Novel

Was this also a dream?

Eugene just stared at Sienna with a blank gaze.

Her figure brought up so many memories. This was the Sienna that Eugene — no, Hamel remembered from three hundred years ago. She looked like the portrait left in her mansion in Aroth, like the statue in Merdein Square, and like the Sienna he had seen in the scene from the past that the Holy Sword had shown him.

They were all she: Sienna Merdein. From her waves of purple hair to her big green eyes, everything was just like the Sienna that Hamel remembered.

“Just how long are you going to keep crying?” Sienna asked with a snicker as she got up from her seat on the ground. “I never knew that you could be such a crybaby, Hamel. I never once got the chance to see you cry in the past.”

“...,” Eugene was still speechless.

“Well, three hundred years have passed since then… But no, it wasn’t really three hundred years for you, was it? You probably weren’t even able to feel all that time passing. Though I don’t know what it was like, since I’ve never been reincarnated myself. Well, that’s not really all that important. I’m actually pretty happy to be able to see this new side of you,” Sienna confessed with a smile and a shrug. “Anyways. Are you just going to keep crying like that? Back when you flipped me off, you weren’t crying like you are now—”

“What is with you?” Eugene spat out as he purposefully twisted his face into a scowl.

Why were these damned tears flowing out of their own accord? These stupid fucking tear ducts, he had no intention of crying, but why did they just keep leaking tears?

Covering up his embarrassment, Eugene cursed, “Fuck, just what the hell is going on with you? What did you think you were doing, huh? Just what kind of plot am I in now? What am I doing here, and what are you doing here, and just what the hell happened to you — no, what the hell happened to everyone?!”

His words weren’t coming out properly. The inside of his head and his emotions were all messed up. Even so, Eugene marched on over toward Sienna.

“Just what in the world is going on with Anise?” Eugene demanded. “How the fuck did Anise become an angel, and what’s with her having eight wings? And Molon. What about Molon? What is that bastard up to?”

Sienna sighed. “Hamel.”

“...And Vermouth. That bastard… just what is he up to? What exactly happened in my grave? Then there’s me,” Eugene paused for breath. “Why was I reincarnated, and then left in the dark? You fuckers, why couldn’t at least one of you give me a proper explanation?”

“Hamel,” Sienna repeated.

Eugene didn’t react even as he heard his name being called. His tears had stopped, but his heart felt so frustrated that he somehow felt that it might be better for him to just bow his head and burst into wailing instead. His heightened emotions still hadn’t fully subsided and the inside of his head was still spinning.

Panting for breath, Eugene looked closely at the figure in front of him. Sienna was right in front of his nose. However, he couldn’t feel any sense of presence coming from her. She was clearly standing right in front of him, but it somehow felt like she didn’t exist.

Just like when he had seen her in Aroth….

The Sienna in front of him felt like nothing more than a phantom.

“...Just what the hell is going on?” Eugene squeezed out this question once more in a hoarse voice.

He reached out to Sienna with a trembling hand. He wasn’t sure whether he would be able to touch her. After all, he hadn’t been able to in Aroth. At that time, he hadn’t been able to say anything to Sienna. All he could do was flip her off in order to get her to recognize him.

The truth was that instead of flipping her off, he had wanted to do something else. He had wanted to grab Sienna, who was wandering around like a ghost, by the shoulders, hold her in front of him, and then pull her into a hug.

If he had been able to do that, Sienna, this annoying and savage chick would surely have kicked him in the shin and said, ‘Are you crazy?’

No, when he took into account Sienna’s sassy personality, instead of kicking him in the shin, she would’ve probably boxed his ears.

He would have been fine with anything. No matter what, he had just wanted to touch Sienna. But he hadn’t been able to do so in Aroth. Sienna hadn’t been able to hear him no matter how many times he called her, and when he had tried to reach out to grab her, he hadn’t even been able to touch her.

But now….

“Hamel.”

