Volume 7, Chapter 9 “Mastermind”

Part 1

Once the Arroganz with Kyle and Yumeria-san on board landed on the deck, the hatch opened.

Kyle comes down from there and holds Yumeria-san in his arms.

I walked up to Kyle and put my hand on his head and stroked his hair, ruffling it wildly. Kyle didn’t like it, but he looked a little happy.

“P-Please stop!”

“Well done for a first time. How do you feel about riding Arroganz?”

“I don’t think I can handle it. Arroganz is the armor of Count ―― Leon-sama”

When he called me that, I’m having a game-brained thought that I’ve become more likable.

Yumeria-san looked troubled.

“A-Ano, Leon-sama, that, I-I-I-I’m sorry I went out of my way to take a break from work!”

I would be troubled if she apologized for such a thing at this time.

“It’s okay, hide in the ship for now. I’ve got a lot of work to do from now on.”

Luxion, who was floating by my side, complained to me with an air of annoyance.

You’re making him do something rash. The success rate would have been higher if Master had been on board.

“He only wanted to help. Come on, do the maintenance quickly.”

After watching Kyle and Yumeria-san walk into the ship, I boarded the Arroganz and closed the hatch.

On the deck, the drones that had been waiting in the wings swarmed around the Arroganz and began their maintenance.

Luxion compiles Gier’s data while I can’t move due to maintenance.

The armor that Serge rides seems to be called Gier.

“Gier? What does it mean?”

It means greed

“Uwaa ~ that sounds chuuni“

―― That’s right. More importantly, Gier is an armor built by Ideal for use against Arroganz. I’m sure he has been collecting data on Arroganz for some time now. It’s troublesome.

If Ideal is going to be our enemy, he’s going to have to do at least that.

I would do that too.

But――How serious is he?

“We’ve got Yumeria-san back. I heard from Loic that Alberg-san and the others are safe, right? We’ll get them and get the hell out of here.”

That’s only if they let us get away. Master, Gier is getting closer.

As the drones moved away from the Arroganz, the back was replaced by a Schwert ―― not a container, but a wing-shaped backpack.

Missile packs are attached to the wings, and additional armor is attached to the armor of the Arroganz as well.

“It looks quite stylish this time. Did you put even more armor on?”

It’s a hasty preparation, but I’m trying to improve our chances of winning. Please use it carefully.

As I took off from the deck, Gier was closing in on Einhorn.

I can hear Serge shouting, but since we are both equal in performance, my opponent’s face appears on the monitor screen.

I could see Serge’s face, his eyes bloodshot.

When I saw him drooling from the corner of his mouth, I immediately understood what he had used.

“Did you use drugs again?”

“I’ll do anything to kill you! I’ve always ――I’ve always wanted to kill you for more than a decade!”

“Haa?”

What the hell is he talking about? We hadn’t even met more than ten years ago. As I was thinking this, Luxion explained Serge’s feelings.

It’s possible that he is comparing Master to the Rault’s own son, Leon? He’s always been jealous of the dead son.

“That guy is?”

Master, we have no time to sympathize.

As Gier approached, I also re-grasped the control stick.

“Who’s feeling any sympathy?”

I stopped Gier’s approaching spear with the great sword I pulled from my back.

Looking at the spear, it seems that a gun is installed.

Serge fired a shot, and Arroganz shook.

“Guh!”

The machine’s performance is higher than the enemies we had until now.

“Arroganz should have been powered up too.”

With a light tone, I distanced myself from Gier and purged my missile pack ―― From there, several missiles were launched at Gier.

However, Gier evades them and destroys them with the gun he has installed in the spear.

“How is that possible!”

Ideal supports him. I can do the same thing, and I have done it before?

“It’s troublesome when other people do it, isn’t it. Now, what do we do about it?”

In front of the armor that was created to fight Arroganz, I think of a way to fight.

.

Part 2

Arroganz and Gier were fighting fiercely.

