The Executioner and Her Way of Life

The Escape Reaches Its End

Mountains surrounded the hot springs town where Momo and Akari were staying.

Just one peak over from this relaxing tourist spot, there was a suspicious building in an undeveloped and rocky area. It was carefully stationed out of sight, for it was the site of taboo conjuring research. The analysts gathered there were attempting to develop new kinds of conjurings.

The Faust forbade any excessive probing into conjuring. Thus, researchers who devoted themselves to study or intense curiosity were already approaching a taboo. People whose field of investigation exceeded the boundaries set by the Faust gathered here to carry out their experiments.

At least, until two young girls destroyed the place.

“Honestly. How stupid can you get? I’ve never once heard of any efforts to develop new conjurings succeeding unless the Faust did it. What kind of senselessness possessed you to hide away out here and try it anyway?”

Momo’s voice sounded cheerful. Over the past few days, she’d been using the information she dragged out of the Recruiter to clear out every last villain in the area. She had already crushed the meeting places used by the Fourth, and as soon as she’d learned they were supporting a secret lab in the mountains, she’d broken in to give the researchers their own taste of hell.

A disturbing smile spread across Momo’s adorable face as she glanced over the data from their studies.

“The fact that you would want to try something like this tells me what total failures you were. Really, nice job wasting your time on such pointless work, you losers.”

“Oh? These people were doing meaningless research?”

“They certainly were. This isn’t the kind of thing that unauthorized people could do anything about. Devoting your whole life to something that will never succeed is completely crazy.”

On top of the physical beating, Momo went on mercilessly breaking their hearts as well, still wearing a sweet grin. Her harsh words were enough to drive the members of the research facility even further to the brink.

“Now, all that’s left is to report this to the knights, and I suppose we’ll be done. This area’s certainly gotten a lot more peaceful now, hmm? It makes me proud to be a member of the Faust.”

Looking like she was pleased with herself for doing a good deed, she tossed the last beaten-up analyst aside like an old rag. Momo’s footsteps were light as air while they left the lab behind. Akari, who walked beside her, looked far more conflicted.

She had realized with growing alarm that while Momo was usually in a terrible mood whenever she was with her, the assistant Executioner always seemed to be much more cheerful after going on a violent rampage.

Despite her claim that this was all for Akari’s “combat training,” Momo had definitely knocked out far more victims. Akari began to suspect that she was just being dragged along in Momo’s efforts to lift her own spirits.

“I know beating people up is your hobby and all, but…shouldn’t you be a little more considerate?”

“This is my job, you know. Besides, I’m doing all this to train
you
. What could be more considerate?”

“Yeah, right. You’re obviously enjoying this way more than me.”

Akari narrowed her eyes as Momo insisted she was in the right.

The latter’s pink hair bobbed along in pigtails. It was a non-naturally occurring color in the world Akari hailed from, but the people in this world had many different hair colors. Supposedly, it was influenced by genetics and the Guiding Force produced by each individual’s soul. There were even a few schools of thought that a person’s hair color could provide insights into their personality.

It wasn’t necessarily any more accurate than the blood type–based assessments that were popular in Japan, but as Akari looked at Momo, she thought there might be something to it after all.

Warm colors like red were said to indicate a selfish and emotional person.

This was a piece of trivia Akari had heard from Menou in one of the previous time loops. She didn’t know about anyone else, but it certainly suited Momo to a tee.

“So is it really that hard to research conjurings?”

“It’s difficult enough to develop new additions to already-existing ones, and creating completely new conjuring forms is all but impossible. At the very least, I haven’t heard of any successful attempts in the past few decades. The only recent advancement that comes to mind is the image-recording conjuring that was added to the scriptures about twenty years ago.”

“Oh yeah? So new ones do come out every once in a while, then.”

Since Akari didn’t have detailed knowledge of the subject, she wasn’t particularly interested. Thus, she only posed the question as a casual conversation topic.

“How are new conjurings like that made?”

“How? Well, obviously…”

Momo started to respond to the foolish question, then trailed off.

Unlike Akari, who could invoke conjurings on pure intuition, Momo had to study the fundamentals—namely, crestology and materialogy—in order to use crest and scripture conjurings.

However, since all her information was practical, she hadn’t ever studied those subjects’ history.

Akari was quick to notice Momo’s lack of understanding.

“Ooh, so you don’t know, either, Momo? Wow, you talk a big game for someone who clearly hasn’t done their homework.”

“…Quiet, you.”

“Ha-ha-ha, it’s so easy to tell when you’re mad! Your face gets all— Oww?!”

As Akari moved to prod Momo’s puffed-up cheeks, she found herself getting swatted away instead. Akari rubbed her hand where it had been smacked as she glowered at Momo out of the corner of her eye.

Akari’s opinion of Momo had changed somewhat during their time together in this village.

She’d initially believed that Momo was just an annoying interloper. She always clung to Menou and viewed Akari as an enemy. That was the extent of Akari’s impression of Momo, since they never had much direct contact in the first place. Momo stayed hidden from Akari during every time loop and followed her and Menou from a distance.

This was the first time they had interacted in such a long time.

“Hey, Momo.”

“What is it?”

Momo responded with surprising politeness.

She wasn’t actually as insanely violent as she let on. Momo’s hostility toward Akari was genuine, but she would still answer if Akari tried to talk to her. It was a little annoying that she had never once referred to Akari by name, but her attitude was still comparatively harmless.

Momo only cared about saving Menou’s life, and she didn’t concern herself with anything else. Naturally, that included Akari.

Many of Akari’s failures in previous time loops had involved assuming that Momo wasn’t necessary.

With that knowledge in mind, Akari swallowed her pride and presented a piece of information the other girl might not know.

