The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 4 - Chapter 3

DAY 3

The Silly Sylphy March

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

…Peace had no place on our school trip.

Half of it was Verda’s fault. The other half could be attributed to…

“Sylphy! Where the hell are you?!”

You heard that right.

It was morning of the third day.

As all the students chatted over breakfast, an explosion came from the kitchen.

The damage was extensive…

It basically turned the entire inn to rubble.

In the middle of the crumbling cafeteria, Olivia smashed Sylphy’s skull with a clenched fist.

“What the hell were you thinking? I want to know why you thought it was a good idea to set a magic trap in the kitchen.”

“Well… They had a Handle with Care sign near the knives.”

“Uh-huh. And?”

“…I thought the knives might be magical weapons in disguise. Wouldn’t it suck if a demon got ahold of them?”

“What ‘sucks’ is this situation! Why would you think knives would be magical weapons in disguise? They didn’t even have those in the ancient world! Even if they were, why would you set an explosive next to them? What if it went off from the heat and impact?!”

“…Your comeback is too long. And too boring.”

“Excuse you?!”

“Eek! I-I’m sorry!”

The vein on Olivia’s temple was starting to pulse in anger. Sylphy flung herself to the ground.

Olivia’s beast ears twitched in irritation. “It’s your fault the inn is a mess! Who sets a trap in the kitchen? Now all the potatoes are ash! How could you?! They only use potatoes from my garden at this inn! And you go around—”

“Ooh. Things are adding up now,” Sylphy muttered to herself.

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“…Sorry, my tongue slipped. Forget it.”

“Why won’t you look at me? Hey. What’s adding up? I promise I won’t get mad. Tell me.”

“Do you promise you won’t get mad?”

“Pinkie swear.”

“Okay. Let me take a breath… I was wondering why the potatoes sucked at this inn! I guess it makes sense, though, if they’re using your potatoes…! That’s what’s adding up.”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha! I see! Ha-ha-ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I’m going to kill you!”

“But you promised!” Sylphy whined, booking it out of there as Olivia brandished her sword.

This was their modus operandi.

The third day of our trip officially started after the inn was repaired with magic.

The schedule was basically the same. After group visits and hands-on activities, we’d break up into teams.

Our first stop was the local cathedral.

Since I’d left the ancient world, the Demon Lord had become a convenient symbol for politicians everywhere. They’d created a religion with me as the major deity—which I bet had been an attempt to incite the public in an act of demagoguery. The sect was called the United Creed.

Its namesake came from…my unification of the entire world.

It boasted the largest following on the planet, which was fine and all, but their main deity had some…issues.

“And thus the Demon Lord bestowed great wisdom unto his subordinates: ‘Their movements were as undetectable as a shadow in the dead of night.’”

I hated that my most embarrassing lines were passed down verbatim as proverbs…!

The priest wore a look of reverence as he preached about my cringiest moments… I wanted to die.

“The Demon Lord stood atop the hill and shouted to the refugees: ‘To the innocent, there is nothing to fear. Why? For I am here with you. And nothing in this world is more fearful than me.’”

Please! Have some mercy!

I mean…it had been the right time and the right place for bravado. I also knew my ego had gotten the best of me…but I swear I would never say those things sober…!

“Wow. It’s just like I remembered. He was always so cringy. Lydie and I used to laugh at him behind his back. He looked so serious! Pfft… Still gets me every time,” Sylphy chortled.

“…Cut it out. He was dealing with a lot back then,” Olivia snapped.

“Like what? Coming up with those cheesy lines?”

“No. He was going through puberty.”

“Gotcha. Yeah. That was a rough time.”

…I was mortified that they had been there.

But what did you expect? Everyone goes through an awkward stage. I couldn’t have been the only one who had a tough time with it.

All adolescent boys have a tendency to be sarcastic, refer to their vision as demon eyes, name their spells Ultimate Thunder, and rebrand themselves as the Destroyer. Right?

I’m sure we all had a time in our lives when we unironically said, “Don’t mess with this guy,” or “You don’t want to piss me off.”

So why was I the only one facing public embarrassment?

I knew I only had one choice: to reveal humiliating secrets of my subordinates. Maybe that would shut the priest up.

…Except…then Olivia would know I was the Demon Lord.

“And the Demon Lord said: ‘Heh! This world is becoming an extension of me.’”

“Bweh-heh-heh-heh! There it is! Cringe!”

