Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord - Volume 3 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Hidden Boss Is Attacked by the God of Light

After finishing breakfast, Patrick, Lemn, and I left town and traced our way along one of the county roads. I had originally planned on asking Ryuu to take us to our destination, but unfortunately he was off traveling with a mildly traumatized Eleanora.

It’s not like we’re going that far, I reassured myself. It’s nice to take a walk like this every once in a while. I had recently come to the understanding that when a man and a woman walked alongside each other, it could be qualified as “a date.” This meant that Patrick and I were, without a doubt, currently on a date.

But unfortunately for us, there was a voice projecting from the ground, interrupting what might otherwise have been a genuinely lovey-dovey event. “You’re on the right track! Looks like we’ll get there without getting lost.” Lemn was too lazy to walk, so he had once again slipped into my shadow.

“How wonderful,” I muttered through gritted teeth.

We were headed to the geographical location where faith in Lemn seemed to have been restored. The directions that Lemn had instructed us to follow were leading us to a farming community not too far from Dolkness Village.

It really is just a short walk away. I didn’t think some strange new religion could have actually emerged this close to home... 

As those thoughts crossed my mind, we arrived. In the middle of a vast barley field was a single settlement.

Oh, it’s this town, I thought, as I recalled the last time I’d come by here for an inspection. During my prior visit, there had been a huge commotion about how I was the Mountain God, and it had been an awkward mess.

We came to a halt before the entrance to the settlement, and Lemn finally peeked out from my shadow.

“Come out already,” I said. “This is the place, right?”

“This village is a fine place to start,” he responded, a little ominously.

“To start?”

“It seems like faith in me has caught on in this whole area.”

“Does that mean faith in the god of darkness has spread to other villages besides this one?”

This is bad. This mysterious new force has been secretly expanding its power.

I stepped forward to enter the settlement, thinking I should start with gathering information from the people there, but Lemn started off in a completely different direction on his own.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“There’s a simple shrine this way,” he explained.

They have one of those now?

Patrick and I exchanged alarmed glances, and we quickly followed after him. We walked alongside the outer rim of the settlement, and roughly halfway around, we reached the side opposite to the county road, where a smaller path led us to a mountain.

This mountain, although it sat squarely within Dolkness County borders, was rarely visited by residents. Deep in the mountain was monster territory, and occasionally lost monsters would leave the mountainside and wander into human settlements. It was a dangerous place, this mountain.

It was also a place I’d frequented as a child.

“That’s it,” Lemn said, pointing. Sure enough, following the direction of his gesture led my gaze to a shrine-like structure made of stone with a minimalist aesthetic.

It was a tall, narrow boulder that was even taller than Patrick, shaped and refined into a holy object. A wooden structure had been built around the carved stone. It looked like constructing all of this had been a lot of work.

There were children from the village playing around the shrine. Their shrill voices began to buzz with excitement upon seeing me.

“Wow! It’s the Mountain God!”

“No, it’s the countess!”

“Whoa, her hair really is pitch-black...”

Oh great, I’m still being called “the Mountain God.”

I had been spotted on occasion in the mountains when I’d done a lot of level grinding here as a child, and the villagers had taken me for a protective deity who took care of monsters for them. After I became the lord of Dolkness County, I’d traveled to many villages, including this one, and I thought I had cleared up the misunderstanding, but... It was all right in this case, though, because this gave me the perfect opportunity to gather information. Children were terrible at keeping secrets.

“Hey,” I called out to them, doing my best to sound casual. “Is this the shrine for the god of darkness?”

“Darkness?” one child echoed in confusion.

“Isn’t this the Mountain God’s shrine?” another asked.

“Wait, but the Mountain God does use darkness to take down monsters...” a third child chimed in.

It appeared that my question hadn’t really gotten through to them. In the language spoken in this world, the words for “darkness” and “mountain” were phonetically very similar, which I had found surprising, since this was also the case in Japanese—“yami” and “yama.” This phonetic similarity was probably the cause for their confusion.

Patrick, who had gone up closer to the shrine on his own, suddenly observed aloud, “This has ‘Mountain God’ carved into it.”

Huh? This isn’t a shrine dedicated to Lemn?

Baffled by this, I turned to Lemn, but he just stood there silently, tilting his head deliberately.

Man, this god is weirdly suspicious.

I decided to try talking to the village kids a bit more.

“Are there any other places where you pray to a god aside from here?”

“Pray to...?” The children seemed at a loss.

“Oh, um... How about a place where you go to ask a god for something, like this shrine?”

“There’s a shrine for Sanon in the village head’s house,” responded the polite boy, who looked to be the eldest in the group.

Sanonism, huh? 

Sanonism, a religion dedicated to worshipping the god of light, Sanon, was a widespread faith prominent in this kingdom. The (unpleasant) memory of my battle with the light barrier at the Sanonist church in the Royal Capital was still fresh in my mind.

“Are there any other places?” I asked.

“I don’t think so...”

“I see. Sorry for taking up your time.”

The children looked at each other, confused. They all bobbed a quick bow in our direction before scampering back to the settlement.

It seemed like there wasn’t any faith in the god of darkness after all.

Why did Lemn say that faith in him had been restored, then...?

“Can you explain what’s going on here?” I demanded of him with a glare.

“This is just a theory, but...” Lemn began sheepishly, fidgeting in place. “I think...faith in you flowed into me instead.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, you know that the words for ‘mountain’ and ‘darkness’ sound similar, and on top of that, you also use dark magic. When the people of this village were praying to you, the Mountain God, they were maybe...inadvertently praying to me, the god of darkness as well. So it makes sense as to why the energy from their faith flowed into me through you. And that might also be why I mistook you for my priestess...”

What the hell? So the energy from believers flowed into Lemn because of phonetic similarities and the fact that we both use dark magic? He’s a faith-thief! To steal the faith of my followers like that... Actually, though, now that I think about it, I don’t really want that either. In fact, I wouldn’t mind just giving him all of it.

“What... So that’s all it was? A big, faith-based misunderstanding?”

“Ha ha,” Lemn nervously laughed.

I wanted to go home. I gave Patrick a significant look before turning on my heel and quickly walking away.

“We’re leaving now,” I called over my shoulder at Lemn. “You’ll have to walk on your own two feet this time.”

“Hey, wait up!” Lemn protested, scrambling after us.

We walked back along the county road, heading away from the mountain village. It was before noon, and the sun was high in the southern part of the sky, which meant it was the time of day where shadows were the smallest.

Despite keeping up a litany of complaints, Lemn followed behind us the whole time. Each time he tried to come close and hitch a ride in my shadow, though, I would quicken my pace and create more distance between us.

“Is around here good?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Patrick responded.

