Apocalypse Girls

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Ere we begin, I would like to bestow my thanks unto a select few.

To Eliman7, whose proofreading and suggestions were indispensable to the completion of this project.

To Rokaroka, for the wonderful character designs and illustrations he provided for this work.

To Nagatsuki Tappei, the brilliant author by the hand of whom this tale was composed.

To Mister Donut, where much of this translation was completed.

And finally, to the many individuals who have been eagerly waiting the opportunity to read this text, yet have continued to grace me with their patience as I worked my way through.

– Garcar

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Navigation: | Prologue | Chapter I | Chapter II | Chapter III | Chapter IV | Chapter V | Chapter VI | Epilogue | Afterword |

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Prologue
『Beloved Warmth』

――A raging storm of pallid snow shrouded her vision, and she was unable to see even a few meters ahead.

Thunderous and obstreperous was the wind, while the snow, howling as it blew, felt cold to the touch.

Feeling a cold so intense that it seemed like her bare skin would peel and flake away, she pressed forth, leaving prints in the snow one step after the other. The footprints she had trodden into the snow quickly vanished, so she was even unsure of which direction she had come from. Was it from the fore? Was it from the rear? Was she marching onwards? Was she retreating backwards?

――Was she still alive? Was she already dead? Uncertain, is what she was.

???: [――――]

Loosening her lips at the foolish musing, she continued atop the frozen snow, assailed by the blizzard.

The snow accumulating on the ground was a rather peculiar thing, as what fluttered down from the heavens was a soft powder snow, but the moment it adhered to the surface of the ground, it would glaciate, assuming the form of a fatal weapon. Without shoes, her bare feet were torn to shreds, while the sensation of the blood flowing from their soles vaguely reminded her of the pulsations of her own life.

In the depths of the wintry chill, useless thoughts crossed her mind one after the other.

Things like when she had last eaten, what the leftovers she had a considerable while ago actually tasted like, the cute girl that veered away when they escaped from the slavers, the vulgar slaver who tried to lay his hands on the merchandise, and her very self, which even now seemed on the brink of vanishing.

???: [――――]

All of those could be classified as nothing more than inconsequential thoughts.

Everything, including the matter of her very being, was inconsequential in the face of the chill she felt in that moment.

Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold. Even if she chanted it as a malediction, cold it remained.

The cold was something that robbed people of their ability to think like a human. It was not as though she had ever been one to think about things in a rational manner, yet that effect had become increasingly obvious.

To live or to die, when in a situation where the problem was narrowed down to those two extremities, humans were not so different from beasts. Rather, in the sense of unswerving dedication to life, beasts possessed a single-mindedness that humans could not emulate.

In that case, were she to become a beast, would it then become easier for her to live――,

???: [Woof, woof, woof…]

Her lips, a faint hue of red yet lingering, made a husky voice mimicking the barks of a hound.

Any semblance of meaning it bore naught. This was nothing more than another link in the unending chain of useless thoughts. ――Nay, there had indeed been meaning to it.

???: [――Hk! Finally found ye, blasted guttersnipe!]

???: [Ah…]

Amidst the howling of the snowstorm, she heard the voice of a man with a thick accent. Subsequently, a strike to her slender shoulders caused her body to topple over sideways atop the snow. Her whole body was embraced by the icy snow, and the sensation of her blood turning to ice made her cheek stiffen.

When she glanced over, she beheld a man of great stature standing just beside her.

‘Twas a visage bearing the mark of recognition within her memories. That was but a matter of course.

Large Man: [Did ye think ye’d steal me wares and scuttle away, damned thief…!]

Speaking those words, the keeper of the shop, from whom she had stolen, seized the tresses of her black hair and hoisted her aloft. In the midst of this raging snowstorm, it was a marvel that he had managed to pursue the fleeing damsel to such a distant place.

Should that be deemed an admirable ambition for commerce? Or a dismal vindictiveness? Perhaps both?

It was mentioned earlier that the cold could steal one’s ability to think like a human, yet it also stole something else. Composure and compassion; in other words, the very thing known as humanity.

The man, who had lost his very humanity, would go to the utmost limits of perseverance to exact retribution upon the thief, similarly bereft of that very thing.

He was an adult and she was a child. To begin with, there was a disparity in physique. Seized by the hair and hefted aloft, her feet could not be planted firm on the snow. Then, the man’s fist plunged right into the middle of her body, suspended as it was.

Over and over again, he hit her. Without any escape from the force of the blows, her bones grated against each other. For a time, her urine would probably be tainted with the hue of blood. Pondering as such, she continued to avert her attention away from the pain.

Large Man: [Haa, haa…]

Before long, the man ran out of breath from hitting her over and over, and released his grasp on her hair. Her body, languid and weak, fell atop the snow. She was weary, lacking any strength whatsoever.

Then, slowly covering her motionless body, the man draped himself over her.

Young Girl: [――――]

Amidst the gale of snow, she could feel the man’s heavy breathing. Her own respiration was also noisy, however, her ears were of no avail. Only, one of the senses from the five she possessed yet persisted. That was why, she could feel it.

The man’s hand traced her slender and hollow ribs, groping her body.

Her body had thinned to the extent that it seemed to have no gender, but even so, it would make a sufficient meal within this extreme cold. Of course, “meal” was merely a figure of speech. This too, was just another link in the unending chain of useless thoughts.

Having stolen, should she just be grateful of the fact that she had not been immediately killed? Should she lament the fact that she was still living through a fate worse than death?

In the midst of the sensations that could be described as neither pleasant nor unpleasant, she slowly closed her eyes.

Large Man: [――?]

Suddenly, somehow, her outstretched fingers had caught a grasp of something. Not a piece of frozen snow, nay, held within her fingers was a certain hardness, with a rather smooth surface, akin to a shard of glass.

Immediately, she realized it was what she had stolen from the shop, the bottle of alcohol that had been the impetus of her pursuit.

It was not as though she had yearned to drink the strong liquor, yet such a thing lent itself well to an exchange with someone who did crave it. Moreover, it was infamous for blazing all too easily, a kind by the name of fire brandy, if her memory served her right.

Somehow, it seemed like it had fallen to the snow and shattered when she had been hit. She fiddled with a jagged shard of the liquor bottle in her hand, pondering. And knowing full well that it was a useless thought, still she ruminated upon it.

Large Man: [Guph…]

Young Girl: [――?]

In that moment, a strange sound melded in with the man’s heavy respiration, and she tilted her head.

Right before her, the man widened his eyes, baring his yellow stained teeth with mouth gaped open. From his mouth, dark blood spilled forth, and she unconsciously turned her head away.

Then, wondering what had happened, while the malodor of blood dominated her nostrils――,

Young Girl: [――Ah.]

A sudden heat surged and spread through her lower half, drenching her in warmth.

Slowly, she lowered her gaze. The man’s large body shielded her from the furious winds of the hailstorm. Thanks to that, she could acutely discern what had occurred with her own black irises.

――The man’s abdomen had been torn open, his overflowing blood, his viscera, had spilled out from his waist.

Large Man: [――――]

Within the extreme cold, it gave forth a great heat, enough to generate steam and provide her frozen body with warmth. Moving before her thoughts had time to settle, the glass shard grasped in her hand had ripped through the man’s belly.

There existed no words that could describe the unfathomable deep emotions she felt upon realizing that fact.

Was it because she had violated a taboo? Was it because she was piling up sin after sin? Was it because she had taken the life of another with her own hands? Neither was it wholly due to any of those things, nor was it not due at all.

Only, only, in the midst of this shivering cold, she pondered to herself.

――This very warmth is the truest feeling of being alive; so she thought, just like a beast.

Chapter I
『The Featherrun Sisters』

1

――At first glance, Holosseo Featherrun was a man who appeared to be more dead than alive.

It was not as though he was unnaturally thin. If anything, his cheeks were rather plump, and looking upon him in his entirety, one could observe a superfluity of flesh adorning his frame.

That was not to say that the amount of flesh on one’s body was directly fastened to their vitality, yet still, whether one was obese or emaciated was a good indicator to readily discern how wealthy or destitute they may be.

It was easy for the impoverished to die, while the rich would assuredly live on.

Only that unwritten rule had remained unbroken. In that sense, it seemed like it would be difficult for Holosseo to die.

Despite this, the primary reason he still gave off the impression of a dead man was likely due to his eyes, in which naught was reflected.

Holosseo: [Now, from this moment onwards, you are property of Featherrun.]

Staring with those hollow eye sockets, those dark, abyssal chasms, he hurled such words towards the other party.

It was not as if they had been empty since his birth. No doubt, some foul torture had been inflicted upon him, gouging his eyeballs out.

The painful white scars that remained around his eye sockets stood testament to that fact.

???: [――――]

It was said that the impression someone gave off was largely determined by the eyes. In fact, there was little information to be gleaned from a face that concealed its eyes, and it was difficult to commit such a face to memory.

Holosseo looked like he was either around thirty years old or nearing decrepitude, so his age could not determined based on outward appearances. Although, it could have just been that the beholder took no interest in the age of others.

Holosseo: [What is your name?]

???: [――――]

Holosseo: [Featherrun is asking you a question. Answer. What is your name?]

???: […Ah, were you asking me?]

It was a harsh voice, akin to the hurried scurrying of a spider across the corners of a prison cell.

Upon the realization that the voice was asking for her name, the young girl gave a faint smile and stroked her own hair. And, upon her slender wrists, the shackles and chains clanged, producing an ear-piercing note.

Across the iron bars, Holosseo’s hollow eyes were evaluating the young girl. It was a strange tale. ――After all, his assessment should have already been finished.

That was because she was the commodity of a slaver, and Holosseo was the buyer thereof.

Young Girl: [――――]

Looking closely, there were two figures accompanying behind Holosseo’s meager frame. They were a pair that made Holosseo, a man rather short for an adult male, appear to stand at the average height.

Two maidens, one of tall stature and red tresses, the other of small build and blue locks, both garbed in dresses that matched the hue of their own hair, silently bowed their heads as they stood behind Holosseo.

With just that, the relationship between Holosseo and those girls was made as plain as day.

That is to say, that of a master and his slaves―― a dynamic where Holosseo was lord, and the young maidens his tools.

As the young girl absentmindedly gazed upon those visitors――,

Holosseo: [――Answer. Answer to Featherrun.]

Posing the question once more, that husky voice bore no emotion.

Bereft of frustration or suspicion, it was an utterly neutral query.

Though she had not intended to do so, her eyebrows rose in surprise upon witnessing that response.

This was the slave trade. Customers who purchased such wares were naturally arrogant. It was a place where those without value were given worth and traded as such, so it was natural that such a nature was fostered within the buyers.

Young Girl: [――――]

The young girl, ruminating on such thoughts, felt a sting upon her skin.

It was not that Holosseo’s heart had been roused with irritation, but rather, that the stinging emotions of the petite maiden standing behind him had pierced into her.

Together with a sensation akin to being punctured, the young girl felt a sweet ache in her abdomen. Relaxing her lips at the sense of titillating pleasure, the young girl took a short breath as she stifled her urges.

Whatever the case, naught could be satisfied while she remained locked up in the gaol, bound by shackles.

Therefore――,

Young Girl: [――It’s Elsa.]

Holosseo: [――――]

Young Girl: [A mere commodity, Elsa. ――Please, I shall be in your care ‘til the last drops of my life are spent, right?]

Adorned upon her face a beautiful smile, the young girl in the gaol―― Elsa, tilted her head as her shackles clanged.

Beholding her provocative greeting, the aura of the two maidens changed their hue.

Nevertheless, Holosseo, their lord, quietly spoke,

Holosseo: [――From now on, you are a member of the Featherruns.]

And thus, his heavy, burdensome reply had been spoken, and not a single word more.

2

Upon the map that dared to depict the world in its entirety, one could find inscribed the names of four large countries.

First was the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica, second the Sacred Vollachian Empire, third the Kararagi City-States, and finally, fourth was the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko.

Those great countries, numbering four, were collectively known as the Four Great Countries.

Each of the great countries struggled with their own unique problems, yet among them, the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko was infamous for its particularly harsh environment; most of the land was encrusted with permafrost, and throughout the whole year, snow never ceased its fall.

For the majority of its citizens, the highest priority for survival in the relentless wintry chill was to demonstrate their faith towards the Spirits that held dominion over arcane forces. The basis for that was a deep sense of gratitude and reverence to the one that continuously protected the unforgiving realm of the Holy Kingdom along with its people, the Sacred Beast, Odglass.

Thus in such a realm as Gusteko, there were several conditions that needed to be met for areas in which people could survive.

If those conditions were not fulfilled, it would end up being quite easy for people to reach an everlasting slumber within the snow; it was imperative for the region to be considered Hallowed Land.

――In the sprawling, icy tundras of Gusteko, Hallowed Land stood as havens untouched by the harsh extremities of ice and snow.

Within the cities of Gusteko, all constructed atop Hallowed Land, people found a way to survive while also dealing with the constant build up of snow, even if only just barely.

In other words, Hallowed Land was something absolutely indispensable to the lives of the people of Gusteko.

So precious were they, that they could not be upheld without management of the Church of the Holy King, which safeguarded the Holy Kingdom――,

Elsa: [――I’m surprised. So this place is Hallowed Land?]

Therefore, when she saw that the mansion she had been brought to was located upon Hallowed Land residing within a frozen ravine, Elsa felt a faint sense of astonishment.

During the journey in the dragon carriage, the windows, from which the outside could be peered, had been draped with curtains, making it impossible to glean the circumstances. Hence, though it was unclear which route she had been brought from, it was satisfactory to accept it.

A single mansion was hogging this Hallowed Land all to itself, a sight that harmed the sense of reality of all who bore witness to it.

Before her, the mansion occupying the Hallowed Land could be described as a grand estate. However, Hallowed Land intrinsically had enough power to protect a whole city from the waves of cold. Though it may have been described as a grand estate, to use those grounds for the protection of a single mansion was a luxurious extravagance beyond imagination.

In the first place, the very existence of Hallowed Land was of immense value, and they were strictly managed in amount and location by the ones who governed the Holy Kingdom, the Church of the Holy King.

Therefore, the sight which Elsa currently beheld was one that could never truly exist.

As an exception to that unwritten rule, this space was unabashedly exploiting the power of the Hallowed Land.

Thanks to that, within the surrounding area of the mansion there was sufficient greenery for one to name it a garden, and nature seldom seen in the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko was being cultivated.

Indeed, this could certainly be called an “extraordinary” environment.

Elsa: [So, this is the true power of Featherrun?]

Along the road, she had heard about the extraordinary nature of “Featherrun” many times. Thus beholding its wonder, Elsa murmured in admiration.

The very next moment, a cold blade was affixed to the back of Elsa’s white neck.

Elsa: [――Oh?]

???: […Do not belittle our esteemed Father.]

Warning Elsa in her surprised state, was a hoarse voice akin to that of a crone.

It was the blue-haired young maiden who did utter those words, standing near Elsa’s back. With tails of hair bound on each side of her head, she was garbed in a stunning blue dress, matching the hue of her hair. Her unripe beauty, lying on the boundary between young maiden and lady, was adorned with cosmetics, enhancing her immoral charm.

She had been prepared to have such a beautiful appearance, but alas, as her gaze was fixed upon Elsa, her eyes widened to the extent that it seemed her eyeballs would pop out, and her tongue stuck out like a hound, rendering her loveliness void.

However, what dealt the most harm to her lovely impression was the crooked weapon clasped within her slender arms―― deadly in nature with blades tarnished to a red tinted hue of brown, was a large pair of shears.

The blades of those shears were fastened to Elsa’s slender neck, ensnaring it from both sides. It was no empty threat, for should the strength of their grasp be increased, Elsa’s head would surely bid a sorrowful farewell to her torso.

Her nostrils were stricken with a scent of rusted iron; She pondered whether that scent was intrinsic to the great shears, or if time had simply stained them so.

Though, faced with a situation in which her life was held in the balance, Elsa did not hesitate to tilt her head.

Elsa: [Something like belittling Father, that’s a misunderstanding. What happened just now was… it was… I wonder, what was it?]

Girl: […That’s something for you to decide, isn’t it?]

Elsa: [Well, then it wasn’t belittling. That alone is certain.]

With the blades yet ensnaring her neck, Elsa returned a response that did not quite fit the mood, causing the girl of blue hair to contort her cheeks. Her face reflected both her displeasure and discomfort as they were.

The look in her eyes was an unsettling one, a foreboding that she might clasp those mighty shears shut, but――,

???: [Stop this, Dorothea. Do you intend to bring disgrace upon Father?]

Girl: [――Hk]

Upon hearing that voice, the maiden froze, immediately retracting the blades of her great shears. That instant, Elsa once again was parted from the tangential sensation of death, and stroked her own neck, which had been caught between the blades just before.

???: [Is it necessary to form such an unstable relationship immediately upon having met? Grow up.]

With that, the interaction between Elsa and the girl―― Dorothea, was interrupted by the voice of a red-haired woman, who, opening the large door of the mansion, had made her appearance. A face that Elsa had also caught sight of back at the slave market.

The beautiful locks that reached down to her waist were blood red, and as before, she was adorned in a dress of the same hue. She was around twenty years in age, and possessed beauty that gave off a sharp, graceful impression.

As the woman gazed back and forth between the two standing in the garden, she shifted a stern look towards Dorothea.

Red-Haired Woman: [Dorothea, we spoke of this previously, did we not? Starting today, you are an elder sister. Your time as the youngest is thus concluded. That is why you must do things properly.]

Dorothea: […B-bu-but, Sithonia. T-this girl…]

Red-Haired Woman: [This girl, what about her?]

Dorothea: […Gr, grr, grrr!]

Whilst stomping her feet in anger, Dorothea stared with a face on the verge of tears at the woman of red locks―― Sithonia, the person she had called so. Tears gradually emerged within those eyes, and unable to be held back, they began to overflow.

Dorothea’s manner at present appeared to be emotionally unstable, causing Sithonia to sigh as if she was at a complete loss. Giving a sidelong glance to that exchange between sisters, Elsa shifted the gaze of her black irises towards the mansion.

Elsa: [――――]

As they all stood in the garden before the mansion, towards Elsa and the other two―― nay, to be precise, not towards the other two, but just towards Elsa, several gazes were turned.

She did not know their exact number and positions. Regardless, she could tell that she was being watched.

Sithonia: [You… Elsa, was it? Is there something wrong with the mansion?]

Elsa: [No, I just thought I was being watched. It feels a tad like I’m being welcomed. I’m overjoyed.]

Sithonia: [――. Those girls, have you noticed their gazes?]

Elsa: [Yes.]

As Sithonia’s expression shifted into one of surprise, Elsa nodded, seemingly unbothered.

For a long time now, she had been alert to the vigilance of others.

Rather than gazes, it was something more like indicators or scents. By merely living, countless indicators would hang over the bodies of humans. Elsa was just a little talented at smelling those as they were emitted by people. It was simply a matter of that, and nothing more.

Sithonia: [There is more to you than simply being an exemplary specimen, it would seem.]

Elsa: [I’m fine with anything that may be planned for me, but, I wonder, may I give my greetings to the girls inside?]

Sithonia: [Of course, you can rest assured. There is just one thing I ought to tell you in advance. ――Including Dorothea and myself, everyone in the mansion shall become your elder sisters.]

Elsa: [――Elder sisters.]

Upon hearing Sithonia’s odd assertion, Elsa tilted her head.

However, upon Sithonia’s face was worn an expression of utmost seriousness. Furthermore, as Dorothea stood behind Elsa with tears in her eyes, she made no effort to deny that comment, nodding her head as she sobbed.

Rather than discipline, perhaps it ought to be called a result of domestication.

As Elsa harbored such an impression, Sithonia continued with “Understood?”,

Sithonia: [Here, you shall be the youngest sister. We are the Featherrun Sisters, with you as the youngest sister right at the bottom.]

Elsa: [But, isn’t this girl around the same age as me?]

With a jerk of her chin, Elsa gestured to Dorothea behind her.

It was difficult to tell due to her height and make-up, but Dorothea was around fourteen or fifteen years of age. This year, Elsa would be fifteen years old; probably? Given that approximation, there would not have been a large gap in their ages.

Rather, in terms of age, Elsa would be the older sister, but――,

Sithonia: [――Your real age is of no consequence. This is about the number of years one has spent after becoming a Featherrun.]

Elsa: […Is that so? Understood.]

Spoken to in a firm, clear tone that was difficult to refute, Elsa did not persist.

It was easy to converse with Sithonia, and Elsa could tell that she was showing a good amount of consideration towards her. But, she was nonetheless a member of these so-called “Featherrun Sisters”.

No matter the group, there would assuredly be rules unique to it. That was the case for the slaves who were the merchandise of slavers, as well as for orphans who lurked in the cold alleys.

――Even if it was the Featherrun Sisters, the same idea would apply.

Sithonia: [For the time being, it shall be a few days before Father returns. Until then, you shall learn how to live in this mansion. Have you readied your heart?]

Elsa: [Have I readied my heart? How kind of you to ask.]

Sithonia: [Kind?]

Elsa: [After living in slavery for so long, I’ve completely forgotten what it’s like to be treated as a human.]

Nodding at Sithonia’s words, Elsa reflected on half of her whole life thus far.

Come to think of it, she had loitered around a considerable amount. Her position, too, had varied from runaway, to orphan, to slave, so she would likely immediately grow accustomed to being one of the Featherrun Sisters as well.

The primary factor that had allowed Elsa to continue to survive in such aberrant environments was undoubtedly her adaptability.

Sithonia: […Yes. That shall do fine. No matter the case, you shall become our little sister before long.]

Elsa: [――?]

As some traces of tragic courage revealed themselves in Sithonia’s mutter, Elsa tilted her head.

Be that as it may, Elsa felt no reason or need to probe any further.

No matter how their title was altered, a slave would remain a slave.

After all, whether she was a Featherrun Sister or whatever else, Elsa would remain Elsa.

3

――In the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko, the existence of slaves was an open secret.

Officially, the state religion of the Holy Kingdom, the Gustekan Church, advocated that all lives were equal, preaching that there existed no difference in the value between individual people.

Albeit in reality, it was inevitable for there to be disparity between the rich and poor, for if there were those who abounded in wealth, there would certainly also be those who were famished. At the terminus of that unavoidable reality, there of course existed slaves in order to reduce the number of mouths to feed, and to guarantee a labor force.

The fact that Elsa had ended up a slave also stemmed from the adversity that was so commonplace in the Holy Kingdom.

She no longer possessed any recollection of her parents, but, for better or for worse, they were likely just ordinary people. Neither would they have loved their child particularly strongly, nor would they have vehemently shunned her. Merely, if their living circumstances had become difficult, they would have had no other choice but to sell her off in order to protect themselves.

Elsa harbored no intention of disparaging those parents of hers as heartless.

Only, after being sold off to a slaver for the first time, Elsa’s personal history had been filled with many ups and downs.

At the outset, the tale began with a mass escape from her first slaver. The origin of this escape sequence was not Elsa, but the actions of an older, senior slave.

This older slave had already been planning the escape for quite some time. Strangely enough, the plan was executed directly after Elsa was taken into possession of the slaver, and transported to the base.

Unfortunately, the older slave who had devised the plan died by an arrow to the head, but Elsa, who was still healthy after having only just been sold off, splendidly succeeded in breaking away from the pursuing slaver.

Afterwards, she snuck into a nearby town and mixed in with the children who were living there under no roof, starting life as an orphan on the frigid streets. She ended up doing plenty of horrible things, including murder.

By doing so, she gained notoriety, and thus she naturally caught the attention of a certain group who preyed on such people, which led to the curtain rising on Elsa’s life as a slave for the second time.

Considering how the first time had ended almost instantly, it felt somewhat like the first time she was actually living as a slave. However, this too did not last long. ――It seemed that Elsa’s physical appearance corresponded to the vulgar desires of men.

A buyer immediately took interest, and Elsa was sold off to the fellow who desired her as a slave. From there, she got up to no good and lost her master as a result, which was a pattern that only continued to repeat as she returned to life as a slave.

Amidst those repetitions, nasty rumors began to spread, and soon, Elsa no longer had any interested buyers. Before long, her slaver started to trouble over what to do with her, and ultimately began to consider a more typical disposal――,

Elsa: [――And, that was around when I received an invitation to join the Featherrun Sisters.]

???: [――――]

Thus, having given a broad recount of her life up to that point, Elsa blew out the flame of the candle near her hand. Catching her breath, she looked up, and then proceeded to incline her head.

Elsa: [――? Is something the matter?]

???: […I am surprised, you were burdened with far more than I had initially thought.]

Indeed, the one who had given an answer with carefully chosen words was Sithonia, seated around the same table as Elsa. A candle was present in front of her as well, its red flame flickering as it swayed.

Shown into the Featherrun Mansion, she was introduced to the sisters inside as she told her life story. The story of the events that had led Elsa to this point had just been told a moment prior.

In some ways, it was difficult, but she also thought that in some ways it had been quite fun.

Elsa: [That’s why, I think it’s a tad unexpected that you all view it as sorrowful.]

???: [――Kuku. If you think that it wasn’t sorrowful, then you’re quite the cheerful little sister.]

???: [――Albeit, she may be a girl who fits in just perfectly with the Featherrun Sisters. Kuku.]

In response to Elsa’s murmur, there were two smiles that coincided.

At the edge of the same table, two young girls who looked as similar as two peas in a pod sat side-by-side in a large chair. The two were identical from their facial features to their physique, with the only thing setting them apart being the difference in their respective gold and silver hair―― as expected, they were each wearing dresses that matched the color of their hair, adorning them in a beautiful manner.

Elsa: [I had been curious about this, but the fact that you’ve spoken means that you aren’t just dolls, right? I wonder, are the two of you going to introduce yourselves any time soon?]

???: [Kuku, you’re a strange girl. ――This girl is Hildea. She’s Saria’s little sister.]

???: [――This girl is Saria. She’s Hildea’s older sister. Nice to meet you. Kuku.]

Elsa: [Quite the confusingly similar introductions.]

As the two of them introduced each other, Elsa knit her well-shapen brow.

With their roundabout manner of speech, it seemed that the one with golden hair was Saria, and that the silver-haired one was the younger sister, Hildea. However, following the established rules of the Featherrun Sisters, both of them would be older sisters to Elsa.

As expected, they were all around the same age, yet she found it vexing to be treated as the youngest.

Sithonia: [As you can see, Saria and Hildea are twins who were taken in together. The two of us also went through a great deal before coming here… however, they were rescued here by Father.]

Elsa: [Rescued. Indeed, ah yes that must be.]

Sithonia: [――?]

Elsa: [This is just a supposition, Sithonia, but, did you perhaps also go through alot?]

Asked a question that caught on to the way she had ended her words, Sithonia’s expression slightly clouded over. Then, witnessing that, Saria and Hildea placed their hands together and exclaimed “Wow!” with delight,

Saria: [Did you see that just now, Hildea?]

Hildea: [Indeed, I saw it, Saria.]

Saria: [This Sithonia of ours, she was completely led around the nose by the youngest sister at the bottom.]

Hildea: [Even though she’s the eldest sister at the top, this Sithonia of ours truly is lacking in dignity.]

Sithonia: [Both of you, speak not in such a manner.]

Saria & Hildea: [Wah, scary!]

Being teased by the twins, Sithonia glared at them with sharp eyes. However, without showing any concern over that warning, the twins grinned as they brought cups of black tea from the table to each other’s lips, feeding each other. It was intimate, but that method of drinking seemed to be quite difficult to enact.

Sithonia: [Do not interfere with the things those two do together. That is the trick to getting along with them.]

Elsa: [Thank you for taking all this trouble for me. You’re quite the worrywart, now aren’t you?]

Sithonia: [When the number of unique younger sisters only ever increases, it will always prove to be tough on the elder sister.]

Wearing an expression fraught with weighty anxiety, the young and beautiful Sithonia placed her hand over her forehead.

Dorothea was a violent one, and the twin siblings of Saria and Hildea bore no hesitation to tease their elder sister. It was likely difficult to be an elder sister of all of them. Elsa thought that at least she would not do anything to become a burden on her.

Elsa: [By the way, will you answer my question from earlier, I wonder?]

Sithonia: […Please do not also be one to trouble me.]

Elsa: [Oh my. I failed right away.]

Her plans crushed in exactly one second, Elsa reflected on her own conduct.

Elsa: [Then, may I alter my question? The Featherrun Sisters, now was it? How many people are there in total? In other words, those who will become my so-called family…]

Sithonia: [Including you, we sisters number six in total… there yet remains one person you still have not met. Currently, she is outside the mansion performing her duties, but she will return before long, so you will meet her soon.]

Elsa: [Six sisters… quite the large family, isn’t it? So then that plus Father, would be our family?]

Sithonia: [Indeed. ――That, is our family.]

At Elsa’s query, Sithonia nodded with a gentle tone. And it was not only her, having heard their conversation from the side, Saria and Hildea also did the same thing.

The Featherrun Sisters. ――The girls, gathered for a variety of reasons, had become sisters under the custody of Holosseo, and it did seem like they were satisfied with their life here.

Here, with the secret days they spent in this concealed plot of Hallowed Land.

Elsa: [I wonder if I’ll be able to fit in. My, I’ve come to feel apprehensive.]

Sithonia: […You believe you will be unable to get along with us?]

Elsa: [Ah, that’s not what I meant. It’s just, a normal life, so-to-speak… I’ve never experienced such a thing, so I don’t know how I’d deal with something like a family.]

She had not had any siblings, so her family would have just been her parents, but that was a relationship for which she harbored neither recollections nor emotional attachment, and furthermore, it had been severed from the other side.

After being sold, even just the mere act of living was tough, so she was completely divorced from any notions of a tranquil life.

Elsa: [When I think about that, I wonder where exactly a peaceful day-to-day life would be for me?]

Sithonia: [――――]

Elsa: [Sithonia?]

Elsa harbored pure curiosity, and upon her cheek softly was placed the hand of Sithonia. Gazing back at her in wonder, what emerged within those irises was an intricate, mysterious emotion.

It was an emotion that Elsa had never really seen before. If she had to describe it, perhaps it was something close to sorrow?

Saria: [My oh my, I suppose Sithonia’s the type to get like that right away, after all.]

Hildea: [She’s like that despite being the eldest, unable to bear the adversities of the world. My my.]

Witnessing Sithonia’s behavior from the side, the shrill laughs of the twins resounded as if they were lightly making fun of her. However, with nary a glance to the pair, Sithonia heaved a sigh with her eyes still fixed on Elsa,

Sithonia: [Worry not, Elsa. If it is here, if you are here, you can have both a day-to-day life, and a family. After all, the things you were unable to have until now, are all present here for you.]

Elsa: […I see. I’m looking forward to it.]

Sithonia’s words, bereft of malice, prompted a faint smile to emerge on Elsa’s visage. Taking those words in, Sithonia lightly murmured “Alright”,

Sithonia: [Pardon me for asking about all these things. With that settled, we must help you to become more familiar with the mansion, Elsa. Without further delay, I will also be having you help out with the family’s work.]

Elsa: [The family’s work… that has quite the nice ring to it. What exactly do we do?]

Sithonia: [I mentioned it earlier, did I not? Nobody but us sisters and Father live here. We do not even have servants such as butlers or maids. Of course, neither do we have slaves. That is why――]

Speaking those words, Sithonia stood up and spread out her arms. That gesture was not merely pointing out the fireplace lounge. It was indicating something larger, the entire mansion.

Seeing that Elsa had understood that, Sithonia flashed a smile.

Sithonia: [That is why, all the everyday tasks and mansion housework is divided between us sisters.]

Elsa: [――――]

Sithonia: [You were also once a slave, so you must know how to cook and clean, correct? Please demonstrate your talents. As fellow sisters, let us help each other out.]

Gazing at the white hand proffered by Sithonia, Elsa recalled the extensive facilities of the mansion of which she had received a light tour.

And then――,

Elsa: [Though, I’m quite bad at such things, so I’m sure I’ll be an inconvenience.]

With that, she evasively declined the eldest’s invitation.

4

The environs of the mansion, that ought to be called the Featherrun Estate, were overflowing with greenery unbecoming of Gusteko.

It was common knowledge that villages and settlements in this country were constructed upon Hallowed Land, but the vast majority of residences were nonetheless surrounded by unmelting snow, so it was a rare occurrence to see any color other than white.

For this place to be an exception to that, was it because the quality of the Hallowed Land was high, or was it perhaps influenced by the fact that this mansion was the only construction on this plot; which of the two was it?

Elsa: [Or perhaps, is it neither of those, I wonder? What do you think?]

???: [――――]

With malevolent shears thrust before her neck, Elsa calmly posed such a question.

They were located in the front yard of the Featherrun Estate, a garden that particularly stood out even amidst the Hallowed Land brimming with greenery. The grass and hedges were neatly trimmed, and there were a considerable amount of vibrant flowers of differing hues all around.

She had immediately been taken right into the mansion, unable to get a proper look at the garden, so she had went back just for the sake of it, but――,

Elsa: [It seems like I’m not welcome.]

Saying that, Elsa gazed at Dorothea, who was glaring back at her through the gap in the shears.

Dorothea, who had arrived at the garden first, had not made any efforts to conceal her hostility towards Elsa, such had been the case ever since their first meeting. Even though Elsa did not discriminate between any of the other sisters, this was awfully harsh reception.

For what reason she was being detested so much, she truly had no clue as to why.

Dorothea: […Why, are you here?]

Elsa: [You say the strangest things. You were the one who brought me here. And, wasn’t that on Father’s orders, too?]

Dorothea: […That’s not what I’m talking about!!]

Dorothea howled in frustration, and that instant, the tip of her shears lightly cut into Elsa’s white neck. There was a stinging pain, and Dorothea let out a soft “――Ah”.

Then, she averted her gaze, and began to hold her own blue-haired head,

Dorothea: [Wro-wrong, you’ve got it wrong… I, I didn’t mean to harm you, the momentum just…]

Elsa: […Ah, a little blood spilled out. Well, I don’t really mind.]

Dorothea: [N-no…!! Y-your body’s already, Father’s property, so…]

Dropping her shears on the spot, Dorothea’s face went pale. Her eyes darted about, and then, lifting her head as if she had realized something, she unsteadily approached Elsa.

Then, she placed her lips to Elsa’s neck, and began to lick the wound.

Elsa: […I’m not really into this kind of thing, though.]

Dorothea: [Mm, mhh… if I lick, your wound… it’ll heal, it’ll heal right away, so…]

Clinging to Elsa’s neck in a trance, Dorothea was frantic to atone for her blunder. And since Elsa did not particularly feel the need to shake her off, Elsa allowed her to do as she pleased.

Instead, Elsa gazed towards the prudently maintained garden once more.

No matter how hallowed this land was, it would not bestow any special power upon the vegetation. It merely provided an environment such that they could keep on living. Since a garden would not be able to maintain itself, there must have been someone who tended to it.

Elsa: [Dorothea, are you the one who takes care of this place?]

Dorothea: […Ah, yeah. This area’s… been entrusted to me, after all.]

In addition to the already ticklish sensation of being licked, the air exhaled when Dorothea spoke enhanced the ticklishness even further. Elsa slightly drew back her body, and then, for some reason, patted Dorothea on the head.

The azure locks, tied into twintails, were like silk as Elsa ran her fingers through them. This also went for Sithonia and the twins, but including Dorothea, the beauty of these girls was not merely confined to their facial features. They were so thoroughly packed with beauty that extended to their hair, skin, nails, and teeth.

Elsa: [――You’re pretty.]

Dorothea: […Hyup.]

Elsa: [Oh my.]

The very instant Elsa expressed her honest impressions, Dorothea’s body tensed up, and she leapt backwards. Elsa found it unfortunate that the soft sensation had left her, as Dorothea stared at her in shock.

Her expression was as if she had come across a Hollow on the street in the middle of the night.

Elsa: [If not that, then maybe it’s the face of finding a Zodda bug in the corner of your room.]

Dorothea: […Are you making fun of me?]

Elsa: [No? I wonder why this always happens. Even though I talk to people in earnest, I’m often told such things. They tell me to not make fun of them, or to not mess with them. Perhaps I was impolite?]

Placing a hand to her own cheek, Elsa lamented the difficulty she faced in interacting with people. Then, touching her neck, she ascertained the lingering sensation of Dorothea’s lips, and the condition of the faint wound.

Elsa: [It seems like the blood’s stopped. Thank you… if I said that in this situation, would it be odd?]

Dorothea: […Why, did you come here?]

Elsa: [I was going around in circles, I guess. It’s just, I wanted to see the garden, so I came outside. So much effort has gone into caring for this flower bed, and yet I’d not had the time to get a good look at it.]

No apology was given for the wound, and neither did Elsa desire one. Engaging in the necessary conversation, Elsa crouched down before the blooming flowers, and gently laid her fingers upon a petal.

She had not been very conscious of it, but seldom had she touched flowers like this.

While the slavers and buyers were affluent in their own ways, they were not so sentimental as to take effort to decorate the scenery of their homes with flowers. Much less, in places where the hands of slaves could reach.

Dorothea: […Do you, not see flowers often?]

Elsa: [Yes, that’s right. They aren’t something I’ve ever seen much of.]

Picking up her great shears, Dorothea stood beside Elsa with a slightly laudable attitude. That she did not also squat down served as a sign of her wariness, but Elsa did not mind much.

Towards that side profile of Elsa’s, Dorothea inquired in a hoarse, crone-like voice.

Dorothea: […What of Sithonia? She should be looking after you.]

Elsa: [She was, but, I was probably too much for her to handle. See, you know how there’s that thing about dividing the mansion’s housework, such as cleaning, between everyone? The thing is, I don’t really have much talent for that…]

Dorothea: […You don’t have talent?]

Elsa: [Cleaning and laundry aren’t my strong suits. Cooking, too… I suppose that could be influenced by my life of being satisfied with whatever was edible. I’m not particular about how things taste.]

That she had done a half-hearted job due to it being tiresome, was not the case in the slightest. Since Elsa was also aware that she had been purchased, she was earnest about trying to fit in with her contemporaries.

However, if results were bound to follow just because one was serious about something, then words such as “meritocracy” would have never come to be in this world.

Hence, the areas in which Elsa had tried to help out fell into a ruinous state greater than they had been before she had assisted, so an exasperated Sithonia had told her that she was being put on the bench.

Elsa: [That said, it would still be bad to do nothing, right? That’s why, with the will to look for work on my own, I’ve been searching for my calling.]

Dorothea: […Don’t tell me, is that why you came here?]

Elsa: [Indeed. I have decent experience with handling blades so I thought I might be of use――]

Dorothea: […Stop.]

Receiving quite a strong rejection, Elsa caught her breath with an “Eh”.

Elsa promptly looked up at Dorothea, and cast back at her was a gaze brimming with a sense of hatred. Perhaps she had been irritated by someone encroaching on her territory?

Elsa: [I’m sorry if I took you by surprise. But, if I can just give it a go one time…]

Dorothea: […Absolutely not. This place belongs to me. It’s the job that was bestowed upon me, so…]

Elsa: [But…]

Dorothea: […Quit it already!]

As soon as she tried to persist, Dorothea’s emotions erupted once more.

Spinning around the great shears in her hands, she aimed for Elsa’s neck―― nay, her collar, and once Elsa was caught by it, she was hurled a great distance back.

Widening her eyes at the raw strength unthinkable of the petite Dorothea, Elsa tumbled across the lawn. The sensation of greenery and the smell of grass, was a far cry from the frigidity of coarse snow.

This was no place to be thinking about such incongruous things. As Elsa laid face upward upon the lawn, above her leapt Dorothea, who began to rapidly descend towards her.

She did so with such vigorous intention to pierce straight into Elsa’s chest using her great shears――,

Dorothea: [Someone like you…!!]

Elsa: [――――]

In response to the approaching loathing and murderous intent, Elsa gently narrowed her black eyes.

Then, the moment Dorothea’s onslaught was about to befall Elsa―― the great shears were grabbed by an interloping hand that had lightly reached out from the side.

Dorothea: [Ah…]

???: [Shut it with those “Ah”s! What are you, little miss stupid or something!?]

A light gasp escaped Dorothea’s throat, only to be drowned out by the angered bellow that followed directly afterwards.

Swung about in her entirety by the firm grasp on her arm, Dorothea’s figure disappeared from Elsa’s field of view. Then, the vanished Dorothea was slammed down right next to Elsa―― no, she was slowly lowered.

The two of them now laid side by side upon the grass.

???: [Really now! Your short temper is unmanageable, Dorothea! With this sorta thing, we won’t even be able to trust you to tend to the flowers. The delicate blossoms would end up scattered in a huge mess!]

Dorothea: [――――]

Within the vision of the collapsed pair, an upside-down face could be seen. That was the person who had flung Dorothea up, curbing her act of murder just before it was carried out.

And, to Elsa, the figure of that person was――,

Elsa: […A child?]

???: [――. You’re the new little sis, so I’ll let this first time slide. But, there won’t be a second time. I’ll have you know that being treated like a kid is the thing that I absolutely hate the most.]

Saying that as she grabbed Elsa’s sprawled out body and heaved it up by force, was a young girl who was only about as tall as Elsa’s chest level.

Her short, green hair was adorned with many ornaments, and she looked at Elsa with strong, round eyes. Based on her might, and the fact that she was here at this Featherrun Estate, her identity was evident.

Elsa: [I suppose you are the final member of the Featherrun Sisters?]

???: [You’re damn right! I’m the second daughter of the Featherrun Sisters, Ornea Featherrun. Your admirable elder sister. Make sure to never forget your feelings of veneration.]

Placing a hand on her waist, Ornea’s breathing grew fervent as she introduced herself before Elsa. No matter how one looked at it, she was at most eleven or twelve years old; but regardless, an elder sister who was clearly younger had appeared.

Be that as it may, it was precisely as she had been told earlier. Among the Featherrun Sisters, sisterly relationships were determined by the order of entry. Elsa’s position as the youngest sister would not change.

Elsa: [Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Elder Sister Ornea. I am Elsa… though I suppose that I would be going by Elsa Featherrun now.]

Ornea: [Mhm, it’s good that you’re straightforward. It might be tough, but I wonder if I could teach you a thing or two directly? But, there’s something I need to tell you before any of that.]

Elsa: [――?]

Ornea: [For now, you’re not a Featherrun. ――Not yet.]

Shaking Elsa’s proffered hand, Ornea nodded in high spirits. However, she pulled on Elsa’s hand just a little bit harder, and added that on in a soft, quiet voice.

Elsa held her breath as she heard that whisper, and Ornea smiled as if forgetting her attitude from a moment prior, before turning her face towards the collapsed Dorothea.

Ornea: [Dorothea! How long do you plan on lying down there!? You know you’re right in front of our youngest sister! Are you gonna behave like a spoiled brat forever, never acting like a proper elder sister!?]

Dorothea: [――Hk, b-but, Ornea…]

Ornea: [It’s your own fault for getting slapped around by me! First of all, how are you going to face Father after trying to kill your younger sister half a day after meeting her!?]

Dorothea: […Sniffle.]

Rebuked by Ornea, Dorothea found herself with tears welling up in her eyes, unable to bear it. The moment Ornea saw this, her expression grew stiff with an “Ah…”.

Ornea: [W-wait, Dorothea, don’t you cry now! Don’t cry, okay? I don’t know what to do when a little sis cries! So, don’t cry…]

Dorothea: [Hnghh, ngh… WAAAAHHHHH!]

Ornea: [Eek!! She’s cryyyying!!]

As tears began to stream down Dorothea’s face, Ornea panicked. Since she was merely hovering her hand around her in a hurried manner, Ornea could not console Dorothea.

The girl of childish appearance panicked, and the other girl wept with the hoarse voice of a crone. Amidst that hopelessly unnatural situation, Elsa slowly squatted down.

Then, upon the cheek of Dorothea, face disheveled with tears, she gently placed her hand.

Dorothea: […Ah.]

Elsa: [Don’t cry now, everything will be alright. Nobody is blaming you. If I, who was on the receiving end of those shears, sees it that way, wouldn’t that go for everybody else as well?]

Dorothea: [――――]

Elsa: [Or perhaps, can you not bear it? Though, you are supposed to be my elder sister.]

Hearing Elsa’s words, Dorothea’s eyes opened wide; firmly clenching her teeth, she broke away from the hand touching her cheeks. Then, vigorously standing back up,

Dorothea: […W-who said I was crying?]

Ornea: [Nah, you were definitely crying… Mfghmfhhhh!]

Elsa: [We needn’t say anything uncalled for now.]

As Ornea tried to spoil Dorothea’s show of courage, Elsa covered her mouth to stop her from continuing. Fortunately, that slip of the tongue seemed to have not reached Dorothea, so she went back to pick up her great shears, and clasping the huge blades together, she gave a curt “…Well, I’ll get back to work now”.

Elsa: [I see. Apologies for disrupting you. Do your best in your work now.]

Dorothea: […I, um, forgive you, for earlier.]

Elsa: [Oh my.]

Leaving behind those words with her back turned, face unseen, Dorothea passed through the garden with lumbering, large strides. Likely, she was headed to tend to flowers somewhere Elsa and Ornea could not see.

Seeing her off, Elsa took a small breath. And, thereupon――,

Ornea: [――So, how long do you plan on silencing me?]

Elsa: [Ah, my apologies. You seemed like you would give numerous unnecessary comments, so I got a bit carried away there.]

Ornea: [I don’t think you can speak for others, though! Really now! Damn youngest sister!]

Slipping out from under Elsa’s hand on her mouth, Ornea fixedly glared at her.

As expected, her childish appearance inhibited others from gleaning an accurate impression of her. However, she herself had said that she was the second daughter after Sithonia.

Elsa: [From what I’ve heard, you had an errand… no, a duty, and had been outside attending to it.]

Ornea: [Mhm, I finished dealing with it and now finally returned. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you ever since I heard about you from Father and Sithonia, but…]

Elsa: [――?]

Ornea: [Yet again, there’s another little sis who’s taller than I am…]

Hanging her head in dejection, Ornea was disheartened by the height difference between Elsa and herself.

Looking over Ornea’s head, Elsa turned her eyes to the direction she had come from―― towards the outer portion of the Featherrun Estate, where the entrance to a small cavern was connected.

Going out from the snowfield, and through the cavern, would bring one to the recesses where this Hallowed Land laid. In other words, if she could make it through that cavern, the outside world would be waiting for her.

Ornea: [You can’t.]

Elsa: [――――]

Ornea: [Don’t think of doing anything stupid, Elsa. Take this as a warning from me. Any reckless actions will only end up digging your own grave.]

Perhaps having sensed something within Elsa’s gaze, Ornea cautioned her.

Receiving that advice from her short elder sister, Elsa shrugged her shoulders. Then, explaining her gaze with “You’ve misunderstood”,

Elsa: [I’m not thinking of trying to do anything. Neither heedless actions, nor assisting with work.]

