Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Zero - Volume 2 - Chapter 1

Chapter I: The Saint of the Western Seas

A refreshing scraping noise filled a small oasis on the western edge of the Crimson Desert. The oasis was little more than a spring, a handful of trees, and a field of grass. It could have been the courtyard of some rich person’s mansion. And sitting at the edge of the spring were Miledi, Oscar, and Naiz.

“I never imagined I would be eating frozen dessert in a desert...” Naiz said as he thrust his spoon into the mountain of shaved ice in front of him.

The three of them had stopped by the oasis to take a short break from their journey and had decided to cool off with some shaved ice. Miledi had created the ice with magic, which Oscar had then turned into shaved ice using the makeshift machine he’d transmuted on the spot.

“Mmm... Mmmmmm... Mmm!”

“What the heck are you doing?”

Oscar looked down at Miledi, who was rolling across the ground next to him.

“It huuuuuuuuurts! My head huuuuuurts!”

“You ate it all at once, didn’t you? I told you to eat slowly!”

Tears still in her eyes, Miledi looked up at Oscar and gave him an exaggerated shrug. Her expression seemed to say “You clearly don’t get the true joy of eating shaved ice.” Annoyed, Oscar raised an eyebrow.

“You just don’t get it, O-kun. The freezing sensation in your brain’s the best part! Right after you stuff your face full of fruit-juice-drenched ice, you get to feel the pain only cold food can give you. You have to be a real connoisseur to understand, O-kun.”

Miledi wagged her spoon at him, lecturing haughtily as if she were some kind of famous professor. Every time she moved her spoon, flecks of spit and melted ice splattered onto Oscar’s glasses. Water was every glasses-wearing person’s greatest enemy. In fact, Oscar found water droplets almost as annoying as Miledi herself. He wiped down his glasses and tried his best to ignore Professor Miledi’s lecture. And as he was doing so, Naiz turned to him an spoke.

“Oscar. Do you still have some of that fruit syrup left?”

“The limon-flavored one? Sorry, I just used up the last of it. Did you not like the other flavors?”

Oscar’s bowl of shaved ice glinted pale yellow in the sunlight. Limon was a citrus fruit that had a slight hint of sweetness to counterbalance the tart.

Naiz looked longingly at Oscar’s bowl of shaved ice, then shook his head.

“Oh no, all the flavors are delicious, but... they’re all quite sweet. I’d like something sour to wash them down.”

Naiz’s bowl of shaved ice was dyed a deep orange. His was mangu-flavored. Said mangu was a sickly-sweet fruit that was a staple of this desert. And from the looks of it, he’d poured too much of its syrup on his ice. Naiz had a formidable sweet tooth, but even he’d found this quantity too much to bear.

“Oh yeah, that does look way too sweet. Here, you can have some of mine if you want.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ve started craving a little more sweetness myself, so let’s trade.”

“Thanks.”

Smiling, the two of them reached for each other’s shaved ice. However, as they savored the flavor of the other’s dessert, Miledi shoved her way into the conversation.

“What are you, a pair of teenage girls!?”

Oscar and Naiz turned to her with confused looks, spoons still in their mouths. They were in perfect sync.

“Seriously, are you two teenage girls or something!?” Miledi repeated herself.

Oscar and Naiz exchanged glances, still not understanding what Miledi was getting at. After a brief pause, they shrugged their shoulders and looked away, once again in perfect sync. They figured it was just Miledi being Miledi again.

Irritated at them for ignoring her, Miledi raised her voice in a huff.

“You know, I’ve been wondering this for a while! How come you two get along so well, O-kun, Nacchan!? You guys are like, in perfect sync! It’s starting to make me feel left out! No bullying, guys!” Miledi made a big X with her arms and puffed her cheeks out as she finished her speech.

In response to her fervent plea, Oscar sighed and adjusted his glasses.

“Miledi.”

“Heeere. What’s up, O-kun?” Miledi brightened up, glad he was finally paying attention to her.

“You’re kicking up dust, so can you stop thrashing around like that?”

“Sorry! But O-kun, that’s not what I wanted to hear from you!” It appeared she’d been hoping for a different conversation. Likely, she’d wanted Oscar to say something nice to her. Unfortunately, it seemed Oscar had been a bust. And so, Miledi turned to Naiz, a faint gleam of hope in her eyes. Let my feelings reach him!

“...Do you want to try some too?” After struggling with himself for a few seconds, Naiz finally offered Miledi a spoonful of his shaved ice.

“Don’t treat me like I’m some glutton!” Though she said that, Miledi still gratefully ate Naiz’s shaved ice.

You’re hopeless, Oscar thought to himself and offered Miledi a spoonful of his own shaved ice. Naturally, she took that as well.

“Munch... Munch... Sheesh, you two don’t understand a woman’s heart at all. Crunch... Crunch... First of all, you really shouldn’t be treating me like an eyesore. Chew... Chew... Like, I’m not saying you have to be flirting with me all day, but Smack... Smack... like, you two always stay up late at night talking about whatever, or playing games O-kun comes up with. Gulp... And that’s a real problem. The three of are us traveling together, you know? Shouldn’t you be inviting me to play with you guys, or to join in on your conversations?” Miledi droned on, her litany of complaints punctured by mouthfuls of her own shaved ice. She’d been quite dissatisfied with Oscar and Naiz’s treatment of her as of late. She wanted to feel like she was part of the group too. But now that she’d said the equivalent of “Please pay attention to me too!” she felt too embarrassed to meet Oscar or Naiz’s gazes.

After a few minutes of silence though, she finally worked up enough courage to glance up at the two of them.

“Knight to E-4. I launch an assault on your pirate.”

“I can read you like a book. I activate my field skill, allowing me to move my pirate one space immediately. Pirate to D-4. With this, I avoid your assault.”

“Im...possible. You’ve already mastered the field skill, even though it’s a new rule? You’re good, Naiz.”

“Heh. Praise me all you want, but I won’t hold back.”

The two of them were engrossed in one of Oscar’s board games. It was a turn-based strategy game reminiscent of chess. The biggest differences from chess were how pieces promoted, and the existence of field skills. For example, even a pawn could defeat a knight, so long as it had leveled up enough, was fighting in an advantageous field, and had support from an allied mage.

Oscar had packed a lot of realism into his game. The two of them had started playing since they’d sensed that Miledi’s tirade would go on for a while.

Miledi silently rose to her feet, her long bangs hiding her expression, which made her look like something straight out of a horror movie. She walked over to the two men and shouted.

“Dieeee! Inverse Square!” Her gravity-reversing spell washed over the two chess players.

“Whoa!?”

“Uoooh!?”

Oscar, Naiz, the board game between them, and even the grass around them rose up into the air. However, while the two people fell back down instantly, the game and its pieces flew far away.

“Wh-What was that for, Miledi!? You just sent my game flying!”

“Shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup! You should just lose your glasses and wander around looking for them like a zombie! You damn four-eyes!”

“Quit insulting my glasses! And stop trying to use gravity magic on them! Where’d you learn to control it with such precision, anyway!?” Oscar hurriedly defended his glasses, preventing Miledi from sending them flying. She was really holding a grudge over being ignored.

“H-Hey... I’m sorry, Miledi. We’ll stop now, so—” Feeling a little guilty, Naiz tried to mediate, but Miledi was past the point of listening.

“Stuuupid! Dummy! Kiddy diddler! You’re just a pervert who walks around with a picture of two little girls everywhere, Nacchan!”

“Take that back! I am not into children!”

So he does carry around a picture of Susha and Yunfa? Oscar thought to himself. In truth, Naiz didn’t really have a choice. The two girls who loved Naiz to the point of worship could somehow sense when Naiz wasn’t carrying that picture around. The first time he’d taken it off his person, the liberators’ messenger had come bearing an ominous-looking letter. Written inside was a single question, “Why did you put it in your luggage?”

Naiz had spent the entire day trembling in fear after that. And from that point on, he made sure to keep the picture in his pocket at all times. Even though it was a suggestive picture of the two of them in revealing maid outfits, he had no choice but to hold fast to it at all times.

“Shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup! It’s your fault for ignoring me all this time, Nacchan! You deserve to be punished by Sue-chan! I’ll tell her you were flirting with me and feeding me desserts!”

“Don’t do that, you moron!”

“I’m gonna do it! Then you’ll have to face Sue-chan’s wra—”

“The one who’ll feel her wrath will be you, not me! She’ll kill you!”

Naiz had a point. Susha’s jealousy would most likely be directed at Miledi, not him. Miledi thought back to Susha’s reaction when she’d first told him she’d been meeting with Naiz regularly. Her gaze had become so cold that she could have passed as an apostle.

“Y-You know what, forget it. I won’t tell Susha about this! Instead, I’ll tell her all about your dates with O-kun!”

“That’ll just make things worse!” Naiz leaped at Miledi, intent on keeping her quiet. He teleported behind her using spatial magic, but she used gravity magic to fly to safety. At the same time, she reversed Oscar’s gravity for a second to trip him up.

“Whoa!? Ah, crap, my glasses!” As he stumbled, Oscar’s identity flew off his face. Miledi then plucked the glasses from the air.

“Fwahahahaha! Phantom thief Miledi strikes again! Feel my pain, O-kun!”

“Milediiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! How dare you smudge the lenseeeeeeeeeeees!”

The fact that she’d stolen them wasn’t as important as the fact that she’d smudged them. He sent a flurry of Metamorph Chains, which were the artifacts that allowed him to remotely electrocute and transmute targets, after her.

