04

Ains continued.

“I’ll say it plainly. After we leave, someone else will take it from her. It might not be right away, but someday she will definitely be exploited by someone.”

Livestock that are only ever fed never seek more. They never think to hunt and obtain food for themselves.

“What you said earlier, Sophia, is nothing more than a temporary fix for her. Right now her injuries are gone thanks to the potion, but next time she might suffer the same wounds—or even greater pain and despair.”

“H-However, Ains-sama. In the past, you saved that boy, Rito.”

Sophia looked into Ains’s blue eye and his clouded eye, but her usual sharp gaze was gone.

“Rito chose it. He wanted power, even if it meant sacrificing himself. He wanted to save his sister. He chose to take a step toward change, without flinching from that fear.”

Compared to that, Ains looked down at the girl.

“She doesn’t move forward. She doesn’t try to change… and I’m not kind enough to serve a full-course dinner to a filthy rat like that.”

Ains firmly brushed away the girl’s clinging hand.

His words were far too harsh for her. After reflecting on her own circumstances, the unconscious hope she had clung to was rejected outright.

“I-I can too…”

“Did you say something?”

Ains asked calmly as he looked down at the girl, whose tears fell onto the ground.

“I can too! If I could do it! If I could change! …From here—”

Her words were cut off by sobbing and large tears spilling forth.

Ains lost interest in the girl who had collapsed in tears, and instead felt a question arise about something she had said earlier.

“Come to think of it, Sophia. What was that thing she mentioned earlier—‘seiivutsu’? I’ve never heard that before, but you seemed to know it.”

The coldness from before was gone, and Ains’s tone had returned to normal. Sophia hesitated for a moment.

“Y-Yes. She meant a ‘holy relic.’ I am familiar with it.”

“A holy relic?”

“Yes. Holy relics are often found in ‘objects’ such as pendants, swords, or books, and the objects themselves generate magical power. They are commonly discovered among the personal belongings of renowned heroes, kings, or imperial families. It is rare for one to appear as an unremarkable keepsake belonging to someone unknown, like that girl.”

An object that generates magical power on its own. Hearing that, one thing came to Ains’s mind.

“Then the collection of notes you all call the ‘Original Canon’… could that be one too?”

“Yes. The Original Canon and the remains of a saint are among the most famous holy relics.”

Sophia nodded in response.

“The remains of a saint? A saint… I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere before…”

Ains tilted his head, digging through his hazy memories.

“Yes! The saints referred to here are only two! Lord Evan of the Ains Domain, and Lady Silica, the t—”

Sophia had been speaking with admiration, but realized mid-sentence what she had just said in front of Ains.

“…Evan-san and Silica…? I didn’t recognize the name ‘Ains Domain,’ but that place was definitely Tas Village…”

Ains followed that line of thought, and the outside world—its culture and way of life—which had changed far too much to be explained by only a few years, suddenly connected into a single line.

“……”

“……”

Beside the girl who was still sobbing, both Ains and Sophia stood frozen.

Sophia turned pale, cold sweat pouring down her face after realizing her mistake, while Ains froze in shock at the conclusion he had reached.

The stillness was broken by Ains’s voice.

“…Sophia.”

“H-Ha, ha, yes.”

“…Are Silica and Evan-san dead?”

Ains asked in a lowered voice, without lifting his head.

“……”

Sophia’s face turned even paler as she froze.

“How much time has passed since they died?”

Even at Ains’s further question, Sophia remained silent.

For her, both dodging the truth and stating it plainly were equally terrifying, leaving her unable to speak.

“…Sophia.”

At that point, Sophia resigned herself.

“Y-Yes. ………Since Lord Evan and Lady Silica passed away… about two thousand years… have elapsed.”

Her voice was faint, only slightly louder than the girl’s sobbing.

“…Two thousand years, huh. I see.”

Ains muttered quietly.

It frightened Sophia so much that she turned her face away, peeking at Ains’s expression from the corner of her eye.

Ains fell silent. After some time passed, his shoulders began to tremble.

“…Heh, heh… hahahahaha.”

“A-Ains-sama…?”

Sophia felt an eerie chill as Ains suddenly began to laugh.

“Hahaha! I knew things had changed, but to think they’d changed this much!”

Ains lifted his face. Tears streamed from his eyes.

“Two thousand years… incredible. Where did it diverge? Why? This gap between my sense of time and the actual flow of time… magic? No, that’s unlikely. …Sorcery? Yes, sorcery. When? By whom? …Could it be that sorcery reached that point somewhere beyond my knowledge? And why now?”

“I deeply apologize! We thought this would sadden you, Ains-sama, so Captain Gaus and I agreed to tell you only after you had settled down and organized your thoughts…”

Sophia bowed deeply, flustered by Ains’s tears.

“Saddened? Me? Sophia, does this look like the face of someone who’s sad? It’s the opposite, the opposite! I’m happy. Ah, the world looks so vivid now—completely different!”

“Y-You are… pleased? Th-That is good to hear.”

“Yes! Thank you, Sophia! I’ll have to thank Captain Gaus as well!”

Ains spread his one remaining arm wide and looked up at the sky.

“Ah, I want to know it—that sorcery. No matter what, I want to obtain it…”

Ains murmured, savoring his elation.

Beside him, Sophia stood stunned by his unexpected reaction.