How to Break Her (3)
How to Break Her (3)
Staring at the eyes burning in the darkness, Olivia swallowed dryly. Through the dim, Rebekah's hand moved slowly.
'...I'm screwed.'
She had never imagined Rebekah would regain consciousness in just half a day.
'...Kiel was out for a whole day.'
Whatever the case, this was unmistakably Olivia's mistake. The moment Rebekah had shown signs of waking, she should have knocked her out again—no, put her back to sleep.
-Plop.
But Rebekah's hand lost its strength and fell limp before it could touch Olivia's face. Olivia's expression turned bewildered. A moment later, Rebekah shifted and murmured.
"Big Sis... don't leave me behind. I was wrong..."
Rebekah buried her face against Olivia's shoulder. Her sniffling breath echoed inside the Repentance Cave.
'Th-that scared the hell out of me...'
Olivia sighed in relief.
She had considered simply stuffing her into ice for peace of mind, but whether Rebekah's frail body could endure that was uncertain. She had no choice but to keep watching over her.
'Yeah, with my luck, juggling two people at once was never going to work. Let's just finish things with Rebekah first.'
Trying to do both at once seemed like a sure way to screw everything up.
There were still twelve and a half years left. Even if she handled one person a year, that still left half a year...
"..."
Olivia's head slowly tilted downward.
Ugh... uuugh...
Her chest grew damp. Whatever was so heartbreaking, Rebekah couldn't stop crying even in her sleep. It went beyond what the word "crying" could capture.
Sobbing, yes. It was closer to sobbing.
She didn't want to guess, but the Archmage's brain made it possible.
Stop, stop... please stop...
Rebekah's voice lingered in her ears.
A thought abruptly surfaced.
[What happens if you stop using a Clue partway through?]
If she had ended the Clue's use after handing Melina only the first Fragment... Melina would most likely have become a wreck.
She would have threatened "Olivia" to hand over the next Fragment.
And she would have despaired all over again upon realizing that she could not reach the Truth.
No matter how strong someone is, a single memory can break them.
Olivia's expression darkened.
Because she could not begin to imagine how terribly Rebekah was drowning in despair right now.
She had finally found a family she could lean on, and that family was one step away from being destroyed by a demon. And as the Saintess, even knowing the truth, she could do nothing.
That distant helplessness. The despair born from helplessness. The terror of losing family again.
Olivia buried her face in her hands. A guilty sigh welled up from deep in her gut.
"..."
She could not give more affection than necessary. She could not feel guilt.
Hadn't she made that vow the moment she fell into this world?
Hadn't she sworn she would return home no matter what?
[Main Quest]
Clear Condition: ????
Reward: ????
She still didn't know the clear condition. Whether it meant killing the Demon God, a No-Kill route, or something entirely new, she didn't know yet.
But if it was Genocide...
She couldn't endure it. There was no way she had the skill to survive killing people she had grown attached to.
'...Fucking hell. Seriously.'
Olivia spat the words out like she was coughing up blood.
*****
Watching the sun rise over the sea, Rebekah felt a sense of awe.
'...Aether.'
Her hands came together naturally.
After finishing her morning prayer, Rebekah walked across the sand. It had already been over a month since she came here, to the eastern Kingdom of Canis.
Thinking about all the nagging she had heard from His Holiness the Pope and countless other esteemed figures before coming here gave her a slight headache, but it was well worth enduring.
- Saintess. Do you know how many holy knights and priests must follow as your retinue if you alone travel to a foreign nation?
- Yes, I know.
- ...Then why do you still insist on going?
The formal reason was to spread the word of Aether in the Kingdom of Canis. The practical objective was to make contact with the Wave Catcher of Ikail, Esti.
But as of today, nearly a month after arriving in Ikail, Rebekah had yet to meet Esti even once. All she had done was watch from afar as the enormous waves surged and danced.
The lighthouse keeper spoke in a dialect-laced tone.
"Sorry 'bout that."
"...Is she not here again?"
"Went out to sea at dawn. Should've come a wee bit earlier."
"..."
Instead of adding a pitiful plea, Rebekah held her tongue. And as always, she made the same request of the lighthouse keeper.
"When the guardian of Ikail returns, please be sure to tell her."
The lighthouse keeper scratched his head awkwardly.
