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| ← Ch.28 | Ch.30 → |
Chapter 4: Retry
Part 1
"... So it's... like that, huh..."
"W-well there aren't any contradictions with Grandpa's work... wait, huh, is that it?!"
"My a. s. sumption was right after all, heh... ah, love is such a complex thing..."
"... We... nearly went extinct for a stupid reason like that... I'm gonna cry, you know... ?"
"Phew ☆ This is a great opportunity, Plum ☆ Amira's feeling really energetic ♥"
".. S-Sora, Izuna doesn't understand at all, des."
"Sorry Izuna, but I'm just a useless eighteen-year-old piece of hikikomori virgin trash that's dragging Kuuhaku『 』 down, so I don't understand as well. But Izuna's smart, so you'll understand it in the future. Now please excuse me so I can make my way to the garbage dump."
"Sora is getting thrown away, des? Can Izuna go and pick him up, des?"
"... Absolutely not... Nii belongs to s. h. i. +ro. Let's change the subject... Nii go get ready."
"R-ready? O-other than getting in the way, is there really something else I can do... ?"
"... This game... s. h. i. +ro can't beat it... only Nii... can do it..."
"Alright then, let's go, s. h. i. +ro!! If s. h. i. +ro and I both can't do it, who can?!"
Part 2
"- How boring."
I sighed unconsciously.
Oceande is the birthplace of all the Seirenes.
Located at the very bottom of the ocean's depths, its endless foothills that were connected with triple seamounts and so forth were lit up by half-moon shaped streaks of light. [1]
Away from the unclean, filthy solid ground, the calm seawaters were like castle walls, having no direct pa. s. sage towards
Oceande.
Aside from countless unnamed fish and whales, there was only an extremely small amount of people that were able to reach the place.
The treasures located within the city were piled up in glittering, dazzling mountains, and the protections placed over them by the water elementals added a beautiful layer of oceanic blue over it.
It was a stunningly colorful paradise created from the magic of the Dhampirs.
But, it was also a prison.
"Oh come on~ really now, isn't there anything else more fun to do!?"
I pursed my lips, as everything seemed to be making me annoyed.
I'm getting bored of singing and dancing, not to mention that
I've gotten bored of eating all those delicacies.
Oceande, the eternal paradise, beauty, wealth, love; everything was present there.
From the very instant that I was born, those things were all mine.
And it's exactly because of that - that I'll never be satisfied.
That's because I myself am the prettiest, most valuable piece of treasure and not others.
Even the most beautiful things in this world cannot reach my standard.
If there's something that this place doesn't have but yet something I truly wish for...
That is... love! Pure love!
A partner just as perfect and unchangeable as I am! An impeccable treasure that even the G. o. ds would desire.
I won't let anyone invade my pure soul - I'll wait for「Him」 in this dreamy city.
The one that can give everything he has to me - an eternal lover.
The prince that can satisfy all my inner desires.
I fell asleep while waiting for「Him」... huh? How long ago was that?
"... Never mind, it's not important."
If「He」doesn't come for me, things like time don't matter at all.
If my desires aren't satisfied, my entire existence would be like an empty sh. e. l. l -
-「Aschente」-
Suddenly I heard a voice, and I gradually regained consciousness.
It seems someone has arrived, a shallow man that has come in search of my love.
With one little smile from me they would immediately fall before my irresistible charm, such cute idiots.
This man probably isn't the one I'm looking forward to as well.
「True Love」doesn't come easily anyway.
But, after waiting so long, even I'm getting impatient.
"... Fine, since I'm bored anyway, I'll play with you for a while."
No matter how boring this man may be, he can at least pa. s. s some time.
Right - I'll be gentler to him this time.
I'll smile sweetly, flatter him a bit, then watch him fall head over heels for me.
After that, at the very last moment, I'll dump him as brutally as
I can and toss him to the side like a soulless corpse.
This way, even an idiot might learn the meaning of「True
Love」-
"Do you -?"
"Huh... ?"
A young man's voice drifted to me from the sky.
"- Do you want love -?"
You're asking me if I want love? Of course.
"... Yes, I do, but can you give it to me?"
"So - I'll give it to you!!"
"You~ are~ shock~!!" [2]
A shock that shook the oceans resounded, and I looked up - to see that the sky had shattered.
There's no other way for me to describe it; I could see it even from where I was in the ocean, as the sky gradually cracked and crumbled, falling like huge pieces of broken gla. s. s, cras. h. i. +ng into the ocean - dying the seas and skies blood-red.
After which the owner of the voice fell into the ocean along with the splinters of the gla. s. s sky.
"- The sky~ it fell because~ of love... ~~... you know?"
He was a male, black-haired, black-eyed Imanity wearing a s. h. i. +rt with the words「I ♥ Humans」emblazoned on the front.
And beside him, almost in contrast to him, a white-haired, redeyed young Imanity girl.
The two had draped on them a jet-black cape that instantly would remind people of the kind villains would wear, and they spoke with evil smiles:
"Greetings, Sleeping Beauty. Sorry for disturbing you every single time before you go to rest. We're Sora and s. h. i. +ro."
"... h. e. l. lo..."
... Hmm? They're using a different tactic this time.
Many men have attempted to seek my love in various sorts of ways, but this would be a first.
No, wrong - what I want is「True Love」- not just something flashy and original like this.
"Greetings, visitors of my dream. I welcome your arrival."
It would be over after this sentence, my voice - no man can resist its charm -
"Ah, we apologize. The real versions of us aren't here right now."
"... Useless, useless, useless..."
"So we can't hear your voice, forgive us for that, and now~ -"
The man smiled mischievously, then continued singing:
"You are shock - me and~ a few other things~ fell from the sky..."
- A shock rang out once again, at the same time the seas parted, and in the red skies...
"- Eek... !"
I cried out unconsciously.
It was a sky covered in hateful, fear-inducing, giant - monster babies.
A girl flew above that sky, with a halo on her head and lightwoven wings stretching from her waist.
"You're an idiot, and you look cute while you're sleeping, but to think that idiots that can cause trouble even when they're asleep exist - the world really is a huge place."
