What did I get wrong? I don't know where it all went wrong.
Even now, the landscape that makes up my own self will not come into view. Within a mosaic-blurred scenery, only the swords that pierce endlessly and sharply are reflected with clarity.
Since nothing else can be seen, in the end, the only choice the girl had was to take those swords into her hands.
In that mosaic world, only the swords kept increasing needlessly.
The demonic swords forged by demon warriors, composed of otherworldly substances created through magic.
The countless treasured swords, the wisdom of humanity stored in dungeon vaults.
To be blessed only with opportunities to store swords, while being unable to see any scenery at all—this, for the girl, could be called her true misfortune.
The demonic swords created by demons were things she could not help but notice, having wandered among demon armies. Moreover, demons must constantly flaunt their power to command other demons. The primary means of that display is magical power, and those who create weapons through magic would, as a matter of course, wield those very weapons on the battlefield, further flaunting their strength to their subordinates.
Thus, the stockpile of such demonic swords naturally kept growing.
The treasured swords made by humans were much the same.
At the time, the Demon King's army, which had once ruled much of humanity's territory, made many of the old dungeon labyrinths left behind by humans into their strongholds.
The many units in which the girl lay in hiding were no exception, and since demons generally showed little interest in the treasures stored in those old dungeon vaults, they were often left untouched and abandoned.
Therefore, she frequently had the chance to see well-preserved treasured swords within them, and without exception, those too were stored within the girl's mosaic-blurred scenery.
And so, her original landscape never came into view, while only the clearly visible stockpile of swords kept increasing.
For the girl, her world was, in other words, a world where only weapons existed.
If one can only see what is shown, then one can only take hold of that.
If there is no way to find one's original landscape, then one has no choice but to carry the weapon one has taken and walk through hell.
And thus, it was inevitable that once the fighting ended, cracks would form in that way of being.
It was no longer enough to simply take the visible weapons and walk through hell.
In the end, no matter how many hells she passed through, there was nothing to be seen.
Faintly, but certainly, that mosaic was beginning to clear.
The girl thrust the sword she held into the ground.
Her slender body was pierced by many swords.
Ignoring that, the girl gazed at the sword she had returned to the mosaic ground.
Just moments ago, that sword had returned to being one among the countless swords stuck around her.
For the girl, that was all it was.
"...?"
Suddenly, struck by a beam of light, the girl looked up at the sky.
Until just now, it should have been a sky where nothing could be seen.
No—perhaps it hadn't even been clear enough to be perceived as a sky.
It might have been a ceiling, or it might have been an empty sky.
But faintly, that light that had pierced in was certainly the first something other than a sword that the girl had ever seen in this world.
Faintly, something like a full moon shining in the dark night definitely entered the girl's eyes.
"────Unfaced to darkness, I do not accept defeat."
────Not facing the darkness.
"────Nor faced to light, I do not even seek victory."
────Turning away from the light as well.
Unknowingly speaking those lines of poetry, the girl suddenly came back to herself.
...What had she been defeated by?
...Just what darkness had she turned away from?
...What could she seek other than victory?
...Is there any other light at all?
Not even understanding the meaning of the words she herself had spoken, the girl could only continue to wander this mosaic-covered world.
Still, if there was one thing she could understand—
The mosaic of this world within her, which contained an infinite number of swords,
was slowly, but certainly, beginning to clear.
◇
Morning. In a now well-equipped apple orchard, utterly transformed from before Rinie arrived, the sounds of clashing swords rang out beside the many orphans from the monastery who were tending the farm.
There were four at the source of those sounds.
Three of them were one girl and two boys: Else, Karl, and Abel.
The other was Rinie, the demon girl, holding a wooden sword and facing all three at once.
The three had previously asked Rinie to train them, and having received her consent, they were now undergoing special training, freed from their daily farm work by her hand.
"Yah!"
"Your step-in is too shallow. Put more spirit into it."
"How about this?!"
"Your step-in is good. But your swing is too wide. Neither monsters nor humans will get hit by something like that."
"Oraaah!!"
