Ability Control She still remembered. While sorting through her memories as they walked, Maya breathed a sigh of relief. When the knights were chasing her, she’d used her Pure Concept several times before she’d summoned Sahara. Now she was going over her memories individually to figure out what she’d forgotten in exchange. The process of a Pure Concept–using Otherworlder becoming a Human Error was far from fixed. It varied between individuals. Most of all, the degree of the Pure Concept’s corrosion depended on how much the lost memory had shaped the user’s personality. Parents, siblings, friends, strangers… The more one forgot about the people important to them, the faster their spirit was worn down. As soon as the sense of self that held the memories together disappeared, the process greatly accelerated. When one lost core memories that shaped their consciousness, their character altered, their personality fell apart like an avalanche, and they’d soon be entirely consumed by the Pure Concept. Maya was still fine, for now. She still had her most precious memories. Reassured that she was still herself, Maya raised her head and looked around. Fortunately, she and Sahara had made it to town before the snow worsened. When they were spotted at the roadside checkpoint and a battalion hurried to capture them, Maya was sure the jig was up. However, the search party started slacking off partway through the process. Perhaps something more pressing had occurred, and they hadn’t been able to waste time on Maya and company. That’s what Maya gathered from their exclamations about the knight headquarters and something major happening in town anyway. “Whew. That was one stressful chase.” As for Sahara, she was making a big show of wiping sweat from her brow, as if to demonstrate how hard she’d been working. “That’s the second time we’ve escaped the knights. I got us out of that town when they had us surrounded, and now we’ve slipped through a security checkpoint, too. Our luck even held long enough for us to reach town before the weather turned foul. Not bad, if I say so myself. Maybe you could reward me a little? Like, for instance, removing the curse ring on my finger…” Sahara grinned boastfully and made a bold request, but Maya stared blankly. “Wait…” The town they had just reached was all too familiar. “We came back.” “……” Sahara’s eyes widened as she realized what Maya meant. Then she awkwardly averted her gaze. Maya tugged insistently on the sleeve of Sahara’s habit. “Did you hear me, Sahara? We’re back where we started. This is the town where I left Menou. How did this happen? I thought we were moving forward, not backward. Answer me, Sahara!” “Well, that’s life for you. Three steps forward and two steps back.” “Is that your best excuse?!” “Owie, owie!” Standing on tiptoe, Maya pinched Sahara’s cheeks with both hands. Her short stature meant she pulled down to lift herself up, resulting in some fairly painful punishment. “What are we going to do?! We’ll never make it in time! There’s no way we can get to the meeting place on foot before the deadline now!” “Maybe we should just head back to Grisarika Kingdom, then?” Sahara suggested. “Absolutely not!” Maya exclaimed, furious over Sahara’s open lack of motivation. Two days remained until Hakua’s appointed meeting day. It was a five-day trip to the City of Ruins on foot, no matter how hard they might try. On top of that, it was snowing. Leaving town without any gear for the inclement weather was inviting disaster. Maya’s chance of making the meeting on time was zero. Sahara continued to justify this blunder, looking downright triumphant. “Hey, just think positive. This is for the best. I dunno what you were hoping for, but it was definitely a trap.” “How dare you! You’re just my servant! You don’t get to mouth off to your master like that!” “Well, if you’re my master, maybe you should start providing for me. Then we’ll talk about mouthing off.” “You want a little girl like me to provide for you?! Where is your pride, Sahara?!” “I don’t really care, as long as I get to take it easy… And on that note, Maya. I don’t know if we’ll be able to stay the night anywhere in this town, let alone travel anywhere else.” Maya gulped, swallowing her words. The Fourth hideout had been destroyed, and even if they found somewhere to sleep, their descriptions were undoubtedly circulating through the town. If they strolled around without disguises, they’d be reported before long. They could brave the night outside, but in this weather, they’d be a pair of frozen corpses by morning. At this rate, the two wouldn’t survive the night, much less make it to their destination. “E-excuse me…” As they stood wondering what to do, someone called to them. They turned around and saw a girl. She was older than Maya, but still quite young. She had a newspaper clipping in her hands with portraits of Menou and Sahara. This wasn’t good. The two tensed. This girl obviously recognized Sahara as the governor of the Fourth. If she was an upstanding Commons citizen, she’d call for the local law. “W-wait a minute, please! Miss Flarette saved my life!” As Sahara turned to run without waiting for permission from Maya, the girl hurriedly called out. “P-please let me repay her by offering you shelter!” The local girl, wearing a heavy coat over a jumpsuit, bowed