The Unkept Promise
"Irina... miss?"
Clana gazed at the panicked Irina with a trembling voice.
"Why... are you calling for Frey with that look on your face?"
"Frey! Frey, where are you! Frey!!"
But shoving Clana aside, Irina began frantically digging through the rubble.
"Please... please! Pleasepleaseplease..."
"Irina... what's wrong with you...?"
Ariane, her friend, cautiously approached Irina and asked in a quivering voice.
"Ah, Ariane... do you know where the man in the black hood went?"
Finally snapping back to her senses, Irina desperately corrected herself and asked about Frey.
"In my last memory..."
Ariane furrowed her brow, rummaging through her recollections.
"...I was escaping with Lulu when a pillar of fire collapsed on me, and I blacked out. That's my last memory—and the last time I saw him."
As soon as Ariane finished, Irina jumped to her feet and shouted at all the students.
"You all!! Do you know what happened to the man in the black hood!?"
"..........."
Irina's voice was desperate and heartfelt in a way unlike her usual self, but the students couldn't answer.
They already knew the tragic truth.
"He rushed into the collapsing mansion to save Perloché."
No one stepped forward at first, but suddenly a girl came ahead and spoke.
"And... he hasn't come back since."
"What... did you say?"
Irina collapsed in despair at those words, and the students beside the girl murmured darkly.
"Whoever he was, he was incredibly brave..."
"Yeah, if that man hadn't carried me out the window, I'd have suffocated from the poison gas..."
"I was about to get stabbed by one of the intruders... but the hooded man shielded me and took the blade instead. I was fine, but he got a huge gash on his back..."
"Wait, Perloché's alive, right? So... maybe he's alive in the basement too?"
One student spoke hopefully, and the faces around brightened.
"Right! He went to save Perloché, and since she's alive... he must be too!"
"Princess! Didn't you see anyone else down there?"
"Please be alive..."
The students offered hopeful words, prayed, or questioned Clana. Watching them, Clana's face grew ever paler.
"...Ugh, urgh."
Staring blankly at the expectant students with her ashen face, Clana suddenly bolted back to the basement.
—Whoooosh...
Clana urgently absorbed the growing orb back into her body and examined Frey's corpse with a trembling expression—the one she'd confirmed dead.
"The hood..."
His face was exposed, the black hood removed by someone.
"You... was it you? You saved her?"
Realizing Perloché's words were true, Clana turned pale yet puzzled as she muttered.
"Why, why? Why did you need to save Perloché... and all the students?"
Muttering that, Clana quietly approached Frey.
"You're... you're a villain. I still remember the feel of you stabbing my heart. I didn't actually die until then."
Sitting beside the tattered corpse, Clana muttered blankly.
"You were grinning wickedly right up until you stabbed my heart. Like activating that magic circle to destroy the Empire was the most thrilling thing... so evil... Huh?"
After mumbling blankly for a while, Clana realized a hand was on her shoulder.
"Princess, you've made quite the mess."
"Eek!"
Startled by the voice, Clana tumbled forward and saw the investigation team leader staring at her.
"Corpse desecration... destruction of the crime scene... even for the Third Princess, I can't overlook this..."
Scolding her sternly, the leader smirked, formed a circle with thumb and forefinger, and finished.
"...but show a little sincerity, and I might look the other way."
Winking, he ordered his men.
"Carry him out carefully. Don't drop him like last time."
"Yes, sir!!"
The men loaded the mangled Frey onto a stretcher and slowly exited the basement.
"I'll send the menu by mail soon! Cash preferred... jewels if you can't manage... Princess? Are you listening?"
Ignoring the chattering leader behind her, Clana followed slowly.
She didn't fully understand yet, but her instincts screamed something was wrong.
"Th-there he comes out!"
"He's alive! Thank goodness!"
"Of course... he looked ridiculously strong. No way he'd die that easily."
As Frey's rag-like corpse emerged, commoners gathered with bright faces.
"Excuse me, what's your name? Even if I have to work part-time, I'll repay you..."
The orphanage worker's sister—nearly dead but saved by Frey—spoke joyfully, her face brightest.
"...Gasp!"
But spotting the gruesome state of Frey's body, her face drained of color, and she collapsed backward.
"F-Frey? Why is Frey...?"
The girl muttered soullessly, and the gathered students checked Frey's face, all going blank.
"What? Why is it Frey...?"
"He definitely left somewhere this morning? Why's he like this...?"
"Wait, these clothes and hood... no way...?"
As students pieced it together, Ariane—quietly watching Frey—muttered in shock.
