Volume 5: Charming Overheat

Miracle Herb

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“A miracle herb that can immediately cure any wound or illness? The hell is that? Sounds like a religious thing or some kind of scam,” Ryner Lute said lazily as he laid down, relishing in the feeling of his full stomach after dinner.

It was the same dining room of the same inn as always.

Despite it already being dinnertime, his hair was still messy from sleep. His slouch was no better than usual. He fixed his sleepy eyes on his partner who sat across from him at the table. “Hey, Ferris. Where did you even hear about that?”

She spoke through a mouthful of dango. “Mm. Do you remember those ruffians who we disciplined at the tavern before?” she asked, strangely calm to the point of monotone. She had glossy blonde hair and cold but clear almond-shaped blue eyes. Her delicate limbs didn’t look like they could hold the longsword she held. 

Ferris Eris.

Anyone and everyone would consider her a world-class beauty. The thing was that she always had this blank expression on her face - one that entirely lacked warmth. The part that bothered him most was the way her expressionlessness didn’t even budge as she ate dango, though… 

“The ruffians from the tavern… so you’re still pushing those guys around and making them gather info for us?” Ryner asked.

“Mm. When I told them that ‘lately, none of you have gathered any information… don’t you think it’d be a pleasant start to a day if you were to wake up and see your wives and children’s heads rolling away from their bodies?’ After that, they found this information for me rather quickly, and that was that.”

Ryner lightly held his head in his hands. “I’d rather not hear gruesome threats like that right after eating, but… complaining about that wouldn’t be productive at all, so… anyway, I think I get what you’re trying to say. Basically, you’re saying that it’s credible because you threatened them to hell and back if they didn’t find anything, right? But scams like that are everywhere here. If it was real, then honest doctors and magic researchers would be all over it, but as things are now it sounds more like something straight from Estella’s field.”

Ferris shook her head. “This is a bit different from that.”

“Oh? How so?”

“It seems as though knowledge of this legendary miracle herb has been passed down for generations in the northern rural portion of the country…”

“Yeah. It’s a pretty common myth. But even if you believe in all the myths like that—”

“However, it seems that rumors of this particular ‘miracle herb’ have been incessantly appearing in that village. On top of everything, it is said that it’s able to bring the dead back to life…” 

Ryner was entirely disinterested. “That’s a pretty common myth too… They might just be trying to revitalize their village… I bet no one’s gone there for a long time, and…”

“Mm. Just as you say, it appears that those who believe that rumor nowadays are few and far between.”

“Ah, thought so.”

“Mm. Brining the dead back to life should be impossible as well,” Ferris said.

“Exactly. What kind of medicine could work on thousands of illnesses? They need to think of some other interesting way to get tourists…” 

Ferris made direct eye contact with him. “Go.”

“…Like, for example, a dragon coming out of the ground… wait, what? What’d you just say, Ferris?”

“Go to that village to determine if that medicine truly exists.”

Ryner’s face went blank with amazement. “Hey, uh, do you understand what I just said? That ‘miracle herb’ is so obviously fake that looking into it would just be a waste of time—”

“We must go regardless of if it’s a waste of time or not,” Ferris said stubbornly. “That is the nature of our work. We must research potential Heroic Relics no matter how fake they may seem and recover them if they exist. That’s our mission.”

“Umm… uh, is it okay if I ask a question?”

“Mm? What is it?”

“You said ‘go’ just now, right?”

“I did.”

“Does that mean you want me to go by myself?”

“What else could it mean?” Ferris said without hesitation.

“You’re on the exact same mission as I am! How come you get to stay here but I have to go there!?” Ryner yelled, but Ferris didn’t budge. 

She was definitely looking down on him for asking such an ‘obvious’ question. “Hmph. There’s a dango fair in town, so I’m too busy—”

“I’m gonna fucking kill you!”

In the blink of an eye, Ferris disappeared, as if she’d just been a mirage since the beginning… and by the time he realized where she’d gone, she was already holding her sword to his neck from behind. She pressed it against him slowly… slowly… and… 

“Don’t you think it’d be a pleasant start to a day if you were to wake up and see your wives and children’s heads rolling away from their bodies…? Ah, but you don’t have a wife. I suppose it will have to be your body, so unfortunately, you won’t wake up to see it. There is nothing I can do about that - I’m sorry. I pray that you won’t be in your room tomorrow morning…”

“…I hate this life…”

With that, Ryner left for the village before morning…

---

The land was rural for as far as he could see.

There were mountains towering above him, and the sky was a clear blue. He was in the heart of nature.

Anyway, he had something he wanted to say, but… 

That village… 

“Heeey! It’s seriously way too far away! The hell is Ferris thinking!? It’s ten days by foot away from the port town we’ve been staying at!” Ryner yelled, exhausted, resentment engraved on his face.

Ferris didn’t tell him shit about it, but according to the villagers in the places Ryner found along the way, the place he was looking for was called Mcknatt. It was apparently a stereotypical agricultural town, rural to the max.

Ryner crossed his arms once the village was finally in sight. “Seriously, though. An agricultural place like this shouldn’t need any tourists… so there’s no reason for them to ‘revitalize’ it. Hmm. It’s getting a little more interesting…”

But the second he stepped foot into the village— 

“You’ve come!” a young man yelled and flew towards Ryner. He was on the verge of tears. “Finally! You’ve finally come! We’ve been waiting for you!”

“Huh? You’ve been waiting? For…?”

“He’s finally here, everyone!” the young man shouted, and a bunch of heads popped out from the houses, each one wearing a shocked expression.

“It’s true!”

“Really!? Call the mayor!”

Ryner, meanwhile, had absolutely no idea what was going on. “I-I’m saying, what the hell is happenin—”

The young man in front of him cut him off. “We’ve been waiting for you for so long!”

“For me?”

“Yes! Welcome to our village! Now please, come with me! Everyone’s long since lost their patience waiting,” he said and grabbed hold of Ryner to pull him along.

“…No, ahh, well. I think you’re majorly misunderstanding something, and you’re not listening to me… But I guess it’s good that I’m being welcomed with open arms and all…” 

Ryner watched the man tugging him along with half-lidded eyes. He was definitely emotional.

Ultimately, Ryner was brought to a large town square. That put him in an even bigger dilemma.

“…So what do you want from me…?”

It was weird. Super weird. All the townspeople gathered and surrounded him with awe.   

Ryner bore the brunt of their combined eyes. “So? Do you guys think I’m a particularly rare animal or something?”

The man who’d brought Ryner there smiled happily. “He thinks he’s a rare animal! But maybe ‘rare’ is a good word for it…”

A deep, hoarse voice was next to speak. “Come now, Shurla. Don’t go calling our esteemed guest a ‘rare animal,’” an old man in his seventies said as he approached.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Mayor. I’m just in such a good mood,” the young man called Shurla said.

The old man nodded. “Understandable, really… You’ve been waiting for him most of all, after all,” he said, then faced Ryner. “We have been waiting for you, good sir. I apologize to hurry you so, but would you come look at my granddaughter?”

A cute girl of about twelve years old stepped forward from behind the mayor. Her face was a bit red.

“I’m really not following this conversation,” Ryner said, “b-but you just want me to look at her, right?”

Everyone in the village nodded in unison.

It was creepy! And the whole atmosphere there was just bizarre - it was tense as all get out. Everyone was staring at him so seriously…

“Uuuh… ah, what the hell. ‘Look at my granddaughter,’ he says… But looking is just looking. What do you want from me?” Ryner asked and looked back down to his granddaughter. Her face reddened even more and she hung her head.

“What do you think?” the mayor asked.

“Even if you ask me what I think, uh… d-don’t tell me that this is some kind of marriage interview? Are you trying to find new blood for your village? Th-that’s not happening, you know. There’s no way I’d marry a kid like that. Ferris would call me a sex fiend again and—”

The mayor was shocked. “Marriage!? What are you saying? You are a doctor, are you not? What kind of perverted doctor would speak of marriage when faced with a twelve year old!?”

“I just said that I’m not… So, umm… you’re talking to me, right? You’re calling me a doctor?”

“Aren’t you?” Shurla asked. “It goes without saying that our rumor of a ‘miracle herb’ would attract a doctor in search of it! That’s the entire reason why we spread that rumor to the nearby villages…”

“W-wait a minute. Then that whole ‘miracle herb’ thing…”

“I’ll apologize for spreading falsehoods,” the mayor said, and he did look like he was sorry. “However, we had no other choice. Doctors don’t come to rural villages such as this. When we become ill, that is the end… That’s why we…”

“Ahh, I knew it was fake,” Ryner said, fed up with the whole situation. “Well, I understand where you’re coming from, but this is kinda depressing… and anyway, is there really a dumb doctor out there who’d believe a rumor like that?”

The mayor looked at Ryner expectantly.

Ryner held his face in his hands. “Ahh… so that makes me the first dumbass to take the bait…”

“I’m sorry for doing this,” Shurla said. “But if we didn’t—”

“But I’m not a doctor, you know?”

Everyone’s expressions suddenly dropped to the point that it was fascinating, in a way. They all faced him with despair.

“Th-then if you’re not a doctor, then you must be a researcher focusing on healing magic or something similar, right?” Shurla asked, flustered. 

“Nope. I haven’t seen any doctors around here. And at least in Roland, all the magic researchers are either elite or rich, so I’m not really close with any of them either…”

“Th-then who are you!?”

“Huh? I mean, even if you ask me… I guess I’m someone who came here searching for the miracle herb?”

The villagers’ expressions changed drastically. Now they looked dangerous.

“What, so he’s useless.”

“I’m an idiot for ever believing that a sleepy guy like this could help,” a man said.

“I saw through him since the beginning,” a girl added. “It’s obvious that a stupid guy like him can’t do anything.”

“We don’t have to welcome him. Let’s chase him out!”

It was stupid. They had expectations all on their own, then they got mad at him when he didn’t even do anything… Even the villagers who’d looked gentle at first were glaring at him.

“Y-you’re the worst. You think we’re just stupid hicks. I hate even locking eyes with you…”

Ryner was just plain tired. “Umm, so… You guys were the ones who were expecting things from me without knowing anything, though…”

“What!? So you’re gonna keep running your mouth!? Fine! Let’s go, Fay!”

Ryner looked back to the mayor and his granddaughter as they left. “Ah, you were showing her to me because there’s something wrong with her, right? It’s bothering me that she’s red. She might be having abdominal problems… probably her spleen. It’s not my specialty or anything so I’m not sure, but… if she’s not feeling well, she needs to take it easy.”

Shurla, who had turned his back on Ryner, suddenly looked back. “So you are a doctor!”

Ryner shook his head. “No. But I grew up at a weird orphanage. They had me study some medicine. I’m not a real doctor, though, so it’d be trouble for us both if you try to rely on me—”

“Let’s feaaaast! We’ll feast to welcome the arrival of the doctor!!”

The villagers ignored his protests. They were too busy cheering.

“No, I just said…”

 “Lord doctor! You’re our savior!”

“I juuuust said… okay, whatever. Just do whatever…”

And so they celebrated the birth of the super doctor Ryner as they feasted until late at night, shoving patients in his face one after another…

---

The following day.

Ryner, who had stayed the night at the mayor’s house, was rudely awoken by villagers bright and early.

“Thank you so much for yesterday. We are at a loss for what words to use to express our gratitude.”

“No, you really don’t need to think of any, so can you just let me sleep,” Ryner mumbled. The villagers continued to thank him, so his mumbling turned to whispers. “I have to leave… I have to get out of this village as soon as possible… They’ll kill me if I don’t… I absolutely can’t live in a rural place like this where I have to get up at dawn…”

Ryner frantically forced his sleepy eyes to stay open. The mayor had left breakfast out for him.

“Getting up early feels good, doesn’t it, Sir Ryner?” the mayor asked. In that moment, Ryner sensed killing intent from him.

The mayor and his wife were sitting at the table. For some reason, Shurla from yesterday was there too.

Shurla’s expression was horribly dark. “Ryner, I am truly thankful for yesterday. Please, if you could examine all the villagers—”

“I’d seriously rather you give me a break… Also, you woke me up way too early. You didn’t give me the chance to get enough sleep…”

“You are very well-liked, Sir Ryner,” the mayor said. “So? Won’t you become our village’s doctor?”

He’d fucking kill this guy! Or so Ryner wanted to say.

“We’re very grateful that you saw the other villagers,” Shurla continued. “So please, we have one more patient for you…”

“It’s a pain in the ass, so I refuse,” Ryner said without even thinking about it.

“Her name is Yuul. She’s my little sister…”

“Did you not hear me?”

“The truth is that I spread news of that scammy miracle herb for her sake…”

“Yeah, he’s not listening to a word I say…”

“It’s been three months since she collapsed from her illness. She’s too weak for me to bring her to a doctor, and she’s just getting weaker and weaker…”

“Hmm. So where is she now?”