After getting the go-ahead from Patrick, we both turned and started heading north. This entire area was barren land—it was just pebbles scattered on the packed dirt and scrubby patches of weeds. There would be few shadows here.

“Huh? Where are we going?” Lemn asked, hustling to catch up with us. “This is off the main road.”

Just as the words left his mouth, we both abruptly turned to face him. It was abundantly clear that Lemn was not being entirely truthful in his explanations, and Patrick and I had both picked up on it, which was why we chose to confront him here.

“I’d like you to tell us the truth,” I said.

“What are you talking about?” Lemn pasted on a smile. “I’ve only told you the truth, miss.”

“You said that faith in the god of darkness had only been restored recently, right?”

“That’s right...”

“But that the force of that faith was actually directed at the Mountain God... In other words, I was the cause of it. People started calling me the Mountain God because I was taking down monsters over ten years ago. These facts don’t add up unless faith in you began to reemerge at that same time, do they?”

“I didn’t realize I had made you so suspicious,” Lemn sighed. “That’s why you’ve positioned yourselves like this?”

He was correct to call us out. While we’d all been chatting, Patrick and I had oriented ourselves so that we stood to the north, while Lemn stood to our south. This meant that our shadows were cast towards the north, away from Lemn, making it that much more difficult for him to think of using them against us. The only power that we were certain Lemn could use was his ability to enter shadows, but there was a good chance he was hiding some other skills, so we couldn’t let our guard down.

“Don’t give me such an intimidating look,” Lemn said, flashing a carefree smile. “Entering shadows isn’t as convenient as you might think. I can only come out of the same shadow I entered, and there are a lot of constraints.”

“That’s a lie,” Patrick said confidently. “When Lady Eleanora came into Yumiella’s bedroom, you jumped into my shadow. But the next time you appeared, you came out of Yumiella’s shadow.”

“And here I thought I was being careful. That must mean you’ve been suspicious of me from the beginning.” Lemn turned to me. “Does that mean your interest in overleveling yourself was all an act to keep me talking, miss?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s exactly right...” I nodded, attempting to appear nonchalant. I tried to ignore the serious side-eye I was getting from Patrick at my bald-faced lie.

“So you must have been attacking me with dark magic to see what would be effective,” Lemn mused, oblivious to Patrick’s incredulity.

“That’s right...” I affirmed.

“Was the reason you kicked me immediately upon our introduction because you wanted to check if physical attacks worked?”

“I’m surprised you figured it out...”

Patrick was looking at me as if to say, “Are you kidding me?” but I paid him no mind. It was important to appear cool and collected in situations like these. Lemn certainly didn’t need to know the truth: I had kicked Lemn as a conditioned reflex, I was interested in leveling because that was my nature, and I had attacked Lemn with dark magic because I had lost control of myself.

“That’s also why you ordered that maid to disregard whatever I said,” Lemn added.

“Oh, that one is actually true.” I had only been slightly suspicious of Lemn at that point, but I’d made the right decision in telling Rita not to listen to him. This self-proclaimed god was much too suspicious a boy to be trusted.

Physical attacks were effective but dark magic wasn’t, and it was unclear how well magic of other elements would work against him. There was also a chance that he was hiding other abilities. Despite the fact that it was Patrick and I who had made the first move, Lemn still wore a carefree smile.

Wait, no. His smile is starting to look a bit strained. Despite his bravado, he might actually be at his limit. 

Even so, we couldn’t let our guard down. Several seconds of silence passed before Lemn slowly raised both of his arms in a gesture of surrender.

“I give up,” he said. “There’s no way I can beat you two. I’ll tell you the truth.”

“How will you prove that what you’re telling us is actually the truth?” I asked skeptically.

“Well... Oh, why don’t you ask her? Looks like she just got here,” Lemn said, pointing to a seemingly empty area to our left.

I was about to ask if he was trying to distract us when something changed. Out of nowhere, light began emanating from the spot towards which Lemn had pointed. Looking at the hot, white light made me think of the sun for some reason.

“What’s going on?!” I exclaimed. Reflexively, I covered my eyes to shield them from the overpowering brightness. Even though I couldn’t see him, I assumed that Patrick was doing the same.

After a few seconds, the light dimmed away. I gingerly opened my eyes, and then first checked for Lemn, who hadn’t, in fact, run away, and was instead standing in the same spot. I then cast my gaze towards the source of the light, where I discovered a girl who looked to be around my age. She had white hair and gold eyes, wore a simple white dress, and seemed to radiate divinity. Her hair was long enough to reach her hips and parted down the middle, exposing her forehead, and it was so blindingly white that it reflected the sunlight and shimmered.

Her eyes darted between me, Patrick, and then Lemn before she announced: “I am the god of light, Sanon. Yumiella Dolkness, I will eliminate you.” Her beautiful golden eyes stared right into mine.

Though the tone of her voice seemed calm and somewhat flat, I could feel an insurmountable rage in her words. She was furious with me.

The god of light should have no reason to be mad at me... Oh, but wait, maybe she does. I am, after all, the one who broke the barrier-producing magical instrument passed down as a holy relic in the church that reveres her. Also there’s all the stuff that went down with Alicia. But why would the god of light appear after all this time? The fact that she’s here now must mean it has something to do with Lemn.

As these thoughts ran through my mind, Sanon turned to regard the god of darkness. “What are you doing, Lemn?” she asked.

“Just taking care of some small things,” he said, snickering a little. “Why are you here?”

“What do you mean, ‘why’?! We must do whatever it takes to eliminate Yumiella Dolkness.”

Wait, are their motivations unrelated?

While I stood there feeling confused, the situation continued to escalate. Sanon returned her attention to me, glaring daggers. “Yumiella Dolkness, I assume you are prepared?”

“You ask that, but...I’m not even sure why you’re upset with me. Did I do something wrong?”

“How shameless of you to ask such a question!” she cried out, enraged, her bare forehead glowing ominously. Light reflected off her forehead and bathed me in its baleful glow.

“Ow!” I yelled indignantly. “That hurts! That’s really painful!”

Every inch of my exposed skin, especially my face and my hands, throbbed with pain. I never could have imagined that light reflecting off a forehead could be used as a weapon. Unable to withstand a pain I’d never felt before, I fell to the ground and rolled around.

The last time something hurt this bad was...when Alicia stabbed me. This hurts more than it did to punch that light barrier.

I could faintly see Patrick, who had hurried over to my side.

“Yumiella?! Are you all right? What happened?!”

“It looks like this is the end for me... I’ll leave the rest to you, Patrick...”

“Yumiella!” Patrick exclaimed, taking me into his arms. His voice gradually faded into the distance.

I’m so glad he’s okay... But why did that terrible light leave him unaffected? 

I was so curious that I couldn’t stand it. I sat up abruptly, dusting the dirt off my clothes as I asked him, “Didn’t that hurt? That...forehead light?”

