A white light appeared.

It was warm, soft, and exceedingly comforting light.

How long has it been since I welcomed a morning with such a tranquil feeling?

Waking up was always a drag, and there was no peace to be found during the endless days spent trapped in nightmares.

I had convinced myself that darkness would never clear away.

Perhaps that’s why this light feels so deeply soothing to my heart.

“—Hey, wake up.”

I hear someone’s voice.

From beyond the white light, someone is calling for me. Followed by that voice, I feel a hand guiding me, pulling me away from the darkness.

The distant white light gradually fills my vision completely—

“Good morning. You sleepyhead, it’s time to wake up.”

When I opened my eyes, a silver-haired girl said that with a shy smile.

—At those words, tears flowed down Sylphy’s cheeks.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

A pale blue light rose to the heavens and the ice barrier shattered.

The ice that enveloped the partially destroyed church transformed into light, scattering into mana that vanished amid the dancing fairies.

The scene of invisible illusions consuming one another engraved a deeply melancholic sentiment in the hearts of those witnessing it.

It was an image that would stir one’s tear ducts, but the reason for the girls’ tears was likely far more complex.

Their lives, the nightmares that had bound their most glorious times—this was liberation from them.

“That being said, Emilia-chan is quite something.”

Subaru muttered absentmindedly, unable to help but relax his lips.

In his line of sight were Emilia and the brides—no, the former brides—clinging to her.

The women in wedding dresses numbered exactly fifty-three, with not a single one missing.

“…When I heard that the brides and the heart were fused together, I thought there was no way to save the brides without letting them die.”

Taking the brides’ lives meant depriving the “Lion’s Heart” of its host. Subaru had half-heartedly resigned himself, thinking there was no other way to stop that fiend. He was prepared for sacrifices.

Unlike Subaru, Emilia did not give up.

Although it was true that she was in the midst of a life-or-death struggle with Regulus, she had stopped her mind from shutting down. She kept considering what she could do with the cards she had and accomplished that.

Thus,

“This time, Emilia-chan completely stole the show.”

“That’s not true at all.”

Relaxed, Subaru slumped against the wall. Hearing his sigh of relief, Emilia returned. Her white dress was tattered from the battle, and her silver hair was disheveled. Still, Emilia was beautiful, standing there after the fight.

Exhaling at that internal sentiment, Subaru nodded.

“Those people still look like they haven’t said enough words of thanks to Emilia-chan, do they?”

“Stop joking about that. Besides, I can’t act like I’m better than everyone else. It was sudden, but… I forced everyone into a choice that could lead to death.”

“But no one died. Everyone is alive. —That’s the most important thing.”

That result was undeniably the best.

Easing his worries, Subaru felt relieved. Emilia placed her hands on her hips and, as ever, pointedly criticized herself while pouting at Subaru.

“With all those injuries, and pushing yourself so hard… If you hadn’t done your best, everyone wouldn’t have made it. And it was because you noticed the ‘Lion’s Heart.'”

“It’s usual for me to lack the decisive factor… which I guess is just me being me. But you picked up on it well. Trying to freeze the brides into a state of suspended animation.”

“I’ve been frozen for quite a long time, too.”

Stick out her tongue, Emilia grinned playfully. Cute.

Yet, it wasn’t the kind of topic that one could laugh about.

Nevertheless, her quick thinking and actions during the confrontation against Regulus were effective in avoiding unnecessary sacrifices.

Fifty-three precious brides’ lives were saved.

“I wasn’t really confident that I could pull it off, though.”

“But you did it. Emilia-chan worked hard to master your abilities.”

“But there was still the risk of becoming permanently frozen. I’m a bit relieved it worked out.”

Then, trying to hide her shy smile, she touched her chest.

As if confirming the heartbeat felt beneath her palm.

“Also, if you hadn’t removed Regulus’s heart from my chest, I would’ve had to cast the same spell on myself. In that case, Sylphy and I would have both had to be melted at a much greater cost. It might have taken another hundred years.”

“Again with that—you’re exaggerating just a bit too much.”

“…………”

“No way it isn’t an exaggeration!? Yikes, that was an incredibly narrow victory!”

Subaru was astonished, looking at Emilia, who smiled faintly.

During Regulus’s taunt, Emilía had aimed to stop the “Lion’s Heart” along with herself. If he had miscalculated, it could mean parting ways with Emilia forever. Surely, he’d be wandering around searching for ways to melt the ice, trying not to let that happen.

