"
What caught Rinie's eye as she emerged from the study, passed through the chapel, and headed for the entrance, were three children playing a board game in front of the statue of the goddess. Originally, this monastery had been a place for study and training for priests, with little in the way of entertainment. But since it had taken in orphans, it seemed that nearby villages would occasionally donate such games and amusements.
This change had come about thanks to Rinie's instruction, which had enabled them to sell apples and increased their exchanges with neighboring villages. Yet the very person responsible for all this, Rinie herself, showed no particular interest in it. She was at least aware of the fact, having once been thanked by Ange.
"Ah, Sister Rinie!"
Perhaps noticing Rinie's gaze, the three stopped moving their pieces and ran over to her.
Rinie frowned in annoyance, but still turned her feet from the entrance toward the children approaching her.
"Come play with us too, Sister Rinie! We were just one person short!"
"...Karl, Abel, and Elze, huh. Where's everyone else?"
Recalling the three names, Rinie noticed that the usual group was smaller than normal and asked them about it.
"The others got tired of your harsh training and all fell asleep. You're really strict, you know."
"Even Sister Ange was worn out for a while, so maybe go a little easier on us?"
"B-but… thanks, Sister Rinie. Now we can all grow delicious apples together…"
Leaving aside the last child, the first two boys were bold to say such things right in front of her. But for some reason, Rinie didn't even have the energy to scold them and replied indifferently.
"Then wake someone up and play with them. I'm not interested."
Saying that, she turned her back on the three and headed toward the entrance.
Of the children she refused, the two boys, Karl and Abel, exchanged disappointed looks.
On the other hand, the last one, the girl Elze, stared at Rinie's back as she walked toward the door, then finally called out.
"Um… Sister Rinie!!"
At the voice that echoed as Elze stepped forward, Rinie stopped before the entrance and turned only her neck to look back at her.
Her dull, lightless eyes pierced Elze, but Elze did not shrink back and asked her directly.
"You're going again to defeat the bad guys, right? Just like when you saved Sister Ange back then…?"
Faced with that expectant gaze, Rinie averted her eyes and considered what Elze meant. What exactly did this "bad guy" refer to? If she meant the demons Rinie had killed when she saved Ange, then Elze was right—perhaps she was indeed going to defeat such villains again.
Judging that Elze's intention was not mistaken, Rinie was about to nod.
—How foolish.
—A champion of justice is nothing but the embodiment of contradiction.
"...?"
As that hazy thought passed through her mind, Rinie found herself unable to nod.
She pressed a hand to her head, wondering what that thought had been.
From time to time, her thinking would grow clouded like this—as if she were overlooking something important.
Meanwhile, taking Rinie's silence as affirmation, Elze stepped forward eagerly and continued.
"I knew it!! You're going to beat up the bad guys again, the ones who attacked Sister Ange, and the ones who killed my mom and dad, right?!"
At Elze's excited words, Rinie tilted her head inwardly in confusion.
She had assumed Elze meant demons, but the latter part made no sense. If she matched this with what she had heard from Ange, then the ones Elze called "the ones who killed my mom and dad" must have been humans.
So the "bad guys" Elze spoke of did not necessarily refer only to demons?
Rinie's mind grew lightly confused. She understood the meaning and concept of the word "bad guy," but also knew that words change in meaning and nuance depending on the situation.
At that moment, there was a discrepancy between Rinie and Elze regarding the word "bad guy."
To Elze, the demons who attacked them and the human mages who took her parents' lives were hardly different. Those who tried to take away what was precious to her, and those who actually did—if these were not "bad guys," then what were?
To Elze, demons who did not understand human morals and humans who had lost their morals in war were much the same. With magic that was supposed to enrich human life, they took human lives. In that single point, there was no difference between them.
In any case, Rinie did not actively hunt humans. Lacking the demonic appetite, there was no reason to bother killing things she did not want to eat. And unlike demons, whose bodies vanished, human corpses remained and left traces, which was troublesome. In her days as an executioner, her hunting style meant she always ended up alone after battle, and she alone had handled all the aftermath.
Considering the labor involved, choosing humans as prey could only be called a bad move. Done poorly, it might even attract someone like Solitaire again.
