Chapter 1: Academy Arc—The Argent Knight Incident Part 1

1. Please Teach Me, Mr. Orthoaguina

“Now, with all that out of the way, why don’t I hear you out?”

“With all what out of the way?!” I snapped. “I just got here!”

I’d come all the way out to the Grand Archival Tower at Orthoaguina’s behest, and incredibly, that was the first thing out of the black dragon’s mouth.

It’d been three weeks since the incident at the Grand Archival Tower, and I was still here at Kairomea. Restoration efforts had been proceeding swiftly and smoothly, thanks especially to the aid of Orthoaguina, the ancient “Philomath Dragon” who’d created Kairomea and who was now enshrined in the center of the tower. Now that life had just about returned to normal for the town’s residents, he’d invited me to meet him here for what was so far looking like some kind of attempt at a joke.

“Ba ha ha,” Orthoaguina chuckled. “You didn’t come all the way out to Kairomea to resolve the incident at the tower, did you? No, you arrived with a more important mission at hand. Am I wrong?”

Uh, well, you’re not wrong, exactly, but maybe we’re overstating the gravity of my goals a bit here... Thanks to his question dripping with expectation, the nearby librarians bustling around immediately began whispering excitedly to each other.

It sure was seeming impossible to have a quiet conversation with this massive dragon and his loud, booming voice. Although, to be fair to him, he may have actually been doing his best to keep his voice down and I just couldn’t tell due to his size...

“U-Uh, well, this is a little...personal, you know? I’d love to speak with you in a more private location, eh heh.” I was doing my best to act adorably shy, stammering and shifting around awkwardly with everything I had in an attempt to take this conversation elsewhere. I wasn’t sure if this tactic would work on a dragon, but it was worth a shot.

“You want privacy, do you?” Orthoaguina asked. “We could’ve met more discreetly in the upper tower, but if memory serves, you destroyed that entire area, rendering it unusable.” Sure enough, not only did he dismiss my plea for privacy, he took it as an opportunity to launch some false accusations my way.

“How rude!” I cried. “It was your breath that made half the mess, and Snow had no small part in it too! I’ll ask that you kindly refrain from misleading people into pinning it all on me, thanks!”

With Operation Quiet Convo a total bust, I had no choice but to pivot to Operation Try to Keep Everyone Watching from Getting Crazy Ideas About Me—and to do that, my first step was to come clean. “I-It wasn’t anything serious, really,” I mumbled. “I...came here to find a topic for my academy report. And, um...” I trailed off, growing more embarrassed by the second. My reasoning felt far too childish and trivial when I was laying it out before the legendary dragon enshrined within the massive archival tower.

“Is that so...?” Orthoaguina mused. “So, you came here in pursuit of knowledge, just like I did. How very interesting.”

Uh, wait, no. You can’t possibly mention me in the same breath as you! I’m just a kid doing homework over here! I’d intended to come off as completely honest about my goals, but I was getting the vibe that, for some reason, he was trying to probe for a hidden layer to what I’d said. Surely I’m just imagining things, right?

“Then let us discuss,” Orthoaguina began. “What shall we talk about? Knowing you, I assume you want to know about an eighth-order spell, or perhaps learn something about God—”

“Whoa there! Stop! Time out!” I interrupted. I didn’t have any second thoughts about putting the kibosh on all that stuff that was way out of my league. “That all sounds way too complicated and grandiose for a regular old student! Let’s dumb things down a few notches, okay?!”

“Oh? I have no doubt that an ordinary student could follow a discussion on those topics.”

“Not a chance. Not everyone’s a born genius like yourself.”

“Hmm... In that case, how about you present the topics up for discussion? Even very general ideas would suffice—surely you’ve come having envisioned something or other.” Given his large head leaning toward me, I could tell Orthoaguina’s interest was clearly piqued.

Frankly, my goal was to blend in with the crowd, so spilling the beans about my abilities here wasn’t an option. Urgh... Is there a way to be sorta vague about what I want in a way that can still clue in anyone who’s in the know?

If Magiluka had been here with me, I could’ve turned to her for some sort of advice, but she was currently with the prince, speaking about the future of the town with the clan chief. As for Safina, she’d left Kairomea atop Snow to fetch a backup of her broken blade from Karshana County, and she’d taken Lily along as well. Sacher, meanwhile, had been utilizing his friendliness to become accepted among Kairomea’s soldiers, and he was busy honing his swordsmanship skills with them. That left Tutte and me all alone to face this dragon.

All right. I’m gonna count on Orthoaguina’s intelligence. I’ll vaguely describe my issue and hope he’ll pick up on my subtle hints. Clearly, without Magiluka and the rest of my friends, my characteristic shallow-mindedness was on full display—so, of course, I stopped to pat myself on the back for my excellent idea before declaring to Orthoaguina, “I’d like to learn about controlling or restraining incredible power. If possible, I’d also like to know how to seal it away entirely.”

I did my best to beat around the bush, but it sort of sounded like an ominous prophecy. I feel like our onlookers have grown quite astir about what I said... Surely I’m just imagining it? Yeah, I’m just gonna ignore all that.

Orthoaguina fell silent—I presumed he was ruminating over my objective.

“Lady Mary, is that perhaps the next order from God?” Sita, the chief librarian, gingerly asked as she stood beside Orthoaguina.

“What? Huh? No!” I replied, hastily denying her terrifying assumptions. “I’m not referring to anything ominous like that. I’m just looking for a topic for my report.” I hadn’t expected her to take things that way.

“Lord Orthoaguina?” Sita asked. She didn’t seem wholly satisfied with my denial, but more than that, she was curious about Orthoaguina’s quiet contemplation and looked up at him quizzically.

“Oh? Ah, apologies,” Orthoaguina replied. “I was feeling like I’d heard a desire like Mary’s before, but I couldn’t quite identify who had made it. Thankfully, my memories have returned to me—there was indeed another person who asked the same question of me many years ago.”

I couldn’t hide my shock. Was there someone in the past who had the same problems as me? A faint hope glimmered in my heart as I nervously faced the dragon.

“Wh-Who might that be?” I asked.

“I didn’t ask for his name,” the dragon replied, “but I do know others referred to him as the Argent Knight.”

I was at a loss for words. Wait... Wait a sec... Was the Argent Knight in the same boat as me?

2. Theme Acquired!

“The Argent Knight?” I gasped. “Uh, could you tell me more about that?”

“While I was still sealed away, he visited the Grand Archival Tower,” Orthoaguina explained. “No doubt he was here to do some research. He stayed for a while to read several books, and peculiarly, he maintained his full suit of armor the entire time. Suffice it to say my interest was piqued.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s a little odd...” I gave a strained smile as I imagined a handsome knight dressed in armor from head to toe perusing a library. I guess that’s how it goes when you’re the hero of Aldia...

“Naturally, I decided to indulge my curiosity, so I ordered the chief librarian at the time to use the Book of Orthoaguina to enable me to speak with this fascinating knight. I asked him what he desired—I believe he understood what manner of being he was talking to, as after a few moments’ consideration, he chose to reveal the thoughts he’d left unspoken deep within his heart.”

“And he asked the same thing I did,” I murmured.

“Precisely. I could tell from his tone that this was an issue that had plagued his thoughts for quite some time. Ultimately, he never elucidated what he meant by ‘incredible power,’ and as far as I’m aware, I never again heard any tales of his heroism. Speaking of which, do you yourself have any intention of elaborating on your query?”

“Nope.”

“As I’ve said before, it is my fundamental nature to satisfy my curiosity. I entreat you to accept the inevitable and bring your concern to light.”

“Don’t give me that crap. Stop trying to pry into a young lady’s secrets.”

“I see... So this incredible power you speak of relates to your maidenly worries. Sita, please inform me what she could possibly be referring to.”

It may have looked as though Orthoaguina had expertly maneuvered the conversation in his favor, but I wasn’t quite sure the two topics were connected.

Caught in the cross fire, Sita gasped adorably before meeting Orthoaguina’s gaze. “Th-The secrets of a maiden...are just that, secrets,” Sita replied. “I fear that there’s no other way to describe them. Lord Orthoaguina, I find it quite ungentlemanly of you to callously pry into the secrets that a young lady may have.”

“Hmm... Is that so?” the dragon replied.

“I’m afraid so.”

Orthoaguina reminded me of a father who struggled to communicate with his adolescent daughter, and Sita was like the daughter who scolded her father—it all felt very wholesome.

Sita’s ancestors were the first to speak with Orthoaguina, and they also served as his first test subjects—furthermore, as the manager of the tower, she was connected to him through the Book of Orthoaguina. Sita claimed that when she unsealed him, her consciousness was linked with his, and she managed to catch glimpses of his memories and thoughts. Because of their connection, when Orthoaguina had fallen, she jumped to his defense. Perhaps he realized as much and was grateful for it—unlike his haughty demeanor with everyone else, he was willing to defer to Sita’s judgment and whims. I was curious about what she saw when her consciousness linked with his, but she claimed it was a secret and refused to provide any further details, so I of course dropped the question.

“The Argent Knight, huh...” I pondered. At first blush, I figured the Argent Knight is famous and I must know all about him...but if I really stop to consider it, I barely know anything about the man himself at all. He was the hero of Aldia and had appeared in all sorts of tales and epics, yet his identity in particular was shrouded in mystery.

If you took it as evidence that his overwhelming power called to mind my own, it seemed plausible he must have actually been another existence just like me—that is, he must’ve been reincarnated from another world. Did his investigating his similar concerns lead him to successfully sealing his power? Did he ever manage to live like a normal person? This has to be worth investigating. Pursuing the life story of a legendary knight sounds like a suitable topic for my report—despite his various accomplishments going down in legends, not much is known about the twilight of his life, after all.

“Heh heh heh,” I cackled. “Very good. Very, very good. I’ve found a path for me. Heh heh heh.” This was the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone—I was going to finish my report, and, if my assumptions were right, I would find a way to seal my powers so I could live like a normal person.

“What’s wrong, Mary?” Orthoaguina asked. “Your smirking face is creeping me out.”

“N-Nothing! Stop being so rude to me!” To think my hopeful smile from contemplating my future would be met with such a vicious insult! Thankfully, I was in such high spirits, I was willing to forgive Orthoaguina his transgression.

“In any case, thank you, Orthoaguina,” I said. “Thanks to your information, I’ve got a goal in mind.”

“Oh? Is that so?” he replied. “I feel like I haven’t done much, but if you need me, let me know. I’ll help out as much as I can.”

With that, my conversation with Orthoaguina drew to a close.

“I’m happy for you, my lady,” Tutte said. “You’ve gone through quite a bit, but you’re finally making some progress on that report.”

She’d simply listened to my conversation with Orthoaguina, but she’d picked up on my steeled resolve. She knew my secret, so there was no need for words for her to empathize with me—she was ever so compassionate and ever so important to me.

“Thanks,” I replied. “Finally, I’m a step closer to graduation. Well, now that that’s settled, let’s meet up with Magiluka. I need to touch base with her.” She was, of course, another irreplaceable friend of mine who was sympathetic toward my concerns and who guided me on the right path.

All that nice stuff said, I did not plan to hesitate for a second on good old tried and true: immediately going to get help from my friend.

“My lady...” Tutte scolded me. She seemed to have picked up on my intentions, and she looked a touch troubled by how readily I had given up on independent thought.

“Aw, come on!” I whined. “I don’t really know how to do research on my topic!”

As I began to throw a tantrum, a certain chief librarian approached me. “Heh heh heh, I see that you’re in a spot of trouble, Lady Mary,” Sita said. “If it’s research you need assistance with, Chief Librarian Sita of the Grand Archival Tower is at your service.”

Fair enough. If I’m gonna do some research here, I may as well get help from an expert.

“Are you allowed to waste time on me?” I asked. “You must be pretty busy yourself.”

“My top priority is to assist you, Lady Mary,” Sita replied. “I’m sure that the staff of the tower will understand.”

“Really?”

“Really! Now, where shall we start?”

“W-Well, I’d like to consult Magiluka first and foremost.”

I simply couldn’t help but want to consult with Magiluka, no matter how personal this issue was to me. If she ended up shaking her head at the idea, I knew I’d immediately abandon ship. I was so dependent— I mean, utterly reliant— I mean... Okay, maybe there was no good word to justify my actions, but truth be told, without her stamp of approval, I would never have felt certain that I was on the right path. I didn’t want that worry to loom in my mind.

“Magiluka and His Highness must currently be speaking with my father,” Sita said. “I planned to join in later, so they’re using the chief librarian’s office. This is perfect timing. Shall we mosey on over there?”

She eagerly stepped forward and took the lead. Left with no other choice, Tutte and I followed, leaving Orthoaguina’s central room behind us.

3. So Much Speculation

I headed for the chief librarian’s room, where Magiluka was supposedly at, while I recalled my conversation with the prince right after the Kairomea debacle drew to a close...

The topic at hand was my healing magic. I was able to use a high-order spell without any formal training—I couldn’t blame people for peppering me with questions.

“I kinda studied on my own and learned the spell. Tee-hee! ♪” I said, laughing and trying to play it off.

“Lady Mary, you always exceed my expectations. I’m consistently shocked by your actions,” His Highness replied frankly.

While everyone was surprised by my ability, no one questioned the fact that I’d managed to learn such a complex spell on my own—“I mean, this is Lady Mary we’re talking about, after all,” everyone’s faces seemed to imply. I wasn’t too happy with this turn of events; was it really fine to leave things like this?

“Well, this tower was a wealth of grimoires and information,” I insisted. “I was lucky that I was able to use the spell, but it’s all thanks to the tower. It’s all because of this tower.” No one had asked, but I was too faint of heart to handle leaving things be, so I began to prattle on with my excuses, blaming it all on the tower. Everyone nodded along politely, but I wasn’t sure if I was really getting through to them. (For my feelings on this, please refer to the last sentence of the prior paragraph.)

“Lady Mary, why don’t you just call yourself a holy woman at this point?” Sacher suggested, at last breaking the silence.

“Sacher, there are things that you can and cannot say,” I admonished.

“Huh? Did I say something worth getting upset over?”

“You did! I’m no holy woman! Claiming I’m one would be rude to the real deal!” I snapped.

“Would it?”

“In any case, we’ve managed to stop quite a few of the Papacy’s plots,” His Highness segued, sparing Sacher from my wrath. “Their leaders will certainly be considering us a threat in the future.”

When he says that, is it implied that it’s because I intervened?

No, no, no. I mean, everyone else was here too! I’m just overthinking things. Yeah!

“It’s not as though we’re traveling to their allies and drawing them into conflict,” Magiluka replied. “We’re simply disrupting their aggressions toward enemy nations and neutral countries. I doubt that they can be too forward with their hostility.”

Magiluka’s addition to the conversation had me beginning to feel anxious at the sheer scale of our situation.

“I sure hope so,” His Highness replied. “This might just be a needless worry, but I’d hate for the rumors about Lady Mary to spiral out of control in a way that the Papacy can take advantage of.”

His concerns brought to mind a common concept I remembered seeing in stories. In this world, citizens of the Papacy—as well as citizens of nations unopposed to it—were exclusively designated as saints, holy women, servants of God, and so on by the Papacy themselves. In the stories I’m familiar with, nations like the Papacy would refuse to recognize the validity of anyone another nation designated as holy without their approval, and in the worst cases, such people could be branded as “witches” or “demons” and thus marked for death the world over.

Does the prince think I’ll be labeled a heretic? To be fair, I’m reading knowledge from my past life into his worries here—there’s no guarantee this reality would meet those expectations. That said, if that were the prince’s concern, I’d have to give that fate my biggest, fattest “No thanks, I’m good” ever.

Having determined my stance on the issue, I decided to completely ignore the flow of the conversation and trot out a talking point of mine that was practically a reflex at this point:

“I’m no holy woman,” I declared. “I’m the totally normal, completely average daughter of a duke who lives a nice, quiet life.”

Yeah, yeah, I know. I might be pushing it at this point, but I’m not giving up! I will become someone who can blend in with the crowd, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get people to acknowledge me as such. Everyone looked at me with befuddlement, and my heart was about to crumble under their gazes, but I managed to muster up the strength to nevertheless stand tall.

“I see...” the prince said. “You’ve been denying the title since you were predicting that outcome from the start. I should’ve caught on sooner.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Lady Mary, could you entrust me to deal with the aftermath of this incident? I’ll do my best to speak with the residents and come up with a resolution you can be happy with.”

His reply was completely beyond my expectations and caught me totally off guard—however, I turned to Magiluka for help, and she nodded her head, seemingly reading my mind.

“I-I’ll leave it to you,” I stammered.

And so, the prince commenced discussions with the clan chief on controlling the details surrounding what’d happened. As the clan chief happened to want to keep the whole truth about Orthoaguina from the populace, they were able to agree to pin Orthoaguina’s return and subsequent attack on Pastor Thomas’s nefarious machinations. Considering my usual strategy would be to desperately try obscuring the details of my involvement in a storm of excuses until I’d fit my foot firmly in my mouth, I was rather looking forward to how the prince would fare in my stead.

I shook myself free from thinking about the past as I reached the chief librarian’s office and followed Sita into the room.

“Lady Mary, it seems like you’ve finished your discussion with Orthoaguina,” His Highness said, visibly relieved to see me.

My talk with Orthoaguina had been arranged by the prince and the clan chief—though it’d been up to me to come up with the topic of conversation. I’d have preferred that they’d figured that bit out for me too, but since I attained useful information from how it went down, all’s well that ends well.

“I’m sorry,” the clan chief said with an apologetic glance. “I used you to ease the nerves of those around the dragon.”

We hadn’t remained in Kairomea after the debacle simply to do more research; rather, we were also here at the behest of the clan chief. The incident came about because Pastor Thomas, working for the Papacy, had caused a dragon to suddenly emerge in town—even if the citizens were told that said dragon was the creator of Kairomea and that their city’s ancient glory was due to his benevolence, not everyone was willing to nod their heads in agreement and swiftly accept him among their ranks in hopes of a peaceful coexistence. In order to ease the nerves of the skeptical and encourage them to join restoration efforts, we who had resolved the incident had been continuing to show our faces and to help citizens feel safe in case of something happening. With our support keeping everyone calm, the clan chief was confident he could convince everyone to accept Orthoaguina.

Still, since we couldn’t remain here forever, that was where the prince stepped in. He negotiated that in exchange for our cooperation, Kairomea would begin trading with Aldia and that it would keep my involvement in the incident a secret—or, at the very least, they would muddy the details.

In line with the clan chief’s goals, my conversation with Orthoaguina was essentially to demonstrate to onlookers that it was possible to safely hold a discussion with him. Orthoaguina himself had held no reservations about our plan and was happy to let us do as we please—it seemed he was completely blasé about anything that didn’t stimulate his curiosity.

“Lady Mary, we’ve set the date for our return to the kingdom,” Magiluka said. “If you have some research to do, I suggest you do so soon.”

“We’re heading back already?” I asked. I turned to the clan chief, who nodded back at me.

“Thanks to you, Mary, the people of the town were able to maintain their composure despite all odds,” he replied. “And thanks to Sir Orthoaguina’s cooperative attitude, we were able to muddy the waters about his past and sweep some matters pertaining to you under the rug. Our biggest worry was the Regresh, the faction who are dead set on returning Kairomea to how it was in the past, but since we managed to remove the people under Thomas’s influence and Rachel now stands at their helm, we’re able to keep them under our control. We would like to offer you all our full cooperation for anything you need—we’re at least that grateful to you, and in fact, I fear even that is hardly good enough.”

It was great news that Kairomea, known for their wealth of information since ancient times, now had an amicable relationship with Aldia—until now, we’d needed to rely on excellent networking to even visit the town.

I decided to tell Magiluka about my conversation with Orthoaguina along with my report topic.

“So, I’m thinking of looking into the Argent Knight,” I said. “What do you think?”

“That sounds like a fine idea to me,” Magiluka replied. “I didn’t expect it, and I’m frankly quite surprised, but I’m always blown away by you, Lady Mary. Instead of a topic that pertains to a personal concern, you’ve chosen a theme that will attract the curiosity of many, many people. Even people outside Aleyios will feel compelled to read your report.”

“She’s right,” Prince Reifus agreed. “As usual, Lady Mary, you always think of new and innovative ideas. Your decisions always pave a path for those after you, and you’re an expert in commanding the interest of others.”

“Huh? I, uh, n-no, I don’t think it’s anything that special. Besides, this is a very personal mission for me.”

I wasn’t sure how those two had come to feel that way, but I was feeling quite bashful over being praised to bits, and also a touch anxious thinking about just how massive this undertaking would be...but I was nevertheless ready to take the next step forward on my topic.

“It’s best to strike while the iron’s hot, I suppose,” I began. “Since I won’t be staying here for much longer, I have to do as much research as I can. Right, Sita?”

Indeed, I immediately chose to rely on another person.

“Mm-hmm,” Sita replied energetically. “Hmm, the Argent Knight, huh... We’ve got a lot of tales and epics about him, but if we wanted more info... Uh...” She wasn’t at all surprised to be relied on, but now she was groaning as she racked her brain for an answer.

“Huh... I wonder if there’s anyone who’s considered an expert on all things Argent Knight.” I crossed my arms along with Sita, lost in my thoughts.

“Why not ask Safina?” Magiluka suggested.

“Right!” I replied with a gentle clap of agreement. “I feel like she knows more about him than me. I mean, she seemed to admire the guy.”

“I think my older sister had a phase like that,” Sita agreed, doing a little clap right alongside me. “To be precise, she wasn’t focused solely on the Argent Knight, but on heroes in general.”

Tutte was listening in and must’ve predicted my next comment, as she swiftly said, “My lady, Lady Safina and Miss Rachel are currently undergoing swordsmanship training with Sir Sacher.”

My maid knows me so well. I had a feeling I knew exactly how this came about. “I’m sure Sacher badgered the ladies into being his training partners,” I sighed. “But this will be perfect for us. Let’s go.”

I’d finally found a ray of hope for my research topic, and my progress had reinvigorated my mood. I energetically left the room...

“Lady Mary, that’s the wrong way,” Sita said. “It’s this way.”

...and promptly got lost—a classic trope for this scenario. Uh, will I really be okay?

4. Rachel’s Thoughts

While Mary was having a (supposedly) important discussion with Orthoaguina in the Grand Archival Tower, Rachel was tagging along with Sacher’s mock battles at the training ground. As the assistant and guard to the chief librarian, it wasn’t like her to not be involved in matters pertaining to Orthoaguina, but she had reasons of her own to be where she was that she couldn’t ignore.

Back when Sita was failing to fulfill her role as the chief librarian, Rachel had distanced herself a bit from others. In a sense, she hadn’t been able to trust people. Assuming she was the only one capable of looking after Sita, she’d embraced strict self-discipline and rushed headlong into doing everything she could to protect her sister...or, at least, that had been her intent.

Willing to do anything to help Sita to awaken her powers, Rachel had sneaked into an underground organization, her reputation be damned, and climbed its ranks in a bid to uncover Kairomea’s secrets. After she’d stretched herself thin, Pastor Thomas would ultimately use her for his own ends, causing her to almost lose Sita’s trust and to become an obstacle for Mary and her friends.

Rachel had anguished over her blunder...but just as she’d been ready to give in to absolute despair, Magiluka and her friends had risked life and limb to save her from fusing to a chimera. In particular, she’d taken notice of Sacher fighting for her sake from up close—the warmth of his hand as he’d pried her from the chimera’s flesh was a sensation she would never forget. It’d been a forceful grip, yes, but one that’d felt reassuringly warm...

Ever since then, she hadn’t been able to deny being just a little—only the teensiest bit!—interested in him. But that was as far as it went for her: He was a human, and she was an elf, after all. That wall between them was insurmountable, and she didn’t want to make things awkward, and she’d hate it if she bothered him after all he’d done for her. Her string of recent failures had made her into a slightly more cautious person—or, perhaps, it’d be more apt to say they had made her become a bit more cowardly.

And yet, despite her hesitation to reach her hand out toward Sacher, she’d somehow found her hand once again reunited with his warm touch. The boy himself had probably thought nothing more of it than dragging another opponent into his mock battles, but for Rachel, it was undoubtedly a golden opportunity to rekindle her friendships.

When she thought about how she got to move her body and be helpful to everyone by taking part in the mock battles and compared it to the way her past self used to shoulder any and every burden on her lonesome, Rachel realized how much more relaxing and comfortable this approach to life was. The fact that she was able to come to this realization—the fact that she was still alive, and even the fact that Kairomea was still standing—was all thanks to her new allies, particularly Mary.

“Oh? Are you done speaking with that foul annoying lizard?” a subspecies of mandrake asked. Said vegetable was sitting atop Shelly’s shoulder and gazing at the exit, noticing something there. Shelly had told Rachel that the spirit tree mandrake had somehow ended up as part of a delicious meal Tutte had cooked after the incident, but it seemed like her spare mandrake body had already arrived.

“Don’t call him a foul annoying lizard,” Mary replied. “Are you aware that you’re a walking root veggie? If you keep acting so high and mighty, he might swallow you whole, you know?”

“Why must I act subservient?” the mandrake replied as she bounced around on Shelly’s shoulder. “I’m a spirit tree! The spirit tree. I won’t lose to that foul lizard.”

“Sure, but right now, you’re just a talking vegetable,” Mary noted, immediately shutting her down.

“Urgh...”

Rachel was impressed by how neither respect nor fear restrained Mary’s candor toward the spirit tree. That’s the Argent Holy Woman for you, she thought for some inexplicable reason, harboring respect for Mary on the completely incomprehensible basis she was this “Argent Holy Woman” character.

“Shelly?” Mary asked.

“Hmm... This is odd,” Shelly groaned with a scowl. “It’s getting further and further away from what I’d imagined.”

The two ladies were conversing as they stood next to each other, and Rachel was trying her best to eavesdrop on the conversation. However, she then remembered she didn’t have time for this and that she needed to face forward and focus on her mock battle, so she returned her attention to what was in front of her...

...and as soon as she did so, the object she’d just heard about zoomed toward her—but she scrambled and managed to get out of the way. Whether the person throwing it had aimed it at her or they were just inexperienced with it, one thing was for certain: Getting hit with it hurt one heck of a lot. Due to having personally experienced this reality, Rachel couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief once she’d felt certain she’d avoided it.

Yep, you guessed it: She’d just dodged Sacher’s shield. Just as soon as you’d see it hurtling toward someone, it’d already be traveling along a beautiful arc back toward its owner, floating along as if it were a flying saucer.

“It’s starting to look less like a shield and more like a projectile,” Mary noted.

Upon hearing her honest thoughts, Shelly collapsed to the floor. As the creator of that shield, she was shocked to see the shield not being used for its intended purpose.

“If memory serves, Mary, wasn’t it you who gave him that idea?” Shelly asked.

“Huh? I, uh, look! It’s still a really creative use!” Mary stammered. “You’ve never seen anything like that before, I bet! Um...”

Judging from their conversation, it was clear that Mary had suggested this alternative means of wielding the shield. Once again, Rachel was possessed by the mysterious notion that this ingenuity arose from Mary’s status as the Argent Holy Woman, and her inscrutable respect for Mary grew even deeper.

“Well, whatever!” Shelly said, her sadness vanishing in an instant. “It’s interesting, so I guess I can let it slide.”

She returned to her usual self, and Rachel was impressed. Perhaps the ability to quickly switch gears was one that she herself could stand to learn.

It seemed Sacher was just as distracted by Mary in the crowd as Rachel was, so they decided to take a brief break. Sacher frowned about his shield as he approached everyone, and Rachel followed suit.

“Yeah, it feels weird to throw a shield,” Sacher muttered. “I’m not used to it, so I can’t throw it the way I want to.”

“When I first learned about drawing my blade from Lady Mary, I was overcome with a similar feeling,” Safina reassured him. “I had a tough time too.”

“Lady Mary’s ideas are always so innovative. I have to work hard to keep up with them.”

“Yeah! Let’s keep giving it our best.”

“Lady Mary taught you your sword skills, Safina?” Rachel asked, her respect for the duke’s daughter growing by the second. “I see that she’s skilled in combat as well.”

When Rachel turned to Mary, she seemed a bit out of sorts. “I-I didn’t do much,” Mary hastily corrected her. “It’s all thanks to everyone’s superb capability. D-Don’t go around telling everyone that I’m involved somehow.” She sounded oddly humble, causing Rachel’s respect for her to— Well, you get the picture.

A more pressing concern then popped up in Rachel’s mind as she turned to Sacher. “Sacher, I see that your hand is injured because you’re still not used to wielding your shield,” she pointed out. “We’d better treat your wound.”

“Oops, you can tell?” Sacher asked. “But this is no biggie, really.”

“No, we absolutely must tend to your injuries!”

Sacher was as laid-back as he always was, but Rachel was coming off as more intimidating than usual. She grabbed his arm and started dragging him toward a suitable spot to patch him up.

“H-Hey! Wait!” Sacher stammered. “Ugh, ow. That’s my wounded arm.”

“Ah, I’m sorry!” Rachel replied. “But still, we really should get this taken care of.”

She hastily freed him from her grip and realized her bad habit of treating everyone like Sita. Rachel was the type to easily get worried, and she began wondering if her tendency toward action was making her come off as a busybody. Her ears drooped sadly while she stared at Sacher’s wound amid her self-reflection.

“A-All right, all right,” Sacher relented. “I’ll get treatment.”

“Really?!” Rachel cried. “Th-Then I’ll heal you up!” Rachel immediately brightened up from her worrying and ran to fetch a nearby first aid kit.

“Oho?” Sita grinned next to Mary. “How very, very interesting.”

Rachel heard Sita’s giggling, but she was preoccupied and unwilling to give it the time of day.

“What do you mean by that?” Mary asked.

“My sister’s usually very calm toward others,” Sita explained. “It’s unusual and interesting to see her mood swing so wildly. I figure it means she’s gotten a thing for—”

“Ack! Ahem!” Rachel choked. “Wh-Wh-Wh-What silly nonsense are you on about, Sita?! S-S-Stop letting your imagination run wild!”

Rachel was supposed to have been able to ignore Sita’s comments, but she couldn’t help but interject on that one. She’d hastily denied Sita’s claims, and she found doing so inexplicably embarrassing. Everyone looked upon her as if she were an adorable creature while she struggled to get the words out too, only amplifying her embarrassment and causing her ears to grow redder than a beet.

“A-A-Ahem! Lady Mary, I, uh, um, believe that you spoke with Lord Orthoaguina,” Rachel said, forcibly changing topics. “How did that go?”

It seemed everyone found it crass to continue teasing the poor elf. They all switched topics with her, causing Rachel to breathe a sigh of relief as she focused on treating Sacher. As she listened in, she learned that Mary had decided to do a report on the Argent Knight and had come by to ask Safina for some more information.

“The Argent Knight?” Safina asked. “As you say, Lady Mary, his heroic deeds are known far and wide, but I haven’t really heard of any tales about his later years. And while the Argent Knight is a hero knight of Aldia, he doesn’t actually belong to our kingdom, so there aren’t many records of him. People simply assumed he was a knight from his appearance.”

“I see...” Mary mused. “Then does no one know where he came from?”

“I don’t think anyone does. All the tales detail him as a hero who appeared out of nowhere to face the threat of the land.”

As Rachel listened to their conversation, she dug through her memories in hopes of providing some assistance on Mary’s research of the Argent Knight, but she couldn’t come up with anything new. Rachel secretly regretted the fact that she’d never done further research on the topic—she would’ve if she’d known that Mary would ask about it.

“Did the Argent Knight not have any allies?” Safina wondered. “As far as I know, he didn’t, but...”

Mary was frowning and groaning, but then Sita chimed in. “They don’t even have to be his ally—it would be good if we just knew of someone who’s met him before,” she murmured. It was the kind of idea that comes to a person with a long lifespan.

Her suggestion made Magiluka gasp with realization. “I see. That’s an idea,” Magiluka said. “I believe Lady Deodora has personally met the Argent Knight. It might be best to ask her.”

“Right, there are people still alive who’ve met him before!” Mary said as she clapped lightly. “I totally forgot.”

Rachel was grateful for Sita guiding the crew to an answer, but she once again gazed down regretfully, knowing that she’d been of little help. She felt a wave of sadness wash over her, but she quickly shook her head and freed herself of those thoughts, doing her best to encourage herself.

Sacher noticed Rachel’s odd behavior and couldn’t help but ask about it. “Hmm? What’s wrong, Rachel? You look restless.”

She looked up and saw his face surprisingly close to hers. “Huh? Oh, nothing!” she cried. She was so shocked that she simply froze in place as she raised her voice. Caught off guard and mind overloaded with so many different concerns, she was petrified and couldn’t suppress her loudly beating heart.

Sacher, for his part, seemed totally normal as he continued to stare at her, only encouraging her heart to beat louder.

Rachel wanted to try to say something, but the words just wouldn’t come out—she only just barely managed to avert her gaze from Sacher. She noticed everyone else around her gazing at her warmly, and the indescribable embarrassment made her want to get out of there as fast as she could...but more than that, she wanted to heal Sacher’s wounds. She did her best to calm herself and focus on healing in spite of the emotions swirling through her head.

5. Back at the Royal Capital

And so, we left Kairomea for the royal capital without issue. We visited the spirit tree’s domain on the way back, and we unexpectedly ended up having to part ways with her there—since she’d taken such a liking to remotely controlling a body, she said she wanted to take the time to experiment with ways she could blend in with human society inconspicuously, and she also wanted to figure out how to operate independently without inconveniencing anyone. All I could do now was root for her success. Afterward, Shelly decided to stay at a village we found along the way too. Thus, though it felt like it’d gone by in the blink of an eye, our long trip to the Ancient Forest was at last reaching its conclusion.

Unlike the last time we made our way home, we were now bringing a certain pair of dark elves with us, and they were presently gazing at their surroundings in awe.

“Wow!” Sita gasped. “I-Is this the royal capital?! It’s even more vast than Karshana County! Ooh, look at that building—”

“Come on, Sita!” Rachel scolded. “Don’t wander around, or you’ll get lost!”

Chief Librarian Sita and her assistant-plus-sister, Rachel, had decided to tag along with us to visit the kingdom. When we’d left Kairomea, Orthoaguina suggested that they tour their allied kingdom since the experience could help them in the future. He’d considered visiting the kingdom himself, but considering the commotion he’d cause, he’d decided it’d be wiser to send Sita in his stead. She agreed to head to Aldia, and Rachel tagged along as her guard so she didn’t have to be by herself. I’d figured that was all there was to it, but...

“Rachel,” Orthoaguina called out admonishingly. His voice came from the book—the Book of Orthoaguina, the magic item which connected him and Sita—securely fastened to Sita’s waist on a leather belt. “I find it silly to suppress a child’s curiosity. Since we’re on a trip, why not let loose a little and have some fun?”

“Have you forgotten that her curiosity is what’s always getting her into trouble?” Rachel replied. “Please don’t treat Sita as a child and spoil her. In fact, you egging her on is why she’s acting like this. Would you kindly refrain?”

“No, no, my influence has nothing to do with her inquisitiveness,” Orthoaguina insisted. “It seems such a waste to ask her to ignore her feelings. And it’ll be a good learning experience for her.”

“Can you honestly tell me you aren’t just trying to sate your own curiosity here?”

“Uh...”

Yeesh, they sound like two parents fighting over how to educate their child. It’s not just me, right?

Sita, sandwiched between a sister and a book, tilted her head to one side in confusion.

“N-Not true,” Orthoaguina finally added. “But yes, I suppose my curiosity was just a little piqued. Only a little.”

I’m sure what he really means is he’s on the edge of his seat, but I’ll hold my tongue. I don’t want to complicate this situation.

When I saw Orthoaguina communicating through the book, a feeling of déjà vu came over me—go figure, since he’d gotten the idea from seeing the spirit tree controlling the mandrake. Back then, he’d said, “I see. I suppose technically no one can accuse Kairomea of a foreign invasion if I stick to this tack. Good grief, who came up with this cunning little idea?” Of course, he’d instantly shot me a glance upon asking that, and all I could do was avert my gaze and flee from the situation... Point being, Orthoaguina copied the spirit tree’s method to step outside. If anything bad happens, surely no one will blame me, right? N-No, no, I’m overthinking this. I figured that unlike the loose cannon spirit tree and troublemaker Shelly, both Orthoaguina and Rachel were people with common sense who wouldn’t create problems of their own accord...or, to be exact, Rachel had proven herself time and time again, and I was willing to take it for granted Orthoaguina would behave himself considering he couldn’t move around on his own. He’ll be fine, right? Right...

If anything, the trouble lay with Sita, who had Orthoaguina at her hip. When she was still in Kairomea, I’d always thought of her as an obedient child, but now that she was in the capital, curiosity had been getting the best of her. She was like a ball of inquisitiveness—she’d disappear before I knew it, causing us to accidentally leave her behind on multiple occasions where I’d thought she was still tagging along. This was due in no small part to the historical buildings, epitaphs, unusual animals, and odd plants that she was encountering along our way. Since those odds and ends were the least of everyone else’s concern, particularly since we weren’t familiar with what made them interesting, we weren’t able to predict what would steal her focus and get out in front of it.

Admittedly, I couldn’t blame Sita too much. I knew what it was like to have only ever seen something in a book before finally getting to witness it with my own eyes—it was inevitable that she would be taken in by the grandness of all these firsthand experiences and get dragged away from the group. Still, it was heartstopping to keep turning around expecting her to be there only for her to be gone, so I was deeply hoping she’d start containing herself.

What’s more, her guardian, Orthoaguina, was basically her partner in crime, exacerbating the issue by being happy to engage her in discourse about everything she happened across. To be fair, though, perhaps it’d be more accurate to say he wasn’t discoursing so much as offering her his advice on her thoughts and trying to look after her.

That said, our best hope to rein Sita in was Rachel, but after the incident at Kairomea, she wasn’t nearly as assertive as she used to be. No longer did she watch over Sita like a hawk—and worse yet, her gaze was quite fixed on a certain someone rather than her sister—so more often than not, Sita would slip out of her watch.

Grr... I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about wild-goose chases anymore with the spirit tree gone, but here I am in round two. Well, unlike the spirit tree, at least these folks listen to reason...

After some meandering in this fashion, we finally reached the royal capital. Somehow indifferent to being the subject of mommy and daddy fighting, Sita approached me to ask, “What will you do now, Lady Mary? Will you go and speak with that Miss Deodora you mentioned before?”

“Y-Yes, I think I will,” I replied. “This is a personal matter though, so I’d like to find the perfect timing to just drop by without much fuss.” Having been put on the spot, I ended up being unintentionally forthcoming about my plans.

“Aww...” Sita whined. “I wanna go too. I’d like to learn more about what you do— I-I mean, I want to learn more about the Argent Knight! I’m interested myself.”

Huh? Did she just mention me? I wasn’t surprised to hear she wanted to tag along out of curiosity, but I couldn’t help but get hung up on her initial choice of words. Hopefully I’m just overthinking things...

Then, while I was quietly nursing that trace of anxiety, a pair of others joined in.

“Um, may I go with you as well?” Safina asked.

“Please allow me to join too,” Magiluka requested.

I knew that Safina admired the Argent Knight, so I could understand her interest, but Magiluka was a bit beyond expectations. She did sort of seem to secretly be a fan before...

“Then I’ll part ways with you all here and try to secure lodging,” Rachel said. I’d expected her to tag along as well, but I’d assumed wrong. “Sita, don’t be a nuisance to Lady Mary. Do I make myself clear? You can’t just run off all on your own.”

“A-All right, I get it,” Sita replied.

“I think I’ll follow you, Rachel,” the prince said. “I’ve got a few places in mind where guests can stay the night in secret. If you and Sita could kindly use one of those, I’d be very grateful.”

“I appreciate the consideration, but are you sure?” Rachel asked. “This isn’t a formal visit, Your Highness.”

“It’s not an issue. Occasions like these are exactly what those places are for.”

“Then I’ll join Rachel too,” Sacher chimed in.

“H-Huh?! I, uh... You’re coming too?” Rachel stammered. She’d been perfectly composed when speaking with the prince, yet she’d clearly grown flustered as soon as Sacher chimed in.

“Yeah,” Sacher replied. “We may be in the royal capital, but I can’t let the prince walk around unguarded.”

“A-Ah, yes. Right,” Rachel said, turning to the ground to hide her face. “You’re simply looking out for His Highness.”

Sacher tilted his head to one side, perplexed, and he soon flashed a bright smile. “That said, first and foremost, I wanna have your back, Rachel. You don’t know this place well, do you? I think you’ll need some help.”

Rachel looked up and stared at him. “Ah, um, you’re right! Thank you.” She then turned her head back toward the ground.

Rachel usually carried herself with such dignity and quick wit—this quiet, bashful girl I was seeing was a complete about-face. I knew it wasn’t nice, but I could hardly help myself from grinning at how adorable it was to see her turn into a totally different person in front of Sacher. For his part, of course, his thinking probably began and ended at wanting to protect her the way a knight would, considering she was an important guest and he was fond of being in that role.

In any case, we split into two groups and went our separate ways.

“Ah, Little Mary! Long time no see.” Deodora greeted me with a smile the moment I entered the forge. “What business do you have with me today? Would you like me to make another eccentric weapon for you?”

“‘Eccentric’? I...” I thought to protest, but then I remembered the Legendary Sword (Cringe), the armor, Safina’s blade, and the myriad of other weapons I’d requested—as they say, if the shoe fits... “No, we’re actually here to ask you about something,” I said.

“Oho? Well, no need to be shy,” Deodora replied. “Go on.”

I told her what I’d learned about the Argent Knight in Kairomea and the various things I was trying to uncover.

“The tendencies of the Argent Knight, you say... Hmm...” she pondered. “Personally, I only ever spoke to him a little bit, so I don’t have much to tell. Outside of the stuff he did here in the royal capital, the only things I know are what you can read in all those books about him.”

Not that I had my hopes up, but this is looking like a dead end...

I was about to give up when Sita gingerly chimed in. “Um, I know we’ve never met, but may I say something?” she asked.

I quickly introduced her to Deodora, who looked quite surprised to learn about her. Considering Kairomeans had never visited the kingdom before now, I could hardly blame Deodora for the shock written all over her face.

“Huh... So, you’re friends with the chief librarian of that Grand Archival Tower you mentioned, Little Mary?” Deodora said. “I suppose that’s par for the course for you, isn’t it?”

“Um, I’m not the only one who’s friends with her—everyone is,” I replied, unable to resist letting the praise slide.

“My lady, perhaps we’re going on a tangent,” Tutte whispered, steering me back on track.

Right, right. I should hold my tongue and let Sita have the floor here. I gestured and allowed Sita to take it away.

“Deodora, have you ever seen the Argent Knight’s real face?” Sita asked.

“Hmm... No, I don’t think so,” Deodora replied. “When I met him, he was dressed head to toe in his armor.”

“I see...” Sita looked a bit befuddled.

Are the Argent Knight’s looks really that interesting?

“Now that I think about it, I don’t think there are any tales that depict his actual face,” Deodora pondered. “But why does that matter?”

“You see, I’ve read many stories, legends, and reports about him,” Sita replied. “Any rumor big or small has reached my ears, and very occasionally, I’ll come across a tale that depicts the Argent Knight as a woman. It’s a very small minority, mind you—perhaps said records were miswritten or based on some sort of misunderstanding—but I’ve always wondered about it. Deodora, what’s your understanding of the Argent Knight’s gender?”

“Huh? Well, I’ve never even thought about it. Everyone around me referred to him as a man, and he seldom spoke. When I did hear his voice from under his armor, he sounded like a young man.”

“Ah... I see...”

Considering I was the one who’d come here to get research done, I really ought to have been asking questions of my own here, but nothing was coming to mind—all I could do was gasp and nod along in sync with everyone else. I think I’ve read my fair share of the Argent Knight’s legends, but not once have I seen anything about him being a woman. The amount of information Sita has had access to totally eclipses what I’ve been able to come across, though—she’s probably read oodles about the Argent Knight. I’m glad I have her help with this.

Then Sita turned to me. “Um, Lady Mary, I’m sorry for steering the conversation. Everything I mentioned just now can be found in the books I gave you earlier. Try giving them a read.”

“Oh, right... That huge pile of books...” I replied.

Before we’d left Kairomea, Sita handed me a towering stack of books and told me to give them a read. I’d had Snow carry them back to my home, and I assumed that they were already stored safe and sound. I was half excited, half dreading tearing into them...

“Is it possible that some of these people confused the Argent Knight with one of his comrades?” Magiluka wondered, moving along the conversation while I was lost in thought.

“Comrades?” Deodora asked. She closed her eyes, crossed her arms, and gazed up at the ceiling with a groan as she dug through her memories. “As far as I know, he traveled alone. To begin with, he wasn’t a knight of this kingdom, and people were extra careful not to upset him. I don’t think any of us dared to pry into his personal affairs, and I was warned to follow suit.”

“Indeed... As far as I know, the Argent Knight didn’t act under the orders of the royal family,” Magiluka concurred. “He mostly listened to the woes of the people wherever he visited and acted of his own accord.”

“Um, then perhaps it’s best if we ask those people,” Safina joined in. “I doubt that people outside of the royal capital received the same warning, meaning that they acted more friendly and natural with him.”

Even though I was the one who should’ve been taking charge of this conversation, I’d been totally relegated to the corner. “Y-Yeah,” I said, pushing myself into the conversation, eager to contribute somehow. “What village might have any sort of ties to the Argent Knight?”

“How about Eneres?” Magiluka suggested. “It’s supposed to host the Evening Primrose Festival soon. Oh, that reminds me, during the previous festival, Lady Mary, you mentioned someone in argent armor—”

I locked eyes with Magiluka upon receiving her reply, and frantically waved my hands in front of me. Magiluka, who knew my secret and my feelings, immediately picked up on my worries and placed a hand over her mouth in panic.

“Huh... So the Evening Primrose Festival is coming up...” Sita said. “What timing! This feels like it’s almost fated to be! Let’s go! And I’d like to learn more about this Argent Warrior that Lady Mary mentioned.”

“Th-Th-That was five years ago!” I stuttered. “I, uh, I don’t think anyone like that is around anymore!” How was I supposed to know five years ago that my lie would bite me in the butt five years later?! I did my best to deny everything and tried to guide the conversation away from my lies.

“Sh-She’s right,” Magiluka added. “I think there’s a good chance that they’re long gone, and I find it best that we don’t go out of our way to search for this person.”

“I guess so. But I think visiting Eneres will be a good idea,” Sita said. “Personally, I’ve become more interested than ever!”

Dang it, Sita! You don’t have to get so curious during times like these! Sadly, I knew from personal experience that she’d go off on her own even if I let her be, and it was wisest to tag along and steer her in a safer direction.

In any case, in a sad twist of fate, my next destination was decided. Never would I have imagined that I’d once again attend the Evening Primrose Festival, an event that’d practically given me stomach ulcers from stress. I’m so worried... I hope the village headman won’t faint on the spot again...

6. Repentance

When we reached Eneres, I was pleasantly surprised to see the village headman welcome us quite calmly. “I’ve been waiting for you, Lady Mary, Your Highness,” he said, smiling at how it was written all over my face that I’d expected him to faint again.

“Hee hee. I suspected that His Highness would tag along with you when I received notice you’d be visiting us, Lady Mary.”

Nevertheless, there was no way he could’ve accounted for Sita behind me. His eyes widened with shock the moment he noticed her and Rachel.

“W-Well, I’ll be!” the village headman gasped. “E-Elves?! Th-This is beyond my expectations!”

“Oh, right,” I said, introducing the ladies. “This is Sita, the chief librarian of the Grand Archival Tower in Kairomea, and her assistant, Rachel.”

The two of them nodded along.

“K-K-Kairomea?!” the village headman gasped. “You mean that mystical, magnificent town that collects all knowledge? And she’s the chief librarian?!” He trembled feebly at the newfound information before he collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

As the familiar scene of him being carried away played out in front of me, I internally offered him a humble apology. Hmm... I didn’t expect them to get to him like that... I’m sorry, Mr. Headman...

You know, getting a reminder of how other people see Sita and Rachel really hammers home what incredible people they are. Wait, come to think of it, with basically all my friends being such super important people, this kind of thing has started to really not faze me as much as it should, right? Surely that can’t be good...

Now that we’d finished greeting the headman, I decided to guide everyone to House Regalia’s villa, just as I’d done during my previous visit here. Uh, hopefully this sense of déjà vu isn’t once again the calm before a stor— No, no. Don’t jinx yourself, Mary. Keep calm, live in the moment...

When I arrived at the manor, I guided everyone to their rooms. After a short break, I decided to head out and touch base with Magiluka when I saw her in a haste with Rachel. I feared that my hunch would be proven true.

“Um, Tutte, what do you think those two are up to?” I asked.

“My lady, I believe that they’re in a spot of troub—” Tutte started.

“Y-Yep, I thought so! With the festival coming up, the two must be so excited and restless! I don’t blame them.”

“My lady, do you think that those two ladies are the type to be so restless?”

I’d tried my best to escape reality and drag my maid into my fantas— Ahem, I mean I’d simply stated my opinion, and Tutte cruelly forced me to face the truth.

I wasn’t sure what to say next—it was clear as day that these two girls were panicking. Judging from our past experiences, did Sacher disappear or something? With the festival on the horizon, if anyone was told to stay still and out of the way of the busy residents, only to ignore those warnings and act on his own, my money’s on him.

“What’s wrong?” I called out to the two ladies with a small sigh. “Did Sacher disappear again or something?”

“Hey, come on,” Sacher replied a short distance away. “I’m not the type to make the same mistakes twice.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I figured someone must’ve disappeared again.”

If Sacher’s here, I guess there’s no one else that can just vanish. Wait... There’s one more person who tends to run off on their own.

“Um, is Sita...” I started.

Magiluka and Rachel gave an apologetic nod of their heads.

Damn it! I guess the past really insists on repeating itself! As I groaned to myself, another voice came from Sacher’s direction.

“As I suspected, she must’ve gone to the forest to watch the Evening Primrose Festival,” the prince said, delivering the least surprising news ever. “Some people claimed to have seen an elf there.”

“I’m terribly sorry,” Rachel apologized. “She’s always been impulsive, but she’s usually not one to run off on her own like this. I’m quite certain that a certain other person goaded her into going off on her own,” she added, vaguely alluding to a culprit.

Who could she possibly be referring to? It’s anyone’s guess, I’m sure...

“Well, now that we’re all here and we’ve got some witness reports, how about we go and fetch our Little Miss Scholar?” Sacher suggested. “We can probably even handle a gigant snake if it comes to that,” he added, casually invoking the name of the monster he’d struggled against so much half a decade ago as he made to be the first one out of the villa.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt like we were repeating the past. Is it just me, or is he looking pretty hyped up about this situation? I noticed Rachel seemed awfully reassured by Sacher’s confidence—I wanted to tell her that she was definitely getting the wrong idea about the situation, but I managed to hold myself back and remain quiet.

We’d been here before, and none of us got lost on the way. We arrived where the evening primroses bloomed, and as I thought, a dark elf with a book in hand was wandering about nearby.

“I see...” Orthoaguina muttered. “How very interesting.”

“Lord Orthoaguina, we promised that you’d only get a quick look,” Sita insisted. “Let’s head back. I was expressly told not to act on my own, and this is something that Lady Mary should look into. We shouldn’t try to get a head start on investigating this.”

“Now, now. Wait a minute. This is where the real fun starts. Aren’t you also curious as to why this is here?”

“W-Well, I am, but...”

Watching the two of them whisper at each other made me think of two mischievous little imps working on some prank—I could hardly believe that they were the lord of the great Kairomea and its chief librarian. It almost made me sad to see.

“Stop right there, you two,” I demanded. “As the daughter of the lord of this duchy, I cannot permit you to wander about and cause trouble!”

“L-Lady Mary!” Sita cried.

“Ah, I thought you’d show up soon enough,” Orthoaguina said. “I’d like to speak with you about something.”

Now, how did those two scoundrels react to my trotting out the duke’s daughter card? Sita’s response was excellent, at least...but Orthoaguina, arguably the root of this evil, paid no heed to my authority whatsoever and only tried to push the conversation along!

“What?” I demanded. “The only thing I want to hear you say is ‘I’m sorry’!”

“Oh, it’s a very simple request,” Orthoaguina replied. “Can you dig up this entire field?”

I smiled menacingly back at him. “Would you like me to rip your book to shreds? You’ll never be able to ask me a question like that ever again.” This twerp of a dragon sure loves to make absurd requests with all the levity of asking for a cup of coffee!

Everyone knew that the Book of Orthoaguina was a forbidden grimoire and couldn’t be damaged by normal means, so they gave a forced laugh, assuming that I was mostly joking. Of course, Magiluka and Tutte looked genuinely afraid—they were well aware that I was capable of such impossible feats.

I waggled my fingers and approached Sita—more precisely, the book she was holding.

“N-Now, hear me out,” Orthoaguina hastily said. “Sacrifices are necessary for new discoveries and scholarly pursuits. One could never move forward without making a few sacrifices.”

“You can make it sound as weighty as you want, but the pursuit of knowledge isn’t a blanket excuse that allows you to do whatever you please,” I replied. “I need you to change that mindset of yours first.”

“Tsk. How unexpectedly logical of you. If only you’d been a bit more daft, you would’ve been easier to manipulate.”

“All right, to shreds it is.”

“Wait, wait! I got ahead of myself. I’ll explain myself, so at least hear me out.”

“Very well... I can at least grant you that.”

“J-Judging from what you all have been saying, this Evening Primrose Festival is somehow related to the Argent Knight, no? But have you not wondered why these evening primroses are growing here in the first place?”

I tilted my head to one side, perplexed, and cast a sweeping glance at my friends. Sure, I was surprised that flowers bloomed here, but I’d never questioned why. It’d never even occurred to me to ask.

“I guess the environment’s suited for these flowers,” I said.

“Hmm, perhaps so,” Orthoaguina replied. “In that case, what exactly is a suitable environment for these flowers?”

I felt like a student being questioned by a teacher and turned to Magiluka for advice. She had more knowledge about stuff like this than me.

“Magical plants require reasonable temperatures, weather, and arable land,” Magiluka answered. “They also require ample mana nearby, and they won’t tolerate having their nutrients stolen by other plants. Only when these precise conditions are met can magical plants be grown successfully. The most prized plants are also the most delicate, and thus more difficult to grow.”

“Oho. You’ve done your reading,” Orthoaguina said. “Now then, let’s turn back to the evening primroses, shall we? These flowers are extremely delicate. After all, that stupid brat— I mean, the spirit tree made them.”

I assumed that this was where we’d all been meant to gasp with awe, but knowing the stupid brat—ahem, the spirit tree had been involved with making the flowers sort of cheapened the poor plants. I hope I’m not the only one who’s seeing the flowers in a new light.

“So, the spirit tree made these evening primroses?” Magiluka asked with shock.

“That’s right,” Sita said as though it was common sense. “These flowers require an insane amount of mana, but only bloom once every five years. She’s probably the only person who would make such a bizarre plant.”

Since I was a child, I’d always thought that evening primroses were majestically beautiful and elegant—and all that romanticism was quickly fading as I learned the truth. My sixth sense told me that it was for the best if I didn’t hear any further details.

“You may ask why these flowers only bloom once every five years,” Orthoaguina explained. “According to the spirit tree herself, she thought having them do that would be funni—”

“Ah la la la! I don’t want to hear it!” I shouted, cutting him off. “La la la!” I covered my ears, knowing I’d rather be left in the dark. After all, the villagers of my duchy, excited by the mystical, breathtaking beauty of these flowers, were busily preparing for the upcoming festival celebrating them, and the guests who visited Eneres for the festival felt the same.

“I-I had no idea about the origins of these flowers...” Magiluka murmured.

Like me, she loved the evening primroses, and she trembled when she heard the truth, her feelings of awe at the flowers shattering in an instant.

“U-Um, it’s just a theory,” Sita hastily said. “Our conclusion is just one of many possibilities.”

“Theory?” Orthoaguina asked. “No, the spirit tree told us so her—”

“Why don’t we move the conversation along?” Sita interjected. Since Magiluka had looked absolutely brokenhearted by the revelation, Sita had done her best to soften the blow, but a certain dragon couldn’t read the room.

“Sir Orthoaguina, I see that you know quite a bit,” the prince said, joining in while Magiluka and I were still stunned. “But why do you want to dig up these flowers? What are you trying to look into?”

“I’m not interested in the evening primroses themselves,” Orthoaguina replied. “I’d like to know why they’re here.”

“If your question is why these flowers, which supposedly came from the Ancient Forest, are blooming here, perhaps the answer is that someone simply brought them to this location?”

“That’s not the issue here. What I’m saying is that even if the flowers were brought here, they can’t just grow all willy-nilly. From what I can tell, this area doesn’t have nearly enough mana to support the growth of all these evening primroses. I suspect that there’s a well of mana buried underneath these flowers that allows them to bloom. It’s certainly a possibility.”

“So, that’s why you want to dig up the place.” While the dragon’s way of tackling this subject left much to be desired, the prince was satisfied by his explanation and turned to me.

“I can’t do it,” I said. “The festival’s coming around soon! How in the world would I be allowed to dig up these flowers?” I managed to find my voice once more and crossed my arms to form an X in front of me at the book in Sita’s hands.

“Without sacrifices, one cannot pave a new path,” Orthoaguina said. “A scholar ought to plow ahead and mustn’t fear change! Such is our duty!”

“And I’m saying that you can’t use curiosity as an excuse to do whatever you like!” I shouted back. “You have to fix that mindset of yours!”

No matter how much we argued, I realized that we were walking in parallel lines—we’d never cross and never see eye to eye. For my part, I’d already caused enough of a ruckus during the previous festival, so I didn’t want to cause another fuss—as the daughter of the lord of the duchy, I had a reputation to uphold, so I couldn’t cause the villagers or my parents any more trouble.

“At first, a small number of evening primroses were brought here,” I explained. “After much trial and error, the villagers managed to create this whole gorgeous field of flowers.”

“Wait,” Orthoaguina said, piping up while he listened to me steeling my resolve to keep the festival running normally. “Are you telling me that these flowers weren’t always here?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah. The village headman told me as much.”

We’d come to this village in hopes of finding more information about the Argent Knight’s later years...yet from personal experience, I could tell that we were headed in an awfully puzzling direction instead.

7. This Is Going...

“It’s as Lady Mary said,” the village headman said. “The evening primroses were initially discovered elsewhere.”

Tutte and Safina had wisely gone to fetch the village headman after what’d happened, and after his prompt arrival, he explained what he knew. Since the book continued to pester me, I did ask the village headman about digging up this entire place, but he immediately shut me down. I told Orthoaguina as much, and I made it clear I had no intention of going against the village’s decisions.

“And where were these flowers first discovered?” Orthoaguina asked. “Take me there.”

I’d expected him to be peeved that his request for digging had been denied, but he seemed to not care and quickly moved on. Where did your boundless curiosity go? Not that I should complain that he’s willing to switch gears, I guess...

The village headman turned to me, trouble written all over his face. Yeah, I know. I totally get it. You’re so curious about this pompous talking book, aren’t you? But there’s no way I can tell you the great Philomath Dragon is on the other end of this thing—I’m afraid you’ll faint...

“C-Could you guide us there?” I asked.

The village headman seemed reluctant to think much about it, and his dubious gaze turned to one of indifference. He took the lead and guided us deeper inside this forest I used to play in as a kid, and eventually, we reached a dilapidated wooden house covered with moss.

“This...” Magiluka started. But she soon stopped herself so as to allow me to speak.

“This house is awfully run-down,” I observed. “Did someone use to live here?”

“I wonder...” the village headman replied. “It’s a very old building, and none of the villagers know if anyone ever lived here. We only happened to spot it when we’d stumbled upon the evening primroses.”

“Wasn’t there an old rumor that people caught glimpses of the Argent Knight when the Evening Primrose Festival drew near?” the prince asked. “Lady Mary, I think you mentioned spotting him once before. Are these two things related somehow?”

“Huh? Uh... Ah, um, I...” I stammered.

I was in a daze as I stared at the house—his astute question had me fumbling over my words in no time. Sweat dripped from my brow as I struggled to think of what to say. When I turned to Magiluka, I realized that she actually hadn’t mentioned the house because she’d feared this exact question from the prince, and my big mouth had caused me to step directly onto this rake. Now all that was left for me to do was press my hand to my brow and agonize to come up with some excuse, except...

“Who cares about this dingy house?” Orthoaguina pressed. “Guide me to the location where the flowers were first found.”

“H-He’s right,” I added. “The sun is setting soon, so let’s hurry. Come on!”

I didn’t think that Orthoaguina was trying to protect me, but I’d thought it best to take any out I could find. I stood in the front and stepped away from the house.

“My lady, do you know where to go?” Tutte asked behind me.

“Huh? Ha ha ha! Right. Please, guide the way!” I stammered, turning to face the village headman, who was silently watching this entire scene unfold before him.

We proceeded deeper within the forest until the village headman pointed to a certain location.

“Over there,” he said.

Only then did I notice what he was referring to. A large boulder stood solemnly among the foliage, surrounded by evening primroses blooming around it like a protective circle of sorts. Unlike the blooming flowers near the village, these blooms were few in number and buried between the other flowers and grass.

“Is this...a grave?” I wondered.

My first impression of the rock was that it was a tombstone. Unsure if I was on the right track, I turned to face my friends, and some of them nodded in agreement.

“That’s what we’d thought too,” the village headman said. “We’d thought it was best to let this solemn area be...but someone had been so overwhelmed by the beauty of the flowers that they’d picked one to take home, hoping to grow the plant near the village...”

“And after much testing, you all cultivated the flowers that are there today,” I said, finishing his sentence.

He nodded apologetically. I couldn’t blame him—if this was a grave and someone had planted those flowers there as a form of honoring the dead, it seemed questionable that someone had taken part of the offering, and it would’ve been very awkward for this information to become known publicly.

“No, that’s not a grave,” Orthoaguina concluded. We were about to leave when his shocking assessment stopped us.

“Y-Yeah,” Sita agreed. “We see these often within our tower.”

Once she brought up the Grand Archival Tower, I dug through my memories in hopes of finding what she was referring to. The boulder was surrounded by greenery, and its minute details were buried underneath, so I simply couldn’t see what it was supposed to be. However, Sacher stepped forward and began to pluck away the leaves and vines that were wrapped around the slab. Then, Rachel made to offer a helping hand and approached it, and that’s when the realization hit her.

“It looks a bit different, but yes, this is familiar!” Rachel gasped. “It looks very similar to the device we use to lock up the tower.”

“There’s a device in the tower?” I asked.

I knit my brows and turned to Sita—more precisely, the book in her hand. Orthoaguina had invented most of the contraptions within that building. Why was this rock here? It sounded like he didn’t know about this until now either.

“Just like how the people of the Papacy stole equipment to make chimeras, did someone manage to steal a locking device as well?” Safina wondered.

“No, those devices are fused with the tower,” Orthoaguina said. “Even if one were brought out, it would be unusable—forcibly dragging one out would just turn it into a broken piece of junk. And yet, that device is still active.”

His words were like a bombshell.

“Do pray tell, this means what?” I pleaded. I couldn’t keep up with all the reveals, so I ended up sounding totally awkward.

“Someone made a replica of the aforementioned device, probably,” the prince said.

“Was there a smith or engineer within the kingdom who possessed such skills?” Magiluka asked.

“No, since the evening primroses are here, I suspect that someone from the Ancient Forest came here. That seems more likely,” the prince proposed.

I’m so glad that these two smarties are able to steer the conversation in my stead.

“Any chance that Orthoaguina just forgot that he made this here?” Sacher asked, being awfully rude to the one and only founder of Kairomea.

“He’s a dragon of ancient times and is up there in age,” Rachel offered considerately, willing to accept his idea as plausible. “There is a possibility that he might’ve forgotten, but there’s very little possibility that he’d been here. Those of the Ancient Forest couldn’t have simply allowed him to stay here.”

Orthoaguina maintained his silence as I glanced at the book in Sita’s hands. He didn’t react at all to the speculation. Wait, surely Sacher isn’t right on the money. Right?

“Lord Orthoaguina?” Sita asked, noticing my gaze.

“Hm? Ah, sorry. I was lost in my thoughts.”

“You didn’t actually forget making something like this, did you?” I questioned.

“How impudent of you,” Orthoaguina replied. “I’m not that senile. I’m certain I didn’t make it, and as Rachel said, I’m not allowed to set foot in this forest.”

“Then who made it?”

“W-Well...”

He trailed off unusually awkwardly.

“If you didn’t make it, perhaps you know someone who can,” Safina added. “I doubt that there are many who are capable of such a feat.”

“I-I suppose...” Orthoaguina said. He once again sounded unsure of himself.

The magus smiths of Kairomea were from an ancient civilization that had long been lost to time—I couldn’t imagine that anyone capable of fashioning this device would just appear so easily. I’d previously assumed that Ancient Kairomea fell to ruin because only Orthoaguina was able to build such things, but judging from his awkwardness, I could tell that that wasn’t the case... At the very least, he seemed to have an idea of who could be behind this, but something was keeping him from speaking out.

The prince read the room and switched topics. “We can revisit that subject later. If this device is the same as the one in the tower, can’t you open it, Sita?”

“See, I thought so too, but it seems I’m excluded from having that right,” Sita replied.

She approached the tombstone-like rock and gently drew the key around her neck to the device, but it didn’t make a peep.

“I’d like to check something,” Orthoaguina said. “Sita, I must use you to do so—may I?”

“Lord Orthoag—” Rachel started hastily in protest. But she was immediately cut off by Sita raising her hand.

I was confused at first, but their attitudes made me recall what Sita did back at the tower. During the Grand Archival Tower incident, Sita seemed to have been manipulated by Orthoaguina through the book and the key. I remembered Sita’s monotone along with how the recoil made her faint—it was no wonder that Rachel seemed against it.

“Don’t worry,” Sita reassured her. “Back then, I was fighting against the mysterious entity within me, and that was straining my body. But now that I know exactly who’s using me...”

The chief librarian smiled at her sister before she turned to the grimoire and tightly clutched the book in her hand.

“In that case, let us brute force our way in,” Orthoaguina said. The Book of Orthoaguina flipped open on its own, and the key around Sita’s neck began to float in the air.

“Activating administrative privileges,” Sita said robotically. The light faded from her eyes, but no longer did she look to be in agony like when she’d fought against his influence, so I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and watched on. Several magic circles flickered between her and the tombstone device, appearing and disappearing over and over. Before long, a sound filled the area—I wasn’t sure if it came from the stone or from Sita—until eventually, the device shifted form and a keyhole appeared.

“Processing complete,” Sita said in a monotone. “Unlocking.”

The key transformed, and she fitted it into the stone’s hole. The ground began to quake slightly, and the floor behind the device began to yawn wide to reveal a staircase.

“Do these stairs lead underground?” Safina asked excitedly.

“This might be a historical find!” Magiluka squealed. “Lady Mary, had we not brought Sita with us, we would’ve never been able to notice and open this place!”

“I-I-I don’t think it’s anything that grand...” I stammered. “Or so I hope. Does this have any ties to the Argent Knight? Maybe we were better off keeping this place closed.” Despite my friends’ gusto, I was afraid that we’d discovered something insane.

“We’ll find that out in due time when we explore,” the prince said, trying to calm me down. “There might not be anything here at all. We should relax and take it easy.”

He was right, and I nodded like an idiot.

When the quaking stopped, the floating book fell to the ground immediately, and Sita also staggered and almost collapsed.

“Sita!” Rachel cried. She’d been watching on worriedly, and she hurried to her sister’s side to support her.

Sita remained silent.

“Sita?” Rachel asked.

“Ni...ke...” Sita murmured robotically. The light slowly returned to her eyes as she said those final words, and then she began reawakening to her usual self.

After that indescribable sound earlier, I’d remained vigilant about listening well, allowing me to pick up on what Sita had whispered while regaining control of her body. Did she just say “Nike”? Does that have anything to do with this place? Or did I mishear her?

“Mm... S-Sis...” Sita said slowly, steadily getting back to normal. She didn’t seem as exhausted as she was back in Kairomea, when she’d first lent Orthoaguina her body, but it was still cause for concern. I considered leaving her behind to rest and heading down to explore. But I’m sure Sita’s dying to know what’s down here too...

“Orthoaguina?” I asked. “Will Sita be okay?”

“N... So...” Orthoaguina replied.

“Huh? Hello? Anyone there? Bad reception?” I could only hear bits and pieces of his voice, and I shook the book while raising it in the air.

“Lady Mary? Whatever are you doing?” Safina asked.

“Huh? Oh, you know, I heard this was a way to get better recep— Ahem, I mean, I can’t quite hear him.” As I shook the book to and fro, I only just stopped myself from outing my past-life knowledge to Safina. Tutte cleared her throat and attempted to bring me back on track.

“Perhaps you can only hear him when the book is near Sita,” Magiluka said.

I was a bit hesitant to put it beside her while she was collapsed, but I eventually decided to give it a shot.

“Orthoaguina?” I asked.

“Y-Yeah? What is it?” he replied.

Oooh, I can hear him now! Does Sita serve as our radio tower or something? I kind of feel bad for treating her like one...

“Is Sita all right?” I asked. “Should we go back for now and let her rest for a while?”

“That’s not necessary,” Orthoaguina replied. “She simply isn’t used to her body being manipulated and is a bit tired, is all. She’ll recover soon enough—but if your curiosity is bursting at the seams, you may go on ahead and explore.”

I wasn’t heartless enough to go, “All righty, see ya later!” in this sort of situation. I turned to my friends, hoping for an answer.

“Want me to carry her, then?” Sacher offered. He was proud of his strength and seemed like he’d genuinely follow through, but I wasn’t totally on board with this idea.

“No need,” Sita replied. “I’m fine. You should carry my sister instead.”

“Wh-What?! S-S-Stop talking nonsense!” Rachel yelped.

Sita still looked tired, but she nonetheless mustered a wink at her sister, who was still propping her up. It was all too apparent what Sita had intended with that comment, and it left Rachel visibly flustered. Yeah, they’re so cute.

“Why Rachel?” Sacher asked. Only he cocked his head to the side quizzically, perfectly embodying the dense protagonist trope.

“Sita seems good to go,” I said.

“I agree,” the prince replied. “I might be worrying too much, but it might be dangerous here. Village headman, could you return home? We don’t know what’ll happen from here on out.”

The village headman nodded and left. Once we saw him leave, I took a deep breath and turned back to the stairs that led underground.

“All right,” I said. “Why don’t we head down?” I feel like this is slowly spiraling out of my control. But I must be imagining things, right, God?

8. Excuse Me!

The staircase went much deeper than I was expecting, and we were all carefully ambling down it for quite some time. It was so dark the entire way that I ended up losing track of how many steps we’d taken and how long we’d been descending...but eventually, the scenery changed, and jaw-droppingly so.

“Is this...a forest?” I gasped.

Sure enough, we’d reached a tiny forest growing underground. The ceiling must’ve been about as high up as the distance we’d traveled underground, as we could hardly even make it out from the floor of the woods.

