The Traitorous Eyes

Menou awoke to the first rays of the morning sun.

Wild animals were just beginning to stir in the light of dawn. As the creatures began to move now that the twilight had broken and day had begun, their calls and cries disrupted Menou’s slumber.

“Ah…it’s morning.”

Menou was quick to transition from drowsiness to full awareness.

The night when Akari had been kidnapped—a night when Menou had gotten into a considerable scrape to rescue her—was over. Once they got away from the base, Menou had slept lightly enough that she could wake up and react accordingly if anything were to happen.

Crouching on one knee and closing her eyes, Menou probed her surroundings, confirming that nothing strange had happened since she last checked before she slumbered.

Akari, the victim of the night before, was sleeping soundly beside her.

She was around Menou’s age, but her facial features made her seem a little younger, and she appeared especially childlike when she was fast asleep. Though they were around the same height, Akari was inexplicably far more developed in certain key areas. Her unruly black hair was usually tamed by a floral-patterned headband, but she had taken it off to sleep. It was honestly impressive that she was sleeping so deeply after the ordeal she had gone through the night before.

Akari Tokitou.

She was a lost one from another world with an unbelievable power called a Pure Concept resting within her.

“Ahhhh…” Akari groaned when Menou poked her cheek, but it didn’t take long before she rolled over and continued to sleep. Determining that she wouldn’t be waking up for a while, Menou turned her attention to their other companion.

Sitting near the entrance to the tent was a girl in a nun’s outfit, someone whom Menou had rescued the previous night.

She had wavy silver hair and a serene aura about her. Her nun’s habit was primarily black, as was traditional. What Menou hadn’t noticed the night before was that her right arm wasn’t flesh and blood. It was a highly unusual prosthetic, almost like a silver gauntlet.

A Guiding prosthetic.

It was no ordinary artificial limb. Guiding Force drew power from the soul, controlled it with the spirit, and used it to fill the flesh. This was a reverse-engineered use of that nature: The prosthetic limb connected from the body to the soul and used the soul’s power to move it as naturally as a real limb. It was a highly advanced Guiding vessel.

It was attached to Sahara, who was now snoozing away as she sat at the tent’s entrance.

Incidentally, it was supposed to be her turn to keep watch at the moment.

“……” Menou silently grabbed the nearest object and chucked it at the back of Sahara’s skull, landing a perfect bull’s-eye in the middle of her silver-haired head, which bobbed sleepily. Sahara opened her eyes and blinked around in confusion.

As the girl shook her head to wake up, she spotted the projectile. Then she frowned and looked at the culprit who appeared to have thrown it.

“Mmm…and what exactly was that for, Menou?”

Sahara yawned as she complained, and Menou responded with a menacing smile.

“You really don’t know why I woke you up?”

Realizing that she’d nodded off through most of her watch shift, Sahara averted her eyes, looking far into the distance.

“Eh, it’s no big deal. Dozing off during watch is nothing compared to the importance of getting a good night’s sleep, if you ask me. Besides, nothing bad happened. That means I didn’t cause any harm by falling asleep, right?”

There wasn’t a shred of remorse in Sahara’s excuses. Menou scowled, though she also thanked her lucky stars that no one had come after them right away.

Maybe that group was too busy dealing with the parting gift they’d left—an exploded building. Or were they planning to get ahead of Menou and company instead? Either way, at least they hadn’t attacked them in the night.

“Well, let’s put that aside…for now.”

Menou stood up and checked on Akari. Just as she’d suspected, the girl showed no signs of waking even while Sahara and Menou were conversing next to her. She was generally a heavy sleeper.

“Let’s step outside for a moment, shall we? I’d like to hear a full explanation from you…”

“No problem. I’ll tell you everything, as long as you make me a pork cutlet bowl after.”

“If you can explain how you ended up with such a bizarre personality.”

Raising the flap at the front of the tent, the two of them walked outside.

There were wavelike shapes on the ground.

The fine sand was blown back and forth, dancing in the wind. If the surface of the sand was the ocean, the swelling dunes were large waves that were standing still. Looking at the rippling patterns on the far-off sands, it was easy to imagine one was standing on a liquid surface.

Before their eyes was the enormous desert that Menou and company had to traverse: the Wild Frontier in the center of the continent, the Balar Desert.

It was an enormous arid region that humanity had given up on trying to settle. Since what little rain fell there evaporated faster than it could accumulate, it was virtually uninhabitable even by plants. The environment alone had made it impossible for people to live there.

Golden sand stretched out in every direction, dotted with ancient ruins. It was likely the desert of purest sand anywhere on the continent.

Menou and Sahara stayed a short distance away from the tent, far enough that Akari wouldn’t overhear them even if she miraculously woke up.

“At any rate, it’s good to see you again, Sahara.”

“Yeah. You too, Menou.”

Neither smiled as they exchanged formalities.

Sahara, the nun. Menou still remembered her beautiful silver hair, her sleepy-looking eyes, and her aloof tone.

Sahara was raised in the same monastery as Menou and Momo. She had gotten there a little earlier than them, but she seemed to be the same age as Menou. In a way, she had been a classmate at that bizarre place.

Sahara was also one of the girls who had left the monastery when Menou was released.

“I hear rumors about you once in a while, Menou. Seems like you’ve become a skilled Executioner, who solves problems for the places she visits on her duties and seduces girls in the process. Congrats.”

She smiled placidly even as she sounded like she was trying to get a rise out of Menou.

Menou hadn’t heard anything about her since they left the monastery, but evidently, she’d become a rather…pleasant person. She’d been a bit more normal when they were younger.

Sahara placed her left hand on her chest and continued with grace.

“As a pretty young lady myself, I’m a little worried, but…I don’t mind if it’s you, Menou. We’ve known each other since we were little, after all. I’m ready for you.”

“Argh!”

Where did Sahara hear these ridiculous rumors, or did she just make them up herself? The only proper response to this pointless declaration was a punishment in the form of a leg sweep that sent Sahara tumbling face-first into the sand.

“Now, about that base yesterday. Would you mind sharing the details?”

“How curious. Why did I trip into the sand just now…?”

Sahara furrowed her brow in puzzlement like she really didn’t know why as she got to her feet, dusting herself off.

“I already told you last night about the guys.”

What were the goals of that group with the base from the night before? Why had they come after Akari? Based on the information Sahara gave from her own experience being captured by them, Menou was already forming a theory.

As she suspected, it was no accident that the men had targeted Akari.

After all, Menou was a priestess. She wore indigo priestess robes that made this clear at a glance. Though she had modified hers by adding a large slit, it was still obvious to anyone that Menou was a member of the Faust, the highest estate of the realm in the societal system.

And no one in this world would question the superiority of a priestess chosen by the Faust.

Yet, the men yesterday had plotted to kidnap Akari, knowing the risk of attacking a priestess. In other words, it was safe to assume they knew Akari’s worth—knew that she was an Otherworlder with a Pure Concept.

Sahara’s information only supported this theory.

“Their organization is called Iron Chain. They call themselves adventurers, but they’re actually armed delinquents who specialize in kidnapping. They target and abduct individuals from various cities and sell them out here—they’re the scum of the desert.”

Human trafficking was strictly forbidden in all nations.

However, it hadn’t been wiped out completely. In the shadows, people were still being bought and sold like objects. And since the Wild Frontier didn’t belong to any nation, it was the ideal place to carry out illegal transactions.

“Believe it or not, they claim that they only deal in ‘high-quality human resources.’”

“High quality, huh…?”

If that was their self-proclaimed intent, then they likely weren’t selling people to brothels or into forced labor. After all, this world had Original Sin Conjurings, which were invoked by sacrificing humans.

Buying up people was a necessity for researchers conducting taboo conjurings, which consumed a great deal of human bodies. Those with unusual qualities that might serve well for conjurings were sold at high prices.

“I see. So that’s why they’re after Akari.”

“Uh-huh. The information must have leaked to them somehow. These guys have their eye on you two. The boss of Iron Chain is a nasty criminal who’s wanted all over the continent.”

Otherworlders from Japan were considered the highest-quality materials for conjuring. Unfortunately, there was no shortage of people who would buy them for enormous sums.

Menou’s trip with Akari, an Otherworlder, had already gotten them caught up in some elaborate schemes.

In the ancient capital of Garm, Archbishop Orwell—a woman who had been nearly at the highest position in the Faust—turned out to be an enemy, targeting Akari for her Otherworlder’s Pure Concept, and even Menou, who had her own unique qualities, to conduct a taboo conjuring. A formidable foe, she’d nearly captured them both.

When they’d arrived in the port city of Libelle, they got caught up in an incident centered around monstrine, brought about by Manon Libelle of the Noblesse, and ended up having to fight the legendary Human Error Pandæmonium. As one of the Four Major Human Errors that once destroyed a proud and prosperous civilization, she was incredibly powerful despite having the appearance of a little girl, making for an extremely intense battle.

“So why were you captured?”

“Because I’m pretty.”

“……”

“Because…I’m…pretty,” Sahara repeated, but Menou didn’t bother to react.

When Menou flashed her a death stare, Sahara reluctantly spoke again. “It was because of this.”

“Your arm…” Menou looked at the nun’s right hand.

She’d been wondering about this since they were first reunited. It appeared to be a highly functional prosthetic limb that moved almost perfectly with her body, but it was still clearly a temporary solution. Sahara didn’t have a prosthetic when they were in the monastery; she must have somehow lost her arm from the shoulder during the time they were apart.

Sahara moved her right arm, looking nonchalant. There was a small, proud smile on her face. “Oh yeah. Pretty cool, right?”

“…What’s up with this new personality? Is it your newest coping mechanism?”

“Don’t be silly. I’ve always been this way.”

That was obviously a lie. Menou frowned, looking at the artificial hand, which formed a peace sign.

“Anyway, this arm’s the other reason I asked for help. See, I was on the line of defense against the Mechanical Society in the eastern Wild Frontier. That’s how I lost my arm and ended up with this one.”

Menou caught her breath. “The Mechanical Society… Is that arm a piece of a conjured soldier, not a Guiding prosthetic?”

“Yep. So I want you to destroy the Vessel that’s attached itself to me. If nothing is done, this right arm is going to consume me and turn me into a conjured soldier. I gotta do something before that happens. And deal with those guys who captured me because of this arm while we’re at it.”

……Menou silently got her thoughts in order. She knew what happened in the Mechanical Society. People were sometimes transformed into conjured soldiers there. Accepting Sahara’s proposal wasn’t the proper choice as an Executioner.