"...To begin with, you're not suited for swords. I'll give you individual guidance later. I can prepare as many weapons as you want, so choose what you're good at then."
While taking on all three at once, she pointed out each one's problems and corrected them.
Though young as a demon, Rinie had infiltrated the Demon King's army and continued to fight alone in solitude. The number of imitation techniques she had accumulated already exceeded ten thousand. She had piled up enough real combat experience to instantly determine how to refine those techniques, make them her own, and decide the optimal way to output them in any given situation. Unlike his sword creation, Rinie's sword creation—unable to achieve possession experiences from the weapons she imitated—could only truly display its value when combined with this vast accumulation of imitation techniques. In that sense, it was only natural.
Ironically, that experience greatly contributed to the act of teaching martial skills to human children, who were originally an enemy species.
She referenced the magical flow data of the imitation techniques she had memorized and compared it to the magical flow of the children. From the countless accumulated answers, she selected which weapons suited them, and which techniques were appropriate. In order to discern all that, Rinie first put the three through a trial bout of training.
"..."
The other children, who had been busy with farm work, stared intently at the scene.
It wasn't only those three who had admired Rinie's strength. The children here, too, had felt the same way as them.
Even so, they hadn't been able to step forward. That was because something like fear toward Rinie was still swirling in their hearts.
And so, the three who had taken that step and asked Rinie for instruction looked a little dazzling to the other children.
"..."
Ange, who had also been watching the training like the others, stiffened her expression slightly when she saw Karl being blown away by Rinie's broadsword.
It was Rinie, after all. She must have been holding back properly, but it was still nerve-wracking to watch. While continuing her farm work, Ange was ready to rush over and cast recovery magic at any moment if things got dangerous. Rinie had already agreed to this.
Conversely, one could say that it was precisely because a healer was on standby that Rinie could teach the three without mercy.
Eventually, the three collapsed on the ground, panting with faces that looked half-dead.
Looking down at them, Rinie roughly tossed aside the broadsword in one hand. At the same time, the thrown broadsword and the weapons in the children's hands turned into black magical power and dispersed like mist.
"That's enough for today.
I'll say this now: even if you can fight demons like me or humans, it won't mean much. Your main enemies are the monsters that ravage the orchard. I'll hammer the basics into you directly, but eventually you'll also have to gain real combat experience against monsters, so be prepared for that."
"Y-yes..."
"Good work. You two can rest for today. Karl, come back again later after a while."
"H-hyeee~..."
At Rinie's merciless words, delivered in a flat, emotionless voice without changing her expression, Karl's face twisted in panic, and then he flopped face-down onto the ground in exhaustion.
"...So then."
After a short pause, Rinie's gaze turned toward the orchard.
The merciless, lightless eyes that had been directed at Karl now turned toward the orchard children.
Feeling that gaze, the children's eyes widened as if thinking, "Uh-oh."
"How long do you plan on slacking off?"
It was strange—there shouldn't have been any light in her eyes. Yet they felt the illusion of a sharp glare being directed at them with a glare sound effect.
"If you'd rather do this than farm work, I can take care of you all along with these three, you know?"
As she said that, flicking the imitated broadsword again, the orchard group of children hurriedly averted their eyes from Rinie and resumed their farm work.
They didn't yet have as much courage as those three.
Among them, Ange, having confirmed that the training was over, quickly stood up and rushed over to the three who were lying there panting.
"Good job, you three! I'll cast recovery magic on you now."
The training group was handled by Rinie's instruction, and the orchard group, once released from Rinie's hand, was instead taken care of by Ange.
Once both groups finished their respective tasks, everyone would gather and eat together.
Lunch after sweating was truly delicious. In this monastery, where everyone had lost something in one way or another, such fulfilling days continued for them.
◇
"Lady Rinie, would you like to go into town together to buy supplies?"
The trigger was Ange's invitation, said while she carried baskets filled with apples for sale in both hands.
With time before Karl's individual training, Rinie accepted and, carrying a basket as well, went down from the monastery to the town together with Ange.
"Thanks for the apples as always, Ange-chan, Rinie-chan!"
