Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Oboreru IF – Re: Drowning Life in Another World From Zero

Prologue

─ ─ I heard a voice full of hate.

─ A sound which would not leave my ears.

─ ─ Words imbued with hatred followed me.

─ ─ It was frightening, so frightening and I could not bear it.

─ ─ I was being crushed by the pressure of this noise which did not obscure its malice.

─ It gripped onto my soul and would not let go.

── The more you depend on your life, the more certain it becomes that you will hurt someone else.

─ ─ It was because, first and foremost, I was apologetic and I felt sorry that we were sinking still into the depths.

Chapter 1

── My neck,

I found myself held down by a light body as if mounted like a horse.

Small knees pressed sharply into my shoulders as I floundered underneath. A dainty white arm covered in cuts loomed in my vision, choking down on my neck. Those gashes reminded me of crimson flowers, I thought, before feeling irritated at myself. That was really failing to read the mood.

── Breathtaking, breathtaking, it is breathtaking when your neck is being throttled.

“────”

Right in front of his eyes were a pair of pupils glowing with passion.

Endless fury and hollow despair stretched deep, deep in those large round eyes.

“I might fall into those bottomless eyes..”, Subaru though blankly.

“Ah, it is …”

── Badum-badum, badum-badum, badum-badum, those were the sounds I made as I flailed around wildly.

It was not that I was struggling so much in an effort to get away.

Thoughts of escape had already disappeared by evening. So my struggles were not an expression of my will to live, but merely a tantrum born of sheer suffering. My body cried out uselessly on its own.

The brain was lacking oxygen, the mind had lost its will to live, but the body was still writhing in protest.

There are differences in everything, just seeking balance is bad, I hate that way of thinking.

Can’t I just die quietly? I want to just die quietly.

As peacefully as possible, like I was simply going to sleep, that was the most enjoyable way to die for me.

But such a wish was not to be. Far from being granted, my fate was really to be the complete opposite of that.

“Kuh, ku, ku-hu”

With wide-open eyes bulging from their sockets, biting down hard and foaming at the mouth, with a body grown emancipated after only a few short days, it was in this state that I twisted and groaned like a wounded beast.

It’s my last chance to act along, should I do it?

It’s my last chance to say what’s most fitting, should I try it?

Hey, why and how was it that I came to be in this kind of situation?

“── What’s, so funny?”

Suddenly, he heard a voice.

Unlike these animal groans, this was a cold but clear sound.

The owner of those eyes laden with fury, her lips pressed thin as she squeezed his throat, looked up at the sound of the voice.

“────”

What’s wrong, even if you ask me that, I can’t find the answer.

There is nothing funny here in the first place. There isn’t, so what are you even asking?

The question was confusing. Some rude kind of nonsense, a riddle.

Even if someone forced me to reply, I wouldn’t have any answers. But the time I spent waiting in silence still felt like lying on a bed of thorns, he thought.

Absurd. Flung around like this by the force of some divine providence, just how many times has it been already?

“── What’s, so funny?”

There’s nothing weird like that.

“Huu, heh, hee-hee”

Then, is it the person asking that has something wrong with them?

Or, is it that this person just failed to read the mood, and so they are having fun at the moment?

Are they enjoying the sight of this woman mounting me like she’s on horseback, strangling away at my neck? If you say that, then any sense of liking them gets flipped on its head, he thought.

“── What’s, so funny?”

There is nothing wrong here. Even though there is nothing, this question keeps getting thrown out there again and again.

Throwing, not even. She’s not that far away. That’s not even it.

Close enough to feel each other’s breath, gazing up at the beautiful face of the girl opposite him, he was surrounded by her voice. Blanketed in it.

She had, without words, without hurtful abuse, shown clear hate in her voice.

“── What’s, s-?”

Do it.

This question that repeatedly sought an answer suddenly faded away like mist.

“── Euh”

Tilt, the face of the girl in front of me suddenly tilted to the left.

Her angled neck does not rise. Still slumped to the side, that girl’s body crumples onto the white snow. Of course, as the thin arm formerly wrapped around his neck had also come loose, Subaru’s path to suffocation had ended halfway through.

Coughing, the bitter taste of blood rose up from my neck.

Collapsing lungs inflated before receding again, sending much-needed oxygen through my body in turn. That is also a reflex, survival instinct. If someone just refused to breathe and died, then they wouldn’t be working properly.

Questions like whether that would be a normal thing for a person to do or not, I don’t want to discuss that right now.

“────”

The feelings in Subaru’s heart that had, up to this moment, accepted death, now faded away. It was replaced with a desire to live in the name of more oxygen, an obsessive desire that could not be let go. Desperate, striving, he coveted more to the point of looking pathetic.

While like that, ceaselessly filling his lungs with cold air on every breath, he came to realize.

“────”

In the center of that fluffy white snow that was piling up around, before him lay a girl collapsed on her side.

Her face and lips had grown pale with poor circulation, raising her unrealistic beauty to even greater heights. Those exceptionally glittering white eyes were empty and spread wide, a telltale sign that a life was ending.

Looking carefully, it was a sight that did not seem well-fitted for the snow.

That maid uniform revealing bare shoulders and thighs, this cloth material that should ward off the cold isn’t nearly thick enough to do so. The nape, the ears, and other areas easily chilled were being hit by the wind.

The state of that bared form──Moreover, aside from her, this side was in the same condition as well.

“────”

── Shiver-shiver, shiver-shiver, shiver-shiver, like that this out-of-place Subaru was trembling.

Whether it was the cold, or the strong melancholy of his heart that was the culprit, he did not know.

In this situation, rather than worrying about the state of his body, instead he could not take his eyes off of the girl in front of him.

“──M”

Even fallen over in the snow, with half her face buried in it, she still looked beautiful.

That unquenchable hate and fury was inflaming that slender body and keeping it alive, he could only think that. Covered in wounds to that extent, it was a strange situation that this girl was still alive.

“────”

Pure-white snow, and around him and the girl, countless corpses were lying around.

Those beasts that consumed life, indulged in it, and destroyed the soul, all before the wind of this girl had turned to corpses. So, in this place, the survivors, were only two. Himself and the girl, but two.

That, too, in a moment, could immediately become one, become zero.

“────”

What is going on, next to the girl mumbling that he slowly stood.

