Guardians of the Crimson Flame

Translated by: Garcar

Proofread by: Cirdan Lunae

1

???: [――Al-sama, can you hear my voice loud and clear~?]

Al: [Woah, I really can hear you.]

Hearing the voice of the girl through the glass, Al, who had been skeptical, involuntarily muttered those words.

He understood the principle, and he had also been able to imagine the result. But, that was just that; getting a bourgeois sense of surprise upon actually seeing it implemented, he was unable to put on any appearances whatsoever.

Girl: [If it’s a matter of appearances, your current clothing suits you extremely well~, have some confidence. Ah~, but, but, the pose of putting the glass up to your ear might be a bit lame, don’t you think?]

Al: [Stop reading people’s minds. Also, it’s not like I’m doing this because I want to.]

Girl: [You’re driven by necessity, isn’t that right~. I totally understa~nd.]

Sighing at her mischievous reply, Al took an objective look at himself following the girl’s comment.

Normally, Al’s bandit style was assured to garner comments saying that he did not know how to dress for different occasions, but today he had paired a formal tuxedo outfit with his boorish steel helmet, a look straight out of this spring’s brand new Lugunica Collection―― accented by an empty glass that he had placed to the side of his helmet, he was in the middle of a conversation with an unseen partner on an unpopulated balcony.

Al: [Rather than lame, it’s simply suspicious.]

Girl: [Isn’t it too late to be worrying about that?]

Al: [Shut the hell up.]

Thoroughly picking up on his complaints, the other party said such needless things through the glass, so he cursed at her. Then, Al directed his gaze towards the venue bustling with people, and enquired “So?”.

Girl: [The inner part on the right-hand side of the venue, the dandy gentleman with gray hair and a beard.]

Al: [Gray, beard, and dandy, roger that.]

Receiving that, Al hid the glass in a corner by the balcony’s hand railing, straightened himself up, and then returned to the banquet hall. Then, as he searched for the person who matched the description, he had some trouble. There was no helping it. After all, this was a party in which the attendees concealed the majority of their faces.

Locating the target regardless, he introduced himself and led them into the hallway.

Then――,

Al: [――Your stars were bad.]

After leading them to an isolated area, Al unveiled his true objective.

Immediately after, his opponent, removing the mask of a gentleman in a double entendre, targeted his neck; twisting his body to avoid the attack, Al drew a knife and stabbed it into his opponent’s side, the poison coating the blade taking his life.

Holding up the body that had fallen limp, he hid the corpse behind the mansion, and reached a point where he could take a small breather.

Al: [Shit, six times… fucking strong, this guy.]

It had been a considerable hardship to deal with just one of them, and thinking about what had just happened was giving him a headache.

Enduring the headache, Al picked up the glass that he had hidden there in advance, and placed it against the side of his helmet.

Girl: [As expected, Al-sama performed brilliantly~. But, there’s still a long way to go, y’know?]

Al: [――――]

Girl: [Huh? Is something wrong? Can you hear me? The thread is stretched taut, so you should be able to hear me, right~?]

Hearing the voice of the same girl he had heard while on the balcony, Al, having perfectly guessed the cause of his headache, deferred his response for a bit, and did not answer the “Hello~?” he received.

Without answering, he suddenly thought back on the reason why, at this masked ball―― this Masquerade Night being held at the Barielle Mansion, he was being driven to do this bloody work behind the scenes.

2

――That, was ten days prior to Al participating in the dinner party, in a formal outfit he was not accustomed to wearing.

Schult: [Priscilla-sama has very much ordered that she wants to hold a “Maskaraid Naight”!]

Al: [A masquerade night…]

“Very much indeed!”; answering Al’s absentminded mumble with a sparkle in his eyes, was the shota butler who admirably worked at the Barielle Mansion, Priscilla’s favourite, Schult.

As those red eyes, brimming with eagerness and curiosity, looked up at him, Al fiddled with the metal fixtures of his helmet, shrugging his shoulders at his master’s idea.

Al: [Well, it’s basically a masked dinner party, but what sorta influence… I mean, as soon as she said it in a foreign-import language, I guess it goes without saying that the origin was me.]

Schult: [Ah, but, I am very much the one who said that I would like to try it. I heard from Priscilla-sama that there was a type of party where you hide your face, and I so just happened to… very much indeed.]

Al: [I see. It’s not like the Princess’s favoritism of Schult-chan is starting just now, and it also aligns with the interpretation that the Princess herself seems like she would like a masked ball, so I get it.]

Rather, Priscilla’s nature was such that it would not feel out of place for her to hold one once a week. Though if Al were to say such a thing, he knew that he would receive a scolding, so he would not say it aloud.

Anyhow, Al had been able to reach an understanding through Schult’s explanation.

Al: [So then, Schult-chan and the other girls are all super busy with the preparations.]

Looking around, aside from Schult, who had stopped before Al, the other servants who worked at the mansion could be seen busily bustling about. Unfortunately, Al could not imagine just how much work it took to hold a masquerade ball, but there was no way that it would be easy to make preparations for such a sudden party.

Only, proportionate to how pressed they were with the sudden work, there was no discontent or dissatisfaction to be found on their faces.

Al: [Seriously, to be so popular despite all that is such a strange aspect about the Princess.]

Schult: [Priscilla-sama is kind and beautiful, so everybody loves her very much!]

Giving a sincere reply to Al’s idle grumbling, Schult’s small body restlessly sprang up to converge with his associates in making preparations for the party.

Schult was still young, and unreliable as a servant, but the mere presence of his naivety held a strange ability to encourage those around him.

Al: [A technique that uses Schult-chan’s charm, huh? Since Schult-chan tends to be doted on, I’m excited to see just how devilishly he’ll tempt the onee-sans once his limbs grow to full length.]

Then, it happened at the moment that Al vocalized that useless, impure forecast of the future.

???: [Wah~, Al-sama has such a mental image of the pure Schult-chan, how dirty~.]

Al: [――――]

Heeding the sudden voice, Al narrowed his eyes within his helmet, and turned around.

Within the garden where he had been speaking with Schult, no figure other than Al could be discerned. But, since there was no possibility for that malice-filled voice to have been a hallucination, Al walked up towards the flower bed, blooming with bright red flowers, and plunked himself down against the brick wall.

Then, calling out to the other side of the wall with an “Oi”,

Al: [Don’t turn up here so carelessly. Priscilla Barielle’s mansion will start having rumors that the Hollow of the maid who was beheaded for disloyalty is prowling around, night after night.]

???: [It’s noon right now, Yae-chan has legs, and to begin with, I don’t have any memory of getting beheaded for disloyalty~? ――Though, I did go through something far more terrifying than that.]

Indeed, this person appended a sentiment of slightly differing tone at the end of her retort. That snide remark could not be construed as a grudge, and it caused Al’s lips to contort greatly.

Concealed behind the brick wall, the person conducting herself so that the people of the mansion would not discover her―― she who did not show herself from across the wall, was a girl with red hair, mischievous cat-like eyes, and a supple build. She had formerly been employed at this mansion, but for personal reasons, she had since resigned.