What she should do was kill Sahara, here and now.

“Are you gonna kill me?” Sahara looked back at her steadily. For some reason, this disturbed Menou.

“Do you have some other idea how to fix it?”

“I wanted to ask you that. I was hoping an Executioner might know something.”

“I think you’re aware, but…” After another moment of silent thought, Menou took a deep breath. “…My top priority is Akari.”

“I know.”

Sahara must have guessed by Akari’s appearance that she was a lost one with a Pure Concept power. She knew as well as Menou that activity related to Otherworlders was higher priority than any other crime.

“But here’s the thing, Menou: You two are going to be targets either way.” Sahara minced no words when pointing out the problem Menou was facing.

She was right, of course. Those men had attacked Menou before they came here. Not getting involved with them was no longer an option. Now that Akari had already been captured once, it would be unwise to try to keep moving without knowing what their enemy was planning.

“I found out while I was their captive that some knights are on the move investigating Iron Chain, too. If you team up with the knights, then the bad guys will only have two options: abandon their base and run or fight back for all they’re worth.”

Executing Archbishop Orwell in Grisarika Kingdom. Fending off Pandæmonium. With these accomplishments, which seemed larger than life, Flarette’s name was becoming widely feared in the dark side of society, for better or worse.

If this group found out that this Executioner had her eyes on them, they wouldn’t be able to ignore her.

“If they try to run, you can chase them down. The top brass might get away, but you’d still deal them a heavy blow.”

“And if they go on the offensive?”

“Then they’ll come at us with everything they’ve got. These guys don’t do things halfway, so if you play your cards right, you could probably wipe them all out.”

If they ran, that was more than acceptable. Even if the bosses were likely to escape, they could do enough damage to seriously hinder their activities. If they chose to fight back instead, it would be a tough battle, judging by what Menou had seen of their base. But Sahara was saying that if they teamed up with the knights, they should be able to win.

Either way, it certainly wasn’t any worse than Menou and Akari acting alone.

“This seems to be our new routine ever since I started traveling with Akari.”

Menou was an Executioner. This meant that she was usually on the offensive, hunting down taboos, but now she was on defense. It’s like I’m a bodyguard now, she thought with a sigh.

Of course, there was also the option of just making a break for it without looking back, but they weren’t in a great position to make that choice right now.

As long as she was traveling with Akari in this environment, it would be difficult to buy enough distance. If there was a chance they’d be targeted by another group of skilled attackers while trying to traverse the desert, they were better off stopping and dealing with the problem directly.

Which meant there was only one place they could go.

“Sahara. We’ll worry about your arm later, but for now, I imagine we should go to the oasis to find the knights investigating Iron Chain.”

“That seems reasonable.”

Imagining the map she’d memorized, Menou knew what their destination had to be. In the middle of the massive desert was a supply area with a special oasis.

The supply stop of the desert: Balar Oasis.

Menou picked up her scripture and opened it.

Guiding Force: Connect—Scripture, 1:4—Invoke [The Lord’s will is relayed through all of heaven and earth, reigning far and wide.]

Using her Guiding Force, she activated a communication conjuring used to send messages between linked scriptures. Menou’s scripture was linked to that of Momo, her junior from the monastery and current aide. It wouldn’t work if the other scripture was too far away, but by some stroke of luck, they were in range.

Sahara furrowed her brow as she saw the scripture communication, a technique exclusive to the Faust. “You’re contacting Momo?”

“Of course. Our plans have changed, after all.”

“…Would you mind not mentioning that I’m here?”

“Why not?”

“I thought you knew…” Sahara paused, looking serious. “Momo and I really don’t get along.”

“……”

“We really, reeeally don’t get along,” Sahara repeated emphatically.

Of course. Menou did remember this. To be honest, she had never seen Momo be friendly and open with anyone but Menou herself, but she was on exceptionally bad terms with Sahara. Menou knew this, including the reason for Momo’s actions.

“If she finds out I’m here, she might even attack us herself. To punch me, that is.”

“I don’t…think she would do that…”

The two of them were on such bad terms that Menou couldn’t even laugh and rule that out completely.

Momo was an outstanding assistant, but she did tend to get a tad emotional, especially when Menou was involved. And indeed, Menou herself was the very reason behind the bad blood between Momo and Sahara. Momo had told her as much.

“…I’ll just tell her that I rescued a nun who was on a mission and agreed to help her. I won’t mention your name. Sound good?”

“Great. As a token of my gratitude, I’ll let you use my body however you like. Pretty good deal, if I do say so myself.”

“Thanks for offering your labor. I’ll be sure to work you to your bones.”

“What a cruel misinterpretation…”

Menou ignored Sahara’s sorrowful expression, wrapping up her explanation of the situation to her aide with Guiding Force letters. The response was immediate, and she continued communicating with Momo via these messages. Within a few exchanges, they each understood the other’s situation and formulated a plan of action.

“Momo’s going to get in contact with a knight who should help us fight Iron Chain.”

“Cool.”

The last thing they needed was infighting. Menou sighed, exhausted by Sahara’s stubborn attitude toward Momo, and went back to the tent. Inside, Akari was still snoring away.

“…Akari. Wake up.”

“Mmn-awhuh…” Akari rolled over and issued an incomprehensible groan.

She still seemed nowhere near waking up.

Akari moved in her sleep and grabbed Menou’s arm before pulling it to her chest. Menou attempted to shake her off, but the slumbering girl only clung tighter. Akari cradled Menou’s arm, perhaps mistaking her for a body pillow.

Watching this heartwarming scene, Sahara leaned over and stage-whispered into Menou’s ear. “Boy, she’s really attached to you.”

“…Getting the target to trust me is part of the mission. If she had any doubts, she wouldn’t travel with me.”

“Now, that’s a pathetic excuse. Guess the rumors are true about you being a womanizer.”

Menou ignored Sahara.

In this position, she couldn’t even stand up straight. Without a word, Menou used her free hand to grab Akari’s cheek and give it a good tug.

“…Mn-ahh.” Akari tossed and turned her head away. Her cheek escaped from Menou’s grip, but she still didn’t wake up.

Menou couldn’t stop herself from chuckling at Akari’s sleeping face and meaningless mumbling. She certainly was a heavy sleeper, and the events of last night couldn’t have helped. Given how emotionally exhausted she must have been, it was small wonder that she wouldn’t be able to wake up in the morning.

“But I can’t let you sleep in.”

They had to get to the oasis before noon.

Having let go of Akari’s cheek, Menou flicked her nose instead. It was the easiest way to wake Akari when she was sleeping like a log, as she so often did.

“Awf?”

“Good morning to you, too.”

Sure enough, Akari opened her eyes. Rubbing her nose, she sat up and looked at Menou sleepily.

“Morning, Menou. Is it time to get up alreadyyy? It’s so earlyyy…”

“Yes, it’s well past dawn. Setting out early is a basic rule of a pilgrimage… Besides, you don’t want to walk through a desert in the middle of the afternoon. It’s only logical to start walking before the sun beats down on us.”

Menou prodded the girl’s cheek for emphasis.

“I’m amazed you could sleep so soundly right after being kidnapped. You’ve got an indefatigable spirit, I’ll give you that much.”

“Well, sure, ’cause you were next to me… As long as Menou’s with me, I’m safe…”

Akari was starting to nod off again. Even sitting up, sleepiness was still getting the best of her. It didn’t take long before she slumped against Menou. Since Akari’s body temperature was naturally higher, Menou felt her warmth.

“Mm, Menou, you’re nice and cool…”

“Hello? Could you wake up already?”

“Mmmgh. Nooo thaaanks. You’re so nice, Menou… I’m sure you’ll let me rest a li’l mmwah…” She fell asleep partway through her sentence.

Going back to sleep was a complete waste of valuable time. Menou pinched Akari’s nose and held her lips shut for good measure. As she held on in the hopes that Akari would have to wake up if she couldn’t breathe, Sahara poked her head in.

“You’re so nice, she says. Maybe you could spare some niceness for me, too?”

“But I’m not.” Menou shook her head.

Nice was an extremely misguided way to describe her.

She’d been traveling with Akari for two months now. Menou was used to making some amount of contact with her targets, but her role was never to be a bodyguard.

She was an assassin.

Truthfully, Menou had dealt with most of her previous targets in a short amount of time. It wasn’t just fiendish villains who’d produced countless victims that were considered taboo entities. Any lost one like Akari who came from another world was a target as well, even if they had personally done nothing wrong.

“This girl’s a lost one, and you’re an Executioner… Should you really be getting so close?”

“Of course. It’s part of the mission.”

It wasn’t Sahara’s place to worry about this, especially when they’d just been reintroduced into each other’s lives. It was true that Menou had never spent time interacting with someone she was supposed to erase before, and her journey with Akari had been wildly unpredictable, even by the standards of an Executioner like Menou.

That just meant Menou knew all too well how dangerous a Pure Concept could be.

Pandæmonium, whom they’d encountered in Libelle, was the perfect example. She was the very incarnation of evil, a Human Error that had forgotten even her own name. Even she was once an ordinary girl.

Pure Concepts mercilessly ate away at the Otherworlders who hosted them, stealing their memories and robbing them of personhood. One girl had even said that this phenomenon was the world’s way of demanding Otherworlders to play a role, to bring about change.

Menou had to kill Akari. She had to put an end to everything while the girl was still herself.

She had to kill her for her own good.

But all that being said…

“…She refuses to wake up.”

Menou was starting to worry a little that Akari might die of suffocation as she stubbornly clung to sleep.

Meanwhile… Having received the message from Menou and arrived early at the oasis to set about her business, Momo was in a foul mood.

Everything about her small frame radiated displeasure. Her eyes narrowed, her lips pouted, and she made no effort to hide it. Churning within her was the conflict between knowing what she had to do and wanting to do literally anything but that.

Generally speaking, Momo hated other people. It might even be accurate to describe her as misanthropic. She had never trusted anyone but Menou and never liked anyone but Menou, either.

Momo’s job was to follow Menou on her journey and support her from the shadows. As a member of the Faust, an Executioner’s aide, and most of all, as Menou’s junior, Momo had never questioned her role.

She had just finally managed to make up for the time she lost being injured in Libelle. Now that her schedule was back on track, she was eager to do her job and do it right. She would never refuse a request from Menou. Momo wasted no time in rolling up her sleeves and getting right to work.