Ornea: [So you aren’t even going to try to help out with work… what is Sithonia even doing right now anyway? She’s supposed to be the caretaker. Neglecting her younger sisters…]

Elsa: [I suppose she might be tidying up the devastation of the mansion I made in the name of helping out.]

Ornea: [Then, you’ve gotta feel some remorse for what you’ve done!]

Hearing Elsa’s unashamed response, Ornea’s expression shifted into one of anger. Then, she grabbed Elsa by the hand, and forcibly began to walk towards the mansion.

Ornea: [Listen up. Now that I’ve returned, I’m gonna hammer what’s known as a rigid lifestyle right into you. Sithonia may have resigned part way through, but I won’t do anything of the sort!]

Elsa: [I see. I understand. I’m looking forward to it.]

Ornea: [Khkhkh, I’m the one who’s looking forward to seeing how long you can keep up that calm demeanor!]

With a confident smile, Ornea dragged Elsa into the mansion. Unable to go against that brute strength, Elsa, for some reason, looked towards the garden, towards the entrance to the cavern, and,

Elsa: [I truly am looking forward to it.]

So she muttered, licking her red lips.

5

Ornea: [I can’t handle her! This girl I tell you, what the heck is wrong with her!? I’ve never ever seen anyone so bad at living! She’s just like a beast!]

So shouted Ornea, at her wits’ end, the moment they all took their seats around the large table for dinner.

With the sweet facial features of a little girl, Ornea’s white forehead was engraved with deep wrinkles, accurately depicting the severity of her mental distress.

Elsa: [You mustn’t fret too much, Ornea. It’ll be okay, I’m sure a path will open up if we continue.]

Ornea: [Are you really the one saying that to me right now!?]

Elsa: [――?]

Beholding Ornea’s exasperated expression, Elsa tilted her head in confusion. As the second daughter hung her head upon seeing Elsa’s response, the eldest daughter, seated at the same table, showed appreciation for her efforts with a wry smile.

Sithonia: [I understand Ornea’s feelings. After all, I was also… surprised, by a variety of things.]

Ornea: [Quite the reserved phrasing you got there! To me it felt like heaven and earth were flipped upside down!]

Ornea’s lamentations only caused Sithonia’s strained smile to deepen.

And while all of that was happening, the twins Saria and Hildea came out from the kitchen pushing a trolley upon which dinner was set. The two walked side by side as they pushed the trolley, and it actually appeared to be rather difficult for them.

Saria: [Kuku, we’re far more used to doing this than it looks.]

Hildea: [We were far more inefficient before, but after practicing over and over, we can do it quite freely. Kuku.]

Elsa: [Though, that just sounds like it really was as difficult as I imagined at first.]

It was splendid that they had overcome that, but it also sounded like something that had no real need to be overcome.

With nary a glance back at Elsa’s tactless riposte, Saria and Hildea began to place the supper that they had made upon the table.

Saria: [Hildea made the main course today.]

Hildea: [Saria prepared the appetizers today.]

Saria: [Tomorrow, it will be your and Ornea’s turn. I’ll be looking forward to it.]

Hildea: [I’m looking forward to it. To see your and Ornea’s cooking tomorrow.]

Ornea: [N-nooooooooo! I wanna do it by myseeelf――!!]

At the mix of anticipation and provocation from the twins, Ornea responded in despair. Elsa, being treated as the primary cause of that despair, found it upsetting, but having said that, neither did she not have even a smidgen of confidence.

At the very least, without doing anything superfluous, it would be best for her to just wash the tableware and whatnot in the corner of the kitchen.

???: […I’m back, Sithonia.]

Sithonia: [Ah, welcome home, Dorothea. First of all, let us clean the dirt off of your arms and legs.]

During that interaction, Sithonia brought Dorothea, having returned from gardening, to the washroom.  Given that she also wore her blue dress while working, the manner in which Dorothea had gotten dirty was quite something.

Elsa: [Speaking of which, is it correct to think that our dresses are to Father’s tastes?]

Ornea: [Hm? Ah, that. Rather than it being to Father’s tastes, it’s a custom of the Featherruns. The Featherrun Sisters are to wear dresses. It’s that sorta unwritten rule.]

Elsa: [――. I see. I guess that’s fine then.]

While responding, Elsa looked down at the black dress she was wearing―― without sleeves, it was an article of clothing that kept its splendor to a minimum.

Aside from Elsa, the other sisters were all clad in dresses that matched their respective features. Perhaps it was their doctrine to match the color of hair and dress, as it remained consistent throughout all of them.

Using a mansion hidden within Hallowed Land in order to buy up “problematic” slaves like Elsa, granting them clothes and a decent life, was Holosseo Featherrun a philanthropist, perhaps?

Elsa: [Fufu.]

Thinking such things in an insincere manner, Elsa’s lips curved into a smile.

With those abyssal, hollow eye sockets, there was no possibility for that man to be a virtuous human brimming with compassion. It was undeniable that he had gathered Elsa, along with the other sisters, with a certain objective in mind.

At present, Elsa did not know his objective, but―― at the very least, she understood that she had been purchased in order to slot into the role of one of the Featherrun Sisters.

Sithonia: [――Sorry to keep you waiting. Everybody, take your seats.]

After some time had passed since supper had been put on the table, Sithonia returned with Dorothea, the latter having washed her arms and legs. Receiving that addressment, Ornea and the twins, who had been acting boisterously up until then, shut their mouths.

Then, everybody took their assigned seats with their supper before them. The head of the table was unoccupied, and in order from there, were seated Sithonia, Ornea, Saria, Hildea, Dorothea, and finally, Elsa.

Sithonia: [We thank thee, our Motherly Great Spirit, residing atop the highest peak of the Sacred Mountain. For today, you once again grant us sustenance, allow us to spend time together with our family, and to sleep in tranquility.]

Elsa: [――――]

Closing her eyes and putting her hands together, Sithonia spun words of gratitude towards the empty sky.

Elsa knit her brows, wondering what was going on, but since Dorothea glared at her with sharp eyes from the other side of the table, she also put her hands together for the time being, and cast her eyes downwards.

Sithonia: [Though it may be meager, tonight we offer a prayer of gratitude towards your benevolence. May you bestow your grand love upon the Holy Kingdom evermore. ――So be the Silver Affection.]

Elsa: [――So be the Silver Affection.]

Together with Sithonia’s prayer, the sisters all spoke in unison at the end. A moment belated, Elsa also repeated those words of prayer.

Sithonia: [Well then, let us enjoy this meal. Saria’s soup looks just as delicious as ever.]

Erasing the sublime atmosphere of the prayer, Sithonia proclaimed the commencement of mealtime. Then, each of the sisters began to eat as they pleased.

Finally granted permission, Elsa was also about to get started on her food, but,

Elsa: [Before that, about those words of prayer just now…]

Sithonia: [Ah, you are not familiar, are you Elsa? That was a ritual prayer of the Gustekan Church. Words of gratitude towards the Sacred Beast, Odglass-sama, who grants us sustenance each and every day… Our Father is in charge of an important duty in the Church of the Holy King. That is why…]

Ornea: [We’re also affiliated with the Church of the Holy King. Thanks to that, we can live in this warm house, eat warm food and wear warm clothes. Being thankful’s only natural.]

While pouring soup down her throat, Ornea interrupted Sithonia’s words and declared so. She seemed to be a bit of a glutton, and so, eating up bread and meat in quick succession, she continued to quickly fill up her tiny body.

Ornea: [Mrghh! Oi, seems like you really want to ask just where in my body all of this is going.]

Elsa: [And just where in that small body of yours is all of that going?]

Ornea: [Hey, you actually went and said it!]

Even while shouting in anger, Ornea’s hand did not stop shoveling food into her mouth.

Before mealtime, too, back when she was trying to teach Elsa a variety of things, she had been moving her small body around at full exertion. She was likely using a considerable amount of stamina just to live.

Elsa: [――――]

Sithonia chided Ornea’s behavior, all the while Saria and Hildea fed their respective suppers to one another, similar to how they had done with their black tea earlier. Dorothea stirred restlessly in her seat as she ate, but upon noticing Elsa’s gaze, she abruptly turned a grim stare to her.

It was a terribly boisterous, frantic, and restless dining table.

However――,

Elsa: [I suppose this is what’s known as a family meal.]

Getting a vague feeling that she was intruding on a scene alien to herself, Elsa muttered so. Hearing that, the other sisters all stopped simultaneously.

They pointed their eyes of various colors towards Elsa, and displayed their respective reactions.

Though the emotions spread across were mysterious and complex, the overall reactions were comprised of smiles.

Sithonia: [I’m glad you could understand, Elsa. This, is a family dining table. One shared by us, the Feathrrun Sisters.]

Elsa: [I see… In that case, I’ll do my best to grow accustomed to it. For the time being…]

Sithonia: [For the time being?]

Elsa: [――I guess I’ll focus on a tidier manner of eating.]

Saying that, Elsa looked down at her hands―― with no recognizable trace left of the food that had initially been set on the table, she looked at the wretched mess she had made of the dining table.

Ornea: [Why’s that!? How’d it end up like that!? Are you a beast!?]

Dorothea: […Did a stray dog come and lay waste only to Elsa’s supper?]

Saria: [Kuku, it may look like that, but no such thing happened. Right, Hildea?]

Hildea: [Yes, there’s no way such a thing could have happened. Right, Saria? Kuku.]

Exposed to the eyes of her sisters, who all seemed like they were seeing something utterly unbelievable, Elsa frowned in a sullen manner.

She had not particularly intended on ravaging her meal, and it had just naturally ended up this way. She had probably been born with a catastrophic lack of talent for keeping things tidy.

Sithonia: [Apprehensive to cleaning, laundry, and cooking. And finally, to think that even your ability to eat your own food is dubious at best… aha.]

Elsa: [Sithonia?]

Sithonia: [Aha, fufufu!! How peculiar. You are a peculiar one, Elsa, ahahahaha!]

Watching over that disaster, Sithonia burst out into laughter with a reaction delayed from the other four. Seeing that reaction from the one who had given off a peaceful impression, Elsa was a bit surprised.

However, she did not feel bad as Sithonia laughed like that.

Ornea: [Though, I don’t see this as any laughing matter. I’m at a total loss in regards to where to start teaching her from.]

Folding her short arms, Ornea admonished her so. However, her meek hue from earlier had grown faint, and in its place emerged something akin to a smile.

The twins and Dorothea, too, mixed into the gentle atmosphere with their looks. Albeit somewhat mismatched, amicable emotions had come together; that first act would now――,

???: [――O Daughters of mine.]

Everyone: [――――]

An unexpected voice resounded, and the sisters all lifted their heads as if snapping up. Then, all of them leaped out of their chairs in unison, and kneeled down to prostrate themselves on the floor of the dining hall.

Once again, as all the sisters other than herself performed those actions, Elsa remained alone gazing in dumbfoundment―― the very next moment, Elsa was grabbed by the back of her head, and forced to bow on the floor by brute strength.

After a hard sound resounded alongside a spike of pain, she realized that her forehead had been knocked into the floor. The one who had done that was Ornea, who was supposed to have been a distance between herself and Hildea.

Just how much raw strength was housed in those dainty arms; Elsa could not resist their power in the slightest. And then, before Ornea could remove her slender arms, a voice called down upon them.

???: [All are present. Here in the presence of Featherrun.]

Sithonia: [――. Father, you have returned early. Please excuse our failure to welcome your return…]

???: [It matters not. You are all property of Featherrun.]

Due to being forced into the floor, Elsa could not see the face of the person speaking. But, this voice that sounded like that of dead man’s was present in her recollections. ――It was Holosseo.

The man who had purchased Elsa from a slaver, and was referred to as Father by the sisters of this mansion. To Elsa, too, he was a person who ought to be called by such a title.

Holosseo had returned, and the sisters received his arrival in such a way. ――Such an act was a bit of a warped way to welcome someone. After all, Ornea’s hand was trembling.

Her arm, pinning Elsa’s head down to the floor, had been trembling to a sorrowful extent. That was not because she was funneling power into it, but a result of her sentiments of dread.

Elsa: [――――]

Twisting her neck, still groveling on her hands and knees, Elsa faced the fore.

At the entrance of the dining hall, Holosseo was standing with the support of his legs, which were akin to withered trees, and the only one to speak to him, down on one knee, was Sithonia. Upon her visage, too, were strong signs of tension. Only, tension was all that it amounted to, and it appeared as a hue wholly different to that of Ornea’s dread.

Sithnoia: [If you have returned, Father, that means…]

Holosseo: [The provisions for the ritual have been arranged in advance. Bring the vessel to the divine chapel.]

Sithonia: [――Yes.]

Standing up from her deep bow, Sithonia then looked towards Elsa. Catching sight of the hollow hue dwelling in those irises, Elsa understood.

The “vessel” mentioned a moment prior, was in reference to none other than Elsa.

Ornea: [Don’t resist.]

As that was spoken into her ear, her pressed down body was hoisted up. Ornea, the one who had done that, effortlessly shouldered Elsa with one of her arms, and stood up.

After Ornea, Saria, Hildea, and Dorothea also stood up. The sisters followed behind Holosseo as he began to walk, and they exited the dining hall while leaving supper as it was.

He was headed for the divine chapel. ――In that place, some sort of ritual would take place.

Elsa: [Ritual, hm…]

Among those who bought slaves, there were some who would attempt to satisfy their abnormal desires by feigning a ritual. Buyers were free to do as they pleased with their slaves, so that was not a huge problem.

The issue was, she found it utterly unthinkable that the objective of Holosseo’s ritual would be akin to the likes of such boorish lust. In that case, what exactly would happen to Elsa?

Sithonia: [After this, you will become one of the Featherrun Sisters.]

These were the words given to her by Sithonia. They were concise, and a response that did not serve to answer her question.

However, she did not have the leeway to express discontent with that reply. When she was first brought into the divine chapel, her nostrils were assailed by a filthy malodor that permeated the room, one that could not be eliminated, regardless of the room having been cleaned.

Even if not it were not Elsa here, all who lived in this unsparing Holy Kingdom of Gusteko would have been able to identify the essence of that stench. ――The putrid odor of death.

The traces of the dead would turn to malodor, lingering in a manner akin to bitter hatred. Just how many people had met their demise in this divine chapel, was a number far greater than she could ever imagine.

Dorothea: […Almost everyone dies. So surely, you will too…]

Following right behind Elsa, Dorothea muttered in a subdued tone.

Whether that was a warning or simply a verdict of death, Elsa knew not; but from the way it had been phrased, it seemed that her chances of survival were at least greater than zero.

Elsa: [What separates those who survive and those who perish? Is there maybe a trick to surviving, I wonder?]

Dorothea: [――――]

Saria: [Kuku, did you hear that, Hildea?]

Hildea: [Yes, I heard it, Saria. Kuku.]

As Dorothea was left speechless, Saria and Hildea sneered at Elsa’s avarice in her place. But, the pair, having regained a bit of leeway from the dining hall, chirped “Listen listen” in unison,

Saria: [Elsa’s about to confront the ritual, and it seems she wants to know the trick to surviving.]

Hildea: [The reason why Hildea was alright, the reason why Saria and the others lived, it seems she wants to hear them.]

The pair called out to the other sisters, and spread the news that Elsa sought an answer.

With that news in mind, Sithonia, Ornea, the twins, and Dorothea, each moved their lips,

Sithonia: [Tranquility.]
Ornea: [Animalistic desire.]
Saria & Hildea: [Compassion and resentment.]
Dorothea: [The thirst of love.]

Indeed, each of them suggested their respective reasons for having survived.

Listening to all of them, Elsa smiled. Smiling, she accepted all of her sisters’ encouragement.

Elsa: [――Thank you. Well then, I’ll do my best to survive.]

As Elsa boasted in a carefree tone, the sisters no longer spoke any further words.

In the center of the divine chapel, was present an altar to which the putrid odor of death clung. Standing next to it, Holosseo’s unhealthy body was clad in vestment, carrying a short, dark-bladed sword in one hand.

Even for Elsa, who had been passed around a great deal of buyers, everything from this point on would be a first.

In an abnormal environment that threatened even her life, Elsa’s body trembled. Faced with the overwhelming fate looming before her eyes, it was naught more than pure ecstasy that had caused her to tremble.

As her whole body trembled, the young girl murmured.

Elsa: [――Ahh, what a thrill.]

Chapter II
『Holosseo Featherrun』

1

When she thought to dodge, she could easily dodge.

However, she felt no real inclination to do so, and thus basked from the head down in a spray of fresh blood. The viscous, warm sensation of blood, it tasted akin to an illusion of clinging tightly to life.

???: [But, it’s quite the strange thing, isn’t it?]

???: [Ah, kahh…]

???: [The one who vomits out life, is the one who ends up nearing their death.]

The huge man before her eyes groaned, and from his mouth spilled out copious amounts of blood. Naturally, not wanting to bask in that regurgitated blood, Elsa leaped a great deal back.

With that rhythm, she pulled out the knife that had pierced the man’s chest, causing an even greater amount of blood to spray out. That served as the finishing blow, and after the man’s body fell forward onto the ground, it spasmed a bit before coming to a stop.

If a human’s two vitals of head and heart were pierced, any show of resistance would thus be rendered infeasible.

???: [Elsa, I’m finished over here. How are things on your end?]

Elsa: [Yes. I’m also――]

It happened the moment she tried to respond to the voice from the adjacent room, and had turned her back to the corpse.

???: [――Grufh!!]

The fallen corpse sprung back up, and drove a spear hand right into Elsa’s back.

Without missing its target, it bore into Elsa’s slim back, obliterating her heart as it perforated through to the front side of her chest, unrelentingly pulverizing her entrails.

A magnificent counterattack. The counterstrike from the man, hovering on the boundary between life and death, had certainly pierced through the ebony-clad young girl’s life.

――However, that would have only held true if the girl was a mere human.

Elsa: […How amazing. You really tried your best.]

???: [Goh!?]

Alongside light commendation, the man’s visage was kicked up from below. At a glance, that appeared to have been the result of a back kick from the girl whose chest had been impaled. The man’s eccentric, mollusk-like body was punted up by the maw, and before his eyes, the girl turned around, her black hair fluttering. Then, raising the blade right above the man,

Elsa: [Apologies for messing up. I’ve yet to grow accustomed to this sort of work.]

The downward cleave of the blade sliced the man open from his chest down to his abdomen in one fell swoop. ‘Twas an attack far too gruesome to be called a mere slashing, and with it, vast amounts of gore and viscera poured out of the open wound.

Thus, alongside the arrival of that fatal wound, the curtain finally fell on the counteroffensive of the man who had been teetering on the brink of death. Once she ascertained the death of the man, fallen on his back as he was, Elsa slowly squatted down next to him.

Then, looking down at the wound that had been hollowed out in her own chest, she caressed the mouth of the wound from the top. Assailed by the oozing pain, she felt chills run down her back.

More; as she subconsciously sought out more pain, she tried to bore further into the wound with her finger――,

???: [Idiot! Don’t play with your wound! You’ll stop it from closing back up!]

Elsa: [Ouch…]

Taking a fist to the back of her head alongside the angered bellow, Elsa turned around in disappointment. And, flashing her ire in response to that gaze, Ornea stood dauntingly.

Comparing Elsa’s wound with the corpse of the fallen man, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “Good grief”.

Ornea: [I entrusted this to you because you said you could handle it, but… you were damn negligent! If not that, either you were playing around, or got caught in the opponent’s trap… either way, you can’t be doing that!]

Elsa: [I wonder now, did you get everything done properly on your side, Ornea?]

Ornea: [Of course I did! Just who the heck do you think I am!? I killed each of them with a single blow! Quick enough as to not give ‘em any chances to counterattack! Be amazed!]

Elsa: [Woah, I’m amazed.]

Ornea: [That’s not enough amazement!]

To always be envigored with anger no matter what anybody said to her was Ornea’s nature, but there was likely no falsehood in her words.

That not a single drop of blood had found itself upon that green dress of hers, spoke to the excellence of her skills. By herself, Ornea had dealt with the over-twenty guards here in this mansion. Compared to that, Elsa’s opponent had been just one man―― regardless of him being the main target, the difference in their results was evident.

Ornea: […How’s the wound on your chest? Can you move?]

Elsa: [Yes, I think I’m alright. The pain feels like I might die when I move, but I’m fine.]

Ornea: [Don’t say that it’s fine, then! Geez, even though you’re still getting acclimated, you go and do nothing but reckless things! Get on! I’ll carry you home!]

Since resisting would only serve as a waste of energy, Elsa obliged and got on her tiny elder sister’s back. The pair were about to take their leave from this barbaric scene. However, before that――,

Ornea: [Elsa, you’ve forgotten something. Leave one of those behind.]

Elsa: [Huh? …Ah, yes of course. I almost forgot.]

As Ornea’s words sparked her memory, Elsa reached into her dress, and took out a single flower.  So deeply purple as it was, terribly alluring was the manner in which it blossomed within Elsa’s hands.

Taking that flower, she tossed it to rest on top of the collapsed man.

That was, unmistakably――,

Elsa: [――The mark of the Featherrun Sisters.]

The reason why the man and his guards had all died. In order to make that known, this flower served as a signature.

With a final glance towards the flower petals as they became soaked in blood, Elsa and Ornea departed.

They would not hold on to any unnecessary emotions outside of their work. That too, was a law of the Featherrun Sisters.

2

Sithonia: [Nevertheless, it always surprises me just how much Elsa has grown.]

Presenting them with freshly brewed black tea, Sithonia congratulated the return of Elsa and Ornea.

Enjoying the aromatic vapor of the black tea, her body was tinged with warmth as she sipped it. As she gained more opportunities to head outside, she was keenly reminded of the value of these vital plots known as Hallowed Land.

The frigid snow robbed people of all kinds of things.

It absconded with their emotions, their sensations, their relations, and finally, their lives. Considering that even brigands could show mercy on occasion, there were truly no words to describe that cruel iciness.

Elsa: [The snow is ruthlessly coldhearted, I wonder, would that not be a good joke?]

Sithonia: [――――]

Elsa: [Oh my, was it not humorous? I did have a bit of confidence in it, though.]

As her joke was met with silence, Elsa licked her lips in disappointment. With a wry smile to her youngest sister’s demeanor, Sithonia shifted her eyes to Ornea, who was in delirium gorging on the cake served alongside the tea. Without even a glance towards the black tea, Ornea stuffed her rosy cheeks with the serving of teacake, diligently working with a single minded focus to replenish her stamina.

Ornea: [Mnngh? …Mhgnhh. What is it, Sithonia? Why’re you staring at me.]

Sithonia: [Giving a report on the mission is the responsibility of the elder sister, correct? And, I have yet to receive any proper report. Do not tell me that you have forgotten about it, have you?]

Ornea: [Ghogh, ehogff! Of, of course not. Just now, I was thinking that I’d better keep silent to not disrupt the conversation between you and Elsa, Sithonia. By no means is it the case that I’d lost myself to this teacake.]

Coughing violently with her reddened face, Ornea attempted to cover up her lapse in memory. Then, before Sithnoia’s lukewarm eyes, she prefaced with an “Ahem”, and,

Ornea: [As for the mission, me and Elsa completed it without any trouble. Pastor Cerid Mortis, who terrorized the populace with a selfish interpretation of the Holy Church’s dogma, met his demise, and his collaborators were also silenced across the board. There were no issues… Except for Elsa, who carelessly got her dress all torn up!]

Sithonia: [Though, it also ought to have been your duty to supervise her?]

Ornea: [What’s with all this harsh treatment towards me!?]

Lamenting her hopeless situation, Ornea capitulated. Heaving a sigh at her younger sister’s excuses, Sithonia then glanced towards Elsa and her torn dress, before narrowing her eyes.

Sithonia: [From the way it is torn… it seems you underwent quite a gruesome attack from your opponent.]

Elsa: [Yes. It came from the back and went all the way through and out the front of my chest. Even so, it’s incredible that this body was still able to immediately recuperate nonetheless.]

Sithonia: [――. You must not over-rely on it. We may be close to immortality, but we are by no means unkillable.]

Sithonia reached out her hand, and softly touched where Elsa’s chest had been ripped open. The wound underneath the tear in the clothes had already healed, but Elsa obediently nodded.

For all things, one must never over-rely. In regards to this body, there were still many aspects that were unknown to Elsa.

Ornea: [And for that, the very best thing you can do has gotta be training. So, shall we head to the basement, Elsa!?]

Having finished the teacake that had been divided into nine slices on the plate all by herself, Ornea roused herself with crumbs yet stuck to her cheeks. Seeing the vigor of her standing up, Sithonia sighed, and Elsa got up with an “Indeed”.

Elsa: [You’re quite the instructor, aren’t you now? I’ll abide by what you see fit, Ornea.]

Ornea: [Hmph. Khfufu, have you finally started to feel some reverence for me? There, there, in that case I’ll patiently teach you like a good big sis. I’ll show you how we Featherrun Sisters do things!]

Swinging her short arms around with vigor, Ornea exited the dining hall in high spirits. When Elsa tried to follow behind her, Sithonia abruptly pinched her dress.

Eyes concealing slight anguish were directed towards Elsa, and,

Elsa: [What’s the matter?]

Sithonia: [――. No, it is nothing. Apologies for keeping you.]

Elsa: [Is that so? I guess that’s fine, then.]

Sithonia’s behavior had been teeming with significance, so it could not have been that it was just nothing. But, if she said it was nothing, then Elsa determined there would be no use in pressing further.

Sithonia released her grip on the dress, and Elsa proceeded forward to follow behind Ornea.

Ornea: [What’d Sithonia say to you?]

Elsa: [Who knows? Nothing in particular… I suppose she might have found it lonely to be left there all by herself.]

Elsa tilted her head as she recalled Sithonia’s expression upon their departure, to which Ornea laughed a humored “Kakaka”, before opening the basement door. ――Within, a vast subterranean space stretched out.

That space, appearing to be a natural limestone cavern, was primarily used for the Featherrun Sisters to train for their duties. Unlike the interior of the mansion or the garden, this was a place that would bother nobody if damaged or sullied, and was thus used quite frequently.

Had it not been such a location, the Featherrun Sisters would have not been able to use it for training. After all, no ordinary level of martial arts training could have ever reduced it to the ghastly scene it had become.

Ornea: [――Hey, you’re too slow, Elsa!]

Accompanying the words hurled at her in a relaxed manner, a powerful blow connected.

As Ornea tread firmly with a smile on her face, she cast forth a chain with a weight attached to the end. ――With a combination of throwing and batting, the weapon known as the kusari-fundo functioned as a powerful assassination tool.

However, when unleashed by superhuman strength surpassing all conventional norms, the damage would not be confined to just that.

Elsa: [Grghh…hk!]

Unable to evade the incoming weight, Elsa’s right arm was grazed, causing it to be blown off the shoulder. Losing an arm as blood poured out, Elsa’s stance crumbled, prompting Ornea to pounce on her.

Elsa quickly transferred her knife over to her left hand, and aimed it at Ornea’s face. She thrust it with the intent to gouge out the opponent’s eyeball, but it was easily dodged with a quick tilt of the head.

Then, Ornea closed in on Elsa to a distance where they would be able to feel the breaths of one another,

Ornea: [This’ll hurt a little, so grit your teeth!]

The sound of chains clangored, and Elsa’s body was flipped over in a mighty upheaval.

The reason being, her legs, torso, and neck had become entangled in Ornea’s kusari-fundo, tearing down her stance by sheer force. And, Ornea’s herculean strength would not let things end with the mere collapse of her opponent.

Elsa: [――Hk.]

The moment Ornea funneled strength into her arm, Elsa’s body, caught in the chains, was wrung and torn to shreds. Her neck broken, her legs broken, and her waist constricted down to be as thin as an arm, Elsa crumbled.

By all standards, that was far too brutal, a gruesome death that would make anybody want to avert their gaze――.

Ornea: [And, that’s what it’d be like. So, why don’t you stop saying cute things such as wanting to play with me when I get serious.]

Elsa: […Ah, uu.]

Sprawled out across the ground, Elsa groaned as she teetered on the verge of death; beside her, Ornea crouched down.

Despite having torn Elsa limb from limb with her slender arms, Ornea did not seem to be particularly worried. After all, she harbored no feelings of guilt for having personally done such a thing to her youngest sister.

That was because Elsa’s mangled body was, slowly but surely, repairing itself.

Elsa: [――――]

Her lacerated legs, rended neck, and strangulated torso, all gradually regained their original form. Bones creaking, flesh was restored while spurting out blood; as her wounds closed up, her innards were mended.

A regenerative power beyond human understanding, and transcendent vitality that could quite possibly even reverse the state of death. This was the new body of Elsa Featherrun, now a fully fledged Featherrun Sister.

Elsa: […It’s my own body… but it’s quite… the strange thing.]

In a coughing fit, expelling all the blood from her throat, Elsa ascertained the condition of her body.

The pain had already evanesced, and the sensation of her limbs was unchanged from their usual state. In all likelihood, her crumpled up organs would have also returned to perfect condition.

Elsa: [――This, is the power of a Curse Doll.]

Ornea: [We’re forbidden from talking about this secret art. Don’t recklessly go telling people about it, yeah?]

Elsa: [Telling people…? Just where in our lives would we have the chance to carelessly leak it to somebody?]

Ornea: [Well when you put it that way, I guess you’re right.]

At Elsa’s simple question, Ornea nodded with an expression as if to say “You’ve got me there”. The mood turning somewhat amusing, the two began to laugh together.

Just a few dozen seconds earlier, the sisters had been locked in a fierce duel in a manner that seemed like they were fighting for their lives. The sight of them giggling together like typical young girls would have been nothing but eerie to the eyes of an outsider.

However, for the two people involved, those emotions were natural.

After laughing for some time, Ornea suddenly narrowed her eyes,

Ornea: [Elsa, you sorta resemble me.]

Elsa: [――? I think that means there’s something wrong with your eyes.]

Ornea: [Don’t be saying that while staring so intently to compare our heights! I’m not talking about looks, something that’s more on the inside, like nature, maybe, anyway I’m talking about that sorta thing!]

Elsa: [That’s a bit vague…]

Ornea: [Shut your damn mouth!]

Flaring up at Elsa’s quick retort, Ornea continued with an “Anyhow!”. Playing with the kusari-fundo in her hands that had maimed Elsa’s body,

Ornea: [When one is turned into a Curse Doll, in most cases, that alteration will fracture their heart. That’s the reason behind Saria and Hildea’s extreme eagerness for physical contact, and Dorothea’s emotional instability.]

Elsa: [Is Dorothea’s voice also a side effect of becoming a Curse Doll?]

Ornea: [That was there from the start. I dunno why… It can’t have been anything good.]

After giving an answer with a distant look in her eyes, Ornea then peered into Elsa’s eyes with a “Got it?”.

Ornea: [Compared to our other sisters, you and I are well adapted to these circumstances. There’ll be many more opportunities to be recruited for missions like today. That’s why, we’ve gotta be careful.]

Elsa: [Careful?]

Ornea: [Ultimately, the ones keeping us alive are Father, and the Gustekan Church that Father abides by, gotta be careful with ‘em.]

Listening to Ornea’s quiet words, Elsa softly repeated the phrase “Gustekan Church”.

――The majority of people in the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko placed their faith in the Gustekan Church.

A religious state that worshiped the Sacred Beast Odglass, and the Holy King appointed by that Great Spirit, as the pinnacle of sanctity. Such was the reality of the situation in this land of perpetual winter, the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko.

In harsh environments that befell all indiscriminately, everyday life was pushed to such an extreme that the hearts of men needed something on which to cling, lest they cease to persist. As a result of such circumstances, what laid at the terminus of people’s search for salvation would be entities sundered from the likes of humans―― in Gusteko, that manifested in the form of faith towards Spirits.

And, purchased by Holosseo Featherrun, and ushered in as his adoptive daughter, it seemed Elsa had become a member of this Church of the Holy King without even having realized it herself.

In addition, she belonged to a hidden sector, one that must never be revealed to the outside world.

Elsa: [The Featherrun Sisters…]

Ornea: [With Father at the helm, we’re a unit that serves the interests of the Church to maintain order. That’s the duty of us sisters, an indispensable role in the cleansing of the Holy Kingdom.]

Had that been a statement imbued with guilt or cynicism, Elsa would have likely revised her evaluation of Ornea.

However, as Ornea uttered those words, her attitude was void of lamentation towards her position. She had accepted her role, her fate, and had adapted to this environment.

I see; at last she had been able to understand.

The meaning behind Ornea’s statement that Elsa resembled herself, at last she understood.

Ornea: [No matter how you slice it, our job is killing people. It takes a lot to become a Curse Doll, and the work that follows really puts your heart to the test. ――Hey, Elsa. You know, I can’t bear to let our other sisters do jobs they don’t wanna do.]

Elsa: [――――]

Ornea: [All of them are girls who’ve gone through tough times. It’s dumb to try and compare, so none of us brag about our misfortunes. But, as long as they’re here, their hearts can be at peace. In tranquility, without fear of getting hurt… That’s why, I wanna let ‘em continue on with that life.]

Elsa: […For that purpose, you continue to take the short end of the stick?]

Ornea: [That’s why, I’ve got high hopes for you.]

After wearing a commendable expression on her face, Ornea thereupon smiled at Elsa. As she smiled, expectations for Elsa only continued to dwell within her narrowed eyes.

Ornea: [From what I can see, even when considering that you’re a Curse Doll, you’re clearly adapting well to this duty. That’s why, while also noting that it might be a bit early, I had you accompany me on my mission.]

Elsa: [I see… so as a successor, or probably as a partner?]

Ornea: [Once I get you trained, the two of us can continue to fulfill the duties of the Featherrun Sisters. If we do that… then Sithonia and everyone else should be able to keep living with their hearts at rest.]

That was a declaration of Ornea’s resolve.

Elsa did not know just how long she had been living this way as the second daughter of the Featherrun Sisters. But, therein was revealed the anguish of all Ornea’s days until now.

The sole aspiration she had discovered amidst such a life, was to grant peace to her sisters’ hearts. ――Hence, performing the duties of the Featherrun Sisters was the meaning in Ornea’s existence.

Elsa: [How pitifully lovely. Even though you’re this…]

Ornea: [This… this what!? Don’t tell me you were about to say “this small”!?]

Elsa: [I hadn’t said it, though…]

Ornea: [Your eyes said it loud and clear! You’re absolutely lacking in respect towards your elder sister! Really now!]

Pouting her reddened face, Ornea gazed down at Elsa, the latter sitting on the ground.

In the time that they had conversed, Elsa’s body had completed its restoration. To compensate for all the blood she had lost, pulsations of hematopoiesis could be felt within her body. The principle was unclear. However, since it was convenient, that did not matter to her.

Ornea: [How many people you think could manage something like that, I wonder?]

Elsa: [――?]

Ornea: [It’s nothing. More importantly, pick a weapon. If you can’t master a weapon that suits you, then no matter how tough we may be, we won’t stand a chance against the fearless veterans who’ve fought countless battles.]

Elsa: [Will we ever trade blows with such opponents?]

Ornea: [It’s not impossible… There are times when we’ll need to face Temple Knights too, after all.]

Listening to Ornea’s awe-inspiring words, Elsa gazed at the weapon rack mounted to the wall.

This training ground for the sisters was fashioned with many installations to serve that purpose. That included the environment which they were free to tarnish as they pleased, as well as the provision of countless weapons.

Among those weapons, Elsa, as if being guided to it, picked out a baleful dagger,

Elsa: [――As I thought, blades really do feel the most familiar in my hands.]

3

――Exactly as Ornea had hoped, Elsa had favorably adapted to her role as a Curse Doll, and as a Featherrun Sister.

???: [――Gather, Featherruns.]

The deathly voice of Holosseo signaled the arrival of work for the Featherrun Sisters.

The sisters bore no means to refuse Holosseo’s words. As a seemingly unspoken rule between a Curse Doll and their maker, that was an insurmountable wall.

Holosseo: [Sithonia, Ornea, come forth.]

On any given mission―― following directives from elites ranked even higher than Holosseo in the Church of the Holy King, Holosseo would appoint the ones most suitable among the sisters who had gathered.

In such instances, the ones most often called upon were, naturally, the eldest and second daughters. An overwhelming amount of the time, it was Sithonia and Ornea. Sometimes, Saria and Hildea would also tag along, and that went for the greenhorn Elsa as well, though she was a world of difference away from the top two.

However, in Elsa’s cases, she was frequently taken along on Ornea’s request to accompany her on her missions. Just as she had mentioned in the underground, Ornea had high hopes for Elsa’s aptitude as a Featherrun Sister. Through her actions, she had proved that those were her true feelings, bereft of falsehood.

Elsa could not determine whether that meant the frequency of enemies emerging against the Gustekan Church was high or low.

Elsa: [Well, I suppose it’s much better than being neglected due to there being no enemies at all.]

And, Elsa’s thoughts included sentiments towards the fact that, outside of when he came to order the sisters on these missions, she never saw Holosseo at the mansion.

Unless it was an emergency, Holosseo would not sojourn at the mansion. In other words, this grand estate was only inhabited by Elsa and her other sisters most of the time.

Elsa: [So, I think it would save us time in our daily cleaning if we closed down the parts of the mansion that nobody uses, but what do you think?]

???: [――――]

Elsa: [It’s silly to keep on thoroughly cleaning rooms that nobody even goes to. Well, I’m unable to perform such meticulous work, so it’s not like any time would actually be saved for myself.]

???: […You’re being noisy.]

Elsa: [Oh my.]

Calling out to the back that was carefully proceeding forward, she was then scolded by its owner, who had halted their step.

Turning around to face Elsa, who had instinctively closed her mouth, Dorothea wore a displeasured expression. With her favored great shears held in one hand, her acute gaze stabbed into Elsa.

Dorothea: […Why are you following me?]

Elsa: [If you ask me why, I guess my only response would be because I have time off. Even if I wanted to take a nap, I already overslept, so I’m not really tired. But on the other hand, it’s probably unhealthy to just absently-mindedly do nothing, right?]

Dorothea: […Then work!]

Elsa: [Sithonia got fed up with me. She says I can’t be trusted with housework in the mansion.]

Elsa’s lack of talent, which rampaged across all kinds of domestic chores, absolutely decimated Sithonia’s theory of education; as Sithonia was in charge of the property, she issued a decree that forbade Elsa from engaging in any tasks.

Hence, as long as Elsa was in the mansion, her position was decided on being a parasite who laid down as she watched her other sisters work.

Dorothea: […You don’t have any doubts about that?]

Elsa: [It’s up to destiny to decide what we are and aren’t cut out for. Even if I complain, nothing would come of it. Ah, of course, I do find it vexing, you know? That’s why…]

Dorothea: […That’s why?]

Elsa: [For all the work I can’t do at the mansion, I intend to endeavor in my duties, get it?]

In most cases, she was just a bonus on top of Ornea, but she would not cut corners in her duties.

She had not thought much about it, but this service to the Church―― the act of killing people, was not something that Elsa had any particular reluctance to. She was suited for it. At least more than she was to domestic chores.

However, hearing those words from Elsa, Dorothea’s expression shifted. It had not simply become pregnant with ire towards Elsa, but rather――,

Elsa: [You’re getting mad in quite the strange way, aren’t you? Are you perhaps angry at yourself?]

Dorothea: [――Hk.]

Elsa: [Apologies, I just perceived that sort of scent. I could detect it before as well, but I’ve been particularly good at picking up on it since getting this body. ――After all, people emit all sorts of scents as they live their lives.]

For indignation, for sorrow, and for delight, there existed scents of indignation, of sorrow, and of delight.

Though they may not have strictly been smells, Elsa’s nose was capable of discerning them with a high level of precision. It perceived not only the emotions of people, but was also alert to changes in atmosphere.

The fact that Elsa had survived until today was in no small part thanks to being saved by this sense.

Elsa: [That’s why, deception won’t work on me.]

Dorothea: […S-so, what are you trying to say?]

Elsa: [――? Nothing in particular? It’s just, I thought it, so I said it. If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to, and if you do want to tell me, feel free to do so. As I’m sure you’re aware, I am quite free at the moment.]

Dorothea: [――――]

Without showing diffidence, Elsa spoke as she opened the door to a nearby room.

The modest guest room was equipped with minimal furniture, so Elsa sat down in one of the chairs, turned around back towards the door, and tilted her head.

Peering inside from the entrance, Dorothea was taken aback by Elsa’s attitude, but eventually, she entered the room at a slow pace and sat down in front of Elsa.

And then――,

Dorothea: […I don’t get called out on missions, after all.]

Having placed her great shears upon her lap, Dorothea muttered regarding her own position.

Listening to that comment, Elsa slightly raised her eyebrows. Then, narrowing her eyes as if mulling it over for a bit,

Elsa: [Now that you mention it, it does certainly feel that way.]

Dorothea: […Had you not noticed?]

Elsa: [Something like the number of times we get summoned isn’t something I can grasp through smell. And though I’m not proud of this, I have rather poor memory. Even Father’s face is a bit of a haze, since I don’t see him frequently.]

On top of seldom appearing at the estate, they did not spend much time together even when he did turn up, so Holosseo’s face within Elsa’s mind was quite fuzzy.

If she were told to draw a portrait of him, it did not seem like she would be able to draw anything specific save for those two conspicuous cavities―― the abyssal sockets, shorn of eyeballs.

And, listening to Elsa’s candid thoughts,

Dorothea: […Do not belittle our esteemed Father.]

Elsa: [――――]

The unclasped blades of the great shears ensnared Elsa’s white neck in a show of force.

Getting a whiff of the frigid fragrance of rust, Elsa thought back to the time this sort of thing had happened before. And, that had happened just after she had been brought to the mansion for the first time.

Elsa: [Come to think of it, weren’t you angry about the same thing back then too?]

Dorothea: […You really don’t reflect on your actions, do you?]

Elsa: [I’m the type that doesn’t look back on the past, I wonder if that might be a cool way to cover up the fact that I have poor memory? What do you think?]

Dorothea: [――Hk.]

Perhaps due to that response not being to her liking, the pressure of the shears intensified a degree further, lightly cutting into Elsa’s neck. There was a faint sensation of blood flowing, but no trepidation found residency in Elsa’s eyes.

And, that was not because she underestimated the possibility of her head being lopped off.

Elsa: [Unlike back then, I don’t think I’ll die even if you cut my head off?]

Dorothea: […No matter how much of a Curse Doll you are, regeneration has its limits.]

Elsa: [Ah, that’s indeed what it seems like. Sithonia also told me that. But still, I don’t think I’d die just from having my head cut off… And even supposing I did…]

Dorothea: […Supposing you did?]

Elsa: [If you killed your little sister on a whim, wouldn’t Father get mad at you?]

Dorothea: [――――]

Of course, those fears and apprehensions would have also been present within Dorothea. Holding her breath in frustration, she slowly withdrew her great shears. Gently, she touched the wound torn open by the shears. The drops of blood moistened her fingers, but the wound in question had already closed up, and was no longer anywhere to be found.

Dorothea: […Your healing, is fast.]

Elsa: [It’s the same for Ornea, isn’t it? Is yours different?]

As Elsa tilted her head, Dorothea pursed her lips and did not answer. Picking up on the scent of shameful emotions slightly leaking out, Elsa shrugged her shoulders.

Elsa: [Come to think of it, you seem to like Father a considerable amount.]

Dorothea: […You’re able to tell?]

Elsa: [Out of all the sisters, you’re the one who says esteemed Father, esteemed Father the most. I’d figure it out even if I didn’t want to. Ah, “even if I didn’t want to” is just a figure of speech. I don’t have any particularly negative feelings on the matter.]

Dorothea: […That’s because, Father chose me.]

Lying prone as she hugged her knees, Dorothea muttered in a feeble manner. Then, she softly placed her fingers upon her own throat. ――Upon the throat that produced a hoarse, crone-like voice.

Dorothea: […It’s a strange voice, isn’t it?]

Elsa: [It is quite distinct. Since it differs from the impression given by your appearance, I was a bit surprised.]

Dorothea: […I crushed it myself… I drank boiling water.]

As if the memories from that moment had not faded, discord and despair filled Dorothea’s eyes.

Drinking boiling water. Just how agonizing that was, was something that even Elsa, lacking in the ability to visualize things, could imagine. It could not be simply expressed as pain, it was likely the anguish of hell.

Her tongue and gums were hideously scalded, her throat and esophagus were torn to shreds. The burns solidified in a crooked form, and the young girl’s throat would have been transformed into a disastrous state that could not be healed.

And, that she herself had desired it, was the truth behind Dorothea’s husky voice.

Dorothea: […Whenever I was hit, or wounded, they liked it when I cried out in a shrill voice.]

Before Elsa could even ask why she had done such a thing, Dorothea responded with haste. Hearing that answer, Elsa immediately understood with an “Ah”.

Elsa: [There certainly are quite a lot of owners who enjoy the crying voices of children. I also have such memories.]

Dorothea: […You, too?]

Elsa: [Indeed. But then again, I never really cried much so it seemed like they didn’t like me. I guess I’m quite lacking in charm. I’ve always been like that.]

Even if there were times when she was purchased from her slavers, in most cases, things generally ended with Elsa being unable to satisfy the buyer’s wants. Each time that happened, the slaver seemed to be at a complete loss regarding what to do about the returned Elsa, but as for that, this mansion now seemed quite comfortable for her.

This was the first time she had ever remained in one place for so long.

Elsa: [In that sense, I suppose this could even be said to be my very first home.]

Dorothea: [――――]

Elsa: [Is something the matter?]

Dorothea: […That, is Father’s kindness.]

Turning her face away, Dorothea sharply muttered. Within Elsa’s mind, Holosseo and the word “kindness” were quite divorced from each other, but she would not touch upon that here.

If there was one thing that she had taken away from the conversation until now――,

Elsa: [Dorothea, you destroyed your own throat. And because of that, you were thrown out… then afterwards, you were picked up by Father? You’re grateful for that.]

Dorothea: […That’s why, I want to be useful to Father. But…]

Elsa: [Even though the reason you met Father was destroying your throat, it’s ironic for your ruined throat to be the reason why you can’t be useful to him. Which way would have been better, I wonder?]

Likely, that worry endlessly continued to repeat within Dorothea’s mind.

Without needing to be told, Elsa knew that Dorothea cursed her throat, only capable of producing a hoarse voice. However, it was also the truth that if not for that, Holosseo would have never been able to add her to the Featherrun Sisters. In that case――,

Elsa: [Even with that throat, I think it would be more constructive to think of ways to be useful.]

Dorothea: […To be useful, even with this throat?]

Elsa: [Indeed. That’s right… if speaking will make you appear strange, why not take on missions that do not require speaking? If you just remove your voice, then I think your appearance is just right, Dorothea.]

Dorothea: […Just right.]

Elsa: [Isn’t it just ideal to throw an opponent off their guard?]

With her blue hair tied into twintails, the appearance of the short Dorothhea was as lovely as an angel.

