Using the senses of the Misty Lodge, I discovered Hibiya Kouji’s presence. When I relayed this to the pursuit force, the exploration team members were shocked. From their perspective, he was a comrade who’d gone missing during the Colony’s fall, as well as a nicknamed cheater of the upper brass. They’d probably never expected him to be among those they were chasing. That said, it was best to prevent that shock from turning into dismay.
“Well, once we catch him, we’ll hear his story.”
It was none other than their leader, Nakajima, who casually brushed aside the conversation. Seeing how he wasn’t perturbed in the least, the exploration team members regained their composure. Thanks to their leader’s example, even as we encountered guardian giants every now and then, they calmly dealt with the attacks. They were getting used to the presence of constant danger. I didn’t even need to warn them by using the Misty Lodge to watch our surroundings. I could focus entirely on guiding them.
Personally, I’d been worried that Hibiya Kouji would pose a considerable threat, but that fear had proved to be unwarranted: Kudou’s army had defeated him. Also, Jinguuji and Kudou hadn’t ended up joining forces, so that was a relief. Berta had predicted such an outcome, so we hadn’t wasted any unnecessary time coming up with countermeasures. The wolf was brooding, troubled by lingering thoughts of her king.
“I see. That’s what happened between Kudou and Hibiya,” I commented.
“Yes. I doubt my king has forgotten Todoroki Miya’s death.”
It seemed fate had played a major role in the battle between Kudou and Hibiya. I’d been focused on guiding the group through this fabricated world while watching for ambushes and neutralizing traps, so I’d only heard their conversation in fragments. It seemed Todoroki had died during the Colony’s fall and Hibiya had been responsible for it. Berta’s story also supported this.
This information bothered me. After all, the Beast of Darkness Todoroki Miya and the Absolute Blade Hibiya Kouji had stayed behind to protect the Colony during the expedition force’s absence. However, according to Fukatsu Aketora, the boy accompanying Thaddeus of Draconia, the majority of the emergency response force those two had been a part of had been killed in the early stages of the chaos. It had been best to assume some trouble had occurred, but with this new information, it was now clear that Hibiya Kouji had murdered them. What’s more, he’d vanished since then and had reappeared here of all places.
Maybe the Colony hadn’t simply fallen apart. What had really happened that day? It was highly likely Hibiya was the key to getting answers about the last days of the Colony. It wasn’t quite what Nakajima had alluded to, but if we caught him, it could be possible for us to learn the truth.
However, this had to be handled with care. If they knew that two of their upper brass had tried to kill each other during the Colony’s fall, the exploration team members would be shaken to their core. Fortunately, such details had no direct relation to this operation, so there was no need to go out of my way to tell them. I could find the right time to consult Nakajima and leave the decision to him.
“At any rate, thanks for the information,” I told Berta.
“It’s nothing. I’m doing it for my king’s sake, after all,” she said with what appeared to be a smile.
Jinguuji’s group, Kudou’s army, the exploration team, and the church’s forces—each one was driven by different motives, making the situation rather complicated. The exploration team and the church were acting to stop Jinguuji from destroying the Dimensional Cornerstones. Kudou was hostile to Jinguuji, so his interests were aligned with the exploration team in stopping Jinguuji’s apocalyptic quest. However, Kudou’s methods were bound to be drastic. This was especially the case against Hibiya. The exploration team felt camaraderie with Jinguuji and Hibiya on an emotional level, so it was possible they would be hostile toward Kudou.
The complicated mix of interests and sentimentality meant there was no room for guesswork here. We needed to understand the situation so that we could handle anything that happened. That was why Berta had told us her story. However, after listening to her, one point didn’t make sense.
“Hey Berta? Can I ask something?” I said.
“What?”
“How do you...know about Todoroki Miya’s death?”
I wasn’t doubting her or anything. I just found it strange. Berta knew about how Todoroki Miya had died. If her death was the main driving force behind Kudou’s ambitions, I doubted he would’ve told someone he only saw as a pawn about it.
“It’s simple,” Berta replied calmly, perhaps expecting this question. “I was there. So I know. That’s all.”
“You were there...?”
I needed a second to figure that out. Once I did, I gulped. Her admission carried grave implications.
“So, Kudou awakened to being the Demon King because of Todoroki’s death, and you became his servant right then? In other words, you’re Kudou’s first servant?”
It was surprising, but now that I thought about it, it wasn’t impossible. Kudou should’ve awakened to his power after the Colony’s fall, right around the time of Todoroki Miya’s death. If Berta had been his servant at the time, it wouldn’t be strange for her to know about the details between Kudou and Todoroki. Everything was consistent. However, there was one thing that didn’t make sense.
“But Berta... You were the second to be given a name, weren’t you?”
By the phonetic code being used, Berta was the second name. She was the first, but the second. This sounded like a contradiction to me, but not to Berta.
“It isn’t all that complicated,” she said. “My king doesn’t generally give his subordinates names. You know the condition that has to be met before he does, right?”
That was when I figured it out too.
“Having enough power to be given a name...”
“Exactly.”
“So you...”
“Yes. At the time, I had no potential. That was why I wasn’t given a name.”
The way Kudou treated his servants differed completely from the way I treated mine. In Kudou’s case, it was only natural that his first servant wasn’t the first to be given a name. What had made things complicated was that he’d ended up giving her a name later.
“Though I was his first servant, I wasn’t given a name at the time due to my weakness,” Berta continued. “I dedicated myself to gaining enough strength to serve him properly. By then, Anton had already surpassed me and earned our king’s favor. That’s why I was given the name Berta.” Her tone dropped a level. “I couldn’t become Anton... To me, the name Berta is proof of my powerlessness and worthlessness.”
Her words were filled with regret. I could easily infer that this wasn’t simply because she hadn’t been the first to be given a name. This regret definitely had something to do with her clumsy and innocent nature.
“Majima Takahiro,” she said, still running as we talked. “Earlier, you said I became his servant when he awakened as the Demon King and I was his first servant. That’s only half right.”
“Only half?”
“The latter half is correct, but the former isn’t.”
I was confused for a moment. The two sounded like the same thing. Berta’s next words surpassed my imagination.
“I came under my king’s command before he was the Demon King.”
“What?”
“He didn’t gain power when he decided to walk down the path of the Demon King. Having escaped the Colony, he refused to give up. He struggled to survive in the Woodlands. That was when I became his servant.”
I fell silent for a few seconds. I couldn’t process what she was telling me. It was far too different from what I’d heard before.
“Wait. Isn’t that weird?” I said. “That’s inconsistent with what Kudou told me.”
Kudou had told me about his origins during the attack on Fort Tilia. He’d despaired at how weak and hideous humanity was, had wished to destroy the world, and had obtained the power to dominate monsters as the Demon King. It was strange for Berta to have become his servant before then. What was going on?
“It’s because I wasn’t strong enough,” Berta answered lightly. I could sense the same remorse as when she lamented her perceived inadequacy. “Back then, when he struggled through the forest on his own, he sought me. His meeting with Todoroki Miya had apparently changed his life. He was still small and weak, but he clawed tooth and nail to try and change himself. When I sensed him, I felt joy in my heart. His existence was so precious to me. Attracted by that still-unreliable connection, I hurried to his side.”
As she spoke of her memories, her tone suddenly shifted to a bitter one.