Chapter 8: The Hidden Boss Descends—the End of the World
It floated in the air as it slowly ascended. Wings sprouted from its back. This was an example of an extremely rare phenomenon in which magical energy—which was typically fluid, colorless, and shapeless—took a well-defined and solid form.
Each of the six black wings on either side of it undulated, continuously changing shape as they grew larger. The wings themselves were visible from a much greater distance than the human-shaped entity in the center was.
It had a ring floating above its head. The ring, black as the undulating wings, multiplied itself several times over into a pattern of concentric circles that looked a bit like Saturn’s rings.
It was much too evil to be called an angel, but much too divine to call a devil. Still, calling it a god would be sacrilege.
It was surrounded by the Lemlaestan army, who stood mute and staring as its wings spread and its halo expanded ever outwards. No one was running—they instinctively knew that it was pointless to run, and they clung to this single clear fact in a maelstrom of incomprehensible circumstances.
No one screamed; there was no value in expelling precious air from their lungs or in raising their voices. No one spoke; everyone felt the same horror, so there was no need to put their thoughts into words. No one prepared a will; it was clear that the people they would leave behind were going to disappear as well. No one fought; the futility of such an action required no explanation.
It wasn’t despair—resignation was closer to what they felt. No matter what action they might take, it would ultimately be pointless, and they had no choice but to accept the reality before them.
The area around it fell completely silent. As the Lemlaestan forces watched, it grew larger with every passing second. Its black wings spread upwards, while the halo spread in every direction parallel to the ground, both wings and halo continuously expanding.
Once the twelve wings reached a certain height, they began to move differently, as if they were trying to engulf the planet. The black rings spread out, as if they intended to cover the skies of the whole world...
The black wings and the ever-expanding halo were eventually observable from every corner of the globe. This caused unrest to spread throughout the world. Those who had the knowledge or the wisdom to understand the nature of what it might be were dragged at once into the depths of despair.
◆◆◆
It was fortunately cloudy in the Royal Capital of Valschein, which hid the wings from view. However, the thin, continuously spreading concentric rings were visible under the clouds.
While the expanding stripes rippling across the sky filled the citizens with anxiety, those in the Royal Palace were busy trying to understand what was actually happening. The initial reports sent out from various departments had reached the king. The weather specialist working for the kingdom believed that this was the first time such a phenomenon had occurred in documented history. Other researchers started combing through the kingdom’s records, but there was little hope that any useful reference would be found.
This was the point at which the Archmage was called before the king. He hurried as quickly as his elderly body would allow and rushed to the king’s side.
“It appears that there is a large wave of magical energy flowing from the west towards the east,” the Archmage panted as he caught his breath. “I believe it’s covering the entire sky. The source should be found somewhere to the west.”
The king looked out the window of his office. It was true that the striped pattern in the sky seemed to arc towards the east and from the west.
“I see, so it’s an expanding wave of magical energy,” the king repeated. “There’s been a report from outside the Royal Capital documenting a large object floating above the clouds. It’s apparently shaped like a leaf or feather. Could that, too, be related to the magical energy?”
The Archmage nodded. “I haven’t seen it myself, so I can’t say for sure, but it seems likely that it is.”
“Black magical energy...” the king mused. “I can’t help but think of that girl.”
“That’s impossible,” his magical adviser insisted. “Considering the scale of this phenomenon, it has to be coming from outside the kingdom. Even though that girl might be...somewhat irregular, she couldn’t do something of this scale.”
The elderly mage believed that the source of this phenomenon had to be something outside of human understanding—and that it was therefore something humanity could do nothing about. He had no idea what could have affected everything on such a scale. Had a god descended onto their world, or was this the beginning of the end of everything?
Just then, another man entered the office, a superior officer of the Knight’s Order, someone in charge of maintaining order. The king and Archmage deferred further discussion about a possible apocalypse so that the king could order the man to be cautious of any crimes that might occur in the midst of the chaos.
The Archmage stood there feeling a bit useless; he knew nothing of policing the populace. He turned to the window, studied the unsettling pattern in the sky, and trembled.
◆◆◆
On a distant continent, night had already fallen, obfuscating the additional darkness of the spreading wings and halo. The first to notice the strange phenomenon was a blind master swordsman. The man spent every hour of every day in darkness, and now he felt something even darker.
“I see... So it’s going to end,” the swordsman mumbled.