While we were all astonished at the sight, Rachel and Sita especially couldn’t hide their amazement. “What in the world is going on?” Sita murmured. “This place...looks so similar to the Ancient Forest.”

“You’re right,” Rachel agreed. “The plants growing here bear a striking resemblance to the ones we’re familiar with. But why are they growing here anyway?”

“I see... This is a man-made mana ecosystem,” Orthoaguina noted. Then, in a whisper so soft I barely heard it, he continued, “The only person capable of such a feat is... Nike... Did you do this?”

It seemed there was no mistaking this was like a miniature Ancient Forest—and because I was so absorbed in coming to grips with its breathtaking visage, I didn’t even really register the soft-spoken second instance of hearing that new name.

Although I knew little about plants, I did feel like this forest was ever so slightly different from the Ancient Forest I knew. Of course, I wasn’t so sure I’d have noticed if the people familiar with the area hadn’t spoken up about it... I was quietly hoping our deeply enthralled Kairomean friends would help clarify what we were seeing, and I was fidgeting anxiously thinking about how to ask them about it until at long last, Magiluka posed a question. “I thought you said it was difficult for the plants of the Ancient Forest to thrive here,” she pointed out. “At least, it’s what I recall you saying when we discussed the evening primroses growing near the village.”

“Excellent insight,” Orthoaguina replied. “Should you wish to understand this phenomenon, you must first learn of the logic of this world—namely, how all living things are related to mana. Go on, Sita. Tell them.”

I figured he was putting on the knowledgeable professor act to answer the question, not pass the buck to Sita...

“Huh? Me? Uh, um... Well... Erm...” Sita groaned, crossing her arms pensively as she sought a means to explain the situation. “As Magiluka says, under normal circumstances, this forest cannot exist,” Sita explained. “But there’s a special method that can make this forest very much possible.”

“What method is that?” I asked.

“Fairies,” Rachel chimed in. It seemed she couldn’t stand to idly watch Orthoaguina’s charade and decided to just cut to the chase.

“Now, now,” Orthoaguina said. “That explanation will hardly make them unders—”

“Yeah, I get it now,” I said.

“See? They won’t— Wait, what? C’mon, that’s cheating!”

It’s kinda funny to see this dragon dip his toes into humor.

“But really, you’re willing to just leave it at that?” Orthoaguina asked. “I figured you’d want an overview of the fundamental logic of the world and an explanation of fairies as a concept.”

“I mean, ‘the fairies did it’ pretty much says it all,” I replied.

I knew that I wasn’t one to sit through a complicated lecture—I was confident it’d all go over my head and that I’d give up on it partway through. Personally, I felt like fairies were outside the scope of common sense, and while I couldn’t understand how they operated, if you blamed it all on fairies, that was a good enough explanation for me. After all, they’d forced me through enough horrible experiences that I had little doubt they could do whatever they wanted.

“Grrr... Wait, you have a divine beast, yes?” Orthoaguina said. “I suppose you would be able to understand it all... I see now...”

I wasn’t sure what kind of conclusions Orthoaguina was drawing, but I was getting the impression he was vastly overestimating my abilities. It was my duty to fix such silly misunderstandings. “Hey—”

“Lady Mary,” Sacher called out, cutting me off. “You should be careful.” He was standing alert and gazing around.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“It was difficult to notice because the foliage hid them well, but those are monster bones,” Safina said, as vigilant as ever.

Only then did I notice the situation. I followed their gazes and spotted what looked to be a buried pile of awfully familiar bones.

“Lady Mary, don’t those look like gigant snake bones?” Magiluka asked.

“Is there any connection to the ones we faced before?” His Highness wondered.

“Maybe they crawled up from here?” Sacher asked.

“But the bones are scattered about,” Safina observed. “I think the snakes were killed. I don’t see anything nearby that makes it seem like a territorial dispute went on and they were chased out, nor is there any evidence this is a nest.”

I initially was thinking Sacher must be right, but since Safina had a ton of experience observing monsters in the Ancient Forest, her opinion convinced me to withhold judgment. Sure enough, looking things over again, I realized this underground forest would be a bit too cramped for several massive snakes to live here, and there wasn’t any indication this could be a nest. If Safina is right, whoever defeated the snakes might still be here, lurking about...

“Guys, over here!” Sita shouted excitedly, cutting off my ominous ideas. Before I’d known it, she’d gone deeper into the forest, completely unconcerned with any of the things that’d been on my mind.

Jeez... Curiosity’s got you running off again, huh, Sita? I sighed and walked toward her.

We all proceeded deeper into the forest to reach her—I presumed we were at its center, based on the size of the place—to see her pointing toward a circular spring around six meters in diameter issuing from the ground. Unlike the surrounding foliage, the spring looked man-made...and when I saw exactly what she was trying to show us peeking out from the water, I was at a complete loss for words for the second time today.

“It’s a...sunken full suit of armor,” I murmured.

“There’s more than one set, Lady Mary,” Magiluka said, equally astonished.

She was right—upon closer inspection, several suits were submerged in the water. It’d been difficult to tell because the spring was much deeper than I thought and it was darker below the surface.

“I’m just speculating, mind you, but maybe the old rumors of people claiming to see the Argent Knight in the forest are related to this?” His Highness guessed.

“I think Prince Reifus is right,” I said. “Why don’t we try taking a suit of armor from the water?” I felt a wave of curiosity over all the oddities that’d been piling up, and I recklessly dipped a foot into the water—

“Be careful!” Sita tried to warn me. “This isn’t normal water!”

“Huh?”

Without a doubt, it wasn’t normal water at all—the moment I put my foot down, it floated back to the surface, and the resulting ripples traveled to the center of the basin, causing two liquid pillars to spew up at their destination. Aghhh! I thought I was being careful, but I messed up!

While I was agonizing internally over my carelessness, the spiraling pillars of water began to twist and turn, defying the laws of gravity until their tips finally merged to form an arch.

“Wh-Wh-What?!” I yelped. “What just happened?”

“I think some sort of security measure was activated,” Sita replied.

“S-Security? Why?”

“Well, we are trespassing, aren’t we?”

“But we just waltzed in through the front door!” I noted with panic.

“That’s true, but I did force the lock, remember?!” She adorably stuck out her tongue and made a playful little “Tee-hee! ♪” pose.

I guess we were gonna get caught sooner or later...and as the person who screwed up, far be it from me to blame her.

“Be careful, Lady Mary!” Magiluka warned. “Something is going on under that arch!”

As she said, on the far side of the solidified water arch, a fuzzy, translucent membrane began to form. To put it in sci-fi terms, it looked like a patch of distorted space.

“The fairies must’ve done this too,” I assumed. “What are they doing here anyway?”

“No, fairies are simply a part of this entire system,” Sitas explained. “This facility was created by someone with their help. It’s a combination of ancient Kairomean technology and magic itemification by the fairies. Even Lord Orthoaguina wouldn’t do something like this.”

“But of course,” the dragon replied. “Fairies are always shifty and difficult to trust. They’re the subjects of that stupid tree, and I don’t want to use them or get involved with them.”

“Wait a second... Are you saying that an elf made this place?” I asked.

As for how I jumped to this conclusion... Well, the fairy’s mischief ordeal was echoing through my mind, and frankly, I only knew of one group of people that dared to use fairies to create magic tools. If all our assumptions are true, the sightings of the Argent Knight, the evening primroses, and the monster appearances are all related to this facility...but so far, there isn’t any concrete proof that it’s related to the Argent Knight. I’ve come all this way looking for information—if we’re just getting mixed up in some elven experiment here, this is all just a big waste of time.

While I was lost in my thoughts, our situation took another turn—unsurprisingly, something began to emerge from the space under the arch. I’d seen things appear from a distorted space at the top of the Grand Archival Tower, and I assumed that the same thing was occurring here. Whatever’s going on here must be on par with what Orthoaguina can make.

“Be careful!” I called to the people behind me. “Something’s appearing from the arch!”

A titan more than three meters tall, wielding a massive sword the same height, slowly began to emerge right in front of us. I quickly realized it wasn’t a living thing—its body was made of ore, and mysterious inscriptions glowing with rainbow light were etched all over it. It was shaped like a slender human, but its neck was twice the length of its head, and its torso was abnormally long as well. It was an unsettling sight, to put it frankly, helped in no small part by its creepy lack of a face.

Given it was armed, I was standing vigilant ready for it to make its move. Luckily, I was already in front of everyone since I’d been the one to step into the water earlier.

“That glow! It must be mithril!” Sita squealed. “That towering statue of mithril must have several spells cast upon it! Awesooome! Whoever could make this out of mithril must have amazing skills!”

I was impressed that she could observe all that with a single glance, but I couldn’t help but want to tell her not to sound so happy and excited about it.

“So, we’re all in agreement that this is likely what caused all the destruction around here, right?” I asked, turning to Sita for an answer.

“Probably!” the chief librarian replied. “I assume that it’s the gatekeeper of this place!”

I could only sigh at her energetic reply. Hmm... This is weird! The more I look into this, the more I feel like I’m completely on the wrong path.

Ugh... I’m so ready to give up on my research topic...

9. The Colossus and Me

As I stood in the underground forest surrounded by walls, the titan towering over me only upped the ante on the oddness of it all. Since Sita had called it a security measure, I assumed that it existed to punish any intruders—the monster corpses lying nearby and the suits of armor under the water attested to as much. I also assumed that there was no room for discussion, considering we were trespassing, and the thing seemed incapable of talking anyway.

“Sita, if the fairies are involved, can’t you speak with them since you’re an elf?” Prince Reifus suggested.

“I’d love to do so, Your Highness, but they don’t seem open for negotiations,” Sita replied. “Also, we require some preparation to speak with them.”

Rats, I guess we can’t talk our way out of this.

“My lady!” Tutte called.

As I steeled my resolve to fight, Tutte approached to hand me a sword.

“Thanks, Tu—”

When I turned around to address Tutte, the titan suddenly appeared behind her, quick as a flash—chills ran down my spine as I realized how close the faceless colossus had come to her. As she headed toward me, I instinctively grabbed her and drew her close. It all happened so quickly that she let out a small shriek and dropped the blade in her hand to the floor. Sword or no sword didn’t matter to me at this point, however; I was fully focused on using my body to shield her from the titan targeting her.

“Wind Blade Slash!” Safina shouted as she joined the defense. She’d been able to keep up with the behemoth’s movement like I had...but since the titan was mithril, her wind magic attack couldn’t do much damage to it. The best her attack could do was cause it to flinch for a brief moment—but it was more than enough time for me. I thanked Safina and jumped back with Tutte in my arms.

The colossus was watching us. It didn’t have any eyes, so I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to be pondering its next steps. Why did it aim for Tutte first? Was it because she moved first? Or was it because she seemed weak and the easiest to kill? I couldn’t tell, but what I knew for certain was that wrath filled my heart. This asshole just tried to kill my Tutte!

Everyone has certain buttons you shouldn’t push, and my big red glowing one was Tutte. Anyone who dared trying to lay a finger on her would receive no mercy from me—there was no way I would keep my cool with this walking rock a single second longer.

I eyed the motionless behemoth as I went to pick up my sword, and once I did, I let go of Tutte and prepared to face it. Suddenly, it vanished once more. It made no preparatory movements, nor did it seem to shift its center of gravity—it completely ignored its humanoid body and the rules of gravity as it practically teleported to its destination with supernatural speed. Once again, it was attempting to bring its sword down on Tutte.

“Don’t you dare come near Tutteeeee!” I roared.

Furious, I swung my blade at the persistent colossus that’d continued to ignore me. Its greatsword clashed with mine, and with a deafening clang, I’d parried its strike, causing it to lose its balance. However, it paid no heed to breaking its fall and shot its free arm out trying to punch Tutte. I could hardly believe the absurdity of it all...and without a care for who could see, I stepped in front of Tutte, crossing my arms over my chest to receive the blow.

“My lady!” Tutte screamed. I had my natural imperviousness to attacks, so the punch didn’t affect me much, but her pained voice nevertheless rang in the air.

The colossus, seemingly astonished by my actions, froze for a moment without acting. Sacher and Rachel didn’t let this opportunity slide as they flanked the titan and slashed at it—however, they had both merely swiped the air, as it’d backed a good distance away.

“My lady!” Tutte cried worriedly as she rushed to me.

“I’m fine,” I said. “I’m not too hurt.”

Safina and the others looked visibly relieved, assuming that the colossus’s awkward position hadn’t allowed it to do much. I, on the other hand, knew that an average person like Tutte wouldn’t have just gotten away with a horrific injury—we’d been faced with a mithril fist, after all. I wasn’t sure if Tutte knew she’d nearly lost her life, as she wasn’t doing anything but looking me over anxiously despite knowing my capabilities and seeing my undamaged body. She did, however, recognize that she was the target and that I’d used my body to shield her, and she looked terribly apologetic about it.

I’ll be fine. I could withstand any attack, and I knew that I wouldn’t lose. However, I had now become painfully aware of my own powerlessness when enemies ignored me in favor of the people precious to me who were too weak to defend themselves. Something Orthoaguina had once said echoed in my mind. “They were so surprisingly frail...and so dear to me.”

“Why, you ask?” Orthoaguina said out of nowhere. He wasn’t speaking to us, but apparently, to the titan.

“Lord Orthoaguina?” Sita asked, equally surprised as she hastily took out the book in front of everyone.

“Are Mary’s actions that puzzling to you?” Orthoaguina asked.

Again, it sounded like he was speaking with the colossus. Was it because he was a dragon, or because he was Orthoaguina? It seemed he could speak with fairies even through the grimoire. And sure enough, the colossus wasn’t moving an inch despite being so eager to attack my maid mere moments before.

“Mary, why don’t you provide the answer?” Orthoaguina suggested.

“Huh? For what?” I asked.

I was completely confused about this entire conversation. I wish that you’d speak in a way where the average Joe could understand what you’re saying...

“State why you risk your life to save others,” Orthoaguina replied.

I was sure I wouldn’t be able to comprehend where this was coming from if I bothered asking for an explanation. Actually, I was so surprised by the sudden curveball of a question I wasn’t even sure how to respond in the first place. In the end, I just hesitantly said, “U-Uh, because I want to?” It may have been a shockingly simple answer, and it may have come out sounding more like a question, but I didn’t know what else to say.

Silence filled the room. H-Huh? Did I say the wrong thing? I feel like everyone’s looking at me like, “What in the world are you on about?” Unfortunately, I had no better answer to provide. Since I couldn’t add anything on or rephrase my answer, all I could do was anxiously watch on.

In the next moment, the titan rammed its sword into the ground with gusto. Craaap! It’s angry. It looks sooo angry!

I felt myself inch back, overwhelmed by my opponent’s pressure...but just then, the colossus drew its hands back from its blade and slowly raised them high in the air. I was completely befuddled by this sudden turn and nervously watched on. Another round of silence filled the forest.

Once it started standing still, I turned to my maid behind me, unable to process my situation. “Uh, Tutte? What are your thoughts?” I asked.

“It looks like it’s raising its hands in the air as a form of surrender,” Tutte replied.

“Y-Yeah,” I agreed. “I think so too.”

The titan had its arms lifted above its shoulders and kept them there without touching its blade. I gazed around at my friends, and they all nodded back in agreement.

“Seems like it doesn’t plan on harming you anymore,” Orthoaguina said.

“Really? Are we sure that it’s not going to aim for Tutte again?” I asked. I was skeptical and squeezing her tight in my arms, insistent on guarding her. I had no idea why the colossus had surrendered, but if it had no intention of harming my maid anymore, I couldn’t have wished for a better outcome...but it wasn’t easy to believe.

I entrusted Tutte to Safina and Magiluka before cautiously approaching the surrendering behemoth. I timidly poked it with the tip of my blade, but it made no signs of fighting back and simply stood there.

“Go on,” Orthoaguina urged Sita wearily. “Don’t act silly—let’s move ahead before it changes its mind.”

Still anxious, I swiftly stepped away from the colossus, returned to Tutte’s side, and grabbed her hand before walking ahead. I felt someone staring at me and looked around—I could’ve sworn the thing was watching Tutte and me. I hastily tugged her along and got through the gate lying ahead of us.

10. Mysteries Bring More Mysteries...

When we crossed the gate, we were greeted by a completely different scene. The underground forest transformed into a clearly man-made laboratory, overwhelming my senses in a different way than before. What’s more, every inch of the place was practically screaming Kairomea.

“This...must be in a different location from that underground forest,” Sita said. “There’s no corridor connecting the two facilities, and instead they connect with that mystical gate. Whoever’s behind this is very thorough.”

“Sita, what kind of research were they doing here?” Magiluka asked. “It reminds me of the research on chimeras...”

“I wonder... I think the technology used is similar, but it doesn’t seem to be the exact same. D-Do you think that we could activate a little something?”

“Y-Yes... I-I think that a little thing won’t be an issue... J-Just nothing that might cause trouble.”

The two ladies were clumps of curiosity, and I was afraid that the two’s inquisitiveness would start them down a series of dares—if they were actually going to activate something, I was intent on stopping them.

What was concerning me most, however, was the silence of the leader of Team Curious, the dragon who lusted for knowledge. “Orthoaguina, don’t you have something to say?” I asked, dubious of his quietness.

“Good grief, I suppose you saw through me,” he sighed. “When did you notice?”

“Huh? Notice what?”

I’m just worried that you’re so quiet. I was gonna tease you about how you don’t seem too excited... Wait, this conversation sounds familiar...

“Hmph, no need to play dumb,” Orthoaguina said. “It’s no fun, but I suppose I’ve got no choice.”

It may not have been the first time I’d been down this road, but I was still flummoxed about how to respond...

“Yes, I do believe that this is the work of Nike,” Orthoaguina revealed, as though we were all supposed to know that name.

In reality, everyone seemed confused. Whoa there! Hold up, partner! I have no idea what you’re on about.

“Lord Orthoaguina, by Nike, you mean...” Sita said with a troubled grimace. She alone seemed to have a vague understanding of the situation.

“Precisely,” Orthoaguina said. “Sita, since you’ve caught glimpses of my memories, I suppose that you’ve got some idea of who I’m referring to. He was the first clan chief of Kairomea and the very one who tied me to the clan. Nike is one of the few magus smiths who I admitted to be at the top of their field.”

I was stunned speechless by Orthoaguina’s confession. I wanted to contribute somehow, so I tried to recall something, anything. Nike... I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere.

“Ah, yes, when the entrance to this place opened,” I muttered.

“I-I see,” Magiluka said to Orthoaguina. “Fifi once mentioned that every magus smith had their own tendencies of sorts, and it was easy to tell who made what item. When you opened the door to this place, you must’ve realized who was behind it all.”

“Oho? Magiluka, was it?” Orthoaguina replied. “You’re quite astute, I see. I suppose it’s necessary to be, as a friend of the Holy Woman. You wouldn’t be able to keep up with her were you not sharp.”

Sorry, what? Who is this “Holy Woman” that you’re referring to? I’m feeling so left behind... All at once, I was impressed by Magiluka’s intelligence and also confused by how I’d become everyone’s focus merely by blurting out what was on my mind. I must be imagining things. I must be.

“It sounds like this Nike was in a fairly important position,” the prince said. “But why was he in Eneres Forest instead of Kairomea?”

“Who knows?” Orthoaguina replied. “I don’t know what he was up to once he left Kairomea. Perhaps he came here for some reason.”

“Nike left?”

“Indeed. You can call it a difference in opinion, I suppose. Nike was treading a path I didn’t wish to follow. That’s all.”

As the prince and Orthoaguina continued their conversation, Sita’s expression grew dark. Since she was linked with him, she claimed to have caught glimpses of his memories; she must’ve seen what Nike’s goals were. I could tell from her expression that these goals weren’t very agreeable to her... While I was worried about her, I thought it was best not to pry—and above all, I was getting worried that my research on the Argent Knight was fading farther and farther away into the distance.

“I wonder if this place has any ties to the Argent Knight,” I said, trying my best to change topics. “What do you think, Sita?”

“H-Hmm, I don’t know,” Sita replied. “I’ll look into it.”

I followed her to explore the rest of this facility. Several of the rooms were as silent as a tomb and hardly looked lived in. What shocked me most was how well this place was maintained—the facility must’ve been created a long time ago, but it showed no signs of wear or deterioration from time.

“This laboratory is in excellent condition,” Magiluka said. “Perhaps we can find some sort of document or hint that could point us to what people were doing here.”

“Yeah...” Sita agreed. “Maybe it’s due to the fairies being involved. I’m grateful it’s well preserved, but I wouldn’t want to recklessly touch anything and trigger something.”

The two inquisitive ladies explored the rooms excitedly while I contained the temptation to mention that Sita had just jinxed herself—in fact, I feared her hypothetical might soon become reality. The rest of my friends must’ve thought similarly, as they began watching the ladies closely as we started exploring the area.

I stumbled upon a room that made my heart thud with dread and my chest tighten nervously—I was in a hospital room. The shape and scenery of it was completely different from what I’d experienced in my past, but it still managed to stimulate my memories. The depressing reminiscence was overwhelming me with heartrending sorrow.

“My lady? Is something the matter?” Tutte asked worriedly. She never missed any minute changes in my behavior, and thanks to her, I managed to regain my composure.

“Nothing,” I replied. “In any case, I wonder what kind of research was done here.”

“About that,” Sita said. “Any pertinent information appears to have been meticulously scrubbed away or destroyed. We can only wildly speculate.”

“I’m not surprised, Sita,” Orthoaguina said. “Nike was the type to be extremely cautious about information. But even if we did find anything, I suspect that only I’m capable of fully understanding its meaning.”

“Are you bragging?” I asked.

“Heh. Nike’s ideas are simply completely out of this world—or outside the scope of common sense, you might say,” Orthoaguina replied. “His nature was the reason he captured my interest and why I took him under my wing.” His voice was tinged with nostalgia as he spoke of his old friend—and he didn’t deny my snarky remark, I was sure to note. Ideas out of this world, huh? Orthoaguina’s description bothered me, but I was more distracted by a certain elf busily scurrying around, carefully searching through every nook and cranny.

“What are you doing, Sita?” I asked.

“You seem fixated on this room, Lady Mary,” Sita replied. “I thought it best to not leave any stone unturned. Maybe something’s here.”

“Um, please don’t make that face like you’re offended by my question,” I pleaded.

“Lady Mary, what part of this room do you find suspicious?”

“Are you listening to me?” Our conversation just wouldn’t click, and I sighed, conceding that I wouldn’t get through to her.

I gazed at her as she tirelessly searched the room. While I’d never personally experienced it myself, I recalled a similar scene often depicted in anime or manga, where the friend of an adolescent boy would search his room, hoping to find some kind of embarrassing item hidden away. And as for the hiding spot...

“Under the bed, maybe?” I muttered to myself. I giggled at the thought.

I thought I’d said it under my breath, but I underestimated an elf’s keen sense of hearing. She heard me loud and clear as she bent down to peer under the mattress.

“Argh, I can’t see! It’s so dark,” Sita wailed.

“U-Uh, Sita?” I asked. “A maiden should never crouch like that.”

I didn’t mind that she was trying so hard to search the room, but this pose put her in a very unfortunate position. She’d gone on all fours and was flashing her pan— I mean, her butt was high in the air. Even a girl like me felt her heart skip a beat.

“Lady Mary, did you find— Whoa!” Sacher cried.

“Dang it, Sacher!” I replied. “You and your impeccable timing! You just can’t stop being the protagonist!”

I hastily stood in front of Sita and hid her as I tried to protect her dignity from male eyes. Rachel, who stood beside Sacher, also tried to cut off his view. And the prince is beside her, but I suppose he gets a pass... Yeah, I won’t bring it up. A maiden’s heart is complicated, after all... I think.

“I think something’s here,” Sita said.

“Sita, you have a more pressing concern, I’ll have you know,” I replied.

“Urgh... I can’t see well, but I think something’s here...” Sita was too absorbed in digging around to be paying any attention to her surroundings.

“Listen to me— Wait, something’s there?” At first, I was panicking trying to get her to calm down, but I couldn’t help but be interested once I heard she’d come across something.

“Lord Orthoaguina!” Sita said. She took out the Book of Orthoaguina and shoved it between the mattress and the frame. “Do you see anything?”

“Heeey!” Orthoaguina roared. “Don’t shove me into tight spaces! You’ve become really callous about the way you treat me, I’ll have you know!”

The great Philomath Dragon was clearly indignant about being shoved between a mattress and a bed frame. You should give her a good scolding or two and lecture her on respect.

“Oh? I see a worn-out book...” Orthoaguina observed. “That’s what it looks like to me.”

You’re gonna investigate without scolding her? I wasn’t sure if “doting father” was the right descriptor, but ultimately, no scolding came despite his being made a substitute for a flashlight. I couldn’t help but get a kick out of it.

“I don’t think I can reach...” Sita groaned.

I silently watched on, feeling a bit impatient. I felt tempted to act on her behalf when Tutte swiftly stopped me.

“My lady, that frame is very heavy,” my maid whispered. “Please don’t try to move it by yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am...” I replied. Whew, that was close. Thanks, Tutte.

“Want us to give it a go? We can try moving that frame,” Sacher offered. In a strange turn of events, he miraculously knew how to read the room and dragged the prince into his antics as well.

“I’d heavily advise against it,” Orthoaguina warned. “We shouldn’t try to move anything. If we damage or break something, the fairies might become furious with us. It’s best if we don’t touch any of these items.”

We were up against fairies. We had no idea what ticked them off, and Orthoaguina’s plan seemed safest. That really was a close call. If I stepped in, I’m almost sure that I would’ve screwed up somehow... But what now? I feel like we came full circle and are back where we started.

“We need to believe in ourselves and find a way to grab that item!” I said. I squeezed my fist and tried to sound cool.

“Hmm, okay...” Sita said. “Then Rachel, you’ve got the longest and most slender arms. Could you try getting it?”

“Huh? Me?” Rachel gasped.

“Please don’t phrase it like that, Sita,” I mumbled. “That kind of hurts my feelings...” I assume you mean no ill will, but be careful with those sharp words of yours, okay, Sita? You might poke a certain short, not-so-slender passerby’s eye out, you know? Heh, get it?

While I was working on my comedy routine, Sita was dragging Rachel toward the bed. “Hey! Ack! Uh... Wait...” Rachel stammered hesitantly.

“What’s wrong?” Sita asked. “Come on, help me out in a flash like you always do!”

“B-But...”

I watched on quietly, unsure why the ever dauntless Rachel had suddenly turned so timid. Only when she crouched down with her butt in the air like Sita had done moments before did it all click. When she’d been shooting glances my direction this whole time, it hadn’t been her trying to get me to help her out—she’d been scoping out what the boy beside me would do.

“Where are Magiluka and the others?” I asked. “Sacher, I don’t mean to trouble you, but can you go and check?”

“Why me?” Sacher asked, narrowing his eyes with suspicion.

“Yeah, she’s right,” His Highness said, reading the room. “I’m worried about Lady Magiluka and Lady Safina as well. We should go and check.”

The two men left the room. Whew, that was a close one. A maiden’s heart was about to get crushed. Once her problem had exited, Rachel immediately began to search in earnest, leaving no stone unturned as she worked swiftly. After some trouble and taking Sita’s shameless, embarrassing pose for a while, she finally managed to grab hold of the item that we were looking for—an old, thin book.

“It looks very beat-up,” Rachel observed. “It’s as though it only remained precisely because the fairies managed this place very well.”

Sita and Orthoaguina stared intently at the book, their penchant for investigation on full display. They quickly began their analyses.

“It doesn’t look like a grimoire or anything,” Sita said.

“Hmm, yes, it does look like a normal book. It doesn’t feel dangerous,” Orthoaguina agreed.

Sita chanted a mysterious spell before she carefully flipped through the pages and perused its contents. I assumed that the spell was unique to Kairomea, allowing the reader to parse old books without causing any further damage. The book and its pages must’ve been just that brittle.

“Huh... What language is this?” Sita wondered. “I’ve never seen it before.”

“Indeed,” Orthoaguina agreed.

I recalled the time when I visited the fake ruins with Victorica, where she and her father made up their own Bloodrain language to add mystique to the attraction.

“Let me see,” I said. “Is it some kind of original language that someone creatively came up...with...?”

Half jokingly, I joined in to peer at the book, but my voice quickly grew feeble and trailed off. And that was no surprise, since I could read this newfound language.

Agard...

This “mysterious” language was Japanese.

11. A Nostalgic Language

I was so stunned to read Japanese that my brain nearly ground to a halt...but by the same token, there was no way I could keep my thoughts from racing. What’s going on? Is this real? I’m not just seeing things? What’s happening?—my inner voice was an endless carousel of questions. I could tell everyone was talking about something, but it was all going in one ear and out the other.

“My lady?” Tutte asked. I was so thrown off that even she wasn’t sure what to make of how I was acting, and she was staring at me with a puzzled look on her face.

When I caught wind of her watching me panic, my derailed train of thought gradually began to get back on course, and I started to reason out what I’d seen. Calm down, Mary.Think about this with a clear head. This was never beyond the realm of possibility—God never said that I was the only person who’d come here. There’s a good chance that others reincarnated into this world before me, and in fact, it’s logical to assume so.

After taking the time to think things through, I regained my cool and felt ready to start considering my next course of action. My most pressing issue was, of course, that whoever was related to this facility may have reincarnated from Japan, just like I did. The word “agard” felt key. Is it someone’s name? Or is it the name of a magic item? Maybe it’s a spell that I’m not aware of. Could it be a location? There was no end to the possibilities.

I just need to read more of that book. Only when my next step was decided did I finally manage to look at all my friends.

“S-Sita, did you find anything?” I asked.

“I can tell from the book’s materials and its deterioration that it’s very old,” Sita replied. “But if we want a more accurate assessment of its age, we need to do further analysis.”

“Personally, I find these symbols, or characters, rather, very intriguing,” Orthoaguina added. “There is something in this world that I know nothing about. How very interesting.”

The two were eager to take this book back home, driven by their curiosity and eagerness to learn.

“Could I take a look?” I asked.

“Sure, of course,” Sita said. “Oh, and I’ve cast my spell on it to temporarily preserve its current state, but please be careful. These types of books are very fragile and brittle.”

Her advice was terrifying for me, a person brimming with strength—the contents of the book had been so shocking that I’d almost forgotten my circumstances. It was an ancient document, and I had to be extremely careful when handling such an important item. I recoiled, afraid of potentially ruining it...but I wanted to read it. I wanted to see what was inside.

During times like these, I always turned to one person. “T-Tutte,” I pleaded.

“Of course, my lady,” my maid replied.

As though she was waiting for her cue, she swiftly stepped forward and took the book from Sita. My maid’s so reliable...

With the book now in her hands, she guided me to a place where the two of us could read. We sat down and began a little reading session.

“You guys really are so close,” Sita said.

She smiled warmly, and I felt a bit embarrassed, but I had my maid flip the pages while I read its contents.

Agard.

That was the name I was given today.

There’s apparently no special meaning to this name.

They’d simply grown tired of calling me by number.

Even so, I’m happy...I think. I really don’t know.

Still, I’ve decided to be happy to receive a name.

The words scribbled on the page were few. It looked like a diary, but I really couldn’t tell since there was no date. Who’s “they”? Why was this person given a name? Was he called by number before that? What in the world occurred here? No matter the case, it was clear that there were at least two people in this facility. I couldn’t tell what research they’d been conducting, but an inexplicable sense of dread filled my heart.

“My lady?” Tutte asked with concern.

My memories from my previous life caused me to jump to horrifying conclusions, and I fell silent. My maid closed the book and gazed at me worriedly.

“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry,” I replied. “I was just...lost in my thoughts.”

Sita saw me finish reading and couldn’t hide her curiosity. “Lady Mary, how was the book? Were you perhaps able to read those cryptic characters?” Her eyes were filled with hope.

“I-I’m not sure,” I replied apologetically. “They sort of look familiar, but I really don’t know.” I tried to hide the truth for now.

“Oho? You won’t outright say that you can’t read them, and these symbols look familiar to you, I see,” Orthoaguina said. “I wonder where you saw them.”

“Ugh...” I replied. I was horrible at lying, and it seemed I’d said something unnecessary since Orthoaguina was probing me for more answers.

“You say that, but you know that Nike made this facility,” I countered nervously. “Maybe he wrote this book.”

“Ah, I’d forgotten...” Orthoaguina replied. “I’ve never seen his writing myself, but perhaps some of Nike’s texts have those cryptic characters...”

I was trying my best to divert attention from revealing the truth by touching upon another topic, and it seemed my little gamble had worked in my favor.

“Ugh... If we were in the Grand Archival Tower, I could use the employees to look into it...” Sita said.

“Ah yes, I’m asking around to those who are free as we speak,” Orthoaguina replied. “They’re looking into it, and I’ll let you know if they find anything.”

“Right! You’re actually still in Kairomea! I forgot!” Sita realized.

“Good grief. I’m not just a book. Don’t you ever forget that.”

Right... Yeah, this talking book is actually an ancient dragon. I’d almost forgotten myself. I flashed a strained smile.

“And Mary, back to what you said earlier... Where did you see these characters?” Orthoaguina asked.

Damn, guess I couldn’t fool him.

“Lady Mary! Over here!” Sacher shouted.

As Orthoaguina persistently tried to question me, I was saved by the bell. “S-Sacher’s calling for me!” I said. “Wh-What’s going on? We should go! Come on!”

“Tsk... Very well,” Orthoaguina relented.

Personally, I wanted to read a bit more of that old book, but I had to flee from this talking grimoire—ahem, the ancient dragon for now.

The wisest course of action was to head for Sacher. Tutte was speaking with Sita about the old book and jotting down some notes. They’re probably talking about how to handle the fragile item. Tutte probably knows that I’d like to read it later, so she’s trying to set it aside for me. She’s such a reliable maid! She knows me so well!

I quietly walked away to the back when I spotted everyone gathered inside a large room at the end of the corridor. It seemed that the room had some sort of issue. The journal entry that I read earlier flashed across my mind, and I hoped to find any traces that proved that those two once lived here...but when I met up with my friends and laid eyes on the scene, I realized that my hopes had been far too easygoing.

Large, cylindrical incubators of sorts, wide enough for an adult to climb inside, lined the walls and formed an arc all around. I knew that these were magic items, but this grotesquely abnormal sight reminded me of sci-fi movies. In the center was a pedestal which, to my untrained eye, looked like a temporary bed, and the entire area was reminiscent of an operating room.

“Lady Mary... What do you think?” Magiluka asked.

“Well, this is the only place that seems operational, so I assume that this is the heart of the facility,” I replied. “But further details might be best obtained from Sita or Orthoaguina.”

The two in question remained silent.

“Sita?” I asked, turning to her for answers. She was petrified by the sight, her face filled with shock and fear as though she’d stumbled upon something that she shouldn’t have.

“This looks awfully similar to some of the memories that I saw from Lord Orthoaguina...” Sita murmured, her voice quivering.

“Nike...” Orthoaguina muttered with anguish. “You still carried on with these experiments, I see.”

Finally, I realized that Orthoaguina had received some help when he’d committed his atrocities. My mind wandered to the diary entry that I’d read moments ago, and a possible answer to one of my questions surfaced. Agard... Could he have been one of the test subjects here? Then the person he was referring to must’ve been Nike... Based on what I’m seeing here, the idea Agard had gone by a number makes sense.

I wasn’t really sure who Nike was, and this was nothing more than a baseless theory. But if it was all true, the nightmare of Kairomea had secretly continued his experiments away from prying eyes.

“Does that mean that people like Sita were treated as test subjects here?” I asked.

“No, we’d already successfully managed to alter and rebuild physical bodies,” Orthoaguina replied. “His goal, which had differed so much from mine, was to reach the domain of the gods. Perhaps he continued his research here.”

“Beyond altering a person’s physical body?”

I couldn’t understand what he meant by “domain of the gods” or what exactly Nike had been after, but alarm bells rang clearly in my head. Whatever Nike had been up to, it obviously hadn’t been a good thing. To use anime or movies as inspiration, perhaps I’d guess he’d been trying to create a different sort of existence, or maybe even a completely new creature. Or at least, that’s what it seemed like to me...

“Sita, I’m sorry,” Orthoaguina said. “I must borrow your assistance once more.”

“Okay,” Sita replied.

While I was shuddering at the thoughts filling my head, a voice rang out in objection to Sita and Orthoaguina’s plans.

“Lord Orthoaguina!” Rachel cried. “She may no longer resist your presence, but you can’t use her body in quick succession!”

The light faded from Sita’s eyes as she inserted a key into a cylindrical device near the pedestal in the center. I didn’t understand the details, but this act of lending her body took a toll on her—and since it hadn’t been long since she’d opened the entrance to this facility, I wasn’t sure if her body could endure the process again so soon.

“The devices here are still working just fine!” Orthoaguina roared. “I must ensure that no one will get their hands on such abominations! He was more than capable of destroying this facility if he so desired, but didn’t—no doubt his plot was to hope that someone would stumble upon these horrors and observe what the unsuspecting visitor would do next! I should know, for we’re fundamentally alike!”

It was rare to see Orthoaguina so heated. I gulped nervously.

“B-But you mentioned that the fairies won’t allow this place to be destroyed,” Rachel said, undeterred as she changed her angle of reasoning. “Will this really be safe?”

“If we attack from the outside, they might notice. We can feign this as a malfunction from the inside,” Orthoaguina replied.

I wasn’t sure if that was enough to fool the fairies, but I decided to put my faith in Orthoaguina. In terms of knowledge and decision-making skills, I figured I could trust him. I still didn’t quite understand just how dangerous this facility was, but I didn’t want people from the Papacy or some other party abusing its technology, so I was more than eager to destroy it. Furthermore, this place was right inside the Regalia Duchy; I had a personal reason to eradicate any issues.

“It goes without saying that I’m worried about Sita, but I’d like to respect Sir Orthoaguina’s wishes here,” His Highness said. “Our kingdom can’t possibly be entrusted with such frightful technology that seems capable of turning logic itself on its head. The chimera incident is proof enough that the Papacy yearns for Kairomean technology, and I’d like to crush any potential danger while I still can.”

“I completely understand, Your Highness, but why not simply shut off the entrance to this place?” Magiluka suggested. “That sounds more than enough to me.”

I felt like she had a point. “Yeah,” I nodded. “No one’s sneaked into this place yet— Wait, someone has...”

“Precisely,” Orthoaguina replied. “The submerged armor as well as the monsters have sneaked in here from the outside. After a bit of investigation, I found that this facility experiences a period of time where the mana supply becomes unstable, rendering any defensive measures useless.”

“When the evening primroses bloom?” I guessed.

“Indeed. Those flowers bloom by releasing an immense supply of mana into the air. The buds that were moved nearer to the village to bloom use mana from this facility—the heart of where mana is artificially created—to do so, and the massive uptake causes the devices here to temporarily cease functioning.”

“Um, sorry, I’m kind of just standing here bracing myself,” Sita butted in, shattering the tense air. “Are we doing this or not?”

“Sorry in advance if I’m way off base, but Sita, can’t you try doing this with your own power?” I asked bluntly. “Then you won’t need Orthoaguina, and it won’t take a toll on your body, right?”

“Huh?!” Sita gasped pathetically.

It’s not like I’m feeling lazy at all! It totally doesn’t just feel tedious that Orthoaguina has to ask Sita for permission every time. I swear.

“You know, I never considered that possibility,” Sita replied, crossing her arms pensively. “I just thought that this was how things were. But yeah, this is my power, isn’t it?”

“Is it possible, Orthoaguina?” I asked.

“W-Well... Yes, I suppose it is...” he replied. “All I’m doing is forcibly drawing out the power that slumbers within her.”

“You hear that, Sita? Why not test it out?”

“But Lady Mary, how exactly can I go about it?” Sita asked.

“Can’t Orthoaguina teach you?” I replied. “Go on, tell her.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if I controlled her?” the dragon inquired.

“If you keep coddling your daughter, she’ll never mature and stand on her own two feet! It might feel lonely for you as her father, but you have to allow her to leave the nest, pops.”

“I-I-I’m not her father!”

I teased the dragon to ease the tension of the room, but he unexpectedly seemed more flustered than I thought. My heart grew warm and fuzzy.

“C’mon, dad! Please teach me! ♪” Sita joked, joining in on the teasing.

“C-C-Cease this nonsense at once and calm yourself, Sita!” Orthoaguina cried. “Ahem. Very well, I shall be testing your abilities from here.”

We stepped away from Sita and watched over her and her dear old dad. He was giving her some sort of lengthy, complicated advice that I obviously couldn’t hope to understand, so I looked around to try to find something productive I could do.

Oh, this might be the perfect opportunity to finish reading the rest of the book. I turned to Tutte to ask for it while Sita started to groan at Orthoaguina’s complex orders. She seemed to be having a rough time, and she was looking more and more frustrated—I was afraid she might snap from how cornered she seemed. Of course, I was useless to do anything in this situation except silently cheer her on...

All of a sudden, a deafening clack reached my ears, as though something had been unlocked.

“Huh? Wh-What?!” I gasped.

“Oooh! Not bad at all, Sita!” Orthoaguina said praisingly. “Well done for a first attempt. Admittedly, this wasn’t the goal and you only managed to activate it, but even so, you are undoubtedly my daught— I mean, my citizen.”

“It’s not time for compliments, Mr. Rad Dad!” I shouted.

“Heh heh heh. You think so, Lord Orthoaguina?” Sita said.

“And you!” I cried. “Now’s not the time to get all bashful! You might’ve doomed us all!”

An ominous rumbling was shaking the room as the tiny family had their moment—I had to take it upon myself to scold them and keep my wits about me.

Once the shaking stopped, the center of the floor—which we were standing on—shifted, and a cylindrical column emerged.

“Step back!” I warned. “The floor’s rising!”

I grabbed Tutte and jumped away as I gazed around. Everyone followed suit and distanced themselves from the pillar. I immediately took a combat stance to protect Tutte, fearing that something dangerous would jump out at us, and we all stared nervously as a new device appeared underneath the emerging pillar. It looked like a larger and more complicated version of the incubators around us...and my eyes were fixated on what it contained.

“There’s...a person sleeping inside,” I murmured.

The incubators until now were empty, but this newly emerging pod was filled with liquid suspending a little girl inside it. She seemed a bit younger than us and a touch more petite. While it was shocking that she was naked, her most eye-catching features were the reptilian tail growing between her waist and tailbone and the pair of small horns atop her head. Her long ears were reminiscent of elves, and her white hair and dark skin were much like Sita’s and Rachel’s.

This was so appallingly macabre that even an idiot like me could understand what must’ve gone on here. I don’t believe it... Nike must’ve been conducting experiments on human chimeras here...

I’d initially set out to track down the Argent Knight, but the incident that’d fallen into my hands had only just begun.

12. Not Quite Dragon, Not Quite Elf

The shocking scene was burned into our retinas. There’d been no end to the surprises since we’d first set foot in this facility, but this discovery felt like the absolute culmination of our astonishment.

Everyone who’d heard Orthoaguina’s story knew that the slumbering girl in front of their eyes was anything but normal...and none of us knew what to do or how to handle this situation. I felt it was wisest to turn to Orthoaguina, the oldest of the group, but he was silent as a tomb, and possibly the most shocked of us all.

“Elia...” Orthoaguina murmured. “No... She’s already...”

“Lord Orthoaguina...” Sita said worriedly.

“Nike... You... How much must you utilize her before you’re satisfied?”

Sita clutched the Book of Orthoaguina preciously. She closed her eyes and turned toward the ground...and in that moment, I felt like she was the spitting image of the girl slumbering in the glass pod. Am I wrong, or does that girl resemble Sita? I thought as I turned back to the incubator.

I couldn’t bring myself to bother Sita right now, so I decided to consult her older sister. “Rachel, do you know who Elia is?” I whispered.

“I believe...she was the first chief librarian of Kairomea,” Rachel muttered back in a low voice. She knew what my question implied.

“She’s Nike’s younger sister,” Sita said quietly, providing me with further insight. She was trying her best not to let it show on her face, but it was apparent she was suppressing some strong emotions. Clearly, I couldn’t just casually ask about Orthoaguina’s memories.

Elia was Sita’s direct ancestor and the first chief librarian—the first to manage the tower. But that’s not all. She was the first woman that Orthoaguina felt he could pour his heart out to, and she was also Nike’s younger sister. I felt like a tangled web of stories must’ve woven the three together, but the one who’d experienced those relationships didn’t seem keen on telling others about his past. I felt it was best to leave him be until he was willing to talk.

Yeah, that girl in the pod really does resemble Sita. Or I guess it’s the other way around...? I doubted that the original Elia was alive in this pod, considering she looked younger than Sita. If she’s not Elia, then who is she?

The word “homunculus” flashed across my mind. Nike, who was capable of altering people’s makeups and who understood how organisms were composed, must have used cells to create a facsimile of his little sister. From there, by fusing other biological components to that re-creation, he must’ve created an amalgam—namely, the little girl before me. I shuddered at the thought and rubbed my arms as goose bumps began to appear.

Furthermore, because Nike didn’t drag others into his research, the existence of this facility managed to stay under wraps without a single rumor circulating. Was that all according to his plans, or was it a convenient coincidence of Elia’s body simply being suited for his research? In either case, this was clearly no way to treat one’s own sister. All together, I was certain I ought to hold Nike in disdain.

“I won’t pry, but what shall we do about this?” Magiluka asked, bringing everyone back to harsh reality. “Sita, technically, you made this appear.”

“Uh, w-well...” Sita replied, awkwardly glancing around the room.

“I mean, the choices we have are clear,” I said, understanding what Magiluka was getting at. “We either pretend we never saw anything and leave her be, or we free her from this tube.”

I wasn’t sure if everyone had the same idea, but they nodded at each other before turning to me.

“Perhaps the fairies let us inside not because they wanted to tell us about this place, but because they wanted to entrust her to us,” Orthoaguina wondered.

“If so, we should free her,” I said. “Sita, can you do that?”

“This container...doesn’t seem to be for storage, if that makes sense,” Sita replied. “It’s like it’s sealed shut. The person on the inside is holding herself within and prohibiting any interference from the outside.”

I thought it was going to be easy, but we quickly ran into a problem. Now what? Punch the pod and shatter it? Whew, wouldn’t that be a sight to behold?

No, no, I shouldn’t do that. I’ll only cause more panic and exacerbate the issue. Also, I feel like I’ll screw it up somehow. I turned to Sita as I mulled over what to do. The way she was rejected by the pod reminded me of someone struggling to break into a computer because they couldn’t input the right password or something. I knew that now wasn’t the time for me to have my head in the clouds thinking of silly fiction spoofs, but my brain was nevertheless locked into wondering whether there was some sort of passphrase that might release the floating girl. One word in particular quickly popped into my mind—one I’d read earlier.

“Agard...” I muttered quietly.

Immediately, I could’ve sworn I saw the girl’s eyes twitch. Then, all of a sudden, a loud hiss of steam spewed from the pod and filled the room as the tube began to shift.

“Wh-Wh-What?! What’s happening?!” I gasped.

“Sita, did you activate it somehow?” Magiluka asked.

“No, I didn’t do anything,” Sita hastily replied. “It moved on its own! Wait, I think Lady Mary said something...”

As the blame shifted over to me, Magiluka turned my way. “Lady Mary...” she said.

“N-No! I didn’t do anything!” I cried. “A-At least, I don’t think I did.” I raised my arms in the air, trying to prove that I didn’t touch anything and pleading my innocence. Sadly, I didn’t sound too confident because, well, I had said something.

All the while, the device began its release sequence, and the liquid within the incubator drained out. When all the liquid was gone, it slid open, and the girl inside collapsed to the ground the moment she was exposed to the outside air.

Since Sita and I felt like we were to blame, we quickly rushed to her rescue. Magiluka stood in front of the boys since the girl was naked, and Rachel was glancing around cautiously, making sure that our surroundings hadn’t changed. Oh god, please. I hope nothing else happens...

Despite my having moved to help her, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I ended up just fumbling around clumsily trying to sit her up. Ultimately, Tutte, who was behind me, prepared some clothes and something to wipe off the incubator liquid, and I remained completely useless—I hadn’t even done as much as ask Tutte to help, since she’d seen to it unprompted.

The girl didn’t resist our efforts to clean her up, and she began to gradually open her eyes. Hers were red just like Sita’s—which honestly came as no surprise—but her pupils were long slits like a reptile’s.

I had no idea how I should try calling out to this mysterious girl. I tried to recall the anime that I’d watched, hoping to use them as reference...but while the scenes popped up in my head, I was completely blanking on what they said exactly.

Damn it. My memories are so useless when I need them most. I continued to stare at the girl, not knowing what else to do.

“Agard...” the girl mumbled.

Her voice was so soft that Sita and I could barely hear her. I knew it. She reacted to that word. Is that her name?

“You’re awake,” Sita said.

I stopped my train of thought and focused on the little girl. When she heard Sita’s voice, her eyes slowly came into focus, and she turned toward Sita. She still looked groggy and clumsy, implying her consciousness must’ve still been a muddled mess.

I don’t blame her for not being all there. How many years has she been asleep here?

“Are you okay?” Sita asked.

“Who...?” the girl started clumsily.

“Who?”

I gulped nervously and watched for what she’d do next. Was she going to drop another bombshell, or was she going to go berserk? I hope neither...

“Who...am I?” the girl asked. “Where...am I?”

Amid my nerves, I was surprised to hear this rapidfire of cliché lines. Who knew I’d ever hear someone say that stuff outside a movie?

Ah, shut up, stupid brain. Now’s not the time to feel cool. Is she suffering from amnesia? I’d heard of cases where people had lost their memories when they’d slumbered for many years, and I wondered if they could be regained over time.

I glanced at her once again. She had no external injuries, and I didn’t notice anything odd, but she looked absolutely exhausted. She was asleep until now, so I get it.

“Um, well, hmm... I’m not sure how to say this,” I said to her, trying my best to provide some sort of response. “Would you understand me if I said that we’re near Eneres Village?” I wasn’t sure if she was familiar with contemporary names and geography.

“I...” the girl started.

“I?” I asked.

“I’m...hungry...”

I fell silent. We were supporting her upper body to allow her to sit up, but after she mentioned her appetite, she went limp again.

I was so surprised by her question that my mind quickly went off on a tangent. Huh? What? Who in the world asks for food in this situation? Wait, maybe it actually is normal? Maybe the composition of her body differs from mine and she uses mana as her main source of energy like Snow. Speaking of which, Snow herself is something of a glutton, isn’t she?

Since the girl didn’t seem to have any issues, I left her to Tutte, who began dressing her in some of my spare clothes.

“I’m thinking of returning to the village for now,” the prince said, speaking up once everyone had settled down. “What do you all think?”

I had no complaints—frankly, I was overwhelmed with new information and wanted to head back to organize my thoughts, so his suggestion came with impeccable timing. I nodded, everyone else followed suit, and with everyone in agreement, we proceeded to go through the motions.

“All right, I’ll carry the kid,” Sacher said.

I wasn’t sure if she was still in a daze or falling back asleep, but she showed no signs of being able to stand up on her own. Sacher was able to scoop her up and prepared to carry her out.

She isn’t able to move because she’s hungry, right?

I felt the tension leave my body as I led our group in retracing our route...but as we approached the gate to the underground forest, it began to shift. I assumed that meant the gate had activated, and sure enough, something began to emerge. I thought maybe it was just the colossus waiting outside popping in to say “Hey, you done?” but reality once again betrayed my expectations. Instead of the colossus with rainbow lights coming up to greet us, what came instead was a full suit of argent armor gripping the titan’s head in its gauntlet.

Huh?! Uh, what?! Mayday!

13. Argent Armor

This sudden confrontation with an animate suit of armor had everyone’s hair standing on end. I wasn’t sure if it was an ally or foe, and the overwhelmingly eerie air made me brace myself. The Argent Armor seemed to notice us, and it appeared to look around before freezing upon facing Sacher. More precisely, I thought that it must be focused on the girl in his arms.

“My, aren’t I lucky?” the Argent Armor said in an eerie monotone. “Usually, I’d struggle to unlock the door and be obstructed by various magic items—the fairies especially would be an endless annoyance trying to get through the gate. I suppose I have you all to thank for halting virtually all the devices. You have my gratitude.”

The Argent Armor didn’t speak normally as we did, and was more akin to how Orthoaguina and Snow communicated—through magic. Maybe there isn’t a human inside that armor? The tone of her voice sounded like a woman’s, but I wasn’t sure if that was the case. All I knew was that she’d arrived here without much hardship, unlike us, and it was all because we’d undone most of the locks. Also, in stark contrast to the colossus that’d tried to cut us down without warning, the Argent Armor seemed more open to discussion.

“Were you the one who transformed the underground forest into such a wretched state?” Prince Reifus asked, attempting to converse.

“That’s right,” the Argent Armor replied. “Getting in here took a lot out of me, and I’ve failed many times over all these years. Last time I tried to use monsters to overpower my foes with sheer numbers, and a few of them scurried away elsewhere before we could even begin. What a shame it was.” She was completely unfazed by our presence as she kept prattling away.

I realized what had happened at the last festival based on what she said. So, you’re the one who caused that whole gigant snake incident! Gaaaah!

“But after all that, I managed to waltz right in this time around,” she went on. “Oh dear. I was all fired up to throw a crowd of monsters at the gate again, but I suppose there wasn’t any need for all that effort.”

For as friendly as she was comporting herself to be, what she was actually saying contained a horrifying reveal. Considering I couldn’t see any monsters around, I suspected that they were waiting beyond the gate, or worse yet, wandering around in the forest aboveground. I clearly couldn’t overlook that.

“What’s going on, Orthoaguina?” I asked. “Where are the fairies?”

“Hmm, well, the moment we released the girl from the pod, the fairies’ motivation, so to speak, disappeared,” the dragon replied. “They completely abandoned their post. This place will eventually become weathered to time, and the underground forest will gradually swallow this area whole.”

I wasn’t sure what the fairies could possibly have been thinking, but it was clear that they’d lost interest and allowed the Argent Armor to intrude. Talk about fishing in troubled waters.

“But that’s the least of my concerns,” the Argent Armor said. “You lot.”

Every word this armor uttered struck fear in my heart, and she had a menacing air to her. All she’d done was casually address us, but my friends and I were all bracing ourselves—none of us were willing to let our guards down.

“Can you give that child to me?” she asked. As I suspected, she slowly pointed toward the girl in Sacher’s arms.

“What are you planning on doing with her?” the prince asked, acting as our representative.

“Oh? Isn’t it obvious? ♪” the Argent Armor replied, her monotone suddenly flush with giddy excitement. “I’m going to torture her, mind and body! I’m going to torture her and torture her and torture her, and when I get tired of that, I’ll meticulously crush her body into the tiniest little pieces and pulverize her soul into a fine powder! ♪” she declared ecstatically, sounding as innocuous as an excited child.

Needless to say, I was downright mortified by how enthusiastic she was to do all the vicious things she’d said—the Argent Armor in front of me couldn’t have been more different from the Argent Knight that I’d read about in legends. I absolutely refused to believe that they were the same person.

“We admittedly don’t know much about this girl,” the prince said. “But I have no intention of handing her over to someone who can happily spout something so cruel.”

Even our resident mild-mannered royal couldn’t hide his disgust and firmly refused the Argent Armor’s request. I was naturally in complete agreement, and I nodded along while gauging our distance with the enemy.

“I see... Then I guess I’ll have to kill you all, won’t I? ♪” the Argent Armor replied. “As a gift, I’ll unleash the monsters! ♪” The Argent Armor released the colossus’s head from her grasp, and its mithril remains fell to the floor with a reverberating thud.

I feared that she might first aim for people who couldn’t fight like Tutte, so I stepped near my precious maid as I stayed on alert. That must’ve been her cue, and the Argent Armor pounced.

She didn’t aim for Tutte, however, but for Sacher, who was carrying the little girl. Did she target him because no one was guarding him? Or was it because she wanted to secure the girl first? Either way, it was clear that she went for the guy who currently had the most openings among us.

Just then, a sharp clang rang in the air as the Argent Armor’s blade and a rapier clashed. Unsurprisingly, Rachel had acted to support Sacher. It was our saving grace that the Argent Armor wasn’t nearly as quick as the colossus—each of us was capable of reacting to her strikes.

“I won’t let you!” Rachel yelled.

“My, oh my! ♪” the armor said. “How unusual it is to see an elf take the initiative to protect a human. And that boy covered for the girl he’s carrying, fully prepared to accept injury from my attacks.”

“I’ve got a reliable shield forged by Shelly on my side!” Sacher said smugly. He showed off his shield while Rachel frowned at him.

I know! I know! How dare he mention another woman’s name! But Sacher doesn’t mean any ill will! Please hold your feelings back for now and focus on our immediate danger!

“You seem awfully proud of your shield,” the Argent Armor said. “I suppose I’ll have to slice you in half, shield and all. ♪”

“Try it if you dare!” Sacher shouted. He may not have looked too nimble cradling the little girl in his arms, but he was actually discreetly guiding the battle closer to Safina.

“Fire magic ready! Here I go!” Safina shouted. She quietly took her iai stance, and Sacher suddenly increased his speed, causing the Argent Armor to carelessly approach Safina.

“Flame Sword Flurry!” Safina roared. Her attack headed straight for the Argent Armor...but she didn’t look at all surprised. In fact, she made no attempt to dodge—she just took the full brunt of the attack. As a result, the Argent Armor’s torso was sliced in two and her top half soared through the air, stunning us all.

From inside the cut, a grotesque something wriggled about. I wasn’t sure whether to call these sinewy tendrils muscle fibers or what—whatever it was, some kind of chunk of meat had leaked from armor and was squirming around. It definitely wasn’t a human in the Argent Armor, but that thing isn’t any sort of intelligent creature that I’m aware of... What is that?! None of us had a clue and we froze, gazing at the Argent Armor with morbid curiosity.

“Ugh. When this is on the inside, I can’t control the armor well,” the Argent Armor grumbled. “I hate it.”

I assumed that this armor may have been the Argent Knight, but this suit in front of me seemed more akin to living armor. Are we up against a monster? It’s an awfully unique one if so. The upper half of the Argent Armor on the ground entangled its tendrils with the bottom half that was still on its feet, and each half’s flesh gradually melded together and regenerated. I feel like this’ll be an endless battle unless we destroy the core or something. Did the fairies submerge the armor into that spring to seal her up?

I’d seen something similar to this before—it was eerily similar to Liberal Materia, which had utilized a massive magus weapon as its outer shell to attack Relirex. Back then, a kind of musculature bound the entire body together.

“Mm...” the little girl said, slowly opening her eyes.

I was surprised that she was only now waking up amid all the commotion, but it just went to show how exhausted she must’ve been.

“Oh? Finally awake, are we?” the Argent Armor asked.

The dazed, unfocused eyes of the girl gradually turned to the voice and she widened her gaze with awe. “A...Ah...” she murmured. Clearly, the girl feared the Argent Armor. The girl trembled like a leaf, and her teeth chattered horribly.

“I came to pick you up, sleepyhead! ♪” the Argent Armor said.

Her happy tone and taunts didn’t sound like much, but I shuddered at the implications. She’d already made clear the horrors she wanted to inflict.

“Noooooo!” the girl shrieked. Her shrill voice reverberated throughout the room as she threw a fit. I could hardly believe that she was the same exhausted, sleepy girl from moments before. She wriggled out of Sacher’s grasp and fell to the ground before crawling away in a desperate escape attempt, her fear apparent for all the world to see.

“What a wonderful reaction,” the Argent Armor said. “Oh, it makes me tremble with excitement! ♪”

“H-Help! Help me! Agaaaard!” the girl screamed. She crawled away, her distress growing by the moment.

“Don’t you freaking dare say that name!” the Argent Armor roared. Her joy vanished in an instant and she flew into a furious rage, and she was clearly faster than she’d ever been. Only I could react in time to get between her and the girl curled up in a ball she was rushing toward. The sharp sound of metal rang out as my sword clashed with the Argent Armor’s blade, causing everyone to turn toward the noise.

“Oh? That weapon...” the Argent Armor said. She wasn’t surprised by my speed, but by my Legendary Sword (Cringe).

Was she able to tell the material of my blade at a glance? If she knows about the effect of ivory ore, she’s just like the Argent Knight... No, I’m overthinking this. I shook my head, refusing to believe that this armor in front of me was the legendary hero. The way she managed to go from white-hot fury to calm and collected the moment I entered the picture makes it clear she’s no average Joe.Actually, given the whole tentacle thing, I guess she’s not any kind of Joe, really...

The girl, on the other hand, was trembling terribly, and she still lacked the cool to assess her situation. Tutte gently held her in a warm embrace—she showed no signs of calming down, but no one could stop my maid’s instinctive response to distress.

Protecting this girl isn’t our only issue, though. The armor said that she’ll unleash monsters as a gift. What in the world did she mean by that? Were the monsters with her on standby outside the gate, in the underground forest? Or were they outside this facility? Was she going to free them to wreak havoc? What’ll happen if she lets the monsters go outside? Obviously, they’ll threaten Eneres. Personally, I wanted to ignore this stupid armor and head to protect the villagers.

I checked my current position—for better or for worse, the armor and I were away from the gate and isolated from the rest while the prince and the rest of my friends were close enough to cross the gate. “Magiluka! Please take Prince Reifus outside! Sacher, Safina, tag along with them!” I ordered.

“Huh?! What?!” Sacher asked, voicing his dissent.

“Yes, ma’am!” Safina immediately said, cutting him off.

“You want us to handle the matters outside, I take it?” His Highness asked. “Will you be all right by yourself, Lady Mary?”

He was quick to act, but I couldn’t blame him for being worried about me.

“I’m sure Lady Mary will be fine,” Magiluka assured. “Worst case, we can shut this gate, Argent Armor and all. Can we do that, Sita?”

“Fwah?! Ah, yeah...” Sita replied. She’d been begrudgingly on the sidelines until now, but Magiluka suddenly asking her for something caught her off guard.

Closing the gate sounded like insurance to keep the Argent Armor trapped within, but in truth, it was likely a way to minimize the damage if I screwed up somehow and blew this place up or something. Nice thinking, Magiluka. Cunning as ever.

“Then I’ll stay—” Rachel started.

“No, you should go along with them,” Sita replied. “We don’t know how many monsters are out there, so we should have as many allies as possible.”

“B-But...”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Sita...”

“I’m watching over her as well,” Orthoaguina chimed in. “Don’t you worry. Worst case, I’ll at least protect her. I don’t care about anything else.”

Hmm... I could swear I just heard Orthoaguina end the sisters’ bickering by casually promising to drop the rest of us at a moment’s notice. Well, I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that!

Everyone crossed the gate while the Argent Armor watched on, completely uninterested. It seemed her lone goal was this little girl, and anything else was some sort of game for her sick enjoyment—it didn’t bother her whatsoever if they managed to escape. Given that, I was wishing she could’ve just spared us the whole monster charade, but at this point I could only rely on Magiluka and the others to take care of it.

Tutte, Sita, the girl, and I were all the people left in the lab—plus the Book of Orthoaguina, I guess. Can I really rely on Orthoaguina fighting through the book, though? I’m guessing he’ll be more of an advisor to offer help when I’m stuck on something.

“Oh? So you’ll be my only opponent?” the Argent Armor asked me.

Tutte and the little girl couldn’t fight, true, but she’d even ruled out Sita, which was a bit of an underestimation, by my count. That said, when I glanced over at her, she seemed to be cheering me on and making no attempt to join the battle...

“U-Uh, any issues with that?” I asked.

“Oh no, not at all,” the Argent Armor replied. “It’s clear you’re nothing to sneeze at, after all.”

Behind the armor, her eyeless gaze sized me up like I was an object for sale. I felt like she was analyzing me, and a shiver ran down my spine. “Wh-Wh-Whatever do you mean?” I stammered. “B-B-By all means, sneeze away!”

“My lady, you don’t need to panic that much,” Tutte said.

The sudden psychological battle made me lose my composure, but my trusty maid’s collected demeanor helped me calm down. It showed just how much I panicked on the daily and how much Tutte helped me.

“Do you have any balance between your physical and mental states at all?” the Argent Armor quipped as she stared me down. “You’re overflowing with power, yet you seem to panic so easily...”

She’d touched on a sore spot...and actually, more than that, I felt like she was analyzing me somehow. I couldn’t shake off a certain eerie feeling—I had a hunch that I shouldn’t prolong this battle, and that if I did, it would reveal my deepest secret.

14. A Duel Against the Argent Armor

I made the first move, propelled by my wishes to finish this battle as soon as I could and head over to Magiluka and the rest of my friends. If this armor underestimates me like she did with Safina and doesn’t dodge my attack, I’ll decimate her, core and all. I knew that she was fast, so I went all out to close the gap between us.

There was a flash of cold steel as I swung horizontally, as Safina had once done. I’d hoped to slice her in half, but she managed to jump away, dodging my attack by a hair’s breadth. Guess it won’t be as easy as I thought... I wasn’t surprised, though—I twirled my hand around and swung my blade diagonally up to try again, but once again, she managed to dodge my attack as though she was expecting it.

What’s going on? It sounds weird to say it, but thanks to the abilities I was born with, most of my attacks have managed to land against my opponents up to this point. It’s not like I’m going easy on her either. Something about this armor just felt...off. Is she faster than me? No, that can’t be possible. Thanks to God, my body should be the strongest there is.

I carefully watched the Argent Armor and tried to attack again. Just then, Tutte’s worried face entered my peripheral vision, causing me to unconsciously freeze up. At that moment, something very odd occurred—I thought I saw the Argent Armor move ever so slightly in the direction that I planned my course of attack. I might’ve been imagining things, but that’s what it seemed like to me. Is she...reading my mind?! I had no way to confirm my suspicions, of course, but my senses all pointed to this realization.

As I stood in place, the Argent Armor switched from a defensive stance to an offensive one, as though she’d sensed my epiphany. With one leap, she managed to approach me and twirled in the air with her sword, trying to shred me into pieces.

I can keep up with her no problem. The fairies’ colossus was faster, in fact. I leaped to the side and dodged her attack, then I immediately went for a counter...when thinking about the colossus made me remember that I wasn’t up against a human.

As if to immediately demonstrate my realization, the Argent Armor spun like a top to continue her relentless attack, paying no heed to her posture or stance as though gravity were a mere suggestion for her.

The sharp sound of metal clashing against metal reverberated throughout the room before the armor finally stopped. She’d put so much speed behind her attacks that a normal human would’ve been sliced in half, sword and all, yet I’d stood firm, parrying her strikes easily.

Even if the Argent Armor assumed that my blade was tougher than hers and that’s how I’d been able to defend myself, she must’ve expected me to at least have been blown away by the force of her fierce slashes—my resilience clearly confused her, so she hastily stepped away. Our battle reached a deadlock as we glared at each other for a while. Both sides were hesitant to make the next move.

“Why must the two of us fight?” the Argent Armor asked. “You’ve got no ties to that girl, correct?”

I’d assumed that another battle would ensue, but instead she began to pepper me with questions. Between combat and psychological battles, the latter was easily my weaker front. Did she find it unwise to fight against me?

“You’re right. I’ve got no ties to her,” I replied. “But I can’t just turn a blind eye after you told us what you were going to do to her, so I’m going to fight for what I believe in and protect her. That’s all there is to it.”

“Huh? You’ll go to all this trouble to pat yourself on the back?” the Argent Armor asked. “Have you considered that she might be tricking you guys and using you as she sees fit? You don’t know anything about her, do you?”

“Even so, I’ll trust my own heart and act as I see fit.” As I’d feared, I couldn’t find a well-reasoned argument for what I was doing, so I ended up making an emotional appeal. Even if I ultimately ended up making the wrong decision, I have no regrets about my actions. The fact that I want to protect this girl isn’t a lie.

“Trust...your heart...” the little girl murmured.

“Is something the matter?” Tutte asked.

“I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere...” she continued.

It seemed like the girl’s memories weren’t completely gone, but she just needed time to remember—what I’d said must’ve acted as a way to trigger her memories.

In any case, it looked to me like the Argent Armor wanted to avoid a direct clash. I wasn’t sure if this was due to her own instincts or if she’d somehow found a way to assess my power—there were just so many unknown variables swirling around her, and I couldn’t shake the creepy feeling it was giving me.

“Argh...” the Argent Armor whined. “Come on, just give me that child. I’ll even silence the monsters if you do. You’re worried about your friends, aren’t you?”

I couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome, but frankly, I wished she’d do that without forcing me to hand this girl over to her.

“Hmph, absolute blatherskite,” Orthoaguina scoffed. “I saw a broken magic item by the monster corpses in the underground forest. I take it that was the device used to control the monsters, yes? How in the world do you plan to bring them under control without it?”

I was grateful for the Orthoaguina counseling me through her lie, but his assessment also struck fear in my heart. If what he said was true, it implied that the monsters had been set loose before the Argent Armor had bumped into us—in other words, she’d never been open to peaceful negotiations in the first place.

“Tsk. I can’t believe a book like you can babble so much,” the armor grumbled.

“Don’t treat me like a simple book!” the dragon roared. “I am Orthoaguina, the Philomath Dragon!”

“Pffft! You’re telling me that this shabby old book is the Philomath Dragon? Hilarious! When did you hit rock bottom?”

“Rock bottom?! I’m not sealed within this book, you dolt! I’m simply using Mary’s cunning scheme to circumvent diplomatic issues.”

“Huh?!” I yelped. “Don’t drag me into this and call me ‘cunning’! Anyone could come up with such a simple strategy, couldn’t they? You’re with me, right, Argent Armor?” I couldn’t help but interject, trying my best to avoid gaining any unwanted attention. I even ended up turning to the enemy for agreement. What in the world am I doing?

“I see...” the Argent Armor said. “So, it seems my power has been revealed as well. She looks airheaded, but actually...”

“Hmph, don’t underestimate her,” Orthoaguina said. “This human managed to deceive even me to attain victory.”

I was about to snap back at the Argent Armor’s rude comment, but then the situation began taking an unusual turn. What’re you acting so smug for, Orthoaguina?

“What in the world are you anyway?” I asked the Argent Armor, hoping to steer the conversation away from me with this basic question. I should’ve probably asked her this way earlier, but it completely slipped my mind.

“Me? Hmm...” the Argent Armor said. “Well, that’s a good question. What am I?”

“Uh, don’t ask me,” I replied.

“Oh, people around me once called me the Argent Knight.”

Huh?! She said it so casually that I almost missed it, but I couldn’t hide my surprise at this shocking reveal.

“W-Wait, what did you just say?” I asked. “Did you just say that you were once called the Argent Knight or something?”

“Yeah, that’s what I used to be called, apparently,” the Argent Armor replied.

No way... Wait, the Argent Knight that I know of is a man, and I don’t think he sounded this effeminate. But Sita did mention that some records listed him as a woman... Wait, this armor isn’t even human, is she? This bombshell was beyond my wildest expectations, so I could hardly process what I’d just heard. “What?” I murmured. “Then the Argent Knight is...”

“Mary, don’t jump to conclusions,” Orthoaguina swiftly said. He proceeded to do his best to convince me otherwise. “Anyone wearing argent armor will be prone to receiving the epithet ‘Argent Knight.’ That doesn’t automatically mean that this armor in front of us is the one you’re pursuing. Furthermore, she used the word ‘apparently’ as if she didn’t know it firsthand. We still can’t be certain that she’s the one of legends.”

