——On a small, grassy hill covered in lush green, a parasol and a white table had been set out.
Beneath a sky so blue it seemed to glow, a faint wind stirred black hair. Before he knew it, he'd been seated in a chair, and across the white table, a girl—white and black—was savoring her tea.
Steam rose warmly from the teacup, yet he could sense no fragrance. —As though she'd perfectly replicated every outward element of tea while missing the essence entirely. A paper-thin imitation.
She gave off an impression of something fundamentally unfair.
"What happened to me?"
A question.
It sought an answer to the confusion that had plagued him up to this very moment.
"Isn't that something you already understand for yourself?"
An answer.
It was no answer to the confusion that had plagued him up to this very moment.
The irritation of being deflected, the dissatisfaction with everything that had transpired—he had to restrain himself, rationally, from unleashing it all on the girl before him.
And mixed in with that restraint was a sliver of something else: his own perspective, watching from the sidelines as an observer.
"
Impulse and urgency—he deliberately mistook them for courage and let them drive the conversation forward.
On the green hill, he found himself confronting a girl who called herself the '
Again and again and again, it had always been this way.
Always, constantly, no matter the situation, every event was an unbroken chain of the incomprehensible and the absurd. And to all of it, he had gritted his teeth, raised his face with all his might, and kept on fighting.
—He had kept on fighting.
"Go ahead. Try it."
——Please, stop.
——Please, stop. Don't make me say any more. Don't let those words come out.
"Acting to obtain the results you desire—that is a noble thing. My belief in that has not changed. And I believe that those who take such action are the ones who have value in living."
——Please, stop. Please, stop. Please, stop.
——Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
——Stop.
"Echidna. I've been using 'Return by Death'—and I still am."
——Oh, oh, oh, please.
——Please, don't suffer.
——Please, don't cry.
——Please, don't get hurt.
——Please, don't be afraid.
——Please, don't smile.
——Please, don't forgive me.
"Your question of 'why' served as the key, and the door to the tea party opened. And having drunk the tea the Witch offered, you are a most worthy participant. As the host of this tea party, it is my duty to welcome you. —Now, go on. Say it."
——Please, please, please, please, please, please, please.
——Please, stop.
"Worrying your head over how to produce an answer—that, too, is bliss for me."
——Please, I'm begging you—don't let this person save him.
△▼△▼△▼△ ——The thing about spiritual exhaustion was that, unlike physical fatigue, it was invisible—and that was what made it so troublesome.
Of course, there were the obvious symptoms: the mind refusing to function properly, nerves stretched unbearably thin, dark circles under the eyes deeper than any bottomless swamp.
But those obvious symptoms were merely physical complaints, and in the end, no different in kind from bodily fatigue—or so was Aldebaran's conclusion.
True spiritual exhaustion was something you couldn't touch to soothe, couldn't cast magic to heal. That was what it was.
And what was needed to rebuild that worn-down spirit was neither words nor bonds. —To put it bluntly, what was needed was time.
Only time had the kindness to smooth out the jagged edges of a frayed spirit.
Therefore—, "——Territory redeployed. Matrix redefined."
Muttering the words softly, Aldebaran finally updated his matrix, feeling settled at last.
Roughly, the first matrix update in six hours—the greatest benefit of Aldebaran's Authority was the ability to stretch his subjective time indefinitely, without a single second passing in real time.
Within a defined territory, he could poison himself repeatedly to cycle through a set span of time as many times as needed, buying himself hours to smooth out his spirit. The fight against Reinhard had also made full use of this benefit for the fine-tuning required to lure his opponent into the prearranged plan.
"Though, well—just about all of it got nullified in the end..."
Ultimately, he'd been forced to play his last card—a hand he'd never wanted to spend—to reach a conclusion. From Aldebaran's perspective, calling it a win was a stretch; at best, it was a draw. More accurately, they'd both lost.
In any case, his addled mind and frayed nerves had improved somewhat.
He couldn't say the same for the dark circles under his eyes, but even the time to conceal them with makeup was too precious to waste, so he made do with a battered, pitch-black, jagged helmet—perfectly suited to his broken body and spirit.
In truth, despite speaking of a broken body and spirit, his physical condition was exceptional.