The husky voice that greatly betrayed that impression was the source of her inferiority complex, but then she just ought to conceal it in front of people who would dislike it.

A sweet little girl with no voice; she could easily keep up appearances of such a kind.

Elsa: [I’ll say this now, but while there are requests for girls who will cry out in a shrill voice, there are also requests for girls who will not make a sound no matter what is done to them.]

Dorothea: […You.]

Elsa: [No matter what it is, there’s a way to make use of it, right? And you can give up at any time.]

An ability that could adapt to any place, and to anything, such a thing was far more rare. Most people would have no choice but to make use of what they had, and accomplish everything at extremities of ingenuity.

It was merely a matter of Elsa having Elsa’s own strengths, and Dorothea having Dorothea’s own strengths.

Elsa: [Even if you can’t do things like Sithonia or Ornea, it doesn’t mean that you have no worth. I think you’d definitely be able to live more comfortably if you don’t get a mistaken idea there.]

Dorothea: [――――]

Elsa: [Well, I quite like the garden you tend to, so I don’t mind how things currently are.]

Added on right at the end, were Elsa’s honest feelings towards Dorothea.

Hearing that, Dorothea widened her eyes in surprise, and after keeping silent for a bit,

Dorothea: […I had thought, that you were surely an idiot.]

Elsa: [That’s quite upsetting. It’s just that I’m not very good at thinking. It’s also true that I’m better at taking action than thinking.]

Dorothea: […That’s why I thought you were an idiot… No, I’ll revise it. I don’t like you, but you’re not an idiot.]

Shaking her head, Dorothea gave such an evaluation of Elsa. Standing up with her great shears in hand, she headed to the door to exit the guest room.

Her steps appeared to be lighter than they had been before the preceding conversation.

Dorothea: […Thank you.]

Elsa: [――?]

Dorothea: […Idiot.]

Not understanding the meaning of those thankful words, the confused Elsa was left with a disparaging comment. Watching that back as it exited the guest room, Elsa was left in the chamber by herself.

Elsa: [Thank you, hmm… Fufu, it’s been a while since anybody has given me their thanks.]

Even if she searched through her recollections, no memories of being told thank you by somebody easily rose to the surface. Thinking that to be a sign of her droughtful life, Elsa smiled with faint melancholy.

To receive gratitude in regards to discussing one’s troubles was truly like an exchange between sisters.

Thinking about such things, Elsa let out a small gush.

Certainly, if she could experience such feelings, then she might as well give her thanks to Holosseo.

4

???: [It seems like you said something to that girl. Thank you, Elsa.]

Elsa: [Oh my, that’s a second time now.]

???: [――?]

Elsa: [Nothing, just talking to myself. Please forget about it.]

Ignorant to the meaning of that response, Sithonia widened her eyes, to which Elsa waved her hand.

She had just recently thought that it had been a long while since anybody told her thanks, so she was surprised that it had happened a second time without much of an interval between.

Unable to share in Elsa’s surprise, Sithonia continued with “No matter”,

Sithonia: [I always lose my bearings when I talk to you, so I have given up trying to understand everything.]

Elsa: [Indeed, I think that’s a good idea. After all, nobody is capable of fully understanding someone else.]

Sithonia: [I did not intend on engaging in such an intellectual discussion, though…]

Elsa: [Oh my, is that so?]

As Elsa expressed disappointment in her expectations having been betrayed again, Sithonia sighed. Then, she continued, “I was referring to Dorothea”.

Sithonia: [In the time that myself and Ornea were not present, you spoke to that girl, correct? For a long time now, I had known that she was regretful about not being sent out on missions, however…]

Elsa: [Just because you’re the eldest daughter doesn’t mean that you can understand everything. Besides, all I did was just make the appropriate interjections in my talk with Dorothea. ]

Sithonia: [Thanks to those appropriate interjections, it seems that girl has taken on more of a constructive outlook.]

Rather than out of modesty, Elsa truly had no awareness that she had been providing advice. Sithonia understood that, and went even further to extend her gratitude.

According to what Sithonia was saying, when she and Ornea returned from their mission and were greeted by Dorothea, it seemed like she had sought counsel regarding duties that even she could fulfill. If speaking would arouse suspicion, perhaps she could participate in duties where she would not have to do so; she must have enquired so.

Sithonia: [Though, she had tried to conceal who exactly had suggested that idea to her.]

Elsa: […Ah, I see. In that case, wasn’t there also a possibility that it wasn’t me?]

Sithonia: [If it was not you, it would have been Saria or Hildea, correct? However, those two would not give advice to Dorothea… nor to any of the sisters, at that. They are satisfied with their connections existing solely between the two of them.]

That slightly thorny phrasing was proof that Sithonia was at a bit of a loss with what to do about those twins. Perhaps having also realized that she had used rather strong words, Sithonia’s cheeks slightly stiffened, and she continued with “Anyhow”,

Sithonia: [I think that Dorothea’s eagerness to participate in missions is a good sign for her… Though, Ornea might not be too happy about it.]

Elsa: [I suppose that’s right. Ornea wants to do everything on her own, after all.]

Sithonia: […I shall make no comment.]

As Elsa spoke of a slightly misconstrued version of Ornea’s thoughts, Sithonia decided against touching upon it.

That being the case, it seemed like Sithonia had not been told Ornea’s true intentions, but it also seemed like she had her own way of guessing what her younger sisters were thinking.

Elsa: [So then? If that was the only reason you stopped me, I shall be going now.]

Sithonia: [Do you have any urgent matters?]

Elsa: [Ornea has returned, right? If so, I want to get in some practice underground.]

A fight to the death between sisters―― nay, a fight to destruction, was the quickest method to amass more skill with this body.

For that purpose, practicing with Ornea, who would demolish her without holding back, was that from which Elsa could gain the most. Even if she trained by herself, she would immediately get tired of it.

Sithonia: […How fervent. However, before that.]

Elsa: [――?]

Sithonia: [There is something I want to give you, Elsa. Will you accept it?]

As she said that, Sithonia gently presented something to Elsa.

It was a small pouch that could fit in one’s palm. Its opening was bound with a string, and inside was placed something small and round, a faintly sweet fragrance adrift.

Sithonia: [It is something akin to a handmade talisman. A gift from me. I give them to all the sisters… and finally, I was able to get one ready for you as well.]

Elsa: [A talisman… is it something related to the Church of the Holy King?]

Sithonia: [No, I simply made it because I wanted to give it to you. I suppose you could view it as proof of our sisterhood.]

Sithonia smiled bashfully, and taking the charm from her hands, Elsa closely examined it. Although she claimed it was handmade, it was crafted by Sithonia, who was skilled at housework, thus ensuring it lacked the usual imperfections of handmade items.

It was light. Likely it would not serve as an obstruction if she kept it in a pocket. While she ascertained the feeling of the talisman in her palm, Elsa abruptly smiled at Sithonia.

Elsa: [I wonder, does this mean I’m finally considered as one of the sisters?]

Sithonia: [It is nothing so presumptuous… The moment that Father deemed you acceptable was the moment you became one of the Featherrun Sisters.]

Slightly casting her eyes down, Sithonia answered so, causing Elsa to furrow her eyebrows.

Sithonia’s words rang in a somewhat negative manner. However, rather than signifying that she did not want to accept Elsa as a sister, that was――,

Elsa: [Do you happen to have some reservations about the Feathrrun Sisters?]

Sithonia: [――. Really, what an intuitive girl you are.]

Elsa: [I wonder, is that meant to be a compliment? It doesn’t really feel like I’m being commended, though.]

Sithonia: [In the sense of you always picking up on the things I do not want you to notice, I suppose so.]

After a brief exhale, Sithonia loosened her lips. It seemed to be taking a long-term perspective, accepting the truth, but compared to before, it appeared brighter.

Sithonia: [Elsa… the kind of Featherrun Sisters that Father desires, are surely girls like you.]

That was a statement lacking in envy, one that felt akin to pity.

That was why, as if it was rushing out of her mouth, Elsa blurted out a question.

Elsa: [Sithonia, are you not grateful to Father?]

Sithonia: [――I am grateful. There is no doubt as to that.]

That reply was so fast that it seemed like she had prepared it in advance. Only, bringing that up would be far too ill-natured, even Elsa thought so.

Elsa: [Everyone has all sorts of things on their mind… I wonder, does that go for Saria and Hildea as well?]

Sithonia, Ornea, and Dorothea all had their own outlooks on the Featherrun Sisters, and on Holosseo Featherrun’s way of being.

Having heard them without needing to ask, Elsa thought to herself.

Elsa: [Since I don’t really have any thoughts on these things, I get the feeling that maybe I’m the weird one.]

Sithonia: […That is why, I believe you are the one most suited to the Featherrun Sisters.]

Although, she found it upsetting to be told so by Sithonia in such an exasperated manner.

5

In such a vein, the days went by slowly.

They were not days divorced from pain and bloodshed. It was a time that could by no means be called quiet. However, for Elsa, who for a long time had spent every day desperate just to survive, there was nothing stopping her from saying that the majority of her time spent at the Featherrun Mansion was peaceful.

That included the exasperated reaction to her devastating lack of ability for housework from Sithonia.

That included the torment of being torn limb from limb in her training with Ornea.

That included interfering with the inefficient teamwork of the twins, Saria and Hildea.

That included doggedly receiving threats from those great shears when incurring the displeasure of Dorothea.

For Elsa, absolutely all of them were first time experiences. So, unexpectedly, Elsa might have been thinking that it would be nice for that time to go on for longer.

Time that was peaceful to an abominable extent, and monotonous to the point of being lovely.

However, steadily did the footfall of ruin draw near, unwilling to permit Elsa’s escape.

That alone was as though to declare it a fate ever incorrigible.

――On that day, too, Holosseo visited the mansion, as he usually did, to make selections for the next mission.

Holosseo: [Sithonia and Ornea. ――Dorothea, come forth.]

Dorothea: […Hk, yes.]

If anything was out of the ordinary, it was that not only had the names of the eldest and second daughters been called on that day, but also that of the fifth daughter, who had a dear love for her father. Faced with that reality, the fifth daughter must have been greatly delighted.

It was unclear just how much Elsa’s advice had contributed to that nomination of Dorothea. Only, seeing how overjoyed Dorothea was at being selected, that seemed to be a trivial matter.

Elsa: [Though, I suppose you would be quite angry?]

Ornea: […Seeing her like that, I’m not so cold-hearted that I’d say anything unnecessary.]

Gazing over as Dorothea frolicked in high spirits, Ornea snorted at Elsa’s question.

Even Ornea, who did not approve of her sisters participating in missions, understood that Dorothea had been eager to work for the sake of Holosseo. If Ornea was capable of denying that joy, then she would not have even been making considerations for her sisters in the first place.

Holosseo: [Saria and Hildea. You are assigned to a separate matter.]

Saria: [My oh my, why yes of course.]

Hildea: [We shall comply indeed, my oh my.]

Ignoring the conversation between Elsa and Ornea, Holosseo continued and ordered Saria and Hildea on a job. As the twins respectfully kneeled and accepted, Elsa raised her eyebrows with an “Oh my”.

The fact that five sisters had each been assigned respective missions meant――,

Elsa: [I’ll be the only one remaining at the mansion… this, fills me with quite a bit of anxiety.]

Ornea: [You’re saying that on your own!? Don’t actually burn the mansion to the ground before we get back, you hear me!?]

Elsa: [Were you anticipating that? In that case…]

Ornea: [Don’t! Actually! Do it! You hear me!?]

With that reminder from Ornea, Elsa shrugged her shoulders with a half-hearted “Understood”.

However, the fact of the matter was that this was the first time Elsa would be by herself in the mansion. Thinking about it normally, it would be extremely careless to let a girl risen from slavery occupy such a magnificent manse on her own, but it did not seem like Holosseo and his colleagues thought that way.

Of course, at this point, although there was not even the slightest of conceptions that Elsa might steal something valuable and run away.

Sithonia: [Elsa, I believe it will be tough, but I am leaving things in your care.]

Elsa: [You’re telling me to be docile, correct? For the time being, I’ll try to just sleep through as much of it as I can.]

Sithonia: […I find it quite regrettable that that seems to be the wisest course of action.]

With a wry smile, Sithonia softly stroked Elsa’s black hair. Then, she looked down to the pouch hanging at her chest―― looking at the charm identical to the one she had given to Elsa,

Sithonia: [Well then, we shall be going now. Upon thee as well, so be the Silver Affection.]

Elsa: [Indeed. So be the Silver Affection.]

Her hand lightly fiddling inside her pocket, Elsa responded so to Sithonia’s words. And having received that, Sithonia gave a reassured smile and headed out to complete her mission.

Ornea, the twins, and Dorothea too, followed behind the eldest daughter――,

Dorothea: […Elsa.]

Elsa: [Oh my, I’m glad your dearest wish could come true. Do take care as you go on your way.]

Dorothea: […I’ll, be going now.]

Upon departure, Dorothea gave a small wave of her hand, perhaps as proof of her gratitude.

Even if she did not know her true intentions behind that, Elsa received it with pleasure as she saw her sisters off. With this, she would now be all by herself in this vast mansion.

Elsa: [With that in mind, I feel a teensy bit nervous, but…]

Holosseo: [――O Daughter of Featherrun.]

Elsa: [――――]

As Elsa felt shame from those thoughts, a voice akin to a dead man called out from behind her.

When she turned around, standing there was Holosseo. Staring into those hollow eye sockets, Elsa narrowed her eyes, feeling as though she was being accused of mischief.

To merely divulge the necessary information with few words, and assign missions to the sisters, was Holosseo’s job. Once that was completed, he would leave the mansion with the sisters as they headed for their mission, and if not, he would always be gone before they knew it. However, today alone, he stayed at the mansion.

For what purpose that had been for, the following words of the cadaverous man would immediately make clear.

Holosseo: [Elsa, for you, too, there exists a duty.]

Elsa: [――? Something separate from Sithonia and the rest? That would be…]

Holosseo: [Of course, for the sake of Featherrun. ――For the sake, of the Featherrun Sisters.]

A reply that directly went straight to the answer was not something that satisfied Elsa’s inclination to enjoy the conversation. Though since she was a bit dense, that was actually quite helpful.

Either way, it seemed like Elsa’s plan of slothful cravings whilst remaining at the mansion had faced a setback.

She did not mind that being the case, but she was curious about Holosseo’s true motives.

Elsa: [Taking the trouble to clear the rest of the sisters out of the mansion… what are you requesting, of me alone?]

Holosseo: [That is a given.]

With that brief statement, Holosseo turned his face to Elsa.

No reflection of Elsa was borne in his lightless eyes. However, Elsa could certainly feel it. The gaze Holosseo was directing towards her―― nay, that was something closer to hopes or expectations.

The man who obeyed the Gustekan Church, and had his daughters kill people; the man who lived in a manner befitting a dead man with nary a drop of fortune remaining; just what hopes did he see within Elsa?

Holosseo: [――To bring the Feathrrun Sisters, to completion.]

Holosseo’s words seemed to be yearning, pregnant with a faint ardor, and they caused Elsa to tilt her head. Upon her white neck and shoulders, long, black hair gently ran down.

6

――The closing of the curtains on those peaceful days had arrived shockingly abruptly.

???: [――Hk!!]

That wail of lamentation was sorrowful to the point of rending the hearts of all who heard it.

The emotions charged therein belonged to a seemingly youthful maiden, however, the sound that rang out was akin to the husky voice of a crone, one that had been worn out over a long period―― henceforth, everyone was privy as to who the owner of the voice was.

???: [Dorothea!? Did something happen!?]

Having just stepped back into the mansion, a shriek struck Sithonia’s eardrums, prompting her to rush to the scene.

The scream rang out of the divine chapel present on the estate. With her devout faith―― or rather, with her particularly strong feelings towards the adoptive father who had picked her up, Dorothea always went to the divine chapel after returning from outside to offer a prayer.

This time was no different. Having completed the mission without a hitch, Dorothea felt a certain sort of way about it, now thinking to the future quite proactively. Then, to deal with and report on those emotions of hers, she had headed for the divine chapel. That was――,

Sithonia: [――Ah.]

Opening the large door of the divine chapel, Sithonia’s eyes widened as she stepped inside.

Lagging behind Sithonia, the pair of Saria and Hildea, who had returned to the mansion just a little earlier, and Ornea arrived at the scene. Before them, too, was the sight that had left Sithonia speechless.

Saria: [My oh my.]

Hildea: [My my.]

Ornea: [This’s…!]

Even the twins cracked no jokes, and Ornea’s throat froze over. Sithonia was also unable to move from her position right away. That was how devastating of a sight it was.

Deep within the divine chapel, Dorothea was kneeling before the altar, clinging to something. ――Leaning against the altar, the contents of his body spilled out onto the floor, was Holosseo, his final breath long passed.

Holosseo Featherrun had died there in cold blood.

Dorothea: [Father… hk, Fatheerrr… w-why, how…!]

Sobbing, Dorothea clung to his remains without paying mind to the blood staining her. But, no matter how desperately she called out, no will remained in Holosseo’s body.

Clear to the eyes of anyone, Holosseo was completely deceased. If this was a body of a Featherrun Sister, there might have been a chance for resuscitation, but――,

Ornea: [――Father isn’t a Curse Doll. To the end, he was only a doll maker.]

Dorothea: […Hk.]

In place of the motionless Sithonia, Ornea was the one to step to the front. With the smallest body of all the sisters, she embraced the wailing Dorothea from behind.

Receiving the embrace alongside those bitter words, Dorothea’s throat clogged up. Once again confronting the hard-to-swallow sight before her eyes, Dorothea looked down at her hands.

At the hands that, to a pitifully earnest extent, had been trying to return all that had fallen out back into her father’s body.

Saria: [Even so, just what might have happened during the time Hildea and I weren’t present?]

Hildea: [I wonder how such a thing could have happened during the time Saria and I weren’t present?]

Overlapping their hands, the twins nestled close together and voiced a natural question.

While the sisters were away on their missions, just what had occurred at this mansion, how did it lead to Holosseo being lost in this tragedy, what in the world was the genesis of Dorothea lamenting like this――,

Dorothea: […There’s only one thing… it could be.]

Ornea: [Dorothea? Ah! Oi, wait a sec, Dorothea!]

Wringing that out like a hex, Dorothea abruptly stood up and shook free from Ornea. Without listening to her elder sister’s detaining words, she began her advance with her bloodstained dress. Overpowered by that menacing demeanor, Sithonia made way for her, and she lumbered back to the mansion without hesitation.

Eyes blazing with detestation, the destination she strode towards was a certain room within the estate.

What that room was, all the sisters who lived in this manion knew.

Dorothea: […Elsahh!]

Kicking open the door as if to demolish it, Dorothea peered inside as deep resentment seeped out from her. Her lovely facial features sullied with malice, Dorothea’s gaze pierced both the bed, and the figure of the girl whose name had been called, slowly sitting up as she lay upon it.

Elsa: [Huahh… Dorothea? You’ve returned? That was quick.]

Dorothea: [――――]

Elsa: […To come and see me before you even change clothes, I’m quite surprised.]

Tilting her head, Elsa looked Dorothea up and down as she spoke.

Had she mistaken the blood of Holosseo on Dorothea as her having just finished her mission? Whatever the case, it mattered not to Dorothea at the present moment.

Sithonia: [Dorothea!]

Thereupon, the sisters who had lagged a moment behind in exiting the divine chapel caught up. Seeing the two, Dorothea and Elsa, facing off within the room, they all gasped.

Then, as Sithonia grabbed the shoulders of the imposing Dorothea from behind,

Sithonia: [Dorothea! And Elsa too, calm down!]

Elsa: [This is quite the intense and heavy atmosphere. Also, I’m fully intent on remaining calm.]

Sithonia: [Elsa! Say not such――]

Superfluous things; Sithonia had been unable to finish her sentence.

Before she could, the sharp blades of the great shears swiveled up, severing Sithonia’s arm off from a bit below the shoulder while it was grabbing Dorothea by the shoulder.

Sithonia: [――Eh?]

Dorothea: […Get out of my way.]

At the abrupt show of violence, Sithonia herself, her arm having been severed, did not understand what had happened.

A beat later, blood sprayed out, and as it covered her cheek, Dorothea coldly muttered those words. Sithonia’s body shook violently as it collapsed backwards, and Ornea immediately moved to support her body.

Her white arm had fallen down and rolled across the ground, truly just like that of a doll’s.

Sithonia: [Ah, AHHHHHH!!]

Ornea: [――Hk! Dorothea, just what the hell do you think you’re doing!!?]

As Sithonia shrieked at the belated arrival of pain, Ornea bellowed while supporting her body. She grabbed the fallen arm of Sithonia with one hand, and immediately pressed it back against the open wound.

Since Sithonia had received the abilities of a Curse Doll, her arm would likely reconnect right away. It was something that also happened quite often in training. However, this was a separate matter. A world of difference existed between the two.

In a conflict that did not serve as training, a younger sister cutting off her elder sister’s arm was an occurrence that ought not have ever taken shape.

However, without lending an ear to Ornea’s appeals, Dorothea remained with her glare trained on Elsa. Then, with the hand opposite to the one holding the great shears, she threw something.

A sound was made as it slid across the floor, and seeing that, everyone’s expressions, save for Sithonia, changed.

After all, it was the curved blade that was Elsa’s favored weapon――,

Dorothea: […Explain… yourself.]

Elsa: [――――]

Dorothea: […Why, was that pierced into Father’s body?]

Within the question from the husky voice, could be inferred the utmost effort to not charge it with any emotions.

Suppressing the urges to pounce at her even at this very moment, Dorothea awaited Elsa’s response.

None but Elsa had been present at the mansion, the weapon that had killed Holosseo had been her favored curved blade, and considering that she had little loyalty towards Father, all the undeniable circumstantial evidence had been assembled, and yet.

And yet, Dorothea awaited Elsa’s response. Then――,

Elsa: [――Hm, I wonder why that is. Do you happen to have a clue?]

Dorothea: [ELSAAAAA…!!!]

Hearing Elsa’s usual manner of detached response, Dorothea erupted with indignation.

With a scream steeped with loathing, Dorothea brandished her great shears and closed in on Elsa. With the opened blades, she would clasp down on Elsa’s neck, and send her head flying.

Flicking up the curved blade by her feet with her toes, Elsa took it into her hand and slashed away the incoming attack. The crash of metal against metal disrupted the atmosphere in the room, and the sisters confronted each other head on.

Elsa: [Though, Dorothea, I don’t have any intention of going at it with you…]

Dorothea: [Shut up!! Shut up shut up shut up SHUT UUUUUP…!!]

Along with each of Dorothea’s bellows, the closing of the blades ripped Elsa’s room asunder. The ruthless cutting edge devastated the room, and the bed, the furnishings, and everything else were blown away.

Of course, the interior of the room was not the only thing to receive damage. As Elsa used her single knife to trade blows with Dorothea in a tango of blades, countless wounds were carved upon her body, causing blood to spurt out.

Her skin was gouged in a manner painful to behold, and depending on the wound, some had even reached down to the bone. As her blood spilled, she had her hands full with putting up a resistance, narrowly escaping being sliced asunder.

Despite that, Elsa――,

Elsa: [Fufu, ahahahaha!]

Within the room that was not particularly spacious, Elsa trampled the space by kicking off the floor, walls, and ceiling to fly around it as she laughed.

Shedding blood, bearing unsightly wounds, Elsa roared with laughter nonetheless.

Dorothea: [――Hk!]

The cheeks of Dorothea stiffened as she swung her great shears about, the ripple of laughter striking her ears.

Dorothea was the one applying pressure, and the one who held the upper hand. Elsa stood on pure defense, without returning any counterattacks, with no choice but to get hewn up.

From anybody’s perspective, Dorothea’s advantage was not wavering. Even so, even though she did not allow for even a single counterattack, why was it that Dorothea felt as if her heart was being driven into a corner?

Dorothea: [How dare you…]

Do that to Father; Dorothea invigorated her heart with such notions, and attempted to swing her blades toward Elsa.

But, the moment she tried to firmly clasp down on the handles of the great shears, it happened.

Elsa: [――Ah, you mustn’t, Dorothea. It isn’t good to lie to yourself.]

Dorothea: [――――]

Elsa: [Aren’t you putting in too much strength there?]

Elsa, who had been driven into a corner until then, slipped past the great shears and closed in on Dorothea. As the voice whispered directly into her ear, all the hairs on Dorothea’s body stood on edge.

Then, the blade held aloft made its mad dash for Dorothea’s nape――,

Ornea: [Not happening!]

Elsa: [――Hk.]

As a brilliant melody of shrill metal resounded, the kusari-fundo slithered like a snake as it commenced its onslaught. Firmly ramming into Elsa’s temple, the young girl of black hair was sent flying with tremendous vigor.

Basking in an attack bereft of restraint, Elsa’s body was blown straight to the side. Her slender body smashed through the window, flying outside the mansion.

Ornea: [Tsk! Such impudent movements! You flew out on your own didn’t you!?]

Chasing after Elsa as she unexpectedly flew out, Ornea jumped out from the partially destroyed window. Lagging a moment behind, Dorothea similarly followed suit, jumping down from the window.

Sithonia: [B-both of you, help chase Elsa…]

Left behind in the disastrous scene, Sithonia, sunken down to the floor, issued an order to the motionless twins.

While trying to reconnect her severed arm, Sithonia, her breathing heavy, turned her attention to the shattered window―― to the battle that still raged on outside.

Sithonia: [Bring Elsa back alive. At this rate, she will be killed.]

Saria: [But but, would that really be such a bad thing?]

Hildea: [Considering what Elsa has done, it can’t be helped. This sort of thing.]

Sithonia: [Enough…! Now go!]

At Sithonia’s command, Saria and Hilden expressed their disapproval. But, as Sithonia’s strong appeal superseded that refusal, the twins exchanged glances, and bitterly obeyed with an “Understoo~d”.

Pinching the hems of each other’s dresses, Saria and Hildea also descended from the window. In such a manner, Sithonia was left alone in the ruinous state of the room, and as she stood up by the window,

Sithonia: [Elsa, why…]

In a voice that amounted to one bereft of sound, she spilled a question that amounted to one bereft of query.

――With no answer given to Sithonia’s musings, the bout of death between the Feathrrun Sisters danced on.

Having leapt out from the mansion, the dress-clad maidens dashed through the well-maintained gardens as they each brandished their own baleful armaments; unfolding was a scramble to rob one another of life.

Dorothea: [ELSAAAAAAAA!!]

Elsa: [I can hear you even if you don’t shout in such a loud voice.]

At that screaming, hoarse weeping of a crone, none could go without feeling a visceral revulsion. This was due to an instinctive sense of aversion towards decline rooted in the very foundation of human nature.

The angel-like appearance of the maiden who had evoked such an impression, now wore an expression akin to a ghoul, a figure slashing with its great shears as if it were a deity of death; it was truly like a poorly crafted caricature that attempted to cram in all the good and evil in this world.

However, the battle continued as a fragment of reality, and with each swing of her great shears, Dorothea scythed down the garden that she had painstakingly tended to, blowing away the flowers, ravaging the whole location.

Ornea: [Can you calm down already, Dorothea!? Don’t rush out on your own! Elsa’s…]

Dorothea: [Shut up, Ornea! You coward! I’ll be the one to avenge Father’s death!]

Ornea: [Nghh…!]

Cursing at Ornea as she tried to provide cover, Dorothea refused the support as she swung her shears. Parrying those great shears with her curved blade, Elsa averted fatal wounds as she headed for the entrance of the Hallowed Land.

The Hallowed Land that surrounded the Featherrun Estate, to the cavern that connected it to the outside world――,

Saria: [You can’t, Elsa. That’s not allo~wed.]

Hildea: [We won’t let you go, as per Sithonia’s orders.]

However, as to block Elsa’s path, Saria and Hildea, holding the hems of the other’s dresses,  stood in the way. The twins passed their bodies within their Plenilune Cirque―― in the center of a blade in the form of an enormous ring, and glared at Elsa from within, adopting lunge stances.

Elsa: [Though, it just looks like it would be hard to move like that…]

Saria: [Hildea and I don’t need your concern.]

Hildea: [Didn’t we tell you? We’ve been practicing, Saria and I.]

Synchronizing their breathing, the twins thrust their Plenilune Cirque towards Elsa as she approached them. The amount of space that it took up was in itself a weakness, but their skill in maneuvering the Plenilune Cirque along with their might in doing so was immense.

Stopping the blow of the curved blade with minimal movement, they moved their meager body weights to unleash a heavy blow from the blade. Deeming it infeasible to surmount it from head on, Elsa jumped back a great distance―― ensnaring her legs was a chain that had been cast out.

Ornea: [This, goddamn stupid IDIOOOOT――!!!]

Her legs caught by the chain, Elsa’s body was hoisted up in a tremendous manner.

Just where in her short arms and small figure did all that strength come from? Ornea’s fighting style was intense, and just as had been done to Elsa many times before, her body was easily jostled about. Slammed into a rock face with ferocious vigor, Elsa’s body was relentlessly scraped down by the rocky surface.

Her blood sprayed, her flesh was gouged, and her viscera spilled out. With a sensation that even the contents of her head were spilling out from a crack that had formed, Elsa felt an illusion as if her mass was dramatically decreasing―― no, as reality would have it, she was directly undergoing the experience of herself waning.

If things continued like this, and she were slammed into the ground unable to do a thing, she would become unable to launch any counterattacks.

Hence, Elsa made her decision right away.

Elsa: [――――]

Taking a full swing with the knife that barely still remained in her right hand, she severed off the right leg that had been caught in the chains; with the sacrifice of her leg, she broke free from the binding of chains.

Maintaining that immense vigor, her body was sent flying. Elsa cleared the garden, and was headed for the rear garden of the estate. If escaping through the cavern was infeasible, Elsa had no choice but to go with Plan B.

That was――,

Elsa: [――The water well.]

The bottom of this deep water well was not spring water, but was connected to an underground vein of water. The water in the well was cold, and the vein itself was probably dark and narrow, but it should be possible to slip through.

Though, she had certainly never expected that she would actually end up using it.

Elsa: [Ah, that hurts.]

Falling on the gravel of the rear garden, Elsa hummed to herself as her skin scraped off.

Copious amounts of blood gushed out from her right leg, and it was more difficult to locate anywhere on her skin that had not been wounded. Regardless of having reached such a state, any notions of giving up were nonexistent within Elsa.

Prowling on all fours, she commanded her arms and legs as a beast would in order to reach the water well. It was a move unforeseen by Ornea and the rest, thus their pursuit had been unable to catch up.

However, Dorothea stood as the lone exception to this, blazing with deep red hatred toward Elsa.

Dorothea: [ELSAAAAAAAA!!]

Right when she was one step away from the water well, a blow from Dorothea perforated Elsa from directly above; the great shears impaled her slender torso, pinning her to the ground.

That instant, Elsa twisted her body, spinning around so that the great shears piercing her body would tear her up. The sharpness of the shears shredded up her flesh and innards, parting her upper and lower body from each other.

Dorothea: [――Hk.]

Even Dorothea’s eyes widened in surprise at the nature of violence in Elsa’s conduct. And, with Dorothea’s movements having come to a complete stop, Elsa swung the curved blade in her right hand towards her.

The sinister edge of the curved blade utilized its weight and momentum to cleanly chop the head off of that slender neck.

Elsa’s body had been split between top and bottom, and Dorothea’s head had bidden a farewell to her torso. ――As that wretched spectacle of blood was birthed, the conflict between the two sisters came to a close as they visibly brought destined death upon each other.

Riding the vigor of having gyrated her body, Elsa proceeded to descend down into the water well. Witnessing that, Dorothea’s chopped-off head wore an anguished expression as it rolled down onto the ground.

A second later, when the sound of splashing water reached the surface, Ornea and the twins reached the back garden.

Ornea: [Nghaa…! Dorothea! Don’t you fall asleep yet! I’m gonna attach your head back now!]

Seeing the body part that had fallen, Ornea grimaced and picked up the severed head. She hurried to line it up with the wound on Dorothea’s neck, and the healing abilities of the Curse Doll began to close it up.

For a moment, as Dorothea maintained a distant gaze, she regained her breath from the healing with a “Kehough”.

Dorothea: [Ghagh! Gohkugh! …E, lzah, iz…]

Ornea: [Alrighty, settle down! Deep breaths! I’ll let you off the hook for those rash remarks towards me just before! For the time being, you need to rest! As for Elsa…]

As Dorothea violently coughed up blood, Ornea stroked her back and looked at the water well right in front of them. Gazing down into the depths of that well were Saria and Hildea, who had likewise caught up.

Having pursued the trail of blood, the twins looked down into the water well that Elsa’s upper body had plunged into,

Saria: [As far as Saria can see, Elsa’s nowhere to be found on the water’s surface. What about Hildea?]

Hildea: [As far as Hildea can see, there’s no sign of Elsa floating there. What about Saria?]

Hearing the judgements of the pair, Ornea grit her teeth.

Leaving everything below her chest behind, Elsa had descended into the well. If it were Dorothea, Saria, or Hildea, that damage would have been fatal, but in Elsa’s case, that was yet unknown―― it was largely uncertain if merely stripping her of her limbs and torso would be enough to completely thwart her ability to function.

Ornea: [At the very least, if she can operate on the same level as me…]

For it not to mean the end, even when reduced to being merely a head, was the pinnacle of ability for Curse Dolls.

Of course, once reduced to a mere head, it should be impossible to do anything even if consciousness was not lost.

Ornea: [The well should be connected to an underground vein of water, but it’d be useless to try and slip outside from there. It’s ultimately just spring water, so even without her lower half, there wouldn’t be any path for her to pass through.]

Perhaps it would be a different story if she had Ornea’s herculean strength or Saria and Hildea’s Plenilune Cirque, but the current Elsa had no means of breaking through bedrock. Ergo, this struggle was futile.

Henceforth, with full preparations, Ornea and the others hastened to the underground waterway to retrieve their youngest sister. And following the flow of the water, upon reaching its terminus, they understood.

Ornea: […As ever, she’s a frightening girl.]

At the terminus of the well, Elsa was nowhere to be found. What was there, however, was a vast amount of blood, and scattered chunks of flesh. The reason for that was a passage of water so narrow that it would be impossible for a human body to get through.

However, without passing through it, Ornea and the others would have caught up, and she would have met her demise. That was why, Elsa had made herself small and passed through this narrow water escape route.

Likely, based on the size――,

Dorothea: […With just her head.]

Ornea: [Even if it came to that, Elsa could still be able to move. Might’ve been a gamble on her part, but… in truth, if she made it out then it doesn’t matter. She’s tough.]

Life force that exceeded all norms―― in this case, rather than her talents as a Curse Doll, Ornea was praising her mental fortitude to do anything in order to survive, and then she heaved a sigh.

She had been unable to fulfill Sithonia’s order. She had failed to bring Elsa back.

Ornea: [Unleash the hounds, have them pursue Elsa… Though I doubt she’s dumb enough to be caught by them.]

Dorothea: [Father, I will…]

Firmly gritting the teeth that had just been smashed in, Dorothea muttered in a loathsome manner, audible to all the sisters.

Each of them had their own thoughts on the matter. But, there was one sentiment consistent among them all.

――In the name of the Featherrun Sisters, the youngest sister who had gotten away must be slain.

7

Fangs stabbed into neck, slurping up blood.

The body of the opponent, which had been furiously writhing in resistance until a moment prior, thereupon was voided of all strength.

Elsa: [How charming.]

As she spoke with blood smeared all around her mouth, Elsa scrupulously sucked on her opponent’s wound.

The hound, clad in long black fur, was one that had been raised in the breeding pen of the Featherrun Estate. Looking after the animals was the duty of Saria and Hildea, but Elsa, who had displayed catastrophic capability as a caretaker, could clearly be said to have a poor affinity with them.

However, they had located the escaped Elsa in this heavy snowfall rather quickly, and to her, who no longer possessed anything but a cranium and right shoulder, they had delivered fresh blood.

But then again, the hound would have wanted to kill Elsa, and bring her back to her sisters. Since she had not been able to allow that desire to be fulfilled, she would at least sink her teeth in so as to not let its flesh go to waste.

The body of Elsa, turned into a Curse Doll, possessed such restoration and life force that generally no objection could be made to the claim that she was immortal. Be that as it may, she was reaching the limit of how much destruction she could take. In order to regenerate, the corresponding recompense was required, and so to put it broadly, eating well was important.

In that regard, it was the first time she had lost the vast majority of her body save for her arm and head like this, and she felt a light excitement at the fact that she would not die even if pushed this far. Even if she slurped up this corpse, the stomach and organs where it was supposed to reach had been left behind, so just what would end up happening?

But, as a matter of fact, Elsa’s body did gradually begin to regenerate, and her freedom once lost returned.

Elsa: […It doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to stick around for too long.]

It was a matter of course, but if she did not get a move on, the next hound would sniff her out. She had just killed one of them, so the next hounds would be more cautious. Which of the sisters were accompanying them?

No matter how competent Elsa might be, if she clashed with her sisters in this state, it was exceedingly difficult to imagine making it out alive.

Elsa: [As expected, four on one is quite the tall task.]

To begin with, Elsa’s strength was absolutely no match for Ornea. In a situation where she understood she could not win against her alone, there was no way she could win against her with the other sisters in tow.

That was why, heaving a brief white exhale, Elsa stood up with her trembling bare figure.

Before she had noticed, she had restored enough of her body to have no impediments in the way of moving. Nevertheless, her clothes would not regenerate. In the midst of the zenith cold, a death by glaciation would be imminent if she did not move with haste.

The body in which a curse indeed dwelled, and the lone curved blade that had worked to the fullest to help her survive. With naught else, Elsa stepped out with bare feet amidst the snow.

To her rear, somewhere generally to her rear, was the Featherrun Estate―― leaving behind all the days she spent at that Hallowed Land, Elsa Featherrun continued to wander aimlessly through the snow.

Chapter III
『Dorothea Featherrun』

1

Oliver Zeppes was but a humble slaver.

In the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko, the slave trade was officially a prohibited market, and was by no means an occupation that operated in the light of day. But, for Oliver, to be a slaver was his calling in life.

In the cruel lands of Gusteko, there was always high demand for slaves as a labor force. Thus, most slaves went without receiving an education, and lacked any life skills outside of physical labor.

That was why Oliver believed, from the bottom of his heart, that the occupation of a slaver, facilitating fateful encounters between slave and buyer to benefit both sides, was a business that could bring happiness to many people. While strictly forbidden by the Gustekan Church, it was a job that proved better at saving those who could find no salvation in the Chrurch’s teachings.

If anything, instead of the Church of the Holy King, which governed the Holy Kingdom, it was the slavers that saved more people.

That was the philosophy of Oliver Zeppes, his pride, and his conviction―― endeavoring in the honest work of the slave trade, he attached prices to people as a slave trafficker.

All the while, he wished for the happiness of all people involved with the slave trade, and even greater happiness for himself.

And yet――,

Oliver: [Wait wait wait wait, wait for just a bloody second a’ight! W-wh-what the hell d’ye think ye’re doing showing back up ‘ere again!?]

The lighting of the town had fallen to dusk, and within a room illuminated by the meager flame of a candle, Oliver’s face went pale, and a cold sweat ran as he shuddered.

After finishing up work for the day, he had gone out for a nice drink and had just returned to his home.

Though he did not want to brag, today he had handed over a slave to an elite, high-paying customer, and had successfully secured a firm transaction. The slave that had been purchased was a girl capable of reading and writing. If what awaited her was a merchant family, then she would be treated properly, and would likely be able to one day buy back her freedom.

As long as she had work, she would not lose her food allowance. For slaves, the rations to live from day to day were exceedingly important.

He had returned to his room whilst humming in such jovial spirits, right when he was about to jump onto his bed thinking he would probably have good dreams tonight, Oliver happened across her.

Seated on Oliver’s bed, was a black-haired girl, wearing a sweet smile on her face―― a commodity formerly belonging to Oliver’s inventory, rife with issues, she had been naught but dead stock.

Oliver: [E-E-Elsaaa!?]

Girl: [It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Oliver? You reek of alcohol, have you been drinking too much, I wonder?]

As Oliver stared in shock, the young girl―― Elsa, inclined her head. Seeing her bare white shoulders, her braid of black hair flowing down, Oliver’s throat croaked.

Bereft of lechery, the reason for that was founded in pure dismay, likely an unpleasant dread.

All of his pleasant tipsiness had been blasted straight out the window from the impact of this reunion.

Oliver: [I-I don’t ever remember ye being cautious of me drinking b’fore. But, more importantly! Answer me damn question! Fuck’re ye doing ‘ere!? D-don’t tell me…]

Elsa: [Fufu, what do you think the reason is?]

Oliver: [Don’t be telling it like a riddle! Ahh, bloody hell, what’d I do to deserve this!]

Holding his head, Oliver cursed his own misfortune, and even cursed Elsa while he was at it. The fact that she was already beyond help by the time he cursed her, was the worst thing about this dead stock girl.

After all, Oliver had been acquainted with this girl named Elsa ever since he had been a novice slaver, right when he first entered the slave trade――,

Oliver: [This marks the thirteenth time! Ye’ve gone ‘n come back to me place now thirteen bloody times! Each time ye’re bought, the buyer always meets their doom… y-ye’re a plague I tell ye!]

Elsa: [I’m nothing so monstrous. Don’t give me too much credit now, Oliver.]

Oliver: [And ye’ve not even the slightest clue! This isn’t praise! Can’t ye comprehend that!?]

Bellowing at Elsa as she detachedly missed the mark, Oliver fell to his knees.  This oafish interaction had helped it finally sink in. Once again, Elsa had returned to Oliver.

――As he had lamented a moment prior, Elsa was a repeat offender of returning to the slave trade after being sold off.

Usually, slaves that had been purchased would scarcely come back into the inventory of their slavers. It was not as though buyers would never request to return the merchandise, but they were mostly always turned down.

The fates of the vast majority of slaves would be decided the moment they were purchased by a buyer. All that remained was how they would live, and how they would die under custody of the buyer. ――However, as with everything, there were exceptions.

For instance, if the buyer met an unexpected demise in some shape or form, and the slave then lost any reason for remaining there, they would be sold wholesale back to the slavers at a low price.

For such reasons, returning to being commodities in the form of slaves, with their tomorrows left uncertain once again, such despairing, ill-fortuned slaves did exist, but this went too far in Elsa’s case.

Oliver: [D’ye have any idea just how much hardship I’d had to go through b’cause of those bloody antics of yours…!? How many times me good name’s been slandered as purposely giving a dangerous slave to buyers to have the master killed and valuables pilfered… And just when I thought I’d finally dispelled all those blasted rumors! ]

Elsa: [You were doing such cruel things? That’s no good. You should apologize.]

Oliver: [I’ve not done a smidgen of that! And yet, they all doubt me b’cause of ye!]

For Oliver, who strived to be an honest slaver, such rumors were a fatal wound. Even so, with a face of ignorance, Elsa herself had returned to Oliver after misfortune befell her buyer.

Then, with an expression displaying no shame whatsoever, she spoke.

Elsa: [I’m going to be a burden on you once again, Oliver.]

2

Oliver: [To begin wit’, to begin wit’ I tell ye, wasn’t the buyer this time one o’those big shots up at the Gustekan Church? Tha’s why, I’d thought this time would be it for sure…]

Elsa: [Yes, indeed. I don’t blame you for that, Oliver.]

Oliver: [The Church of the Holy King I tell ye, they’re the damn bastards who decide on the laws of this nation! For the most part, the people in the faction who prohibit the slave trade are the ones who be wanting ‘em the most. ‘Course, ye know, I don’t wanna be discrediting the name of the Church by treating ‘em poorly or something. So then why, whyyyy…!!]

Lying down on his bed with a ruddy face, Oliver gave into despair as he slurped down cheap liquor.

From what Elsa had heard, his dealings had gone well, so it seemed he had indulged in some top quality alcohol before returning home, but it seemed that happening upon her like this had spoiled his mood.

Elsa: [――――]

As the spillage of booze soaked his collar, Oliver continued to mutter his complaints. Gazing over him, Elsa narrowed her black eyes, and loosened her lips.

Elsa had now known Oliver for around four years.

Although Elsa herself had not counted each individual time, based on what Oliver said, this was already the thirteenth time that she had returned to him. To say it was a feat made possible by her homing instincts would not necessarily be a joke.

Oliver was a man in his late twenties, characterized by his chestnut hair and delicate features, and for someone involved in the slave trade, he was more gloomy than he was rough-mannered.

In reality, Oliver was not very good at resorting to violence, so it was his loquacious nature, something that had kept him alive until today, the extraordinary eloquence of a silver tongue that served as his defining speciality.

But then again――,

Oliver: [That sorta special skill’s got bugger all chance of working on people who don’t listen to what others say…]

Elsa: [Yes, that seems tough. People who don’t listen.]

Oliver: [The one I’m talking ‘bout is ye! Ye’ve got not even the slightest understanding of irony, what’m I s’pposed to do ‘bout ye now!]

And, that signature move of his, for better or for worse, had never worked on Elsa since a long time ago.

However, Elsa had faith in this boisterous, pessimistic man. That was unquestionably because he had been the sole person to offer his hand to the bloodied girl atop the snow of zenith cold.

If he had not been of a certain kind of good nature, Elsa would have definitely perished.

Elsa: [That’s why, I’ll choose to count on you whenever I have the chance. If you really need to blame someone then please blame yourself.]

Oliver: [Ain’t that a phrase ye’d usually say to a bloke receiving retribution for their wrongdoings!? Being cursed even though I do so much good, ‘s that just mean I’m one of the ultrarich or something!?]

Elsa: [The idea that you’d be hated just for having money; I get the feeling that is a bit biased…]

Without giving a response to Elsa’s murmur, Oliver placed his palms over his face, and groaned for a bit. And, after groaning for a decent while, slowly did he raise his body.

Then, peering at Elsa, sat beside the bed, through the corner of his eye,

Oliver: […So, what fate b’fell the buyer this time ‘round?]

Indeed, in such a gentle tone he enquired.

That was how he had always dealt with her. After lamenting his heart out cursing his fate, Oliver would then enquire about Elsa’s situation once again; that was how he did things.

In these four years, while he was certainly put through a great deal by Elsa, Oliver would absolutely lend an ear to what Elsa had to say. That said a lot about his methods as a slaver.

That was why, in response to him, Elsa’s answer had not changed even once over these four years.

Elsa: [――It wasn’t really anything of note. The buyer simply met his misfortune.]

Oliver: […That’d be fine then. Well, it really wouldn’t be good in the bloody slightest, though. Ahh, fuck me, I’d even gone ‘n thought they was a valuable customer ye know!?]

Elsa: [Indeed, you’d think he was a valuable customer. Among all the people who’ve purchased me until now, his place was certainly the most comfortable. That’s why, I also find it regrettable.]

As Elsa spoke of it as if it was a matter detached from herself, Oliver heaved a heavy sigh.