- Behind her were hundreds of - personifications of killers, the symbols of destruction -「The Flügel」!?"
"... Nii, sense of despair... doesn't seem enough..."
"Hmm~ That's right, I need to perfectly recreate ending B of「That game that scarred me the most emotionally
(Drakengard) 」, so I should have brought the real Flügel along, but - Azrael's power has been sealed so the council's definitely in a huge mess right now, as other than Jibril the rest are all just figureheads." [3]
"Please take it easy, Master. It'll be just fine as long as I command about hundreds of manpower ♪"
That man looked down at me while conducting a strangesounding conversation.
"Alright, let's begin the game - 「Make me fall in love with you」."
... Huh?
The man said that, and then pointed towards the highest tower of Oceande - the hall of the Empress.
"We'll be right there, and as soon as you do, if you manage to make me fall in love with you, the game will be over."
- The skies were twitching, and countless gigantic babies
(monsters) began descending from its blood-red void.
The Flügel flew about with their wings spread wide.
... Y-you want me to move under these conditions... !?
"Speaking of which, Master... is it really fine for me to destroy the city just like that?"
I froze as I heard that Flügel ask expectantly.
"Yeah, no problem. Including the Empress as well, since this is all in a dream everything will return to normal in a matter of seconds anyway. Jibril, no matter how much power you use - the source is「Infinite」, so just release as much as you want."
"Hehe, hehee, heheheheh~ Jibril's full of energy ♥"
- After which, the two Imanity turned around to face me once more.
"Also, when we created this setting -"
"... We brought your... friends, best friends... relatives as well."
As I heard this I looked around desperately - when did they appear?
Mum, Grandma, my servants and sisters that I can't even remember the names of - they were all crying and sobbing.
"Which is what you're looking at..."
He smiled bitterly, scratched his head briefly and said:
"You along with the babies that your relatives would have given birth to being cut to pieces, exterminated, eliminated by
Jibril, and you have to proceed while experiencing many other hards. h. i. +ps... looking back at it, this setting really is pretty gruesome."
"... That game... Nii said it would be a touching fighting game and let s. h. i. +ro play it, Nii... I can't forgive you." [4]
"I'm so sorry, because it's just too unbearable for me alone to carry that much emotional burden - so I just had to..."
The two finished blabbering, and they who called themselves
Sora and s. h. i. +ro spoke as one -
「Now you will
Not receive any help
You will only face death
So let us see
How far you can struggle. 」
After which - they spoke with smiles on their faces:
「Go to h. e. l. l. 」
The Flügel then continued as she heard this:
"So, I'll start. First Unit, Jibril."
The halo on her head began s. h. i. +fting and twisting into various complicated patterns, becoming bigger, multi-layered, just like a magic formation.
Her wings appeared to emit light, and they lost their shape - a spear-like thing began forming in her hands -
"To my Masters who have given me the opportunity to do this, I dedicate my utmost grat. i. tude -"
"- Concentrated, full powered, 100% - 「Airstrike」- it's coming for you ♥"
She said this, and the entire world was engulfed in light.
Part 3
On the other hand - in the hall of the Empress in Oceande -
"YEAH ☆ Jii-chan's so cool~ ♥"
Amira cheered at the underwater projector which was displaying the state of the Empress' dream.
While beside her were countless other Seirenes who were cheering and dancing maniacally as well.
Sora, s. h. i. +ro and Jibril's bodies lay on the floor almost lifelessly along with Plum and the other Dhampirs who had used all their strength transporting them into the dream world.
Beside them was Steph who was rolling her eyes, as well as an elderly Werebeast - Hatsuse Ino, as well as Izuna who was hugging onto him.
Looking at the three unconscious bodies on the floor, Ino asked:
"Um, about that... what exactly is going on here?"
"We're here to save Grandpa, des. You have to kneel and express grat. i. tude, des."
Izuna said this while rubbing her face against her grandfather's
- Ino's stomach, while Steph continued:
"A lot of things happened while Ino-san was here in
Oceande... a lot of things."
- But he couldn't possibly understand anything from an explanation like that.
Ino fondled Izuna gently while expressing his confusion.
"... I would appreciate it if you could explain more thoroughly."
"Don't worry about it... since I don't actually get it either... but
Sora has a message for you."
Mm-mm, Steph cleared her throat.
"- 「We found the way to awaken the Empress, so we told the Seirenes who in exchange gladly gave you up in exchange for it, which is exactly what we're doing now」... that's it."
"Now I'm even more confused..."
"Let me continue... 「Don't worry, we'll awaken the
Empress and we won't let the Seirenes and Dhampirs go extinct, which is what we wagered on in the beginning of the game. As for what's going on, you'll have to wait until the game's over before you find out. 」- and..."
Steph smiled thinly and continued yet again:
"... 「Lastly, Izuna seemed really lonely so we left her here with you. You have a really good granddaughter,
Gramps. 」... that's all."
"I... I see."
Ino smiled as he felt his granddaughter fondling him lovingly, but he thought to himself:
- Now I don't understand Sora even more.
Sounds of cheering erupted once again as Jibril's second
「Airstrike」 was fired.
The Seirenes were feasting merrily while watching the events unfolding within the dream, while Plum instead advised them fearfully.
"A, Amira-sama... I completely~ understand how you feel, but could you please at least be more self-conscious -"
"Huh? Come on Plum ♪ You don't need to be so formal all the time so just say what's on your mind, it's fine ☆"
Amira smiled a saintly smile and continued:
"It feels so great watching that idiotic woman suffer~!
Hahahah~ ☆"
- Her smile was pure, but her eyes weren't smiling.
"Amira was originally against the idea of repressing pain~ so
I would say I'm already being rather self-conscious here~ hehe~ ☆"
- It's true, it was a dream, so in reality no one would get hurt.
Also, when Sora and s. h. i. +ro had entered the Empress' dream, they had requested Plum to repress the pain sensors of the
Empress.
It was a dream anyway, so there wouldn't be any pain, but despite this he had emphasized it time and again - which meant, there was a meaning behind his series of actions -
"... We really shouldn't have brought Izuna there, huh."
