Epilogue ─ Where Two Fit, Four Fit

The night had come.

I went for a walk to think about what to do with Lucy.

Deep down I was attracted to her, but at the same time I prioritized her feelings.

I am a very irritable man it seems.

But... I am really worried about her future. Today she greeted me out of politeness, but immediately turned her face away from mine.

I want her to be happy, but at the same time I don't want those two to cry again.

Wait a minute... I forgot!

Ellen and Lecia became my lovers!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!

I'm so stupid! But why am I thinking about this now?

Is it... that deep down I'm scared after her rejection when I tried to save her in the mansion at Jude's house?

I think it might be that. I had the same thing happen with Airi when she confessed to me, I avoided her on purpose.

Damn Ixion, he's right when he says I need a psychiatrist.

As I stood up, I was going to run out to find Lucy to talk to her.

Before I turned around, I saw her.

"Good evening."

Sara was standing off to the side.

"Sara? Is something wrong?"

It was weird seeing her here.

"Nothing really. Can I have some of your time?"

"Sure."

We sat and talked.

We looked up at the beautiful starry sky.

In the distance I watched a Rosenberg Household limousine waiting for her, the chauffeur was having a coffee.

"You know I have a lot of suitors now don't you?"

She brought up a topic like that out of nowhere.

"Yes, I heard that now that the relationship between your house and Tom's broke up, there are a lot of interested parties."

"That's true, just today I came out of a party where several guys talked to me, it was really exhausting."

That explained her beautiful blue dress she was wearing.

"A-And... was there any lucky ones?"

"Why do you want to know, are you interested to know if I already have a man for my future?"

"A-A little out of curiosity..."

Sara laughed at my innocent curiosity.

"I'm sorry to tell you no. There was no one, there were over a hundred guys there and I didn't pick any of them."

I was taken aback by that.

"Really? And, why?"

Sara turned to tell me.

"Because I'm not interested in being with anyone other than you."

The moment she said that she came over and hugged me.

"The last few weeks have been very strange for me."

"There's the Lucy thing, the Tom and Jude thing, you being the guardian. That's all been a big shock to me. The weirdest thing, I've stopped thinking about Rudel and thinking about you."

When Sara was talking about "Rudel" she was referring to the Rudel who lived here in Aster. It's a little confusing to me sometimes.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Really I... I don't want to be with anyone else but you."

She lifted her face, our eyes met.

Her beautiful green eyes sparkled in the moonlight above us.

"I'll give you some advice. Don't hold back."

"Huh?"

"I'm sure deep down in that cowardice of yours, you want to have Lucy with you."

"I-I... I just think about what's best for her."

"That's why she's upset with you, you fool."

"...!"

"Sometimes a woman doesn't want you to think about what's best for her. What she wants is for you to show that you want her."

That... sounded a little similar to Lecia, deep down she wanted to be happy. She wanted her happiness more than anything.

"Lucy wants you to take her and make her happy. She doesn't care about the rest, she cares about you letting her know that you are the only man for her. If she doesn't think that, it's because you can't be trusted. So, cut the crap and go with your instincts."

"What do you want to do now?"

Sometimes I forgot that this wasn't the world I lived in. Women had a totally different way of thinking than I did.

Erselica got used to it fast since she is a little slut. For her it's no problem to have mistresses.

"But what about Lucy?"

"Didn't you hate her?"

"I hate her like you can't imagine. But, I'm willing to close that dark chapter of my life if I have someone to help me close it."

"What does your family think?"

"My mother doesn't care who my husband is. Only that he makes me happy. My father, on the other hand, is really interested in getting along with you, the technology of the Kingdom─ rather your lost item is something he would like to implement in Aster. If it's because of the great nobles, there are three houses that have lost influence thanks to your actions, so the other two don't really care about your situation."

Randolf was a bit similar to Siegwald, he evidently wanted to use Ixion's technology, but Ixion himself said that just like the airships and Armor of my family's territory, it was impossible to replicate it. It would be like a very poorly made second-rate copy if it happens.

