Chapter 96

On the day Reria became a shrine maiden.

Due to fusing with Emile, Reria was having a dream.

It was a dream of her past life.

In a disheveled room, Reria—her past self—was crying uncontrollably.

It was the room where she had been living with her fiancé after their engagement.

But that fiancé would never return.

The present Reria looked down at her past self, who was sitting and crying.

"---What was wrong with me? Was it so bad to lose to my sister?"

In terms of appearance and academic ability—she had lost in everything.

When she looked in the mirror in the room, the reflection was not of herself.

It was of her detested sister, who was smiling at her.

Reria moved, and the reflection moved in sync, as if she had become the sister she hated.

"What? Are you mocking me even after I died!"

The sister in the mirror started to speak.

'Because it's not a joke. The fact that you came back to life and did the same thing as me, who couldn't stand it, is just laughable.'

Reria's eyes wavered, and she took a step back from the mirror.

"N-no, it's different! I—"

'It's the same. You've already realized it, haven't you? No, you're even worse than me. Because you know. You are me.'

The reflection in the mirror returned to Reria, but her face was twisted in a hideous smile.

'What I did, you did to your sister. No, you did even worse. You stole someone's lover and forced a problematic man on her. What's the difference between you and your sister? You did it out of spite, didn't you? And this is the result—how pathetic you are.'

Hearing these words, Reria collapsed on the spot.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this."

'You know that. ---It's all your fault. But maybe it would be easier to just die. You could escape from this unpleasant reality.'

The Reria in the mirror was mocking her.

Tears streaming down her face, Reria suddenly noticed that Emile was beside her.

Emile, as he was before being absorbed by the Sacred Tree, was looking at Reria's past life.

"This is the old Reria, huh?"

Standing next to Emile, Reria nodded, tears streaming down her face.

"Do you despise me? Yes, I have a past life. I'm an old woman inside. You heard that conversation, right? You were deceived by me!"

Emile shook his head at such a Reria.

"To me, you are an important woman. I don't care about that. But—I wish you had told me sooner."

Reria was taken aback by his unexpected response.

Struggling to react, Reria looked down and began to speak softly.

"I won't trust anyone."

"Maybe. I also understand why you and Serge were close."

Emile was looking at a game cartridge lying in the room.

"Is this us? What can I say—embarrassing."

Looking at the cover of the second game in that dating sim series, Emile blushed.

"Do you not hate it? I'm a terrible woman."

"To me, you are the best woman. I—have always been compared to others. Compared to everyone here."

Emile smiled wryly, looking at the faces of Erek and the others.

"I was always trying to read people's expressions. But you saw me for who I am, and I was happy about that."

Hearing Emile's words, a sense of guilt gripped Reria's heart.

"I! I am not the woman you think I am. The reason I chose you was terrible, and—"

Emile hugged Reria.

"---I'm sorry. I didn't know you were hurting so much. You must have been so hard, right? If I had realized sooner, Reria wouldn't have suffered so much."

Emile cared about her past self, who had been betrayed by her fiancé and cut ties with her family.

He was worried about her, even in this state.

"Emile—me!"

"---You must live."

Saying this, Emile began to glow.

As the surroundings turned white, a sapling was born.

"Emile?"

When Reria looked at Emile's face, he was smiling sadly.

"I'm sorry. I can't be by your side anymore. So, I prepared a sapling of the Sacred Tree. This is the best I can do now. This is the last sapling, so take good care of it."

Reria gently took the sapling Emile handed her, and a crest appeared on the back of her right hand.

The sapling's voice could be heard.

(---I'm hungry)

Hearing the cute, child-like voice, Reria felt a warm feeling in her heart.

Emile spoke gently.

"You know all the circumstances, right? The reason the Sacred Tree went berserk is that it lost its shrine maiden and could no longer understand humans."

"So, it went out of control?"

"Yes. But from the Sacred Tree's perspective, it wasn't a失控. These children have a purpose, a wish, you could say."

"A wish?"

The Sacred Tree's wish.

"It is—"

◇

When Reria woke up, Emile was gone.

In his place, only the sapling of the Sacred Tree remained.

Clem was holding Reria's hand and crying.

He looked terrible.

"Lady Reria! Thank goodness you've woken up!"

"---Clem?"

