Is it simply that ideals can never be fulfilled?
Is it true that nothing can be achieved without sacrifice?
The existence of a Holy Maiden is, by its very nature, always built upon some offering made to God.
The reason Soarina displayed a certain obsessive attachment toward Erakino stemmed from that sacrifice.
Fenne, likewise, had offered up a sacrifice when she was chosen by God as a Holy Maiden.
Is it truly so terrible to merely wish for happiness?
Is it truly so great a transgression—one deserving of such trials—to simply wish that people might live in peace, free from suffering and sorrow?
The Veiled Holy Maiden Fenne, searching for answers to questions no one else knew to ask, listened absently to the report of Holy Knight Commander Fjord.
"That concludes my report. I have relayed the most significant developments among the surrounding nations over the past several days."
How much could the man standing before her really be trusted, given that he claimed the remainder would be handled by their own forces?
In the end, the knight murder case that had caused such an uproar remained unsolved, and problems just kept piling up one after another.
What exactly was she doing at a time like this?
"It's been confirmed that the Ruination King Ira=Takuto is alive and well in Dragontan… Is that truly him?"
"It is most likely a decoy. It is the quickest way to quell the unrest within the country."
The answer came without a moment's hesitation.
Had this already been discussed within the knight order, or had he anticipated the question from the start?
Fenne was never particularly sharp when it came to reading people, so she could not discern the truth.
"Fjord. Where did that intelligence come from? I heard the Holy Knight Order is quite busy."
From beneath her veil, Fenne's gaze pierced through Holy Knight Commander Fjord.
Her tone carried a hint of interrogation, but the man in question answered without showing much concern.
"Dragontan has maintained deep ties with Quolia for some time. Even though it has been placed under Mynoghra's control, several avenues for gathering information still remain. This time, it came through those channels."
"I see…"
Fjord noticed that Fenne had gently shifted her veil aside and was looking directly at him with one visible eye, and was momentarily startled.
Her sudden display—showing skin she had never revealed before—and the slightly withered flesh visible beneath caught him off guard, but he hastily composed himself.
"Ah— is something the matter?"
"No, it's nothing. Sorry to trouble you while you're so busy. Please continue the investigation. …I especially want information on whether the Ruination King is the real one or not. Sooner rather than later, if possible."
"Understood. There are several capable individuals outside the Holy Knight Order as well. They tend to demand considerable compensation, but I will reach out to them."
"Yes, please do."
The report concluded, and Fjord took his leave.
What remained after his departure was only the Veiled Holy Maiden Fenne, and silence.
"Did you confirm it?"
But oddly enough, Fenne spoke as though addressing someone who should not have been there, as if asking a fellow occupant of the room.
=Message===
Releasing disguise…
———―――
At the same time, the presence of someone who should not have been there materialized.
=GM:Message===
By authority of the Game Master, the following information is disclosed.
Whether Senior Holy Knight Fjord=Veisterk is the culprit remains unknown.
Senior Holy Knight Fjord=Veisterk is not hostile toward the Renea Divine Light Kingdom.
Senior Holy Knight Fjord=Veisterk is not under the influence of mental contamination or brainwashing.
Senior Holy Knight Fjord=Veisterk did not lie during the preceding conversation.
———―――
Fenne turned her gaze toward the presence that had appeared.
There, beside the sofa where she sat—in a spot where no one had been just moments ago—the Funeral Holy Maiden Soarina and the Goblet Witch Erakino stood as though they had materialized from thin air.
"I just confirmed it with the Master. Commander boy is clean. …In other words, there's absolutely no suspicion of him being anyone's puppet or being brainwashed or anything like that!"
"Is that so. Then I did him a disservice."
With a voice that captivated all who heard it, now trembling ever so slightly, Fenne let slip words of regret.
"…It's truly pathetic, isn't it? Suspecting someone who should be a comrade."
"Given the current situation, I think it was unavoidable. Lady Fenne."
Soarina spoke gently, as if to soothe Fenne's anguish.
Her words were filled with consideration, but they were nothing more than a way to gloss things over.
Regardless of their feelings, their actions spoke clearly.
They were not suspecting Fjord as an individual.
They had been suspecting every single Holy Knight.
It had been several days since Fjord declared he would solve the case. Not only was the culprit unknown—even the victims remained unidentified.
On top of that, though it appeared to have been suppressed, yet another victim had emerged.
Whether this was the knight order's foolish cover-up to protect their pride, or the result of some covert maneuvering, was unclear.
What was certain was that the Holy Maidens had already determined the case could not be solved by the Holy Knight Order alone, and had been scrambling—using their powers without regard for appearances—to identify the perpetrator and the victims.
But the results were as described.
All information pertaining to the case somehow could not be uncovered even with the Game Master's authority, and the various inferences and verifications attempted from multiple angles had all ended in futility.
Fenne gazed out the window.
The sun hung high, little birds chirped love songs, and the lively voices of the people could be heard.
An ideal nation—utterly peaceful, tranquil, free from any threat, without a trace of fear.
Yet this country was currently under explicit attack by an unknown entity.
