……He had seen many terrible things.
"—You can't even imagine. You might end up 'seeing' something utterly inconceivable."
Just as Yurugen had said, he had seen the very bottom of this country.
(—There's no place for things like this in the world I see.)
Having witnessed it and made that declaration, he saw for the first time something dark and murky within himself—an emotion he had never experienced before.
And then—
"So it's wrong to use magic born from evil thoughts, with those same evil thoughts?"
His own words, tearing at his heart. He had heard a fatal sentence—one that laid bare the contradiction within.
From there, he had barely managed—somehow, his master had stepped in, and he was able to leave the scene. Things had ended without incident, more or less.
……But the damage those events had inflicted on Ermes's heart was far too great.
"………Why?"
With his feelings in utter turmoil, he could not even articulate his inner thoughts—something he was normally so good at.
In the treatment room at the church headquarters, Ermes sat—tormented by the pain of his injuries and, more than anything, by the emptiness that had opened in his heart. Once more, he huddled on the bed.
◆
"I'm sure you all know this already, but… El's emotions are still immature."
"……Yes."
Analyzing Ermes, who was still deep in heartache, Rose began to speak about what lay in the heart of her beloved disciple.
"When he was young, his heart once wore down to nothing, leaving only his obsession with magic behind. That was when I met him. ……He wasn't self-aware of it, but he was in a very 'dangerous' state."
"Dangerous…?"
When Rose had met Ermes, he had just been separated from Katia. In other words, Katia—who knew him to some degree from that time—tilted her head at the slightly questionable wording, and Rose nodded.
"Think about it. If his emotions were gone, that means he had no feelings to sense that bad things were bad, and no proper sense of ethics that would arise from that. He was in a state where he could be dyed any which way—terribly transparent, just as his appearance suggested. And yet, his sole purpose of advancing in magic remained.
……Even I was on edge. Because if, in the worst case, his upbringing had gone wrong—"
A sharp pause, as if cutting in.
"—He could have become the kind of existence who wouldn't think twice about killing someone, if it meant mastering magic. He could have grown into a demon who had discarded everything except magic."
"—!"
She shuddered.
It was an absurd notion—El would never become like that… She wanted to laugh it off, but she couldn't.
Because Katia knew him well. Because since their reunion, she had watched him more closely than anyone.
She had seen the cold-heartedness he sometimes showed, the mercilessness toward those who opposed him. She knew. She understood.
The image of him that Rose had just described…
…was entirely plausible.
"So I gave him education in that area alongside his magic training. Above all, I made it absolutely clear that killing people was off-limits no matter what. ……Even for experienced people, murder requires careful judgment and dedicated mental control. If a child whose emotions hadn't even properly developed were to learn to do it—anyone could see how that would end."
"……So that's what it was."
Indeed, now that she thought about it—Ermes had experienced many battles by now… Yet despite their intensity, he had hardly ever… no, as far as she could tell, he had never once killed anyone.
That made more sense if his master had explicitly told him not to.
"On top of that, from an ethical standpoint, I didn't deny his belief in 'beautiful magic'—that magic woven from noble wishes was the right path. If I had denied even that for someone whose only anchor was his ideals, there was no telling what would happen. I thought it was too early, and it pained me, but I raised him while hiding the inconvenient truths. ……Even though I knew it was no different from how the nobles of this country raised their children."
"……"
……That too, was true.
Affirming only one's own set of values and treating everything else as if it didn't exist. As Laplace had said in that hidden chapel, it might be no different from what Aster and the nobles did.
But.
"But El… El is different…!"
"Yeah, that's right. Even so, he's different from the nobles. He's someone who can properly acknowledge when something is wrong. That's why I thought he'd gradually learn in the Royal Capital—that he'd come to recognize that the world isn't overflowing with 'beautiful magic' alone, and that there are plenty of people who move forward with less-than-beautiful intentions too. I thought he'd find a way to reconcile it all…"
Rose had sent him to the Royal Capital with that in mind, but she had made two miscalculations.
First, the people Ermes had opposed until now were almost entirely low-level types who had simply bloated their power. None of them were people who could have any influence on Ermes's philosophy or way of thinking. Without fear of misunderstanding… she had underestimated how low the level of the Royal Capital was.
And the second…
"That Laplace bastard… he really did a number on us. He's someone with the exact opposite philosophy from El—a genuine villain. That's why he was quick to notice El's contradictions, and he went and stuck his hands directly into that delicate issue that should have been gradually worked through, tearing it all apart. It's no wonder things ended up like that."
"……I see."
Katia had experienced it too.
For her, during her youth—until she met Ermes—there had been a time when she could purely believe in all those glittering things: justice, truth.
Though the degree was different… Ermes, in some part of his heart, was probably still in that state.
Ermes probably already knew the answer himself.
It was just that… his own common sense had been overturned so abruptly, and he hadn't yet found a place in his heart where he could accept that answer.
……It was a difficult problem.
The answer being 'correct' meant nothing. What mattered was whether he could accept it.
And above all… since his magic valued the heart, this directly affected his combat strength. The fact that he—the strongest fighter in the Third Princess's faction—was in this state was tantamount to automatic defeat for their side.
Therefore.
"So, I'm asking you."
Rose said again, firmly.
"I don't have the right to ask—the one who imposed the wrong teaching methods on him. Perhaps there's no obligation for you to do this, but… I want you to give El whatever it takes to help him get back on his feet."
"—Yes."
This time, she answered without hesitation.
And then, to say what needed to be said, Katia looked Rose straight in the eye.
"Also… I think saying you were 'wrong' is too harsh. Hearing what you just told me has only confirmed it… El became the gentle El he is today because you made that judgment and properly raised him to be kind. There is no mistake in that."
"!"
"I received so much from that El. And if I can return that favor—then this time… no, this time for certain. It's my turn to help El, and so… um…"
Having said that, at last—
"Rose… please be ready to hold the El who comes back, just like you always do."
"………Mm."
Rose smiled softly once more at Katia, who had spoken her piece. She placed a hand lightly on Katia's head with a pat, then gave her a gentle push forward.
Without another word, Katia walked toward the building where Ermes was without a moment's hesitation.
"………She's really grown."
After watching Katia go, Rose gazed at her retreating figure as though dazzled… and at the same time felt it keenly.
"Man… raising kids is really hard."
She had to admit, she'd been pretty naive about it.
Guiding children the right way didn't just mean saying only the right things, nor did it mean showing them only straight and upright things.
Taking all of that into account, when it came to having raised someone as good and straightforward as Katia…
"Yurugen was really something, huh."
He had known it already, but once again he was struck by the greatness of his old friend.
……Well, that was separate. He had no intention whatsoever of forgiving that traitorous act of his, though.
Regardless, he had one thing to do.
Just as Katia had said… prepare for 'after' El came back, as much as possible.
He trusted Katia, and recollected her words, distilling them.
"'I received so much from El. So I want to give it back.' Hm."
To think that his disciple was thought of that way… it made him genuinely happy. If someone like that existed, then things would be all right.
But there was one problem.
"—Probably, she's not the only one who feels that way."
Having too many charming disciples was something to worry about, he thought.
With a wry smile mingling exasperation and disciple-pride, Rose walked off in the opposite direction.
◆
And at that same moment.
The door to Ermes's hospital room opened, and in the direction he turned—
"—Hey."
With a sense of déjà vu that mirrored that scene after the northern rebellion.
Nina von Frodit stood there. Wearing her usual easy smile tinged with a touch of shyness and concern, she was the first person to visit him—aside from during treatment.