Ch.163The Day Is Approaching. (3)

“Haah…”

After staring at the map for a long time, Livga sighed and shook her head.

There had been no progress on the front line against the demonic beasts. While they had clear limits to the forces they could deploy, the demonic beasts seemed to have virtually unlimited numbers.

‘Oh Aether…’

It had already been several years since the battles with the demonic beasts began. Dozens of holy knights had fallen in every battle, and many priests had collapsed from overusing their holy power.

It was fortunate that the surviving holy knights and priests had reached higher levels of mastery through their life-and-death experiences. Without that, they wouldn’t even have been able to take this brief rest.

Just now, Livga herself had been in the middle of the battlefield, unleashing high-level holy magic.

The flames of war would only grow larger.

Livga knew well that the real war hadn’t even begun yet. She was afraid to even think about how many people would perish without finding meaning in their lives.

‘Saintess. Did you order the withdrawal of the First Parish from the Empire?’

‘That’s impossible! How could we, when there aren’t even any non-believers in the Empire…!’

‘Don’t you think the Saintess knows what she’s doing? She must have had her reasons for saying such things!’

Even though Livga was the Saintess, she didn’t have the authority to unilaterally sever diplomatic ties with the continent’s strongest nation. Naturally, there was resistance.

It was only because she had revealed the eight Holy Wings she had obtained by recalling her past life memories, declaring them to be God’s will, that she wasn’t stripped of her position as Saintess.

She hadn’t lied. All Livga had done was reveal the wings. It was the cardinals of the Order who had misinterpreted their meaning.

‘Though that was also something I shouldn’t have done…’

Rustle.

The sound of the tent flap being pulled aside.

As Livga slowly turned her gaze, she saw a woman in a golden robe entering.

Though she had become much gentler after experiencing many things, her eyes were still sharp. Among her features, her jewel-like pupils were particularly striking.

She was a woman of beautiful appearance, possessing an elegance not found in women who had just reached adulthood.

She looked at Livga, slowly pulled back her robe, and gave a faint smile.

“Sighing again, I see.”

“…!”

A small ripple appeared in Livga’s eyes.

“Lady Melina! You’re back!”

Livga hurried over with quick steps to meet Melina.

“Where did you go without saying anything? Could it be…”

“I went to have a talk,” Melina answered, looking toward the border. Livga immediately understood what she meant.

“…I don’t know what you said, but Princess Aria is not someone who can be reasoned with.”

“I already knew that. I just wanted to give her one last chance. After all, we did have a history together.”

In her past life, when “Olivia” went berserk, it was Melina who had evacuated Aria to the free city of Machina.

Livga let out a soft sigh at Melina’s words.

“We’ll have more preparations to make. We’ll need to expand our intelligence operations to deal with the Empire.”

Those who wanted to kill Olivia, and those who wanted to protect her.

Unless one side yielded, conflict was inevitable.

Watching Livga hurry back to the map, Melina looked at her with appreciation.

‘…Time really flies.’

Livga and Melina hadn’t always been this close. But they shared the common experience of having lost someone precious, and Livga had a kind enough heart to accommodate Melina’s personality.

“…Is there something on my face?”

Livga tilted her head curiously. The pose was dangerous enough to make even Melina flinch.

“…?”

When no answer came, Livga slowly turned her head with rabbit-like eyes. Seeing this, Melina felt a sudden pang of regret.

If she had taken Olivia as her disciple from a very young age, she might have faced such violently cute expressions every moment.

Melina suppressed her regret and closed her eyes again.

That clever girl must have noticed her feelings.

‘She probably knows I’m seeing her as Olivia but is allowing it.’

She couldn’t continue such rudeness forever.

‘I’m getting sentimental in my old age. How foolish…’

With age came more worries naturally. All she knew was that Olivia, who had been abducted by the Great Demon, was still alive. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what she might be going through there.

Worry came naturally. Being near the Saintess at least kept her from such terrible imaginings. That was why Melina frequently stayed in Livga’s tent.

