……A desert night.
Sophien watched Deculein and Lia’s conversation. It was the 「Magic Eye」 manifested through runes.
—Yu Ara.
Deculein’s clear voice spoke of his former fiancée.
—She is not dead. She is alive.
It sent a ripple through Sophien’s chest, and before she knew it, she had pulled herself closer in her seat. Beads of sweat formed on the back of her hand, and her head felt faintly dizzy.
A strange moment in which her mouth, for no reason, went dry.
—She left me because she feared me.
His next words stirred an even more bizarre emotion.
—So much so that she had no choice but to pretend she was dead. She hated me.
He spoke of his own past as though confessing.
Deculein, wounding himself.
Sophien quietly leaned back into her chair. Her long hair spilled over the backrest like silk. Her trembling eyes lowered askance.
—So you need not worry. I will not save Yu Ara from the likes of you.
At Deculein’s words, she let out a low breath.
That someone had cast away the person she wished to possess, and that the person she wished to possess was confessing his sorrow—it hurt.
It was sad.
An emotion she had not felt even once while killing countless Red Ogres gently soaked her heart, like mist over a lake.
“……Hmph.”
Sophien pressed a hand to her temple and shook her head.
For a moment, she took her eyes off Deculein and quietly measured her own heart. She thought of the emotions that seemed to scorch it.
……And within them, a small realization suddenly came to her.
“I think I understand a little.”
Now, she thought she understood.
That there was no need to understand.
“Emotions that cannot be understood may remain as they are.”
Sometimes, simply following where body and heart led.
There was no need to struggle to know.
That this was what human emotion was.
“…….”
A discovery too small, too trivial, and far too late.
Her body slack with emptiness and fatigue, she suddenly heard Lia mutter.
—Kim Woojin. I’m sorry.
A small voice seeped in from before the chamber door.
Knock, knock—
Then, with a knock, the door opened, and the moment Lia looked at her.
“Who is Kim Woojin?”
Sophien asked.
It was pure curiosity.
* * *
“He was my former lover.”
Lia answered thus. Sophien’s brow trembled slightly, but from what she could tell, it was not a lie.
“……Kim Woojin, is it. But why did you suddenly mutter his name?”
“It seems he suddenly came to mind.”
Sophien merely raised an eyebrow.
Well, there was no need to know this little one’s love history. It was not important.
“Then you are better than I am. At least you have loved someone.”
“……Ah.”
Lia scratched behind her ear.
She seemed to have forgotten for a moment, but Sophien had been single since birth.
Well, given her circumstances, it could hardly be helped.
“Very well. How was Deculein just now?”
But it was not because Sophien was the emperor, or because her status was far too noble, or for any such reason.
For Sophien, even harboring the emotion of liking someone was dangerous.
No—Sophien was dangerous.
Lia had never forgotten that setting, not for a single moment.
Because Lia herself knew Sophien’s “trigger.”
“……For now, he appeared to be all right.”
If Sophien had ever loved someone, she would have been killed long ago.
Perhaps the person in the greatest danger in this desert right now was not the Red Ogres or the tribes, but Professor Deculein.
“By the way, what is that?”
Lia pointed at a flowerpot on Sophien’s table.
“A pot given to me by Malia’s child.”
“A pot…… Ah.”
A flower.
She was trying to grow a flower.
Sophien gave a faint laugh.
“Thinking on it now, it certainly seems right to listen to you. There is not a single man or woman around me who has ever dated.”
Sophien glanced with narrowed eyes at the statue by the wall.
Chiron had never dated. He was the very model of a blunt, rigid knight.
Ahan would arrive soon, but he was the same.
“In any case, I intend to make a flower bloom. However, it must not be by mana. It must not be by magic either. I gave that task to the Malia tribe…… and one child gave me this pot.”
Inside it were desert sand and some thorn poking up.
Lia asked,
“Is it a cactus?”
“Yes. But even I cannot tell whether a cactus flower will bloom in this desert.”
Sophien stared seriously at the pot, lost in thought.
“Even if it blooms, if it does not grow beautifully, I will have to discard it.”
Looking at Sophien, Lia asked,
“Why?”
