In a place far from the Kingdom of Altfode, in a large, dark room, two men were talking.
One of them was kneeling on a huge rug, sweating. He was the Prime Minister of the Talis Consortium, Rocco Lagussa Borzak. A middle-aged man with graying hair in a mushroom-like style and a large wart on his big nose.
At the other end was the darkest part, illuminated only by a single lamp. The person signing papers liked it this way. This person was the most important in this place—the King, Rafiel Grima Talis.
This individual was the one who gave the order to invade the kingdom in the game, to move Bandel and his group to attack the cruise ship, among other acts. Unfortunately, his face was never seen, and his ending in the game was erased because he was such an irrelevant character he didn't even have a voice.
"How is the mushroom harvest going?" said a sharp voice.
The Prime Minister was trembling.
He had convinced the king to allow a certain man to send his forces and technology to kill a certain girl. It went wrong. Borzak was almost demoted if it weren't for Marquis Balzac, who helped him in exchange for not revealing information that would incriminate him. That's how he avoided his end.
"I-it's going very well, Your Majesty. We'll have everything we need to process them ahead of schedule."
"Good."
The king kept signing without even looking at the kneeling man.
Time passed, and Borzak's knee began to hurt.
The king's hand stopped to say something and look at his vassal.
"How is the plan going? Is our ally getting everything ready for the promised day?"
Borzak spoke happily since that was his reason for coming today.
"Yes! Our accomplice said everything is proceeding smoothly. He's currently dealing with 2 of the 3 problems! When we receive our report that all 3 are eliminated, it will be time to attack!"
The king smiled in that darkness. Borzak saw it and was glad he wasn't angry.
"Very well. You may go."
"Thank you very much!"
The Prime Minister left quickly. The king rose from his chair and looked out the window at his lands.
He closed his eyes, then opened them and said, "Soon, the Altfode bastards will meet their end."
◇◇◇
In a cave on a certain island, a group of pirates was gathered.
They were tired.
They had been smuggling weapons to some corrupt nobles for some reason.
A fleet intercepted them midway. All the ships looked exactly like the Brynhild from when Rudel was hunting pirates.
The pirates fled, leaving their comrades, including the captain, on that island.
They were called back via a magical interceptor that seemed to create a kind of Morse code.
The fleet said they'd return in a few hours with reinforcements.
The pirates were spotted by locals. They had to hide in a dungeon since the corrupt noble fled with the weapons, leaving them to their fate.
The locals didn't have weapons, but they had their livelihood tools at hand to attack.
The pirates fled deep inside.
Currently, they were tired and hungry.
A small group had gone to look for food.
Their captain, a man with oily, unhealthy-looking skin and a haircut shaved on the sides with the middle grown out, was trying to analyze the situation.
"Damn it, if it weren't for those ships from the pirate hunter, the deal would have been a success."
The men were hungry and tired.
"I thought that after my cousin Bluebeard's defeat, the skies would be ours."
The pirate captain held his head.
"I want to make a great name for myself now that the pirate pillars have been destroyed! This was supposed to be the beginning of the story of Mandricardo, the Hairy Heart!"
Despair was reflected on his hairy face.
"Captain!" A voice called from the deepest part of the dungeon.
Several men came with containers in their hands.
Everyone rejoiced. The pirates began taking the glass containers filled with powder.
Upon opening them, a strange stench emanated—it smelled like rotten food, but they didn't care.
They ate as if it were the most nutritious and delicious food in the world.
The captain stood up to give a speech.
"Unfortunate sky rats, fear not! The situation may be bad, but we'll get out of this! When we set sail, I promised you riches, and you shall have them!"
Everyone cheered. The captain had regained his former confidence. He approached the subordinate who brought the containers.
"This food tastes like crap. Where did you get it?"
The subordinate was answering...
"Well, it's not from outside, but from a strange room we found here."
...When that happened.
