Chapter 4: The Memoirs of Alicia III ~~Truth~~
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock…
The sound of the pendulum clock’s steady rhythm echoes, prodding the edges of a consciousness submerged in darkness.
“…Ngh…?”
As Glenn gradually regains himself from the haze of his foggy awareness, he finds himself standing in…
“…A study room…?”
A dimly lit study, surrounded on all four sides by walls lined with towering bookshelves.
At the far end stands an antique desk, atop which a candelabrum’s faint, flickering flame casts a feeble glow, faintly illuminating the dark interior of the study.
A draft seems to slip in from somewhere, causing the candle’s flame to waver now and then, making the shadows cast by its pale light writhe like abyssal creatures lurking in the depths.
And—hidden within those shifting shadows,
Scratch… scratch, scratch scratch… scratch… someone is seated at the desk, engrossed in fervent work.
Dipping a quill into an inkpot, they are writing something.
Glenn recognizes the figure.
A beautiful middle-aged woman dressed in the opulent gown of royalty, her long blonde hair elegantly pinned up.
That woman, who bears a faint resemblance to Rumia—
that person he once confronted in the deepest recesses of the Hidden Academy—
“…Alicia… III…?”
At that, the woman pauses her work, setting down her quill.
She removes her glasses, fixes her gaze on Glenn, and smiles brightly.
It is an unmistakably deranged, broken smile.
“Hehe, ufufufufu… You’ve come, haven’t you? But… it’s over.”
She opens a drawer in the desk and retrieves something.
“I won’t let things go your way.”
She presses that something firmly against her temple.
“It’s futile, you know? This memoir… no matter how much you try to conceal, seal, or destroy it, it will always return to that place… until it reaches the hands of those who inherit my will. That’s the kind of existence it is. This is my… final act of defiance.”
“Hey, what are you talking about…?”
“Someday… someday, without fail… someone who carries my will shall bring you down…!”
With a cheerful tone, Alicia III declares this… and pulls the trigger of that something.
Bang!
That something—a flintlock pistol—roars, and the large-caliber lead bullet spewed from its muzzle mercilessly pierces Alicia’s head.
Splatter! Blood and brain matter stain the surroundings.
There was no time to stop her… It happened in an instant.
“Wha…”
As Glenn stands speechless before Alicia III’s corpse, slumped over the desk,
…Fool. Truly a fool.
Suddenly, a voice dripping with exasperation echoes from a corner of the study.
It’s over now… If you end up stuck in a place like this, what are we supposed to do from here on out…?
“Nameless!?”
Glenn turns toward the voice, spotting a mysterious girl who looks strikingly like Rumia—Nameless—sitting with her knees drawn up, her face buried between them.
Idiot… Falling so easily into a trap like this…!
“Oi, what’s going on? What’s happened to me?”
There’s no ‘what’ or ‘how’ about it, you moron!
Nameless springs to her feet and storms toward Glenn with fierce intensity.
Let me spell it out for your dim-witted self! Someone rigged a trap in that memoir! You fell right into it, and now your mind is trapped in the world of this memoir! You can never leave! Game over! Got it!?
“~!?”
The gravity of the situation hits Glenn, his face contorting in realization.
Right about now, in the outside world, everyone’s probably in a panic over your body suddenly collapsing unconscious… Soon, they’ll realize you’re never waking up, and it’ll be an even bigger mess.
“Damn it…! Are you serious…!?”
Glenn clutches his head with one hand.
“Oi, Nameless… If you knew, why didn’t you warn me sooner…?”
Shut up! It’s not like I’m stalking you 24/7!
“So you are stalking me sometimes, huh…?”
Besides, I really didn’t know! Not until you activated that key mechanism! The trap was hidden so masterfully within the memoir! It’s a level of skill unthinkable for the shoddy modern magical technology of this era! The only person capable of such a feat would be…
Suddenly, Nameless falls silent, as if lost in thought.
…No, it can’t be… That’s impossible…? I knew they’d show up eventually, but… already…? Could this mean… that’s what this is…?
“Oi, you know something, don’t you? About the bastard who set this ridiculous trap.”
Glenn presses her, sensing certainty in Nameless’s bewildered reaction.
!?
“Tell me, who is it!? Who’s ‘that person’!? Someone we know!?”
…
Instantly, Nameless’s gaze wavers, and she falls silent.
“Silent again!? Oi, cut it out already! This isn’t the time for that!”
Glenn fumes, but
…I told you before, didn’t I…?
Nameless responds weakly.
I’m not refusing to tell you… I can’t. You have to reach the “truth” on your own… If you grasp it with your own strength, then… it will surely align with the “flow” of the correct history.
“…Huh?”
If a mere bystander like me spills everything… I can’t predict what might happen to the future or the past… That’s something I absolutely must avoid… I’m sorry…
“…”
Nameless shrinks, looking like a scolded child.
Glenn lets out a deep sigh.
“…Fine, I won’t ask. So stop making that teary face, damn it.”
Glenn…
“Besides, if you’re saying that… and you’re here with me… that means you haven’t given up, right?”
!
At Glenn’s words, Nameless’s eyes widen in surprise… and then she nods firmly.
Yes, exactly! You’re not someone who should end up stuck in a place like this! You have to escape from here! For the sake of the past and the future! Because you’re my—
She starts to say, caught up in the moment,
—Hmph!
but suddenly turns away, looking awkward and embarrassed.
A-anyway, we need to find a way to escape.
“…Right.”
Steeling himself,
Glenn surveys the room again.
The dimly lit study. Bookshelves lining the four walls. Alicia III’s corpse slumped over the desk.
The pillar clock in the corner. The door to the study—
“…You said we can’t get out, but…”
He tries the door, just to be sure.
As expected, it won’t budge.
He attempts a few lockpicking techniques and unlocking spells, but there’s no sign of it opening.
There doesn’t seem to be any other exit.
“Yeah, looks like we’re trapped alright…”
I told you so.
Nameless huffs, turning away in a sulky manner.
“What if I blast the door or wall with [Extinction Ray]? Could that get us out?”
Look, this is a mental world, okay? You’re not physically trapped.
“I know, I was just saying. Man, this is gonna be a rough road…”
Glenn shrugs in exasperation.
Hmph… If you can’t get out of here… I bet you’d hate being alone, right? Guess I’ll have no choice but to stay by your side forever. You should be grateful.
“Haha, that’s so touching, I might cry.”
Whether Nameless is joking or serious, Glenn isn’t sure, but he lets out another sigh.
For now, the door seems to offer no clues.
“…So, what else should we check…?”
Glenn’s gaze shifts to the desk.
There lies Alicia III, slumped over, lifeless.
“…”
Glenn isn’t fazed by corpses anymore, but it’s still not a pleasant sight.
Even if this world is a reenactment of Alicia III’s memories.
“Pardon me.”
Glenn approaches the desk and examines the body and its surroundings.
There’s nothing particularly noteworthy on the body itself.
But as he looks at the desk where the body lies, something catches his eye.
“This memoir…”
It’s the same ‘Memoirs of Alicia III’ Glenn obtained in the Hidden Academy.
The memoir he acquired had deteriorated over centuries, its binding worn, but this one’s binding is pristine.
It feels as though it was just written moments ago.
“I see. So I’m reliving the memory of Alicia III’s suicide, huh?”
It seems he’s been thrust straight to the final page.
“Might as well check it. See if there’s anything different…”
He picks up the memoir and flips through it.
If Glenn’s memory serves, it’s just endless repetitions of the same text.
Plus, it’s all in that cryptic code, so the content is completely unreadable.
“What’s with this weird situation… reading the memoir within the memoir’s world…?”
He mutters to himself, noting that the only difference seems to be the age of the binding… until that moment.
“!”
On the last few blank pages, there’s text that wasn’t in the memoir Glenn obtained.
And it’s not in code—it’s in the common tongue.
To Glenn
“Wh-what…!?”
What’s wrong?
Glenn shows Nameless the final page as she leans in to peek.
Seeing it, Nameless’s expression hardens as she grasps the situation.
“…I’m reading on, okay?”
If you’re reading this, it means you’ve fallen into ■■’s trap.
I’m sorry, this is entirely my failure.
I failed to notice that ■■ had rigged such a trap in this memoir.
Without delay, Glenn, do not speak, and ■ at my ■■■■■■■■■. Will this be censored too? No good. It seems that whenever I ■■ to ■■, it gets automatically censored.