In that case.

"I would feel really strange if you talked about ´Rudel´ in front of me."

"I'm the one who would feel weird if I did. Besides, you'll have Lucy by your side, won't you? You should know that she won't allow us to sleep under the same roof."

"Understood."

With that said, I moved my lips closer to hers.

The soft sensation of flesh on flesh was gratifying.

Sara's tongue and mine were one.

We were connected for a while through our mouths.

She was the first to pull away.

"With this we're finally lovers, right?"

"Yes."

She laughed a little.

"Personally I'd like to know what kind of face Lucy would make when she finds out."

That scared me a little.

"I-I'd like to wait a while for that. Since I still have to solve Lucy's problem."

Sara stood up and placed her hands behind her back.

"Make sure I won't take too long. I want to tell my parents that they have a new son now."

Right, there's that matter.

"What about your little brother?"

Sara's tone changed from cheerful to a dark one.

"That kid's a basket case, just forget it."

Huh, was Sara like that with her brother? Well, I don't necessarily get along with Lyle or Bram, but I don't hate them.

Every family has its issues.

"Well, that was it, I guess I'm off now, I'll see you around the vacations. There's a lot of work to do by then."

Sara was walking away, I could see her back.

I stood up and went straight home.

◇◇◇

Sara was walking happily towards the limo, on her chest was a rose, it was a strange black rose. Something like that was extremely rare to find.

"Rudel, did you see me? Very soon we will be together."

Sara was looking at the night sky, but her eyes were not reflecting the moonlight, only the dark sky.

◇

The second semester ended and we entered a long autumn vacation for the month of September. I─ along with Lucy, left Erselica's mansion.

The reason? It was Felicia.

Felicia's words, "Miss Alisa will be worried if you continue to live in Erselica-san's mansion forever," were reasonable after all.

When I returned to Aster's house that I used at first, the inside of the room was covered in dust.

"Uwa~, this is horrible."

Felicia rolled up her sleeves.

"We have to prioritize cleaning the bedrooms and kitchen. Then, let's open the window first to let fresh air in. We need to air out the mattress."

Ada also followed behind Felicia.

Although I told her it was okay if she stayed in Erselica's mansion, she firmly refused because she was my maid and also an observer.

Observer─ it was good for her to know, but it was not good if she said that to the person who should watch.

Gosh, this person is hopelessly cute.

The two of them headed to the second floor. Then Ixion saw the baby bed that had been left behind her.

I walked over to it.

"Come to think of it, we brought this here."

Lucy-chan─ the pet bunny I had, was using this when we were taking care of her here. But now that Lucy-chan was gone, so they brought it here because it wasn't being used anymore.

Lucy also looked nostalgic.

"This is the baby crib we were using before the summer vacation, isn't it? I see, so it was placed here."

The necklace was still attached to Lucy's neck.

She had decorated it herself when she went to the academy to keep it out of sight. At this time she had returned to her bright personality as before.

But she looked lonely somewhere about her.

"However, you could still stay at Erselica's mansion Is it okay for you to stay with me?"

Lucy scratched her head when I asked her that.

"That's a nasty way of asking. Well, there's also this feeling of mine that wants to stay there. It's fun there everyday, and Erselica-chan is also kind."

"Eeh~, is that girl nice?"

"She's kind. But you know, she has romantic relationships with those five. Even if I don't intend to, I often catch them in the act."

I used to forget, but those five were Erselica's lovers.

When I lived with them, I sometimes encountered that kind of scene. Lucy also seemed to take that into consideration.

However, that girl seemed reluctant to have Lucy move in.

She seemed really depressed when she heard that Lucy, Felicia and Ada, who had been helping with the housework, would be leaving.

The number of servants in their place had also dwindled, even then they were still short of hands.

In the first place, that mansion was too big.

But there was also no need to refuse if Lucy said she wanted to come to my house.

"Well, never mind."

Lucy clasped her hands behind her back after I said that. She looked shy.