The emancipated fingers on both his hands were discolored. In those fingers whose temperatures had dropped significantly, there was no feeling remaining. Weak itching was the only evidence that these fingers were still attached to the body.

Shaking about those fingers that couldn’t be be relied on, he lifted up a head-sized stone.

Without any reason or purpose, it was just a stone that happened to be there.

The fact that he lifted it secretly brought him much relief.

Comparing the stone in his hand with the collapsed girl.

For a moment, to him, that held stone seemed to be making a similar face to the one who had fallen.

He did not know if he was laughing. But the burning image this finally brought to his mind was heated. An oni, just flesh, and shoving it into an enemy, just that.

As if having pulled it up by the roots, in both hands he lifted the rock skyward.

That action, looking up at it, the owner of those pink pupils spoke with a faint voice, but with an unquestionably clear voice,

“──Definitely, I will kill you.”

─ ─ The sound of something hitting something hard, in the snow-blanketed forest slowly, slowly echoed.

It echoed.

Chapter 2

── That day, Roswaal L. Mathers’ broken mansion quietly collapsed.

The first to notice the collapse was, the woman more than anyone else who desperately struggled to maintain it, because of that her manner could have been said to be vicious.

“────”

The master of the house, Roswaal, she had received from him a great benefit.

So hearing that the maid sisters who had taken care of the mansion no longer held their positions, knowing then that the owner had nobody to take care of him, she immediately rushed to his side.

The sight of that master who had become pale drove a great deal of pain in her chest.

Even those two suspiciously glinting, brimming with confidence, differently-colored pupils.

Which if said nicely could be called quirky but really were more weird. That perfectly sinister clown makeup, even that strange aesthetic which seemed like nails scratching to the senses of others, in all that having lost his light, that was Roswaal.

After receiving such a reunion with him – ─ ─ Frederica tightly grasped her hand into a fist.

“It cannot end like this. Even for the sake of those children, I-”

If she did not protect her position, if she chose that, then it would become even more desperate, was her thought. Not thinking of if something could be done, but rather focusing on hope and wanting to do something, for that reason she had started to act.

To raise the mansion once again, she moved, and even if she did not know how, with a hand seeking cooperation she would drag the master by the arm every day, busily running around.

There was in Frederica no thought to stop and fret.

Even sometimes feeling pain that might have slowed her feet, she always desperately lifted up her head and continued on.

If in this place I collapse, then I am – not worthy to gaze upon the faces of those precious to me.

Since some point, she had forgotten to laugh. Since some point, she had forgotten to spend the night resting correctly.

Even then, desperately, Frederica sought to protect the person she loved, to not let go of the bubbles spreading away on the water and to grasp them in her hands.

Even with that,

“─ ─ Ah”

When Frederica finally realized, it was already too late for everything in the mansion.

In that frozen white hallway, her world flipped upside-down as her shoes were frozen, she did not recognize where she was.

The sight of the once-familiar mansion had become distinctly different from what she knew.

The carefully-cleaned corridor, the kitchen where she had cooked, and where she had worked with her hands for those that needed her care, in front of her eyes had now become a clouded white world.

And as for who had done all this──,

“Great Spirit-sama …”

“Sorry, Frederica, you are not to blame. It is just that, if I would like to protect my most precious thing, then this is the best decision to make.”

Saying this, showing its face and floating in the air, was a small cat with gray fur.

So tiny as to ride on the palm of a hand if desired, but in that small body holding definitive power, it was a portrait of that kind of being.

She did not want to believe. But now there was no reason to doubt.

There was the one who had changed the mansion to this white end.

“Why, do this …”

“I said it already, all my actions are for Lia. Lia leaving the forest, that act is what she wanted to do. For that girl’s safety, I thought.. But there is no worth here anymore. It must have fallen to somewhere else.”

“────”

“Roswaal was my mistake. That man is a pitiful criminal.”

Shaking their head, Puck shot at her with voice devoid of any emotion.

At those words, Frederica stopped breathing. And with that their sharp fangs firmly closed shut.

“─ ─ The master of this house, insulting them to me, as a maid, it cannot be forgiven.”

“You, too, are a pitiful child. It is just you that is desperate to protect this fallen place.”

“Please stop talking as if you are referring to the past, it is not over yet.”

She called sharply. Without having a chance, towards the great spirit.

Gazing in front of him at that Frederica and what she said, this kitten narrowed their round eyes and gazed with pity on their face. That movement and expression in an existence, which to some extent smelled like humanity, Frederica leaned forward and lowered her body at it.

“Emilia will be sad.”

That one brief hesitation from the small great spirit might give her the win, this was what Frederica was hoping.

But,

“Unfortunately, since I am weak to Lia. I cannot move on from my child, you know. Because of that.”

Even a moment’s hesitation, some small opening, from that great spirit did not appear.

As the world of difference between her and Puck reflected in her eyes, she firmly grit her teeth.

Whether it was the beginnings of regret or grief, it was too late to to be felt.

Just a simple white breeze blew, and from that the woman named Frederica stood there frozen.

The collapse of Roswaal’s mansion was beginning.

Chapter 3

When he noticed signs of collapse, it was all already too late.

“────”

With ghostly footsteps Roswaal in his own house walked.

The frozen mass of air underfoot broke with a clatter, and a chill breeze tickled his nape.

His neck drew away from the sudden chill, a physiological reaction that could be felt strangely.

Nowadays choosing clothes, applying makeup to his face had both been left to Frederica.

That diligent and enthusiastic girl was, no matter how, trying to pay back the grace she had received from this place, but it was too late. His heart that shouldn’t have felt anything hurt a little.

─ ─ Roswell’s secret path at some point quietly lay cut off.

“Ram, Rem ……”

Maybe it was the loss of the oni sisters.

The existence of those two were necessary to his secret plan, so if they were gone then a key part was not possible. When he realized it had all upended, Roswaal had already been left alone.

Four hundred years later, when Roswaal had realized his long prayed-for path had been broken, he could no longer stand on his own.

“─ ─ Ram”

A short mumbled name, it is the name that conveys the biggest regret.

Originally, the possibility that it would become like this, he had already considered it.

Actually, the likelihood that it would end badly like this, that possibility was much higher. It was because of this that Roswaal had taken insurance on his own existence.

When his end finally came for him, he wanted someone there that could receive it happily.

