I'll Come Find You Soon
And so the expedition to the Magic Tower was decided, and two days slipped by.
We... no, to be precise, only I spent that time recovering from the battle with the Outer Gods, packing up the igloo, and finishing preparations to leave.
"Looks like I've packed just about everything. Food, emergency medicine, and a few grimoires..."
I was rifling through my backpack, doing a final check before departure.
And yet... the more I packed, the more cold sweat seemed to keep trickling down my back.
Hold on... is this really okay?
The Magic Tower stood in the southern reaches of the Rahelon Continent—right in the heart of civilization. Leaving this remote snowfield to go there was no different from walking straight into the radar of the other Transcendents hunting me.
Of course, since my face wasn't known at all, they couldn't target me specifically and track me down... but the two women traveling with me were highly likely to become a problem. Both outwardly and inwardly.
Then, suddenly, the memory of the day Agentina fell came flooding back. Empress Serene Roelina's golden aura. Demon King Nemesia's black moon, darker even than night. The World Tree that Queen Arsiena cherished as her companion. And the attacks from Kyra and Serapagnia, who were right beside me now.
When those four unique authorities had clashed simultaneously in the heart of Agentina, that vast, solid academy—which had withstood dozens of terrorist attacks over three years without falling—had vanished without even a chance to scream. That horrific sight.
If we run into them here and a fight breaks out... this time it won't be the Magic Tower that gets destroyed—it might split the continent in half...?
Just imagining it made my legs go weak. I stopped packing and hurriedly turned my head toward Serapagnia, who was lounging on the sofa.
"Um... Serapagnia—no, Miss Sera?"
"Hm? What is it, Oppa?"
Ugh... that speech pattern, please stop.
Every time she looked at me she still used that "Oppa" title and that bone-chilling way of talking. At this point, I was starting to regret sending those letters for an entirely different reason. Still, I couldn't let that inner thought show, so I kept my composure as best I could and continued.
"Just hypothetically speaking. On our way to the Magic Tower... how high are the odds that we'll run into the other three—Her Majesty the Empress or the Demon King, for instance?"
"Hmm? Depends on how doggedly those bitches come sniffing after us, I guess."
Serapagnia answered nonchalantly, munching on a cookie.
"And if we do run into them..."
"If we do...?"
I gulped.
"Will you fight them?"
"Isn't that obvious? How dare they try to steal my man? I'll stomp them into the ground on my pride as a dragon."
Kyra, who had been packing nearby, chimed in.
"That's right. I'm not letting anyone take him this time. The old dragon hag saved Erevan so I have no choice there... but the other women? Absolutely not. Besides, I'm confident in a one-on-one."
Part of her hair dyed red as Kyra too displayed a fierce will to fight. As expected, if things continued like this, the continent's destruction wouldn't come from the Outer Gods—it would be because of these women.
Envisioning that nightmare future, I decided this wouldn't do. I stepped in front of the two of them and dropped to my knees.
"Please! I beg you, don't fight!"
"My, Oppa, what's wrong?"
"Erevan?"
Ignoring their startled reactions to my sudden kneeling, I pressed on.
"Even if we meet them, couldn't you resolve it through dialogue? If another war among the Transcendents breaks out here, I might actually die of guilt."
I pleaded with genuine desperation. Truth was, even if I didn't show it outwardly, even though there had been no casualties, the guilt of completely wiping out Agentina because of me—and leaving countless talents with nowhere to go—still squeezed my chest. And if civilian cities got hit on top of that? I really might not be able to handle it.
"I... I'll definitely pay the price for those letters! So please!"
"Hmm? Pay the price?"
Kyra arched an eyebrow. Serapagnia's eyes also glinted strangely. At that, I felt a flicker of hesitation—maybe I should rephrase—but in the end I squeezed my eyes shut and spat out what might become the greatest, and worst, blunder of my life. Unable to mix in even a shred of lie thanks to the Truth Binding.
"Well... if everyone ends up gathering later... yes, I'll truly try to love all of you... fairly."
"……."
"……."
Silence. A heavy quiet settled over the igloo. My face felt like it would burst into flames, but I gritted my teeth and continued.
"Since it's come to this, if I pick just one of you, the rest will look ready to smash the world. In that case... even if I have to split myself into five, I'll give my all to all five of you. We'll take turns dating by day of the week, and I'll do whatever you want..."
I could feel my voice growing smaller and smaller. Still, I couldn't stop.
"So... please, just don't fight. I'm begging you."
In my own mind, it was a noble sacrifice and resolve for the sake of peace. Even if from their perspective it was the kind of trash statement that made me deserve every insult, if it was for world peace, better that I take the heat.
But then.
"…… Hmm."
Kyra listened, then slyly averted her gaze. And suddenly started pretending to polish a staff that didn't have a speck of dust, clearing her throat.
"Ahem. Well... the weather's quite nice, isn't it? The snow's stopped too."
"No, Headmaster? Did you hear what I said?"
"Oh my, Oppa, so did you finish packing? Better double-check nothing's missing."
Serapagnia was the same. She avoided my eyes and began admiring the patterns on the ceiling.
"Whee-ee~ Whee~"
She even blew an awkward whistle.
"Serapag... no, Lady Sera, you'll promise, right? Yes?"
"Oppa, aren't you hungry? Should we grab something to eat on the way?"
"……."
Their reactions were far too ambiguous. No—not ambiguous. They were openly expressing with their entire bodies, No way. Why should I have to share?
Well, I supposed it would wound the pride of the greatest Transcendents on the continent to share a man. But saying "Yeah, if we meet them I'll kill them" would risk whatever reaction I might show, so they were clearly just trying to dodge the immediate situation.
