First, I grabbed Mephi by the back of the neck as she flailed around on the floor, brought her back to the dorm, and sat her down at the table right away.
Whether she feels wronged or not is one thing, but what needs to be done still needs to be done.
“Mephi, can you tell where Faust is?”
“I can.”
“Are you not going to drop that expression?”
“You’re more of a demon than an actual demon.”
We have a guest here. If she keeps sulking like that, it’ll make it look like I’m the one who bullied her.
If anything, I’m the victim here.
She’s awfully brazen for someone who tried to pull a trick on me and failed. Why is she acting like she’s the victim?
Shameless to the core.
“That exact kind of thinking is what pisses me off the most!”
“I told you not to read my mind.”
“Gah! You hit me again!”
One good thing about having the Demon King’s soul inside me is that I can discipline Mephi.
It really is quite a convenient power.
“More importantly, youngest, do you really need to keep putting that much force into your voice like that? Isn’t it uncomfortable?”
“What?”
Lapis touched on an inconvenient truth.
A child going through adolescence naturally has sensitive spots, but a blade called innocence can be quite sharp.
“…Mind your own business.”
“But…”
“Let’s just leave her be. It’s not an important matter right now anyway.”
“Well, if you say so.”
This time, I decided to cover for Mephi.
Not because I’m taking her side. This would just drag the conversation out unnecessarily.
“More importantly, if you’re curious about Faust’s location, I know where he is as well.”
“…I should have just gone to see Princess Lapis from the start.”
That was shortsighted of me.
Perhaps I was subconsciously trying not to acknowledge her existence.
She’s that dangerous of a person.
“But why Faust?”
“There’s something I need to talk to him about.”
“That might be difficult.”
“Why?”
Lapis naturally took a seat at the table. How should I put it…before I knew it, the situation had turned into a three-way meeting.
In a sense, you could even call it a family meeting.
That is, if the leftover fragment inside me even counts as family to them.
“Faust is an archmage who has trained his awakened ability to the absolute limit, right? Depending on how he uses it, he can even perform things like spatial movement.”
“Ah… I’ve seen that before.”
It happened during our shocking first meeting.
He appeared by switching his position with the remains of the shattered Charybdis Salos, using them and his own location as reference points.
Which also meant that someone other than the Wonder Mage can use spatial movement.
“Now that I think about it…”
“Yes?”
“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”
What happened to the Wonder Mage?
If I asked the person in front of me, she would probably answer. But I didn’t think I’d get a proper answer. Considering I blew her arm off last time, it would be hard to call us close.
Our relationship might actually be pretty bad.
Even Deus, when he was alive, had apparently tried to kill Lapis twice. And the Lapis in front of me had boldly attacked Ex Machina and stolen its gear.
“So if you want to meet Faust, it would be much better to summon him rather than go looking for him yourself. He’s the kind of person who could disappear to anywhere at any moment.”
“Then if you could call him…”
“But I still haven’t heard the most important part yet.”
Resting her chin on her hand, Lapis smiled softly. She wasn’t making any kind of threat, yet a chill still ran down my spine.
“If you two are going to keep talking, may I eat the pastries I bought from the bakery with the World Tree?”
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you. Look, World Tree. This is what they call Mont Blanc cake. I’ll give you two pieces as a special treat.”
“Why does Mephi get three?”
“Because I bought them with my own money! You shameless thing who doesn’t even know what manners are!”
Mephi, fidgeting nervously, tried to plead with me, but I waved her off and sent her away.
If I’d known she would be that noisy, I would’ve just told her to keep waiting. But since I had already given permission, there was nothing I could do now.
“Kids really are adorable, aren’t they?”
For some reason, Lapis watched Mephi and the World Tree with a warm smile.
For a moment I wondered if she liked children. Then Lapis narrowed her eyes slightly and added,
“Seeing something close to the beginning always feels unfamiliar.”
“The beginning…”
A long time ago, Lapis said that if there is a beginning, there is also an end.
And now that I know the “End” she spoke of carries the same meaning as the father she mentioned—
A certain doubt arose in my mind from that seemingly obvious statement.
If there is a beginning, there is an end.
Which also means that if “End” exists, then “Beginning” must exist as well.
***
In the end, I explained to Lapis why I was looking for Faust.
At first, it was because I thought Ollie had joined Under Chain.
But now the situation has changed.
Ollie didn’t join Under Chain. She turned against them.
Of course, killing those terrorists doesn’t really matter.
The Great Sage probably wouldn’t care much if his subordinates died while doing something stupid.
In fact, Under Chain is famous for never carrying out revenge.
You could also say that just shows how little unity they have…
But Ollie’s case is different.
She stole Under Chain’s chain and is traveling with Raven, who has become a Death Knight.
It’s hard to believe that situation is all a coincidence. What Yuna tried to tell me last night probably meant something like this:
“The Great Sage likely pulled the two of them in from the start.”
It feels wrong to say this about someone who’s dead, but Raven was weak.
Even when we first met, he was weaker than me. And while I went through turbulent times, Raven spent his days peacefully in the cradle. If anything, that probably made him even weaker.
And that Raven became a Death Knight?
A high-ranking undead that stands alongside a Lich? No matter how unusual the circumstances were, that makes no sense.
Raven was turned into a Death Knight.
Someone poured immense power into him and forcibly raised him to that level.
If that’s the case, who would give such an order? Who would command that enormous power be invested into nothing more than a mere mercenary?