The armor of the kingdom landed on the airships one after another, and then they were resupplied and maintained.

And then ――.

“Otou-sama!”

“Louise!”

―― The heads of the six great noble houses that Loic had helped arrived in Licorne.

When Louise saw Alberg, she hugged him on deck. Alberg also hugged her tightly, happy that his daughter was still alive.

It was Lelia who was watching the scene.

“What. Bad guys hugging each other.”

In Lelia’s mind, the Rault House are the bad guys. In the second otome game, Alberg, the last boss, wanted revenge because the main character’s mother had broken off their engagement in the past.

What a pathetic reason――a pathetic man.

And the daughter of such a man is a villainess who bullies the protagonist.

Seeing them hugging each other, Lelia wondered if her perception was wrong?

She started to think like that, but she couldn’t bring herself to change her mind now.

The heads of the six great noble houses were all looking coldly at Lambert, the head of the Favel family.

The person in question was cowering and holding his head in his hands.

“Give it back. Give me back my crest. It’s a sign of the Favel family. It’s not forgiven to take it away.”

He was crying and mumbling and kept saying the same thing.

Fernand was also visibly disheveled. He used to be a blond-haired, blue-eyed nobleman, but now his hair is in disarray and he has stubble. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept at all.

It seems that the loss of the blessing of the sacred tree has given him a great mental shock.

His figure looks smaller than before.

And the way he looked at Alberg, who was hugging Louise, was filled with hatred.

“Acting chairman ―― it’s your fault we lost the crest because you didn’t keep a close eye on Serge. It’s your fault!”

Fernand’s eyes were bloodshot and scary to Lelia as he complained to Alberg.

The same goes for the other heads.

He glared at Alberg ―― as if to say that the Rault House was responsible.

Loic’s father, Bellange, stood up and grabbed Alberg.

“The Commonwealth is finished because of you. It was you who adopted Serge, and it was you who destroyed the Lespinasse House. Besides, if you hadn’t given up on the previous priestess, none of this would have happened!”

Alberg lets Louise go behind him, then gets hit once by Bellange.

A panicked Loic pulled Bellange away.

“What are you doing, Father!”

“Shut up! I don’t need to be called a father by a son who has not a blessing!”

“―― Then, you don’t have that blessing either.”

When Loic told him that he also had lost his crest, Bellange started to realize and collapsed on the spot.

For the nobility of the Commonwealth, the crest was also great spiritual support.

Lelia turned her face away at the shameful sight of the adults who had lost it.

(They were so overpowered, and now they’re like this just because they lost their crest?)

The adults and even Fernand, a hidden character, seem very small existence now that the crest is gone.

Alberg was the only one who was not disturbed, but Lelia, who was aware of the fact that he was the last boss, could not help but think that he was up to something.

.

Part 3

Lelia and the others moved to the ship in Licorne, but the only representative of the Commonwealth to discuss the future was Alberg.

They gathered in a room that looked like a conference room.

Emile is near Lelia――and Clement, who is giving Alberg a sharp look. Noelle, who had fought with Lelia, was at a distance.

And Loic is leaning back against the wall, away from Noelle.

Marie and Cara were similarly silent, as if they were committed to the background by the wall.

Alberg sat in a chair, with Louise next to him.

Ange, the acting captain of the Licorne, was talking to Alberg. They talked about the coup d’etat and Holy Kingdom Rachel which support it.

“The kingdom saved me again. I’m only going to owe you more.”

“Tell that to Leon “

“Yeah, I guess so. I will.”

When the conversation comes to a close, Ange looks apologetic to Alberg.

“Acting Chairman, as for your son, I can’t guarantee his life.”

They were told to give up the life of Serge, who was fighting with Leon, and Alberg and Louise nodded, although they were a bit sad.

“I think I understand. I’m not going to be so brazen as to ask you to save his life, too.”