The boundless—well, that was an overstatement—but the vast mana reserves of the 'Dragon,' the most powerful super-lifeform, were his to use as he pleased. Water magic for healing, Solar magic for buffs—both flowing freely. It was no exaggeration to say that the strongest Aldebaran since his very first breath stood here now.
"That said—it's like giving an ant a hundred times its power. No matter how many buffs I stack, I still can't beat a human..."
And the opponent in question, by that same measure, was no human but an elephant—or a lion.
The tragedy was, as long as he was limited by the specs of his original vessel, even the strongest Aldebaran in history couldn't be anything but the loser in a straight-up fight.
But setting aside that rather bleak self-assessment—, "——Seven days."
Propping one knee up and leaning against a wall of grimy wooden planks, Aldebaran counted down the deadline.
The resting place he'd chosen was a hunting cabin in the woods, found by Yae. Fortunately, it appeared to be out of season or simply unoccupied, so he'd helped himself.
He couldn't hope for a plush bed or an outdoor hot spring, but being hidden from all eyes—that was a first-class perk for the current Aldebaran.
From here on, he needed to avoid every fight he could and slip past events without engaging.
His behavior in Millurai, the nearest town to the
It served as a rendezvous point with his allies, and there was also the simple fact that he'd desperately wanted a glass of milk. But more than that, he'd needed the townspeople to understand the extraordinary scale of what was unfolding, and the absence of anyone who could save them from it.
After all, the greatest battle on the face of the earth was taking place barely a dozen kilometers away.
Reinhard would be fighting tooth and nail to stop the 'Witch of Envy'—the one Aldebaran's schemes had lured out. But there was no certainty that the shockwaves of that battle wouldn't reach beyond the sea of sand. With the sky blazing nonstop, composure was impossible—evacuation was essential.
And the seven-day deadline Aldebaran had set was not unrelated to that battle. —Or rather, it was intimately connected.
As far as Aldebaran knew, the 'Sword Saint' and the 'Witch of Envy' were evenly matched. Their fight would be a thousand-day game—an endless exchange of attacks and counterattacks with no resolution in sight.
But that applied only to the 'Sword Saint' versus the 'Witch of Envy.' Now that Aldebaran's scheming had brought those two into confrontation, would it truly last a thousand days? No—it would not.
Because—, "Before those two settle it, the world itself will break apart. And that'll be the end of it."
Before that world-ending came to pass, the battle itself needed to be brought to a close.
In a sense, having arranged the match himself, Aldebaran was now declaring that this summit clash could also be the thing that ended the world—and that was one of the factors he intended to eliminate.
"There's so much to do... so much to do..."
Pressing his hand to his forehead through the helm, Aldebaran let out a long, heavy breath.
His Authority had kept the spiritual exhaustion in check, and water and Solar magic had forcibly restored his physical condition. But the sheer size of what he was thinking about and carrying threatened to overload his capacity entirely.
Of course, from the moment he'd embarked on this path, there was no room to complain to anyone—but— "——Whyyyyy not, instead of stubbornly bearing all this by yourself, you could just, like, lean reeeally hard on someone? That's totally a valid option, you know?"
"...Yae."
"Yep yep yep, the all-purpose, ultra-useful kunoichi maid at your service, Yae~!"
Without a sound or a footstep—literally materializing from the shadows as though sprouting from thin air—the girl appeared, Yae, flashing a smile as she tossed out that quip.
Hands clasped behind her back, she sauntered over. Aldebaran shrugged.
"All-purpose and ultra-useful, sure, but 'kunoichi maid' is stacking too many attributes."
"Is it~? I actually had to cut out 'beautiful girl' and 'adorable' and 'cute' to make room, you know~. So then, so then—how would Lord Ald rate me, personally?"
"...Cat-type submission kunoichi maid?"
"Whaaat, that sounds like something nobody into girls would ever say. And 'kunoichi maid' is still in there."
She looked at him with a genuinely contemptuous gaze, and Aldebaran clicked his tongue. "Shut up."
He was in the middle of grappling with problems that actually demanded serious thought. He had no intention of wasting time on banter with an ally who didn't need to be kept in a good mood.
"Besides, I already told you—you remind me of the old man. Also: scout the forest paths, keep watch around the cabin, and get dinner ready."