"No, no, it's mutual help when times are tough. We get to earn money too, so it's win-win♪"
Ange chatted cheerfully with the familiar young mother who always bought apples from them.
Meanwhile, Rinie, standing beside her, sighed inwardly at how the townspeople had completely memorized her face and name.
—This is not a good trend.
Fortunately, her hood hid her horns, so her being a demon hadn't been discovered, but rationally speaking, she couldn't stay here forever. That thought rang alarm bells in her mind.
…And yet, at the same time, Rinie was gradually becoming aware that the opposite kind of thought was sprouting within her.
"Thank you too, Rinie-chan. Next time I see you, I'll treat you to some apple pie."
"I'll take you up on that."
It was an immediate answer without the slightest hesitation. She had some knowledge of making sweets herself, but that aside, if someone else was going to make it for her, there was no reason to refuse.
"Honestly, you never change," Ange said with a wry smile as they parted from the young wife.
After that, the apples continued to sell smoothly, and by a little past noon, they were already completely sold out.
"Hehehe, we made a lot again today♪"
"I made them grow, so this much is only natural. Apples raised by a farmer wouldn't be delicious otherwise."
Rinie replied curtly to Ange, who was smiling as she looked at the money gathered in her purse.
After that, Ange went shopping with the money they had earned, with Rinie accompanying her.
It was just shopping—nothing more. Rinie couldn't understand why Ange looked so happy doing something so ordinary. But she vaguely thought that for humans, it must be something enjoyable. In truth, what Ange found fun was being able to shop together with Rinie, but that thought never crossed Rinie's mind.
"…Phew. I'm pretty tired. Shall we take a break on that bench over there?"
"To get tired from something like this… humans who aren't warriors are fragile."
"I'm not a stamina-idiot like you warriors~"
Ange placed the shopping bags on the bench, then plopped down herself and leaned back against it. Seeing that, Rinie narrowed her eyes in exasperation but sat down in the space next to Ange.
Amid the bustle of people passing by on the street, time slowly flowed for the two of them.
"…It's just the two of us again like this. It's been since the time in the study, hasn't it?"
"…So what about it?"
Rinie asked back bluntly as Ange began speaking while lowering her eyes, looking a bit guilty.
"I wanted to talk alone with you again. That time, because of my slip of the tongue, we both lost our composure and it all ended vaguely…"
"…."
So that's why she had invited her here under the pretext of shopping. Rinie accepted that for the moment and silently urged Ange to continue.
"A lot has happened, hasn't it? You saving us, Lady Rinie, making apples together, selling them, eating together. And now you've even started teaching those kids how to use swords."
"…One of them isn't suited to being a swordsman, though. Judging from the flow of his magic when he moves, he's probably better suited to an axe."
"You really observe them closely. I'm a little jealous of those kids."
Ange said with a small laugh.
"When you first said you'd train them, Lady Rinie, I honestly wondered what on earth was going on. Even now, I still have some resistance to the idea of sending those kids into battle."
"They were the ones who brought it up. I'm just giving them some pointers on the side for the orchard's sake."
"…I know. And I know why they begged you, Lady Rinie. It's simply because I'm unreliable…"
Anyone else present might have pointed out that she was taking it too negatively, but unfortunately, there was no such third party here.
When she heard that the children had asked Rinie for training because they didn't want to be a burden on her, she cried tears of happiness—and at the same time, tears over her own inadequacy.
"But the fact that those kids stood up for my sake, and the fact that I can smile so much like this now… it's all because you came here, Lady Rinie."
"…."
"I do have thoughts about making those kids, who lost their families in conflict, head toward more conflict again. But seeing them stand up for my sake makes me feel like I've been given courage once more.
So even though I hate my own inadequacy… at the same time, I'm really, really happy."
Ange smiled with her face flushed. Her eyes were endlessly gentle, overflowing with maternal affection.
"…And you, Lady Rinie? How about you?"
"…?"
At the sudden question, Rinie looked at Ange with a question mark floating over her head.
"You've given us so many things. You might not even be aware of it yourself. But since you came here, the days I spend with you and those kids—every single day has started to feel like a treasure to me.