Shurla’s eyes began to shine. “You’ll examine her!?”

“Of course you’ll examine her - or else!”

“Enough,” Ryner mumbled and sighed. “I hate this village…” 

---

Shurla’s house was a snug little thing made up of a kitchen and a single room. There was only enough space there for a bed for the brother and his sister who occupied it. There was a ‘garden,’ but it was basically just dirt. It only had the bare necessities at best.

That was all he had.

When they opened the door, they were already up against his sister’s bed.

“Yuul! I finally brought you a doctor! I know that he’ll save you! You’ll be able to live just as energetically as before.”

The mayor had followed them over, and he stood in the doorway with Ryner. “Shurla and Yuul… have always been very unfortunate children. When Shurla was six and Yuul was three, a landslide killed their father. After that, their mother grew ill as if to follow him… Ten years have passed since then. These siblings have managed to survive with only each other ever since…”

“No, Mayor, I really don’t plan on hearing their life’s stories or getting involved or anything…”

As expected, that didn’t stop the mayor. “And yet, this time it’s his sister! Why? Why must such commendable youths be faced with these harsh trials? Why should an old man such as myself continue to live while children like them suffer?”

“I’m telling you to shut up,” Ryner whispered back. “I don’t care how you feel about this, so just leave. I mean, what would you do if that girl heard you just now?”

“Ah… y-you’re right,” the mayor agreed. “Then I’ll leave it to you, Sir Ryner.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll do what I can, so hurry up and leave.”

“O-okay.”

With that, the annoying old man left, leaving Ryner to look inside the house on his own. Now he could hear Shurla and Yuul’s conversation.

“The doctor really came for me?” Yuul asked. She sounded very gentle.

“Yeah! He’s really good, too! I know that he’ll cure you! I just know it!”

“Then he should help you first, Brother. You’ve been working yourself too hard ever since I got sick. I worry every time you seem less than your best.”

“You shouldn’t worry about others right now…”

“No. You’re always hopeless, so he needs to examine you first. Then there’s the other villagers. He has to see them, too. We almost never have a doctor here, so everyone needs…”

“I already saw everyone,” Ryner said. “Including Shurla.” He took a few steps over to Yuul’s bed. She was a frail girl of about thirteen years old. She had the same blonde curly hair as Shurla. She had big eyes and pale, almost white skin, as if she was made of snow.

“……”

She was likely… that pale because of her illness. Just one look at her made it obvious that she was sick. Even just talking was probably hard for her… 

Yuul looked up at Ryner and smiled. “What’s wrong? I’m happy as long as everyone is healthy, but…”

She shouldn’t be worrying about other people right now, but that was just the kind of person she was. 

Ryner shrugged. “Ah, yeah, they’re all really healthy. Your brother is, too. Everyone here was super energetic and got me up way too early… I didn’t get enough sleep. Everyone said they had to thank me, but if they were really thankful they would’ve let me sleep a little longer, y’know?”

Kuul giggled. “Morning always comes early here in the countryside. Are you from the city, Doctor?”

Ryner grimaced. “Knock it off with that ‘doctor’ schtick. Just ‘Ryner’ is fine.”

“Alright, Doctor Ryner.”

Ryner pressed his hand to his head, troubled.

“So, Sir Ryner,” Shurla started, concern written all over his face. “About her condition…”

“Mmhm. Alright, Yuul. Give me your hand.” He felt the pulse of her wrist. She was painfully thin, like she was withering away…

Ryner’s eyes narrowed. Her pulse was weak. Her torso was swollen, yet she was emancipated, like livelihood had already left her.

“What symptoms are you having?” Ryner asked quietly.

Yuul thought about it for a moment, then looked to her brother. “Nothing special, really. I just feel a little weak. I probably caught a cold or something…”

“That can’t be it!” Shurla said. “You have a fever, and your chest is…”

His words trailed off. He looked like he’d cry.

Yuul’s small hand rose to run her hand along her brother’s arm, comforting him the best she could.

Ryner crossed his arms. “Hmm. I don’t know what’s going on, so I’ll have to research it. I’ll find some documents to consult.” He stood, then made to leave…

The mayor and other villagers were waiting for him outside. Shurla followed, too.

“What do you think about my sister?” Shurla asked, a frantic expression on his face.

Ryner heaved a sigh. From what he’d heard, she’d been having palpitations, and she was pale and feverish. She was fatigued and swollen… and gaunt. Even an amateur like Ryner could see that she was in critical condition. It was a nasty disease even among the ones that he’d seen in the past. It was known as the pale nightmare…

It was already too late for her. Treatment wouldn’t do anything for her at this stage…and besides, the treatment for her condition rarely worked in the first place.

She’d called it a cold.

Idiot. It obviously wasn’t a cold.

The pain she was experiencing now was much harder to endure than a cold could ever be. Killing herself would be less painful.

Even so, she had laughed, doing what she could to ease the worries of her brother and the townspeople. She was only thirteen…

“How is she?” Shurla asked again.

“…Do you think I can answer that?” Ryner asked. “I’m not a real doctor, so…”

“Is it bad? Is she in a bad condition?”

“…How do you want me to respond to that?”

“I want to hear the truth. I want to know if her life will end soon so that we can spend what she has left together…”

Shurla was showing him a serious expression. He’d already prepared himself for the worst.

This was the worst.

Ryner had to wonder why he was here in the first place. He wasn’t a doctor, so why was he doing something so tedious…? He sighed, then spoke, exhaustion reaching through his words. “Aah. Right. She doesn’t have a lot of time left. Actually, it wouldn’t be surprising if she died any moment now. Nothing short of a real miracle herb could cure her now.”

Shurla’s face contorted. He gritted his teeth, and it looked like tears could spill out of his eyes at any moment. He desperately tried to stop them from overflowing as he spoke. “Th-thank you, Doctor… Ryner. I’ll be able to do everything I can with her, knowing this…”

The mayor stepped closer. “I-is there really nothing that you can do to save her? She’s sixty years younger than me, but I’m still here.”

Shut up. That was all that Ryner could think. To think that he’d say that right next to Shurla… But the mayor didn’t stop there.

“Right, the miracle herb. Maybe the herb that grows at  the summer of Wel Cliff could—”

The villagers spoke one after another.

“That’s right! That might help her.”

“But there’s no human capable of gathering it…”

“Ah!? Wait a sec. So you’re telling me that the whole miracle herb thing wasn’t a scam?” Ryner asked. “I mean, it’s true that there’s always been a legendary miracle herb that supposedly existed around here, but I thought that was another type of lazy legend—”

“No, it is true,” the mayor interrupted. “I myself was healed by the miracle herb when I was six years old… That is likely the origin of that story.”

“What!? Why the hell didn’t you start with that story!? If that’s true, then you don’t even need a doctor!”

The mayor’s face clouded over. “But that herb can no longer be gathered.”

“Why not?”

“Humans aren’t capable of climbing to the peaks to gather it. When I was a child, we were lucky enough for the wind to uproot it and blow it down the mountain from time to time, but…”

A scream suddenly cut through their conversation. “Yuul!?”

Ryner, flustered, poked his head back into the house. 

Blood was leaking out of Yuul’s mouth. It began to pool on the bed, dyeing its sheets red… 

“I-I’m sorry,” she said, “for getting the bed all dirty… I, I was trying to stop it, but…”

“What are you saying!? The bed isn’t more important! Your body is…”

“I’m, okay… so please, Brother, don’t worry about me.” She curled up… and fell unconscious.  

“Yuul!” Shurla yelled. The tears he’d been holding back finally spilled across his cheeks. He gripped her too-small hand and pressed his head against her bloody sheets. 

He was only sixteen years old, and here he was, being forced to tears because of his dying sister. 

She was only thirteen years old, and here she was, causing her brother nothing but worry.

Ryner grimaced. “Auuugh! This is such a pain! Damn that Ferris for sending me here by myself! She’s gonna regret this when I get back!” he yelled and shot out of the house.

The mayor tried to catch his eye. “S-Sir Ryner, where are you going?” 

“Isn’t that obvious? I’m going up. Up to the cliff!”

“The cliff… But people can’t…”

Ryner sprinted away without hearing him out.

---

He immediately understood where the so-called cliff was. It was close to the village, but it was obvious why people couldn’t climb it - it was a straight vertical line up to the sky. 

But that didn’t stop Ryner from dashing towards it. As he ran, his arms danced in air, and he drew a magic circle of light. 

“I wish for a spark of light - Cursed Tether!” A bright rope sprung from the circle. Ryner grasped it tightly. “I’ve gotta catch that boulder, and use this to constrict it!” he yelled.

He swung the rope to wrap around a boulder that was lodged at a high elevation. But he didn’t squeeze it to break it apart. Instead, he jumped up, and flew towards it using the rope as his guide.

Ryner made another magic circle at an inhuman speed, just like how he’d done before. “I wish for a spark of light - Cursed Tether!”

Just like that, he climbed the cliff with ease.

“Oof,” he groaned, “it’s actually pretty hard going this fast… and the top is really high up there. Ugh, next time something this exhausting happens, I’m definitely pushing all this on Ferris instead of doing it myself…”

So he said, but he didn’t slow or stop. He climbed and climbed, without ever taking even the smallest of breaks.

And so… when he finally reached the peak… 

“…Hah, hah, hah, haah…”

He focused his eyes ahead as he tried to catch his breath.

There, countless flowers were blooming…

“……”

---

When Ryner returned to Shurla’s home, he infused the medicinal herbs into water with practiced ease. He transferred the liquid medicine into a small vial, then handed it over to Yuul with a smile. “Everything will be okay if you drink this. “Oh, but your stomach’s pretty weak now, so take it slow.”

Yuul nodded, brought the medicine to her lips, and drank it.

Ryner stood once she finished, then tapped Shurla on the shoulder. “Alright, I’ll be outside. You can call me whenever if something happens.”

“Okay. Thank you so much.”

Ryner nodded lightly, and left without another word.

---

It was nighttime, and the moon was high in the sky.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t around any bright city lights, but it felt like there were many more stars out than what he usually saw.

Ryner was curled up for sleep in the garden just outside of Shurla’s house, staring up at the sky. He could hear Shurla’s happy voice from inside.

“Yuul, you’ll get better now. You drank the medicine that Ryner made for you, so you’ll get better!”

“Really? I’m happy,” Yuul responded with her kind but feeble voice. He could only barely hear it… “So I’ll be able to play with you again, won’t I?”

“Ah! Yeah, that’s right? We’ll play lots and lots when you’re all better! And I’ll make you eat all sorts of delicious things that you haven’t been able to stomach lately. I’ll work really hard so that you can taste them!”

“Nuh-uh. You don’t have to put tons of work into it. I’m happy just being so close to you. All I want is for us to grow up normally together.”

Ryner stared up at the night sky as he listened to them, two siblings who got along better than anyone.

It was a quiet night. He couldn’t hear much of anything else.

“Hey, Yuul,” Shurla said. “Let’s take it easy tonight, okay? You’ll definitely be able to get up tomorrow. Mr. Ryner said so. Just going outside might take up all of your energy now, but… you’ll be able to run around soon.”

“So we’ll be able to play together, then. We can race, but you’re really fast, so I’ll definitely lose. But someday I know that I’ll be able to win.”

“Yeah. I know that you can do it, Yuul!”

Their conversation went quiet for a moment before Yuul broke the silence. “Hey.”

“Hm?”

“…You won’t be sad, will you?”

“……”

“You don’t have to cry anymore. I’m cured, right?” Yuul asked. It was clear by her tone that she was worried.

“Th-that’s right. You’re gonna be all cured. So…”

“Mm. So I can sleep easy. I want you to hold my hand the whole time, okay? Because for some reason, I’m really cold…”

“I’ll hold your hand,” he promised. “So you don’t have to worry. Get some sleep, okay?”

“I love you, Brother.”

“And Brother loves you, too. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

That was the end of their conversation.

Shurla walked over to where Ryner lay and sat down. “Thank you so much,” he said and sniffled, a sure sign that he was crying. “She can have a good dream thanks to you, Mr. Ryner.”

Ryner didn’t look his way. He just continued to stare up at the sky. “I haven’t done a single thing for you,” he whispered.

---

When Ryner finally returned to their usual spot in the inn’s dining room, Ferris was there eating dango just like always.

“Oh, you’re finally back,” she said. “How did it go? Well?”

Ryner shrugged and pulled a single flower out of his pocket. “If by ‘well’ you mean this, then yeah.”

“Mm? Is this the ‘miracle herb?’”

“No, it doesn’t heal anything. Well, they say it healed an illness from fifty years ago, but right now it’s functionally useless.

Ferris was confused, in her own way. “Then why did you bring it here?”

Ryner’s expression betrayed his sadness ever so slightly as he looked down at the thin, pale flower. It was a small flower, the color of snow. “It’s… a miracle flower in its own right,” he said softly.

