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As eerie moans continued to echo from the now-defunct sealing fountain, Coppelia—whose personality was apparently replaced by a copy of Professor Victor—sat on a conveniently sized piece of rubble, spreading her legs wide and casually explaining the situation.

“It all began about ninety-eight years ago… no, maybe it was eighty-nine years ago and a few months… Eh, whatever, it does not matter.”

The conversation started off in a sloppy manner, with an air of needless elaboration and tangents typical of the elderly, making it clear this was going to be a long, drawn-out explanation. Moreover, seeing someone, even in a girl’s body, sit so immodestly was a bit disconcerting, but considering that the mind inside was that of a man, I decided to overlook it.

…I feel like I’ve been forgetting something important lately¹ , but it must be just a passing thought. Anyway…

“Um, is this really okay? It feels like the seal is dangerously close to collapsing.”

“—It is not okay at all! Rather, this is a huge problem!” Professor Victor glanced at the broken seal and the large figure slumped in defeat before it, speaking bluntly. “…But, to be honest, there is nothing we can do about it right now. Fixing the broken statues and fountain might help stabilize things a bit, but once broken, we cannot fully stop him.”

“? I heard that if this facility or the statues were damaged, some kind of safety mechanism would activate and prevent the seal from being completely undone.”
“Who the hell told you that nonsense!? That’s ridiculous!”

“ “You did.” ” Both Eren and I glared at her and pointed directly at the culprit.

“Hold on a second!” The flustered Professor Victor hurriedly pressed a hand to her forehead. “I’m combing through the data… Ah, here it is. Wait a minute! Clara! You were the one who told Coppelia that!”

“It wasn’t me… I keep telling you, I’m not her. Either way, in the end, the idea that the seal will stay intact even if things break is a lie, right?”

From the looks of it, the seal was clearly on the verge of a meltdown.

“Of course. This seal was originally designed to convert his power into magical energy, and over roughly 150 years, it should have been able to neutralize it without affecting the surroundings. The chamber itself functions as a filtration system, and the actual seal is applied separately, so even if this place gets destroyed, it will not affect the seal directly. However, without the filtration applied by this seal, raw cursed energy and magic will overflow like what you’re seeing now in front of you.”
“In other words, the main seal itself isn’t affected, correct? Then what’s the real problem?”

Although I was initially worried about the facility’s destruction, from what she was saying, the source of this calamity, the ‘No-Life King,’ seems to have been fully sealed from the beginning. It doesn’t sound like there’s much to worry about.

“Well, the seal itself is intact, but if things stay like this, the overflow will continue for at least fifty more years. This will cause monsters to grow more violent, the hearts of the people to become corrupted, and the natural environment to fall into chaos. —Ah, I see now what you did, Clara. That is why you made up that nonsense to protect this place, right?”
“I don’t know. Well, at the very least, that pretext has kept the Arlea region safe until now, so maybe it wasn’t entirely wrong…”

If anything, it seems like my mother was just trying to make sure her reputation wouldn’t take a hit by making sure no problems arose after she claimed to have sealed the ‘Evil God.’

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought this. Coppelia (Victor) scratched the side of her head with a sour expression.

“Always so clever, huh? Back then, you even had the nerve to sweet-talk me, saying you wanted to use my research to advance healing magic and build a prosperous future together. In the end, you just used me. Honestly, there is not much of a difference between what you did and what Igor did, though you two had opposite approaches.”

True. Both of them stole this person’s research and claimed it as their own. The only difference is that while Igor—Igoronak—acted with complete disregard for human life and dignity, my mother, whether out of hypocrisy or for the sake of her reputation, was at least skilled enough to navigate the public properly. That’s the only distinction.

“(As her daughter,) Let me offer my deepest apologies.”

I said, bowing my head since I couldn’t entirely distance myself from the issue.

“Hmph! Well, I am a magnanimous person. I will never forgive Igoronak for taking my life, but as for your apology… well, you could consider it accepted.”

Her pompous tone, acting as though I owed her a favor, was grating, but reasoning with this type of senile old man would get me nowhere. I simply offered, “Thank you very much.”

As I bowed deeply again, I felt her eyes lingering on my chest… but, well, there was nothing I could do about that.

Coppelia (Victor) looked satisfied, grinning from ear to ear, but Eren was clearly struggling to hold in her frustration at the unreasonable situation.

“…I guess Igoronak won’t be forgiven as easily, even if he said the crime is basically the same.”
“Well, that’s the difference between man and woman. Even more so if the man is more handsome and capable than he is, and the woman is beautiful and sincerely apologizing.”

Eren, apparently catching my muttered comment, smugly offered her explanation.

“Wait a minute, you little girl! You make it sound like I am some unpopular, lecherous old man! I only accepted the apology because I’m a rational, humane person, that is capable of forgiving!”

Coppelia (Victor) leaped to her feet, flailing her arms in a fit of rage.

“Oh yes, yes. Let’s say that’s true. But you know, it’s not all about looks for men.”
“Indeed. What really matters is what’s inside, so you shouldn’t worry about it too much.”

Though we both offered comforting words, they only seemed to make her angrier.

“Liar! I saw it in Coppelia’s records—you two mocked my portrait mercilessly!”
“ “…N-No We Didn’t.” ”
“It is always like this. Women are always making fun of me! Do you think you could ever understand the struggles of a man who, no matter how much he tries or what he accomplishes, is completely ignored by women simply due to my age and looks!?”