What Mireia had told me was the fact that the person who once defeated Agrissa—the beauty who could topple nations—was someone from House Walt.
However, the crucial part was obscured by a sandstorm.
The surrounding scenery was unclear, and the continuing footage of what was happening was completely indistinct. Only when everything ended did the images become sharp and clear.
"You can't see the important part—"
"Quiet! This is the important moment."
Mireia raised her index finger to her lips, trying to silence me. It certainly was a pivotal scene.
The hero, who shared my name and was believed to have fought Agrissa, was swaying on his feet. This was the throne room—the audience hall's ceiling had been blown away, and the walls and pillars were in a terrible state.
Surrounded by night and weak light, the young man who was a hero used his own sword as a staff to stay upright.
There was no way to know how he had defeated Agrissa.
Everyone besides the young man was collapsed around him.
"Damn that old hag... my companions..."
In his battered state, the young man staggered and went to search for his surviving companions. Just then, a group holding lights flowed into the room.
Upon realizing they were allies, the young man broke into a smile and waved.
"Hey, you're late. Sorry, but look for survivors. I can barely stand—"
He seemed to know who they were. The prominent crest their leader bore was one I recognized.
It was the crest of the Banseim royal family.
But the people from House Banseim, whom he thought were allies, silently loosed arrows at the young man. Unable to dodge, arrow after arrow pierced him, and he collapsed on the spot.
The one who approached the young man, now lying face-up, was a man who appeared to be the head of House Banseim.
"Wh-why..."
The head of House Banseim answered the young man's words.
"This is what happens when a lowly Knight Baron house sticks its nose where it doesn't belong. Don't worry. House Banseim will conquer the entire continent."
The golden armor probably appeared so tasteless because the head of House Banseim was terribly ugly and fat. On his thick fingers, he wore rings set with enormous jewels.
"Hey, do it."
The retainers of House Banseim began stabbing to death with spears the young man's companions who lay scattered about, and among them, some who were still alive let out screams.
"S-stop—"
"Tch, what a pain. Kill this one too."
The young man, pierced through by the retainers' spears, vomited blood from his mouth. Once he stopped moving, the retainers returned from all around.
"No good. We can't find Agrissa anywhere. We definitely took her down, but..."
Upon hearing the report, the head of House Banseim was about to begin the cover-up.
"Tch, and we still need Agrissa's corpse for later... Never mind! Hurry up with the cover-up. By the time we arrived, Agrissa had already killed these people. We just delivered the finishing blow."
So saying, the head of House Banseim looked at the throne before him. Amid all the surrounding wreckage, only the throne remained standing firm.
The head of House Banseim walked toward the throne, stepping around the rubble. But perhaps it was too dark to see clearly—his foot slipped on something, and he fell.
"...That is—"
Ms. Mireia had told me about this.
"Yes. Everything had already begun by then."
The blue Jewel caused the head of House Banseim to trip, and from there it rolled toward the young man. When it fell into the pool of blood around the young man, it glowed faintly.
"W-what the—?!"
The head of House Banseim smashed his nose and bled. Those around him hurriedly rushed over, and one of them picked up the blue stone.
"This... doesn't look like a jewel. I'd say it's some kind of fake."
The head of House Banseim seethed at his retainer's words.
"To think a measly glass marble would topple me… Throw it away!"
But despite his orders, similar red, blue, and yellow marbles lay scattered all around. There were so many of them that everyone nearby was at a loss.
"Please wait. I'll have them collected at once."
When the retainer tossed the Jewel, it blended in among the other identical-looking marbles and was lost among them.
Then, the image grew violently unstable and shifted to a different scene.
In Central's plaza, a parade was underway—a parade celebrating House Banseim's defeat of Agrissa… It signified the birth of a new kingdom.
Watching that parade with a sharp gaze was a young man—Novem. He had his hood pulled up, and after slipping into a back alley, he emerged onto the street and headed toward a particular house.
When I saw the place he had arrived at, I was taken aback.
It was the house where the First Generation had been born. The Walt family home, and somehow it still bore traces of what the First Generation had once shown me.
As Novem stood before the home of this Court Noble, a Knight Baron, a single woman emerged from inside. She had a plain, modest appearance—her hair tied back, cradling her swollen belly protectively.
"Listen to me. I'm going to avenge Laiel. The circumstances of how he was killed were wrong. Agrissa doesn't use a spear. Those wounds were definitely made by equipment House Banseim possesses. The lords who find this suspicious will never accept House Banseim's dominion over the continent—"
Before Novem could finish, the woman shook her head.