So she was about to answer that the ones who took Elze's parents were not her targets.
"—"
Suddenly, the face of a certain demon rose before her eyes.
The source of her humiliation, of that unbearable memory.
She saw again the face of the male demon who had set fire to the orchard that day and forced Rinie, who happened to be there, into submission.
That man had already been killed.
He was the demon who had stolen the original "Treasure Sword of Dakhha" from the count's domain, and later fell atop the peaks of the Schwer Mountains when Rinie rebelled against him.
And yet—why was his face now rising to her mind?
Rinie herself did not understand.
…Growing tired of thinking about so many things, Rinie finally gave a small nod, as if affirming Elze's words.
"Th-then… I… I'll go too…"
At Elze's sudden declaration, the two boys stared at her in shock.
"W-what are you saying…?"
"Yeah, Elze. Even if we went with you…"
"What could we even do?" Abel added.
The three knew how strong Rinie was when she defeated the demon who attacked Ange. They knew the accuracy of her bow, how she could pierce an apple placed far away without fail.
"B-but… we don't know how long Sister Rinie will stay here. And we're always being protected by Sister Ange… at this rate, we won't be able to do anything on our own… so… that's why…"
At Elze's words, the two boys froze and lowered their heads.
They had known this already.
Rinie would not stay here forever. And yet, it was Rinie—no one else—who had saved Ange from an enemy even Ange herself could not drive away.
They understood that if Rinie had not come that day, the Sister Ange they loved so much would not be here now.
Having already lost so much, they could not avert their eyes from that truth.
From their perspective, Ange and Rinie seemed very close.
When Ange was with Rinie, she always smiled happily, and Rinie, though blunt, had never once rejected them or Ange.
Even so, the three clearly understood that Rinie would not remain here forever.
"Just knowing how to grow apples… isn't enough anymore. So please, Sister… let me help too…"
Elze bowed her head and pleaded with Rinie.
Watching her, Karl and Abel exchanged glances, then stepped forward with resolve and pleaded in the same way.
"Please, Sister Rinie!!"
"We want to protect Sister Ange too!!"
As for Rinie's reaction—
"…I see."
With those languid, unreadable eyes, Rinie glanced at the three, then looked away and thought for a moment.
And then—
"Have you noticed Ange's lie?"
"—!?"
Seeing clearly the disturbance in the flow of their mana at those words, Rinie let out a small, impressed sound.
Judging from the stamina that still let them play after her harsh training, and from the fact they had noticed Ange's lie about "piercing the highest rock on the cliff," Rinie reconsidered them slightly. Perhaps these brats were not entirely hopeless. Their sense of crisis seemed genuine.
But—
"For you to think you can help me… a hundred years too early."
Rinie flatly rejected their request.
She had no need for dead weight in her hunts. Even alone, she could continue hunting demons. In fact, given how things had been until now, having companions would only disrupt her pace.
At her merciless words, the three drooped in disappointment—but the next words made them lift their faces again.
"…Still, if you're that determined, I suppose I can at least make you capable of guarding the orchard."
The children snapped their heads up.
Before being allowed into that farming couple's house and taught farm work, Rinie herself had once protected the orchard alone from monsters.
Though the order would be reversed for them, perhaps it was time for some of these children to take on such a role.
"At present, the orchard's defenses consist only of the imitation tools I installed and Ange's goddess magic. Especially the latter—it's a heavy burden on her."
Having described the current state of the apple orchard in the monastery garden, Rinie glanced at the children again.
"If you truly want to lessen her burden, then yes—having personnel who can drive away one or two monsters is certainly necessary."
Under Rinie's gaze, like arrows marking chosen targets, the three children's faces gradually brightened.
"Fine. I'll give you some basic instruction. For a while, you'll step away from farm work and devote your time to that instead."
"More later, when I get back," she said, turning her back and leaving through the monastery entrance.
When the door closed and her figure disappeared, the three children cried out in joy all at once and high-fived each other.
◇
After promising to teach the three how to fight, Rinie left the monastery and began searching the area for demons—her prey.
As she did, she reflected on what had happened in the monastery before leaving.
