"…I've heard most of what you've been through."
Ermes spoke.
The boy who had effortlessly held his own against that very Karma in magical combat — the same Karma Ermes himself could never have reached even standing on his hands — and who had pulled off what should have been nothing more than buying time and analysis as though it were the simplest thing in the world, spoke on.
"I understand how you feel, but… even so, I think fighting alone has its limits."
"…"
"I only realized it myself recently, so I can't exactly speak from a position of authority. But as long as you're human, solo combat inevitably has its ceiling. Especially when it comes to him — he's an enemy so powerful that I'm not sure even I could defeat him, and there may not be a single person in the current kingdom who could beat him one-on-one. …There's no shame whatsoever in relying on those around you. I intend to do the same."
"…Yeah, maybe you're right."
Receiving those words of affirmation, Ermes continued. Smoothly, without a stumble, he pressed on.
"Your goal is to defeat Karma, isn't it? Both as atonement for having dragged the kingdom around through your own actions, and to prove that you can still do something with your own power."
Yes.
"If that's the case, then all the more reason to rely on us. Just managing to hold him back until now and gather information about him is already a significant result. And beyond that, entrusting others besides yourself and delegating appropriately — isn't that yet another valid form of achieving victory?"
Yes, truly.
"Lady Lillie arrived where she is by doing exactly that. She showed the kingdom a new way for a ruler to reign — one that doesn't require brute strength — and she made it all the way here. If you can do the same, then without question that counts as 'your strength.' So—"
"Hey."
— Enough already. That was what he wanted.
"Would you shut your mouth right now?"
"!"
The words, wrung from the very depths of the earth, coincided with Ermes falling silent.
…He probably wasn't frightened. He was simply startled, and — in his own way — he had listened.
There was not a trace of mockery in his expression. Only a hint of doubt and genuine, heartfelt concern for Herc shimmered across his face.
In short, he was saying it with absolutely zero malice — pure, one-hundred-percent sincerity from the heart. Which only made the anger burn hotter. They were words so beautiful they made my stomach turn.
"I understand how you feel"? Stop talking drivel. You can't understand. Nobody can understand another person's heart. Especially not someone like you — understanding how someone like us feels."
I rise to my feet in a languid motion. With eyes harboring dark, restless passions, I fix my gaze upon his beautiful emerald eyes.
From the moment I was born, I was nothing more than a stand-in for someone else.
"...Eh?"
My only reason for existing was defined as becoming the Sky Witch, and just when I was trying my hardest even though it was impossible, the brilliant second prince swept in and took everything from me.
I'd heard about this boy's circumstances as well. Ermes von Frenbreed. The Prodigy of a distinguished magical house, who was cast out only to return having acquired extraordinary magical power.
The moment I heard that story, I felt genuine sympathy — for his elder brother.
So even the succession war I finally thought I could win at, the very candidate you had your eye on—
—the candidate—
—rose to prominence as if it had been preordained, while I was dragged out from the start solely to be used, made to dance on strings exactly as planned, and thrown away. In the end, because of my own idiocy, there's nothing left.
"..."
And on top of all that, you still dare tell me what to do? You sweep aside the very thing I risked my life for — the thing I entered to leave some kind of mark before the end — and then what? "You can't do it, so leave the rest to us and sit there watching"? What am I supposed to do then — smile and clap and say "Thank you for helping me, thank you for doing what I couldn't"? Is that really the right thing to do?
It is.
Even for those words I'd spoken myself, the irritation refused to subside.
That's right, Ermes. Everything you said is correct from A to Z. How nice that must be — to be someone with the power to do that. Someone whose personal truth is the world's truth, whose desires align perfectly with everything the world desires!
When I first heard that his ability could reproduce any magic whatsoever, I had thought—
—That there was no way. As if, to save this decaying country, someone had shattered the magical order that defined it, claimed the results wholesale as their own, and was guaranteed to ascend to heights reachable by no one else—
as if—
To the world
I was chosen.
Like
something like that.
I know. I understand, all too well.
I acknowledge my own powerlessness, accept my own stupidity. I recognize it as a fact that defeating that monster by my own strength is utterly impossible, and that handing everything over to the man before me—who can do it—and to the Third Princess's faction is the right answer. I know that this is an indisputably correct judgment.
"So I've convinced myself that, yeah, I'm wrong. Stop doing something completely unproductive, hand it over to someone who can handle it, crush my own pride to kill that monster, and the right thing is to contribute without getting in your way!"
And that means the nothing I am was a failure from beginning to end. That acknowledging this kind of life and living it out to the bitter end—that's what's right.
"What I'm doing is the pinnacle of wrongness—as royalty, as a human being, and as an individual."
