Episode 51

Wartel, capital of the Republic of Ignote.

The water city famed as a tourist destination, the “City of Canals,” now stood at a turning point.

The so-called noble faction—descendants of the nobles who had once ruled the land back in the Principality days—had summoned the water dragon Leviathan, revered as the Water God, to seize control of the nation by force.

In the end, they failed to control it. The dragon ran amok, sinking part of the city into the canals and claiming countless lives.

Though the dragon was ultimately slain by a pair of foreigners who happened to be present, the losses were anything but small.

On top of that, the foreigners’ Unison Link had plunged Wartel into an abnormal state where the canals were frozen solid. Now, the ice was finally beginning to thaw. Little by little, the waterways were returning to what they once were.

“Never thought I’d live to see historic Wartel turned into a silver world… Stay alive long enough and you really do see all sorts of things.”

“Is that your final testament? Do me a favor and stay out of my line of sight; it’s annoying.”

“Wh–How dare you speak that way to President Riedel!?”

On the roof of one of the shelters that had escaped damage—the Fourth Evacuation Shelter—three figures stood together.

Riedel, president of the nation. Kratz, a mere rank-and-file soldier. And Zeke, a tourist from abroad. It was not a combination anyone saw every day.

“It’s all right, Kratz. Young people ought to be this lively.”

“I… I’m not sure ‘lively’ is the right word. It’s more that he’s just incredibly rude…”

Riedel’s defining feature had once been his stern gaze, but right now he wore a cheerful smile, almost like a kindly old grandpa.

“If the man himself is fine with it, what’s your problem? Are you stupid?”

“Why do you always sound so high and mighty…?”

Kratz shrank back at Zeke’s unchanged attitude, even in front of the president. In a way, he decided, maybe Zeke was “fair” to everyone equally.

“The reason I asked you to spare some time today was to thank you properly.”

“No need. It’s a waste of time.”

“That won’t do. As the head of this country, as one who lives in it, and as just another person, I cannot simply leave it at that.”

This incident had been the nation’s own scandal, a civil war. Strictly speaking, it was a problem they should have resolved on their own—yet they had dragged outsiders into it. It was not something that could be brushed aside with a simple “thanks.”

“Hmph. That’s just self-satisfaction on your part. Words are cheap. Anyone can say them.”

“You’re absolutely right. …Even so, we put those feelings into words and convey them. If all you do is think them and never say them, it’s hard to truly communicate. Don’t you agree?”

His tone was that of a man gently offering counsel; his eyes, those of someone who saw straight through the hearts of others.

“Don’t care. If they don’t understand, you just make them understand. As many times as it takes.”

Zeke met his gaze, eyes full of battle-lust. If anyone got in his way, he’d show no mercy. That will came across as plain as day.

“I suppose that, too, is one way to live… Changing the subject, I hear you made some sort of deal with Zepha?”

“A deal…? Oh, right, he mentioned something like that during the questioning. But why would you know about that, Mister President?”

“Just as that fool hid behind several faces, I, too, have another one.”

As president, all kinds of information made their way to him. That business with Zeke had simply been one such topic, he explained.

“The betrayal itself doesn’t change, but if it was a contract he made as Falder, I cannot simply dismiss it.”

“Nice way of putting it.”

It was a small bit of payback aimed at a boy everyone knew would never accept gratitude honestly.

“…Fine. Then have a family register prepared for me. No idea if I’ll use it.”

“Huh? A family register…? Why would you need something like that?”

“The Kingdom of Diabalet. …That country has plenty of darkness of its own.”

Riedel’s eyes drifted far away, as though he were looking back on something from long ago.

“I have an old friend there… He doesn’t know you, but he does know a little about ‘Lagias.’”

“There it is again… I’m pretty sure Lagias is Zeke’s…”

Zeke’s face did not change much, but he did look faintly surprised.

“It makes sense you’d want a register. It’d be a hard place for you to live.”

“Say whatever you like, but don’t talk as if you know everything. You might die.”

The sudden pressure he radiated made both Riedel and Kratz flinch, but it did not feel like true killing intent. It was more like a warning: Do not tread lightly into this.

“I don’t mind. I owe you my life, after all. …For the record, I’d be happy to welcome you into our country right this moment.”

“Are you stupid? In this wrecked state, you really think I’d just say yes? I can already see how hard you’d work me.”

Riedel chuckled wryly, caught red-handed. He was a shrewd one.

“…Here’s a tip for you. The dragon’s relic should be lying at the bottom of the canals. Make sure you recover it.”

The massive gem the noble faction had hidden away. It had been the medium for Leviathan’s summoning, its source of power, and the keystone of Wartel itself.

According to Zeke, it could not only control the canals but also grant permanent enhancements. A dangerous, but valuable, artifact.

“But if we do that, another dragon might appear. Or we could end up like Hofran, with our life force drained away…”

“Try using your head. A dragon isn’t going to crawl back from the underworld without someone summoning it.”

The technique the noble faction had used on Hofran and the others was a form of sorcery called contract magic. It bound the body with the chains of a pact, letting the caster siphon mana—and, in exchange, life force.

“If you only tap a little of its power, the risk is small. Turning it into a weapon is another option.”

“So it all comes down to how you use it… It could easily become a new cause of conflict.”

“If you lot keep fighting like animals, you don’t deserve to exist. That’s your answer.”

His advice was abstract, but very clear. If there was something usable, they had to use it. Wartel needed everything it could get right now.

“Then allow me to offer something as well. If anything happens, we will lend you our strength. You are the benefactor of the Republic of Ignote. …There are limits to what one person can do alone.”

“Relax. I’m not expecting anything from you in the first place.”