“Listen… What would you do if I told you there might be a way for me to go back to my old world?”

“Come again?” Momo looked dubious. “Where did you hear such a made-up rumor? There’s no conjuring that can send people to the other world, as far as I know. And as I just said, new conjurings are difficult to create, remember?”

“Um, well, it was back in Libelle. I had a short conversation with Pandæmonium, just for a minute. And she told me there was a way to return.”

“…Pandæmonium said that, did she?”

It was a full-on fight that Akari lost, not just a conversation, but she excluded that information for fear of being teased further.

Momo’s expression wavered at this news.

“If that’s the case, then…it might really be true.”

Pandæmonium had been cut off from all else by an unbreakable seal for nearly a thousand years. If she said there was a conjuring to send Otherworlders back, then it couldn’t be a recent development.

That would mean the method had to have existed for at least a millennium.

“Hmm. I know I’m the one who brought it up, but couldn’t Pandæmonium just be lying?” questioned Akari.

“Human Errors cannot lie,” Momo responded. “It’s not just them, either—anyone whose spirit has been worn away can no longer conceive of deception.”

Human Errors were a Pure Concept in human form. At first glance, they might seem to have a personality, but that was only on the surface.

The only impulses that moved a Human Error came from the concept that had taken over their soul and completely wore away their spirit to hijack their body.

“You never thought to tell my darling that there might be a way for you to go back?”

“I’d never heard of such a thing until Pandæmonium brought it up. Until then, I didn’t think there was any other way but for Menou to kill me, and I assumed there was no point trying to go back… But when I think about it now, my leaving this world would still mean Menou survives for longer.”

This loop was the first time Pandæmonium had been released. Information from her didn’t exist in any of the other time lines.

“Do you
want
to go back?”

“Hmm? No, not particularly. Why would I be happy about returning to a world I barely remember? I’d much prefer to be killed by Menou and live on in her memories… But if it means Menou will live, I figure I’d be fine with going back to Japan.”

“…That’s really all right with you?”

“Well, yeah, of course it is.”

Japan was no longer important to Akari, since she had used up her recollections of it to turn back time when Menou died. Presently, she had more memories of this world than the other.

Momo guessed that her plan was going well.

Akari’s memories were clearly deteriorating, nearing total obliteration. She didn’t even feel any sense of attachment to her lost recollections. Any that might have been dear to her had been worn away long ago. Akari Tokitou’s Pure Concept was bound to lose control soon.

But for some reason, Momo didn’t feel happy about it.

She opened her mouth as if to say something but ultimately closed it silently.

That was fine. There were no problems here. Momo reminded herself that this was all according to plan as she coolly continued the discussion.

“Why did you decide to tell
me
about this? You don’t want to go back, right?”

“Because you might be pushy and mean, but you’re still a hard worker. It’s actually kind of endearing.”

“Don’t compliment me. That’s disgusting.”

Momo wrinkled her nose. Seeing this, Akari smiled.

Akari didn’t like Momo. She was pushy despite being the younger one, mean-spirited, and had a generally bad attitude. It was so unfair how Menou had a soft spot for her.

But Akari and Momo cared about the same person. On this short journey, she had begun to feel no small amount of sympathy with the other girl.

Consequently, she was starting to think it might be all right if she entrusted things to Momo.

Originally, Akari wanted Menou to be the one to kill her. Her death would mean saving Menou’s life, and at the same time, she would remain in Menou’s memory forever. Menou definitely wasn’t the kind of person who would forget about anyone she slew. Akari wanted to be added to the headstone Menou carved into her own heart.

However…

“I guess I kinda started thinking that my disappearing won’t mean Menou is all alone, so maybe a different method wouldn’t be so bad,” Akari admitted. “If both of you are still around, you can talk about your memories of me, right?”

Momo’s mouth moved almost silently.

“Why…are you so…?”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“…Nothing.”

Momo’s inner conflict slipped in and out of sight. She never finished the line she had almost started to say.

Instead, Momo quickly controlled her expression and casually responded, “All right… I’ll think about it, I suppose.”

“Yeah? Uh-huh… Cool.” Akari stared at Momo intently, making her uncomfortable.

“…What is it?”

“Hmmm? Nothing really.”

Momo glared disgustedly at Akari, who was starting to smirk for some reason, but the girl’s grin only widened.

“You’ve never really had friends before, right? You know, since your personality’s so awful.”

“And so what if I haven’t?”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s not a big deal. It’s just…”

Akari put a hand to her chin and gave a slight cackle. It was obvious at a glance that she was attempting to rile up Momo, which she could only describe as unbelievably irritating.

“Since you don’t have a lot of experience dealing with other people, you might be kinda easy to win over, that’s all.”

“…So you think I’ll lose the will to kill you as my darling did? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Whaaat? No, I wouldn’t go
that
far. But you sure came out with that notion pretty quickly, didn’t you, Momo?”

Again, Akari’s tone was clearly meant to make Momo feel embarrassed. Momo’s fists trembled, but she swallowed back her rage, telling herself it would be giving her enemy precisely what she wanted if she punched her in that stupid face. Instead, Momo scowled and turned away, as if the very idea was too terrible to discuss.

When she saw this, Akari felt despite herself that she might understand a little bit of why Menou had a soft spot for Momo after all.

Momo was younger than Akari, still only fourteen years old.

“Riiight… She’s still in middle school.” Realizing this, Akari murmured a quiet regret to herself. “Maybe I went a little overboard with the ribbons…”

Akari had once ruined the ribbons Momo wore in her hair to conveniently force her to move. Incidentally, she was well aware that the ribbons were a gift Momo had received from Menou in their younger days.

While Akari didn’t intend for Momo to hear that, she did and froze in place.