“If there are two sleeping beauties, my bad luck would become unbearable, so give me a break, will ya?”

He grumbled, letting out a sigh of relief.

In any case, Emilia was safe, and the brides were unscathed. Although the battle with Regulus heralded immense destruction, the damage that their side sustained was minimal.

At most, Subaru had to shoulder a variety of physical burdens and an unnecessary grudge with the Witch Cult.

And—

“I wonder if Reinhardt will be okay since he went off without healing his injuries.”

While Subaru was deep in thought, Emilia suddenly said that.

Subaru looked up and waved his hand dismissively.

“No problem. Apparently, that guy can count on the fairies to heal his wounds. He mentioned it himself.”

“Ah, I knew it. The fairies that were supposed to be swarming around here are following Reinhardt now that he’s left… he might be a natural spirit user.”

“Please stop making me die inside!”

Even without that, Reinhardt was already ridiculously strong. Subaru himself had thrown Reinhardt against Regulus; however, the sight of how he fought during that climactic duel left him at a loss for words.

Can humans really jump that easily up to the clouds? He hardly seemed human, yet still, he was a knight and a fellow candidate for the Royal Selection.

“Emilia-chan, I might be weak, but please don’t abandon me, okay?”

“—Huh? I really rely on you, Subaru!”

“Exactly! That’s right! I’ll keep doing my best from now on!”

“Sorry, I don’t quite get why you’re being so pushy…”

Regardless, he should stop comparing himself to them. Otherwise, he’d end up like Regulus, who could only act if he measured himself against others.

He thought about how there was nothing to see in that man, but he turned out to be not so bad as a reverse lesson.

“…I wonder how everyone else is doing.”

“That’s what Reinhardt is for. Besides, to be honest, everyone’s stronger than I am.”

Letting it be, it might sound like relying on others, but the most fitting expression was that he believed in them.

Although they’d be in opposing factions and would clash directly over a singular throne eventually, Subaru had faith in them all. Different personalities, abilities, and beliefs exist as they do.

At the very least, he could hope that they wouldn’t lose to the despicable and hopeless creatures like the Witch Cult.

“――――”

If one of them is defeated and their life is at stake—perhaps Subaru would have to consider the “Return by Death”. Regardless of his contract with Roswaal, if there was a potential to save them, he would surely try.

It’s painful, it’s hard, and it’s unpleasant.

But sadness would surely be even worse.

“Subaru.”

“――――”

Emilia, who had squatted beside Subaru, lowered herself next to him, seemingly concerned about what he was thinking about death.

As she leaned against Subaru’s left shoulder, she gently stroked his head, which was about to lower. It tickled, yet it was hard to pull away.

“Emilia-chan?”

“Right now, I’m feeling just like you are. I’m worried about everyone, but I’m completely out of strength to help. So can I pray together with you? For everyone’s safety.”

“――――”

“It’s going to be okay. They’re so much stronger, smarter, and hard-working than us.”

Emilia, choosing her words to comfort Subaru, exhibited her characteristic knack for wordsmithing, calming his heart just a little.

Let’s have faith. In everyone. In Reinhardt, who had set off for assistance right after defeating Regulus. There’s not a worry in his crusade to the battlefield.

He wanted everyone to make it to the morning without loss. If that happened, Subaru’s worry would be limited to just one—

“――――”

Looking up at the sky as if in prayer, Emilia glanced up at the night sky through the crumbling ceiling of the church. To ensure Emilia didn’t see, Subaru firmly clasped his own chest and held on tight.

—With the real feeling of Regulus’s death, an ominous entity, unidentifiable and dark, had slithered into his chest, pulsating.

Surely it was something akin to what had happened with Petelgeuse.

So, to avoid letting Emilia sense it, he would remain quietly.

Prayer to the sky and resolution within himself, just quietly.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

—Time backtracks just a bit before Regulus’s defeat.

It was half an hour after Subaru’s group—the Control Tower raiding team—had set off, and Otto, who had seen them off, left City Hall in pursuit of the “Book of Wisdom.”

At that moment, Otto had encountered “Gluttony” and was fighting Felt, while Garfiel had fallen into the waterways with Kurgan, and Wilhelm had dropped Tereshia’s hood. Julius had frowned at a bitter grudge he didn’t recognize, during the time the church had partially collapsed mid-ceremony of the wedding conducted without the brides’ consent, and the waterways of the city’s northern area suddenly ignited—this was when the building of City Hall, mostly vacant of combatants, was struck by an impact.

“Ta-daa! Here I come!”