Oliver: [Mind if I ask ye one thing, Elsa?]

Elsa: [What might that be?]

Oliver: [Your collar’s already been removed. That in mind, why’d ye come back to me place? Don’t ye think it’d be nice to go somewhere else for once, wherever that may be?]

Elsa: [By that, do you mean some place I wish to go?]

Oliver: [Yeah, exactly, right on.]

Elsa: [Then, that’s exactly what I intend on doing. That’s why, I came back here.]

Placing her hand to her chest, Elsa spoke thus, causing Oliver to make a bitter face. Once he digested Elsa’s words, prone to sounding like a confession,

Oliver: [That don’t mean ye’ve fallen for me, now does it?]

Elsa: [You mean like sensual love between man and woman? In that case it would be a bit perverse, no? Being sold off by the person you love to somebody else, and going out of your way to return to them each time something happens… how frightening.]

Oliver: [That’s just a fraction of the fear that I feel!]

Shouting in anger once more, Oliver stood up. Gulping down what was left in his bottle, he wiped his mouth and looked up. Upon his visage, no longer did there remain any grievous hue.

Only, his eyes burning with tempestuous determination, Oliver nodded with an “Understood”, and,

Oliver: [For the time being, there’s no helping that ye ended up coming right on back. Looking at it a different way, guess I could see it as me merchandise coming back of its own accord. It’d probably be best to think this an opportunity to make some more money.]

Elsa: [Isn’t it because of those thoughts that rumors spread about you being a corrupt slave trader?]

Oliver: [I don’t wanna be hearing that shite from the primary culprit! Ye should just go live a happy life already!]

Elsa: [――――]

Oliver: [Geez, just why d’ye think I work in the slave trade…?]

Placing his hand to his forehead, Oliver spoke in an exhausted manner.

From his mouth were uttered the words “Find happiness”. Those were his true feelings, bereft of falsehood, something he was always bound to say, and something she had heard many times over these four years; this Elsa knew.

Oliver Zeppes was a foolish man attempting to bring happiness to people through the slave trade.

Because he was such a man, Elsa had likely never thought to head to any slaver other than him.

Oliver: [What?]

Elsa: [Even though you have a habit of saying that, I’m wondering if you’re actually going to make me happy soon. I’m getting tired of waiting.]

Oliver: [Ye’re bloody mistaken if ye think the winds o’favor will blow just b‘cause ye wait for it!? I’ll tell ye this now, but if ye don’t put in the effort to become happy, ye’re neva gonna find it, that’s life!]

Spittle flying out as he bellowed, Oliver put his coat back on. Then, turning to face the door, Oliver looked back at Elsa on the bed, and,

Oliver: [I’m ‘bout to stay up all night and revise a sales plan, so just stay put, will ye? Ye’ve already gotten me knackered in a huge mess, so ye better not do anything unless ye absolutely need to!]

With those firm instructions, not permitting any objections, he treaded off with noisy steps. Seeing him off, Elsa shrugged her shoulders, and slid into the bed.

She had expended quite a lot in order to return here. Now she wanted to rest for a bit and recuperate. In that sense, Oliver’s attitude of not prying too deep into the situation was a huge help.

Even if that was only because it was his nature to not want to get deeply involved with a hassle, it served as Elsa’s salvation.

3

――Then, at the same time that Elsa had closed her eyes for a brief rest.

???: [――Here’s all that I could find.]

Alongside those words, something made an unpleasant, wet sound as it was thrown onto the table.

That was the carcass of an animal ripped to shreds―― a hound bred at the Featherrun Estate, one that had been sent out to pursue a runaway.

Surrounding that carcass, were the sisters of the Featherrun Mansion, where Elsa had lived peacefully for a while. The five sisters, Elsa no longer included among them, came face to face in the dining hall, and looked down upon the carcass.

Ornea: [The rest of the dogs were also killed. It’s no mistake to think she’s escaped.]

Sithonia: [Is there no doubt that she made it through the vein of water under the well?]

Ornea: [A corpse of a hound was discovered at the exit of the vein. I also tried taking the same route, so it’s certainly possible to stream out from there… really now.]

Having changed into a spare green dress, Ornea heaved a deep sigh.

In order to pursue the trail of their runaway youngest sister, Ornea had slipped through the water vein with the same method. ――That was to say, she had reduced her body to the smallest size possible, and had passed through with the water current.

It was a gruesome endeavor, but by relying on her special traits, Ornea went through with the reckless act. Rather, the one more deserving of admiration was Elsa, who had been the first to perform that feat.

Ornea: [Unlike me, Elsa oughta be able to feel pain… and yet to nonetheless cut her own head off her torso like that, there’s no way she’s even the slightest bit sane.]

Sithonia: [But, that girl still did it. How truly becoming of a Featherrun Sister…]

???: […She is no sister of ours.]

The loathsome conversation between Ornea and Sithonia was bisected by a displeased, husky voice.

Having declared so in a chilly manner, Dorothea glared blanky at the air. The table of the dining hall creaked as she gripped it, all the while she grumbled out her sentiments of deep resentment.

Fierce did hatred swirl in those murky eyes, the runaway Elsa their target.

Saria: [My oh my, seems Dorothea’s in quite the bad mood, Hildea.]

Hildea: [Indeed, Elsa did make a fool of her after all, Saria.]

Giggling, the twins whispered to each other as they observed Dorothea with sidelong glances. Gazing over the exchange of the two younger sisters who did not carry their own weight, Sithonia placed her hand to her forehead, and breathed a sigh.

Ornea: [Sithonia, I can guess how you’re feeling deep down, but what are you gonna do? I’ll say this now, but Father is dead. In that case, our position is…]

Sithonia: [――It would be problematic for the superiors to discover that Father has passed away.]

Sithonia bluntly cut off Ornea’s timid statement. Hearing that, Ornea’s eyes widened, as if having guessed the eldest daughter’s intentions, and nodded.

Ornea: [Roger. I’ve got no objections. In other words…]

Sithonia: [Father is, Holosseo Featherrun is alive and well. Let us proceed with that outline.]

Dorothea: […Hk! Sithonia!]

Raising an objection to the course of action being established was Dorothea, who had been glaring at the air.

As the sole one among the sisters who had truly loved Holosseo, Dorothea could not accept the cruel conclusion being presented by the eldest and second daughters.

Dorothea: [She, killed Father…! We need to inform the superiors immediately and have the whole Church of the Holy King hunt Elsa down…]

Sithonia: [And then, what will happen once Elsa is found? Once she receives retribution for killing Father, what will become of us? What will become of the Featherrun Sisters?]

Dorothea: […Hk!]

Sithonia: [Having lost their doll maker, the fate awaiting such obstreperous Curse Dolls is evident beyond a shadow of a doubt. The only thing in store for us, would be an eternal slumber in the vault of sacraments.]

Unbridled aberrations and all the like, were not something that just anyone could control.

Sithonia and the other sisters would be stripped of their freedom, never again would they be able to bask in the light of the sun.

Sithonia: [We cannot afford to allow Father to die. Or perhaps, you would prefer to get revenge on Elsa, and then go arm in arm as sisters as we flee from the Church of the Holy King? Do you desire a never ending life on the run?]

Dorothea: [E-even so…]

Ornea: [Dorothea, I’ll tell you this now. ――I’m in favor of Sithonia’s view. So, if you were to go against that…]

Training a gaze on the persistent Dorothea, Ornea cracked her white knuckles. As that was a declaration she was willing to resort to violence, Dorothea caught her breath.

If she were to throw down against Ornea, the strongest of the Featherrun Sisters, no matter how much Dorothea struggled, she would be squashed, unable to stand a fighting chance; the only outcome was for her views to be forced into submission.

Dorothea: [S-Saria, Hildea…]

Saria: [Are you asking Hildea and I? What a silly-billy you are, Dorothea.]

Hildea: [Of course, Saria and I are in support of Sithonia. There’s simply no helping it, even if it’s tragic.]

Dorothea’s imploring words did not resonate with twins whatsoever. Secluded away in their own world, Saria and Hildea were unperturbed by the matter of Holosseo’s death.

Only, they would find it troublesome for the Church of the Holy King to raise an objection and seal them away. They seemed to share that view with Sithonia and Ornea, and nobody suggested that they try to seek vengeance for Holosseo.

Dorothea: […F-Father is…]

Sithonia: [We have an obligation to Father. There is no doubt about that. That is why, we shall take suitable revenge. However, that is not something for the Church of the Holy King to do. It is an act, that we shall perform.]

Sympathizing with the quivering Dorothea’s emotions, Sithonia declared so in a quiet tone.

They would plot against the Church of the Holy King and conceal Holosseo’s death. However, that would not be a slight against the creator of the Featherrun Sisters, Holosseo.

Without fail, they would deliver due retribution unto the wrongdoer, Elsa.

Ornea: [For the time being, Dorothea oughta be satisfied with that.]

With the assembly of sisters having ended, Ornea spoke out to Sithonia, who remained in the dining hall.

Dorothea, Saria, and Hildea had left their seats, and the only two left in the room were the eldest and second daughters. The two who had known each other the longest would now have to decide on the course of action for Featherrun from here on out.

Holosseo was no longer among them. So for the present――,

Ornea: [About getting revenge for Father, you really dead set on doing it? For the sake of Dorothea?]

Sithonia: […What do you think, Ornea?]

Ornea: […Well when you put it like that, I guess it’s a ploy after all.]

Running her fingers through her own green hair, Ornea averted her eyes, a bitter look strewn upon her face. Sithonia did not deny Ornea’s words. There was no way she could have.

The dependence that the fifth daughter of the Featherrun Sisters, Dorothea, had on Holosseo, ran deep. If they did not soothe her with such words, Dorothea would not have been able to retain her sanity.

However, in reality, Sithonia had no such intentions of getting revenge for Holosseo. This was not due to coldheartedness, but rather due to prioritizing a more pragmatic issue.

Sithonia: [In order to deceive the superiors, I will need to cram as much of Father’s knowledge into my memory as possible. Fortunately, I have had many chances to accompany Father on his work, but…]

Ornea: [It’s not as if you’ve seen all inside his head. Sorry. For that, I’m gonna have to leave everything up to you.]

Sithonia: [That is no problem. Only, I will be counting on you far more than ever before for the missions.]

Ornea: [I agree to that… Though, it’s a duty that I had originally wanted to share with Elsa.]

Folding her short arms, Ornea grumbled those words. Listening to that, Sithonia furrowed her well-shaped brow, and then massaged it with her fingers.

Elsa’s act of violence had been far too abrupt, and since then, all the cogs had begun to fall out of order. Just why in the world had things ended up like this?

Ornea: [Sithonia, I’ll always be on your side.]

As Sithonia was being overwhelmed by cumbrous emotions, Ornea spoke to cheer her up. Clutched in the hand of that younger sister was the proof of sisterhood Sithonia had given her.

A small pouch in which a scented stone was placed, Sithonia had given the same thing to all her sisters. ――Elsa was no exception.

Sithonia: [What about that girl’s one…]

Ornea: [It wasn’t in her room or the underground water vein. With this size, she could have probably placed it in her mouth and taken it with her. Perhaps she’s even still got it.]

Sithonia: […In that case, just what might be her intention?]

She had killed Holosseo, to whom she had a great obligation, and endured pain with fierce determination as she fought a fatal battle against Sithonia and her other elder sisters in order to make her escape, yet had not relinquished her proof of sisterhood.

Was that not already far removed from the boundary between sanity and malevolence?

Sithonia: [――. Regardless, you really do take good care of it, Ornea.]

Ornea: [Ngha! W-what are…]

Sithonia: [That pouch, there are traces that you have patched it up many times.]

Given that they had known each other the longest, the proof she had given to Ornea was also the oldest.

Even so, several years had passed since they had become sisters, but it could be said that their relationship was much closer than that of regular sisters.

That was why, no matter the cost, she had to prevent it from collapsing.

Ornea: [Rest assured. It’s not just you and me who have nothing else but this place to hang on to. It of course goes for Dorothea, and even Saria and Hildea as well.]

Sithonia: [――――]

Ornea: [Elsa’ll probably also end up realizing before long. When she does, she’ll regret her foolish actions… or, she might even be frightened now.]

Tucking her pouch away, such a possibility came to Ornea’s mind.

Elsa, having no way of knowing the result of the meeting between the sisters, might still think that she was still being pursued even now, experiencing sleepless nights. Perhaps that was something more cruel than just plain revenge.

If she was living in fear of the night like that, it would at least be some consolation for Holosseo.

But, on the other hand, Ornea also thought thus.

Ornea: [If she was a girl capable of something so pitiful, she could’ve never done this sorta monstrous act…]

Sithonia: [Elsa… I really do not know what that girl is thinking. It is by no means normal to give that impression on a level comparable to Saria and Hildea.]

To a greater extent than even Saria and Hildea, who secluded themselves in their own little world, Elsa lived by an incomprehensible philosophy.

Ultimately, the genesis of this situation seemed to be an unbridgeable gap between her and the other sisters.

Sithonia: [Anyway, let us think up another method to successfully convince Dorothea. For now, the utmost priority is for us to surmount this difficult situation as sisters.]

Ornea: [Understood… You aren’t wrong one bit, Sithonia.]

Upon hearing that baseless consolation, Sithonia could be seen with a faint smile on her face. Then, Ornea left her alone in the dining hall, and left the room just like the other sisters had.

Ornea was headed for the divine chapel―― the site of Holosseo’s death.

To cover up Holosseo’s death, his corpse had already been removed from the divine chapel. Since Dorothea had desired it, she had been entrusted with disposing of it.

That was why, beheld in Ornea’s eyes, was none other than the divine chapel, blood entirely cleared away, where the putrid odor of death yet hung adrift.

Ornea: [Elsa, just what are you thinking?]

No prayer, no repentance, Ornea merely enquired so of the youngest sister not present, and nothing more.

4

Elsa: [――I’m not thinking about anything.]

Biting into a slice of sweet bread lacquered with honey, Elsa gave that answer to the question.

Hearing her response, Oliver’s lips greatly distorted, bags under his eyes. His features were well worth seeing, but the unhealthy bags under his eyes, and the crooked curve of his lips greatly harmed that impression.

――The scene was the next morning after Elsa had returned to Oliver, as she enjoyed breakfast together with him.

Oliver had gone out of his way to bring breakfast to the room for her, and it seemed that just as he had declared, he had entered the morning without sleep. Even Elsa could not help but feel guilty for making a full exhibition of her habit of moving around in her sleep in his room. Though, she merely felt guilty, and did not do anything in particular to deal with it.

In any case, the answer she had given at the beginning was a response to the question he had posed.

That was to say――,

Elsa: [I barely just escaped and made it back here with my dear life. I’m not thinking about anything like what might happen from here on.]

Oliver: [Aye, aye, indeed, of course. Just asking to be sure, ye know? Well, I was just revising all sorts of plans till morn, ‘n when I settled down to think ‘bout it I just realized that if I didn’t check to see what ye actually intend on doing then it might all just go to fucking shite.]

Elsa: [Fufu, how careless.]

Oliver: [It’s your bloody fault!]

Licking the honey off her fingers, Elsa smiled as Oliver shouted at her.

Of course, Elsa recognized that Oliver was working hard. Always putting in his utmost was his virtue. Be that as it may, Elsa felt not even an iota of responsibility.

Giving a sigh at that attitude of Elsa’s, Oliver scratched his head with an “Anyway”.

Oliver: [Like we’ve done till now… I won’t be able to put ye on the shop display right away. Only once we’ve ensured that everything’s been cut off with the previous buyer.]

Elsa: [You’re quite familiar with this.]

Oliver: [This is already the thirteenth bloody time! I got me doubts that there’s any slaver as well versed in reselling a returned slave as I am. The irony!]

Elsa: [What a nasty personality…]

Oliver: [Aren’t ye the one who’s severed ties with your masters thirteen times!?]

While they were bantering in their usual tone, Elsa bore no objections to the course of action he had devised.

Rather than having faith in his skill as a slaver, she merely had nobody else against whom to compare him. And, even Elsa could agree that it was necessary for her to stay hidden for the time being.

At least, as long as she could not get a clear read on how the Featherrun Sisters would emerge――.

Oliver: [Nevertheless, this time was definitely the longest ye’ve been gone…]

Elsa:[Indeed… It was around half a year, I suppose? It was a nice place.]

Oliver: [I could tell. Ye’ve also been giving off ‘bit of a different air, yeah? How should I put this, ye’ve quickly become much more womanly.]

Gazing over Elsa as she sat with light dressing on the bed, Oliver voiced his evaluation.

In his gaze, no wicked hue of a man was present whatsoever. What was present, however, was the pure eye of a critic, the look of a slaver appraising his merchandise.

Compared to when she first met Oliver, Elsa had grown up quite a bit. Her back, arms, and legs had all grown since then, and her chest and buttocks had attained more feminine thickness. And in the days she had spent at that Featherrun Mansion, Elsa had grown into a more devilish existence.

Considering the duties of the Featherrun Sisters, an excellent physical appearance was one of their necessary qualities. The quality of one’s appearance would have influence over the success of a mission. To bring out the carelessness of an opponent, it was an important weapon.

Henceforth, the Featherrun Sisters were prepared with beautiful features.

Oliver: [――. Best of luck. ‘S quite troubling that ye’ve got no outlook to the future, but how ‘bout we just take the constructive approach of it meaning that any ‘n all restrictions’ve been cleared away. So…]

Elsa: [What should I do?]

Oliver: [As I’d said, ye won’t be put up in the shop. That said, I won’t restrain ye either. Feel free to take a walk around town… Though I wouldn’t mind if ye disappeared like that either.]

Elsa: [Please rest assured. I’ll return before it gets dark out.]

Of course, Elsa could at least understand Oliver’s sarcasm, but she did not dwell on it. With an audible sigh, Oliver stood up and began preparing to head out.

Elsa: [Where are you going?]

Oliver: [Fortunately, the slaves I’d had in stock’ve all sold out. I’m gonna head to the next stocking and… I’ve been invited to a bit of a banquet. Gonna have meself a bit of a chat with some valued clients. Please eat as ye see fit.]

As he said that, Oliver took a bag of money out from his pocket, and tossed it towards her. Once she caught it, she could tell just how much money was inside from the sensation on her palms.

It was certainly no amount of money that should be defenselessly handed to a slave.

Oliver: [Either way, not like ye’re gonna use it.]

Elsa: [I suppose so. As expected, you really do know me well.]

Oliver: [Please! Behave! Yourself!]

With anger creeping up in response to her sarcasm, Oliver lumbered away with large strides. Seeing him off, Elsa shrugged her shoulders.

Then, looking out the window, she ascertained the sensation of the small bag in her hand. Oliver had said all that, but it did really seem that staying inside all day might not be the best thing for her mentally.

Elsa: [I suppose I’ll take a stroll around town for the first time in a long while.]

5

――The Snowfield Capital of Innorandum was one of the great cities belonging to the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko.

In Gusteko, where the vast majority of the nation was encrusted in permafrost, snowfall was present to varying degrees. Innorandum was considered a region in which snow blew particularly violently within the city, and while in other cities it was possible to more or less see the ground underneath the cleared away snow, no such phenomenon existed here whatsoever.

However, Innorandum was constructed upon Hallowed Land far larger than any other city, a town of an environment existing in a state of an endless stagnation as a result of the extreme cold.

The days upon which the climate was mild would only experience a light fall of snow, so the inhabitants who had gotten used to it would often take it as a chance to head outside. Today, the weather was also in such a condition.

Elsa: [It seems that today’s warm, so there are lots of people about.]

Strolling down the snow-trodden street, Elsa exhaled a white breath as she observed the bustling crowds.

Given the rare warm weather, many street vendors were out doing business. They were only set up in spots where the sun was shining, so Elsa, charmed by the bargainous atmosphere of the food stalls, satisfied her empty stomach.

Sauce poured all over the meat skewered by a steel rod, it was a hearty meal roasted by a powerful flame. Having been attracted by the eruption of flame at the stall, Elsa had purchased several skewers and ate them as she walked around.

As she dug in, she pondered about her course for the future. For the most part, Elsa was apprehensive about what was to come, and sought some signs regarding what she should do.

Elsa: [Well, whatever happens, happens.]

But, she also abandoned those worries right away, so that did not continue for long.

As Elsa walked around in such a manner, she noticed that there were several people gazing at her. Tracing the gazes back to their origin, she discovered that the ones looking at her were a group of ordinary men.

Sniffing out that the gazes were somewhat lustful, Elsa licked the sauce off of her lips.

She had never really been concerned with such things in the past, but it seemed that her current self was extremely captivating to the eyes of the opposite sex. Was that perhaps because of her growth, or was it because of her training as a Featherrun?

Elsa: [When I take a step back to think about it, I’m currently in a position where I’m being pursued. It may have been better for me to wear a hood to conceal my face.]

That reminded her that before she had set out, Oliver had set out a showy display of clothing options for Elsa, and among them had been a hooded robe. However, since it seemed to be a bit warmer today, she had carelessly disregarded that consideration.

Elsa: [It would have been faster had he just persuaded me…]

And, pushing the responsibility onto somebody else, Elsa walked towards an alleyway with a cold, glaciated floor. Proceeding down a less popular direction on her own, she found herself at a dead end, and turned around.

And then――,

Elsa: [I do think it’s bad manners to chase after a lone girl with a big gang. Do you perhaps have some business with me?]

As Elsa enquired so, before her stood five men who had entered the same alleyway.

From their attire, she could tell that they were not people whose occupations operated out in the light of day. Perhaps because they were surprised that Elsa had noticed them tailing her, they could not conceal their discomposure at being posed the question.

――Nay, there was a single man who was unshaken.

Man: [To think I’d be caught tailing this sorta lass, guess I’ve really lost me touch.]

Elsa: [Is that so? I don’t think it’s your fault. Those other onii-sans gave you away. If I were to explain which onii-san it was, would it cause a rift in your camaraderie, I wonder?]

Man: [Ahh none o’that, your concern ain’t needed. So here’s the thing…]

The man who had not wavered was likely something akin to an older brother figure among the men. Bearded and of high stature, he looked down on Elsa, who was standing leisurely, from above,

Man: [Lassie, you know Oliver Zeppes, don’t you?]

Elsa: […I wonder what the best answer would be here.]

Other Man: [Bitch, answer bro’s question! If not… gabhehh!?]

Elsa did not know how to respond to the bearded man’s question, so in an attempt to urge her on, one of the men had lost his temper, only to be struck in the jaw by the bearded man’s fist. Biting his tongue in a forceful manner, he cowered as blood spilled.

Man: [Right now, I’m talking with the lass. Know your damn place.]

Slapping his cowering subordinate on the head, the bearded man apologized to Elsa with a “Sorry about that”.

Man: [Deepest apologies for following you, and for the lack of discipline. And, I know that you’re involved with that Oliver knob, lassie. Saw you coming out from his place.]

Elsa: [Oh my, so he got hit for no reason. Poor thing.]

Man: [I beg of you. Don’t be saying that, yeah? Well then, onto more important matters… lassie, are you and Oliver the only ones dwelling there?]

Not understanding the intention behind the question, Elsa furrowed her well-shaped brow. As the bearded man witnessed her reaction, he began to rub his balding head,

Man: [It may sound a bit pathetic, but truth be told, a slave purchased from Oliver has run away. And, without any place to go, I figured that he’d be the first place she’d turn to.]

Elsa: [That’s quite the strange story. If a slave has fled from their buyer, wouldn’t they also try to flee from their slaver? For them to return would be…]

Man: [You see, Oliver’s got a bit of a reputation for taking back returning stock. The common sense of other slavers doesn’t apply to him. Lassie, you should also be aware of that, yeah?]

With a single eye closed, a ghastly smile emerged on the bearded man’s face. Any ordinary person would have been overwhelmed by that gaze and backed down, but unfortunately, it was but a refreshing breeze to Elsa.

Be that as it may, it was difficult to dispute the bearded man’s point. It seemed that this person was well informed regarding the rumors about Oliver, so it would be meaningless to deceive him with lies.

When it came down to it, the only thing Elsa could do was――,

Elsa: [I’ve understood the problem with Oliver. Only, there was nobody in the house other than me. Oliver’s also gone out, so it’s completely unattended.]

Man: [Can I really believe that?]

Elsa: [If you don’t believe me, why not come and take a look inside?]

This time, it was the bearded man who was surprised at Elsa’s proposal. However, from Elsa’s perspective, the contents of these allegations were not present in her recollections, so she felt no particular pain in her gut from being investigated.

Oliver would probably get mad if he found out that she brought people into his house while he was absent, but since she was clearing up unnecessary allegations towards him, he would not have any right to complain.

Man: [Then, how about I take you up on that offer? It’s a life saver that you’re so willing to help, lassie.]

Elsa: [A cooperative attitude is important, after all. So, you’ll have to help me out next time, right?]

Man: [You’ve even got some guts, I’ll give you that. You’re beautiful, ‘n these young blokes oughta follow in your example.]

As the bearded man checked with his men, “Ain’t that right lads?”, they could not do anything but affirm him in quiet voices. Though, Elsa had no way of knowing the disgrace of being beaten down, and then told to follow the example of a young girl.

Elsa: [Well, employing violence to reform someone is but a matter of course. I’ve experienced it as well.]

Man: [Heh, have you now lassie? I can’t really see that Oliver knob as the kinda guy to do such a thing, though.]

Elsa: [It happened somewhere else. My head’s even been chopped off once.]

Man: [Wahahahaha! Bloody fantastic.]

Perhaps thinking it was a joke, the bearded man slapped his knees and gave a hearty laugh.

Man: [Well then, lead the way. Don’t worry, once we can prove your words true, lassie, we’ll withdraw from there.]

Elsa: [Yes, indeed. I’m glad that you’ll be doing so. Alright, shall we go?]

With that, Elsa took the men with her, and returned to the path leading to Oliver’s house. Then, bringing the men into the house, she would prove that the slave they were looking for was not there, and would then have them be on their way.

Men: [――――]

Elsa: [Oh my.]

――In Oliver’s room, they came across a white haired girl cowering on the bed.

Naturally, that was something that even Elsa had not expected. However, these men did not live in a world so naive that they would openly lend an ear to such an excuse.

Henceforth――,

Elsa: [――Let’s just say that we were both unlucky.]

Before the bearded man could draw his dagger, his hand was pierced by a metal skewer. Pinning her opponent’s arm to the wall, Elsa’s long leg delivered a powerful kick to the bearded man’s head.

His eyes rolling to the back of his head, the bearded man lost consciousness. Seeing their elder brother figure getting dealt with in an instant, the men were shaken in the same way they had been in the alleyway.

Elsa: [I really do feel bad about this.]

Then, Elsa’s display of violence plunged every last one of the men’s consciousnesses into darkness.

6

Be they nobility, be they gentlemen, be they clergymen.

A talent for smiling was required in the social landscape, and it just so happened that Oliver had an innate gift for it.

Oliver: [Greetings, long time no see, eh? How’s your leg been faring since then?]

???: [Work has been going swimmingly. Thanks to you, there’s been no end to the incoming requests.]

Oliver: [By all means, be sure to call on me whenever ye find the chance! Let’s open up a bottle o’something special!]

It was natural to change the topic depending on who he was talking to, but in addition to that, Oliver even altered the nature of his smile.

Sometimes to reassure the other party, sometimes to imprudently outmaneuver the other party, sometimes to appear full of confidence; he would get deep into the hearts of each person he was speaking to.

A smile that fulfilled the desires of the other party, was the remarkable talent Oliver possessed as a slaver.

――Slave traders and flashy social gatherings, some people may get the exact opposite impressions from those terms, but like any other business, success would be determined based on how well connected one was.

Not to mention, Oliver’s would only do business with people who were more wealthy than he was. Rather, it could only be called natural for him to proactively turn up at these kinds of places.

Nonetheless――,

Oliver: […I guess today’s a bit of a failure.]

Looking over the drinking party formally designated as a buffet, Oliver quietly whispered in his mouth.

Neither the social gathering nor stocking up had yielded any results. He had gone around talking to many of the traders he was familiar with trying to stock up on new slaves, but had been unable to find any quality candidates. Oliver’s requirements were for them to shine once polished. So, stocking up for today was canceled.

On the other hand, it was difficult to say the people at the social gathering were promising business partners; at best, he was having conversations or making light small talk with familiar customers.

Gathered today were many people involved with the Gustekan Church. It was the Church of the Holy King that forbade slavery, so they were unable to openly discuss the business very much. After enjoying a moderate amount of conversation and booze, Oliver was planning to leave rather early.

Partly due to his professional sensibility as a slaver, but also because he was worried about the bomb he had left at home. He neither knew when that bomb would explode, nor what would get caught in the explosion.

Oliver: [I’m begging ye, please just behave for half a day――]

???: [――You over there.]

His mind preoccupied with Elsa, Oliver’s reaction to the sudden presence was delayed. Hurriedly looking back at the person who had called out to him, Oliver attempted to put on a smile――.

???: [――――]

――Facing the empty eye sockets of the one standing there, Oliver caught his breath.

Oliver: [――. Ah, it’s been a while. I see you haven’t changed much since then.]

However, that stagnation was but a moment. Oliver immediately came to his senses, and forged a smile. Then, he recalled everything he had in his mind regarding the man before his eyes. ――The name of the man affiliated with the Gustekan Church.

Oliver: [Holosseo-sama, many thanks for your patronage the other day.]

――Indeed, it was Holosseo. Holosseo Featherrun.

As someone involved with the Gustekan Church, he was a person who appeared to be of a befitting position. He was once a client of Oliver’s, none other than the buyer of Elsa.

With Holosseo right before him, Oliver’s heart permeated with confusion. Elsa had said so. That because her buyer had met his misfortune, she had returned to Oliver.

So then, why was Holosseo standing here alive and well right before Oliver?

Oliver: [May I ask how things are going? Is she serving you well?]

However, Oliver bottled up the doubts in his mind and spoke in a nonchalant manner. He was attempting to ascertain how the other party would react in response to that.

???: […Hk.]

A reaction there indeed was. However, it was not Holosseo that had displayed a strong reaction to that, but rather the young girl with blue hair and blue dress waiting beside him―― he recognized this person too. This girl had also accompanied Holosseo when he had come to collect Elsa.

The young girl of lovely appearance was glaring at Oliver with a dreadfully heinous look in her eyes.

If hatred was a vehicle of heat, it would have been enough to set Oliver ablaze; that fury was violent enough to make one think so.

Holosseo: [――It is carrying out the duty of Featherrun.]

Ergo, as Holosseo continued so, his response was delayed for but a moment.

Deciphering those words as an indication of how Elsa was working, Oliver mended his emotions.

Oliver: [Well that is the most important thing. I am also relieved that it was a beneficial transaction. How about it?  If you ever get another chance, please do consider using our services again…]

Holosseo: [I shall keep that in mind. ――This time was a job well done.]

Leaving naught more than those words behind, Holosseo turned his back on Oliver in a curt manner.

If this was a business negotiation, then Oliver would have lamented his failure, but the interaction initiated by Holosseo just now was meant to be a leading question. By no means did he seek any further dealings with Oliver.

As proof of that, the girl accompanying him did not cease her hatred-filled gaze until the very end of the end.

Oliver: [I’d deceived ‘em right away, but…]

Just what sort of blunder had Elsa perpetrated at Holosseo’s abode? To begin with, Holosseo ought to have met his misfortune as per the story he had heard.

Even if it was with that unchanged impression of poor health and eerie, empty eye sockets, Holosseo was unmistakably alive. A clear contradiction to Elsa’s testimony.

Oliver: [Ahh, and just when I thought it was already depressing enough.]

If there were people hunting down Elsa’s whereabouts, a necessity was borne for Oliver to also think about his future course.

This was the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko. ――A land where people lived under the name of the Gustekan Church.

After all, sparks of conflict and whatnot against authorities in the Church of the Holy King were not included amidst Oliver’s happy plans for the future.

7

Elsa: [Oh my, welcome home. You’re back quicker than I’d thought.]

Greeting Oliver as he hastily returned home after leaving the meeting early, Elsa spoke calmly.

Faced with an attitude that truly made it seem like nothing was wrong, Oliver hoped that what he had been witnessing for a moment now was just an optical illusion. However, that could have never been the case.

Merely, this young girl by the name of Elsa, was a girl capable of remaining calm amidst a wretched scene of blood.

Oliver: [Wh-wh-wh-wha…]

The moment he had opened the door to his own home, his nostrils were assailed by the stench of blood, giving Oliver a premonition most unpleasant.

Though not very physically strong, Oliver did lead a life as a slaver. In this neighborhood, he could not remain completely detached from violence. The malodor of blood, though foul, was something he experienced everyday.

However, never in such copious amounts. The piled up corpses of several men too――,

Elsa: [Ah, don’t get the wrong impression. I haven’t killed them. They’ve all just been knocked out.]

Oliver: [Phew, now there’s a real weight off me shoulders. I’ve got peace of mind since ye didn’t kill ‘em… is that what ye’d wanted me to say!? How’d it end up like this… in just half a day, how did it bloody end up like this!?]

The reason why Oliver had hurried back home was to question Elsa about the particulars regarding Holosseo. However, this mountain of unfamiliar men had robbed Oliver of any composure he might have had.

Anyway, he wanted problems to stop rolling into his way one after another. Oliver was but an ordinary man, and he had no choice but to deal with them one by one.

Oliver: [Elsa! Who the hell’re these blokes? Did ye pick ‘em up somewhere?]

Elsa: [Who knows? I don’t really have any clue. That’s why…]

Oliver: [That’s why?]

Elsa: [I think it would be better to ask the girl who seems like she would know.]

Saying that, Elsa gestured with her chin to a corner of the room―― to the side directly opposite to where the men had been piled up. Following it, Oliver was taken aback as his eyes caught sight of what was there.

After all, sitting there whilst hugging her knees, was the figure of a white haired young girl. And, that girl bore the mark of recognition within Oliver’s memories. After all, this girl was formerly his merchandise.

Oliver: [Tatiana!? Why’re ye in a place like this…?]

Girl: [――Hk.]

Upon having her name called out, the white haired girl―― Tatiana, looked up. Tears filled the young girl’s eyes, and she leapt into Oliver’s chest.

Promptly catching her light body, Oliver pat the girl on the back,

Oliver: [Ye were s’possed to’ve been taken in by House Lexant a month ago. So, what’re ye doing here…?]

Elsa: [It seems like that girl had escaped, and these people were chasing her, you know? She must have had nobody else to turn to, and so she fled to your place.]

Oliver: [These guys were after Tatiana…?]

Elsa: [As expected of the “receiver of returning stock”… I guess I’m not the only one who comes back.]

Oliver: [Ye’ve laced those words with far too much poison for it to be ironic…]

Tatiana held in his arms, Oliver turned his eyes towards the group of collapsed men. Having fainted, with eyes rolled to the backs of their heads, these men were people of whom Oliver had no recollection. Perceiving that, Elsa spoke “Hold on for a bit” to Oliver, and headed up to the second floor.

And after a little while――,

Elsa: [What about this person, do you recognize him?]

And, dragged down by Elsa, was a man with a well groomed beard. As for what the man had gone through upstairs, there were bruises scattered around his visage, and through his hand was pierced a metal skewer from a food vendor.

However, even in such a battered state, Oliver could narrowly grasp the man’s characteristics.

Oliver: [Ye’re the bloke from Lexant-san’s place… so, the matter of Tatiana escaping is…]

Man: [I-it’s true… I’d been ordered to bring the girl back… but, this lassie over here done got in me way, as you can see.]

His breathing feeble, the bearded-man languidly fell to his knees. Oliver had not been very cognizant of it, but it seemed a certainty that it had been Elsa who had beaten up the bearded man and his men.

Since when did she get so strong? Meeting Oliver’s gaze, charged with such a question, Elsa merely inclined her head as if to say “?”.

Oliver: [Anyway, I’ve wrapped me head ‘round the situation. Let’s see, so Tatiana’s run away from Lexant-san, ‘n Elsa beat up the blokes who were sent to chase after her… that about right?]

Man: […Yeah, that’s it.]

Elsa: [It would seem so.]

It was normal for Elsa to talk about matters she was directly involved in like she was a third party, but in this case there was a separate issue.

Oliver: [In that case, Tatiana… why’d ye decide to run away?]

Tatiana: [――――]

Oliver: [Tatiana?]

Hearing Oliver’s question as she was held in his arms, Tatiana gave no response. ――No, she could not respond.

Suspicious of this, Oliver kneeled down to align himself with the height of Tatiana’s gaze. Then, looking directly into her eyes,

Oliver: [Tatiana, take your clothes off and show me. Right this instant.]

Tatiana: [――――]

Having been instructed so, Tatiana silently removed the mere white undershirt she had been wearing. In this frigid country, wearing but a single layer of clothes was already pitiful enough, but her skin exceeded that to a severe degree.

――Upon Tatiana’s tan skin were carved countless wounds in places typically unseen.

Those had not been present a month ago, when she came into Oliver’s stock. In other words, these wounds of hers had undoubtedly been given to her in this past month――,

Oliver: […I’ve been a terrible fool. A bloody failure of a slaver I am.]

Thinking that the eye he’d had for these sorts of things had decayed, Oliver apologized to Tatiana, embracing her. Held in his chest, unable to bear it, sniveling tears began to stream down from Tatiana’s eyes.

Oliver had tried his best to ensure the proper care so that such things would never occur. But, this was reality. His blunder had inflicted merciless wounds upon Tatiana’s youthful body and mind.

The fact that she could no longer speak attested to the horrid things she had been through.

Oliver: […I’ll have this, settled.]

Elsa: [――How? Oliver, just what can you do?]

Oliver: [If I bring it up, to the association…]

Lifting his head, Oliver answered the question. However, he cut his words off midway. A matter of course. Convincing others of words one did not believe in themselves was bound to prove a difficult feat.

Much less when it was this defective black-haired slave, who could keenly sniff out the lies of others.

Elsa: [I can silence all of the pursuers, but even so, you’re quite cornered.]

Glancing towards the bearded man and his men, Elsa made a cynical remark about Oliver’s situation.

In reality, if Elsa had already set things up to this extent, it would not be difficult for her to silence the pursuers, that being the bearded man and his troupe. However, it was also true that it would then become a deadlock.

Tatiana’s buyer was Heiken Lexant―― a descendant of a lineage that had served as leading figures in the Gustekan Church for generations; from the outset, he had never once considered engaging in equal negotiations with a slaver.

――But, it would have been impossible for Oliver to simply accept such a situation, and allow harm to befall slaves.

Oliver: [Me ways, would never forgive such a thing.]

Elsa: [――Fufu, so then what will you do?]

Taking a step forward, Elsa peered into Oliver’s face, as if testing him. In those absorbent black irises, was a certain hue of anticipation awaiting Oliver’s decision.

She was waiting for Oliver to tell her what to do. Whether that was out of goodwill, or out of obligation, or if it was on a plain whim, he knew not.

He did not know, but he certainly did not like how that prim face of hers left him completely defeated.

Oliver: [We’ve been talking all ‘bout me, but, Elsa, ye’ve got some pursuers on your tail as well.]

Elsa: [Oh my, we’re talking about me now? Moreover, pursuers…]

Oliver: [At t’night’s gathering, the man who’d purchased ye was present, accompanied by a girl. I’d considered that I might’ve mistook him, but that’d be unthinkable. Ain’t no way to forget a man who stands out like he does.]

As he said that, Oliver tapped his fingers upon his eyelids. That had likely gotten the idea about Holosseo’s lack of eyeballs across to Elsa.

Elsa: [――――]

Upon hearing those words, Elsa, for the first time since returning here, expressed bafflement.

Oliver: [Elsa?]

Elsa: […Nothing, I just thought it was a little strange, but I’ve resolved it. Also, just maybe, both of our problems could be dealt with at the same time.]

Oliver: [What’ye mean?]

Elsa’s unforseen words caused Oliver to raise his eyebrows in surprise. Before Oliver, Elsa smiled as she placed her hands together in front of her chest,

Elsa: [You want to settle things with someone who wounded their own slave. I want to have a peaceful chat with the people who are chasing me… I think we can advance those goals at the same time.]

Oliver: […So, will ye let me hear the how?]

Gulping down his breath, Oliver would lend an ear to the proposal of Elsa, the girl in black. As she listened to Oliver’s snap judgment, Elsa’s smile grew deeper, and she nodded.

And then, while smiling, she spoke.

Elsa: [It’s simple, really. ――Oliver, just sell me to that bad customer.]

8

From the very start, she had had no enthusiasm for the mission on this day.

――No, in the sense of having no enthusiasm, it was not a matter limited to just this day. Lately, Dorothea neither had enthusiasm for the missions, nor to even live her own life.

And yet, the reason why Dorothea continued to perform her duties as a Featherrun Sister, was because it was the sole means by which she could devote herself to Holosseo Featherrun, who had changed her life.

Murdered at the hands of Elsa, nevermore would she get to exchange words with Holosseo. As a benefactor to Dorothea, she was his irreplaceable foster father. ――However, the Featherrun Sisters had covered up his death, and were continuing with their activities, feigning that Holosseo was still alive.

Dorothea did not think highly of this, but it was not as though she did not understand Sithonia’s insistence, fearing the terminus of fate that awaited the Featherrun Sisters who had lost Holosseo’s patronage. Of course, if their reputation were to be weighed against Holosseo’s life, Dorothea would not even need to set them upon the plates of a scale.

However, if it was an act that came at the cost of Holosseo’s prestige, she would hesitate to do anything rash or blind.

――Holosseo had been killed by Elsa, a Curse Doll whose strings were pulled by him.

Whatever reality may have been, if it became known that he was murdered by his own tool, Holosseo’s prestige would plummet. Everybody would berate him with scornful laughter, forgetting his meritorious deeds, and cast his memory to the wayside.

For Dorothea, with all the love and respect for Holosseo she had, could not endure such humiliation.

Henceforth, Dorothea’s life lost its color, and days passed by without meaning.

The coverup of Holosseo’s death was being successfully spearheaded by Sithonia. Thanks to her efforts, the activities of the Featherrun Sisters continued unchanged.

The frequency of Dorothea being called on missions increased, as she was found useful thanks to her ephemeral appearance. Compared to before, it was ironic that the secret to success was actually refraining from running in circles trying to produce results.

Dorothea: [――――]

In any case, contrary to those sentiments of Dorothea, the mission on this day came around.

The world in Dorothea’s eyes had lost all ardor and hue. ――She understood that Sithonia and the other sisters did not wish to get revenge for Holosseo as desperately as she did.

To substantiate that, instead of focusing on the hunt for Elsa, Holosseo’s killer, they were allocating strength to the preservation of the Featherrun Sisters. To begin with, Dorothea’s affection towards her adoptive father was greater than anybody else’s.

None of them truly loved Holosseo. She, and she alone, was Holosseo’s daughter.

And thus, having lost both the path forward and the path back, Dorothea was transformed into naught more than a living corpse submerged in her reminiscences. A corpse who, replaying the few memories she shared with Holosseo ad nauseam, warmed her icy heart.

That was why――,

???: [――It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Dorothea? Have you been well?]

Welcomed in such a manner as she arrived at the premises of her mission, vibrant color permeated her vision for the first time in a long while.

9

Heiken Lexant had actually been quite the easy man to make use of.

As a token of apology, the slaver who had sold him a slave that had run away now presented him with a beautiful black-haired slave. Now accommodated with a slave of far higher quality than the previous one had been, the man had put too much faith in his fortune.

Coming into the possession of a beautiful and obedient slave, Heiken lost all restraint, as if to proclaim that he existed at the pinnacle of splendor in this world. On a legendary splurging spree, nearly half of the assets of House Lexant, which he had inherited, had been squandered in just a trivial amount of time.

House Lexant was a prestigious clan that held an important post in the Church of the Holy King for generations, and it had been decided that in the near future, Heiken would take up a role in the Gustekan Church. However, though the destiny of a debaucherous noble, a person who was promised such a future was bound to have many enemies.

And through this short term spending spree, they had been made to overflow.

Engrossed in shortsighted pleasure, Heiken heeded none of the warnings from those around him as he spent his days in idle amusement―― ultimately, he ended up being forsaken by the Church of the Holy King.

He was regarded as a potential poison to the Gustekan Church were he to be kept alive. Those who had been deemed as such, could no longer live in the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko.

Ergo, to spell the end of Heiken Lexant’s days of debaucherous indulgence――,

???: [You ended up being sent here to this mansion, right?]

Gazing at Dorothea, frozen in shock right before her, Elsa smiled sweetly.

The stage was set upon the private residence of Heiken Lexant. The surroundings, a row of shelves storing many books that the manor’s lord did not even feign to show interest in. Originally, House Lexant was responsible for keeping records on the sacraments of the Church of the Holy King, but in the current day, that duty had been reduced to a mere formality.

The collective work of his clan over all these years was something Heiken took no consideration of whatsoever. Hence, in selecting this place as the stage for her reunion with her sisters, Elsa begot not even the slightest hesitation.

――Indeed, the long awaited reunion, with her sisters.

Regarding the missions of the Featherrun Sisters, Elsa knew the whole picture. She understood that if she could create an existence that the Gustekan Church found troublesome, they would be deployed to the scene.

For this reason, she had leveraged the debaucherous ways of Heiken Lexant.

Dorothea: […Wh… y?]

With a gaze honed true upon Elsa’s visage, from Dorothea’s throat escaped a husky voice, a nostalgic timbre upon her ears.

Preceded by her capricious turmoil, rang a voice her other emotions failed to catch up to. Listening, Elsa slowly tilted her head by a margin.

Why, it was a rather vague query. Why had she done something like this? Why had she waited for her, why, why, why――?

Elsa: [I suppose, because this was the quickest way that I’d have been able to chat with you guys.]

Dorothea: [――――]

Elsa: [I was desperate when I was fleeing, so I didn’t know where the mansion was. That’s why I haven’t turned up there ever since then, right? Without any way to get in contact, I ended up selecting this sort of roundabout method. Are you surprised?]

The existence of the Featherrun Sisters was treasured, the very darkness harbored by the Church of the Holy King. Consequently, the whereabouts of the Hallowed Land in which they lived were known to none.

It was such a secret that it could not even be discovered through the use of Oliver’s personal connections. Thus, Elsa immediately gave up on searching for the Hallowed Land. After all, her objective lay not within the Hallowed Land itself, but with the sisters who lived there.

Dorothea: [――――]

Still staring at Elsa, Dorothea maintained her silence. Only, from what Elsa could see of the fury stirring in her eyes, the fact that it was not hesitation towards the question was evident.

The fury stirring within Dorothea, its identity was that of clear loathing――,

Dorothea: [ELSAAAAAAAA…!]

Elsa: […Did you miss me?]

Dorothea: [――Hk!]

As soon as she inclined her head at the hostility, and uttered a statement bereft of provocatory intention, Dorothea vanished. ――Nay, she had taken a low stance, aiming for Elsa as she charged her down.