“…Ribbons?”

Uh-oh.
Akari immediately clamped her hands over her mouth. She’d let slip something that Momo couldn’t possibly have figured out otherwise. Momo had changed her hair ties from ribbons to scrunchies in Grisarika Kingdom. Akari should’ve had no way of knowing about that unless she’d been involved somehow.

To put it another way, the fact that Akari did know about Momo’s ribbons was practically a confession that she was connected to the fire that destroyed them.

“Wh…? What did you just say? Something about…ribbons? You went…overboard? What exactly…does that mean?”

Momo’s level tone and trailing words were proof that she was barely holding back her rage.

Her keen eyes were full of flaming sparks. They threatened to burst into an explosion at any moment. Akari had never seen someone so furious in her life.

As Momo trembled with fury, Akari pasted on a forced smile.

“N-nothing at all! It’s totally not a big deal or anything, nope. How would I know anything about the red ribbons you used to wear?”

“Why…do you know…about my ribbons?”

Momo saw right through Akari’s pathetic attempt at a lie. She grabbed the other girl by the collar and shook her around angrily.

Momo had lost the ribbons Menou gave her during a sequence of events in Grisarika Kingdom, where Akari had been summoned. The assistant Executioner had walked into a trap set by Archbishop Orwell in the old capital of Garm. As she was fighting a dragon-like conjured soldier, something unexpected had occurred.

The barrier protecting her broke with almost unnatural ease.

Incensed at losing the gift from young Menou, Momo went on a rampage and ultimately destroyed a historical building.

“No wonder, no
wonder
the flames got through my barrier…! There’s no way that should have happened! I would never fail to protect the ribbons my darling gave me. I knew that wasn’t right! You did something, didn’t you?!”

“I-I’m sorry, okay?”

Feeling a little guilty at this point, Akari held up her hands in surrender.

Unfortunately, her cheap attempt at an apology did nothing to satisfy Momo.

“Do you…have any idea…how important those were? And most of all…would
you
forgive the culprit if you were in my position?”

Akari considered the question.

Had someone destroyed the headband that Menou had decorated with a flower for her…would she let the guilty party off the hook with a simple “I’m sorry”?

The verdict was clear.

“…Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“Exactly.”

Without letting go of Akari, Momo used her other hand to lash out with her wirelike coping saw. It was the fastest she’d drawn it in recent memory.

She didn’t hit her target, however. The saw only cut through the air and struck the ground.

Momo clicked her tongue with irritation. Akari had vanished instantly, using her Pure Concept of
Time
to teleport. Momo searched for her presence, annoyed that the young woman had gotten so good with her powers.

Behind her, Momo whirled around to see Akari sticking out her tongue, far out of reach.

“Like I’d let you hit me with something so painful-looking. Nyehh, I say!”

Momo’s face lost all emotion.

“I’ll kill you.”

She clenched her fist with an unusually calm expression. Her eyes were full of murderous intent yet stunningly clear.

“I knew that pitying you was a meaningless gesture. Not that I ever felt a shred of it, of course. But just to be clear, I’ll say it anyway…
Suffer and die.
”

“Yikes, that’s spiteful! Come on, you got those scrunchies you’re wearing now, right? You could say that was pretty much thanks to me, timing-wise. If anything, shouldn’t you be thanking me?”

“I’m amazed you can spout such drivel so shamelessly! My darling would have given these to me either way. You didn’t accomplish that or anything else! Die!”

“It’s not fair that you had a memento of the past anyway! It always drove me up a wall how you went around flaunting them in my face!”

“So that’s how you really feel!”

Momo didn’t care about her plan anymore. She clenched her fist, resolving to kill Akari a hundred times right here and now, forcing her to use up all her memories on
Regression
until she turned into a Human Error on the spot.

Thus began a game of chase that would have looked ridiculous to anyone else but was a severe, deadly fight to the two of them.

What a disgrace.

After Manon and company let her go free, Menou walked toward the inn where Ashuna was waiting, overwhelmed with irritation and anger she couldn’t entirely suppress.

It was a complete and utter disgrace. She had failed miserably. These past few days, she’d been utterly worthless as an Executioner.

Manon and Sahara.

Menou had theoretically finished both of them off, yet both had been resurrected in new bodies.

The fact that Manon was traveling with Pandæmonium was dangerous enough in itself, but she was becoming a foe to be reckoned with in her own right, too.

What’s more, there were countless other things to worry about, too.

“The creation of conjurings…”

Menou had some knowledge about conjuring research. Most new ones were developed in a modern technological system. An established conjuring would serve as a basis, and other techniques were derived from it like branches spreading from a tree.

On rare occasions, however, a completely original one would come along that was unmistakably different from any established technique.

There were no facilities for creating unique conjurings anywhere, not even in the holy land.

Still, every few decades, a fresh conjuring was discovered. Where were they coming from?

Menou knew only of one moment when new conjurings came to be.

The Original Sin Concept conjurings.

Original Sin Concepts were born from the wild imagination of one single little girl, scattering her flesh and blood.

The Original Sin Concepts had not existed before Pandæmonium was born.

When the innocent girl with the Pure Concept of
Evil
turned into a Human Error and became Pandæmonium, the Original Sin Concept conjurings were created.

The same was true of the Mechanical Society—the Master of conjured soldiers that operated independently all over and the source of the Concept of Primary Colors that fabricated an entire world. When the Pure Concept of
Vessel
began to go out of control, the system of Primary Colors adhered to this world. Menou knew this all too well because of her extensive studies of materialogy. The only substances that could produce their own Guiding Force without a soul, instead of the user providing Guiding Force to use them, were the Primary Color Stones.

