Crossroad Square.
Although restoration was progressing rapidly, there were still more ruins than anything else.
Zenis and Hannibal were walking side by side on the main street.
"Hehe, everyone seems so youthful..."
Zenis, who had been talking about what had happened at the gathering, chuckled and then looked at Hannibal.
"By the way, Hannibal, don't you have any romantic relationships?"
"What?"
"I bet there are a lot of people who like you. Any good news?"
Zenis laughed mischievously. Hannibal scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
In fact, Hannibal had a very colorful dating history for his young age.
He was popular even within the mixed-race community, and the number of lovers who had passed by his side easily reached double digits.
He just hadn't found the right person since coming to Crossroad.
...Hannibal felt awkward about revealing this, so he redirected the topic instead.
"What about you, Father?"
"Me?"
"Any good news?"
Hannibal asked with a sly smile, causing Zenis to become flustered.
"Well... there's no such news for me. I've been a priest all my life..."
"But priests of the Goddess's Order aren't restricted from marriage, right?"
"...And now I'm excommunicated."
"Doesn't that make you even more free?"
"Erm. Erm..."
Hannibal cautiously asked Zenis, who was at a loss for words.
"What about Priestess Rosetta? You seem close with her. How is that?"
"Khak!"
Zenis coughed loudly in surprise and waved his hand.
"Rosetta and I are not like that."
"Really?"
"Yeah. We're like siblings. Rosetta saved my life when I was young... We're connected on a much deeper, spiritual level than just a man and a woman..."
Hannibal, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary, interjected as Zenis tried to explain further.
"Father."
"Hm? What?"
"I think it would be nice if I had a mother."
"Khak-!"
Trying to pry into his son's romantic situation only to get a blowback left Zenis sweating coldly and barely able to reply.
"I-I'll try..."
Though it wasn't something that could be achieved just by trying...
Hannibal, satisfied, quickly ran ahead, while Zenis folded his arms and groaned.
"Romance? Me? I've become a commoner now, but at this point?"
Suddenly, he recalled what Ash had once said.
- From now on, today is the youngest we'll ever be.
He also remembered what his son had said to him before.
- Father, how do you want to live from now on? You can do anything now.
"..."
A faint smile tugged at Zenis' stiff lips.
Yes. Today is the youngest we'll ever be, and we can do anything in the future.
If there's a good match, there's no reason not to.
"A good match... if there is one..."
This was the hardest part.
Zenis, with a bitter smile, quickly followed his son who had run ahead.
***
Crossroad. Back alley.
"Hey, Kuilan! Get a grip! Why did you drink so much when you can't even handle your alcohol?"
Chain was supporting a heavily intoxicated Kuilan as they made their way back to their lodgings.
It was a nightmare, trying to bring along a drunkard when Kuilan's injuries hadn't even healed yet, making it hard for him to move. Chain gritted his teeth and practically dragged Kuilan.
After hours of struggle, they finally reached the barracks and managed to get Kuilan into his room.
"Wow, I almost died. You owe me a meal later, got it?"
Chain pointed a finger at Kuilan, who was slumped on the bed, then turned to leave. It was then that Kuilan, heavily drunk, mumbled from within his pillow.
"Chain..."
"..."
"I should go home..."
"..."
"It's not my place to say, having lived a shorter life than you... But it's best to be with the ones you love."
Chain clenched his lips. Kuilan's voice grew increasingly drowsy.
"They're all waiting for you... So, before it's too late, tell them how you feel..."
Soon, Kuilan was snoring loudly.
Sighing, Chain closed the door and returned to his own quarters.
The barracks room he shared with Nobody was completely empty. Leaning on his crutch, Chain entered the room and collapsed onto his bed.
"..."
Chain pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it.
It was a letter from his wife, received a few days ago.
Kate was the name of Chain's daughter.
The letter informed him that his daughter had given birth to a son, making Chain a grandfather.
A smile crept across Chain's face as he read, but it slowly froze at the next line.
"..."
Chain's face darkened further.
"..."
The letter ended there.
"...I was a shameful husband and an inadequate father."
After carefully folding the letter and putting it back in his pocket, Chain sighed softly.
He missed his daughter. He wanted to see his son-in-law, whom he had never met, and his new grandson.
But most of all, he missed his wife's face.
But he had no face to show.
"Where do I go now?"
Chain asked the empty room, running a hand over his face.
"What should I do, Nobody...?"
***
Crossroad. Lord's mansion.
Having chatted with the main party members for quite a while in the reception room, night had fallen.
It was an awkward time to send them back, so everyone decided to stay at the lord's mansion. In fact, Lucas and Evangeline already lived here, so they just needed to give Junior and Damien one guest room each.
After tucking everyone into their rooms, I returned to my office.
"People's hearts are the hardest thing in the world to understand."
Just as difficult as strategizing against monsters, if not more so.
Grumbling to myself as I entered the office...
"Hm?"
I saw a familiar gray-haired man sitting on the guest sofa. Startled, I called his name.
