Anise and Sienna were now sitting together with much more modest attitudes, opposite Eugene, who was sitting down on a sofa. Even though the two of them still seemed distracted by continuously shooting glares at each other, they were still sitting fairly close to each other, and Eugene felt a burst of pride at this sight.
The floor around the sofa was strewn with torn-off strands of gray hair. In the small distance between Sienna and Anise, the hopes for peace and friendship lying there had been won through Eugene’s sacrifice of his own hair.
“What are you smiling so proudly for?”
“I can still smack your other cheek, you know.”
Eugene quickly corrected his expression as these threats were shot at him along with Anise and Sienna’s piercing gazes.
Although their words sounded hostile, neither Sienna nor Anise felt at ease with saying such things. Sienna couldn’t help but keep glancing at Eugene’s hair, which she had so recently been tearing out.
But could the perfection of Eugene’s new body really have extended to his hair roots as well? Even with the two of them plucking away at it, not much of Eugene’s hair had actually been pulled out. At that time, Sienna had been intent on rendering Eugene completely bald, or at least creating a few bald patches, but Eugene’s hair was still so thick and full that it didn’t look like any of it had been pulled out at all.
Although things had worked out for the best, Sienna still felt a pang of guilt when she saw how swollen Eugene’s cheek remained. Sienna believed that she had been left with no choice but to slap him at that moment, but the thought that she might have struck him a bit too hard now ran through Sienna’s mind.
Sienna hesitantly offered, “Come here, let me treat your face—”
Before Sienna had even finished speaking, Anise shot up and strode over to Eugene. Then she casually sat beside Eugene and placed her hand on his swollen cheek.
“Hey! I said that I was going to treat it!” Sienna complained.
Anise snorted, “Just think about it, Sienna. Even three hundred years ago, you might have already known how to use the elven healing spells, but have your healing spells ever once been more effective than my own?”
Sienna argued, “It’s not like he’s lost an arm or a leg, so what’s the point of using such a high level of healing magic when his face is just swolle—”
Anise cut her short once more, “This isn’t an injury you can dismiss by saying it’s ‘just swollen.’ It’s only thanks to the fact that Hamel is so inhumanely strong that it’s only swollen to this extent; if a normal person had been struck by your slap, their head would have exploded like a water balloon.”
Her words were irrefutable. Sienna’s lips twitched as she shot up from her seat, then she sat down next to Eugene just like Anise had done.
“I’m sorry for hitting you,” Sienna said after she managed to muster up her courage and placed her hand on the back of Eugene’s own.
“I’m sorry for tearing your hair out,” Anise chimed in as she casually placed her hand on Eugene’s thigh.
Sienna’s eyes widened into circles at the sight of this bold and outrageous gesture.
However, Sienna still couldn’t bear to place her hand on Eugene’s thigh like Anise had. The best that Sienna could do was swallow a gulp and caress the back of Eugene’s muscled and veiny hand.
Sienna stammered, “Uh… um, I’m also sorry.”
Caught between Sienna rubbing the back of his hand and Anise caressing his thigh like she was stroking the head of a dog, Eugene decided to start off with an apology.
Eugene cleared his throat, “About this, I… well, I don’t have any experience with this, but seeing that this situation is the way it is, I feel—”
“Hold on,” Sienna quickly spoke up. “I’m just telling you this in advance, Eugene, but you do know that I have no intention of forcing you to choose between me and Anise, right?”
Although three hundred years was an extremely long time for all of them, what Sienna was especially afraid of was just how deep the feelings that Anise and Eugene had developed during the time she had been sealed away.
Three hundred years ago, the feelings that Sienna and Anise had built up with Hamel should have been on an equal level, but the problem was that Anise had managed to reunite with Eugene before Sienna had.
She might not know just how tightly that snake-like woman had managed to wrap her coils around Eugene[1] during her absence. In fact, even after setting that concern aside, from three hundred years ago until now, Sienna had always had the intention of respecting Anise’s feelings.
Anise’s lips suddenly parted as she said, “It’s not just the two of you.”
…No, was this really Anise? The sense of presence coming from behind those blue eyes had changed.