"It was very weird. There was a large glass box and these containers stacked near a—"
The subordinate froze, and suddenly, a strange black liquid secreted from his nostrils.
"Hey, what's wrong with—"
The captain tried to help him when he also felt strange. The same black substance came out of his eardrums, and his mouth also filled with it.
Turning to ask for help, his subordinates were in the same situation.
"What is this?"
"I'm scared!"
"Captain, help!"
Everyone screamed at the slimy secretion from their orifices. The real terror came after.
The captain's head suddenly enlarged.
His fingers too, and his teeth protruded.
His subordinates were undergoing the same.
Hair loss, widening of the back, and elongation of limbs.
"What the hell is this?!"
In that darkness, a strange event was occurring.
◇
We had landed on the designated island.
There was no port, so I had to send boats to drop everyone off on the shore.
After several minutes of the few boats going back and forth, we set foot on land.
We grabbed our things and started walking.
Of course, I didn't let the girls carry anything heavy, so a robot carried their suitcases.
Some girls told me to carry theirs; I shut them down with my glare.
Now we were walking toward the locals' village.
The girls were observing and curious about the local fauna while I...
"Hey, Captain, how much further?"
"We've been walking a long time, Captain. Did we get lost?"
...Was being harassed, and by men, no less.
The redhead and green one, in that order, were talking to me and kept talking. For some reason or another, they were trying to make conversation.
We're not friends, nor do I want to be. Get away from me!
"Why are you talking to me?" I couldn't take their absurd conversations anymore, so I asked them their motives.
"What are you talking about?" said Chlust while scratching his head.
"It's just as the ape says. We don't understand what you mean."
I turned to yell at them. I hadn't noticed they were much taller than me, and I had to look up. I don't like doing that with anyone. It's good Liam is the same height.
"We're not close, and we don't like each other. Why are you following me? Go harass that flat-chested midget over there!"
I pointed with my finger at the shortest, flattest-chested girl among all the girls.
She looked at me since she noticed I pointed at her.
The two jumped to her defense.
"It's not that we want to spend time with you instead of talking to Erselica-chan."
"That's right. We simply want you to finally acknowledge that we've surpassed and matured since the day you humiliated us."
I didn't understand what the green and red were referring to. So I let out an idiot's "Hah?"
Frey said, "We were humiliated by you. We suffered based on our defeats to someone we thought was inferior in both status and physique." Then Chlust added, "But it's thanks to that we understood our weakness and egocentrism. If it weren't for you, we never would have met our goddess!"
With a smile, both turned to look in the direction of the little pest, who smiled back at them.
It was disgusting just to watch.
Also, I feel like hitting him. I only had this sensation once, a long time ago. Of course, it was in my previous life.
I looked at the idiots smiling and waving... like the idiots they are.
I continued on my own.
◇◇◇
Airi and Alisa were talking calmly. Ixion was with them.
His red eye watched them—more precisely, he was explicitly looking at the hairpin and earrings they wore, which Rudel had gifted them a while ago.
He murmured one thing quietly so they wouldn't hear.
"...Analysis indicates the material used is abnormal. But where did they get it?"
◇
We had arrived at the village. The chief, a very old man, and several men with spears approached us.
It was the second time I'd seen this in this world.
People with tan skin, straight dark hair, and light brown eyes. In my previous life, people with skin like this weren't rare, but in this ridiculous fantasy world, they were.
I spoke to the chief so he wouldn't think we were enemies. I even showed him the letter. After seeing it, he understood who we were.
I felt a bit stupid thinking they didn't understand our language and tried using gestures to communicate. They said, "We know your language and speak it natively."
Upon reaching the village, many people greeted us from a distance.
The houses were made of wood and stone. This island supposedly belongs to the kingdom and is part of the territory of this little pest, but seeing how... underdeveloped it is, to put it mildly, makes me feel a bit bad for them.
The old chief introduced us after gathering the villagers.
"Everyone, listen! They have come from the kingdom to help us drive the invaders from our lands!"
