Hellfire covered the earth, burning everything in its path. The cloying stench of blood
filled the air, clinging to clothes and skin. Screams of terror, angry yells, and muffled
explosions mingled together, creating a cacophony of chaos. This was a battlefield.
However, it was by no means a typical one.
"You damn monster!"
For one thing, a monster was present. Though she looked like an incredibly beautiful
girl with doll-like features, she was a monster. She looked to be in her mid-teens, with
flowing golden-blonde hair and crimson eyes that glittered like rubies. She was
wearing a frilly crimson dress that matched the color of her eyes, and her face was
flushed. Her grace and beauty were a stark contrast to the filth and grime that covered
the rest of the battlefield.
That wasn't the biggest reason why this was an atypical battlefield, though. No, the
biggest reason was that she stood alone against an army five thousand strong.
"Crimson Javelin— Thousand Blossoms."
Her voice carried across the battlefield, clear as a bell. Enchanting as it was, it also
spelled a merciless end for her enemies. Another wave of hellfire washed over the
battlefield due to the actions of a single girl. After traveling a set distance, the fire rose
skyward and split into a thousand spears.
A single glance was enough to tell the soldiers watching that there was no escaping
from the reaper's scythe. They would be burned to cinders here and now.
"P-Put up your barriers! Everyone, we need anti-fire—"
The army's commander shrieked, but he had reacted too slow. And that delay would
prove to be fatal. Though, even if the soldiers had managed to erect barriers, the result
would have been the same.
Crimson fire rained down on the army. Valiant soldiers were blown away like leaves
in the wind. The few barriers that had been erected were obliterated without a trace,
their casters incinerated. All that remained after the torrent ended were charred
corpses and mortally wounded soldiers writhing in pain.
Even those who had been outside the radius of the attack were too shocked to move.
They'd just watched a thousand of their comrades get annihilated in the span of seconds.
"So this is… the power of the country of demigods… the power of the royal vampire
line…"
The soldiers looked up at the girl in terror. Vampires were a feared race. They were
capable of both strengthening their physical abilities and amplifying their mana by
sucking the blood of others. On top of that, their bodies regenerated and they lived for
far longer than any other race. Though they were the least populous race, their power
was immense, which was why despite the vampire nation being a small one, it was
known as the "country of demigods" to others. Because vampires also sucked the
blood of others, they were feared by the other races. But at the same time, the rulers
of other nations all knew that anyone who managed to conquer the vampire country
would be able to rule over the world. And the princess of this vampire country that
everyone both feared and coveted was the blonde-haired girl who had just ravaged
the army.
"…I have a message for you insolent fools who would dare invade my homeland.
Retreat now if you value your lives. Or else, perish."
She spoke softly, but everyone heard the princess' declaration. Not only was she facing
an entire army alone, but she was also doing so without the slightest hint of fear. Her
might was overwhelming. And her majesty so overbearing that it made one
instinctively wish to serve her. She truly was fit to be a princess.
"…All troops, advance! Don't falter! Our opponent is a lone girl! We have the advantage
in numbers!"
For a moment, even the enemy commander was charmed by the princess. But then, he
regained his senses and ordered a charge. The commander was a short, fat man who
had elected to remain at the rear. The greed in his eyes was unmistakable. He didn't
just want the country, though. He also wanted to make the beautiful princess before
him his own. However, his lust had led him to make a foolish choice.
"Utter folly. You shall pay for your transgressions with death."
An hour later, the entire army had been reduced to ash.
"Your Majesty, that was a splendid battle."
A middle-aged man wearing a tailored military uniform reverently offered the princess
a cup of water. His most striking feature was his curled handlebar mustache.
"Thank you, Ubaldo. But that army was a mere diversion meant to dilute our forces.
The troops were clearly lacking training."
The princess' gaze was far gentler than the piercing glare she had given the army she'd
faced earlier.
"Besides, you had brought your men to support me in case I needed assistance, so I
had nothing to fear."
"I am not worthy of such praise, Your Majesty."
The man known as Ubaldo looked fondly up at his princess. In truth, the imperial
guards he'd brought with him felt a little conflicted that they hadn't even been
necessary. Still, they looked up at their princess with respect and admiration. The
princess took a sip of water, refreshing herself after the rigors of battle and healing
her exhaustion.
"Your Majesty. Shouldn't you rest?" Ubaldo asked hesitantly. He was the captain of her
royal guard and had spent a great deal of time with her. The princess certainly was
strong; the strongest vampire in Avatarl, the country of vampires. In fact, she might
have been the strongest mortal currently alive in Tortus.
From the moment of her birth, she had possessed an unbelievable amount of mana.
Furthermore, her beauty was so great that it was known across the world. During her
youth, her tutors had been amazed at how quickly she'd absorbed the fundamentals
of magic and mastered her studies.
Most importantly, at the age of twelve, she'd discovered something else about herself.
She could cast magic without using incantations, meaning she could directly
manipulate mana. So long as she visualized the magic circle in her mind, she could cast
any spell instantly. On top of that, her special magic, automatic regeneration, meant
that she was immortal so long as she had mana. That particular ability was so rare,
people only knew of it from records. The vampire heroes of old had possessed that
ability, but no one else had been born with it since.
Right now, the world was in a state of turmoil. Wars were constantly breaking out over
religion, economics, resources, and even petty things like pride. Countries large and
small were coming and going. From the start, Avatarl had been a closed nation. It had
cut off all diplomatic ties with other kingdoms. Geographically, it sat at the
southwestern tip of the southern continent. It was also self-sufficient, so it had no
need to trade with other countries. As far as Avatarl was concerned, the rest of the
world could fight all they wanted. Their stance was to not get involved.
That being said, they couldn't avoid being invaded by other countries. Dominion over
the vampire race and the princess' hand in marriage were just that tempting a prize
to other countries. In which case, it stood to reason that the princess would use her
overwhelming might to defend her nation. That was the duty of a sovereign, after all.
More importantly, the princess herself wished to protect her beloved subjects and
retainers.
However, the princess was still young enough that she needed to be protected herself.
"I'm fine, Ubaldo."
Naturally, that wasn't enough to assuage Ubaldo's worries. While he was one of the
princess' retainers, he was also one of her guardians.
"But Your Majesty, these past few weeks you have hardly slept at all. You should have
left this diversionary army to us. Also, it's not proper for you to run off to the battlefield
while still in your dress. You departed the moment you heard the report."
