The return journey was quiet, the weight of what they had experienced settling over them like a shroud.
Ayanokoji and Rem moved through the forest in silence, their bodies still aching from the fight.
The soldiers had done their duty.
The hostages were safe, relocated to a nearby village where they could receive medical attention and begin rebuilding their lives.
It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
But Ayanokoji knew that the Cult would not take this defeat lightly.
They had been humiliated, their plans disrupted, their members killed.
They would seek revenge, and they would make it bloody.
We need to be ready, he thought.
The next attack will be worse.
They’ll come at us with everything they have.
The mansion came into view as the sun began to set.
Emilia was waiting at the gate, her amethyst eyes wide with worry.
When she saw them, she rushed forward, her silver hair streaming behind her.
“You’re alive!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Rem.
“I was so worried!”
Rem stiffened, clearly unused to such displays of affection.
“Lady Emilia, I’m fine.
We’re both fine.”
Emilia pulled back, her eyes moving to Ayanokoji.
“And you?
Are you hurt?”
“Minor injuries only,” Ayanokoji replied.
“Nothing that won’t heal.”
Emilia’s expression softened.
“Thank you.
Both of you.
For saving those people.”
“It was the logical course of action,” Ayanokoji said.
“But the Cult is still out there.
They won’t stop until they’ve achieved their goals.”
Emilia’s face fell.
“I know.
That’s why we need to keep fighting.”
They entered the mansion, where Roswaal was waiting in the study.
The Margrave’s expression was unreadable as he listened to their report.
“The Cult was planning to retrieve an artifact from the ruins north of Arlam,” Ayanokoji said.
“They believe it will give them an advantage in the Selection.
We don’t know what the artifact is, but if they obtain it, the consequences could be catastrophic.”
Roswaal nodded slowly.
“This is troubling news.
The ruins of Arlam are said to contain relics from the era of the Witch’s War.
If the Cult were to get their hands on one…”
“We need to find it first,” Ayanokoji said.
“Or at least prevent the Cult from obtaining it.”
“That’s easier said than done.
The ruins are protected by ancient wards—magical barriers that have held for centuries.
Even the Cult’s Archbishops would struggle to break through.”
“Then we have time.
But not much.
The Cult will redouble their efforts after what happened.
We need to act quickly.”
Roswaal studied him for a long moment.
“You’ve done well, Ayanokoji-kun. This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
Better than I expected.
But I wonder…
are you prepared for what comes next?”
Ayanokoji met his gaze.
“I’m always prepared.”
The Margrave smiled, but there was something dark in his eyes.
“We shall see.”
The next few days were a blur of activity.
Ayanokoji spent every waking moment preparing for the next confrontation with the Cult.
He studied ancient texts, consulted with Rem about Mabeast behavior, and developed new strategies for dealing with the Cult’s tactics.
But he also noticed something else.
The dynamic between him and the other residents of the mansion had shifted.
The servants looked at him with new respect, and even Ram—who had always been cold toward him—began to thaw slightly.
“You’re not as useless as I thought,” she said one evening, as she served him tea in the library.
“Rem speaks highly of you.”
Ayanokoji looked up from his book.
“I wasn’t aware that your sister’s opinion mattered to you.”
“It doesn’t.
But she’s a good judge of character.
If she trusts you, then maybe you’re worth trusting.” Ram paused, her expression unreadable.
“Just don’t betray that trust.
Or I’ll make you regret it.”
It was a threat, but also a strange kind of acceptance.
Ram was warning him not to hurt her sister, but she was also acknowledging that he was part of their world now.
“I have no intention of betraying anyone,” Ayanokoji said.
“I’m here to help Emilia-sama.
That’s my only goal.”
Ram studied him for a moment, then nodded.
“Good.
Then we understand each other.”
As she left, Ayanokoji returned to his book.
The text was a history of the Witch’s War, detailing the battles that had been fought and the heroes who had emerged.
It was dense, academic reading, but it contained valuable information about the Cult’s origins and motivations.
The Cult believes that the Witch of Envy was wronged, he read.
That she was betrayed by those she trusted and sealed away unjustly.
They seek to free her, believing that her return will bring about a new era of peace and prosperity.
It was a familiar pattern—the same kind of fanatical devotion that had fueled countless cults and revolutionary movements throughout history.
The Cult’s members weren’t evil for the sake of being evil; they genuinely believed they were fighting for a righteous cause.
That’s what makes them dangerous, Ayanokoji thought.
They’re not motivated by greed or self-interest.
They’re motivated by faith.
And faith is the hardest thing to break.
But it wasn’t impossible.
Faith could be shaken, challenged, undermined.
The question was how to do it effectively.
He set the book aside and stood, stretching his stiff muscles.
The sun was setting outside, casting long shadows across the library.
He needed to clear his head, to think about something other than the Cult and the Selection.
He found himself in the courtyard, watching the stars appear one by one in the darkening sky.
The air was cool and still, carrying the faint scent of flowers from the garden.
“Can’t sleep?”
He turned to see Emilia approaching, her silver hair shimmering in the starlight.
She wore a simple white dress, and her expression was soft, almost vulnerable.
“I don’t sleep much,” Ayanokoji replied.
“It’s a habit from my training.”
Emilia moved to stand beside him, her eyes fixed on the stars.
The place where you were trained?”
The question caught him off guard.
He had been careful not to reveal too much about his past, but Emilia’s curiosity seemed genuine.
“It was…
efficient,” he said finally.
“Everything was designed to produce a specific result.
Emotions were considered weaknesses, distractions from the goal.
We were taught to suppress them, to focus only on the task at hand.”
“That sounds terrible,” Emilia said softly.
“It was necessary.
The world I came from was competitive.
Only the strongest survived.
The White Room gave me the tools I needed to succeed.”
“At what cost?”
Ayanokoji was silent for a long moment.
The question cut deeper than he expected.
What had the White Room cost him?
His childhood, his innocence, his ability to connect with others.
Everything that made him human.
“Everything,” he admitted.
“It cost me everything.”
Emilia turned to look at him, her amethyst eyes filled with compassion.
“I’m sorry.
No one should have to go through something like that.”
“It doesn’t matter now.
That world is gone.
I’m here, and I need to adapt to this new reality.”
“You don’t have to do it alone,” Emilia said.
“You have Rem, and Ram, and the others.
You have…
me.”
Ayanokoji looked at her, really looked at her for the first time.
She was beautiful, yes, but there was something more—a warmth, a sincerity that he had never encountered before.
She genuinely cared about him, even though he had given her no reason to.
She’s a fool, he thought.
A naive, idealistic fool who believes that kindness can change the world.
And yet…
And yet, there was something compelling about her optimism.
Something that made him want to believe, even if only for a moment, that the world could be different.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
“But I’m not sure I know how to accept help.”
“Then learn,” Emilia replied, a small smile playing at her lips.
“I’ll teach you.”
They stood in silence for a long moment, the stars wheeling overhead.
Ayanokoji felt something shift inside him—a tiny crack in the wall he had built around his heart.
Dangerous, he thought.
This is dangerous.
Emotional attachment leads to weakness.
I can’t afford to let my guard down.
But even as he thought it, he knew that the wall had already been breached.
Emilia had found a way in, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to push her out.
The game was changing.
And Ayanokoji wasn’t sure he was ready for what came next.