From the top floor of the five-story City Hall, a massive mass unrelentingly smashed against the wall.

The intense tremors shattered the windows of the building; it sustained critical damage to its foundation due to daytime downs and became borderline collapse after just a day. The building, which was supposed to be central to Pristella’s urban functionality, had fallen into a state of complete ruin.

However, whether it would remain on the brink of collapse was entirely dependent on the outcome of the events that would unfold hereafter.

“With four towers and four water gates. If even one gets opened, the whole city will be submerged… Naturally, you all lack the numbers to separate and engage in a total war.”

She prattled on, voicing the city’s dire circumstances in an ear-piercing tone.

And in response to that, a voice rang out.

“Everyone! We’ll definitely return alive and protect this city!”

“We’ll take back this beautiful skyline with our strength!”

“We, who fight for justice, cannot lose!”

“Good deeds bring about good fruit; wrongdoings bring about bad fruit. This battle will be our victory—!”

A brave young man’s voice sounded.

A spirited voice belonging to a fair young girl joined.

The battle cry of a rugged soldier evoked memories of past battle, as a poised middle-aged woman’s voice rallied them onward.

All those words were backed by strong will and determination that lived up to the statements—yet, those words came from a single mouth.

“Did you think that’s what I was contemplating?”

Then the same lips that spoke those strong words uttered in a voice full of disdain and mockery that veiled unfathomable malice.

Following that, the voice’s owner, with a reluctant shake of her small body, mockingly proclaimed,

“Ahahaha! No, no, no! Please, cut that out! Why on earth would I have to indulge in such a dirty pile of sweat and toil? You lot, do you all have lovely brains simmering in some dreamy paradise?”

A high-pitched and raucous laughter erupted.

An unmistakably malicious cackle came from the childish figure of a young girl, revealing her concealed intent.

With round eyes, thin lips, and hair cut to neck-length, she bore golden locks and rosy cheeks that embodied the epitome of cuteness, yet her expression wore a sinister gleam that belied her innocence. Adorned in rags barely suitable for clothing, the excessive exhibitionism of the girl, who had yet to grow into a full human being, inspired a distortion of horror in any normal person.

This girl was likely a child—a monster.

The Archbishop of Sin, “Lust,” Capella Emerada Lugnica, a creature who sought to utterly violate human dignity and ethics.

“How can you believe I’d be good and wait patiently in my tower? What a bizarre delusion! Just how gently have you all been living your lives—was it a hospitality gig? Battles entail preventing the enemy from doing what they want and forcing them to do what they don’t want. You flower garden dwellers should just quit while you’re ahead, you piece of trash, trash, trash, trash, trash!”

Even amid the unbearable vitriol, the charming movements of the monster Capella remained.

The villain, twisting her body with her finger against her cheek, shoved herself through from the invasion into City Hall and immediately encountered a cat-eared knight—who had been receiving her onslaught of foul language up until now. In the background laid a long-haired woman on the bed.

This was the top floor of the hall, the room assigned to Felix and Crusch.

“You are the Archbishop of Sin, ‘Lust’…!”

Speaking with a voice trembling with rage, it was Felix glaring at Capella, who tilted her head in response. When she looked behind to the bed, she nodded, understanding.

“Ah, yes, yes. I can see why you resent me; I thought you’d succumb to your bloodline. I knew it, but seeing the reality took the wind out of my sails. It’s just a shame—after all, you are of noble blood from Lugnica.”

“What do you aim to achieve by making Crusch suffer like this?! How can I rescue Crusch? Answer me!”

Rather than sympathize, Capella’s bored mutter turned Felix’s previously bright face red with rage, wielding a dagger that he carried.

The beautiful weapon, engraved with intricate decorations and adorned with the crest of a lion, appeared more suited for show than for combat. Given Felix’s own lack of skill, it didn’t seem very effective.

“Is that a toy? A significant gift? Whichever it is, waving that around with those spindly hands is just plain dangerous, isn’t it, darling? …Wait, huh?”

With a tongue stuck out, Capella giggled, but then abruptly interrupted herself and frowned.

“Oh wow, that’s creepy. You, on the other hand, have quite a peculiar body. How on earth did you end up like that when you’re a man? And I didn’t mean to touch on that, but it’s revolting, really.”

“—Ugh!”

Recognizing Felix’s gender, Capella expressed her disgust. The monster scanned Felix from top to bottom, purposefully pretending to gag.