However, the reason why she must not be found, was not because she was a person who had retired from the mansion.

After all, she was an assassin who had been ordered to take out the master of the mansion, Priscilla Barielle, a traitor whose schemes had been uncovered and hindered by none other than Al.

――Yae Tenzen, that was the identity of the girl loitering behind the wall, conversing with Al.

Yae: [Ever since that night, I have been Al-sama’s loyal servant… At your command and behest, Al-sama, I am content with acting as a spy, working as a killer, and serving as your harlot…]

Al: [Stop making me out to be an atrocious villain who actually makes you do all of that. As of right now, only the spy part is true.]

Yae: [And when you say as of right now, that would mean~…]

Al: [You’re never getting the chance to do that third thing. Don’t make me say it again.]

Yae: [Even though there’s a second thing, the third one is all you can think about; Al-sama really is a boy at heart~.]

He thought he had preempted it, but crushed by such an invincible theory, Al was at a loss for words. Since prolonging this topic would only put him at a disadvantage, Al began to shift the course of the conversation.

Yae also ought to have been aware of how risky it was to show her face at the mansion. So, to nonetheless overcome that risk and plan to make contact with Al meant――,

Yae: [By the way, the mansion is quite lively right now, isn’t it~? Earlier as well, Schult-chan was restless… as always, he’s so adorable that I just wanna hug him tight!]

Al: [I feel the same way, but the reason you’re here isn’t just because of Schult-chan withdrawal symptoms, yeah? So what’s…]

Yae: [――It seems like the next plot to assassinate the Madam is in the works.]

Going on? Interrupted as he was about to continue so, Al narrowed his eyes at the sharpness, chilliness, and cutting contents of those words, and silently allowed the information to sink into his brain.

A plot to assassinate Priscilla Barielle: it had a truly unsettling timbre to it, but the matter in itself was not surprising.

Currently, she was one of five candidates for the Royal Selection that would influence the future of the Kingdom of Lugunica, and even if not for that, the severity of her personality made it easy for her to forge enemies. It would not be strange for there to be those who considered Priscilla a hindrance, what with her clever eyes that seemed to see through everything, and thus wished for her to disappear.

But, that easily understandable enmity was a different matter entirely when it came to something relayed by Yae.

Al: [The Vollachian Empire’s preparing its next plot, huh? How did you find out?]

Yae: [There were signs of people coming and going at the base that I previously used. It seems like Yae-chan’s successor came to retrieve supplies~.]

Al: [Oi oi, even though they’re the cornerstone of the Empire’s intelligence operations, this shinobi’s been acting carelessly.]

Yae: [I wouldn’t call it an error on their side. Al-sama probably can’t imagine it, but it’s a super-duper high level of difficulty for people of the Empire to secretly maneuver within the Kingdom~.]

Yae pouted her lips with nuance at Al’s thoughtless evaluation, and thereupon she added “Besides~”,

Yae: [――There is no possibility whatsoever that they could imagine that Yae-chan is still alive, and much less that she betrayed the Empire, so it’s a natural course of action for them.]

She said so quietly, her words clad in a cutting edge so sharp that they alone had the potential to kill.

Al: [――――]

Feeling an illusion as if that cutting edge had been fastened to the back of his neck, Al closed a single eye.

In truth, Yae’s words held no falsehoods. ――She was an unparalleled genius of a ninja produced by the Vollachian Empire’s shinobi village, granted a mission of utmost importance, an existence promised to carry it through to fruition. In the one in ten thousand possibility that she were to fail, it was engraved into her soul to commit suicide without leaking any bit of the Empire’s information whatsoever.

Indeed, her soul. The programming that had been engraved into her soul, had been forcibly overwritten by Al.

Such a thing ought to have been impossible, and so this failure on Vollachia’s part, by all rights, could not be condemned.

Yae: [To think that Yae-chan, who overcame all sorts of the village’s penances whilst humming a tune, would have her body and mind forced into surrender by a middle-aged man of the Kingdom, betraying her own motherland.]

Al: [Stop with these false charges that I know nothing about. It’s no laughing matter.]

Yae: [――. That mi~ght be true. So then, so then, about this next assassination~.]

Al: [It sounds like you’re deciding on plans for a day off…]

Yae: [There’s nearly no doubt that it’s going to be enacted at the next soirée held by the Madam. I believe you called it a “Masquerade Night”?]

Hearing the forecast of the enemy’s assassination plot presented by Yae, Al unconsciously held his head, troubled.

Naturally, a banquet in which many invitees would be entering and exiting the mansion would be the ideal opportunity for an assassination. Furthermore, it would be a masked ball in which it was recommended that the participants conceal their faces―― for the Empire, wishing to recover from Yae Tenzen’s failure, it was a combination that seemingly blessed them with a second chance.

He wanted to hold his head at this happenstance too, but there did not lie Al’s greatest lament.

Al: [Even if I were to suggest cancelling it because it’s dangerous, all that comes to mind is the Princess absolutely not listening to me…]

Yae: [Once the Madam has decided to do something, she will firmly refuse to bend~.]

Al: [That’s right, I’m beat, truly.]

Fiddling with the fixture on his helmet, Al slumped his shoulders at the conceivable reality that he would end up displeasing Priscilla, and receive corporal punishment. If it was something like getting kicked by Priscilla’s foot, it would be a reward; but, if he roused her true ire, causing her to draw the Yang Sword, he would be unable to do anything.

Anyhow――,

Al: [――I guess there’s also the idea that it’d be better to have foreknowledge of when exactly the elusive shinobi will be turning up.]

Yae: [――――]

Al: [Yae, I’ll do my best to persuade the Princess, but don’t count on it. Neither will I. More importantly, on the day of the event, we’ll allocate our strength to repelling the assassins. I’ll be putting you to work as well.]

Swapping away from his wretched thoughts, Al attempted to deal with it constructively. Then, without receiving a reply from Yae, Al called out her name, “Yae?”, once again,

Al: [What’s wrong? Don’t tell me that you’re reluctant to quarrel with your old pals…]

Yae: [――. No, no, nothing of the sort. Only, I was just thinking about how Al-sama really is scary~.]

Al: […Ahh? What the hell’s that?]

Thinking that she would start rambling again, Al cut her short and stopped associating with her. Then, behind Al as he began to systematically allocate the elements necessary for the day in question――,

Yae: [Truly, Al-sama is a scary person.]

That final appended comment never reached the ears of Al, deep in rumination.

3

――Thus, returning to the time of the Masquerade Night in question, when Al had finished dealing with one of the assassins who had infiltrated the event, and regained contact with Yae.

Surely enough, Priscilla did not lend an ear to Al’s suggestion, and proceeded to hold a “Masquerade Night”.

Corollarily, Al was clad in a tuxedo, a getup quite unfamiliar to him, and unusually, he was not acting as Priscilla’s jester, but was rather performing the duties of a “Knight” by the perception of his surroundings. ――Truly, it was the worst feeling.

Not his current task, but the present situation of needing to perform the duties of a “Knight”, was the worst.