“You’re nothing without your glasses, O-kun! Ahahahahahahaha! Hey, how does it feel having your glasses stolen by the girl you kept ignoring? Well? Tell me! Look, I’m rubbing my fingers all over the lenses!”

“Damn you, Miledi! How could you!?”

Miledi danced through the air, calmly dodging the barrage of chains flying at her. She then smirked at Oscar and rubbed her fingers as hard as she could against his glasses’ lenses. At that, something inside Oscar snapped.

“Naiz.”

“I hear you.”

Oscar had had his precious glasses stolen from him, while Naiz was being blackmailed. And the threat of siccing Susha was not one he took lightly. Neither of them could afford to back down, so the greatest Synergist of all time and the Guardian of the Desert decided to team up. However, that only caused Miledi to grow even angrier.

“You little brats! Look at me, not each otheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!”

“Stop smudging my lenseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!”

“I will ensure that your tasteless jokes never reach Susha’s ears.”

Gravity magic made the land around the oasis collapse, spatial magic left dimensional scars in the air, and legendary artifacts whizzed through the sky. Three wielders of magic from the age of gods did battle at a tiny oasis. It was quite possibly history’s most ridiculous war.

A few hours later.

“......”

A group of three trudged silently through the rust-colored dunes. All three of them were soaked to the bone.

“I can’t believe we did that.”

“That oasis is never going to be the same...”

“We did leave some food and water behind for anyone who might head there looking to take a break, but... I doubt anyone who sees what’s happened to the place will want to stay.”

Travelers who happened upon the oasis would probably curse Miledi, Oscar, and Naiz’s names if they knew the three of them were responsible. Oases were invaluable reservoirs of water for merchants and nomads. To destroy one was a sin greater even than murder.

After the three of them had realized how much destruction they’d caused, they’d calmed down and tried to repair the damage. But still, the oasis would never be the same again.

Oscar sighed at his own foolishness, then turned to Miledi.

“Sorry for leaving you all alone, Miledi.”

“Don’t make it sound like you abandoned me...! But well, apology accepted. I’m sorry for smearing my fingers all over your soul.”

“Just so you know, Miledi. My soul’s in me, not my glasses. Also, that really doesn’t sound like an apology.”

The oils left by Miledi’s fingers hadn’t come off even after he’d used his glasses’ self-cleaning function. Her crime was far graver than she knew.

“Sorry, Nacchan.”

“Well, it’s not like you actually hurt me, so—”

“Sorry for telling Susha and Yunfa everything you’ve been doing until now.”

“So you’re the one who ratted me out! And what’s the point in apologizing after the fact!?”

Incidentally, Miledi had been pretty vague in her reports. It was thanks to Susha’s sharp skills of perception that she’d been able to pick up on what was really happening. Regardless, both Oscar and Naiz suddenly found themselves growing angry again. The great irony was that it was Miledi’s antics that were causing Oscar and Naiz to grow closer, though she didn’t realize it.

The more annoying Miledi grew, the more Oscar and Naiz became in sync. However, a Miledi that wasn’t annoying was nothing more than a beautiful genius mage. And the last thing Oscar and Naiz wanted was to strip part of her identity away from her. Meaning Miledi was doomed to be ignored in the future too. If only they could find another comrade, they’d be able to do something about the loneliness Miledi felt.

“The Saint of the Western Seas, huh?”

Naiz tilted his head as Oscar muttered that.

“That’s the title of the person whose rumors we’re chasing. Why’d you suddenly bring her up?”

“Nah, I was just thinking. If she’s supposedly a saint, then if she really exists, she must be a really wonderful, kind woman.”

“Wait, does that mean I’m a saint too, O-kun?”

Oscar ignored her babbling and continued.

“I’m sure someone like her would be able to handle Miledi.”

“I see now. You’re right, a saint would be kindhearted enough to accept Miledi while also having the fortitude to scold her when she does something wrong. Truly, a perfect fit.”

“I know, right? I... really hope she exists.”

“Likewise.”

“Hey, O-kun, Nacchan. If you want another fight, I’m ready to go anytime. In fact, why don’t we go another round right now? I’ll make another Reisen Gorge right here in this desert.” Surprisingly, Miledi seemed actually angry. Her eyes had glazed over, and a whirlpool of dark gravity magic swirled above her hand. She really didn’t enjoy being treated like a wild animal.

Cold sweat poured down Naiz and Oscar’s foreheads, and they hurriedly changed the subject.

“Hopefully we can find out whether or not the rumors are true once we reach the port.”

The party’s current destination was the port city of Epona, which was on the desert’s western coast. They were traveling there because the rumors Susha and Yunfa had heard about the Saint of the Western Seas had come from traders originating in Epona. All they knew so far was that she scoured the western seas, healing those who had been shipwrecked or assaulted by pirates, then sending them safely back home. And as always, tracking down the source of the rumors was proving to be a rather difficult affair.

“Well, even if we don’t find anything at Epona, we’re bound to pick up some more hints at Andika.”

“Andika, the city of outlaws...”

Naiz’s expression stiffened as Miledi whispered that name. Andika was a city built on floating island far off the coast of the Crimson Desert. While it was officially just another maritime city, it had come to be known as the city of outlaws among locals. No one knew how the massive island stayed afloat. However, what everyone did know was that it was the place people went when they were banished from the continent. By now, it had become a gathering place for heretics and criminals of all kinds.

It was a lawless city where survival of the fittest reigned supreme. A city where the strong stole from the weak, where greed was a virtue, where kindness was a myth, and humans lived, struggled, and died as beasts. It was known by many as the world’s garbage dump. A veritable hell on earth, abandoned by god. An execution grounds for the world’s faithless. Rumors of the atrocities committed there had spread all across the continent.

There were two reasons why the Holy Church hadn’t launched a crusade against the city. First, its existence served as a good example to the rest of the citizens. Living proof that godlessness led to hell, basically. Second, it made for an effective prison. Hunting down every single heretic on the continent was too much effort. By creating a sanctuary for heretics to find refuge, the Holy Church was able to round them all up in a single place without having to lift a finger. After that, the heretics could kill each other all they want, and the Holy Church still came out ahead.

Oscar and Naiz had both been told bedtime stories about how bad children get sent to Andika, so they had a few misgivings about visiting the place. And upon seeing their hesitation, Miledi snickered.

“You know, one of our Liberators was from Andika.”

Seeing as she was using the past tense, Oscar and Naiz could guess what had happened to said Liberator. And judging from the sad glimmer in Miledi’s eyes, she’d been closed to whoever it was.

“According to them, Andika was the only truly free city on the continent. They were really proud of the place. Supposedly everyone was responsible for their own fate. Obviously there were evil people living in the city as well, and you couldn’t ever let your guard down, but apparently, there were plenty of kind people living there too. But the point was, everyone could live freely there.”

“So then...”

That man had joined the Liberators 6 years ago. After knocking out a priest to protect a child, he’d been caught by the church’s inquisitors and sent to Reisen Gorge after harsh torture. His name had been Davy Consman. The same man who’d first planted the seeds of doubt in young Miledi’s mind. The sentenced criminal who’d told Miledi there was no worth in a world where children can’t smile. In a way, everything had started with him.

After Miledi had disavowed the Reisen family and joined the Liberators, her new comrades had told her stories about Davy. Apparently, he’d joined the Liberators because he wanted places like Andika to exist on the continent as well.

“That’s why I’ve always wanted to visit Andika. I mean, if a guy who smiled right before his death said it was an amazing place, it’s gotta be crazy. I’m sure it’s way cooler than whatever you guys are thinking! We’ve gotta go there!”

Seeing her beatific smile, Oscar and Naiz couldn’t help but grin. The two of them exchanged a glance, then nodded at her.

“Besides! It has casinos! I’ve heard it’s the capital of casinos! Think about how much money we’ll make! My gambler’s soul is burning with excitement! O-kun, Nacchan, a world of betting awaits!”

“Wow, that just killed whole mood real quick.”

“That’s just how Miledi is...”

Oscar and Naiz’s smiles vanished.

Hundreds of sand dunes, a few monster fights, and three nights of camping underneath the bright canopy of stars later, the trio arrived at the port of Epona. The sun had recently crested its zenith, and a good chunk of the day remained. The salty tang of the sea filled their nostrils as the city shimmered into view.

The three of them had never seen the ocean before, so when the roar of waves reached their ears, their eyes lit up, and they dashed through the streets. They passed the city center and the long rows of warehouses past it to find themselves at—

“It’s the seaaaaaa!”

“W-Wow! So that’s the ocean?”

“......”

As the ocean came into view, Miledi threw her hands up in the air and yelled at the top of her lungs, Oscar’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and Naiz fell silent, overwhelmed.

This was their first time seeing a body of water that spanned the horizon. Sunlight glinted off the vast blue expanse, giving it the illusion that it was filled with thousands of diamonds. Ships of all sizes bobbed along the shimmering waves, and dozens of piers reached out from the harbor toward them. Seagulls squawked overhead, mingling with the cacophony of sailors and dockhands yelling amicably at each other.

Awed, the three of them took in the magnificent view. A group of children walked over to the edge of one of the empty piers and whooped cheerfully as they jumped into the water below. Miledi’s eyes began to sparkle, and she turned to her two companions. As always, she wasn’t one to miss an opportunity to have fun.

“Let’s go, you punks! Follow meeeeee!” Without waiting for a reply, she dashed off toward the pier. In the time it took Oscar and Naiz to blink, she’d already thrown off her robe, shoes, and socks.