"Don't you think that sounds super exploitative when you say it yourself~? Overworking someone—that's the Aldebaran way of saying it, right? Right now, it's super exploitative~."
"You're the all-purpose, ultra-useful kunoichi maid, aren't you? Live up to the name."
"You really are—combining 'demon' and 'beast' into one word—you're a real piece of work, Lord Ald~"
She stuck out her tongue and fired back without hiding her displeasure. Aldebaran glared at her sideways, and she raised a finger, saying "I know, I know~": "Dinner's ready. It's kunoichi provisions, but still~. Perimeter watch is complete. Even a forest like this has magic beasts in it, apparently~. For the forest paths, I found a route where the footing isn't too bad. You should train your legs more, by the way. As for Lord Heinkel..."
"As for?"
"If we leave him alive, he's just dead weight, so how about we use him as live bait to ward off magic bea—oh~ don't make that face, I'm joking~"
"You can't even see my face."
"I can read your aura. You're quite a stickler, Lord Ald."
She said something half-comprehensible and half-not, then turned her face away with a huff. But Aldebaran didn't avert his gaze, keeping his stare fixed on her profile.
Eventually, she gave in with a deep sigh: "Lord Heinkel is tied up. If he wakes, I'll know right away. And if he tries to force his way free—his limbs will come apart."
"...Come apart. Can you really do that to the old man?"
"He may be tough, but he's not made of steel. There are vulnerable spots. My techniques target exactly those kinds of weaknesses. Besides, even if I said I could, he'd get angry, right?"
"Obviously."
"Then I won't do it~. There's no benefit for me in making you angry, Lord Ald~"
Raising both hands in surrender, Yae projected harmlessness. Aldebaran let his shoulders relax.
Her tone was light, and there was mischief in it—but there was no lie in her words. The things Aldebaran had done here to suppress her defiance were far from gentle.
He had broken her will to resist—no, broken her heart—thoroughly, relentlessly, without mercy.
The reason
——Yae Tenzen was an assassin sent to take the life of Priscilla Bariel.
By declaring her candidacy for the Royal Selection, Priscilla Bariel's existence had come to the attention of the Vollachian Empire as well. It was only a matter of time before someone realized she was Prisca Benedict—the one who had escaped the Empire's 'Imperial Selection Ceremony' for the throne and survived in a foreign land.
Yae was the assassin dispatched by
In truth, her infiltration as a shinobi had been masterful. Hired as Priscilla's attendant, she had distinguished herself as a diligent maid even in the Barie domain, earning Priscilla's favor and
But Yae never forgot her original purpose. She had tried to take Priscilla's life.
Which was why—, "Lord Ald, you were so terrifying that day~. I've endured just about every horrible thing this world has to offer in the name of training back at the village...but being that scared for the first time in my life—that was something else."
"...That stings. Right in the chest."
"Good. Maybe you'll understand a bit of heartache. Since that day, I've been made to serve as that terrifying Lord Ald's loyal servant. Separated from the mistress and from little Shaula...doing whatever you command, letting you do whatever you want with this body..."
"I haven't even laid a finger on you!?"
He protested against her sultry voice, as she hugged her own thin shoulders and played for sympathy.
The wording was outrageous—but of course, she was saying it precisely because no one else could hear. It was harassment, or a show of defiance, aimed squarely at Aldebaran.
But when Aldebaran met her with that understanding, Yae cast him a sidelong glance: "...Shall I actually go through with it this time? You do look rather exhausted, and I wouldn't mind comforting a weakened Lord Ald, you know~?"
"————"
"Oh my? Oh my my~? Silence means it's crossed your mind? In that case, while you're still willing, I'll go prepare a bed—"
"No—I was debating what to say to shut you up. Besides, you..."
"Yes~?"
"You yourself said there'd be no point in getting into that kind of relationship with me, didn't you?"
Pointing at Yae, who was radiating a seductive aura, Aldebaran pressed for her true intentions.
No matter how alluring Yae's words might be, Aldebaran would never take her up on it. After all, he had spent over a decade as a gladiator-slave on the worst island for crime in the world. He'd long grown tired of that sort of sales pitch.
Besides, this wasn't the first time Yae had tried to lure Aldebaran like this. And rejecting her wasn't the first time either—but Yae pressed her body against his with a disappointed look: "This is also a shinobi weapon, so being flatly rejected does sting, you know~"
"Don't cling to a weapon that doesn't work. Mistaking means for ends never leads anywhere good."