He could touch her. His outstretched fingertips made contact with Sienna’s cheek. He couldn’t feel even the slightest warmth coming from her. However, Eugene could nevertheless feel the soft texture of her skin. From this skin devoid of any trace of warmth, he could still sense Sienna’s existence.

“I’m here,” Sienna said with a faint smile.

Her smile resembled the benevolent smile that he had seen in her portrait. A smile that hadn’t really suited Sienna. However, this was unmistakably Sienna’s smile.

“...Fuck.” Eugene’s head dropped as he spat out the curse. “That kind of smile really doesn’t suit you.”

“You son of a bitch.” His insult was immediately returned with one of her own. Sienna grabbed a tuft of Eugene’s hair and yanked on it, but Eugene couldn’t feel any power coming from her grip. “That goes for you as well, Hamel. What the hell is with this mug of yours? If you hadn’t flipped me off in order to show me who you were, I would never have been able to recognize you as Hamel even if I had all the time in the world.”

“I didn’t know I was going to be born like this, nor did I have any say in it,” Eugene complained.

“Hmph. Even though you say that, you must be pretty satisfied with your current looks, right?” Sienna accused. “Hamel, ever since the old days, you’ve always been secretly concerned about that kind of thing.”

“...When have I ever?” Eugene attempted to deny it.

“Look at you, pretending not to know what I’m talking about. Don’t you remember what you were like when the five of us first started partying together?” Sienna recalled, “You said that this was your first time being a member of a party, so you bought some fancy clothes that made you look like an asshole and even had your hair cut.”

“...Why are you bringing up something that happened so long ago…?” Eugene muttered in embarrassment.

“Well, no matter how much you decorated your previous life’s face, it still looked rough and ferocious, but now… well… it’s fine I guess. Even if you go around looking like a beggar, you’ll still look a lot better than you did in your previous life,” after saying this, Sienna raised both hands.

She reached out and grabbed Eugene’s cheeks. While rubbing Eugene’s cheeks, she snickered to herself.

“Although it’s not the face that I remember, you really are Hamel. That fact is… unmistakable. Hamel,” Sienna’s voice faltered. “You’ve finally… returned. You have truly come back to me.”

“...” Eugene was silent.

“This really is a strange feeling. Your face as well as your body might be different, but since I know that you’re Hamel, it just feels like I’m meeting a different form of Hamel.”

Sienna’s fingers moved back and forth across the middle of Eugene’s face. He had been wondering what she was doing, but Eugene suddenly realized that Sienna was drawing imaginary scars on his unmarked face. In his previous life, Hamel’s face had been covered in these scars. Eugene let out a snort and pulled his head backward.

“What’s with the rude behavior?” Eugene demanded.

Sienna pouted, “...What do you mean? How am I being rude?”

“Of course you’re being rude. Why are you trying to draw scars on my clean face?”

“I’m just, well, by drawing these scars, I just want to see how different your face is from your previous one.”

Still pouting, Sienna poked Eugene in the cheek with her finger.

“...Your cheeks are softer than they were in your previous life,” Sienna observed.

Eugene defended himself, “That’s just because I haven’t lost all of my baby fat yet.”

“Baby fat… baby fat?” Sienna repeated in disbelief before bursting into laughter. “Ahahaha! How cute, Hamel. Just how old is your new body? Mhm, you definitely look like you’re still pretty young.”

Ignoring her amusement, Eugene answered, “Nineteen years old.”

“Wow… really? Are you really? You’re still just nineteen years old? Hmmm, back when we first met, Hamel, you were twenty-two weren’t you? At that time you definitely looked a few years older than your actual age….”

Eugene also recalled that moment. During that time, he had made quite a name for himself as a mercenary. While he was waiting at a port, trying to find a way to get into Helmuth, Vermouth and his party had come to visit Hamel.

—Isn’t he just some scumbag mercenary that you can find just about anywhere? So what reason could you have for needing to take this one in particular with us?