"Ugh… What choice did I have? There were villages in the army's path…"
"Every single one of our country's citizens are skilled warriors. Even if they couldn't
defeat such a large army, they could easily have evacuated. Furthermore, that still
doesn't answer why you didn't leave the enemy to us."
"B-But… If I show the enemy how powerful our princess is, then they'll hesitate to
strike again and—"
"Certainly, that is the duty of a sovereign. But Your Majesty, it has been three years
since you took to the battlefield at the tender age of twelve. The world is already well
aware of your power, so please, allow us to at least handle enemies of this caliber. In
the first place—"
"I never like it when you start a sentence with 'In the first place,' Ubaldo."
The princess puffed out her cheeks and turned away while covering both ears with
her hands. A rose-red blush spread up her cheeks. Even the way she pouted was cute.
"Your Majesty…" Ubaldo furrowed his brow. His subordinates had grown accustomed
to this scene, and they all snickered quietly.
Ubaldo had served the princess since her birth, and he was more like a grandfather to
her than anything. At the same time, Ubaldo treated the princess more like his
granddaughter than as his liege. It was for this reason that he felt comfortable scolding
her. Seeing that Ubaldo was about to launch into one of his tirades, the princess
hurriedly changed the subject.
"A-Anyway, how is my uncle faring? He went to subdue the enemy's main force, but I'm
sure he can handle anything they might throw at him."
Ubaldo knew she was trying to deflect, and he smiled ruefully.
The princess was turning fifteen this year. In vampire society, fifteen was when one
was officially recognized as an adult. Thanks to her special magic, her body had
stopped aging when she'd turned twelve. When she went to the battlefield, she looked
like the incarnation of a war god, but around those she was close to, she still looked
like a child. Ubaldo knew he shouldn't let her childish looks charm him, but he couldn't
help but spoil his beloved princess anyway. Naturally, the princess' other retainers
were just as susceptible to her charms.
Ubaldo cleared his throat and returned to being his princess' advisor.
"Fear not. Our army holds an overwhelming advantage. However, the enemy has
fielded two whole divisions, so the battle will take time."
"I see. In that case, I need to—"
As if interrupting the princess, a single bird dove out of the air. It was the size of a
pigeon and had pure white feathers. However, its eyes were a dark crimson, meaning
it was a monster. Still, rather than put her on her guard, the appearance of the bird
monster made the princess light up in joy. The reason the princess wasn't afraid was
because this bird was her uncle's familiar. Her uncle possessed the unique ability to
control monsters. That was another reason why Avatarl was referred to as the country
of demigods by others.
The princess held out her arm and the white bird alighted atop it.
"The enemy forces have temporarily retreated. I have left the first division to keep an
eye on the situation and am returning home."
This monster's special magic was Telepathy, which the princess' uncle was utilizing to
speak directly inside the princess' mind. The princess smiled upon learning that her
uncle was safe, and the battle won.
"That aside, what were you thinking, heading into battle still wearing a dress? You
foolish tomboy, when will you learn?"
The princess' smile froze. After a brief pause, she slowly turned toward Ubaldo, her
neck creaking like a badly-oiled door. Ubaldo grinned at her and nodded. The other
imperial guards were grinning as well.
You betrayed me! Bereft of allies, the princess had no choice but to accept that she had
a lecture waiting for her upon her uncle's return.
"I-I need to make a report to fath—"
"It has already been taken care of, worry not."
"I-I need to go do—"
The princess surreptitiously attempted to escape, but—
"Where do you think you're going?"
"U-Uncle!?"
Upon whirling around, she found herself face-to-face with her uncle. Like the princess,
her uncle had blonde hair and crimson eyes. His long hair was tied into a knot at the
back, and though his face was wrinkled, he still looked quite attractive. His name was
Dienleed Galdea Vesperitio Avatarl. He was the king's younger brother and the
country's prime minister. As a warrior, his strength rivaled the princess'. He looked
down at the princess with a smile. Though his smile looked genuine, he was wreathed
in a menacing aura. Even the two one-eyed monster guards standing behind him
backed up a few steps.
"Your automatic regeneration ability is dangerous. It's caused you to grow conceited."
"Th-That's not true!"
The princess shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked like a child who'd
just been caught pulling a prank.
"With all due respect, Your Highness, it's thanks to Her Majesty's efforts that there
were no casualties."
"Ubaldo!"
The princess turned gratefully toward Ubaldo. She'd feared her doom was set in stone,
but now a single ray of hope had appeared. The other imperial guards also voiced their
support for the princess. When their beloved princess started crying, most people
couldn't help but pity her.
In truth, the imperial guards also wanted the princess to stop being so reckless and to
rely on them more but they couldn't help but spoil her anyway. The princess turned
back to her uncle and said in a pleading voice, "I promise I won't do it again, so please
don't get mad."
Sighing in resignation, her uncle replied, "Sheesh… Just don't worry me so much, okay?"
Dienleed smiled again, but this time his smile was full of genuine warmth. He gently
patted the princess' head.
"Yes, Uncle."
"Good. Now then, let us return home and rest."
Smiling lazily, the princess nodded and followed after her uncle. Her guards followed
after her, chatting happily.
"Isn't that great, Your Majesty?" "Now you can rest without worry." "The head maid
said she prepared sweets for your return."
The princess had an uncle who loved her, and retainers she could trust. So long as they
had her back, she wouldn't lose to any invader.
"Oh, yes."
Her uncle called out to her, his voice as kind as always.
"What is it, Uncle?"
The princess responded, smiling.
"Would you be so kind as to die for me, Aletia?"
She turned around just in time to see a maw of blue fire swallow her whole. "Ah!"
A sharp pain ran down Yue's right arm and she let out a wordless scream. At the same
time, the vision she'd been seeing faded away like a watercolor melting in the rain.
Reflected in her eyes instead was a mirror image of herself. No, not quite a mirror
image. Her copy had black hair and golden eyes and was grinning maliciously.
Yue was up against the Frost Cavern's latest trial, and it had just given her a rude
awakening. Not only had her right arm been torn off, but she'd also eaten a Sapphire
Serpent at point-blank range. She used gravity magic to right herself as she hurtled
through the air, and restoration magic to fix her clothes. Just before she slammed into
the wall, she used gravity magic to stop herself. Before she could recover her stance,
though, she was assailed by a wave of her copy's gravity magic.
"Heavensfall!"
"Obsidian Vortex!"
Yue neutralized the wave of pressure with her own gravity magic. In that time, her
regeneration completed, and she thrust out her right arm to cast her favorite spell.
"Draconic Thunder!"
"Fufu. Draconic Thunder!"