"Now that is some solid advice indeed. —The hope that Lord Ald's affection would secure my future forever...well, that crumbled when the mistress passed away."
"————"
"I can see you making that scary face, you know~?"
Yae's words, head tilted slightly, cut into Aldebaran's heart like a sharp blade.
It wasn't as if there was no malice involved. Yae fully intended to wound Aldebaran—and Aldebaran was willing to accept the blade. Neither had said it aloud, but Aldebaran had intended to protect Priscilla's life, and Yae had believed the mistress's life would be protected.
Now that their unspoken understanding had been shattered, Yae's torment was a perfectly natural punishment.
"I'm not saying this is a betrayal. We never confirmed it in words. But you loved the mistress, Lord Ald, so I naturally assumed you would protect her to the end."
Yae's words, as she touched her own lips, tore Aldebaran to shreds.
He listened in silence, savoring the keen edge of the blade, because this was the clear punishment he deserved: "——Don't misunderstand. It's not that I'm blaming you for failing to protect the mistress."
"Huh?"
"I did like the mistress. I tried to kill her because I was ordered to. She was noble, wise, beautiful—and unexpectedly kind, at that. But if she's dead, then that's that. The dead don't come back. Though in the Empire, apparently, she almost did~"
Without having been privy to the full details of what had happened in the Empire, Yae somehow brought up the 'Great Calamity.' But Aldebaran's attention wasn't on the source of her information—it was on the impenetrable direction she was steering the conversation.
If Yae had no intention of blaming Aldebaran, then what was the point of harping on Priscilla's death and bombarding him with words like this?
"My words are just words~. You're the one choosing to be hurt by them. I'm simply fulfilling my obligation to explain."
"Obligation to... explain?"
"Didn't you come to me and ask? What was my purpose in trying to comfort you...well, maybe the phrasing was a bit blunt~?"
"————"
"Before, it was to receive your affection and secure your protection. But I learned that even that isn't guaranteed—so it's not the same purpose as before."
As she spoke, Yae slowly approached Aldebaran and folded her knees, settling herself. Meeting his gaze from where he sat on the dirty floor, she continued: "This offer to comfort the current Lord Ald isn't a seduction. Think of it more as insurance."
"Insurance..."
"You've already started, haven't you, Lord Ald~? You've betrayed those who were good to you, unleashed the 'Witch of Envy' to pin down the 'Sword Saint'...you can't stop, and even if you wanted to, it'd be a problem. If you fail now, it would be catastrophic. So—"
Breaking off, Yae extended a slender white finger and touched Aldebaran's neck. Tracing lightly along his nape with her short-nailed fingertips, she leaned in close enough to whisper against his ear: "Please, Lord Ald—accomplish your goal. For that, you may use my body, my abilities, my skills—anything and everything. If you need comfort, or a punching bag—I'll be that."
Her breath was warm, and the voice that pledged her entire being held no falsehood. Yae showed a flash of her slight fang as she smiled and continued: "That is—,"
"——And when you've accomplished your goal, please have the decency to die. If you don't die, Lord Ald, I don't think I'll ever be able to rest easy. Not for the rest of my life."
She said it with the most chillingly seductive tone yet, and smiled.
That was the reason Yae Tenzen would cooperate with Aldebaran even if it meant making an enemy of the whole world. —And it was an ending Aldebaran himself had already accepted.
It was something he'd known from the very beginning.
Even if Aldebaran achieved his goal, none of what he'd done would be forgiven or excused. It would certainly never be acknowledged or understood.
He didn't want to be understood. He didn't want to be forgiven. Please—please, don't forgive him.
When it was all over, Aldebaran would burn at the stake. That much was certain.
And that pyre was Yae Tenzen's wish. —No, it was Aldebaran's wish too.
After accomplishing his goal, he would gladly let them burn him at the stake. And just as she who had burned herself to save her homeland had turned to ash, so too would Aldebaran.
——Only then could he finally release his Territory and discard his Matrix.
"————"
The two sat in silence, faces close enough to feel each other's breath.