But don’t lose hope. There is a way to escape. Without a doubt.
It all depends on whether you can figure it out.
The bookshelves on the four walls are gateways to reliving my memories. First, experience my life. That will surely reveal it—the true nature of the anomaly secretly lurking in my world, rewriting it. The existence of something that shouldn’t be here.
Kill that anomaly with the thing that killed me. That is the key.
Hurry. There’s no time. See that pillar clock? The time limit is one full rotation of its hour hand. That’s the only gap in the trap ■■ set.
I wish you luck. Mariabelle
“…Mariabelle. That girl…”
Looks like… the best support fire the true master of this world could muster.
“Yeah, seems like it…”
Then, Glenn picks up the “thing that killed me” mentioned in the memoir.
The gun still clutched in Alicia III’s lifeless hand… an old-fashioned flintlock pistol.
He’s seen this gun before. It’s identical to the one Mariabelle handed him during the incident at the Hidden Academy of Alzano Imperial Magic Academy.
(That gun disappeared somewhere after the incident… but to think I’d hold it again.)
Glenn examines the flintlock pistol. It emanates a strange magical aura, a true magic gun.
“Thou shalt be the upright Fool”… such words are faintly engraved on the grip.
It’s a muzzle-loading, single-shot pistol. Yet, despite having just blown through Alicia III’s temple, a single bullet is already loaded.
“《Queenkiller》…”
The scene he just witnessed flashes in his mind, and though it’s irreverent, that name comes to him for the gun.
I see, that simplifies things.
Nameless summarizes, eyeing the gun in Glenn’s hand.
In short, find the “anomaly” hiding somewhere in this world and shoot it with that gun.
“Looks like it… assuming this message isn’t a trap set by the mastermind.”
But Glenn is certain this isn’t a trap—it’s Mariabelle’s aid.
The mastermind’s goal was achieved the moment Glenn was trapped in this memoir’s world.
There’s no reason for them to bother with further schemes.
“Whatever the case… we won’t get anywhere standing still. Let’s move.”
Tucking the gun into his belt and slapping his cheeks to psych himself up,
Glenn heads toward the northern bookshelf.
“Reliving Alicia III’s memories… Do I just touch it?”
And so, with resolve, Glenn reaches out to the bookshelf, lined with countless tomes… and touches it.
Whoosh!
Glenn’s vision and consciousness fade to black, as if pulled somewhere else.
——.
“!”
When Glenn comes to, he’s outdoors.
All around him, 360 degrees, stretches a gentle slope of bare earth, forming a bowl-like crater.
It’s as if he’s standing at the bottom of a massive, excavated pit.
“Wh-what is this place…?”
Around Glenn, numerous people in work clothes are silently toiling—chipping away at rocks with pickaxes, shoveling dirt, deepening the crater.
“Hey, I’ve got a question. Where is this…?”
Glenn calls out to a nearby worker carrying rocks, reaching out, but…
His hand passes through the worker like a ghost.
Though his voice surely reached them, the worker doesn’t acknowledge Glenn, walking away as if he were air.
“…Because this is Alicia III’s memory world, huh…? Right, there’s no way I can interact with this world…”
A gentle breeze blows, clearing the stagnant heat within the crater.
Looking up, the circular patch of sky is endlessly blue—and then,
“…That castle…!? ‘Melgalius’s Sky Castle’!?”
In the vast sky Glenn gazes at, the illusory castle floating above Fejite glimmers in the sunlight, asserting its majestic presence.
Panting, Glenn climbs the crater’s gentle slope to its rim and surveys the surrounding landscape.
Endless grasslands stretch to the horizon, with mountains faintly visible in the distance. The shapes are familiar.
“This view… and with that castle in the sky… Got it! This is Fejite!? This empty plain!”
Alicia III’s era was roughly four hundred years ago.
Since this is a world seen through the memories of Alicia III’s memoir, it’s a scene from four hundred years past.
In other words, this is Fejite from about four hundred years ago—
“Whoa… Nothing but open land. Feels like untamed frontier. To think this is the future site of Fejite, the renowned center of magic and wisdom, the academic city…”
Glenn recalls Fejite’s modern image—a grand, somewhat old-fashioned yet robust and vibrant metropolis—and feels a pang of nostalgia.
“So, that forked river over there must be the Yote River, huh…? Hmm.”
Using a simple surveying method learned during military days, Glenn roughly calculates his position with his fingers.
“Let’s see… that’s over there… my arm’s length is… and from the sun’s angle… uh, let’s see, roughly 2,000 units southeast…”
After a moment, the calculations click, and Glenn flashes a sly grin.
“I see. This massive crater yawning wide open… it’s exactly where the Alzano Imperial Magic Academy’s campus should be built.”
A strange sense of nostalgia washes over Glenn as he gazes down at the crater.
As Glenn idly takes in the past scenery…
“Hey, Lucius! What are you doing!?”
A girl’s voice rings out from the right.
“Hm?”
Glenn turns to look and sees a young man slouched wearily on a rock… and in front of him, a girl with puffed-up cheeks, hands on her hips, scolding him.
Flowing golden hair, fierce eyes.
Yet, somehow, she reminds him of Rumia—a girl in her mid-teens.
It clicks instantly.
“That girl… is that Alicia III!? Whoa, she’s young!? And, like, insanely beautiful!?”
Indeed, the girl’s features are unmistakably those of Mariabelle, whom he met before.
But in this memory, Alicia III is stylish and polished, unlike the gloomy Mariabelle. Her bright, sunflower-like expression makes her seem like an entirely different person, radiating charm.
“Between Rumia and Her Majesty, this bloodline is just too perfect, isn’t it!?”
Glenn’s rude and tactless thoughts don’t reach the girls of the past.
“Ugh, Lucius! Get serious already!”
“Haha, I get it, Alicia. But I’m just a bit tired…”
The young man responds to Alicia III with a wry smile.
A mysterious air surrounds the youth, slightly older than Alicia III.
Softly wavy brown hair, forest-green eyes. Silver-rimmed round glasses lend him an intellectual aura.
“Look… I’ve always been frail, and my body’s not exactly strong…”
“…Oh, sorry…”
“And you haven’t called me ‘Sensei’ in forever… It’s kinda lonely…”
“That’s got nothing to do with it, right? But, well…”
Suddenly, Alicia III’s earlier energy vanishes, and she shrinks, crestfallen.
“You’re right… I dragged you out here despite everything, didn’t I? I got so caught up thinking we were almost there that I didn’t notice…”
“It’s fine. I love watching you so full of energy like that.”
At that, Alicia III’s face flushes bright red, and she squeals.
“Ugh! You always say such embarrassing things so naturally! Tch, do that kind of stuff when no one’s watching, okay!?”
“Oh? So it’s fine if no one’s around? Are you saying you want me to…?”
“Huh!? No, that’s not—ugh, that’s not what I meant! Argh, Lucius, you idiot, idiot, idiot! Even if you’re my fiancé, teasing a princess is a death sentence, you hear!?”
“Haha, you’re as adorable as ever. I love that tsundere side of you.”
Faced with this sugary, youthful exchange…
(Blow up, you two.)
Glenn, thoroughly fed up, twitches his cheek and glares through half-lidded eyes.
(Well, just a page from the book of youth, huh? Naturally, even Alicia III had moments like this when she was young…)
Then, it hits Glenn.
(Wait a sec. What’s Her Majesty—er, Princess Alicia—doing in a remote place like this?)
At that moment…
From the bottom of the crater, a roar of cheers and excitement erupts.
“What’s that?”
Glenn turns his gaze…
“We found it!”
Zudodododo!
A young man, perhaps in his mid-twenties—older than this era’s Alicia—charges up the crater’s slope.
Golden-brown hair. Deeply tanned skin.
“What’s wrong, Loran-niisama? Wait, could it be—!?”
“Yes, Alicia! We found it! I told you, didn’t I? My hypothesis was right! I knew it! The stone pillars unearthed across various sites—they were used as surveying stones to mark distances! From there, it’s simple. The mural in Angresta depicting the sprawling city beneath Melgalius’s Sky Castle—it’s undeniably the ancient magical capital, Melgalius! Reverse-calculating from the position of the [Taum Celestial Temple] using the Socratic method for modern interpretation—(omitted)—but this margin of error bugged me, and then it hit me! These aren’t just ideographic symbols; they’re phonetic too—(omitted)—which is why I’m proposing the Ley Lines route! The authority on ancient Ley Lines studies—(omitted)—combined with emblematic symbolism—(omitted)—(omitted)—ugh, just shut up and give me all the funding! I’m a god!”