“You seem totally fine,” he accused.

I’m not fine; that actually really hurt. I’m just lucky that the incredible pain went away immediately. I’d hate if that light were to shine on me for all eternity, though. What exactly was that forehead beam? Was it light magic that targeted me directly?

I was about to question the girl, who still stood there glaring at me, but there was a scream from beside me. I looked over to see that Lemn had fallen to the ground. His body was slightly translucent, as if he were fading away.

“I can’t take it anymore,” Lemn groaned. “I’m going to die.”

True, why wouldn’t he be the one most affected? Patrick was completely unaffected, I was a little bit inconvenienced, and Lemn is on the verge of disappearing. This is definitely an effect of the element of light. Light is the natural enemy of darkness. As weird as it is to think that the reflection from her forehead could carry the power of light magic, she is the god of light, after all.

I hid behind Patrick before a second forehead beam could be shot. I tentatively poked my head out from behind my fiancè and asked, “Are you sure you aren’t mistaken? I really can’t think of anything that I might have done to anger you...”

“Do you honestly think that?!” Sanon shrieked in rage. “After making a decision that changed the course of someone’s life?!” Her forehead glimmered again, but I hid too late, and the light hit me right in the face.

“Agh! It really hurts. Just my face hurts.”

It appeared that Sanon produced the light from her forehead as an emotional response.

I’ll have to be gentle. I’ll talk to her in a friendly way and figure out what her deal is, like we’re friends in the same grade. I was a dazzling high schooler at one point in my past life; I just have to unearth those memories!

“What’s up, Forehead Bestie?” I hit Sanon with my friendliest smile. “It’s giving big mad vibes... Why don’t we get some boba and chill? ...Uh, Forehead Bestie?”

“‘Forehead Bestie’?! Are those words in reference to me?!” Forehead Bestie’s forehead shone forth once again, but this time I had the presence of mind to hide behind Patrick. And thank goodness, because that beam felt like it had been the brightest of them all. If that had hit me, I would’ve been knocked out, no cap.

I guess talking like a trendy teen didn’t work. I hadn’t been that kind of high schooler anyways, so I guess it’s hardly surprising. I’ve never even had boba.

As I pondered my next plan, Patrick looked at me seriously and asked, “Yumiella, what’s wrong? Did you become even crazier after getting hit with too much light?”

“That was a plan... Wait, what do you mean by ‘even crazier’?”

“What should we do? Should we run for now?” He was ignoring my question.

Running was an option, but Sanon could probably accurately determine our location wherever we went. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to appear at exactly the right spot in such a remote area. Even if we were to flee, she would probably just catch up to us right away—we had no choice but to face her.

“Running won’t solve anything,” I whispered. “Don’t worry, leave it to me.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say, but...be careful. What should I do?”

“Watch from here.”

After finishing our huddle, I swiftly sidestepped into the open from behind Patrick and stalked towards Sanon. Surprised by my boldness, Patrick moved to follow, but I held up my hand to stop him.

“Did you say your goodbyes?” Sanon smirked. “I must say, I’m impressed that you didn’t run.”

“Do I look like the kind of person who would just sit there and wait to die, Forehead Bestie?”

“‘Forehead’... There you go again with that name!” Sanon’s forehead gleamed once more, but I continued my dogged advance, stubbornly bearing the pain of Sanon’s light.

“How is Yumiella enduring the power of that light?!” Patrick exclaimed from behind me, clearly shaken.

Sanon doesn’t look shocked, but I’m sure she’s secretly surprised. I hope she’s surprised. I need her to be surprised, or else I’m in big trouble.

With great effort, I maintained the pretense that I was unaffected and kept moving, even though it hurt, even though it really hurt. This was my plan: just grin and bear it. It didn’t seem as reckless as my usual plans; after all, the forehead beam did nothing but cause pain. It didn’t alter my ability to keep fighting, so as long as I endured the discomfort, I could just ignore it.

I passed the semitransparent Lemn on my march towards Sanon.

I’m the hidden boss, I reminded myself. On an individual basis, I’m the strongest character in this game. There’s no way I’m losing to some afterthought character who showed up out of nowhere.

“That light doesn’t work on me,” I said with a confidence meant to both disconcert Sanon and bolster myself. “Did you think you could beat me in a fight?”

“Yumiella Dolkness... Your bravado is misplaced.” Sanon gave me an exceedingly exasperated look and continued. “This light is nothing but the manifestation of my own immaturity. It is merely extraneous power spilling out of me due to my carelessness. It is just a minuscule amount of my true strength seeping out.”

I blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Do you think you can win against me, when you’re in so much pain after being hit with such a trivial amount of my power?”

“Does that mean you can use even stronger light magic...?”

Huh? Have I bit off more than I can chew here?

Though I was renowned for my impenetrable defenses against both physical and magic attacks, light magic was my single vulnerability. It was a much bigger deal than a quadruple weakness.

“The light shining from me until this moment barely even qualifies as magic. Now then, why don’t I give you a preview of my true powers?” Sanon smiled beatifically. “...Light.”

This is bad. I can feel my entire body seizing up. My intuition is telling me that I’ll die if this keeps up.

I sensed something ruinous, and I snapped my head up, but all I saw was the sun... No, there were two suns. The other was...

“Oh, shoot!” I kicked off from the ground with all my might and jumped straight backwards, almost at the same time that a dense beam of light bloomed where I had been standing. The light seemed concentrated to its utmost limit, and from my relatively safe distance, it looked like a pillar that pierced the heavens. I could tell that even the aftershocks would be deadly.

It might prove to be a waste of time, but I decided to cast Shadow Lance and cover the entire area to shield myself, but when I scanned my surroundings, I couldn’t find a single shadow I could use as a catalyst for the spell.

All right, who led me to such a barren place with nothing to hide behind?

This was it. The aftershock from the pillar of light was going to hit me, and I was probably going to die. Even if I did survive it, it was definitely going to do some serious damage.

All of these thoughts flashed through my mind in the instant I flung myself into the air. I used the powerful momentum of my jump to land on the ground and shield myself by curling up in an attempt to decrease my targetable surface area. I gritted my teeth and shut my eyes.

Do it quickly. God bless.

“Hm...?” Several milliseconds had passed, but there was no pain. Did my soul leave my body before I even felt the pain?

I cautiously opened my eyes and saw pitch-black. Wondering where I was, I reached out and felt cold dirt.

This is... They must have thought I was dead and buried me. An opportunity like this doesn’t come around very often, so I should take advantage of it and pretend I’m a zombie when I go out. It’s important to treasure these kinds of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

I thrust out both arms straight up at a right angle to my body and sat up, arms still extended. It appeared that my grave was shallow, and I was able to reach the surface just by sitting.