"Don't get involved anymore. I was able to become a bride in this household. They promised me that if I bore a son, he'd be made the heir. I'm going to marry the second son, too. Please, don't involve us any further."
Novem's eyes widened. This wasn't something to discuss out front at the entrance, and when he tried to step past the doorway, the woman screamed.
"Don't come in!"
"…Why?"
Novem looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. But the woman was in tears, glaring at him.
"…Laiel is already dead. Isn't that enough? I can live quietly in this house. The people of House Walt treasure me—they say the Knight Baron family surviving is thanks to me. So please, don't get involved anymore."
The woman appeared to be the wife of their ancestor. And perhaps tired of fighting, she turned her back on Novem and disappeared into the house.
Novem murmured.
"Laiel's child is needed. Without one… the continent won't come together. Baim doesn't have the power to unite the continent. Why can't you understand that?"
An expression of despair.
And then, within the Jewel, the events that followed began to stream in fragments.
The Baim family tried to unify the continent, but they never had that kind of power to begin with. The Landed Nobility, unwilling to allow Baim's rise, declared independence one after another. Baim had become the royal family, but they lacked the manpower to govern their expanded territory and had no leeway to invade the independent lords.
And so, as if fleeing from that Baim royal family, the young Novem abandoned his title and departed for the frontier together with a pioneer expedition. The Baim royal family tried to retain Novem, who was gifted as a mage, but Novem refused everything with a smile.
When the continent began to further deteriorate from the lords' independence and wars, Novem was watching from the frontier.
Novem settled in the frontier with several acquaintances, took a husband, and then children were born.
"…This person was a woman?"
Having stopped dressing as a man and returned to being a woman, Novem continued to watch over the state of the continent from the frontier lands. Even when male, Novem had been strikingly beautiful, but as a woman Novem became even more so.
"Since ancient times, it's women who strongly inherit the goddess's memories. I don't know why, though."
Despite having lost a tremendous amount of blood during Agrissa's time, more than a decade still needed to pass before the continent settled down.
And then, the Baim kingdom that had been dormant began launching invasions of its surroundings, and by the time it had reached a certain scale, Novem already had grandchildren.
The people, exhausted and continuing to bleed.
In the end, some country let its Dungeon run wild and perished, unleashing Monsters across the continent. Even after defeating Agrissa, the mired continent failed to come together and was in a wretched state.
The eyes of Novem, now an old woman, were somewhat vacant. The old woman's whisper was—
"Even if you provide a common enemy, people remain foolish…"
—Inheriting the goddess's memories, Novem seemed to have grown hazy about who she herself was.
Hurrying back to the aged Novem's side was her great-grandchild.
Mireia said.
"Even if her own son passed away, Novem inherited memories and a portion of the Goddess's power. It seems she lived longer than those around her because she inherited such powerful strength."
Why did this vision remain? As I was thinking this, the young man her great-grandchild had brought caused Novem to gasp.
A large man with messy brown hair that looked like he'd styled it with his hands entered the room.
"He's Basil Walt, the man who became my neighbor during the land development. He came to say hello, but... ah, the meat is a gift. I've got booze too!"
The man who was her great-grandchild was shaking his head.
"Basil, great-grandmother doesn't really eat much—"
Novem sat up in bed, then straightened her posture before the First Generation.
"I believe I'll have some. And you said Basil Walt, yes? Born in Central, and from a Court Nobility Knight Baron family, perhaps?"
At Novem's words, the First Generation—Basil—smiled.
"Being called Court Nobility just by looking at me—that's a first for you, Granny. That's right. I'm the third son of House Walt."
Pinned to the First Generation's chest, where he pointed at himself with his thumb, was a blue Jewel strung on a cord. Novem looked at it, her expression briefly serious before breaking into a smile.
"Prepare a drinking feast. He's an important neighbor; we mustn't be inhospitable."
"Gr... great-grandmother?"
The great-grandchild was confused. Watching Novem, who looked so happy, he probably didn't know what to say.
"My apologies. In any case, this is my first time doing land development, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Tell me all sorts of things, will you, Granny?"
Novem was smiling.
"I suppose."
Seeing the shamelessly cheerful First Generation, Novem looked delighted.
"Really? Great! Next time I'll bring a bear or a wild boar—something big—as a gift. Man, I was worried because I heard there's a lot of killing in Central. I'm so glad my neighbor's a good person."
Novem explained to the First Generation with a smile.
"Fighting over water, and food on top of that... Neighbors quarrel quite often, you know. Sir Basil — is he the type who silences everyone around him when things get like that?"
