Kurumi, Amy, Hu, and Ai were spending time in the forest beside the cult's house. Kurumi and Hu sat side by side against the trunk of a tree. As the wind brushed against their faces, Hu and Kurumi watched Amy and Ai, who looked just like a mother and daughter. Ai had pulled the laughing Amy onto her lap, stroking her head and talking with her. Kurumi watched this beautiful scene with a strange warmth burning in her chest. She had no memories of her own childhood. Her childhood was like a veil of mystery to her.

  When Hu nudged her, she turned her gaze away from the beautiful scene and toward Hu. Hu smiled.

  Hu:『Are you alright? You look like you're envying them.』

  Kurumi's cheeks flushed.

  Kurumi:『What does that have to do with anything. It's just... odd. I'm happy because Amy is happy. It has nothing to do with envy.』

  Hu laughed at Kurumi's flustered reaction.

  For a week now, Kurumi had been distracted and quiet, but she was slowly starting to pull herself together. Over the past week, most of the people in the cult's territory had migrated to the Shogun region. The ruined buildings there had been largely repaired, and the monster corpses had been cleared away. Though this victory was worth its weight in gold for the growing population and dominance over Ayanon, it had opened deep wounds in the Veil of Shadows cult. Meanwhile, rumors of betrayal were spreading ear to ear within the cult. Through all of this, no one had seen Sae for a week.

  Kurumi had been so curious about this from deep within that she stood up and walked over to Ai. She wanted to find out. As the tall grass tickled her ankles, a faint fear burned in her chest. Getting answers about anything related to Sae felt like finding a way out of a labyrinth woven from secrets. As if that weren't enough, whenever Kurumi thought of Sae, those horrifying, blood-soaked faces would come to mind. Still, pushing those thoughts aside, she took a deep breath and spoke.

  Kurumi:『Ai-san... I haven't been able to see Sae for a long time. I don't think she went to the Shogun region or anything like that. Do you know where she is?』

  It was clear that Amy, sitting in Ai's lap, was also curious about this. She turned her head toward Kurumi with wide, wondering eyes. Ai, meeting those curious eyes looking up at her, simply smiled gently. The glimmer in her red eyes seemed to ease Kurumi's worry, if only a little.

  Hu:『Sae is at the cemetery, as always. There are certain times of year when she spends more time there. You don't need to worry about her.』

  Even as Kurumi nodded, the questions in her head were multiplying rather than shrinking.

  「—Had she really been worried about Sae?」

  Sae was truly powerful, and she had an exceptionally beautiful face. For some people, she could even be called the most singular being in the universe. Kurumi shook her head side to side, erasing that possibility entirely from her mind. But the real question was why a 12-year-old child spent most of her time at a cemetery. To find out, she needed to find Sae at the cemetery.

  Kurumi quickly thanked Ai and started walking toward the cemetery, when Hu called out from behind her.

  Hu:『Hey, where are you going all of a sudden? Is something wrong?』

  Kurumi turned around. It was clear from everything about Hu that she was worried. Kurumi didn't want to bother explaining what was happening right now. Telling Hu anything was exhausting for Kurumi, and she wasn't exactly eager to deal with her teasing either. Kurumi grabbed Hu's wrist.

  Kurumi:『We're going to the cemetery. We can talk on the way.』

  As Kurumi and Hu walked, Ai and Amy waved at them from behind. Before they had gone too far, Hu was inwardly thinking about asking a question; going to the cemetery all of a sudden had seemed rather strange to her. Just as she was about to call out to Kurumi—

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Hu:『—』

  Kurumi and Hu pricked their ears toward a sound coming from the distance. It sounded like someone was fighting. When Kurumi and Hu approached to break up the argument, they were struck by a deep shock. Chuya and Taka were fighting with Tora and the child beside him—or rather, they were the ones getting beaten. Taka staggered from Tora's punch; as the strength drained from his knees, he crumpled to the ground.

  Kurumi and Hu cried out at the same time.

  Hu and Kurumi:『Takaa!』

  Hu knelt beside the fallen Taka and cradled his neck on her knee.

  Hu:『Hey, are you alright?』

  Kurumi stepped in front of Taka. Chuya wiped the blood from his mouth. He shouted; the deep hatred in his voice carried grief within it too.