politely. Ants swarmed around unconscious knights in a dilapidated building. These were knights in the town where Maya had summoned Sahara. After the pair had escaped, the knights had strengthened security on the nearby roads, hoping to catch Sahara. Their efforts were soon rewarded when word arrived that the governor of the Fourth had been spotted nearby. The knights prepared to deploy based on the message, determined to catch the fugitive this time, only to be hit by a surprise attack that dashed their hopes. Menou and Abbie were the culprits this time. “Honestly. What bad boys and girls, trying to attack my little sister. If you weren’t youngsters yourselves, I’d strip you down to the bone and have myself a nice little feast of red materials! Bad! Have you learned your lesson?” “They’re all unconscious, Abbie.” The creatures crawling over the knights were insects made of small artificial parts. They were dismantling the knights’ Guiding weapons and carrying them away piece by piece, not to an anthill, but to Abbie’s feet. As a conjured soldier of all three Primary Colors, she was able to absorb the materials they brought into her brown skin. This simultaneously disarmed the knights and replenished Abbie’s resources. Once she’d devoured all their weapons, she patted the gear symbol on her abdomen. “Hmm. Not much, and not great material, either. It’s not nearly enough to make up for the life I lost to that darn Magician, that’s for sure. Big sis isn’t very happy with you kids.” Once she learned that Maya had been lured away to Hakua, Menou’s first course of action was to have Abbie bug the nearest knights’ station in town. Even with Abbie’s advanced enemy-detection abilities, there were only so many insects she could send out in winter without drawing attention. Thus, it was best to spy on enemy groups that already possessed information networks. With her Concept of Original Sin, Maya was bound to cause a commotion eventually. So Menou and Abbie kept watch on the knights and priestesses who would likely be deployed when there was an incident. It was the knights who served as this town’s peacekeepers who discovered Maya first. Menou and Abbie came running right away, but Maya had already left by the time they arrived. Fortunately, they did manage to get some slightly reassuring information. “I’m glad Sahara is with Maya, at least,” Menou said. That’s what the knights had said. Maya must have given up on trying to get around alone and summoned Sahara. It was good news, as far as Menou was concerned. Maya was wanted by local law enforcement, but at least she had someone to help. On the other hand, Abbie didn’t like this news one bit. “This is awful. Just awful. I can’t believe that piece of trash is dragging my cute li’l sis around! An old lady like her forcing a youngster to protect her is just wrong, if you ask me!” “I guess that is one way to look at it…” Menou nodded, although not in actual agreement. She preferred to brush off Abbie’s absurd logic rather than get caught up in another annoying conversation. “Hopefully, Sahara will do some good, but it would still be best if we caught up to Maya ourselves. If she reaches Hakua first, we’ll be in serious trouble.” Menou was worried about more than just Maya putting herself in danger. “Hakua is after Maya’s Pure Concept of Evil. I’m sure of it.” The Pure Concept attached to Maya’s soul was more dangerous than most. Menou wasn’t worried about Evil running wild. Maya had spent the past half a year fearing her own Pure Concept. It was unlikely that she would use it enough to become a Human Error, especially with Sahara around. Even if Evil did take over, Maya was only a pinky finger, sufficiently weak for Menou to handle at her current strength. That wasn’t the true concern. “Abbie. We were only able to stand with Princess Ashuna against the Guardian in Grisarika Kingdom because of you and your forces.” “Heh-heh. I’m not that childish old bat!” Ashuna Grisarika had spearheaded the revolutionary changes in Grisarika Kingdom. However, Abbie and her fellow Primary Color life-forms had greatly impacted the outcome. They were why Grisarika Kingdom now possessed enough military might to ward off Hakua. Conjured soldiers with intelligence were terrifyingly strong and clever. However, Concepts of Primary Colors were weak to Concepts of Original Sin. The Primary Color space that served as the source of the three Primary Colors could be influenced and taken over by a Concept of Original Sin almost just by touching it. It wasn’t even a matter of which was stronger; Concepts of Original Sin simply had a natural advantage. “If Hakua gets her hands on Evil, Grisarika will fall, along with the Mechanical Society.” “See, I told you that you were taking the nature of that polluted monster too lightly. It’s cleansing time! Let’s get rid of her once and for all!” Menou ignored Abbie. Hakua luring Maya to her side could prove fatal for Menou’s goal, too. The Pure Concept of Ivory could mimic other concepts. If Hakua acquired the use of Evil, which was lethally effective against Concepts of Primary Colors, the Mechanical Society conjured soldiers that made up most of Grisarika Kingdom’s defensive force would fall, and Menou’s only base would vanish. If that happened, she and the others would be crushed by the sheer numbers of