Ferris was quiet for a moment before finally responding with a quiet voice of her own. “I see… if you say so, then it must be true.”

---

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Volume 4: Bargain Sale on Magic Power

Denyuuden in Itself: Jereme’s Final Lesson

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---

Jereme Crysler did not believe that having a good command of magic was the only precursor to success on the battlefield. 

“I’m always thinking this, but God is partial to a fault,” she whispered to herself. “Though that’s only if a ‘God’ truly exists.”

She looked back up at the battle repeating before her. Her already thin eyes narrowed further. She had sharp eyes, indigo hair cut to her shoulders, and wore a military uniform on her trained body. She could probably… be considered fairly attractive. But nobody would ever think to call her pretty. Her eyes were just too sharp for a girl of only about twenty years old. 

She had an overwhelming murderous aura, one that only someone who had lived through innumerable acts of bloodshed could have. That and the dim after effect of regrets… 

She watched her students as they sparred. They were geniuses - or perhaps monsters - gathered here. Young children of about six years old. Three in total.

Ryner Lute.

Peria Peloura. 

Pia Valiere.

Out of those three, Pia by and far surpassed the boys.

“Ehehe!” Pia laughed. “Ryner, Peria, you guys can’t catch me even though you’re boys? God, you guys are pathetic. Though I guess you can’t expect too much from blockheads like you when you put them against a genius like me!”

Genius.

That was a word that seemed to have been made for her.

She had aqua colored hair and an even face. Her hair color was a sign of her power. She held unthinkable magical power best known as a ‘hereditary magical abnormality.’ People with her condition were said to lose the ability to cooperate with others… but Jereme didn’t think that way. She just had a bit of an ego since she had been so powerful from such a young age. 

The truth was that in this year, Pia had earnestly listened carefully to Jereme’s teachings and had grown leaps and bounds as a result. 

“Though not a single earnest word ever leaves her mouth,” Jereme mumbled with a bitter smile on her face.

In any case, Pia was a genius.

But she’d started training her body now too so that she didn’t just rely on her massive magical power. She was magically gifted far past the point of others, but that wasn’t all she had - she was legitimately a genius on the battlefield in every sense of the word.

She may be only six, but she could weave deliberate tricks together to grasp victory in only a moment’s time. Her technique was bordering on artistic.

Right now, Pia’s smile was ill-mannered as she fought. “Take that!” It looked like her body was going to move to the right in time with her shout. Her stance gravitated to the right and she began to move her feet. 

There was a boy there with disheveled black hair and motivationless black eyes. He might’ve been a kid, but he lacked the vitality of youth… His name was Ryner Lute.

“Wh-wh, don’t come any closer!” Ryner said and tensed his body, but it was a feint.

Another boy was behind him - he had blond hair down to his shoulders, and a philosophical expression that was distinctly un-childlike. In that way, he was similar to Ryner. He kept his eyes closed as he approached. His name was Peria Peloura.

Pia spoke, her body angled towards Peria. “Over here! ♪” Her bright voice was accompanied by a full-powered kick from behind.

Jereme grimaced deep inside. Even she didn’t think she could dodge that… And what could she do but smile, bitter as it was, at seeing a six year old fight that perfectly?

That kid was truly… 

“Naïve!” Peria suddenly yelled. “That’s what I thought you’d do!” He turned his body around, and with that movement alone easily dodged her attack.

Even Jereme was shocked. “Wha…” Just now Peria exceeded her expectations.

Peria smiled. “Too bad, but I saw through everything. I’m always falling for your tricks, after all… I can’t even see what you’re trying to make it look like anymore. I can feel the fibers in the depths of your muscles. That’s all I need to know where you’ll attack.”

Don’t be fooled by appearances. See through that and fight by reading your enemy’s presence. That was one of the basics of battle. But that wasn’t exactly what Peria was saying. 

It was exactly like what he said. He could feel the movements of Pia’s muscles under her skin. 

All Boundaries.

That was what Peria’s ability was called.

Roland’s military had forcefully placed a magic circle inside of him that created a barrier of sorts. As compensation for losing both his sight and hearing, that barrier gave him unthinkably powerful perceptive abilities. He could now perceive objects as if he was directly touching them…

And he used that ability to sense the movement in Pia’s muscle fibers.

Peria readied a punch. “I win this time, Pia! It’s ov—”

“This is why I haaate normies. I won’t lose to some perv who peeks into what’s going on inside of someone else’s body,” Pia said, then smiled leisurely. “So even my muscle fibers…”

Peria was shocked. “Th-the sound of your muscles… stopped…”

“Girls don’t make sounds when they move.”

“Th-then you’re telling me that what you did before—”

“Was just a feint. ♪” Pia raised her fist up. “Alright, with this, it’s my victory and mine alone!” Then she swung.

All Ryner could do was watch them go back and forth, this way and that, every movement of theirs skilled. “W-w-w-w-w-wait, w-wait a sec, wai—”

But Pia wouldn’t go easy on him. Her fingers danced in the air not seconds after she hit Peria. “I wish foooorrrr—”

“N-no way!” Peria said. “P-Pia, the match is over! If you shoot magic at me now… Ryner, do something!”

“Huh? M-me? That’s impossible! She started reciting it first… augh, geez!” Ryner raised his hand to cast, too.

But it was useless. At least, Jereme thought so. He wouldn’t make it in time. No one, no matter how skilled he may be, was capable of stopping Pia at that point.

It was over. Now all that was left was for Jereme, their instructor, to give them the signal to stop.

“……”

But she didn’t.

Pia, whose hand was still raised to draw magic, shot her a look - we’re not stopping? It’s okay if I hit him with this spell?

If she did it… if she hit them with her magic now, Peria and Ryner would both die. She had a genetic magical abnormality. Her magic was amplified, making it many times stronger than the magic of others. It was definitely strong enough to turn two little kids into charcoal.

But… Pia continued to cast.

“I wish for thunder - Lightning—”

“I wish for thunder - Lightning Flash!” Ryner screamed. 

Somehow, Ryner managed to complete his magic circle first. 

“No way!” Pia yelled, shocked. “You’re kidding!” She suddenly abandoned her magic circle and fled the spot.

Light gathered at the center of Ryner’s magic circle, then aimed for Pia… 

…or at least, where Pia was. Because now she ran at Ryner, jumped up behind him, and pulled his hair hard.

“W-w-wa—! T, time out! I lose!”

“M-me too!” Peria added. “I surrender, so—”

That was as far as he got before screaming overtook the dojo.

““Gyaaaahhh!””

“Alright, we’re done,” Jereme said.

Pia should’ve been happy since she won, but the second Jereme called the match, she started chattering angrily. “Waaaiiitt a minute, Ryner! What was that? You’ve always been a magic nerd, but since when could you construct a magic circle that fast? My spell should’ve been done faster. So what do you mean yours was ready first? What kind of cowardly trick is it this time?”

“M-magic nerd…?”

“Just answer me! If you don’t, then…” Pia began drawing another magic circle. “I’ll kill you!”

“W-wait! I’ll tell you!” Ryner shrieked, fear-stricken. But his expression soon fell into something that was almost happy. “Anyway, I’ll start from the theoretical—”

But just as Ryner was about to explain it all to Pia and Peria! “See!? I told you, you’re a magic nerd! You just have to explain every little thing you learn. Does that make you happy? You damn braaaat.”

“But… But Pia, you asked me to tell you…”

“Oh, and you're embarrassed when people point it out, so let’s just blame it all on others, right? This is why people call you a nerd.”

“Uuh… you’re calling me a nerd again… is it true, then? Am I really a nerd?” Ryner asked, his spirit growing weaker by the second. He looked to Peria for help.

“W-well, now, Pia,” Peria started, troubled. “You don’t need to bully Ryner so m—”

“You wanna act like an adult just ’cause you grew your hair out of that ugly bowl cut? We’ll, you’re not one.”

“Uuh… But, but Pia, I only grew it out because you said that the bowl cut was gross…”

Ryner patted Peria on the shoulder. “D-don’t let her get to you. Your hair is cool. Okay? So, so keep doing you. Pia’s just in an even worse mood than usual today…”

“Well, it’s not like I don’t understand what has Pia so upset,” Jereme said to herself quietly. It was Ryner’s final Lightning Flash. It wreaked havoc on her mood. It was just so strange… 

Geez. She saw stuff like this daily because of these kids. That was how she got to thinking that God played favorites. 

This was training that one had to have if they were going to do battle with others who could use magic. The more one trained, the stronger they became. 

Take Lightning Flash as an example. How fast could one draw the magic circle? How fast could they fire it? They had to train in a way that made it easiest to use during a battle. That was how they had to train. That would decide how strong they were as a magic soldier. 

However.

This boy, Ryner, had effortlessly shot forward on that path, his sleepy expression never even budging. Scholars studying magic in Roland had manufactured Lightning Flash after countless experiments, and here he was, ignoring the peculiarities that made it Lightning Flash in the first place… and ‘tampering’ with it to make something new.

He had altered his magic circle, omitting what he could, to suit the flow of battle. He had greatly simplified the magic circle itself to minimize the time spent casting.

That shouldn’t have been possible.

When a new spell was released, it generally took someone about two years to be able to use it... Even those who were already proficient in magic...

Right. Someone like Jereme might take about two months. Though that was in theory. It’d probably be closer to about six months for her to be good enough with it to use it seriously on the battlefield.

So to change the composition of a spell like that… it’d probably be an extra two months or so to use it after that.

But Ryner had just done it.

He had those special eyes known as the Alpha Stigma... so he could see the composition of each spell with just a look, allowing him to use it just as quickly. It could have been because of that.

Though just the fact that he could use magic by looking at it couldn’t quite explain his power.

He had tampered with the very system of that spell. He had a genius-like ability to sense magic. That was his true power. The Alpha Stigma alone couldn’t explain it. It also wasn’t something that mere effort could bring about. New experiences and training drills weren’t what was making him stronger. It was his expanding knowledge.

Spending this past year with these kids was making her realize something.

She’d still win against them if it was one-on-one. She was still stronger. But they were catching up quickly, and they were only six years old… 

They were geniuses.

“……”

No.

Her eyes narrowed.

 Others wouldn’t be so kind as to call them geniuses. That wasn’t what one called people with their rare, inhuman powers.

They called them monsters.

And she knew what lay on the path of monsters.

Or rather, she knew one other human who she thought of as a monster. 

“……Tch.” Jereme grimaced and clicked her tongue. “Shit, my memories of that horrible guy… It’s all coming back…”

And… 

Pia, a childishly angry look on her face, cut into her thoughts. “Hey, Jeremeee! What’s this supposed to mean!? Ryner’s using a cowardly trick where he simplifies his magic circle! You didn’t show that to us. Don’t you think you’re playing favorites?”

“No, I did that all by myself—”

“Shut up, liar! Like hell you’d be able to do something that high-level on your own!”

“A-alright, Pia, that’s enough…”

“Shut up, you faux goody two-shoes!”

“F-faux goody two-shoes…”

Jereme watched her students for a moment. They were as energetic as always. Her face relaxed. “Mm. Your sparring wasn’t bad today. You guys have made a lot of progress this past year. Everyone can take a break tomorrow. Take it easily while I prepare your next lessons.” With that, she turned to leave.

“Wait, Jereme! You need to answer me—”

Jereme raised a hand to cut Pia off. “It’s just like Ryner said - he did that himself. The fact that he can do that makes Ryner a genius.”

“No w—”

“Pia, you’re more of a genius than he is, so don’t complain. You won in the end, didn’t you?”

Pia stopped for a moment. When she spoke again, it was happily. “I mean, I guess. I guess you do understand in your own way, Jereme. See, guys? You heard her, right? She gets it.”

Peria breathed a sigh of relief. “I know. We can never win against you. Right, Ryner?”

“Yup,” Ryner said, also happy. “We just can’t win.”

Jereme smiled. A year had passed. She’d long since gotten used to dealing with these kids. Pia would quiet down if one just stroked her inflated ego, and Peria, who hated conflict, would readily agree. Lastly there was Ryner, who loathed his own power. He felt at ease when Pia was ranked above him. 

One had to play different roles to appeal to their different personalities. It was almost like they were a family, with the kids as siblings. It wasn’t a bad year. 

But… 

Jereme turned back. The kids were insulting each other and laughing like always. Her eyes narrowed with sadness, and she almost called out to them. But she didn’t. 

“…Well, everything will eventually come to an end…”

Pia just so happened to hear her. “Oh my, Jereme. Did another man dump you?”

“I wasn’t dumped!” Jereme yelled. “God, that man. He confessed to me and then had the nerve to ask to break things off just because I hit him…”

“You hit him? Already?” Peria asked. “Jereme, weren’t you happy about getting confessed to just yesterday? So why are you saying you’re surprised whggyyhaaaaahhhh!!”

