One night after the battle ......, the tension in Everis' workshop in the royal castle was still as tense as if it were a battle.

　As usual, junk items are scattered all over the place, and there is no place to step in the room.
　On a workbench like an operating table, the corpse of a bisected woman lay, and around it Everis was scribbling magic formulas on a piece of paper.

　Little by little, Everis rewrites the numbers, activating the magic over and over again.
　Rene watched with bated breath as she did so.
　Rene's wyvern body had been put away in subspace or somewhere, and now she looked like a normal girl (except for the slit in her neck).

If this doesn't work, ...... I'll have to somehow splice the bodies together to make a reverend and have her use magic on her own. ......
　But I have no experience with that,......!

　I'm not sure what to do.
　A lot of junk fell down next to the workbench.

　The items were piled up in a rough pile, about half of which looked as if they had been torn apart by something, but they were all magic items.
　This is the corpse on the workbench,......, the item that Loretta, the wizard of "Drouet the Decisive," died with after being plunged into subspace by a storage spell.

　These items may not be retrievable, but Rene had asked Everis to trace them.
　There was information that Loretta had been magically forced to carry the items.
　And none of those three had the contents of the treasure chest. If that was the case, there was only one hope left.

Yes, I'm connected!
"Poltergeist!

　Rene immediately began to rummage through the pile of items.
　The pile of junk was arranged into a square by magic.
　Halfway through the pile, Rene found what he was looking for.

There it is!

　It was in a thick, drawstring-like cloth bag.
　There was the remains of a silver whip, burned by the evil eye, and two burnt rose brooches.

"Thank God ......!

　Sighing, Rene hugged it to his chest.
　For René, it was the most important thing after his life (or should I say existence, since he was already dead).

"Well, I'm glad we made it.
　By the way, Princess. Why didn't you tell me about it?

　Evelisse, who had successfully completed the urgent project, shook her purple head and relaxed her shoulders as she asked.

　Rene stiffened. There is no accusation in Evelyse's tone or emotion, but she has every right to question Rene.
　Renai gave up Teir'cainé to take it back from Drouet the Decisive. It was a simple matter of priorities.
　But then, it seems, the Gisslan rampaged through Teiracaine-again.
　Everis received word from Alastor, and set out on his own, accompanied by Miaranse. They settled the battle and prevented the loss of the army.
　The undead army is now safely on its way home. The bloodsuckers they made there will be reduced to ashes at dawn, but the rest will soon reach King's Landing.

　Looking at the results alone, Renai's abandonment of the battlefield had taken its toll on the girls, and they had had to clean up the mess.
　Mihranze, who is still in a bad way, has returned to the basement to rest.
　Tracy, who seems to have done something very reckless, is lying comfortably on a bed in the corner of the workshop with what looks like a fluorescent drip connected to her entire body.

I'm still a little unclear on the situation.
　I wish you would have told me if there was something serious enough to warrant leaving the front lines.
　You need to plan your strategy accordingly, and if you had consulted me beforehand, I would have been prepared to protect you.
That's ......
I'm not blaming you.
　I'm not blaming you, I'm just wondering why you didn't say anything to me.

　Rene stammered.

　The reason why he kept this matter hidden was because it was 'too painful to talk about' for Rene.
　The mere mention of it was enough to make Renai lose her cool.

　But what Everith said was also right.
　Everis had a good plan for the attack on Teirakainen, but it was Rene's actions that disrupted it. It could be said that Everis made a mistake in planning the operation because of the hidden data that Rene was hiding.

　We must be prepared.
　Rene is their master, after all. It's not fair for those in charge to be unfair.

"......
I'm sorry!　I'm sorry, but I think we're done here.

　I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

"What?
You don't have to say anything. You don't have to say anything. I'm technically a vassal too and that was out of line.
　If I may say one thing, you see, the new development of storage magic.
　I just wish you'd told me to give it higher priority.
　If we had perfected that magic, we could have fought without any regrets, right?
"Oh, let's see, .......

　Everis stopped Rene with a fluttering wave of his hand.
　I'm not sure if you've ever heard of it, but I'm sure you have.

I'm sorry. ......

　That's all Rene said in the end.

　Everis nodded his head with a troubled look.
　Reading her emotions, it seemed that she neither accepted nor disapproved of the apology, but rather Evelisse felt embarrassed.
　The underlying emotion was probably as warm as the exhaust heat of a computer.

"You know what, Princess ......?

　Tracy was already awake.
　She was still covered in tubes and unable to move, but she sounded fine.

I'm a prisoner of war, and I'm in a position to say it.
　I'm a prisoner of war. ...... Don't strain yourself in strange places, okay?


　You see, even though I'm like this, I'm still an adult, and witches live for hundreds of years.
"Tracy. You can't talk about your age to an older lady.
You can't talk about your age to an older lady. You know, it's like when a child needs to be protected.
　I'm not sure what to make of it.
　It's hard to see a little girl straining herself, you know?
I'm not sure.
　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it. ...... Well, if you know what it is, you can manage it to a certain extent.
　If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. I'll be flexible on this level.

　Tracy was a good talker and was good at deceiving others, but she was also good at conveying sincere words.
　Everith did not deny Tracy's concern as if she were a friend.
　Everis must have sensed it. It was a part of her that should not be touched.

"...... Who do you think I'm talking to? What do you think I'm saying? How can you ...... say that?
"Hey, you know, ...... I can't dislike the princess except for the fact that she kills a lot of people if you leave her alone. I owe her a lot.
"Oh, then I have no reason to dislike you, Princess. The witch doesn't care how many people die except herself.

　They said this jokingly, lightly, and without lying.
　Renai felt as if the wind was blowing through her ears, roaring.

　Rene .
　He turned on his heel and put his hand on the door of the workshop.
　He didn't want them to see his face.

"...... Everis. Tracy.
　Nice work last night. One of these days you'll get your reward.
Oh, hey, .......

　Without asking any more questions, René left the workshop.

　You'll get your reward.

　René walked down the corridor as fast as he could run.
　He had to go to the basement to work on Miallanze. He was sick. He had to go to the basement to thank Miaranse for working for him despite his illness.

It's good to know that the loyalty of my men is high. ......
　It's a good thing that my subordinates are so loyal.

　No matter how hard I clenched my teeth, tears began to flow by themselves.
　The tears that I wiped with the palm of my hand felt hot, even though my body should have no body heat.
　Rene cried with a cold, ironic smile.

　I've been cared for.
　He cared about Everith, he cared about Tracy.

　Everis should have helped with the measures and warned Rene not to have such a whim in the future.
　As for Tracy, since she was being forced to follow him, she should have complained about yesterday's battle.
　Still, they both just cared about Rene.

　It made him very happy, but he felt that if he indulged that feeling, something would break.
　If she confided all of her heartache and cried and clung to him for comfort,......, she would never be able to return to being the "Rose of Hell.
　I'm sure she'll never be able to go back to being the "Rose of Hell" again. When she took a breath, she didn't trust herself enough to think she could get up again.

　--Don't come near me without permission. But if ...... you can wish, please don't go far.

　Rene could feel how annoying he was.
　He had to ask for it, but he had to reject it.