Chapter 65 (1/2)

“But conflicted as he was, the devil had yet another devil whispering to him. That other devil said, ‘It’s not stealing life, right? Besides, doesn’t she want this too? So what’s there to worry about?’ And, ‘You want to see your research complete, don’t you?’ That was certainly true. The devil did want to see it. The right and wrong of stealing life, the right and wrong of what his subject wished for. Such things were of no consequence. He saw right through me, that other devil. And in accordance with those words, I remade her. Chris. In other words, you.”

“…So basically, you followed your desires and remade [Chris].”

“Well, exactly that.”

Arc admitted it with anticlimactic ease.

The penetrating cold in his gaze lowered its head; his expression was now pretty much the same as usual.

‘I’ve said what there is to say. So if you’re going to condemn me, condemn me.’ That’s what he seemed to be saying.

“Master! Why would you…!”

And taking the bait, Irene flared up at him.

But even she didn’t seem to know what to say to Arc, who was, in a sense, confessing to all his crimes.

Even so, in her emotional state, she wouldn’t be able to settle down unless she said something.

“To tell you the truth, I think that no matter what I say, I can’t be forgiven. But if I had to make some excuse for myself, at that time I was possessed. By the invocation stones, or perhaps magic… in other words, I’m the devil himself.”

“…”

An unspeakable atmosphere hung in the air.

I didn’t want to hear any more of this. That was how I’d come to feel.

But in fact, simply by learning of what Arc had done, I was already able to piece together much more.

That’s why what I wanted to ask about wasn’t this, but rather Leon and Lucien. And what role Tetra’s Heart played in all of this.

“…Honestly, I couldn’t care less about your atonement. More importantly, there are still things you haven’t said. Why don’t you tell me about them? What happened afterward?”

My words blunt and cold, I remembered that I was standing up and sat back down in my seat.

Looking unsatisfied, Aira and Palmira did the same. Because I wasn’t saying anything as the person in question, it didn’t matter if they had their own reservations. They had to stay silent, just like I’d chosen to.

Upon hearing that, Arc instead looked relieved, and he smiled with a self-deprecating air.

Surprisingly enough, maybe he didn’t want to be condemned.

“To tell you the truth, it was Prince Lucien who instigated me. Though I don’t mean to say that he’s entirely evil. But his objective is slightly different from mine — it’s Tetra’s Heart. He wanted to make Chris into its vessel. Well, once she knew that, it couldn’t be taken back.”

“Couldn’t be taken back?”

Perhaps because he’d said what he wanted to say, Arc’s tone had completely returned to normal.

“Yeah, I think you’re probably aware of this, but after that, her magical power ran berserk and consumed her soul. I think Prince Lucien did something to her. It seems something happened with Prince Leon then as well, but to be honest, I don’t know much about the details. By the time I realized, she was already broken.”

“‘Broken’… Weren’t you the one responsible for that!? Master!”

Again, Irene blew up at Arc and his excessively matter-of-fact att.i.tude, standing from the table.

I understood that she wanted to say something. I felt the same way. To say nothing of [Chris], who was certainly here with me. Even if it was easy to say that she died, she couldn’t accept it emotionally.

“Chris! How about you say something too! Isn’t this about you!?”

“Irene. I’m happy that you’re angry for me. But right now, let me listen to Arc’s story.”

Even so, I chided Irene.

I was furious. But right now, more than that, I wanted to make things clear.

Just what exactly did Leon do to [Chris]?

Under the elm tree, he definitely said that he met her.

In other words, [Chris] was able to meet Leon. If his words were to be believed, he didn’t know what ultimately happened to [Chris] then.

However, she was betrayed. Or perhaps, she thought she was. It felt that way. What was it?

I tried to remember.

[Our reunion wasn’t like the past… it was buried in formality.]

That’s what Leon said.

I cross-referenced it against [Chris’s] memories.

[I wanted to see him]

[So I]

[But even so]

— All of a sudden, I had a feeling that I understood, just a little bit, why [Chris] had felt betrayed.

It might be that Leon had already known too.

‘No matter what happens, believe in me,’ he said.

Maybe he also felt that it was selfish of him to say so. But wasn’t it because he understood that, because he recognized it, that he said those words?

That day ten years ago, they’d had a small misunderstanding, but it was about this, right?

Then, before he could fix it, Lucien had thoroughly destroyed everything.

[Why]

[Big Brother, why me]

[So that’s all I’m good for!?]

Bit by bit, fragments of memory boiled up like foam from the bottom of my heart. Incomplete, fleeting, faint. But now, they were trying to take shape.

It was suffocating, heartbreaking. It was unbearable.

She wanted to see him, wanted to meet him. But even though she put everything on the line just for that, when she saw him, she definitely —

‘I want to see Leon.’

Suddenly, that thought came to me.

“…Certainly, I was the one primarily responsible for her destruction. But I wanted to protect her dignity, if only that. So I hid her. In the Artor Ruins. Then, I retired from the Schola to escape Prince Lucien’s pursuit, and watched over her from Brellwandy. Artor was convenient. There are still many hidden labyrinths there. Using the ancients’ technology to preserve her was ideal. With that technology, and the rumor that Artor had [run dry], I protected her. For ten years… Ten years. Well… it’s not enough to atone for what I’ve done.”

And here, finally, the current me and [Chris] changed places.

So as I thought, [Chris] was in Artor when my b.u.mbling a.s.s came by and possessed her.

It’s just, I was able to predict that much, but I never imagined that the whole story would be Arc’s doing.

“…But well, by the time I noticed, the girl that I put all those measures in place to protect came back to life and suddenly appeared before me… Haha, I’d never been so astonished in my life. And… I mean, well, anyway, I suppose that’s what I have to say about it?”

With a self-mocking smile, Arc didn’t seem as surprised as he claimed to be. After a moment’s hesitation over what to say, he wrapped things up like that.

From his state, I felt slightly like something was out of place. Arc came off as a weirdo, both when I met him and now, so it was barely perceptible, but intuitively, I sensed he was faking something.

Like that deliberate show of eccentricity.

That naturally led me to a certain conclusion, but I didn’t consider saying it out loud.

I didn’t think it was appropriate to voice my borderline delusions.

“Mister Arc, you loved Miss Chris, didn’t you?”

And Aira, who had been patiently listening without a word until now, readily voiced the same conclusion I’d reached.