

“It sounded far away from the museum,” Ginny observed.

“Let’s go outside!” shouted Sylphy.

We scrambled after Sylphy toward the exit, parting through the confused visitors. When we stepped back out onto the main road…the situation unfolded before our eyes.

“Eeek?!”

“D-Demons! The demons are coming!”

The public was swarming in mass panic. Their screams were canceled out by the explosions.

The entities directed their magic to the ground and buildings, setting off a chain of annihilation. They were half-human, half-beast, and terribly repulsive.

I could feel doubt and suspicion taking root in my heart.

It was an impossible situation.

From the beginning of the school trip, I had been casting a detection spell to keep an eye on the entire city, but hadn’t picked up anything that could indicate demons.

Plus, it was weird that the demons were rampaging. I’d heard their population had dipped to an all-time low. It would have been reckless for them to carry out a random attack.

That was why they always had a reason for their raids.

There had been no suspicious activity before this. That was fact.

“Huh. Something’s fishy…but let’s focus on deescalating the chaos,” I murmured, casting attack spells, five per enemy to cover the five elements.

In total, sixty-eight sets of spells, each with five magic circles, manifested in the empty sky and below their feet…

Lightning. Fire. Icicles. Wind blades. Boulders.

They pummeled the demons, though I held back from killing them.

I didn’t reap lives unworthy of taking. My pride meant I would limit my powers to suit this need.

When the magic touched my targets, though, their bodies practically disintegrated into shiny dust.

“…What?”

“…Oh?”

“Um, wh-what’s going on?”

“A-all I know is the demons disappeared.”

“It was like, shling! And then bam! Gone!” Sylphy explained.

I placed my hand on my chin, thinking through this unexpected phenomenon. Even the demons left behind corpses. They didn’t just dissolve into nothing.

“Homunculi! They’re definitely Homunculi! Not demons!” Verda exclaimed, bouncing up and down as she voiced my theory.

“H-Homunculi…?”

“Then this incident…”

“…was orchestrated by that bald guy…Norman?!”

The memory of Norman explaining his research was still fresh in our minds.

But the offender couldn’t have been Norman.

“His findings were based on chaos theory, but these entities had to have been created by another theory altogether. I hate to say this…but Norman doesn’t have the knowledge to produce those Homunculi. I find it hard to believe he’s behind this,” I explained.

Then who could it be?

I cast my gaze on a certain individual.

At that moment, my ears started ringing from the blast.

…Crumbling into chaos, the entire town seemed to be overrun with demons.

“I guess there’s no way around it. We have to focus on saving the city first. Then we can search for the offender.”

We were all on the same page. No one raised any objections.

“Okay, let’s go—”

We were about to race over to suppress the rampaging demons when…

AWOOOOOO…

Echoing through the streets came a monster’s ominous howl.

My body instantly broke into a cold sweat.

“It can’t be…”

My vision was flooded by the worst scene imaginable.

“Ngh?!” Ireena gasped.

“Wh-what is that…?”

“…We’re donezo,” Sylphy breathed.

Ireena and Ginny gaped, eyes wide in terror. Sylphy started to perspire as the reality of the situation dawned on her.

Something was rising in the far distance, parting with the ground and floating toward the sky…

…My beloved castle. Castle Millennion.

“Gweh-heh-heh! Oh boy! Bad news! We’re in for it now! Castle Millennion is in Battle Mode!”

“B-Battle Mode?”

“Wh-what does that mean, Lady Verda?”

“Hm? Var’s castle is the greatest piece of architecture…and the strongest magic weapon in the world! It usually functions as a normal castle, but when its surroundings are under attack, it enters Battle Mode! It’s absurdly overpowered. It has enough magic to annihilate an Evil God!”

“R-really…?!”

“I-if the demons ever control it…!”

“Then humanity will go extinct in the blink of an eye! Gweh-heh-heh!”

“This is no time to joke!” Sylphy snapped.

She was right. This was no laughing matter…

But neither was it a time to cry out in despair.

“If the records are correct, there are two stages of Battle Mode.”

“Uh-huh. Battle Mode serves as the castle’s safety net to prevent the enemy from seizing it! We’re seeing the first phase! It shows the enemy that it’s about to take the offensive by going airborne. After a set period, it’ll start transforming itself. That’s the second phase!” Verda explained.

“We should infiltrate the castle to stop it,” Ginny continued.