Lelia couldn’t resist snapping at Alberg, who made a comment about abandoning Serge.

“What do you mean? Are you saying you don’t mind that your adopted son is dead?”

At Lelia’s words, Alberg closed his eyes and didn’t say anything back, but Ange only gave her a look.

“If you don’t quiet down, get out. I don’t have time for personal grudges.”

“We’ve had our house destroyed by him!”

“Then do it later. We don’t have time for this.”

Lelia is annoyed with Ange for putting themselves first.

Then, Alberg turns his head to Lelia.

“Lelia-kun, right”

“Yes”

When she replies curtly, Alberg speaks with a gentle voice.

“Your anger is justified. And I don’t blame you for it. You can hate me all you want.”

“Do you mean to admit your mistakes and showing an unrepentant attitude?”

Alberg’s attitude struck a nerve with Lelia.

Lelia was about to yell at him, but Noelle stepped in front of Alberg. Alberg looked ready to take a beating, but Noelle did not touch him.

Instead, she asks Alberg for the truth.

“Please tell me. Why did you destroy Lespinasse House?”

Louise tries to stop Noelle.

“What’s the point of talking about it now? Do you know Otou-sama’s situation?”

Louise tried to get Noelle to back off, but Alberg stopped her.

Alberg turned his gaze to Noelle and Lelia.

“It’s easy to hear. But listening to it will be hard for you, is that okay?”

Noelle gave a small nod. She has a determined look on her face. However, Lelia is different.

“Okay. Let me hear your excuse. I’ll listen to you if you don’t have a grudge against mother for breaking off your engagement.”

(It’s going to be hard, my ass. What kind of excuse is a vengeful man who destroyed Lespinasse House going to make for a broken engagement?)

With her knowledge of that second otome game, Lelia thought she knew everything.

It’s the Rault House who is the bad ones, and the Lespinasse are the victims.

No matter what excuse Alberg gave, Lelia was not going to be swayed.

In fact, she was going to point that out to him if he had a strange excuse.

However, after hearing Alberg’s story ―― Lelia changed her perception.

“Your mother and I decided to get engaged when we were students at the school. There were several other candidates at the time, but your mother chose me.”

The story began with an encounter between Alberg and their mother.

“At the time, I was worried about the future of the Commonwealth of Arzel. The Commonwealth was undefeated thanks to the power of the sacred tree, and its economy was booming thanks to the export of magic stones. I won’t say that I have no complaints, but it’s true that we’ve been more fortunate than other countries. However, because of this, corruption was noticeable, especially among the six great noble houses. The nobles became arrogant, like Pierre――”

Pierre ―― the second son of the Favel family, the man who was rampaging with the crest of the six great noble houses. This behavior was also a crime, but it was overlooked because he was Six Great Nobles.

He was a model of a bad aristocrat who used the power of the sacred tree to behave arrogantly ―― and he was beaten to death by Leon.

“I felt that the future of the Commonwealth, which depended on the crest and magic stone exports, was in question. That is why I felt that reform was necessary. Your mother agreed with me.”

When they hear that much, they start to wonder why it didn’t work out.

In the end, they never got married.

“However, what she was concerned about was―― the Sacred Tree itself. People say that the priestess is in charge of the sacred tree, but it’s the other way around. The priestesses and the six great nobles are controlled by the Sacred Tree. For the sacred tree, we are just tools. “

They seemed to be using the power of the sacred tree, but in reality, they were being used by the sacred tree.

The sacred tree was protected by the humans who had been given crests as a blessing. The priestess was merely a bridge between them and the humans.

Lelia was surprised to hear that.

“D-Don’t you dare tell me something selfish.”

(Wait. I don’t know anything about that)

Alberg says it’s true, and continues talking.

“Your mother told me. It is true that she can choose the guardian, but the candidate is chosen by the sacred tree. From the sacred tree’s point of view, it would want to give a powerful crest to a strong person that protects it. The priestess can choose any of the candidates she wants ―― but in reverse, her options are limited. “

Marie looked at Noelle’s face and looked worried, but didn’t call out to her.