With a ferocious howl, the two golden dragons clashed. The gravity magic cores of the
two dragons pushed against each other, causing the electricity around them to twist
and warp. The atmosphere looked like it was bending. Ignoring the clash, Yue modified
her own gravity to fall sideways and launched her next attack.
"Ice Javelins— Centurion!"
"Ice Javelins— Centurion!"
The two were evenly matched. No, more than that. Yue and her copy were firing off
spells at exactly the same time. Two hundred spears of ice slammed into each other,
causing shockwaves to spread across the sky and shards of ice to rain down.
"Void Fissure!"
"Void Fissure!"
The space around them ruptured. Yue and her copy had used a spatial magic spell to
distort space around each other. The resulting explosions were so powerful that the
giant ice tree in the center of the room cracked, and splinters of ice fell from the ceiling.
Forced back by the explosion, Yue slid across the ground while using gravity magic to
stay upright. Both Yue and her copy lashed out with gravity magic, trying to take
control of the large chunks of ice hitting the ground. Bursts of golden and red mana
clashed. Neither side was able to gain full control, and the chunks of ice started
breaking apart as conflicting gravity fields exerted their forces over them.
"You're quite persistent, considering I showed you those visions of the past."
"I hate how you talk…"
"Isn't it how you used to talk, Aletia?"
"Don't call me by that name…"
"Make me."
Irritated, Yue swept her hand to the side, sending a barrage of ice chunks at her copy.
Her copy grinned and imitated the action. Both Yue and her copy then had to make the
split-second decision of which chunks they would use to offset their opponents, and
which they could allow through and destroy personally. They did all of this while also
unleashing a barrage of wind blades with pinpoint accuracy.
Upon entering the Frost Caverns, the party had been forced to make it through a maze
of insidious whispering all while fighting various monsters along the way. And, at the
end of it all, they'd been presented with a glowing doorway. But as expected, the
doorway had been a portal that had split the party up before foisting another trial on
them.
After walking down a long corridor, Yue had come face-to-face with her copy, sealed
within the ice tree at the center of the room. She had then begun fighting with her
copy, and quickly realized her copy's abilities were perfectly matched with hers. That
truth had been shoved into her face multiple times, after all.
On top of that, though, she was also forced to relive her old memories. It was like the
dream world she'd been shown in Haltina's labyrinth, but instead of an ideal world,
she was being shown her worst nightmare.
Aside from the very last thing her uncle had said, everything in Yue's memory had
been accurate. That had been her past, the past she hadn't thought back to even once
since meeting Hajime. For the past three hundred years, those memories had been
locked away deep in her heart.
And now they were being forcibly dragged to the surface.
She's probably using spirit magic to make me relive my memories… I thought I was
guarding against that, but it seems not.
Yue and her copy were perfectly matched in terms of power. But because Yue kept on
being unbalanced by her memories she was losing the initiative.
Furthermore, there was something else she'd realized after confronting herself. She
was strong. Unbelievably so. To the point where it was just unfair for her enemies.
"You piss me off…" Yue muttered.
"Don't forget that I'm you…" Yue's copy giggled to herself.
God, how annoying… However, that was indeed how Yue had spoken before being
sealed. Over the course of centuries, though, she'd come to realize that the faux-polite
style of speech used by royalty was utterly ridiculous. And so, she'd dropped it entirely.
It helped that she hadn't talked for ages until she met Hajime, too. But her
transformation was precisely why she hated her copy, who was acting exactly like the
old her. Annoyed, Yue summoned twelve lightning dragons.
"There's no one you can trust in this world."
Anything Yue could do, her copy could do as well. It countered Yue's dragons with
twelve of its own, all while goading her.
"The uncle you trusted so much, even Ubaldo and the others, they betrayed us. What
more proof do you need that no one can be trusted?"
"...…" Yue went silent as she was shown another flashback.
"You fought and fought and fought for your country, but in the end…"
Yue had gone off to the battlefield the day she'd turned twelve. Since then she'd
witnessed the deaths of thousands, and killed far more with her own two hands.
Naturally, that had made her hated by many.
It wouldn't have been surprising if she'd broken under the mental trauma of so much
hate and death. Or if she'd buckled under the pressure and expectation placed on her
by her countrymen. However, her love for her country had given her the strength to
pull through. The knowledge that she was protecting people close to her. And yet—
Yue's memories swallowed her. By the time she returned to her senses, it was too late.
She was in another vision.
This time she was in the throne room. A crimson carpet ran down the middle of the
room, bisecting it evenly. Standing in the center of the room was Aletia, clad in a
similarly crimson dress. She'd been crowned queen at the tender age of seventeen,
and three years had passed since then.
Normally, her father, King Lambert, would have reigned for another thirty years. The
early shift in sovereigns hadn't occurred because Aletia had usurped her father. It had
just been necessary.
Aletia's overwhelming achievements and her tireless defense of Avatarl had made her
respected by her countrymen and feared by her enemies. Most enemy states had given
up attacking after suffering staggering casualties. Their kings and lords had all been
forced to accept that Aletia was far above them.
Though her appearance hadn't changed at all since she'd turned twelve, her beauty
had taken on a mature allure over the years. It was in part due to the fact that her
appearance hadn't changed that everyone found her so divine. In fact, some people
had actually started a cult to worship her.
At one point, the leaders of the humans' religion had asked to meet with her so that
they could appoint her as their new god. That had, of course, been completely
unprecedented and ended with the world accepting that Aletia was some manner of
divine being. The queen of Avatarl was someone who was loved and worshiped by
everyone across the world.
King Lambert had decided not to fight the tide of his daughter's rising popularity and
had gladly abdicated the throne to her. Not long after, princes and lords from every
nation had come to ask for her hand in marriage. Every nation knew that if it was able
to form an alliance with Avatarl, they'd be safe from the chaotic wars that plagued the
land. In fact, even the frequency of those wars had begun to drop thanks to Aletia's
presence. Or so it seemed at the time, at least.
"Will you let us take care of it then, Your Majesty?"
"Yes, you may."
"Understood. By your leave, then."
"Ah, Uncle!"
Aletia had finished seeing the foreign messenger who had come to visit and was in the
middle of a meeting with her uncle, Dienleed. He'd been expressionless throughout,
and now that he'd concluded his business he turned to leave. Not wanting him to go
just yet, Aletia called out to him.
"What is it?"
"I was just thinking, maybe we could eat dinner together. We haven't spent much time
together in a while, and I could use your advice."
"Is that an order?"
"Huh? No, of course not…"
"Then my apologies, but I must decline. There are many matters that require my
attention."
