As if to chase me, who had overcome the embrace, I was urged forward—
Naturally.
Unfortunately.
Coincidentally.
After a string of such connecting words, we kissed.
It was a story-like situation, on the verge of drowning, life and death on the line.
Despite the cold water, my body temperature rose without end. Even with my eyes closed, I could clearly hear Kanami’s heartbeat. At that moment, I truly saw the “Red String of Fate” extending between myself and Kanami.
And, when that kiss ended, we were supposed to be thrown into chaos again, just like two days prior… but after defeating the Galflad Jelly and disengaging from the water, I noticed something different from yesterday.
Kanami’s expression was completely different from two days ago, and he shouted as if roaring.
“–Who would scrape it away…! What do you mean ‘cheap if you don’t die,’ that’s ridiculous…!”
Kanami was angry with an expression I had never seen before.
I immediately understood his meaning, as he himself had told me the cause was the skill “???”
It wasn’t just Kanami, but I too had my returning calm doused.
Thanks to that, my rising body temperature cooled, and without going berserk in the labyrinth, I managed to reply with a single word, “……Ah, I see.”
And, precisely because it was the second time, I felt an emotion other than confusion.
That was, two “suspicions.”
First, I felt a strong sense of unease about Kanami himself.
His heart, swaying right and left like an unstable Jenga tower, reminded me of my past self. His tendency to be guided by a single path no matter what happened was perfectly described by the words, “He’s being manipulated by someone.”
If he is truly being manipulated, then who is manipulating Kanami…?
Next, I turned my gaze to the “Red String of Fate” dangling from my fingers.
This was the second time I could see it. Even if it wasn’t magic, there was a high probability it was influenced by some kind of “condition” or “skill.”
Based on these, I began to verify the “display” of both of us.
The highest level in humanity, numerous special skills, and abnormally high aptitude.
Honestly, because we were special, there were too many questionable aspects.
Ultimately, unable to resolve our suspicions, we proceeded to the next floor.
And in the thirty-fifth layer of the labyrinth, I met Hairi Weisprorope, a “Magic Stone Human” like myself, a “custom-made item.”
Due to the complexity of her birth, Hairi was unable to sort out her multiple memories and was constantly cornered.
However, even in that worst-case scenario, she smiled at me gently.
“–The sea… I see. So, those boy and girl left the Allied Nations together…”
When she looked at Kanami and me, she seemed genuinely happy.
She murmured as if we were the only salvation amidst her many nightmares.
“Surely… she must have been dreaming of this scene—”
With those words, Hairi opened her narrowed eyes. By then, her gaze had already shifted from the ship to the sea.
Although Hairi, the “Magic Stone Human,” never acknowledged herself as the “Knight” Hein until the very end, I felt as if I received a message from her back: “It’s alright now, I’ve taught you everything I can.”
Drawn in, I also looked in the direction of Hairi’s gaze.
On the horizon, there should be Palinkron Legacy, the traitorous “Seven Knights of Heaven,” but—I felt Hairi was looking elsewhere.
A distant, distant place beyond Palinkron.
Perhaps she had foreseen it before anyone else, to the ends of the “world” that no one had yet reached.
—Come to think of it, the moment the second chapter began was right here.
Looking at Hairi’s back, I swore I could no longer show any more inadequacy.
However, that vow would not be fulfilled.
From here on, the second chapter would become a story filled with defeat and regret.
The first defeat was in a battle against Aid, the “Thief of the Laws of Wood,” whom we met on the “Mainland.”
A thousand years ago, a great mage released the soul’s memories etched into the depths of my blood.
In the Legacy family’s villa in the port town, during a battle with a guardian.
Due to the enemy’s healing magic, the memories of Saint Tiara Fuziaze, who was supposed to inhabit my body, began to overflow.
In a way that no one intended, an old page hidden within my body was opened.
It was titled, “The Story of the Starry Sky.”
I read that book from the depths of my blood.
“—This was in an ancient era, before the term ‘New Calendar’ even existed.
Within the grounds of a castle in a certain country, stood a quietly built stone tower.
In the room at the very top, a girl was confined.
She was so strictly isolated that anyone would have called her a ‘bird in a cage.’ The girl, unable to even stand and walk, always looked out the window from her bed.
