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In the Southern Forest of the Empire

A carriage carrying Duke of Whitewood and our group moved through the forest, transporting members of the "Return of the World" force.

Duke of Whitewood’s carriage was enchanted with various magical enhancements, making travel through the forest exceptionally smooth.

Inside this carriage, aside from Duke of Whitewood, who was riding in another, there were five passengers—all unfamiliar with each other.

The noble saint, Acrede Saint Narea.

The mage mage, Vinesha, and the reincarnation of Aquiline, Musika.

Isabel, who had awakened the Wings of the Goddess.

The reincarnation of Zerion, Xenia Niflheim.

Their only previous connection was in their past lives.

However, Musika and Isabel had naturally outgoing personalities.

I assumed the atmosphere in the carriage would remain relatively peaceful—except for the fact that Musika was unusually quiet today.

Musika had been staring at me the entire time, scanning me from head to toe with a peculiar expression.

Meanwhile, Isabel sat uncharacteristically demure beside me, occasionally stealing glances at Xenia for reasons I couldn't understand.

Acrede, as expected, remained silent.

She struggled to converse with others unless Narea was present. She sat stiffly, awkwardly maintaining her saintly demeanor.

And lastly, there was one person who was completely out of place.

Xenia Niflheim.

She sat rigidly in the combat attire her family had prepared, her back straight and chin lifted in an effort to maintain composure.

As the daughter of a count, she was of noble birth.

But here, she was surrounded by individuals far beyond her standing.

A noble saint.

The reincarnation of a former hero, Aquiline.

An awakened Wings of the Goddess bearer.

And me—technically Duke of Whitewood’s attendant.

No matter how prestigious her family name was, she had little chance of asserting herself here.

Of course, she held the title of Zerion’s reincarnation.

But without Zerion’s memories, she was merely Xenia—not Zerion.

For Xenia, who had no recollection or connection to her past life, this situation must have been incredibly uncomfortable.

‘Especially since Count Niflheim probably drilled it into her head.’

She was traveling alongside Duke of Whitewood.

She must have been warned repeatedly not to cause any trouble under any circumstances.

On top of that, she was the youngest here.

At this age, even a single year’s difference can feel vast.

It must have been overwhelming.

“V—Ha—No, Ryuji. Ryu.”

At that moment, Musika spoke, stumbling over my name several times before finally settling on "Ryu."

“What is it, Musika?”

“Have we met before?”

We had, countless times.

But from Musika’s tone, she was referring to my current appearance.

When she first saw me in this form, she had reacted oddly.

"What’s with that look?"

As if she were trying to recall a memory—

As if she were questioning whether we had met before when I looked like this.

I tilted my head.

“No, we haven’t.”

The only one who had seen me like this was Sharin.

No one in this world should recognize this form.

Musika furrowed her brows, tilting her head as if trying to piece something together.

Why was she acting like this?

“Why? Have you seen me somewhere before?”

“That’s just it—I don’t know. It’s confusing. It feels like there's something in my memory, but at the same time, it’s not there. It’s like my soul is reacting, but I can’t pinpoint why, and that’s frustrating.”

Musika’s gaze bore into me.

I had no idea what she was talking about.

More importantly, I silently signaled her to do something about the tense atmosphere in the carriage.

Normally, I would have relied on Isabel for this.

But today, she was strangely quiet.

If I were a woman, it might be different, but as the only man in this carriage, I couldn’t easily take the lead in conversations.

So I had no choice but to rely on Musika.

She was the one most capable of breaking the tension.

Musika seemed to understand and finally decided to act.

“Hey, you know—”

Just as she was about to speak—

THUMP!

Acrede’s chest exploded.

Never in my life did I think I would say such a sentence, but here we were.

Even through her clothes, the sheer weight of it was astonishing.

Everyone’s eyes snapped toward Acrede.

She, too, was frozen, lips slightly parted in shock.

It seemed that the strap holding her chest in place had come undone.

Narea would have fastened it properly, but since it was Acrede, this mistake had occurred.

“Uh… um…”

Acrede stammered, her saintly composure crumbling as her face flushed red.

“…Acrede, you were hiding that all this time?”

Musika was the first to react.

Acrede opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water.

Musika didn’t stop there.

She pressed on.

“Why would you hide it? That’s such a waste!”

“A—A waste?”

“Of course! That’s practically a national treasure! Keeping it hidden is just a crime!”

Just like that, Acrede’s chest had been upgraded to a national asset.

“A-Ahaha… is that so?”

And, being easily swayed by compliments, Acrede foolishly accepted it as praise.

If nothing else, that was very much like her.

“If it were me, I’d use it like this—”

Musika began demonstrating something rather extreme.

