The Executioner and Her Way of Life

And Thus the Chase Begins

Menou and company had returned to their room in the inn.

After meeting up in the alley, the trio decided it would be best to go someplace where they could calm down and compare their sides of the story.

“So let me get this straight…” Ashuna’s anger was slowly shifting to doubt as Menou explained the situation. “When we first arrived at the station here, the person who gave me tea in the rest area wasn’t really you. The scoundrel who put sleeping powder in my drink just happened to look exactly like you. But you say you have no recollection of those events, Menou?”

“Not at all. And just to confirm, the person who entered the inn with me wasn’t really you, either, Your Highness?”

“Damn right it wasn’t.”

Menou clearly recalled Ashuna handing her the luggage and walking to the inn with her. Yet Ashuna denied any memory of that happening.

“Since you were playing the part of my servant at the time, I would never have gone out to greet you. From my perspective, it seemed clear that you had drugged my tea and ran off with my belongings.”

Ashuna rested her hand on her fist, making her look even more irritable.

“I was knocked out in that rest area. It was far too unnatural to be anything except a drug. Timing-wise, it must have been in the tea that false Menou gave me. I do have a high tolerance, so…it must have been something powerful.”

Ashuna didn’t bother hiding her scowl upon realizing she had been duped.

“So there are fakes of both of us. Who’s behind this?”

No one objected to her conclusion about the discrepancy. Menou felt the same way as the princess. Someone had flawlessly impersonated both of them.

“I do have one idea.”

“This was no mere disguise with costumes or makeup. It was impeccable. What is this fake hoping to achieve? Perhaps they hoped to cause a falling-out between us?”

“No… I don’t think so.”

Menou shook her head.

It took precision to replace both of them with such flawless timing. Given the way it was executed, only one person could’ve been responsible.

Master Flare.

It was an extraordinary feat to become two different people, determine the nature of their relationship, and fool them both, all without any preparation. Only the legendary Executioner who could alter her appearance perfectly with Guiding Camouflage had a hope of succeeding.

“Darling…,” Momo called as she approached. While Menou and Ashuna discussed things, the apprentice priestess had checked the inn where she and Akari were staying to look for the Otherworlder. Ignoring Ashuna as naturally as she breathed, Momo reported directly to Menou. “Akari Tokitou hasn’t returned to the inn.”

“…I see.”

That settled it.

Menou and Momo had both lost track of Akari.

Abducting her was surely Master Flare’s objective, then.

“I’m going to find out what’s going on.”

“Please, don’t go.”

If Master Flare planned to spirit Akari away, she would definitely take her to the station. No sooner did Menou come to that conclusion than she moved to stand, but Momo stopped her.

“Momo?”

“This is for the best.”

Momo held on to one sleeve of Menou’s priestess robes. For some reason, it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than her beloved superior.

“It’s better this way, riiight? We can just let Master take care of everything.”

“How is this better? It’s far too sudden, even for Master. And I don’t even understand why. Surely I have the right to protest, at the very—”

“You’re the reason Akari Tokitou was turning back time, darling.” As Menou insisted that she had to know her Master’s motives, Momo revealed the truth they’d been hiding all this time. “She wanted to save you before you betray the Faust for her sake…and to change the future in which Master Flare kills you for that betrayal. So she rewound the entire world. Many times, in fact.”

“…What?”

Menou’s first reaction to Momo’s words was bewilderment.

Akari had been using
Regression
to repeat the same period, which was astonishing on its own, but the reason baffled Menou more.

“I forsake…the Faust?”

“Yes.”

“I turn traitor to save Akari?”

“Yes.”

“And then Master kills me—Akari said all this?”

“Yes.”

Momo nodded once for each question.

Menou, an Executioner, would turn her back on the Faust to save Akari’s life and be killed by her Master.

Akari had been turning back time over and over to avoid that outcome.

Even after hearing it, it didn’t seem real.

At this point, Menou couldn’t deny that she felt friendship toward Akari. But she was raised as an Executioner and knew all too well the dangers of Otherworlders. She couldn’t imagine throwing all that away to try to save Akari.

That motive seemed at odds with Menou’s behavioral principles.

“Darling… Could you kill Akari Tokitou right now? It doesn’t have to be with the Sword of Salt. Could you stab her with the dagger at your thigh, even if she would come back?”