"I see…"
"Good day to you," Dienleed said as he hurried out of the throne room as if loathe to
spend even another second in there.
Aletia watched her uncle leave the room with a crestfallen expression. Not once did he
turn around. There was a dull thud as the doors shut behind him, leaving Aletia all
alone in the throne room.
"...…"
How long had it been since her uncle had started acting distant toward her? When
he'd quit as her tutor? When he'd last eaten dinner with her on her birthday a year
ago? Or when she'd been crowned queen? Aletia distinctly remembered the bitter
expression he'd worn during her coronation ceremony.
Aletia lapsed into thought. She'd spent more time with her uncle than with her actual
parents. Though she'd never told anyone, her uncle felt more like a parent to her than
her real parents. While her mother and father had spoiled her and given her anything
she'd wanted, her uncle had actually scolded her at times and shown a genuine
interest in raising her right.
Aletia thought back to the gentle smiles he'd used to give her. Now he didn't smile at
all. It felt as though they were separated by a wall of ice.
Did I do something to make him mad? Did I fail him somehow?
No matter how hard she tried to start a conversation with him, all he ever showed her
was his back. Or some messenger or the other would show up to interrupt them.
Worse, her mother, father, and even her advisors had been growing distant from her.
As a result, she hadn't had a proper conversation with him in years.
And it wasn't just her uncle, either. Her subordinates, family, and even retainers
refused to talk with her for any length of time. Her current solitude was an analogy for
how isolated she'd become recently. A mixture of confusion and loneliness weighed
down on her.
Her memories fast-forwarded a few years. The fragile peace that had settled upon
Avatarl had begun to crack, and it was moments from shattering.
"Dear, sweet Aletia. This can't go on any longer. As queen, please make the right
decision."
Aletia's mother and father pleaded with her. Their voices were gentle, but their
expressions were full of fear. They were urging her to exile her beloved uncle, the
prime minister.
In truth, Dienleed and his subordinates were rarely in the palace these days anyway.
Instead, Aletia found herself surrounded by retainers and advisors from the previous
king's era. Even Ubaldo had left her.
"He's too ambitious for his own good. We fear he may be planning a coup. Your life is
in danger!"
"He's overstepped his authority far too many times. Your Majesty, it's clear he lusts for
power. And he's already expanded his influence far too much. Please, you must do
something."
"Exactly, Your Majesty. I understand your feelings, but we must act."
You understand my feelings!? As if! Aletia pushed down her anger and faced her
retainers with the composed look of a queen.
I can't do it. I can't exile Uncle. Everyone around her agreed that her uncle was an
ambitious, power-hungry, and dangerous man. But Aletia didn't believe it for a second.
Even if it was true that her uncle was after the throne, she'd gladly hand it over to him.
All she wanted was the opportunity to talk to him. She wanted to hear his voice again
so badly. It didn't matter what he had to say, she just wanted to know how he truly felt.
In the end, however, she didn't get that chance until the very end. The fateful day
where she was betrayed.
On that day, Aletia had been meeting with a messenger of the church. To her surprise,
they'd wanted to afford her the title of divine oracle, a title whose authority rivaled
the pope's. The gesture would be the first official overture of friendship between
humans and the other races.
In the middle of such a joyous occasion, the doors to the audience chamber were
suddenly blown open, and following the explosion was a hail of magical bullets. The
messengers from the church were incinerated in an instant. Once the barrage was
over, Ubaldo and his imperial guards stepped in, fully armed. Without hesitation, they
began slaughtering Aletia's attendants.
"U-Ubaldo! Stop this madness! That's an order!" Aletia roared, realizing how
ridiculous she must have sounded. She knew what their actions meant, but her heart
refused to accept it, which was precisely why despite being the strongest vampire
alive, she allowed herself to be stabbed in the heart.
"I'll be relieving you of that throne."
"U-Uncle? Why…"
Her uncle stared down at her, close enough to be hugging her. Despite that, she
couldn't make out his expression. However, she could tell that his hands were
trembling. He pushed the blade deeper inside her chest, and Aletia's screams filled the
audience chamber. That was just how furious Dienleed had been. Just how much he'd
hated Aletia. That knowledge pierced her deeper than any blade could, and her heart
froze.
"Uncle please, just talk to me!"
Even so, Aletia desperately tried to engage him in conversation.
"But our dear uncle never said a word, now did he?"
"Ah!"
Suddenly, the pain in Yue's chest felt far more real. Standing in front of her was not her
uncle, but a grinning copy of herself. And stabbed through her chest was not a sword,
but a spear of ice. The stage was the same as her traumatic past, and the only thing
that had changed was the actors. The entire flashback Yue had witnessed had probably
barely lasted a second in real life.
"You're so damn persistent!" Yue cursed, a rarity for her, and created a spatial tear
around her. That sent her copy flying, and her automatic regeneration pushed the
spear out of her chest. The copy righted itself in midair, using gravity magic to stop
itself from slamming against the wall.
Behind Yue, Ubaldo and his men were busy slaughtering her mother, father, and
friends. Sneering, her copy hurled more verbal abuse.
"Everyone else doubted Dietleed, but we chose to believe in him."
Yue ignored her copy's words and fired off a Void Shatter. Space warped all around
her, blurring both her copy and the vision around her. It looked as though she was
staring at the world through a cracked mirror. However, the vision didn't disappear.
Furthermore, Yue's copy used its own spatial magic to protect itself against Yue's Void
Shatter.
"You were betrayed! I was betrayed!"
The copy screamed, its voice equal parts mirth and sadness. It danced to the side and
unleashed its next attack. Numerous bullets of wind rushed toward Yue. At the same
time, a storm of bullets surrounded Aletia in the vision. But while Yue wordlessly
countered the assault, Aletia screamed in pain as they tore through her. The barrage
continued, both in the past and in the present.
"You had so much faith in him. You believed in the bonds you had nurtured!"
Aletia flew across the room, directly between Yue and her copy. Though she kept
receiving fatal wounds, her automatic regeneration saved her each time. However, her
regeneration couldn't repair her shattered heart. Confused, wounded, and unwilling
to accept reality, Aletia didn't even try to fight back. She slumped to the ground, the
light gone from her eyes. She no longer had the will to go on.
What happens after was something Yue remembered well. She didn't need to see the
scenes to recall those memories.
After she was defeated, Yue had been shackled. Her grief had caused her to lose
consciousness, and when she'd awoken she'd been trapped in the abyss. From there,
300 years had passed. In that pitch-black prison, in the depths of despair, Yue had
nurtured her hate. Continually.