Sienna had looked down on Hamel while clicking her tongue at him in disapproval. She had already become well-known as an Archwizard, so she didn’t show much interest in Hamel, who was just a lowly mercenary.

The same went for Hamel as well. Why should he pay any attention to someone who so rudely complained about him during their very first meeting? Both of their first impressions of each other weren’t at all pleasant.

Vermouth had practically dragged Hamel into becoming a member of the party. After that, Sienna had continued to ignore Hamel for quite a while, and Hamel had also avoided Sienna. Anise had instead been the one to take care of Hamel while constantly nagging him, and as for Molon, well… he had treated Hamel with warmth from the very beginning.

“I remember,” Eugene acknowledged.

Giggling, Sienna withdrew the hands that had been rubbing his cheeks and said, “We all got on a ship together and left the port. It was a large merchant ship, but the sea route leading to Helmuth was full of monsters and demonic beasts, and sometimes even crazed black wizards riding on ghost ships crewed by the undead would appear.”

“...Hm,” Eugene hummed as he too was caught in their shared memories.

“At that time, we were all so young and…,” Sienna hesitated. “Immature. Although Vermouth was already a monster at that point. You, me, Anise, and Molon, none of us were as polished as Vermouth. I was too overconfident in my skills so I acted as I pleased, but then….”

“You almost died,” Eugene finished her thought.

He remembered that moment. It was during an attack by an undead fleet of ghost ships. While Vermouth and Anise were dealing with the undead, Molon, Hamel, and Sienna were taking care of the monsters and demonic beasts that were leaping out of the sea.

Sienna, who had been lost in her own sense of self-importance, had been flying through the sky and unleashing a storm of spells. She was being far too careless by doing so. The black wizards who had been hiding at the bottom of the sea had intercepted Sienna, and their sudden attack managed to disrupt Sienna’s mana.

It was Hamel who had rescued Sienna from falling into the swirling seas below. From that moment on, Sienna had stopped ignoring Hamel.

—Thanks.

As blood was dripping from both her nostrils, Sienna had thanked him.

—It’s fine, just plug up your nosebleed.

—...Okay.

—Also, don’t act so full of yourself. Just because you know how to fly in the sky for a bit, you were darting about here and there, acting like you could do everything all on your own. In these types of battlefields, where there are a lot of foes, the ones who stand out are usually the first to fall. Got it?Nêww 𝒄hapters will be fully updated at (n)ov(𝒆)l/bin(.)com

—Although I am grateful for your help, you really are kind of a bastard.

“Sienna,” Eugene said, as he shook himself free of the memory playing itself out inside of his head.

After all, Sienna was right in front of him.

“Just what exactly happened?” Eugene asked firmly as he stared into Sienna’s eyes. This was what he had been trying to ask her from the very start. “I’m asking you to tell me what happened at the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration? What kind of promise did Vermouth make?”

“...,” Sienna hesitated.

“Say something,” Eugene demanded.

“Hamel,” Sienna said with a weak smile, placing her hands on Eugene’s shoulders. “Do you believe in miracles?”

“...Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?”

“The fact that you’re here right now, that you’ve met me here and are talking to me. All of these are miracles.”

Crackle.

The space they were in shook. Startled, Eugene quickly stepped backwards. The huge world tree suddenly overlapped the small tree that had been standing behind Sienna. For a moment, her appearance in ‘reality’ also overlapped with the sight of Sienna smiling weakly.

“...Are you dead?” Eugene asked gravely.

“Nope,” Sienna denied this with a smile and a shake of her head.

Crackle.

But behind her smiling face, Eugene was still able to see through to what she looked like in reality. Her pale, bloodless face, with her eyes closed peacefully. The hole in her chest and the vines entangled around and within her.

“Hamel,” Sienna spoke up. “Don’t blame Vermouth for this.”

“...What?” Eugene asked.

“Vermouth… he has more burdens to carry than we do, no, more than anyone in the world. If he hadn’t had made such a promise with that bastard—”

“Was Vermouth the one that left you in this state?”