Yae: [Hellooo~? Al-sama~?]

Al: [Ah, my bad. Put you on hold for a bit.]

The empty glass pressed against the side of his helmet, Al responded to Yae’s voice brought about by its vibrations.

Attached to the base of the glass in Al’s hand, was a superfine thread that was difficult to see even with strained eyes, and it connected to the one in Yae’s hands as she concealed herself in the shadows of the mansion. It was a means of maintaining medium-range communication, using the principle of what was known as the “string phone”. ――The epic tool he had once thought only existed in fiction, made possible by the skill of the Thread User, Yae Tenzen.

During the preparations in the leadup to the day of the party, Al had set up Yae’s “string phones” in several places around the mansion, laying the groundwork for them to communicate like this without needing to come face to face.

Al: [Though in truth, if we had one set of Conversation Mirrors, I wouldn’t’ve had to go through all that trouble.]

Yae: [Please don’t say that so lightly~. While it’s true that there is a greater supply of them in circulation than other Meteors, that still doesn’t make them easy to get one’s hands on. Not to mention, I’m currently jobless, a himo-woman completely reliant on Al-sama.]

Al: [Be careful there, himo is typically only used for men.]

Yae: [Eh~, why is that exactly?]

Al: [Who knows? It’s a strange part of the Japanese language.] [1]

He got the impression that there was a gendered nuance at the time when the term was coined, but Al had a personal inkling that investigating it any further in this world would not yield any more conclusions, so he neglected doing so.

More importantly――,

Al: [They were quite formidable, but how are we looking? Are we finished?]

Yae: [Hmm~, Yae-chan would like to give Al-sama a reward for doing his best~, but glancing back at it, it would seem like there are still about eight people remaining~.]

Al: [EIGHT…!? Even though back then, you went in solo? Maybe you were just a sacrificial pawn?]

Yae: [Please at least say that I’m nine-times as outstanding as the shinobi who are now coming~. That they felt so assured and secure in sending me in solo, that’s just how cute and reliable Yae Tenzen is!]

Al had fallen speechless at the length of the road ahead, being considerably longer than what he had imagined, and Yae’s jestful words rang hollow to his ears.

Be that as it may, Yae’s lighthearted comments, to which he had no intention of clapping back, were likely the truth. ――The several shinobi who had infiltrated the party, aiming to assassinate Priscilla, would be absolutely oblivious to the fact that their identities were being leaked like this.

Moreover, it was not even a matter of being exposed by a source who had obtained their information in advance.

Yae: [Habits in disguise and masquerade show up more frequently in the tips of the hair and in the corners of the eyes than they do in gestures or behavior. I’m quite proficient at detecting that. Stuff like disguises that are unusually good at making one look way younger.]

Al: [That last thing isn’t related to the shinobi, but that’s a huge help.]

Since it simply ruined all the training they had acquired through their senses as shinobi, it must have been quite intolerable for the assassins. It was painful when considering all the time and efforts they had assiduously devoted, but it was a different story when the result of that effort would be Priscilla’s life.

Even if he needed to cheat by using Yae, Al would purge all threats to Priscilla’s life.

Al: [Even saying that, I don’t get the impression that dealing with the remaining eight will be a breeze. Lend me a hand.]

Yae: [Wah~, hard labor~. Though, I am under orders not to show myself?]

Al: [And make sure you do that well. Or else, what’s the point of this masked ball… of this Masquerade Night?]

Yae: [At the very least, it’s not for an assassina~tion.]

Affirming her sentiment internally, Al slowly turned his head, and prepared for what was next. Eight were left; he did intend to have Yae help out for some of them, but he would need to take charge for the majority.

At least, if he was going to reluctantly play the “Knight”, that would be the proper courtesy.

Yae: [Even so~.]

Al: [Huh?]

Yae: [Even though I was hoping to see Al-sama appear with a different mask than normal at this rare masquerade ball, in the end you just went with the same style as usual~, how unfortunate.]

Receiving Yae’s grumble from across the glass, Al responded by silently setting the glass down.

Clothed in formal attire that he was unaccustomed to wearing, he did not think to go any further to change out his helmet. To begin with, if today’s theme was a masked ball――,

Al: [――Something like the mask of somebody else, I’ve been wearing one ever since I was born.]

4

Afterwards, the masquerade ball held at the Barielle Mansion proceeded peacefully “on the surface”.

Within the mansion where multitudes of people invited by Priscilla Barielle, the one extolled as the Sun Princess, were coming and going, her faithful servants were busily running about, entertaining the banquet’s invitees.

Witnessing their orderly movements and courteous manner of working, the guests of befitting social stature were all astonished, praising Priscilla’s way of being with sentiments greater than that of flattery, as it had been able to garner such loyalty from her servants.

It was a matter of course, but by hosting a banquet, it fell onto the inviting side to take responsibility for controlling the party, while at the same time allowing them to assert their right to display their power.

If a meager banquet and blunders from the servants accreted, they would be ridiculed as inadequate by their surroundings, causing the family’s honor to decline, and making it quite possible for gaps, which could be taken advantage of, to appear. Having said that, focusing on such negative aspects of a banquet and avoiding hosting an event would be negligent in displaying one’s power, thus incurring disdain from the surroundings.

At any rate, those involved with aristocratic society must never forget that it was a competition of ostentations, and that it was these dazzling battles that saved them from bloodshed.

Schult: [So, I am also very much relieved that the “Maskaraid Naight” is going well.]

And, while gazing over his colleagues as they worked, weaving their ways through the gaps in between the coming and going invitees, Schult, patting his chest in relief, participated in the party with his masked visage.

Currently, Schult wore a rabbit mask, what seemed to be the finest article suited for Schult, selected by Priscilla from an assortment of possible candidates. Not only did it conceal the area around his eyes, but the top of his head was decorated with cute, fluffy white ears, though it was a bit embarrassing.

Schult: [But, Priscilla-sama said that it suits me very much.]

There was no doubting the things which Priscilla said; such was the law of reality in the small Schult’s world.

As a matter of fact, Schult believed that the beautiful and wise Priscilla was always correct. This “Maskaraid Naight” that she had brought up as a suggestion, too, had been exceedingly difficult to prepare; but, now that they had finally gotten to holding it, it had resulted in many people speaking highly of Priscilla.

It was unfortunate that he could not see much of the invitees’ faces due to the masks, but it seemed that they were pleased with the event.

Schult: [Very much expected of Priscilla-sama. Ahem, indeed.]

While thinking it might be a bit presumptuous of himself to feel proud here, Schult still could not help but welcome the feelings of wanting to puff out his chest. In Schult’s small world, a large portion of what he could be proud of was occupied by Priscilla, so there truly was no helping it.

Schult: [Come to think of it, I am very much unable to find Al-sama.]

Al was one of the few elements other than Priscilla which were among the things Schult could take pride in, so being unable to spot him in this venue, Schult restlessly surveyed his surroundings.