For some reason, he ended up screaming… 

Ryner was up next. “N-no, I… I don’t think that way,” he stuttered out. “I, I mean. I mean, those pathetic guys probably… probably, I mean, they don’t deserve a pretty woman like you… so um, men are just, um, they’re only there so that women can hit them, so I think him wanting to split up just ’cause you hit him was really pathetic, so… so anyway, please don’t hit me…”

Jereme nodded her approval. “Hmph. I knew you’d understand, Ryner. I’m promoting you. You’re one step closer to being my groom.”

“Y-you’re kidding!?” Ryner shrieked. “No no no no no no, I’m not, I’m still not that good of a match for you! I mean, I know that, that there’s an amazing prince waiting for you out there, Jereme…”

“Oh, you say some good things,” Jereme said. “Men shouldn’t be able to leave a great woman like me alone. This love is over, but it’s still a stone in the path to true romance. Ah, I feel so motivated now. That it. I’m bar hopping tonight. You kids should sleep early today.” With that, she walked away energetically.

“Wow, Ryner, you’ve gotten really good at sweet talking this past year,” Pia said. “That makes you an enemy to women, you know?”

“N-no way. I’m just doing what I have to do to survive.”

“Nope. You got way less likable for me. Also, Peria can’t understand what goes on in a woman’s heart, so he got less likable too.”

“Whaat!? Me too?”

Jereme’s face grew sad as she listened to the conversation behind her. And she thought.

About how love never lasted. About how the same thing was true of friendship.

Right.

There was not a single eternal thing in this world.

---

There were people called geniuses back then, too.

Jereme Crysler was one such person. 

She was an orphan, and had been bought by the military due to her abilities, and in the blink of an eye her natural talent bursted and bloomed.

She was called a genius and bestowed with a number of aliases. 

The Water Assassin. The Beautiful Magician. The Bad Drunk Leopardess.

…By the way, as far as that last name went, the man who called her that was said to have had all four of his limbs broken and left in a coma for some time… 

In any case, she was a genius. 

Everyone feared her. Everyone aspired to be her.

But even so, despite everything, she was never called a monster. So she never once thought of herself as a real genius. Real geniuses… 

In her generation, there was a man who others went as far as to call a monster.

His power surpassed common sense. 

Magical ability. Hand-to-hand combat. Tactical prowess.

Jereme was called a genius on those grounds, but this man far surpassed her in every one of those categories.

Of course she wanted to surpass him. Of course she tried to. She put all her effort into passing him. But she soon became aware of her failings. The difference in their abilities was obvious.

She asked him about it one day.

How was he so skilled with magic? How was it so easy for him?

He seemed to regard her as an annoyance back then. “Magical theory texts describe the steps on how to do it. You’ll be able to use magic as I do just by reading about the theory behind it. Was that your only question?”

She’d wanted to kill him, hearing that. 

So if she just studied the same theoretical texts as him, she’d be able to use as many spells as he could? But he knew so much more than her even though they studied the same thing. She’d swallowed her embarrassment just to ask that, and yet… 

She asked something else on that day, too.

Why was he so good at hand-to-hand combat? 

He again seemed to see her as an annoyance, but his tone had been impartial in his reply. “If you just read texts on hand-to-hand combat, you’ll find that the answers have already been recorded. You can become stronger by reading about the theoretical aspect. Was that your only question?”

She wanted to fucking kill him.

She’d asked him that because they’d read the same texts and undergone the same training, and yet… 

The more she asked him, the more she hated him.

He really got on her nerves. Not only were his answers pissing her off, but he also made that face at her every time she asked. Here he had a beautiful woman swallowing her shame to ask him a few questions, and yet… 

She had another question for him that day.

Why did he always have that annoyed look on his face, like he was always in a bad mood?

“Because you’re annoying.”

She was actively making plans to murder him.

She couldn’t suppress it. She couldn’t suppress her anger at something like that, no matter how simple it might have seemed. She had to do something about it. She wanted to force that intolerably easy-going guy into the lowest rung of hell. How? How should she do it? Frustration beat fast in her heart. 

This was… this was too much. She had to confess her love!

…Somehow, she came to that conclusion before she really understood what was going on in her own mind.

So she said this.

Won’t you go out with me?

He really looked annoyed this time. “I’m happy that you feel that way about me, but I’m sorry. I don’t have the time for dating right now.”

He rejected her so easily.

So she cried. She cried the night away, up until the sun rose… and she really hated him by morning. Even now, she felt that she had reached the correct conclusion.

She stopped talking to him after that day. Months passed… 

And now.

---

She scrunched her face up. “It’s that shitty guy again…” 

Right now, she was on the shortest path to her favorite bar in town. There was a large fenced-in black building on the way there, and there he was. The man who rejected her.

He looked completely different from back when she confessed to him. He was the same age as her - twenty. No, maybe he was twenty-one now? He always had deep, masculine features, and the way he held himself had been lively. 

But right now, his expression didn’t suit his masculine features at all - there was a self-assured smile on his face, and his eyes were bordering on seductive... no, they really were seductive; as if he was using them to flirt.

There was a fat middle-aged noble... no, his middle-aged superior, the major in control of the Taboo Hunters...

Jereme’s face warped with disgust.

She didn’t want to see this.

He was the singular existence that she could never match. She had worked so hard to pass this man… it wasn’t enough, but even so, she had longed for it. And yet… 

His eyes darted over to her. He seemed to have noticed that she was there. But he soon looked back to the noble. “Arrangements are complete regarding the woman from before. I can have everything ready for tonight.”

An indecent smile rose to the noble’s face. It really was unthinkable that this person was in the military due to lacking the required physique. “Ooh, oh my. You are as adept as always. I am looking forward to this evening’s plans.”

“It is an honor that you would look forward to my arrangements.”

“Mm-hm. That woman has been the talk of the town, even among my noble circles. At the last banquet, the great marquess also stated that he was delighted with this change in plan. Nothing but good has happened for me since you. And yes, your reward…”

The man shook his head. “No, I am rewarded by being able to do work for you. There is no greater happiness for me, who was raised an orphan, than to work for a noble such as yourself.”

The noble laughed. “I see, I see. Hehe, you are adorable. You will be in good hands under me. You are different from the other ignorants. You work assiduously and are overflowing with sincere loyalty towards the nobility. You will someday be repaid for your good deeds.”

Their conversation was enough to make Jereme question her ears. He had changed completely. 

He had once been hailed as a genius, but now he was just the worst. 

He would do whatever it took to curry favor with the nobility. Up until now, she had heard nothing but terrible rumors about him. 

He would grovel on his hands and knees and lick the shoes of nobility to get ahead in life. 

He would do things like prostitute women out for the nobility, too.

Though she doubted that he would really go that far… 

“Thank you very much,” he said as he bowed down to the noble. It was just so irritating.

That conversation didn’t reach Jereme’s ears. She didn’t hear it at all. It was just too infuriating. 

The noble left, but he continued to bow. He didn’t raise his head. He wouldn’t until the noble was entirely gone from his sight. 

It got on her nerves.

He didn’t have even the faintest shred of pride. That got on her nerves. 

She’d just ignore him. That was what she decided.

Why had she stopped to listen? She’d known that it would just upset her. It was such a stupid thing to do. She’d hurry on to the bar, drink, and then go back and sleep.

So she stepped past him as he continued to bow his head… but for some reason, she stopped and turned to face him and spoke, her mouth full of malice. “I expect no less of you, Sergeant​ Rahel Miller, known far and wide as a genius. You are very skilled in flattering the nobility.”

Miller finally raised his head. “What, it’s you.” He was making that face again. He was looking at her like she was annoying again.

She couldn’t stay silent when he made that face at her. “‘You?’ That’s all you have to say? You’re not going to try to excuse what I just saw? You’re famous for this. You know that, don’t you? You’re the traitor Rahel Miller. You flatter the nobility. You introduce them to women for your own benefit. You will do anything for your own benefit…” 

“I have no need to excuse my behavior to you,” Miller said. “I am only doing what I have to do to pacify the desires of my superiors.”

He said it so easily. Jereme fixed him with an expression of open disgust. “Even if it means human trafficking? That’s work that you ‘have to do?’ That’s the work of the man who was once called a genius, Rahel Miller?”

“Genius,” Miller repeated. “That old conversation again.” He laughed as if to ridicule her. “What right do you have to be angry? I can’t understand that. Are you mad that I’m gaining favor with the nobility? But that’s the kind of country this is, isn’t it? If you want to make money without any real work, then getting on the nobility’s good side is the number one way to do it.”

Jereme shivered. What was he going on about? He was lining incomprehensible words up one after another. It was true that there were people who raised their ranks by doing that. But this was the man who had once been called a genius; the man who she had held such sincere longing for… 

She glared at him. “Then… about you kneeling on the ground to lick the shoes of nobles…”

“That has actually happened,” he said easily. “Whoa, whoa, there’s no need to glare. I get it. I can’t grasp exactly what you’re upset about, but… What do you say I introduce you to a reasonable noble? That sounds nice, doesn’t it? You’d be able to secure a number of patrons with your beauty—”

“Don’t fuck with me!” Jereme yelled and threw a fist.

Miller caught it with ease. His eyes narrowed. “Haha. You’re slow. Punches like yours will never hit me, Crysler. Did you forget? There wasn’t a single time that you were able to beat m—”

“Let go of me! Your hand is filthy!” Jereme shook his hand off. Then she immediately averted her eyes and began to walk away… 

“What,” his voice said from behind. “Does the truth hurt your feelings?”

“……”

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t answer. She was shivering too much. He had changed so much, and none of it was for the better. He’d changed so much more than she’d realized… 

She felt as though she’d cry as she left.

To think that she’d loved that man. 

To think that she’d never won against that man. 

She couldn’t win even now, could she?

She suddenly realized something bad.

She realized why she was so irritated right now. Why she was so sad. The real reason.

She looked back at Miller, who had changed for the worse. And she saw him turn into herself, and felt nothing but disgust.

In the end, this rotten country had rotted her too. She did everything that the military told her to do; she educated children, and cultivated assassins, and at the end of everything… 

“…Shit,” she muttered as she walked away.

Even she hadn’t changed. The only difference between them was that he was overtly flattering the nobility while she was trying to make it look like she hadn’t yet lost her pride. 

Nothing had changed. She really had no right to speak badly of him.

But even so.

Even so, it was only that man, who had once been called a genius… 

She smiled in self-deprecation. “What a… convenient conversation.”

She was in the worst of moods.

No matter how much she drank, she couldn’t get drunk. 

Everything eventually came to an end.

Everything eventually changed.

She knew that.

But… 

But even so…

---

By the way, that very same day… 

The ‘prince on a white horse’ that Ryner had spoken of that she called out to in the bar… the newest one, at least… 

Incomprehensible as it was, she yelled “die, Miller!’ and beat him to a pulp, so he ended up going to the hospital.

---

About a month passed.

“Don’t you feel like we’ve been getting a lot of breaks recently?” Ryner asked.

Peria nodded. “Forget ‘feeling like’ we’re getting a lot of breaks. We are getting a lot of breaks. Ryner, how long are you getting to sleep every day?”

“Hm? About ten hours.”

“That’s sleeping too much. But I’m getting seven hours a night and I still have time to play with you and Pia, and look, we’re having this stupid conversation and no one’s getting mad at us. What’s going on? Pia, have you heard anything?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” Pia said, just as full of herself as always. “I’m a mega genius, and I got really strong this past year, so it’s obvious that she thought ‘oh, Pia, you’re amazing. I don’t have anything left to teach you. You’re king from now on. Spend every day having fun,’ and—”

“Like hell that’s what happened!” Ryner said. 

Pia threw a sudden dreadfully powerful punch his way, but… 

“Whew!” Ryner caught it lightly. 

“The sheer audacity of you dodging that even though you’re Ryner of all people! All right, how about this—”

“Whoops!”

“Stop dodging!”

“Uwah, that was fast!? What are you doing! Th-that punch was a little too serious, don’t you think?”

“Stuuuupid. There’s no way you could have dodged it if I was actually being serious. I was just messing around.”

“Ahh, yeah, I guess so,” Ryner agreed. 

Their fight was enough to make any normal person balk, but Peria wasn’t phased. “But I don’t think that Pia is too far off from the truth. We’ve gotten really strong this past year. Pia could probably beat Jereme one-on-one now…”

Pia shook her head. “Uh-uh. I’m happy that you think so, but I don’t think I’m quite there yet. I think I could do it if you give me another two months, though. But that goes for you guys too. You could probably beat her after another year of this.”

“Huh. You really think so?” Ryner asked.

Peria spoke next. “I don’t have any confidence…” 

They were talking on the usual training grounds during yet another day off. Maybe it was because they hadn’t had any real free time this past year, but now they didn’t really know what to do with themselves on days where they didn’t train. So they just play-fought and chattered idly.