Noelle let out a small laugh.

“The legend is unreliable. It was a lie that I would end up with the person I love.”

” ―― It must be hard if you don’t like any of the candidates. She and I talked about the future of the Commonwealth. It was not a bad relationship, if I do say so myself. But then your father showed up”

Noelle and Lelia’s father was from the commoner.

He was an excellent student at the academy, but he was not a nobleman and did not have a crest.

Such a man was to be united with their mother.

” ―― As I later found out, your father was dissatisfied with the noble politics of the Commonwealth. At the same time, he tried to change the situation where the sacred tree was being used. Maybe it was inevitable, your mother, who was anxious about being ruled by the sacred tree, come to a mutual understanding with him. “

Lelia and Clement are surprised to learn that her father was trying to use the sacred tree.

Clement was upset.

“It’s a lie that the guardian-dono was thinking such a thing. As a guardian, he is sworn to protect the sacred tree.”

Clement’s words reminded Alberg of two of the girls’ father, and he said bitterly.

“He could say whatever he wanted with his mouth. He was a smooth talker. He pretended to be an honest man around her so that he could deceive her. He was a good man ―― but maybe that’s why he couldn’t tolerate the nobles who were above him just because they had a crest”

Lelia remembers her parents who took good care of her after her reincarnation. In her previous life, her parents only cared for her sister and neglected her.

However, in this life, she was sure that her parents had loved her as well.

So she didn’t want to believe Alberg’s story.

“You’re lying! You’re holding a grudge because your fiancé was taken from you, right!”

“I resented her. I decided to gracefully step aside if she chose, and people around me have been yelling at me for being a pathetic man who lost to a commoner. Why don’t you try to be patient and give them your blessing? She and that man both betrayed the sacred tree ―― the sacred tree gave up on them.”

“Eh?”

“Your father is a man who was trying to use the Sacred Tree. Do you think that the sacred tree would consider such a man to be worthy of being a guardian? Even without my personal grudge, he is the man who destroyed the Commonwealth system. ―― He told me. He said she was wondering if she had chosen me of her own volition or if she had been mentally manipulated by the Sacred Tree. He bragged about how easy it was to seduce her.”

Their mother wondered if she had chosen Alberg because of the Sacred Tree’s interference with her mind. That’s what she thought.

Exploiting a gap in her mind, their father advised her “Just choose a guardian from among the non-candidates”.

Lelia, who remembered her kind father, shook her head in disbelief.

“Lie. It’s a lie!”

But――Noelle was the only one who accepted her father’s story.

“I’ve had that feeling.”

Seeing Noelle smiling thinly, Lelia yells at her.

“How can you believe his story? How can you say such a thing when he loved you so much!”

(It’s unforgiven to allow you to take Alberg’s word, even though he had a habit of loving you more than me!)

Noelle looks coldly at Lelia.

“――You’re so lucky. I really envy you.”

“What did you say?”

When the sisters are about to start fighting again, Clement intervenes to stop them.

Alberg tells them what the Lespinasse house has done.

“The Sacred Tree gave up on the Lespinasse House, who had betrayed it as a matter of course. But your parents have deceived us by posing as priestess and guardian. They’ve come to hide the fact that neither the priestess nor guardian is present.”

When she chose her father, her mother was abandoned by the sacred tree and lost her priestess crest.

And the crest of the guardian was not given as a matter of course.

“By the time we found out the truth, your father was doing research on how to use the sacred tree. Do you see the collar that Loic-kun used? That’s one of the results of the Lespinasse House’s research. Losing the crest, they were seeking power to replace it, and then Lespinasse House resorted to taboo.”

Taboo ―― There are tools to bind people, and contracts that use the sacred tree, such as the one Pierre used to take Einhorn. Both unfairly tie people down and put them under their control.