Al ought to have been attending the party donned with his usual helmet, along with a formal attire that differed from his usual. Having hoped to see him with a mask that differed from his usual one given the occasion, Schult found it a bit disappointing, but since it seemed like that was his favorite, it must have been something important.

Regardless, since Al would usually tenderly watch over Priscilla from outside the enclosure of the many people who would always surround her, not being able to spot him here today was a bit strange.

???: [You, do you have a moment?]

Schult: [Ah! Very much indeed. What may be very much the matter, dear guest?]

His worry concerning Al, however, was interrupted by a voice from one of the invitees.

The man, wearing a mask decorated with black feathers, enquired about the location of the lavatory, and Schult enthusiastically guided him, saying, “It is very much this way!”.

In a party with this many people coming and going, Schult could not perform the duties of a server with his short stature, so it was important for him to take on the role of these various jobs.

Schult: [Yes! Dear guest, the lavatory is very much over he… huh?]

Gesturing to the entrance of the lavatory with his hand, Schult spun around, but then inclined his head. The man, whom he ought to have guided, was nowhere to be found in the corridor.

Schult: [Very huh indeed… dear guest, where might you very much be? Hah, perhaps, was it that I hurried and ended up very much leaving him behind!?]

Feeling extremely tense with a feeling of wanting to accomplish his task no matter what, Schult was aware that he had begun walking quicker, and went pale at the realization of the outrageous thing he had done.

As it stood, they would receive criticism that Priscilla’s servant had been unable to guide an invitee to the lavatory, which would cause trouble for Priscilla, of course, but also for the other servants, who were his colleagues.

Schult: [Also, also, the dear guest might very much end up wetting himself! I have to hurry and search for――]

???: [Ah~, sweet little butler-san, you don’t need to be so worried~.]

Schult: [Au, very much.]

As Schult quickly attempted to break into a run, an outstretched hand from behind suddenly embraced him. His legs began to float from that embrace, and with his eyes opened wide, Schult glanced behind him.

Upon doing so, he saw a woman in a dress wearing a cat mask smiling at him,

???: [About the gentleman you were attempting to guide just before, his urge to urinate suddenly settled down, so he said he no longer needed to be guided. He found a friend of his and wanted to give his regards to you.]

Schult: [I-is that very much so? That is very much good to hear. Onee-san… no, dear guest, thank you very much for passing on the message!]

???: [Not at all~, something like this is no big deal~.]

Schult: [You are very much a kind personage! I am very much deeply moved…! So then, um?]

Thanking the kind woman who had passed the message onto him, Schult was left at a bit of a loss. The woman had embraced him from behind, but for some reason she had yet to let him go.

She continued to hug Schult tightly, firmly, but with the perfect amount of force so as not to hurt him,

Yae: [Hahh, unfortunately, I guess any longer and I’ll end up embarrassing you so I have to restrain myself~.]

And so, after a little while, she returned Schult back to the floor.

Schult: [Umm, th-thank you very much…?]

???: [Ahaha, your sincerity is commendable! Now then, you must have work to do back at the event, right? The Madam as well, if she can’t catch sight of you, she might get worried, y’know?]

Schult: [Even if I am not present, Priscilla-sama is always very much brimming with confidence! She is very much wonderful!]

???: [Even so, y’know~.]

The woman reached out her hand and gently adjusted Schult’s butler uniform, then spun him around to face the opposite direction. Pushing upon his back, Schult began to walk with a surprised “Wah”.

When he looked back around, the woman was tenderly waving her hand and seeing him off. Waving back at her, Schult felt a tad embarrassed that it might have seemed childish, and then he rounded a corner in the corridor.

As he rounded it, a thought suddenly came to him.

Schult: [That person just now, I very much get the feeling that she resembled Yae-sama a bit…]

Just like him, Yae had worked at this Barielle Mansion, but had ended up resigning due to her familial circumstances. He had been unable to say farewell to her, but she too was one of the people belonging to Schult’s meager pride.

After meeting a woman who possessed a similar aura, Schult slightly recalled those lonely feelings, and then hurried to return to the party.

――He was not at all aware that outside the window of the corridor, the man, who had dropped his mask of black feathers to the ground, was hanging, suffocated by a thread wrapped around his neck.

5

Yae: [And so, on my end, I went and saved Schult-chan from a precarious spot. Since I was able to enjoy his fluffy hair to the fullest for the first time in a long while, Yae-chan is completely satisfied.]

Being told about her tastes amidst her report of events, Al felt a bit worn out.

It was a meritorious act to take precautions against the assassin who was targeting Priscilla’s favorite Schult, likely plotting something, but this woman was a killer.

Ultimately, that had hindered Al’s goal of carrying the majority of the efforts, as they had each ended up taking down four of the total eight on their own, and she had also been able to satiate her tastes.

A morally bankrupt individual who toyed with and took the lives of others for fun―― he would not label her as such. For her, who had been raised as a shinobi, killing was simply an extension of the ordinary.

Regardless――,

Al: [It was tough, but we dealt with all the shinobi you located. Does this mark the end for sure now?]

Yae: [Mmm~, about that~.]

Al: [What is it, stop beating around the bush.]

Yae: [No? Of course, the only shinobi who rivals Yae-chan is the elderly village chief, so it’s absolutely undeniable that they’d go for quantity over quality, but…]

Al: [Undeniable, but?]

Yae: [Since it’s the second attempt after Yae-chan’s failure, if they don’t at least bundle in a Yae-chan grade plan, wouldn’t they just be squandering their lives?]

At Yae’s query, accompanied by a question mark, Al’s breath caught, and he plunged into rumination.

As Yae played her self-evaluation off as a joke, the estimation of her being the magnum opus of the village was a fact that had been experienced directly by none other than Al himself. ――Within the personal experiences of Al, who possessed a cheat ability that interfered with the rules of the world, she was among the top three most powerful individuals who had cornered him.

As a corollary of that, he had ended up making Yae taste a hell that he had never intended on making her experience――,

Al: [Nonetheless, your opinion is rational. The Empire doesn’t consider people’s lives as lives, so unless they perform an act like throwing ice little by little into a pot over a flame in order to cool it…]

Yae: [The value of a life in the Empire is that of a single life. I’ve had an audience with His Excellency the Emperor just once, but he said that people ought to die in an efficient manner.]

Al: [I don’t think I could ever get along with him…]

Anyhow, regardless of the Emperor whom he would likely never get the chance to meet, Al earnestly continued with his rumination.

As Yae had said, dispatching an operation with a lower chance of success than hers on a mission which she had failed would only result in more deaths. If the Empire’s principles sought results worthy of the lives lost, then there was a possibility that what Al and Yae had just finished dealing with, was nothing more than an obvious diversion.

That was to say, there ought to have been another plan, one calculated to be even more effective than Yae’s, currently in progress.

Al: [Anything coming to mind?]

Yae: [Between the Kingdom and the Empire, there was that anti-war pact signed before the start of the Royal Selection. In order for them to say that they didn’t infringe upon it, the executors of the plan should be obligated to commit suicide when the act is complete. In that case, our frugal old man would be uneager to send in the young and promising ones, so skill wouldn’t be the reason for selection. H~m, there are a bit too many possibilities so I can’t quite narrow them down~.]