Her, dying before him, had ruined the last remaining cogwheel in his plans.

“────”

So then, the sight of Roswaal walking in this mansion was strange.

He had lost his reason to stand already, and his reason for walking was already gone from him.

“Master, please return yourself to how you were before. So the two of them -── “

Many times Frederica had so appealed to Roswaal.

With Roswaal falling into despair, the task of taking care of her dispirited master had fallen to her. Who put in much effort in trying to persuade him to recover, with tenacity and devotion.

So remained in him the power to walk in this now-frozen mansion.

In the middle of the hallway, wandering without aimlessly, his sight now turned to the scenery beyond the window.

So he saw the frozen world, and the form of the girl with blonde hair who was trying to resist it.

“────”

That to not protect her here would not acceptable, he perhaps thought.

Or it could simply be acting on reflex, he didn’t know.

Reflexively, or if not done then this will not do, enough remained of his mind in the body for that much.

So now, Roswaal slowly spread his arms wide, readying himself to spend a vast amount of mana –

“─ ─ Euh!”

At that moment, Roswaal barely avoided the bright light of the slash that targeted his neck.

“──Ah, to be able to dodge this is outside of my expectations. Perhaps this is not just the court magician but someone that holds some level of skill in martial arts as well?”

From behind Roswaal’s back is calls out a light voice.

In this frozen corridor with speed as if slipping, or the speed of something burning, it took him that long to look that way and stare at the sound of blue-haired young man’s voice.

“That movement just now, only a bit would not do it. Honestly, I marveled at it.”

Clad in a blue kimono, and beneath it feet that show a sure grasp of stance, on that waist with two clasped swords, one of which was tapping his shoulder with a dun-dun sound.

An appearance that is clean-cut and seems to fits well with a smile. Giving an impression like a young child, playful shining eyes and that long tied hair somehow offered him an androgynous look.

But from his eyes, despite that sense clearly emanates ── just by receiving that gaze, the thought of being killed, visions of death also comes to mind alongside that previous good sentiment.

“If you are a person confident in more than just magic, my heart is relieved of a burden, it really is a great help. Anyway, a task too normal is not fitting with my aesthetic. No, if told to do so then I do but if possible, I want to avoid getting the villain treatment.”

“Like in the rumors, aren’t you pretty noisy?”

“Oh, is that my rumor? I can not help it. To be a celebrity even in such a place? Hehehe, I wish it was not such a strange rumor though.”

The young man flatteringly spoke as he scratched his head with a shy smile.

While looking at this scene, helping Roswaal to solve the situation that happened to him, his sluggish thoughts were burned with a fire that shook him awake.

That scorching heat existing in his left arm was that burning sensation.

“────”

“But that arm, if action is not quickly taken then all your blood will be drained, no?”

“Your advice, I am grateful for it.”

In the young man’s view, Roswaal curved his lips in an arc like drawing a painted gash.

That Roswaal’s left arm was missing near the shoulder, and what had used to be attached there, like a fallen doll, was almost unrealistically rolling on the floor.

I had my arm cut off when I avoided the first attack on my neck.

After hearing this advice to act, Roswaal grasped his wound, and an instant burst of fire directly stopped the bleeding. Those horrible pangs of pain tearing through his brain with rigid cheeks he bore it.

This extreme emergency treatment, the young man just gazed lightly at.

“I thought magicians were timid, but this side is not.. I mean, but the reference for that was actually someone I know?”

“You said you knew, Cecilus Segmunt.”

“────”

“The Vollachia Empire’s strongest Nine God Generals? As its top-ranked 「Blue Lightning」, news of that is even famous throughout Lugnica.”

“Oh, that is an honor.”

At Roswaal’s low voice, the young man──Cecilus Segmunt responded with elegant manners.

There was no reason to hide his identity. There was no reason to hide his name in the first place, so he may as well act coolly dignified and confident.

Watching those mannerly ways with their dramatic productions, Roswaal sighed.

“But that aside, what is happening now, I wonder? ~Aah, it couldn’t be, at this time when the Luginica Kingdom’s new ruler is being decided, if it came out that Vollachia Empire is moving in violation of the treaty?”

“Oh, that’s a misunderstanding. Right now I could say I am on vacation and on break, or I could say I am unemployed. Anyway, this business has nothing to do with the Empire.” he said.

“────”

“This is not some strange attempt at humor. My actions, the Empire is not involved in it at all. Of course loyalty to His Excellency still lies in my heart … But to me, my own origin is something I have.”

With a grand gesture, Cecilus emphasizes that he and the Empire are not working together. It is hard to believe it unconditionally. But these actions of his, if he really was acting as an agent of the Empire, is simply not sensible.

For this reason, Roswaal narrows pupils colored with twin hues and asks Cecilus.

“Then it is even more curious. That you have even abandoned your position at the Empire and have come here. What exactly was it that could move you all the way over, I wooooonder.”

“It’s easy to understand ──the way of the heavenly sword, to that step that was promised.”

“The way of the heavenly sword?”

At that reply Roswaal frowned his handsome brows.

Cecilus, who saw this, nodded deeply in reply. “Yes.”, he murmured. The expression was just as if he was laughing, but a crucial difference lay in the emotion of the pupils.

In addition to joy and pleasure and happiness, there was also the 「Blue Lightning」, something that drew a person to their eyes.

“It is a secret that I have never spoken of to any living person. With this, to accept help with resolving this when that is done, it is inevitable to accept that opportunity.”

“How unexpected, you do not seem to be type to be a puppet of another person.”

“Being controlled by others, or merely accepting the stage that fate has provided, is there not just a subjective difference between the two? I accept this world’s starring role, and that script for it all, too. Keeping that then, the scene should be unfolding as if there is an actor even without following a script, perhaps.”

Regarding the shrugging Cecilus with his colorful eyes, Roswaal simply nodded.

Indeed, at the strength of his argument, he gave up fighting against it. That forceful conviction and philosophy that Cecilus had built over many victories.

To make that idea bend, it was impossible for the Roswaal who had lived four hundred years for an obsession of his own.

To that Roswaal with a fondness for consistency, that philosophy seemed attractive to him, too.

“Likely I do not really hate you, I rather quite like you. But because this is also my role … The Lugnica Kingdom’s court magician, Roswaal L. Mathers, I will be taking that neck of yours with me.”

