“You… right now…”

She raised a trembling hand as a token gesture of resistance. But she was alone, and we were armed.

Even if the man at the coachman’s seat intervened, Ms. Rebecca could handle him. It seemed she had dismissed us as mere students. Thanks to that complacent oversight, we had taken control of the situation.

“Come here. I’ll change your bandages. I won’t do anything strange.”

“…”

“Looking at you now, you don’t seem that badly hurt. Aren’t the bandages just getting in the way?”

“Senior. Let’s just rip them off. This is getting annoying.”

“I’d rather avoid rough methods until we’re certain.”

“What does it matter? Since it’s come to this, let’s just…”

“…Fine. I’ll take them off myself.”

She was the first to speak. Then, as if giving up, she began to unwrap the bandages around her head. As the cloth that had concealed her deception fell to the floor, her true identity slowly revealed itself.

The face that emerged was not far from our expectations.

“…”

“…”

Looking at her silent, staring face, it would have been easier to find a feature that didn’t resemble Roselia. The cold eyes that looked down on everyone. The high nose bridge that matched her pride. Even that signature cheap makeup routine. If they weren’t sisters, they couldn’t have looked this alike—there was no room for doubt.

If there was any difference, it was perhaps the distorted scar on her left cheek. It was a flaw marring her beautiful appearance, yet the only truthful part of her. Surprisingly, she actually had burn marks on her face. Her hypersensitive reaction to the dragon, it seemed, had not been a lie.

After confirming she was a daughter of the Anbert family, I tightly grasped Saya’s hand. As expected, a faint tremor traveled through her fingertips. Her face resembled Roselia’s with a cruelty that matched.

“I thought so. You’re from the Anbert family.”

“…”

“Are you Roselia’s older sister?”

“Why ask when you already know?”

She no longer bothered to disguise her voice. She casually raised a hand to cover her burn scar and glared at me with piercing eyes.

“Then why don’t you tell me who you are. Are you that guy named Lope?”

“I don’t think I’m obligated to tell you.”

“Stop trying to hide the obvious. Lope. Second-year student. Swordsmanship major. You were the only boy who got off that ship carrying a sword.”

“…”

“And constantly hiding your identity means you’re definitely hiding something. The Student Council President must have stuck by your side for that reason too. Right?”

“You have quite the delusions, fitting for Roselia’s older sister.”

Was that arrogant personality, trying to interrogate us even in this situation, the result of her upbringing or proof of genetics? I felt a sudden wave of disgust and shook my head without realizing it.

“So what’s your reason for looking for Lope? You don’t even know anything about him besides basic information.”

“I know everything I need to know. You’re one of the two people my sister tried so hard to get on that ship. Out of all those Academy students, choosing you two means there must be something special about you.”

“That’s it? You dragged students you barely know all the way here just for that?”

“People of our house never act without reason. Roselia might be a bit foolish, but she’s still an Anbert. She wouldn’t have chosen you two for no reason.”

She expressed a twisted version of sisterly trust. Haru, who had been listening from the side, finally had enough and shook her head as she interrupted.

“What a genius you are. For someone so smart, you came all the way here with just four guards and no proper escort?”

“You’re the stupid one, you blind bitch. If I brought a large force from the start, wouldn’t Roselia obviously be suspicious? Of course, if I’d known she’d become a half-wit, I wouldn’t have used such a complicated ploy. Can’t you even figure that out?”

“Ugh. The sisters are both blind bitches. Pissing me off.”

“Anyway, you’d better stop this weird prank. By now, our people will have noticed something is off and be chasing this carriage. It’ll be too late to beg for mercy once you’re caught. If you want mercy, stop the carriage right now.”

She glared as hard as she could, trying to project a murderous aura. Unfortunately, I had seen Roselia bluff far too many times. And this woman resembled Roselia far too much.

“I doubt it. I don’t really think your people are chasing us.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Duke Anbert left for the Land of Elves with his eldest son. And knowing it would be a dangerous journey, he definitely assigned them a maximum escort. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“That’s…”

“Besides, he sent most of the remaining personnel to Roselia. Because Roselia might actually have those marks. And in case of emergency, they are the ones who would have to euthanize his beloved daughter. With so many people invested in the Duke and Roselia, how many subordinates could you—someone with nothing—possibly mobilize?”

“…”

“Furthermore, with the apocalypse approaching, more people would start worrying about their own safety rather than staying loyal to the house. In fact, aren’t those four the only ones you have?”

She didn’t answer. Or rather, she couldn’t answer. Either way, it was clear I had hit the nail on the head. The feigned composure on her face was slowly fading.

“Damn it! Stop! I said stop!”

Meanwhile, the frantic shouting from the front continued. But when Ms. Rebecca grabbed him by the collar, he fell silent with a choked sound. Seeing him faint with his eyes rolling back, I almost felt a little sorry for him.

“Anyway, that was a bit anticlimactic. Turns out they were all in cahoots.”