I only about half comprehended his rapidfire deduction, but encouraged by his energy, I gave a small nod.

“The legendary Argent Knight defeated the demon lord of Relirex and single-handedly resolved the Holy War of the Papacy,” Orthoaguina went on. “A person with such overwhelming capabilities couldn’t possibly have struggled against the colossus. She’s a fake—one who simply utilizes a moniker.”

I’m thankful you’re being so thorough, but you’re speaking so fast that I can barely keep up. I’d wish you’d talk slower, but is asking for that too greedy on my part? I was equal parts shocked and grateful that Orthoaguina had stepped in as my advisor. Thanks to him, I managed to keep calm and carefully assess my situation.

“Well, yeah,” the Argent Armor agreed. “Technically, I’m not actually in front of you, so I guess you can call me a fake.”

“What?!” Tutte and Sita gasped.

Meanwhile, I was too busy trying to process what Orthoaguina had said to react to her.

“Ah, as I suspected, only that silver-haired girl noticed the truth,” the Argent Armor said. “Hmm, this is a bit of a conundrum...”

Wh-Whoa there! Don’t jump to conclusions again! I was just about to look shocked about what you said after I got done thinking!

All I could do at this point was strain a smile and chuckle, but thanks to my awkward timing, it only looked like I was tacitly confirming her assessment—everything I did was only furthering misunderstandings...

In any case, I wanted to organize the information I had and head back, but my enemy had other plans. “You seem like you’ll become a real thorn in my side,” the Argent Armor said. “It might be best if I get rid of you here.” Her lax attitude immediately gave way to a tense air—she seemed ready to strike at any moment. It made me grow nervous once more, and I braced myself for a second round.

“Ready yourself, Mary. She’s coming,” Orthoaguina said. “I can tell that mana is gathered at her head. Thanks to you forcing her to go all out, I was able to get a read on her core.”

“Tch. That was your plan, eh?” the Argent Armor asked. “I really can’t leave you be.”

No, no, no! Don’t look at me, I’ve got a brain the size of a peanut! I didn’t mean to ruin the serious mood, but I was just so shocked I couldn’t help but complain...though I did have the situational awareness to not say it out loud.

Wait, did he just give me her weak spot? Quietly thankful for Orthoaguina’s advice, I focused on my target, sheathed my blade, and crouched low.

“Is that Safina’s—” Sita started.

“Yes. My lady taught Lady Safina her move,” Tutte said proudly.

“Huh... So you taught her that technique?” the Argent Armor asked me while jumping to conclusions again. “Yet you mean to use it on me once more...”

Yeah, I taught her, but Safina improved it leaps and bounds ever since. At this point, she’s practically invented her own move, so why don’t we leave it at that? I wanted to refute her, but I couldn’t break focus now and instead continued my iai technique.

My opponent was fast, but I could still keep up with her speed. This move allowed me to attack second if the situation called for it, and if the armor was like Liberal Materia, I had to end her in one blow to keep her from regenerating endlessly—that is, I needed to slice her head in two with one strike, armor and all.

I vehemently prayed that her armor wasn’t tougher than my Legendary Sword (Cringe). If push came to shove, I had no choice but to use my fists and beat the armor to smithereens, a scene that would be rather unfitting for a maiden. I wonder if my technique will be on par with Safina’s anyway. I was growing anxious, and my weak mentality almost made me give up on the spot.

“I know that form of yours,” the Argent Armor said. “You plan on making the second move and won’t budge an inch from your spot. So I’ll use Fire Ball!”

I thought that she would just pounce on me—I didn’t expect her to start launching projectiles. What’s more, she did the novel tactic of charging in as her spells traveled.

Wh-Wh-What do I do?! What will you do, Mary? I’d cautiously taken my stance, intending to carefully aim for her head no matter how she’d decide to move...but the added obstacle made me mildly panic. And so, I chose the most foolish route of all.

KA-BOOM!

“Huh?” the Argent Armor gasped.

I maintained my posture and received her magic head-on. I stood there unscathed as the flames dispersed. I feel guilty that this is the only answer I could come up with, but whatever! Thank you, God! This may have been even worse than the fist beatdown idea, but nevertheless, I took the opportunity to swing my blade down on the Argent Armor as she was charging right into me.

15. Redemption

Magiluka and the others crossed the gate, leaving Mary behind to handle the Argent Armor. They expected monsters to be lurking about in the underground forest, but they were nowhere to be seen. Had the armor been lying? The group carefully inspected their surroundings.

“Doesn’t seem like there are any monsters around here,” Sacher said. “What do you think, Safina?”

“Take a look at these scratches on the ground...” she replied. “It’s clear that many monsters were here, at the very least. Maybe they all headed outside.”

The two stepped forward with the prince and Magiluka behind them. Rachel took the rear as they cautiously proceeded ahead. None of them were relieved by the lack of monsters—in fact, it only panicked them further.

“We should hurry,” the prince said, voicing everyone’s concerns. “Eneres might be in danger.”

The prince, Sacher, and Magiluka shared an unfortunate memory near the village—their selfish actions had once caused them to unwittingly become the targets of a pair of gigant snakes, ultimately causing much trouble for Sir Klaus, who’d been accompanying them as a guard. Magiluka was confident they could take down a gigant snake nowadays, however. They’d all grown so much since then, she thought.

The group quickly headed for the exit, and Sacher and Safina stepped out first.

“What?!” Sacher gasped.

“This...is far more than I expected,” Safina muttered.

The two’s astonishment forecast the severity of their situation to those behind, and sure enough, once Magiluka and the others hurried out to confirm for themselves, they were aghast by what they saw. Magiluka had expected maybe four gigant snakes to be wandering around, but her naivete was swiftly snuffed out by cruel reality—monsters of all sizes, including gigant snakes, were bumbling about everywhere she looked. The two snakes they’d once faced couldn’t even compare to the sheer numbers of monsters crawling about.

“Right off the bat, I see gigant snakes, forest boars, and other monsters lurking around,” Safina said. Her training in the Ancient Forest allowed her to quickly make a head count of the monsters she spotted.

Such a large group of monsters would’ve surely been noticed by the villagers and encouraged them to take defensive measures. Luckily, since the last incident, there tended to be more guards whenever the Evening Primrose Festival drew near...though that did little to assuage Magiluka’s fears. Why are all these monsters not heading for the village, or at least scattering around the forest and wandering about? Why are they keeping together as one big clump? she wondered. This was clearly unnatural behavior for these monsters, and it hadn’t been because she and her friends rushed outside. She suspected that these monsters had been freed far earlier than she’d assumed—were that not the case, some of the monsters would’ve still been in the underground forest in search of a clueless victim.

If they were waiting for Magiluka and her friends, the monsters would’ve attacked already, but none of them seemed to pay the group any sort of attention. It wasn’t an understatement to say that the monsters didn’t notice them.

Safina pointed. “Take a look over there,” she said. Magiluka followed her finger and saw the monsters gazing at a certain item enveloped in a white glow. For a moment, she thought it might be Mary emitting that light, but it couldn’t be—she was currently underground fighting a suit of armor. Magiluka shook her head.

“Is that...Snow?” Sacher asked.

Magiluka was finally able to make out the white snow leopard. “Yes, Lady Snow is intimidating the monsters and drawing their attention toward her.”

As the divine beast glared at the monsters, Magiluka spotted several monster corpses on the ground nearby. Clearly, the battle had already begun.

“Lady Mary did mention that Lady Snow would arrive later,” the prince said. “Maybe Snow was left behind just in case.”

“Lady Mary truly does think so many steps ahead!” Safina said in awe.

Needless to say, Mary had done no such thing. Snow had simply been reluctant to rush ahead and had been too indolent to join Mary’s trip into the forest. The sleepy divine beast had said that she’d catch up later and wanted to get her beauty rest. Mary had been too embarrassed to admit this and had just left without her.

From Mary’s and Snow’s perspectives, they could’ve understood it if everyone were exasperated by them—they never would’ve expected anyone to find them awe-inspiring. In fact, in this very instance, Snow had simply tracked down Mary’s mana and chased after her only to run into a horde of monsters.

“Huuuh?!” Snow cried. “What the heck is going on?! What in the wooorld?! Mary, you screwed up again, didn’t youuuu?!”

While Snow lamented this confusing situation, she drew the attention of the monsters and killed those that dared to try their luck against her.

“Not sure I’m connecting all the dots, but basically, Lady Mary’s planning rounded up all the monsters for us, yeah?” Sacher asked. “We just need to clobber them all, right?” He may not have understood all the details, but nevertheless, he unsheathed his sword with a grin. Magiluka gazed at her reliable friend—years ago, they’d wanted to flee against one gigant snake, but now, they were eager to face several monsters at once. Their obvious growth made Magiluka all fired up—this wouldn’t be anything like when she and he had had no choice but to retreat while Mary and Klaus handled the threat.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Magiluka warned.

“I know,” Sacher replied.

Faced with such vast numbers, it was imperative they proceeded with caution, and Magiluka’s warning helped everyone heighten their vigilance.

Magiluka knew from experience that if they began their attack, Snow would join them—the two couldn’t communicate, but Snow generally had a good understanding of her surroundings and acted accordingly.

“Since we’re up against so many monsters, we should avoid acting alone,” Rachel suggested.

“I agree,” Magiluka replied. “Let’s split into two groups on either side of His Highness. Safina, since we usually do combination attacks with my magic, please team up with me. Rachel, please support Sacher. Your Highness, please support both teams as you see fit.”

“Roger,” Sacher said. “Let’s do this, Rachel.”

“O-Okay.”

This was a safe formation, but Magiluka wasn’t sure if she made the right call putting Rachel with Sacher. Rachel did hesitate for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and prepared herself for battle. Her mumbling response was easy enough to write off as a charmingly maidenly indiscretion.

“All right! Provoke!” Sacher yelled, employing his usual tactic to draw the enemy’s attention—and it looked like it worked, since the monsters turned away from Snow to focus on Sacher instead.

Snow saw Magiluka and her friends’ formation and immediately intuited what she needed to do. She left some of the monsters to Sacher and decided she’d handle those closest to her, leaving Magiluka and her friends to handle two snakes and two boars. Magiluka understood Snow’s intentions, and it proved to her there was no need for words for them to have smooth communication—she was pleased to see the strength of their long-shared bond.

“What are you doing, Sacher?” Rachel asked worriedly. “Are you planning to block all these monsters’ attacks by yourself?”

“Nah, but I’m the best defender in our group,” Sacher replied with a smile. “If I keep their attention on me and endure their attacks, everyone else will defeat the monsters in no time. Right?” He had the resolve to intercept the monsters’ attacks and he trusted his comrades to defeat them—and he had the fearless smile to prove it.

Rachel was stunned for a moment. Should I really have put Rachel with Sacher? Magiluka wondered. I feel like I really did make a poor call.

Just then, one of the boars flared its nostrils and rushed straight for Sacher.

“That’s right! Come if you dare!” Sacher roared.

He raised his shield to defend himself. Rachel had expected him to dodge the attack, which would give her an opening to lend support and hit the boar with a counter strike—if she was lucky, she’d hit its vitals and land a fatal injury. But contrary to her plans, Sacher didn’t seem to have any intention to dodge, and instead he was bracing himself against the charging boar.

“W-Watch out!” Rachel shouted. She hastily grabbed his arm and yanked him toward her as she retreated. Mere moments later, the boar plowed through the spot where Sacher had once stood. “What in the world are you thinking?” she asked.

“I thought I’d be able to take it,” Sacher replied simply.

“It would’ve ripped you apart!” Rachel had already suspected as much, but Sacher was evidently the type of person who would rather learn by doing than trying to think things through—and now watching him act so recklessly was providing her a release for her protective instinct she’d lately been lacking a chance to indulge.

“Looks like you’re right. My bad, sorry! I figured you don’t know till you try, so I’m lucky you had my back. Thanks, Rachel.”

“I-It wuzdn’t...!” Her cheeks had turned warm and her voice had risen an octave when she’d tried to eke out a reply—after all, not only had she realized how close his genuine, carefree smile was to her face, she’d suddenly found her waist wrapped in his arm as he carried her to safety from yet another charging boar. It had been anything but an intimate gesture, considering he’d scooped her up like luggage more so than the bridal carry one might fantasize about, and Rachel was certainly beyond the age where she’d swoon at every little thing a man did...yet the way Sacher would abruptly demonstrate his complete lack of discretion around interacting with the opposite sex would always leave her heart racing.

“I feel like those two are just flirting...” Magiluka mumbled as she watched over them with a frown.

“Now, now,” the prince said nearby, trying to calm her. “Isn’t it nice to see them help each other out? I think it’s sweet.”

Safina, who was a touch dense when it came to these kinds of conversations, cocked her head to one side with confusion.

Magiluka switched gears and faced the gigant snakes. In the past, she’d feared these monsters, but she’d grown in her own way, and her reliable friends were by her side, dispelling any terror she held in her heart.

“I’m trusting you to guard our surroundings, Your Highness,” Magiluka requested.

“You got it,” Prince Reifus replied, taking an appropriate distance.

“Safina! Let’s cut down that snake!”

“Right!” Safina shouted. “Shall we go with the Nine Blade?”

“I understand where you’re coming from, but that move is our last resort,” Magiluka replied. “We’d no longer be able to fight after it. Let’s keep that in our back pocket for now and see how the situation transpires.”

“Y-You’re right. I’ll hold off.”

Since Safina wasn’t certain how powerful the gigant snake could prove to be, she’d wanted to go all out from the start, but Magiluka was quick to restrain that impulse: Their success rate for that formation was low, and any mistakes could be life-threatening—and no matter how powerful Mary’s healing magic may have been, Magiluka felt it was a mistake to operate taking it for granted.

Safina, for her part, must’ve been well aware of the risks, but Magiluka imagined she was simply eager to push herself to her limits and try to grow as a warrior. Still, despite their shared desire to become a reliable source of strength for Mary, Magiluka knew it wouldn’t do them any good to be reckless.

Hmm... Maybe Safina is just confident she can string her attacks together and wants to take the chance to try it out... Magiluka was a bit unnerved she couldn’t rule this out—she knew all too well how much potential Safina had, after all. “S-Safina, we’re strong enough that we needn’t trouble ourselves with such a powerful attack against these weak monsters.”

“Right!”

As utterly rude as Magiluka was being to the gigant snake, it couldn’t understand the human language, and it wasn’t the type to be angered by such provocations anyway. To them, Magiluka and the others were just prey—nothing more than food meant to be consumed.

“Here I go!” Safina said.

She prepared to quick-draw her sword as she rushed forward, watching for the monster to attack.

“Freeze Arrow!” Magiluka chanted. Icy projectiles flew toward the massive serpent. The monster had opened its maw wide to swallow Safina whole and hadn’t expected spells to come its way, so a chunk of ice was able to cleanly strike its snout and force it to falter.

“The difference between these monsters and the ones in the Ancient Forest is like night and day,” Safina observed. She realized the snake was full of openings, and she initiated her own spell. “Wind Blade Slash!” It flew toward the snake as it was still reeling from Magiluka’s attack. It’d never seen any of these spells before, and unable to defend itself, its head was swiftly sliced off.

Magiluka was astonished by how easy this battle was. Were gigant snakes always this weak? Or rather, is Safina simply too strong? Mary’s power attracted a lot of attention, but Safina was growing leaps and bounds in her own way—although admittedly, part of that growth was thanks to Mary’s help.

“Lady Magiluka, be careful!” the prince warned as he watched the battle from the rear. “There’s something in the trees above!”

Magiluka swiftly looked up into the canopy and spotted a nimble creature around half her size leaping to and fro between the foliage, and then she spotted at least two more. Given their high positions, Safina had no choice but to back down and get close to Magiluka, ready to draw her blade at a moment’s notice.

“Freeze Arrow!” Magiluka had intended to just keep them at bay and get a read on their movements, but one of them was startled enough by the ice that it slipped on the branches and fell to the ground. She recognized it. “A...monkey?”

She’d already assumed the creatures must be monkeys or something similar given their agility, but when she peered intently at it, she saw it was a kind of monkey monster with large, sharp fangs and claws as well as a remarkably thick tail and arms. Given what’d happened to this one, they clearly weren’t all that strong—it seemed likely their speed was simply used to scout out an area, and perhaps they’d be useful to cause confusion and disturb the peace.

Safina had been calm facing the gigant snake, but this monkey immediately had her on edge.

“Be careful,” she warned. “These things love to play tricks.”

“What do you mean?” Magiluka asked, perplexed. She couldn’t imagine these monkeys could possibly be worth Safina’s caution...and now that she’d underestimated their mobility, one of them nimbly made its way behind her. She gulped and tried to defend herself—then she suddenly heard a loud swoosh as something fluttered in the air and obscured part of her vision. “Huh?”

The monkey behind her pumped its arms in the air triumphantly and showed no signs of attacking. I can’t see through these fabric strips. Where’d these come from? Only then did she realize what’d happened—the monster had ripped apart the bottom half of her skirt.

Barely containing a scream, Magiluka moved so fast to cover her butt that one could’ve sworn she’d used some sort of hastening magic. As she attempted to pull down her shortened hems like window blinds over her exposed rear, the monkey monsters grunted and flashed leering smiles. When she saw their lecherous smirks, she immediately knew that the monkey hadn’t missed its attack from behind—no, it’d been aiming precisely for her skirt.

Needless to say, the prince, who was supporting their formation from the back, and Sacher and Rachel, who had their wits about them, must’ve seen Magiluka’s behind. That the boys had averted their gazes was proof more than anything.

“F-Freeze Arrow!” Magiluka roared. Humiliated by the monkeys and frustrated at herself for underestimating them, Magiluka took her anger out on the mocking, grinning monsters by firing her ice spell at them. The monkeys may have been fighting for their lives, but they still looked oddly satisfied with what they’d done, which annoyed her to no end. It just didn’t sit right with her. “Safina, let’s exterminate them!” Magiluka shouted, red up to her ears and with tears in her eyes.

“O-Okay...” Safina mumbled. She sounded unconfident and hesitant to act on Magiluka’s orders, but she said nothing more.

Unfortunately, these crafty monkeys refused to move from the trees as they gazed down at Magiluka and her friends from above. However, while Safina was trying to think of a plan, the monkeys flung something at her. Was it a stone? Or a fruit? Regardless of what it was, she decided she should use her blade to cut it in half.

“Don’t, Safina! Dodge it!” Magiluka screamed, clearly horrified.

Safina’s sharp reflexes let her take the advice, and she got a better look of the stuff that the monkey had thrown...and what she saw made her mind go blank for a moment. She was looking at poop—she felt terrified and disgusted that she’d almost cut it down with her precious sword.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” Safina shrieked shrilly as she expertly slid back near Magiluka in her iai stance. Her mortified panic caused the monkeys to erupt in vulgar laughter that echoed throughout the forest. “M-M-Magi...Magiluka...” Safina gasped.

“It’s not on you anywhere, is it?” Magiluka asked, looking over her friend with worry. “Did you manage to completely dodge it?” Safina could only nod vigorously with tears in her eyes as though she’d just walked through hell and back.

The moment that stuff even grazes us... The mere thought was terrifying, and Safina couldn’t be blamed for freaking out. Normally, she always maintained her cool in combat, but her horror and shock were on full display given the circumstances.

“They’re dead!” she roared as she stared at her enemies. “Accel Boost!” She sped herself up and rushed at the trees where the monkeys were.

The monsters were—quite literally—looking down at the ladies and guffawing loudly without a care. It took only a moment for their laughter to vanish, however. Safina ran up the tree with alarming speed, much like how she’d done at the bridge to Kairomea before. Both the monkeys and Magiluka were so stunned by her finesse their mouths were agape.

“Found you,” Safina growled. The moment she ran up the tree, the light behind her made her look like a nimble shadow, with only the sparkle of her jade eyes to illuminate her tenebrous silhouette—the nightmarish visage was more than enough to terrify her prey. Safina swiftly began to eviscerate the monsters into heaps of flesh; some of them tried to flee, only to trip and plummet to the ground; some made for new trees, and of those, many misjudged the distance in their fright only to leap to their deaths. A pandemonium of carnage ensued.

“I won’t let you escape,” she declared. The intensity of her dismay had warped her generally kind disposition into that of a berserker who knew nothing of mercy—true to her word, she saw to eradicating every single creature in sight, relentlessly slashing at even those who wanted nothing more than to escape. As Magiluka felt sympathy for how Safina had been slighted, she made no attempt to stop her friend, and instead chose to quietly use her spells to finish off the monsters that’d fallen to the forest floor.

“Yeesh...” Sacher muttered at the scene of slaughter. As for his fellow onlookers witnessing this chaos...the prince and Rachel simply chose to smile awkwardly as they watched the events unfold.

16. Return to the Village

I’d battled in a way that was completely different from my initial plans, but I’d still managed to defeat the Argent Armor.

Her final words had been like a curse, and they were still ringing in my ears. “You can’t hide here anymore!” she’d said. “Heh. Ah ha ha! You may have managed to flee, but I swear I’ll find you and tear you limb from limb. You stole what’s important to me, and I’ll never forgive you for it!” Her voice had been filled with such intense hatred that they made even an outsider like me shudder with fear. I had no idea what’d happened between the girl and the Argent Armor, but it seemed they shared a rocky past, to say the least.

I turned toward the head that I’d sliced away only to see a familiar crystal shattered on the ground.

“This...is Liberal Materia, isn’t it?” I asked. “Does the Argent Knight have some sort of ties to the Papacy?”

“Not with the Papacy, per se,” Orthoaguina replied. “It’s safer to assume that he has ties to Liberal Materia.”

“What do you mean?”

“The knight may share a link with the person who made it. Simply put, this sort of technology can’t be created so easily by the Papacy—or rather, by humans in general.”

Orthoaguina’s oblique answer made me realize that I’d never once really considered the creator behind Liberal Materia. It’d existed since ancient times and was seen as a taboo in our kingdom—I’d never really considered delving deeper into the subject beyond those two facts. But there’s another thing he said that bothers me...

“Orthoaguina, you know who made it, don’t you?” I asked.

He fell silent.

“Is it perhaps...Nike?” Sita asked, joining in.

Her guess must’ve been the truth. Orthoaguina sighed with resignation. “Indeed. The item known as Liberal Materia was a part of his research. It’s a product of failed experimentation. His goal had been nothing short of blasphemy—he’d wished to summon God—and instead of destroying his failures, he secretly scattered them across the world, including throughout the Papacy. He did it all simply so that he could watch and see what would happen.”

Orthoaguina’s reluctance to talk had been telling, and I’d expected Liberal Materia to be connected to his past somehow...but I couldn’t hide my surprise to hear Nike was involved yet again. Plus, it was astonishing to hear that Nike’s reason for creating such a dangerous item was to summon God. And Liberal Materia’s a failed experiment?

I didn’t know what to say. I’d seen many geniuses in my life, but Nike was clearly different from his peers. I wasn’t sure if “dangerous” was the right word to describe him, but alarm bells were ringing in the corners of my brain, telling me to stay away from him. Still, I had no concrete evidence for my apprehensions. Maybe he’s actually unexpectedly a good guy when you really get to know him?

“Nike’s involved with the creation of this facility, and I’d venture to guess that the Argent Armor who was secretly visiting here has some connection to him, so I guess it’s not odd for her to have that item.”

My gaze naturally traveled over to the little girl. Is she related to Nike and the Argent Knight somehow? Who in the world is Agard anyway?

In any case, mulling it over in this facility wasn’t very conducive to finding any answers. There was still plenty left to do too, as I still hadn’t rendezvoused with Magiluka or handled the monsters roaming aboveground.

“Are you okay?” I asked the girl. “Can you walk?”

She nodded in response. Tutte had fixed her clothes and hair, and she’d gotten surprisingly quiet now—she wasn’t in a frenzied panic anymore like she’d been when she’d seen the Argent Armor.

I couldn’t blame her for being slightly afraid of me, but it still was shocking to see it. I mean, she did watch me fight against the Argent Armor, after all...

“Um, what should I call you?” I asked her. “If you don’t mind, could you share your name with me?” I wondered if the shock from earlier had triggered her memories and hoped that she could recall something—anything. She might’ve been slumbering for more than a century... I guess it’s weird to act like I’m older.

“I...don’t know,” the girl murmured despite my hopes. Her long ears and reptilian tail drooped sadly as she turned to face the floor. She was very adorable, and her lack of confidence reminded me of past Safina.

She’s so cute! I had the impulse to squeeze cuties like her, no questions asked, but I stopped myself and tried to act as collected as I could...that is to say, I did try to hug her, but Tutte quietly gestured me to stay, signaling I was getting too familiar too fast. Can you really blame me? Ugh... Darn, Tutte knows me so well.

“Ahem,” I said, clearing my throat. “May I ask who Agard is? The diary— I mean, you said it earlier, I believe.” I was familiar with the name from reading the old book and almost said as much before I managed to stop myself. Whew, that was close! I can’t forget that there’s an astute talking tome nearby.

“Agard...” the girl muttered. “My memories are fuzzy, and I can’t remember well... I think that person is...important... No, I just don’t really know.”

“Why are you unsure?” I asked. “Even with your fuzzy memories, if you still remember that person’s name, they must’ve been really important to you.”

“I...just don’t know. But when I think about that person...my chest squeezes up and it pains me... I just... I have no clue.” She spoke quietly and awkwardly, pausing every few moments.

Seeing as how she’s doing her best to answer my questions, she doesn’t really seem to have her guard up around us. She’s so innocent, pure, and adorable... All right, all right! I’ll restrain myself! I locked eyes with Tutte, who shot me a knowing gaze, and I braced myself, keeping my impulses in check.

“Mary, the book,” Orthoaguina said.

“What?! What book?! I-I-I didn’t read anything from it!” I yelled.

“What’s wrong? If you show the girl the book, I’m hoping she might be able to read those cryptic characters.”

“Ah! Right! Y-Yeah, for sure! You’ve got a point. You know, I had the same thought! Ah ha ha ha! We’re two peas in a pod, aren’t we, Orthoaguina?”

“What are you babbling about? Are you scheming something?”

“Huh? No, of course not! Perish the thought!” I forced a laugh and latched on to the technical truth, hoping that he’d stop snooping.

“Hmm... Well, all right. I’ll let it slide for now.”

Clearly, this talking book still had his suspicions, but he wanted to move the conversation along. What gives? I’m genuinely not up to anything...

My dissatisfaction with the situation notwithstanding, Tutte went ahead with showing the girl the ancient book. “I...might be able to read it,” the girl said as she stared intently at it.

I internally clenched my fist victoriously. Nice! Even if I screw up, I’ll probably be able to play it off by saying I got it from her now!

“Wooow!” Sita cried. “Really?! How much of it can you read? Can you read all of it? Can you?”

“Little girl, where do these characters originate from?” Orthoaguina asked. “Where did you learn the language? Go on, say it. Hurry.”

While I was excited over something stupid, Orthoaguina and Sita were trying their best to pry more details about the ancient text from her.

We were all so intense that the girl yelped and clung onto Tutte. “Why don’t we prioritize leaving here and meeting up with the rest of the group?” Tutte suggested quite reasonably, wrapping her arms around the girl to protect her.

I agreed with Tutte’s opinion, but I was a touch jealous to see her so protective over another person... And yet, despite it not mattering, I was dropping everything to think it over regardless. Aw, come on. Stop being so petty, Mary Regalia. She’s a child—it’d be silly to let what she does get to me. Ha ha ha...

She... She is a child, right?

I turned to the girl. “Let’s head outside, um...” I remembered I didn’t know her name. This is inconvenient.

The little girl was fixated on the book, and she’d opened it once more to read the pages when I was calling for her. She looked up to face me, and I felt like I saw a spark in her eyes, as if her gaze had become brighter and filled with more energy than before.

“Noa...” she murmured.

“Pardon?” I asked.

“My name... I think...that’s my name.” She continued flipping through the pages of the book.

“Noa, huh...” I replied. “That’s a nice name. By the way, do you think you could treat that book with just a smidgen more care?”

I had to gently scold her because Sita was growing so pale watching Noa roughly paging through the book I thought she might faint at any moment. Was there something in that book that triggered her memories?

“I-I’m sorry,” Noa said. She looked visibly depressed and clutched the ancient book in her arms as though she was holding something dear to her.

Her mannerisms were so adorable that I couldn’t help myself—before I knew it, I was petting her head. Although she didn’t seem alarmed by my sudden indulgence, she did seem totally astonished, which made me gasp and snap back to my senses before drawing my hand back. Tutte hadn’t stopped me, likely assuming that I was allowed to at least pet her, but I ultimately ended up embarrassed by the result.

“L-Let’s go, Noa,” I said. I acted as though nothing had happened and offered my hand to her to hold. She hesitated for a moment before gingerly reaching out and clutching it.

My first question when I met up with my friends was less than kind. “Uh, what happened, Magiluka?” I asked. “Did your eyes open to some new possibilities mid-fight?”

“O-Of course not!” Magiluka insisted. “Please don’t say it like that!” Her face grew red, and she hid her butt.

Was there an enemy that was perverted to no end? Ha ha ha, nah, I doubt a monster like that exists. I laughed about my overactive imagination as I gazed at the forest outside. Quite a few monster corpses were strewn across the floor. The prince claimed that they’d successfully managed to stop the monsters here...so long as there weren’t any other monsters waiting in ambush. Considering they still haven’t shown up, I doubt there’s any lying in wait.

“Ugh, I had to work so hard because of you!” Snow wailed.

“It’s not my fault,” I replied. “But I can tell that you worked really hard. And for that, thank you.” I breathed a sigh of relief and approached my angry divine beast friend, who I suspected played a large role against the monsters. When Noa saw her, large as Snow was, she hid behind me with fear...but curiosity ultimately got the best of her, so she adorably sneaked glances at Snow while using me as a shield.

Then a certain small snow leopard peeked out from Snow’s back. Lily gracefully leaped off Snow and headed straight for me—or to be precise, for Noa—without hesitation.

Unlike Snow, Lily was the size of a cat, and Noa didn’t feel as afraid. In fact, her eyes lit up with excitement as she laid eyes on the endearing little kitty. Nevertheless, Noa still wasn’t sure if she could approach Lily, so she turned to me quizzically. I smiled back and gently pushed her toward the little furball, so she gingerly reached out toward her, and Lily sniffed at her fingers.

I can’t stop myself from grinning when I see cute meet cute. I used my hands to massage my face, trying to rub away the smile forming on my mouth. Lily rubbed her snout against Noa’s fingers, and Noa finally let her guard down and slowly began to pet her. I feel like this is the first time I’ve seen Noa smile. I breathed a sigh of relief and gazed at the two. Lily was sensitive when it came to good and evil.

Snow claimed that even if you wore a mask, Lily’s keen nose could sniff out purehearted and wicked intentions. Since Lily was rubbing her face against Noa, it implied that we had nothing to worry about with her. As a sidenote, Lily’s expert opinion on Orthoaguina was rather nuanced—she couldn’t approach him, but she didn’t purposefully keep her distance from him either. He was in a weird middle where she wasn’t sure if she could trust him or not.

“Why don’t we return to the village while keeping close watch of our surroundings?” the prince suggested.

We all agreed and walked ahead.

“Come on, Noa. Let’s go,” I said.

Noa was still petting Lily, but when I reached out, she jogged over to hastily grab my hand. Lily also tagged along. Ohhh my Goddddd! She’s so cute! So, soooo cute! I didn’t have one in my past life, so is this what it feels like to have a younger sister? I tried my best to act as a gently smiling older sister while I was internally bursting at the seams from the cuteness overload. And yes, I knew it was a bit creepy.

“Noa, when we return to the village, how about you let your big sister Sita join you with reading that book?” Sita offered.

“Sita, you may have tried putting it nicely, but your hunger to learn more is written all over your face,” I declared, protecting Noa from our resident research fiend. “You’ll scare her!”

Ever since Sita had learned that Noa could read the book, she’d been trying every opening she could find to get Noa to fulfill her thirst for knowledge. She’d been getting a bit too zealous for my liking, and since it was evident she didn’t have the best of intentions, I wanted to have her back off.

Rachel, for her part, was mortified by the way her sister was acting, so she grabbed Sita by the scruff of her neck and dragged her away from Noa. Sita flailed wildly trying to free herself from Rachel’s grip, and we all got quite a kick out of it before going back to making our way through the forest.

Just then, Noa stopped walking. As I was holding her hand, I noticed her pausing immediately.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Noa’s red eyes were focused on one area. When I followed her gaze, I saw the abandoned house that we’d stumbled across on our way here.

“Noa?” I asked.

“I...know this place,” she murmured.

The house? Did she used to live there or something? If so, why was she sleeping in the facility? I’d assumed that she was born in the facility and trapped there for eternity, but when I recalled the Argent Armor’s and Noa’s words, I deduced that they may have temporarily been together outside it.

“Agard...” Noa murmured. Her voice was so faint that the wind could’ve easily blown it away, but she pressed against her chest, implying that her memories were warm ones.

Agard linked the Argent Armor and Noa somehow. Is this connected to the secrets of the Argent Knight that I’m after? I thought back to what the Argent Knight had said that’d kicked off this journey in the first place. “Seal great power”... What was he up to anyway? I need to look into it.

With renewed resolve, I returned to the village.

17. Organizing What We Know

After I returned to the village, I went to tell the village headman about everything that had happened. Of course, I hid some details and warned him not to approach the area. Thanks to Sita, we’d managed to lock the entrance to the facility, and the device was so complicated that only one well-versed in Kairomean technology could open it anyway. I doubted that anyone in the village was capable of using it.

As for what we’d do now, as expected, the Evening Primrose Festival would be getting underway within the village. Magiluka and the others wished to collect as many monster corpses as they could to clear the area and incorporate the materials into the festival somehow. We’d done the same at the previous festival, and I was happy to see we were so resourceful.

We drew our discussion to a close, and everyone retired to their rooms. I headed for my room, where Tutte and Noa were waiting for me. After I consulted with the prince for a bit, he told me that since everything had occurred in the Regalia Duchy, he’d entrust me with the final say of how things proceeded—and with that power, I’d decided to keep Noa under my protection.

“Why’s Sita here?” I asked.

I thought she’d come sooner or later, but I hadn’t expected her to make a beeline for my room without any breaks. She’s one tough cookie... I thought. Her inquisitive mind was nothing short of commendable and awe-inspiring, but I did find myself wishing that she’d practice a touch of self-restraint.

“No, um, I’m not here about the ancient book or anything!” Sita insisted, acting shady to no end. “I’m not! I, uh...”

“No one said anything about that book,” I replied with a sigh. “You’re not wholly unrelated to this series of events. You came here worried about her, right?” I asked, offering her a way out.

Sita nodded her head vigorously and smiled, willing to play off her curiosity as concern.

Sita and Noa really do look similar. Obviously, they share some characteristics since they’re both dark elves, but the familial similarity is noticeable... I think Sita feels that way too, at least enough to care about her and not think of her as a stranger.

“Not to change topics, but, um, what’ll she do now?” Sita asked. “More specifically, I’m really curious about what she’ll do in the ancient book department.”

I take it back... I guess Sita can’t suppress her thirst for knowledge. I glanced at Noa and saw her happily asleep with Lily.

“How’s Noa?” I asked Tutte. “Did she...?”

My maid had been taking care of Noa in my stead. I feared the worst—that Sita had pushed Noa over her limits and had caused the little girl to collapse from exhaustion.

“You needn’t fret, my lady,” Tutte replied, quickly grasping the implications of my question. “None of what you’re imagining has happened.”

Meanwhile, Sita was nodding her head vigorously once more, desperately appealing her innocence.

Huh? Did I sound too menacing? I didn’t mean to come off that way.

“Lady Noa was nervous at first, but she’s calmed down considerably since,” Tutte explained. “We have Lady Lily to thank, as she stayed by her side this entire time. She enjoyed a hearty meal earlier too.”

“Ah, yeah. That she did,” Sita replied. “She looked a bit...eccentric, didn’t she?”

Tutte smiled as she recalled the event, and Sita flashed a strained smile alongside her. I had a good idea of how Noa must’ve eaten, but I much rather preferred her to be energetic than glum and in the doldrums.

“And how much research were you able to do?” I asked.

“Huh?!” Sita gasped.

“Don’t play dumb. You might not have pushed her, but you tried to ask as much as you could, didn’t you?”

“I, uh, erm...”

I cast an unconvinced look at Miss Chief Librarian as she awkwardly averted her gaze and scratched her head.

“We learned that a boy called Agard wrote that ancient book,” Orthoaguina said. He was unable to tolerate the silence and went ahead and revealed the truth.

I wasn’t particularly surprised since I’d read that diary myself. “Huh. Neat,” I said.

“Oho? You don’t seem too surprised,” Orthoaguina observed. “Did you already know about it?”

Damn, I hate smart talking books... “W-Well, I was with Noa, so...” I felt like if I spoke any more, I’d unwittingly reveal the truth...but it was a pain to act dumb too, so I decided to use Noa and act like I knew more than I did. Yeah, that’s right! Take that! I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve too.

“Good grief,” Orthoaguina sighed. “You’re quite shrewd yourself, I see. Then you probably already know that Agard is none other than the Argent Knight himself,” he posited, casually offering up an earth-shattering revelation.

“Whaaaaaaat?!” I cried, unable to help raising my voice before immediately clapping my hands over my mouth.

Noa cracked open her eyes and slowly began to stir. Tutte tried to lull her back to sleep, but she sat up and showed that she was all right. I felt bad for waking her up, but there was nothing I could do now.

I removed my hands from my mouth and tried to move the conversation along when a knock came from the door. Tutte hastily made her way to the entrance and opened it to reveal a worried Magiluka and Safina.

“What’s the matter, Lady Mary?” Magiluka asked. “I heard you scream and rushed over.”

Uh, was I that loud? And I feel like they came too quickly. Well, I shouldn’t worry about the small stuff, I guess. “Well, this talking book sort of turned my world upside down,” I said.

When I told the ladies, they both had the same reaction I did, causing the prince and the rest of my friends to gather round from the commotion.

Ultimately, after a quick break where we’d all settled into my room, we decided to organize what we knew. We each took a seat and shared our information.

“I’d like to know more about Agard,” Magiluka said. “What kind of boy was he anyway?”

“Hmm, well, he wrote in the old book that he was born there,” Orthoaguina replied. “I suspect that his circumstances are similar to the little girl.”

“Which means... Agard was created artificially?” Magiluka pondered.

Orthoaguina fell silent. Is he smiling behind the book? If so, that’s kind of cute.

“Sir Orthoaguina’s story sheds light on Noa as well,” the prince said. “Why was Agard created?”

“Maybe the researcher wanted a kid of his own,” Sacher suggested.

Personally, from what I knew about Nike, that possibility felt unlikely.

“You think Nike would have such a cute and innocent idea?” Orthoaguina scoffed. “The ancient book—let’s call it Agard’s memoir for now—hints at the reason.”

Sita placed the book, Agard’s memoir, onto the table and slowly flipped through the pages. Noa, likely assuming that she was needed for this bit, stepped off the bed and trotted over to the front of the table. I was worried that she might be pushing her tired body too hard and approached her when my eyes fell upon the open pages.

A large, white suit of armor.

I think I was born to activate this armor.

Sita pointed to a certain location on the memoir as Noa began to awkwardly read it aloud.

“The large, white suit of armor he’s referring to must be the Argent Knight’s armor, correct?” Orthoaguina asked.

“Wait, so this boy was created solely for the purpose of wearing armor?” Sacher asked.

I don’t think that’s it... “No, Agard never mentioned wearing the armor,” I pointed out. “He just wrote that he’d activate it, right?”

“Very good,” Orthoaguina replied. “I was bothered about that point as well. Little girl, continue reading.”

“‘It’s one of the few weapons with a soul. It was made by God,’” Noa read. “‘Soul Materia.’ That’s what this person called it.”

“A weapon with a soul created from none other than the legendary Soul Materia?” Prince Reifus wondered. “Is that what the Argent Knight’s armor actually is?”

“Awesome!” Sacher said. “I didn’t think it actually existed. I thought it was just the stuff of fairy tales.”

“If the Argent Knight’s armor was the Armor of God, I can see why the kingdom had once attempted to create an even greater weapon, only to fail,” Magiluka added.

“I pity the smith forced to create such a crazy weapon,” I said. “I can easily imagine the face Deodora would’ve made if that request had been brought to her.”

We all gave a strained chuckle as we envisioned her going, “Yeah, I can’t do that,” with a hearty laugh.

“Ugh...” Noa groaned.

“Noa?” I called out to her worriedly.

Her face twisted in pain as she pressed her hands against her temples like she was having a headache. “Soul...Materia...” she muttered.

Did she manage to recover another piece of her memories? Since she looked anguished, I suggested we continue this discussion tomorrow and call it a day. Everyone agreed and began to return to their rooms for now.

The Argent Knight’s armor...is the armor that God created? And it’s a weapon with a soul—Soul Materia.

I recalled my battle against the Argent Armor—it ended up being a suit of armor bound together by flesh. If that was how her body worked, why didn’t she personally go to that facility? It sounded like she had a backup or a clone go in her stead. Sealing grand power...

I felt like I was reaching closer to the truth as I gently petted Noa’s head. She lay in bed and closed her eyes. When she fell asleep, I left the room. Oh yeah, the Evening Primrose Festival is tomorrow... Guess I ended up turning it into a huge commotion again.

18. My Second Evening Primrose Festival

The village was bustling since the early morning in preparation for the upcoming festival. As the daughter of the duchy’s lord, I was walking around and inspected the place, though in truth, I was just touring the village. I had Noa holding my hand to tag along with me with Lily beside her and Tutte in tow.

As we walked around happily and I nodded approvingly at all the attractions, a plump middle-aged woman roasting skewers smiled and called out to me.

“Lady Mary!” she shouted. “You helped out with the festival this year too, didn’t you? I heard you provided a lot of monster materials again! We really appreciate it!”

“I wasn’t really the one who helped. I was kind of just dragged into the mess, and... Well, if you’d like to thank someone, please thank this girl.” I was bothered by the skewer lady’s usage of “again” and said some things that were better left unsaid as I introduced her to Noa.

“Oh? Is that so?” the lady replied. “Hello there, sweetie. Thank you so much for helping us out!”

Noa hadn’t expected to be spoken to. She couldn’t lock eyes with the lady and quickly hid behind my skirt...but she soon peeked out, enticed by something she saw.

“My, oh my. You’re so cute!” the lady said. “Oh? Are you interested in what I’m holding?” The lady noticed Noa’s gaze and showed her the skewers she was holding. Noa was mesmerized by them—when the skewers moved, her head followed.

She’s so easy to read.

Say, this meat looks awfully familiar, I thought with an awkward smile. It’s sort of nostalgic for me. Realizing where the skewered meat came from, I reminisced about the time I ate it with Magiluka and my friends.

“Ma’am, may I have three skewers?” I asked. The lady smiled and handed Tutte the skewers in exchange for money. Just then, a child walked up to us. I assumed that they were the lady’s kid, and they brought a skewer over to us out of a show of kindness. They were startled at first when they saw Noa, but since I was nearby, they didn’t seem to mind—they must’ve figured I was the type to bring unusual friends around. I found this to be a touch offensive, but I couldn’t deny it—I’d already brought the prince, a divine beast, and elves along with me, so the villagers had gotten used to surprising guests. I was impressed by their adaptability.

Noa, for her part, looked nervous and didn’t move a muscle. I didn’t think much of it and gently pushed her forward, encouraging her to take the skewer from the child.

“No...” she murmured.

“Noa?” I asked.

I didn’t expect her reaction and turned to her. She looked as terrified as when she saw the Argent Armor—her eyes were glossed over as she gazed into the distance. The child didn’t enter her field of vision as she stared blankly.

“Noa? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Stop...! Please... Why are you making that face?” Noa whispered. “I’m...not a monster. Don’t throw rocks at me!”

Was her past layering over the present? It seemed another fragment of her memories had been triggered, and judging by the way she trembled and muttered feebly, it wasn’t anything to celebrate. People who weren’t familiar with other species must’ve reacted in a violent manner toward her in the past because of her appearance.

I accepted the skewer from the child and reassured them, gently advising them to step away. The lady also noticed Noa’s odd behavior and turned to her with worry. I hastily pushed the skewer into Noa’s hands, hoping that some kind of stimulation from outsiders would help her snap back to her senses.

“No... I... I just wanted to surprise everyone...” Noa mumbled. “I knew that Agard met you, so I...” Noa gripped the skewer, but she was still lost in her flashback, her eyes locked on to the middle-aged lady and her child.

I guessed that Agard had secretly been trading goods with someone from the village. Since the rest of the village hadn’t heard of him, the one trading goods must’ve kept it a secret from everyone else. Perhaps the trader wasn’t even a villager and was just a traveling merchant? No matter the case, it was clear that Noa had ventured out for the first time to meet someone outside of Agard and had been rejected horrifically.

“I...didn’t know,” Noa whispered. “Why...? I... And I...” Noa’s reptilian irises grew narrow as she gazed blankly into the air. Her breathing grew haggard, and I felt like I could see an aura or a veil of mana around her. An ominous atmosphere settled in, and Lily noticed it too, as she was on full alert and ready to pounce.

It’s clear that Noa’s ventured outside of that facility before. Why was she sleeping inside that pod, then? Why did the Argent Armor so clearly despise her?

I’ve got so many questions, but it’s not good to push her. I’ll be patient and wait until she’s ready. I hugged Noa tight, stopping her from speaking further. I rubbed her back and tried to calm her down.

“It’s okay,” I said gently. “I’m here now. You have nothing to worry about. It’s okay.”

“Big...sister...” Noa murmured. Finally, she returned to reality. The menacing air around her vanished.

As a sidenote, she’d begun to call me her “big sister” just this morning, much to my surprise. It was a bit embarrassing to learn that she saw me as her older sister, but it seemed she picked it up when I’d called myself her “big sister Mary.” In my mind, we were less like siblings and more like a young kid babysat by me as a friendly neighborhood girl... I wasn’t sure whether I was happy with how things had ended up or not, but regardless of how it felt a bit weird, I decided to let it slide for now and focus on more important tasks.

“Yes, Noa?” I replied to her. I did my best to sound as gentle as I could and act like a reliable older sister.

“Your clothes will get dirty,” she pointed out. I realized that Noa still had a skewer in her hand that was slathered with sauce.

“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “Shall we go?” I tried my best to show my dignity as the older sister and smiled before I slowly drew back from her.

“Tutte...” I wailed in a low voice.

My maid swiftly stood next to me. “Of course, my lady. I shall prepare a change of clothes the moment you return home.”

As I ensured that Noa wouldn’t hear my cries, my trusty maid read my mind. I’m nowhere near a reliable older sister, am I?

I returned our group to the villa at once and swiftly had Tutte help me change clothes before I headed back to the front of the villa for Noa and Lily. I assumed they were playing together and made my way back quickly, but as elegantly and gracefully as possible.

“Sorry for the wait, Noa,” I said. “I had to run an errand. It’s tough being the daughter of a lord, you know?” I flashed a forced smile and made a pitiful attempt of acting proud. Tutte’s gentle smile, which seemed to understand all and envelop me with kindness, made me envious.

But Noa and Lily weren’t where I left them. I felt I might be being a bit overprotective, but I was worried and gazing around, until eventually I spotted a good-for-nothing leopard yawning lazily by the villa’s entrance.

“Snow, where are Noa and Lily?” I asked.

Snow yawned. “They’re watching the cutting show with everyone in the garden over there.”

Why the garden? But I suppressed my thoughts and thanked Snow before heading there.

As Snow had said, Noa was gazing at the garden in awe with Lily in her arms. I saw massive monster corpses rolling around the garden, and this bizarre sight tempted me to scold people, but I remembered giving permission to the villagers to use my villa as they pleased for the festival. I had no choice but to stay silent.

“This part is tougher than you’d think,” Rachel explained. “So, you use your blade and go...”

“Wow, amazing!” a villager said. “Elves truly are spectacular!”

“Um, I don’t think being an elf has got anything to do with this...” Sacher said. “Or does it...?”

As Rachel gave her lecture to the crowd, Safina watched on with interest, trying her best to absorb all the knowledge.

“No, it’s just that we hunt occasionally within the Ancient Forest,” Rachel replied. “You can say that experience comes with age, and I’ve had plenty of it during my lifetime.”

“Huh...” a villager said. “I didn’t know elves hunted and ate meat. I assumed that you only ate fruit or something.”

“Yeah, I thought so too,” Sacher agreed. “I was stunned when I first saw Rachel biting into a chunk of meat.”

“H-Hey! Stop!” Rachel cried. “Don’t say it like that! Phrase it more delicately, please!”

She turned red and hit Sacher gently while the other villagers laughed, soaking in the wholesome sight. I felt a bit guilty since the villagers were the forthcoming type. I’m sorry. I apologize on behalf of the village. As for Sacher... Well, I think he’ll be fine on his own.

I approached Noa, who was watching everyone. “There you are.”

“Oh, I-I’m sorry,” Noa apologized. “I didn’t mean to run off on my own.” She was startled when she heard my voice, and she looked visibly depressed about going against my request.

“Hee hee,” I chuckled. “I was worried for a moment, but I won’t get angry with you.”

As Noa faced the ground, clutching Lily like a plush toy, I gently petted her head to soothe her.

“Everywhere I go, I’m greeted by wholesomeness,” Magiluka remarked. She sighed as she approached me.

“Whoa!” I gasped with surprise. “Since when have you been here?”

“Am I not allowed to be here?” She puffed out her cheeks angrily at my rude remark, and the prince did his best to quell her anger.

Once everyone else gathered, I realized that a certain troublemaker and an annoying book were nowhere to be seen. I didn’t see them when I was walking around the village with Noa... Did they venture outside the village?

“Where’s Sita and the book?” I asked. “They’re not causing trouble somewhere again, are they?”

Sita yawned. “I’ve been in my room this whole time. I came out to breathe some fresh air—but did something happen?”

I didn’t expect to hear her voice from the villa and turned to see her sleepily peeking out the window to gaze out at the garden.

“Sorry,” I apologized. “I assumed that you wandered out of the village on your own again.”

“Heh, nothing gets past you, Lady Mary,” Sita replied. “I did plan to visit the evening primrose fields after a little break, so you read my mind.”

“Actually, it’s more like anyone can easily guess what you’ll be up to from your past behavior,” I jabbed.

“You seem rather sleepy, Sita,” Magiluka said. “Were you resting until now?”

Sita’s eyes turned dreamy like a romantic maiden. “I was discovering the past! If I can experience the excitement of unraveling mysteries, an all-nighter or two or three or four aren’t an issue for me at all!”

I did feel like she was on some sort of weird high. I guess she got oddly excited after pulling an all-nighter. After our hectic adventure underground, she’d gone to Noa for more information without taking a breather and had been analyzing Agard’s memoir until now. I was half surprised by her persistence as a researcher and half worried that she was pushing herself.

“Don’t push your limits,” I warned. “If you collapse, Rachel will faint from shock.”

“Heh, there isn’t a researcher in Kairomea so weak that they’d collapse after an all-nighter or two,” Orthoaguina replied. “All the researchers of the Grand Archival Tower are looking into Agard and Soul Materia as we speak!”

“All the researchers? How many people did you drag in?” I was tempted to smack the smug book to the ground as Sita showed it to me, but I held myself back.

“Hmm... I haven’t been keeping count,” Orthoaguina said. “But I’m having everyone there investigate.”

“You... Stop forcing everyone to do your bidding!” I snapped.

“Oh, no, all I said was that a certain Argent Holy Woman wished to look into it, and everyone happily obliged. Bah ha ha!”

“Don’t use me for your schemes!” I couldn’t help it. I delivered the smackdown on the insolent book who was up to no good while trotting out my name. I knew that my swift chop couldn’t hurt him physically, of course, so it was all a little jest.

“Lord Orthoaguina, did you learn something after getting everyone’s help?” Sita asked.

“There are many legends and tales about Soul Materia, so I assumed that it’d be easy to look into,” Orthoaguina said. “But while we found some instances in the shape of swords or staves, I found none that took the form of armor. Another unexpected roadblock in our research was that Mary’s kingdom doesn’t have many legends pertaining to this subject.”

He’s right. If the Argent Knight possessed legendary armor, the kingdom surely ought to have had the precise origin of the item or other stories related to its creation, yet I’d never heard of any such stories. Even the knowledgeable prince and Magiluka hadn’t heard of anything either, so it was only natural Orthoaguina’s research had failed to produce any pertinent information.

“Hmm, does that mean that there’s a chance that the Argent Armor was brought into this kingdom from somewhere else?” Prince Reifus wondered.

“Very astute, Your Highness,” Sita replied. “The memoir mentioned that the armor was brought in for research and experimental purposes. My money’s on the armor coming from a foreign nation too. But the writings in the memoir are so simple and concise that I can only guess.”

“If I were a betting dragon, I’d say that Nike’s to blame,” Orthoaguina added. “I don’t know where he brought it from, but it was probably without permission. Hence, he decided to conduct research in a land far away, hidden from people, to avoid any trouble.”

“But why did Sir Nike experiment on the armor?” His Highness asked. “Was it also part of his ultimate goal?”

“Undoubtedly. Soul Materia is the work of God. Perhaps he assumed that unraveling the mystery behind it would help him come a step closer to the domain of the gods. Unfortunately, I still haven’t a clue what he tried to learn from the armor and why he tried to activate it. If we can understand Agard’s memoir in full, we may be able to pinpoint a goal, but as for details, I doubt that we can expect much.”

The memoir was written from Agard’s point of view, not Nike’s. Unless Nike was someone who loved to share and ramble on end about his goals, we were out of luck. Needless to say, judging from what I’d heard about Nike so far, I didn’t pin him as the talkative type.

“I’d love to use the little girl as soon as possible to parse more of the text, but...” Orthoaguina trailed off.

I held Noa close to me to protect her. “No,” I said firmly. “I won’t let you make her pull an all-nighter or two. Not over my dead... Hmm, wait, maybe I should rephrase...” As a person who’d reincarnated, meaning that I’d already died once, I suddenly had some second thoughts about my choice of idiom, leaving me unable to firmly declare my intentions like a cool older sister. In the end, I came out of the situation looking very lame...

“What in the world are you on about?” Orthoaguina asked.

“In any case, as long as I’m here, I won’t let you push Noa too hard!” I shouted.

“Ugh... Good grief. All right, all right. I really do dislike overprotective parents,” Orthoaguina whined.

“You’re one to talk, Mr. Sita’s Dad,” I fired back, adding a nice stink eye on top for good measure.

“Grr...” He knew he’d been beaten and acquiesced. “N-Now then, moving right along, those characters are most intriguing,” Orthoaguina said. “I suspect that they have something to do with God.”

His way of changing topics made my heart thump anxiously. Those characters are from Japan, another world. It was God who’d brought Japanese people into this world, so I couldn’t confidently say that they were unrelated.

“I thought this may be sacred text, and I had everyone look into it, but no one could really find anything,” Sita admitted with a sigh as she slumped her shoulders with resignation. “This mystery really is a tough one for us scholars.”

If Japanese was seen as sacred text—that is, symbols of God—it made me feel a bit, well...awkward. It would also become increasingly difficult for me to admit that I could read them. That was close. Whew. Thanks to Sita, I could avoid revealing my secret and screwing myself over.

“But of course, if it were sacred text, I can understand why a certain lady may be able to read it,” Orthoaguina added.

Guh... This talking book really wants to point me in that direction, huh? And the scary thing is that he isn’t completely wrong. I pretended not to hear what he said and moved the conversation along.

“I-In any case, where did Agard learn to write with those characters anyway?” I asked.

“Judging from his memoir, Nike or the soul in the Argent Armor are strong possibilities,” Sita replied.

“No, between those two, Sita, the Argent Armor will be the more likely candidate,” Orthoaguina replied.

“You sound rather confident,” I observed. “Any basis for that? Is it because you’ve known him for so long?”

“Oh no, it’s a very simple reason, actually,” Orthoaguina replied. “He’s a terrible teacher. I also struggled to understand his ramblings at times. He’s absolutely atrocious when it comes to teaching others.” Orthoaguina’s tone made me assume that there was some kind of endearing tale between the two, but his harsh phrasing only earned a dry laugh out of me.

“It does make more sense that the armor that God made could parse sacred text instead of Nike,” Sita said. She clapped her hands together with satisfaction.

Isn’t it a bit too soon to assume that Japanese is sacred text? I felt like these scholars should proceed more carefully—and as a person who could read Japanese, I was internally sweating buckets, fearing that I’d reveal myself somehow. I could only quietly watch on. Okay, could anyone really blame me for keeping mum? If I try to steer them onto a different track, I might end up screwing myself over! I can only watch on for now! I made desperate excuses to myself.

“Let’s say that the armor taught Agard the language,” Orthoaguina said. “Who taught the little girl?”

“Huh? Me?” Noa asked. “I... I... I don’t know... Who taught me?” She did her best to trace her memories back, but they remained as vague as ever.

“Noa, you don’t have to force yourself to remember,” I said gently.

“Okay. I’m sorry,” Noa apologized.

“You don’t have to apologize either.”

“Okay. Sorry.”

Hmm... Sounds like she’s got the habit of apologizing for every little thing. Is there a reason she became like this? I was already used to her responses and petted the glum girl’s head.

“Speaking of which, Sita, you said earlier that you wanted to see the evening primroses,” Magiluka said. She changed topics after she saw me petting Noa. “Is it for research? Or is there something that bothers you which you’d like to look into?”

Magiluka admittedly looked a bit interested herself, but that was a trivial matter. I was grateful that she switched topics. If I was forced to say what I knew about Japanese, I was so sure that I’d screw myself over somewhere, so I wanted to pretend that we’d never mentioned it. I especially wanted to avoid speaking about it in front of the talking book.

“Hmm, the latter, I guess,” Sita replied.

“What do you mean? Did something happen?” I asked. As the daughter of the duchy’s lord, I couldn’t let that slide.

“Not really,” Sita said. “If I’m just needlessly worrying, then that’s fine, but I was just a little curious. I-I can’t say much until I look into it more.”

“Why are you being so tight-lipped? You’re making me curious now. Come on, out with it,” I pressed.

“Um... Well, okay. The evening primroses miiight wilt,” she admitted, casually dropping a massive bombshell.

“What?!” I froze up from shock. H-Huh? What? Did I do something again?!

19. My Second Evening Primrose Festival Continued

We were standing near a field of evening primroses. They were the same as they’d ever been and thankfully showed no signs of wilting.

“Sita, you scared me!” I said. “Thank goodness the flowers are all right.”

Sita examined the flowers. “Hmm, no, I think this is bad,” she determined, interrupting my sigh of relief and cruelly shattering my hopes with a frown.

“Huh?” I was once again stupefied.

“Is it related to the underground research facility?” His Highness asked.

Sita nodded in response, finally cluing me into her misgivings about the situation.

“I see... The evening primroses bloom by receiving mana from underground. Now that the well of mana’s gone, are they going to wilt?” I asked.

“Exactly,” Sita replied. “I think they’ll bloom this year, but they’ll eventually run out of mana and wilt, I think. This place wasn’t really suited for these flowers anyway.”

“Wh-Wh-What’ll we do?! That’s bad! Really bad! The evening primroses are one of the main sources of revenue for the village! Ahhh!!!” I was sweating buckets to the point where I feared I’d collapse from dehydration, so I only barely managed to put my dismay into words. Crap! Crap! Crap! Craaaaaaap! Holy crap! This is my biggest screwup of the century! What do I do?! What can I do?!

“It’s because...I woke up,” Noa said, intuiting she was responsible after seeing me panic.

“No, that’s not it,” I said firmly, hastily denying the idea. “You don’t have to look so bothered, Noa.” Despite being so young, she was very sensitive about situations potentially being her fault. I knew I had to find a way to help her get over that, but I felt too clueless and ignorant a person to know how to go about it.

“What do I do?!” I cried. “Tell me, Orthaemon!” Pressed as I was, I felt it was time to rely on my trusty not-so-white-and-blue, not-very-round book buddy to pull something out of his nonexistent pocket.

“Excuse me?” the dragon asked. “Are you referring to me? Calm down, Mary. There is a solution to this.”

“I-I knew I could count on you, Orthaemon,” I said. “Thank goodness!”

“Drop that silly nickname!”

“Now then, what can we do? Tell me, pretty please.”

“Good grief... Very well. The simplest solution would be to return that little girl to her original spo—”

“Deniiiied!” I had no choice but to raise my voice and cut him off for offering that absurd solution despite my faith in him. “Plan B, please.”

“Well, considering the fairies are involved, the only other method we’ve got left is to beg the bratty little tree.”

“By that, you mean...”

“Indeed. The spirit tree.” He heaved a massive sigh.

I fell to the ground in despair. I went to all the trouble of placating her and flattering her so we could part ways, yet now, cruel fate, you force me to return to her side again?

I just know things won’t be so simple. I can feel it in my bones. She’ll definitely bring unwanted trouble along with her... I stared at the ground and trembled as I simulated possible scenarios with the tree.

“Uh, Rachel, I don’t quite get it, but how long will it take for the evening primroses to wilt?” Sacher turned to Rachel and whispered.

I feel like those two have gotten used to standing alongside each other.

“Well, I’m no expert, but at this rate...I think the flowers will definitely wilt in about a century or so,” Rachel said.

“Say what?” We all gasped as we turned to her quizzically.

Sita nodded with a frown. “Right. A century will pass by in the blink of an eye. We should do what we can while we’ve got the time.”

We were all silent, unsure of what to say.

“I suppose elves and us humans perceive time differently...” Safina said. “Lady Mary, what shall we do?”

“Er... I’m not sure...” I replied. “What’ll we do, Magiluka?”

“Please don’t ask me,” Magiluka replied. “This is your duchy, after all.”

“Orthoaguina gave us a solution, sort of...” I muttered. “Ugh, the spirit tree?” I stood back up, but I was barely keeping it together and felt my knees buckling. “Wh-Why don’t we sleep on it for now?”

The solution I came up with was the worst one of all. “Bah ha ha!” Orthoaguina laughed. “You really are always fun to watch. There’s no need to act as soon as possible, but it’s best to keep a solution in mind— Ah!”

I turned to the talking book quizzically, wondering why he cut himself off.

“They’ve bloomed,” he said.

A glowing petal danced in front of my eyes. I’d seen this fantastical sight five years ago, but I couldn’t suppress my gasp of awe, spellbound by its beauty.

I might have a century to spare, but it’s not right to leave current problems to future generations.

Hrmm... And I’ve got Noa to think about, and the Argent Armor might appear again. From the Argent Knight to the evening primroses, there are so many issues to resolve... Arghhhh! I felt like my head was about to burst from the sheer number of problems I had ahead of me. I didn’t know where to start.

For now, let’s just calm down and enjoy this beautiful scene in front of me with all my friends. I wasn’t trying to escape reality, I’ll have you know. I sort of...can promise that.

And so, I gazed all around me, trying to keep my mind empty. “It’s been five years, huh...” I murmured, lost in my thoughts. Every day felt like an eternity, but in retrospect, time had flown by so quickly.

“Five years already...” the prince muttered, gazing into the distance. “Have I made progress toward my oath?” The question was directed more to himself than anyone else. No doubt the oath he was referring to was his declaration to all of us here: to create a kingdom where everyone could smile. The promise itself sounded a bit abstract, but back then, I’d thought that it was par for the course for our prince. Speaking of which, I don’t really remember what happened after. If memory serves...

I thought back to that exchange. I’d misunderstood his confession and insolently fled—ahem, I’d elegantly strolled away, as a maiden would. I smiled.

“Lady Mary?” His Highness asked, tilting his head to perplexedly.

“Oh, uh, nothing,” I hastily replied. “Prince Reifus, I think you’re walking the right path. You haven’t forgotten that promise of yours, after all.”

I knew he hadn’t been looking for a response, but there I went offering an opinion anyway. Y-You idiot! Why in the world am I acting like I’m above him?! Shut your trap, Mary! I internally slapped my silly self, even giving my psyche a one-two punch to its stupid theoretical mouth.

The prince blinked back, surprised that he’d received an answer at all, before he flashed his usual, mild-mannered smile. “I see...” he said. “Yeah, I think so too. Heh heh, you really do always keep me focused on the road forward.” He looked oddly refreshed and bright-eyed.

Cold sweat ran down my back. The prince’s whisper had barely reached my ears, yet I nevertheless forced myself to smile back at him. Five years later, I’m still as impudent as ever... I haven’t grown at all, have I? I glanced around at my friends to shift topics when I spotted Noa acting a bit strange. Her eyes went wide at the beautiful view of the evening primroses, but it felt like she wasn’t all there, like she wasn’t gazing at the present.

“Noa?” I asked.

“I... I’ve seen this before,” she said. Her memories seemed to be rushing back to her. Had she managed to catch a glimpse of the festival when she was outside of the facility? Or had she spotted a different cluster of evening primroses in the past?

“Where did you see them?” I asked.

“Xe...o...ral...” she groaned. She pressed her hands against her head like she had a splitting headache and staggered. I hastily rushed over to her and saw that she’d fainted.

“Is Noa all right?” His Highness asked.

“Yes, Your Highness,” I replied. “She fainted, but I believe she should be fine.”

“I see. It’s still concerning, so let’s head back to the villa.”

The prince looked worriedly at Noa, and everyone else quietly turned to leave. Sacher gently scooped the girl up in his arms and carried her back to the villa as I recalled the word she said before she fainted.

“Xeoral...” I murmured. I’d never heard the word before and cocked my head to the side with confusion.

“Lady Mary, did Noa say that?!” Sita said, instantly reacting to what’d slipped out of my mouth. I instinctively recoiled, taken aback by her excitement.

This bundle of curiosity really is terrifying...

“Y-Yeah,” I replied. “Have you ever heard of it, Sita?”

“Well, yeah, sort of,” Sita replied. “But all I know is that it’s a place within a fairy tale.”

“A place?”

“Yeah. Xeoral’s said to be an island in the skies that apparently existed in the mythical world. But that’s really all I know.”

She shrugged and walked ahead to join the rest of the group. Xeoral, an island in the skies... Is it related to the Argent Knight somehow? I had the tendency of linking whatever Noa said to the Argent Knight, and I laughed at myself. Nah, it can’t be. It’d be way too convenient, ha ha. No way! Besides, if our next destination were a mythic island, how would we get there anyway? We’re not heading there, are we? Please? God, you better not make it happen!

I opted to flee from reality with my refusal to accept the potential truth...but sadly enough, my premonitions tended to come true.

“Well, looks like our next destination is Xeoral! ♪” Orthoaguina said excitedly.

The next day during breakfast, the talking book completely failed to consider my feelings and excitedly told us of our next course of action. I almost leaned over the table in defeat.

“What’s Xeoral?” Magiluka asked simply.

“It’s an island in the skies that appears only in myths!” Sita said excitedly. “No one has ever actually seen the place for themselves, so we’re not sure what’s there! Whether this island exists at all is still a mystery!”

Uh, sorry, what’s got Sita so wound up? “Sita... You pulled another all-nighter, didn’t you?”

“If I can experience the excitement of unraveling mysteries, an all-nighter or two or three or four aren’t an issue for me at all!” Sita declared.

She really is true to her word. I grew genuinely worried about our resident chief librarian—I felt like she’d actually pull four all-nighters in a row if needed. I turned to her guardian for assistance.

“Rachel, do you hear that?” I asked. “I think it’s best if Sita gets some rest.”

“You’re right,” Rachel agreed. “Sita, I’ll only permit four all-nighters in a row. Anything more, and you have to rest in between,” she gently scolded her sister.

I couldn’t help but feel like that stern talking-to left much to be desired. Am I the weird one here? Is this a species difference or something?

“So, do we know absolutely nothing about Xeoral?” I asked.

“I’ve been doing some research with the staff of the Grand Archival Tower since yesterday, but we couldn’t find any books with details about the island,” Sita confessed. “Needless to say, we couldn’t find anything related to Soul Materia either.”

Or to be precise, she came up snake eyes trying to tie the Argent Armor to this lead, I suppose. I was truly grateful the employees of the tower were bustling around for my sake, but I vehemently prayed they’d get a wink of sleep.

“Well, not exactly,” Orthoaguina butted in.

“Did something turn up for you, Lord Orthoaguina?” Sita asked.

“I found a fascinating piece of text where a bard sang of Xeoral. An armor was mentioned in there as well...but both mentions are merely in a single verse.”

“A bard, huh...?”

Now, there’s a classic trope when reincarnating into another world. From the bottom of my maidenly heart, I’ve always wanted to visit a tavern and see a traveling bard singing their heart out...but first, can you two please catch some Z’s?

Despite my earnest concern for their well-being, I suggested, “Then we just need to meet with that bard, right? We might be able to reach Xeoral that way.”

“Lady Mary, we don’t know what era that text was from,” Magiluka replied. “What if this was from long ago and the bard in question has already passed away?”

“Right... Right... Good point...”

“And it feels like a trial to search for a bard,” the prince added. “If they’re famous, that’s one thing, but...”

“Right... Right... Good point...” I said again, reduced to a robot that could only walk back its comments.

“We don’t have to worry about that,” Orthoaguina said. “The bard in question is a demon who was rather renowned back in the day.”

“Right... Right... Good point... Wait, what?!” I yelped. “Really? Who is it? Spill the beans!”

“Belletochka, the Eternal Songstress,” he replied solemnly.

The name didn’t really ring a bell. This might’ve been where I was supposed to gasp with awe and nod vigorously, but my ignorance ruined the dramatic moment.

While everyone glanced around awkwardly, only one of us frowned. “The Eternal Songstress...” Prince Reifus said. “I feel like I’ve heard that name before...”

Do royals know famous bards or something?

“Could it be Relirex’s...” he mumbled.

“Ah, so you noticed, Prince. You’re very knowledgeable indeed,” Orthoaguina replied.

I felt left behind and was about to pout. “Prince Reifus, have you ever met this songstress?” I asked.

“No, but my mother has spoken of her before,” His Highness replied.

“Her Majesty?”

She does have quite a few demon friends like Emilia, for example. I’m not surprised if Her Majesty knows a demon bard too.

“Do you think we could get a vague idea of what the songstress looks like if we ask Her Majesty about it?” I wondered, trying to decide my next course of action.

“You won’t just get an idea,” His Highness replied. “I think you can meet her.” He looked around awkwardly, much to my confusion.

I didn’t expect to hear that. “What do you mean?” I asked, perplexed.

“Does the name ‘Belletochka’ and the Relirex Kingdom not ring a bell for you?” he asked, sounding reluctant to share the truth.

I tilted my head in thought. Now that he mentions it, it kinda does sound familiar... I feel like I’m so close to getting it! Argh, this is bugging me...

Rescuing me with an answer, Magiluka at last revealed, “Lady Mary, Queen Belletochka is Princess Emilia’s mother.”

“Ah, I see. Right, right, when we met with Lady Elizabeth, she mentioned that name,” I replied. “Then we can just ask Emilia and... Huh? Wait. Whaaaaat?! The songstress is the queen?!”