the Faust before they could ever reach Hakua, no matter what powers they commanded. However, Maya running off on her own wasn’t all bad. Michele was powerful enough to almost certainly defeat Menou and Abbie, and she had enough of an information network to know when they left Grisarika Kingdom. Surely, she could strengthen defenses around the City of Ruin, which would be a worst-case scenario for Menou. She was here to get the Starhusk, so her first and greatest challenge was figuring out a way to get past Michele and her defenses at the only entrance to the City of Ruins. However, Hakua had made that place her rendezvous point with Maya. Michele couldn’t take the strongest option anymore. Instead of waiting there for Menou and Abbie, she had to go on the offensive to keep them away from the City of Ruins. On top of that, Menou’s encounter with Teach had revealed internal strife within the Faust. Michele was rapidly rising in power, but there was a faction of priestesses who refused to support her, mainly former Executioners. Their goal was likely to capture Menou, who’d destroyed the holy land, to improve their standing in the Faust. Menou and Abbie. Maya and Sahara. Michele and Hakua. Teach and the former Executioners. Several factions were in play; perhaps Menou could turn the situation to her favor. “It seems…Maya has returned, for some reason.” Menou raised an eyebrow, as though she didn’t believe her own deduction based on the intel gathered at the knights’ base she and Abbie raided. Maya and Hakua’s meeting place was definitely the entrance to the City of Ruins. Yet Maya and Sahara were backtracking. “Perhaps they got lost? If this means they’ll miss the appointed day, that works out just fine…” “Oh, Menou, you’re such a softie. Why bother trying to rescue someone who was so quick to be led away by a few honeyed words from her former friend?” Abbie’s cold tone didn’t match her usual attitude. “Tell me, li’l sis, what’s the thought process behind trying to save that twerp?” “The thought process…?” “I mean, I don’t want Grisarika Kingdom to fall, either, so I’ll help you get her back for now. But I’m talking about what happens after that.” Abbie snuggled up to Menou while she spoke. “We won’t need her after that, right?” Abbie’s words and faint smile were cold as ice. “You understand how dangerous that creature is, so allow me to tell you the best option: Save her now, then get rid of her.” It was obvious that she meant Menou should kill Maya. Menou stared back at Abbie silently. There was no hesitation in the glittering eyes behind those goggles. “It’d be one thing if the positives outweighed the negatives, but as it stands, it’s nothing but risks. She does whatever she wants. She withholds information. She’s afraid of her own powers, yet if those powers fall into enemy hands, we’ll be in big trouble. Most of all, I don’t like that she acts so frightened of not being worth anything anymore.” Maya’s information from a thousand years earlier had been useful. The fact that she’d recovered from being a Human Error gave Menou hope. But that was all. Maya was just a child who happened to possess a Pure Concept. And Maya was well aware of that. As a child, she couldn’t create more worth for herself. She had no friends or allies in this world. All she could do was dangle information she had from a thousand years ago. “Ugh, I do hate how she demands to be protected even though she’s the older one. Old folks throwing around their so-called cuteness make it harder for adorable youngsters to live their lives. I wish they’d all die. Menou, let’s get one thing straight, okay?” Having explained the logic of risk versus reward, Abbie posed the question to Menou again. “Is she really worth protecting?” “…I admit it was wrong to delay my decision about Maya for six months. You’re absolutely correct.” Abbie’s logic was inarguable. Maya was a thorn in Menou’s side. She was a child and deserved to be protected. Yet she was also an Otherworlder, and Menou felt she had no right to save her. To make matters worse, her history as a former comrade of Hakua’s and her nature as a piece of Pandæmonium placed her in a precarious and important position. Menou couldn’t quite decide which of these factors she should prioritize when dealing with Maya. Most of all, Menou didn’t know how to face the girl who reminded her of her own sins. So all her interactions with Maya were half-hearted. Menou entrusted the girl to Sahara’s care whenever possible. Abbie had said as much before Michele attacked their hideout. “You know, li’l Menou, you’re actually not very empathetic.” She was right. Menou had neglected Maya and her feelings. Everything Menou did was for Akari. She had yet to find a way to bring Akari back now that she’d been consumed by the Pure Concept of Time. If they defeated Hakua, she could use the Star Memory to restore Akari’s mind, but that still left the matter of the Sword of Salt, itself a powerful concept weapon. Menou had asked Momo to look after Akari’s body, which was trapped in time and salt. Momo could be trusted, so Menou focused all her efforts on gaining the power necessary to defeat Hakua. As long as Hakua sought Akari, there was no avoiding a showdown with her. That’s why Menou had made sure to cut Grisarika Kingdom off from the Faust. If she could gain management