Chapter 2: The Traitorous Eyes

Chapter 2: The Traitorous Eyes

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.