My voice echoed throughout the quiet breakfast room. Is it just me, or is this quickly spiraling into something much bigger than I thought? Please, please, please tell me that I’m just imagining things! Oh my Godddd!

Chapter 2: Academy Arc—The Argent Knight Incident Part 2

1. The Princess Has Arrived!

On the surface, the Evening Primrose Festival had drawn to a close without any issues, but I came out of it with a laundry list of things I needed to do to get ready for the future.

When I returned home, I introduced Noa to my parents. I kept no secrets from them and told them everything I knew, from Noa’s birth to her circumstances. My parents didn’t doubt me at all and gracefully accepted her into our home.

“I know she’s only temporarily with us, but the thought of having another daughter brings me joy to no end,” father said.

“I don’t know how things might turn out from here, but Mary, make sure you act like a good older sister to her,” my mother added. “Keep her safe, all right?”

Unsurprisingly, Noa was shy at first and kept her distance, but I decided to take the role of a nosy sister and help her create friends and bond with others.

“Hee hee,” Snow chuckled.

“What’s up?” I asked. “Did you see something funny?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much. It’s just that since you’ve been doing your best to act like an older sister, Lily has been trying to be more like one too,” Snow explained with a fond, gentle tone. “She’s been keeping a good eye on Noa. It honestly makes me a bit lonely that she’s grown a bit more independent.” Her expression softened as she continued to watch her sister and Noa frolicking around in the garden.

The tranquility was soon shattered by a loud roar and a harsh scolding echoing from one of the rooms in the manor.

“I can still go on! I can! I can! I can!” Sita begged.

“Cut it out!” Rachel shouted back. “Get some sleep!”

I’d thought that they would remain in the royal capital, but Noa and the Agard memoir required a ton of investigation, so Sita and Rachel had ended up coming to stay in my family’s manor as important guests.

Meanwhile, I’d been having the prince act behind the scenes to set up a meeting with Belletochka, the Eternal Songstress.

Uh... Is it okay for me to rely on Prince Reifus to do everything? I wondered. Since he was so fired up to help, I could hardly turn him down, though...

“Ah, there you are, Lady Mary!” Rachel said as she stepped out to the garden while I was organizing my thoughts. She looked visibly exhausted.

“Did Sita fall asleep?” I asked.

“She did,” Rachel replied. “She practically collapses when she decides to sleep. She’s always been like this.”

“Did you need anything from me?”

“Ah, yes. We had Lord Orthoaguina send a message to the spirit tree, and I came to report back her response.”

Thank you, everyone in Kairomea who’s helping me out so much.

I’d already reported the evening primrose issue to my parents, and I asked father to leave resolving it to me. At first, he’d wanted to spoil me and claimed that there was no need for me to work so hard, but he relented once he saw how serious I was about it.

“Very well,” he’d said. “As you’re the next head of this household, I’ll have you take on the responsibility.”

And with that, the problem became mine to solve. The weight of the words “next head of household” made me cower, but I wanted to do my best. I don’t want to disappoint Noa, my future self, my parents who raised me, my citizens, and above all, Tutte, who’s always been by my side.

“What did the spirit tree say?” I asked.

“She said that she wanted to keep it on hold for now because she hasn’t managed to create a temporary body she’s happy with yet,” Rachel replied.

“If I’m gonna have to wait for her to come out here, I’d rather just make the trip to see her myself.”

“She explicitly said she doesn’t want you to come. I believe she’s set on using the excuse you’ve given her to make the trip to the kingdom and doesn’t want you to deprive her of the opportunity.”

I fell to my knees, the despair I felt from Rachel’s report hitting me like a swift kick to the shins.

“Curse her...” I grumbled. “I was planning on keeping her in check so that she wouldn’t wander around the kingdom as she pleases. How dare she be one step ahead!” The Evening Primrose Festival fiasco had already made my stomach ache with stress—though I didn’t have any ulcers yet—so I didn’t want the spirit tree to give me more to handle and worry about.

As I was deep in the throes of my depression, my trusty maid came to my side. “M-My lady,” Tutte said, sounding a touch reserved. “Pardon me, but His Highness’s messenger from the royal capital has arrived.”

“I-I see,” I said. “Maybe he’s made some progress with Queen Belletochka. Let’s go.” I straightened my posture and put on my best smile to wash away my disappointment and worries before heading for the drawing room.

I took a deep breath in front of the door to calm myself. All right, Mary. You can do this. With renewed energy, I had Tutte open the door and headed inside.

“Thank you for your patien—”

“Oho? Mmph! Mph!”

Uh, sounds like someone’s talking with their mouth full. When I turned to see the owner of the voice, I clung to the door next to me to stop myself from collapsing onto the ground.

“E-Emilia?” I stammered. “Why are you here?” My guest was none other than the princess of Relirex, a demon with a pair of large horns atop her head, long orange hair flowing down her back, and, presently, a mouth greedily jam-packed with cookies.

“Mph! Mfah! Mph!” she offered pitifully, tragically incapable of communication while in the midst of her best squirrel impression.

“Eat or talk,” I demanded as I glared at her wearily. “Don’t do both at the same time.”

“Mph! Mff!” She chose eating.

“Hey! You’re supposed to pick ‘talk’ in these situations! Get with the program!” Given our social ranks, perhaps I should’ve thought better of scolding her, but she betrayed the natural order! My hands were tied.

“Mmgg... Whew!” Emilia said. “Mary, it warms our heart to see you’re as open-minded as ever!”

Oh, God, I’m seeing yet another individual who will threaten the integrity of my stomach lining. Am I being tested? Since I’d wanted to speak with the queen of Relirex, I did think that there was a chance that Emilia would butt in, but I hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. “I thought for sure I’d be seeing Lady Elizabeth or some kind of official before you came around.”

“Heh heh heh. Our accursed aunt couldn’t keep us down forever! She may have been able to keep us from seeing you all time and time again by demanding we finish our work first, but we’d been hiding an escape plan up our sleeve...so when we heard you were up to something interesting, let’s just say we found our way here. Tee-hee! ♪” She knocked the side of her head and stuck out her tongue like a mischievous imp.

“So, basically, you came here without permission...” As I shuddered at the implications, my resident problem child gave me a second helping of her “tee-hee” pose.

“Now, jokes aside...” Emilia started.

“That was a joke?! Oh, come on!” I shouted. Any sense of our stations I may have still been holding on to had been officially blown out of the water as I let my compulsion to retort take the wheel. So, she actually did go through the proper channels, but she just said it that way to tease me, I guess? She is just teasing me, right?

“Heh heh heh... We heard, Mary. You have business with our mother, do you not?” Seeming to have had her fill of getting a rise out of me, she decided to get down to brass tacks.

“Y-Yes, I do... I was looking into the Argent Knight when... Well, stuff happened.” Of course, since I’d still been trying to process the first part of our conversation when she suddenly switched gears, I only barely managed to cobble together a reply.

“Xeoral, was it?” Emilia asked. “We never would’ve expected that the legendary island and the Argent Knight were linked somehow.”

“I don’t know for sure yet,” I replied. “I want to know more about Xeoral precisely to confirm my suspicions, that’s all. It’s also partly to help Noa regain some of her memories.”

“Noa? Ah, the girl who was targeted by the Argent Armor, yes? Does she have any ties to the Argent Knight?”

I was surprised that she knew so much. It’s not like I’m hiding Noa away, so it’s not really a problem, I guess. In fact, it helps move the conversation along. “I don’t know yet,” I replied. “I’m looking into all of that.”

“Hmm, we see. Then let us go!” Emilia declared, standing up from the sofa like she was ending our conversation.

“Pardon?” I just stared at her in shock

“Make haste! Get ready!” she ordered. “We’re heading for Relirex!”

“Whoa there! Wait a sec! What are you on about?” I was so far removed from her train of thought that I pinched my brow, hung my head, and did the open-palm “stop it” pose to try to get her to slow down.

“You would like to meet our mother, correct?” Emilia asked.

“Yes, but why do we need to leave this very second?” I asked.

“Ah, that’s simple—if we allow you to attempt the official route, you’ll surely never manage to have a proper conversation with our mother.”

I was wary I was being pranked again, but for the time being, I decided to ask for more information. “Wh-What do you mean?”

“Don’t tell us that you’re blissfully unaware,” Emilia replied, apparently astonished by my lack of knowledge.

“About what?” I glared at her dubiously.

“Mother has been confined in the depths of the castle since ages ago.”

“H-H-Huh?! Wh-Wh-What?! Wh-Wh-Why?!” I was so terribly surprised my voice was practically vibrating like a pulled guitar string.

“Heh. You know of the ancient battle between the Dark Lord and the Argent Knight, we presume?”

“Y-Yeah.” I knew it was a topic that Emilia and the other demons tended to refrain from touching on, so I trod lightly and replied as simply as possible.

“It is our mother who guided the two to clash,” Emilia said.

My jaw went slack in pure astonishment. As in, she committed treason? Did the queen rebel against Relirex? Forget confinement, worst case, she could’ve been killed for her crimes!

But since the Argent Knight won and she sided with him, she should’ve gained political power, right...? No, it’s not that simple. If she’d been able to take control, she obviously wouldn’t be imprisoned right now, would she? What’s going on? Trying to imagine how things had gotten to this point was turning my brain into oatmeal.

“A-Are you allowed to tell me this story?” I asked.

“Why not? Everyone in our kingdom knows of it.”

“I-I see...”

“In any case, were we not to escort you, there are myriad excuses our kingdom could create to prevent you from enjoying a proper conversation with our mother. That wouldn’t do, now would it, Mary?”

I was losing all sense of good judgment in the face of her steadfast determination. What if Emilia came flying over the moment she heard about my goal? If she’s here for my sake, far be it from me to heartlessly ignore the goodwill of a friend. “O-Okay,” I said. “Got it. I’ll get prepared.”

I agreed to Emilia’s plan with a heart full of resolve. I could’ve sworn I saw her grin triumphantly the moment I confirmed I’d do things her way, but it was so quick that I assumed my eyes were playing tricks on me...

And so, that’s how I ended up following Emilia to Relirex without Magiluka and the rest of my friends.

2. Return to Relirex

I boarded Emilia’s boat. The vessel was a familiar sight, but I couldn’t help but turn my attention toward the thing underneath it. I vehemently prayed that Emilia hadn’t employed any unusual characters this time around. Please. Never again...

My misgivings aside, we were well on our way to Relirex. I never would’ve imagined returning to the Dark Isle, especially not without Magiluka and my friends. This time, I was alone.

“Wow!” Sita cried. “So this is the sea! I’ve heard all about it, but it really is so massive compared to the lakes nearby Kairomea! ♪”

“Sita, don’t lean too far out!” I scolded. “That’s dangerous. Ah! Noa, no! Don’t copy her.”

Technically, I wasn’t all alone—I still had Tutte, Noa, Sita, Rachel, Snow, Lily, and a talking book. While I was anxiously fretting about the future, the kids around me were focused on causing a ruckus and ruining the solemn air I’d been basking in.

I gazed around at everyone, took a deep breath, and tried to get the girls to calm down.

“Our mission is to learn more about Xeoral,” I said. “The only potential issues I can foresee are that we either have to make a stop somewhere else along the way or get dragged into some kind of bizarre affair. What do you think, Tutte?”

“It’s all fine and well that you’re intent on avoiding trouble, my lady,” Tutte replied, “but will you really be all right meeting with the queen by yourself?”

“Please, not another word, Tutte. The mere thought stresses me out to the max. Urgh...” I groaned in agony as I buried my face in my hands. I usually left these matters solely to the prince or Magiluka. I was beyond nervous when it came to those kinds of meetings.

“If I’d known that this was going to happen, I could’ve brought Magiluka...” I lamented.

“My lady,” Tutte said simply, discouraging me from whining.

“I-I know! I decided this for myself!” Since I’d decided to head for Relirex by myself, I had to steel myself. Above all, I couldn’t keep relying on everyone around me.

“Wait!” I gasped, persistent in my drive to off-load effort onto others. “Maybe if I ask Sita or Rachel to—”

“My lady,” Tutte said again with a sigh.

“I-I’m just kidding! It was a joke. Ah ha ha...”

I tried my best to laugh it off—I couldn’t disappoint Tutte further. But deep down in my heart, I couldn’t shake off my instinct that there was less fear in numbers and that it’d be easier to approach this problem with a crowd than alone. I was a coward to the core.

“What’s this I hear?” Orthoaguina chimed in. “If you aren’t eager to gain the audience of the queen, shall I go in your stead? Simply meeting with the queen of a different kingdom is small potatoes to me. This will be easy.”

“Uh, no,” I replied. “If we add your existence to this whole affair, I think it’ll just make matters worse. Can’t you just watch from the sidelines?”

I wasn’t sure if he’d spoken up out of consideration for me or if he was acting in his own self-interest, but indulging in his offer would’ve only caused me more worries, so I had to politely turn his idea down.

“Mary, if all goes well, we shall arrive at the port city tomorrow,” Emilia reported. “If all goes well, that is.”

None the wiser to my worries, Emilia’s ominous choice of words struck fear in my heart. “Please don’t jinx it,” I replied. “What’ll you do if something does happen?”

“We’ll do what we did last time when you and we ran into something unexpected,” Emilia replied. “We’re quite sure that we can handle it ourselves. You have nothing to fear.”

I fell silent. She was practically acting like a jinx faucet, and my only choice to not start making my own jinxes was to not respond.

I’d sort of let Emilia rush me into the decision to come on this trip, and now that I’d boarded the ship and had some time to think for myself, I began to realize that there were a bunch of things she was doing that were extremely suspect. First and foremost, the biggest red flag was that she was deliberately having us avoid contact with Lady Elizabeth. Also, frankly, the claim that we weren’t going to be allowed to speak freely with Queen Belletochka wasn’t making a whole lot of sense to me. Were my questions going to inconvenience the kingdom in some way? It wasn’t exactly promising that she was currently imprisoned, but even if we were going to have problems getting to speak to her, I wasn’t convinced it was really all that necessary for us to sneak around.

“Emilia... You’re not planning something, are you?” I asked.

“Wh-Wh-What?! H-How dare you say that!” Emilia stammered. “Us? P-P-Plan something?! Th-The very idea!”

I sighed. Wow, she’s depressingly easy to read. I know Emilia isn’t the type to plan anything that would hurt me, so I guess I’ll follow along for now.

Unfortunately, even though I was so used to my trips having detours or concerning incidents, I failed to realize the situation that I was headed for. If Magiluka had been around, she would’ve immediately pointed it out for me, but she wasn’t by my side this time.

We all arrived at the port as scheduled the next day, and I was thinking my journey to Relirex had gone shockingly well...when we were immediately surrounded by soldiers upon disembarking. Why?! What’s going on?!

“Lady Mary, did we wrong this kingdom in some way?” Sita asked behind me. She was perplexed by the soldiers.

“Emilia, did you do something?” I asked. “We still have time. Turn yourself in.”

“Don’t treat us like a criminal!” Emilia snapped. “We are a princess, the symbol of innocence, purity, and cuteness!”

I felt like a truly innocent person would never say such a thing, but I didn’t dare vocalize my doubts. Instead, we all replied with dubious, suspecting looks pointed at her.

“Th-That aside, Sufia!” Emilia shouted. “Don’t be a sore loser! We have won this round, so give up already!”

A maid with cat ears parted the crowd and emerged—Sufia, Emilia’s personal maid. “Grr... I didn’t think that you’d actually bring her along, Your Highness...” Sufia grumbled.

“Heh heh heh,” Emilia chuckled. “As promised, you will tag along with us. Now then, make preparations so that we can depart for the royal capital!”

Sufia cast a befuddled look at me for a moment before she clenched her fist and emitted a begrudging groan. She then heaved a deep sigh.

Sounds like there was a bet going on to decide whether Sufia would side with Lady Elizabeth or with Emilia. I don’t picture Sufia to be the type to make such a silly bet, though... Emilia must’ve decided it was happening unilaterally and just happened to “win,” I suppose.

Um, this isn’t why she was in such a hurry to get here, right? I was feeling done with her, so I shot Emilia an accusatory glare, and she must’ve noticed as she averted her gaze.

“Lady Mary, I suspect that you have plans of your own,” Sufia said. “Her Highness is easier to manage than Lady Elizabeth, I suppose. Ugh, this is the one situation that I wanted to avoid. She’s such a feisty princess...” Sufia had just decided to bear her heart to me all of a sudden. I thought I might’ve heard her say something rather twisted in the middle of it all, but perhaps it was just my imagination.

The people around us began to chatter.

“Lady Mary?”

“Y-You mean, she’s...”

“The Argent Holy Woman!”

Cold sweat trickled down my back as a certain dangerous nickname began to resurface.

“There’s no mistaking it!” someone said. “That silver hair, and those eyes! She must be the Argent Holy Woman!”

Cheers echoed throughout the port. The soldiers that had appeared to block me now had to block the citizens from pushing their way toward me. Chaos ensued, and I was terrified by the energy. I could only back away with a forced smile.

“Raaaaah!” Emilia roared. “Shoo! Scat! Make way, everyone! Now is not the time for us to be stopped heeeere! Curses, Sufia! You did this on purpose, didn’t you?!”

“Wrong!” Sufia replied. “I made a tiny mistake, that’s all! Now then, Lady Mary and her friends! This way, please!”

The soldiers pushed back the crowd as we walked ahead, guided by Sufia. It made me feel like a celebrity who’d been spotted in the middle of the city.

“Argent Holy Woman?” Noa asked. “B-Big sister, you’re famous, aren’t you?”

Along with being overwhelmed by the crowd, Noa looked up at me stunned and I immediately corrected her.

“I-I don’t think so,” I replied. “Princes Reifus, Magiluka, Safina, and Sacher are all very famous, I’ll have you know.”

“Oh dear!” Sita butted in proudly. “No need to be so humble! Even in Kairomea, the Argent Holy Woman was—”

“Ahhhh! La la la!” I interrupted, clapping a hand over her mouth. “I don’t think we caught what you said! Oh well! Come now, Noa. Let’s go. Emilia is waiting for us, I’m sure.”

I pushed Noa’s back gently, and we swiftly left the area.

“All right, Sufia!” Emilia shouted. “We leave this place to you! We shall go on ahead!”

“Huh?!” Sufia cried. “Y-Your Highness! You can’t do that! If you act any more independently, I’ll— Gyaaaaaaah!”

When Emilia spotted the carriage, she grabbed Sufia and flung her into the middle of the commotion. Sufia, true to her catfolk instincts, managed to land on her feet beautifully as she was lost among the people. Will she be all right?

“Now then!” Emilia shouted. “With the nuisance gone, we shall head for the royal capital! Everyone, board the carriage!”

The terrible thing I just witnessed made me question whether I should really be following along with her, but when I thought about it, it wasn’t like my last visit to Relirex was all that relaxing either. With Emilia around, I didn’t have to take things too seriously. Maybe this was just how Relirex was.

“The royal capital, huh?” I said. “I wasn’t able to visit the city last time, so I’m a bit excited.”

“We apologize for putting a damper on your tourism, but this time around, we must act under the cover of the night,” Emilia replied. “You don’t have time for a leisurely stroll through the city.”

“Are you sure that you aren’t planning something?”

“S-Suspicious to no end, are you?” Emilia replied, flustered. Then she mumbled “We haven’t done anything...for now...” so quietly I didn’t hear it.

Despite all the fuss and commotion, we successfully made our way for the royal capital, arriving at sunset after we traveled through the port city.

“Whew, we should be safe now that we’re this far out,” Emilia said. “We’ll stay a night here, and tomorrow, we’ll sneak— We mean, enter the royal castle. That’s our plan.”

“Sorry, what?” I asked. “I think I just heard you say something awfully ominous...” I glared at her.

“Y-Your ears must be playing tricks on you,” she insisted, tacking on a terrible attempt to whistle afterward to really sell her innocence.

“Um, pardon me, but are you sure that we don’t need to be vigilant?” Sita asked. “This is the Ice-Blooded Witch we’re talking about—I’d expect she has an intelligence network that keeps her in the know.”

“Heh heh heh,” Emilia cackled. “Why do you think that we’ve been obediently listening to our aunt’s orders and governing the city? We’ve made all the arrangements. It’s not an understatement to claim that we hold control over this area.” She flashed a menacing and triumphant smirk.

It figures Emilia isn’t the type to just do as she’s told. Honestly, I’m not sure I should let myself be impressed by this kind of thing... I’ll just chalk it up to a difference in family values and say it’s none of my business.

Meanwhile, Sita and Noa, who were much more forthcoming with their feelings, immediately gasped with awe and nearly started to clap at Emilia’s revealing her master stroke, but I quieted them down to keep their compliments from getting to Emilia’s head.

“Good grief,” Orthoaguina grumbled. “Here we are, in the land of magic, and we aren’t allowed to take our time to carefully do our research? How lackadaisical must we be? It’s not too late. Why don’t we go and investigate some ruins nearby or some other place? The night is long, and we will be safe here, correct?”

“Ooh! That’s a great idea,” Sita said. The two of them began eagerly preparing to leave my side and head out and explore.

“Like heck it is!” I snapped. “You two clumps of curiosity are always such a handful...” I managed to stop them and calm them down for now, but I couldn’t help but sigh wearily.

“Rachel, can you please give them a piece of your mind?” I asked. “Those two are trying to pull all-nighters again.”

“Right,” Rachel said. “Sita, a night of research won’t garner much. If you’d like to do some investigating, at least do it when you have a full week to yourselves.”

I thought that Rachel would be my ally and rightfully scold her sister, but I suddenly realized that Rachel was also on her sister’s side. I slumped my shoulders with defeat. It may not have been the harsh scolding I’d expected, but so long as it helps me keep Sita and Orthoaguina under wraps, it’s good enough for me.

“Then why don’t we spend the entire night talking about our voyage?” Emilia suggested.

“Then we’d pull an all-nighter regardless!” I snapped. Just when I’d thought we’d settled the matter, Emilia failed to read the room once again...

3. At Relirex’s Royal Capital

The royal capital of Relirex was built near the center of a southern island, rather close to a volcano, and the royal castle located there was built into the mountains along with a castle district beneath it. It left quite a striking impression, to say the least, and as if it weren’t awe-inspiring enough in the daytime, the whole building was illuminated by a magic tool at night, adding to its majestic mystique. It made for an impressive sight even from the window of our lodge.

When I’d first caught sight of the castle, it’d called to mind a similar structure from a certain theme park...but if I dared to bring that up even slightly, the talking book would try to pry answers out of me, so I worked hard to restrain myself. I’m so proud of myself.

Well, if we’re being honest, I had almost spilled the beans, but Tutte had cleared her throat to save me...

In any case, the point is that the castle didn’t invoke a sense of horror or dread within me despite a Dark Lord living there. As usual, another of my preconceptions about the Dark Isle ended up being as wrong as possible.

“What’s wrong?” Noa asked while I was taking in the sight of the castle. She was supposed to be asleep, but she sat up and called out to me.

“Just enjoying the view,” I replied. A big sister like me can’t possibly admit that the thought of meeting the queen tomorrow makes me so nervous that I can’t sleep! I have to try my best to act dignified and unbothered by it all. “What about you?” I whispered. “Can’t sleep?” I glanced around the room and approached her, careful not to awaken anyone else.

She gave a small nod in response. “I had a dream. About here...” she admitted.

“About Relirex?” I asked.

“Mm-hmm... But it’s different somehow. It’s not lively or brimming with energy like it is now... And...” She trailed off and struggled to continue.

I began trying to calm her and tell her that she didn’t need to be so bothered about her dreams when a new voice entered the discussion. “The dream you had was awfully realistic, I imagine?” Sita asked as she sat up in her bed.

“Y-Yeah... Something like that, I think...” Noa replied.

“Then maybe it’s linked to your lost memories. When my soul linked with Lord Orthoaguina’s and I caught glimpses of his memories, it did feel like I was dreaming.”

I feel like I’ve heard of similar things happening during my past life—people would say they experienced things they’ve forgotten while dreaming. I couldn’t outright deny it was possible, but there was one thing that bothered me. Why would Noa have any recollections of Relirex? Did she spend time outside Eneres? Did she manage to wander so far away she even managed to reach a different nation? Or maybe her dreams and memories are mixing together into a confusing mess.

The mysteries around Noa seemed to only be growing deeper, but I decided to set it aside for now. I turned to Sita, who was holding Agard’s memoir in her hand. “Sita, are you awake because you’ve been reading that all this time?” I asked.

“Yep! ♪” Sita replied. “Noa translated all the text for me, so I thought I’d read through it, but it’s much longer than I’d expected. I just figured I may as well keep going though.”

“And you wanted to secretly pull an all-nighter...” I muttered. It was nice to see her so studious, but moderation was important. It worried me to see her constantly pushing herself to her limits, but at the same time, I thought if I took her research away from her, she might faint on me.

“But no matter how many times I’ve reread the text, I just don’t see any mention of Noa in Agard’s memoir,” Sita groaned.

“Wait, really?” I asked. “Then what’s written in Agard’s memoir?” I probably should’ve just read it for myself, but my lazy side seized on the opportunity to avoid that.

“He wrote about talking with the armor and other mundane conversations,” Sita said. “What was most interesting to me was that the cryptic letters were easy to read for the armor, but because they couldn’t write anymore, they wanted to leave behind what they could and taught the characters to Agard. I knew those symbols must be sacred text!”

“H-Huh... I see...” I stammered.

“As for the reason behind why he hid his journal under his bed, the armor said that, ‘When boys want to hide books important to them, they shove them under the bed, of course.’ And that was that. Hrm... I can’t seem to understand the divine armor’s thought process. Agard says as much too—the Argent Armor said so many enigmatic things that I can’t seem to understand a lot of what’s reported no matter how many times I reread it.”

“R-Right...”

Conversation with the armor, huh? It sounds like the armor taught Agard reading and writing in Japanese, so maybe some of the topics were related to Japan. If my guess is true, I can’t blame Agard and Sita for being confused. None of this seemed related to Noa at all, though, and I figured if I dared to mention Japan I’d create a slew of problems, so I decided not to pursue this further.

“Agard apparently didn’t ask much about Soul Materia, but it’s clear to me that the armor had all sorts of restrictions,” Sita went on. “It seems that to exceed those conditions, Nike created Agard—and once Agard became capable of wearing the armor, he acted in accordance with Nike’s wishes. In the last part, Agard says Nike expressed disappointment about something before suddenly disappearing, leaving him and the armor behind. Talk about a disappointing place to end the memoir.” Sita gave an exaggerated shrug.

I wonder if those “restrictions” are similar to how one has to meet certain conditions to communicate with divine beasts. The Argent Armor is related to God, so I can see how it might be in the same vein.

As for the ending Sita mentioned, maybe Nike’s the type of person whose passion burns bright but also burns fast, and he just got bored. Why did he become disappointed? I have a feeling I’m probably too much of an average Joe to empathize.

“What we know for now is that after Nike left, Agard ventured outside,” I concluded. “That was when he became lauded as the Argent Knight, and that armor is the divine armor and has a soul, right?”

“So it seems,” Sita agreed. “While we’ve found the link between Agard and the armor, I still can’t figure out how this all ties back to Noa...” She cast a contemplative glance at Noa, who was nodding away sleepily, clearly not paying attention to our conversation. Sita and I cracked smiles.

“Let’s call it a day, shall we?” I suggested. “We should head for bed.”

“Yeah,” Sita replied. “Hey! The memoir!” After I tucked Noa into bed, I went to Sita and took the book from her hand, no questions asked.

“I’ll confiscate this until tomorrow morning. You should get some rest too, Sita,” I said.

She groaned and frowned, but knowing that it was only for a night, she obediently followed my orders and lay in bed.

Agard, the armor, and Noa... If I unravel the link that these three share, I feel like we’ll be on track to learning more about the Argent Knight. But...just because we can do this, does it mean we should? Is it really okay to solve these mysteries? I gazed at Agard’s memoir and recalled Noa and the armor’s relationship as a dark cloud of anxiety loomed over me.

The next day, we had breakfast at our lodging’s cafeteria and discussed our future plans.

“So, our next destination is the ruin,” Emilia said. I wasn’t quite sure how she’d arrived at this understanding, but it had Sita beaming like a giddy child.

“Huh? I thought we didn’t have any time to tour the royal capital,” I said.

“Indeed, we do not.” Emilia nodded. “That’s why we’re heading to the ruin.”

“Emilia, would you care to provide an explanation?” She had always been the type to hurry things along without ever fully explaining herself, but this time, I was putting my foot down. Heh. Last time I was here, I was frazzled the whole time because I let you lead me around by the nose. But no more! I’m a new woman now—a big sister, in fact. I have to be the one to hold the reins.

“If we head to the Prison Tower from the royal castle, the guards will be an obstacle,” Emilia clarified. “We should sneak into it through the back entrance.”

“The back entrance?” I asked. “Is there a secret escape route like you always see in castles and such?”

“Sure is.”

“I see. Makes sense.” I’d actually done it—I’d managed to stand firm in the face of adversity and ask Emilia for details about the plan, just like a big sister should. I was positively chuffed at my accomplishment...

“Um, Your Highness?” Rachel asked. “Isn’t that a secret passageway reserved solely for the royal family?”

And just like that, my breath was instantly taken away by the incisive, hard-hitting interrogation skills of a true big sister. I guess a fake like me can’t possibly compare...

No, stop it, Mary. Asking good probing questions has nothing to do with being a big sister, and you’re just going on a tangent.

“Indeed,” Emilia replied. “Is there an issue?”

“Are outsiders like us allowed to set foot there?” Rachel asked.

“Well, technically, no, but technically, we should be okay.”

“Which is it?!” I snapped, completely unwilling to let Rachel’s perfectly sensible question fall victim to Emilia’s casual nonanswer.

“Now, now. You know what they say—it’s not a crime if you don’t get caught.”

“I think you need to recheck your dictionary!” I cried. “We’ll be trespassing!”

Emilia broke out in a cold sweat. “D-Don’t worry about these trivialities! Just take a look at Sita over there. Do you really want to tell her we’re not going?” She gestured at Sita in her desperate attempt to deflect. I turned to look, and...while we were talking, Sita had already hurried back to her room and packed up her things for the trip. She was fully equipped and ready to embark on a journey to the ruins, her eyes were sparkling with excitement.

“Come on, gang!” Sita called out encouragingly. “The ruins await! It’s going to be so exciti— I mean, the queen awaits! Her Majesty is waiting for us!”

I knew that even if I shot Emilia down here, she and Sita would probably go together to explore the ruins and inevitably get embroiled in some kind of incident. It was saddening that I could so easily imagine it—with the troublemaking trio of Emilia, Sita, and Orthoaguina working together, it was practically a guarantee.

I gazed up at the sky, knowing full well I had no choice but to tag along with this unexpected turn of events. And yet, despite all my pensiveness, there was a glaring issue about our group I failed to consider. Sure enough, without anyone present who had sufficient retorting power to shepherd us toward rational decision-making, there was actually a hidden fourth troublemaker: the lovable scamp known as Mary Regalia.

4. To the Prison Tower

“Is this the ruin?” I murmured. “Is it just me, or does it feel more like a tourist spot?”

We were at a temple near the royal capital. It honestly felt like we’d taken a trip to a foreign nation to tour the historical buildings and see the sights. Naturally, there were quite a few other tourists who’d come to visit the same place we were at. They were all so calm and relaxed—none of them would’ve ever imagined that there were a few visitors among them trying to sneak into the castle.

Along our route, a striking object instantly shattered the entire atmosphere I’d built up in my head. Deep within the temple was a vast, empty room that housed a colossal, imposing statue of an intensely muscular man in only his underwear making a side chest pose.

“Emilia, I understand that your father is a splendid monarch, but this...” I started solemnly.

“D-Don’t get the wrong idea!” Emilia said. “H-He’s not our father! That’s the previous reigning monarch!”

I realized that I’d been too distracted by the unique pose to actually get an honest look at the statue’s face. When I looked up at it, I realized that the figure indeed did have an unfamiliar face.

I met up with Sita, who was wandering around and delving into the history of the temple as she muttered to herself. “I see...” she said. “I think I’ve got a read on this Dark Lord. They’re very much drawn to showing off, control, tyranny, and violence.”

“Sita, it’s rude to theorize about stuff like that—” I started.

“No, her analysis is quite accurate,” Emilia said. “We’re sure that father was influenced by him...”

I’d assumed she’d talk about these people with pride, but when I saw her looking glum, I decided that it was best not to delve any deeper. When Sita opened her mouth to talk again, I clapped my hand over her mouth to stop her. “In any case, Emilia, where is that hidden passageway you mentioned?” I asked, trying to dispel the gloomy air via segue.

“Oh? It’s over there,” Emilia replied, accepting my lifeline and pointing at the muscular statue.

“Why is it there?” I asked.

“Who knows?” Emilia replied. “Perhaps the creator wanted to show off their eccentricities.”

“Using a hidden passageway?”

“Don’t question it! Come now! Let us sneak inside while there isn’t anyone around!”

I wasn’t very confident we could just sneak inside using such a conspicuous statue, but I figured a kingdom cultivated by a magical civilization may very well have access to a secret spell that made it possible. I looked around, making sure that we were alone as I watched Emilia take the lead. She stopped by the statue’s feet and spoke in some unknown language. I assumed it was a spell that only the royal family was privy to that unlocked the door.

“〇〇〇〇.” As the spell left her lips, silence settled upon us once more and the large statue...didn’t do anything.

“Uh... Hello? Emilia? What now?” I started to glare in her direction, suddenly doubtful this plan was going to work.

“Huuuuuh?!” Emilia said hastily as she tilted her head to one side. “We could’ve sworn that this was the spell...” She recited the same spell once more, but the statue refused to budge an inch.

“Hmm... Well, we haven’t used it once until now,” Emilia said. “We didn’t realize that we remembered it wrong! Ba ha ha!”

“It’s no laughing matter,” I replied. “What now?”

“Hmm... Sita, can’t you use your wealth of knowledge to find a solution?”

“Your Highness, pardon me for saying so, but if I did that, wouldn’t it be a huge problem?” Sita asked.

Yeah. It’d mean that someone from another nation could easily access this kingdom’s deepest secrets.

“If we did ignore that part, would it still not be possible for you to get into your usual device mode and figure something out?” I asked.

“‘Device mode’?” Sita asked. “I admit that I can analyze the sorcery circuits of Kairomea, but I can’t do the same for the Relirex Kingdom’s. It may all be magic, but the constructions are completely different.”

I’d thought Emilia’s idea was a viable one, but reality wasn’t so simple. “What now, Emilia?” I asked. “We’ve reached a dead end.”

“Give us a moment,” Emilia said. “We’re trying to remember.”

I once again cast an accusatory glance at Emilia, who groaned while she pressed her temples. If tourists flooded into this room while we dawdled, it’d be beyond humiliating—we couldn’t afford to waste time here, yet it was clear that Emilia wasn’t anywhere near remembering the unique spell.

We were all at a loss when Noa stepped away from my side and approached the statue.

“Noa?” I asked, confused.

“〇〇〇〇〇,” she chanted. It was a language similar to what Emilia was using before.

A loud rumble echoed around us, and the statue began to shift. The massive pedestal of the statue rotated 180 degrees, and the stand gradually rose up. We were half shocked by the novelty of the scene, but also half put off by the awkwardness of watching the massive figure turn its rear our direction...

When we looked at it once it was all over, the pedestal had risen to reveal a staircase leading underground.

“How is this hidden at all?!” I cried. “It totally stands out for the world to see!”

“All right!” Emilia said. “Don’t dawdle now! Let’s head inside before people rush into this room!”

I don’t think Emilia knows what the word “sneak” actually means! I was tempted to drag Emilia into an hour-long lecture on the concept of stealth, but instead, she rushed down the staircase and we hastily followed after her.

I would be remiss not to comment on what’d just happened, however. Why did Noa know this secret spell? My assumption was that she must’ve suddenly recovered part of her memories, but why was the spell within her memories in the first place? Who in the world is Noa? I wondered as I rushed down the steps.

We descended under the bizarrely humorous—ahem, I mean, historically significant—statue of the Dark Lord and its little soapbox—ahem, I mean its grand pedestal—along a staircase underground to secretly head for the castle, with Emilia leading our way.

This underground passage had been created specifically to allow the royal family to flee; it was home to ancient waterways and labyrinths that made it difficult for outsiders to navigate through this area. Thankfully, with Emilia on our side, it would be a cinch.

“Um... Next... We go theeeere, we think?” Emilia said. “Yeaaaah...”

Okay, she’s making me anxious now. She sounds totally unsure of herself. For some reason, when she wasn’t confident of the way, she gingerly glanced toward Noa, who was holding my hand and walking with me. It seemed like Emilia was gauging Noa’s reaction for navigation. If Noa remained silent, we proceeded with no issue, but if she tilted her head to one side quizzically, Emilia chose a different route. This only added to my worries, but we had no choice but to rely on Emilia here—I could only pray that she did her best.

“Um, Noa, why do you know about this place?” I asked. I’d lost my chance to pose the question till now because of our rush underground, but things had relatively calmed down.

“Um, because I think I’ve been here before...” Noa replied.

Like I’d figured, she seemed to be familiar with this secret passageway. She’d recovered fragments of her memories ever since she’d arrived at Relirex, and this must’ve been yet another one of them. While I was happy to see her recover her memories, it made me curious about how she got the knowledge in the first place. “This is a passageway reserved for royals. Why do you know about it? If you don’t mind telling me, of course.”

I was hesitant to pry into Noa’s memories, but I was genuinely curious. I tried my best to sound as gentle and relaxed as I could to not make it sound like an interrogation.

“Because...I was shown around, I think?” Noa said, puzzled. She seemed curious about my line of questioning and dug through her memories as she cocked her head to one side.

“I see...” I said. “Would you happen to know who guided you?”

“Hrmm... Umm... Uh... Ugh!” Noa groaned.

“You don’t have to force yourself to remember. I’m sorry for peppering you with so many questions.” When Noa groaned as she tried to remember, I knew it wasn’t right to force her to remember and hastily stopped her. Lily, who was walking alongside her, gazed up with worry, and I petted the little divine beast to reassure her.

“Oh? What’s this? Was this always here?” Emilia wondered aloud.

She squinted at some objects in front of her—namely, three round things a bit larger than us were standing solemnly in a spacious area. They were smooth and perfectly round, although slightly more rugged around the edges, like pieces of ore. They didn’t seem alive or anything, but I knew for sure they were created and not natural.

Sita, our resident ball of curiosity, carelessly began handling the orbs to analyze them. “This underground passage is quite old, and only a select few know about it anyway. Perhaps they’re some sort of historical structures.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Orthoaguina replied. “These look newly made. They seem less like monuments and more like magic tools.”

Emilia gently placed her hands together, her memories triggered by the dragon’s observation. “Ah, yes, our aunt ordered Girtz and the others to make a prototype of a magus weapon, if memory serves...”

As though her musing was the cue, the center of the round item slid back to reveal a round crystal within.

“Huh?” we all said. All the while, loud clangs rang in the air as the items formed into what looked like a spider.

“Uh, Princess?!” Sita cried. “You should’ve mentioned something like that sooner!”

“You dunce! You’re to blame for touching it so carelessly!” Emilia roared back.

“Now’s not the time to fight!” I shouted.

The magus weapon crawled around eerily and pointed a sharp claw toward us. Clearly, this item hadn’t been created just for laughs. It sort of looked like a guard robot meant to chase away any outsiders.

“Emilia, aren’t you a royal, even if it’s just for show?!” I asked. “Can’t you order it to stop as its owner or something?”

“Your phrasing bothers us, but you’ve got a point,” Emilia replied. She stood proudly in front of all of us and declared, “By the name of Emilia Relirex, heed our order! Cease your actions at onc— Gyaaaaaaah!”

The moment the princess said her name, the magus weapons all focused on her and began their attack. Emilia was their target, and they made no attempt to attack us.

“Curse her!” Emilia roared. “My aunt plotted this— Gaaaaah!” She fought back by herself against the magus weapons. “She mentioned that she didn’t care who accomplished it since our goals were the same!” Emilia shouted. “But look at this! She definitely wants to be the one who drags mother out of the tower! Gaaah!”

“Um, did Lady Elizabeth predict that the princess would use this underground route and prepare these weapons to hold her back?” Rachel wondered.

“S-Seems like it...” I replied.

We watched on in astonishment, total outsiders to this battle. So, Lady Elizabeth made those?

Now that I think about it, it’d have been weird for her to place prototypes down here to target any intruders. They were definitely set up here only to react to Emilia. In other words, Lady Elizabeth had been keenly aware that, should Emilia ever take the lead, we’d be brought to this underground route, and that’s why she stationed the weapons here.

Since Emilia was our guide, if she couldn’t proceed ahead, we couldn’t either. This bought plenty of time. Worst case, we might even have to retreat. I shuddered at the terror of this plot, but even Lady Elizabeth couldn’t have predicted the existence of Noa.

“I’m sorry to push responsibility onto you, Noa, but do you know the way?” I asked.

“Y-Yeah, I do. I...think,” Noa replied. “But what about the princess?”

“Oh, don’t worry. She’ll be fine. Emilia’s just playing around. We should hurry ahead so that we don’t get in her way.”

It didn’t seem like Emilia was backed into a corner, and Lady Elizabeth wasn’t the type to create weapons that would truly endanger the princess’s life. These weapons were merely to stop Emilia in her tracks, and I heartlessly wanted to leave before she dragged us into this troublesome battle.

“Sita!” Emilia shouted. “Can’t you use your knowledge to do something? They’re resistant to magic and so annoying to deal with!”

“Let gooooo!” Sita shrieked. “How should I know how to handle cutting-edge technology from other kingdoms?! I’m a librarian, not a magus smith! Aghhhh!”

“Y-Your Highness!” Rachel yelled. “Please don’t drag Sita into this mess!”

As I’d feared would happen, Emilia hid behind Sita, using her as a shield. Naturally, Rachel had no choice but to jump into battle. Since I was with Noa and Tutte, two ladies who weren’t suited for combat, I couldn’t get involved with this mess. I cheered them on and believed that they could handle the weapons as I sneaked away.

“Are you sure that those three can be left alone?” Snow asked, not sure what to make of my heartlessness.

“If you’re worried, why don’t you stay and fight?” I replied. “Don’t blame me if your fur gets shaved off.”

“Oh ho ho. You’re right, those three can handle themselves. C’mon, let’s go!” She clearly wanted to stay as far away from trouble as possible and rushed ahead with me.

Always nice to have more allies!

Noa’s directions weren’t as precise as I’d figured they’d be. She only had a vague recollection of this place and struggled to guide us. As she’d mentioned earlier, she must’ve only been shown around once.

As I began to worry I’d asked too much of her, a small sound reached my ears.

“Mary!” Snow said.

“Did you hear that too?” I asked.

Only Snow, Lily, and I turned toward the noise. It was very faint, but we heard someone singing. They weren’t loudly belting out a song, but rather humming a tune. Yet, oddly enough, this faint humming was easy to hear, and the voice seeped into my heart. I wondered how the voice so easily piqued my curiosity and put me at ease. If someone’s there, maybe we’re close to the exit.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Tutte and Noa nodded back as I took the lead and walked ahead, seduced by the mystical humming. We then reached a wall—the humming could be heard from the other side, but there was no door to be found. We stood there at a loss. Was there a switch somewhere that opened the door? I gazed around and investigated the surrounding area, but I couldn’t find anything of the sort. Emilia didn’t press a switch to get us down here. I guess some sort of code word is needed.

I needed Emilia’s help here, but she was too busy fighting. I turned to Noa for help, but it seemed she never recalled setting foot in this place and turned to the ground glumly.

“I’m sorry, big sister,” Noa apologized.

“Don’t be,” I replied. “It’s fine. In fact, you guided us all the way here, all by yourself. Thank you for that, Noa.” I hugged the sad little girl and reassured her, trying my best to play the role of a self-proclaimed big sister. I continued to gaze around, hoping for some sort of clue.

Now then, I’ll speak in my defense first. I truly hadn’t meant to do anything. I’d wanted to show Noa my good side, and admittedly, I’d been trying my best to find a solution, but I hadn’t been putting that much strength into it. I promise that!

Now, with my excuses out of the way—after I calmed Noa down, I lightly tapped against the wall, trying to find a way to the other side. It was a classic thing people did in manga, and I wanted to copy them.

So, what happened then? Simple. There was a deafening roar, and a part of the wall groaned. I suppose one can say that the wall slid out of its position.

“Mary... You...” Snow gazed at me wearily and realized what I’d done.

“Y-You’ve got it wrong!” I insisted. “This was all a mistake. I didn’t mean it! I didn’t do it on purpose! Ahhhh!”

As I tried to defend myself, I thought I heard a voice from the other side, and the wall I hit slid down, unable to defy gravity.

“Heh. S-See? All according to plan.” I tried to lie through my teeth, and Noa gasped with awe. Snow, on the other hand, gave a knowing and exasperated look. Ugh, what a rude snow leopard.

“My oh my. I thought I heard a peculiar sound,” a woman said. “I wonder if it broke. It was rather old, so I suppose it was at the end of its life.” Her voice came from beyond the wall, and it was similar to the humming that I’d heard moments earlier. She must’ve heard me screwing up and decided to open the way for us.

Light flooded into the dark underground, and I narrowed my eyes as they gradually adjusted to looking into the other side. Are we in a kitchen? Beyond the half-broken door, we saw a beautiful demon lady standing there dressed in an apron. She had luscious locks of long hair with a purple-to-pink ombré, and they were slightly wavy like Emilia’s hair. Also like Emilia, she had two horns atop her head

“My word! My, oh my!” she said. “What an adorable little crowd I’ve got. What’s wrong? Are you all lost?”

She placed her hands together with delighted surprise, acting very gentle. Uh, getting lost in a secret passage reserved for royals? That’s a hard sell. But wow, she’s got quite the air of fluffiness and kindness to her.

“Well, you’re not totally wrong,” I said.

“Oh dear!” she said. “You poor things. Your parents must be worried sick about you. Come now! Do come in! You shouldn’t be standing out there in the darkness. I’ve just baked some sweet treats.”

While the fact that we were children might’ve made us seem innocent, we weren’t demons, and we were lost in the underground passage—a normal person would’ve been cautious and alert considering all that, but she seemed completely unworried. She was totally calm and full of openings as she greeted us.

Considering that this woman in the apron was baking snacks in the kitchen, I assumed that she must’ve been some sort of chef in charge of this place. As the rest of us were in the middle of trying to process our situation, she expertly lined up plates and cutlery for us in a flash. Her movements were so fluid and smooth that I was convinced that she worked here.

I suspected that we were in the tower where the queen was confined—since security must’ve been tight, it was clear that it would bring us trouble if we caused a fuss.

“Why don’t you take a seat?” the woman offered. “I’ll bring out some freshly baked snacks right away.”

The tone of her voice was comforting to my ears—simply listening to her was enough to put me at ease. Encouraged by this chef, we sat down. Only then did Tutte snap back to her senses and suggest that she provide assistance.

“U-Um, please allow me to help you out,” my maid offered hastily.

“Oh? I might take you up on that offer,” the woman replied with a gentle smile. “Could you please bring those plates over for me?” She elegantly pointed to the plates. Every motion she did made her look cool. We watched on, completely swept away by how this woman conducted herself...and soon enough, some tasty treats were lined up in front of our eyes.

The woman took a seat across from us, and after she rested for a moment, she took a sip of the tea that Tutte had poured. She was so graceful with her movements that I could hardly believe that she was a simple chef. She seemed better suited for a life of luxury—if I were to make a comparison, she reminded me of Queen Ilysha.

“That reminds me, may I ask who you are?” the woman asked. “Since you came all the way down here, you must’ve had some sort of goal in mind.”

It’d been a good while since we’d set foot in the kitchen, and she posed her question as though she just remembered. She seemed awfully laid-back, and it made me put my guard down too. Her mellow attitude exuded comfort.

“We came here to meet the queen,” I said, speaking the truth. “We heard that she was trapped in here.”

“Ah, is that so?” the woman replied. “I’m sure it was no easy journey for you to come all the way here.”

“I think Emilia and the others are having a harder time. They’re being chased around by weapons.”

“Oh? Emilia, you say? Did she bring you down here?”

“Er, yes. She practically dragged us with her.”

“Oh dear, that must’ve been tough.”

“It really was.”

A relaxed conversation ensued, and a calm air settled between us. Hmm... I feel like I’m forgetting something... There’s something that’s bothering me... But well, whatever. I enjoyed the delicious snacks and relaxed for a while, when suddenly, I heard a loud sound from the direction of the wall that I’d opened. Something flew right in.

“Grr... Why in the world is this wide open?!” Emilia demanded. “Who in the world destroyed this?!”

“How should I know?” Sita replied. “Don’t ask me.”

“Princess, we better be in the right room this time!” Rachel added.

Two dark elves and a demon entered the room. They were out of breath, no doubt after they’d run around, and they looked highly exhausted, in stark contrast to our calm spot of tea.

“Emilia?” I asked. “And Sita, Rachel. What happened?” I sipped my tea, completely affected by the laid-back air of the woman.

“You know what!” Emilia snapped. “How could you leave us behind, you heartless woman?!”

Before she managed to look at her surroundings, the demon princess shot daggers at me, furious with her situation.

“You’re the one who activated the weapons,” I pointed out. “You reap what you sow.”

“How dare you... Why the hell are you fools calmly enjoying a cup of tea?!” Once she’d finally registered what we were doing, she was angrier than ever before. I wasn’t really sure how I’d gotten into this situation either, and I turned pensive for a moment.

“My, oh my, Little Emilia,” the woman said. “Don’t be so mad. You’ll ruin your pretty face.”

The woman from Planet Warm ’n’ Fluffy—I mean, the one in charge of this place—gently scolded the princess. Wait, why’s the princess getting scolded by a chef? And “Little Emilia”? How can she be so casual to a princess? I thought for a few moments and turned stiff when I reached a certain realization. C-C-C-Could she... Could she be...

“But we’re absolutely livid, we’ll have you know,” Emilia replied. “Why are you here, mother?”

When I turned to the lady, Emilia suddenly froze—but not nearly as much as me, of course, as I was feeling every pore of my body begin to sweat with panic and fear. I-It can’t be... This woman—this lady with a calm and fluffy air—is the q-q-queeeeen?!

5. Belletochka Relirex

“I’m terribly sorry,” I apologized.

“Oh, please don’t be,” the queen replied. “Unlike your country, Little Mary, our kingdom is rather lax when it comes to formalities. I’m sure you know that. And I’m sure that you wouldn’t have imagined a trapped queen baking snacks here.”

For the second time in my life, I fully prostrated and begged for forgiveness while Queen Belletochka Relirex, who looked great in an apron, calmly forgave me.

“H-How do you know my name?” I asked.

“Hee hee, even I’ve heard of the feats of the Argent Holy Woman,” Her Majesty replied. “You look exactly as the rumors described you, and your friend with you is the divine beast, am I wrong? Plus, when I see you speak so casually with my little Emilia, it’s not too hard to piece things together. And, well, there are other things, but we can leave those aside for now.”

In stark contrast to my panicking so bad I’d even forgotten to introduce myself, Queen Belletochka spoke to me at complete ease with a smile. I could hardly believe that she was confined to this place given she was so knowledgeable about the outside world. It was no wonder that Lady Elizabeth was cautious about her—and speaking of whom, the queen had the same ominous aura seeping through her calm exterior that Lady Elizabeth did.

“And who might they be?” the queen asked. Even she didn’t know about my Kairomean friends, and she tilted her head to one side, perplexed as she looked them over.

While Emilia introduced Sita and Rachel, I glanced at Noa. I’d expected her to be socially anxious and shy, but she spoke with the queen normally. After she had all those unpleasant memories in Eneres, she always hid behind me whenever she met someone new. Does she know Queen Belletochka, then? Is it related to how we were able to come here somehow?

Shockingly, the queen herself seemed unfamiliar with Noa, and acted as though the two had never met before. “Little Noa, I see,” Her Majesty said. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. Oh dear, you’re so shy! How very adorable. ♪”

The queen’s laid-back attitude and smile made Noa lower her guard, and she mumbled around sheepishly as she spoke with the queen. Wait, is she acting shy around strangers or not? I can’t really tell now...

We all enjoyed some snacks and tea as we took a quick break. This is so relaxing... I began to doubt we really were in the Prison Tower.

“Emilia, this is the Prison Tower, right?” I whispered to the demon princess beside me.

“Yes, it is,” Emilia replied. “We don’t blame you for incorrectly thinking that she isn’t confined. It’s the air that mother exudes, we suppose.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our mother is self-proclaimed to be confined.”

“Pardon?” What’s with this crazy twist she’s dropping after we’ve come all this way? I tilted my head to one side with confusion as I glanced at the queen.

“Oh dear, Little Emilia,” Her Majesty said. “It’s not self-proclaimed. I am the very person who betrayed my kingdom and guided the Dark Lord to his defeat. I’m the rebel who forced the alliance to be created and prevented the Relirex army from advancing. The citizens would never have accepted allowing me to remain alive and live life normally. And yet, they all... I have to at least be confined, even if it’s just for appearance. Both Vrammie dear and my older sister tend to spoil those close to them.”

V-Vrammie? Is she referring to that musclehead— I mean, the current Dark Lord, King Vram? Though we were in the midst of a serious discussion, my stupid mind latched onto the most useless of details.

“Mother, time has passed since,” Emilia said. “We’ve told you countless times that the citizens are grateful for your actions and will never resent you for them. That power allowed all to be liberated from the shackles of tyranny, and as we traded with Aldia, we regained much of our prosperity. Even the subjects rely more on you than father, since frankly, he’s not one to use his brains— We mean, er...”

My simple question seemed to have touched upon a sensitive topic, and the two demons began to argue, leaving me at a loss over what to do. Emilia in particular seemed to have a lot to say—she rambled on at her mother, and her thoughts didn’t seem very organized. Sita did tell me about Relirex’s past. I wasn’t well-versed in the histories of nations besides Aldia, but every kingdom had its dark history. I felt it was best not to pry and switched topics.

“Um, may I tell you why I came here in the first place?” I asked.

“Ah, yes,” Queen Belletochka said. “Please, do enlighten me. Why did you come to meet me?”

Emilia had still wanted to talk, but the queen ended the discussion and turned to me.

“Uh, it’s about the, um...Argent...Knight,” I said.

Craaaaaaaap! Damn it, Mary! That doesn’t change the topic at all! I internally writhed in agony, realizing I’d said a phrase that I shouldn’t have.

“The Argent Knight?” Her Majesty asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Sita said, her eyes glimmering. I was too busy scolding myself over my stupidity, so she took the wheel. “Lady Mary is investigating the life of the Argent Knight! As we offered our aid in her endeavor, we learned that you’re knowledgeable about the subject, Your Majesty. Hence, we’re here to listen to your story.”

“A person of Kairomea personally offering their assistance?” the queen asked. “My, oh my, Little Mary, you’re quite impressive, aren’t you?”

“That, she is!” Sita cried. “The Argent Holy Woman is a hero who saved our Grand Archival Tower—”

“Ahhhh!” I shouted. “Enough about me! Let’s get to discussing! Come on!” It was a small saving grace that the slight change in topics dispelled the heavy air, but Sita’s praise embarrassed me, and I knew she’d exaggerate some points. Please, just stop!

“The Argent Knight...” the queen said. “It’s been a long while since we last met, so I might not remember all the details.”

“How did you meet with the Argent Knight?” Sita asked in my stead, her curiosity driving the conversation. She was reliable, but I also wanted her to learn to read the room—in any case, all I could do now was nervously listen.

“Many years ago, Relirex once considered invading Aldia,” Queen Belletochka started.

“M-Mother?!” Emilia gasped awkwardly, flustered to discuss something like this in front of an Aldian citizen like me. However, the queen seemed unfazed.

“It was then that I learned of the existence of the Argent Knight,” the queen said. “I secretly crossed the sea, hoping to ask for his help. Luckily, because I was renowned enough to earn the nickname ‘the Eternal Songstress,’ I could utilize my fame to meet him. I was desperate to stop the Dark Lord, Vram Relirex.”

For the first time, the queen’s expression turned dark. She had betrayed him because she loved him—I couldn’t tell just how much resolve she’d needed to act upon her feelings, but the thought of betraying my friends precisely for their sake made my chest tighten enough that I didn’t entertain the thought much longer.

“I think I’m beginning to see the whole picture,” Sita said. “May I ask if you know anything about Xeoral?”

“Xeoral, the island of the skies?” the queen asked. “Ah, yes, the Argent Knight also mentioned heading there.”

“For what reason?”

“He didn’t speak much about himself, so I really am not sure... All he said was that the island was his first island.”

“The first island...” I interjected, mulling it over. I couldn’t let Sita steer the conversation by herself and joined in. “Queen Belletochka, does the name ‘Agard’ ring a bell for you at all?”

“Agard?” the queen asked. “I take it this name is related to the Argent Knight somehow...? Ah, yes, I do remember the Argent Knight occasionally muttering it. The knight had a very adorable voice then, and I thought that was unusual, but he didn’t want me to pry deeper, it seemed, so I refrained from asking. That’s about all I know.”

The queen probably heard the voice of the Argent Armor that we fought back in Eneres. If those two were both wandering around, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some stories that confused the Argent Knight for a woman.

“M-Mary, isn’t there something else you wanted to ask?” Emilia inquired. “You came here to discuss traveling to Xeoral, did you not?”

She fidgeted anxiously as she pushed the conversation along. It was likely due in no small part to her fear of running into those weapons Lady Elizabeth had sicced on her again, but she also seemed to be interested in the island of the sky. She didn’t necessarily want to go herself, though, so I was very curious about what she was plotting.

“Would you like to go to Xeoral?” Her Majesty replied. “Indeed, the Argent Knight and I once headed there, but we only went midway. We never actually reached the island, but would you still like me to give you directions?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind,” I replied. “Could you tell me everything you know, Your Majesty?”

“Very well. Then we should first get a map...”

“Ah, mother, must we take such a roundabout method?” Emilia inquired. “Why don’t you personally lead the way?”

As Queen Belletochka rose to fetch a map, Emilia clapped her hands together. The princess sounded like she knew that this was going to happen.

“What?” the queen asked, tilting her head to one side. “I’m confined to this tower. I can’t leave this place.”

“But simply giving directions might not be clear enough,” Emilia insisted a bit awkwardly, refusing to give up and continuing to try to push the queen out of the tower.

Why does Emilia keep glancing my way?

“You see, Mary is the Argent Holy Woman and has contributed considerably to our kingdom,” Emilia went on. “As a royal, we do hesitate to send her off with just a simple map and hope that she can find her way.”

“You’re quite right,” the queen agreed. “Then, Little Emilia, why don’t you lead the way?”

“Ah, well, we may not look it, but we’re terrible at directions. Prone to getting lost and all that. We don’t mean to brag, but we cannot read any maps.”

“Really?” I asked, shocked by this confession. “But, Emilia, you— Mmph!” She hastily covered my mouth before I could contradict her.

“And Mary’s the type to get lost more easily than us,” Emilia added. “We find it best that a more proper guide leads the way. Were it just the two of us, we’d be running around without ever reaching our destination. Is that not so, Mary?”

I’d often heard the phrase “eyes speak louder than words,” and it rang true here. Emilia winked at me rapidly and tried to make me catch her drift. I see... Now I get what she’s thinking. She wanted to drag Queen Belletochka outside. If the queen saw the outside world and the peace and brightness that her actions had brought the people, perhaps she would no longer feel compelled to confine herself. Or maybe the princess simply wants to go on an outing with her mother.

No matter the case, Emilia had wanted a reason, and when I’d appeared, the timing couldn’t have been better. Perhaps that was why she’d seemed so eager to bring me along. Had Lady Elizabeth and Emilia acted so swiftly because they both had the same goal? It behooves me as a capable woman to go along with this scheme. “Yes, it’s nothing to be proud of, but I really am just atrocious with directions,” I said, puffing my chest out proudly. “I can barely find my own shoes, frankly, much less navigate an unknown area.” I quickly felt a pang of sadness admitting as much...

“Exactly!” Emilia said. “The Argent Holy Woman is begging you for assistance, mother. You cannot be heartless enough to deny her request! Why don’t we get prepared in a flash and head for Xeoral before any nuisances arrive?”

At this point, the princess was pushing it. The queen looked troubled as Emilia forced the conversation along and stood up to grab her hand and leave the room.

Emilia flashed me an unusually innocent smile, and she seemed so genuinely happy. I wanted to cheer her on and encourage the queen to get ready. “Queen Belletochka, may I ask that you guide me to Xeoral—”

“That would be a problem,” a voice I dreaded interjected.

I hastily turned to the hidden passageway we’d used to enter the room, and as expected, I spotted a certain person dressed in a full suit of Argent Armor. The way she waltzed into the room practically screamed “Don’t mind me!” How did she use the secret passageway?! Was she tailing us? No, then she would’ve blocked our path before we could’ve entered. Did she always know about this place?

6. A Peculiar Battle Ensues

The Argent Armor looked exactly like the one I’d defeated before, but I assumed that this was a different suit. Considering how soon I was running into her again, she must’ve had several spares. No matter how many times I take her down, she’ll pop up again and get in my way. This is beyond troublesome...

“Why are you here?” I asked. “And from the hidden passageway, no less.”

“I was once shown the way by Belletochka over there so that I could duel against the Dark Lord,” the armor replied. “I admit that I didn’t know how to open the final door here, but it was half open, so I was pretty lucky.”

She spoke with her usual calm tone that didn’t betray a hint of concern. I see... So that’s how the Dark Lord and the Argent Knight were able to battle. No wonder she can use this place. Noa was spooked by the armor appearing, so I got in front of her to protect her. Noa didn’t know how to open the last door either. Is this some kind of weird coincidence, or...?

“I can’t believe you came all the way here to chase after Noa,” I said. “You seem to have quite a bit of time on your hands, huh?”

“Hmm, well, I’m more here for Belletochka,” the Argent Armor replied.

“Me?” the queen replied. “I just got some snacks out, so how about you catch me up on what’s been exciting in your life over a spot of tea?” She was relaxed as ever and preparing another cup of tea as everyone—including the Argent Armor—turned to her.

“You always try to drag people into your way of things,” the armor remarked. “You never change, do you? You may have tricked Agard, but unfortunately, things won’t be so easy this time around. After all, there’s only a chunk of flesh inside this armor. I can’t eat a single thing!” she declared smugly.

Uh, is that something to be so proud of? “Oh dear, that’s truly a pity,” the queen replied. “These snacks turned out so well.”

“Is that so?” the armor replied. “Then I’ll have to take a few to go.”

Uh... Why is this all so casual? I felt foolish for feeling tense mere moments ago. The ladies’ conversation was so peaceful it was unsettling.

“And what brings you here?” the queen asked. “Would you also like to go to Xeoral?”

“Nothing like that,” the armor replied. “In fact, I came here with quite the opposite request.”

“The opposite? You’d like to leave Xeoral?”

“Why would I need your help with that? I’m already standing here before you.”

“But that’s a temporary body.”

Silence settled over the room. The ladies may have been playfully bantering seconds ago, but the air changed in an instant. I watched over them anxiously.

“In any case... Since Noa awakened, I did assume Xeoral’s existence would be exposed, but I hadn’t expected them to visit you so soon,” the Argent Armor said. “Mary... As I thought, you really are dangerous.”

She blatantly switched the topic of conversation to me. Also, I’d apparently become more of a threat in her eyes than before, unbeknownst to me. I was tempted to hide my face in my hands—why was it always me?—but I didn’t feel like I could deny anything after I’d fought her in Eneres and let her see how powerful I am.

“But this whole hasty tour was orchestrated by Emilia,” I insisted. “She just wanted to hurry to enjoy an outing with Queen Belletochka as soon as she could. It’s not like I was trying to rush things along, you know?”

“Wh-Wh-What are you on about, Mary?” Emilia stammered adorably, not expecting to be drafted into blame game hot potato. “We acted in accordance with your wishes. We, um, er...”

“Um, did you just come here to tell me not to guide Little Mary to Xeoral?” the queen asked.

“Well, yes,” the Argent Armor replied. “How else was I to speak to you? After all, you’re a shut-in— I mean, you’re locked up here, aren’t you?”

“Hoooold it!” Emilia roared angrily. “Where do you get off barging in here and trying to have things your way!” After all the effort she’d put into her plan, Emilia couldn’t just silently watch on as the Argent Armor casually ruined everything.

“Hmm? If you’ve got any complaints, I don’t mind resorting to force,” the armor replied, paying no heed to Emilia’s intimidation and instead adding fuel to the fire.

“Excuse us?!” Emilia growled.

Having fought the armor, I knew Emilia stood no chance of winning a fight with her...

“I see... This is quite the conundrum,” Queen Belletochka observed calmly. It felt like a fight could break out at any moment, but she was sipping her tea with total composure as the sparks flew. “Ah, I’ve got a wonderful idea.”

“An idea?” the armor asked. “I think it’d be for the best if you just shut up and listened to what I have to say.”

“Oh, you’ve got guts acting like that!” Emilia growled. “Would you like us to clobber you into a pulp until you can’t ever open your smug mouth again?”

“Heh. Big talk for a brat who can’t leave her mommy’s side.”

The two ladies glared at each other again, putting the queen’s relaxed demeanor to waste.

“I’d like for you both to make your requests to me as cutely as possible,” Her Majesty said. “I’ll listen to the one who makes my heart skip a beat.”

“Huh?!” Emilia and the armor both grunted simultaneously. Neither could’ve possibly expected this absurd suggestion...and thanks to it, the bloodthirsty atmosphere dissipated and both of them calmed down.

I guess this goes to show how Queen Belletochka gets things done. She’s different from Lady Elizabeth, but she’s still no slouch. I wouldn’t want to be on her bad side.

“Now then, who shall go first?” the queen asked. “I personally don’t mind whoever.”

“Huh? Uh? Well...” Emilia and the armor stammered. I watched them pityingly.

There was a pause before Emilia spoke up once more. “M-Mother! If a request must be made, may we ask for Mary to join us? After all, we’re simply helping her with what she wants.”

“Hey! Don’t drag me into this, Emilia!” I shouted. I wanted to stay a bystander, not have her drag me into this mess.

“Very well. Go right ahead,” the queen said. The queen flashed a lovely smile and immediately allowed it, emanating a sort of pressure that didn’t allow me any argument—I ended up just swallowing what I wanted to reply.

“Heh heh heh, comrade in arms,” Emilia said. “Why don’t we work together to overcome this mess?”

“Don’t try to act cool after you dragged me into this,” I grumbled. “It pains me to admit it, but I am the one making the request, so I guess...I’ll have to join.”

“So, what shall we do?” Emilia asked me. “You’re adept at using your cuteness, aren’t you?”

“Can you stop making insane claims about me that’ll ruin my reputation? I’ve never professed to be good at anything of the sort.”

“Oh, don’t be so humble! You’re second to none when it comes to acting coy!”

“All right, how about we duke it out before I head off to find the Argent Knight?”

“E-Enough banter!” Emilia hastily replied, so eager to not make me an enemy it bothered me a bit. “How shall we go about this? Personally, we were thinking of using the most solemn way of begging that you taught me.”

“Go on?”

“Prostrating!” Emilia said.

“I mean, yeah, that gets our intentions across, but that’s not cute, is it?”

“But of course it is! Aren’t we cute? Then whatever we do shall be adorable. As a bonus, it conveys our sincerity.”

All I could do was just silently stare at her, taken aback as I was by her unshakable determination and absolute confidence in her own adorableness.

“What? It’s no good?” Emilia asked. “Then what bright idea do you have?”

If I couldn’t come up with any other idea, I feared that Emilia would seriously go with the kowtowing plan, so I was trying my best to come up with literally anything else. I didn’t want to see a daughter groveling to her mother.

Nothing was coming to me, so I glanced around the room for inspiration and locked eyes with Sita. Eureka!

“Aha! This is the perfect time to borrow the wisdom of a scholar!” I exclaimed. “Right, Sita?”

“Uh, I’ve never done any sort of research on cuteness,” Sita replied, rapidly waving her hands in front of her. “It’s not really a thing passed down in historical documents, so I can’t be of any help.”

“If not now, then when? When can we use that knowledge of yours?”

“She’s right, Sita,” Emilia joined in. “Use the entirety of Kairomea’s resources to find a solution.”

“That’s so unreasonable...” Sita muttered at having this impossible task pushed on her. “What should we do, Lord Orthoaguina?”

“Hey, now,” Orthoaguina replied. “Don’t involve me in this charade!”

“Good grief. For all the bravado that comes with your nickname, the Philomath Dragon, you certainly don’t live up to it...” Emilia mumbled to herself. “How very ignorant you are.”

Uh, Emilia?! You really shouldn’t go there. I gasped with fear and gingerly turned to the book that Sita had taken out. I couldn’t tell the emotions of a book, but I felt like I saw the air around it crackle for a moment.

“Oho?” Orthoaguina replied. “You sure know how to talk, Witch Princess of Relirex.”

“Oh, it’s not your fault,” Emilia replied. “If anything, the blame should fall onto us for relying on a silly, simple book.” She genuinely hadn’t been intending to provoke him, but it sounded awfully mocking nonetheless.

“Heh... Heh heh heh...” Orthoaguina chuckled. “Very well! Then why don’t I use everything I’ve got to teach you this so-called cuteness that you desire!”

Oh no... We touched on the sore spot of our resident unhinged dragon... What can I do about this?

“All right, Mary,” Orthoaguina said. “Let’s do this!”

“Why me?!” I shrieked. “Emilia’s right there!”

“If I were to analyze cuteness among you all, Noa would be the best, but you and the princess were selected for this mission. Using the daughter of the judge would be unfair. It’d encourage favoritism, and we don’t want that. If we want to fight fair and square, you’re the only one left.”

“Why not use favoritism to our advantage?”

“I won’t be happy winning by cheating!”

The flame had been sparked within the scholar’s troublesome heart, leaving me little choice but to accept this peculiar battle against the Argent Armor.

“Now then, I’ve gathered all the scholars of Kairomea,” Orthoaguina informed us. “Give us a few moments to finish debating how best to make the Argent Holy Woman adorably beg for something.”

“Don’t make a ton of researchers dedicate serious effort to something so bizarre! Don’t you think they feel embarrassed?! I bet everyone’s just praying for this to end as quickly as possible.”

“Ah, quite contrary to your presumption, we have a healthy contingent offering their perceptions of how the Argent Holy Woman would behave, and they’re being met with vehement refutations from those who claim the Argent Holy Woman would never act as they envision, and we have more researchers still who claim they’ve yet to see a compelling analysis. The debate is quite heated with all these differing opinions.”

I have no idea what to make of these Kairomean scholars anymore... I fell to my knees in the middle of Orthoaguina’s play-by-play report, unable to utter a single sound.

“Now then, I believe I’ve gathered enough opinions to proceed with fashioning my own hypothesis,” Orthoaguina continued. “To begin, there are three important points to cuteness: body language, facial expression, and charming diction.”

“Uh, we can just do this more normally,” Queen Belletochka offered, trying to lend me a helping hand.

“The host of this competition need only sit tight and keep mum!” Orthoaguina roared. No one could stop him now.