“Graaagh,” I moaned. I squinted in the sudden brightness while I scanned my surroundings. This wasn’t a graveyard.

Patrick and Sanon were facing one another, the air around them crackling with power. Lemn had faded further, now even more transparent than your average ghost.

Of course not enough time would have passed for anyone to bury me.

Patrick glanced back at me for a moment before quickly returning his attention to Sanon. “Why did you come out?!” he scolded me over his shoulder.

Oh, I see. He deployed earth magic in order to protect me. Even now, he’s standing before the god of light and protecting me. It’s probably not the time to be acting like a zombie. But please, let me just have this one thing.

“Itchy... Tasty...” I groaned.

“What?” Patrick asked distractedly.

“Don’t worry about it,” I assured him. “I’m satisfied now.” Still covered in dirt, I abandoned my grave and made my way to Patrick’s side.

Patrick stepped forward as if to shield me and said, “You’re at too much of a disadvantage. You should run.”

“What if I told you to run, because she’s only after me...?”

“No way,” he insisted. “I’m not running.”

“Exactly.”

You could say that Sanon was my deadliest enemy, but that was no reason to leave everything to Patrick. In addition, that pillar of light seemed to have the energy of a powerful laser, creating between us and Sanon a perfect circle of red-hot, melted slag where there had once been rocks and sand. Even though Patrick wasn’t harmed by the forehead beam, he wouldn’t come out unscathed after getting hit with heat like that.

“I knew you wouldn’t run...” He sighed deeply. “I guess it can’t be helped.”

“What should we do? Does it look like your magic will work against her?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure your dark magic probably won’t have much of an effect.”

“Okay, I’ll be in the vanguard, then.”

“Got it. I’ll support you with magic from behind, so hit her with a heavy blow.”

If magic wouldn’t work, then using my physical strength to punch her was the way to go. Patrick would create cover for me with his earth magic as I closed in on her, and from there it would be a melee match.

Is this going to work? I chewed my lip. I want one more thing, just one more advantage. Something that would distract Sanon, like a rock falling from the sky... Nah, there’s no way that could happen.

Sanon narrowed her golden eyes at us and lifted her arm in a threat or a benediction. “There is no way you will be able to defeat me. Surrender now, and—”

“Aaaah!” A scream echoed from above us, interrupting Sanon’s words. It was a familiar voice. Unexpectedly, Sanon reacted by turning all of her attention to the voice at once.

“That sound...?!” She turned away from us and craned her neck at the sky. This was my chance, but before I was able to make my move, Sanon turned back to me. “Yumiella Dolkness! Do whatever it takes to catch her! Eleanora is falling from the sky!”

“Excuse me? Lady Eleanora? Falling from the sky?” Despite my skepticism, Sanon sounded legitimately desperate, so I took the risk and looked up as well, scanning the sky for the source of the voice. It was a girl, her long, blonde hair streaming behind her, the skirts of her dress flapping with the momentum of her fall. Her ringlets, her most distinctive feature, had been undone by the wind. It was definitely Eleanora. Why was she falling from the sky?

“Aaaah!” Eleanora screamed.

“Oh, it really is Lady Eleanora,” I said, unable to keep the surprised admiration from my voice.

“Now is no time to be impressed!” cried Sanon. “My physical abilities will not be enough to catch her. Hurry!”

“You say that, but maybe you’re going to attack—”

“I promise that I will not!” Sanon yelled, her forehead glistening in a way that belied her statement. It was the shiniest glimmer so far. Caught off guard because of this Eleanora-based distraction, I failed to dodge the forehead beam.

“Ow, ow, ow.”

“Oh no! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Sanon apologized, covering her forehead with her hands.

While we were wasting time with this pointless conversation, Eleanora was still coming closer to the ground. I wasn’t sure why the god of light was concerned for her safety, but if the forehead beams kept up, things wouldn’t turn out well for me either. Sanon gave me a beseeching look, but still I did nothing. Sanon wasn’t the right person to save Eleanora, but neither was I.

“Patrick!”

“I know,” he responded. Patrick raised one arm towards the sky, slowing Eleanora’s descent. It was his wind magic—it wasn’t visible, but she was currently engulfed in an upward gust of wind. She would safely land at a bit of a distance from us.

I let out an internal sigh of relief, thinking that everything had been handled, but Sanon’s mind didn’t seem to be at peace.

“Well done, Patrick Ashbatten! Yumiella Dolkness, hurry up and catch Eleanora!”

“She’s fine now,” I reassured the god of light. “She’ll have a gentle landing without a single scratch on her.”

“How can you be so unconcerned?! Though it might be a slow fall, she will still tumble to the ground!”

Huh? Am I in the wrong here? Worried, I turned to Patrick, but he tilted his head in confusion as well. Right, I’m not doing anything wrong.

Despite the fact that we clearly had everything under control, Sanon covered her forehead with both hands and pleaded, “Please, you’re the only one who can save Eleanora.”

“Like I said...” I began, but I reconsidered. “Fine,” I sighed. Sanon’s pleas were so intense that it was as if she were begging me to save the world, so I did as she asked and went to catch Eleanora.

I launched into a running start and jumped, catching Eleanora in my arms just as she had descended to roughly the height of the second story of a building. From there, I fell freely and landed gracefully on both feet. Eleanora was completely unscathed, and as if to prove it, she was still letting out an energetic scream. I regretted that my arms were otherwise occupied, because it would have been a blessing to cover my ears.

“Aaaah! I’m falling!” Eleanora screeched.

“Um, we’re already on the ground,” I pointed out.

“Oh...? Yumiella? Am I all right?” Eleanora looked around and finally realized that she had been saved.

“How in the world did you end up falling like that?” I complained to the princess who had arrived from the sky, making me feel like I’d accidentally strayed into a certain film. I gently let her down to stand on her own.

“I thought I was going to die...” Eleanora’s legs were trembling like a fawn’s. She stumbled a bit, and I rushed to support her.

I wasn’t sure what had happened to her, but she must have had a terrifying experience. Even though my body could likely withstand reentry into the atmosphere, I knew how scary it was to fall from that kind of height back from my early days of dragon flight. I gave Eleanora a tight hug to reassure her that she was safe now, that I would protect her no matter what kind of danger came her way.

“Woo-hoo! Being alive is truly incredible!”

“You’re fine, aren’t you...?”

“Not only am I perfectly well, I also received a hug from you,” Eleanora bubbled. “Perhaps I should fall from the sky more often!”

“Yeah, you’re all right.”

Even though she’s physically weak, her mental strength is incredible. I’d forgotten about that.

Even if we were both girls, it still felt awkward to be clinging onto her for too long. Just as I was about to let go, a voice called out from beside me.

“You’re touching Eleanora too much! Get away from her this instant!”