If she surrendered herself to the calm, serene holy power…

“…Hmm?”

She opened her eyes.

Melina stared blankly at the tent ceiling, then slowly murmured.

“…What’s this?”

Something had settled on her hand like a feather.

In her hand was a single strand of blue thread. Melina slowly reached out and grasped it.

In that moment, she felt something deep within her heart crumbling.

‘…!’

Melina drew in a sharp breath. Her hand trembled like an aspen leaf, unable to withstand the flood of emotions.

This was no ordinary thread.

It was a thread that only high-level mages with mastery of mana manipulation could create.

Mana thread.

She was certain.

The mana emanating from the blue thread was definitely Olivia’s.

Why would she send this only to her? Melina’s deliberation didn’t last long.

“I’ll be going out for a while.”

“What? Lady Melina? You just returned, where are you…”

Melina left without waiting for Livga to finish speaking.

*****

In a dark forest as dusk fell.

A place filled only with the sounds of birds and insects. Olivia sat perched on an exceptionally tall tree, taking in the surrounding scenery.

‘They probably need some time alone? I’ll give them space for a while.’

Kiel had taken the Serial Murderer back to their original position. Despite Kiel’s important responsibilities, Olivia wondered why he would bring along an outsider of unknown identity like the Serial Murderer…

‘I can’t believe he used the excuse of making him his disciple.’

A trainee who learns under a knight before becoming one themselves. Every knight dreamed of becoming his disciple, but Kiel had never accepted anyone.

Yet this boy was the disciple Kiel had brought back after his seclusion.

It was only natural that the Serial Murderer would attract attention.

‘Oh, so you’re the new disciple the Sword Master brought?’

‘Hmm, your muscles don’t look that impressive. You must have exceptional talent.’

‘I’d like to spar with you. What do you say?’

‘Oh, Olivia. These people are weird. Help me…’

The Serial Murderer, suddenly surrounded by holy knights, sent a desperate look for help, but Olivia thoroughly ignored him.

With Kiel present, the Serial Murderer wouldn’t harm anyone. The Serial Murderer himself seemed to have noticed the difference in skill.

If he didn’t want to be sliced by Kiel’s greatsword, he would be careful on his own.

Olivia secretly spread mana threads in Melina’s direction.

‘I wonder what she’ll do this time.’

Olivia gave a bitter smile.

Honestly, Olivia still couldn’t directly feel the passage of five years. What would it feel like to meet her only disciple after five years? Would she be angry like last time?

She was so agitated that she didn’t even notice she was unconsciously using honorifics when thinking about Melina.

She didn’t know.

Melina was one of the few returnees Olivia found difficult to deal with. Not because she was uncomfortable, but because their bond was so strong that she felt a deep connection.

Melina knew most of Olivia’s secrets, and Olivia relied on her even more. The fact that she had entrusted her disciples to Melina before leaving was itself a testament to how much she trusted her.

That’s why it was even more difficult. Because they had become too close.

Honestly, when Olivia first arrived in this world, she had no intention of forming attachments with anyone. If the condition for returning to her original world was “annihilation,” she knew she couldn’t bring herself to kill them in her right mind.

The first person to break through that thick wall around her heart was Melina.

The moment she saw Melina straighten her shoulders and smile brightly in her final moments, Olivia desperately hoped that the ending of this world would not be “annihilation.”

“…Haah.”

Her chest felt tight.

If only she could gather all the clues quickly and figure out what the main quest was, she could relieve this tightness.

‘The 14th one just won’t appear.’

The notification window that had always appeared hadn’t shown up since Aurelia. Or more precisely…

[The 14th returnee is ‘?’.]

It had appeared, but neither the name nor the title had been revealed.

Normally, she wouldn’t have cared about such things. She had memorized the identities of all 15 returnees, and this notification window was nothing more than a means to confirm her already established plans.

But…

Olivia’s brow furrowed tightly.

‘I can’t remember.’

She couldn’t remember who the 14th returnee was.