Running Away
"Ahhhh... It's finally over...."
It had been an endlessly long banquet.
Father had noticed me killing time on the terrace yesterday and forced me to greet every other noble in attendance. I thought I was going to suffocate to death.
But a trial this minor wasn't enough to stop me, Ren Aither. All that remained was to head home and thrash some knights in sparring. It had been rough at first, but once the results started showing, it actually got fun.
Hmm...... I feel like I'm forgetting something....
Will you come again tomorrow?
Yeah. If I can't remember it, it probably wasn't important.
Knock knock—
"Hmm? Who is it?"
Knock knock—
Even after I asked, only the knocking continued. Was the soundproofing that good?
"Come i—"
Bang—
Before I could finish, a female knight threw the door open and walked in.
"...I hadn't finished speaking yet......"
The knight tilted her head.
"You were going to tell me to come in anyway, weren't you?"
She wasn't wrong.... but asking with that pure expression on her face was a little irritating.
"So. What brings you here?"
Anyone who'd barge into a room like this had to have a reason. Especially a knight of the 6th Tier or higher.
"Ah. Nothing major — Her Highness the Princess has invited Young Master."
That is a fucking big deal.
No. More importantly, why on earth is the princess summoning me? Wasn't our connection supposed to end on that terrace yesterday?
First, I need to decline as gently as possible—
"Of course you won't refuse, so I'll escort you."
Ah. I wish she'd just leave.
"Unfortunately, the banquet today has left me rather fatigued—"
"Also, it looks like you wield a sword. Once your conversation with Her Highness is over, would you care to cross blades with me?"
"Shall we go right now?"
A spar with a 6th-Tier knight I'd never met? I'd go even if the emperor himself were summoning me. Of course, refusing the emperor would get my head cut off.
The knight nodded with a satisfied expression.
I followed her out of the room.
Crrrk—
"Hmm?"
"Is something the matter?"
"No. I just thought I heard something."
It sounded like teeth grinding.... but I must have imagined it.
Creeeak—
The door opened, and I saw the princess seated with a cup of tea.
"Hmm.... You've come?"
"When Her Highness extends an invitation, is it not only proper to answer no matter the circumstances?"
Of course, if it hadn't been for the knight, I wouldn't have come.
"In that case, may I ask why you didn't come to the terrace today?"
The terrace?
......Ah, right. I did say I'd come again yesterday. It wasn't important enough to remember.
"You weren't just thinking something rude, were you?"
Sharp instincts? I guess a princess is a princess.
"Of course not. I was merely admiring Your Highness's beauty."
"......So, about my question?"
"Well.... I simply got caught up talking with other people and couldn't make it."
"......Is that so."
Veins stood out on the back of the princess's slender hand. What? There shouldn't have been anything wrong with my answer.
...She didn't actually wait for me, did she?
"Haa.... First of all, the reason I called for you is simple."
The princess flicked her fingers, and a teacup slid toward me.
"Ren Aither. I'd like to invite you to my tea party."
The princess wore a triumphant smile. She seemed to think I wouldn't refuse.
Normally, accepting a proposal from royalty was the advantageous move....
Once the Evil God starts wrecking everything, nobles and royals alike will all go flying anyway.
Better to swing a sword one more time in that span.
"Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to attend. I have a great deal of work to do for my family."
"...What?"
"If that was all you needed, I'll take my leave."
I rose from my seat and walked toward the door.
"Hmm? Is the conversation already over?"
Ah. Does this mean no sparring?
"If you're finished, let's head to the training grounds. It's been a while since I've crossed blades with someone — I'm a little excited."
Fortunately, the sparring seemed unrelated to the princess's proposal. She just wanted to spar, huh.
Aria stared blankly at the seat Ren had occupied.
She could accept that he hadn't come to the terrace today. Declining to visit a place where a princess sat alone meant he had little interest in politics. If anything, it meant Ren was exactly the kind of person Aria had hoped for.
But she never expected him to outright refuse an invitation to a princess's tea party. He'd even been socializing with other nobles at the banquet today — which meant it wasn't that he was uninterested in politics, but that he was uninterested in the princess herself?
Aria downed her cold black tea and thought.
Ren Aither.... I won't forget this....
Slip—
Crash—!
"Kyaah!!"
The cup slipped from Aria's hand and shattered on the floor.
"Are you all right?!"
The man assigned as her guard sprang from somewhere and asked the princess.
"Ugh.... Why does this keep happening lately...?"
Aria's ears turned red.
My spar with the female knight, Leila, ended in a thorough thrashing.
She'd looked about my age, so I'd assumed she was 6th Tier — turns out she was 7th Tier. A 7th-Tier at twenty-one would have been a named NPC in the game.... Why don't I remember her?
Either way, my first spar against a 7th-Tier was incredible. The moment our blades met, I felt the wall. Thanks to that, I got a sense of how to climb to the 6th Tier.
About a month and I'd hit 6th Tier. At this growth rate, reaching 7th Tier within five years would be more than doable.
