Drip… drip…
It was raining, and the cold wind shook the hem of her clothes. The drizzle that initially wet her shoulders gradually thickened and intensified. Her hair was soaked, and rainwater ran down to the road from the tip of her chin. Nevertheless, Julie remained unchanged.
She was still waiting for Deculein at the entrance to the Yukline manor.
“…”
As if signaling the end of that waiting, a car approached in the distance, through the heavy rain that fell like a veil over the world.
Screech-
The wheels stopped as Julie stared at the car. Soon, the door opened, and Deculein stepped out. He didn’t need an umbrella; the rainwater didn’t pass through his Psychokinesis.
Stomp, stomp.
Stomp, stomp.
He approached in the rain and looked down at her. His gaze was cold, with the eyes of someone looking at a tool that had run its usefulness dry.
“Julie. I should have told you that the escort mission was already over.”
Deculein’s voice was cold. His appearance from before, saying with a small smile that a month was enough and that he would change for her, was now gone.
“…Professor.”
Julie ground her teeth. She looked up at Deculein through her wet, swaying hair.
“I have heard it all.”
“What.”
“What you said to Josephine-“
“Did you always have a hobby of eavesdropping?”
Deculein wore a genuinely contemptuous expression. Julie felt a piercing pain in her heart.
“You are growing more shameful each day.”
“…”
The emotions in Julie’s eyes faded. Deculein’s derogatory glare shone upon those empty eyes.
“Really…”
Now, it was over. Julie thought so. There was no excuse.
“Was it all acting? Just a mask you wore?”
Her voice came out as little more than a whisper, hoping that this was the last time. At that trembling question, Deculein’s lips twisted.
“You were arrogant to think that only you could change me. Is that it?”
“…Oh.”
Julie’s lips parted. The words she had readied and the questions she had prepared lingered in her mind and then disappeared. Unknowingly, she laughed.
“Ha. As expected, you…”
She clenched her fists, anger welling in her heart. She was too stupid to have believed him. He’s Deculein. He’s no one else but Deculein. He was the most heinous of all and more vicious than any other…
“I will let the world know! How Veron died! Why he had to die by your hands!”
Then, Deculein’s brow furrowed. It was only a moment before he smirked.
“You will regret it.”
“It will never happen.”
“…”
“All this time, I believed in you… I feel like a moron.”
Rain ran down Julie’s eyes, hiding her tears. Deculein looked at her.
“Good. If so, you can look forward to it.”
Then he nodded with a cold, emotionless face. Deculein passed her and entered the mansion. Julie stared at his back as he walked away.
Swooooosh…
The rain pounded down on her, sharp as glass, but she did not attempt to move or hide from it.
“Please leave now. This is the master’s order.”
Then the secretary, Ren, approached. Julie turned around without answering.
“…”
Her heart was pounding, but the pain was okay. This was tolerable. No, she could overcome it…
* * *
Dawn crept upon the earth. Thanks to the regular rainy season, the sounds of nature were colorful. Raindrops that were disturbed by hitting leaves, raindrops that fell and broke upon the road’s surface, and raindrops that were whisked away by the wind… all of them had different rhythms.
I discerned each of them with the five senses of the Iron Man as I examined the Snowflake Obsidian.
「Understanding: 43.1%」
The understanding of the Snowflake Obsidian had progressed rapidly. Now the remaining time required would be about half a year. For half a year I….
— Brother. It’s ready~.
Josephine’s voice echoed around me. I looked at the crystal ball on the other side of the room.
—Just tell me when to start~. The Knights will be destroyed immediately.
“…Okay.”
—Good, brother.
“I’m no longer your brother.”
—Huhu.
After that laugh, I hung up. The more I thought about it, the more sociopathic she seemed.
“…”
I saw darkness outside the window. Now, the Knights of Freyhem would fall, and Julie would return to her hometown, Freyden. She would nurture her hate of Deculein there until she hated him more than anyone else. Continuing like that…
[Independent Quest 3333: Eternal Winter]
Eternal Winter, this was Julie’s independent scenario. The standard royal road where she could never die. I quietly closed my eyes. Until a few hours ago, I had been suffering from extreme cold and speaking with a giant, but throwing Julie away was even more painful than that.
But I could stand it. In exchange for disassembling the Ghost Castle, I gained Mental Strength. Of course, it was only +1, but one shouldn’t underestimate any addition of mental power already added to this base of superhuman mental fortitude. By analogy, it was a cup that could overflow with just one more drop. If I obtained any more now, I thought I could even survive Sophien’s return at least once.