Everyone in the room is aware of the intentions of the Lespinasse House that created it.

When the gaze fell on Loic, he looked apologetic.

Previously, he used a special collar to keep Noelle from escaping.

It is a collar that cannot be removed and is bound with invisible chains.

His father had developed such a tool ―― Judging from the way he used the tools, he was probably thinking of manipulating people. Lelia held her head.

“It’s definitely a lie”

“Unfortunately it is true. There is evidence from the Lespinasse mansion.”

If left unchecked, the Lespinasse House might eventually use the sacred tree as a tool to control them. The six great noble houses of the time must have had such fears.

The other six houses would not have been able to forgive the Lespinasse House for not only betraying them, but also for trying to control them.

Louise was convinced when she heard the reason why the Lespinasse House was destroyed.

Then she turns her anger on Noelle and Lelia.

“With the crest of a priestess or a guardian, there is no way they can lose to the Rault House. I was wondering if the other heads were aware of this? ―― More importantly, I can’t believe they’re bringing up my brother’s engagement without a crest, it’s really stupid. My brother was so happy to be a guardian, but it was all a lie. “

In the past, there had been talking of an engagement between Noelle and Leon of Rault House. However, if this story is true, then Leon of Rault House could not become a guardian even if he married into Lespinasse House.

Alberg tells them what happened at the time.

“Lespinasse House must have been cornered. They probably wanted to involve the Rault House and force us to become their allies.”

Why did the Lespinasse House, with their priestess and guardian, lose? Why did Alberg become the acting chairman?

As they are connected, Lelia holds her head.

“W-What? Why did it become like this? I don’t know anything about this.”

(The game never mentioned anything about that! It’s not fair. Why can’t things go according to the scenario?)

As Lelia is having trouble keeping up with this situation, Alberg apologizes to them.

“―― The six houses, except for the Lespinasse House, decided to get rid of them. Since there was no way to leak such a story to the outside world, the head of the house and the predecessors decided to keep it a secret. And originally, you were supposed to disappear with your parents.”

But Alberg――decided to save the twin sisters, who are no aptitude as a priestess.

“Originally, I would have let you go into exile. But ―― the vassals of Lespinasse House kept you in the Commonwealth.”

Alberg’s stern gaze pierces Clement.

Ten years had passed, and those who knew the secrets of the time were beginning to retire.

Alberg was hesitant to kill them now, and he was going to decide not to interfere.

When Noelle heard everything, she turned over and smiled.

“I thought it was suspicious. But I wanted to believe. I’m sure there is a reason.”

Lelia bit her back teeth when she saw Noelle start to cry.

(Did you notice everything from the beginning? And you didn’t tell me? ―― That’s how you’ve been making fun of me for not knowing anything.)

She hated Noelle, who was loved by her parents more than her. The image of her sister from her previous life overlapped with her, and her hatred grew.

Then Marie approached Noelle.

“Marie-chan?”

“It’s not Noelle’s fault. Isn’t that right, Alberg-sa, oji-sama.”

Alberg nods.

“You were young at the time, and you are not to blame. But I understand the resentment you feel toward me.”

Noelle shook her head.

“I don’t hold a grudge. It was my parents who betrayed you and did something unforgivable in the first place.”

Lelia couldn’t understand Noelle, who reconciled with Alberg.

(Even though your parents loved you so much and you had the aptitude to be a priestess―― Life really is unfair, isn’t it. Because she is the protagonist, she is loved by people around her, and even if I’m a twin, I’m just a bonus, aren’t I)

Lelia never realized the contradiction with her own memories, which made her resentment grow even more.

.

Part 4

The sky near the Temple of the Sacred Tree.

Gier was chasing me around, and I was checking Serge’s movements as I ran away.

“What a power, but there are few behavior patterns.”

Luxion seems to agree with me, and explains to me how Serge’s behavior patterns are few and how to deal with it.

