There's Not Much Time Left. (3)
The citizens of Aquar harbored a deep grudge against Esti, who had made them into what they were.
Those who knew the full truth of the incident initially resisted that grudge, but before the passage of time, they eventually crumbled.
Ten years, fifty years, a hundred years...
Enough time for affection to turn to hatred, for goodwill to sour into loathing.
Their grudge etched a Binding onto Esti's soul without them even knowing it, and their resentment became the "voices" that gnawed at her mind.
[That you dared to take my daughter's name I will forgive. Leave this place.]
If even the king was this uncompromising, what of the other wraiths?
Even though a majority was needed, persuading wraiths whose numbers approached the tens of thousands was all but impossible.
"I apologize, but I have not come here to receive your permission."
White waves of light rippled out, centered on Olivia.
She had altered her lightning.
"I came to notify you."
Tzzzt!
The royals emitted vicious Killing Intent, but Olivia paid it no mind.
They looked powerful, but in practical combat strength, they fell short of even Krauchel. Had the king stepped in, the story would have been somewhat different, but Olivia was confident the king would not intervene.
[...Are you indebted to my daughter? What exactly is your relationship, that you would go this far?]
"I am not in her debt. I intend to cancel one."
[Cancel one?]
"I also felt a sense of kinship with someone in similar circumstances."
[That's not enough. It is woefully insufficient. No one throws away their life to cancel a debt, and no one challenges the impossible simply from a sense of kinship.]
The king still sounded unconvinced.
"It is not impossible. And I have no intention of throwing my life away."
[Young mage. In this world, some things can be known before you test them.]
"Then I will be the first to break that fixed notion. I am honored."
Truthfully, she was not certain of success.
In all those many Runs, she had never once attempted to persuade the wraiths of Aquar.
She had heard the word "Stakes" for the very first time this Run as well.
But she was already Riding the Tiger. The moment she hesitated, the momentum would clearly shift to them.
⌜Did His Majesty not say it is already too late!⌟
"It is not too late. I have seen people who endured far longer than you could ever imagine. Yet here you are—royalty of a kingdom, you call yourselves—whining that a hundred and fifty years is too late, let alone a thousand."
That was about Olivia herself.
⌜Insolence!⌟
⌜Now the wretch spews any nonsense that comes to mind!⌟
⌜Father! Grant me the chance to take that arrogant creature's head!⌟
The king remained silent. In the next moment, a gaze was felt from the black shape.
[...Those are not the eyes of someone who speaks falsehoods.]
⌜Father?⌟
⌜Your Majesty, this wretch...⌟
[Silence.]
The king did not possess any Mind-Reading Art.
Whether Olivia succeeded or failed did not particularly matter to him. He simply did not wish to miss the first opportunity that had presented itself since they fell into the abyss.
[That person you mentioned—what exactly did they endure all those long years for?]
"They endured to protect the world."
[From what?]
"That I cannot tell you. Even if I did, you would not believe it."
In truth, Olivia also did not think that this alone would persuade the king.
Nor could she casually mention the Demon God to beings classified as Inhuman.
Instead, she had brought a proposal that would pique his interest. That was...
[...There are those who present their own story while pretending it belongs to someone else.]
She froze.
[Usually, such people share a particular characteristic. Do you know what it is?]
"...What is it?"
[Even though it is supposedly another's story, they speak it as if pleading.]
Why did it feel as if the black shape wore an eye-smile?
[How much time do you require, mage?]
He no longer called Olivia a young mage.
It seemed the wraith once called the Hegemon had not lost his keen eye even in death.
Olivia quietly checked the Notification Window.
[Remaining Time: 80:00:00]
"I will finish within four days."
[...Four days?]
"I know it is short. But...that is all the time I have been given."
Olivia spoke frankly.
It was because she had drawn all at once upon the time granted for Clue #4.
But she had no choice.
If she gave the other regressors even one more day, she could not know what might happen.
⌜A time limit...is it.⌟
⌜Indeed, if she has nothing left to lose, even such recklessness becomes understandable.⌟
⌜That courage, at least, is truly an example to others.⌟
They seemed to be laboring under a serious misunderstanding, but there was no need to correct them.
[I shall promise on the name of the king. For four days, no wraith of Aquar shall lay a hand on you.]
"I have one more request."
[Speak.]
"There is one companion. Her assistance is essential to carry out the task."
[...Is this companion, by chance, the Saintess?]
"Yes."
In an instant, the cavern grew clamorous.
Some were horrified, some burst into exclamations, and some lowered their voices as if in admiration.
A Saintess does not appear in times of peace. She appears only in times of chaos. And the standard for 'times of chaos' was ordinarily the Descent of the Demon King.
[...Are you a Hero?]
"Pardon?"
[No, never mind. Forget what I just said.]