From behind her azure dress, swiftly unsheathed were two long glaives. Putting them together as she charged forth, Dorothea transformed them into enormous great shears.

Having severed vast amounts of flesh and blood, these great shears possessed a cutting edge that even Elsa had once gotten a taste of. Brandishing that, Dorothea charged forth with eyes sodden by murderous intent. As Elsa basked in that malevolent hatred of the fifth daughter of the Featherrun Sisters, she leaned down and hopped off the desk.

Then, once she lightly landed on the floor with the tips of her toes――,

Elsa: [I missed you too.]

Immediately after, the fissures that had already been present in the floor expanded, and the library suddenly caved in.

Dorothea: [Wha…!!?]

Elsa: [That’s why, I was thorough in my preparations for it.]

Dorothea’s voice, coated with astonishment, overlapped with the cognizant voice of Elsa.

Having lost her footing out of nowhere, Dorothea was powerless to do anything as she was enveloped by the sensation of being suspended in the air. If this had been Ornea, she would likely have been able to break through the deadlock by using her kusari-fundo somehow.

However, such a thing would be difficult with Dorothea’s great shears. ――In all honesty, even though it was possible to have the Featherrun Sisters summoned, Elsa had no way of predicting who would undertake the mission.

That was why, it being Dorothea, who was unable to deal with this situation, was the result of Elsa’s luck having won out.

And thus, it being Dorothea, the least capable of talking things out, was the result of Elsa’s luck having been rotten.

Elsa: [――――]

In the midst of falling to a lower floor, Elsa used one of the falling bookcases as a foothold to close in on Dorothea. She had been immobilized by the shock for but a moment, so Dorothea attempted to maneuver her body to deal with the situation, but she was too late.

Right into the center of Dorothea’s torso, came a hammering blow from the tip of Elsa’s toes. As her dainty body was blown away with a cry of pain, Dorothea was swallowed up by a waterfall of plummeting tomes.

But, her fate remained uncertain for merely an instant. With her great shears, the bookshelf lying on top of her was cleaved up and blown away as Dorothea stood up.

Dorothea: […Come on out, Elsa! You’re planning to kill me like you killed Father, isn’t that right!?]

Elsa: [Though, I think you have a bit of a misunderstanding there.]

Amidst the fluttering descent of shredded books, Elsa responded to the bellowing Dorothea. Slowly walking out from behind a pile of bookshelves, Elsa peered at Dorothea with her black eyes.

Within those black eyes of hers, Dorothea’s body appeared as if being distorted by the heat of detestation.

Elsa: [Dorothea, I think it would be best if we both desist. I merely wanted to talk about that today, so I summoned you here. Though, to be precise, it wasn’t you specifically.]

Dorothea: [Both, desist…? After making full preparations to ambush me, you’re saying that now?]

Elsa: [I think it also would have been rude to await you without sufficient preparations. Besides, in the case that it was you who came, it was clear that it would have ended up turning into a deadly battle of this sort.]

Waving her hand, Elsa insisted that she had no intention of fighting.  But, unable to secure Dorothea’s reassurance with that, a corollary of her doubts only growing deeper was begotten.

Still emanating a volatile impression, Dorothea glared at Elsa,

Dorothea: […Fine, I’ll listen to whatever impertinent things you have to say. What’s your intent here?]

Elsa: [I told you, didn’t I? For both of us to desist, that’s what I desire. I would have been fine leaving things like that, with how we parted at the mansion, but… it would seem that you are searching for me.]

Pausing her words there, Elsa returned Dorothea’s gaze head on.

Elsa: [Once you found me, it’s quite difficult to imagine that things would blow over amicably.]

Dorothea: [Isn’t that only natural…!!? You, you killed Father! The sole person in this world… the person who found me, that Father! You, YOUUUUUUU…!]

After displaying an attitude of being willing to listen, once more was Dorothea engulfed by fury, losing herself to indignation.

Lamenting that, Elsa shrugged her shoulders with a “Look at that”,

Elsa: [As I thought, I won’t be able to talk to you. This is what I’d been afraid of.]

Dorothea: [Enough. I no longer consider you my younger sister… I’m gonna murder you, Elsa!]

With a brandish of her great shears, Dorothea surmounted the books amidst the rubble, and thrust towards Elsa.

The haphazard speed of the girl, her blue dress fluttering, was a sign of a willingness to have one’s own body destroyed, characteristic of those who had awakened as Curse Dolls. For Dorothea, that was particularly striking, as she showed no hesitation whatsoever to have her body crushed and pulverized.

That attested to just how much of her self-worth she placed in Holosseo’s approval.

It was testament to her attitude that, if she could be useful to Holosseo, then she cared not for whatever happened to her.

Ergo――,

Dorothea: [――Ah?]

Elsa: [You can’t become Ornea, or any of the other sisters.]

Compared to her angered bellow from a moment prior, that voice had been far too faint.

Before Elsa’s eyes, Dorothea’s charge was thrown into disorder. Her body had lost its balance. However, that was only natural. After all, her body had been split in half at the center of her torso.

Dorothea: [――――]

Unaware as to what had occurred, Dorothea’s upper body was sent flying. It was around the same time that her upper and lower bodies struck the floor.

Copious amounts of blood spilling from her bisected torso, and the belated arrival of pain caused her to shriek. It was just as if the rasping voice of an old crone wrung by the neck resounded through the manor.

Elsa: [You got way too emotional.]

Amidst her cries, Elsa passed in between the two halves of Dorothea, and traced the air with her finger. ――Nay, it was not the air she was tracing, but a steel wire that had been strung up in the air.

The steel wire, now with a few drops of blood hanging about it, had been strung up firmly at the height of Dorothea’s torso. She had charged into the steel wire all by herself, causing her body to be split in twain.

Elsa: [Ornea would have noticed. Sithonia would have withdrawn once the unexpected began to occur. I don’t know what Saria and Hildea would have done, but… you completely fell for it.]

Dorothea: [Ah, aahgaAHHHHHHAHHHHH…!]

Elsa: [If it was only an arm or some fingers, you would have been fine, but you can’t regenerate if your torso is cut in half. Your regeneration is weak compared to mine or Ornea’s, so I suppose this is the end?]

Internal organs spilling out from the cross section, Dorothea writhed on the brink of death. However, writhing only led to the loss of more blood, so she was unable to do anything.

By the time the sisters were called to this manor, Elsa had already completed the appropriate preparations to receive them. Dorothea had been completely caught in the trap that Elsa had set.

Elsa: [Didn’t I tell you? A reception bereft of sufficient preparations would have been far more disrespectful to you all.]

Dorothea: [――Ah, kuh…]

As Elsa walked towards her, Dorothea immediately attempted to swing her shears at her. But, her arm was stomped down from above, and without any lower body to brace herself with, her assault was thwarted.

Elsa then crouched down, and peered at Dorothea, who wore an expression of pure unadulterated rage, from a close proximity.

Elsa: [Though, I just hope you don’t get the wrong idea.]

Dorothea: […Wrong idea, as in?]

Elsa: [I’m not doing any of this because I hate you guys. In fact, I quite liked you. When you received that job, I was delighted as if it pertained to me.]

With those words, Elsa continued with “That’s why”,

Elsa: [――From the bottom of my heart, I’m regretful that things turned out this way.]

Dorothea: [――――]

As Elsa bid her condolences, Dorothea’s expression froze over.

Then, Dorothea bashed her forehead into the floor, a sobbing noise emerging from her throat. Averting her gaze from the pitiful weeping, Elsa suddenly came to a realization.

Having fallen over slightly further away, it was Dorothea’s lower body. Disunited from the upper body that was communicating her will, that which had been limited to mere convulsions, the nature of its quiver, shifted.

――From something bereft of meaning, bereft of intent, into a movement of something in which purpose verily dwelled.

Elsa: [This is…]

Receiving a dire sensation from that alteration, Elsa’s body grew stiff.

In an instant, the bleeding that had abated in vigor forcefully resumed, the dusky fresh blood steeping into the floor like a malediction. Elsa widened her eyes upon witnessing that sight, and the situation shifted further.

Dorothea’s overflowing blood morphed into sharp blades, launching an attack on Elsa.

Elsa: [Kuh!]

Promptly jumping out of the way, Elsa evaded the sanguine blades flying about. But, the speed and force of the blood could not be simply discerned by sight, and so chasing after the jumping Elsa, they made contact with her white skin―― causing it to burst asunder.

Elsa: [Zh…!! Aghh!]

The locations where the drops of blood touched upon burst open, a high pitch scream resounding out from Elsa’s throat.

Dorothea’s blood soaked into her white skin, causing it to burst open from within. Her right arm, right leg, around half her body ripped open to shreds, Elsa collapsed following the impact.

Pain, pain, a stabbing pain ensued. Agonized by that pain, Elsa’s face was,

Dorothea: [ELSAAA!!]

And, alongside a screeching voice, the firm sensation of a heel stomped down upon her face.

Dorothea had trampled Elsa’s face down to the ground with her heel. Dorothea, who was supposed to have been split in two at her torso, bared her teeth as she looked down at Elsa with an expression of pure hatred.

Her body, which ought to have been ripped asunder, was now firmly reconnected.

As Elsa looked up at that as her face was being stepped on,

Elsa: […Even though I split you in two, how did you stand back up?]

Dorothea: [Blood, connected with blood… I’m surprised too. By the possibilities of Curse Dolls.]

Hearing the low voice of a crone, spoken as if casting a curse, Elsa thought back to Dorothea’s sobbing from a moment prior. That had not been sobbing, but the sound of laughter.

The fury had caused Dorothea to laugh, the fury had bestowed Dorothea with new power.

That was――,

Elsa: [By controlling blood, you’ve tied your torso back together… How wonderful.]

Dorothea: [You’ve got leeway… You should be able to do this sorta thing as well.]

Saying that, Dorothea slashed her own arm with her shears. From her wrist poured out a vast amount of blood, soaking into Elsa’s abdomen. Considering what had happened before, it would not be strange for this amount of blood to explode from within Elsa’s torso. However, that was not Dorothea’s objective.

Immediately after, centered around Elsa’s abdomen, Dorothea’s blood began to stir within her body.

Elsa: [Ku, ug! Ah, uuh, AHH! AHHHahhhhhh――!!]

It was visually apparent that Elsa’s body was being destroyed by blood from within. Underneath her black dress, the affront was visualized through the form of dusky blood crawling in her white skin.

It was a sensation akin to small insects swarming around within her body. In addition, the insects harbored a clear intent for torture as they contributed to Elsa’s agony, clad in sharp blades as they bustled about within her.

Assailed by the hellish anguish of myriad insects hollowing her out from within, Elsa screamed.

Elsa: [Ug, gyhgh, AHHAHhahhhhhhhhhhh――!!!]

Dorothea: [How’d you like that? How’s that? How’s that, how’s that, how’s that how’s that how’s that HOW’S THAT HOW’S THAT!?]

Her vision stained bright red, her brain was unable to process even her own scream. Noises disappearing into the cacophony, everything of this world grew distant from the realm of her comprehension.

Even now, Dorothea’s heel was still firmly stepping on Elsa’s face, but both that pain and humiliation were trifling in face of the violation of the blood crawling through her body.

The situation had been flipped on its head. Looking down upon Elsa, Dorothea roared with laughter.

Even when her body had been bisected, Dorothea had not cast away her will to fight. That doggedness is what had allowed a new possibility to bud for Dorothea’s body.

Dorothea: [HOW’S THAT, ELSA!? SUFFER! SCREAM! FOR FATHER! YOU SHALL――Hk!]

Elsa: [――Hk.]

Under the foot of Dorothea, who was yet commanding the blood, Elsa swung her legs a great deal upwards. Her flexible, long legs zeroed in on Dorothea’s cranium. But, by tilting her head, Dorothea managed to evade.

However, slipping through the momentary slack, Elsa broke away from underneath Dorothea’s foot. She tenaciously jumped to the floor on all fours, deserting the room packed with the ruins of the library.

Dorothea: [Know when to give up…! You think I’d let you get away!?]

In pursuit of the fleeing Elsa, Dorothea cleared over the wreckage. Then, as she rushed forth, her cheek was ripped open by a sharp edge.

At a glance, it was a similar steel wire to the one that had cleaved her in half. One of the many steel wires that had been strung up around the room, had torn into Dorothea’s cheek without any repent.

Dorothea: […Hk! How so very annoying you are!]

Alongside a roar of anger, Dorothea released more sanguine blades through the wound on her wrist, and hacked into the steel wire. Dorothea’s ire was not constrained to merely that act, and neither did the destruction wreaked by her sanguine blades come to an end.

In order to lay waste to the shoddy traps Elsa had set, the sanguine blades razed the room to the ground, berserking as they pleased, thwarting every last one of the steel wires by force.

With that done, she would attempt to pursue Elsa――,

Dorothea: [Ghgobu…!]

An iron stake fired from the fore perforated her body, causing Dorothea to cough up blood as her viscera spilled out.

Widening her eyes wondering what had happened, it had been nothing of importance. Just another trap set out in the same manner as the steel wires, an iron stake arranged to be shot out were a steel wire to be cut.

Elsa had meticulously, yet indifferently, made preparations in order to kill the Featherrun Sisters.

Dorothea: […Hk!]

Pulling out the iron stake, she cut it in half with her blood. Using blood to close up the fresh wound on her torso, Dorothea dragged her great shears along with her as she left the room.

Dorothea: [――――]

Elsa was not present in the corridor, but the trail of blood droplets informed Dorothea of where she had gone. Regardless, even at a distance, she could clearly tell that her own blood was driving Elsa into a corner.

Following the bloodstains and the throbbing of her own blood, Dorothea pursued Elsa. En route, there were many traps including the likes of steel wires and iron stakes, but she crushed those head on, and persisted in her advance.

Then, upon the room to which Elsa had fled, she tore down the door, and stepped in.

Dorothea: [The dining hall…]

Looking over the space furnished with a long table, lined with chairs that likely did not see much use, Dorothea felt a strong, out-of-place impression that perhaps the dining halls of grand estates were all modeled the same way no matter the location.

Elsa: [I wonder, why do the dining halls of mansions always end up looking so similar? ]

An audible voice correctly guessed what she had been thinking, and Dorothea turned around.

Deep within the dining hall, Elsa stood before a door that continued into the next room. Dorothea had certainly expected for her to flee yet again out of that door, but she closed it with a hand behind her back, blocking off her own means of escape.

Dorothea: […Have you given up on running away?]

Elsa: [Gradually, I’ve gotten used to the pain. You see, even if I continue to flee, I can’t see any prospects of being able to get away from you.]

Dorothea: [I see. In that case, accept your defeat and die here. For Father…!]

Standing on opposite ends of the long table, Dorothea readied her great shears while training a vigilant gaze upon Elsa. If she were to spring at her in a hotheaded manner here, she would just end up with a bisected torso all over again.

Given that she had taken the trouble to flee here, there was no doubt about this room also being laid with sufficient preparations. Of those, Dorothea would maintain utmost caution, while simultaneously applying vigorous motion to the blood within Elsa’s body.

And all the while, she commenced an all out sanguinary offensive.

Dorothea: [No matter what sorts of traps you’ve set, I’ll crush them all!]

The frenzy of a sanguine blade cleaved right through the table, honing in on Elsa, who stood bolt-upright. Bearing the anguish within her body, Elsa flew to the side to evade, yet the blade of blood was relentless in its pursuit.

In such a manner, the blade sunk its teeth into Elsa’s leg, and with her movement thwarted, the legacy of that pursuit was carried forth by the great shears. Formulating the chain of attack in her head, she would put it into practice―― it happened the very next moment.

An uproarious inferno engulfed the entirety of Dorothea’s vision in bright red.

Dorothea: [――――]

Overwhelmed by the intense heat of the flames, Dorothea froze up.

In an instant, thrown from the other side of the curtain of flame was a table knife with aim centered on Dorothea’s face. Narrowly avoiding it, Dorothea attempted to shake free from the flames, as empty of a threat as they were.

However, as soon as she shook away from the flames, a silhouette came piercing through the blazing curtain once more.

That was――,

Elsa: [With this, I can finally get back at you.]

Dorothea: […Hk! ELSAAA!]

Unconcerned about getting burned, Elsa had leapt through the flames grasping onto Dorothea. She immediately commanded the blood to burst her arm apart, but Elsa’s expression remained unchanged. Eyes sparkling with belligerence, she grabbed Dorothea’s head and slammed it to the ground.

And out from Dorothea’s hand, pinned to the floor as she was, Elsa kicked the great shears flying, stripping her of her weapon. But, that did not mark the end.

Dorothea: [Any, weapon…!]

Even without her great shears, her flowing blood would become a weapon by which to kill Elsa.

With a wrathful gaze upon Elsa, Dorothea commanded the blood of her own circulating in her opponent’s body. After all, she understood the restorative capabilities of a Curse Doll’s resuscitating qualities. In that case, she ought to lavishly mince up her entrails with such force that she would not be able to reminisce on her life, inflicting upon her the utmost agony.

Dorothea’s blood made an attempt to bring that to fruition, and overrun the insides of Elsa’s body――,

Elsa: [Unfortunately, I won’t let you do that.]

Right after those words, a vast amount of something was poured onto Dorothea’s body. And that was not just on Dorothea, it was some liquid that Elsa had covered both of them in from the head down.

A malodor assailed her nostrils, and a moment later, Dorothea’s frozen thoughts became cognizant as to its identity.

It was an alcohol strong enough to emit an intense smell. And, there was only one reason why Elsa would have doused them in alcohol in this situation.

Elsa: [Well then, shall we test our endurance?]

Dorothea: [WAI――!]

Wait, Dorothea exclaimed, but it was too late.

Weighing down on Dorothea, Elsa reached out behind her and grabbed the burning cloth from off the long table, dragging it towards the two of them. The subsequent instant, the liquor alighteth.

Elsa: [――――]

The liquor burst into a thunderous eruption of terrific flame, burning the bodies of Dorothea and Elsa.

The scintillating flames charred the skin of the two maidens, scorched their clothes, singed their hair, destroying their beautiful forms. In an attempt to escape the intense agony, Dorothea writhed, and sought salvation through blood.

However, engulfed by the scorching flames, her blood had lost every last bit of its strength, and disappeared. No matter how aberrant a power was granted to it, blood was still blood. It could not win against flame――,

Dorothea: [Gy, aaaAAHHAHHHHH――!!]

Those thoughts of hers were quite literally scorched to naught by the flames, bringing them to oblivion.

Scorched was the throat releasing a scream, causing the embodiment of her inferiority complex, her voice, to disappear. As she had let out a voice, her lungs swelled in hopes of oxygen, but the incoming heat only served to incinerate her internal organs.

Due to the incinerating heat, her eyeballs burst asunder, and her tongue and mucous membranes frothed. It took no time for her white skin to be scorched black, for her long blue hair, and dress of the same hue, and absolutely everything else to become engulfed in the flames.

And yet, despite all of that, even though there could have been no possible way to endure such agony.

Elsa: [Fufu, aha, AHAHAHAHAHAHA!]

While being burned in the same manner, she could hear the loud laughter of Elsa from right above her.

How could she be laughing amidst such heights of intense pain? Why was she laughing? ――No, this was something she understood. This youngest sister, Elsa, was out of her mind. This was something she understood.

Even the Featherrun Sisters, by no means capable of living in a proper manner, could not comprehend the thoughts of the girl by the name of Elsa. They could not accept them. They could not acknowledge them.

Dorothea: [You, are no, Featherrun…!]

Being burnt to a crisp. Dorothea, inferior in her regeneration, could not recover from the same damage as Elsa.

If these flames came to an end, and the situation quieted down, there would be nothing she could do. Therefore, if she was going to attempt a counterattack, it had to be this moment. While her thoughts were dominated by pain, vengeful desires flared up within her.

With doggedness that could overcome even this scorching heat, she would take revenge for the murdered Holosseo.

Dorothea: [Drop, dead…!]

Mustering all of her remaining strength, Dorothea fastened her palm to Elsa’s abdomen. All the blood that she had ejected outwards had been burned by the flames. In that case, then she would commence an onslaught of blood directly from her hand, into Elsa’s body.

If she could then crush her heart, it would still be possible to turn this around.

Aiming for that, she fired a bullet of blood towards Elsa’s heart. Circulating the blood through her body, before it could be burned by the heat of the flames, to the heart――,

Elsa: [――Too bad.]

Her voice, was lost.

Elsa’s face, melted away from its original form, laid most of her skull bare, however, Dorothea could tell that her usual smile was strewn upon her face.

As always, it was that malevolent smile, looking down on everything within this world.

Dorothea: [――――]

Before the speechless Dorothea, Elsa had escaped disaster though means most astonishing. To prevent the sanguine bullet from reaching her heart, she had slit open her own torso.

Dorothea: [AH, AHH, AHHHHHHHHHH――!!!]

Elsa: [How sorrowful, Dorothea… With this, our sisterly quarrel has come to an end.]

Having sliced open her body with her hand, while reveling in the pain of her entrails being scorched, the blood bullet that was supposed to have proved fatal was seized by the flames. And then, as Elsa smiled amidst the anguish,

Elsa: [Ahh, what a thrill.]

With that, as her flesh and bones were being burned by the scorching heat, it caused her body to tremble.

10

The Lexant Manor was engulfed in flame, caving in without leaving a trace.

Amidst a blanket of light snow, the sight of the mansion constructed upon Hallowed Land burning down was something out of a reverie. In a dark world of white, where light was scarce, the fluttering descent of snowflakes was illuminated a vivid red.

With the disaster befalling the mansion of a personage quite well known throughout the town, people could not hide their shock, unable to do anything but watch from afar, dumbfounded.

???: [――――]

Outside the cognizance of those curious onlookers, was a silhouette walking through the alley beside the burning mansion on bare feet. That was a maiden with skin laid bare, her body soiled all over with black soot.

She was avoiding the eyes of onlookers, but that was not out of embarrassment regarding her naked body being exposed, but something more pragmatic aiming to not be called out and halted.

As proof of that, after finding the man who had been waiting for her as she slipped out of the alleyway, she did nothing to conceal her body as she smiled and waved.

Elsa: [Oliver, you really did wait for me.]

Oliver: […This lass, why’d ye come back with no clothes on? At least do a little to cover yourself.]

Elsa: [That would’ve been impossible. Everything in the mansion had caught fire, and I didn’t have that sort of time.]

As the girl answered in a nonchalant manner, Oliver placed his hand on his forehead hearing Elsa’s words, having been the one to wait for her here. But, it seemed he had given up on getting a normal response, so he immediately took off his coat, and handed it over to the nude Elsa. Receiving it, Elsa gratefully put it on.

Elsa: [A man’s coat over my bare skin… I get a feeling that this might actually end up attracting more perverted men.]

Oliver: [Even though ye don’t use it, ye’ve gone ‘n accumulated nought but useless knowledge… nonetheless, ye’ve really made a show of things, haven’t ye?]

Elsa: [I hadn’t intended on setting fire to it, but it was a last resort given how things were going. Will it be tough to deceive House Lexant, I wonder?]

Oliver: [No need for ye to worry ‘bout that. After all, it was none other than the head of House Lexant… Heiken’s father, who made the request for his profligate son to be dealt with.]

Revealing the shady circumstances enshrouding Heinken, Oliver made a bitter face.

Given that he had made use of a patron, Oliver could not honestly be glad regarding the success of the plan. Only, he harbored no sympathy towards those who treated their slaves roughly. That had been the compromise agreed upon by this clumsy man.

Oliver: [So then, did’ye accomplish your objective a’ight?]

Elsa: [Yes… It’s just, any prospect of having a discussion broke down. I ended up losing my bet.]

Looking towards the mansion burning down in the distance, Elsa sighed at how poor her luck had been.

The major bets Elsa had gambled on today numbered two. The first, was whether the Featherrun Sisters would appear at the Lexant Manor or not.

And the other, had been regarding which of the sisters would be assigned the mission of Heiken’s murder.

She had emerged victorious in the former bet, of the Featherrun Sister’s arrival. However, the other bet had been a total bust. If it had been Sithonia or Ornea sent here, talking things out ought to have been possible.

Elsa: [Among the sisters, I had thought Dorothea as being the least open to conversation, but… as expected, things turned out exactly as I’d thought.]

Oliver: [Well then for the both of ye… no, the other side may’ve actually found it to be a bit more of a one-sided misfortune.]

Elsa: [I also got terribly hurt, you know?]

Oliver: [Compared to having your life taken, the opponent’s oughta be the far more pitiful one.]

As Oliver shrugged his shoulders and spoke, Elsa could understand that such was also true.

In the end, Elsa did find it regrettable that things could have only ever ended up as a fight to the death. In preparation for that, she had set many traps throughout the mansion, but that was that, and this was this.

Elsa: [Even so, that was a close one…]

Come the final stage, Dorothea, having attained the ability to control blood, had been a formidable foe. If it had not been the eleventh hour in which she obtained that power, and had she not over relied on it, Elsa likely would have been defeated.

Had she mastered the technique of controlling blood, the situation would have been painted a more advantageous hue in Dorothea’s favor. Moreover, the degradation of her decision making ability from the large loss of blood had likely gotten in the way of that.

In any case――,

Elsa: [What’s done is done… shall we get out of here? If Dorothea, who was eager to kill me, has died, then the remaining sisters will likely back off.]

Oliver: [I’d like to hope so. I’ve already had me fill of this bloody affair.]

Gathered on the main street were not just curious onlookers, but personnel who had come to put out the fire at the mansion. If the Temple Knights, affiliated with the Church of the Holy King, were to find fault with her, trouble would be unavoidable.

Using the escape route that they had decided on beforehand, Elsa and Oliver distanced themselves from the mansion. Along the way, Elsa looked back just once, thinking about Dorothea, who had been left in the burning mansion.

Self conscious about her husky voice, she was a girl who hated opening her mouth. Putting utmost effort into the work bestowed upon her, the flower garden in the front yard had beautifully bloomed as the fruits of her labor.

Since she knew just how hard of a worker Dorothea was, Elsa found it regrettable from the bottom of her heart.

Elsa: [If only you could have let bygones be bygones, that would’ve been best.]

Thinking that it was inevitable for her to say such a thing, Elsa shook her head after whispering.

Oliver: [Elsa! Don’t ye fall behind now, we’re on the run! Come on, over here, here!]

Elsa: [Yes, I know.]

Not granted any time to immerse in sentimentality, Elsa responded to Oliver’s call, and began to walk again.

Bearing in her heart the reality of having slain one of her sisters by her own hand, Elsa walked through the town of snow.

Without heeding those sentiments of hers, her black eyes moistened by dim emotions, she passed through the town.

――Through a town of white, did Elsa drift.

Chapter IV
『Saria Featherrun & Hildea Featherrun』

1

Sithonia: […Only a minimal amount of remains could be found in the ruins of the fire.]

Spoken in a somber tone, Sithonia laid it out over the dining room table.

Wrapped in a white bundle, was a peculiar object scorched black. At just a glance, it was difficult to tell just what it was, but while taking in the burnt aroma and visible shape, comprehension gradually followed.

It was a human bone fragment, of someone who had been a sister among them.

――The utterly altered form to which Dorothea Featherrun had been reduced.

Ornea: [This is, Dorothea, you say…?]

Aghast, grasping the bone fragment atop the bundle, Ornea muttered as her cheeks grew stiff. Presented with words that attempted to suppress all emotion, Sithonia spoke not a word.

However, that silence in itself was an affirmation of no falsehood. A corroboration of the fact that their timid, blue-haired little sister, had been discovered as a mercilessly burnt corpse.

Saria: […What might have happened to Dorothea? Hildea is worrying over it.]

Hildea: [Saria also seems mournful. How did this happen to Dorothea?]

Even Saria and Hildea, who would usually be immersed in their own little world, naturally turned pale upon witnessing these circumstances.

The tragedy that had befallen the Featherrun Sisters, so impactful had the truth of it been. The sisters were beings who had acquired quasi-immortality. To think one of them had been killed in such a manner.

Ornea: [Even if she went head to head with a high ranking Temple Knight, she shouldn’t’ve been killed so easily. So just how, did things end up like this…?]

Sithonia: [There is one possibility conceivable. If the opponent was aware of how to kill a Curse Doll.]

Ornea: [――Hk! Don’t tell me, the opponent was…]

The expression on her face changing, Ornea lifted her head. Meeting the gaze of her younger sister head on, Sithonia nodded in a solemn gesture. Regarding the identity of Dorothea’s murderer, there was only one person that came to mind.

Saria & Hildea: [――Elsa.]

With that, the voices of Saria and Hildea overlapped, weaving together a lone person’s name.

A member of the Featherrun Sisters―― nay, occupying a position that ought to be regarded as former sister, Elsa. Having killed Holosseo, she who had managed to escape from the Featherrun Estate, had now slain Dorothea.

For what reason could she have possibly felt the need to commit such atrocities?

Saria: [Kuku… that girl, I suppose she’s planning on slaughtering everyone, even Hildea and I.]

Hildea: [What an outrageous girl. To think she feels like eradicating even Saria and I.]

Ornea: [Wait just a sec! Say what you like, but that’s way too hasty a conclusion! For me as well, she’s the only one who comes to mind regarding who might’ve killed Dorothea, but… ]

Trying to reign the twins back in as they made up their mind on what the opponent’s aim was, Ornea hounded them so. However, the chilly gaze of the twins, and an utterance of “No” from Sithonia, stopped her.

As Sithonia looked down at the bones, at the horrid remains of Dorothea’s body atop the table,

Sithonia: [Following Father, Dorothea has also been killed. It is only natural that Elsa would be aiming to kill the rest of us.]

Ornea: [You really think she’s capable of such advanced thinking!?]

Sithonia: [Everything, including that, may have been an act. How much can you say that we really know about Elsa? To begin with, if she’s aiming for our lives…]

Saria: [She may have been a spy sent by someone.]

Hildea: [There are many people who are not fond of the duties of the Featherrun Sisters.]

Hand in hand, Saria and Hildea supplemented Sithonia’s views. Closing a single eye at those appropriate comments, Sithonia nodded to Ornea.

Even so, when Ornea was about to make some sort of refutation,

Sithonia: [Ornea, I know you had placed expectations in Elsa. But, you must stop averting your eyes from the things that have happened. ――Dorothea, was murdered by Elsa.]

Ornea: [Gh, gh…]

Sithonia: [As you say, this isn’t something that Elsa could have planned by herself. There must be a collaborator, a person who is guiding her. As long as they remain in the shadows, we will never solve the root of the problem.]

Sithonia placed her hand to her forehead as if to express that an enemy was set against them, and sighed.

As it was, they were covering up Holosseo’s death, and doing what they could to maintain the appearances of Featherrun. In such a situation, losing Dorothea was a crushing blow. In both a simple sense of combat potential, and in the sense of their connection as sisters.

Despite how it might have seemed, Dorothea had been desperate to maintain their unity as sisters. Though, it was apparent that her reason for doing so was her deep affection towards Holosseo, with her not bearing many sentiments towards the rest of her sisters.

Saria: [――Hey, Sithonia. About Elsa, can you leave the matter to Hildea and I?]

Hildea: [――Hey, Sithonia. About Elsa, can you leave the matter to Saria and I?]

Thereupon, the twins strung together words in essentially the same tone, to which Sithonia was momentarily delayed in her reaction

That had been a surprising proposal. Even in this situation, she had expected the twins to wait and see what would happen as they always did, but to the contrary, they insisted on taking the initiative.

Ornea: [You’re really saying that the two of you will take action? How’d the wind end up blowing that way?]

Saria: [Well, what cruel thing of you to say, Ornea. You know, Hildea is one of the sisters too?]

Hildea: [And even Saria has some reservations about that. What a sharp tongue you have, Ornea.]

Puffing their cheeks up in discontent, the twins rubbed their cheeks together, leaving Ornea with a puzzled expression. To intervene, Sithonia placed her hands together before her chest.

In any case, Sithonia and Ornea had their hands full with the duties of the Featherrun Sisters.

Sithonia: [If you can fill in the gaps we cannot reach, it would be a wish come true. But, what will you do then?]

Saria: [To take care of that, just leave it to Hildea.]

Hildea: [If you count on Saria, it’ll be a piece of cake.]

Seeing the confident demeanor of the twins, Sithonia plunged into a brief contemplation, and then nodded.

Although they quite often lived in their own secluded world, they too were Feathrrun Sisters. They never lagged behind during missions, and they had two heads to think with.

Sithonia: [Do you happen to need anything?]

Saria: [Not at all. Hildea and I will make our own arrangements.]

Hildea: [Yes, but, I wonder just how many will suffice for Saria and I?]

Saying that, the twins pointed to their feet in unison―― nay, pointing even further below than that,

Saria: [We’ll be taking all of the mansion’s hounds. Of course, that includes the very biggest pup.]

Hildea: [And then, there’s something we’d like to have Sithonia… no, something we’d like to have Father do for us.]

With sadistic smiles on their faces, Saria and Hildea made a request of Sithonia. Perceiving the seriousness hidden behind the twins’ smiles, Sithonia silently nodded.

If it was necessary to get revenge on the killer of their father and younger sister―― to kill Elsa.

Sithonia: [Use anything you please. In exchange, know that failure will not be tolerated.]

2

???: [Aa…]

???: [――――]

Looking at that which had been presented to her, a rare perplexity was etched into Elsa’s brow.

Several days had passed since the incident involving Dorothea, and having returned to Oliver’s base in Innorandum as if nothing had happened, she had been spending time healing her wounds.

Presented to Elsa, who sat on the floor with her back leaned against the bed, was a single white flower. And, the one holding that flower was a youthful girl looking at Elsa―― Tatiana.

Having gone through hell whilst in the ownership of the now deceased Heiken, the slave girl had fled back to Oliver’s place. Or perhaps, now that she had fled back here, she ought not be called a slave, but a mere commodity.

Regardless, Elsa had no intention of getting deeply involved with her, and she could not even hold a proper conversation with Tatiana, who was now suffering from aphasia, but――,

Elsa: [So then, what are you doing with that flower?]

Tatiana: [Uu…]

Elsa: [I can’t understand your “Aa”ing and “Uu”ing. Though, I do think flowers are very pretty.]

Elsa tilted her head at Tatiana, who was shaking her head in refutation, given her scant ability to convey her will. In such a state, how were she and Olvier able to communicate with each other?

???: [Seems like she wants ye to take it. Though surely ye’d be able to tell that much just by looking?]

Striking upon Elsa’s eardrums as she harbored such a thought, the voice of the very person at the crux of those questions reverberated.

Upon returning to his bedroom, Oliver looked over Elsa and Tatiana, sitting opposite to each other upon the floor, and shrugged his shoulders as if to say “Goodness me”,

Oliver: [That girl’s thankful to ye. It’s b‘cause I told Tatiana that ye went ‘n punished the horrid master who’d put ‘er through hell…]

Elsa: [So then, she’s grateful to me? And this flower, is to represent those feelings?]

Tatiana: [――――]

Tatiana vigorously nodded to affirm Elsa’s words. Then, glancing back and forth between the flower, being presented to her again, and Tatiana, who was holding it out, Elsa heaved a sigh.

And so, taking the flower from Tatiana’s hands,

Elsa: [Thank you. Setting aside whether it makes me happy or not, I ought to give my gratitude.]

Oliver: [Wouldn’t it be best for ye to just be happy in earnest!? Why’d ye have to put it like that!? ]

Elsa: [I’m honest with myself. Use that as a sales pitch for the next time you try to sell me.]

Muttering that with a face of feigned ignorance, Elsa looked closely at the flower she had been given.

It was a wildflower of white petals. An ordinary thing, but in this Holy Kingdom of Gusteko, shorn of warmth, even an ordinary wildflower was rare. Unlike cultivated flowers, wildflowers could not survive unless they fulfilled certain conditions, so this was one that had emerged of such rarity.

Elsa: [And yet, to then arrive in my hands… what an unlucky flower.]

Oliver: [First time I’ve laid eyes upon someone lamenting the misfortune of a flower… geez, it could’ve actually been worthwhile for Tatiana if ye’d just earnestly accepted it with delight. Don’t ye find it pretty?]

Elsa: [Oh my, didn’t I say? I think flowers are beautiful. It’s not as if I have no attachment to them.]

As she said that, Elsa lightly beckoned to Tatiana with her hand. Tatiana’s eyes widened, and with a light moan she approached Elsa, who was sitting on the floor.

Flower in hand, Elsa gently reached her out towards Tatiana, and then,

Elsa: [There you go. This way, the flower will also have a comfy place to rest.]

Tatiana: [Aa.]

This time, Tatiana’s groan sounded as if it was something pregnant with astonishment and wonder.

Uttering such a voice, Tatiana’s eyes widened, upon her head―― Elsa had adorned the white flower, and as she timidly reached up to touch that hair ornament, she appeared to have been deeply moved.

Beholding that, Elsa nodded, and looking to Oliver,

Elsa: [I had thought it was a bit strange how you could somehow communicate with this girl, but I can surprisingly tell what she’s thinking.]

Oliver: […That’s what’s known as compassion. Just now, what did ye reckon she was thinking?]

Elsa: [Yes. ――Her stomach’s empty, so make something, Oliver.]

Oliver: [Those’re your bloody feelings! I’ve wasted me time reevaluating ye!]

Oliver shouted in disappointment, and while Elsa found his demeanor to be noisy, she suddenly felt something weigh down on her shoulder.

Tatiana: [Uu.]

When she took a look, Elsa found Tatiana’s head resting upon her shoulder, moaning with her eyes closed. Elsa tilted her head, thinking that to be some sort of intimidation or protest, but realized that such did not seem to be the case.

Tatiana’s profile was reassured, and no hostility could be detected whatsoever.

Oliver: [Have ye taken to the one person in this world who ye absolutely shouldn’t get emotionally attached to…?]

Elsa: [Oliver, what happened to the meal?]

Oliver: [Whenever I just ‘bout think ye might be listening to me, I’m always proven bloody wrong, ye know!? I’ll tell ye this now, but today I ain’t listening to all your complaining ‘bout your preferences!]

With a violent shout, Oliver exited the room in a noisy manner. Since he could then be heard getting to work in the kitchen, she pitied how his mouth and limbs moved in a contradictory manner.

Anyway, regardless of Oliver――,

Elsa: [But, as he said, I don’t think anything good will come of getting along with me.]

Tatiana: [Uu.]

Elsa: [But if you still won’t part from me… well, I suppose you can do as you please.]

Leaning close to Elsa, Tatiana drew near so as to make it difficult to separate. Feeling the warmth of that young girl on her shoulder, Elsa lightly snorted.

What slipped into her nostrils was the fragrance of the flower adorning Tatiana’s hair. That sweet aroma; it reminded Elsa of her days at the Featherrun Estate, of Dorothea’s flower garden.

It reminded her of the day she had been purchased by Holosseo, and brought to the Featherrun Mansion, whereon arriving at the mansion upon that Hallowed Land, that was the first sight that caught her eyes――.

Elsa: [I think, flowers are pretty. But…]

Tatiana: [Aa?]

Elsa: [They remind of the pitiful manner in which Dorothea died, so I dislike them just a bit.]

With that, narrowing her dark irises, Elsa reached out and patted Tatiana on the head for a reason she did not understand.

3

Ever since then, Tatiana could be found trailing behind Elsa wherever she went.

Throughout the day, while Oliver was busy working as a slaver, it was Elsa’s duty to look after Tatiana at his base.

For some reason, it seemed like Oliver had no intention of selling off the returned merchandise, Tatiana, to a new buyer. Even if he started reeducating Tatiana, he was not treating her in the same way as the other slaves, and instead was keeping her at his place the whole time, just like Elsa.

Oliver: [Ye know, for slaves to come right back to me is a bloody disgrace as a slaver, a bloody disgrace! I wanna do perfect work as a slaver. For that, I’ll get Tatiana back up on ‘er feet, and then I’m gonna sell ‘er to a buyer who’ll treat ‘er with care. ‘S a necessary investment.]

And, when asked, this was the sort of answer he gave regarding his treatment of Tatiana.

Still, in the sense of being returned merchandise, not only Tatiana, but Elsa likewise fulfilled the same conditions.

Oliver: [Ye’re… ahh, in your case, I guess I like, still need to consider a few things.]

Elsa: [Will you try to reeducate me?]

Oliver: [To begin with, I don’t have any memory of successfully educating ye even once…]

Not concealing his true feelings of finding her difficult to manage, Oliver was keeping Elsa put, without a clue as to what to do with her. In all honesty, he thought it the right answer to drive Elsa away since he knew of her obstreperous nature, but his act of not doing so showed the foolishness of Oliver Zeppes.

If Elsa left his hands, she would end up causing a great deal of damage to many individuals unrelated to himself. Since part of that responsibility would be on his own inadequacy, he would have to put a stop to it. That was the sort of foolish slaver he was.

Oliver: [Well, thanks to that, a wretch like me’s been saved.]

As Oliver found salvation in his petty-bourgeois sensibilities, Elsa resigned herself to the moment of tranquility.

While he was out working, she would head into the white town with money provided from Oliver, and spend her time window shopping in the street stalls and food carts just like before. All the while, accompanied by a youthful girl.

Elsa: [You’re quite whimsical as well, aren’t you?]

Tatiana: [Aa.]

Stuffing their cheeks with the skewered meat, Elsa and Tatiana walked through town.

Smiling at Elsa’s words, Tatiana, as ever, answered with a moan. But, with how close they have been over these past few days, Elsa had become somewhat capable of understanding what she wanted to say.

Elsa: [You want to eat more? You mustn’t. Any more than this and you’ll be too full for supper. If you put Oliver in a bad mood and he stops serving us food, it will be troublesome to procure rations.]

Tatiana: [Uu? Uu!]

Elsa: [How selfish. In that case, I guess there’s no helping it. Just one more skewer then.]

As Tatiana forcefully shook her head side to side in some sort of protest, Elsa bought one more grilled skewer from the food cart for her. For a moment, Tatiana made a dubious expression, but when Elsa sunk her teeth into her own additional skewer, she nervously followed suit.

In that time, with the hand opposite to the one holding her grilled skewer, Tatiana kept holding onto Elsa’s sleeve.

Elsa: [――――]

For the time being, Elsa had been told to look after Tatiana by Oliver, and did not shake off the small hand gripping her sleeve. It was not enough of a hindrance to shake off, but neither would she allow herself the vulnerability of gripping it back. Having both of one’s hands occupied was a foolish act.

Elsa: [The teachings of Featherrun, indeed.]

Tatiana: [――?]

Elsa: [No, it’s nothing. I was just refreshing my mind with things I’m likely to forget.]

Basking in Tatiana’s curious gaze, Elsa reminisced on her days at the Featherrun Mansion.

The memories had a faint haze adrift over them―― that was not influenced by any external factors, but was rather an issue of Elsa’s own bad memory. This went for people’s faces as well, but Elsa was quite forgetful regarding events that had happened.

Only, her gruesome training with Ornea, the final bout in which she was driven away by her sisters, and the stimulation at the time she killed Dorothea, were things she could remember clearly, but――,

Elsa: [At this rate, I suppose those will also fade away]

The emotions mixed into that murmur; what exactly they were was not even clear to Elsa herself.

――Around twenty days had passed since her fight to the death with Dorothea, but the situation had completely stagnated, leaving Elsa to fall into obscurity amidst the surprisingly uneventful days.

The misfortune that had befallen Heiken Lexant was counted among the records of all the Featherrun Sisters’ duties until now, and the truth of the situation would likely never get out.

After surpassing the extremities of debauchery, Heiken Lexant had received the death penalty. ――That was the stance of the Gustekan Church, and the reality that would be recorded. Yet, not a soul knew of the Curse Doll who had also lost her life in the burning mansion on that same night.

Elsa: [The idea that Ornea might be angry only came to me a bit afterwards… but it seems it was a needless fear.]

Regarding the incident with Holosseo, it seemed like the only one who was insistent on killing Elsa was Dorothea. So with her eliminated, there no longer remained any reason for her to feud with the Featherrun Sisters.

However, that was an idea that disregarded Ornea’s desires to treasure her sisters.

Ergo, in these twenty days, Elsa had been unusually vigilant, waiting for Ornea to retaliate, or for there to be some form of contact. However, that opportunity never came around.

Elsa: [I wonder, maybe Ornea didn’t like Dorothea all that much.]

Tatiana: [Aa, aa.]

Elsa: [Hm? Ah, apologies. I was just thinking about something.]

Having gone too deep into contemplation, her reaction to the sensation of her sleeve being tugged on was a moment delayed. When she turned to look, she found Tatiana pulling on her sleeve, her eyes turned to the fore.

Tracing the line of Tatiana’s gaze, she spotted a rounded mass of fur in the snowy alley―― realizing that it was a dog of black fur, Elsa widened her eyes.

Tatiana: [Uu!]

Perhaps because she liked animals, Tatiana pulled on Elsa’s sleeve to head towards the dog. Sensing that, the canine lifted its head, and looked at Tatiana with its red eyes.

――A moment later, the dog’s left eye was deeply pierced by an iron skewer thrown by Elsa.

Dog: [――BBRRAAARRK!]

Having had its eyeball mercilessly gouged out, the dog cried out as it was knocked backwards. Tatiana stiffened up upon witnessing that brutal sight, however, the tragedy ended not there.

Into the throat of the dog, shrieking out as it was, was pierced an iron skewer stolen out from Tatiana’s hand. The black canine coughed up blood from the impact as it collapsed, and after some brief convulsions, it stopped moving. A fatal blow.

Tatiana: [Aa…]

Dumbfounded, Tatiana looked up at Elsa, who had murdered the dog. Several question marks had emerged within her eyes, but providing them with answers was not something Elsa had time to do. Even if she had time, she did not know if she would answer or not, but――,

Elsa: [――It got a bark out.]

She had failed to kill it in a single blow, and had allowed it to unleash a bellow moments before dying.

If it had been an ordinary stray dog, that final cry would have served as no reason to raise an eyebrow. However, this canine was no ordinary stray dog. ――It was a hound. Moreover, it was a hound that had received special training.

???: [――BBRRAAARRK!]

Immediately after, to the snowy alleyway in which Elsa and Tatiana were, hounds were charging in one after the other, having heard their companion’s death throes. The disciplined hounds were beyond comparison to commonplace hoodlums. And with six of them present, they aimed to sink their teeth into Elsa and Tatiana―― nay, just Elsa.

Elsa: [Get away.]

Tatiana: [Uu!?]

Faced with hounds leaping towards them, Elsa thrust Tatiana away. Jumping over Tatiana, who had fallen down without having been able to resist, the hound bared their fangs as they closed in on Elsa.

She had used up the grilled skewers to kill the first one. So right now, Elsa had no weapons at hand with which to fight. Hence, to avoid the hounds aiming for her legs, Elsa jumped up high. But, that had only allowed her to dodge the first two. Elsa no longer had anywhere to run, so the remaining four――,

Elsa: [But, that’s a no-no.]