Purring like a cat at Al’s question, Yae refused to present a suitable opinion.

Only for the shinobi, utility players who could adapt to any situation, was the number of possibilities for plans which could utilize their techniques and abilities a value that rivaled the number of stars in the night sky. For example, the poison coating the short sword Al had been using to dispose of the assassins behind closed doors, was something that had been concocted by Yae.

Yae: [A super lethal poison which can kill even the shinobi who are trained to resist poison, Yae-chan’s special Jiranme mixture.]

Al: [I dotted just a bit of it on the tip of my finger to test it, and I saw hell.]

Yae: [Ahaha, Al-sama you goof, you’re joking around too much for someone who doesn’t die~.]

It was difficult to tell whether Yae’s response was in earnest or in jest, but from Al’s point of view, it was a weapon he would entrust his life to, so for him to be curious concerning its effectiveness was exceedingly natural. In fact, just a light touch of it had fragmented his consciousness and life in an instant; it was a dreadfully lethal poison.

And, it seemed like he was about to become indebted to the effectiveness of that short sword once more.

Al: [Yae, are you really unaware of the true objective of the enemy’s stratagem?]

Yae: [Yes. ――What will you do?]

Al: [Ain’t that obvious?]

At Yae’s soft question, Al answered whilst racking his brain over the developments which would follow from this point onward.

With the cheat technique that belonged to Al alone, if he was going to attempt to reveal the enemy’s enigmatic aims――,

Al: [――I’ll brute-force search every damn possibility.]

Saying that, in order to spread damage as far as his sight would permit, Al lumbered towards the party venue packed full with invitees of obscured faces.

Thereupon――,

Al: [――El Dona.]

――A divergent rampage, unretractable for anybody other than Al, commenced.

6

――The mission to which Hamayal Wesmi, a shinobi of the Vollachian Empire, had been appointed, was the assassination of a Royal Candidate of the Kingdom of Lugunica, Priscilla Barielle.

Hamayal knew not of the aim or the objective of this assassination, but he did not think to question it.

Having received such an upbringing, Hamayal, now surpassing forty years of age, had been perfected as a puppet devoid of any free will, bearing no superfluous questions in regards to this duty.

Only, there were many points in the information shared with him which heeded caution, such as the potent capabilities of his target, Priscilla Barielle, as well as the information regarding Yae Tenzen, who had failed in this duty prior―― especially the latter, given that she was likewise a shinobi, was something he could not remain indifferent concerning.

Hamayal: [Sir Olbart’s prized pupil…]

As one of the renowned Nine Divine Generals of the Empire, Olbart Dunkelkenn fully lived up to his title of the Vicious Old Man. And, with her talents recognized by Olbart, the very pinnacle of the Vollachian shinobi, the girl known as Yae Tenzen was the heaven-sent child of the shinobi, extolled as a genius.

That was the predecessor of this mission, and with her having failed, her successors were Hamayal, and the nine shinobi who had been deployed on the same mission―― a shinobi suicide squad, for whom failure was impermissable.

As they were acting in a foreign nation, it was not an environment in which support and allies would be in abundance, but with the evening party being held at the target’s mansion―― moreover, a masquerade ball which gathered guests with concealed faces at that, it was a golden opportunity granted by time itself allying with Hamayal and his team.

With the failure of their predecessor in mind, they would proceed with maximum preparations in the limited time they had, the opened possibility―― the hidden passage to the basement of the Barielle Mansion, the stratagem to sneak him in from there.

The late husband of Priscilla Barielle, Leip Barielle, was sly and cautious, and seemed to be a person who pathologically distrusted others; hence, there were hidden passages in the mansion that none, save for himself, were aware of. Leip had silenced the designers and builders to produce a situation in which he was the only person in the know, and in his death, those subterranean tunnels would have remained closed for eternity, but Hamayal and the other shinobi had procured the plans left behind by the erased designer, granting these tunnels once last chance to see the light of day.

The guardian of Priscilla Barielle, who had turned the tables on Yae Tenzen: his focus would be occupied via the diversion of the nine shinobi other than himself, allowing Hamayal to be fired as the decisive arrow.

By all means, it was an infallible stratagem. ――No, it was supposed to have been.

???: [――Your stars were bad.]

With those words, in the subterranean tunnel where no footsteps other than his should have been possible, Hamayal bore witness as a man of eccentric appearance emerged.

His head was covered by a jet-black steel helmet, and the left sleeve of the one-armed man’s dress suit, fitting for the evening party, was tied up. If one were to gather intelligence regarding Priscilla Barielle, this was a person who would naturally come up―― considered to be Priscilla’s one and only Knight, the unidentifiable man known as Al.

Hamayal: [How…]

Al: [Did your strategy get exposed or something? You don’t gotta worry, it’s not like any of your comrades told me. Anyhow, I systematically destroyed, injured… well, after trying out a ton of things, I narrowed it down to the possibility that you were intruding from somewhere, so I just traced that to here.]

Hamayal: [――――]

Al: [You don’t get what I’m saying, yeah? Sorry, it’s just that sorta bug.]

Rather than being unwilling to give an honest answer, Hamayal reasoned that Al simply possessed a differing common sense that he was unable to comprehend. If so, then his eccentric appearance might not have been the product of a poor joke, but rather something that was coherent and rational within Al.

But, in any case――,

Hamayal: [If you’re going to stand in my way, mercy shall be none.]

Either way, Hamayal had no path of retreat.

The nine other shinobi had lost their lives. In that case, Hamayal required a death to harmonize with theirs.

Al: [I’ll say this now, but I ain’t gonna be showing mercy either――]

Stepping out before Hamayal as he readied himself, Al began to say something―― but, quicker than he could finish it, a shadow leaped out from the darkness of the tunnel, biting at him.

Al’s throat quivered out a “Wha” in shock and fear, but even that outcry was engulfed by the pitch black darkness.

Quite literally, Hamayal’s shadow itself had broken away from him, becoming a jet-black beast that launched an onslaught―― this was the technique that Hamayal commanded, allowing him to control a beast of shadows, known as a Phantom Wolf.

In his childhood, Hamayal had fed his shadow to a beast that devoured shadows, and together they were raised.

Without eyes, a nose, or any of the parts that would give a creature a sense of charm, the Phantom Wolf had rapidly gotten larger alongside Hamayal’s growth, and it eventually took on the form of an enormous quadruped. Truly, its appearance was best described as the silhouette of a wolf, thus making it the Phantom Wolf.

Normally, the Phantom Wolf would fold itself into Hamayal’s shadow, as well as sneak into all sorts of crevices, bringing Hamayal outstanding results as a shinobi charged with the duty of assassination. All that hard work would culminate in this assassination of Priscilla Barielle, their final mission.

For Hamayal, past the age of forty, no longer would an important duty greater than this come about. Ergo, the very end of the footsteps he had tread, living as a shinobi, was something Hamayal would adorn alongside his other half.