“Obviously, I cou—”

“That’s easier said than done.”

Why wouldn’t she be able to?

“I’m quite sure you couldn’t. The fact that Master is here now is proof enough, isn’t it?”

Master Flare would undoubtedly succeed at slaying Akari. There was no doubt. She was capable of everything Menou was and more.

Still, nothing was keeping Menou from ending Akari’s life. Manon said something along similar lines in their exchange, but Menou wasn’t that weak. Of course she wasn’t.

She knew her way of life better than anyone else.

Yet Momo kept arguing desperately. “Darling, you’re alive. Master came, Akari is gone, and you’re still alive and well. What could matter more than that?” Momo seemed to read something in Menou’s silence. She hesitated, as if unsure whether to say something else, then quietly added, “It’s what she wanted, too.”

These words, which Momo said to convince Menou, were likely her biggest mistake.

Akari wanted to sacrifice herself to save Menou.

Menou’s refusal to accept the future Momo described suddenly inverted upon hearing as much.

“…Ah, I see now.”

Now Menou understood why a version of her in another time loop would do something so contradictory to her thought process. Her heart settled into where it was meant to be with a dull thud.

“So that’s how it happens.”

A small, self-derisive laugh escaped Menou’s lips.

“Sorry, Momo. I’m still going to go see Master for a bit.”

“N-no, you can’t. You’ll die, darling! Don’t you realize that’s a real possibility?!”

“It’s always a possibility. I’m an Executioner, after all. There’s always the risk that I might die.”

“That’s not the issue here!”

“Yes, it is.”

Menou gave a fleeting smile. She stood up and stretched. After some casual warm-up exercises, she took her leave.

“Darling!”

“I almost died not long ago, you know,” Menou responded quite casually to Momo’s plea.

“What?” Momo’s mouth fell open. Without replying directly, Menou reflected on her recent near-death experience.

In the battle in the desert, Menou was defeated and nearly died.

“When I was about to perish, I realized I didn’t want to.”

That was probably the first time in Menou’s life that she’d felt that way.

She had come close to death before. In the short while since meeting Akari, she’d fought Pandæmonium and been cornered by Orwell. During both instances, she could’ve met her demise at any moment.

But that time in the desert was when she first thought she didn’t want to die.

“I pictured you and Akari, and I thought,
I really don’t want to let it end here.
”

Menou reached out her hand to her assistant’s pink hair. She touched the base of each pigtail, patting her head. Her eyes softened when she saw that Momo was wearing the scrunchies she’d given her, then she went on.

“So I won’t. I’ll come back alive.”

Momo bit her lip. She began to speak, but she had to give up when she looked directly into Menou’s face.

There was no talking the other girl out of it. Instead, she looked up at her for a promise.

“You aren’t lying, are you?”

“I’ve never once lied to you, right, Momo?”

Momo thought it over carefully. She searched her memories and failed to come up with a single instance of Menou lying to her. So she gave a slight nod.

“Then trust me.”

Menou was hardly planning to go to her death.

At least, not today.

“I’m just going to have a little conversation with Master, that’s all. You wait here with Princess Ashuna.”

Menou left the inn with her usual strides, leaving Momo behind.

The sunset was beginning to dye the sky in golden hues. Menou’s shadow stretched long on the main road. She moved as if chasing her shadow, first at a steady walk, then quickening her pace, until finally, she broke into a run.

“Stop being ridiculous, stupid Akari.”

Muttering darkly, Menou ran toward the girl she was grumbling about.

Tinted sunlight streamed through the enormous train window. The sun was beginning to set, its golden light gradually reddening as it illuminated the land.

Four people were gathered in the train car.

A priestess with dark-red hair was sitting across from Akari.

Master Flare had disguised herself as Ashuna and managed to lead Akari here and capture her without the slightest suspicion.

There were also two uninvited guests aboard.

“And here I thought I’d taken care of things with minimal effort, only to be bothered by a pair of interlopers… So this is what they mean by forgetting the finishing touches.”

Flare’s eyes narrowed in annoyance as she glared at the pair.

One of the guests was a young girl.

Pandæmonium—a cherubic little girl with black hair and black eyes. She could appear anywhere at any moment, and right now, she looked for all the world like a child caught in the act of an innocuous prank.