Jaw agape, the snout of a hound was perforated by the sharp tip of ice. Scattering blood as it fell, the hound had been intercepted by an icicle gripped in Elsa’s hand.

Using a large icicle that had been hanging from the eave of a building as an impromptu weapon, Elsa faced off against the hounds, howling in vigilance, and brandished a ruthless, but natural armament.

Elsa: [Stray dogs can at least run away if the situation becomes disadvantageous for them, how pitiful for you all.]

Having received intense training, the hounds were forbidden from fleeing, and thus had no choice but to fight to the death. Whilst she felt pity for them, Elsa did not hold back with her blade of frozen malevolence.

The remaining five put up a good fight, but they never stood a chance from the outset, not against Elsa, a nigh immortal.

Their heads and bodies borne into by the icicle, with care, they were thoroughly robbed of their lives one by one, their pursuit rendered a failure.

Elsa: [I’m finished, Tatiana.]

Casting away the bloodstained icicle, Elsa turned around, having suffocated the root of life from all the hounds. Tatiana had been holding her head during the battle, and lifting it up after hearing that voice, she widened her eyes.

That was because, torn asunder by the fangs of the hounds, Elsa’s shoulders and thighs were riddled with horrid wounds from which blood was flowing.

Elsa: [Ah, these? Don’t worry. They’ll close up right away if I just leave them as is.]

Tatiana: [Uu! Uu!]

Elsa: [――? You want another grilled skewer in exchange for the one just now? What a peculiar girl.]

Elsa inclined her head in response to Tatiana, who was vigorously shaking her head as she pleaded for the same thing she did in front of the food cart.

However, she did not have the time to go along with Tatiana’s empty stomach either.

Elsa: [――Seems like it’s begun.]

As she narrowed her eyes, Elsa could see black smoke rising in a place far from the alley. It was in the direction of Innorandum’s main street―― it was the beginning of an abnormal event in the district where the food stalls were all lined up.

The beginning. Yes, this was the beginning.

Tatiana: [Aa, uu!]

Commencing at the same time as the rising of black smoke, were the bellows and screams of people in the town. Hearing that, Tatiana’s expression was dyed with a hue of fear, and she nestled close to Elsa’s arm.

Allowing Tatiana to do as she pleased with her arm, Elsa looked back at the slain hounds. The significance of them having come after her, lay unmistakably in one thing.

Elsa: [――Saria and Hildea. It looks like you two came next.]

4

Ornea: [――You authorized a cleansing operation on Hallowed Land!?]

An angered expression strewn across her face, Ornea burst into the office with enough force to tear off the door. Inside, facing the large desk as they did work, was a man nearing old age who had lost his eyeballs―― nay, that was not so.

???: […You are making quite a racket, Ornea.]

Uttered out from the man’s aging throat, was a report far too beautiful.

Immediately after, the man’s physique began to creak, and his appearance slowly transformed. Elasticity returned to his wrinkly skin, and his pigmentless hair was alight with a fiery hue. After a mere ten seconds, tangibly present there was not the deceased Holosseo Featherrun, but Sithonia Featherrun.

The eldest daughter of the sisters, who was maintaining the palace of Curse Dolls in place of their late master.

However, Ornea did not concern herself at all with that transfiguration of her elder sister, and closed in on her,

Ornea: [A racket? A racket you say? How do you expect me to not cause a racket with this!? Saria and Hildea are always heedless! But, just what the hell are you thinking!?]

Sithonia: [As always, I am thinking about my sisters. That goes for you too, no?]

Ornea: [And for that, you’re willing to accept a cleansing operation!?]

Sithonia: [Yes, of course. Are you really that surprised?]

As Ornea grabbed her by the collar, her breathing growing heavy as she voiced her objections, Sithonia tilted her head. Hearing her response, Ornea released her grip and took two, three steps back.

It was as if the Sithonia she thought she knew had changed into a completely different person.

Sithonia: [Turning into different people is something I always do, you know? That is my special skill.]

Ornea: [Even if, that was the case… nobody should be able to manipulate what’s in your heart. Even so, your decisions these days, they’re just like, just like…]

Sithonia: [Holosseo Featherrun. ――As coldhearted as Father?]

Ornea: [――――]

Pressed by those words, Ornea cast her eyes down in a feeble manner as she tried to respond. Hearing that, neither did Sithonia narrow her eyes, nor even attempt to alter her expression.

By no means did she want to think that while acting in the role of Holosseo, even Sithonia’s mentality could have been undermined to be the same as his.

Ornea: [If it’s a Curse Doll, could that be possible…?]

Sithonia: [――. Anyway, it was I who approved the cleansing operation for Saria and Hildea. In order to deal with Elsa… with that girl, I have decided it to be the best method. Is that so strange?]

Ornea: […If she’d been hiding in some small Hallowed Land in the middle of nowhere, I wouldn’t object either. But, she’s in Innorandum… that’s a massive plot of Hallowed Land, yeah!?]

The Snowfield Capital of Innorandum was a city constructed upon exceptionally vast Hallowed Land in the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko. Of course, in terms of the number of inhabitants and level of importance to the state, the regular plots of Hallowed Land could not compare.

By nature, it was a plot that would cause one to hesitate to engage in combat that would draw attention there.

In such a location, that which Saria and Hildea were going to carry out was――,

Sithonia: [――A cleansing operation.]

That was a last resort in order to eliminate heretics, whom the Church of the Holy King deemed were in the wrong. Aiming to remove problematic existences, it was a taboo deed unbound by any and all restrictions.

Once one was declared, the targeted land would be razed to the ground, no trace remaining.

In other words, though how she had done it was unclear, Sithonia had persuaded the Church of the Holy King. ――In order to kill a single person, Elsa, she had secured permission to reduce a major plot of Hallowed Land to a scorched field.

Sithonia: [Of course, it is not as though the entire city will be burned. At most, just the district in which Elsa is hiding… Just one district out of more than fifty.]

Ornea: […Even so, there’d still be no less than a thousand inhabitants.]

Sithonia: [Indeed. Still, it is necessary in order to protect the sisters. ――Hey, Ornea.]

With those words, Sithonia closed the gap between herself and Ornea. Then, gently lifting her hand up, she stroked the cheek of an astonished Ornea.

The kind motion of that hand dispelling her caution, Ornea caught her breath.

――The sensation of those fingers, that affectionate gesture, seemed as if proof that Sithonia had not changed whatsoever.

Sithonia: [You are someone who treasures your sisters. With that in mind, if you were to weigh those precious sisters against random strangers on a scale, are you saying that those random strangers would be heavier?]

Ornea: [T-that’s…]

Sithonia: [If you are objecting to the plan because you are worried about a thousand people you do not know, would that then not be the case? Am I wrong?]

You’re wrong, Ornea wished to say so.

However, her mouth moved not, and the will to go against Sithonia did not swell within her. On the contrary, Ornea’s heart was beginning to accept that Sithonia was actually right.

In reality, that was so. Sithonia was far more capable of making the right decision than the thoughtless Ornea.

For that reason, she and Sithonia split up their duties.

Sithonia: [I provide the valid judgements. That is why, Ornea, you shall…]

Ornea: [Become the spear of the sisters, who carries out that judgment… yes, that’s right.]

With a slow nod, Ornea reaffirmed her own worth, and her past choices. Then, looking back at Sithonia, she slightly pulled back her chin.

Ornea: [Understood… Out on a reckless cleansing operation, they’ve taken all the mansion’s dogs with them. Saria and Hildea, seems they’re going all out as well.]

Sithonia: [Indeed, that is what I am hoping for.]

Receiving Sithonia’s affirmation, Ornea breathed in, and turned her back to her elder sister.

Sithonia: [Ornea?]

Ornea: [I’m going to put my body to motion underground… Right now, I just need time to clear my mind of this haze.]

Leaving those words behind and naught more, Ornea left the office. Upon her departure, she set the broken door back into its original position, and stepped away once she ascertained Sithonia smiling in the corner of her eye.

Then, walking away from the office, as her footsteps picked up speed, she bit her lip.

Ornea: [Everything is for Featherrun, so that we sisters may live…]

Blood was flowing down her clenched fist, however, that was not noticed by the girl who felt no pain. But a single thing occupied her thoughts. ――Her foolish youngest sister who, despite being able to feel pain, was undaunted by the notion of being wounded.

5

――A cleansing operation, that sound rang with a hazy familiarity in Elsa’s recollections.

Elsa: [If I’m not mistaken, it’s a coarse job to round up and deal with people who are hindrances.]

Her way of recalling that was coarse in and of itself, but no sisters were presently nearby to point that out.

If she were to delve into more detail within her memories, it was an authorization of extreme conduct in order to eliminate individuals regarded as heretics, those who go against the plans of the Church of the Holy King; such an understanding ought to have been accurate.

On that point, its objective was not too far off from the duties handed down to the Featherrun Sisters.

However――,

Elsa: [Pretty much, unlike missions where you wouldn’t go after anything but the target and their surroundings, damages from these will extend endlessly… it seems like the opponent isn’t afraid to get reckless here.]

Tatiana: [Aa! Aa!]

Pulling on Elsa’s sleeve as she tilted her head, Tatiana frantically called out.

Her finger outstretched, it pointed further beyond the street, where the clamoring bellows and cries rang out without cease. She was urging Elsa to go join the fray unfolding there.

Elsa: [It’s likely that I’m the opponent’s target. That’s why, I can understand your feelings of wanting to sacrifice me to save yourself, Tatiana, but…]

Tatiana: [Uu!? Aa, uu!]

Elsa: [Yes, I’m aware. In most cases, everyone would prioritize their own life the most.]

When she shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to say that she did not mind, Tatiana vigorously shook her head sideways. Although she may have been a little too straightforward at times, it was easy to get along with Tatiana, as she never attempted to tactlessly deceive.

Only, the danger of bringing Tatiana along to a situation like this went without saying.

Elsa: [You don’t have a weapon that fits you just right, how troubling. Tatiana, will you be fine if I leave you be?]

Tatiana: [Uu!? Au! Aouu!]

Elsa: [A reassuring reply. In that case…]

Giving a nod to Tatiana’s attitude of regarding the hounds as nothing, Elsa was planning to split off from her. However, before she could make such a declaration, she remembered what Oliver had told her.

During his absence, he had entrusted her with Tatiana.

Elsa: [――――]

Tatiana: [Aa! Uu!]

Elsa: […I’m glad that you’re so brimming with confidence, but let’s actually stay together for now.]

In all likelihood, Tatiana would not require Elsa’s assistance, but she did not want to be scolded by Oliver for leaving her. If she did not keep with this babysitting, an act she had yet to grow accustomed to, then if worse came to worst, she would be kicked out.

Such a thing would be troublesome, and thus Elsa decided on going against Tatiana’s wishes.

Elsa: [Sorry about this, but please tag along with me, Tatiana.]

Tatiana: [Aa!]

Elsa: [Whether you like it or not, I’m bringing you along for the sake of my boring day to day.]

Tatiana: [Uu!?]

Tatiana had widened her eyes in protest. However, that was as far as the docile negotiations would go.

A moment later, many silhouettes appeared from the street beyond the alleyway, and came running towards Elsa and Tatiana. They were crowds seeking salvation from the pursuit of the dogs.

All were inhabitants of Innorandum whom, in her brief time here, were faces she seemed to recognize, but at the same time, she was not sure if she recognized them at all.

Elsa: [Well, I don’t really remember them, so I suppose it’s fine.]

Tatiana: [Auu!?]

With a soft mutter, Elsa forced Tatiana to the edge of the street without warning. Then, taking a low stance, she plunged right into the forefront of the fleeing crowd, unleashing a magnificent blow from her leg.

A man screamed out “Uoh!?” as he toppled over, and immediately after, the succession of people were trampled; screams turned to cries of pain, and finally, to death throes. Then, as people were trampled and tripped up in succession from that man, the alleyway was painted over with the agonizing cries of a hellscape.

Amidst the series of cries, angered bellows, and weeping voices of women, showing up late to the party were the howls of beasts―― the growling voices of the ferocious hounds that had driven the crowd to this back alley.

In the name of a cleansing operation, the hounds had been granted permission to utterly chew up any whom they might lay eyes upon to death. And making full use of that murder license, the hounds sunk their fangs into the collapsed crowd.

Blood and shrieks flew up into the sky of the alley, satisfying the cruel hunting instincts of the hounds――,

Elsa: [――Was a cleansing operation not a bad move, I wonder?]

Hound: [――BBRRAAARRK!]

The very next moment, Elsa shattered the window glass of a nearby building, and used a shard of it as a lethal blade to slit the throat of a hound.

She felt sorry for the dogs that were having the time of their lives feasting on their prey, but at least she was helping them along through the gates of hell with those climactic feelings as a parting gift.

Elsa: [I don’t have much interest in dog bowels. After all, I’d had my fill of them back when I was at the mansion.]

With a tight, bear-handed grip on the shard of glass, Elsa laughed as she stained her hands with blood. With a smile on her face, she dealt with every last one of the hounds inundating her.

Elsa had no qualms with using the crowd as bait to achieve that result.

It was not as though she valued her own life in particular, but――,

Elsa: [That doesn’t mean I value others, either.]

She threw the shard of glass, and caught up with the hound that had leaped over the attack. Its jaw agape, Elsa used her hands to hold the oral cavity open as it endeavored to sink its fangs into her, and funneled strength into her arms.

After a moment’s resistance, the hound’s maw was torn top from bottom, ending its life. The hound’s blood showered her entire body, and turning back around, this indeed marked the annihilation of all the dogs that had hastened here.

She would have just killed around thirty.

???: […Uh, ah, help, me…]

Elsa: [――? My apologies. I’m not a doctor, so there’s nothing I can do.]

She shook off the hand clinging to her leg, pleading for aid. It was unavoidable that those surrounding her would become unable to see properly as they teetered on the verge of death, but perhaps Elsa might have looked like a doctor?

Elsa: [You must have bad eyes.]

Leaving them with those words, Elsa stepped over the groaning crowd, and returned to Tatiana. Having been thrust away, Tatiana gazed up at Elsa’s red-stained figure,

Tatiana: [Aa, aa?]

Elsa: [Sorry for keeping you waiting. Don’t be mad now. I’ll kill them quicker next time.]

Deeply impressed with Tatiana’s nerves, Elsa waited for her to grip onto her sleeve once again.

There was certainly the option to slay the oncoming pursuers one after the other in this manner, but then the situation would not be resolved until dinnertime. Wanting to avoid that, Elsa would need to expedite the conclusion.

With that in mind, her target would naturally be――,

Elsa: [――The root of the enemy, Saria and Hildea.]

Among the Featherrun Sisters, raising the dogs was the job of those twins.

It had been a system where Dorothea raised the flowers, Ornea raised Elsa, and the twins raised the dogs. She did not know what Sithonia had been raising. At the very least, she had failed to raise Elsa.

Elsa: [I’m sure Sithonia must have had no talent for raising anything.]

The desires and disposition of the person in question were things that did not really align with each other. On that point, Elsa ought to give her thanks to something for the fact that her abilities and tastes did indeed mesh well.

Nothing came to mind immediately, so she decided she would just give her thanks to Oliver.

Elsa: [Anyhow, let’s go somewhere more open. The opponent should also be looking for me, so I think they’ll come out to kill me if I go to a place where I stand out.]

Tatiana: [Au!? Aauu?]

Elsa: [Don’t say such barbaric things. For the most part, they should understand what I have to say since we’re sisters. I think it’s bad to throw away the option for negotiations right at the outset.]

Her sleeve still being pinched, Elsa took the hot-headed Tatiana out with her to the main street. She had slaughtered all the hounds that had come from there, so no additional pursuers appeared.

Along the road, there were a few people scattered around, collapsed and begging for help, so Elsa would have no choice but to occasionally stop and rebuke Tatiana, who eagerly wished to finish them off.

Elsa: [You’re a terribly stubborn girl, aren’t you now?]

Eat, sleep, kill; Tatiana’s avarice for such deeds was so truly human. If Elsa was capable of acting with as little restraint as she did, how good might that be?

Ultimately, people were all bound by fetters. At times, that was a terribly troublesome truth.

Elsa: [Hey, Saria, Hildea. ――Don’t the two of you also think so?]

In the snowy plaza entangled with blood and screams, Elsa turned her vision, and inclined her head. And, receiving those words from their younger sister, upon the time tower located in the center of the plaza―― atop the tower equipped with magic crystals signifying the time, visible from even a distance, two silhouettes held each other by the hand.

Then the sisters, as similar as two peas in a pod, nuzzled their cheeks together,

Saria: [Hey, did you hear? This Elsa really hasn’t changed in the slightest.]

Hildea: [Yes, I heard. This Elsa really hasn’t changed whatsoever.]

Indeed, as if to confirm with each other, Saria and Hildea flashed callous smiles.

As always, with the same expressions and the same dresses, they were identical twins no matter how you sliced it. Elsa narrowed her eyes upon seeing their unchanged demeanor, and breathed a brief sigh

Elsa: [I see you haven’t changed either, isn’t that so?]

Saria: [Indeed, that might be so. But, maybe not, according to Hildea.]

Hildea: [This is what Saria is thinking: even if you don’t appear any different, you might have still changed.]

Elsa: [Me? Well, I am certainly still in the midst of growing, so I might have gotten a bit taller, but…]

Saria & Hildea: [No, that’s not it at all!]

As Elsa pondered over their comments, Saria and Hildea rejected her answer in unison. Elsa widened her eyes wondering what it could be, and the twins gestured with their overlapping hands in her direction.

They were pointing towards Tatiana, who had drawn in her shoulders.

Elsa: [――. Is something the matter with this girl?]

Saria: [Something the matter? Something the matter, you say? This is a great shock to Hildea!]

Hildea: [Saria is also surprised. To think that Elsa of all people would be together with somebody else.]

With expressions suggesting they had just witnessed the strangest thing in the world, Saria and Hildea shared in astonishment. Then, they stared right into the eyes of one another, and,

Saria & Hildea: [――Even though she killed Dorothea.]

Elsa: [――――]

Hearing Saria and Hildea’s tone, Elsa’s eyebrows twitched up. That was not because she was displeased with their words, but rather, because they were unexpected.

Elsa: [I’m surprised. I never would have thought you two would come after me because of what happened with Dorothea.]

Saria: [Is that so? It’s surprising that Hildea has sentiments for her younger sister?]

Hildea: [It’s strange that Saria was worried about Dorothea?]

Elsa: [Indeed. After all, I’d thought that you two were only ever interested in yourselves.]

Hence, even supposing Elsa were to be hunted for killing Dorothea, she had thought that Ornea, who cherished her younger sister, would have been the only one to do so.

Elsa: [Thanks to that, when the dogs first came out, I had thought it might be some sort of misunderstanding.]

Saria: [Is that so? Even so, you killed the dogs without hesitation, that made Hildea sad.]

Hildea: [They were pups we had raised in our personal care, and yet, oh so poor Saria!]

The twins put on overexaggerated mourning, but their intent was evident, their aim clear.

The problem that remained was the overwhelming disadvantage she was at. Unlike when she had lured Dorothea to a place laid with flawless traps, Saria and Hildea were the ones taking the initiative this time.

She would have no choice but to overturn that disadvantage, and bare her fangs to deliver them past the limits of their lives, far surpassing that of ordinary people.

For that purpose――,

Elsa: [So, how long do you plan to keep holding hands up there? I really don’t mind in the slightest if you just keep watching from there, but the corpses will only grow all the more if you leave it up to the dogs, you know?]

Saria: [My oh my, the nerve to say such things. You’ve put Hildea in a bad mood.]

Hildea: [My my, If you say such things, even Saria will be pushed to her limit.]

Elsa attempted to drag the twins down from the time tower, and the girls parted for a moment, then danced back into an embrace, and the sound of their hands coming together loudly resounded.

And then――,

Saria & Hildea: [――How about we introduce you to our most prized pup!]

Immediately after, two fiendish roars overlapped, quaking through the plaza―― nay, through all of Innorandum.

The being that had produced that double layered bellow vigorously kicked off the snow as it charged towards the plaza, at the foot of the time tower before Elsa and Tatiana.

As snow scattered about, saliva drooled out from two giant maws, and the giant shadow lorded over Elsa and Tatiana.

Beast: [――――GRAAOWRRHK!!]

The enormous demon dog boasting two heads―― was the Witchbeast, Orthrus.

6

Orthrus: [――――GRAAOWRRHK!]

Basking in the point blank roar of the Orthrus, Elsa’s onyx locks and dress were greatly disheveled.

The feeling as oppressive as a bolt of lightning, Elsa licked her lips, and touched the goosebumps on her arms as chills quavered through her body. ――She was not frightened, rather, her feelings were that of elation.

Elsa: [Wonderful.]

Tatiana: [Aauu!?]

Faced with the Orthrus, Elsa spoke her candid feelings, causing Tatiana to act rambunctiously. As she pulled on Elsa’s arm with that unruly outburst, Elsa looked up at the twins on the time tower,

Elsa: [Even though I was your sister, I had no idea you’d kept this sort of pet.]

Saria: [Well, Hildea’s been saying that it hasn’t been all too long since you became our sister.]

Hildea: [Though, if you had gotten along with Saria and I, we may have told you in secret.]

Elsa: [I see. But, in exchange for that I had the pleasure of being surprised, so I’m fine with it.]

The twins replied with mischievous smiles, and Elsa held her breath. Then, the very moment after a strain was begotten within the slightly cold atmosphere, the Orthrus sprung into action.

Orthrus: [――――GRAAOWRRHK!]

The body of the twin-headed demon dog spanned at least five meters, from a quick estimation.

Just one of its front legs easily surpassed Elsa in mass, and its destructive force, unleashed at speeds that could scythe down the wind, would reduce a human body to dust in an instant.

Tatiana made an intrepid attempt to intercept the blow, and as Elsa pulled her back while narrowly avoiding a graze from the foreleg, she leaped a great deal backwards.

Any blow with such great mass behind it would prove fatal; a mere graze was quite capable of entirely extinguishing the flame of her life. But, even if she had evaded that front leg, it did not mean her life was secured.

Elsa: [A mouth so big it can swallow me whole, how troublesome.]

Twisting her body around, she barely escaped the powerful jaws. However, her heart could not so easily bear the sensation of her life being grazed. Much less when up against the Orthrus, where that anguish was made twofold.

Fang thrashed against fang, and a melody of the air being crushed in the jaws ensued; all the while, Elsa continued to dance past the onslaught of the Orthrus, Tatiana in her arms.

As snow fluttered, the two heads of the demon dog danced through the white plaza, kicking around the scattered corpses and the inhabitants who were still clinging on the verge of death. That passionate act of predation would instantaneously uproot her life if caught in it.

But, she could not keep up these evasive maneuvers for long. Furthermore, it was not as though the assassins, Saria and Hildea, were merely watching the battle unfold from a distance.

Saria & Hildea: [Taaa~ke that!!]

The Orthrus’s jaws snapped at Elsa as she leapt away, the sound of which overlapped with the voices of the twins. In that instant, what cleaved its way into the corner of Elsa’s vision, was a blade of death revolving at a rapid speed―― in the center of their specialized weapon, the Plenilune Cirque, Saria and Hildea closed in on her as they spun happily.

Elsa: [――Hk.]

On the spur of the moment, Elsa had utilized one of the corpses collapsed in the plaza. The body had been chewed up by the hounds, and kicking it up, she used it to intercept the attack from the Plenilune Cirque. Of course, the attack was not one that could be held back with a corpse. The dead body was cleaved in twain instantly.

However, with the advent of a momentary delay, Elsa plunged into an opening of death between the Orthrus’s fangs and the Plenilune Cirque, and grasped survival as she skidded across the snowy street.

Elsa: [Now that you’ve finally come down, I suppose this is the main event?]

Saria: [Well, Hildea’s impressed with that impudent mouth of yours, Elsa.]

Hildea: [Indeed, Saria also might be impressed by how unwilling you are to admit defeat.]

Without cease to their rotation, the twins blurred amidst the snow as they ridiculed Elsa.

But, their laughs were no bluffs. And that was because they did so whilst looking down at Elsa who, in exchange for her life, had suffered a vast amount of blood loss from the wounds on her shoulder and waist, unable to evade.

Tatiana: [Aa! Auu!]

Elsa: […Don’t be so angry. I’m aware that I look pathetic.]

Relentlessly slapping her hands on Elsa’s wounds, Tatiana was indignant at her cowardice. While receiving her scolding, Elsa focused on finding an opening in the enemy’s offensive.

She had poor compatibility against the Orthrus, which had the full ability to utilize its body in this large plaza. And with the anomalous attacks of the twins thrown into the mix, it would be impossible to secure this war front through logic.

Elsa: [But, I’ve gotten used to having your weight on me.]

Tatiana: [Uu! Uu!]

Elsa: [Yes, this won’t do for next time.]

While her wounds were still being beaten, Elsa nodded at Tatiana, who she was carrying in her arms. Having her arms occupied was undeniably inconvenient, but she would not be able to deal with the outcome if she abandoned her and they targeted her.

If anything were to happen to her, Oliver’s angered face came to her mind. Therefore, she would act to the best of her ability.

Indeed, as Elsa came to a conclusion so very much unlike herself, Saria and Hildea cackled in shrill voices.

Saria: [Hey, did you see? Did you hear? This Elsa is oh so strange!]

Hildea: [Yes, I saw, I heard! This Elsa won’t lose heart!]

Shrill laughter it was, and yet, the contents were not that of praising Elsa. On the contrary, it was something that had emerged from feelings of pitying, of looking down on Elsa.

As to where that composure of theirs was coming from, Elsa was suspicious――,

Saria: [The pathetic Elsa, the pitiful Elsa! We’ll tell you, for your own sake.]

Hildea: [There was no helping it, you had no shot of winning from the outset, foolish Elsa!]

Elsa: [――――]

Saria & Hildea: [After all, that’s what it means to have a weakness!]

As they spoke, each supporting the Plenilune Cirque with a single hand, Saria and Hildea gestured to something with their overlapping free hands; towards the time tower from which they had just descended.

Following with her gaze, Elsa pursed her lips when she noticed. The composure she had been maintaining in a calm and collected manner was lost.

That was because――,

Elsa: [――Oliver.]

Thereupon, Oliver was strung up, battered and beaten.

Oliver: [――――]

His head languidly lowered, the strung up Oliver was barely still breathing. It was clear in a single glance at his swollen face and sullied clothes that he had undergone considerable torture.

Through clear malice and enmity, Oliver had been wounded in mind and body, and taken captive.

Tatiana: [Aauu!!]

When Tatiana noticed it too, her eyes widened as she frantically cried out. She pulled on Elsa’s black hair with her small hands, and pleaded as she pointed at Oliver.

To free Oliver, to save him, she was pleading so.

Elsa: [I’ve never heard of something like a slave attempting to save their slaver.]

Tatiana: [Aa!]

Elsa: [But, yes. Oliver is an irreplaceable eccentric, so it would be troublesome for him to pass away.]

Lending an ear to Tatiana’s appeals, Elsa licked her lips.

It would have been different if he were already dead, but as long as he was still breathing, he could still be saved. She would still have many opportunities to listen to Oliver’s noisy rebukes. For that reason too――,

Saria: [――Elsa, why do you think Hildea and I chose this town to do a cleansing operation?]

Hildea: [――Elsa, who do you think it was that told Saria and I that you would be here?]

The moment she took a step, the beastmaster twins, who were accompanied by the hounds and the demon dog, made their declaration. Wondering what the intent behind those words was, Elsa knitted her brow.

That momentary standstill had allowed a fatal―― nay, it would not amount to anything fatal for Elsa.

However――,

Orthrus: [――――GRAAOWRRHK!]

Tatiana: [AAAAUUUUU!!]

Beholding the sight of Elsa’s arm being bitten off alongside a howl, Tatiana shrieked.

Even if it did not amount to a fatal wound, it had resulted in her being robbed of her arm.

7

The moment her arm was bitten off, Elsa’s thoughts were drowned out by pain and loss.

It was a body that would regenerate no matter how finely it was chopped up, and Elsa had even once been reduced to just a head and an arm, but that did not liberate her from the terror of losing a part of her body.

The discomfort of losing something that ought to have been there would stain one’s heart and mind black with unease, such that even Elsa ended up being mercilessly swallowed by it.

Elsa: [――――]

Ergo, Elsa’s next move was not something conjured using her head.

Her right arm torn off from the elbow down, what dangled down from the filthy mouth of the wound was blood, muscle fibers, and veins. Nestled within was bone, vehemently protected by the flesh, and brandishing that, she launched her attack.

The pointed tip of the bone bore into a tender eyeball head-on, piercing through it and ripping it apart.

That was a blow landed on the head of the Orthrus that did not eat Elsa’s arm, as if to spite the head that had. The left eye of the left of its two heads gouged out, the Orthrus’s anguished wail sounded through the air of the plaza.

They may have shared the same body, but perhaps they were to be considered different beings from the neck upwards, as it was only the one stabbed in the eye that cried out in pain. Displeased with that inequality, Elsa’s leg sprung up and fiercely bore a hole into the throat of the one that had eaten her arm.

With a kick so mighty that even her own leg began to creak, she could feel her shoe shattering through her opponent’s bones. That moment of recoil gave Elsa a taste of ecstasy, and as a result reined her back in to reality.

Elsa: [――Ah.]

In terms of time, Elsa had lost herself for not even three seconds. But, in those three seconds, blood had begun to spill from the eyes and mouths of both the Orthrus’s heads.

Only, she had felt that those three seconds she lost herself had been accompanied by an unbelievable sense of liberation. Just so she could get a taste of those three seconds again, she would plunge her consciousness into an even deeper place――,

Saria: [Elsa, Hildea says you can’t do that!]

Hildea: [Saria says we won’t let you go that far!]

Reaching out to grasp the inexplicable sensation, Elsa attempted to go further beyond, but those voices called out to hold her back. However, without paying them mind, Elsa still tried to proceed further.

???: [Gy, AHHHHHHHH――!]

The clangor of the man’s voice that followed, a timber she knew well, did not allow her to do so.

Right before she could reach a state of trance, Saria and Hildea moved to the edge of the plaza. Then, the thin steel wire strung up there, only visible if one strained their eyes, was bisected by the blade cast in the form of the full moon, the Plenilune Cirque.

The steel wire was cut, and as a result, Oliver shrieked out in pain atop the time tower.

Saria: [We strung him up with a thin wire. Hildea did a great job, now didn’t she?]

Hildea: [Whenever one of the threads holding him up is severed, the burden on the other remaining strung up fingers will increase. Just now, Saria thinks he may have lost a finger.]

The callous proclamation gave Elsa a deep admiration of the twins’ meticulousness.

He would lose fingers whenever the load increased, and when he eventually became unable to support his body, he would plummet. If such came to pass, and he fell from such a height, Oliver would be beyond saving.

Moreover, the one-armed Elsa had an additional problem of a different sort.

That was――,

Tatiana: [Au, auu!!]

Elsa: [As expected, it’s difficult to carry you like this, so it won’t do.]

She could not carry Tatiana with a single arm. Hence, Elsa dropped Tatiana to the ground, and then firmly grasped her outstretched hand.

The girl who had refused to have her hands occupied even when simply going around the food stalls, now joined hands with another.

Elsa: [How ironic.]

With the hand that had previously not been joined due to a reluctance towards being tied down, Elsa forcibly pulled Tatiana along. In an attempt to avoid a risky situation, she had ended up joining hands when things were most risky, thus putting the carriage before the ground dragon.

Tatiana’s body was small, her strides short. Even so, if Elsa pulled her arm firmly, raising her aloft, she could then put up a good fight against the wounded Orthrus.

However――,

Saria: [If you keep running away, Hildea supposes that means your situation is only getting worse and worse.]

Speaking thus, Saria smiled at Elsa as the latter evaded the Orthrus’s fangs. Within the gyrating Plenilune Cirque, the expressions of the twins alternated, as they flew to another position in the plaza, cutting a steel wire.

Oliver: [GYAHHHHH!!]

Hildea: [Saria is wondering how many fingers he has left after this!]

Each time Oliver’s cries echoed throughout the plaza, his future prospects were sacrificed.

Oliver’s shrill voice usually gave off an annoying impression, but at the current moment, its timbre got on her nerves to an overwhelming extent. ――To be precise, it was Saria and Hildea’s actions to make Oliver scream, that got on her nerves.

Elsa: [Though, I’d be more grateful if you’d just tell me exactly what it is you want to do.]

With Oliver as a hostage, did they wish Elsa to concede? Or perhaps, were they trying to get her caught on the Orthrus’s fangs to make it seem like an act of suicide? ‘Twas neither.

Right now, the deed being enacted was an abuse of Oliver. There was no meaning to be found in the act.

Saria: [My, you’ve forgotten to give an explanation to Elsa, Hildea.]

Hildea: [Well, Saria is a careless girl, so it can’t be helped.]

The movements of the revolving twins halted, and as a cloud of snow was kicked up around them, they smiled. Then, as they peacefully traced the next steel wire right beside them,

Saria: [Our objective isn’t just to punish him for having helped Elsa kill Dorothea.]

Hildea: [Not just to punish him, we need him to become a poison that will force you to obey, Elsa.]

Oliver: [Gih! Agh! GYAHHHH!!]

With each strum of the taut steel wire, Oliver shrieked from the damage to his remaining fingers.

As Elsa focused her attention on seeking the words to come from the twins enacting thus upon him――,

Tatiana: [Auu!!]

By the time she became cognizant to Tatiana’s warning, it was too late.

To the fore, the injured demon dog surrendered itself to wrath, hammering its front leg right into Elsa. She promptly spun her body around, distancing Tatiana from a direct hit. But, that was the limit of what she could have done.

All other defensive maneuvers remaining at a count of zero, the tremendous impact directly connected with Elsa’s body.

Elsa: [――――]

Her entire body shattering; relishing in a sensation much akin, Elsa’s body was sent flying away in a manner reminiscent of a catch-ball.

Such an impact gave Elsa yet another taste of ecstasy.

Teetering on the brink of death was the one way ticket needed to deliver her to that moment; her soul verily interpreted it so. Thus, pruning all extraneous and troublesome elements, she would conduct herself as “Elsa” and naught more――.

Elsa: [――Sh.]

The Witchbeast hot on her tail, Elsa kicked the ground with her back leg as she flew. That instant, her body flicked up high above the head of the bulldozing demon dog.

Stifling its large body’s momentum with its claws, the twin heads of the demon dog snapped back around. The calvaria of both heads were simultaneously struck by the downward swing of Elsa’s toes.

Orthrus: [――――GRAAOWRRHK!]

Both heads sunk into the ground, the demon dog howled right away  as it ate a ferocious blow. Lend an ear to those objecting howls Elsa did not, instead, still continuing to swing her legs down in turns, crushing blows were delivered to the Orthrus.

However, the perfunctory pursuit would go on no longer.

Saria & Hildea: [You can’t do that, you bad, bad girl, Elsa.]

Voices resounded in melody, and Elsa’s body atop the heads of the Orthrus was blown away alongside a cloud of blood.

Aiming for a back full of openings, Saria and Hildea slammed their Plenilune Cirque. The tempestuous upheaval of snow was sullied with blood, and Elsa raised her head, three limbs remaining to her as her right arm was missing.

――Before her eyes, the gaping maws of the Orthrus closed in.

Elsa: [――――]

Instantly, her brain warned that she had to either jump left or right. However, in the disastrous absence of fixation and discernment, a delay to execute what her mind had thought of was yielded.

And, in this lethal situation, that had been a fatal delay.

Orthrus: [――――GRAAOWRRHK!]

Whilst hearing the close-by howl, Elsa’s thoughts veered in a useless direction.

When she had descended into the waterway to escape her sisters, Elsa had reduced her body to just a head and an arm, but if she were to be eaten by a living creature, would she be able to replicate that?

In that case, would regeneration begin from the head or the heart――,

Tatiana: [Aa.]

Elsa: [――Tatiana?]

Thinking useless thoughts, Elsa was about to be eaten by the Orthrus. Upon her eardrums, struck the thoroughly familiar voice of Tatiana.

Then, two hands joined to Elsa’s left, forcefully and resolutely pulling her.

Elsa might have been light, but her posture was also at fault. Without having firmly braced her legs on the snow, the force of that pull swapped the places of Elsa and Tatiana. ――Their places, had been swapped.

Tatiana: [Uu.]

In the corner of her eye, the expression she had glimpsed on Tatiana’s face was tranquil. It was as if to say she had fulfilled her dearest desire, and Elsa’s mind was enveloped in an inability to comprehend.

Why was Tatiana, the very embodiment of destructive impulses, wearing such an expression?

She had wanted to ask. However, that opportunity would never come. ――It would escape her for all eternity.

Orthrus: [――――GRAAOWRRHK!]

In the following moment, Tatiana’s smiling figure vanished into the Orthrus’s right maw. As those jaws, lined with sharp fangs as they were, snapped shut, Tatiana’s very existence vanished.

In Elsa’s field of vision, all that remained of Tatiana were two slender legs from the knees down.

Orthrus: [――――GRAAOWRRHK!]

Eyes opened wide, legs at a halt, Elsa stood.

The head opposite to the one that had eaten Tatiana set its sights on Elsa in an attempt to devour her. Its bloodstained fangs sank into Elsa’s white skin, attempting to tear her apart――,

Elsa: [――Strangely, I found that quite upsetting.]

――Following that, the Orthrus’s cranium exploded, bereaving the twin-headed demon dog of one of its halves evermore.

8

Elsa: [――――]

Preventing the large mouth from closing with her arm and leg, she used her pivot leg to unleash a kick to the back of the throat laid bare.

Leg strength transcending the realm of common rationality thus blew the head of the enormous demon dog asunder from within; one half of the demon dog, a beast unparalleled in its fiendish nature, was delivered into the clutches of death.

Orthrus: [―――――GRAAOWRRHK!]

Elsa: [Even if one of your heads died, you’re still alive. ――Thank goodness.]

Towards the right head, enraged by the gruesome death of its other half as it was, Elsa loosened her blood red lips into a smile.

To be frank, that kick from a moment ago had been enacted as retaliation. Of course, given that they were connected by body, the Orthrus’s actions, good and bad akin, ought to have been shouldered by both of its heads.

But, it would be sorrowful to not kill an opponent she thought she should kill, especially when she had a reason to do so.

Such was how Elsa thought. ――No, this was the first time she had thought it.

Elsa: [Hence, I’m going to give you a painful death.]

Not once had Elsa ever thought to kill something out of hatred. To Elsa, life or death was naught more than the outcome. Pleasure was always to be derived from the process.

Orthrus: [――――]

The demon dog swung its front leg down in anger, only to be caught head-on by Elsa’s “newly grown” set of arms as she held her ground. Then, being rivalled in a contest of strength by a puny existence, the demon dog’s pride was injured; its fur was grasped, and its body was flung with full force.

As it soared, what lay at the end of the demon dog’s parabolic arc was――,

Saria: [You’ve got to be kidding, unbelievable.]

Hildea: [Unbelievable, it’s as if you’re kidding.]

Grasping the Plenilune Cirque, Saria and Hildea stood with dumbfounded expressions.

The Plenilune Cirque was indeed a mighty blade, but in a situation like this one, its lack of maneuverability was its shortcoming. Things might have been different if they could make the decision to bisect the Orthrus, but they would not deliberately diminish their fighting strength.

Saria: [HILDEA!]

Hildea: [SARIA!]

Calling out to one another, the twins halted the rotation of the Plenilune Cirque, and slipped right under the soaring demon dog. After they slipped out, they were planning on resuming the blade’s rotation.

But, as soon as the pathetic screams of the demon dog flew over above their lowered postures, a black shadow wedged its way between the two as they tried to begin spinning.

Saria & Hildea: [El――]

Elsa: [The two of you really have such a good relationship. I’m jealous.]

Saria: [SA…!]

In clearly calling out the name of the interloper, only one of the twins had been successful.

With eyes opened wide, the elder sister, Saria, reached her hand towards Elsa as the latter ascended once more. However, Elsa evaded her fingers with a leap. ――All the while, carrying the younger sister, Hildea, in her arms.

Hildea: [K, yaaaaaaa――!]

A shrill shriek was raised from Hildea’s mouth, her face caught in a firm hold.

The reason being that Elsa had forced her body against a wall, scraping it down. Her hair and dress of silver hue were stained in blood, ceaselessly.

Saria: [W-wait! Wait, Elsa! Let Hildea go!]

Hildea: [S-Saria! Saria, help! Hel… AHHHHHHHH!!]

Dragging the Plenilune Cirque along, Saria screamed. Hildea also sought rescue from the distant girl, but Elsa would allow no such thing. Giving no response, she resumed her retribution upon Hildea.

Retribution. Indeed, this was retribution. Lawful retribution, for that which had been stolen.

Elsa: [I experienced something unpleasant. Hence, I’ll let you experience the same thing. ――Sit by and watch as your younger sister is tormented due to your own inadequacy.]

Saria: [――Hk!]

Her face going even more pale, Saria’s beautiful features were colored in fear.

It seemed that the Plenilune Blade functioned on the premise that it would be controlled by two people. Left behind, Saria’s movements were dull, unable to form a counterattack unto Elsa.

That was to say, the notion that one of them might be removed had not even been considered from the start.

Elsa: [Too bad.]

With Saria unable to do a thing, Elsa proceeded to destroy Hildea’s limbs.

Her shoulders, her elbows, her wrists. Her hips, her knees, her ankles. Thoroughly destroying them in proper sequence, she applied torment with bilateral symmetry, and on each occasion Hildea would scream, calling out Saria’s name.

Elsa: [Ornea also spoke of it. The fact that wounds heal carries a high risk of being subjected to eternal torture with no escape. Well, Ornea couldn’t feel pain, so it’s a bit unfair.]

The second daughter of the sisters, who knew not the fear of pain, was an existence invincible through her ability to regenerate when broken.

Uncharacteristically recalling the training she had received from her, Elsa began to destroy Hildea’s body anew, as it had been attempting to heal from the outset of the prior destruction, and pitied the wretched scene.

Though, by no means did she take it easy.

Saria: [ELSA――!!]

Elsa: [――?]

Breaking Hildea’s defiant arm, the number of joints had almost been doubled, and with a blood curdling expression Saria called out Elsa’s name.

It appeared that she had discarded the Plenilune Cirque, standing light on her feet in a corner of the plaza. Her hand was placed upon a steel wire that was stringing Oliver up.

Clasping it with a bare hand, golden eyes shone with loathing as their gaze pierced Elsa,

Saria: [If you want this man to be returned safely, let Hildea…]

Hildea: [Gih! Gyah! Hyah! Sa, Sari…AHHHHHhhhhhhh!!]

Saria: [――Hk.]

Before Saria as she tried to make a threat, Hildea’s head was bashed into a wall. Hildea shed blood from a gash on her forehead, and lifting that head up, Elsa displayed it to Saria.

Saria: [Hi…]

Elsa: [Do you think these conditions are equal? I can still live if Oliver ends up dying, but will you be able to live if Hildea dies?]

The question left Saria speechless.

But, the tables had already turned. The moment Hildea was seized, and the Orthrus’s fighting capacity was reduced by half―― no, they had turned at the very moment Tatiana was killed.

Elsa: [――I heard the sound of something dislodging inside my head.]

That had been the same sensation as what one experienced when driven to the brink of death.

When one’s soul was unleashed from the cage known as oneself, it would bring about an overwhelming strength alongside a feeling of ecstasy. What was now different compared to before was that there certainly dwelled an awareness within Elsa.

Mustering all the latent abilities that could only ever be drawn out through a state of ecstasy, Elsa was transformed into a weapon of annihilation that displayed the full potential of a Curse Doll.

Elsa: [――――]

To put it bluntly, it differed to the very way she had been viewing the world until now.

As her limbs were being broken, Hildea attempted to resist and escape restraint. However, Elsa took no note of it. Her course of movement, her aims, Elsa could anticipate based on the fluctuations in her gaze and muscles.

This was――,

Elsa: [Ornea’s state of mind… How ironic.]

Saria: [El――]

Elsa: [I’ll give it back.]

Encouraged by a sudden sense of fatigue, Elsa flung Hildea’s body.

Saria: [――――]

Seeing that, Saria fell into a momentary astounded silence, then immediately ran to her younger sister.

Having undergone the thorough torment from Elsa, Hildea had become a loose clump of flesh and blood. Despite having been akin to two peas in a pod, the likeness of the tragic twins had already been altered definitively.

Elsa: [It’s a shame that you’re no longer matching. Let me help you match again.]

Chasing after Hildea’s flight path, the hem of Saria’s dress fluttered. With the two of them in the corner of her sight, Elsa passed by Saria, and towards the corner of the plaza―― clutching the twins’ discarded Plenilune Cirque, she hauled it up through sheer force.

Saria: [――Hk!]

Pouring strength into her arms, she lifted the Plenilune Cirque. The weight of the weapon required that the twins Saria and Hildea wield it together, but with Elsa’s current physical strength, it was nothing.

Saria: [HILDEA――!!]

Looking back, she witnessed as Saria ran and caught up to the battered Hildea. Ripping the hem of her dress, Saria caught Hildea’s fall with her slender arms.

Hildea: [Sari… a…]

Saria: [It’s okay, it’ll all be okay, Hildea. We’ll――]

Embracing the bloodied body of her younger sister, tears streamed out of Saria’s eyes. And, held in the arms of her elder sister, Hildea gazed with her eyes half-closed―― those eyes of hers widened.

Elsa: [――I’ll be sending you to meet the angels.]

Serving up a smile to Hildea’s dread, Elsa sent the Plenilune Cirque flying with all her might.

The titanic blade gyrated at monstrously high speeds, assailing the twins’ embrace from behind.

Saria: [――Ah.]

In response to the incoming Plenilune Cirque, the only thing Hildea could do, tottering on the brink of death, was widen her eyes. Saria had naught an opening to question the meaning of the reaction strewn upon her little sister’s face.

Thus, the thick blade perforated Saria’s back, and without faltering, cleaved her delicate body in twain. Naturally, as Hildea was being held in an embrace, she too was split in half at the chest.

Saria: [――――]

Unable to even cry out in pain, Saria and Hildea both collapsed, tops parted from their bottoms. Copious amounts of blood and viscera scattered about the plaza, and the wretched sight pitifully expanded.

Saria: [Hil… dea…]

Hildea: [Sar… ia…]

Crawling with just her upper half, Saria headed towards Hildea. Sprawled out on her back atop the stone pavement, Hildea answered her slowly approaching elder sister with naught more than a gaze.

Then, the bisected sisters overlaid their hands with each other, trying to somehow reconnect――,

Elsa: [――It seems like you’re aware of your situation. Good dog.]

A black shadow swooped down upon the twins, and the trickle of saliva sullied the bloodstained dresses a degree further. Saria and Hildea’s eyes opened wide at what was transpiring, and looking down at them was the demon dog with its mouth gaping wide open.

