Chapter 25: Sword Rise

Part 1

Ianna had been sick and half-unconscious for an entire week after Margarita’s death.

Normally, people who had been sick for that long were still bedridden for a short while even after they had come to and needed to get ample rest.

But Ianna had returned to her classes the very next day after waking up.

‘I’m too healthy.’

She and Arhad had gotten into a row immediately after she had woken up after being ill for so long, before she had even had the chance to organize her thoughts. She hadn’t even had the chance to check her body.

She had only gotten the chance to mediate over her body once she had returned to the dorms and had regained her full senses, and she had found that her body was extraordinarily healthy.

‘I was only sick because I got overloaded when I connected to the new heart. Did my body adapt over the course of the week while I was sick?’

This was likely the case.

An incredible amount of divine power had already been circulating through her heart and blood vessels because of her hard training. But the amount of divine power she possessed had suddenly multiplied several times over upon being connected to an incomplete portion of her second heart.

She had felt like her body was about to explode last week. But she only felt pleasant now that she had survived being deathly ill. She felt incredibly hearty.

‘Or it might just be a problem with my mind.’

She had thought that the whirlwind of Roberstein’s memories and emotions would drive her insane when she had woken up under Saki’s care previously. But Ianna had suppressed all of that after winning her first battle of initiative against Roberstein.

And, she grew to think of Roberstein’s memories as merely something from the distant past now that some time had passed, and she could reminisce upon them without much issue.

She had chosen an option that wasn’t one of the options Arhad had presented to her. She would neither force herself to suppress those memories and keep herself from recalling them nor let their two egos mix together but instead choose a third option —the option to simply think, ‘Oh, something like this once happened in the past……’ and leave the memories behind her in the flow of time.

She was very accustomed to thinking this way.

After all, she had already done it before. And so, she would bury Roberstein’s memories inside the flow of time just as she had buried her past life.

And it put her heart at ease.

‘And I’ve confessed all of my secrets too.’

She felt so refreshed now that she had confessed the secrets she had been keeping crammed inside her. This was yet another reason why she was in such great condition.

‘But I still have a lot left to discuss with Arhad.’

Ianna stared at Arhad, who was walking in front of her.

He had suddenly showed up in the training hall while she was training and had asked her to come with him because there was apparently someone whom she needed to meet.

“Putting the matter about this person aside, we still have a lot that we need to talk about. Where were you until now?”

Ianna said in dissatisfaction as she studied Arhad.

“I was busy.”

He was very composed today, unlike yesterday when he had exposed his emotions for the world to see, unable to put them in order.

‘Or maybe he hasn’t put them in order yet and is simply ignoring them for now.’

He had not been able to look her in the eyes ever since they had met up.

Ianna recalled yesterday’s kiss and how it had felt.

‘It was rather nice. Is Arhad embarrassed?’

Arhad had no idea what Ianna was thinking —she looked completely normal—, and he smiled awkwardly as he felt a headache build up just from thinking about this so-called ‘talk’ she wanted to have.

“Let’s take it slow.”

Take what slow? The kissing?

Ianna had been reliving the sensation without realizing what she was doing and her thoughts veered off into the completely wrong direction.

They didn’t need to take it slow, did they……? Arhad continued,

“We have a lot of time, so let’s talk things out calmly as to not cause any more misunderstandings.”

Ianna hit herself on the head as she brought herself back down to earth. Arhad turned around to look at her because of the sudden noise.

“What was that?”

“It was nothing.”

Her heart was filled with the desire to drag Arhad away somewhere, sit him down, and talk now that she had returned to her senses. But she held back because she could see the logic behind taking things slowly too.

“Are we on our way to Lord Heinrich’s tower?”

“Yeah. I wanted to tell you the good news first.”

They arrived at Heinrich’s tower and climbed up to the topmost floor.

Slam!

Arhad swung the door wide upon. Ianna saw familiar faces as the roomed opened up to her.

First and foremost, she saw Heinrich, who was chuckling along but seemed to find the situation awkward.

“……!”

And sitting to his left……was Dorcianni Demariposa, whom Ianna had fought nearly to the death before passing out, acting like there was nothing wrong in the world. She looked extraordinarily tranquil as she brought her teacup to her lips and blew on the tea inside to cool it.

She brought her teacup down when she raised her eyes ever so slightly and saw Ianna standing rigidly by the door.

“Hello there.”

She was acting like she was simply greeting an ordinary acquaintance whom she had met the other day. Ianna was rendered speechless for a moment from the absurdity of it all as Dorcianni languidly observed her.

After all, they had begun fighting each other to the death as soon as they had first met. And immediately after Ianna had murdered her cousin Margarita too.

Nothing would change the fact that Ianna had killed Margarita. But there was no hostility in Dorcianni’s eyes at all. Rather, she actually seemed to be brimming with goodwill.

‘How can she just say hello to someone who’s killed her own blood……? Was she on bad terms with Margarita? Or does she simply have a unique thought process?’

The strange woman had initially called herself an enemy because she was affiliated with Bahamut, and then she had promptly offered to be an ally.

Ianna had asked Arhad to spare her at the time because she hadn’t been in good condition and because Eiji had requested it too, but she was obviously wary of Dorcianni now that she had returned to her full senses.

And she absolutely could not comprehend why Dorcianni was sitting here in the dean’s office casually drinking tea.

Arhad pulled her over by the shoulder just then and whispered in her ear,

“Dorcianni has decided to come over completely to our side. I’ll tell you the details later.”

Ianna lowered her caution upon hearing that.

‘It should be all right if Arhad says it is.’

But she was still dying to know what on earth was going on.

They had a lot of time, as Arhad had said, and it wouldn’t pose a problem to discuss the matter about Dorcianni later, and so Ianna decided to stop concerning herself with it. Besides, there were still others in the room who had caught her attention.

“You’re even prettier now that you’re feeling better.”

Dorcianni seemed absolutely unconcerned about the fact that Ianna had killed Margarita and was ogling her like she had when they had first met.

‘She might just be insane,’

Ianna decided before looking to Heinrich’s right.

“Oho, these are both sweet and salty, they’re crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, and they simply melt inside my mouth.”

“Do you humans always eat stuff this good? This stuff would go well with beer too, instead of this sweet tea.”

“It’s because Roanne has a developed culinary culture. I’ve never eaten anything here that hasn’t been delicious. Right?”

“Exactly. So hurry up and ask him.”

“Please pack me a lot of this stuff before I head back, Mr. Heinrich.”

A middle-aged man with dark blond and grey hair wearing crimson robes with flame-like patterns and a midget with a bushy beard were munching down on some cookies and spitting as they talked.

Heinrich sighed and replied,

“Are you aware that I have an entire warehouse’s worth of items that you’ve asked me to pack for you?”

“Oh, goodness. I’ll have to create myself another spatial magic artefact.”

“I want to sear your mouths shut with lightning,”

Dorcianni suddenly said with a smile as if she was merely commenting on the weather.

“Gosh.”

The midget flinched and tried to hide behind the middle-aged man’s robes, but the man simply shrugged and said,

“Kgh. Why don’t you join us in praising how magnificent these cookies are, Dorcianni? These delicacies were carefully crafted by a master, just like how we ourselves research magic by weaving together the truth! They hand-picked only the finest flour and mixed it together with only the freshest eggs and cooked it crisp at just the right temperature for just the right duration of time……and this brilliant creation is the result!”

“The cookies are delicious and intriguing, but you detract from them by spitting out your dirty saliva everywhere.”

“Oho, so it wasn’t because I was being loud but because I was spitting that you wanted to sear my mouth shut! Perhaps its because you’re a fellow archmage, but you clearly understand the greatness of these cookies too!”

“The archmage of fire is a moron, I see.”

“It isn’t all that bad being denounced by a charming and beautiful young archmage such as yourself. Is it because you’re the archmage of lightning? You’re electrifying. Denounce me more.”

They were sitting on the comfortable sofa and concentrating solely on the cookies on the table as if they couldn’t have cared any less about the people who had just entered the office.

“Lord Maimayè, Lord Hanidelf.”

They, who had not even bothered to notice the new visitors, whipped their heads around when they heard Ianna’s voice.

“Ohhhh, it’s you, Little Ianna.”

“It’s been a while.”

They quickly changed tracks as soon as they saw Ianna and stood up. They were Maimayè Leviagè and Hanidelf.

“It certainly has.”

And Hanidelf most certainly still felt a warm aura coming from Ianna.

“I haven’t seen you in a year and a half! How…….”

Hanidelf had been about to express how happy he was to see her again, but he took fright as soon as he saw Arhad standing next to her. Arhad was always terrifying and Hanidelf could not get used to him no matter how often they met.

“You saw me at the beginning of the year, so it’s been a little under a year for us!”

Maimayè made a fuss as he walked up to Ianna and tried to shake her hand, but Arhad ever so naturally smacked him away. Maimayè shot him a dirty look and continued,

“How dare you obstruct an encounter between a beautiful girl and a great mage?! You may be handsome, but I won’t forgive you for getting in my way when you have no relation to Little Ianna!”

“No relation? Ianna is my lover, so I’d ask that you refrain from touching her so frivolously.”

The words had left his lips so naturally that Ianna nearly coughed.

She was mostly used to it by now, but she sometimes lost her composure for a moment when Arhad acted up so abruptly like this.

“Oho…….”

Maimayè looked to the rings on their left hands. He continued,

“Alas, I must send yet another lovely young lady on her way! But I’ve always known this would happen. After all, it’s unusual for the cold and unfriendly Little Arhad to care about someone! I’d been meaning to sneak into her good graces and slip a kiss on her hand without Little Arhad’s notice, but I fear I’m far too late. Oh, the sorrow!”

Maimayè was fussy and always did things at his own pace. Ianna had been letting his words go in through one ear and out the other when he suddenly smiled slyly. He continued,

“But in any event, you two look good together. Do make sure to send me an invite to your upcoming wedding!”

He had only just heard that they were lovers, and yet he was already thinking about their marriage.

Marriage.

Ianna was gradually learning to accept Arhad’s feelings, but she had never even thought of marriage yet. She had once wondered if she should marry Arhad out of pity while drunk, but she hadn’t been in her right mind back then.

But……would she have no choice but to think about it from now on?

Arhad looked to Ianna, who was lost in thought, with a touch of anxiety on his face before he turned to Maimayè, who was blabbering about bouquets and nuptial songs and dresses and whatnot, and cut the archmage off.

“That’s enough of your nonsense —please tell us why you’re here.”

Ianna snapped back to her senses when she heard Arhad speak and nodded as she asked,

“Indeed. Why are you here? Did you need me for something?”

Heinrich and Dorcianni were likely here because of something that had to do with Bahamut, but it was highly likely that Arhad had brought her to the dean’s office because Maimayè and Hanidelf, who had come all the way here from the southern Kingdom of Vampirka, had business with her.

“Hmm? What are we here for again?”

Hanidelf found Maimayè pathetic when he asked the dumb question and slapped him on the back.

“The sword!”

Maimayè jumped up when Hanidelf yelled into his ear.

“Oh, right! I was too distracted by the cookies!”

Maimayè wiped away the crumbs on his mouth on the sleeve of his robes as he continued,

“I came here with Hanidelf because he kept nagging at me and saying that we needed to see you quick. It’s been a few days since we’ve arrived, but we’ve been sightseeing around Roanne because you were sick, Little Ianna. Goodness, am I going senile?”

“Ianna, we should hurry up and go to Karankell if you’re better now. I’m sure you’ve been waiting too!”

Hanidelf could not hide how excited he was as he made a fist and jumped up.

Maimayè grumbled,

“Just what’s so important about it?”

“Maimayè, you’re only saying that because you don’t know. You don’t understand how great that sword is!”

“Yes, yes. I’m sure it’s so great that you cruelly left me all alone and returned to Karankell for such a long time without so much as saying a word. But when I asked you what made it so great in my loneliness, you refused to tell me.”

“Let Ianna tell you. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that the sword is and will be the only creation of its caliber in all of dwarven history.”

“Goodness, watching this dwarf rave is going to make me go crazy from curiosity.”

A sword, and Karankell.

The reason why Maimayè and Hanidelf had travelled all the way to Roanne just to see her.

Ianna opened her eyes wide.

“You mean…”

Maimayè nodded vigorously.

“Chendelf and the dwarves at Karankell are asking for you.”

If Chendelf was inviting her back, then…….

“I hear that the sword you requested him to make has been finished.”

It meant that her first step toward beating back Roberstein, the special sword that Ianna was to spend the rest of her life with, had finally been completed.

Ianna’s heart was thumping. She had forgotten about it because she always figured that it would be completed someday, and she grew impatient to see it for herself now that she had heard it was ready.

Arhad smiled like there was no helping it when he saw the flush on her face.

Maimayè’s and Hanidelf’s eyes sparkled as they asked,

“So when shall we leave?”

It was the end of November now. The Institution’s fall semester normally concluded in the middle of December, but they had implemented two weeks of extra classes due to the incident with Margarita.

Ianna did not need to attend the extra classes because she had never missed class, but the problem lay in the fact that she would still have to wait until the end of December to take her exams with everyone else.

Then, Arhad said,

“Ianna has exams to take. We’ll leave at the beginning of January, so please go back to the Magic Tower of Fire and return to your work while you wait for us there.”

“We don’t really have much we need to do. It’ll probably take just as long if we travelled together anyway.”

“Hmmm. It’ll be quite late if you don’t leave Roanne until January……. And we’d have to wait for quite a while too.”

Maimayè and Hanidelf were unable to conceal their gloom when Arhad pointed to Dorcianni, who was sipping at her tea.

“Not at all. It’ll only take us an instant if we use Dorcianni’s lightning magic. She’ll bring Ianna over while you’re waiting.”

Dorcianni’s lightning magic could be used in a myriad of ways. It boasted quick speed and intense power, and it was considered one of the highest-leveled movement and offensive magics.

Ianna recalled how Dorcianni had made her entrance. She had appeared in the middle of the sky out of nowhere like a real lightning bolt.

And it was likely that she had originally been somewhere in the North. And yet, it hadn’t even taken her an hour to notice that Margarita had died, track her down, and come find her killers. Ianna realized how truly amazing lightning magic was.

“Oho, I see. Oh, then why don’t we all go together? I’d like to experience Little Dorcianni’s lightning magic myself!”

“I’m not planning to take you,”

But Dorcianni immediately cut him off, and Maimayè took her hands with a look of imploring on his face.

“But why……? We’re both archmages, and I’d like to experience your magic at least once now that we’ve met.”

“I don’t want to get involved with an ugly old man.”

“Cough!”

Maimayè clutched at his heart and collapsed over the sofa in shock. Hanidelf looked down at him in pity and pat him.

“I’d like to take Ianna over to Karankell as soon as possible……. But there’s nothing I can do if Ianna and that mage have their reasons. We should go back to the Magic Tower of Fire.”

“Kghh. To think that I, Maimayè, would be treated as an ugly man…….”

Ianna whispered to Arhad in confusion as they played out their antics.

“I’ll be going to the Magic Tower of Fire using her lightning magic?”

“I said that to get Maimayè to leave first. I’ll teleport us over myself.”

“Oh, will you be coming with me? How far will you take me?”

“Right up to the dwarves’ village, like last time. Maimayè and Hanidelf will be accompanying us.”

“That sounds good to me,”

Ianna said gladly before she suddenly remembered something and looked worried. She continued,

“You’ll have a difficult time because divine power gets sucks out of you when you go to the four corners. But it should be fine if I give you some of mine, right?”

She could even say things like this now that she had confessed the fact that she had an infinite supply of divine power.

Ianna was prepared to refill Arhad to the brim whenever he was lacking divine power, so long as he was all right with that.

Arhad stared back at Ianna when she said that and shook his head.

“No, that’s all right.”

“Why not? I’ll never run out. You won’t even need to take your medicine if you have me. I’ve already learned how to transfer it to others.”

“Just how much did those damn spirits teach you……?”

Maimayè stood up with his shoulders drooping just as Arhad expressed his unconcealed distaste for the spirits. But, being the ever-cheerful character he was, he quickly got over his shock and shrugged.

“We’ll be waiting for you, then! I suppose we’ll only have to wait for about a month. We’ll have finished all the snacks we’re bringing back from Roanne by then, so do bring more good food with you when you come. Let’s be off, Hanidelf!”

“Come as fast as you can, Ianna.”

Maimayè left the office with Hanidelf in tow, and only Heinrich, Dorcianni, Arhad, and Ianna remained in the resulting silence.

“Take a seat.”

Arhad had Ianna sit down on the sofa first before he sat down next to her. He continued,

“You can ask the woman yourself if there’s anything you want to know.”

Ianna glanced at Dorcianni and dubiously asked,

“What happened? Did you really agree to side with us?”

“Mhm. I’m on the hidden prince of Bahamut’s side now. But who would have ever thought that Mr. Heinrich betrayed Bahamut too? How fun.

Heinrich put his wariness of her, which he had been hiding while Maimayè and Hanidelf were in the room, on full display and glared at her as she chatted away.

“Can we truly trust her, Little Arhad? This woman is the very definition of fickle, from what I know.”

Heinrich had known Dorcianni since she had been in her teens. She had come from the Tower of Truth, a close ally to Bahamut, and she had always observed her surroundings with deadened eyes as she searched for something to pique her interest.

She was like someone from another dimension entirely who couldn’t have cared any less about her own situation and only engrossed herself with matters that caught her attention.

“I couldn’t betray you even if I wanted to because of that man’s psychic magic. Besides, I may be fickle, but I always keep my word. Trust me. I will always stick to this side so long as those two live. I told Payne that I murdered Marie myself just this morning, you know? And I’ll make sure to do the jobs entrusted to me.”

Dorcianni picked up a cookie and brought it to her mouth. Ianna felt like she might let her guard down because of how relaxed and unguarded Dorcianni was, but she exercised rigid control over her heart.

She was certain that Dorcianni must be out of her mind, seeing how readily she was talking about killing Margarita —even if she didn’t care about her cousin— and how suddenly she had offered to take their side.

“You called yourself my enemy when we first met, so how could you change sides so quickly? What are your intentions?”

Dorcianni was munching on her cookie as she languidly said,

“I always act impulsively on my interests. I was in the middle of contemplation back then. You were interesting, but I was trying to determine if you were more interesting than Bahamut. We can say that I was testing you. And you and that mysterious man over there excited my interest to its very peak.”

“What interest?”

“Mm, well… For one, that prince of yours seems deeply related to the dragons. And you, lovely miss, made me feel like I could finally reach the Truth I’ve been craving for ever since I was young if I researched you, I suppose?”

Dragons?

This Truth that Dorcianni had mentioned intrigued her too, but Ianna’s focus centered around her mention of the dragons.

After all, the dragon who had helped her while she had been chased by Isabella and Wiffheimer had shared the Demon’s, as well as Arhad’s, colors.

And Arhad had told her that he was the Demon’s reincarnation just yesterday.

She had originally thought that she had been deluded to connect Arhad and the dragon together, but that deluded hypothesis only grew stronger in her now, though she didn’t know what it was that Dorcianni knew.

In truth, the doubt had always been inside her, even as she thought herself deluded, ever since the dragon had turned to look her directly in the eyes.

She had wondered if the dragon and Arhad might be one and the same.

Oh, how she wanted to lock him up somewhere and interrogate him right this instant.

Ianna’s thoughts led her astray, but she immediately straightened herself out and bit her tongue when she saw Dorcianni looking back at her with a grin on her face.

“And what made you feel that way?”

“Well……shall I talk about you first? You restrained me with a strange power toward the end of our battle last week. And from it, I felt something greater than even magic or divine arts. It was like the world itself had ignored the laws of causality and was forcing me into suppression.”

Clearly, there was a reason why she was called a genius mage. Apparently, one could learn to express the phenomena happening to them in such detail once they had reached the upper limits of magic.

Dorcianni leaned back into the sofa and crossed her legs.

“I want to learn more about that power. I have a hunch that your power will one day bring salvation to so many people…….”

Salvation?

Dorcianni smirked when Ianna was intrigued by her strange choice of words. Then, she continued,

“……But that’s just my excuse, and the truth is that I’m simply curious. And as for why I thought that he reminded me of the dragons……hmmm, I have no comments about that for now. But I might decide to tell you if you tell me more about the mysterious power you used on me and let me research it.”

Ianna looked up at Arhad. Arhad tapped her shoulders when she wordlessly asked for his counsel.

“You don’t need to be suspicious of her. That woman truly only cares about her interests. And besides…….”

Arhad hesitated for a moment before he sighed and spat out,

“She’s just trying to see if we have anything to do with the dragons because she’s the Guardian of the dragon to the North.”

“Goodness, you’re too much. How could you just up and say that?”

A dragon’s Guardian?

Dorcianni shrugged with little other choice when Ianna turned back toward her in alarm.

“Oh well. Allow me to introduce myself properly, pretty little miss. I am a wanderer in search of the Truth affiliated with the Tower of Truth. And I made a contract with the Dragon of Ice and Snow and became a Guardian when I was younger. He’s the only one who’s ever found out about this, but now the two of you know too.”

Ianna tried comparing Dorcianni to Absilot. They looked completely different, but they still were similar in some ways —like the overwhelming pressure they gave off during battle.

But Dorcianni was so young.

‘Is she a special kind of mythical race? But she looks human…….’

Dorcianni claimed to be from the Tower of Truth up north in the Himalapè Ice Fields. And there were no known mythical races living in the Ice Fields.

But Ianna suddenly remembered her own past as she thought and shook her head.

‘I was absurdly strong in my thirties too.’

Dorcianni pointed at Arhad just then.

“I know he’s not a dragon, but he felt as terrifying as one when he was about to claw out my heart. And that’s why I said that.”

Ianna stole a glance at Arhad. But Arhad didn’t have anything to say. He didn’t seem like he was about to confirm or deny anything.

Ianna was determined to ask him about it without fail when they were alone.

“My interest in the two of you is great enough that I don’t mind if you use me in your fight against Bahamut. And that’s why I’ve decided to side with you. Oh, and I meant to help Eiji out a bit too because it was just so adorable how he’s still doing his best for revenge after all this time.”

“I heard that you saved Eiji once?”

Ianna recalled what Eiji had said when he stopped Arhad from killing Dorcianni.

Dorcianni was Margarita’s cousin and was affiliated with Bahamut, but he hadn’t seemed to care about that. He had been quite desperate back then.

The edges of Dorcianni’s lips curled up into a smile.

“That’s right. I saved Eiji from death and educated him personally. I taught him all sorts of things. He was such an adorable little boy doing his very best to survive, and he suited my tastes. And Eiji used to cling to me back then too. I hadn’t thought much of it at the time when I left him, but I suppose I must still be interested in him somewhat considering that I found myself thinking about him from time to time.”

Dorcianni slowly stood up from her seat. She continued,

“I’ll be in your care, in any case. Do make sure to call me over whenever you’re about to use that interesting power of yours. Oh, but he has to be there too. He did take me in, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll be very pleased if I met with you alone. And the way he called me here to chase Maimayè away was quite fun too.”

Then, she waved her hand as she bid the three of them farewell.

“I’m busy, so I’ll be off now.”

“Where are you going?”

Heinrich interrogated, still suspicious of her, but she readily replied,

“To enjoy the food and drink in Roanne. I hear that there are many delicious treats here. And it’s so warm even though it’s almost winter……. This place can’t even begin to be compared with Bahamut. I suppose it is the capital of the greatest country in the South.”

That was all Dorcianni said before she whizzed past and walked out the door.

Mages were truly willful people. They only cared about themselves.

All save for Heinrich, who loved Herrace dearly.

But now that I think about it, what’s the difference?

Both Heinrich and Dorcianni also owned Demon’s fragments, but they did not show the same level of obsession that Isabella, Wiffheimer, or Keigus had. They only showed Ianna just enough goodwill to not pose a burden on her, and they were faithful only to their personal goals.

But why?

Heinrich sighed as he looked to the door that Dorcianni had walked out of.

“I’m still worried. The Bahamut imperial family has been accumulating power for centuries, and they are strong. They’re also the rulers of a large empire, and they have faithful retainers who view the imperial family as absolute gods. I had hoped there would be no significant variables until we were ready to face them head-on.”

“She’s certainly a significant variable, but she will prove beneficial to us. After all, Dorcianni will be immeasurably helpful in keeping Bahamut’s eyes off us.”

Heinrich’s stiffened visage relaxed as he nodded when Arhad advocated on Dorcianni’s behalf.

“If you say so. In any event, did you need something from me? I don’t think you only used my office so that Maimayè and Dorcianni could meet.”

“I had something to say to you. I will be accompanying Ianna when she travels to the South next month. I will finish my work before then, and you should discuss important matters with Eiji and Dorcianni while I’m away.”

“I see. It’s only natural that you would do that if it’s for Little Ianna.”

Heinrich replied as if it was only a matter of course and completely within his expectations as his leader, who should have been more considerate of his position, suddenly announced that he was leaving.

Ianna felt strange as she listened in on their conversation.