There was nothing romantic in their exchanged gazes—only the bleak misery of a wretched girl held in a monster's grip, and a foolish clown straining to play the part of one.
Their staredown continued for a time—until: "——Guaaaaah! Wh-what!? What's hap—guaaaaah?!"
Suddenly, a third voice—neither Aldebaran's nor Yae's—sliced crude and loud through their private moment.
It was the scream of Heinkel, who had apparently regained consciousness. If Yae's earlier report was accurate, he was tied up in a way that could very literally leave him in pieces.
"...The old man's going to fall apart. Go untie him before that happens."
"You're going to dodge the subject? Lord Heinkel would be fine in pieces, wouldn't he?"
"Not fine. I made a promise to the old man—that when everything is settled, I'd provide 'Dragon's Blood.' I keep my promises. ...Promises are important."
"A promise...then make one with me too."
"————"
"If you promise me, and if you keep that promise—then fine. I'll step aside. And I won't let Lord Heinkel fall apart either. Yae is your faithful servant."
Showing a flash of her red tongue and hiding the killing intent behind her narrowed eyes, Yae posed her question.
To her words, Aldebaran closed his eyes inside his helm, then slowly raised his right hand and extended his little finger.
Seeing this, Yae made a face of innocent surprise, like a girl her actual age. —He remembered that Priscilla, too, had been caught off guard when he'd extended his little finger like this.
Remembering, he said: "The way I seal a promise is—we link our little fingers and play genman. The 'pinky swear.'"
"Link our little fingers...how lewd~"
"It's not lewd. If you don't want to, fine."
"I want to, I want to! Look, look—little Yae's finger and Lord Ald's finger are linked~"
Her phrasing was indecent, but Aldebaran was beyond commenting on it. They shook their linked hands up and down: "Pinky swear. If you lie, a thousand needles—will pierce. —It's done."
And so he sealed the promise that would cost him his life.
Yae was visibly delighted—and while her wishing death upon him was complicated from Aldebaran's perspective, he did have to admit she was, in fact, a kunoichi maid who suited all those attributes she'd cut from her: beautiful, adorable, and cute.
"S-someone! Someone do something! Gua—guaaah!!"
Heinkel's pathetic howls continued to echo through the forest.
△▼△▼△▼△ "You bastard, remember this, you maid..."
"Don't use such filthy language, Lord Heinkel~. As you can see, we're isolated, understaffed, and there's no way we can waste precious manpower on guarding you~"
"Then just leave me to sleep like a normal person! There was no need to tie me up and hang me like—"
"I thought maybe seeing a little blood would help calm you down~. It's a cute survival strategy from poor, helpless Yae to keep this camp from falling apart, you know~"
"You—!"
Heinkel touched the red line on his neck—where blood had seeped through—and, incensed by Yae's unrelenting attitude, instinctively reached for the sword at his hip.
But Aldebaran, who caught the dangerous glint in Yae's eyes at the same moment, had no choice but to interject: "Wait. Yae, don't provoke him. And old man—the fact that Yae is like this..."
"I don't know her! By the time I showed up, she'd already left the mansion!"
"That's right, that's right, Lord Heinkel and I were like ships passing in the night at the mansion~. Imagine—the gorgeous and capable little Yae replaced by Lord Heinkel. Even little Shaula was devastated, wasn't she~?"
"...Surprisingly, Shaula and the old man got along pretty well."
"Oh? That really is surprising. She doesn't get along with her own father at all, right?"
"You—"
"Yae."
Aldebaran gave Yae a stern look for deliberately antagonizing Heinkel once more. She merely bowed with a contrite "Sorry~."
Heinkel was the one who had first approached Aldebaran with the proposition, and Aldebaran had sent him ahead from the Imperial Capital to rendezvous with Yae. He hadn't expected them to get along this poorly. Heinkel's dislike of Yae was one thing—but Yae seemed to genuinely despise Heinkel as well.
Honestly, it was uncharacteristically transparent, even for Yae.
"Sorry about this, old man. But both you and Yae have roles I can't do without from here on. I'm not asking you to get along—just make it work."
So Aldebaran gave up on getting Yae to change her attitude and instead asked Heinkel to compromise. It was unfair to Heinkel—but as long as he wanted 'Dragon's Blood,' he couldn't afford to defy Aldebaran's plans or opinions. He'd have to accept being used.
