"............"
Shoko's... or rather, Queen Dowager Frederica Aiwood's tragic past came pouring out.
(The queen dowager's family and fiancé had been murdered, and she'd been forcibly made the tyrant king's concubine. I'd heard that story, but...)
To think he would end up hearing it directly from her own mouth.
As Rest watched in silence, Shoko took the lollipop from her mouth and held it up toward the blue sky.
"Honestly, I really thought I had it made. Born as a noble young lady, with a loving family and a fiancé, and I could even see the future. I was totally convinced I'd be happy this time around — that kind of person, you know? That's why... I underestimated it. Human malice, I mean."
"............I see."
"I've always been bad at picking up on that sort of thing. I'm good at getting guys to like me, but at the same time, they end up hating me or hurting me. Back in my past life, I felt like someone pushed me from behind when I had the accident, so maybe that was murder too? Maybe it was Yamada — the guy I rejected after he confessed — or someone like him?"
"I wouldn't know about that... but couldn't you have avoided it with your future sight?"
"That ability is the active type, you know. I can only use it if I consciously decide to. I had zero interest in the king, so I had no idea what he was up to."
Shoko sighed and popped the lollipop back into her mouth.
"But... I really should have looked ahead. Don't go saying 'checking the future too much is boring' — I should have actually looked. If I had, Papa, Mama, Dar-chan, and Lu-kun would all still be alive. Lu-kun was only ten years old, you know?"
"............"
"So that's why I got my revenge. I used my future sight to the fullest, shamelessly seduced men, and... utterly destroyed that king."
She crunched the candy with a grinding sound.
She tossed the remaining stick toward the trash can.
"He was super hated, so it was actually pretty easy. I pulled off a magnificent revenge, fair and square. A happy ending... or so you'd think, but... not really, I guess. At the end of the day."
"............"
"That's the end of my story. Man, it feels so much better now that I've told someone."
"...You're not done yet, are you?"
"Hm?"
"I haven't heard the rest yet... Why did you spoil Rodele and let him rot?"
That was something he absolutely had to know.
Rodele had been the worst kind of man, but... if he hadn't fallen so far, he might have become comrades-in-arms with Rest.
In that battle, he had genuinely felt a connection between them.
"Come on, talk. That's what I want to know."
"Ah... right. That's one of those things I have to explain too, huh."
Shoko smiled wryly, then toyed with a strand of her wavy hair, winding it around her finger.
"The reason I turned Rodele into a 'fool' — that was revenge."
"Revenge? Against the tyrant?"
"No, no... It was revenge against the unjust world."
"...?"
Rest looked puzzled by Shoko's words.
Revenge against the world. He didn't understand what that meant.
"Well, you see... Back then, I — Frederica — was a little out of my mind. Everyone precious to me had died, one after another, and the targets of my revenge were gone too. All that was left at my side was the child that hateful man had forced me to bear. The child wasn't to blame, of course... but even so, I couldn't love him freely. Whatever his personality, his face was a dead ringer for that despicable king."
"............"
"I had allies, but no one who truly understood my suffering. And yet they expected me to act the part of a proper queen dowager and came begging me for help. I was losing my mind."
Shoko let out a languid sigh and shifted her legs.
"So, yeah... I ended up falling for the temptation. Those people — the 'Takfeel Kaaren.'"
"Tak... What did you say?"
"'Takfeel Kaaren.' Another group of reincarnated people, antagonistic toward the Council of Sages. People who wish for the end of the world."
"There was a group like that... the end of the world..."
It was an absurd notion.
Was there really an evil secret society straight out of some fantasy world?
"That's the reaction I expected. Those people think the reason we were reincarnated into this world... or more precisely, the reason we suffered unjust deaths in our past lives, is because of this world's god. So they're trying to destroy the world as revenge against that god."
"That's ridiculous..."
"Well, you could call it a bunch of edgelords... It seems Frederica fell for their sweet talk and did something foolish."
Shoko laughed self-deprecatingly and clasped her hands together.
"She drove Rodele-chan mad—the one who was supposed to become a hero and save countless people—and raised him like a tyrant. She left an unstable element like Eiger inside the kingdom. She made Celeste-chan, who was supposed to become the ideal queen, into Rodele-chan's fiancée so she could never become queen... She scattered countless time bombs throughout the Kingdom of Aiwood."
"............"
"Some of those bombs were probably recovered by the Council of Sages. Since the future of reincarnated people is hard to read, I don't know how it all turned out, though~"
Shoko stood up and walked away with quick, decisive steps.
Then... she looked down at the sea from the bus stop.
"She did as she pleased, carried out her revenge for her own satisfaction... and after realizing her death was near, she spent her remaining days at this villa. She found this place by chance during an inspection... because it reminded her of her hometown from her past life. She stared at the sea, painted as a hobby, and then died. She asked Vel-chan to be the one at her deathbed."
"Vel-chan...?"
"A classmate from our school days. She was the fiancé's friend, and through that connection she was good to Frederica. She's also the one who sealed Zanryūshinen in a box. I believe she's working as a teacher at the Royal Academy now?"
"A teacher at the Royal Academy. Don't tell me... Verroid Hahn!?"
The academy headmaster. Verroid Hahn, a member of the Council of Sages.
If it was that man—regarded as the greatest magician in the kingdom—it might indeed be possible for him to seal a person's memories inside a box.
"I know it's my own fault, but... dying and falling into hell was genuinely terrifying. I at least wanted to leave behind the version of me with a completely fresh start from my past life. I know it's self-indulgent, though."
Shoko gazed out at the sea, her expression tinged with sadness.
She let out a long, long sigh... and slowly shook her head.
"In my past life, I wanted to throw away a dead-end rural town like this and rush to the city... but ever since I was reincarnated, I've been desperately homesick for the place I came from. I really am spoiled, aren't I?"
"...I see."
"Alright, now my story is really, truly done! Thank you so much for listening, Old Man Shako!"
Shoko clapped her palms together with a sharp *smack*.
In an instant, the scenery around her began to waver. It was as though everything had turned into a mirage.
"Wha—!"
"Thanks for everything. I'm grateful you listened to me... This is my way of saying thank you."
"Mmph—!?"
Something was shoved into her mouth.
It was sweet... It turned out to be a lollipop.
The bittersweet taste of strawberry spread across her entire palate.
"Anyway, make sure you live a life without regrets like me, Uppy. Well then, see ya!"
Parting words were delivered unilaterally... and the next instant, the scenery completely collapsed.
"Ah..."
And when she came to her senses, Rest was standing in the same study she had been in before.
————————— Won the Special Award in the Isekai Fantasy category at Kakuyomu Con 9!
The publication as a book and the manga adaptation have also been decided. My greatest and highest thanks to everyone for your support!