The night sky, covered by dark clouds, had no light at all.
But the girl always held her favorite book in her arms, singing as she dreamt of light.
For her, who had little entertainment, books and songs were likely her proof of life.
And, sadly, it was precisely these books and songs that— would dramatically change the destiny of this ‘World.’
That night, the castle garden was abuzz.
The girl wondered what was happening but continued to sing, thinking it had nothing to do with her. But after the murmuring, the sound of footsteps came from the floor below. Just as the girl thought, ‘It can’t be,’ the door was already open.
—The girl finally encountered the light she had always dreamed of.
He was like a boy from a story.
Seeing the boy, the girl was surprised, excited, her face flushed, and she tightly hugged her stuffed animal.
First, his clothes were not ordinary. They were of a make and color I had never seen in this country. No, that was not very important to the girl. More than anything, her eyes and heart were simultaneously captured by the boy’s lustrous jet-black hair. His eyes were darker and deeper than any black jewel. The moment their gazes met, I felt like I was being swallowed into eternal darkness. Sweat seeped from my skin. It was not from fear but from exhilaration, as if my blood was boiling and about to evaporate. After all, the boy’s face was beautiful to a degree unsuitable for this harsh era. The more I looked at his perfectly formed face, the more my miserable daily life shattered. Though we had never spoken, the boy was overwhelmingly cool, making me dazzling.
Though the boy’s hair was jet-black, in the long, long darkness of the girl’s life, it shone like a star. In such a fateful encounter, the boy and girl exchanged names.
‘—‘I am Uzunami’… ‘Aikawa Uzunami.’ ‘What is your name?’…
‘‘I am Tiara’… ‘Tiara Fuziaze’…—’”
Upon hearing each other’s names, they deeply cherished them, vowing never to forget.
At that moment, a thin, red thread-like bond was indeed formed between them—
As I watched this story, my confusion deepened.
Even amidst the battle, my questions did not stop.
T-Tiara Fuziaze…?
This girl? Then, was that a memory from a thousand years ago…?
As a “Magic Stone Human” created to be her vessel, I had braced myself for the possibility of her memories blending in.
However, the problem was that Kanami’s name appeared in this memory, which seemed to be from a thousand years ago.
Furthermore, the “Red String of Fate” was tied between the two of them.
A beautiful colored string, like a pale unrequited love solidified, was drawn between Tiara and Kanami a thousand years ago.
Compared to me, a “creation,” it was a red string many times more vivid.
The “real” one from that time was far denser, thicker, and heavier.
It was more than enough to believe that these two from a thousand years ago were connected by the “Red String of Fate,” and were the true “beginning.”
Page after page was hammered into my mind, and I began to understand.
Honestly, I couldn’t follow everything accurately. But I could grasp the rough outline.
Following their meeting, what awaited them was, “The days of developing Kanami and Tiara’s ‘Curse Techniques’.”
The two, who couldn’t communicate, gradually closed the distance between them while shyly interacting. Once the language barrier was gone, “the journey of ‘Adventure’ called the Fanian arc” began.
What awaited them there was, “a duel with a corrupt lord.”
Though the fight was disadvantageous, Kanami achieved victory when “Tiara’s confession” was made.
Truly, a great love reversal.
The “Princess” and the “Foreigner” had woven an ideal love story a thousand years ago. Understanding that, the blood recollection neared its end.
As my consciousness gradually faded, I was able to read a small part of the epilogue of the Fanian arc.
Fragmentarily, only a little—
“—On the return journey from that battle, a girl who became a ‘Demon’ due to Fanian’s experiment appeared— By being stabbed in the abdomen by that girl, Tiara Fuziaze came to understand— that ‘Thieves of Principles’ without exception carry a ‘Curse’—
However, the pages turned too quickly.
I couldn’t finish reading.
I couldn’t keep up.
“—The ‘Price’ of the ‘Thief of the Principles of Dimensions’ is the two who love each other— He was destined from the start to lose his beloved— If so, I too must prepare a ‘Substitute,’ just like her— The key to surpassing Sister Hidaki is a replication of my life—
I couldn’t fully comprehend it.