“Then we better hurry! At this rate, the whole town…no…the entire world will be in danger!” Sylphy shouted.

“I imagine Lady Olivia and the knights can handle the civilians. We’ll pay the castle a visit,” I declared.

We looked at each other and nodded in unison. Sprinting as fast as our legs would take us, we headed for the Demon Lord’s castle.

I wanted to teleport there, but…the Homunculi had set countermeasures. The entire city was under a sealing spell that prevented any type of mobilization magic, including teleportation. I was rendered useless.

I could probably manage to find an exception to the rule if I took the time to analyze their spell…but the clock was ticking. It made more sense to set off for our destination on our own two feet.

On our way there, we took care of the demons and secured the citizens’ safety.

But…the people technically weren’t saved. After all, the enemy hadn’t even laid a single scratch on the populace.

It was so peculiar. The Homunculi destroyed only the buildings, showing no aggression toward humans. They would occasionally unleash spells on fleeing crowds…but only to make craters on the ground.

It was like they were toying with us.

…I was starting to think my theory was right as I continued racing forward with everyone else.

I stopped when I saw a group of human-shaped shadows whizzing toward us.

Homunculi.

“Well, well, well. Isn’t this a nostalgic lineup?” Verda said.

Standing before us were the heroes of the ancient past.

“I-I remember some of these faces from the ancient world,” Ireena observed.

“That’s Lady Lydia’s former slave…!”

Ireena and Ginny started to sweat, petrified.

“Hah!” Sylphy laughed instead. “Fakes will always be fake! You’re an easy job compared to the real deal!” Her chest puffed up in pride.

She was right. Even though their appearances suggested otherwise, it seemed unlikely their power could replicate the originals’.

But in any case…there were enough of them to keep us preoccupied. We’d run out of time if we stopped here.

Which meant…

“Ard! And Verda! Leave this to us! We’ll take care of these guys!”

…This was our only option.

“Ireena. Ginny… Will you be all right?”

They straightened their shoulders and looked at me.

“Duh! Three of us will be more than enough!” Ireena boomed.

“Miss Sylphy is right. You should go ahead. If there’s another surge of Homunculi, I trust you’ll come save us.”

…They had really matured during our trip to the past. I had full faith in them.

“Got it. Let’s go, Lady Verda.”

“You got it, buster!”

We launched ourselves at the same time, vaulting over the heads of the crowd. The Homunculi stood ready to shoot us down, but…

“Don’t even think about it! Demise-Argis!” Sylphy summoned the Holy Sword, gripping it tight and furiously rushing in.

“I won’t let you steal the limelight!” Ireena shrieked.

“I got your back, Miss Sylphy!”

“May victory smile on you…!”

Even though I was concerned for their welfare, I elected to trust them, dashing forward without looking back once.

The road ahead was relatively quiet. No formidable opponents barred our way…

“Let’s jump, Lady Verda.”

“Aye-aye, captain! Time for a little infiltration!”

We were still unable to cast any flight spells because of their countermeasures. We weaponized our strengthening magic to enhance our physical abilities and vaulted forward.

We leaped through the blue sky until we reached the castle.

“Pardon us.”

In that instant, I struck the gate with a lightning spell and blasted it to smithereens.

We entered Castle Millennion.

“Our destination is the center of the castle. Hurry, Lady Verda.”

“I can feel you’re anxious. But that’s what makes it fun! Gweh-heh-heh!”

Side by side, we ventured further inside.

…Something about being with her made me miss the old days. We’d done this sort of thing together back then, too. Hard to believe I was forced to relive these experiences in modern times. Déjà vu.

The circumstances back then had been a little different. If my theory was correct, we’d—

I never got a chance to finish that thought.

The wall in front of us was pulverized, stopping us from progressing down the wide corridor.

“Look at that! A wild Champion has appeared!” Verda squealed.

The dust settled to show…sweeping silver hair. Unruffled composure. An ethereal beauty.

Lydia.

“……” She remained wordless as one hand gripped her special weapon.

The Holy Sword Vald-Galgulus…or at least a perfect replica.

Homunculus Lydia carried it, nimbly rushing at us faster than the speed of sound.

Good grief. I wanted to sigh.

Did the mastermind of this whole plot think I’d have a mental breakdown? Because they were selling me short, if that was the case.

“……Ngh!”