"Yeah, Sora-san managed to pa. s. s judgment that this isn't a scene a small child like her should be witnessing, so I guess
I'm rather in awe of his morals."
"... ? Is something going on, des?"
Izuna had her head buried in Ino's chest the entire time so she couldn't see the projection, but then she asked curiously.
Regarding the events unfolding in front of her - Plum replied:
"To put it bluntly... that's h. e. l. l... no, that's a true nightmare..."
Undoubtedly, it was a scene that seemed to defy all laws governing the natural world.
- Steph had heard about it as well, the strongest attack of the
Flügel - 「Airstrike」.
That spear of light could evaporate oceans in a single shot, and turn Oceande within the dream into a mere crater.
But - since it was a dream, everything would return to normal in a matter of seconds.
The babies crumbled immediately just like porcelain figurines, while Jibril relentlessly continued her onslaught with renewed vigor.
The endlessly disintegrating and repairing scenery along with
Jibril's smile - or rather her murderous sneer, as she coldly, mechanically swung her arms.
With each swing, mountains were leveled, seas were spliced, and the ocean floors buckled and caved from the shock.
- That alone was sufficiently traumatizing to be considered a nightmare.
And it wasn't only Jibril as well, as the fake Flügel were destroying everything in sight along with her.
The baby-like monsters were simply characters that incited natural hatred and fear from onlookers, and they feasted on the various other people within the dream.
While the Seirenes were actually watching those events cheerfully, in an almost overjoyed fas. h. i. +on - everything was in a chaotic mess.
"... A-about that, since they know the reason why all this is happening, it's hard to blame them for their reaction... but..."
"... D-did they go a bit overboard?... although I don't really understand what's going on..."
Steph, who knew the cause of the events up to this point yet didn't understand Sora's intentions, couldn't help but agree with Ino.
"... Although, not a day pa. s. ses where I don't hate that Tetsama who created the 「Ten Pledges」..."
Plum seemed as if she was going to faint anytime soon, and she said this with her face almost horrifyingly pale.
Because what she saw might actually be - no, it must be.
It was something even before the 「Ten Pledges」- a scene that seemed directly ripped out of the 「Great War」.
"My ancestors actually survived through things like these... I respect them even more now."
"... More precisely, how exactly did the Imanity survive through conditions like these?"
"Before all this, were there any differences between the
Imanity and the Werebeasts... ? After I get back, I'm going to look through that bit of history again."
The three of them slipped into their own thoughts, but deep down they were all thinking of the same thing.
- The One True G. o. d (Tet), thank you for creating the 「Ten
Pledges」.
Part 4
- The seawater had completely evaporated just after the first strike, and Leila could only crawl on the cracked, dried ground.
She couldn't breathe, and the sunlight corroded every pore of her body on the naked sea floor.
She couldn't feel pain, but her energy was being endlessly sapped from her.
The continuous a. s. sault of the Flügel didn't even give the seawater time to grow back.
The seawater evaporated, returned, and evaporated yet again, removing the Empress - removing Leila of her marine protection.
After which, the baby-like monsters that descended from the blood-red skies crept towards her, threatening to feast on her.
She had no water, she couldn't swim, so even if she belonged to a race loved and protected by the ocean - if she didn't have seawater she couldn't even disguise herself -...
"... P... phew... a-am I... finally there... ?"
- How many days had it been? Or how many minutes?
Leila dragged her body to the front of the tower.
Behind her she could hear countless explosions, and the fires of h. e. l. l were burning pa. s. sionately there as well.
Above her were broken skies and cries of laughter, while on the ground were countless screams of terror and agony.
Leila fearfully opened the doors of the tower with all her might, and charged into it - at the same time...
She felt a shock that once again leveled the city behind her and yet another explosion - but Leila merely sat down in relief.
Because within the tower - there was water.
Probably because Sora and s. h. i. +ro were there, it was the only place that even the attacks of the Flügel couldn't destroy.
As long as she had water, she could breathe and seduce...
Finally -
"... Ha, hahaha.... hehehehehe... you've got some guts - to dare to do something like this to me!"
Leila gasped for air, and from within her - surged torrents of red-hot anger.
- 「Make me fall in love with you」?
"... Fine, since you actually dared to play a fool with me this far, I'll make you pay."
- With a swish of her tailfin, Leila surged up the water-filled tower at a stunningly fast speed.
- I am the Empress of the Sea, I have everything, no one will resist my rule.
They actually dared to show such disrespect towards me - although I don't know what he wants -
"Don't think kneeling down and begging for forgiveness will save you!!"
Just one sentence, I just need for him to hear the slightest bit of my voice, and it will be all over.
- I'll sing a song, capture his heart, and make him kneel before me and lick the floor.
After which I'll reject him as coldly and heartlessly as I can, then push him into a bottomless canyon of despair.
I'll seduce him then push him aside, so when he leaves the dream - he will think the real world is the actual nightmare, and he won't be able to live with himself.
With these thoughts in her head, she smiled evilly, and swam through the waters - not long after...
She reached the topmost floor - the hall of the Empress - and stood before the gates to her own room.
"... Open."
- The doors immediately swept open along with the water current, almost as if they were forced open by her voice.
There was no doubt that Leila was the absolute ruler over the oceans, as all beings in the sea could only bow before her power through the 「Water Elementals」 within her. It was simply natural, it wasn't something one could fight against, it was a magic that surpa. s. sed even the boundaries of her species.
Because even if her opponent was an Elf, the spirits used within their magics would obey Leila.
In this world - there was nothing she could not tame.
Carrying an immense amount of self-confidence - no, with absolute belief, Leila - finally arrived.
Sora and s. h. i. +ro - the two had dressed up like demon kings.
Sora seemed to be enjoying himself, even allowing himself to receive her with a c. o. c. ky smile.
"- You've finally managed to get here...
Your stupidity really is entertaining...
But things seem to be going exactly as planned...
How enjoyable -"
"... Nii, you can stop that now..."