[ Rare Attribute Catalog ]
So, for now, this rare attribute catalog was my concern. I forcibly shifted the flow of my thoughts to search for it. The most striking attribute was toughness. It was an attribute that simply increased mental strength and endurance. Would this boost my psyche enough, or should I acquire other helpful traits…?
I still needed more time to decide. It was also foolish to waste it as soon as I received the reward.
At that moment-
—Hey.
Another voice called me. This time it was Ihelm.
—Are you listening?
It was the crystal ball that Adrienne, the board chairman, handed out, saying, ‘Communicate with each other and compete in good faith.’
—I saw a strange thing on the Floating Island. Hey. Aren’t you going to answer?
I held the crystal in my hand.
“I am listening.”
—Okay.
Ihelm chuckled and continued. I didn’t know what was funny, though.
—Leaf was on the Floating Island.
“It’s not strange that a wizard went to the Floating Island.”
-No. There’s something strange about it. She said that Decalane appeared in her dream.
“…”
Just then, the moon began to ascend, full in form but covered by dark clouds. The quiet moonlight permeated through the window.
—Actually, me too. I saw Decalane on Ghost Island. It looks like Decalane hasn’t given up on Leaf. What do you think, Deculein?
Decalane. Just as Julie’s independent quest was Eternal Winter, Deculein’s independent quest was his family, which meant Decalane. Therefore, I still had work to do. I hadn’t given up yet.
Although I was running out of time to release Julie now, the route for clearing the quest would have to be two or more.
“Decalane…”
I stood from my chair and looked around. One neatly organized book focused on only one subject – pharmacology – caught my attention. Almost all grassroots herbs and elixirs in the world were collected inside. My way to heal her curse.
“…I won’t lose.”
No matter what I sacrificed, no matter how many years it required. I must…
-Haha. Really? You won’t lose? Me too. By the way, that Decalane-
“I’m hanging up.”
-What? Hey. The competition for the chairman is almost over now, but let’s cooperate…
“I’ll go up to the Floating Island soon.”
I hung up. Ihelm’s help wouldn’t change much, but there was no reason for me to throw away the guy.
“…It looks like I’ll be quite busy.”
I put my coat back on.
* * *
Yeriel provided Epherene with a training ground: the famous hotel Mana Diplosion on the Floating Island. The higher the floor, the higher the concentration of mana, so it was a suitable place to train any type of magic. Among them, the highest floor was created in the name of Yukline.
“Ugh…”
Sylvia, Rose Rio, Gindalf, and the others were eating at the hotel restaurant while Epherene was still working on her mental strength training. But, it was proving too difficult a job for her. It would be better to use magic instead, but mental power was completely different…
“It’s not going well?”
Yeriel, who was reading a book on the couch, asked. Epherene took a deep breath before answering.
“Yes… I guess so.”
She had been stuck on it for three days already. Carla was supposed to come back in two more.
“What kind of great defense mechanism are you trying to create? Are you trying to put a magic circle in your head?”
Saying that Yeriel closed the book. Epherene offered her a bitter smile. She was trying to construct the defense mechanism of her mental power. He wasn’t her favorite person, and he was complicated enough to hate, but he was still the most reliable. It wasn’t an easy task to embody the person who she could confidently say was the proof of her reality — Deculein.
“No way, you.”
Then, suddenly, Yeriel’s expression stiffened. Epherene was greatly perplexed. She was also the Professor’s sister, so did she notice already-
“You didn’t think of an archmage like Demakan, did you?”
“…Yes? Oh, yeah.”
Epherene swallowed her sigh of relief and answered.
“I’ve never met him.”
“Really? Then, well. If possible, make something like a lion. Dragons are too complicated.”
Yeriel pulled out another book, another magic text. The purpose Yeriel set herself to while taking a break from her Lord business for a while was only magic. She appeared to be learning magic secretly away from Deculein. It didn’t matter if she was caught, but it would be awkward if he heard about it.
“Oho… these days, this is how you learn these kinds of things, huh….”
Yeriel skimmed through Epherene’s major tomes. It was really fun, much more than being in an amusement park.
“Whew…”
On the other hand, Epherene calmed her body with a sigh. But Gindalf’s words kept coming to mind.
─Try to be as calm as possible, but it is better to finish it as quickly as you can. Decalane is dead, but ghosts remember people they once met. We never know when he could show up again.
Decalane could attack at any time. The strange thing was, what the hell did he want? For the Yukline family, Professor Deculein suited being a target more.