The other intruder was a man in his late fifties. As Flare glowered at him, he doffed his bowler hat in apology.

“I am truly sorry. I was simply too eager to speak with you after so long.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting ever to see you again. You should’ve just holed up for the rest of your life, but I guess you couldn’t handle that.”

“Indeed, perhaps you are right. Unlike me after years in prison, you have scarcely aged at all. I am rather jealous, Flare. So whose pawn have you become now, I wonder?”

“Is that all you came here to ask? Well, go ahead and laugh. The Magician.”

“Oh-ho, dear me!” His dubious-looking expression turned sympathetic. “I do pity you that. What an absolutely pointless waste of space that person is.”

“Agreed. Not that there are any good Elders in the bunch.”

They exchanged words as if in casual conversation. The Director cast a glance toward Akari.

“And? What do you plan to do once you bring her to the holy land?”

“Make her lose control.”

Akari’s shoulders trembled at the direct response.

“I’ll take her to the land of salt, make her turn into a Human Error, and dispose of her. Just like that other time.”

“But why…?”

Akari interrupted before she could stop herself.

Flare had just said she was going to make her lose control, not execute her.

It didn’t make sense. Wasn’t the entire point of Executioners to prevent Pure Concepts from going out of control?

“Young lady. That answer is deeply connected to the question of how conjurings are created. Otherworlders have been brought here many times over the years, whether by arbitrary summoning or natural phenomena, but you are one of few who—ah, pardon me.”

The Director ceased his lengthy rambling when he noticed Flare scowling at him.

“Akari Tokitou. You’ve been kept alive because your concept was deemed worthy of being written in the scriptures.”

The Master took over from the Director to give a short response, but Akari didn’t understand. Master Flare, who had no intention of explaining it to her in the first place, gave an icy smile.

“Incidentally, I’ve heard you’re searching for a way back to the other world. I assume Pandæmonium here told you about that? What a pleasant thought.”

Upon the mention of returning to the other world, the Director’s expression turned to something like pity.

Unlike him, Pandæmonium was almost disturbingly quiet. She simply listened to the conversation with a fixed smile.

“There is a theory regarding a conjuring to send Otherworlders back. Shall I explain it to you?”

“You know it…?”

“Sure.”

As Akari’s voice trembled, the Master threw back her head and laughed.

“You would have to suck up enough Guiding Force to be on par with all the astral veins on the continent, draw a conjuring circle with a large nation’s worth of materials, offer about a third of the world’s population as sacrifices, and then if anyone was capable of controlling the resulting conjuring, theoretically you should be able to send someone from this world to the other one.”

“…Huh?”

Akari’s mind refused to process the information.

Even without understanding conjurings, she comprehended that this was a ridiculous pipe dream. It would be all but impossible to put such a ritual into practice. It was theoretically possible, but nothing more. Anyone who genuinely suggested an attempt would be seen as senseless.

And yet Master Flare was describing it in perfect seriousness.

“That is what the Four Major Human Errors attempted to do.”

Akari’s attention automatically shifted to Pandæmonium as Flare went on.

“It does seem wild, but it’s actually very impressive. Apparently, they really did come close to succeeding a thousand years ago. They miraculously managed to have Pure Concepts powerful enough, and they all had a strong desire to go back home.
Dragon
gathered Guiding Force in the west,
Vessel
collected materials in the east,
Evil
assembled sacrifices in the south, and
Star
constructed the conjuring circle in the north. Whether it was right or wrong, they were almost able to open the gate back to their home world. And would you believe it?”

Flare’s cynical gaze pierced through Akari, who came from the same place as the Four Major Human Errors.

“They did it while they were still sane, before they became Human Errors.”

Most people who knew of the Four Major Human Errors had a fundamental misconception about them.

The quartet of Otherworlders who wrought catastrophic damage across the continent didn’t cause most of their harm after their Pure Concepts went out of control. They used their Pure Concepts of their own free will to wreak calamities on the planet.

“That’s the real reason we see you Otherworlders as our enemies. And you’ll be pleased to hear this. There’s a system for retaining the memories of Otherworlders who have used their Pure Concepts, too.”