authority of the Starhusk, she’d have a way to fight Hakua. That’s why Menou had left for the north in the first place. And now, Maya was unintentionally putting all of Grisarika Kingdom in peril. Menou would have to deal with her. But what did Maya want? What was she after? Menou had been so distracted by all the girl’s labels that she’d ignored her feelings. Now it was time to face what Menou had refused to acknowledge all this time. “Once we catch up to Maya, I’ll be sure to talk things out with her properly. You know, Abbie, I still don’t trust you.” “Whaaat? Even though I’m such a nice, helpful, generous big sister?” “And yet you used Akari as part of your camouflage.” Abbie froze in place. Her face was suddenly solid as a mask, lacking even involuntary muscle twitches. It was a very unnatural suspension of movement. Conjured soldiers, particularly intelligent ones like Abbie, could remake themselves and change their forms. However, they couldn’t alter their appearances however they pleased. There were certain conditions. They had to capture whatever they imitated, it was the only way to complete the disguise. “Um, what do you—” “It’s so obvious. Your speech and mannerisms are just like hers. Even your face and figure resemble an adult Akari’s. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t notice?” Menou stared at her coolly. Abbie’s glamorous, curvy frame. The body of a mature adult woman, yet with a certain sweet roundness to the face. Her overly friendly attitude and bright smile. If the sixteen-year-old Akari grew by a few years, she would probably look very much like Abbie. “Since we’re on the subject, let me ask you point-blank. Why do you have Akari as a component of your human disguise?” “Menou…are you mad at me?” “…What a very Akari-like thing to ask.” Menou removed Abbie’s goggles. Without them, her eyes were completely exposed, complete with their black sclerae. Within that darkness were marine-blue irises, glittering so beautifully that anyone who saw them would be tempted to relinquish all of their riches. These eyes made it easy for Menou to recognize that the person before her was a conjured soldier. “Listen, Abbie…or rather, Ability Control, admin of zone twelve of the Mechanical Society, ruler of the skills of the eastern Wild Frontier.” Menou peered straight into those inhuman gemstone eyes. “If you were in the Mechanical Society until we met, if you only ventured into the outside world six months ago, then what’s your connection with Akari? What’s the real reason you made contact with me? While I certainly hope this isn’t the case…did you do anything to Momo?” “Umm…” Abbie turned away at first, then looked back at Menou. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you. It’s connected to why I’m able to exist here as your big sis.” “…I see.” Abbie had just admitted to keeping a secret. At the very least, her confessing that much and not denying a connection to Momo was enough of a show of good faith that Menou relented a little. Menou already had a theory about her own questions anyway. Momo and Akari were likely safe. Menou didn’t know how it had happened, but she was impressed that Momo had found such an incredible hiding place for Akari. “I still have a lot of doubts, but I’ll let you off the hook for now.” “Sheesh. You’re so darn distrustful, Menou…” Ignoring Abbie’s crocodile tears, Menou directed her attention to their surroundings. The pair had laid waste to a knights’ station to draw attention away from Maya and Sahara. The Faust would surely send backup soon. Menou wouldn’t be surprised if Michele herself showed up. “……” Menou considered her best course of action. First and foremost was meeting up with Maya, of course. Menou knew where she was headed. Perhaps it’d be better to wait at the destination indicated by that scripture page than to chase her around. But at this rate, Maya might not reach the City of Ruins entrance at all. In that case, splitting up would be better for her and Abbie. However, something about this predicament still troubled Menou. “I really don’t think Hakua would actually leave the holy land…” Hakua showing her face in the north, where she couldn’t resupply her memories, was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to deal her a serious blow. Menou sank into thought until a cool sensation prompted her to raise her head. “…It’s snowing.” The coldest part of the season had passed already, but winter in the north was far from over. Menou caught a crystalline snowflake in her palm, then closed her fist and melted it. She knew what to do. “We’re going to split up. And on that note, I have a question for you, Abbie.” Menou’s mind was busy formulating a plan to outwit Michele, her current worst enemy. “How much material information do you need to camouflage yourself as someone?” As snow blanketed the town, a lone priestess walked down the road with unsteady footsteps. It was Teach, the leader of the anti-Michele faction of priestesses. She barely noticed the snow beginning to pile up around her as she stewed in her thoughts. An informant had tipped her off to Menou’s next course of action. She’d gathered enough forces. Everything was going smoothly. Even Teach’s own power felt more abundant than usual. “I will… I swear… I will destroy Flarette and restore the honor of the