But, surely—
“—Replication isn’t that important. What’s truly needed is— in the ‘between the lines’ of the Fanian arc, the ‘girl’ who smiled ‘it’s okay’ to her parents as she faced imminent, unreasonable death— The ‘girl’ who, when I met her next, said ‘it’s not okay’— What did she wish for at the brink of death, this girl who surpassed my expectations— I must not forget. Absolutely— her words— until the very end—”
I saw that.
After that, with a sound like a book being forcibly closed, I ended the blood recollection and lost consciousness during the battle with Aid, the “Thief of the Laws of Wood.”
And the next time I opened my eyes, I was in the bed of an unknown inn.
The moment I sat up, I clutched my head against a piercing headache.
“……!”
Unfamiliar memories and information jumbled together, and I had an unusually high fever.
It felt like I had been forced to read over a hundred books in just a few minutes.
Frankly, I had no idea what had happened. That was my honest feeling at the moment… but there was one thing I understood clearly.
That was “regret.”
That inexplicable feeling of regret dominated my entire body as I desperately pursued the memories from a thousand years ago.
However, I felt that emotion itself was proof that the current recollection was real.
It wasn’t an impossible story.
The labyrinth summoned great individuals from a thousand years ago as guardians.
It wasn’t strange for Kanami, who appeared from the labyrinth, to have existed a thousand years ago.
However, if what just happened was truly a memory from a thousand years ago, it was vastly different from what I had been told.
The legend of Tiara Fuziaze was completely different from its “beginning.”
The hero from a thousand years ago was Kanami, not Tiara-sama…?
And the real Tiara-sama was a girl who walked beside Kanami all along… Someone who admired her master more devotedly than anyone… Someone who even confessed during a life-threatening situation…?
As I got out of bed, I looked down at my hands.
In this situation, I was seeing a third hallucination.
Currently, the “Red String of Fate” extended outside the room, but—
Was this truly connecting me and Kanami?
I began to doubt the premise.
My body was supposed to have been passed on to Tiara-sama during the “Christmas festival.”
Furthermore, when combined with the memory from a thousand years ago, it would make more sense to say this “Red String of Fate” was connected to Tiara-sama.
“Because, the weight of my love… is lighter than anyone else’s, it’s not enough…”
With those words, I started to move.
I intended to follow this “Red String of Fate” to reunite with Kanami and discuss the events of a thousand years ago— but as I reached for the room door, I envisioned a certain future.
“Ah…”
A trembling voice escaped my lips.
A sticky, mud-like anxiety enveloped my entire body, and I froze.
If… if, hypothetically.
If Kanami believed all of the thousand-year-old memories I had just seen.
And after thoroughly considering it, he then said, “Switch with Tiara right now,” what would I—
Of course, I knew Kanami would never say such a thing.
However, I felt it existed as one of the possibilities.
If I were to tell him about the events of a thousand years ago, and Kanami’s memories gradually recovered, allowing him to regain all his feelings from that time— it was highly possible he would prioritize his “lover” with whom he shared feelings a thousand years ago, over me, with whom he had only spent a little over ten days.
“W-what if… that happened…”
Not only my voice, but my hands began to tremble.
I knew I should rush out immediately, reunite with my companions, and share information. Yet, my body wouldn’t let me open the door in front of me.
Moreover, tears threatened to well up from my eyes.
Because I had overcome the “Christmas festival” and was freed from the Senate’s manipulation, I now possessed the strong human desire: “I don’t want to disappear,” “I don’t want to die.” The desire “I want to be with Kanami forever” also emerged and couldn’t be stopped.
“I… I don’t want to end yet… Because…!”
I like Kanami.
I like him so much.
Seeing Tiara and Kanami’s rendezvous in the thousand-year-old memory, I acknowledged that “love” face-on.
I want to be with Kanami until I die…!
Even if my feelings are lighter than anyone else’s in the world, I like Kanami…!
Because I really like Kanami…!
So, I don’t want to part yet—
“……!?”
“Eh?”
However, before I could even voice that wish, a roar echoed through the inn.
Following that, a tremendous surge of magical power struck my skin.
“Th-this feeling… is it Flame Arrow? Someone’s fighting nearby…!?”
As I analyzed that it was a magic commonly used by my companions, my body had already opened the door.
The lingering anxiety had not entirely dissipated, but it wasn’t enough to justify abandoning my companions.
Although my body wasn’t at its best, I headed towards the source of the magic at the highest speed I could achieve.