I turned to find Sanon right there, much too close for comfort, still covering her forehead with both hands. First I had to protect Eleanora, and now I had to stay away from Eleanora? What a lot of unreasonable demands. In this case, however, I had been planning on doing what she was asking for to begin with, so I complied and stepped away.

Eleanora seemed to be disappointed, but her footing was stable now. She turned to Sanon and said, “Oh? Who is this? I feel like we’ve met somewhere...”

“This is our first time actually meeting. It’s a pleasure, Eleanora.”

“Oh, that voice! You’re that god! You’ve actually come!”

“We’ve only been speaking until now, but I’m happy to be finally seeing your face.”

Eleanora was so religious that she had continued going to the Sanonist church even after she moved from the Royal Capital to Dolkness County... Wait, was she actually religious? I’d never bothered to ask. Regardless, there was no doubt that she had a passionate interest in Sanonism.

Even so, I had no idea that she’d ever talked to a god. I had thought hearing the voice of god was impossible until this morning when I met Lemn.

Right, now I remember! Yesterday, Eleanora was saying that she could hear a god’s voice. She said she heard a voice telling her to be careful around me. So it wasn’t an auditory hallucination after all.

Sanon seemed to be pleased to be talking to Eleanora. Perhaps she couldn’t control her joy, because there was light spilling out from the gaps between her fingers that covered her forehead. There was a serious possibility that I would be hit with the forehead beam again if I went close enough to join in the conversation, but I decided to take the risk.

“I heard about your prophetic message to her yesterday,” I said. “You told Lady Eleanora to be careful around me.”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Sanon confirmed, turning to me. She regarded me with a strict glare. “You must keep your distance from Eleanora, Yumiella Dolkness.”

I can’t just roll over and say, “Yes.” I’ve already promised that I’m going to provide for Eleanora for the rest of her life.

“Can you tell me the reason? Lady Eleanora is my dearest best friend.”

“There are many reasons... First of all, you are a bad influence on Eleanora. Also, she may be your best friend, but above all, she’s my precious follower.”

“I won’t be a bad influence,” I protested. “You sound like a certain overprotective father I know, Sanon. Also, she’s not my best friend, she’s my dearest best friend.”

“Not a bad influence? Aren’t you the reason why Eleanora fell out of the sky just now? Also, allow me to point out that I’ve known Eleanora far longer than you have, though yesterday was the first time we spoke.”

I was being accused of a crime I hadn’t committed. I would never do something to make Eleanora fall from the sky. I turned to Eleanora, thinking she could clear things up, but she was just standing there looking blissfully oblivious. Wondering where her brain had wandered off to, I leaned in to hear her mumbling to herself. Sanon did the same.

“Hee hee, I’m her dearest friend...” Eleanora sighed happily. “I even get to talk to a god, this is like a dream come true...”

“Adorable,” I cooed. “She’s my dearest friend.”

“Adorable,” echoed Sanon. “She’s my dearest follower.”

That’s hardly a match. If you have to choose between a god and your best friend, your best friend is the obvious winner, I thought to myself as I basked in my superiority. I looked at Sanon to see her inevitable look of defeat, but instead, I found a prideful look on her face.

We need to decide who gets to have Eleanora... But before that, to bolster my case, I should clear up this little misunderstanding about her unfortunate fall.

“Lady Eleanora, why did you fall from the sky?”

“I was flying on Ryuu’s back, when—”

“See!” Sanon interrupted Eleanora triumphantly. “Your dragon is the cause for this after all. That means it’s your fault, Yumiella Dolkness!”

I see, so Eleanora fell off Ryuu’s back... I guess I should take responsibility for this as Ryuu’s guardian.

“I was flying through the clouds, when suddenly a pillar of light appeared!” Eleanora continued. “It was so very close to us! When the light shone on his scales, Ryuu seemed hurt, and he started thrashing around... That was when I was shaken off.”

The pillar of light must be the one Sanon used to attack me. So she’s the culprit behind the mystery of Eleanora’s descent from the sky. Not only that, but her attack hurt Ryuu too.

Since Ryuu was a dark-type like me, he was probably quite injured. Even if nothing but the attack’s aftershock had hit him, that pillar of light was incredibly potent.

I squinted up at the sky to see if I could catch sight of him and assure myself that he was all right, and...there he was. Ryuu was watching us, circling above. He seemed to be flying normally without any irregularities in his wingbeats—he was likely just surprised by the pain. Our eyes met, so I gave him a little wave to let him know that Eleanora was safe, and that he could stay away if he was scared.

Then I turned back to the true culprit, Sanon. “The person who created the pillar of light is at the most fault here.”

“No, but...” Sanon sputtered. “If Eleanora hadn’t ridden the dragon in the first place, then...”

“You’re the god of light! Aren’t you ashamed to be making excuses?” I postured like a mafioso.

“But, I...” Sanon sadly hung her head. I took a step closer, hoping to push my advantage, but Eleanora stepped between us.

“Yumiella! It isn’t right to bully a god!”

“Hey,” I complained. “I’m not actually bullying her.”

“Eleanora!” Sanon exclaimed, touched. “I knew I could count on my follower to defend my honor!” Sanon seemed to immediately regain confidence knowing that Eleanora was on her side. She came forward as if it were her turn to attack and closed in on me, her forehead shining. “Like I keep saying, you need to keep your distance from Eleanora. Do you think you can win against my light?”

“But, God, I don’t want to be away from Yumiella!” Eleanora protested.

“Lady Eleanora!” I beamed. “I knew I could count on my dearest best friend!”

Eleanora turned around to face Sanon.

I knew it; she was on my side after all. Not only that, but she’s giving me a good spot to hide, and she’s protecting me from the forehead beam.

The god of light immediately deflated, and the glimmer from her forehead disappeared as if it were on a dimmer switch. “I’m just thinking of what’s best for you, Eleanora...” she said sadly.

“Even if it’s a command from a god, I don’t want to say goodbye to my friend.”

“How could this be? I thought you would understand... Eleanora, I just...” Sanon’s eyes looked empty, and her demeanor, if it was possible, had become even stranger.

Sensing danger, I stepped back in front of Eleanora and looked askance to see where Patrick had ended up. He was behind Sanon, ready to launch into a pincer attack with me at a moment’s notice.

If it comes to it, I’ll help Eleanora escape while Patrick stalls Sanon.

As Patrick and I communicated all of this through significant glances, Sanon suddenly began to cry, large droplets running down her face in torrents.

“I see that you’re going to choose Yumiella Dolkness, Eleanora... You’re going to marry Yumiella Dolkness and spend the rest of your lives together... I don’t approve, I won’t approve of it...”

Huh? I’m marrying Eleanora? No, I’m not(?).