As if she found it far too frustrating.
Sophien furrowed her brow.
“What do you mean, why? Is it not obvious? What use is a flower that is not beautiful?”
“Your Majesty. Think about the professor’s personality.”
“His personality?”
“Yes.”
“…….”
Lia’s face right now was rather impudent, but when it came to love, this girl was more of an expert than she was.
With no other choice, Sophien thought for a moment and said,
“……When I consider that fellow’s personality, it is even simpler. I feel I must cultivate the most beautiful one possible. That is why I am worried.”
Lia found Sophien saying it was simpler even more frustrating.
“No.”
“…….”
At that, Sophien glared at Lia and asked,
“Why is it not?”
“Why not, you ask?”
Through today’s conversation, Lia had learned.
That Deculein, who had been modeled after Woojin, possessed one aspect of Woojin.
And if it were Kim Woojin, whether the flower was beautiful or not would not matter.
She knew because he was someone who painted.
“Only the most beautiful flowers are not put onto a canvas.”
Even if it was not beautiful, even if the bud was small and shabby, Woojin would like it and say something like this.
—You grew this? Wait a bit. I’ll draw it for you. I can’t just say thank you with words, can I?
Because every gift I gave him, not missing a single one, he drew again with his own hand and returned to me.
Because he was that considerate.
“……It seems to me you do not know Deculein very well.”
Sophien continued curtly.
“Did you say canvas? Very well. It is not only beautiful flowers that are placed on canvas. But that man is a professor who would paint only the most beautiful things in the most beautiful way.”
Before she knew it, Lia snorted.
“You really don’t know, huh.”
“…….”
Sophien bit her lip slightly.
Lia had said it with her head heated in her own way, and immediately went, oh no.
“……But that is how people who’ve been single since birth usually are.”
Sophien’s eyes narrowed. Her lips curved crookedly like a snake’s.
It seemed she had made it worse.
“More importantly, if you give him flowers while keeping him confined like this, would it not have the opposite effect……?”
Lia quickly changed the subject.
“If you release him first—”
“It is already under Bell’s jurisdiction.”
“……Pardon?”
She asked back blankly.
Under General Bell’s jurisdiction?
Bell is Deculein’s political enemy.
“When you say it is under Bell’s jurisdiction……”
“I entrusted the lifting of Deculein’s confinement to Bell.”
“If you revoke that even now……”
“I do not take back what I have once said. And right now, I harbor very strong ill will toward Deculein.”
If it had not been for Deculein, she would have suffered both execution and the extermination of her house for the worst crime of “colluding with the enemy.”
“Then, then you mustn’t do that! He’ll be locked up forever—”
“Hmph. Let him be.”
Sophien snorted and shook her head.
“Leave. I am single since birth. There are many things I must learn. About what you have said, and about my own heart.”
It was the emperor’s order to leave, one that could not be defied.
“No, ah, ah, seriously. Ah…….”
Lia shot Sophien a sidelong glance like a wronged Anpanman, then backed out of the emperor’s chamber.
* * *
Outside the main building, desert glamping was in full swing. Special products confiscated from the desert tribes, along with wine, whiskey, meat, and the like sent in as sponsorship, had all been opened under General Bell’s lead.
Of course, only for the military faction.
“Delicious, isn’t it—? You all agree, yes—?”
Bell was in a very good mood these days.
His life had turned around from merely managing foreign tribes in the south of the empire. It was exhilarating to be walking a path of success in this desert, but above all, there was Deculein’s confinement.
He was terribly proud of himself, so very pleased, for having beaten that Deculein of Yukline and gained the emperor’s favor.
“““Yes! That is correct!”””
“Haha.”
He gave a leisurely smile to his subordinates, who were stiff with discipline, and cut into his steak.
The adjutant seated right beside him said,
“No one could have imagined that Deculein, who they said could strike down even a bird in flight, would end up like this.”
“Haha. Well. I think differently—”
“Oh. Is that so?”
“That arrogant man had simply climbed too high until now. I knew he would one day earn His Majesty’s hatred. Now, all that remains is for him to fall—!”
At Bell’s words, everyone nodded. Loud laughter rang beneath the desert night sky.
