That day, the social gathering passed quietly as usual. Rebecca managed to get through it somehow.
But the palace wasn’t that spacious, so if another event was scheduled, Rebecca would have to face Eve again.
Of course, as befits the position of a princess, their distance wasn’t close, but the problem was that the adults kept trying to tie the children together with other children.
It was half a year.
For a whole half year, Rebecca had to keep running into Eve in the palace, at banquets, at events, at the swordsmanship training ground and so on.
“???”
Every time that happened, Eve came over with a bright smile.
“......!”
She hated that lack of distance.
That kind smile, was painful.
The more she looked at that kid, the more everything about her was nobler than herself.
‘Why is she white, and why am I dirty?’
Talent in swordsmanship. A nature that gives people smiles. Expressions and actions that sometimes, when you look, seem kind...
The comparisons spread like a plague and broadened their range.
At some point, Rebecca began to think more and more that she was ugly.
Although she was only ten years old, Rebecca had never once in her life harbored dissatisfaction with her looks. Even so, when she looked in the mirror, she started to feel strangely bad.
“Why do my eyes look so dirty...?”
She pulled down the outer corners of her eyes with both hands a few times.
Rebecca’s breathing began to grow rough. She pressed her lips shut alone and snorted through her nose, then met the eyes of herself in the mirror again. Her stomach surged; she grabbed a cosmetics case.
Then she smashed the mirror.
Clang!!
The glass shattered, and shards flew and grazed her cheek. Then she felt considerably better.
‘Ignore it. Ignore it... Walk my own path.’
But a few days later, the situation reversed beyond control.
At the time, Rebecca had no proper sparring partner, so she often sparred with wooden swords against her half-brother, the prince “Joshua.”
That kid, who had properly inherited the blood of King Hiaka III, Swordsmith of the Kingdom, was a few years younger yet better at swordsmanship than Rebecca.
It was fine.
Isn’t he a boy?
But the inferiority complex made Rebecca a bit more headlong, and in the end Joshua’s wooden sword ripped past her neck.
The wound wasn’t deep, but it required treatment.
The next day, her tutor spoke shocking words.
“Starting tomorrow, Baron Lemontree’s young lady, Eve, will serve as Her Highness’s assistant tutor.”
“...Pardon? What did you say? I don’t want that.”
Rebecca, who usually didn’t speak words of refusal, answered reflexively. But the tutor narrowed his eyes.
“Even if you dislike it, it won’t do. Your Highness. It is His Majesty the King’s order.”
“No. No... even so...”
“I’m going to be busy for a while as well, and since Your Highness was hurt too much this time, His Majesty has made special arrangements.”
“...No... Why? Why is it that kid...?”
“As you know, Lady Lemontree is a genius at swordsmanship and does not injure her opponent in sparring. Also, she is about your age. She has a good disposition as well, so you two will be on good terms...”
It felt as if her chest were collapsing.
If that was His Majesty’s order, there was no way to defy it.
Thus the training with the assistant tutor began.
“......!”
Eve came over with a beaming smile as usual.
Then, as if she’d learned etiquette somewhere to put on airs, she bent at the waist before Rebecca with some absurd motion.
It was exasperating.
Even so, she forced herself to attend class a few times and, half-heartedly, swung her sword.
As the days went by, Eve came closer and began to teach her more kindly.
‘Ah.’
Only then did Rebecca realize it perfectly.
‘I can’t do this anymore...’
She had no confidence to endure this time at all.
Swordsmanship, the gentle expression, the temperament that brings smiles to those around. Up to here, it had only been what she felt from seeing at a distance.
Once she drew close, she thought she knew.
She smelled good.
This child had a cool and pleasant fragrance coming from her very body.
It was different from Rebecca, who thought a dirty smell came from her own body every day and washed for an hour.
She was lovable.
It wasn’t simply because of gestures or expressions. She was like snow-white blank paper and transparent water. Once, when Rebecca got annoyed, Eve immediately conveyed a feeling of apology, and it was so very sincere.
The generosity of her heart was lovable.
She was righteous.
When she moved, she even took care to avoid stepping on a single grasshopper.
When a maid tore Eve’s clothes by mistake and was about to be scolded by the head maid, Eve instead comforted the maid and sewed together with her.
At the palace dining hall she kept packing leftover bread into her pockets, and when Rebecca wondered where she took it, she was feeding it to puppies that had secretly whelped in a corner of the palace.
At this time, Rebecca felt that way. If there is such a thing as a protagonist in this world, it would be that person. It wasn’t herself.
At the end of it, a certain day’s lesson.
“...You, you.”
Because they were alone.
Because no one would hear.
Because even if she heard, she couldn’t speak.
“...Don’t get close.”
Rebecca, for the first time, spoke words edged with blades.
“??”
“...Don’t stick to me. You really piss me off.”
“??,,”
Can’t even understand words, can she.
Even so, Eve kept clinging and seemed to ask why.
That kindness was revolting.
“Get lost, please. Just...!”
She pushed with all her strength, but strangely she couldn’t push her away.
Wasn’t it that Eve had actually come to hug her?
Her heart thudded down with disgust. Rebecca slapped Eve’s cheek.
Smack!
She herself was briefly surprised at what she’d done.
Eve, startled, plopped down. Then she looked up at Rebecca with gloomy eyes.
Rebecca tried to run away like that. Because her heart was pounding.
The moment she turned her body, her eyes met those of the palace maids.
The next day, rumors spread far and wide that a rootless princess had assaulted a genius young lady.
Since there was no one who knew the exact reason, the rumor was inflated. She did it because she was pretty. She did it because she was kind. She did it because she was jealous of swordsmanship... even to absurd talk like, the princess is of common birth and was originally a slave of House Lemontree...
