Opportunity (1)
The demonic energy that had stained the sky a dark crimson had disappeared.
Only a clear, pure blue remained as the backdrop.
Following the gently blowing sea breeze, a vivid scene of summer rolled in.
The girl stood amidst the peaceful waves.
Occasionally, the splashing waves touched her toes.
Swooosh.
Only a refreshing echo remained in the broken foam.
Charlotte was staring blankly at the scenery.
Her lips, carrying a hint of silence, still held a faint, soft red that refused to fade.
"······."
It was a peculiar domain.
Beautiful.
It felt as if she were dreaming.
Just moments ago, everything was shrouded in red mist, with bloody waves pouring down like tears, and only a dreadful dissonance resounding through the crimson fog.
But when she regained her senses, she found herself in a completely different world.
- Just for a moment, it would be nice if you could attract attention.
- I'll give the signal.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
A momentary transformation.
- It is now.
The boy leaped with a quick clap of his hands.
In an instant, he caught the trail of sin and, without a hint of hesitation, grabbed the woman's nape.
What followed was a simple gesture.
- Shatter.
But.
That was enough.
Following the grip of his fingers, cracks spread through the air.
Soon, the previously red background shattered into pieces, and through the opening, layers of blue sky appeared.
A landscape where red and blue intertwined.
It was an indescribable enchantment.
Splash, splash.
The boy approached calmly, walking over the vast sea.
He held a woman in his arms.
She was asleep, breathing peacefully.
As if the fallen appearance had been a lie, there was not a hint of darkness left around the nun.
Charlotte stared at the two, lost in thought.
"How."
How in the world did he do it?
To purify a being tainted by demonic energy.
It felt as if common sense was breaking.
The girl, who had experienced many things while chasing after the cult, had never heard of such a possibility.
It was like something out of a biblical story.
"I was wrong."
Charlotte realized she had been mistaken.
The back alley, and the class allocation test.
The power she had witnessed from the boy back then was just a fraction of his true strength.
The snake exuded an overwhelming aura.
She had met many strong individuals due to her position as a princess, including professors, deans, and sword masters, but she had never felt so powerless.
Was this how a creature felt when standing before a god in the beginning?
"Strange."
Suddenly, fear crept in, but what preceded it was curiosity.
Charlotte didn’t think the boy was bad.
It was the conclusion she reached after observing him until now.
He had no desires that suggested greed, was full of mercy rather than cruelty, and did not treat others carelessly, contrary to selfishness.
He also didn’t emit the peculiar stench of adults.
Only.
- I just didn’t want you to get hurt.
A clean, radiant smile.
The fresh scent of winter.
It was enveloped in a purely innocent atmosphere.
Others might not have noticed, but for Charlotte, with her special vision, she could fully perceive it.
About those who do not forget their childhood innocence.
"······."
Charlotte gazed quietly.
Whether he knew her complicated thoughts or not, the snake just approached with calm steps.
Gently cradling the unconscious woman.
"Perhaps."
Charlotte thought without realizing it.
Perhaps it might be possible.
Until now, she had only observed due to uncertainty, but witnessing a miracle firsthand changed things.
A ray of hope shone in a situation filled with despair.
"If it’s him, maybe he can heal."
A short soliloquy filled with earnestness.
As she pondered over such possibilities like a plea, a painful voice suddenly reached her ears.
"Sister."
A girl with a rarely wavering expression.
Amidst the gently blowing breeze, Charlotte stood there like that.
***
The concert concluded like that.
Having subdued the apparition, which was the clear condition, and shattered the demonic energy that had engulfed the surroundings, there were no more lingering threats.
I carried the slackened body of the woman and moved forward.
"······."
The rescued Medro was unconscious.
There wasn’t any particular problem; it seemed she was simply exhausted.
She would probably wake up after some time.
Step, step.
Traversing the calm sea and stepping onto the warm sandy beach again.
Someone was waiting for me there.
A girl with a somewhat blank gaze.
Charlotte only regained her senses after I called out to her.
"Your Highness."
"Ah."
"Let’s go back."
"······Okay."
The girl nodded quietly.
We moved toward the door we originally entered through.
The girl, walking with a complex expression, soon asks me a question, as if she had made up her mind.
Her blue eyes were staring at the woman in my arms.
“Hey.”
"Hmm?"
"How did you do that?"
"You must be talking about Miss Medro."
She seemed to be in shock.
Well, it was understandable.
This was probably the first time she had seen something like this.
Anyone who had studied magic even a little would know how absurd the idea of purifying a apparition was.
It was theoretically impossible.
What I had just shown was nothing short of a miracle, defying all logic and concepts.
It would be strange not to be surprised.
"I don't understand. What exactly happened?"
Charlotte murmured quietly.
Though she usually didn't show much emotion, it was clear she was shaken this time.
I maintained my composure and replied calmly.
"Let's discuss this later. For now, we should focus on getting out of here."
I had subdued the thought-form of the conductor.
Since I had destroyed the core of the domain, it wouldn't be long before this space collapsed.
Given that my energy was nearly depleted, getting trapped in this closed-off area would be troublesome.
Even if I were to explain, escaping from here took priority.