Seemingly acting in his own way of politeness, Cecilus returned the katana he once held into its sheath. And with a slash of another weapon drawn, a wondrous sight was revealed to the world.

The beauty of the sword was just as is said, a slashing of the blade imbued with unbelievable power.

“── Once again, now with the dream sword, Masayume.”

“Is it a slash of a sword that eats at the holder’s soul, then? ─ Cecilus-kun, may I ask one thing?”

With the overflowing sight in front of him, Roswaal easily raised a finger.

In front of that bloodied and frozen atmosphere. In that situation, as if he had failed to read the mood, he asks for Cecilus a single question.

“My weak points are that I don’t listen to people and I don’t really have the composure of someone over 20 years old. In the empire I have gotten in trouble for that several times.”

“Your employer’s name is?”

Cecilus who was asked such, his eyebrow lightly raised.

Lowering the blade away while drawing his feet back. Slowly, leaning forward with his upper body,

“Gossiping about other people is a bad thing, but, because of that, I had heard some backwards talk about 「Purge King」… But to you, because I have been asked to reveal the correct name to you..”

Having given that introduction, Cecilus wet his lips with his tongue.

After a few minutes or so of delay, he said,

“────”

As the same moment as that name reaches the ears, a blur jumped from the floor of the mansion, and Cecilus disappeared.

That he had gone from the very world, it was fast enough to mistake for that.

「Blue Lightning」, fitting that name, the fastest arcing bolt, and that moment drew ever closer.

Crossing the distance like that, it was instantaneous.

But at that same instant, Roswaal was muttering with a smile on his lips.

“So it was you, after all.”

Even before than the sound of those words appearing in the world, the second katana, its trajectory swung even faster.

Just before everything went dark, Roswaal pondered in his mind.

About the girls that had been at the mansion.

Those girls who had been embroiled in his own secret path, and in the end had been left no happiness at all.

──You have neither right nor time to apologize, and with those last words everything faded away.

Chapter 4

「Door Crossing」functioned by connecting the Forbidden Library’s entrance to another doorway, it was merely just that.

Due to its simple effect, the versatility of「Door Crossing」was quite high, and she was proud of this outstanding magic. But, just like for any other magic, it was also the case that「Door Crossing」was not wholly flawless.

If its structure was to be exploited, that useful nature could turn into weakness. Because of this, the existence of the Forbidden Library and the effect of「Door Crossing」must not be revealed to outsiders.

So it was, to others, something that would not do to be revealed.

―――Because of that. Such a situation was inevitable, she thought.

“What was that, you’re trying to be funny, I suppose?”

At the moment the Forbidden Library’s door had opened, Beatrice herself already understood that she was being called on.

That spacious mansion with its many possible choices of doors existed, and yet, Beatrice had forcibly been guided to a single one.

That method was simple. ――――In a situation where the other doors could not open, then it could be done.

The means to seal「Door Crossing」was to remove any choice of doors to connect to.

That task with diligence had been carried out, and in the mansion ‘doors that could open’ had now been limited to one.

And who had helped in putting this to use, that it must have been her precious nee-chan she understood well.

Being put off-balance by this realization was inevitable. That was because, it made her sense of existence unclear.

But even with that, so, begrudging her nee-chan was not fitting for her. Because of this, Beatrice, without holding any sort of resentment for her brother, instead simply seeking to confront him directly pulled wide open those doors.

“――Yo, Beatrice.”

Drawing through the opened door without hesitation, calling for Beatrice, he was there waving his hand.

That voice and attitude, she remembered it. Because of this, Beatrice’s body shivered with fear.

The face from her memories, and the face now seen in front of her, not every detail seemed to match up.

While the general parts from memory agreed normally, that they were already almost like another person was the situation.

“You. Why are you giving me that look, I suppose?”

That dark, dark glint in his eyes beheld in front of her, Beatrice shook her head.

Far from improving, it had coldly changed in a way that drew even more revulsion.

A rarity, those black hair and black eyes remained, and in those eyes that had lost their shine darkened emotions were dimly revealed.

Surrounding those eyes reminiscent of gloom were deep dark circles, thin and frail cheeks lay underneath, and what could be seen of the fingers displayed a corpse-like pallor.

With long dark clothes wrapping his body, his skin exposure minimized―― Among that united uniform of black, what stuck out was a bright red scarf. Just that, and that alone was quite strongly betraying his gloomy impression.

After that, for a while time passed.

But, even if you say that, this change is too much. Can it be that this human had become so different?

“You, your mood has seriously changed, I suppose.”

“Saying that, you have not changed at all, then. Is your growth spurt over? Normally, after 2 years pass you become a little more mature.”

In a blank voice, to Beatrice’s words he replies with a joke.

Two years, was it. If he says that, then that must be how much time had passed.

Just two years, from Beatrice’s perspective, was like in the blink of an eye, it was that short of a feeling. To humans, especially to the one standing now in her sight, how meaningful were those years, she wondered.

――For that boy who seemed about to die at any moment, to return for revenge like this, was it that meaningful a stretch of time?

“I wonder if you remember, Beatrice, we ate together here.”

“―――. That memory does not exist, I suppose. Eating together with you never happened.”

At that person’s words, Beatrice crinkled her brows.

Those two people facing each other were, in the mansion’s first floor kitchen. White cloth draped the table, and in the center seat was that person asking Beatrice a mysterious question.

“……Ah, ah. That is, you wouldn’t know that, that just now, I was mean, always, mean, it’s always, me.”

“There was something…..No, that, hearing it now at this point, it can’t be helped.”

For a single moment, in Beatrice’s heart hesitation brushed past.

But, that girl in the blink of an eye killed those unnecessary distractions and sealed them away. And then. Towards that suspicious person, she pointed her small palm.

There, as the protector and librarian of the Forbidden Library, her pride―――Or, to offer her body up to hold an unwanted post, a fleeting sense of duty permeated her.

“Getting your revenge on me, that might be what I deserve, I suppose. Even so, Betty has as Betty a role to fill, in fact. For that…..”

“――――”

With strength, Beatrice in her own role rose to block any violence from that person, she sharply focused on it.

Seeing this, his expression dimly set. Something there, as if he was trying to enduring some difficult feeling could be seen, and at that moment Beatrice set down her foot.