“First, let us decide on a pose,” Orthoaguina said. His book had been positioned in front of me so he could direct me more easily. “Bend your body diagonally to the side at a thirty-five-degree angle.”

“Um, l-like this?” I asked.

“Wrooong! You’ve gone four degrees too far! Now you’re point five degrees too close! And now you’re point one degrees too far! Argh! No, no. How are you incapable of following such simple instructions?”

“I’m terribly sorry,” I said through gritted teeth, trying my best to endure the insults and the unreasonable requests. Frankly, I was about to explode with anger.

“Never mind. Gently clench your fists and bring them in front of your chest. Tuck in your elbows and try leaning— No. This one won’t do...”

“Uh, you came to that conclusion after you looked at my chest, didn’t you?”

“Indeed. You’re flatter than I expected.”

“Hi-yah! Divine punishment!”

“Gah!”

I’d endured all the insults until now, but my patience had finally reached its end and I smacked the book to the ground. He grunted like he’d been hurt as he plummeted to the floor, but of course, that was just him playing along, considering his senses weren’t actually connected to the book or anything.

“Hmph. Do you mean to make me witness some kind of skit?” the Argent Armor asked, breaking her silence. “I can’t bear to see you fooling around much longer—pardon me as I bring this all to a close.” She sighed and stepped forward.

I wanted to deny that we’d just been putting on a skit, but honestly, I couldn’t really claim it’d been any better than that, much to my chagrin. All right, fine. Let’s see you try acting cute, talking suit of armor! I’m sure this’ll be good.

“Belletochka, do not go to Xeoral! I won’t forgive you if you dare go against my wishes,” the Argent Armor declared proudly and menacingly.

This is her best shot? I froze along with everyone else as silence settled over the room, each of us unsure how to process what we’d just experienced.

“U-Um... And that’s your cute request?” the queen asked.

“Hmph, this is me acting tsundere,” the Argent Armor replied. “Did my sublime subtlety fly over your heads?”

“Uh, you know that a tsundere has to act warm and friendly at some point, right?” I asked. She looked so proud of herself that I just had to point out her mistakes. “Where’s that part? I only saw you being harsh.”

“You fool,” the armor replied. “I’ll act warm and friendly when everyone is gone and the two of us can be alone.”

“You’re going to be alone with her? How?” I asked.

“I-I’ll just call Belletochka to the corner of the room and...” It was apparent the situation she’d had in mind was completely unrealistic, and she seemed to have realized as much now that I’d pointed it out.

“Do you maybe not actually know what being tsundere means?” I asked.

“Sh-Shut up! Silence!” the armor roared, launching into a childish tantrum and stomping the floor angrily. “Why must I go to the trouble of entertaining this nonsense anyway?!” Suddenly, she unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the queen.

We hastily stepped forward to protect Queen Belletochka, but she raised her hand to stop us, her attitude firm and resolute, quite unlike the warm, fuzzy air she’d been maintaining mere moments ago. “You’ve become rather emotional these days,” she observed. “You used to be so calm and collected.”

“Silence! Sileeence!” the Argent Armor shouted. “That’s because Agard was with me! The me from back then wasn’t my true self! Don’t act like you know anything about me!”

I wasn’t sure if the queen and the armor used to be friends, or if the past was a taboo subject for her, but what was clear was that the armor’s murderous intent was becoming more and more palpable by the second. It was similar to the time she’d tried to kill Noa—her demeanor could shift at a moment’s notice. Put simply, I felt that the armor was emotionally unstable.

“Yes, there’s a very simple solution,” the Argent Armor said. She gazed up and spoke at an empty area of the room—no one was there. “Surely, I’m allowed to kill people to protect our garden. Isn’t that right, Agard?”

The moment she turned back to us, she moved without hesitation. She was acting to kill. She was so swift that no one could react as she approached the queen, and I instinctively moved to protect her...but just then, a blow from the side assaulted the Argent Armor.

“Gah!” she grunted.

She blew through the wall and slammed into the next wall past it. The metallic clamor was deafening.

“Argent, I shall turn a blind eye if you’re just playing around,” a low voice said. “But should you dare mean to raise a finger against my wife, I shan’t go easy on you.” A man emerged from beyond the shattered wall clenching his fists. We all watched on in astonishment as he then proceeded to huff and flex his muscles before striking a pose. “I swear it on my muscles!” he shouted.

We were face-to-face with a pervert in underwear— Ahem, I mean, we were face-to-face with Vram Relirex, the Dark Lord who had once lost to the Argent Knight.

7. The Former Hero vs the Dark Lord

“F-Father!” Emilia spluttered. “Why are you here?! How?! Our plan was conducted swiftly and with the utmost confidentiality!”

“Mwa ha ha ha!” Lord Vram guffawed. “You cannot hide anything from me. These muscles know all!” He stuck out his right arm at his stunned daughter and flexed his biceps proudly.

I wouldn’t have been the only one who found this sight familiar—it was a pity that only Tutte was with me to share in it. I got on my guard, more or less expecting Lady Elizabeth to be the next one to pop out of nowhere based on the way things were going.

“Ah, so he was Dark Lord Vram...” Rachel muttered under her breath, looking visibly relieved. “I’d noticed him hiding behind the wall for quite a while now, so I’ve been on alert wondering who he is.”

I couldn’t help but comment on that shocking tidbit of information. “You noticed him before?”

“I’m terribly sorry,” Rachel replied. “I think he must have been here long before I spotted him. I only noticed him lurking about while everyone was wrapped up in the cuteness battle since I kept catching Lady Mary sneak glances at the wall.”

Uh, I was just looking away out of embarrassment and nothing more...

Everyone froze up upon Rachel’s revelation (including me, albeit for different reasons), and we all turned to face Lord Vram.

“Ahem! Wh-Wh-What in the world are you on about, dark elf girl? I-I-I just managed to arrive here mere moments ago,” he insisted. He averted his gaze and was clearly panicking.

When I took a closer look at the passage behind the wall from which he’d emerged, there were a few present-like boxes scattered about. He noticed everyone focusing on the boxes and declared, “Oh, these? Ah, the citizens, um, sent these as offerings to you, Belletochka.” He kept glancing between us and the presents. It seemed rather odd for the reigning monarch himself to be personally delivering these gifts...

“I-In any case, I understand the situation!” Lord Vram said. “Emilia, leave the rest to me and head out with Belletochka! Go to Xeoral, the island in the sky!”

“F-Father! But...” Emilia started.

I felt it’d be best if I handled the Argent Armor here, but it seemed ill-considered to ruin this father-daughter moment. On top of that, if his plan allowed me to take Queen Belletochka out of this area, it was very convenient for me. Nevertheless, I had my concerns. Lord Vram had lost to the Argent Knight in the past—would he really be all right? Emilia must’ve been worried about this too, for she was reluctant to leave despite this being the perfect opportunity.

“You need not worry, Emilia,” Lord Vram said. “I’m no longer the fool I was in the past! I’ve polished my muscles since, and I’ve gained not only power, but beauty as well! Behold my luscious muscles!” He confidently struck a side chest pose and flashed his pearly whites with a grin. If I’d been meant to be impressed in some way or by something about this whole charade, it was far beyond me.

“Emilia, what do we—” I started.

“Very well then!” Emilia said, her worries evidently having vanished in a moment. “We’ve got nothing to fear. Mother, let us depart!” Seamlessly switching gears, she grabbed her mother’s hand to drag her toward the hidden passageway.

“B-But...” the queen started.

“Do not fear,” Lord Vram assured her. “Have faith in my muscles!”

The monarch struck another pose at his hesitant queen, but I still had no clue how exactly he’d gotten any stronger.

“You think I’m just gonna let you go?!” the Argent Armor roared. She swung her blade down at Lord Vram, who was full of openings—he’d been too busy striking a pose and showing off his muscles for us.

“Hmph!” he grunted.

I could hardly believe what I saw. The Dark Lord didn’t dodge the Argent Armor’s attack and maintained his pose, taking the entire blow in stride. He didn’t use his hands or anything of the sort to block the attack, but rather, he used his entire body—or if I were to borrow his own words, his muscles. How in the world can there be muscles tougher than a blade?

“Hmph, how weak,” he taunted, unscathed. “Your puny attacks are mere child’s play, Argent!” He laughed through his nose and firmly planted his fist into the Argent Armor’s solar plexus, blowing her back toward the wall once more.

“Leave this place to me! Go on!” Lord Vram said.

He spoke with the utmost confidence to quell Queen Belletochka’s fears, but I felt like he was only foreshadowing his death. I knew better than to voice my concerns, though—and besides, how could I possibly say that to a monarch?

Her Majesty was still a bit reluctant to leave, but Emilia dragged her out to the secret passageway. As I saw them off, I turned back one last time toward the Argent Armor and Lord Vram. The two had once battled for the fate of the kingdom, and it seemed a bit...unusual, to say the least, that their next conflict would begin in the corner of a kitchen. I’ll respect your wishes this time around, Vram. Good luck!

***

After Vram watched Mary and the others leave, he slowly turned back to his opponent, the Argent Armor.

“Hmm. I haven’t seen you in a while, but you’ve certainly changed considerably,” he remarked. “You weren’t one to swing your sword around so clumsily, letting your emotions show so clearly. What happened?”

“Shut up,” the Argent Armor spat.

“Why conduct yourself as this cheap imitation? Where is your other half?”

“Shut up! Silence! Don’t you dare pry into my affairs!”

Vram knew that there were two existences within the Argent Armor, but Argent was one to remain mostly silent. Even when they did choose to speak, the armor mostly used a man’s voice. It was curious to see that only a woman’s voice came from the armor now. Furthermore, while it’d been some time since the two parties had met, the Argent Armor seemed emotionally immature and unstable. In fact, she emanated an almost alien, unusual air to her.

The battle against the Argent Armor had been a huge turning point for Vram. It was such a monumental event for him that he still remembered the battle vividly. It had been his conviction that a person’s value lay solely in their strength, and that through strength one could achieve whatever they desire—and yet, when the armor had engaged him in a clash of wills without the slightest hesitation, their unbreakable resolve saw them triumph over him and his unfathomable brawn. Upon his loss, his wife, Belletochka, who had just finished betraying him, begged the armor to take her life and spare his in an attempt to protect him...which compelled Vram to ask the armor a simple question. Why, exactly, had they gone along with Belletochka’s manipulation that would lead them into conflict with himself, the Dark Lord?

“I did it for the one who finds you so dear,” the armor had replied nonchalantly, sheathing their blade. Argent had been so dazzling, even in the eyes of the Dark Lord. Vram, who had always used his power for his own ends, had now found himself humbled by a warrior who always wielded their power for others, and his myopic preoccupation with his own strength had at long last been shattered.

In the aftermath, Belletochka successfully cemented the alliances with nearby nations she’d long since been working to establish. Everything she’d done, she’d done for the future of an exhausted Relirex and for the future of the foolish king who’d strayed off the right path, all the while knowing she would be branded a traitor against her kingdom and loved ones. For Vram’s part, having now shed his single-minded focus on strength, he learned to appreciate the world around him, and he began to understand the joy that comes from protecting others.

Frankly, he was grateful for what Argent had done for him, so he’d been willing to tacitly approve the armor’s visiting the queen. For the situation to end up like this had been so completely beyond his expectations that he could scarcely hide his shock.

“I once foolishly tried to use my power to command total control. You were the one who allowed me to see the light,” Vram said. “How ironic it is to see you now resorting to force to resolve your problems.” He gazed sadly at the armor—whom he had once considered his greatest foe, but who he later realized was among his dearest of friends—and lamented this profound change. “What caused you to become this way?” he wondered. “Ah, I see. She’s trying to offer you salvation this time...”

As he answered his own question, a certain girl with silver hair flashed across his mind. Until now, he’d been puzzled by Mary’s sudden visit to this kingdom, and all the more so by her wanting to meet Belletochka, who had been a completely unrelated bystander until now. Before he could gather further details, Emilia and his sister Elizabeth each acted swiftly in their own attempts to claim Mary. All he knew was that the Argent Armor was involved somehow.

As Vram now faced the Argent Armor, he could see what Mary was trying to accomplish. Furthermore, thanks to this string of coincidences, he’d at last managed to see the day Belletochka would step outside again. It’d been difficult for him to coax his wife to leave, and he felt lucky that she now had reason to do so.

Pleased as I am, this is a bit too convenient, Vram thought. Had it been mere coincidence that his timing for visiting his wife and Mary’s timing had overlapped? That dark elf girl did mention that Mary had noticed my presence... She must’ve known that I would be here and provoked the Argent Armor to attack so I could create this situation for her. The more he thought about it, the more he shuddered at the realization.

“That holy woman thinks far too many steps ahead, it seems,” he muttered. He smiled with self-satisfaction at having unraveled Mary’s tangled web...but Mary, of course, knew that this was a grave misunderstanding. Since she wasn’t here, no one was around to stop Vram from drawing his own conclusions.

“The holy woman? Ah, you mean Mary. She’s dangerous!” the Argent Armor declared vehemently. “People like you have your limits, no matter how strong you become, but that girl... I think she’s different. I cannot allow her to arrive at our garden. I just get an eerie feeling from her!” The armor’s outsized reaction served to further reinforce Vram’s preconceptions. It really couldn’t have been much worse for Mary.

“Ah, and speaking of which! Argh, I have no time to be playing around with you! I have to chase them.” Suddenly regaining her cool and recalling her goal, she moved to ignore the Dark Lord and leave.

“You think I’ll abide that?!” Vram roared. Naturally, he wasn’t going to let her pass. He didn’t like that he, Dark Lord of his nation, was dancing in the palm of someone’s hand, but if playing along was what got his beloved wife to step outside, he had no reason to refuse—he would play his part and stop the armor. Surely, she won’t mind if I crush this armor into pieces.

As he jinxed himself, he took a step forward and closed the gap between himself and the armor and swung his fist. And yet, despite her fall from grace, the Argent Armor was still a hero. She managed to block the attack and jumped back, lightening the intensity of the blow.

“Out of my way! Nova Flare!” she shouted.

An explosive spell appeared in front of the Dark Lord, blowing away the kitchen and nearby rooms. A normal person would’ve been decimated by the explosion—and even if they’d managed to somehow survive, the shattered debris would’ve buried them alive—but the Dark Lord was naturally anything but normal.

“You chunk of muscle...” the Argent Armor growled, annoyed at the farce in front of her. Vram was flexing his muscles and striking a pose, completely unscathed by the attack.

“Ha ha ha ha! Weak! How very weak!” he laughed. “Surely, you haven’t forgotten that such puny spells will hardly scratch my muscles! Argent, how about we converse about me and my muscles over a flurry of fists?”

“Why the hell would I do something like that, you pervert?!” the Argent Armor rumbled. “Vermilion Nova!”

The Prison Tower shook as a massive pillar of fire blasted a hole to the outside. The former hero and Dark Lord were locked in a passionate battle that would see their entire surroundings brought to ruin.

8. Everyone’s Thoughts

Every now and then, the royal capital quaked, allowing me to easily imagine the hectic battle unfolding in the royal castle. I’d entrusted the armor to Dark Lord Vram, and I had faith in his muscles—I mean, his power. Now we had to focus on heading as far away as we could. Here I am, believing in the power of the Dark Lord. Guess I’m in my villainess phase. I cracked a smile at my own joke as I turned to Queen Belletochka, who was running beside me.

Presently, we’d already escaped from the underground passageway and were headed for a carriage that’d take us out of the royal capital. She still looked rather gloomy.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “Let’s trust in the power of the Dark Lord. It sounds like the Argent Armor isn’t the actual Argent Knight either—she’s just a downgrade.”

Now, if I’d been asked what exactly we should believe in, the only answer I had was muscles... I nervously waited for the queen’s opinion.

“No, I trust that Vrammie—I mean, that His Majesty will be all right,” the queen replied. “I’m more worried about them injuring any nearby citizens...”

Her Majesty is truly a queen to her core, worrying less about how this affects her than how it will affect the citizenry... Or maybe that’s just the kind of person she was to begin with.

She gazed all around her. A pillar of fire erupted from the Prison Tower followed by some explosions. I could see debris and the aftermath of various spells flying outside the castle grounds.

Nearby demons began to step out curiously, unaware of the queen’s worries. As they gathered around to observe the fuss, Queen Belletochka seemed to try to make herself as scarce as possible.

“What happened?”

“Did something go down at the royal castle?”

“Is the Prison Tower crumbling away?”

“That’s horrible! Is the queen safe?!”

I could hear the nearby demons expressing concerns about the queen’s safety, which seemed to come as a complete surprise to the woman in question. She stopped and listened, and we followed suit as we glanced between her and the people around us.

“Is there an insolent criminal who’s trying to harm our queen?!” an elderly demon lady wondered.

“If so, this is horrible news! We should go and offer our support!” her elderly husband replied.

“You won’t be much help. But we can’t just twiddle our thumbs and watch on without doing anything. She’s our hope.”

“That, she is!” the other demons joined in.

The queen was astonished. She probably hadn’t expected to be so loved and respected. No matter how many times her daughter and sister-in-law had reached their wit’s end insisting as much, nor however many times her husband had reassured her as much, she’d never been willing to believe that the citizens viewed her highly. All this time, she’d assumed that her family were simply trying to soothe the guilt she felt at her betrayal. It was circumstances just like these that her family had wanted her to experience by stepping outside—once she’d heard the actual opinions of the citizens, especially from those who weren’t aware she could hear them, she could see the reality of the situation.

I grabbed the astonished queen’s hand. “Let’s go, Your Majesty, before we cause a bigger fuss.” I ran ahead with her.

From here on out, the queen would hear more and more from her citizens about how they felt. In short order, she would come to see a port city that was proof positive of how, just as Emilia and Lady Elizabeth had promised, Relirex had prospered and made great strides forward from the nation she once knew. None of us could say how she would react to what she’d see on her whirlwind tour of modern Relirex, but if giving her the opportunity to form that opinion was what Emilia had ultimately wanted from rushing me out here, I supposed I was happy to oblige.

“Over here, motheeeer!” Emilia shouted. “A carriage is at the ready over here!”

We were expertly sneaking past the people when Emilia’s loud voice ruined it all. It was only natural that the citizens would turn around in confusion when they heard the familiar voice of their princess. What can you do, I guess. I mean, I know what Emilia could’ve done, but that aside...

“You idiooooot!” I roared, only making the situation worse. “Use your inside voice, why don’t you?!”

What happened next? Well...

“Huh?! Y-Your Highness?!”

“Look! That girl has silver hair! And that’s a divine beast! Is she...”

“I know her! She’s the Argent Holy Woman.”

“Oops,” Emilia and I said in perfect sync. We’d gathered the attention of a crowd, and my identity was quickly exposed thanks to the no-good leopard who’d made no attempt to hide herself.

“Well, since I’m around, I guess we do stand out,” Snow said.

I wasn’t willing to find out what would happen if the crowd caught sight of Queen Belletochka too, so I grabbed her hand and rushed at Snow. “Snow, let’s fly!” I encouraged the queen to climb aboard and joined her.

“Good grief... We’ll definitely stand out like this. Is that all right with you?” Snow asked.

“Yeah,” I replied. “Emilia, let’s meet up later. Tutte, Sita, go along with her. Huh? Noaaaa—” Before I could finish giving orders, Noa had leaped into my chest and climbed on Snow’s back, leaving me in a daze as Snow took to the skies. With my unfinished sentence trailing off pathetically while we rode into the distance, it was clear my attempt to act cool had utterly floundered.

As Snow had predicted, we attracted attention, drawing eyes away from Emilia and the others. Once the people’s whispers had reached consensus that the woman behind me was the demon queen, it was assumed that the Argent Holy Woman and the queen being together must have something to do with the destruction arising around the Prison Tower. Rumors began to spread that the Argent Holy Woman had saved the queen from some new danger befalling Relirex. They weren’t really right, but not completely off base either... And I never could have imagined just how widely these unfortunate rumors would end up circulating around the kingdom.

“Oh, Noa,” I said. “You jumped into my arms so suddenly that you startled me.”

“When I calculated my stride and the distance, I realized that I was closer to Snow than the carriage,” Noa replied as she scritched Lily’s chin.

“I-I see...” As prone to panicking as I was, I was envious of her calm and precise analytical skills.

“You look so young, yet you’re so calm when you make your decisions,” the queen observed, seeming surprised and impressed.

It’s true. Noa might look like a child, but sometimes she’ll make such coolly rational decisions that she’ll put us adults to shame. I get the impression she’s just trying not to get in anyone’s way, but her sound judgment has become more and more apparent the longer she’s traveled with us.

At first, I thought she may be learning as she observed Magiluka, the prince, and those around her, but I wondered if her actions and thought process had anything to do with her lost memories. Ever since we arrived at Relirex, I felt like Noa was regaining more of her memories, bit by bit. I gazed at her, puzzled, when she broke the silence.

“I think Queen Belletochka can fly,” she said awkwardly, changing topics. “There was no need for her to ride Snow, was there?”

“Y-Yeah,” I replied. “I guess I shouldn’t have pushed you to get on her back.”

“Not at all,” Her Majesty replied. “Logically speaking, I can fly, but doing so alone would’ve made me stand out more than usual and would’ve caused the citizens to misunderstand the situation. Thanks to you and the divine beast, I’m able to evade the eyes of the people to a degree, and since they know that the Argent Holy Woman and the divine beast are involved, their minds are put somewhat at ease. The way you immediately understood the merit of stepping forward in such a sudden situation, I daresay you certainly are worthy of all the praise you get from my sister-in-law.”

“Ah, so efficiency wasn’t the only factor, but the attention of others as well...” Noa muttered.

The two of them couldn’t stop gassing me up, but while I felt bad to admit this, there was no way that I’d acted with so much thought. I was so confused about why people always took my decisions in such a different way than I’d intended. Should I deny their version? No, I know from experience that that would only backfire. I fell silent, unsure of what action to take.

“Hee hee, this really does take me back,” the queen giggled. “When I speak with you, it reminds me of old times.”

“Old times?” Noa asked.

“When I traveled with the Argent Knight. I didn’t travel with him for very long, though.”

“With the Argent Knight?”

“Yes.” She smiled as she recalled the past. “He would always analyze the situation by coldly prioritizing efficiency over everyone around him when he spoke with a woman’s voice, and then he would scold himself for that logic with a man’s voice.”

“Agard...” I couldn’t see the look on Noa’s face, but her tiny voice conveyed her emotions all too well.

Agard and Soul Materia existed in tandem to form the Argent Knight—that much was clear from what I’d observed to this point—but what puzzled me was the way the queen described the Argent Armor we’d just fled from. Unlike the calm, calculating person the queen recollected, the Argent Armor seemed prone to improvising her plans based on fits of emotion. Is the armor we know a different person? She didn’t sound like a total outsider though.

Hmm... I don’t have a shred of concrete evidence. I wonder if I can discover anything when I get to Xeoral.

“Queen Belletochka, may I ask more about the Argent Knight— I mean, about Agard?” Noa asked.

“Agard?” the queen asked. “Sure. I don’t know much, though.”

As I waded through my thoughts, the two other ladies engaged in a cheery conversation, happy that they found something in common. I feel like my positioning was off on this one. It’s not too late, though—I can probably just pass Noa off to Queen Belletochka.

No, no, I can’t let myself be fooled by her laid-back older sister demeanor. She’s the queen of Relirex, for Pete’s sake.

I ended up listening to the queen reminisce about the past until we returned to the port city to rendezvous with Emilia. I felt like a total outsider sandwiched between the two ladies enjoying themselves, but I was working hard for my report, nodding along and pretending to understand what they were talking about.

***

Intricately carved pillars lined the large, white marble space in all their grand splendor. It was a dazzling sight, akin to the temples one would often see in myths. The air within this ornate chamber was cold and tranquil—moreover, it was eerily quiet here.

From within the depths of this vast emptiness, the sounds of someone throwing a tantrum reverberated across the walls.

“Why?!” she cried. “Why am I losing so easily?! He lost to me once before!”

The owner of the voice beneath the Argent Armor was in the room. Her angry tone spilled her wrath out onto the room. The place was dimly lit, illuminated only by natural light, obscuring the owner of the voice.

“What did he mean by ‘Your fists have grown weaker than before’?! Argh!” the woman cried, practically in hysterics. “I don’t understand him at all!”

“Ha ha!” a man a short distance away replied mockingly. “Well, it’s true. Your inside is just a lump of flesh created by Liberal Materia. Since there’s no one inside controlling the armor, an empty suit packs a weaker punch, I bet.”

“Quit screwing around with me!” she shouted. “I’m not going along with your research so you can saddle me with a defective hunk of metal!”

“Oh dear, ‘defective,’ you say?” he asked. “I admit that I didn’t expect the Dark Lord to be so strong. I thought he’d lost himself to peace and become a total coward, but... Good grief. I really don’t have the time to be bothered with this nonsense.”

“I don’t think I caught that last part.”

“Oh, pay me no mind. I was just thinking to myself. Anyway, it seems the Aldian prince has reached Belletochka faster than we expected.”

“Huh? The prince? No, it was Mary who’s with her.”

“Mary? As I recall, that’s the name of Duke Regalia’s daughter, and she’s a member of the prince’s entourage.”

“Yes, the so-called Argent Holy Woman. She’s the one who destroyed the armor that you’re so proud of, by the way.”

“Oh? So, the Argent Knight is succeeded by an Argent Holy Woman, eh? That kingdom really loves their argent figures, don’t they? And a holy woman, no less... How grandiose.”

She scoffed, mocking the man for his ignorance, but he was completely unbothered by her tone and gave an exaggerated look of surprise. Not once did the man assume that she was being deceitful and feeding him lies. Despite her tantrums, he knew from his past research that she excelled at gathering information.

“I see...” the man replied. “No wonder the information we received had some vague details... Was the prince—no, was the entire royal family trying to keep her a secret? How terribly intriguing...”

The man suddenly became stone-faced and began to mutter to himself, but the woman failed to notice.

“They might come here, you know!” she continued. “Can’t you prepare something better for me?”

“Why don’t you stop using cheap imitations and go out to face them personally?” the man suggested.

“N-No! I’d awaken Agard!” she insisted softly. All of her anger had dissipated in a flash, and now she had the demeanor of a bashful maiden. “I want him to enjoy a peaceful slumber. I can’t make him push himself for my own selfish reasons.”

The man didn’t seem at all surprised by her sudden shift in attitude and instead sighed. “Then I suppose I’ll head out,” he said icily.

“Oh? Uh... Okay,” the woman replied, stumbling over her words for a moment. Perhaps his response was outside her expectations? “Let’s see what you’ve got,” she added, having quickly regained her cool.

A deafening silence settled in between them once more, and the man said not a word as he parted ways with the woman.

“The Argent Holy Woman, the only one aside from the Dark Lord who managed to destroy that armor...and she’s naught but a young girl,” the man muttered. “Perhaps she can become a sample that yields even greater results than Soul Materia.”

“Did you say something, Nike?” the woman called.

“No, nothing at all.”

Chapter 3: Academy Arc—The Argent Knight Incident Part 3

1. The Domain of the Spirit Sea

We’d brought Queen Belletochka with us to the port city to board Emilia’s vessel, and needless to say, we were headed for Xeoral, the island in the sky.

“I can’t believe what happened in the royal capital,” the prince said, gazing out at the horizon from the ship’s deck. I’d been giving him a full account of the events that’d unfolded to get me to this point. “I see now why you skipped several steps and rushed to Relirex, Lady Mary.”

“It wasn’t really like that. I was just swept up by Emilia’s energy,” I replied. “I hadn’t been thinking very far ahead, Your Highness. I deeply apologize for my recklessness.” I knew that trying to come up with excuses always worked against me, so I simply gave him the unvarnished truth.

“Now, now, I’ve no doubt you were making considerations in the moment,” Magiluka said, trying to help me save face—given my track record, it was anyone’s guess whether it’d work out in my favor, of course. “We should discuss where to go from here.”

When I’d reached the port city earlier, Lady Elizabeth, the prince, and the rest of my friends had been lying in wait at Emilia’s villa—or, more accurately, one might say they were simply just present. Lady Elizabeth had used the more front-door route (relatively speaking) to bring the prince to Relirex, and she’d intended to bring me into Relirex along with him, but Emilia had swooped in to take me away before she could. As for why she and my friends were here to meet us, I wasn’t sure if Lady Elizabeth had simply predicted what would happen and that we would be back at the villa eventually or if it had truly just been a coincidence...but in any case, I’d now managed to regroup with my friends.

Lady Elizabeth had seemed surprised and moved to see Queen Belletochka outside...but as soon as she heard of the battle between the hero and the Dark Lord, she sighed and her mood soured. She’d reluctantly headed for the royal capital, likely to check on the damages and to clean up the aftermath—I’d only caught a few glimpses of the fight, and it’d been more than enough to tell me that the surrounding area was destroyed. It seemed like the devastation was all just concentrated on buildings and such, but I couldn’t be sure...

I just hope there weren’t any nearby demons who got dragged into that mess and injured or anything.

In between all the complaining she did about the news before she’d decided whether or not to leave, Lady Elizabeth had shown clear signs of worry for the Dark Lord, which I’d thought was rather wholesome. Less endearing to me, however, was the way I felt like she was perhaps overprotective of Queen Belletochka. It took Emilia reassuring her that I was with the queen and could keep her safe before she begrudgingly left to take care of the capital. Frankly, that made me question a few things.

Setting all that aside, I was happy Lady Elizabeth had given me the chance to reunite with the prince, Magiluka, Safina, and Sacher. We were now all together on Emilia’s vessel in search of the fabled land.

“Right,” the prince agreed. “Queen Belletochka claimed that we had to aim for a certain region of water to head for Xeoral, correct?”

“We must head to the domain of the spirit sea,” Sita said solemnly. “Much like the domain of the spirit tree, the stretch of sea in question is controlled by a spirit. Some texts speak of the spirit sea as a ship graveyard, but I haven’t done enough research to understand how it is exactly that ships are sinking...”

“How ominous,” Safina said. “I wonder if the spirit’s doing something to these ships.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised in the least,” I agreed, recalling past experiences. “We are talking about a spirit, after all.”

I’d meant to say so in a lighthearted way, but everyone grimaced and remained painfully silent.

“Uh, anyone wanna do me a favor and tell me I’m wrong? Ha ha...” My own sense of humor had sent me into an anxious spiral. “Okay, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that.”

Magiluka clapped her hands together like she’d come up with a solution. “Ah, but we’ve got elves like Sita with us who can communicate well with spirits. Maybe we can somehow negotiate our way in.”

“Hmm... I’m not sure,” Sita replied. “I’ve never met the spirit there, so I can’t be certain.”

“Are there some unique circumstances we need to worry about?” I asked, tilting my head to one side.

“I’m less worried about the spirit itself and more about the actual conditions of communication,” Sita said, tilting her head along with me. “We elves can communicate with the spirit tree because we can communicate with tree spirits. Meanwhile, the spirit sea is the domain of a water spirit, which probably communicates with a species besides ours. In so many words, water spirits have their own rules, and we essentially don’t have a relation to them.”

“I see... But do we know anyone who can contact the spirit sea, then?”

“Um... Maybe Queen Belletochka?”

As everyone watched us converse, the wind carried the sound of a lute to the ship’s deck, and we all turned to face the bow where it’d come from.

“Xeoral is an island.

“A legendary land in the sky.

“Isolated from this world, rich with mana,

“It’s a paradise up high.

“It drifts to and fro,

“In the sky above the sea,

“Wandering places man will never know.

“Yet the spirits of the sea and the mermaids will sing,

“Weaving its legends for those listening.”

Her clear, beautiful voice flowed sublimely into my ears, with neither wind nor breeze to impede it. Emilia and Noa had been begging the queen to sing, and while I wasn’t sure if she’d been listening to our conversation, her timing was impeccable.

“Well, what do you think of that, Lady Mary?” Magiluka asked.

However, I was too entranced to understand the point of her question, so I ended up commenting, “She’s truly a songstress, isn’t she? Not only is her voice beautiful, she herself is as lovely as a painting.”

“My lady, I think Lady Magiluka is pointing out the contents of the song,” Tutte whispered behind me.

“Huh?! R-Right...” I began to recover from my rapture at the queen’s stunning voice. “If we assume the ‘spirits of the sea’ in the song are like the spirit in the spirit sea, I think we can surmise the mermaids they sing with are the water spirits’ elves, so to speak.”

“Correct! ♪” the queen replied in her singsong voice as she strummed her lute. “We are headed for the home of the mermaids. We must speak with them to set foot in the spirit sea’s domain. ♪”

“Uh, this sort of feels like I’m in a musical.”

“Muse? Ickle? ♪”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’d just appreciate it if you talked normally instead of singing everything you say.”

“Oops, I’m sorry. Once I got started singing, I just didn’t think to stop.”

I wondered if she was afflicted with an occupational disease of sorts where force of habit made her sing everything instead of going back to her usual voice. I’m no bard, so it’s not like I’d know... No sense thinking too hard about it.

“In any case, I may have been prepared for the possibility, but I was hoping we wouldn’t have to go negotiating again,” I said. “I wonder what kind of difficulties we’ll be tasked with this time.”

I switched gears and recalled my time with the spirit tree as I slumped my shoulders with exhaustion and heaved a loud sigh. Tutte and Safina cracked awkward smiles knowing the trial the spirit tree had put me through, but this was Emilia’s first time hearing about any such thing, and she sounded excited.

“Ah, the spirit sea’s domain,” Emilia said. “We’ve never met a spirit before. We’re quite looking forward to it.”

I considered having a meeting to think of a plan against the spirit, but Queen Belletochka smiled gently and dropped a stunning announcement. “We’ve actually already entered the spirit sea’s domain,” she said. “You’d best be prepared, everyone.”

“Huh?!” The blood drained from my face as I turned to face the queen.

CLACK! Right on cue, the ship shook and suddenly halted. “Huh?! We were sailing so smoothly!” I said. “The ship just stopped!”

“Whatever is the matter?” Emilia wondered. “Is it a ghost ship? Pirates? Or a kraken, perhaps?”

“Emilia, are you taking a dig at me?”

“You’re the one who claimed that these are classic events when one goes sailing.”

While Emilia and I were engaged in our pointless argument, a crew member who’d gone to check on the vessel popped into view.

“Your Highness, we haven’t observed any abnormalities with the ship!” they reported.

“Lady Mary, the wind has stopped...” Safina said.

She gazed around on high alert and placed a hand over the blade at her waist. Only once she’d pointed it out did I notice that I no longer felt the refreshing sea breeze on my face. The eerie silence from the lack of wind gave me a tinge of anxiety.

“The tides have stopped too...” Sita said, leaning a bit over the railing of the deck to observe the even stranger phenomenon.

Total tranquility fell upon the ship, and I gulped nervously as I gazed around. “We really are right in the thick of it... Right inside the ship graveyard...”

“Hmph! This is much too soft to stop us!” Emilia scoffed from the ship’s bow. “Soft, we say! Too soft! Even softer than a nice pillow!” she bellowed at the horizon.

“Emilia, I find it unwise to provoke the spirit here...” I warned, standing a bit behind her.

“Our ship needs no wind or tide!” Emilia boasted. “Come forth, Krakky! Show them the might of the kingdom of Relirex!” She ordered proudly, pointing ahead of her.

Silence settled over us. It continued for a good while.

“Um... Princess?” I prodded her.

“What’s going on?!” she shouted. “Don’t tell me that you’re fast asleep in the middle of an emergency!” She leaned forward over the deck and gazed at the water’s surface below. There wasn’t a peep to be heard...

Well, almost. With a small splash, a tiny tentacle appeared and wriggled around apologetically. It made some sounds as it spoke to the demon.

“What?!” Emilia demanded. “What do you mean you can’t go forward?! You coward! Do you fear the spirit, you spineless monster?! Not that you had a spine to begin with.”

I honestly couldn’t tell if she was calm or not when she was making jokes while scolding our ship’s kraken, Krakky.

“Miss!” Sita called out, acting like a student in class as she raised her hand with gusto. “Since the spirit tree can manipulate the trees in her domain as she wishes, I believe that the spirit sea can manipulate this domain of water as they please!”

“Very good. That’s correct,” Queen Belletochka confirmed, smiling brightly and clapping her hands together like a supportive teacher, completely unfittingly for this dire situation.

“So Krakky in the water is stopped by some sort of unknown force in the sea, or has its tentacles tied by the water pressure,” I presumed. “Which means that it can’t move at all.”

“I believe so,” Queen Belletochka said calmly, still taking the role of a kind mentor. “You can safely assume that anything that occurs within these waters will be as the spirit wishes.”

“Interesting...” Emilia said. “Then Krakky was speaking the truth, it seems. Ah yes, all’s well, we suppose? Of course it isn’t! How is this any better?! This is against the rules!”

“Well, that’s how spirits are,” I explained. “That’s all there is to it.”

“How perfectly unreasonable!”

“Yeah, I get it, Emilia. I totally understand you. This is why I avoid getting involved with spirits as much as I can.” How bittersweet it was, gaining a comrade in resignation... In any case, I couldn’t find a way to bust through our current situation. Even if I punched the water, the best I could do was create a large ripple, and I wasn’t sure if that’d damage the spirit’s body anyway. I doubted that I’d leave a scratch. What’s more, if what I did produced a large wave that sank the ship, I could only get on my knees and beg for mercy. Recklessness would only lead to my downfall here. Ugh, this makes me feel so impatient.

“Wh-Wh-What shall we do?!” Emilia cried. Her proud attitude moments ago had disappeared and been replaced with a disposition of panicked begging. “Should we apologize right now? Is this the time to use that prostrating technique of yours, Mary?”

“As the Relirex princess, I wish you’d stay more resolute...but if a single kowtow will let us get through this mess, I, Mary Regalia, will happily grovel alongside you,” I assured her.

“M-Mary...”

It was truly an emotional moment. It was such a pathetic discussion, in fact, I was on the verge of crying out in pain.

“Your Highness! A massive whirlpool suddenly appeared near the ship!” a crew member watching above the mast reported. “It’s growing larger and larger, and at this rate, it’ll engulf the ship!”

It seemed like the spirit was getting serious. Wait, the fairies and spirits I’ve met before were certainly troublesome, but they’d never been this vicious without trying to make contact first. Is this spirit just an outlier? Probably. I can’t help but be a bit curious what made them this way...

No, no, now’s not the time to mull over stuff like that! What should we do?! How in the world can I fight against the ocean?

It was then that Queen Belletochka stood in front.

“M-Mother!” Emilia gasped in awe.

The queen strummed her lute and began to sing. Shockingly, the whirlpool grew weaker and smaller before our eyes.

“Amazing...” I murmured. “This must be the power of a songstress...”

“No, this is the power of our mother,” Emilia replied.

“Right, so, a songstress.”

“No, it’s our mother’s power.”

“Emilia, stop your bickering and let us retreat for now,” the queen interjected, ending our pointless argument and scolding her daughter in an unusual display of assertiveness.

“Oops,” Emilia, Belletochka, and I all said at once. Why had the queen joined us, you may be asking? Well, it’s because we’d made her stop singing.

As you might expect, the whirlpool immediately grew larger, as though we’d angered the sea. The violent vortex of water was about to swallow us whole.

“This is your fault, Mary,” Emilia said. “You told mother not to sing when she talks, remember?”

“No, this is because you were nitpicky with what I said!” I growled.

While we were embarrassing ourselves blaming each other, the situation grew worse by the second. Magiluka pressed an index finger on her lips to shush us away from barking at each other like puppies.

“Wait, don’t you hear something?” she asked.

We fell quiet and listened intently. Like Magiluka had said, we heard the sound of the wind, or something that resembled a song.

“My singing finally reached them,” Queen Belletochka said with a sigh of relief.

The whirlpool weakened once more, and the ship finally lurched forth like it was freed from its shackles.

“The spirit’s distracted,” Queen Belletochka said. “Emilia, head for the sound of the song while we can!”

“We’re still a bit confused, but right!” Emilia shouted. “All right, Krakky! You’re a monster who strikes fear into the hearts of all who dare tread into the ocean! Use your willpower to burst forth from the weakened shackles and flee!”

Willpower? Don’t you just mean regular old power? Emilia’s confusing command notwithstanding, the ship groaned forward and sailed through the weakened whirlpool to head for the song we heard in the distance.

2. An Encounter with a Mermaid

The kraken’s willpower (or whatever) allowed us to safely escape the wrath of the spirit. We wafted on, enticed by the singing carried on the wind—by which I mean, we were rushing headlong for the sound at breakneck speed. In fact, we were going so fast that we were all clinging on to the rails and mast of the deck to not be blown away. We could hardly move a muscle.

“Uh, Emilia?!” I shouted. “I feel like Krakky is showing off a bit too much willpower!”

“Well, this is our first encounter with the power of the spirit,” Emilia explained. “We suspect she’s panicking and running away as fast as she can. That spineless idiot!”

“What happened to ‘striking fear’?!”

“Um, well, she may be panicking, but we’re headed straight for our destination,” Safina said, trying to offer some praise and break up our argument. “The kraken is still very impressive, right?” She did her best to support the kraken in any way that she could.

Safina’s such a good kid. I, on the other hand...

The prince and Magiluka were nearby, gripping onto the ropes of the mast.

“Hmm, this is bad,” the prince said with a frown.

“I-Is it, Your Highness?” I asked.

“The waves have gotten a lot larger, in stark contrast to the calm back there.”

“Right, which is why we’re clinging onto things so that we won’t get thrown off the rocking ship.”

“Sure, that’s fine for us, but...”

Is he worried the ship won’t make it? I gasped as I really considered the consequences of the ship slicing through the waters at this alarming rate. But this was built for the princess of Relirex. I think it’s coated with some sort of magic, so it should be pretty sturdy. I gulped, waiting for the prince’s assessment with bated breath.

“Sacher gets seasick really easily...” he at last mentioned.

That’s what you mean?! I almost pointed out that his worries should lie elsewhere, but I managed to hold myself back. His Highness sometimes makes some airheaded comments, so if I let my guard down, I might run my stupid mouth and say something rude to him. Whew, that was close. Sacher, who usually would be the most excited in these situations, was resting in a room because he was seasick. As a bonus, he drank a medicinal tea that Rachel had brewed for him, and she was nursing him back to health.

“Ack! A romantic novel that I read told me that these patterns usually helped relationships progress forward!” Sita shouted.

“What?!” Emilia shrieked. “Then now isn’t the time to be clinging onto things! We must head there at once!”

It seemed these two really loved to involve themselves in other people’s relationships, and they had been trying to push Rachel in their preferred direction. In fact, they were responsible for forcing her to look after Sacher.

I wondered if Noa, who was clinging to my waist, was interested too—she kept stealing glances at them. Aw, what a precocious kid. She’s a girl at that age, so maybe she’s interested in romance... Uh, I sound like a granny here, don’t I?

“Leave this place to me,” the queen said. “Little Emilia, you go off and check up on them. Let me know if anything happens, okay? ♪”

“Your Majesty?!” I shouted, snapping out of my thoughts and turning to Queen Belletochka. The shock of the queen joining in had made my voice jump an octave, embarrassingly enough. Like mother, like daughter.

“Look ahead, everyone!” Magiluka shouted. “There’s someone atop that little rock over there!”

Magiluka would run wild and pour all her passion into research, but she was surprisingly calm when it came to romance. Our focus was recaptured looking toward where she was pointing.

Just as Magiluka said, we could see someone singing atop a rock. She looked like she’d come straight out of a picture book—the top half of her body was a woman’s, and her bottom half was that of a fish. Her vibrant, light-blue hair was largely the color of the ocean as it stretched out into the horizon, but the tips were the rich blue you’d see in the deepest waters. Her skin was pale and glistened in the daylight despite the constant sun one would be under living in the ocean, and seashells featured throughout her clothes and accessories. A-A-A seashell bikini.

I’d seen ladies like her countless times in manga and anime—she was the spitting image of what I’d imagine a mermaid to look like. Not only was I stunned by how closely she realized my imagination, but her aura of sexy maturity and glamorous body on top of that were leaving me feeling pretty flustered.

When the mermaid noticed us approaching, she stopped her singing, but the panicking kraken below showed no signs of slowing down. Uh, isn’t this bad?

“Hee hee,” the mermaid giggled. “I knew it was you singing, Belletochka. I’m so happy to see you— Huh? Uh? Hey! Wait! Ahhhhhh!”

KABOOM! The sound came from below, telling me that Krakky had rushed into something. The ship also failed to slow down and rammed into the small rock above the water, spraying water everywhere. The shock wave sent the mermaid flying. Yep, the princess’s ship is strong. Even after all that, there’s hardly a scratch on the vessel— Okay, enough of that, Mary! Now isn’t the time to be so impressed!

Silence fell over all of us as we stared at the ripples emanating from the impact, each of us dripping with sweat waiting to see what happened next. Then, a single mermaid floated to the surface lifelessly like a drowned corpse. We all froze with shock.

“F-Frederikaaaaaa!” Queen Belletochka screamed, sprouting her wings and flying over to the mermaid.

“W-We’ve really stepped in it now, haven’t we?” I asked. “Is this the start of a war with the mermaids?”

“I-I-I-It was an a-a-accident!” Emilia stammered, averting her gaze as sweat trickled down her face. “S-S-Surely, we can talk things through. O-O-Our mother will do the talking.”

“Oof, you scared me,” the mermaid said, sitting up in the water. “I didn’t expect you to rush right in, ship and all. How very passionate! Hee hee, you’re as feisty as ever, aren’t you, Belletochka?”

“No, no, that wasn’t me,” Her Majesty replied, hovering in the air with her wings flapping behind her. “Krakky, the one pulling our ship, was just a bit clumsy, that’s all. Besides, your song is what sent her whirling into a panic in the first place, no? You’re as playful and mischievous as ever, aren’t you, dear?”

Judging from their conversation and its cute, fluffy air, it sounded like these crazy things happened on the daily for them. I’m not the only one who’s confused by this, right?

A-Anyway, it sounds like she’ll look the other way for this accident that we caused. I breathed a sigh of relief.

The commotion we made earlier was behind us, and we finally settled down atop the quiet ship, with the ocean stretching out before us as far as the eye could see.

When I went to check up on Sacher, it seemed his protagonist luck had blessed him in abundance. “We didn’t expect Rachel to push Sacher down,” Emilia said. “You’re more assertive than we thought.” She was smirking and eyeing Rachel mischievously.

“Y-You’ve got it all wrong!” Rachel stammered. “As I said earlier, the ship began to jolt about, and I tried to protect him! Amid all the fuss, I just so happened to be on top of him, and that’s when you arrived, Your Highness! I-I-I didn’t mean anything by it, I’ll have you know!” Rachel’s ears burned bright red as she desperately gave her side of the story.

“I, for one, am cheering you on,” Sita said. “Right, Noa?” Sita was clenching her fists in front of her and offered an energetic, encouraging huff. When I turned to Noa, she was striking the same pose.

“Sita, Noa... Argh, please don’t tease me,” Rachel groaned.

I knew that Sita was interested in romance from the many books that she’d read, but I wondered why Noa seemed so invested as well. Maybe it triggered her to recall some memories of Agard? Perhaps he’d been in a similar situation to this? Or maybe those memories had already come back to her, and it’s thanks to them she can empathize.

I turned to Noa. She didn’t seem any different from usual, but it was clear the process of regaining her memory had been changing her in ways you couldn’t see from outside. As proof, when we’d slept in the same room last night, a nightmare had made her groan in her sleep. When I’d gone to check on her out of worry, she’d jumped awake, and I couldn’t ever forget what she’d said.

“I’m sorry,” she’d muttered. “I’m sorry, Agard. I... I’m not me...”

She’d visibly shrunk and trembled, and I’d wondered if her dreams and reality had temporarily blended together. Then, when I’d called out and touched her, she’d jumped away from me, fear plastered all over her face. She hadn’t been afraid of me, but of something else—something that was lying in her memories. Was it the Argent Knight? Or Agard?

Presently, she seemed completely normal, as though she’d never jumped awake in the middle of the night. She was her usual cheery self, and it made me hesitant to reach out and pry any details from her. When we go to Xeoral and meet the Argent Knight, all will be solved, surely... I don’t really have any choice but to believe that and press on, in any case.

I switched gears and looked down from the deck. I spotted some crew members flying about and checking up on the vessel while Queen Belletochka and the mermaid, Frederika, watched them work.

“All right, let’s go, Mary,” Emilia said.

“Hey! Don’t carry me again!” I protested. “This is so embarrassing!”

She’d carried me around during the ghost ship incident, much to my chagrin, and she was trying to do it again like it was no big deal.

“Don’t worry. You can stay as you are and watch us,” Frederika called.

The mermaid heard our bickering and called out to us. She didn’t look like she was yelling particularly loudly, yet her voice reached our ears so clearly. Was this some sort of trait that mermaids had? Still, it’s nice that we don’t have to disembark the ship and head over to her. Likewise, she doesn’t have to step—or swim, rather—out of the water and onto the dry deck.

“Now then, let’s start with introductions!” Frederika said. I knew her name thanks to Queen Belletochka, but it was true that we’d never formally introduced ourselves. “Turn up the music!”

“Pardon?” I asked.

Frederika dove underwater, then she burst into the air, jumping out of the ocean with a loud splash. Queen Belletochka began to play a bouncy tune on her lute.

“My naaaame is Frederika! ♪ That’s me! I’m one of the mermaids living in the spirit sea’s domain. I’m a songstress! Yeah! ♪”

She acted like she was some sort of character in a musical and burst into her number. When she’d splashed out the water, she had perfect timing to leap beautifully into the arms of a brawny crew member who was checking the ship. Did she time that?

The crew member, who looked confused as to why he’d caught her so naturally, stood in stark contrast to Frederika, who looked as though it’d been perfectly natural. She locked eyes with me as he bridal-carried her.

“Oh, please, young lady! ♪” she sang. “I’d love to know, the name by which you go. ♪”

“Um, I, uh, I’m Mary Regalia,” I offered, a touch confused by the goings-on.

“No, no, noooo! ♪ Not like that! ♪” She wagged her finger at me as if to scold me.

U-Uh, she’s... She’s not gonna make me s-s-sing too, is she? Oh, please don’t.

When I came to this dark realization, I turned toward my friends, but they averted their gazes, fleeing from the scene as fast as they could. In a last-ditch effort to beg, I turned to Queen Belletochka, who was still playing a bouncy tune on her lute. She smiled back at me.

Urgh... They’re telling me to improv with this music?! That’s so unreasonable. I-Is this the trial of the spirit? The last one wanted tales of romance! Why do all these spirits choose to avoid fighting with raw power, aka the one thing I received from God?! Arghhhh! Damn it all!

Faced with my toughest problem yet, I struggled against my embarrassment... I never would have guessed that this was only the beginning.

3. Songs and Conversations

Atop a ship floating in the tranquil sea, I was on my hands and knees, collapsed on the floor of the deck as the people around me tried to cheer me up.

“I see... Pleased to meet you, Mary,” the mermaid said.

“Yeah, same... Thanks...” I muttered.

“Th-That was amazing, Lady Mary!” Safina said, trying her best to offer praise. “You were able to ad-lib a song on the spot and introduce yourself! I wouldn’t have known what to do and would’ve just stood there frozen with fear.”

“Y-Yeah,” Magiluka added. “You sang like you were used to this scenario. You were very skilled and handled yourself expertly.”

Of course, neither of these ladies were saying a word about my actual singing. I was mortified, ready to crawl into the nearest ditch at the earliest possible moment.

When Frederika had told me to sing and I improvised an introduction, I personally felt like I’d produced an awkward result. I hadn’t been totally confident in my singing, but I knew that I wasn’t awful either. I’d seen musicals and movies and television with singing, so there’d been a time when I’d thought that maybe I could burst into an eloquent number.

Unfortunately, what this event had taught me was that I was the type who could only sing as I was told. Improv required me to think through a different lens, and I lacked the aptitude. Plus, I was so weak mentally that I’d had no confidence to suddenly burst into song, so I’d failed to hit some notes, making the whole thing quite awkward and cringeworthy.

Ultimately, all this had meant that while I hadn’t been god-awful, I hadn’t been particularly good either. It’d left those who’d heard my song a little perplexed as to why I’d been sometimes off-key and slightly off-rhythm.

Ugh, I would’ve much rather just been atrocious at singing—so bad that it wraps around to being good, you know? I’m so mediocre that people don’t even know how to cheer me up! This is the absolute woooorst! The surface of the deck was all I could manage to look at as I internally screamed my woes.

“A decent ad-lib counts as a pass in my book!” Frederika reassured me.

I’m really not sure if I’m happy to hear that... Also, like, if the ability to ad-lib is all that mattered, why did I have to show my singing skill? I wasn’t sure what I was being tested on, but I hoped that this would be the end of it. I was terrified of the prospect of staying stuck in musical mode.

You know, I was so sure our journey was over right then and there when we’d run her over. I should shift my attitude and consider us lucky we could befriend a mermaid who knows about the spirit sea’s domain.

While I was still busy being devastated by how I’d sung, Queen Belletochka quickly ended the music and introduced the rest of my friends in short order. I just don’t get it, man...

“Hee hee, I had faith that you’d be able to skillfully form ties with Frederika, Little Mary,” the queen said. “The Argent Holy Woman certainly lives up to her reputation.”

“Does that title have anything to do with this?” I asked, turning to the queen to protest the unfairness of it all, but she flashed her usual laid-back smile. I guess she wanted me to be Frederika’s first contact with the people on the ship who weren’t her.

“By the way, Frederika, there are quite a few things that I’d like to ask you,” the queen said.

“Oh? And what would those be? ♪” Frederika sang back.

“U-Um, pardon me, but may I let you down?” the crew member interjected. “I’m not keen on flying around while carrying someone so important.”

“We’re having an important conversation! Keep quiet and carry her!” Emilia ordered.

“B-But...”

I mean, I get it. Carrying an important person must be so nerve-racking. You’d constantly be afraid of dropping them, and that might actually cause you to drop them. I, for one, wouldn’t want to take on that role.

“She’s right! ♪” Frederika added. “And you get to be so close to me, the renowned dancing queen of the mermaid world! Tee-hee! Aren’t you ecstatic?”

“Uh, but the fish part is kind of slimy and a little gro—” the crew member started.

“A slap for your insolence!”

“Gah!”

I watched on with sympathy when the crew member’s very insensitive remark was met with a smack from Frederika’s tail. The crew member, who’d flown up onto the deck, was stunned by the blow, and Frederika’s slimy—I mean, elegant—tail made her slip out of his hands.

“Oh deaaaar!” she cried.

I thought that she’d land on the deck when one of my friends reacted. He’d been in bed seasick this entire time and lucked into some physical contact with Rachel like a harem protagonist— Ahem, I mean, he’d fully recovered after being generously nursed back to health by Rachel.

“Whew, that was a close one,” Sacher said.

We all fell silent. A young knight holding a beautiful mermaid was like something straight out of a painting. I saw Rachel stiffen, but maybe I was imagining things.

“Th-Thank—” Frederika started.

“A second later and our prey would’ve flopped off the boat. So, like, do mermaids count as a kind of monster, or what?”

“A slap for your insolence!”

I’d assumed that Sacher would take the unsuspecting harem protag route, but this fake protag was too clueless for that. His absolutely rude remarks earned several smacks from the mermaid’s tail rather than a new love interest.

I ordered Sacher to carefully place Frederika on the rail of the ship without ever dropping her. “I’m terribly sorry,” I said. “I shall be certain to give him an extra harsh scolding, so I beg for your gracious forgiveness.”

“I apologize for my untoward comment,” Sacher said, his head pressed down by my hand as I forced him to bow. “I failed to understand my situation and ran my stupid mouth.”

We both vehemently apologized for our actions.

“Oh, very well. I shall forgive you,” Frederika said. “But in exchange, can you listen to my request? ♪”

She has a big heart, but I wish she’d stop singing all the time. I could tell by her gaze that her request was aimed toward me. “Wh-What would that be?” I asked.

I braced myself as I forced myself to crack a smile. Yeah, yeah, I know. Judging from what we’ve been doing so far, I bet you want me to sing. I wish you’d understand that now really isn’t the time for stuff like that. I nervously waited for Frederika’s reaction.

“No, I mean—” Frederika started.

“Frederika, what is your request?” Queen Belletochka interrupted angrily. “The moment we set foot in the domain, the spirit attacked us, no questions asked. Aren’t you supposed to be in the holy ground? Why are you here? Where are the other mermaids?”

Frederika was flustered from being peppered with so many questions. “Wait, wait, you can’t ask me so many things at once. I don’t know what to sing! You’re confusing me.”

“You don’t have to sing. Just tell us, please.” The queen’s smile didn’t waver for even a moment.

“No wayyyy! We simply must sing during important events or emotional times, mustn’t we?”

Frederika clearly seemed dissatisfied with the suggestion. Actually, I feel like if you sing important conversations, they won’t really land very well, honestly...

“Frederika,” Queen Belletochka demanded firmly.

“All right, all right,” Frederika replied. “Fine! I feel like we’re not all excited yet, but okay. I request that you sing and dance!”

“Pardon?” I asked.

Frederika’s singing had been distracting me from understanding what she was getting at, but now that she was speaking normally, I nevertheless felt a question mark pop over my head. She explained so little that I just had no clue. What do we do now?

“Frederika, can’t you give us more details?” Queen Belletochka requested. “You’re as terrible at explaining things as ever, aren’t you?”

“What? Like I said, I want you to sing and dance in my stead!” She waved her arms around like a child throwing a tantrum.

Yep, I was still confused about what she was getting at. But the specifics aside, my mind was sounding the alarm at the terrifying words “sing” and “dance.” I felt it was best not to pursue this idea much further. I continued to fidget around in quiet panic.

“Um, do you want us to sing and dance here?” Magiluka asked since I was hesitating.

“Huh? No, no. I want you to sing and dance at the holy ground,” Frederika replied.

“And who will do that? By the sound of things, will it be Lady Mary?” She glanced at me apologetically, and I frantically shook my head in silent protest.

“Mary for sure,” Frederika replied. “The rest will have to be decided through further discussion.”

Part of me was stunned by the unrelenting pressure she was putting on me, but then there was a part of me that felt a ray of hope. My eyes lit up. “So, we’ll all dance together, then?” I asked, trying to drag my friends into this mess.

“Um, uh, why must one sing and dance at the holy ground?” Magiluka asked, swiftly changing the subject.

“To quell the spirit!”

Magiluka’s question sort of allowed me to grasp the situation. It seemed the spirit was currently furious, and singing and dancing was the way we could pacify it. This felt like a classic anime trope. Singing and dancing, huh... I forgot about my embarrassing performance earlier and envisioned myself dancing with everyone like a shrine maiden that I’d seen in an anime. I smiled at the thought.

“Wait, didn’t you say before that those performances are usually the role of the mermaids living in the holy ground?” the queen asked. “Even you wouldn’t have everyone’s approval to break tradition in this way.”

“Heh, no one will oppose me,” Frederika replied. “After all, everyone else is already goooooone! ♪” She wasn’t able to suppress her urges and sang the last part.

“What do you mean?” Queen Belletochka asked. “When I visited here with the Argent Knight, everyone was still around. What in the world happened?”

“Ahhh... Years ago, how many, I know not,” Frederika sang. “To Xeoral you brought the Argent Knight, and this occurred a while after. ♪”

“Hmm, and this is where you learned about Xeoral...” Emilia mused, breaking the flow of the song as ruthlessly as her mother.

Jeez, the Dark Lord’s family sure has some guts. I decided to take the opportunity to ask a question that’d been on my mind for a while. “Um, why did the Argent Knight head for Xeoral anyway?” I inquired.

“To be precise, it was no mere visit,” Frederika sang. “Indeed, the most accurate term, in a word, is a homecoming. ♪”

“Homecoming? So, the Argent Armor was there from the start?” Sita asked. She joined the conversation with great interest hearing this part of history unravel.

“I see,” Magiluka, our other ever inquisitive mind, chimed in. “Now I know what Queen Belletochka meant when she mentioned the ‘first island.’”

“B-But I thought the Argent Armor was being researched deep in Eneres,” Safina pointed out curiously.

“Shot in the dark, but judging from the memoir and the lab, maybe Nike carried the armor out there,” I guessed.

“Agreed,” the prince added. “The forest is too far for the mermaids to have brought it out, and it sounds like the mermaids here didn’t interfere with Xeoral, right?” He turned to Queen Belletochka for confirmation, and she nodded quietly. She glanced at Frederika for more information.

“Why won’t any of you sing with me?!” the mermaid demanded, no longer singing. “Where’s the melody?! Where’s the emotion?” She couldn’t abide our conversation’s lacking rhythm.

“Enough of that. What happened after I left?” the queen asked.

“E-Enough?! Hmph!” Frederika huffed. “If you’re so curious, why not ask that child over there?!” She turned away angrily, and we all looked toward the child in question.

“Huh? Me?” Noa asked with surprise, pointing at herself as everyone’s eyes landed on her. “I-I don’t know anything.”

Frederika cocked her head to one side. “You don’t? But didn’t you come down from Xeoral with the young man after a while?”

“A young man? Um, might his name be Agard?”

“Oh, that’s right. You know your info. But I bet you didn’t know this: That man is the Argent Knight!” Frederika huffed proudly. “Huh? You guys don’t seem too shocked.”

We all already knew about that, so none of us were particularly surprised. I hoped that our reaction, or lack thereof, wouldn’t anger her.

“I...came from Xeoral?” Noa mumbled. “Ugh...”

The one person among us who did react was Noa, as Frederika’s information seemed to have triggered her to recall some memories...but the accompanying headache looked to put an end to that.

I could’ve guessed that the young man was Agard, but what confuses me now is how he returned the armor to Xeoral. Also, he left the island with Noa in tow...? Why would he do that? Wasn’t Noa born in a lab in Eneres?

Only then did I realize that my initial assumptions must’ve been wrong. Noa had been asleep in the research facility, but there’d never been any reason to believe she was born and created in the lab. Was Noa born in Xeoral and brought to sleep in Eneres for some reason?

The armor disappeared, but then came Noa beside him instead. Was returning the Armor of God to Xeoral Agard’s way of sealing great power? But if it was that simple, I doubt he would’ve sought help from Kairomea. Or did he go there so that he could look into the existence of Xeoral? No, I don’t think that’s it either.

I was trying my best to piece things together by joining the information I had along with what Frederika was telling us.

“Frederika, Noa’s been asleep for a very long time, and I think that may have given her amnesia,” I explained. “We’re headed for Xeoral partly in hopes of her regaining some of her memories.”

“I see,” Frederika replied. “I’m sorry. I had no idea, so my suggestion was crass.” As she apologized, she stopped pouting and straightened her posture, no longer seeming too lax and unwilling to engage in the conversation.

“What was the Argent Knight doing in Xeoral?” I asked. “And what about the armor?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Frederika replied. “We didn’t really interfere with matters pertaining to Xeoral, and while I was personally interested, I felt it uncouth to pry. And Noa, was it? You were asleep back then. But I did ask about what he was planning to do. I couldn’t suppress my curiosity.”

“And what did Agard say?” Noa asked, paying no heed to the headache that she might incur.

“He said that he wanted to surprise you when you woke up and wanted to return to your hometown. He cradled you very preciously.”

“What does this have to do with our current situation?” the queen asked.

“For shame, Belletochka,” Frederika scolded. “I’ve provided you the groundwork for a most romantic ballad. Does it not tug at your songstress heartstrings? Where is your spark? Alas, you’ve grown old, haven’t you?” As soon as she gave that closing jab, Frederika did a toothy grin.

“Now simply isn’t the time for personal affairs, that’s all. Please don’t say that I’m old.” The queen sighed. She kept a smile on her face, but for a moment, I thought I saw the veins on her forehead throb.

I guess Frederika’s still angry the queen brushed her off...

Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything, Queen Belletochka. When I saw the veins in your temple swell up, I’m sure it was my eyes playing tricks on me.

“Did anything happen after that?” Her Majesty asked.

“Ah, yes. And then some time passed, you see, ♪” Frederika sang. “Until suddenly, they descended from above. ♪ The Argent Armor, once laid to rest, now came from Xeoral, and it wasn’t just one suit. ♪”

Everyone had been bracing for it, and sure enough, she’d dropped the shocking reveal in a singsong manner. I was honestly more surprised by how quickly I’d gotten used to retaining information delivered in musical format than by what she’d actually said, but no one else needed to know that!

4. When She Finally Talked...

“The Argent Knight descended from Xeoral?” Sita asked with great surprise. I’d forgotten to look surprised when Frederika revealed it, but I got my act together after it shocked Sita. “I thought Agard was the one who wore it.”

“The many Argent Knights, with nary a warning, lay waste to the holy ground,” Frederika sang. “They destroyed the path to Xeoral, and the spirit, infuriated by the devastation, clashed against the armored horde. So ruinous, the conflict was, that we mermaids were driven from the holy ground. The Knights, departed though they had, had impressed upon the spirit sea an enduring wrath, an anger so intense they assailed all who entered their domain. And so, no longer able to remain in that sacred ground, we mermaids parted ways, one by one, till at last I became this sea’s sole steward.”

Frederika sounded like she was touching upon a recent event, but I suspected that it’d occurred quite a while ago. Be that as it may, since we were attacked by the spirit, it was clear that their anger hadn’t subsided yet. I guess spirits perceive time differently than we do... In the worst case, I imagine they could continue thrashing about for millennia.

“So, that’s why we have to appease the spirit,” Sita said.

“I see. Singing and dancing calms the spirit, and mermaids have carried out the role of doing so since antiquity,” Magiluka surmised. She and Sita were quick to understand these kinds of things, and they seemed eager to know more.

“Precisely!” Frederika said. “And this time, I need you folks to fill the roles! Ahhhh! ♪ I was at a loss, the task formidable when I was alone. You must have been guided by God’s providence. ♪” She gazed up at the sky as she sang loudly.

“If it was God’s will that we arrive here, then I suppose that makes this your cue, Argent Holy Woman,” the queen declared, casually sticking me with a pivotal role.

“Hey! P-Please don’t say that, Your Majesty!” I cried.

“Ah, Mary, so you’re called ‘Argent Holy Woman,’ are you?” Frederika asked. “How intriguing.”

“N-No, people are just pinning that name onto me, that’s all,” I replied. “I don’t believe I’m fit for such a title whatsoever.”

“An epithet isn’t something a person chooses for themself,” Sita piled on. “People give it to you based on your feats.”

“She’s right!” Rachel insisted. “Please have more confidence in yourself! You’ve saved so many people!”

Despite the effusive praise from the two Argent Holy Woman fanatics, I really preferred to refrain from standing out in any way. Everyone was nodding in agreement with Rachel, however, so I decided to switch topics, keen on not discussing this topic any further.

“Um, if singing is needed, I feel like you’re perfect for the role, Frederika,” I suggested. “Why do you need us?” I made sure to shrewdly use the plural pronoun there, trying to drag everyone else into dancing and singing with me if need be.

“It’s not enough to dance to the spirit by myself,” Frederika replied with a sigh. “It’s also necessary to have youthful maidens when performing the ritual.”

The news struck like a blessing from heaven. I couldn’t help but smile at this sudden opportunity. “So basically, everyone here has to dance and sing?” I asked.

“Well, yes, I suppose so,” she replied.

“All right! Let’s do our best! Tutte, Magiluka, Safina, Emilia, Sita, Rachel! Let’s do this!” I wasn’t willing to entertain any dissent as I included everyone in my call to action.

“Sorry, but I think Tutte and Rachel are more on my side of the equation, if you get my drift,” Frederika clarified.

I guess they’re too old to be dancing youthful maidens... Tutte looked visibly relieved to be spared, while Rachel, although relieved, grimaced. No one liked to be called old, after all.

“Wait one second!” Emilia shouted. “If age is a factor, then surely, we should be on your side as well!”

“Well, to be precise, I’m less referring to physical age and talking more about mental age,” Frederika explained.

“Huh? Oh. Okay.”

“Hold it!” I shouted. “Are you saying that we’re immature?!” I cast the mermaid a dubious glare, unhappy about the accusation.

“No, no, nothing like that!” Frederika hastily replied. “You’re all young maidens. Youthful maidens enjoying life.” I felt like she was lying through her teeth...

In any case, I was glad that I wasn’t doing this alone—it’d be less embarrassing since we’d all be in it together. Actually, I was fired up to put on a show. It’s a little electrifying... These kinds of mystical singing and dancing summoning rituals are like what you get to see in anime and stuff.

“A-All right!” Frederika said, eager to move forward before we had any chance to refuse. “Now that that’s decided, let’s head for the holy ground and quell the spirit! ♪” She began guiding us to it.

In a place where the ocean horizon stretched for miles in every direction stood five massive stone pillars, each one boasting a pristine polish and detailed surface that clearly indicated they’d been man-made. Centered within the bounds of these stone beams was a beautifully maintained stone platform that called to mind a stage.

The spirit wasn’t attacking us for now because Frederika was apparently doing this and that inside the water. I wonder if she’s acting like a sonar or something... Thinking about it was starting to ruin my image of mermaids, so I decided to set that aside for now.

“That structure’s where we’ll be singing, I bet,” I said, segueing away from the unwanted train of thought. I was a bit nervous, but at the same time, the sight of the stage was starting to get me a little excited.

“So it seems, Lady Mary,” Magiluka replied. “I’m quite confident when I dance at a ball, but to dance and sing at the same time feels as though it may be a bit beyond me.”

“We’ll be fine, Magiluka,” I reassured her. “I’m sure we’ll glide across the stage with seamless elegance and sing our lines with graceful aplomb.” I hummed a tune and danced a few steps as one would do at a ball.

“If the goal is a good performance, should we all be dancing?” Safina asked. “I think a solo number has less risk of failing.”

“No, no,” I replied. “We can only quell the spirit because we’re all doing it together.” Considering I was, in so many words, rather judicious about my use of space when dancing, it was out of the question to let her get out of this one, so I had to rope her back in with my specious logic. Not to mention, if this did come down to having the group pick a single dancer, I was all but certain I was gonna be the one stuck strutting my stuff.

“This place certainly wasn’t left unscathed,” Emilia observed. “We suppose these are the scars left behind when the Argent Armors attacked.”

“Quite likely,” the queen agreed. “You know, Frederika was given the title ‘Étoile’ among her fellow mermaids, implying that she could dance and sing the best among them. Her pride must’ve kept her from abandoning this stage, even as her peers left.”

As Emilia had pointed out, the massive stone pillars, shockingly large as they were, had nevertheless crumbled away in places. I could only imagine the beauty and splendor the venue possessed before the terror the Argent Armors rained upon the mermaids.

“To soothe the spirit alone, ’twas a most impossible task, ♪” Frederika sang. She was striking a cool pose as she emerged from the water onto the stage, much like a performer beginning a routine. “What’s more, as their rage endured, my time did pass—now matured, my days onstage could no more last. ♪”

“O-Oh! You’re back, Frederika,” I observed. The gloomy verse Frederika had greeted us with, coupled with the exhausted look on the face of the crew member who’d been dragged along by her weird antics, sucked all the levity out of what I imagined she’d intended to be a slick entrance. I wasn’t sure how to react to the glum atmosphere she’d managed to drum up.