"People betray others for their own benefit. That is an undeniable fact."
The copy pointed to the figure of Aletia crawling pathetically across the ground. Take
a good look. Accept reality.
"The man you love, your best friend, those you care for, all of them will betray you
eventually."
Hajime Nagumo, Shea, and all the others would inevitably betray Yue like her uncle
had. That was the fear hidden deep within Yue's heart. That things like trust or bonds
were all a sham. However—
"…Goodbye, dark past!"
A huge shockwave rippled across the vision. Golden mana swirled around Yue,
spreading across the room. Yue then looked down at her past self crawling across the
ground and stomped on her. The vision blurred, like a television getting a bad signal.
It then faded away, placing Yue back in the room with the ice tree and ice mirrors.
She'd well and truly destroyed the vision this time.
"I suppose you won't budge after all. Then again, I guessed as much when I realized I
was getting weaker."
The copy seemed somewhat resigned. This particular trial was a test to see whether
or not challengers could overcome their own negative emotions and past traumas. The
more someone denied their true feelings, the stronger their copy became. On the flip
side, if they were able to accept their own weakness, their copy weakened. That was
the basis of this trial. However, not once since the beginning of this trial had Yue's copy
grown stronger. Meaning that not only had seeing her betrayal all over again failed to
faze Yue, she hadn't doubted Hajime's love or Shea's friendship in the slightest.
"Hmph, of course! Everyone loves a mascot character like me!"
Yue proclaimed as she puffed out her chest proudly.
A painfully awkward silence followed her declaration. Yue looked away a little when
she realized her copy wasn't going to even dignify that with a response. Sighing, the
copy continued as if nothing had happened.
"Still, I weakened quite slowly, which is proof that you're still a little afraid of being
betrayed."
The copy tried to wriggle its way into whatever small doubts Yue still had left. But
while its scornful words rang true, Yue wasn't swayed.
"…So what? That betrayal is an important part of my life."
"What did you say?"
The copy shot Yue a confused look.
"After all, if I hadn't been betrayed, if I hadn't been sealed away in the abyss, I—"
—would never have met Hajime. Yue still remembered how much her uncle's betrayal
had hurt. How much grief it had caused her. She'd despaired. She'd given in to hatred.
She'd even resigned herself to her fate. Her imprisonment had been so agonizing that
she'd wished for death. But so what?
"If it's only thanks to that betrayal that I was able to meet him, then even if I could do
the past over, I would make the same choice every time. I'd go through that hell again.
Even if I could turn back time and return to that day, I'd still do everything the same
way."
Hajime had once said that to Yue. He'd been betrayed by his classmates, sent to the
bottom of the abyss, and forced to suffer time and time again. But even so, he said he'd
be willing to do it all over again in order to meet Yue. Yue giggled to herself as she
thought back to that moment.
Her love for Hajime was so strong that she would be willing to accept him even if he
betrayed her. Of course, she didn't doubt Hajime. But it wasn't trust that built the
foundation of their relationship. Rather, it was an overwhelming love. Love strong
enough to accept anything Hajime might do and to ensure he never escaped her grasp.
Her will stemmed not from trust, but from desire.
In a way, Yue's love for Hajime was quite twisted. Under normal circumstances, a love
like that might eventually lead to ruin. But her partner was abnormal enough to accept
Yue's overbearing love.
Yue's copy found itself incapable of denying her declaration. After all, it was a trial
fabricated by the labyrinth, meaning it knew the true feelings of Yue's beloved, who
had just overcome his own trial.
Hajime's love for Yue was an unhealthy dependence. And Yue's love for Hajime was
too overbearing to be wholesome. They really were two peas in a pod. Sighing in
exasperation, the copy looked up at the icy ceiling.
These two are well and truly insane. God, I just want to scream right now.
Both Hajime and Yue had been betrayed, and it had been at the lowest points of their
respective lives that they'd met each other. A pure romance like the ones in fairy tales
didn't suit the two of them in the slightest, which was why the copy knew it couldn't
rattle Yue anymore by bringing up her betrayal or questioning her trust.
The match had been decided. Yue had overcome her trial. And like her beloved, she'd
done it in a way the labyrinth hadn't planned for. She hadn't overcome the darkness in
her heart, simply acknowledged its existence.
"It's time to end this…" Yue declared calmly. Her golden mana filled the room. She
unleashed all five of her elemental dragons, using all the ancient magic at her disposal.
The weakened copy had no way out of Yue's unwavering assault. However, it hadn't
given up. Its lips curled up in a faint smirk.
"I see. So the source of your strength is Hajime Nagumo."
Aletia was long gone. The fact that Yue had crushed her without hesitation was proof
of that. That meant Yue's past couldn't shake her. But what about her future?
Even as Yue's dragons blasted through the magic her copy had summoned to defend
itself, it wasn't fazed. It merely spoke calmly and said, "You're simply averting your
eyes from the contradiction."
"Huh?"
"It never once occurred to you that maybe you should think about who and what you
are, did it?"
"What are you…?"
"Do you really think you'll be able to stay by his side forever?"
"Huh…?" Yue's voice wavered just a little. Three of her dragons had been destroyed by
her copy's counter and the two that had made it through missed, even though Yue
should have had a clear shot. A little bit of the copy's lost power returned.
"Tch… I'll just crush you with force, then."
"Are you up to the task?"
The fight should have been decided, but it once again raged on.
Around the same time—
"Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"Gaaaaaah!"
Ferocious yells echoed across a chamber identical to the one Yue was fighting in. A
second later, someone screamed in pain. Shea stood in one corner of the room,
Drucken on her shoulder. She remained alert as she watched her opponent, a blackhaired, black-eared copy of herself, fly across the room like a pinball.
Unable to slow itself down at all, Shea's copy slammed into the ice tree in the center
of the room. There was a loud boom, and chunks of the tree trunk crumbled. Shea's
copy slid to the ground and fell to its knees. It was only by using its own Drucken that
it managed to avoid collapsing entirely. The tree started to repair itself with a series
of loud cracks, and the copy looked up at Shea. Glowing crimson eyes peeked out from
behind its black bangs.
"Have you already forgotten the screams of your family? The pain they suffered just to
keep you alive?"
A second later, Shea was thrown into a vivid flashback. Clouds of dust covered a barren
wasteland.
"No! Stoooooop!"
"It hurts! It hurts so much! Please, stop!"
"Run! Quickly!"