Everyone cheered with joy.
◇◇◇
While Rudel was introducing himself to the villagers, Erselica was exploring the place on her own.
Her guards, vassals, and the two idiots were busy being curious without watching over the person they were supposed to serve.
The only one accompanying her was a servant named Allen.
He asked his mistress,
"Miss, I know we're on an island that's part of your territory, but shouldn't we go deeper without the Viscount or any of the guards? Think of your situation!"
Erselica ignored him since her mind was occupied with something else.
(Muhh!! Why did that idiot marquis select that guy just for this? I know what he did when hunting pirates, but was it necessary to choose him?)
Without realizing it, Erselica and Allen had arrived at a very remote part. She was startled to see she had walked aimlessly. That's when, from some bushes, a sound was heard.
Both were about to scream for Rudel to come save them when...
"Huh, who are you?"
...A local girl appeared.
She was dressed in a long, dirt-covered nightgown. On her head was a basket of berries and a few scratches from branches.
Her hair was short, reaching her ears. She seemed younger than Erselica, but her chest was bigger than hers. It was smaller compared to a normal cup size, but bigger than Erselica's fist.
Allen spoke instead of his mistress. He told her they were lost. The girl led them to the village, not before introducing herself.
"My name is Cailana, but you can call me Cana. That's what my mom used to call me."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Allen, and she is my mistress, Erselica."
After the introduction, the girl, Cana, told them details about the village.
Erselica listened with amazement to what she said.
Finally, they reached the village.
Upon arriving, it seemed the students and locals were worried.
The village chief quickly approached them.
Erselica thought she'd be scolded from the chief's expression, but what happened was...
"Useless brat!"
...Cana was scolded instead.
Using his cane, he repeatedly hit her on the head.
Neither the servant nor his mistress could believe what they were seeing. That's when Rudel intervened.
"Hey, old man, what the hell are you doing?!"
After taking the cane away, the chief turned and explained to Rudel.
"You see, this girl was born under bad luck. When our shaman—her mother—disappeared, it was because of her, which implies it was her fault."
Rudel's face couldn't understand the absurd excuse he'd just been told. The chief continued talking.
"Not only did she cause her own father's death in a flood—her fault—her mother died of an illness, being the only one affected. Also, whenever she entered the crops, they died or pests ate them."
While the village chief told more strange stories, Cana was...
"I'm so sorry. It wasn't my fault for being born. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for causing trouble."
...Crying while apologizing.
Erselica, seeing her, had an image from the past.
(Disappear.)
(Worm.)
(You should die!)
That's when Erselica intervened.
"Chief!"
Everyone was surprised to see her. Opening her mouth, she said,
"This girl... can I take her as my maid?"
Surprise came from their mouths.
◇
After several minutes, or almost an hour, of wasting time, the little pest convinced the village chief to take a local girl named Cana.
The chief said it was a bad idea, but they had her living in a poorly made house outside the village.
I don't want to get involved with the little pest, but I came to the poor girl's defense.
The girl, Cana, shed tears. I don't know if they were of happiness or sadness. A group of the little pest's servants took her to the Brynhild to teach her things and take care of her.
As for me, I had changed into the suit I used to board my second-best companion, Battler, since we were entering the dungeon the chief guided us to.
I had my katana at my waist. Some idiots came too. Of course, red and green also. The little pest came without her servant, while the only people I didn't want to come did.
"Rudel-san, this place is so mysterious and wonderful!"
"Indeed! The academy dungeon is very small and different compared to this one!"
Airi and Alisa had come. They changed into the equipment we used to go to the academy dungeon.
Airi had her mace in her bag, while Alisa had a beautiful, decorated dagger.
I thought it was an ornament until I saw her stab it into a giant ant's throat.
Airi also fought some monsters, shouting, "I'm useful too!" It was very cute how she swung her mace and accidentally hit them. The scary part was that a light blow smashed them against the wall.
