237. Three Stars (2)
237. Three Stars (2)
- 1 -
Before sunset.
After the zealots and the two Argos disappeared, the streets of Hylash were filled with cheers for the two 'heroes' who saved them.
"Saintess! Saintess!! She looked at me!"
"Look at the princess! How small and cute she is!"
The praise showered upon Esther and Yurena continued endlessly.
The two heroes greeted the cheers with contrasting attitudes.
"Everyone, please be at ease. Tonight, we will stay at the mansion of the countess who kindly lent us her house."
"..."
Esther adopted a confident posture, as if accustomed to the attention, while Yurena was busy being shy.
"The Saintess protected us until the very end!"
"The princess too! To fight a giant with such a small body!"
Yurena hid further behind Esther.
At the first praise she had ever received, after a lifetime spent imprisoned underground, her small shoulders trembled.
"It's alright, Your Highness. They all want to see you. Please wave your hand."
At Esther's gentle whisper, Yurena barely managed to straighten up and wave.
Because the sight was so lovely, some women cheered almost hysterically, and the girl huddled even deeper.
'Master.'
Leaving behind the cheers of those people.
Esther and Yurena, having entered the mansion, looked up at Libertas waiting for them on the terrace along with Saya.
"Well done, Esther. Please come in, young lady."
"Good job, Ash."
"Thank you, Ran."
"Are you also... someone who serves my big sister?"
"Yes..."
As they greeted the three other women who walked over to welcome them, both of their gazes kept drifting back to Libertas.
With only a single attendant, she merely sat at the tea table, yet she possessed such a noble aura that the spot seemed like a throne.
Even the lady they served—or would serve—was smiling as she greeted them.
"I wonder what they would like."
"Whatever it is, if it is given by you, Master, they will gladly accept it."
Libertas had been pondering as she waited for them to arrive.
Though she had prepared separate material rewards for the two, what Libertas worried about was not that, but the immaterial reward they would desire.
- 2 -
Libertas arranged a private audience for Yurena, who kept shrinking back in front of people.
But she was still intimidated.
Because the big sister she had thought of as just new family... actually, to be precise, her aunt, Libertas, possessed incredible abilities.
"I felt it when I first saw you... but you're actually a scary person, aren't you, big sister?"
"Why do you think that?"
At Yurena's trembling voice, Libertas gently asked back.
The girl hesitated for a long time before barely opening her mouth.
"It's... the first time so many people have looked at me."
For a girl who had lived her whole life trapped underground as a test subject, today was an incredibly special day.
The cheers and compliments showered upon her, and the voices telling her that she could become 'something'.
But knowing that a 'Dungeon Lord' was the enemy of humanity, she feared that Libertas might destroy all of this.
"So you are afraid that I will kill them."
"Y-yes."
Yurena was not the type of person who could consider all of them enemies based on a single word from her 'guardian'.
Her sense of betrayal was directed solely at the royal family.
If this new guardian were hostile to people and demanded such a stance from her...
she would not know what to do.
"So, big sister..."
Yurena took a step closer.
Her eyes were full of fear, but at the same time, desperation lingered as well.
"Please... hold me..."
"Is that all you wish for?"
At Libertas's words, Yurena nodded.
"I have seen... family members hug each other. It looked warm. Don't reassure me, just... keep me by your side and create an atmosphere where I can be at ease."
A pure emotion seeped into her voice.
Libertas gestured, then embraced the princess who had drawn near.
"It's alright."
"What... is?"
"I am not, as you think... someone who delights in slaughter."
Yurena, looking up at Libertas, blinked her eyes.
It was an unbelievable statement.
For a girl who had grown up hearing about the cruelty of those who had spent their entire lives killing the 'enemy of humanity'.
"Really...?"
"Yes. I have chosen you, Yurena. That also means I will strive to give you what you want."
Libertas's hand stroked Yurena's hair.
The princess born as a human weapon closed her eyes gently and accepted the touch of the one who sought to become the Demon King.
"You... saved me, big sister."
"And you are of my bloodline."
The girl trembled as if she had caught a chill.
Though Libertas's touch on her shoulder was cool, her voice was warm.
"You won't... hurt people, will you?"
"I may hurt them. But if you dislike it, I will hold back a little."
"Really?"
"Yes. But if someone tries to harm you or touches my people, it's a different story."
At Libertas's words, Yurena lifted her head.
With a face that looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.
"I will remove those who interfere with 'us'. You may live as you wish, as you like. However..."
Libertas kissed the little girl's forehead.
"You are not alone anymore either. You are part of 'us'."
In that moment, tears poured from Yurena's eyes.
She buried her face in Libertas's embrace.
"...Thank you, big sister."
Yurena, who had been held for a while, soon pulled away with a shy smile.
Now, a different emotion, not fear, lingered in her eyes.