Was it because he believed that she and Arhad were dating that Heinrich was so obedient, or was it because he was an owner of a Demon’s fragment and was working closely with Arhad? Heinrich continued,

“Very well. Is there anything else you needed?”

“I told Ianna that my soul is the Demon’s.”

The blood drained from Heinrich’s face as if he had suddenly had ice water poured over him. The veins in his skinny hands bulged as he gripped the armrest of the sofa he was sitting on.

‘Oh, so Lord Heinrich was already in the know.’

Heinrich’s fearful eyes studied Ianna. Ianna grew curious about just how much he knew when she saw how obviously nervous he had become.

She found it odd that Heinrich, who had already known about this but hadn’t seemed to mind it in particular, suddenly tensed up upon learning that she now knew about it too.

‘Is he afraid that I might leak it or betray them?’

Heinrich’s lips quivered as he opened and closed his mouth in silence, finding it difficult to speak. Ianna decided to speak up first, since it was poor manners to allow an elder to suffer for so long.

“I don’t mind. I will always stand beside Arhad and protect him no matter what.”

“Oh.”

The light in Arhad’s eyes grew deeper when he heard what Ianna had said. Heinrich, too, let out a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes.

Heinrich was truly relieved.

Ianna was puzzled because she did not know the reason behind his relief……but it was because Arhad, sitting right next to her as he uncharacteristically expressed his joy, was truly a dangerous being.

Heinrich was afraid of the fact that he was the Demon’s reincarnation, but he was more afraid of the fact that Arhad’s expressions hardly ever changed —Heinrich could never know what Arhad was thinking even though he had known Arhad for over twenty years.

And it was only toward Ianna that Arhad openly displayed his fondness and clung to so ardently.

‘He even said something strange, like he only wanted to become the emperor for that young lady’s sake…….’

Which was why he had frozen up as soon as he heard that Ianna had learned about the relationship between Arhad and the Demon. He was afraid that Ianna, who was currently dating Arhad, might come to hate Arhad and leave him.

Arhad might look gentle, but there was no telling how he might react if he was separated from Ianna, whom he was recklessly obsessed with.

After all, Arhad had practically been a madman during the week that Ianna had been sick.

He hadn’t slept, nor had he eaten.

Arhad had spent all his time stuck to Ianna’s side and nursing her unless he was so dirty that he could not bear to touch her and needed to wash himself. He had been so absorbed in her that he hadn’t even noticed as Heinrich brought over the work he needed to deal with and piled it on the table.

Which was why Heinrich was so glad that Ianna thought this way.

It was obvious to him that Arhad would cast aside all of the work that had been progressing if Ianna distanced herself from him. Heinrich wasn’t fully certain that Arhad would lose his mind if that should ever happen, but he was still convinced that it would.

Still, Heinrich wasn’t able to fully absolve himself of his worries and gingerly asked,

“You truly……don’t mind?”

“I don’t.”

Rather, Ianna actually liked the fact that Arhad was the Demon’s reincarnation. It was ridiculous, but she felt like she had suddenly found herself a powerful comrade while she had been struggling all alone, and it reassured her —she could never be put off by it.

And —how should she put it?—, it wasn’t necessarily something she should say out loud, but she rather liked the fact that Arhad was such a legendary being. She found it rather cool.

In any event, it was only natural that a subordinate would feel proud to know that the master she served was someone truly extraordinary.

“I actually like him even more now.”

Besides, even if the Demon had once been condemned by all the other gods in the past, Arhad was now an ordinary person who had lived in the Age of Magic for some time, and it was only natural that Ianna, who was fascinated by the absolute love that mana held for her, was charmed by him.

“Hehe…….”

Ianna was wearing a look of satisfaction on her face as she laughed without even realizing it. Arhad was staring openly into her.

Heinrich studied Ianna’s delight carefully before he finally relaxed.

What a truly dependable girl she was.

Ianna had vowed to be Arhad’s knight, but she was actually more aptly described as the hero who would protect the world. It was truly a relief that she liked Arhad.

Relieved, Heinrich replied,

“All I ask is that you lend Little Arhad your assistance to the bitter end. Little Arhad treasures you dearly, and……he seems genuinely human when he’s with you.”

“I’ll admit to being emotionally dull, but I’ve always been human since the day I was born. Please stop describing me like I’m some bizarre lifeform.”

Heinrich chuckled to himself as Arhad, who had never cared in the slightest when others used to treat him as inhuman, suddenly quipped back sharply.

“Is that so? My apologies,”

Heinrich apologized readily and nodded. Ianna, who had been staring back at him, suddenly said,

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, Lord Heinrich.”

Something she wanted to ask. Both Heinrich’s and Arhad’s gazes drew into her.

“I have nothing to hide from you anymore, Little Ianna, so ask away.”

“In that case, I will ask away without reserve. Most fragment owners I’ve met until now have been extraordinarily fixated on me without reason. So I was wondering how you saw me, Lord Heinrich.”

“…….”

Heinrich had been prepared to answer anything, but he still looked over to read Arhad’s intentions as he lost his composure.

Arhad was lost in thought and he had twirled Ianna’s hair around his fingers and was rubbing at it while Ianna focused on Heinrich. She was already so used to him that she didn’t even react as she kept her eyes on Heinrich.

Arhad let go of her hair as he replied,

“It’s fine. Please feel free to answer honestly. You can tell her about the influence the Demon’s fragments hold over their beneficiaries too.”

Heinrich was relieved that Arhad had said that.

He collected his breath before he answered,

“First and foremost, the Demon’s fragments entice their beneficiaries into wanting power and persuade them into destroying everything. They goad beneficiaries endlessly into becoming evil and plant negative emotions in their hearts while they’re weakened. Most are guided by the fragments into sympathizing with the Demon, and they eventually grow similar to the Demon in nature. The beneficiaries on the Bahamut imperial family’s side fully embrace this temptation and intentionally act only to fulfil their desires.”

He laced his fingers together as he continued,

“But there are also those who are not shaken by the Demon’s fragments and still continue to walk their own paths. They have the powerful conviction and will to beat back the Demon and refuse to assimilate into him. To illustrate, it is the difference between someone who is swayed by the words of another and becomes their puppet and someone who is not swayed by others and uses only their firm convictions to make their own judgments and walk their own paths. In my case, I am not swayed by my fragment because I have the conviction to do everything in my power to secure a bright future for my beloved blood, Herrace.”

Heinrich snuck a glance at Ianna as he spoke.

“But it’s still true that I am oddly fond of you, Little Ianna. I don’t know why. I had always thought it was just an ordinary form of goodwill, but it made me think when you said that all beneficiaries have been strangely fixated with you. I expect……that my fragment does not yet belong to ‘Little Arhad’ but to the ‘Demon’ of the Holy Age because it cannot be influenced by Little Arhad while it’s still inside my heart. But it’s possible that it’s still being indirectly influenced by Little Arhad’s distinct emotions, since it isn’t necessarily incorrect to say that he’s still the Demon’s other ‘self’.”

Ianna train of thought switched tracks.

‘That’s possible?’

The obsession had been unpleasant when she had thought it belonged to the Demon.

But she strangely liked it when she regarded it as Arhad’s. She found it ironic how her opinions had changed so completely just because she had switched over to thinking that Arhad was the true owner of those emotions.

Ianna looked up and stared openly into Arhad.

‘I hope that’s the case. I should ask him when we’re alone.’

Then, Heinrich furiously waved his hands.

“I’m saying this just in case, but I hope you don’t misunderstand. I am only fond of you as a person.”

“I didn’t misunderstand. Oh, but when did you learn that the Demon was Arhad’s prior incarnation, Lord Heinrich? Did Arhad tell you?”

Every question this clever girl threw at him was difficult to answer.

“You may tell her everything. I have nothing to hide from Ianna anymore.”

Heinrich had tried to read Arhad’s intentions again, but there was no need for that. Arhad had resigned himself to fate and decided to accept reality for what it was after his awful argument with Ianna the other day, and he told Heinrich to speak freely before Heinrich could even ask.

“I told you last time that the Roygen woman who stole the blood of Bahamut and was pregnant with Little Arhad escaped through the Lotso Mountains, yes? I helped her escape.”

“Yes, I remember. You told me that she escaped safely and gave birth to Arhad.”

“It’s true. But there’s something else that I haven’t told you yet. Something big happened while we were passing through the Lotso Mountains.”

It was the prologue to the story that Arhad had told her by the campfire during their travels South previously and something that Heinrich had always kept hidden.

Arhad’s mother had been injured seriously in the stomach during her escape and had lost a lot of blood. There was no way that a child strong enough to kill the entire Bahamut imperial family could have been born from her in that state. She had been lucky just on the account that she hadn’t been eaten by monsters yet.

Heinrich had thought that the Roygen Clan’s earnest wishes would go to waste.

But then, just as Heinrich was wallowing in wretched misery, a sudden darkness had settled around them.

“The pitch darkness was terrifying. I thought that it was Bahamut’s magic at first. But it wasn’t magic. I felt a vast presence that couldn’t even be compared to magic —the source of magic itself. And then, two gigantic golden eyes appeared before me.”

“They were the Demon’s eyes,”

Arhad added. He continued,

“A rift into Pandemonium had opened up close to where Heinrich was. A large fragment of the Demon that had been sealed together with his heart and hadn’t been able to leave its place for millennia felt the fragment that the fetus was holding, materialized, and appeared before them.”

Heinrich let out a shaky breath —just thinking about it made him shudder.

“The Demon turned the fetus’ heart into his second. He stitched together the woman’s stomach with body creation magic and healed her wound. Then, he told me to assist him and cast a spell on my brain. It was an absolute spell that would kill me if I refused. And that is why I was always terrified as I raised Little Arhad.”

Heinrich’s white beard quivered.

And yet.

He glanced at Arhad, who looked completely normal, and drank some tea as he gained some peace of mind. He continued,

“But not anymore. I’ve since learned that Little Arhad is not a bad person……. And that is as much as I know.”

“I can tell you the details later, so go ahead and ask something else if you have more questions,”

Ianna snapped back to her senses —she had been lingering on the new information— when Arhad asked her to change the topic at hand and posed another question.

“What is the Tower of Truth that Dorcianni is affiliated with? I’ve never heard of it before.”

“Hmmm…….”

Heinrich fell into silent contemplation for a moment before he began his explanation.

The Tower of Truth was a white tower hidden deep within the Himalapè Ice Fields. It had been named after the group of people residing within it.

They had been longtime collaborators of the Bahamut imperial family. They helped research the Demon’s fragments, and they also aided the imperial family’s reign with their powerful military might.

But they always claimed to have established their group only to research the Truth of the world.

The Truth. It was something that could not even be easily explained, so how did they mean to research it, and why?

Heinrich noted that he did not know much more than that. They were a very secretive group, and they never revealed information pertaining to themselves to the outside world. People had tried and tried, but there was hardly any information about them at all.

He also added that it was possible that Dorcianni might be amicable to telling Ianna.

After all……she, a mage who had been dispatched from the Tower of Truth and had been a powerful ally to Bahamut, and yet she had cast Bahamut aside and was now searching for the Truth through Ianna.

Part 2

Ianna ran as she followed Arhad out of the dean’s office and blocked his path.

“Could we have some time to discuss alone? There’s much that I’m curious about.”

Arhad stared down at Ianna, who looked much more vivacious than she had yesterday, and nodded before leading her to his room.

Ianna naturally took to the sofa as soon as she stepped foot inside the familiar room. And Arhad, too, brewed some tea and sat down at the seat of honor as if it was only natural. It was so natural to the both of them now that he no longer even needed to ask if she wanted some.

The steaming hot tea was the perfect temperature for the cold weather.

But neither of them touched their teacups as they stared into each other without a single word.

“Well…”

Ianna spoke up first. She wanted to throw out everything that was causing her anguish inside. Arhad had said that they should take things slow, but Ianna wanted to settle everything between them as quickly as possible and grow closer to him.

And so, she immediately asked,

“Why did you hide the fact that the Demon is your previous incarnation?”

“……Like I said yesterday…”

Arhad was calm as his lips parted. He continued,

“I knew that you were related somehow to Roberstein, the god who killed the Demon. I didn’t want you to know that the Demon is my previous incarnation because I didn’t want it to create even the smallest of cracks in our relationship.”

“How did you learn that the Demon is your previous incarnation? Did Lord Heinrich tell you?”

“I’ve known that I was the ‘Demon’ ever since I was born.”

That surprised her.

To think that he had known he was such a legendary being ever since he was born…….

Ianna had always known that Arhad was different from others and that his mindset was rather special. But he was still just as human as her, and Ianna now understood him in her own way.

And yet, she could not even begin to comprehend what he must have thought when he was younger if he had always known that he was the Demon’s reincarnation.

“Ever since……you were born?”

“Like what Heinrich told you earlier, there was a rift into Pandemonium near where my mother was dying. A fragment of the Demon, which had been with his soul inside Pandemonium for millennia, flew out from the rift. Did you understand that part?”

“Yes.”

“The fetus hadn’t developed its own soul just yet, and the fragment took the fetus’ heart as its own. It all happened near the rift into Pandemonium, which meant that the fetus was heavily influenced by the Demon. Both physically and psychologically. I possessed a small portion of the Demon’s memories as I developed a perfect body, and I was aware of the fact that I was the Demon when I was born.”

Ianna recalled how her own body was perfect as she listened to Arhad’s story.

Her body had always been sturdy, even in the past, and it had quickly developed into a body optimized for martial arts as time had passed. And it always healed quickly no matter how badly she was wounded.

Was that because the soul sealed in the Roberstein bloodline and Roberstein’s heart, sealed inside Phaemdra behind the Roberstein manor, had influenced her body’s development?

The soul sealed inside the Roberstein bloodline had not been self-aware as the Demon’s soul had been, but perhaps Roberstein’s heart, which was sealed not too far away, had unconsciously influenced her body while she had still been growing inside Lebony’s womb?

“Then, have you always known all of the Demon’s knowledge that you know currently?”

“No. I wasn’t able to completely inherit all of the Bahamut emperor’s large fragment of the Demon when I was a fetus, so I couldn’t obtain its memories. And I initially lost connection with my first heart because hearts can’t connect without direct contact. So I hardly knew anything and was completely empty when I was born. I’ve told you before. I was never interested in anything when I was young, and I felt like I was living in a world of black and white. I was practically retarded and focused only on the crimson light in my dreams, and I only pulled myself together when I first saw a sword.”

Arhad had told her about this once before by the campfire when they were traveling to the South.

“Part of that was because my soul was fragmented and incomplete and my consciousness wasn’t fully there, and another reason was because the Demon’s evil emotions left behind in my fragment were too strong for me to bear. It was only after I had seen a sword and awakened that I was able to think using my willpower alone.”

“Then how did you obtain the rest of your knowledge?”

“I’ve been to Pandemonium alone before a long time ago.”

“To Pandemonium?”

To think that he had gone to Pandemonium itself and not a mere rift. Ianna continued,

“To where the Demon’s heart is with Roberstein’s sword pierced into it? How did you get there?”

“I found a rift into Pandemonium and jumped in. I wanted to obtain the Demon’s heart. I was able to get into contact with the Demon’s heart while I was there and connected to it. And that’s when I obtained all of the Demon’s knowledge, memories, and emotions and the like.”

Arhad was not speaking as desperately or frantically like he had yesterday. He was rather well-behaved as he answered readily, as if he had decided to simply accept everything as it was. Ianna was happy to know that she had been successful in persuading him yesterday.

Arhad collected his breath as he slowly continued,

“But the Demon’s heart was fixed into place by Roberstein’s sword, and I couldn’t make it completely mine because it was still sealed. So all I could do was to connect my hearts together before I left.”

“You can make a heart completely yours?”

“Yes. It’s still a heart that my soul imprinted on, so I can even fuse it together with my current heart if I wanted to.”

Ianna found another subject to think about when she heard what he had said.

‘I want it.’

But, would Roberstein’s heart be completed if she gathered all of Phaemdra’s pieces into one place and broke the seal? It was highly possible that Roberstein’s heart would not be in great shape. The most vivid recollection she had of Roberstein’s memories was of the End, when Roberstein’s heart had still certainly existed but was slowly losing its will as she died.

‘I’d be nice if I could have it.’

She didn’t need to trouble herself over it immediately, however, so Ianna pushed aside her thoughts about Roberstein’s heart and quietly asked Arhad,

“Do you wish for me to pull the sword free?”

Just like how she herself wanted to break the seal and obtain the god’s heart.

“……I do.”

His reply had been belated, but Arhad had said that he wanted her to free the sword, so Ianna endeavored to work even harder. It might have been the Demon’s heart, but it didn’t sit right with her that a sword that had to do with her had been driven into something belonging to Arhad.

‘In one sense, we’ve both stabbed each other in the heart at one point.’

Once at the End of their mythical past incarnations.

And once at the finale of their illusionary past lives.

‘It’s quite laughable.’

Ianna suddenly burst out into laughter as she clenched her fists.

‘We’ve both killed each other once, so let’s stop it at that.’

Ianna quietly cut down the loop of their ill-fated relationship as she nodded.

“Very well. I understand everything now. Oh, and could you please tell me about all the Demon’s knowledge in your possession?”

“That……will take quite some time, so let’s save it for when we travel south a month from now.”

“When we travel south? But I thought we were teleporting there……?”

“It’s the only chance I’ll have to spend a long time along with you uninterrupted. We can teleport as much as we want if we suddenly get busy, so I was thinking we might as well take the time to enjoy a trip together —what do you say?”

A trip with Arhad?

Now that she thought about it, she did most things together with Arhad, but it all related back to work. They often rested together too, but that was still just resting.

She thought fondly of the time they had spent time together on their ‘date,’ but that was the last time they had been together like that because she had traveled to the West immediately after and the incident with Margarita had exploded upon her return.

Moreover, they had only ever gone out to Theodore together. Ianna imagined going on a vacation ‘date’ with Arhad as they traveled throughout the vast South and nodded right away.

“I’d like that.”

“That so? I’ll start planning things, in that case, so let me know if there’s anything other than the South you’d also like to see. We can go anywhere if we teleport.”

Perhaps it was because Teleport was one of the most difficult spells that existed, but it was practically all-powerful when it came to saving time and stamina.

“The world would’ve been a much easier place to live in if Teleport was an easy spell. Anyone could use it if it was imbued into a large artefact so long as they had a mana stone.”

“Hmmm…….”

“Oh, that was just a trivial thought. In any event, I’m all for this trip. We can discuss the Demon’s knowledge then, but there’s also something else that I’ve been wondering about.”

“What is it?”

“Are you a dragon?”

“……You ask that so bluntly. Though it’s very like you.”

“Please don’t avoid the question. Are you the dragon who helped me in the Lotso Mountains?”

Arhad sighed and fell into a moment of contemplation. But his silence was short, and he returned an answered that cleared away all of the doubts Ianna had left inside.

“The Demon’s original form is that of a large lizard, and dragons are simply lifeforms that were made in the Demon’s image. And, you’re right. I was the dragon you saw back then.”

The Demon had been skilled at altering his body with mana, and the same held true for Arhad. Additionally, Arhad’s true form was his human one, but the Demon’s true form was a dragon. And so, Arhad was very familiar with draconic forms.

Arhad was related to the Bahamut imperial family by blood, so he had felt the shock too when Ianna had dispelled their magics in Sidian. He could not determine the exact location, but he knew it had come from the west. The direction where Ianna was.

It was obvious that it was Ianna who had dispelled those magics, since there was hardly anyone who could break Bahamut’s spells in this day and age, and it was all too clear to him that the Bahamut imperial family would take an interest in her in the near future.

Which was why he had pushed all of this other work aside and had rushed immediately to the West. He could not use their artefacts to get in contact with Ianna because of the noise functions he had added, so all he could do was to track down her location.

It had only been after Isabella and Wiffheimer had started pursuing her and the three of them had broken into the Lotso Mountains that he had finally managed to find her.

And so, he had transformed into a dragon to conceal his identity and followed in pursuit.

Then, he had been unconscious for a few days. He had only just woken up again when he finally picked up Ianna’s call.

Arhad had known everything, but he had lied and pretended otherwise because Ianna had been trying to hide things from him.

“I say that, but I actually don’t have any grounds to say this to you either. I don’t have the right to ask you why you’ve been hiding things from me when I’ve been hiding things from you too.”

In her head, Ianna vividly recalled what Arhad had said to her as he tried to hide how exhausted he sounded when she was finally able to get in contact with him again.

“It’s all right. You don’t need to tell me.”

“It means that I’ll respect it if there are a few things you want to keep private.”

She had found his words strange back then, but now she understood why he had said them.

Ianna was at a loss for words once she had heard about everything. She had posed her question readily because she had already been certain that Arhad was the dragon, but now she had also learned that he had suffered terribly for it. She had incurred yet another great debt to him.

All the stress she had gone through because she couldn’t get in touch with Arhad had ultimately been self-inflicted. She had no right to have been angry over it.

Arhad shook his head when he saw the shadow creeping over Ianna’s visage.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t want you to feel guilty because of that.”

“……Thank you.”

Ianna did her best to relax her facial muscles. She continued,

“I won’t ever hide anything from you ever again.”

She had confessed everything she had to confess, so she no longer had a guilty conscience. Ianna was grateful to Arhad, and she resolved herself to never keep secrets from him ever again.

Oh, but she would still keep her rebirth to herself. Not only had the past been terrible for both of them, but now it was nothing but an interesting story and there was no real need to share it with him.

“I’m happy to hear it.”

“When did you go to the Roberstein lands to see me, and why were you there?”

Arhad failed to answer the question promptly and simply stared back at Ianna for a moment. Ianna felt uncharacteristically impatient because of her exploding curiosity.

“……The you in my arms right now —are you not an illusion……?”

She had felt uneasy about those words and had wanted to avoid them because she was afraid that he might have directed them to someone who was not her. But not anymore.

To think that he had seen her even before that.

When had he first seen her and fallen for her, why had he pointed his bloodlust at her back then, why had he pulled her into a hug and said those things, why had he tailed her in secret, why had he saved her from the minotaurs, why had he kissed her fingers, why had he feigned ignorance about it at……why, why, why?

Ianna was so curious that the questions just kept spilling out from her lips.

“Why?”

She felt like she could guess at least a few of the answers if she tried, but she preferred to refreshingly hear everything from Arhad’s mouth.

“…….”

Arhad rested his elbow on his armrest. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand, and he stared stubbornly into Ianna as she interrogated him excitedly. Ianna, whose eyes were sparkling as she awaited an answer, grew a little awkward.

‘What is he thinking about?’

Arhad was being very strange today. He looked very lethargic, and it almost seemed like he was trying to avoid something. He was docile, like an obedient attendant, and he didn’t speak unless it was necessary.

In other words, he was very sober today.

And he was also being very persistent. Ianna almost felt like she was being observed. When she received his stares……why was it? It made her feel a little strange.

Ianna stealthily avoided his gaze without realizing what she was doing and looked to her teacup.

Things continued like that for a while before Arhad finally broke the silence.

“For starters……the biggest reason why I went to the Roberstein lands was to look for a rift into Pandemonium. Rifts are more likely to appear closer to the heart of the Lotso Mountains and the four corners, and the heart of the Lotso Mountains is right behind the Roberstein lands.”

It was only then that Ianna raised her head and looked to him again. Arhad was not looking at her anymore, and he was studying his own teacup, which wasn’t steaming anymore because it had cooled, like she had been doing earlier.

Ianna was a little relieved.

“I saw you only by chance. I was in the middle of scouting out talent, after all…… I knew from the callouses on your hands and your trained figure that you must be a decent warrior, and I followed you out of curiosity. I wasn’t really thinking that hard about it.”

But her relief only lasted for but a moment. Arhad’s eyelids drooped languidly, and Ianna filled his dark and subdued eyes. He continued,

“But my entire world was crushed apart the very moment I saw you wielding your sword with such a bright smile on your face.”

Ianna clenched her hands into fists before she knew it.

“The trails your sword left in the sky were magnificent. But it was the overwhelming ecstasy and overflowing satisfaction, focused solely on your sword, unconcealed in your smile that I found myself being frantically absorbed into.”

The air around them suddenly felt heavy as the dense emotions rushed openly out from Arhad’s story. Ianna’s palms grew sweaty as she suddenly found herself hyperventilating.

“……I am not normal, Ianna. I can’t feel satisfied no matter what I do. Maybe it’s because I was living in a dark place filled with only negative emotions and memories for thousands of years, unable to do anything but let my greed grow bigger? Everything I do feels like a joke, and nothing is ever enough. But perhaps that’s why. I delight in watching others get crazily engrossed and enjoy themselves as they do the things they like doing. And you’re the best of them all. You satisfied me when I didn’t know how to be satisfied. You overturned my entire world, once filled only with lacking and want, and you filled my thoughts and heart to the brim.”

Ianna’s face flushed slightly red.

It was true that she was crazy for the sword. She could not live without her sword, and she always had the most fun only while she was training with the sword. She had never realized that Arhad looked upon her so favorably for it.

“You are the first and the last person to make me feel this way. And I believed that you, someone who is so engrossed in just one thing and can enjoy it so much, will be able to fill up what I lack. It made me want to keep you by my side and watch over you.”

