Chapter 72

A colony of the Breton Empire, the Boreal Forest is also one of the oldest on the continent.

Formerly called the Mother Forest, the Boreal Forest was a complex system of nations bordering each other from the center of the continent.

Nevertheless, its territory, which the Duchy of Germania and the Holy Kingdom dared not touch, is now treated as a "part" of the Breton Empire.

A form of domination called colonization.

"Oooh, mosquitoes! There are so many mosquitoes! I'm itching!"

We were walking through that very forest.

With Aria and Alice by my side, as usual, and finally, a member of the troupe who claims to know these woods better than anyone else.

After the Duchy of Germania and the Holy Kingdom, we're now taking aim at the Breton Empire in earnest.

"...Maybe we should cast a simple protective spell."

Said Selena of the Dark Moon.

"The longer the night goes on, the more bugs we'll have to deal with."

"...This is not an easy environment."

Aria, who stood by my side, replied calmly. Even with her eyes covered by a black bandage, she squashes the bugs that dart around her with precision.

"Yes, it is a difficult environment for a human to adapt to."

"And yet, in the end-we adapt."

Aria said and Selena nodded in silence, smiling bitterly.

"The tenacity of human greed."

It wasn't a story I didn't know.

Beyond these deep, dark forests that rejected man, man's greed for the treasures and legacy of the elves was insatiable.

After such a long struggle, even the deepest parts of the forest, which seemed unconquerable, have fallen into human hands.

Trampled and burned by the elite forces of the Breton Empire, the so-called "Red Coats".

The true power of humans lies not in their individual abilities, but in their collective strength and ability to function as part of an organization.

In the hands of such an empire, the boreal forest bends the knee and surrenders their deepest territory to only one nation, the Empire.

Thus the paths of the forests were opened, carved and tended by human hands, and those paths have been carefully maintained by the Breton Empire.

The Empire, too, has no intention of relinquishing the depths of the forest to anyone else.

"That's all well and good as long as we stay out of their sight, but then what?"

Selena asked as we made our way through the bushes, and it was I, of all people, who answered.

"If they're building an airship this deep in the forest, and not on their own territory, they must have a good reason."

"I suppose so, but...."

"Either way, it's a small investment of resources and labor for the Empire."

No longer hesitating, the Serpent Leader is truly free, in a sense.

"If the continent's order is to be reordered in our hands, we need to squeeze the Empire's breathing room before anyone else."

"─A reorganization of order."

Selena muttered softly at the next words.

"...A reorganization of order for what?"

Selena asked, flipping through the cracked palm fronds in front of her. Her back to me, her hood draped as usual, casting shades I couldn't recognize.

"It's for the snakes."

I answered her question. My voice unwavering, without a hint of falsehood.

There is no longer a "real Rain Gray" to pretend to be.

Whatever thoughts he may have harbored, whatever hopes he may have had for the Snakes, his will no longer mattered.

Therefore, I chose to honor the snakes that had fallen from this world and become my everything beyond any realm of good or evil, right or wrong, just my own will.

"If that is your will."

Selena didn't ask more, it was her own form of acceptance, and it was in that silence that Aria broke in.

"Hoo-hoo, yes."

Her voice was the same as ever, a voice of blind obedience and loyalty to me.

"It's only the Master's will."

"Yes! If that's what he wants–Alice, I'll follow whatever he decides!"

Alice replied in a childlike voice.

A student obeys, and the director shows them the way. That was it.

I still didn't know why they showed such blind loyalty.

"-Sir."

"...Yes."

It was at the same time that a writhing silhouette emerged from the darkness of the forest.

*

~The capital of the Breton Empire~

"In addition to the Duchy of Germania's massive troop losses, it seems that the Holy Kingdom has also suffered some blows in its defense."

Said the man who had once been the head of Imperial Intelligence and now bore the name of Prime Minister as the girl sitting across from him sipped her black tea and replied wordlessly.

"There seems to be no doubt that both countries have played into the snake's clutches."

"...I suppose so."

"Why would they do that?"

Outside the window, with her back to the sun, the Queen asked, and Oswald, the Imperial Chancellor, the Queen's Bunny, the henchman, answered.

"According to the intelligence I've gotten, something untoward has happened in the clash with the Duchy forces in the kingdom's capital."

"...What anomaly?"

"A hero."

As the girl who carried the sun, Nikke Pendragon II's, heard those words her expression hardened.

"Once again, a new hero appeared."

"It would appear so."

"What is the hero's whereabouts?"

"At this point, we can only assume, with a high degree of probability, that he is dead."

Oswald Rabbit replied.

"Widespread memory erasure by the <World > has been observed since its emergence, and there is a high probability that the snake had a direct hand in the hero's disappearance."

"...Again, the will of the world."

The Queen said. There was a complexity in her voice that even she could not comprehend.

"Why on earth would it give us....?"

As if it didn't matter that somewhere in this world there was a goddess with a face just like hers, and that all the gods and stars were blessing her and her people.

"There is no need to understand the incomprehensible, Your Majesty."

The queen's rabbit replied to the incomprehensible ramblings.

"Neither the world, nor the will of the goddesses, nor the blessings they bestow, are beyond our understanding, if we treat them with the reason we know."

"And you, my lord, are in favor of moving it?"

"To put it bluntly, there is no other way to deal with the Black Snake at this time."

"...."

Seeing her hesitate, Oswald Rabbit said.

"The <Sun Spirit> given to Her Majesty the Queen is the only one who can hunt down and defeat the 'snake' according to the will of the world and the gods."

There was no hesitation in his voice.

"Next, it's our turn."

The Holy Kingdom and the Duchy of Germania, two of the continent's greatest powers have been played with and irreparably wounded by the snake. Perhaps the damage will be enough to undo all the status they've gained on the continent.

What would be left, then, would be their turn as one of the continent's three great powers, and one of the most unrivaled.

"Everything is for the defense of this country."

"...."

Queen Nikke Pendragon II bit her lip as her henchman repeated the mission statement over and over again.

"Everything, for the sake of this country...."

*

"...And, apparently, that is your new decision."

Likewise, the capital of the Duchy of Germania a member of the Black Snake who was unable to join them there in person, but had been briefed on the 'leader's decision', the man with the third rank and the name of the Golden Lord sneered bitterly.

"We will acquire the Breton Empire's aerial battleship and use it to spread the Snake power across the continent...."

The telegram in his hand reads such news, a one-sided communication that does not allow for any objections or questions.

So, putting the telegram aside, the Golden Lord rose to his feet.

"I wonder where that decision will lead us…Aren't you excited, Ergo?"

And the other shadow at his side, the automaton, bowed as if to acknowledge him.

No longer the Führer's leather-clad puppet, but his own son, a member of the Black Snake and a man of skill.

*

The hero who had miraculously appeared there was defeated and gone, just like the lie.

In its place, a false hero loyal to the Serpent has taken its place.

Jeanne, the Black Saint, the Holy Maiden, who guards the capital of the Holy Kingdom and its queen, Charlotte with Alina, the Black Sword, at her side.

The capital of the kingdom, guarded by the Two Serpents, no longer has the glory it once was had.

There was only a black night sky without even the light of stars and the future unfolding.