Glenn knows this manic energy all too well.
“As expected of Loran-niisama! Truly the prodigy of the prestigious Ertoria family!”
Alicia III claps her hands gleefully as the young man rants, his eyes spinning.
—Ertoria.
“Loran Ertoria! So this is that Loran Ertoria…!?”
Glenn reels from the shock.
Loran Ertoria. A name known to every soul in the Alzano Empire—a fairy tale author and magical archaeologist. The man who laid the foundation for modern magical archaeology, often called its father.
And the author of the historic masterpiece [Melgalius’s Sky Castle] and the fairy tale [The Magician of Melgalius]—
“So he’s the ancestor of that huge idiot, Fossil Lefoy Ertoria, huh?”
Indeed, Loran’s appearance seems to carry traces of Fossil’s features.
“…Haha, this family’s been this way through the generations, huh…”
Glenn can only shake his head in disbelief.
“No time to waste! Let’s go witness this historic moment, Loran-niisama!”
“Indeed, my soul’s little sister!”
With that, Alicia III and Loran Ertoria race toward the crater’s center, practically tumbling down the slope.
“…Yare yare, those two are full of energy,”
The young man called Lucius chases after them with a wry smile.
Glenn follows, descending the crater’s incline…
“But seriously… what did they find?”
At the crater’s deepest center, where Glenn arrives muttering to himself…
A peculiar structure juts out.
A stone, pyramid-shaped structure peeks from the ground. Its front bears a double stone door, etched with ancient scripts and patterns.
A staircase, built along the pyramid’s side, leads to the door.
It feels as if the top of some massive edifice has emerged from the earth.
A crowd surrounds the strange structure, cheering loudly.
The moment Glenn lays eyes on it, he trembles with shock.
“T-this… it’s the entrance to the Academy’s [Underground Labyrinth]…!? So they were excavating this!?”
As Glenn shouts to no one, unheard…
“No mistake, Alicia. This is it—the greatest relic of the ancient super-magic civilization! The [Tower of Lament], said to have been built by the Sage King Titus Cruo!”
“We did it! We really did it, Loran-niisama! We found it!”
“Yes, my little sister! Our theory was right!”
Bam! Loran spreads his arms wide and shouts.
“In the ancient super-magic civilization, spanning from the Alzano Empire to the Rezalia Kingdom, there existed a magical kingdom! The capital of that kingdom, ruled by the legendary Sage King—the fabled ancient city of Melgalius—was right here!”
—That night.
At a campsite set up by the excavation team near the site.
Inside a certain tent…
“““To a discovery of the century, cheers!”””
Alicia III, Lucius, and Loran clink their wine glasses together.
(…)
Glenn watches the trio quietly from a corner of the tent.
“Hehe! Things are gonna get busy starting tomorrow! Oh, I can’t wait to see what’s inside the uncharted [Tower of Lament]! Just thinking about it is thrilling!”
“Haha, honestly… your obsession with magical archaeology is something else.”
Lucius shrugs with a wry smile at the jubilant Alicia III.
“You’re royalty, aren’t you? And with the previous queen bedridden, you’re supposed to handle state affairs. Yet here you are, always sneaking out of the palace to poke around ruins. I bet Lord Edward’s tearing his hair out in the capital right now.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine! I’ve already written out policies and instructions for the next six months. I’ve predicted every possible contingency and prepared countermeasures. The palace won’t have any issues without me for a while!”
“Doesn’t that kinda break the meaning of ‘contingency’? But with you, it’ll probably work out fine… Geniuses are scary.”
Lucius chuckles, clearly amused.
“Oh, speaking of state affairs… I heard, Alicia. You’re planning to build a magic academy someday?”
“Yes, exactly! It’s still tricky, and I haven’t settled on a location… but one day, I’ll definitely establish a national magic academy!”
“The ministers and guild leaders were making a huge fuss, saying it’s reckless.”
“Fools! The future is the era of magic! Magical techniques shouldn’t be hoarded by petty guilds and societies. The state needs to manage and research all that knowledge, gather talented individuals, and actively train exceptional mages! And my study of ancient civilizations isn’t just a hobby, you know!”
“Huh? It’s not?”
“Nope! I’ll say it again—the future is the era of magic! Magical prowess will build a nation stronger than any other! If we can unravel the power of ancient magic, the empire will surely become a mighty nation! That way, we can protect our country’s peace from other nations! So this is for the people too! Got it!?”
“Your ideas are as grand as ever…”
“Anyway, enough about that—let’s talk about the ancient ruins we found! Hehe, so exciting! Without this, I couldn’t stand being a boring politician!”
“That’s the spirit!”
Loran downs his wine glass, eyes blazing with ambition, echoing Alicia.
“Depending on what we find in there, my dream might come true!”
“Oh, you mean the [The Magician of Melgalius] you’re writing?”
Loran nods at Alicia’s words.
“I’m convinced! The tales of the ‘Mage of Justice’ scattered across the empire—they’re all based on the same person!”
“Come to think of it, you’ve always loved those stories about the ‘Mage’ passed down across the empire, haven’t you?”
“Yes! I want to know the true face of that ‘Mage’… It’s why I pursued magical archaeology. I hope this discovery sheds more light on it!”
Just then…
Loran suddenly glances between Alicia and Lucius, as if remembering something.
“Oh, by the way, speaking of… when are you two getting married?”
“Pffft!?”
At Loran’s abrupt question, Alicia spectacularly spits out her wine.
“W-w-w-what are you saying, niisama!?”
“Why so flustered? You two are engaged by your families’ arrangement, and lucky for you, you’re head over heels for each other, right? Lucius was your magic tutor, wasn’t he? If you both want it, just get married already and have kids or whatever.”
“N-n-n-no, it’s not like that! I mean, it is, but it’s not—not like that!”
Alicia, face beet red and panicking, stammers.
“Alicia, Loran’s just worried about you,”
Lucius says, half-embarrassed, half-smiling wryly.
“After all, Loran got so caught up in magical archaeology that his wife and kids finally got fed up and left him for her parents’ home…”
“Ugh, niisama, that’s the worst!”
“Guh!?”
This time, it’s Loran’s turn to spectacularly spit out his wine.
(The Ertoria family’s just a clan of hopeless idiots, huh? Generations of this nonsense…)
Even Glenn, the bystander, can only gape in disbelief.
“Um, niisama? Maybe you shouldn’t be so carefree digging up ruins right now…?”
“Shut up! Who cares about family!? I’m dedicating my entire life to magical archaeology!”
Loran’s wails and cries echo.
Alicia III and Lucius laugh merrily.
The joyful night passes as the comrades celebrate their success—
(…)
Before he knows it, Glenn is standing in front of the study’s bookshelf again.
“How was it?”
Nameless, sensing Glenn’s return from the recollection, asks.
“Hmm, felt like the intro part… Didn’t notice anything particularly off.”
“I see… Well, I didn’t expect it to be that easy to find.”
Nameless glances at the clock in the corner of the room and warns.
“Take your time, but don’t forget there’s a time limit. It seems reliving one chapter takes about an hour.”
“Yeah, looks like it. The time spent in the recollection doesn’t match real time.”
Whether that’s a blessing or a curse remains to be seen.
For now, the only option is to keep reading the memoir.
“Next one, then…”
…
Glenn presses on with the recollections.
He advances through the second and third chapters.
The memories that follow are of Alicia III’s dazzling, joyful days spent with Loran, her cousin and friend, and Lucius, her lover and fiancé.
The trio explores the [Tower of Lament] with fervor, reveling in every discovery and setback.
From the first to the ninth underground floors—the [Journey to Awakening]—they uncover numerous hidden rooms, unearthing ancient stone tablets and inscriptions one after another…
“Whoa! Found another one!”
“Amazing! So, so, so amazing!”
“Another truth of the ancient civilization comes to light! It seems this level doubles as an ancient archive! Haha! Even I can’t keep up with the deciphering!”
Alicia III and Loran are ecstatic, while Lucius watches over them warmly.
And observing them all is Glenn.