(…Why did I ask something like that?)
While reading books with Ange in the study, Ange had said something to her offhandedly. In response, Rinie had thrown out a question she herself did not understand. It had not been a carefully considered thought—before she realized it, the words had simply slipped from her mouth.
"Will the punishment you speak of fall upon someone like me, who has killed so many humans? Is there sin in someone who even ate her 'parents' and used everyone she met as stepping stones? If punishment falls upon me, does that mean there was salvation for me as well?"
Even she herself did not understand that question.
Sin? There was no such thing for her. From a demon's perspective, perhaps she truly was sinful—Rinie, who had falsified and deceived the magical power that determined hierarchy among demons. As a demon—no, as a mage—she was an utterly disgraceful existence. But she had always known that.
Therefore, the doubt she voiced clearly did not come from there.
The sin Ange spoke of was something seen purely through human values.
Why, then, had she applied that "human sin" to herself and even questioned it?
She could not make sense of it at all.
"…To begin with, I don't even have parents."
When she was born, Rinie had already been alone.
If a creature is said to recognize as parents those who are nearby at birth, then demons should not have parents at all.
And yet—why had she spoken of "parents"?
"…I don't know. Lately, it's been nothing but strange thoughts like this."
No—not just lately. Ever since she ended her battles as an executioner, it had been like this.
She still had not found the cause of the disturbances in her mana control. She still did not know why that scene kept flashing through her mind. She still could not grasp the image needed to activate her Reality Marble.
To search for the cause, she had hidden herself in the southern battle zone, a place suited for demons to lurk—but instead, the number of things she did not understand only kept increasing.
And yet—
"…What am I really doing?"
Staring at the palm of her hand, Rinie muttered with a frown.
The control of the mana flowing within her was still unstable—the greatest weapon that had made her an executioner.
To be able to control one's mana meant being able to adjust one's position in the hierarchy among lurking demon armies. Through this, Rinie had been able to infiltrate many different demon forces. And ever since that day, she had lost that very weapon.
After that, she had continued to expose one disgrace after another.
Letting Solitaire escape in their battle. Failing to control her mana—and even revealing her own lack of strength—yet still finding no solution to any of it.
In the end, since her fall from grace, she had not advanced a single step forward. If there was anything to mention, it was only that her skill with the bow had been needlessly honed.
Carrying such anguish, Rinie continued as usual—detecting demons with mana sensing and cutting them down.
Nothing ever changed in this southern region where she had hidden herself.
"Today… this should be enough."
Confirming the demons' bodies dispersing into mist in the distance, Rinie dismissed her replicated bow and murmured.
"If I'm too late, Ange gets mad."
Knowing all too well how troublesome it was to anger her, Rinie decided to call it a day and return to the monastery.
"…There's been a lot to do lately."
Teaching Ange and the children farm work. Searching the books in the study for clues to improve the "Three Spears of the Goddess."
And teaching those three children how to fight.
Of course, she could not neglect her own daily training.
(If I'm going to teach them… how should I do it?)
Walking home, Rinie looked up at the twilight sky and thought.
She could teach farming because she herself had once been taught.
But she had never taught others how to fight, nor had experience instructing anyone—so deciding how to train them was not something she could answer easily.
(For now, maybe I'll teach them some suitable techniques from among the ones I've copied…)
Ideally, she wanted a balance of two in the vanguard and one in the rear—but there was no guarantee the three conveniently possessed such aptitudes.
As for the rear, having Ange, who could use the goddess's magic, would normally suffice. But considering their motive was to lessen Ange's burden, she should avoid training them on the assumption that Ange would cover that role.
(I should talk to Ange too. She should be able to use Zoltraak and other spells besides goddess magic.)
Since they lacked eyes capable of seeing mana flows like hers, teaching them the "Imitation Magic: Air Phase" was out of the question. Teaching them swordcraft copied from him was even more impossible.
Which meant she might have to rely on Ange as a magic instructor as well. Though Rinie herself could use defensive spells against Zoltraak, she honestly lacked confidence in teaching them.
…Only now did Rinie realize how troublesome this all was.
(…How annoying.)
Still, she accepted it as inevitable.
