As soon as we erged from the long tunnel cutting through the mountain range, the border ca into view. Around that ti, Elize began nodding off behind the wheel.
“Professor... I’m sleepy...”
“Go lie down in the back and get so rest.”
Everyone riding in the cargo section connected to the driver’s cabin — even the Hero and Adele Mouin — had already passed out cold.
Dr... ru... rung.
Torrung...
Kendreik and Gray, taking turns snoring right next to Balmung’s ears, were making such a racket that Balmung looked like he was having a nightmare.
No surprise — everyone had finally let their guard down.
“You’re not sleepy, Professor?”
“I am.”
That was all I said. Sure, I was tired — but our safety still wasn’t guaranteed.
We were parked in the middle of a wide, empty road. No people. No buildings. Not even a single tree. Just flat, open asphalt where I brought the car to a stop.
It was ti to change drivers.
Elize, now relieved of duty, pulled out so ragged, half-destroyed bone-shaped stuffed toy from who-knows-where and fell asleep clutching it.
Just as I reached for the wheel again, I felt sothing off.
│)
In the rearview mirror, at the far edge of the extended trunk section (the truck had been customized from a sedan, so the trunk was [N O V E L I G H T] separate), sothing was peeking out — or just about to.
│ㅇ)
│)
Peeking... not peeking...
│ㅇ)
│)
Peeking... not peeking...
What the hell is that little shit doing back there?
│) =3
Our eyes t — and it ducked out of sight.
But this thing never showed up without a reason. I wasn’t going to ignore it this ti either.
I brought the vehicle to a halt again, stepped outside, and opened the trunk.
And — holy shit.
To my surprise, lying there in that filthy, ratty ss... was Eve.
What the hell is she doing here?
For so reason, she’d been sleeping inside the trunk, her eyes closed. Maybe she felt my presence — she slowly opened her eyes.
She frowned a bit, tensing up reflexively.
“......??”
Once she realized it was , her hunched shoulders loosened.
Relief spread clearly across her face.
Then... a head tilt.
“......?”
Eve moved her fingers.
‘You. Here. Why?’
She was asking what I was doing here — I was speechless.
So I answered:
‘This. Mine. Car. You. How. Here.’
‘Walked.’
‘Why.’
Apparently, why was too abstract a concept. Eve furrowed her brows, thought hard for a while, then grinned and lightly brushed her own shoulder with her hand.
‘Don’t know.’
Why the hell don’t you know?
How did she even sneak in? When did she get here?
Did that Scout│ㅅㅇ) tell her to get in?
Regardless, it was... kind of nice to see her.
‘Co front seat?’
‘Yes.’
We still had a long way to go. Better to treat her like a human being than leave her packed like luggage in a windowless trunk.
│ㅂㅇ)
And for so reason, the little thing looked pleased too.
***
Near the border, we boarded a smuggling vessel — our prearranged escape route.
Now, normally you’d expect a smuggler ship to be a dinky cargo hauler — but if it’s an Empire-backed smuggling company, it’s on a whole other level.
First off, it’s not even a ship — it’s an airship. And it flies in fleets of ten or more at once.
Each run, they ship out tens of thousands of tons of contraband all over the world.
Among that cargo? Drugs. Doping agents. Whatever you can na. Yeah — they’re full-on criminals.
Thirty minutes later, the fleet of ships lifted into the sky.
The earth below slowly shrank away from the window.
“Ehhh~ kinda feels like we’re stowing away.”
“We are stowing away.”
Gray bared her snaggletooth while peeking out the window. Balmung chid in flatly with his usual deadpan.
Inside the silent cargo bay of the airship, everyone exchanged awkward glances.
The Dante Assassination Squad, the Hero’s party, an elephant... No one knew how this group ended up in the sa place, but this was definitely the first ti we were all together in one room.
“Professor. Gray has a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Isn’t that Adele Assistant over there?”
At that, Adele Mouin furrowed her brows.
“‘Assistant’? I’m a cleric, thank you very much. And who exactly do you think you’re pointing at?”
“Huh? Adele-sis is mad.”
Balmung and Kendreik looked equally curious. They’d both seen Adele around during assassin training sessions, so the face was familiar.
But this Adele over here... Her vibe was off. Her expression was sharper. There was even a cross-shaped mark (†) carved into her cheek.
“She’s not Assistant Adele.”
“Seems like it. So... a twin?”
“No... not even a twin. Just soone else entirely.”
“Hey, miss. What’s your na?”
“...Adele.”
“She says she’s Adele?”
“.......”
How the hell was I supposed to explain this?
“She’s soone else. Period.”
“Ehh...”
“What’s with the ‘ehh,’ dumbass? If Professor says it’s soone else, it’s soone else. Can’t you tell she’s from Kreutz?”
While Balmung was rubbing his hands like a scher...
“Shut it. Even I could figure that out.”
Suddenly ticked off, Gray tried to punch Balmung — but he ducked easily. With their height difference, just tilting his head back put her out of range.
“Hey, assassins over there. All from Hiaka?”
“That’s right.”
“Ugh, shit. So annoying...”
“What’s your problem? I thought you were a cleric.”
This ti, Gray’s temper shifted targets.
Just as things were heating up, the Hero raised a hand.
“...Excuse .”
Just two words — but his voice was steeped in sorrow.
“I’m listening.”
“I recognize the others, but... who is that one?”
He pointed toward soone — and everyone turned toward the corner of the cargo bay.
There, huddled up... was Eve.
Caught off guard by the attention, Eve pulled her hood low and nervously glanced my way.
“Huh? Oh yeah, Professor. Who is she?”
“Such a beauty...”
