Chapter 55 - Do You Have No Intention of Withdrawing?
Elenoa could not even stand unless she kept her hands pressed against the wall.
Claire directed a killing intent, sharp as a blade, straight at her.
The level difference between the two was about twenty. Needless to say, in terms of spirit and ability alike, Claire's victory was overwhelming.
"I feel bad for you. I still regret letting Louis's younger sister die and injuring you. But that is a separate matter. I cannot leave those who harm people be."
Surrender quietly.
That was likely what Claire had come to urge.
Even as she pierced Elenoa with a gaze so sharp it seemed it might cut upon touch, Claire was kind. And yet, she possessed a sense of justice.
In contrast, Elenoa was not 'right.' She had no words to retort with, and simply shook her head with ambiguous resolve, showing her refusal.
"The only time I will go to your side is when Louis goes to your side."
"...Even if it means you will be struck down?"
"I don't want to die, but I feel it would be better than betraying Louis."
"I see," Claire muttered softly. The fading whisper did not reach Elenoa.
The fairy was frightened by the level difference, yet she did not choose the simple option of fleeing. Around her neck, the proof of being chosen by Louis glowed.
"So Louis chooses you. Sweet and weak, easier to handle than me."
"Am I being looked down upon, perhaps?"
"If you think so, then that is what it is. But I am truly envious of you, just as you are."
Claire lowered her blade. At the same time, she glared at the figure standing behind Elenoa.
Only then did Elenoa notice. Leaning her weight against the wall, she turned around to find Louis smiling, having been there who knows how long.
To Elenoa, who called out to Louis with only the movement of her lips, he asked, "Were you not harmed?"
"I-I'm fine."
"But you were calling for me the whole time, weren't you? I must have frightened you."
She had indeed called for him. But she had not made a sound. Was it some form of telepathy that had activated without her knowledge?
Elenoa was practically ignorant regarding the 'Contract,' but now that a master-servant relationship had been established through their bodies and magic circles, telepathy was not strange. Perhaps that was just how it was.
"I was just surprised because you were gone when I woke up."
"My apologies. It was due to a sudden intruder..."
Then Louis turned his eyes away from Elenoa and greeted Claire, who was looking at him with eyes as if viewing her parents' enemy.
"It has been a while."
Just one sentence.
"...Ah."
"Unlike the outside, few monsters appear here, yet you managed to come this far. Impressive."
"Did you create those tasteless traps along the way?"
"They were all the work of the previous castle lord. However, separating 'you all' was my own hobby. Humans become very weak when they are in small numbers, after all."
Elenoa listened to their conversation while being held in Louis's arm. And she remembered. On the second floor of the Demon Lord's Castle, there was indeed an event where the party would split into two.
They would reunite just two steps before the decisive battle with the Demon Lord, but was this unreasonable specification his doing?
Since Claire was alone, her companions must be one or two others.
"Since you have made it this far, you pass. I shall let you reunite with your companions."
Unfair! You didn't offer such a service during the game!
Elenoa, who looked as if she wanted to say just that, groaned "Ugh" at the sensation of the teleportation magic that had arrived without any mental preparation.
Spin.
Her eyes spun.
Although the arm wrapped firmly around her waist did not let go, she still clung to him.
Her feet touched the floor. This was a large hall.
Torches placed at equal intervals along the walls softly illuminated the damp stone walls.
The rectangular room, resembling a dining hall with its tables and chairs removed, had a red carpet laid precisely upon the stone floor. But that was the only decoration.
The most conspicuous thing in the room was the large door at the back. It led to the Demon Lord's throne.
And what drew Elenoa's eyes more than that was a man with a cold gaze that scorned, looked down upon, and detested them from the bottom of his heart. It was Gilrem.
Claire, who had been teleported next to him, exchanged glances with Gilrem for a brief instant before silently drawing her blade again. The tip was pointed at Louis. And then at Elenoa.
Elenoa—the Demon Queen—bluffed while clinging tightly to Louis. She glared at Claire and Gilrem with all her might. It was like the futile threat of a kitten.
Louis—the Demon Lord—soothed her, patting her head to calm her down.
Only Gilrem, standing next to Claire, knew that excessive force was being applied to the hand holding her sword.
Elenoa looked at Gilrem, trying her best to appear strong.
He had changed since she last saw him ten years ago.