Faust… My sacred duty…” As she muttered darkly to herself, other passersby looked at her and hastily gave her a wide berth. Teach’s focus was so intense that she didn’t even notice the adverse reactions of those around her. Ever since she gathered the priestesses for a secret meeting and formed the anti-Michele faction, she’d been in such rare form that it was almost bizarre. It felt as if there were eyes and ears all over her body. Her senses were sharpened to the extreme, yet she also felt so tough that the piercing cold didn’t bother her. What Teach didn’t realize was that there really were eyeballs sprouting and earholes opening all over her skin underneath her robes. Her brain was on overdrive to the point that her synapses might burn out as she analyzed the situation around Menou and her allies. “Sahara showed up… Surely she can’t have a long-distance teleportation device… Then it must be a summoning. An Original Sin Conjuring… So the child who was spotted before her must be…and Flarette is chasing her? No, that doesn’t seem… In which case… I see. If she has a conjured soldier with her…” Within moments, Teach had determined the details of Menou’s complicated plotting. Her mind was terrifyingly clear. It was as if she were back in her prime, or perhaps even better. Right now, she wouldn’t lose to anyone. Unaware of the increasingly grotesque changes in her body, Teach sent a signal to her comrades through a scripture communication conjuring as she walked. She would take on Flarette and her Pure Concepts, and even Michele and her freakish strength. A sense of overwhelming power filled Teach with baseless confidence in her own victory. “I see through their plans now… If she’s alone… With all these priestesses on my side…we could crush Flarette to a pulp using numbers alone…” Hah! She thought she heard a mocking laugh. “…!” Teach whirled around. However, the tall red-haired priestess was nowhere to be found. All she saw was the powerless Commons citizens, watching her erratic behavior with a mixture of suspicion and fear. Teach was just hearing things, but she couldn’t differentiate between illusion and reality anymore. “Is this still not enough…Flare?” She squinted, trying to see what wasn’t there. There was no response, of course. Still, Teach understood as if there had been. This plan, with her power at its prime and a gathering of average priestesses, would not be enough to defeat Flarette. The haunting laughter told her that all that wasn’t sufficient to prove the value of Executioners. Teach ground her teeth loudly. The woman laughed at her because she lacked sufficient strength. And if she didn’t have enough, she would have to find more. The scar on her cheek throbbed. Teach entered a cheap hotel. There, she found some white-robed priestesses who were her former students. Foolishly enough, they were trying to join that Inquisitor’s heretical band. They were traitors to the name of Executioners and hadn’t answered Teach’s summons. “Teach? Where have you—” “You…” They had power. If their opinions differed from hers, she only had to make them the same. Executioners had value. They were the ones who’d kept peace in the world for so long. She couldn’t let Executioners come to an end. Teach reached out toward them. The students gasped as the countless eyeballs on her arm spun to look at them. She couldn’t grab them all with her hands alone. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, her arm naturally split open into two halves. Jagged teeth lined the newly formed opening. The giant mouth on her arm opened wide and swallowed one of the white-robed priestesses whole. Teach wasn’t even aware that she had just killed a former subordinate. In her mind, she had simply brought her under her command. After a few minutes, the screams fell into silence. The only person who emerged from the room was a lone priestess in indigo robes. Teach’s power had swelled to even greater heights. It was as though she’d been filled with three times her normal strength, and with her mind sharpened to process multiple thoughts at the same time, she felt capable of predicting the future. She had found an answer to her lack of strength. “I see… Just chasing Flarette isn’t enough… Michele…that damned little upstart! How dare she do this to me, to the pride of Executioners, curse herrrrrr!” At this point, her volume had gone from muttering to shouting as she stalked the streets. More and more, the people who saw Teach on the streets stared at her in outright horror or disgust. “Huff, huff… Damn yooou… I won’t let you ever…get your wayyyy!” With the Original Sin Conjuring taking over her mind and body, Teach narrowed her eyes with contempt and stormed out of the city, heedless of the falling snow. Snow piled on the ground in earnest. A coat of pure white blanketed the town. Streets grew quiet as the air turned icy. Sahara watched the scene from inside a certain conjuring workshop. It was warm inside. A Guiding heating vessel heated the room, and the double windows and densely insulated walls of a structure designed for a snowy region prevented heat from escaping. While enjoying this modern convenience, Sahara spoke. “Are you sure about this? We’re considered criminals by most, you know.” “Yes, of course.” The girl who nodded in reply couldn’t have been older than twelve