“Yahoooooo!” Miledi leaped off the pier and landed among the children with a resounding splash.

“Oh, come on. Don’t just go stripping in public.”

Oscar smiled ruefully to himself as he picked up Miledi’s discarded luggage and articles of clothing. Meanwhile, Naiz glared angrily at the sailors who’d ogled Miledi when she’d started to strip, scaring them off from trying anything funny.

Naturally, Miledi paid no heed to the troubles of her companions.

“Wahahahahaha. What’s wrong, kids!? If you don’t pick up the pace, I’ll fly right by you guys! I thought you were all supposed to be good at swimming!?”

“Wha— Where the heck did you come from!? Hey, get back here! Just you wait, I’ll catch up to you!”

“Wh-Who’s that girl!?”

“Don’t underestimate me, weird mystery girl! No one’s faster than me in the water!”

In seconds, Miledi was playing around with the children as though she’d known them for years. However, whether it was because they’d never met someone with such a refined air about them, or because they just hadn’t ever seen anyone like Miledi, all of the kids, both male and female, found themselves blushing.

“Honestly, those looks are wasted on her.”

“Heh... So you admit she’s beautiful, then?”

Oscar awkwardly adjusted his glasses, unable to respond.

“Hey, wait. Is Miledi using gravity magic to swim?”

“I can’t believe she’s getting that worked up over competing with kids.”

Oscar and Naiz watched, exasperated, as Miledi raced the children to the buoy line.

“I can’t catch up to her! How’s she that good at swimming!?” one of the rowdy boys exclaimed. “Onee-san, I can see your panties!” the youngest girl yelled as she blushed and covered her face with her hands. “Is she secretly a dagon or something?” “Wow, outsiders are scary...” the other kids muttered to each other. Most of them gave up on racing her halfway and bobbed in the water as they watched her sprint all the way to the finish line in one go. She turned back while treading water and waved to Oscar and Naiz. Once she had their attention, she smiled and pointed a single finger up into the air, announcing her victory.

“Look, we get it already, so hurry up and get back here!” Oscar cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

Miledi crossed her arms, firmly refusing his request. She then beckoned with both hands. It appeared their esteemed leader wanted the two of them to join her.

Oscar and Naiz exchanged glances, then with noncommittal shrugs, started taking their clothes off. Unwilling to wait, Miledi cupped her hands around her mouth as well and shouted,

“O-kuuuuuuuuun! Nacchaaaaaaaaaaaan! Hurry up and— Waaah!?” Before she could finish her sentence, she was swallowed whole by a shark of some kind. Though Oscar had only caught a glimpse of it, it appeared to be at least 10 meters long. It had also been glowing a sinister dark red, so it likely possessed mana. Meaning it was a monster.

“......” Oscar and Naiz stopped stripping, and just stood there silently. The kids were too stunned to move as well. This was the first time they’d seen someone swallowed up just like that. All anyone could do was watch as the shark raced off toward the north.

And around 10 minutes later, Miledi washed up onto a sand dune a short distance away.

“How tragic...” Naiz muttered. Miledi’s ponytail had been undone, and her hair clung to her shoulders like seaweed. Worse, her clothes had been ripped up here and there, and she was drenched in some sticky, transparent, jelly-like liquid.

“A-Are you okay, Miledi?” Oscar said as he gingerly rolled Miledi onto her back. An expressionless stare greeted him.

“This is wrong.”

“Well, that definitely was some bad luck. Anyway, you look like a hot mess. I’ll make you a shower room so you can clean yourself up.”

“Thanks, O-kun. But there are times when a girl just can’t back down.”

“I have no idea what you’re trying to say.”

“I-WANT-TO-HAVE-FUN-SWIMMING!”

Like hell I’ll let some monster get in my way!

“My name is Miledi Reisen! The embodiment of free will! One who struggles against all that is unreasonable in this world!”

“Well, I won’t deny you’re the embodiment of free will at least.”

“Prepare to taste my revenge, monsters! If you think you can keep me from the sea, well think again!”

Miledi, the sea’s poor victim (?) dashed off into the waves once again. Once she was deep enough, she switched from running to a graceful front stroke.

“Aaah!?”

The result was as Oscar expected. The two men watched on with pity as Miledi challenged the sea 10 times, and was washed up each time. It appeared she was quite popular with sea monsters.

One week later, after spending the morning hunting for information and eating a hearty seafood-filled lunch, Miledi and the others headed once more to the northern shore.

Oscar got to work on a metal boat he’d been crafting, while Naiz started writing a letter. A cream-colored eagle came to perch on his shoulder as he wrote. The eagle belonged to Tim Rocket, one of the Liberators’ scouts, and such eagles were the primary way in which the organization exchanged information. Incidentally, its name was Creme. Furthermore, almost all humans on the continent used these isoniol eagles as messenger birds.

Tim possessed the special magic Animal Harmony, which allowed him to strengthen regular creatures to monster-level strength. So, unlike regular isoniol eagles, Creme could travel at 120km/h and could maintain that speed for days on end if necessary. This allowed the Liberators to communicate extremely fast.

It had brought Miledi a few regular reports, along with letters from Susha and Ruth. Since it was already here, Naiz had decided to pen a reply. Oscar and Miledi had already written their own letters and placed them in the pouch hanging around Creme’s neck. The reason Naiz was taking so much longer than the others to write his letter was because he knew he needed to be careful about what he said. The last thing he wanted was to cause a misunderstanding with Susha.

While Naiz wrote and Oscar worked, Miledi sat far away from the water, her hands wrapped around her knees. Her earlier defeats had traumatized her.

“The sea’s a terrifying place... Hic...” Tears streamed down Miledi’s cheeks as she thought back to her past tussles. The first time she’d broken down, it had taken Oscar and Naiz everything they had to console her. Now she just watched the two of them work and sighed to herself.

“You know, since I met O-kun and Nacchan right after each other, I was hoping we’d run into the saint right away too. But I guess it’s not going to be that easy.”

Oscar heard her dejected mumbling and turned to her with a wry smile.

“I mean, that’s to be expected.”

“Oscar’s right. But that’s why we’re preparing for our trip to Andika, right?” Naiz said as he looked up from his letter.

They’d spent the past week hunting for clues, but their investigations into the saint had gotten nowhere. In the end, the party had decided they were better off trying in Andika. However, there was just one problem. No ships went to Andika. Not even merchant ships. Thinking about it, it made sense. No one would willingly want to associate with a city filled with heretics. Sure, Andika’s existence was tolerated, but it was by no means welcome.

“I wonder how the people who flee to Andika make it there?” Though Miledi was curious, she knew she couldn’t go around asking the townspeople that. After all, it would be the same as declaring she was a heretic too.

“They must have some kind of hidden route. Or maybe if you pay certain merchants enough, they’d be willing to smuggle you inside... I doubt everyone builds a boat like us, so they must have some other way to get there.”

“The real problem is whether or not total amateurs at navigation like us can sail the seas successfully.”

None of them knew Andika’s precise location. They had bought a nautical map, but all that had told them was that Andika was pretty far from the shore. At a rough estimate, maybe around 500 kilometers from the nearest coast. Even a skilled team of sailors would need 3-5 days to get there, so Miledi and the others, who knew nothing about nautical navigation, would definitely take longer. The worst case scenario would be if they found themselves lost at sea. Or so Miledi thought, but Oscar adjusted his glasses and spoke confidently.

“We should be able to get our bearings using the stars, and I’m planning on leaving a transmitter behind at the port. Worse comes to worst, we’ll be able to use my Silver Slate to find our way back here.”

With a flourish, Oscar unveiled the glowing ruby ring on his finger. A second later, a medium-sized chunk of ore appeared in the air above him. He caught it as it fell, then transmuted it.

“Not only that, but the Treasure Trove you helped me create is working perfectly. We’ll be able to store months’ worth of provisions easily enough.”

“Treasure Trove” was an artifact Oscar had created by imbuing a special jewel with Naiz’s spatial magic. By doing so, he’d created a pocket dimension within the jewel, which had quite a bit of space. He’d then attached the jewel to his ring. And it was thanks to this ring, along with his other artifacts, that they didn’t need to worry about starving at sea. As Naiz smiled in relief, Miledi muttered dejectedly.

“Now all we have to do is deal with my monster attraction, right?”

“......”

That was indeed their biggest problem. Oscar and Naiz gave Miledi a pitying look.

“L-Look, we’ve got three masters of ancient magic here! We’ll be fine!”

“Yeah, we can handle sea monsters no problem!”

The two men tried their best to cheer Miledi up. Her expression cleared up and cheer returned to her voice.

“Y-Yeah, you’re right! We’ll be fine!” Miledi exclaimed with a smile.

The three of them sent their letters off with Creme, finished off their final preparations, and cast off into the sea.

Ten days later, two guys and one girl were facedown on a beach somewhere. Naturally, they were Miledi, Oscar, and Naiz. None of them stirred. They were as silent and as unmoving as corpses. The sea’s tide washed contemptuously over them, over and over. Finally, one of the three groaned.

“Nnngh... A-Are we alive?” Miledi was the first to wake. She cradled her head in her hands and lifted her weary body into a sitting position. Then, she stared off into the distance, eyes unfocused, for a few seconds before coming back to her senses.

“Oh yeah, O-kun, Nacchan!”

Her precious comrades were sprawled out on either side of her.

“O-kun, Nacchan! Are you two okay!? Don’t die on me!” Miledi crawled over to their bodies and started shaking them. When they didn’t respond, she brought her ear to their chests.