“To take care of me, Beatrice.―――Of me, didn’t you contract to protect me?”

―――At that moment, Beatrice came to a sudden stop.

“…..Ah.”

Contract, at that sound Beatrice’s whole body was pierced with shock, and she grew stiff.

And that rigidness, as Beatrice’s mind continued to think, it had not gone away.

Something of her mind was not the culprit. Physically, her movement were blocked. That was―――

“Forgive me, but with this you will not be able to move, it’s that.”

At Beatrice’s side, having risen from the shadows, one person was revealed there.

There, wearing a disheveled black kimono and biting on a gold-colored kiseru pipe with sharp teeth, stood a tall, shabby-looking Wolf Human.

Gazing at her with with moving narrowed eyes, he was looking down at the Beatrice that only came up to his waist. Finding no emotion in those small pupils, Beatrice’s neck lightly shivered.

“That, is…..”

“Binding the shadows, outwardly it is like the wondrous technique of a ninja, it could be said. Think of it as an art. Even so, you will not be wondering about it it for long……You are, my sweetheart after all.”

Frozen, her body’s freedom taken away from her, Beatrice could do nothing to that voice but listen.

As those words were heard, speaking without trembling, as if in their shared memories there was no mistake. Slowly rising from his seat, and drawing nearer to her side, that person’s eyes were dark, but any signs of discomfort could not be found in them.

To get revenge, was that person’s reason for finding this place, Beatrice had concluded. But the glint in that human’s eyes, revenge, no matter how she thought it seemed far from the truth.

In those dark eyes filled with dim light, some feeling that was ripping at his chest could be found.

“Back then, you let me run away and, now I am still here. That, definitely, I wanted to tell you I’ve been thinking about that.”

“That, this is your method for that…..You are really a nuisance of a man, I suppose…..Definitely, annoying.”

“I am sorry about that. But, you had figured it out, Beatrice.”

Interrupting Beatrice’s words as she ground her teeth, he slowly shook his head.

Those lips, drawing in the shape of a smile, silently looked down at Beatrice.

If she thought about it, had she ever seen this person smile like this? Back then, when she had let him spend many hours staying in the Forbidden Library, during that time.

At that recalling Beatrice, he put out his hand, and said.

“―――That you and I, we were the same kind, that is.”

“――――”

The corners of his eyes sagged, and now, his eyes became like they were again, really like how the boy was at first they returned.

Back to, during those few days at the mansion, back before becoming strange, he returned to that.

“At that time, I could only be resolved to die, but you could not give up on me, you rescued me. Even now how many times, how many times thoughts of that red-glowing sunrise comes to my thoughts.”

“You are…..”

“I am still thankful for that, Beatrice….. Why, back then, did you not kill me?”

“――Euh”

That was perhaps, thanks, or if not then words of resentment.

Regardless, watching that face mixed with both joy and sorrow saying those words, Beatrice was just surprised.

So this, was the work of her influence, their heart’s all-consuming despair, she takes in.

As if naturally, that rigid hold on her body which made her uneasy came undone, and her outstretched arm dropped down. But, in this newfound freedom, her strength to resist was already gone.

Why, it had been returned, it was very easy to understand.

“Beatrice, I’m thankful for you. I think I probably did like you. Within that time, only you truly drew close to me, those are my thoughts.”

“…..That is, the lowest confession.”

“I agree.”

At his words, Beatrice replied with empty feelings.

And then, in that thinly smiling boy’s black eyes, Beatrice saw the truth. ――It was, those dark emotions within were so familiar to her, that was how she realized.

There was, in his chest having settled, that which after a while would consume all hope, such that it was essential to avoid it ever happening.

―――A disease called despair, within him, within herself, had laid quietly nesting.

“Halibel, a sword.”

At that request, the wolf-man waiting by Beatrice raised his eyebrows.

Silently, looking on at those two’s questions and answers, it was that Wolf Human who now shook his kiseru up and down.

“…..Is that alright?”

“A sword.”

Repeatedly ordered, that wolf-man swung his left arm high.

Then, landing on the kitchen floor with a thud, a black lump of steel simply stuck there.

Letting off a dull gleam, this dark-colored metal. It had a simple form for cutting down life.

“The contract, that you remembered it, I was so happy.”

But even though you just wanted to use it, it was not that such a thought didn’t occur to her.

But. That this was truly, to him, a distant joy that could not simply be overlooked, he spoke with that kind of voice. To blame him somehow, that feeling did not really appear in her.

“You are, with those colors that fit you well, very pretty you know.”

“――――”

At that moment, Beatrice’s eyes opened wide, and filled with heavy tears.

In her blurry sight, that person gently overlooking her was there. As she blinked, tears began to flow down cheeks. Shedding tears like that, to gaze at his appearance to the end was what she wished.

That guy, that she was the same type as himself, he had said that.

Then, there was definitely a reason, there was a reason he was here for her.

Back then, what she had done, that it had greatly affected his life she had not known.

That it had turned and turned and, had returned to her like this,

That they, for this Beatrice, was doing this, to free her――

“Are you, they?”

“――――”

With a numbly stiff tongue, shivering and shaking, Beatrice spoke those words.

Those words that came out like a sigh, when heard by the boy standing right in front of her eyes, for that his movements slightly stopped.

I’m giving you the time. For bitter words, or whatever it may be, I would accept everything, that kind of resolve could be seen.

To that determination, Beatrice――

“――You are, Betty’s, they, I suppose?”

That question’s meaning, he would definitely not understand.

That there would be an answer, Beatrice wasn’t even hoping for that much.

It was just, if her final end, if it was that which had come looking for her, she must try to hear it still.

“Aah.”

―――So, at that smiling, agreeing appearance, at that Beatrice’s mind was crushed and broken.

In that dear smile, in those kindly-spoken words, in that raised blade lay within a blessing.

“I, am your they.”

Once more, big drops of tears, flowing over that girl’s reddened cheeks, ran down and fell.

Chapter 5

“A drowning man will even clutch at straws, there’s a proverb like that where I used to live~”

Facing down over a floor covered in red carpet, a man was listening to the voice.

That carpet, his face was very close to it.

And gazing down like that, his breathing was fast. The beat of his heart rang in in his ears, and his body felt like he had just finished sprinting over distant fields.