"Come on~ s. h. i. +ro, don't cut me short halfway through my lines, I spent a lot of time preparing them you know."
Leila could only look at them with a raging fury in her eyes as the two quarreled.
Although their actions were unbelievably foolish - it was about time for them to pay the price.
And then, the Empress - Leila - wove her words with a voice even the G. o. ds would be smitten with.
"Alright, are you done playing? Now kneel down and kowtow to me."
- I'll make him kneel first.
After that, I'll be sure to drag him so far in his brain will melt -
- However, as she heard his reply...
Leila couldn't believe her ears.
"Hey, didn't you hear what I said about the rules at all? Make me fall in love with you - can't you even flatter me or something?"
- Leila was speechless.
The young man and the girl before her - merely stood smiling even after she had used her voice that could hypnotize both genders regardless, and even managed to reply mockingly.
- They're fighting against it. Leila thought to herself in panic.
Because as long as she was in the water, they would definitely fall in love with her without exceptions, and their brains would be immobilized.
So let's try it out - let's see how long they can keep up their facade.
"... Yes, sorry, I was too excited, so I apologize for being so rude earlier."
Leila looked at them pa. s. sionately with teary eyes, and continued almost pleadingly:
"I hope you can hear my true feelings - I want you, please reciprocate my love."
Not just her voice, but her every action - had a hypnotizing power that even brainwas. h. i. +ng could not beat.
Behind her pleading words, it was almost as if she was entering commands - orders that were impossible to deny.
When faced with her irresistible charm, Sora merely - s. h. i. +vered slightly - and replied.
"... Ugh~ I'm sorry, I'm getting gooseb. u. mps, nope, can't do that."
...
- Huh?
"And to be honest, you're not even my type."
Huh?
"Also the rules clearly said that you need to make me fall in love with you, but you went and told me to kneel in your first sentence, apologized in your second, then finally said that your previous words weren't actually what you meant? Are you one of those tripmine girls people see on the internet? I'd never thought that people like you actually exist, that's quite a surprise."
... Leila could only stand there speechlessly.
They weren't fighting back, it was just that her magic wasn't working.
Why - was her dream being tampered with? No, even the Elven magics couldn't touch it.
She couldn't figure it out, but only one thing was truly confirmed -
This man came here with the firm belief that he wouldn't fall in love with me.
- Just then, the man turned to the young girl beside him for some sort of confirmation - and she nodded.
"Ah~ I can finally say it now, since previously everyone thought this was some sort of romance game, this is probably the first time someone has said something like this to you right? So including that Gramps from earlier, I'm going to take everyone's frustration out on you!"
After that - Sora inhaled deeply, and released a rapid-fire torrent of words:
"You're a grown woman for goodness sake, and here you are daydreaming and stuff. Are you stupid or something? Who do you think you are? An idiot? Do you really think that everyone has to treat you well? Even the kindergartners nowadays are smarter than you! Also do you have any idea how long you've been sleeping? Eight hundred years! Eight, hundred, years!
Don't tell me you think you're some sort of sleeping beauty waiting for her prince? You're over eight hundred years old!
You G. o. dd. a. m. n old hag! I said you were pretty old earlier, but you've got to have a limit somewhere! I confess, I do prefer older women, but they at least need to have some brains you know!? Also, the thing that I hate the most about you is your
「All men will definitely fall in love with me」 att. i. tude!
Women should know their place! s. e. xiness must come with some sort of humility and restraint before it has any meaning!
Unless you're thinking something like this? That when people ask you to take off your clothes you just strip off everything without a doubt. Do you really think of yourself as a woman? Or that! Are you one of those people who try to get starring roles in AV's but when the actual shooting comes, you just take off your clothes and everything, one of those idiots with romantic stats of below twenty!? If you think all that matters is how much skin you show, you might as well go be a nudist! You b. l. o. o. d. y halfwit! Also, why do I have to suck up to a woman I don't like? With any semblance of common sense, one would immediately realize it's just a waste of time and effort! Are you genuinely an idiot!? If so, I might as well go chase some 2D girls, which would probably be more meaningful, less time-consuming, more appealing, and probably won't damage my wallet and break my heart!
Furthermore, I want to say one last thing - I don't know whether you call those things water elementals or whatever but, you only have the ability to seduce and hypnotize when those things are around - so to be honest your looks are only at a medium standard; you're only going to be a third wheel in my crew, which you should have realized long ago if you would just look in the G. o. dd. a. m. n mirror! You sponge-brained idiot!!"
---...
Phew~~...
Not allowing his opponent to reply at all, Sora blabbered on and on - finally appearing somewhat pleased with himself.
"Ah~ that feels better... right, so I've said everything I wanted to say. I'm done here so I'm ending the game now, bye ♪"
Huh?
"- W-wait -!"
"I'm not waiting~! Are you having fun playing this game, making people run around for no particular reason? Thanks for having us over, idiot, goodbye~!!"
Sora and s. h. i. +ro immediately disappeared after that, so maybe the game ended after all.
After that - the explosions she heard up until then stopped -
Different noises began quietly resounding within Leila's heart.
Part 5
"Hahaha, to think we would go that far. She's probably furious - is that enough? s. h. i. +ro?"
"... Mm, Nii... Omega good job."
The brother nodded in satisfaction, while the sister raised her thumb at him.
- Meanwhile, within the hall of the Empress, a thunder-like torrent of clapping began to resound from the Seirenes who were watching the show.
Almost in comparison, their friends, who were led by Steph, merely rolled their eyes in silence.
Sora and s. h. i. +ro had made the Empress go through a horrible nightmare, and then left the game behind without even any words of comfort.
In that situation where no one seemed to know what they were trying to do - only one person...
"Phew~ that was entertaining... if I tell this to them (the
Flügel), they would definitely be so jealous..."
Jibril, who had caused extreme havoc within the Empress' dream and returned to reality, spoke.
Her skin appeared to be radiating a faint glow, which probably wasn't their imagination.
But - with Steph at the head, everyone else who didn't seem to understand what they were doing had the same questions in their eyes.
