"······."
After hearing Rodion's joke, Sonya stared at her for a moment, then pointed at the ice castle.
"The [Golden Bough] is inside that castle, Rodion."
"I hope you're able to find what you want safely."
Why is he telling us this?
The fact that the [Golden Bough] was inside the castle was information most of the prisoners had already guessed, but I had no idea why Sonya was saying it outright.
Seeing that Dante didn't deny it, it probably really was in there.
Sonya's reason for being here, Yurodivy, the [Golden Bough], the cover.
There were too many things I couldn't make sense of, but thinking about it wouldn't change much, so we headed into the ice castle.
**
The ice castle, something that looked like it had stepped straight out of a fairy tale, was not far from that impression.
It was wildly unreal, and therefore beautiful enough to steal your eyes away if you weren't careful.
But as they say, beautiful flowers have thorns; inside the castle were the frozen residents of the village.
"Everyone, prepare for combat!"
There weren't many of them, so I could only blankly watch as they were cleaned up in an instant for a moment before—
Thud!!
The castle shook violently, and debris began falling from all over.
Hmm...
"If we stay here like this..."
"...the castle will collapse and we'll all die, right?"
"Stop saying such calm things and run already!"
Ah, had I been spacing out too much?
I felt like even my survival instincts had gone dull. Listening to myself spout such laid-back nonsense inside a collapsing castle.
Maybe I was still drunk on Rodion's memories.
We hurriedly fled the castle.
"...I'm not seeing things wrong, am I?"
"It's not collapsing, it's more like..."
"Yes, it's definitely standing up."
Gregor snapped at Ishmael and Faust, who had slowed down because they kept looking back.
"Don't look behind you! Just run!"
By then, Dante, who had fallen behind, joined us.
"Huff... huff... I, I did my best to run over here, but..."
"The footsteps are not human. They're quite heavy. Massive, even."
"...You could just say something huge is chasing us!"
"That may have been the better way to put it."
Ishmael clutched her head, apparently irritated by Meursault's way of speaking.
"D-Dante! We somehow finished it, so let's get out of here fast! Okay?"
"J-just a second! I knew how to come down, but after this I..."
"Ah, seriously! Is that really the problem right now?!"
By the time Rodion was yelling at Dante, Gregor had apparently gone into a panic and was searching for the bus somewhere in this underground space.
"The bus... where's the bus?"
"Why would the bus come down here? We're the ones who have to go up."
Heathcliff, fed up with the rambling prisoners, shouted in irritation.
"Quit spouting useless crap! Just run the other way!"
"For once, I think I've heard something logical, Heathcliff."
"...I'll smash your skull later."
...What a hopeless bunch.
To make matters worse, along the path we had come from, residents who seemed to have reacted to the giant castle were rising up all over the place.
As expected, they blocked our way.
"Hostile group spotted ahead! We'll evade and pass through as much as possible!"
Still, the good news was that the blizzard had stopped, so getting back would be much easier than when we came.
If nothing went wrong, we'd reach it quickly...
"A-ah!"
There was no way sixteen people running on a slippery sheet of ice would get through without a single accident.
Sinclair took a spectacular tumble and rolled across the ground.
The moment I saw that, I stopped running and drove the tip of my spear into the ground.
Clang!
Using the spear as a brake, I came to a quick stop and lifted Sinclair up with both hands.
But it wasn't over yet.
With my build and strength, there was no way I could keep running like this, so I needed a solution.
I already had one in mind.
"Mr. Meursault! Catch!"
Using his usual slightly sluggish running speed, Meursault had only just reached roughly the same point as me, so I threw Sinclair to him.
"If that is an order."
Meursault easily caught Sinclair with his large frame and strength, then started running again.
Now the problem was me...
"Hup!"
Fortunately, the spear embedded in the ground came out easily.
Thud!! Thud!!
Through all that, the heavy footsteps chasing us from behind had only grown stronger.
One slip and I'd be reduced to pulp, but in other words, as long as I didn't fall, we'd be fine.
I started running with more effort than I'd ever thought possible.
**
"I can see the entrance up ahead!"
After a full-out sprint that lasted more than ten minutes, the entrance we had come through finally came into view.
But as if determined to stop us, the castle chasing after us stomped even more fiercely and tried to block our path.
"Tch, stubborn bastard."
"It looks like we'll need to divert its attention somewhere else to get out..."
"Why don't you throw one of them? We can just bring them back later anyway."
Ryoshu, apparently displeased that Sinclair had fallen earlier, spoke while glaring at him.
"Why are you looking at me?!"
"Since we'd have to recover the body to revive them anyway, that doesn't seem like a very good plan."
"...Wait, over there..."
At the entrance, an unexpected person was waiting.
