Leave a comment

Flute, who had green hair, deer horns, blue skin, and wore a butler uniform, returned to a strange area, which did not seem bright but also not exactly dark.

“Please excuse my delay.”

Two other demons were waiting for Flute. One of them was Marcia, who had orange hair, violet skin, wolf ears, and wore a nun’s outfit, and the other was Murloa, who was shorter, had gray hair, a red crest, and behaved like a soldier.

“You were called by the automaton we were talking about?”
“We know you owed her a favor, so don’t worry about it.”

All three of them were supposed to be working together, but they knew why Flute had been delayed, so they did not hold it against her. The culture of demons revolved around pacts and their value, so they would never look down on someone who went to pay back a debt.

“However, I ended up learning something unexpected. I hadn’t been paying too much attention to her lately, but it seems her movements are leading her in a similar direction as us.”

When Flute mentioned that, the other two demons’ demeanor changed.

“What do you mean?”
“Please elaborate.”

Flute then told them everything Natalia had told her, and the things she had learned from perusing her memories.

“So that reincarnated soul has more connections to Dominic than we initially thought.”
“And he seems to be knowledgeable about ancient curses even modern elves have forgotten.”
“That complicates things.”

Marcia spoke with a low tone. The Crystal of Postponement allowed one to forcefully delay the payment for a favor indefinitely, which was something that went directly against the values of demons. They had been trying to find a way to destroy and erase them from existence, but had recently hit a snag.

“We found his hideouts, but they’re set up in a way that we can’t interfere.”

So far, they were able to identify various warehouses and research facilities of the Platiboros Company involved with the creation of Crystals of Postponement, but those same devices were being used to protect the buildings from demons, stopping them from doing anything.

“Yes, it really is complicated. But I think we just found a way.”
“…Right, and just at the perfect time.”
“I can’t say I’m too fond of the idea, but I guess we have no other choice.”

While they never stated specifically what they were thinking, they all agreed on it¹.

A carriage was stopped in front of the Pynemo mansion, belonging to one of Seperion’s three archduke houses.

Two ladies stood next to it, talking with emotive voices. One of them was the daughter of the family, Charlotte Pynemo. The other was the princess of Berlomot’s fallen royal family, Millea Ratte Berlomot.

“So, you’re finally going to go?”
“Yes, I need to restore my country.”

The people of Berlomot had started a revolution to turn the country into a republic, but since then their lives had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Everyone that had been on board with the revolution was starting to doubt their new government, or rather, their emotions had settled after a few years and they were actually seeing what they had done.

That obviously led to a counter revolution movement, but they kept a low profile, hiding from the local government and the army from Sacred Granleuche that was stationed there.

“It’s all thanks to the help I’ve received from Seperion and the other neighboring allies.”

After taking refuge in Seperion, Millea had started to appeal to the various countries around there for help, and they agreed to provide troops if necessary, giving her the confidence to take the next step in reclaiming her country.

Just as those joint troops were about to march into Berlomot, she received new information.

“I’ve also heard that various of Sacred Granleuche’s forts have started to crumble, starting with Fort Paniccia. There won’t be a better opportunity than this.”

At first, Millea had been suspicious of that, so she sent an insider to verify the news, who personally witnessed the rubble and piles of corpses, but could not identify the cause.

“But you still don’t know what caused that destruction! Won’t it be too dangerous?”
“I don’t have the resources to maintain the troops I was given for long, and my people don’t have infinite patience either. Some of the counter revolutionaries are also starting to act, so the longer I wait, the more sacrifices there will be.”

Only a handful of soldiers in Berlomot were on board with the counter revolution, and the vast majority were regular people, who did not have the means to reclaim control. Some of them had tried to jump into action when the forts began to fall, which caused a cascading domino effect with more of them trying to follow.

That eventually reached Millea too, forcing her to act slightly earlier than she wanted.

“I appreciate all the kindness you’ve shown me during my stay here, Charlotte.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for, Princess Millea.”

While Millea expressed her gratitude, Charlotte lowered her head and did not want to accept it. She had done all of that because Millea was seeking refuge in Seperion.

