The core of the Renea Holy Kingdom was in the midst of a certain kind of dysfunction.
And there was one person who was enjoying her life at her own pace, as if it were all someone else's problem.
The Mire-Atou—she was that person.
"I have absolutely no idea what the full picture of this incident is!"
Amritate Cathedral, the main stronghold of Renea where all functions of state governance were consolidated. Atou had been given a private room within it, and rather than struggling to force a solution to the problem currently plaguing them, she had decided to simply wait for the right opportunity to present itself.
Perhaps it was because she was alone in the room, or perhaps it was because she had been freed from her position as Mynoghra's Number Two and Takuto Ira's right hand.
She flopped her body onto the bed with a thud, then rolled around in wretched indulgence of her laziness.
"Ahh, dozing in bed during the day is the absolute best..."
It was the epitome of sloth. If someone like Elder Mortar were to see this state of affairs, Atou would undoubtedly receive a lengthy sermon—as someone belonging to Mynoghra.
But as things stood, she belonged to Renea. To be precise, she was an NPC character under a TRPG faction.
Consequently, no one was in a position to criticize her for essentially being a NEET and breathing easy.
That said, it would be equally harsh to place all the blame on her actions unilaterally.
Even though she had been completely brainwashed by the Game Master's power, Atou was a witch who had once belonged to the enemy side.
Given the worst-case scenario, caution was warranted, and regardless of how chaotic the times were, integrating her into Renea's state governance was utterly out of the question.
In the end, the natural freedom that came with Atou being unshackled from Mynoghra's yoke, combined with everything else, meant that Soarina and the others were at a loss over this scatterbrained witch.
But when it came to whether Atou's attitude was the only problem—well, that wasn't the whole story either.
"For that matter, everything is way too sloppy and it's just not working. Saint Soarina and Fenne seem to have some tension between them, the witch Erakino is a pushover despite everything, Commander Fjord of the active forces is on the verge of going rogue and unreachable, and I retreated alone because I hate this stiff atmosphere... Wait a minute? Isn't the upper echelon of this country actually in a bit of a crisis?"
Fundamentally, the leadership had never achieved true unity of will.
The problem was compounded by the fact that two saints held equal power, not to mention the irregulars—a witch and a Game Master—who also existed within the ranks.
The priests governing each town and city had begun acting under their own discretion, citing delayed instructions from the Grand Cathedral. The Holy Knights, as is well known, were in an even worse state—of late, Fjord himself scarcely bothered to meet with the Holy Maidens. In essence, Renia's current situation was that of a many-headed beast, where each head tried to pull in its own preferred direction, leaving the creature rooted in place, unable to move.
"In this state, you'll be utterly annihilated by Lord Takuto in no time, won't you? Hm, Lord Takuto?"
Without anyone noticing when she'd made it, Atou pulled a mysterious Takuto doll from her bosom and spoke to it. It was a sorry lump of cloth and cotton, far from being a well-crafted tribute, but her leisure had reached the point where she resorted to such trivial amusements.
That said, she was not entirely indifferent to the knight-killing incident. It was a problem undoubtedly caused by Takuto himself. Despite being adversaries, as a staunch Takuto-first adherent, she had every reason to devote thought to this issue. Thus, for the past several days, her daily routine had been to lie idly on her bed, staring at the Takuto doll while speculating on the schemes of her former master.
(Suppose Lord Takuto is behind this series of incidents; there must be some objective. No, his foremost, noble goal is certainly to reclaim me—but his methods are rather clumsy for that.)
She heard the hurried footsteps of someone dashing past her room outside. It was probably some clergy member, whom she shared quarters with, who had overslept and was now rushing back to their duties. For Atou, the concept of work no longer applied.
(Is he wary of the GM's abilities? No—as long as the perpetrator of the current events remains unidentified, it is certain Lord Takuto has established some means of defense against the GM's powers. If that's the case, he should have come to retrieve me immediately.)
Warm, gentle sunlight flowed in through the window. Although Atou was an evil being, the influence of her allegiance to the TRPG faction surprisingly made her feel not entirely negative; rather, her eyelids were growing heavy.
(What is Lord Takuto thinking? No—what is he waiting for?)
It was a question she had repeated to herself countless times. Once again, no answer came—only purposeless time slipped by.
Hadn’t he established countermeasures? The thought experiment was repeated countless times. Yet if that were the case, the premise of murdering knights would never have occurred in the first place.
Of course, the notion of merely weakening the opponent’s forces was a clearly flawed display.
The murder of knights was not an end, but a means. Through this incident, Takuto Ira was attempting something.
What that something was—no matter how much he pondered, no answer emerged.
Certainly… even if.
Even if Atou’s companions’ wills were unified, and they possessed smooth communication, it would likely remain unattainable.
Atou stared fixedly at the Takuto doll before her.
Her thoughts became too heavy, and she inadvertently applied too much force; the already unappealing face of the Takuto doll flattened further.
"C-Could it be… that Lord Takuto is actually just a little angry?"
At this point, a bad premonition welled up.
Even though Atou wasn’t the one who pierced Takuto’s heart, it was undeniably carried out by her hands.
There was no guarantee that this ultimate act of a subordinate betraying their lord hadn’t touched upon Takuto’s fury, regardless of the form it took.
Once she considered it, her anxiety swelled and expanded, and the flattened Takuto doll seemed to whisper, “…I hate Atou.”
“I could never survive that!”
Atou involuntarily screamed out loud.