If she was going to declare that she would protect the orchard, then at the very least they needed to be able to manage it without her.
So she would consider it an expense.
…It was then.
She suddenly stopped.
(…This mana…)
Turning toward the direction of the detected mana, Rinie leapt in a single bound onto a nearby old stone tower and looked again.
There—
"U—waaaahhh!!"
"Run! Run!!"
"Haa… haa… it's coming again… that thing…"
Panicked villagers fleeing.
"Pursue them! Don't let a single one escape!!"
"His Majesty's order is to leave no survivors!!"
"Aim carefully! Kill them all!!"
And the soldiers chasing them.
The fleeing people were villagers without magic or weapons—men and women, young and old, desperately running in terror and desperation.
In contrast, every soldier carried a magic staff, pointing it at the fleeing villagers.
From those staffs was fired the familiar murderous light that had flown countless times in the wars of the southern nations.
That light was Zoltraak—the magic that kills humans.
An attack spell so simple that any ordinary, novice mage could learn it.
(…Again.)
Rinie gazed down coldly at the scene from atop the tower.
Hidden among the trees, her presence went unnoticed. From a distance where they could not even discern human figures, Rinie easily observed them in detail.
Their Zoltraak was far from the level of a true mage, just as Ange had said.
But such a level was unnecessary. If the goal was to pierce a human body, there was no need to train until one could pierce distant rocks.
Without raising it that far, Zoltraak could easily and quickly kill people.
To Rinie, they looked less like disciplined soldiers and more like children proudly showing off their new toys.
"…Let's go back."
With no further business here, Rinie turned to leap down from the tower.
But then, something caught her eye.
"—Ah…"
A Zoltraak fired by one soldier struck the ground, and from the shock a child stumbled and fell forward.
A young girl—about the same age as the children at the monastery.
Almost all the villagers had already fled.
Except for that fallen girl—and what seemed to be her parents.
Unable to move from the impact, the girl remained frozen where she had fallen.
Her parents rushed to her side.
The father tried to lift her, but there was nowhere left to run—the three were already surrounded by soldiers pointing their staffs at them.
"Now you're the last ones."
The soldiers leveled their staffs at the frozen family.
The child trembled.
Her parents desperately pulled her close, shielding her with their bodies from every direction, glaring at the soldiers—resolved to protect their child even at the cost of their own lives.
To Rinie, the act was meaningless. There was no way that would protect the girl from Zoltraak.
The soldiers seemed to think the same, sneering as they aimed their staffs.
Mana light gathered at once in every staff.
"———"
That act should have meant nothing to Rinie.
Yet a scene she had long forgotten flashed through her mind.
"Sorry… I'm so sorry… for not realizing sooner…!"
"Thank you… for protecting our orchard all this time…!"
Memories of being wounded, of losing consciousness in their arms.
Of their tears falling.
Of the warmth she had felt then.
And somehow, that couple embracing their child overlapped with that memory.
"—Imitation Trace, activation on."
It was an unconscious reaction.
Summoning her customized bow with mana, Rinie instantly nocked a replicated arrow.
Normally, it would have been too late.
The soldiers had already gathered Zoltraak light—another fraction of a second and it would surge toward the family.
But for Rinie, that time was more than enough.
First shot.
The arrow struck the back of one soldier's head, dropping him.
She had deliberately aimed at the frontmost soldier so the direction would be obvious.
The others turned toward the source of the arrow—but in that instant, they could not even react before arrows from that very direction felled them one by one, collapsing beneath the deadly rain.
Before she realized it, the soldiers who had surrounded the family were all dead—without even understanding what had happened.
"…Ah…"
Only after everything was over did Rinie come to her senses, finally noticing the familiar bow clutched in her own hands.
(What did I just… do… and why…?)
Next she saw the family, standing there in shock, unable to comprehend what had happened.
Yet more than anyone else, Rinie herself had no idea what had just occurred.
"Why… humans…?"
There was no need.
She hadn't even been seen.
She hadn't wanted to eat them.
So why kill?
Why save?
Why—why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why.
—Why? / Because they were the same.
—What was? / Those soldiers.
—Same as what? / That demon.