Menou had never pondered too deeply about how unusual these two things were. After all, they were connected to the Four Major Human Errors. Both were strictly considered taboo.

And yet they were undeniably new conjurings.

What kind of world existed in the eastern Wild Frontier? What sort of state was Sahara in? How were the Primary Colors able to create an artificial world and respond to people’s wishes? Why were the Four Major Human Errors born simultaneously, leaving massive scars on the planet?

It can’t all be connected.
Menou’s mind tried to reject the hypothesis.

She didn’t want to believe that Otherworlders were really victims to that extent and that the Faust was the perpetrator of so much harm.

However, if the theory forming in her mind was true…

The existence of Pure Concepts could be an answer to the fundamental question of the nature of conjurings and related to the meaning of Executioners.

There was only one person Menou knew who might be capable of satisfying those inquiries.

“Once I return to the holy land, I have to ask Master…”

No matter how much she thought about it, Menou couldn’t form a solid decision on her own. She was letting herself get too distracted; it was time to calm down.

She took a deep breath. Air filled her lungs and puffed her chest, then she released it slowly.

“…All right.”

Menou had reset her mood or at least made her best attempt to do so. Feeling calmer, she was about to return to the inn when she heard voices arguing in an alley.

“I fiiiinally caught you!”

“
Bzzzt!
No, you didn’t!”

Both speakers sounded very familiar. Menou froze.

No, surely not.
Menou shook her head, confident that she was merely hearing what she wished to. She had come to this town to look for Momo and Akari, but she wasn’t even tracking them at the moment.

Running into them on the street was way too improbable. The pair were on the run, after all. Even they should’ve known better than to draw so much attention to themselves.

Menou felt confident, but just to make sure, she headed for the side street where she’d heard the arguing.

“I really am going to kill you. I can’t believe I ever considered showing you a scrap of mercy…!”

“Go ahead and try it, if you think you can! I thought not being able to kill me was the whole problem in the first place, though. Wow, forgetful
and
stupid!”

“ExCUSE me?!”

There could be no denying it now. Momo and Akari were duking it out while shouting at the top of their lungs.

Watching the slightly unbelievable battle unfold in front of her eyes, Menou blinked repeatedly.

This was far too convenient to be happenstance. Perhaps she was tired? Menou pinched the bridge of her nose, then looked again.

“Even if I can’t kill you, there’s this lovely little concept called
torture
that I can use to make you suffer! You’ll be begging me to end your life by the time I’m through! Maybe I’ll start with those unsightly boobs of yours!”

“Momo! It’s all over if you give up on your own growth! What if you stay small in all kinds of ways for the rest of your days?!”

“Who said anything about that, you horrible moronnnnnnn!”

Sadly, this was really happening.

The two were so focused on their fight that they hadn’t even noticed Menou’s presence. The Executioner felt an indescribable exhaustion sink into her soul.

Regardless, she had found them.

“…Momo. Akari.”

The two girls froze midcombat.

Momo and Akari turned their heads toward Menou so slowly and mechanically that she could almost hear a metallic creak.

“…What in the world are you two doing?”

Menou had located the two people she was looking for with almost disappointing ease.

An awkward silence filled the air.

In an alley off the main road, unseen by any passersby, three girls were having a very unexpected chance meeting.

Momo, Akari, and Menou. All three knew they were in a game of chase, but not one of them had anticipated it ending in such a foolish way. They had all secretly been imagining, perhaps even hoping, that there would be a more serious pursuit leading to a tense standoff—or something along those lines.

Momo was grinding her teeth in furious regret. She’d been discovered while causing a scene, even if it was only by pure chance.

There was no excuse for her recklessness, and it had never even occurred to her that Menou might already be in the town at this stage of the game. It was far too soon for her to have caught up. Momo was confident she’d had enough time for another two or three days.

Yet Menou was now standing in front of them.

“M-Momo…”

Akari’s voice trembled.
Now what?
her gaze asked desperately.

Momo clenched her hand.

Frankly, her desire to punch out the happy-go-lucky girl standing next to her hadn’t lessened in the slightest. She wanted to plant her fist right into that obnoxious face. To express all her rage at the culprit who had burned her beloved ribbons.

Still, the assistant Executioner did have a sense of priorities. It would be impossible to deal with Menou while Akari was dragging her down. And even if she did have a Pure Concept, the super good-for-nothing was no match for Menou.

At any rate, Akari needed to be dealt with.

Swallowing her murderous rage, Momo looked around quickly. Within moments, she found an escape route past the walls that enclosed this small alley.

Without a word, Momo enveloped her body in phosphorescent Guiding Light. Menou shot her a wary look, noticing her Guiding Enhancement.

Momo’s power wasn’t directed at Menou, however. She grabbed Akari with both hands and hissed in her ear.

“I’m going to remove you from my darling’s line of sight now—so run for all you’re worth.”

“Huh?”

Akari blinked in befuddlement. She clearly had no idea what Momo intended.

Unconcerned by her confusion, Momo hefted Akari up in the air. With Guiding Enhancement, a single person’s body weight was practically nothing. She held the other girl aloft and shouted, “Fly, you foooooool!”

“Whaaaaa—?!”

As Momo tossed her through the air, Akari could only shriek in surprise.

Her eyes full of tears, Akari soared shockingly high, clearing the hard stone walls that formed the alley and disappearing from view.

“Phew.” Momo heaved a sigh of satisfaction and wiped the sweat from her brow. That was an impressive distance. The impact of the landing might kill Akari, but that was no problem. She was immortal. This wouldn’t end her life permanently, even if it did traumatize her.

Menou stood there dumbfounded by the sight of a human rocketing into the sky before she came back to her senses with a start and turned her gaze back toward Akari.