“Wha—??”
Elize asked, and Balmung’s comnt made Kendreik visibly startle. For reasons I couldn’t even guess.
“Um... she’s...”
I started to explain, but—
“.......”
I didn’t know how to explain it.
Soone I know?
The monster of Starfall Mountain?
Next, they’d ask what kind of relationship we had — and I had no good answer for that either.
So I took the easy route.
“My friend.”
“Ah.”
“I see.”
“She’s hearing impaired. Can’t understand speech well. If you want to say sothing, tell .”
Elize muttered, ‘The Professor has... friends...?’
So I grabbed her cheek with my thumb and forefinger.
“Aiiee—why, whyyy...?”
“.......”
Then I told Eve to introduce herself. Greet everyone.
Eve shook her head stubbornly in refusal.
‘Greet.’
‘No.’
‘Make friends. Them. People.’
‘No.’
‘Why.’
‘Don’t know.’
...Well, yeah. She only ever acted friendly with . Even Ran, who taught her sign language, got the cold shoulder.
But we couldn’t keep going like this forever. Eventually, she’d have to develop so social skills.
Just then, Kendreik’s stomach let out a growl.
Grrrooowl—
Big guy ant big organs — and big rumbling too.
“Ugh...”
The embarrassed oaf scratched his head.
“Hey mister. Got anything to eat?”
Adele Mouin looked hungry too.
They weren’t wrong — we’d all been on the move for hours with nothing in our stomachs.
“All right, everyone gather up. Ti to eat.”
“What do we have?”
“Rations.”
I pulled out the Imperial MRE packs I’d bought earlier from [Inventory].
One-touch heating, a full-course set: rice, bread, at, even dessert.
I made Eve’s portion myself.
Just then, soone tiptoed over wagging her taphorical tail — Elize.
Sniff sniff.
“......?”
“This sll... I’ve slled it before. Haven’t we t sowhere?”
“.......”
“Where was it? It felt really close. Ah! Do you live at our academy?”
Elize had probably road every inch of the place all year round with her MiniMiniMungs. She must’ve visited Starfall Mountain at least once.
She crouched beside Eve, edging closer. Eve turned away, retreating as far as she could, then reached out and grabbed my sleeve.
A rough, ‘Help!’ gesture.
I turned to look at her: ‘Don’t know.’
“......??”
It must’ve felt like her world was collapsing.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
Eventually, she’d need to open up to others — and starting with Elize wasn’t the worst idea.
“Food’s ready, Professor.”
“Got it.”
The MREs had finished heating, and alti began.
I had to help feed Eve.
She avoided anything with a strong sll, but stuff like chiffon cake? She adored it.
“......♡”
Elephant or not, she ate like a squirrel.
Nibbling bite by bite like she was gnawing on nuts — and before I realized it, a whole big slice of chiffon cake was gone.
‘Tasty?’
‘Yes.’
We’d all suffered to get here, and yet she was the one dining like a queen... But no, I told myself — no dark thoughts.
Still, when I handed her mine, she gladly took it too.
“Should I give her mine as well?”
“...Sure.”
And just like that, Eve devoured Balmung’s cake too. Three in total.
Her face practically glowed with joy.
‘More. None?’
‘None. You. Pig.’
‘???’
But when I tried to eat my own al... I couldn’t.
Maybe it was the sleep deprivation from planning everything.
“You want mine?”
“Wah~!”
I handed my plate to Kendreik, the big guy. He happily chowed down on at, stew, and chocolate.
Adele Mouin ate quietly without complaint.
And the Hero...
He ate like a man who’d just lost his job. Forcing down his food with a dead gaze.
Like livestock chewing on feed.
...Should I just take that away from him?
That was the mood as we ate in silence.
Knock knock—
Around that ti, a smuggler opened the door and handed a projector the size of a human head.
“Here it is.”
It was sothing I’d asked for in advance.
“Thanks. Didn’t expect you to get it while in the airship.”
“Hey, pay enough, I’ll steal one from the captain himself.”
“Frequencies?”
“All pre-set.”
After he left, Balmung asked:
“A projector, Professor?”
“To watch the news.”
“The news.”
“That commotion with the Stellar Throne⁺₊⋆ Stigma at the casino — there’s no way they’re keeping it under wraps now.”
Not just the assassination squad — even Adele Mouin and the Hero sidled closer.
A public battle between Constellations was a rare event, maybe once every few years. When it happened, the whole world watched.
And so, all eight of us crowded around the tiny screen.
Pop—
Just as expected, every channel on the projector was flooded with news about the casino incident.
—“The Stellar Throne and the Black Star Throne are on the verge of a clash! A siege, or possibly a defensive stand, is unfolding before our eyes!”
Battle footage played.
The two Thrones were colliding.
The clash of light and dark was like a giant ga of territorial conquest — both forces staining each other like paint.
The more territory one gained, the stronger their influence beca.
—“The Stellar Throne’s Agion appears to be preparing an aggressive assault. Shown here are dozens of Stellar soldiers. The Black Star Throne is countering with their elite guard.”
Inside a massive sphere of light, a man stood like a god.
In the darkness swirling like smoke, a woman stood facing him — like a deity of the underworld.
—“The root of their conflict is presud to be the treasure of the Eternal Arc, though details remain unconfird...”
One of them might die today. If that happened, the world would spiral out of control.
All the Thrones would scramble to uncover the truth. And information about the “Peacemaker†” would spread like wildfire.
“Glory.”
“...Yes?”
Those cold, blue eyes turned toward .
“Co with for a mont.”
Before the chaos grew any worse—I had to ta this bastard while I still could.
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