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“Um… By the way, doesn’t it feel kind of hard to breathe…?”

Colin, supporting Maria Lou on his shoulder, asked this to no one in particular, his breathing slightly uneven.

Now that he mentioned it, my breaths did feel quicker than usual. I’d assumed it was just from fatigue, but if it’s not only me, and everyone else feels the same…

“Mmgh—nah, it’s not your imagination, is it? Well, true. For a lowly being like you, Plebeian Number Two, it’s understandable to feel out of place in a spot so tangled with complicated human relationships. But voicing it aloud is rather rude, you know. Do be more mindful from now on.”

Tearing off the talisman plastered over her mouth like a bandage, Coppelia shrugged lightly as she scolded Colin, who was glancing around uneasily.

“No, it’s not your imagination. It really is getting harder to breathe.”

Even Cestlavie, pressing his hand to his throat, voiced his concern.

“…Could it be that we’re running out of oxygen?”
“ “ “ “ “ “ “Oxywhat?” ” ” ” ” ” ”
“I don’t feel anything at all, though?”

Well, of course—Coppelia doesn’t breathe!

“I mean the air. With this many people in such a sealed space, it’s only natural for the air to run out and for us to start suffocating.”

Ah, why didn’t I realize something so basic?

“Ahh, now that you mention it, humans really do need gas exchange to survive, don’t they? Hmm… At this rate, everyone except Lady Clara and me will faint from oxygen deprivation within five minutes and die within fifteen. Well, Lady Clara could probably survive in a state of suspended animation even under any condition—dryness, low temperature, radiation, high pressure, or vacuum.”
“Please don’t describe me like some kind of tardigrade!”

Eren was the same way, but why do my maids have such excessive faith in me?!

I’m not some alien or giant monster; I can’t handle vacuum or radiation! …Though I might manage the others somehow.

“Well then, assuming even Lady Clara isn’t immune to oxygen deprivation, that means we have five minutes to punch a hole for ventilation, or we’re done for. Looks like it’s finally time for Plebeian no. 1 to use his Earth-attribute ultimate move: ‘Grave Pit Bomber.’ Good luck.”
“That’s not the name of any technique! And there’s no way I could dig a hole hundreds of mertes deep in just five minutes!”

Coppelia gave Cestlavie a bright smile and a thumbs-up. Even with everyone else struggling for breath, she was perfectly calm, being in no danger herself.
‘Finally,’ she said, but hasn’t she been pushing this idea on him from the start? Why is this automaton so obsessed with Cestlavie’s self-destruct technique?”

“You’re a completely useless commoner, aren’t you? Oh, I know—how about opening a hole straight through all at once? If we force the slave to release his mana with everything he’s got, he should be able to pierce straight upward and make a vertical shaft.”
“…It’s not impossible, but if I do that, the backlash from the mana release will crush this entire space being held up with ‘Telekinesis.’”

At Coppelia’s next suggestion, even Regulus grimaced.

“Seriously, the men in this group are worthless. Hmmmmm… Ah, that’s it! Instead of making just a single vertical hole, we should blow away all the earth and rubble at once! Lady Clara, this is the perfect chance to unveil your ultimate secret technique, ‘Heavenfall.’ With that, you could blow away not only the dirt above us but the entire Holy Capital!”
“““““““““DON’T BLOW IT UP!!!!”””””””””

When everyone present shouted at her, Coppelia tilted her head with a genuinely puzzled look.

“It’s only a mere thirty thousand commoners, you know. If you weigh their lives against ours, isn’t that a trivial sacrifice worth making?”
“““—Ugh…!”””

At Coppelia’s usual extreme—no, outrageous—remark, Pope Theodoros, Cardinal Callisto, and Shrine maiden Princess Clara (Eliza) all visibly flinched. Wait. Hold on. Don’t tell me…!?

They immediately huddled together, whispering:

“…At this point, I could just call it an inexplicable accident…”
“…If the Pope, the Shrine Maiden Priestess, and the Cardinal are saved, the faithful will be glad to accept it…”
“…Yes, it would be seen as martyrdom, and there’d be no evidence…”

The ominous whispers reached my ears, and I couldn’t stand it anymore—
Even if I understand that they’re the heads of a church claiming to uphold virtue, this level of cynicism makes being buried alive for an assassination attempt almost feel justified. So I interjected.

“I’ll have you know: in my current condition, it is impossible for me to handle a super high-difficulty spatial spell—and I have absolutely no intention of using it in the first place! A life does not weigh more or less than another! Aren’t you all supposed to bear the title of holy men and women? Then sacrificing innocent people just to save yourselves is utterly outrageous!!”

