Rumors spread. The Astraea Familia had been wiped out, and only a very small number of survivors had returned alive.
I did not know who the survivors were, but all I could do was sigh.
Had it not been enough? Jeanne, the variable beyond myself, and Sentō Namakura, which I had personally placed in their hands?
Had I failed in the end?
With those complicated feelings in my chest, I pulled out the jar of alcohol we had buried in the workshop floor and shared a drink with Limus for the first time in a long while.
"...Why do you look so damn depressed when we're drinking?"
"They say the Astraea Familia was wiped out. They were a Familia that fought so hard for our Orario, and hearing that they just—went like that... it hurts. A little? No, it hurts a lot."
"Then shall the next cup be for those who fought for Orario?"
"To their memory!"
"To their memory!"
Gulp—
We tipped back our cups and let Japanese sake—or Far Eastern sake, as it was called here—flow down our throats.
The sake, warmed over embers brought from the forge, burned hot as it passed through my mouth, tongue, throat, and finally into my stomach.
They say you enjoy its fragrance in your mouth, its flavor on your tongue, its smoothness in your throat, and finally its warmth in your belly.
None of that mattered right now.
I just kept pouring it down my throat, again and again and again, trying to drown the flames building inside me beneath an even hotter current.
Whether Limus understood my turmoil or was simply thirsty for alcohol, he said nothing and kept drinking.
Only after we had run out of both the alcohol and the preserved food we had taken out as snacks did the two of us stop drinking and collapse onto the floor.
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Knock knock knock...
Knock knock... knock knock knock...
Knock knock knock knock... knock knock knock... knock knock...
"Fuck... who is it... I haven't even opened up... Ugh, my head..."
Wondering who the hell was knocking when I had not even opened the shop on a weekend morning, I dragged my still-hungover body over and flung the door open.
"We're not open...! [Gale]...? And Kaguya too...?"
"...It has been a long time. This is the first time since the Hostess of Fertility."
"...It has been a while."
When I opened the door, there was Ryu, whom I had not seen in a very long time, and Kaguya... with one arm missing.
"Uh, come in for now. The inside is a complete mess, but please wait a moment."
"Yes, then excuse us."
"..."
Fortunately, we had only had our drinking party in the workshop, so the forge itself was not particularly dirty.
I hurriedly woke Limus and asked him to tidy up inside because urgent guests had arrived.
"Fuck... why are you suddenly giving me that Prum-style asking-after-my-parents shit...?"
"I'll pour you another bowl of abuse later, so just do it for now. I said urgent guests came."
"Yeah..."
I had my doubts, but I trusted Limus for the moment and left the workshop. Knowing the smell of alcohol would be overwhelming, I did not forget to rinse my mouth with the last cup of water before going out.
"Ahem. So, what brings you here? I heard the news the other day. You have my deepest condolences."
"...Yes."
"..."
"Come to think of it, where is Captain Alise...?"
"Captain Alise is..."
"Captain Alise left Orario with Lady Astraea."
When Ryu Lion hesitated and could not answer my question, Kaguya spoke up from beside her.
"Um... when you say she left...?"
"Officially, it is a journey. But since she has set the duration of that journey at ten years, it is a kind of flight..."
"...Why are you telling an outsider like me all of this?"
"I know... I know this must sound truly shameless. But... but..."
"..."
"Could you help us take our revenge...?!"
The sound that came from Ryu's mouth was so laden with resentment that it was hard to believe it had come from a living person.
It was a cry that seemed capable of dropping the temperature around us by ten degrees merely by being dragged out of her mouth.
How much pain had she endured, carrying that resentment within her?
How desperate did she have to be to let out such a grief-filled plea for help to someone who had merely shared a drink with her at a tavern?
I could never dare claim to fully understand the heart of a woman who had lost everything, but I remembered.
That day a year and a half ago.
The atrocities of those Evilus bastards, whom it would not have been enough to chew alive, who had made the final day of my journey with my goddess end not in happy laughter but with a pale, rigid expression.
For the sake of her final moments, when she told me -------, I had no right to refuse their request for help.
"I—I promised Jeanne.
That I would live a life happier than anyone else's, a life filled with more laughter than anyone else's!"
When I did not say anything, she began pouring out the resentment within her.
"But I cannot be happy yet. I still cannot smile!"
She poured it out.
"I cannot sleep or breathe knowing that, above this ground and beneath it, the culprits who caused our family's deaths are hiding somewhere.
Only after I exterminate every last one of those filthy Evilus bastards, as if exterminating vermin, and fulfill their revenge, will I finally be able to smile."
She poured it out.
"If you know me, if you know Jeanne, and if you know our Astraea Familia!
Please! Please help us burn those filthy Evilus out of Orario!"
And she poured it out again.
"For revenge, for my promise, and for justice."
Then she used the resentment she had expelled as firewood to kindle a cold blaze.
