Ria was thinking of a way.
Killing Decleyn, collapsing the lighthouse, defeating Quey—whatever it was, an ending that could tie off the knot of this main quest.
"……."
Lying on the bed, she looked up at the ceiling of the VIP room.
Decleyn's face blurred and surfaced upon the dark wallpaper.
He was originally a villain.
A being set solely as a villain, and thus with no chance for redemption.
——Killing him as quickly as possible right after starting the game was the primary strategy.
……To the point that this was the conclusion reached by almost all the office workers playtesting.
But had a single condition, a setting she had arbitrarily added, created countless variables?
Had that small change of heart transformed Decleyn like this?
"Persuasion."
And so, Ria was thinking of her own method.
A path to reach a better ending without killing Decleyn.
"Should I reveal that I am Yoo Ara?"
The Yoo Ara he knew was, of course, not her, but they would be similar. Their hobbies and specialties would be the same, their likes and dislikes the same.
But persuading that steadfast man might be harder than killing him.
"Would killing him be easier?"
She could kill Decleyn. And she would likely be able to.
Because he was not Kim Woojin.
Knock, knock—
Just then, Ria heard a knocking sound from outside the window.
Knock— Knock—
Outside, a woman was looking this way and flicking her index finger.
It was Ellie.
"Huh?"
When Ria's eyes went wide, Ellie grinned and stepped inside. There was no need to open the window. She simply took one step through the air, and that was all.
"Have you been well?"
Ellie. She could be called the strongest in Jeokgwae in terms of martial might, yet she was an emotionless psychopath.
Ria had traveled back and forth through Jeokgwae's deserts, passing information to them, and had built up a certain rapport with Ellie as well.
"……Ms. Ellie. What brings you here?"
"The Elder has summoned you."
In other words, it was an order from Elesol.
Ria nodded softly.
"Is it because of the Decleyn matter?"
"Yes. And my cover identity is……"
Ellie held out an ID card from inside her robe.
[Elaine, affiliated with the Imperial Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry]
"……The Ministry of Agriculture?"
"It's a cover-cover identity. I'm an agent of the Imperial Intelligence Agency. The deepest shadow."
"Excuse me?!"
Ria pretended not to know, and pretended to be surprised, but she already knew. Because Ellie was a named character.
She asked.
"So…… I've come to ask what you plan to do."
"I've already accepted the mission."
"Mm." Ellie nodded.
"Then, will you kill the professor?"
I wonder if Decleyn was still a professor to Ellie.
Ria pulled the blanket around her.
"I don't know yet."
"Mm. I see."
"……Yes. I suppose so."
"But whether you plan to kill him or not, we still have a chance."
Ellie spoke. There was no emotion in her voice.
"……A chance?"
When Ria asked back, Ellie silently held out a map. Some time and location were marked on it.
Ria blinked and tilted her head.
"What is this?"
"It's a map Ms. Efrin left behind. She's calling for us. Or perhaps, for you, Ms. Ria."
"……."
Efrin. That name reminded Ria of Decleyn once more.
Convinced the Canvas was Efrin's doing, she had gone to find the Purge Officer of the Floating Island, and the words he had spat out.
—……You'll kill them, won't you.
If so, was this a rescue request from Efrin?
No, surely that was it.
"Yes. I understand what it means."
Ria accepted the map. She memorized the time and location written upon it.
* * *
…For two days.
I purchased every last piece of Demonic Wood worth hundreds of thousands of elne. I extracted the purest magical energy contained within its bark, synthesized it with other magical ingredients, and produced an elixir.
The process followed Dicailen's *Artistic Magic*.
"This should be enough……"
One hundred milliliters of pure magical energy, created in a perfectly sterilized environment without a single impurity, measured and quantified without a hair's breadth of error, amplifying only physical ability.
If injected into a vein, it was a wonder drug that could make one a supreme powerhouse rivaling Zeit, if only for that moment.
"It will do."
I nodded in satisfaction at the shimmering liquid.
Of course, having crudely pushed performance to the limit, any ordinary knight would have their body melt and collapse if injected, but I was no ordinary knight.
I was an 'Iron' born of the Yukline bloodline.
