As usual, the maiden was perched on my bed.
It was as if she wanted to claim this spot as her rightful share.
It was absurd. Although we spent a few nights together, both of us were in a situation where we could not walk side by side for a lifetime.
The rising star of humanity and the arch-nemesis of humanity, who had taken countless lives.
The confrontation between the two was all but predetermined. Although we were born as siblings, our fate ultimately separated us, so there was no one to blame.
I could only resent the world woven with such a cruel connection.
There was certainly a reason why I deliberately maintained a cold attitude towards the maiden. It was a complicated feeling that could not be simply explained by resentment or hatred.
Nevertheless, the voice that passed through my vocal cords was starkly cold.
“Have you not yet returned?”
“I told you, brother. I will never leave you… as long as you don’t leave me.”
“It won’t be long before that happens.”
Even as I said this, I didn’t deliberately chase her away.
There was indeed a conversation that needed to be had with her. Eventually, my hands naturally began to loosen my clothing.
As if she didn’t exist at all, it was the same procedure as always. When returning to the lodging, one must first change their clothes.
However, even amidst this, the sword and axe never left my side.
In any case, the fact remained that she was one of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Dark Cult.
She was not a maiden who could fail to notice this. “Greed” soon puffed up her cheeks with a theatrical sound. She clearly seemed disappointed.
“Why do you keep doing that? It’s upsetting. We’re destined to be one since birth…”
“Why did you attack?”
It was a question with the object omitted.
The maiden was momentarily at a loss for words in response to my brief counter-question. The golden eyes directed at me were so clear and pure that it was hard to read what lay beneath them.
Was it a question, or perhaps admiration?
I had to ask the maiden again as I took off my shirt and put on more comfortable clothing.
“About the vampire. There were some complications, but we had two masters on our side… There was no need to go to such lengths as to break the barrier on purpose. The vampires could have been dealt with just fine regardless.”
“Huh, are you sure it was my doing?”
“There’s no possibility of anything else.”
It was an extremely rational suspicion.
That day, the whereabouts of the vampire was shrouded in mystery. No one, including myself, had expected such an unexpected encounter awaited us.
Indeed, the place where the vampire was waiting was surrounded by a spatial distortion barrier. The chances of someone unrelated to the incident accidentally approaching the area were slim.
If that was the case, there was only one likely suspect.
Only one woman who had boasted of knowing the whereabouts of the vampire for some time.
She had enough background to destroy the vampire’s barrier from the outside and annihilate everyone inside the barrier.
Despite my deduction, the maiden’s complexion remained indifferent. No, she even twisted her lips upward as if it was amusing.
With a chilling smile, her golden pupils emerged. The dim lighting willingly took on the role of a drawing paper.
“…What if that’s the case?”
“What do you want me to say? I don’t think I need to converse with a traitor.”
And then, silence.
The gazes of the maiden and I met high up in the void. Although I had not properly drawn upon my magic, a taut sense of tension whispered to me.
If there were the tiniest spark.
It wouldn’t be strange to draw my sword and engage in a life-and-death struggle with the maiden. After all, she had suggested working together in front while secretly plotting my and the vampire’s ruin.
It was a clear breach of contract.
Just as my hand was about to stealthily head towards my waist.
“Puhuh, ahahaha! Wait, wait… I get it, I was wrong! Yes, it was my doing.”
The maiden burst into laughter, brushing away the dew that had gathered at the corners of her eyes.
I found her reaction to be utterly ridiculous.
My voice sharpened as I aimed it at the maiden.
“…What’s so funny?”
“You’re just too funny… Hehe, so you did trust me a little?”
“I wanted to let you know that even the slightest trust has been shattered.”
“Puhuh, really? I doubt that… Ah, you’re handsome. How can a scowling face look so cool? My brother is truly the best…”
My conversation with the maiden was running parallel lines.
No matter how much I frowned, the maiden merely gazed at me with a dreamy expression. Occasionally, she would bite her lips as if finding it difficult to hold back.