Master Flare smirked contemptuously as she revealed the truth behind the horrible events of a thousand years ago.

“After all, it’s because they were able to supplement their memories that the Four Major Human Errors were able to cause far more damage than by simply letting their Pure Concepts go out of control.”

The Otherworlders who had learned of a method to return home made their attempt with no regard for the sacrifices required. Once a battle broke out with the powers that tried to stop them, they cut the wounds that would continue to ravage each part of the continent for a thousand years.

Thanks to their ability to preserve their memories, they could use their Pure Concepts with almost no risk involved, resulting mass destruction. In the midst of the turmoil, the only two who survived were the Mechanical Society and Pandæmonium, who became Human Errors that couldn’t be killed entirely.

It didn’t matter that there was a system that could prevent Otherworlders from losing control.

In the era of the ancient civilization that possessed a system to keep Otherworlders from running berserk, the Four Human Errors still devastated the world. Their Pure Concepts weren’t out of control. It was their own will and fury with which they brought ruin.

That was why Otherworlders were dangerous.

“You all cause nothing but harm. To the point where we can’t tolerate any so-called exceptions.”

The existence of Otherworlders who wished to go back to their world so desperately that they were willing to slaughter as many people as it took brought an end to an entire civilization. After a tragedy on that scale, this land could no long tolerate a system that permitted people with Pure Concepts to exist.

Akari couldn’t say a word.

Her eyes remained trained on the little girl with black hair. The evening sun shone onto her dress with holes in the chest, dying it a beautiful crimson.

“…You tricked me.”

She’d been told that a way back existed and had held on to that tiny bit of hope.

In her conversation with Momo, Akari had voiced the idea that maybe, instead of her death, the journey could end with a sad farewell.

But it wasn’t possible.

Such a conclusion could never exist for her.

“Mmm?”

Akari would’ve preferred not to know. She stared at Pandæmonium bitterly, and the child rested her chin in her hands.

“That wasn’t my intent. I didn’t lie once, you know. I really wasn’t even trying to deceive you. I mean, it does exist, doesn’t it?”

Pandæmonium leaned back in the seat of the train car, her legs not even reaching the floor, and turned her nose up with a prim huff.

“…There was a way to return…”
to Japan.

She was the one who told Akari that.

“Mm, maybe I neglected to mention that you’d need sacrifices, but it shouldn’t be that hard to figure that out. We tried to destroy the world because we needed them, after all.”

The Four Human Errors had consumed all the southern islands to offer up a vast amount of human lives, took over the eastern part of the continent to gather a nation’s worth of land for materials, went to the western part of the continent to acquire mass quantities of Guiding Force, and concentrated all this in the north of the continent to start preparing the conjuring to send them back to the other world. Ultimately, they lost
Ivory
, the strongest Pure Concept of all.

“I’m not sure why you seem so sad about this. Didn’t you say you didn’t need a way back? You were so convinced that your friendship meant you’d be content to die in this world… Mmm, oh, I know!”

The girl clapped her hands to her mouth in an overdramatic display of surprise.

“Could it be that you’ve started wanting to survive after all?”

Pandæmonium’s lips curled up in a wicked grin.

“I guess that makes sense. There’s nothing wrong with a change of heart. You’re human. You thought you were okay with dying, but then you start to think maybe you keep living. That’s a wonderful kind of friendship! In a movie, that’d be the scene where you get excited over a path to a happy ending. The hope that you can return to your own world. The expectation that everything will fall into place if you just try. Honestly, why the long face?”

Looking delighted, Pandæmonium gave a little giggle. She drew close to Akari as she went on.

“Don’t tell me you think the method you just learned about sounds hard? Well, not to worry. It’s not going to be difficult at all. I should know!”

She leaned over to whisper in Akari’s ear like she was telling her a secret.

“The Mechanical Society is still turning the east into Primary Color materials even as we speak. For the Guiding Force,
Dragon
’s legacy has gathered all the earthen veins of the continent in the holy land. The conjuring circle that
Star
built yet remains in the north. And you can leave the sacrifices to me, okay?”

Pandæmonium’s every word was sincere. She was incapable of lying.

Moving away from Akari, Pandæmonium spread her arms wide.

“Mm-mm, how lucky you are! Everything you need is still left perfectly intact!”