“Thank goodness, they’re both still alive.”

Relief flooded her, and Miledi returned to a sitting position. It was then that she finally noticed the chains wrapped around her torso.

“Ahaha... Oh yeah, I remember O-kun yelled out to us just before I lost consciousness. He must have saved us with these.”

Oscar screaming her name was Miledi’s last memory before the massive wave had washed over their tiny boat and knocked her unconscious. Had he not tied the three of them together, they likely would have been washed up in different places, or possibly just drowned. Even after losing consciousness, Oscar’s pale fingers were wrapped tightly around the bundle of chains holding them together. A rare, gentle smile spread across Miledi’s face as she examined his ragged knuckles. And then, she covered his hand with her own.

“Thank you, O-kun.” From her tone, it was clear she was grateful for more than just keeping them together with his chains.

“Oh, whoops. I should probably heal you before getting all sentimental. I’m all out of mana, so I guess we’ll have to use potions here.” The reason for Miledi’s bone-deep weariness was that she was completely drained of mana. In fact, she didn’t even have enough left to cast the most basic recovery spell.

She shook her head to clear away the dizziness, then poured her last remaining drop of mana into Oscar’s Treasure Trove. That simple action nearly made her black out again, but she managed to open it without losing consciousness. She fixed the image of a mana potion in her mind, and a few small vials appeared in the air in front of her with a puff of light.

“Thank goodness, we still had some left... Only three, from the looks of it. I guess this is everything, huh?”

Well, I’ll just have to make do, Miledi thought to herself as she quaffed one down, then fed the other two to Oscar and Naiz. They choked a little on it, but the mana-restoring liquid did its work, and soon the two of them were groaning awake.

“Ugh... Where are we... Miledi?”

“Right here, O-kun. Awake, and pretty as ever. Good morning.”

For some reason, Oscar didn’t get up and instead continued to stare blankly at Miledi. She tilted her head in confusion, but then grinned.

“Oh, O-kun. Did you fall for me after seeing my beautiful figure first thing after waking up? Or were you hoping I’d feed you your mana potion through a kiss, like in the stories? You’re such a pervert, O-kun! I’m not that easy!” Miledi grinned and poked Oscar’s cheek. However, Oscar didn’t rise to her taunts and instead smiled.

“Thank goodness. It really is you, Miledi. When I was still a little out of it, I saw you smiling like an angel and gently holding my hand, so I was worried some kind of demon had possessed you or something. But you’re being as annoying as always, so I’m relieved. It’s amazing... No one else can ever hope to be this annoying.”

“I’m going to dump you into the bottom of the sea.” Miledi’s expression went blank, and she sounded like her old Executioner Reisen self.

“I’d have preferred to not see you two flirting first thing when I wake up.” Naiz rubbed his head, nursing a nasty headache. Whether that headache was caused by his lack of mana or because Oscar and Miledi were acting the same as usual despite narrowly surviving a deadly situation, no one knew.

“You okay, Naiz?”

“Nacchan, are you alright? Also, O-kun was being a huge meanie.”

Naiz ignored Miledi’s complaints and patted himself down. From the looks of it, aside from a severe lack of mana, he was in perfect health. Silence followed as the three of them worked out their aches and pains. They then exchanged glances and, after a brief pause, spoke simultaneously.

“I thought we were going to die back there...”

As for what exactly happened after they’d left Epona, well, suffice to say, Miledi was even more of a monster magnet than they could have ever imagined.

They’d faced down dangerous sea beasts one after another. To make matters worse, once they’d made it out to open sea, they’d been hit by a very powerful, very localized storm. And when that happened, well, Miledi had been thrown overboard and violated by tentacles more times than anyone could count...

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just Miledi who had been targeted once they’d gone further out, and Oscar and Naiz had been forced to fight for their lives as well.

The worst thing they’d faced though, were the terrors of the sea. It wasn’t technically a monster, as far as they could tell, since it possessed no mana crystal. Regardless, the terrors had been massive, translucent jellyfish that could control the seas themselves. On top of that, their bodies were made of some sort of corrosive liquid that dissolved anything it touched. Needless to say, Miledi had been stripped by the jellyfish right off the bat.

For nine days, Miledi suffered through an endless parade of storms and monsters. By the end of it, she was convinced the sea hated her. They lost their ship after that, and Oscar was forced to transmute a makeshift raft for them. Adrift at sea, and running dangerously low on restorative supplies, the party had decided to return to Epona. But before they could, they were once again visited by a huge terror of the sea.

The whole ordeal had taught them that the western seas were a deadly place. But worst of all, after they’d fended off another wave of terrors, they’d been hit by the largest storm they’d seen yet. Finally, a massive wave had washed over the battered and exhausted party, and they’d all been flung overboard.

“I hate the sea, I hate the sea, I hate the sea, I hate the sea...”

“Oscar, I think Miledi’s trauma has resurfaced.”

“To be honest, I don’t blame her.” Oscar watched as Miledi buried her head between her knees. She’d probably have nightmares about the ocean for weeks to come.

“Now then... where exactly are we?” Oscar struggled to his feet and looked around. After a while, he spotted a figure off in the distance and spoke up.

“One minute, I’ll go ask.”

Meanwhile, Naiz and Miledi cleaned themselves up and changed into a fresh pair of clothes. And when Oscar returned, it was with a huge smile on his face.

“Miledi, Naiz, we made it. This is Andika.”

The floating city of Andika was atop an island that was roughly heptagonal in shape. The city itself was circular and split into three rings, outer, middle, and inner. Wealth tended to gather in the center of the city, and the further from the innermost layer one was, the seedier the district.

The outermost ring was split into seven districts. Going clockwise from the north, they were the Avid District, the Gradd District, the Arcadia District, the Night District, the Gadaf District, the Arrogan District, and the Luthria District. Each had its own unique traits. The Gradd District, easternmost and closest to the mainland, was known for its sandy beaches and was filled with inns and bars. It was also the district closest to where Miledi and the others had washed up. As the adjacent Avid District was Andika’s main port, a good number of boats passed through Gradd’s waters. Miledi and the others picked up this information from Gradd’s residents as they made their way toward the city’s inner ring.

“Whoa, this place is even more unruly than I heard!”

As befitting of a district known for its bars, there were more drunk people in the street than sober. Intoxicated residents drank alcohol straight from their bottles as they tottered down the street.

Fights could be seen breaking out inside bars and in back alleys, with crowds gathering to cheer the combatants on. Some of the onlookers even joined in, simply eager to fight. Seeing as no one batted an eyelid to these frequent brawls, Miledi and the others concluded that they must be regular occurrences.

Most of the buildings they passed by were dilapidated, and not a single one so far had had all of its windows intact. Continuing down the street, the trio watched a new window shatter as an old man was thrown through it. He got to his feet with a smile and sauntered off, none the worse for the wear.

“Pay yer goddamn tab already, ya bastard!” the barkeeper’s angry voice called out. He fired off a barrage of Crimson Javelins at the fleeing old man. But his aim was poor, he ended up hitting the shop across from him, setting it ablaze. A second later, water poured down from nowhere, dousing the flames. Infuriated, the shop owner fired a retaliatory barrage of fireballs at the bar.

The situation looked to be heating up, but before the two could get into a serious magical slugfest, an old woman walked out and smacked the shop owner on the head with her frying pan. Chances were she was his wife. She then grabbed the unconscious man and hauled him back into the shop. No one even batted an eyelid at the exchange.

Further down the street, merchants hawked their wares from open-air stalls, claiming their competitors were cheats and that their own baubles and trinkets were actually legendary items. This was the most chaotic, confusing, crude, and lawless city that any of them had seen.

Oscar’s lips curled upward into a cramped smile as he spoke.

“I’m not exactly sure how to put this, but... Well, it’s rowdy, but it doesn’t feel like a bad place.”

“Yeah. You can’t let your guard down here, but I don’t hate this kind of atmosphere.”

“Nyufufu,” Miledi snickered. She was glad Andika was everything Davy had told her comrades it was like.

“For better or worse, it looks like it’s survival of the fittest here.”

Andika was certainly as lawless as the rumors said. Still, the people here were far too lively for anyone to think this might be hell.

Even as they gazed around, a group of nearby drunks downed their bottles and burst into song.

Live as you please, here on the island of distant seas. For Andika is the land of the free. Got tricked? Messed up? Got beat? Well, ain’t that a treat. You got no one to blame but yourself for being weak. Unprepared fools never get what they seek. You’re responsible for wiping your own ass. Win or lose, succeed or fail, you decide how the die is cast. But remember just one thing. This is Andika, the city God abandoned! There’s no greater life than one here!

The song barely had any rhythm to speak of, but it was sung in a lively enough tune. And were anyone to sing that on the continent, they’d be executed in a heartbeat.

Miledi watched the drunks with an inscrutable expression on her face.

“I guess there’s a lot of people out there who can’t stay on the continent. Plenty of them are just criminals, I’m sure... but this is also the only safe haven for heretics.”

Indeed, this was likely the only place in the world where people were so openly faithless. It was also the only place accepting of anyone. Looking closely, Miledi could see beastmen and demons mixed in with the crowd. And as she watched, a human man and a girl with fox ears walked out of a bar, their arms twined around each other. No one seemed to discriminate against each other based on race.

It was as wonderful a city as Davy Consman had claimed. The only city where freedom reigned supreme. A demon girl, elf boy, and human boy ran past her, giggling to each other. Judging by the snippets of conversation she caught as they passed, they were on their way home from lunch.