In the past, at the very least, they could communicate. Even if they were not friendly, he was someone with whom she could have a peaceful conversation. Now, there was no trace of that left. Dressed in black, he thrust his emotion of 'hatred' straight at the Demon Lord and his wife.
—It is we who should be the ones who cannot forgive.
Elenoa remembered.
The day Lumina and Elenoa had fled into the grounds of the Royal Castle in the Royal Capital, pursued by humans.
She had seen this man's back. This man was likely the culprit. He had told the women that "Elenoa is a fairy," inciting the citizens.
Elenoa had suspected as much. She did not know the details of the King's story regarding the First Monster Attack Incident, or why the trio had been outside. Therefore, in Elenoa's mind, the biggest 'villain' was Gilrem.
"Gilrem-san. That day, in the Royal Capital, was it you who revealed my true identity to the citizens?"
"Yes."
Elenoa's mana stirred restlessly.
Deliberately ignoring Claire's atmosphere, which seemed to question what she was talking about, Elenoa continued her inquiry.
"Did I do something to you?"
"No, nothing? I simply hate fairies. I hate them, hate them, hate them, unbearably. And I hate you as well, who fell in love with a fairy and ended up becoming a mass murderer."
The last words were directed at Louis. Seemingly displeased with the response, "Originally, you disliked me, didn't you?" Gilrem furrowed his brow.
"Yes, I disliked you from the moment we met."
"I suppose so. ...I spared you only for Claire's sake."
Louis smiled as if troubled.
"Now that it has come to this, we must follow the ways of the Demon Lord. Normally, the first step would be to have my subordinates deal with the intruders. But before that, there is something I ask every time to the Heroes who come here. —Do you have no intention of withdrawing?"
To Claire and Gilrem, this was a provocation.
When asked "Do you not intend to flee?" with the enemy before them, was there any Hero who would nod? The two were not Heroes, but swordsmen who had fallen from knighthood, yet it was the same. Their will, harder than that of ordinary people, was something shared by Heroes as well.
To Louis, the question was meant as salvation.
He held no grudge against the Heroes themselves, so he recommended evacuation. Though none had ever returned. Louis did not understand the feelings of the Heroes who, for some reason, would fly into a rage shouting "We will not return!" and come to kill him.
And as expected, sensing the killing intent of the two, Louis exhaled lightly. Elenoa grabbed his clothes with concern, so he placed his hand over hers.
"There is no room for further discussion. ...Bismarckrose Nilgiri Chambert."
"Meow."
The door to the throne room opened slightly. Popping out from there was a monster who was Louis's subordinate, right-hand man, and former Demon Lord.
He trotted to the center, raised one arm sharply, and,
"Meow!"
It was the greeting of the child—Bis.
The three fell silent, and one of them suppressed a laugh with a "Hah..."
In response to the reaction, Bis swung his tail left and right to express his dissatisfaction.
"Even though you called for me."
"I do think it was bad of me."
"Don't laugh while saying that, nya!"
Hiss!
Bis threatened Louis, Claire remained confused, and Gilrem watched the situation.
Leaving them there, Louis took Elenoa away.
He walked through the door from which Bis had just emerged—into the throne room.
Claire called out to him.
"Louis."
"...Is there something you need now, of all times?"
Maintaining his demeanor as the Demon Lord, Louis responded dutifully.
Claire took a deep breath of oxygen. She closed her eyes, then opened them.
"I love you. I wanted us to be together, with marriage in mind."
Mixing present and past tense, she poured her entire heart into those words.
Elenoa looked at Claire. The figure of the strong woman gazing at Louis was beautiful. She thought she was lovely. So much so that even Elenoa, being of the same sex, was captivated.
"Thank you. However, I have a beloved wife, so I cannot accept."
Elenoa, who had been vaguely looking up at the side profile of her husband as he bluntly cut off the confession, came to her senses at the sound of the door closing heavily. She was placed on his lap as he sat on the throne. This was embarrassing. There were also the eyes of the Dragon Clan guards standing on either side.
"Is it fine? Claire-san, you two were close, weren't you?"
"I was prepared to abandon everyone but you."
Giving a half-hearted reply, he looked at the closed door.
Not a single sound could be heard.
"Do you always wait like this?"
"Few manage to make it this far. Occasionally, Bis sends over humans he has grown bored of, but in any case, I end up waiting for several tens of minutes."