- So what were they intending to do? - Sora laughed heartily at their confused glances.
He then said - I don't know either!
Sora had merely acted according to s. h. i. +ro's orders - which meant...
"... Nii, just do it... like you normally would."
Only one sentence.
"... Use every possible way you can think of... taunt her, and taunt her again, make her incredibly angry... just continue taunting her."
- Just that.
Although, Sora did feel rather sad at the fact that her sister said that those were his normal actions.
Since s. h. i. +ro said so, he needed to be confident himself, as that was the way to conquer her route, which meant he had to follow her orders to the end without question - without a single doubt.
- Suddenly, cracking sounds were heard.
The Empress' ice block had cracked slightly.
"- Huh?"
Ignoring the speechless crowd - Sora and s. h. i. +ro excluded, the crack merely began expanding.
At the same instant as the transparent, crystalline ice began cracking all over, its surface and emitting a bright glow...
Stardust-like seeds floated from it and splintered.
Within the reflective, cracking, moving splinters of ice - the
Empress slowly opened her eyes.
Everyone could only stare speechless at that.
"Hey! Hey! Over here! You can't hit me due to the 「Ten
Pledges」 anyway! Hahaha!!!"
Aside from Sora who was still following her sister's orders to
「Aggravate the opponent」.
"... S-so strong... to think that Imanity could be this annoying!?"
Even Steph couldn't help but begin to respect Sora, while the
Empress slowly stood up from her throne.
"... Nii.. you can stop now."
"Huh, really? And I was having fun too -"
The Empress flapped her tailfin elegantly once - and approached Sora slowly, trailing light behind her.
Within this dreamlike turn of events - the Empress, who was approaching Sora, had her face dyed blood-red in anger -
No - as she slowly swam before Sora, the Empress - suddenly...
"I've been waiting for you all this while... my prince ♥"
Falling before Sora's feet, with heart shapes appearing in her eyes - she said this.
--...
......
.......... . Huh?
While everyone else was shocked speechless, only Sora remained on guard.
"... Hey, hey. s. h. i. +ro, what's going on? Is this some sort of trap?"
Sora asked s. h. i. +ro nervously.
Suddenly, Sora recalled something.
- Once when he was playing an online game he cheated too much and therefore won too much as well, so his opponents managed to find his address to look him up, causing the siblings to move to another house in a hurry. It was a bitter memory - one from their old world.
Sora was afraid that he had went too far due to this emotional trauma, while s. h. i. +ro beside him said nonchalantly:
"... Nope... now you can... 「Beat the game」..."
"... Ah, so that's what's going on."
Steph, Plum, Jibril and Amira finally realized what was happening as s. h. i. +ro explained it.
The Empress - Leila continued:
"Ah, my beloved emperor... please scold me more ♥"
"- H, hey, does this guy have some mental problem?"
Sora asked while pointing at Leila who was at his feet, but
Steph instead recalled a discussion they had before the game started.
The thing they had found in the Late King's library - 「The
Treasure of the Proud Princess」.
Cross-referencing to the 「Ending」 of the book - she finally understood s. h. i. +ro's intentions.
"... I see, so that's what's happening."
A beautiful princess.
A fairy tale about a princess who had everything, beauty, riches, love, simply everything..
She wanted more - her desires surpa. s. sed all, as the Princess wanted everything.
Those desires were ground to a halt due to a certain man.
The Princess had acquired everything in the world from different men.
But her desires were still unfulfilled, and her wish -
- By a 「Dagger」-wielding man...
- The princess let her desires for this curiously beautiful unknown (treasure)...
- End along with her death.
- Yes, that fairy tale was a story about a princess who was exterminated as desires plagued her.
But, the Empress feared -
"So Grandpa found the fairy tale that caused the Empress to hibernate, and after some observations... because she has everything, what the Empress wants is something unknown - probably an unachievable love... but..."
But, the late King's - her grandfather's explanation was rather poetic, Steph thought as she sighed.
After that she turned to s. h. i. +ro - the one who had orchestrated the entire game.
"... I see... the Empress... that everyone loved, she couldn't understand the value of things just because she had everything... which is why she pursues..."
Ino appeared to be undergoing some sort of revelation, and he continued emotionally:
"I see... which means, what she is looking for is someone that even if she falls in love with - that person won't love her in return."
To be frank - according to s. h. i. +ro's explanation, it meant -
Essentially, she is in love for the sake of love... she wants an
「Un. o. btainable Love」.
No, to be even more honest - it meant...
"... She wants to be bullied... yes, just like Steph."
"- Huh?"
Steph cried out in shock, while Jibril clapped her hands as she realized in the same instant.
"I get it now. According to that fairy tale, the man who killed the princess wasn't after her love - so that man, and that man alone, was the only man the princess couldn't get."
"- Huh? Is she frozen there or something?"
Sora cried out, because that basically meant -
She wanted someone else's property - which meant she would repeatedly become that someone's slave.
- Wasn't that a perfect example of an incorrigible woman?
"So you're telling me that even if I fall in love with her she'll immediately get turned off since she actually got my love?
What an annoying b. i. t. c. h."
"Yessss ♥ I'm an annoying b. i. t. c. h~ I'm sorry ♥"
The Empress who was receiving a brutal scolding (Leila) smiled blissfully while twisting her body from side to side.
- 「I will offer everything I have」 -
Everyone should pay more attention to the meaning behind that sentence, and s. h. i. +ro appeared to be the only one who noticed, so she said:
"... Nii has all the rights... of that person..."
"- Huh? Oh, right..."
"Ahahaaa ♥ P-please be more forceful with me ♥"
- Plum and the Dhampirs were speechless all the way up until then.
"... So just for something like this... she hibernated for eight hundred years and nearly caused us to go extinct... ?"
Even though she wasn't exactly clear of the details herself,
Plum sighed a huge sigh as though she was going to puff out her soul itself after that explanation.
After that, the Empress cried out in apparent surprise at Plum and the Dhampirs' reactions:
"... Huh? Did I really sleep for eight hundred years!?"
- She then continued:
"This game - as long as you don't fall in love with me and kick me to the side or something you win. Are you all idiots?"
