······Softly, softly.
The snow settles.
White powder sways as it piles upon the earth.
One by one, countless crystals of snow that will vanish before long gather together, forming a thick layer.
It covers the ground.
Dyes it white.
······Softly, softly.
The falling snow does not cease, the snow that touches the earth does not melt, and winter is eternal—but still, she waits.
No, she doubts.
In the far future, could this coldness melt as well?
If she waits and waits, endures and endures.
Could snow become water, could water soak the earth, and could a sprout someday break through?
······For me, too.
Will spring come?
Julie’s life began with death.
Because she had gained life at the cost of her mother’s death.
It was the original sin she committed by being born into this world.
─Wow······.
The inner castle of Freyden was a winter where snow always fell. A tiny child blankly watched the knight’s sword dance in the snow-white training ground.
Countless knights swung their swords and shed sweat, but among them, her father and elder brother were the most splendid. Proud. Beautiful.
From afar, it looked like a play; from up close, it looked like a dance.
─······.
Then, her elder brother, having finished his spar, looked back at her. The beads of sweat running down him had already frozen like jewels.
─Ah, um······ well······.
Julie avoided his gaze.
Zeit had never spoken to Julie first. Everyone in the family was like that. While saying that she had done nothing wrong, they always drew an invisible line.
─Julie.
But that day was an exception. For some reason, Zeit looked at Julie with a bitter smile.
Young Julie faced Zeit with wide eyes.
─Y-Yes, yes, yes, yes, Elder Brother.
─Do you want to try holding a sword, too?
─······Pardon?
The dream of becoming a knight was carved into Julie’s heart from that moment on.
A knight serves their lord. They become a single sword, cut down enemies, and protect the people and the nation while keeping their own convictions.
Within that, there is no “self.”
A child who should never have been born, herself, who had stolen her mother away from her family and house—this was the only dream she could have.
It was a dream from a little long ago, from the past.
“······.”
Julie opened her eyes. The dawn sky was dark, and an aching pain rose in her heart.
Knock knock—
A servant knocked on the door. Julie rose from the bed. A stiff pain spread through her entire body, but if she endured it for just a little while, it would disappear.
“Warm water is ready.”
“······Very well.”
Entering the bathroom, Julie stared blankly at the mirror. Seeing herself reflected on its surface, she recalled her promise with him.
─If you cannot become a guardian knight within a year, you may have to marry by force, if necessary. So do not stay in one place. Do not remain like a fool. I may change my mind and refuse to let you go.
Now, there was not much time left.
* * *
[ Side Quest: Support Demon Purification ]
◆ Shop Currency +2
Meanwhile, in the Dphalem Forest near Hadekain in the western Empire.
These days, the concentration of demonic energy had grown thicker, and demon-related monsters such as gargoyles had begun appearing. I had come to that region, which required purification.
It was a purification quest requested by the Cathedral and accepted by the Magic Tower.
“······Hmm.”
At first, I advanced smoothly, smashing apart every demonic beast and monster in sight, but at some point—
I discovered an area marked entirely by death variables.
The entire vicinity was a death variable, a red more vivid than anything I had ever seen before.
“······.”
My intuition told me. If I entered there, I would die without question. This was not merely an ordinary level of danger.
「Villain’s Fate」 operates according to my own ability.
For example, a trap prepared by a mere few goblins would not even be caught by the trait’s radar.
But right now, this forest was different.
Beyond that point lurked an enemy I could not overcome.
“Hmm······.”
Of course, if the opponent was a demon, I would become stronger.
However, there was a limit when the concentration of demonic energy was this thin. This forest was not saturated with demonic energy like the “Crevasse Canyon” or a demon’s barrier.
“Is something the matter, Professor?”
The blond priest “Terpe,” who had been following behind me, asked. I stood still and searched for a suitable excuse.
A way to run away as if I had not been frightened······.
“We’re going back.”
Without saying much else, I turned around. Terpe seemed flustered.
“But we have not even reached the source yet.”
“This much is enough for scouting and analysis. We will do the rest next time. One must make thorough preparations in all things to avoid disaster.”
I spoke while walking calmly.
“If I wished, I could finish it quickly, but this is also to teach you the ‘careful method’ of exterminating demons.”
