Chapter 4: Our Promise That Day

Chapter 4:
Our Promise That Day

 

ONE DAY over a decade ago, Louise was once more at her little brother’s side, as she was every moment even as he grew weaker and weaker. On that day, she happened to notice he was staring out the window.

“Leon, aren’t you cold?”

“I’m fine. Hey, Big Sis—” Leon suddenly broke into a fit of coughs, and she reached for his hand, squeezing it in hers.

Even the doctor couldn’t figure out why he was wasting away. Normally, the Sacred Tree’s divine protection—the very crest on his hand—would have prevented it. Their crests could combat all manner of sickness. Yet it did nothing for Leon.

“Leon, stay strong,” Louise coached as the seal on her hand lit up. She was trying to heal him, but it had no effect.

Leon smiled at her nonetheless. “Thanks, Big Sis. I feel a little better now.”

Even as a child, Louise could see straight through her little brother’s kind white lie. “Y-you’ll get better,” she promised. “I swear you will. The Sacred Tree will protect you. Father and Mother are both doing their utmost to find a way to heal you too.”

They had gathered countless doctors and even bought secret remedies from abroad. Alas, no matter what they tried, Leon’s condition didn’t improve.

Louise’s hand tightened around his. “What do you want to do when you get better?” she asked.

“Mmm… Oh, I know! The New Year’s Festival!” he managed to choke out in between coughs.

“The New Year’s Festival?”

“Remember? Last time I couldn’t go because it was ‘too dangerous.’”

The previous year, they hadn’t participated because they were both still too young.

“Th-then do you want to go into the cave with me?” Louise asked.

“What? No way.”

She scowled. “Wh-why not, huh?!”

“Because I’ve got a fiancée now. So I’m going to go with her. I know we haven’t met yet, but she’s my number one. It’d be inconsiderate to go with you instead of her,” Leon said with a chuckle.

Tears streamed down Louise’s cheeks. “Leon, you jerk!”

“D-don’t cry. F-fine… I’ll go in with you too. No one will mind if I enter twice, right?”

“Leon, you two-timer!” she blurted back, using a word she’d only recently learned.

Since Louise was still crying, Leon reached out and stroked her back, trying to console her. “Sorry. I promise I’ll go with you to the festival. And we’ll go into the cave together too.”

“That’s a promise, okay? If you break it, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Okay.” Leon smiled weakly, which only left her heart in greater pain.

 

***

 

The end of the year came quickly and with it, the New Year’s Festival.

“This is totally not what I pictured,” I said.

“And what, precisely, were you picturing, Master?” Luxion asked.

“I dunno. They said ‘New Year’s Festival,’ so I was thinking something like the shrine visits we do on the first day of the New Year in Japan.”

I had left the house anticipating what I was used to back home only to find that a carnival had rolled into the event venue. The adults were all dressed up and busy meeting with each other while the children raced around. They were all smiles as they enjoyed the attractions or watched street performers. It was exactly like the carnivals in foreign dramas. Meanwhile, I had envisioned a Japanese shrine complete with lines of food stalls, which couldn’t have been further off the mark.

“Please try to be careful, Master.”

“What? You think I’m going to act like a hyper little kid and get lost in the crowd or something?” I shot back, assuming his little warning was more of his usual sarcasm. Then I noticed his gaze was fixed on something. I followed the direction of his lens to find Lelia clad in a coat with a dress and high heels underneath.

As much as I was distracted by the ostentatiousness of her clothes, something more curious nearby drew my gaze. A blue-colored Luxion floated beside her.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I demanded. “She’s got a fake copy of you.”

“I am unsure. Granted, I can reasonably speculate; you and Marie both called this the second installment of an otome game. In that case, it wouldn’t be odd for there to be something similar to me in the world. Personally, I am shocked to encounter a fellow AI in this day and age.”

Is he not counting his meeting with Cleare?

The blue-Luxion soon noticed us and alerted Lelia, who made her way over. She flipped her side ponytail over her shoulder as she strutted forward. The confidence she now exuded was markedly different from her behavior before winter break.

“It’s been a while,” she said.

