The Holy Kingdom of Quolia.
In the Southern Provincial Assembly Hall of the Great Sacred Cathedral of Amritate.
Within the sumptuous and resplendent chamber, crafted by those who presumed themselves servants of the divine, two maidens exchanged words.
"Why do you do such a thing?"
One was the Splendid Funeral Saint, Soarina.
She was the maiden who had been assigned to handle the Witch Incident in Quolia's Northern Province, and who was supposed to have been utterly defeated by the Witch, Erakino.
"Why? Why do you do such a thing?"
Soarina posed the question to the girl before her.
It was a query she had repeated several times since a short while ago.
In that instant, she had perceived with sudden clarity that she had committed some fatal error, and Soarina had indeed been certain of her death.
But her fate, which she thought would finally find peace, seemed to have another chapter yet to unfold; when she regained her awareness, she found herself back in this familiar Northern Province, together with the young girl standing before her.
Soarina asked again.
What could possibly be amusing about this? Or was it that things were about to become enjoyable?
The other maiden had been dancing in circles around the assembly hall for some time, singing without a care for the gaze of her sole spectator.
...Just as Soarina contemplated voicing the same question a third time, the dancing girl finally stopped her movements.
Then, with the merry gesture of a jester, she spun around to face her.
"That's because you wished for it, Soarina-chin."
The girl was, in fact, a being known as the Witch of Sobbing, Erakino.
"I wished for this situation?"
"Of course you did, Soarina-chin."
The witch wore a beaming smile, as if directed at a long-time friend.
Though her will had been stripped away by Erakino's special ability, Soarina's consciousness had been restored by the very hand of Erakino himself.
Of course, that came with the caveat that it was only a partial restoration...
What Soarina had been granted was merely the power of speech.
Her spirit was still bound by Erakino, and without his permission, she could not so much as move a finger of her own volition.
What manner of ability it truly was remained unknown, but it was certain that under certain conditions, it could chain even a person's heart.
Prohibitions against hostile acts, against seeking help, against leaking information about Erakino, against any action that might reveal the anomaly.
Virtually every possible prohibition had been placed upon Soarina, forcibly enforced by this baffling power that even divine protection could not reach.
Now, Soarina was a bird in a cage.
Her beautiful song might enchant people, but it was nothing more than a trill born of stolen freedom.
And that was precisely why Soarina questioned.
To gauge Erakino's thoughts, to understand the convictions upon which the witch before her acted.
To somehow comprehend what lay beyond her understanding.
"I do not desire this. You are merely dragging this country into conflict for your own amusement."
"Is Erakino the one dragging it in, or is it someone else's wish? The world is full of mysteries, isn't it?"
"At least, before you arrived, this country was at peace."
"That doesn't guarantee a peaceful future, Soarina. Sooner or later, the world will be engulfed in a great conflict. Living or dying within that—now that is what matters."
Countless cities and people had been lost due to Erakino's appearance in the Northern Province.
While the actual population had been smaller than in other provinces due to the cold climate, it was not a number that could be ignored.
Every word from Erakino was a contradiction. It almost felt as though she were trying to say the past events were not her responsibility at all.
However, there was no doubt that the girl before me was a malignant being.
The proof was astonishingly simple, because that evidence was scattered before my very eyes.
"Then where in this carnage is the necessity you speak of?"
The council chamber was decorated with blood, viscera, and flesh.
It was the remains of what were once holy clerics.
They, who just a few hours ago had been loudly denouncing Soarina and the others, were now indiscriminately being welcomed into the presence of the Holy God.
At this question, Erakino broke into a broad smile and began to dance gracefully, splattering blood across the surroundings and dyeing the white cathedral a vivid crimson.
Soarina watched this scene without her expression changing in the slightest.
"Ooh, a red carpet! This is totally R18, isn't it? Ah, is it called R18G in cases like this?"
The saint did not respond.
It was partly because she couldn't fully grasp the meaning behind Erakino's words, but also because she understood that a poor reply would only delight the witch.
That said, she couldn't stop the witch's words.
"Hey, Soarina. Were they truly necessary beings for this country?"
At Erakino's words, Soarina's eyebrow twitched slightly, betraying a flicker of emotion.
"All souls are born into this world with a role to fulfill. They are all guided by the Holy God Aros to live out their respective lives."
"Hmm~? Did my question not land properly? Did Erakino say something like that?"
Erakino asked, her tone dripping with mockery.
Having approached her side at some point, Erakino leaned in as if to provoke the averted gaze of the saint.
Soarina desperately suppressed the contradiction within her, covering her emotions with hollow words.
"The Faceless Saint still remains in this land. Eventually, this matter will come to light, and the remaining saints who govern the defense of the Holy Capital—the Diary Saint and the Vessel Saint—will see through your scheme."
"Oh, oh, that kind of thing doesn't matter right now. It doesn't matter to Erakino at all. --Hey, Soarina. Tell me the truth."
"The truth?"
Erakino waves her hand dismissively, looking utterly bored with the conversation.
Her words catch Soarina off guard, leaving her mouth agape in shock.
At that very moment...
"Were they people who deserved to die?"
Realizing this is the question she least wants to answer, Soarina is struck speechless.
"For the sake of everyone's lives, were they mere nuisances? --Answer me truthfully, Soarina. That's an order."
The witch points to the mountain of blood, organs, and flesh as she poses the question.
The authority to choose does not belong to Soarina.
Here and now, she is merely a caged bird permitted by Erakino to speak.
She possesses no means to defy her keeper's command.
"Improper accumulation of wealth, abuse of power. Acts of abuse against the boys and girls attending church that are unspeakable. Entirely unfit as guides for the people."
