The white thing was small and fluffy.
Frankly, I couldn’t tell what it was just by looking at it. The world of souls itself was vague, and while it could change its form depending on the master’s consciousness, this was still an incomprehensible existence.
However, I somehow knew that it was not a material thing.
“Hello.”
“———”
So, I offered a greeting just in case.
There was no reply, but something fluffy moved in response, so I knew there was a reaction. Ul was satisfied with that for the moment, and the white lump continued to move fluffily, turning its back to Ul and starting to move away.
“……”
It seemed to be telling me to follow, so Ul followed along.
Soon, a white door appeared again. Without hesitation, Ul passed through the door.
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“Once it begins, we can do nothing more for you. You are alone.”
Shizuku, having received the warning from Shinya, agreed with his words.
His warning was correct.
As someone burdened with the mission to destroy the Ark, everyone who lived there was her enemy. There was no doubt about it. If they knew the truth, they would hate her, or at the very least, try to kill her to survive. This was that kind of war.
She had no allies. Everyone was an enemy, and she was alone.
Without the need for preparation, Shizuku accepted this as a matter of course.
“First, I’ll jump out. Dash through while the boar is facing this way.”
At the moment he, the first Ark native she had met, tried to save her life without any hesitation, her resolve suddenly faltered.
“Do you want to die?”
“No way, I’ll beat you up.”
When she heard him, who sounded disgusted from the bottom of his heart, declare that he would be the bait, Shizuku’s cold thoughts made the rational decision to become his collaborator. He was the first native she had encountered, and he had tried to help her while being wary of her suspicious existence.
He must be a good person. Kind, and considerate of her.
Unlike her own foolish, ugly, and worthless self, he was a truly kind person.
Therefore, she would use him.
The most dangerous part of the Ark infiltration operation was the beginning. Teleportation using the True Core Magic Stone of the Labyrinth, the line connecting the Ark and the World, meant she had to move by herself. It was the timing with the highest risk of death.
She needed strength. The strength to protect her own life. She couldn’t afford to be picky.
She would be liked by him, and loved by him.
Since she was given the power to do so.
Shizuku decided.
Unbeknownst to her, this was a potent poison that would corrupt her soul, which had already accepted that everyone was an enemy.
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“To think I was thinking such things at this point… I must have been desperate.”
Ul was in a strange place.
The space beyond the door he passed through was not as easily understood as Diz’s, which was shaped by her past and present.
It was a large room. The ceiling was high, and it was also deep. Most buildings in Israelia were tall vertically, but it was rare for them to be wide horizontally. So, he immediately knew it was a building in the Demon Realm. The lighting was dim, but the floor was faintly illuminated, making the path easy to follow. Inside, there were rows of chairs, and a large glass panel in front of him.
Ul knew what it was. Some kind of crystal for long-distance viewing. A monitor that showed distant landscapes or recorded images. He knew this because Kosuke had taught him in the Demon Realm.
So, this was likely a space where many Humans watched images.
“I see,” Ul mused, and as he sat in a chair, an image appeared. The content was the scene where he and Shizuku had just met. It was a view from Shizuku’s perspective, and her thoughts and feelings were conveyed entirely.
“What a terrible woman. Objectively speaking.”
It wasn’t something to think about a man who tried to save her at first contact. She was truly a terrible woman. Ul reaffirmed that while she was outwardly pleasant and her words and actions seemed saintly, her fundamental personality, or rather her behavior, was simply awful.
“Don’t you think so too?”
Ul sighed as he spoke to the “white mist” sitting next to him.
“———”
A strange sound occurred. A mixture of various voices and sounds. It sounded like noise. It was questionable whether it was even words. However, Ul felt that the white mist had spoken as it turned towards him.
Of course, Ul didn’t understand what it was saying, but,
“I don’t really understand what you’re saying, but yeah, I guess so.”
Ul nodded and returned his gaze to the monitor. The continuation began.
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“No matter what happens, I will save you.”