I wasn’t exactly sure how she had arrived at this conclusion, but Sanon was convinced that Eleanora and I were getting married. I was wondering if Sanon was a little touched in the head, since I couldn’t think of another reason that she would be spouting such nonsense. It had to be a misunderstanding, or maybe someone had lied to her, but just the thought of me and Eleanora getting married was ridiculous.

“Um... We aren’t getting married,” I said, deciding to see if a simple denial would set things straight.

“What?” Sanon blinked in confusion.

“Lady Eleanora and I would never get married, because we’re both women. Though, to be clear, I have nothing against people getting married to whomever they like.”

“Is that true...?”

“It’s the truth,” Eleanora chimed in. “Yumiella and I are simply best friends.”

Once both of us had denied the marriage allegations, Sanon’s tears dried up at once. Her expression returned to life as a shining grin spread across her face. A more literal shine followed from her forehead, so I quickly hid behind Eleanora, trying to make myself small.

“I see, is that so?” Sanon seemed eager to confirm our complete lack of an engagement. “That must mean Eleanora wasn’t violated by this despicable individual after all.”

I feel like I’ve had this conversation with someone before. The way in which we fought over Eleanora earlier felt familiar too. I wonder why.

I peeked out from behind Eleanora to confirm that the forehead beam had calmed down, and seeing that it had, I asked, “Why did you think that Lady Eleanora and I were going to get married?”

“You were the one who said it,” Sanon replied.

“What? When was that?”

“It was yesterday. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

Yesterday, yesterday... Hmm... So much has happened since this morning that yesterday feels like a million years ago. I know for a fact that yesterday morning, Eleanora said she could hear the voice of a god. And now it’s been revealed that the voice was Sanon’s, warning Eleanora to be careful around me. Completely unaware of that fact, I assumed that Eleanora was mentally unstable and having auditory hallucinations... I was deeply touched by what a good girl she was, so then I said I would marry her so that I could provide for her for the rest of her life... Oh wait, I did totally say that. I said I’d marry Eleanora. Right, that was the reason why we went to see her father. I remember now.

“I guess I did say that...” I finally admitted after a short silence.

“I heard it clearly,” Sanon agreed. “That’s why I ran over here, so I could protect Eleanora.”

“The reason I said it at all was because I also wanted to protect Lady Eleanora. I thought she was having hallucinations and hearing things, so if you think about it that way, this whole misunderstanding is actually your fault, Sanon.”

“Wh-What? No, you can’t pretend this is my fault when you’re being the strange one, bringing up marriage out of nowhere.” I had hoped that Sanon would be swept along by the force of my argument and accept defeat as she did when we had discussed who was at fault for Eleanora’s unfortunate descent from the sky, but instead, Sanon continued to assert that I was at fault. To be fair, I thought the offer of marriage had been strange as well—I had been acting uncharacteristically odd yesterday.

Once all of the facts had been brought to light, the whole thing seemed completely absurd. I never would have guessed that the greatest danger I’d ever face would be caused by an offhand comment that got way out of hand. The ludicrous nature of the situation seemed to be sinking in for Sanon as well. Although we had been dire enemies until several moments ago, we now gave each other a look and sighed.

But...can I really let it end like this? Things got muddled after Eleanora fell from the sky, but Sanon had a clear advantage when we fought directly. At best it was a draw. There’s no way that I, Yumiella Dolkness, would be okay without seeing this battle through to the end.

I readied myself. “Well then, let’s start round two.”

“Excuse me?” Sanon asked, confused.

Unlike before, we were standing much closer to each other—close enough that if I took one step forward and reached out, I would be able to touch her. She had decimated me with her long-range attacks, especially that forehead beam, but now we were in melee range.

Sanon also said she wasn’t able to catch Eleanora when she was falling from the sky. How careless of her to expose her physical weakness. I can definitely win in hand-to-hand combat.

I kicked off from the ground and leaped forward. I slid past Sanon on her side and slipped behind her, strategically removing myself from forehead-beam range.

“She disappeared?!” Sanon exclaimed.

“I’m behind you.”

“Eek!”

Unable to see my movements, Sanon had left herself wide open. I reached around from behind her, grabbed both of her wrists, and fell backwards. Naturally, Sanon fell with me. When I hit the ground first, I shifted my weight to bring both of my legs up and around, locking them behind Sanon’s knees, tangling our legs.

Nailed it, I thought smugly. With Sanon’s wrists held tight in my hands and her legs locked in mine, I used my remarkable strength to lift her body up above mine, positioning her in a way that made her look like a bridge, helplessly suspended over me. This is the surfboard, also known as—

“Oh my! Yumiella’s Romero Special has landed!”

Nice commentary, Lady Eleanora.

Our eyes met, and I gave her a small nod to show her I was proud of her. I wasn’t sure when he’d gotten over there, but I noticed that Patrick had moved to stand by Eleanora’s side. I was happy to see that he was clearly preparing to add his own analysis of my rematch with Sanon. Sports commentators should always come in pairs!

“Lady Eleanora, what did you just say?” he asked, looking at her with surprise.

“Why, it’s commentary, of course!” Eleanora looked very pleased with herself. “Yumiella also taught me the names of many wrestling moves.”

“It might not be such a mischaracterization to call Yumiella a bad influence...” Patrick muttered, which didn’t seem like useful commentary to me.

I was about to refute his claim, but that’s the moment that Sanon chose to begin thrashing around in my grip. Unfortunately for her, she was much too weak to make much headway. Even her specialty, the forehead beam, was doing her no good; unable to escape my surfboard hold, she was shooting the beam towards the sky, leaving me without a scratch.

Sanon gave up on breaking away from my restraint by force and began making a commotion instead. “Hey! Yumiella Dolkness! Put me down!”

“How is it?” I taunted. “Does the Romero Special hurt?”

“It’s more embarrassing than it is painful... Wait, that’s not the point! You must stop this immediately!”

“The proper method to do this move is actually when you force your opponent to roll face down and onto their knees, and then you can flip them over...” I started to explain, and then I brought myself up short. “Oops, I’m doing the analyst commentary. That’s your assignment.” I gave Patrick a significant look to indicate that he was really falling down on the job, but his face had twisted into an incredible grab bag of emotion. He wore an expression that was a melting pot of feelings—sorrow, wrath, resignation, self-depreciation, woe, regret, anxiety, concern, pensiveness, and fluster.

Oh no, I might have overdone it just a bit. I thought I was being so careful by not using the Muscle Buster on Sanon, but it looks like the Romero Special was a no-go too. I’ve learned my lesson: I’ll only use a German Suplex from now on.

It suddenly felt uncomfortable to continue with our rematch, so I released Sanon by throwing her off to one side. As she stood up, I noticed tears in her eyes, and I unexpectedly began to feel like I had done something wrong.

She’s the one who picked a fight with me. This was all self-defense.