“Are you trying to entice a man with that outfit? If so, congratulations, you understand the absurdity of human nature. Men are fools, women are trash, and humans are all scum… that’s my preferred conclusion, you see.”

“Shut up! Enough of this! Answer my questions! What have you done to Crusch?!”

“Ah, geez, you’re so noisy.”

Felix bore his shame, enduring as Capella continued their nonsensical exchange, to which she shrugged while blinking, and then, remarkably, the childish face melted.

“—!?”

In front of Felix, who gasped, the child’s body melted and reshaped itself.

The little height stretched unnaturally like a nightmare, the vivid blonde hair tainted, and the sweet features that pulled forth sheltering instincts grew stern, transforming the scantily clad girl into a blue dress.

Although I had heard of this transformation, it was Felix’s first time witnessing it. A nightmare creator that whimsically reshaped whatever she touched, human or not.

And as that nightmare took a tangible form, Felix became numb.

“Oh, um…”

“—What are you surprised by?”

Greasing her hair back, the entity that stood before Felix bore the face of her most beloved.

Capella now blocking Felix’s view had transformed into her adored master. At that realization, Felix’s face turned pale, and the dagger he held trembled at his side.

“Oh dear, all that bravado has vanished now, hasn’t it? This face, this body, this voice—standing right before you, what did you expect?”

Smiling with a face that looked nothing like Crusch, Capella slowly approached.

She walked just close enough for Felix to reach out, aligning the dagger’s blade with her own chest.

The tip of the blade gently grazed the center of Crusch’s ample bust.

If stabbed, it would penetrate through—such was the distance.

“You have an enemy in front of you. Please avenge me. It’s painful, so painful; it’s hard to breathe. I can’t even keep my eyes open. My heart is pumping poison instead of blood throughout my body. So, hurry, avenge me. —That’s what I’m saying.”

“Uh, uh…”

“Just thrust the dagger in and twist it mercilessly to gouge it out. That will destroy the heart, sever the arteries, and blood will pour. You can kill me.”

Felix’s breathing quickened, and his gaze became unfocused.

The life of the culprit who was his master’s deadly enemy was now placed before him. According to her words, the attack would undoubtedly succeed. He could crush her heart. He could kill her.

Just by virtue of looking like someone he adored.

“Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!”

“――――”

“Stab—!”

“Ugh! Ahhh!!”

Commanded like a curse, Felix’s dagger pierced into her chest.

The blade easily pierced flesh, shattering the heart hidden behind the bone. The blade twisted, and the brutal sound of muscle being severed echoed in the air as the dagger was pulled free, along with a fountain of blood.

“Haa… haa…”

Pulling back to avoid being sprayed with blood, Felix gasped, dropping the dagger with a clatter as it fell to the floor, dripping blood.

“Guh… cough!”

Then, Capella, who was stabbed in the chest, fell to her knees, spilling blood from her mouth.

Despite the exterior resembling Crusch, her face was marred by pain and suffering, and her amber eyes were wide with disbelief as she looked up to Felix.

“It… hurts, it hurts so much… why, why is this happening…?”

“You told me to stab you! You told me to stab Crusch-sama!”

“It’s agonizing, so agonizing. …It’s terrible; I can’t forgive it. You said you loved me, that you adored me… even though we loved each other…”

“――! Stop spouting nonsense! Crusch and I are not that kind of relationship!”

“Ah, is that so? Well, it appears we have a discrepancy in our interpretations for the sake of performance.”

With an exaggerated grin and wiping the blood off her sleeve, Capella stood up.

Then, as if to demonstrate her injury, she caressed her own wound, which instantly ceased to exist. The agonized expression that had distorted her countenance had vanished, with a sigh.

“It seems, if we’re going to do this, we should really go all out from the start. The loving master and servant should have been made to kill each other. That’s where the catharsis of love lies… what a waste.”

“This farce… what are you trying to accomplish?”

“Oh, nothing much? There’s no meaning, and there’s nothing I want to make you do. Making a husband kill his wife’s likeness is merely a way to kill time. I just thought it was some quirky connection having a knight dress as a woman beside me.”

“The promise Crusch and I hold isn’t something so superficial!”

“If sexual practices and desires are considered superficial, then that is an opinion I find rather frivolous,” Capella said, tilting her head as she looked at the shouting Felix. Following that, Capella raised her right hand, transforming it yet again.

Her palm morphed into a giant petal of a flower, and extending tendrils swept Felix’s body off, ensnaring him before slamming him against the wall.

“Hmph…!”

