Ariel seized the chance and directly proposed a truce to Chris.
"Chris, why don't we end our battle here~"
She didn't bother to explain why she hadn't been cursed by the queen, because she knew Chris only cared about the fact that she hadn't been cursed at all. Whether or not there was another reason didn't matter.
Hearing this, Chris halted her attacks and silently stared at Ariel.
Ariel said nothing either, meeting Chris' gaze in silence.
After more than ten seconds, Chris seemed to accept Ariel's proposal. She turned away from the battlefield and walked toward Eriri and the others.
"Eriri, why are you all here?"
"Of course, to watch the show. And now we've even got an unexpected bonus."
"Unexpected bonus? Don't tell me you mean this coward?"
Chris lowered her eyes toward Lilia, who had stopped crying when Chris arrived, her gaze full of mockery.
Feeling Chris' eyes on her, Lilia immediately shrank back.
"I-I'm sorry…"
Eriri didn't answer Chris' question. Instead, she glanced around and said:
"Let's talk somewhere else."
With the fight between Chris and Ariel over, the students and teachers who had been watching from a distance were now rushing over. Soon, this place would be packed.
Without waiting for Chris' response, Eriri snapped her fingers.
In the next instant, their figures vanished—along with Ariel, who had also been approaching.
...
When Eriri and the others appeared again, they were no longer in Villiers. Instead, they were in a detached house on Earth.
It was the same house where Kyoko and the others lived.
But to Chris, Ariel, and Lilia, the place was entirely unfamiliar.
"Wh… where is this?"
Looking around nervously, Lilia asked timidly.
"This is Earth, of course. Not so unfamiliar for you, right?" Eriri said with a playful smile.
Lilia fell silent. As a world-conquering maniac, she was very familiar with all the worlds targeted for invasion, Earth included.
Eriri ignored her and turned her gaze to Chris.
"Chris, do you want to become queen of Villiers?"
"Queen?"
Chris froze at the words, and even Ariel, who had been about to speak, was stunned.
"Eriri, are you planning to kill this coward?"
At Chris' words, Lilia was frightened, while Ariel's face showed anticipation.
Although she was curious about Eriri's identity, Lilia's life or death was far more important to her.
Because of Lilia, Villiers had waged endless invasions on other worlds, leading to the deaths of countless Magiclad Girls. This was why Ariel and the Demon Baron had led the rebellion in the first place.
If Eriri could kill Lilia, Ariel would be more than happy.
"Of course not. What are you thinking?"
Eriri chuckled at Chris' misunderstanding, then continued:
"Didn't I just say we got an unexpected bonus? Lilia is that bonus. From today, she's my personal possession, no longer queen of Villiers."
"I see. That works too."
Hearing this, Ariel nodded knowingly.
For her, this outcome was no different from Lilia's death. What mattered was ending Villiers' invasions. Whether Lilia lived or died was secondary.
"You must be Kyoko's teacher—Ariel, right?"
Eriri shifted her gaze to Ariel, her face full of interest.
Then she released her hold on Lilia, walked a few steps forward, and without hesitation reached out to teasingly lift Ariel's delicate chin as if she were a kitten.
"Oh my, I didn't expect such an important person like you to know me. I'm truly flattered, though I still don't know your identity~"
Ariel didn't resist Eriri's actions. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and revealed an indulgent smile. Beyond her wariness of Eriri, it was Eriri's appearance and aura that left her without any desire to resist.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eriri Spencer Sawamura, but you can just call me Eriri~"
As she spoke, Eriri's hand continued its playful motion.
"So you're Miss Eriri. It's an honor to meet you. May I ask, what is your relationship with my disciple, Kyoko?"
"Of course, a very close one. So you don't need to worry about her being harmed. Besides, right now, you're no match for Kyoko at all~"
"Is that so?"
Ariel opened her eyes and looked at Kyoko with visible surprise.
...
While Eriri and Ariel were exchanging introductions, Lilia, newly freed, immediately attempted to use teleportation magic to escape this dangerous place.
But she quickly realized that her spell had no effect, even though her magic itself wasn't being restrained.
The realization left her heart sinking.
Perhaps sensing Lilia's intent, Kyoko, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped in front of her.
"Queen Lilia—ah, no, it seems from today you're no longer queen. I advise you to give up on escaping. You'll never be able to get out of Eriri's grasp."
"S-sorry!"
At Kyoko's words, Lilia instinctively apologized, then raised her head with doubt in her eyes.
"Are you also a Magiclad Girl?"
"That's right. Do you have any advice for me, Your Majesty?"
Kyoko's lips curled into a mischievous smile. Seeing it, Lilia immediately lowered her head again.
"N-no…"
After muttering quietly, she fell into silent despair.
Kyoko had intended to say more, but at that moment, she heard Eriri and Ariel mention her and felt Ariel's gaze.
So she let Lilia be and walked over to join them.
