‘Seeing her in person feels very different.’

  Mei still wasn’t inside her office. It gave Aleph some time to process his meeting with Elysia.

  ‘Mental affli… even physical world alteration. Herrscher in…’

  Throughout the Previous Era, the thirteenth Herrscher was seemingly skipped. The records only tell of Kevin killing the Herrscher-turned Elysia. However, that wasn’t the case.

  Elysia could be, in fact, called as the first Herrscher. She was the first Herrscher to desd ih and not the Herrscher of Reason. That was the truth behirong individual power that could kill a Herrscher alone.

  ‘It’s still too far away from me. in, Finality…’

  Aleph fell into a daze. He became preoccupied thinking about this world’s future.

  Click-!

  He nearly jolted from his seat when he heard the doorknob turning. By the time he reacted, he saw a familiar acquaintance. Her long purple hair remained smooth despite the all-nighters she began pulling. A simple ponytail was more than enough to highlight her beauty.

  “You were about to sleep. I ’t bme you.”

  “We’re just the same in this regard. I didn’t expect them to hold the MOTH Night all of a sudden.”

  “A lot of people are nervous.”

  Mei went to her office seat. She pulled the lever below it several times, allowio y down on it like a beach chair.

  The two looked at each other for a while before Mei sensed something off. Unfortunately, she couldn’t pinpoint what was different about him.

  “Heh. Are girls this perceptive?”

  “...Your amnesia.”

  “As expected of you.”

  For a moment, she doesn’t know how to react. It ended up with a sigh. When he was still suffering from it, she could make some bold moves every on a while. Be it their occasional outings or her teasing, it felt like she lost all of her worries in the past.

  ‘He knows about it…’

  A wave of embarrassme straight to her.

  Seeing Mei avert her eyes to the ceiling and her slightly reddened ears, Aleph nearly ughed out loud.

  Still, his snicker was loud enough for Mei to hear, further adding to her embarrassment.

  “How many novels did you read? I remember I lent you that manga back then…”

  “I’m free to read all of them. Anyways…” She skillfully diverted the topic. “Did you meet Elysia?”

  “I did.”

  “She didn’t do anything?”

  “No.”

  “That’s good. She’s uable enough.”

  Aleph’s eyebrows rose upon heariatement.

  “Why?” He asked. “Are you worried about something?”

  Mei sighed as she replied, “It’s her iion. She couldn’t be read at all. At oime, she acted closely with someo another, she begins meddling with others’ problems. Her as are too random.”

  “...”

  “Ohing that everyone’s sure of is that she’ll treat everyohe same… at least on the surface.”

  ‘...She has the capital to be willful.’

  Although the Herrscher in’s bat power was not seen directly, the things ected to it ted her possible strength. ging the Co’s rules directly, givihe ability to cut through everything…

  At the very least, she’s one of the stro oh.

  “Most importantly…” Mei looked at him before tinuing, “...nevermind.”

  “Hm..?”

  Aleph’s question marks are destio remain for quite some time.

  “What are you pnning to do ? You kill a Herrscher by yourself now.”

  “Eh, it’s a surprise attack. I’ll try my hand on Emperor-css beasts first. I ’t bee arrogant now. If it was that easy, Elysia alone would have solved all the problems.”

  Their versatioo professional matters. It was already a part of them to talk about it when they had the time.

  When it ended, Mei let out the question she’s been holding on for long.

  “Aleph… you… do you have someone you like?”

  The person-iion couldn’t respond for a while.

  A person came up in his mind.

  When he was worn out by his worries prior to his “system”, his parents died. It was a twed attack to his mentality that was on the verge of colpse.

  ‘If so many brilliant geniuses couldn’t stop the destru of this era, I alone ge this ending?’

  He felt powerless. He didn’t know what to do.

  It was at that time did he realize one of his hidden abilities. He had a friend from another world who slowly grew up on him. She was the one who made one of the biggest impacts on him.

  So, if it was that question…

  ‘How is she now..?’

  Aleph’s dazed look didn’t escape Mei’s sight.

  “You already have a girlfriend…”

  “No. It’s not like that.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  Upon hearing that, a smile escaped her lips. Aleph felt something ominous from it.

  ‘If he’s still not with someone… No. Even if he’s with someone…’

  Aleph gravely uimated a girl’s determination.

  ******

  In a far ace... rather, in a pletely different world.

  Engnd, London.

  “To think you will show up here… Nightmare.”

  “Why? Am I unwele?”

  Atop the Tower of London, the girl with the lolita dress swayed her legs while sitting in the castle walls. She was fag a girl with long blonde hair. A form of exoskeleton ed the blonde-haired girl. The area around her became slightly translut, as if there was an invisible pressure emanating from it.

  “You know it yourself.”

  “Hee… So that’s it. Everyone is against me.” The girl with the lolita dress decred. “Are you also ied in what I have? Too bad, I won’t give it up.”

  The blonde-haired girl had enough of her. She charged straight at the seemingly harmless girl.

  Hum-!

  Buzz-!

  The beam sword in her hand easily split her in half. Blood illed all over the castle floor. The girl whom she split up still had her smile even on her death.

  “To think I don’t even qualify to meet your boss’ assistant… It’s fiher way.”

  The blonde-haired girl, Artemisia, didn’t seem surprised as she saw aical girl standing on top of the roof. Her lolita dress swayed with the wind. Her uwintails followed forth.

  Just as the girl was about to speak, her pointy fiwitched. Her aura ged all of a sudden.

  “...It’s been years… si st happened…”

  “..?”

  Kurumi could still recall her memories decades ago. Whe a friend, her pointy fiwitched whenever he told her the story of irls.

  Simply put, it was a threat.

  As to which threat it was, it all depends on her definition of it.

  “Hah… I see, that’s it.”

  “What are you—?”

  “I don’t have time to py with you. Bye bye.”

  Before Artemisia could react, Kurumi was devoured by a dark red shadow. She tried sing her surroundings and sensing all presences within her domain but to no avail.

  Unbeknownst to her, that same person wore a serious expression inside her ‘domain’.

  Frankly speaking, it iven to her by that same friend. She was able to have her own world, something not even her world’s stro had seen.

  Ihe dark red world, dozens of Kurumis looked at the inal. She held a silver pocket wat her palm. Ihere icture yered by a severely cracked gss. The clock beside it stopped w a long time ago.

  “Just a bit more…”

  Kurumi looked at her es. All of them immediately uood what she wao do.

  Everyone was briefly disrupted by their seheir main mission today was to abdubsp;someone.

  “It won’t be for long. Wait for me…”

  —Aleph.