“This should be fine, no problems here. Alright, I’ll review it, so I’ll be on my way now.”
Following Charlotte’s gesture, a sharp-looking woman standing opposite her quietly took a step back and exited the room.
Click. The sound of the door closing. Footsteps fading away beyond it.
“…Sigh. I can’t put it off anymore.”
It seemed that with that, Charlotte finally relaxed, her body collapsing over the desk.
“There’s no helping it. It’s something we have to do.”
Seeing Charlotte in that state, Hermila smiled bitterly and picked up the documents from the side table.
“Of course, what we must do isn’t just about the festival, but revealing the hidden story to the world… Still, that’s the best way to gather people.”
The document had ‘Coronation’ written in large letters.
Hermila glanced at it for a moment before tossing it aside with indifference and picking up another sheet of paper.
The title at the top of this document read:
The End of the World.
Below it was a vast quantity of data and exploration processes.
Rustle- The next page turned with a similar theme.
After flipping through a dozen pages, she finally found what they were looking for.
The contents had been viewed countless times, yet they were still things that couldn’t be comprehended.
The world had crumbled. No, it had shattered.
In the photos produced by artifacts, there were landscapes that could only be described with such absurd sentences.
Surprisingly, the photos were relatively decent.
Hermila had been there.
She went and saw it with her own two eyes.
The shattered landscapes of the world.
The traces of a brutal battle.
Perhaps, fragments of despair that might become this world’s future.
Yet, the trace of hope preserved by a girl.
As she quietly stared at this, Hermila exhaled softly and turned to the next page.
Again and again.
When only one page was left, she let out a coarse sound from between her teeth. After a moment, she placed the documents down gently and looked at Charlotte with a heavy sigh.
“I thought once I became the Emperor I could do whatever I wanted, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“You’re not the Emperor yet since you haven’t held the coronation. Well, that’s not important… There are reasons we can’t do whatever we want. There are many eyes watching us. Besides, given we’ve lost 70% of our strength, there’s a lot to keep an eye on.”
Charlotte lifted her head from where it was resting against the desk as she groaned.
“Well, just because they’re watching us and we’ve gotten weaker doesn’t mean they can start a war. Still, we have to be cautious.”
There were many eyes watching.
This pointed to neighboring countries, but mainly, it referred to the faction of the late Emperor, who had left no corpse behind after his death.
Those who had immersed themselves in Erdeng and followed his will.
Now they were scattering and hiding, but they were seeds that could one day start a war, they believed.
At the same time, they never thought they would lose even if that happened.
In this Empire, there was one person who could single-handedly destroy a kingdom, perhaps even one who had transcended humanity.
Yet they weren’t blindly relying on that existence.
They wished to move in a way that would harmonize with everyone as before, but perhaps with a slightly elevated stance. Time would pass, and in the distant future, they hoped true peace would come to this world, just as the girl once wanted.
“As someone who will become an Emperor, I guess it can’t be helped. There’s nobody left with royal blood but me, so… Well, I need to be recognized by the citizens, at least until the coronation, right?”
Charlotte’s laughter was self-deprecating.
“Is there anything left for Charlotte to be recognized for here? The people that remain seem too busy singing your praises.”
“There are only people like that left. The others all died.”
It was a conversation that could easily turn somber, but her mood remained light.
And it was only natural. Those who had plunged deep into Erdeng were people they had to kill without question.
Of course, it wasn’t only those who had stepped into Erdeng who had died. People from the Liberation Army, friends of theirs, had also died. Some had gone missing.
Yet they didn’t feel the need to bring that up.
“That’s true.”
Hermila, with a bitter smile on her face, tried to erase it by lifting a teacup filled with black tea.
“…So, how is Rubia doing?”
At Charlotte’s question, Hermila set her teacup back down.
Then she glanced over the documents again.
Without folding them, she opened the last sheet.
Hermila’s gaze lingered on the closing paragraph of that final page, unable to pull away.
-342 days have passed.
-There are still no signs of human presence.
*
Knock knock.
A cautious knock echoed in the corridor.
“…Sister.”
The girl with pink hair, Hephaestus, stood waiting with two meals in hand for the door to open.
There was no response or any sign of life, but she didn’t knock again nor add anything else.
It was something familiar for Hephaestus.
After a short while.
Click-
The doorknob turned weakly.
Through the gap, a gaze devoid of the beautiful blue hue of the past looked out at Hephaestus with dirty, dulled blue eyes.
“I, I was wondering if you wanted to… eat breakfast together…”
As the blue eyes dropped, they fixed on the two plates Hephaestus struggled to hold.
Following that, silvery-gray hair, now dull enough to be described as gray, flowed down her shoulders.
Hephaestus’s hands trembled.
The woman, who glanced at that shaking hand, nodded slightly.
“…Okay.”
Her voice cracked.
She moved as if she might collapse at any moment.
Seeing that, Hephaestus pursed her lips and stepped into the room.
At the same time, even after months of seeing it, the scene inside the room was still something difficult to adapt to.