“Master?” asked his apprentice. “Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing. You should go to sleep.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll head to bed in preparation for tomorrow’s lesson! Good night!”
The swordsman’s unusually sharp ears listened as his apprentice’s heartbeat slowed as he fell into sleep, still pondering his lesson plans for the next day.
“If tomorrow even comes...” the swordsman muttered darkly.
◆◆◆
Perched on a certain church spire in a certain town, the god of darkness complained to the god of light as they sat together and watched as the world ended.
“I told you so!” the god of darkness exclaimed. “This is why I said we should kill her sooner rather than later! I warned you so many times!”
“Gods are beings that watch over humans,” the god of light reminded him. “It is not right for a god to kill a human. I will repeat myself as many times as I have to.”
“The fact that you still consider that to be a human after witnessing this terrifying situation makes me wonder if you’re all right in the head.”
“She is a human,” insisted the god of light. “She is a human, and I love all humans. Humans should resolve their own issues, no?”
Lemn let out a sigh, exasperated with this conversation that clearly was going nowhere. The situation had gotten so out of control that it would no longer do any good for gods to intervene. It was pointless to struggle, and he had no choice but to observe from the sidelines. The only other thing he could do was pin his hopes on humans, as Sanon suggested.
“I’m counting on you, mister,” Lemn grumbled.
“Considering how dire the situation is, why don’t you use his name?” Sanon asked.
“Shut up, Sanon! I could say the same thing to you. Considering how dire the situation is, why can’t you be a little more flexible with your principles?!”
“Shut your mouth, Lemn.”
◆◆◆
The county of Dolkness was currently without their lord. Disastrous darkness filled the previously sunny skies, and the reactions to the crisis observable in this one territory were a microcosm of the various responses across the world. Those working in the lord’s estate were in a frenzy, trying to figure out what was going on. At the same time, fear and panic spread throughout the town. Among everyone in the county, there was only one person who was as calm as usual.
“Oh my, it seems that Yumiella has gotten into quite the mess once again,” the girl muttered to herself as she looked blankly up at the sky.
“Lady Eleanora!” a maid called out to her. “What are you doing? We must get you to safety right—”
“Where would be safe from this?” Eleanora responded, disregarding the maid’s warning and remaining by the window.
“You have a point...” The realization caused the maid to freeze up in fear.
“This is undoubtedly the work of Yumiella, so there’s no use being afraid of it,” Eleanora said comfortingly.
“I guess it is related to Lady Yumiella after all. I thought the world might be ending, but...” The maid looked determined. “I need to trust Lady Yumiella.”
Well, the world was going to end—at the very least, it would if things continued the way they were going. Eleanora had already drawn this conclusion, and she almost opened her mouth to express her honest thoughts, but then she realized that there was no point in making the maid’s anxiety worse.
Eleanora believed in Yumiella. She also believed that Yumiella could easily destroy a world or two just to prove her own strength. Still, Eleanora didn’t panic. She thought instead of someone who believed in Yumiella just as much as she did.
“There’s probably no use in me trying to think of a solution. I hope Sir Patrick is able to stop her...”
◆◆◆
Back at the battlefield directly under it, the Lemlaestan soldiers continued to stare, dumbfounded, at the source of the phenomenon. The people of the world who only had to look at the effects of it were fortunate; the soldiers, on the other hand, had to live through it.
There was no sound at the center of the end of the world. In the silence, Patrick Ashbatten’s voice rang with clarion volume as he called its name.
“Yumiella!” It didn’t respond to his voice. “Yumiella, can you hear me?! It’s me! It’s Patrick!”
Patrick wove through the frozen Lemlaestan soldiers and ran towards it. Some realized that he was part of the margrave’s family upon hearing his name, but they didn’t react—despite the fact that Patrick was technically their enemy, he was nothing compared to the horror spread out across the sky. All they did was look after him with expressions of pity towards him and his obviously futile efforts.
Patrick conjured a burst of wind and flew off the ground, unable to bear the lack of response from it any longer. He used his magic to rapidly close the distance between himself and the floating being.
“What’s wrong?!” he cried. “If you’re really that against it, we don’t have to have a wedding—”
As he hit the halfway mark between the ground and it, huge globs of a jet-black, muddy substance started to rain down on the earth below. The sky was suddenly full of it.
Patrick instinctively felt that it was imperative to not let the mud brush against him even in the slightest. Just managing to dodge it took every ounce of power that he had. As he twisted and turned, avoiding getting hit, he was forced back down onto the ground.