"……."
I placed the elixir in a vial, put it together with a syringe into my suit's inner pocket, draped a coat over my shoulder, and gripped a Demonic Wood staff in one hand.
Just as I was about to exit the annex.
*Bam———!*
The annex door burst open first, and someone with the most dissatisfied face in the world appeared. Glaring at me, they shouted loudly.
"Hey—!"
The fearless one who dared call me 'hey.'
Yeriel.
"What is with you?! What do you think you're buying so much?!"
The one shoving bills and ledgers in my face right off the bat was still adorable today.
Ranting and raving, shouting up a storm, but as I watched in silence, only a smile leaked from my lips.
"What's so funny! I'm asking what you bought so much?!"
That shout wasn't an interrogation.
It was simply concern.
Still unable to express themselves honestly, the kid scanned the interior of the annex with a hawk's eye, searching for anything dangerous.
"Yeriel."
I called the kid's name.
"……What?"
Yeriel asked back with a sulky face.
"The promised day will soon be upon us."
"……The promised day?"
Yeriel furrowed their brow. Whether they had truly forgotten, or were feigning ignorance.
Yeriel's face was dyed in shock. Their lips flapped as they stammered.
"Wh-what, what do you, what, no, what are you talking about?"
"I promised. That I would give you the seat of the family head."
"……No, that. That…… that……"
"That?"
I asked back.
*Gulp—*
They swallowed. Then they glanced behind the annex, quickly came inside, and closed the door.
"That was before I knew my own bloodline—"
"I said that to you even though I knew. I even swore an oath to you."
"……."
At that, Yeriel's face went blank for a moment.
That blank expression was adorable too, and the sight of them brought to mind old Kim Woojin's heart, but unfortunately, parting was not far off now.
"A self-righteous, arrogant noble who believes only in himself does not suit the seat of the family head."
I placed a hand on the kid's head.
"The family head must be able to listen, know how to deal with people, respect differences, and at times remain calm."
The kid looked up at me without a word.
"Ability and character. If those two are in harmony, the highs and lows of status do not matter at all. Even bloodline and status will eventually be obstacles."
I slowly stroked that small head.
Such behavior was unfamiliar to Decleyn, and alien to Kim Woojin as well.
"More than anything, you have a conscience, don't you?"
Come to think of it, I had never treated my younger sibling kindly.
They were so natural beside me, so familiar, that I had even felt them a burden.
……Such regret, once is enough.
"You have the awareness called Yukline."
I gave a small smile.
Then Yeriel's expression loosened.
Their gradually widening eyes grew moist, their lips parted, and their front teeth, resembling a rabbit's, peeked out adorably.
"Therefore, Yeriel. Yukline suits you more than anyone."
I spoke with a smile.
"Believe my words. Because it is not a lie."
In whatever future, it was Yeriel who ruled Yukline after Decleyn's death.
"Yukline is your destiny."
* * *
A nameless mountain foothill of the Empire.
I had returned there again. Three days had been promised, and three hours still remained; yet there were already many mages from the Floating Island.
Total headcount: seventeen.
In other words, a whopping seventeen combat mages of the 'Ether' rank, each one tantamount to a legion, had gathered.
"Ether Decleyn."
Purge Officer Mayev approached first. I nodded to him. I swept my gaze over the mages lined up beside him.
—Barius Graind Carcercious.
They chanted like monks reciting sutras. Magnificent magical energy surged from their voices, and the mana particles composing the spell rose in perfect unison, filling the atmosphere.
The entire mountain foothill served as the medium for manifesting the magic.
Certainly a sight worthy of being called grand magic. The waves of mana pressing down upon the area were tremendously heavy and majestic.
"No openings."
I spoke honestly.
There were no openings. Not a single corner had been prepared carelessly.
The Floating Island's knowledge and magical ability were certain and perfect.
Indeed, I had never once doubted their capabilities.
"Indeed. The trap is certain. We will freeze Efrin in time and purge them."
Mayev said.
I thought for a moment.
Should I beat them all to death before this grand magic was even completed?
"……."
No, there was no need for that, even for Efrin's sake.