“Er, well… I can’t say I saw that method of escape coming, but what do
you
plan to do exactly, Momo?”

She was angry. Momo could read Menou’s mind from the tone of her voice, and what she detected there sent a shiver down her spine. Even so, she put on her sweetest smile.

“Umm… It’s been sooo long, darlingggg. I don’t suppose you could give your cute little assistant a pass just this oooonce?”

“Absolutely not.”

“I thought soooo!”

Momo had been hoping Menou would play along a bit more, but instead, she just drew her dagger.

For some reason, Menou seemed more warlike than usual. Momo immediately shifted into battle mode, too.

If she was going to stop her from chasing Akari, she had to buy time. Ideally, she would’ve liked to do so with conversation, but Menou didn’t seem willing to talk.

“I’m a little bit irritated at the moment, you see. If you put up a fight, you’re going to get hurt, even if you are my dear assistant.”

“Go easy on me! At least go easy on me, pleeease!”

In terms of their overall abilities as Executioners, Menou had the edge over Momo.

But as far as battle skills alone, Momo didn’t think she was lesser than Menou by any means.

Her chances of winning were high in close quarters. Even back in the monastery run by their Master, Momo had a higher percentage of wins in hand-to-hand training matches.

The only place she didn’t outshine Menou in terms of combat skills was her Guiding Force manipulation.

As Momo tried to lighten the mood, Menou speedily activated a conjuring.

Guiding Force: Connect—Dagger Crest—Invoke [Guiding Thread]

Menou threw her dagger underhand. It was intended more as a feint to limit Momo’s movements than to hit its target.

The Guiding Force thread produced from the hilt of the weapon was connected to Menou’s hand. Momo jumped forward, trying to catch her before she could pull the dagger back.

Since Menou was trained one-on-one by Master Flare, her conjurings went from construction to invocation with unbelievable speed. She could invoke a crest conjuring in a single breath and even construct and invoke a scripture conjuring within three seconds flat.

Momo almost never used scripture conjurings in combat. She felt that there was no need. Even training under the Master, she’d barely managed to get a passing grade. It wasn’t that she couldn’t use them at all—it was simply faster to let her Guiding Enhancement and natural strength do the talking, more often than not.

Momo’s proficiency in scripture conjurings was mediocre at best, if not worse than the average priestess. It would be the height of folly for her to engage in a scripture conjuring shoot-out with Menou, who rivaled Master Flare.

Instead, she threw herself forward to maintain the advantage of a close fight, when suddenly—

Guiding Force: Connect—Dagger Crest—Invoke [Gale]

A gust of wind struck her from behind.

“Bwuh?!”

She nearly fell flat on her face but managed to stay upright. Of course, the moment she lost her balance, Menou brought her knee toward Momo’s chest.

Momo just barely managed to block with both arms, however.

The impact still knocked her backward. Momo’s feet flew off the ground, and she felt an unpleasant floating sensation in her gut.

“Oh, sh…”

The girl landed an instant later. While she hadn’t taken any damage, she had been beaten to the punch. If she let that cow her into submission, the fight was over. Instead, Momo forced a fearless grin, trying to draw the flow of the battle to her side.

“Amazing as always, darliiing. Your dear Momo is no match for youuu. Those were some spectacular moves, but…you said you’re irritated? Is something wrooong?”

“All kinds of things. My assistant stole my money in the Balar Desert and ran away. I was forced to play the part of a servant on the way here. I made a serious blunder as soon as I arrived… It’s been one stressful situation after another. And so, Momo…”

Menou gave her a bright smile. It was so charming that Momo almost forgot they were in the middle of combat and had to resist the urge to stop and admire her.

“I’d like to resolve the situation with you and Akari right now. Surrender right this instant and explain everything.”

“Eh-eh-eh, it’s just that we have a liiiittle bit of a situation on our side, toooo. I would love nothing more than to leap into your arms and have you pat my head, but alas, I caaan’t…” Momo scratched her cheek sheepishly, avoiding Menou’s eyes. “Still, how did you catch up with us so faaast? I thought my chosen route meant you wouldn’t be able to catch up without money for suuure…”

“I borrowed some. From Princess Ashuna.”

“Whaaat…?”

Her darling, who was always suffering from a lack of funds, had finally resorted to going into debt. Despite herself, Momo felt a wave of sympathy for her poor Menou.

“Are you all right, darliiing? Borrowing cash is so unsaaafe… If you’re in trouble, you should just come to meee! I don’t mind financially supporting you at aaall! In fact, I would loooove to!”

“Momo, it was your fault, remember? I wouldn’t have had to do this if you hadn’t stolen all my funds.”

“That’s got nothing to do with iiiit. That blasted Princess-poo must’ve put you through some strange requirements, didn’t sheeee?”

“……”

There was no response. Instead, all Menou provided was an expression like she’d sucked on a rotten lemon.

It was all too easy to imagine what that reaction meant. Sensing that her beloved had been defiled in some way, Momo’s own expression immediately went blank.

“Excuse me, I’m going to go kill that Princess-poo. She must be at one of the fancier inns in town, I’m sure.”

“Wait a minute.”

“Don’t try to stop meee!”

Murdering Ashuna would allow Momo to dole out some justice and deny Menou her financial support. As always, violence was the answer. The only way to resolve everything was with unconditional brutality, Momo thought as she clenched her fists.

“That accursed Princess-poo deserves nothing but divine punishment for taking advantage of you with all sorts of horrible requests! Plus, you won’t have to pay her back if she’s dead! It’ll work out in your favor, too, darliiing!”

“I told you—wait! It wasn’t anything that serious. She just made me dress up as a butler, that’s all.”

“Dress up as a butler?!”

Menou was trying to appease her with this information, but it had the opposite effect. If anything, Momo heated up even more.