Immediately, a loud bang echoed from the neighboring room as someone struck the wall in protest, and she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.
Of course, this action wasn’t out of consideration for the person in the next room, but to dispel this unpleasant premonition.
"That’s right, Lord Takuto is someone who never forgives those who oppose him. If you let your guard down, it’s over, so retaliation is always, without fail, delivered a hundredfold! Having cast aside words like favoritism and mercy long ago, he is the very knife that severs! Ah, please forgive me, Lord Takuto! What on earth have I done?!"
Even as she said this, killing intent and malice seemed to overflow from her eyes.
Perhaps, certainly, if Takuto himself appeared before her now, she would still be able to kill him.
Retaining her worshipful devotion that resembled faint romantic feelings, yet still capable of killing the object of that devotion.
Was this truly the result of the Game Master's brainwashing, or an inherent vice of her nature?
At the very least... Atou possessed a psyche worthy of being called a witch.
"But Takuto? How did you escape that phenomenon?"
Suddenly, a question from an entirely new angle surged within Atou.
"The heroes of 'Eternal Nations' shouldn't possess such an ability. At any rate, that game's scale is too large for abilities to exist that could trigger a mystery-like event like what's currently occurring..."
Up until now, Atou had been trying to discern Takuto's capabilities and methods from the modus operandi of the Holy Knight incident.
But that was, in a sense, merely scratching the surface.
She felt as though she had lost sight of some essential truth. That essence, the final piece of the puzzle, was missing.
Originally, the injuries sustained during that attack should have been fatal. There was undoubtedly some trick involved, yet unfortunately, the memories she held contained nothing that could make it possible.
"Hmm, mmm...?"
Nothing that could make it possible, supposedly.
"Come to think of it... did I forget something?"
There was a small, thorn-like sense of dissonance.
Something was on the tip of her tongue. But she had no idea what it was.
It was a peculiar sensation.
Despite having played games with Takuto hundreds, thousands of times and knowing virtually everything about the data of 'Eternal Nations,' this small dissonance gnawed at her.
The problem was -- the absurd premonition that it concerned Ira-Takuto.
A concern that should have been forgotten by now, in the normal course of events.
But on this day, luck was on her side.
"Ah, come to think of it. Speaking of things I'd forgotten, there was that, wasn't there? Being a TRPG faction now, I believe I can roll dice."
It was rare for a flash of revelation to descend upon Atou.
Discovering the answer to the knight order massacre was impossible. No matter how many times it was repeated, the result was the same, and even altering the questions or methods had not led to success.
Directly unraveling Takuto's secrets was likewise impossible.
Erakino and the others had already attempted that, and the result had been fruitless.
However, finding the source of this small dissonance she felt should be straightforward enough to yield an answer.
After all, she had merely forgotten. If given a trigger, she should be able to recall it, so what could possibly hinder that?
For something this minor, there was no need to wield the potent authority of a Game Master; it would suffice for her to roll the dice and succeed.
If she failed... well, that would be frustrating, but she could always find time later to ask Erakino for a word with the Game Master. It was an utterly simple task with zero demerits.
"In this situation, it feels a bit improper, but I'm rather excited."
Since it was something she couldn't recall even after thinking, it likely wasn't that significant in the first place.
But for her, who had lived as a character in a simulation game, to utilize the system of a completely different game—it was a novel experience.
Anything is most fun at the beginning. Even if the result turned out to be a mess, it would probably make for a good memory.
With that casual feeling...
"Let's see—Flash Insight check! Remember what you've forgotten about Takuto!"
The muddied Atou rolled the dice.
=Message===
Atou's Flash Insight Check
1d100 = [98] Check: Success
Atou was able to recall her memories more vividly!
―――
And so, fate was decided.
"Oh my? It feels quite strange, but was it a success? Let me see, ah, I'm starting to remember bits and pieces. The nameless evil god called the King of Ruin, Takuto Ira..."
For a while, Atou muttered and groaned, but then her expression turned to one of blank confusion before her eyes suddenly flew wide open.
Before long, in stark contrast to moments before, her face grew paler and paler...
"No way! Impossible!!"
She finally remembered the information she had been forgetting ever since she arrived in this world.
It was content far too fatal for her.
◇ ◇ ◇
"A... conversation?"
"Yes, exactly, Lady Soarina. In truth, I have one concern regarding that monster, and I would like to consult with you."
Somewhere within the Saint Amritate Grand Cathedral.
In this secluded location, deep underground in the cathedral's archives—a place rarely visited—Saint Soarina received a strange proposition from the Holy Knight Fjord.
It was an unfathomable, puzzling proposal.
Moreover, the situation itself was bizarre.
First, he had easily found her here, in the deep underground archives of the cathedral, a place people seldom came to.
Second, he had brought his business here, clearly to avoid being seen.
Third, she sensed an indescribable, intense aura from Holy Knight Fjord—something she had never witnessed from him before.
Unlike all his previous reports and consultations, this was somehow different.
"Um, well then, from my side I shall gather everyone—"
"—No."
A hesitant proposal is met with a refusal.
Perhaps it was a story he did not want to let Fenne or Erakino hear after all.
Suspicion finally solidified, yet the only thing permitted to Soarina right now was confusion.
"Please, in confidence, I would like you to confirm this alone, Lady Soarina. If my misgivings are correct, matters must be handled with extreme caution."
It was an assertion that brooked no argument.
What, exactly, did he intend to say?
Confronted by Fjord's grimly urgent demeanor, Soarina could only nod in helpless bewilderment.