The pilot’s skill has not caught up with the armor’s performance. It’s the same pattern as the Master’s, but the Master’s skill level is higher.

“Because the men of the kingdom desperately train to support the women.”

The reason why you became strong is pathetic and very Master-like.

“All the men in the kingdom are like that!”

Just some of them. That applies to the ruling class, from barons to viscounts. Except for Master and your friends, they have a peaceful man-woman relationship.

I really spent my days throwing up blood.

I underestimated the fact that it was just a class at the school, but the training like an army was waiting.

I’ll never forget those painful and tough days. My friends and I once risked our lives in a dungeon to earn money for a gift for a girl.

Serge, who was imitating an adventurer for fun, was lukewarm to me. The approaching Gier irradiated me with optical weapons from his shield.

The homing laser had a tracking function, but the Arroganz responded by firing lasers from its backpacks.

It never occurred to me when I was reincarnated that we would be fighting optical weapons against each other.

“The world view is different”

As I was talking lightly, Serge’s behavior changed.

The Serge on the monitor doesn’t seem to like the fact that he can’t beat me.

“I’ll definitely kill you”

He took out a gray metal case, picked up a syringe from it and injected himself without hesitation.

“Do you really want to win that badly?”

Serge was foaming at the mouth behind the monitor and wiping it with his hand when he regained his composure. The blood vessels all over his body were showing.

Luxion warns of the danger in that appearance.

You should stop using that body-strengthening drug. It’s taking a heavy toll on the user’s body.

Serge rejects Luxion’s advice.

“I don’t care as long as I can kill Leon. I’ve always―― hated you. “

“You’re mistaken. I’m not Leon-kun of Rault House.”

Gier’s four-legged flight through the air was faster than the Arroganz’s speed. The Spear’s thrusts were also sharp――the additional armor on the Arroganz was being cut down.

Luxion tells me.

Master, Serge is no longer sane.

Serge reveals his heart, perhaps because of the drugs.

“I don’t give a sh*t if you’re real or not! If I don’t kill you, I can’t be a family. I won’t be loved! “

“Won’t be loved?”

When I just barely avoided Gier’s assault, he made a series of sudden directional changes in midair and attacked Arroganz in rapid succession.

It felt as if I was dealing with multiple armors, this must have been very hard on Serge’s body in the cockpit.

He seems to be faking it with the drugs, but I know through the monitor that he just doesn’t feel the pain.

Serge was vomiting blood from his mouth.

“You’re the reason I’m not loved! Louise doesn’t love me either. Neither does Alberg! Mother only cares about you. I’ve always ―― wanted to be loved! “

Serge, who was adopted, wanted to be loved all the time.

Hearing this, I asked Serge.

“It seems that you were doing something that you hated a lot?”

“If it was a family, they would have forgiven me! They don’t forgive me because they don’t love me!”

Gier moves directly above the Arroganz and prepares a laser blade-like optical weapon from the sole of its four legs.

As it was dropping down to skewer the Arroganz, I cut off one of its legs while passing each other. I can hear Serge shouting.

“If they loved me, they would have accepted everything! Why can’t I be loved? Why do they only love you ―― I am ―― I am!”

Have you tried to be loved?

Did Serge continue to rebel because he wanted to feel loved?

I sympathize with it, but I really needed to hear it.

“You ――did you love them?”

“What did you say?”

Serge’s control was rough. In other words, he didn’t take full advantage of Gier’s performance.

Seeing Gier unable to perform made me realize that Serge was not serious after all.

I guess the reason he became an adventurer was because he wanted to rebel against his parents.

He had some talent, which made him successful, but he was not seriously aiming for it.

That’s why he is weak.

“I’m asking if you loved your family, even though you’re so desperate for love.”

Gier’s movements visibly slowed down. I took advantage of this opportunity and swung my greatsword to cut off Gier’s right arm, striking with all my might while I could.