He looked up, and from the ground he could see that, of course, the mud was coming from it. The black, sticky muck was continuously spilling out from the twelve wings on its back. The mud made an unsettling plopping sound as it hit the ground, but to his surprise, it hadn’t yet seemed to have hit any people.
Patrick expected the growing puddles of mud to sink into the earth, but the substance behaved strangely. The countless blobs all moved as if they had minds of their own.
He kept thinking of these masses as “mud” because that’s what they most resembled, but perhaps they were more like some kind of slime—the only thing was, they moved much too abnormally to be slimes.
Each blob continued to change form. They stretched upwards before sinking back to the ground, then stretched horizontally before collapsing back towards the center. It seemed like they had a specific shape they were trying to achieve as they wiggled around.
“This is...” Patrick’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Maybe I won’t be able to do something this time.”
The scene before him was even more horrific than Patrick imagined hell could be, and he began to truly feel as if the world was going to end. After all, if Yumiella wanted to, she could easily catalyze the end of days.
Despite the overwhelming despair of the situation, he leaped up towards the sky once more, heading for it.
“Yumiella! I’m going to keep trying, no matter how many—” Patrick once again found himself facing towards the ground, only this time it was because he was suddenly unable to ascend. “What’s going on...?”
Patrick had been propelling himself upwards using wind magic, and he had managed to achieve a significant height, but now he found himself suddenly falling. It didn’t feel as if a force had pushed him back. He definitely felt like he was heading upwards, yet for some reason he found himself hurtling towards the ground at full force before he knew it.
Now earthbound, Patrick picked up a pebble and threw it into the air. The pebble headed straight up before suddenly flying sideways for a short distance. Then the pebble moved up, right, down, then right again... It didn’t seem like there was any pattern to its movement as it zoomed through the air in zigzags, at times drawing arcs, before it slowly lost momentum.
As the pebble slowed down, it fell downwards and stopped, hovering right in front of Patrick’s face. After a second, the pebble began to accelerate once again, ascending in fits and starts and flying around in an irregular pattern. After tracing this unpredictable flight path for a moment, it finally fell in front of him, only this time it bounced off the ground several times before it stopped moving. The pebble’s final movements were the only ones that seemed to obey the standard laws of physics.
“Is this space warped?” Patrick wondered aloud.
Perhaps from the rock’s perspective, it had just flown straight up before falling due to the force of gravity. However, if Patrick’s hypothesis was correct and the space around him had indeed warped into a chaotic mess, this would explain both the rock’s movements and his own unceremonious crash landing.
In order to reach Yumiella, he had to somehow navigate the twisted space around them. Upon realizing this hopeless fact, Patrick stared blankly up at the sky.
“What do I do...?”
If the space was warped, that meant that even light couldn’t directly reach the earth, which meant that Yumiella might not even be where she seemed to be positioned. The light would bend according to the warps in space, causing a deceptive optical illusion.
As Patrick stood there, filled with despair, he heard a listless voice behind him.
“It’s over,” it said numbly. “Let’s just give up.”
Patrick turned. “Oh, it’s you, Alicia.” He’d forgotten that the girl was here and not still confined in the Royal Palace.
“Wait, I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before...” Alicia said, looking at him with eyes devoid of feeling. “I guess it doesn’t matter at this point.”
“Oh, right. You’re the last one that spoke to her before that happened to Yumiella. What caused it?”
“It’s my fault, but soon enough there won’t be anyone to condemn me for it, and it’s too late for regret, and the sky is black...” Alicia let out a sigh. “I guess there’s no point in me going to another continent anymore either, ha ha.” Her laugh was hollow.
Alicia didn’t seem like she was doing all right, but Patrick didn’t have time to worry about her; just as she’d said, there was no doubt that she was the cause of all this. Patrick believed that whatever she’d done held the key to getting everyone out of this situation.
“What did you do to her? What did you say to her?” he demanded. “Yumiella’s generally a mild-mannered... Well, maybe that’s not the best description of her. Either way, you must’ve done something pretty intense for her to transform into that.”
Mild-mannered or not, he had no doubt that Yumiella was at least a generally stable person. If she had been someone who became violent whenever her mood changed, Valschein would have burned to the ground long ago.
With all that said, Patrick was curious as to what Alicia could have done to have incurred Yumiella’s wrath to this extent. The light mage finally responded, explaining the extent of the taboo she had committed.