Terpe nodded for the time being, and after walking for about thirty minutes, we left the forest.
At the entrance of the forest, Yeriel and the retainers were waiting. Yeriel’s puffed-up cheeks were full of displeasure.
“Is the work finished?”
Yeriel asked. Terpe shook his head.
“Today was reconnaissance, and we decided to plan for the future.”
At those words, Yeriel snapped her head around and glared at me. I ignored her and got into the car.
Terpe bowed his head.
“You’ve worked hard, Lady Yeriel.”
“Yes. You as well, Priest.”
Yeriel, answering halfheartedly, quickly got in too. As soon as she sat down on the seat, she let out a shriek.
“Why! Why am I not allowed?!”
“You’re noisy.”
“You didn’t even go all the way anyway! It wouldn’t have been dangerous!”
As Yukline’s eldest daughter and the acting lord of Hadekain, Yeriel had wanted to accompany me for today’s “purification work.”
However, I had not the slightest intention of putting her on a battlefield.
“You would be a hindrance.”
“I’m a Yukline too, you know? If demons are the enemy, I can be more than useful!”
······That is not true.
Yeriel, because you are not a Yukline.
“Do not act foolishly. The person in charge does not stand on the front line. Also, from now on, if you ever participate in a battlefield, know that our ‘promise’ will be null and void.”
“······.”
At that, Yeriel’s expression hardened.
“······How much of it is real?”
She gnashed her teeth and glared at me.
“Until now, you acted so well like my older brother, and today you humiliated me in front of the retainers? How am I supposed to face those people now?”
Today, even in my eyes, Yeriel had been full of expectations. She had come with all sorts of equipment hanging from her, intending also to assert her legitimacy to the retainers.
Since it was an incident that had occurred right near Yukline territory, she must have felt some responsibility in her own way.
I ignored that Yeriel. I refused Yeriel when she said she would follow, and to put it bluntly, I embarrassed her in front of the retainers.
“Yeriel.”
“What!”
“Yeriel.”
“······What!”
I hardened my expression.
“Yeriel.”
“Ah, seriously, what! ······Sir.”
Yeriel pouted. Her voice was trembling.
However, this time, I could not back down either.
“Do not be stubborn like a child.”
All of this is for your sake, Yeriel······.
“Do not throw tantrums, either. This much should be understood without me having to say it.”
“······.”
“How long do you intend to act immature?”
Yeriel likely knew Yukline’s tradition as well.
The reason she had been stubborn, unlike herself, was probably to prove to the retainers that that tradition had been inherited by her.
“Act according to your position. Show the dignity and class befitting it.”
Yeriel did not answer. Without a word, she leaned against the window frame. Her face was hidden by her hair, but she looked as if she might cry at any moment.
Her small shoulders trembled, and her breathing was rough.
“We’re going to the Floating Island. I have work to do today.”
I did not say another word to Yeriel.
······.
“He left? He really left?”
In Dphalem Forest, where Deculein had flown off without a care. Between the long coniferous trees, “Gerek,” who had been sharpening a dagger while holding his breath, asked.
With long black hair tied back, he was a handsome man who did not suit his epithet of 「Multiple Personalities」.
“He really left?”
“Yes. He left.”
At his question, Al Los nodded. Gerek asked again.
“He left? Really?”
“Yes.”
“Really?!”
“I said he left, you bastard.”
“Ah~ how could this be~!”
Only after she mixed in a curse did he finally accept it.
As expected, every one of those Ashes bastards had a screw loose somewhere.
“Did he perhaps notice?”
“Yeah, dumbass. You were leaking killing intent like that.”
“That Deculein bastard was a coward. I was telling him to come!”
Al Los merely smirked.
She felt like she knew why Deculein had avoided Gerek.
His voice played in her head.
‘Do you avoid shit because you fear it? You avoid it because it is filthy.’
Wasn’t it exactly that kind of thought?
“Ah~ this is annoying. Aaaah~”
Gerek groaned and slammed the back of his head against the surface of a tree.
Al Los asked.
“But Gerek. Is there a particular reason you’re targeting Deculein?”
“Hm?”
“Don’t you just want to kill him because he’s famous?”
Gerek innocently tilted his head. But soon, he grinned and continued speaking.
