Chapter 493: A Night of Jewels

A night when the moon was about to hide its moonlight.

The white-haired girl Leu left her room in the dorms and looked at the night through the window in the hallway. There was no particular meaning in this action. She simply felt uneasy in her bedroom.

A soft bed, a spacious private room, warm soup. None of these things felt real to Leu.

Until now, the best place Leu had been given to sleep in had been in a stable-like place, and she often slept on cobblestones, which made her body as cold as iron. She had never been given a room. Food was similar.

But lately, she has been given too much. Was this really okay? Leu asked herself.

She shouldn’t be given so much. The uneasiness smoldered in Leu’s chest. An unextinguished cinder began to crackle.

Deep in her chest, the Jewel Agathos, who was asleep most of the day, spoke in her ears.

『You’re forcing yourself again to worry about something you don’t understand. How foolish. To begin with, life is the most selfish and self-centered thing in history. Listen Leu. Humans are not so noble or weak that you have to worry and save them. And unfortunately, humans can’t save other humans. 』

The usual Agathos-like words. They were so typical that Leu couldn’t help but smile with relief. Agathos snorted as she replied.

She often said mean things, but in reality she was trying to make sure she didn’t worry too much.

Of course, if Agathos were to say such things out loud or think them out loud, she would get even more upset.

「But if there’s someone in trouble…isn’t it normal to want to help them? 」

『Ah, I see. We don’t understand each other after all. And my answer is, not at all. I’m telling you this, Leu. I hate that about you. You’re not a saint who gives people salvation. 』

It was normal for Agathos to lose her temper or speak harshly in Leu’s heart, but today it seemed like it wouldn’t end so easily.

Leu instinctively leaned back as she spoke the words one after the other. Agathos continued, without losing her momentum.

『You’re just afraid of being saved by someone else. That’s why you say you don’t care about yourself and want to save someone else. Because if you do that, you won’t lose the happiness and salvation you’ve worked so hard to obtain, am I right? 』

Agathos’ voice reverberated inside Leu’s body, and Leu’s brain went numb. For a moment, Leu didn’t understand what she was saying. But it reverberated inside her like a bell.

Agathos continued as Leu choked on her words.

『…You idiot. Humans don’t even live for a hundred years. What are you trying to act so cool about? Leu, you should stop going to the battlefield. I heard you’re going to bite those scum tomorrow. They’re on Vrilligant side. 』

Those scum. Even for Agathos, it was an unusually strong language. It was clear that she was feeling a great deal of emotion towards them.

Leu nodded into the void. Leu herself had been merely listening, but with the Sorcerer General Mastigius, Caria, and Lugis at the center, something that could be called an anti-demon front had been built within the capital of the Bolvat Dynasty over the past few days.

Strangely, the demons had not yet begun to sabotage this situation, and human soldiers had gathered, and camps had been set up, with the capital itself looking like a battlefield.

The humans who remained alive, now in the form of an army, were going into battle tomorrow.

Leu didn’t know that much, but she knew that the war was coming soon.

Suddenly, Leu looked up and saw Agathos before her eyes. It wasn’t a vision or a vague image, but a definite one. It was proof that she had regained a reasonable amount of magical power since she fell asleep on the battlefield of Garoua Maria.

Agathos’ lips quirked as if to force the still shaken Leu to accept it. She even seemed impatient.

『I wouldn’t be against it if you just wanted to get Filaret back. But I’ve learned my lesson. With my body as it is now, no matter how hard I try…I can’t defeat a magical devilish being. There’s no point in talking when I was overwhelmed by those gears back then. And you’re not stupid, Leu. You know exactly what I’m trying to say, right? 』

「…You’re saying that if you go to the battlefield, you’ll die, Agathos. 」

『That’s right. 』

Agathos replied very casually. For her, dying was an extension of everyday life. That’s why she knew it was something that could easily come to anyone, be it demon or human.

