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I felt like a frog frozen in front of a snake when I stood before that younger girl. The more I thought about her, the more hopeless my situation seemed.

“So, will you hand that child over to me?”
“Can I ask you a few questions before I do that?”
“That’s fine. It would be a hassle if it dragged on for days, but I’ll stay with you at least for today.”

Something was unsettling about the way Fini answered Michihisa’s question. Her choice of words felt oddly out of place for someone her age. Still, I was relieved that she was willing to listen.

She was not looking to argue, so this would likely be resolved quickly. I was sure the gap in ability between her and us was vast. I couldn’t keep relying on Michihisa forever, I had to do what I could on my own. So, I focused on figuring out what Fini’s true purpose was—and how we could survive this.

“What is your purpose, Fini?”
“To collect the spirits. Also, the next time you call me Fini, I’m ending this Q&A.”

Fini looked at Michihisa with a cold, stern expression. I wanted to glare at him too. Part of me didn’t want to hear whatever he might say that would upset her. But I understood. Michihisa had his own thoughts about all of this. Still, what mattered more right now was keeping my eyes on Fini and watching her every move.

“Okay, okay. I wanted to ask what you’re planning to do after you collect the spirits.”
“My objective is solely to collect them. I’m not interested in what happens as a result of that.”
“What about the world’s collapse?”
“Oh, it will collapse.”
“Then what about collecting the spirits so that it can be saved?”
“No can do¹.”

As Fini shook her head slowly, Michihisa looked like he had given up. Fini didn’t care about preventing the collapse of the world. She simply wanted the spirits. We, on the other hand, wanted to stop the world from collapsing. And we needed the spirits to do that. We were in complete opposition.

“In that case, we won’t hand it over.”
“I see. Then I guess I’ll have to take it by force².”
“Run!”

The negotiation had failed. Michihisa chose to flee. Escaping in such a confined space would be difficult, but he must have judged it a better option than fighting one-on-one. I agreed with that choice.

There was only one opponent, so if both of us moved at the same time, one of us should have been able to survive. We had already discussed what to do when this moment eventually came. He told me there would be no hard feelings, no matter who made it out.

But since Michihisa had the spirit, I decided I would be the one to stand as a distraction. I was terrified of dying, but the world wouldn’t survive if I were the one who lived.

After confirming that Michihisa had escaped, I forced my trembling lips and chattering teeth into forming a spell.

“Bu…”

That was all I managed to say. The next moment, Fini appeared directly in front of me. It was like teleportation. She had appeared right before me.

“Michihisa, run!”

Michihisa looked like he wanted to say something, but I spoke first. He gave me a small, pained smile before finally starting to move his legs.

(Did I smile back properly? I’m sorry if I didn’t.)

“Lullus, catch him for me, please.” Fini said, as if mocking the best smile I could muster. All this time, I hadn’t noticed that there was one more person here with us. With a sense of resignation, I turned to look toward Michihisa, and saw a girl who looked strikingly similar to Fini using magic to capture him.

Michihisa was trying to struggle, but he couldn’t even move a muscle. His status was high, possibly one of the best amongst the humans, but if he still couldn’t do anything in this situation, then this girl’s status must have been something amazing.

Which led me to think if the Fini we were meeting now was the same one we’d met back then. If there was another girl who looked this similar to them, maybe the modest status I sensed belonged to a different child altogether.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’re completely misunderstanding something³. No, actually, judging by your reactions, you definitely have more than two things wrong.”
“What do we have wrong?”

Michihisa, who had stopped resisting, asked Fini calmly. I also couldn’t help wondering, why capture us instead of just killing us? Was this one of those situations where the villain lets you speak your last words before finishing you off?

“You said you wanted the spirit to prevent the world from collapsing, but there is already no way to save the world at this point. By releasing the spirits, you’ll only mend the surface. The world is collapsing behind the scenes, and one day its end will inevitably come.”
“Can you prove that’s true?”
“Why do I have to prove it? Do you think you’re in a position to ask that of me?”

Fini’s reply was cold and sharp. And she was right, we weren’t in a position to demand anything from her. We were completely at her mercy, and she could end us at any moment.

What she said just now was merely a show of goodwill. She didn’t care whether we believed her or not.

“But still, while I’m not obliged to tell you, I still will. Appraise me. If you still don’t believe me after that, then I can’t help you further.”

Fini said while looking straight at me. She was so close I could barely breathe, and her beauty left me even more unsettled. She was far beyond anything I ever hoped for.

But I couldn’t oppose her words. I used Appraisal on her.

(Come to think of it, have I ever told Fini that I could use Appraisal?)

That thought barely had time to settle in my mind, because the status that appeared before me made me forget everything else.

1. Robinxen: You… look I get your attitude but you can EXPLAIN things you know?
2. Robinxen: JUST EXPLAIN YOURSELF!
3. Robinxen: Because you didn’t explain!!!
4. Robinxen: WOAH TABLE.

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