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Imperial territory. Easternmost Altoria jurisdiction.
Birthplace of Witches.
“…I’m going to the Imperial capital!” Sisbell’s voice broke the silence that had hung over them like a dark cloud. It was almost as though she was attempting to motivate herself. “I can’t face Alice if I return to the Sovereignty but sacrifice Rin in the process. So I must return to the Imperial capital and bring her back!”
“By yourself?”
“With the help of you all, of course!”
“…You sure don’t have any qualms about roping us into this mess.” Jhin let out a sigh he had been holding in. He met the girl’s stern gaze as he spoke, seeming somewhat resigned. “Their Excellency summoned us there themself. If we don’t go, we’ll all end up being wanted for treason…and if we do that obediently, they’ll imprison us.”
“So about that…” Iska reluctantly followed up Jhin. “I’ve been prepared for this from the start. I was thinking we might all end up executed.”
Rin and Sisbell were both witches. Unit 907 had invited both of them into the Empire, but now the Lord and their staff officer had found out.
…And they’ve asked us to come to the capital.
…That’s basically the same thing as telling us to give up and accept our deaths. That’s got to be what they’re thinking.
But the more time passed, the more Iska’s thoughts on the matter started to change.
“I know this is just me trying to be optimistic, but…”
“Well, out with it.”
“We can flee the Empire right away. Basically, I think the Lord might not have considered we’d defect. We could go to a neutral city or anywhere, really.”
They had Princess Sisbell in tow. At the moment, it was possible for them to defect to the Sovereignty.
“The Lord purposefully abandoned us and disappeared. If they actually wanted to execute us, wouldn’t they have sent the Imperial forces after us?”
“…………” Jhin scowled.
“What if they’re not planning on putting us to death and actually meant they want us to go back to the capital exactly like they said?”
“…I—I think they do, too!” Commander Mismis, who had been quiet until then, shot her hand up. “I have no idea what the Lord could be thinking, but something’s been bugging me.”
“What’s that?”
“Risya’s face.” There was something firm in the commander’s expression as she said that—something like conviction. “I don’t think she looked that angry… I mean, think about it. Risya has even more ties to the Sovereignty than we do—she was actually using astral power! It’s an even playing field!”
“But there’s still a chance they’re trying to silence us at the last minute.”
“…That’s true, but that’s not what it seemed from the look on Risya’s face!” Commander Mismis turned. She looked at Nene and nodded as though urging her. “What do you think, Nene?”
“…I think I’ll do whatever everyone else does, whether that’s defecting or going to the capital. But if we do switch sides, I think my parents would worry.” Nene let out a heavy sigh. “And I’m only saying this now, but I think I’m still feeling shaken from seeing the Lord like that.”
“R-right, Nene!” Mismis added. “I was also bewildered… Iska, didn’t you meet the Lord when you became a Saint Disciple?”
“I didn’t see their face. There was a thin curtain between us when I had an audience with them.”
Iska didn’t have an answer. He might have been more shocked than anyone else, in fact.
…The Saint Disciples exist in order to serve the Lord as soldiers.
…I can’t believe I was risking my life to protect a monster like that.
And the same held true for the astral power research the Empire had been conducting. His love and trust in his homeland seemed close to crumbling into nothing.
“No, actually, I can see this happening. If that’s Lord Yunmelngen.”
“Huh?”
They all turned. They looked at Sisbell, who seemed resolved.
“Please remember Kelvina from just earlier, everyone. She said that she was the one who made Vichyssoise like that. And you saw with your own eyes how she turned into a monster.”
“…Miss Sisbell,” Nene said hesitantly. “Are you saying that the Lord is like her? You think it’s possible being exposed to astral energy transformed them into that?”
“Well, think about it.” Sisbell turned around. She looked far into the distant western sky.
“The first place in the world where astral power erupted was the Empire.”
A century ago…
The discovery of the world’s first vortex served as the origin of all witches and sorcerers. It had also resulted in the birth of the Founder, Nebulis.
“But what if the Revered Founder wasn’t the only one? What if Lord Yunmelngen was also showered in astral energy a hundred years ago?”
That would explain their physical appearance. And that would also shine a light on Kelvina’s research—perhaps they were creating a second or third Lord, or they were trying to find a way to return the Lord to their original form.
“Iska, this also concerns us.”
“What?”
“The reason why I came to this assumption right away and why I snuck into the Empire a year ago was to research this.”
“…What did you just say?”
“I simply was curious. I didn’t intend to do anything to the Empire. I just wanted to know the truth of what happened a century ago.”
It all started in the capital one hundred years prior. Witches and sorcerers had been created, and the Nebulis Sovereignty had spawned from the supernation that had been the Empire at the time. Everything that had happened until now traced its origins to that place.
“I was set back from going through with my plan at the time. Immediately after setting foot in the Empire, I was arrested and imprisoned. And you saved me after that, Iska, but…but I think now I can do it. No, there’s no other time to do it but now!”
She shook her brilliant hair and tightened her expression.
Sisbell Lou Nebulis IX. The witch who possessed the Illumination astral power that could see the past placed her hand to her chest.
“The events that took place a century ago. I don’t imagine that the surge of astral energy in the capital could have simply been a coincidence, of all things. But why did it happen in the Imperial capital? I am sure that place holds other secrets.”
If they went to the capital…
As long as they had Sisbell’s astral power, they would be able to re-create a scene of what had transpired a century ago.
“So, just as I asked you from the start, I want to travel to the capital. We were invited there by the Lord themself, after all.”
She kept her hand to her chest. The Nebulis Sovereignty princess almost seemed to sing as she declared…
“First, we shall save Rin. And then we shall uncover the world’s oldest mystery.”
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