INTERMISSION
Greater Than the Joy of Man’s Desires
“We have summoned the witch Elletear.”
The Imperial assembly—the ultimate authoritative body of the Empire, which boasted the largest territory in the world, was casting a vote.
“Lift your face, Elletear. It has been two years since last you came to the Empire. How do you feel being back after so long?”
“So incredibly lucky.”
Both her hands were restrained. The witch with the goddess-like face, Elletear, looked up with rapt attention.
Elletear Lou Nebulis IX.
Her fluttering hair was a gorgeous shade of emerald tinged with gold. Her beautiful face was so sweet and charming that it seemed fantastical. She could make a king surrender with just a single, furtive glance and a smile. If her absolute beauty could be called magic, no other person than her could more befittingly be dubbed a witch.
“It is nice to meet you all, Eight Great Apostles.”
She was in the spacious parliamentary hall, standing on a platform in its center as she looked at each of the eight men and women in turn.
The Eight Great Apostles. These eight were the topmost people in the Imperial assembly, its leaders. Only the fuzzy outlines of their faces were visible on the monitors set up along the wall.
“You did well returning to us.”
“Kelvina was incredibly disappointed when you left the facility so suddenly.”
“Ha-ha. I am very sorry about that.”
Her hands still bound in front of her, Elletear raised them to one cheek and smiled.
She sounded nostalgic as she spoke. “I was convinced I would be dealt with; Chief Kelvina would collect my astral body data and scratch her head day after day, after all. She claimed my compatibility ratio was too high.”
“…Oh? So you remember?”
“…The reports stated you lost your sense of self during that time.”
“I had bouts of lucidity. I was close to breaking, but somehow, I made it take a liking to me.”
“…I see.”
The Eight Great Apostles went silent.
Had any other members of the Imperial assembly witnessed the scene, they would undoubtedly be left speechless. It was impossible to measure just how curiously wary the Eight Great Apostles were of a single witch.
“So because of that,” Elletear remarked, breaking the silence, “I escaped before I could be disposed of for being an out-of-control subject. But now that I think about it, I was mistaken. The Eight Great Apostles would never give such an order, of course.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Anyone can make mistakes. We would never come to that determination after a proud princess such as yourself requested to become a subject of her own free will.”
“Yes. I was quite rude to have assumed that.”
She was so elegant, it was chilling. The princess of the Nebulis Sovereignty bowed.
“That is my account.”
“Lift your head. You are no mere commoner.”
“Though there is something we have to ask you.”
“We only have your astral body data from two years ago. We believe that its consumption has progressed throughout your entire body since that time.”
“Of course.”
The emerald-haired witch placed her fingertips on her plump bosom.
“It makes me tremble in its own way. But increasingly…I feel comfortable integrating with it. The sensation of it making its way through my body is marvelous.”
“ ”
“ ”
“I no longer fear anything.”
Her fingers strained.
It was as though she was holding a large piece of fruit in a vise grip. From above her royal garments, she dug her fingers into her flesh, clutching her overflowing breasts.
“I feel as though I’ve finally reached the point where I shall soon be able to change the world.”
Silence.
A deep, resounding quiet followed her statement, in which even the sound of the dust in the air seemed perceptible.
“Then we will ask you again.”
“Elletear, what in the world is your aim?”
“…………” The witch slowly exhaled. “My aim? Why, I haven’t changed in the slightest.”
She removed her hands from her breast. As she gazed up at these eight supreme authorities, her eyes looked as though they belonged to a different person from just seconds before. They were filled with lofty dignity.
“I want to reform the Sovereignty. Currently, only those who were born in the royal family are blessed, while weak astral mages are oppressed. I wish to mold it into a paradise without those qualities.”
The Nebulis Sovereignty as it stood now was a false paradise. Only those born with powerful astral powers were revered. Since the moment they could perceive the world, the second and third princesses had been praised by the retainers. Kissing of the Zoa and Mizerhyby of the Hydra likely had been as well. They were purebreds, with astral powers befitting the next queen.
That is to say, no one else in the Sovereignty would ever see the limelight. The nation had remained unchanged since its founding; First Princess Elletear did not have a place in that system.
“My astral power is Voice. All it can do is mimic the tones of another. A parlor trick, an act fit for a bar. That’s what they called it.”
Elletear had been mortified. But she’d never shown anyone her tears, only letting herself cry in bed at night.
—Even though I pushed my abilities to their utmost.
—And I worked harder than anyone in both my studies and etiquette so I would make a suitable queen.
But no one had acknowledged that. Instead, she had been the target of continual ridicule, solely because her astral powers were weak.
“As you are aware, they said I was disqualified from being queen. Since childhood, many had jested that I would never attain the position.”
“That is exactly right.”
“The value of the astral power one possesses determines a person’s worth. That is the Sovereignty.”
“The Empire is not the nation most discriminatory against witches. We remember you said that of the Nebulis Sovereignty two years ago.”
That was why.
That was why the first princess had traveled to the Empire. She had offered her own body, the body of a purebred, to become a subject of the secret research that the Eight Great Apostles were conducting.
“Hence my desire to become a true witch.”
“And what constitutes a true witch?”
“The ultimate, absolute, and singular witch—the last one in the world.”
The witch princess looked up at the Eight Great Apostles. The princess who had lived as the weakest of the purebreds spoke of her dream.
“To the Sovereignty, I will have become a Calamity Witch. The queen will likely think me a foolish daughter, while my two sisters shall deride me as the sibling who lost her mind.”
“And you are fine with that?”
“Yes.”
“Even at the expense of your goddess-like beauty?”
“You could easily savor any man in the world with that body of yours. Do you not feel those human desires?”
“…Ah-ha.”
The witch was maturer than she should have been in her twenty years. For the first time, she showed a mischievous smile that suited her age.
“Many erroneously believe that because of my body but despite my looks, I am but an innocent maiden at heart. Hedonism? Pleasure? I know nothing of the sort.”
“And you have no interest in that?”
“I have already abandoned the joys of humanity.”
“Magnificent.”
Applause showered down on her from overhead. Unstinted adoration resounded from the monitors above Elletear as she gazed upon them.
“What splendid resolve.”
“In all likelihood, we shall work together once again. Our goals are the same.”
“Yes, for what we seek is this planet’s core.”
Another shower of applause rained down on the witch’s head.
“Now, Elletear, we welcome you to the Empire once again.”
“We shall prepare a room for you. Please follow him.”
Elletear turned around.
When had he appeared?
A redheaded knight had come to stand in the exit of the assembly hall. The Saint Disciple of the first seat, the “Flash” Knight, Joheim. She could not possibly forget him. She still had the faint traces of a wound from when his long sword had sliced through her chest. Then again, it likely would disappear in a few days.
“Will you be guiding me?”
“…………”
“Then I shall be counting on you.”
The Saint Disciple of the first seat turned.
Come with me. Though he did not say that aloud, Elletear began to follow again. She turned her back to the Eight Great Apostles.
“First, my birthplace. And after, I can change the Empire,” the witch murmured through voluptuous lips.
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