“Whoops, things got a bit sad and dark up here, huh?” Frederika said. “Oh, I know! Wait here! I’ll grab some costumes that’ll get you all pumped up!” She flashed a bright smile and splashed back into the water. The crew member was still hovering in the air, frozen in place with his arms now empty.

I see you, buddy. Hang in there.

When we finally arrived at the large stage, we prepared to dock the vessel and disembark. Then, guided by the other crew members, we finally set foot on the stage, and I gasped with awe, impressed by its sheer size. Noa, Emilia, and Lily were running around happily as we watched on with a smile.

“Um, judging from what we heard earlier, won’t suits of armor come flying at us the moment we approach the stage?” the prince asked.

“Hmm, about that... I feel like the armor simply destroyed this place to prevent anyone from heading for Xeoral,” the queen replied. “I don’t think they’ll come back here.”

“I think the only chance that they’d return is if anything they deem a danger comes here,” Rachel added, tilting her head to one side as she looked around. “Like if the spirit came back, for example, that might provoke a response. I don’t sense the spirit anywhere nearby for the time being, however.”

While elves only had ties with the spirit tree, I supposed a spirit was a spirit, all the same—it made sense to me to think Rachel and the rest of the elves would be capable of sensing the spirit sea.

Based on Rachel’s observation, I felt it’d be best that we remain quiet and not startle the spirit or the armor. Worriedly, I turned to check on Emilia, our resident troublemaker—she was darting to and fro with Noa and Lily and didn’t seem to be causing any harm, however.

“My, what do we have here?” Sita asked, as curious as ever. “Is this stage ancient technology? I think these etchings are a magic circle.”

“Since the engravings encompass the entire stage, I presume they serve a ritualistic purpose,” Magiluka wondered. “What should we make of the fact this magic circle remains here undamaged by the suits of armor?”

I didn’t consider Magiluka and Sita to be troublemakers, but I was without a doubt suspicious of where their enthusiasm might take them.

“I don’t know,” Sita said. “What do you think, Lord Orthoaguina?”

Crickets.

“Lord Orthoaguina?” Sita asked. “Hello? Sita to Lord Orthoaguina. Do you read me? Anyone there?”

She kept speaking to the book dangling from her waist, but unusually, there was no reply.

“I’d forgotten all about him, but now that you mention it, he’s been real quiet since we entered the spirit sea’s domain,” I remarked. “Is he asleep? Or is he sulking because no one’s paying attention to him?”

“You fool! I’m not asleep!” Orthoaguina roared back. It really had been a while since I’d heard him speak up last. “And I’m not sulking either! This is the domain of a spirit. With a powerful existence such as myself present in the area, it’s entirely possible the being we seek to placate will find itself too unnerved to back down. I’d been hiding my presence so as to not stir up any trouble!”

I was impressed that he’d been being so considerate. I wanted a certain spirit tree who manipulated a subspecies of a mandrake without a care in the world to learn a thing or two from him.

Uh, I know I asked the question, but is it all right he answered me?

“Orthoaguina, you just responded, so isn’t your presence kind of...known now?” I asked.

He fell silent, but I could practically see the sweat dripping off the book’s pages. As the one who’d encouraged him to come out, I was sweating bullets myself...

“Lady Mary, seawater is getting onto the stage,” Magiluka pointed out.

When I looked down at my feet, I realized that some water had splashed onto the stage, and the nearby sea was beginning to stir as waves rose angrily.

“The water level rose,” I said. “Does this place have high tides and stuff?”

“I doubt that would occur here in a domain where the ocean keeps still,” Magiluka replied. “Is this the work of the spirit?”

“Sorry! This is my fault, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s my fault,” Sita replied. “I tried speaking to him first.”

“No, Sita, you aren’t to blame,” Orthoaguina said. “The blame lies with Mary, who claimed that I was sulking from the lack of attention.”

“H-Hey!” I cried. “I thought you were keeping quiet!”

“I’ve already been discovered. It’s too late,” Orthoaguina defiantly prattled on. “In any case, what will we do now? I sense something coming from the skies as well.”

We all looked up at the sky and we saw tiny dots flying toward us from far away. Uh... So, the suits of armor and the spirit are all about to gather here, huh? The worst-case scenario was about to happen, and it was due to my careless comment. I was afraid getting on my hands and knees and begging for my friends’ forgiveness wouldn’t be a sufficient apology for this blunder...

I wasn’t skilled enough to battle both parties at once. Since I was the one who’d screwed up here, I at least wanted to resolve one of the problems myself, though. Do I go for the spirit? Or the suits of armor?

“Snow, let’s ride!”

“Yeah, yeah, saw this coming from a mile away,” Snow replied. She’d been sleeping in the ship until now, completely unconcerned by our goings-on, but now she was at my side.

“Sita, I’ll handle the situation in the sky,” I said. “I’m sorry, but could I ask you to handle the spirit?”

“Hey, you aren’t trying to push the more troublesome task onto Sita, are you?” Orthoaguina asked.

“N-N-No, not at all!” I stammered. “T-T-To the right man goes the right role, you know?” Try as I might to use the gravity of the moment to delegate tasks, I couldn’t slip my scheme past him. My eyes darted around frantically.

“Well, I admit that I’m partially to blame for drawing the spirit,” Orthoaguina relented. “Very well. Leave it to us and go forth!”

He sounded confident I could leave it to him, but he was just a book dangling from Sita’s waist. Will they really be all right? I feel like you’re jinxing yourself, Orthoaguina.

5. The Sea Is Angry

“Magiluka, Safina, I’m counting on you both to hold the fort here,” I said.

“You can leave it to us,” Safina replied energetically.

“Lady Mary, please don’t push yourself too much,” Magiluka added, worried about me.

“I-I’ll try to keep it reined in...” I replied.

“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that...”

“Please be careful, my lady,” Tutte said.

It might’ve looked like Magiluka was urging me to be careful not to get hurt, but of course, there was an amusingly more accurate nuance to her choice of words. For my part, I didn’t want to screw up any further by doing something like accidentally destroying the stage, after all, so I took my friends’ words to heart and braced myself for combat, collecting the Legendary Sword (Cringe) from my maid.

“B-Big sister, I’ll go with you too,” Noa insisted, entrusting Lily in her arms to Tutte as she approached me.

“It’ll be dangerous,” I warned. “You’ll be up against Argent Armors.”

“Argent...Armor...” Noa murmured. She visibly shrank, her tiny body quivering terribly as her face grew awash with fear.

Why does she seem so terrified of the armor? Did they do something horrendous to her? I was tempted to ask, but now clearly wasn’t the time for conversation. I wasn’t keen on prying anything out of her either.

“Don’t push yourself, Noa,” I said gently. I petted her head in hopes of soothing her fears, and she began to speak her mind.

“B-But I’m sure that the Argent Knight is related to my memories, and the sooner I remember, the more useful I can—” I hugged her gently, causing her to stop mid-sentence.

“Thank you, Noa,” I said. “But there’s no rush. You can take your time. Take it slow, one step at a time, to recover your memories, okay? We’ve still got plenty of time to spare.”

When I realized that her trembles had died down as I was hugging her, I peered into her face. Her eyes were glossed over as she gazed into the distance.

“Plenty...of...time,” she murmured.

She wasn’t looking at me. It didn’t seem like she was repeating what I’d said, but more like she was reciting a phrase she’d been told by someone else.

“What are you dawdling for, Mary?!” Orthoaguina roared, breaking the moment. “Make haste and go on! We can’t let them approach the stage!”

Noa and I didn’t have the time for a proper discussion right now. “G-Got it!” I yelled back. “Tutte, I leave Noa to you!”

“Yes, my lady,” Tutte replied.

Noa still didn’t seem to have returned to reality, but I passed her onto my trusty maid. Noa outstretched her arm as though she wanted to chase after me.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll protect you. Please don’t make such a pained face.” I smiled at her and reassured her gently, but her eyes were still distant. Then her expression changed once more.

“No... No...” she whispered. “I... No...”

Was she layering someone else over me? She clearly wasn’t speaking to me, but to someone else. I wanted to stay by her side and unravel her memories, but now wasn’t the time to do so. As Orthoaguina said, it was unwise to let the suits of armor approach the stage. Especially since I might destroy it during a fight if we’re too close.

“Let’s go, Snow!” I shouted.

“Aye, aye.”

I leaped onto Snow’s back and looked up at the sky toward the approaching shadowy figures. I’ll beat ’em up in a flash and appease the spirit too. I’m gonna pave a path to Xeoral whether anyone likes it or not!

***

Mary climbed atop Snow and took to the skies, and Noa watched on, her heart filled with anxiety.

As the people around her had surely noticed, it seemed Noa was slowly but surely regaining her memories...but as far as Noa herself was concerned, it didn’t even feel certain the memories she was experiencing were truly her own. The scenes that would suddenly flash through her mind and assault her senses on a daily basis felt like she was gazing at them through the eyes of another person. The memories were mostly of her time with a man called Agard, but it all seemed so...distant. She felt like an outsider looking in.

That wasn’t to say she felt no emotional connections with the memories, however. Whenever she recalled her time with Agard, her chest grew warm with joy before it gradually tightened and brought her pain. This was very much the norm for her.

Noa sought to understand what her feelings meant, and while attempting to do so, she’d once asked Rachel about them, as Rachel’s interest in the opposite sex seemed to elicit similar sensations.

“Huh? Y-Y-You’re asking me why I seem to care a lot about Sacher?” Rachel asked. “W-Well, it’s partly because he saved me and I feel indebted to him...”

“But according to my big sister, I feel like you’re not indebted solely to Big Brother Sacher,” Noa pointed out. “Shouldn’t you feel the same way toward Big Sister Safina and Big Sister Magiluka?”

“Ugh... T-True... Um, how shall I say this...? I just can’t seem to leave him alone, you know? He’s always in some sort of danger, and I just can’t help but worry about him.”

“You see, Noa, this is love,” Sita joined in.

“S-Sita?!” Rachel yelped. “Stop trying to be a bad influence on Noa!”

“Love?” Noa asked. “But...he’s not here anymore...”

“Noa...” Sita started.

“Big Sister Rachel, aren’t you afraid of losing? Like how Agard...”

Noa wanted to say more, but her stomach tightened as it always did, and a headache washed over her, destabilizing her emotions. Her consciousness began to blur.

“Noa!” Sita cried.

It was as though Noa’s body refused to recall further information—like there was a primal urge to resist it within her. That discussion had drawn to a close, and whenever she’d try to ask about something else, she often garnered the worry of others. And so, she’d become withdrawn and refrained from talking.

Were her feelings and memories what the other ladies called “love”? Part of her wished that to be the case. Nevertheless, the fragments of her memories and the stories she’d heard from Queen Belletochka had allowed Noa to draw a different headache-inducing conclusion—she was somehow related to the Argent Knight.

The travels of the Argent Knight were awfully similar to the memories that Noa possessed; in fact, there were times when she thought she was the Argent Knight, but she knew that that couldn’t be it. There was another suit of Argent Armor prowling about, and said suit had exhibited a terrifying amount of murderous intent toward her. (Incidentally, her memories also ruled out that she was Agard.)

Furthermore, whenever the Argent Armor popped into Noa’s mind, her body was gripped with unfathomable dread, causing her to lose focus on reality. It was as though her true self, slumbering deep within the recesses of her mind, rejected the armor on an almost fundamental level. Who am I? she wondered. No matter how hard she thought, she always found herself back at the most basic question of all.

Even if she recalled some of her memories, they were all little fragments—disjointed pieces of a puzzle. If only she had something, anything, that could trigger her to recall everything, elegantly fitting all the pieces into its proper place... Unfortunately, she’d had no luck yet.

“Now then. Since we’ve left those troublesome suits of armor to Mary, let us have a nice chat with the spirit!” Emilia said loudly.

“Nay, Witch Princess,” Orthoaguina pointed out. “I find that the spirit will be more troublesome.”

The noisy discussion allowed Noa to snap back to reality.

“Lord Orthoaguina, since Frederika isn’t here right now, perhaps it’s not ideal to fight against the spirit,” Sita said.

“Sita, you were able to speak with the spirit tree, were you not?” Orthoaguina suggested. “I have faith that you can speak with this spirit as well.”

“Please don’t casually push everything onto her!” Rachel protested. Everyone else nodded along in agreement.

For all the bravado that the book had exhibited when he’d parted ways with Mary, Noa could still only see him as a talkative book and nothing more. Everyone claimed that the book was only his temporary form and that he was actually the great Philomath Dragon, but for now, Noa found no reason to offer him her utmost respect.

While everyone engaged in this lively chat, the water around the stage began to roil angrily, and a portion of the sea erupted into a furious plume of water. Tutte, sensing danger, tried to take Noa away and back into the ship for safety. The maid, while not much of a fighter in these situations, still managed to evade most threats due to her impeccable ability to precisely assess danger. Even Noa had taken note of Tutte’s skills as they traveled together. Noa offered no resistance and took Lily to follow Tutte.

Magiluka noticed the trio leave and stepped away from the rest to watch them go. Everyone else was laser focused on the change of the water’s surface.

A giant emerged before the group. Only the upper half of its body showed, but it was large enough to swallow the stage whole.

“A water giant?” Sacher yelped. “Is this the spirit’s physical form?”

No one could answer as they gazed upon the giant.

“K-Keep calm,” Emilia said. “W-We prepared ourselves precisely for times like these. Victorica taught us the language of spirits—she was apparently taught by an elven friend of hers. Heh heh heh, behold!”

The princess still looked scared, but with sheer willpower, she managed to regain her confidence and dignity as she spoke in an unfamiliar language. Could this deepen her ties with the spirit? Everyone looked on with surprise, but Noa couldn’t understand why Tutte and Safina began to fret.

A moment later, the water giant froze in place, with the princess standing tall and proud before it. Did she get through to it?

As everyone’s hearts held a ray of hope, tragedy befell Emilia.

“How dare you say, ‘Shut up you brat!’ to me!” An androgynous voice, much like a young boy’s, echoed throughout everyone’s minds, bellowing with wrath. “I’m a freaking adult!”

A mighty torrent of water shot out from the giant’s mouth and assaulted Emilia. “Bwaaaaaagh!” the princess cried.

For better or for worse, the pride of Relirex’s princess didn’t allow her to be blown away by the jet of water. She stood tall and proud in the face of the deluge, subjecting herself to its full power and offering quite the surreal sight. While most of those present were too stunned by the absurd situation to be surprised by the spirit’s speech, Tutte and Safina in particular cracked awkward smiles like they’d expected things to go down this way, much to Noa’s confusion.

“H-Huh?! She’s just...standing there!” the spirit said. “Eugh! She creeps me out!”

“We’re trying to be friendly with you!” Emilia roared. “How dare you take that attitude with us?! Wanna go, pip-squeak?!”

The spirit was clearly taken aback—or more precisely, he’d managed to regain his composure while Emilia had lost sight of herself to rage. This was an endless loop of fury.

“Pigheaded women aren’t really my type,” the spirit said. “Thank you, next.”

“Screw youuuuu!” Emilia roared. “We’ll turn you down! Before you talk down others, why don’t you fix yourself?! What even is that form of yours?! Keep it together! It’s beyond abstract! You look like you’re melting! What you need is a bit more muscle and sturdiness to your body!”

Emilia furiously rocked her body about to attempt to illustrate a perfect form while Noa watched on perplexedly, confused at what the princess was trying to explain. Noa wasn’t very knowledgeable about anatomy.

“Huh? I’ve never seen anything like that before,” the spirit retorted.

When it came to the princess and the spirit’s...passionate battle of appearances, one might say...even Noa had grown worried, wondering if they should just sit back and watch.

“Then behold these beautiful muscles!” Emilia shouted.

As blood rushed to the princess’s head, she turned to Sacher nearby and tried to peel his clothes off him.

“Hey! Stop it, Your Highness!” Sacher cried. “Wait!”

It was then Noa witnessed a phenomenon she found most curious. Though the girls around Sacher shrieked and covered their faces with their hands as Emilia undressed him, none of them tried to stop her.

“Uh, no, guys aren’t really my thing,” the spirit said. “I’d like a girl, please.”

The spirit had been furious at first, but he now seemed quite calm and collected while distracted by Emilia’s antics. Noa’s eyes glimmered with awe, impressed by the Relirex princess’s expert maneuvering of the situation, when Tutte kindly but firmly reminded her that one must never copy Emilia’s actions.

“Tsk, you really drive a hard bargain, don’t you?” Emilia replied to the spirit. “If Ilysha were here, we would’ve offered her to you as a bit of a joke.”

“Kindly refrain from offering my mother,” the prince replied quietly. “If such is your aim, why don’t you offer up your own mother?”

“Ugh, no. We can’t do that. Our mother isn’t meant to be viewed by others!” Emilia’s streak of rudeness had now even extended to the queen.

“Oho? Are you implying my physique isn’t fit to be seen in public, Little Emilia?” Queen Belletochka asked.

The high praise Noa had once held for Emilia had now all swiftly vanished, and she wondered to herself if Emilia might be better suited for a title such as the “faux pas princess” over whatever she had now—it felt like every time Emilia opened her mouth, she was digging herself into a deeper grave.

“Speaking of girls... My dear Frederikaaaaa?!” the spirit suddenly shouted while Noa and the others were distracted. “Where are youuu?”

“Huh? Frederika?” Emilia asked. “She isn’t here.”

“Sh-She isn’t?!” the spirit gasped. “B-But... I chased her around and finally cornered— I mean, finally managed to visit her here!”

The spirit’s disquieting choice of words didn’t escape Noa’s notice. Now that she felt he was acting strangely, she was being sure to pay careful attention to him.

“Where the hell did you take my dear Frederika?!” the spirit shrieked. His anger having now relapsed, waves were once again rocking the area. Perhaps simple reaction was the extent of his thought process?

“Now, now, wait one second,” Orthoaguina said. He’d heard the conversation with Emilia and determined the spirit to be rather simpleminded. “Spirit, I’m the great— Ahhhh!”

“S-Sita!” Rachel shouted.

The spirit took no interest in Orthoaguina’s long-awaited entrance to the conversation and made to wash his book away with a deluge of ocean water, a move which was certain to inundate Sita alongside him. Rachel, ever alert and ruthlessly committed to her sister’s welfare above all else, grabbed on to Sita and pulled her back out of danger, leaving Orthoaguina alone to be swallowed by the tide. Watching it all happen, Noa was more sure than ever that Orthoaguina was nothing more than just a very chatty tome.

“Ahhh! Orthoaguina’s a sopping mess!” Sita cried. The drenched book lay in the corner of the stage, and she hastily went to fetch it. It was a sorrowful scene, and the book was a wretched sight. Everyone was trying to think of a way to calm the spirit down, but he refused to listen to reason and raged on. Noa tried to think of a solution herself.

“Calm down, spirit!” Emilia shouted. “Who cares about Frederika?”

“Nooooo!” the spirit wailed. “My dear Frederikaaaa!”

Once again, the faux pas princess of Relirex had touched a nerve with the spirit and made matters worse. Clearly, Frederika was precious to the spirit, and to say that the mermaid was gone or that no one cared about her naturally only escalated his irritation. Even Noa had enough sense to know that.

The stormy sea was causing the ship to rock violently from its position near the stage. Meanwhile, the stage was now awash with brine, soaking everyone standing on it.

“Tsk, this is getting us nowhere,” Emilia grumbled. “We’ve got no other choice. Let’s gently punish this crying child!”

“No, Little Emilia!” Queen Belletochka shouted. “If you harm the spirit, you’ll never be able to take it back!”

“Nay, spirits like him need to be taught a lesson or two and be silenced! That’ll be the quickest way to a solution! Mwa ha ha ha! Spirits don’t scare us! Who do you think we are?! We’re the princess of demons!”

With complete disregard for the queen’s warning, Emilia excitedly began preparing a spell. In the face of all this chaos, Noa wondered if Emilia was the “musclehead” she’d once heard Mary mention.

“What a sorry sight,” remarked an unknown voice a good distance from Noa. “When I’d deigned to alight upon this sea, I’d hardly expected to be subjected to such a feebleminded conflict.” In stark contrast to the pandemonium, the speaker sounded calm and detached.

The moment Noa heard the voice, it felt like the world around her had frozen over—like everything but his voice had gone silent. She felt a shiver run down her spine, and her heartbeat grew faster as it thudded with dread. She felt a warm sting behind her eyes and her vision blurred as she slowly, ever so slowly, turned toward the voice.

A lone man was floating in the air.

6. An Outnumbered Battle

I was floating in the air with Snow a good distance away from the stage so that I wouldn’t damage it. I could hardly tell the situation below, but what I did see was that the ocean was raging furiously. Clearly, the spirit was displeased. I bet Emilia or Orthoaguina provoked the spirit and touched a nerve or something.

“We’re close enough to see them clearly,” Snow reported. “What should we do, Mary?”

They still looked like tiny specks in the air to me, but it seemed she could see them clearly. There weren’t any obstacles in the air, so I knew that they would arrive sooner than later; I didn’t want to close the gap too quickly and kept my guard up.

“A whole swarm of those legendary armors, eh? They’re no slouches in terms of speed, strength, or magic. Who balanced these things, jeez...”

“I’m not really sure what you mean by that, but say, have you ever looked in a mirror?”

It was only after I got done complaining about the Argent Armors that I realized you could make the exact same gripe against yours truly.

“I-I expected them to descend down onto the stage or something, but it seems like I’m wrong,” I said.

“Yeah. Looks like they were on standby in a nearby region of the ocean and flew here after they were alerted,” Snow agreed.

“You think there’s a chance that there’s actually only one armor? I know Frederika referred to several of them, but...”

“Well, from what I can see, I doubt it. I spot one, two, three... Quite a few, actually. By the way, you’re not actually going to just quietly wait for them to come to you, are you?”

The corners of my mouth rose upward in a devilish smirk—I was picking up what Snow was putting down. “Heh heh heh. I’m not quite that nice! I’m gonna greet ’em with a fifth-order spell and decimate ’em in one go! Why do you think I decided to get so far away from the rest of the group?”

“Yeah, it’d be awful if you destroyed the stage with your spell,” Snow replied.

“L-Like that’d ever happen! In any case, sorry I have to cut things short, armors! We’re in a battle here! Vermilion Nova!”

My opponents were still a bit too far away for my vision, but I launched a massive ball of fire their way. Bull’s-eye!

Right when I was convinced of my imminent victory, the unthinkable occurred.

“They dodged that beautifully...” Snow observed.

I fell silent. As she’d pointed out, my massive fireball made no contact with anyone and flew into the distant horizon. I clearly saw the shadowy figures turn to me and fly faster than ever.

“Uh, Mary?” Snow asked. “Did you really think that stupidly huge fireball would actually hit them moving that slowly?”

I fell silent.

“Hey, how do you feel right now? Lemme hear it,” Snow egged me on.

“Shut up, you!” I snapped. My face was beet red. “People don’t have a chance to move out of the way of global AoEs in the tactics games I’m used to, okay?!”

“Uh... What?”

“N-Nothing! Let’s focus on the fight!” Now that I’d embarrassed myself to a painful degree with my completely unintelligible reasoning, I opted to forcibly cut the conversation short to focus on the battle.

A similarly large fireball flew straight for me, and Snow swiftly dodged it with minimal effort.

“Bwa ha ha ha! Watch out, Mary, we’re fighting people as smart as you are! Maybe you’ve seen them around the acade— Whoaaaaa!” Snow was so busy acting smug that she barely evaded the three additional fireballs that were launched at us.

“Hey!” I said. “That one was really close! Argh! They’re attacking again!” While I was scolding her for leaving us on the razor’s edge, she was probably too busy flying to and fro between the other fireballs to notice. It was far from just three or four fireballs at this point.

“How many of these armors are there, anyway?!” I wondered.

“Crap!” Snow said. “Mary, we’re surrounded.” Only then did I realize what we’d run into. There weren’t just three or four suits of armor flying around—there were at least twenty at a glance, and they were all firing their attacks at me.

“Are you a moron?!” A familiar feminine voice suddenly rushed into my head—the other half of the Argent Knight. “I managed to fend off the mermaids and force the spirit to retreat to destroy that place! You think a mere one or two suits could do all that?!”

I had no idea which of the suits of armor contained her voice. Guess I should be thankful they can’t all speak... The noise would be overwhelming.

“Is she manipulating all of these by herself?” Snow wondered. “I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of mana she needs to do this. Is the Armor of God, Soul Materia, really this powerful?”

All things considered, it seemed like the armors really did have the grace of God in some capacity. That’s not to say it was unfair, as I could hardly be one to say such a thing, but it did confirm just how dangerous the armors were.

“Argh... I didn’t think I’d ever have to use these again, so I’d abandoned them in a nearby region of the sea,” the Argent Armor sighed. “It was a pain to activate them all again. Tch, it’s only because Nike told me to use them all...”

“Nike? Is he here?” I asked, unable to let that slide.

“He is. I’m sure he’s headed for the stage below by now.”

It didn’t quite register that the man whose name I’d heard repeatedly throughout this journey, who I’d basically been thinking of as the final boss of this whole adventure, would just casually appear before us without any theatrics. That said, by all accounts, he hadn’t appeared before me in particular at this point, so there was that aspect...

“I only tagged along this time around because Nike said that he wanted a good look at you,” the Argent Armor said.

“M-Me?” I asked.

Why’s he interested in me? The simple question popped up in my mind, but upon deeper thought, I realized that he might have several reasons to meet me. No, no, surely it’s just a coincidence! That’s all. I’m not standing out! I’m sure of it. I made a point of acting dense and tried to maintain my cool.

“I guess I got it all wrong,” the armor remarked. “I’d expected the demons to come for me since this would be a battle in the sky. Emilia and Belletochka, the Dark Lord’s daughter and wife, if I’m not mistaken? I’d wanted to clobber them and relieve the stress I’ve got pent up from my last battle against the Dark Lord. What a pity. I just hadn’t thought you’d come face me by yourself.”

“I’m not alone,” I insisted. “I’ve got Snow with me too.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about! Be it one or two of you, it really makes no big difference. Heh heh, do you really think you can hold your own when you’re so vastly outnumbered?”

The other suits of armor leaned back victoriously. That alone told me that the Argent Armor wasn’t with us, and she was somehow manipulating them all at once. I can’t even begin to fathom her powers and her ability to multitask. How many things is she doing at once here? I’m so envious...

Anyway, I guess I can’t just narrow my aim to stopping one main suit of armor in hopes that the others will get knocked out too. This is gonna be tough...

“What do we do, Mary?” Snow asked. “Do we just have to beat them up one at a time, the old-fashioned way?”

“That’d be fine by me, but I really don’t want to waste too much time,” I replied. “I feel like the longer the battle, the more of a disadvantage we’ll be at. And while I’m sure everyone is safe down there since they’re together, the fact that Nike is at the stage is cause for worry. Will Noa be all right? I hope she isn’t panicking or anything.”

“Then should we gather them in one place and destroy them in one go? Maybe a higher-order spell of yours can do something.”

“That seems to be the simplest solution, but I don’t think that it’ll be that easy.”

I gazed intently at my enemies as I conversed with Snow. I was so used to us speaking that I totally forgot that an outsider would see me as someone cringily talking to themself. That said, that was better for me than the alternative since the Argent Armor would figure out what we were planning...

There were still a few points I was hesitant about, but I decided to run with Snow’s plan of beating them all in one blow. “I guess that’s the only shot we’ve got,” I said. “Let’s go with your plan, Snow! Be flexible and ready to adapt on the fly!”

“Your babbling ends here,” the Argent Armor said. “We’re about to put on a lovely show, you and I! You’ll dance for me until I’m satisfied!” Unwilling to continue sitting back and listening to me monologue, she made the first attack, sending fire and ice at Snow and me in relentless waves.

“Raaaah!” I shouted. “Snow, dodge them all!”

“Whoaaaa! This really does remind me of the barrage by the massive annihilation magus engine!” Snow cried.

“It was easier to evade that thing since it only fired from one place! These attacks are coming all at once from all sorts of directions!”

I was surprised to see that rather than having all of them fire at us from a distance, she had some of the suits coming up close to try to land decisive strikes. I fought them back, but needless to say, the ranged armors refused to ease up on their attacks, not at all caring if any of their shots landed on the armors approaching me.

“What a poor excuse for a commander!” I spat. “I guess she doesn’t mind a few sacrifices!”

I was quietly seeking an opening. If I wanted to use a higher-order spell and decimate them all in one blow, I wanted to gather them up in one spot. Snow’s speed and evasion capability along with my attacks were managing to keep us afloat, but if a person without cheats like mine had tried to do this, they would’ve been defeated in a flash—the state the stage was in was proof enough of that.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” the Argent Armor crowed gleefully. “You’re losing your gusto! You’ll get hit at this rate! Hya ha ha ha!” The armors were firing spells like no tomorrow.

I know I’m not one to talk, but do you have an infinite amount of mana or something? No, that can’t be... It may have been possible for the Armor of God to have an insane amount of mana, but these suits of armor were fakes acting in her stead—I was sure they couldn’t also have infinite mana.

Sure enough, I soon began to spot signs that their mana was running out. The armors’ attacks were growing fainter and slowing down. Trying to overwhelm me with numbers and throwing out spells without thought was her fatal mistake. She probably didn’t expect me to be so absurdly strong. We may not look it, but we’re a divine beast and a lady with cheats, you know?

“Ugh, quit flitting about, insect! How annoying!” the Argent Armor grumbled. “You’re irritating me! I’ll end you right here!”

The Argent Armor must’ve also realized that the tides of battle were turning. She was putting on a strong front, but her panic was palpable—the armors stopped firing spells and came at me with their swords.

“Mary, we’ve got an opening below!” Snow shouted.

“Got it. Overlight!” I yelled. I emitted a blinding ray of light at the armors, and Snow used that opportunity to duck below, where there weren’t too many of them.

“You moron!” the Argent Armor cackled. “I know what you’re thinking! It’s all too clear to me!” She laughed triumphantly as reinforcements charged at me from below. She must’ve known that I’d do this from the beginning and kept some suits of armor in reserve. Or was this the ace up her sleeve? Or maybe she’d even been going easy on me? No matter the case, we were now caught and in a tight spot.

“Hya ha ha ha!” the Argent Armor laughed. “Did you think I couldn’t hear that divine beast talking? Well, too bad for you! I heard her from the start!”

I could hardly believe my ears. Well, I guess the Argent Armor is the Armor of God, and Snow’s a divine beast, a messenger of God. They’re birds of a feather, so it wouldn’t be odd for them to be able to converse.

For a moment, Snow hesitated on her descent while the other armors flew straight for us. “It’s over for you!” the Argent Armor shouted triumphantly.

But actually, as I said, I sort of knew that the two of you might be able to converse! After all, you didn’t say a thing when I was supposedly talking to myself. I bet on the fact that you could hear Snow so I could turn the tables on you!

“No, it’s over for you,” I declared firmly.

My voice came from above the armor. While Snow had made her descent, I’d flown high up. Suddenly, my afterimage on Snow’s back wavered and disappeared as she descended even faster than before and barely glided between the suits of Argent Armor rising from below. She might’ve gotten hurt a little, but since I was no longer on her back, I knew that she could use her evasive skill to its full potential.

With faith that Snow could come out of this alive, I began my chant. “Heed my words, sinful soul! The path laid upon this place is absolute and I shall offer thee my mercy. Let God bestow upon you the open gates of purgatory!” I declared.

This was what I meant by flexibility and adapting to each situation. I trusted that Snow would act without the need for further communication, and sure enough, the armors chasing after her were caught in my magic circle, while she managed to escape from my spell by a hair’s breadth. I was happy to see that the trust built between Snow and me had borne fruit in this battle.

“Thy sins and thy defilement shall be pardoned as my flames shall purify thy soul!” I continued to chant.

“N-No! That’s a sixth-order spell!” the Argent Armor gasped, seeming to recognize what I was about to do. I was ignoring her, of course.

Fiery chains shot out from my magic circle and captured all the suits of armor. I glared down at my enemies. “Purgatorial Flames of Purification!” I shouted.

“Who in the world are you?!” the Argent Armor shrieked. “You are not a normal person!” But her screaming was soon drowned out by my hellfire. The whole horde of armor turned to ash.

“It’s over,” I declared.

Given the sheer amount of armors, I predicted that all the fake suits of Argent Armor hidden within the land, this kingdom included, had just been reduced to ashes. I mean, it’d be a problem if they weren’t. Now the Argent Armor couldn’t be a nuisance unless she personally made her way to us, and all that was left was to head for Xeoral, where her real body was.

You better sit tight and wait for me, Argent Armor. First thing I’ll do when I see you is smack you across the face for all the rude things that you’ve done until now.

7. An Overly Skilled Magus Smith

While Mary was battling the Argent Armor and her clones, Noa was petrified like a rabbit beneath the gaze of a hungry wolf. The elf before her had occasionally appeared in her fragmented memories, and she knew him well.

“Nike...” she murmured. “Why...are you here?”

“Hmm... The girl the Armor of God mentioned isn’t here, it seems,” Nike said. “Did she fly up? This is outside of my calculations. Or did she plan this?” He showed no interest in Noa or the people around him as he muttered to himself. For her part, Noa hoped that she could continue to go unnoticed and immediately snapped her mouth shut...but Lily’s growling in Tutte’s arms caught the man’s attention.

“Ah, what have we here? A divine beast,” Nike said. “Right, I recall releasing these onto this side after they proved useless for my research... And you.” Nike locked eyes with Noa, and she turned pale. “You’re... Ah, yes, I remember now,” Nike said. “That failed experiment.”

His assessment felt like a bolt of electricity coursing through her entire body, jolting every fiber of her being. A horrible headache assaulted her.

“F-Failed...? I’m a...failed experiment...” Noa muttered. She pressed her fingers against her panging temples as she recalled another fragmentary memory. She’d once been told something similar by the Argent Armor. “N-No,” Noa mumbled. “I’m not... I...” Even she couldn’t tell who she was talking to, yet the words kept tumbling out of her mouth.

“Lady Noa, you must keep calm,” Tutte suddenly interrupted. She hugged Noa tight.

The warm embrace helped Noa to stop trembling and gradually calm down—and she was surprised at how readily a comforting friend could make her regain her composure. Noa became determined to keep herself together.

“I made the long trip here,” Nike said. “Should my excursion prove fruitless, that woman will inevitably grouse. Hmm... Perhaps I’ll take this chance to observe how the girl reacts to adverse stimuli...”

He paid no heed to the spirit raging nearby as he scanned his surroundings. His eyes then fell upon her—not Noa, but the woman gently hugging her.

“Ah, yes... According to my data, the girl always travels with a particular maid,” Nike recalled. “Is the maid merely an attendant, or does she perhaps bear greater significance?”

The faint smile on his face triggered a number of Noa’s memories to come rushing back to her. It was the same twisted smirk he always wore when he’d abused her body and mind in the name of experimentation.

Nike began floating slowly toward Noa and Tutte. Unfortunately, Emilia, the nearby crew members, and everyone else were so preoccupied with the raging spirit that they’d failed to notice Nike’s appearance...barring one keen-eyed person.

“Stop right there!” Magiluka shouted. “I won’t let you get any closer!” Since Mary had entrusted her with taking care of Tutte and Noa, she’d been keeping her distance from the others to allow her to pay the two of them sufficient attention, and this vigilance was now paying off. She was in position and prepared to fight Nike back...yet he seemed to not even notice her as he advanced steadily toward her charges.

“Freeze Arrow!” Magiluka chanted. She sought to threaten him enough that he’d cease his approach. However, one of the several rings adorning his fingers glowed, and a translucent wall appeared to block Magiluka’s arrows and cause them to fade.

“A magic item?!” Magiluka gasped.

Orthoaguina had mentioned that Nike was a skilled magus smith, so it wasn’t surprising to see he wielded such an item, yet Noa and the others couldn’t help but shudder.

“Your aim may have simply been to intimidate and to establish a zone of control, but regardless, you fired your spell without hesitation. Remarkable mettle,” Nike observed. “I do recall, you also travel with that girl often, correct? Hmm... Which of your deaths would she find more harrowing? To what extent can I shock her? Would she be most disturbed to see your flesh flattened into the ground? Perhaps she’d be more devastated to see your ashes fluttering on the ocean breeze. Oh, but leaving your corpse on a pike would make quite the impression. I can’t underestimate the vicarious horror a flaying would elicit either. Ah, there are just so many options I can hardly bear to choose!”

Nike didn’t seem annoyed by another enemy—quite the opposite. The glimmer of delight flashing across his eyes and the cruel smile that briefly split his face didn’t evade Noa’s notice. “Run!” she shouted.

A moment later, Nike pointed at Magiluka.

“Accel Boost!” a voice came.

Just then, another one of Nike’s rings glowed, and the space around Magiluka distorted. The gravity around her intensified, threatening to crush her against the stone at her feet. But just as Noa feared Magiluka was certain to fall victim to his attack, a swift shadow shot across her vision and grabbed Magiluka to pull her away.

“Gah!” Magiluka grunted. Moments after she’d been rescued, a round sinkhole appeared where she’d just been standing with a booming thud. Anyone could tell that if the spell had made contact, Magiluka would have immediately become a pile of unrecognizable flesh. Third- and fourth-order spell counterparts for his magic would’ve been laughably weak in comparison.

“Safina!” Magiluka cried.

Safina had also been asked by Mary to protect everyone, and she’d saved Magiluka’s life by the skin of her teeth. Safina had been so focused on Noa she hadn’t actually expected to need to save Magiluka—she’d ended up handling Magiluka a bit roughly in the process of carrying her away. Nevertheless, she was now on full alert.

“Accel Boost,” Safina chanted. She once again nimbly evaded an attack. The floor where she was standing moments ago caved in.

“Accel Boost,” she chanted once more. She didn’t have time to take a breather as yet another spell came right at her.

“Oho? Your body is yet intact,” Nike said. “You’re quite deft, aren’t you? Perhaps an additional variable...”

“Freeze Arrow!” Magiluka chanted from another direction. In the blink of an eye, the two had used Safina’s speed spell to scatter and attack from different angles.

But Nike was undaunted. The arrows sailed in from his blind spot, yet he appeared to easily block them with his wall as he launched another attack using his gravity. Noa didn’t miss the truth, however—Nike hadn’t reacted to Magiluka’s spell, but rather, his rings activated independently to defend him from the incoming danger. That much was certain.

“Wind Blade Slash!” Safina shouted. She didn’t give Nike a moment to relax and immediately launched an attack of her own...but sure enough, yet another ring activation formed a wall to block her attack.

“Was that a spell?” Nike asked. “No, you’re utilizing a magic tool, just like I do. What an intriguing item.” Rather than become flustered at Safina’s sudden magic attack breaking his expectation that she was solely a close-combat fighter, he indulged in a calm analysis of her weapon.

“Alas...” Nike said.

He pointed at Safina as a different ring glowed. A massive stake bathed in a mysterious light jutted imposingly out of the ground she’d just been occupying. It’d emerged swiftly, such that a normal person would’ve been skewered instantly.

“Charging flames,” Safina chanted. Having reacted in time by spinning to the side and stepping back, she then jumped on the stake as a platform, made her iai pose, and aimed for Nike in the air. “Flame Sword Flurry!” she shouted.

She unsheathed her sword with perfect timing. Nike had assumed that she’d use wind magic again, so she caught him off guard. One of her slashes was blocked by his wall, but she expected as much—her slashes kept coming even after the wall vanished.

Before Safina could land a hit, however, another stake appeared from thin air, right in front of her eyes. The stake, now on its side, clashed against her blade.

“Your tool is weak and lacks endurance,” Nike declared. “Your techniques and sense for combat merely make up for where it lacks. Hmm... The concept is interesting, but the result is dreadfully mediocre.”

Safina was blown back, pushed away by the hard stake. Her blade had become a wretched sight, its edge now dulled and worn from the attack.

Nike had hardly done anything this entire time—by merely standing in the air, his magic items had automatically fought back against every incoming attack. What’s more, merely by pointing, he could fire high-order spells that required no cooldown time and posed no risks for the user. Such powerful items would’ve normally been so exceedingly rare as to be unique throughout the world, yet Nike had multiples. Presuming he hadn’t traveled the world to gather so many incredible magic items, he was a truly unparalleled magus smith, someone who defied the logic of the world—a being with supernatural powers.

Supernatural? Noa didn’t understand why that word had flashed across her mind, and because of how fleeting her resurgent memories were, she would not yet have the chance to comprehend it.

“I’ve dallied enough with this diversion from my plan,” Nike continued. “It’s high time I carry out my substitute experiment and depart. I’ve plenty of other research to attend to.” He forced Magiluka and Safina back before turning to Tutte once more.

Noa recognized the threat and knew that she had to do something, but suddenly, she was pushed away from the warm embrace that’d been supporting her this whole time—Tutte had peeled away from her so she’d be safe.

“Huh?!” Noa gasped. She was struggling to process the situation and turned to face Tutte, who only smiled back gently. The tip of a stake appeared in the air behind Tutte.

The moment Noa saw the magic pike, her reptilian irises grew narrow. Though Tutte was the one reflected in her eyes, it wasn’t the maid she was seeing—no, Noa had recalled a certain man, one who would always smile at her the way Tutte had done. She could feel this was the exact same scenario and situation she had experienced before...and as the fragments of her memories clicked together, something burst from within her.

Noa let out a shrill screech that cut through the air. She must’ve said something, but no one could possibly tell what. At the same time, the magic circle that had once been birthing an obelisk to impale Tutte was now shattering like glass, surprising even Nike.

“She...canceled my magic,” Nike muttered. “It can’t be... No, I see... I understand now. This is very interesting.”

As Nike began to form conclusions, Noa was overwhelmed by a wave of drowsiness and exhaustion. The shriek must’ve had all her mana behind it, but Noa naturally did not understand that concept, so she staggered on her feet, desperate to cling to consciousness.

“Change of plans,” Nike said. “I’m retrieving the failed experiment for further study.” His sights now set on Noa, he reached his devilish hand out to her.

“I thought I heard that annoying voice somewhere!” the water roared. “Nikeeeee! You’re there, aren’t you?! You vile creature! You better grit your teeth because I’m gonna freaking punch the living daylights out of youuuuu!” The spirit’s angry bellows were carried on a strong gust of wind. It made Noa and the others want to cover their ears.

“Good grief,” Nike said. “It seems I’ve become the focus of that nuisance. Nevertheless, this excursion has been sufficiently gainful—I retreat satisfied.”

The water giant rushed over to Nike, but Nike ignored him and smiled at Noa. When they locked eyes, a shudder ran down her spine.

“I await you in Xeoral,” Nike declared. “Y—”

The roaring sound of the waves rapidly drowned out his voice, and Noa was already exhausted as she was losing grip on her consciousness. As her vision blurred and Nike vanished, a torrent of seawater assaulted the side of the ship.

8. As for Our Outfits...

After I destroyed the suits of armor, I made my way back to the stage full of pride, only to see a water giant waging war on everything in its sight.

“Huh? What’s that giant? Where did it come from?” I asked.

“That’s the spirit,” Emilia replied.

“Hey, Emilia. Wait, are you all right? You’re soaked! What in the world happened?”

I gazed at the stage from above when Emilia staggered in her flight. She looked wretched as she explained the situation to me. She claimed that talks with the spirit had been going well at first, but he threw a tantrum midway and couldn’t be suppressed. When he’d turned to the ship, he became angrier than ever and essentially sent a roaring tsunami in its direction, practically creating a natural disaster.

“Wh-What about everyone else?” I asked.

“Sita and the others who weren’t on the ship quickly took to the air thanks to Orthoaguina’s advice,” Emilia explained. “They took the prince and Sacher along too. Magiluka and Safina were only on the outskirts of the situation at the time, but our mother and we grabbed them and took them to safety. Apparently, Nike appeared in front of Noa.”

“Nike?! How’s Noa?! Is Tutte safe too?!”

“Tutte and Lily are fine. Noa is out cold and is still asleep. If we want her to get some peace and quiet for her rest, we must silence that spirit as soon as we can. While we were trying to come up with a plan, you returned.”

I was worried about Noa, but it seemed that everyone was safe and sound. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“The spirit’s probably angry because of Nike, right?” I asked. “Where is he?”

“He wasn’t around by the time we noticed him,” Emilia replied. “He probably already fled. It’s also probably why we can’t calm the spirit down.”

“But if it gets any more violent, the ship will be in danger. Even if we have to use force, we need to...”

I turned toward the ship and clenched my fist. But where do I punch water to do damage to it anywhere? I wondered. If it’s got a core, I might be able to attack there, but I don’t see anything like that.

“Should I use a high-order spell?” I muttered to myself.

“I’d advise against that,” Snow replied. “You might blow away the nearby ship, and the stage too.”

She was right, so I tried to think of a different solution. “Got anything, Emilia?”

“Got anything, Mary?”

We spoke at the same time—it seemed both of us were trying to rely on the other for some sort of solution.

“Let’s just charge ahead!” I declared. “We’ll just do what we can, and whatever happens, happens! Snow, let’s go!”

“Whatever happens?! I don’t want whatever to happen!” Snow cried.

I decided to just play things by ear and charge at the raging water giant with Snow, growing more nervous as I drew nearer.

Just then, I heard some laid-back singing, and a mermaid appeared between the giant and me.

“La la la! ♪” Frederika sang. “I’ve brought some outfiiits. ♪”

Snow screeched to a halt, and I almost fell off her back.

“Huh? What?” Frederika asked confusedly as the water giant approached. “Is something awful going on? Why’s the spirit here?”

“Watch out, Frederika!” I warned.

“My dear Frederikaaaaa!” the spirit called.

“‘Dear’?” I asked. I’d tried to rush forth and protect her, but the odd nickname caused me to falter for just a moment.

“I don’t really get what’s happening, but spirit!” Frederika called. “Rejoice! ♪ I’ve finally gathered some new dancing queens for you! ♪”

I couldn’t believe that she was swimming so casually within the stormy sea. Could she somehow calm the spirit and help us?

“Look! Over here!” Frederika squealed. “These are the new outfits for our dancing queens! ♪” She confidently raised one of the outfits high in the air to show it off. It was an even flashier version of the shell bikini that she was wearing.

Both Emilia and I froze for a few moments. Judging from the flow of the conversation, we’d been deemed the new dancing queens—in other words, we’d be made to wear one of those embarrassing shell bikinis. Plus, the outfits in question didn’t have any lower garments to cover our...unmentionables. Sure, mermaids may not have needed the lower half of a bikini, but it was a huge issue for us bipedal folk.

“Yeaaaaaaah! Woo-hoooooo!” the spirit squealed excitedly while we froze with shock.

“Wait one week, okay? ♪” Frederika assured him. “I promise to show you the best dance eveeeer! ♪” She excitedly sang the last bit in a higher octave.

I wasn’t sure if that angry spirit would listen to her request, but...

“Yeeeees! Yeeeees!” the spirit screamed.

...unlike how he’d been up to this point, he was howling happily as Frederika waved the bikini top around in the air and expertly guided him away from the stage. Huh?! Is this guy just driven purely by impulse?! In no time at all, the noisy spirit retreated and the stormy seas calmed down. Frederika’s really good at manipulating the spirit...

Once the ordeal died down and the crew began repairing the ship, I went to check on Noa. She was still fast asleep and showed no sign of waking up. Orthoaguina claimed that she was suffering from something similar to mana exhaustion, and if she slept for a while, she’d wake up soon enough. I decided to leave her be.

In contrast to Noa’s peaceful slumber, things were becoming quite hectic for us performers, and it was all due to Frederika’s outfits.

“Frederika, we can’t wear that,” I declared.

“Indeed,” Magiluka agreed. “Even setting aside everything else, these outfits were made for mermaids, so they aren’t suitable for us.”

“Aren’t you guys basically the same as us?” Frederika asked, genuinely puzzled by our question. “What’s the issue?” She tilted her head to one side.

“There’s a huge difference!” I protested. “And this performance is going to be a big deal! So what in the world is this?”

I pointed to the center of the stage, which was presently occupied by a large floating orb of water after Frederika had activated some mechanism.

“What? That’s our stage,” Frederika replied. “You’re going to sing and dance in there.”

“We’d drown!” I said firmly.

“Just use your willpower! ♪”

“No amount of willpower will help us!”

“Let’s solve things one at a time. First, you mentioned the outfits, right? Don’t worry. You’ll look good in them.”

“We’ll look naked without the bottom halves!” I yelled, annoyed I couldn’t get through to her.

“E-Easy there, L-Lady Mary. Calm down,” Magiluka implored me like I was a fussy horse.

I felt like we were going in circles, until...

“Frederika, leave this to me,” Queen Belletochka at last interjected.

Surely she’s not planning to defend these debauched outfits? Uh, I mean except when Frederika wears it. Sorry, Frederika.

“Back when I’d first seen this stage, I’d wondered if I’d ever get the opportunity to perform here, and I secretly made some preparations,” Her Majesty continued. She looked unusually enthusiastic as she clenched her fists.

“Oooh! Mother! You mean...?” Emilia started. Her eyes glimmered with excitement as the queen had a crew member take out a large box.

“I had some time when I lived in the tower, so I covertly sewed some outfits,” the queen revealed. “Now’s the time that they’d come in handy!”

Just imagining a queen having enough free time on her hands to stitch up a few outfits is so... Yeah, never mind. None of my business. I was so afraid I’d say something stupid somehow I didn’t even think the rest of my thought.

Queen Belletochka, oblivious to my quiet impertinence, beamed with delight as she brought out one of her many outfits. It was a rather risqué take on what would probably be called a bedlah in my past life, and the fabric was mostly see-through. Okay, at least this has got a bottom bit. I-I guess we can just baaaarely wear this kind of outfit without totally revealing all of our unmentionables?

The initial outfit choice I’d been given was so awful that this skimpy outfit seemed leagues better in comparison—but upon closer inspection, it didn’t cover my body all that much either. Still, I decided to compromise on this outfit and whirled around to gauge the reactions of my friends...and every one of the other potential wearers, barring Emilia, shook their heads furiously. Only then did it hit me that my perception had been skewed, and I quickly came back down to reality. Yeah, no! This is still totally embarrassing!

“U-Um, do you...perchance have anything else?” I asked, clinging to the faintest sliver of hope.

“Hmm... Let’s see...” Queen Belletochka said. She shoved her head into a large, wooden chest and began rustling around for more clothes. “See, the first outfit was just so charming that I went ahead and made some more in the same cutesy vein.”

The queen then took out an outfit comprising a sleeveless top and a miniskirt. It was akin to an idol’s uniform, complete with adorable frills. The back of the attire was wide open, the norm for demons, but frankly, I was more than willing to put myself in this poofy garb over the barely-there bedlah.

“Personally, since both outfits have a bottom, we prefer the other one,” Emilia said. “It is far more charming and mature.”

“Emilia, please, we needn’t try so hard to come off as mature ladies when we’re not there yet,” I insisted, tears of blood flowing down my eyes as I grappled with an acute awareness that I was completely lacking in womanly charm. Maybe Magiluka could pull it off too, but please have mercy on the rest of us! “Let’s have the good grace to go the cutesy route.”

“Why do you look so devastated?!”

Safina and Sita were nodding vigorously in agreement with me.

“Mother, we forgot to ask. Do you make these outfits often?” Emilia inquired, gazing longingly at the bedlah. “We must say that we’re a touch surprised.”

“W-Well, truth be told, I was just bored to tears,” the queen replied. “I had so much time on my hands, and I wanted a way to keep myself busy. I brought them along with me just in case, so I’m so glad that they’ve come in handy.”

“Hmm. Since you were isolated in that tower for so long, we take it you weren’t making these with someone in mind.”

“R-Right.”

“Which means...you made these revealing and cutesy outfits so you yourself could—”

“Emilia! Come on! We’ve gotta tackle the matter at hand!” I interjected. I knew it was unladylike, but I felt I had to take the risk of raising my voice and segueing the conversation. I suspected that Emilia was genuinely just making observations, but I feared if she said anything further, it would hurt the queen’s delicate maiden heart.

“Ah, yes!” Emilia said. “Now then, Mary, what do you make of this orb of water?”

She didn’t seem particularly fixated on her mother’s private antics after all, seeming to confirm my idea she meant no ill will. The queen looked visibly relieved, her face and ears tinged a bright scarlet.

“Miss Frederika, the remaining magus technology on this stage appears to be this thing that can create balls of water and a device that seems to amplify sound,” Sita noted. “Is that correct?”

“Oho? Little Sita, you truly are so knowledgeable!” Frederika replied. “You’re right. It seemed the armors didn’t deem these necessary to travel to Xeoral, so they left them alone.”

Sita puffed out her chest proudly. I had no idea when she’d managed to look into it, but I had a hunch the denizen of the book she was holding on to had helped her take a peek into the inner workings of this stage. Good grief, I just take my eyes off them for one second... One day they’re gonna break something important with all their snooping around.

“Um,” Safina started gingerly, taking one for the team as we gazed at the water. “Must we be in the water at all times for this ritual?”

“No, it’s not for you guys,” Frederika reassured. “We just need this water to dance properly on land, that’s all.”

Phew. Guess we’re all clear on that end.

“Ahem,” Queen Belletochka said, clearing her throat as she regained her usual composure. “Frederika, there won’t be any mermaids dancing onstage this time around. We may need to reconsider some aspects of the performance with that in mind.”

“A-Ah, yes,” the mermaid replied. “I’m not sure what you have in mind, but I’ll accept any help I can get.”

Uh, is it just me, or does the queen seem more excited about this than Frederika? That whole “songstress” thing is really coming to the forefront. I wasn’t sure if the queen was genuinely interested in making music or what, but I was grateful for her support.

“Since we’ve got the water stage all prepared, let us practice!” Frederika said. “I’ll show you the dance to quell the spirit. The dance is usually done with five people, but let’s never mind that.”

Frederika slapped her cheeks, presumably to amp herself up, before she leaped into the sphere of water. It felt like I was gazing at a majestic fish in a massive tank.

“Wow! It feels like I’m at an aquarium—”

Before I could carry on with knowledge from my past life, Tutte, standing behind me, quickly cleared her throat to signal I was prattling on about nonsense, and I promptly snapped my mouth shut. Everyone gazed at Tutte and me quizzically.

“Hi, everyone!” Frederika shouted, ignoring me. “Thank you sooo much for joining me todaaay! ♪ Are we ready to kick things up a notch? ♪”

Her energy was infectious as she began her dance, uh, or rather, ritual to quell the spirit. I was sorta imagining a quieter, more solemn ceremony... You know, like a traditional Japanese dance, or some sort of elegant, spiritual kind of number... I’d been excited to take part in some rigid ritual choreography, but soon realized that my expectations were way off. Frederika’s song was way cheerier and more upbeat than I’d imagined, and she swam to and fro within the sphere of water. I’ve seen something like this before...

“It’s an idol concert...” I murmured softly under my breath.

9. An Unexpected Promise

When Frederika’s performance was over, everyone showered her in applause.

“Thanks, guuuuys! ♪” she said in a singsong voice. “The real ritual will be held next week, so please look forward to it!”

I heard the spirit roar with excitement, and my knees almost buckled from the overwhelming pressure, but I managed to somehow maintain my cool. It’s okay. I’m with everyone here. I’m not alone.

“All right, girls!” Frederika said. “I need you to memorize twenty songs and dance routines by the end of this week!”

“We can’t do that!” I instinctively shouted back. It didn’t take a genius to know that she was trying to impose an extremely rigorous schedule on us, yet she was acting like it was the most casual ask in the world.

“Indeed,” Queen Belletochka mused. “Frederika, it’ll be terribly inefficient for you to teach them by yourself, and you can’t teach them all in such a short amount of time.”

I mean, I don’t think that’s the half of it, but as long as she’s also saying no!

“Oh, don’t worry!” Frederika said. “Just don’t eat, drink, sleep, or rest for an entire week straight, and we’ll be ready in time!”

Hey, Frederika, ever hear the phrase “corporate exploitation”? “That won’t work unless you’re trying to kill us all off before the performance,” I informed her. “Surely that’s not what you want?”

“Oh, that won’t do, then,” Frederika replied. “All right, what about a song per person? That’ll make a total of five songs.”

A person per song implied that each of us would do a solo performance. Safina turned pale at the thought, and as a fellow psychologically vulnerable girl, I could practically feel the crushing pressure despite never having experienced such a thing before.

“Um, Miss Frederika?” I asked. “Can’t we all just sing one song?”

“Well, that won’t let each of you dazzle on your own,” she replied.

I’m sure I’ll live somehow!

Frederika clearly seemed adamant that we needed to do solo performances, at least enough so to have pushed back, but I had to put my foot down for the sake of my dear friend, Safina. (And also for my own sake. Especially for my own sake.) It was critical everyone worked together to overcome this trial. “How about we split one song up into various solo parts?” I suggested. “Each section will be short, but we can still make everyone the star for a few moments.”

“Hmm, splitting a song up...” the queen mulled. “If one, two, or even everyone gets their own bit within a single song, the audience can still enjoy a variety within one number... Heh heh, it truly is no wonder my sister favors you. How very, very interesting...”

Frederika still looked confused, but it seemed the queen understood what I was getting at. Cribbing knowledge from my past life may have scored me some undesirable points with the queen here, but I knew sacrifices had to be made if I was going to avoid putting on a whole song by myself.

“So, we must think of a corresponding dance routine,” the queen said. “Right, Frederika?”

“Huh?” the mermaid asked. “Uh, yes. Um, sure. I’ll leave you to it.”

The gears were already turning in the queen’s head, but clearly, Frederika still wasn’t quite sure what I had in mind, so she just decided to let Queen Belletochka take the reins.

“We must select a song that shall allow everyone to sing along that is also possible to split into parts...” Her Majesty muttered.

“What kind of song would work?” Frederika asked.

The two ladies were now off in their own world, leaving us girls on the sidelines. I preferably wanted a simple song, but I decided to leave the decision-making to the pros.

“Mary, we cannot swim nimbly in water, but we can use our wings to soar through the air,” Emilia said. “Would you think that sufficient as a replacement?” The princess stretched her wings and zoomed through the skies much like how Frederika had done when she was singing in the water.

“Oooh! I’m impressed to hear such a good idea from you!” I said.

“We beg your pardon?”

“I said, ‘Great idea! Keep up the good work!’ Ha ha.” I was so surprised I’d put my foot in my mouth, but I smiled and tried to laugh it off as Emilia glared at me dubiously. “By the way, we might not be as agile as Emilia, but we can use floating magic to fly too,” I added.

Safina looked worried. She was the only one of us who couldn’t use floating magic, and it would have been cruel of me to ask why someone who was working toward being a warrior had yet to learn such a vital spell. I knew she was terrified of heights, and I had no interest in forcing her hand.

Oh yeah, isn’t Magiluka afraid of heights too? When I glanced over at her, she also seemed slightly pale at the thought of dancing in the air.

“U-Um, I...” Safina started.

“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “We can be the ones flying in the air while you dance below us, and if it’s really required, we can all just float together. We can set up the dance routine to accommodate whatever formation we want.”

I glanced at Emilia and Sita for agreement, and they nodded back.

“Belletochka, how about this song?” Frederika suggested. “I’ve never sung this with everyone before, but it seems worth testing out.”

“Hmm, yes,” the queen agreed. “We can have them try it out.”

Looks like they’ve finally decided on a song. Fingers crossed that it’s not too difficult to sing or get the hang of. I maintained a calm demeanor—okay, I tried my best to look like I was maintaining a calm demeanor as I actually nervously waited for them to announce our song.

“All right, gather round, girls!” Frederika called out, peeking her face out from her sphere of water. “Listen up! I think we’ve settled on a song.” Then she began to sing. It was a slow song, and as it was a cappella, it sounded difficult to get the hang of the high and low notes along with the rhythm.

“Okay!” Frederika said. “Little Mary, why don’t you give it a go?”

“Y-Yesh, ma’am...” I stuttered. I once again let my clumsy self go on full display, my voice rising an octave from nervousness when I replied in a terrible waste of my flawless poker face (that definitely was flawless).

In any case, it wasn’t like I couldn’t sing, thanks to the dancing and singing that I was exposed to daily. Thank you, academy and my instructors. My mind just went back to the good old days when I was just a simple student in school to ease my nerves as I got through my turn.

Magiluka then sang well, which came as no surprise, but then I was most astonished by Emilia’s voice.

“Why’re you a good singer?” I asked.

“What’s it to you? Why do you seem so upset?” Emilia fired back with a glare.

Is it because she’s a princess? Is it the songstress genetics passed down to her? I hadn’t the faintest clue, and I was unable to hide my shock. “I just thought it was...you know...unusual,” I muttered.

“Mary, don’t you think you’ve been underestimating us a lot lately?”

“That’s not true! I’m just happy to get to see these unusual sides of yours.”

All I did was voice my genuine feelings, but the princess, for some inexplicable reason, averted her gaze to the floor and started mumbling under her breath. My word, what an adorable creature...

Safina was up next. It wasn’t hard to tell just how tense she was, and her nerves caused her to miss a few notes here and there, but that could easily be resolved with a bit of practice. It wasn’t really an issue of skill for her as much as it was a mental barrier.

“All right. Sita’s up next,” Orthoaguina said. He was quiet until now, but he broke his silence now that the chief librarian was up to sing. “Are you all right? Are you nervous? Don’t worry, just take deep breaths. Inhale, then exhale.”

“R-Right,” Sita replied.

Our resident doting dragon parent sounded more nervous than anyone now that it was his daughter’s turn. That consequently made Sita nervous, and she took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

While it hadn’t been at their behest, Orthoaguina had enhanced the physical abilities of Kairomea’s elves through his experimentation. I’d expected her to be just fine when it came to music as a result, but she looked surprisingly uneasy. All too soon, I realized the reason behind her hesitance.

Sita was...completely tone-deaf.

“A-As the chief librarian, it’s only natural music is an unexplored subject for you. I don’t blame you one bit,” Orthoaguina said, desperately trying to cheer his daughter up.

“T-True,” I agreed. “I’m sure she’s always been so swamped with her duties that she’s hardly ever had time for singing.”

“Precisely. Exactly so.”

We tried to soften the blow for Sita, who was presently despairing on her hands and knees. What I’d said was actually true, after all—unlike we students’ experience at the academy, Sita’s lifestyle had had nothing to do with singing or dancing. Unlocking the tower in Kairomea must’ve been her utmost priority for as long as she could remember, and she’d had little time for anything else. In fact, this might’ve been the first time she’d ever sung a song, period.

“You can hum along, so you’re not a totally lost cause,” Orthoaguina added. “If you maintain your cool and keep practicing, you’ll be able to sing well in no time. Sit tight, I’ll call over an expert for you.”

“Thank you, Lord Orthoaguina,” Sita replied.

“Good girl. That’s the spirit. Let’s hole up in a mountain for about a month and do some hard training!”

“I will! Please help me!”

“Hey, sorry to burst you two’s bubble when you’re all pumped up, but there aren’t any mountains here to hole yourself up in,” I reminded them. “Also, we’ve only got a week.”

“Why did that obnoxious fish-woman give us so little time to prepare?!” Orthoaguina roared.

Listen, I know that you’re panicking a bit because your precious daughter is in a pinch, but don’t call Frederika names, please. We’re going to end up having to beg for her forgiveness if you don’t get your act together. I worriedly glanced over at Frederika, who looked to be consulting with Queen Belletochka now that she’d heard everyone sing. Frederika probably didn’t hear him.

“Huh? Did you say something?” Frederika asked, noticing my gaze.

“You—” Orthoaguina started.

“Uh, it’s nothing!” I interjected, hoping I could clamp down on our book’s excessive word count and prevent him from complicating things any further. “Um, we can’t possibly have any more time, can we?”

“Sorry, probably not,” Frederika replied. “We’re already pushing it with a week. The spirit’s about to blow its lid, so this is about all the time we can buy.” She bowed her head apologetically.

Was she already treading a fine line with the spirit? Did Nike’s surprise attack end up pushing the spirit to its breaking point? No matter the case, it was clear that time was of the utmost essence.

“All right! I’ll master it in a week!” Sita cried. “Five all-nighters in a row is nothing! I just can’t eat, drink, sleep, or rest, and I’ll devote all my time to practice!”

“Nope! No dice!” I replied. “You’ll pass out during the actual ritual!” I knew that Sita was trying to put up a strong front and carry her own weight, but I was afraid she’d actually stay up for a week straight.

“Not to worry, Mary,” Orthoaguina replied. “Five all-nighters in a row is a piece of cake for folks like us.”

“That’s not something to be proud of!” I snapped. “No all-nighters! That’s the rule!” Down with exploitation! This enterprise is of the people and for the people!

“Urgh, then I suppose we’ve got no choice,” Orthoaguina relented. “We shall use all the wisdom and knowledge in Kairomea to make Sita into the perfect singer!”

He clearly had a fire lit inside him—I could practically see the actual massive dragon clenching his fist with determination as the entire tower cheered him on. I’m not hallucinating, am I?

“All right, then! Sita! First, we must increase your stamina!” Orthoaguina declared. “Run a few laps!”

“Yes, my lord!” Sita replied.

“And you lot follow her!”

“Whaaaat?” I whined.

As Sita ran around the stage with all her might, Safina followed, and we had to run after them too. I was incredibly skeptical we were following the best training regimen, but regardless of that concern, we’d officially marked the start of our preparation for the concert that was to come.

Evening came, and we were exhausted by all the running around we’d done—and also we’d divvied up the singing and dancing parts—so we set up camp around the stage and decided to rest for the night.

I went to check on Noa to see if she was doing well. The stage was designed to create a ridiculously large sphere of water, so there was plenty of room for us to camp for the night.

According to Frederika, people from nearby come to watch when there are rituals, and they draw large, bustling crowds. I could believe it—it was easy to imagine a sort of dome seating structure being set up here. I was now needlessly worrying whether it was okay to camp where an audience might be sitting.

“My lady,” my maid said.

“How’s Noa doing, Tutte?” I asked.

“She’s not awake yet.”

“Sita, I’m sorry to bother you when you’re tired, but...”

I initially wanted to borrow the Book of Orthoaguina from Sita and visit Noa by myself, but she insisted that she wanted to tag along and came with me.

Noa was a chimera created by Nike, and I knew Orthoaguina was familiar with the technology that created her. Since he was the only one here who had the expert knowledge I needed, I felt he was the only one I could rely on to assist me. For Sita’s part, now that she knew how Noa had come to be, she could hardly consider herself uninvolved in her situation, so she wanted to accompany me. I had no reason to leave Sita behind anyway—the more expert eyes the better. Speaking of which, I also had Snow come along with me since she knew more about the unknown than I did. Plus, our camp was already set up.

“Hm, it sounds to me like she used a power peculiar to her,” Orthoaguina observed. “Perhaps that caused her to suffer from mana exhaustion. I suspect that she activated an impressive ability that sapped away everything she had.”

Once the fuss died down, Tutte told us of Nike and how, apparently, he’d targeted her. When I heard that my precious maid may have fallen victim to his machinations, I felt a visceral, downright ugly rage come to a boil in my heart.

Then Tutte explained how Noa activated an ability just in the nick of time that was all too familiar to me—I was positive it was a power to nullify Nike’s magic. While the conditions to use her ability differed from mine, it was now evident that people aside from me could nullify spells as well.

Feeling sure I understood what Noa had done, I asked Orthoaguina about the possibility of canceling magic. He claimed that while it wasn’t wholly impossible, it was infamously difficult to meddle with or negate a spell and thus was something almost never done. Of course, that just made me sweat buckets.

“When Nike laid eyes on Noa, he called her ‘a failure.’ I wonder if that has something to do with how easily she succumbed to mana exhaustion,” I suggested.

“A failure...” Orthoaguina murmured. “The question becomes, what exactly constitutes a failure in Nike’s eyes? I don’t think she’s as helpless as Sita assumes, but as we’ve seen before, I’m sure Noa will fully awaken if we give her some time.”

I heaved a sigh of relief that Orthoaguina’s analysis hadn’t changed.

“Hrm...” Snow mumbled dubiously.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I don’t really know how to explain it. I’m not sure if it’s because she used up all her power, but when I see her up close, she’s... Hmm...”

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific. Try putting it into words.”

“It just...feels weird. Something’s not right.”

“How so?”

“I can’t explain it well, but Lily and I can see, like, mana and souls and stuff like that, right?”

“Like how you mentioned you could see mana residue before?”

“Yeah. I’m not sure if Lily knows what she’s doing, but thanks to her, this girl has stabilized a fair bit. Still, every now and then, I feel like her body and mana waver—like there’s this disconnect somehow.”

I had absolutely no idea what to do with this sudden bombshell Snow had so casually given me, so I passed along what she said to Sita and Orthoaguina in the hopes they’d have any ideas.

“Disconnect...” Orthoaguina muttered. “Grr... As I’m not physically there, I’m unable to sense such elements. Perhaps I’d be foolish to be chagrined that divine beasts were more sensitive than I was to matters of the soul, in any case. I can assure you I evaluated Noa’s condition to the best of my ability despite overlooking this matter.”

“I know,” I replied. “I do not fault you or anything of the sort. But please, do tell me if you have any insights on this topic.”

“Frankly, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of a phenomenon such as what you’ve described. If we’re to discuss this in greater depth, perhaps I should begin by asking you if you’re familiar with theories on the source of mana?”

“U-Uh, could you give me a brief and simple explanation, please?”

“Impossible. Now, listen closely.”

But before Orthoaguina could jump into a complicated ramble on a topic I knew very little about, Sita jumped into the conversation. “It’s actually a popularly debated topic in Kairomea,” she said. “Some people assert that mana comes from the body, while others claim it comes from the soul.”

“Wait, it’s not from the body?” I asked.

“If it did arise from the body,” Sita continued, “then it begs the question: What part of your body could you strengthen to improve your reserves of mana?”

I had no idea. I thought everyone was just sorta...born with their mana, I guess? It never occurred to me... What do you need to train to increase your mana? Honestly, I didn’t even know you could increase your mana. I was born with an absurd amount to begin with, so I’ve never really thought about it.

I consulted my manga knowledge to eke out a cliché guess. “Um, your mind?”

“Oh? No wonder they call you a holy woman, coming up with that so quickly,” Orthoaguina said.

Honestly, I’d thought it was a pretty common trope, but that apparently wasn’t the case in this world, as both Sita and Orthoaguina were looking at me with awe. Crap. Did I screw up? I felt like hastily trying to come up with an excuse here would only make me dig my grave deeper, so I settled for gesturing them to move the conversation along.

“The next question, then, is what is the mind?” Orthoaguina continued. “I’ve theorized that it must be the soul.”

“Put simply, under that theory, mana and the soul would be linked,” Sita explained. “Of course, we have no way to prove the hypothesis, so it remains a theory.”

“It pains me to admit, but as I mentioned earlier, the soul is in the domain of the gods. Us mere mortals are not allowed to casually step into such territory.”

“Wowee... You Kairomean folk sure are serious about your academia.”

“What kind of reaction is that?” Orthoaguina growled with suspicion. “Do I sense some mockery in that tone of yours?”

