The fight started off haphazardly.
I wasn't ready to fight yet, but once it started, I couldn't afford to hesitate.
I flipped the switch.
"GRAAAAH!"
Zanoba was the first to charge.
The opponent was one of the Seven Great Powers, but Zanoba didn't care about that fact one bit.
Without any technique whatsoever, he just ran straight in and attacked head-on.
His club howled as it bore down on the Reaper.
The Reaper dodged it with ease.
But I'd already predicted that Zanoba's attacks wouldn't land.
Zanoba's attacks were all-or-nothing. One hit would be critical, but the chances of landing one were extremely low.
My job was to guide those hits to their mark.
I'd already set up a mud pit where the Reaper would dodge.
"Oh?"
The Reaper's foot caught in the mud, throwing off his balance.
"Ice Strike!"
Roxy's spell slammed into him at that moment.
The Reaper deflected it with his sword in the nick of time, but his posture was further compromised.
Zanoba pressed the attack without mercy.
Inhuman strength that could leave even an immortal demon unable to move.
The blows he unleashed mercilessly blew holes in the staircase landing.
The Reaper dodged, impressive as that was.
But it was obvious to everyone that he couldn't go on the offensive.
He'd fallen on his rear, his feet unable to find purchase on the ground.
His sword was pointed the wrong way, and his left elbow was touching the floor.
Now was our chance.
The Reaper's face was painted with shock.
"There's no way... this shouldn't have..."
When I heard that mutter, I knew we had him.
I gave Roxy a look and stepped forward.
Zanoba also moved in to deliver the finishing blow.
I pointed both hands at the Reaper.
If Zanoba's attack connected, great.
If it didn't, I'd use Foresight to pinpoint his evasion path and blast him with lightning.
While he was paralyzed, I'd fire rock cannonballs from my left arm's prosthetic to finish him.
If even that got dodged, Roxy would restrain him again, and we'd keep going until something hit.
We hadn't exactly coordinated this, but it was a perfect combination.
He was a rat in a bag.
"Hmph!"
Zanoba's blow struck the Reaper.
But what I saw next was unbelievable.
The Reaper had actually caught it.
Zanoba's inhuman strength.
The club—barehanded.
He'd caught the club barehanded.
Incredible physical strength. The Seven Great Powers weren't just a title.
But this was the end.
His catching arm was clearly broken—even I could see that.
Checkmate.
"Zanoba, move!"
At my shout, Zanoba flew sideways as if spring-loaded.
Purple lightning shot from my right hand.
The thunderclap that crackled through the air licked the Reaper.
A direct hit.
The Reaper's entire body went rigid, and he crumpled to the ground.
His skull-like face was turned toward me.
The expression of someone who couldn't understand what had happened.
Even if you defend against lightning with fighting spirit, it still paralyzes you.
Time to finish this.
I poured magic into the parts on my left arm to fire the rock cannonballs.
"Shotgun Trigger."
Rock cannonballs—reputed to be king-class or even emperor-class—swarmed toward the Reaper.
The rock cannonballs were my ultimate technique, acknowledged even by Orsted himself.
If they hit, they could damage even Orsted.
In this position, at this timing, even the Reaper couldn't dodge. And even if he survived, he'd be seriously hurt.
I'd won.
"...Huh?"
The next instant, the rock cannonballs vanished.
They turned to sand in midair and rained down on the Reaper.
I couldn't comprehend it.
"Oh, you came to save me! Reaper!"
Randolph said that, looking behind me.
"A new one!?"
The Reaper?
Then who had I been fighting!?
Had I been misled from the very first introduction!?
I turned around.
No one was there.
There was only a staircase bathed in moonlight.
"Rudeus!"
I heard Roxy's scream, and by then I'd already been shoved out of the way.
I caught a glimpse of blue hair near my waist.
Roxy had pushed me.
Before I could wonder why, I was already shifting in midair to shield Roxy with my body.