"You're the idiot here! We can't do something like that due to the 「Ten Pledges」! You sponge-brained dumba. s. s!"
"Aahahahhhahh ♥ yes! I'm an idiot! I'm a sponge~~!!"
- Also not counting the 「Ten Pledges」...
She had a irresistibly powerful hypnotizing ability that even
Jibril or Miko couldn't resist...
There was a possibility that it was an all-powerful magic, so not falling in love with Leila in that state would be directly impossible.
It was something that neither the Dhampirs, the Seirenes nor anyone else could consider doing.
Which meant - to give her a hard punch in the face. Who would have guessed that she would have thought of such a strategy?
"... Now do you understand why the Seirenes are so happy?
Ino-san."
"... Yeah, this... what should I say..."
"Hehe~ ☆ So-chan, you put on quite a show earlier, but could you please on Amira's behalf beat up that ●●● as hard as you can~? Mm! It's OK even if you cause permanent brain damage in the process ☆"
"Ah, I beg of you, husband - please beat me ♥ hit me~ ♥"
Amira was smiling - but at the same time, her look at Sora was unbelievably murderous.
As well as Leila who asked for the same thing, but instead looked at Sora in expectation.
"... Hey, Jibril - what exactly is love?"
Sora looked up at the ceiling and asked, while Jibril smiled and replied:
"Isn't it exactly what Plum said? As long as one confirms the presence of love, it's love -"
Slightly further away, Ino was conversing emotionally with
Izuna.
"There really are many types of love... hmm, it appears I am not matured enough either."
"... Grandpa... Izuna still doesn't understand it, des."
"Don't worry, Izuna. You will one day."
Sora sighed and thought - will that day ever come?
"... I don't think I will ever know."
- Just like that, except for the Empress - Leila, under conditions that no one could approve of...
That stupid game was over for the moment -
Part 6
Within the capital of the Elkian Federation, Elkia - in the middle of the night.
Steph appeared to be burning the midnight oil in one of the offices in the castle of Imanity's final territory.
"... I knew it, this time Oceande's going to be merged with us as well."
- With her workload increasing, Steph's eyebags were increasing in density as well.
Other than that, even Avant Heim had shown interest in joining the Federation, albeit only in name.
The mountain of doc. u. ments in front of her increased by the day, and Steph quickly averted her eyes from it in fear as she imagined it getting even larger - but then she thought:
"... At this rate those n. o. bles will finally shut up."
- Faced with this undeniable truth, Steph looked at the doc. u. ments again and sighed.
Every single day, those n. o. bles that came to challenge them in games for their own benefit - had now completely disappeared.
Now the doc. u. ments from Sora's conquest of Oceande's humongous territory and resources were already this much - enough to deprive Steph from all sleep - and Elkia's federation with the Eastern Federation... the 「Federation
Concept」 that had initially been thought impossible due to the vast differences of power between nations was now a reality due to their efforts, and the situation had thus changed as well.
The territory of the Seirenes - meant that they could now utilize the resources in the oceans...
Because they had acquired the 「Underwater Resources」 that neither Elkia nor the Eastern Federation could utilize, the disadvantage both nations previously had now disappeared.
What a stupid game, and that conclusion - Steph mumbled to herself:
"... From the very beginning, that was their aim - so this shouldn't be possible... right?"
It was by pure chance that Plum had visited Sora and the others, allowing them to acquire Oceande.
But in the final game, Miko - which meant the Eastern
Federation did not partic. i. p. ate, so Oceande's resources had become the sole property of Elkia. It was the deciding factor between the strength of the two nations, so the situation had reversed from the two countries from being extremely far apart in terms of strength to almost equals, so Steph was still somewhat in disbelief.
- More importantly, they had acquired two nations at once.
Besides that, even Avant Heim was preparing to join.
After the Werebeasts - the Seirenes, the Dhampirs and even the
Flügel.
Sora had kept to his word, acquiring three birds with one stone.
Like this they didn't have to take their Race Pieces nor cause any damage - no, even giving them benefits, they had annexed four races without a single drop of blood shed. This made
Steph recall something.
When Sora and the rest had conquered the Eastern Federation -
Miko - she had a rather ridiculous thought, and although she wanted to chase it away, she began feeling that the thought began having some truth in it.
"... The tenth of the 「Ten Pledges」, Everyone should get along while playing games..."
Steph's mouth curled up in a small smile - was that finally possible?
Previously all they did was fight amongst each other, and the
「Sixteen Races」 had disfigured the planet in their wars, so leading the「Sixteen Races」 against the One True G. o. d without killing anyone, without anyone dying - was that really possible -
"... ? Speaking of which."
Steph recalled the day that Sora and the others had bet the
「Race Piece of the Imanity」 at the Eastern Federation emba. s. sy.
The 「Sixteen Races」 each had a 「Race Piece」, and if one were to acquire them all that person would then have the right to challenge the One True G. o. d.
Suddenly, Steph s. h. i. +fted her gaze towards the distant horizon.
The gigantic chess piece that was still visible even in the darkest night, appearing as if it would block the moonlight, piercing the clouds.
- If that was the piece the One True G. o. d owned...
Did the respective Race Pieces have their own role to play as well?
Although she had yet to see the other 「Race Pieces」, but the
「Imanity Race Piece」 that Sora brandished was -
"... The King..."
The King in Western chess was -「The weakest piece」.
It was the most important, but the abilities of a King were even lower than a 「p. a. w. n」, that was common knowledge -
"Oh well, I'm probably thinking too much... sigh, back to work, back to work."
Part 7
At the same time - within the main hall of capital Elkia.
Relying on the building capabilities of the Eastern Federation,
Sora and s. h. i. +ro's castle was finally complete - which was a small wooden house.
Within the tatami-covered room that Sora and s. h. i. +ro requested for, were countless games and books scattered everywhere.
On top of it, the siblings were sleeping silently on a mattress within that tiny s. p. a. ce.
- At this time a shadow silently approached them.
But that shadow -
"- Hey, Plum, is there something you need at this time?"
