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The curse clings to my entire body. Even with my high resistance, it manages to restrict my movement.
If Felnoute-san were to be hit by something like this, she wouldn’t stand a chance. Not only would she be unable to move a single finger, but her very consciousness would be stripped away.
Even I feel so exhausted that I can’t even bring myself to move my mouth.

“Pain, pain…go away.”

But that’s as far as it goes.
No matter how much it clings to me, if I just dispel it with a healing spell, it’s no big deal. Phew, that feels better.

“Arje… Are you okay now?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”

To be honest, my body still feels a little lightheaded, but I can’t just keep acting like a baby.
Felnoute-san saved me without a second thought for her own safety. Given that, I can’t just stand by and watch her in danger.

I take a replacement for my torn clothes out of the Blood Box. Now that my kimono is gone, the only thing I have to wear is a maid’s uniform, so that’s what I’ll wear.
Normally, I don’t really mind showing some skin, but I’d really rather avoid exposing myself in front of those sticky stares.

“…You’re back up pretty quickly, Argento.”
“It might be thanks to this space.”

I was still quite exhausted when I broke free from my restraints, but the moment I stepped into this space in pursuit of Felnoute-san, I started to feel a little better.
It’s probably thanks to the crimson magic circle glowing at the ground. I’d say it’s designed to enhance vampires.

“It doesn’t matter even if you’ve come here, you’ll never beat me, you know?”
“That’s true. As things stand now, probably not.”

I’m simply using my power as it is.
Elsie doesn’t just use her power—she uses it strategically.
There’s a saying, “Softness overcomes hardness,” and that’s exactly right.
The person standing before me isn’t someone I can defeat by blindly wielding my power.

And even knowing that, there’s nothing I can do about it right away.
I’m overwhelmingly lacking in experience. I don’t think any last-minute tricks or half-baked schemes will be very effective.
Still—there’s one move I can think of.

“Felnoute-san, could you step back for a moment?”
“Huh!? W-wait a minute! Isn’t that usually the point where you offer to team up!?”
“I know, but… I don’t know how this is going to turn out either.”

I really can’t bring myself to drag someone I know into such an uncertain situation.
There’s no guarantee that what I’m about to do will work out. I just hope she’ll be of some help.
Elsie seemed to sense something was up from the look on my face and asked,

“You’re still holding a card in your hand, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know if it’ll be a hit or a miss, though.”

I pulled a sword out of the Blood Box.
It was a gift from Oswald-kun, the minotaur I met in the forest on the outskirts of the Kingdom.

It’s apparently an Artifact, a special tool that unleashes its power through a contract with its owner, but its effects are unknown. That’s because I haven’t made a contract with it yet.

*Sheen*—the sound of the sword’s guard resonated with a somewhat solemn tone.

“Arje, that… why do you have an Artifact like that!?”
“I don’t know what kind of abilities it has… but if I don’t try everything I can think of, I’ll definitely be no match for that person.”

Felnoute-san seems terribly surprised. Maybe she knows something about this sword.
I’m tempted to ask her, but time is of the essence. I’d better get this contract over with quickly.

I don’t actually know how to make a contract with an Artifact, but I have a vague sense of it.
Just by holding it, I could strangely sense what the blade in my hand was seeking.

“I offer you my mana.”

I spoke the words and channeled my mana into the sword.
The sword glowed in my hand, its light trembling with joy and growing hot, as if trying to merge with me.

……Is this a memory?

Memories belonging to someone other than myself began to flow into my mind.
They weren’t vivid; they were terribly fragmented.
Someone covered in blood, smiling amidst it all. And a rage so intense it seemed to make even tears evaporate.
Two blades forged with such meticulous care, as if licking up the spilled blood, were born.

“……Dreaming Water Lily.”

The moment I called out the name that had naturally come to mind, I felt this sword and I became completely connected.
Now, this sword—Dreaming Water Lily has become mine.
The contract has been properly sealed.

“How ironic.”

Having learned—albeit in fragments—the reason this sword was forged, I mutter to myself.
The person who created this forged it to eradicate beings like me—entities whose very form is ambiguous.
Swinging the hammer with malediction imbued in every single blow, tempering the blade with rage, they still hated the demons.
Praying only for revenge, that he might kill the one who took his beloved, he gave birth to this blade like a tear from a heart burning with hatred. He cast aside even the compassion he felt for the one he had lost.

Of the two swords forged, one now lies in my hand—in the hand of a vampire, surely one of the very things the smith sought to kill.

“But a tool is just a tool.”

Even if the blacksmith who forged this never intended it, the fact that my hand now grips this blade and has sealed a contract cannot be undone.

As if the sword itself were teaching me, I naturally understand the power of Dreaming Water Lily.
Fortunately, with this ability, I should be more than capable of standing up to Elsie.
For this is a blade meant to put illusions—the formless, the endless—to eternal sleep.

“Here I come.”

My body has fully recovered. Perhaps thanks to the magic circle at my feet, I feel even lighter than usual.
I put all my strength into that first step and accelerate, reaching top speed in an instant.

“Huh…!?”
“It’ll probably hurt a little.”

My goal isn’t to take her life. The attack isn’t aimed at a fatal spot, but at a spot sufficient to incapacitate her—the arm.
With speed so extreme it left even the wind in the dust, I sent the blade hurtling forward.