Apparently satisfied, Zeke turned and started walking away.

“Zeke! …Really, thank you. We’re alive because of you, and my family is safe too!”

“…”

“If anything happens, I swear we’ll come running. So please… please don’t shut your heart away. I’m sure—everything will be all right.”

Zeke stepped quietly off the roof. By the time Kratz leaned over the edge to look, he was already gone.

The chill still lingered in Wartel, even more so after the sun went down.

In a temporary infirmary set up as an emergency clinic, a single girl slowly opened her eyes.

“Where… am I…?”

It felt as if she had awakened from a long nightmare. She still felt some fatigue, but her heart was light.

A check-up after she woke found no major issues; the doctors said she could leave after a few days of rest.

Now, she was receiving a visitor—a soldier.

“You’re really… that Blood? I still can’t believe it…”

“Who are you?”

“…Kratz. I showed my face, unlike you, remember?”

“…Who?”

“You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you!? Kids these days really do have awful personalities!”

They had permission from the doctor for the visit, but nothing had been said about making a lot of noise. Kratz was promptly scolded.

“Idiot.”

“This is your fault! …Anyway, how are you feeling?”

Her outward appearance had changed drastically, but to Kratz she was still a benefactor. He was busy with reconstruction work, but he had been worried.

“I’m fine… Even though a certain someone sent me flying.”

“I’m pretty sure a lot more happened than just that. It’s a miracle you’re alive at all…”

Kratz had watched the battle from afar. The sheer intensity had made him gasp more times than he could count.

“…I’ve heard the gist of it from him. As far as the official story goes, you’re just an injured victim.”

The sudden fight that had broken out after Leviathan’s disappearance had thrown the citizens into confusion. To them, it had been a battle between two foreign heroes who had saved the country.

“The story is that a warrior consumed by a dragon’s grudge went berserk, and Zeke was the one who subdued him.”

The Yaksha, driven mad by resentment, had died—and rumor had turned it into a touching tale of Zeke ending him in tears. For the record, none of this had been told to Zeke himself.

“I see… So he really did handle everything for me.”

“That’s true for us as well. You helped us too.”

Two foreigners who saved a nation in crisis, and the soldier who connected them to Wartel. Perhaps true hero tales were often the ones no one ever heard.

“So… where is he now?”

“He’s already gone. Disappeared without a word. I was shocked, but… that’s just like him, I guess.”

“I see.”

The girl lowered her head and fell into thought.

“I’m guessing he went back to the Kingdom of Diabalet.”

“That’s pretty far from here… No, with his power, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”

She murmured quietly to herself, looking thoughtful in an intelligent way that Kratz also found a little unsettling.

“Uh, you okay, miss? What are you going to do from here?”

“Let me think… I’m going after him. I owe him my thanks, and there’s so much I want to talk to him about.”

Kratz didn’t know the details, but he knew the Kingdom of Diabalet lay a long way from here. Having a lone girl travel that far would be dangerous, and the journey would be harsh.

Even so, he did not try to stop her. The will shining in her eyes was real and unwavering.

“In that case, you’ll need to get ready. …You’re a hero of the Republic of Ignote too, you know. I hear they’ve prepared a proper reward.”

“…What are you staring at? Creeper.”

“Why!? Why do you and he both treat me like an idiot!?”

Once, she had lost everything. But a villain had given her life back.

This time, she swore, she would not lose anything ever again.

The girl, Selen Bloom, began walking forward once more—for her benefactor, the boy with such sorrowful eyes.

In the sealed sector beneath the royal capital—by now, an all too familiar place—two figures stood facing each other.

“—And that’s how it went.”

“What do you mean, ‘that’s how it went’!? I told you very clearly you are not supposed to just stroll in here!”

Actol of the Astera Ducal House. Under normal circumstances, even nobles would rarely be allowed near him.

“Are you stupid? You’re keeping tabs on things anyway, aren’t you? Skulking around in the shadows like a coward.”

“How rude. This is what the ducal house is supposed to do.”

One duty of the ducal house was to steer the country from the shadows.

“Honestly… What did you do to freeze an entire canal system? And why were you even in a faraway country like that in the first place…?”

“If you want to know, do your own legwork.”

Actol had known Zeke had left the kingdom, but he had never imagined the Republic of Ignote, so far away, would be his destination. He had not even been able to track Zeke’s movements properly; he only managed to gather information after everything was already over.

“So, you had something to discuss, did you not? You would not come here without a reason.”

“Obviously. That plan we talked about is moving along, isn’t it?”

“…Are you truly serious? You, of all people—Lagias—doing this… Under normal circumstances, it would be unthinkable.”

Actol knew Zeke well enough to know he was not the joking type. That was precisely why he was so bewildered; he could not see the boy’s real aim.

“Just shut up and do as you’re told. You people are going to gain me as a massive source of power. That really is something that would normally never happen, isn’t it?”

“…I do not know what you are hoping to accomplish, but do not come crying to me if you regret this.”

“Hah. Sounds fun. …I don’t have time for regret.”

Ever since he had come to this world, his life had been one regret after another. It was far too late to worry about that now.

“…Incidentally, I hear certain people are working hard in Apion.”

“What are you talking about? Have you finally lost it?”

“…?”

The villain had now met all six of the chosen.

The timing of their encounters had shifted, and each one had been changed in some way because of it.

Battle upon battle. To them, he had been an enemy, a nemesis, an enemy of the world itself.

How much would these major deviations from the original axis alter their fates?

Even if he once again became an enemy of the world, Zeke—Hiroto—would never stop walking. If necessary, he would erase everything.

He had already steeled himself for that.