“I feel like there’s something going on behind the scenes.”
I don’t know the reason.
But whatever it is, it’s certain that someone has done something that irritates me.
If Raven’s death itself was part of Faust’s scheme…
“Well, first I’ll talk to him.”
This isn’t something I can resolve on my own.
In the end, I’ll probably need someone else’s help to bring Faust down.
So I won’t go around saying with my own mouth that I’ll defeat him or anything like that.
“So that’s the reason.”
Lapis spoke right after hearing why I was looking for Faust.
“You’re going to die, you know?”
“That’s right. Johan. That idiot will kill you.”
Even Mephi who had been quietly bickering with the World Tree in the corner while sharing snacks added a comment.
They said it so matter-of-factly that it was almost surprising.
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Faust has never once considered you an enemy. You haven’t interfered with each other’s affairs, and you’ve simply exerted your own strength in your own way.”
“And?”
“But trying to directly involve yourself in Faust’s undertakings is a different story.”
“You mean we’ll become enemies?”
“To be honest, the reason you’re still alive until now is because the ones you faced either underestimated you, respected you, or tried to persuade and use you.”
“……”
That isn’t wrong.
The fact that I’m still alive is almost a miracle.
Kult tried to persuade me.
Tillis underestimated me.
The Great Warrior respected me, and the Scriptwriter tried to use me.
Each of them had their own beliefs and motives. Of course, Faust is probably no different in that regard.
“But to Faust, death isn’t an ending. It’s a means.”
“……”
“If he feels even the slightest threat from you, he’ll try to kill you.”
“I see.”
Considering Faust’s objective, death is literally just part of the process.
No….in a way, it could even be called a necessary step.
“But if you still want to meet him, I can arrange it for you.”
After thinking for a moment, I answered.
“Please arrange it.”
“My, my.”
Sooner or later, I’m bound to clash with Faust anyway.
I’m someone who prefers to avoid unnecessary conflict, but there are things in this world that can’t be obtained without accepting a certain level of danger.
This is one of those times.
For the sake of a single friend, the least I can do is face death.
If I can’t even do that much, then the resolve I made just a few hours ago means nothing.
I know that I’m not, by nature, a particularly good person.
Even so, I ended up gaining someone I could call a friend. And that friend died, now being dragged around by someone else’s scheme.
“Even a coward has their reasons.”
Even if someone is a coward and a cowardly person, there is still a line they must protect.
***
The Great Western Wasteland.
Ollie walked the road alone.
With her shadow stretched long behind her, she fled while avoiding the gaze of others.
And before her…
Clink, clatter.
Chains spilled down.
“……”
She froze in shock.
In the vast wasteland, she saw a figure bound in chains. Someone who looked both like an old man sitting on a rock and like a child.
There was no way she wouldn’t recognize it.
Because the countless chains connected to the man were all souls.
A being bearing tens of thousands of souls.
The most unmistakable presence in this world…
“…The Great Sage.”
The shadow of death.
The moment she realized that, Ollie immediately transformed the chains into a scythe.
From within her long, stretched shadow, a Death Knight rose.
Could she really win? She couldn’t even do anything against Yuna alone.
As if trying to cover up her fear, Ollie shouted,
“M-Move!”
“The road is wide enough. You could simply pass by.”
“Ugh!”
To Ollie, the Great Sage’s reply sounded like mockery.
The road is wide, so just pass by.
How could she accept words that sounded like he was dismissing her existence entirely?
To Ollie, the Great Sage was her enemy.
She could never forgive the Under Chain that had used the person she loved to create an undead.
But she didn’t have the strength to take revenge. If anything, she was afraid.
“Do you really have to take this road?”
“What?”
“If my presence burdens you, going the long way around is also an option.”
“……”
It wasn’t wrong.
You might not be able to escape, but you only need to run from the being right in front of you.
But could you really escape? And even if you did, what would come after?
“Child, little lamb.”
“……”
“You’ve lost your way.”
The Great Sage was right.
Ollie had lost her way. She was simply running without any destination.
She was only rushing forward, without even knowing where she was headed.
“What is it that you fear? What is it that grieves you so?”
“I…!”
Ollie hesitated, then fell silent.
What was she afraid of? What was making her so sad?
The answer to that question was obvious.
The being standing right in front of her.
“Are you afraid of death?”
She was afraid of death.
“And why are you afraid of death?”
Why was death frightening?
The reasons could be countless.
“……”
Because she was afraid of disappearing herself.
Because she was afraid that the one she loved would vanish from this world.
Because it felt as though everything she had built up would collapse.
Because of the pain that would come with death.
Because she didn’t know what might lie beyond it.
All kinds of reasons crossed her mind. There were this many reasons to fear death.
“You have lost your way.”
The Great Sage declared it once again.
Ollie could not deny it either.
She had lost her way.
“If you wish, I will show you the path.”
“And why should I… trust anything you say…!”
At that shameless attitude, Ollie ground her teeth. But she knew.
“If my answer does not please you, you may walk another path whenever you wish. But sometimes….”
She would follow the Great Sage.
“Sometimes, it is easier on the heart to simply follow someone.”
Because she had lost her way. Because she was so weak that she had no confidence she could go on living without being bound to something.
Clink, clatter.
The chains moved.
They dragged across the ground and collided with one another, creating a harsh noise.
Yet the chains were connected. Just like people are connected to one another.
As if, in their weakness, they could not endure without being bound to someone… the chains were tightly intertwined.
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