Heh heh. I, Ren Aither, have finally acquired an independent growth ability. Has my era finally arrived...?!
"Oppa. That smile of yours is kind of creepy."
"Isabel. Is that any way to talk to your oppa after three days apart?"
"Uuu.... You come back after three days and spend the whole day swinging a sword."
Isabel puffed out her cheeks and narrowed her eyes at me. I desperately wanted to pinch those puffy cheeks of hers, but I held back with superhuman restraint. Maintaining this sensation was more important right now.
So until I reached the 6th Tier, I needed to swing my sword as much as possible.
"You understand, right? So go play with Viola for a bit?"
"Eugh! I hate that woman—"
"Understood, Young Master. Lady Isabel? Since Young Master is training, would you come with me for a moment?"
"Mmph!! Mmmpph!!"
Viola appeared from nowhere, took Isabel, and vanished in an instant.
...Was she a former assassin? Her presence-concealing was an art form.
I watched Viola and Isabel recede into the distance and went back to swinging my sword.
After that, ordinary days continued.
Training, learning the duties of a family head, pinching Isabel's cheeks a bit. The princess sent letters from time to time, but I made up convenient excuses and stuffed them in a corner.
And so one year, two years, five years passed....
"......Why is nothing happening?"
Something was wrong.
The Evil God's forces, who should have been starting their chaos by now, were nowhere to be found no matter how hard I looked. In the game, the moment the Founding Festival began, terrorists struck the banquet hall and traitors poured out of the Magic Tower and the Academy.
I'd been on edge for the Founding Festival and even brought my favorite sword, but I didn't find a single Apostle — not even one suspicious person. Half the year had already passed, and the empire wasn't just fine — it was hitting an all-time peak.
"At this rate, I'm just a young man who trained a lot."
I sighed and stamped the last document of the day.
"...Should I go to bed?"
The clock already read past one. I'd finished a bit late today — too many stray thoughts.
Bang—
I opened the office door and stepped out.
"...?"
The hallway was silent. Silent enough that not a single presence could be felt.
......Something felt very, very wrong. Even with the heightened senses I'd gained upon reaching the 7th Tier, I couldn't hear a single sound inside this mansion.
I approached a window in the hallway.
"...You've got to be fucking kidding me."
Through the window, the sky outside was red.
Looking down at the town, I saw people being chased by twisted, malformed things. They didn't get far before the monsters pierced their hearts. Then they were reborn in the same twisted forms and began attacking others.
Looking lower, I saw a pond filled with blood, a ruined garden, and torn scraps of clothing.
I knew that red sky, at least. When the Evil God descended in the final battle, the sky had changed just like that.
"...Why?"
But there had been no omens. For the Evil God to fully descend, the Goddess and the Demon God couldn't interfere.... There was no way those two would fail to notice an outer god with power like the Evil God's entering this world.
That was why the Evil God's Apostles caused chaos in the game — to chip away at those two's forces and sow as much disorder as possible. But this was a pure, raw descent with none of that.
And only about a year had passed since the original story's starting point. How on earth had the descent already—
Thunk—!
As I stared blankly out the window, someone stabbed me through the heart from behind.
I slowly turned around.
"Ah.... Aah...!"
There stood Violet, tears streaming down her face. Both her hands were on the hilt of the blade.
...At least I get to see my favorite character's face once before I die....
Thanks, you Evil God bastard.
And with that, I closed my eyes.
"...A familiar ceiling."
"You've awakened, Young Master?"
When I opened my eyes, I saw the ceiling of my room — and Viola.
"......Viola."
"Yes. Is something the matter?"
"What year is it today?"
"Pardon? Imperial Year 568... I believe...."
Viola tilted her head as she answered.
"...Huuuh, so it was a dream."
I dragged both hands down my face.
568 — the year I came of age. I cycled aura through my body once and felt the mana circuits of a 6th-Tier.
......After that dream, a sudden unease settled over me. Was this world really going to follow the original story.... Could I really stand against the Evil God at this level....
As I fretted, Viola spoke up.
"Young Master. Do you have something on your mind?"
"...I do. Something pretty big."
"Would you care to tell me what it is?"
I almost refused, then decided to put it in roundabout terms.
"Just.... I'm not sure if staying like this is okay...."
Viola toyed with her chin for a moment, as if deep in thought.
"Then.... why not change it? Whatever it is."
...Is that so?
I thought for a moment, then got out of bed.
"Viola."
"Yes?"
"Start packing."
"What?!"
Knock knock—
Isabel knocked on Ren's office door. When there was no response,
"Oppa?! I'm coming in!"
Bang—
She boldly threw the office door open.
"Huh? Where did Oppa go?"
But the office was empty, and a single note was conspicuously stuck to the table. Isabel approached the table and examined the note.
Isabel. If you're reading this, I'm already gone.
Sorry. Handle the family head duties for me.
"Huh?"
Isabel stared blankly at the note — which said only the bare minimum — for a moment.
"...Oppa!!"