“Happy New—” I started to say in Japanese, intending to greet her the same way I would have in Japan, but her face immediately flushed.

“Are you teasing me?” she demanded.

“Nope. I gave Marie the same greeting earlier. It brought her to tears, I’ll have you know. Pretty sweet we can still use traditional greetings like that even after we’ve reincarnated. Brings back memories.”

Of course, Marie then immediately asked me for New Year’s money, which was also customary in Japan.

As I smiled, Lelia wrinkled her nose and turned to her blue robot. “Ideal, say hello.”

Ideal? That’s this blue thing’s name?

The floating ball approached us—or rather, Luxion. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Please, call me Ideal. My, what a surprise this is. I heard about you, but it’s truly a miracle to be able to meet you in this day and age, Luxion. I hope we’ll be on good terms in the future.”

This AI was being awfully friendly, but Luxion’s reception was ice cold. “You’re a supply vessel, aren’t you? But you certainly seem on guard. Your ability to avoid detection despite my intelligence assessments is awfully curious.”

“Supply vessel?” I echoed, glancing at Lelia.

She crossed her arms, lifting her chin proudly. “That’s right. Ideal is a supply vessel while yours is a mere migrant vessel, which means my AI is actually a pure military ship. Pretty impressive, don’t you think?”

So it was used by the military to transport supplies, huh?

It probably was impressive, but I had no way to gauge how much so.

“Luxion, is Ideal really that incredible?” I asked.

“He is a military ship that fought against the new humans. If we were to compare the capabilities of our mother ships, then he surely would outmatch me in a number of areas.”

“Then that is pretty amazing.”

So the reason Luxion hadn’t noticed this thing’s presence was because of its own special abilities? But Luxion seemed skeptical of that. Was there something more to this situation?

Ideal floated toward me. “So you are Lord Leon, Luxion’s master. I hope we can be friendly with one another.”

“You know about us?” I eyed Lelia, but she refused to meet my gaze.

“Ideal, that’s enough with the pleasantries,” she said.

“Very well.”

Seeing how obediently he responded, I shot Luxion a meaningful look.

“If there is something you wish to say, I do wish you would come out with it instead of staring,” he quipped.

“I was just thinking you ought to take a page from Ideal’s book and show your master a little more respect.”

“I will consider it.”

Was he really that repulsed by the idea of being nice to me? He was awfully stubborn for an AI.

Lelia glanced between us and smirked. “You two really don’t get along at all. He’s obviously not recognized you as his true master.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“Because Ideal isn’t the least bit obstinate. He can be a little insensitive sometimes, but he responds to my orders accordingly.”

I glanced at Ideal. He bobbed up and down as if nodding. “It’s thanks to Lelia that I was released from my order to remain on standby. It’s only natural to show her such respect.”

Envious of their relationship, I turned back to Luxion. “See? You should be more grateful to me.”

“Do you realize just how much I have had to clean up after you?” Luxion shot back. “I believe you should be more grateful to me.”

You… You little jerk. I swear one day you really are going to stab me in the back. I paused. Wait, I guess you’ve already done that, you filthy traitor.

Lelia glanced at the clock before starting away from us. “I’m going to be busy today, so I’ll excuse myself here. Let’s speak again a couple days from now. We have a lot to discuss regarding the future. Come, Ideal.”

“Yes, Lady Lelia.”

Once the two of them were gone, I turned my attention to my AI companion. “Luxion, you got a second?”

The two of them looked like the picture-perfect master and servant, so maybe I was just being cynical, but something felt…off.

“Did you notice it as well?” Luxion asked.

“Oh, so you did too? What a happy coincidence.”

 

***

 

After parting ways with Lelia and Ideal, I made my way to the spot where I was supposed to meet up with Miss Louise. I found her waiting there, clad in fancier clothes than normal.

“You look beautiful,” I said. “Makes me wonder if I’m good enough to be your escort.” I was at least wearing a suit, complete with a coat hanging off my shoulders.

Miss Louise looped her arm through mine. “You’re fine. In fact, I’m the one at a loss, being able to attend with Holfort’s renowned hero.”

