Chapter 586: Pure Love

Ninz held a thinly decorated book in a mansion prepared in a corner of the royal capital. Slowly, deliberately, she savored each word of that book.

For Ninz, a follower of the Heraldic Order, reading books and documents was almost as natural as breathing. It was a habit she often missed, after prioritizing sleep and food.

Of course, she couldn’t afford expensive books when she ran the orphanage, so she had to repeatedly read crude copies. Her current life was the best compared to that.

But Ninz wasn’t dissatisfied with her life at the orphanage. Most dissatisfaction stemmed from ignorance, and all anxieties were simply immaturity. If she traced back to the past, she’d eventually find others who had experienced the same things, and the solutions would naturally become clear.

Ninz believed that knowledge, rather than faith, truly liberated people from suffering. Or perhaps, this is a form of faith as well, she wondered with a wry smile from time to time.

「…Lady Ninz, may I come in? 」

Ninz, who had even worn a calm expression while reading her book, froze when she heard Largud Ann’s quiet voice from behind the door.

Not only had her meager free time been taken away, but she had a rough idea of ​​why Ann, who was even busier than her, had come here.

She hadn’t even read half of the book yet, but she gave up and placed a bookmark.

At the same time, Ann stepped into the room, with her servants waiting. The fact that she entered herself without the servants made it clear that something unusual had happened.

「What’s wrong, Ann? It’s unusual for you to visit…No, it’s fine. I pretty much know why. 」

Entering the room at the same time as Ann were Bruder and her sister, the Iron Princess Vestaline. While Bruder was one thing, Vestaline, despite having been wounded in the Zebrililith campaign, was already standing on her own two feet. She wasn’t wearing armor, but the clothes were quite sturdy.

No, perhaps something had happened that forced even her to move.

「What happened to Lugis? 」

「…You figured it out. Well, yes, it’s about him. 」

「That’s probably the only reason you’ve come to see me. All of you. 」

Ninz greeted them while showing her purple eyes wide. A sigh rose from the depths of her lungs. She just couldn’t break the habit of sighing for so long.

「If you care about him so much, Ann, then you should have just gotten pregnant with his child. That would have been his happiness, and it would have been for the sake of the Heraldic Order as well. Shall I give you some good advice or perhaps a special medicine? 」

「…You don’t say the same thing to everyone, do you? 」

Bruder looked at Ninz suspiciously, lightly adjusting the brim of her hat. Seeing that Vestaline had almost the same expression, Ninz wondered that they had to be sisters.

But the slight interest in Vestaline’s eyes suggested that the younger sister was more sensible than her older sister.

「I said the same thing to Saint Matia, but it was no use. She’s calculating, but she’s actually clueless when it comes to love. 」

「Lady Ninz!? 」

「I’m just kidding, Ann. So what is it? 」

The fact that Ann had her servants on standby meant it was something she didn’t want others to hear. It would be best to get straight to the point.

Ninz moistened her lips with the tea, which had been brought to accompany her book but had become completely lukewarm.

「Well, hmm…how should I put it? 」

Ann hesitated for a moment. Seeing this unusual reaction, Ninz’s eyelashes twitched and she frowned. Ann spoke as if she were speaking a new language.

「…It’s as if the Lord Hero is filled with a fighting spirit he had never had before. Or rather, something seems off. 」

「Isn’t that a good thing? Whatever happens, it’s good that your “Lord Hero” is motivated. 」

Ninz felt a strange unease in her chest when she called Lugis a hero. She almost felt like laughing it off.

That mud-covered brat was now a hero. No matter how many times she thought about it, she couldn’t help but feel a strange emotion. At the same time, she felt a sense of karma when she thought of Ariene.

Besides, she could easily guess the reasons for Lugis’ heightened fighting spirit.

After all, the villainous hero that Ninz knew personally had died. The villainous hero had known Lugis since the time of the previous orphanage’s owner. There was nothing strange about him harboring complicated and intense feelings.

「That’s not good. What a military general needs isn’t exhilaration or fighting spirit. Emotions can lead to misjudgments even if the general doesn’t make mistakes. 」

It was Vestaline who interrupted Ninz and Ann’s exchange. Whether it was pride in being the leader of a mercenary group, or something innate, her words were confident even without her usual armor.

「That’s true. But it’s better than despair, I suppose… Well, I don’t know, Ann. I can’t imagine you’d come to see me for something like this. 」

Ninz tilted her head and turned her gaze to Ann while speaking.

What difference did it make if Lugis was a little more enthusiastic about the campaign? Firstly, his independent actions and suspicious behavior were nothing new, and in a sense, even Ninz herself couldn’t fully understand his mind.

Saint Matia tried to control him by putting a collar on him, and so did Queen Philos. Even the Queen of Ghazalia, the swordswoman and the sorceress who accompanied him, were more effective at keeping him at bay than Ninz.

That was precisely why Ninz didn’t understand. She couldn’t imagine any reason why Ann would come to see her.

Ann hesitantly opened her lips after receiving Ninz’s gaze. This, too, was unusual.