Even Leu had never seen Agathos’ anger before. Leu didn’t understand why Agathos was talking so much.

Leu had been worried about her a few times before, and Agathos had also been worried about her a few times too.

So Leu spoke in a causal way as well.

「…Even if that’s the case, I think I should go if there’s a chance I can help someone. What do you think? 」

Leu could use Agathos’ authority, even if only slightly. That’s why she said such words. Those who had power must fulfill their duties.

Agathos was speechless for a moment, but after a while she seemed to remember her true nature and said the following words.

『…Alright. Do as you like. Then, I’ll tell you one thing. Stop confronting demons. Even if you want to kill a demon, just knowing their weaknesses, won’t do you any good. 』

That was a clear fact. Agathos had clashed with strong people many times in the past and had also faced off against beings who knew their abilities and weaknesses well. It was the same for other demons.

Besides, magical devilish beings didn’t suffer defeat.

The rule was that magical devilish beings, who were disasters in existence, could only be killed by other magical devilish beings or by Gods or by Great Demons of higher ranks. It didn’t matter how strong they were, or how much they knew about their abilities or weaknesses.

There was only one thing common between those who tried to kill demons and were able to do so. Agathos thought of the human hero Altia and then Lugis.

Lugis was more similar to Offal, but he also had something in common with Altia in the sense that he was a human and had killed a magical devilish being.

Agathos slowly opened her lips. The corners of her mouth were quirked sarcastically.

『To kill a magical devilish being, you have to be crazy enough to think you could even shoot the sun. That doesn’t happen by chance. Leu, you can’t do it. You have to act crazy in order to do so, but you’re a serious person. 』

「…You make it sound as if Lugis is crazy, huh? 」

A brilliant silver light interrupted Agathos’ glittering words. She turned around to see Caria Burdnick standing there.

Leu reflexively jumped and stretched her feet and shoulders in a straight line. Caria had approached her, but she hadn’t noticed at all.

Agathos, who had only just materialized, was noticed by Caria. But Agathos said, raising the corners of her mouth in a provocative manner.

『Oh, how surprising. You thought that hero was someone serious? 』

「No way. He’s not serious at all. But he’s not crazy either. He’s sane in his own way. 」

『That makes him even more evil. Being mad while still being sane is the worst thing. Ah, but I wonder if you’re the same, Caria. You’re trying to make him your slave, even though he’s lost his memory. Love is blind because you’re accepting any means to get him. 』

Agathos’ straightforward words made Leu’s face twitch involuntarily.

It was true that Caria had been unashamedly close to Lugis lately. From what she had heard, Caria seemed to be struggling to get him to remember things from the past, and Leu thought that was the right thing to do.

However. There was a strange sense of closeness between them, and they were acting like lovers whispering sweet words. Honestly, Leu was confused as to whether it was okay to look at him in such a way.

Caria searched for words but soon spoke.

「…What? I have no intention of leaving him like that. Besides, it must be unpleasant to be manipulated by an enemy demon. 」

She showed a wonderful smile as she said those words. It was so beautiful that it made Leu wonder if it was appropriate to describe it in one word.

Like a blooming flower, like the moon shining brightly, or perhaps like a demonic beauty. Leu was captivated by her, but Agathos sighed and spoke.

『Do as you like. Gears and poison aren’t easy to deal with, you know. They’re both magical devilish beings At best, you can’t outwit them. Besides, how much can you trust the people around you? 』

Agathos said as she shrugged her shoulders, and her figure faded away. It was probably a sign that she was going to sleep. Leu thought that she was being selfish and just said what she wanted.

Now that Caria and Leu were alone, there was a strange silence for a moment. Agathos had been the only one making her presence known until a moment ago, but she had suddenly disappeared, and it seemed as if neither of them were sure what to say.

Caria cleared her throat lightly and finally got to the point.

「Leu. There’s something I want to confirm with you. It’s about tomorrow’s battle…」

Her silver hair shone even more brightly in the now appearing moonlight.

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