We hit the stairs back-first.
My Magic Armor clanged against the floor.
No damage.
"Huh..."
Lying on my back, I looked up the stairs.
There was Zanoba, who still didn't understand what had happened, and the "Reaper" frozen in a sword-swinging stance.
The Reaper was standing as if nothing had happened.
Hadn't he been paralyzed by the lightning?
Hadn't his posture been off?
Something was wrong. Why?
"Lord Rudeus, the Reaper always stands behind you."
Calm expression, calm words.
That's when understanding caught up.
It was all an act.
The paralysis from the lightning, the broken posture—all of it was deliberate.
To make me turn around...
Ah, damn it. I'd screwed up.
I'd heard from Orsted that Randolph fought that way.
I hadn't thought I'd been careless, but...
Also, what was that just now?
The rock cannonballs had disappeared.
No, I'd seen that phenomenon before.
It was the same thing that happened when I fought the Mana Hydra.
Which meant...
"Mana-absorbing stone?"
"Oh, to figure that out in one try... As expected, you can't be underestimated."
The Reaper spread his palm as he spoke.
A mana-absorbing stone was embedded in the palm of his leather gauntlet.
I hadn't noticed it before, but he must have absorbed the mana with that.
I hadn't heard he had something like that in his arsenal...
Wait, that mana-absorbing stone—wasn't that the one I brought back from Begaritt?
As a knight of the Dragon King Kingdom, it wouldn't be strange for him to have collected that kind of equipment.
And even if Orsted didn't know about it...
Well, whatever.
I'd let my guard down a little, but I hadn't expected to beat one of the Seven Great Powers easily.
If magic didn't work, the fight would be difficult, but I knew the mana-absorbing stone's properties.
It only activates when you face it in its direction and channel magic into it.
In other words, as long as I didn't face his palm, I'd be fine.
Get behind him, then?
The landing was too narrow for that, though...
But with three of us, it shouldn't be impossible.
It looked like he only had one mana-absorbing stone. If Roxy and I cast spells from the front and back simultaneously, and then Zanoba followed up...
No, it probably wasn't that simple.
But if it didn't work, I'd try something else.
Trial and error.
I'd keep going until he was down.
"Roxy, circle around to Zanoba's back."
"..."
No response.
Come to think of it, Roxy hadn't moved for a while now.
My hand felt limp.
There was something strange near my shoulder.
"...Huh?"
What was this?
Red.
"Roxy... wait... no way..."
Roxy's robe had been cut, and red blood was flowing from underneath.
My heart hammered.
Scenes from the past flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.
The man who shoved me out of the way and died.
The man who collapsed and stopped moving.
Paul.
Paul, reaching out to me one last time...
Just like Paul.
Roxy...!
No... that can't be...
"No way! Roxy!"
"...It's not no way. Please don't touch the wound. It hurts."
When I looked, Roxy was gazing at me with a reproachful expression.
"Ah, sorry."
She seemed okay.
I let go of Roxy, and she quietly chanted a healing spell, mending the wound.
I sighed in relief.
That had been bad for my heart.
"Oh, that should have been a fatal wound, though..."
The Reaper tilted his head, chin in hand, looking puzzled.
He was saying something creepy, but Roxy was perfectly fine, as you could see.
Even a monkey can fall from a tree.
He thought he'd taken Roxy out, but too bad.
All he'd managed to do was shorten my life a bit.
Now, back to the fight.
"Hm?"
Then there was a crack from Roxy's neck.
The necklace I'd given her before we set out had fractured, and in the blink of an eye, it shattered into pieces.
Then her finger.
The ring she'd been wearing also broke.
"........................"
Those were the items described as:
Magic-infused item: "Substitutes for the wearer upon receiving a fatal wound"
and
Magic-infused item: "Creates a barrier against physical attacks"
"Oh, so that's what it was... I see."
A chill ran through me.
It was like an icicle had been driven into my spine.