Hero, hah. It’s not like I wanted to become one.

“I still feel like that should be my line,” I insisted playfully, although something else was actually on my mind. “So, uh, I feel like things are a bit different than what you told me. There’s an awful lot of little kids here.”

Miss Louise had mentioned that she and Leon couldn’t attend because they were too young at the time, yet the place was packed with small children.

“That’s because my father revised the customs to include younger children.”

Albergue did that? Really?

“I’m not the only one who regrets not doing more for Leon when he was alive. At any rate, it’s about to begin, so let’s go over there.”

She pulled me along by the arm, leading me to the most extravagant stage I had ever seen. A number of holy items had been placed there, lending the area a completely different atmosphere. The place was crowded with nobility; all of the leaders from the Six Great Houses had gathered to express their gratitude, pray, and swear their loyalty to the tree. In the middle of all of this stood a conspicuous gate leading into a cave, which Miss Louise pointed at.

“The monument is inside that cave. The two of us will go in there together.”

This cave was a natural hollow created by the Sacred Tree’s roots. It was a curious structure with a real fantasy vibe. It was as if the tree had specifically avoided growing into that space.

“Are you really sure you’re okay with me being your partner?” I asked. “We may look similar, but I’m…” Not the real Leon.

I tried to say as much, but Louise clung to my arm. “It would be too cruel of you to try to run now. Or do you feel guilty because of your fiancées? That’s a shame. The only people who can enter together are those who are close. It’s entirely normal for siblings to go together. Of course, there’s also married couples and parents and their children. All kinds of pairs take the journey.”

To be more precise, entering with a lover was a mark of status when you were a teenager. If you didn’t have a romantic partner, this type of gathering was hell on earth. I would definitely have avoided participating at all costs if the circumstances were the least bit different.

“This is an event you really don’t wanna go to if you don’t have a partner, huh?”

After a short pause, Miss Louise agreed. “True enough. Today will be my first time entering the cave.”

“Seriously?”

“I promised Leon. I said we would go in together. So I’ve turned down anyone who invited me until now. I felt like if I went in with someone else, I’d be breaking my promise with him.”

Was she really sure she wanted me to be her partner for her first entry?

The formal ceremony portion of the event ended, and the master of ceremonies announced that it was time to enter the cave and offer our prayers. The whole venue broke out in a clamor. Nearby, a young guy blurted out his feelings to a girl.

“Jessica, I’ve liked you for so long now. Please say you’ll go in there with me. I’ll swear an oath to the Sacred Tree that I’ll spend my future with you.” He got down on one knee, still grasping her hands in his.

It took some real guts to propose in a crowded place like this. Unfortunately for this poor guy, the world wasn’t so simple that she’d actually say—

“I’m so happy, Jack. I’ve been waiting for you to say that for so long.”

Wait, what? His cheesy lines actually worked?

People began applauding the new couple. Drawn in by the crowd, I gave them a lazy golf clap. The rest of the venue soon followed suit as others proclaimed their love.

“Miss Louise, what’s going on?”

“It’s fairly normal for people to profess their feelings at this time. It’s a popular custom.”

While it seemed charming enough, at least to a foreigner, I failed to understand the appeal. My mind immediately compared what I was seeing to the practices in the kingdom. The girls here were so much nicer. I envied Alzerian men for that. I could still vividly remember a time when I’d told a girl my feelings and she’d said, “Take a look in the mirror and try again.”

“Alzer is such a nice country,” I muttered.

“You think so?”

I considered telling Louise more about the situation in Holfort, but this was supposed to be a celebratory occasion, so it wasn’t the time for that kind of downer.

I glanced toward the cave, where a line had already formed. “Guess we won’t be able to enter for a while.”

“Indeed. Shall we play for a bit in the meantime, then?” Louise tugged me along toward the carnival rides. Despite looking like an adult in that fancy dress, her smile was as innocent as a child’s.

 

***

 

Louise navigated the crowds of the carnival, pulling Leon along by the arm. The two almost looked like a cute young couple. Leon remained dumbfounded as a hyper Louise led him by the arm.