It didn’t take long before she collected enough information to identify these knights who would supposedly help them fight Iron Chain. And what’s more, their leader was an acquaintance of Momo’s.

In short, it was none other than Ashuna Grisarika.

Momo was torn. She and Ashuna had history. Putting aside her questions about what Princess-poo was doing here to begin with, Momo couldn’t quite bring herself to approach her.

The reason was mostly that Momo simply hated Ashuna, but there was something else on her mind.

“I can’t be the one to talk to Princess-poo first…!”

It was a matter of pride.

Thus far, every one of their encounters had been initiated by Ashuna. So what would happen if Momo, who had always expressed her displeasure about it, was the one to approach Ashuna this time? No matter how Momo made contact with her, no matter what reasons she gave, she could imagine Ashuna’s delight all too clearly, and that was simply unbearable.

Who would want to make someone they hate happy?

Momo hated other people, especially Ashuna. If anything, she wished all the misfortune in the world upon her.

But she had no choice.

After several minutes of dawdling, Momo reminded herself that this was her mission and resolved to contact Ashuna strictly for business reasons. It was a painful choice, and she gave careful thought to what approach would annoy Ashuna the most. Momo put on a perfectly masked expression and approached the hotel where Ashuna was staying.

“What a pleasure to see you again, Your Highness.”

“…?”

When she came to the door and Momo greeted her in the politest of tones, Ashuna blinked in confusion.

“Oh? Oh-ho-ho. Why, if it isn’t Momo! Glad to see you’re doing well. And what a rare pleasure for you to approach me! But there’s no need to hold back. You can call me Princess-poo like always!”

“Whatever do you mean? As one who serves the Lord, I should never speak so rudely to anyone. The Faust and the Noblesse both serve the Lord and thus sustain the social order. It is only tradition that we should approach each other with respect.”

Momo entered the room and took a seat, still in her completely insincere business mode.

As misanthropic as she might be, Momo had a knack for keeping up appearances. Perhaps it was a result of her Executioner training, or simply a natural gift. Either way, she excelled at keeping her thoughts from showing on her face and putting on a flawless act.

“By the way, Momo…”

“Yes, what is it?”

“About that ‘darling’ of yours…”

“Watch your mouth, scum.”

The act fell apart in an instant.

Ashuna grinned. “Now, that’s more like it. Anyway, glad you’re doing well.”

“Tch… I was doing well until I laid eyes on you, Princess-poo. How’re you going to make it up to me, hmm?” Momo openly scowled. “What in the world are you doing here anyway? Please don’t tell me you’re stalking us.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m usually the one who gets to places first. Chronologically speaking, it’s you and your darling who show up after me. It doesn’t make any sense for the late arrival to call me a stalker, now does it?”

Darling.

As Momo drummed her fingers on the table irritably, she furrowed her brow at this nickname.

She knew that Menou and Ashuna had fought together in Libelle, the city where Momo fell victim to poison. Since they had a common enemy, they ended up joining forces.

But the fact that Ashuna was referring to Menou as darling made it obvious that Momo was the one who’d indirectly leaked Menou’s information to the princess. That certainly rubbed Momo the wrong way.

“This time around, I do actually have business with your darling,” Ashuna added.

“…What sort of business?”

“Hmm… Well, I suppose I can tell you, Momo.” Ashuna thought for a moment, then explained her goal. “I don’t know if you’ve heard on your travels, but a serious incident is going down in my homeland right now. Most information is being kept under wraps, but…the former Director of the Fourth has escaped from prison. And the person who orchestrated the escape was a girl of sixteen or seventeen with indigo hair in a braid, wearing a kimono.”

“But that sounds like…”

“I know. Seems we should assume that Manon Libelle is still alive.”

Momo’s frown deepened. “But I was told she’s dead.”

Manon Libelle.

The mastermind who had wreaked havoc in the port city of Libelle. Momo, too, had gone through a considerable amount of stress because of her.

As far as Momo knew, however, Manon had died in the events that unfolded there. She doubted Menou would ever mistake the living for the dead.

“Yeah, she probably was. But Pandæmonium was with her when she died, right? From what I’ve gathered, Pandæmonium must have resurrected Manon as a demon…a Guiding Force life-form.”

By definition, life required three components: body, soul, and spirit. It would be incredibly difficult to meddle with the almost miraculous equilibrium maintained between these three elements. Recreating them from scratch would be even more ridiculous.

But if anyone could do it, it would be Pandæmonium, one of the Four Major Human Errors. With her Pure Concept, she was capable of meddling with the body, soul, and spirit like it was clay.

“I see. So she managed to preserve Manon Libelle’s soul and spirit from her corpse and create a new body with something else?”

“Seems that way.”

“Hrm.” Momo nodded, acting disinterested. On the inside, her mind was churning, trying to figure out what effect this fact would have on Menou.

“So, I wanted to meet your darling to give her that information, among other things. Could you contact her for me?”

“Excuse me? Why should I let you see my darling, Princess-poo? If you’ve got a message for her, just spit it out. I’ll pass it along.”

“Well, I’ve got the perfect spot. The Grisarika Kingdom owns some land right along the waterside of Balar Oasis. Want to come, Momo?”

Momo was already scowling at Ashuna’s suggestion, but that changed upon hearing where the land was located. Her attitude completely flipped, and she grasped Ashuna’s hand tightly.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been grateful for your existence, Princess-poo!”

In the western part of the continent was a beautiful city.

At the top of the Tower of Water—the source of the clear spring that provided for the residents of the city—was a garden. The structure was stunning enough from the outside, with the waterfall that flowed from all sides of it, but inside, the view was almost mystical.

A little farther above the stone floor of the rooftop, water arched over the surface and created a ceiling, seemingly produced from thin air. Through the blessing of the heavenly vein, not the earthen vein, this facility became a water source. It was an enormous remnant of ancient times and had been working for at least a thousand years.

At the very top, Manon Libelle strolled along the side.

“What a beautiful view.”

“Right? It’s nothing like that dusty old Mechanical Society. This place is far more tasteful and beautiful.”

Walking alongside Manon, whose kimono sleeves were rippling in the wind, was a little girl—Pandæmonium, the very same girl who had been in the Wild Frontier on the eastern side of the continent just moments before.

“It’s so sparkly, like you could reach out and grab the light.”

“My, what a lovely turn of phrase.”

The little girl, who looked around ten years old, reached out her hand toward the water that formed a domed ceiling. Though her speech made her sound like a precocious child, she had a refined air about her. The two of them held hands as they walked through the rooftop garden.

Cloaked in water, the tower’s roof was a beautiful space detached from the noise of the world below. Beyond the flower beds overflowing with blossoms of every color, there was a grassy clearing that connected to a forest path where leaves swayed in the breeze.

Since the water source drew Guiding Force from the heavenly vein, there was an endless supply of rain made from sparkling Guiding Light. Up above, light shone through the clear, bubbling water, particles of brightness floating below the surface.

It was as beautiful as gazing up at the surface of the ocean from below.

A garden of water and sky, more captivating than the twinkling stars.

“This was well worth the long, arduous journey from Grisarika Kingdom.”

“You like pretty things, Manon.”

“Oh yes. I love beautiful things. Please remember that. I wouldn’t want you to forget.”

“Mm? Do you hate me, then?”

“Oh dear, why would that be?”

“Because I’m ugly, aren’t I?”

Manon stopped and looked at the girl. Then she broke into a warm smile, knelt down, and stared directly into the little girl’s eyes.

“You have it all wrong. I am capable of loving both extremes, and besides, I love you and the grotesque beauty that you conceal within you.”

“Mm, I’m happy to hear it.”

If anyone else were here to see them talking and smiling, they would probably assume the pair to be close-knit sisters.

Manon held Pandæmonium’s hand and led the way to the center of the garden. There was a small cottage and a table laid out with pastries and a tea set. Next to the spread stood a man who wore a black tailcoat and a monocle and looked to be in his mid-fifties. He politely welcomed Manon and Pandæmonium. Complete with a J-shaped cane, he looked like a perfect gentleman, but there was something suspicious about his smile.

“I hope the garden is to your liking.”

“Yes, very much so. I’m grateful that you’ve introduced us to such a wonderful place.”

“Oh-ho, I’m thrilled to hear it!”

This place was a still-functioning ancient relic and the source of the city’s water supply. The rooftop wasn’t accessible to just anyone. It was this man’s personal connections that allowed Manon to walk up here.

“I happen to know a few important people here who will do me a favor or two.”

“I can’t believe we got to see such a beautiful place… For the first time, I’m actually glad I broke you out of prison!”

“Think nothing of it. You two are already like daughters to me. Why, if you’d like to call me Daddy—er, did you say ‘the first time’?”

“Indeed! Ever since we met in Grisarika Kingdom, I’ve found your mannerisms so off-putting that I was thinking it might be best to part ways with you somewhere.”

The monocled man winced when Manon said that with an earnest smile. He cleared his throat to cover his shock. Then he smiled and abased himself to the girl who was young enough to be his daughter.

“Please refrain from saying such things, Miss Manon. Were it not for you, I would still be locked away in that dark prison. I only wish to repay you by showering you in all the love I would give my own daughter!”

“Yes, that’s what I find creepy.”

Her response was instant. This time, though, the Director simply nodded with a look of grave understanding.

“Ha-ha, I see now. You’re in your years of teen rebellion. It’s the duty of every father to see his daughter through such a phase, so I accept the challenge head-on.”

“Mm-hmm. That’s not even remotely the problem.”

Perhaps the people who locked away this perverse old man had the right idea? Uncharacteristically, Manon found herself slightly regretting her actions.

“At any rate, even if Archbishop Orwell has passed away, your ability to escape the notice of the eldest princess of Grisarika Kingdom is remarkable.”

“It was just a bit of luck and some help from my friend here. My contributions are hardly worth mentioning, Director.”

As she spoke, Manon cast a glance at Pandæmonium, who had already taken a seat and started digging into the pastries. She stuffed her cheeks with a scone and munched away, looking content.

Manon took her seat and reached for a pastry as well.

“Ha-ha-ha. No need to be modest. You’re the first person in a thousand years to walk hand in hand with one of the Four Major Human Errors. Though I would expect no less of my daughter. Magnificent!”

“Again, I’m not your daughter.”

Manon considered herself to be a faithful child to her parents. Yes, she had sacrificed her father, their entire clan, and their followers during the incident in Libelle, but that was unrelated. She was still determined not to acknowledge any fake parental bond with the Director.