And for that――,

Hamayal: [A deviant like you could never obstruct this duty.]

Ferociously shaking its tail, its hindquarters, the Phantom Wolf pinned Al to the ground of the tunnel, and trampled upon his life.

Hamayal’s fundamental tactic was to cooperate with his violent Phantom Wolf in order to execute his enemies in a manner which permitted not even the slightest bit of resistance, a formula for unshakable victory that needed no adaptation.

Phantom Wolf: [――ZRRAARZK.]

The Phantom Wolf growled, lusting for its opponent’s limbs, tired of waiting for the moment that its prey would lose all resistance. In order to bring that moment closer, Hamayal’s role was not that of the Phantom Wolf’s owner, but rather one of coexistence.

However, at the current moment, Hamayal was unable to move to assist the Phantom Wolf.

That was because――,

Hayamal: [――A steel thread, is it?]

Blood trickling down his outstretched left arm, Hamayal leaped backwards and gritted his teeth.

His bleeding left arm had been the price for immediately guarding his neck; he had received numerous cuts from slicing off the tips of his fingers, to lacerating down to his elbow. Eliminating that sense of loss from his consciousness, he tightened his muscles to stop the bleeding; having reflexively mastered the shinobi techniques to that extent, Hamayal’s heart seethed with anger.

The reason was obvious: the steel thread that had sliced up Hamayal’s arm, was one of the secrets among shinobi arts―― in the modern day, it was a technique that had only been mastered by a single person, the one known as the Crimson Sakura, Yae Tenzen.

Hayamal: [CRIMSON SAKURAAAAA――!!]

Yae: [Ah~, geez, you don’t need to use such a loud voice.]

As Hamayal’s angered bellow reverberated through the tunnel, abruptly emerging within his dark vision was a girl of red hair.

Slender and flexible, possessing limbs tempered to be akin to steel threads, she was a woman crammed full with the refined techniques of the shinobi, Yae Tenzen.

She, who had been deployed to the Kingdom, and had reportedly failed her mission and lost her life, was present there. She was clad in a dress, concealing her face with a cat mask, but there was no doubt. There was no mistaking her.

She had survived, and was hiding in the Kingdom with nary a care. At that fact, Hamayal was enraged.

Hamayal: [How is it that a shinobi who has failed their mission still has blood flowing through their veins?]

Yae: [Let’s stop with tha~t sorta thing. A face you knew is still alive, so shouldn’t it be fine for both of us to clap our hands together with smiles on our faces while saying “long time no see~”? Though, I guess I did tear your left hand apart, Hamayal-san.]

Hamayal: [CRIMSON SAKURAAA…!]

Yae: [So it’s really no use, huh? It seems like you’ve hated me since forever.]

As her steel threads danced around her, Yae pouted her lips in a sullen manner. At that gesture, that attitude, that demeanor, Hamayal could not help but feel his nerves being rubbed the wrong way.

As she had said, Hamayal had known Yae since she was under training at the village. He was around twice her age. Yae had been a young child when she began her training, so Hamayal had already been engaging in his work as a shinobi, but there was no shortage of talk regarding her in the village.

While her age was still in the single digits, she had mastered the Flow Method, a technique which allowed her to manipulate her body’s Mana, and in less than a single year, she had acquired ten-odd techniques which would each take most shinobi several years to learn. And, her greatest renown was the fact that she had even mastered the Steel Thread Technique, which nobody had attained in centuries.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, a shinobi among shinobi, fully living up to the evaluations of child prodigy and genius―― that was Yae Tenzen, having been granted talent beyond imagination.

And yet――,

Hamayal: [Despite overflowing with so much talent as a shinobi, you lack a shinobi’s resolve. Flippantly laughing, never facing anything directly, without a serious bone in your body…]

Yae: [I get that Hamayal-san and everyone else at the village has an idealized image of shinobi, y’know? But, I just never fit that image, and it was troubling for people to expect that I would. For the most part, I just do what I can, so isn’t it the people who can’t do that who are worse?]

Hamayal: [Is surrendering to the enemy because you cling to your own life your justification for that way of being!?]

Yae’s protest, which sounded like nothing if not putting on airs, fanned the flames of Hamayal’s anger, the firewood of which kept on surging forth rather than being consumed.

Why, how; his lamentations were unending. For what reason, had the heavens chosen Yae? ――A woman like Yae Tenzen, bereft of any shinobi-like characteristics, why had she been granted the essence of a shinobi?

As Hamayal erupted with emotions that could be classified as neither envy nor frustration, Yae toyed with all ten of her fingers which controlled her steel threads, and purred “Mmrrr~” like a cat.

She purred, and then,

Yae: [I really did surrender, so while I think it’s a bit difficult~ to make any excuses for that, I don’t want you to get any mistaken ideas so please allow me to correct it.]

Hamayal: [At this stage, what are you…]

Yae: [――I didn’t surrender because I was clinging to my life. I wasn’t even allowed to abandon my life. Hamayal-san, it wasn’t Death I yielded to; it was “terror”.]

Those freezing cold words of Yae’s sealed Hamayal’s anger from progressing any further.

Even if she was of an unserious disposition, Yae had received the shinobi training of suppressing emotions, having acquired a spirit that would never reveal anything, no matter the level of torture; thus, her statement was bloodcurdling, and by no means could it be taken as a falsehood.

That was something that had pierced directly into Hamayal’s heart――,

Yae: [――See, he’s getting up now. The harbinger of my “terror”.]

Indeed, it happened right after Yae’s theatrical declaration.

Hamayal: [――――]

Suddenly, the sound that had been causing the cold atmosphere of the tunnel to quiver ceaselessly, vanished. That, had been the ravenous respiration of the Phantom Wolf devouring its prey’s life with all its might.

At some point, that had ceased. But, by all rights, once the Phantom Wolf had killed its prey, it would return to Hamayal’s shadow; yet no such thing had occurred.

The reason being――,

???: [Good grief… looks like it’s finally listening to what I say.]

While speaking, the man, who had been lying collapsed, stood up straight amidst the shadows. Beside the man kneeled the Phantom Wolf, assimilated into the darkness of the tunnel, obediently bowing its head.

As if to display its submission to the man―― to Al, it was the beast’s admission of defeat.

Hamayal: [How…]

Yae: [Who knows? That’s just what Al-sama does.]

At a loss for words, Hamayal’s query was not answered by the man in question, but rather by Yae. Perceiving an unconcealable joy in Yae’s voice, new coals of anger burned at the bottom of Hamayal’s stomach. Looking back at Yae, he attempted to raise his voice――,

Hamayal: [――――]

Silently, at the heat of Yae’s gaze, looking at the man amidst the darkness, Hamayal understood.

Yae Tenzen, had been broken. Hamayal had evaluated her attitude as being the same unserious one she had possessed back at the village, but that had been an error.

As she herself had admitted, Yae had submitted to “terror”; her mind, her way of being, had been shattered.

Thus, the source of that was――,

Al: [Yae, don’t interfere. There’s something I wanna have him do.]

Yae: [――As you wish.]