“I told her that I thought I could beat her if she’s really level 13. After all, I have the advantage when it comes to our elements... I even called her a small fry.” She looked miserably up at the sky. “I was wrong to think I could beat her.”
“Oh,” Patrick said, understanding dawning on him. He’d finally figured it out.
The truth was, he’d had a feeling that this might have been the cause of all this. After all, Yumiella had ended up in a similar situation the other day, and the trigger had been Lemn’s taunts about her level. Her level was, of course, actually much higher; 13 was just the lower two digits of whatever her full level really was. However, being taunted as ‘a small fry’ who was only level 13 seemed to be unbearable torture for Yumiella.
It was admittedly a ridiculous reason, but that didn’t change the fact that this terrifying phenomenon needed to be stopped.
“I thought it might be something along those lines,” Patrick said after letting out a deep, melancholic sigh. He fixed Alicia with a steely gaze. “I’ll have you know that Yumiella is strong!” he declared as loudly as he could, projecting with his diaphragm. Still, he didn’t know if his voice was reaching Yumiella.
She hadn’t seen him since she’d run away from home, saying that she was going to the moon. If she’d noticed that he was here, she might have reacted, but nothing like that had happened. She probably wasn’t even aware of his presence.
Patrick scanned his surroundings. It didn’t seem like he was getting anywhere on his own. If Ryuu or Eleanora were here, the situation could maybe take a turn for the better, but neither of them were present. Even if he were to call them over, by the time they got here, the world would have already ended.
The only allies Patrick had right now were Alicia, who was just standing there staring blankly, and the Lemlaestan soldiers, who appeared to be doing the same. Though there were hundreds of people around him, they didn’t seem like they would be of any use.
Still...
“I guess they’ll have to do their best,” Patrick muttered. He let out a sigh before continuing in a louder voice. “Listen up! I’m Patrick Ashbatten! That thing up there in the sky is my fiancée! I’m going to undo what’s happened to her! I need your help!” He used his wind magic as he spoke, amplifying his voice so that he could deliver his message to the entire army.
Though his message reverberated throughout the battlefield, not a single soldier reacted to it—no one even glanced at him. Patrick was left as the only one yelling up at the sky.
“Yumiella is strong! She’s the strongest in the world! Yumiella is the most powerful person in the entire world!”
Patrick’s words seemed to have some effect because the bizarre blobs of mud wriggling around on the ground stopped moving. Though they didn’t seem capable of communicating with humans in the slightest, they all became still, as if they were listening to him.
The unbelievable sight of the mud creatures falling still at last caused a reaction among the Lemlaestans. They all looked at each other, trying to confirm that they were all seeing the same thing. Patrick called out to the soldiers once more, using this opportunity to push them into action.
“Yumiella lost control after being told she was weak!” he explained at volume. “If we all praise her strength, she’ll return to normal!”
At least I think she should, Patrick thought. He wasn’t sure about this, but he didn’t want the soldiers to feel his unease, so he declared his belief confidently in an attempt to trick even himself into believing it. “Everyone, raise your voices! If our words reach Yumiella, the world will continue to exist!”
Patrick had prepared himself for the idea that the end of the world might still arrive, but he didn’t let the soldiers see that. He still firmly believed that disaster could be averted. He believed in his heart that Yumiella would return. There was no way that Yumiella wanted the world to end—even through all the despair he felt, Patrick had no trouble believing that.
“Let’s save the world!” Patrick exclaimed.
As his voice traveled through the air, the Lemlaestan forces began reacting. Though they had initially pitied him for his stubborn refusal to give up, they were now curious as to how he could display so much confidence. Why was he so sure that they could save the world after seeing what was undoubtedly a sign of the end-times? When they turned to look at him, encouraged by his words, what they saw were Patrick’s emerald-green eyes glimmering radiantly with hope.
This spark of hope spread throughout the entire Lemlaestan army. It was a terribly small glow compared to the darkness covering the skies, but this was the sort of light that could save the world.
As those around him began to once again feel hope, one Lemlaestan soldier found that he couldn’t stop shaking. Until moments ago, he had completely given up to the point that he felt almost at ease. But now that he knew there was hope they might survive, that meant that the world might continue, but he also might still die. I don’t want to die! I want to live! he exclaimed in his heart.