He looked to be reaching sixty, an old man.

Having sired sons, likely even grandsons, he showed the marks of having lived a long and fitting life.

His position was such that, many people had to talk with him, and sometimes necessary to fight with some of them.

Having had a long and brilliant career, this man had been entrusted with much by those around him.

That he was special, he did not have any thoughts of bragging like that. But born with a wit beyond the norm, he had resolved to live a life of abundance.

And that was why, in this situation, he could not help but wonder whether he was in a dream or an illusion. He could not believe it.

――He was, down on his knees, in front of an opponent no older than his own grandchildren.

“Straw, do you know what that is? Probably there’s straw like I am thinking of here….. Like wheat, or something like that.

The one in the water is so desperate, that even knowing how useless it is, they will grab at nothing with all their might.. It’s that kind of feeling.”

“――――”

“To put it plainly, dying humans will desperately try to survive no matter what, that is the meaning of the proverb. From their view, things may look different. They are still thinking of turning the tables on us, but to us it just looks like useless struggling.”

Smoothly, the voice above his head fluently speaks.

Of what is being said, most of it seems pointless, but not one word, not one phrase can be missed for fear of somehow raising his ire. Not when gruesome rumors about him are piled up like mountains.

That boy, who having emerged just two years ago, had been spoken of in cruel and horrific spreading rumors ever since.

All that opposed him, his family, and those important to him were pushed aside by any means necessary. With irresistible force he had kept expanding『Pleiades』resolutely as its head.

With terrifying success, he determined with vicious skill those that would not respect his power, and those people like this he called forth.

――『Purge King』, this boy was called.

“――――”

The old man was kneeling in a place where, hidden in the shadow of the four great nations, started for the purpose of controlling their underworld society, this organization’s headquarters lay.

Luxuriously drawn portraits, extravagantly decorated things were gathered in this room to the point of overflowing. It was that organization’s reception hall.

The king was, on the room’s throne―― What could rightly be called treasure, on that supreme throne seated upon and looking down on his guest.

It was a dazzling and luxurious setup, and the amount of gold used was enough to make one’s head spin. The piled earnings from one man’s life repeated a thousand, no, ten thousand times, would not touch the glare of wealth that assaulted one’s gaze here and naturally caused it to fall, it was that kind of feeling.

That this was due to the organization’s―――No, the power of the king even idiots could understand with a glance. And even if someone incapable of getting had come here. That person, having entered this very room, would never be seeing the light of day again.

Simple displays of power, mere shows of wealth were not worth anything in comparison.

Lining the walls were dozens of men, all with names famous for being that of a top mercenary or soldier. All of this, it was possible to make them follow with money, but to actually have carried that out, just how much did cost?

Even if they only numbered a few dozen, to maintain this army, a vast amount of gold would be needed.

Then, among that crowd where only the best had been readied, that was not all. But that pair at the peak standing to the left and right of the throne, for the kneeling old man were more than enough to give him a strong sense of what kind of person was seated there.

―――With presence beyond imagination, were『Admirer』Halibel, and『Blue Lightning』Cecilus Segmunt.

Of the Kararagi City States, and of the Holy Vollachia Empire.

In those two countries, each respectively holding the name of the strongest, those two were kept side by side. Abruptly appearing in this group, how that young boss’ violent hold had gone uncontested, there was no better evidence than this.

“Sigrum-san?”

“――――”

At that moment, his state of mind having gone dim, his name was called, that man――Sigrum’s heart became frozen.

Looking on, resting his chin on his arm, the king, smile gone from his face, was gazing at Sigrum with dark eyes.

As if his heart was directly squeezed, Sigrum struggled.

Something, if excuses were not made soon, his oxygen-deprived lips shivered. However, at that Sigrum’s fragile response, the Purge King’s shoulders shrank.

“Ah―― for making you bored, I apologize. Having my stories get off-topic is a bad habit of mine, since long ago, and if I talk in this roundabout way we might never get to the point.”

“I, I am fine…..that, is”

“I am talking.”

“――――”

With the right hand’s finger held to his lips, the king’s left hand was pointed at him.

A quiet point for him to make excuses suddenly blocked, his back became slick with cold sweat. In that silence which felt freezing to his body, ten long seconds passed,

“…..Sorry. I didn’t mean to threaten you. It’s just that, these two people here. And these others present are all hired by me and follow me, but you’re not like that are you? So then, how should I say it….. I acted in a manner I was used to, sorry.”

“――――”

In honest terms, the speaker’s tone was quiet. That magnitude was odd and stuck out at him.

The Purge King was polite, and to that opposing side conveyed respect, and yet just like that without hesitation he would also carry out violence on them.

The king’s tone in treating others with words, showed none of his hidden intentions to a listener. Embarrassed eyes lacking confidence, actually pierced through to peer at inner thoughts with narrowed gaze, with strong attention to the other’s nerve in every move he was observing.

Those darkened black pupil asked only one question.

――Are you, my friend, or my enemy, I wonder.

“――――”

Of course, that he was not an enemy, that he must assert.

However, Sigrum’s words were sealed, having just been forbidden from talking back.

Making a sound, or responding with his eyes, showing with his attitude, would it wear on that guy’s patience?

With such a fear capturing the elder’s heart, the longest few seconds of his life felt like an eternity.

Something like this, exaggeratedly just laughing it off, not a single person had survived trying that.

The organization’s stance was merciless, and in the center of those four nations’ underworld, that group which in his hands had been steadily growing, already had become an irremovable sore.

To survive, was to avoid being entangled it that diseased portion in the first place, as overcoming that illness after the fact was impossible.

And so, the sole method of surviving. Offering complete submission in the name of coexistence, it was only that.

An incurable illness he had tried to avoid at all costs. But ultimately, unable to escape it, the old man had come to this place.

With all his answers already prepared beforehand, with determination having chosen to submit, it was for that he had come.

But, even that thought had been carelessly made, Sigrum had come to understand here.

Hands and feet tied, and tossed in the water while unable to move. Like that, he was out of breath, and his oxygen-deprived lips were struggling. On land, in this room, he was drowning in that gaze.

“――――”

Not a disease. But a curse.

The Purge King, this never-ending curse was what he was ruling over.

Fear to the point of making him sick blurred his eyes, and unending doubt gnawed away at his heart.

