The black witch Teresa said she would return in a day, but fortunately, when she returned to the Royal Palace, she did not see the scene she had feared.
From the shadows, Teresa looked down at the Royal Palace and saw Emperor shining golden as before.
Just until yesterday, she had been in a swamp of despair, self-hatred, anger, and sadness, wondering if she could rise again. But, maybe the hero is the hero after all.
“Yeah, that suits you.”
Watching Menelapie command those below her with a confident stance, Teresa scoffed.
Light banter floated through the air, and the palace librarians and executors, having received commands, moved busily to follow the ongoing orders.
“This is a letter from the Meradia Kingdom.”
“It must be the land division pledge from the border area. That area will be designated as a joint development zone as planned by the kingdom.”
“Understood, I will relay the message.”
“Your Majesty, we’ve received a report from the Rose Church regarding the schedule for this year’s Thanksgiving event.”
“Let’s hold one in the East and one in the West. Given the famine in the East, the Thanksgiving schedule will need some adjustments. If necessary, we can reduce or skip the Thanksgiving in the East. Supplies dispatched from the Royal Palace should be sent under the name of the Rose Church. Since Saint Rosaria has newly taken office as the Grand Saint, we need the people’s support for the Rose Church at this time.”
“Understood.”
“Your Majesty, here’s the next document.”
What’s going on? You’re actually doing well?
If you’re doing this well, why were you making such a ridiculous scene earlier?
In fact, if it had been Menelapie, she could have shaken this off without saying a word from the start.
After all, even if it wasn’t Menelapie, Teresa would have done what she needed to do.
Research. Raise the odds. Create impossible phenomena.
At the end of that, at the end of the unknown taboos and the miracle of creating something from nothing, Menelapie would one day open the door.
But it did stir some irritation.
It was Teresa who liked Shia, not Menelapie.
However, after more than sixty years of difficult yet endearing relations, it did not sit well with her that Menelapie seemed detached enough to drop dead at any moment.
If she could snap back to reality so easily, Teresa should have just left her alone.
Once missing, the greatest and most sacred saint of the dead was no small matter. But the Empire did not hold a funeral.
No one spoke of the fact that she had died or disappeared. Even with the saint of the dead gone, the world Shia had saved continued to turn.
The living carried on, and everything she had saved would sometimes throw off their shackles and move towards their own light.
As Menelapie ruled as the Emperor, and Teresa acted as the witch…
Shia was not dead.
Both Menelapie and Teresa knew this.
Of course, there was no evidence.
Since Shia fell into that bottomless pit, her voice and figure had not been seen.
No matter how many magical communication devices were sent, Shia did not respond.
Only the gem of divine energy given by Shia hung around the necks of the two, still shining brightly.
Despite this, both believed.
No, they instinctively knew.
They were the hero and the witch who had been closest to Shia.
They had been together with her the longest.
Even if they could no longer see her, hear her voice, or stroll through the garden where Alraune flowers bloomed together, they reminisced about her absence on the unmelting icy mountains even in summer.
Even if she wasn’t there, even if they couldn’t see or touch her, even if they could no longer embrace each other and whisper… they believed.
Both Menelapie and Teresa believed.
They were busy moving about, preparing for the day when Shia would return.
One day, Menelapie, who had been cooped up like a shabby wreck, upon hearing Teresa’s words, shook off everything and rose to walk as the Emperor.
He raised the country. Made humanity great.
Stabilized conflicts and international relations, ruling everything as the greatest hero Emperor of the Human Empire, crafting peace.
Rosaria took office as the new Grand Saint of the Rose Church, soothing the populace, while the royal family and nobles faithfully served the Emperor’s commands for the nation.
As Shia had said, for the happy and joyful world she desired, the poor were uplifted, and the nation became prosperous, all done without lacking as Emperor.
The world we saved exists like this.
You will return here.
Come back anytime; everything will remain the same.
Afterward, Teresa, instead of receiving the other half of the necklace from Menelapie that Shia had given, constantly researched how to open dimensional rifts.
The research yielded some results.
She had opened a rift.
It was a moment that lasted less than a second, but it was successful in opening a rift in the world.
However, just because the rift was open didn’t mean she could reach Shia.
How could she track the world where Shia had fallen amid countless parallel worlds and touch her world?
It wasn’t just about opening a rift.
So, Teresa continued her research tirelessly.