“…….”

“I starting disliking everything else after I saw you —to the point that it was frustrating. I didn’t feel anything before I saw you, but I became fed up by my sense of lacking and it nearly drove me insane once I did. I wanted to see you again so badly it was difficult to breathe.”

What on earth did he like so much about how me swinging around my sword for a bit while smiling? My face would have been red from the exercise, and I must have been smiling like a madwoman……. Ianna awkwardly touched at her lips. Arhad continued,

“My malcontent reached a boiling point after a while, though I never let it show. That’s why I thought you were just an illusion when I saw you at the Temple of Laos and shot my bloodlust at you, and why I was delighted to know that you were real.

“Then, I began following after you and hugged you before I knew what I was doing.

“I kept following you because I wanted to see you just a little longer, and I saved you when I thought you were in danger……and I gave you my medicine when I thought you were hurt.

“I was truly surprised after I went into slumber for quite some time and work up only to find you again during the swordsmanship competition. I hadn’t thought that I would see you there even in my wildest imaginations. But I couldn’t easily explain everything I had done until then……so I feigned ignorance.”

Arhad’s confession was so continuous that Ianna could not help but wonder whether hiding it all had ever felt suffocating to him. She could finally understand everything that she had thought was bizarre about Arhad’s actions.

‘So to summarize, he fell for me at first sight and didn’t know what to do with himself because he liked me so much —is that how it is?’

Ianna grew more and more elated as she finally understood. She had liked him to begin with, but she could not help but find herself liking the man even more as he continued his story with his dense emotions saturating his calm and quiet words.

Suddenly, Arhad reached out toward Ianna. And Ianna, too, placed her hand on his before she ever realized what she was doing.

“My predictions weren’t wrong. I don’t feel lacking when you’re with me. I enjoy everything you do. I feel satisfied no matter what you do. I want to savor this feeling by watching over you as you spread your wings and soar. But in truth, Ianna, if I could tell you another of my sincere thoughts…”

Arhad wrapped his hand around hers and squeezed so that she could not pull free. He continued,

“I wish that you would only express your interest in me. I like you, and I wish that all of your devotion could be pointed only at me. I would know no greater satisfaction if only you did.”

His words, with his powerful obsession smeared into them, resounded in her ears. The urgent pressure squeezing at her hand was starting to hurt, but comically enough……Ianna felt a twisted ecstasy and pleasure that frightened even her.

She felt like the giant empty hole in her heart was plugging itself up and becoming complete again. She had thought that her heart was a desolate wasteland where nothing could grow, but now it was being covered with green.

That which was causing a racket as it sprouted up wasn’t fresh young grass but a tenacious vine of thorns, but even that was still a miracle in and of itself.

The thorny vines had been laid down and grown from the sole crimson flower living inside her heart.

They would grow thicker and sharper as the flower matured and grew more beautiful.

They would strangle any outsiders who dared approach the flower so that none could ruin it. And they were also her terrifying emotions that expressed……how she would absolutely not allow the one to whom she would give the flower to run away.

She hoped that he would grow more desperate for her.

She hoped that he would want more from her and cling to her more.

Ianna’s ears flushed crimson because she was unfamiliar with this aspect of herself, and she looked away as she said,

“……A grave illness, I see.”

“It’s true. I am truly abnormal when it comes to you.”

And she liked him all the more for it. She liked the situation so much. This man would never betray her. She could give him the entire world, and he would always give her back so much more. She could give and give, and his feelings would still be the stronger.

Which was why she, too, could give him anything without any hesitation whatsoever. She could give him everything that made up the person called Ianna. She could give him her entire heart and everything that was her foundation.

What was this feeling?

What on earth was it?

Was she normal for feeling this way?

She probably wasn’t.

Ianna seriously wondered if something was wrong with her. Was it because she had been starved for affection as a child? Or had she always been this way and had simply never known? Ianna was fervently delighted by how the man before her was so crazy just for her.

‘I suppose I’m not normal either.’

But what was she to do about it? She was already pleased with herself for being this way.

She did not feel any sense of danger or wariness that told her that she should fix this about herself, and she actually found herself extremely reluctant to fix this to begin with.

Ianna was already just about as crazy as Arhad was, and she was rather happy with herself for being able to bear with all the craziness.

But Arhad had no idea what she was thinking about and all he could do was to study her cautiously. He watched over her silently as her face was slightly flush with excitement until he quietly asked,

“I was honest with you because I trusted that you would never abandon me, but……did I put you off?”

Such absurdity.

“I was not displeased, and I will never abandon you.”

“Truly? What will you do if I keep acting like this? What if I lose my mind and lock you up?”

“You wouldn’t. You said that you liked watching me enjoy myself while doing the things I like. Besides, I am perfectly capable of breaking free of my own accord even if you do end up locking me away, so you needn’t worry about that.”

Ianna was fearless in her confidence in her skills. Arhad laughed, unable to help himself, and replied,

“Yes. You’re right. I would never do it, and you would never take it quietly either.”

“I will never leave you even if you don’t lock me up. After all……I would hate it too if I left you. I cannot imagine myself being with another.”

Arhad, who had been staring at Ianna’s merriment, turned his gaze downward as he mumbled,

“……I’m glad to hear it.”

It truly looked like he was trying to avoid something. Ianna found his behavior odd yet again and furrowed her brows. Arhad continued,

“Is that all you wanted to discuss?”

“Pretty much.”

“In that case, there was something that I needed to do…….”

“Is that so? I can leave.”

“No, I don’t mind if you stay…….”

Arhad looked indecisive, like even he was uncertain as to whether he wanted Ianna to leave or stay.

Ianna chuckled to herself as she stood from her seat.

His wistful gaze stuck to her like mud, but Ianna walked right past him with indifference.

“Oh…….”

But just as Arhad stood up from the sofa as well and was about to turn and look at her. A shadow quickly closed in on his face as he stood awkwardly.

Smooch.

Her crimson lips were like a pickpocket in how they gently drew him in and made a somewhat lewd noise as they pulled away.

“…….”

Arhad was rendered speechless as he found Ianna’s, who had stolen his lips, face right in front of his own.

But his eyes, stuck on Ianna’s countenance, bound her tight as a dangerous light seeped into them. Ianna failed to notice and straightened out his disheveled black hair as she said,

“Is this why you’ve been acting so strange? Have I made a mistake?”

“…….”

“I didn’t put much thought into the action. But I’ll stop if you disliked…….”

Someone grabbed her face before she could finish her sentence.

Arhad had straightened himself out and was standing tall, so the difference in their heights, which had shortened while he had been awkwardly postured, had elongated once more.

“This time wasn’t a dream either?”

It was a question, but his voice was endlessly serious and refused to let her deny it. Ianna had already known that Arhad hadn’t disliked it, but she was still startled —she had meant to tease him, but she hadn’t expected him to react like this.

Ianna smiled awkwardly and replied,

“Why would it be a dream……?”

Her words were devoured by Arhad’s lips.

His lips drew a sideways arc in the air as they slowly, yet deeply, fell unto hers. A hot fever was transmitted between them as their lips meshed together —it was not at all like the quick peck that Ianna had given him. Ianna shivered a bit as she felt a mysterious chill.

‘Something’s different.’

Ianna raised and lowered her hands repeatedly as she thought this, slightly bewildered, and Arhad stared into Ianna, who was right before his eyes, while their lips were still locked together.

Her face caught between his hands, her patient lips touching his, their hot breaths, and the drowsy fragrance tickling his nose…….

Was it all a dream?

Perhaps it was.

But the heat began to awaken Arhad’s fervent emotions. Her gentle hands, which seemed surprised but did not move to avoid him or push him away, encouraged the feelings he was experiencing now.

This can’t possibly be a dream. I have never had a dream where you’ve so quietly just accepted a kiss from me…….

No, it must not be a dream.

His eyes, as golden as the moon, were gleaming. Emotions he could not describe surged forth and illuminated his eyes.

Arhad closed his eyes and brought their faces closer. They had only been brushing against each other before, but their lips meshed even closely together as they burrowed deeply into each other.

Arhad brought down one of the hands he had around Ianna’s face and pulled her roughly into his embrace. The other, he pushed into Ianna’s hair and entangled between the strands.

“……!”

Ianna’s back arched as Arhad’s arm wrapped around her waist like a serpent, and her head tilted back as his large hand held her head like a soaring kite snatching away his prey. Arhad swallowed her gasp of surprise that had leaked out from between their locked lips.

Ianna forgot how to breathe through her nose as her lips were drawn hotly into his. She felt no tongue other than her own, but their breaths and saliva were mixed into each other as their lips moved of their own accord.

Ianna staggered as her legs gave out from beneath her, but she did not slump to the floor because she was draped over Arhad’s arm.

‘W-what……?’

Her head was filled only with her thoughts of trying to figure out what was going on.

It had most definitely only felt light and fresh when she pressed her lips on his first, aiming for his naïveté.

But Ianna now realized that all she had done was just that —pressing her lips on his. This bizarre locking of the lips that Arhad was doing to her……was accompanied by emotions so dense and peculiar that she could barely withstand them.

Her heart was thumping furiously inside her chest. She was dizzy and she couldn’t breathe and she felt like she was about to die. Ianna had never even imagined anything like this before, and it made it all the harder to breathe.

Her hands trembled as she clutched at Arhad’s clothes like they were her lifeline. She was gasping for breath because she had forgotten how to breathe through her nose.

“…….”

His greed, which seemed like it would cling to her very soul as he indulged himself in her taste, pulled away, leaving only a sticky feeling behind.

His heavy gaze, wrapped in a guise of composure, fell upon her in the lieu of his lips and studied her. Her face filled his entire vision as she gasped for breath without even being able to so much as blink.

Ianna’s skin was flushed red with heat because it was the first time in her life that she had ever been kissed like this.

Arhad stared at her persistently as she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly in mute amazement.

“…….”

Her strength left her when Arhad released her, and Ianna covered her mouth with her hands as she staggered. He looked down at her as he pointedly said,

“You started it. You’ve forced your kisses on me twice already.”

His mask of sobriety slipped off as he spoke. The smile that was hidden beneath it was rather languid. He continued,

“You didn’t like it?”

Ianna was unable to reply in her bewilderment, and Arhad’s smile grew only more ferocious.

“But I don’t care even if you didn’t. So get used to it.”

His ferocity was so oddly captivating that it put Ianna on edge. The faint roughness in his voice added to the ferocity and attacked her.

“…….”

Arhad ran his finger slowly across her glossy lips as he looked to her like he was licking her with his eyes. In that moment, Ianna vividly experienced a man’s impulsive emotions while being completely unguarded against it for the first time in her life.

“……!”

Her face flushed furiously red. The strange embarrassment tickled her skin and surged up into her head.

Bang!

Unable to withstand it, Ianna shot back up and kicked the door open on her way out. She cursed herself for having let him land such a good hit on her.

And a dizzying storm was erupting inside her heart because of the strange emotions she was experiencing for the first time ever.

~~*~~

A day, a week, a month.

Time passed through the rest of the year quickly, and the Institution’s tumultuous semester concluded only now that it was the beginning of January.

“The top student of the Swordsmanship Department, second-year —Ianna!”

Ianna had been the top student of her year once again.

It was an amazing feat, especially considering that she had never been able to achieve anything during her past life no matter how hard she had tried. She was the top student not in the Theodore Academy, which was practically monopolized by the nobility, but in the Valgenta Institution, where the most elite youths from all across the world had been gathered.

Naturally, this was only the obvious result because she had taken classes only for her Swordsmanship Department major and no other electives. No one could come close to Ianna when it came to swordsmanship, after all. She would have received top scores here even in her past life.

Applause resounded like waves crashing upon the shore.

The vast majority of students from the Institution were clapping for her. The students of the Swordsmanship Department, in particular, were clapping so hard their palms might burst.

Ianna received her award certificate before them all. The certificate, the proof of her excellence, was rolled up tightly and tied together with a ribbon.

She stood atop the platform for a moment before she headed back down and looked down at the people looking back up at her.

The greatest reason why she had been able to stand at the top of her year for two years in a row was her talent.

But there was also the time she had spent living, the experiences she had lived through in her past life, her desperate efforts, and the peace she had gained in her heart thanks to Arhad. Ianna knew that it was also due to all of these things that she was who she was today.

‘I like this —it feels like I’m making progress.’

There was composure in her mien as she walked down the platform steps.

“Gosh, she’s so full of herself.”

“She’s really good at being all aloof and pretending like nothing’s happened even though she’s the top of her year.”

“Is it because she thinks she’s got it all? But nothing lasts for long if you’re too arrogant…”

People were diverse, and there were just as many people who were jealous of Ianna and hated her as there were people who envied her and liked her.

But, regardless of whether they were looking to Ianna in disgust or reverence, all of their eyes were filled with curiosity.

Ianna.

There was no student in the Institution who did not know her name. Even the first-years, who did not know what had happened during last years’ school festival, knew who Ianna was. Rather, was there anyone in Theodore who didn’t know of her? After all, Prince Schneider Lezè Roanne, the most powerful figure in the royal palace, coveted her.

“Congratulations, Little Ianna!”

“I really look up to you, Miss.”

People congratulated her as she stepped down from the platform.

There had been a special swordsmanship tournament held two weeks prior because the school festival had been cancelled, and Ianna had, naturally, emerged as the champion with her overwhelming skills.

Ianna now stood as the unquestioned grand champion even within the Swordsmanship Department, a department filled with only the most elite of the elites. She was not running the same race as them —she was already flying far ahead of any other.

“Did they give her preferential treatment because she’s the only girl?”

“I doubt it. I heard she’s a real tough cookie.”

So many people were jealous and envious of Ianna, but no one could dare slander her because everyone acknowledged her talent and effort.

Everyone knew how much effort Ianna always put into her sword.

Rumors that she planned to graduate next year were publicly spreading because she indiscriminately took as many upper-leveled classes as she could cram into her schedule.

All of her upperclassmen knew just how hard she was working as they took classes with her.

Which was nothing to be said of her peers. More than a few of her classmates were being bewitched by her as she grew stronger and more beautiful in the two years they had known her.

Ianna was dreadfully apathetic toward strangers and cruel to her enemies, but she openly took good care of those whom she considered friends.

Ianna always treated them with respect even though they were commoners. She never pushed her work on others, and she always made sure to tidy up after herself once she was done training.

She taught sincerely and without being annoyed when someone asked her to help them with swordplay or studying. She was even kind enough to fetch people water if they accompanied her in her hellish training and collapsed from exhaustion.

Those who knew how arrogant and selfish the nobility could be knew that Ianna was a very special exception.

‘That person will absolutely lead an extraordinary life. She’ll be one to go down in the history books.’

‘She’ll succeed in whatever she does……whether she becomes a mercenary or a knight or what have you. I feel like I’d be able to live an awesome life if I became her subordinate…’

More than a few people thought this way as they observed her.

But those who had come to the Institution to get ahead in life could not openly express their thoughts even though they most certainly wanted to gain her goodwill.

Ianna currently had nothing to her name, and no one knew what she planned to do in the future.

She had been the neglected daughter of a mistress, but the count had begun protecting her last year during the school festival and there were many who wanted her. Including foreign royalty.

But she had never said a single word about what she saw in her future even when her peers had tried to ask her on the sly.

Still, hardly anyone erased her from their minds because of that. After all, those who had seen the qualities of an ideal leader in ‘Ianna’ had set their standards higher and could no longer be easily satisfied by other nobles.

‘If only she had more power in her household…….’

‘Count Roberstein’s started supporting her recently, but I hear that they still aren’t on good terms. She’ll probably leave the household.’

‘If she should ever choose to put herself under another’s banner, than they must surely be someone amazing. Like Prince Schneider, perhaps.’

‘I feel like I remember hearing that Marquis Chaipan wanted her to join Exatium for her practical exercises.’

People thought a plethora of things as they turned the gears in their brains while observing the path she took in life. But they all shared one common feature.

‘If she ever creates her own house or organization, then I want to join it.’

“That’s my Boss for you,”

said Eiji, who had an accurate grasp on what the students of the Institution were thinking about Ianna, as he nodded proudly as soon as Ianna had climbed down from the platform.

“What are you talking about?”

“Just trying to say that you’ll be something big one day.”

“He’s right. You’re amazing!”

Herrace followed up from beside him as he made a fist. He had always been a faithful follower of Ianna’s. He continued,

“You’re so cool! I’ve known that ever since we first met!”

“……Enough.”

Ianna was accustomed to having followers —people had followed her in her last life as well—, but it made her bitter when her friends, whom she had opened her heart to, acted like this.

Taro hooted.

“Why stop? It’s true that ya were always cool from the get go! I knew that too!”

“Hey, you ignored Little Ianna at first just because she’s a girl. What makes you think you can suddenly deny that?”

Taro scratched his head when Eiji scolded him.

“I never ignored her —it’s ‘cause she’s a human girl. I thought that all human females were weak, like Mum. I only learned it ain’t true after meetin’ Lil’ Ianna out here after leavin’ the West.”

Taro crossed his arms and nodded. He continued,

“I was locked up in the countryside, so I didn’t know how the rest of the world ticked. It really is worth travelin’ the world and seein’ everything for yerself…….”

“Mm, I agree. Your worldview becomes too narrow if you hole yourself up in one place all the time.”

The students embraced their freedom and scattered once the end of year ceremony had concluded. Herrace and Taro had left too, as they had other appointments to make.

Ianna posed a question to Eiji, who was still with her.

“Have you seen Arhad?”

“He didn’t come because he was busy with work. He’s been so excited about going on a trip with you.”

“I didn’t think he wouldn’t be able to make the ceremony.”

Arhad was truly busy. He was working himself to death so that he wouldn’t have to worry about his work while he was away on his trip with Ianna. He was so buried in piles of documents that he hadn’t even had the time to see her. It was bad enough that it was always Ianna who had to go see him first.

“Ro owns so much that it takes him all day just to manage it all. And then there’s always more work piled up for him with every passing day…….and even still! Someone as busy as he is says he wants to put aside his work and go on a trip with his lover! Damn, just thinking about it pisses me off. Isn’t he too much?”

Eiji said, impassioned, to which Ianna readily replied,

“He is. It’s almost sad that I’m said lover.”

“I know, right? So that’s why I’ve decided to forgive him.”

Eiji let out a deep sigh. He continued,

“It disgusts me to see him be so happy, but I’m willing to work a bit if it’s for your happiness, Little Ianna. I suppose I’ll just drop dead all by my lonesome.”

“I’m grateful for it. But, didn’t you say that Arhad was busy?”

“He is, why?”

But the person coming toward her from afar while cutting through the crowd was most definitely Arhad. Ianna pointed to him, and Eiji stared at him in aghast amazement.

Ianna studied his tidy appearance as soon had he reached them and asked,

“I thought you were busy?”

“I just finished everything. Eiji, go and tie up the loose ends for me.”

“You finished all of that? Already? What kind of monster are you? Argh! You never give me any time to rest!”

Eiji staggered while pulling at his hair for a moment before he quickly walked out of view, and Ianna exchanged looks with Arhad.

It was not difficult to find him in the crowd. After all, his gaze was always glued stubbornly on only her.

“I was going to wait at the tower because I didn’t want to stand out…….”

He wrapped his hands around her face. He continued,

“But I couldn’t wait.”

His lips fell on hers.

It was so natural that the eyes of everyone around them were immediately drawn to the picturesque scene.

Indeed. Among the things that Ianna now had was one certain handsome lover. It was, of course, Arhad, who had grown even more attractive as of late because he had been paying attention to his appearance.

Until now, he had only ever been a half-baked swordsman who could not use mana.

But he was the man whom Ianna had chosen, so wouldn’t there be more to him than that? People changed their opinions of him on account of the sole fact that Ianna had chosen him as her lover.

“…….”

And, seated on the highest seat among all the VIPs who had attended the Institution’s end of year ceremony. There sat a man who received all of the people’s attention on his person —Schneider.

Schneider, who had been watching over Ianna as soon as he had sat down in the seat of honor, put down his binoculars when Ianna and Arhad kissed.

“……This isn’t like me at all.”

His voice was shaking as he muttered.

~~*~~

Part 3

Despite Ianna’s personality, it took her a rather long time to renounce her worldly passions after having kissed another as grown adult for the first time in her life instead of kissing like a child pecking their lips at an adult.

She was accustomed to seeing people kiss, as she had witnessed couples kissing each other passionately at parties more than a few times in her past. She had even personally witnessed couples enthusiastically rolling around in the grass with each other during a ‘stroll’.

She had ignored everyone around her and had cared only about herself at the time. She had been mysophobic in her selfishness, and the very thought of having to kiss another had horrified her. She had not possibly been able to imagine herself doing such an act back then.

It had only been on impulse that she had pressed her lips against Arhad’s. She had been rather pleased with herself once she had regained her senses after kissing him, which had erased her horror.

That was all.

And yet…

His gaze had pierced her from so close that she did not think he could possibly get any closer to her, and her heart had starting thumping furiously as soon as his lips, which had once spoken words of support for her, had stuck lewdly to hers.

The flow of her blood had quickened, and her entire being had grown hotter. Her blood vessels had throbbed, pulsing against even the outermost layers of her skin, and had nearly driven her insane.

At first, she had found it difficult to understand why she grew so feverish.

Which was why she had practically fled back to her dormitory and had buried her head in her pillow. She had decided to go to sleep early —perhaps she was simply unwell. But sleep had evaded her.

She had started the next morning by training, like always. But the sensation, which lingered on her lips like an afterimage even though it had been long since she had washed it away, still made her space out from time to time.

Why couldn’t she stop thinking about it?

Why did simply recalling it make her blush so furiously?

Why……did she feel like she wouldn’t mind doing it again?

She had agonized over it for quite some time, and she had broken out laughing once she concluded that this must be the human instinct that she had never known for an entire lifetime.

Ianna ran to where Arhad was as soon as she had organized her thoughts and slammed open his door. Arhad tilted his head to the side and smiled, as if he had been waiting for her, as soon as he saw her.

“It looks like you’re done thinking……?”

He had been waiting for a week.

In any event, she had no choice but to settle down her confusion within the month. After all, they were to go on a trip together in the next.

‘Did he take that into consideration too?’

Ianna thought that Arhad was quite mean. Ianna glared as she walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar before he could say anything.

“Let’s do it again.”

Then, she immediately pressed her lips against his. This was the third time she had kissed Arhad without his consent. Ianna hated losing and felt like she had lost last time, so she challenged him again with the intent to win. She groaned as she tried to do exactly what Arhad had done to her last time.

Arhad had frozen up at first, having failed to predict her sudden action.

“Haah…….”

But a base delight escaped from his heart as Ianna, her competitive spirit blazing, stepped up before his very eyes and clumsily bit at his lips.

His eyes, which had been clear as he worked, were dyed in pleasure, and his hot breaths, carrying a hint of indolence, slipped out from the darkness and soothed Ianna.

His hands, which had been feigning innocence, raised up to Ianna’s cheeks and slowly caressed them. His every finger tangled into the smooth sensation of her skin.

It sent a shiver down his back.

Ianna, who had closed her eyes as she focused solely on defeating Arhad, opened them, and she was immediately drawn into the pupils that were staring deeply back at her.

“Ianna…….”

Into the darkness that he was always suppressing, pushing down, ignoring, hiding, and locking away for her. Into the emotions that were burning up with such terrifying blackness.

Because he was afraid that she might run away, that she might hate him, that she might reject him, that she might be appalled.

Into the heart of the dreadful monster……that Arhad had tried so hard to lock away, but Ianna had made the stopped time resume its flow and undid the lock so the monster could crawl outside.

And Ianna had lost again as soon as she had taken one step inside those emotions.

Ultimately, Ianna had run out from the room while rubbing at her lips with her face flushing bright red.

She just could not understand. She felt like a newborn babe encountering a gigantic monster. Arhad seemed like an undefeatable monster to her.

She didn’t doubt what he had said about his past, but she could not even begin to comprehend how someone who had claimed to have never known a single woman could possibly carry that kind of light in his eyes.

Where had that innocent man who had flushed bright red and had fled from her when she first kissed him gone?

Ianna continued to challenge him.

And she continued to lose.

Her initial victory had been buried deep beneath her continuous defeat. She was being buried alive beneath the dense emotions he conveyed to her, and she could not possibly defeat him.

But comically enough, the defeat did not feel horrible to her.

Perhaps it was because Arhad’s love for her was the bottom-most foundation of their relationship.

His love was like the earth itself —there was no end to it no matter how deep down she dug. She could not lose even if she tried…….

She was defeated, but even her defeat had come from the soil of victory at her feet —so how could she possibly feel horrible about it?

No.

Perhaps it wasn’t soil but a swamp?

For he had cast aside his innocence and patience and had begun dragging her deeper inside.

She had attended the Founding Day party on January 1^st indiscreetly.

The party had been grander than usual to commemorate the fact that they had eliminated the disease.

But Ianna had only been bored. She had never been interested in the glamor of parties to begin with, and it all looked the same to her even if the glamor had been upped a notch.

Angelina had apparently stopped attending most parties after she and Ianna had argued on the king’s birthday.

