Chapter 6 | Sound Familiar?

translator/editor: astralmech

*

* * *

*

Olivia followed Cryer’s gaze, and there she found all of the knights standing in a row with awkward expressions. Off to the side were all of the gathered leaders, nodding their heads as if they were satisfied with their knights’ dignified expressions.

[Olivia] “Usually it’s only during the Continental War that they move with one mind like this……Hah.”

Letting out a deep sigh of frustration, Olivia realized that this was technically what she was asking for. All because she caught a certain someone by his pant leg…..

[Olivia] “This marks the end of the Continental Congress.”

The Continental Congress, gathered for the purpose of discussing world peace, came to an end, quickly wrapping up thanks to Olivia’s clear command.

But now she was leaving with a bit of work to do.

*

* * *

*

This was Cryer’s second day staying in the Empire.

Olivia needed to have a deep conversation with him about a few topics, but she had to put it off for lack of time to spend with Cryer alone.

[Emperor] “So the reason why you gathered people from all over the continent within the Imperial Palace was…”

[Olivia] “For world peace.”

[Emperor] “Princess.”

[Olivia] “Have I ever done anything nonsensical, Your Majesty?”

Obviously she hadn’t.

Olivia wasn’t very fond of going outside and was faithful in her duties as a princess, so the likelihood of her taking initiative for something foolish was unlikely.

Confident in that fact, the Emperor nodded to Olivia.

[Emperor] “I will trust you.”

And thanks to that trust, Olivia was given full control over all business concerning Cryer. Or rather, more specifically, all business revolving around this particular Continental Congress and those who had gathered in it. All without a proper explanation.

The Emperor was the biggest mountain she needed to cross, and now that it was over, it was time for Olivia to deal with the little things.

[Olivia] “Are you there?”

[Aide] “Yes, Your Highness.”

[Olivia] “Make arrangements in the west wing of the empty palace. Keep in mind the specifications of each nation.”

[Aide] “Yes. I will take care of it.”

[Olivia] “Now, please.”

[Aide] “Now?”

[Olivia] “I want you to do it now. You don’t need to follow me.”

After sending off all her aides and servants, Olivia walked alone. She didn’t need anyone trailing her on her way to visit Cryer.

Even if her aides had tight lips, the best kept secrets were ones that went untold and taken to the grave. She had called Cryer to a secret room before to meet him, and there was no need to suddenly be reckless.

[—] “Your Highness.”

But Olivia’s steps were stopped by someone suddenly appearing in front of her.

The man who approached from out of nowhere stepped before her in an exaggerated manner.

[—] “God must have recognized my sincerity. Ever since I first laid eyes upon you, I have been looking for you, Your Highness.”

Olivia didn’t say anything back. She simply stared at him.

Perhaps finding confidence in her silence, the young man exhaled slowly, holding out his hand in a motion that was somehow more exaggerated than the last.

[—] “Would you allow me the honor of introducing myself?”

Olivia stared at his hand, then held up her chin and straightened out her back.

Then, seeing the young man’s smile, Olivia gave him the brightest one she could in return.

[Olivia] “I will not.”

[—] “Then I’ll tell you……Wait, I’m sorry?”

The moment the young man spoke again, Olivia’s vibrant smile deepened.

[Olivia] “I don’t know who you are and I don’t want to. Go away.”

Though her smile was bright, her voice was cold enough to chill the man to the bone. And in that instant, this tiny princess became as huge as an impassable mountain. One that could never be crossed.

With her eyes wide open, Olivia took a step closer to him.

[Olivia] “You and I will never meet again.”

The man opened his mouth, but his throat was so tight that not a single word could leave him. Then, in total silence, he took a single step back before turning around and leaving. Like he was running away from her, disappearing from her sight.

The moment he was completely gone from her vision, Olivia held a hand to the side of her neck, rolling out her stiff shoulder.

She expected people like that to show their faces during this time, but there were more foolish men out there than she thought.