Looking at Clem's right hand, she saw the shrine maiden's crest.

Her abdomen, where she had been pierced, was now healed.

"Emile suddenly collapsed, and then the sapling of the Sacred Tree appeared. The shrine maiden's crest appeared on your right hand, and your wound healed—Clem was really worried!"

Seeing the crest, Reria began to cry.

"Emile is gone."

Realizing that the man who understood her, the man who accepted her, was gone, Reria cried out from the depths of her heart.

Tears streamed down her face, and they wouldn't stop.

The crest on her right hand felt like the last gift Emile had prepared for her.

"Lady Reria, what's wrong?"

"Why? Why did Emile have to die!"

She had already obtained what she wanted, but Reria realized that she had lost it because of herself.

And she would never get it back.

◇

Inside the Einhorn ship.

Serge, who was in handcuffs, was visited by Julius, who had removed his mask.

Serge was pleading with Julius.

"Call Leon. I want to apologize."

Julius was sitting in a chair, looking down at Serge, who was on the floor.

"There's no need. I'm your opponent."

"Not you, him. Please! I can't kill my father. I was wrong. Let me talk to him!"

Kneeling and bowing—Serge was prostrating himself, and Julius responded calmly.

"---Balthus is angry."

"But I'll apologize properly!"

"That's not the issue. We've caused him trouble, but I've never seen him this angry. I didn't expect him to go this far, but watching you and the others, I think he was right."

"I don't care what happens to me. But the people of this country are innocent."

Hearing this, Julius sighed.

(I can't really talk, can I?)

"The current state of this country and its future are your responsibility. Don't push it onto Balthus. He's barely holding on. You and the others are the ones who pushed him to this point."

Serge looked despondent, and Julius continued.

"Given your current state, it will be difficult for you to deal with the monsters released by the Sacred Tree and the reconstruction. We will take care of it for you."

"Will you help us?"

"The people of the Republic, yes. But only to the minimum. We can't take care of non-citizens forever."

That meant he would only help to that extent.

He was telling them to handle the national crisis themselves.

Serge asked Julius one more time.

"Just once, let me talk to him."

Julius closed his eyes.

"Can't you accept my words? I'll talk to Balthus, but don't get your hopes up."

Hearing this, Serge thanked Julius.

◇

When Julius visited Leon, Ange, Revia, and Marie were there.

Alberich was receiving treatment and talking about something.

"Lord Balthus, I'm sorry, but can I have a meeting with Serge—"

Hearing this, Ange clearly showed his displeasure.

Revia looked down, and Marie—

"Julius, you idiot! Don't say that to my brother now!"

Then, Marie said "Ah!" and turned to Ange and the others.

She had called Leon "brother" loudly, and Leon was covering his face with one hand.

"---Are you that stupid?"

"S-sorry! It's not what you think. There's a deep reason for it. I called him 'brother' because—well, what do you call it? Like, we're comrades, or something like step-siblings."

Marie's excuses, in her confusion, only made things worse.

Leon stood up and pointed at Marie.

"Do you have a grudge against me? What if the two of them misunderstand!"

"Sorry!"

Seeing Marie cry, Ange—

"---It's good to be friendly in a foreign land, but don't rely too much on Leon. The same goes for you, Leon. You're spoiling them too much."

Leon was surprised.

"Huh? Ah, no—yes."

"But I didn't expect the reason to be the same as Erek's 'sister' call."

Thanks to Erek, Ange had misunderstood.

Revia was also a bit exasperated.

"Leon, you're too lenient. I was surprised by the amount of money you gave. And the way you all spend it so quickly is also concerning."

Revia was looking at Julius.

Julius cleared his throat dramatically.

"Ah, about Serge—"

Then, Alberich said it wasn't necessary.

"Lord Balthus, you can ignore my son."

Leon sat down, looking tired, and resumed the conversation with Alberich.

"You must be worried, but I'll visit him once later. Honestly, I don't understand why you're doing so much for Serge. You would be more useful to the Republic than Serge."

Julius decided to listen to the conversation.

Alberich was looking at the ceiling.

"---No matter how foolish, he's still my son. I still have hope, even at this point. Even if it's just a parent's imposition. And simply—out of a parent's selfishness, I want him to live."

"Isn't that wrong as a ruler?"