And it wasn’t simply that Ianna hadn’t seen her on Founding Day, as young men were lamenting over the fact that they hadn’t been able to see Angelina’s beautiful figure on Founding Day either.

Moreover, Schneider had not started a conversation with Ianna during the party either, though he had attended. Ianna had been a little surprised —she had been feeling his gaze more frequently as of late and had thought that he would start talking to her on the sly as per usual. And she had thought that he would pick apart the fact that she had leapt down in front of him while wearing a dress last time too.

She had her own assumptions on the matter, though.

‘I may be a warrior, but I am also a noble and was wearing a dress at the time, so perhaps he was disappointed in me for being so undignified.’

She knew that Schneider was not the kind of person to think that, but she didn’t mind if her assumptions were truly the case either. After all, she did not want him to pay any interest to her.

In the end, Ianna had eaten and rested at her leisure and had left the party at an appropriate time. And she had rejoined Arhad, who had been waiting for her, once she had left the royal castle and had made it to the castle gates.

Perhaps it was because something had happened during every party she had attended thus far, but Arhad had declared that he would wait for her outside the castle even if he didn’t participate. Ianna had told him to stay home and that she would make sure to contact him once the party was over, but he had stubbornly refused to yield.

Arhad called her name and promptly pulled her into his arms.

Ianna had grown so accustomed to his embrace by now that she simply escaped the cold and stayed there quietly.

“You’re cold.”

He was very cold, as he had been waiting outside for quite some time. The white snow falling from the heavens had already soaked his shoulders a while ago.

He replied quietly and promptly when Ianna, feeling somewhat apologetic, asked him why he was going so far.

“Sorry.”

He began by apologizing for making her cold, and it pulled at Ianna’s heartstrings. He continued,

“I enjoy waiting for you. I like spending the time waiting for you because now I know for certain that you’ll always come to me no matter how long I have to wait.”

Ianna had almost suggested that he should just accompany her to the parties at this point. But it was the possessiveness of not wanting to show him to any other, and not her loyalty as his subordinate, that made her reluctant to let him stand out before he had destroyed the Bahamut Empire and stopped her.

“Did Schneider say anything?”

Arhad asked about Schneider, like he always did. He trusted that Ianna would never leave his side, but he was still wary of, suspicious of, and disliked the prince nevertheless.

He never seemed to care when others sent her love letters or tried to scout her, so why was he so unreservedly on edge when it came to Schneider? Did he think that highly of Schneider?

Arhad chuckled contentedly when Ianna told him that they hadn’t exchanged a single word, and he slowly brought her face up from his chest.

Something cold fell deeply upon her lips, which smelled gently of makeup. Ianna flinched when his lips stuck to her like honey, but she did not push him away.

Ianna had grown a little —a very, very little— accustomed to the kissing by then.

But she still lost again.

What was it that embarrassed her so when she saw her crimson lipstick smeared on his lips……?

The way that Arhad said it was fine and avoided her touch when she reached out to wipe it away, as if he, too, rather liked the crimson marks she had left on him, made her heart pound.

Everything she did with Arhad was so new to her. And it was only because it was with Arhad that she didn’t feel repulsed by any of it.

~~*~~

The fact that they had started a fake romantic relationship was just as large of a turning point in Ianna’s life as being reborn had been.

Ianna had trusted Arhad endlessly and had regarded their relationship as precious even before they had begun the lie. She had thought that she had already reached the maximum level of fondness with Arhad and that she could not possibly like him any more than she already did before she had associated the concept of love with herself.

But the lie that had made her rethink their relationship and made the limit of goodwill grow obscure to her, and she could no longer see it now that she had shaken free from her repulsion of love.

And then, a great war had broken out.

They had become as commanders on opposing sides of their war of emotions as they used words, actions, feelings, wits, and touch to define their exact relationship.

Ianna was in a desperate struggle to somehow best Arhad in their new relationship, but as of now she had only recorded a string of losses.

And she fell deeper into the mire with every defeat.

She was beginning to like Arhad more and more. It was almost terrifying.

To be completely honest, even Ianna could no longer predict how far she would go because she had decided to stop agonizing over the matter and simply do as her heart wished.

And yet, Ianna did not tell him that she loved him. She was still uncertain and dubious. And so, she had decided that the day that the words of love naturally bubbled out from her heart would be the very day that she would acknowledge that she was indeed in love.

~~*~~

One week after the end of year ceremony.

They were finally leaving for their trip.

She was wearing a coat so that she would not attract too much attention in the middle of winter, but Ianna was dressed very simply even still. And her bag was very light for someone who was planning to go traveling for a month.

It was all thanks to the ring Arhad had given her.

The ring not only had the ability to regulate the temperature and make her surroundings cooler when it was hot and warmer when it was cold but also had the ability to store a limitless number of items within a subspace —it was so amazing that Ianna could not help but wonder if he had secretly put himself inside the ring too.

‘I wonder how much it costs……?’

The Demon was the progenitor of magic and the master of mana, and Arhad, the Demon’s reincarnation, had labored hard to make the ring. Ianna would keep it with her until the day she died, but she was still curious.

“Give me your hands.”

Ianna had been studying her ring when Arhad slipped a pair of luxurious leather gloves over her hands.

“I’m not cold.”

Ianna was an extremely powerful warrior and could regulate her temperature even without the ring’s help. She did not need the gloves.

“I know. But just in case.”

Ianna simply accepted them, as she was accustomed to Arhad giving her gifts by now and was grateful that he looked after her. He continued,

“Shall we be off?”

It was the beginning of their trip.

Arhad had made the East their first destination.

Ianna was unfamiliar with the East, as she had not had much reason to step foot in the East in either her past or current lives. But she was to spend a long, long time there in this life after graduating from the Institution.

According to Arhad, the East could be divided into two halves —north and south.

The southern half was filled with countries that had fallen into the hands of the Black Fox and acted as their puppets, such as the Kingdom of Begoisha, the homeland of King Harios’ favorite concubine, Luria.

In the northern half were countries like the Kingdom of Woodruff, where the Semastair lands were, the Kingdom of Ostan, directly south of the Lotso Mountains, and the Kingdoms of Karsiva and Killiko —all under Arhad’s sphere of influence and making preparations to do battle against Bahamut.

Arhad had already taken Ianna to the northern half several times. Ianna had wanted to see things with her own eyes because it was difficult to gauge how much power he had cultivated from just the piles of documents he had on his desk.

Ianna had already seen the countries that would take her directly south to the Karankell Rocky Mountains two summers ago when they had been travelling with the Paella Company.

And so, they were planning to explore the southeast as they made their way to the Tower of Fire in the Kingdom of Vampirka, where Maimayè was waiting for them. They would travel by horse or carriage if they tired of walking, and they would teleport if there was nothing worth seeing in the area or if they were running short on time.

Ianna opened up the map that Arhad had given her and was studying the neat memos he had written on it when she rolled her eyes to the side and snuck a glance at his profile.

He was walking beside her, just as he had two years ago as they travelled with the Paella Company. They had been as chased and chaser and as senior and junior, all while hiding the fact that they were also the leader of Camastros and a collaborator.

They had still been awkward around each other back then, and Ianna had been busy trying to uncover Arhad’s secrets. She could have never imagined how much their relationship would develop in just a little over a year.

Then, Ianna recalled a question from back then that she had been curious about but had simply decided not to ask. She wanted to know the answer now.

“May I ask you another question?”

“Always. What it is?”

“When we travelled to the South with the Paella Company two years ago —you joined because of me, right?”

“Of course. I followed after you by squeezing out time that I didn’t have, just like this time.”

Now, he was confident in claiming that he had been following her. Ianna rather liked it.

“Why were you so upset by Chendelf’s hands after you first saw them?”

“Because I thought that you had shaved away your own lifespan and gave it to the spirits just to recreate the hands of a mere dwarf. But I couldn’t act like I had always known that he had lost his hands because I was trying to hide the fact that I was the leader of Camastros. I was angry, but I still had to tell myself that I had no right or excuse to be angry, and it showed.”

I knew it.

The difference between guessing at the answer herself and hearing it directly from Arhad was like the difference between heaven and the earth. Ianna found herself pleased yet again.

Time passed quickly as she chatted with Arhad.

It had been a day since they had passed through the Kingdom of Roanne’s eastern border into the Kingdom of Daineen, and they had been taking a leisurely stroll over a hill. It had been almost inevitable that they had encountered bandits.

“Drop your weapons!”

“We’re the Poco Bandits, the strongest band of bandits in Daineen! I’m sure you’ve heard of how we train up monsters like dogs?”

Upward of thirty bandits had surrounded them. Most had their weapons pointed at Ianna and Arhad, but some of them were holding back three ogres, which were particularly ferocious monsters, by their leashes.

Kwooh!

howled the fierce ogres that were roughly the size of two grown men. Their eyes were red and bloodshot. They brandished the clubs in their hands. The wind they stirred up whipped viciously.

Arhad spoke his impressions aloud as soon as he saw the ogres.

“The ogres must have been trained on drugs ever since they were cubs, seeing how they aren’t running even after seeing me.”

“Monsters can be trained?”

“All monsters were originally normal people or animals. They were simply transformed after being dyed by the Demon’s aura and the power that leaked out from a rift into Pandemonium. Then, they evolved repeatedly until they became a new species entirely. For reference, ogres were originally human.”

To thinks that people could become monsters.

Common sense dictated otherwise, but Ianna recalled how constantly her emotions had fluctuated while she had been inside Pandemonium and was ultimately convinced that such transformation was indeed possible. Even she could have lost herself and gone insane had she not kept a firm grip on her consciousness back then. Arhad continued,

“In any event, anything that’s alive and has even the smallest semblance of intelligence can be trained. The same holds true of monsters.”

“Hey, what the hell are you two doing?!”

“Didn’t you hear us tell you to drop your weapons?”

The bandits raged and yelled at them when Ianna and Arhad ignored them completely and carried on their conversation as normal.

“You little bastards. And here we thought we might be merciful and let you keep your lives as slaves!”

“Do you want to be ogre food?”

They were preposterous. How could they call themselves merciful when they were about to sell people into slavery for profit?

Ianna shot a glance at them and asked Arhad,

“Shall we kill them?”

“There’s no need for us to go out of our way to dirty our hands.”

Arhad closed his eyes and slowly opened them again. His proud gaze pierced through the ogres that had been glaring at him. Then, Arhad simply looked at the ogres without really doing anything else in particular.

Ianna and the bandits were perplexed, as they had no idea what he was doing.

Kwoh?

But the ogres’ worlds had been changed like day to night. Their vision was covered in darkness.

They tilted their heads to the side, puzzled, until they saw the single pair of giant golden eyes before them and froze stiff.

That was the great origin the likes of which they could never possibly resist.

They felt like they were about to be devoured.

The ogres trembled in fear.

And then, Arhad closed his eyes again.

Kwooh!

The ogres began running like mad as soon as they had been released from the chains of terror. It was only then that they had recognized Arhad’s existence and turned to flee.

“Uh, what?”

“Why the hell are they acting like that?”

The bewildered bandits tried to stop the ogres from escaping. Then, the furious ogres began brandishing their clubs at them.

“Aaack!”

“What the hell?!”

Arhad, who had been watching as the ogres smacked away the bandits with their huge clubs like they were nothing more than fallen leaves, lead the puzzled Ianna away from the scene.

“Why did the ogres start acting like that out of nowhere?”

“I startled them back to their senses.”

But how?

All Arhad had done was to blink and look at them.

“Do they get scared of you when all you do is look at them?”

“It sounds a bit funny when you say it like that.”

There was laughter in his sigh. He continued,

“……The ogres saw my soul’s other shape.”

“Your soul’s……other shape? Souls have shapes?”

“It’s nothing special. It’s just the ‘appearance’ that someone recognizes as themself.”

“In that case, would my soul take on the shape of an ogre if I thought myself to be one?”

Arhad burst out in laughter as he imagined what Ianna had suggested before he shook his head no.

“It’s not that simple. You would have to be absolutely resolute in believing that the appearance is right for you, and you need to be accustomed to and feel natural in it. For example……try believing that you have a tail. Do you know how it’s supposed to move?”

Ianna pondered for a moment before she raised her hands.

“I don’t. I’ve never had a tail before. Nor have I ever imagined having one.”

“Then your soul doesn’t have one either. But let’s say you suddenly grow a tail and learn how to move it. You grow accustomed to having the tail, and having one feels natural to you. What would your soul look like now?”

“Your example is questionable, but I suppose my soul would have a tail.”

“Exactly. Now let’s try another example, shall we? Say there’s an ordinary man. But he got into an accident and lost an arm. What would his soul look like?”

“Would it be missing an arm too?”

“Immediately after the accident?”

“…….”

“It wouldn’t be missing at first. After all, he wouldn’t want to acknowledge the fact that he’s missing an arm, nor would he get instantly accustomed to not having it. Phantom limb syndrome is a condition where someone who is missing a part of their body still feels like it’s there —and it happens when their body doesn’t match the appearance of their soul.”

“In that case, would the shape of their soul gradually adjust as they adapt?”

“Yes. And if they fail to adapt and his soul still maintains the shape it had before the accident, then the mismatch between his body and his soul would pose a burden on his body.”

“I understand. But what did you mean when you said that the ogres saw your soul’s other shape?”

Ianna carefully studied Arhad’s attractive visage and obviously human body as she gingerly asked,

“You’re……human, yes? Is the shape of your soul not human too?”

“It’s human. I was born a human and have a human body that I’ve grown accustomed to having, so the shape of my soul is also obviously human. And the shape of my soul is human even now. But I am also a monster known as a dragon. You’ve seen it before.”

“……!”

Indeed. Arhad had acknowledged that he was that dragon. Ianna recalled the overwhelming rush of pressure that the dragon……no, that Arhad had emitted in the Lotso Mountains and gulped before she could help herself.

“The Demon was just a small black lizard at first. He only become the colossal monster known today as a dragon after a long time had passed and he had fully matured.”

And the Demon was Arhad’s previous incarnation. Arhad possessed most of the Demon’s memories and emotions, and he was accustomed to the Demon. He continued,

“And that’s why I can change the shape of my soul into a dragon at will. I’m actually more accustomed to my draconic appearance than I am to my human one.”

“But why is that……?”

“My memories of living as the Demon, in my draconic appearance, that is, stretch for so long that the time I’ve lived in my human appearance can’t even begin to compare. My soul inadvertently reverts back to that shape whenever I draw out the full extent of my powers or when I lose my ability to reason.”

Arhad had decided to answer Ianna’s every question because he no longer wanted to keep anything a secret from her. Which was why he earnestly answered the questions that he would have stealthily dodged before. He continued,

“Let’s go back to the example with the tail from before. If you’re accustomed to both having and not having a tail, then your soul can alter between having and not having one at will. The gods of the Holy Age had countless shapes that their souls could choose between. They could freely alter their physical body so long as they had the requisite divine power, and their souls adjusted to their physical appearance as soon as they adapted to it.”

Arhad explained that the gods had created their bodies in accordance to the original shapes of their souls only in the very beginning when they were initially born, but they had transformed into another appearance of their liking or into the shape that the majority of the gods had taken on once some time had passed.

He added that they could transform their bodies as much as they liked as long as they had divine power and the spirits’ powers.

Ianna thought back on how the spirits had molded Chendelf’s new hands and nodded, prompting Arhad to continue his tale.

“Let’s move on to the main point now. For starters, most monsters can’t dare to oppose me. They were influenced by the Demon’s aura from the moment of their birth, and both their bodies and their souls are subordinate to the Demon. Though it may be possible for the strongest of monsters that have lived for centuries to resist at least once……perhaps.”

Most monsters instinctively realized that he and the Demon were one and the same and were terrified of him even when he was in his human appearance. They lost all will to resist as soon as they laid their eyes on him, as if they had met with an absolute predator, and they either tried to flee from him or submit themselves to him.

But most monsters chose to flee. Even monsters instinctively tried to maintain their egos and identities.

When any living creature that had been influenced by the Demon was faced with Arhad’s soul, when it took on the Demon’s completed form, its soul would come under his influence, be connected to his soul, and be forced into submission.

At that point, their plane of perception would be switched from the physical plane to the astral plane and they would see the Demon’s soul —Arhad’s soul— as an illusion.

A monster with the Demon’s body.

A monster with golden eyes.

And Arhad could freely control whether he allowed their souls to connect, whether he suppressed them or not.

“With the ogres, I did it to force them back to their senses. In conclusion, the ogre’s saw my soul take on the Demon’s appearance.”

“I grew curious about something as I as listening.”

“What is it?”

“Could you not suppress the Bahamut imperial family in the same way? Aren’t they being influenced by the Demon too?”

“I can’t because the Demon’s fragments that they own and share are unusually large. If I tried to exercise my control over them, their fragments will try to counter and seize control over me even though they’re technically supposed to be a part of me, and I might find myself being the one swallowed up instead if things go poorly. It’s possible with a beneficiary of a small fragment, but I can’t do it to them.”

Ianna nodded silently.

It was only now, after she had heard his story, that she fully understood why monsters were so bizarrely terrified of him.

“Then why are the dwarves afraid of you?”

“Dwarves are born with the talent to become master craftsmen. It’s a racial trait of theirs to grasp the true nature of something, even if vaguely, just by looking at it.”

Ianna immediately understood.

Dwarves were a mythical race that could see through lies. They were terrified of Arhad because they could see his true nature.

Ianna sighed.

“There’s never an end no matter how much I learn. There are so many mysterious and complex phenomena in this world.”

“All phenomena in this world are like leaves that sprout from the branches of truth that stem off the ‘First Truth’. There is nothing you won’t be able to understand if you comprehend the First Truth and draw the rest of the world from there. It’s only difficult because you’re starting from the leaves.”

“The First Truth…….”

“It’s the ‘equilibrium’ sought by the Balance of the World. If something exists, then there must also exist something equal and opposite to it.”

Arhad shrugged. He continued,

“I’ve never thought too deeply about the Truth because I don’t really care about understanding the world. You should go to Dorcianni if you want someone to discuss it with. She confessed that the Tower of Truth is a group of sages who research the Truth in an attempt to understand the world. They’re a group of madmen who would use any means at their disposal in order to find the Truth…….”

Dorcianni had confessed honestly when she had tired of Arhad’s questions as he interrogated her. And Arhad shared her confessions with Ianna without reserve.

The Tower of Truth.

Ianna was very interested in the mysterious and suspicious organization. Arhad had called them a group of madmen, but Ianna believed that she could gain a lot if she talked to them.

Still, she decided to push aside her thoughts about the Tower of Truth for the time being. After all, she wanted to focus on Arhad.

But their constant encounters with bandits and monsters continued to get in her way.

The number of criminals and monsters they faced that increased exponentially as soon as they had left Roanne’s borders. It had happened when Ianna had traveled south and west too —Roanne truly had excellent public safety.

This was because Roanne had a great national defense and had many powerful warriors to her name. Having a powerful national defense made it possible for her to periodically eradicate the monsters within her borders, and powerful warriors who had come to Roanne because they wanted to play in the big pond hunted monsters and criminals alike to raise their names.

Well, not that Ianna cared about having to deal with a few bandits. And most monsters never even came anywhere near Arhad’s field of vision, and they barely made for any exercise because the few that they did chance upon immediately turned tail and fled as soon as they caught sight of Arhad. The only problem —if it could even be called a problem at all— was that their conversations were cut off from time to time.

“They’re really running as fast as their legs can carry them,”

Ianna muttered as she watched the monsters flee and stole a glance at Arhad.

A dragon…….

“So, about dragons…”

“Hmm?”

“You said that your soul was accustomed to having the shape of a dragon, yes? Are you accustomed to having a dragon’s physical form too?”

“Yes.”

Ianna grabbed his arm.

“Then does your arm turn into a dragon’s limb? But how?”

She recalled how the spirits had recreated Chendelf’s hands. If Arhad also borrowed the spirit’s powers to transform his body……then did his arms grow to be the size of a small hill, his flesh form sturdy black scales, and his neat fingernails turn into fearsome claws?

All while feeling like he was encroaching on the territory of the gods?

She studied his arm carefully and touched it all over because she was having trouble imagining it. Arhad found her adorable and looked to her affectionately before he placed his hand on top of hers.

“It doesn’t. I can’t actually turn my body into that of a dragon’s.”

“Pardon? But you said that you could change your form at will. And you were a dragon before.”

“Watch.”

Arhad suddenly stopped in his tracks and pointed to the ground.

Cruuunch.

There blossomed a flower that had been made from dirt but looked like a genuine plant. Ianna opened her eyes wide, startled by the wizardry he had displayed, when he asked her,

“Do you feel any life from that flower?”

“……No.”

It looked real, but it didn’t have any vitality. No butterfly would ever land on it.

“Exactly. You can’t feel life from things that were made from mana.”

Countless mages had tried to create life from mana only to fail. After all, mana did not possess the trait of life. Arhad continued,

“My body that you’re touching now is the normal human body created with divine power that I was born with. I’m always severely lacking divine power, and I can’t ask the spirits to make me a new one because we hate each other, so my current body is very precious to me.”

He was right.

Arhad was not on good terms with the spirits. Innis and Arhad had been extremely hostile to each other when they had confronted each other previously. After all, the spirits hated the Demon, and Arhad was the Demon.

Which was why there was no way that he could freely transform his body.

“Then what was the dragon I saw back then?”

“I put my body in a coma and used it as a heart for the draconic body that I created over it with mana. This way, I can surpass the natural limits of my body whenever I want.”

“To think that was possible…”

Ianna looked curious when Arhad said,

“Shall I transform for you if you want to see?”

“Pardon?”

Arhad had suggested it as a joke, but Ianna did not understand it as one. After all, he was willing to do anything if she asked for it.

She shook her head no.

“No thank you. I am curious, but I’ll refrain.”

“Why? You said you’re curious.”

“It’s difficult for you.”

“…….”

“After you saved me from being pursued by Bahamut……why did it take so long to get into contact with me again? You were unconscious, weren’t you? You admitted it yourself.”

She had been foolish, now that she thought about it. How could she had ever possibly thought that Arhad would ever leave behind something that he could use to communicate with her?

His answer back then had been extremely contradictory to how ridiculously abnormal he was in his obsession over her, and Ianna almost wanted to smack herself for having simply believed him.

“…….”

“And you sounded exhausted even though it was already three days later when I finally got in touch with you again. Which I’m sure means that turning into a dragon is that daunting a task.”

There was a slight quiver to her voice.

She was seething on the inside.

He’s joking about turning into a dragon even still?

“You’re right —on all counts.”

Ianna’s inferences had been on the mark, and Arhad stared at her for a bit before slowly nodding back. He continued,

“It inevitably consumes vast quantities of divine power to move a body that large, and it places a strain on my heart as well…….”

He was not able to finish his sentence. Ianna, unable to beat back her emotions, had pressed her lips against his.

“…….”

He had experienced the phenomenon of her eyelashes coming so close that they almost touched his face so often during this past month that he had ample opportunity to grow accustomed to it by now, and yet it still felt fresh and new every day.

The sparks that had erupted between their lips when Ianna had launched her first surprise attack on him after their huge argument had burned away his nerves and had threatened to set his ability to reason ablaze too.

Arhad had immediately fled the scene because he could not know what he might do in that state.

And a day had passed.

He had a bad habit of wondering if everything had been a dream the day after whenever something good happened between him and Ianna.

It made him seem pathetic and timid on one hand, but it was only natural that Arhad, who had only ever been rejected by her for an entire lifetime, to not be able to instantly believe the sudden and wonderful bliss that fell upon him.

He had chased after Ianna with his eyes as he doubted and doubted, and he had only accepted reality for what it was after Ianna had provoked him by kissing him again and asked if she should stop.

The countless locks inside of him had been opened at once and something had flown out from inside like a flock of hunted birds. The monster he had locked away in one corner of his heart had surged up all the way to his head and had made his eyes grow distant.

Ianna’s actions had been no different from a kitten playing cutesy before a lion’s maw. She was endearing as she strutted around in apparent victory without knowing a thing.

And so, he had decided to gently nip her back.

She was so endearing as her cheeks flushed as crimson as her hair before he had even really done anything that he had stilled his fangs just as they were about to bite into her innocence.

Ianna had immediately taken flight like a bird. He had used to hate her retreating figure, but she had been so adorable that day, and he had simply watched over her and let her go while contradictorily feeling both hungry and satiated.

And a week had passed since.

Arhad knew how to wait. He had already waited for so long —what was a little more?

It would have been another story, perhaps, if he hadn’t known whether or not Ianna would return to him, but he had been able to keep down his boiling insides and wait because he was confident in his certainty that she would.

It had been very worth the wait, as Ianna’s cheeky and precocious challenges had begun shortly thereafter.

Not that she could ever possibly win.

“…….”

Arhad’s hand covered Ianna’s cheek. He was filled to the brim in his desires to tease her in a number of ways, but he had already decided to wait until Ianna tried something new first instead of the other way around.

He had decided this because he was afraid that she might reject him if he rushed things and tried to devour her before she was ready.