Shizuku genuinely couldn’t understand why he had reached such a bizarre conclusion.
For Shizuku, who had managed to build a basic living foundation as an Adventurer apprentice after escaping the first Labyrinth and the initial hardship, Ul’s value still existed. His physical abilities were only slightly inferior to her own, honed by training in the Dome. In Israelia, his position was at the bottom, and he had no assets. However, on the other hand, he had a strong sense of purpose to rise as an Adventurer to help his family.
He had utility. However, on the other hand, there was no need to be attached to him.
Her cold judgment as Israelia’s infiltrator and the ultimate weapon to retrieve the Great Sin Dragon told her so. At this point, Shizuku truly didn’t have that much reason to be fixated on him.
She had tried to trick and charm Ul, but it hadn’t worked. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in her feminine side, but he was kind. Or perhaps he was a novice. He hadn’t made any advances.
This was a slight disappointment to her. A simpler, more foolish approach would have been preferable.
Therefore, betraying him was also a gamble.
If he flew into a rage and attacked her, she could probably manipulate him easily. If she smothered his anger withlust, she could control him as much as she wanted. Especially if he was a good person.
If he didn’t make a move and only showed disgust towards her, then so be it. She had acted that selfishly. It was a natural reaction. It would be a painful loss for her too, but not irrecoverable. She would just look for someone with better conditions than him.
So, it was a gamble.
She might be brutally used and then abandoned, but that was within acceptable limits. She also felt apologetic towards him. No matter how she was treated, she wouldn’t find it terrible; as long as she didn’t die, as long as her life was saved, she thought that would be enough. She had thought so.
But he reached a conclusion that was completely off the mark.
He claimed to demand Shizuku as a price, and yet he cherished that Shizuku, which was entirely outside her expectations.
“…Why did you reach that conclusion?”
“Because I hate you.”
It was at this moment that Shizuku finally understood that he was someone who was very far from being easily manipulated.
He was a good person, but at the same time, he was complex. Frankly, she didn’t understand what he was thinking. She didn’t know what triggered his anger.
You should stop. Her cold reason whispered.
She couldn’t control him. It was impossible to control him. She couldn’t manage him, and in some cases, he could become an obstacle to her mission. If so, she wouldn’t be able to fulfill her mission.
Mission, that was her ultimate goal, and the reason she was alive now.
She had to avoid anything that would jeopardize that. She knew she should avoid risks and keep threats away.
She knew that, but—
“I will defeat the Jewel Golem with you.”
The flame burning in his eyes was too fierce.
That flame was not anger at her wicked deeds, nor hatred for having his sister taken. It was a flame that overflowed from his core, and it threatened to burn Shizuku as well.
As her reason told her, he was undoubtedly someone she should not get close to.
“I am yours. Do as you please.”
Therefore, her saying such a thing was a mistake.
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“…To be honest, I was quite a handful back then too.”
“——–”
“I was really desperate at that time. Perhaps it was the pinch of my journey?”
“——–”
“Well, it’s fine. Let’s continue.”
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“We won!!!”
They had won against the Jewel Golem.
Ul raised a cry of joy. Shizuku responded by accepting his embrace.
This was an act. Shizuku thought so.
It was an act to get closer to him. An act to gain even a little favor with the complex him.
In reality, she wasn’t happy. She didn’t have the right to be. She wasn’t born for that purpose. Therefore, she was definitely not happy. She repeated this to herself many times. Yes, she had to tell herself this.
She had to make sure she didn’t actually become happy.
She recalled memories. She stabbed herself with them like knives, again and again.
Blood and vomit, screams and groans. The lamentations of her friends who died while suffering repeatedly played in her mind.
She plastered a smile on her face and strove not to deviate from the atmosphere around her.
Despite intending to eventually slaughter them, the people of Israelia, she had no right to try to get close to them.
So, please don’t be happy about me, she implored him silently.
Please don’t hold me gently as if you cherish me, she pleaded with him without a sound.