“Hamel.”

“I asked you if it was Vermouth? I’m… I’m not an idiot either. Sienna, I’ve been to my grave. What I saw there—”

“I already know that. Because I left the leaf of the world tree in a place where only someone with your soul could enter.” Sienna interrupted him as she stared up at Eugene with a wry smile. “...What happened there was just a misunderstanding between us.”

“What?” Eugene asked in disbelief.

“That necklace. You’re still wearing it,” Sienna remarked as she pointed at Eugene’s chest with a mischievous smile. “It really has been through a lot. Hamel, did you know? Your body and soul were originally doomed to either be annihilated or become the playthings of the Demon King of Incarceration. However… they were returned.”

“...,” Eugene silently processed this.

“I don’t know the full extent of the Oath that Vermouth made at that time. However… thanks to the promise that he swore, all of us who were there, Anise, Molon, and I were spared; and the terms also included the return of your body and soul,” Sienna revealed.

Eugene had thought that might be the case. He was killed by the spell of none other than Belial, the one who was known as Incarceration’s Staff. If he was lucky, his soul would have just dissipated into nothing. The absolute worst outcome would be that Belial had successfully offered Hamel’s soul to his master, the Demon King of Incarceration.

However, Hamel’s soul hadn’t just disappeared. His body also hadn’t disintegrated, and the remaining corpse had been interred within the coffin in Hamel’s grave.

Sienna finally revealed something. “I placed your soul within that necklace.”

—Sienna. That necklace….

—The coffin…. No… I’ll take it with me.

—...That goes against the agreement.

—Haven’t we all already agreed on this?

Eugene recalled the scene from the past that the Holy Sword had shown him.

Sienna continued, “What exactly happens when someone dies? Anise said that they go to heaven, but I… I can’t place my faith in the gods like Anise could. I’m a wizard, Hamel. I can’t trust in anything that I can’t see for myself and I don’t comprehend. …No, in the end, that’s all just an excuse.”

With a snicker of self-derision, Sienna sat down on the spot. “I just didn’t want to let you go ahead of me, Hamel. So it just… it just worked out that way. Were you satisfied with your death? If you really were, then you’re a son of a bitch. What gives you the right to go and get yourself killed out of self-satisfaction? Neither I, Anise, Molon… nor Vermouth, none of us wanted you to die. We couldn’t just accept your death, and we didn’t want to let your soul go to its final resting place ahead of us.”

Everyone had agreed on this plan.

“That’s why I captured your soul, so that you wouldn’t leave without us. So that some day, somehow, we would be able to meet again. In the world that you, that everyone wanted to see. After we had managed to kill all the Demon Kings, at that time… at that time we would send you off,” Sienna finished tearfully.

Sienna was just like how Eugene remembered her. She had always been stubborn and determined to get her own way. Even if it went against common sense, she would always prioritize the option that only she herself could understand and accept. In the face of this stubbornness, reasoning didn’t matter. Wizards had always been a bunch of mentally unsound people in the first place, and Sienna was no exception.

“What about Vermouth?” Eugene asked.

Sienna lifted her head to look up at Eugene and said, “It seemed that his plans were slightly different from ours. I don’t know why Vermouth did it or what he was really planning. It’s not like I’m Vermouth and right up until the end, I never really understood him.”

“...Sienna,” Eugene prompted.

“I always… I always kept the necklace that held your soul with me. But in your grave, he took it from me.”

These words made Eugene’s hair stand on end.

“That bastard didn’t even say anything to me. At your grave, he killed my familiar in order to get it to call me there. Then, as soon as I arrived according to his plan, he attacked me,” Sienna muttered as she rubbed her chest. “...But was that truly Vermouth? The truth is that I can’t really be sure of it. Vermouth, I thought that he had already died. He should have… been dead. However, he showed up looking perfectly fine, didn’t even say anything, attacked me, disappeared after stealing the necklace from me, and then….”