"Hey, Rudel do you know about what a local wife is?"

Lucy laughed sheepishly when I couldn't answer.

"I thought maybe, becoming one might be okay, but I wonder what you would think about it."

It was an attractive proposition for a man but could Lucy be happy with that?

"If we had children, I'd agree to you coming to see them every weekend, with Schwert I'm sure you could get there in the morning if you were out at night. I also wouldn't mind if we wrote letters to each other every so often to see how we were doing."

"You, are you okay with that, you're really not going to regret it?"

Lucy's expression turned depressed.

"I'm sorry. How I thought it might be impossible. It was embarrassing to say that, and it makes me a little sad."

"You're wrong, I─!"

Ixion, who had been listening to our talk, seemed to have been waiting for this moment to talk to Lucy.

"Is it okay for me to give a report?"

"W-what, say if you're here!"

Ixion looked at my left arm as Lucy was being surprised.

"I've found a way to remove the necklace."

Finally? I asked Ixion why it took so long.

"Took you a long time, huh."

"I was taking my time to do it safely. The method to get it off didn't take long to figure out, but I also researched how to do it safely. Cutting it off with the materialized chain will put the least burden on the body when removing it."

"Isn't that method too simple? It seemed Lucy thought so too."

"Then we should have cut it off immediately."

"If we try to cut it carelessly, the collar will tighten and detach the head. Physically."

"... Hey, will it really be okay, is that really the safest method?"

Lucy was getting scared.

"Among the chain rings, there's only one of them that won't trigger the effect. The necklace can be removed after we destroy that one. No problem since I identified its location."

I looked at Lucy.

"Should we?"

"U~m, I'm scared, but. I'm thinking that maybe it's okay to leave it like this too."

"Huh!?"

"B-Because, this is also one of my few ties with you, Rudel."

It was sweet when she said that, but she also wanted to avoid suspicion of having an abnormal hobby.

When those who knew about the cursed necklace saw Lucy, they would immediately look at the bracelet on me and grimace "Uwah!".

"It's not good. It's causing difficulties in our daily lives, so let's take it off."

"Rudel you idiot. I... I wouldn't mind if others thought I was your property."

That answer was so perverted, it reminded me so much of a certain drill girl.

Ixion showed which part of the chain should be cut.

"It's the part near the necklace. Master, you must pull the chain, then I will cut it with a tool."

"I understand."

I materialized the chain and stretched it tautly, but the part to be cut was near Lucy's neck.

When I pulled it, I felt strange for some reason.

Lucy too, had nervously closed her eyes. It made my heart pound strangely.

"Then wait while I prepare the tool. The tool is ready at Schwert, I'll head there to retrieve it now."

"You, say it beforehand!

"You were the one who misunderstood, Master. Then excuse me for now."

Ixion climbed out of the window and walked over to Schwert. Me and Lucy looked at each other and laughed.

"Aah~, I'm sorry. I misunderstood that this can be taken off right away."

"It's okay. I misunderstood too. Still, the feeling of the necklace became stronger with the chain materialized like this."

Lucy held up the chain and made a clinking sound with it. It certainly made it feel obscenely stronger.

"It certainly did. It made me feel strange."

Lucy continued my teasing.

"Rudel, you pervert."

"What, should I say that's not okay? I wouldn't mind playing along with this game."

I moved closer to her as I made lewd motions with my fingers. Lucy covered her chest with both hands and pulled away.

"What are you doing while the sun is still so high, you idiot?"

Lucy giggled gleefully.

A relationship where you can joke with each other is really important, isn't it?

But, I didn't back down, I walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders.

"What we talked about that day is true."

"Even if you say so, how to believe you?"

"Because I made up my mind, I'll never run away from my problems again."

I moved to her lips and kissed her. This was a true lovers' kiss. Sara's words about heeding my wishes and not thinking about the consequences I am following them to the letter.

I withdrew my lips from hers, we were staring at each other, it looked like Lucy wanted another one.

Then the bedroom door opened.

