After eliminating the underground mine she had lived in with her own hands, Beatrice stood blankly in the same spot for several days.
With both Evangeline and the underground mine now gone, Beatrice found herself at a loss for what to do next.
Having lost both motivation and purpose, all that remained was an overwhelming sense of emptiness filled by relentless boredom.
As she stood still, the emotions that flowed around her gradually coalesced into a massive form.
One day, when she opened her eyes in a daze, Beatrice saw a gigantic monster quietly gazing down at her.
However, strangely, she felt no fear at all.
Rather, she felt an oddly familiar sensation towards the giant creature, prompting Beatrice to timidly ask,
“…What should I do now?”
The monster replied that it did not know either.
But if she desired, it could take her anywhere.
In response to the creature’s words, Beatrice glanced back quickly.
The space behind her was empty, as if erased by an eraser.
There was certainly no longer any reason for Beatrice to remain in this place where nothing existed.
Thus, she climbed atop the monster and began a life of aimlessly wandering around.
However, no matter where she went or what she saw, nothing piqued her interest.
Everywhere she traveled seemed fundamentally no different from the underground mine where Beatrice had lived.
No matter where one went, the powerless lived resigned lives, as if it were natural to accept the absurdities that oppressed them.
Those who opposed such absurdities were a mere handful, and none existed who could overcome them.
Everywhere, the world felt simply dull.
This was the thought that crossed Beatrice’s mind as she wandered one day.
“…Wait a second, stop.”
In the middle of a forest, Beatrice spotted a girl sitting dazedly.
Had she been an ordinary person, Beatrice would have ignored her, but the strange aura emanating from the girl indicated she was anything but ordinary.
Faintly, she sensed something similar to the energy she had scattered around her not too long ago.
Slightly intrigued, Beatrice approached the girl and asked,
“You feel like you have a similar aura to me. Who are you?”
Upon hearing the question, the girl merely stared at Beatrice blankly without answering.
It wasn’t so much ignorance as a response that seemed to convey she did not even know who she was, prompting Beatrice to quirk her head and ask once more,
“…You seem to be alive. You do understand my words, right?”
The girl nodded, as if she did understand.
Her reaction to the question made her appear as if she had just been born into this world, not knowing anything yet.
Watching the girl, Beatrice instinctively realized that she was a being similar to herself.
Just like the Beatrice who had suddenly appeared in the underground mine one day, this girl seemed to have an ambiguous origin, and the aura she gave off was proof of that.
The only difference was that while she had awakened in a bustling underground mine filled with people, this girl had awakened in a place devoid of humans.
As Beatrice pondered whether her self-identification as human might have stemmed from the fact that the beings she first encountered were humans, she murmured to herself.
“…Hmm, perhaps I felt this way too at first. By the way, it looks so empty; it might be amusing to observe.”
Beatrice said with a strange smile as she addressed the girl.
“Here, I’ll give you a gift. Now, repeat after me: Evangeline.”
“…Evangeline?”
“Yes. I’m giving you this name to be a being that alleviates my boredom, meaning ‘good news.’ From now on, that shall be your name.”
Just as Evangeline had given her a name, Beatrice bestowed the name Evangeline upon the girl.
Why Beatrice acted in such a manner was something she couldn’t explain herself.
Was it because the girl’s appearance reminded her of a blank sheet with nothing drawn on it?
Or perhaps it was due to memories, lingering attachments, or expectations about something?
She didn’t know.
With a heart she couldn’t accurately express, Beatrice decided to observe the girl who had become Evangeline.
Thus, for several years, Beatrice circled around Evangeline, continuously observing her life.
She watched as Evangeline met elves and became a member of their village, leading a happy life.
However, the scene of Evangeline smiling joyfully and having fun left Beatrice shockingly unaffected.
This was undoubtedly a disappointing matter for Beatrice.
Why was it that she hadn’t truly wanted to see this side of Evangeline?
As she struggled to understand what she desired, a minor incident occurred.
The gigantic monster born from Beatrice’s aura, known in the world as a Lesser Demonic Beast, accidentally stomped on a few elves while yawning, killing them.
These were the young elves whom Evangeline had called friends.
Naturally, Evangeline was deeply saddened by this incident.
And seeing the sorrow on Evangeline’s face, Beatrice muttered with indifference.
“We’ve already killed a few, so maybe I should just kill all the elves around Evangeline and observe her reaction.”
At that offhand remark from Beatrice, the Lesser Demonic Beast immediately rushed to mass-murder the elves in the village.
And as Beatrice rode atop the monster heading toward the village, she witnessed:
“Don’t touch the people! Go back now!”
The sight of Evangeline, fearlessly standing in front of the monster and shouting that.
Beatrice watched her briefly and then muttered to the monster,
“…Let’s not bother. I doubt there’s anything to see even if we kill her anyway.”
It seemed that what she wanted to see was not Evangeline looking sorrowful.
Thinking that, Beatrice decided to pull back from the monster.
But then, an unexpected scene unfolded before her eyes.
“Evangeline commanded the Lesser Demonic Beast…”
“It’s a witch… a witch!”
The elves began to denounce Evangeline, holding her in contempt as they called her a witch.
Naturally, Evangeline felt wronged.
However, the elves, blinded by the desire for revenge for the children they lost, ultimately burned the innocent Evangeline at the stake.
Watching that scene, Beatrice burst into laughter.
Despite knowing the true villain was the monster that killed the children, they all sought another target for revenge, realizing they couldn’t bring down the monster even when united.
It was reminiscent of the slaves who had brutally beat Evangeline without a word when she was in the underground mine under Davis.
The sight before her was too similar to everything Beatrice had seen while traveling the world.
It felt overwhelmingly dull and trivial, to the point where a sardonic smile crept onto her face.
Well, if there was one difference, it was that Evangeline, who was burned by the elves, was not as weak as they believed.
In her plight, Evangeline incinerated all the elves who had burned her, driven by the sense of injustice.
Beatrice, watching that scene, laughed emptily.
“Oh dear, poor Evangeline. You’ve been through something terrible. It’s all my fault, and those bad people have no idea.”
This too was merely a natural outcome of the weak being swept away by the strong.
What Beatrice had wished to see was not this.
“Hmm, that’s quite the fire. Playing with fire could be fun. You want to burn me, huh? Then let’s play hide and seek. To that big tree over there, alright?”
In that case, at least let’s play a game like they did then with Evangeline.
Playing with fire, hiding and seeking.
That was the only entertainment left in this mundane world.
Unfortunately, tragically, even that futile game ended when Evangeline was killed at the hands of the elves.
Thus, Beatrice found herself aimlessly wandering once again.
In the wandering, she encountered a peculiar race known as dwarves.
An odd race that lived burrowed underground by their own will.
For some reason, Beatrice didn’t like it at all.
And in a bit of a tantrum over Evangeline’s death,
Beatrice attacked the dwarves, and
“Oh…”
As a result of their self-destruction, she became buried beneath the earth along with the underground city.
Of course, she could have escaped whenever she wanted,
But given that Evangeline was no longer above, Beatrice remained buried beneath the earth for several hundred years.
“Shall I let you out? If you contract to fulfill three requests of mine, I can let you out, what do you say?”
Until a peculiar witch came to find her and offer an escape.
Unfortunately, that meant she would receive unwanted interference, but still, Beatrice didn’t completely regret rising from the earth back then.
Because at that time, she met a being that sparked her interest, albeit just a little.
And now, that being was approaching this place.
Beatrice looked up at the sky and murmured,
“…You’ve come, Eva.”
Maybe you’ll bring me, just a little bit, some joy.
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