Having lost one of its heads, the Orthrus had found itself in a battered state. Whilst raising a savage roar, it directed hostility towards the ones who were supposed to be its owners, Saria and Hildea.

Saria: [Wh…y…?]

Elsa: [Who knows? When all is said and done, I suppose it’s just the way of nature. Even Witchbeasts are made to instinctively follow the strong… that’s what I think.]

Caressing the flattened, filthy cross section remaining of the neck, Elsa sweetly smiled. Receiving the sensation of her palm, the Orthrus hung its head to demonstrate its submission.

Rather than hatred due to its other half having been slain, it followed its instincts, and chose survival. ――In that regard, beasts were more sincere to life, and thus simpler to understand.

Elsa: [Though, it’d have been best for the two of you to leave the likes of me alone.]

Saria: [That’s because, you were…]

Elsa: [――Did you think I was attempting to kill all of you? I never even thought of doing such a thing. The situation with Dorothea was an unfortunate misunderstanding.]

Hearing Elsa’s words, the twins’ cheeks stiffened as if it was utterly unbelievable. Even if they made such faces, it was still the truth, so being doubted was nothing but a loss.

Towards Elsa, who harbored such discontent, the sisters composed only of upper halves directed their loathing.

Saria: [An unfortunate, misunderstanding…? Even so…]

Hildea: [You still killed Dorothea… didn’t you…?]

Elsa: [Oh my.]

Hearing the twins’ loathsome mutterings, Elsa felt something unexpected from the bottommost depths of her heart, and raised her eyebrows.

It was the same strong emotion she had harbored when this cleansing operation had begun; when she had seen Saria and Hildea at the plaza. ――It was the astonishment towards the fact that these two desired to take revenge for Dorothea.

She had misunderstood these twins as girls who looked at naught else but each other, but――,

Elsa: [If the two of you desired vengeance for Dorothea, then it was unavoidable. I was the one who killed Dorothea, after all. ――The two of you had a reason to desire that, it would seem.]

Saria: [Elsa――]

Elsa: [So, you ought to understand, right?]

Tilting her head as she spoke, Elsa lightly tapped the Orthrus’s head.

Taking that as a signal, the Orthrus began to move. The sharp fangs lining its gaping maw mercilessly dashed towards one of the sisters sprawled out on the ground―― towards Hildea.

The face of the silver haired girl twisted in sorrow, her lips calling “Sari…” to her elder sister.

However, she had not been permitted to finish that utterance. ――As had been the case for Tatiana.

Saria: [HILDEA――!!!]

The maw snapped shut, and began to chew. Within the Witchbeast’s mouth, Hildea was minced, mashed, and morphed into a wreckage of flesh and blood that could not be recovered from; of this fact, Elsa and Saria akin were acutely aware.

Saria and Hildea were both Featherrun Sisters. Transformed into Curse Dolls, their flesh held an immortal nature, and as such, they would not perish with their bodies being split in two.

Nevertheless, if their bodies were masticated, eaten alive by another creature, there would be no saving them.

Elsa: [It’d be a different story for me or Ornea, though.]

Saria: [Why… why, Elsa…?]

Elsa: [――? Ah, you want to ask why it only targeted Hildea? Let’s see, it does seem strange to me as well, but… somehow, it seems like I’m angry.]

Her other half devoured, Saria’s eyes lost their light as a waterfall of tears shed from them. Her question, reminiscent of a doll, caused Elsa to reflect on herself, as she patted her chest and exhaled.

Within her heart, the accumulation of unavoidable emotions asserted themselves. That encroached on the being known as Elsa, driving her towards enacting a cruel deed.

She did not find it especially pleasant. Only, she felt just a little bit――,

Elsa: [I’m relieved. Though, I don’t hate either of you, that’s the truth.]

Saria: […I’m, going to kill you.]

Elsa: [That won’t be possible.]

The words rang as a malediction, however, Elsa answered without emotion. As if to affirm her response, the Orthrus, having finished its slow mastication of the younger sister, directed its gaze towards the elder.

The Witchbeast’s instincts sought a decision from Elsa, to whom it had demonstrated its subservience.

Facing one who had committed inexcusable acts of barbarism, what sort of verdict would Elsa pass?

Saria: […I’m, going to kill you.]

Elsa: [Didn’t I tell you? It’s a shame for the two of you, being so close as you are, to not be matching. So, I’ll help you match again.]

That served as the response.

Still did Saria glare at Elsa, attempting to vent her ire at the killing of Hildea. But, the Orthrus was quicker, placing Saria atop its malevolently writhing tongue.

Thus, it was but an instant until Saria, face twisting in hatred, was swallowed up by the closing fangs.

Naught a scream could be heard. Only, the sound of chewing echoed throughout the plaza―― the cleansing operation that had targeted the snowy metropolis, thus met a terribly wretched end.

Chapter V
『Ornea Featherrun』

1

Elsa: [――The cross sections are quite pretty, and I suppose they can be reconnected since they were chilled by the snow.]

Releasing Oliver from the top of the time tower, Elsa spoke as she gently reached her hand out towards him. In her palm were six of Oliver’s severed fingers that she had picked up.

It was the result of his fingers having been tied to steel wires and applying force to them. Considering that it was a very real possibility for all his fingers to be blown off, sending Oliver himself plunging to his death, this could have even been called a miraculous outcome.

At the very least, he still retained four of his original fingers, and there was a chance that the severed six could still be reconnected.

But then again――,

Elsa: [When you’re being told so by me, who can grow limbs back when they’re torn off, doesn’t it sound sarcastic, I wonder?]

Oliver: [――――]

Elsa: [Hey, Oliver, are you listening?]

Giving no response, Oliver crouched atop the snow. His lack of movement almost made him appear to be dead, but Oliver slowly lifted his head when she called out to him.

His facial features, once called handsome, distorted in grief as melancholy engraved itself around his eyes and cheeks. In a completely altered state, he began to move his parched lips, and,

Oliver: [Tatiana, where…]

Elsa: [She died.]

Oliver: [――Hk.]

Elsa: [It was because she acted recklessly without bearing her own ability in mind. To think that would be the ruin of the Mad Dog, Tatiana, is quite ironic indeed.]

Oliver had been unable to grasp the state of the plaza amidst all the agony and dismay, prompting his face to stiffen.

Tatiana’s death had impacted Elsa to a much greater extent than she thought it would have. But, impacts would eventually disperse, fade, and gradually return to serenity. What remained in the aftermath, was but a tinge of loneliness.

Elsa: […Ah, that’s right.]

Reflecting on her own feelings, Elsa was surprised at herself for feeling that tinge of loneliness.

Only lasting a mere few weeks, the time she had spent with Tatiana had been short compared to her days with the Featherrun Sisters, but it seemed to have been a pleasant relationship in its own way.

With Tatiana gone, she felt lonely. And, that had been the same for Saria and Hildea.

Elsa: [I’d also thought the same during that time with Dorothea, but… surprisingly, I am a woman with emotions.]

Oliver: […Elsa, ye’re…]

Elsa: [Me? I’m fine. As you can see, I’m full of energy. Even if I did sustain some wounds, it’s almost like they never happened…]

Oliver: [That… ain’t it. Ye’re… ye lasses are, what th’hell are the lot o’ ye?]

Having worn out his throat from screaming, Oliver questioned her with a hoarse voice. Hearing the vague question, Elsa inclined her head with a “Who’s to say?”.

Elsa: [Even I don’t really understand it. Only, I received a peculiar body through a peculiar ritual. Though, I should have more or less been a normal human back in the days I was at your place.]

Oliver: [Healing wounds, bouncing ‘round everywhere, killing masses without batting an eye, acting like it’s all okay even when ye friend dies…]

Elsa: [――――]

Oliver: [Elsa, just what th’hell are the lot o’ ye?]

That question had made her feel a definite isolation.

Somehow or another, Elsa had intended on building an amicable relationship with Oliver. Even if it seemed insolent from an outside perspective, Elsa had wanted to stand as his equal.

Though, given their roles as slaver and slave, attempting to establish an equal relationship was a rather odd notion.

Elsa: [Oliver, I’m…]

Perhaps because she had harbored that faint discord, Elsa’s response was delayed but a moment.

And in that moment, it transpired.

???: [――The Featherrun Sisters.]

Elsa: [――――]

A voice suddenly cut in, snapping both Elsa and Oliver to attention.

For Oliver, it was an unknown voice of a third party, but for Elsa, it was an impossible voice to which her ears were all too familiar.

――No, it was nothing so impossible. To begin with, Saria and Hildea, who she would have never imagined would seek vengeance for Dorothea, had gone so far as to launch a cleansing operation.

In that case, the manifestation of this chance encounter had been an entirely possible development.

???: [Something wrong, Elsa? This ain’t like yourself, you look like you’ve seen a Hollow.]

Elsa: [――Ornea. So even you’ve come.]

Ornea: […To tell you the truth, there was never any intention of actually deploying me, tho’.]

Heaving a sigh as she spoke was a young girl, her mature aura belying her youthful appearance―― the second daughter of the Featherrun Sisters, Ornea Featherrun.

A tremor ran through Elsa the moment Ornea entered, the chains in the latter’s grip dragging behind her.  Her specialized weapon, the kusari-fundo, had an enormous mass of flesh caught on its tip.

A writhing, deep red clump of flesh. Its identity was easy to surmise. Commanded by Saria and Hildea, yet in the end obeying Elsa by following its survival instincts, it was the Orthrus that had devoured the twins.

Elsa: [Though, it listened to what I said, so I had intended on setting it free.]

Ornea: [With one of its heads crushed? No way a twin headed demon dog is lasting long with a missing head. More importantly, this thing devoured my lil’ sisters. I’m taking their remains back.]

Elsa: [They should be totally mangled, but can you revive them?]

Ornea: […Just grieving the dead, it’s that and nothing more. If eaten and chewed up alive, not even a Featherrun Sister… even if it were you or I, could be saved.]

Her cheeks distorting in annoyance, Ornea expressed her will to bring her sisters home along with the demon dog. Hearing that, Elsa tilted her head with “in that case”,

Elsa: [Before you take them home, do you mind if I open its stomach up? There should be a slave of Oliver’s in there along with Saria and Hildea.]

Ornea: […Do you really think you’re in the sorta position to demand things of me like that?]

Elsa: [There shouldn’t be any harm in asking. You’re sweet, Ornea, so I thought I’d just try to ask and see.]

Ornea: [――I’m, sweet?]

That instant, stabbing into Elsa’s whole body was the bloodlust emanating from Ornea’s petite build.

In her battle against the twins, Elsa’s body had been unshackled from some kind of chains. But, although she had thought her body had arrived at the same level as Ornea’s, it trembled upon being exposed to Ornea’s murderous intent.

To think she had finally risen to Ornea’s domain, what an incredible misunderstanding. ――The difference in strength between herself and the most powerful Featherrun Sister seemed even larger now that she had closed some of the gap separating them.

Moreover, in her current wounded state, just how good of a fight would she be able to put up against Ornea?

Elsa: [But then again… from the outset, I never intended on only fighting battles I know I can win.]

Ornea: […Ever the same, aren’t you now?]

Seeing Elsa belligerently licking her lips, Ornea’s eyebrows dipped in exasperation. That instant, the bloodlust that had swept over the plaza dispersed, and the tension in Elsa’s body also unconsciously vanished.

Be that as it may, the fact that Ornea still did not relax demonstrated her true strength. Back at the mansion, she had thoroughly pulverized Elsa’s body as casually as making small talk.

Perceiving that sense of urgency still thick in the air, Elsa observed Ornea with utmost caution――,

Oliver: [――Are ye a sister of the ones who did all this?]

The one to interject thereupon was Oliver, who had been placed outside the mosquito net.

Ornea: [――――]

At the interjection of an unthinkable third party, Ornea directed her gaze towards Oliver. He had lost six of his fingers, and though the slaver ought to have been experiencing a ceaseless torment of violent pain, he received that gaze head-on.

Ornea: [Hm, now there’s a face I don’t know.]

Oliver: [Tahaha, that so now? As ye can see, I’d intended on operating on an extensive scale, but the world just happened to be far wider and deeper than I’d imagined.]

Foolishly chuckling, Oliver did not show any hints of the pain from his torture wounds. With that admirable demeanor, he craned his neck around the plaza, and signaled to the town.

Oliver: [Causing this much of an uproar in the Gustekan Church’s turf… o’ course, that’s a huge gamble that ye could only ever pull off if ye were resolved to be branded as a heretic and hunted down.]

Ornea: [Well, it certainly was a catastrophe. But, we’re…]

Oliver: [Ye’ve got a shield covering your back to make sure that won’t happen. Just before, ye said “Featherrun Sisters”, aye? That’s to say, the lot o’ ye are involved with Holosseo Featherrun-dono.]

Ornea: [――――]

With a greasy sweat forming on his brow, Oliver’s loose lips prompted Ornea to narrow her eyes. Then, she closed the distance to Oliver, seizing the slaver by the collar with her small hand.

With Ornea’s superhuman strength, she could easily shatter Oliver’s cervical vertebrae just by pouring strength into her fingers.

Elsa: [Ornea, that man is…]

Ornea: [A slaver you’re involved with, yeah? I know this man’s been sheltering you. That’s enough grounds to say he has enmity against the Church of the Holy King.]

As Ornea constricted Oliver and spoke those words, Elsa tried to find an opening. But, even with one arm occupied, Elsa saw not a single opening in Ornea.

Nonetheless, with one of Ornea’s arms occupied with Oliver, now was her best chance. Just when she resolved herself to challenge Ornea’s small frame to a final battle as soon as possible――,

Oliver: [But, ye don’t got ‘nough sense o’ duty to say anything to the Church of the Holy King, miss. That’s how it looks to me.]

Ornea: […What?]

Oliver: [Rather, don’t it seem like ye’ve got some reservations here ‘n there? Miss, ye look like ye don’t find the wretched state of this town very pleasing, ye know?]

Ornea: [――You’re one aggravating man. There’s a foolhardiness to you that’s akin to Elsa.]

Oliver: [Though, I’m also just something like a victim being led along…]

With chilly eyes did Ornea briefly glare at Oliver as he smiled pitifully. Then, after Ornea took a long, deep sigh,

Ornea: […Indeed, I was against this cleansing operation. Even though they caused this level of destruction, Saria and Hildea died, while Elsa managed to survive.]

Oliver: [In the first place, why were ye aiming for Elsa?]

Ornea: [That’s――]

Oliver’s question pierced the crux of the matter, and Ornea’s expression contorted in silence.

The cause of that was the anguish derived from her inability to speak of the events that had served as the impetus for things having reached this state.

From what Elsa had heard from Oliver, Holosseo still seemed to be nonchalantly frequenting high society. Though, Elsa knew that the mechanism behind that lay in Sithonia’s unusual ability.

Oliver: [Ah, if ye can’t talk on it then don’t get concerned over it. ‘S just… the Elsa I know’s an unserious girl who treats every bloody thing like it’s someone else’s problem.]

Ornea: [Just what the hell is it that you wanna say!? If you’re gonna interfere with our affairs any further, I’ll pluck that head right off――]

Oliver: [Wouldn’t it be better for the lot o’ ye to actually try and just talk things out?]

Ornea: [――――]

Seized by the collar, Oliver wrung out his words. His utterance left Ornea gazing in astonishment; thereupon taking her hand off him, she turned to face Elsa.

And then――,

Ornea: [Right now, you and I are the only ones here. Dorothea, Saria, and Hildea are all dead, and Sithonia is waiting for a report back at the mansion. So, be honest with me, Elsa.]

Elsa: […What is it?]

With Ornea now having released Oliver, both her hands were free, thus Elsa had missed her opportunity to get the jump on her. As that fact vexed Elsa, Ornea’s lips quivered,

Ornea: [That day… the night Father died, what happened? For what reason, did you kill Father? For what reason, did you split up the Featherrun Sisters…?]

Elsa: [Ah, that day…]

At Ornea’s imploring query, Elsa recalled the night in question.

When all the sisters had received missions and left the mansion, and Elsa was left behind on her own, Holosseo, whilst speaking exaggerations, had also bestowed upon her a mission.

And, as for the details of that mission――,

Ornea: [Answer me! Elsa, why did you kill Father!?]

Elsa: [――? You ask some strange things. It’s because the Father in question told me to do so.]

Ornea: [――――]

Wearing a blank expression, Elsa responded as such to the query.

And upon hearing that, Ornea’s expression froze over. From her congealed expression, it seemed as if Ornea could not comprehend Elsa’s words.

In fact, Ornea blinked her eyes many times over, and continued with a “Wait”,

Ornea: [What… are you saying? Just now, what did you say?]

Elsa: [Like I said, I was instructed by our father. He said that it was necessary for the completion of the Curse Dolls, that the Featherrun Sisters would thus be brought to completion.]

Ornea: [Bullshit.]

Elsa: [Excuse you.]

Ornea muttered aghast, to which Elsa voiced her disapproval. But, Elsa immediately realized that Ornea’s mutter was not directed towards her, but rather to something else, cursing out absurdity itself.

Ornea clutched her own head, reluctantly shaking it from side to side, and,

Ornea: [Father, he wouldn’t… no, but, a doll maker has methods that only a doll maker can comprehend, no? In that case, for what reason have we all been…]

Oliver: [Just meaningless fighting to the death, I s’ppose that’s all ye were doing. If that’s the case, I offer me condolences.]

Ornea: [――Hk!]

Amidst her confusion, Ornea erupted at Oliver’s interruption. Her kusari-fundo screeched as it violently smashed the stone pavement in the plaza right next to Oliver.

Oliver: [――――]

But, receiving that deadly threat, there was no change in Oliver’s demeanor; rather, it was Ornea’s throat that clogged up as if she had been cornered.

Ornea: [You’re…]

Oliver: [Suppose it’s actually as Elsa said…]

As Oliver continued, Ornea listened as she held her tongue. She had fallen right into the scheme laid by Oliver’s silver tongue, though she did not seem aware of that fact.

As Oliver gestured his finger-lacking hand towards the unaware Ornea,

Oliver: [If the source of your quarrel lay within himself, he ought’ve taken measures to prevent ye from fighting to the death. Maybe your father wasn’t the type to be prone to such thoughts?]

Ornea: [Bullshit! Our father’s thinking might have been inscrutable, but, that sorta…]

Elsa: [――Ornea?]

Ornea: [That, sorta…

Ornea protested fervently, but that fervor withered as she spoke. Looking as if she had realized something, Ornea did not even respond to Elsa’s call,

Ornea: [I need to confirm something…]

With that, she turned her back towards Elsa and Oliver.

Releasing the Orthrus’s flesh from her kusari-fundo, she quickly retracted her weapon. Then, once again did Elsa call out “Ornea” to the petite figure,

Elsa: [If you’re leaving Saria and Hildea behind, would it be alright for us to mourn them over here?]

Ornea: [――. Do as you please. I’ve got things to do.]

Elsa: [I see… Hey, Ornea. Ever since that night, we haven’t had any time to just leisurely talk.]

Ornea was just about to walk away, but her legs came to a halt. Looking at the back of her tiny elder sister, Elsa reflected on that night―― the night Holosseo had died.

Things had gotten out of hand, and they had ended up parting without exchanging words, but――,

Elsa: [I really do find it regrettable. That’s how I truly feel.]

Ornea: [――――]

Elsa: [So be the Silver Affection. ――Ornea.]

Giving no response to that prayer, Ornea departed as she left footprints on the snow-covered path. Only when her figure disappeared from sight did Elsa finally feel like she had made it out alive.

She had made it out alive from a situation she had no chance of winning. While grateful to that fortune, she gazed out over the wretched scene.

The plaza was filled with heaps of corpses that perished in the cleansing operation, and while similar sights ought to have been spread around various places in town, the only ones Elsa grieved for were her sisters and Tatiana, all eaten by the Orthrus.

At the very least, she would bury them someplace a little higher; that was all Elsa thought.

2

On lands outside the grace of Hallowed Land, even just digging a grave was hard work.

Clearing away the snow that had amassed on top, smashing through the snow that had frozen in place, and breaking the even further glaciated subnivean soil, the act of simply digging a hole felt like excavating a boulder, but finally, she cleared out a satisfactory grave hole.

A hillock from where Innorandum could be seen below, was the location Elsa had selected as a gravesite.

Elsa: [Three graves would be too tiring, so please bear with this. You may find Tatiana a handful, but you did kill her, so I thought you should take responsibility.]

With that, Elsa heaved the Orthrus carcass into the pit, entombing Tatiana and the twins, Saria and Hildea, all together. Including the Orthrus, it was a tomb for three people and one beast.

By digging this grave, Elsa’s arms were the worse for wear.

Her fingers had lost most of their original form, and a vast amount of blood was scattered around her. Without any tools, Elsa had needed to break her own arms in order to break the frozen soil.

Thus, she had broken them. That was all there was to it.

Oliver: [Even if that’s all, that’s normally something ye’d hesitate on.]

Elsa: [They’ll heal, so it’s no big deal. It hurts, but it’s fine if I just ignore it a little.]

Oliver: [A little, huh. Having lost some of my own fingers, I can’t understand that attitude in the slightest.]

Gazing over the completed grave, Oliver, who had been watching over Elsa as she worked, chuckled sarcastically. It was the sort of smile he did not show very often, but Elsa did not touch upon it.

Instead, Elsa called out “Oliver” to him,

Elsa: [――Torture is designed to make you divulge secrets, so I think there was no helping it.]

Indeed, as Oliver blamed himself, Elsa provided not consolation, but the matter-of-fact truth.

Oliver: [――――]

Hearing Elsa’s words, Oliver cast his unpleasant expression downwards.

Oliver’s whole body had been tormented by the twins, including the loss of his fingers. It was unclear how the twins had located Oliver, but the reason why Elsa and Tatiana’s whereabouts had become the target location for the cleansing operation was apparent.

None other than Oliver had yielded that information in torture.

As a result, Innorandum became the target of a cleansing operation, and Tatiana had perished.

Oliver: [I’m a damn failure of a slaver…]

Elsa: [Is that so? Ah, but, you might be right. I’ve never heard of a slaver falling into such a depressive slump after letting a slave die.]

Oliver: [Tatiana… she was a girl who deserved to find happiness…]

Elsa: [Indeed. But, I think it’s presumptuous to say that dying means she was unhappy.]

Elsa refuted Oliver’s voice, which was not a tearful one, but rather, one that cursed himself and himself alone.

Speaking of Tatiana’s final moments as if they had ended in mere unhappiness rubbed her the wrong way.

In the end, Tatiana’s expression when she pulled Elsa away and threw herself before the Orthrus―― it was not one that lamented her own imminent death.

Her spirit had arrived at a different place, one that transcended such notions.

Hence――,

Elsa: [Tatiana’s death belonged to Tatiana alone. It’s not something for outsiders like us to say this or that about. More importantly, let’s do what we have to do.]

Oliver: […What we’ve got to do? What in the world’re ye talking about?]

Elsa: [First of all, sticking your fingers back on. When you lack that many fingers, it’s bound to be an inconvenience. I don’t like that. You need to be taken care of]

Before the grave, she grabbed Oliver by the shoulders as he crouched weakly, and dragged him up to his feet. For a moment, Oliver attempted to resist Elsa’s hands, but he immediately realized the futility of that action.

Just as he had mocked himself, Oliver slowly shook his head side to side, and,

Oliver: [No matter what it is, I’ve never been able to go against ye… When ye think of it like that, the notion that I’m a failure of a slaver, it might be something I’m only realizing way too late now.]

Elsa: [Yes, truly. It’s truly too late now.]

Oliver strained a smile at Elsa’s merciless evaluation. Seemingly dragging him along, Elsa would search for a doctor to reattach his fingers, and so, once again, they returned to Innorandum.

All the while, her instincts were telling her that the time they could spend quietly like this, would not last long.

3

???: [――――]

Storming through the familiar mansion with quick steps, Ornea forced open the door to the room of her destination as if she were tearing it down.

Ever-present in the heart of Holosseo’s office, a space crammed with stacks of confidential documents that could not be taken outside, was Sithonia.

Sithonia: […Have you returned, Ornea?]

She closed the book she had been reading with nary a sound, gazing upon Ornea with her red eyes. Receiving her gaze head on, Ornea nodded with a “Yeah”.

Ornea: [I’m back. I’ve returned… Saria and Hildea, they both died.]

Sithonia: […It would seem so. I received a report of a failed cleansing operation. However, I had not heard anything about you heading to Innorandum. Why act on your own accord?]

Ornea: [That’s, because… I was gonna provide backup, to Saria and Hildea…]

Sithonia: [But, the two of them died. And it was not because you arrived too late, correct? You intentionally let them both die… No, that is not it.]

Shaking her head, Sithonia slowly stood up from her chair. Then, as her long, red hair fluttered, Sithonia stood in front of Ornea, running her fingers through the latter’s green hair.

Feeling a ticklish sensation on her temple, Ornea caught her breath.

Sithonia: [You were unable to decide on whether to support Saria and Hildea, or Elsa.]

Ornea: [――Hk.]

Sithonia: [You did always dote on Elsa. Being as sweet as you are, choosing between sisters is impossible for you.]

As Sithonia’s icy voice pointed out thus, Ornea’s slender shoulders trembled.

She had hit the mark, and there was no room for excuses. Ornea had rushed to the battlefield amidst the cleansing operation and could have entered the fray whenever she wished.

But, she had done no such thing. ――After all, she could not decide on whom to support.

Thus, Ornea’s indecision had allowed the sisters’ mortal combat to play out until the end.

Sithonia: [Ultimately, Elsa killed Saria and Hildea, that’s three sisters total including Dorothea. Of the Featherrun Sisters, you and I are the only two remaining…]

Ornea: [If, if our assumption was wrong from the outset, what then!?]

Sithonia: [――?]

The tenacious utterance of Ornea caused Sithonia to make a curious expression. Looking right up at Sithonia, Ornea referred to the owner of the office, the deceased Holosseo,

Ornea: [I spoke with Elsa. This is what she told me: the reason she killed Father was because Father had ordered her to do so. In other words, we’d misunderstood things right from the start!]

Sithonia: [――――]

Ornea: [Father had some unfathomable objective. And for that reason, Father was killed by Elsa; she was never good at explaining things, and because of that, we chased her away… so then…]

Sithonia: [So then, you want to forgive Elsa? Ornea, are you truly saying that?]

Ornea: [――Ah.]

Her cheeks clasped by two hands, Ornea fell silent at Sithonia’s question. Lowering the hand that had been caressing her hair, Sithonia questioned the intent behind Ornea’s hesitation.

Would she truly be fine with that? And, on top of that――,

Sithonia: [So you spoke with Elsa… That is why I had not wanted to let you go to Innorandum.]

Ornea: […Sithonia?]

Her face suddenly released from the grasp, Ornea blinked her eyes. Sithonia took a step back, and from within the heap of documents, she pulled out a single note.

Holding it to her chest, Sithonia silently sighed before the perplexed Ornea,

Sithonia: [――The Witch of Envy.]

And, she muttered so.

The repulsive reverberance strewed confusion in Ornea, as well as an even greater sense of revulsion. For all who lived in this world, it was a vile name, one to be avoided, one to be feared.

An existence that even the Featherrun Sisters, who by no means walked under the light, found repugnant. It was a dreadful, hideous name of a being that once attempted to destroy the world.

Ornea: [Why, that name…?]

Sithonia: [Did you know? In the past, there were Witches in this world other than the Witch of Envy. But, those Witches were killed by the Witch of Envy, thus stealing their power. It is told that by doing so, the Witch of Envy became a being whom none could rival.]

Sithonia began to speak at length about history that was not commonly known. The fact that other Witches had existed was something that not even Ornea had been aware of. Hence, that topic in itself was something that surprised her. However――,

Ornea: [That topic, why are you bringing it up now…?]

Sithonia: [――Because, it is not irrelevant to us, as Curse Dolls.]

As chills of unpleasant dread tinged her senses, Ornea interrupted Sithonia. As if knowing that, Sithonia continued with the note held against her chest.

Sithonia: [Ornea, do you know what the root of a Curse Doll is?]

Ornea: […I heard it’s something that makes use of Curse Arts. By using the principle that the effectiveness of a Curse Art doesn’t fade until it can no longer manifest, we obstruct our own deaths.]

Sithonia: [Exactly, a curse does not perish until it kills its target. Curse Dolls utilize this…  we cannot perish without killing an opponent we must kill.]

Ornea: [I agree with that, but… no, wait…]

Nodding as Sithonia spoke, Ornea called a timeout.

The inability to die without killing an opponent who must be killed. If that was the special characteristic of a Curse Doll, then how had Dorothea and the others died?

Ornea: [It’s a fact that we had individual differences in our regeneration ability. But, if what you’re saying is certain, then they should’ve made it out alive, given enough time…]

Sithonia: [It’s quite simple, Ornea. ――It’s because they exchanged lives with an opponent they needed to kill.]

Ornea: [――――]

Ornea’s dread grew ever larger, slowly crawling up her spine. Rejecting the instincts that told her that the dread originated not from within the conversation, but from Sithonia herself, Ornea shook her head from side to side.

Sithonia: [The reason the Witch of Envy became such a mighty existence, was because she killed and devoured the other Witches. Thus, the one who had thought to enact that very same phenomenon, was Holosseo Featherrun.]

Rather than as “Father”, Sithonia called Holosseo by name. A concern about the contents of the note clutched to her chest began to gnaw at Ornea’s heart, and thus she reached out her hand.

Ornea: [Sithonia, what’s written on that? Show me.]

Sithonia: [Holosseo’s Curse Arts, the Curse Dolls birthed thereforth… the Featherrun techniques are a remnant of heresy from the era of the ancient Witches. And, there is a person who cannot help but lust for them.]

Ornea: [SITHONIA――!!]

Sithonia: [――That person is mine abominable, accursed Mother.]

Sithonia’s confession was as a poem, causing Ornea to tear her legs off the ground.

The feelings between sisters, the deep affection that a second daughter bore the eldest, in this moment was overturned, morphing into hatred.

Sithonia had schemed something in secrecy away from the sisters. And, that had been the genesis of the sisters’ division, bereaving Ornea of the days she had envisioned.

Therefore――,

Ornea: [Once I’ve knocked you down, I’ll――]

Hear you out; brandishing her kusari-fundo, Ornea’s fierce attack attempted to strike Sithonia.

Their relationship was that of eldest and second daughters, but with Ornea’s level of strength, Sithonia was no match for her. Hence, her reaction time was not fast enough to evade Ornea’s attack.

That was to say, there had been a different reason why Ornea’s blow came to a halt.

For instance, getting her arms and legs tangled up in her very own kusari-fundo.

Sithonia: [You did well, how admirable.]

Immediately after hearing Sithonia’s gentle voice, Ornea fell head-first onto the floor without bracing for impact. Hitting her nose hard, a lukewarm sensation, blood, dripped out of her nose.

There was no pain. By birth, that was how it always was for her. But, something was strange.

Ornea: [M-my body…]

She could not move it at will. If it had merely stiffened up that would have been preferable, but it was not even that.

Half of Ornea’s body was being restrained by her own kusari-fundo. Not because she had erred in its handling, but rather, the act of restraint was borne of a definite will.

However, no such intent existed within Ornea. So its very presence meant that――,

Ornea: [No way, what did you do to my body…?]

Sithonia: [I have known you the longest, so it was not so difficult to gradually soak it into you. Though, it was painful for my heart.]

Sithonia squatted down next to Ornea, the latter collapsed onto the floor, unmoving. Whilst taking care to mind the hem of her dress, she cast an unaltered, gentle gaze onto Ornea.

Then, as Ornea caught her breath, Sithonia softly presented the note before her eyes. With that profound article thrust before her, Ornea’s eyes scanned its contents,

Ornea: [Bull… shit…]

――Knowing it to be a note left behind by Holosseo Featherrun, she was aghast.

Of course, it contained many things worthy of astonishment. But, what truly earned her shock was none other than Sithonia, who had known about the note’s existence, and had kept it hidden.

Ornea: [SITHONIA, YOU’RE…!]

Sithonia: [I am grateful to you, to the sisters, to Holosseo, that is the truth.]

Interrupting Ornea as she raised her voice, Sithonia spoke so. Ornea was left speechless at her audacity, and as Sithonia placed her hand over her own chest,

Sithonia: [Even if it was only for a brief time, being away from that woman’s side has truly felt like salvation. However, the time for viewing such dreams has ended. ――Ornea, I envy you.]

Betrayed by one she had believed in, and the power she was so sure was absolute suppressed, Ornea lay sprawled on the ground in vexation; looking down on her, Sithonia placed an earnest envy upon her own tongue.

With that earnest envy upon her tongue, Sithonia spoke.

Sithonia: [Without knowing a thing, able to remain as a little girl, I truly, oh so truly, envy you.]

4

――As soon as her eardrums caught a faint clangor of metal, Elsa picked up Oliver’s body.

Elsa: [――――]

Applying the lessons learned from the last time, there was no negligence.

When out in town with Tatiana, it had been far too lacking in vigilance for her to have walked around without carrying a weapon. Given the result begotten by that accumulated negligence, she was firmly opposed to letting it happen a second time.

Elsa: [Besides, if I was as careless this time, I would have been killed.]

Of course, Saria and Hildea had also been formidable foes, but the difference in their potential had turned the tables on them. However, such an upheaval would not work against the next opponent. Not to mention, if she was careless in any capacity, she was convinced that she would be snuffed out in an instant along with that carelessness.

Hence, for the first time in Elsa’s life, she removed from herself every last sliver of negligence.

Oliver: [Wai――!!?]

The screams of Oliver could be heard as she picked him up, but Elsa showed no concern. Lifting one of her long legs and kicking down the window of the dragon carriage, she leaped outside whilst carrying Oliver.

Immediately afterwards, the dragon carriage they had escaped from was seized by a clangor of metal, the impact pulverizing the frame to smithereens.

There had been other passengers riding the public transport dragon carriage, but the passengers, coachman, and ground dragons alike, were crushed, cast away to become an amalgamation of flesh and blood where none could be differentiated from the other.

Thus, that which had carried out such an extraordinary feat of destruction―― was a chain of silver hue, writhing like a snake.

Elsa: [――Ornea.]

The wreckage of the utterly macerated dragon carriage, and the kusari-fundo that brought that reality to fruition. The identity of its wielder laid in the small silhouette standing upon the forward path of the dragon carriage.

Clad in an emerald dress to suit the green of her hair, that had been the onslaught of Ornea Featherrun.

Oliver: [So she’s come, aye? That lass…]

Still held in Elsa’s arms, Oliver muttered, his reattached fingers wrapped in bandages.

It was an ambush on their way back to base after completing his medical treatment. Elsa had not gotten that impression, but if Ornea had been wary of their escape, Elsa would have expected for a fight to have been picked before they went into hiding.

Elsa: [My body has also returned to form… the playing field is even.]

After a few days had passed, she had replenished her lacking flesh and blood through eating.

The wounds she had sustained during Saria and Hildea’s assault had already healed, and there was no longer anything impeding her ability to fight. If there was anything at all in the way of Elsa doing battle, that would be,

Elsa: [You’re in the way, so get back, Oliver. It would be troubling were you to end up like Tatiana.]

Oliver: [Ye bloody… ahh, shit!]

As he tried to scratch his head, his lack of fingers prevented him from doing so. As a result, Oliver shook his moderately-long hair, and as he parted from Elsa’s side,

Oliver: [Elsa! Ye’d better not die before I can sell ye off!]

Elsa: [Your merchant’s soul is strong. I don’t dislike it.]

Without even a passing glance at Oliver as he shouted and distanced himself, Elsa faced off against Ornea, a distance greater than ten meters between them.

Ten meters. ――Such may have been the separation, but for Elsa and Ornea, it was tantamount to there being no distance between them at all. Not to mention, the range of Ornea’s kusari-fundo would easily hit its mark at even double that distance.

Elsa: [At any rate, have you changed your ideologies, I wonder? Before, you’d hated to get the surroundings involved, so to think you’d take out an entire dragon carriage in order to kill us…]

Ornea: [――――]

Elsa: [Moreover, I think you also used to be more talkative.]

With a sidelong glance to the flattened dragon carriage, Elsa tilted her head.

However, Ornea gave no reply. ――Nay, a reply there had been. Not one of words, but through an instantaneous impact delivered by the kusari-fundo.

Elsa: [――Hk.]

Promptly reeling her head back, she narrowly evaded the unleashed weight as it grazed past her cheek. Enough might dwelled in the unleashed weight to crush a human skull as if it were a fruit.

That was not difficult to infer from how it made the snow-covered road seem to explode behind her.

Thus, with that attack as the impetus, Elsa and Ornea began their fight to the death.

Elsa: [Sh――]

With a low posture, Elsa dashed across the snow at the speed of an arrow.

Erasing the distance of ten meters in the literal blink of an eye, she brandished her blade. The curved blade, wielded in a reverse grip, was the armament she had prepared for confrontation against Ornea.

As a result of seeking the weapon that suited her best whilst being half-killed by Ornea many a time in the basement underneath the Featherrun Mansion, this was the territory at which she had arrived.

Elsa: [With this, I’m going to gouge out your heart.]

Ornea: [――――]

Elsa: [How cold.]

With a silver flash of light, the blade surged towards Ornea’s thin chest, just as promised. But, Ornea safeguarded against the attack by forcing her arm into the path of the blade, causing her left arm to be blown off from the elbow down.

However, scattering blood as it flew, the pain or sense of loss incurred by that severed arm would not serve as cause to stop Ornea. ――Congenital analgesia, that was undoubtedly the characteristic that made Ornea the strongest.

Born with an inability to feel pain, Ornea was unconcerned with the destruction of her own body. Hence, she could carry out acts of savagery as calmly as if she were playing with dolls.

Reversing the direction of the blade that sliced off the arm, another blow aimed for Ornea’s neck. With her unbelievably flexible body, Ornea bent backwards to evade it. ――No, she had not evaded it with her flexible body. Ornea had deliberately broken her own ankles and knees, forcibly lowering her body to escape the range of the blade.

Then, the shattered bores in her ankles reconnected in an instant, and she took up the offensive. A fist rocketed upwards with the force of her rising body, crashing directly into Elsa’s upraised knee.

Elsa: [――Hk.]

The report of an impact splitting the air, Elsa’s knee and Ornea’s arm simultaneously shattered.

Crushed were the bodies of the assailant and assailed akin; the extraordinary destructive explosion was made manifest only due to the fact that neither party cared for the destruction of their own bodies.

‘Twas a madness born of transcending mortal bounds, made possible by a lack of concern for their own survival.

An unorthodox fight to the death it was, one that disregarded a core tenet of all living beings, that of protecting one’s own life.

Elsa: [Fufu, aha, AHAHAHAHA――!!!]

As they clashed with murderous intent that scattered blood, shattered bone, and splattered flesh, Elsa’s lips loosened, a roar of laughter resounding upon the snowy road.

With halting steps, swift conduct, and occasional flying about, the battle unfolded.

Even if they evaded each other, it was the utmost extremity of combat, with seldom a notion of defense in mind.

A fight to the death between those who could not die, in which certain death would be inescapable for anyone save the Featherrun Sisters, made possible expressly because they were Featherrun Sisters.

Their dismembered arms and legs, their crushed eyeballs and throats, their streaming blood, their lives, all would regenerate.

This fight to the death, a sacrilege of life, could not have taken place between anyone except Elsa and Ornea. That was precisely why, vigilant of Ornea’s power, Elsa had awaited the arrival of this day.

She had awaited this murderous game, where both parties would exert the utmost of their desperate efforts, and relish in the sensation of being brought to the brink of that distant demise.

Elsa: [Fu――!!]

Meeting the oncoming fist with her own, both of their arms were smashed up to their elbows. At a range so close that their shoulders crashed into each other, Elsa brandished her specialized weapon, piercing directly into Ornea’s throat. At the same time, Ornea wrapped her kusari-fundo around Elsa’s neck, giving rise to a firm report as it snapped backwards.

Both had suffered fatal wounds to the neck. With a momentary severance in consciousness, the one with the slower recovery would receive a serious blow.

A sound arose, and life poured in to mend her snapped neck, allowing blood to flow and restore her brain. However, that recovery had taken nearly a full second. In that time, Ornea would have been able to recover faster――,

Ornea: [――――]

But recover, she did not.

Neck perforated, Ornea sunk back as she spewed out blood, extracting the curved blade. Then, taking a step forward to catch up to her, this time Elsa slammed the extracted blade into her forehead.

Forehead smashed, the curved blade churned the brains located within. Her eyes losing their sense of focus, copious amounts of gore spurted out from Ornea’s nose and ears, and bearing witness, Elsa howled.

Elsa: [Ah, AHH, AHHHHHHHHH――!!!]

With her curved blade lodged inside her opponent’s cranium, Elsa ripped Ornea’s body asunder with her bare hands. Mauling her neck, thrusting her fingers into the open wounds, she tore open Ornea’s body with every ounce of strength she could muster.

Just as a fish would be flayed, Ornea’s blood and viscera spilled out as she fell apart. Unwilling to permit that destruction, Ornea shot her shattered knees upwards, driving them into her opponent’s face. Her thus upraised legs were grabbed, and her body was brutally slammed down into the snow.

Then, straddling the face-up Ornea, Elsa snatched up the kusari-fundo, and slammed the weight down over, and over, and over and over and over and over again, pulverizing her cranium.

Smashing, smashing, smashing, pulverizing, pulverizing――,

Oliver: [――ELSA! ELSA! THAT’S ENOUGH! YE’VE DONE ENOUGH!!]

As Elsa swung downwards with an unceasing destructive impulse, it was Oliver who grappled her from behind, desperate to stop her.

When she slowly shifted her gaze, into her vision came Oliver, his face wrought with resolve. Splotches of blood were speckled over his body, and his clothes were disheveled as if he had been sent flying.

――No, it was not as if he had been sent flying. He had been sent flying.

In his attempt to stop Elsa as she lost control of herself in her unending beatdown of Ornea, time after time had Oliver tried to grab Elsa, and each time he had continued to be hurled away, tumbling over.

Repeating that over and over, he had finally brought Elsa back to her senses, putting an end to the violence.

Elsa: [Hah, hah, haah…]

Her breathing heavy, Elsa looked down at the one she had been straddling, Ornea―― or at least that which had once been Ornea. With her skull having been relentlessly bashed in, the girl had been crushed like a fruit.

That figure, with nary a twitch, had completely forfeited any and all ability to do battle.

Oliver: [Elsa… have ye settled down?]

Clinging to her arms, perhaps due to having been flung away several times, Oliver’s bandages had come undone. On that hand of his, three fingers were missing. ――His fingers had not all been able to be attached. It was uncertain whether the remaining fingers would ever be able to move again.

Though, even if he lacked fingers, it would not be all too troubling as a slaver――,

Elsa: […It’s not the time to be thinking such things.]

Smiling at her own useless thoughts, Elsa once again took in the sight of Ornea’s unmoving remains.

Without speaking even a single word, Ornea had been pulverized by Elsa. Contrary to her sweet nature, she who had been unbelievably strong, had become utterly unrecognizable.

Why, why had Elsa won? ――That was incorrect. Elsa had not defeated Ornea.

This was something else entirely, something that was not Ornea. Ornea had already been dead by the time she ambushed Elsa. Hence, this was an empty husk, one that could have never possibly hoped to be Ornea.

――In the end, the only two who remained were Elsa and Sithonia.

Chapter VI
『Sithonia Featherrun』

1

――To locate the patch of Hallowed Land known as the Featherrun Estate had required quite a bit of effort.

Even within the Gustekan Church, they were a secret unit, one whose acts of service would never be revealed to the public. That was the position the Featherrun Sisters had been placed in, and had been their duty for many years.

To find those who knew of their existence, and those who possessed any further details, had been no easy task. Systematically, they followed the sequential order with sights set on their destination.

That had been a difficult journey given Elsa’s lazy personality, but not once had she thought to give up along the way. To that extent, it was an issue difficult to abandon for Elsa.

For that purpose, she had snuck into the domiciles of those who seemed well informed regarding the Gustekan Church, forced them to speak about what they knew, silenced them, and brought about circumstances such that many important individuals in the Church of the Holy King to be replaced; accreting all those deeds, she finally found it.

Thus, Elsa had succeeded in returning home after several long months.

Elsa: [――――]

Returning home for the first time in what felt like ages, the mansion was in a wretched state.

The garden to which Dorothea had tended had ceased to be maintained after she disappeared, the beautiful flowers having been taken over and ousted by weeds.

Saria and Hildea’s dog kennel had fallen silent, and the surrounding area had become dominated by a cold, dry stillness, with nary a merry tone in sight.

The dining hall frequented by the gluttonous Ornea had also become quite desolate, and because everyone who would sit around the dining table had disappeared, the water in the flower vases had not been changed either.

Elsa: [If she’s stopped keeping up any and all appearances…]

This had once been an ephemeral flower garden of dreams constructed by slave girls. Having woken up from those dreams, it was no longer possible for anyone to remain here.

Nobody could remain here, so nobody could put an end to the devastation of that flower garden.

Feeling loneliness in that, Elsa’s legs, as if being guided forth, proceed deeper into the mansion―― ironically, she descended the steps that led to the underground, a place that had left the greatest impression on Elsa.

She had only lived in this mansion for half a year, but just how many times had she descended these steps? And, in that cold, dark place, just how many fatal wounds had she suffered?

――By approaching death, she grasped the satisfaction of life that she had nearly given up.

That had been a ridiculously ironic enticement, but it had been necessary for Elsa.

Thus, as she set foot into the nostalgic basement――,

???: […So, not even Ornea was able to stop you.]

Indeed, alongside a quiet voice, Sithonia appeared clad in a dress of red.

Ever unchanged was her posture, overlapping with the one present in Elsa’s memories. ――A malevolent weapon akin to Dorothea, traps akin to Saria and Hildea, a revenant stance akin to Ornea, without conforming to any of those traits, it was a figure truly befitting Sithonia.

Elsa: [Though, I’d surely thought you would have made many more preparations to welcome me.]

Sithonia: [Indeed, I had considered it. But, given that you were able to eliminate Ornea, any trap I set would be futile, correct? Even I am capable of understanding that…]

Elsa: [――Please, don’t refer to that as Ornea.]

Sithonia: [――――]

Sithonia’s gentle manner of speaking found itself interrupted by an icy remark from Elsa’s lips. Coming from Elsa, that was a rare vocalization of emotion.

Perhaps finding Elsa’s words surprising, Sithonia slightly raised her eyebrows,

Sithonia: [I am surprised. So even you were in possession of sisterly emotions.]

Elsa: [Sisterly emotions, sympathy for Ornea, I have both… What did you do to Ornea? How in the world did you break her mind, I wonder?]

Receiving Elsa’s query, Sithonia cast her eyes down in sorrow.