“And the Demon Lord said: ‘This eyepatch has taught me that losing sight in one eye lets me see much more.’”

“Pfffft! What? He just thought the eyepatch was cool! I mean, I watched him sizing up his subordinate, the One-Eyed Dragon, and heard him say he was gonna try it out tomorrow…!”

“And the Demon Lord said: ‘These eyes are red from sin. As I fall farther from heaven and commit…acts of valor, they will become even redder.’”

“Yeah, right! He was changing them with magic! Even Lydie thought he should stop because it was so embarrassing! Did he think it made him look cool or something?”

You know what? I was starting to think exposing my identity wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Then, I could shut up the priest and Sylphy. Nothing else mattered in this world.

What was the point of this ceremony anyway? Did they want us to be touched by the words of the Demon Lord? Did they want us to take a good, hard look at ourselves? How could I possibly reflect on my actions when I had to relive a compilation of my worst memories?

“And the Demon Lord said—”

“Bweh-heh-heh! I remember that one! That was good!” Sylphy rolled around in laughter.

“I haven’t said anything yet.” The priest cast her a displeased look. “I’ve been wondering what’s wrong with you. What are you trying to do? How can you roar with laughter at the sound of his word? He is to be revered. This will send you straight to hell.”

A typical clergyman comment.

Who would send someone to hell for laughing at some random nonsense?

…Well, I would do it if I could, but I knew when to restrain myself. See? I could control myself, even if I wanted a certain someone to go to hell.

…Whatever. Sylphy was the real problem. I was worried she would unleash a tirade on the priest (“Excuse you? I could care less about what you think!”) and cause us double trouble.

…I could already see it ending with an explosion at the cathedral.

To prevent that from happening, I was ready to admonish her…

“Hmph,” Sylphy sulked. “What’s so great about the Demon Lord? But…I’m sorry. You have to forgive me now that I apologized!”

She wasn’t acting respectful, but…she was expressing some remorse.

I was honestly surprised. I even managed to catch a glimpse of Olivia’s eyes widening.

“H-hey, Sylphy. Do you have fever?”

“What? Stop looking at me like that. I’m apologizing because I’m wrong. Big deal.”

“Yeah, but…” Olivia didn’t look entirely convinced.

I felt the same, frowning with the sense that something was off.

After that little incident at the cathedral, we needed to make our way to the next location.

The Colosseum.

An untamed battle was unfolding in the huge stadium. Every seat was occupied, and the crowd was roaring. We were among them.

“W-wow! This is getting the crowd going!”

“It’s been this way since ancient times.”

“Really? Didn’t the Demon Lord build this arena?”

I nodded, listening to Ireena and Ginny’s conversation. As they mentioned, I had designed and built the Colosseum, which still made audiences go wild, even in this generation.

At the time, I had been scheming to collect taxes, spread propaganda, and discover elite fighters…which had led me to build the Colosseum.

These epic fights made the audience thirsty for war. Nothing about that had changed.

The spectators egged on the warriors. Even Ireena and Ginny were joining in.

…But I was already over it.

Back in the old days, the battles hosted here used to excite me…but these were hardly dynamic. I just couldn’t bring myself to get pumped.

“Oh, come on! Are you dawdling? For what? This is an easy job! One and done! Aim for the eyes! That’s right, the eyes! …Aaaaaah! No! You missed the perfect chance to kick him in the ass!” Sylphy spat.

It appeared she was rooting for a specific fighter…which I found surprising. I would have thought she’d be bored out of her mind, too.

Back in ancient times, Sylphy would come to watch games at the Colosseum, but these were aggressively mediocre. At the very least, I didn’t think they were enough to warrant her interest.

Why was she getting worked up? Add that to the incident at the cathedral, and it was easy to guess something wasn’t right.

“Be more aggressive! I know you can take him—come on! Get up and fight!” Sylphy cheered…or lamented.

Ultimately, her cries were in vain. Her favorite struggled to get back up. The match ended, and Sylphy slumped in her seat.

At the center of the ring, a man rushed over to the victor with a magic speaker. This match had been the main event of the morning. Now that it was over, the champion was accepting interviews and smiling through chipped teeth.

“You got that right! This guy was just another pipsqueak!” he boasted.

Either he was playing up his role as a villain or this was his true character. The warrior didn’t show an ounce of respect for his foe, openly criticizing him. This earned him a long boo from the crowd, but he laughed off their jeers.