or thirteen. She wore a matching jumpsuit as she held out a newspaper extra she must have acquired somewhere. “I won’t let this biased reporting fool me!” Her rather determined expression shifted to one of slight embarrassment, although hope shone in her eyes as she looked at Sahara. “So, um… Eh-he-he. If you wouldn’t mind, Miss Governor of the Fourth, would you please tell Miss Flarette about me?” “………” Menou was making a mess of things again. The girl shyly pressed her forefingers together, and Sahara cursed inwardly. No wonder Master Flare once said that Menou’s only valuable asset was her pretty face. What kind of impression had she made on this girl at such an emotionally tender age? It was downright terrifying how Menou won people over even more with unintentional encounters than with intentional acting. But if she could save herself by wielding Menou’s influence and giving a little promise, she would gladly do so. Sahara reassured herself that she wasn’t the one who’d tricked this girl, despite taking advantage of her kindness. “Thank you. And hey, since you saved me, I’m sure Menou will be happy to do you a huge favor.” “Really?! O-oh my goodness! A huge favor… You mean like…” “Oh, sure, whatever you want, probably. So would you mind helping us get out of town? We’re trying to get to the City of Ruins. If you help us, we’ll thank you by doing anything you want. And by we, I mean Menou.” “Did you say anything? Wait—the City of Ruins?” When she heard Sahara’s intended destination, the girl blinked in surprise. “I’d really like to help…but it depends what my boss says.” “That’s fine.” A short statement of approval came from beyond the door. The boss of the workshop entered the room. “Are you really going into the Wild Frontier? What’s this so-called sightseeing Flarette mentioned really about? You were in Grisarika Kingdom, right? That’s close to the Mechanical Society, and there are better resources to be found there.” “It really is just to sightsee, I swear. I’ve always wanted to see the world’s most intact remains of a city from the ancient civilization, or whatever.” Sahara lied smoothly. Recognizing this, the boss simply nodded and didn’t press further. “I see. Well, you’re in luck. We load packages onto the train heading toward the City of Ruins almost every day. I’ll make a false bottom for you two to hide in. Ride the freight train for half a day, and you’ll arrive at the nearest drop-off point.” “Much appreciated…but your help won’t come free, right?” The boss likely wasn’t nearly as naive as the jumpsuit-clad girl who’d first come to Sahara and Maya’s aid. Sure enough, the man had a price. “Help me get settled when I go to the east.” “The east? You’re moving to Grisarika?” “That’s the plan.” “Hmm.” Sahara didn’t ask why he was moving. She looked around the workshop. Amid the Guiding vessels that the Commons used every day for things like heat and lighting, there were a few devices with technology that only barely stayed within regulation. Inner seals with multiple crests, textbooks that hinted at advanced knowledge of materialogy… There were no obvious violations, but these things stood right on the border. They were bound to attract the Faust’s attention. He’d be able to conduct much deeper research in a place where they couldn’t keep watch on him. If a conjuring engineer with interest in combining advanced materialogy and crestology said he wanted to go to the east, where regulations were being abolished, he was probably telling the truth. “No problem. You can use my name as much as you want when you get to Grisarika Kingdom,” Sahara replied. This was an easy enough request for her to grant. If this man made it to the east on his own, she could just get someone else to help him. Ideally, Sahara would drop the work right in Menou’s lap. Upon hearing her boss’s plans, the girl in the jumpsuit raised her hand and hopped up and down. “Me too! I’m going, too! Grisarika Kingdom is Miss Flarette’s home base, isn’t it?!” “Uh, hang on…,” the boss said. “You can’t be serious, right? What about your family?” “When I became your apprentice, my mother said not to come back until I’m fully fledged! So it’ll be a field trip to help me get more fledged!” “Damn, your old lady’s got guts!” Evidently, the apprentice girl had won this argument. Sahara turned her back on the negotiation between teacher and student, holding a steaming mug in both hands. If this taciturn engineer and his weird little apprentice came to Grisarika Kingdom…and if Menou happened to meet them…she would certainly be thrown for a loop. Picturing Menou’s perturbed expression, Sahara blissfully wandered up to the second floor. Maya was out on the veranda on the second floor. The snow fell in greater quantities with each moment. All she could see in front of her was white. As she gazed at the pure ivory scene, she couldn’t help but think of someone—Maya’s hero, who had the same face as Menou. Hakua Shirakami. A thousand years ago, she had betrayed them. Yet now she claimed she wanted to see Maya. Sahara said it had to be a trick. Maya herself was half-certain that Hakua was up to no good. That’s why she’d come up with something to do about it, a method of exacting revenge on this world that had constantly betrayed her. “But…what if…” Maya had thought she’d made up her mind, yet still