When I was within her range, Homunculus Lydia swung her sword over her head, crashing it down on me.

I stepped slightly to the side to dodge her supersonic slash and quickly returned the favor, striking her delicate chin.

She stumbled back. I took her powerless arm and snapped it at the joint.

…She was so feeble. No clue how to fight.

Real Lydia would have headbutted me before I had the chance to go for her joints. This one was nothing more than a cheap counterfeit.

“Pardon me.” I took the sword that had fallen from her broken arm. “Return to the dumpster.”

Without hesitation, I slashed Homunculus Lydia diagonally from the shoulder, splitting her in two. She instantly burst into dust.

“…Let’s go.”

“Gweh-heh-heh! You never let me down, Ard! Looked as easy as pie!” Verda gripped her stomach, practically crying from laughter.

We hustled farther into the castle, running up to the second and third floors until we finally arrived at the very top. We made our way to the inner sanctum, and…flung open a large door leading to a certain room.

It was Castle Millennion’s Mode Control Room.

“As I suspected, Castle Millennion changed modes because of a Homunculus made in his image.”

It wasn’t really my place to say this, but the form silently staring at us was…beautiful.

Pure white hair cascaded down his back. Skin nearly translucent. Beauty forged by heaven. God must have spent extra time on him.

With every step, flowers bloomed from the ground. Any eye contact that lasted longer than three seconds was sure to make anyone swoon.

He was a Homunculus of the Demon Lord…which made him a Homunculus of myself when I was Varvatos.

“…According to the texts, only the Demon Lord can control Castle Millennion. Only he would have the rights necessary to switch to Battle Mode. I suspected his Homunculus might be operating the castle…”

“Home run, baby… Do you think we can take this guy?”

Verda’s query sounded like a challenge.

I smiled at her. “What a silly question.”

Our opponent stuck out his right palm in our direction, manifesting a magical circle that surged in crimson. Red swirls gathered together to form a serpentine dragon that rushed us.

From a modern point of view, this was top of the line. Special-class magic. It was right up there with the magic of my current parents, the Great Mages.

From the perspective of those born to this generation, this attack was close to overpowered.

“This should be easy if this is all you can manage.”

Still, that seemed to do the trick. The dragon burst into red dust and vanished.

“I believe it’s my turn,” I announced, and a magic circle appeared beneath my enemy’s feet.

If he was real or possessed the power of the real Varvatos, he wouldn’t move an inch. After all, he’d evaluate that my attack wasn’t even worth dodging.

The Homunculus before us didn’t lift a finger. Not because he was so formidable.

Because he couldn’t react to my counter.

“Radiant Retribution,” I chanted, and a brilliant white light shot up from underneath him.

It blasted toward the sky like a pillar, scorching a hole through the castle ceiling from its heat. I didn’t want to harm my precious castle, but this would be a simple enough fix.

The pillar seemed to thoroughly annihilate our enemy, leaving us with a gentle breeze in the newly ventilated room. Not even his particles were left behind. It must have snuffed out his existence entirely.

“Phew. I guess a counterfeit can’t compete.”

I sighed a little and approached the magical altar device. If I could take control of my Castle Millennion and return it to its usual setting, things would settle down for the time being.

First, though, I was dying to confirm a certain theory that had formed in my heart…

It seemed there was no need. My opponent had already proved to be one step ahead.

I shrugged at the presence trembling right behind me.

“So, you were the mastermind…,” I said, looking over my shoulder.

“…Lady Verda.”

“You planned to attack me if I touched the device, right?”

“Gweh-heh-heh! Guilty as charged! Bummer! But I’m stoked! This is how we play!”

“…If I may ask: Why?”

“You shouldn’t need me to tell you. You already know. But if you insist…! I wanted to test out which would win—my divine gifts or your untamed power! Well, I guess the experiment is still going!” she boomed.

More black holes opened up with Verda serving as their epicenter.

“My heart started racing as soon as I laid eyes on you! Even though I was a loner for thousands of years, I finally had a new lab rat to toy around with!”

“…So, that’s why you took an interest in us. Or should I say, me. You worked your roundabout ways for the first two days, and now, you’re ready to make direct contact.”

“Bingo! You were a riot! I loved seeing you get dejected over Ireena! You were a hoot when they messed with your head during the battle of love potions! Show me more! Let me play with you until I’m bored!”