"Lord Balthus, I'm already disqualified as a ruler, pushed to this point."

Ange agreed.

"Your failure to stop the other six great nobles and Serge was indeed a mistake. But as a parent, you can do that. I respect you for it."

Revia was recording Alberich's words.

"Leon, continue from before."

"Ah, right. So, after destroying the Lespinasse family and obtaining the materials, you found a way to fuse with the Sacred Tree."

Leon and the others were listening to the detailed story about the Sacred Tree.

"You seem to have done a lot of research to utilize the Sacred Tree. I was surprised when I found out, but when I heard the Sacred Tree was out of control, I considered it as a way to stop it. But after investigating, I realized it was almost impossible to control. I was surprised when Emile fused with it."

"Seeing it in a form like today, the Lespinasse family might have been right to try to destroy it. The people of this country probably won't believe in the Sacred Tree anymore."

"---The Sacred Tree's outburst is also my fault. I intend to deal with it. Without the Sacred Tree as a mental support, the people of the Republic will lose all hope."

"Hope, huh."

Leon sighed.

"I have bad news. The main branch of the Prevan family is extinct, and most of the collateral branches are also gone. The other six great noble families have also lost a lot of members."

"I see. How many people are left—no, maybe we shouldn't focus on the six great noble families anymore. The Republic might need to change its form."

Alberich was looking at his right hand.

There was no crest.

◇

At night.

When Julius visited Serge's room, he found him prostrating himself.

Seeing this, Julius laughed through his nose.

"Your prostration has no value. It's a waste of time, so get up."

"This is my sincerity."

"Self-satisfaction? Then I'll leave."

"Wait!"

Serge looked up, and Julius began to speak.

Summarizing what Serge wanted to say—

To save Lord Alberich.

And to help the people of the Republic.

"It was my fault. I was manipulated by him."

"Right."

"My father isn't to blame. And I want you to help the people of the Republic. You can—no, you can do it."

"You can."

Luxeon is under repair, but that's manageable.

Using the data left by Ideal, they are searching the ruins of the base and gathering parts.

Clarelle and the others were happily collecting Ideal's parts.

Luxeon was the same, saying things like "This will make me even stronger."

They were taking everything from the base.

They are so tough.

Too tough, it made me flinch.

"Will you help us?"

"Huh? No way. I'll do the minimum and then leave. Besides, I'm being called back, so I want to return as soon as possible."

He was asked to return and explain the situation to the Holfaht Kingdom.

He was staying by making excuses like the ship being damaged.

Luxeon is being repaired, so he might help out during that time.

"---!"

Serge's expression turned red with anger for a moment but then calmed down.

Maybe he finally understood that he was at fault?

"It's your country's problem. If you hadn't caused trouble, this wouldn't have happened. You're a real brat. I'm not your parent or anything. Deal with it yourself."

"---I can't do anything now."

"It's the result of your actions. The result you wanted. Good for you."

Serge looked down, looking regretful.

He was clenching his teeth, but—

"Did you not think about what would happen if Luxeon and Ideal really fought?"

"I couldn't imagine it. I didn't think it would go that far."

Julius sighed and turned to leave the room.

"Frankly, living might be more painful. But it's the result of your choice. And it's a life your father saved. Don't waste it. For the sake of the one who carried the burden and died, I'll save your life."

In other words, that's the only value you have.

I don't need to take your life.

"Please. Help me. I won't defy you again. I promise. If you hate me, you can kill me!"

"---Your father is pitiful. He believes in you until the end, even though you're a reincarnated brat. He wants his precious son to live, even though you're a brat in your second life."

Serge, learning about Lord Alberich's feelings, had his forehead on the floor.

"Father—"

His large body was trembling.

When Julius left the room and closed the door, he could hear Serge's sobs.

"Idiot—too late."

If I save the Republic, they will choose me as their next savior.

I don't want to be a replacement for the Sacred Tree.

Running his hand through his hair, he wondered how it had come to this.

"---If I had handled it more maturely, would it have been different?"

When they first met, he was angry at being mocked.

Was that the mistake? But in the end, Ideal had manipulated Serge into fighting.

---Reincarnated people are all troublemakers.

Including me.

Sometimes, I wonder if the world has gone mad because of us.

---It feels that way.