(Man… so many discoveries on these levels, huh?)
Glenn marvels at the pile of excavated artifacts loaded onto carts in the labyrinth.
(But that’s odd. I read somewhere—a paper or report—that floors one to nine had little of value for magical archaeology…)
And even more astonishing—
(Plus, these are top-tier primary sources, aren’t they?)
Glenn muses, eyeing the mound of inscriptions Alicia III and the others unearthed.
(Special-grade materials, critical for historical analysis… To think so many were found? I’ve never heard of this. If they were, modern magical archaeology would have far clearer insights into the ancient world at a much higher level. Why is that?)
No answers come to Glenn’s questions.
The recollection marches on—
On and on—
For a while after that…
The trio’s busy yet joyful days fly by.
These are the memories of Alicia III’s vibrant youth, racing through life with Loran and Lucius.
Alicia III dives headlong into ruin exploration and magical archaeology research.
Together with Loran, she makes numerous new discoveries about the ancient world.
At the same time, she skillfully balances state affairs and her research with remarkable prowess.
Eventually, amidst those hectic days—Alicia III marries Lucius, celebrated by the entire empire… and ascends to the throne as queen.
Alicia III is at the pinnacle of happiness, thriving in both work and personal life.
—But.
Gradually, a shadow begins to creep into Alicia III’s seemingly perfect life.
It happens several years after her coronation.
Around the time her and Lucius’s daughter—Mariabelle II—is born.
“As expected, the materials we excavated confirm it… It’s all true.”
In a certain meeting room…
Loran speaks gravely.
Seated across from him are Alicia III and Lucius… now husband and wife.
“…The ancient super magic civilization… it wasn’t the dreamy, magical world we imagined. It was a literal hell on earth… a world of darkness and nightmares.”
Alicia III falls silent at Loran’s conclusion.
“Sage King Titus Cruo… sage? Hardly. He was a demon king, plain and simple. Blessed by the mysterious divinity [The Celestial Taum] from outer space, he ruled the people with its power. At first, he was indeed a benevolent king… but he gradually descended into madness, becoming a demon king.
We don’t yet know what it is, but the demon king sought something called the [Akashic Records]… apparently to fulfill some mission.
That [Melgalius’s Sky Castle] was likely a massive magical ritual facility built by the demon king to reach the [Akashic Records].
To obtain the [Akashic Records], the demon king invaded the entire world, sacrificing countless people to magic. Of course, there were resistance forces, but they were all massacred without exception.
The demon king himself, blessed by [The Celestial Taum], wielded immense power… but on top of that, his subordinate Demon Generals. And—”
Loran presents a piece of parchment.
On it… a bizarre pattern, like a single stroke of the letter Z repeated over and over.
“The priestesses of this [Mark of Pure Darkness], using techniques to summon evil gods from outer space. And the numerous magical artifacts of terrifying power created by the demon king… Faced with such otherworldly forces, the people of that era were helpless. They were sacrificed to the [Akashic Records] at the demon king’s whim.”
Alicia III remains silent.
“I’m now certain of the true nature of the legends and tales of the ‘Mage of Justice’ I’ve collected and compiled across the empire. They’re the record of a single mage—a real ‘Mage of Justice’—who spent their life battling the demon king. A story of human pride, of the weak defying a being beyond human understanding.”
To Loran’s words, Lucius asks gravely…
“Is that… all true?”
“Yes, we’ve repeatedly verified this terrifying reality of the ancient past from every angle. The only thing we’ve confirmed is that the truth is indeed the truth.”
“……”
Alicia III and Lucius fell into an even heavier silence.
Then, Loran solemnly addressed the two.
“…You understand what I’m getting at, don’t you, Alicia? …I think it’s time to put an end to the research on the《Tower of Lament》. That place is a forbidden box that should never be opened. All texts and artifacts documenting the facts of ancient civilizations—especially those related to the Demon King and the Sky Castle—should be destroyed.
Under no circumstances should anyone aim for the deepest part of the《Tower of Lament》… the《Gate of Wisdom》on the 89th underground floor. From what we’ve gathered through ancient research, that place is undoubtedly the former stronghold of the Demon King, where all the results of his mad magical experiments—the《Demon King Relics》—are likely still intact. Such things should be sealed away for eternity.”
With that, Loran gave a hollow shrug.
“Yare yare, it can’t be helped. Well, for harmless tales unrelated to the Demon King or his relics… like the story of the Mage of Justice fighting the evil Demon King, maybe we could compile them as fairy tales and sell them to make a living…”
But Alicia III responded with a sharp tone.
“No, I still believe we should aim for the deepest part of the《Tower of Lament》… beyond the《Gate of Wisdom》. We shouldn’t abandon the research or the artifacts. These will surely bring further progress and glory to the empire.”
“You’re being stubborn… The summoning of evil gods, the magical artifacts created by the Demon King… If even one of those《Demon King Relics》were to surface in this world, it would cause chaos. If it fell into the wrong hands, it could destroy the nation. What would you do then? Could you take responsibility?”
Their argument continued for a while.
“……”
After a long silence…
“You’re right… I understand… It’s not worth endangering the people…”
With a sigh, Alicia III relented.
“Are you sure, Alicia? …Your dream…”
Lucius asked, his voice filled with concern for her.
“It’s fine. Deep down, I’ve always suspected… that ancient civilizations are something we humans shouldn’t meddle with… Besides, it’s about time I focus on the construction of the magic academy.”
Glenn witnessed this scene within his recollection.
(But it seems Alicia III’s true intentions were different…)
Alicia III had made it appear as though she’d destroyed all the artifacts and research from the《Tower of Lament》without revealing them to the world… but in secret, she hid them, keeping them for herself.
At this moment, Alicia III might have already been completely consumed.
By the wisdom of the ancient Demon King—by the existence of the《Demon King Relics》.
Or perhaps by the mysterious and transcendent power—the《Akashic Records》.
(Probably… around this time, Alicia III started to lose her sanity bit by bit…)
Eventually, under the pretext of monitoring and sealing, Alicia III built a state-run magic academy atop the《Tower of Lament》. The area had favorable ley lines, making it ideal for constructing an academy. It was also convenient for continuing her research in secret.
Thus was born the Alzano Imperial Magic Academy, with its four-hundred-year history—the stage for Glenn and his companions.
For a time, Alicia III secretly continued her research on ancient civilizations using the artifacts and documents she’d hidden, while pouring her heart into running the magic academy.
The reason was simple—she had hit a complete dead end in her quest to explore and conquer the path to the deepest part of the《Tower of Lament》, the《Gate of Wisdom》.
The《Tower of Lament》—the underground labyrinth beneath the magic academy, from floors 10 to 49—was a domain known as the《Trial of the Fool》, with an exploration danger level of S++.
With the feeble magical technology and exploration equipment of that era, it was an area they couldn’t hope to tackle.
There was no choice but to wait for advancements in magical technology. That was all they could do.
Alicia III continued her research while awaiting those advancements.
“I want to know… I want to see…! What lies beyond that door…! The Demon King, who ruled ancient civilizations with terrifying power… I want to obtain the《Demon King Relics》he left behind!”
Driven by such insatiable desire, Alicia III pressed on with her research.
“And the《Akashic Records》, which even the mighty Demon King sought relentlessly… I want to know its true nature! The clues must lie beyond the《Gate of Wisdom》…! Somehow… somehow… somehow… I…!”
Alicia III’s research continued—
(First, discard your common sense about the nature of this world. You cannot hope to understand the truth without rethinking how you perceive the world.)
(*First—this world is a multidimensional branching universe. Understand this.
It is the return point of the ‘Wheel of Providence,’ the path of reincarnation that all souls of living beings follow, and the eighth world of the collective unconscious, the ‘Sea of Consciousness,’ where all human memories converge. At its deepest center lies the origin of all life, the ‘Primordial Soul’… The first ‘One’ born in this world before all else.
All branching universes are merely like a ‘tree’ sprouting from this first ‘One’… the Zero Singularity, the ‘Primordial Soul.’ The world we live in is but a single branch on that ‘tree.’ This ‘tree’ is called the Dimensional Tree, and the ‘branches’ are called Branch Worlds.*)
(The Outer Universe refers to what lies beyond this Dimensional Tree. In that Outer Universe, unimaginable monsters with incomprehensible power vie for supremacy. A billion years? A trillion years? Or perhaps an eternity? To them, a human lifetime is but a fleeting spark.)