“Mist Form…!!”

Realizing she had no choice but to make an emergency evasion, Elsie transformed her body into mist.
As I watched her dissipate into golden mist, I wondered if I’d turn silver when I vaporized—then, as if to dispel the golden mist, I swung my blade with all my might.

“――!?”

A silent scream escaped her, and Elsie materialized.
The black dress she was wearing was torn wide open, exposing her pure white skin beneath to the moonlight.
It wasn’t exactly payback. It was simply that her attack had lost its force because she materialized the instant she was struck. Her instincts really are sharp.
She must have been quite shocked; her crimson eyes widened as she muttered in a daze.

“You cut through my mist form…!?”
“This Artifact—this sword is… it’s the Dreaming Water Lily. It’s an Artifact capable of ‘cutting through formless things.’”

Rather than simply getting used to it, I re-grip the sword as if to confirm the sensation of it clinging to my hand like a beloved companion.
A blade capable of severing any formless entity. That is Dreaming Water Lily.
It can sever flames, wind, curses, mist—even light itself. It requires mana to unleash its full potential, but for me, who possesses immense mana, that’s no big deal.

A blade designed to envelop the unreachable and the untouchable in eternal slumber.
Like a water lily floating in a dream, in an endless daze.

…Though I do feel that dying is different from sleeping.

That’s just my opinion.
The craftsman who made it surely saw “dreams” in this blade. If that’s the case, then so be it.
I raise the sword once more—a name that, in a way, suits me.

“If you’re going to back down, now’s your chance. This is a weapon that puts vampires at a disadvantage.”
“…”

The blonde hair in the torn dress and the silver hair in the maid’s uniform. Just looking at our appearance, it almost seemed as if a servant had committed an outrage against her master.
As I pondered such trivial matters, a brief moment passed—and then Elsie moved.
She dropped her shoulders and relaxed her grip.

“Honestly, I don’t have enough hands to handle this any longer.”
“……Are you giving up?”

To be honest, I was surprised.
I’d thought she was the type who wouldn’t give up easily, yet here she was, saying she’d back down so readily.
As I looked at her in puzzlement, Elsie smiled. It wasn’t a sinister grin like a crack, but one that was somehow content and radiant.

“I’ll just try again another day. The sun will be rising soon. Once that happens, my time here will be over.”
“…Please go.”
“Arje!? You’re letting her go!?”

“Yes. I assume she’s holding hostages as insurance for that very purpose.”

“Hostages… the residents of Rencia!?”

“Hehe, just as I expected of my bride—you really do understand! Yes, I said I wouldn’t use them as hostages to force a surrender, but I never said I wouldn’t use them as hostages to ensure our retreat!”

Flipping her torn dress, Elsie spun around. The crimson glow she scattered instantly shattered, creating a mist.
As the mist coalesced once more, it took the form of unconscious people—the villagers.

“I haven’t lifted the curse yet. If you lay a hand on me, it’ll be terrible, you know?”
“But there’s no guarantee you’ll actually lift it.”
“Hehe. I’ll make sure to lift the curse properly. In recognition of your valiant effort… and your resolve to resist the unjust.”
“And you think we’ll believe you?”
“Wait, Felnoute-san. …It’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yes, of course. It grates on me, but your resistance was truly magnificent… It’s made me want you even more, Argento. Next time, I’ll entertain you even more thoroughly, so let’s play again!”

Without adding a question mark, she said this as a declaration, and my opponent’s form shifted.
A small bat, with a stylized appearance resembling her hair ornament, flapped its wings and darted off into the night sky.

“…She really did escape. Is that okay?”
“I think it’s actually us who got off easy this time.”

If she’d wanted to, she could have used the hostage as a shield to force us to surrender rather than her retreating.
Even though I was the one who brought it up, since she had strictly kept her word not to use the hostage as a reason to force surrender, I figured it was only fair to let her go. Not that I consider it a favor, though.

“Sigh…”

The crisis had passed. Realizing that, all my strength drained away at once.
Just as I staggered and was about to fall backward, a soft sensation caught me.

“Arje, are you okay!?”
“Felnoute-san… I’m sorry, but I have a favor to ask…”
“H-huh? What!?”
“My… friend… Kuzuha-chan…”
“Friend… that girl with the fox ears? If that’s her, I’ve left her in Zeno’s care. She’ll be fine.”
“Is that so… I’m relieved… um… thank you, cushio…Felnoute-san…”
“Wait a minute—what were you just about to call me!?”

Dangerous. The sensation against the back of my head was so squishy that I almost called her a cushion.
When I leaned back, something incredibly heavy enveloped my head. Oh, this is a really great pillow…

“Arje!? Hey, Arje!?”
“Mm… hmm… ugh…”
“Don’t you dare use my chest as a pillow to sleep on! Wait, oh, but Arje smells good… I mean, no! Get up, I said!?”

I can hear a protest that sounds like a scream, but since I’m already at the limit of my exhaustion, I’m going to ignore it.
Like a water lily floating on water, I’m lulled by a fluffy drowsiness.
Letting go of the willpower needed to hold onto consciousness, I drifted off into a dream.