“Ugh, what’s going on?” Pia wondered. “What’s with you guys acting so weak? You’re men, shouldn’t you have some self-confidence? Besides, you should understand if you just think about it for a second. Just the fact that we’re always fighting each other instead of her is proof that we wouldn’t lose to her, isn’t it?”

Peria tapped his fist to his palm as it clicked. “Ah, now that you mention it…”

“You only just realized that?” Dumbass,” Pia said. “Geez, this is why dim men like you are the woooorst. You’re only just realizing this even though it’s been worrying me every single day…”

Ryner and Peria exchanged a surprised expression. “Hah? You’re worried?”

“Pia’s worried? Why?”

 It was clear that they were irritating Pia down to her core. “I’m worried about when I can beat Jereme easily. After that… after that…” Pia’s words trailed off, then she looked even more upset than before. “Ugh, anyway! What I’m trying to say is that no matter how strong you guys get, you can’t win against Jereme! Got it?”

“Ohh, I get it now,” Peria said. “You don’t want to graduate from this training because you’ll get lonely if we’re seperagyaaahhhh!!”

Pia punched him and he went flying.

“Don’t be stupid, Peria,” Ryner said as he watched. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? Pia’s in love with Jereme. That’s why she doesn’t want to hurt her pride… gugyaaahhh!!”

This time Pia punched Ryner, who also went flying.

Pia’s face was bright red. “You’re both right!”

So why did she punch them then… Neither Ryner nor Peria said anything, though. They knew damn well what would happen if they did. If they learned anything this past year, it was that.

But anyway.

Ryner massaged his poor attacked cheek. “Pia aside, to go back to what we were talking about earlier, we don’t really have to worry about leaving Jereme, do we? I mean, personally, I never had any intention of beating Jereme—”

“Then die,” a voice suddenly said from the corner of the training grounds. “If you can’t win against me, Ryner, then you might as well just die.”

Ryner, Peria, and Pia all turned to look at where the voice came from. 

“H-how long have you been there?” Peria asked, shocked. “You didn’t have a presence at all…”

“See?” Pia said, done with him. “And after all your pestering. You’re nowhere near my level.”

“How long have you been listening?” Ryner asked.

Jereme smiled happily. “I heard all about how you guys love me, and about how you don’t want to graduate, and about how thankful you are that I’m your teacher—”

“Noooo!! The last person that I wanted to hear it heard it all!!” Pia screamed from the bottom of her heart.

Jereme ignored her. “You brats have some nerve, being so energetic. It’s annoying.”

Pia stopped screaming. “Eh…”

“And saying that you don’t want to win because you don’t want to hurt my pride? Isn’t that stupid? It isn’t that you guys can defeat me right now. I’m really fed up with you guys. Do you really think that your life can continue like this forever? Don’t you remember me saying that you’d train here for one year?”

Jereme paused for a moment before continuing. “Afterwards, you'd be sent to a facility. To an insane place where kids kill other kids. One like Special Facility #307 or the Emeril Institution’s Army Corps. But… that’s only one child. I am limited to one child per year. Do you understand what that means?” she asked, and a faint smile rose on her face. 

 “Je-Jereme?” Peria asked. “What are you saying, all of a sudden…?”

“Is this some kind of j-joke?” Ryner asked. “Just what…”

It was ridiculous. According to what she was saying… 

“That’s right,” Jereme said easily. “You must kill each other. Only one of you - the true genius among you - will survive and advance to the next hell…”

“……”

Pia was silent.

“Th-that can’t be… you’re joking, aren’t you?” Peria asked. “Why are you telling us this so suddenly?”

Ryner stared at Jereme. Into her face. Into her eyes. And her eyes… were like… 

“So?” Pia finally said. “I understand what you’re saying. So? What do you want us to do? You’re making a face like you’re scheming.”

Her eyes were shining with her normal strict, outrageous, and inappropriate light. Ryner hated how she always made him do things that were a pain in the ass every time she got that light in her eyes.

Jereme looked surprised to hear Pia say that, and somehow seemed like she’d failed on what she set out to do. “Tch... my, spending a full year with you guys means that you figure me out instantly, doesn’t it? Even though I thought I’d surprise you with this at the very end. You guys aren’t very good at being children. You need to be a little easier to fool.”

Jereme cleared the disappointment in her voice before she continued. “Well, you guys pretty much understand the situation just with that though, right?”

“…That we have to kill each other?” Ryner asked.

Jereme nodded. “An official notice came today. Tomorrow you are to kill each other before influential nobles. Only one will remain at the end. But... I will not kill you. Run. Now. You guys can escape. That's how I raised you.”

Peria failed to follow. “Huh? What? W-wait, Jereme. Even if you tell us that suddenly…”

Jereme interrupted him. “Alright, now, Peria. Don’t lose your composure. You’re a boy, aren’t you? And you always understand situations calmly due to your All Boundaries ability. Protect your friends. If you don’t show your manly side off now, you’ll never get your beloved Pia’s attention.”

“Wha!?” The expression on Peria’s face was probably more shocked than it’d ever been. “Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-what are you saying…”

“Oh? What the hell, Peria,” Ryner said. "So that’s how things are?”

“My, so you guys like me?” Pia asked. “You have pretty good taste, don't you?”

“Y-you're wrong! It’s not like…”

Jereme cut into his excuses. “So now that we’ve sacrificed Peria to calm you guys down—”

“Why did you have to sacrifice me!?”

Jereme ignored him. “In any case, you guys need to pack your belongings up and leave immediately. They’ll send a search party soon, but if it’s you guys, then…”

Ryner raised his hand. “Question!”

“Go ahead. This is our final parting, so I’ll answer anything. So what is it? By the way, my BWH size is public—”

“No, I wasn't gonna ask about that… but what do you mean by public?”

“I of course mean the lies that I tell to men who are madly in love with me at the bar—”

“I'm telling you, I didn’t ask about that!” Ryner said, tired. “That's not it at all. What I wanted to ask was… How many students have you had before?”

“Twenty.”

“Huh. And it’s been three people a year, right? So it’s been seven years…”

“No. I'm always surrounded by five or six kids… but you guys are a quirky bunch, so it was only three. So what was your question? Was that really it?”

“Help me understand," Ryner said. “What happened... to the seventeen people before us?”

“They died,” she said simply. “They all killed each other…”

She laughed. It was as though she was condemning herself, ridiculing herself…

Ryner immediately regretted asking her that. Because he didn’t want to see her make that face.

But he had to ask her. So...

Peria seemed to understand where Ryner was coming from. “So why are you letting us run this time?”

Yeah. That was what Ryner had wanted to ask. Why did she watch all her other students kill each other but then turn around and say that she was going to save them?

“……”

Was it a trap?

Say that this too was another type of training… or it was even possible that it was even worse than that.

So Ryner looked her straight in the eye. If her expression changed even a little bit…

She narrowed her eyes at Ryner’s stare. “I really... raised you well. You question every situation and consider the worst case scenarios before acting… You have the right attitude. But… this isn’t a trap. Up until now… up until now, I wasn’t able to raise students who could evade their pursuers in Roland. Even if they had the power to flee to other countries, they didn’t have the power to survive. So… so everyone died. Everyone died because of me… I did my best to raise them well. I raised them with everything I had, so that they could survive…”

Jereme smiled, pleased. “Now we can finally go against this country. You exceeded my expectations. You are exceptional… geniuses.”

She watched Ryner and the others as she spoke, satisfied.. “That’s right. You are true geniuses. You are now strong enough that no one will be able to stand in your way. You don’t need to be buried within the ground of this rotten country. You, at least, must live.”

‘You, at least, must live.’

That meant… 

“It… it can’t be,” Peria whispered. 

Pia’s expression went blank. “Jereme, are you planning on dying?”

Jereme laughed again. But her smile now wasn’t self-derisive like it was before.

It wasn’t a good expression. It was one that said that she was already satisfied. 

“H-hey,” Ryner said. “We can all leave together…”

Jereme shook her head. “That’s impossible. Don’t underestimate Roland. If someone on the inside doesn’t act aas a decoy, they’ll catch up to you in no time.”

“But the people they send after us can’t be that strong,” Peria argued.

“Fighting them is also impossible. You guys as you are now will never get away completely if you stay inside of Roland.”

Pia was the last to argue. “Even if you’re there? If it’s the four of us, then we might be able to do things that are impossible for the three of us… 

Jereme shook her head softly. Her eyes looked at them kindly. “You really are exceptional… and kind children. But it’s okay. I killed a few too many people. I killed, and killed, and killed, I even killed my allies… just so that I could stay alive. I regret it every day. It’s painful…”

And she really did look like she was in pain.

“But… but you kids are different,” Jereme said. “You guys haven’t killed anyone. If I save you here now, then I too could be saved. My sins may be forgiven. Though that’s only for my own self-satisfaction… I was saved thanked to you guys. So…”

Ryner, Peria, and Pia didn’t say anything. How could they? Nothing that they said now would change her feelings.

“…Let’s run away,” Ryner said.   

Peria nodded.

Then Jereme said something that she’d never said before, with an affectionate tone.

“Thank you.”

But as she said that… 

---

Jereme realized something. She realized her own carelessness.

Behind her… was… 

“What… everyone, run!” Jereme screamed. She acted fast. She ordered the kids to go, then turned her head to see what was behind her. “Hah!”

She crouched down and projected her elbow. When she did, it slammed into the stomach of the man who was coming at her with a knife.

“Gahagh!” The man collapsed with a groan.

Jereme looked down at him. He was wearing Roland’s military uniform. Roland’s crest of a snake circling lances was engraved in his armor… 

Jereme grimaced. “Shit. What was it? What gave it away?”

She hadn’t talked about her plan to anyone. So how had they realized?

Jereme’s eyes flicked to the kids. It couldn’t be that one of them was a spy… 

No, that line of thought was stupid. She immediately rebutted it. It was impossible. She knew them best out of everyone… 

“There’s someone close by,” Ryner said.

“There’s several people a ways away,” Pia added.

“There are four people total,” Peria said. “I can see them with my All Boundaries…”

“I get it, so don’t say something so stupid, Peria! Just shut up,” Pia said. “This is important, so can you not act like you’re all-important just because you can tell how many there are?”

“Eh? No, I didn’t mean… ah, I’m, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine as long as you understand! Anyway, Jereme! What will we do now? That guy’s surprise attack was a shock, but it’s not a big deal since he’s out now. The other guys don’t compare. I mean, we can sense their presence from this far away… They’re no enemies for us. Right? So what should we do, Jereme? Your plan’s a bust anyway, so can’t we just run away together now?” Pia asked. It almost sounded like she was enjoying this.

That was what it took for Jereme to return to her senses. 

Her three students were cool-headed and their reactions were all but correct. She was just about tired of them. “Geez, how come you guys are the calm ones in this situation… Looks like I’d be the burden here if I came along.”

“That’s right,” Pia said. “Women who can only look back on their life and think about how much they want to die as they get older are obviously burdens. But that’s what leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“Why does Pia have to talk like that all the time?” Peria wondered.

“I don’t really care either way, but if we’re going to run, then we should do it now,” Ryner said. “We don’t need any bait to catch our enemies if this is the level they’re on.”

‘This level of enemies.’ 

Jereme looked back down at the man who’d attacked her before, who now lay collapsed at her feet.

‘This level of enemies.’

That was what Ryner said, but when she looked down at the man in the military uniform, she saw someone who was fairly able. But this man probably was ‘that level of enemy’ to these kids.

“……”

 They were monsters.

She really thought that.

All three of these kids were real monsters.

She understood why others didn’t associate with them. Anyone who held this great of a power was naturally a target of fear.

Everyone feared and loathed them.

They were people who were different from her.

They were monsters who were different from her.

They were different from her… 

She was different from… 

Darkness gripped her heart as those words echoed in her head.

She was different from people. Actually, wasn’t it possible that her life lacked worth altogether?

They all should have been thinking that.

Ryner was especially prone to thoughts like that. That was why he gave up on things so easily. He gave up on his life so easily. He really hated being called a genius. Because he knew that it was proof that he was different from others. Running from Roland now probably held no meaning for him. Nothing would change even if he went somewhere else.

He’d still be a monster, after all.

But.

She wanted to teach him.

“I guess it can’t be helped,” Jereme said. “It’s come down to this, so let’s just escape together.”

“Ah, so you’ve finally realized it? Geez. This is what I don’t like about older women,” Pia said. “You’re just so slow.”

She wanted to teach him… no, to teach them. That nothing would stay the same forever.

“Ahh, Pia, you’re not honest at all. You’re actually really happy that she wants to go togethegyaaaahhh!”

Everything would come to an end someday.

“Uwah, Peria!? A-are you okay?”