I had to avert my eyes.

I wished the former hero would refrain from showing off her knowledge in such matters.

‘That’s so Musika.’

Perhaps because she still retained Aquiline’s memories, she didn’t treat Acrede any differently just because she was a saint.

Because of that, Acrede quickly warmed up to her.

People naturally open their hearts to those who approach them without pretense.

“Ryu, don’t you agree?”

And just like that, the conversation looped back to me.

What a skilled conversationalist.

“Of course. Acrede is an amazing person.”

“A-Ahaha…”

Acrede giggled sheepishly, delighted by the praise.

Then, out of nowhere, Isabel suddenly jabbed me in the side.

I turned to look at her, but she quickly averted her gaze, feigning innocence.

Sweat was forming on the back of her neck.

She herself seemed unsure why she had reacted that way.

As I puzzled over Isabel’s behavior, my gaze drifted elsewhere—

Xenia was still sitting stiffly, looking around anxiously.

Her eyes wavered, as if unsure where to look.

As my younger sister by blood, I felt sorry for her.

I should probably help her out.

“Lady Xenia, how is your preparation for Zerion Academy going? You’ll be enrolling next year, correct?”

“Ah, uh—y-yes! That’s right.”

Xenia flinched, hastily answering.

This was her chance to join the conversation.

I could tell she was extremely tense.

As a perfectionist, she was likely worried about making a mistake.

“I heard next year’s first-year students will be particularly strong. And you’re entering through the standard entrance exam instead of a recommendation?”

I kept the conversation going, hoping to ease her nerves.

Xenia hesitated slightly before responding.

“If I enter through a recommendation, my true skills won’t be recognized. I want to prove myself through the entrance exam.”

There was clear determination in her voice.

My little sister was strong-willed and admirable.

“Lady Xenia, you’re impressive.”

Isabel, who had been quiet, also nodded in agreement.

‘…Lady?’

I glanced at Isabel.

Normally, she would have treated Xenia like a future junior and been more casual.

But today, she was being strangely formal.

Even when I met her gaze, she simply smiled primly.

I had no idea what was going on with her today.

Still, Xenia looked more relaxed than before.

“…Even now, it doesn’t feel real. That I’m Zerion’s reincarnation.”

She still seemed hesitant about the title.

“That’s normal. If I didn’t have my memories, I’d probably feel the same way.”

At that, Musika nodded in agreement.

In a way, all their talents could be dismissed as simply the result of being the reincarnations of heroes.

They had gained their abilities without effort, solely because of their past lives.

For a reincarnated person, that truth was hardly welcome.

So, Musika could sympathize with that sentiment.

"Um, may I ask one question?"

Xenia, who had barely begun speaking more comfortably, now hesitantly posed a question of her own.

"As many as you'd like."

Musika responded confidently, and Xenia hesitated before asking,

"Are there other heroes besides us?"

Indeed, there were several more heroes beyond those present here.

It was only natural for Xenia to be curious.

"The hero Parazon is Prince Ergo."

I was able to answer that much.

Ergo, a man entangled with me in a twisted fate.

He was the reincarnation of Parazon.

"Prince Ergo... I see."

Ergo was famous even in foreign nations.

So, Xenia accepted the answer and nodded in understanding.

Ergo was one of the most important figures in the kingdom.

Unless it was a special case like Acrede’s, abducting him wouldn’t be easy.

Naturally, that made Xenia the easiest target.

"As for the hero Ordo..."

After a brief silence, I turned to look at Musika.

Musika let out a bitter smile before speaking.

"He was already killed by Vulcan."

The leader of the Mystics.

The reincarnation of Rosli—Vulcan.

He had already slain Ordo’s reincarnation and absorbed his power.

Xenia fell silent.

She had just realized how close she had come to sharing the same fate.

That was why I had moved so quickly.

Among the countless bad endings in The Flame Butterfly, one of them was The Fallen Flame.

If Vulcan consumed all the reincarnations, he would become an unstoppable monster.

The moment that happened, he would set the entire world ablaze.

That was the Fallen Flame ending.

"Um, Lady Xenia, may I ask you a question as well?"

Right then, Isabel directed another question toward Xenia.

Despite the situation, she was still oddly polite.

"What kind of person is your brother, Vikamon?"

She wasn’t actually curious—she just wanted to mess with me.

I could tell from the way she glanced at me with a mischievous smile.

Isabel knew my true identity.

She was likely wondering how Xenia viewed her own brother.

"Vikamon?"

At that moment, Xenia completely dropped any formalities.

Her expression turned noticeably displeased.

She made no attempt to hide her distaste.

"A fool who ruined himself with self-loathing."