Kristina addressed Sienna, “It’s nice to meet you, the Wise Lady Sienna. My name is Kristina Rogeris. I am the original owner of this body that was created due to Lady Anise’s noble sacrifice. I am the Saint of this current era and a woman who is embarrassed to confess that she also loves Sir Eugene.”
Sienna stammered, “Wh-what did you just say…?”
“I, who was about to be imprisoned by the chains of faith for the rest of my life, was freed by Sir Eugene,” Kristina declared. “Sir Eugene gave me salvation. Just like how Lady Sienna and Lady Anise both hold Sir Eugene in their hearts, I, too, have come to hold Sir Eugene in a special place in my heart.”
Eugene’s face blushed bright red.
Even though, from his previous life up until now, he’d received so much praise and awe about his fighting abilities that he’d grown tired of hearing them, Eugene had never once heard anything like this… so he couldn’t help but want to escape from this embarrassing and heavy sense of devotion that was being directed his way.
That being said, just because he had the thought didn’t mean that he was really about to try and escape. If he did run away, it wouldn’t end with just his hair being pulled out like it had before….
“Lady Anise and I both agree with what you said earlier, Lady Sienna. Making him choose like this will only lead to blame and loss, and such a choice would be cruel and painful for all of us,” Kristina said as she stared at Eugene. “Another thing we need to consider is that we can’t afford to be focussed on such peaceful concerns right now. From three hundred years ago up until now, Sir Eugene is a hero who has dedicated himself to saving the world, and now that he has been reincarnated into this era, he has even been chosen by the Holy Sword and taken up the role of the Hero.”
Swish.
Kristina’s hand, which had still been caressing Eugene’s thigh, rose up slightly.
Then, with outstretched fingers, Kristina slowly traced the lines of Eugene’s thigh as she kept talking, “Of course, even if he wasn’t chosen by the Holy Sword, Sir Eugene, who is filled with such a noble sense of justice, would have dedicated his life to saving the world and destroying the Demon Kings in any case.”
“Noble… sense of… justice…?” Sienna repeated doubtfully.
Was it really possible to describe Hamel with such words? For a moment, this question ran through Sienna’s head.
No, in fact, such a description was undeniable. After all, three hundred years ago, all five of them had held the belief that they needed to slay all of the Demon Kings in order to save the world.
It was just that Sienna felt a strong sense of incongruity when it came to Kristina’s choice of words. To think that she would describe Hamel, who lived his whole life with curses permanently dripping from his lips, as having a noble sense of justice! Did she really have the courage to express her affection in such a blatant way? Sienna stared at Kristina’s face in bewilderment.
She could practically see drops of honey dripping from Kristina’s eyes[2]… these were definitely the eyes of a maiden in love.
Sienna corrected her sitting posture. She had finally realized that Kristina Rogeris, who was hundreds of years younger than herself, wasn’t a competitor that she could look upon lightly.
Sienna cleared her throat, “Ahem. Fine, you are correct. But before we continue talking about this, how exactly would you prefer I address you?”
“Please, just call me by whatever is most convenient to you, Lady Sienna. How dare I presumptuously make demands of Lady Sienna's means of address?” Kristina politely declined.
Could Kristina mean something else by saying all that…? Sienna decided not to think about it too deeply.
Kristina resumed speaking, “Although I’ve already said this before, in this current era and with the situation that we are in, I believe that we can’t afford to take the time to seriously consider such idle concerns. But if I had to frame it in more extreme terms…. Lady Sienna, hypothetically, and I truly do mean hypothetically, what if Sir Eugene chooses someone other than Lady Sienna?”
“That’s absurd!” Sienna snapped.
“That’s why I said that it’s just hypothetical,” Kristina said as she stared at Sienna with a slight smile. “Would Lady Sienna be able to stay at Sir Eugene’s side even after he made such a choice? Would you really be able to devote all your strength to our mission to slay the Demon Kings?”
“Wh-what are you saying? It’s obvious what my answer is. When it comes to slaying the Demon Kings and saving the world, y-you can’t bring such pr-private feelings into it,” Sienna insisted.