With a polite bow, Yae withdrew her web of steel threads, and took a step backwards. Just as Al had commanded her, it seemed she had no intention of interfering with this battle.

This was his chance to clinch victory. With his Phantom Wolf having been subdued through some means, and having lost his left arm, Hamayal had no chance of defeating Yae; but, it was a different story if she had been ordered to withdraw.

It ought to have been a different story. It was different. Yes, it had been different. Different, and yet. A different.

Hamayal: [O, RAHHHHHHHH!!]

Within his mind, dominated by anxiety to the point of erasing his sense of duty, Hamayal howled.

Howling, he concentrated all the techniques he possessed as a shinobi, and leaped at Al. Standing opposite Hamayal, as he loosened the collar of his dress suit, Al spoke.

Al: [――Your stars were bad.]

7

――The Sacred Vollachian Empire, the Imperial Capital of Lupugana, the Crystal Palace.

Serving as the castle of the Vollachian Emperor, ‘twas a beautiful palace that symbolized the prosperity and might of the Empire. Those provisioned with rooms on the uppermost floor of that palace were confined to only the most important of positions within the Empire, this room being no exception.

As one of the Empire’s Nine Divine Generals, this was the office of Chisha Gold, residing in the seat of the Fourth.

???: [Even so this workload is as per usual so much that it’s quite possible you might die of overworking! How’s it possible that you’ve been going at this staring contest with those documents without getting tired for how many hours and days and years, Chisha?]

Chisha: [Unfortunately, I do not believe that I am being overwhelmed by such an inhuman workload, hmm. To begin with, my work is not limited to paperwork alone.]

???: [So by that you mean that your workload isn’t even just on this scale, right Chisha? I think that there’s no doubt that both His Excellency and Chisha will die from the cause of overworking!]

Speaking in a loud voice without hesitation, making a statement that would have him charged with lèse-majesté, was a young man wearing a kimono.

Deliberately sitting on the edge of the office desk rather than in the reception chair, the young man tried to pester him to cease all the work he was pressed with, to which Chisha faintly massaged the skin around his eyes.

While he certainly felt tired, taking a rest here would just be going along with the young man’s intentions, but not taking a break and dying from overworking would also end up just going along with what the young man had said. Neither of these were progressions that Chisha favored.

Chisha: [Then, I suppose I would choose to not halt my work, hmm.]

Thus, if his efforts would come to a halt either way, he would endeavor to complete just a bit more work; it was then, right when Chisha had caused the young man’s cheeks to puff up with discontent.

???: [Chisha-sama, a sealed letter has arrived.]

Indeed, given that a soldier had delivered a letter, his work ended up being interrupted anyway. Placing the letter on his desk, he urged the soldier to leave the room; then, as Chisha looked at the seal on the letter, he narrowed his eyes.

The plan he had been progressing in secret, this sealed letter would reveal its outcome.

Young Man: [You’re not looking so well, Chisha.]

The young man had fired a bit of a disreputable statement, and ignoring what he had pointed out, Chisha broke the letter’s seal, and seeking to ascertain its contents, he unfolded the paper within. ――It was at that moment.

???: [――ZRRAARZK.]

Alongside the sudden roar, the shadowy beast that had been bound within the letter―― the Phantom Wolf, made its assault on Chisha.

Those jet-black fangs ferociously snapped at Chisha’s contrasting throat of pure white――,

Young Man: [Unfortunately I did just predict that Chisha would die from overworking and all.]

The worthless joke overlapped with the sound of a blade, unleashed at lightning speed, being returned to its sheath.

Evidently, the sword that had flashed as if it were lightning had cleaved the Phantom Wolf, which would have otherwise torn Chisha limb from limb, cleanly in twain, subduing the monster spoken to be a malevolent beast in the blink of an eye.

Chisha: [――――]

Living up to its name, the Phantom Wolf had dispersed akin to a phantasm. Ascertaining its form scattering apart like black soot, Chisha stroked his neck, into which the fangs had nearly sunk.

Young Man: [Looks like someone’s got a grudge against you. Well it’s only natural for someone who works like you to be resented so I guess stuff like this happens on the daily.]

Chisha: [To be hearing that from you, even I feel compelled to lament.]

The young man had rescued Chisha in the instantaneous combat; however, without expecting anything in return, he simply brought a cup of tea to his lips as if nothing had happened.

His needless comment, which as always, bit right to the core, caused Chisha to force a smile.

The Phantom Wolf that had vanished a moment ago, was the unique weapon of the assassin Chisha had ordered to infiltrate the Kingdom―― the reason why it had been turned towards Chisha was obvious: it was a demonstration from the opponent.

The act of turning the shinobi, who ought to have been perfectly loyal to their orders, sacrificing themselves for their duty, into traitors, and attempting to deliver those fangs back to Chisha, the mastermind, was not an act of retaliation, but rather a silent threat.

A certain way of advising surrender, such that going any further would result in both sides perishing.

Chisha: [The tide seems to have turned… any further than this, and keeping this hidden from His Excellency shall not be possible. As expected of the younger sister… or rather, perhaps it was the actions of the younger sister’s guardians, hmmm.]

As a weakness of the Emperor, Vincent Vollachia, a being who could easily become a problem for the Seventy-Seventh Emperor, and a factor of apprehension in regards to the Great Disaster due to arrive in the not so distant future, based on all such possible viewpoints, he had wished to remove Priscilla Barielle from the board.

But, Chisha had somewhat expected the infeasibility of such an act.

In that case, what remained was to do what little he could to the best of his abilities, and what little he could to ensure the best outcome.

Chisha: [――All to ensure that the Sword Wolf of the Sacred Vollachian Empire, shan’t ever be killed.]

8

???: [The “Maskaraid Naight” was very much well received! Priscilla-sama was also greatly pleased, and I too am very much proud!]

With that, while busy with cleaning up the venue, Schult’s adorable face gleamed brightly with a sense of accomplishment, along with the joy from having received the appreciation of Priscilla, whom he loved and respected to such an extent.

And, having taken part in the bloodshed that had unfolded behind the scenes, Al could not look the dazzling Schult in the eye.

Nonetheless, it was for the very best that Priscilla had been pleased. Unfortunately, since he was busy working behind the scenes, Al did not have much of a chance to participate in the party, but he could not be blamed for that.

Schult: [Also, Priscilla-sama very much told me to pass this message on to you if I found you, Al-sama! The clown is not to get carried away making merry backstage. Such distractions would prevent him from fully enjoying these rare festivities… it was very much something like that!]

Al: [Ah, yeah, got it. Good impression, Schult-chan.]

Schult: [I am very much embarrassed! But I still have very much of a long way to go! I will very much be diligent!]

Perhaps because his imitation of Priscilla was his trump card, Schult got flustered upon being praised for it; ruffling his hair, Al sent the cute butler boy back off to work with a cheer.

Then, heading to the garden where the aftertastes of the banquet yet lingered, as he had done ten days prior to the masked ball, he leaned against the wall, striking it with the back of his helmet.

