He had an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
Deep down, that was who he really was, and it was this quality that set him apart from the Eight Great Apostles.
The Apostles had wished to use the calamity.
Talisman simply wished to know everything about it.
“That’s how I know his goal was to study the calamity. Though he did want to use it, too. You may decide for yourself what that means.”
“Then what about you?”
Still holding their knee, the beastperson narrowed their eyes. They had the eyes of an animal—of a predator sizing up its prey and whetting its claws.
“What do you intend to do? I want to know how you currently feel about the calamity.”
“…”
The Hydra princess was silent. Lord Yunmelngen observed her from head to toe, watching every split second of subtle emotion that showed on her face.
“To be honest, it is Elletear who I truly detest, not the calamity.”
“Until now, right?”
“I suppose.”
When the Lord spoke up as though to test her, Mizerhyby let out a sigh.
“I never wanted to see my uncle in such a wretched state. If that was the power of the calamity, then I wish it would vanish from this planet forever.”
“Hmm… That works, then.”
The beastperson nodded and leisurely let their knee relax. They crossed their legs, making themself comfortable.
“That’s it for the bothersome questions. I’d like to move on to the main topic at hand. Do you need an explanation for why we’ve called you here?”
“No,” Mizerhyby said, without missing a beat.
She raised the restraints on her wrists, as though to show them off.
“You let me live because I’m valuable to you. You need my power in order to defeat Elletear and the calamity, correct?”
“Are you opposed to this?”
“You think I can afford to be picky?”
Everyone here knew Princess Mizerhyby had to do as the Lord told her. She had struck a deal with Newton for the Empire to heal Lord Talisman and Vichyssoise, but they were prisoners of war. And so Mizerhyby’s only option was to agree to everything. However…
“The issue is them, isn’t it?”
Mizerhyby whipped around. One at a time, she looked at Iska, Nene, Jhin, and Captain Mismis, who all stood in a line behind her, smiling coldly, as if appraising them.
“The Imperial forces consider me a dangerous witch. Can you really trust me? Will you really put your fates in my hands, Imperial soldiers? If the fight against Elletear goes sour, I may tuck tail and run—”
“We could say the same,” Iska interrupted Mizerhyby before she could finish. “I think we should be the ones asking if you can trust us, Mizerhyby. Did you ever consider that when we face Elletear and the calamity, we might just leave you behind and withdraw?”
“Tsk.”
“You haven’t said it, but you’re already prepared for it, aren’t you? You’ve decided not to run.”
“…”
A long, long silence followed.
As everyone continued to stare at Mizerhyby, the corners of her lips suddenly lifted.
“Well, that’s what the Imperial soldiers have said, but what about you? Do you think you can work with me?”
She looked at Alice and Kissing, holding the two princesses in her gaze and sneering almost provocatively at them.
“I don’t want any empty platitudes. While we are all royalty, the Hydra, Zoa, and Lou have not worked together a single time in the past century. We’ve only ever thought about how to defeat each other when deciding on the next queen. Can you trust me?”
“We don’t need to.”
The reply was prompt and clear. Kissing, who had been silent until that moment, had spoken up.
“We don’t need to work together closely or trust each other. The only reason you are here, Mizerhyby, is so you can use your astral power to strengthen Aliceliese and me.” She slowly shook her head. “Once you’ve served your purpose, we won’t need you anymore. You can hide after we’re done with you.”
“You truly speak everything on your mind,” the Hydra princess said.
“However…” The Zoa princess held out her hand, as though urging the Hydra princess to shake it. “If you truly wish to put forth a joint effort, I am in support. Just as we did when facing Lord Talisman.”
“……Ugh.”
“And I should add that even if we are enemies, it’s not as though we can’t work together. In fact, I—”
Kissing turned around.
At some point, a rough-looking female Imperial soldier—Mei, the Saint Disciple of the third seat—had come to stand in the entrance of the Lord’s chambers, her arms crossed.
“That Imperial soldier over there shot at me several thousand times,” Kissing said. “And though she’s my sworn enemy, and my heart was heavy at the prospect, I joined hands with her to aid the Empire.”
“What? You’re the one who came after me with your thorns, little witch,” Mei rebutted.
“And the Imperial forces were the ones who invaded the Sovereignty,” Kissing shot back.
“Like you can talk,” Mei replied. “You were happy as a clam when you came to fight us.”
“That may be true, but—”
“Oh? So you admit it.”
For whatever reason, they started to argue.
Meanwhile…
“Me too…” Alice let out a light sigh.
Her awkward smile was all the more conspicuous as she stood next to the bickering soldier and princess.
She continued, “I’m used to working with Imperial soldiers now, even though they were our enemies.”
The key word was were. It carried so much meaning.
Just as that thought came to Iska, another person spoke up.
“It truly does baffle me.” Mizerhyby looked up dramatically at the ceiling.
Then she stared at the restraints on her wrists. A forced smile broke out on her face.
“Since when were the Empire and Sovereignty so chummy?”
“You may find yourself in the same position.” The beastperson chuckled. “You don’t need to become our allies; we just ask that you work with us.”
“We can’t wait for that.”
Mizerhyby held up her hands. She seemed to be asking them to take off her restraints.
“We don’t have the time to strike up an alliance. Elletear is already headed to the planet’s core. We must get to her before that monster makes contact with the calamity.”
“Yes, that’s exactly right.”
The Lord folded their arms, staring at a wall. Everyone else likely knew what the Lord was staring at. They were looking in a specific direction.
“Will the Sovereignty make a move? The Empire may be ready to, but are they willing to make the call?”
They needed a ceasefire. The Imperial forces were going to dedicate all their resources to heading into the planet’s core, leaving the Imperial capital as good as defenseless. If the Sovereignty were to attack, it would all come to naught.
Because of that…
“Rin, my comm, please.”
As everyone watched, Alice took her communications device from her attendant, Rin.
“I will speak to Her Majesty. Attempting a complicated negotiation would waste time.”