"So then... hey. Listen to me. Just try answering, Ermes."
By now, reinforcements have arrived. In other words, every member of the Third Princess's faction has gathered in this place, watching the exchange between Ermes and me. They're about to hear what I can't hold back—the stupid, wretched wailing of my true feelings.
—So what if they hear. It's actually convenient. Let them all listen.
With thoughts close to resignation, yet carrying a desperate wish—to be heard, to receive an answer—
I shout the dark truth I've kept locked inside my chest all this time.
"—
People can
only
ever do
what's
ri
No good
, is it
!?"
"──"
That one question alone —
pierced through Ermes's chest, as his reaction made clear.
"Let me make it perfectly clear. I despise you. With power that was truly 'chosen,' your desires are always affirmed by the world. You only ever condemn whatever everyone can plainly see is wrong, following your heart, and all you have to do is act righteously — I can't stand someone like you!"
He grabs him by the collar.
He doesn't for a second think he can actually land a punch on this guy, but even so. For some reason, Ermes just lets it happen, and through gritted teeth, he lets everything out.
"How can something like that still call itself human!? Then what are we supposed to do — smile and affirm your actions, submitting under your protection? Or wretchedly cry out and push through our desires only for you to condemn us? Those are the only two options you've ever given us — no, that's how everything ended up turning out in the end, isn't it!?"
"—!"
Ermes's face twists.
Seeing that, he is overcome by an inescapable, dark pleasure.
No one could stop Helck. No one could. It wasn't a matter of strength — everyone had been overwhelmed on a spiritual level, and far too many of them were simply too gentle to stop him anyway.
And so, as if to deliver the final blow, Helck said to Ermes:
"Let me give you the ultimate insult —
You are
Aster's
completed form.
Every action, whether conscious or unconscious, converges on the right answer in the end. When it comes down to it, you're the kind of existence that just forces everything to fit together using that power. We're the same way, and we'll probably keep being that way forever! C'mon, answer me, you monst──"
But then, at that very moment.
A person no one in the room had expected burst in from the side at astonishing speed.
Without a shred of hesitation. With a brazenness that probably no one else could have managed.
She punched Helck square in the face.
"......Huh?"
Before Ermes, who let out a stunned voice without thinking, Helck was sent flying with considerable force.
Ermes fixed her gaze on the culprit, her face a mixture of surprise and suspicion.
"—Ah. Let me make this clear: I didn't save you. Not even a hint of that—I'm dead serious. If anything, my sympathies lean more toward his side. I can't stand you either, you know."
He called her name—her very presence here had been unexpected.
"It's just that... more than anything, my dear brother's little tantrum was too unbearable to listen to."
"......Princess Laila."
The one who had acted with a ferocity far beyond mere "tomboy"—the Second Princess, Laila—swayed her lustrous golden hair, and then revealed an expression far more conflicted than her actions would suggest.
"......Well, there are actually quite a few parts of what she said that I can relate to, which is the problem... but beyond that, it's undeniable that my foolish brother is being spoiled rotten."
And with that, she shifted her tone, turned her back on Ermes, and faced Helck.
"Well then, leave this to me."
"Huh?"
"In fact, I'm probably the only one who can handle this. ...I agree that you can't understand how my brother feels, Ermes. That kind of mindset is simply incomprehensible to someone who's been truly blessed."
"......Yes."
Hearing that, Ermes had no choice but to step back. In all honesty, as he had listened to those words, he had already come to vaguely sense that truth for himself.
As Ermes quietly withdrew, something seemed to cross Laila's mind, and she softened her voice just slightly.
"You're quick to get to the point, I appreciate that. ...And, well. I've always longed for what a normal family is like. So there's one thing I've always wanted to try at least once—"
Her beautiful, calm voice carried just a hint of provocation, a combative edge, as she declared:
"—A sibling quarrel."
That was enough for him to more or less grasp what she intended to do.
With Ermes finally stepping back and ready to leave things in Laila's hands this time, Laila shifted her tone once more.
"Well then, Onii-sama? It's been quite a while since that audience chamber, hasn't it? When I heard you were nearby, your dear little sister came all this way to visit you. So, for the first time in a while, just the two of us siblings, alone together—"
With a sweet smile on her face — the very picture of warmth — her voice warm and inviting, yet in stark contrast she clenched her fists and settled into a fighting stance.
And so, she declared:
"Let's..."
"...have a..."
"...chat."
Next time: Laila vs. Herku. The royal family's story will also be woven in.
The next update is scheduled for Saturday, October 1st. I apologize for the continuing week-long gaps, but I'll try to get back to a regular pace after that. I'd appreciate your patience...!