And Teresa made Tia Lauria, the captain of the 3rd Royal Knight Division, who had been consumed by Shia during her first hunger pangs, into her servant.
Of course, permission was obtained.
From Tia’s family, and also… from Tia herself.
Thus, Teresa sent Tia, who had been resurrected as her servant and a Skeleton Knight, through the dimensional rift.
To prepare for unforeseen situations, Teresa provided Tia with a massive amount of undead orbs collected over the years, granting her great strength and vitality. With that amount of orbs and dark magic, Tia could survive just fine even if she fell into a world full of monsters.
Tia had indeed been consumed by Shia.
However, not all of her body had been eaten.
To be precise, Shia did not merely consume physical bodies; she consumed the malice contained within human souls.
Therefore, Tia, having had her soul devoured by Shia, was connected to her, yet her corpse remained here.
If Tia could, through the faint connection she had with Shia, deceive the dimensional scales by linking the physical and spiritual aspects, the results showed… success.
Yet it wasn’t a complete success.
All connections between Tia and Teresa were severed, and Teresa could no longer relay any commands or communicate with Tia.
And even if Tia fell into Shia’s world, there was no certainty it was really the same world.
Even if it was the same world, it couldn’t be said for certain that she would enter the exact time Shia was in.
If luck was bad, she could have fallen into a world a hundred years… or even a thousand years before Shia’s existence.
To raise the threadbare probabilities, even slightly.
To turn impossibilities into possibilities, to lead the unreal into the real.
To encroach gradually upon the unknown territory with her own knowledge, Teresa didn’t care if her body bled from fatigue and pain.
After all, she could change her body again.
Compared to the suffering Shia had endured, this was nothing.
“This time, I’ll succeed… this is the last time…”
Having been given an opportunity, she would not miss it.
She would never let it slip away again.
“I’ll definitely be with you.”
“Wait for me, Shia.”
One day, the Emperor asked the witch.
“I read the letter you sent regarding the progress.”
“What must be sacrificed, and how long will it take?”
“And how wide is the opening?”
“I cannot specify what must be sacrificed.”
“The dimensional scales are capricious, after all.”
“I don’t even know what they desire. Even if I could give them what they want, I don’t think it would lead to fulfillment.”
“It is created from nothing.”
“The infinite rift of worlds is darker than the abyss and a place beyond comparison to hell.”
Maybe because they had grown accustomed to each other’s presence, Teresa turned her finger to flip the pages of the book, creating a new rift without looking back at Menelapie.
However, for a moment, the rift that was briefly created consumed Teresa’s prepared sacrifices, but it did not yield an outcome worthy of that sacrifice.
‘Is this all that Shia’s touch can manage…?’
The forcibly opened rift cracked open like a monster’s mouth, shredding everything passing through.
Another failure.
There’s a limit to what can be done with inanimate objects.
“If the door opened… what could one cross over as a price?”
“As I said, I don’t know what these fickle bastards want. Even if I did, collecting that price is impossible.”
“…How long will it take?”
Well, I want to know that as well…
“How long… for you and me to reach Shia in her complete form, in her rightful time… the Shia we know…”
Teresa closed her eyes briefly.
In her mind, all the knowledge and experiments that had been conducted, along with the taboos and magical processes, unfurled like a panorama.
Eventually finishing her calculations and returning to this fragile reality, Teresa answered in a small but firm voice.
“Not less than ten years. Depending on the circumstances… perhaps around a hundred years.”
“…That’s too long.”
“I know.”
But Teresa, Menelapie, and Shia.
If conditions are met, one can live a life of immortality.
It’s just a matter of time… one day… one day they will be able to meet.
Of course, not being able to meet immediately is agonizing to the point of madness.
Teresa certainly felt that, but opening the dimensional rift was more difficult than any miracle.
No, even before considering possibility, this matter itself was something beyond reason.
Only someone like Teresa, the greatest black witch in this world, could hope to accomplish it.
“But this is all. I have to minimize the chances of failure again and again.”
“Really, is there no way to do it faster?”
“…No. If you attempt to cross without securing the coordinates, I don’t know what will happen. For now, it’s impossible.”
After Teresa’s firm response, Menelapie hesitated for a moment and then asked.
“If that is so…”
“What then?”
“What would be the most effective sacrifice?”
“……….You should have already answered that question.”
“It’s anything connected to Shia.”