A firm faith.
- 3 -
After Yurena withdrew, Esther entered the private room.
Until she walked to the center and bowed her head, she did not meet Libertas's eyes.
Time alone together.
And that made it even harder to face her master.
"Lift your head."
At Libertas's words, Esther slowly lifted her head.
Deep longing lingered in her white eyes, and an affectionate smile formed on Libertas's lips.
"You must want something from me."
"Time..."
Her mouth was so dry that the words wouldn't come out right.
Esther swallowed what little saliva she could manage and forced herself to speak again.
"...I want time with you, Master."
Libertas gave a small smile at those words.
It was amusing that Yurena, who knew nothing, and Esther, who knew everything, wanted the same thing.
"Ah..."
As her master's touch reached her head, Esther let out an involuntary exclamation.
"You're trembling."
"All this time... I've been so lonely."
The touch descended from her head and caressed her cheek.
Esther's breath trembled.
"Being a saintess must have been lonely."
"More than that..."
Esther grabbed Libertas's hand.
Her white, slender fingers intertwined with Libertas's strong ones.
"The time I lost you was harder."
As Libertas applied a gentle pull, Esther naturally rose and stood facing her.
The saintess looked up at her in a half-kneeling posture.
"Did you not have memories of those days?"
Esther shook her head.
"I had no memories, but I had a soul."
Esther and Saya had sealed their own memories for the regression magic.
This was also so that the three of them, including Evangeline, could carry over as many abilities as possible.
At the same time, it was a way to stabilize the minds of those who had lost their master while right beside her.
Although it did not work well.
"What happened?"
"I overlapped with myself the moment I was born, and Saya did so the moment she was released from the seal. It was to minimize the magic consumption."
It was the moment when our past selves were weakest. That was when the cost of regression magic was lowest.
In exchange, the souls they formed as a result became infinitely close to those of the future.
Esther and Saya, lacking only their memories.
They endlessly yearned for the emptiness inside their souls.
"It must have been a difficult time."
"I am fine now."
Though she answered her master's whisper calmly, the saintess's eyes grew moist.
Those words were not a lie.
Because now, just the fact that she could be by her master's side was enough.
"Ash."
"Master..."
Libertas's hand lifted Esther's chin.
Violet eyes and white eyes faced each other.
"Tell me. What you would like me to do. Properly."
"Please allow me to fill my soul. With your appearance, your scent, and your gaze, Master."
Esther's white eyes anxiously looked into Libertas's purple eyes.
Her soul remembered. The moment she collapsed after losing her master.
Although... the current Libertas could not remember that time.
"Do as you wish."
Nevertheless, she was just as kind as the master in her memories.
At Libertas's permission, Esther's heart pounded loudly.
The saintess rose from her spot and carefully held her master in her arms.
"Do you know who you are touching?"
"The one who will become the Demon King."
"As a saintess, this is something you should not do."
"I do not need to be a saintess before you, Master. Only..."
After steadying her breath once, she said as if biting out the words.
"I am merely a single human female."
"You are being too harsh on yourself."
"Because it's the truth."
The moment she felt her master's hand on her neck, Esther steadied her ragged breathing.
Even though it wasn't the first time, Libertas's touch was enough to unsettle her.
Esther, having lifted Libertas, approached a long sofa on one side.
"Your arms are quite firm."
"They are for you, Master."
Carefully laying her master down, she straightened her clothes.
Her clothes, as she half-lay, had somehow changed to a more comfortable style.
Under the shorter skirt, her legs gleamed dazzlingly white, making Esther's head spin.
The saintess's heart pounded fiercely.
"Master..."
"What is it?"
At the lovesick tone, Libertas smirked and tickled Esther's chin with a bare toe.
"You were acting like you'd devour me. Have you grown shy?"
"I have not grown shy."
At Libertas's playful words, the saintess shook her head.
Her white hand grasped her master's ankle.
"I just want to look at you... for a long time."
Libertas leaned on the sofa and looked at her.
In Esther's white eyes, as she carefully kissed the tip of Libertas's foot, there was a light meant only for her.
"The night is long."
"Yes. So that is a relief."
Libertas stroked her head, and Esther kissed her master's long hair.
Their conversation continued for a long while.
Talking about their future and love.
"When this is all over..."
At dawn, just before the morning broke.
Esther, with half-closed eyes, whispered, resting her head on the lap of her one and only master.
"I will never leave your side, Master."
"You are sincere."
"Yes. This time... definitely. I will protect you, Master."
The desperation in the saintess's voice was enough to make the always calm Libertas's heart beat even stronger.
She slowly stroked Esther's hair.
"It will be as you wish."
Under the moonlight lingering by the window, Esther finally felt her soul fill completely.
It was not mere peace or satisfaction.
It was a certainty of fate that she would become one with her master and never part again.