A room far too spacious for one person.
In that room stood walls crammed with things Hephaestus could never comprehend.
On one side, there were countless magic circles.
Beside them were ancient magic circles.
Across from those, principles and formulas for such magic.
And behind Rubia, stacked papers documented every process undertaken to find one girl.
No light came in.
Even the window meant to admit light had been covered by magic circles.
Consequently, the stuffy room was filled with the overwhelming scent of ink.
Rubia had grown accustomed to that odor, but not Hephaestus. Thus, her face briefly stiffened.
Seeing that, Rubia approached the window with a gentle smile.
And carefully peeled away the papers blocking the window, finally pushing it open with great effort.
“Shall we eat over here?”
Soon after, tapping on the table that had more space than others, Rubia smiled faintly at Hephaestus.
“…Y-yeah…”
Hephaestus replied hoarsely, barely managing to utter the words as she took cautious steps toward the table where Rubia was seated.
Then, clack. After placing the meal on the table, Hephaestus let out a small sigh so it wouldn’t reach Rubia.
Thus came the quiet silence that followed.
In that stillness, Hephaestus opened her mouth.
“Did you get some sleep?”
Her voice seemed to have improved a bit from earlier.
Though she might have been trying to act unaffected, the tremor was unmistakable.
In response, Rubia picked up a spoon instead of replying.
“One should get enough sleep. What if something bad happens if you don’t—”
“I won’t die from just a little lack of sleep, it’s fine. How about you, Hephaestus? Are you feeling okay?”
“…I’m, yeah. Always healthy…”
“Good to hear.”
Rubia’s soft smile morphed into something less bright, nearly breaking Hephaestus’s expression, yet she managed to keep her composure.
Then, clink- Rubia started eating warm soup at a pace matching her own.
Meanwhile.
As Rubia chewed and swallowed the soft soup several times, her eyes shifted toward the open window.
Such a lively atmosphere.
Laughter uninterrupted.
Voices promising tomorrow.
As she quietly watched that scene, Rubia scrunched her face and covered her mouth with one hand.
“U-uh, sister?”
Hephaestus, taken aback, already had a handkerchief ready, placing it into Rubia’s palm.
This was familiar to Hephaestus.
Seeing Rubia emptying her stomach while watching people, while witnessing the smiles of others, was something she had grown accustomed to.
Every day, day after day, it had been like this.
That didn’t mean she became adjusted to it, but she could swiftly react in that regard.
Thus, as Rubia trembled and repeatedly retched, she forced herself to gulp down some water to quell it before finally speaking.
“…I’m sorry.”
Hephaestus couldn’t respond to that.
Because she knew that the stories she would have to share next would only cause Rubia more pain than she was already in.
Did Rubia also sense that mood?
After catching her breath, Rubia smiled gently at Hephaestus and tilted her head.
In response, Hephaestus steadied her shaking voice and opened her mouth.
“I have… something to tell you, sister…”
“Yeah.”
How should she say it?
What would be the best way to phrase it to make it sound even a little better?
Hephaestus had countless such thoughts racing through her mind.
Yet, there was no answer.
It couldn’t exist.
Thus, she shut her eyes tightly and spoke the unvarnished truth.
“A, a festival is going to be held…!”
A festival to honor those who fell in the war, in the war for liberation.
“On the day of Charlotte’s coronation… I don’t know when it will be, but… it’s probably going to be on the day when the war ends, exactly one year from now…”
Hephaestus’s words couldn’t continue.
“I see.”
Rubia’s reply came flowing out.
It was surprisingly nonchalant, and the tone was more composed than Hephaestus expected.
So Hephaestus slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes.
Rubia was smiling.
A soft smile.
The same ‘always’ smile she always directed at Hephaestus.
Though it birthed an unknown doubt in her heart.
Click. As Rubia stood up with the tray in hand, the doubts that had just surfaced quickly sank down.
“W-wait! I’ll do it. You rest!”
“…Can you really do that for me?”
“Of course!”
With lightning speed, Hephaestus jumped up from her seat and took the tray from Rubia, her eyes quietly on Rubia’s face.
Rubia still wore a gentle smile as she spoke again.
“Thank you, always.”
“W-well…”
“Dinner is fine. There’s bread over there, so I’ll manage that.”
“Bread… okay. Got it. Then, I’ll see you in the morning…”
“Sure.”
Hehe. After forcing a smile, Hephaestus opened the door and cautiously stepped outside.
At the same time, Rubia’s body slumped down feebly.
Her unbalanced legs buckled, hitting the floor.
The arm that had tried to support her and the hand that had gripped the window frame fell weakly.
Yet her gaze remained fixed out the window.
With a gentle smile on her face.
The smile she had shown Hephaestus.
Amidst the joyful voices of happy people.
And the peaceful sounds from the streets.
She continued to gaze at the clear sky.
Endlessly.
Continuously.
Until the next morning.
When Hephaestus would bring breakfast.