Perhaps it was the emotions of Tiara from a thousand years ago that infected me, but the thought “I don’t want to have any regrets” was strong, and I desperately rushed towards the battlefield.
However, by the time I reached the room where the battle had begun, it was already over.
“–I’m sorry, Maria! It was my carelessness! …I need to hurry and chase Dia!”
In the inn’s garden, Kanami was staring up at the sky and shouting. Dia, who had also awakened memories from a thousand years ago, had escaped, possessed by an Apostle’s consciousness.
—And so, my second chapter, filled with defeat and regret, truly began.
After this, we would chase Apostle Sis and head towards Palinkron’s fortress, but during that time, I kept thinking.
What if I had switched with Tiara-sama during the “Christmas festival”?
Tiara-sama, who would be recounted in the world a thousand years later, might have been able to stop Apostle Sis, who had just taken flight.
That regret would repeat itself during the battle with Palinkron.
If Tiara-sama were fighting alongside Kanami, there wouldn’t have been any “Magic Stone Humans” incapacitated by the “Shaka Hōkan Jin.”
If I had switched, there was a high probability that Dia could have been freed from Apostle Sis at the initial surprise attack at this fortress.
Above all, when the talk turned to pursuing Palinkron, I wouldn’t have been the one who, lacking strength, had to watch Kanami’s back go.
And the death of Hairi Weisprorope on the battlefield I couldn’t reach, and Kanami being swallowed by the “Shaka Hōkan Jin,” wouldn’t have happened.
Once it started rolling down the hill, the second chapter didn’t stop.
Defeats repeated themselves one after another.
Regrets piled up one after another.
By this point, I had a faint inkling of the answer.
And after Palinkron’s “Shaka Hōkan Jin” incident, the remaining members undertook an operation to retrieve Dia’s body.
As a result, we suffered four consecutive defeats against Aid, the “Thief of the Laws of Wood,” Apostle Sis, and the new “Ruling King”… but in that battle, I was invisible to everyone. From the way Aid and Sis, who knew of a thousand years ago, fought, it was very clear that they thought, “That Tiara was strong, but this Rustiara person is no threat.”
Ah.
The answer is simple.
—It’s happening like this because Tiara-sama, who should be here, isn’t.
After that defeat, which proved that answer, we returned once to our base, the “Living Legend.”
The five of us—myself, Maria-chan, Snow, Reaper, and Sera-chan—gathered on the ship’s deck to discuss what to do next.
Fortunately, Aid and the others only fought defensively, so no one on our side was injured. Nevertheless, the strategy meeting was much quieter compared to when Kanami was here.
In the tense atmosphere, as if it might break at any moment, Snow made a proposal.
“–Let’s head south for a bit, partly to increase our levels. As we are now, we can’t win against either the guardians or the apostles.”
Since Kanami’s disappearance, Snow had been the de facto leader.
Because she was more cowardly than anyone else, Kanami had said she would cautiously and calmly guide the party, relieving me of the leadership.
The strategy meeting proceeded, leaving me who hadn’t uttered a single word.
“Reaper, you’ve been saying it for a while, right? That there’s something in that ‘Great Void’.”
“……Yeah, there’s definitely something there. I feel like something very important is waiting for us.”
“I think Reaper’s intuition has some meaning. What do you all think?”
After the “Shaka Hōkan Jin,” a large hole had opened in the center of the “Mainland.” And there, though different in specification, a labyrinth similar to the Allied Nations’ had been created.
Snow proposed that we first reorganize our forces there, and Maria-chan nodded.
“I agree. That’s where Kanami-san disappeared, so I wanted to investigate it to our limits.”
She had been more agitated than anyone since Kanami’s disappearance, but she was now very calm.
Since this proposal also led to Kanami’s discovery, she seemed to have no objection.
Seeing the growing number of votes of assent, I also gave a slight nod to Snow in agreement. Behind me, Sera-chan quietly replied, “I will follow my lady.”
“Alright, it’s decided. Then, the route for our journey—”
Not only was I not taking leadership, but I rarely even participated in the conversation anymore.
Even just watching from the back, the discussion came together properly.
However, that also meant my strength was no longer needed by everyone. I seized the opportunity of the ship sailing south without any hesitation and revealed the answer I had been holding onto to everyone.