This peaceful quiet could change without a moment’s notice.

Their happy times could come to a final end.

Even friendship… no, even love could end so simply.

But that was why.

That was why endless suffering didn’t exist either… 

She wanted to teach them that.

She wanted to teach them about how much they saved her. She’d been crushed by the worst feeling in the world - the knowledge that she had watched her allies die without lifting a finger to stop it.

But even that would have an ending.

After she met them… she realized that she wanted to protect these kids, and found a new reason to live.

That was what she wanted to teach them. No, that was what she would teach them. 

If she lived and the four of them were able to escape Roland together… then the four of them would become a family. They were a bunch of orphans without parents all lumped together, so they’d become their own family.

“……”

That wouldn’t be too bad.

Jereme smiled.

She was going to tell them.

‘Thank you for allowing us to meet. You guys are my pride—’

“Eh…”

Peria was the first to make a sound.

Then there was Pia. She was gripped by fear. “Wh-what the hell is he…”

“No way,” Peria said. “I couldn’t sense it with All Boundaries…”

Ryner grimaced. “This is bad…”

That was right. It was bad. 

No… ‘bad’ didn’t even begin to describe the situation.

Jereme looked over. There was a man close by. He’d erased his presence completely so they hadn’t noticed him earlier.

He had a strict look in his eyes and a sharp face. His posture was immaculately straight… 

“You’ve done something bad, Jereme Crysler,” he said.

“…Rahel Miller,” Jereme whimpered. 

This was the worst. The worst possible enemy was standing before them. He was the one man that she never wanted to fight.

Miller looked at the kids, and his expression changed to that same annoyed, displeased look.

“Hmph. Are you feeling something for these kids? You’re a fool. This is why the creatures we call women are such nuisances…”

“Shut up!” Jereme yelled.

She didn’t want to hear him talk like that. She’d loved him, at one point. She disgusted herself, thinking about that at a time like this.

Jereme glared at Miller with everything she had. “Why are you here…?”

Just then, an unpleasant, debauched voice came from the entrance to the training grounds. “Are you done with that woman yet, Miller?” 

Jereme turned to look. Four men were gathered at the entrance. She recognized them all. One of them was the man who she’d seen Miller being subservient to. The other three were all nobles too, if she was remembering correctly.

“Marquess​ Argurla is waiting.”

“That’s right. Hurry up. Break the women and children’s tendons and let me have my fun with them.”

So that’s how it was.

The men all laughed, a crude echoing sound. They smiled as they watched Jereme and the kids.

Miller looked at her with eyes full of pity. “Your luck… is terrible. I advised you earlier. You could have any number of patrons due to your beauty. I could introduce you… But on the flip side, your beauty would fetch a high price among the nobility. That was why I had you under surveillance. This is staged for their satisfaction. They love to see weak women like yourself fall into despair,” he said.

“You were regarded as a genius despite your low birth, but you misunderstood your circumstances and believed that you could oppose this country. They love to see people like you suffer a crushing defeat. And, just like I surmised, you are attempting to defy them. It was worth keeping an eye on you. Because of it, I was able to provide the nobility with pleasure.”

He laughed even though she didn’t want to see him make that face.

The nobility laughed, too, as they looked at her like she was a stubborn fly. 

Everyone was laughing, laughing, laughing.

Wasn’t that crazy? Her anger wouldn’t forgive them.

These men… these men…

“You want to leave this country?” Miller asked. “You want to live a new life? Was that your dream? To become free?”

“I’ll kill you!” Jereme screamed and began to move. Her hand reached for him to attack…

But he shifted to the side, dodging her attack with ease. “It’s useless. Your power alone…”

“Ryner! Peria! Pia!”

The three kids moved on her order. They were swift and precise. They showed her exactly what she’d drilled into them… no, they showed her more.

Jereme smiled. “That’s right. I alone can’t win. But you guys can’t handle the four of us!”

She again attacked him with her hand flattened like a dagger. He dodged in an instant, then slammed his fist into her jaw.

“Ah…”

“Over here!” Pia yelled from behind. She aimed a kick straight for him.

“Hmph… Why announce your attack?” Miller asked as he grabbed Pia’s leg without ever turning around to face her.  

“Wha… L-let go of Pia…”

“You’re shaking too much,” Miller told Peria. “Your movements are reckless.”

“Guagh!?”

Pia was easily caught by his kick, blowing him away.

By then, Ryner had completed the magical circle he was casting from afar. Miller hoisted Pia up to show him. “Use your head. Do you want to shoot straight through your friend?”

Ryner paused his spell. “Ah…”

It’d be deadly if he did. She was already wounded by Miller’s harsh attack. Ryner fell to his knees.

That was the end.

It had only taken a moment. Just one moment… not even a minute. That was all it took to defeat them all.

Pia looked up at Miller, trembling wildly. “Wh-what the hell? Who is this guy?”

“He’s… he’s a monster,” Peria said. 

He said it, and he was right. That man had once been called a monster.

But… when Jereme thought back to when she’d fought him before, back then, there was never this big of a gap between them.

“It’s the end, Jereme Crysler,” Miller said with ease. “Do you understand the difference in our power? If you move, I’ll kill one of the kids. They’ll go to where the other kids went. Make one strange move and one of your allies will die. If you don’t like that, then… accept your fate. Offer yourself up as sacrifice for the sake of the children.”

Miller turned back to the nobles, who were watching Jereme, who was still collapsed on the ground. 

“Oh, are they all ready?” one of the nobles asked. “No matter what…” 

Miller nodded. “I won’t let them resist.”

The nobles began to approach.

“S, stop…”

When Jereme spoke, it wasn’t to Miller. It was to the children.

Jereme couldn’t move. If she did, one of the kids would die. The kids were in the same position as her. If they moved, then Jereme would die. So they couldn’t do anything either…  

“……Scum.”

That was what she thought.

“All of you people… No, this whole world…”

The world was spinning to the point that she became nauseous. 

A nobleman approached her. He was, of course, laughing. He was disgraceful, and his face was swollen from his shameful greed.

She’d rather die on the spot than be sacrificed to this man… But she wasn’t the only one thinking that. Pia raised her hand to her own neck.

“No!” Jereme said without thinking and moved to stop her. “You can’t die…” 

“Die.”

Everything went red when Miller said that single word.

“……Huh?”

Jereme couldn’t comprehend what just happened. She thought she saw countless black figures.

And then the nobles’ heads flew off their bodies, disgusting smiles and all.

“Wh… what…?”

She couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

How did that happen…?

Hands shot for Ryner, Peria, and Pia’s necks, rendering them unconscious.

What… just what… 

Miller was calm. He had an annoyed expression on his face… and pressed a hand to his cheek. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, come on. Give me a break… You overdid it. Who told you to cut their heads off? Cleaning up all this blood will be a pain.”

He suddenly sounded so informal. Jereme had never heard him talk like that before. It was to the point where she wanted to ask who he was.

“Listen, these guys were really pissing me off, so I don’t think it could be helped? Ugh, and to think that they were gonna lay hands on these kids… It was giving me heartburn.”

Jereme looked over to the source of that voice. There stood several people, all wearing black, as if they themselves were a construct of the darkness.

“For real. And do you have any idea how many times we had to bow down to these losers in preparation for today? Please at least let us have this. And we thought that a sight like this would traumatize the kids, so we knocked them out first. Please let us off lightly.”

So he said.

The others were making a ruckus, too… 

Jereme knew all of their voices.

They were her seniors, her juniors, and men who had been in the same training classes as her… 

“Geez,” Miller said. “I planned all the damn details out, so don’t go around messing with them.”

‘Damn!?’ This guy of all people just said ‘damn!?’ Jereme so wanted to scream that.

She was completely and totally lost.

Just what…?

“Just what are you guys doing?”

 Miller finally looked at her. “‘What,’ she says… You’re part of Roland’s military too, aren’t you?”

“Haa? What are you going on about? What kind of explanation is that… and, and what’s your goal here? You did this… you did all this, and…”

She seriously didn’t understand what was going on.

Miller was just acting like the nobles’ servant. And he was famous for that - for being a traitor. He was the man who kneeled to lick noble boots.

This man was someone who Jereme had been completely disillusioned with… 

She had come to hate him from the bottom of her heart, and in turn, she had come to hate herself for loving him. And yet now… he stood among the bodies of nobles. 

Roland would never forgive him for this. 

Jereme looked up at Miller. “What are you guys planning?”

Miller answered her, that annoyed look on his face, a painfully lighthearted tone to his voice. “Nothing really. It isn’t like we’re doing anything particularly special. I only acted according to the foundations of our country. The military exists to protect our country, doesn’t it? I acted faithfully to that principle…”

“Don’t dodge the question. ‘Protect our country?’ What are you saying? By doing something like this… You’ll become this country’s enemy by trying to ‘protect’ it…”

“Not that country,” Miller said easily. “That country isn’t the one that we want to protect. You understand, don’t you?”

“……”

Jereme was at a loss for words.

She understood? Of course she understood what he was trying to say. She understood that instantly. Basically, he was saying that the mad Roland that lived dominated by the nobility had to be pulled up by the roots and changed…

“But that… that isn’t something that you’re capable of…”

“I am,” Miller said without hesitation. He was overflowing with confidence. With conviction. 

He made it sound like it was a non-issue. Like it was a simple affair. 

There was a genius standing before her.

He was a genius unknown to her generation. One who she had once longed for… 

He had an unreachable, annoyed expression on his face. “I’ve been thinking that it isn’t particularly difficult as long as one follows the proper procedures to a T. Though I suppose that in itself means it isn’t easy… If one takes their time and doesn’t rush, it is possible to catch the nobility in a trap. Of course, we have to be careful about who we trust to help. Only those who can keep their mouths shut are qualified. People who will absolutely not betray us. But the most important thing…”

Miller paused for a moment before continuing. “The most important thing is having people who won’t give up on their lives at the drop of a hat. I test everyone who I want on my side to see if they have this quality. People who have given up on life will easily sell out their allies and even themselves to Roland. So I’m sorry, but I had to test you too. And you passed. Jereme Crysler, will you…”

“Become your ally?” Jereme asked, her eyes half-closed. “You’re pretty cocky. Who do you think you are? Testing me like this… dragging me around… Do you really think I’ll just say ‘yes, of course’ and—”  

“Become my ally,” he said, cutting her off. “Become my ally, and I’ll save this country.”

Miller held his hand out for her.

“Ah…”

She was, once again, at a loss for words. He was just so arrogant. He was an idiot.

That was what she really thought of him.

He wasn’t a genius. He was an idiot.

And what was he doing, making that annoyed face at her at a time like this… Did he really think that she’d fall right into his hands?

The Miller who stood before her now was a stranger.

She didn’t know him. It was like he had a different face altogether. His arrogant eyes said that he really expected her to take his hand without doubting a single word he was saying. His eyes were overflowing with confidence to the point that it was unpleasant. 

She really did hate him.

Why did he get on her nerves every single time they met?

She wondered that, but the truth was that she already knew why. She knew the real reason why she felt that way.

“…Fine,” Jereme said and grasped his outstretched hand. “I’ll follow you.”

She smiled, as if happy.

---

By the way, that very night, Ryner, Peria, and Pia did kill each other. Ryner was the one who survived.

…At least that was what the official report they documented said.

The truth was that Pia and Peria had fled the country by sunset.

Of course no one from Roland pursued them. The official stance was that Ryner had killed them, after all. Pia and Peria escaped and Ryner waited for the parliament. 

And the bodies of the nobles that Miller had killed… were cleverly hidden, and they were recorded as missing persons. Just like Miller said, it was all meticulously planned. No one ever doubted Miller or Jereme’s stories. 

Jereme vied for success, running up the latter of Roland’s military rankings, and the country began to change in reality.

Little by little, bit by bit, the country began to change with two geniuses at the heart of it all.

Then their efforts were passed onto the next generation. To the generation that Ryner and the others belonged to.

It all began to bear fruit after Ryner turned twelve… 

In actuality, the envy, the loathing, and the fact that a singular love was blooming from it all… was fairly unknown.

---

Table of Contents

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Volume 4: Bargain Sale on Magic Power

Guardian Monster

Table of Contents

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---

Same place as always - the dining hall of the inn. But not everything was the same.

An incident had occurred.

Ryner… Ryner… 

“Work!” Ryner yelled. Despite his volume, he still managed to sound dead inside. “Ferris! I want to work! I don’t even care what it is, I just need to work! Leave anything and everything to me!” 

Ryner looked the same as always physically - messy dark hair, unmotivated eyes, the usual. But today he had an extra something. His haggard, unfocused eyes were fixed on Ferris, the legendarily expressionless blonde beauty. 

“So you know how they say that people who don’t work don’t have the same vigor for life as those who do? I think I’ll actually feel alive if I get to work, so give me something to do!”

