When Leas frantically returned, the princess was already gone from the castle. Driven by anxiety, Saber stormed the base constructed on Earth. And then——
’Princess!’
’Ah, you’ve finally arrived, my knight.’
——She met a man.
A Diabolic.
A man standing beside Altina, who had been stained white with filth, wearing a mocking smile.
’You’re late. Ah, no, I’m not blaming you. Thanks to that, I was able to enjoy myself quite a bit.’
’Alter Native, you——!’
The battle itself ended anticlimactically.
Neither Alter nor Moldiana, who assisted him, were a match for Leas — for Sacred Saber.
The compatibility was good, and her fundamental strength was superior. Therefore, an easy victory was self-evident. There was not even a fragment of a reason she would lose.
——But that very fact gouged her heart even more.
If only.
If only she had been by the princess’s side at that time.
If Leas Lot had not been a fool who rejoiced at the appearance of an enemy that must be defeated — the princess would never have been defiled.
She could have protected her. She could have protected her. She could have protected her. No one would have been hurt!
That fact carved deeper into her heart than any wound and weighed heavier on her body than any fatigue.
"I’m sorry—— I’m sorry—— Because I—— because I was a fool—— this, this—— I’m sorry...!"
Therefore, after rescuing Altina, all she could do was sob.
It was my fault. This is my responsibility. So please punish me.
Get angry, get angry, please get angry.
In the heat of emotion, she wanted to be punched. To be called a fool, to be told she was unworthy of being a Sacred.
’Leas—— please, don’t blame yourself so much.’
Yet Princess Altina only smiled gently.
The other Sacred around them, the other people.
Everyone. Everyone.
——No one blamed Leas.
At that time, they still did not know what kind of beings the Diabolic were, or what Monster Villains were.
In fact, until the Monster Villains appeared, both the castle and the city had been safe.
It was true that Leas’s actions may have been rash — but the one at fault was the shameless younger sister of the princess who had betrayed them.
Above all, you saved the princess, did you not?
You are not at fault.
It’s all right.
——Ah, that can’t be, that can’t be, that can’t be...!
"As expected of the strongest swordsman among the Sacred," they would say.
"Continue to put that sword to good use," they would say.
Every time she heard those words, her heart creaked.
It would have been far easier if someone had loudly condemned her as a thoughtless idiot. Why would no one punish her? She was — such a sinful, foolish woman.
——Therefore, Leas Lot had to keep saving people.
If no one else would blame her, then she had no choice but to punish herself.
Yes. As a Sacred who had received power from the princess, she would fight evil correctly and straightforwardly and save the innocent. Until now, from now on, forever and ever.
That was the duty of a fool who had let something slip through her fingers.
——But when she managed to save someone, the joy she felt was not duty — it was genuine.
Even someone like her could save others. She could make someone smile. It made her so happy she felt like crying.
Ah, but even then, she thought slightly.
Was Leas Lot saving someone for their sake, or was she saving them for her own sake?
While saying it was for atonement, was she simply helping people because she enjoyed it?
Was it the same as when she had swung her sword alone outside the capital seeking achievements — merely putting on a surface appearance while satisfying her own desires?
Was she simply using people in trouble so that she could escape her own guilt, you foolish woman — if someone said that to her, she would probably be unable to deny it.
(Ah—— I... I...)
In the dark darkness, she hung her head.
Was she saving unknown people?
Was she living up to the expectations of the princess, of everyone?
Was she atoning for her own sins?
Yes, the only things she should be thinking about were those——
’Nothing special—— I just wanted to save you. That’s all.’
——When she was about to be crushed by emotion, a black shadow appeared.
Ah, that figure.
The man covered from head to toe in dull black tentacles, looking like a mummy.
The one who flipped the hem of his parka and stood before her.
As if protecting the downcast Sacred Saber, he raised his tentacles——
◇
————And there, she woke up.
"Ah..."
Her right hand was stretched out into empty space.
As if she had been reaching toward someone standing in front of her.
"...Truly, what a fool I am."
She gripped the sheets with all her strength. She felt like crying from her own patheticness.
Not only wanting to believe a Monster Villain, but even wishing to be saved by one.
Leas Lot did not have the right to think such things.
She shook her head, stood up, and began preparing to head to school.
While doing so, she noticed a letter stuck in the dorm’s mailbox.
Who could it be? Almost all of her acquaintances were students at the school, so no one would go out of their way to send a letter.
Wondering, she took the letter and realized.
This was not from this world. It had come from her homeland of Calmate, and this sealing wax was——
"Grace!"
Remembering the face of the girl who was also a Sacred and a friend, Leas’s expression brightened.
Her childhood friend one year older, a senior Sacred. Curious about her recent situation, she hurriedly opened the seal.
The contents of the letter were about the situation in their homeland and about Grace herself. Things were still difficult in various ways, but the situation seemed to have calmed somewhat.
"...Thank goodness."
Before coming to Earth, Grace had been quite depressed, which had worried Leas, but from the letter it seemed she had recovered considerably.
Thank goodness, thank goodness, Leas thought with a genuine smile as she continued reading——
’I believe I will be able to join you by next year at the latest, or perhaps even this summer at the earliest.
Until then I will be placing a burden on you, but I trust that you, who defeated me, will be fine.
Let us meet next on Earth. Until then, it will be hard in an unfamiliar land, but do your best. Leas Lot, my friend.
——Grace Wayne’
——Her hand trembled slightly.
"...Yes, I’ll do my best. I — no, I will do my best, Grace."
That’s right.
She had to work even harder.
She had to save even more people.
It still wasn’t enough.
In the first place, what had she been doing yesterday?
Watching the male student she had saved eat deliciously and going to a nearby restaurant — what was that? There were things she should have done before that.
While she was spending time so wastefully, she could have been saving more people.
Yes, it wasn’t enough. She had to save more.
Because — for a woman named Leas Lot, that was the only thing permitted to her.