“What worth is there in a world where children can’t smile, was it? Fufu, you were absolutely right.”

“Miledi?”

“Are you alright?”

Oscar and Naiz gave her worried looks. However, Miledi simply skipped forward a few steps, spun around to face them, and beamed. Her golden ponytail fluttered behind her, and she looked absolutely dazzling in the noonday light. Taken aback, Oscar and Naiz could only gaze silently at her. Her smile was so radiant that even random pedestrians stopped to look.

“O-kun, Nacchan! I’m hungry! Let’s go get lunch! And take some pictures! It doesn’t matter where, let’s just go! We’re free to do whatever we want here!”

Oscar looked at her blankly for a few seconds before nodding with a smile. Naiz’s lips curled upward as well, and the pair shrugged to each other before chasing after Miledi, who’d already started running toward a nearby stall.

“Hey, old man! Those look like some tasty skewers! What meat are they made of?”

“Thanks for the compliment, young lady. These are laks fish skewers. The fishermen haven’t been bringing in good catches recently though, so it’s gonna cost ya. But trust me, they’re delicious”

“Fine by me! Give me 3 skewers!” Miledi accepted the skewers, then continued, “So, are these fish rare or something?”

“Nah, that’s not it... You must be new around here, young lady. All the locals already know.”

“Yep. We’re a bunch of heretics who just washed up here today!”

“I-I see... Sounds rough.”

Normally, heretics came to Andika by boat. There were in fact smugglers who took criminals and other refugees there from Epona. Half-shocked and half-impressed by Miledi’s bold declaration of heresy, the old man told her about recent events on the island. Apparently, a spate of storms and sea monster attacks had hit the island the past few days, greatly reducing the number of fish fishermen had been able to bring in. As Andika’s soil was fertile and many fish also swam in the shallows near the beaches, the city wasn’t in danger of running out of food. However, fish prices had begun to rise.

“Some unlucky fellas even ran into those jellyfish that can control the sea. The last time we saw those beasties was decades ago. Plenty of people have been shipwrecked by those nasty creatures. And a bunch o’ others started digging holes since their livelihood got destroyed.”

Miledi and the others all exchanged glances. Those monsters were definitely the same ones who’d hounded them since they’d left Epona.

“H-Hey, what’s wrong, young lady? Yer looking a little out of it...”

“Oh, I’m fine. Just thinking about how scary the sea can be. Anyway, what do you mean by digging holes?”

Apparently, while Andika’s island was a giant floating rock, the land extended a good few hundred meters down into the water. There were plenty of valuable mineral resources to be mined there, and the miners were colloquially referred to as hole-diggers.

Most mining operations in the city were controlled by the Devault family, which ruled the city. Working for them was a hard, thankless job, and most people down in the mines were criminals who’d been caught, people who’d challenged the Devault family and failed, and those who’d been tricked into debt.

Over the years, an extensive network of tunnels had been built underneath the city, and the mine shafts were now a veritable maze. Oddly enough, even if someone dug so deep they hit the sea, water didn’t rush into the tunnels. Instead, the sea remained where it was, held back by some invisible barrier. In fact, divers who went searching for mollusks to harvest occasionally discovered holes leading into the mine shafts. However, most holes were at least covered with iron grilles to prevent monsters from getting in.

“Huh... Andika’s a more mysterious place than I thought.”

“Well, I was born and raised here, so I don’t really find these things that strange.”

Miledi thanked the man for the information and the group took their leave. The party organized the information they’d obtained thus far as they went around buying anything that caught their fancy. Then, they took a quick lap around Andika’s other outer districts before making their way to the center. As they walked down the main street, Oscar stopped at a nearby stall.

“You really do find higher-quality stuff the closer you get to the center. We ended up losing a lot of our supplies, so I want to restock soon...”

“We especially need more mana potions.”

“Yeah. But I don’t want to buy inferior products. Once we get into the central district, we can—”

“Hit up the casino!” Miledi interrupted.

Actually, I was going to say find a good-quality shop to get more supplies... Oscar sighed as he watched Miledi jump up and down in anticipation.

“First, we need to buy up some necessities and find an inn. Maybe then we can—”

“Go to the casino!” Miledi’s sky blue eyes sparkled with unbridled excitement.

Just how much of a gambling addict is this girl? Oscar gave Miledi an exasperated look, but she ignored him.

Naiz massaged his temples as he came to Oscar’s aid.

“Miledi. Have you forgotten that we almost died? There’s no telling what might happen here, so we need to—”

“Go~ to~ the~ casino!”

It was obvious from Miledi’s tone that she’d just throw a tantrum if Oscar or Naiz tried to argue any further. The two men exchanged glances, then sighed deeply. After that, they turned back to Miledi, who was looking expectantly at them and shrugged their shoulders in resignation.

“Thanks so much, O-kun, Nacchan! Now let’s go! Come on, hurry up! The casino’s calling to us! It wants you to follow after me, you punks! Gambler Miledi’s about to clean house!” Miledi sprinted down the street, eager to get betting.

“When did we become liberators of our desires instead of liberators of the people?”

“If being a Liberator means liberating yourself from common sense, then Miledi’s doing a good job.”

Oscar and Naiz smiled ruefully as they followed after their extremely liberated leader.

The central district was filled with so many flashy buildings that Oscar could see how it had been designated the casino capital of the world. At the center of the district stood the palace, a building so magnificent it stood out even in this opulence. Its scale dwarfed the palaces of Grandort and Velka. Three spires jutted out from a spot around three hundred meters from the center of the palace. They towered over the island, a giant trident rising up from its vertex.

There was more majesty here than in even the greatest kingdoms’ capitals. The streets, the buildings, all of them were as clean and as beautiful as any capital’s. Most structures were made of wood; stone and metal didn’t seem to be popular building materials. Since it was an island, those resources were likely limited. Oscar surmised that most of their stone and metal was imported from the mainland.

While the buildings were mostly wood, the central district’s main street was paved in marble. The adjacent buildings had all been painted white to match the color scheme, giving the entire area an air of nobility. This was obviously a place meant for the rich, as evidenced by the high-class clothing most people here were wearing. Their shirts and robes were bedecked with jewels, showing off their wealth.

“I guess that’s what most people think constitutes high-class clothing,” Oscar muttered, quietly enough to that only his companion heard him. He’d changed out his outfit to blend in with the nobles strolling about. However, he wasn’t wearing an ostentatious robe, or a shirt buttoned in diamonds. No, he was dressed in a simple tuxedo. So long as he didn’t let his commoner accent show, he looked like a stereotypical rich merchant’s son.

“You don’t like those gaudy outfits?” Naiz muttered back. He was wearing a similar simple but elegant tuxedo. It was the first time he’d worn anything so fancy, and the first time he’d worn anything other than his traditional desert garb, so it still felt a little uncomfortable to him. However, the black outfit fit his sharp features and tall stature well, so despite the discomfort, he looked good in the tuxedo. Perhaps a little too good, in fact. Unlike Oscar, he looked less like a nobleman’s son and more like a mafia boss. Even just standing there made him appear intimidating.

The reason both of them had changed was because Andika’s largest casino had a strict dress code. Naturally, neither of them had owned any formal clothing. Fortunately, they’d been able to borrow some from a shop in the palace. Oscar and Naiz were now waiting outside of that shop, waiting for Miledi to finish changing. The wide, majestic hall that extended from the shop to the inner palace was filled with noble ladies, all of whom shot Oscar and Naiz furtive glances as they walked past. Oscar ignored the attention and turned to Naiz.

“I wouldn’t say that. It’s just, there were plenty of people like that in the kingdom too. Merchants who suddenly hit it rich and tried to show it off by wearing ridiculously expensive clothes and stuff.”

“You mean to say normal nobles don’t wear clothes like that?”

“Yeah, sort of. Well, they’re not that different, and I guess every country has its own customs... but at least in Velka, people looked down on you if you tried to be too flashy.”

“I see... So grandiloquence is crass, while simplicity is elegant. At least to the people of your homeland.”

“Basically. Though, for rich people back home, it was a contest to see how expensive you could make your ‘simple’ outfit. But the previous generation’s Orcus, Karg, never wore anything showy even though he met with palace officials and nobles all the time. Then again, he just hated ostentatious clothes in general.”

“So, in order not to be ridiculed, he stuck to simple but elegant clothing?”

I see... There’s a lot of thought that goes into clothing choices, Naiz thought as he nodded to himself. Andika’s noble ladies were getting tired of being ignored and were about ready to try and butt into Oscar and Naiz’s conversation. However, before they could make a move, Miledi exited the rental store.

“O-kun, Nacchan, sorry for the wait.”

“Miledi, what took you so—”

“.....”

Oscar trailed off as he turned around. Naiz’s eyes opened wide and he just stared. Both of them had been utterly captivated by her outfit. And not just her outfit. She didn’t have the same frivolous air about her that she usually did. Instead, she was standing with her back straight and her arms, which were usually waving about everywhere, were folded demurely in front of her. Plus, she wasn’t stamping her feet when she walked like she usually did. She’d let her hair down, golden-blonde strands floating lightly behind her.

On top of all that, she’d changed into an elegant, pure-white dress. While the base design was simple, frills adorned the sleeves, and there was a cute ribbon attached to the dress’ back. Pearl earrings dangled from her ears, and she wore a sky-blue necklace that matched the color of her eyes. Both the earrings and the necklace were small, so they served more to highlight Miledi’s beauty than to emphasize their own.