“Ah, me, well, I have all sorts of grudges against the Yukline family. Those bastards submerged our village.”
He tapped his own forehead with a finger.
“There are a lot of people talking inside my head right now, aren’t there? They’re all my family members who died back then.”
······So even the pathology called “multiple personalities” was ultimately because of Yukline?
It was a reasonably valid reason.
Gerek asked in return.
“What about you, Al Los?”
“None. I have no particular intention of killing him.”
Of course, there had been an incident with Deculein, but it was not exactly a grudge.
Rather, Deculein was like a beehive that would cause even bigger problems if killed, so she declined to do something as insane as making all of Yukline her enemy.
“Why? Al Los, you said your parents were originally mages too. Then maybe they had a grudge against the Yukline family?”
“······Shut your mouth.”
Al Los’s parents had died before she even turned three.
She did not know the reason, nor did she want to know.
“Who knows? Deculein might have killed them.”
“Deculein was a child back then. Don’t spout nonsense and shut your damn mouth, you fucker.”
“No—”
Al Los seized Gerek by the collar. Glaring at him as if she would kill him, she muttered.
“If you keep running your mouth like that, you’ll die by my hand. Before I tear out your guts······.”
“Ah, sorry~ understand me~ Deculein suddenly flew away, didn’t he~ I’m just pissed.”
“If you understand, then prepare for the job.”
She released the collar she had been gripping.
In truth, they had not planned to attack Deculein from the beginning. They merely had a mission to carry out nearby.
But by coincidence, they had heard news that Deculein was coming······ and the bastards currently teamed with Al Los, such as Gerek and Glifer, had gone into a frenzy.
“Anyway, I’m definitely going to kill Deculein.”
Gerek smiled comfortably and leaned against a tree.
“My family wants it. Right, little brother?
······Yeah. Brother. I want it. You know how painful it was when I drowned.
······Yes. I know. Father said so too······.”
Ignoring his grotesque conversation, Al Los read the newspaper.
[ Symposium Problem No. 6, to be concluded by Head Professor Deculein? The place of proof······ ]
* * *
The third settlement of the “Red Garnet Adventurer Corps,” which wandered the continent: the Duchy of Yuren.
“Now. Read it, everyone. It’s this year’s adventurer exam pamphlet.”
Ganesha unfolded the pamphlet in the mansion where she was staying with the children.
[ Prepare for the 133rd Adventurer Exam! The Adventurer’s Guild awaits talented challengers! ]
[ From page 37 onward, there is a Q&A with Guild Master Gohol! ]
[ Curious about the current adventurer rankings? Check page 47! ]
Carlos, Leo, and Lia read its contents while eating ice cream.
Ganesha, who had been observing the children’s faces, suddenly marveled at the height of Lia’s shoulders.
“Wow~ but Lia, you really do grow quickly. Your frame is definitely perfect for becoming an adventurer. Not too thick, not too delicate either. You have a very solid body.”
Ganesha touched Lia here and there. Lia, ticklish, pushed her hands away.
“Ah, ahah. Ah, don’t, why are you doing this—ahah—”
“In just three more months, you’ll be taller than Rayleigh, won’t you?”
“Jeez. Why me all of a sudden?”
Riley, an adventuring party member who had been eating potato chips on the sofa, clicked her tongue. She then turned her arrows on the other two children.
“Carlos, Leo. Aren’t you two growing a little slowly? Lia looks like she’s about to hit 160 already, so what about you?”
At that, the two boys scowled, as if their pride had been wounded.
“O-originally, Lia was two whole years older than us. So of course she grows faster······”
“That’s true. In the end, well, you two will grow bigger. It’s all genetics anyway.”
“Enough of that, Riley. How is Freyden these days?”
Ganesha asked.
Riley, Yulie’s cousin, was practically an imperial source of information. Her network was that broad, and almost every rumor found its way to her ears.
Riley shrugged and answered.
“Who knows? There hasn’t been much news lately. But then again, Sir Yulie seems to have made up with that fiancé of hers~”
“She made up with Professor Deculein?”
“Yes. At the very least, they aren’t fighting.”
Ganesha’s eyes widened. Just as she, rather surprised, was about to ask something—
“Whaaat─?!”
Lia suddenly shouted loudly.
Ganesha and Riley both turned to look at Lia at the same time.
