I visited the Imperial Palace with Epherene. Amid the tight security, the air was heavy, and the atmosphere dark.
Thud— thud—
As I walked down the corridor, certain “gazes” fixed on me. They likely belonged to the eyes of nations or organizations across the continent that had heard the urgent report.
“……Please wait here for a moment.”
Ahan guided us to a reception room.
An empty space with two chairs. It was a perfect sealed room, both scientifically and magically.
“I will return shortly.”
Ahan left.
Epherene sat down in a chair. With an uneasy face, she fidgeted with her fingers.
I sat down as well.
“…….”
“…….”
We waited without saying a word.
Silence.
Stillness.
Epherene’s cough.
The faintest sound from my wristwatch.
Then, at last, the sound of the door opening again.
“……Professor Deculein. Disciple Epherene.”
The expression on Ahan’s face when she returned was as cold as a corpse.
“Y-yes?”
Epherene answered with a start, and I quietly looked at Ahan.
“I ask that what I am about to say not be leaked anywhere. This, too, was His Majesty’s command.”
“Very well.”
“Yes.”
Her complexion was ominous, but I was not particularly worried.
“Professor. And Miss Epherene. His Majesty has just…….”
Sophien’s death meant the destruction of the “current world.” If even an omen of that appeared, the entire continent would be saturated with death variables.
At this moment, no such death variable existed here.
“Passed away.”
……For that reason.
It was difficult to accept Ahan’s words.
It felt as though I had heard an impossible theory. Or the nonsense of some half-baked shaman.
“His Majesty instructed that only the Professor and your disciple be informed of this fact.”
Ahan spoke in a voice that held back tears.
I leaned against the back of the chair. I could hear Epherene’s trembling breath.
“So…….”
Ahan swallowed her final words. I continued them in her place.
“We will remain silent. Until the culprit and the mastermind are caught, and the Empire is stabilized.”
“……Yes. If anyone outside asks, it will be enough to say that His Majesty is resting. Then, please spend some time here for now. If you leave too soon, the eyes watching may find it strange.”
Ahan changed her expression once more and left the sealed room.
On the other hand, I sank into thought for a moment.
“…….”
Sophien’s death.
I truly had never imagined it even once. At the very least, never once had I imagined living “after her death.”
In truth, even at this very moment, I could not tell whether this was Ahan’s lie or Sophien’s acting.
Perhaps I had been shocked.
Of course, in the main quest, Sophien could die more than once. However, each time that happened, the player would get a “game over,” restart from the save point, and in the world that began anew, Sophien was naturally alive.
Therefore, a “world without Sophien” should have been impossible to exist at all.
“……Professor.”
At that moment, Epherene called me.
I looked at the girl who had been strange since yesterday. Her face was deeply shadowed, and her fingers, wriggling like octopus legs, were distracting.
She said,
“I…… actually came from two months in the future.”
* * *
Epherene told Deculein everything. That she had regressed from April 9th to the present, and that Murnkan had called it the Altar’s “declaration of war.”
“……A declaration of war.”
“Yes!”
At first, she stammered, lacking confidence, but when Deculein listened seriously, her voice grew louder. She pressed down on each syllable as she spoke.
“And he said the Altar borrowed the power of a demon to assassinate His Majesty!”
Deculein nodded. Epherene quickly asked back.
“Do you believe me?”
Deculein answered as though it were nothing.
“I do.”
“……Really?”
“Then, is it a lie?”
“Nooo! It’s not a lie.”
“That is why I believe it.”
“……Ah.”
Epherene scratched her cheek for no reason.
One more sentence from Deculein made her feel embarrassed.
“No matter when, I will believe you.”
“…….”
He really didn’t have to go that far—
Epherene pouted her lips for no reason and muttered to herself.
“Let’s go.”
Deculein glanced at his wristwatch and rose. Epherene, who had been staring blankly at him for a moment, belatedly lifted herself from her seat.
“Yes!”
“Stay close and follow me. There are too many outsiders in the Imperial Palace right now.”
Deculein took the lead, and Epherene followed vigorously behind him.
A straightened back. Two legs striding forward. Lips pressed tight.
In any case, Epherene was solemn, but when the ministers and knights lined up in the palace corridor came rushing in all at once, she shrank back again.
“Professor! His Majesty, how is His Majesty?”
“His Majesty is resting. There will be no official statement of any kind until the culprit and mastermind have been identified, so it would be best not to ask me either.”
“There is truly nothing wrong with His Majesty, correct?!”