Screams, screams, and more screams filled Shea's eardrums. Screams of pain, screams
of sorrow, and screams of people telling Shea to keep running. Punctuating the
screams was the sound of vulgar laughter and the pounding of countless hoofbeats.
The sounds grew louder as the stampede of malice closed in on Shea and her family.
"Hahaha, time to hunt some rabbits."
"Kill all the old ones! We don't need 'em anyway!"
"We're gonna sell half of them, so don't rough 'em up too bad! The rest you can do
whatever you want with!"
The imperial soldiers chasing down Shea's tribe saw the rabbitmen as nothing more
than playthings. The memories were still fresh in Shea's mind. Even if she wasn't being
shown a flashback, she'd never forget what had happened.
"Hey, look at that pale girl!"
The soldiers whooped in excitement. They bared their fangs and started chasing down
their next target. It was like they were hunting beasts.
"She's mine! Don't let her get away!"
The soldiers' greedy eyes were trained on Shea. They cut down anyone in their way as
if the members of Shea's family were nothing but trash to them.
"Nooooooooooooooo! Stooooooooop!"
This time, the scream belonged to Shea. She'd turned around and was trying to head
back to the members of her family who were being trampled underfoot. However, Cam
and the other rabbitmen nearby grabbed her and kept on running.
Again. It's all my fault again.
"That's right. It's all your fault," Shea's copy taunted.
The imperial soldiers bearing down on Shea hefted their spears and—
"Fuck off!"
"Agh!"
Shea slammed her fist into the center of the soldiers' formation, and connected with
her copy's face. The copy flew through the air, bounced off the ground a few times,
then slid to a halt.
"Ngh, you really don't have any openings, do you!?"
Memories were just memories. Even if the labyrinth forced Shea to relive them, her
focus was still entirely on the present. She knew better than to lose sight of her foe in
the middle of battle. In fact—
"Your birth was a mist— Ah!?"
The copy tried to rile Shea up with more barbed comments, but it suddenly stopped
and perked up its bunny ears. Then, without turning around, it leaped to the side. A
second later, Drucken appeared where it had been standing.
"I'm gonna flatten you."
Shea's cute voice didn't match the tremendous impact she caused with her hammer. A
crater formed in the floor and cracks ran through the entire room. The copy landed
lightly on its feet and looked over at the crater Shea had made.
"What!?"
But there was no one there. The copy shouldered its hammer and turned around, only
to see Shea standing behind it. As unbelievable as it seemed, it had lost sight of Shea
for a moment.
"How're you so fast!?"
"You're just too slow!"
The copy shivered in fear. There was another boom as Shea's hammer accelerated past
the speed of sound. The copy barely had time to bring its own black Drucken up to
block. The impact alone released a shockwave powerful enough to end the fight, and
the copy was sent flying. It crashed into the ice mirror wall at the far end of the room
with enough force to drive the air out of its lungs. But it knew it had no time to rest,
and fired a shotgun blast sideways, hoping to use the recoil to escape Shea's follow-up
attack.
"Take thiiiiiis!"
Shea kneed the wall with such force that she created another crater.
"Everything happened because you were born! It's all your fault!"
This is impossible! But despite the fact that the copy could see no possible avenue to
victory, it continued to carry out its duty. It had every one of Shea's combat tactics at
its disposal, as well as the knowledge of what words would hurt her the most.
"Because of you, your family had to live in hiding!"
A barrage of iron balls hurtled toward the copy. Shea had just thrown them, but they
had the speed of cannonballs. The copy just barely managed to dodge them and was
forced to deflect a few with Drucken. Determined, it once again tried to stir up the
darkness inside Shea's heart.
"Even the other rabbitmen tribes abandoned you!"
It was true that only the Haulia had ever cared for Shea. The other rabbitmen would
have turned her in had they known about her. That had forced the Haulia tribe into
isolation, and they hadn't even been able to trade with the other tribes. As a result,
they'd had a hard time even scraping by. They'd needed to get all of their food and
other necessities by themselves, without relying on others. All because Shea had been
born with mana. From that moment onward, the Haulia had been treated as outcasts.
Of the Haulia, it had been Cam who'd suffered the most. Shea knew better than anyone
what he'd gone through to raise her.
Finally seeing an opportunity to counterattack, the copy fired off a barrage of
explosive slugs at Shea. She brought Drucken up and blocked the assault with the
hammer's face. Once again, the copy dragged her into a flashback. This time she was
seeing a memory of when another rabbitman tribe had come to the Haulia village.
They'd come to convince Cam to rethink his policy of isolation.
"Chief of the Haulia! You can't keep going like this!"
"Us rabbitmen are already the weakest race there is! Shouldn't we at least work
together to survive in this world?"
"Don't you understand? You Haulia are making it harder for the rest of us rabbitmen
to get by too!"
A young Shea watched the argument from her hiding place inside a small wooden
crate. Even though everything the other rabbitmen were saying was correct, Cam
didn't budge an inch.
"I'm sorry. If you need help with anything, you can ask us. But we would prefer not to
trade with others. That's just how the Haulia are."
Though his expression was pained, Cam's resolve was firm. He didn't waver even when
the other rabbitmen pelted him with insults. Throughout the meeting, the only thing
Cam did was lower his head apologetically. In the end, the other rabbitmen left in a
rage, even though they should have all been allies. It was on that day that Shea started
to feel guilty that she was alive. It was also on that day that she realized she needed to
hide from the rest of the world.
"We were the only irregular beastmen in all of Haltina! Even our family wasn't like us!"
the copy shouted.
"We should have just run away on our own! Left our family behind! At least that way
they wouldn't have died for us! This all happened because we were weak! Weak of
body, and weak of mind. If only—"
"Shut the fuck uuuuuup!"
Shea stomped on the ground with such force that the ice beneath her rose up to form
a shield. The ice wall blocked the copy's next barrage of explosive slugs. After the
shockwaves died down, Shea punched the wall in front of her, blowing it apart. Shards
of ice shot forward, blowing a hole through the copy's third wave of explosive slugs.
Then, she instantly dashed through the opening and threw Drucken at her copy. She
closed the rest of the distance between them while the copy was busy dodging.
Panicking, the copy tried to blow Shea back with a concentrated salvo of explosive
slugs.
"Shea-style defensive maneuver, Power Through!"
"That can hardly be called a maneuver."
The copy was right, but unfortunately for it, that didn't matter. Shea crossed her arms
in an x-shape in front of her chest and dashed through the barrage. She improved her
already insane body strengthening by enhancing it with evolution magic. As a result,
the explosive slugs barely even bruised her skin as they exploded. She had quite
literally just powered through. And once she was through, it was her turn to go on the
offensive.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Die!"