It was also a warning to the opposing faction.
To those poor fools still clinging to the rotten rope called Deculein.
“……Furthermore, is Deculein’s release from confinement not entirely in General Bell’s hands?”
At the adjutant’s words, Bell formed a sly smile.
“That is right— It is as good as proof that His Majesty trusts my abilities and intends to make full use of me.”
“Hm?”
At that moment, an Imperial Guard who had been cooking looked around with wide eyes. The adjutant turned toward him in displeasure.
“What is it?”
“One of the Loahawks I was roasting has disappeared.”
“……What? A Loahawk?”
“Yes. I was roasting a large one whole……”
Had some beast carried it off?
Just as the adjutant was about to approach the man, who was muttering foolishly to himself—
——It’s an attack!
A fierce shout rang out.
At the same time, an emergency siren filled the main building.
Weeeeeeeeeeee────!
The pleasant buzz of intoxication scattered in an instant, and an Imperial Guard who had been on night patrol rushed over and cried out.
“This is terrible! General Bell!”
“What is the matter!”
“Corpses, corpses—first, this way!”
Everyone, including Bell, hurriedly followed the Imperial Guard. They thought it might be the work of a desert tribe or the Red Ogres. They even held some expectation that this, too, might become an achievement.
“It is here!”
However, when they actually arrived at the place.
“…….”
“…….”
They were left speechless.
They could not help but be.
“……This is.”
There were corpses.
Several of them.
Dozens of Imperial Guards who had been perfectly fine until last night were dead, reduced to corpses……
That much, at least, could be understood.
But.
“What in the world……”
The state of the bodies was bizarre.
It was a sight so horrific that even the word terrible was insufficient, a sight that froze every thought in the mind the instant it was witnessed.
“It seems…… they were eaten.”
Corpses with skin and muscle torn away. Entrails spilled outside their bodies. Pieces of brain rolling across the ground. Bones crushed beyond recognition.
A scene as though food had been “left half-eaten.”
“……Was it the work of a beast?”
At one adjutant’s mutter, someone answered.
“No.”
Step, step— a knight walked over. Bell, turning that way, furrowed his brow.
It was Delric, Deculein’s close aide.
Appearing suddenly, he first sniffed the air.
“……It is demonic energy.”
Demonic energy.
Bell’s shoulders flinched. He scanned the scene with wide eyes and said,
“Then could it not be a demonic beast—?”
“It is too thick and too dense. A demonic beast could not leave traces like this. To begin with, there is no demonic beast in this desert strong enough to devour dozens of Imperial Guards in an instant. Even if there were, we would have sensed its presence.”
Delric bent a knee and examined the scene closely.
Soon, he shook his head and muttered as though sighing.
“……The being these pieces of evidence point to is, without a doubt, only one thing.”
Only one.
The being that was now in everyone’s mind, but that no one could bring themselves to say aloud.
Delric said it.
“A demon. And an exceptionally powerful one at that.”
At that, silence descended.
A wind carrying the chill of the desert swept by, and a shiver raised goosebumps on the skin of the soldiers.
“F-for now.”
General Bell, rubbing his shoulders, opened his mouth.
“Let us not inform His Majesty—? There is no need to cause unnecessary confusion.”
“We cannot do that. Look at the traces left in this blood. This demon is still nearby. It has not left.”
Delric rose to his feet and shook his head.
Bell muttered as if in desperation.
“Listen to me! There’s absolutely nothing to gain by telling him.”
“Are you saying you’ll pretend not to see it because there’s no way?”
“I’m not saying I’ll pretend not to see it! It’s not even certain that it’s a demon!”
“It is certain. Can’t you tell just by looking?”
At Delric’s words, Bell clenched his teeth.
“E-even so, we can’t!”
“Are you doing this because you don’t want to release the Count?”
“…….”
Delric had struck the mark.
Deculein of Yukline.
The only family on this continent called the “natural enemy of demons.”
“General Bell. I, too, am well aware of the fame of you and your unit. The strength with which you slew a tiger alone, and the toughness you honed facing foreign tribes. However, demons are on a different axis altogether.”
Delric looked around at Bell’s adjutants.