  Chuya:『Why, Tora? Why are you betraying Sae? Aren't you childhood friends? How could you betray your own friend? Weren't we going to fight together? Aren't you from Ayanon?』

  Tora smirked, as if these questions held no meaning for him whatsoever. He pointed to the child behind him—a yellow-haired boy with black eyes that looked as though they'd gone mad.

  Tora:『How foolish you are. Just because she's my friend, just because I'm from Ayanon, does that mean I can't betray Sae? How foolish. That kid is Sae's childhood friend, just like me. Isn't that right, Kai?』

  Kai grinned.

  Kai:『You're as harsh as ever, Tora.』

  Cold sweat dripped from Kurumi's forehead as she kept her eyes fixed on Tora. The truth of the rumors she had heard about Tora's betrayal was now right before her eyes. As her feet moved backward, she noticed her knees were trembling. The rustling of the tall grass grew louder, and Kurumi felt a presence behind her.

  「—」

  Just as she turned her head, she felt the cold air touch her skin. The person whose white hair swayed before her eyes in the wind was none other than Sae.

  Kai's black eyes met Sae's. The cold, sharp ice born from the history between them seemed to have sharpened further, pointed directly at one another. Sae turned her head toward Tora, who stood beside Kai.

  Sae:『So you chose his side. That makes you an enemy of me and the Veil of Shadows cult.』

  Tora smirked. The expression on his face said this mattered very little to him.

  Kurumi had reached toward the bow on her back; she had wanted to take a defensive stance because she couldn't shake the strange unease inside her. As she did, she felt the wind fall still. As she sensed the air growing heavier, there was a strange aura around her that seemed to crush the very soul. As the air around them thickened, the colors of the grass faded.

  With a flash of golden light, everyone looked up. Haijan appeared in the sky, three-eyed, with spiky yellow hair.

  Tora:『So he finally came.』

  Haijan's ancient voice echoed inside Kurumi's mind.

  Haijan:『Hello, servants of god. Or slaves, perhaps. It seems you are opening old accounts with my servants.』

  Without paying even the slightest attention to Haijan's presence, Sae moved toward Tora. She asked the question everyone had been waiting a long time to ask.

  Sae:『What do you want?』

  Kai grinned. His pupils trembled as if deranged.

  Kai:『Very simple. We want to tear all of you apart.』

  Kai spread his arms wide, gesturing to Tora and Haijan behind him. Chuya stepped forward.

  Chuya:『Stop this nonsense. Tora, don't ever do this—』

  Hu cut Chuya off.

  Hu:『What are you talking about? They've already beaten you both to a pulp and you're still saying "he wouldn't do it"? Is your head even working, huh?』

  Chuya chose to stay quiet, knowing he couldn't argue against this. It was an undeniable truth, after all. Taka lay on the ground, badly beaten; Chuya couldn't exactly claim to be in good shape either—the blood from his nose had only just stopped.

  Haijan moved toward Sae. As his third eye shone like the rising sun, his voice found its echo in everyone's mind.

  Haijan:『The justice of god is everywhere, is it not, Sae? As you can see, you are the only one here capable of using magical power. So your clash would be anything but fair.』

  Taka grabbed his head and rose from the ground.

  Taka:『Why are you saying this now?』

  A sphere of light pulsed in Haijan's hand.

  Haijan:『Very simple. This is a field. When I expand it, no one inside can use magic. I will use this so that you clash head-to-head, without magic or weapons. You and your soldiers—none of you will be without weapons. Completely fair, isn't it, Sae?』

  Kurumi was calm, confident this ridiculous proposal would be rejected.

  Sae would never do something so foolish. After all, who would accept something so obviously a trap?

  Hu voiced the same thoughts.

  Hu:『Hah! How stupid, with a proposal like that—』

  Sae:『I accept. It doesn't matter how. I'll face you regardless.』

  「—」

  Tora:『Very well. It's settled. We'll be waiting for you here the next day, Sae.』

  Sae turned her back. In the blink of an eye, she vanished, as if she had never existed. In the same way, Haijan, Tora, and Kai disappeared with a flash of golden light.

  Kurumi, Hu, Taka, and Chuya stood there staring blankly at one another.

  With the cult once again under threat, Kurumi was thinking about how she would deal with these new problems. She wasn't even sure about helping Sae. After all, luck couldn't always be on her side. Throwing herself into every danger and trusting to luck could be the end of her.