And that's why I get anxious."
Lowering her face, Ange continued in a softer tone.
"…What can I give back to you, Lady Rinie?"
"…."
"I said something terrible to you. Even if I didn't mean it that way, it's a fact that I hurt you. I doubted you, and we almost parted without me giving you anything back."
There was one thing about Rinie that Ange found puzzling.
…Since that incident, Rinie's attitude toward them had clearly softened.
It was such a subtle difference that you wouldn't notice it at a glance, but the children had probably sensed it too.
"You said our orphanage was the perfect bait to lure in demon prey. That's why you stayed with us. …But it's strange. There hasn't been a single demon attack since then. There shouldn't be any reason left for you to stay there anymore. And yet—"
—Why are you still staying with us?
Even though I said something terrible, even though there's no reason for us to be together anymore, you're still teaching the children swords and still trying to protect us.
Ange finally voiced the question she had sealed deep within her heart.
"—"
Perhaps she hadn't expected that question. Rinie froze, her mouth slightly open.
…That's what I want to ask.
Why am I still staying here? Even the people of this town have memorized my face and name. Staying any longer is nothing but a risk for an enforcer.
She couldn't predict how far Solitaire had spread word about her, but there was no need to foolishly spread it further herself.
(…But)
Rinie gently closed her eyes and thought.
"Sorry… I'm so sorry… I didn't notice…!!"
"Thank you… for protecting our orchard all this time…!!"
The memory of being injured, of losing consciousness, and being embraced by those two.
Their tears falling.
The warmth she felt then.
The first place she could call home.
"I'm sorry, Lady Rinie… I'm so sorry… I… I made you suffer… I doubted you without reason… I…!!"
She remembered the moment when the girl before her had hugged her.
Tears spilling down.
The girl who had hugged her while crying at the place she had finally reached, searching for somewhere to belong.
"Like a castle of sand, it's not as if everything has disappeared, is it? Don't you still have something left?"
She remembered the words of that rotten man Lostman, which had come from who-knows-where.
It wasn't something she truly felt deep down.
But if what humans called "comfort" was something she was holding onto—
(…Is that what this is…?)
If having a place to return to, and being able to stay there, felt comfortable to her.
But that was a sensibility meant for humans.
It shouldn't be something a demon like her could have.
…But if that were the case, then her current foolish behavior would at least make sense.
So surely, probably, I am…
"…Right now."
Whether she didn't want to admit it, or simply lacked certainty, the words were unusually weak for Rinie.
Even so, Ange swallowed hard, holding her breath as she waited for Rinie's answer.
"Right now, if I can just be with you all, then that's enough for me—…!?"
Just as she was about to squeeze out her answer, Rinie suddenly widened her eyes and sprang up from the bench.
"…Lady Rinie, what is it?"
"…Something big… a massive magical presence… is coming."
"Eh—…!?"
A moment later, perhaps Ange had sensed it too, as she looked in the same direction Rinie was facing.
At the same time, the two of them saw a towering hill get blown away.
The passersby around them noticed it too and stared in stunned silence at where the hill had been.
—From the sky above, something inhuman descended.
A silhouette like a lizard's body with wings.
"Hey… that can't be—!"
One of the passersby, his face turning pale, pointed at the massive shadow descending with heavy wingbeats.
Just by looking at it, one could easily imagine what kind of monster it was.
Even without having seen one in person, it was a being that had appeared time and again as a powerful enemy in storybooks and heroes' adventure tales—a threat to humanity.
"…Is that a Crimson Mirror Dragon? But… the color… and besides, Crimson Mirror Dragons are supposed to live in the central nations… then that means, could it be—"
Trembling all over as if she were seeing something unbelievable, Ange muttered.
The dragon's body, which should have been covered in crimson scales, was instead clad in deep blue scales. Two horns grew backward from the left and right sides of the back of its head. Savage yellow eyes. Massive wings that boomed with heavy wingbeats.
"…A subspecies of the Crimson Mirror Dragon."
As Rinie spoke the true identity of the monster, she stepped in front of Ange and gathered imitated magical power into her hand.