Shea fired off a right straight at her copy. It blocked with Drucken, but it wasn't able to
absorb the impact of the blow and was sent flying. As it flew through the air, it heard
the jangling of chains.
"Oh shi—"
Before it could finish that thought, Shea's left arm finished its rotation. In her hand
was Drucken's handle, still attached to the hammer via chain. The chain wrapped
around the giant tree in the center, adding even more centrifugal force to the
hammer's rotation. The copy barely had time to register what was happening before
Drucken slammed into it.
The force of the blow caused it to change trajectory in midair, sending it sideways
instead of backward. Unable to break its fall, the copy slammed into the wall again.
Tiny crystals of ice flew through the air, sparkling in the dim light. Within that
glittering cloud, there were also sparkling particles which weren't ice.
"Ahaha… Looks like I've lost."
The copy smiled sadly to itself. It was cradling its shoulder, and parts of it were starting
to disintegrate.
"So you're finally at your limit."
"Yeah, I'm no match for you."
Shea had even healed the slight damage her copy's barrage had inflicted on her via
restoration magic. The copy shook its head in amazement.
"You really weren't fazed at all. Even though everything I said should have been our
true feelings…"
Shea hadn't faltered in the slightest. In fact, the more the copy had tried to torment
Shea, the weaker it had gotten. It hadn't been much of a trial. Shea looked down at the
copy and shook her head in exasperation.
"What are you talking about? You can't change the past. All you can do is carry it with
you. But even if the past is still with me, I swore that I'd do everything in my power to
make the future better."
On that day when Shea had been chased, watched her family get murdered, and then
chased again, she'd seen the future. In the depths of despair, in the abyss of grief, she'd
seen a future full of hope. Hope in the form of Hajime and Yue. It was then that she'd
told herself not to give up, to keep running forward. She'd done everything in her
power to reach out and grasp the future that lay together with those two.
"I swore that I'd become someone who could protect the people I love from those
who'd try to take them from me, remember?"
That had been Mona's—Shea's mother's—wish. And Shea had inherited that will.
Tired of being weak, Shea had pushed herself to become strong. As a result—
"I made my peace with all that suffering ages ago."
Shea reeled Drucken back into her hands and slung it over her shoulder. She looked
just like the Grand Tree. Firm and strong, but also flexible.
"The darkness in people's hearts is supposed to be strong enough that it paralyzes
them even then."
It wasn't easy to free oneself from the darkness lurking within them. And yet, Shea
had.
"You might be me, but it looks like you don't really get me. I guess that's proof that the
labyrinth's mixed in with you somewhere. Otherwise, you would have known from the
start that your words couldn't hurt me."
The wounds in Shea's heart hadn't healed. She'd never forget the day she lost so many
members of her family. And no matter what anyone else said, she knew for a fact that
the whole ordeal had been her fault. But she was done moping and crying about it.
She'd resolved to throw away her weakness and stop running from conflict. Nothing
could stop her anymore. She'd keep going toward the future she desired.
Why? Well that's obvious. Her family had worked so hard to protect her. Even though
they were members of the weakest race, they'd weathered scorn and derision just to
raise her. Her father and mother had endured so much to keep her alive.
Her life was precious to her precisely because of what others had done to protect it.
And now she'd found so many other things precious to her. Someone who cherished
her and accepted her love wholeheartedly. A best friend she could trust and confide
in. So many others whom she cared about and who cared about her. This time, she'd
be the one to protect them all.
"The darkness in my heart? Hah. Sorry, but I'm not some tragic heroine."
Shea knew she was blessed. There were people she wanted to protect, and those
people wanted to protect her back. She could say with confidence that she was happy.
Which was why she was the one who'd never forgive herself if she started acting like
some misfortunate damsel. Sure, maybe she might have entertained those feelings for
a fleeting moment, but that wasn't nearly enough to weaken her resolve.
"Listen up and listen well."
Shea grinned fearlessly and pointed Drucken at her copy. She straightened her back,
confidence oozing from every pore. Even her copy couldn't help but be amazed by how
beautiful she looked. Then, she puffed her chest out proudly and declared, "Right now,
I'm invincible. It doesn't matter who I'm up against, I won't lose!"
Her words rang true. The copy felt itself grow even weaker. Words had the power both
to bolster people and to weaken them. Shea had proven that this trial could be
overcome through strength of body and mind alone. She'd tackled it head-on and come
out victorious.
The labyrinth had no choice but to accept the strength of this challenger. Shea's copy
smiled faintly at her.
"I see. This trial pushes you to overcome yourself, but you'd already done that long ago."
"That's right. Anyway, my friends are waiting for me, so you better let me through!"
"Fufu, you haven't gotten past me yet! Let's see if you can take my final attack!"
Twin pillars of mana, one sky blue the other dark crimson, rose into the sky. Shea and
her copy shot forward at the same time, leaving craters in their wake. They'd gone
from zero to max speed in a single step. Both of them then used the recoil from
Drucken's shotgun blasts to speed up even further.
Wisps of mana trailed behind the two of them, making them look like shooting stars.
Shea narrowed her focus to the enemy in front of her, and the rest of the world faded
away. She brought Drucken back, ready to swing at a moment's notice. Still hurtling
forward, she spun around once. Then, with all the force of her charge behind her, Shea
swung. Sonic booms trailed behind the swing as it accelerated past the speed of sound.
The copy mimicked her movements exactly, so the black and gray hammers collided
with unbelievable force. The collision caused a deafening boom. Shockwaves spread
out from the point of impact, blasting the nearby ground and walls. A massive crater
formed in the ground, as if Yue had just cast gravity magic on it. Of the two combatants,
the only one still standing was—
"Impressive."
Shea.
The copy smiled slightly as it praised her skills. It then disintegrated into a mass of
shimmering particles and vanished. Shea stood there silently for a few seconds, then
sighed in relief. The shotgun shells she'd spent to accelerate herself clattered to the
ground.
Shea looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "Mom. I want to become a kind monster."
Once in the past, Shea had come to her mother crying about how she was a monster.
Back then, Mona had said, "It doesn't matter what other people say. You are who you
want to be. You have the power to be anything you choose."
This isn't enough. I need to get even stronger. I'm gonna get so strong that I can protect
everyone from anything. I'm gonna become a kind monster. It was this determination
that had propelled Shea this far.
What would Mom think if she saw me now?
"Be proud of yourself. Hold your head high and tell the world 'I'm Shea Haulia! You got
a problem with that!?'"