Deculein pushed past them all with practiced ease and advanced.
However, Epherene was swept up by the crowd. The tall knights and ministers shoved her about with their shoulders.
“Aaagh! My jaw got hit, agh……?”
At that moment, her wrist was seized. A gloved hand pulled her sharply along. Epherene, dragged forward awkwardly, looked up at the owner of that long arm.
It was Deculein.
“……Uh.”
“Don’t get pushed away. You might get stabbed.”
“St-stabbed?”
“The assassin may still be inside. Whether they couldn’t escape, or chose not to.”
He muttered ominously as he walked, holding her wrist. So that she would not get lost or fall behind. If any minister or knight charged in, he shoved them away roughly and threatened them with his gaze.
“…….”
Epherene looked at her own wrist. A large hand gripped her slender wrist as if overflowing around it.
If she raised her eyes a little more, she saw his broad back.
For some reason, in this moment, time seemed to have slowed.
“We’re leaving.”
“Huh?”
When she came back to her senses after spacing out for a moment, she was already inside the car.
“Yes.”
Ren in the driver’s seat skillfully pressed the accelerator. The car glided forward.
“……Phew.”
Only then did Epherene calm down a little, and she slapped her strangely hot cheeks— smack.
“Right. Then. What do we do now?”
She asked in needless haste. Deculein answered while casting 「Silence」 inside the car.
“We need to know the conditions of your regression.”
“The conditions of my regression?”
“Regression is not your power. Someone else’s power merely dwelled within you for a moment due to some effect. Therefore, the operation itself must be incomplete.”
The regression Epherene had held for a moment.
That authority was undoubtedly Sophien’s.
However, for some reason, the regression had temporarily transferred to Epherene, and the Altar had seized that opening to kill Sophien.
“……Whether you absolutely regress on April 9th.”
Originally, Sophien was not an easy person. On the contrary, whether for the Altar or the player, she was the core factor they had to be most wary of.
That was likely the reason the Altar had been unable to touch Sophien until now.
If they carelessly killed her and she regressed, they would be handing her every clue about them for free.
“Or whether there are other specific conditions.”
“……Yes.”
“With that, you can bring His Majesty back to life.”
Epherene nodded resolutely.
“However, the Altar is dangerous and powerful enough to harm His Majesty, so you will need someone else to help you.”
Deculein sank into thought for a moment.
Thump—!
At that moment, the car lurched. Epherene’s shoulders also flinched. She blinked and glanced toward the driver’s seat.
It was a jolt she had never once felt in a car driven by Ren.
“……Julie.”
He said a name. Epherene’s eyes widened.
“Knight Julie?”
“Julie is the most truthful person on the continent. You need only trust Julie, but if Julie refuses to believe your words, there is a bracelet in the drawer of my office. Take it with you.”
“A bracelet…… What bracelet?”
“It is the only gift Julie received from her father.”
“Aha…….”
As she quietly listened to him, Epherene suddenly realized that this conversation itself was a little strange.
Deculein was assuming every subject to be “me,” that is, Epherene. The one asking Julie for help was Epherene, and the one saving His Majesty was Epherene.
Why am I alone? Can’t we go together?
“Do not worry.”
Had he read her thoughts?
“I will not push it all onto you.”
Deculein gave a low smile.
“You are still too young to bear that shackle.”
Then, he placed his hand on the back of her neck. At that insanely sudden action, Epherene jumped in shock. Her entire body stiffened.
His face, now closer, filled her vision.
“……It will only be for a moment, Epherene.”
Like a scene from some romance novel.
His voice seeped in like a whisper.
“You may be lonely during that brief moment.”
Bang—!
The car lurched violently. Deculein held Epherene tightly. So that she would not be shaken by the reckless driving.
“However, I promise you.”
Epherene still did not know what he was saying. Not even the meanings of the most basic words could be understood with his face this close. She could barely hear him either.
Gulp— gulp— She could only swallow.
“I will, even if belatedly, without fail.”
Deculein stretched out his other arm.
One hand remained on the back of her neck, while the other passed over her chest and seized the car door handle.
“Follow your time.”
Clack—
The car door opened. The wind from outside rushed in.
Only then did Epherene realize his intention.
“I will overcome the regression.”
What Deculein had installed while stroking the back of her neck was wood steel.
“So…… until then.”
What he was about to do was—
Just like that time at the beginning of the semester, once upon a time…….
“Wait for me.”
The wood steel around Epherene’s nape was triggered by 「Psychokinesis」.