“If you’ve got a problem with me, I’ll be happy to take you on! Come one, come all! Get your ass down here and fight me! I’ll give you my prize money if you can take me down!” he crowed, surveying the audience smugly.

He was brimming with confidence. No one dared challenge him. In truth, there was no one who cou—

“I can’t stand him! I’m gonna smack him down a few pegs!” Sylphy practically jumped out of her chair, her face flushed.

“Wh-what does she think she’s doing?!” Ireena yelped.

“I-if Miss Sylphy participates…!” Ginny screamed.

Their fears were about to become reality.

“AAAAAAAAAH!”

“Eeek! Help!”

The fool had lost all control, rampaging with her Holy Sword.

Predictably, after a huge commotion, the Colosseum had turned to a pile of rubble…!

Somehow or another, we managed to survive the maddening events and approached our free time.

Sylphy was acting suspicious again.

“Um, I just remembered… I need to take care of business! I need some time to myself! Go and enjoy the sights! Later!” she announced, dashing off in a hurry.

We watched with narrowed eyes as she sprinted into the distance.

“How should I put this?”

“Her behavior has been…”

“…really fishy lately.”

Lately, as in since we’d arrived in Kingsglaive. Something had been up with her.

Even though she was never far from chaos…this was distinctly strange behavior. She didn’t sound like herself at the cathedral. She had a tantrum at the Colosseum. Now, she’d run off two days in a row.

“Do you think she’s up to something?” Ginny asked.

“Maybe…the demons brainwashed her?” Ireena speculated.

“Unlikely. But she has to be hiding something,” I said.

There had to be some sort of reason for the way she was acting. We couldn’t just leave this alone.

“““Let’s spy on her!””” we collectively agreed, hurriedly readying ourselves to pursue her.

Maintaining our distance, we sneaked along behind Sylphy, taking note of her whereabouts.

She had trotted off to…

“An orphanage, I think?” Ireena asked.

“Seems that way,” agreed Ginny.

The building was visibly rundown and decrepit.

It was one of several orphanages in Kingsglaive. Sylphy entered the lot and gave the door knocker a few quick raps. After a moment, someone came to the door.

It was a withered old woman, likely the headmistress.

“I’m back! And I brought presents!”

“Oh. Welcome. The children will be happy to see you.”

Sylphy slipped into the facility.

“Wh-what should we do?” Ireena asked.

“Sneak in?” Ginny suggested.

“We can use mirror magic,” I offered, redirecting my energy and casting a spell.

It manifested into a large object that was reflective like a mirror, displaying an image of Sylphy as she walked through the building.

Sylphy and the headmistress made their way toward the children.

“Look! It’s Sylphy!”

“Hey, Sylphy!”

“Ah-ha-ha-ha! You’re all balls of energy! Glad to see it—gweck?!”

The unruly children closed in on Sylphy, beating her up. It was a little hard to tell whether they were playing with her or downright bullying her.

After she enjoyed spending some quality time with the children, she called out to them.

“I need to talk to the headmistress! Adult business. Go off and play!”

“Okay!”

“Tiny tits! Adult, my butt!”

“Who just called me ‘tiny tits’? I’m watching you. I’m gonna kill you later.”

As soon as everyone left the room, Sylphy turned toward the headmistress.

“What do you need to talk to me about?” asked the headmistress.

“Like I said, I brought presents.” Sylphy fished through her pouch and took something out.

It was prize money. She’d earned it from beating the crap out of the fighter at the Colosseum.

“This is all for you.”

“Oh…! W-where did you get this…?!”

“I’ll have you know that I used honest methods. Nothing shady. This money is ‘clean.’”

…I doubted any money could be clean if it was earned by turning the Colosseum into a disaster zone and threatening an opponent.

Sylphy pushed the bag of gold coins onto the headmistress. “I think this will be enough to cover your costs. If anything, you can upgrade your meals!”

“U-uh-huh. This would certainly help…but are you sure, Sylphy?”

“Obviously! What other use would I have for it? I’ll be happy if I can see all the kids… I mean, if I can see you smile.”

“Oh, Sylphy…! Thank you so much…!”

“Hee-hee! I’ll come back when I have more! I promise to make this the world’s best orphanage!”

Sylphy smacked the headmistress’s back when the woman started to cry.

“I’ve gotta go,” she announced, leaving the orphanage.