At the uncharacteristically flustered king, Olivia furrowed her brow.
Why bring up a Hero all of a sudden?
In Lactea, such a class did not even exist.
'Was there a history I didn't know about?'
While Olivia stood confused, the king spoke.
[The Saintess's entry shall be permitted for four days. Moreover, as escort to your party, I shall assign Knight Commander Krauchel.]
A strange yearning could be felt from the black shape as he said it.
With a creak, the door opened. The wraith who revealed himself beyond it was Krauchel.
[Krauchel, guide this person to the surface.]
Krauchel prostrated himself and nodded. As the energy of the royals dispersed into the void, Krauchel rose from his place and said:
[Follow me.]
*****
"Hmm...when in the world is she coming?"
Rebekah fiddled absently with a conch shell and stared endlessly beyond the horizon.
An unobstructed view. Yet Esti herself was nowhere to be seen.
"What are you doing out here?"
When Rebekah turned around, Olivia was revealing herself amidst shimmering light.
"Big Sis? How did you get here...?"
"I heard. They told me you'd be here."
Olivia's gaze rested on the conch shell.
"Did the Wave Catcher give you that?"
"Ah...you know what this is?"
"I do. It's a receiving conch."
A relic no longer used in the modern era, employed only in the fallen kingdom of Aquar.
Olivia carefully opened her mouth.
"Are you thinking of helping her?"
"I..."
'...I want to help you, Big Sis.'
Rebekah's lips moved toward Olivia several times, then, with sad eyes, she spoke.
"...Yes. That's right."
She still understood neither Olivia nor even Esti. Rebekah knew well that at a time like this, saying she wanted to help was nothing more than clumsy pity.
And Olivia already knew Rebekah's state of mind.
What kind of disposition she had; what effect 'Asmodeus's' words had had on her psyche; and even why she was trying to help Esti—all of it.
Wordlessly, Olivia approached Rebekah and placed a hand on her head. Just as she always did, Rebekah yielded to Olivia's touch.
"Can your big sis ask you one favor?"
"A favor?"
"Yes. A very difficult favor."
Rebekah turned around.
"Yes, tell me."
"There's a person I need to help. But to help her, your assistance is absolutely required."
"Who is this person?"
"A very pitiable person. Long ago, she made an irreversible mistake, and to atone, she has wandered the sea for hundreds of years."
At those words, Rebekah's eyes shook violently.
"...Big Sis."
"I'm not doing this because you said you wanted to help her. I've been planning this for a very long time."
The moment she heard that, something surged within her.
'...How long ago?'
Rebekah swallowed that question into her heart. And hiding her true feelings, she spoke with the brightest face she could manage.
"I'll help you."
Even like this, she wanted to be of help.
"Are we going to her right away?"
At Rebekah's words, Olivia smiled faintly.
"No, there's somewhere we have to go first."
With those words, Olivia seized Rebekah's hand tightly. And in the next moment.
Tzzzzzzt!
Their bodies vanished into a beam of light.
[Skill 'Teleport' activated.]
"...This place is?"
Rebekah looked around with a tense face. The sky was entirely blanketed by an ominous black fog.
[Hmm...it is indeed the Saintess.]
From beyond the fog, Krauchel revealed himself.
At the sight of the wraith knight with blue-green eyes flashing within his helmet, Rebekah's face hardened. As if sensing the overwhelming presence, she retreated half a step.
[...You brought her without even explaining the situation?]
"I did not expect you to be waiting."
[Hmm...]
Rebekah was staring this way with a horrified expression.
Because Olivia was conversing calmly with a wraith.
Olivia briefly explained the situation to Rebekah. From the sins Esti had committed in the past to what she now had to do.
"A sunken kingdom...I see."
Surprisingly, Rebekah grasped the situation quickly.
"Big Sis, you brought me here to grant these people Release to the Afterlife."
"That's right."
"It will take at least half a year."
Even though it would be a grueling task, Rebekah simply smiled.
She was just glad that she could help Olivia for a long time.
Then Krauchel spoke.
[Four days.]
"...What?"
[The period you may enter and leave Aquar is four days in total.]
Rebekah spoke with a bewildered face.
"B-but it's impossible to release this many people in four days!"
[I am aware.]
Krauchel's eyes fixed squarely on Olivia.
[We too wished to grant you more time, but this one refused.]
"B-Big Sis! Why...?"
[The time granted to her...]
Krauchel's words could not continue.
Because Olivia raised a hand and stopped him.
"Krauchel."
[...I spoke too long.]
Krauchel's sword split the great ocean once again. It was a sword stroke so mighty that it erased the black fog, but Rebekah's gaze was not directed there.
'Big Sis.'
In her eyes as she watched Olivia's back, a multitude of emotions were swirling.