After that, Millea stepped into the carriage and departed. Regardless of how the planned battle went, their relationship would never be the same again. But this was more important for Millea, and she would never turn back.

After liberal use of the various teleporting magic circles, we return to Sacred Granleuche, and after Dominic goes his own way, I go to rest in my room in the Zelk mansion. At least until Leontina comes to check on me.

“Itski, sorry for interrupting your rest, and I know you just got back, but I need to get to Berlomot urgently.”
“To Berlomot?”

I feel my mood worsen slightly hearing that. In part it’s because I barely got any time to rest, but it’s mostly because I can think of only two things that would make her need to go there. One is my fellow reincarnated comrade Fred, and the other is that magic automaton with the other half of my soul. And both of them are a pain in the a̲s̲s̲ to deal with.

“The people of Berlomot have started a counter revolution, so we’re going to assist our troops stationed there.”
“Ahh, I knew that would happen eventually. I’m actually surprised it took this long.”

So it’s Fred.

That idiot went there thinking he could modernize their culture with his half-a̲s̲s̲e̲d̲ knowledge, and instead completely ruined them. The people’s lives are miserable, the government has collapsed, and foreign relations are virtually nonexistent.

Then again, it was Sacred Granleuche’s plan to leave them hamstrung and then take over, Fred was just sent there because he was picked for that role. They also used my ideas to topple over the royal family, so I can’t exactly pin all the blame on Fred.

“Actually, I’m glad we get to fight, what bothers me is that the empire’s faction that wants to recover the holy land is getting desperate.”
“That faction…you mean the people who want to take back the elves’ sacred land that was conquered by Seperion during the past warring ages?”

Sacred Granleuche is an empire that adheres to the Bran Church, a religion that only recognizes humans, elves, and dwarves as people. That means that a place sacred for elves is also considered important for their religion. On top of that, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s elves who witnessed those wars back then, considering their long lifespans, and they definitely would want to reclaim their home.

“That holy land is also where the World Tree grows, so other people who aren’t elves are also interested in it.”
“The World Tree… Having an enemy country controlling such an important landmark definitely doesn’t sound good.”
“Yeah, and that’s another reason why we wanted to conquer Berlomot. And…”
“…You don’t have to tell me if it’s something you aren’t meant to divulge, you know?”
“That’s not it…”

Leontina is usually really direct, so it’s rare for her to stammer like that. Did something happen? I wait for a bit, and then Leontina takes a deep breath.

“Umm… It’s just that I’d like you to come with me…but I know you just got back, so maybe I shouldn’t ask for that…”

Ahh, that’s why she’s been acting so strange. It’s funny how she gets so anxious about these things when usually she loves to go on bloody rampages. And the way her cheeks get red is also cute.

“Don’t worry about me. I also have some business in Berlomot so I can’t just sit here. And it’s been a while since we fought together, so that sounds fun too.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”

I feel like I’m falling in love all over again when she smiles. I really like the gap between her blood lusty desires and this².

And while I don’t care what happens to Berlomot one way or another, I still want to kill that magic automaton. Being near it felt so revolting I wanted to throw up. I can’t stand that there’s someone else with my soul who looks and sounds different from me.

I wasn’t in any shape to fight back then so I focused on getting away, but I would’ve killed her right there if I was in perfect status. It’s still a bit hard to believe, was that really me?

Never mind that, I know it better than anyone else. It’s me. And because of that, we also think and react in the same way. But then why is it that we didn’t seem to really meet eye to eye back then³?

1. Robinxen: I see, they’ll feed our protagonist information on where to find her targets and in exchange she destroys the items restricting their interference.
2. Robinxen: Does anybody else find this really creepy? It’s weird how if a protagonist said this I’d be totally on board, but because it’s a villain I find it creepy… it’s like Tsukimichi all over again.
3. Robinxen: Because one of you is a warmongering profiteer borderline sociopath and the other is a maid with a weapon inclination?

Support Us

Unlock Early Access ------- Select Project ------- Project Gender Bender Project Necro ∴ Support your favorite series and unlock chapters before the public release.