Regret

"… A Divine Power Mass?"

As I asked, Shiren nodded and spoke.

"At first, I thought it was just a simple complex with all sorts of powers mixed together. But after I checked, it seems to be divine power."

"… Really?"

"Yeah."

Hearing that, I looked down at the Black Orb in my hand.

The orb, called the Source of Power… As I looked at it, I fell into thought for a moment, pondering what to do with it.

Shiren looked at me and brought up a point.

"And this is a part of the Artificial Sun, not Elysia."

Hearing that it wasn't Elysia, I stared at Shiren wordlessly.

I couldn't fathom the intention behind saying such a thing at all.

"What exactly does that mean?"

"It means the main body ran away."

Unable to understand the story about the main body running away, I asked her to explain in more detail.

Shiren nodded and spoke while looking at the Black Orb.

"It seems they tried to remove only the Artificial Sun and run away the moment the bombs exploded. But I think they ended up taking Elysia altogether because they ran out of time."

Since I myself didn't witness the exact moment the bombs exploded, it was a bit ambiguous to draw a conclusion.

However, considering that Shiren wasn't the type to lie, there was a high chance that what she said was true.

Even so, I couldn't believe it, so I asked her to tell me the reason.

"Yeah. I'll tell you."

Shiren nodded, took the orb from me, and explained the reason.

"First, the Artificial Sun is an item made by grinding up roughly thousands, tens of thousands of people. And to put it another way… it makes no sense that only this much power is left."

Come to think of it, the power remaining in the Black Orb was weaker than I thought.

While the Black Orb I had obtained in the past from the Training Ground radiated immense power just by looking at it, this one only possessed a power that fell far short of that.

"Second. The enemies died too easily. Even if about a thousand of Damian's bombs fell, the enemies were Archbishops or high-ranking executives of the Dark Mages, and I don't think they could be taken out all at once."

At those words, Lorraine nodded in agreement from the side.

"That's true. Roughly speaking,, they should be individuals reaching the level of a high-grade expert. They might suffer 'fatal injuries' from being hit by the bombs. But it seems impossible for them to disappear without even a trace."

"Yeah, that's right. Of course, there is a possible way: if the Artificial Sun exploded completely, it could evaporate everything."

When I asked if it wouldn't make sense for them to have disappeared then,

Shiren shook her head and spoke to me.

"But in that case, the 'egg' that Damian saw shouldn't exist, because it would have literally completely exploded and wiped everything out."

"Ah."

"And lastly, the magic formula I linked to it isn't broken."

I couldn't deny the possibility that all of this was just a result of a series of coincidences.

But if Shiren's words about Elysia being alive were true, I sighed, thinking I didn't know how to accept it.

Listening to those words, I looked at Shiren and asked a question.

"If so, there are a few things I don't understand."

"What is it?"

"Then what was that flesh monster I saw?"

"A fragment of a very small part of the existence the Dark Mages are trying to create."

My expression stiffened at the fact that it possessed that much power despite being only a very small part.

To put it another way, when the thing they were trying to create was completed, it meant an absurdly powerful existence would emerge.

At that conclusion, I crossed my arms and fell into thought.

Just as I was thinking that my mind was too complicated to come up with any conclusion.

Shiren spoke to me in a calm voice.

"It's okay. I'll protect Damian by your side."

Then she blatantly clung to my side and started glaring at Ruen, who was nearby.

"…?"

Ruen blinked and looked at us, seemingly flustered by the sudden possessiveness, and spoke with an awkward smile.

"Th-That's a relief! Since Lady Shiren says she will be by Damian's side."

"Yeah, that's right."

Shiren continued her possessiveness and started glaring at Ruen.

In that atmosphere, just as I was about to wave my hand to quickly calm things down.

Liana, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, brought up a question.

"Then who on earth took Elysia?"

It was a high-ranking executive of the Dark Mages or Mikhail Archbishop.

It was certain to be one of these two… but since I couldn't be sure exactly who it was, my worries deepened.

As those worries dragged on, Shiren tugged at my hem and spoke.

"I don't know who took her, but if we follow the magic formula, we can find out where she is."

That was good news to hear.

The moment I heard those words, I immediately asked her to tell me the location.

Shiren said she needed a little time and stood up from her seat.

"Then I'll go check."

As I nodded, Shiren left the room at a rather quick pace.