"I'll handle this place."
"Sonya?! What are you plotting?"
"Rodion! What kind of nonsense is that? We're in no position to be worrying about that!"
"I've never met a guy who helps people for no reason and doesn't have some scheme behind it."
"······."
At Rodion's words, Sonya fell silent for a moment.
Rather than looking offended, he seemed to be thinking about something.
"Just as there were days when you couldn't endure without swinging your axe."
"I seem to have some kind of impulse too, one that's too far off for me to explain."
After saying that, Sonya looked at Dante and spoke.
"Dante, your organization is ultimately a place meant to create a better world, yes?"
"Huh...?"
...Was the company really aiming for something that grand?
I instinctively looked at Faust, who seemed like she might know something, but she showed no sign of speaking, nor the slightest change in expression.
Faced with such an abrupt question, Dante seemed at a loss for words as well and gave no answer.
But Sonya apparently took that silence as affirmation and continued on by himself.
"Silence sometimes suggests agreement. I'll take it as such."
"And... soon, that child will come to you as well."
"Child?"
"Huh?"
Then, perhaps seeing something, Sinclair let out a puzzled sound.
"Ah... sorry. I must have seen it wrong. For a second, on that person's forehead..."
"Yes, the child who left a mark on you as well. It will be a nostalgic reunion."
Spouting incomprehensible words, Sonya turned around and gestured toward something with his chin.
There was light there.
A bright glow seeping out from between the shattered chunks of ice.
Faint, but unmistakably shining...
"The [Golden Bough]..."
It was the [Golden Bough].
"But don't expect me to create such a friendly collision the next time we meet either."
"If I see a clear path toward greater abundance for the many, I'll choose the other side without hesitation."
After giving us that warning, Sonya's Yurodivy began to emerge one by one.
Normally, at a time like this, it wouldn't have been strange for Rodion, who had ties to Sonya, to throw out a line like, "I won't forget this!" or something of the sort...
But Rodion was already sprinting toward the entrance faster than anyone else.
"Rodion. Aren't you worried?"
"About what?"
At Yi Sang's question, Rodion replied as if she couldn't understand what he was worried about.
"Whatever the outcome, wasn't that man your friend?"
"Ah~ He's the type who's really good at thinking things through, so I'm sure he'll find a way to survive on his own."
"...Truly, an ideal friend."
After that, without any more chatter, we quickly started heading up to the first floor.
**
After parting ways with Epi and Sword and returning to the bus, I, completely drained, flopped down onto a bus seat.
It was a little scary that Vergilius was staring at me, but so what? We had successfully completed the mission this time.
Therefore, my rest was a legitimate right!
Of course, Dante, who had the duty to report our actions, gave Vergilius a rough summary of what had happened during the mission.
Something about gambling, something about the before-team, something about what happened underground...
After listening to Dante all the way through, Vergilius said with a somewhat uneasy expression,
"...I heard you. However, one matter still troubles me."
"That Sonya... fellow. His ideals and the actions he showed at the end are in conflict with one another."
"So we need to clearly determine his intent before moving on..."
"Ah, wait, wait!!!"
Rodion, who had been listening to Vergilius, abruptly barged into the conversation in a rather noisy way, apparently bothered by something.
"Even Yi Sang was like that, so why is everyone interested in Sonya more than me? We succeeded in bringing back the [Golden Bough] anyway."
That's a surprisingly cute reason.
I should praise her later.
"And... everyone, look at this~"
Saying that, Rodion pulled a handful of colorful casino chips from her pocket and spilled them out in a clatter.
"If you stop by any casino nearby and exchange these, you can get cash back right away."
"I snatched them up fast when our manager pulled off a big win."
"Wow~"
Clap clap clap
At my applause, Rodion's nose shot up high.
She must have been starving for attention...
"The fact that you even thought to swipe those in all that chaos is what surprises me."
"So, Ver? We succeeded in the mission, so shouldn't we eat some juicy, marbled prime-grade beef this time?"
"...What do you think, Charon?"
As expected of Vergilius, who oddly overprotected Charon, he handed the decision over to her.
"...Mm."
"Mephi seems to want some too. Fresh meat with lots of juice."
After thinking for a moment, Charon nodded with a cheerful little motion.
"Ah, even when you make a metaphor, it has to be something like that..."
Gregor grimaced at Charon's comparison.
"Fine. Leave the District 10 alley restaurant recommendation to Rodion."
"Got it. Vroom vroom."
At Vergilius's answer, Rodion wore a satisfied expression.
"Now you're speaking my language, Ver."
"As expected..."
The deeply anxious, trembling eyes visible through Rodion's mask as she said that...
"I really am something, aren't I?"
stayed lodged in my head and kept echoing there for a long time.