“Look at you—so weak and frail. If you want to be more feminine so badly, should I turn you into a woman? With my abilities, it’d be a piece of cake; I’ll put a hole in that body in no time!”

“I don’t care about my body… just save Crusch…!”

“Ridiculous. Caring for others more than for yourself? Don’t say such pretty things. Besides, how do you fix a body that’s succumbed to blood? Hah, if I knew that, I’d like to be informed first.”

The tendrils writhed, restricting Felix’s hands and legs until his eyes widened in agony, the sound of creaking bones echoing through the room.

Instead of the right hand that’d become a monster plant, the left formed into a scythe. This grotesque form, with Crusch’s appearance on the right arm and the left becoming a grotesque insect’s arm.

Nevertheless, her face remained unchanged, still beautiful, which was terrifying.

“Turning you into a drooling mass of flesh sounds amusing, but I’m not so bored. Before anyone else arrives, I’ll tidy you both up, shall I?”

“—Ugh.”

“Nonetheless, you lot are unfathomably foolish. Not only did you not expect me to arrive, but even when attacked, your responses are painfully slow—how long until you…”

Caught in the thrill of her taunts, Capella’s expression dimmed. She leaned closer to Felix, a questioning furrow forming on her brow.

“Isn’t it too late? Even if I came from above, you shouldn’t take this long to react.”

“…Ah.”

“Whatever scheme you’re plotting, you’d do well to spit it out. If not, your precious master will undergo an even uglier transformation…”

Capella aimed her sickle at Crusch, and the cruel choice loomed over Felix. In response to that query, he squeezed out words from his trembling lips.

“—Shut…”

“Aaan? What kind of plea for mercy are you trying to…”

“You… useless piece of trash!”

“Huh?”

Felix’s golden eyes glared with hatred at Capella, spitting that out, which led her tentacles binding him to exude smoke, and the petals lost their color and decayed. As Capella stumbled back, she gasped in astonishment at her rotting right arm.

“Ah, what the—? What did I do to my hand…?”

“Well, you’re saying that you don’t have monopoly on being rotten in character, huh?”

As the tendrils decayed, Felix was freed.

Capella tilted her head in confusion, but before she could respond, another voice broke overhead. A charming tone with a unique intonation. Capella turned her attention to where she heard it, and in a flash, light surged forth.

A white beam so intense it felt like the temperature within the room spiked momentarily. That intense light scorched the left side of Capella’s face, completely obliterating it.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air as it laid bare the charred wound; Capella staggered back, her serpentine tongue licking the inflicted surface while she laughed.

“Even though it was my comrades’ faces, how grotesque! …Well, it’s normal to have someone useless here, but to be so thoroughly ruined, I must say it’s a surprise.”

“That I mistake you for a comrade. We’re mere business rivals… no, competitive rivals. There’s no way I’d be lenient enough to hesitate before attacking the face of someone like you.”

“And aiming for the head has its own merit, doesn’t it? I merely thought, if you could take a shot, you might die,” the newcomer replied, stepping down from the bed, revealing herself.

It was Anastasia, who had been lying down in place of Crusch.

She smoothed her green-dyed waves and returned Capella’s smile, even after having one side of her face scorched.

“I expected more, yet you’re still alive, I see.”

“You’re a rather terrifying woman. Burning a woman’s face without hesitation is not just rational—it’s outright selfish, which is truly my type of rotten meat!”

“I’d hate to be admired by someone like you. I mean, my taste has always leaned toward the hairy and plush, loving types.”

Boldly, Anastasia engaged with the monster Capella. Striding toward Felix, she pulled him up to his feet.

Addressing Felix, who was still teary-eyed, Anastasia said, “That’s enough, right?”

“There’s nothing you can extract. At least, as for the situation with Crusch, we must keep it at bay.”

“…I know. If I’m getting involved in this dangerous gamble, I’m glad to have you along.”

“Given that the responsibility for this rests heavily on my shoulders, it’s mutual.”

Even the best healer in the kingdom, Felix could not heal Crusch at this stage.

There was no other way to save her than to find out what had caused it and what must be done. Anastasia wouldn’t turn down Felix’s plea, either.

It was Anastasia who had invited the candidates to Pristella. And given the current state, she couldn’t refuse Felix’s request.

“After all this, not having garnered anything would be truly disappointing.”

“I feel no guilt towards disappointing you, but wasn’t there any guarantee I’d show up?”

“With Natsuki-kun’s broadcast, right? Hearing that, I thought they’d move.”

