As Hiyori and Misaki spoke, taking turns to fill in the details, the pieces of their past gradually came together in my mind.
Just as I had suspected, Beatrice had brought the Arius Satellite School's years of civil war to an end, declared herself the new Arius Student Council President, and had, in effect, become Arius's ruler and master.
After that, she subjected the surviving Arius students to indoctrination.
She taught them every kind of combat technique, instilled hatred toward Trinity and Gehenna, gave them the self-awareness of being "murderers" driven by a "will to kill" born from hatred of others, and...
Vanitas Vanitatum Et Omnia Vanitas.
"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
Every Arius student I had met often repeated this ancient proverb. Yet its original meaning had been twisted by Beatrice into proof of a kind of nihilism that magnified only the negative.
Because Beatrice was an adult, the children, who knew nothing at the time, accepted almost everything she taught without question.
The rare few who resisted were met with brutal punishment. Being beaten until they were covered in injuries was practically an everyday occurrence.
That was the environment in which Arius Squad had grown into what they were today.
...
Most of this was something I had already known or guessed. But hearing it from the people who had actually lived through it stirred something entirely different inside me.
It was as though everything they had done before had become understandable because there was someone even more deserving of blame behind it all.
If I only considered my own feelings...
Could I forgive them now?
Empathy really was...
Such a troublesome thing.
I stopped myself from dwelling on that question any further. It wasn't something that needed an answer right now.
"What about Atsuko?"
After calming myself, I asked, "I remember you all calling her Princess."
Hiyori thought for a moment.
"U-Um, because... Princess-chan really is a princess."
Misaki explained,
"The Princess... she's been the Princess ever since we were little. She inherited the bloodline of the Arius Student Council President who ruled Arius in the past, so she's also known as the 'Imperial Bloodline.' Before the civil war, the Arius Satellite School seems to have been ruled through hereditary succession. Originally... originally, she was supposed to become the Arius Student Council President."
So the Arius Student Council President was basically their emperor.
Perhaps because the earlier conversation had been so heavy, leaving everyone wrapped in sorrow, Misaki continued,
"...The Captain, Hiyori, and I all grew up in the slums, living in hunger and poverty."
"The Princess-chan I remember... she always wore elegant, noble clothes. S-She was completely different from us... Hehe..."
Hiyori smiled, her eyes shining with admiration.
"The Captain and I were always really jealous of Princess-chan... Though Misaki didn't seem very interested."
Misaki shook her head.
"...No, it wasn't that I wasn't interested at all. I just didn't show it."
Hiyori's eyes widened.
"S-So that's how it was!?"
Misaki glanced at her before continuing.
"The Princess is truly kind. She was willing to reach out even to someone like me... Come to think of it, before she started wearing the mask, she smiled a lot... Atsuko... she's important to me too."
"...I feel the same."
Suddenly, a calm voice carrying the faintest trace of sadness came from beside us.
It was Azusa, returning from patrol. After giving me a nod, she sat down beside me.
Her joining us barely changed the atmosphere.
Perhaps, in everyone else's eyes, Azusa was still one of them.
"Anyway, after the civil war ended, rumors gradually spread that the Princess would be offered up as a living sacrifice by that woman. As for what that actually meant, I don't really know..."
Misaki gathered her thoughts before continuing.
"At the time, I thought it was because she was someone everyone respected, someone noble, so she had been chosen. But the Captain couldn't accept it."
"So she brought the Princess, who was supposed to be sacrificed, back to us. As for how... it was probably just like the Captain told you before. She must have made some sort of agreement with that woman."
"Just like when she brought me into the Squad."
Azusa spoke quietly.
"Actually, part of the reason Saori obeyed that woman's orders was because of me. I still remember it. She stood in front of those people and promised to take responsibility for educating me. That's why my halo wasn't destroyed... Even though, at the time, we were complete strangers who hadn't even spoken."
Hiyori lowered her head guiltily.
"I... I was so scared back then that I couldn't do anything... But Saori ran right up to them..."
"...The Captain really does foolish things like that every now and then."
All three girls sank into their memories, their expressions tinged with sadness.
Only I was left with emotions too complicated to sort through.
So every member of Arius Squad had truly been kind by nature. Their minds had simply been twisted by the wrong kind of education, and to protect their companions, they had no choice but to become Beatrice's tools.
Then I remembered what I had heard before.
They had never held any hostility toward me. On the contrary, they had wanted to help me, which was why I ended up getting hurt. They had once saved the life of my precious Azusa. They had also helped me protect my precious Aris.
So how was I supposed to...
Hate them without guilt anymore?
My hand rested lightly against my side. A dull ache pulsed beneath it, but it still couldn't overwhelm the bitterness filling my chest.
Didn't this make it seem like...
I was the unreasonable one?
"First, the Princess put on the mask, stopped speaking, and joined our training under the Captain's personal instruction. Then Azusa joined us too. Looking back now, all I remember is pain."
When Misaki said that, Hiyori nodded in wholehearted agreement.
"I don't want to remember it either... The Captain was really scary back then..."
Azusa, however, pondered for a moment before offering a different opinion.
"It was fun too."
"Because everyone was together."
"...Maybe."
Misaki said,
"In the end, we became known as Squad and carried out many missions for Arius... right up until now."
She sighed.
"And now we've returned to Arius as traitors, together with Schale's Sensei, who was supposed to be our target. It's not exactly something you can laugh about."
What do you know? Outside of Arius, countless students would dream of getting an opportunity like this.
Just as I was about to retort, I heard someone beside me getting to their feet.
Saori had awakened. Her voice was low and hoarse.
"Sounds like you're talking about something interesting."