I too, as the kid's professor, and perhaps as their teacher, had some last words to leave behind.
"When do we begin?"
"Soon. And the Archmage will also descend."
Archmage.
A rather ominous title to hear now.
"……Archmage?"
"Eternal rank, Arc Mage Adrinne. This is a great incident sufficient for the Archmage to step forth, so the Floating Island requested cooperation at their level, and she accepted."
"……."
Archmage Adrinne.
As such, bad premonitions are sometimes not wrong.
"Where is she? I don't see her."
"She is watching from elsewhere. How about it? Efrin cannot escape."
Mayev said with something like a sneer.
Adrinne was a rather uncomfortable variable, but I thought I roughly knew what she was thinking, accepting their cooperation.
"Because it looks like fun!"
That voice replayed in my mind.
I pressed my temple.
*Wooooooong———!*
In an instant, a violently roaring vibration.
Dust from the foothill rose in clouds, the mountain shook in its entirety, and leaves fell.
"……We begin now."
Mayev signaled. I too took out the vial from inside my coat.
Mayev glanced at it.
"What is it?"
I answered without a trace of emotion.
"A reagent. With this, I can certainly win."
"……I see."
Mayev walked off without further comment and stepped onto the origin point of the spell.
Indeed, with Adrinne helping, he must have no worries at all.
"Ether Decleyn. I shall ask for your assistance should the theory deviate. Of course, it would be perfect even without your help. One in ten million—"
"Don't worry and just begin."
The role assigned to me by them was inspection and adjustment. If compared to an orchestra, it was the role of a 'conductor'; it also meant that, even on the Floating Island, my magical insight was acknowledged.
"……Prepare."
Mayev raised one hand.
*Whiiiiiiish———*
Wind instantly gusted.
Now, at the core concentric circle of the great circle, there were seventeen positions in total. The Purge Officers each stood in their place and quietly closed their eyes.
*Thud———!*
A reverberation signaling the magic circle's activation.
Pure mana bloomed from the Purge Officers' bodies, and their azure currents spread throughout the mountain foothills in an instant.
As if embers of a wildfire were scattering, particles drifted away on the wind.
———Barius Gracious.
The chant was being recited within it.
The chant didn't have any particularly special meaning. It was simply so that seventeen people could simultaneously recite the same syllables, making it easier to unite intent and mana.
And……
————Graind Carcercious.
This grand magic did not manifest loudly.
Rather, it was silent.
*Rustle—* The cries of the scattering thickets ceased, and the crumbling clods of earth flowing down stopped.
A space where all sound seemed to have been annihilated, where even the air itself had stagnated.
——……Crusious.
The grand magic's conclusion.
That is, the final chant.
With that, time in this mountain foothill froze and was fixed in place.
"We move now."
Mayev said.
However, there didn't seem to be a need to move in haste.
"Ether Decleyn?"
"……."
I silently looked somewhere.
The direction from which the kid's scent flowed.
"……Follow me."
I stepped toward that place.
The Purge Officers followed behind me.
*Clack—*
My two legs and footsteps moved, but the world was fixed. The dirt pressed down by the heels of my dress shoes stopped eternally in that state, and no object could emit kinetic energy.
The mountain foothills where time had truly come to a halt.
Somewhere in the space where time had vanished, if compelled to describe it, at the edge of a certain cliff, I discovered 'someone.'
"……Is it you."
I called out to the kid.
……No.
By now, they seemed too grown to be called merely a 'kid.'
The always-tousled hair that, whenever it got moderately long, they'd roughly burn off with magic claiming it was a waste of money to cut—now it was moderately long and quite mature.
Even the once-vacant eyes held a gleam of gunmetal.
Had they not said they were Efrin themself, one might never have thought them Efrin.
The Purge Officers warmed up their mana upon seeing the kid, and the kid spoke.
"……Yes. It's me, Professor."
The kid introducing themself to me—even their voice had changed considerably from before.
But perhaps because they had grown up too suddenly.
The kid seemed rather like a leaf on the verge of crumbling to pieces, like a seed that had withered without ever blooming, and somehow my heart ached.
That was why I was thinking this.
"……It's been a while."
That they still needed one more lesson…….