“Well, I suppose so.”

“Still, the soup was really good. The only silver lining is that we managed to shake off that loudmouthed Student Council President. I was starting to get sick of her anyway.”

“I doubt it. I don’t think our farewells are over yet.”

With those words, I looked out the window. Just as expected, the carriage Erika had boarded earlier came into view, charging toward us like mad. A sharp shout pierced through the violently spraying dust.

“Stop!!!”

“Quick on the uptake, aren’t they? How annoying.”

“Actually, they’re too late. I was…”

“Honey! What’s wrong? Dear!!!”

“…expecting them to show up sooner.”

The desperate scream that pierced through the voice made me trail off involuntarily. For a brief moment, I almost wondered if they were truly a married couple. But the next scream that erupted completely buried that thought.

“My lady! Are you alright!”

“Looks like those people are all you have. Isn’t that right, Lady Anbert?”

“…”

“And just to be sure, are there any other siblings tracking Roselia?”

“…”

“…Please say no. I’m already getting sick of your family.”

I voiced my futile wish and leaned out the window. A gust of wind instantly slammed into the back of my head, making my unkempt hair flutter like a flag.

“Stop the carriage right now! This is your last warning!”

“We’ll think about it if you stop first!”

“What? You insolent…!”

“If you want Lady Anbert back, stop the carriage and surrender! Then we can talk terms.”

“You son of a bitch…”

I thought it was a reasonable demand, but the coachman gritted his teeth and spat out a curse. Were all the Anbert family members fundamentally foul-tempered? As I pondered this minor question, someone leaned out the window from the other carriage.

It was the woman said to be Camella’s mother, who had kept her mouth shut all night. She maintained a stoic expression even as the biting wind blasted her directly. Then, without any warning, she raised a crossbow.

“…!!!”

“Lope!”

In that instant, a sharp whistling sound rang out, and a bolt hurtled toward my forehead. But before it could hit, Saya’s voice and hand rushed in front of my eyes. I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut, and Saya grabbed me by the nape, pulling me straight into her embrace.

“Ugh…!”

“Lope. Are you okay?”

Only then did I finally open my eyes and exhale the breath I had been holding. As the scent of forget-me-nots washed over me, Saya’s hand—having caught the incoming bolt—came into view.

“…”

“…Ah.”

Surprised by her own actions, she weakly dropped the bolt she held. Then she pulled my face firmly against her and whispered in my ear.

“Don’t do anything dangerous.”

“…Yeah. I won’t.”

“That’s not a convincing answer. You’re going to do something dangerous again, aren’t you?”

“No.”

I shook my head and pulled away from Saya’s embrace. Then I grabbed Lady Anbert by the nape and answered.

“I won’t do anything dangerous to myself.”

“What are you doing…”

“Put some strength in your legs.”

“What?”

Baffled by the inexplicable instruction, Lady Anbert looked confused. But instead of answering, I roughly kicked the carriage door open and hurled her body out.

“Kyaaaaah!”

“…!”

“Kyaaa…ugh…!”

Before her body could slam into the ground, I narrowly grabbed her by the collar. Left dangling from the speeding carriage, she screamed like a madwoman.

“Kyaaaaah! What… what are you doing!”

“My lady!”

“Pull me up! Pull me up right now!”

“Then order them to stop and surrender. Hurry.”

“What… what did you say?”

Even as her hair whipped wildly in the wind, she furrowed her brow. She irritably spat out the strands that got into her mouth and snapped at me.

“You think I’ll do what you want? You don’t even have the guts to drop me anyway!”

“You’re right. I don’t have the guts for that.”

“Then just…”

“But she might be a bit different.”

“Huh?”

I looked down at her bewildered expression impassively. Her face remained unchanged even as I twisted my grip on her collar and pulled her toward me.

But the moment I handed her over to Haru, a scream instantly erupted.

“You… you crazy bastard!!!”

“Senior, what is this? It’s squirming a lot… Ugh!”

“Ah… Ahhhh! I almost fell, you blind bitch!”

“Ugh, that scared me. I think I’m going to fall too at this rate.”

“It’s fine. I’ll hold onto you.”

“Oho. That sounds good. Alright then, let’s fix how you address me. What am I?”

“Stop messing around… Aaaagh!”

At that moment, the carriage jolted violently, and Lady Anbert’s head narrowly grazed the dirt road. As she screamed at the top of her lungs once more, Ms. Rebecca’s voice came from the coachman’s seat.

“Sorry! The horses are acting a bit…”

“Is there a problem… Ugh…!”

“Ack! Watch out, Rebecca! You almost made me fall too!”

“Wait, Haru! Don’t stick your head out too far!”

“Huh? Wait… Uwaaaah!”

The moment Saya urgently pulled Haru’s head back, another bolt whizzed by with a gust of wind. It was a rather sharp attack, but the only one hurt was the noble lady dangling precariously from the carriage.

