episode_0345

“That’s how I ended up here.”

“It seems like a crucial part is missing… Anyway—”

Yuri hugged Lulu and Nix tightly. Seeing them again after so long was incredibly heartwarming.

“Welcome.”

Honestly, Yuri herself found this special situation of regression scary and frightening. She didn’t know what had happened.

Meeting her old friends in the midst of all this was a huge help. Just being with them felt like sharing a heavy burden, making her heart feel much lighter.

Many hands make light work. Yuri slowly gathered her mana and rose from her seat.

“First… shall we finish things up?”

“Let’s do that.”

“Kehihi—I’ll go first!”

Nix’s black mist thickly coated the battlefield. The Imperial soldiers, disguised as the Karsin Marquis’s men, began to flee in utter panic.

Thwack—

However, black hands shot up from the shadows beneath their feet, seizing their ankles. They all lost their balance, falling to the ground in a chaotic mess.

“That’s what I’m talking about—”

“I’m going!”

Bright red flames rained down on the fallen soldiers. Another chain reaction of explosions engulfed the battlefield, turning the army into a complete sea of fire.

A few survivors tried to escape through the smoke of the explosions, but waiting for them was Yuri’s sharp dagger.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

Sshhwit—

A red line was drawn across their necks, ending their lives.

The three were already monsters who transcended the human category. It wasn’t something a normal army could stop.

“Did you capture some prisoners beforehand?”

“Yup! They’re here.”

Nix raised her finger, and space opened like a beast’s mouth. Then, she spat out three soldiers—*thput thput*.

Thud—

Soaked in the black mist, they looked up at Nix with terrified expressions.

“P-please… spare us…”

“Answer my questions truthfully, and!”

The best way to make someone talk is to cleverly mix hope and despair. Nix’s hopeful torture made the soldiers confess everything they knew and didn’t know.

Thanks to capturing two low-ranking soldiers and their seemingly superior officer, information was easily obtained. However, at this point, no one was connected to Nari, making it difficult to wrap up the case.

“Ah! It’s okay. I’ll deliver this directly to Ulysses.”

“U-Ulysses…”

“Yeah. Nari’s dad.”

Nix, who hadn’t wasted her long life, already had connections all over the kingdom. Perhaps, she possessed even greater power than Nari.

Everything went smoothly. After handing over the prisoners, interrogating them, and investigating the incident, the Karsin Marquis was immediately imprisoned in Tartarus.

Compared to Lulu and Nix, Yuri still had one thing left to finish.

A Hinata Duchy inn. Late at night, Yuri sat at a table in the messy first-floor dining room, her hands neatly clasped.

Opposite her sat her parents. Their expressions were quite serious. They had witnessed their carefully raised, delicate daughter dancing with blood on the battlefield.

“Where… did you get that power…”

“…”

“…Never mind.”

Yuri’s father quietly shut his mouth, cutting off whatever he was about to say. Her mother did the same. Until now, their daughter had been kind and docile.

She had diligently worked as told, so they had overlooked it, but they had never asked Yuri about her dreams.

Not things like laundry, cleaning, and cooking, but what she truly wanted to do.

“I want to be a maid.”

“M-maid…?”

“Yes. I want to get a job at the Naifrantz royal palace; there’s someone I really want to take care of.”

A slightly uneasy feeling arose. They had only received Yuri’s help, while she herself had been pursuing her own goals.

A girl who wasn’t even ten years old.

“…Just don’t get hurt.”

“Mom and Dad always watch over our Yuri…”

They couldn’t stop it; they shouldn’t. While momentarily neglecting their parental duties, the chick they held in their arms had become a swan.

Trying to stop its flapping wings was wrong.

“Thank you, Mom, Dad.”

The large swan’s wings enveloped the two. She was already a reliable and trustworthy daughter. At least, it didn’t seem like she would ever cause them shame.

They emptied their savings and sent Yuri to the royal palace. They weren’t a wealthy family, but they thought it was the right thing to do. Yuri didn’t refuse and left for the Naifrantz Kingdom the next day.

“Will you be alright? We only just saw each other again.”

“I’ll be fine.”

The images of her parents waving goodbye grew distant. Yuri’s mother, after waving her handkerchief, collapsed onto the street, and her father barely managed to support her.