I lay on the sofa, thinking I should rest a bit during the remaining time.

Lorraine, who was nearby, approached my side and spoke.

"By the way, the Duke of the North isn't taking any action even though there's such an uproar in the North."

"… I know, right."

Every time one question was resolved, several more continued to pile up.

Just as I was thinking my head hurt a bit, Ruen, who was next to me, seemed to have thought of something interesting.

She scurried right up next to me and started rubbing my forehead with her hand.

As Ruen's slightly cool hand touched my forehead, it felt like my headache was easing.

A pleasant scent that strangely seemed to tickle my whole body also wafted over. I couldn't even think of stopping her and just quietly received it when suddenly the door burst open and Shiren's voice was heard.

"I found…"

Shiren couldn't finish her sentence about finding it and looked ahead.

She soon froze in place, her expression sinking.

She spoke toward Ruen.

"Thieving dairy cow."

At the word dairy cow, Liana, who was next to us, coughed and spat out the tea she was drinking.

Because there wasn't a single person who would blatantly use a title like dairy cow, even if she was a fake saintess.

I ignored Liana, who was coughing uncontrollably, and squeezed my eyes shut.

Ruen spoke to Shiren flustered.

"D-Dairy cow? Are you perhaps talking to me?"

"Super-giant thieving dairy cow."

"… ?"

Ruen blinked rapidly and stared at Shiren, seemingly not knowing how to accept this situation.

Shiren blatantly ignored Ruen, approached my side, and pushed Ruen away.

"… W-Wait a minute?"

Ruen was pushed aside just like that and fell onto the sofa next to us.

Shiren looked at this, nodded in satisfaction, and spoke to me.

"Anyway, I found out where Elysia is."

"Where is she?"

"The Order."

At those words, Ruen, who was sitting next to me, quickly stood up and stared at Shiren with a blank expression.

* * * * *

Everything originated from an illusion, but tragically, the result was not an illusion.

Elysia looked at the sickroom covered in pure white with a blank expression and let out a hollow chuckle.

"… Hah."

She couldn't understand what on earth was going on.

She had definitely gone to handle the rift only because she was told one had appeared.

But in addition to the bombs exploding, she had suddenly been kidnapped somewhere.

Because the situation had already far exceeded what she could comprehend or handle,

Just as she squeezed her eyes shut, feeling a headache rushing in, someone entered the sickroom and spoke.

"It's a relief that you've woken up!"

Although he spoke as if relieved she had woken up, his expression wasn't smiling at all.

She nodded, feeling uneasy at that bizarre behavior.

Mikhail Archbishop calmly approached her and continued speaking.

"I was wondering what to do if you didn't wake up at this rate."

He was talking as if pretending to be cheerful, but a peculiar gloominess that wafted out with bizarre calmness enveloped the surroundings.

Just as she was silently nodding, finding that sensation excessively ominous,

He looked at her from nearby and brought up a point.

"Grand Duchess Elysia. I'm sorry to say this, but you will have to stay here for a while."

"Pardon?"

"The situation has become quite a headache. If it were up to me, I'd like to let you go, if only for the affection we've shared given our long acquaintance… but it's a bit complicated. Haha, still, there's no need to worry too much. We have pretty much everything here."

He spoke while pointing at the luxury goods placed here and there.

Just as she was thinking that such items proudly placed amidst the pure white of the Order suited it well yet felt strangely out of place,

Mikhail Archbishop looked down at her and spoke.

"So please stay here for now."

"… Yes."

"I'm saying this just in case, but please don't think about escaping. I'd like to keep things amicable if possible."

She had roughly expected it, but

Because she could tell that he wasn't locking her up with good intentions, a groan slipped out without her realizing.

'… Hah.'

The moment she realized that fact, one thought flashed through her mind.

She had only continuously been used by others from the time she was born until then.

Just as she was curling up her body and clutching her head the moment she realized this fact,

Suddenly, she thought of the one person who hadn't tried to use her.

'Damian.'

She couldn't know the reason why he had shown her such goodwill.

But what was certain was that he was the first and last person to show her favor and try to help her, and remembering that complicated her mind.

'… If I had known it would be like this, if I had known it would turn out like this.'

Regret flowed out without her realizing, but since it could no longer be undone,

She strongly suppressed it and squeezed her eyes shut.