Felicia was looking at me with a cold stare.

"... Rudel-san, what are you doing?"

"Huh? Well it's something you were bound to sooner or later─"

I tried to overlook it with a smile, but then the door opened all the way and showed other people behind Felicia.

Far behind was Ada, who was trembling as she held the sapling jar... though the problem was the other two people standing there.

◇◇◇

Around the time the academy entered the long vacation. A single airship entered the port of Aster.

It was Aurora with her trademark white helmet.

Airi stepped off the ramp and waved her hand towards Alisa as her hand carried a large travel bag.

"Alisa, let's go fast!"

Alisa, who was also carrying a bag as big as Airi's, smiled seeing Airi like this.

"Rudel won't run away even if we don't hurry."

The two left immediately for Aster when the long vacation arrived. They had taken care of almost all their affairs beforehand for this.

Airi had been looking forward to this day that she couldn't sleep last night.

"Hehe. I want to surprise Rudel-san quickly."

"I understand. I agree with that as well."

It seemed that Alisa was also looking forward to this. She was smiling a lot since before they arrived at Aster.

Previously in the summer vacation, they couldn't see each other much in Aster. This time they planned to sightsee leisurely.

Bell was looking at the two of them.

"It looks like you two are having a good time. However, over there it also looks like they'll be really busy with work."

Alisa turned her eyes towards another airship that joined them from the Kingdom.

"They'll have a lot of work waiting for them, after this."

This time many airships were visiting from the Kingdom.

They also acted as Alisa's guards, but the other ships were also boarded with the diplomats that were sent to dialogue with Aster.

The scandals with Derrick and Jude had happened in succession.

The Kingdom could not keep quiet either with the latest case happening this time. They had already had several conversations before this.

A large number of Kingdom staff were sent for the final adjustment of the agreement.

Airi said.

"Rudel-san will be surprised this time."

Alisa also agreed.

"Yes. Well, I also wanted to ask you many things about what happened in Aster, even if I have to omit my job. The information that came to the Kingdom is little. Bell won't talk either."

"Oh, are you criticizing me? However, there's a proper reason for this~."

"Geez."

Alisa was speaking with a smiling face. But she frowned when she saw some airships enter the harbor.

Airi tilted her head.

"What's wrong?"

"... Those are Weiss's airships. There are a lot of them."

The airships of Weiss Holy Magic Empire entered Aster Harbor in large numbers.

◇

My eyes widened, sweat beading on my forehead.

There was the smiling Airi... She was bowing her head with her hands clasped together.

"Hee~, so you two are always pulling this kind of prank."

"A-Airi!"

There was also Alisa with an expressionless face.

"I'm here too. Even so, we didn't visit this house before, but... to think this, that there's a secret you're hiding here. I never imagined it."

"S-Secret? What do you mean secret─ hah!"

Alisa and Airi were sending their gazes towards the baby bed.

In another stroke of bad luck, they saw that Lucy's necklace and my bracelet were connected by a chain.

Airi's smiling face was scary. Her beautiful blue eyes were slightly half-open, the beautiful blue iris disappeared by a dark glow.

"Rudel-san, you will give us an explanation, won't you?

"Th-This person here is─ hah!"

I noticed another danger just as I was about to introduce Lucy to them. I remembered a single fact.

It was in our first semester.

I took care of the rabbit I had because she was injured, that rabbit was named "Lucy".

And the one that was here was also Lucy. I hadn't told them that, the rabbit, little Lucy, had died.

I didn't tell them because I didn't want to worry them. But now it got extremely bad. Lucy came forward with a worried look on her face.

"This. I-I'm─ Lucy. Lucy Algrand. I go to the same academy with Rudel. H-Huh? I introduced myself before didn't I?"

The Lucy with the necklace introduced herself like this.

It was a long time ago, so Lucy introduced herself for the second time, but it seemed like doing that was problematic.

It was like pouring oil on the fire.

"We met before at Erselica's mansion, didn't we? Wait, Lucy, you say? I see, that's how it is. How stupid of me, I didn't realize it before."