“Love is good, isn’t it? I want it too. Family love is nice, too. ―― But did you love them? You shook off Alberg-san’s hand and burned your sister Louise’s treasure. Is that love?”

“What do you know about me when you have everything!”

“You have the nerve to try to make others understand you. Do you even understand me? You’re looking at me as if I’m Leon-kun of the Rault House, but I’m a different person. You don’t even know about my situation. Don’t be so selfish and resentful.”

I can certainly sympathize with Serge ―― but so what? That’s what I felt. It’s none of my business, and I really don’t want to be bothered by it.

I’m not the wrong one. I’m just the one who got involved!

“You want them to understand you? You don’t even want to understand your family, let alone strangers, so I’m like, “Haa?”. Did you ever think about how Louise-san felt when her memories of her dead brother were burned? I know it was when you were a kid, but at least apologize to her once.”

It’s too complicated.

It was not Alberg-san and the others who are compromised ―― it was Serge. If so, couldn’t you become a family?

“You often heard that, right? Developing love, you see. You are wrong for wanting results before developing it.”

“Do you think I didn’t do anything!”

“I don’t know. It is none of my business, don’t ask me.”

“I am――I also! ―― Tsu!”

Serge couldn’t finish his sentence. I guess he couldn’t continue.

“Arere? Did you realize that you hadn’t done anything? How can you only want love and not do anything about it? Isn’t it cruel to want to be loved, but not love others?”

“Shut up!”

As Gier holds his shield and hits me, I have Arroganz swing his greatsword down.

Karatake split ―― the large sword cut Gier’s shield in two and also destroyed his left arm.

Gier lost her stance in the air and crashed straight to the ground.

“You’re the one who shook off the hand that was extended to you. You have such a good family, I wonder why you didn’t accept them.”

“S-Someone like you wouldn’t understand”

Serge was struggling from the impact of the crash, but his armor was sturdy enough for Ideal to have provided him with. Gier was still moving.

I landed Arroganz on the ground and approached Gier.

“I already said, I don’t know about you. Do you know anything about me? You don’t even want to know about your family, and you’re asking them to love you with a high and mighty attitude? Causing troubles, even a coup d’état would be too annoying, even for someone in a rebellious phase.”

“They’re the ones who abandoned me!”

“Are you talking about disinheritance? You’re such an idiot~. Alberg-san was trying to relieve you of your duty as an heir, saying that it’s okay if you want to be an adventurer because you’re always adventuring and throwing away your duty.”

“――W-What? Such story, I didn’t hea――Goho!”

Serge was coughing and spitting up blood.

――You’ve been relying on drugs too much.

“It’s all the seeds you sowed.”

While I was lecturing eloquently, in the cockpit Luxion was shaking his single eyes sideways, saying “Yare Yare“.

Master really has a bad mouth, right? Do you really have to say that far to Serge? Do you not have a human heart?

“Of course I have, and of course it hurts! But this guy should have figured it out a long time ago.”

They loved him, but he didn’t realize it. That was all there really was to it.

“I guess he shouldn’t have taken Ideal’s advice.”

Before the coup d’etat, Serge could have been welcomed into the Rault family. However, it was too late after he had rampaged so far.

Gier stood up, but Serge, the pilot, was at his limit.

Serge is not going to be able to fight properly.

“Since this is the last time, I’ll tell you one thing. It’s important, so don’t miss it.”

There was something I really needed to tell Serge.

But ―― before I could say it, there was a strong light in the sky.

“What?”

There was a problem in Licorne

And Serge, on the monitor, is suffering more than ever.

The image inside Gier’s cockpit was of flesh being lifted, not from a machine, but from some kind of living thing. The same is for Gier’s appearance, rising up through the gaps in the machine.

A black liquid overflowed from the indirect area and enveloped Gier.

Serge shouts.

“W-What does this mean, Ideal. Did you deceive me? Did you deceive me, Ideal!”