“Let’s go over there next,” she said, pointing to a food stall.

Leon’s brows shot up. “A lady like you is willing to eat at a food stall?”

“It’s a special occasion. It’d be a waste not to enjoy it.”

Normally, she never stopped at a food stall, but it was the nature of these events to indulge oneself, at least as far as Louise was concerned.

“Are you not very fond of places like this?” Louise asked.

As I feared, I’ve imposed on him, she thought, worried about Leon’s puzzled expression, which had been on his face for a while now.

Louise felt rather guilty for making him go along with her selfish requests. Leon already had two girls to whom he was betrothed. It hurt Louise’s heart to think her actions might cause them to doubt his fidelity. She had explained the circumstances ahead of time so there would be no confusion, and they all seemed to be on the same page. At the same time, it was one thing to logically understand something and quite another to emotionally accept it. Leon was pretty clueless when it came to that, which only concerned Louise more.

“Oh, no. I’m stunned at how different the atmosphere is here compared to Holfort, but I’m having fun. I’ve got a beautiful woman with me. There’s nothing better than that for a guy, you know?”

“Leon, I think you need to learn a bit more about women’s hearts, or you’re going to get yourself stabbed someday.”

“It’d be great if a girl loved me enough to go that far,” he said with a laugh. He acted as if it were impossible for him, but that made Louise worry all the more.

Perhaps I need to teach him a few things before he goes back home, she thought.

Louise couldn’t help but fuss. He really did so closely resemble her long-lost brother.

 

***

 

Lelia was waiting for her turn to enter the cave. People mostly went in the order they had lined up, but newly formed couples who’d just professed their feelings got first dibs. Those from the Six Great Houses were next in priority.

It did seem odd that couples took precedent over the Six Great Houses, but it made sense considering this world was based on an otome game. Dating sims always put romantic events over everything else.

The time for her to enter drew close, but the area was so crowded that Lelia was having trouble locating Emile.

“Ideal, are you able to find Emile?” she asked her robot companion.

“He appears to be preoccupied talking to someone and is unable to make his way over.”

“He’s seriously going to leave his own fiancée hanging? We don’t have much time before our turn is gone!”

The new couples had already finished, so it was time for members of the Six Great Houses to go in. It wouldn’t be long until the next group started.

“The person he is speaking with appears to be important,” Ideal informed her. “Since it seems to be a very serious conversation, I would hate to interrupt him.”

“An AI like you really has that much consideration? Ugh. Fine, whatever.”

Was it someone related to work? Emile was a diligent guy, as Lelia well knew, so she had little choice but to wait.

Just then, a hand shot out of the crowd and grabbed her by the arm.

“Eh?” Lelia squeaked, craning her head. Serge stood there in a suit. “Serge?!”

He flashed a pearly white smile, but his expression soon sobered. “Lelia, come with me.” He pulled her along without giving her the chance to refuse.

Lelia was dumbstruck at first but quickly said, “W-wait! Hold up a second, would you? Where are we going?!”

Serge was headed straight for the cave.

 

***

 

An announcement boomed through the venue. Time was almost up for the nobility from the Six Great Houses, which meant we had to hurry. We’d been having so much fun together that we’d completely spaced it out. It wasn’t until we heard the announcement that we started hurrying to the cave.

“M-my apologies, but are we still in time to enter?” Miss Louise asked the person at the entrance.

They hesitated, a bit puzzled, before saying, “You still have time, but—”

“Then we’re going in. Excuse us.” Miss Louise yanked my hand, pulling me into the cave. A number of lanterns were strung about along the way, making it far brighter inside than I’d anticipated. It reminded me of paper lanterns at festivals back in Japan.

“They sure light it up in here,” I said.

“Y-yes, they sure do… Phew. I’m exhausted,” Miss Louise huffed, breathless after our sprint. She put a hand to her chest, trying to compose herself. “I would have regretted it for the rest of my life if we failed to make it in time.”

“No need to worry. If we hadn’t made it, we could have just used our influence to force our way in.”