Sylphy looked like she was walking on air, but we had no idea where her feet were taking her.

“Hm… This is it.” Sylphy halted.

Before her was a single shop. Based on the sign out front, I guessed it was a cheap restaurant.

“Maybe she’s hungry?” Ireena asked.

As if to answer, Sylphy entered the building.

I cast the magic mirror, and she appeared on its display again.

She wasn’t trying to find a seat among the other customers, electing to call out to a worker instead.

“Hey! I wanna speak to the manager!”

“One moment, please.” The worker headed to the kitchen looking puzzled.

It took no time for a dapper man with a suave mustache to greet her.

“Can I help you? What do you want with m—”

“Waaaah!” Sylphy sobbed.

Her behavior was…eccentric. As soon as she saw his face, she burst out into tears…and buried her face in his chest.

“Bleeeeh!”

“Hey! O-ow…! You’re hurting my back…! You’re seriously gonna snap my spine…!”

Before she could cause fatal damage…Sylphy seemed to get a grip on herself.

“S-sorry. I got too excited.”

“Do you always snap spines when you’re excited?! Are you out of your damn mind?! What do you want from me?!”

“Um, well… Do you have any worries in life?!”

“Yeah. One thing. And she’s standing right in front of me.”

“Urp. S-sorry. Anything else?”

“I guess we have too many customers.”

“…Do you want me to stab them?”

“What?! In what world?! I meant I’m short-handed with staff! Damn! What’s wrong with you?!”

“Ooh! No problem! I’ll help you out!”

Obviously, the manager was reluctant, outright refusing her offer multiple times. When push came to shove, though, Sylphy was relentless…and the manager finally caved in and hired her.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Well, what did you expect?

After a string of events, the restaurant was in flames.

In the mountain of rubble, the charred manager turned to Sylphy and offered her two final words.

“You’re fired.”

No surprise there.

After Sylphy left, I returned the restaurant to its previous state.

The manager wept tears of joy…which upset me even more.

Sylphy continued causing trouble wherever she went, and I had to run around cleaning up after her every time.

“Jeez… What’s the point of living…?”

“G-good work, Ard.” Ginny tried to cheer me up.

“H-hey! Chin up! We figured something out by following her. And now we know what she’s after.”

Ireena was right.

Sylphy was hitting up spots that had been in the area for generations. In other words, she wanted to support the community.

…Nothing strange about that. Kingsglaive was her second home. I couldn’t blame her for trying to volunteer.

…But that didn’t explain the incidents at the cathedral or the Colosseum.

Was she acting on a whim?

Even as I tried to gather my thoughts, Sylphy was stomping across town.

She must have been hungry, because she stopped by a vendor and bought a bunch of honey bread before continuing on her way.

When she arrived at her next destination, all our previous theories were turned on their heads.

Sylphy wasn’t trying to contribute to the neighborhood.

After all, she’d just entered…

…the largest prison in Kingsglaive.

Its eerie exterior loomed above her.

“Om-nom… Dis hunny bwead is dewicious!”

Sylphy was strolling the grounds like it was her own personal garden.

After watching her go inside, I cast the magic mirror for a third time to observe her.

She headed for a certain room with a single reception desk. It was cluttered with tables and chairs, where people were sitting and chatting among themselves.

However, these weren’t average citizens. There were prisoners among them.

It seemed to be some sort of visitation room. Sylphy went up to the counter as she continued chewing on her bread.

“Om-nom. Do I have permission to see Daniel?”

The man at the desk looked stressed. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

Sylphy frowned. “…Why not?”

“As I informed you the other day, he’s a danger to society…awaiting his execution, which is in a few days. There’s no saying what he’ll do.”

“No problem. I’ll take full responsibility for his actions. Just let me see him.”

“…Unless you have explicit permission, I’m afraid I can’t allow that.”

“Please,” she begged.

He gently shook his head.

Her young face soured as she banged on the window bars. “I have every right to see him!”

“How?”

“I’m the Raging Champion! Sylphy Marheaven! I came to redeem him! Let me see him!” She continued pounding the bars separating them.

The man quietly clicked his tongue at the troubled child.

“…Listen. Even if you were Lady Sylphy, by some miracle, you wouldn’t be able to redeem him.”

“You don’t know that! He has a good heart!”

“People with ‘good hearts’ don’t become rapists or serial killers. His heart is rotten, which is why he’s going to be executed.”