Whether it be a thing, a trace… or even a living being.
Reviving Tia as a Skeleton Knight and sending her through the rift was to prove that hypothesis, and even now, Teresa was making experiments with anything connected to Shia’s presence.
Now it’s inanimate objects, but… someday… she was considering using living beings as well.
“Alright, that makes sense…”
As if time that had stopped suddenly began to flow, and like the icy ground of the frozen mountain, a spring breeze seemed to fill her gradually stiffening gaze with vitality.
Menelapie seemed satisfied with that answer and turned her body.
“I understand. Thank you, Teresa.”
“…Yeah.”
After that, Menelapie did not send any letters to Teresa for a while.
Without letters asking daily about the progress, Teresa could wholly focus on her research.
She felt a little anxious that that woman might have strange thoughts, but the empire was still splendidly running under the Emperor’s rule.
Right, there won’t be any trouble…
Some time passed.
It had been half a year since Shia fell into the bottomless pit.
The world Shia had protected was peaceful as usual.
And Teresa visited the Royal Palace after a long time.
“Hey!” bang!
What the hell, where did you go?
She opened the door to the Royal Palace where there used to be a Platanus tree, but nobody was there.
Everything was merely… excessively tidy.
What’s up with this?
The original Menelapie would have sensed Teresa’s energy and would have shown her face, whether she wanted to or not.
‘No way she’s holed up like a wreck again…’
No, that can’t be it.
No matter how much Menelapie might dislike her, she still had some trust.
It was hard to imagine that the hero and Emperor would go crazy and isolate herself in a corner again.
“Teresa Kaitlyn.”
Hearing a voice calling her, Teresa snapped her head around.
She had seen this girl, who had become Shia’s successor and the Grand Saint of the Rose Church, every chance she got—Rosaria.
“The little orphan has grown a lot.”
“You remember me.”
“Where’s your Emperor? I came back after so long and what’s going on…”
“The Emperor is no longer here.”
“Oh, is that so? Did she go on an inspection trip or something? Damn it, I come all this way and this girl is…”
“She’s no longer here.”
“……..”
No longer here.
At those words, Teresa slowly turned her gaze toward Rosaria.
In an instant, the black witch’s mana filled the purple eyes like a heartbeat.
“What do you mean?”
“…Emperor Menelapie Haleum has left the throne yesterday at midnight of the month of Hawol.”
“Explain in detail.”
The saint of the Rose Church could not speak lies.
Thus, Teresa knew the foolish and ridiculous words spilling from her were all truths.
“The Emperor… has…”
●●●●●
Hmm, was this what Shia liked?
Granola meat soup and Alraune pistils… alright, seems I have enough reserves.
I’m not adept with magic, but the items made by the mages of the Magical Palace are quite handy.
“…….”
Now then, I prepared everything but… it’s surprisingly late.
Boom!!!
Ah, she’s here.
They do say when you speak of the devil, he appears.
“Hey, you crazy bitch!!!!!!!!!!!”
With the force of a meteorite, Teresa landed right in front of Menelapie, glaring at her with blazing eyes.
The black mana, dark as shadows, swirled around like it was about to erupt like a volcano at any second, but Teresa wasn’t here to fight.
Oh hell no.
If she acts up, I’ll stop her, even if it means fighting.
“Here to send you off at the last moment, so I feel good, huh?”
“Shut the hell up!!!”
Teresa stomped toward Menelapie, teeth clenched as if she were going to bite her at any moment.
“Are you out of your mind? You’ve put the governance structure of the Empire into the hands of Rosaria and the eleven noble families. You’ve preemptively blocked all revolutions, trained executioners, and allied with other nations? It’s all good! It really is! If you want a break from doing Emperor work, I wouldn’t have stopped you! But what the hell is this?!”
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“It looks like you’re committing suicide, you crazy bitch!”
At those words, Menelapie smiled faintly.
“You do not understand me; those who are too cowardly to leap on their own can only sell their thoughts and ties, held captive by memories.”
“Die?!”
But Menelapie gazed upon Teresa with a confident face.
“You are uttering foolishness.”
Her firmly shut lips showed no hints of playfulness or recklessness.
Instead, the resolve radiating from Menelapie was filled with determination and confidence unlike ever before.
“Don’t spout nonsense! Where’s the guarantee you’ll reach Shia’s world intact? The risk of failure is already high! Even if you fell into Shia’s world, we can’t assume the Shia we know will be there!”