“Shall we get started? You were so kind as to bring us to this lovely place, after all. We must put a stop to a certain person’s scheme, especially for the sake of Menou’s peaceful life.”

“An excellent proposal.” For the first time, the sleazy smile fell away from the Director’s face. “It’s well worth making an entire city into a trap if it means taking down that damned woman who threw me in prison and destroyed the ideals of the Fourth. Miss Manon, I do have one request.”

“What might that be?”

“As a reward for all this preparation, if you would call me Daddy just once—”

“Absolutely not.”

His shoulders slouching at the final rejection, the Director trudged away from the garden, and Manon shook her head as she watched him go.

“Hrmm. Maybe it was a bad idea to free him after all?”

“You think so? He’s kind of entertaining.”

She might have been indifferent to blood and gore, but Manon’s heart was somehow still too delicate to deal with a pervert. As she voiced her thoughts, a large dog appeared, as if to replace the man who had just left.

It was an intelligent-looking animal, but oddly enough, it set its sights on the innocent little girl and growled. Then, with a howl, it leaped toward the frail child.

Pandæmonium was pulled down to the ground with little resistance.

The dog was around as tall as a human, and given how savagely it was attacking, it would be impossible for such a small girl to fight back. No matter how much it pushed her down and snapped its teeth at her, Pandæmonium neither screamed nor resisted. Her calmness was downright unnatural, but the dog didn’t notice in the throes of its primal hunting instincts.

It tore into the girl’s flesh. As if possessed, the dog devoured the little girl, leaving not a single speck behind.

“Manon, you can handle the rest, right?”

“Yes. Just leave it to me.”

The devoured child’s voice spoke to Manon, who nodded. From this moment on, a true atrocity would unfold before them. After all, Pandæmonium’s flesh and blood were the Pure Concept of Evil.

With an innocence that cared nothing for ethics, the little girl wished only for chaos and used her power to make her twisted visions reality.

Having consumed the little girl’s body, the dog left the tower and disappeared into the city. This animal would be patient zero of a new epidemic. What would happen next? Pandæmonium had already explained to Manon the tragic events awaiting them.

“And this is for faraway Menou…”

Though the other girl would likely never feel the same way—and in fact might very well find it a ridiculous nuisance—Manon sincerely considered Menou to be a dear friend.

Which was why she was genuinely doing this for Menou’s sake.

“I suppose it’s time to destroy this city.”

Menou and Akari.

Manon threw the first stone intended to derail their fate.

The first time Menou met that child was during training at the monastery.

“Wow.”

They were practicing barehanded martial arts. The sparring match between children ended swiftly in Sahara’s victory.

“You’re surprisingly weak.”

Menou wasn’t particularly angry when the girl with the sleepy eyes called her that.

It would be difficult to describe Menou’s combat results as exceptional by any stretch of the imagination. In a monastery full of girls who had been chosen as the cream of the crop, Menou’s abilities were below average. When she’d first arrived, especially, she rarely won in sparring matches.

On the other hand, Sahara’s skills were at the top among the other children.

“Well, you’re…”

“What?”

“You’re strong.”

“No, you’re just weak.”

Sahara didn’t say that to be rude; she was just making a simple statement, expressing a kernel of truth.

“I hate you, you know. You look like you don’t care about yourself.” Sahara stood up and stared down at Menou, who was still sitting. “You don’t worry about your own safety because you’re indifferent to yourself. You can face death without hesitation because nothing in your life has ever mattered to you.”

Her short silver hair swayed.

“Casual self-sacrifice. There’s nothing special about that.”

“I don’t…understand.”

Sahara seemed disappointed by Menou’s response. She drew herself up, sounding annoyed. “I’m not like you. I’m going to be special.”

She had big dreams, an abrasive attitude, no reservations about kicking someone else down, and most of all, she’d despised Menou on sight.

“Don’t get full of yourself just because Master Flare has her eye on you.”

That was what the girl called Sahara was like.

At least, she used to be.

But the current Sahara was so different from the one in Menou’s memories that she was seriously troubled.

The glaring heat. The scorching sun beating down on them mercilessly from above. In the world of golden sand that surrounded them, Menou was battling with something far more exhausting than the sunlight.

“Allow me to reintroduce myself. I’m Sahara the nun. Menou and I share a long, intimate history.”

Just listening to this made Menou want to punch her to shut her up.

Menou considered herself to have a fair amount of self-restraint, but something about Sahara’s bizarre behavior irritated her. She was surprised at the strength of her violent urges.

“Sahara. Got it. I’m Akari. Nice to meet you.”

As Sahara grinned at her, Akari turned toward Menou. Her smile was strangely stiff, like a painted doll.

“……Well? What’s the story, Menou?”

“There’s nothing to tell.” It was baseless nonsense. Menou had nothing to feel guilty about. “You can’t take anything Sahara says seriously. Just ignore her and…”

“Don’t worry, Akari.”

Every time Menou tried to resolve things peacefully, Sahara butted in and made things more complicated.

“I know lots of stories about Menou’s younger days. So I’m sure we can get along.”

“Let’s be friends, Sahara!” Akari took the obvious bait hook, line, and sinker.

This newfound alliance spelled all kinds of trouble to Menou. If she left them to their own devices, things might take a turn in the wrong direction, so Menou forcefully interrupted the two of them.

“Hey, Akari, are you holding up all right?”

“Ehhh… I was excited about the desert at first, but it’s pretty clear that this is no place for humans. I’m beat.”

They trudged through the desert, the sand sinking even under the girls’ light weight and leaving behind footprints.

“Well, of course. It’s part of the Wild Frontier because people can’t live here.”

“Riiight…”

Since the air was so dry, the heat wouldn’t be unbearable if one could only avoid the sunlight. To put it another way, though, the sunlight was what made things bad. The girls were wearing hooded robes for their journey through the desert, without which, it would be even worse.

“What about you, Sahara? Is your arm all right?”

“Yeah, more or less. It’s kinda like ‘be careful, ’cause if you touch me, you might get burned, little kitten.’”

“That doesn’t sound all right to me…”

The prosthetic arm did appear to be metal. On top of being heavy, it might actually burn the flesh it was attached to.

It had been three days since they entered the desert. Even Akari was running out of energy; her speech lacked its usual level of excitement. Early that morning, she had been almost annoyingly clingy, but even she apparently didn’t want to touch someone else in the scorching desert heat.

“Can you make a nice cool breeze with magic or something, Menou? I need something cool… Share your coolness with me.”

“It’s conjuring, not magic. And as I keep telling you, conjurings are limited by prewritten restrictions. You can’t just make whatever you want. If you try to force it, you’ll face a proportionate amount of backlash.”

“Meaning?”

“She can’t conjure up cool air without any preparation. Sorry you can’t cool off.”

“Gotcha…”

Once Sahara summed things up, Akari’s shoulders slumped.

Conjurings were not an unlimited source of miracles. Many people who couldn’t use them misunderstood this, not just Otherworlders like Akari. It was more like a technological system, one that could only be used following strict rules and regulations that had been studied for safety. Conjuring used crestology and materialogy as a foundation to draw forth specific phenomena from various Concept Dimensions. It was especially dangerous to try to handle large amounts of power, and it certainly couldn’t be done without any preparation.

As Akari slouched unhappily, Sahara offered some comfort.

“It’s not a good idea to rely too much on conjurings. Remember what Menou said about backlash? What you see here is backlash from a conjuring, too.”

“Hrmm? What’s this desert got to do with conjuring?”

“Lots. It’s said that this area was once used for some large-scale conjuring experiments. One of them failed and resulted in dragonblight.”

“Dragonblight? …What’s that?”

As an Otherworlder, it was only natural that Akari wasn’t familiar with the phenomena unique to this world. Menou frequently taught her such knowledge during their conversations, but of course she hadn’t learned everything.

“Most large-scale conjurings use the earthen vein,” Menou explained now. “More power than any human can supply is required for the Guiding trains that run to circulate money and goods, functions that protect city facilities, and so on.”

“Oh yeah. The earthen vein is that thing, right? The thing you tap into once in a while when you use a special move.”

“A ‘special move’… Well, I suppose that’s close enough.”

Akari’s understanding seemed a little off, but it wasn’t worth the effort to correct her. By normal standards, Menou was blessed with a considerable amount of Guiding Force, but she was still within the realm of an ordinary person. When she invoked large-scale conjurings, she sometimes drew out the power of the earthen vein to make up for the Guiding Force she lacked.

“Long ago, there was an experiment here using the earthen vein, and it came undone in this area and caused a devastating amount of damage. The result is this barren desert. There’s no flow of the earthen vein around here anymore, you see.”

It was said that without the power that flowed through the earth, this area had become an infertile wasteland. Naturally, that also meant Menou couldn’t access the earthen vein to provide extra Guiding Force like she had in the ancient capital of Garm or the port city of Libelle.

“…So without the earthen vein, areas become deserts?”

Akari looked even more confused; evidently, that explanation didn’t get through to her.

I suppose that’s fair enough, Menou thought, looking for another way to explain things. Dragonblight was a universally understood phenomenon in this world, but it was uncharted territory to someone who was summoned from another world.

“It’s more like not having the earthen vein makes it difficult for life to exist here…which reminds me, have I explained the definition of life in this world to you yet?”

“The definition of life…? That sounds philosophical.”

“Here, it’s fairly straightforward. The definition of life is ‘a soul and spirit contained within a body.’ The three elements can be configured in any way; the definition is unchangeable.”

“Question, Professor Menou!”

“Yes, my student?”

“I understand the body, but not the soul or spirit!”

“I thought as much.” Menou had already taken that into consideration. “The role of the soul is to produce power, and the spirit’s role is to independently control that power. Incidentally, a body is the vessel that contains those two things. In this world, the source of life is thought to be power—meaning Guiding Force.”

All life activity was the work of Guiding Force.

“The soul is the source, the spirit is the helm, and the body is the vessel of that power. In this world, anything without Guiding Force isn’t alive at all.”

This still didn’t seem to click with Akari, who screwed up her face and tilted her head to the side. Menou smiled wanly as she watched this and moved on to her conclusion.

“So even if the body is inorganic, if it has a spirit and soul, it’s still considered a life. And a dragon is formed when a soul and spirit dwell in the earthen or heavenly veins and become autonomous without a body.”

“I guess that kinda makes sense, but how big of a scale are we talking?”

“How big? Well, let’s see…”

Menou had never actually witnessed a dragonblight for herself. In fact, even Menou, who had witnessed many horrific scenes in her life, didn’t want to encounter one.