(The existence of the Outer Universe, suggested by the ancient texts I’ve hidden, includes… the raging crimson lion《Flame King Chtugha》… the proud shining one《Golden Thunder Emperor》… the queen who commands the winds《Wind Goddess Ithaqua》… the jester who laughs in the void《Pure Darkness》… and the mysterious divinity of unknown identity《The One Who Slays Gods》…)
(And the twin sister goddesses《The Celestial Taum》.)
(Fundamentally, they have no concept of good or evil; they are merely colorless forces, embodiments of power. But to us insignificant humans, they are undeniably ‘gods’—not as conceptual deities of faith, but as real, tangible threats. I call them the ‘Evil Gods of the Outer Universe.’)
(Of particular note is the highest deity among these evil gods, the《God of the Gate》.)
(Said to be the parent god of《The Celestial Taum》, this being transcends the laws of time and space, existing alongside all dimensions, connected to every Dimensional Tree and the ‘Primordial Soul’… Such is the extraordinary existence of the《God of the Gate》.)
(Ah, I see it… I finally see it! Through relentless research and contemplation, I’ve begun to glimpse the true nature of the《Akashic Records》…! It’s magnificent… to think such a thing could exist!)
(As recently discovered, if Melgalius’s Sky Castle was a facility for communicating with the《God of the Gate》… then the《Akashic Records》sought by the Demon King is likely—…)
ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!
[Censored • Redacted]
“Guwaaahhhhhhh—!?”
Glenn, immersed in Alicia III’s recollection, was suddenly struck by a pain as if his head had been smashed, snapping him back to reality. The recollection was forcibly cut off, and his consciousness was dragged back before the bookshelf.
‘What’s wrong!? Glenn! What happened!?’
Nameless’s anxious face peered into Glenn’s hazy vision.
“Tch… damn it, right at the critical part… haa… haa… haa…”
‘You’re sweating terribly, and your face is pale! Are you okay?’
“Yeah, I’m fine… Honestly, the moment I realized some idiot had rigged this kind of prank, I figured it’d be something like this…”
Glenn steadied his breathing and wiped his sweat.
“But… it seems even that idiot couldn’t censor and remove all the inconvenient truths. It’s probably Alicia III’s tenacity, trying to leave something behind.”
‘…I see.’
Nameless’s expression clouded with concern—an unexpectedly rare sight. Ignoring her, Glenn turned back to the bookshelf.
He had no choice but to skip the unreadable parts.
“…Here we go, next part…”
——
“So… she was secretly continuing her research after all…”
In the drawing room of some mansion.
Loran and Lucius sat across from each other at a table.
“Lucius. You knew, so why didn’t you stop her? Why did you just stand by and watch… my friend?”
“I’m sorry. I just… didn’t want her to give up on her dream… The Alicia I loved was the one who chased her dreams…”
“…Well, if she swears never to reveal her research to the world… I, too, have to admit I couldn’t just pretend it never happened. There’s something bothering me as well.”
Loran pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket.
On it was a strange pattern, like the letter Z repeatedly drawn in a single stroke.
“There may already be《Demon King Relics》out in the open… That’s what this suggests.”
“That’s… the ‘Mark of Pure Darkness’?”
“Yes. It’s said to have been etched on the bodies of the priestesses who summoned the kin of the evil gods from the Outer Universe… The ancient texts say the priestly family that served the Demon King was destroyed by the ‘Mage of Justice,’ but judging from various descriptions of the era, there’s a possibility that some survivors might still exist in this modern age.”
“!? No way, that’s…!?”
“If it were misused, it could destroy the world. We must confirm and protect them urgently. If there are survivors of that family… where are they now, and what are they doing? Based on my own investigations, I believe they’re in the neighboring country… the Rezalia Kingdom.”
“Hey, Loran!? You can’t mean—”
“Exactly what you think.”
Loran stood, his eyes filled with resolve.
“I’m heading to the Rezalia Kingdom.”
“Stop, Loran! What are you thinking!?”
Lucius desperately tried to dissuade him.
“You published ‘The Magician of Melgalius’ five years ago, didn’t you!? Have you forgotten how the Papal Office of the Church of St. Elizares reacted!? If you’re not careful—”
But Loran brushed off Lucius’s pleas with unwavering determination.
“It’s the responsibility of those who know. This is the duty imposed on those who opened the forbidden box in Fejite that nostalgic day. Having learned the truth, I can’t just turn a blind eye and pretend I don’t know… That’s not something a scholar… a mage would do.”
Seeing Loran’s resolute stance, Lucius realized he could no longer stop him.
“Be careful, my friend. I can’t go with you, but…”
“I know. Stay by Alicia’s side. Even if our familial connection is so distant it’s presumptuous to call her kin… she’s still my dear little sister.”
“…Leave Alicia to me.”
“Heh, I’m counting on you. Don’t worry, I’ll manage. I may not look it, but I’m pretty strong! You know I’m a master of the《Heaven’s Melody》, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right… You’ll be fine… I believe in you.”
With that,
That night, the two quietly shared a drink.
But Loran Ertoria, who set off for the Rezalia Kingdom, never set foot in the Alzano Empire again.
——
“……, ……”
‘What’s wrong, Glenn? Did you find something strange?’
“…No, just… something.”
Having finished another recollection, Glenn exhaled in front of the bookshelf.
“This is… kinda heavy. Peeking into the struggles of our predecessors… knowing their conclusions as historical facts makes it even worse.”
‘That’s just pointless sentimentality. Don’t let it drag you down.’
Nameless scolded Glenn sharply.
‘Keep your heart strong. You’re already peering into the abyss of human memory. “When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you.” If you’re careless, you won’t make it back. Don’t forget there are people waiting for your return.’
“…You know, you’re kinda…”
Glenn said with a teasing tone.
“At first glance, you seem like a cold, jaded type who doesn’t care about others, but deep down, you’re pretty soft, huh? Be more honest with yourself. It’d make you even cuter.”
‘Wha—!? W-what!?’
Nameless’s face flushed, and she stumbled over her words.
‘Don’t mess with me! You think you can flirt with me? You’re 5,853 years too early!’
“…Why such a weirdly specific number…?”
‘Just hurry up and move on! We’re running out of time! Geez!’
——
Resuming the recollection,
Under Lucius’s watchful eye, Alicia III’s research on ancient civilizations continued—
(If the《Akashic Records》is what my hypothesis suggests… it might be possible to recreate it through another theory. If the route the Demon King took to reach the《Akashic Records》is called the ‘Path of God,’ then my theory is likely the ‘Path of Man’… But what a horrifying path that would be… I hesitate to put it into practice.)
Alicia III’s research continued—
(To begin with, who was the one called the Demon King? A human blessed by《The Celestial Taum》… Is that really all there is to it? What was the mission they sought to fulfill by obtaining the《Akashic Records》?)
(Verifying and speculating on the essence of the Demon King’s existence may provide significant clues to approaching the《Akashic Records》. …As expected, progress on conquering the《Tower of Lament》is stalled. It’s frustrating.)
(To begin with, the《Gate of Wisdom》seems to be tightly sealed. Even if we reached it, we likely couldn’t proceed further in the current state. It appears that one of the Demon Generals, the《Silver Dragon General》Le Silva, is related to the seal on that door… but details are unclear. Further investigation is needed.)
(For now, I plan to dedicate research time to collecting and deciphering texts about the Demon King.)
Alicia III’s research continued—
(From the above considerations and texts, it seems the Demon King was not a human of this world. In cliché terms, they were a visitor from another world—a stranger from a different Branch World than the one we inhabit. Why they came to this world is unknown. Further investigation is needed.)
Alicia III’s research continued—
(Incredible! Was this coincidence or fate—I succeeded in excavating and obtaining the sword of the ‘Mage of Justice’ who fought the Demon King, found at the ancient battlefield of Rasle!)
(A faint fragment of what seems to be the Demon King’s soul was embedded in the blade of this sword!)
(By examining this soul—I might be able to uncover the true identity and essence of the Demon King!)
(The Demon King was—…)
And then,
ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!
[Censored • Redacted]
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!”
Alicia III’s scream echoed through the research lab.
“—!?”
Her soul-shattering scream and expression, as if crushed by all the despair in the world, made Glenn, a mere observer, shudder involuntarily.