I could feel Verda’s entire body playfully dripping with bloodlust. She was like a small child giggling as she pulled the wings and legs off a bug.

She rushed at me with her innocent smile.

“Come on! Let’s get this experiment started! Let the games begin!” Verda shouted, making a declaration of war…

Two things clattered out from the dark holes surrounding her.

They were hard to describe. You could say they looked like toy ocarinas with handles on them. She gripped one in each hand.

“First up are my Destruction Ray Guns! They can blast anything into smithereens with one clean shot!”

The two shots zigzagged toward me like wriggling caterpillars. If this were a different situation, I’d have nullified the attack with a defense spell and evaluated my position…but my opponent was Verda. It was best that I completely dodge all her attacks. If I got careless, she might instantly end me.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to worry about their speed. I hopped to the side to evade them.

“Scary monster! Come here!” Verda commanded.

Just before I made my landing, I felt a presence behind me. Sensing immediate danger, I cast a defense spell partly out of reflex.

It was the high-level Giga Wall. A compact version of it, really.

A translucent gold curtain armored my entire body.

A monster beyond words reared its heavy head from the black hole behind me. The dragon appeared to be a grotesque mash of muscle and steel.

It opened its repulsive mouth, blasting out blue light waves. Because I had cast a defense spell just beforehand, I didn’t take any damage. My sphere barrier took the brunt of the hit, leaving it fractured with fissures.

The interior of my beloved castle was riddled with holes.

“Look what you have done to Castle Millennion…! What do you think the Demon Lord would say about this…?!”

“Gweh-heh-heh! Don’t worry about it! He’d just laugh and forgive me!”

Who in their right mind would shrug this off? In fact, I was boiling with rage!

“I believe you mentioned earlier that you wished to play until you were bored…! If that’s the case…I’ll entertain you…!”

I was going to make every fiber of her being regret damaging my castle.

Verda let out a giant smile, looking at the glimmering mix of geometric patterns.

“Wow. Can’t say I saw that coming.” A bead of sweat trailed down her skin.

I started laying the foundation for my best attack.

“Atone with your life for destroying this castle.”

Angry bolts of lightning came crashing down. The explosions were brutal. Stormy winds had turned to blades gone berserk. Boulders started pitching down on us.

I forced Verda into taking a defensive stance, pounding her with a stream of excessive force.

“Whoa! Hey! Pause! Ard! Time out!”

“No.”

“It’s my turn! Hey! I get to go now! It’s my—”

“You’ve run out of turns. I will continue until I’m finished.”

“Hey! That was a close one! I almost just died! By the way, Ard, your stray bullets are damaging the castle! If you keep demolishing the walls, we’re going to have an open floor plan on our hands! I think Var might get mad at us…!”

“It’s fine. I’m the only one allowed to destroy it.”

Even during our silly banter, I didn’t weaken my offensive intensity.

…Typical. Though her moves bordered on comedic, she deftly managed to avoid every strike…! That was why my perfect castle had now become practically decrepit…!

I didn’t want to kill off this extension of myself. The hard truth was I had no other option.

Verda was wielding something that was at the border of magic. Just as I was born with the unusual ability to analyze and control every situation, she had been blessed with a strange talent.

On top of that, she could combine them with her magical weapons, dipping into an infinite well of tactics… That was where her true powers lurked.

I couldn’t analyze or control her. That alone made us the worst possible match, but I had a plan.

That plan was brute force.

“Hold up! Hold up! I’m sick of dodging!”

“Might I suggest taking a direct hit?”

“Gweh-heh-heh! That’s cold, my kindred spirit!”

Her spells lagged slightly behind standard magic. If I hammered her with dozens or hundreds of magic attacks, there was a chance I could seal her movements. Even the wildest of spells was useless if it couldn’t get its foot out the door.

“Damn it! If it’s come to this, I’ll cast my Origi—”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” I pressed into her with even more intensity, giving her no time to chant an spell.

An Original Technique unleashed the power in one’s soul. In other words…an ability that elevated one’s innate talents to their highest level.

Mine heightened my abilities to analyze and control to their extremes. Verda’s Original Technique pushed her powers to transform magic to their limits.

Tremendous didn’t even come close to describing the extent of this power. It was no exaggeration to say she could destroy the world in an instant if the thought crossed her mind. And not just this planet. It could wipe away the entire universe, space and galaxies included.