“Ah, wait— Gyaaaaaaaaah————!”
Epherene was flung straight out of the car.
“Guuuuuh———”
The wood steel that had completely pierced through her robe glided at such a steep angle that she could offer no resistance, and the car’s path veered in the opposite direction from Epherene’s flight.
Whoooooosh…….
As she shot through the sky at tremendous speed, Epherene looked at the car growing farther away. From beneath it, she sensed the aura of the assassin pursuing Deculein.
She engraved a certain someone’s “silhouette” clearly upon her retina.
“……A knight.”
She did not know the name. She did not know the identity either.
However, she was certain it was a knight.
Because the armor inside the chest hidden beneath the robe had gleamed faintly.
“A knight…….”
With that memory as the last, Epherene lost consciousness.
……Some time later, when Epherene opened her eyes, she was in a secret room of the Imperial Palace.
The first to approach her after she regained consciousness were Knight Delric and Ahan, and they told her.
Professor Deculein was dead.
* * *
Drip, drip— drip, drip—
Dark rain struck the window and flowed down like pus. Traces spread like spiderwebs.
Rain was falling.
But why was this rain so filthy?
After staring at it blankly, she trudged back and sat on the sofa again.
“…….”
Tick— tick—
In this place, silent save for the ticking of the second hand, was a secret guest room in the Imperial Palace protected by strict security magic. On Ahan’s advice, Epherene was waiting for time to pass.
For April 9th to come.
Please, as quickly as possible.
“……She cried like a beast.”
At that moment, Delric spoke. Having attended Deculein’s funeral today, he looked haggard.
Epherene asked carefully.
“Miss…… Yeriel?”
“Yeah.”
Epherene had not dared attend the funeral.
It was partly because it was dangerous outside, but also because of Yeriel. She felt she could not bear to see that young lady’s face.
“I thought they were on bad terms.”
Delric sighed and covered his face with his hands. Yeriel was still vivid in his eyes.
That miserable sight of her clinging to Deculein’s coffin, clawing at it until her nails broke, wailing until she fainted.
A scene unimaginable from the usual Yeriel was still scraping at Delric’s heart.
“…….”
Epherene looked at Delric like that.
Shhhhhhh…….
Outside the window, the rain grew heavier.
Irregular noise poured down with enough force to shatter the glass.
“……Hoo.”
Epherene, who had been listening quietly, clenched her teeth. She tightened her fists. Making a decision within herself, she took a deep breath.
“Um, Sir Knight.”
“……Hm?”
Delric looked back at her. Epherene spoke with her cheeks puffed out like a solemn steamed bun.
“Please help me.”
“…….”
Delric frowned in silence. His expression seemed to say, What kind of bullshit is this?
“There’s somewhere I need to go for a moment.”
“Somewhere to go? No, you can’t go out. Right now, the only ones who saw His Majesty in that critical state were the Professor and you, so it’s obvious they’ll be targeting you too.”
“And there’s someone I need to meet.”
“Someone to meet? Hey! Absolutely not! How can we trust them?”
Delric raised his voice. It was the usual tone of an adult scolding a child.
“No! If you want to leave, you’ll have to bring me down first.”
“……Pfft.”
At first, Epherene had suspected this Delric too.
However, after spending a week together in the Imperial Palace, she had naturally realized that, at least when it came to Deculein, he was sincere.
“I know. I know that too, but…….”
The person Deculein had said she could trust was Julie.
And the person who surely knew a clue would also be “Julie.”
Epherene had already heard about it. Just before His Majesty was assassinated, thirty knights had visited the Imperial Palace.
Also, one of the assassins who pursued Deculein was a knight.
Julie was one of those thirty, and she would know all twenty-nine of the other knights, so Epherene had to meet her no matter what.
“It’s my master’s request.”
“…….”
At that, Delric’s expression changed. He asked again solemnly.
“……Is that true?”
“Yes. So I need to stop by the Professor’s mansion too.”
“…….”
Delric bit his lower lip and hesitated, but only for a moment. He placed a hand on the medal at his chest, gripped the sword at his waist, and nodded reliably.
“Very well. If it is the Professor’s request.”
“Yes. Thank you. Then, hmm. How do we go?”
While thinking of a plan, Epherene casually looked out the window.
And then…….
“Ugegegegek——!”
She was so startled she nearly foamed at the mouth.
—…….
Outside the Imperial Palace window.
Sylvia stood like a ghost, her entire body soaked with rain.