“That’s true, but I’m reluctant to do such things…”

Despite being the villainess, Louise seemed opposed to abusing her power. It made me wonder: How could a person like this have been a villainess to begin with? I’d had the same doubts with Angie.

What is up with the villainesses in these games?

“Well, then I could have just come back next year if you needed me to.”

Louise paused. “Leon, are you completely unaware of what you’re doing? You’re on track to become a womanizer if you keep that up.”

“No worries. I’m completely faithful to my fiancées.”

“One might argue that by virtue of being engaged to two women, you’re already unfaithful.”

We continued that silly banter as we made our way down the path toward the cave. They had smoothed out the dirt so it was even and easy to traverse. However, tree roots still protruded from the ceiling and walls. I tried to touch one and found it gnarled and damp. Moss grew over the top of the small branches jutting out from it.

Miss Louise pressed her body close to mine. “Honestly, I wanted to come here with Leon when he got better. We promised each other. Yet I didn’t get to spend that New Year’s with him.”

Personally, I thought she was a little too hung up on the kid, but that was her business; I had no right to stick my nose in.

For now, I’m just here to play his substitute.

“At least you’ll be able to keep your promise,” I said.

“But you know, he broke so many of his own. There were a number of others.”

“What, so he made a lot of false promises?”

Miss Louise shook her head. “No, nothing like that.” Her voice rose with anger for a moment, contorting her face slightly, but it soon softened again. “He said that he’d save me when I found myself in a bind. He was supposed to become the Guardian and receive the crest, and he swore he’d be a great one.”

Those were some pretty impressive vows for a kid. I definitely couldn’t spout stuff like that. I was more likely to say something like “Ugh, a Guardian? What a pain.”

Miss Louise pressed her hand over her mouth, muffling her laughter. “Now that I think about it, he was very precocious for his age. He even gave me a ring made of paper…” Her voice trailed off and her smile fell, leaving only sadness in its wake.

“So he professed his feelings for you, huh? Yep, that’s not something I could do.”

“That’s right. You have a sister, don’t you? I believe you said something about her setting a bomb on your Armor or something? I assume you were joking, yes?”

“Nope, that was the truth. She tried to kill me.”

Granted, Jilk—the conniving, malicious bastard—was the one who’d actually made her do it. She was still a terrible sister, though.

“Y-you sure do have a difficult family. Are…you sure you don’t want to join ours?”

I chuckled. “That’s a great idea. I’m tempted to take you up on that. I mean it. For a moment, I actually entertained the notion—but I have my parents and brothers to think about.”

I wasn’t really in a position to ask House Rault to adopt me, and it would probably only cause more trouble for me anyway. If only I hadn’t had other obligations…but alas. My parents were extraordinarily kind, and my brothers had taken good care of me. The only real issue was my dirtbag of an older sister, Jenna. My little sister was a bit off her rocker too.

Wait a second. Doesn’t that mean that, if not for those two, my family would be perfect? Let’s think about this for a sec. In my previous life, Marie also gave me no end of grief. That basically means sisters are like my own personal curse.

“Oh, so you get along well with everyone except your older sister,” Miss Louise observed.

“Actually, I’m not on good terms with my younger sister either. Little sisters are the worst.”

Marie had been a thorn in my side in my last life and was proving to be a pain in the ass in this life too.

 

***

 

Serge dragged Lelia along until they reached the inside of the cave.

“Hey, what’s the big idea, making me come here with you?! Emile and I were going to…” Lelia had been meant to enter with Emile, but now Serge had pulled her along without giving her a chance to get away. When he finally released her, Lelia retreated to one of the walls, Ideal floating beside her.

“I cannot approve of what you’re doing,” the robot admonished Serge softly. “You shouldn’t force a woman to come with you to a place like this.”

Lelia knew all about the New Year’s Festival, specifically about how the cave was a place for lovers. Being here with Serge could only spell trouble.

“People saw us come in together! How am I supposed to explain this to Emile?” Lelia demanded.

Serge had been silent, but he finally turned toward her, expression solemn. He placed a hand on the wall, caging her as he leaned forward, bringing the tip of his nose close enough to brush hers. “Lelia, forget about Emile. He abandoned you to talk to other people.”