But contrary to Aldebaran's expectation that Heinkel would push back, the old man simply said "I know"—then: "More importantly—it's true, isn't it? That in seven more days, you'll settle this."
"——Yes. True, and I mean it. I intend to settle this in seven days."
"Then hand over
"I have a plan to deal with that too. Before your son comes to grief fighting the 'Witch of Envy.' You don't need to worry."
"Worry? I don't—"
"————"
"Worry...I don't—"
His expression twisted with bitterness, Heinkel couldn't force out the rest. Aldebaran watched him in silence for a moment, then turned back to face forward.
Following Yae, who led the way, Aldebaran and his group were heading out of the forest where they'd been hiding.
As mentioned earlier, having survived the unavoidable clash with the 'Sword Saint,' Aldebaran now needed to avoid every possible conflict and make straight for his destination.
To do that, he had to cross the entire Lugunica Kingdom from east to west, and keep going.
"But~...will things really go that smoothly with no obstacles? After all, your little escapade is probably already known to the 'Sword Saint's' associates, right?"
"Call it an escapade and I'll—...My betrayal is almost certainly known. When Flamm contacted her sister, the 'Sword Saint' wouldn't have been alone—and she wouldn't have rushed out without telling anyone either. So we turn that to our advantage."
"Turn it to our advantage—you mean the 'Divine Dragon'?"
"That's right."
Answering Yae's question, Aldebaran pointed up through the canopy at the sky, blocked by the forest's trees.
As they advanced through the woods, the 'Aldebaran' was not with them. The obvious reason was that his massive figure drew absurd attention—but there was something else Aldebaran needed that enormous, attention-grabbing frame and name recognition for.
"For now, I've asked the 'Divine Dragon' to fly in the opposite direction—north. Draw as much attention as possible there, to pull focus away from us."
The accuracy of Flamm's 'Telepathic Blessing' was unclear, but if word had spread that Aldebaran's betrayal was now joined by the hostile 'Divine Dragon' Volcanica, then a spotted Volcanica would become a threat to the entire Kingdom—and the center of all attention.
Without Reinhard present, the Kingdom would have to mobilize military forces on the scale of the entire Knight Order just to even sit at the negotiating table with Volcanica—or so the thinking would go.
And—, "It goes without saying—the enemy will assume I'm with the strongest fighting force. That's their expectation."
No one would think to separate from the 'Divine Dragon' who had joined their side.
But from Aldebaran's perspective, drawing unnecessary attention was pointless, and 'Aldebaran'—who naturally drew attention—needed to be excluded from the group.
The 'Aldebaran' who had read Aldebaran's 'Book of the Dead,' sharing his purpose, plans, and intentions, would play his assigned role well.
In the meantime, Aldebaran's group would close the physical distance to their objective.
For that, Yae's skills as a shinobi were invaluable—and— "——Lord Ald, we have a problem."
Yae stopped abruptly, and Aldebaran held his breath.
Heinkel, walking at the rear, also halted and called out to her. She didn't respond, her gaze fixed calmly beyond the trees—outside the forest: "Worst case on top of worst case—we're being ambushed."
"——!"
"Wha—!? Ambushed!? How the hell—!? The Dragon's misdirection!"
Aldebaran's jaw tightened at the unexpected report, and Heinkel raised his voice. More alarm than anger—but Aldebaran, silent as he was, shared the sentiment.
An ambush was impossible. The 'Divine Dragon' Volcanica's presence couldn't be ignored. Unless the enemy had focused solely on Volcanica's strength—but— "——Hey! I know you're listening, helmet-boy!"
"————"
As if timing it to the moment they were holding their breath, a voice was hurled at them with perfect precision.
But no—that wasn't it. The timing wasn't calculated. Unlike those who had nothing, those who possessed never missed their mark in moments like these.
The 'Sun Princess' Priscilla Bariel had been like that.
And the one who now shared that title—who competed for the same seat at the pinnacle of the Kingdom—was no different. The same miracle dwelled within her as well.
Outside the forest, waiting for Aldebaran's group—the return of the 'Golden Lion': "My useless knight apparently owes you for the trouble. Can't be helped—I'll wipe the slate clean. —He's not used to having others wipe his ass for him, so I'll do it myself."