“What…!? Oh, what is this…!? How horrific! How could this be!? I shouldn’t have known! I didn’t want to know! This… this… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!”
The once-blooming beauty of Alicia III was gone.
All that remained was the pitiful figure of a woman who had devoted her entire life to plunging into the abyss of despair and regret, unable to return from the darkness—
“Oh, no wonder the Alzano royal family produces only daughters! It was all orchestrated by the ancient Demon King! We’re nothing but breeding vessels! Vessels to give birth to the monstrous blasphemy that is《The Celestial Taum》! That’s why a curse was placed on our blood by the Demon King, ensuring only females are born!”
“Horrific! How horrific! The cursed blood flowing through my veins is horrific! The Alzano Empire… was created by the ancient Demon King as a vast magical ritual site to regain the blessing of《The Celestial Taum》… to obtain the《Akashic Records》! The people of Alzano… were livestock bred and multiplied as sacrifices for that purpose…!”
“Yes, there’s no mistake… The Demon King, defeated by the ‘Mage of Justice,’ is still alive! Hiding somewhere in this world! Because, because, because—at the《Sealed Realm》… I saw it… Our royal family’s genealogy… the genealogy, genealogy, genealogy… Oh, the soul marks… the soul marks, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!”
“In the distant future… from the sacred bloodline of our royal family, a demon incarnate will be born… bringing calamity to this nation… and destruction to the world… Hee, heeheehee… I won’t let it happen… I won’t let that happen…! This nation, its people, I’ll protect, protect, hahahaha… hyahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha—!”
At that moment,
“What’s wrong, Alicia!?”
Lucius burst into the room.
He held the frenzied Alicia tightly, calling out to her desperately.
“Calm down… calm down, Alicia! What happened!?”
“Oh… Lucius… my beloved… aaaaaa…!”
Sobbing, Alicia III clung to Lucius in return.
Her manic-depressive state was so extreme that she seemed far from sane.
“Oh… you… you… I… I…!”
“It’s okay… calm down, Alicia. I’m here for you… so…”
But,
……
“Hey, Lucius. Could it be… you too…?”
Suddenly, Alicia III calmed abruptly and said something strange.
Her expression was eerily devoid of emotion, a stark contrast to her earlier hysteria.
“…Huh?”
Naturally, Lucius was taken aback, confused.
“W-what are you talking about, Alicia? I’m…”
Then, Alicia III gently pushed Lucius away, stepping back.
“…Yes, that’s it… You’re one of them too, aren’t you… It has to be… It must be… It must be… haha… ahahaha…”
Before the stunned Lucius, Alicia wore a broken, tearful smile… and drew a pistol.
It was a familiar flintlock pistol.
Its barrel pointed at Lucius’s forehead as he faltered.
“A-Alicia… stop… please stop…”
Pale and trembling, Lucius backed away.
“Haha, hahahahaha… Yes… yes… you must be one of them too…”
Alicia cornered Lucius.
And then, she pulled the trigger—
“You… youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—!”
“A-Aliciaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!”
Bang!
[Censored • Redacted]
——
After that, there was little worth noting.
From this point, Alicia III, split between sanity and madness, left only a tragic and pitiful record of her wandering and downfall, scrawled in disarray.
(……)
Glenn silently observed Alicia III’s recollection.
Alicia III seemed convinced that the Demon King, who once ruled ancient civilizations, would one day return to this world alongside《The Celestial Taum》… and, wielding the《Akashic Records》, bring about its destruction.
To gain the power to oppose this, she delved into various studies.
To counter the Demon King’s《Akashic Records》, she created a hidden academy within the Alzano Imperial Magic Academy, resorting to forbidden methods to develop the《Secret Tome of A》.
(Speaking of the hidden academy… the educational reforms at the magic academy, the battles with the model class… That was around the time Eve got demoted and sent here, wasn’t it?)
She also secretly formed the Heaven’s Cross, commissioning the study of numerous forbidden magics.
[Project: Revive Life] stemmed from Alicia III’s deranged idea to preserve hero-class individuals for the eventual confrontation with the Demon King.
Based on her covert research into the《Temple of Resurrection》in the ancient ruin city of Mares, Alicia III launched this project.
(The《Temple of Resurrection》in the ancient ruin city of Mares… Oh, that’s where Albert and I had that intense showdown…)
As a last resort, she even considered obliterating the《Tower of Lament》along with Fejite. That’s why [Project: Flame of Megiddo] was set up within Fejite’s ley lines.
(Man, the worst three days in Fejite… Getting toyed with by that bastard Jatice, boarding the《Ship of Flames》… It feels like a distant memory now…)
And—after the day she lost Lucius, Alicia III began ruthlessly discriminating against and oppressing those known as ability users.
Believing that the《The Celestial Taum》, which would one day be born from her bloodline, was a type of ability user, she sought to eradicate them by spreading this custom throughout the empire.
Alicia III proclaimed to the general populace that ability users were incarnations of demons, hunting them down and executing them publicly as examples… repeating such atrocities.
Since this tarnished the royal family’s prestige, the truth was buried in darkness…
(But those discriminatory actions seeped into a society already fearful of ability users, becoming a lingering social issue. That laid the foundation for the ability user discrimination that persists as a problem today… How ironic that Alicia VII, Rumia’s mother, worked so hard to reform the very prejudice her ancestor, Alicia III, created.)
Gradually losing her sanity and consumed by madness, Alicia III’s solitary battle against the Demon King and impending doom continued, continued, continued—
And then—
Suddenly, he realized.
“…”
Glenn stood face-to-face with Alicia III in a darkness so thick it seemed to smother everything.
“You, who have read this memoir,”
Alicia III spoke to Glenn, her voice tinged with a fervent wish.
“The contents of this memoir… they are all true.”
“…”
“One day, the Demon King will reign over the world—alongside《The Celestial Taum》. For now, he lurks in hiding somewhere… but he will surely emerge.”
“…”
“And he will offer the people of the empire as sacrifices, seize the《Akashic Records》, and bring about the end of this world. An end cloaked in the guise of salvation. That… is the true purpose of the ancient Demon King.”
“…”
“I believe that a world where people can live as true humans is the essence of true peace, the true wish of humanity.”
“…”
“But sadly… there are no longer any ‘Mage of Justice’ to stand against the Demon King. To oppose him, every single person must strive to become a ‘Mage of Justice’ themselves.”
“…”
“You, who have read this memoir… I beg you to become a ‘Mage of Justice.’ To protect this nation, this world, where people walk blindly toward ruin, unaware and unawakened…”
“…”
“I pray that you will be the upright Fool, one who awakens from slumber to carve open new possibilities, a true mage… Please, save this world…”
“…”
And then.
“That alone… is my wish.”
With those words,
Alicia III gently closed her eyes—
——
——
“…”
Glenn’s consciousness returned.
He leaned against the bookshelf… standing there, dazed.
“…So, how was it?”
Noticing Glenn’s return, Nameless spoke to him.
“…The scale and the sheer volume of information are so massive, I’m honestly kinda overwhelmed.”
Glenn muttered in response.
“But one thing’s clear—I’ve got stuff to do. First, I need to uncover the《Sealed Realm》and find something there that ties to the identity of this so-called Demon King.”
“…And?”
“Second, I’ve gotta conquer the underground labyrinth of the Alzano Imperial Magic Academy, the《Tower of Lament》. There’s something beyond the《Gate of Wisdom》on the 89th floor underground, and I need to secure it before that Demon King bastard gets his hands on it.”
“…Right.”
“Well, the second one can probably wait a bit. After all, we already took down the gatekeeper,《Demon Blade General》Aar-Kahn, and we know a shortcut trick for the labyrinth! Hell, if we use Rumia’s ability at the Taum Celestial Temple—”
It was at that moment.
Glenn suddenly recalled something.
Back during the incident when they investigated the ruins of the Taum Celestial Temple.
The conversation he’d had with Nameless just before returning from the labyrinth.
—Glenn… in the near future… you will return to the Taum Celestial Temple once more, with Celica…
—Huh? Get real, no way I’m ever coming back to a place like that. I’m done with it!
—And after that… you will face a great choice. You will have to weigh things that are irreplaceable to you on a scale…
—What are you, some kinda prophet?
“…Nameless. You…”
‘Now’s not the time to get into that.’