Already she could imagine more troublesome things headed her away, but before her imagination could completely overwhelm her, she heard a low voice rumble from behind her.

[Cryer] “You seem completely different from how you act with me. Like a real Imperial Princess.”

Olivia turned around, met with the sight of Cryer appearing from behind a pillar.

[Olivia] “That’s only natural. You think I don’t know who I am? And if you were watching me, you should have helped.”

[Cryer] “I was going to.”

[Olivia] “Really?”

[Cryer] “But you ended that in such a boring way. If I got involved, there definitely would’ve been blood.”

[Olivia] “What? Blood? In that case, thanks for not helping…..This was certainly not a situation that called for that. Breaking a limb or two would’ve been fine, but why are you so impatient to see blood of all things?”

[Cryer] “You say such cruel things with the eyes of a rabbit. But it’s not me who wants to see blood.”

Pushing off from the pillar, Cryer slowly stood up straight and took a step forward. As he approached Olivia, his entire shadow engulfed her, step by step, in that quiet hallway—the afternoon sun shining.

Before long, Cryer was right above her, looking down with sunken eyes, brimming with hatred and anger. As if he were an active volcano, moments from erupting.

With a voice that sounded like it was crawling from the abyss itself, the name of his master flowed from his lips.

[Cryer] “The one who wants to see blood, to destroy this entire continent is the master of this goddamn contract. An ancient god.”

*

* * *

*

While Olivia was with Cryer, the Crown Prince of Nordian and Greta were with each other within the confines of the royal palace.

[Greta] “If you listen to me, everything will be alright.”

Greta smiled kindly as she stroked the Crown Prince’s head.

[Crown Prince] “Mm.”

The Crown Prince responded meekly, rubbing his face against the fabric of Greta’s skirt like a kid. All while she continued to gently pet his hair.

[Greta] “My father was rough with you, but I would never do that. There’s no need.”

[Crown Prince] “Greta won’t…..”

[Greta] “Yes. After all, I’m better than my father in every way.”

And by ‘every way’, she meant that literally. Whether it was as a person, when it came to magic, or even when it came to making binding contracts.

[Greta] “It will all be over soon.”

[Crown Prince] “Soon?”

[Greta] “Yes. Even you will be allowed to return to God’s embrace. Along with everyone else.”

[Crown Prince] “Then……Will you go too, Greta?”

[Greta] “No. I can’t go with you.”

Lifting up her hand, Greta placed it upon the Crown Prince’s face, covering his eyes. The pressure was so strong that it was like she was trying to burst his eyes, but even so, the Crown Prince did not resist.

Greta smiled gently and sweetly, with a voice almost like she was singing.

[Greta] “Once this world has been purified, I will remain with the one I love most—my beloved Cryer. It will be just the two of us, left in this clean world.”

*

* * *

*

Even from this distance, Greta’s eyes were seeking out Cryer, who was still in the Empire. But all the while, Olivia and Cryer were exiting the hallway, moving silently.

[Olivia] “No one will come here.”

Olivia sounded so confident, Cryer instinctively took a look around.

[Cryer] “How the hell did you even find this place?”

[Olivia] “I tried to survive here. There’s no place within the Imperial Palace where I haven’t tried to escape to.”

[Cryer] “Shouldn’t there be a secret room or a passage for the Imperial family to use during an attack?”

[Olivia] “There is. But you managed to tear them apart with a single swing of your sword. They crumbled so easily, so now my trust in those places is basically zero.”

Olivia vaguely swung her arm around, flipping her hand over and looking at her palm. Then, she let out an exceedingly heavy sigh.

[Olivia] “Now that I think about it, I died in a lot of ways.”

[Cryer] “What was that?”

[Olivia] “It’s nothing. I just remembered how many times you’ve killed me.”

[Cryer] “Considering I’ve apparently killed you a lot, you’ve become amazingly brazen since you first came to talk to me…….Actually no, you’ve been shameless right from the start.”