“I-It’s just you! I was just ever so deeply moved. You guys really are amazing with your brainpower.” All I’d done was give my earnest reaction, and now here I was doing damage control for it! But freeing my foot from my mouth hadn’t been anything new for me lately...

“My lady, please lower your voice,” Tutte scolded me as she heard me yelp loudly, prompting me to swiftly clap my hands over my mouth.

“I-In any case, topics on the soul can be left to the divine beast, I suppose,” Orthoaguina said, lowering his voice as well. “The best thing for now is for her to get some rest.”

I had no other solution to offer. I didn’t want to say anything more and inadvertently change their opinion of me any further, so I simply nodded while keeping my mouth covered.

“Okay, then I’ll practice my singing a bit before I head for bed,” Sita said. She tried to tuck the book away and leave.

“Hey, now,” I warned her, swiftly grabbing her hand and preventing her from leaving. “Go back and sleep, okay? I bet you’ll use an excuse like, ‘Whoops, it was morning before I knew it,’ and try to pull an all-nighter.” Now that I’d spent a decent amount of time with her, I’d sort of come to know how she thought.

“B-But...” Sita mumbled, not really able to deny I’d hit the nail on the head. She looked glum. I couldn’t blame her for her anxiety, but it was never a good idea to push yourself too hard.

“Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “Besides, you practiced only a bit today, and you’ve already gotten most of the melody down. You can do it if you try, and you’re not in this alone. Let’s work hard together, okay?”

“Precisely!” Orthoaguina said proudly as though his own child had been praised. “That’s exactly so! Sita can do it if she tries. When she became chief librarian, she—”

I feared that his praise would cause me to pull my own all-nighter, so I quickly closed the book on him, making a rather memorable end to our night.

10. The Concert Quickly Approaches

Our days of practice for the spirit kicked off. We stood in the middle of the stage and sang and danced our hearts out—it became our daily routine.

“No! No, no, no! You’ve got it all wrong, Safina!” Emilia shouted. “You must throw away your sense of shame and move your hips like this! And swing your arms around like this!”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” Safina replied.

The two girls were practicing their dance moves in front of me. Owing to her shyness, Safina was struggling with some of the routine. Emilia, who had no sense of shame at all, thus took it upon herself to teach Safina in the hope that she could break out of her shell. While I’d be happy if Safina became a bit more assertive, I don’t want her to become completely shameless... I better watch over them closely.

“Your Highness!” a crew member shouted. “What shall I do about these supplies?!”

“We’re busy!” Emilia roared back. “We’ve asked Reifus to take care of stuff like that, so go ask him!”

“Your wish is my command!” With that, the crew member energetically went back to their post.

Seriously, Relirex? Are you guys all right with receiving orders from another nation’s prince? The prince’s popularity was skyrocketing (or at least his manpower was), as many crew members went to him for further orders and instruction. I went to check up on them, worried about the possibility of there being an international incident, but the crew members were actually overjoyed and impressed, happy that they were getting more precise orders than they did from their own princess. Seriously, Relirex? To be fair, Queen Belletochka could also give out orders, but she was too busy with the ritual.

“Ah, Little Magiluka!” the queen said. “I don’t have to adjust too much for you, and it really saves me the trouble!”

Her Majesty patted Magiluka’s shoulders as the two of them walked out of the tent. You wouldn’t think this generous lady was the queen of a nation the way she had her hands full adjusting garments—she more so resembled a mother who worked late into the night on housework.

“Little Sita! I must take your measurements,” the queen called. “Could you be a doll and head over to the tent?”

“Okay!” she replied.

She energetically trotted over to the tent like a daughter who’d been summoned by her mother. If we only take into account their formal titles, this is a pretty intense situation.

“What’s wrong, Lady Mary?” Sacher asked as he approached me.

I heaved a sigh as I wandered around the area, processing this crazy situation that I found myself in.

“What are you and Rachel doing?” I asked.

“Huh? We’re fishing with everyone else,” he replied.

When I looked around him, I spotted a few crew members casting their fishing lines by the sea. “Sounds like fun,” I said.

“Well, it is when you get something on your line, but the waiting is excruciating,” Sacher replied.

“Tee-hee. You can never sit still, Sacher,” Rachel teased.

“I mean, it sucks sitting still, just carrying my fishing pole,” Sacher groaned as he scratched his head.

God these two are just so...dazzling! Th-They’re like a rejuvenating breath of fresh air!

“Rachel!” a crew member shouted, breaking the two’s little world. “You’ve got a bite!”

“Huh?! What?! I-I... Whoa!” Rachel cried as she turned back to her pole.

I could certainly see something tugging on the other end. She hastily clutched her pole, but in her panic, she lost her balance and lurched forward. Just when we all feared that she’d fall into the ocean, Sacher wrapped his arm around her, pulling her back to safety.

“You all right? You’re panicking a bit too much,” Sacher said.

“Oh, um...thank you,” Rachel replied.

His arm drew her close as she froze in place, her hands still tightly gripping her fishing rod. There was still something on the other end of her line, and this surreal scene looked a bit unusual to me, but I pretended not to notice.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you,” Sacher said.

“I, um...” Rachel started.

“Try to stay focused. Man, you must really be craving a fish dinner the way you panicked there.”

The sweet tension between the two was immediately ruined by Sacher’s callous remark, and Rachel quickly turned stone-faced. It was rough to watch.

Once Sacher released Rachel from his grasp, I decided to speak on behalf of everyone else. “You dense protagonist!” I roared, delivering a kick to his back.

“Whoa!” Sacher cried before he fell into the ocean.

“Mary!” Emilia bellowed as I was trying to bring Sacher back onto land. “Your break’s long been over! Join our practice and match our pace!”

It seemed the princess had gone out of her way to search for me. I reluctantly decided to go along with Emilia, but when I glanced around, I realized that our mermaid teacher was nowhere to be seen.

“Speaking of practice, where’s Frederika?” I asked.

“She said she’s got some business to tend to and is swimming around,” Rachel replied with a confused tilt of her head.

“Business? Like what?”

“Um, she said that she was going off to promote the event.”

“Promote? Oh, I don’t like the sound of that...”

I’d assumed that we’d have a small audience, maybe just with folks that we were familiar with, and I hadn’t expected it to be advertised. But as the days went by, my fears were soon proven true.

“Look, more guests,” I muttered.

“And they clearly aren’t crew members,” Magiluka added.

The two of us looked over the stage, where demons who resembled sea creatures emerged before us. They clearly weren’t related to the crew members, and various mermaids were also among the audience. Frederika was apparently an expert when it came to promoting events, and thankfully, these guests weren’t just attending—they’d brought various supplies with them.

I was particularly interested in an area where stalls were being set up and it felt like a festival was underway. When I tuned in, I could hear various people chattering away.

“How many years has it been since the ritual?”

“It’s been a while, I think. Those suits of armor destroyed this place way back when.”

“I heard the Argent Holy Woman annihilated the armor, allowing the ritual to be held once more.”

“Huh... I heard whispers about it, but I guess the Argent Holy Woman actually exists. I’m so grateful.”

“What’s more, she’ll be dancing for us in this ritual.”

“Really?! That’s so exciting!”

“Excuse me, ladies, I’ve gotta go and correct that Argent Holy Woman bit,” I said. There were a few remarks that I couldn’t let slide.

“Lady Mary, how exactly can you correct the truth?” Magiluka asked cruelly from behind me.

“Ngh...” She had a point.

“All righty, girls!” Queen Belletochka called. She had some bags under her eyes, but she flashed a dazzling smile as though she’d completed her masterpieces. “Since I’ve finished adjusting the outfits, please change into them so I can do my final checks!”

I was pretty worried about how revealing our outfits would turn out, yet I couldn’t suppress the dream I had of wearing an idol outfit. I eagerly headed into the tent to get changed. Needless to say, I had Tutte help me change—I would’ve felt awful if I tore the outfit somehow. If I couldn’t control my power here and just ripped my outfit to shreds, I feel like Queen Belletochka would faint on the spot.

I spotted my maid helping everyone else, not just me, when she had the time. Once again, I was hit with the realization of just how amazing she was.

“It’s a bit embarrassing,” Safina admitted. It was, of course, also her first time wearing such attire. “My stomach’s all exposed.” She hid her midriff sheepishly.

“Ah, but young warriors truly are impressive!” I said, sounding like an old man as I covered my own stomach. “You’ve got well-toned abs, and that makes me jealous.”

“Hmm, we don’t really mind it at all,” Emilia said, standing tall and proud. “Take a look at our beautiful body!”

“You really do take after your father,” I said as I sized her up. She was just like the Dark Lord, who proudly displayed his muscles for the world to see.

“We shouldn’t really pry too deeply into the outfits,” Sita said. Like Safina, she was embarrassed about showing off her stomach. In fact, she seemed uncomfortable changing with everyone, and she leaned forward slightly as she tried to sneak away from the crowd as though to hide herself away.

“What are you being so shy for?!” Emilia shouted forcefully. “Stand tall! As tall as can be!” She marched right up to Sita, grabbed her arms, and forced the poor girl to raise them high in the air.

“Eep!” Sita shrieked. She was naked from the waist up due to being in the middle of changing, and she froze in place, her mind screeching to a halt.

“Oh? We thought a bookworm like you would be unhealthily frail, but you’re quite toned,” Emilia observed, carefully inspecting her body.

“Quite right,” Orthoaguina replied. “Rachel and I have been keeping close watch over Sita so that she maintains a healthy body.”

“Huh... I see...” I said before I stopped myself. All too late, I realized that this talking book mingling with us young girls was none other than Orthoaguina, Sita’s father. It took a few seconds for this reality to sink in. “You perveeeert!” I shrieked. “No men allowed!”

Sita had placed the book on the table to change, and I snatched it up and hurled it outside the tent.

“I’m a dragon!” Orthoaguina protested. “The naked human body means nothing to meeee!”

He had a point, but I was having none of it. A maiden’s heart was complex and delicate.

“L-Lady Mary?” Prince Reifus asked.

Only then did I realize what I’d done. While tossing the book outside, I’d leaned out of the tent, only to lock eyes with the shocked prince. He was doing his job well, ensuring that no one would accidentally wander inside—he never would’ve imagined me popping out in such scandalous attire.

“Aaaaaaaaah!” I screamed, retreating back into the tent like a scared rabbit.

“U-Um, how do the outfits fit?” Queen Belletochka asked kindly, probably trying to considerately move us away from talking about what I just did. “Is it too tight anywhere?”

I was in the corner of the room, trembling with embarrassment with my face bright red. When I gazed at everyone, their clothes all closely resembled the sort of idol outfit that I was familiar with from my past life.

Actually, come to think of it, these seem a bit more like mirror me’s magical girl outfits than the idol outfits I remember. I can’t believe she put me in such a bizarre costume... The thought wasn’t sitting right with me, so I decided that didn’t count and that, actually, this was my first time wearing an idol costume.

“Are you guys all ready? ♪” Frederika sang. “All right then! ♪ Let’s head outside and promote our ritual! ♪”

Her voice came from outside the tent, and when I peeked out, I saw her in a massive tub. The crew members had carried her up like she was in a palanquin, and this absurd sight made me forget my embarrassment from earlier.

When we all lined up at the stage of the venue, the audience began to crowd around while keeping their distance from us.

“Why don’t I introduce you to the shrine maidens who’ll sing and dance for our ritual today? ♪” Frederika announced.

We had no idea what was going on and we weren’t sure what she’d say next, so we were just standing around in quiet panic.

“Come on!” Frederika said, pushing an unreasonable request onto us. “Introduce yourselves! Be loud and proud, and make sure to be cute.”

“C-Cute?” Magiluka stammered. “What should we do, Lady Mary?”

“Uh, don’t ask me. Sorry, but I’m useless on that end,” I replied.

“Wh-Wh-What do we... I-I-I...” Safina stuttered.

“Shh, calm down, Safina. It’s okay,” I said. “Inhale... Exhale. Take another deep breath...”

“‘Cute,’ huh?” Sita pondered. “I remember that we held a debate in Kairomea on how to cutely ask for things.”

“Oh? That sounds like a fine plan,” Emilia replied. “And where did you land?”

“I don’t remember. I didn’t bring the book with me, so I can’t ask Lord Orthoaguina.”

“Why didn’t you bring it with you?”

“Wouldn’t it be weird if I’m the only one with a book?”

“Girls?” Frederika said in a menacing tone. “I said, ‘Introduce yourselves.’ Act. Cute.”

“Yes, ma’am,” we all replied as we fell silent and stopped our frantic whispering.

“Okay, who’s first?” I asked.

“Ah, then why don’t we do what we did before?” Emilia suggested. “Rock-paper-scissors.”

“But—” Magiluka started to protest.

“Great idea,” I replied. “Let’s go with that.”

I hastily silenced Magiluka. If memory serves, Emilia sucks at rock-paper-scissors. I think we’ve got this in the bag. I wasn’t sure if Emilia was oblivious to her lack of skill or simply refused to admit it, but I was all for this battle of wits. And so...

“Wh-Why?! How could we lose?!” Emilia gasped, suffering a crushing defeat.

“Uh, why’d you think you could win anyway?” I asked.

“We trained for days with Sufia and some others. We thought we’d improved a fair bit.”

Or maybe they just went easy on you because you sucked so hard. I could easily imagine the troubled looks on Sufia’s and her other servants’ faces as they sought ways to help their princess win.

“Grr... We suppose we’ve got no other choice,” Emilia grumbled. “Burn our valor into your retinas! Here lies the pride of Emilia Relirex, the demon princess of Relirex!”

She exaggerated a bit before she stepped forward onto the stage. “Hellooo there! ♪ We’re Emilia, everyone’s princess! We’re, like, super nervous, but we hope everyone will cheer us on! Mwah! ♪”

She struck the best cutesy pose she could muster. She’s pushing herself... As the rest of us froze, the audience roared and cheered with delight, signaling the beginning of a hellish scenario.

“Who’s next? ♪” Frederika said, satisfied with Emilia’s attempt.

Emilia was still standing there, shocked and petrified, as the crew members quickly carried her off stage. Frederika pressed us for another introduction, and I’d never been more frightened of her.

“Number two is me, Sita! Here I go!” she declared, resigned to her fate, her heart clearly sunk into a pit of despair. She recklessly rushed forward and gave a humiliating— I mean, amazing introduction, her cuteness on full display as Emilia had done. Sita then fled into her tent, mortified. I felt like I’d heard a certain book cheer more loudly than anyone else, but I wondered if my ears were playing tricks on me.

I was the anchor, and I felt more pressure than ever before; I cursed my talent for rock-paper-scissors. Up next was Magiluka, who had a sneaky thought. Under the guise of “wanting to save time,” she tried to step up onto the stage with Safina.

“Safina, we wouldn’t want to use up too much time, would we?” she suggested. “Let’s go up onstage together.”

“O-Okay! Thank you!” Safina replied.

“Hey! No fair!” I wailed.

I turned to Frederika, appealing that those two girls were cheating, but she gave me a happy thumbs-up, more than delighted to go with the flow if it was accepted by the crowd.

And so, I was all alone at the very end. As I steeled myself for the upcoming embarrassment, I heard the crowd murmur.

“Hey, is she...?”

“Yeah, isn’t that the Argent Holy Woman?”

“No doubt about it! That hair color, the divine beast behind her, she’s the real deal! She’s the bona fide Argent Holy Woman!”

Confused, I whirled around and spotted Snow, grinning from ear to ear. You useless snow leopaaard! I wanted to blend in with the crowd, but Snow made me stand out wherever I went. Frederika, on the other hand, was utterly delighted, praising the stupid divine beast for being skilled at getting the crowd going.

It wasn’t helping my situation that the crowd had all united to chant, “Argent Holy Woman!”

I have to do a cutesy introduction for a crowd this excited? Ugh... This is hell. Argh!

All right, get it together, Mary Regalia! Women are nothing if not courageous! Here I gooo! With renewed resolve, I made a peace sign next to my eyes.

“Hiyaaaa! I’m Mary! We’re gonna perform the best ritual ever, so make sure you stay glued to those seats! We’re counting on your support! Tee-hee!”

I gave my all for my introduction, and I was immediately awash in a tidal wave of hollering and cheering. All the while, I wanted to turn to dust and fade away into the ether.

11. Commence the Spirit Ritual!

“Noa woke up?” I asked.

The evening before our concert—I mean, our ritual—Tutte came to report on Noa’s status, and I hastily headed over.

“Noa!” I cried.

“Ah!” Noa replied. “Mmph! Mfff! Mm!”

When I ran over to her, she was in the middle of shoveling an inordinate amount of food into her mouth. Even when I first met her, she mentioned that she was hungry. I guess she’s not very fuel efficient. While I was surprised to see her eat so ravenously, I was mostly just relieved to see her being an energetic little girl again.

“Noa, you mustn’t talk while you eat,” I said. “That’s bad manners.”

“Mgh... I’m sorry,” Noa replied.

“Now, now. At least she seems to be doing well,” Tutte said.

“I’m sorry,” Noa said again.

“It’s fine,” I replied.

“It’s not. Because of me, everyone got...”

Noa looked glum, and I realized that she was apologizing for a different matter entirely. She’s probably feeling guilty about Nike’s attack, but it’s clear as day that it isn’t her fault.

“You don’t have to apologize,” I said. “It’s not your fault that everyone was put in danger. In fact, I’m the one to blame.”

“Th-That’s not true,” Noa replied.

Judging from Tutte’s and everyone else’s stories, it seemed clear to me that Nike hadn’t really been interested in Noa from the start. He’d only chosen to cause destruction in hopes of stirring some sort of reaction out of me. So, if the matter of responsibility became the topic, I felt like it all fell on me.

“You don’t have to worry about a thing,” I said. “I’m just really glad that you’re safe and sound.” I heaved a sigh of relief. She looked troubled, so I squeezed her face tight—I wasn’t sure what else I could do, really.

“Let me ask you something, little girl,” the talking book said, ruining the nice mood. “Nike called you a ‘failure,’ correct? Do you happen to know why? And everyone mentioned that you cast some sort of spell at the end to nullify magic. What exactly did you do?”

“Sita!” I shouted. “Shut that insensitive book up!”

“Uh, um... Lord Orthoaguina!” Sita yelped. She placed an index finger over her lips and turned to the book. “Shhh!”

“Time is a finite resource,” Orthoaguina replied. “And prolonging this dreary mood will only make it harder for her too. It’s wise to swiftly move on.”

“You’re not wrong, but at least show a bit more consideration in how you phrase your questions,” I snapped back.

Sure, he might’ve had a point, but his bluntness could’ve weighed on Noa’s heart. I had to protest his callous phrasing.

“Why don’t we let her rest easy for today and ask her tomorrow?” Magiluka said, jumping into my argument with the dragon.

“Look at her voracious appetite,” Orthoaguina pointed out. “What do we have to worry about?”

Everyone turned to the table piled high with emptied plates. Noa noticed everyone looking at her streak of carnage and turned red. “U-Um, well...” she mumbled.

“So? How about it?” Orthoaguina asked. “This won’t be the last we see of Nike, so I’d like to gather as much information as possible. And since you used your powers, surely you must’ve triggered some memories.”

As the dragon casually shocked us all, Noa’s body jolted. I was hugging her tight and didn’t miss it.

“Noa?” I asked.

“I...don’t know,” she murmured. “I did remember that I was called a failure by Nike and the Argent Armor, but I can’t recall how they decided I’m a failed product. And as for whatever power I used, I was just so engrossed in the situation that something popped up in my head. I just let that out, and I don’t really know what I did exactly, myself.” She gazed into the distance as she tried her best to remember, but ultimately, she couldn’t provide us with any clear answers. A troubled grimace stretched across her face.

“Hmm, I guess that wasn’t the vital piece to the puzzle...” Orthoaguina muttered.

“Orthoaguina?” I asked.

“Nothing. Tomorrow is the ritual. It’s best if you all get some rest.”

“Tomorrow? Already?” Noa asked, surprised by his news.

I mean, she was asleep until now. I can’t blame her. “Yeah, tomorrow will be our big show,” I said. “I’d love for you to sit and watch us perform, so you should rest up today.”

I gently put her to bed.

“Urgh... Tomorrow...” Sita said as she trembled and tried to step outside. “I-I think I’ll practice a bit more.”

Her biggest concern was her singing. While Frederika didn’t jump and applaud at Sita’s singing, the mermaid did give her a passing grade. Still, her mind was plagued with worry.

“Sita,” Rachel warned.

“I know,” Sita replied, acknowledging her sister’s concern. “I’ll do my best without pushing myself too hard. I just want to practice one last time.”

“I’ll go too,” Safina said, clearly anxious as well. She quickly followed Sita outside.

“Um, I-I think I’ll go watch over them,” Magiluka said, heading out as well. Perhaps she was nervous too.

I pondered on what to do for a few moments. I was worried about Noa, but knew that I wasn’t mentally confident enough to stand proud for tomorrow’s big show. Indeed, in truth, I was actually the most timid and anxious of the group.

“Good grief. Whatever they do now will hardly make an impact for tomorrow,” Emilia said. “They can learn from us, standing bold and confident...”

“Okay, Emilia, I leave the rest to you!” I said. I ran to join the other girls, leaving the living embodiment of self-assurance behind.

“Hey! Hey, wait!” Emilia cried. “We’re actually nervous too!”

She wailed as she ran after me. I waited for her to catch up, and we all decided to practice until the sun set.

The next day, when I saw the area by the stage, it was crowded unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I didn’t even know where these guests came from; some demons had arrived by boat, while surrounding residents had also arrived to catch the show. It wasn’t the people of Relirex skillfully guiding and managing the crowd, however, but none other than the prince of Aldia, which really left me scratching my head with confusion.

The prince claimed that he was happy that his experience from the Academy Festival was proving useful here as he managed the people. I left Tutte to take care of Noa, but Noa was already good as new, and excited by the crowd, she began to wander about and enjoy herself. Well, Lily and Snow are with her, so I think she’ll be okay.

Sacher and Rachel were in charge of standing guard nearby, and Queen Belletochka had brought in some instruments as she was doing some final tweaks with an orchestra. The performing musicians were sea creatures that Frederika had brought with her. Aside from the queen, who used her own instrument, the others were using their own body parts to create melodious music. This was beginning to look more like a musical of sorts, and I worried that before long, I’d have to begin singing in lieu of proper dialogue.

Once we finished changing into our attire, we ladies were on standby in a waiting room.

“We’re at the point of no return,” I said. “All right, guys! Let’s huddle!”

Since everyone had gathered ’round, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get ourselves energized for the show.

“A huddle? Lady Mary, do you mean like the one we did at the Academy Festival?” Safina asked. She and Tutte recalled having done it before and quickly approached me, while everyone else followed them, wondering what we were about to do. I excitedly thrust out my hand, and Safina and Tutte followed. Everyone else followed suit as we formed a circle with our hands in the middle. Silence ensued.

“Uh, Mary, since you started this, shouldn’t you be the one to say something?” Emilia said, intuiting this practice.

“Uh, I thought the prince, princess, or queen would be best,” I replied, trying to play it off and pass the duty on to someone else. “I can’t speak in lieu of the royals, can I?”

“Heh heh, I think it’s a bit too late for that,” the prince chuckled.

“Indeed. You can take it away, Little Mary!” the queen added.

Encouraged by the energy around me, I was pretty excited, but when asked to speak up, I was too nervous, as was fitting for my feeble commoner mindset. I resigned myself to my fate. I gazed at everyone in this huddle before my eyes finally settled on the hands stacked in the center.

“I know that we all worked really hard to make today happen!” I said. “I’m not sure if we can make this concert—I mean, ritual—a smashing success, but let’s give it our all! We won’t sweat about the small stuff and we’ll enjoy today to its fullest!”

“Yeah!” everyone shouted as they raised their hands in the air with me.

“Let’s go, Little Mary and friends!” Frederika said before casually sliding in an ominous remark. “Continue the ritual no matter what happens!”

We headed to the center of the stage with gusto when I tried to whirl around, befuddled by the mermaid’s latter sentence. Just then, the fanfare of the band filled the area, and cheers arose from the audience. This was a ritual to quell the spirit. Or to be more precise, a concert to appease it.

“Let’s kick off the spirit concert!” I said loudly, my voice reverberating throughout the stage. “Come on, guuuuys! Let’s turn it up!”

I knew that the stage itself was causing my voice to echo, and it was pretty loud for me, but the crowd cheered and roared in response, drowning my voice out as the audience rooted us on. Oh my god! Eek! The pressure! The crushing pressuuuure! My knees almost buckled from the overwhelming passion of the audience, but I managed to keep it all together. I gazed at Tutte and Noa, her eyes sparkling bright. I’m the older sister! I have to show her my cool side! And I want to convey to her how fun it is to be here!

The music went on, and we began to sing just as we’d practiced. Those who weren’t singing were dancing along, totally in sync. Safina and Sita made an adorable pair while Emilia and Magiluka gave off fiery passion. I wasn’t able to mingle with either team as I showed off what I could.

Sita was anxious about her singing talent, and Safina was nervous about going onstage, but their perfect opening number didn’t allow anyone to sense any of their insecurities, and it drove the audience wild. In the employee stands was a certain book, howling louder than anyone else; I wasn’t sure if this dragon was allowed to roar so loudly in Kairomea. His timbre was deafening.

After everyone did their little solo parts, we all came together and sang while Emilia and Sita soared through the air. Safina, Magiluka, and I remained on the ground, singing and dancing as we stood in a delta triangle. I felt like this was going well.

Just when I truly believed that we could end this ritual without any bumps, however, I felt a droplet fall onto my cheek. Huh? Is it raining? The weather had been so beautiful mere moments ago, but the skies grew dark and gloomy as the sea frothed and stirred.

“Yeaaaaah! Woooooo!” an earth-shattering voice echoed through the air.

The noise drowned out the entire crowd, causing the venue to rock back and forth—the spirit must’ve arrived. Only then did Frederika’s warning from earlier finally sink in. Is that what she meant when she wanted us to continue the ritual no matter what happens?! During the interlude, I glanced over at the staff area, and they were all fully equipped, hastily jumping to their feet.

“Blocks A and C of the venue are fully armed!” the prince declared. “Don’t let the spirit into the venue! The success of this ritual depends on us! Protect the maidens performing the ritual!”

Sacher, Rachel, Frederika, and the other armed units roared loudly with agreement. The rain grew stronger and the waves towered over us, threatening to crash down onto our stage. With clear danger looming over us, the other girls must’ve become anxious as they noticed me staring worriedly in the middle of our dance routine. Everyone’s doing their best! We’ve gotta do what we can too! When the music ended, I took a step forward.

“Come on, everyone!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “Let’s have some fuuuun! We can blow away these gloomy clouds in no time with our dazzling performance!”

The audience cheered louder than ever as we began singing again. All around us, watery hands shot out from the sea toward us, but our stalwart guards fended them off, protecting us from the spirit’s reach.

“Please! No one is allowed past this point! Please don’t get on the stage!” the guards shouted.

Frederika used herself as a shield to defend against the spirit’s main body, really hammering home how terrifying he was.

“Woooooooo! Maaaary! Magilukaaa! Emiliaaaa! Safinaaa! Sitaaaa!” the spirit bellowed excitedly, trying to attack us as he called our names.

Ahhhh! I’m so scared! As I did my utmost to suppress my fear, we entered the climax of our performance. As we’d done during rehearsal, we used light magic to illuminate the stage with a colorful glow, and the entire venue became one as they cheered for us. The spirit was also pumped up, as he made clear through the surrounding ocean foaming with waves that were growing ever taller and more menacing. The stormy sea would’ve sunk any sturdy ship if it’d attempted to cross the waters during this concert...and yet we continued singing. This wasn’t at all how I imagined concerts went, but I didn’t sweat the small stuff—I was having plenty of fun performing.

As our performance drew to a close, part of me was eager to end it, while another part of me was reluctant to walk off stage. Alas, I had no say in the matter, and our ritual eventually did draw to a close, with the music and the cheers coming to an abrupt halt following the finale. Silence settled throughout the venue, giving the illusion that time stood still.

“Bravooo!” the spirit shouted at the top of his lungs.

At once, the skies turned sunny and bright once more, and as the light shone down on us, the audience realized that the performance was a resounding success, causing them to cheer as loud as the spirit himself. A wave of exhaustion immediately rushed over my body as my nerves eased up—we’d done it. All of us girls must’ve felt a great sense of accomplishment, and we gave each other verbal pats on the back.

“We did it, Mary,” Emilia said.

“Yeah, we sure did,” I replied.

“Yay! Hooray! We really did it!” Sita cried.

“M-My anxiety’s f-f-finally catching up with me...” Safina groaned as she sank to the ground.

“You all right?” I asked.

After Emilia and I had exchanged a solemn thumbs-up and Sita had leaped into the air with joy, I turned to Safina, who was on the ground behind us.

“Um, this was a ritual to appease the spirit, correct?” Magiluka asked. “I felt like all we did was make him more excited than ever... Perhaps we succeeded nonetheless?”

We were all glad that the performance was over, but Magiluka’s question immediately snapped us back to reality as I recalled the impetus for this entire ritual anyway.

“R-Right,” I said gingerly as I gazed at the giant which I assumed was the spirit’s body. “He sure was terrifying. How will he rate our performance?”

He had his hands high up in the air as he froze in place, and the entire venue gulped nervously and awaited his response with bated breath. Just then, Frederika, who was closest to the spirit, inexplicably swam up to this frozen giant and gave him a few pokes. The giant immediately crumbled to the ground in a wave of seawater, and cheers arose from the crowd once more. It seemed we’d successfully managed to appease the spirit.

It kind of just looks like he was all tired out from cheering so hard at our ritual, but whatever. At least it was a success! All’s well that ends well.

“All right, guys. Let’s head home,” I said. A smile of satisfaction stretched across my face as I tried to leave the venue.

“Lady Mary,” Magiluka interrupted, always my voice of reason. “Do you recall why you came here in the first place?”

“Uh, to do this concert, right?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh, right! I came here to head to Xeoral and research the Argent Knight!” I’d forgotten all about it.

12. After the Concert

Once our ritual ended, the venue, which had been destroyed by the spirit’s excitement, was being fixed up. All the while, everyone else was drinking and making merry.

“You were all amazing!” Noa squealed excitedly. She had Lily in tow as she entered our tent.

“Heh heh heh. Did we earn your admiration?” Emilia chuckled.

“You did!” Noa beamed.

“Then fear not, for we’re sure your own womanly charms will come in due time. Hmm, we suspect you’ll attain quite the allure within a few short years, Noa. Though there is a chance that your maturity may come to a screeching halt as it’s done for Mary.”

“O-Okay...”

I thought that Noa would be delighted to hear that she could undergo a transformation, but her enthusiasm had faded fast. I had a hunch it was because she had no clue how to respond to Emilia casually insulting me.

“Emilia!” I snapped. “What do you—”

“I-In any case!” Emilia interrupted, cutting me off before I could fire back. “Performances like these can heighten morale and the overall mood of people. We’d like to add something like this to our royal capital as well.”

I can’t believe Emilia, of all people, just got one over on me! Fine. “Will you be performing alone?” I asked.

“What nonsense are you saying?” Emilia replied. “We’ll call for you and your friends, of course.”

“Why must we help support another nation’s morale? I’d just perform back at Aldia, then.” I was joking, of course.

“That’s a good idea,” the prince suggested, to my horror. “Maybe for the next Academy Festival, we can—”

“Why don’t we discuss stuff like this another day?” Magiluka replied, eager to steer this conversation away as she realized that she’d get involved too. “Today, we should celebrate what we’ve done.”

“I-Indeed! We should celebrate! Yes!” Safina agreed.

“Ah, an excellent proposal,” Orthoaguina added. “Maybe Sita can perform in Kairomea—”

“Wh-Wh-What are you saying, Lord Orthoaguina?!” Sita yelped. “No! I can’t! No no no no!”

“A-A-All right! Okay! Okay! Just stop shaking the book around so wildly! You’re blurring my vision, and I don’t feel so—”

We all laughed as we watched the family quarrel. Noa was smiling again too.

“What’s wrong, big sister?” Noa asked. She tilted her head to one side as she noticed me staring at her.

“Oh, um, are you having fun right now, Noa?” I asked. I wasn’t worried about the conversation.

Noa blinked back blankly for a few moments. “Yup. I’m having fun,” she said with a bright, childlike smile.

I couldn’t suppress the corners of my mouth tugging upward as I petted her head.

Thinking back, I was the one who woke her up. At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d made the right call awakening her from her slumber, and when she’d tagged along with our journey to regain her memories, I didn’t know if that was the best for her. But before I knew it, none of that mattered anymore, and I just wanted her to genuinely have fun and enjoy life. What is this feeling? I think it’s sort of similar to how I feel toward Magiluka and my other friends, but it’s not exactly the same either.

I’d never had any siblings. I’d only referred to Noa as my younger sister throughout this trip on a whim...but I’d since felt something fundamental change within my heart.

“I’m glad to hear it,” I said. “Let’s have tons of other fun experiences from here on out, okay?”

As I poured my heart out to Noa, the look on her face seemed tinged with joy and sorrow—I couldn’t quite fully comprehend her feelings. But before I could ask, a certain mermaid interrupted our merry mood.

“All right, ladies!” Frederika said. “I’m sorry to make you all work when you’re so tired, but I do have one more request for you.”

I had a bad feeling about this. “What? Do you want us to sing again?” I asked.

“No, no. But the maidens must meet and greet all the guests who attended your ritual today.”

“Excuse me? I didn’t hear anything about this.”

“Yeah, because I never mentioned it. But I am now.”

We all fell silent.

“Argh, can you blame me?!” Frederika wailed. “It was your first performance, so I didn’t think you’d have a ton of fans, but you guys are more popular than I thought you’d be. The guests are pushing each other and yelling over who gets to see you first. Just think of it as tradition! Could you help a fellow girl out here?”

It was unusual to see the mermaid put her hands together, begging for help, and it must’ve implied how rowdy it was outside. I don’t see Sacher or Rachel anywhere, so I bet they’re busy managing the crowd.

Wow, guess I’ll be doing my first so-called meet and greet. But hey, credit where credit’s due—the audience pumped us all up despite the less-than-ideal situation, so I guess they can get some freebies from us.

“Well, I guess we can give them a little something...” I conceded. “What do you guys think?”

“As long as it’s not too dangerous...” Magiluka replied as she glanced outside the tent.

I followed suit and took a peek. People were lined up in clean lines thanks to the efforts of Sacher and the other guards, but the guests were all flaring their nostrils with excitement. Their attitude was a bit...terrifying.

“Miss Frederika... We won’t be in any danger, will we?” I asked.

“Who knooows? ♪” Frederika replied.

“Please don’t try to sing the question away.”

“Oh, you ladies will be just fine! You’re all maiiiidens! ♪”

So what? I had no idea what she was getting at, nor did I have any faith in her words. But I feared that if I made the audience wait any longer, their excitement would reach a breaking point and all hell would break loose, just as the spirit had done.

“Okay, let’s just get it over with!” I said.

I took the lead, knowing that I was an invincible lady no matter what, and as everyone watched, a member from the audience frantically rushed up to me, guided by one of the staff.

“Thanks for coming to our concert to...day?” I started off strong, but trailed off, befuddled.

Make no mistake—this was my first time ever doing anything like this. I was nervous and my mind was a mess, but I assumed that I’d give each guest a handshake before they were off on their way; I stuck out my hand, but the audience refused to take it. I tilted my head to one side as the audience member knelt. They placed their hands together as though they were praying.

“Ah! Honorable shrine maiden!” they shouted. “Thank you so much for a wonderful ritual!”

“Um, I... Uh?” I stammered.

I froze, my arm still extended, as the audience member prayed to me. Unsure of what to do as I struggled to process this situation, I turned toward my friends with confusion. I could practically hear my neck creak like a stiff machine.

“Well, you ladies are shrine maidens,” Frederika said. “You completed a sacred ritual! Is there a problem if the audience shows their respect toward you maidens? Okay, okay, ladies! Line up! ♪”

She was the only one who looked so excited. The ritual itself had felt like an idol concert, and the audience so closely resembled fans that I had completely forgotten what this entire ceremony was about—that is, a sacred ritual to appease the spirit. We were the shrine maidens to carry out these sacred duties, and it wasn’t odd for the more pious audience members to pray toward us and show us their respect. I see. Guess it’s all good then. Or...is it? As an audience member prayed toward me, everyone else lined up with a strained smile.

“All right! Your time’s up!” Frederika sang. “Next! ♪”

“No, please!” the audience member begged. “Please, just one more minute!”

“Nopity nope! ♪ Someone, take this person awaaay!”

“But I haven’t said any of my thoughts about the ritual and—nooooo!”

A crew member dragged the praying audience member away, making room for the next in line, who made a beeline for us. Each person used the time they were allotted to the max, praying their hearts out to us. Uh, this really isn’t the meet and greet that I envisioned... And so, my friends and I stood there, receiving everyone’s vehement prayers.

An hour passed.

“What an experience...” I muttered as I returned to our tent. We changed from our outfits and into our usual clothes, then I plopped down on a chair from exhaustion.

“Indeed... I didn’t think people would pray to us,” Magiluka agreed.

“Hmph, we didn’t mind it at all,” Emilia said.

“Wow, you really are a princess!” Sita remarked. “So benevolent and strong-minded!”

“Sita, don’t you wield a fair bit of power in Kairomea, second only to Orthoaguina? It’d do you good to get used to all this praying and revering.”

“No, I don’t think I can.”

As I listened to their conversation, my eyes wandered over to Safina, who lay on the table lifelessly. “Safina, you seemed more nervous than anybody,” I said. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yesh...” she murmured as she looked more tired than ever.

Now that our ritual was finally over, we all celebrated our success. As the hours ticked by and the sun was beginning to set, the crowd also died down. We were all still relaxing and taking a break when the queen herself arrived.

“You all did splendidly today!” she said.

I immediately sat straight up. “Th-Thank you, Queen Belletochka. But we really didn’t do much.”

“I know you’re all tired, but I’m here to report that the spirit has emerged again. He wants to meet you all.”

At once, us girls all nervously looked at each other. We all took a few moments before we silently nodded. With the queen as our guide, we walked out of the tent toward the spirit, and it took only a bit of walking before a water giant appeared from the sea, albeit this time in the shape of a more proper human, unlike the vaguely humanoid form he’d been taking on before.

“I thank you for coming, visitors,” the spirit said, sounding calm and mature.

I was so surprised to hear him sound so composed and collected that I only managed to reply with a rather rude “Oh, uh, sure.”

“I am the water spirit, ruler of the spirit sea and this domain.”

“Yeah, we know.”

“You’re all visitors, yet you still performed the arduous ritual. On behalf of this domain, I offer you my deepest gratitude.”

“Uh, you do know that you’re the cause, right? Is something going on? Earlier, you were all, ‘Wooooo! Insert name here!’ and you were so pumped.”

“Ahem! Ahem! I-I haven’t the faintest clue what you’re on about. I am the ruler of this domain. N-N-Never would I act so stupid in front of others. I-I know that best.” The spirit had immediately lost his composure when I’d raised my arms in the air and flailed them around, mimicking what he’d done earlier.

“Miss Frederika?” I asked.

“Well, you know how it is,” the mermaid replied. “He got all excited and reached a breaking point before he snapped back to reality and became embarrassed with himself. He’s at the age where he wants to act cool, so just let him do as he likes, please.”

“‘At the age’? Isn’t he, like, centuries older than us?”

“Lady Mary, if you bully the poor spirit much more, he may throw a tantrum again and turn the sea stormy,” Magiluka advised.

“Right. You’re totally right,” I replied.

We’d gone through so much hard work that I’d felt compelled to tease the spirit a little, hoping to give him a small taste of his own medicine when it came to embarrassment, but as Magiluka said, if the spirit became angry again and threw a tantrum, we’d be back to square one.

“Then do you know why we’re here?” I asked.

“I do,” the water spirit replied. “I heard from my dear— I mean, from Miss Frederika that you want to head to Xeoral.”

“Precisely. I was told that the device to head there was destroyed by the suits of Argent Armor. Can we still head there?”

“I cannot deny that the device for the safest and most certain route for Xeoral was destroyed. Damn it, that Nike! He stole all the technology he could and used it all for himself! How dare he call our device outdated and inefficient! We’ve been operating like this with no problems for the past several centuries!” The spirit began to emit an ominous air.

“Um, spirit, sir? We’re going on a tangent.” If I didn’t steer us back on track, the conversation might have gone off the rails.

“Ah, yes! Ahem!” the spirit said. “The device may have been destroyed, but that doesn’t mean that you cannot head to Xeoral! Heh heh! I’m quite impressive, am I not? After all, I am the spirit who lords over the sea!”

“You’re so cool, spirit!” Frederika praised. “Simply amazing! ♪”

The spirit looked so smug and proud of himself, and Frederika only further encouraged him. It’s precisely because you spoil him like that that he’s a short-tempered brat who throws tantrums whenever he pleases.

“Well then, how about I send you to Xeoral now?” the spirit said.

He was taking us straight over the goal line, the flow of the conversation be damned. We’d wanted to prepare ourselves a fair bit, and we were, frankly, exhausted from the ritual. We wanted to at least rest for today.

“Um, we’re actually a bit tired today,” I said. “Would tomorr—”

“Ah! La la la! Little Maaary!” Frederika interrupted. She skillfully did a bit of a hip bump and silenced me.

“What gives, Miss Frederika?”

“The spirit is a moody being. If you prolong it for another day, he might demand a trial or something else. I don’t know what. It’s best if you have him fulfill your goal while he’s in the mood to do so. Plus, the spirit really wants to make up for embarrassing himself earlier. If you decline his offer here, he might throw another tantrum again!” Tears welled up in her eyes like she was about to start begging.

I forgot. This spirit’s a huge pain in the butt...

“We’ll handle the stage and the ride back home,” Queen Belletochka said, agreeing with her friend. “It pains me that we must part ways here, but please leave the rest to us. You go with your friends to fulfill your goal.”

At this point, I didn’t have it in me to still plead that we should go tomorrow, and I wasn’t sure if this was what we should do, but I turned to my friends.

“Are you guys ready?” I asked.

I had a sturdy body and could handle some exhaustion, but I was worried about everyone else. But my friends all nodded back, telling me that they would be all right.

“All right then!” I said, pumping my fist high in the air. “Let’s head for Xeoral!”

Everyone followed suit and cheered. With renewed determination, we braced ourselves for our next destination.

“Good! Then I shall call Xeoral!” the spirit said.

“What? Call?” I asked, completely confused as I turned back to the spirit. But he completely ignored me, instead turning to the skies and slowly opening his mouth wide.

“Cover your ears, everyone!” Frederika swiftly warned.

Just then, a metallic shriek echoed through the vicinity, sort of like an echolocation sonar that whales emitted. The sound was grating and deafening, and we all instinctively brought our hands to our ears. I didn’t make it in time, but I was still able to endure the sound, though the noise did make me take a step back. Everyone else, apparently successful in covering their ears, staggered around.

“Ugh! So loud!” I snapped angrily. “At least give us a heads-up or something!”

“Ah, here it comes,” the spirit said, completely ignoring my protest as he gazed into the distance.

“Hey! Listen to me! Wait... What’s coming?” I swiftly suppressed my righteous indignation out of curiosity and followed the spirit’s gaze into the sky above. Out in the distance, far away, was the tiniest, most minute of changes.

“Something appeared from thin air,” Snow observed beside me. She narrowed her eyes and looked up.

“Swimming through the sea of space... A massive magical creature of the abundant land equipped with a practically infinite amount of mana... It’s Xeoral,” Noa murmured as she trembled. Was she able to see it too?

“It’s time,” the spirit said.

“How?” I asked. Xeoral looked like a dot in the sky beyond, but the spirit seemed quite sure of himself.

“Head to the center of the stage!” the spirit ordered.

Just then, the stage began to whir, and a sphere of water formed in the middle. The guests chattered confusedly, while some unfortunate members of the crowd near the stage were dragged into the water orb, causing a huge ruckus.

“Hey!” I called. “You should give us a warning or something before you act! Look at all the trouble you’re causing for others!”

“I told you to head to the center, didn’t I?” the spirit replied.

Arghhhh! Spirits are all so selfish! I felt compelled to punch the living daylights out of him, but I managed to hold myself back as we rushed toward the sphere. All the while, I spotted Queen Belletochka telling others the situation in hopes of calming the crowd.

“I knew it. Xeoral is so close because that loathsome Nike came here,” the spirit said, unexpectedly showing some forethought. “Had he not, it would’ve been farther away, and even I couldn’t have sent you there. You guys don’t have much time! Make haste and head to that sphere of water!”

He rushed us toward the water as we ran ahead, but we hesitated to dive in.

“W-Wait, we can’t breathe underwater!” I cried.

“Not to worry!” the spirit said unnecessarily loudly, his voice echoing across the venue. “My powers will allow you to breathe in the water for a few minutes!”

If he has such a convenient power, surely he could’ve used it for our ritual...but I guess he was too furious to cooperate with us back then. When he mentioned that we could only breathe for a few minutes, I was once again struck with anxiety. Just then, I felt someone squeeze my hand—Noa was clutching it tight. Right. I can’t turn back now after all this effort. Come on, Mary, hang in there! You’re the older sister! I took a deep breath before I turned to my friends.

“Let’s go! To Xeoral!” I shouted.

I was the first to dive into the water. Everyone aside from the queen and Frederika joined me. I floated around in the water, mystified by the scenery before me as I was struck with the odd sensation of being able to draw breath under water. I turned toward the spirit and nodded.

“All right, you’re all ready, I take it?” the spirit asked. “Here I go!”

When he received the signal from me, he reached his large hand out, grabbed the sphere of water, and drew it close to him. My friends and I in the orb panicked just a bit, not expecting to be jostled around like this as we all lost our balance and tried to swim back in place. I brought Noa and Tutte close to protect them, and the rest of my friends followed suit. They surrounded me and we all held hands, hoping that we could all stay together as we watched on.

“Get ready! Clench your teeth!” the spirit commanded with his booming voice. I had no idea what he was up to...then with a loud splash, he created a pair of watery legs and did a huge windup above the water’s surface.

“Uh? H-Hey! Um, wait! Wait! Hold it!” I cried. I had a bad feeling about this. “You aren’t going to throw us, are you?!”

His pitching form was impeccable—my face grew pale and I tried to scream in protest, but no one could hear me underwater. His windup jostled us around some more, and we all held each other tighter, ensuring that no one would be dragged away by the water current.

“Raaaaaah! Xeoral!” the spirit cried. “Here you gooooo!”

“You’re kiddiiiing!” I shrieked.

My fears had come true. The spirit used all his might to throw the water ball with us inside, sending us off to the great beyond.

13. Landing on Xeoral

Never in all my years would I, Mary Regalia, have ever imagined that I’d know what it felt like to be a fastball...and by that, I mean none of us could’ve ever predicted how hard the spirit would lob us, and we all desperately clung onto each other in the water, ensuring that no one would be left behind. Honestly, it was thanks to the fact we could all grab on to Snow that everyone stayed inside the water.

“Mary, I can see Xeoral,” Snow informed me.

I was surprised that she could still laze around outside and gauge her surroundings...but of course, I could as well. Thank you, God. Thank you so much.

The scenery that appeared in front of me was astonishing—it resembled a large turtle swimming (or soaring, rather) through the sky. While the shape of it may have looked like a turtle, there were some parts that made it clearly different from one, and there were portions that made it more akin to a dragon. The island had abnormally large fins that resembled wings, and its tail was that of a dolphin’s. Furthermore, none of those features looked alive—rather than looking like they came from a living creature, they were instead made of stone. The back of the turtle island also lacked a round, smooth shell, but rather was mostly flat, save for the rivers, foliage, ores, crystals, and mountains dotting its surface.

The massive hunk of rock had seemingly emerged from nowhere as it waded toward us. I hope it plans on staying here a while!

As the island drew closer and closer, I became astonished by the sheer scale of the thing...and just as I had that thought, the sphere of water changed its trajectory. We gazed at Xeoral from above for a few minutes before the back of the island drew near. Uh, are we falling?

It was now occurring to me that, in the midst of all my concern about the spirit’s method to send us to Xeoral, I’d never bothered to ask how we’d land. Suddenly, I turned pale. Would we all be unscathed if we just crashed to the ground from this height?

We’ll be fine. I’m sure of it. The spirit definitely thought of that... As if! No he didn’t! How in the world could I trust someone like him?! I was all but certain that a spirit like him was completely incapable of thinking about anything except for what was right in front of him—he’d probably only focused on sending us to Xeoral and nothing else. I could practically imagine him giving us a proud thumbs-up at his job well done.

Speaking of which, it looked like Tutte and the others were scrambling to get some air. I suspected that the oxygen we’d been given was beginning to run out, and I didn’t have much time to think of a plan. We should break this sphere and land.

“Snow, could you burst this water orb open for us?” I asked.

“I can, but we’re midair, so we’d have to brace ourselves for an awkward landing,” Snow replied.

“Better than us crashing to the ground in the orb or running out of air. My apologies to the Spirit Express, but I think it’s best we cut our ride short.”

I gazed at my friends. Those who could still breathe a little nodded back at me and understood what I was trying to do as they grabbed Sacher and Safina, who couldn’t use floating magic. Tutte, in turn, grabbed Noa, who herself had Lily in her arms, and I wrapped my arm around Tutte’s waist.

“Snow,” I said. “We’re r—”

Just as we braced ourselves for landing and I called out to Snow, I snapped my mouth shut when I felt a shudder down my back. I reflexively turned toward the direction we were soaring toward.

“Nike!” I roared. I’d never seen him before, but every fiber of my body told me that we were now face-to-face.

Nike flashed me a creepy smile. Were we in his range of attack? He pointed at us, then three large stakes appeared around him before they shot out straight for us. I didn’t have time to chant a spell, and tried to rush in front of my friends to protect them.

“Howling Blast!” Snow shouted, emitting a mighty roar before I could act.

All she could do was slightly change the stakes’ trajectory, and they made contact with our water orb. Snow’s roar and the stakes burst our bubble.

“Tutte, hang on tight!” I shouted.

As everyone was thrown off-balance from the impact, we all scattered in separate directions. Luckily, we were all prepared to float in the air, and we could easily land without issue. I reached out to Tutte, who was beside me, and secured her, but Noa slid out of her grasp from the impact and hurtled to the ground. It’s because I stepped away from her!

“Snow, take care of Tutte!” I felt a touch guilty, but used Snow as a platform to jump off and fly to Noa.

“Noaaaaa!” I shouted.

I reached out to Noa, who still had Lily in her arms, and I still had time before we hit the ground. I knew I could catch up, and I was relieved that she was still conscious. I couldn’t help but smile...but the grin soon vanished from my lips when a shadow loomed behind her.

“You have my thanks for delivering such a fine sample,” Nike said.

It didn’t look like he’d chased after her with me—he’d appeared out of nowhere before he grabbed Noa’s arm.

“Nikeeee!” I bellowed. I grabbed thin air as Noa was pulled out of my reach and I hurtled through the air. Nike had vanished with Noa in tow. I’ve never seen that spell before either! The stakes he’d summoned earlier were a mystery, but when he also managed to use a teleportation spell, I became painfully aware of my lack of knowledge and ignorance. I clenched my fist in frustration. My mind was a muddled mess, and I didn’t know what to do...until a soothing voice echoed in my heart, showing me the light.

“My lady!” Tutte cried. I snapped back to reality. She was gazing at me worriedly atop Snow’s back, and I forced myself to crack a smile.

“Don’t worry,” I told her. “I’ll bring Noa back soon.” I was really saying it more to myself than to Tutte, and I repeated it several times in my head.

I turned to the land below me. I wasn’t sure if it was just good timing, but I only had to head straight down to set foot on the island.

“Is everyone else safe?” I asked.

“W-We’re okay!” Magiluka said.

Despite the confusion, she’d managed to support Safina and report that all our friends were safe. Everyone else then began to join me in flying down onto Xeoral, the legendary island. Despite its respectable size, the maybe-actually-a-living-creature island was remaining skybound.

“So, this is Xeoral...” Emilia said with narrowed eyes. She flew around to confirm everyone’s safety before she approached me. “We’d heard stories from our mother, but this gives off a rather different impression from those.”

I recalled Queen Belletochka’s song when we’d first told her about this island. She’d said it was a paradise of the sky made by God, a legendary place of abundance that would satisfy anyone...but the land before us was desolate and abandoned. The foliage was brown and dying, the lake and river in the distance looked murky, and some sources of water had completely dried up. The song had also mentioned that there were plants we’d never seen before and legendary creatures roamed the land, but we weren’t seeing anything like that. It was a far cry from what we’d heard, to be certain. They really don’t make paradises like they used to, huh?

A few minutes after the Nike debacle had ended, we’d finally managed to touch down. The soil beneath my feet was dry and crumbly, barren and devoid of life.

“Maybe the only thing more shocking than this floating island is the state it’s in,” the prince said. “What’s going on? Did something happen here?” He glanced around, but none of us had an answer for him. It reminded me of the sorry state of nature in my past life—places lush with greenery and verdure would be stripped bare without a second thought when factories and other businesses were to be built nearby.

“This ecosystem must’ve once been rich with vegetation,” Orthoaguina observed. “If you take a look at the dead trees and shrubbery nearby, you can see animal bones hidden underneath, weathered by time. Each of them are quite ancient and worthy of research, though the poor state of the remains likely wouldn’t allow for much investigation.”

“Argh, that’s such a waste,” Sita cried sorrowfully. “How could they do this? This could’ve been an excellent resource for us!”

While we were too busy shocked by our environment, Sita and Orthoaguina were inspecting all around them.

“This place used to be rich with mana, but it all got condensed into one area,” Snow said with a low growl. “I suspect that construction over there is to blame.”

I followed her gaze and saw a temple of sorts erected on the corner of a mountain.

“Is mana being collected at the temple?” I asked. Everyone else looked toward where I was staring and began to scrutinize the temple.

“If so, there’s a high probability that the Argent Armor and Nike are in there,” the prince said. “Noa and Lily too, most likely...”

“I don’t see any other structures nearby,” Sacher added. “Since Nike personally came to greet us instead of the armor, it’s safe to say that Lady Mary wiped out all the suits.”

I nodded.

“Nothing good will come from staying here and pondering,” Emilia declared. “How about we all go and file a complaint or two about the rude welcome that we received? Noa’s surely waiting for us as well.”

I held back my desire to simply rush forward and tried to feign composure. “Yes, let’s go.” I led the way to the temple, and my friends quickly chased after me.

***

The majestic and gigantic temple had eroded over time, a telltale sign of its age. One could hardly imagine that any part of the divinely fashioned island, home to a temple as grand as this, could ever succumb to wear and tear, but it was reasonable to assume the temple had suffered under the same debilitating influence that had cultivated the wasteland outside it.

In a certain area of the temple, Noa was thrown into a dimly lit room. It was so sudden that she was unable to catch her fall, and her back slammed against the floor, causing her to cry out in pain. The impact caused her to release Lily from her grasp, and the young snow leopard growled toward the darkness, clearly on full alert.

A man appeared from within the shadows in front of the little divine beast. “It appears I’ve brought an unnecessary specimen with me,” Nike said, sounding thoroughly exhausted. “Good grief. I have no interest in trash with no experimental value.” He watched Lily with disdain.

Lily’s usual calm demeanor had given way to a fierce, threatening posture. She bared her fangs angrily and pounced, but then a thin wall appeared between her and Nike, which she slammed into with a loud bang, causing her to roll back onto the ground.

“Lily!” Noa cried.

The noise sounded painful, and Noa worried about her friend. She rushed over and reached out to Lily when searing pain suddenly stabbed at her hand and rushed throughout her body. Stakes had appeared out of thin air and pierced through Noa’s palms before gradually vanishing.

“Aghhhh!” Noa shrieked. As the situation sank in for her, her agonizing screams filled the dark room. Lily, in hopes of trying to turn the tables, once again pounced toward Nike as he gave a nonchalant wave of his finger, summoning another translucent wall with which to sandwich the young cub. Now unable to move, another stake appeared and shot out to skewer her against the wall. Lily instinctively dodged it, but she was blown back and smacked against one of the large pillars in the room. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to completely dodge the stake either, and blood began to drip from her side.

“L-Lily...” Noa murmured.

“What’s wrong?” Nike asked coolly. “Surely, you can easily regenerate a small wound like that.” He spoke as though nothing at all had happened to her. “You can’t even repel such a measly attack? Your durability has clearly diminished. I suppose decay has lowered your physical abilities tremendously. I was curious if there’d be any change for you in that facility, guarded by the fairies, but all you’ve done is disappoint me.”

“De...cay...” Noa gasped as she gritted her teeth from the pain. She couldn’t quite understand what he was saying, but even she knew the changes that had been occurring in her body over time. After she’d inadvertently used her power against Nike during the battle at the stage, she’d fallen into a deep sleep for a good while. It’d taken her longer than before to wake up, and her body felt off, somehow.

Failure... Noa thought as she ruminated over the word. If there had been anyone who could accurately assess her body, would they have noticed the change that was going on within her? Unfortunately, Noa had kept it all inside. She didn’t want to make any of her friends worried, but above all, she was terrified—terrified that her precious friends would see her as a failure too.

“Ugh... I’ve lost interest,” Nike said indifferently as he gazed behind Noa. “The sample no longer has use to me, so would you like to do something with it?”

The pain began to subside from Noa’s hand, and she was surprised to see that her wound was beginning to heal, but most importantly, she noticed a presence behind her. She gingerly turned around to see a staircase stretched out in front of her, leading to a chamber just slightly above them shrouded in a large veil.

“Isn’t it obvious?” a familiar voice Noa dreaded called out from behind the thin fabric. “We’ll cause her so, so much pain, enough to make her curse her very existence. Then we can make her into minced meat and hand her over to that cocky Argent Holy Woman.”

Unlike before, however, Noa no longer shuddered and sought to flee from the voice that invoked such primal fear within her. Don’t be afraid. Be strong and dignified like your big sister. Her determination made her stronger.

“Oh? What’s the matter?” the voice called out. “Why don’t you squeal and scamper away as you always do? Come now, let’s get on with your regretting you were ever born and lamenting your utter powerlessness, hmm?”

“What did I ever do to you?” Noa asked. “We both know Agard wouldn’t—”

“Don’t you dare try to compare us, you miserable brat! You’re nothing more than a wretched failure! Know your place, you pathetic copy!”

The rage and overwhelming murderous intent that filled the air silenced Noa. “Copy”? What does she mean by that? Until now, Nike’s insults and her deteriorating body had made her assume that she was a failure in the physical sense, but the Argent Armor’s fury now made Noa question herself once more. “Copy”? What am I an imitation of?

The fragmented memories in her mind began to slowly piece themselves together. Noa had always been so intent on running away, but perhaps the quickest route to regaining her memories was to face the Argent Armor in front of her. To do so, she required the courage to face her fears, something she hadn’t felt like she’d had before she’d met Mary.

“You think I’m a copy?” Noa muttered.

“That’s right!” the armor roared back. “You’re a failed experiment, a damn failure who crushed my— No, our hopes and dreams!”

The gears in Noa’s mind started to turn as her memories slowly came back to her. She recalled herself fighting with Agard. The view from the place she knew as “within.” She wanted to feel him—to touch him—but when she quietly looked down on her hands, all she could see was inorganic matter. These hands were very clearly not her own natural body.

“Enough!” Nike interjected, speaking in an unusually loud voice. “They should be here by now! Shouldn’t we make preparations to welcome them?”

Noa was snapped back to reality.

“Hmph, if you want to do so, go ahead,” the armor grumbled. “You do it. Why do you think I’m letting you roam around as you please?”

“My, oh my. How terrifying,” Nike replied. “Even if they do enter, I doubt they’d be able to come all the way here or even notice that this place even exists. My magic tools work perfectly.”

“Ha, well, they better. Why do you think I’m letting you use this entire island?”

“Indeed. This island was made for you, and I’m not allowed to use it without your permission. In fact, I tried to investigate you while you were asleep, but the fairies’ ceaseless meddling completely halted my work. I even had to relocate some of my operation outside! But I was pleased with what that yielded, in the end.”

The armor and Nike continued to talk while Noa remained quiet and listened, waiting for another opportunity. Nike implied that Mary and the others were rushing over, but clearly, normal methods couldn’t be used if they were to ever find her and Lily. I have to run. I have to return to where everyone is.

When Noa had just woken up in Eneres, she’d been gripped with inexplicable fear, and she was pessimistic about living. But now that she’d gotten to know Mary and her friends and traveled with them, Noa had come to admire Mary’s strength, and the despair she’d felt had by this point vanished.

Noa’s wound had healed up a great deal, and the pain was no longer excruciating. She thought she saw her chance as her two foes continued to chat—she located the exit within the darkness and tried to run ahead.

In the corner of her eye, she spotted Lily, who feebly staggered to her feet. If Noa tried to grab Lily and run, it’d take too much time, and both of them would be unable to escape. Still, Noa showed no hesitation as she made a beeline for Lily. How could Noa abandon her precious friend? Even if her life was in danger, if she were in Mary’s shoes—if she were the big sister—surely, she would prioritize her friends as well.

Another one of Noa’s memories clicked into place. Agard’s smile flashed across her mind—it was a gentle smile, yet so fleeting. His voice echoed within her head.

“Even if you kill me, I can’t—”

“Lightning Bolt,” the armor chanted.

A flash of lightning brought Noa back to reality as an electric spear pierced through her body. Electricity coursed through her veins, and her senses were growing numb, but she refused to give up. She still managed to scoop Lily up and throw her toward the exit with all her might before the pain forced her to the ground.

“I...get it now...” Noa murmured, her consciousness quickly fading from her grasp. “This is...my punishment...for trying to throw away what God gave me. I... I... I killed my beloved Agard...”

At once, Noa’s pupils narrowed, and the whole of her memory had at last been put back together, creating a complete sequence of events.

14. Monologue

I didn’t like people. And I hated it even more that I was a person too. I thought that if I were ever to reincarnate, I wanted to become something other than human—I didn’t care what. If I turned into an inanimate object, maybe I wouldn’t have to get hurt anymore, I imagined. My world plunged into darkness as silly ideas like that crossed my mind.

I thought I heard someone’s voice. Now awake again, I found myself in an unknown place and an unknown world. I was given a new life as Soul Materia, the Armor of God. But I didn’t quite understand. Armor? Sure, I might’ve wished to become an inanimate object, but God’s decision really puzzled me. I thought maybe it’d be best if I didn’t think too deeply about it. After all, I was quite satisfied with myself.

How long had it been since I’d woken up? There were no battles here and no fear of getting hurt. My life was tranquil. I’d been surprised to learn that I could communicate with fairies and animals, but that’d allowed me to take my mind off any loneliness. In fact, I didn’t feel much of any emotion at all, and that must’ve saved my psychological state a great deal. I was in a world of nothingness, the colors fading and faint...but I was satisfied.

Then a human arrived. It was the most shocking thing that’d occurred to me since I’d woken up—no, nothing surprised me more than the time I’d learned that I’d reincarnated into another world, I supposed. Or had that not been as earth-shattering for me? Eh, I didn’t really care either way.

The person with long ears was getting a harsh scolding from the fairies while trying to do something or other. I wasn’t interested in what he was up to exactly and just fell asleep...but when I woke up, I found I’d moved somewhere completely different.

I didn’t really care, of course. I wasn’t all that interested in where I was. I never had any problems with anxiety either— I knew that no one could harm me, and if I really went all out, I knew that I was quite strong. After all, I possessed an unusual power: When I wanted to do something, a vision would appear before my eyes to guide me toward my goal.

As I’d been born into a dangerous world filled with swords and magic, it figured that my visions would show me the way even during battles, allowing me to show off a peerless sense for combat. Even in the most extreme situations, regardless of whether I knew about my enemies’ magic or not, I was simply shown the way, and I allowed myself to be guided to my goal, regardless of whether I asked for the vision or not.

Not everyone could wield this power. It was like a cheat from a video game. The amount of information the user was fed was so vast that no living creature could endure it, and what’s more, it apparently used a good deal of mana, implying that it wasn’t very efficient. However, as I wasn’t a living creature, I had no issue with the amount of information I was fed, and since I was the Armor of God, I possessed an ample amount of mana too. No one dared to interfere with me, and I wasn’t interested in anyone else either.

Or so I thought. It all changed when I met him. He was a little boy who was only called by his number. When I saw him, a vision appeared before me—one where I was traveling around with him. And so, I took some interest in this child. As days passed, I conversed with him everyday. The boy would happily speak about himself and what he did today, but I wasn’t at all interested in that. Every now and then, he’d pose a question about me, and I’d offer a curt response.

So, why? Why did I give him a name and teach him a language that only the two of us could parse? I simply couldn’t understand myself. Maybe I just wanted to leave something of myself behind for him. Perhaps I wanted to etch my very existence into his heart...

I thought our peaceful days together would continue in perpetuity, but they came to an abrupt halt. The long-eared man who kept interrogating me about how to create spells, who questioned me about what God’s domain was, and who sought to transcend to that place—along with other such torturous ramblings—had vanished. I recalled Agard mentioning something, but I didn’t remember the details because it hadn’t interested me. I merely thought my life would be quiet and mundane once more, but Agard then asked of me, “Let’s go on a journey together.”

My vision came true. When I thought that I’d travel with him, something emerged in my heart like a cloud of doubt. Something just didn’t feel right. However, I couldn’t quite put a finger on this emotion, and maybe I wanted to learn what I was feeling. And so, I agreed to go on a journey with him.

At first, we just strolled through the many cities and towns we visited. We kicked back and saw the world. Gradually, Agard began to reach out to others and help those who were in need. I simply couldn’t understand. Why must we care what happened to others? It had nothing to do with me. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I couldn’t bear to watch Agard get hurt—as a suit of armor, this was convenient for me, in any case. I could protect him.

How many battles had I thrown myself into? Countless, I was sure. We didn’t lose—we were an invincible duo. We’d received many names: the Argent Knight, the Hero of Aldia. Yet Agard didn’t possess the makings of a hero. He was simply infinitely kind, not strong. Since he was merely using my power, with each passing day, he became covered with more and more wounds and began to break down. Even so, he always stood back up on his feet, maintained a smile on his face for others, and reached out to help those in need. If anyone was in danger, Agard was there to help.

But who, then, could help Agard when he was in need? The answer was obvious: me. I was the only one who could aid and protect him. The moment that answer had seared itself into my mind, the small cloud that loomed in my heart had finally dissipated, and I felt like I’d finally been freed from some sort of shackle.

Ever since, the emotions I felt faintly within me began to surface every now and then. Since Agard relied on me, I did my best to keep my feelings suppressed, but occasionally, I couldn’t help myself and jumped into the conversation, causing everyone around me to look upon him with shock. I especially couldn’t hold my emotions back when young girls of age gathered toward us.

All the while, we accomplished a great deal. We clobbered a man called the Dark Lord beyond the sea, and we pushed back the invasions of the Papacy or whatever nation that tried to destroy the land. Indeed, our record was impressive. With every success, Agard was lauded as a hero and celebrated for his victories, which made me ecstatic. If I could make him even more famous and carve his name into the annals of history, I couldn’t be happier.

My days were filled with excitement and joy, but they came to an end sooner than I’d expected. His body had been constructed by the people of this world. Since God’s hand hadn’t been involved in his creation, he had several defects, and his form grew haggard and weary. I’d noticed it before, but as he’d continued to ask me to lend him my power and said that he needed me, I pretended that I never saw those defects of his. I didn’t want him to hate me.

However, that was my crucial mistake. I regretted my decisions and cried to Agard, weeping and begging. A suit of armor like me couldn’t form tears, but I was certain that this emotion was sorrow and that I was crying. For the first time ever since I’d come to this world, I was in hysterics and inconsolable. I couldn’t stop myself. The emotions that I’d kept bottled up inside me until now just exploded out—everything I’d felt until now was bursting forth.

When did I even notice my own feelings? It was probably when we’d met that songstress during our journey. She sang of her own circumstances and feelings about it, causing me to empathize with her.

My chest would tighten and suffocate me when I thought of him—our clear differences only caused me more sorrow. If he vanished, I’d be crushed, and I thought if he was due to cause me so much pain, I would much rather forget about him and refuse to associate with him further. And yet, I couldn’t forget him. I didn’t want to forget him. I wanted to keep my mind filled with him, and I wanted to keep him close to me.

As the contradictions ate away at my mind, recalling the songstress’s verse allowed me to finally put words to my feelings. It was the only way to properly explain the emotions that had bubbled up within me.

I was in love with Agard.

Ever since this realization hit me, we retreated from the world and continued our journey for our sake—or, more specifically, for my sake. I had a wish: I wanted to be with Agard more and to share his feelings. I wanted to live, die, and eventually become one with him. I wanted to become human again.

Surely, my previous self, who loathed and despised humans, would laugh and mock me now. But even so, I wanted to be human. I’d happily return all the powers I’d received from God if I could be a person again and spend my life with Agard. I was keenly aware that Agard could continue to fight because I had these powers...and yet, I wished to abandon it all.

And so, we began our research. We left the kingdom and trekked through the Ancient Forest and various other nations, spending every single day in search of a method. It was then that the long-eared man, Nike, again appeared before us. He was conducting a certain sort of research and had somehow heard of our dilemma, and he suggested our participation could be very beneficial for us.

He suggested soul transfer. This was an absurd sort of technology—he actually suggested that I should transfer my soul from my current form to a new body. Why was he doing that sort of research anyway? Why did he even provide us with this offer? And why did he know that this was precisely what we were looking for?

No, none of that mattered to me. Agard didn’t seem to fully trust Nike, but I knew that soul transfer was possible. After all, I had been transferred into a different body with my memories still intact when I’d entered this world. Surely, this world could do that again for me.

Upon receiving my consent, Nike claimed that he required a massive amount of resources, and so, I decided to offer Xeoral to him. I was so tunnel-visioned. My head was filled with joy over the belief I could become human again, and hopes and dreams welled up within me. Not once did I question the devil’s whisper echoing in my ear.

We went up to Xeoral, entrusted Nike with the research, and Agard and I began to dream of our lives from here on out. He didn’t have much time to spare—though he’d no longer have to battle alongside someone powerful like me, thus delaying his deterioration considerably, nothing could fully stop it. I asked Nike about it, but apparently it was too late to do anything and was out of his hands.

Luckily, Agard apparently had some genetics that allowed him a prolonged life, and I was told that he’d live for almost a hundred years more. I was optimistic—surely, that was more than enough time to find some sort of solution. That optimism was probably just overexcitement on my part: When I was born in this world, God had protected me, and everything I did had gone well, so I had no reason to doubt that my future wouldn’t go well too.

And so, when the prototype was completed, I begged Nike to test it on me right away. He didn’t object and swiftly obliged. Nike probably didn’t care who his first sample was.

It was a huge success. The power of my soul trapped within the Armor of God was immense (or so I’d been told), so Nike provided a sturdy body that was part dragon, part elf, along with any number of other durable species that he could find. In total, the amalgam comprised a durable physical body that could handle any repercussions that might come from my powerful soul. Thanks to his efforts, in a manner of speaking, I managed to successfully transfer my soul over.