“Whew…”
Epherene closed her eyes again. She began to envision a system of her mental strength. Then, the door of the hotel opened. Epherene and Yeriel glanced up without thinking, at first expecting to find that Rose Rio and Gindalf had returned.
They were wrong.
“Huh! Brother?!”
“…!”
Deculein walked in alongside Ihelm. Yeriel, astonished, sat a little straighter. She swallowed and looked at Deculein.
“Yeriel.”
“What, what! I also came here to study magic. Why? Do I have to ask permission to do that too?!”
Yeriel, her legs numb from sitting for too long, showed an aggressive stance.
“Go outside for a moment.”
“…Huh? Oh, yes. Yes.”
If so, it meant that she wasn’t Deculein’s target. Nodding, Yeriel left. Deculein turned to Epherene next, who was now alone.
“Epherene.”
“Yes? W-What’s wrong…?”
“It’s a private class.”
“…Ah?”
Deculein had come to hear the news about Decalane. Epherene scratched the back of her neck.
“I know how to do it. To make that mental guardian-“
“No. Now, Decalane appears using unconsciousness as his medium. Therefore, I will bury a magic circle in your subconscious mind.”
Epherene’s dreams would be implanted with a protective magic circle directly in her subconscious. Deculein was inspired by a movie he had seen before. For that to work, he also borrowed the Magic Engineering Brainwave Explorer from the tower.
“Get ready. I will use this machine.”
“Aha. Then, you know…”
Epherene thought for a moment with her finger to her mouth.
“…Could it be possible to also install my mental guardian there as well?”
“It doesn’t matter if you can do it.”
In response to Deculein’s answer, Epherene nodded.
“Okay then, Professor.”
Deculein made himself busy fiddling with this and that. Intense preparation was required to use the 「Magic EEG Explorer」.
“Professor, please put me to sleep.”
At that moment, Deculein’s hand stopped.
“…”
His head creaked and turned, his sharp eyes locking onto Epherene. He clearly didn’t understand what she meant.
“Pffft-!”
Ihelm, watching them, burst into laughter. In that bizarre situation, Epherene explained further.
“And come to my dreams… always.”
“Fufufu-!”
Ihelm let out an even louder laugh, and a gust of wind buzzed from the ceiling of the hotel, swaying threateningly. It was a bitter gale.
“…”
“Why, why are you looking at me that way… oh! Don’t get me wrong. It’s because…”
However, Deculein’s gaze was still fixed on Epherene.
* * *
…Meanwhile, Sophien woke up early in the morning and immediately checked the Snow Globe. The inside scenery was ordinary as usual, with no changes she could detect.
“When are you coming out? This knight bastard.”
Sophien still lacked resistance to the cold. Therefore, she could not go inside again. She had to trust Keiron and wait.
—Knock, knock.
Sophien had sent out an order last night. It was a bit annoying when the situation arrived, but she could do nothing to avoid Deculein’s nagging.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and the approaching servants bowed their heads to Sophien. They handed her the newspaper.
“Your Majesty, this is the beginning of the day-“
At that moment, the servant’s voice was distorted, and Sophien’s space changed from the splendid bedroom to the grotesque ruins.
“…”
Sophien looked around calmly, her eyes searching this new space full of spider webs and evil energy. In this strange ruin, the servant’s voice echoed faintly.
-The beginning of the day – The beginning of the day – The beginning of the day – The beginning of the day…
But the reverberation disappeared and in the very next moment.
“…Your Majesty?”
Sophien found herself in the Imperial Palace again.
“Hmm. Okay.”
Sophien nodded.
“Did you look at me?”
“Yes?”
“Just now, was I still here?”
“Yes…? Yes. Your Majesty has stood here all this time.”
“…Then, it’s a demon.”
“Yes?!”
It was a smell she had once experienced before, that dark and creepy demonic energy. Naturally, she was about to say ‘Call Deculein-,’ but instead, she stood a bit taller, feeling uncomfortable.
“Hmm…”
If that guy truly loved her, he would misunderstand this. ‘In the absence of Keiron, the only shoulder on which Her Majesty can lean on is me-‘ he might have arrogant thoughts like that.
“…Gosh.”
It was easy to understand the physical world and the magical realm, the universe and its phenomena, but human relationships were truly chaos and madness. Even if Deculein didn’t love her, if there was a risk that he did, she needed to be a little careful.
“This time, let me figure out the answer.”
Not with sloth and boredom, but with her power.
Sophien smiled like a true ruler.