[Olivia] “When you die and come back to life, you tend to discover a temper you never knew you had before, and then you eventually realize it’s much better to do and say whatever you want.”

[Cryer] “You died and came back to life…..”

[Olivia] “I told you. I died and then returned to the past.”

Counting out how many times she’d come back, she held up her fingers one at a time, then waved her hand. But it was kind of stupid to talk about her repeated deaths, especially in front of the person who killed her…..

[Olivia] “Hoo….ha…..hoo…ha…”

Olivia took several deep inhales and exhales, patting her hand against her chest.

[Olivia] “Anyway. Can you talk about things now? Who orders….or no wait, not to see blood. The reason for the Continent War….wait, no I mean about the contract.”

Though she kept stumbling over her words, making mistakes as she went along, she still managed to successfully convey her point.

Crossing his arms, Cryer leaned his back against the moss dappled wall.

The cold from the stone wall caused a chill to permeate his whole body, but even this was ten million times better than feeling the half-hearted warmth of another person.

Echoing in the air was a booming silence, but it wasn’t calm. It was more like the quiet stillness before a raging storm. The crisp wind tickled Olivia’s cheek, and her lips turned a touch blue from this unknown chill.

And there was a soft and visible breath that escaped her when she parted her lips.

[Cryer] “The contract.”

The moment Cryer spoke, Olivia unconsciously swallowed hard.

Finally, the most important clue she needed for her survival!

[Olivia] “Ye……Ah, what?”

Olivia staggered back at the darkness suddenly obscuring her vision and her head being pushed back against her will. Instinctively she reached for the large hand that was now covering her eyes. As she felt around, it took a second for her slender fingertips to wrap around his thick and strong wrist.

[Olivia] “Wh, what are you doing?”

Having covered her eyes with one hand and pushed her back, Cryer took a second to answer.

[Cryer] “This story isn’t a very nice one, especially not nice enough to warrant such sparkling eyes.”

[Olivia] “What?”

Pulling his hand away from her eyes, Cryer continued.

[Cryer] “It’s simple. A mad man with magic raises a man from the dead and makes a pact with an old god. Then, that resurrected man is forced to become a slave for the ancient.”

His darkened expression reflected how sunken his eyes had become. His voice was no different—carrying with it a shade of darkness, even as he told this story with a dull and dry tone.

[Cryer] “The slave will plunge this world into a sea of blood, ‘purifying’ it according to the will of his master. In other words, the apocalypse.”

Olivia looked at Cryer, her eyelashes fluttering like dandelions swaying in the wind. Seeing that, Cryer’s lips tensed.

[Cryer] “How’s that? Sound familiar to you? Crazy wizards, demon lords, the end of the world—like things out of a fairy tale.”

[Olivia] “But….”

Olivia swallowed harshly, parting her dry lips.

[Olivia] “In the end……the hero always wins.”

[Cryer] “Sure. Because those are just fairy tales. But this is reality and there are no heroes. There’s not even a demon lord. You must’ve seen it before your return. There’s only a slave that raises his bloody sword with a roar.”

Cryer was being sarcastic.

A roar?

This was no roar. Only a cry.

A cry of bitter grief and suffering.

He held a hand to his chest, crushing the skin that had been branded with the seal of a slave. A stigma that could not be erased even if he ripped out his bones or tore off his flesh.

He wanted to get out.

He wanted to escape the bindings of a slave.

But this was his reality. His shackles were a boundless wall, not even allowing light to shine through. An inescapable, unfathomable, and indestructible wall. It blocked his way, and he could not break through nor could he overcome it

And eventually, he stopped wishing for freedom and instead wished only for an end.

But even wishing for that was like trying to crawl through an endless cave with all his limbs cut off.

Silence flowed between Cryer and Olivia.

Then—

[Cryer] “What…..are you doing?”