Chapter 163 – The Eve

Crack- Boom!

“Khuuuaaaagh!”

A huge man, who had been bracing himself against a large boulder, tumbled to the ground.

And behind him, a girl who was small in stature, build, and voice, but full of confidence, Noah, shouted,

“N-Next…!”

At her cry, the burly adventurers lined up across from her twitched.

“A-Are there… no more?”

When no one stepped forward after a while, disappointment clouded Noah’s face as she looked at the adventurers in front of her.

A line of adventurers, all bald, without a single hair on their heads.

There were a few adventurers with full heads of hair interspersed among them, but they were the minority. Most were adventurers from Heinzel’s bald brigade, lined up in an orderly row.

“Hmm…”

“No! I-I’ll fight you!!”

Finally, amidst the hesitant bald men, an adventurer with a full head of hair stepped forward.

The bald adventurers cast lukewarm glances at him, but he simply shrugged, mocking them.

“You may have no hair, but you’re full of fear. What good are those grotesque muscles if you don’t use them?”

Crack-Pop-

Whether they took his obvious provocation to heart, the bald adventurers flexed their massive muscles, their fighting spirit ignited.

“Ah…! Y-Yes!”

And Noah’s face, too, bloomed with a bright smile.

But.

Thud- Crack-

“Ughhh…!”

“Hehehe… You’re… w-weak… Ahem, next…!”

Seeing the 32nd adventurer, his arm broken from a simple arm-wrestling match, the bald adventurers once again broke out in a cold sweat.

Behind them, two women sat watching, each sipping their coffee with different expressions.

“They’re boorish, foolish, and utterly repulsive. Is intelligence proportional to the amount of hair one has?”

“But our Noah is adorable, isn’t she?”

“What are you talking about? Seeing her having fun with them proves she’s one of them.”

“Not at all. Even her sweat smells sweet. And that carefree smile is adorable, isn’t it? Huhehe.”

“…You’re the most repulsive one here, Rubia.”

Serr, looking disgusted, glanced at Rubia, channeling a flow of light into the adventurer’s broken arm.

“Hmm, it seems you’ve changed quite a bit, just like Lady Noah.”

“That’s to be expected.”

Serr had thought her words would be a piercing remark, but seeing Rubia’s unfazed reaction, she sighed.

“Tsk, you’ve lost your naiveté. That makes you less amusing. Anyway, did the two of you have a good talk?”

“We shared everything we were curious about, everything that was necessary.”

“Meaning, you avoided any unnecessary conversations.”

“Is there a need for them? Not knowing keeps us happy, for now.”

“But if you were to disappear—”

Rubia’s eyes, which had previously held an expression similar to Noah’s, now gazed at Serr with a deep, serene look.

“It would be the same. Even if something happened to me, everyone would continue to live happily, just as they are now.”

“Do you truly believe that?”

“Yes.”

No hesitation. No doubt, no fear. Serr clicked her tongue at Rubia’s unwavering resolve and turned her gaze away. Toward Noah, who was still breaking the arms of those repulsive adventurers.

“I wonder… if she’ll let you go.”

“That’s why I’m asking for your help, Serr. When the time comes, restrain Noah.”

“No.”

“Surely you wouldn’t kill her?”

“Ha.”

Serr scoffed at Rubia’s words, recalling Noah’s face and demeanor as she killed the Masters.

“I guarantee she would. If she doesn’t, she’ll resent me forever. And I… don’t want Noah to look at me like that.”

“…Oh my?”

Rubia’s eyes widened at Serr’s hesitant, bashful words.

“Serr… you’ve changed a lot, haven’t you?”

“…No, I haven’t.”

“But your ears are bright red.”

“D-Don’t look at that!”

Serr hurriedly covered her ears with her hair. After taking a few deep breaths, she finally looked back at Rubia.

“Anyway, if you do something reckless, Noah won’t stay silent.”

“But someone has to do it.”

“It doesn’t have to be you.”

“It does. Noah is surrounded by good people… She’ll overcome it.”

“Think whatever you want.”

Clatter- Serr set down her coffee cup irritably, her face contorted as she spat out her words.

“But know this. I’m a genius. I’ll find a way your foolish brain could never even imagine.”

“Huhehe… Yes. I understand.”

Then, she pulled out a letter from her subspace and handed it to Rubia.

“Hm? What’s this?”

“Read it.”

Rubia carefully took the letter and unfolded it. Her expression instantly twisted as she looked back at Serr.

“…What is this? Then, all this time—”

But Serr simply gazed up at the sky with an indifferent expression.

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t know the exact reason, either. Of course, I have my suspicions… but I don’t want to believe them. If you want to hear them, come find me after midnight.”

“…Alright.”

