Chapter 40
“No, wait. You’re saying this bird is the Lord? The actual Lord of Parmahal?”
“Yes. That’s right,” Arsen said in a tone of disbelief.
Right now, they were soaring through the sky — riding on the back of that strange bird.
Originally, the bird had been small enough to perch on Yurein’s shoulder. But now it had grown large enough to carry three people with ease.
Arsen had already guessed this was no ordinary creature.
Still— “The Lord?”
“…Miss, say something that makes sense.”
He would sooner believe the monsters below were all a dream. That would sound more reasonable.
Arsen stared at Yurein, refusing to accept reality.
Seeing that, Yurein sighed softly and shook her head.
“Mmm. Arsen, why would I lie? This really is the Lord.”
Of course, the first time she’d seen the Lord, he’d looked almost human — even with wings.
But now, as she had requested, he had taken on the complete form of a bird.
This was the best Yurein could do.
Summoning the Lord here in his original, humanlike state was beyond her current power.
“No way…”
“Your words—”
—The boy’s reaction is perfectly natural.
Just as Arsen and Zarkal were about to speak, the Lord’s deep, satisfied voice resounded.
—You didn’t expect me to appear in this form, did you? Of course you wouldn’t believe it. That’s a natural response. Strange child. You’re the odd one here.
“…Yeah, yeah,” Yurein muttered, shaking her head with a small smile.
“I don’t think the young lady is lying. If you say you’re the Lord, then you must be,” Zarkal said, looking at Yurein’s profile.
“What?”
Now that was a different kind of shock.
Yurein blinked in surprise at his words.
Being doubted outright like Arsen had done didn’t feel great—but being trusted so blindly wasn’t good either.
No, thinking from Zarkal’s position, it wasn’t good at all.
“Your Highness… you really shouldn’t believe people this easily.”
Zarkal was a prince.
The second prince, to be precise—the one the crown prince was secretly trying to suppress.
In a world ruled by schemes and conspiracies, Zarkal’s trust was far too pure.
“Would the young lady have any reason to lie to me?” he said with a faint smile.
That faint ripple of warmth crossed his otherwise cold face.
Beneath them, dreadful monsters rampaged.
And once they passed through the dark sphere above, even worse creatures awaited in the skies beyond.
It would be dangerous. Deadly, even.
Yet Zarkal’s smile remained serene.
Perhaps it was because he was perched atop the Lord, with the night sky stretching endlessly around them.
Perhaps it was the sound of the wind, gently slicing through the air.
He was clearly a powerful man—stronger than Yurein by far—yet his smile looked somehow fragile.
Like starlight—gentle, soft, and fleeting.
That thought made Yurein’s heart drop heavily.
“I won’t let that happen.”
She clenched her fists in secret.
Just imagining Zarkal dying made her chest tighten painfully.
But she was a Guide. Her role was to help him unleash his full strength.
Besides—
“Arsen’s here, too.”
The crimson haze rising from Arsen’s body was stronger than ever, fiercer than the last time she’d seen him.
Yurein could sense it instinctively.
The time was coming.
Arsen was about to awaken.
“But Lord or whatever—”
—Insolent one. Did you just call me ‘whatever’?
The Lord’s voice trembled with mild indignation, but Arsen just shook his head, brushing it off.
“No, it’s just… I can’t believe it. Anyway, Miss, why did you tell me to ride along?”
He knew he was a skilled mercenary.
An important one, even.
But what good was a normal human in an aerial battle?
Sure, he’d climbed on because it sounded exciting—but still.
“You expect me to shoot arrows or something? I didn’t even bring a bow or arrows. Even if I got one somehow, what’s the point of shooting at those monsters? From here, I’d just hit the sphere itself, and that’d only make it break faster.”
Arsen shrugged.
Yurein smiled brightly.
“Oh, you need a bow and arrows?”
“Yeah, that’d help. I’m good with both ranged and close combat, you know.”
“Then that’s what will happen.”
“Huh?” Arsen frowned in confusion.
Yurein’s gaze shifted to the massive barrier ahead—a huge wall-like “sphere”—and to the monsters tearing it apart.
“Because you’re about to awaken as an Esper.”
“…Miss, are you insane?”
“Nope. Arsen, do you not want to be an Esper?”
“What—like that’s something you can just decide to be?” he said incredulously.
Yurein’s tone hardened slightly.
“Then become one.”
“Miss… if that were possible, everyone in the world would be an Esper!”
“So, you do want to be one?”
“Damn it, Miss. I’m trying not to curse in front of a lady, but if this is some kind of joke—”
“It’s not a joke. I’m asking if you’ll really do it.”
Arsen’s expression froze.
He replayed his own words in his head, frowning.
“Yeah… I should’ve realized things were weird from the start.”
A strange bird suddenly claiming to be the Lord.
Now this girl saying he’d become an Esper.
Arsen gave Yurein a suspicious look.
He’d seen how Yavon and Edern followed her earlier.
Those two weren’t the kind to obey easily. She must’ve really charmed them somehow.
“If this weren’t such a bad time, I’d be recruiting her myself…”
Anyone who could win those two over was a rare talent indeed.
“What do you mean by that?”
Zarkal’s cool voice suddenly cut in.
It was colder—lower—than when he’d fought the monsters earlier.
“Man, you should at least believe things that make sense,” Arsen shot back.
But fear or intimidation weren’t in his nature.
He just shook his head in exaggerated disbelief.
This prince was handsome, sure—but too trusting for his own good.
People like that got used.
Arsen clicked his tongue quietly, looking at Zarkal with a mix of pity and irritation.
Zarkal’s face hardened further—
And then Yurein spoke, lightly teasing,
“Well, if you don’t have a bow, how about throwing rocks instead?”
“Huh?”
Arsen frowned.
“I mean, you said you don’t have a bow or arrows. So maybe you could throw rocks? Oh, wait—you don’t have rocks either, do you?”
She smiled sweetly.
For some reason, that just made Arsen’s temper flare.
“Okay, maybe I should stop teasing him.”
From his perspective, Yurein’s words were unbelievable.
But being mocked outright didn’t feel great either—so she’d given him a playful jab in return.
Then—
Kreee! Skreee!
Screeeech! Kraaagh!
Bwuugh—Kraaah—Aghh!
The monsters shrieked and roared as if speaking to one another.
Smoke and fire rose in the distance.
The bodies of those who hadn’t escaped yet lay scattered across the ground, their blood soaking into the earth of Parmahal.
Just yesterday, those same people had been laughing and living their ordinary lives here.
—Whether or not you believe who I am, or trust this child, doesn’t matter to me,
the Lord’s calm voice spoke from behind them.
—But I do not wish to see my people die like this. I did not close my eyes to let this city fall into ruin.
His quiet voice slipped into their ears like the wind.
“I don’t want that either,” Arsen murmured. “I don’t want to see this city destroyed.”