A cold blaze of hatred.
"I will erase them from Orario."
"...Please lend us your strength."
Even Kaguya, who had remained silent until the end, bowed her head and asked me.
"...First, you need an arm."
Words that were practically an acceptance left my mouth, and both of them immediately raised their heads, their faces brightening.
"There should be a top-grade prosthetic arm, received in its original condition through our technical partnership with the Dian Cecht Familia. Of course, since it is not completely custom-made, it will need adjustments. And it may not withstand the strength of a Level 4 and break down in the middle of a fight."
"..."
"In case that happens, I'll take Sentō Namakura."
"...What do you mean?"
"Stop speaking so formally. We're in the same boat now, after all. I don't see any need for honorifics or formal speech."
"...All right. So what do you mean, you'll take Sentō? As you know, it is the weapon best suited to me."
"That is precisely why I am taking it."
"Could you explain that in a way I can understand?"
"I will use Sentō Namakura as the framework to make a prosthetic arm. A silver prosthetic arm modeled after the arm of a god, created by the Flower Magician for the knight who served his king.
As you just said, the Sentō itself is the weapon most suited to you, and it has excellent compatibility with you. That makes it fitting to use as the framework for your new arm."
"...I understand. But is there a benefit to receiving that silver prosthetic arm in exchange for losing Sentō? A benefit enough to replace that sword which cuts through everything?"
"Of course... probably. Kaguya, from now on, answer my questions with nothing but the truth. Can you promise that in your goddess's name?"
"...Yes. I promise."
"...What is your level?"
"Ha... how did you know? I'm Level 5. This time, that Juggernaut—the name of the bone lizard that wiped us out, which Ryu learned from Uranus. Anyway, surviving that Juggernaut... I guess it counted as a great deed. Level 5, achieved by standing atop my comrades' corpses... Isn't that laughable?"
"You can play the tragic heroine all you want after you finish your revenge. For now, focus solely on erasing them. Anyway, a mass-produced prosthetic arm, one made in the Lower World, can at most draw out the strength of a Level 3."
"That is all it can do..."
"You should praise it for keeping up with the physical abilities of a Level 3... but at your level, I suppose you can regard it as only that much.
But with the silver prosthetic arm, it will not reach Level 5, though it should be able to draw out strength at the very top of Level 4, just before Level 5. If you push it, you may even be able to draw out Level 5 strength and summon Sentō as well."
"...It certainly is a good prosthetic arm. But when you say push it, what does it consume?"
"Mind, so don't worry. If you try to fight at full strength, a sword will emerge from your left hand on its own. As though it had always been there. I don't know exactly how much Mind it consumes, though, so regulate it yourself."
"...Thank you."
"Forget it. So, can I call you Ryu...?"
"Yes, you may call me that."
"You're going to keep talking formally...?"
"I apologize, but I am more comfortable speaking this way..."
"Then it can't be helped. Do you need anything else? I'll supply you with most weapons, potions, and other provisions. Information is difficult for me, though... but there is one person I know."
"Then could you introduce us to that person?"
"...Limus, you heard everything, didn't you? Come out."
"...Damn it, was that why you kept me around?"
"I didn't know it would be something like this. Anyway, now that you know, you'll help them, right?"
"...Yeah."
"Thank you."
"And before we start, let's establish one thing, you two."
"?"
"?"
"No matter what happens, never lay a hand on civilians who know nothing."
"That goes withou—"
"I mean do not lay a hand even on civilians who may have sold goods to Evilus."
"...What do you mean by that?"
The instant I finished speaking, Ryu and Kaguya's presences turned murderous... Urgh...!
"Do you think... whew... those civilians would have known they were selling goods to Evilus...? No, more often than not, they would not have known... They may have sold goods and taken money simply because Evilus paid well, because they bought a lot... because they needed to provide for their families... whew..."
"Even if that is so...!"
"Is your justice... whew... the kind that kills even a child who picks up a wallet Evilus dropped...?!"
"What...!"
"Enough, Ryu."
"But Kaguya!"
"You know he is right. If we become so consumed by revenge that we cannot tell right from wrong and kill everyone we see, then how would we be any different from Evilus...?"
"...Yes... yes, you are right. I lost my composure. My apologies."
"Good. I'm not saying you should never kill them no matter what. If they really did know they were dealing with Evilus when they traded with them..."
I could feel the expression vanish from my own face as well.
"...Then erase them. Thoroughly."
"Understood. We will leave it at this for today and come see you again within the next week."
"Yeah, see you next week. I'll prepare a Dian Cecht prosthetic arm for everyday use first."
"Ah, then..."
"?"
"What is the prosthetic arm's name? It would be difficult to keep calling it the silver prosthetic arm."
"Ah... that prosthetic arm's name is..."
[It is called Agateram. Remember it well, because it will be your lifelong partner.]