“N-noooo! Why would you let Princess-poo see you in such a rare outfit and not meeee!”

“I’m telling you—it was for money!”

“So if there’s cash involved, you’ll do a costume change outside of a mission, will yoooou?! Are you willing to do this, that, and the other thing, too, if it’s for
in
?! Because if so, I’ll go get my life savings for you right nooow!”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. Besides, I’m not letting you get away. Why did you think you could escape like that?”

“Tch…”

Momo had tried to flee during the confusion, but a dagger immediately hit the ground in front of her feet. She thought she might have a chance of getting away while their conversation was taking a silly turn, but evidently, that wasn’t going to work.

Capture wasn’t an option. Momo had no recourse but to fight.

Pulling out her coping saw from within her frilly outfit, Momo flexed the wirelike weapon and wrapped it around her white-gloved hand.

The teeth of the saw were only meant for just that—sawing. They weren’t sharp enough to cut into Momo’s fist while she was using Guiding Enhancement. She wrapped it around twice to leave no gap between her knuckles and the back of her hand and lightly wound the rest around her arm so it wouldn’t get in the way.

Then she charged it with Guiding Force.

Guiding Force: Connect—Coping Saw Crest—Invoke [Anchor]

The symbol carved into the coping saw responded to Momo’s Guiding Force and produced the corresponding effect. The wire wrapped around her fist was reinforced by the
Anchor
conjuring, becoming a simple gauntlet.

If there were any space between them, Menou would immediately use a conjuring. And if mid-to-long-distance combat wasn’t an option, this was the only way Momo could use the coping saw. Foolishly moving too far would be inviting a scripture conjuring to put a swift end to the fight.

Seeing that Momo had chosen a fistfight, Menou lashed out with her dagger.

Menou had further reach. If she thrust with her weapon first, Momo’s fist wouldn’t connect, even if she stretched out her arm.

A dagger could only find purchase at close proximity. Despite being sharply held off, Momo fearlessly stepped closer. She dodged around the blade and moved nearly into punching range.

Guiding Force: Connect—Dagger Crest—Invoke [Gale]

A second crest conjuring. This time, the wind buffeted her head-on.

It was difficult to breathe. The air pressure dried out Momo’s eyes. It was almost overly harsh. Piling up many small yet noticeable effects was Menou’s go-to method.

The crests inscribed in Menou’s dagger were Gale and Guiding Thread. Neither were anywhere near lethal. Menou’s Guiding Force stores were also relatively average, so they weren’t strong enough to decide a battle on their own.

However, Menou’s strategy didn’t rely on the brute strength of her techniques.

All an Executioner needed to do their job was a single fatal stab. Menou’s conjurings were only there to help her get the kill. Her varied repertoire was complemented by her ability to use Guiding Camouflage to fool the eye, completing her array of combat arts.

Momo protected her weak points as she opted for the opposite tactic: trying to land a single blow to settle the battle by any means necessary.

She doggedly blocked and dodged Menou’s attacks, resigning herself to taking damage as she attempted to entangle her arms.

But just as Momo’s hands started to close around Menou’s arm, they caught nothing but air.

“What?!”

As she exclaimed wildly, she felt a sharp impact at the base of her skull.

It was an attack from a completely unexpected direction. Stars scattered in her eyes, and her vision went blank as the strength left her body. Momo crumpled to her knees. She managed to get her hands out on the ground before she collapsed completely, primarily out of luck. Using nothing but her sense of touch and arm strength, she forced herself to jump up and away from Menou.

“That…huuurt!”

“…It’d be much more convenient for me if you let that knock you out.”

As Momo’s vision recovered, she saw Menou standing in front of her, looking inconvenienced indeed.

Momo’s eyes filled with tears as the back of her head began to throb in pain, but she stayed conscious through sheer force of will.

She’d been struck in the back of the head with the hilt of Menou’s dagger—that much was obvious. The problem was how.

“Dar…ling! When did you get so good at Guiding Camouflage that you can use it while moving like thaaat?!”

“I’ve been practicing little by little. I have to make constant progress, or my exceptional assistant might surpass me.”

Menou had concealed her real arm with Guiding Camouflage and, at the same time, created a feint attack out of Guiding Light. Just two months ago, the best she could manage was blending into her surroundings while standing perfectly still; this was remarkably swift progress.

The attack had been intended as nonfatal, yet Momo barely managed to stay conscious.

She shouldn’t have gotten distracted by the use of crest conjurings. Menou was incredibly proficient at drawing her opponent’s attention exactly where she wished. She could use her line of sight to attract the eye, throw her dagger as a distraction, and hide with Guiding Camouflage. If she employed all these methods at once, she could spring a surprise attack on someone right in front of her.

Momo was aware of all this in theory, but actually being on the receiving end of it was another story. As she was personally reminded of Menou’s strength, she nevertheless couldn’t let her darling take her down now. Rather than allowing herself to lose, she decided to buy time by talking.

“Darliiing.”

“What is it? You want to surrender? I accept.”

“She has memories, you knooow.”

Menou was still being kind, so Momo tossed out a piece of information she couldn’t ignore.

Sure enough, Menou took the bait.

“Memories?”

“Akari Tokitou, that is. She has been turning back time, just like you thought. And what’s more, she was hiding the fact that she retains her memories from each instance.”

Menou faltered.

It utterly infuriated Momo that her beloved Menou would be rattled by news about Akari, but she couldn’t be choosy about her methods if she hoped to succeed.

“She knew how the journey was going to go.”

“…I see.”

Menou exhaled quietly.

She didn’t seem overly troubled. Most likely, she already knew this was a possibility. Momo and Menou had already discussed the theory that Akari might be rewinding time on a large scale.