I felt a pressure from the Reaper, like a cold wind blowing from him.
I knew this wind.
It was the coward's wind.
I knew it, but I couldn't stop.
Without thinking, I hugged Roxy tightly.
"R-Rudeus...?"
No good.
This was as far as I'd planned.
The necklace was something I'd prepared in advance.
So this wasn't luck.
Up to this point, everything was within my projected scenarios.
But from here on?
An opponent who could deal a one-hit-kill attack.
Trial and error?
How many trials could I afford against someone like this?
No continues.
I'd used them all up.
If I fought this guy any further, someone would die.
I couldn't win.
There was no way I could win against one of the Seven Great Powers head-on.
Why was I challenging a member of the Seven Great Powers head-on in the first place?
Orsted had told me not to do exactly that.
Right. That had been the case from the start.
"Zanoba! No good! We're retreating!"
"Master!?"
"We can't beat this guy! Go back and get the First Type, then we'll fight again!"
Zanoba took two steps back, still gripping his club.
Then he looked at me over his shoulder.
"No, no, this has actually been quite a match.
Especially just now—that was genuinely dangerous.
If that happened again, I'm not confident I could defend against it.
You even forced me to use my trump card..."
The Reaper whispered.
Sure, it had felt like we might have had him, but that had to be a lie.
Orsted had told me.
He provokes.
He provokes attacks, he provokes defense.
These words right now had to be one of those traps.
Or... were they genuine?
He wasn't using that Illusion Sword or whatever—was he speaking straight?
That had been a bit too obvious, though.
Making it look like a provocation while actually meaning it...
Ugh!
I couldn't trust a single word from this guy.
But one thing was clear.
I couldn't beat the Reaper.
That realization had been carved into my heart in an instant.
But Zanoba didn't see it that way.
"Then, Master, please watch from there. I shall fight alone, break through, and meet my brother!"
Zanoba charged.
In my eyes, it played out in slow motion.
Time slowed, sound disappeared, the world lost its color.
One step, two steps—Zanoba running.
In my Foresight, the Reaper was already moving.
Speed that made his previous awkward movements look like a joke.
Too fast to see, far beyond what my dynamic vision could capture.
Time snapped back.
A blade flash.
"Zanoba!"
The cut entered from Zanoba's flank and exited through his shoulder.
A reverse diagonal slash.
The armor shattered into pieces, and Zanoba was launched toward the ceiling.
Zanoba slammed into the ceiling with tremendous force and then crashed down in front of me.
I still couldn't hear sound.
Everything felt like a dream.
"Hah... hah..."
My heart was pounding.
Was he okay?
The armor was destroyed.
The thick chest piece and shoulder guards had shattered like glass.
What kind of slash could do this to metal? I had no idea.
"My 'Armor-Sundering Cut' met no resistance..."
At the Reaper's words, sound returned to the world.
Indeed.
Indeed, looking closely, there wasn't a single wound on Zanoba's body.
The tunic beneath the armor was cleanly cut, but his skin only had some blue bruising.
"Ugh... guh..."
Zanoba groaned and pushed himself upright.
He glared at the Reaper on the floor above.
"As expected of the Divine Child—it really can't be cut, can it?"
The Reaper stared down with that skull-like smile plastered on his face.
Then, slowly, he sheathed his sword.
"But I'm not the Sword God, so I don't have to be fixated on cutting... Fire magic does work on you, doesn't it? That's what His Majesty Pax told me."
So this guy could use magic too.
But Zanoba's armor negated fire...
No, it wouldn't work.
In this shattered state, I couldn't count on it to be effective.
"..."
Zanoba stood up.
Still refusing to quit, he picked up his club and set foot on the stairs.
Roxy had also risen.
She stepped forward as if to shield me, raising her staff to support Zanoba.
I stood up too.
Zanoba was stubborn.
He might keep fighting until he died.
Of course, I couldn't let that happen.
Roxy either.
If she died, I'd die.