A heavy silence fell between them. Serr sighed, stretched, and pulled out another coffee cup.

“Would you like another cup of coffee?”

Step- Step-

“May I join you?”

“Of course. Hermilla, you and Noah should come as well.”

Just then, Hermilla, having finished her work, carefully accepted the coffee cup Serr offered.

“I was talking about the coffee.”

“You already took it, and now you’re asking? That’s a bad habit.”

“So… are you not going to let me join?”

“I’m not so heartless as to turn away someone who just finished working.”

Serr smirked and gestured with her chin towards a freshly conjured chair, made with the power of spirits.

“Have a seat.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

The moment Hermilla sat down, the chair’s shape shifted slightly, hugging her form.

Shaped by the power of earth, filled with water, and covered with a thin layer of wind, Serr’s special chair was incredibly comfortable.

“Wow… it’s really soft.”

“Hehe, of course. A genius like me made it.”

“…Yeah, sure.”

Hermilla gave Serr a dry look before shaking her head.

“Hehe, you’ve worked hard, Lady Hermilla.”

“I didn’t do much, just gave orders here and there. Honestly, I was mostly idle, just watching everyone else.”

“And what does that make us, who’ve been sitting here sipping coffee all this time?”

“Terrible people abusing their power and position?”

“Hm, it’s not abuse, but the proper exercise of authority, and understanding one’s place. We stayed put because we had to.”

“And that’s your shameless excuse?”

Serr shrugged, skillfully conjuring three coffees and one strawberry milk.

“It’s not shameless, Hermilla. Imagine if Lady Rubia and I joined in, sweating as we carried rocks alongside them. Do you think they’d be able to work comfortably? They might injure their backs trying to lift heavier boulders to keep up with us, or force themselves to keep working when they should be resting, just because we were there.”

“Hmm… I suppose that’s true. Back when I was at the church, whenever I did laundry, the maids would break out in a cold sweat.”

“Exactly. That’s why I never did any work when I was the Tower Master.”

“…That’s just being lazy.”

“Hm, Lady Rubia. I’d appreciate it if you took my side here.”

Chuckling, Serr flicked her fingers, creating a breeze to call Noah over.

“I’ve never really noticed anything like that… but, yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

Hermilla, reluctantly nodding, accepted her coffee and leaned back in her chair.

At the same time, adorable footsteps and a cheerful voice approached.

“Hehe… I-I played for too long… Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I called you over to have a drink before you go back to playing.”

“Th-Thank youuu.”

Noah, accepting the strawberry milk from Serr, shyly glanced at Rubia.

Seeing this, Rubia smiled warmly and opened her arms.

“Come here.”

“Umm… but I-I might be sweaty…”

“It’s fine. I’ll cool you down, so come on.”

“Ah… Hehe…”

As if that was exactly what she wanted, Noah’s face lit up, and she leaped onto Rubia’s lap with a poof.

Then, holding a mug nearly as big as her face, she eagerly tilted it back, gulping down the strawberry milk.

Rubia, holding Noah in her arms, pretended to smooth her hair, but,

Sniiiiff- Haaaah…

Inhaled deeply, taking in Noah’s post-arm-wrestling scent.

“Seeing you like this lately… I can’t help but wonder if you’re really the Rubia I knew.”

“Honestly, it’s a bit creepy. It’s embarrassing to call you my friend in public.”

Friend.

Hearing the word emphasized, Hermilla observed Serr quietly before nodding with a satisfied smile.

“Hehe, that’s right.”

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just… you seem to have changed a lot.”

Then, she sighed, looking up at the sky.

“It’s peaceful. I wish we could stay like this forever, spending happy days in a peaceful world.”

All of us, together.

Her soft murmur drifted on the dry wind, blending with the scent of humanity that had begun to permeate the ruins.

By the time Noah’s mug was empty, Hermilla, feeling refreshed, turned to Noah and asked,

“Noah. The trial… it’s completely over, right?”

“Umm? Gulp- Pwah… Yeah, it’s all done.”

At the same time, Serr’s gaze. And Rubia’s gaze, who had been closing her eyes and enjoying Noah’s scent. All of their gazes, focused on Noah.

“Hiccup- Huh? W-What…?”

“Noah, you haven’t told us the most important thing.”

“Hmm… now that you mention it, I didn’t ask, either.”

“Hmm, indeed. I’m also curious.”

“W-What is it…?”

Hiccup.

Hiccup.

A thrilling silence hung in the air. Rubia was the first to break it.

“Noah. The unique ability you gained from the trial… what is it?”

“Ah…”

Hiccup.

As if she had forgotten herself, Noah’s mouth fell open, and she offered an awkward smile.

“I… I don’t know… Hehe.”