What caught their attention more than anything, though, was her expression. It wasn’t her usual shit-eating grin, or her boisterous smile, or even the occasional expressionless mask she had when she returned to her old Reisen Mode. Instead, it was a refined, elegant smile with her eyes downcast and her eyebrows knit together.

Simply put, she looked like the spitting image of a high-class noblewoman. One whose beauty dwarfed all others. It was almost to the point that had she told people she was a princess, they would have believed her.

Oscar and Naiz weren’t the only ones stunned by her appearance. The shop’s other patrons and the ladies loitering in the hallway were all captivated as well. They knew instinctively that Miledi was on a different level than them. That she was a real lady. Miledi gracefully glided over to where Oscar and Naiz were standing.

“......”

Seeing their stunned silence, Miledi looked up at them and tilted her head quizzically. Even that gesture had an air of refinement to it. Naiz and Oscar’s hearts skipped a beat.

“Nyufu...” But then Miledi’s noble smile vanished, replaced with her usual irksome grin. Her aura of refinement vanished in an instant.

“Oh my? What’s wrong, O-kun, Nacchan? Why’re you looking at me like that?”

“Uh, no reason...”

“I-It’s nothing, really.”

Her sudden transformation left them flustered and unable to reply properly. And so, her grin grew wider, and she leaned in closer to the two boys.

“Don’t worry, I understand completely. You’ve totally fallen for me, haven’t you? My stunning good looks have left you speechless, haven’t they? Nyufufufufu.”

“D-Don’t be ridiculous. I was just surprised at how different you are from usu—”

“You can’t fool me. I can see you blushing, you know~ Oh, O-kun, you’re hopelessly, madly in love with me, aren’t you? Hey, flustered O-kun! How’re you feeling right now, huh? Why don’t you tell me? Come on, say it!”

When she was like this, no matter how beautiful she looked, all Oscar could think about was how annoying she was. Not only had he completely regained his cool, but he was also starting to get angry.

“How am I feeling? To be honest, I want to dump you in the bottom of the sea right now.”

“Kyaaa!” Miledi screamed playfully as she hid behind Naiz. It appeared she’d changed targets to him.

“Hey, hey, Nacchan. Can I write a letter to Sue-chan and Yun-chan?”

“...What do you plan on writing?” Naiz could more or less guess, but he asked anyway, his expression stiff.

Miledi’s grin turned wicked as she responded.

“I’m going to tell them Nacchan liked my dress so much he was stunned speechless! And that he’s totally cheating on you guys!”

“Don’t you dare... or I’ll be the one dumping you into the bottom of the sea.”

As Naiz reached out to grab her, Miledi once again squealed and ran off. Once she’d gone a good distance down the hall, she spun around, her skirt and hair flaring out behind her.

“O-kun, Nacchan, let’s go!”

Seeing how high her spirits were, Oscar and Naiz both sighed heavily and followed after her. However, Oscar wasn’t content to let Miledi have the last laugh.

“Miledi.”

“Hmm? What’s up, O-kun?”

“I admit it, you looked absolutely stunning back there. That dress really suits you.”

“I-I see... Thanks.” Miledi had looked over her shoulder when Oscar had called out to her, but she quickly turned back to face the hall in front of her. Even though Oscar had praised her as she’d wanted, she seemed at a loss for how to reply. Going by how red her ears were, Oscar could guess why.

Of course she’d been happy when Oscar had said the dress suited her, but calling her a stunning beauty with a straight face had been more than she could handle. It made her especially happy because, while Miledi had never had an opportunity to go out in high society before, it had been Belta who’d taught her how to look and act. In a way, it felt like Oscar was praising both her and the girl who’d been like an older sister to her.

“Nice going, Oscar.”

“It’s not my style to let her keep beating me. Besides, nothing I said was a lie. Or do you disagree, Naiz?”

“Heh... No objections here. If anything, this is the first time she’s actually seemed like a former earl’s daughter.”

Miledi could clearly hear the two guys’ conversation, making it even harder for her to turn around and face them.

“Ah, jeez! Quit gossiping and start moving! We’ve got a casino to conquer!” Miledi dashed forward, still too embarrassed to turn around. Though, there was a definite spring in her step now.

The party was checked over for weapons by a pair of frowning men in black suits, after which they were led into the casino floor. It was as impressive as they’d imagined. Sparkling chandeliers hung from the ceiling at regular intervals, and a band was playing soothing music somewhere in the distance. Jubilant cheers rang out as gamblers won their big bets, contrasting with the groans of those who lost. Waiters circled the floor, carrying glasses of champagne on polished silver trays. As one passed by, Miledi joyfully took a glass and downed it in one big, ungraceful gulp. She was really fired up.

After placing her empty glass on another tray, Miledi turned back to Oscar and held out her hand with a huge smile.

“O-kun, give me money!”

“Can’t you at least ask more politely?”

A few nearby guests turned to him, giving him looks that seemed to be saying, “ Time to show her how much of a man you are, kid.” Lips twitching, Oscar secreted some money from his Treasure Trove into his tuxedo pocket. While all three of them carried enough cash to get food and other necessities, most of their funds were stored in the Treasure Trove. And while Miledi was asking him for money, that money technically belonged to the group as a whole. Though most of it Oscar had earned selling magical artifacts on their journey, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to call it his money.

“Oscar, I’d like some money as well.”

Naiz walked over to Miledi’s side and held out his hand as well. Oscar looked at him, dumbfounded.

“Naiz... Is it just me, or are you getting pretty hyped up too?”

Naiz blushed a little, though his expression was still stern. This was the first time in his life he’d gotten to explore a place like this, so it wasn’t too surprising that he was excited.

“Well, I can’t deny I’m pretty excited to see what this place is like myself.”

Oscar grinned wryly and handed both of them some coins.

“Just don’t go too crazy, guys. We still need to buy stuff aft—”

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaay! Time to start gambling! What should we try first!?”

“Listen to me!”

However, Miledi dashed off without a backward glance. And to Oscar’s surprise, Naiz followed after her.

“H-Hey, don’t leave me behind!” Oscar chased after the two of them. The trio tried all manner of games, from roulette, to dice games, to betting on rat races. Needless to say, they were having a ball.

“Fwahahahahahahaha, this is awesome! I’m so good it’s scary!” Miledi held piles of gold coins in both hands as she laughed maniacally. Next to her, Naiz trembled as he looked at the heavy bag of money in his hands. He’d never seen this much money in his life, and it terrified him. Both of them had made a killing from the last few games.

“I can’t tell if it’s beginner’s luck or the universe’s way of balancing out how much the ocean hates you.” Oscar said as he smiled faintly, holding his own bag of enormous winnings. To be honest, he couldn’t deny that he was having a blast.

“I’ve decided, O-kun! I’m gonna master this casino! Let’s have a match to see who can bring home the greatest winnings! Not that either of you stands a chance against Master Gambler Miledi! Bwahahahahaha!”

“H-Hey, Miledi!”

Too excited to listen, Miledi smiled triumphantly and dashed off.

I guess that means we’re competing now?

“What do you think, Naiz?”

“I’ll be accepting her challenge, of course.”

“I-I see. You sure are getting fired up...”

“I’ll make her pay for always teasing me about Susha and Yunfa. I’ll bury her under the weight of my winnings.”

“Naiz, calm down. You’re not acting like yourself.”

“What are you talking about, I’m the same as always. After I’ve silenced Miledi, I’ll send the rest of the money back to Susha and Yunfa. That way, I’ll be able to negotiate a way out of keeping risque pictures on me at all times.”

“I get the feeling they’ll think that money is a divorce fee and get even scarier than before...”

“Fear not. I shan’t lose, not to the other gamblers, or to Susha!”

Burning with fighting spirit, Naiz waded into the battlefield of gamblers.

“I wonder if those two’ll be alright...? Well, no point in worrying about it. Might as well go enjoy myself.”

Oscar shot one last worried look over at Miledi and Naiz, who were already attempting some of the most popular games, and went to find his own games to enjoy.

One hour later.

“O-kun. Lend me some money,” Miledi said, getting on her knees and putting her forehead to the ground. Oscar, who’d been lost in a long flashback, had his attention returned to the present when one of the black-suited men yelled at him.

“Sir, would you happen to be a companion of this lady?”

His stern glare and furious tone were at odds with his polite choice of words, but for the moment Oscar and Miledi were still patrons of the casino. After a brief pause, Oscar glanced behind him.

“...?”

He looked confused, as if he was certain the black-suited man must be talking to someone other than him. An unlucky waiter who happened to be passing by twitched as Oscar’s gaze met his. Looks like they’re asking for you. Nope, this has nothing to do with me! The two of them had that silent exchange with their eyes.

“Hey, O-kun!? Don’t pretend like you don’t know me!”

“But I don’t?”

“Since when were you such a good actor!? This is just too cruel, O-kun! I thought you said you’d follow me through hell and back!”

“Tch!”

“And now you’re clicking your tongue at me!?”

Oscar remembered saying something to that effect after Miledi’s final attempt to recruit him to the Liberators. He also remembered Miledi responding with something akin to how that had sounded creepy. So how come you remember my words perfectly, you little twerp!? Worried that he might really abandon her, Miledi desperately tried to do anything she could to prove their relationship. In doing so, she blocked off Oscar’s only path of retreat.

“How could you do this to me, O-kun! Especially after you saw me naked! And you’re the one in charge of all my stuff. I can’t even get my underwear out without your permission!”

“Wha—”

The crowd surrounding them started muttering to each other.

“So that’s what that young man is into...” “He treats her like a slave...? Heh, that kid’s got good taste.”