My soul would die.
"You still want to continue?"
Randolph looked down at us, expressionless.
He wasn't in any particular stance, nor was he chanting a spell.
He stood with complete ease.
It didn't look like he planned to attack on his own.
Damn it. What "great match." If anything, he'd been holding back.
He'd nullified my rock cannonballs.
From the start, he'd had the means to neutralize magic.
And yet he'd used other spells to lure out my moves.
He might still have other hidden cards.
What had Orsted said?
Attack when you should defend, defend when you should attack?
Then was the fact that I was thinking all of this exactly what he wanted?
I didn't know.
I didn't know what to do.
The necklace was gone.
The armor was gone.
I didn't know his full arsenal, and his attacks were fatal.
There was no guarantee the Magic Armor Second Type Modified could block his attacks.
No good.
No matter how I looked at it, it was no good.
I had to retreat first.
What about Zanoba?
I'd try to convince him.
If that didn't work, I'd attack from behind and knock him out.
Then we'd go back to where the First Type was stored and fight from there.
"Zanoba, you understand now, right? If you charge straight in, you'll just be killed."
"But Master. Pax is—"
"The Reaper was waiting for him. There should still be time. Let's play it safe."
I saw hesitation in Zanoba's movements.
He'd realized too that they couldn't win.
"Are you going to leave?
But... if I'm not mistaken, His Majesty should be finishing up soon as well?"
This was a trap.
No need to listen.
"Yeah, we'll withdraw for now."
The problem was whether he'd let us.
"I'm sorry for attacking you so suddenly. So... could you let us pass for now?"
I kept my tone deferential while catching my breath and sizing up the situation.
I'd fight while fleeing along the path we'd come, all the way back to where the Magic Armor was stored.
Then we'd rematch.
If he didn't pursue, that would be fine too.
"Sure, I don't mind..."
Oh, really?
That was anticlimactic.
I couldn't read the Reaper's intentions at all.
What was his goal?
I had to ask.
"Reaper, what instructions did the Hitogami give you?"
"None. I've never even met him."
What?
"But just now, you said you knew him—"
"A relative of mine met him once. I heard the name, but that's all. I've never met the Hitogami myself, nor spoken with him."
So what was that supposed to mean?
"So you're not the Hitogami's apostle?"
"I don't know what an apostle is... but that's correct."
I'd jumped to conclusions!
Ugh, damn it!
I'd been spinning my wheels way too much lately!
"So then... you're not an enemy of King Pax?"
"That's right. I've been on the side of King Pax and Queen Benedict all along. After all, they're the only ones who've ever praised my cooking..."
"So then... the sketchy ritual happening in the back room—you weren't just stalling for time on that?"
"No... it's a ritual that's a bit improper to mention in front of a young girl..."
The Reaper glanced at Roxy as he said this.
Roxy looked miffed at being called a young girl.
She certainly didn't look old enough to be a mother.
But wait—so that was it?
We hadn't needed to fight at all?
So that's how it was...
I should apologize.
It was all my jump to conclusions.
"I'm... truly sorry about that.
We're not enemies of King Pax either.
Please accept my apologies for the sudden attack."
"No, I should apologize as well for not explaining things properly."
He bowed to me instead.
Well, how very courteous of him...
Wait.
This could all be part of the Reaper's scheme too.
He might be preparing a one-hit-kill technique right now, and this conversation was just stalling for time...
I didn't really think that was the case, though...
Ugh, my thoughts were a tangled mess.
If this was the Reaper's doing, then I was completely trapped.
And just then.
"Oh?"
Randolph's posture relaxed.
But I didn't let my guard down.
I couldn't afford to show this guy any openings.
"It seems to be over."
What was over?
Our lives?
"Now now, no need to be so wary.
I have no intention of killing any of you."
"...Liar. Just now you were talking about fatal wounds and whatnot."
"Haha, true enough... Lord Rudeus, you say some amusing things."