Her voice was syrupy sweet, enough to rot one’s heart from the inside out.

Flare and the Director watched Pandæmonium’s monologue in silence. A concept with the ability to destroy the world was bidding Akari join her, but the pair simply observed without interrupting.

“Don’t you get it? If you use this whole continent, the gate to the other world will open. All your wishes will come true. Nothing is impossible if you try! A wonderful happy ending where both you and your beloved friend get to live is waiting for you!”

The red-tinged sunlight flooded in through the window. Twilight was descending on the train car.

With her dress colored a bloody hue, Pandæmonium made a frame with her two index fingers and thumbs and held it up to one eye.

“You would risk your life for the one you care about. You would even destroy the whole world.”

Admiring Akari through the rectangle she formed with her digits, Pandæmonium eagerly described what she wanted the girl to do.

“Won’t you please show me a wonderful movie about friendship?”

Akari couldn’t respond.

She had said it before. She had thought it, too. Menou was more important to her than the rest of the world, and she didn’t care if she had to destroy the world if it meant saving Menou’s life, she thought.

And yet.

Akari wrapped her arms around herself. She couldn’t stop her body from trembling.

A third of the population of the world? It was beyond imagining.

A nation’s worth of land? How many more lives would that mean?

Half of a continent? There was no way she could do such a thing.

The huge number of deaths required for her to go back was horrific. Akari couldn’t justify destroying that many lives so she could survive. Even if she could convince herself she was willing, she wouldn’t be able to reach out and take it.

Akari had never once claimed a life.

She wasn’t nearly so unhinged as to be genuinely willing to enact a plan that would destroy the world, much less kill a considerable number of people with her own hands.

Akari Tokitou was a good person.

“…Mm.”

Pandæmonium’s voice lost its luster.

The enthusiasm was fading fast from her young eyes. It was as if she was watching a movie that seemed exciting and flashy from the trailers but was obviously mediocre within the first ten minutes. She lowered her hands and let her arms dangle.

Her eyes showed her disinterest without needing to put it into words, finding Akari lacking.

The girl with the Pure Concept
Time
wouldn’t become a source of chaos in this world. She was willing to sacrifice herself, but she couldn’t bring carnage to the planet. That much was clear now.

Pandæmonium clasped her hands behind her back and turned away, her white dress fluttering.

“Mm, I should’ve known.”

With that, all thoughts of Akari left her mind completely.

She was already thinking about the next movie.

Casting aside a disappointing film, the source of all
Evil
left the train car before anyone could stop her.

Pandæmonium was gone.

The Director, who’d been sitting next to her, never spoke up once to interrupt the sequence of events.

Pandæmonium’s lighthearted words had utterly broken Akari Tokitou’s heart. The girl’s whispered words destroyed Akari’s conviction that she would do anything for the sake of friendship.

Casting a pained glance at the girl who had lost all will to fight, the Director addressed the person he was already acquainted with instead.

“Well, that was certainly chilling. She’s normally on her best behavior when she’s with Miss Manon… Aren’t you going after her, Flare? She made some rather remarkable claims.”

“What would be the point of chasing something that won’t die and is only a tiny portion of the whole? If Manon Libelle was there, I’d be willing to capture her, but it would be pointless to try to apprehend a pinky finger alone.”

There was no point in catching this part of Pandæmonium. That did make sense. She had probably allowed Pandæmonium to stay here so she would crush the hopes of the girl with the Pure Concept of
Time
.

“So what do you want?”

“Ah yes… Hrmm. Well, you see, Flare…”

The Director glanced at the Master’s face hesitantly. Frankly, it was disturbing. What was a man over fifty years old hesitating about? He tapped his foot a few times, clacking his heel against the floor, before he gathered his resolve and looked up.

“I wonder if you and I could start over?”

“Die.”

“Oooh?!”

Master Flare threw her scripture at him. It boasted more than five hundred pages and was even reinforced with metal, making it a considerably heavy object. Having it tossed at him at such a short distance made the Director sweat.

“What was that for…? I—I could’ve been seriously hurt!”

“Next time something creepy and misleading comes out of your mouth, I’ll knock you out cold… Ah, you can just burn that old thing. It’s been around long enough, hasn’t it? Go ahead and torch it.”