“You might see it as reckless bravado.”
“I know! I can’t do it alone…!”
“The life of Menelapie, who knows Shia, is not unlike being dead if she disappears in a world without Shia. Do you think I’d worry about being a dimensional orphan?”
“Yeah, I get it. It won’t work with just me…!”
“If you put your life, and my life on the line, then if we fail, there’s no turning back…! The witch moves based on probability and conviction. If I can find the way with certainty, I can’t go in without eliminating all possible threats! Back in the day, I wouldn’t have minded sacrificing everything for Shia except you! But all the things Shia built, that also includes you!”
At those words, Menelapie gazed at Teresa in surprise.
She had thought that Teresa disliked her intensely… but maybe that wasn’t entirely true.
Unconsciously, Menelapie raised the corners of her mouth and placed her hand on Teresa’s cheek.
It’s not a doll’s body this time. You’ve come here in your main body, it seems you’ve been eager.
“Teresa, you should walk your own path.”
“….!”
“I shall walk my own path. The Menelapie Shia knows has not broken a promise. I am not foolish enough to end my life or wager it on reckless possibilities. I simply have faith in keeping that promise… to soon follow that promise.”
Then Menelapie severed the item hanging around her neck and handed it to Teresa.
The half necklace she received from Shia.
A necklace that contained her divine power.
Once, Teresa had asked Menelapie for that necklace to track Shia’s world.
“……”
“Take it. I no longer need it. In memory of a friendship.”
“Friendship my ass…”
Teresa realized.
Differences in methods. Differences in perspectives.
And how their choices would not converge.
Menelapie could not wait. She intended to meet Shia through herself as a medium.
Sure, if Menelapie and Teresa, who shared the deepest bond with Shia, were placed on the dimensional scales… they might have a high chance of meeting Shia.
But Teresa could not allow that.
A tiny variable, a trivial mistake. The arrogance of assuming it would be fine.
All these were elements that Teresa could not allow.
Yet Menelapie had said she would go.
“Thanks. If it weren’t for your sharp words back then, I might have spent my entire life kneeling down here, drowning in nostalgia.”
“…….”
“You will continue to search for your own path. I shall go on my own.”
“……..”
Holding tightly onto the necklace, Teresa could not say a word.
It was amazing that their paths diverged so starkly despite having been together all those years.
But she understood.
Right, go your way.
This foolish hero won’t die senselessly elsewhere.
“Soon we shall meet again, Teresa.”
“…….Damn you.”
“Ha, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
●●●●●●
The abyss swallows me. Darkness watched over me.
I wandered through dimensions.
I roamed the bottomless pit.
And so I proceeded.
Though regret whispered in the endless dark and fear assaulted me, thinking of Shia somewhat relieved me.
No, she was already the only one who could illuminate my path.
Thus I walked again.
I walked through the darkness.
Then I heard a sound I missed.
Even when tired and exhausted
It was the moment I would see you again.
Across worlds. Beyond dimensions.
In some darkness, you did not even exist.
In another darkness, Shia, you existed as a being like a Demon King.
In other worlds, you too lived a normal life, unaware of us.
Thus, having crossed countless dimensions and worlds, I found you.
Yes, the story… I’ve already told it, so I won’t say it again.
The foolish hero’s challenge seems to have reached a rather successful conclusion.
Shia, you likely know nothing of this.
How long I have waited for this moment.
Don’t worry, Teresa will soon arrive as well.
Following the path I walked, she will be able to follow the rift and traces I left behind.
Just as I miss you, that girl misses you dearly as well.
But it’s alright.
You will have more days to live happily and joyously than with this heavy tale.
So…
That’s right. I’ll do a bit better.
More than I’ve done until now, I’ll treat you better.
What little desire I have to monopolize you before Teresa arrives is something I might not have the chance to do again, right?
No, it’s not “I.”
I’m no longer… the Emperor ruling the Empire, nor the hero of all…
“Menelapie! I brought coffee!”
Now I am, Shia’s…
“Hehehe, I drank about twenty cups before you came, but I brought you some.”
“Waiting, Shia.”
“Did something good happen? The ethical audit seems to have gone well?”
“Hehehe… Let’s just say that.”
You are your own hero.
So Shia,
Let’s make a point to consistently meet each other in this life.