The First Generation crossed his arms and thought about it. It didn't suit him at all. Then, when he stopped thinking, he broke into a wide grin.
"There was a forest nearby. A forest crawling with Monsters. A Dungeon was bound to pop up for sure. So I figured I'd clear it out and secure the land. There should be water sources there too. Problem solved. If nobody owns the land, then whoever clears it gets it, right?"
Novem looked a bit troubled.
"No, that was just a hypothetical. I wasn't asking about the current situation. Honestly..."
As she said this, though, Novem looked delighted — as if she were reminiscing about her exchanges with a certain young man from long ago.
"What's there to worry about? There are Monsters all around. If humans can't get along with each other, what are they going to do? Well, I'm plenty strong, you know. If Monsters show up, just call me. I'll knock 'em into next week."
Seeing the First Generation laugh, Novem looked truly delighted.
And then, Mireia spoke.
"……Lyle — to Novem, that is. No, to those who inherited Novem's memories, House Walt was a family of significance. It was because the Waltts were the strong people Novem had wished for. They were the kind of people Novem desired — the kind who never stopped moving forward. And furthermore, they wished to place the continent in the hands of those who would rule it justly. This is the truth behind House Foxes, which continued to support House Walt."
Today, I learned the truth of House Foxes.
— Lyle's party, from which May had parted ways to reunite with Novem and the others.
They had been traveling from Margrave Rezno's domain toward Cartafus.
Lyle was lying on his side, fast asleep, with no sign of waking anytime soon.
Aria struck up a conversation with Monica, who was humming away while preparing winter garments.
"We reach Cartafus, and from there we head back to South Baim, right? Do you think we'll make it in time?"
Monica was knitting children's clothes out of yarn — partly to tease Lyle.
"I think we'll make it just fine. The preparations are already well underway. All that's left is for Baim to follow through. It does concern me a bit that the general governing their former rival state turns out to be surprisingly competent, though. Oh my, if I do say so myself, this came out perfectly."
After finishing a baby's outfit, Monica looked satisfied. She carefully stored it away and began knitting the next one.
Aria let out a sigh.
"Stop with the baby talk already. There are plenty of people around Lyle who don't take jokes well. That Fidel guy from the Trace family — I heard he was really trying to have baby goods manufactured, you know."
Monica turned to Aria.
"That information isn't quite accurate. In fact, he's already having them made. I'm helping out too, and whenever those little chicks of the Chicken's arrive, I'll provide perfect care for them. My, it's going to be so busy."
Monica spoke of being busy, but she looked delighted all the while.
Shannon was studying reading and writing with fierce determination. Inside Porter's cargo bed, she was copying down the contents of the papers Clara had prepared.
"This goes here, and then... why do they use such similar writing styles! It's impossible to tell apart!"
"Honestly, couldn't you just infer it from the surrounding sentences and words? At least she's still writing neatly — that's more than can be said usually."
The one looking after Shannon's studies was, surprisingly, Lianne. After changing from her dress into more practical clothing, she had been assisting with Shannon's education.
Aria couldn't believe that the princess who had gone mad and lunged at Lyle just days ago was the same person as the current Lianne.
"Um, I might be wrong to ask this, but Lianne, if I may—"
"Just Lianne is fine, Aria. You don't need to be so formal with a senior."
Aria hesitated but still asked her question.
"You were brought out of Fonbeau, but do you really intend to marry Lyle and that..."
As Aria began asking whether she truly planned to marry Lyle, Lianne let out a derisive snort.
"I heard you were originally the daughter of a viscount's household? To be blunt, I don't have the luxury of choosing my own partner. Besides, this isn't a bad deal. You've all done an impressive job with the preparations up to this point. Truly remarkable."
Lianne spoke directly to Aria.
"You really do seem poised to dominate the entire continent. However... you're still too naive. There are countless openings to exploit. I'm the one marrying into this. I can't afford for this to fail, so I won't hold back my cooperation."
Aria was slightly unsettled by Lianne's smile. She knew the woman herself lacked real power, but instinct whispered that she was someone who must never become an enemy.
"Well, love can be cultivated later — for now, let's act for the sake of victory. Nothing begins unless we win, and I won't be able to keep up with the seniors unless I cooperate."
Ignoring Lianne's words, Aria spoke.
"More than that, have you already given up on revenge? Lianne doesn't intend to take revenge on Ceres, you know."
Hearing that, Lianne looked down slightly.
"...People don't change that easily. It's frustrating and hateful... but not moving forward is even worse. Besides, I hate not doing what I can right now."
Accepting Parseleina's words, it seemed Lianne had also decided to move forward.