When he did so――,

???: [No need to guess, the Madam is aware of what happened that night, isn’t she?]

Al: [Damn well seems like it. ‘Course, she wouldn’t have any way of knowing the finer details, but she’s aware of the commotion I was in… I wonder if she knows about you, though.]

???: [Uehhh… if the Madam discovered me, Al-sama, you’d have to punish me, right?]

Al: [Yeah, that’s the plan. That’s why, you should go full shinobi-mode and stay low.]

Both of them leaning against the wall as they exchanged words back-to-back, Al looked towards the mansion, which was still being tidied up from the evening party two days ago,

Al: [So then, what about our cleanup?]

Yae: [I’ve scattered all of the corpses amongst fertilizer in the forest. Also, about Hamayal-san…]

Al: [The owner of the Phantom Wolf, right? What happened to him?]

Yae: [He has passed. The Phantom Wolf that was sent back must have been disposed of. The lives of a shadow beast and shadow master are intertwined with one another, and if either of them dies, the other will also perish; that’s the price of the power.]

Al: [So I messed up all those times ‘cause of that… I mean, if you knew that, then you should’ve told me.]

Yae: [You never asked though~?]

Picturing her saying that with a bit of an odious expression on her face, Al sighed deeply.

With his mind having been shattered by Al in that tunnel, Hamayal did what he was instructed, sending the Phantom Wolf back to the mastermind who had ordered Priscilla’s assassination, and had lost his life. That in itself was exactly what he had expected, and he was hoping that the other party would receive the message, and conclude that it was not worth the hassle.

Only, after shattering Hamayal’s mind, the thought had come to him again.

Al: [Yae, there’s something wrong with you, yeah?]

Yae: [Well. What’s that supposed to mean? Even though you’ve captured the adorable Yae-chan, there’s still a limit to abusive language.]

Al: [I’ll admit that it was an abusive remark. But…]

Painstakingly and conscientiously, Al had used every means possible in order to get Hamayal to do what he was told.

But, he had been unable to shape him into the same sort of loyal pawn that Yae was, and judging by the results, he clearly felt that Hamayal meeting his end was only natural.

In that case, why had Yae arrived at a mental state of resigning herself to her current position?

Yae: [Even though it was none other than Al-sama who made me into a woman, how could you say such a thing?]

Al: […You’ve been a woman since you were born, I played no part in that.]

Yae: […But even from this point forward, it’s still possible for you to play a part, y’know?]

Al: [Don’t say such scary things. Giving me hella goosebumps.]

Likely, Yae was making a cute face overflowing with smiles, but at that invitation of hers, Al rubbed the goosebumps on the back of his neck, giving a curt response.

From time to time, Yae would mix in a womanly lust into the words she used to tease Al.

That was because her survival instincts were calculating the optimal means to win Al’s affection.

And, there were likely no mistakes in that optimal solution. Supposing he went along with her intentions, Al would likely become unable to make use of Yae like he had on this occasion.

Hence, making sure he never accepted such an invitation, was Al’s greatest means of self-defense.

Al: [Well, in the first place, you’d never be able to sway me while being no match for how sexy the Princess is.]

Yae: [Breasts, is it~? Is it really the breasts after all~? That’s always how it is with men~.]

Al: [No comment.]

That was also part of Priscilla’s charm, so Al would not deny it out of hand.

On top of that, hesitating about how he should put his next sentiments into words, Al put them into words.

Al: [Yae, you really helped me out this time. Thank you.]

Yae: [――. Oh, to think Al-sama would properly voice his gratitude… will it perhaps rain fire tomorrow?]

Al: [I’ll always at least say my thanks. What the hell do you think I am?]

Yae: [――A monster, y’know?]

Al: [――――]

At the immediate answer which showed no hints of being a joke, Al gulped down his breath. Receiving Al’s silence, Yae, whose face remained unseen to him, resumed.

Yae: [Al-sama is a monster. That, is something I know. What differed between myself and Hamayal-san, I think was surely a discrepancy in our tolerance towards “terror”~.]

Al: […So, Hamayal was weaker?]

Yae: [It’s the opposite. It’s because, not once had I ever found anything to be scary.]

As far as he had heard, Yae had not faced any failures in the shinobi village since a young age, easily overcoming various trainings that were considered to be penances; likely, there had never been anything terrifying to her.

That emotion to which Yae had been unbeknownst, Al had engraved, had demonstrated it to her soul.

Al: [――Aggressor of the Territory.]

Existing within the activation of Al’s cheat technique―― his Authority, that was a unique definition.

The forfeit of confidence, the deficiency of a sense of duty. Al had analyzed that those were the causes, but just a bit earlier, the subjectivity of Al’s Authority had wavered, causing a situation in which the initiative would frequently shift between Victim and Aggressor.

Ever since he had resolved to make Priscilla the Monarch, that had ceased all wavering. ――That was, until he had to engage in mortal combat in order to stop Yae.

The Crimson Sakura, Yae Tenzen, had been strong. ――She had given an overwhelming sense of weakness to Al, whose resolve ought to have been hardened, to the extent that she had ended up becoming trapped in the position of Aggressor of the Territory.

What could be described as nothing more than a bug of his Authority, the activation of an inescapable loop. Engulfed by the phenomenon that had effloresced even the deluded obsessions of Leip Barielle, Yae had managed to escape meeting the same fate that Leip had, but she had come to know “terror”.

Henceforth, she――,

Yae: [I’m scared of Al-sama. Outside of Al-sama, I don’t fear anything. Even the thought of defying Al-sama makes me tremble uncontrollably, and I even start to tear up. For that reason, I obey you.]

Al: [Yae…]

Yae: [I’ll do anything. I’ll obey. I’ll devote myself. I’ll serve. So, I’m begging you, please don’t do anything to frighten me… to frighten Yae again.]

At that sincere entreaty, Al felt the weight of that which he had trampled upon, and closed his eyes.

Some time ago, before Yae had done her part as his assassin, the insurmountable precipice of “terror” had not yet existed between her and Al.

Their comfortable relationship from back then, never again could it be restored.

Al had made the decision to sacrifice that relaxed relationship in order to secure Priscilla’s future.

That was why――,

Al: [Ahh, don’t defy me from here on out, yeah? So long as you obey properly, I won’t do anything bad to you.]

After saying it aloud, he thought about how it was the sort of thing a super-lame villain would say, which drove himself crazy. But, since he could not afford to laugh there, Al bit down on his inner cheeks, enduring the urge.

He had been far too late in gaining awareness that he was a real villain, how truly odious.

Yae: […Yes, Al-sama.]

As Al derided himself so, back-to-back with him across the brick wall, Yae muttered.

Clutching her chest, throbbing with the untamed “terror”, Yae followed her heart, whispering a vow of her submission to the man beyond the wall, the absolutely permanent resignation of her soul, in a voice inaudible to him.

《Fin》

Translation Note:

[1] – In Japanese, himo refers to a man who is financially dependent on a woman. Yae uses it on herself, so Al warns her about the gendered nuance of the term as a quirk of the Japanese language.