Individual desires to live, wishes to protect the world in which their loved ones resided, and the egotistical urge to play a part in saving the world were some of the varied motivations in the soldiers’ hearts. These thoughts manifested into one phrase.
“Yumiella is the strongest!” one soldier exclaimed.
“Yumiella is the strongest! Yumiella is the strongest!” multiple soldiers chanted in unison.
It was a simple phrase, and it was unclear who had yelled it first. The Lemlaestan soldiers continued to scream until their throats gave out, thinking of their love for this world and all its people.
The blobs of mud, fallen still, began to change. Though they had been abnormally solid, now they began to lose their form and slowly spread out across the ground.
The sky also began to change. The wings that were spread out above them began slowly folding downwards.
Though these were visible changes, it wasn’t clear if the situation had taken a turn for the better or for the worse.
“Yumiella is the strongest! Yumiella is the strongest!” they continued to chant. Everyone’s hearts and words worked in unison. “Yumiella is the strongest! Yumiella is the strongest! Yumiella is the strongest!”
And then...the world was saved.
The strange mud disappeared, evaporating away as if it had never existed. The wings that covered the skies dissipated into the air as if they were unraveling. The black rings faded away, and warm sunlight shone down.
Patrick watched as the soldiers from the neighboring kingdom cheered and shouted, tears streaming down their faces. He appeared to be the only person present who had remained composed.
What even is this ridiculous situation? he thought. Why am I doing this?
After examining the situation objectively, Patrick had to admit that he felt a bit embarrassed, but he reminded himself that this had been the only way to turn Yumiella back to normal.
“Yumiella is stronger than anyone in the world!” Patrick exclaimed once more for good measure. “She’s number one in the world! There hasn’t ever been anyone stronger than Yumiella, nor will there be in the future!”
“Come on, I don’t think I’m that strong...but that’s also hard to deny,” Yumiella said with a bashful smile. The darkness was gone, and there she stood under the sunny sky.
◆◆◆
“Come on, I don’t think I’m that strong...but that’s also hard to deny,” I said to Patrick with a smile.
Before I knew it, everything around me seemed to devolve into chaos. The incredibly loud chants of “Yumiella is the strongest!” didn’t stop. In fact, they seemed to be getting even louder and more vigorous. Before, it had seemed like they had been screaming desperately, but now they sounded like cries of joy.
“Yumiella is the strongest! Yumiella is the strongest!” the soldiers cheered.
Wait, wait, hold on. It’s true that I’m as strong as the ultimate creature of destruction, but it’s kind of embarrassing to have a crowd chanting it. I didn’t even realize it, but Alicia’s still here too. I give up on understanding her.
If a third party were to look in on this situation, they might believe that I was forcing the soldiers to praise me, or perhaps they would think this was some kind of ritual to worship a god of destruction.
In contrast to the sea of Lemlaestan soldiers spread out before me, Patrick was standing right in front of me. He wasn’t participating in this strange ritual. I had probably just imagined hearing his voice in the crowd. Patrick would never shout something silly like “Yumiella is the strongest!”
Patrick just stood there, silently staring at me. I had been planning on coming up with an excuse later for running away from home, so I had no idea what to say to him either.
I’ll just follow my gut and start by saying...
“Um, so... I didn’t make it to the moon.”
That was definitely the wrong thing to start with. Couldn’t you think of something better to say? He’s mad, isn’t he?
Patrick slowly made his way towards me and then suddenly threw his arms around me in a tight embrace.
“I’m glad... I’m so glad...”
Huh? What is this? What’s going on?
I stood there, completely confused and stiff as a statue as he held me.
Maybe he was really sad without me around. I can’t believe he’d get so emotional after not seeing me for only a few days. You might be a little too dependent on me, Patrick. I don’t mind it, though. I didn’t think being dependent was a good thing, but I guess your boyfriend being dependent on you is a different story...
“I’m so glad. I thought the world was going to end,” Patrick said.
Oh, this isn’t dependency. What does he mean by the world ending? Looks like something big was happening behind the scenes.
That’s when I remembered that we were right in the middle of enemy territory. This wasn’t a movie, so it wasn’t likely that the Lemlaestans would patiently wait for us to retreat. They’d likely find their chance to attack as soon as possible.
I didn’t want to be free of his embrace just yet, but I pushed Patrick aside and scanned the area. I first noticed Alicia. She was bawling, tears streaming down her face as she watched our reunion.