Skull-face laughed at me.
What was so funny about what I'd said?
"I was ordered by His Majesty Pax not to let anyone through until matters were settled. Now that they're settled, that order has ended too."
Randolph sheathed his sword as he spoke.
Then, with a sigh, he sat back down in his chair.
"Please, go ahead."
Was this a trap?
The moment we showed our backs, he might cut us down without hesitation.
"If you don't want to show me your back, we could go around another way?"
"No, it's fine. Let's trust each other."
Zanoba said that with characteristic nobility and tucked his club away.
I put away my staff too.
And just like that, the fight came to an end.
---
The top floor of the royal castle.
The king's bedroom.
The finest suite in all of the Shirone Kingdom, decked out with every luxury imaginable.
Paintings lined the walls, and a beautifully carved desk sat in one corner.
In the back room, there was a massive canopied bed—at least five meters wide.
The bed sheets were in disarray, and a single girl lay wrapped in them at the center.
A girl with blue hair, quietly sleeping.
It was Queen Benedict.
Clothes were scattered all around, making it clear that whoever was in the bed was completely naked.
The room was also filled with a familiar smell.
The smell a man and woman leave behind after being intimate.
Well, that was certainly something you couldn't say in front of a young girl.
So Pax and the queen had been right in the middle of things until just now.
During a national crisis.
While Zanoba had come all this way in desperation to save him. How carefree could you get.
Pax was on the balcony.
He was looking out over the railing.
Childishly short limbs, a large head.
A face that could only be described as ugly.
He was wearing nothing but underwear.
His back was—well, you couldn't exactly call it well-built, but it was lean and somewhat toned.
And it was covered in scars.
Bruise marks, cut marks.
Every one of them told the story of his life up to now.
"I thought it was awfully noisy—so it was you, brother."
When Pax turned around, I dismissed my thought that he was "carefree."
His face was exhausted.
His face had given up on everything.
And yet, it was calm.
Randolph had said he was "calming his mind."
That must have been literal.
I knew from experience.
He'd poured everything out and calmed his mind.
"Your Majesty, I've come to rescue you.
Now, let's leave this castle and head for Caron Fortress together."
Zanoba walked up to the balcony and extended his hand to Pax.
Pax glanced at the hand and scoffed.
"Rescue me? Caron Fortress? What are you talking about?"
"For now, we should cede the castle and bide our time sharpening our fangs elsewhere.
With sufficient forces, retaking the castle should be easy."
"...And then repeat it all over again?"
Pax looked at Zanoba.
With eyes so cold they were chilling.
Eyes that would make more sense on the Reaper than on him.
"Repeat what?"
Zanoba asked.
Pax snorted.
He probably wouldn't understand, Pax muttered under his breath, glancing sideways over the balcony.
"I thought I was trying my best.
I dismissed the rotten ministers my father had left behind and replaced them.
I took in mercenaries to prepare for war. Sure, the public safety worsened, but...
That was all for the sake of this country's future."
Pax leaned his back against the balcony railing and pointed at Zanoba.
"Allowing my brother to return home was the same.
Asking unreasonable things of my brother was the same.
These were conclusions I'd reached after much deliberation.
Honestly, I don't like you, brother. But I recognized your power as the Divine Child."
"I am aware. Your Majesty's troubles are fully understood, even by this Zanoba."
Zanoba's words were as measured as he could manage.
And that, apparently, set Pax off.
He clenched his fist and glared at Zanoba with hatred in his eyes.
"What do you know about understanding!
No one can understand how I feel!
Look at that view!"
Pax grandly gestured toward the far side of the balcony.
Below the castle, the rebels had lit bonfires, but the town was dead silent.
Beyond the city walls, there were signs of a large crowd.
Bonfires burned, and camp-like structures had been set up.
From here, it looked like a massive army had surrounded the capital.
"With all those soldiers out there, there's not a single sign that they plan to put down the rebellion!"