“A demon is not a tiger, nor is it a magic beast. There is even an ancient legend in this desert. If this demon is that demon, then we cannot face it.”
An ancient demon.
A legend that made one tremble merely to hear it.
“But Yukline is different. Yukline is a line of demon hunters stretching back to antiquity. A special family whose bloodline is engraved with the power of erosion.”
“…….”
“Leave it to the Count. The Count will gladly accept.”
Bell clenched his fists tightly.
Delric swept his gaze over the confidants around Bell and asked again.
“Or do you intend to sacrifice the Guards? Those adjutants who stand with you?”
“Shut your mouth—!”
Whoooooosh……
Wind spun futilely through the desert. Sand scattered on the air currents, clinging here and there.
Bell huffed as he swept back his hair.
“I won’t inform His Majesty—we can do it. Even without Deculein’s help…… Everyone, follow me!”
As he forced his faction to leave, Delric watched his retreating back with pity in his eyes.
* * *
……I am exercising.
Though I am under confinement close to exile, I do not neglect physical training.
Rather, because I have been freed from politics and work, I can focus more purely than ever on this body—
“They say a demon appeared last night.”
Lia delivered the news. I opened my eyes.
“……You felt it, didn’t you?”
At that question, I nodded.
Lia pointed at my handcuffs.
“You can feel that even though you can’t use mana?”
“Instinct.”
These handcuffs suppress the wearer’s mana circulation. I know their performance better than anyone.
Lia gave a small laugh.
“Those handcuffs are really good, right? They look nasty at a glance.”
“Yes. Their performance is certain. They are handcuffs I made myself and presented to the throne.”
“……Ah.”
Handcuffs crafted with Dikailen’s Artistic Magic Studies and imbued with Midas’s Hand.
Unless one had reached the level of Adrienne or Zeit—no, even if one had reached their level, they were a high-performance artifact capable of binding them for at least half a day.
“Aha…… But do you think you know what that demon is?”
Without a word, I pulled a book from one side of the bookshelf. Then I handed it to her.
“……It is a book that records the legends of the desert. That creature is in here. Its name is the Man-Eater.”
“…….”
“It is quite an ancient thing.”
The Man-Eater.
Lia’s face stiffened.
As though she already knew.
“It grows stronger the more humans it eats. It cannot be killed, only sealed away—an ancient demon.”
“Isn’t this a big problem?”
Lia asked back in a serious voice.
“Not particularly.”
I shook my head.
Lia puffed out her cheeks.
“……Why? It seems like a really big problem. If it’s an ancient demon……”
“Lia. Who do you think I am?”
“…….”
“Say it.”
Lia looked somewhat doubtful, but after moving her lips, she answered.
“……Yukline.”
“Yes. Yukline.”
The Snowflake Stone embedded in my heart, and the magic circle of Psychokinesis engraved into the body of Iron Man.
The blood of Yukline flowing through my veins.
“A demon cannot defeat Yukline. The only problem is.”
Thus, if there truly was a threat, it would be another force seeking to make use of this demon.
“That in the confusion caused by the demon, the Altar may launch an attack.”
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee────!
At that very moment, a siren rang out.
Lia hurriedly looked down out the window, and I said,
“Go.”
“……Yes. It really looks like the Altar has infiltrated.”
Dadadada—!
Her back as she ran out in earnest was unexpectedly dependable.
She was a talent I had raised fairly well, so even without me, she would manage anything well enough.
“…….”
However, in the place where Lia disappeared, a hooded mage suddenly appeared.
Step, step—
I looked straight at the one approaching.
“……You really look wonderful.”
At the sight of her deliberately speaking arrogantly, the corners of my mouth moved somewhat strangely.
No, to a certain extent, I was also angry.
Why had she come alone to such a dangerous place, leaving Julie behind?
“Locked up like this and everything.”
I took one step toward her and said,
“What do you think this place is, that you would come here?”
“Hmph!”
Twisting her mouth and responding with a snort, this girl—whose lips were glossy with pork fat, as though she had picked up some meat to eat somewhere—
“What kind of place is it? I just came to watch you locked up, Professor.”
Epherene.