“I was almost killed because of a misunderstanding,” I pointed out, “so you’ll forgive something like this...right?”

“I admit that I was at fault for the root cause of our conflict, and for that I apologize. But to face such incredible humiliation...”

“Was my Romero Special that embarrassing...?”

“Don’t make me say it!” Sanon cried. “Also, you say you were almost killed, but I had no intention of causing you permanent damage.”

What? I feel like the pillar of light she attacked me with was overflowing with murderous intent. Isn’t it a bit of a stretch to say that was anything but intended to kill me?

“Even I would’ve been in trouble if I’d been hit by that pillar of light you threw at me,” I pointed out.

“I just wanted you to learn your lesson after you deceived Eleanora...” Sanon huffed. “I take care to not feel anything special towards specific humans. I do not have a particular affinity for Eleanora, nor do I dislike you, Yumiella Dolkness.”

Though she said all this with a straight face, I just couldn’t find it in myself to believe her. She totally hated me, and she definitely adored Eleanora. But I was finally able to figure out why this all seemed so familiar—speaking to Sanon was just like talking to Eleanora’s father.

“I’m not sure why you’re trying to hide your undeniable affection for her, but it’s completely obvious.”

“That is simply not the case. I am the god of light, Sanon. The sun’s light shines down onto everyone equally.”

Ugh, this really was such a ridiculous situation. All that happened in the end was that the Eleanora fan club gained a new member. 

Looking back on the events of the past twenty-four hours, I could start to tease out a clearer picture of the path that had led us here. I recalled that directly after our discussion about marriage and whatnot, Eleanora had heard a voice saying, “I don’t approve, I’ll be there right away.” Now I knew that voice had to have been Sanon’s. Still, it felt like she’d taken too long to get here.

“Why did it take a whole day for you to get here when you told Lady Eleanora that you’d be here right away?” I asked.

Sanon was silent for a moment, then explained, a little hesitantly, “I can appear freely anywhere the sun is shining. However, since it was cloudy yesterday—”

“Wasn’t it sunny yesterday?” I interrupted.

It definitely was. I don’t think we had clear blue skies, but the sun was definitely out.

Sanon averted her gaze as if she was hiding something when suddenly Lemn popped up beside her.

Oh, he’s alive. I thought the forehead beam had killed him and he’d melted away.

Lemn smirked. “Knowing Sanon, she probably spent too much time trying to figure out what to wear, and then a day had passed before she knew it.”

“N-No, you’re wrong!” Sanon exclaimed, desperately attempting (and failing) to refute his theory.

Ah, Forehead Bestie is bad at lying. She’s the opposite of Lemn, who nonchalantly tricks people while wearing that affable smile.

Catching sight of the suddenly visible god of darkness, Eleanora shrieked in surprise. “What?! Who is that?! Yumiella, is that...your younger brother?”

“I don’t have a brother,” I said patiently.

“Then... Is he your child?!” Eleanora’s assumptions seemed to be running off in a ridiculous direction, just because Lemn had black hair like mine.

I knew this would happen. That’s why I didn’t want them to meet earlier in my room.

Lemn (curse him) didn’t deny it, and he looked up at me, tilting his head. “Mom?”

“I knew it!” Eleanora exclaimed. “He is your child after all!”

“He’s not,” I corrected, exasperated, but Eleanora wasn’t listening. Her delusions only multiplied as she looked back and forth between me and Patrick, blushing.

“If you have a child, that must mean that the two of you have...”

“We didn’t.”

“But, this morning...”

Well, Patrick had warned me. The unaddressed misunderstanding that I had leveraged to shoo Eleanora away from my room had backfired spectacularly.

Lemn’s appearance was roughly that of a ten-year-old boy—that fact alone should have been enough to make identifying me as his mother an impossibility. After a moment of consideration, Eleanora looked askance at me and Patrick in confusion, perhaps realizing this fact.

“Wait...” Eleanora gasped. “The two of you haven’t gotten married yet, have you? Could it be... Is it possible to have a child just by kissing, even if you aren’t married?!” Her eyes grew wide, as if the truths of this world had been revealed to her.

Oh, I see. She doesn’t know. She must’ve thought we were kissing in my room this morning.

“That adorable girl is my dearest best friend,” I sighed happily.

“That adorable girl is my follower,” Sanon sighed happily.

Our voices overlapped, and we turned to give each other a warning glare.

I braced myself, expecting a third round of combat, when Patrick mumbled, “This is all very strange.”

“Huh? What’s strange?”

“Sanon said she was coming here right away after hearing you say you’d marry Eleanora. Why did you say something so ridiculous, Yumiella?”

“Like I said, I thought Eleanora was hallucinating when she said that she’d heard Forehead Bestie’s voice...”

Wait... That is strange. This all started because Eleanora heard Sanon tell her to be careful of me. But Sanon had never made contact with Eleanora until that point, so what made her decide to act at this particular moment?

I decided to ask this question of Sanon directly, but before I could, Lemn spoke. “Sanon doesn’t have a high threshold for weirdness. She couldn’t take how ridiculous you were being to Eleanora for a moment longer, miss. That’s why she gave her dear follower that warning.”

Patrick nodded. “That makes sense. I don’t know the god of light very well, but I can understand that reasoning.”

“You still seem like you’re hung up on something, mister...”

“I wouldn’t be confused if only Sanon had appeared. The strange one is you, Lemn. Why did you decide to contact Yumiella today?”

Lemn froze with a brittle smile still spread across his face. Sanon’s sudden appearance had muddled things, but there was no question that Lemn was very suspicious. Not only was his presence in and of itself odd, our earlier confrontation with him had confirmed that the story of the resurrection of faith in the god of darkness was something he had fabricated.

We had assumed that these two gods had appeared for completely unrelated reasons, and yet our first meeting with both of them had occurred yesterday morning—Lemn appeared in my dream, and Sanon delivered her voice to Eleanora.

What really started all of this? I should probably ask the god who can’t lie.

I stared right into Sanon’s eyes and asked, “I have a question for you, god of light. Until yesterday, you’d never interfered in Lady Eleanora’s life. Why did you talk to her yesterday morning?”

“I spoke to her at last because the Yumiella Dolkness of a parallel world destroyed humankind.” Sanon’s tone was calm, and she spoke as if we were having a trivial conversation, like if I had asked her what her favorite food was.

Her shocking statement silenced us. Patrick and I were at a loss for words. Even Eleanora was quiet, perhaps having (for once in her life) read the proverbial room and taken notice of the suddenly heavy atmosphere.

I...destroyed humankind? Thanks for nothing, other-me. Given that, it’s no wonder that a god might be cautious of me.

Lemn let out a disappointed sigh. “Why’d you have to go and tell her, Sanon?”