Besides, he also had the twisted desire to watch her flounder, unable to think straight, when he crushed her ever so gently as she challenged him and prodded him lightly in her attempts to emerge victorious.

And most importantly, he had decided to quietly savor his sense of victory because he was dreadfully fond of how she liked to press her lips against his first.

But Ianna was truly a fast learner —almost to the point that he wanted to acknowledge how confident she was during the first hundreds and thousands of attempts she had made.

She had matured drastically since the very first time —when she had kissed-but-not-actually-kissed him like she was stamping him with her lips in such an imposing manner.

‘Oh.’

Arhad grew giddy at the thrill of her lips layering tightly against his as she drew him in and only just managed to keep his hold over his mind.

I might not be able to hold back if things go wrong.

Ianna thought that she lost every time, but Arhad was simply not letting her see how close each round had been. She was always provoking him to the very brink before his endurance collapsed in on itself.

She was biting him, so he gently bit her back. And she slowly pulled away before he could really do anything else.

“Phew.”

She probably hadn’t stopped there knowingly, but why was it that the flush on her face looked ever so lovely and yet also slightly spiteful?

Ianna stood before darkly subdued eyes, completely ignorant of what he was thinking, and quietly said,

“A long time ago, I couldn’t understand why you were so angry with me for not caring more about my health and using up my divine power. Back then, I couldn’t comprehend that someone might treasure me. Why should anyone else care about what I decided to do with my own body?”

Arhad instantly realized that she was talking about the time she had first tried to control divine power and had ripped her arm apart.

She had not been able to understand his worry back then. She had agreed to stop half-heartedly only after he had persuaded and persuaded her out of it.

She had actually run away from him because his sincere confession had changed her way of thinking, but that was how the scene had played out from his perspective.

“But……I understand completely now. I don’t ever want you to get even a little hurt. Even if it’s for my sake.”

She was so absurdly endearing to him as she said that with her slightly swollen lips.

What the hell was he supposed to do with this woman when she was so damn lovable?

“But you have a weak heart. And you barely have enough divine power. And you’re a pitiful man who loses a few screws every time I run into even the slightest of mishaps…….”

“Hah.”

Arhad barked in laughter when she started criticizing him while he was being so deeply touched by her words. He continued,

“I really do sound quite pitiful when you put it that way.”

He had never thought that he was lacking in any way, but Ianna made him sound like an extraordinarily unstable wimp. Hilariously enough, everything she said was true.

“You are pitiful.”

“Am I, now……?”

“And so, I will grow stronger,”

Ianna said as her eyes glistened. She continued,

“My divine power is limitless, and I will train hard at my sword……. I will grow stronger than any other as quickly as I can so I can protect you.”

Her face was lovelier than it had ever been.

“Ugh.”

Arhad suddenly clutched at his heart and sank down.

“Arhad!”

Ianna was alarmed by the sudden change in situation and sat down in front of him as she grabbed his shoulders. The blood drained from her face. She continued,

“What’s wrong? Did something happen to your heart? Do you need divine power?”

She had seen Arhad have a hard time before, but she was bewildered because she had never seen him groan aloud while openly expressing his pain.

“Shall I carry you to a hospital?”

She immediately raised one of his arms and slung it across her shoulders. Then, she immediately turned around to set forth.

It was only then that the sound of his chuckling tickled her ears.

“…….”

She initially stiffened up, but the color returned to her face and she turned to look at him as he began physically trembling from laughter.

“Excuse me?”

Had he been teasing her?

He had. Ianna was sure of it.

“Are you playing games with me?”

How could he tease her using something like this?

Ianna was genuinely angry. Arhad immediately sensed the bloodlust seeping out from her from up close.

Most normal people would have recoiled and stepped back, but Arhad was an extraordinary man who was more than capable of dealing with her wrath.

“Sigh.”

He let out a sigh filled with laughter as he enjoyed the view of Ianna’s face from up close to his heart’s content. He hated it when Ianna was angry, but he liked it so much when she grew angry in her worry for him that it nearly drove him crazy —it was ridiculous, really.

She was lovely even in her anger. The scales that had been covering his eyes for so long only grew thicker with each passing day.

“I asked you if you were playing games with me.”

Arhad stopped laughing and pulled her into his arms just as she was about to let her temper get the better of her and shake his arm off.

“You’re very dependable.”

He didn’t want Ianna to see him as a fool, but he also felt like he wouldn’t really mind it if meant that he could watch her blaze in her sense of duty to protect him.

The chilling air she was giving off didn’t subside even after he had said she was dependable.

“Do you enjoy playing games with me like this?”

Arhad shook his head.

“I wasn’t playing games. It really hurt.”

Her expression turned into one of worry again once he had said that.

“Does it hurt often?”

“It does.”

“You said that you were fine as long as you took your medicine on time. Do you need to get a proper medical exam done? Why does your heart hurt?”

Arhad watched as Ianna, usually the epitome of composure, floundered in her confusion before he finally said,

“It hurts because you prodded it.”

“Pardon? I did what?”

“Your words and actions prod at my heart, and I enjoy it so much that my heart starts beating furiously. And it hurts.”

“…….”

Ianna was at a loss for words.

Ultimately, he had only been playing sick. But even saying that he had only been faking it sounded like nonsense when she tried to say it seriously. It was mean of him and he was being absurd, but she could not grow angry with him if he had done it because he liked her.

Just how much does Arhad like me anyway……? Ianna thought as she pursed her lips together.

Arhad found her lovely even still, and he was afraid that she really might run away from him one day if he ever openly expressed what he was always thinking or feeling any every given moment. Sometimes, ignorance was a bliss.

“Please don’t ever……mph.”

Ianna was about to say something, but Arhad wrapped his hand around her cheek and pressed his lips against hers, cutting her off.

“…….”

Ianna wondered if she should push him away for a moment, but she decided against it because she hadn’t been any better just a moment ago.

And the heated affection and pleasant feelings she felt from their feverish lips melted away her speechlessness away like cotton candy taking to water.

She would have run away with her face flushing bright red just a month ago, but now she had grown somewhat accustomed to his kisses. She never had the leisure to actually feel anything whenever she kissed him first because she was being combative when she did, but she could close her eyes and quietly savor the experience when Arhad kissed her first.

“…….”

Arhad narrowed his eyes as he watched Ianna be trapped in his arms. She was still just as unskilled at hiding her feelings as ever when she was enjoying something, and she looked visibly happy even now.

But he would never tell her about it —she was a quick study and would learn to hide it immediately if he ever pointed it out.

“Whew.”

The moist sounds and peculiar sensations stimulated him. He gently caressed Ianna’s cheek that was burrowed inside his palm.

She was so endearing.

So endearing that he wanted to swallow her whole.

He had decided that he would wait, but…

There was a real chance he might not be able to…….

~~*~~

Part 4

They prioritized seeing tourist attractions and eating good food during their trip. Arhad had done such solid research beforehand that they were in principle places of interest no matter where they went. They even visited places with amazing views that only locals would have known from hearsay.

When they were enjoying the scenery, they could always pick the best view because Arhad knew flight magic and could even take them to the sky.

Ianna saw the world anew whenever the beautiful scenery spread out before her as they enjoyed it from only the best observation points.

And the food was just as good. Ianna didn’t know if it was because Arhad had researched her tastes obstinately or if he simply only picked the best restaurants regardless of her tastes, but Ianna was satisfied with everything they ate and expressed her astonishment with every meal.

They hadn’t planned for it, but they also ate without reserve if they saw something that looked good while wandering the streets —and thus, they were able to enjoy a completely different food culture from Roanne cuisine. Ianna’s sense of taste was growing more luxurious by the day.

They saw whatever they wanted to see. They ate whatever they wanted to eat.

They had fun whenever they wanted to have fun, rested whenever they wanted to rest, and slept whenever they wanted to sleep…….

Ianna was able to do whatever it was that she wanted during this trip. Arhad’s wealth and magic practically freed her from any semblance of consequence.

And that wasn’t all. Arhad had also established some sort of influence in every country, so issues could be resolved with just a few quick words from him if someone sleazy happened to pick a fight with them.

They wandered around without any affiliation to anything and thus could do whatever it was that they wanted to without being bound by anything.

Ianna could not help but wonder if this was what true freedom was and rethought the definition of the word as she experienced true freedom in its entirety.

Most importantly, her most favorite person in the world was right there by her side.

She studied when she wanted to study, sparred with him when she wanted to spar, conversed with him when she wanted to converse, and fooled around with him when she wanted to fool around.

She touched him when she wanted to touch him, and she smiled when she wanted to smile.

She was completely free.

She could experience this freedom only because Arhad was there with her.

Accordingly, that made Arhad the one person who could set her free.

He was hers, the one person who gave her everything that she could not have no matter how hard she had tried when she was alone instead of being ‘together’ with him.

The one and only absolute figure in her life who existed only for her and could grant her every wish.

“There’s so much vegetation in the East,”

Ianna said as she slurped down her noodles. The only noodle-like dish in Roanne was spaghetti, but she was currently enjoying thin noodles inside a beef-based broth that was rich and savory.

They had passed through the Kingdom of Daineen and were touring through the Kingdoms of Karsiva, Ostan, and Killiko, which could all be considered a part of Arhad’s territory.

They were in the middle of eating lunch at a restaurant in the Kingdom of Killiko before heading into the Kingdom of Morian, which existed under the Black Fox’s sphere of influence.

The restaurant owned an entire mountain to its name, which let them enjoy the natural scenery as they ate.

Ianna had thought this in Ostan too, but the East truly had such diverse flora that Roanne could not even begin to compare.

Arhad, who had been drinking his soup, brought his bowl down from his lips as he responded,

“It’s likely due to the Great Forest of Shaob’s influence. Shaob is sometimes called the Garden of Genesis because the legends state that every plant in the world grows inside it. Plant researchers dream of being able to visit it.”

“Hmmm…”

The world was truly large and mysterious.

The Karankell Rocky Mountains had felt strongly of dry earth, and the Girohai Fiery Desert had felt strongly of hot fire. So, how would the Great Forest of Shaob feel? Was it a giant forest that felt of cleanly wind?

Ianna had had nothing to do with the four corners in the past.

And she had especially little reason to go to the Great Forest of Shaob. The Allied Forces had positioned themselves in the West, whereas the East had been completely in Arhad’s grasp.

He wasn’t as prominent yet as he had been back then, but the East was still under his sphere of influence. The kingdoms here were being played by Arhad while being none the wiser.

Ianna snuck a glance at him. He was abnormally good-looking, and he dressed un-extravagantly in plain clothing during their trip together despite being one of the wealthiest people in the world. He didn’t even mind his social status, considering how he was treating others.

Who would see him and think that he was a secret big shot hiding in the East who would one day ascend the Bahamut imperial throne? Ianna praised him freely in her heart.

‘He’s amazing.’

Her mood shot through the sky every time she remembered that the one person whom Arhad desired to the point of insanity was none other than herself.

Her self-esteem piled up inside her heart because it made her feel like she could become someone amazing too.

“What are you thinking about that’s making you smile like that?”

Arhad asked when Ianna began smiling without realizing it.

She shook her head and said it was nothing. Her every thought seemed to conclude with Arhad these days, and, for some reason, she was somewhat embarrassed to tell him that.

“You said that there was a war going on?”

They saw more devastation as they travelled closer to the border between Killiko and Morian.

They were currently passing through one such ruined area. The corpses had been removed to prevent the spread of disease, but the nasty stench of something rotting had long since settled in their noses.

“Yes. Morian, which is under the Black Fox’s control, invaded Killiko.”

And that wasn’t all —Morian was buying all sorts of war munitions through the Black Fox and was practically funneling all their money to the organization in so doing.

On the other hand, Arhad had maneuvered so that Gold’s Circlesita Company was supplying Killiko with only the finest-quality weapons and explosives. They were making enormous profits as a result.

“The Black Fox set aside a long time for this war when they started it with the intent to devour Killiko once and for all. They were causing small occasional skirmishes using hit and run tactics for the past few years.”

Ianna and Arhad were walking along the road as they conversed when a skinny child tottered up to them. The child looked between the bulky Arhad and the comparatively slender Ianna before kneeling in front of Ianna.

“Merciful travelers. Please —just one coin.”

Ianna looked between the child and the two hands cupped in front of her. His gaunt cheeks and sunken eyes looked pitiful to her.

It was not Ianna’s preference to entertain moments of temporary pity. She made sure to help someone with the entirety of their problem if she decided to help someone, and she simply turned around and ignored them if she couldn’t, even if it meant being heartless.

This was because she had earned a lot of grudges from those who wanted more from her just because she had helped them once and had the audacity to blame her for not helping them until the bitter end when she stepped back.

She held the same opinion toward beggars. Ianna refrained from giving them any money unless she intended to support them from behind the scenes until they could finally stop begging.

But she was still willing to give out a little money if she truly found the situation pitiful. Especially to young children like the child before her who hadn’t even had the chance to choose the life they wanted to live.

Jingle.

Silver coins fell from Ianna’s hands after she had reached into her pocket.

It was more than enough money to use as momentary assistance. The child could use it to buy what he needed or offer it to the gangster who operated in his shadows —but that wasn’t any of Ianna’s business.

Clink.

The child nodded deeply as soon as he saw the coins in his hands and ran away as quickly as he could.

“Ack!”

They had been continuing along their way when someone suddenly cried out from around Arhad.

Arhad had grabbed a small hand that was trying to reach inside his bag and was looking down at a child on the verge of tears.

“I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”

Arhad let go as the child began wailing as he struggled. The child immediately ran away.

Apparently, rumors had spread that wealthy foreigners had entered the village. Many people came to beg Ianna and Arhad for money while wearing pitiful expressions on their faces. Parents even paraded around their skinny children as they prostrated themselves.

Ianna mumbled,

“The war must have put them through quite some difficulty.”

She knew all too well what the anguish and aftereffects of war were like. This wasn’t something she could say aloud as someone who had once personally commanded an army during a prolonged war, but it was always for the best that wars didn’t break out.

“Make sure to be compassionate only in moderation,”

Arhad said coldly. He continued,

“Everyone in the world will gain your pity if you start acting the philanthropist. Even villains who have no reason to deserve it.”

“Even the Black Fox?”

“Bahamut technically has justification for using the Black Fox to wreak havoc on the South. They need the plentiful resources of the South to keep the starving people of their desolate lands alive. It’s only an excuse, and the support the Black Fox sends back only makes its way to a small portion of the population, but it’s also a definite fact that the lucky few are grateful to Bahamut and are absolutely loyal to them. The North would crumble quickly if the Black Fox stopped providing their support.”

“Hmmm.”

Even the Roberstein lands were cold in the winter, so how much colder was the North? The North included the Himalapè Ice Fields, so it must be freezing indeed.

“The people of the North would starve to death if the Black Fox didn’t carry out their work in the South. They could even freeze in the icy winds because they don’t even have enough wood for fire. If you pity refugees who lost a lot to war, then what do you think about those in the North who invaded the South just to survive?”

“I also find them pitiful, and I can understand why they did it.”

“Then you also lose your reason to curse the Black Fox. After all, the Black Fox is the only reason why the pitiful people of the North still have food on their tables.”

Arhad was right. Could she truly censure the North for invading the South? They were only doing it to survive. He continued,

“The North is abundant in minerals, and the South is abundant in foodstuffs. It’s said that the people of the North once survived by trading with the South before the Bahamut Empire waged war. But the people of the South were apathetic to the North even back then. Food is necessary for survival when minerals aren’t and are only needed for war and convenience, and the South had natural resources of its own, which quickly established a sense of superiority and inferiority between them. The people of the South scorned the people of the North and called them beggars, and the trading didn’t last for long.”

Apparently, the North had once tried to coexist peacefully with the South. It was at least in part due to the South’s superiority complex that the North was so atrocious and hostile.

“Relationships are difficult, aren’t they?”

“Think of it in simpler terms. Pitying your enemy is nothing but an act of hypocrisy if you don’t intend on sacrificing yourself. It’s already more than enough that you pity those who are on your side. It’s better that you’re only merciful enough to the war refugees here, who have absolutely no relation to you, that you don’t bring harm upon yourself.”

Ianna understood what Arhad was trying to say. In the end, it hurt more when your own fingers were cut off by a blade than it did to see a stranger die before your eyes. He was telling her to be selfish unless she intended to sacrifice herself for others.

Arhad was likely going out of his way to tell her this because he was warning her for the future. After all, he would ravage the entire continent in war once he had conquered Bahamut.

“I know.”

Even if Arhad hadn’t said anything, Ianna had always been the kind of person who was as a firm support for her allies but had neither blood nor tears to shed for her enemies —the kind of person who could do what was convenient to her with ready ease. She was the kind of person who could drench herself in blood and become a monster if that was what Arhad so wished.

“Naturally, the Bahamut imperial family is only waging war because of their desire for domination and destruction —it has nothing to do with saving the people of the North.”

“That sounds about right.”

Ianna had met Isabella and Wiffheimer in person, and they had not struck her as the type of people to act for some great cause.

“On the other hand, must the imperial family abandon their greed and live quietly just because they’re inflicting suffering unto others? If someone should ever assert that they must, then I’d like to pose them a question: do you abstain from eating meat because you pity animals? And if they refute by saying that humans shouldn’t be harming fellow humans, I’d like to ask them if they’ve never trampled over anyone else for the sake of their personal goals.”

Arhad claimed that people were fundamentally selfish. From a worldly perspective, people ranked among the top levels of the food chain and even victimized fellow people to fulfil their own desires.

“What you say is true.”

Ultimately, the world moved in accordance to the providence dictated by the law of the jungle. It was only natural that the strong should eat the weak.

And when all of the weak disappeared and only the strongest remained, the world would establish an ‘unequal equilibrium’.

But didn’t that way of thinking overemphasize the importance of providence?

The world where ‘only the strong and weak exist’ that Arhad spoke of was barbaric. The real world was much more colorful than that.

Complex human emotions, like good faith and sacrifice or pity and mercy, could not be explained by the law of the jungle alone.

Likewise, the concept of noblesse oblige or Ianna’s giving the beggar children a few coins also did not fall in line with the law of the jungle.

Something that could oppose the providence of the law of the jungle and still maintain equilibrium.

That something could only be the values and creed of a certain kind of being.

“And so…….”

“So?”

“I believe that the creed of the strong is also of great importance.”

Everyone had convictions. But, according to the law of the jungle, the weak had no choice but to be guided by the strong. Just like how ordinary civilians could be punished by kings and nobles regardless of their personal beliefs.

But such was not the case for the strong. Those who were strong and could lead the weak and had the power to control their surroundings, could use their creed as their basis for defying providence, and redirect the world in accordance to their wishes. And they would wage war against others who were similarly strong and whose creeds opposed their own.

Their creed would become as justice if they continuously emerged as victorious.

The largest system in the world that could produce such strong individuals was the concept of ‘nations.’ Justice would become as law in a world ruled by the strong and influence the creeds of all those who were affected by it.

Which was why it was only natural that the creed of the strong was important.

“An intriguing theory.”

Arhad seemed to be having great fun as he listened to what Ianna had to say. He continued,

“I see. In Bahamut’s case, their creed is destruction and domination. Citizens of the Bahamut Empire have no choice by to follow that creed regardless of whether they like it or not.”

“And those who believe that Bahamut’s version of justice isn’t right, who believe that Bahamut’s creed runs counter to their own, will oppose them.”

Thus, while Ianna believed that it was for the best that war never broke out, she also believed that war was also inevitable sometimes.

War was essentially a clash of creeds. A battle that must be won in order to protect one’s personal creed.

Smaller quarrels broke out even at the individual level due to differences in respective creeds. And such quarrels became increasingly destructive when they became as large-scale wars between nations —in other words, between the strong.

The biggest problem that came about when nations warred was that there was excessive yet meaningless bloodshed among the weak, like when the Bahamut Empire waged war for conquest or over their vested interests.

“The creed of the strong…”

Arhad chewed over the words for a moment before he asked,

“Then what about you?”

“Me? I……am but an individual, so I don’t believe that I am strong enough to pose an influence over the entire world. Aren’t you the strong one here, not I? I follow you, so I would much rather ask you about your creed. You will ascend to the Bahamut imperial throne one day, and your will shall become as justice.”

Arhad shrugged.

“I’m not really sure about my creed, since I’ve only been thinking about eliminating the imperial family. Which is why I want to consult you and hear your thoughts on the matter.”

“Don’t you know that I have a very simple outlook on life? ­—I accept what I like and I push away what I don’t like. So I’ve never really put much thought into my creed. And I don’t really think I’ll ever need to, as I plan to live my days as your knight without leading my own separate organization.”

“Is that so? But you might want to think about it in the future.”

“Why is that? Because I’ll be assisting you? But instead of me thinking about these things, it’ll be for the better that you, as my master, have a firm grasp on the core of this matter. How would I assist you otherwise?”

Ianna had chided him, but Arhad had simply smiled without saying anything in reply.

Ianna and Arhad had decided to rest for a day between crossing over from Killiko into Morian. It was Black Fox territory from Morian all the way to just before Vampirka, their final destination, so they planned to travel quickly without doing much of anything else.

The border between Killiko and Morian was an ugly battlefield filled with blood and gore, but the outskirts of Killiko were actually quite peaceful.

The Kingdom of Killiko bordered one of the three oceans in the world —the Pergini Sea. Ianna and Arhad had decided to spend a peaceful day by the shore.

“Welcome!”

They walked into a large restaurant by the seaside. According to Arhad, the restaurant was famous among locals and outsiders alike.

“Ack!”

The restaurant employee’s facial expression changed completely when Arhad showed him a badge, and he asked them to wait a moment.

“We have a VIP guest here with us today!”

The restaurant owner came to greet them shortly thereafter and bowed to them at a right angle from his waist. The owner then guided them to an outdoors table with a good view of the blue sea.

“The ocean looks amazing no matter how many times I see it.”

She could not see the ocean from Roanne because the kingdom was entirely inland, so Ianna had used this trip as her chance to view the ocean as many times as she wished.

The endless blue scenery made her heart feel open and refreshed. She liked it no matter how many times she saw it.

“This has proven a very luxurious trip,”

Ianna mumbled as she watched the waiters bring out dishes abundant with seafood.

She was growing accustomed to it, but she still sometimes —once every so often— could not help but question if it was truly all right for her to get used to this. The doubts were only stronger now that she had just seen children starving because of war not too long ago.

Ianna was frugal, so she had not been reckless with her expenditure even after she had become a duchess. And yet, Arhad was slowly paralyzing her sense of money.

Ianna stabbed her fork into the white flesh of a slightly roasted fish. It was so fresh that the flesh had retained its elasticity even after having been cooked.

After the fish came even more dishes that somehow seemed to weaponize their freshness. They were all dishes the likes of which she could never taste in inland Roanne. She was even poured a glass of fancy wine that she could only drink in Killiko.

Everything sparkled. It smelled dreadfully of money.

Ianna muttered,

“……What will I do if I become so accustomed to this luxury that I’m unable to be satisfied by normal things anymore?”

“I’ll pay for everything, so indulge yourself in as much luxury as you’d like. And if you grow accustomed to it, then you can buy yourself even more extravagant things.”

His words sounded conceited at first, but they were actually not only filled to the brim but even overflowing with his sincerity. Ianna felt a chill run down her spine as she imagined it actually happening to her.

But she dropped the topic entirely because she felt like there would be no end once they started arguing over expenditure.

The chewy fish jolted her tongue when she brought her fork back to her mouth.

Ianna’s expression melted.

‘It’s so good.’

She immediately stopped talking.

Arhad watched over Ianna as she grew quiet while enjoying her meal. He had the chance to study her in minute detail because she was too engrossed in the delicious food before her.

What else was he to do when she was so adorable and lovely as she concentrated on her scrumptious meal……?

Arhad was rather pleased with himself as he thought about how excellent a decision going on this trip had proven.

They decided to visit a theater after eating. They had heard that a famous theater troupe was nearby and performing one of the people of Killiko’s favorite plays.

“I’m here to buy tickets!”

“Please sell me some tickets —I don’t mind if I have to stand!”

The play was very popular, and all the tickets had long since been sold out. People were causing a ruckus outside the theater entrance as they tried to buy tickets even from illegal brokers.

It was said that nine out of every ten problems in the world could be solved with money.

“Wait here.”

Arhad walked up to a few employees standing outside the theater entrance and began speaking with them. They appeared harrowed at first, but their expressions changed drastically when Arhad handed them something.

Then, they immediately ran inside the theater like arrows.

They returned soon enough and passed two tickets to Arhad. In turn, Arhad handed them a few checks.

Arhad studied the tickets for a moment before he returned to Ianna with a satisfied expression on his face.

“I got us some decent box seats.”

“But how?”

“I told a few employees that I’d pay handsomely for a couple of box seat tickets —they looked embarrassed at first and said that every seat had been sold out. So I asked them to ask if anyone who was already seated was willing to sell us their tickets instead. And this was the result.”

Arhad pushed the tickets toward her.

“I’d like to buy tickets!”

“Please sell me your tickets!”

Ianna was perplexed. People around them were still shouting themselves hoarse about wanting to buy tickets, but Arhad had managed to get some in under thirty minutes.