「The Lord Hero has shown similar behavior many times before. On those occasions, someone was always by his side. Sometimes it was me, sometimes it was Saint Matia. But now…he said he didn’t want anyone near his room, and to be called upon for every campaign. He won’t listen to anyone’s voice. 」

—

The Old Kingdom’s army. King Ameritz and Saint Ariene’s personal army continued their southward advance without a trace of disarray. It was truly strange. Even though the Great Demon Zebrililith had been defeated by the New Kingdom, they were filled with overflowing fighting spirit and exhilaration.

Only a small portion of them were the King’s guards and the Cathedral knights; the vast majority of the 40,000 soldiers were private armies of nobles. Normally, they should’ve lost their will to fight at any moment.

But they continued their march fanatically. It was as if every step they took led directly to glory.

Or perhaps, they could see it.

…The image of the former capital of the unified empire.

Perhaps with each step they took, they were witnessing the capital appearing more vividly before their eyes.

「Brackenberry and Roymetz…people who don’t cling to something are troublesome, aren’t they? 」

The Saint was inside a carriage surrounded by a horde of soldiers. Her golden hair swayed gently, adorning the air with color.

Ariene spoke with a look of exasperation after hearing Altia move her lips to speak.

『You say that without even trying to make them cling to you. It’s utterly ridiculous. 』

「If you say so, then perhaps it is. But they are who they are. 」

They had turned against her. But it was natural that there would be both allies and enemies. It was difficult for Altia to accept them all, since most people were not perfect.

So, what should she do with those who opposed her?

It was simple. If she saw dust in the room, then she would naturally sweep it up with a broom and throw it away. Right now, she was simply in the process of slowly gathering it.

「They are trying to be useful to me in their own way. I love them too. 」

Altia said in a voice that seemed emotionless yet conveyed a deep feeling. The smile that formed from her sculpted nose and lips possessed a kind of divinity.

『Would those people accept such a twisted love? 』

But Ariene remained calm even in the presence of a divine spirit. Was it because they shared a body, or because she recognized Altia as one of her own kind?

Either way, it was…terrifying.

Ariene showed no fear whatsoever whether Altia was a divine spirit or a great demon.

「Look what I have here…」

But Altia, too, wore a strange smile towards Ariene. She showed no sign of being offended by Ariene’s attitude, nor did she display any emotion. She merely hinted at a certain familiarity with her subordinate.

「What was that statement? And do you have pure love, Ariene? 」

『Yes, of course…』

Ariene replied immediately. A strange smile was visible on her face even though she was only a soul.

『Lugis is a bit fickle. Oh, no, that’s certainly my fault for not being able to save him. But still, wanting someone to look at you is what love is, isn’t it? …And Lugis must be thinking of me right now. 』

In a way, it might be a pure, almost impossible, expression of innocence.

But it was good to stop and think for a moment. Why did a baby, who was pure and innocent at birth, became impure as it grew?

Was the world polluted? Was it because the people around it were impure? Neither was the answer

…There was only one answer. Because purity was, in essence, madness.

Pure love devoured humanity, and pure justice knew no stagnation. All humans were born from madness and gradually acquired reason. To retain one’s purity was both a blessing and a curse.

Currently, Altia had several pure beings at her side: Ariene and the heroes.

「…Giluel. 」

Altia shifted her focus away from Ariene and called upon her magical devilish being.

「Yes, my Lady. 」

Inside the carriage. A voice whispered in a place where there was no one but Altia. The space trembled and distorted, and then slowly, color fell into the empty air.

First, blue hair was visible. Then, slowly, eyes and contours formed, and Giluel regained the form of the magical devilish being that had once been in the carriage.

「Is it difficult to exist as just a soul? 」

「No. For me, only my soul matters. Besides, I feel no suffering in my master’s presence. It’s only that I regret not being able to fulfill my master’s wish. 」

Giluel was the very embodiment of the “Leader of Souls”. For her, even if her body perished, as long as she had her soul, then she could continue to exist. Perhaps she even wanted to discard her tainted body as soon as possible.

But even so, she would have used it a little longer. If she hadn’t been killed by that old-looking hero, she could have prepared her master’s wish and then taken her current form. Giluel frowned slightly after thinking about this.

「I didn’t obtain that great hero’s body. But I obtained his soul. That’s fine. Now the hero, the human king, and the great hero are all in my hands. 」

As Altia spoke, Giluel lined up the souls she possessed before her. The great hero’s soul, instilled with the seed of immortality, would remain under Giluel’s control once his body died. The thought of having the one who killed her in her hands evoked a twisted sweetness. Her blue hair trembled slightly.

Before Altia lay two souls.

One was the great hero Richard. The other was the human king Medic. The soul of the other hero was already in a vessel.

Heroes of all ages, the guardians of humanity and justice created by the world…they were all under Altia’s control.

「What shall I do now? I will do as you command. 」

「Yes, it’s quite simple, Giluel. 」

Altia spoke in a hollow voice, yet with a hint of nostalgia.

「I will return to the imperial capital. That’s my capital. While being in Ariene’s body is different, when I return, the imperial capital will surely remember…who its master is. 」

The bell, a symbol of the capital Altia ruled, and a symbol of humanity’s survival, still rang in the royal capital.

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