How does he know about that? she wondered. Lelia narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell me you—”

“I called in a favor and asked someone to pull Emile away. I told ’em not to force it, though. It was his choice not to leave and come get you.”

Lelia dropped her gaze to her feet. Emile really doesn’t understand women at all. I knew he was serious about work when I picked him, but I never realized he was such a bore.

It made her recall the man she’d been engaged to in her previous life. Unlike with Emile, she’d actually enjoyed that relationship immensely…until it fell apart. That had given her a great deal to reflect on, which was why she’d picked someone as disciplined as Emile this time around. There was something lacking in their relationship, to be sure, but Lelia had no intention of betraying him.

“Serge, enough of this.”

“Why? I love you more than he does.”

“It’s easy enough to say that, but—mrgh?!”

“Oh my, how bold,” Ideal said.

Serge stopped Lelia mid-sentence by slamming his lips against hers. She couldn’t speak, not at all. She tried to fight back, but he was too strong for her to put up much resistance, let alone escape. …Not that she was trying hard to get away.

Several minutes passed with them rooted in place. When Serge finally pulled away, Lelia again dropped her gaze to the floor. Her heart was fluttering; she shared a passion with Serge that she’d never felt with Emile.

As her ears turned bright red, he whispered, “I’m serious about you, Lelia. I mean it: I want you. As soon as I found out you and Emile were engaged, I was at a loss. You have no idea how frustrating it was. It was like my whole world went pitch-black.”

Serge spoke so earnestly that it was hard to imagine he was being anything other than serious, and his attitude made clear that he wasn’t going to release her until he had an answer.

“Lelia, I want us to be a family together. A real family.”

“A family?” she echoed.

Ideal seemed to read the atmosphere and kept silent. He didn’t even bother trying to interject.

“Serge, I… I’m sorry. I can’t do it.”

Crestfallen, Serge’s eyes slid half-shut. “All right. Sorry for the trouble.”

As the air turned awkward, Ideal faced the entrance of the inner cave. “Oh, that’s right; I wasn’t supposed to interrupt you. However, it seems the people who came in after us have already caught up.”

Indeed, Louise was standing at the entrance. She sped over to Lelia and Serge. “What do you two think you’re doing?!” she demanded, likely because she’d seen the kiss.

Serge sneered at her at first, but when he spotted the person who appeared behind her, he gaped.

Noticing something amiss, Lelia said, “Serge?”

Louise stepped toward her. “Lelia, are you here of your own free will?”

“N-no! I mean…” She tried to explain that Serge had dragged her in here, but she was interrupted when he slammed his fist against the wall.

Both girls turned their gazes to him. Serge was trembling with anger, glowering at Louise. “What the hell’s going on here, Louise? Who is he?!”

Louise retreated a step, and the boy she’d brought with her inserted himself between her and Serge.

“Why hello there. It hasn’t been long at all since we last met,” Ideal said, faithfully greeting the newcomer.

 

***

 

What’s with this guy?

I’d finally come face-to-face with the final love interest, but he was acting all strange. The hostility he’d turned on me was off the charts. Was this hatred I was sensing? Loathing? And if so, what for?

Okay, sure, I had kind of kicked up a fuss while I was here, but I hadn’t done anything to this dude personally. So why did he seem to detest me so much?

Serge’s brow was wrinkled as he glared at me, blood trickling down the fist he’d slammed into the wall. He was so overcome with emotion that the pain didn’t seem to register.

“Huh? Uh, if I’m not mistaken, this is our first meeting, right?” I said, glancing at the other people in the room to confirm I wasn’t crazy.

Lelia looked flabbergasted, but Miss Louise seemed to understand what was going on.

“It is your first meeting, yes. Serge, this is the man Father spoke of. The one he wanted to introduce you to.”

Serge stepped closer. “And who are you?” He acted like he was ready to start throwing punches at the drop of a hat.

Great. I’ve met another pain in the ass.