Although she said this, Sienna’s voice couldn’t help but tremble in consternation. After staring at Sienna with a calm gaze for a few moments, Kristina grinned brightly.
“Indeed,” Kristina nodded. “You really do have the noble character befitting one of the great heroes who last saved our world. However, I don’t think that I would be able to do the same. Lady Anise’s thoughts might be different from my own, but if Sir Eugene didn’t choose me, I feel like I would be unable to overcome my sorrow and would instead lock myself away in a monastery for the rest of my life.”
Not only did Sienna’s jaw drop, but Eugene’s lips also parted in shock as they heard these radical words.
Kristina changed the subject, “Well, in the first place, I don’t feel like there is really a need to make a choice. Lady Anise and I are already getting along quite well, and we can manage while being considerate of each other's feelings. I believe that Lady Sienna and I can also have a similar relationship. If a person is one of the nobility, as long as they have exceptional abilities and can afford to do so, isn’t it still considered morally acceptable for a single woman to have many husbands? Thinking about it now, I do recall that the Great Sir Vermouth also had dozens of wives.”
Flustered, Sienna kept stammering, “Ah-uh-um, well, that’s true, but, uh… uuum… I-I have no intention of having several husbands, you know?”
“The same goes for me as well,” Kristina agreed. “In my case, apart from Eugene, there is no one I would consider taking as my husband.”
“Please stop…,” Eugene whined as he leaped out of his seat, unable to continue listening to this any longer. “D-do you two intend to make me commit suicide out of shame?”
“Please sit down, Sir Eugene. This is a talk that we definitely need to have,” Kristina said as she looked at Eugene.
Then Kristina paused for a moment before nodding.
Kristina turned to Sienna, “Lady Sienna, Lady Anise would like to continue this conversation tonight over some drinks. Without Sir Eugene, just the three of us.”
“A-alright,” Sienna stammered a reply while sweating profusely.
As the two of them set up a time to meet later for their drinks, Eugene, who had just leaped up from his seat, was the only one left, still standing in an awkward position. Then casually, as if trying to make it like he had never stood up in the first place, Eugene sat down again.
“By the way, Sienna,” Anise, who had swapped back with Kristina, said as she stared straight into Sienna’s eyes with a worried expression. “I’m still concerned about your current state. You did say that you were able to leave the seal right after Raizakia was killed, but are there really no other problems with your body?”
This was something that Eugene was also concerned about. Three hundred years ago, Sienna had been struck with a fatal blow and was left in a state where it wouldn’t be strange if she died at any moment. Eugene still felt like it was a dream to have Sienna at his side right now.
“It’s not like there aren't any problems,” Sienna muttered as her brows furrowed. “After all, the fact is that I was afflicted with a wound that brought me close to death, and I was barely hanging on to my life for the past two hundred years. So I have become a little weaker.”
“How much weaker?” Anise prompted.
“If it’s ordinary magic, I can use it as much as I want, but I can’t use the Eternal Hole for too long,” Sienna admitted. “Though that’s only the case for now, at least.”
Raizakia’s poison had been purified completely. However, there was still the problem of the wound that Vermouth had inflicted on her. Even two hundred years ago, that wound hadn’t been just any ordinary injury. Sienna had been able to escape to the elven domain by using the leaves of the World Tree, but even after she was in a safe place, she had struggled to treat the wound.
“My current body doesn’t carry the injury from back then because I had to completely reconstruct that dying body. However, the injury still remains in my soul,” Sienna revealed.
Eugene frowned, “But when I saw your spirit body, you didn’t have any holes in you?”
As Eugene said this, Sienna turned to look at Eugene with a terrifying expression, “Hey, you idiot. Do you really think that there would be a hole running right through my soul just because I said it’s injured? If there really was a hole like that, I would already be dead!”
“Why are you getting so angry,” Eugene mumbled sulkily.
“Because you keep saying such stupid things. If you really have learned magic properly, then you should refrain from sounding like an idiot,” Sienna lectured pointedly as she poked Eugene in the cheek. “Injuries of the soul aren’t something that can be seen with the naked eye. Still, it’s not as serious as it was two hundred years ago. Because the World Tree went so far as to drain all its reserves to heal my soul.”