“Will this be all right? Why did the employees do as you asked them to?”

“I said that I’d give them ten percent of whatever I paid for the tickets as their commission fee.”

“……And just how much did you pay for the tickets?”

“Guess. Here’s a hint —I paid several times the original price.”

Ianna contemplated for a moment before she called out the highest price within her personal standards.

“Ten times the original price?”

“Just ten times wouldn’t make the cut. I had to pay enough that both the sellers and the employees lost their sense of money and were unable to make sound decisions to make them do as I wanted.”

“Please just tell me.”

“I gave them a thousand times the original price.”

Ianna opted not to say any more on the matter.

She fretted over Arhad’s excessive use of money, but she had truly enjoyed the play nonetheless.

The play had a good mix of comedy and seriousness and made the audience laugh often. It was so entertaining that even Ianna, who did not generally indulge in the cultural arts, saw theater in a new light.

“But it was still too much.”

“Hmm?”

They had returned to their inn after the play and had split a dozen or so bottles of highly alcoholic beverages between them at the noisy tavern bar in the inn’s basement. They were both flushed, as they had drunk quite a lot.

“The way you spend money,”

Ianna said discontentedly with a slight slur to her speech.

“I only spend like that on you. And you can spend as much as you’d like too. I’ll foot all your bills.”

“Then what would you do if I lose my mind and start random businesses all across the continent, ruin them, and end up squandering all your money?”

“That’s quite all right —I don’t think you’d be able to spend it all even if you seriously tried. Let me know anytime if there’s a business you’re interested in starting.”

But just as Ianna, who had felt uncomfortable with Arhad’s spending habits for the first time in a while, was about to refute.

Arhad whispered something in her ear so that he wouldn’t be drowned out by the commotion around them.

“Shall I gift you so much money that you couldn’t possibly spend it all within your lifetime right now if you don’t trust me?”

“Pft.”

Ianna laughed despite herself —not only did Arhad’s whisper tickle her ear but he was also saying something ridiculous. Arhad was looking at her ear but stopped when he saw the way her reddened ears perked ever so slightly and found it adorable.

Arhad, who was similarly drunk, was unable to hold back his impulses. And he gently bit Ianna’s lovely ear.

“Ack.”

Something throbbed all the way from Ianna’s ear to the soles of her feet when Arhad bit her. She was assaulted by feelings that were strange and new and peculiar. She tensed up and her fingers curled in when she felt his heated breath brush the place where he had bitten her.

Ianna recoiled and shuddered, dubious and embarrassed, before she pulled sharply away from Arhad and covered her ear with her hand.

“What are you doing?”

Arhad came back to his senses and raised his hands.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”

“What kind of person bites people’s ears just because he couldn’t help himself?”

Ianna was bewildered as she glared at Arhad.

“I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

Arhad had apologized and whatnot, but, while she didn’t know if it was because she was tipsy or what have you, the heat that surged up toward Ianna’s face never died down. Her face was burning. Ianna was bewildered at herself and jumped up from her seat.

“I’m heading up first to get washed up.”

Ianna walked away on her long and slender legs and vanished from view. Arhad buried his head against the table and grabbed at his hair for a moment before he paid for their drinks and returned to their suite.

They had rented the largest and most luxurious suite in the inn. The suite consisted of a large common area that split into four large rooms each equipped with its own bathroom, so there were more than enough rooms to spare even if they each took separate rooms.

It was only natural that they used separate rooms if they weren’t camping outside. There was no reason why their paths should intercept here unless they were either in the common area or using one of the recreational equipment, like the billiards table.

Splash.

Arhad caught the quiet splashing of water with his heightened hearing as soon as he had walked inside their suite. It made him restless for some reason.

She’s washing up…….

he mumbled to himself before he snapped back to his senses.

They had been getting along just fine until now, and he found himself ridiculous for implying additional meaning to the words just because he had bitten her ear.

Arhad determined that he was drunk and not in his right mind and ultimately stepped outside.

“What the hell?”

Ianna’s face was burning even as she bathed. The part of her ear that Arhad had bitten refused to stop drawing attention to itself.

‘I suppose I must be drunk.’

She gave up on her bath, unable to best the heat, and spent quite a while enjoying the cool wind from the balcony.

She thought of Arhad, whom she had abandoned back at the tavern.

‘Is he back yet?’

Perhaps he already was.

‘I’m sure he can make it back on his own just fine.’

Ianna immediately went to bed —she felt like it’d be awkward for some reason if she left to check whether Arhad was back yet and accidentally crossed paths with him.

Arhad did not return until Ianna stopped tossing and turning and finally fell asleep —or rather, he hadn’t returned until after dawn had passed.

There was no awkwardness.

Ianna was still a little uncomfortable, but they had been drinking at a tavern and Ianna had decided to write off the incident as a bout of intoxication.

They quickly made their way through the lands under the Black Fox’s influence, and Ianna and Arhad were able to converse as they normally did once the emotions from that incident had faded away. To be honest, Ianna was rather relieved that Arhad was treating her no differently than he always had.

She could understand what kind of situation each country was in just by the air about the people they encountered even though they only stopped to visit tourist attractions and to eat.

Should she say that they most definitely felt like Bahamut and the Black Fox were pulling the countries’ strings? Most of the nobles were corrupt, and the commoners were practically gasping for breath because of the hardships that the high tax rates were putting them through.

“You said that most of the taxes and the supplies that the Black Fox procures from around here are shipped directly to Bahamut, yes? The empire must have a ridiculous amount of goods stocked away.”

Ianna tried to imagine just how extravagant the Bahamut imperial family’s lives were. She continued,

“What is the Bahamut imperial palace like? The royal palace of Roanne is covered with expensive platinum and marble —does it have diamonds embedded into its walls?”

But then, why was it? It was not easy for her to imagine Isabella or Wiffheimer indulging in luxury.

“The imperial family isn’t actually that inclined to luxury. The imperial palace is only made of black brick baked from high-quality earth.”

Arhad immediately resolved Ianna’s puzzling question. He continued,

“They’re the kind of bastards who would rather buy more war munitions or foster stronger soldiers instead of wasting it over luxuries if they have money to spare.”

Ianna reminisced over her memories of her past life.

‘I see.’

When Arhad had usurped the imperial throne, he had added everything that Bahamut had stockpiled together with what he already had in his possession, and the result had been a great power strong enough to destroy the world.

Moreover, Bahamut had been using the Black Fox to corrupt the South for quite some time now. The countries in the southeast that were being made to dance in the Black Fox’s hands were those that were waging war on their neighbors because they had voluntarily surrendered to Bahamut and were being censured for having bent their knees before Bahamut’s demonically powerful might.

But those countries had apparently been nothing more than Bahamut’s puppets since ages ago. Unbeknownst to the rest of the South, just like now.

The fallen South.

Powerful military might, vast war munitions, talented personnel.

And rulers with overwhelming charisma to boot.

Putting all those factors together made it understandable that it had only been natural for Bahamut to have been able to trample over the rest of the continent.

Everything that Ianna had seen over the course of the next few days as they made their way to the Kingdom of Vampirka had been quite the spectacle.

‘It’s horrible.’

The people were so stormy that they didn’t even bat an eye as their neighbors collapsed on the streets and perished, and the crime rate was so high that she witnessed more gang fights and criminal activities than she could count on her fingers every day. It reminded her of Sidian.

Perhaps it was because they were in warring nations, but there was so much fighting around them that they had seen several mountains of corpses, all byproducts of war, whenever they passed by a forest or river.

And Ianna recalled how Arhad had told her to think about her creed every time they did.

Her creed.

She wasn’t quite sure about what she thought about it yet.

But she fundamentally thought that someone who would be king, someone who was to lead the weak, must be stronger than any other.

And the king must be able to protect the weak —the people, in this instance—, for they were his ‘allies’ who would be as the footholds to spreading his creed.

Accordingly, the kings of the southeastern countries did not fit into her definition of strength. Likewise, their creeds, which had either intentionally or unintentionally become corrupted, also did not fit into her definition of strength.

The lands were filled not with the sounds of laughter but with the wails of lament, and Ianna wanted to break free of the gloom around her as quickly as possible.

See? This was how the weak lived if the strong who ruled over them were mistaken. The people who lived under a king swayed by an even stronger ruler could only suffer.

They would not have been so unfortunate had their kings not been weak.

It was difficult for Ianna to make any judgments about Bahamut because she did not know how the people of Bahamut lived. But she still disliked their way of doing things regardless.

Bahamut had to bear the weight of the grudges of the downtrodden if they wanted to satisfy their creed and their desires.

Perhaps Bahamut, who enjoyed destruction and domination, welcomed those grudges, but Ianna thought that she would have found it exhausting. She also disliked the destructive results brought about by warfare.

‘But I also don’t think that it’s wrong to chase after your desires if you have the confidence to withstand the hatred of others and the power to take responsibility for yourself. Bahamut is simply an extreme example —everyone is selfish in life,’

Ianna thought before she shook her head clear. She was being made to think all sorts of weird things because of what Arhad had said.

She, too, was extremely selfish. She was nothing more than an individual who had no qualms about cutting down her enemies indiscriminately if Arhad so desired.

“Shall I put you through some trouble?”

Arhad and Ianna destroyed any Black Fox bases they came across as they passed through the Black Fox’s territory and killed every member they found.

Their combined military might was one thing, but they also used guerilla tactics when they raided the bases.

They did not touch any of the goods stored up in the Black Fox’s warehouses. The Black Fox might grow more vicious with the locals if they were robbed on top of being raided, and Arhad and Ianna did not want to cause more harm to people who were already hard-pressed to survive as it was.

So they had stealthily spread around a rumor instead. And the truly desperate or the bold packed away the goods in the Black Fox’s warehouses. This also passed the responsibility on the people.

“You assholessss!”

So many people hated the Black Fox that they could not identify their enemies.

Which was why they believed that anyone who attacked them weren’t the enervated civilians but anti-Black Fox organizations from within the kingdoms, and they beat up any such attackers with reckless abandon.

“I don’t know who you are, but you’re pretty good.”

The anti-Black Fox organizations were suffering under the Black Fox’s harassment, but they were so delighted by the fact that the Black Fox was being done in that it made up for their troubles and then some.

Everyone, save for the Black Fox, rejoiced at Ianna and Arhad’s raids.

In one sense, this was the Black Fox’s karmic retribution.

~~*~~

Part 5

The beginning of February.

Ianna and Arhad finally arrived at the Magic Tower of Fire.

“You’re finally here!”

“Finallyyy!”

Maimayè and Hanidelf welcomed them with open arms.

“You made us wait for so long. We were waiting for you every day. Hanidelf and I have been straining our necks looking out the windows to see if we could spot you, and we nearly died because we both caught such terrible colds!”

Spit flew out from Maimayè mouth as he spoke, and he suddenly pointed at his nose. He continued,

“See this? There’s snot dribbling down my nose!”

“You said you’d be here soon. How could you take so long?!”

Hanidelf, too, expressed his hurt. But there was excitement lingering close beneath his sorrow. Maimayè seemed similarly excited as he slammed his staff down on the floor.

“Tut tut! Little Ianna must have finished her semester weeks ago. I suppose Little Dorcianni’s lightning magic didn’t perform as I’d hoped it would,”

Maimayè grumbled as he muttered words that would have made Dorcianni send a bolt of lightning falling on his head had she heard. He continued,

“So where’s Little Dorcianni?”

“She returned ahead of us.”

“What a heartless woman —she could have stopped by to say hello since we’re already acquainted.”

Arhad, who had lied ever so nonchalantly, simply shrugged.

“In any event, my apologies for arriving late. We can leave as soon as you’re ready, Lord Maimayè and Mr. Hanidelf.”

“You two don’t need to rest? Oh, or are you all right because you came here using Little Dorcianni’s magic?”

Arhad looked to Ianna.

“Are you tired?”

“Not at all.”

They had toured around the East, but they hadn’t consumed too much stamina. Not only did they both have superhuman stamina to begin with, but they had taken it easy during their trip and had rested often along the way.

“Oho, then we can leave right away! We finished packing a month ago!”

“We’re finally going!”

“Let’s go!”

Maimayè and Hanidelf ran out the door in eager anticipation, and Arhad was about to follow suit when Ianna suddenly grabbed him by the wrist.

“A moment, please.”

“Hmm?”

Ianna glanced at the left side of his chest. It would have been nice if she could see divine power with her physical eyes, but it was impossible to see another’s divine power unless they drew it outside their body.

“Do you have enough divine power? You had to crush and orc’s heart and steal its divine power the last time we visited one of the four corners.”

“…….”

“I can give you some right now if you need more.”

Ianna had been wanting to give Arhad her divine power ever since she had learned that she had an infinite supply of it. This was why she had periodically been asking him to let her know if he ever needed divine power.

“I’m all right.”

But Arhad had always refused. Just like he was doing now. He continued,

“I just didn’t prepare for it last time. But I have enough divine power at the moment, so I’ll be fine.”

“Are you still taking that medicine?”

Ianna had told him everything about what she had done in the West, what she knew about Life, and what she had learned from Saki. Which was why she could speak to him freely about his medicine.

The mages of Bahamut kept careful stock of the herbs that were needed to improve Mystic into Reborn. Mystic, which was not as addictive as Reborn but was still capable of clinging to mana and divine power, was naturally one of them.

Heinrich had made improvements on Mystic to enhance its ability to adhere to divine power, and he produced the medicine that Arhad took using his improved version of Mystic. He mashed up the herb, poured the resulting liquid into Bahamut’s specially-made bottles, and imbued it with the divine power he had squeezed out from monsters’ hearts.

Arhad’s medicine also took on healing properties if one of the elves who worked with him purified it with the spirits’ powers.

Eiji had told her much the same. But there was one additional piece of information that made Ianna dislike the medicine.

“You regularly take medicine that was made by a mixture of monsters’ divine powers? Didn’t you tell me before that you could be influenced by the original owner of the divine power’s color if you absorbed it? Even if it’s from something like an orc?”

“I’ll be all right. I will never allow myself to be influenced by the likes of monsters.”

Or so Arhad said, but Ianna still disliked the fact that Arhad even took the medicine to begin with. Sarcastically, she quipped back,

“Then why did you give me that medicine if it might make me orc-like?”

“I only gave you the medicine I meant to take myself because I regretted the injury to your arms. I thought it should be fine since simply applying it doesn’t pose much of a problem. Did I sour your mood? I’m sorry.”

Ianna’s ears flushed slightly red. She always found herself losing whenever they bickered over the things that Arhad had gifted her. She stopped picking a fight with him and cut immediately down to the heart of the matter.

“But in any case, there’s no more reason for you to have to take that medicine anymore, no? I can supply you with my divine power.”

“…….”

“You always tell me that you’re all right —why is that?”

She let go of Arhad’s wrist and crossed her arms with displeasure written plainly on her face. She continued,

“Are you certain you’re not actually just refusing me instead?”

She was right.

Arhad was loath to accept Ianna’s divine power. It made him remember his life as the Demon who had depended on Roberstein’s divine power to survive.

If Ianna’s divine power was endless, then asking her to supply him some was both the most efficient and least risky method for him to receive the divine power he needed.

But he was uncomfortable about the fact that it meant he would be receiving some of Ianna’s life. He only wanted to watch over Ianna’s light —nothing more and nothing less. If anything, he wanted to help her shine brighter. He absolutely did not want to do anything that might harm her.

He liked being able to see Ianna as his equal. He felt like he would become an insect parasitizing on her as soon as he started receiving her divine power. Then, he would no longer be the world who protected her but the monster who sucked out the life from her instead.

Just like how the Demon had hated his inferior heart for not being able to produce divine power independently on his own and had drowned in a horrible self-loathing every time Roberstein had given him her divine power in the past.

“And that’s why.”

Arhad candidly told Ianna his thoughts without hiding anything from her. And Ianna was dumbfounded.

“In that case, should I stop accepting gifts from you too?”

“What does that have to do with anything? No.”

“And why not? Your expensive gifts are burdensome to me, so I’ll buy anything I might need with my own money. By your logic, aren’t I also just an insect parasitizing on your money? I don’t want to do that either.”

Arhad faltered. He gave Ianna gifts because he thought it would make her happy. And she was speaking as if divine power was no different from any other gift.

Ianna sighed.

“Arhad, your wealth is practically limitless and you earn money continuously, so your buying me gifts from time to time hardly puts a dent in your wealth at all. Did you not tell me I could squander your money lavishly if I so wanted not that long ago?”

“…….”

“It’s the same for me and divine power. I had a lot to begin with, and I still produce more, so it doesn’t matter even if I use it recklessly.”

She softened the edges of her eyes. She continued,

“I’ve only ever been receiving things from you, and now I can finally do something for you in return. And it’s even something that I can do freely.”

Arhad’s heart palpitated as he felt Ianna’s overflowing goodwill gush out for him.

“I like the fact that I can give you what you lack just like how you give me what I lack. And I would be overjoyed if you were willing to use my divine power.”

“……I see.”

Arhad understood what she was trying to say. His repulsion, which had felt like bugs crawling all over his skin, had vanished as soon as she likened her divine power to his gifts.

He stared into her.

‘Lacking, was it?’

Everything about her was endearing to him.

Even her lacking was lovely, and she was always perfect in Arhad’s eyes.

But he hated it when her lacking placed her name on another’s dirty lips. Her light was only ever perfect to him, and he could not bear it when her light was covered by another’s flaws.

Which was why Arhad wanted to help fill up what she lacked. He had always been the one to fill up what she lacked, and he was more than capable enough to keep doing so in the future.

If he took the darkness from his dark world and used it to fill the pieces that Ianna herself lacked, then her radiance would grow all the brighter for it.

But the same was also true of Ianna —she could help him too. She was the bright light who could illuminate his darkened world. The light who kept him from losing his ego to the darkness and lit a path for him so he wouldn’t wander.

And she had just said that she wanted to help him too.

Arhad felt a slight fever heating up his body. He took deep breaths and he clenched and unclenched his fists.

“You’ll stop taking the medicine now, yes?”

“……Very well.”

“And you’ll tell me when you need divine power?”

Arhad nodded like an obedient child. Ianna was glad to have successfully persuaded him and beamed. She continued,

“Great. I’m sure you’ll feel bad if you have to tell me when you need more, so why don’t we set up a regular date for when I give you divine power? But please accept it today since we’re about to visit one of the four corners. The more you have, the better, no?”

Ianna quickly grabbed his hands. Arhad had instinctively tried to break free because his elevated body temperature made him prickle, but he couldn’t because Ianna had pulled him in.

“And don’t run away.”

Ianna took his hands and pushed the divine power surging inside her heart toward him. Arhad flinched as he felt an incredibly vitality pierce through his palms.

The divine power would return to Ianna if Arhad rejected the transfer. But there was no helping it at this point. Arhad dithered as he accepted Ianna’s divine power.

Shhhh…….

The dynamic life burned his blood like hot lava as it began flowing into Arhad’s body.

‘Oh.’

He chewed on his lips as he felt like he would be melted by its pure heat.

His body, normally like the still waters, rippled violently as if a stone had been thrown into a lake. Vitality seeped into every nook and cranny of his body as life coursed through his blood vessels. Every aspect of his body seemed to pulsate.

The divine power, guided by the delicate pathways of his blood vessels, settled into his heart. The hot and powerful divine power dyed the mixed and impure divine power within him like a fire of purification.

Divine power took after its owner. Their values, personality, willpower, thoughts, feelings……it took on everything about its owner.

And he vividly felt Ianna’s heart.

Her heart, which worried for him, wanted to care for him, and liked him.

Arhad grew giddy because it felt like Ianna had entered his heart and was whispering to him about how much she liked him.

“Phew.”

The transfer of divine power was complete. Ianna, who had been a little nervous, took a deep breath before looking to Arhad. She asked,

“How was it?”

How was it?

All divine power that had taken on a soul’s color felt unique. And everyone experienced different sensations when they received it.

What Arhad felt was Ianna’s fiery light. He felt like he had been granted the gift of fire while he had been freezing in the cold darkness.

It was endlessly precious, and he wanted to keep it inside his heart forever without consuming it.

Ianna’s divine power had settled inside his heart and kindled a fire that warmed up his entire being. Arhad experienced overflowing pleasure as it made him feel like the emptiness inside him was being filled up.

His hands trembled. Ianna looked satisfied, unbeknownst to what Arhad was currently feeling.

“If you claim that I can use your money to indulge in luxury, then I want you to use my divine power to live a long and healthy life in return.”

Arhad grabbed Ianna’s hands tighter. Ianna scowled when he grabbed so tight that it was beginning to hurt. She continued,

“Did something go wrong? Should I not have given it to you this way?”

She tilted her head to the side.

“Should I have erased the color from my divine power too?”

Ianna asked, but Arhad didn’t reply.

“……?”

Ianna began to worry if she had accidentally done something wrong. She tried called his name and asked if he was all right, but he violently pulled her in before she could say the words.

And he kissed her passionately as soon as she had been drawn inside his embrace.

She was quite familiar with the contact by now, but she still clutched at his clothes in bewilderment.

Was it because he was excessively warm, or was it because his kiss was unusually rough?

She almost felt like he would end up doing something…something more, at this rate…….

“Ianna…….”

The alarm bells were sounding in her head when she heard a somewhat restless voice whisper her name from their gently parted lips.

Her face flushed bright red.

Why was it?

She had suddenly recalled how he had bitten her ear not too long ago.

“Hurry up, you slowpokes!”

Maimayè yelled at them from outside. Ianna startled, pushed Arhad away, and quickly put some distance between them. She gathered her breath and looked back up at him only to look down again when she did.

Why was it?

She felt a little embarrassed about finding something new in the sheen of Arhad’s lips.

“L-let’s go.”

She stuttered over her words before she realized what she was doing and quickly walked away. Arhad stared fixedly at the crimson hair that dizzied his vision before he slowly followed after her.

“Hurry, hurry!”

“Quickly, quickly!”

The group, accompanied by Maimayè’s and Hanidelf’s occasional exclamations, traveled to the Karankell Rocky Mountains at breakneck speed.

Maimayè and Hanidelf flew through the skies with magic while Ianna and Arhad ran.

Ianna kept a close eye on Arhad as they ran. He scowled from time to time, but he wasn’t sweating or suffering visibly like he had last time, likely because Ianna had given him additional divine power on top of the fact that he had made sure to supply himself sufficiently beforehand.

Arhad had a strange heart condition, and he said that he was always lacking divine power because he consumed it at a high rate.

This was only Ianna’s guess —but did he consume divine power twice as fast because his current heart was connected to the Demon’s large heart, and was that burden also the reason behind his heart condition?

‘Or maybe not, since he said that he was born with his heart condition.’

But she still figured that the former must be true.

“I wasn’t in need of divine power back then. But I was lacking it because something sucked it out of me.”

“Something?”

“The Demon’s heart, which is somewhere in Pandemonium, absorbed my divine power through a large rift that had opened up somewhere in the four corners.”

That was the explanation Arhad had given her for his strange behavior the last time they had gone to Karankell.

This was only her guess —but did the large rift that opened up in the four corners refer to the dragons’ barrier?

Pandemonium exerted a strange gravitational force that pulled in everything inside itself, and the barrier kept it from causing the world to collapse. Thus, it wasn’t necessarily incorrect to call the barrier a ‘rift’.

Ianna was curious, so she called Arhad over in the middle of the night once Maimayè and Hanidelf were fast asleep and shared her guesses with him.

“You’re correct on all counts. Very astute of you.”

He listened quietly at first, and praised her once she was done talking before neatly summing up the truth for her.

First, Arhad had been born with his heart condition.

Second, he had begun consuming vast amounts of divine power once his heart had connected with the Demon’s and begun to resonate with it because he had to consume enough divine power for two.

Third, rifts into Pandemonium opened up frequently in the four corners. The barrier was a rift that could never be closed.

Fourth, the divine power piled up inside Arhad’s heat was drawn more strongly into the Demon’s heart, which severely lacked divine power, the closer he was to a rift into Pandemonium.

This was why Arhad tried to avoid the four corners if he could.

‘So there’s a barrier in the Lotso Mountains too.’

Then again, the four dragons at the four corners of the world were each guarding a barrier. So it was easy enough to guess what Kandemayon was doing in the Lotso Mountains. Kandemayon was probably guarding a barrier too.

‘Then, what’s the secret of the gods that Kandemayon was referring to?’

Ianna suddenly found something strange as she thought and abruptly posed Arhad a question.

“How do you know all of this? Was this knowledge from the Demon’s soul?”

“I’ve met a dragon before.”

“A dragon? How?”

“I met Kandemayon in the Lotso Mountains. He told me.”

Ianna brought a hand up to her mouth in surprise.

“But when?”

“……A long, long time ago. And I met him again when I took my original form in the Lotso Mountains too.”

Now that she thought about it, it was strange that Kandemayon had kept silent even though Arhad had transformed himself into a dragon and had caused a fuss in the Lotso Mountains. But they had apparently met before a long time ago. Arhad continued,

“We’re not exactly on good terms. Actually, it’s hard to say if we’re on any terms at all. We’ve barely talked.”

