Dennis gently released Jared’s hand. He judged that Jared no longer had the spirit to fight. And indeed, that proved to be the case. The boy sank to his knees weakly and bowed his head.
“Um, you were Dennis, right? Hey, Dennis. What do you think of me, resurrected like this?”
The first seat of the Court Mage stood protectively in front of Jared, facing the Progenitor.
“To be perfectly honest, I pity you for wanting to be resurrected by using someone else’s body.”
“Ooh, you’ve got some nerve! But yes, I suppose I am a bit pathetic.”
Without revealing why she was so amused, the Progenitor approached Dennis with a wide smile.
“After all, I am a corpse.”
She struck him with a blow so fast it was invisible.
“Dennis!”
Jared cried out at the unexpected turn of events.
“Hmm. You boasted you were stronger than Jared, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Well, if we were to actually fight, you’d win with experience and application, but in terms of raw combat ability, you’re inferior. Oh well. Anyway, getting back to it, Jared, I want you to listen. I am truly pitiful.”
“—Dennis!”
Cassandra, who had been some distance away, rushed over to Dennis, who didn’t stir, as if he had lost consciousness.
“I was forcibly summoned to another world and lived day after day fighting. I wasn’t even allowed to long for my original world, and I was married off, though I didn’t want to be. On top of that, I couldn’t even trust my own children, thinking, “Ah, these brats are going to ruin the continent.”
With a sigh, as if recalling the past, the Progenitor let out a grand exhale.
“Ah, I didn’t hate my husband as much as I said, and I was okay with my children. I remember being a good mother. But, they were creatures different from me.”
“…What are you–?”
“Now, now, listen to me. No matter how much I longed for my homeland, no matter how much I missed my family, they would always say: ‘But we’re here, we love you with all our hearts.’ —So what?”
Mimicking the words her family had spoken in the past, she ended by spitting out that she couldn’t understand.
“That’s just your self-satisfaction. I am the victim. Do you know how much you forced upon a mere high school girl? If you claim to love me, you should have protected me much sooner. Before I abandoned this world, you should have done something.”
“…I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. In the end, what is it you want to convey?”
“My apologies, my apologies. What I mean is, I was resurrected for my own sake. I don’t have the slightest thought for the country or my descendants. After all, I’m an otherworlder, aren’t I?”
“Otherworlder?”
“Of course. Because they are completely different inhabitants from a completely different world from me. Honestly, I was surprised when I became pregnant. Ah, they’re human too. I was truly shocked! I desperately hid that surprise. In other words, I was constantly enduring.”
Jared couldn’t fully grasp what the Progenitor was trying to convey. However, he vaguely understood that she had been forced to do things she hadn’t wanted. Regardless of the truth, that was how the Progenitor felt.
“The biggest reason I resurrected was because everyone wanted me to. They took pity on me, these hopeless humans who couldn’t solve their own problems and wouldn’t even let me die! But, I thought that would be okay. I truly did. When I was dying, I even thought I wanted to help all of you pitiful people.”
But, the Progenitor continued.
“I truly did. Until the moment I died. When death embraced me, I thought: ‘–I can’t even die freely?’ I had helped those in trouble, those who suffered injustice. I fought when I didn’t want to fight, killed when I didn’t want to kill, and lost people I had grown close to. And the reward for that was not even being able to die—wouldn’t you resent that? Wouldn’t you hate that!”
“…You are already…”
He didn’t know how long she had harbored this hatred. All he knew was that the Progenitor was broken. He was certain of it.
“I decided. Once I resurrected, I would act for myself. However, there’s a problem. And that’s Cassandra Hagedorff.”
“What about that woman?”
“I absolutely cannot stand that woman. I can’t achieve true freedom with her around. But, I have a restriction that I cannot harm the woman I resurrected. That’s why I want you to kill her.”
“After you kill Hagedorff and become free, what will you do?”
“I won’t do anything. I have no goals. So, I might as well return this body to Olivier. But, yes. I at least want to vent this pent-up frustration. I’ll leave it at that by destroying this country.”
The moment he heard those words, Jared’s magic-infused fist struck the Progenitor’s face.