"Erakino. What about the Ruination King? I simply cannot imagine that he could recover from that situation…"
=GM:Message===
Disclosure request regarding the life or death of the Ruination King Ira=Takuto.
Result: Unknown
———―――
"Information on Ira=Takuto is unavailable. We can't confirm anything at all."
Erakino let out a heavy sigh and shook her head from side to side.
The past several days had been spent in exactly this fashion—nothing but investigations. The Master exhaustively filling in every blind spot and seeking conclusions, and Erakino relaying the results to the Holy Maidens—both were utterly worn out, even without saying it aloud.
"Unknown? Does that not mean he's still alive? If we don't know, that's evidence the other side is employing some form of deception, isn't it…"
"That's not quite right, Soarina. Neither Erakino nor the Master fully understand every detail of the game system, so we don't know how a player will behave after they've died."
"I see…"
"Besides, players from other games and subordinates heavily influenced by those systems are inherently difficult for us to affect from the outside. I think it's because the influence of a different game's system is too strong, making interference from our side nearly impossible. If we could meet them in person it might be different, but remotely doing anything seems to be out of reach."
Erakino and the Game Master had already confessed their origins to the two Holy Maidens.
That they had come to this world possessing the abilities of a tabletop RPG.
That there were likely multiple others in similar circumstances.
And that those multiple individuals were engaged in a game to determine the winner.
Initially, the Holy Maidens had been stunned and skeptical of what sounded like an outlandish, fantastical tale. But at a certain point, they became convinced that the words were the truth.
Within the ancient Holy Maiden's scripture, there was a description of a horrifying event titled "The Arrival of the End Times."
A war among gods, staged upon this world.
If the prophecies of the scripture—long dismissed as tall tales and exaggerations—were genuine, it implied a conflict that would engulf the entire continent.
The loser would lose everything. The winner would gain everything.
For the sake of the people, they absolutely could not afford to lose.
The dice had already been cast, and the pieces had advanced too far to ever turn back.
"So in the end, no matter which angle we pursue, we come up empty. We had plenty of time and opportunity, yet we failed to confirm the body in our overconfidence. That was probably a mistake."
Perhaps irritated for once, Fenne muttered while clenching and unclenching both hands.
At her words, Soarina lowered her face as though deflated, while Erakino stood up from her seat in a flurry of concern.
"But, but, Soarina's super-powerful attack absolutely nailed Ira=Takuto! Erakino saw it too—there's no way he survived that! Right, Soarina?"
"Yes. Without question, the divine flames consumed the Ruination King entirely. That much is certain. However… perhaps…"
Failing to confirm the body was, without question, a lapse in judgment.
But in that situation, who could have doubted Ira=Takuto's survival?
The attack had been carried out with absolute murderous intent and overwhelming force, and it had pierced the target without the slightest deviation.
If one were to inject doubt into that, the entire assassination plan would collapse at its foundation.
Ira=Takuto was undoubtedly dead. They had certainly killed him. That was the judgment they had reached.
Yet now, that very judgment was crumbling at its foundation.
"Whether Ira=Takuto is alive or not remains unknown. What is clear is that some kind of threat exists. I don't understand why they'd go through the roundabout method of targeting individual knights, but the enemy is undeniably close."
The investigation using the Game Master's abilities to identify any faction that posed a threat to Renea had already been completed.
Quolia and El-Naar were both currently in a wait-and-see posture, and among the various nations and tribes across the other Dark Continents, none had taken hostile action against them.
Process of elimination left only one answer.
Mynoghra—the only nation where system interference prevented them from obtaining information as desired.
The country they had deemed no longer a threat and discarded was now radiating a presence so unsettling it was eerie.
"What could possibly be causing this incident?"
The most plausible scenario was… there were still other subordinates of Ira=Takuto.
The origin of the Ruination King as a simulation game had been confirmed during the assassination. The Atou of filth they had obtained fell into the category of "hero" within that game, but if that hero was still active, it was possible it had taken the Ruination King's place and was running the country.
Listening to the speculation relayed by the Master through Erakino, the expressions of both Holy Maidens darkened.
The idea that the hero still existed, that it had taken the Ruination King's place to govern the nation—they had heard nothing of the sort. But even if they pointed that out, nothing would change.
Rather, the biggest issue was that despite the Game Master, Erakino, and both Holy Maidens all having been given ample information—and being in a position to obtain more—none of them had thought to investigate that particular angle.
Possessing the ability to know everything did not mean one could always arrive at the optimal solution.
The hazy outline of the enemy was slowly, steadily taking shape.
"Erakino and the others who are beings from a game each possess extremely dangerous and powerful abilities. Among them, the authority the Game Master uses as the 'Arbiter' is absolutely unmatched. But that doesn't mean the rest of us are weak… If the enemy is still out there, we need to deal with them quickly."
In truth, when Ira=Takuto attacked, Erakino had been pushed to her limits.
The Dark Elves had been armed with firearms, and Ira=Takuto himself had responded to their presence in an instant under those conditions.
It had been a victory by the narrowest of margins—and precisely because of that, there was absolutely no room for optimism.
Erakino's words struck a nerve with both Holy Maidens, and their sense of crisis deepened. The trials they had to overcome were far from over.