“It’s good that the dragon didn’t kill you.”

Ianna recalled the dragons’ circumstances. They had locked themselves up in the four corners to prevent the world from collapsing in on itself. Terranodin had said that the world was collapsing because the Demon’s heart had broken equilibrium.

If some strange being whom she had never met had robbed Ianna of her freedom for so long, then she would have probably wanted to murder them.

The dragons were incredibly magnanimous, now that she thought about it. And she was very glad that they were.

“Would you happen to know what the secret of the gods that Kandemayon is guarding is?”

“Not really. All I know is that the dragons were made in my……ah, I mean, they were made in the Demon’s image and they maintain the barrier that keeps the world from collapsing. I think it probably refers to the barrier.”

Even Arhad didn’t know more than what Terranodin had told Ianna previously.

“Thank you for telling me.”

Ianna felt refreshed now that the questions that she had been curious about for so long had been resolved.

The tangled threads were unraveling one by one as time passed, and she rather liked it.

Arhad shook his head.

“There’s no need to thank me —ask me anytime if there’s anything you’re curious about. I don’t want to hide anything from you anymore…….”

Ianna’s heart stirred when she heard the reckless goodwill in his voice. She forced her quickly beating heart to steady and pressed down at her chest above her heart without Arhad’s notice.

They prepared to go to sleep, and Ianna lied down as she bid Arhad, who was close by, goodnight.

“Good night.”

She was more accustomed to telling him good night than good bye now. It was only natural, as they had been together all throughout their trip and had only parted to sleep.

“Sweet dreams.”

Sleep fell upon her as soon as she heard his words.

His quiet voice suited the night sky, lit up by the moonlight, well.

If night had a voice, then it would have surely sounded like Arhad’s. Looking up at the night sky while listening to his voice made her feel like she was being wrapped snug inside a thick blanket of black silk illuminated only by the gentle light of a golden lamp.

Moreover, her wariness melted away like melting chocolate because there was no need to be wary of monsters when Arhad was nearby.

Ianna was relaxed as she closed her eyes. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.

“…….”

Arhad lied sideways as he stared into Ianna’s sleeping face for quite some time.

Then, he saw how she was curling into herself under her blanket even though they were using a temperature controlling artefact to regulate the temperature around them.

He got up and put his own blanket around her before making his way back to where he had originally been.

They would arrive at the dwarves’ village soon. He was planning to loiter in the area without entering the village himself, meaning that he would have to part ways with her for a bit.

It had only been a month, but he had grown so accustomed to being with her at all times that having to be away from her for even a brief moment displeased him greatly. But what could he do? Ianna was a busy woman.

Arhad decided to observe Ianna to his heart’s content instead of wasting that time on sleep. He could never tire of her no matter how long he looked.

Time passed quickly, and dawn came upon them soon. Arhad only looked away from Ianna and turned to the horizon when the day started growing brighter.

The sun was rising.

“…….”

Arhad watched for a moment as the dark sky was dyed in light.

Then, he turned back to Ianna.

The crimson sun lingered in his golden eyes.

“Goodness.”

Strange things kept happening as they travelled. Completely unwounded monsters were passed out everywhere.

Grrr.

They had thought the monsters were dead at first, but they were only asleep.

Ianna made a face and asked,

“Did all the monsters here succumb to a sleeping sickness or something?”

“Ah, there must be a group traveling ahead of us. It’s not a sleeping sickness. Haven’t I told you before? There’s a company that trades with the dwarves.”

“Oh.”

It wasn’t long after Maimayè had spoken that they spotted a suspicious group of people pulling their wagons between the unconscious monsters. Ianna saw the insignia on their flags and nodded.

“Shall we say hello? Heey!”

The group turned around to look at them when Maimayè waved his staff and shouted. Someone who had been riding a horse from the front of the group came galloping toward them.

“If it isn’t Lord Maimayè?”

A pleasant-looking man jumped down from the horse. He continued,

“It’s been too long. And Lord Hanidelf too.”

The man did not hide how happy he was to see them.

“Have you been well?”

“Of course. The two of you look the same as ever. And the other two accompanying you are……?”

The man turned to Maimayè’s companions with his eyes filled with curiosity, and he was surprised when he recognized Arhad.

“If it isn’t Mr. Arhad?”

“It’s been a while.”

Arhad explained things to Ianna when she looked curious.

“We’ve met before due to work problems. I’m a distant relative of the owner of the Circlesita Company, as well as an employee.”

Which meant that Arhad had met the man while pretending to be an employee at Circlesita.

The man laughed heartily.

“I hear that the Circlesita Company’s still having its fun in Killiko?”

“It isn’t a bad situation there for us.”

“Why so modest? I think highly of Mr. Niall Sabelix’s command over the war munitions business. We’ve been trying to get a foot into Killiko ourselves, but Circlesita’s stopped us at every turn.”

Envy flashed across the man’s visage before it quickly disappeared.

“Please send my regards to Mr. Niall Sabelix. And this young lady here is……?”

His attentions turned to Ianna.

“This is Ianna, my lover and my subordinate.”

Arhad smiled brazenly as Ianna shot a gaze his way. Her eyes narrowed.

‘He could have just said that we were close as senior and junior……and he’s told Mr. Maimayè that we were lovers too. Lover, subordinate —is he introducing us that way every time because he wants to solidify the relationship?’

Knowing that Arhad was both greedy for her talent and deeply in love with her as a woman gave her an accurate reading of his intentions.

‘It feels like he’s laying out the groundwork so I have no choice but to make it real…….’

Was it only her delusion that he seemed to be placing shackles on her one after another while looking totally unperturbed?

No, it probably wasn’t.

But she didn’t dislike it.

Ianna simply stared at Arhad’s slyness without a word before she turned back forward.

“Aha. Hello, Little Ianna. My name is Jacquard Jabellon, and I am the owner of the Jabellon Company.”

Ianna knew about the Jabellon Company, as it had been famous in her past life as well. They had curried the dwarves’ favor with beer and were the only company able to trade with them. Ianna had no choice but to know about them, as every warrior in the world coveted dwarven weaponry, which were circulated mostly only through the Jabellon Company.

“My name is Ianna. It’s nice to meet you.”

Jacquard’s interest had switched back over to Arhad after Ianna had been introduced to him. There was a sharp wariness glistening in Jacquard Jabellon’s eyes.

Ianna took a slight step behind Arhad and place her hand on the hilt of her sword.

“But what brings you here with these two, Lord Maimayè?”

He was afraid that Maimayè was here to help forge new business between the dwarves and the Circlesita Company.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

The Jabellon Company was a large company that had become famous for their dealings with dwarven weaponry. They had expanded into the war munitions business as well, but they needed to keep a firm monopoly over dwarven weaponry to maintain their identity.

‘If that’s the case, then…….’

Dark thoughts ran rampant in his mind. After all, he was the head of House Jabellon who had eliminated all of his competitors thus far.

“I am not here with Lord Maimayè because of what you’re afraid of, Mr. Jacquard, so please be at ease. Circlesita has no plans to begin trading dwarven weapons.”

Arhad scattered Jacquard’s worries just then. Jacquard was still doubtful, but he looked much more relaxed as he replied,

“I see. I’m sure it must be true if you claim it is, Mr. Arhad. I was wondering if I would have to wage war against Circlesita. Haha. But then, what brings you all the way to the Karankell Rocky Mountains near a dwarven village with Lord Maimayè?”

“We have something to receive from a dwarf that we know personally.”

“Hmm?”

Jacquard’s eyebrows wiggled. He continued,

“Might I ask what that would be……?”

“A sword for my lover.”

Jacquard looked over at the sword at Ianna’s waist, and her hand placed upon its hilt, as his eyes lightened up.

Arhad stood in between them.

“Have your doubts been resolved now?”

Jacquard chuckled when he saw how wary Arhad was being and took a step back.

“You must truly love her a lot.”

Jacquard had judged that Arhad was so crazy in his love for Ianna that he had used his connection to Maimayè to procure a dwarven sword for her.

Arhad’s lover Ianna, whilst a woman, looked like a rather remarkable swordswoman in Jacquard’s eyes. Her stance was skilled, and the callouses on her hands were incredible.

He had learned from when he had tried to break into the war munitions business that Arhad was coldhearted in his ability to make cutthroat calculations of profit and loss. She may be his lover, but he was not the type of person to go out of his way to give her a dwarven sword if she was only a swordswoman just for show.

Still, such amazing love. To think he would come all the way out to the four corners just to give her a good sword…….

“Goodness. My apologies for doubting you.”

Jacquard’s expression relaxed completely. He continued,

“Oh, but Lord Hanidelf. The dwarves had become somewhat unfriendly as of late, and their weapons production has gone down —would you know anything about that? I’ve asked, but they wouldn’t tell me because it’s apparently a secret.”

“Oh, that’s because we…….”

Maimayè smacked him on the leg before he could say anything. Hanidelf snapped back to his senses and covered his mouth.

The dwarves had collectively decided not to say a word about Ianna’s sword to the outside world.

They didn’t know how the greedy humans would react once they learned about the amazing sword they were forging for Ianna. It was a secret even to Jabellon, who was good to them.

Only Ianna had the right to talk about the sword.

But Hanidelf had almost carelessly spilled the beans.

“I thought it was a secret even to me, you fiend!”

Maimayè was a close friend of Hanidelf’s, and the dwarves thought him as a decent human. He was also their only window to communicate to Ianna in the human world with.

That was why Maimayè knew that the dwarves were forging Ianna a sword, though he did not know what kind of sword it was.

Which was why Maimayè, who knew about the situation, had glared at Hanidelf and prevented the latter’s slip of tongue.

It was surprising that the dwarves had agreed to gift a human a sword to begin with, but it was understandable if Maimayè, a friend of Hanidelf’s, was factored into the equation —and Jacquard had understood the situation as such. So it wasn’t a problem to let known that much.

But things would change if it was known that the dwarves, as a whole, had been working on that sword for over a year.

This was a secret that must never be leaked.

“I’m sorry —were you just about to tell Mr. Jacquard when you weren’t even going to tell me?”

“No, that was just my mistake.”

Hanidelf cleared his throat and grimly continued,

“It’s a dwarven secret. The goods we trade with your company will be back in supply soon, so don’t worry.”

“Is that so? Everyone’s told me the same thing.”

Jacquard was curious, but his put his curiosity aside because he didn’t want to incur the dwarves’ hostility. He continued,

“I understand. Oh, but shall we travel together if you’re returning to your village, Lord Hanidelf? You won’t be able to enter the village, in any event…….”

“No, no.”

Maimayè waved his hands. He continued,

“It’ll take at least another day judging by how much luggage your caravan has with you. We’re in a hurry, so we’ll be traveling ahead of you. Do take your time.”

“I see. Oh, and Little Ianna.”

Jacquard called out to Ianna out of the blue. Ianna stepped forward, puzzled, and Jacquard pulled out two phials from his bag. He continued,

“Please allow me to give you a gift to commemorate our meeting. I’m sure you’ve seen the sleeping monsters while you were traveling with Lord Maimayè.”

He handed her the phials with a cheerful expression on his face.

“This is a special sleeping spray manufactured by my household. The other is the antidote —you use the antidote first, and you can use the sleeping spray half an hour later. It’s a one-time use, but it even works on high-level monsters, so please be sure to use it if you ever find yourself in danger.”

Essentially, he was telling her to use it for self-defense.

But Maimayè had told her previously that the Jabellon Company’s sleeping drug was priceless and that it was kept a secret. Ianna took the phials and asked,

“Why are you giving me something so precious?”

“I am a merchant. I like to end new meetings on a good note, as you can never know what tidings they may bring in the future. And all the more so since you are close to Lord Maimayè and Mr. Arhad. And you even have a personal connection to the dwarves too……. I am not looking to receive anything in return, so please do accept my gift.”

Ianna studied the phials as Jacquard spoke and nodded back.

“I will accept them gladly if you’re giving them to me.”

She likely wouldn’t end up using them for self-defense, but she still accepted them anyway because they might prove useful. Ianna had been rather interested in drugs and medicines as of late.

“Please be safe in your travels.”

The group speed up one last time after they had bid farewell to Jacquard Jabellon and ran for another few hours.

Then, Ianna spotted the familiar dwarven village.

“This is as far as I go.”

The group stopped when Arhad did. Ianna gathered her breath as she looked to him. He continued,

“I’ll be waiting in the area, so contact me when you’re done.”

“I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“No. Take your time and do everything you came here to do. Though it’d be nice if you didn’t take longer than a week.”

“A week? I’ll be back by the end of today. I feel guilty for leaving you out here all alone.”

“What am I, a child? I’ll be fine. Take as long as you’d like.”

Arhad kept telling her that it was all right and that he had followed her here because he wanted to, but Ianna still felt bad no matter how hard she thought about it.

Was it because they had been glued at the hip for so long? It felt awkward to part from him. She even thought she might hate it a little.

Ianna believed that one day was more than enough to receive the sword from Chendelf and converse a bit with him and the dwarves.

“You’re one thing, but it won’t be good for me, a human, to stay too long in a dwarven village either. I’ll be back by the end of today.”

Arhad pondered for a moment when Ianna used the dwarves as her excuse, but he shook his head as he looked to the sky.

“The day will be over soon —I don’t think it’ll be long enough?”

“I’ll be back by today. I want to be with you, even if it means having to camp outside.”

“…….”

Arhad smiled —he was happy that Ianna was so resolute despite his attempts to be considerate for her—, but he still shook his head nevertheless.

“……No.”

“I said I can be back before the end of today.”

“I know. Let’s meet halfway. You can come back tomorrow. Traveling through one of the four corners is difficult, so you should have at least one good night’s sleep.”

Arhad suggested a compromise, and Ianna accepted it after some thought.

“I’ll come back tomorrow morning if I judge that I have too much to do in just one day, but I will be back today if I can.”

But she was still insisting on being stubborn until the bitter end, as there was no reason why she would encounter any unexpected troubles in the peaceful dwarven village.

Arhad smiled, unable to help himself before her delightful obstinacy.

“It’s ridiculous of me, but I’m happy to hear you say that. All right. I’ll stay in the area, so contact me when you’re ready.”

“It’d be nice if you could come with us. Goodness. Why do the dwarves fear you and dislike you so much, Little Arhad? Is it because you’re too good-looking?”

Maimayè, who had been listening in on their quasi-bickering, grumbled, drawing a sigh out of Hanidelf.

“How nice would it be if we were as ignorant as you are?”

“What was that? Did you just call the great Maimayè Leviagè, an archmage and one of the brightest minds of this age, a fool?!”

“When did I say that?!”

“Calling me ignorant is the same thing as calling me a fool, you rascal!”

“What was that, you big jerk?”

But just as Ianna and Arhad’s first round had concluded and Maimayè and Hanidelf’s second round was about to begin.

A colossal shadow fell upon them.

[Enough —why don’t you all come in?]

A familiar voice, the likes of which Ianna had heard several times before, resounded through the air. Everyone looked up at where the voice was coming from and froze stiff.

A dragon had appeared out of nowhere.

His body, covered in rough brown scales, looked like a giant clump of earth. He looked like a floating island as he hovered in the azure skies.

Swoooosh!

The dragon folded his wings as he landed.

Craaaaack.

The roar of twisting bone and muscle deafened the heavens. The dragon’s colossal frame immediately shrank, and he transformed into a human with brown hair the color of soil and rock-like muscles.

Thud.

He landed gently on the ground as he surveyed the group before him.

“L-L-L-Lord Gamadaian!”

Hanidelf screamed so loudly that he became short of breath.

Gamadaian.

The Earth Dragon who resided in the South.

Arhad grabbed Ianna had pushed her behind him.

“You need not be wary of me,”

the dragon said to Arhad in a crispy voice and with no expression on his face. He continued,

“I am not hostile to you. Nor will I meddle in your affairs.”

“Is that so? Then why are you here?”

“A good sword was finished, and I am simply here to see its mistress.”

Arhad scowled.

“You mean to say that a dragon went out of his way to visit a humble place crawling with trivial creatures just for that? Enough with your lies. You came here to see the woman standing behind me.”

“I cannot deny that, for I am here to see the sword’s mistress.”

“Do you enjoy word games? I’m warning you —if you say or do anything strange…….”

“Arhad,”

Ianna interjected as she stepped forward. She could feel just how much caution Arhad was taking against Gamadaian as she listened to them converse. She continued,

“Terranodin taught me much in the West —he did not cause me misunderstandings. I will listen first if the dragon has something to say for me, and I will make my own judgments after. You trust me, right?”

“…….”

Arhad stared piercingly at Ianna for a moment before he sighed. He closed his mouth as she stepped up beside him.

They had talked a lot over the course of their trip. He had already heard about what Terranodin had told and shown her.

And he had already known about everything that Terranodin and Ianna had discussed.

Except about Phaemdra’s ‘Prophecy’, that is.

Ianna began conversing with Gamadaian.

“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Ianna. You claim to be here to see me —is there something you wished to tell me?”

“Not in particular, since Terranodin will have told you and shown you everything you need to know. I am truly only here to see the sword and its mistress.”

“Hmmm…….”

“I will answer candidly if you have questions for me, but know that I cannot answer everything because there are some things that we have not the authority to say.”

“I don’t have any questions in particular at the moment.”

“Is that so? Then let us go and see the sword.”

“I have a few.”

Arhad stepped up when Ianna looked at him funny and shot a blood-curdling glare filled with bloodlust at Gamadaian. He continued,

“The Prophecy.”

Phaemdra’s Prophecy?

Arhad had never heard of it before recently.

He had known that Phaemdra had the power to see the future and that the tree was alive in the Great Forest of Shaob.

But…a prophecy in which he was called ‘Ro’ and Ianna was called ‘Ann’?

The future that Phaemdra saw was not a certain one.

The future was not fixed. Phaemdra could only see the most probable of the countless branches the path called the future could take.

And even then, it could only see a few short scenes that would take place after an unspecified amount of time. And the future could be changed at any given moment.

But ‘Ann’ would have never existed had Arhad never erased time.

In that case, did that mean that Phaemdra had somehow managed to foresee the future after he had erased and turned back time?

But when?

And how?

Phaemdra did not have the strength to see the future in the Age of Magic. The withered world tree’s willpower had dried up when it took on the role of sealing away Roberstein’s heart, and it had fallen into a state of comatose.

It had only been but a few centuries ago that the tree had woken up again. It was currently only managing to survive under the elves’ care in Shaob.

The power to see the future required a hefty amount of divine power because it dared to meddle with the axis of time, and Phaemdra could not use this power freely.

Phaemdra had personally explained this to Arhad, through the spirits, in the past when he had sought out the world tree and demanded that it saw the future for him after he had collected all of the Demon’s fragments and was going insane. The tree had also professed that it no longer had any desire to foresee the future.

Then, Phaemdra had fallen silent when Arhad had threatened it to tell him everything it knew. Arhad had cursed it when it didn’t cooperate and set it ablaze, killing the tree for good.

So just when and how had it seen the future to make this prophecy?

And was it truly about the present?

What were the contents of the Prophecy?

If it was something bad……then he would have to use any means at his disposal to learn about it and change it.

Arhad’s displeasure and anxiety turned into bloodlust as it shot at the dragon.

“I see……,”

the dragon muttered as it looked to Arhad in silence. He continued,

“I am able to tell you about the Prophecy. After all, it will come to an end today.”

Arhad faltered. Ianna was alarmed as well.

“……It ends today?”

“I will tell you more about it later, as there are many prying eyes at the moment.”

Gamadaian turned around and pointed to the dwarves’ village once the words had left his mouth.

“You’re here!”

“She’s here, she’s finally here!”

“L-L-Lord Gamadaian’s really here too. The spartoi were right.”

“But who’s the man standing next to Lord Gamadaian? He’s really scary.”

All the dwarves —when had they come?— were running toward them from their village as they watched them. They were welcoming of Ianna on one hand, but wary of Gamadaian and terrified of Arhad on the other.

Gamadaian turned to Arhad, who was lost in thought, and said,

“Are you not coming?”

“…….”

“There is no reason why you couldn’t come when I will be there too. It will pose no problem even if we enter together. Though you may wait outside if you insist.”

That was all Gamadaian said before turning his back to him and walking toward the village. The dwarves immediately made way for him and threw themselves on the ground at his feet.

Gingerly, Ianna asked Arhad,

“Are you coming?”

Arhad frowned.

“……I’ll go. I think I’ll have to. Who knows what the bastard will do if I send you in alone.”

Ultimately, it was decided that Arhad would enter the village too.

“Y-y-you two…….”

Maimayè was on the verge of passing out. Even his clever brain could not wrap itself around how Ianna and Arhad were related to a dragon, a legendary creature, if they were truly human, or what on earth they had been discussing with the dragon.

Hanidelf was also staring at them in a similarly blank daze.

“I cannot tell you anything.”

Arhad preemptively cut them off. They were naturally curious, but this was not something he could explain to them.

“Y-you say that, but…! Not that I don’t understand…….”

“And please don’t tell anyone else about this either.”

“Of course. I feel like something terrible will happen if I ever do. But I’m still curious…….”

Arhad looked to Maimayè, whose curiosity was driving him insane.

Maimayè was a decently good person. He also had tight lips when it came to important matters, despite his flippant nature.

But there was no telling how he would turn out if he slowly went mad out of curiosity because of this.

It would be easiest to simply kill him, but Ianna was watching. Arhad considered placing a spell on Maimayè’s brain too, but he decided against it because they were caught up in too many complicated matters.

So he decided to redirect the archmage’s focus instead.

“I can give you a hint, but only if you promise not to tell a soul.”

Maimayè’s eyes opened so wide they could have ripped apart.

“I won’t tell anyone! Never! Would you like me to write that down in a contract?”

“There’s no need for that. You will learn much about me if you research the ‘Golden Demon’ and the ‘dragons.’”

“……!”

“Please research the rest after that on your own. This is knowledge that most mages will never learn.”

“……!”

All mages were greedy for knowledge.

But they also enjoyed the process more than they did the results. They enjoyed collecting clues and assembling the pieces together. They also enjoyed using the knowledge they gained to analyze the many phenomena of the world and dig up more information.

So how would Maimayè, an archmage, react?

“You will naturally end up learning about many different things in your research. Even the secrets behind ‘mana’ and ‘magic.’”

Arhad, who had an accurate read on Maimayè’s personality, tossed the archmage some mysterious yet risky bait and set the latter’s greed aflame before making his way to the village with Ianna. Maimayè and Hanidelf ran after them with great haste.

Sonorously, Maimayè replied,

“Very well. I’ve decided on the subject of my next research! I will learn this without fail!”

Then, he gingerly added,

“But is it all right if I keep calling you Little Arhad?”

Part 6

“Ianna! Welcome back!”

Chendelf looked elated as he grabbed Ianna’s hand tight and shook it hard. His welcome was fierce.

The hands that Ianna had recreated for him had grown much rougher than when she had seen him last. The rough callouses on his palms were hard, and there were many painful-looking scars etched into his hands and arms.

Hanidelf had told Ianna that Chendelf had been engrossed in forging the sword day and night on their way here.

It hadn’t even been two years. It technically wasn’t that long a duration of time, so how hard had he been working for his hands to end up like this? And how awesome was the sword he had forged?

Ianna was growing excited.

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

Ianna ran quickly as Chendelf pulled her along, and Arhad walked calmly after her.

The dwarves around them were trembling in terror. It looked like they were doing their best to push down their fears, however, since Gamadaian, their protector, was behind him.

“Ehehe.”

Maimayè was laughing ludicrously as he followed behind, having received Ianna’s permission, and he was giddy now that he could finally see the sword he had been so curious about.

“She’s here, she’s really here!”

They arrived at a large workshop that was shared by all the dwarves. Chendelf pushed aside the dwarves who were fidgeting upon seeing Ianna and brought her to the center of the workshop.

A circle of empty space formed around Ianna and her group as they followed behind Chendelf. The circle moved with them, as the dwarves continuously shifted as they walked.

And finally, they reached the place where the sword lay waiting.

Shaaa.

There was a large brazier at the heart of the workshop. Inside it was a colossal flame that kept burning all year long.

There were fire spirits inside it at all times that kept the flames from extinguishing and could also freely change its temperature. The fire spirits lived inside the brazier. For the dwarves, the brazier was like a temple dedicated to a god of fire.

There was a beautiful altar in front of the brazier. There was a cloth laid over the altar, which bulged where the sword lay beneath it.

A few fire spirits shot out from the brazier when Ianna walked up to it at Chendelf’s behest. They began jumping around with joy as soon as they saw Ianna. They even began rubbing themselves against her.

The dwarves whispered amongst themselves —‘She must truly be the mistress of the sword,’ ‘the spirit kings love her so much that they created a special metal only for her.’

Ianna stared openly at the sword’s silhouette beneath the cloth.

‘My sword…….’

A sword that existed solely for her.

Laying there was a part of her that would stay with her for the rest of her life.

“Lift the cloth, Ianna,”

Chendelf urged as his heart pounded. Ianna drew the cloth without a moment’s hesitation.