couldn’t totally give up on the one-in-a-million chance. What if Hakua had some secret reason that would allow Maya to forgive her? Perhaps things could even be like the old days? Maya wanted to believe such a truth existed, even though she knew it didn’t. She stood awhile on the snowy veranda. Her body didn’t feel the cold. Her breath didn’t come out white. These small but unmistakable qualities served as reminders. Ah, right. I’m not really human anymore. Maya was no longer qualified to go back to Japan. She was painfully aware of how different she was. Now that her body was no longer human, she could truly never return to her old world. “…Not that I have any reason to go back anyway.” The bitter smile on her lips was far too familiar. Even if she managed to reach Japan, no one awaited her. The mother she’d sacrifice anything to see again wasn’t there. This wasn’t like a thousand years ago, when Maya was desperate to get back to a place where she felt needed. The world that needed Maya was gone, and the part of herself that had become a Human Error was still coiled in the south. She hummed a tune quietly. Not a lullaby, of course. It was an up-tempo song that had been popular when Maya was in Japan. She still remembered the choreography, too. She’d loved singing. And dancing. Maya became a child star when she was little, and her mother was delighted when she appeared in a movie. While her mother was excited that her daughter might grow up to be an actress, Maya longed to be a pop idol. She wanted to be one of those shining stars who were adored for their cuteness. She never even got the chance to admit that to her mother and argue about it. “That’s a nice song.” The double window that looked out on the veranda opened. It was Sahara. Maya stopped humming and turned to look. Sahara’s breath came out white. “You’re not cold?” Unlike Maya, Sahara was layered up for the wintry weather. “In this snow, you’ll catch more than a fever dressed like that, you know. You could seriously freeze to death.” “I’m not cold.” For once, Maya wasn’t just putting on a brave face. “Ever since coming to this world, I don’t feel that kind of thing anymore.” The Pure Concept of Evil that Maya gained when she was summoned here adhered more to her body than her soul. She hardly felt any difference in temperature. Her body was so adapted for Concepts of Original Sin that her health was always perfect. She never got sick in the slightest. In fact, Maya didn’t even get hungry. Whether she ate or not had no effect on her life span. Even the advanced Guiding Force technology of a thousand years ago couldn’t solve the mystery of how Maya’s self-summoning method of sustaining herself actually worked. As compensation for being immune to most discomforts, Maya lost most of her physical senses, too. There were countless researchers who fixated on this physical nature of Maya’s Pure Concept and searched for a way to use it to their advantage. “I see.” Not knowing any of this, Sahara simply accepted that Maya could function in the freezing cold wearing only a one-piece dress and a kimono. “So what are you gonna do now?” “………” Maya fell silent. She wasn’t ignoring Sahara. She just didn’t know how to answer. By accidentally backtracking, they had gotten farther away from their destination, the entrance to the City of Ruins. It was impossible to make up the distance on foot now. If Maya summoned a monster for travel, it would probably cause an uproar like it did in the previous town. Besides, she didn’t want to use up any more memories with her Pure Concept right now. It wasn’t time to use it, not yet. “…I’ll take my chances on the Guiding train. At least I’ll make it to Hakua in time that way.” “I don’t think that’s a great idea.” Sahara handed Maya a mug of hot cocoa. While Maya’s sense of touch had changed the most, her taste had been altered substantially, too. The only flavor that came through anymore was sweetness. That’s why Maya had eaten nothing but sweets since arriving in this world. The Starhusk that floated in the sky was visible even in the snow. It let off a faint glow of Guiding Light and stood out through the white haze, making the scene look even more mystical. Presently, the situation revolved around that thing and its strength. Unlike Maya, who’d been shunned because of her weakness. That’s why she’d decided to separate from Menou and move on her own, to get the jump on everyone and prove them wrong. “Do you have any bright ideas, Sahara?” “Well, we can sneak onto the freight train. Apparently, there are lots of material transport lines running to the center of the northern continent.” “What?! Your plan’s no better than mine, then.” “Excuse you. I already talked to the boss-man here. He says he can smuggle us on with his packages.” Unlike Maya, who’d picked a last-ditch effort, Sahara had a strategy in place. Maya pouted. “…If you already had that much figured out, then why did you ask for my ideas? I would have praised you if you’d just come out and said so in the first place.” “Well, I was kinda hoping you might give up and call the whole thing off,” Sahara responded bluntly. Since Sahara had been summoned into this whole situation against her will, she had no motivation to continue this journey in the first place. She wasn’t interested in Menou and Maya’s quest for the