"The worst part is if Mynoghra continues to be active going forward. Um… it's really important to have proof that we properly defeated the Ruination King, Fenne."
"Exactly. As long as Mynoghra—the nation led by the Ruination King—remains intact, our legitimacy will be called into question. And if the Ruination King happens to be alive, then all of our legitimacy collapses at the foundation. If that happens, we become agitators who founded a nation on false reports. We'd be excommunicated and have our lives targeted."
The Renea Divine Light Kingdom had been tacitly permitted to establish itself based on the accomplishment of defeating the Ruination King and preemptively protecting the people from a threat that imperiled the world.
If the god-slaying feat at the level of mythology turned out to be a failure, their position would become precarious in an instant.
The same applied to Mynoghra's resurgence. After all, Holy Maidens—the faithful closest to God—were not permitted to make mistakes. Simply having suspicious eyes turned upon them could constitute a devastating blow.
But their allies were not limited to God's faithful. Demonic beings were also among their companions, and that was perhaps the silver lining.
"Anyway! Either way, it's still not over for Erakino and the rest! Because this time, unlike before, we have a super-amazing trump card!"
"A trump card? What is it, Erakino?"
"Hehehe. That thing, you know? That, that, that!"
"…?"
Both Holy Maidens tilted their heads in unison. Finding their reaction amusing, Erakino let out a small snort of laughter, then struck an exaggerated, comical pose as if to blow away the heavy atmosphere.
"So, without further ado, let's go ahead and invite our guest! All the way from Mynoghra, the Atou of filth!!"
At this point, Erakino had decided to play her trump card.
………
……
…
She had been dreaming.
A dream of being spoken to, in a darkness so deep that even darkness itself did not exist.
The presence was enormous, terrifying, and yet somehow bewildered…
What had it said to her? She tried to recall, but her memory was terribly hazy, obscured by fog and lacking clarity.
But one thing was unmistakably clear.
Whatever that entity had said—it had felt strangely kind.
"…Where… am I?"
Atou's consciousness awakened.
She felt as though she had been having an important dream, but she could not recall it at all.
In its place, she tried to understand her situation, looked around, and finally grasped the circumstances and environment she had been placed in.
"—You people!!"
Hatred surged through her.
Simultaneously, she reached out with her tentacles to impale the witch who was smirking insolently right in front of her—but in that instant, her aggression was inexplicably dispersed by a coercive force.
She had not been stopped. Atou had voluntarily ceased her attack.
"No, no, no. Atou has become Erakino's ally now, so she can't very well attack, can she? Think of it as NTR! So forget about your old man and make nice with your new friends, okay? Look, everyone's been waiting for Atou."
She glanced around.
Confirming that the surrounding Holy Maidens were watching her without letting their guard down, she retraced her memories.
The regret of having struck down her own master, and at the same time, the realization that those she should have hated were now her comrades.
And the conviction that Mynoghra was no longer a place to return to, but an enemy—Atou understood that some ability had been used to forcibly change her affiliation.
"I feel like throwing up. …Not only can I not attack, but I can't even muster the will to. You must be feeling pleased with yourselves. Violating someone's dignity like this—"
"Hmm, maybe? But Erakino and the others were desperate too. To fulfill our dream, we needed both power and accomplishments, so we bet on the prize sitting right there within reach, dangers and all. In the end, we got everything—that's all it is ♪"
Though thorns lurked in each of their words, the taut tension that had existed before was gone.
If anything, it was more like two allies who weren't particularly compatible had started a conversation, and those around them were paying a bit of attention.
The benefit granted by the system was absolute.
Through Erakino's unique ability—"Goblet"—Atou had become fully affiliated with the Holy Maiden faction, and despite her defiance, she was now firmly on their side.
"Power and accomplishments… I didn't exactly intend to become a trophy, but I suppose I'm currently a captive. Come to think of it, even as a comrade I'm not really a captive—so, you went to all the trouble of waking my consciousness, which means there's something you want me to do?"
"Hehehe. Sharp as always, Atou."
Atou scowled at those coy words.
It was obvious that whatever was coming would be trouble, and she sensed a headache on the way.
"Actually, I want you to tell us about your former master, the Ruination King, and the Mynoghra he commands! About the abilities you possess! About the Ruination King's authority! And everything about the player—Ira=Takuto!"
Atou gritted her teeth. Erakino's attitude was infuriating.
Atou had never harbored doubts about Takuto's survival. She felt guilt and regret for having hurt him, but she had never believed for a moment that he would die from something like that.
Her trust in him was absolute.
At the same time, she also understood all too well the importance of keeping Mynoghra's—and Takuto's—abilities concealed.
Had she still been on Mynoghra's side, she would have gone pale at the gravity of that situation.
But now, Atou was a comrade of the Holy Maidens.
In fact, she had no reservations about revealing everything for the sake of herself and her companions.
"Of course you'll cooperate, right? After all, Erakino and Atou are friends!"
But even if they were friends… that smug, contemptuous, vaguely repulsive grin on Erakino's face was the one thing that filled Atou with intense revulsion.