"...I see."
Elenoa had entered the throne room only a few times, so this was her first time witnessing the 'Work of the Demon Lord.'
Sensing her confusion, Louis showed concern, asking, "Shall we return to the room?"
What was happening on the other side of that door now was a fight where 'killing was permissible.' It was not a battle where killing was necessary, but no human who had come to this castle had ever returned alive.
Claire was prepared to die, so she had likely poured out her feelings to Louis at the end.
And Elenoa did not have the resolve to watch someone die.
Louis intended to send her back to the room, but she shook her head and refused.
"I will not return."
"...I will show you something painful."
"Yes. But, it is fine. If possible, I do not wish to avert my eyes from what the child I raised is doing. Also, it feels a bit unpleasant to be told that it has nothing to do with me, despite being married."
"However."
"It is fine."
She felt that if she did not at least do this much, she would be losing to Claire in terms of spirit.
But before her husband, who still seemed likely to press the matter, could say anything, Elenoa took the initiative.
"There is something I would like to try, is that alright?"
"Yes."
Elenoa raised both hands. She held them as if placing something upon them, so Louis watched her, wondering what she was doing.
Eventually, a faint, transparent sphere appeared in her hands. It was a transparent crystal ball, so substantial it even felt like it had mass.
Elenoa was surprised herself, saying, "...I did it."
Next, an image was projected onto the crystal ball. It was the scene beyond the door. It wavered and cut out, unstable, but as she concentrated, glared, and stroked the surface, trying various things, it gradually stabilized.
Louis guessed it was a fairy ability.
"Because I am a Helpful Fairy. If I can perform Appraisal, I thought I could do this too. It seems to only work within my own territory, though."
"...That is amazing."
"Louis, you could probably do it with magic too."
"However, for clairvoyance and visualization, I would need to create a magic array. I would also need to place a monitoring and image-transmission magic array that serves as a camera in the room over there. ...If we consider that one of your abilities, then indeed, your detection and appraisal are unique to the Helpful Fairy. Impressive."
"Hehe."
Elenoa smiled shyly, her cheeks relaxing, and stroked the crystal ball.
"Is your waist not painful? I made you overexert yourself quite a bit last night."
"I-I'm fine! Don't remind me!"
Unlike the throne room, which was filled with a peach-colored atmosphere, the room separated by a single door was truly a field of death.
Elenoa stared at the crystal in her hand.
Blood danced in the image.
She did not know whose blood it was.
All three were bleeding, to greater or lesser extents.
Gilrem charged forward, attempting to drive his thin sword, specialized for thrusting, into Bis's chest. Bis leaped high, landing his feet on the ceiling. Then, using the jumping power stored in his legs and gravity, he plunged straight down at Gilrem below.
Creak, creak, his claws sounded.
Before the tip, sharp as a needle, could pierce Gilrem's skull, Claire's greatsword swung in from the side.
Bis laughed, "Meow," and threw something at Claire's sword.
The something was a short blade with a matte finish. Several hidden weapons, which seemed likely to melt softly into the shadows under the torchlight alone, slightly halted Claire's sword. They had also targeted her forehead, but she avoided them after clicking her tongue.
He had failed to kill Gilrem. However, Bis, who had landed safely on the ground, smiled with satisfaction. It was an innocent smile. He had the face of a small boy whose older brother and sister from the neighborhood were playing with him.
However, his pupils were wide open.
Bis was a cat Demon and a user of hidden weapons.
Utilizing his agile physique and eyes that could see through the night darkness better than a fairy's, he hunted his enemies. For Bis, who could use walls and ceilings as footholds and jump freely in all directions, this was the easiest place to fight.
With lighting provided only by torches, and a square room.
The number one place where Bis felt at ease was Elenoa's lap, number two was next to Louis. Number three was his own room, and number four was this room.
The crystal Elenoa watched seemed to pick up even faint conversations.
'Why do you kill humans?'
Claire asked.
'Because it is a monster's instinct. Also, isn't it a cat's nature to want to hunt those who flee, nyaan?'
Bis answered. At the same time, he dashed forward and stood behind Claire.
'What do you take life for...'
Claire rebuked him, deflecting the claws aimed at her neck with her greatsword.
Those words did not break Bis's nonchalant attitude. Bis tilted his head cutely, as if asking, 'Huh?'