Were all of the love interests troublemakers or was it just me? I was so desensitized to it by this point that finding Serge itching for a fight didn’t even surprise me. At most, I registered it with an, Aha, so this is the kinda guy I’m dealing with.

“Pleasure to meet you. I am Leon Fou Bartfort. I’m originally from Holfort Kingdom, but I’m studying abroad—gah!”

Serge socked me in the face right in the middle of my introduction. I was sent reeling backward and collapsed on my ass.

Miss Louise rushed to my side and helped me back up. “Leon! Serge, do you have any idea what you’ve just done?! This man is a foreign noble. If you so much as injure him—”

I held a hand over my aching nose and glanced up at Serge, who was breathing erratically. Even Lelia seemed stunned at the unprovoked violence.

“Wh-why would you do that? Serge, what’s wrong with you?” Lelia asked.

Serge’s eyes were glued on Miss Louise. “Leon, huh? So what? You found my replacement?”

“I have no idea what conclusions you’re jumping to, but apologize to Leon. I mean it. You cannot even begin to fathom the repercussions for the stunt you just pulled.”

“To hell with that! This guy’s got the same name and same face as your little brother. The fact that you’re here with him can only mean one thing!”

One thing? And what thing is that?

Miss Louise was just trying to fulfill her promise to her younger brother. I opened my mouth to complain, but Luxion swept in.

“Another mess in the making, I see. Master, you sure do love to get into trouble.”

“It’s not like I wanted him to sucker punch me, you know,” I snapped.

“Very well. Shall I dispose of him then?”

As usual, Luxion was going way over the top, and as usual, I tried to put a stop to it, but Ideal beat me to the punch, as it were.

“Oh? You have a rather extreme relationship. But Luxion, I don’t believe that would be a wise choice.”

“He is the one who launched a pre-emptive strike,” said Luxion.

“It’s dangerous to assume you can deal with everything by simply disposing of it.”

Huh. This AI is saner than I would have expected. It actually made me wonder if the two AI that I had come into contact with were defective.

As Miss Louise continued to bicker with Serge, I breathed a sigh. “Anyway, let’s just get this whole prayer thing over with so we can get out of here. And you!” I pointed a finger at Serge. “Once we’re out of here, I’m going to pay you back.”

I always got my revenge, after all. He was going to learn that the hard way.

“Oh yeah? Then why don’t we do this right here and now?” Serge tried to come at me again, but Lelia launched herself forward, clinging to his arm.

“Serge, wait! This guy really is dangerous. I promise I’ll explain later. For now, let’s just go.”

Serge dropped his fists. “Tch. Fine. Let’s go deeper in, Lelia.”

Miss Louise pulled out a handkerchief and used it to help stop the blood pouring out of my nose. “I’m so sorry about this. I had no idea he’d be here. I can’t apologize enough.”

I could hardly blame her, seeing her obvious depression.

“Let’s get these prayers done,” I said. “We still haven’t fulfilled your promise yet, have we?”

“All right.”

We followed after Serge and Lelia, heading for the monument located farther in.

 

***

 

“This is way smaller than I thought it would be.”

When I’d heard the Sacred Tree was guarding a monument, I’d expected something huge and imposing, but it was actually pretty tiny. The tree had, however, wrapped its roots in such a way as to protect it.

“Okay, so we just need to pray to this thing?” I asked.

Miss Louise nodded. “Clasp your hands together. Yes, like that. Then close your eyes and pray. They say that if your prayers and wishes reach the tree, it will actually respond.”

Serge, who was still throwing a hissy fit, snorted derisively. “That’s just a load of crap they feed the kids. I mean it has to be, right? ’Cause if the tree actually did listen to people’s wishes, your little brother wouldn’t be dead. Or maybe…the truth is you never prayed for him to begin with.”

Miss Louise wrapped her arms around herself.

Even Lelia felt uncomfortable with the situation. “Serge, let’s just pray and get out of here.”

“Yeah. As long as I can finish what I came here to do, I don’t really give a crap.”

As he prayed, I scowled at him. “You’re a real piece of work.”

“What’s that?”

I kept my mouth shut and closed my eyes to pray.