“Sienna,” Eugene tried to comfort her.

Sienna shook her head and continued, “But Hamel, you shouldn’t blame Vermouth.”

Eugene gritted his teeth at these words. He just couldn’t understand her. She was asking him not to blame Vermouth?

“Don’t spout such nonsense,” he gritted out.

“...The fact that you’re here, that means Vermouth must have returned your soul to life,” Sienna pointed out.

“That son of a bitch, he didn’t even leave any kind of explanation,” Eugene complained. “He even tried to kill you—!”

“That goes for me as well,” Sienna said with a smile as she held up her fist and looked at it. “Just like how that bastard was trying to kill me, I also tried to kill that bastard. Hamel, I’m sure that you’re feeling betrayed right now, but I also felt just as betrayed back then. As much as you do, no, perhaps even more than you.”

“...,” Eugene held his silence for a moment.

“That’s why I just can’t believe it. Was the one who called me there and tried to kill me really Vermouth? Could the one that I fought there, and tried so hard to kill, truly be Vermouth?” Sienna asked herself.

Eugene shouted, “There’s no way it couldn’t be—!”

“It’s not like you were there, asshole,” Sienna cut him off, flipping up the middle finger of her raised fist.

Eugene unconsciously smiled at this sight.

“I’m the one who almost died, so why are you shouting and acting angrier than I am? I’m the one who personally fought with him there and had a hole pierced right through my chest. I’m the one who got instantly destroyed and was forced to leave the soul with your necklace behind! So why the hell are you making such a fuss while I’m trying to speak!” Sienna yelled at him.

“...Hah,” Eugene half-snorted.

Sienna continued her tirade, “You should know how to listen when someone else is trying to speak. Why is your personality still so shitty after somehow dying and returning back to life? If you died after having refused to listen to what others were telling you, like an asshole, then shouldn’t you have at least learnt how to quietly listen to other people?!”

“You’re right, Sienna,” Eugene easily conceded.

“Because we’ve finally met after so long, and I’ve gotten a bit older than you since you died, I was trying to hold back and be a bit more gentle, but you—! Whether it’s in the past life or the present, you really are a fucking stupid bastard,” Sienna spat out this curse as she leapt to her feet. Then she quickly marched over and grabbed Eugene by the collar. “Hey! Hamel, listen closely. Although the person who tried to kill me did look like Vermouth, I don’t think it really was Vermouth. Do you understand?”

“Do you really think that what you’re currently saying makes any sense?” Eugene asked skeptically.

“Ah, really! If I say that it didn’t seem like him, then you should just believe it wasn’t him until proven otherwise…! In any case, I don’t really know what was in the promise that he made. Vermouth should be behind your reincarnation, so, well… I think it worked out for the best. I thought that we would only be able to reunite with you in heaven, but it seems that we’re able to reunite while we’re both still alive,”

Even as she said this, Sienna started shaking Eugene by his collar. “Anyway, you, what’s your name?”

“Hamel,” Eugene answered simply.

“Not that one! The name you got after reincarnating,” Sienna insisted.

“...Eugene,” he said reluctantly.

Sienna hesitated. “...The color of your hair and eyes… and your mana. There’s an idea that keeps popping up inside my head, but I’m kinda afraid to confirm whether it’s true or not.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably correct,” Eugene finally admitted.

“Really? You, were you really reincarnated as Vermouth’s descendant?”

“Yeah.”

“So that means your name is Eugene Lionheart, I guess?”

“...Yeah.”

“Could Vermouth have developed dementia?” Sienna muttered to herself as she finally released Eugene’s collar. “Why would he reincarnate you as his own descendant…? Hm… hmmmm. Indeed, when that bastard took more than ten wives and started having a lot of children, I had hoped that he was just trying to make up for all the suffering that we when through in Helmuth by living well, but… could he have purposefully been increasing the number of his descendants to prepare for your reincarnation…?”