"... Disturbing... sleep..."
Their voices sounded as if they were holding back laughter, and Sora and s. h. i. +ro stared into s. p. a. ce, giving up on their act.
"... A-ahaha, s-sorry... um... that..."
How did a normal Imanity manage to see through an invisibility spell of a Dhampir?
Plum dispelled her magic and smiled sheepishly, then bowed to apologize -
"Are you here to reveal to us your true ident. i. ty?"
As Sora said this - Plum's smile froze.
Sora and s. h. i. +ro ignored her reaction, then sat up straight - their smiles were just like that of little kids that had succeeded in pulling off a humongous prank.
"I don't usually compliment others but I really want to show my utmost respect towards you, your strategy really was pretty amazing, to think you would actually -"
Sora complimented her sincerely, but -
"You actually managed to deceive us to the very end without lying at all, Plum - no..."
Sora's mouth curled up in a small smile, and he looked at the female Dhampir - no...
"The final male Dhampir - Plum-san, I should be calling you that right?"
- He looked at the young boy.
-... A sigh was heard.
The beautiful, bishoujo-like boy sat down cross-legged as his ident. i. ty was revealed, and sighed.
His expression was that of disappointment - but hidden in his eyes were a piercing knowledge sharper than any sword.
"... Ugh... did I mess up somewhere? When did you find out?"
- Ah, so he sounds like that, huh, Sora thought as he replied.
"From the very start - well that's what I want to say but..."
Sora glanced at s. h. i. +ro.
"I don't really want to admit this, but s. h. i. +ro was the one who noticed it, even before the time we went to the beach."
"... V..."
s. h. i. +ro raised a victory sign, appearing very proud of herself.
And Sora seemed rather unhappy at her, so he cupped his cheeks and complained.
"Because of that, I nearly s. e. xually hara. s. sed a guy, and let you lick my sister's feet, I messed up that badly... dammit, I should have realized earlier... (mumbling)"
"Ahaha... thanks a lot for that, I was dying anyway..."
Sora choked slightly, as he saw the bishounen say that without a single hint of remorse.
"- So, let's continue the questioning regarding that night at the beach - shall we?"
"... ~~... 「Plum」..."
As she finished her sentence, s. h. i. +ro immediately continued to recite out that memory just like a tape recorder.
- 「Please let the Empress fall in love with you! I prepared a strategy for that as well!」
Yes, that was the initial request that Plum had raised the first time he encountered Sora and others - but...
"I felt that there was something wrong about that, because you didn't say: please awaken her. From the very start all you said was - you prepared strategies for her to fall in love..."
So -
"We prepared 「Two」 tests for you with Miko-san's help."
"... ~~... 「Nii」..."
- 「I know about your sure-win plan, but why didn't you guys just do it yourselves?」
And in contrast, s. h. i. +ro continued.
"... ~~... 「Plum」..."
- 「The final male of the Dhampirs is still young. 」
- 「We need to at least a male with reproductive abilities. 」
"First, we emphasized that it was a plan definite to succeed, but you never said it was so at all."
"..."
"Which meant - you knew from the very beginning that even if we manage to get her to fall in love we can't win right?"
Plum merely smiled bitterly, while Sora continued:
"Now for the second point... I asked why 「You guys」 didn't do it."
Sora indicated that "this is the part I'm p. i. s. sed about", and he continued with his brow furrowed:
"I was talking about you guys! But you didn't mention yourself as well, instead you only said that it could only be a male, then talked about a young male from an unclear perspective -"
He couldn't lie before a Werebeast, so he could only make the perspective unclear.
"- So it would be referring to you who has no reproductive ability right?"
No doubt, the person who realized that was s. h. i. +ro, so -
"Do you remember the time I saw s. h. i. +ro's phone and it said
「Like that even if it's not Nii it's OK」?"
"... Yes... but is there a problem with that?"
The young boy didn't seem to understand, so Sora smiled and continued:
"Actually all that we had said earlier was already recorded by s. h. i. +ro."
"... !..."
"I intentionally recited differently from what was displayed on the phone - which was lying to send a signal to Miko-san."
Yes, Plum - the final male Dhampir - 「Intentionally avoided making a statement」
Every time he was faced with a disadvantageous question, such as 「Is it A or B?」, he would always reply 「It's not B」, which would not count as a lie because it didn't mean 「Thus it is A」.
So since he was not lying yet telling the half-truth all the time, even the Werebeasts wouldn't be able to figure out such complex wordplay.
"But, that instead made things even more interesting."
"Let's arrange everything." Sora clapped and began pacing around the room, then continued cheerfully:
"You wanted to free the Dhampirs, that was the truth, and the fact that your magic could make people fall in love was true as well, but you knew it wouldn't be sufficient to awaken the
Empress. That means you were using us to free the Dhampirs despite all that - hmm, you thought really highly of us, thanks for that."
Sora smiled, and s. h. i. +ro smiled as well and replied:
"... ~~... 「Plum」..."
-「P-please wait! I can only rely on Sora-dono and the rest of you now!」
"Yes, that was true, we were the only ones you could rely on."
Which means, the people that Plum's plan required were - which again meant...
The people that could find out the 「Conditions to awaken the
Empress」 that even Plum could not.
The people that would acquire all the rights of the Seirenes after awakening the Empress.
If they were to fail, they could also be sent to the Seirenes as
「Food」 by Plum.
- Which left the only race that even the Seirenes could look down upon - the lowest-ranked race, the Imanity.
Additionally there was Jibril - or furthermore, Avant Heim had only Sora and the others as companions.
But Sora had Izuna, or to put it further, Miko - the problem was the presence of the Eastern Federation.
Before the senses of the Werebeasts, any lies would be immediately detected - thus...
"You could only perfectly deceive us without using any lies at all, then commanding us to act according to your will."
"..."
Sora clapped sincerely.
"Ah, the fact that you thought so highly of us and trusted that we could do so much makes me feel really good, honestly. To be honest the fact that we couldn't rely on a fixed tactic to conquer Avant Heim forced us to charge in without any plan."