A strange compulsion forces her to voice the contradictions of the Holy Kingdom that she had never before uttered.
"I see, I see. So, in that case, their deaths were... a good thing?"
"They were a good thing."
Soarina's face, which she had been trying to keep composed so as not to reveal her disturbance, twists in anguish.
Once spoken aloud, a bubbling anger rises within her.
Not anger toward the witch.
It was anger at herself, who bore the grand title of Saint yet could do nothing.
And the fact that the one who accomplished this good deed was the witch smiling before her eyes….
"Then you should be happy! At least now there are no more people crying because of their evil deeds. If this isn’t justice, what is? We did the right thing, Soarina."
Could this truly be called justice?
All they had done was eliminate those in the way.
The Northern Provinces of Quolia were particularly plagued by corruption among the clergy.
High-ranking holy figures, beginning with those called Cardinals, were almost all involved in corruption, their cunning so profound that until now they had never even allowed a whiff of their misdeeds to be detected.
They were clearly violating the laws of the Holy Kingdom. But without evidence, judgment could not be passed.
Such was the nature of nations, and of law.
And Erakino… had overturned all of that with a single swing of her arm.
With force, with violence, with malice, with thoughtless, innocent simplicity….
As she claimed, many people would likely be saved by this atrocity.
Undoubtedly, they would be saved.
…Then for what purpose did justice exist?
Where were the ideals she had believed in?
"I cannot fathom what you are trying to achieve, Erakino."
Her own convictions were crumbling with a grinding sound, and the resentful cries of those she could not save became phantom voices whispering in Soarina's ears.
Too weary to even think, she merely shook her head numbly and asked the witch Erakino.
Reading her attitude in her own way, Erakino broke into the widest smile yet and began to answer Soarina’s query with a flood of words.
"Erakino and the Master have learned that to conquer this world, you can’t just brute-force your way through everything. You have to follow proper procedures and win over all sorts of people as allies."
From Erakino's lips came words that sounded quite like her master, brimming with overwhelming respect and affection whenever she spoke that name. While that figure's whereabouts were unknown, Erakino undoubtedly trusted her master from the bottom of her heart. The fact that even a witch possessed someone she could trust left Soarina with a churning, restless feeling in her chest. Yet Erakino continued, oblivious to Soarina's inner turmoil.
"Soarina, Erakino and you have aligned interests here, see? Erakino and the others want a country where we can be free. Soarina wants a country where she can be free too. If we work together, surely we can build a wonderful country!"
"A... wonderful country?"
"That's right! A country where no one suffers, where no one grieves! A country where everyone can live in happiness! Erakino only wants the military, so all the fine details can be left entirely to you, Soarina! You can save as many people in trouble as you like!"
"You, who have killed so many, speak of this?"
"Hmm, well, that wasn't really Erakino... but oh well! It's pretty much the same, right?"
Soarina had responded with sarcasm to Erakino's somewhat flighty speech, but a seed of desire had undeniably taken root within her. The annihilation of the high-ranking clerics in the Northern Province would inevitably spread to the other provinces and the central authority. But before that happened, if she used her status as a Holy Maiden, it might be possible—albeit somewhat forcibly—to cover it up. Furthermore, each province of the Holy Kingdom Quolia had been granted considerable autonomous rule by the center. If it was limited to just the Northern Province... then, as Erakino said, it was possible to build an ideal country.
"The important thing is, Erakino and Soarina are now in this together, as they say. If we don't build strength here, we'll definitely be swallowed up. The game has already started. You can't back out now—it's a game where you bet your life!"
To Soarina, who remained silent as she tried to gather her thoughts, Erakino pressed further.
"You were worried about it too, weren't you, Soarina? That calamity born from the Great Cursed Realm, you know?"
She must only know parts of the calamity's existence within the Great Cursed Realm. And the proof of it she received through prophecy came from none other than a witch. It was almost laughable. Once, the Cardinal had answered Soarina's wish by obstructing her...
"Let's defeat them together! Let's combine our strength and strike down the bad guys! Just like we did today, just like we've always done! If we do that, surely the peace we desire will come!"
She was left speechless.
There existed something so attractive, so irresistible.
It was a sweet temptation: that perhaps, if things went well, they could create their ideal nation.
And also a girlish fantasy: that perhaps they could repel all evil and forge true peace.
The old her would have dismissed such honeyed words without a second thought.
But her freedom was now bound, and above all, the voices of those she had lost tormented her heart.
"Life is a gamble, Soarina. People dress it up with pretty words like 'fate,' but in the end, it's just about whether the dice roll was good or bad."
Soarina simply remained silent in contemplation.
If the good she believed in could save no one, and the evil she hated was the one that upheld justice, perhaps it was worth betting on.
She was powerless to do anything after all.
Now... and always.
"I have one... condition. Will you promise me?"
"What is it?"
"You will no longer commit needless slaughter."
"Of course!"
There was no guarantee. It could be seen as a casual, offhand reply, or perhaps she agreed immediately because she had always intended to do so anyway.
But Soarina wished, and Erakino accepted. That was all.
"All or nothing, that's the biggest thrill, Soarina~"
The witch sneered.
The words were shallow beyond measure, utterly devoid of trust.
Yet even so, Soarina thought.
Where in this world could one even find a person worthy of trust...?
The ones who once existed were now all gone—because of what she herself had done.
From afar, the clattering of armor echoed.
The Holy Knights, having sensed the disturbance, were surely heading to this assembly hall to fulfill their duty.
Soarina drew a quiet breath.
Then, embracing a resignation toward all things in this world, she decided to accept this preposterous proposal.