Cutting off Glenn’s question before he could finish, Nameless glanced at the clock in the corner of the room.
‘We’re out of time. Everything else can wait until we escape this place.’
“…Yeah.”
‘So? Did you figure it out? The identity of the foreign entity interfering with this world. The target you need to shoot down with that gun of yours. If you don’t know that… everything ends right here.’
“…”
Glenn fell silent.
He closed his eyes, sinking deep into thought.
‘Hey, Glenn… look at the clock. We’re running out of time.’
“…”
Glenn recalled the scenes from the memories he’d witnessed. He replayed them. Reflected on them.
‘…There’s no time left to re-experience the memories… Come on, Glenn… what’s it gonna be…?’
Nameless gazed at Glenn with anxious, pleading eyes.
Meanwhile, Glenn kept reflecting. Kept replaying.
He kept recalling Alicia III’s life of anguish—
‘…Hey, Glenn!’
And then—
After a long silence—Glenn opened his eyes and spoke.
“Yeah, of course I figured it out!”
With that—
Glenn pressed the flintlock pistol against his own temple.
‘…W-What are you doing!? What kind of idiocy is this at a time like this!?’
Nameless, startled, began to panic.
‘Sure, you’re not in your physical body right now—you’re a mental construct, so shooting won’t kill you, but who knows what kind of effect it’ll have on your mind! Stop this stupid joke—!’
“This ain’t a joke. I’m dead serious. I’ve got a solid reason for this, y’know?”
Glenn, however, responded with a casual air.
“The contents of this memoir are Alicia III’s memories. By reading it, we’re reliving the memories she left behind… right?”
‘Yeah, that’s how it seems! So what!?’
“If that’s the case… doesn’t something seem off?”
Glenn glanced at Alicia III’s body, collapsed over the desk.
“This… this scene, no matter how you look at it, is from the final days of Alicia III, driven to madness… the moment she took her own life with a pistol. …Am I wrong?”
‘So what if it is!?’
“Don’t you get it? Who could’ve recorded a scene like that in the memoir?”
‘—!?’
At Glenn’s point, Nameless caught her breath.
“It’s weird, right? How could someone write down the memory of their own suicide? The person’s already dead. What, you think a ghost wrote it or something?”
‘Th-That’s… true, but…’
“…And there’s one more thing bugging me. The memories in the memoir were mostly from a third-person perspective. Like I was just an observer. Sure, you could say that’s just how it works… but even so, there was one scene that was absolutely off.”
Glenn’s eyes flicked briefly to a corner of the bookshelf.
“So I thought, maybe someone else’s memories are partially overwriting Alicia III’s in this memoir. This memoir is Alicia III’s resentment, her obsession… her fierce determination to pass down the truth to future generations. So, probably, the [Censored • Redacted] could only be done this way.”
‘And how does that lead to you shooting yourself!?’
“C’mon, you’re kinda slow on the uptake, huh? Think back to Alicia III’s first words.”
‘Heh, hehehehe… You came, didn’t you? You. But… it’s over.’
‘I won’t let things go your way—’
‘It’s futile, you know? This memoir… no matter how much you try to hide it, seal it, or destroy it, it will always return to that place… until it reaches the hands of those who inherit my will… That’s the kind of existence it is. This is… my final defiance.’
‘Ah…’
“Exactly. When I first arrived in this room… Alicia III said that to me. Dead people can’t write memoirs. So it’s obvious that this suicide scene is the memory of someone Alicia III was speaking to in her final moments before she took her life.
And if that someone’s memory is overlapping with my perspective… it means that someone is inside me.”
Bang!
Glenn pulled the trigger without hesitation. The muzzle roared.
But instead of Glenn’s head exploding, blood and brains splattering everywhere—
“…Gwaaaaaahhh!?”
Something that had been perfectly aligned with Glenn was blasted out of his body by the shock of the shot—slamming into the bookshelf with the force of the impact.
Glenn pointed the gun at the figure crumpled on the floor and declared,
“Hmph, playing some clever tricks, huh… The memories and experiences were mostly in third-person perspective, but for that final scene, you deliberately switched to a first-person perspective, overlapping with me… You didn’t want your identity to be known, did you? Right, Lucius-san!?”
“~~~~ !?”
At Glenn’s accusation, the man sprawled on the floor—Lucius—glared up at him, as if biting back his rage.
“This final suicide scene… The reason I could interfere in a memory world I shouldn’t have been able to affect was because of that first-person perspective overlapping with me. Basically, I became a character in the scene.
Pretty sloppy work, huh? You overlaid your memories onto Alicia III’s to erase inconvenient truths… but they got mixed up, didn’t they? That scene with just you and Loran—there’s no way that could exist in Alicia III’s memories, right?”
“Tch…”
“I don’t know what was in those censored problem scenes… but I can guess your identity from the memoir’s contents and the context around the deletions.
The censored content was probably about the ‘Demon King’s true identity’! And the one who’d want to hide that… it doesn’t take much to figure out! You’re the ancient Demon King, aren’t you!?”
Then,
Lucius rose with an oddly calm demeanor, brushing the dust off his clothes with a few quick pats, smiling brightly and clapping his hands lightly as he said,
“Correct.”
The casual affirmation left both Nameless and Glenn stunned, their faces etched with shock.
‘Huh? You… the Demon King? …What? What does that mean… why…?’
Nameless’s panic was especially intense.
‘No way… that’s a lie, it has to be a lie…!’
For some reason, she trembled violently, eyes wide with disbelief.
But Lucius ignored Nameless’s questions—or rather, deliberately avoided them—and continued,
“To be more precise, I am merely a remnant of the memories from when I was a human named Lucius… a form of thought, nothing more. Even I don’t know where or who I am now.”
“Huh!? What’s that supposed to mean!?”
“You think I’d explain? A sleeping Fool should stay asleep.”
With that dismissive remark, Lucius traced a symbol in the air.
It was a strange mark, like a Z written over itself multiple times in a single stroke.
The symbol glowed with an eerie black light—
And darkness—fell.
Like a monstrous beast opening its jaws, gates opened in the void. Many gates.
And then—
…Slurch.
Grotesque, amorphous creatures—like a chaotic blend of deep-sea fish, with teeth-filled mouths and eyes sprouting everywhere—poured out of the countless gates, flooding the room like sludge.
Splat.
Again, splat.
The creatures gushed forth like water from a broken faucet.
The amorphous monsters turned their bulging eyes toward Glenn, writhing as they closed in.
Faced with these blasphemous beings, Glenn couldn’t help but swallow hard, overwhelmed by a visceral mix of psychological revulsion and fear.
‘Glenn! These things are—’
Nameless stepped in front of Glenn as if to shield him, but as little more than a ghostly presence herself, she was powerless.
‘Damn it, in a closed world like this, there’s nothing I can do… no escape! What do we—’
“Heh… your little quest ends here.”
Lucius spread his arms dramatically, proclaiming to Glenn.
The amorphous monsters filled the room, completely surrounding Glenn and Nameless…
“A Fool who knows nothing should stay ignorant forever. At least, in the darkness of tranquility and chaos, keep dreaming your foolish, pleasant dreams… like a proper Fool.”
Lucius declared triumphantly.
But—
“Heh!”
—Glenn laughed off Lucius’s words with a smirk.
“What’s so funny?”
“…Oh, I just figured it’s about time.”
Ping!
Glenn flicked a crystal into the air with his thumb, catching it in his left hand as it fell.
Black Magic [Extinction Ray].
A god-slaying spell devised by Celica Arfonia two hundred years ago during the Great Magic War, nearly an Original Magic. It combined fire, ice, and lightning curses to create a destructive beam of imaginary energy.
The crystal Glenn held was the magical catalyst for activating it—《Hollow Stone》.
“Heh… I won’t let you!”
But the amorphous monsters moved with terrifying speed, surging toward Glenn from all directions like a tidal wave, ready to swallow him whole—
Glenn was about to be engulfed, helpless—
—At that very moment.
“Sensei!”
Whoosh!
A deafening gust of wind, like a storm of countless blades, swirled around Glenn—tearing the amorphous monsters to shreds and pushing them back.
“We won’t let you!”
Suddenly, a hole opened in the void, and the amorphous monsters were sucked into it.
“Yaaaaaaaaaah!”
Something descended like a bolt of blue lightning, swinging a greatsword that sent the amorphous monsters flying.
“What—!?”