When Alisa started laughing, Felicia straightened her back.

She was focusing on being a background so she wouldn't stand out as a servant.

Stop, don't run away alone!

Airi's misunderstanding was also picking up speed.

"Little Lucy. I heard she was a seventeen year old rabbit, but that's how she is. I was misunderstanding it. So she's really a human. I misunderstood by thinking she was an animal."

"Y-You're wrong! Little Lucy, the rabbit, really existed!"

"I didn't know Rudel-san has that kind of hobby, I really didn't know this side of you."

Airi's face became gloomier.

I couldn't stop sweating.

Alisa's gaze was fixed on the baby bed.

"In that case, this place, is this your love nest with your little Lucy-chan, huh? I never dreamed that your letter to us was written from your life with your lover. Rudel, you really are amazing."

It sounded like a compliment, but it wasn't.

Her eyes at me seemed to be burning with a flame of indignation. The glow of her red irises grew like a flare as the atmosphere was filled with the magical power of both of us.

If I made even one mistake, I could feel that Alisa would become enraged and really burn.

(Shit!) I was feeling chills.

Even if I tried to make an excuse, the situation was really bad. Airi asked Lucy.

"Lucy-san, we've met before, haven't we? I've thought it was suspicious since then. You knew that Rudel-san has us as fiancés, didn't you? Or, maybe he didn't tell you?"

Lucy, who was questioned like that, apologized to Airi.

"I'm... sorry."

(Wait! Don't apologize! We have to dispel the misunderstanding here first!)

That's right, if Lucy said it was a misunderstanding if she said so, would the misunderstanding be resolved?

When I looked at Felicia, she looked away from me.

(This woman, are you betraying me at this important time!? N-Now that I think about it, her gaze had been cold at times when she looked at me!)

I looked toward Ada for help.

Ada panicked with her mouth opening and closing at just the sound of "Awawawa".

"W-well, young Master Rudel kidnapped Lucy from a marriage ceremony! W-with that, the two of them are now closer to each other, that's all!"

The terrified Ada was pouring even more oil on the fire. No, she wasn't pouring oil, she was dropping a bomb.

I was happy that she was trying to explain the circumstance that I saved Lucy and other things to dispel the misunderstanding. I was happy but, unfortunately, she was accelerating Alisa and Airi's misunderstanding.

"You say he kidnapped a bride? Rudel, you will tell me in more detail, won't you? And about your hobby too, this is a good opportunity, so let me hear all about it as your fiancé."

Alisa stomped her foot on the floor.

"Then Rudel-san really likes Lucy-chan. You've even prepared a baby bed."

Airi was approaching with her smiling face and that dark shadow behind her.

What was the meaning of this?

Why didn't the two of them know what had happened in Aster?

Certainly, my contact with them was only minimal, but Bell should have gone back to them.

Hadn't they heard about the situation from her? And then I noticed one more fact.

Why didn't Ixion tell me that the two were coming? If it was him, then I should have noticed it.

And then, when I considered that he wasn't here at this moment─

"Y-You set me up, huh. You set me up, huh, Ixion!"

Alisa and Airi brought their faces closer towards me.

"Rudel, I want you to confess everything! Every wrong word you say will be a nail in our future!"

"Rudel-san, this time you won't be able to use your excuses or run away! You'll tell us everything you've done or I'll really get mad at you! You'll get a strictly extra ´Bad-!´ this time!"

And then it hit me.

The scene that looked like me cheating on my fiancés from every angle. The betrayal of the AIs.

And then all the misunderstandings that had been building up so far to create this extremely bad situation.

Could it perhaps be checkmate for me!!!?

I vowed to face my problems, but...

I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS!!! THEY ARE REALLY SCARY AS HELL!

◇◇◇

"You set me up, eh, Ixion!"

Ixion looked at the projection of Rudel shouting in the mansion.

"In society, it's the male's fault if he was cornered in checkmate, those are Master's own words. Now it can be applied to the Master himself splendidly."