I was at the front—well, actually, it was Ixion looking for clues about where the pirates could be hiding.
Then me and the girls, followed by the other nuisances.
The curious thing about this place wasn't the protruding roots but something else.
"Rudel-san, look, look!"
Airi grabbed my sleeve so I could see something she found.
"This here is a Lost Object! Or maybe a lost treasure? In any case, it's fascinating."
Her eyes sparkled with excitement at seeing the object she found. In my case, no, because this object was something that was neither one nor the other but something familiar.
(Without a doubt, this is too similar to something from my previous life. There's no doubt. What she's holding in her hands is a rusted microscope.)
(Not only that, this entire place is exactly like a hospital!)
(When we entered, I was surprised the entrance was a sliding metal door.)
(Inside, everything was white with green—the ceiling, walls, floor, reception area. There were ruins, so it must have collapsed... Still, this place is very weird. Ixion was even surprised there were no bodies like on the island I found... What exactly happened here?)
◇◇◇
Alisa was behind Rudel and Airi, curious about a message board.
About to call them to come see, she was surprised to see how close they were (to look at the microscope).
Seeing them, she thought with a smile on her face.
(They look so good together.)
(I wish I could help them be happy.)
A memory passed about something related to Rudel months ago.
Alisa was at her house in the Royal Capital. All this was before Bismarck Household lost power and influence.
Vayne, Alisa's older brother, was giving her a report on various things, including how the Bradford shipyard and repair workshop were a resounding success.
The Duke's family had a private master craftsman to repair their ships or armed or construction units.
But they changed because the ships and mobile knights Rudel gifted them after the cruise ship attack were of higher quality than brand-new ones fresh from the factory.
The ship was normal, but the capacity with which several parts were rebuilt made it superior.
Not only that, the ships that were destroyed, rusted, or mistreated without maintenance were also of quality.
Alisa's father, the Duke, wondered if this had a hidden meaning. And it did, since repairs and maintenance could only be done with Rudel's technology.
Of course, Rudel himself had no malicious intent—just a very greedy desire to earn money, permanent clients, and a means to ensure no one dared to steal or replicate that technology.
A letter said that for the palace and Alisa's house, it would be completely free.
Because of that, there was much indignation, discomfort, and hatred sown toward Rudel. Which Marquis Balzac took advantage of to gain more influence and allies.
Vayne had finished talking. Alisa was about to leave when her brother stopped her.
"Is something wrong, onii-sama?"
"Sorry, I want to ask you a personal question. That's why I didn't mention it."
"Is that so? What is it?"
Having stood up to call her, her brother sat back down, and she walked to the center. The following words froze Alisa.
"This is about Rudel-kun once again. Is there any news about whether he has obtained a fiancée?"
For a second, her body trembled. She regained her composure and calmly said.
"N-no, I don't think so since... according to him, girls avoid him and also send him letters indicating they'd marry him if he gives them gifts!"
Her brother made a bad face because of what he heard.
"...Is that serious? Can't those girls think of something that isn't superficial?"
Alisa didn't know how to respond since, until recently, she preferred elegant and fine things that were normal for her status. But thanks to two people she honestly cares about, that thought was being suppressed by something more valuable than the physical.
Her brother spoke again.
"It would be very problematic for us if he got a girl from a hostile faction or one trying to corrupt him."
Hearing that, Alisa clenched her skirt tightly.
"The daughters of our vassals who aren't traitors are very young. If we wanted him to join our side, we'd have to arrange an engagement with a girl his age..."
At that moment, Alisa heard something unexpected.
"Alisa, what do you think of the Viscount?"
"...What do I think? ...Rudel is my friend... nothing more."
"...I understand. You may leave."
From that moment on, Alisa had a strange feeling she couldn't express.
While watching Rudel and Airi, her thoughts were only filled with happiness for them.
(Because of his personality, getting a girl to honestly, wholeheartedly be interested in him would be very difficult.)