"... Yeah, about that -"
He then scratched his cheeks, that poor-looking young boy - who was actually a master strategist smiled.
"If not, that sort of game - how could I possibly help?"
He smiled boldly as if to declare: But of course!
Faced with the final male of the Dhampir who could say that so easily - Sora smiled.
For the sake of his plan, he was willing to put himself on the line.
What a perfect 「Gamer」, Sora could only speak his mind.
"But, even though we were able to see through you this far, we were still played a fool by your strategies - no, we could only act that way, and even though I'm still not too happy about it, I can only commend your efforts - guess we'll call it a 「Draw」?"
"... Plum, well done..."
Sora then sat down cross-legged, but Sora and s. h. i. +ro's faces were all smiles.
- On the other hand...
"Ahaha, you're wrong - this 「Game」's only winner is me!"
As he said this, his expression was still pitiful, but he glanced at them condescendingly.
- It was just like - yes, it was like he had his eyes set on a huge feast and was prepared to tuck in, Plum smiled in a twisted fas. h. i. +on.
"... What?"
- Sora felt his life was threatened so he went on full alert at this sudden change.
I see, so my plans were uncovered, but - that's not enough, and
Plum continued mockingly:
"The Queen bet 「Everything she had」! Have you not realized?"
"- What!?"
As he heard this - Sora's face twisted, and he backed away.
Has he finally realized? The cold smile on Plum's face widened even more, and he continued:
"Yes... not only her 「Power」, but even her
「Responsibilities」 were transferred onto you guys."
"- Ah - w, wait a second... that means -!!"
Sora finally understood the situation, and he hurriedly s. h. i. +elded s. h. i. +ro with his own body, and cried out with eyes bulging in fear.
Since he had 「Everything」 that belonged to the representative of the Seirenes - it didn't just mean power...
Responsibilities - which means the responsibility to supply the
Dhampirs blood -!
Plum - the bishounen with a pair of sharp, even seductive eyes.
That pitiful appearance of his was gone, and now - he was living up to the name of a vampire - a 「King」- the final male of the Dhampirs bared his fangs in an evil smile befitting of a race representative.
"So, no matter how things develop, only the Dhampirs (I) benefit - understand? You inferior species."
"-! W-wait, that's -!!"
Sora was so shocked he turned pale, and he cried as though pleading for his life.
Instead Plum spread his blood-red wings, then smiled in a beastly manner with his glittering, seductive fangs opened wide.
- As a courtesy before a meal, he spoke softly:
"Thank you for the food - ♪"
Then, he charged straight at the terrified Sora's neck, and bit -
...
- He couldn't bite.
"... Huh? Um, what? Er, what's going on!?"
... His king-like composure disappeared in an instant, and the
King of the Night - turned back into Plum.
"... Nii... your acting was rather exaggerated..."
"Huh? Nah, I should be acting more outrageously here, right?"
- His terrified expression had completely disappeared somewhere along the way.
The two smiled thinly as they looked at the fl. u. s. tered Plum.
"Plum, you're quite something, and that's something I don't mind repeating. To think that you could conjure up such an amazing strategy, but you didn't consider - if we actually awoke the Empress, how were you going to free the
Dhampirs?"
"-!?"
"Just like how you thought so highly of us, we - think highly of you as well."
In an about-turn of expressions, Sora glanced at him sincerely - yet that gaze carried the challenging arrogance of a gamer.
"That's why I said, this 「Game」- is a draw."
As he heard this - Plum opened his eyes wide in surprise for the very first time.
But Sora merely spread his arms cheerfully, smiled and continued:
"You're really good, I mean it. You actually set a trap that would activate automatically if we were to win - a time bomb - this is the first time I've been set up so beautifully in my entire career as a gamer!!"
- Once again - s. h. i. +ro recited accurately:
"~~... 「Nii」..."
- 「The Empress bet - 「Everything she had」... am I correct?」
"You merely looked down without saying anything - not a word of confirmation nor denial, so we were able to confirm everything including the presence of the trap."
Sora said, but as he heard the next sentence...
Plum actually felt sweat dripping from his cheeks, and he felt shock - no, pure horror.
"- So! Let's reveal the time bomb we set on you as well."
"... ~~... 「Plum」..."
-「I heard that Sora-dono and the others are planning to conquer all the races. 」
Sitting on Sora's lap, s. h. i. +ro happily recreated that sentence, that was one of the very first things Plum had said to Sora -
"I'm sorry, you 「Messed up」 there, we never planned to get anyone's piece."
"-----Huh?"
"So, when you weren't around - I told the Empress."
Sora narrowed his eyes and smiled as if he was reciting a humorous joke to a friend:
Which was -
"Aside from the responsibilities held in helping us, we return everything, your Race Piece included."
But Sora then continued weakly: "She said 「My beloved husband, please don't return the right for you to continue bullying me!」" So that was the only thing she refused.
... Plum collapsed weakly onto the ground and sighed.
"... What does that matter to me... if one messes up the first step in a plan, everything is lost..."
The greater a plan was, the first step would decide even more,
Plum couldn't possibly not know this.
But how could one detect a screw-up in the very first step of a plan - Plum thought.
"You only made one mistake, and it was a common mistake, but aside from that - everything was perfect."
"... What?"
"The Dhampirs were weakened due to the 「Ten Pledges」, you realized that, and even raised measures to counter that... but despite that, you weren't conscious enough of the weaker ones, so at the most crucial stage -"
Sora replied bitterly:
"You called us the inferior races right?... That was the reason."
As he heard that - Plum understood, and he sighed.
"- Ahaha... to think I still have that sense of pompous pride even after I got this far... something that shouldn't have been there, I was wrong all along... you guys actually..."
Reverting to his usual pitiful expression, Plum looked up at the ceiling and said:
"... You guys actually intend to challenge the One True G. o. d, who would have thought of that..."
Sora and s. h. i. +ro smiled in satisfaction as they heard that.
- Yes, that person - Plum, the final male of the Dhampir had noticed.
He had found the way to conquer this world (game).
"This world would be a much better place with more people like you around, and th
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