But that meant nothing if she didn’t get the chance to cast it.

“Oh, come on! This is no fair! You’re making me do all the running! Why don’t you try dancing for once?”

“I’m afraid I must pass. These awkward moves suit you.”

“Nnnnnghhhh! You’re nasty!”

“You are the last person I wish to hear that from.”

“You know what? Fine! Nothing will be settled at this rate!” Verda stopped in her tracks. “I hate to waste things, but this body has got to go!”

With both arms raised, Verda took on the swarm of magic and was absorbed by one of the whirlpools eating away at the castle. Within an instant, her petite figure was no more.

Normally, this was where things would end. But I knew better.

Da-da-da-da-daaa-da-da-da-daaaaaa!

A strange sound rang out behind me…

“Ta-da! I’m baaaaaaaaack!” Verda singsonged from somewhere.

I guess she wouldn’t die so easily. Not that I was surprised. If she was going to keep respawning, I’d just keep killing her until she was dead.

She could atone for obliterating my castle…in hell!

I turned around to attack her once again…but before I got the chance…

“Here come my two trump cards!” Verda shouted energetically, tapping her chest with her left fist.

Light radiated from within her…and spread throughout her entire body.

“…! Lady Verda! Tell me this isn’t happening…!”

It was a suicide mission only she could carry out.

“You’re altering your spirit…! If you do that, you’ll…!”

“Be effed, if I’m honest with you. But, Ard…” She beamed like she was having the time of her life. “Anything to beat you! As you can tell, I’m the sorest of losers! Gweh-heh-heh-heh!”

As she gave a crazed laugh, she laid hands on the magic device nearby.

This was bad.

Her spirit began transforming into a version of something equal to my own. In other words—

“No outsiders allowed! And…time to pull off an old switch-a-roo!”

I tried to stop her, but it was too late. Before I realized it, I’d been thrown outside. As I floated through a sea of clouds, I stared at my beloved castle.

“For goodness sake…! Playing with you is bad for my heart, Verda…!” I whispered as if I didn’t want anyone to overhear.

I frowned.

Right before my very eyes…Castle Millennion was transforming into the final phase of Battle Mode.

“Woo-hoo! Var’s toy is mine now! Gotta catch ’em all! Nothing is impossible with my genius! Ya-hoo!” Verda’s voice boomed, resounding through the blue sky with some sort of acoustic magic.

It triggered the castle to break down into a million parts, which continued to assemble and reassemble together…until it formed a titanic humanoid shape, a steel giant with a jet-black body and twinkling golden ornaments. It was my magnum opus and the greatest magical weapon.

It was Castle Millennion in full Battle Mode.

“I warned you on the first day that I’d show you, Ard!”

Megalo Sol Ray, I remembered, reciting its name in my head…and the magic circle discharged a nearly infinite stream of wide light beams.

Even in the ancient world, this would have wiped out an enemy army in one strike. I never imagined the day would come when I’d be considered the enemy…!

“Out of all the hands-on activities on this trip…this one takes the cake…!” I said sarcastically, darting around the sky.

The cluster of concentrated beams rushed at me at a ludicrous speed. Sometimes, I dodged them, and other times, I warded them off with defense magic.

…Leave it to Verda to pull off something like this. I thought only I could control Castle Millennion, but she’d managed to hijack it like she’d been born to operate it.

Still, I could see Verda had her hands full. The proof could be seen in the fact that she was focused on releasing attacks with Castle Millennion instead of weaponizing her unique gift.

If she’d been able to use her talents, I’d have been screwed.

“I should give Tempest Flare a try,” I muttered, barely managing to avoid the oncoming beams as I constructed the spell in my head.

I cast a Special-class Tempest Flare, summoning a flood of magic circles around the steel giant.

After a moment, they erupted with volcanic fury. A real firestorm. There was no way anything could handle such an attack, meant to reduce all it touched to char.

“Gweh-heh-heh! This castle is amazing! Var’s hideous progeny!”

The magic reached its limit, and the red-hot fury started to peter out.

Ngh…! I should have known my castle would withstand it…!

Despite the severity of the situation, I found that I was…happy.

My castle was incredible.

“Time for round two!” Verda chirped.

We were getting ready to resume the escape theater featuring me and a million light beams.

It looked like she was casting another spell this time. The piece of armor covering the castle’s knee propped up…revealing a magical circle that dispatched a throng of gold rings.