Her first impressions of the sword could be summed up in just one word.

‘The sun.’

Beautiful designs that symbolized the sun were carved into the sword’s hilt, which had taken on Ianna’s exact color. The gentle glow lingering around it was like the light of dawn.

The clean, milky-white blade was also glowing, as if it had taken in some of the hilt’s light. It felt like a white cloud in the sky that had been dyed in the sun’s shine.

The sword was beautiful, like the dawn sky when the sun rose at daybreak.

It was not embedded with expensive jewels like the dwarven sword she had used in her past life had been. Nor did it bear any showy designed etched into it by colorful technique.

The sword was tidy and beautifully decorated only to the extent that it needed to be, which suited Ianna’s personality, and was crystal clean. And yet, it still felt like a vibrant energy was lurking inside, as if it was ready to blaze as hotly as the summer sun at any given moment.

“It’s amazing,”

Ianna muttered before she realized it.

She liked the sword’s design too, but it was its shape that she truly loved. She could tell that it was perfectly symmetrical and balanced even at a first glance. Her hands itched in want of holding it at once.

“May I hold it?”

“Of course you can. It’s yours!”

Chendelf exclaimed proudly when he saw how happy Ianna was.

Ianna slowly reached out. Her fingers touched the sword. She savored the blade’s touch as she brushed against it, and her hand slid up to its hilt.

She wrapped her four fingers around the hilt and grasped it completely by circling her thumb around the other way. The sword clung to her palm.

She raised the sword and held it upright.

‘It’s perfect.’

She would not need any time to adjust to it.

It was a sword that had been forged only for Ianna, from the tip of its blade all the way down to the bottom of its hilt, and it became as a part of her body as soon as she held it. The sword was perfect with no unnecessary additions.

“How is it? Does anything feel awkward?”

“Not at all. I love it. It’s perfect.”

“Hehe. I forged that sword with the whole-hearted intent to draw out a ‘sword’s true nature’ from it. Hanidelf wanted to put in all sorts of magical functions inside it, but I couldn’t consider that to be a pure sword. I was true to only the sword’s basic attributes, and this was the result.

Ianna liked it even more. Chendelf continued,

“But that’s not the only great thing about this sword! It also has perfect conductivity for mana and divine power. And it will never lose durability as long as you make sure to maintain it well. You’ll feel like you’ve suddenly grown wings once you use this sword after using the sword at your waist right now, Ianna.”

Every last one of Ianna’s swords wore down quickly. Her swords could not withstand her powerful might.

The dwarven sword that Schneider had once gifted to her long ago had been no different. This was why Ianna hardly ever grew attached to her swords.

But if that was no longer an issue…….

“And most importantly!”

Ianna grew even more thrilled as Chendelf continued to point out the sword’s merits one after another in his cheer. She was already more than satisfied —what more could there possibly be?

“This sword will never break.”

“It’ll never……break? What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said. It will never break no matter what. Do you know how many dozens —no, hundreds— of dwarves there are who died of heartbreak when they tried to strike something with the best sword they had ever forged only for it to break?”

Some of the dwarves listening to Chendelf stole away a few tears. Chendelf continued,

“It didn’t break even after the spartoi fortified their weapons with mana and divine power and struck it.”

“You can’t claim that it’ll ‘never’ break just because of that.”

Arhad, who had been watching from behind, threw a wet towel over the situation with just one sentence.

When Chendelf tensed up and turned around, Arhad asked him,

“Are you confident it won’t break?”

“Y-yes, I believe that……no, I am!”

“Are you sure?”

Arhad drew his own sword from its sheath. He continued,

“Then why don’t we put it to the test?”

Shaaaa!

Mana howled fiercely as it immediately condensed around his sword. The mana was dyed black and took on its true form as it fell under Arhad’s domination.

“Eek!”

The dwarves paled as its destructive aura surged. Chendelf, too, had grown pallid.

Shhhh!

The spirits that had been playing by Ianna’s side promptly billowed up as if they meant to attack Arhad. But they changed back in despondence when Ianna told them to stop and persuaded them out of it.

“W-w-will it really be okay, Chendelf?”

“It should be, right?”

the dwarves cried out to Chendelf in worry.

“…….”

Chendelf looked to Ianna.

The metal that the spirit kings had made for Ianna had been created explicitly for the purpose of being forged into a sword.

The hands that Ianna had given him, and the skills he had gained until now, had also existed for the purpose of forging Ianna a sword.

He had tempered the sword hundreds of times, and he had hammered the sword thousands of times.

And the sword had been completed when his intuition told him that it had become as the perfect sword. Chendelf had shed tears when he had seen through the true nature of the sword he had crafted.

He trusted the sword he himself had forged.

His trust became as an adamant confidence that kept his frame from cowering. Ianna, who had been a little nervous, was relieved when she looked to him. Then, she turned to Arhad and said,

“You are welcomed to try.”

“Very well. Put it down, since it might get dangerous.”

“No. I will receive your attack head-on. I trust Chendelf and this sword.”

“…….”

Ianna straightened out her posture.

“Come at me.”

Shaaaa!

A great power rushed toward the sword. It was like the power had personified and become as the sword’s foe.

Craaaaaaash!

A deafening roar boomed with a devastating shockwave.

“Aaack!”

Chendelf was sent tumbling away, and the altar exploded and sent its broken fragments flying toward the dwarves.

Gamadaian raised his hand and created a shield to protect the dwarves and the workshop as they screamed in fear of the shockwave.

“W-what happened?”

The dwarves were afraid that the sword that they had poured their heart and soul into forging had been destroyed even as they were eagerly thrilled that the greatest sword in the history of their race might have remained intact even still.

They cracked their eyes open as the dust settled, and they opened their eyes wide as they looked to the center of the impact.

Ianna’s sword was completely fine. It had not broken even after taking Arhad’s fortification head-on.

“Hurrah!”

the dwarves cheered.

“That was marvelous.”

Ianna could not help but be sincerely impressed. Now, she would never have to worry about her sword’s shoddiness ending her fight for her no matter how powerful her enemy was.

“Ah……hahaha! Hahahaha!”

Chendelf looked like a mess —he had been too close to the impact for Gamadaian to protect him. But he couldn’t have cared any less about what he looked like right now. What was important was the fact that the sword he had forged had emerged completely unscratched even after a direct hit from that demonically powerful bastard.

“……A truly impressive sword indeed,”

Arhad muttered as he re-sheathed his sword. He continued,

“Try imbuing it with divine power or mana.”

“All right.”

Ianna was excited as she wrapped her sword in mana first. She could not help but applaud how Chendelf had boasted that she would suddenly feel like she had grown wings as soon as the mana stuck to the blade.

Swiish! Swish!

She swung around the sword a few times before smiling in content.

Then, she guided the divine power from her heart and into her hand and pushed it out toward the sword. Her divine power seeped into the blade until it completely covered the full length of her sword.

Shaaaa…….

The sword, which had been created with the dawn sun as its motif, became as a completed sun with Ianna and her divine power and began to rise up. She was holding the sun in her hand.

“Ahh…….”

Chendelf and the dwarves who had labored hard to forge the sword were touched as their creation was completed in its true mistress’ hands, and they shivered as they felt the warmth of Ianna’s divine power. Some of them were even crying.

“…….”

Chendelf watched, enthralled, as the sword he had poured his heart and soul into forging was united with Ianna in perfect harmony.

His hands scratched the earth below as he clenched them into fists.

He had imagined Ianna holding the completed sword every day as he hit it with his hammer……and he had always fallen deeply into thought.

He had slapped himself on the cheeks, asking himself if he still hadn’t learned his lesson yet even after everything he had suffered, every time he found himself thinking.

“Thank you for forging me such a wonderful sword, Chendelf.”

He realized that his anguish of the matter had truly been absurd the very moment he witnessed Ianna delighting as he held the sword with his own two eyes. His heart had already been decided long ago.

‘Yes. This is Fate.’

Slowly, Chendelf stood up.

“Ianna,”

he called out to her grimly in her joy. She replied, “Yes?” in good cheer and turned to look at him, prompting Chendelf to say,

“I want to follow you. I want to be a dwarven master craftsman who creates weapons for you.”

He had pondered many things as he had sharpened her sword.

It had been a truly long time since he had last forged a sword with a predetermined wielder.

He had been creating works that could shine in and of themselves until now, but an unidentifiable emptiness, like something was missing, had always been eating away at him.

He had wandered the world in search of new inspiration to fill that emptiness. He created when he was inspired, and he still always felt that same emptiness even after his works were completed.

But, as he forged Ianna’s sword, and as he watched over her taking hold of it, he had realized.

“I’ve learned today that weapons ought to be created for their wielders and that they can only truly be completed once their wielders have equipped them. A weapon with no identity is little better than trash, and they do not reward the craftsmen who create them.”

Why had he been granted the fate of forging Ianna’s sword? He continued,

“And that is why I want to follow you. I want to make weapons not only for you but also for the people of your choosing.”

Ianna opened her eyes wide.

“I am not suggesting that I will depart with you at once. That would impose too much of a burden on you. But I am certain that you’ll be someone important who is hugely influential even in the world of men. When that happens, it will be a huge boon to you to have a dwarven craftsman by your side. Call for me when you’re ready, and I will put Karankell behind me and go to work wherever you are until the day I die.”

Ianna was alarmed.

It wasn’t possible quite yet, but she would welcome a weapons manufacturer of Chendelf’s caliber with open arms as soon as she found a suitable place to settle down.

Chendelf’s skills would be a huge military asset when they waged a war of conquest one day.

But…

“Don’t you dislike humans, Chendelf?”

“I don’t mind them if they’re on your side.”

Chendelf smirked.

He had resolved to put aside his hatred for only the people of Ianna’s choosing. And in return, he would hate Ianna’s enemies twice-fold. He continued,

“Never feel burdened about this. This is the future I’ve chosen for myself. It is up to you if you want to accept me or not.”

Ianna shot a glance at Arhad. He had been watching over her delight all this time, and he gently nodded back to her.

Her visage brightened up.

“In that case, I will accept your offer gladly.”

Ianna recruited Chendelf on the spot now that she had received Arhad’s blessings.

“I’ll be sure to work hard!”

Chendelf had been quietly nervous despite having told Ianna not to feel burdened, and he grinned with all his teeth out on display now that his heart was completely cleared of its anxieties.

There was a harmonious air lingering around Ianna and Chendelf.

Then, from back within the crowd, a dwarf who had been enlightened by what Chendelf had said and had been gazing at Chendelf in envy quietly mumbled,

“Should I go too……?”

They held another festival that night.

Chendelf and the other dwarves tried to persuade them into staying for a few days, but Ianna was stubborn in her insistence on leaving early the next morning. The dwarves eventually gave up and opened the kegs.

Ianna drank with the dwarves for a while as they celebrated the fruition of their year and a half’s worth of work, and she slipped outside with Arhad once the dwarves had drunk themselves into a stupor. They were leaving to talk with Gamadaian.

But the spirits of fire tried to stick with her until the bitter end.

‘Kagomyne…….’

Ianna felt a little guilty as she watched the fire spirits express their overwhelming love for her. Kagomyne was listening to her request that the spirit kings didn’t take her divine power as they pleased, just as he had in the beastmen’s village.

‘I should call him more often.’

She would also have to speak to them about how terribly on guard they were against Arhad.

“You’re here.”

Gamadaian was sitting atop one of the large boulders scattered throughout the area. His human form felt honest and reliable, unlike Terranodin, who had given off an air of showy elegance. The only similarity between the two was their inhuman beauty.

“Get straight to the point. What is the Prophecy?”

Arhad asked in a hard tone.

“It is said that……a long, long time ago, Phaemdra worried for the future and used its power to see a mishmash of barely comprehensible scenes.”

Gamadaian was obedient to Arhad’s demands. He continued,

“In chronological order, Phaemdra saw as follows. Ann grows up near Phaemdra’s stump since she was very young. The two of you wear black robes and battle your enemies while calling each other ‘Ro’ and ‘Ann’. You look to each other and laugh ceaselessly in a sea of other people. And lastly, it brings us to today —Ann holding up a sword that takes after the sun.”

As soon as Gamadaian had finished, Arhad asked,

“When did Phaemdra see this future?”

“I cannot tell you that.”

Arhad’s eyes sharpened for a moment before they mellowed out again. He decided that it didn’t really matter when Phaemdra had seen this future, and he did not feel like quarrelling with an inflexible dragon today.

“And that’s all?”

“Yes. It was a very simple prophecy…….”

“How trivial.”

Gamadaian laughed unfathomably. Arhad glared at him before he let out a sigh. His displeasure was seeped into his sigh, but there was also a hint of relief mixed into it as well. He continued,

“Why did you keep it is secret from Ianna and claim that you had no authority to tell her when it was something so trivial?”

“Even a prophesized future can be altered if the people in the prophecy wish to change it. Phaemdra only saw one of countless futures, and the future is impossible to affix……or so the world tree claims.”

“All right. But in any event, the Prophecy is over now.”

Arhad put aside his discomfort and turned to Ianna. He continued,

“Is there anything else you were curious about, Ianna?”

Ianna, who had been quiet because Arhad already asked everything she had wanted to, shook her head no.

‘So that’s what a prophecy is.’

But when had Phaemdra seen the future that Gamadaian had told them about? Roberstein had claimed to have heard Phaemdra’s prophecy too.

The prophecy we heard today wouldn’t be the same one that Roberstein had heard, right……? I mean, that was back in the Holy Age…….

Still, Ianna could not help but doubt.

“Then let’s go.”

Ianna regained her senses when Arhad tugged at her hand. They had already walked quite a distance away from Gamadaian.

“I will not keep you.”

Gamadaian waved back at them. Ianna nodded back to him in farewell before turning forward again.

As they grew farther away, Gamadaian muttered to himself,

“Was that the blinding moment of the sun……?”

Ianna and Arhad left the dwarves’ village early the next morning. It was so early that the sun had yet to rise.

The dwarves had also made a luxurious black leather sheath for the sword. The sheath was like the night, and it was like the sun itself was rising whenever Ianna drew her blade.

Ianna looked pleased as she touched her sword and said,

“I’d like to name my sword.”

“Think about it for a while and pick a name that you feel is apt.”

“No……. I’d like for you to name the sword instead.”

“Why me?”

“I ended up with this sword because I followed you to the slave auction and met Chendelf there —that’s one way of looking at it, at least.”

Arhad smiled at the absurdity of it all.

“By that logic, everything that happens in the world points back to me.”

“Hmmm. Well, it was only one of my reasons, in any case. I was actually hoping that you would name the sword that I will be wielding for the rest of my life since I’m your knight.”

“…….”

Arhad stared silently at Ianna as she spoke before he turned to look up at the sky.

“Shall we go and see the sunrise?”

He had said something unexpected in reply to Ianna’s request that he named her sword. Ianna tilted her head to the side, but she followed after Arhad nevertheless because he hadn’t meant anything bad by it.

Arhad brought them to the summit of a large crag. Perhaps he had timed it well, but the sun had started rising up from the horizon not too long after the had arrived.

Pieces of the sun scattered across the heavens and the earth. The dawn seeped into the dark world and woke it up, and it illuminated the path that all life was to walk today.

“Rise,”

Arhad said abruptly, causing Ianna to turn away from the sunrise and turned to him instead. He continued,

“How about naming the sword ‘Rise’?”

“Rise. To rise up……. It’s a good name.”

She liked it.

Ianna touched her sword blissfully. Arhad watched over her quietly for a moment before he opened his mouth and said,

“Ianna.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve thought a lot during the course of our trip.”

“What about?”

Ianna was focused on her sword even as she responded to Arhad. Then, Arhad nonchalantly dropped a bombshell on her.

“I’ve decided not to be the emperor of the Bahamut Empire.”

“What?!”

She nearly dropped her sword in her surprise. Arhad’s declaration had simply been that sudden and shocking to her. Ianna was still stupefied as Arhad said,

“You said that you dislike the way that Bahamut and the Black Fox does things. But Bahamut’s structure isn’t something I can change completely even if I take the imperial throne. I can’t undo the evil they’ve committed, and succeeding what they’ve cultivated thus far means that I’ll have to take in their sins too. And so…….”

Arhad was standing with his back to the sun, and Ianna stared into his face blankly as the shadow over it grew deeper as the sun climbed higher. Arhad chose his words carefully as he refined his next sentence.

“I’ll build a new country.”

Ianna’s head emptied out for a moment.

She was disgusted by Bahamut and the Black Fox’s evil, and she had indeed wondered if it wouldn’t be easier to simply establish a new country instead once she had learned just how influential Arhad truly was, but she had simply regarded her thoughts as an impossible delusion.

“Oh…….”

She had long since decided not to cling to the past, but Arhad had always been the powerful emperor of the Bahamut to her.

And yet, he was declaring that he would not make Bahamut his.

He wanted to build a new country instead.

Ianna felt like the entire world as she knew it had been upturned. She felt like it had turned to dust and was scattering away. Yesterday was a thing of the past, remaining only in her memories, now that morning had come, and a new day that she could not predict had begun.

Quietly, Arhad continued,

“I will have to create the foundation for a world that can realize your creed.”

“My……creed?”

Ianna muttered back, unable to comprehend what he was saying, when Arhad proceeded to say something truly shocking.

“Ianna, I don’t mind if you become the ruler of this new nation if you’d prefer. I’m happy just to support you from behind. I will make it so that you are the zenith of the entire world. How does that sound?”

She felt like she had been struck by lightning out of absolutely nowhere. She snapped back to her senses and furiously shook her head.

“No, never! Absolutely not. I’d truly hate for that. I……can understand why you said you’d rather build a whole new country instead. I’ve entertained the same idea several times myself. But why are you asking me if I want to rule it?”

Ianna balked, genuinely adverse to the idea, and Arhad, who had been studying her expressions, slowly replied,

“I will make all of your desires come true. I only asked in case you had any desire to be a ruler.”

“No. Not at all. Never. Argh…….”

Ianna pulled at her hair, completely at a loss for what to do. She continued,

“I don’t even know where to begin, but I am truly not suitable to be a ruler. I have no greed for authority whatsoever. Besides, I would have to be responsible for so many people, and I don’t wish to find myself being swayed by that duty. I wish to focus solely on the sword and you.”

Ianna rambled aloud all the thoughts that had flashed across her mind before closing her mouth shut. She looked to Arhad, who was hesitating as he quietly decided his next words, and gingerly asked,

“Do you……not want to be king?”

“It’s true that I was greedy for the throne once. I wanted the whole world in my hands, and I arrogantly wanted to look down as the rest of the world groveled at my feet —but that was long ago.”

“Why the past tense? Then what about now?”

“I have you now. I don’t care about anything else anymore, much less my arrogant greed.”

Ianna’s heart sank.

“So you don’t want to be king.”

She raised and lowered her hands repeatedly like a lost child before Arhad suddenly grabbed them.

“No. I do.”

“Pardon? What do you……?”

“I want to be king so that I can give you everything you desire. You’re remarkable, so you won’t be satisfied unless I do at least that much.”

He looked into Ianna’s shaking eyes as he planted a kiss on the back of her hand. He continued,

“The blind fools don’t know your true worth when you’re actually someone the likes of whom everyone in any position of power in this world should desire. And I must be the greatest among them all if I truly want to have you. I need to make myself suitably qualified for you.”

Just then, Ianna recalled the words Arhad had incoherently spat out in excitement when she had sworn her knight’s oath to him.

“I will become emperor for you without fail…….”

Was this why he had said that back then……?

“I’ll have several times more work to do if I want to create a brand-new country. I’ll take me a bit longer to bring the world at our feet, but please trust me and follow me, Ianna. I’ll build up the foundations properly from the very bottom and create a nation grander than even Bahamut where I can turn your creed into justice.”

Ianna bit down at her lips as her emotions overflowed.

“You are the only king I will ever acknowledge.”

Arhad was a remarkable person. He would not stop even after building up a new kingdom. He was someone capable of turning that kingdom into an empire and someone capable of becoming emperor after being king. This was why Ianna trusted his every decision. She continued,

“I am your knight. I will follow you no matter what you decide. I support you. And I trust that you will hold true to what you say.”

“I will.”

“But why my creed? I understand that you treasure me, but you should realize your own creed and not mine since you’ll be king, not I…….”

“You are my creed.”

Ianna hesitated when Arhad said his curt words ever so readily. He continued,

“You said I was strong. But there’s something you’ve overlooked —between the two of us, you’re the stronger and I’m the weaker. After all, you’re capable of controlling me with just a single word. This will never change even if I become king. And so, my creed……is simply you.”

Ianna bit her lip.

“Listen. Just as you said, I won’t deny the fact that I am capable of ruling over the entire world. But I will lose my path as soon as I’m done eliminating the Bahamut imperial family. By then, I’ll have eliminated every enemy who could possibly pose a threat to me, and I will have everything I’ve ever wanted…… I won’t have any more goals because I’ll already have you by my side.”

“…….”

“But I would probably still wage a war of conquest if I ever became the emperor of Bahamut. One reason is that the power the empire has been building up is on the brink of exploding and needs an outlet, but it’s also because that’ll be the only path left for me to go once I’ve lost my direction. It’s also the natural thing for me to do because I’ll want to make every other great nation in the world revere you and because I’ll want to let you soar freely around the world with your sword in hand.”

Arhad’s grave words continued in a tone so ordinary that he sounded like he was only stating the plainly obvious. Ianna’s eyes shook as she looked to him.

What on earth……?

“Even if I do build my own country, I’ll only live my days making sure that you’re happy —I won’t care one whit about others. That’s my creed.”

Arhad shrugged.

“Do you think I’ll be able to build a proper country like this? Is my creed suitable for someone who is to be king?”

Ianna could not say that he would make a fine king even as empty words.

How was this any different from a king who ignored his governmental affairs because he was too deeply in love with his favorite mistress?

Arhad laughed when Ianna didn’t answer.

“Who knows what sorts of atrocities I’ll commit once I’ve become king. I might even end up following in the Bahamut imperial family’s footsteps. And that’s why I’m hoping you’ll guide my path as my creed, Ianna. Stand before me when I lose my way and realize your will as my sword.”

“I……don’t have the confidence for that. I might even end up derailing you even more.”

“I don’t care what kind of path you put me on. I will shape the world in accordance to your wishes. Stand before me and tell me who your friends and foes are. Your enemies are my enemies, and your allies are my allies.”

There was something overwhelming about what he was saying.

Ianna looked wordlessly to the rising sun because she did not have the energy to return a prompt reply.

Arhad did not press her for one and quietly waited until she was ready. When the sun had fully risen above the horizon, Ianna took a deep breath and said,

“I will do my best. But must I think about this alone? I’d hate for that. Please do everything together with me, including thinking about this and more.”

Arhad smiled.

“All right.”

“Phew…….”

“And Ianna. This has nothing to do with what we were talking about, but…”

“What is it?”

Arhad hesitated before he spoke up again once it seemed like he had finally come to a decision.

“Later, a long time from now……I was originally planning to ask you once you’d grown much stronger, but there’s something I’d like to ask of you now that things have come to this.”

Ianna’s ears pricked. Something he had wanted to ask when she had grown stronger? She was always prepared to agree to Arhad’s every request, but his words did make her curious.

“Ask away. What is it?”

Arhad stared absentmindedly into her.

“I……will gather up all the many fragments of the Demon that have been scattered all throughout the world. And I will need to take many lives to do that. But you’ll stay by my side even still, right?”

Gathering the Demon’s fragments.

This was something that he would obviously have to do. After all, the Demon’s fragments were also fragments of his own soul.

But collecting all the fragments also meant killing Heinrich and Herrace. Was Arhad keeping that in mind as he said this to her?

“That goes without saying.”

Ianna was calm. She had recently found a way to get around this problem. She could use the power of Judgment to draw the Demon’s fragments out from their owners.

She didn’t know how large a price her power would demand from her, but it was something that she absolutely must get done. Ianna continued,

“But I’m sure your request isn’t for me to simply remain by your side. What do you need me to assist you with?”

They could discuss that particular problem at a later date. Ianna was more curious about Arhad’s request.

Arhad smiled briefly in relief before he hardened his voice and replied,

“I’m hoping you’ll accompany me to Pandemonium once I’ve collected all the fragments.”

“To pull the sword free from the Demon’s heart?”

“Yes.”

Did he mean to choose the Demon’s heart, then?

He likely was. He had already gone to Pandemonium once and had connected his heart with the Demon’s. Ianna had ended up connecting to Roberstein’s heart without being any wiser because she had trained near the world tree’s stump, but Arhad would have chosen the heart in Pandemonium intentionally.

Mana could be called the most important substance in the Age of Magic. Nothing in the world would be impossible for him if he was to choose the Demon’s heart once he had already gathered all the Demon’s fragments……no, the fragments of his very own soul.

“I understand,”

Ianna replied cleanly and began thinking about all sorts of things when Arhad spoke up again.

“And one more thing…”

Ianna’s crimson eyes turned to him.

Arhad’s sun filled his entire vision.

“I want you to destroy that heart.”

The world began walking down an unknown path as a new day dawned.

—“Sword Rise” End

—To be continued in Volume 8