Oscar’s expression cramped up. The one time he’d seen her naked was because Miledi had put too much weight on the makeshift shower room he’d transmuted for her and broken it. In other words, that had been completely her own fault. And the reason why he was in charge of her stuff, including her underwear was because it was his Treasure Trove the party stored all their items in. However, the way Miledi had phrased her statement it sounded almost as if Oscar had control over whether she was allowed to wear clothes or not. Like she was a slave, and he her master.

“Damn you, Miledi, stop causing misunderstandings! I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Hiiiiii, Master, violence is wrong!”

With that, everyone in the crowd was convinced that the young man in glasses was the girl’s master, and therefore the one responsible for her debts.

“What a brute.” “He must be some heinous criminal!” “How terrifying...” Furthermore, it appeared they were also convinced Oscar was a heartless monster.

You guys are all criminals too, or you wouldn’t be here! But as much as Oscar wanted to say that, now wasn’t the time to start an argument. Sighing, Oscar went up to the men in black suits and confirmed that he was indeed Miledi’s guardian.

“Haah...Miledi, don’t think this means I’ve forgiven you. You’re still getting a lecture later.”

“Ugh...”

“So how much did you lose? I’ve got a decent amount of winnings, so we’ll probably be able to pay it all off.”

Oscar looked down at Miledi. She averted her gaze, cold sweat pouring down her forehead. Oscar then looked up to one of the black-suited men. He had a very bad feeling about this.

“This is the bill, sir.”

Oscar’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he took the slip of paper handed to him. Miledi owed ten times as much as all the money they had on them. That was a fortune large enough to feed and house a person for 3-4 years.

“Hold on! How on earth did you lose this much money!? Actually, wait. Once you lost all the money you had you’d need to come to me to get more...”

Oscar’s eyes glinted with a dangerous light, and Miledi turned her head all the way around to avoid meeting even the edge of his gaze. In a cold voice, Oscar asked her the obvious question.

“Miledi, did you borrow money to keep gambling?”

“I have no excuse for my actions.”

Miledi once again bowed her head, her forehead touching the floor. Apparently, she’d gotten hyped up after winning multiple times in a row, and challenged some of the other gamblers to a card game. Said card game had been one where there was no betting limit, and players could bet more than they had since payment would be deferred. Miledi had bet high since she’d had absolute confidence in her hand, and been utterly destroyed.

The men in suits crowded around Oscar. They were obviously waiting to see if he could pay up or not. He glanced around the casino floor, searching for salvation. His only hope was that Naiz had made a killing and the two of them could somehow repay the debt by pooling their winnings. However, reality was a cruel mistress.

“I already told you, I’m broke!”

A familiar voice reached his ears. Oscar turned and spotted Naiz surrounded by a group of dark-skinned female guards. It appeared he’d been caught too. And from the looks of it, he was hoping Oscar could save him as well. The young alchemist looked up at the ceiling and sighed. I never knew my comrades were so pathetic...

“Sir?”

The black-suited man wasn’t as polite as before. Looks like I’m running out of time. Oscar looked over at the card table Miledi had been playing at earlier. The middle-aged man Oscar assumed she’d lost to grinned as he looked Miledi up and down with lust-filled eyes. Making up his mind, Oscar touched the frame of his glasses. He then nodded to himself and heaved a weary sigh.

“You really are hopeless, Miledi.”

“Sniffle... I’m soooooorry, O-kun.”

Oscar grinned and spoke up as he heard those words.

“Yeah yeah, I’ll listen to your apologies later. But for now, close your eyes.”

“Huh?”

Miledi looked up at him in confusion, but a second later it became clear what he was doing.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please!”

The moment everyone turned to him Oscar pressed his glasses again and a beam of light shot out of them.

“Nuwaaah!? What the heck!?”

“My eyes, they buuuuuuuuurn!”

The men in black suits had been standing much closer than the rest of the crowd and so had been hit much harder by the beam.

“Miledi, let’s get outta here!”

“My eyes, my eyeees! I can’t seeeeee!”

It appeared Miledi hadn’t heeded Oscar’s warning. She was rolling on the ground while covering her eyes in pain.

“Sheesh, you’re one troublesome girl, you know that?”

Oscar scooped Miledi up and ran for the casino exit. The agonized screams of the casino patrons grew more distant.

“Naiz, we’re getting out of here!”

Relief spread across Naiz’s face and he hurried to Oscar’s side.

“Don’t think you’ll get away with this,” one of the black-suited men shouted to the group’s retreating backs.

“A wise man once said, debts exist to never be paid!”

“You thief!”

Pretty ironic, being called a thief by a bunch of thieves.

The rest of the casino security staff tried to apprehend Oscar and Naiz, but they used passing noblewomen as shields and transmuted new passageways into walls and stripped the security guards with metal wires to keep them at bay. Using every underhanded trick in the book, the trio were able to successfully escape.

Afterward, rumors of Oscar’s escapades began to spread and he earned various nicknames such as “thief among thieves” “Outlaw of outlaws” and “Brutish gentleman in glasses.”

Deep within the labyrinth of tunnels that extended beneath Andika, directly underneath where the royal palace was, lay a vast ruin. It looked as though it had been mostly destroyed. The dome-shaped room was made out of marble, and a detailed magic circle was engraved onto the floor. An altar stood in the circle’s center, and a giant obelisk thrust its way out from the altar’s base. Around it wound a spiral staircase. Near its base lay countless pebbles, each no bigger than the tip of a pinky finger. Those pebbles were fragments of what the ruins had once been. They were pieces of a large fresco that had spanned the room’s walls and ceiling.

A single girl lay atop the altar. She appeared to be in her early teens. She had luxurious, emerald-green hair and amethyst-purple eyes. From the way she carried herself, she appeared to be a demure, mature girl. The loose, white one-piece gown she wore gave her an ephemeral beauty. However, her most striking feature was the gill-shaped ears that sprouted from above her neck. The girl was a dagon.

She closed her eyes as if focusing on something, then held her hands out while muttering something in a small voice. A second later, the room was filled with dazzling light, and the pebbles littering the floor flew up to the ceiling as if being sucked in. They fit into place like pieces of a puzzle, completing the fresco that had long since been destroyed. The girl had only restored a handspan’s worth of the fresco, but she’d done so in an instant.

“Phew...”

The girl heaved a large sigh. Sweat had beaded on her forehead, and her face was pale. The magic she’d cast had cost quite a toll on her. However, its effects had been spectacular enough to leave any spectator stunned. After all, there was no normal magic that could return things to their original state. And repairing inorganic objects like these with transmutation required direct physical contact. Meaning whatever magic this girl had used was one that shouldn’t exist.

She looked up at her handiwork and shook her head. A second later, someone walked into the ruins’ entrance, their footsteps echoing loudly in the chamber.

“Hey, how’d it go? You figure anything out?” An old man in his mid-fifties shouted at the girl on the altar. His black hair was swept back, though a few stray strands dangled over his face. He was wearing an outfit fashionable with nobles on the continent and chewing on an expensive cigar. He had amethyst-colored eyes like the girl, but his glowed with a dangerous light. He was the head of the Devault family that ruled Andika— Baharl Devault.

Behind him stood a few of his trusted guards. They were all burly and seemed to look perpetually angry. The girl, his daughter Diene, frowned and responded.

“Father... I’m terribly sorry.”

“Tch... No progress at all, huh?” Baharl clicked his tongue, and Diene winced.

The old man dropped his gaze and clicked his tongue again. It appeared this particular father-daughter pair didn’t have a very close relationship. If anything, they were more like a mafia boss and his skilled but disliked money launderer.

Baharl then looked up at the ceiling and muttered.

“I can’t believe something like this might have been living under my city this whole time. God, what a headache.”

The part of the fresco Diene had repaired depicted a massive serpent. It lay curled around itself in the depths of the ocean, sleeping, with an island that was likely Andika floating above it.

Around two years ago, Baharl had discovered these ruins. He’d then had his daughter, Diene, use her special magic, renewal magic, to restore the ruins’ fresco and began interpreting what it meant. The fresco had had writing on it as well, and while it had been written in ancient script from the age of the gods, once Baharl had deciphered what it meant he’d discovered a terrifying truth.

“The Divine Beast Leviathan, the monster of Andika... To think this island was actually an artifact meant to seal away a beast from the age of the gods.”

According to the fresco, millennia ago people had prayed to the gods to deliver them from this beast, the monster of Andika. Hearing their prayers, the gods had sealed it away using this island.

“Umm, Father? I heard that strange things have been happening out at sea recently. I’m worried that repairing the fresco has something to do with that...”

She didn’t say it, but Diene clearly didn’t want to repair any more of it. She fidgeted uncomfortably, and Baharl’s sharp gaze fell onto his daughter.

“Can’t deny that, I suppose. At the very least, we know why this island floats and why crops can grow so fast on it. That divine beast’s mana is feeding the land.”

As Baharl had said, the fresco had explained the mysteries of the island. But the more of it they repaired, the more dangerous the seas became. Judging by the unnatural manner in which the fresco had been destroyed, it was likely the fresco itself was the key to undoing the leviathan’s seal.

Diene trembled in fear at the thought.

“If only we could find some way to control it...” Baharl muttered and gritted his teeth. In truth, they’d discovered that the monster of Andika held multiple meanings. The first was, of course, the obvious one. It was another name for the leviathan that was powerful enough to destroy Andika. However, according to the fresco, the very same leviathan might have been the key to saving Andika from an outside threat. Meaning it was a monster that would protect the island.