“Being alive is so wonderful...” she said between sobs.
She’s just soaking in the joy of being alive. What the heck?
I still couldn’t grasp what was going on, but I hadn’t forgotten my objective—I had to pretend I had lost. In order to carry out my mission, I placed my hand on my chest like I was in pain.
“Urgh... The effects of the sealing instrument... I have no choice but to retreat...” I groaned.
“Yumiella is the strongest! Yumiella is the strongest!” the soldiers continued to cheer.
No one’s listening. Seriously, what is up with that chant? Is it trending or something? I’d hate it if “Yumiella is the strongest” became the biggest meme of the year, or if it gained traction as a hashtag on social media or something. I’d be so embarrassed that I wouldn’t be able to go outside. I really hope no one tweets it.
I was completely lost as to what I should do, so I turned to Patrick for help.
“What should I do? I need to lose... Oh, your brother actually told me to lose,” I explained. “If we win too much, it’ll only build resentment—”
“I know about the assignment my brother gave you,” he assured me.
Oh, he must’ve come here because he got Gilbert’s letter. That makes things easier for me.
With Patrick’s help, I’d surely be able to carry out the plan. It might be cheating, but I had been supposed to execute this mission after I’d received a letter back in Dolkness County; Gilbert had sent it there, not knowing that I had been the person to crash into his house all along. Since I had lost my initial opportunity to get Patrick’s advice back home, Gilbert had no right to complain about me getting his help in this unexpected situation.
“What should I do now?” I asked again. “You must have a good idea of how to deal with this, right?”
Patrick would surely know the best way to handle this situation. I believed in my fiancé from the bottom of the heart.
Patrick let out a chuckle before he said, “It’s pointless. You should give up.” He swiftly and confidently declared that it was impossible. I hadn’t expected that.
I can’t do anything, huh? Well, if Patrick says so, it probably is pointless.
“Oh, I see.”
“Let’s go home,” he said. “Everyone’s waiting for you.”
And so, we started heading back towards Ashbatten, walking right through the middle of the Lemlaestan forces, who parted to let us pass with no resistance at all.
We eventually made it out of enemy territory, and we continued walking together in the direction of Patrick’s home as the sun began to set.
“I’m sorry...” I said finally.
“It’s fine,” Patrick responded.
“It’s not. I’m going to reflect on my actions and make sure that I actually make it to the moon next time.”
He sighed. “You’re not sorry at all, are you?”
Oh, thank god. Patrick was being so nice that I was starting to get worried. It’s uncomfortable for him to not chastise me at least a little when I’ve done something that he has a right to be angry about.
But now that I’d heard one of his admonishments, which I’d missed so much, I apologized again.
“I’m sorry for running away. It was a bit too selfish of me to want to cancel the wedding.”
“I’m sorry too. I know that you’re not fond of those kinds of events, but I didn’t even try to stop it from becoming such a large-scale celebration.”
“I’m also sorry I couldn’t lose properly. It was my one opportunity to get Gilbert to approve of our marriage.”
“It’s fine. I’ll convince my brother somehow.”
Though he was now acting a bit more like his usual self, he was still being kinder than usual. I looked over to him as he walked alongside me, and I saw a peaceful look on his face.
“Why are you being so nice today?” I asked.
“After seeing that, I thought you might never come home,” he explained. “I’m just happy to see you’re safe and to have you back.”
“That...?” I looked at him quizzically. “Oh, you must mean when I got sealed away. I would never stay trapped by something like that. You should know that.”
“No, it was after that...”
“Um, did something happen? I think I might’ve spaced out or something. I don’t really remember.”
“It’s fine if you don’t remember,” Patrick said with an incredibly exhausted expression.
After I got sealed away, I talked to Alicia, and then... Oh, I think I checked my level? I don’t remember much past that.
We slowly climbed up a small hill. I wasn’t sure what had happened during the blank part of my memory, but Patrick certainly seemed to know about whatever it was.
Just as I was about to ask him about it, a voice called out to me.
“Excuse me.”
Someone’s behind us? I wonder if someone from the Lemlaestan army followed after us.
I turned around and saw Alicia and a man who was holding her arms as if he was keeping her from running away.
Oh wait, I know this person.
“Huh? Commander Adolphe?”
“It’s been a while,” he greeted me. “I apologize for the trouble the Knight’s Order caused for you by mistake.”