“Ha-ha… No, thank you.”

The Director laughed wryly and handed the scripture back.

He was one of the very few people who knew what scriptures really were.

“I suppose it was a little late for that proposal… Say, Flare. I met your successor.”

“Oh yeah?”

“And then there’s this girl… Akari Tokitou, was it? The relationship between this lost lamb of
Time
and your apprentice, Flarette… It’s quite similar to you and that friend of yours, long ago.”

“You’re imagining things.”

Flare and the Director had known each other long enough that they discussed things with ease, sparing no moment before replying.

“Say, Flare. How many people do you suppose are aware of the truth of this world? How many have become twisted because they learned that truth? The function of the scriptures given to priestesses, the real identity of the Lord, the history of the Elders… Many people have upon learning these things.”

Earnestness shone in the Director’s tone. However, Master Flare’s expression didn’t change as she listened.

“Experion, the strongest knight, stopped thinking and yielded to the Elders. The monster Genom Cthulha holed up in the eastern Wild Frontier to become an ally of the Mechanical Society, of all things. The great holy woman Ms. Orwell lost sight of the proper path and gave in to the taboo. I was taken with the delusion of a great rebellion against the world. And then…there is you, Master Flare.” The Director paused to take a breath, then posed his question. “How have you been altered?”

“Not at all?”

The answer was immediate.

“I don’t remember changing in the least. I have been an Executioner since long ago, and I still am.”

“Precisely. You are the one person who chose never to shift. You decided that was the only way to atone to her, didn’t you?”

“Bah-ha-ha!” Master Flare guffawed. She threw her head back, opened her mouth wide, and burst out with derisive laughter. It was the same mocking sound she reserved for worthless taboos and people who didn’t interest her.

“Forget it, Director. If that’s all you wanted to talk about, you should’ve just stayed in your cell. In the end, you can’t change a single damn thing. That’s all there is to it.”

“…I see.”

The Director grasped the brim of his bowler hat and pulled it back on, covering his eyes.

He knew better than anyone that he was dwelling on old regrets. Even so, he doggedly persisted, asking another question.

“Could you not at least call me by my name?”

“I think not. I won’t waste my breath on the name of some stupid animal.”

“I see… But you’re not going to kill me, hmm?”

“Lucky you.” Master Flare didn’t so much as bother drawing her Executioner’s blade. “The
Lord
has already forgiven your sin. Isn’t that right…
Elder
Director?”

“…Yes, I suppose so.”

There was a hint of sadness in the Director’s voice as he acknowledged Flare’s words.

The speech he’d thrown at Menou in their alleyway encounter was coming back to bite him.

Because of what he knew, he could no longer act. He understood enough to comprehend that he couldn’t do anything about it. And what made it even worse was that he still didn’t wish he had never learned these things.

The Director stood up.

He’d come to check in on an old acquaintance, wanting to know what she was like now that she had taken an apprentice. That was his only business here. It was little more than a minor detour; he hadn’t been conceited enough to think he might be able to change her.

If there was anyone who could have done as much for Flare, it would have been that one person, twenty years ago, for only a brief time.

The young woman who had the Pure Concept of
Light
.

“What comes next, hmm…?”

The Director left the train car and slowly walked across the platform.

He couldn’t do anything anymore. The moment he gained the right to change the world, which he thought was all he wanted, it all seemed unbearably pointless.

So when the girl called Manon appeared before him, he’d followed her. Instead of acting on his own, he thought he could at least assist her without letting his desires mix in, or at least that was how he excused his conduct to himself.

Master Flare would not change. As an Executioner, she was already complete.

“But you know, Flare…”

The Director stopped abruptly.

A lone girl was running through the station—a priestess with her light-chestnut hair tied in a black scarf ribbon.

Their eyes met.

She knew who he was. But evidently, she was short on time, because she didn’t stop to make a scene and just kept dashing farther into the station.

As he watched her run determinedly out of sight, his eyes narrowed.

“I don’t think the same can be said of your apprentice just yet.”

The Director’s quiet words were full of hope for the “next” who had finally arrived.

Menou spotted the Director in the station, but she had no time for him. Ignoring his presence, she continued searching for Akari. As she looked around the station, she spotted something clearly out of place: a special Faust convoy train.