Before Lucius could react,
Three girls had appeared around Glenn.
Sistine, Rumia, and Re=L.
“We’re here to help!”
Sistine flashed a piece of paper at Glenn.
It was the key formula prepared by Fossil.
“Oh, thanks! I was kinda counting on you guys showing up right about now.”
“What’s the situation!?”
“Punch that smug jerk in the face, and we’re done! That’s it!”
“Got it! I’ll cut him down!”
The three girls glared at Lucius.
“Well, there you have it.”
Raising his left hand, Glenn quietly gathered his magical energy and declared with a fearless grin,
“I’ve got some adorable, reliable students on my side, y’see? From the start, my victory was 100% guaranteed. So, let’s wrap up this little ruckus, shall we, you dusty old bookworm?”
“…Like moths to a flame, huh. …Recklessness isn’t courage. Curiosity can kill even a cat. …It’s the fatal flaw of mages.”
Lucius, unfazed by the girls’ arrival, shrugged and let out a cold sigh.
“Fine. I’ll have you all vanish into the darkness here.”
With that, Lucius snapped his fingers.
Once again, a flood of amorphous monsters appeared, surging toward the group like a tsunami, ready to swallow them whole.
But—
“《Obey me, people of the wind・I am the princess who commands the storm》!”
Black Magic [Storm Grasper].
Sistine’s freely controlled whirlwind firmly held back the advancing amorphous monsters—
“—My key!”
Rumia thrust her palm forward, and the silver key floating before her—she turned it.
A dazzling silver light poured from the key—
Clank. Clank. Clank.
The void gates from which the amorphous monsters spilled began to close, one after another.
And then—
“Yaaaaaaaaaah!”
Re=L swung her greatsword in a blinding horizontal slash.
Slash!
The amorphous monster was cleaved in two.
Against such a creature, Re=L’s physical attack seemed meaningless…
’43ho@gmjr-apiq@ahskoe4t04☆75x~~~ !?’*
…But the slashed monster let out a bizarre, ear-twisting scream.
Shaaa…
It crumbled into fine dust and dissipated into mist.
“What, a pretty fragile monster, huh? Not as tough as it looks, eh?”
Glenn, gathering his magical energy, mouthed off with a smirk.
“Impossible… Why? How could you destroy the pure kin of darkness with a mere sword?”
Lucius, the one in question, stared at Re=L with suspicion.
“They aren’t the kind that can be killed with your inferior magic… Could it be a concept… No, perhaps you’ve ‘opened’ something…? But how in the world…?”
Re=L, lowering her stance deeply, muttered in response.
“…I don’t really get it, but lately, I’ve been seeing a golden light at the tip of my sword.”
“What? A golden… light?”
“Yeah. I don’t feel like I can lose.”
Monsters closed in on Re=L from both sides, as if to crush her.
But Re=L flipped her body with the agility of a beast, leaping into action, and swung her greatsword in two swift slashes.
As expected, the amorphous monsters were sliced clean in half, blasted away—
—and turned into black dust, dissipating into mist.
“A golden light at the tip of the sword… Could it be, Twilight…? And…”
Lucius glanced at Sistine.
“Haaaaaaah!?”
Sistine skillfully manipulated the wind.
At times, she blew monsters away with gusts, at others, she carved them up with blades of vacuum, and sometimes she crushed them flat with a warhammer of wind.
A relentless storm swirled, yet it never touched Glenn and the others, striking only the monsters and keeping them from laying a single finger on Glenn.
“…That hair and magical energy… Could she be a descendant of the priestly house of Ithaqua?”
Then, Lucius’s gaze shifted to Rumia.
“Re=L! Sistie! Now’s the time!”
Rumia’s《My Key》unleashed a spatial freezing attack.
The amorphous monsters were completely locked in place, along with the space around them—
“Thanks, Rumia! Right there!”
“Hiyaaaaaaah!”
The immobilized monsters were battered by Sistine’s wind and obliterated one after another by Re=L’s greatsword…
“I see… My angel has finally been completed… So that’s how it is.”
Lucius gave a faint, delighted smile.
“But this is troublesome. Even for me, this situation is rather dire…”
Facing Lucius,
“Demon King or whatever you are, you’re just some ancient scribble someone jotted down in a diary. You think we’d lose to something like that? Alright, let’s get started.”
Having gathered enough magical energy, Glenn began to chant a spell.
“《I am the one who slays gods・I am the one who knows the origin and the end・—》”
While Sistine, Rumia, and Re=L held back the amorphous monsters,
“《It shall return to the cycle of providence・the five elements to the five elements・the bonds weaving form and reason shall diverge・—》”
“Oh? That spell… I see, so you’re…”
Lucius clapped his hands in praise of Glenn’s incantation.
“I understand now… It seems you all aren’t just mere fools.”
And with a chuckle, he laughed gleefully—
“Congratulations, Glenn. You’re not just a sleeping fool. By awakening, you’ve become an upright Fool, capable of carving out new possibilities. …But you woke up too late.”
He laughed, a low, mocking chuckle.
He kept laughing.
As if sneering at a pathetic fool struggling futilely in an inescapable swamp.
“It’s too late. Everything is too late. The gears of fate have already begun to turn. Everything is going according to the script. The [Akashic Records] I seek are almost within reach. This world is already—”
But.
To Lucius,
As if to say, “Shut up, this is my answer!”
Glenn completed his spell.
“《Now, let all phenomena scatter and perish here・to the distant end of the void》—!”
Flash!
A dazzling light overflowed from Glenn’s left hand.
A tremendous surge and torrent of magical energy.
“Eat this!”
Three magical arrays unfolded from his outstretched left hand.
And then—a colossal shockwave of light pierced through them, unleashed.
It mercilessly engulfed all the amorphous monsters and Lucius standing at their center—
Sizzle! The monsters caught in the aurora’s torrent evaporated in an instant.
Their outlines melted white, swept away—
“Still… you all are truly fascinating. The priestess of Ithaqua. My beloved angel. The swordsman of Twilight. What a miraculous combination. And…”
Looking at Glenn, Lucius began to say something.
But Lucius… completely… vanished.
And so, the world grew ever brighter.
It burned whiter and whiter.
Everything was dyed in pure white—and then—
………
………
“—Hah!?”
When Glenn came to,
He was in his hotel room.
He was lying flat on his back on the floor… surrounded by Sistine, Rumia, and Re=L, who were peering down at his face.
“…You guys…”
At Glenn’s murmur…
“Phew… Thank goodness…”
“Sensei…”
“Mm.”
Sistine, Rumia, and Re=L let out sighs of relief, each in their own way.
“Hmph! Looks like we made it back safely!”
“Honestly, what a handful…”
Looking over, Fossil and Eve stood a short distance away, hands raised, with rotating magical arrays floating above them.
Confirming Glenn’s safety, the two muttered something and dispelled the arrays.
“Those two took on the role of our lifeline while we dove into the book’s world.”
“Exactly. They were ready to pull our minds back to this world if anything went wrong.”
“It’s pretty advanced magic, so we had no choice but to ask Eve-san and Professor Fossil to handle it…”
As Sistine and Rumia explained,
Whoosh!
Pushing the two aside without hesitation, Fossil rushed toward Glenn.
“Now! Forget that—what did you see!? Tell me! The journal of Alicia III, the renowned magical archaeologist—I’m dying to know! Come on, tell me! Quick! Quick! Qui—”
“《Show a little・restraint・already》—!”
Eve’s modified spell ignited flames that engulfed Fossil.
“Gyaaaaaaaah!”
“You, honestly! Do you even realize what you’ve done!? Someone could’ve ended up a vegetable! I never imagined there’d be a man in this world worse than Glenn! You! You—!”
Eve relentlessly kicked the flaming Fossil.
Glenn watched the scene with exasperation.
“Jeez… Don’t go doing weird stuff on your own like that, okay?”
Sistine said, a bit huffy.
“You don’t have to shoulder everything alone, Sensei. When you’re ready, please tell us what you can.”
Rumia said with a gentle expression.
“Mm. I’ll help with something.”
Re=L said with her usual sleepy look.
At the sight of the three girls, Glenn gave a faint smile.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Standing up and cracking his neck, he said,
“I’ll tell you guys. …After this Magic Tournament is over. I’ll be counting on you then, alright?”
At Glenn’s words,
The three girls smiled brightly—