(The same applies to making Airi his concubine. I see it as difficult for her to be his wife without being a noble or, like Saint Erselica, convincing the legal wife to have a commoner as a concubine would be very—)
The moment she imagined Rudel with a woman who wasn't Airi, Alisa's chest hurt.
She held her chest in a position so no one would see.
(What was that?!)
In that thought, Rudel walked holding hands with a girl. That girl was neither her nor Airi—it was an unknown girl.
(Stop!)
The two stopped.
(Enough!)
Their open mouths approached, tongues out.
"Don't do iiiit!"
Alisa screamed what she felt.
All present, including her friends, looked at her. Only they were worried.
Alisa calmed them, saying, "I'm fine! I-it's just that this place is so mysterious it got me excited, haha!"
With that, everyone resumed walking.
Alisa also walked normally, but the unease in her heart kept beating.
(Please, I beg you. Stop. Airi and Rudel should be together. I...)
Once again, her chest hurt, and she held it without them noticing.
The ailment of denying your heart was more painful than a heart attack.
◇
"There's no one here!"
That's what the little pest shouted, but she's right.
We've been exploring this place for hours and found no hidden bases or traces of anyone.
Ixion reported, "There are no indications they have a ship or boat anchored. There are remains that there were humans on the edges of the island."
With that, it was clear there were pirates, but no one nearby. Strange, no doubt.
"There can't be no pirates! If we don't stop them, my dad will spank me even if I'm the Saint, uwahh!"
For some strange reason, she started screaming and ran toward a danger zone. Ixion notified that the ground there was very unstable, so we didn't go there, and I doubt there are pirates trapped—we would have heard their screams.
*Sigh*
"I'll go after that idiot."
With that said, I told the others to calm down and that it was my duty as her personal guard's head knight to go after the idiot.
That's what I said, but in reality, I had something else in mind.
◇
After hearing a few screams of "No, my butt is in danger!" and "Come out, pirates! I'll finish you off!" I finally found her.
She was crouched with her head down.
"Hey."
When I called her, she stood up, still with her back turned without looking.
I drew my katana.
"I have things to ask you."
I want to know why this girl was present in the accidents involving me and, even more, about that strange "Rudel's ending" I heard at the beginning of the semester.
I always wanted to find out who it was, but due to reasons of learning the path of order and enjoying time with my friends, I didn't give it much importance. But now I have the opportunity.
"How curious," she said slowly, turning around.
"I also want to ask you something."
As she turned, she was illuminated by the light from Ixion's eye. In her hands was a small shotgun that could be hidden in her clothes.
She aimed her weapon at me.
"I knew you'd come after me. After all, a villain like you only serves to destroy others' happiness!"
Villain? Me? What the hell are you talking about?
"I don't understand, nor do I care what you're saying, but there's something I want to know."
I pointed my katana at her.
"You... by any chance, are you a reincarnate like me?"
This question is very stupid even for me, but the way she said that line that day made me think maybe it wasn't the first time she reincarnated.
If there's a possibility of reincarnating in the same world, it's possible we knew each other and she knows something about me I don't. It's very crazy and weird what I'm saying, and without solid basis.
But if there's something about this world—like Ixion and the lost technology—why are they so similar to mine and this place that's identical to a hospital? I have many questions.
Seeing her face, her eyes were wide with surprise, then returned to normal accompanied by a perverse smile.
"That's right. I am a reincarnate."
Her weapon aimed at me, finger on the trigger.
"Now, mine: Why do you alter the plot even though you know what will happen? Why do you take from the prince what was his? And why are those two with you when their development wasn't to be together?"
What the hell is she talking about?
It makes no sense. Plot? Development? Is she crazy?
"What the hell are you talking about? I don't—"
"Master, the floor is fracturing! Run!!"
At that moment, the floor fractured, and we both fell.
◇◇◇
In the darkness of a cavern, a large number of strange creatures ran rampant.
The strongest among them let out a roar as they approached a noisy area.