“I see, so that’s also the reason you’re here, Lemn,” Sanon said. “I can’t say I’m surprised, given your adorable passion for the collective good of humanity.”

“I’m not the one who exerted divine influence over a single human’s marriage,” Lemn retorted. “How do you have so little to say about the end of the world after spending so much time and effort on a ridiculous misunderstanding?”

These gods didn’t seem to get along very well. Unable to maintain a facade of civility, their irritation was seeping into everything they said to one another. Sanon was the first to look away in their staring contest.

She turned towards me. “You can ask Lemn for the details. I’ll be taking my leave, then.”

“God!” Eleanora cried in dismay. “You’re leaving already?!”

“I don’t think we’ll ever meet in person like this again, Eleanora,” Sanon told her solemnly. “But know this: I am always watching over you.”

“No, how could that be?! I’ve been praying to you for so long, and I just got to finally meet you!”

In silence, Sanon closed the distance between herself and Eleanora, taking the young woman into a brief, gentle embrace. When she let go, Sanon turned her back and was enveloped in a bright light, just as she was when she appeared. When the light disappeared, so did she, along with any trace that the god of light had ever stood before us.

Eleanora was gazing listlessly down at her feet, but before I could think of anything to say to comfort her, she suddenly threw her arms up and exclaimed, “I can’t stay upset! God said she would be watching over me! I’ll do my best, so please watch me try hard every day!” Though her expression at first glance appeared to be a cheerful one, I could see small tears forming in the corners of Eleanora’s eyes.

Eleanora and Sanon’s relationship had returned to its baseline: a mutual one-way street, where one would pray while the other would watch over from a distance. Since I didn’t know exactly how Eleanora felt about going to church, I couldn’t be sure what it meant for her to meet the god she believed in for naught but a single moment—

“Oh! I’ve just heard god’s voice! She says...‘Good luck!’”

Are you kidding me...? Sanon, you just said goodbye to her as if you would never speak to her again. It hasn’t even been a few minutes; it’s barely been a few seconds!

As I stood there speechless, Lemn suddenly burst into laughter, as if he had been holding it in and couldn’t do so any longer.

“Sanon is so awkward. She was hurt in the past after getting too close to someone, and she’s been like that ever since. She tries to keep her distance from people like she just did now, even though it’s impossible for her to stay away.” Then, Lemn’s cheery tone completely changed, his voice becoming quieter as he continued. “She only has trouble because she looks at people individually. Things would be easier if she just looked at humankind as a whole...”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you mean that it might help if she were to, for instance, avoid using people’s names by calling them ‘mister’ or ‘miss’?”

“I don’t like how good your intuition is, miss...”

“As a god who prioritizes collective good over individual happiness, you wouldn’t be able to look the other way when there’s a risk that I could destroy the world, right?”

It was still vague, but I was starting to get an idea of what Lemn’s motives were. He’d sought me out in this world after learning that a different me had destroyed her version of this world.

Lemn, perhaps realizing that he couldn’t play dumb anymore, replied to my question with a sour look on his face. “I was secretly gathering information behind the scenes, but Sanon ruined everything.”

“I was suspicious of you long before she appeared,” I assured him.

“Well, my motives are just as you suspect, miss. I guess there’s no use hiding it now. Let me just ask you bluntly...”

I could easily guess what he was going to ask. I had no intention of destroying the world. I didn’t know if he would believe me, but I was prepared to answer him with an emphatic “no.” But the question that followed was not what I had expected.

“...just who are you, miss?”

“What an abstract question. What do you mean by that?”

“Let me rephrase it, then... Are you actually Yumiella Dolkness?”

I was about to answer that of course I was, but I stopped just before the words could leave my mouth. I had, in fact, deviated far from the true Yumiella.

I see, I get what he’s asking now. Within the countless parallel worlds, I’m the only one who’s an anomaly. I’m sure that I’m the only Yumiella with a soul reincarnated into this world from Japan. But how do I explain that? How much should I disclose to him?

When I didn’t immediately respond to his question, Lemn went on. “It all started two nights ago. Remember how I said I can exchange information with my parallel-world selves? My other self from a certain world was killed by that world’s version of you, miss. That Lemn had suggested to that world’s Sanon that they attempt to build a united front against their Yumiella, but...well, every version of Sanon is stubborn. We were taken down individually.”

She even defeated Sanon? My other self is strong.

Though it was a bit morbid, I was impressed with this alternate version of me.

“Are you saying that Yumiella will destroy this world?” Patrick cut in, his voice tinged with anger. “Yumiella would never do something like—”

Patrick seemed like he was about to lunge at Lemn, so I gently tugged at his sleeve to hold him back. “But I would, Patrick,” I explained softly. “The real me would indeed become an enemy of this world.”

“It seems like you do know something.” Lemn smirked in a way that seemed to indicate he was unsurprised by my response. Patrick, on the other hand, looked completely lost.

“Yes,” I admitted to Lemn, “but before I answer you, I have one question. Is it only the one world that’s on the brink of extinction? What about my alternate selves in the other parallel worlds?”

“There’s only one world where I’ve died. The you in that world is much stronger than any of your other selves. As for the Yumiellas in those other worlds, you, um...”

“I’m usually killed by Alicia and the others, the four heroes who stand against the Demon Lord, right?”

There was a short, stunned silence before Lemn asked, “Just who are you, miss...?”

I’m getting it now.

The proper order of events in this world and its parallels was the basic scenario of the original game, in which the plot progressed smoothly and Alicia and the others defeated the final boss—the Demon Lord—as well as Yumiella, the hidden boss. By contrast, there was the world that Lemn had described as being on the verge of extinction: a world in which Yumiella was too strong, Alicia and the others were defeated in her hidden boss battle, and even the gods themselves were powerless to stop her.

The only difference between these worlds was who won the hidden boss battle. These worlds likely followed nearly identical paths until that point. But what about this world? Here, the plot of the game had veered so far off course that there was no semblance of the proper route remaining, and it was all because of me.

At first I found it strange to think that I could destroy the world. But as it turned out, it was actually stranger that I was living as peacefully as I currently was.

“Well, technically speaking, I’m not Yumiella. I can explain the nature of my true identity, as well as Yumiella’s true role in this world.”

“I knew it,” Lemn said triumphantly. “You’re totally different from every other Yumiella.”

“Yumiella?” Patrick asked, his dismay and confusion evident. “You’re not Yumiella? What are you talking about?”

I guess it’s finally time... I have to tell him about my past. This is probably going to take a while. I don’t even know where to begin. But there’s just one thing, one extremely important thing, that I want to tell him first.

“It’s a complicated situation, Patrick, but just know that, in the end, I’m still me.”

After a moment of silence, Patrick responded. “I’m sorry, I overreacted. Yumiella... You’re you. Of course you’re you.”