He was, that human was fearing. His opponent was fearing, was doubting, was hating.

That king himself had the strongest fear buried within him, and that with this same curse he was eating away at others, desperately all others that came across it were infected with the same.

Like drowning, the king had said first. It was just as he had said.

Now, if it seemed like a chance, Sigrum would try to grab at straws or at anything.

“So, umu….. So, the straw story. To live desperately will….. Umu, like that we know, Sigrum-san with us like this had this talk, because of an idea that was not well thought-out, you wanted to forcibly push that onto us with a desire for results.

“――――”

Saying so that, the Purge King spread his left hand in their direction. And like yielding the turn to speak, an offering gesture of the hand was made.

“Ah”

At that moment, as if the stiffness had come unraveled, breath leaked out from Sigrum’s lips.

At that single moment, grabbed by fear to avoid annoying the king’s senses, in front of the eyes of that young man he did not react. That patient silence, he had directed Sigrum to, it was due to that.

“Sigrum-san?”

“Ah, no….. My apologies. As for my side’s thoughts, it is stated in my sent letter. With all members of your organization, from now on and for a long time, we humbly wish for good relations.”

With words chosen carefully, taking care to avoid showing excess humility, Sigrum expressed his position on the matter.

Hearing that, the Purge King narrowing his eyes, but after mulling it over for a while he smiled.

“――――”

That smiling face, seeing it abruptly matching the age of its owner, Sigrum was surprised.

With that startled Sigrum, the king was strongly agreeing.

“Let us have a nice partnership, Sigram-san. The details will be discussed with the person in charge later on.. This was the best and wisest choice for you.”

“Ah…..”

“From now on, regarding this association, I will be in your care.”

His hand raised, while smiling the Purge King concluded the meeting.

At those words, Sigrum slowly lifted his body. His body had grown stiff from kneeling, and his body posture briefly faltered, but while enduring it with difficulty he let out a long breath.

“Thank you very much. From now on, this side will be in your care as well.”

“Umu.”

Somehow, holding his tongue, his final words concluded the talk.

And so, nodding like this was over, the noble bowed his head and stepped back away.

“――――”

In his heart that was bouncing and shifting, a strong sense of relief and achievement was blowing like a storm.

His body that up to a few seconds ago had felt heavily weighted down, felt suddenly like floating. And with naturally lightened footsteps, the faces of his family members waiting for him to return home rose in his head one by one.

Having braved this violent wave, somehow his wish had been granted.

“―――?”

It was at that time.

From the rear, a very faint sound was heard.

A sound familiar to the ear, the sound of a coin, it was that.

Something similar to, a single coin slipping from the hand, and hitting the floor..

“Tails.”

One short word, a voice was heard saying.

What that was, Sigrum’s mind wondered, racing crazily fast―――,

“――――”

The elder’s view tilted, becoming even with the floor.

Even more so than when he was kneeling, this carpet had grown suddenly closer.――When he felt that, it was the end.

Chapter 6

“――――”

At that fallen man’s throat-slit corpse, Halibel was gazing with narrowed eyes.

Praiseworthy skill.

That old man’s corpse lacked stiffness in hands and feet, and the head that had fallen on the carpet had failed to read the mood. The corpse was like a corpse that had lost only its life, only that, and it was because of this that it could be called an artfully made corpse.

But the corpse was nothing but a corpse, and to see it as amazing, to judge it that way, was not a hobby he indulged in himself.

“Oh, Ouueh ……Eh.”

Watching the sight of the bleeding corpse, the boy on the throne held his mouth firmly closed.

Already, he had seen the moment where a person becomes a corpse many times, but as his temperament was sensitive, he showed no sign of really getting used to it.

“After having ordered it, acting like that towards the dead, isn’t that definitely insulting? To become used to corpses, I wouldn’t ask for that, but maybe you should at least to aspire to avoid creating them, how about that?”

“I too, am not killing for enjoyment ….. This. Not even being able to look straight at it, but being at such a scene anyway, but more than that..”

“That’s being deceitful.”

At his employer holding a handkerchief in front of his mouth, fighting off nausea, his colleague’s words to him held no absolution.

Of course, the side that was in the right was── The side of Cecilus. That his employer did not show fury at this was evidence he knew his actions had the marks of deception.

While looking at the young boy whose face had grown as pale as the corpse’s, Cecilus, with an offhand “Anyhow”, continues to speak. His gaze was still watching the corpse, that poor fallen old man.

“That contradiction of yours does seem weird to me,” he said, “such a calm conversation ending with a sudden order to kill, you surprised me, boss. I would expect you to feel some remorse.”

While speaking as such, Cecilus with dissatisfaction puffed up his cheeks. It was not quite appropriate behavior for a man in his twenties, but his mind and appearance went together well, so it fit him.

His human sort of beauty, as usual was what allowing this conduct to occur.

Anyway, as Cecilus pointed it out, the boy also contorted his cheek,

“And so, didn’t I tell you, I did not want to have him killed. Like I said to him, I wanted to believe it. A lying face or something like that, I didn’t see it, either.”

“Then, why?”

“Even if does not seem like they’re lying, liars will lie after all.”

At that Cecilus gazing at him with surprise on his face, the boy that knelt on the throne bit his lip.

In that terribly skinny life, an unshakably strong will could be seen.

Halibel and Cecilus, what had happened in his past they did not know.

But, in that guy’s past, they both believed that situation must have happened.

Smiling, and acting friendly, someone must have stacked doubt and hurt in his chest, with fingers that treated kindly, with lips they must have had spit out hatred and malice, that kind of experience.

Such a past, must have taught this boy.

“First cut the buds, then break apart the branches. I will never be fooled twice.”

Tightly, the boy grabbed his own shoulder and pressed his fingernails over his collar. Those nails could be seen ruthlessly entering, skin was being torn, that blood is oozing was certain. That was, to him, a necessary ritual to maintain himself, those subordinates that had been with him long knew, and so nobody could stop it.

As if soon satisfied with the pain, the boy slowly rose from the throne,

“The corpse, make it neat and bury it. And, an envoy is to be sent to their shop. Everything is to be confiscated, but if they follow along do not treat them poorly. If they refuse, then purge the family and burn the store. When the takeover ends, have them greet the next one in charge and follow their plan. With that, it will be decided whether to destroy them or not.”