Negative Happy Ring.

A binding spell. Once caught in its clutches, even I would be frozen for all eternity.

Both beams and rings tore through the air, trying to capture me. I tried to fend them off with a number of counterattacks…but in the end, that meant nothing.

“Ngh…! I can’t believe I’m…happy about being driven into a corner…!”

I felt something like parental pride for a dear child.

…But at this rate, I would never succeed in toppling it.

Which meant I was out of options. If I wanted to turn the tide in my favor, I’d have to use something else…

I prepared to chant the Aria to cast the ace up my sleeve…but something happened before I could finish…

“What’s wrong, Ard? Already at your limit?”

“…Maybe.”

I didn’t really think anything of my answer. It was just what popped into my head.

But…it seemed to signal something more to Verda.

“…Wait, what? Are you joking?”

All her attacks stopped.

There was fear in her trembling voice.

…She’d never spoken like that before. At least, not to me.

What was she scared of? I frowned.

“But… I finally got to meet you! But you’re trying to just…!”

Now she sounded angry, and her attacks resumed. It was the first time I’d ever heard her this emotional.

…Thinking back on it, she always had an smile on her face.

In my memories, Verda was always snickering, with a creepy little smile plastered on her face. I thought that was her true nature and that it would never change…but I’d been proven wrong.

“I was lonely for thousands of years…! No one would actually play with me…!”

We had been the ones who’d placed that unnerving smile on her face…

Me. Olivia. Monsters of the ancient era.

We were the ones who had kept her smiling. But now that those monsters were essentially all gone…there was no longer anyone in this world who could make that happen for the beast known as Verda.

“When I saw you, it was like I’d traveled back in time! Are you still planning on betraying me?!”

A lonely behemoth. No other words suited her.

…I see. It finally hit me…that she hadn’t changed… Neither had her feelings of isolation.

“Please…don’t…leave me here all by myself!” Verda shouted, her voice thick with emotion.

I had finished preparing the answer I knew I had to give.

All roads lead to despair.

That is the way of life for a pitiful man.

I began my Original Technique through the deluge of her attacks, beams and rings blasting toward me, but I managed to hedge them.

My heart went out to Verda.

For there are those who follow his lead,

But none to rule together with him.

She was just like me. Rejected by society. A strange monster like no other.

There is not one who understands.

That was why…

All are eager to leave his side.

Verda had always been alone. But by meeting those as weird as her…she finally found some friends.

…And I had unknowingly taken that from her…by reincarnating, which only benefitted myself.

Cast away by his one and only friend,

He sinks into a sea of madness and isolation.

Verda, you can rest at ease now.

Rest without peace.

Drowning in anguish and despair.

You’ll never be alone again, I thought. I won’t allow it.

That which guides this tale.

As a flood of emotions welled within me, I vocalized the last stanza.

Private Kingdom—the story of a lonely king.

Even if this meant I’d have to live a more isolated life…if I could just save her…!

“I’ll play with you until you get bored…!” I shouted, obliging her as dark particles covered my right arm.

They twined around into a chain and…formed a large black sword.

UNDERSTOOD.

SWITCHING TO STAGE II OF FULL BODY TRANSFORMATION.

ACTIVATING BRAVE DEMON.

The snaking light beams and whizzing rings all closed in on their target—me. I glared at them as my body began changing. Shadowy armor shielded me, and my hair turned white.

My transformation was complete. I hummed with absolute power.

“The fate of all creation is in my hands.”

I drove away the magic headed right for me.

One swing was all it took to eliminate the destruction aiming to land the final blow.

“…Heh. Hee-hee. Heh-heh-heh,” chuckled Verda from the steel giant, sound bouncing off the metal. “Gweh-heh-heh-heh! This is what I’m talking about!”

Overjoyed, she continued roaring with laughter, resuming her furious offense all the while. Beams and rings flooded the sky, and Castle Millennion attacked me, weaponizing everything in its arsenal.

“You should know you’re powerless against me.”

I didn’t dodge. I didn’t even defend myself. I just charged in.

Wailing for death and destruction, the grim reaper met me head-on.

The unending rush of attack magic pounded down on me…but I remained uninjured.

“Whoa! Wild! Gweh-heh-heh-heh! Stay away!” Verda shrieked between laughs, moving the metal behemoth.