Well, how can I explain this…? She tapped her chin.

“We talked about the monster in Libelle, right?”

“Yeah,” Akari replied.

Menou’s example was an enormous monster that had destroyed an entire island just by appearing. It was so huge that one couldn’t even look at the entire thing from up close.

“So imagine enormous clusters of Guiding Force around that size swarm together, fly through the sky, and destroy everything in sight. Guiding Force life-forms have bodies made out of power, so they’re essentially immortal, like demons.”

“Whoa… Wait, what? So how do you beat them?”

“You don’t,” Menou answered simply.

Life-forms made of Guiding Force could be broadly divided into three categories: demons, phantoms, and dragons. Though they were created in different ways, they were all beings of power and supernatural, immortal creatures with wills of their own. Dragons, especially, were unbelievably powerful.

“You just have to watch and wait until they settle down on their own. It depends on the scale, of course, but there are precious few examples of anyone stopping dragonblight. Fortunately, I suppose, dragons only exist in places where the earthen vein has come undone, so the easiest solution is to evacuate.”

Incidentally, Archbishop Orwell, whom Menou fought in Garm, was one leading figure who had stopped a dragonblight. That accomplishment had helped propel her to the top.

Dragonblights were a different kind of disaster from Pure Concepts gone wrong.

Still…, Menou thought.

In Libelle, Pandæmonium had mentioned a Dragon in the west. She said it was the Sword of Salt that had destroyed the Pure Concept of Dragon. Menou intended to try to use that to execute Akari.

“This must be a coincidence… Or at least, I hope it is.”

Perhaps even the dragonblights that had dealt damage to many places throughout history were part of a Human Error. As she was mentally exploring this possibility, the air suddenly changed.

It wasn’t the dry, throat-scratching air of a desert anymore. Moisture clung to her skin. Looking at the horizon, beyond the one-note world of sand, she saw lush greenery that could protect them from the glaring sun.

The oasis in the center was creating this pleasant new change.

It was a lake far larger than one would expect to see in the middle of a desert—the supply stop, Balar Oasis.

“Anyway, we need an inn. Then we can ask around for information and do a little sightseeing in the process.”

“Huh? The first thing we usually do is visit the church. Why aren’t we doing that this time?”

“There’s no church in this town, Akari,” said Sahara. “None of the Noblesse, either, by the way.”

“Oh really?”

Sahara was correct, although Akari probably wouldn’t understand how strange it was for a town to lack any members of the Faust or Noblesse. So what? her face seemed to say.

“The crux of it is that this town is in the Wild Frontier, which means it’s not part of any nation. The town of Balar is sometimes said to have been created by adventurers. Common law doesn’t apply here, either.”

“Whoa! A town of adventurers? Now, that’s kind of exciting!”

“How so?” Menou smiled politely, tilting her head. Adventurers were basically ruffians of the Commons. Her statement about them was supposed to be a warning, but Akari seemed to have taken it the wrong way.

“Well, it’s not as unsafe as it sounds, so we should be fine,” Menou continued. “They’re very open to travelers, since it’s a town made by and for adventurers and an oasis in the desert. Even though it’s in the middle of the Wild Frontier, it’s an important midpoint for distribution, so there are rarely any disturbances that would affect outsiders like us.”

“Well, now you’ve jinxed it. We better be careful.”

“I know what you mean. Menou kinda tends to walk right into clichés.”

Sahara and Akari were bonding over some strange mutual observation. Menou decided to ignore them.

Once they booked a room at an inn, Menou and the two girls went to get food.

The spicy scent from the street stalls made them even hungrier. There were outdoor tables and chairs, complete with parasols to protect diners from the sunlight.

Menou, Sahara, and Akari sat at one of these tables.

“So yeah, Menou had a totally different personality as a kid. She was super spacy and weird. It made you just wanna whisk her away somewhere.”

“Wow!” Akari exclaimed at Sahara’s borderline-criminal comments as they nibbled on some meat. “Man, I wanna see little Menou, too! I wonder if I could find a photo or anything…!”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t use recording conjurings at the time, Akari… Although I suspect someone else might have sneaked a few.”

“You mean there might really be some childhood images of Menou around?!”

“Sadly, we wouldn’t be able to peruse them. Even in this world, there are violent monsters who would prevent such a thing.”

“…Could you two drop this nonsense already?” Menou glowered at the pair as they excitedly chatted about her.

It was still early for the lunchtime rush, so the place was fairly empty. Aside from the three girls, there was a young man thoroughly cloaked in a thick leather robe eating alone at a table behind them.

Robes with hoods to block out the sunlight were extremely common here. When they were walking in the desert, Menou and Akari wore similar clothes, though they had changed to their regular clothes, since they were in the shade here.

“Forget the past—let’s talk about the present, Akari. Isn’t there anything you can do about your oversleeping habits? Is it just me, or has it gotten even worse lately? You’re letting your guard down.”

“I don’t think there’s anything I can do about that. When I wake up, all I care about is how sleepy I am.”

“I get that,” Sahara chimed in. “Sleep is more important than anything else. The dream you’re having matters more than your plans for the day. And sound sleep matters more than keeping watch. Right?”

“Right!”

The two human sloths clasped hands with each other.

“If I had to pick something that could win out against sleepiness, it’d be Menou. So if you give me a little wake-up kiss, then I’ll be out of bed in no time!”

“I see you’re still dreaming even in the middle of the afternoon. I pity you.”

“Mrr. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it! Here, I’ll show you how effective it—ouchie!”

Akari leaned in toward Menou, who flicked her nose. The black-haired girl gave her a teary-eyed look of reproach, but Menou pretended not to notice as she took another bite.

“…Wow, you two really are close.”

“Of course we are! Menou’s my best friend!”

“I’d say you two have gotten pretty close in such a short time, too,” Menou observed.

“Of course. Me and Akari share a common interest.”

They were about halfway through their food when their conversation was interrupted. A group of men stomped into Menou’s view, placing an order at a food cart.

“Nice, it’s empty here.”

“Bet it’ll get busy soon. Came at a good time.”

“Yeah, guess it’s kinda early for lunch.”

They chatted boisterously as they took their food and debated over where to sit. Menou kept watch on them out of the corner of her eye.

There were three men in total. Judging by their muscles and equipment, they seemed familiar with fighting. All three wore leather breastplates and carried weapons engraved with crests. Traditionally, no one but the Order of Knights from the Noblesse was allowed to carry a weapon in public, but that rule didn’t apply in the Wild Frontier.

This area didn’t belong to any nation, after all. There was no point trying to enforce their laws here.

“Damn, I’m starv—oh-ho?”

As one of the men went to sit in an empty seat, his eyes landed on Menou and her companions.

In a way, this was inevitable. Menou’s combination of beauty and composure was enough to catch anyone’s eye, regardless of age or gender. And while her gorgeous looks alone were normally admired from afar, her soft expression when she spoke with Akari made her look more approachable.

On top of that, Akari was a lovely girl herself, with her adorably youthful facial features. Her noticeably large chest was eye-catching in a different way from Menou. And then there was Sahara, who looked like a subdued beauty as long as she didn’t open her mouth.

“Hey, ladies. Why not have a seat with us?”

This was one of the few oases in the desert. It was bad form to cause trouble at such a supply stop, but these men weren’t exactly highly principled by nature. They started boldly calling out to the three beautiful young women.

“We just finished work, but it’s boring as hell unwinding with just guys. Why don’cha share a table with us? We’re not gonna pull anything weird, I swear.”

This was probably intended more to tease them than as a serious invitation; their real goal was simply to mess with some young women as entertainment to go with their drinks. The man’s friends guffawed, while the one who had spoken up moved closer to the girls, emboldened by his friends’ cheers and jeers.

Menou didn’t sense any more sinister motives, but he was bothering them.

“Weh…” Akari hid behind Menou with fearful eyes. Even after the incidents she’d been caught up in so far, the young girl couldn’t get used to violence. Just the sight of a burly man moving toward them was enough to elicit terror for her. Sahara didn’t seem particularly bothered and kept blithely eating her food.

Menou didn’t panic, either. She simply put down her fork to free up her right hand.

Evidently deeming them a group of harmless young girls, the man brazenly sat down in an open seat at their table.

“You’re a little too young for my tastes, but in a few years, you’ll all be real lookers. If ya keep us company while we eat, we’ll treat ya to—”

“I have to say, this seems downright unnatural.”

“Hunh?”

As the man grunted in confusion at being interrupted, the air suddenly chilled.

A blade was being held to the man’s throat.

“You’re trying to pick us up because we’re girls, yet you don’t touch on the fact that I’m wearing priestess robes. What are you doing?”

It took less than a second for Menou to produce the dagger from the belt hidden on her thigh and press it to the man’s throat. To a non-combatant like Akari, it probably even looked as if the dagger had appeared in Menou’s hand out of nowhere.

The man seemed taken aback that a knife had come into play in response to him shooting his shot. He responded in a hoarse voice. “W-wait a minute. Just ’cause you’re a priestess doesn’t mean we really—”

“Answer the question.”

The tip of the blade pricked against his throat, piercing the skin and just barely touching the artery beneath without actually damaging any blood vessels. If Menou’s hand twitched even slightly, blood would spray everywhere.

This was definitely an overreaction to an only slightly ill-intended pickup attempt.

The crash of breaking glass echoed.

Akari flinched at the sudden noise, while Sahara glanced at the source. The young man who’d been sitting alone at a table turned pale and dropped his glass, evidently shocked by the threat of imminent bloodshed.

Unlike the other two’s reactions to the shattering glass, Menou didn’t move her blade an inch. With her command over her body, she was too unwavering to be affected by outside interruptions. A little noise wasn’t enough to make her hand move.

“I have heard that petty criminals abound in the central Wild Frontier. It makes sense that an oasis in the middle wouldn’t exactly be safe, I suppose.”

There were bound to be some individuals who got foul ideas when three young women showed up in such a place, especially when each of them was a beauty of a different type. They would draw in men whether they wanted to or not—if Menou wasn’t clearly wearing a priestess robe.

“In such a lawless place, why would anyone be foolish enough to approach a priestess of their own accord, assuming they can handle it just because we’re women?”

Priestesses were strong. Anyone involved in evil deeds was bound to be especially aware of the power of a priestess chosen by the Faust.

People who were up to no good would avoid priestesses like the plague.