The location was Schwert's deck. He and Bell were facing each other there.

"You are also horrible."

"Is that so?"

It was Ixion's instruction for Bell not to tell Alisa and Airi about the detailed circumstance.

Why did he do such a thing? The cause was Rudel.

After the war against the former commonwealth, Rudel developed a trauma, that caused him to wake up at night screaming in panic.

Ixion made him some pills to calm his anxiety. This had an unexpected effect.

That was that his sex drive, his pheromones increased dramatically.

Ixion thought. "It would be really dangerous to leave Master in that state, not only because it would hurt his mind and body. but also his acquaintances would be affected."

Thanks to those pheromones, Rudel's body odor made women intimately close to him develop a desire.

Ixion called this "mating time for a male and female." So he made a decision without consulting his master.

"There is no better cure for problems than a little body contact." So he planned various things in the Kingdom while Rudel believed he was not being watched.

On his date with Ellen, that night with Lecia and in the room with those two. Ixion left some incense that fanned the flame of desire in the women.

Ixion's plan to relax his master and get him to stop being a cowardly jerk seemed to be paying off, but─

"I didn't imagine the effect would wear off so quickly when he went to rescue Lucy, let alone now."

"That's because Airi-chan has increased his strange powers, I think?"

"Geez, if only the Master was like they want them to be deep down."

Bell imitated Rudel's voice in a different tone than her own.

"Alisa-chan, Airi-chan, don't worry, I'll give you all my love equally, you don't need to get upset!"

"Aah, I'm really upset! Master idiooooooooot! Be the greedy man you say you are and don't chicken out just because of those two! If you show them your love like you did that night, I'm sure there would be no trouble."

"... Bell, the problem is not that. The problem is that Master overthinks things, a little bit of chastisement will help him to stop that."

"I hope so, I'll be very upset that I missed the Queen's first night for taking care of Erselica-chan if he didn't show his manhood."

"Well, that's alright. Because otherwise this Master might let go of the sacred tree sapling. That thing is an extremely precious specimen."

Bell also agreed with securing the sapling.

"I agree with that opinion. But, it is really devilish to create this scene of misunderstanding to force Master to bring the precious token home in the Kingdom."

"At this rate, both Master and Lucy can't be happy if we don't rush things. Then this is all right. Master will also become happy and we will also be able to get a precious sample."

Ixion had shown the data to Bell.

It was the information he had researched on Aster.

He did not report it to Rudel, but to Aster─ especially the origin of the sacred tree was suspicious.

Even Ixion could not investigate it.

"It's also unusual that you can't investigate it."

"A ruined military base of old humanity. I have discovered the possibility that the sacred tree existed long before and only appeared above this place. Its size is unusually large to support the weight of the islands, but it remains stable."

"Oh really? In that case, there might be an ally of ours there."

"Yes. Also, the plant called the sacred tree is incomplete."

"Nn~, somehow I can't see it logically. How could something that big have appeared out of nowhere?"

"That's the question, there is no trace of its DNA with the database of recorded fauna both in ancient times and now. In fact, this thing cannot be analyzed as a living thing like the others."

Ixion and Bell's conversation was still in the hypothesis stage.

They were wondering whether the sacred tree could be an artificially created plant or not. Bell was also very interested.

"A nearby military base of old humanity. And then, a plant with its own will that grants divine protection to humans. Certainly, it's hard to believe that the plant is something natural."

It was too convenient. That was one of the reasons for his suspicion.

"... But what do you mean by incomplete?"

Ixion answered Bell's question.

"About the reason for the withering of the sapling, it is caused by the sacred tree not bestowing the magic element needed for it to grow. Even when a sapling appeared, it will wither immediately because the sacred tree is killing it."

"Wait! You're saying the tree purposely kills the saplings?"

"That's certainly not natural for a plant. Maybe because it's long-lived, it's waiting for a strong sapling to appear?