Ha... this is unsettling.
One corner of my chest felt tightly blocked. But what could I do? The die was already cast, and the bags were packed. The real problem had been sending those love letters in a fit of jealousy-blinded rage to begin with.
Right, let's just take care of the Magic Tower Master first and think later.
I forced my optimism circuit into gear and stood up.
"Um... I trust you both? You're both adults—no, Transcendents—so I believe you'll control yourselves properly? Right?"
"……."
"……."
Still complete silence from the two women. Shouldering a heavy sense of unease along with my backpack, I opened the door.
"L-Let's go! To the Magic Tower!"
"... Let's go!"
"It's an adventure~"
And so we left behind the snowfield igloo we'd grown fond of and set out on the most dangerous, most precarious journey in the world—toward Esterium, where the White Truth Magic Tower stood. A horrific journey with the disaster known as the Outer Gods ahead of me, and women like ticking time bombs at my back.
At that same time, in the imperial palace of the Roelina Empire.
Empress Serene Roelina had just returned from combing through every southern kingdom, village, and dungeon on the Rahelon Continent as thoroughly as if hunting for lice. Of course, there had been no results. Not a shadow of KJH, nor even a similar mana wavelength.
"Haa..."
She rubbed her tired eyes and sank deep into the chair in her office. Before her lay mountains of documents awaiting approval and reports. Because while she had been away chasing after love, the empire's governance had fallen into complete disarray.
"First report, then."
She picked up her quill and began reviewing the papers. The first few pages were ordinary enough. Tax collection status, reports on subjugating magic beasts at the borders, drought countermeasures...
But as the pile of documents shrank and the contents grew longer, Serene's eyebrows began to twitch of their own accord.
[Report on the Southern Grentar Archduke's Private Army Expansion]
[Suspected Embezzlement of Tariffs at the Southern Trade Port]
[Evidence of Bribery Involving the Chancellor's Direct Retainers]
[Smuggling Between Eastern Border Count Krenbark and the Kingdom of Ortium.]
"... Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped her lips. The contents were beyond the pale. Taking advantage of the gap while her personality had softened a bit from learning how to seduce a man from Madame Bernie, the nobles were brazenly lining their own pockets.
I hear that iron-blooded empress has fallen in love and lost her mind?
Now's our chance. Let's rake in a solid fortune.
Those disgusting intentions were plain to see between every line of the reports.
"How dare they."
Serene tossed the report onto the desk with a clack. In her eyes, the shyness of a girl in love evaporated in an instant.
"Captain of the Knights."
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
At her summons, the Captain of the Imperial Guard, who had been waiting outside the door, hurriedly entered and knelt.
"The houses listed in this report."
Serene pointed at the document with the list of names.
"Behead them all."
"... What?"
The knight captain doubted his own ears. Not arrest or imprisonment, but summary execution.
"R-Right this moment, Your Majesty?"
"Yes. Before the sun sets today. Mobilize the Imperial Knights, sever the heads of the house heads, and exterminate their bloodlines. Confiscate all assets into the national treasury."
"B-But Your Majesty..."
The knight captain wiped cold sweat as he scanned the list. Among them were merchant houses that held the empire's economy in their grip, and count houses with heavy influence in the military. In particular, the Border Count and the Grentar Archduke, though their blood had thinned, still carried the imperial lineage. They were pillar houses that led the empire. And she wanted to wipe out those houses without leaving a single heir?
"Some of these are key figures of the empire. Executing them immediately would disrupt state affairs..."
"Disrupt?"
Serene tilted her head.
"Captain. Are you perhaps attempting to negotiate with me right now?"
"N-No, Your Majesty! I merely have concerns..."
"What disruption could there be in cleaning out the worms eating away at the empire? If you're truly that worried..."
Serene lightly raised her hand. At the same time, golden aura coiled around her body, and from afar came the sound of the Heavenly Bow's string being drawn taut.
"Shall I kill you first, then personally plant the Heavenly Bow through their skulls?"
"!!!"
The knight captain recoiled in terror and slammed his head against the floor. That was no empty threat. Serene was someone who could truly do everything she said.
"No, Your Majesty! Forgive me!! I-I shall carry out your command at once!"
"Leave."
The knight captain fled the office as if escaping. His back was soaked through with sweat.
Bang.
The door closed, and silence returned to the office. Serene glared coldly for a moment at the door the captain had left through.
"Tsk. I've neglected internal affairs lately, and now even the knights have been bought off, it seems."
She had read the subtle agitation in the captain's reaction. He was likely not free from that bribe list either.
"I'll need to purge things soon."
She organized the blood-soaked purge plans in her head and unfolded the map lying in one corner of the desk. A full map of the Rahelon Continent. The south, the somewhat awkwardly positioned east, and several major strongholds already bore red X marks. Areas where the search had been completed. The only places left now were a few remaining southern cities and the central continent.
"Hmm."
Her gaze fixed on the center of the map. Esterium. The sacred ground of mages, where thousands of magic towers formed a forest.
"So the next search area is here."
Serene pressed her finger firmly on the location of the White Truth Magic Tower on the map.
"A place where those mage bastards gather... That man definitely used magic to send the letter all the way into my bedchamber. In that case, he must have a strong interest in magic. The mana is chaotic there as well, so it would be suitable for that damned Kyra to hide her body."
She folded the map and rose from her seat. The hem of her golden dress fluttered elegantly.
"My love. Wait just a little longer. I shall come find you soon."
A strange smile in which a girl's excitement and an empress's ruthlessness coexisted. She gazed at the sky outside the window and prepared the order to advance on Esterium.