It’s not that she didn’t love her parents. She didn’t know how happy she was to see them again. Even now, as she leaves, her heart aches terribly.

But it’s something she has to do. Yuri felt like she was starting to understand the nature of this special regression situation.

Once she was sure, she decided to reveal it to everyone.

The head of the Royal Magic Corps, and an elf who was a close friend of the deceased First Queen. Holding both connections in her hands, Yuri immediately got a job as a maid at the Naifrantz royal palace.

Her goal was one: to become the personal maid of the Fifth Princess, Narita Flora Naifrantz.

In this life, the First Queen Lea’s faction remained strong, so Yuri might not be needed. But, it turned out to be a misjudgment.

Because the faction was strong, even stronger opposition was encountered.

Nari didn’t completely break, although she shut herself up in her room; her spirit was gradually breaking and becoming unstable.

There were no maids who could put up with her harsh temper, and eventually, Yuri’s turn naturally came.

As always, lifting her skirt slightly, Yuri bowed her head.

“I am Yuri, and I’ll be attending to the princess from today onwards. Please be kind to me.”

Nari, who was wiping sweat with a towel in the swordsmanship hall, widened her eyes upon seeing Yuri.

Yuri instantly understood. It was settled. Reading the master’s preferences and feelings was the first rule of being a maid, and it was Yuri’s first skill.

“O-oh, uh, yeah… another new girl.”

“I’ll start with the cleaning.”

“W-wait a minute…!! My room is incredibly dirty, so—”

“Hee hee. That’s why I’m here.”

Easily evading Nari’s attempt to grab her, she entered her room. It was the same as their first meeting in her past life. Without someone to take care of it, it always became a pigsty.

That’s why Yuri felt more energized. It hasn’t changed; so the things she needs to do remain the same.

‘I will serve wholeheartedly.’

Yuri, Lulu, and Nix each prepared to welcome the next person from their respective positions.

.

.

.

In the middle of outer space, the forces of light and darkness waged war. Each side was whittled down, until only Nari and Yog-Sothoth remained.

“Is this the end?”

Drip drip—

Nari brushed off the clinging tentacle fragments and raised her sword again. Even after cutting down a thousand black goat kids, her strength remained undiminished.

『You wish to know the end of that arrogance.』

『Even without urging, there are many offspring.』

『The goddess of the dark fertile earth endlessly breeds.』

Shub-Niggurath, the black she-goat with a thousand young. A being close to a mother star; this Great Old One births countless offspring.

It’s called a thousand, but as long as that being supports them, they multiply indefinitely. It’s clear that Nari’s strength will wane first.

『Your companions are still within my grasp.』

『The annihilation of your existence is imminent.』

Nari slightly furrowed her brow and looked at the six doors.

Deep within the unsettling magic, a very faint reaction of aether was felt beyond. All six are alive.

“What a terrible taste. What have you done?”

With a creak, a door before her opens. It was like the gruesome smile of a hideous demon. Chills ran down her spine at the slit like a long, drawn-out smile.

『Those people are content with their second lives.』

『They are living more diligently than the lives they shared with you.』

『When the end arrives,』

『They shall entirely forget you and this world, becoming my slaves.』

From Yog-Sothoth’s perspective, Nari was giving up everything and fighting recklessly, letting things go as they would. The sight of their ugly struggle was pleasing.

However, they do not know that Nari merely allowed them to rant.

In this situation of utter despair, Nari laughed.

“Content… Is that really the case?”

Would they truly be satisfied if everything was given to them? Nari didn’t think so; she had experienced having everything in her hands.

Gods born with everything don’t understand. The thirst to fill what’s lacking, the desire, and the human nature that struggles to be more beautiful because of its flaws.

Nari saw the future in her eyes. Yog-Sothoth would meet the same end as Tenebris.

“Let’s wait and see. Let’s see who laughs last.”

『Struggle hideously, mortal.』

The black door opens, and more black goats pour out. Nari gathers aether and magic in her hands, throwing them high into the air.

A snow-white star and a pitch-black star. Aether and magic. Light and darkness. Yang and yin.

As the two opposing forces coexist and illuminate Nari, she once again invoked her divine power.

“Eternity does not exist before me, immortal.”