When I woke up, Agard, who had been watching over me worriedly, cried with joy. Finally, I could feel him. The moment I realized that I was just like Agard, I was the happiest person in the world. The only unfortunate issue was that my body moved clumsily right after I awoke, and I couldn’t fully embrace him as I’d hoped. But I didn’t mind. From here on out, I’d be able to hold Agard as much as I liked. There was still plenty of time left, and I wanted to live it all with him. The joy I felt was unmatched, and I thanked God from the bottom of my heart for this blessing.

We left Xeoral, and the two of us decided to quietly spend the rest of our lives in the place that we’d first met. It wasn’t all easy. The rehabilitation I had to go through so that I could fully move my body was frustrating and painful, but I was able to power through it because Agard was by my side. The saving grace was that my new form was highly durable, allowing me to master my body in no time.

To survive in this form, I knew that I had to interact with some people, even if it was at a minimum. I was so busy having fun that I failed to notice people around me avoiding my very presence, and my obliviousness one day dragged me into a few problems with the residents. When I glumly returned home, Agard secretly obtained my favorite flower from Xeoral and presented it to me. The flower, just starting to bloom, was so beautiful in my eyes that I was almost moved to tears. I was happy.

I was now steeped in the sensations that I’d failed to fully experience when I was an armor—at last, I was able to experience my time with Agard to the fullest. I was so helplessly and indescribably happy that I got to spend my life with him.

And then...it arrived. A suit of Argent Armor. I’d abandoned my former body ages ago and left it as an empty husk, but it now appeared in front of me with Nike. I hadn’t seen him for a good while now. He explained that Materia somehow or other allowed the armor to move, but his explanations were far beyond the scope of my understanding. But above all, I couldn’t understand why the armor insulted me and called me its “copy.”

The armor told me that in truth, the experiment was a failure. My soul had never transferred over, and my memories had simply been copied onto another body. When I was told that I wasn’t really myself, I could hardly process it—I couldn’t even begin to understand what it all meant. All I knew was that the armor in front of me emitted a murderous air so intense that I was terrified. She was filled with rage and sorrow that the person so important to her had been stolen away. Her clear hatred toward me was apparent.

Her emotions held the reins as she bore down upon us. Agard’s pleas could no longer reach her—she was so emotionally unstable that it terrified us. I was merely just a little girl sturdier than most. I didn’t possess the divine battle capability the armor had, and my magic that gave me visions didn’t activate either. Was it because I wasn’t used to this body yet? It felt like it was rejecting these spells in general.

No matter the case, it was then that I became aware that only my memories had transferred over to this body...and then the nightmare began. Ironically, our abode of happiness transformed into the stage of despair. Nike claimed that he wanted to somehow refine his failure, and thanks to my sturdy body, I was made into a lab rat for all of his sick experiments. The armor made me the subject of her crazed disdain.

Agard tried many times to save me and persuade the armor, but to no avail. The armor drowned in her rage and wasn’t willing to listen. Eventually, he was stored completely inside the armor—locked away like a precious bird in a cage, dragged into that ghastly, writhing chunk of muscle. His freedom was stripped from him, and he became an accomplice to the pain and suffering that was dished out on me.

The armor restrained him for her own happiness, chopped off his limbs so he couldn’t resist her selfish whims...the armor that was a version of me. I could hardly believe that this was my other self, that I had the capacity to inflict suffering upon our beloved.

I cried and wailed, begging my other self to stop. If anyone should go through such suffering, it should’ve been me—I implored her to reconsider. But all she—no, all I—did was laugh maniacally. I was terrified, and I couldn’t forgive her. She isn’t me. Give him back! I thought. Give my beloved Agard back to me! The moment she decided to hurt my precious Agard, an ugly, black emotion reared its head and exploded within my mind. I stopped thinking and let my emotions run wild as I unleashed everything I could. Could I win against the Armor of God? It was a ridiculous question to ask. Yet all I could focus on was rescuing my dear beloved from the enemy in front of my eyes.

I attacked with everything I had, my surroundings be damned. I didn’t care if the place around me crumbled away and the facility was destroyed. I used every power I had at my disposal and went all out against my enemies. And then...blood gushed out from my body. My organs cried out with pain, reminding me that I was a mere creation as well. Much like Agard, I was an unstable existence, built upon a delicate balance that could easily be destroyed. Even so, I refused to give in.

I didn’t care what happened to my body so long as I could get him back. I needed to destroy the enemy in front of me. So desperate was I that my beloved’s calls failed to reach my ears; I’d completely forgotten who I was attacking. What could I say? I was just a hopelessly stupid and foolish child.

I felt something hard give way under my hands, quickly followed by the squishy sensation of flesh. An intangible feeling enveloped me—a droplet in my murky lake of emotions, creating a ripple throughout and purifying the filth within my mind. And I heard Agard’s voice, ever so faint.

“Even if you kill me, I can’t bring myself to hurt you...”

I couldn’t remember when I stepped outside. I didn’t even know where I was. But when I came to, the area around me was scorched, evidence that intense powers had clashed against each other. Rain fell upon me, and I gingerly looked up at the being in front of my eyes. I saw that my right arm had pierced his chest, armor and all.

“Thank goodness. You came back,” he said, flashing the gentlest and most evanescent of smiles as he stepped away.

My attacks had removed his helmet, and I deduced that that may have allowed Agard to take control of the armor for just a split second. That ultimately led to his demise.

It was as though something had snapped within me. When the tension and my strength left my body, intense pain coursed through my veins. It was excruciating as my organs collapsed and crumbled within my body, but I couldn’t make a sound. I couldn’t cry out in pain, nor could I apologize to Agard or even reach out to him.

I heard the other suit of armor cry out hysterically. She called for Nike, and the two discussed ways to treat him and how this destroyed place couldn’t possibly accommodate their needs, forcing them to head to Xeoral. But my consciousness was becoming a muddled mess, and I couldn’t do a single thing.

Am I going to die here? Destruction and regeneration repeatedly occurred within my body—was I just going to suffer and writhe in agony here?

I’m scared of myself. I hate myself. It’s all my fault. Ultimately, I’m just like my other half—we’re no different. I’d let my emotions take control and resorted to violence as I went berserk. I’d acted just like that armor. I just want to fade away. But then I won’t be able to meet Agard again, and I won’t be able to apologize... Ugh, what am I saying?

I lost him. I killed him.

No, I refuse to believe that! I won’t...be able to take it...

As my consciousness began to fade, the last thing I saw in my blurry vision was a humanoid statue approaching me.

15. The Iron Fist of Judgment!

“What...was that projection?” I asked. I turned to Tutte to see if she saw it too, and I knew that I wasn’t imagining things.

We’d been at the altar and on high alert, prepared to fight back if any of this building’s defensive measures jumped out at us, but the place was just an empty shell. I was surprised that the altar on this legendary island could look so dilapidated. It felt like I’d encountered a ruin.

Had we had no business here, I’d have immediately turned back and left, but I’d known for a fact that Noa and Lily were trapped here somewhere. The Argent Armor and Nike must’ve been here too. Surely, there must’ve been a good reason for this island’s decay, but I hadn’t managed to see anything out of the ordinary yet.

The only thing I’d noticed was that there was a humanoid mithril statue standing deep within the chamber, just like at the facility of Eneres. The figure had made no attempt to move, but when we’d approached it, one of our belongings started to glow—Agard’s memoir that Sita had brought along with her. Just as I’d wondered if we were in danger, the statue had absorbed the light from the book and began emitting a bright light in turn. That’s when we began to see a projection showing Noa’s past and revealing her thoughts.

“I suspect this is the doing of the fairies in charge of this place,” Orthoaguina guessed. “Their presence is similar to what I felt back in Eneres, so it must be the doing of the same fairies or ones similar to them. The fairies in question must’ve been protecting Noa this entire time, and when we reached here, they wanted us to know about her life. I imagine they hoped it would convey what had occurred here.”

When I’d caught glimpses of Noa’s—the Argent Knight’s—life, my chest grew tight with pain. Had I made the wrong choice, I was sure that I’d have lived the same life as her. While this revelation was worthy of more thought, I first had to find Noa and Lily and ensure their safety.

“We should prioritize Noa and Lily,” I said. “Snow, are you sure that you can’t find them anywhere?”

“I think they’re somewhere around here, but I feel a sort of interference anywhere I go,” Snow replied. “In fact, I feel like even my will to search for them is being obstructed somehow.”

“What do you mean?”

Ever since we’d entered this place, I had realized that Snow and everyone else, excluding me, were acting weird. Is that why? Everyone looked worried and were eager to search for our friends, but the moment we entered the temple, it was like everyone had lost their concentration. I’d also felt something eerie and uncomfortable envelop my body ever since we set foot into this building.

We sluggishly began our search, but there wasn’t a trace of Noa and Lily inside. We searched every nook and cranny, but there was zero indication that anyone was ever here. The only thing we spotted was the suit of Argent Armor enshrined in the depths of the temple, likely where it rested daily, and the mithril statue that solemnly stood beside it.

“Interference... Interesting, I can see him doing that,” Orthoaguina mused. “He’s probably laid several layers of traps within this room. Mary, it looks like you aren’t affected by it like everyone else, but the longer this search takes, the heavier the toll it’ll have on your friends.”

“B-But what can I do?” I stammered.

I gazed around the vast, dimly lit room. The more I panicked, the less I could concentrate, which would cause me to miss any minute changes. Something has to be here, somewhere. Maybe they’re hiding something behind an illusion, as people usually do. These boss rooms almost always have some kind of hidden passageway that leads to our goal. I strained my eyes and desperately searched for any sort of oddity, but I didn’t notice the walls or floor waver one bit.

Just then, I thought I heard something echo in my mind.

“Snow, did you just say something?” I asked.

“Nope,” Snow replied. “What’s wrong?”

Seems like it’s not her. “It’s nothing,” I replied. “I just...”

Once more, the voice echoed in my head. There it is again! I glanced around and honed my senses. I could hear something or someone—I was sure of it. It was echoing within my head, a voice so feeble that I usually would’ve ignored it and chalked it up to my mind playing tricks on me. However, I was currently on high alert and as vigilant as ever, and it was precisely because I was focusing so hard that I was able to catch this faint voice. I was also probably used to it from my conversation with Snow, and that benefited me greatly.

I didn’t hear any comprehensible words, but a sound undoubtedly echoed within me. Where is it? Where? Lily? Are you the one talking to me? Please! Answer me, Lily! I desperately begged the baby snow leopard to provide an answer and refused to miss even the smallest of signals. Usually, Snow was more sensitive to these kinds of stimuli, but the unexplained interference was likely preventing her from picking up on things. I was frightened by just how effective this technology was. In the face of something this powerful, I have to be the one to get us through this. No one else will be able to pick up on any signs.

The sound grew louder. I abruptly turned toward it, and I noticed the space there waver ever so slightly for only a split second. “Lily! Are you there?!” I shouted.

I swung my fist at that tiny flicker. The moment my hand made contact with the space, a small crack emerged, and the space shattered like shards of glass. I wasn’t sure if I’d used too much of my power or if another force entirely was to blame, but the scenery around us crackled and crumbled into pieces, giving way to a new space within the temple that wasn’t here before.

This illusion hadn’t tried to hide an entrance or anything small—no, it’d covered an entire fourth of the temple. I was stunned by how cutting-edge it was—it’d even accounted for our shifting perspectives, after all. According to Orthoaguina, Nike must’ve created an elaborate system of magic tools that could create illusions and induce cognitive impairment and mental fatigue, and by destroying the terminal coordinating them all, it’d create a shock wave that would put them all into disrepair. Of course, I obliged. Yeah, I get it, I’m the team wrecking ball.

“Lily!” Snow cried.

After taking a brief moment to thank my powers for their help, I snapped back to reality with Snow’s voice and turned toward the new room of the temple that had appeared. In the center of a massive corridor near the destroyed magic tools lay Lily, who looked utterly exhausted.

“Snow, is she okay?” I asked.

“Yes, somehow,” Snow replied. “She’s hurt, but if we let her rest, she’ll recover in no time.”

“Whew. I’m glad to hear it.”

I told my worried friends about Lily’s condition so that I could calm them down, and they all looked visibly relieved.

“You tried your best with your tiny body,” I praised her as I gently petted her tired head. “I know that best. You’re awesome, Lily.”

Lily most likely hadn’t been able to break through the illusion or destroy the magic tools, so she instead tirelessly stared at the wall and continued to shout for help, trusting that we’d arrive at her aid. Her admirable actions almost made me cry, and I had to pull my hand back for fear I might pet her too roughly.

“This is no time to relax, Mary,” Emilia observed nervously, staring in a different direction amid the relief that washed over the rest of my friends.

From the opposite end of the room where the illusion had been, I heard loud clangs approaching on the path to the temple’s entrance.

“It must be a magus weapon created to chase away any outsiders,” Orthoaguina said. “They must’ve frantically rushed out when they saw the concealment system get destroyed. And judging from the sound, there are quite a few of them.”

I recalled the magus weapon I saw when I’d tried to infiltrate the prison tower in Relirex. Girtz, Relirex’s greatest magus smith, produced weapons that were tough to deal with, but now I’d have to deal with Nike’s creations. I knew best that this would be no walk in the park. Luckily, that peculiar mithril statue showed no signs of moving.

“Mary!” Emilia called out. “Leave this to us! Go on!”

“Emilia, how many times have we talked about not setting yourself up for a heroic sacrifice?” I replied. “Don’t jinx yourself.” I could easily tell that quite a few magus weapons were trying to approach us, and I couldn’t possibly leave them all to my friends and rush ahead, so I tried to play off her suggestion with a joke.

“You fool!” Emilia shouted. “Look at Lily! She only managed to escape in such a sorry state. Who knows what heinous acts are being done to Noa? You must go on ahead and rescue her.”

I fell silent. It was true that I was worried about Noa, but I was concerned about Emilia too.

“Heh heh, don’t worry, Lady Mary,” Sacher chuckled as he stood in front of us. “I won’t let the princess hog all the fun.”

“Your Highness, I understand that you mostly cast spells,” Rachel said, stepping forward as well. “We’ll take care of defending you while forcing them to guard against our weapons.”

“Then we also need someone to take charge of this team,” Prince Reifus said. “I think Lady Magiluka or I would be best for the job.” He may have presented it as a choice, but he stepped forward, refusing to have it any other way.

“Go on, Mary!” Emilia shouted. “Take Noa back!”

I glanced at my four friends who tried to send me off, and I felt my chest grow warm. I was so blessed to have them all with me—Noa’s memories had made me all too aware of how lucky I was.

“Thanks, everyone,” I said. “I’m going to bring her back! Snow, take care of Tutte and Lily!” I trusted Snow would be the best of us to nurse her sister and guard Tutte, and I rushed ahead with Safina, Magiluka, and Sita in tow.

We proceeded deeper into the temple. Unlike the sparse room we’d seen before, this place was scattered with research equipment, making it more akin to some sort of laboratory. I couldn’t tell what most of these devices were used for, but there were some items used to store creatures or their body parts—the sight of it made me shudder. It boggled the mind to recognize that Nike was solely responsible for all of this, and it confirmed for me more than ever he was a man who was at the top of his field. I heightened my vigilance and prepared for the worst.

“Sita, isn’t that over there a precious plant that we’ve only seen in reference books?” Orthoaguina asked.

“Huh?! Where?!” Sita cried.

Just as I’d turned serious, Orthoaguina’s distracting comment made Sita reflexively lose focus. Magiluka firmly grabbed Sita’s shoulders without saying a peep, and it sort of looked like she was scolding herself too, trying her best to maintain focus.

“R-Right,” Sita said. “Lord Orthoaguina, now isn’t the time to say stuff like that.”

“F-Forgive me,” Orthoaguina replied. “When I spotted it, I just couldn’t help myself.”

To be fair, he wasn’t physically with us and was sort of more like a spectator. It was only natural that he didn’t feel as nervous as we did. But if Sita were ever in danger, I wondered if Orthoaguina could truly remain standing idly on the sidelines. That doting father won’t try to fly over from Kairomea, will he? Nah... Actually, I wouldn’t put it past him.

“Oh? I thought I heard a familiar voice,” a man said from the back of the room, one who clearly had no sense for comedic timing.

“Nike...” Orthoaguina growled.

“I see. With you on their side, it’s no wonder that this little gang was able to reach me.”

I think this is the first time I’m hearing the two converse with each other. Say, did I not detect a hint of panic when he heard Orthoaguina talk, though?

Whether the revelation that Orthoaguina was with us had truly rattled Nike or not, he immediately faced us with his usual composure, and even looked a bit laid-back.

“Hmph. I’d wondered how I was being graced with the presence of a man your size, but the reality is so much more pitiful than all my hypotheses,” Nike said. “Perhaps they ought to retire your sobriquet, considering you make such a mockery of it, Philomath Dragon.”

“Indeed, I cannot deny that I’m just a bystander,” Orthoaguina replied. “I cannot help these kids one bit.”

“Oh? Then are you saying that there’s someone other than yourself who can pinpoint the precise locations of my devices through the several interferences I laid out and disable them?”

Yessir, that’s me, sir, ha ha... Just kinda doin’ my usual, ha ha... This conversation really isn’t doing me any favors, is it? I alone was sweating buckets as the two men glared at each other (in a manner of speaking).

“E-Enough banter!” I shouted. “Where’s Noa? Also, I’d like for you to send away those pesky guards you’ve got.” That’s right, it didn’t matter who exactly had destroyed the devices. It was critical I got to saving Noa, so I tried to steer the conversation away— I mean, get down to brass tacks.

“Guards?” Nike asked. “Oh, them. Fear not, I imagine that they’ll retreat once you’ve all perished.”

He flashed us a mocking smile. I wasn’t sure if he had no plans on stopping them or simply couldn’t do so. It probably isn’t the latter—that’d make him a shabby magus smith. Basically, he doesn’t want us to leave here alive.

“And you were worried about...Noa, yes?” Nike asked. “That failure of an experiment? I suspect the armor is using her as a punching bag for stress relief.”

“She’s no failure,” I snapped back, unable to stay silent against his nasty remarks. “She’s doing her best to live, as anyone else would.”

“On the contrary, she’s the walking embodiment of failure! Her frail body can’t even accept a soul—to call her refuse would be a gross overstatement.”

I knew that Nike was provoking me. I didn’t need anyone to point it out. Had he just been mocking me, I could’ve just laughed right back at him, but I wasn’t kind and saintly enough to let his insults about Noa slide. In fact, if given the choice to act cool and composed in the face of his condescending slander or to blow my top off at him, I’d always choose the latter. My friends must’ve felt the same, as I could practically feel their rage behind me pushing me to let loose.

“Once the Argent Armor finishes turning her into a pile of hamburger, I’m sure she’ll be happy to return her to you!” Nike droned on. “I’ll always welcome a hand with corpse disposal—”

I leaped forward to shut Nike’s stupid trap. He then laughed condescendingly and wagged his finger as though he’d fooled me—he’d formed a translucent wall directly in front of me. Of course, I shattered it with my fist as easily as I breathed.

“Hmm?!” he squeaked. Even he didn’t seem to expect this, and his mocking smile from earlier vanished for a split second. Stakes appeared at my flanks, and I jumped to dodge them, only for another to appear right where I’d jumped with perfect timing. This combination must’ve been Nike’s ace in the hole—that loathsome smile once again appeared on his face. But I showed no hesitation as I reached for the oncoming pike and crushed it with my hands with a deafening crack.

“I-Impossible!” he cried. “What in the world?!” Nike couldn’t help but finally lose his cool and raise his voice, unable to maintain his usual stuffy, erudite posturing. I heard as much up close and personal, considering I’d landed right next to him—or, as you might call it when it comes to me, checkmate. As the two of us locked eyes, I could see the terror rapidly contorting his features.

“You’d better clench your teeth, poindexter!” I growled. “This pain’ll never compare to what you brought upon that poor girl, but it’ll sure as hell make for a good running start!” I glared at him, took a step in, and swung my fist upward into his stomach. It looked like he’d set up several defensive barriers, but it’d accomplished little as my power tore through them all and made clean contact with his gut.

“Who the hell are— Gaaaah!” he groaned, sailing into the ceiling above in a beautiful arc. The sheer force of my uppercut had even caused my own feet to leave the ground, making me feel like a fighting game character.

The battle had ended so quickly. Once I’d finished letting my rage take over, however, I quickly realized that Magiluka hadn’t been the only one in the room. Sweat poured down my face as I gingerly turned back, only to be met with Safina and Sita praising me to bits, each of their eyes practically sparkling as they chanted “Argent Holy Woman” and whatnot over and over again. Do they not wonder how I was able to send Nike into orbit? Does the nickname Argent Holy Woman just allow me to get away with everything? I wasn’t really sure, but neither lady seemed to find my strength odd.

Well, all’s well that ends well. Or is it? Assuming the best could always come back around to bite you, ultimately...

By the way, Orthoaguina proudly claimed that he knew how powerful I really was all along, like it was some kind of major accomplishment, and that was that.

In any case, my battle against Nike ended without issue. Well, all I really did was flex the power I got from God over his mere mortal efforts. That said, judging by the looks of it, it seems like he really did rely wholly on tools and hardly had any physical prowess to speak of.

If a genius in magus smithing who also had peerless worldly knowledge and spent all their time on research also had godly fighting skills, I felt I wouldn’t hold a candle to them. I couldn’t thank God enough for bestowing me with at least one thing that I greatly excelled in.

As far as Nike’s survival went, he’d merely been knocked out by my punch. I guessed that he would’ve broken a bone or two, but my strike certainly wouldn’t have been fatal. No doubt he had his tools to thank for his resilience—in fact, as though to lend credence to my theory, the rings on his fingers began to crack and crumble away as though they sacrificed themselves for him. Just to be sure, I crushed all the remaining rings he had too.

Just then, an explosion in the depths of the temple reverberated throughout the area—someone must’ve cast a spell. It was either Noa or the Argent Armor, but I’d never seen Noa use magic, so I quickly deemed that the armor had launched some sort of attack.

I immediately received my answer on who the attacker was once I hastily rushed to the scene of battle. “Noa!” I shouted. Her clothes were in tatters, and a burning stench hit my nose. Countless wounds covered her body, and she lay limply on the ground.

“B-Big sister...” she eked out. I was relieved to see that she was still conscious and could recognize me.

“Fire Ball,” a voice echoed. A fiery sphere flew right at Noa—it was a direct hit.

“Noaaaa!” I screamed.

I hastily tried to put out the fire that covered her body, but it looked to me like Noa herself wasn’t offering any resistance. In fact, she seemed to have been taking on multiple attacks like these without trying to defend herself.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“This is my punishment...” Noa gasped feebly. “Because I’m...just a poor copy...”

Through her faltering breaths, she condemned her very existence. I was all but certain she’d regained her memories.

“You’re not some copy,” I said firmly. “How you were born doesn’t matter—who you are now is Noa, my adorable little sister.” I didn’t know if I was saying what she wanted to hear, but they were my honest feelings. I recalled what I’d seen about her life earlier as I said it.

“Aha ha ha ha ha ha!” An ominous laughter filled the room. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! What a cliché line! What else can I do but laugh?!”

The voice coming from atop a pedestal, reacting to my attempt to console Noa before even Noa herself could, belonged to the very person who’d launched Noa down the grand hall before me. The speaker had been behind a veil in a chamber at the end of the corridor, but her flame magic had dislodged the veil, allowing light to pour into the dark recess.

My eyes widened with shock. Lying before me was a massive device with tons of individual components that appeared to be connected to the entire temple. I wasn’t sure what it was for, but one strikingly obvious feature was the two massive tubes embedded at its front. Some kind of fluid flowed through the tubes, and the contraption expelled steam with a loud hiss, implying that it was still working.

This must be the machine that created Noa... The entire contrivance was so massive that it took me aback—but, truth be told, none of this was what had really shaken me to my core.

In front of this enormous device was a large, stately chair decorated with some delicate ornaments. It almost looked like a throne, and a full suit of armor sat there. It was a grotesque sight, with its joints protruding with fleshy chunks of meat that leaked from between the plates...and upon closer inspection, I saw that this armor had a massive hole in the chestpiece, from which yet more globs of flesh dribbled out. This armor didn’t dazzle a brilliant white like the suits of Argent Armor that I’d seen until now—not a shred of that light remained. Rather, the armor looked muted and reflected a dull luster.

But above all, the most striking aspect was the head peeking out of the askew helmet. It held a human skull grinning back at me.

16. The Argent Knight Is...

The suit of Argent Armor was enveloping this skeleton as though it was protecting something so dear. Of course, it was painfully obvious who the bones belonged to—Agard, the knight the Argent Armor so deeply loved. He must’ve died during that incident—or even if he had miraculously managed to survive somehow, he couldn’t have lived long.

Rather than his remains receiving a proper burial, they’d been stored inside this metallic casing like a priceless artifact. Words failed me in attempting to make sense of this insanity. This entire time, even when she’d been speaking and fighting with us, this skeleton must’ve been inside of her. Obsession could hardly begin to describe it.

“You... You’re...” I started.

“Hm? What?” the armor replied. “Oh, Agard, I’m so sorry for all this noise! I’ll silence them soon, so be patient, my dear!”

The Argent Armor skillfully used her sticky hunks of flesh to affix her helmet in place. Does she not understand that Agard’s long dead? Or maybe she just refuses to see it. What’s clear is that she’s detached herself from reality.

“Argent Armor,” I said. “Agard’s...”

“Big sister!” Noa cried, clinging onto me and cutting me off, preventing me from telling the truth.

I looked down at Noa, her eyes watering with anxiety. Now that she’d regained her memories, she likely didn’t want to accept his death either. If someone else dared to vocalize his passing, she was afraid that she could no longer keep herself together.

“Please,” she begged. “Don’t hurt her anymore. It’s all my fault, all of it. I stole her precious memories and her beloved away from her.”

She begged me for benevolence, but I couldn’t just idly sit by. What am I supposed to do? I just don’t know. Simply defeating the enemy in front of me wasn’t the solution for this mess, but I didn’t know what else to say.

Ever since I’d reincarnated into this world, I’d been blessed. I may have been surrounded by misfortune in my previous life, but I’d spent my final moments under the watchful eyes of my beloved parents. I may have lost a great deal at the time, but I’d managed to keep those most important to me close and within my grasp.

“But... But... Noa, what will you do?!” I cried. “I don’t want to just watch! I don’t want to just see you get hurt. I want to save you!” I didn’t have the answer, but I couldn’t just stay silent.

“Ah ha ha! Wow, you’re acting like the heroine of some sort of tragedy?!” the armor jeered. “Hilarious! Air Bullet!” she chanted, once again trying to attack us. “Wind Blade Slash!” Safina shouted, her blades canceling out the projectiles. Magiluka rushed to my side to guard Noa.

“Sure, you might’ve killed Agard,” I pleaded to Noa, “but that doesn’t mean that you have to trap yourself in this unproductive loop!” I knew an outsider like me didn’t have the right to say anything, but I still just had to say something to protect Noa.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” the armor snapped. “Agard’s right here with me. Oops, he’s supposed to be sleeping today. I’m so sorry, Agard,” she cooed sweetly to her beloved.

It was such an eerie sight that it made me shiver. She must have known best that Agard was long dead—it was her reasoning to despise Noa, after all—yet the armor acted as though Agard was still alive and well with her.

“Why are you being so horrible to Noa?!” I cried.

“Huh?” the armor replied. “This copy stole my identity, stole Agard from me, and even killed... Wait... Killed?” She’d suddenly stumbled upon a contradiction. “No... No, not killed?” she muttered, her insanity growing by the second. “No, he’s just asleep. But why do I hate this copy, then...? Agard’s... Agard’s... No! No! Nike! Nike! Where are you, Nike?! He’s here with me, right? I’m wrong, right?! Someone tell me that I’m wrong!”

She roared loudly, searching the room for Nike, but no reply came—the man in question was knocked out cold.

“Agard! Agard’s...d-dead?” the armor wondered. “Did he take his last breath inside me? No, he’s not dead. Yes, he is. He’s dead. He’s not here with me. Not here. Gone. Gone. Gone. Goooone!”

It was terrifying to watch her repeat herself before she froze up in abject bewilderment. The only thing I could do was watch—she was much too erratic to predict.

Suddenly, the armor emitted a high-pitched scream—a shrill screech that flooded the temple, driving cracks into its walls, pillars, and floors.

“Wh-What the...?!” I groaned.

“Oh dear, you destroyed her,” Nike said through his coughs. He’d appeared out of nowhere and staggered weakly beside the armor. Teleporting magic again! Damn it, he still had some more tools up his sleeve... He wasn’t fully healed just yet, but I hadn’t expected him to already be able to move around on his own in mere minutes. Sita had been keeping watch, but even she couldn’t react to his instant teleportation, so he’d slipped from her grasp.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Did I stutter?” Nike replied. “Compare her to that failure you insist on dragging around. While my failed experiment can fall back on biology to preserve its psychological health, such as through amnesia, the armor has no such defenses. Her memories of that day have remained as vivid as ever, and she’s remembered every word and every minute detail. She can’t rely on medication or magic to help her forget. The Armor of God is quite the majestic name for her, considering her soul is so laughably vulnerable and weak. To wit, the constant trauma utterly broke her mental state, and without falsehood to shield her from reality, she completely ceases to function.” It wasn’t with sympathy that Nike looked upon the Argent Armor, but rather derision.

The armor, seeming to at last notice the man before her, feebly outstretched a trembling arm. “A-Agard... Agard... A...gard...” she murmured like a broken record.

As she repeated herself, I realized that her instability was partly because she was still just barely hanging in there, desperate to cling onto even a shred of sanity before she completely lost herself. It occurred to me that perhaps my and my friends’ involvement had ended up worsening her condition.

“Heh heh, yes, it was a humorous sight,” Nike said. “She continued to contradict herself as she frantically tried to hide that she was crumbling away. It was so comical that I almost let the truth slip several times, but as she still had her uses, I exercised restraint.”

Why is this man capable of being so infuriating and punchable with every snarky remark that leaves his lips? I’ve gotta give him a second helping of fist.

“Truly, I must thank you,” Nike continued. “Thanks to your meddling, I was able to utilize her until the very end.”

I had no idea what I was being thanked for, but receiving his gratitude only infuriated me.

“If she’s this far gone, I think I can fool her,” Nike muttered.

Is he using illusion magic? He wavered and transformed into a completely different being—a man I’d seen in Noa’s memories. He was the very man whom the Argent Armor and Noa loved. Agard, the Argent Knight, had manifested before us.

“I’m right here with you,” Nike said, his voice still very much his own despite his exterior resemblance to Agard. “Let’s eradicate evil together!”

“Ahhh! Agard! Agaaaard!” the Argent Armor cried.

“Nikeeee! You bastard!”

It seemed the armor couldn’t even differentiate voices anymore. I couldn’t sit back and watch Nike desecrate the dead, and I rushed ahead, unable to contain my anger. Magiluka, who was beside me, quickly held Noa back. I glanced at the two for only a split second as I continued running ahead, hoping I could pry the armor away from Nike. I reached out to grab him, but I was stopped by an arm fully equipped with armor—an argent arm, to be exact. I gritted my teeth with frustration as I glared at the man right in front of my eyes.

“I didn’t need to go this far, but I’m a touch interested in you now, I’ll admit,” Nike said. “I’ll be testing this out.”

The tendrils of meat from the Argent Armor wrapped themselves around Nike, completely abandoning the bony remains of Agard that she’d stored away so preciously until now. The armor, in her desperate bid to cling onto a reality she could abide, fitted herself onto the illusion of Agard.

“I’d wanted to continue my research here for a bit longer, but this place is of no use to me now,” Nike said. “I suppose this is my cue to leave.” He touched the massive device towering behind him. Letters and magic circles emerged, and the machine began to stir with a mighty roar. Suddenly, the ground started to quake. Wait, but this is a floating island! How can this turtle possibly experience an earthquake?! I guess it might make sense if it were writhing in agony or something. While I was busy thinking about silly ideas, a ball of light formed in the middle of the device and gradually grew larger before my eyes.

“No!” Orthoaguina cried, quick to catch on. “He’s trying to absorb all the mana on this island. At this rate, this land will decay and fall to the ground, and the chunk of mana will destroy the device too! It’ll cause tremendous damage to those below and the surrounding sea!”

“Now then, how will you deal with this, Argent Holy Woman?” Nike jeered. “I’d love to see just how much damage this explosion will cause! Oh, but don’t worry—I won’t kill you. Once I’ve concluded some trials, I’ll make sure to immobilize you and allow you to witness your failure firsthand!”

How malicious could he be? Did he get off on making me feel so repulsed? By creating a situation where he’d backed me into a corner, he was trying to coax me to use my full abilities. I didn’t know how exactly he wanted to test me out, but I had to act compliant for now.

Nike unsheathed an argent blade from beside the pedestal and swung it at me.

“My lady!” Tutte cried. She rushed behind me with Lily in her arms.

“Take this!” Snow said, carrying my maid as she tossed something my way.

I used a weak attacking spell to dodge Nike’s attacks, then I grabbed whatever Snow had thrown me with one arm. It was my weapon—I unsheathed it without thinking twice. Clang! Sharp, metallic clashes rang out as our blades of cold steel pointed toward each other. As the massive device roared away, my final battle against the wicked researcher had just begun.

17. Argent Knight vs Argent Holy Woman

“Let the festivities commence!” Nike said with glee.

He vanished before my eyes following our clash, causing me to lurch forward and swing through the air. I managed to catch my balance and leaped to the left, just in time. A blade swung from the side, swiping through the area I’d just been in. Nike hadn’t disappeared—he’d simply jumped to the side, but he’d moved so fast that we’d all assumed he vanished into thin air. His speed was appalling. Even I couldn’t keep up with him, making it clear that my opponent had also reincarnated and received some overpowered abilities.

“Oh? You were able to keep up with that, I see,” Nike said as he attacked me again.

Every blow was heavy and powerful, their mere shock waves destroying anything within range. At this rate, all my friends will get dragged in! I continued to defend as I backtracked from the path I’d come from, hoping to distance myself from everyone else. Nike swung his blade again and again as though he didn’t care about those around him, the temple included. He destroyed everything in his path like a man who was drunk with his immense power.

“Wonderful!” he crowed. “Simply wonderful! My swings should be so powerful that even a single blow would shatter your bones, yet you continue to defend yourself. Even I require some Materia to support my body, lest I crumble into pieces by simply swinging my weapon around.”

I take that back. He’s not drunk with power, he’s just happy to fight against me. A shudder ran down my spine.

“Lady Mary?!” His Highness shouted. “Why are you here?”

“Prince Reifus!” I shouted. “There’s a device in the back that’s gone berserk! It’s affecting the island! At this rate, this entire place will fall and explode!”

I was so busy defending myself against Nike’s attacks that I didn’t realize just how far I’d retreated. Only when I heard the prince’s voice did I become surprised about how far back I’d gone. No, the prince and his team are being pushed back too—they had to retreat here. I glanced at my four fighting friends, and there were so many magus weapons pouncing on them that I could’ve practically sworn that there were an infinite number of enemies. My friends were so vastly outnumbered that it was only a matter of time before they were overpowered.

Panic swirled in my head. I had to do something, but what? Every time I swung my blade in an attempt to predict Nike’s moves, he’d never fail to parry me. It felt like he could read my mind the way he outmaneuvered me. Wait, can’t this guy actually sort of read my mind? The Argent Knight said something about visions.

“Ah, so this is how it feels to experience the armor’s power,” Nike observed. “It’s splendid, yet the visions of your actions blur. How very, very interesting.”

I couldn’t see his face under the helmet, but his gleeful cackle was more than enough to make me shudder.

A few magus weapons were drawn into our battle as I continued my retreat and eventually made it outside. The clouds were clearly higher up than they’d been when we’d arrived, and the ground was fissured and collapsing in places—clearly, this island was breaking away, and much faster than I’d expected. I’ve gotta hurry!

It wasn’t occurring to me that my anxiousness to finish the fight was acting as my greatest downfall. While the battle may have been a race against time, I was up against a fellow reincarnated person, and we were on equal footing—or perhaps not even that, considering I didn’t even know the full extent of the armor’s power. I wasn’t holding back, but no matter how powerful I was, it did not matter when I was never able to hit my target.

“Hmm... I admit that I’m shocked that you can physically keep up with this armor for so long,” Nike said. “Then how about this?” Suddenly, he accelerated tremendously, but I could still keep up. I can still fight this.

“Fire Ball,” the armor chanted.

“What?!” I gasped.

A fiery orb fell from the sky, in sync with Nike’s blade attacks. I parried his swings and leaped to the side. Without my powers, I would’ve just barely received a scratch or two from the spell, but I managed to make my dodges look so effortless that he must’ve assumed that I was unscathed. Phew, that was a close one. But my relief didn’t last long...

“Freeze Arrow,” the armor chanted again.

As Nike commenced his flurry of attacks again, icicles flew straight at me from my blind spots. Using two different consciousnesses to combine magic and swordplay at the same time like they were doing was something beyond even me—the Argent Knight could only do so because it was two entities acting as one.

They’re just cheating at this point! No wonder the Dark Lord got clobbered by the Argent Knight. I internally cursed my enemy as I continued to defend myself.

“What’s wrong?” Nike taunted. “The island will fall at this rate. I suppose it’s only natural your puny will could never best the Argent Knight, history’s greatest hero, formed by our bond.” His voice turned soft and gentle as he spoke to his partner. “Don’t you agree?”

“You’re right, Agard!” the armor replied. She’d completely lost her sense of self.

Unfortunately, I was still far too immature to resist Nike’s cheap tricks and taunts in spite of everything, and I couldn’t suppress my rage. “Don’t you dare call yourself the Argent Knight!” I bellowed. There was no way I could allow him to defile the image of that knight of legends—that child’s life—my friends and I had always admired. I leaped into the air for a downward slash.

“Thousand Crystal Edge,” the armor chanted.

Nike prepared to counter as countless icicles assaulted me, but I’d expected as much. I had no intention of holding back, so I used every ounce of power that I had—I allowed the frozen spears to crash into my body and vanish harmlessly, and because I didn’t dodge the blade that had thrust up into me, it changed trajectory as its tip contacted my impossibly impenetrable skin. My magic nullification and physical nullification powers were in full effect, and I wouldn’t hesitate. My aim was the Argent Armor’s helmet, and I swung my blade down with all my might.

***

As the ground shook, Noa dragged her sore body over to the bones the Argent Armor had abandoned. She clung onto Agard’s remains like they were a priceless artifact. The reality of her loss sank in and ate away at her mind, threatening to destroy her sanity completely. She was in so much pain that she felt as if she would’ve preferred to keep her memories forgotten...but the more her sorrow stabbed at her heart, the clearer it became that her love for Agard ran just as deep.

“I’m sorry,” Noa sobbed. “I’m sorry, Agard.” She clutched what was left of his skeleton and apologized over and over again as tears trickled down her cheeks. It was hardly the way she would’ve wanted things to go, but at long last, she was able to apologize for what she’d done. She knew this didn’t mean she’d been forgiven, but she thought that now she may at least have closure.

“Wh-What do we do?” Sita cried. “What now, Lord Orthoaguina?”

Noa raised her head and grabbed the veil on the ground, hoping to wrap the remains with it, but the pain she was in was making it difficult for her. Magiluka took the veil in her stead and handed it to Safina, who carefully wrapped the bones into a neat little package.

“If we don’t do anything, this island will fall before long,” Orthoaguina said. “We can flee, the damage it’ll do to the surrounding environment be damned, or find a way to stop the device somehow.”

Everyone already knew what choice they wanted to make. “How can we stop the device?” Magiluka asked.

“We can’t simply try to destroy it, as that might cause the entire island to explode,” Orthoaguina replied. “After all Nike’s said and done, I doubt he made an emergency stop switch either. The only option we’ve got is to access the inner workings of the device and rewrite the command codes.”

“But how?” Noa asked. She was puzzled by the suggestion and tilted her head to one side, but soon noticed that everyone’s gaze was focused on Sita.

“I-I guess it’s a job for me...” Sita said.

“Precisely,” Orthoaguina confirmed. “We’re lucky that you’re here. It pains me to admit it, but Nike’s the only one who can fiddle with his own device. It’s protected by blood. However, Sita, that same blood flows through your veins, so you have the authorization to access this machine.”

It was then that Noa remembered hearing about where Sita came from during her journey. Elia, Nike’s younger sister, was apparently Sita’s ancestor, which was precisely why she’d been able to interface with so many of Nike’s devices on this adventure. Noa had no knowledge of this, but in fact, many of the devices in Kairomea were also created by him and had this security feature, which was what had led to Sita and her family being responsible for the library tower.

“So, you can just manipulate my body again and deactivate the device, right?” Sita concluded.

“Unfortunately, no,” Orthoaguina replied. “The immense whirlwind of mana surrounding it is interfering with my ability to connect to you. It would be too dangerous for me to take the reins.”

“Huh? Then how—”

“You must do it alone. Mary already gave you an opportunity to practice before, didn’t she? Hmph, she must’ve anticipated that there’d be a situation where you’d have to maneuver through this process alone. Ba ha ha, what a terrifying existence that holy woman is...” Orthoaguina sounded deeply impressed, and Noa widened her eyes with shock. The person in question would’ve surely fully denied all the credit and claimed it was just a coincidence, but tragically, she wasn’t here to defend herself.

Sita took a step back, buckling slightly under the pressure and hopeful gazes she was getting from her friends...but, in the end, she clutched her book with renewed resolve and turned to the device. “I’ll do my best,” she said. “Everyone’s doing their part, and I have to do mine!”

Sita climbed up the staircase that led to the device and ran to the center. It was like the scene of an accident. Its numerous components were running out of control and had turned red-hot, making everything surrounding them burn as well. The pool of mana gathered in the center was so intense that simply being near it could easily be enough to knock someone out.

Noa begged Magiluka to bring her closer to the device. Magiluka must’ve wanted to decline, but Noa couldn’t stand being on the sidelines, and ultimately, her wish was granted.

The light of life left Sita’s eyes as she fought against the device. Time and time again, she vocalized her attempts through that characteristic robotic monotone. “Entering... Failed. Reassessing. Analyzing...” she reported.

At a glance, it looked as though she wasn’t doing much, but throughout her countless tries, her body showed signs of strain. Her eyes turned bloodshot, and her hands quivered as they held the Book of Orthoaguina—it didn’t seem like she’d be able to keep going for much longer at this rate.

“No good,” Orthoaguina said through gritted teeth. “The device is foiling our analysis attempts faster than I’d expected. And the rampaging mana is flowing back at us and getting in our way!”

“It’s...okay...” Sita replied in a monotone. “I’ll figure...it...” Before she could finish her sentence, she coughed up blood, ending her attempt to console everyone. Even so, she was refusing to give up, trying again and again and again.

Noa couldn’t bear to sit back and watch any longer. If only she could somehow suppress the blinding light emitted from the mana... The moment Noa thought as much, a solution popped into her head.

“Lord Orthoaguina,” Noa said.

“What is it, girl?” Orthoaguina replied.

“Only Big Sister Sita’s bloodline can hope to interfere with this device, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, since my body is made from Elia, surely, I’m capable too.”

Orthoaguina fell silent, realizing what she was implying. “If I can somehow suppress the mana flow, wouldn’t it help her infiltrate the device?” Noa suggested.

“You...have a point,” Orthoaguina replied.

“Lord Orthoaguina!” Magiluka cried, trying to shut down the idea, when an explosion rang out and cut her off.

“Lady Magiluka!” Safina shouted as she stood guard in front of the device. “His Highness and his team have been forced to retreat to our position!”

“The guards and all the energy in this facility are being powered by the inexhaustible mana that this device provides!” Orthoaguina roared. “If we can stop this thing, all our problems should be solved! If the girl can help us out, we might be able to find a solution! We don’t have much time!”

Noa nodded firmly. Magiluka fell silent—she was fully aware Noa’s plan had promise, but there was no way she’d be willing to go along with it.

Noa could tell her big sister Magiluka wasn’t ready to accept her idea, so she forced a smile out of her haggard body to try to put on a tough front. “I’ll be fine,” Noa said. “I might just be a copy, but I was created to be the Argent Knight’s vessel. I think I’m sturdier than most.”

“Even so!” Magiluka cried. “You’re already weak, Noa! If you force your body to take any more abuse, you might die! Lady Mary trusted me with protecting you—I can’t just look the other way!”

“This decision isn’t for you or Mary to make,” Orthoaguina said. “It’s Noa’s, and Noa’s alone.”

Magiluka bit her lip. Time was of the essence, and if the massive swarm of guards came into this room, they would no longer be able to stop the device.

“Very well...” Magiluka relented. “But know your limits!”

“I know,” Noa replied with a strained smile.

Magiluka still couldn’t accept this, but she nevertheless rushed toward the prince and her friends to help them out.

“I’m sorry, big sister,” Noa murmured as Magiluka left. She hoped Mary would understand what she had to do.

***

My strongest blow cut through the air and cleaved the ground. Nike had vanished right in front of my eyes. Illusion magic... I usually wouldn’t have missed his body wavering for a split second, but rage had gotten the best of me and I’d let him slip from my grasp.

A blade whizzed through the air from my side, heading straight for my throat. “You didn’t do anything, yet my spells vanished and my attack was parried. What’s more, you look completely unscathed,” Nike observed coolly. His complete nonchalance made my blood turn to ice...and then his mood morphed into something else entirely. “Excellent!” he screeched euphorically. “Your durability and speed allows you to keep up with the Armor of God’s full power, and the strength of that attack was sublime!”

I turned in front of me and saw the mark that I’d left from my earlier strike. No normal person could’ve possibly left such a massive gash in the ground.

“Perfect! Yes! This is the vessel that I’ve been searching for!” Nike cried. “I’d love to make you into my test subject!”

Nike ecstatically made to resume our fight when something fluttered in the air in front of our eyes.

“Huh? What is this?” he asked.

Upon closer inspection, it was clear—it was Agard’s memoir. I recalled borrowing it from Sita in front of the statue—I must’ve had it on me this entire time. His attacks that’d grazed my body earlier had evidently sliced through my clothes and ripped the book to shreds, causing its fragments to fly away in the wind. It was an old book to begin with, requiring delicate care just to maintain normally, and my rough battle with Nike had destroyed it.

While regret over all the lost memories flooded into my mind, Nike disinterestedly grabbed one of the pages.

“Are these letters?” he wondered.

“Letters? Are they?” the armor asked.

I was so disturbed by the armor I couldn’t help but interject into their carefree conversation. “What are you saying?!” I cried, recalling her memories that I saw earlier. “That’s a precious language that only the two of you shared! It was how you tried to leave a part of you with him so that he wouldn’t forget you!”

“Me? To Agard?” the armor asked dully. For a moment, the armor turned stiff, creating an opening for me to utilize. I wasn’t one to miss it and jumped forward. “I...don’t know...” the armor murmured.

“Tch! What a needless trifle at this juncture!” Nike spat vexedly.

Their clues gave me an epiphany. “Oh... The transfer to Noa was a success...”

“Well deduced, Argent Holy Woman!” Nike shouted back. “Oh, I was shocked, I admit! When the Argent Knight had left the island, I’d wanted to continue my research, but the moment they’d disappeared, I no longer had the right to use this island! Those pesky fairies got in my way and hindered my experiments. However was I to return to work under such conditions? My only recourse was to collect the soul residue from the remaining armor and attempt to construct a facsimile from it!”

He spoke as though his thought process had been a matter of course, but I couldn’t help but feel like that wasn’t the case at all.

“It was difficult to do, even with my skills!” he continued. “But one day, I made a tiny, ever so infinitesimal soul. Indeed, this was nothing short of a miracle! For the Armor of God, a suit of armor apotheosized by imbuing it with a soul, to have been reduced to an empty shell was surely an affront to God’s designs—therefore, I am certain beyond all doubt that God offered me providence so I could restore the natural order! The fundamental principles of the result were completely beyond my comprehension, and I knew I could never reproduce it. Truly, it was a gift from God! A marvel beyond marvels!”

By this point, Nike was so exultant he seemed to have forgotten that we were in the midst of a battle. “However, even after having been blessed with this miracle, the soul was unstable and I was struggling to maintain it,” he went on. “In order to preserve the soul, I decided to home in on its capacity to hold strong beliefs and its capacity for intense passion and amplify them by imprinting the soul with every document and record I could think of. Of course, my prioritization of the soul’s emotions led it to becoming filled with contradictions—surely God will forgive me for my errors borne out of a lack of experience.”

I honestly wasn’t able to wrap my head around all his prattle about God’s providence and the natural order and whatever, but one thing was clear to me: He’d taken advantage of the Argent Armor and Noa entirely to serve his own ends. “You... You re-formed the Argent Armor and pitted her against Noa all so you could keep your dumb island?!” I shouted.

“On the contrary, I had no interest whatsoever in pursuing my failed experiment—I merely put up with it because the armor insisted. Now then, let’s end our discussion here. I have new possibilities I seek to explore.” He gazed at me with glee, seeming like he’d satisfied his urge to ramble on about himself and was ready to fight again...only he couldn’t move a muscle. “Wh-What’s going on?” he muttered.

“I... I... I...” the armor murmured.

Did he really not think there’d be consequences to saying all that in front of the armor? I guess not. He’s so self-absorbed about his research that he has no concept of being considerate. Now that the Argent Armor had learned about her birth, she was hung up on squaring reality with the fantasy world she’d created for herself. That was Nike’s hubris: He relied on the Argent Armor for power, yet he acted like he had absolute control over it.

I had no idea Agard’s memoir would cause all this... Come to think of it, maybe Agard had been aiming for something like this to happen all along. With that thought in mind, I clenched a piece of paper that had fallen before me back when the memoir had fallen from my clothes. I hadn’t seen this page back at Eneres, but here it was now that the book was in shreds. Did the two of them come up with these magic words together? In accordance with Agard’s wishes, this was the spell they would first use when drawing on the armor’s power. The details she’d hoped to convey to Agard were written in a way that resembled the long, embarrassing chants the Argent Knight had used. I imagined that the Argent Armor had, as a considerate act of kindness, intended for Agard to one day be able to conceptualize this magic and use it even without relying on her power...and thanks to her thoughtfulness, even I, who knew nothing about their past together, could use this spell.

“What’s going on?!” Nike roared. “Come on, move, damn you!” He’d completely lost his cool and was cursing the armor as I plunged my sword into the ground.

“Mother Nature and her kin, look kindly upon these souls,” I chanted. A massive magic circle rippled out from my blade along the ground, then a torrent of light gushed forth from it. The light focused into a pillar around my sword as I used both hands to remove it from the ground. I confidently raised my weapon high above my head.

“Father Sky and his kin, embrace their wishes, embrace their being, and guide them. O father, O mother, all your kin, I solemnly swear, they shall know your sanctifying light!” I shouted.

A second magic circle appeared in the sky directly above where the tip of my blade was pointing, parallel to the one on the ground. Rays of light like the sun showered upon me, surrounding me with light from above and below. Another magic circle was deployed between the two, above my head, and a pillar of blinding light shot out to connect the three magic circles into a cylinder. The ground began to shake terribly, and I saw cracks stretch throughout the surrounding land, but I braced myself and stood tall.

It felt as though even the air itself began to tremble as the pillar of light gradually condensed upon my blade, transforming it into a massive sword of shining light.

“I want...to sleep...” the armor murmured faintly. Her feeble plea reached my ears, and I clenched my weapon even tighter.

“Move! Move, damn it! Gah! You useless imbecile!” Nike roared angrily. Fear had clearly claimed his heart, overwhelmed as he was by my intensity and the awesome light. He desperately tried to move, but he couldn’t budge an inch.

“The Light That Blesses All Souls!” I bellowed.

As the spell left my lips, the magic circles shattered and I swung down with all my might, unleashing the power of my blade upon the armor. Bathed in purifying light, Nike was immolated instantaneously, and the Argent Armor split into pieces at the joints, at last freeing her from her plight.

“It’s over...”

18. Preventing the Crash of Xeoral

“What should I do, specifically?” Noa asked Orthoaguina. All the while Sita was doing her best to stop the device from running amok.

“Hmm, er, well...” Orthoaguina muttered awkwardly. They didn’t have time to spare, but it looked like he was trying to choose his phrasing carefully. Noa’s sneaking suspicion was confirmed. Had there been a fairly safe method, Orthoaguina would’ve already given his orders, but his hesitation made it obvious this would be a dangerous mission.

“Lord Orthoaguina, we don’t have time,” Noa pressed. “Don’t worry about me. Just say it directly.”

“A-All right,” he replied. “That power reactor there stores the mana and is reversing its flow. If you can alter the flow for even a moment, Sita can use that opening to sneak in.”

Sita and Noa nodded at each other. “And how can I change the mana flow?” Noa asked.

“Sita has allowed me to catch a glimpse of a part of the device,” Orthoaguina replied. “There’s a circulator deep within the power reactor we can use to suppress the backflow of mana. The process itself is very simple, rest assured—you simply have to get in and pull a lever.”

“Wait, are you telling her to dive into the vortex of mana?” Sita asked concernedly.

“Precisely,” Orthoaguina replied dispassionately, having resigned himself to this solution. “Only Noa can open the defensive walls without issues and slip through the barrier.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Noa agreed. “I think I can do this easily.”

“No! You can’t!” Sita cried. “There’s no guarantee that your body can endure the pressure! I can’t let you do it!”

“What other option do we have, Sita?” Orthoaguina asked. “Surely, you understand that our enemy has talent beyond compare. You know that you can’t possibly stop this alone—you don’t stand a chance. There’s no more room to argue that willpower alone will pull you through. We don’t have time.”

“But...! But...!” Sita sounded like a child throwing a tantrum in the face of Orthoaguina’s logic. But try as she might, she couldn’t think of another solution.

Noa flashed a bright smile. “I’ll be off now.” She turned to the power reactor, knowing what she had to do. There was no time to dawdle or hesitate, nor did she have any reason to. In fact, she was beyond delighted to learn that she could be of some use to her friends. She forced her aching body to keep it together as she staggered toward the door.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Noa,” Sita apologized. “Because I’m so inexperienced and weak, I... If only I could act cool like Lady Mary and handle everything myself...” Her voice quavered as she held back tears, painfully aware of her own shortcomings.

Noa whirled around and shook her head. “No, don’t be sorry,” she replied. “You’re doing the best you can for everyone without worrying about whether you’ll be hurt. You look very cool in my eyes.”

Noa grinned and placed her hand against the plate on the door. For a moment, the mana flowed through her veins, and the door unlocked with little issue—Noa was regarded as part of Nike’s bloodline, just as Orthoaguina had confirmed to her. There was only one thing that she had to do now.

A hot puff of steam assaulted Noa’s senses—she didn’t even want to imagine the horrific state of the device. And yet, without an ounce of hesitation, she infiltrated the reactor room. The space was hotter than she’d expected, sapping away her stamina and energy, and the heat worsened the injuries all over her body. The pain was so intense it made her want to scream, and the vortex of mana was clouding her mental state, making her vision grow dim and hazy. All the same, she bit her lip and desperately endured the abuse, keeping her destination in sight as she strode forward. It was thanks to her sturdy body that she managed to withstand it all, and it was thanks to her steadfast resolve that she refused to back down.

Noa believed she would reach the lever and pull it, but she knew instinctively that her life would end at that very moment. She could easily imagine some sort of drawback arising from pulling the lever in such a precarious situation. Noa glanced over her body, wondering if she could endure it, but she knew that the horrific conditions she was weathering were only hastening the destruction of her body, and she no longer was regenerating enough.

A small step caused Noa to stumble, and she fell to the ground, unable to brace herself. She only barely held back from crying, vexed by her fragility.

“Heh heh...” Noa chuckled bitterly. “If only...I could also act cool...like Big Sister Mary.”

Even having faltered, she refused to keep still and crawled forward. She didn’t care whether she looked cool or embarrassing—she was driven to reach her destination, and she continued to slide across the floor by sheer willpower. It was so sweltering that it felt like her body was on fire. She was in sheer agony, and her blurring vision was making her nauseous, but she knew what she had to do. No matter what happened to her, she wanted to fulfill her role and be useful to everyone...and that’s when she realized.

“Is this...how you felt, Agard?” she wondered aloud. “I know that you...wanted to protect everyone, even if...that meant sustaining a few injuries yourself.”

As Noa’s vision began to fail, she no longer knew where she was heading to, but she crawled ever forward, toward the faint light that appeared before her eyes. It felt like someone was guiding her.

“No wonder Agard didn’t stop me from going out of control...” Noa murmured. “Even if it meant that he’d die...he didn’t want to hurt me.”

Finally, the lever appeared before her eyes, and she used every ounce of strength she had to get on her feet. “I’m sorry, Agard. You tried to protect me, but I’m just a poor copy... Because a failure like me was born, the two of you lost the happiness you shared... But you made me happy. Really, you did. Even if these memories aren’t really my own, you’ve truly made me happy, from the bottom of my heart.”

Noa clenched the lever. If she pulled this, everything would come to an end—her own life included. As she considered her final moments, her mind flooded with not only the memories of the Argent Armor, but also with her memories of the precious friends she made while journeying as Noa.

“You’re not some copy. How you were born doesn’t matter—who you are now is Noa, my adorable little sister.”

Mary’s kind reassurance echoed through Noa’s mind...and her tears began to flow like a burst dam. “Ngh... Ugh... I want to live...” Noa sobbed. “I want to live with everyone! There’s so many things I want to do and try... But... But... I won’t be able to...”

As her final wishes spilled out of her mouth, her spirit was crushed. She sobbed like a little child, but she’d already steeled her resolve—she didn’t dare release her grasp from the lever.

“Then keep on living, Noa!” A familiar voice filled the room—the voice Noa had been wishing to hear most. “You’re not a copy or anything of the sort!”

“You dolt!” Orthoaguina scolded in the distance. “Don’t just brute-force your way through the unopenable door!”

The owner of the voice stood in front of the door and reached out toward Noa. “Don’t worry, leave the rest to me,” the reliable, invincible lady said. “Pull that lever! And after that, let’s go back to our friends, Noa!”

“Okay. I will, Big Sister Mary!” Noa shouted. Even she was surprised by how calm and composed she’d become. Completely at ease now, Noa pulled the lever with all her might.

19. The End

After a whirlwind of events, we somehow managed to keep Xeoral in the air.

“Overall Healing!” I chanted. I restored everyone back to good health, starting from those who were most injured. As I looked over my friends and everything around me, I realized that we really were pushing our limits this time around, and we’d been in more danger than I’d thought.

Unfortunately, my healing magic wasn’t really effective on Noa’s body. I’d thought I could help regenerate her crumbling body, but my spell simply enhanced one’s own self-healing abilities—if one’s own ability to heal themselves deteriorated, my spell wouldn’t be as helpful. It was probably like how I couldn’t instill vigor into a person who was about to die. There was probably another spell to aid healing in a different way, but I’d have to look into it on another day. Personally, I was just overjoyed that Noa was still alive, and I decided to just take it one step at a time. There was no rush.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the whole ordeal, but Xeoral gradually began to float higher above the water again, and it was now gracefully swimming through the air. That troublesome device was now under control thanks to the efforts of Orthoaguina and Sita, but they’d probably have to call in some researchers from Kairomea to fully dismantle it. The plan was to restore Xeoral back to its original state—it was probably difficult to do anything of the sort without Noa’s consent, but I was sure that we’d be good on that end.

Emilia and the prince also wanted to help with any restoration efforts when the time came. Even though our hectic debacle had only just ended, those on top were always busy, it seemed—all I could do was quietly cheer them on as they swamped themselves with work. Incidentally, the humanoid mithril statue surprised me by suddenly activating and getting to work, doing its utmost best to clean up the utter mess, so I suppose the restoration efforts were already well under way.

According to Orthoaguina, Nike had abused his rights and sealed the statue away, allowing it to only indirectly jump into action. Now that Nike had died, the statue was able to move as it pleased, and now it had its work cut out for it. Admittedly, I found it adorable how sad the statue looked trying to puzzle out how it could even begin to handle the fallout of Nike’s device.

“By the way, how can we go back home?” Emilia asked now that we’d all caught our breath. “We’ve got some plans to speak with our mother below.”

Now that she mentions it, I have no clue how we’re leaving either...

According to Orthoaguina, there had been some sort of platform that would stretch up from the mermaid stage and temporarily allow travel to and from Xeoral, but since Nike had destroyed it and we’d been launched here, I was at a loss for how to proceed.

“Ahem, you all have no need to worry,” Orthoaguina declared. “According to the fairies, much like how the spirit was capable of throwing us onto Xeoral in an emergency, Xeoral itself has a method of wrapping guests up in a mucus-like membrane that allows them to be safely shot down into the sea and collected by the spirit. These mutual methods have been available since ancient times.”

I could practically hear him puff out his chest in pride, like he’d been dying to show off knowing that answer. You arrogant book...

“Um, so we have to fall back to the sea, just like how we fell onto Xeoral?” I asked.

“Well, yes,” Orthoaguina replied. “When put simply. Rest assured, Xeoral isn’t alive, so you won’t be inside a bubble of spit or anything. It’s a very convenient sticky substance that can absorb any and all shock.”

We all fell silent.

“We refuuuuuuse!” Emilia shouted.

“I’m sorry, Princess Emilia, but if we’re to follow your schedule, we need you to acquiesce,” the prince said apologetically.

Sacher and Safina gave an apologetic bow before dragging Emilia away. “Noooooo!” she screamed. “You monster! You demoooon!”

Uh, should you be saying something like that?

“Lady Sita, I leave the rest to you,” Prince Reifus said.

“Y-Yes, Your Highness,” Sita replied.

She and Rachel apologetically followed poor Emilia, who had the unfortunate privilege of being the first to be shot out of the island. I knew that Xeoral wasn’t a living creature, but watching it spit her out sort of reminded me of something gross... I decided to keep that to myself, however. Yep, Mary, no matter how crazy things get, you always have to remember one thing: Nothing good ever comes from associating with spirits and fairies. Once Emilia was shot back below the island, I guessed that she’d explain the situation to Queen Belletochka and end up being thrown back up with some supplies. I feel so bad for her...

Nike’s wretched destruction of our exit platform was truly unforgivable, and I was demanding it be fixed immediately for the sake of justice. If the restoration didn’t make it in time, we’d also be spat out, after all, and I wanted my interaction with that thing to begin and end at thanking Emilia for her service.

Just as I was making my case, however, Noa approached us, supported by Lily, Snow, and Tutte, and the mithril statue was also behind them.

“First things first, a burial,” the prince said.

Noa was trying to rush to our side, but I didn’t want her to push herself and went to her first.

We planned to have the burial once Emilia returned, and after a while, a familiar ball reached the island. Queen Belletochka had accompanied her daughter to Xeoral this time around, but Her Majesty looked pale, having thrown out her back from being launched so mercilessly by the spirit. I pretended not to notice the queen was looking so pitiful.

We respected Noa’s wishes and decided to bury Agard’s remains in Xeoral. Since Eneres seemed like their home, I suggested that maybe he could be buried there, but Noa claimed that separating him from the Argent Armor would be too sad, and I had no reason to press further.

When we searched for a burial spot, Noa said that she wanted to lay him to rest beside the evening primroses. After Noa dug through her memories, she, Snow, Tutte, and Lily searched for some, and shockingly enough, in the middle of this desolate land was a single spot with them that had seemingly been protected by some sort of mysterious force. Was this thanks to the will of the Argent Armor? Or were the fairies protecting this place? Unfortunately, we could no longer ask the former for any answers.

The Argent Armor had received the brunt of my attack and her soul was purified, but shockingly, the armor itself hadn’t been destroyed. The quiet, normal suit of armor had been reassembled on the pedestal in the depths of the temple and silently stood there.

“Wouldn’t a bigger ceremony be more fitting?” Orthoaguina asked out of kindness. “Surely, we can build a better, grander gravesite as well.”

But Noa shook her head. “This is just fine. Agard never liked stiff formalities, and when we threw the armor away, he said that he wanted to live quietly without attracting any attention.”

Noa received the help of the mithril statue as she buried Agard’s remains. “Agard, you gave me so, so many fun memories. Thank you,” she murmured. “And thank you for giving me a heart. Please watch over me and the rest of us from above.”

Tears trickled down her cheeks as she said her final farewell to her beloved. It may have been a simple ceremony, but it had been one nonetheless.

On closer inspection, Aldia’s crown prince, the children of nobles, two divine beasts, the queen and princess of Relirex, and Kairomea’s Philomath Dragon, chief librarian, and her assistant were all in attendance. It was an impressive gathering of high-ranked officials, and bystanders would’ve surely gasped with awe.

“And now it’s all over,” I said with relief.

“Not quite,” Magiluka replied.

I turned to her with surprise. “U-Uh, what do you mean by that? Is there still something left?” I looked around with panic.

“Lady Mary, didn’t you come here because you wanted to do a report on the Argent Knight?”

“Oh, yeah... Now that you mention it...”

I clapped my hands together with realization—this had all started because I was searching for a report theme. It was a sorrowful tale with nothing glamorous about it, not really one I wanted to pass on to future generations. At the same time, I did want the world to know the story of Agard, the kindhearted young man.

As I was mulling over what I should do, Noa, seeming to have sorted through her feelings, returned to my side.

“Since Noa needs to be on Xeoral for a while, maybe I’ll stay too and do some research,” I said.

“That sounds like a lovely idea! ♪” Magiluka said.

“I won’t be much help, but I’ll lend you a hand! ♪” Sita added.

These two ladies immediately jumped at the chance to join me. I knew that Magiluka knew when to hold herself back, but the same couldn’t be said for Sita and Orthoaguina. I can’t have them causing any more trouble. I need to keep them under strict surveillance.

“You’ll stay here?” Noa asked, surprised.

“Huh? Of course,” I replied. “We’re going back home together, right? I think mother and father are eagerly awaiting the return of my adorable younger sister.”

Noa must’ve assumed that she’d be all by herself on Xeoral—she looked stunned for a moment before her face turned red and she turned toward the ground with embarrassment.

“Huh? Did I have it all wrong?” I asked, not expecting her reaction.

“No, not one bit,” Noa replied. “Thank you, big sister.” When she looked up at me and smiled, she looked cuter than anything I’d ever seen.

***

According to tradition, the first place God ever deigned to alight upon the world was at the sacred mountain. The site of this miracle became home to a religious district, a settlement replete with majestic chapels and churches interspersed throughout its countless abodes.

At the apex of this mountain lay the the most sacred church of all, a holy ground upon which only the chosen few would ever be permitted to tread. Presently, one such young man was traversing the church’s grand, vacant halls, his heavy footsteps a striking disruption to the tranquil silence...until, at long last, he had reached a chamber in the church’s inner depths. He proceeded to kneel at the foot of the figure seated there reading a book.

“We’ve received one final message from Xeoral...” the young man reported.

The seated figure twitched, stopped reading, and slowly looked up. “Did he die?”

“He did.”

“That was the only successful replica we could produce to enable research in Xeoral to continue... Bah. None of that research has borne any fruit, so I suppose it’s a trifling loss.”

The young man continued to genuflect as his superior mused.

“And what does the message say?” the seated figure asked.

“Vessel found: Argent Holy Woman,” the young man reported.

“The Argent Holy Woman?”

“Our intelligence bears no record of such a moniker—however, even were we to identify a target, given the heavy losses the Annihilation Corps has suffered, they would not yet be prepared to mobilize.”

“How fare your fellow cardinals?”

“The surveillance of Aldia, the establishment of a beachhead in Relirex, and the invasion of Kairomea have all ended in complete failure.”

“Useless, the lot of you.”

“You have my sincerest apologies, Your Grace. However, one piece of useful information has emerged: The Aldian royal family has had a hand in the dismantling of each of these operations.”

“Aldia, you say... Hmph, they’ve always been such a thorn in my side.”

The young man silently awaited orders.

“Very well,” the seated figure replied. “Find this so-called vessel. I could ask for nothing more.”

“As you will it, Your Grace,” the young man replied. He then swiftly left the church to begin fulfilling the pope’s ambition—it was his duty as a cardinal of the Einholst Papacy, the small nation on the sacred mountain.

Afterword

Thank you for picking up the seventh volume of The Invincible Little Lady! This is Chatsufusa, the author who recently grunted “Mraghf” as they sat up instead of the usual “Oof” everyone else does. Maybe my weird way of speaking is an isekai language and I was born in a different world in my past life... No, wait. Recently, my hips start to hurt when I sit for prolonged periods of time—this weak body of mine couldn’t possibly have gotten any reincarnation cheats from some sort of deity. Yeah, I must be imagining things.

All right, scratch everything I’ve said up to now. Hello everyone, it’s been a while. As usual, there were many twists and turns to publish this volume, but I managed to get it out. It’s all thanks to the publisher, everyone involved in the making of this book, to my readers who’ve supported this series, and Micro Magazine, who benevolently allowed me to take my sweet time and write such a thick book. And thank you to my editor, who’s always helping me out when I need them most. Another thank you to fuumi for providing fantastic illustrations to yet another volume, always illustrating Mary and all the other new characters so adorably—whether it’s a half-dragon half-elf girl or a mermaid in a shell bikini, you never fail to beautifully depict all my blatant fixations, ahem, I mean, this series’ diverse cast.

I may have touched upon this earlier, but yes, this volume’s length is my personal record and the largest yet for this series, clocking in at over five hundred pages! I really troubled everyone. I know that. I just started writing and got carried away, failing to actually condense everything that I wanted to write. I know...my fault. I thought that I could just do my usual of writing up a plot and solving it at the end to reach a volume’s length, and in my excitement, I said to myself, “Wait, this plot’s going kinda long... Nah, I must be imagining things. Yeah,” refusing to face reality in the same manner our plucky protagonist does. I sure was sweating bullets once I finally finished writing! But I’ve got no regrets!

That all said, I do want to go back in time to the me who was asked, “Hey, don’t you already have enough for a volume?” and replied, “Nah, not even close” and slap them in the face. This volume revolved around the Argent Knight, with our cast following leads based on various events throughout the series until everything culminated in the truth. When I began to write about the Evening Primrose Festival again, I was stunned to realize that five years had already passed within the story—when I thought about it from the perspective of Mary and her friends, it kind of moved me to tears.

And then there’s Belletochka, who appeared in previous volumes in name only. How many of you came to the part where Emilia mentioned her and were like, “Oh, yeah, I remember her coming up before”? To be fair, it’s not easy to recall a character who was only ever name-dropped, so I don’t really blame anyone for forgetting. She’s a little unusual for a mother. I wonder why I ended up writing her like that... (Gazing into the distance.)

There were also Noa, the Argent Armor, and Agard. I’d always wanted to make the Argent Knight a reincarnator like Mary, but back then, I hadn’t imagined that the armor itself, with no one inside, would be the main fighting force. That detail happened to result in all these pages... Ideas are really terrifying, especially when you give in to them.

From there, Noa was born, and she had a sorrowful past...sorry about that. I sort of just take it for granted that all heroes are fated to walk an arduous journey. And so, when it came to the Argent Knight, all talks of gags and jokes were off the table, and in a sense, that was a trial for me. How did you like the story?

I’d be delighted if you enjoyed this volume. And with that, I pray that we get to meet again! Until then, I’ll be off.