Suddenly, the ground beneath us shook. I opened my eyes and panicked as I realized that light was spilling out of Miss Louise.

“Huh? Wh-what’s going on?” she stammered. She was just as lost as I was. The crest on the back of her hand was glowing too.

“Luxion, can you tell me what’s going on?!” I asked, desperate.

“I am uncertain.”

Lelia turned to Ideal. “Any idea what this is?”

“I am currently looking into it. Oh? It seems…”

A voice suddenly echoed through the cave. No… It wasn’t in the cave; it was in my head.

“Offer a…to flower…top of the…human…”

“What was that?” I held a hand to my head as I scanned the area, but there was no other presence in the room.

Luxion gazed up at the ceiling. “The Sacred Tree is sending us a message.”

“A plant is talking to us?!”

“I do believe it would be best not to think of the Sacred Tree as an ordinary plant. At any rate, I have finished parsing what we just witnessed.” He proceeded to play back the voice we had just heard, though this time it was much clearer, and the contents of its command were horrifying.

“Offer a girl to the flower at the top of the tree: a human sacrifice.”

“A human what now?” My eyes turned to Miss Louise, who had crumpled to her knees and once again had her arms tightly wrapped around herself. “Miss Louise!”

I threw my arms around her as well to pull her up. Knowing the circumstances in the republic and everything else that had been going on, I had a bad feeling about this.

My voice turned hard as I turned to the others. “Listen to me. Don’t speak of this to anyone after we leave.”

Lelia was taken aback. “B-but…”

“I mean it! I’ll take care of this. So you’d better not breathe a word.”

I kept an arm around Miss Louise as we headed for the exit.

She mumbled something as we went. “I heard a voice.”

“It’s all right,” I told her. “I won’t let you be sacrificed. As long as we don’t say anything, no one will ever know.”

“No. No, that’s not what I mean,” she said, breathless. “I heard Leon’s voice. I mean, I can still hear his voice.”

“What…?”

She was trembling, tears rolling down her cheeks.

 

***

 

Louise continued to lean on Leon for support as a familiar voice trickled into her ear. It sounded just like the little brother she had lost, but he seemed to be in a great deal of pain.

“It hurts… Big Sis… Save me…”

Louise clamped her hands over her ears, but he spoke directly into her head. The source seemed to be the crest on her right hand. And he sounded so, so miserable.

“I’m scared, Big Sis. I… I’m so lonely. I’m all alone inside the tree.”

The tears fell faster. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Leon. I swear I’ll save you. So please, just…hold on a little longer.” Once she imagined her helpless little brother trapped in the tree, she couldn’t stop sobbing. “I promise I’ll be with you soon.”

The little brother she’d been unable to save all those years ago was calling out to her, begging to see her again. From Louise’s perspective, that was reason enough to agree to be sacrificed.

As she sniffled, Ideal called to her. “Are you all right? You say you’re hearing some kind of voice?”

“Yes, I can hear it… My little brother.”

“What kind of voice is it?”

“He sounds like he’s in pain,” she said. “I have to save him… I have to save Leon. I can’t fail him this time.”

“Even if it means sacrificing your own life?” Ideal asked.

As she nodded, Leon batted the robot away. “What’s the big idea, huh?!”

“Oh, pardon me. She just seemed to be in a state of confusion, so I was trying to gather information. Hm? It seems it would be prudent for you to hurry out of here.”

Leon continued guiding Louise toward the exit. “Miss Louise, please don’t say anything to anyone once we get out of here. Got it?”

Louise understood that Leon was trying to protect her, but she was beginning to think of his actions as unwanted meddling.

I know you’re worried about me, but…I’m sorry. I have to go to him. This is the least I can do to make up for everything.

 

***

 

As everyone else rushed to flee the cave, Ideal lingered behind and gazed at the monument. He remained floating there for a while, at least until a distant voice called him.

“Ideal, where are you?!”

Slowly, he drifted toward the exit. By the time he made his way back to Lelia, he was his normal self.

“My apologies for my slowness.”

“This isn’t the kind of time to dillydally!” she snapped.