Starhusk, let alone Maya’s impromptu solo outing into what was most definitely a trap. “I want to go back east as soon as possible. Let Menou handle the big search for the Astrologer in the City of Ruins. We can hide out here for a while, then head back to Grisarika Kingdom as soon as things cool off. And ignore that sketchy invite of yours. See? Solves all our problems.” “If you’re so set on going home, then leave. I have something I need to do.” “You’re the one who summoned me, Maya. You can’t turn around and tell me to go now.” “How dare you…” Sahara’s deeply irresponsible words set off a sudden flare of emotion that surprised even Maya. “How can you say things like that to me when you didn’t save Manon while you had the chance?!” Sahara’s eyes widened at this unexpected accusation. “Manon said you were her friend, Sahara! Why didn’t you stop her when she went to the holy land?! What she did… It was obvious she was going to get herself killed!” “Hey, now…” It didn’t make sense to blame that on Sahara. She opened her mouth to snap back in annoyance at the unreasonable claim, but her voice got stuck in her throat. Tears were pouring down the cheeks of the little girl in front of her. Maya…was crying. “If only she was still here…then I—I wouldn’t be alone! There used to be someone who needed me, and now she’s gone!” Sahara couldn’t reply. The silence turned painful. “…Let me ask you one thing, while we’re on the subject,” Sahara said quietly while the snow continued to fall. “Maya… how much do you remember from when you were a Human Error?” Human Errors were what happened when an Otherworlder used up all of their memories, their original personality fell away, and they acted based solely on the Pure Concept that ruled their soul. Just as Pandæmonium was nothing like Maya, Maya likely didn’t retain any awareness of when she was a Human Error. But there were signs that Maya did recall some of her actions when she was Pandæmonium’s pinky finger. “…Almost nothing.” Were Maya burdened with a thousand years’ worth of memories as Pandæmonium, she would’ve had an immediate mental breakdown. The inside of the Pandemonium fog barrier in the south was essentially hell itself. No human mind could handle memories of living in the midst of horrific monsters for a millennium. “But when my memories came back…Manon’s memories came with them.” Sahara nodded. That explains it, she thought. Maya had reclaimed her memories of a thousand years ago, and of the time when Manon was with Pandæmonium. “I see. Well, I don’t know if we were friends, but I definitely didn’t dislike Manon or anything.” “Then why—” “But I also didn’t think it was my job to help her.” Manon Libelle, the girl who wore a kimono that made her look Japanese, had known her life was broken. Yet she’d never hesitated to get others involved in that broken, twisted life. “Because she didn’t seem like she needed help.” Manon hadn’t acted like she valued her own life, either. Why did a girl who’d been willing to drag everyone into her schemes and plunge the world into chaos risk her life to restore Pandæmonium, albeit just her pinky finger, to sanity? Sahara didn’t understand. Either way, it was probably for the best that Maya and Manon never met. Maya was a very normal little girl. She likely wouldn’t have been able to tolerate Manon’s appetite for destruction. Sahara knew this firsthand after just a little bit of interaction with Manon. That girl had been devoted to Pandæmonium, not Maya. Sahara drained the rest of her now-cold cocoa. The remaining powder that hadn’t quite dissolved clung to the bottom in a sticky sludge. “Maya, why are you going to meet the Lord, Hakua Shirakami? You don’t really believe that she wants to make amends, do you?” “Not really. I’m sure she’s just trying to trick me.” “Then why?” “I want…” Maya gripped the sleeves of her kimono. To her, it was a memento of someone with whom she shared a deep bond. Their connection was like a last thread of hope in this world where she had nowhere left to turn. “…I want to be needed.” She wanted to be loved. To be showered with praise. To be told that she was needed, that no one else would do. Maya had clung to that wish for more than a thousand years, even before she was summoned here. All she could do to stave off her loneliness was keep moving. A thousand years ago, she’d wanted to return to the mother who loved and needed her. But she knew now that her mother was long dead. If she let the loneliness catch up to her, she wouldn’t be able to move. Which was why, when Hakua beckoned her, she resolved to see her out of necessity. “There’s no world for me to return to…so I’m going to prove that this world needs me by meeting with Hakua.” She had to do this while she could still move. “…I see.” Sahara’s eyes wandered. What was she supposed to say at a time like this? Unable to find an answer, she looked away instead. Sahara wasn’t used to these kinds of heart-to-hearts with other people. She’d never loved anyone, never complimented someone and actually meant it, and never needed anyone else. The only thought that came to mind was the escapist notion that Menou would probably say just the right thing if she were here. The snow kept falling as if to fill the silence of their lapsed conversation, to fill the yawning gap between them.
Chapter 114
38 min read