However, the wound still hadn’t healed completely.
“I’ve tried experimenting with it a few times, but every time I try to activate the Eternal Hole, I get distracted by the wound in my soul. If I use it too much or for too long, the injury could reverse its current progress and even worsen,” Sienna said calmly.
“Can’t anything be done with Anise’s holy magic?” Eugene asked hopefully.
Anise answered him, “I’ll have to take a closer look to be sure, but I feel like it’s probably impossible. Although holy magic can restore a damaged body, it can’t be used to heal the wounds of the soul.”
Even without being able to use the Eternal Hole, Sienna was still one of the best wizards in the world. That had been the case even back then, three hundred years ago.
However, these long three hundred years had allowed Eugene’s enemies to grow far too strong. Especially the greater demonfolks, Incarceration’s Blade, and the Queen of the Night Demons, who, even in the past, had required all five of them to work together to achieve victory. Then there was the Demon King of Incarceration, who they hadn’t managed to defeat in battle.
…Finally, there was the Demon King of Destruction, who had caused them all to feel despair.
Eugene had been able to kill Raizakia because the dragon had been arrogant.
Raizakia hadn’t attempted to increase his forces like Gavid or Noir had, nor did he harvest any life-force from humans. The way that Raizakia had chosen to increase his strength was to use Raimira as a seedbed, but even that hadn’t worked out for him.
In such a state, he had been trapped within a dimensional rift. While Gavid and Noir were increasing their strength and training their abilities, Raizakia’s strength had instead been slowly draining away. By absorbing Edmond’s dark power, he had managed to regain some measure of his full strength, but it was still easy to see that Raizakia’s power couldn’t be compared to that of the other Dukes.
That only made the scope of the problem that they were facing even bigger. Although he had come close several times, Eugene had still failed to kill Raizakia all on his own.
Well, almost killing an opponent that would have required all five of them to attack together in his previous life to have the same effect was a rather impressive feat, but if he considered the enemies that he would have to face in the future, Eugene felt that taking pride in such a thing was pointless.
‘Relying on Ignition Overstacking would be insane,’ Eugene thought to himself.
The strength that Eugene had reached at that moment had managed to overwhelm Raizakia, but so what. If he had had a minute, no, even with just a few more seconds, he might have been able to tear out Raizakia’s throat — but in the end, a defeat was a defeat.
If Sienna hadn’t arrived, Eugene’s heart might have shattered from the price of using Agaroth’s ring and stacking Ignition twice.
“There’s no need to think about it so seriously,” Sienna said with a smile as she turned to look at Eugene. “The World Tree in the elven territory may have lost its power, and it will need a long time to regain the majesty that it once had, but Eugene, haven’t I heard that there are a few saplings of the World Tree in your family’s estate? If I recuperate there, it should allow me to slowly heal this wound. Even if it doesn’t, at least it won’t get any worse.”
‘That means she also intends to stay at our home,’ Eugene realized.
Although she had naturally been expecting Sienna to do this, Anise still gave a sideways look at Sienna through narrowed eyes.
“Sienna, having heard all this, I can’t help but feel great sorrow. Why on earth would Sir Vermouth… inflict such a wound on you?” Anise said while letting out a long sigh.
Vermouth’s attack hadn’t just damaged Sienna’s body; it had even pierced her soul.
Wasn’t it easy to figure out what that meant? Vermouth had been fully intent on killing Sienna.
“I don’t know why Vermouth would do that either,” Sienna murmured in a low voice as she raised a finger and drew a circle on one side of her head. At this gesture, a transparent ray of light flowed out from Sienna’s head and coiled around her finger.
“This is a memory from two hundred years ago,” Sienna said as she stretched her finger forward. “The memory from when Vermouth attacked me.”
1. The original Korean idiom that is used here actually translates to just how far Anise has managed to cook him up, but I felt that this made more sense and played along better with Sienna’s description of Anise. ☜
2. A similar idiom in English would be rose-tinted glasses. ☜