It was entirely possible that the ancients had possessed some way to control the Leviathan. Though the fact that it had ultimately been sealed away meant whatever control system they’d had wasn’t perfect. Still, if Baharl could find that control system, then he’d finally have a way to protect Andika from outside threats like the church, and possibly even fight against them. However, he couldn’t deny that his current efforts were causing Andika more harm than good.

Baharl glanced at his cowering daughter and clicked his tongue.

“Alright, we’ll stop the restoration for now. Go ahead and shatter the fresco. We’ll keep an eye on how things develop, and slowly repair the few pieces we haven’t deciphered yet. Do you understand, Diene?”

“Y-Yes...” Diene nodded multiple times, glad that her father was willing to stop.

“Boss, you sure this is a good idea? Weren’t you just talking about how we might be able to use this to get rid of those pirates buzzing about our shores?” Ace, one of Baharl’s subordinates, spoke up. He had nondescript features and dull black hair. In a way, it was impressive how average he looked. But while his looks might have been average, his intelligence was anything but. Among the Devault family’s retainers, he was the sharpest. He also happened to be Baharl’s childhood friend.

“Oh yeah, those guys. Well, you do have a point.”

Upon hearing Baharl’s words, Diene started trembling again. However, it was for a different reason this time.

“I get what you’re saying, but there’s no point in reviving a monster we can’t control. We’d be the world’s biggest laughingstock if we got killed by our own weapon. But still... I’d like to take care of those annoying pirates before the church makes a move...”

“Boss, don’t you think it’s about time you let me handle this? If you just give me a fleet, I’ll have those pirates sleeping with the fishes in no time.”

Another one of Baharl’s aides stepped forward. He looked far tougher than the rest and was armed to the teeth. His name was Kelvin. He was a bear of a man with ultramarine hair that looked to be receding. He was also able to use a brand of special magic, one known as White Claw. It allowed him to transform his arms into that of a savage white bear and cover his claws with blades of wind. Normally he would have been taken under the church’s protection, but once they’d discovered the nature of his magic he’d been branded a heretic and forced to flee to Andika. Baharl had taken him in when he’d been just a boy, and he’d sworn absolute loyalty to Baharl ever since.

“Kelvin... I’m not giving you permission to sortie.”

“Why not, Boss?”

Ace shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated fashion and answered in place of Baharl.

“Look here, Kelvin. Just how many other pirates and mercenaries do you think we’ve hired to do the same thing? And of them, how many came back alive? It pains me to admit it, but we’re not up against your average pirates here. Most of the groups we sent out had people who could use special magic like you, too. If you challenge them without intel, you’ll end up like the rest. Especially since you’re only good at thinking with your fists.”

“I dare you to say that again, you sneaky little bastard!”

In stark contrast to Kelvin’s heated threats, Ace remained calm and collected.

The other guards standing behind Baharl guffawed. No one seemed nervous. Of course, there was no reason to be. Kelvin and Ace’s arguments were a daily occurrence. And despite their constant fights, they were good friends.

Sighing, Baharl turned on his heel. He no longer had any business here. Just before he left the room though, he turned back over his shoulder. Diene’s face was deathly pale.

“Diene, how many times did you use your special magic today?”

Renewal magic consumed a lot of mana. Diene only had a little more mana than the average person, so even a single cast of it left her drained. In fact, she could only use three renewal spells a day. Furthermore, since this room held a seal, repairing the fresco took even more mana than restoring a normal object. Each cast repaired only a tiny fraction of the fresco. Luckily, the section she’d restored today wasn’t that large. Certainly not enough to make her this pale.

“Th-Three times, Father. I stayed within my limits, just like you told me to.”

Diene faltered, and Kelvin awkwardly explained the reason behind her exhaustion.

“Well, Boss. You see, we ran into some injured miners on the way down here, so the young miss here used healing magic on them...”

Just as Kelvin was about to say that was why she had less mana than usual, he heard a loud slap.

“Ah...”

He looked up to see Diene nursing her cheek. Baharl had walked up to her and slapped her.

“How many times do I have to tell you, you brat! Don’t use healing magic without telling me!”

“I-I’m sorry... Father...” Diene took a few faltering steps backward as her cheek began to swell.

“Tch... Don’t you realize how dangerous your talents are? If you keep doing this and rumors of the saint spread, the church won’t be able to ignore them.”

Baharl’s sharp gaze pierced through Diene. Years ago, Diene had used her powers to heal one of the Devault family retainers who’d been injured in a scuffle. Since then, her fame as a saint had begun to spread.

However, “saint” was a word that the church would not abide. Baharl had known that, and he’d immediately issued a gag order on any and all rumors.

“Do you want to be caught by the church? Would you rather live your life a slave to their faith, stripped of free will? Huh?”

“N-No... I’m truly sorry...”

Baharl clicked his tongue and stalked off toward the room’s entrance. But just before he left, he took a palm-sized plate made of clear crystal out of his pocket and chucked it toward Diene. She scrambled to her feet and caught it in midair.

“This is today’s recording. There was a huge commotion at the casino today, so it’s more entertaining than usual. Now, go back to your room.”

With that, Baharl turned back around and walked out of the chamber. As he walked through Andika’s underground labyrinth, he clicked his tongue again.

“Boss... Don’t you think you’re being a little too hard on her? It looked like she was about to cry.” Kelvin looked timidly up at his boss as he said that, but one glare from Baharl sent him scurrying.’’

“Uh, forget it,” he muttered and took a few steps back. Ace then shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

“You’ll make the young miss hate you, you know that, right Boss?”

“Like I care.”

Baharl picked up the pace, and Kelvin, Ace, and his other subordinates smiled ruefully at him. He ignored their gazes and thought back to the past.

Reej... Reej had been the name of a dagon woman. Diene’s mother. Despite her frail body, she’d had an unbreakable will. No matter what gifts Baharl had given her, no matter how much wealth he’d showered her in, she hadn’t shown him any interest. Nor had the burning light in her eyes ever dimmed. Before long, he’d found himself obsessed with winning her heart. He’d wanted so dearly to earn her trust, to learn the secret he’d eventually realized she was keeping. At some point, he’d realized even when he glared at her she would just give him an exasperated smile and shake her head, like she was dealing with an unruly child. That faint smile of hers was one he could never forget.

She was the only one who accepted me... but in the end, she never did tell me the secret she was always worrying about...

His lips twitched up into a ghost of a smile. After giving birth to Diene, Reej’s condition had steadily worsened and in the span of a few years she’d passed away. Even now, Baharl wasn’t sure if he’d loved her. Love was such an alien emotion to him. Baharl had grown up in a world where the only thing that mattered was strength. Where it was kill or be killed, submit or make others submit before you.

Whenever Baharl thought of Diene, he couldn’t help but be reminded of how much she resembled Reej. His daughter’s crying face appeared in the back of his mind.

“Tch... If you’re her kid, then don’t give up so easily, dammit. Fight back!” Baharl shook his head in annoyance. Noticing his subordinate’s stares were growing even more pointed, he clicked his tongue again.

Meanwhile, Diene returned to her room, a tiny corner of Andika’s underground maze, and flopped onto her sofa. Her cheek stung as she landed, the pain bringing a fresh wave of depression. She no longer desired to have a normal relationship with her father. When she was little, her mother had always told her to stand up to anyone, even her father, but Diene was terrified of Baharl.

“What’s so different between you and god, Father?”

Her despondent whisper vanished into the stagnant underground air. As far as Diene was concerned, the one trapping her down here and restricting her freedom was Baharl, not god. Anything she asked for, she received. Whether it was food, clothes, or jewels, a palace attendant would always bring her the highest quality products. However, she was denied her freedom. Her entire world consisted of this underground room and her few occasional visits to the palace. Aside from that, all she had was the plate Baharl gave her.

Diene took out the crystal rectangle and poured a tiny fraction of mana into it. As she did so, a video filled the clear screen. The plate was made of a special ore known as telestone. When mana was poured into a crystal of telestone, it emitted all of the light its linked stone absorbed over a certain period of time. It was used on the continent to make recording devices.

“Oh my!” Diene exclaimed as she watched a bespectacled youth strip one of her father’s subordinates. He was running down the streets of the central district with a girl tucked under his arms. He eluded his pursuers by punching them, stripping them, and occasionally blinding them with a flash from his glasses. Before long, the main streets were filled with nude men hiding their privates.

“Th-This man is a very, very naughty person!”

By the time the video ended, Diene was blushing bright red. She covered her face in her hands and rolled around on her sofa. After a while, she went back to the plate and watched it again. When she finished, she rolled around on her sofa again.

“Phew... But you know, the umbrellas and glasses they make these days are amazing. I didn’t know they could shoot fire and light like that...”

Of course, she had no way of knowing that was no normal umbrella or pair of glasses. Thanks to a certain bespectacled youth, Diene’s common sense was overwritten.

Exhausted both because of her work today and the video, Diene got off the sofa and collapsed onto her bed. She rolled onto her back and looked up at the dim ceiling.

The moments before she fell asleep were always the worst. She could feel herself being crushed by the loneliness she felt. She left her magical lantern on, but once she closed her eyes, she simply had to contend with the darkness. As always, she called out for help as the blackness threatened to swallow her.

“Mother...”

But her kind, strong mother was no longer here. She thought back to the secret her mother had told her six years ago. To the hope she’d been introduced to. Diene curled up in her bed, making her tiny body appear even smaller. And while clinging to her last ray of hope, she quietly muttered something.

“Nee-sama...”