"The one who saved us all... was really you, Frey?"
Her words froze everyone.
They'd half-suspected, but their brains had refused the conclusion—until Ariane voiced it.
"He saved me... Frey did?"
"No way... why would that Frey...?"
"It doesn't make sense... he was toying with me just yesterday. But he took a sword for me?"
As students panicked and muttered, someone approached slowly from afar.
"Frey... no, Frey. Open your eyes. Frey..."
Irina approached with a smile.
"Stop joking and get up, Frey. Why pull a prank from when we were kids now?"
Her mouth smiled, but her dead eyes overwhelmed the students, who stepped back from Frey one by one. Irina sat beside him and spoke.
"Fine, I lose. Stop it. Let's go eat fish. Okay? Frey?"
"Irina miss..."
"Frey, I was wrong, so stop. I'll do better from now on. I haven't even apologized yet. So please..."
"...Frey is dead."
"No!! He's not dead!!!"
A student tried to stop her, but Irina yelled, making him retreat.
"Frey... please, open your eyes. I haven't apologized... haven't atoned... please... please just..."
"I-Irina miss."
Irina kept shaking Frey and muttering. Stunned by the bizarre scene, Clana cautiously approached.
"H-how did this... happen..."
"...Princess, one question."
Irina stopped shaking Frey, glared at Clana, and muttered lowly.
"You planned this, right?"
"Th-that..."
"Did you?"
As the princess stammered, Irina said coldly.
"Just like Frey said, did you plan his assassination...?"
"I-I..."
Unable to answer the interrogation, Clana faltered. Irina conjured a massive Meteor and screamed.
"TELL ME!!!!!!!!!!"
"Eek!"
Overwhelmed, Clana tripped on a rock and fell on her butt. Straining to hold the Meteor, Irina spoke soullessly.
"Tell me, Princess."
"Y-yes... it was me..."
Finally overwhelmed, Clana whispered. Irina stared blankly.
"Do you... know what you've done?"
"Wh-what?"
Staring blankly for a long time, Irina hurled words laced with sorrow and rage.
"You just destroyed this world's only hope."
"Only hope...?"
"Frey... Frey was..."
Trembling while maintaining the Meteor aimed at Clana, Irina slammed it into the ground.
"...the hero who would defeat the Demon King."
—KABOOOM!
With those words, the Meteor crashed beside Clana, roaring and burning red.
Irina hated Clana but understood her position, so she'd veered it at the last moment.
"Frey... a hero?"
Staggering from mana overuse, Irina collapsed. Clana blankly mulled her words.
"Grooo..."
"...Ah."
Hearing a sudden sound, Clana turned and walked back to where Frey's body had been.
"Grooo... grooo..."
"This is..."
A white owl had placed a letter on Frey's chest, sadly pecking his face with its wing.
Why no reply? I'm almost there. Please, please say you're alive.
"...Ah."
Recognizing the familiar handwriting, Clana slumped powerlessly, thinking.
Something was terribly, terribly wrong.
. . . . . .
"So... Frey threw himself in to save you all...?"
"Yes... no idea why, though..."
"He did save us, but he was in the worst shape. Still... he kept saving students without rest."
After zoning out for a while, Isolet snapped back and began questioning the children.
Indescribable emotions gnawed at her, but she needed the truth—what was real, what was false.
She pursued every tiny clue in her investigation.
"Frey... why, why did you do such a thing?"
After thorough questioning, Isolet reached one conclusion.
Frey had saved everyone.
That was the single truth all testimonies and evidence pointed to.
'You're... not a villain after all, are you?'
But Isolet couldn't fathom why.
He was her first disciple, her sore spot. She felt pity... but the current Frey was a blatant villain no scoundrel could match.
Why save everyone and die?
Had his pure childhood spirit suddenly awakened? Why?
"Young master! Young master!!!"
"Oppa!!!"
"...Kania?"
Deep in thought, Isolet heard desperate cries from somewhere.
"Young master! Are you oka—"
"Oppa, what the hell is this...?"
Kania and Aria burst into the yard, faces ashen, and froze at the collapsed mansion.
"...Ugh, urgh."
Meanwhile, Clana—kneeling blankly by Frey—turned deathly pale at Kania's arrival.
If Kania, whom she thought betrayed her for Frey, knew the truth... hearing it would make everything irreversible.
"Young... master?"
"...Oppa?"
But you can't cover the sun with your hand.
Frantically scanning, Kania found her master's corpse.
"...Young master."
Staring blankly, Kania knelt and collapsed.
"Wh-what happened? How... what the hell happened!! WHAT HAPPENED!!"