“……You want to work?” Ferris asked slowly. “You? Weren’t you the one who was researching a way to create a new world where you could spend each and every day doing nothing?”

“Hey… I feel like you just said something really rude—”

“Or perhaps you mean that you’d like to become this month’s number one most useless man in a poll of one hundred villagers? I suppose that too is a form of work.”

“Okay, so setting aside all the other things that need unpacked here, I’d just like to ask one thing: what kind of place exactly does that kind of survey?”

“Mm? Isn’t it obvious that a town does it? The survey is published in a magazine called Monthly Criminals in bookstores throughout Roland, Runa, and most recently, Iyet. Two million copies have been sold—”

“Yup, that’s a lie! There’s no way in hell that my name’d appear in a magazine as popular as th—”

“Incidentally, I am the publisher.”

“So you’re the one who’s handing that shit out!”

“Mm. Sion sponsors it. Its main purpose is to track criminal activity and manipulate relevant information and statistics in neighboring countries, but it is also raising awareness of the crazed pervert Ryner Lute in women and children who live in fear… a story which caused sales to increase exponentially.”

“…So you’re saying that two million people actually believe that I’m a criminal…?”

“Yes, though that is only the public figure. The true number is only 1,980,000—”

“It’s the same fucking thing!” Ryner yelled. He suddenly felt dizzy. “Whatever, though. I don’t even care. Thinking about it will only make me more tired… so anyway, back to what I was originally talking about. I wanna work.”

“Hmph. Is the wind blowing in a new direction? You have always wasted your life on naps. This isn’t like you.”

“I can’t understand how you don’t see the logic in this…”

“What are you talking about?” Ferris asked.

“The hell do you mean! How many days has it even been since you suddenly told me that people who don’t work can’t eat and stopped feeding me?”

 “Hm. It’s only been seven days, if I’m remembering correctly.”

“Only seven days!? You mean it’s already been seven days, right!?  You’d die if you went seven days without eating. I’d been roaming around the stores eating the free samples, but… I can’t even do that anymore. They all blacklisted me. I’m at my limit. They won’t even set the samples out anymore… so I haven’t gotten to eat anything in two days! Nothing!

“Mm. Pointless diets are bad for your health…”

“You’re so particular… Ugh, jokes aside, I’m begging you to let me work. This is a special offer for today and today alone: I’ll do anything.”

Ferris nodded. “Work, is it. We haven’t heard anything new about the Heroic Relics… Our current task is to gather information…”

Just then, they heard a voice from outside of the inn. “This way, Goddess. This is the inn where they’re staying…”

“Mm. Well done,” another voice said. “So this is the shabby place where that dead fish girl has been staying.”

That was all it took to know who it was.

The door slammed open, and sure enough… there stood a woman with long, glossy black hair and slightly slanted eyes. Her perfect features were beautiful enough to rival Ferris’. Her excellent figure was covered by a shrine maiden’s outfit. 

Her name was Estella Fiurelle. 

She was the leader of a con artist’s association, and ever since their first meeting she’d been having this fight with Ferris where they tried to prove who was the most beautiful one between them. Though Ryner was consistently the only loser in their battles… 

Even now, the instant they locked eyes, bam! Estella was at it again. “Ha! A woman as drab as thyself is best suited to a backwoods inn like this.”

“And you’re still wearing that shrine maiden outfit?” Ferris asked. “A high class beauty such as myself has no need for such an outfit. People will call me a goddess no matter where I am or what I wear…”  Ferris looked at Estella as if pitying her, then continued. “I suppose you can’t say the same about yourself.”

“What! You only say such a thing only to feel better about yourself!”

“…Hm. Are you looking for a fight?” Ferris asked.

Murderous energy shot through the dining hall. 

Ferris unsheathed her sword, and Estella assumed a spell-casting posture.

It was a touch-and-go situation. Ever since Estella opened the door, actually.

Ryner hurried over to a corner to take shelter. “Auugh, this is all you guys do! Let me ask just one thing before you get started, please! Estella - did you have some business with us?”

Estella stopped what she was doing, looked to Ryner, and bit her lip. “W-well… There is a matter which my power is unable to resolve… Would thou lend thy power to me?”

Ryner and Ferris exchanged a look.

“…Hm. So you want a favor from me,” Ferris said. “You want something from me, whose overwhelming beauty is enough to split heaven and the earth in half?” Ferris looked Estella up and down, a satisfied look on her face. “I see… so even you have finally acknowledged your loss. That’s enough. Now, failure. You may ask favors to your heart’s content…” 

“Mrrgghhaaaah! Silence, dango woman! You are so infuriating! I was sorely mistaken to even think of joining forces with you! Thou shall never be forgiven. Let us settle our match of good versus evil once and for all today!” 

“Mm. If you insist.”

“Auuughh are you fucking kidding!” Ryner yelled at the sound of their usual bullshit. “It’s always the same damn thing with you two! Time out! Ferris, stop provoking her! And Estella, I’m dirt poor and need some cash, so I'll listen to what you have to say as long as you stop using magic on me all the time!”

Ferris and Estella finally quieted down to look at Ryner. 

Ferris was the first to speak. “Infamous criminals such as yourself, known to a hefty two million innocents, hold no grounds to say such a thing.”

“Mmgh. A man like you, exhausted past what ten thousand years can do, has no say in this matter!”

“Th-these people…”

He was so fed up with them that he had to admonish himself. It was useless arguing, so calm down, Ryner. Be an adult about it. Don’t sink to their level.  

Ryner breathed a deep sigh. “Ahh… okay, okay, that’s enough. So anyway—”

Ferris quickly cut him off.  “The world doesn’t need you, failure of a human as you are. You’re running from your bride, and your children don’t love you—”

“I don’t have a bride and I don’t have any kids…  So anyway, back to the point - Estella was saying something—” 

This time, Estella was the one who cut him off. “I see. I have recently mastered the art of facial expressions, and from that I can see that he is sloven. It is as if he cannot succeed no matter how much he tries. He was born under the star of ‘uselessness.’”

“You really don’t need to keep talking about me…”

“I see, I see. That ill-natured expression—”

“Auuughhh shut up, just shut up! I don’t give a shit, so let’s move this conversation forward!”

In the end, he sunk to their level.

Estella and Ferris both laughed like they were having fun.

“Ah… They’re playing with me…”   

Ryner sighed… actually, it couldn’t really be called a sigh at this point. It was him blowing straight despair out of his mouth with all his might. 

---

Let’s try this again—the inn’s dining hall.

Ferris, being Ferris, had her sword in her hand, an indifferent expression on her face. Ryner, being Ryner, was collapsed on the table as he fought his empty stomach with all his might, a listless expression on his face…

That was where Estella’s story began.

Estella sipped amazake that she made the innkeeper bring her, then launched out into her explanation. “Hm, where to start. I know. Are you aware that I am ranked as one of the best magicians in all of the Iyet Republic?”

“Ahh… I mean, I guess that makes sense, considering how fast you are to cast and how fine your composition is… You aren’t just an annoyance, even though that’s absolutely what you are at first glance. You’re actually pretty strong, and just the fact that Ferris didn’t kill you on sight is proof of that.”

Estella exaggeratedly nodded at his compliments. “Exactly. Not only that, but my beauty is a blessing from the gods! I have always said that I am a force to be reckoned with… but there is a force that even I cannot defeat…”

“Hm. An enemy that you are unable to defeat is hardly a worthy one.”

Estella shook her head, frustrated. “No, this matter is one on a different level than what you are thinking entirely. If one were to lose focus, they would be killed. I was able to escape… no, escaping was all that I could do, and it was only luck that I was successful. Its magical ability far surpassed my own… and it must surpass that expressionless dango woman’s sword as well.”

“Hoh. You say that it’s stronger than my sword?” Ferris asked.

“…Whoa, that’s insane. Is it human?”

Estella shook her head without even needing to think about it. “No, it is not. It is a legendary magical artifact that has haunted Iyet since antiquity…”

Ferris and Ryner exchanged a glance.

“A legendary…” 

“…magical artifact?”

Ryner suddenly broke through his lack of motivation and sat up, full of vigor. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Isn’t this the work we were just looking for? The work that’ll let me eat?”

“Mm. Don’t rush into it - we still don’t know for sure,” Ferris said. “She may throw around words like ‘legendary,’ but she is at heart a swindler. This doesn’t mean that her words are relevant to our quest.”

“But it’s stronger than Estella’s magic and your sword, right? A monster that strong has to be… but either way…”  

Ferris nodded, then turned to Estella. “Speak.”

“Where to start… Yes, thou shall see; it has been documented since times long gone here in the Iyet Republic - a story from the ancient world. It is known as a power that can make gold from nothing.”

“Whoa, so it’s like alchemy​?” Ryner asked, shocked. “I thought that was impossible.”

Estella nodded. “It is so.”

“Seriously? So it can take something from the air and reconstruct it to make gold? But that’s unrealistic considering the current state of magical research—”

“That means little considering that it does exist,” Estella interrupted. “And it is only natural that everyone should want such power. Even so, no one has obtained that power as of yet.”

“I see,” Ryner said. “Because there’s a guardian. A legendary hero left their legacy behind, guarded by something powerful… It does sound like a real legend. That’d made it a magical item that’s haunted Iyet since antiquity, doesn’t it?”

“Correct. It is a fearful article. Countless soldiers have challenged the guardian, but all who attempted were destroyed.”

Ryner tensed. “So they were killed…?”

Estella shook her head - clearly, it wasn’t as simple as that. “No. The document states that they were ‘destroyed.’ Those fools, no, not just the fools themselves; their entire families were cursed by their pitiful attempts.”

“They were… cursed?” 

“It is true. I, who only barely survived despite the best of my ability, was unable to obtain it. That is why I would like to use thine power. Merely speaking of it irritates me, however… in all of the Iyet Republic, my power is only matched by you.”

Ryner stopped her. “Hey, wait a minute. What’s in it for you if we defeat it and take its alchemic power? You want the gold too, right?”

“Mm. We would not give an item like that to someone from another country,” Ferris added. “Your motives are inconsistent.”

Estella snorted. “How well you know me. However, my influence will someday spread to the very corners of Iyet even without such a strange and kitschy item! Yet if another took an item of this caliber, they would become a great threat towards me. That is why I implore you, who are from a foreign country, to take this item and flee from our borders.”

She said all of that without even stopping to breathe… 

“Oh, I get it now. So that’s what you’re after.”

He perfectly understood what Estella was saying, with her heated words and fists clenched in frustration. 

“In any case,” Estella continued, her fist shaking from passion, “what use does an item that effortlessly creates gold have for me!”

“It’s honestly really impressive,” Ryner whispered. “How she can lie like that so convincingly. She’s maintaining eye contact and everything. She’s really a top swindler.”

“Mm. Having that kind of money would make everything easier. I have no doubt that this is a bluff to get us to help her and then run off by herself with the Heroic Relic.”

And so they didn’t believe that even a single bit of her passion was real… 

“But if that’s the case…”

Ryner and Ferris looked at each other, then spoke in unison: “We’ll just use her before she uses us.”

Then all three of them began to laugh. “Heh, hehe, hehehehe…”  

The innkeeper, creeped out beyond belief, quickly fled for the kitchen.

---

It was a strange place. The grounds were surrounded by an iron fence with a massive gate. Countless security guards were prowling the area. It was clear that unauthorized entry would never be forgiven. Though Ryner and the others entered with ease… 

Ryner looked around once they were inside. “So this is where the legendary item is? Like, this is where the ancient documents said that the object that makes gold out of nothing is? But doesn’t the security system seem… really modern? It seems more like a suburban relic than anything…”

So he said, but it was actually in the dead center of Iyet’s biggest, most prosperous port town… Not only that, but the inside was basically a high-class garden, complete with a beautiful pond and well-trimmed trees. It was pretty much the exact opposite of the kind of place one might find an ancient relic. 

Estella took up a mysterious expression. “That is because this is in the heart of the city. Thou must be aware - the Iyet Republic was originally composed of runaway criminals from other countries, and what happens when a load of criminals learns of an item that can create gold?”

“They’d probably flock to it.”

“Then what would happen if others were unable to obtain said item due to the fearful power of a guardian?” Estella asked.

“…No one would be able to steal it… Ahh, I see. The most influential person in the country has this place under lockdown so that their rivals can’t take it, right?”

“It is so. The guardian lies in the depths of this garden, aiming to protect the genuine magical item,” Estella said. She was serious - even her voice was shaking. She was tensed up against whatever awaited them.

“But,” Ryner mumbled as he looked around. “Something’s real fishy here. There’s literally no reason to go through the effort to plant a garden here. Her explanation doesn’t check out. What do you think, Ferris?”

“Mm. This swindler is far too tense…”

“Yeah. She’s an expert at staying in character. Anyway, though, let’s go along with it for a little longer.”