Having sent out their main force, with the headquarters being evacuated, there would be no reason for the enemy to stand still and receive the Witch Cult.

Precisely as Capella had claimed.

“Natsuki-kun is quite lacking in preparation on that front.”

It was a potential possibility that her intention was not to denote, but it was reasonable to assume that the assault would likely spring from either the Archbishop of Sin, “Wrath,” or “Lust.”

Therefore, Anastasia set traps in anticipation, allowing the city hall to be assaulted. The real Crusch had long since evacuated herself along with all the other injured.

It was entirely natural that no person would ascend to this floor, for the only ones left in this building were on this top floor and—

“…Hmm, I see. So, witty individuals do exist after all. But don’t underestimate me. Neither that cat-eared individual nor this darling girl here seems ready for a proper fight.”

“A ‘darling girl’ is just a term of endearment. I’m also the eldest among us, you know?”

At Capella’s mocking remark, Anastasia winked.

The spectacle of her confidence stirred feelings of disgust and interest within Capella. Meanwhile, Crusch’s face began to malign again, returning to the childlike visage of Capella.

Surely, no one could have thought that this was the real Capella. But none were surprised when she transformed.

“I’ve decided. I will leave that adorable face intact and turn everything from the neck down into a caterpillar. Let us see if you could still speak back to me after that.”

“That sounds frightening… which is why it’s time for me to go.”

“—――”

At Anastasia’s dismissal, Capella’s intimidating demeanor shifted to confusion.

Anastasia took hold of her green hair and surveyed the room.

“I told you I was waiting for you to arrive. —Then, there’s no way I was just hanging around here without a plan, right?”

Having declared so, Anastasia lightly tapped her toe against the floor.

Two sharp knocks acted like a signal—instantly, the floor beneath Capella cracked, and her small frame fell downward, unable to regain balance.

“Oh dear.”

The base of the room snapped, the floor below opening a corresponding hole.

Continuing her descent, Capella fell down four stories, plunging into a deeper underground space than the first floor.

The sound of splashing followed as Capella’s body burst upon impact.

Thrown unceremoniously onto the cold ground, the child’s body lay crumpled.

Blood erupted from her face, limbs left in a state of destruction. Even so, her mutilated form began to stir, the child undergoing further shapeshifting until she stood once more.

There stood a woman with an alluring presence.

An excessively exposed body clad in scanty attire, long black hair braided elegantly. She radiated a disturbingly captivating aura, filled with an unsettling charm.

Felix and Anastasia neither knew upon whom this form was based. Furthermore, the two remaining on the fourth floor couldn’t even see her transformed appearance.

Hence, there was no one to be shocked at her change.

“Ah, ah, what a joy you’ve bestowed upon me! Hahaha!”

Showing no trace of pain from her near-death experience, Capella let loose a hysterically gleeful laugh. The shrill tone of the giggle hardly matched the image of her changed appearance, spilling throughout the underground chambers of City Hall.

The dim, chilly, damp air wove around this space. This region wasn’t solely a pure basement; it was a section of the waterway network sprawling beneath the city—sorry to say, a maintenance location.

The sound of water flowing somewhere and different breezes swept in from various areas.

“Receiving such a warm welcome! My heart swells with joy that I can freely change sizes. After all, I want to return, embrace you, and retrain you into loving only me…!”

“You won’t make it back.”

“—――”

Before Capella’s blushing plea of excitement came to fruition, someone interrupted her.

A low, muffled, languid male voice.

As Capella raised her gaze, an outline emerged from the darkness of the underground.

The moment Capella laid eyes on him, her expression completely altered. The earlier intoxication vanished, replaced with a distorted face of disdain, glaring at the figure.

“My aesthetics won’t allow for any leniency towards someone trying to mask his own ugliness.”

“Is that so? Relax. My aesthetics have no intention of sparing you, either.”

The lethargic voice responded, letting out a heavy sigh.

And then—

“You heard it upstairs, didn’t you? Your movements were all seen through by our party of misfits. So… no one’s worse than a bastard who thinks he’s better than our lady, huh?”

As he spoke, a rhythmic sound of a sheathe being drawn echoed simultaneously.

A hefty blade emerged from its scabbard, a dull shine mirroring the light coming from the hole above.

Standing there was a one-armed man. A shadow with a black helmet. A bizarre-looking oddity.

The oddity pointed the drawn blue dragon knife at Capella.

“I know it’s early in your welcome, but I’m not in a good mood today. —Before I die, get the hell out of here, you spineless creature.”