Just as I thought, it was Adolphe, the commander of the Knight’s Order. This was my first time seeing him since the first time I had met with the king. I’d seen him around after that, but I’d never spoken to him again until now.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I’m here to bring her back,” he told us, nodding at Alicia. “I was also watching that from a distance.”
What is he talking about...? The sealing?
I decided to interpret his words as an apology for not helping me.
Alicia’s expression was lifeless, which was surprising, considering that not long ago she’d seemed to be intensely experiencing the joys of being alive... She seemed to be really unstable. It made me worry for her.
“I guess my life of no freedom will resume...” she said with a sulky sigh.
“You don’t seem to regret your actions at all,” Commander Adolphe observed, clearly exasperated.
Alicia suddenly became defiant. “Can I stop leveling up now? You saw all that too, didn’t you? There’s obviously no point in training.”
“Well... I suppose that’s true,” Adolphe admitted. “If I had been ordered to do so, I was planning on taking her on, but... I’ll advise His Majesty that there isn’t a point in continuing with that contingency plan once we return to the Royal Capital.”
I wonder what they’re talking about. Also, what’s this about Alicia level grinding while she was in confinement? She gets free food and shelter, and she gets to level grind? That sounds like the height of happiness. I have no idea why she’s complaining about not having freedom or whatever.
“You should keep leveling up,” I said encouragingly.
“Oh, it’s not what you think!” Alicia said in a rush. “I wasn’t training to take you down or anything! I was being forced!”
Oh right, she’s never liked level grinding. I wonder why. She really is weird.
“So that’s how she was able to flee your custody,” Patrick chimed in. It was so sudden that it caught me by surprise. “I assume that someone from Lemlaesta came into contact with her in the dungeons.”
“I’m truly sorry for this,” Commander Adolphe said. “I apologize once again on His Majesty’s behalf. I’ll also suggest that coming up with any combative countermeasure is useless.” Commander Adolphe bowed deeply before he dragged Alicia with him in the opposite direction.
I wonder what he was apologizing for. Also, how did Patrick understand how Alicia fled Valschein?
I wanted to ask the questions that were on my mind, but I kept them to myself once I saw the person waiting for us at the top of the hill. It was Patrick’s older brother Gilbert.
I had failed. I had ruined the plan that he had come up with. He was probably going to nag and insult me. Possibly he would even laugh at me as he shared his disapproval of our marriage.
To my surprise, Gilbert met us with a solemn look and bowed deeply.
“I apologize,” he said. “I misunderstood things!”
“Gilbert?!” Patrick exclaimed. He seemed to be just as surprised as I was.
What’s with this sudden change of heart?
“This entire time, I thought that some horrible woman had you in her claws, but that’s not it at all, is it? I’m proud of you, Patrick.”
“What do you mean...?” Patrick asked.
I was glad that we were able to correct Gilbert’s misguided perception of me. I was a bit irritated at him calling me a horrible woman, but that was almost ten seconds in the past, so I could put that behind me. His misunderstanding must have been that he’d thought I was a bad person, which meant that he now understood that I was a proper lady who possessed both wit and beauty.
“I understand after seeing all that,” Gilbert explained. “You’re not just wanting to marry any strange woman, are you?”
“Yes, Yumiella may be strange in some ways, but—”
“I’m sorry that my lack of perception kept me from realizing what you’re doing. You’re protecting the world, aren’t you?”
“The world...? Huh?” Patrick seemed baffled.
“All this time, you’ve been protecting the world from that idiot, haven’t you? There’s no need for you to sacrifice yourself like this, but...there’s nothing I can do, is there? If the world will be at peace because of your betrothal, then...” Gilbert shook his head. “No, this isn’t right. A world that exists upon the back of one man’s sacrifice isn’t just!” Patrick’s brother looked like he was going to burst into tears at any moment, but his expression suddenly changed into one of anger as he turned to face me. “Yumiella Dolkness, I won’t give up! I’ll wait for my opportunity to strike, like a snake hidden in the grass, and one day, I’ll free Patrick from your clutches!”
“Sure,” I said with a sigh.
“Um, Gilbert, I truly love Yumiella—”
“It’s okay,” Gilbert said, cutting Patrick off once again. “I’m your older brother. I understand the true feelings in your heart. I see right through you, so you just wait. Your big brother will do something about it. It’s my responsibility as the eldest of this family.”
And so, this encounter between the Ashbatten brothers ended with yet another misunderstanding between them.
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