“–I agree with going to the ‘Great Void.’ But, I want to take a break along the way.”
When I proposed that, the atmosphere of the strategy meeting seemed to stop for a moment.
Amidst that, only Maria-chan looked at me with a face of utter disbelief.
“Huh…?”
“Little by little… I know I’m becoming a burden. In the last battle with the ‘Ruling King’ too, alone I was useless…”
Maria-chan was the only one who seemed flustered.
Perhaps Snow and Reaper already understood that I could no longer participate in battles.
Even Sera-chan, who adored me, didn’t speak up, but Maria-chan alone couldn’t accept that reality.
“W-what are you saying? That’s not true! Rustiara-san is the saint of Revannism!?” That saint!”
“……That’s not me, Maria-chan. That’s not me. ……I’m not the ‘real’ one.”
Unlike Maria-chan and the others who are “real,” I am a “creation” that cannot remain in the story unless I fulfill my original role.
Yes.
I must fulfill my original role.
Until the “rebirth” of Tiara, the “real” saint, is complete, I will continue to pile up regrets.
“Not Rustiara-san…? What are you saying!? There’s no one more real than you! I don’t know anyone as strong, cool, and beautiful as you!”
“Thank you, Maria-chan. ……But, the fact that I alone cannot be on stage is an unchangeable truth. Even if I were to fight, or level up, I am no longer needed. I want you to calmly judge that Rustiara Fuziaze should do things other than fight…”
In short, I lack too many things.
So, I asked Snow, the leader, to please approve my departure. However, as Maria-chan saw that, she shouted before Snow could.
“S-Snow-san, say something too! Is this okay!?”
“Well… Maria-chan, I’m sorry. I understand Rustiara-san’s feelings.”
“So, you mean I’m not needed anymore!? You’re going to leave me behind because I can’t keep up!? That’s—”
Receiving no agreement from anyone around her, Maria-chan’s body gradually began to emit flames.
It seemed that the emotions she couldn’t put into words were being converted into flames. Furthermore, it was a declaration of intent that she wouldn’t let me escape, even if it meant burning her. Watching her fighting spirit and flames swell on the ship’s deck, she tried to persuade me—
“Maria-chan—”
“It’s because I like you, that’s why!”
Before I could ask, “Why are you trying so hard to stop me?”, she immediately gave a very embarrassing answer.
That “liking” likely encompasses more than just simple friendship.
For Maria-chan, who has walked a special path in life, I am already like family.
Of course, it’s the same for me.
To me, Maria-chan is a sister, and a younger sister.
At times we were rivals for love, and at other times like a mother and daughter.
So, that “liking,” encompassing all those meanings, made me genuinely happy.
“Yes, I like you too, Maria-chan.”
“Then, please stay with me…! Rustiara…!!”
Maria-chan, clad in flames, immediately retorted again and stepped forward.
I drew the sword at my waist and took a stance.
It was clear it would come to a fight, but Snow and Reaper said nothing and merely distanced themselves. My knight, Sera-chan, also chose to watch without saying anything.
The only way was to fight and make her understand the overwhelming difference in power.
Thus, a quarrel-like duel began on the ship— and, as expected, I lost easily.
Maria-chan had a crushing victory.
As a result of that overwhelmingly one-sided duel, Maria-chan finally understood.
She had already surpassed the being she had once feared.
Whether she won or lost this duel, she ultimately had no choice but to grant my request. After heartily scolding me with a gentle heart, recognizing the difference in strength, she allowed Rustiara Fuziaze to withdraw.
And the party—
Maria and Reaper, exploring the “Great Void,” as a pair.
Myself and Sera-chan, returning to the Allied Nations in the “Frontier,” as a pair.
Snow, participating in either depending on the situation.
The group split into three.
Actually, I wanted to go back alone, leaving Sera-chan behind, but that was not to be.
From her stubborn reply of “I will follow you” despite my repeated attempts to persuade her as her master, it was highly likely she had noticed my true objective.
My knight and I head back to my homeland.
This time, I re-enter the cage of the Fuziaze Cathedral to “reborn” Tiara-sama with my own volition.
The dream-like “adventure” is now over.
From now on, I will begin the true battle to clear away the “suspicion” and “regret.”