During their talk, they’d guessed that Akari’s memories were reset, too, aside from perhaps a vague sense of familiarity. That had been wrong.

“So you decided to take drastic action to change the future forcibly.”

“Yes.”

“Very well. I admit that I was at fault, as well. But I do think you ought to have discussed things with me first. The position of an assistant priestess is not so casual that you possess total discretionary power.”

“But there are things we can’t tell yooou.”

Telling Menou ruined everything. It was paramount that she was not aware of what would transpire.

If nothing changed, Menou was going to die.

Akari kept spending her memories to turn back time in order to save her.

Momo didn’t want Menou to know the depth of Akari’s devotion. It wasn’t just for emotional reasons; she was afraid of what kind of changes that might cause to Menou’s state of mind.

Discovery might very well lead to Menou deciding to save Akari.

When Momo stated that she knew what the future held, Menou’s eyes narrowed.

“Momo. What’s going to happen?” she asked sharply.

“It’s a secreeet.”

“I see. I had a feeling you might say that.”

Momo readied herself. In exchange for giving up a small amount of information, she had bought enough time for her mind to recover from the blow.

“Momo. Would you please surrender already? I’ll have to punish you for acting without permission, but if you’ve gotten valuable information out of Akari, I’m willing to be lenient.”

She probably meant she would let it slide with that as an excuse. Momo was classified as a priestess and an Executioner, but only an assistant one. Disobeying her superior’s orders was worthy of severe discipline.

“On the other hand, if you refuse to stop, you do realize you’ll be in for a world of pain, right?”

“Any pain inflicted by my darling would be my pleasurrrre… But! I’m afraid it’ll have to wait for a liiittle longer, pleeease!”

As they spoke, Momo searched for an escape route.

She had underestimated the difference between Menou’s and her own abilities. Clearly, she was wrong to think she had a chance of winning, even in close combat. Fleeing was the only choice.

They hadn’t solved anything yet.

Momo wouldn’t back down as long as Menou’s life was on the line. She couldn’t let her darling find Akari. Momo refused to compromise, even if it meant sacrificing her position.

Her goal was to hold out until Menou had to give up on Akari.

Could they get away? Momo winced at the question.

It would be tough. Fleeing on her own was one thing. Afterward, she could recover Akari, get on a train, and abscond. Unfortunately, it was far too optimistic to assume everything would go without a hitch.

It might even be delusional
, Momo mused with a grim smile.

Still, she had to succeed.

Seeing that Momo was unwilling to back down, Menou’s eyes hardened. Her focused determination to win at all costs prickled at Momo’s skin.

Just as the battle was about to resume, a voice cut in.

“That’s enough,” declared a cool voice. An enormous sword was suddenly thrust between the two young women.

Akari was lucky not to die after Momo hurled her into the air.

Just before she started falling, her clothes caught on a duct attached to a wall, slowing her down significantly. The vent in question was damaged in the process, and while she felt guilty about that, she managed to get away without causing a fuss.

Now that Akari was out of Menou’s sight, she started running as quickly as she could, just as Momo told her.

“Momo… She’s actually really stupid, isn’t she…?”

Akari was hardly overflowing with gratitude. Really, how thankful could she be for the act of tossing her over a wall? Grumbling to herself about Momo’s violent and absurd nature, Akari kept moving.

Then, after ten minutes of walking, Akari stopped and looked up at the sky.

“Where am I…?”

She was lost.

Akari had ended up on the outskirts of town, on an even more obscure side street. Momo would undoubtedly curse her out at great length if she knew about this, but Akari felt it wasn’t fair to blame her entirely. After all, she had never been to this village before. On top of that, Akari had been avoiding main roads to stay out of sight since Menou might be pursuing her.

It didn’t help that being tossed into the air was utterly disorienting. Put it all together, and Akari was as remarkably lost as any child separated from her parents.

“What should I do now…?”

Gazing at the sky, where the sun was beginning to set, Akari folded her arms and thought hard.

She and Momo had agreed on an emergency meeting place just in case they got separated. It was the train station one town over from this one.

As such, Akari should have been heading for the train station, yet she hadn’t the faintest idea how to get there. She was standing contemplating the problem with an obviously ditzy expression on her face when a voice called out to her.

“Hey, whassamatter, little lady? You in trouble?”

A group of boorish-looking boys blocked the alley behind her.

There were three of them in total, all of whom could only be described as common hoodlums. Akari had evidently wandered into an area frequented by the local delinquents.

“…Who are you?”

“Ha-ha, ain’t no reason for us to tell you that.”

“Although, I guess I’d tell ya my name if ya spend the night with me tonight.”

The young men snickered as they drew closer.

Based on appearances alone, Akari did seem like an easy mark. She didn’t look strong at all, and what’s more, her tidy outfit helped give her the appearance of an innocent, well-to-do young lady. Standing around in an empty alley like this was bound to attract the wrong kind of attention.

They looked around the same age, but any ordinary girl would likely be trembling with fear if such ruffians approached her. They steadily closed in, hinting that they weren’t going to take no for an answer.

Akari wasn’t frightened in the least, however.

Thanks to Momo dragging her around over the past few days, she’d gotten distressingly accustomed to combat. These delinquents were nowhere near the already low-level criminals she and Momo had been beating up recently.

Talking to them didn’t even seem worth the bother. Akari was pointing her finger at them like a gun, intending to use
Suspension
to turn them into statues for the next half day or so (a violent thought that showed Momo had clearly influenced her), when she was interrupted by a voice.

“Hmm, I recognize this girl. I’ll have to make sure you don’t lay a hand on her, then.”

“Hunh? Who the h—? Aargh?!”

Someone new entered the alley and sent one of the boys flying with a magnificent punch.