Ryner and Ferris advanced into the garden, a little tense themselves.

But as they did… a figure suddenly appeared. 

Ryner let out a sound as soon as he saw it. “Wha…”

Even Ferris did the same.

It was just so unbelievable.

They’d been expecting a monster or a magical beast, so this was just… 

“Wha… what the… what the hell?”

An old woman stood before them. She had overgrown white hair and deep wrinkles that spoke to her age. But that old woman’s head… was the only part of her sticking out of the ground…

Then an intelligent boy with black hair that everyone recognized appeared. He was wearing shrine maiden clothes reminiscent of Estella’s. 

Seeing him, the old lady spoke. “Oh, Vois. Did you bring me food today, too?”

“Yes, Grandmother. I brought your favorite whole-roasted rabbit.”

“Oh, ooh, you are such a useful child. The Fiurelle Group will prosper as the largest organization in all of Iyet under your direction. It will be safe under your care. Your older sister, however… That stubborn little girl Estella… who tricked me and buried me in this damn hole… She must be punished.”

It was enough to make anyone dizzy, and Ryner was no exception. That was right. He did remember hearing about this. He heard it straight from Estella and her brother… 

“Hmph. But Vois, whatever happened to our grandmother, all but her head buried alive?”

“Oh, I became the leader instead. She was too loud anyway. Oh, but fear not. We never forget to feed her, so you don’t need to worry…”

This time Ryner was the one shivering, and it was for real. “Estella, you bastard… don’t tell me that your grandma was the ‘legendary item’ you were talking about…”

Estella nodded seriously. “Yes. That is the single thing that infuriates me, the magical—”

“Like hell it is! So? What was all that talk about making gold from nothing, you liar? You just wanted to wrap us up in your family quarrel, didn’t you!?”

Estella shook her head. “No, I have not lied. My grandmother was once known as the magical beast who systematically destroys all who oppose the Fiurelle Group—”

“That’s just a nickname! Haah… God, this is the worst. I knew that you were lying about the item, but the lies went deeper than I thought… Augh. I’m so tired. Let’s go, Ferris.”

“Mm. In the end, a swindler is only capable of swindling…”

“Ah, wait,” Estella said, flustered. “There really is an item that creates gold from nothing. It is a genuine article. The item is what led the Fiurelle Group to becoming the most powerful organization in all of the Iyet Republic. My grandmother is the ringleader of it all. If I were to obtain such an item, then the Holy Estella’s Believers Association could overtake the Fiurelle Group. You may do as you please once it is in my grasp, so I beg of thee…”

Ryner and Ferris stopped at the sound of her frantic begging. 

Ryner’s expression was disagreeable at best. “Nothing ever adds up with you. So now you’re saying that it’s why the Fiurelle Group got so big… What do you think, Ferris…?”

“Mm. Fine. Our opponent is an old woman buried to her neck. We kill her, steal the item, then leave. It’s simple.”

“We’re not killing her!” Ryner yelled.

“Hmph. If it were such a simple matter, I would have done it long ago,” Estella said, her voice low. Ah, no, but shall I assist? I will strengthen our forces. I will go first. Thou shall follow after me.”

Estella jumped forward, followed by Ferris. Ryner was last to move. 

“An old woman like her can’t do any serious damage on her own,” Ryner said. “Wait…”

 Ryner went silent. Estella drew a circle in the air characteristic of Iyet’s magic, and then… 

“Whoa, whoa! Wait a sec,” Ryner said. “Isn’t that an offensive curse? You’re kidding, right? If you cast that on an old, half-buried lady, she’ll die…” 

A yell… no, a roar cut Ryner off. “So you’re on this bullshit again, aren’t you, you stubborn mule of a giiiiirl!”

With that, the old woman sprung out of the hole with great force.

“Huh? Wait, what? S-seriously? How is that not physically impossible…?”

That wasn’t the only shocking thing, though. Ryner was once again shocked into silence.

“W-wait,” Vois said from beside her. “Grandmother… gyaaaah!”

She slammed her fist into Vois, sending him flying. He was unconscious when he hit the ground. It was incredibly powerful… one would never expect an old lady like her to be capable of such a feat.

She laughed heartily. “Fuah, fuh, fuahahaha! I’ve been waiting for this moment, Estella! Did you truly think that I’d be rendered useless just because you buried me! I made a show of being buried for you and Vois to test you. To see how far you’d go to defy me. Indeed, you did anything and everything as you pleased… Now you must be punished for this…”  

Estella growled. “I-it was all an act… This time will be different. I have brought powerful back-up to aid me! I will take thy ‘Sasu Document’ by force!”

“Hoh. So you are after the book,” Estella’s grandmother said, then pulled a single worn book from her pocket. “Only the successor to the Fiurelle Group may have this. I cannot give this to you or Vois, inexperienced as you are! If you want it, you must take it by force!”

“Hmm. That’s the thing then, right?” Ryner asked Ferris.

“We’re taking it, Ryner.”

“Mm-hm.”

With that, Ferris disappeared. She flew towards the old woman with speed that no human eye could follow. Ryner quickly began to draw a magic circle.

The old woman sneered. “Ha! Oh, would you look at that. You youngsters are as lively as they come, making all this fuss! Do you truly believe that you could compete with me, Belsbu Fiurelle? Know your place!”

Wham!

Belsbu roundhouse kicked Ferris’ sword out of the way.

“What!?”

Belsbu’s palm flew towards Ferris’ throat. She squeezed it hard.

“Th-this can’t be true,” Ryner said, flabbergasted. “She, she got Ferris…”

“Do not just stand and stare!” Estella yelled from behind. “I told you, did I not!? I told thou that she is a monster, a genuine monster, the strongest in all of Iyet! If thou art careless, she will defeat you…”

“Fuahahaha! It is far too late!” Belsbu barely moved her neck, but that was all it took for her long white hair to creep towards them with a sound not unlike a groan.

“This is bad. I dedicate the words of our contract - give birth to the beast of malice sleeping within the earth!” Ryner chanted, then his whole body quickened. “Graaah!” he yelled as he jumped back.

The white hair made a beeline for Estella.

“Kyaaaah!” she yelled as she flew back…well, maybe that wasn’t the best word for it. She didn’t fly back to the ground. She soared through the sky, so far that he couldn’t see her anymore… so far that she disappeared entirely.

“Th-this can’t be real,” Ryner whispered. He was at a loss for what to do.

Even Ferris, who had managed to break free, had shock written all over her face. “Unbelievable. This is at the level of my brother Lucile…” 

“What… should we do? What can we do? Run?”

“And leave our backs wide open for attack?”

“Uuh… this is the worst. I guess we don’t have a choice but to go for it.”

Belsbu laughed. “Hah-hah-haa! I can see that you are different from Vois and Estella. You may even be a match for me. So what will you do? Shall we kill each other? You must be aware that I was once feared as the legendary beast of many battlefields.”

Ryner shook his head. Actually, his whole body shook as he did. “No, um, see… We’d actually appreciate it if you let it go…”

“Mm,” Ferris agreed. “Though there is one thing that I’d like to ask first. Depending on your answer, we may need to come back here.”

Belsbu’s eyes narrowed. “Hmph. So you say that you’d go as far as to come back here and put yourself into this situation again…? You’re quite the courageous girl. Heheh. Just as I was at your age… I do like you. I will answer, so what is it? Ask your question.”

“Mm. I only ask one thing,” Ferris said. “Can that book of yours truly create gold from nothing?”

Belsbu nodded, a serious look on her face. “It can. This ‘Sasu Document’ details exactly how to do it. ‘Sasu’ is shorthand for ‘swindling’ here, giving it the meaning of the ‘Swindling Document.’ It has been passed down the Fiurelle Group for generations. It is how one becomes a true scammer…”

“Haah? Hey, wait a minute. I don’t get it,” Ryner said. “I mean, you just said that it can make gold out of nothing, right?”

“That I have. It increases one’s assets, no matter how poor they are - their gold, in a sense - by ripping others off. It is a book of secrets…”

“That’s literally not the same thing!” Ryner yelled. “Wasn’t it supposed to be able to do the impossible? Like, alchemy? Isn’t that what we were talking about with it? Making gold out of invisible floating particles?”

“That is impossible,” Belsbu said without hesitation. “You are like a child.” 

“Mm. Grow up, Ryner,” Ferris said. “You have to be five and under for bedwetting to be okay.”

Ryner was silent. He just stared at the ground. 

“What? This boy still wets the bed at his age?” Belsbu asked.

Ryner began to shake from fear. 

“That’s right,” Ferris said. “To top it off, he is still so infatuated with his mother’s milk that he screams about it daily. He attacks women every night searching for a replacement.”

That. That was when Ryner finally raised his face. He gripped his head with his hands. “Graaaah! What can I even say!? Are you telling me we were tricked again!? Awawah, I’m sick of this! I’m sick of Ferris saying whatever the hell she wants! And then there’s Vois and Estella! Just how much of a nuisance do you have to be to be satisfied!?”

The old woman laughed. “Hoh. It appears that Vois and Estella are in good hands.”

“‘In good hands!?’ They’re nothing but nuisances! And they’re your grandkids! Do something about them!”

She nodded a few times for emphasis. “That is true. I must punish them both as well… I have taken a liking to you two. I have something good for you. Come.”

“Huh? Something good?” Ryner repeated.

“What are you talking about?” Ferris asked.

The old woman laughed lightheartedly. “The true Sasu Document. Do not fret the details; just come with me,” she said, then somewhat forcefully led Ryner and Ferris deeper into the garden.

---

A day passed.

Estella was doing her daily routine - walking the city, searching for prey. As she walked, she thought about that white hair from yesterday. Just the thought pained her, and she grumbled as she moved. “Kgh. That dastardly old woman… I will someday teach her a lesson!”

“Hey, you,” someone addressed her. “You mistaken swindler girl.”

It was a familiar emotionless voice and, sure enough, when she turned she saw a familiar emotionless blonde who had been completely useless to Estella yesterday.

“I am busy at the moment,” Estella spat. “Take thine ugly appearance and unfriendly voice elsewhere.”

Ferris laughed softly. “And what does that make you? To think that you would speak so ill of someone who is in possession of a document detailing how to create gold from nothing.”

“Mrgh? What is that supposed to mean?”

Ferris pulled a single small book out of her pocket, and Estella’s expression stiffened.

“Th-that’s—!?”

Ferris ignored her, opened the book, and began to read. “‘July 4th. Rain. I forgot an umbrella today so I thought I’d get soaked, but my classmate Yuu had an umbrella so I didn’t, and I started to fall in love.’ So reads ‘The summer of Estella Fiurelle’s sixth summer.’ Hoh. So you’d fall for someone for a straightforward reason such as that. You are quite the simple woman…”

“Y-y-you bastaaaaarrrdd!! Wh-where did you find that!?”

“Hm? This? ‘June 6th. Sunny. My heart is sunny too because Yuu ate the lunch I made. Tee-hee. ♡’ Tee-hee ♡?”

“Gyaaahh! I’m begging you to stop! I get it! I get it already! I’ll do anything, so please… just give it back…”

“Mm. In any case, it does appear that this book can create money from nothing,” Ferris said, boastful. 

Estella stared at her with resentment. “I… I understand… I’ll pay you,” she whimpered and crumpled to the ground, crestfallen.

---

Somewhere else, Ryner stood before Vois.

“December 3rd. Sunny. I looked up Meg’s skirt today. She’s one but her neck is fascinating and she makes my heart explode. I’m frustrated, though, because she’s young so she’s not ashamed. That’ll be a problem moving forward - Vois Fiurelle’s forth winter.’”

Vois just listened with a smile. “Oh, that’s my diary, isn’t it? That’s so nostalgic. Meg, huh…”

All Ryner could do was stare. “The hell kind of four year old… but that aside, shouldn’t you feel embarrassed when someone reads your old diary to you? Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen?”

Vois tilted his head in confusion. “Huh? Why would I feel embarrassed? Oh, wait, is this powerplay? Not bad, Mr. Ryner. As expected. Also, Meg started to feel embarrassed when she was three. I guess she was broken…”

“You’re horrible! I don’t want to hear any more, so just shut up. It’s getting too scary. And I’m giving this perverted diary back…”

“Huh? Really? Here I thought we’d struck gold… Still, this is such a coincidence. You see, Mr. Ryner, I have a favor to ask…”

“Augh, you’re so annoying! I don’t want to have to see you again…”

Ryner’s words trailed off, and despair crossed his face. He pressed his hand to his painful empty stomach. “But… but if you’ll give me food for it, then… I guess I can do one favor for you…”

“Really!? Then let’s jump right into it…”

As expected, it was stupid and pointless, just like always.

Ryner sighed after Vois was done talking. “So this is where life has led me… straight into a hole.”

So he said, and sighed deeply, again and again.

That was Ryner Lute’s nineteenth spring.

---

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