My already strained patience was reaching its limit.
As my hand grasped the sword’s hilt, only then did the maiden begin to clear up my doubts.
“First, I haven’t broken the contract. I’m a merchant. There’s no way I’d break a contract. Brother, are you foolish?”
“But you aimed for my life…!”
“How could I possibly kill you?”
Sitting up abruptly, the maiden asked me with an expression painted in pure curiosity.
Her light steps were captivating. Her golden pupils, gazing at me as if puzzled, were brimming with various emotions.
Affection, hatred, greed, obsession, and lust.
The intensity of that heat made my face flushed. Overwhelmed by the dense emotions, I couldn’t swing my sword until the maiden approached right in front of me.
With her hands behind her back and her upper body slightly bent, the maiden smiled brightly. As if satisfied that my hands had not moved.
“Tell me, brother. How could I kill you? My other half and the final piece to complete my stolen life? Do you think I would even consider splitting my own body in half?”
The fierce swirl of desire left no room for doubt.
Anyone would feel that way. Not just me, but everyone facing such luminous eyes would likely reach the same conclusion.
The maiden was sincere.
Rather, her obsession, close to madness, clung tightly to my body.
Finding myself at a loss for words, I fell into silence for a while. How long had it been since our breaths mixed like this?
Eventually, the question I managed to squeeze out was a painfully obvious rebuttal.
“…Then why?”
“It’s not you. I aimed for the other two.”
Of course, the maiden spoke as if she had anticipated that much, continuing her explanation without pause.
Slightly lifting her upper body and pointing her index finger, a strange satisfaction was evident on her face. The satisfied smile hanging at her lips further proved this.
“The masters are our Dark Cult’s greatest archenemies. And to eliminate both at once, along with that thorn in my side named jealousy? That’s the best, right?”
“In that process, you could have died as well.”
“Don’t worry too much. I had a way to save you.”
Once again, the maiden flopped back on the bed.
Her substantial weight caused the fluffy blanket to bounce. I slowly relaxed my grip on the sword’s hilt without shifting my deep gaze.
It was a signal that I was willing to listen.
The maiden seemed more than happy to comply with my request.
“You’ve seen the ‘Boundary’ before, right?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have reached the level of a high expert.
Upon hearing this implication, the maiden nodded proudly, wearing an elevated expression.
“Actually, not much is known about the ‘Boundary.’ The number of people who can freely move beyond it is incredibly low. Perhaps the only one on the entire continent who could reach that level is Delphrium?”
“I’m not interested in hearing about your cult leader’s praises.”
“Oh come on, you lack patience… The important point is that the ‘Boundary’ relates to the principles of the world. It exists behind the world we can perceive, a space outside of laws, perhaps? So as the principles of the world fundamentally shake, the chances to come into contact with the Boundary increase.”
Before I could ask what point that had, I suddenly recalled what the Great Witch had once explained.
This world operates through the interaction of the five elements.
And the vampire’s barrier aimed to intentionally disrupt that balance of the five elements.
My reasoning on this matter didn’t last long. Before I could ponder any further, the maiden had already nailed it down.
“Right, the vampire’s barrier temporarily creates a ‘Boundary.’ The space you were trapped in is the same. Otherwise, there’s no way you could have a one-on-one fight with the masters, is there?”
“What does that have to do with my rescue…?”
“Even if the barrier collapses, you would merely become a lost child within the Boundary. If that happens, most will wander eternally within the Boundary, only to be absorbed into what lies beyond… But as I said, there are beings who can freely come and go through the Boundary.”
There was no need to ask who.
Hadn’t the maiden just mentioned?
A name that I could never forget just moments ago.
As I felt my body stiffen, a deeper smile grew on the maiden’s face. Her golden eyes, glowing in the darkness, were particularly eerie.
“Delphrium is watching.”
Upon hearing that name, I recalled a dream from long ago.
One of the memories of the man I had first looked into.
“Delphrium is coming.”
The name I had heard that day was finally moving.