“What are you doing, you idiots! I almost got hit!!!”

“I… I’m sorry!”

“Ugh, so annoying! Maybe I should just let go!”

“St… Stop! I said stop!”

“Damn it, everyone, be careful!”

The carriage jolted again, and the frantic hoofbeats of the maddened horses echoed chaotically. The ear-piercing wind. The indiscriminate hail of bolts. And Haru’s grip slowly slipping. Unable to bear the pressure of it all, Lady Anbert finally squeezed her eyes shut and screamed.

“Damn it… Fine! Fine! Stop the carriage! Right now!”

“But my lady!”

“That’s an order! Stop the carriage and put down your weapons this instant! Hurry!”

“Y… Yes ma’am!”

The man finally yielded to her sharp command and nodded. He pulled the reins to stop the carriage.

But instead of stopping, the horses thrashed even more wildly, twisting their bodies left and right. The carriage began to shake violently, and the man panicked, shouting frantically.

“What… what are you doing! Stop, you beasts!”

“…! …!”

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden… Stop!”

“This isn’t good. Ms. Rebecca! I think…”

“I know! Something is wrong with ours too! I think we need to stop right now.”

“What? But…”

“There’s no choice!”

With her shout, the carriage shook more violently than ever. Only then did the clamor of the horses pierce my ears, and an inexplicable animalistic instinct reared its head. Something was definitely going wrong.

Abnormal animal behavior always leads to disaster. Thinking back, there had been signs since the island. All those birds suddenly disappearing. Acorns still left lying around that the squirrels should have gathered. And that led to the horses’ abnormal behavior this morning.

A sense of dread crept over my entire body. Amidst it all, Ms. Rebecca’s rough voice rang out.

“We’re stopping! Grab onto something!”

“Damn it… Haru! Saya!”

“Kyaaaaah!”

Just as I barely managed to pull Haru and Lady Anbert back inside, inertia grabbed me by the hair and threw me sideways. If Saya hadn’t caught me, I might have been thrown right out.

But the problem came after that. We somehow managed to stop, but the carriage behind us was still charging fiercely. The man, barely clinging to the coachman’s seat, seemed to make a decision as he gripped the reins and yanked them to the side with all his might.

“…!!!”

Forced to turn by the violent movement, the horses collapsed, and the carriage violently lurched, slamming toward us at full speed. Realizing it would crash into us at this rate, I grabbed Haru and Saya and jumped out.

“Ugh!”

Intense pain shot through my knees. Even then, the carriage was still barreling toward us like mad. But before it could hit, Ms. Rebecca stepped in front of us and shouted.

“Duck!”

Before I could even react to her words, dirt and steam exploded simultaneously. My consciousness and vision blurred at the same time amidst the gray smoke scattering in all directions.

“Cough…! Cough…!”

“Ugh…”

“Is everyone alright?”

Without even taking the time to answer her, I quickly checked on my companions. Fortunately, Haru and Saya were both safe, stirring beside me. As Ms. Rebecca let go of the carriage, Erika crawled out through the open door.

“Uah… ah…”

“Looks like she’s in one piece.”

“Ugh… huh…”

She looked like she was about to burst into tears. My own head wasn’t entirely clear either, but I gritted my teeth and somehow managed to stand. Then, gripping my sword, I approached the fallen Lady Anbert.

But before I could reach her, the horses raised their heads and began sprinting madly toward the rear. The ones that had collapsed on the ground also thrashed with all their might, trying to escape the area. Every time their hooves struck the ground, soft dirt scattered in all directions.

Only then did I touch the ground with my hand. Just as Ms. Rebecca had said this morning, it was unusually warm and soft for winter. Around this time of year, a chill should have risen the moment you touched it. But now, instead of being cold, hot geothermal heat was rising from it.

When I dug a little into the dirt, bright green sprouts were poking their heads out between solid seeds. The vibrant birth of life brought me not hope, but a sense of dread.

…

“Lope…”

Then Saya grabbed my hand and pointed to a spot in the distance. Though it was far away, when I leaned my head forward, another abnormal sight came into view. It was a massive hole in the middle of the ground.

And scattered chaotically around it were fragments of something pure white.

At first, I didn’t understand what it meant. But the realization came very slowly, accompanied by a rumbling that shook the ground. Even without borrowing a beast’s instincts, I could clearly feel the approaching threat. Something unknown had heard the commotion we caused and was slowly closing in.

Haru, with her keen hearing, had already drawn her sword. I belatedly reached for my waist and stared straight ahead. At the end of the road where we had barely stopped, a pitch-black shadow slowly crawled out from behind the corner obscured by trees.

“…”

Only then did I vaguely understand the truth behind the catastrophe that had burned the continent two weeks ago. Just as Saya had said, the dragon’s movements were not chaotic at all. And they could only be understood from a thoroughly biological perspective.

It hadn’t burned the city to bring death to this land.

…

Rather, it was the exact opposite.