"Great Teacher, it's been a long time. I didn't think we'd meet again under these circumstances."
Watching Ariel allow Eriri to toy with her chin left Kyoko feeling odd.
She knew Ariel's nature well. Despite her usual calm demeanor, Ariel was cunning to the core. Anyone who dared tease her like this would normally pay with broken limbs at the very least.
But now, this same Ariel was acting like a harmless kitten in front of Eriri.
"Oh my, Kyoko, it seems you've been doing quite well. But you haven't reported back to the academy in a long time."
Ariel smiled at Kyoko, making no attempt to pull her chin from Eriri's hand.
"This is as good a time as any to say it—Great Teacher, I don't plan to continue attending Martlez Academy."
"Why is that? Are you dissatisfied with me as your teacher?"
"Not at all. It's simply that I no longer have any reason to attend. Just like Eriri said, I'm already much stronger than all of you now."
"Ara, so Miss Eriri was telling the truth. If that's the case, I won't force you."
With that, Ariel turned her head back and closed her eyes again, continuing to enjoy Eriri's playful touch.
At that moment, Chris suddenly spoke up.
"Hey, are you just going to ignore my existence?"
She stood there, dark lines crossing her face as she watched Eriri and Ariel.
Seeing their intimate interaction, she couldn't explain why, but irritation burned in her chest.
"Oh my, are you jealous? Don't worry, I've never been one to play favorites."
As she spoke, Eriri stretched out her free left hand toward Chris' face and began teasing her chin the same way she had with Ariel.
Feeling the touch, Chris instinctively closed her eyes, a look of enjoyment spreading across her face, just like Ariel earlier.
But soon she realized what she was doing, hurriedly opening her eyes.
"No! That's not it at all!" Chris snapped, glaring at Eriri in embarrassed annoyance. At the same time, she pushed Eriri's hand away.
"Alright, alright, let's get back to the topic. Chris, do you want to be the queen of Villiers?"
Eriri ruffled Chris' hair while withdrawing her other hand from Ariel's chin.
"I don't want to be queen. What I want now is to live lazily~"
For a hundred years, Chris had devoted herself to breaking her curse, fueled also by resentment toward Ariel. But now, with the curse gone and her anger at Ariel gone too, she had no more ambitions—she only wanted to live a carefree life.
Hearing this, Ariel silently glanced at her.
Chris had once claimed she joined the rebellion to usurp the throne. But Ariel had never believed such a trivial motive. She knew Chris had acted out of anger at Lilia's cruelty and indifference to her students' suffering.
And Chris' words now confirmed that.
"Mm, that kind of life isn't bad either. I fully support it~" Eriri nodded with approval.
"In that case, you can just live with me from now on. I'll let you enjoy a fully lazy life."
"Then can you restore my sense of taste?"
"Nope!"
Rejecting Chris' request outright, Eriri turned to Ariel.
"Since Chris doesn't want to be queen, do you?"
"Well…"
Ariel fell silent. She had never really considered the question. For her, it didn't matter who the queen was, as long as she could guide Villiers toward a better future. All she wanted was to serve the queen faithfully.
"There's no rush to answer. After all, Villiers is your world. Whoever becomes the next queen is for you to decide.
"But I do know the crisis Villiers is facing: your ever-growing population has caused overpopulation and food shortages. That's why Lilia has constantly used Magiclad Girls and Devices to invade other worlds—to reduce numbers and plunder resources."
At those words, Ariel nodded.
"That's true. But I believe this method is wrong. Every life is innocent—they shouldn't be sent to die for something like this."
"So how will you solve it? Without Lilia, you can prevent more Magiclad Girls from dying needlessly. But what about the resource problem? Will you just ramp up your invasions of other worlds?"
"…."
Ariel was speechless for a moment. That was the harsh reality.
"But solving this is actually very simple."
"How?"
Ariel's eyes lit up, and Chris unconsciously turned toward Eriri. Even Lilia, sulking in silence, raised her head. As for Eu and Kyoko, they weren't surprised at all. To them, Eriri could do anything—resource issues were nothing.
"Tada~"
Eriri raised her hand. A glowing white cube, shaped like a Rubik's cube, appeared above her palm.
The cube wasn't large—just ten centimeters in length. It floated above her hand, slowly rotating, radiating a mystical aura.
"What dense magic… what is that?"
Ariel stared in astonishment at the cube, clearly sensing the vast magic power emanating from it.
"This is just a little trinket I whipped up. I call it the 'Magic Perpetual Motion Machine.'"
"Magic Perpetual Motion Machine?"
"As the name suggests, it's a machine that can provide magic endlessly. It can easily solve your world's resource shortage."
Hearing this explanation, Ariel swallowed hard, her gaze on the machine burning with desire.
"You… are you going to give this Magic Perpetual Motion Machine to me?"
She looked at Eriri hopefully.
"I could. But what can you offer me in return?"
—
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