There had to be some reason this man tried to approach them anyway. It was possible that he was truly just that stupid, but these men seemed more rational than that. In spite of their coarse manners and attitudes, they still made the barest effort to be sensible in what they said. Even if they were starved for female company, they should have enough common sense to avoid a priestess.

And yet, they didn’t. The most natural conclusion was that their efforts to approach the girls were an act.

“I’ve had a feeling about this since yesterday.”

By this point, the men’s faces had lost all emotion.

Aside from the two who were still at their own table, even the man with the knife at his throat was almost eerily expressionless, without a trace of fear. Three cold gazes focused on Menou.

“You’re with those kidnappers, aren’t you?”

“Tch!”

The other two men shifted into action despite the knife at their comrade’s throat, jumping up and grabbing their weapons. Their lack of concern for their own lives was just like the kidnappers’ from the day before.

Killing one of them wouldn’t scare them off. Gauging that the time it would take to slaughter him could cost her the fight, Menou withdrew her weapon from the man in front of her. As she jumped back to put some distance between them, Sahara stepped up in her place. She blocked a sword strike from one of the men with her artificial right arm.

There was the sharp clang of metal hitting metal.

“Oof, felt that one in the shoulder,” Sahara grumbled, her eyes still looking half-asleep as she parried the sword.

Her prosthetic arm was made of steel and propelled by a Guiding Force connection. Since the Faust carried scriptures in their left hands, they favored weapons that could be used with just the right arms. Sahara’s weapon was her steel prosthetic arm itself.

She used it to push off the sword, sending the man stumbling a few steps.

“…You’ve got some nerve drawing a sword on me.”

“Huh? Stay out of it, twerp.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

As she half-listened to their exchange, Menou charged her dagger with Guiding Force and began to construct a conjuring. There were three men in front of her with blades at the ready, but there was another, more pressing target Menou had to deal with first.

Guiding Force: Connect—Dagger, Crest—Invoke [Guiding Thread]

Before the men could correct their stances, she invoked the crest conjuring. Then Menou threw her dagger—and aimed it directly behind her.

“Gah!”

A groan rang out. The dagger Menou had thrown without looking hit the young man at the table behind them directly on the hand. A Guiding gun tumbled out of his robes. Menou tugged on the Guiding Force thread connected to the hilt of her dagger, pulling it back into her hand.

The young man who’d seemed so alarmed to be caught up in this crisis was actually working with the other men. He was using his full-body robe to ready a Guiding gun underneath. No doubt the plan was for him to shoot Menou from behind while she was distracted by the attackers.

“I told you it seemed unnatural.”

There were four opponents in total. Menou held her dagger at the ready, watching them.

She had guessed that the real attack would come from elsewhere precisely because the man approached them so blatantly. It was clear to her that their act, including Menou seeing through it, was part of a bigger attack plan.

Even the men who put on an act to approach them were just decoys. The real attacker was the seemingly unimportant young man at the other table. Ironically, it was because their coordination was so flawless that Menou was able to predict the intended surprise attack from her blind spot.

“Flarette… I should’ve expected no less.”

Without a glance at his dropped Guiding gun, the young man slid over to stand with the other three attackers. He appeared to be their leader. Any pretense of being an innocent bystander was now gone completely. His cold, reptilian eyes fixed on Menou.

“Bringing down the dragonblight suppressor Archbishop Orwell. Fending off one of the Four Major Human Errors, Pandæmonium. I assumed these were exaggerated rumors, but it looks like there was something to them after all.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” Menou shrugged lightly, trying to change the subject.

Akari knew about those two instances already, so that was all well and good, but there was a chance that he might reveal more about Menou’s identity. She was still hiding the fact she was an Executioner from Akari.

“Don’t suppose you’d hand that girl over quietly?”

“I’ll have to decline. What about you? Would you be willing to surrender and repent for your sins?”

“Let me tell you a little something.”

Such inhumanly cold eyes, Menou thought, then noticed something. The young man’s right eye was an extremely well-crafted prosthetic.

Menou raised her level of caution toward this man. For taboo researchers, people from the underworld, and the like, artificial parts weren’t always just making up for a loss. They were sometimes put in to hide special Guiding vessels.

“Our group works directly under Genom Cthulha.”

“Genom Cthulha?” Menou’s eyes widened at the name.

That was an unexpectedly big name. Sahara hadn’t said anything about Iron Chain being linked to Genom. Or maybe she didn’t know, either.

But Menou’s surprise only showed for a second.

“…I see. And?”

Aside from their young leader, the other men wavered slightly, looking surprised that the threat didn’t work.

Menou narrowed her eyes coolly. “Genom Cthulha. A frightful name, to be sure. If he was really here, I imagine I would never be able to win.”

Akari, who was holding her breath, looked shocked. From her point of view, it must have sounded like an uncharacteristic show of weakness for Menou.

But Menou meant every word.

Genom Cthulha: also known as Arms Dealer, Priestess Slayer, and Primary Color Killer, among countless other aliases. His name was carved into the top of the wanted list across the continent.

Though he was known as a villain who had wreaked havoc across countless nations, he eventually ventured into the eastern Wild Frontier, where few humans dared tread. He was feared as a monster born of the Commons and considered the strongest individual on this continent.

If they fought head-to-head, even Menou most likely couldn’t compete.

“But he won’t be leaving the eastern Wild Frontier.”

It was a famous story.

Genom Cthulha succeeded in the previously unknown feat of traversing the eastern Wild Frontier, but he was captured by the Mechanical Society in the process. Since he was one of the key pillars of the Fourth, his being trapped in the eastern Wild Frontier was said to be one of the major factors that led to the capture of the Director and even the fall of the Fourth.

“If he’s unable to come here even if I wipe you out, there’s nothing frightening about just hearing his name. If you’re going to claim to have someone’s protection, at least choose someone who can actually come to your aid.”

“You’re saying we’re not a threat? Sure, he probably won’t be comin’ himself. But you can’t be clueless enough not to know what it means that we have his support.”

“I suppose…”

Perhaps their claim that their organization worked for Genom wasn’t just a bluff. That would certainly explain their unusually good equipment.

Frighteningly enough, Genom had an alliance with the Mechanical Society and sent high-quality armor and weapons to the organizations that worked for him. While he couldn’t leave the Mechanical Society himself, he used these groups to spread his reign of terror.

Menou knew all this, and yet she smiled fearlessly.

“Why don’t we find out?”

The tension in the air spiked immediately.

Both sides were ready for a fight. As Menou and the young man glared at each other, the air grew heavier around them. The tension stretched to its very limits, reaching the hardness of glass that threatened to break at the slightest movement.

Menou continued glaring at the enemy, careful to keep her guard up.

While she was keeping up an insolent attitude so they wouldn’t underestimate her, these men were certainly not opponents to make light of. There was no comparison here to the Fourth cronies they’d fought in the port city of Libelle; these men were skilled enough to rival the knights she’d battled in Grisarika Kingdom.

Could she fight them while protecting Akari without getting hurt? Even Menou wasn’t sure.

Both sides were ready to lunge into battle at any moment.

“Genom can’t leave the eastern Wild Frontier, hmm?” the young man murmured thoughtfully.

His gaze drifted away from Menou. While his false eye didn’t move, his left eye settled directly on Sahara.

“Who knows how long that’ll be the case?”

Menou’s eyebrow twitched. Before she could ask what he meant, the young man stepped back.

“We’re leaving.”

With that quiet command, the men immediately retreated in different directions.

Menou started forward instinctively but quickly decided against giving chase. Even if her enemies’ backs were turned, she couldn’t leave Akari behind.

“Whew…” Akari heaved a sigh of relief as the tension drained from the air. “I was sooo scared. What was the deal with those guys anyway? Frightening…”

“Yeah, agreed. What kinda guys would pick on helpless young ladies?”

Although Sahara agreed with Akari, she wasn’t shaken in the slightest. Equally relieved that they had managed to resolve things peacefully, Menou took the last bite of her food.

After the incident at lunch, Menou brought Akari to the meeting place Momo had designated.

She had no reason to bring Akari along to meet up with the knights who were chasing the Iron Chain executives, but she couldn’t leave her alone, especially after they were just attacked. Sahara, meanwhile, decided to go off on her own as soon as she heard Momo might be there.

“It’s a pleasure to have you. I heard all about it from the young mistress.”

The meeting place was a white-painted pension near the waterfront of the oasis. When they arrived, a young lady in a maid outfit came out to welcome them, evidently the hostess.

The maid outfit’s design looked strangely familiar. As Menou racked her brain, the maid led them inside, where she smiled and opened a large closet.

“Here, a change of clothes for you. Please take your time.”

The bland smile Menou had been wearing froze on her face.

The closet was full of swimsuits.

“…Excuse me?”

Why were they being offered swimsuits to meet up with the knights? Something wasn’t adding up.

“Why are you offering us these?”

“Whatever do you mean? This is a private beach, of course. Or did you bring your own swimsuits?”

Menou felt like they were being forced into some strange form of harassment, but the maid seemed equally puzzled by her question.

This didn’t clear anything up, however. If anything, Menou was even more confused.

“A private beach?”

Momo hadn’t written a single word about that.

This had to be some kind of mistake. And yet, Akari’s eyes were already sparkling.

“Splish-splashing with Menou in a swimsuit on a private beach…!”

For some reason, her expectations were clearly creeping in a strange direction.

By the time Menou thought oh no, it was already too late. In fact, she now realized after the fact why the maid outfit looked so familiar.

It was a maid outfit from Grisarika Kingdom.

Menou herself had worn one before, albeit altered by Momo, so there was no mistaking it. This was the very same uniform that maids wore in the royal palace of Grisarika.

Servants in Grisarika Kingdom uniforms maintained this building.

There was the mention of a “young mistress.”

And someone had the nerve to designate their meeting at a private beach.

At this point, it was obvious who was waiting to meet them.

Menou quickly looked around. As she searched for an exit, someone tightly grabbed her arm.

“Menou. Don’t be selfish, okay? We have business here, remember?”

Akari’s excitement had completely closed off any means of escaping.

Menou stood on the sandy beach in a swimsuit.

Between the hot sunlight and the clear water, swimming at the oasis made for a very pleasant pastime. Since it was in a desert area, the water was always warm, and the sand underfoot was downright scorching. If the sun weren’t a bit too strong, it might even be the perfect place for a beach day.

Leaving the white pension behind, they were surrounded by tall trees in every direction. A girl who appeared to be part of the staff here was standing in the open space past the building, wearing a white swimsuit and a straw hat that covered her face as she prepared some brightly colored drinks.