She replied curtly.

Isabel turned to me with wide eyes.

It seemed she hadn't expected my relationship with Xenia to be like this.

"He was decent as a child. But once I gained magical talent, he became consumed with jealousy and abandoned magic altogether. He's a pathetic man—an incompetent perfectionist who held himself to impossible standards but lacked the skill to meet them."

Xenia's tone made it clear she had long since lost patience with Vikamon.

Musika, who had been quietly listening, cleared her throat awkwardly.

"S-Still, he must have had some good points, right? Or at least tried to find another path?"

"I don’t know. He avoided talking to me altogether at some point. Honestly, I’m curious myself. What was he even thinking all this time?"

Isabel hurried to intervene, but Xenia simply looked troubled.

"…He’s not that bad of a person."

Isabel muttered, looking strangely dejected.

"I don’t even know where he is now, so it doesn’t matter. I don’t care anymore. He threw away his own life for a woman."

"That’s…"

Isabel turned to me again.

Her earlier uncertainty had vanished, replaced by a pout.

"That’s true."

Wait, why was she agreeing with that?

When I looked at Isabel, she quickly turned her head away.

"If only my brother were as competent as you, Ryu."

And then, for some reason, I was receiving praise.

"You don’t even seem that much older than my brother, yet you’re already serving the Duke of Whitewood. I respect that."

To Westerners, East Asian faces look much younger than they actually are.

So my face must appear rather youthful to them.

"That’s right, Ryu is amazing."

Isabel chimed in again, agreeing wholeheartedly.

For some reason, she seemed even prouder than I did.

She was unusually emotional today.

"Lady Xenia, I’m not that young."

"Oh? My apologies. But my respect for you is genuine."

Maybe it was because I had been encouraging her all along, trying to lift her spirits.

She must have subconsciously grown to think highly of me.

To be acknowledged by a perfectionist like her…

I must be a pretty remarkable person.

Would I be able to replace Lucas?

Of course, if she ever found out I was actually Vikamon, all of this would become meaningless.

I got scolded as Vikamon and praised as Ryu.

But I didn’t feel anything from the insults.

After all, I hadn’t lived as Vikamon.

Instead, I just felt sorry for Xenia.

In the strict household of the Niflheim Count, family was her only refuge.

Yet Vikamon, who should have been that refuge, had abandoned her.

To her, it must have felt like losing the entire world.

"I want to become a proper adult as soon as possible. I want to be strong on my own."

Such a perfectionist answer.

Rather than enduring the instability of childhood, she longed for the security of adulthood.

Though in reality, adults aren’t that different from children.

After experiencing the harshness of the world, many end up missing their childhood.

"…I don’t want to grow up."

Just then, Acrede whispered softly.

Fortunately, Xenia didn’t hear her.

When I glanced at Acrede, she quickly straightened her posture, pretending nothing had happened.

She kept folding her arms over her chest, as if trying to hide it.

Honestly, I wished she’d stop—it was making me self-conscious too.

Clatter—

Right then, the carriage ahead—Duke of Whitewood’s carriage—came to a halt.

Our carriage followed suit.

"Musika."

"Heh, yeah. It’s about time we arrived."

Acrede exhaled nervously.

Soon, Cardinal Centriol opened the carriage door.

This event was originally meant to be a stealth mission.

Lucas was supposed to obtain the Veil Bandages from Vinesha and investigate the Mystics.

But the situation had changed drastically.

I already knew everything about the Mystics.

The stealth mission was just setup for the next scenario.

It had no real impact on the main storyline.

This is my compromise.

I couldn’t predict how the world’s course would change after this scenario.

But so far, I had kept things moving despite Lucas’s absence.

I can do it again.

Nothing is impossible.

Only the act of achieving it matters.

Step—

As I stepped out of the carriage, I felt a strange flow of air.

The atmosphere was deeply unsettling.

A vast canyon stretched before me, its cliffs like the gaping maw of hell.

Below, creatures of various species—ones unseen in the real world—soared through the sky.

Among them were beings imitating the form of dragons.

Winds swept through the canyon, a powerful river roaring below.

This was the Abyssal Canyon—home of one of the three ancient dragons.

I knew Vulcan’s objective.

I also knew the existence he loathed the most.

The Fall of the Goddess.

Vulcan’s true goal was to erase the goddess from this world.

"Boy."

That was why I had gathered the best forces to stop him.

Boom—!

Duke of Whitewood clenched her fist, her eyes glinting dangerously.

"You’d better keep up."

Act 5, Chapter 5 had been moved forward.

Act 4, Chapter 7 was being rewritten.

The Vulcan Extermination Operation.

Tonight, the scenario would be rewritten anew.