"Aider?"
"Ah, my lord."
The director, whom I hadn't seen in a while, waved leisurely.
"Welcome back."
"Hey, you! Where the hell have you been hiding, showing up just now?"
I shouted urgently, then froze.
In Aider's hands was the royal scepter of the Lake Kingdom, the last item I had planned to examine from the loot check.
"This scepter..."
And Aider, examining the scepter, suddenly made a strange comment with a sheepish expression.
"It reminded me of my unrequited love. I got lost in memories."
"..."
What? Unrequited love?
Even you too? Everyone's caught up in 'Monster Frontier Love'?
Fine, everyone, just fall in love! The whole world is coupling up, gah!
***
A while later.
"Unrequited love..."
I brought two cups of warm tea and handed one to Aider, asking.
"So, is the object of your affection Nameless?"
Aider, accepting the teacup, smiled faintly.
"No comment for now."
"Come on, after all this time, still no comment?"
We're in the endgame now, just spill the beans already! How long are you going to keep it under wraps?
"My dull love story will become clear soon enough. What's more important right now."
Aider lightly waved the scepter he held.
"Is this."
"..."
I looked at the scepter, then back at Aider. He began to explain.
"This scepter originally symbolized the royal authority of the Lake Kingdom. It was a beautiful staff with a pure white body and blue gem decorations on top."
Now, the scepter's gems were all blackened, and dark veins like blood vessels spread through its body.
It's amazing it still maintains its dignity in this state.
"After the Nightmare engulfed the Lake Kingdom, the Demon King imbued his power into this scepter. Since he frequently left to explore the Nightmare, he needed someone to act in his stead."
"So this scepter..."
"Yes. It can be said to symbolize the deputy authority of the Demon King."
Aider levitated the scepter in the air, placing his hands over it.
"It has several functions, but its primary role relates to our ongoing 'game'... 'Doom Revelry.'"
"...!"
"It designates the stage timing, the monster legions to be dispatched, and the dark events."
Crackle, crackle!
From Aider's fingertips, a complex spell-like formula appeared, penetrating into the scepter.
System windows like those in the game popped up and vanished around the scepter.
Aider's fingers moved like he was typing on a virtual keyboard.
Crack!
In an instant, all the system windows were absorbed into the scepter. The gem on top seemed to clear slightly, though it might have been my imagination.
"Here, it's yours."
Aider offered the scepter to me respectfully with both hands. I accepted it, bewildered.
"Huh? You're giving this to me?"
"Of course, it's yours. It's your loot."
Aider nodded.
"Regardless of the process, you've taken the symbol of the enemy commander. You deserve the advantage it brings."
"So, I can use the scepter's functions... to designate the stage timing, the monster legions, and the dark events?"
"For now, yes."
Aider continued.
"The Demon King is not currently present. He's still exploring the Nightmare. While he's away, you can use the scepter to customize the stages as you see fit."
"...!"
So, I can schedule the stages at convenient times, select the weakest monster legions, and apply the least threatening dark events to make the stages easier?
"But when the Demon King returns and reclaims his authority, the scepter will lose its power... and revert to a mere staff."
Aider smiled bitterly.
"It will become a faded, powerless staff, symbolizing a fallen kingdom's lost royalty."
"..."
"So, while the scepter still holds power, use it to make your battles easier before the Demon King returns."
I focused my mind on the scepter.
The familiar system interface of the Nightmare's attack appeared before me.
[STAGE 41]
> Immunity Period: 3 weeks (Penalty if violated)
> Select Monster Legion
> List of Dark Events
"I've made it user-friendly, like a game."
"Sometimes, you really do seem like a director..."
Quickly reviewing the content, I pondered for a moment and then asked.
"What if I don't designate any monsters? If I skip the stage, what happens?"
Aider shook his head slightly.
"Don't forget who this game, 'Doom Revelry,' is for. This world is fundamentally a playground for the Outer Gods... the 'Watchers.' Without convincing them, you can't do that."
"..."
"If you try to skip stages without reason, or if the stages are too easy, they will intervene directly."
"Intervene directly? What do you mean?"
Aider gestured at me.
"Remember Stage 3 a long time ago? The Dark Event?"
"Of course, I remember."
Early in the first year. Stage 3.
The time remaining for the stage suddenly decreased, and the monsters staged a diversion. It was chaos. Evangeline almost died.
"That Dark Event was direct intervention by the Watchers."
"...?!"
"Check the old records. Now that you've gained divinity, you should be able to 'see' it."
I hurriedly opened the system logs and checked the 'Dark Event Tracker,' reviewing the old logs. There it was,
[??? intervenes in the game!]
This log message, full of question marks, which I couldn't read before.
For some reason, now I could 'read' it.
[The will of the Watchers intervenes in the game!]
Chills ran down my spine, and goosebumps rose all over my body.
So, the malice I had sensed all this time was...
"Do you see it clearly now?"
As I gritted my teeth and reviewed the records, Aider's faint smile widened.
"The will of this world... this universe, to destroy us."