It was, without a doubt, a private beach.

“Well, I guess that’s all well and good…”

Menou hadn’t protested because she was embarrassed to wear a swimsuit or anything. She simply didn’t like being compelled to leave most of her weapons and equipment behind.

“I wonder if that was actually the real reason all along…”

It was a forced explanation, but at least it made more sense to her.

Building a private swimming area in the water source of an oasis was an unbelievable level of extravagance. Who would be rich and powerful enough to occupy part of an oasis? Menou already had a good idea of the answer as she felt the sand under her bare feet.

Dressed for the beach, Menou wore a bikini-style swimsuit with a sarong wrapped around her waist. As if her figure wasn’t pleasing enough to the eye, her small facial features seemed to push her to another level. The line of her slim waist and long legs made for a gorgeous sight and a stunningly well-balanced silhouette.

And she wasn’t alone.

“Menou! Well? What d’you think of my beach bod?” Akari came running up behind her.

She wore a bikini trimmed with adorable frills. Her skin looked soft and supple, without a single blemish. Her baby-faced features contrasted with her busty figure. As she flounced across the sand, the lines of her legs were so sensual, it was almost scandalous. All in all, the swimsuit fully drew out Akari’s charms in a different way from Menou’s.

Showing off her swimsuit, Akari looked at Menou with her eyes sparkling in obvious anticipation of praise.

Menou reached out silently, pinched Akari’s stomach, and tugged on it, stretching out her soft stomach fat.

Akari’s smile froze. Menou quietly looked up and gave a small nod.

“……”

“……”

They exchanged looks. Silence fell between the two girls. But it didn’t change reality. The flesh Menou pinched was undoubtedly stretching. That was all that mattered.

“……Maybe you could stand to lose weight?”

“That’s the worst reaction I could’ve ever imagined…!”

It was a critical hit.

The sheer force of the fearless answer shot down Akari’s excitement and sent her dropping to her knees on the sandy beach.

“Lose w…wait, what? I’m not that chubby, am I? Compared to other girls back in Japan, I was…huh? What was I, again? I can’t remember the average… How exactly did I…? What is normal…?”

“You’re still within an acceptable range. But if you let your guard down, that squishy belly of yours will get out of control in no time.”

“Menou… Menou, you…have an amazing figure. It’s like the ideal shape, without a single flaw…! A perfect body…!”

“Thanks.”

As Akari touched her arms and stomach, despairing at the difference between them, Menou shrugged. She simply had far more training and exercise under her belt. Compared to Akari’s squishable body, Menou’s skin was far more smooth and bouncy. It was debatable which one felt better, but as far as who was closest to ideal proportions, Menou had a clear advantage.

“Weh… Now I feel embarrassed for showing so much skin out in public… Why did my past self think it was a good idea to try to get Menou to fall for me in a swimsuit?”

“Because you’re an idiot?” Menou voiced her thoughts upon hearing Akari’s superficial plan. “You have no self-control and get carried away in the moment. Exhibit a little more self-restraint.”

“I knooow, but…!”

As Akari belatedly turned red and covered her stomach, Menou mercilessly dealt the final blow.

“If you’re embarrassed, you ought to go swimming. You’ll burn some fat that way.”

“Fiiiine.”

Menou watched Akari slouch gloomily toward the water, then headed toward the pension. Now that she’d managed to chase Akari away, she approached the girl holding drinks.

“Two drinks, please. Anything will do.”

“Right awaaay.” The girl in the straw sun hat and white one-piece swimsuit met Menou’s gaze, her pink hair waving in the wind.

Her eyes filled with tears, and she pressed her hands together.

“You look sooo amazing in your swimsuit, darliiing…!”

The girl in the cute swimsuit was none other than Momo.

As she gazed hotly at Menou, her eyes filled with all the compliments she could muster, she spoke in a quavering voice. “Your dear Momo…has never been so grateful to the Lord for the gift of life as she is right nooow…! I give thanks for the blessing of this daaay!”

“That might be the first time I’ve ever seen you sincerely pray to the Lord…”

“The Lord is only a convenient creation by man as far as I’m concerned, so that was just a figure of speech to express that you’re simply divine, darliiing!”

It was no coincidence that Momo had the lowest faith scores in the history of their monastery. The way she said it so nonchalantly made one question if she was really a member of the clergy at all. The saddest part was that this was Momo’s MO.

“By the way, do you have any information of note for me? I hate to admit it, but as I’ve been traveling with Akari, it’s been difficult to collect much news.”

“Information, hmm? Let me see…”

Momo tapped her chin in a cute yet calculated motion, searching her memories.

“From the eastern front, I’ve heard that the Director escaped from prison in Grisarika Kingdom, and there have been defectors from the Faust on the defense lines of the eastern Wild Frontier, and so ooon. Not much news from the west, thooough.”

“Er… That seems like rather big news.”

“Well, it doesn’t directly affect either of us, sooo…”

“I suppose not, but…”

Any one of those matters could seriously change the state of the world.

It was true enough that they’d already passed through the east. It was a relief to hear that there wasn’t any violent activity going on in the western part of the continent, where they were headed next.

“By the way, about why you chose this place for our meeting…”

Certainly, they could avoid being noticed on a private beach. But someone powerful enough to have such a space was unlikely to offer it as a hiding place to some regular knights.

It was at this precise moment that the exact person Menou was expecting chose to emerge from the pension.

“Hey there, ‘darling.’ It’s been a while.”

The high-class young woman greeted Menou in the casual tone of someone seeing an old friend, her red-tinted blond hair trailing behind her. As if her usual clothing wasn’t skimpy enough, her swimsuit was boldly risqué. The unique and peculiar design was radically revealing; clearly, she was a step or two ahead of her time.

It was, indeed, Ashuna Grisarika in the flesh.

“Swimsuits are splendid, aren’t they? Clothes meant to show off the natural beauty of the human body beneath the sun—they’re magnificent in my eyes. And it’s all the more refreshing at the water’s edge! In fact, I wish I could strut around town in this outfit!”

“Are you insane?”

She seemed 30 percent more cheerful than usual, perhaps because her swimsuit was 30 percent more revealing than her usual getup. There was nothing relatable about her excitement to anyone else present, however. Momo, especially, sullenly sealed her lips and refused to meet Ashuna’s eyes.

“So what do you think? Nice place, isn’t it? No one but the royal family of Grisarika Kingdom has possession of a private beach here in the Balar Oasis.”

“…Is that right? I must say, you have an impressive lineage, Your Highness.”

“I won’t deny it. Besides, I heard, you know. You beat up some delinquents as soon as you arrived in town, didn’t you? I would expect no less of someone I appraised highly.”

“Thanks, I suppose…,” Menou responded blandly.

Akari started swimming back toward shore, probably because she’d noticed an unfamiliar face.

Menou glanced at her aide. “Momo. Thank you for everything so far. If we have to fight those ruffians in the desert, could I ask you to support Akari from the shadows?”

“I couldn’t possibly care less what happens to that boob-lady, but I’d do anything for you, darliiing. Very well.”

“Thank you. I feel better knowing I can count on you, Momo.”

Just as Momo turned to withdraw into the pension before Akari arrived, Menou snatched up the scripture that the pink-haired girl had been hiding under her drink tray, continuously invoking a conjuring with shocking stealth.

“Ah!” Momo was caught completely off guard. Before she could react, Menou flipped the stolen scripture open.

She turned straight to the first verse of the first chapter.

The scripture carried by priestesses was a highly advanced conjuring medium, a vessel that could invoke countless kinds of conjurings. The page Menou chose was capable of recording images and video.

It had a standing image of a miniature Menou in her swimsuit.

This was one of the few shortcomings of Menou’s talented assistant, and it was quite a flaw. I knew it, she thought, narrowing her eyes and sending Guiding Force into Momo’s scripture.

“What?! Darling, please wait!” Momo cried out, but Menou ignored her. She wouldn’t tolerate recordings of herself, especially taken without permission.

Guiding Force: Connect—Scripture, 1:1—Invoke [Transcribe the miracle before my eyes, for it must be recorded.]

After erasing the contents of the recording conjuring, an exclusive tool of the Faust, she returned the scripture to Momo. “Here, you can have this back.”

“M-my collection… My precious picture collectiooon of my darling…! That’s practically the only reason I carry this stupid book…!”

Menou dearly hoped that was an exaggeration.

It was better for Momo’s sake if she lost the fruits of her bad habit. Menou had waited for a long time to get a chance to erase them, and now Momo had finally let her guard down. Surely, now Momo would learn some more useful scripture conjurings. Her spirits rising, Menou cheerfully shooed away Momo, who was in tears.

“Yes, yes, I know. Hurry up and hide… Oh, right. Momo, do you remember Sahara?”

“Sahara? Oh, that piece of garbaaage…”

Momo was quick to trash-talk the girl from their monastery, not knowing that she and Menou had recently been reunited.

“I figured she must be long dead by now. Is she still aliiive? If she ever shows her face in front of either of us again, I intend to crush her stupid hands and seal her mouth shuuut.”

“Wh-who knows? I wonder where she might be right now!”

Well, that’s not going to work, Menou thought, giving up immediately as she watched Momo go into the pension.

Behind her, Akari walked up and was greeted by Ashuna.

“Looks like we’ve got a newcomer, so let me reintroduce myself. I’m Ashuna Grisarika. So can I ask what your name is, since you’re a friend of darling here?”

“I-I’m Akari. I’m a perfectly normal person who travels along with Menou.”

This rather strange self-introduction was the result of Menou warning Akari to be careful not to reveal herself as a lost one. She was developing a bad habit of being so paranoid that she ended up sounding even more suspicious.

Akari looked back and forth between Menou and Ashuna, then whispered to Menou.

“Why in the world is she calling you darling? Is this some weird priestess thing?”

“Does she look like a priestess to you? Pure, proper, and powerful?”

“She does kinda seem strong, but not very priestess-like, I guess. It doesn’t sound very romantic when she says it, either. She just seems, uh, strong. Yeah.”

“Exactly. I assure you it’s nothing of the sort. I would never want a darling like that.”

As they whispered back and forth, Ashuna appeared between them.

“Hrm. I must say, you’re not being very nice.”

“Eek?!” Akari jumped, alarmed at her sudden closeness. She took several steps back, possibly intimidated by Ashuna. Akari could be surprisingly shy sometimes. Along with Ashuna’s bold expression and appearance, she was remarkably tall for a woman, which made her presence all the more overwhelming.