'Even if you say that. Aren't we better off for just taming our instinct to kill? Those who cannot endure it are mere beasts, and I think they should just go ahead and kill as they please. ...But let me ask, why do humans try to kill us?'
'Because you cause harm to us.'
'My parents were killed by humans. They were shot with poison arrows even though they had done nothing. They vomited out not just blood, but their internal organs, you know? I wonder if I can still draw that dark peach color even now.'
Torch fire was thrown at Bis's back.
Anticipating that Bis would avoid it, Gilrem leaped out from the shadow of the flames.
His thin blade did not reach.
'Meow.'
—Hop.
Child's feet were visible right before Gilrem's eyes.
Bis was standing on his blade.
'Wha...!'
With a grin, twisting the corners of his mouth.
Bis swung his claws.
'...Gu,'
Three scratches ran across Gilrem's cheek. From where the flesh was deeply gouged, red beads oozed out drop by drop, and then blood instantly flooded out.
'Gil!' Claire shouted.
'Also, according to our old tales, monsters originally evolved from humans, animals, and fairies who were bullied by humans and became ferocious. Therefore, the reason monsters kill humans is because the instinct remains that they must do so to survive. That is how the story goes, nyaan?'
Bis continued the previous story as if nothing had happened. Such a childlike demeanor was so eerie that Claire broke out in a cold sweat.
'Such stories are dubious as to how much of them are true.'
'That's right. So, we have been hating and killing each other for so long that we don't even know who struck first, who is at fault, or why we kill. In a way, this situation is a quiet war, isn't it? We are afraid of humans too.'
—Even though it's mutual, you act like the victim. I hate that about humans.
Bis spat out in a lower voice.
'Well, in war, both sides tend to believe justice is on their side, though. ...Meow.'
Without distorting his cute face or smiling, the child's thoughts flowed forth in words, unknown even to Elenoa through the crystal.
But she accepted it, thinking, 'This child is like that too.'
And Elenoa understood her own alienness in this place.
She did not have a strong will like Claire and Gil, nor did she hate and kill humans like Louis and Bis. Between Elenoa, who had lived life drifting along, and them, a strict wall existed.
'—Elenoa!'
"...!"
Hearing a voice call her name, her shoulders shook greatly.
'It is futile, nya. This room is completely soundproof, and they cannot hear you on the other side.' Ignoring Bis's exasperated voice, Claire in the image spoke to Elenoa, her romantic rival and the Demon Queen.
Claire swung her sword, aiming for a diagonal slash. It was deflected by claws, scattering sparks.
And in the midst of a battle adjacent to death, she raised her voice with all her might toward Elenoa, who sat in one of the safest places in the world, though there was no guarantee it would reach.
'You are not at fault! You have not hurt anyone! You, a fairy, were merely being tossed about by us humans!'
Her shoulder was injured, and Claire's blood splashed against the wall.
'Just, realize for whose sake Louis acts!'
Shouting with bloodshot eyes, she, who was shorter than Elenoa, vomited blood. Her body had been slammed against the wall several times.
In her previous life, Elenoa had only been able to imagine the 'sensation of being cut' through manga and screens. She knew many characters in stories she had watched for entertainment who would stand up for their companions even after having their sides gouged.
Elenoa herself, who had been tormented by humans in this life, knew well how unconventional such developments were.
Story characters do not feel no pain when injured. They simply do not uglily fall to their knees. There is pain. An immense agony that makes one want to lose consciousness at any moment. As long as the nerves do not become numb. With every heartbeat, throbbing. Heavily. Coldly. Hotly. It exists.
Therefore, she found Claire, who could raise such a strong voice despite receiving such a deep wound, frightening.
—For whose sake does Louis act?
Beneath Elenoa's hips, she could feel his presence.
A safe place.
In the arms of him, whom she trusted most in the world.
But why did her heart stir so much?
"...For whose... sake...?"
"Do not listen."
Louis seemed to dislike the faint words Elenoa uttered.
"I am here for my own sake. You do not need to think about it."
Rebuking Elenoa, who looked up in a daze, with a rare stern tone, he placed his hand over Elenoa's eyes. He hid the crystal's image from her.
And then, the sound of someone being killed was heard.
The sound of heavy rain dripping and wetting the floor was heard.
Elenoa could only answer with a single word in a trembling voice, "...Yes."