It was such an unexpected and ostentatious sight that Menou was almost more impressed than surprised. After all, this was a highly exclusive train with the right to override any schedule. They were only dispatched for exceptional occasions, like when the archbishop was traveling.

How did she manage to get ahold of it? Menou could think of a few methods herself, so she supposed it made sense that her Master would be able to pull it off so easily.

There was no doubt that Akari was inside that train.

Menou had no trouble boarding.

This particular train required very few people to operate. In fact, there was no one else aboard except in the engine room. It truly had been put into motion solely to take Akari to the holy land. There weren’t even any guards, enabling Menou to infiltrate it without a hitch.

As she made small talk with the priestesses operating the engine, Menou searched for the optimal path. She had slipped in using Guiding Camouflage to disguise herself. Menou was a member of the Faust, and apparently, Master hadn’t given the priestesses any specific information on her. They showed no distrust toward Menou.

Once she was inside, there was no point hiding any longer. Menou openly walked to the next train car and opened the door.

“What’s up, Menou?”

Master Flare wasn’t surprised to see Menou burst into the room without permission. She didn’t seem hostile at all, never mind murderous. She offered Menou a wave without rising from her seat.

“It’s been a while. Did you need something?”

“I’m here…” Menou smiled thinly and pointed at Akari, who was sitting across from the Master. “…to pick up that idiot.”

“Is that right?”

Master nodded coolly. If anything, it was Akari who looked flustered.

“Well, too bad. You’ll have to hand over the Akari Tokitou assignment.”

“May I ask why you would take my mission from me?”

“What’s it matter to you?”

“I’ve been her companion all this time, and I intend to see my plan through to the end.”

“Her
companion
, eh…?”

Master Flare trailed off meaningfully, but Menou didn’t falter, her gaze unwavering.

“The reason for the takeover is simple,” Flare continued. “Akari Tokitou has fooled you.”

Akari had memories of all the previous time lines she’d regressed. Flare explained that this meant the Otherworlder had been deceiving Menou and influencing her actions.

“We can’t leave this in the hands of someone so easily deceived. Even Momo’s unsanctioned actions were better. At least she deduced Akari Tokitou’s true intentions.”

It was a perfect excuse. Sensing that she wouldn’t be able to object on reasonable grounds, Menou changed tactics.

“If that’s the case, could you let me ride with you by any chance? I was thinking of taking a rest in the holy land once the Akari Tokitou mission is finished.”

“Since when are you enough of a big shot for that?” Master Flare responded flatly. “This locomotive’s only supposed to be used by people who rival the archbishop in status. I can’t let the likes of you on board.”

Then why was a Master like Flare allowed to use the train? The woman seemed content not to address that contradiction.

“If you’re going to the holy land, you can walk.”

She obviously wasn’t going to make this easy. Menou sighed; she should’ve expected as much.

“One more thing, Menou. I’m planning to give you a new job anyway.”

“A new job?”

“There’s a city nearby that took catastrophic damage from an Original Sin taboo. Pandæmonium and Manon Libelle laid waste to the place on a whim. Go help them rebuild. No hidden agendas, just pure, charitable work helping people.” Master crossed her legs and smirked. “You like that kinda thing, right?”

Charitable work.

It was an appropriate role for any other clergy member and far removed from that of an Executioner.

It was strange timing to be given a job like that, but Menou only nodded expressionlessly.

“Very well.”

“Good. You do that.”

“But…could I talk to this girl one last time? I have all kinds of complaints built up, and I’d love to give her a piece of my mind.”

“Do what you want.”

The Master gave permission. What’s more, she even stood up from her seat.

Menou’s eyes widened. Master Flare wasn’t going to keep watch on them?

“Master?”

“I have no interest in hearing some insipid discussion.”

With that, Master Flare left the two of them in the train car.

Just like that, they were alone.

Menou sat down next to Akari, who watched her with her head still hanging low.

Master Flare had appeared, and Menou came to chase Akari down. That only poured salt on the wound in Akari’s spirit.

“Menou…” After sitting in silence for so long, she finally spoke up. “Just leave me alone.”

“What are you whining about? You’re the one who ran off on your own.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know, so just leave me here.”

“Momo told me all about it. So you had your memories, hmm?”