Shea smiled as she remembered her mom's words. Following her advice, Shea held
her head high and said, "I'm Shea Haulia. You got a problem with that?"
In the silence that followed, Shea felt as though she heard her mother's voice.
"You've grown into a splendid monster, Shea."
Her bunny ears twitched slightly. Then, as if even the labyrinth was blessing her, a
tunnel opened in the wall directly across from her. Shea shouldered Drucken and
walked into it without hesitation.
After five minutes of jogging down the dimly lit ice tunnel, Shea's ears perked up.
There was movement up ahead. She smiled, recognizing the sound of those footsteps.
Past the next bend in the tunnel was a dead end. But Shea's best friend, whose
footsteps she'd just picked up on, was past that dead end. Meaning whatever wall was
in Shea's way was about to be pulverized. Her tendencies had gotten rather violent
recently, but as far as Shea was concerned charging ahead at full speed was the only
option around. After all, the self-proclaimed strongest fighter had nothing to fear.
"Obstacles are meant to be crushed!"
Shea went from a jog to a sprint in the span of a single step, confident that another
path existed past what seemed to be a dead-end. She raised Drucken high and swung
with all her might.
"Uryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah— Wha!?"
Just before her hammer impacted, the wall of ice in front of her disappeared. Drucken
swung through empty air, leaving Shea off-balance as she tumbled forward. She almost
faceplanted into the ice, but managed to turn her fall into a roll at the last second. She
then leaped to her feet and raised her hands in the air, as if the earlier acrobatic
maneuver had been entirely on purpose. Her slightly flushed cheeks made it obvious
that it hadn't though, and that she was embarrassed about her blunder. Still, she
smiled in an attempt to convince everyone watching that she'd meant to do that.
"Y-Yue-san. It's not what you think! I did that on purpose!"
Shea glanced around, looking for her friend. Her acute sense of hearing had told her
earlier that she was here somewhere. Shea was worried Yue would make fun of her
clumsiness, but she realized soon enough there was no worry of that happening. Yue
was certainly here, but she wasn't looking at Shea. Nor had she been paying attention
when Shea called her name.
"Yue-san?"
Shea called out to her again, but there was no response. Yue stood silently in front of
the ice tree in the center, not even bothering to look over her shoulder. Shea had no
way of telling what kind of face Yue was making. But she felt as though she shouldn't
get any closer.
For a moment, Shea worried that Yue might have failed her trial, but a second later
that worry was erased. Upon closer inspection, Shea realized that there were two
other paths leading out of this room. The one Yue must have come in through, and
another one leading somewhere else. Her copy was nowhere to be seen. Proof that
Yue had indeed completed her trial. Thinking that Yue probably just hadn't heard her,
Shea walked over to the center of the room. It was then that she noticed.
"Huh?"
To her utter disbelief, Yue looked badly beaten up. Of course, thanks to her automatic
regeneration, Yue had no physical wounds, but her shredded clothes and accessories
made it clear that she'd just been through an exhausting fight. Yue's opponent had
naturally been a copy of herself. Unlike Shea's fight, which had been a battle of pure
strength, Yue's fight had been a magical war.
Furthermore, Yue's preferred combat style was to let enemy attacks hit her and let her
automatic regeneration take care of the damage while she concentrated solely on
firing back with even more powerful attacks. It stood to reason that she wouldn't come
out unscathed. However, now that the fight was over, Yue should have restored her
clothes with restoration magic. In retrospect, Shea realized it was strange for Yue to
just be standing there instead of advancing forward too.
Unsure what was wrong with her best friend, Shea hesitated to get any closer. But a
second later she shook off that hesitation and shouted cheerfully, "Yue-san!"
"Ah—"
Twitching in surprise, Yue looked over her shoulder. She saw Shea's radiant smile and
narrowed her eyes against its dazzling light.
"Shea…"
"That's right, Yue-san. It's me."
Shea chuckled lightly, and Yue finally let herself smile a little. Her shoulders slumped,
and she relaxed her previously tense muscles.
"Our rooms were connected?"
"Looks like it. I followed the path that showed up after beating my trial and it brought
me here. Looks like you beat yours too, Yue."
Shea didn't bother mentioning Yue's ripped clothes and instead turned to the passage
leading forward.
"Mmm… It was a piece of cake."
It was at that moment that Yue finally realized what state her clothes were in. Realizing
that Shea looked completely unhurt, she blushed in embarrassment and quickly cast
restoration magic on herself. Shea watched Yue's clothes stitch back together and
wondered whether or not it was okay to ask about her trial. There was no way Yue had
faltered, or she wouldn't have cleared her trial. But at the same time, it was clear Yue
was still worrying about something. Enough that she'd forgotten to fix her clothes and
hadn't even noticed Shea the first time she'd called out to her.
What happened? Yue-san didn't look like she was being affected by the whispers that
much. And I don't think anything anyone says could make her doubt her relationship
with Hajime-san or the rest of us. From what I can tell, the darkness in Yue's heart has to
do with her betrayal 300 years ago… but I feel like she's not the kind of person to let that
drag her down at this point. What should I say to her though? Should I ask her what she's
thinking? Or should I just be here for her until she works her way through it? Shea
agonized over how best to help her best friend.
"Shea, I'm fine… Let's keep going."
Sensing Shea's distress, Yue smiled at her.
"Yue-san… Yeah, you're right. Let's go find Hajime-san and the others!"
"Mmm… I want to see Hajime again."
"Fufu, same here!"
Shea knew Yue was just trying to look strong for her, and that caused her bunny ears
to wilt in worry. But at the same time, she knew there was no point in waiting around.
Besides, meeting up with Hajime so that Yue could flirt with him was probably the
best way to cheer her up. Shea pulled herself together, and her rabbit ears perked back
up. She strode forward, a new spring in her step. Yue followed after her, and the two
entered the newly-opened ice tunnel.
"Do you think everyone's okay? They looked like they weren't doing too good when
the whispers started coming, but…"
"Mmm… Good point. Shizuku and the hero especially."
"I was surprised Shizuku-san was having such a hard time. She was always so calm
and composed when we were in Haltina's labyrinth… but Kaori-san was really worried
about her here."
"Shirasucky has problems, so she's probably having an even harder time than Shizuku."
"There you go again! Yue-san, you really like Kaori-san, don't you?"
"I do not…"
The two of them chatted idly as they made their way through the tunnel. As always,
Shea was the one who brought up topics, and Yue simply responded. But that was just
the dynamic the two of them had