kscans

Chapter 129 - Interlude, Everyone's Worries

".....So, I left Dark in Flowers’ care♪"

Little One declared with a bright smile.

Chihaya and the others, who had been sequentially sending the refugees and beast-humans to Frontier via Castrato in prepared carriages, couldn't help but look up at the heavens with suspicious eyes.

"Wouldn’t it have been better to consult with His Highness, the Prince Regent, first?"

Dorfen murmured in confusion. Little One shook her head and watched the line of carriages departing.

"I’m thinking of building the village for the beast-humans and refugees between Kilfan and Flowers. For that to happen, Flowers needs to have its magic and magical abilities restored as quickly as possible."

Building it on the Castrato side could put it within reach of the Claudia Kingdom. Knowing that king, there was no telling what kind of pretext he would use to try and take the refugees and beast-humans. The Claudia Kingdom was facing hard times ahead. Once they understood their reality, it was entirely possible they would do something reckless. To physically prevent that, it was better to build the new town on the border of Kilfan and Flowers. For the countries in the central region, the existence of a town as a waypoint would also be helpful for crossing to the south. Hearing this explanation, Chihaya and Dorfen grumbled but were convinced.

"For now, let’s rest in Castrato and then head to Frontier. It’s an overland journey, so I’m counting on you for the escort, nyo. I’ll go on ahead and get things ready to receive them."

After giving various instructions, Little One took Chihaya and flew off toward the Seaside Forest.

"Lean, how are things?"

The giant penguin gazed at the twins who had arrived at the Seaside Forest with the look of a kindly old man.

《Things are going well. Thanks to the golden magic, the caves and reefs have been restored as well.》

The sheer cliffs had numerous caves within the sea, and the sea area below them was a complex reef. From large protrusions sticking out of the water to small ones extending along the seabed. If a ship were to enter the shallow reef, it would be reduced to seaweed in an instant. Furthermore, there was a forest of intricately tangled seaweed. Ferocious sea monsters lurked within its frothing waves.

So this is the true form of the Seaside Forest.

Little One looked down at the young penguins swimming and leaping about joyfully, a blissful smile on her face. Cesare cut into the idyllic atmosphere.

『You are here to retrieve it, are you not? Let us go.』

Cesare’s voice was sharp.

That’s right. This was the forest with the last magic crystal.

The large hole right there connected directly to the underground, where there was a graveyard of monsters. The monsters that the Dark Spirit had brought from Castrato had also met their end there. She wasn't eager, but she had to go. Cesare held the little oni he had brought with him and gave a slight nod of his chin toward Little One. This was the last of the little oni entrusted to him by Legion. All that remained was the next-generation red oni left behind in Frontier.

Climbing onto Lean, the twins descended into the deep cavern.

《Welcome! Phew, what a load off my mind!》

A cheerful voice greeted them. It was one of the guardians, Trigger..... a giant earthworm.

.....Why the Kansai dialect? And this cheerful personality.

Little One was reminded of a certain manga about a boy with a 'nbaba'. He had apparently been observing them from within the ground during her previous visit. He had been hiding quietly to escape the Dark Spirit. Looking up at the writhing, cheerful earthworm, Little One, along with Cesare, touched the towering Dark Magic Crystal. As always, she felt a strange pulsation, and a chill ran down her spine.

Power that had grown by feeding on the magic of living creatures.

Cesare released the power, which seemed to be steeped in resentment, and Chihiro neutralized it with her golden magic. Their respective magics were drawn into their needle crystals. Little One narrowed her eyes at the dissipated little oni and checked on Cesare.

"How is it? That should be all of them, right?"

『.....Those bastards!』

Cesare’s lips twisted bitterly, his eyes wide with anger.

Those bastards?

For a moment, his eyes trembled, then Cesare took several deep breaths as if to quell the fire within him.

『.....It is not enough. I have recovered all the memories, but the power as a god is missing. I can only think it was intentionally removed.』

Then he narrowed his eyes sorrowfully and stroked Little One’s head. With a delicate touch she had never felt from him before, Little One tilted her head.

『So it was you..... And..... they try to manipulate me again.....!』

Cesare grit his back teeth. The anguish that seeped onto his face conveyed his inner conflict to Little One.

"What’s wrong? Are you okay?"

His cheek was caressed by a soft hand. Cesare took her slender fingers and kissed them.

『I will protect you..... No matter what happens, you alone.』

The completely restored memories informed Cesare of the truth. While he was devastated by this fact, someone in the abyss also frowned and looked up pensively at the entrance to Arcadia.

『So he found out. This is a pain, for both of us.』

It was the perfected Soul of Light, Sapphard, the first king of Frontier, who murmured as if his thoughts were on a distant place. He was one of the many souls who had committed a great sin and been reincarnated in Arcadia. A fragment thrown in by the Higher Beings to forge dark material. However, despite throwing in the souls of all sorts of villains, for some reason, many of them accumulated good deeds and strayed from the path of darkness. Annoyed by this, the Higher Beings forced Cesare to repeat a tragic life over and over to dye him in darkness. And they did not forget to take out insurance. Insurance that would force Cesare to do the Higher Beings’ bidding.

His sister, Lucrezia. The person she was reincarnated as is Chihiro.

Utterly atrocious and inhumane.

Furthermore, the person Sapphard loved as well.

『Bonnie..... what should I do?』

A seed of anxiety sprouted in Sapphard’s heart. Before being thrown into Arcadia, he had committed inhuman acts on Earth. As retribution, his precious person was taken from him. She was burdened with a curse to never find happiness with the opposite sex, binding Sapphard so that he could not defy the Higher Beings. If he fulfilled his role as the material of light, her curse should be broken.

『Quickly..... I have to break the curse before Bonnie grows up.』

With a pained light in his eyes, Sapphard returned from the abyss to the human he was possessing.

Watching the two of them quietly, Joker let out a deep sigh.

《The Higher Beings do cruel things.》

Thanks to Sapphard’s help, the encroachment of the Dark Spirits was being held back. In a brief moment of rest, Joker pondered in his dreams.

Was there no way to free the two of them?

Two souls, tormented, with their loved ones held hostage. This should not be allowed. Joker himself was in a similar situation, with Tsathoggua held hostage. He held the hope that depending on Little One’s actions, he might be able to free him as a byproduct. But he also knew that it should not be built on someone else’s misfortune.

Somehow..... can’t something be done?

Deeply troubled, Joker’s ethereal body began to glow. She had forgotten. That Little One was Little One. The future, where Little One, with a bright smile, would kick away even Joker’s worries, was a future she did not yet know.