His friends opened their mouths to protest furiously, but they swallowed their words in terror when they beheld the intruder.

They’d been interrupted by a tall woman whose blond hair had hints of red.

She gave off an air that was worlds apart from Akari’s. While her outfit exposed a lot of skin, her remarkable figure was more likely to inspire admiration than lust. It was clear from the sword she carried that she was a knight, but even without the huge sword in her hand, it was apparent at a glance that it would be a bad idea to cross her. The boys fled without even a parting word.

“Well, hello again.”

Akari recognized her rescuer, too.

They had only met a single time, and both had been wearing swimsuits, which had left a strong impression.

“You’re, umm…”

“Ashuna Grisarika. You are Akari Tokitou, correct?”

She reintroduced herself, looking unbothered that Akari couldn’t immediately recall her name, and continued with a question.

“What are you doing in a place like this? This might be a tourist town, but it still isn’t safe for someone to go wandering in the alleys alone.”

“Er… I sort of got lost.” Akari scratched her cheek sheepishly, then figured she might as well make the best of the situation, turning on her puppy-dog eyes. “I don’t suppose you could guide me to the station as a…”

Just as she was making the request, her stomach suddenly growled loudly.

Akari instinctively pressed her hands to her stomach, her face turning bright red with embarrassment. Ashuna gave her a charming grin.

“I’ll be happy to guide you, but…shall we share a bite to eat first?”

Her cheeks still flushed crimson, Akari nodded without another word.

“Thanks for the food!”

Akari pressed her hands together, offering her heartfelt thanks to the ingredients that had been on her now-cleaned plate, the chef that made the dish, and most of all, the person who had treated her to the meal.

Sitting across from her, Ashuna gave a generous nod.

“You’re a hearty eater.”

The pair were in a restaurant on the main road. Ashuna had brought Akari to an arbitrarily chosen establishment with a curtained entrance.

“I really appreciate it. I missed out on lunch because Momo was chasing me around.”

“Don’t worry about it. This is no trouble at all for me. More importantly, let’s hear the rest of your story.”

“Sure! Momo is just so mean, you know?”

At Ashuna’s invitation, Akari was happy to continue rambling.

Apparently, Ashuna knew that Akari was a lost lamb. She also had a rough idea of the Faust’s situation and asked Akari to tell her about her time with Momo.

Now that she had calmed down, perhaps a bit too much, Akari was happy to talk about her time in this town. Once she described the events from their quest to purge criminals to the chase between her and Momo, Ashuna smirked.

“Hrmm. I suspected as much, but I do pity poor Menou. And Momo is an impulsive fool as usual… Still, a method of returning to the other world, hmm?”

“Momo is one thing, but there’s nothing pitiful about Menou! …Wait a minute, Ms. Ashuna. Do you know something about that?”

Ashuna Grisarika. Hearing her family name made it clear that she had some connection to the Grisarika Kingdom that had summoned Akari.

Ashuna had stated during their conversation that she wasn’t involved in the summoning, but Akari still gave her a hopeful look.

“We can discuss that later.”

“Later?”

“Yes. Now’s not the time.”

Ashuna avoided the topic with a chilly, grim smile that was unlike her usual showy grin.

“But know this, Akari Tokitou.”

“Huh?”

“How did you lost ones begin appearing in this world? There isn’t a single person who knows the answer, and we have no way of knowing. There is research that suggests that there were no Otherworlders before the rise of the ancient civilization, but…unfortunately, the scars left by the Four Major Human Errors are too deep to make much of an attempt at retracing the threads of history.”

“Oh…” Akari blinked in confusion as Ashuna used her full name and brought up an unexpected subject. “Really?”

“Indeed. And perhaps there was never a reason for the arrival of Otherworlders to begin with. Yet this world is remarkably harsh to your kind. And so the same events repeat over and over. It’s not just your problem alone. There’s no right or wrong answer.”

Her words strangely convincing, Ashuna pointed a finger at Akari’s chest.

“Understand that it is exactly why the Faust continues to create Executioners.”

What did she mean by all this? Akari tilted her head at the strange, one-sided conversation.

Fully aware that Akari wouldn’t yet comprehend, the other woman smiled boldly.

“Now, that was enough of a break, don’t you agree? Let’s go to the station, as you requested.”

For her, this next part was what she truly sought.

The large sword that cleaved through the air and cut between them prompted Momo and Menou to freeze.

Ashuna stepped in, having stopped their fight by throwing her broadsword between the pair.

“How kind of you to leave me behind.”

The veins popping on her temple indicated her impressively sour mood. Ashuna’s rage was so palpable that it filled the air and prickled the skin.

This was unusual for Ashuna, who was born into a royal Noblesse family and carried herself with a proud and openhanded air accordingly. What had made her so furious? Menou and Momo were both at a loss.

“Especially you, Menou. I should have expected no less. You played the part of a solemn servant perfectly, but you were secretly waiting to betray me, I see. How many years has it been since I was last drugged without my knowledge, I wonder…?!”

“Excuse me?”

“And then you went and took my belongings, too… I knew you didn’t have any money, but I never imagined you would stoop to petty theft. I thought you were honorable by nature, but evidently, my assessment was wrong. Would you care to explain yourself? Go on; I’m listening.”

Menou gaped in bewilderment. Momo was looking at her with a sparkling expression that said something like,
You poisoned Princess-poo, robbed her blind, and abandoned her? You’re so incredible, darling!
However, Menou had done no such thing. She genuinely had no idea what Ashuna was going on about.

Ashuna had accompanied Menou to the inn once she secured lodging there. It was true that Menou had carried her bags, but that hardly qualified as thievery. She left the luggage in their room at the inn.