Her Majesty’s Swarm - Volume 2 - Chapter 12

Temptation and Suggestion 

When I came to, I found myself in a familiar place. 

“This is...” 

My furniture... My room. 

I picked this apartment because it was pretty close to my university. There was a convenience store nearby, a bookstore... Even a family-style restaurant I liked was just a short walk away. I spent my days as a student in this blessed, comfy environment. 

“Maybe I’ve been gaming too much...” 

I had just woken up from some sort of vivid, realistic dream, but I couldn’t remember any of the details. Then again, it probably wasn’t all that significant if I’d forgotten about it in a couple of minutes. 

“_________.” 

I heard someone call my name, and I was overwhelmed by a wave of nostalgia. 

Who’s that? Is there someone else in my room? 

“Ah, you’re awake. This is an imperfect space, so I was worried you might not come to. I’m relieved to see you’ve regained consciousness.” 

The person speaking to me was the girl wearing white I had spoken to once before. 

“Is this my apartment?” I asked. 

“In a way. This scene is a reconstruction of the place in your memories, so I’m afraid you aren’t really home.” 

This is my place, but it also isn’t? 

“_________, I’ve been desperately trying to guide your soul. Whatever your mistakes, you are an existence worthy of direction. But my efforts were corrupted, and as a result, you were sealed in that world. I admit, that was my error.” 

“Who are you?” 

“I am Sandalphon, the conductor of souls. Nothing more, nothing less. Despite being trapped in that ruthless world, you have managed to hold on to your own will and resist wholly losing yourself to the Swarm’s consciousness. That’s a truly wonderful thing. However, I cannot imagine you will be able to keep that tenuous grasp forever. In time, you will be integrated into that world and will be forced to play yet another game.” 

“‘That world’...?” 

I couldn’t understand what she meant. I had never left the country, let alone studied abroad. I didn’t know any other worlds. I was, all in all, a person with very little knowledge and very few interests. 

“It will be all right. I promise I will save you, no matter what. This is all because of my blunder to begin with, and I intend to make amends. Saving you is the natural course of action.” 

Have I ever needed to save someone? Yes... 

The word “save” jogged my memory. There was someone I had to save. 

“Put me back in that world,” I heard myself say. 

“You want to return? Would you not consider staying here until help arrives?” 

“They... My little ones need my help.” 

Yes. Sérignan, Lysa, Roland and the rest of the Swarm. How could I have forgotten them? I promised them victory, but I forgot about it all too easily. 

“It’s a fabricated world full of captives, yet you would willingly leap back into it?” 

“They need me.” 

The image of Sérignan crying flashed in my mind’s eye. 

“You are far too kind a soul. I can understand your desire to save them, even if they might not be human. Your heart is filled to the brim with mercy, and that’s precisely why I must guide you to salvation.” Sandalphon’s gaze bore into me. “Are you truly confident you’ll be able to survive?” 

“I am. My allies are just that dependable.” 

“Well, I think that’s enough out of you, Sandalphon.” 

Someone suddenly cut into our conversation. It was another girl, though this one was dressed in frilly gothic garb from head to toe. 

“No fair, trying to snatch away what isn’t yours. Bad Sandalphon! Bad! Her soul belongs to me. Haven’t you lot said it before? God has no salvation to offer ________.” 

“Those words are a thing of the past, Samael. I suggest you bite that forked tongue of yours, foul creature. Do you have any idea how much you’ve hurt her?” 

Sandalphon referred to the gothic girl as Samael. 

“Hah! You call me a snake, but your dogmas change so quickly that I’m surprised your own tongue hasn’t tied itself into a knot! My creed is as consistent as it’s ever been. Souls who have ______ belong to us; I won’t hand them over to anyone else. Do you really think you can save her?” 

“I fully intend to. Even a soul who ______ has a right to salvation. There’s no point in judging her by the standards of the past.” 

Samael’s mouth turned up in a nasty grin. 

“Does she really have that right, I wonder? A soul who ______ is tainted. Guiding such a soul would only cause our loathsome Lord grief, wouldn’t it?” 

“It would not. The Lord wishes to see as many souls saved as possible. Hers is no exception. This was what she decided after all her arduous hardships.” 

I decided something? Decided what? 

“Unacceptable,” Samael scoffed before her gaze slid over at me. “Why don’t we let her decide, then? She can either go with you, or she can follow me.” 

“You can be saved. Please choose the path to your salvation, _________.” 

“You belong in that world, don’t you?” Sandalphon said, her voice thick with temptation. “The world where it’s mankind against the grotesque. That’s where you’ll truly find peace. Isn’t that right, _________?” 

These two girls, completely opposite in every way, were both calling out to me, beckoning me to choose. However, my heart was not with either one of them. 

“Let me save them. Please. I don’t want anything else.” 

Sérignan is crying, I just know it. I need to go and comfort her. 

“Contract rejected, huh?” Samael said with a shrug. 