"That's not it, Your Majesty. Most of them aren't soldiers—they're just civilians.
Adventurers and merchants of unknown origin, at that."
"And what of it?! The fact remains that I am despised by everyone in this country!"
Pax slammed his fist on the balcony railing and shouted.
I could only watch the scene in silence.
I shouldn't interfere.
It felt like Zanoba was the one who needed to speak.
"Your Majesty, that's not true. It's not everyone—"
"What's not true?! You've only brought three people!
You could have brought more soldiers!
Just three!
And those two over there aren't here to save me—they're your own bodyguards!"
"He's... not wrong.
I'd opposed rescuing Pax.
I didn't care what happened to the Shirone Kingdom.
I'd come because I didn't want Zanoba to die.
"That's right! I've been like this since I was a child!
No matter how hard I try, no one acknowledges me!
Just when I think I've achieved something, it backfires!
It all falls apart! It's always like that!"
Pax was shouting at the top of his lungs when he suddenly pointed at Roxy.
Roxy stiffened in shock.
"Roxy! Do you remember? It was a long time ago!"
"Huh?"
"It was when I first learned intermediate-level magic!"
Roxy's eyes went wide.
"I studied on my own!
I trained!
And I finally, finally succeeded in casting intermediate-level magic!
And what kind of reaction did you give me?!"
"Well... that is..."
Roxy was visibly flustered, glancing sideways.
Did she remember?
Had she forgotten?
I couldn't tell.
"You sighed!"
"..."
"You sighed at me—a sigh that said 'is that all you can do?'—after I showed you my achievement with such joy!"
"Wait, that was..."
"Do you have any idea how much that sigh hurt me?!"
Roxy's eyes went wide and she bit her lower lip.
I didn't want to believe it, but... had she really sighed?
That Roxy?
The Roxy who praised me every time I succeeded at something?
"And yet, even after that, I still liked you!
You were still one of the few people in Shirone who acknowledged me!
So I kept trying to get your attention!
But it didn't work!
You were always somewhere far away, never sparing me a thought!
You were exchanging letters with some man I'd never even met!
How could I not feel humiliated!
Why would I keep trying when my efforts never paid off!
And when I finally gave up, you abandoned me in a flash!
You looked at me like I was garbage, gave me guidance that screamed 'what's the point anyway,' and then left the country like you'd had enough!"
Pax clawed at his head with both hands.
His eyes were bloodshot and brimming with tears—was he remembering those days?
"That... I'm sorry about that... I was... back then..."
"Shut up! I don't want to hear your excuses!"
Roxy fell silent.
Her expression showed deep regret.
Effort is something you do for yourself.
But I was in no position to lecture about that.
Ever since I came to this world, at least, I'd been recognized.
When I worked hard, I saw results.
There were times when I didn't, but when I did, people acknowledged me.
So I had no right to lecture Pax.
"That's fine... because honestly, this is all I am."
Pax let out a breath.
"The Dragon King gave me the kingdom of Shirone, and this is how it turned out.
No one would acknowledge me as king, no one followed me.
On top of that, they raised a rebellion, using someone whose very blood relation to my father is questionable as their figurehead.
In that chaos, I got the knights that the Dragon King had given me killed.
The Dragon King must have been sorely disappointed in me."
Pax smiled wryly, tears spilling from his eyes.
"In the end, the only one who acknowledged me was Benedict.
She was the only one who loved me for who I really was.
She didn't say much, but she always tried her best to smile at me."
Pax's voice, raised to a shout, apparently reached the lower floors.
From among the bonfires, voices began to murmur.
Could they see Pax from below?
Pax glanced at them and said, with a bored expression:
"Hey, brother... what should I have done differently?"
"I don't know. But slaughtering all your brothers and sisters was perhaps going too far."
"...Yeah. But if the others had been alive, they probably would have revolted like this too."
"Probably."
But Zanoba shook his head.
"But everyone makes mistakes!