"Ain't my place to say this to someone so high up, but meetin' that girl Esti's gonna be tough. I've done this job over twenty years now, and I've seen her in person for a chat maybe three times."
"...Even so, I must meet her."
Because understanding Olivia's pain was the only way.
"I absolutely must speak with her."
If she could not live forever, then she had to live for at least a single purpose.
That way, she could save Olivia.
"So please be sure to tell her."
Rebekah stepped outside the lighthouse with nothing to show for it.
Beyond the ocean, the horizon heaved up and down.
"Franz."
"Yes, Saintess."
"Franz, what is your purpose in life?"
"Purpose... you ask?"
"Yes."
Franz stroked his beard.
He answered without the slightest hesitation.
"To defend the weak until the day I die, and to proclaim Aether's will to all nations."
"...Do you think you can achieve such a difficult purpose without your own will?"
"If the Goddess aids me..."
"Without Aether's help."
Franz turned his head. His gaze was fixed on the same place as Rebekah's.
Beyond the ocean.
"...Wouldn't that be difficult?"
Even Franz, who was so famously steadfast in the Holy Kingdom that no one would dare claim second place, called it difficult.
To humans, will was that important.
Just as you cannot win a battle with even the finest weapon if you lack the will to fight.
'But then how...'
Rebekah couldn't understand.
How on earth could that person protect something while having no will to protect it?
Rebekah chewed her lip. Lately her lips were never intact.
They say time heals, so why did her heart grow more desperate as time passed?
Rebekah already knew the reason.
- You understand nothing. Even if you died and came back, you would never understand.
Asmodeus had been quiet lately. But that fact only made Rebekah more uneasy.
Demons are never quiet. They only "appear" quiet.
She was surely eroding Olivia's mind.
"...Where is Lady Olivia right now?"
*****
[Clue #3]
[Memory of April, Year 993]
[Remaining Time: 160:00]
It was an unfamiliar ceiling. Not the white ceiling distinctive to the Holy Kingdom, nor the ornate ceiling characteristic of the Gold Tower.
Meaningless patterns were haphazardly arranged. But through that irregularity, Olivia could guess where she was.
"...Canis."
To be precise, the capital of the Kingdom of Canis. The port city of Ikail.
Fortunately, it seemed the Clue had activated without any major problems this time.
The first thing Olivia did after assessing the situation was to check her arms and legs.
And just as expected, all of the holy Bindings had been released.
Knowing Rebekah's nature, she wouldn't have been able to bear keeping them on.
Olivia wore a bitter smile as she perched by the window. A distant horizon stretched to the edge of her vision.
There were only two places in Lactea where you could see a view like this.
Ikail in the east, and the western archipelago of Mabor.
The land is flat but the planet is round, so if you set out in a straight line beyond that horizon, you would eventually reach Mabor.
To sum up Mabor in one word...
A lawless zone.
In simple terms, it was a land settled by criminals driven out of the continent.
Anyway.
"...She really came to Ikail."
Originally, Year 993 was the year to begin Favorability Grinding for Rebekah, Esti, and Ashe Baltar.
But since Rebekah had the highest priority among the three, Olivia remembered never leaving the Holy Kingdom until she had raised Rebekah's Favorability to 90.
But this place was now Ikail.
The port city of Ikail, located on the eastern edge, more than two months on foot from the Holy Kingdom.
It was clear that things had diverged from what the Genocide Run remembered.
"...Big Sis."
At some point, Rebekah had come to her side.
Eyes that hid sorrow.
Instead of questioning her, Olivia stroked Rebekah's hair.
"You're up early."
At the gentle tone, Rebekah's face relaxed as if relieved.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
Tsk tsk tsk.
['Saintess Rebekah' uses 'Lie Detection'.]
Rebekah's eyes glowed with a faint white light.
The way she used Lie Detection without hesitation showed how she had spent the past month.
A corner of her heart grew heavy for no reason.
"I'm fine. Nothing hurts."
[Your statement is the 'Truth'.]
Rebekah sighed in relief.
"...If you're in pain, don't hide it. Tell me right away."
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
That was when the sound of footsteps rang out.
A familiar sound of splashing water.
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[Within a Clue, you may only make contact with one regressor!]
[Access will be forcibly terminated shortly!]