And then—

“No, Clara. There is no such thing as a man without sin in this world. Whether it’s cheating on the change or tossing trash on the roadside, everyone is a sinner. And if lives are all of equal weight, then shouldn’t our first effort be to save our own lives?”
“Humans are weak creatures, y’know. Everyone loves themselves most of all.”
“Lady Adelheid. You said lives have no greater or lesser value, but since long ago it has been said, ‘a life is lighter than a goose feather.’ It’s not unusual for the masses to give up their lives for the sake of those above them.”

It seems that in this place, the holy titles have been shelved at Mach speed, and a “Closed for Today” sign has taken their place.

“You all, every last one of you…”
High Priestess Teressa’s brow furrowed, a vein standing out.

“This is disgraceful. These people aren’t fit to be called clergy.”
“Agreed. But don’t forget you were the one stirring things up.”

Coppelia, now calmly switching sides to join the criticism, was promptly rebuked by Cestlavie, who nodded while holding a talisman in hand.

“The problem is, even if I managed to dig a vertical shaft, we’d be buried alive the moment it opened. We’d be fine as long as we could prevent that, right, My Princess?”
“Among other things, there’s also the issue of choosing the right direction, escaping instantly without being spotted by the ‘enemy’ once we break through, and making sure the hole doesn’t collapse by reinforcing it for at least a short time… There are plenty of details to consider, but in any case, we’re running out of time.”
“Time, huh? All these problems are about time… ‘escape in time,’ ‘hold out for some time’—time, time, time—Ah.”

Almost at the same moment Cestlavie caught on to my muttering, I realized it too and turned my gaze toward her—the one with abilities tied to “time,” Maria Lou.

“Um, just for a very short while, could you… stop time, or at least make it nearly motionless, and then let us move during that?”

At my hopeful question, Maria Lou frowned and shook her head.

“…Impossible. All I can do is rewind time by a few minutes at most. Even if I turn it back a few minutes, nothing about this situation would change.”

That was more or less what I’d expected to hear, but—

“Then, what exactly is this ability to interfere with time? If time and space are two sides of the same coin, then perhaps I could replicate it, or develop a derivative spell, using my Sky-attribute magic?”

With the oxygen clearly running out, I gasped for breath but pressed on desperately.

“I… well, I wouldn’t really know how to describe it. In my case, it’s an ability that was implanted afterward…”

Before the bewildered Maria Lou could say more, Coppelia answered in her usual breezy tone:

“It’s due to the Spirit of Time. Remember, I told you before? I happened to catch one, and then we transplanted it into Maria Lou. That’s why her abilities come from a spirit.”
“ “Come to think of it…” “

Both Cestlavie and I recalled that story belatedly, and the pieces finally clicked into place.

“If it’s a spirit, shouldn’t that mean it’s compatible with Jill? Can’t you just meddle with it directly?”

Prompted by Cestlavie , who was also breathing heavily, I turned back to Maria Lou.

“That’s true. Maria Lou, would it be alright if I try to call out to the spirit residing inside you?”
“I… I’m not really sure. But if it will help Colin, then yes.”

She cast a glance at Colin—he was just an ordinary boy, and it seemed he was feeling the effects of the oxygen deprivation most strongly, looking about ready to collapse—and gave me a resolute nod.

Thinking that I felt a bit jealous, I said, “Well then—” and, since there was no time to waste, placed my right hand—adorned with the bracelet gifted to me by Lord Uranus, the chief of the elves and Fairy King, made from the World Tree—over Maria Lou’s heart.

“…………”

While channeling spirit power through it, I called out to the mysterious Spirit of Time. However, there was no response whatsoever. In fact, I couldn’t even sense the presence of a spirit at all…

“…It’s no good, is it? It won’t answer me.”

The moment I let out that discouraged murmur, Eliza frowned, glancing between Maria Lou and me.

“What are you talking about? Something strange just happened… It was only for a moment, but time itself felt distorted. And right before that, I sensed something stirring inside Maria Lou. Isn’t that your so-called Spirit of Time?”
“What—!? Truly?!”

I asked the others, but it seemed only Eliza and Maria Lou herself had noticed anything unusual.

“It seems there was a response to my call, but it must be a type of spirit I’m unable to sense myself. Why, then, was Eliza able to notice it…?”
“Most likely because there is a channel running between Sister Barbara and that young lady over there. Such a thing is common among blood relatives.”

High Priestess Teressa offered this explanation. I see—Eliza, who had been modified by Echidna, unconsciously shares a mana channel with Maria Lou, which allowed her to sense the Spirit of Time dwelling within Maria Lou.

“When it comes to blood relatives, a channel forms unconsciously. That would mean…”

I voiced my thought aloud, and Pope Theodoros gave a firm nod, picking up where I left off.

“It means there is also a strong and inseparable channel running between Eliza and myself!”
“There is no such thing! And if there were, I’d have shattered it to pieces and flushed it down the sewer!!”

Watching the enraged Eliza, I realized that perhaps a similar channel might exist between her and me as well.