As long as you reflect on them and do better next time, isn't that enough?"
Zanoba's bright voice echoed through the top floor.
To be able to speak with such conviction even now—Zanoba was something else.
"I can't do that. That's the kind of person I am.
I just keep repeating the same mistakes, over and over."
Pax slowly shook his head.
That gesture was very much like Zanoba's.
They looked nothing alike, but their mannerisms were similar.
Pax raised his head and looked behind me.
"Randolph."
"Sir."
I nearly jumped.
At some point, Randolph had been standing right behind me.
The Reaper, at my back.
My poor heart.
"As we discussed before."
"Your will be done."
"Good."
As we discussed before? What did that mean?
The next instant—
Pax casually hopped over the balcony railing.
"Oh."
This was the fifth floor.
He fell.
What?
He jumped!?
What?!
"GRAAAAH!"
Zanoba took off running.
He couldn't possibly make it in time, but he ran with his hand outstretched anyway.
He grabbed the railing, leaned over, destroyed it entirely, and plunged down after him.
"Z-Zanoba!"
I spun around and dashed out of the room.
---
Pax lay dead in the courtyard.
Zanoba knelt, cradling his lifeless body, stunned.
"Master, please... quickly, with the healing magic..."
Zanoba said this with a blank expression.
I pulled a healing scroll from my pouch and placed it on Zanoba.
Either from the fall from the fifth floor or from the fight, he had bruises all over.
"It's not for me—it's for Pax..."
"..."
I shook my head in silence.
Pax was already dead.
He must have landed headfirst.
It was a terrible sight.
I wanted to believe he'd felt almost no pain.
"I see..."
"Yeah. I'm sorry."
I hadn't expected him to jump so suddenly.
But maybe he'd decided from the start.
He was surrounded by enemies.
Maybe he hadn't tried to escape the castle because he believed there was no ally anywhere.
And he'd agonized for days over it.
In the end, he'd realized that he'd failed as king.
He'd come here planning to die from the beginning.
"Master..."
Zanoba, still holding Pax's body, looked up at the sky.
The moon was full and beautiful, and the top floor of the castle loomed behind it.
A castle without a king.
A hollow shell.
"What have I been doing all this time..."
"..."
"Could it be that I've been spinning my wheels all along?"
"Don't be ridiculous. You did your best, in your own way."
But that best had gone unrecognized by Pax.
Pax had said he wanted to be acknowledged by others,
but he couldn't acknowledge others himself.
Well, before that, he hadn't even spared Zanoba a glance, really.
Still, if given more time, maybe he would have come around.
I'd thought Pax was hopeless, but
there might have come a day when even Pax would acknowledge Zanoba.
"How did things end up like this..."
"...I don't know."
Zanoba was silent for a while.
Then, as if remembering something, he looked at my face.
"Could this also be the work of the Hitogami?"
I didn't know where the Hitogami had been this time.
In the end, no one claiming to be an apostle had appeared.
But originally, Pax was supposed to have done various things and turned this country into a republic.
That outcome had been erased.
If the Hitogami was involved, then he'd succeeded in preventing the birth of a republic.
Or perhaps the Hitogami's goal had been Pax's life from start to finish.
He could see the future.
Even without directly killing him, he might have known that if he pushed Pax hard enough mentally, Pax would take his own life.
Even if that wasn't the case.
Even if the Hitogami hadn't been involved at all this time.
Looking back, I'd originally come to this country on the Hitogami's instructions.
According to Orsted, the Hitogami considered the future Shirone Republic to be a troublesome existence.
As a result, Pax had gone to the Dragon King Kingdom.
So the Hitogami must have been trying to do something to Pax. There was no doubt about that.
"Yeah."
"...Is that so."
Zanoba slowly laid the body on the ground.
Then slowly let out a breath.
He looked like he might cry, but no tears fell.
I would've cried.
Zanoba murmured one last thing.
"Let's go home."
Without asking anything more, I nodded.