With a calm tone, the boy ordered so those in the room could hear him.

For anyone, and not only that, but also to anyone, this is a bold order to make.

These requests that did not worry about the process, but rather only with the result, made the group work nicely. By focusing on the accomplishments of the group, not that of any one person, the perfect strength of the organization could be maintained.

And so, if someone taking a chance brought about failure, the risk of everything being lost was lowered, and with everyone’s power the work was carried out. ──It was the ideal workplace environment.

──As an example family, a lover, wealth, life, many other things.

Holding onto the safety of those things as insurance was the work of the boy.

And so the “Purge King”, as he was called and feared as, this was that timid boy’s way of fighting.

“Boss, you forgot your coat.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Standing, behind that boy heading to the doorway, Halibel gently draped a black coat over his shoulders.

Just slightly draping that on his shoulders, he also added a word of reminder――Immediately after that Halibel’s whiskers grew numb with detected killing intent. At its intensity, Halibel lowered his eyes.

The source of that intent, he did not have to check, it was the boy in front of his sight.

Probably, it was because he had stood behind him.

“…..Halibel-san, I do not want to kill you.”

“Hahaha, then you can just not kill me. Instead just use me well.”

“But, being unable to control a tool and destroying yourself with it, is that not the worst-case…..”

Mumbling to himself, pondering on methods to kill the aide in front of him, the boy put on his jacket.

Those grumbling words were quickly brushed off, but the boy’s words were not a joke.

He would, if it was possible, try to kill Halibel.

It was simply that, the effort it took to kill, the insufficiency of his preparation to kill, and the trouble brought about after the killing, it was merely that which had inclined him towards not killing, that was all.

“Boss, boss. These offerings that person brought, where should they be moved to?”

“Offered goods….. The contents, what were they?”

“Contents were…..Ah, there’s a magic stone. From where did they learn of boss’s tastes, they had come having paid that much regard, truly, I feel even more sorry for them.”

“Cutting off his head was Cecilus’s idea so…..”

At the room’s entrance, the boy who was called out twists his cheeks. And at that breezy attitude of Cecilus, he sighed.

“The magic stone, I’ll ask you to send it my room. Other that that do with them as all of you like.”

“Yes, yes, definitely understood. And, boss.”

“…..What is it.”

That boss who was making unhappy sounds, at that boy Cecilus touches a finger to his eye.

“Those dark circles, are quite severe. Maybe, you should sleep softly next to the princess for a while?”

At Cecilus’ words, the boy’s tongue let loose with annoyed sounds. That Cecilus just laughed off, but around him those other men froze with tension in their bodies. It was possible that, because of that annoyance, Cecilus’s slaying could be ordered to be carried out.

Of course, in that situation killing Cecilus would not be enough. Using every power available in the building, somehow they would have to try to force a draw with Halibel as well.

“――I will think about it.”

Fortunately, the boy did not hastily order this, but with just those word turned away.

With that, relief spread throughout the room, and the men watched the back of the departing boss. That waving Cecilus’ inability to read the mood, was recently one of Halibel’s biggest concerns.

“I too, taking on this kind of group is not really something I have confidence in it…..”

Shaking the kiseru held in his mouth up and down, Halibel gazed at that boy’s departing figure.

Firstly, as the most senior associate, guarding and similar duties were handled by Halibel. However, whether inside or outside the mansion, threats meaning to cause him harm were few.

Some were stopped by fear, and many others were simply unaware of his existence.

“――――”

Carefully, Halibel watched over that boy who evaluated everything with narrowed eyes.

In that building, it was not just the reception room which was decorated with various works of arts and paintings. To maintain that glaring wealth, his whole body was being used to defend it.

By showing the authority of this wealth, and showing it off, creating unnecessary enemies could be avoided, that was the intended plan.

I win without fighting, the boy had said, but it could definitely be called strange.

Of course, as it is, an overpowering wealth and power was subject to the jealousy and envy of others. Ultimately, whatever you do enemies would appear. The boy’s method then was simply to reduce the number of them.

And, if that quantity was reduced, it would only be necessary to deal with the rest using force later.

“Halibel-san…..Appropriately, please watch over Cecilus to keep him from exploding.”

“Understood, leave it to me, boss should go see the princess.”

“Alright.”

That he had accepted Cecilus’ suggestion perhaps annoying him, the boy replied with distended cheeks.

And then, those two pairs of legs headed deeper within――In the deepest part of the building named『Pandemonium』, they arrived at the door to the most strictly guarded room.

―――On that door, there were so many locks that a person that is seeing it for the first time might shudder, there were with that many keys and a lot of locks were locked.

The amount of keyholes neared fifty, clearly showing the importance of what lay on the other side of this door, as well as the meticulous, tenacious, and obsessed nature of the person that had prepared it.

But, above all, what made the caretaker’s obsession most obvious was the fact that, the keys to fit in those keyholes and open the door, not one of them existed in this world.

That is, this door, by any normal method could never have been opened.

To open it, then――,

“―――Puck.”

“I am called, and so I’m appeari-nyanyanyan.”

Receiving the boy’s call, with an exhausting voice and excessive flashes of light, a grey-furred kitten suddenly appeared in the air.

Outwardly with a silly attitude and cute appearance, but within holding absolute power, that great spirit―――The existence known as Puck, floated down and landed on the boy’s shoulder.

“Yo, you’re here again after quite a while, is Lia the reason you came?”

“The door, open it.”

“Mmh, what is that, that tone is, if you spoil the father’s mood he might not let you see his daughter you know, the feelings of a father having a daughter at such a ripe age, if you could understand that more it would make me happy..”

“Puck.”

On top of his shoulder, Puck was stroking his whiskers.. The boy called to him.

Seeing that boy’s face marked with deep dark circles, Puck said something like “Ara-ara”, and like that he let out a sigh.

“You endured it until you’re left anxiously shaking like this again, so it can’t be helped. That effort of yours is commendable, so I’ll let it slide just this once.”

Saying that, with a satisfied air Puck gathered his short arms together and pointed towards the door. And, through those keyholes that lacked any keys, a faint light poured forth.

Click-

Soon after, the faint lights turned into keys made of ice, and fitting inside the door played an opening song.

The method to open a door that would not open―― The secret was to create a key that did not exist.