Chapter 2 (1/2)

Episode 2:  The Poison of Love / Crossroad

The Holy Raal Empire’s state-of-the-art aerial battles.h.i.+p Odin, also known as the “War G.o.d Battles.h.i.+p Odin.”

Inside one of its guest rooms, Luca and Marie were lounging on a sofa.

It was large enough to fit three adults, with soft cus.h.i.+ons that made them feel somewhat nostalgic.

Because in these past seven years, neither one of them had sat in such a soft, comfortable sofa.

“Oneechan, are you okay?” Marie asked, peeking at Luca’s face.

“Yeah, I’ve mostly calmed down.”

Although it wasn’t Luca’s intent, she did kill someone. And the truth of that fact weighed heavily on her.

At the same time, she also felt a strong sense of terror towards that unit- the Phantom.

A machine ignored a human’s will in order to commit murder. She had never seen or heard of a Masquerade doing such a thing before.

“Oh, well that’s good. You had a look on your face like it was the end of the world……”

Since a communication channel had been left open that entire time, Marie had both seen Luca’s face and heard everything that was said.

“Did I really look that bad?”

“Yeah. Though you never were much in the way of looks to begin with.”

“M- Marie, you little…! How dare you say that!”

Luca pushed Marie onto the sofa and started tickling her.

“Kyaa! Oneechan’s attacking me!” Marie said, laughing so hard that her eyes were tearing up.

And when Luca saw this, she started laughing as well.

“Thanks, Marie.”

Luca ceased the tickling and spoke in earnest.

“Oneechan is a good person. Marie guarantees it.”

The mature little sister smiled kindly.

Sometimes it was hard to tell which one was the older sister.

Luca sat back down on the sofa and sighed.

“A good person, huh,” Luca mumbled internally.

Good people aren’t good for anything. Really, truly pointless. That’s how it had been for the past seven years.

“But I guess a real good person wouldn’t go stealing Masquerades!”

“Ah, you’re right.”

Having returned to her seat on the sofa, Marie nodded in acknowledgement.

A brief silence.

“Oneechan, is the Demon King really going to buy the Masquerade?”

“We still haven’t negotiated it yet.”

While they were brought to the War G.o.d Battles.h.i.+p Odin after that incident and did land there, Liese had taken a different landing hatch.

And right after disembarking from the Phantom, they were led to this room by a group of uniformed soldiers.

“Oh. Well, Marie couldn’t believe it either when the Demon King showed up back there. Once that unit was confirmed as the Weisselillie, Marie thought that we were goners for sure.”

Weisselillie was the name of the pure white Masquerade that Liese piloted. It was a beautiful machine with lily emblems adorning both shoulders.

Its beauty was almost phantasmal, but also stained with blood.

“That was definitely a shock for me too.”

Marie didn’t know that Luca and Liese were friends. And Luca was somewhat lost as to whether or not she should even tell her.

But she did decide to do so in the end. Because she didn’t want to hide anything from her.

Even if Marie herself was hiding something from Luca.

“Umm, Marie? Actually…”

In the middle of Luca’s sentence, the guest room’s door quietly slid open.

And for a moment, she mistakenly thought that Liese had arrived.

But instead, the one who entered was a young woman in a red military uniform. She didn’t seem too far in age from Luca, perhaps just a couple of years older.

She had short silver hair and cute facial features. However, her upturned eyes caused her to appear angry. And then there was her forceful expression, or rather atmosphere.

“Which one of you is Lucrene?” The silver-haired woman asked while looking at both Luca and Marie.

Even through her uniform, one could tell that this woman had a rather large chest. But she had no extraneous fat outside that region, as well as an incredibly supple figure that was likely the result of regular exercise.

Luca was a little bit, really just a tiny bit jealous.

“That would be me, but right now my name is Luca. Not Lucrene.”

Luca was skinny. Including her chest. It wasn’t as if she was forced to go days without food during these past seven years, but it also wasn’t as if she was able to eat her fill.

Though she was comfortably fed during the three months she spent on the Arianrhod as a cook, thanks to their provided meals.

“How……” Marie said.

By which she meant “How does she know the name ‘Lucrene.'”

By the way, Marie was also on the relatively thin side. While Luca had intended for her to be properly fed and clothed and be able to live like an actual human being, things didn’t go over so well.

Once you fell to the level of a rat, it was hard to climb back up. That’s just how the world was.

“Well it’s not like it matters,” the woman said. “Lieselotte-sama is calling for you, so come with me.”

The woman spun her heel.

“Could you at lest tell us your name?”

When Luca said this, the woman turned back around.

“It’s Krista. Krista, of the Royal Guard. And just so there’s no confusion, you’ll be gunned down the second I see you trying anything strange in front of Lieselotte-sama.”

Krista glared at Luca.

“I’m not gonna do anything strange.”

Luca stood up, somewhat annoyed.

“Oneechan……”

Marie looked at Luca with worried eyes.

“It’s okay. I’m just going to go talk for a little while so sit tight here.”

Luca showed her a smile.

In hopes of a.s.suaging at least some of Marie’s unease.

Lieselotte Falkenmeyer took a shower, dried her hair, and diligently combed it.

After ensuring that there wasn’t a single hair out of place, she put on her uniform. A pure white uniform, different from that of the other soldiers. As a note, normal soldiers wore dark green and the Royal Guard wore red.

Liese loved the color white.

Because it brought up memories of the pure, kind Lucrene.

That her machine was painted white, and that it was named Weisselillie –White Lily–, all of it was to remember her.

Because Liese felt that the phrase “white lily” perfectly suited Lucrene.

“Lucrene……”

The throbbing in her chest refused to stop.

Lieselotte’s one and only friend. The only friend that she had in the entire world. Her friend from a decade ago who she thought had died seven years ago.

They had only actually met for a single day. But it was a memory more beautiful and precious than anything.

Again and again, Lieselotte checked to make sure that her uniform had no wrinkles.

Then she applied a little perfume and took a deep breath.

Reflected in the mirror, Lieslotte’s cheeks shamefully loosened up.

Seeing herself smile for the first time in however many years made her want to vomit.

And with her high spirits lowered, she confronted the truth.

“Am I an idiot……”

Lieselotte sat down on the floor.

“I’m not…… how I was back then…… There’s no way that Lucrene…… that she’ll accept me as I am now……”

The Demon King Lieselotte Falkenmeyer.

She was the enemy of the world, and the embodiment of evil.

An invader and a murderer.

A person so wrapped up in her hatred that she attempted to set the entire world ablaze.

“Even though we’ve been reunited…… there’s no way that she’d allow me to so much as touch her……”