Ornea’s mind had been shattered. ――That was the conclusion Elsa had drawn after engaging in mortal combat against Ornea, achieving a crushing victory. That had been the root of her victory, which had allowed her to defeat the weakened Ornea upon that snowfield.

If she were to have done battle against the real Ornea in earnest, the probability for Elsa to be still standing here would either have been fifty-fifty, or likely even less than that.

Elsa: [But, I would never let myself be defeated by Ornea in such a state. And so, here I am.]

Sithonia: [Then, by killing me, you intend to achieve completion as a Curse Doll, yes?]

Elsa: […What?]

Her words of mourning were halted by Sithonia’s unthinkable statement.

The completion of the Curse Dolls; as Elsa narrowed her eyes at that utterance, Sithonia smiled. That had been a terribly parched smile, one very much unlike Sithonia.

Sithonia: [Do not deceive me. I am aware. I know, Elsa. Of what Father set into motion, on that night. Of the death battle between sisters, the rite of Curse Doll completion.]

Elsa: [――――]

Sithonia: [For the purpose of acquiring this Curse Doll art, I arrived here at Featherrun… however, if it never started, that would have been fine. After all, the days I spent here were of great comfort!]

Clutching at her chest tightly, with a grievous smile strewn upon her face, Sithonia complained to Elsa.

Coming and going through Elsa’s mind were the days she had spent with her sisters at this mansion. Amidst those days, it was no lie that Sithonia, whilst thinking of and ordering around the sisters, felt fulfilled.

It could not have been a lie. Even so, she still――,

Elsa: [――You desired the completion of the ritual. That’s why you sent Dorothea, then Saria and Hildea, over to me in order. Shattering Ornea’s mind, it was for the same reason, wasn’t it?]

Sithonia: [――――]

Elsa: [A completed Curse Doll… is that really such an enticing idea to you?]

Sithonia: [You…!]

Tilting her head, Elsa voiced a question with a scant few emotions, causing Sithonia to bite her lip. Violent emotions emerged on her face, laying bare the negative thoughts that had amassed within Sithonia.

And, Elsa’s keen sense of smell was already alert as to what that was.

People would emit all sorts of scents just by living their lives. For Elsa, routinely picking up on them as she lived day to day, was an act as natural as breathing.

――The emotion oozing out of Sithonia, the truth of it was “terror”.

An unbearable, expansive terror was enveloping Sithonia, urging her to commit atrocities.

Elsa: [Just what in the world are you so afraid of?]

Sithonia: […The most dreadful, most repulsive being in this world.]

Elsa: [Dreadful, and repulsive…]

Sithonia’s voice, trembling with fear, prompted Elsa to imagine the object of that fear. However, Elsa had a weak imagination, so there was no concreteness provided to that which Sithonia feared.

The dreadful, repulsive being that frightened Sithonia, it was――,

Sithonia: [――Mother.]

Elsa: [Mother…]

Sithonia: [To be precise, the monster that calls itself my mother. In order to escape that monster’s dominion, I require that secret art…!]

Asserting so, Sithonia’s eyes bore an impulsive light residing within. That instant, as if hailed by Sithonia’s emotions, shadows swooped down upon Elsa as she stood stock still.

Promptly reacting, Elsa swung the curved blade that she had drawn from the hem of her dress. And not missing her mark, Elsa slit open the torso of the one who had leaped at her.

But, before Elsa’s eyes, after inflicting the fatal slash, a variance was borne in that wound.

Elsa: [This is…]

In the blink of an eye, the wound on the figure closed up.

Then, grabbing Elsa’s arm in her moment of surprise, the figure slammed her body into the ground. She made somewhat of an attempt to shake it off, but to no avail. After all, the figure was not alone.

One, two―― no, five, then six, one after another did the assassins emerge from the shadows. Each and every one of these figures possessed empty eyes, and were clad in dresses.

Elsa: [These girls are…]

Sithonia: [――Do you recall the night of the ritual?]

Looking down on Elsa, pinned to the ground, Sithonia embraced her own elbows as she posed a question. The “night of the ritual” in question was a night different to the one upon which Holosseo had perished.

――It was the night upon which Elsa, by way of a secret art, had attained the body of a Curse Doll. Recalling the details of the night of the ritual, Elsa realized the identities of the surrounding dress-clad assassins.

That day, Dorothea had spoken thus. ――Many had perished in the ritual’s failure.

She had assuredly thought that they had all lost their lives, but that had not been the case. Because they had lacked the adaptability to become Curse Dolls, it was their ego that they forfeited――,

Elsa: [Just like Ornea, they live only to follow orders…]

Sithonia: [That is my poison. My trump card. This underground, in truth, is not a place for us sisters to battle to the death. It was a place to discard those who failed to become sisters.]

As if to supplement Sithonia’s explanation, walking out of the dim lighting in droves were the ruined husks of what ought to have all been formerly beautiful maidens.

No matter how beautiful they may have been in life, their shattered and abandoned hearts rendered that beauty meaningless, completely reducing them to mere repulsive dolls.

Beholding them, Elsa thought aloud with an “Ah”.

Elsa: [These girls fit the term “Curse Dolls” much more than we do.]

Sithonia: [Yes, yes, exactly, Elsa! It is just as you say… these are Curse Dolls. Exceedingly unsightly and wicked… however, that is why I require their power.]

Elsa: […So that you can obtain a body that doesn’t die, and escape from your mother’s dominion?]

Sithonia: [Yes, exactly!]

With an ardent expression, Sithonia affirmed Elsa’s words. Firmly tapping her heel on the ground, the eldest daughter unveiled her objective, and upon hearing it, Elsa took a long, deep breath.

In order to escape her mother’s dominion, she was attempting to complete the ritual imposed by her father.

Even just looking at it literally, it was far too comical.

Elsa: [Sithonia… you’re an extremely pitiful girl, wouldn’t you say?]

Sithonia: [Elsa?]

Elsa: [Wanting to get away from your mother, you imitate your father’s way of doing things… although, if you were so troubled, you ought to have just talked to someone. If you had done that…]

Sithonia: [――BUT! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO STARTED IT!]

Sithonia rejected Elsa’s pity head-on. Her basis: the night upon which Holosseo was killed―― she tried to frame Elsa’s act of killing him as the genesis.

Sithonia: [By killing Father, you set the rite into motion. You started the rite to bring the Curse Dolls to completion… so then, the only choice I have left is to come out on top.]

Elsa: [――――]

Sithonia: [Emerging victorious, and becoming a completed Curse Doll. If I do that, I can escape her dominion.]

Repeating herself, Sithonia spoke of her own desire.

Just how much fear had needed to be tasted, how much despair had needed to be known in order to engrave Sithonia’s soul with such wounds, Elsa knew not.

She knew not, however――,

Elsa: [――Even if we talk, I suppose it will no longer be of any use.]

Sensing the breakdown of her conversation with Sithonia, Elsa silently muttered.

As Sithonia grasped Elsa’s intent, she immediately thrust her palm forth, and commanded Elsa “Do not move” in a firm tone of voice.

Sithonia: [It is truly unfortunate… But, I am going to kill you, Elsa.]

Elsa: […I may be the one saying this, but I don’t think you’ll be able to kill me so easily. Even when reduced to just a head, I was able to recover from that.]

Sithonia: [Indeed. I doubted my ears when I first heard it. Compared to you, my affinity with Curse Arts is no match. However, you can be killed. Just as you did to Ornea.]

As she spoke, Sithonia’s gaze shifted towards the Curse Dolls―― to the failed sisters, who were pinning down Elsa.

Sensing the intent in that gaze, the Curse Dolls slowly readied their weapons. Each of them was equipped with fiendish armaments, those that had been stored in this basement for use by the sisters.

Not a single one was left unarmed, all so that the Curse Dolls could definitively kill Elsa.

Sithonia: [I wish to inflict as little torment as possible. But, in your case…]

Elsa: [Unlike Ornea, who can’t feel these things, that which is painful does hurt me. Ah, but, you don’t have to worry, I’ll be fine. After all, I don’t particularly dislike pain.]

Sithonia: [――. Even if that is true for you…]

It is not the same for me, with human conceptions much unlike the Featherrun Sisters, Sithonia endeavored to at least give Elsa a peaceful sendoff.

Gently reaching her hand out, Sithonia laid her fingers upon Elsa’s forehead, and,

Sithonia: [Now, sleep. My youngest sister.]

Elsa: [――――]

Indeed, with a voice as if a prayer, Sithonia exhaled a deep breath.

Then, as if having received some sort of forgiveness, the wrinkles on her brow relaxed oh so slightly,

Sithonia: [With this…]

Elsa: [――? So then, what changed?]

Sithonia: [Eh?]

The next instant, Elsa stirred before a dumbfounded Sithonia.

To escape the Curse Dolls that were restraining her, Elsa dislocated her own shoulders, and forcibly shook off their arms.

It was an imitation of Ornea. However, for her, it would have been an act bereft of pain to be carried out calmly, but for Elsa, pain was indeed present. A fierce, violent pain that pierced her brain.

However――,

Elsa: [What a thrill.]

Converting that pain into pleasure, Elsa relocated her dislocated arms, grabbed the head of a Curse Doll that had had its stance broken, and slammed it into the ground through sheer force.

Crashing into the hard rock floor of the basement, the Curse Doll’s head split open, its contents spilling out. Thereupon, Elsa did not hesitate to drop to her knees, and thoroughly smash apart the cranium along with its contents until the thread of life was severed.

With this, the remaining Curse Dolls numbered nine――.

Elsa: [It feels like the Featherrun Sisters have gotten a bit cheaper.]

Sithonia: [Wha, aa――!]

Before Sithonia as she watched over that slaughter in astonishment, Elsa drew out two curved blades. Readying the black, sinister knives in both her hands, she commenced her onslaught upon the Curse Dolls.

The rest of the unintentioned Curse Dolls were spurred to counterattack right after the second Curse Doll was decapitated, its remaining body sliced apart from chest to abdomen.

Curse Dolls: [――――]

Ferociously, the Curse Dolls charged in with nary a sound or word. And, the one commanding that attack was Sithonia, having fallen back to distance herself from the battlefield, astonished as she was.

Through some technique, Sithonia held command over the Curse Dolls’ wills, forcing them to obey her orders in a vein akin to Ornea, whose mind had been shattered.

The skill of bending them into submission, it was truly a sight to behold. Elsa, too, was overcome with admiration.

Elsa: [You are far more suited to puppeteering dolls than that Father ever was.]

Sithonia: [ELSA――!!!]

Elsa: [You know, even if you weren’t speaking in such a loud voice, I would still be able to hear you.]

Her praise blotted over by an angered bellow, Elsa dissolved into the shadows with a look of discontent. Traversing from shadow to shadow, Elsa disrupted the Curse Dolls that outnumbered her, and wielding her immortal body as a weapon, she crushed them one by one as they rushed down on her with reckless abandon.

Elsa: [No awakening like Dorothea.]

They were a far cry from Dorothea, who in the midst of battle, had acquired the art of manipulating blood, allowing her to drive Elsa into a corner.

Elsa: [No trump cards like Saria and Hildea.]

They were a far cry from Saria and Hildea, who had used every effort at their disposal for the sake of sisterly emotions that may not have appeared to be so.

Elsa: [Even if they’re in the same state as Ornea, Ornea alone was far stronger]

And, they were a far, far cry from Ornea, who was stronger than anyone among the sisters, even with her mind shattered.

That was why, Elsa’s malevolent blades tore through the entirety of a Curse Doll, inflicting fatal wounds, delivering more and more fatal wounds without allowing any room for regeneration, until all movement ceased.

Sithonia: [Stop this! Elsa!]

Ecstatic from the massacre, Elsa’s slashing attacks mercilessly severed both arms off a Curse Doll. Having lost its arms, the doll that appeared to have lost all means of attack attempted to bite out Elsa’s throat.

A kick to its torso forced it against the wall, and then another kick whipped around, demolishing its skull. The fundamentals of killing a Curse Doll were the cranium, then the heart; an irrevocable death would form the means to grant death.

Sithonia: [STOP! STOP…!!]

The downswing of a battleaxe was caught by the two daggers, forcibly diverting the impact to the side. Its posture wavered from the wholehearted blow, and thereupon did Elsa withdraw her daggers, maneuvering them into a slashing attack.

Closing her arms in from left and right, the blades carved a crucifix-shaped scar into the face of the Curse Doll. Even if there was no pain, the doll reeled from the impact, and tripping over itself, it toppled over backwards. The Curse Doll hit the back of its head on the ground, and crushing its neck with her heel, she executed it.

Sithonia: [STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP――!!!]

Without listening to that screaming voice, Elsa cleaved through the arms, torso, and legs of the Curse Doll leaping at her, and kicked the upper body that fell to the ground far away.

And then――,

Elsa: [――Sithonia.]

Sithonia: [Eek.]

Looking back, Sithonia’s face froze over with fear the moment her name had been called.

Shaking her head in reluctance as Elsa stepped forward to approach her, Sithonia waved her arm, and in front of her appeared a Curse Doll to block the way.

But, bereft of will, and unable to cooperate, the Curse Doll would not serve as Elsa’s opponent.

The heart of the Curse Doll was gouged out by a blow from Elsa, its eyes rolling to the back of its head as it collapsed.

Elsa: [This is the end.]

Sithonia: [――――]

Aghast, Sithonia looked up at Elsa, the massacre having concluded.

Indeed, before she knew it, Sithonia had fallen to her knees, sinking down to the ground.

Sithonia: [Ah, ah…]

Gaining cognizance to that disgraceful conduct of hers, Sithonia writhed in an effort to stand up. However, that combative spirit transferred not to her knees, her trembling body refusing to listen to her.

Sithonia possessed no combat ability. ――The reason why Sithonia had been frequently called out on missions was not because of her combat ability, but rather, because her unusual ability proved a useful asset.

Elsa: [I get that you were mimicking your deceased father, and mobilizing the Featherrun Sisters, but… what’s this poison you were talking about?]

Sithonia: [Th-that’s…]

Unable to stand back up, Sithonia’s breath caught at the inquiry. But, reaching into her clothing, she showed Elsa what she had pulled out from there.

That, was a charm in a pouch of faint coloration.

Elsa: [That’s, the charm that you said you gifted to your sisters…]

Sithonia: […The fragrant stone within, laces the bearer with my blood, and…]

Elsa: [That allows you to shatter their minds?]

As if to affirm that inquiry, Sithonia nodded.

Then, she looked at Elsa from top to bottom,

Sithonia: [Even if it was just for half a year, it was a poison that would have cursed you so long as it dwelled in your possession. And yet, it bore no effect upon you. For you to be so special…]

Elsa: [――About that actually, I’m sorry.]

Interrupting Sithonia’s fracturing voice, Elsa shook her head from side-to-side. Then, she flicked up the charm held out by Sithonia with the tip of her knife.

Slicing it apart mid-air, what fell down from within was a fragrant stone dyed in red―― catching it, Elsa sighed as she toyed with it in her hand.

And then――,

Elsa: [The charm you gave me… to tell you the truth, I lost it the very day you gave it to me.]

Sithonia: […Huh?]

Elsa: [I’m sorry. I thought you’d get mad at me, so I’d been carrying around a piece of cloth that looked similar. So, it’s only natural that your poison didn’t get through to me.]

Feigned as a proof of sisterhood, it had been bequeathed to her.

And due to losing it on the very day she had received it, she was unsure of just how much it would sadden Sithonia. Hence, Elsa had not revealed that fact to anybody.

And without ever having revealed it, she had arrived at the present day――,

Elsa: [But, it seems like that was the deciding factor.]

Sithonia: […Hah, hah. Geez, what in the world?]

Dejectedly, Sithonia, void of all strength, slumped her shoulders. She drew her knees close, pressed her forehead against those knees, and took a very, very long, deep breath.

Elsa: [Since Ornea treasured her sisters, she surely would have taken in a lot of poison, right?]

Sithonia: [And, you went and lost it… ahh, truly, you truly are…]

Elsa: [Lucky?]

Sithonia: […The worst.]

With her forehead against her knees, Sithonia answered with nary a glance at Elsa’s face. Elsa’s lips curved at the cruel evaluation from the eldest daughter, and she thus closed her eyes, framed by long lashes.

Then, recalling the events of that night, of the night she killed Holosseo――,

Elsa: [That day, if I’m remembering this right, he did tell me. That the ritual to achieve completion as a Curse Doll, slaughtering all the other sisters, was commencing. He said he had completed all the preparations for it.]

Sithonia: […Yes, I am aware. I found a note left behind in Father’s office after you escaped from the water well. Hence, in order to ensure my victory…]

Elsa: [――There was no such need. I had no intention of killing anybody.]

Hearing Elsa’s response, Sithonia lifted her face from her knees with an “Eh”. Looking into her red eyes whilst her own black ones housed a faint tinge of loneliness, Elsa continued.

Elsa: [A completed Curse Doll, a flawless, perfected existence… I don’t particularly want to become that sort of thing.]

Sithonia: [Why, is that? After all, if you do, you won’t ever have to die…]

Elsa: [I don’t want to become perfect. ――You see, I always envied other people. I was jealous. I yearned. That’s why, I don’t want to be something like a completed Curse Doll.]

She responded the same way she had to Holosseo’s words on that night, and Sithonia was flabbergasted the same way that Holosseo had been. But, in his immediate fury, he declared that even if Elsa did not strive towards becoming a perfected Curse Doll, there was still a method to complete the ritual.

Being the puppeteer that he was, it would have been possible for him to pull some strings and cause Elsa’s other sisters to die.

Elsa thought that he would do so, so she tried to do something in an attempt to change his mind.

Elsa: [But, thinking became difficult. And so, I used force.]

Sithonia: [――――]

Elsa: [When I ended up killing him, I realized that I didn’t know what I should say to Dorothea, but it was already too late.]

That was the truth behind everything, and Elsa revealed it as a child would confess to their mischief.

For a short while, Sithonia spoke no words upon hearing the confession. Only, her red eyes flickering with her absence of speech, she slowly exhaled with a “Hah”.

Sithonia: [You were, truly, through to the bitter end… Elsa, and that’s all you could ever be.]

Elsa: [――? I think that’s a given, though.]

Sithonia spoke as if she had only just now noticed something that was completely obvious, causing Elsa to frown.

However, ignoring Elsa’s reaction, Sithonia nodded many times as if reaching comprehension, letting out an “Ahh” in soft wonder.

Sithonia: [From the very onset…]

Elsa: [――?]

Sithonia: [From the very onset, I was unfit to be playing a role in all these matters and affairs.]

A sorrowful, lonely conclusion it was. But, Sithonia’s expression was bright.

Listening to Sithonia’s answer, Elsa narrowed her eyes. Ascertaining the sensation of the curved blade in her hand, Elsa called out to Sithonia with a “Hey”,

Elsa: [Now that we’ve cleared up our misunderstanding, do we make peace?]

Sithonia: […Yes, indeed. Let us make peace. However…]

Elsa: [However?]

Sithonia: [I, want to end things here… No, I ask you to please end it for me.]

Lifting both her hands, Sithonia made her entreaty.

Receiving the words of she who desired death, Elsa muttered “How backwards”.

Elsa: [Even though you enacted such sinister plots because you wished not to die, you’re now turning all of that on its head?]

Sithonia: [It is because I finally understood that it would be impossible for me. But, there is a way to escape her dominion. That method is you, Elsa. ――You are a Curse Doll who kills Curse Dolls.]

Pleading that she wished to be freed, Sithonia would accept Elsa’s malevolent blade. Bearing witness to that firm attitude, Elsa closed her eyes in resignation.

Elsa: [I don’t have confidence that it won’t hurt. I’m quite rough with how I handle blades.]

Sithonia: [I am aware… Attempting to educate you in domestic chores was a massive failure on my part.]

The girl who would be killed, cast a smile upon the girl who would kill her.

The elder sister who would be killed, and the younger sister who would kill. ――Slowly, Elsa raised her blade aloft.

Elsa: [Do you have anything else you want to say?]

Sithonia: […Once you kill me, you will be completed as a Curse Doll. You will end up being burdened with many terrible things, and just maybe…]

Elsa: [Your mother might come to meet me?]

Sithonia gazed in astonishment upon the ascertainment, giving a deep nod. Elsa understood Sithonia’s concern, however, she replied with “It’ll be alright”.

And, Elsa’s basis for that was――,

Elsa: [――After all, I haven’t killed Ornea. That girl is still alive.]

Sithonia: […Truly, what a hopeless girl you are…]

Upon Sithonia, sticking out her tongue in an odious manner, the downward swing of Elsa’s curved blade vigorously descended.

2

Gazing upon the now vacant Featherrun Mansion, Elsa slightly frowned.

The mansion had lost its lord, alongside the sisters who had succeeded its management. As concealed Hallowed Land, with its warden of the Gustekan Church having perished, this place would be converted into a sanctuary in a true sense.

???: [Gazing off with that absent-minded look, just what d’ye happen to be thinking about?]

???: [Ah, nothing major. Only, I was just thinking that it would burn quite nicely if set on fire.]

???: [As for why the heck ye’re thinking ‘bout burning it, I ain’t got a bloody clue.]

During her final battle against Sithonia, she had placed Oliver on standby outside the Hallowed Land. It would have been troubling to have him get involved, but then again, not involving him would be a dishonor.

Above all, there was a matter she had entrusted to Oliver.

That was――,

Elsa: [――Ornea.]

Thus, before Elsa’s eyes as she turned her back on the mansion, curled up into a ball whilst sleeping on the roof of a dragon carriage, was a youthful, green-haired girl. ――Of the Featherrun Sisters, Ornea Featherrun.

Having appeared to kill Elsa, the entirety of Ornea’s skull had been crushed, leaving her defeated. But, her ability of regeneration would not accept death from her head merely being pulverised. However, even if her broken body had recovered, her shattered mind was beyond repair. That was simply how powerful Sithonia’s poison had been.

Consequently, the Ornea who had become a different person from the Ornea before, was just like a baby.

Ornea: [Uu.]

Elsa: [Moaning and groaning… It’s somewhat like a replacement for Tatiana.]

As Ornea groaned in displeasure, curled up into a ball, Elsa smiled. But, it seemed like Oliver had not been very fond of her comment, and he called “Elsa” to her in a sharp voice,

Oliver: [Quit it, would ye? There’s nobody who can serve as a replacement for someone else.]

Elsa: [That’s not something I’d ever think to hear from a slaver who supplies manpower.]

Oliver: [Tsk. There, wipe your face with this. For a lass of your age to be so damn bloodied…]

Elsa evaluated him with her usual lip service, to which Oliver clicked his tongue and tossed her a hand towel. Wetting it in the snow, Elsa vigorously wiped her bloodied face and hair.

As Elsa did so, Oliver asked her “What ye gonna do from here?”

Elsa: [From here?]

Oliver: [Ye’ve settled the issue with the sister who’s been targeting ye, yeah? In that case, ye’re officially a free woman… please don’t tell me ye’re gonna return to being my merchandise.]

Elsa: [Oh my, would that not be fine?]

Oliver: [I’ll beg off that. This was the final straw, I learned my lesson alongside my fingers.]

Holding up his hands short of a few fingers, Oliver was fed up, and forsook Elsa. At those words of separation that encompassed his true feelings, with neither a parting threat nor making excuses, Elsa felt a bit lonely.

Since becoming a slave, she had returned to him thirteen times, forming a bizarre relationship between slave and slaver; that would end here. Through that sense of loneliness, Elsa finally realized something.

Elsa: [I’m surprised. I suppose I was rather fond of you.]

Oliver: [What a preposterous thing to say. As for me, I’m completely sick ‘n tired of it.]

As Elsa’s lips broke into a smile fit for a girl, Oliver also wore a cheerful grin.

And then, he turned his eyes to the mansion Elsa had wanted to set on fire,

Oliver: [If the people of the Gustekan Church don’t know ‘bout this place, then would it be fine for me to take it? It’s tough living in Innorandum, and I’ve been wanting a new house.]

Elsa: [Yeah, I don’t suppose why not? This place is constructed more luxuriously than other plots of Hallowed Land, and it would surely be easy for your new slaves to live in. I can guarantee that as a progenitor slave who lived here for a while.]

Oliver: […Did I say anything about continuing to be a slaver?]

Wiping her face, Elsa moved to stand next to Oliver, and he cast her a puzzled look. Looking back at his face, Elsa tilted her head with an “Oh my”,

Elsa: [You’re retiring? But, you’re only Oliver because you’re a slaver. If that very Oliver retires from being a slaver, what in the world are you going to become?]

Oliver: [――――]

Elsa: [First of all, if you’re retiring, why did you follow me? The only reason you would have followed me to the point of losing your fingers, would be because I belong to you… isn’t that right, master?]

Oliver: […Please, don’t ye call me such a disgusting thing.]

As Elsa looked up at him with a beautifully sweet smile, Oliver sighed. Then, after groaning for a while, he covered his face in resignation,

Oliver: [Probably, it’s exactly as ye say. I’m a slaver till I die. Since I didn’t die, even if my limbs are torn off, I’ll continue this work. So that eventually――]

Elsa: [You can make both you and your slaves, make everyone happy… I think it’s foolish.]

Oliver: [Say what you please.]

Elsa: [But, it’s wonderful.]

The final words she appended had caught Oliver off-guard. Seeing Oliver wear such an expression, Elsa tossed him the bloodied hand towel.

As Oliver screamed out “Bwahh!”, Elsa turned her back on him, and began to walk forward.

Sidestepping the dragon carriage in which Ornea was sleeping, she headed towards the cavern. ――Towards the exit. Leaving this plot of Hallowed Land out into the snowfield, in order to head for somewhere not here.

Oliver: [Elsa, where ye headed?]

Elsa: [Who knows? Come to think of it, I’ve never stopped being a slave before, so there was never anything I wanted to do, nor places I wanted to go. And so…]

Oliver: [And so?]

Elsa: [First of all, I’ll look for somewhere that isn’t cold.]

Even if it was the homeland to which she was born, there was no such thing as getting used to this wintry soil. Cold things were cold. And Elsa loathed both snow and blizzards.

Since she hated them so very much, she treasured the warmth that allowed her to forget.

Seeking that out, Elsa stepped forward.

Elsa: [――Oliver, be well. Get along nicely with Ornea, will you?]

Oliver: [Yeah. Elsa, ye be healthy as well, aight…? Don’t go catching a cold now, ye foolhardy lass.]

In the place she had lived as a Featherrun Sister, those were the final words of parting between Elsa the merchandise, and the slaver who treated her oh so dearly.

3

Leaving Oliver and Ornea behind at the Hallowed Land, she passed through the cavern, and emerged out into the snowfield.

She was thinking to make for a nearby town on foot, and there enact the adequate preparations for her journey, before then attempting to leave the country. Her destination could have been anywhere, it mattered not. She would aim for a land outside this nation of frost, one of warmth.

For a land where none knew of the Featherrun Sisters, and where none targeted Curse Dolls.

However――,

???: [――No matter how you look at it, wouldn’t that just be way too convenient?]

A voice came falling upon Elsa right after she parted from the Hallowed Land, and set foot on the snowfield.

The shrill voice, making no effort to conceal its disdain and ridicule towards her, was quite frankly, a cluster of malice.

Elsa: [――――]

The source from which the voice had descended quite literally covered the sky, causing Elsa to widen her eyes. Most things would fail to shake Elsa, but naturally, even she could not help but feel surprised by this.

After all, enshrined by the snowy mist right before Elsa’s eyes, was a singular black dragon flapping its mighty wings.

Elsa: […A dragon?]

Dragon: [Ohoho, why, even a bumpkin like you, Gusteko born and raised, recognizes and despises us on sight? As expected, I guess we dragons truly are so magnificent! Kyahahahaha-!]

Flapping its wings, the dragon slowly descended upon the snow, clad in jet-black scales as it was.

Its large body, quite likely seven or eight meters, was suitably intimidating, but what troubled Elsa further was the voice and demeanor that was completely at odds with its stern outward appearance.

It was not that she wanted it to be overflowing with majesty, but it was not a pleasant feeling to watch it clamoring about like an impudent young girl. However――,

Dragon: [Heh~? If you can tell how terrifying and amazing this lovely lady is at a single glance, then your eyes must be pretty damn good for a piece of rotten meat.]

By nature, a dragon’s face was supposed to be difficult to read expressions from, however, it ridiculed her with an abundance of emotive expressions, looking down on her.

Fortunately, it was not in Elsa’s nature to immediately feel anger at being shown disdain or contempt.

Moreover, regarding the black dragon that had appeared all of a sudden under these circumstances, she possessed an inkling as to its identity.

Elsa: [You…]

Dragon: [Ahhhnn? What? What business have you with this lovely lady? Talking back are we? Saying that I piss you off and that you hate me? Oh dear, oh dear, rebellious pieces of rotten meat like you are this lovely lady’s absolute favourite! Crushing and pulverizing them, then massacring them along with all their friends and family…]

Elsa: [Are you, the mother whom Sithonia spoke of?]

Precisely upon hearing that, the black dragon ceased its movement. Then, casting its red eyes down upon Elsa, the black dragon properly perceived her for the first time.

Dragon: [The fact that you came outta there means there’s no doubt that that other piece of rotten meat was disgracefully and boorishly defeated… let’s see now, this is curiously troubling for this lovely lady.]

Elsa: [Is that because you failed to get your hands on a Curse Doll?]

Dragon: [No no no no, that’s all wrong! I mean, the likes of a Curse Doll was nothing more than an extra prize for this lovely lady to begin with! Given the opportunity! That which this lovely lady had wanted, was something else entirely!]

Elsa: [Something else? That would be…]

Dragon: [Isn’t it obvious? ――It’s love. Love.]

That which the black dragon had spoken had been exceedingly, indeed, exceedingly grand.

Love; thus spoke the black dragon. From Sithonia, that it had desired.

Dragon: [That was my daughter. As my daughter, she ought to exert her entire body and soul in order to grant her mother’s desires. And then, display her love towards me for the first time! It is love which I desire, love that would do its utmost to deliver unto me treasures beyond my wildest imaginations.]

Akin to a lovestruck dame, akin to a poet yearning for love, the black dragon’s throat quavered in desire of unseen treasure. That way of being was absurd, and simultaneously did it appear as a terribly twisted and unsightly thing.

It was not like Elsa had lived in a way to take pride in for the most part either, but――,

Elsa: [You’re quite the dangerously selfish person, aren’t you?]

The scent of fear that had pervaded Sithonia. She had plotted to kill the mother who controlled her by seeking an undying body, the completion of the Curse Dolls; Elsa finally understood her motives.

And with that understanding, Elsa, for the first time, pitied Sithonia from the bottom of her heart.

If she had wished to escape the bindings of this mother, then she ought to have ran away instead of trying to fight back. Had she thrown caution to the wind and attempted to escape for dear life, how much better things might have been.

Had she done so, then such a thing like killing her sisters and dying without obtaining anything in the end would have never――,

Dragon: [――You’re an annoyingly interesting piece of rotten meat, aren’t you?]

Elsa: […Is that so? Though, same as Sithonia, weren’t incomplete Curse Dolls not to your liking?]

Dragon: [I’m kind. And so, I’ll repeat something I already said a second time. I’ve got no interest in stuff like immortal beings. For starters, I’ve already gotten my hands on one a long time ago.]

While speaking, the form of the black dragon before her eyes slowly began to morph. Bones creaking and flesh constricting, the black dragon’s body withered away like something out of a nightmare.

Then, the shrunken flesh of the black dragon writhed, and that which emerged anew was the form of a young girl.

A girl of golden hair, and eyes of red. The black dragon had morphed into a girl that appeared to be around the same age as Elsa, and now gazed upon her with a cute yet savage smile.

Girl: [I collect the most outstanding, extraordinary, and deranged children. With every ability one possesses being a matter of merely being the right person in the right place, I bestow meaning in life to the monsters who can’t live in the sun. I’m going to make you one of my daughters as well.]

Elsa: […Do I have the right to refuse that, I wonder?]

Girl: [I don’t particularly care if you refuse, but… in that case, I’d be heartbroken at the rejection, and would do anything it takes to soothe my heart, you know? For example――]

With a callous grin, the black dragon shifted its gaze behind Elsa―― to the cavern, and the Hallowed Land within.

If it had been in contact with Sithonia, then Elsa’s battle formation would have also been leaked to this black dragon. Thus, that would have also included the fact that Oliver and Ornea, with whom Elsa had just parted, had been left behind there.

Elsa: [Even if those two were to die, it’s not like I’d die. Did you think that would serve as a threat?]

Girl: [Don’t lump me in together with your poorly-crafted sisters. Whether or not they would suffice for a threat isn’t something decided by me, but by you.]

The situation was a recreation of the time at the snowy plaza when Saria and Hildea had taken Oliver hostage. ――No, considering the poor personality at play, it was far worse.

Elsa: [――――]

Witnessing Elsa’s silence, the black dragon smiled darkly and proffered a hand. Seeking a handshake, it was not. With the back of its hand oriented upward, it was demanding Elsa’s submission.

Girl: [Well, shouldn’t you be giving a kiss to your lovely mother’s hand?]

At those words, Elsa hesitated on whether or not to draw her dagger, but ceased. ――It felt as if she had heard Tatiana’s voice.

Henceforth, Elsa kneeled down on the spot, complying with Mother’s demands, and planted a kiss on the back of her hand.

Girl: [Your name?]

To take one as a daughter without even knowing that, was a great laughing matter.

However, Elsa raised her face without laughing. Then, gazing at the wicked face of her mother up close,

Elsa: [I am Elsa Featherrun. No, scratch that. ――My, name is…]

Cutting off her words there, Elsa closed her eyes.

What flashed through her mind was a cold snowfield, and the warmth of the first moment Elsa had felt alive――,

And, the genesis of that warmth was――,

Epilogue
『Elsa Granhiert』

――When she had first found the girl, it had been a scene pervaded by a terrible reek of blood.

???: [――――]

The wordless toddler sat alone upon the bloody stream that had become of the meadow.

From behind the dark blue hair that had been permitted to run wild, it was apparent that her widened eyes were looking in her direction. The florid skin characteristic of young children was smeared with mud and grime; a shabby figure clad in naught but a coarse rag.

Dressed in a rag sullied by rain and human waste, it was obvious at a glance that she had not been living in a decent manner, but the awful stench of that filth was overpowered by something else.

――That had been a dusky blood, accompanied by the putrescent malodor of death.

In the vicinity of the child, innumerable corpses were sprawled. A horrid mountain of corpses, with heads severed, arms and legs twisted off, and torsos ripped open.

Numbering more than ten or even twenty, it would be no exaggeration to say the horde itself had been entirely engulfed by death. The aroma of blood and death filling the meadow was far too antithetical to the presence of the young child.

The greater region containing this meadow was known to be a perilous frontier inhabited by herds of Witchbeasts.

A few years prior, there existed a small village in the vicinity, but as the Witchbeasts expanded their living territory, the residents all evacuated and left the buildings behind. Therefore, it was rare for people to visit this place, and even supposing someone were to pass through, more likely than not it would be for the purposes of some wicked scheme.

For that reason, it was not uncommon for those who carelessly made use of this frontier to end up as corpses. And though rare, it was still possible for a young child to be present there. If a slaver had decided to enter and brave the danger for the purposes of avoiding the public eye, such a thing was entirely possible.

However, it was indeed strange for the corpses scattered about to be not that of humans, but rather the remains of Witchbeasts.

Thus, before the eyes of the blood-stained toddler, the presence of the girl standing next to the mountain of corpses――,

???: [A warmer welcome than I could have ever imagined. Though, I had no intention of causing you any harm.]

The girl, standing at the heart of the bloody stream upon the Witchbeast corpse-strewn meadow, looked back at the toddler.

She was a tall, fair-skinned young girl, with her long black hair in a braid. In her mid-teens, the curvature of her body had developed in a manner most feminine, and about her hung an immoral allure in the interval between mature and immature.

If entranced by those deep black eyes, many men would find themselves unable to resist.

Though, that was only conceivable if she was not smeared in vast amounts of Witchbeast blood.

Child: [Phu, uuu…!!]

Glaring at the black-haired girl, the bloodied toddler grit her teeth in loathing.

In the toddler’s gaze, there was no fragment of gratitude towards the fact that she had been rescued from dangerous Witchbeasts. That was likely because the toddler did not see the Witchbeasts as enemies. It would also have been difficult to label them as family, though.

Only, in this place where no adults were around to protect the child, in order to survive in the perilous frontier crawling with Witchbeasts, there would have been no other choice but to coexist with those enemies of humanity.

As the Witchbeasts she had coexisted with were put to slaughter, the toddler’s heart must have fallen into unfathomable devastation.

However――,

Girl: [Are you angry that I’ve made a mess of your home?]

As the very perpetrator of the Witchbeast massacre, the girl displayed not a fragment of sympathy or understanding of the anger harbored by the child.

With her head inclined, the girl gazed down upon the toddler whose breathing had grown rough,

Girl: [When you act like that, you really do look just like a Witchbeast, just like I heard about from outside. The rumored Queen who conquered the Witchbeasts… rather than a Queen, you’re more like a Princess.]

Child: [Phu-, phu-]

Girl: [If you can’t speak, then I suppose you might not be understanding what I’m saying either. Unfortunately, I’ve been instructed to bring you back. So, I’ll be having you come together with me. Even if you hate it, I’ll be taking you back alive. If you don’t resist, this can end without injury.]

Child: [Uu~! Uuuuu~!]

Girl: [Not going to listen, huh? In that case, through what means are you going to refuse me?]

The child seemed to be throwing a tantrum, to which the girl loosened her lips.

Normally, when confronted with a person who could not be conversed with, people would feel irritation and impatience, but there were no such signs on the girl’s expression. Only, there was something akin to dear nostalgia.

That only served to spur on the toddler’s rage.

Child: [――――]

At the behest of anger, the child fervently clapped her hands. ――Directly afterwards, a large shadow leaped upon the meadow, as if having awaited that signal; it was a dark Witchbeast with the face of a lion with twisted horns.

Extolled as the jet-black King of the forest, it was a Witchbeast whose fiendish nature went without peer, the Guiltilaw.

Guiltilaw: [――――AROOOO!]

The breath of a thundering roar explosively assailed the girl with a raw fragrance. In wonder at the Witchbeast’s arrival and its overwhelming ghastliness, the girl went on to lick her own lips.

Girl: [Quite the big friend you’ve got. Wonderful, how absolutely wonderful.]

A life-threatening peril before her, the girl’s demeanour had been exceedingly aloof.

Seemingly irritated by that fact, the Guiltilaw brandished its bestial claws aloft, intent on delivering a tremendous blow to the girl. But――,

Girl: [That’s no good, with such a way of doing things. You have to be more gentle with girls, you see.]

Guiltilaw: [――AROO!?]

The Witchbeast’s front paw missed its mark, before dancing through the air alongside the girl’s smile.

Losing a leg in exchange for having used its full strength, the Witchbeast readjusted its focus after being flustered, and glared at the girl. And with the beast’s glare upon her, the girl slowly readied her sinister curved blade,

Girl: [A body so big it can’t be compared to humans… I’m looking forward to seeing what sort of insides are contained within.]

――What followed was a brutally one-sided battle, merciless to the extreme.

Girl: [――This marks the end.]

Just as the smiling girl had declared, the collapsed Witchbeast had already forfeited the majority of its vitality.

Having been completely dominated, the Witchbeast had not only lost the initial front paw, but its hind legs and tail as well. With no signs of its outpouring blood coming to a stop, its throat, which had previously given rise to a mighty roar, could now only let out weak whimpers.

The moment it had lagged behind in the initial clash, the victor had been decided. The feeble cries of the Witchbeast’s throat seemed as if it were even begging to be beheaded and put out of its misery.

But then again, as the girl was fatally poor at understanding emotions, the Witchbeast’s desperate pleas did not reach her.

Consequently, until its very last moments, the Witchbeast’s life was doomed to be toyed with by the girl.

Girl: [Does its poor color result from a problem with its diet, I wonder? Or is it just a characteristic of this one? Its stench is also terrible, but I’d like to compare it with other Witchbeasts… Are you going to call out a different one?]

Playing with the bowels of the slain Witchbeast, the girl questioned the toddler while inspecting the entrails with the tip of her curved blade. But, judging by the reaction of the child, who sank to the floor, there was no indication of any greater Witchbeast being played as a trump card.

Girl: [I see, so it’s over… That’s too bad.]

Taking the wordless hatred as a response, the girl was visibly disappointed.

Then, disappointed as she was, the girl approached the tense child――,

Child: [――Aa-.]

Girl: [You don’t need to worry, I told you that I’d bring you back with me, right? It’s not that I don’t have any interest in your insides, but they’re not so appealing that I’d disobey instructions for them. Rest assured.]

Child: [Uu! UUU~! UU~U!]

Girl: […When you hate me that much, I’ll be hurt. Wounds to the heart aren’t so quick to recover, you see.]

Carried under her arm, the child desperately writhed in resistance. However, the resistance of a skinny, malnourished toddler was not capable of bringing the girl to a halt.

Child: [Gau, uuu~.]

Girl: [I understand your feelings of wanting to kill me, but it would be impossible with your strength. Even if you gnaw on the back of my neck, it just tickles… it would be best for you to prioritize getting well first.]

The child was biting at her white nape, but the best her weak jaw could do was leave teeth marks.

Shrugging her shoulders at the ticklishness, the girl loosened her lips upon recalling something, and giggled to herself.

Girl: [Ah, apologies. I’m not laughing at you. Only, in the past I once spent time with a girl who couldn’t speak, just like you… Perhaps kids who can’t speak just tend to be the violent ones. That girl was also very hot-headed, you see.]

Still biting down, the toddler weakly pressed her nails into the girl’s neck and back. It was something akin to quarreling with a kitten, so the girl paid it no heed.

Slowly, whilst carrying the child, the girl stepped through the blood-soaked meadow, and moved toward the outside.

To somewhere not here, to a place unsecluded, to the wider world.

Girl: [It’s not a decent place, and I don’t know if you’ll have freedom or not. It might very well be far more comfortable for you to keep living here, but since you were noticed, you’d better give up, as there’s no helping it.]

Child: [Uu~! Fgwuu~!]

Girl: [There’s not really anything in particular that I can say or do for… ah, there’s one thing.]

Tearing the squirming child from her shoulder, she locked eyes with the hate-clouded irises right before her. Once they got out of here, she decided she would first put her in a hot bath, and then――,

Girl: [I’m Elsa. Elsa Granhiert.]

Child: [――――]

Girl: [Though I don’t know just how long we will end up being acquainted, that was just the one thing I had to say… after all, between the two of us, I’m the older sister.]

Saying that, the girl―― Elsa Granhiert, joyfully smiled at her future little sister.

《Fin》

Afterword

Yes, we’ve reached the afterword! It’s ya boy, Nagatsuki Tappei! Also known as the grey-colored cat!

There we have it, the anime disk bonus novel! Last time, for the first season of the anime, I was asked to write something, and now they’re having me do it again! This too is thanks to all of your support!

Following the trend from last time, I’m writing in a style different to the usual main story, in which someone other than Natsuki Subaru is filling the position of protagonist.

For this first one, I decided to write the story of everyone’s favourite Elsa Granhiert.

Because it’s the first bonus novel for Season 2, I also had the view that “A story that’s just about Elsa running rampant as she pleases, how would that work well as a bonus novel?”, but they only gave me the condition that as long as the disk bonus somewhat connects to the contents of Season 2, it’s OK to write anything!

Though it might be more accurate to say that I went and wrote to my heart’s content…!

Thus, we have arrived at the publication of “Apocalypse Girls” this time!

I’m going to get into spoilers on the assumption that you’ve already read all the way until the afterword, but the contents are basically “Elsa-san runs as rampant as she pleases in her homeland of the North.”

Originally, my expectation when I began writing was that it would depict how a normal girl known as Elsa Granhiert came to become the being known as the Bowel Hunter.

However, when I actually set out to put it to paper, Elsa-san’s personality from the outset ended up being the same as it is currently, so my initial plans came crumbling down at the prologue. It seems that the reason why Elsa-san is Elsa-san, was decided at the very moment of her birth.

Since that also delivered quite the shock to the author himself, I considered how the story might proceed, so even if she was predisposed to be the Bowel Hunter by birth, I decided to focus on the details regarding how she gained her physical consitution, and how she ended up in her current position. That is what led to this story.

North of Re: Zero’s main stage, the Kingdom of Lugunica, there lies the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko, which despite being listed among the Four Great Countries, will likely never appear in Re: Zero’s main story.

The previous anime disk bonus was written with the stage set in the Kararagi City-States, which will not appear much either, but with this sort of arrangement, settings that were supposed to be in limbo outside the main story are being brought out to the forefront, so I think it’s a win-win for both the author and readers.

This time too, it was a lot of fun to write about this and that about the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko!

The people placed in an environment of harsh, extreme cold, and the firm religion deeply rooted there. In order to survive in a world of white cold, the girl throws herself into an unwanted battle―― when it’s written like that, Elsa-san seems like a heroine carrying an extremely tragic resolve, but the fact that she actually enjoys those circumstances, is something that everyone who has read the main story already knows.

She is also a key player who stole the “First Death” of Subaru, the main story’s protagonist, so it would be no exaggeration to say that her existence dictated the forward course of “Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World” as a piece of fiction. It was truly enjoyable to write about her.

Well then, I am repeating myself here, but the reason I was able to write this work was thanks to everyone whose support allowed for us to be blessed with the opportunity for a second anime adaptation.

Starting with Director Watanabe, the cooperation of everyone who’s part of the large anime staff and cast made it possible to adapt the fourth arc, which was considered to be quite difficult.

It’s jam packed with new characters and new developments, so deciding what to keep and what to depict, doing the utmost to come up with various ways to direct things, the author always loses himself in a trance while watching.

If that passion and intrest of the story is transmitted to everyone watching, and perhaps left behind some strong emotions in their hearts, then there is nothing greater to be hoped for.

This bonus novel is a thank you to everyone involved with making such a wonderful anime, and might be my maxium involvement with the anime as the original author.

Of course, I’m also giving my all to writing the disk bonus novel planned for later. I hope all the fans can love my work in its entirety!

And with that it looks like I’ve hit the end of the page. So let us move on to the usual thank yous.

To Editor I, for the go-sign you gave while diluting your words with “The bonus, I know I said you could write whatever you wanted, but…”, thank you very much! Likewise, I responded “Is this really fine for the first one?” while tiling my head, but I think it was a dialogue quite fitting for an author and his editor! For the remaining bonuses as well, I’ll do my best!

Illustrator Ootsuka-sensei, I could say that it was thanks to inspiration from your wonderful visual of Elsa Granhiert that I was able to write this story. Truly, thank you very much!

And this will be another repeat, but I give huge thanks to everyone involved with making the wonderful anime. For working with such hard material, thank you so much!

Above all, to all the fans who have supported the work until this point, accompanying me even as far as reading a bonus novel, I give my greatest thanks of all!

Well then, let us meet again in the next bonus novel!