“I know she’ll choose the road to salvation,” Sandalphon said gently and walked up to me. “Go to that computer and press the power button. It will return you to that world. I swear, I will save your soul. No matter what. And so, I must remind you...” 

I did as she said, pressing the button. 

“You must never forget your human heart.” 

A draining feeling swept over me, pulling me down and away somewhere, but in my last moments, I turned and nodded in Sandalphon’s direction. 

“...Majesty! Your Majesty!” 

As I jolted awake, I found myself lying on a sofa. 

“Is Sandalphon here? And Samael?” I asked, the dream I’d just experienced still fresh in my mind. 

“There’s no one by that name here, Your Majesty,” Sérignan said. “Oh no... Have your memories left you, perhaps?” 

“I’m fine. I remember you perfectly, Sérignan.” 

I could never forget her. She was my precious ally. 

“Hic... Thank goodness... What a relief!” Sérignan buried her face into my chest while sobbing like a child. 

“Lysa?” 

“Yes, Your Majesty?” 

“Did you discover any other forces here?” 

“No, it has all quieted down by now. All the fighting in the streets and on the walls is over.” 

Right... 

The struggle for the Dukedom of Schtraut was drawing to a close. It had been a harsh war. A lot had happened since we first snuck into Schtraut and worked as adventurers. We had sown chaos in the International Council, and then we’d had to interfere once inner strife had broken out in the Dukedom. I was more exhausted than ever before. 

“I see you’ve come to, Your Majesty,” Roland said, returning from the cellar. 

“Yep, I’m back in business.” 

“I had Leopold’s corpse made into those... meatballs. I thought it would be a fitting end for him.” 

“Well, that’s hard to say. There are multiple meanings in making someone into mincemeat.” 

The Ripper Swarms’ scythes could reduce an abhorred enemy to a lump of flesh or compact a former ally and integrate them into our ranks. Alternatively, a meatball was merely that—a ball of meat to be used or stored. 

“I’ll admit, I was rather taken aback by your fainting.” I detected a note of concern in Roland’s voice. “I wonder if there was still some basilisk venom in the air. Does anything feel off about your body, Your Majesty?” 

“Let me know if you start feeling bad, all right? Baumfetter’s herbalist taught me about all sorts of medicine,” Lysa chimed in with a furrowed brow. 

Standing between two powerful allies fussing over me, I felt I was a very fortunate queen indeed. 

“Your Majesty, are you really, truly sure you’re okay?” Sérignan asked, her eyes still wet. 

“Yes, I’m completely fine. If anything, I have to wonder when you’ll stop fawning over me like that.” 

“M-My apologies! But I really am glad you’re unharmed...” With a hiccup, Sérignan nestled her face into my chest once more. 

“I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m fit as a fiddle. I will continue to lead you all, just as I have been.” I directed this speech into the collective consciousness. “But our true victory is still out of reach. The Popedom of Frantz set up the Dukedom, sealing its fate... and right now, we are the Popedom’s biggest foes. This war won’t end until we defeat them. It won’t be long until they march their soldiers into this land, too.” 

The Popedom had lingered in the background thus far, but it was, in fact, the instigator that had driven the Dukedom to ruin. It was quite clear it had waited for us to destroy the Dukedom, hoping to occupy the country once it was on its hands and knees. 

“We will topple the Popedom of Frantz. And I will fight on, until you obtain the eternal peace and victory you desire. Will you follow me?” 

In response, the collective consciousness bloomed with assent. Sérignan knelt by her sword in a gesture of fealty, while Lysa and Roland bowed down before me. They were all in perfect agreement. It was almost frightening, but it also made my heart swell with joy. 

“Victory to us! Victory to the Arachnea! We mustn’t simply wish for it—we must strive for it. So long as we work hard, we will certainly achieve it.” With these words, I concluded my speech. “How was my little monologue, Sérignan?” 

She beamed back at me. “Inspiring words, Your Majesty. We will do as you say and work tirelessly to secure our victory.” 

“This does leave us with a problem,” I said. “What are we going to do with the Dukedom?” 

Thanks to the war and the political purge, Schtraut’s population had been reduced to almost nothing. Rebuilding would require a great deal of effort. 

“We will find a way,” Roland said. “Just as we have conquered all the obstacles we’ve faced so far. We can rebuild so that one day, Schtraut reemerges as a flourishing trade country. No, not ‘can’... We must.” 

“Rebuilding after the war is important, but the fighting isn’t quite over yet. We still need to deal with those traitorous snakes in the Popedom. Without true peace, we can’t hope for a new beginning.” 

The Popedom of Frantz abandoned the Dukedom in its time of need. They will pay for this. 

I looked out the window. The fighting had died down already, but pillars of smoke were still rising from areas scarred by the mages’ fireballs. How long would it take just to put out those fires and rebuild the capital? Thinking about it made me dizzy. 

This was where our unsung heroes, the Worker Swarms, would show their worth. They would need to work their hardest to make this capital breathe again. The thought that we could bring about not just death and destruction, but also rebirth and reconstruction, was a huge relief.