Aria, staring incredulously at her brother's cold body, screamed at the crowd.
"Why, why only my brother?! WHY!! Why him!!!"
"Aria..."
Isolet, watching her, replied shakily.
"...Frey saved everyone and died."
"What?"
"The intruders released poison gas and set a fire. Frey fought them off, evacuating students one by one."
Isolet pointed to the commoners around Frey's body.
"These kids are all the ones he saved. Not a single one left behind."
"O-oppa...? Oppa did that?"
As Aria asked with trembling eyes, a girl beside her backed Isolet.
"Yes, and when the fire started... he even threw our luggage from the commoners' dorms outside. I told him to save himself first... but he said it was all we owned..."
"O-oppa..."
Aria sniffled. Isolet watched sadly, closed her eyes, and continued.
"While saving everyone, he entered the collapsing mansion alone to rescue Perloché... he saved her, but..."
"Ah... aaa..."
"To restore the protective magic circle shielding her, he poured all his mana from outside the basement... exhausting himself to death..."
"Oppa!!!"
Unable to hear more, Aria burst into tears, hugging the tattered Frey and wailing.
"Why... why did you do that?! Something you never would... WHY!! WHY..."
"...Miss."
"Kania! You know the truth, don't you?! You know!!"
As Kania spoke shakily beside her, Aria grabbed her collar and begged.
"Please! Tell me the truth!! Please...!"
"........."
"It's all over!! Oppa's gone with his secrets! The mansion's collapsed! So... tell me now!!"
Aria begged through tears, but Kania was silent.
Shocked by Frey's death, she couldn't accept her young master's passing—the one she'd grown fond of.
"...Kania, do you know something?"
As Kania stayed quiet, Isolet spoke up.
"If you do, please tell the truth. I beg you."
Isolet knelt desperately after pleading earnestly.
"I... need to know the truth."
"Yes! Please...! We can't bury it all like this!!"
Aria joined the pleading.
"Um, excuse me..."
"...Huh?"
As Kania teared up, someone spoke to her.
"Ka-Kania... so..."
Turning at the familiar voice, Kania saw Clana—pale, having overheard—trying to speak. Kania hardened and approached.
".......So, what do you think? Any thoughts?"
"I-I..."
Recalling Irina's reaction, Clana shrank and stammered.
"I... want the truth..."
"Everyone... you should see this."
As Kania glared coldly, a student stepped forward with a paper envelope.
"...What's that?"
Isolet took the envelope warily and froze.
[Last Will - Open only if I die without defeating the Demon King.]
"What... is this..."
"Um... before entering the collapsing mansion, Frey told me there's a secret pocket in his bag with a will..."
"...What?"
"His bag was with the students' luggage, so I checked..."
Isolet listened blankly, then tremblingly opened the envelope.
—Rustle...
Inside were several letters and a document.
"Th-this is..."
Carefully extracting them, Isolet picked up a letter in disbelief.
To Isolet
"Frey..."
Because she'd spotted her name in familiar handwriting on an envelope meant for packaging letters to "Isolet sis."
Trembling, Isolet tore it open and read, then collapsed sobbing.
"Frey......."
She wailed bitterly.
"...Ugh."
Clana stared in shock, then noticed the envelope dropped before her and groaned.
"What... what is all this..."
Panicking and muttering, Clana reached for it—but
—Whoooosh...
"Eek!?"
Black energy surged at her, filling her eyes with terror.
"You... you killed the young master..."
"...Kania miss?"
"You... because of you..."
Before her stood Kania, reading her letter in despair, rampaging.
"...No, it's my fault too. No. This is my fault."
"Guh... guh..."
"If I'd been at the mansion today... delayed treatment... I, I..."
Suddenly attacked, Clana tried activating Solar Mana instinctively, but Kania's despair-fueled black magic was too dense and potent.
It was the moment Kania's continent-devouring potential fully awakened—for the worse.
"W-wait! Kania!"
"Kania miss...!"
Thrashing in the black magic, Clana was freed only by Isolet and Perloché rushing in.
"...Ah?"
Clana stared blankly at Kania, subdued by Isolet and Perloché, still screaming.
She noticed a letter protruding from the envelope before her.
To Clana
It was from Frey to her.
"Cough! Cough!!"
Coughing from lingering black magic, Clana shakily tore open the envelope.
Sorry I couldn't keep our childhood promise, Princess.
I wanted to make you Emperor with my own hands.
"Ah, aaa..."
Reading the first line carefully, tears finally fell from Clana's eyes.
Her tears glittered cruelly in the sunlight.