“That’s not true! I—”

“Enough. Your request is rejected. Forever. Could you please let the adults handle adult business?”

He tried to cut off their conversation, but Sylphy wasn’t having it.

At a certain point, she must have realized she wouldn’t get through to him.

“…I’ll never give up,” Sylphy declared, and with slumped shoulders, she left the prison.

Sylphy started to trudge back dejectedly.

She must have realized this was out of character, because she stopped in her tracks and sucked in a deep breath.

“AAAAAAAAAH!!” she shrieked from the bottom of her chest.

This seemed to help her feel better about the situation. A little pep returned to her step.

As she clutched her bag full of honey bread, Sylphy headed for her next stop.

It was a corner of the slums. Stagnant air blanketed this hub for drifters.

There was one reason why Sylphy had come here.

“I’m back, old man!”

“…Hmph. You’re a weird one.”

It was an elderly man with white hair, a white beard, and white eyebrows. Sylphy joined him, sitting on the bare ground.

“Here you go, old man. I got you some grub.”

“Honey bread? Thank you.”

He accepted it from her outstretched hand and sank his teeth into a piece.

“…You know, you should stop coming around these parts.”

“’Cause it’s dangerous?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Hee-hee. You don’t know me! I’m super strong!”

“You don’t look it. You seem like a weak little girl to me… Something about you reminds me of my wife. She—”

“Aren’t you gonna eat your bread?”

“Yes. Thank you. You know, my wife—”

“Aren’t you gonna eat your bread?”

“Uh-huh. One sec. Where was I? Ah, yes. My—”

“Aren’t you gonna eat your bread?”

“…Hey, you’re not going to let me talk, huh?”

“Guilty as charged.” Sylphy stuck her tongue out playfully.

The old man shrugged his shoulders and took another bite.

“Hff… I don’t have many years left. Let me tell you an old tale or two.”

“Sorry. No can do. I don’t feel like listening to any sad stories… But if you want to tell me your dreams for the future, I’ll be happy to lend an ear.”

“Heh. My dreams for the future?” The old man cleared his throat, stifling his laughter. It was self-deprecating. “I can’t say our conversations are boring. I’ve never felt this way before.”

“…Are you some sort of pedophile?”

“Hell no. I just get nostalgic when I’m talking to you.”

“Huh.”

“Well, I guess it’s weird for some brat to remind me of the good old days.” He chuckled, opening his eyes to get a good look at Sylphy. “Did I ever tell you I used to be a knight?”

“Yeah.”

“I see. Heh. I don’t want to get any older. You stop remembering the things you said yesterday… But there are some things you’ll never forget even when you die: your feelings of pride and longing.”

“……”

“Hey. You said you’re Sylphy Marheaven, right?”

“Yep.”

“The real Sylphy Marheaven?”

“Yep.”

“In that case… Please grant me one wish. Won’t you kill me right here?”

Sylphy didn’t answer.

The old man chuckled. “I became a knight because I admired Sylphy from the holy texts. But…look at me now. A great knight has become a beggar on the streets.”

“……”

“Hey. If you’re the real deal, I want you to put yourself in my shoes. My ego won’t let me waste away and die a failure… I’d rather be killed by someone I admire,” he explained.

“Are you stupid?”

Sylphy jumped to her feet and glanced down at him.

“An ego that eats you up from the inside isn’t worth shit. Listen. It takes pride to live. You don’t need pride to die… Lydie agrees with me, too.” Sylphy stared into the old man’s eyes. “Play dirty. Be ugly. Struggle until the end. Keep on fighting…and then you can die.”

A smile played across Sylphy’s lips. “And when that time comes, I’ll laugh over your death. That’s right. The Raging Champion will see you off with a smile.”

Sunlight shone down on the slums, illuminating Sylphy…who looked the image of a knight worthy of her title.

“…Heh. I see. You’ll see me off, huh? I couldn’t ask for a better end.”

“Hee-hee! Quit talking about shit and live! Hold on to it for dear life! I promise to visit from time to time!”

With this, Sylphy started to walk off, turning away from him.

Her cherubic face instantly became crestfallen. Without looking back, she spoke to the old man, offering him the entreaty of a young child.

“…I hope you’re cursed with a very long life, old man.”

Sylphy continued her trek until it was dusk.

There seemed to be no connection between the stops. We had initially suspected her of revitalizing the local community, but we had completely abandoned this theory…with no other leads.