Although my suggestion was for practical reasons, Charlotte seemed to think I was avoiding her question.
She nodded obediently and said,
"Alright... If you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask."
"That wasn't my intention."
"Don't worry. I don't want to get on your bad side either."
"Hmm."
She seemed to misunderstand something, but it was better to leave it at that.
After all, it wasn't something I could explain properly anyway.
The snake and the little prince.
The two of them simply walked across the sandy beach together.
As we reached the threshold leading out of the domain, the first to greet us was none other than Irene.
The girl was squatting nearby, waiting.
"Ah."
Her ears perked up as our eyes met.
Light returned to her previously dull pupils.
Irene ran over and took the unconscious body of Medro from me.
Even then, she asked about my well-being.
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine."
"You didn't overdo it again, did you?"
"Not at all. This time, it went smoothly. There was no real danger, so there's no need to worry."
"That's a relief."
Perhaps she had been anxious while waiting.
Even as she nodded, the fox couldn't stop circling around, as if checking for injuries.
It was endearing in a way.
As I quietly patted her head, the other members who had been standing behind approached us.
Neria was the first to speak.
"Good job, Master."
"Vice captain."
"The situation in the basement has been sorted out. All survivors have been transported to Astro's hospital, and the young mutants you ordered to be isolated have been sent to headquarters."
"Have you accounted for the deceased?"
"Of course. A total of 128 priests died in this attack, with 37 survivors and 23 isolated mutants."
"So many... died."
I clicked my tongue bitterly.
For a moment, I felt a pang of sorrow, but I shook it off and continued to give orders.
We still needed to stay alert.
"Let's clean up the area. The sun will rise soon. We need to leave before anyone outside notices anything unusual."
"As you wish."
The members began to move busily.
I took a deep breath and walked out of the basement.
***
When I said we needed to clean up, it didn't carry any special meaning.
The place was already a mess due to the cultists' attack.
There was no need to erase our traces.
The lingering magic would make it difficult to distinguish anything anyway.
What we were cleaning up were the bodies.
"······."
At the center of the cathedral.
Underneath the upright cross, those who had met their end lay in repose.
White sheets were draped over the neatly laid-out victims.
One by one, someone's life was being organized.
I stood there blankly, watching.
'So many.'
There were many people I couldn't save.
A staggering 128.
Feeling the weight of that number, I let out a sigh I had been holding back.
My calm breath carried the scent of blood.
'It's always like this.'
It was always a similar feeling.
I saved people.
I prevented an incident that could have led to a catastrophe.
I acted like a hero saving the world.
But every time, I couldn't help but feel troubled by the people I couldn't save.
Maybe it was because of a foolish lingering desire.
'I can't save everyone.'
I knew that.
I wasn't a god.
I wasn't omniscient enough to see through everything, nor omnipotent enough to achieve everything.
The future I could foresee was limited to what I knew from the original story.
The miracles I could perform were constrained by the limits of my power.
Because of this, not all tragedies can be prevented.
No matter how exceptional one may be, a mere human cannot exceed their own abilities.
In that case.
'Next time.'
One can only make a resolution.
To achieve better results next time.
To notice things faster, act appropriately, and respond wisely, vowing to save more people.
This time was no different.
"······."
I stand silently, lost in thought.
As I let time pass by, a girl approaches from the side.
Her platinum hair sways with her steps.
Her blue eyes quietly gaze in this direction.
It was Charlotte.
"······Your Highness."
"Yes."
The girl stands beside me.
She said she would look around the basement a bit more, and it seems she just came up to the surface.
After a moment of silence, Charlotte speaks.
"I owe you. Thanks to you, we were able to find the missing people."
"It was nothing."
"I'll handle the aftermath here. Even though the incident is over, there are still tedious procedures left. With my authority, I can resolve them quickly."
"We plan to protect the surviving priests on our side for the time being."
"Yes. That seems like a good idea. If there are survivors in a branch we thought was wiped out, the cultists might find it suspicious."
"They really are troublesome, aren't they?"
"Indeed."
Charlotte responds with her characteristic straightforwardness.
As we exchange opinions about the post-incident handling, the sun begins to rise outside the window.
It was time to return to headquarters.
"Then... I'll be going now."
With a light farewell, I turn my back.
The members who have finished organizing are waiting.
Just as I was about to step towards them, Charlotte's hand suddenly grabs my sleeve.
I turn around.
"Hey."
"Your Highness?"
"I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?"
Though it felt somewhat abrupt, I quietly listened to the girl's story.
It seemed like she had been gauging my reaction since earlier.
Perhaps she had something important to say.
Charlotte hesitated for a while, then finally spoke as if she had made up her mind.
Her voice was uncharacteristically trembling.
"I need help."
"Hmm?"
"If it's you... you might be able to save me."
Her blinking blue eyes.
Beyond her transparent pupils, only my reflection could be seen.
Her crimson lips plead softly.
"Please... save us."
"······."
Listening to the girl's story, I couldn't move for a while.
My lips twitched faintly.
I covered my mouth with my palm.
And then, with a sinister smile, I thought.
Savoring the thrill that ran down my spine.
'As expected.'
You've taken the bait.
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