“They made up─?!”
She looked as though she had been struck in the back of the head with a hammer.
Riley gave a small laugh. The kid had started reading newspapers lately, and she was already interested in rumors like this?
“Yeah. That’s what the rumors say. Why?”
“That can’t be!”
“······What do you mean, it can’t be?”
“It can’t happen!”
But her reaction was far more intense than expected.
That can’t be, how, why, why, no, then that really can’t happen······ Lia muttered incomprehensible things, then hurriedly fled to her room.
“What’s with her? Why is she acting like that, Captain?”
“······I know. Did Lia eat something wrong?”
The two adults merely let out hollow laughs, and—
“Nice~ Then Lia’s ice cream is ours too—”
Just as Carlos and Leo were about to steal Lia’s ice cream—
“Put it down, you idiots! Give it here! Mine is mine!”
Lia’s door flew open, and she went dashing out with a thud-thud-thud, grabbed only the ice cream, and went right back into her room.
* * *
The “Grand Hall” on the fifth floor of the floating island Megiseion had today been chosen as the final destination of the rumor that had been spreading like clouds—namely, the conclusion to the symposium problem.
The solution to Symposium Problem No. 6 presented by Deculein. The occasion for proving it in its entirety was being held in a place of such high prestige.
“······Wow. Woooow. Wow. Woooow. Wow······.”
Epherene, who had been lucky enough to attend, was completely absorbed in looking around.
There were an absurd number of famous mages. In the judges’ seats alone, there were two Ether-ranked mages, Roserio and Gindalf, and besides them, Luina, Becca, Ihelm······.
Even His Majesty the Emperor’s younger brother, Grand Prince Kreto?!
“What’s with that cat?”
In the seat beside Kreto, some red cat was sprawled out lazily, yawning.
“It’s cute.”
“Be quiet, Epherene. You’re being so country.”
Sylvia said. Epherene glared at her.
For reference, the two of them had received tickets and admission to this event for their contribution in resolving the “Baron of Ashes Incident.”
“Huh? Hey! You’re Epherene, right?”
Just then, a voice called out to Epherene.
Both Epherene and Sylvia looked that way.
“Ah? You’re, um, the professor’s sister?”
Deculein’s younger sister, Yeriel, whom she had happened to meet last time. She gave a faint laugh.
“That’s right. It’s me. Been a while?”
“······Thanks to you, I got penalty points.”
Epherene puffed out her cheeks. Yeriel also shrugged.
“Really? Sorry. But I got caught at the end too. We’re even. Even.”
“Wha—urk!”
“Hello.”
Sylvia pushed Epherene aside and greeted her demurely. She showed Yeriel a gentle smile.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Sylvia.”
A warm and impeccably polite response. Yeriel nodded awkwardly.
“Yeah······ I know. You’re Sylvia of Iliade.”
“Yes.”
It was at that moment.
Sylvia’s eyes, which had been looking at Yeriel, moved elsewhere. Epherene’s did the same.
“······Oh.”
She stood out more than anyone else. Leaving aside her snow-white hair and beautiful appearance, she was the only knight in a place filled solely with mages.
The person who had received an exceptional invitation as Deculein’s fiancée, Yulie.
Wearing a robe over light armor, she spotted Yeriel and approached with delight.
“Miss Yeriel. Have you been well?”
“······Yes. Hello.”
Yeriel merely twisted her lips with a hmph. Yulie seemed to want to offer some kind of greeting, but Yeriel turned her head away as if she did not even want to receive it.
Left with no choice, Yulie smiled bitterly and took her seat.
─We will dim the lights.
Just then, along with the host’s words, the lights went out.
─From now on, we will hold the proof for Symposium Problem No. 6, which has remained unsolved for fifteen years.
The “Grand Hall” was not as vast as its name suggested, but when it came to handling magical academia, there was no place more honorable.
A curtain descended over the platform on the far side.
“Phew······.”
Feeling a certain tension welling up inside her, Epherene looked at Sylvia beside her.
“······Sylvia. What are you doing?”
“······.”
Sylvia was acting strange. Without answering, she was glaring somewhere—bzzzzzt—like a laser.
Following her gaze, Epherene saw snow-white hair.
In other words, the back of Yulie’s head.