Our free time was wrapping up. I imagined this would have to be her last stop.

When she stepped closer to the edifice…I suddenly realized her intentions.

She had come to a stone mausoleum surrounded by graves.

I was the one who had this place built. It was the final resting place of our forces…including Lydia.

“…I kept telling myself to stop by, but I couldn’t bring myself to come,” Sylphy admitted quietly, approaching the stone monument with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

She gently placed the bundle in front of it.

“It’s been a while, guys. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long to me, but…I guess it’s been thousands of years, huh?”

Sylphy managed to smile, but…it was a tragic one.

“It still feels like a dream. And how I wish it was… I still can’t believe thousands of years had passed when I came back. I trained so hard for you guys. I’d give anything to wake up from this nightmare.”

…Oh. I’d overlooked her terrible burden because she seemed so cheerful all the time.

Sylphy had gone off on her own journey to train…right before our forces were wiped out in battle.

There had been almost no survivors. But…there had been some people who were saved. Those had been the ones that Sylphy would give everything to protect.

But they weren’t here any longer.

It had been thousands of years. They had moved on to the next life, including Lydia, who was like a big sister to her…

Sylphy was the sole survivor. She never even had the chance to say good-bye. She was the last one standing.

“…This place was our second home. I thought you would have left some part of you behind. I searched everywhere for you.”

This explained her erratic behavior.

“I went out and met your descendants. They’re nothing like you… Well, some of them are.”

She wanted to see her old friends in some way—to feel their presence. That was the truth behind her madness.

“Well, it’s no surprise… You aren’t here. After all, they’re just your descendants.”

Sylphy’s lips trembled, and she reached out to touch the monument.

“Hey. What was your life like after I left? How did you die? Sometimes, I wonder…if you thought of me.”

No one said anything.

This town held nothing more than faint traces of her friends. She would do anything to see them, but they just didn’t exist anywhere anymore.

“…Lydie, you always told us to smile through everything. That was our motto. You taught us to smack the back of anyone who was anxious. We made sure to do that. But…there’s no one here to slap my back. And honestly…”

Her fists were balled tight. Tears pooled in her big eyes.

“I’m not sad at all! Not one bit!”

Sylphy didn’t cry. Instead, she’d put on a giant grin.

“I’ve still got my old friends! Like Olivia! And Verda…sort of. And Alvarto and Lizer…? If I can just find them. Whatever! I’ve got my old friends…and new ones from this generation.”

Sylphy rubbed her eyes and beamed.

“And that’s why I’m not sad at all! I know you must miss me, but I’m not ready to join you! My new friends are all doozies! They’d be totally lost without me!”

She looked up at the heavens.

“Watch me succeed! I’m desperate to live! I want to hang on to life as long as I can! And when I’ve had enough, I’ll kick the bucket with a smile…”

Her grin was directed up to her friends.

“Then…I want you all to greet me and laugh over my death!”

Sylphy closed her eyes and began to say a prayer.

…I knew we couldn’t leave her like that.

“Sylphy…!” Ireena cried out, and we all dashed toward her.

We wanted to console our friend, who had become like a little sister to us.

Beep.

Right when we took a step toward the mausoleum, a strange sound echoed beneath our feet.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

…We were blasted by a ginormous explosion.

Sylphy whipped around toward us. “Well, well, well! I got you now, demons! I’ll protect…this…place…?”

Protect what? She’d blown the graves out of the ground…!

I had to stop myself from screaming at her.

Sylphy looked at us blankly. “What are you doing here? Look at your clothes! You’re practically in tatters! Is this what the kids are wearing these days? It’s not doing you any favors, if I’m being honest. I think you should—”

““SHUT UP!””

“What?!”

Ireena and Ginny pounced on Sylphy. The explosion had singed their hair. They shoved her to the ground.

“Way to ruin the mood!”

“I can’t believe I got emotional! For what? I demand a refund!”

“What are you talking about?!”

As they struggled, the three of them kicked up a violent cloud of dust. The mausoleum was inching closer to complete annihilation, but…I imagined its residents were probably laughing at us.

I sighed and looked up at the sky, sending a heartfelt message to my sworn companions.

We’ll take care of this fool.

Just…watch over us and laugh.

…Inside me, Lydia’s spirit started to beat.

“She’ll never change,” Lydia seemed to giggle.

“…Tell me about it.”

I smiled back at her.