“We can’t be sure of that, but it really did feel like a gut punch to be reincarnated as Vermouth’s descendant,” Eugene confessed.

“It might feel kinda fucky, but I think that there are more positives than negatives,” Sienna assessed. “In the first place, your looks are a lot better than they were in your previous life, and your body should also be much better than the one you had as Hamel, right?”

“...That might be the case,” Eugene acknowledged reluctantly.

“You still have your memories… and a body that is overwhelmingly superior to the one that you had in your previous life… did he plan for you to kill the remaining Demon Kings?” Sienna hypothesized.

“If that was what he wanted, then he could have just reincarnated himself,” Eugne protested. “No, even without reincarnating—”

“Could it be that you’re really Molon and not Hamel?” Sienna spat out as she stared at Eugene. Even in such a situation, Eugene couldn’t help but scowl fiercely at these words.

“Apologize.”

“Mm. I’m sorry. My words were a bit harsh.”

“Be careful with your words,” Eugene warned her gruffly.

“Hehe. Seeing how rude you are, you’re definitely Hamel. That’s unmistakeable. In any case, there has to be a good reason why Vermouth didn’t reincarnate himself or try to kill the Demon Kings with his own hands,” as she said this, Sienna took a few steps back and stroked her chin as she looked at him thoughtfully. “...Also, I think you’re just the right person for the job.

Eugene blinked. “What?”

“I’m talking about you. Even with the body of an insect, you were already that strong. Now that you’ve been reincarnated with the memories of your past life, and in a body that’s overwhelmingly superior to the one you had before… then it’s like I just said. I think that you can become even stronger than Vermouth,” Sienna stated confidently.

Eugene scoffed, “Don’t say something so ridiculous.”

“You’re the one who shouldn’t say anything ridiculous, asshole,” Sienna retorted angrily. “Although I understand how you feel, considering that you were always beaten by Vermouth as you sparred with him every day, if you really think about it, that just means that you were the one who was closest to Vermouth’s strength among all of us. Vermouth was certainly special, but you were just as special as he was. Vermouth may have eventually failed, but Hamel, if it’s you… then you might really be able to do it.”

Eugene’s lips twitched slightly as he heard these words.

Sienna didn’t miss this reaction. She snickered and slapped Eugene on the shoulder. “Look at that smile. Are you really that happy I complimented you?”

“...Ahem,” Eugene coughed in embarrassment.

“In any case, getting back to what I was saying. Hamel, don’t be too angry at Vermouth. Because I don’t really blame him either.”

“...Isn’t that just because you don’t want to accept reality?”

“Shut up. I’m a wizard. Even if I do see something with my own eyes, if I can’t truly understand and accept it, then I won’t believe in it.”

“It feels like those words have changed a bit from before?”

“Frankly speaking, Hamel, just what do you have to blame Vermouth for? He’s the one who brought you back to life. In a much better body than the one you had in your previous life at that! You’re angry that he didn’t give you an explanation? So what if he didn’t? You should just be grateful that you got to live once again after dying. What do you have to blame Vermouth for?” Sienna rattled out these questions and then pointed at her own chest. “I’m telling you that even I don’t blame him for piercing a hole in my chest. Got it? I believe in Vermouth. So you should also have faith in him. We… we both owe Vermouth.”

“...I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Eugene grumbled.

“Even though you’ve come back from the dead, you really are just as childish as you always were,” Sienna said with a smile.

Changing the subject, Eugene asked, “So what happened to Anise and Molon?”

“I don’t know. How exactly did Anise become an angel? You’re not the only one who’s surprised by that, so don’t ask me. As for Molon? After that idiot founded his kingdom—” Sienna’s eyes suddenly widened in surprise. “Ah! Did you already know? Molon, that idiot, he actually became a real king!”

“Do you really think I wouldn’t have heard about that?”

“Haha, who would have thought that Molon would actually become a real king? You should have been there to see the founding ceremony of the Ruhr Kingdom…. Have you heard how Molon, that fool, only came to the afterparty wearing a cloak and a pair of panties?”