Menou nonchalantly stepped in front of Akari as she addressed Ashuna with narrowed eyes.

“Just to confirm, what exactly are you doing here, Your Highness?”

“Hmm? I just happened to run into those knights as I was walking through the desert to cut across the central Wild Frontier. I ended up helping them with their investigation, then they begged me to become their leader. I had no reason to refuse, so here we are.”

The princess was so charismatic that she found herself leading people no matter where she went. Menou didn’t know whether to be impressed or just exhausted.

“I ran into Momo after that. When she heard about our private beach, she got all excited for some reason and asked me to help you all out.”

It seemed that Momo was involved in the choice of this meeting place, too.

Ashuna’s arrival lessened Menou’s motivation considerably.

Can’t we just let her take care of it without me getting involved? If we wait a few days, we might just find out she brought down that Iron Chain group herself… Menou was starting to get overoptimistic until Ashuna clapped a hand over her shoulder with a friendly smile.

“You seem to have some information of your own already, but we’re after a certain group of wanted criminals. And I do believe you owe me a favor. So if our goals are the same, why not join forces?”

“……” Menou’s expression soured.

She knew exactly what Ashuna was referring to: their collaboration in Libelle. Ashuna had made major contributions to the fight against Pandæmonium, who was on a wild rampage with sacrifices. Without her help, the damage likely would have been far worse, and Menou might not have even made it out unharmed.

Most of all, Ashuna hadn’t pried into Menou’s identity at all. She didn’t even ask her name. It was proof that she respected Menou’s position. Of course, Menou could just pretend not to remember, but with Ashuna, it was better to be straightforward.

“Very well, Your Highness. I have an inkling of where those criminals might be, so I’ll share what I know.”

“Perfect.”

Based on information Menou got from Sahara, Ashuna was probably looking for Miller and Wolff.

“These criminals are likely part of a human trafficking organization. And after infiltrating them the other day, I can confirm that their base is probably…”

Resigning herself, Menou spilled all her information about the Iron Chain group in the desert.

“Whew…” Menou quietly shut the door behind her.

She had finished her meeting with Ashuna and returned to the inn. In addition to discussing the current situation, she’d also learned that Manon was still alive after their encounter in Libelle. There was a lot to think about, but she had something else to take care of first.

“Have a seat, Menou.” Perched on the bed, Akari patted the spot next to her. Her lips were downturned in a pout, and there was a crease between her eyebrows. Everything about her expression and mannerisms indicated I’m mad at you right now.

Worn out from the conversation with Ashuna, Menou obediently sat down.

“I can overlook the situation with Sahara, okay? It was a long time ago, so that’s normal.”

“Mm-hmm.”

What is she on about now? Menou wondered, half-listening.

“But more importantly! That Ms. Ashuna person we met on the beach. What’s your relationship with that gorgeous lady?!”

“What relationship…?”

Her wording was ridiculous, but when Menou seriously considered the question, she found it was surprisingly difficult to answer.

What was the relationship between Ashuna and Menou? They weren’t friends, nor were they colleagues. Indeed, Ashuna was a royal of the Noblesse, and Menou was an Executioner of the Faust. They came from entirely different worlds. And this was only their second time meeting.

“A casual relationship, I suppose?”

“I don’t approve of that kind of thing at all!”

For some reason, Akari managed to misinterpret Menou’s response, her temper only worsening.

“You could really stand to treat me better, Menou! It’s just like Sahara said. You have to get over this habit of seducing women wherever you go! How is my heart supposed to rest?!”

“You’re not making my heart rest, either.”

“Ow, ow, ow, ow!”

Menou grabbed Akari’s face and mercilessly subjected her to an iron claw hold. Once Akari quieted down, she tossed her onto the bed and headed over to the desk.

“What nooow? Are you keeping a diary, Menou?”

“Don’t be absurd,” Menou dismissed as the black-haired girl rolled around on the bed.

She was using the paper to sketch out the positions of the buildings in the base they’d infiltrated the day before, excluding the clearly slapped-together one-story buildings and barracks.

The buildings that remained formed a strange pattern indeed.

There were four towers, one in each cardinal direction, positioned on the perfectly circular wall. Aside from that, the other buildings formed two pentagrams if connected with lines. It was on a level surface instead of the traditional dome-shaped ceremonial hall, but even so, there was no mistake.

“An architectural conjuring circle…,” Menou murmured, quietly enough that Akari wouldn’t hear her.

From what she could tell, it was a ceremonial conjuring circle to connect a different world to this one. The setup of the base was a perfect match for a conjuring circle—but there was no astral vein here. And Menou doubted they could get enough Guiding Force to invoke such a conjuring, so she wrote down a hypothesis in the corner of the paper.

Planned to use Akari’s Guiding Force?

That was her first thought, but she quickly crossed it out.

Using an Otherworlder to summon an Otherworlder was simply too nonsensical. Besides, if they tried to draw out that much power from her, Akari’s Pure Concept would almost certainly fly out of control and cause major damage.

“Which means they must have some other goal…”

How did they intend to use this conjuring circle?

The Mechanical Society in the eastern Wild Frontier. That was undoubtedly the key to the mystery, but Menou couldn’t figure out how they were connected. There wasn’t enough time to investigate the enemy’s goal, either. In her meeting with Ashuna, they had concluded that they would attack at once.

“…Well, hopefully we’ll destroy it and none of that will matter.”

Thus, their first night in the oasis supply stop came to a close.

“Damn.” Wolff, the leader of the human trafficking organization Iron Chain, cursed when he heard his subordinate’s report. “Flarette is that good, huh? And if she’s teaming up with the Princess Knight, we can’t touch ’em. Let’s get outta here.”

His decision was swift when Miller told him the outcome of the battle.

It was unfortunate to have to abandon this place after so much preparation, but sacrifices had to be made. They would have to dispose of the architectural conjuring circle they’d built on their base, taking the money they’d saved up and making a break for it.

Abducting Flarette and her Otherworlder companion wasn’t a necessity to begin with. They’d just heard information about the pair’s presence from a certain source and made a pass at capturing them, nothing more.

“We’re running away? This is a hell of a chance to give up.”

“That information is from a newbie anyway. No reason to risk our hides actin’ on it.”

Flarette, who was pretending to be a priestess on a pilgrimage, and Ashuna Grisarika, the Princess Knight of the Grisarika Kingdom. If they tried to lay a hand on that duo, they’d come away with more than just a light burn.

“Hate to lose the Otherworlder, but yeah. Makes no sense to fight Flarette head-on when you couldn’t even kill her with a surprise attack. If they figure out what this ceremony is for, we’ll be screwed.”

They might’ve been able to take on one or two ordinary priestesses. Even if such priestesses teamed up with some knights to attack the base, he was confident that his guys could use their home field advantage to turn the tables on them. After all, Wolff’s criminal group was armed far better than any ordinary group of thieves. They had Genom’s support, and with it, the ample conjuring weapons he provided. Wolff and his men were definitely a step ahead of most, but he wasn’t overconfident enough to think they could beat Flarette.

Wolff’s generation was from Flare’s golden age. He was well aware of what Executioners were really capable of.

“If she’s the successor to that woman, she wouldn’t fight us fair and square anyway. Attacking her first was one thing, but I don’t wanna be on the receiving end of that.”

Wolff had big ambitions; that was why he was able to climb to the top in the first place. When his organization started working under Genom Cthulha, they were able to get high-quality conjuring weapons. The last thing he wanted to do was put his life on the line in a no-win scenario just when things were going so well.

“This ain’t gonna be our only chance. Now start preparing to take things down and move out.”

“But we could also bury her here and now. This is a perfect opportunity.”

“You’re bein’ real pushy, Miller.” Wolff looked suspiciously at his right-hand man, who wasn’t normally this persistent. “Settle down, will ya? I thought you were a cleverer guy than all that. You’ve been acting real weird since you got back from the eastern Wild Frontier.”

It was a shame to leave their base, but they could abandon the lowest-ranking members to buy time for their escape. Iron Chain was disbanding. They would scatter for the time being, hide out in the desert, and plan their comeback.

“I’ll gather the guys who we’re getting out of here. You’re in charge of collecting the goods and—”

Miller was the vice-captain of this base. He’d be among the members who escaped.

Wolff was decisive but sometimes too passionate, so it was only thanks to Miller’s support that he’d made it this far.

A dry bang echoed through the air.

It was the sound of a Guiding gun. A red stain spread across Wolff’s clothes from within.

“Damn you…” Wolff stared at Miller in disbelief. When he saw his right-hand man’s inhuman expression, he instinctively understood.

Miller’s face and body were undoubtedly his own. This was the man who’d been his close subordinate for many years. This man’s loyalty didn’t lie with Wolff anymore, however. He didn’t even care what happened to Iron Chain.

Miller didn’t even bat an eye at Wolff’s words.

“Sorry, Wolff. I’ve got to activate this conjuring circle no matter what. You get it, right? I received power straight from the man himself. It’s my duty to pay him back for that. Worst case, it doesn’t even matter if we win or lose. Either way, it’ll help set him free in the end.”

“You’re…joking…!”

“I’m not.” Miller pulled out a dagger that was hidden in the room. It looked very similar to the one he’d seen Flarette carrying earlier that day.

Then he stabbed it into Wolff at the perfect angle to hide the gunshot wound.

“This is just the rational thing to do.”

Wolff breathed his last just as Miller finished speaking. Looking down at the corpse, Miller sighed.

“…So killing him didn’t raise my level, huh?” he muttered. “Well, let’s hope the experience points from Flarette will be worth the effort.”

As he talked to himself, he struck the window, breaking it from the inside.

“Captain Wolff! What was that—?”

One of their men came running in, alerted by the sound of the Guiding gun followed by the shattering glass. He trailed off when he saw the situation inside.

“What in the world…?”

“It’s Flarette. I don’t know if she was getting revenge for our attack this afternoon or if she heard that Wolff and I are wanted men, but she killed him—damn it all.”

Miller’s voice quaked with fury. He was normally so calm as to seem cold-blooded, so hearing his voice tremble was a shock to his subordinate.

“She’ll probably be back in the next few days—to kill me. But if she thinks she’ll get away with murdering our leader, she’s got another thing coming.” He kept his voice cool yet menacing. “Get ready to take her on when she comes back. We’ll use their corpses to activate this ceremonial conjuring circle.”

That’s why I killed Wolff, after all.

Keeping this last part to himself, Miller began giving the orders for their counterattack against Flarette and her allies.