"When Jude and the Master fought, there is evidence that the sacred tree intentionally allied itself with Jude. It was as if it was lending him the strength to defeat the Master who is the guardian of the sapling."

Bell confirmed the data at the time.

"Wasn't it because Jude swore the oath to the sacred tree?"

"I detected no reaction from that."

The sacred tree brought immense benefit to Aster, but it was flawed as living things. Its flaw was how it didn't multiply.

Why did it become like that?

Both Ixion and Bell still couldn't find the answer. Bell's interest was growing stronger.

"Absorbing the magic element to grow... that's convenient for the old humanity. It decreases the density of the magic element in the atmosphere. If that's the case, perhaps the sacred tree itself is a legacy of the old humanity?"

"It is not clear."

To investigate that as well, securing the sapling was a priority for them. They also wanted to investigate their priestess Lucy.

For that it would be ideal to keep her at Rudel's side.

"Are you making use of the Master?"

"Why would you think that?"

"You create an excessively absurd situation for the sake of investigating the sapling."

"Is that so? If Alisa knows the circumstances of the two of them, it will increase the possibility that she will invite Lucy to the Kingdom. One of Master's concerns will also disappear. I think there's no problem with that?"

"That Master right now is right in the middle of a bloodbath?"

Rudel kept shouting at the projection showing what was going on in the house.

Rudel was going through difficulties right now where he was cornered with nowhere to escape.

"Ixion, I'll never forgive you. bastard! Ah, wait. you two, this is a misunderstanding! It's not that I hold a grudge against Ixion for not helping me hide things. If it's those two, they should've known you two were coming here beforehand, huh? If I knew you two were coming, was I going to hide the evidence? ... N-No! Somebody help me! I don't care if it's you, Ixion, help!"

Bell, who was also implicated by Rudel, was offended and lost her will to go help.

"Master is horrible! Hmph! You can be scolded for a bit more."

"I agree. Master should reflect on himself a little more."

Seeing Rudel being scolded, Ixion and Bell seemed to be enjoying themselves a bit.

After watching for a moment, Bell asked him about something she was curious about.

"Ah, that's true. More importantly, have you managed to determine what happened behind the scenes of that case?"

"No evidence yet, but I conclude there's no question about it."

What Bell was curious about was the reason for the Rosenberg Household's victory against the Vermillion Household.

How did Vermillion Household, which should possess a superior emblem, lose to Rosenberg Household?

Ixion was investigating the reason.

"I assumed that Vermillion Household, both its guardian and priestess, lost their emblem before Rosenberg Household destroyed them."

"So Sara-chan's dad killed them because he knew they were weakened?"

"I don't think so. In the first place, it was impossible for him to know."

"But what is certain. Is that something strange is going on here."

"Bell, the day the Master saved Jude, I found something similar to that."

"You're talking about the creature we fought that day?"

"Yes. Analysis indicated it wasn't similar in DNA, but it was similar in hostility. That thing, it seemed to be controlling Jude like what happened with the Master last year."

"Are you saying that─?"

"Yes. It seems to be back."

Ixion looked at the sacred tree from his position.

"Though I hope I'm wrong and that it was just a fluke."

◇◇◇

Herring Household territory.

A group of armed units entered a subway cave.

The cave was recently discovered due to reconstructions of the territory.

Upon entering, a strong smell of rot and sulfur filled the place.

Even inside the cockpits, pilots felt nauseous.

As they went deeper, they found a graveyard of very old armed units.

It looked like a war was fought there.

They illuminated the place, and in the middle of that darkness the lights were centered.

There─ a gigantic body was trapped by some roots.

Its right arm was destroyed.

Its legs were damaged.

Its left arm held an axe and in the front, the cabin was totally pulverized.

That machine looked exactly like Battler.

And as a soldier approached to check.

*Badump*

*Badump *

*Badump*

They heard small but loud sounds of a heartbeat.

________________________________

End of Volume 5.

The mini "Rescue Lucy Arc" and "Guardian and Priestess of the Sacred Tree Arc" concluded.