Its titanic steel fist came crashing down on me. It could have pulverized a mountain, but I side-stepped it…and spiraled around the forearm to the upper arm, cutting it into ribbons.

“N-no way?!” She retreated in a panic, putting distance between us. “How about this?!”

“Oh! I didn’t expect this damage!”

My last counterattack had done a number on the steel giant. Slowly but surely, Castle Millennion was heading toward total destruction.

Which meant Verda was inching closer to defeat.

“Gweh-heh-heh! This is so awesooome!”

She was grinning.

“Having fun, Verda? Enjoying yourself?” Before I could stop it, I found myself smiling, too. “You’ll always be a handful.”

Back in ancient times, I’d thought hanging out with Verda was a chore.

For the very first time, I was having fun. It felt like I was messing around with a friend. This moment between us stretched on.

“Oh. I guess this castle is on its last leg.”

The left side of Castle Millennion had been torn down. The right side had lost its leg. Anyone could tell it had been beaten to hell and back. This round would be our last.

“Okay! Time for my killer technique! Let ’er rip!!”

The castle’s remaining arm stretched out an open palm. In that next moment, the giant began to rumble…and the entire hand began glowing gold.

“I see what you’re about to do. In that case…!” I prepared to cast another major technique.

“Code: Sigma. Ready.”

UNDERSTOOD.

ULTIMATUM ZERO. PLEASE STAND BY.

Seven magic circles layered on top of each other before me.

CHARGING MAGIC ENERGY. 30%… 40%…

They began to rotate, gonging like giant bells.

“Gweh-heh-heh-heh! No hard feelings, Ard!”

My opponent seemed ready. The golden glimmer in the center of the palm shielded its entire body.

MAGIC ENERGY HAS REACHED 100%. READY TO FIRE AT ANY TIME.

I pointed the black sword’s tip at my beloved castle.

A beat hadn’t even passed between us.

“Ultimatum Zero, fire!”

“Violent Bloom, shoot!”

Two waves broke out at the exact same time.

A cascade of black and gold. A waterfall.

They collided to generate a shock wave across the world. The city of Kingsglaive received the brunt of it, causing many of the buildings to fall to rubble. The two waves maintained their competitive torrent of destruction.

Finally, the equilibrium shifted. My dark wave started to drown out the golden one…

“Gweh-heh-heh-heh! I lost this ti—”

It swallowed Verda’s voice coming from the giant.

…A few seconds ticked by. The magic had reached its limit, and the jet wave died out. Castle Millennion had been in the direct line of fire from the destructive maelstrom…

…and not even a trace of its original form remained.

The giant’s stomach containing the control room was the only section left. Everything else was gone. We couldn’t continue the battle if we tried.

As if to prove my point, Castle Millennion began to crumble. Debris rained down.

“…Back to the castle site, huh?”

There was no one around the giant hole the castle had left behind. There was no need to worry about people getting caught up in the dust that settled back on the earth.

I sighed and canceled my spell. Reassuming my usual form, I used a flight spell to descend.

“Gya-ha-ha-ha… Seems I lost big time…”

I turned my head in the direction of the voice.

“It would appear that way.”

A petite body sank to the bare earth. Verda was disintegrating into particles… Half of her had already vanished.

…It was the price for restructuring her spirit.

Even for Verda, it had been reckless. At this point, there was no way to save her. Even if she resisted, Verda would die.

…She must have known that better than anyone.

“Ah, that was fun! I have the most fun when I’m hanging out with you.”

Verda looked at me and smiled. It was flippant and weird.

“…You know, I’ve always found your expression creepy. But it’s so strange. It never ruined my mood.”

Verda’s smile grew even eerier.

“Finally… Took long enough. I’m back to living in my self-indulgent…wa…”

Her words cut off. Verda’s entire body turned to dust, spiraling up toward the sky.

Eventually, even the smallest fragments of her disappeared…and returned to nothing.

“…Verda.”

I looked up at the horribly blue sky.

“You can’t just bail and leave me to clean up the mess.”

I chuckled to myself.

“You’re a terrible friend.”

Ireena and I looked at each other.

“I gotta say, there hasn’t been a dull moment since we got here,” she said.

“Yes. I long to have too much time on my hands,” I replied.

We shrugged our shoulders.

“We’ll visit posthaste. Will you guide us?” I asked.

“Of course. Let us go.”

We braced ourselves to get mixed up in more chaos…