Fuuka's vision of tomorrow
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While Orn and Oswell were engaged in battle, Fuuka, who had effortlessly slain the black dragon, stepped into the labyrinth, now malfunctioning.
Gazing across the hillside, which appeared to have a huge hole in the sky due to the collapse of the ground, Fuuka began walking without hesitation.
Ahead, Fuuka found Luelia and Frederick, who had been hiding and resting.
“…It seems we’ve been found by the worst possible person,” Luelia muttered weakly as she saw Fuuka.
“Long time no see. You’re ready to die, right?” Fuuka said flatly, gripping the sword sheathed in her left hand.
Even if Luelia and Frederick were in perfect condition, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Fuuka in a direct confrontation. In their current state, they were no match for her.
“…I know it sounds selfish, but let me say it anyway. We’ll give you all the information we know. Please, take my life. Just let Fred go,” Luelia pleaded.
“What are you saying, sis? If anyone’s going to survive, it should be you, not me! Please, kill me instead of her!” Frederick shouted desperately.
“Don’t joke around—!” Luelia snapped, but before she could finish, a sword slash passed between them.
The blade cut through a tree behind them, splitting it vertically.
“Why are you talking about sparing one of you?” Fuuka said, sheathing her sword as she directed a murderous aura at the two of them.
“During last year’s Tutril Festival, if you hadn’t gotten in my way, I could have taken out Philly Carpenter. If that had happened, things would have turned out very differently. The situation would have changed drastically. What you two did is too serious to overlook. Do you understand that?”
“…Yes. We understand. If Philly had died back then, even just in my area of vision, the war between the Empire and the Kingdom wouldn’t have started so soon... and the power balance within the cult would have shifted significantly. We understand that our sins are far from light,” Luelia responded, acknowledging that she and Frederick were beyond redemption.
“Good. If you understand, then this will be quick. I’ll at least put you out of your misery,” Fuuka said coldly as she drew her sword.
“I’m sorry, Caroline...” Luelia murmured through a tear, apologizing for not being able to keep her promise to reunite with her sister, just as the blade approached her neck…
“……………How…?”
Luelia, noticing that Fuuka’s sword had stopped just a hair’s breadth from her neck, let out a voice of confusion.
Fuuka withdrew the sword from Luelia’s neck, flicking off the small amount of blood clinging to the blade before sheathed it.
“Normally, I would have killed you without hesitation. But the situation is what it is, and right now... I don’t have the right to decide your fate. I’ll decide what happens to you tomorrow... So for today, stay still and make sure no one finds you.”
Fuuka explained why she was sparing them, but neither Luelia nor Frederick could understand her reasoning. They were still bewildered.
Ignoring the two of them, Fuuka began to turn on her heel, but then seemed to remember something and called out to them once more.
“…I think you understand, but don’t even think you can escape from us. If you move within Count Cloudel's territory, that’s fine, but the moment you leave this land, I’ll kill you.”
“…So, you’re telling us to stay hidden somewhere within this territory until the Sword Princess visits us tomorrow?” Frederick asked, confirming Fuuka’s request despite his confusion.
“Yep. That’s right. Just focus on recovering your strength today. There’s a chance you’ll be working for me as soon as tomorrow.”
Having said everything she needed to, Fuuka turned on her heel once more and began walking toward the entrance of the labyrinth.
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As I approached the labyrinth after hearing from Haruto-san about Fuuka's whereabouts, Fuuka just happened to emerge from the labyrinth at that moment.
"Fuuka!"
I called out to her as I ran over.
"Orn, did you take down the 'Doctor'?"
Noticing me, Fuuka asked about my battle with Oswell.
"...Yeah. There were some interruptions, but Oswell's dead."
"I see. Good job, Orn."
Fuuka’s expression, with the corners of her eyes slightly lowered and the corners of her mouth raised, was a rare smile.
Her smile, along with her words of encouragement, seemed to lift the complicated feelings inside me, if only a little.
"Thanks... By the way, I was focused on Oswell, but you took down the black dragon, right? How did you manage it?"
"How...? I just approached normally and chopped off its head."
Fuuka tilted her head slightly and answered casually.
"I-I see... Well, either way, I’m glad you dealt with the black dragon. Thanks."
When I expressed my gratitude again, Fuuka shook her head vigorously.
"Don’t worry about it. For me, it was the perfect opportunity to gauge the strength of a deep floor boss."
Fuuka’s guild, Red Copper Twilight, had reached the 91st floor of the southern great labyrinth. The floors beyond that were considered the deep floors, but they were famous for not exploring them.
For Fuuka, this was likely her first encounter with a deep floor boss. It wasn’t clear how much information she had on the black dragon beforehand, but considering it was her first time facing such an opponent, her skills seem limitless.
"...Well then, should we head back to Dal Ane? Returning to Tutril will probably be delayed until tomorrow, but is everything fine with you and Haruto?"
Originally, the plan was to report the progress of the labyrinth explorations to His Highness Lucila and return to Tutril immediately. However, due to the recent troubles, I ended up helping here first. While the situation had been resolved, there was still likely some lingering chaos, so I expected we’d stay in Dal Ane for one more day and asked Fuuka for confirmation.
"Yeah, no problem."
After confirming that there were no issues on Fuuka’s side, I started thinking about the next steps as we headed to Dal Ane together.