—Why? / Because they were the same.
—What was? / Those parents.
—Same as what? / Those two.
"What… is the same? What does that even mean…?"
So what if they were the same?
Why did that lead to her actions?
"Are you going again… to defeat the bad guys?"
Elze's words before she left echoed in her mind.
"Because they're bad guys… so what?"
"They're bad guys like the ones who attacked Sister Ange and killed my mom and dad, right!?"
"What… is a bad guy?"
If "bad guys" meant "those who took parents away," then the soldiers certainly qualified.
If those soldiers and that demon were the same, then both were "bad guys."
So what?
Why kill because they're bad?
—If bad guys must be killed…
—If those who kill parents are called bad guys…
"Even after eating my own 'parent' and trampling everyone I met… do I have sin?"
She stared at her own palm.
It should have been spotless, pure white—yet she felt as though it were drenched in blood.
—Here… is another bad guy who killed and ate their 'parent'…
"—Eh?"
She realized the blade of a replicated treasure sword was pressed against her own neck.
And the hand gripping the hilt… was her own.
"—!"
Startled, Rinie released the sword and fled from the place, unable to stay another moment.
Unaware that her retreating figure had been witnessed by young eyes.
◇
If someone asked me what scene I would never forget for the rest of my life, I would without hesitation recall this moment.
At the time, the southern nations where my homeland lay were engulfed in fierce war, and my village was swept up in it as well.
Zoltraak—the magic we now call "general attack magic"—claimed countless lives in that war.
My father and mother… and I… nearly became among them.
"Hah… hah… hah!"
My body gasped for breath.
Holding my hand and pulling me along as we ran were my father and mother.
"Just a little more… once we reach the central nations' checkpoint… if we can get to the Holy City…"
"Just a bit more… just a bit more!"
As we ran, my parents spoke urgently.
They were the parents I loved more than anything—kind, loving, my pride and joy.
Almost everyone else fleeing with us had already been shot down by the pursuing soldiers.
Why can adults be so cruel?
We're all human.
Yet once they obtain a toy that can easily kill—Zoltraak—they fire it without hesitation.
I had seen that scene countless times.
Even so, I was lucky… at least I hadn't lost them yet.
"—Ah."
Then it happened.
An attack spell from a soldier behind us struck the ground at my feet.
The shock tore my hands from theirs, and I fell to the ground.
With the impact and pain from scraping myself, my small body couldn't move.
"Fern!!"
Crying out, my parents rushed back to me.
Please… don't come back. Leave me and run. If you don't, you'll be killed too…
But my wish was futile.
We were surrounded by soldiers pointing their staffs.
"Damn it… at least Fern…!!"
"Dear!"
They hugged me tightly, shielding me.
"Please, spare this child!"
"Touch Fern and you'll regret it! The goddess's punishment will fall upon you!"
Their arms never loosened.
Torn between wanting to stay in that warmth forever and wanting them to abandon me and run, I didn't know what to do.
Then I heard the soldiers laughing at us.
Oh, if this prayer could reach someone, anyone…
—Anyone, please…
"Please… save my papa and mama!!"
Crying, I screamed.
At that moment, from deep within the forest, something came flying toward us at incredible speed.
Faster than Zoltraak—perhaps even faster.
It struck one soldier directly, and he fell without a sound.
"W–what…? Gah!?"
"W–where is that fr—"
"Uwaaa—run—!"
In an instant, everything changed.
With their attention diverted, that "something" flew again and again, felling them one by one.
From the same direction… then suddenly from above…
The last soldier tried to flee, but too late—the falling "something" pierced him.
Soon only we three remained, frozen in shock…
And the soldiers, dead with arrows lodged in their bodies.
"Arrows…?"
"W–who in the world…?"
While my parents panicked…
From within their arms, only I saw it.
On top of an old tower hidden among the trees, far away…
A lone figure stood.
I couldn't see their face—but I clearly remember the white bow in their hands.
The miracle lasted only a moment.
That figure turned away and vanished.
I kept staring at that tower for a long time, even after they were gone.
That back… in hindsight, may have looked fragile.
But to me, at that time, it was undoubtedly…
The very image of a hero of justice.