For a while, Rebecca slowly went mad under everyone’s gazes.
“.......”
Because she hated, because she was compared, because it was so painful she thought she would die,
“.......”
Rebecca made one plan.
⋮
“I’m sorry. Eve.”
When Rebecca approached carefully, Eve flinched.
“...Because you were [N O V E L I G H T] cool, I was jealous.”
Rebecca apologized a couple of times and gave a careful smile. Then she apologized with sincerity, saying words that couldn’t be heard.
They ate together, and she opened the princess’s wardrobe and accessory room and gifted Eve pretty clothes.
Did those efforts get through?
Eve’s expression also gradually brightened.
“Do you like it?”
“......!”
“Then,”
Rebecca smiled.
“When shall we go out and play together?”
“......!”
Eve also nodded with a smile.
“......Okay.”
Once, Rebecca had been severely scolded by Setian.
It was when she entered his “sanctuary.”
It was only that she went in for a moment, wondering, What is this place? But “Setian,” the grandfather who always smiled benevolently, flew into a rage and sternly rebuked her never to enter again. Shouting. Slamming his fist on the desk. Throwing ceramics so they burst. Rolling up his eyes. For young Rebecca, it was a very shocking memory.
“I’ll go over this way for just a moment, so would you try waiting first in there?”
“......!”
Rebecca shoved Eve into the “sanctuary.”
Eve smiled and waved her hand briskly.
“...Pardon? You’re saying she disappeared?”
The next day she went missing.
***
Eve was a Hero.
A being born to subdue demonfolk, help people, and save the world.
From the time she was young and couldn’t speak, she was instinctively sensitive to “Demon.” Around age ten, her demonization was on hold and her horns had gone back in. However, Eve clearly understood the polluted part of herself.
Eve wanted to become close with Rebecca.
Even to Eve, who knew nothing of the world, Rebecca was special, but that was not the reason.
An instinctive sense. A heart that wanted to become close with that child. It was the destiny of one who, as a Hero, saves comrades.
So when she was slapped on the cheek and cursed at, she was gloomy...
But didn’t she smile at her again?
To be asked to go out and play together, was very joyful.
It would be nice to become friends like no other.
However...
From the moment she entered the sanctuary, Eve began to feel something strange.
Her body was led all by itself.
It was like the “smell of something burning” at home, so to speak. Eve recognized an “omen of danger” that was unpleasant yet absolutely not to be avoided. Then she hurried toward that place.
Deep inside the sanctuary. Multiple entrances to underground passages. Just one, where the smell was thicker.
Inside that.
Eve came to see something shocking.
A vast plaza made up of thousands, tens of thousands of human skulls.
And between the skulls, even a portion of some gigantic skull with three horns, protruding from inside the wall.
‘.......’
She fled out in haste.
It seemed she should. Eve knew that she was still young and weak.
She thought she had fortunately come out of the sanctuary, but Rebecca was nowhere to be seen, and the scenery of the world had strangely changed. It was [Illusion].
“You saw.”
She felt a presence behind her. When she turned, Setian was approaching.
“It would’ve been better if you were blind.”
Before Eve could do anything in response. Thwack—a blade flew and pierced Eve’s heart.
But Eve did not die. The “polluted thing” inside her finally rampaged and sprouted horns on her head.
Setian, too, flustered by that change, poured out [Curses] to the utmost.
First, starting with the 『Curse of Being Forgotten』. Then the 『Curse of Oblivion』, 『Curse of Starvation』, 『Curse of Banishment』, and so on.
Eve somehow succeeded in fleeing the spot, but her life afterward was utter isolation. Despair. Cast out, unable to belong to human society, she lived for ten years soothing herself amid hunger and loneliness.
What surfaced from time to time in her hazy memory was... a memory about a golden-haired, red-eyed girl who had suddenly shoved her into the sanctuary.
And then.
Ten years passed,
now.
When Ilushatacom’s illusion 『Primal Mirror』 was broken.
“.......”
“.......”
Eve met eyes with that girl.
***
『 Armory of the Celestial Soldier 』
The Ultra Bomiteka’s wing root was torn.
「 Giant Soldier’s Sword○ 」
Its jaw was shattered.
『 Radiant Shell 』
The eyeball it pulled out into its mouth, mumbled, and fired burst in midair.
『 Punishment from Heaven』
All the hornless demonfolk it poured from its mouth were shredded.
As expected, it was nothing but buying time, but I did not stop my attack here.
『 Flash Secret of Heaven 』
With the 「Royal Guard Sword」 taken from the Armory of the Celestial Soldier, I thrust into Quan’s chest.
Puhook!
Shards of volcanic glass exploded to pieces from the bastard’s chest. At the same time, Quan’s face shriveled.
“...Kugh, this is nonsense. Heh heh...”
“You talk well.”
“...Really, ugh... It’s fine...”
He trembled with his body in pain and yet laughed.
“Do you read comics...? The scout, ugh..., does not die from this kind of attack... He must survive and, in the final battle, say lines like, ‘Ahh, there’s no way to defeat such a final boss...!!’ ‘Ah! The protagonist is awakening...!!’ ...because of that, you know... And I’m a Constellation, you see...?”
I twisted the sword tip.
“Keuheok...!”
He spewed blood and collapsed.
“Heh heh... It’s fine... I’ve done my part...”
“What is your part.”
“Your boot-camp training... You became too strong, and that was a problem... There’s no choice but to drain your strength like this, right...?”
I left him and turned my body. I had no time to listen to the ravings of this lunatic.
My heart was urgent.