“...Just why?”

“I gave him the panties as a present and told him that they would appear as a formal dress that was only visible to those who were virtuous and brave. But that bastard really did come out wearing only that pair of panties. His vassals were horrified, but he told them that they couldn’t see his clothes because they weren’t virtuous and brave enough—” Sienna was unable to finish speaking as she burst into laughter and was forced to clutch her stomach.

Once she had calmed down, she continued, “In any case, I need to thank Anise.”

“...,” Eugene kept his silence.

“The fact that I’m currently able to speak to you like this, it’s all thanks to Anise for making this miracle happen,” Sienna said gratefully.

“...Before I came here, I saw a vision of the past,” Eugene mentioned.

“Ah, you saw Raizakia,” Sienna’s face twisted into a scowl as she spat out the dragon’s name. “In hindsight, the responsibility for why I’m in this state lies more with that son of a viper than it does with Vermouth. He actually figured out how to come and find me while I was on the verge of death, then he even broke through the barrier and invaded the elven domain!”

“...So what exactly happened?” Eugene asked.

“Didn’t you see it? That guy shot his Breath at us and I blocked it. Since I wasn’t in a good condition, I wasn’t able to block it completely. You remember what Raizakia’s Breath is like, don’t you? It’s basically a clump of demonic power. No, Raizakia himself is a huge clump of demonic power. He’s like a sewer rat that’s infested with germs,” Sienna said as her body shuddered in disgust and she clenched her fists. “The elves there were all infected by him. I also couldn’t stop his demonic power from leaking into my wounds. That’s how I got contaminated with his curse. Just before I was about to die, I managed to make a connection to the World Tree, then I sealed my body and all the elves with me inside of the World Tree.”

Sienna sat down on the ground with her shoulders slumped.

After she had composed herself, she continued, “...Although I feel sorry for the elves who were caught outside, at that time there weren’t any other options. Because I was in a desperate situation where I had to hurry to keep myself and hundreds of elves from dying. I sealed away the entire territory and altered the memories of the elves so that no one would be able to re-enter it…. Ah, I was able to do that thanks to the ancient magic that has been passed down through the World Tree. This tree is actually connected to every elf’s soul.”

“And so?”

“What do you mean, and so? You also saw it, didn’t you? The elves and I have been sealed inside of the World Tree—”

“Not that. I mean how do I get you to open your eyes again?” Eugene asked as he sat down facing Sienna.

For a few moments, Sienna didn’t continue to speak, and just stared at Eugene who was sitting so close to her.

“Hamel, I made two mistakes,” Sienna eventually confessed after letting out a short huff and folding her arms. “The first is that I tried to kill Raizakia, but I failed. If I had been able to kill him, then I would have been able to cleanse his curse from my wounds.”

“And the other one?” Eugene prompted.

“Since it was too difficult to chase him out, I banished him to the outer dimension,” Sienna’s brow furrowed as she said this. “Or well, I tried to. If I had managed to banish him properly, then this curse wouldn’t have lasted for so long. Seeing as it’s still clinging on without getting any worse… it looks like he was probably caught in some kind of dimensional rift. That guy is pretty amazing. Doesn’t that mean he’s still holding on after getting stuck in a dimensional rift for over a hundred years?”

“In that case,” Eugene said with a grin. “If we kill Raizakia, who’s been stuck in a dimensional rift, you’ll also get better?”

“...Probably,” Sienna confirmed hesitantly.

“How do we find him?” Eugene eagerly asked.

“It’s impossible for you right now,” Sienna denied his request.

“I know,” Eugene admitted. “But tell me anyway. Because I’ll go after him and kill him as soon as it does become possible.”

Without saying anything immediately, Sienna just looked at Hamel before sighing. “...You really are Hamel.”

“What are you saying all of a sudden?” Eugene demanded.

“No, it’s nothing,” Sienna said with a soft laugh.