Akari felt something in her chest ache. Whether she was aware of that or not, Menou crossed her legs as she continued.

“You really pulled one over on me. You must’ve felt like quite the mastermind manipulating me like that, didn’t you? Although, I suppose I’m the bigger fool for not figuring it out.”

She knew. Menou had found out everything Akari was trying to hide.

But it wasn’t too late, not yet.

Akari clenched her fists, which had been resting on her knees.

Whatever the reason, Master Flare wasn’t trying to kill Menou this time. To be precise, she had come to collect Akari before Menou could fully betray the Faust.

Akari didn’t know the Master’s real motives. But as long as she didn’t try to save Akari now, Menou still had a chance to survive. Akari made her voice sharper than necessary, trying to act cruelly toward the other girl.

“All the more reason to leave me, then. I finally have the chance to save you…!” Akari could feel her emotions spilling out of her now. “Honestly, it’s taken long enough. I repeated everything over and over. And now I’ve finally done it. So just go away already! How can I solve anything if I depend on you?! It won’t fix a single thing!”

“So you decided to hide this from me because asking me for help wouldn’t solve anything? That’s awfully self-centered.”

“I know it is!” Akari’s face was bright red as she went on earnestly. “It can’t all work out fine in the end, okay? Your Master just told me so. There’s a way to go back to Japan and preserve memories, but it’d be better if there wasn’t. I know now that it’s better this way…!”

She tried to put on a strong front to drive Menou away. “So you don’t have to bother with me anymore, Menou. You’re always trying to save other people, save
me…
and then you die. Do you think I’m grateful for that…? Don’t be ridiculous. No one would want a friend to perish for their sake! I
really
don’t want you to disappear, Menou!”

Akari didn’t know if it was right or wrong. She just kept blurting out how she really felt. “It’s not
my
fault I repeated things so many times. It’s because you’re always trying to sacrifice yourself, Menou! Just leave me alone! You’re the last person who should be calling me self-centeeEEEEK?!”

Her nearly incoherent rant was interrupted with a shriek.

Menou had grabbed her cheek and gave it a firm tug.

“Listen, Akari. Let me ask you something. Why did these previous instances of me, or whatever, save your life? Has it ever occurred to you that you’re just getting a big head by assuming it was for your sake?”

“I-it wasn’t?”

“It wasn’t.”

Menou leaned in closer.

“It’s because you tried to protect
me
.”

Akari and Momo both had the wrong idea.

After hearing Akari’s tale, Momo had reached the same conclusion: Menou betrayed the Faust because of her friendship with Akari. It was always a possibility that Menou would let her emotions cloud her judgment.

Except that wasn’t true, because Menou didn’t value herself enough to act based on her feelings.

“Look, Akari, I’m a villain.”

Menou was ever aware of the countless awful deeds she’d committed. The bloodstained footsteps she’d left in her wake.

That was all the more reason.

“Listen, Akari. I can’t have anyone trying to sacrifice themselves for me. Do you know why I became an Executioner? I don’t think you do.” Menou thought of the time in her childhood when she chose this path. “I did it to save everyone else.”

Menou was a wicked person. Throughout her life, she’d killed many people. She’d chosen that way of life.

There was no point in anyone trying to protect someone as villainous as her. She couldn’t stand the thought of another risking their life for hers, worthless as it was.

“I refuse to let anyone die to save a monster like me.”

Even if that meant she had to die.

That was the only motive that had driven Menou to death so many times before.

Menou released Akari’s stretchy cheek, which snapped back into place. Akari rubbed the stinging spot automatically.

“Menou…”

“Yes?”

“You’re…actually pretty weird, aren’t you?”

“Be quiet.”

“Ouch!”

Menou calmly flicked Akari on the forehead.

Then she smiled as Akari clutched her head in pain.

“That’s fine by me.”

Menou stood up. Sensing that they were about to part ways, Akari stood up, too, and Menou produced something from her pocket that Akari had forgotten.

A headband, decorated with a white flower.

Menou placed the gift she’d been pressed into buying for Akari on the girl’s head and lightly brushed her hair into place.

“I’ll need some time to prepare to come after you, so it’ll take a little while…but be a good girl and wait for me this time, understood?”

If Akari shook her head, would Menou give up?