--Then came the silence.



　The dueling arena, which had been exposed to the intense noise of the two mythical threats, was now enveloped in silence, with not even the faintest sound.

　In the silent space, the first to move is the figure of Levee.



　With a breath to release his lingering spirit, he pulls out his right arm, which he had thrust out.

　A reddish-black liquid, similar to blood, overflows from the blue knight's torso.

　Then, the blue knight, who had been supporting Rieve's arm through the heart, collapsed on the spot powerlessly with the action of pulling out the arm.



　There is not the slightest sign of movement.

　The blue knight, who was lying on the ground, definitely came to "the end" this time, as the corpse did not disappear and did not revive.



"----"



　With a single exhale, Levee checks her surroundings.

　The battlefield, which had been an endless space, had mutated into a finite hall as soon as the crystal ball shattered.

　Looking up, there is a ceiling, and if you make a sound, a definite echo reaches your ears at the top of your head.

　From these observations, she knows that she has returned to one of the rooms of the labyrinth, although she does not know the hierarchy or the location. There is no sign of enemies around her.



　After confirming her safety for the time being, Rieve then inspects her own body.

　Her limbs and torso are deeply damaged, although they have begun to heal themselves, and her whole body is still drenched in blood.

　The battle gown he was issued for reconnaissance missions is a shadow of the rags it was made of, and the fabric around his chest is so heavily damaged that his left breast is about to fall out.

　The left breast is so badly damaged that it looks as if it is about to fall out.



　However, she still had an important job to do.

　She had more important duties to do than to give herself medical treatment.

　In order to fulfill it, she turned her back on the blue knight who had turned into a corpse and rushed to her master who was breathing hard in front of the pedestal.

　She then knelt at his feet with one knee and her right fist on the ground in a kneeling posture.

　With his eyes fixed on the ground, the first subordinate tells the king



"The order to destroy the individual named has indeed been completed. What are your next orders?



　It was the most perfect behavior for a vassal.

　As a loyal servant of the king, Lieve-Freckhilds will remain loyal to the very end.



　--If this is so, then her master, the young man, also has a code of honor and appropriate behavior to follow.



　With this logic, he bit back the trembling in his limbs and pulled himself off the pedestal on which he was leaning.

　He stands upright on his feet and wipes the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeves. He swallowed his ragged breathing deep in his throat, and his vision, which was growing dark, was held together by the sensation of his fingernails digging into his palms.

　Then, with his legs shoulder-width apart and his eyes wide open, he sees the king.



　The king fixes his gaze on his kneeling subordinate and thrusts out his right hand, drawn to his left shoulder, with a clang.

　At the end of his right arm, held out horizontally, and under his outstretched palm, the first of his men is there.

　The King of All Evil spins his words in a solemn tone to his loyal subjects who have fulfilled their royal mission.



"--Thank you. And well done. I have seen with my own eyes their valor and their accomplishments.

　The three bodies of the beginning, the king's entourage, and the eyes of Alkimaira. And of course, my most trusted servant - Lieve-Freckhilds.



　After he had finished, the young man felt a darkness fall over his field of vision.

　Realizing that he had little time left, he manually unlocked the "chat window" and contacted Gardi and Celes.



　Perhaps because he was able to escape from the subspace, he succeeded in connecting this time.

　He asks both of them in an impatient tone of voice for a status report.

　He recognizes that the distance between them is less than one kilometer, and although he has succeeded in providing them with the coordinates through data sharing, the distance between them is still wide on the vertical axis.

　According to the location information of the two persons, the depth is equivalent to 50 levels.

　He decides that it will take some time to meet up with the others, and gives them a brief instruction.



"......Guardi and the others have been contacted. Ceres will take Zion and the others back to the surface as planned and have Gardi come for us. In the meantime, you are to maintain the status quo.

"Yes, sir."



　Kneeling down, Gekkohu gives his consent in a dignified voice.

　How dependable his reply is, spun as usual.



"And ...... I'm going to ...... sleep for a while. In the meantime, I'll leave it to your judgment as to what to do in the meantime. Can you ...... do that for me, Liewe?"

"As you wish."



　He felt a sense of relief as he heard these words, and he was aware that the tension that had been building up had been broken. His vision darkened as he was caught, and the strength drained from his legs, which had been suppressing his trembling. It seems that this is the limit of his stubbornness, he thinks with his last thought.



　It's not very tight..." he thinks.

　He slumps his body forward with a pitiful feeling, as if he is a stranger to the situation.









　　　　＋ ＋ ＋









　As soon as he saw the Lord's body falling toward him, Riebe caught it.



　The Lord's body had lost its power to hold him.

　The lightness of his body made her blood run cold.

　I hurriedly checked his breathing and pulse, and fortunately, both of them responded.

　Both of them responded to my checks. At least, there seems to be no immediate problem.



　She breathes a sigh of relief at this certainty.

　She then secures her body with her arms behind her back so as not to burden the Lord.



　Then, she comes back to herself.




　It has been a long time since I have been so close to the king.

　His heart beats warmly in my palm, and the sound of his gentle breathing is pleasant to my ears.

　It is definitely an irreverent move of the heart that makes me want to do this more.



　......But. But, but, but.



　The king said he would send Gardi for me.

　But judging from the distance between the two of them, more than 20 levels, it will take some time for Gardi to arrive. At least, it would not be more than a few minutes.



　Then the king needs to rest until then.

　However, we cannot lay the king's body on the dirty ground.

　It would be an irreverent act beyond dispute, and would not be acceptable from the standpoint of safety and hygiene.

　So, therefore, I think that what we are about to do is an unavoidable act.



"............"



　I look around to make sure, but there is no other life form in sight.

　Sensitive ears and nose also inform us that there are no threats in the vicinity.

　There are no tactful third parties, no one to disturb you.



　After carefully checking that no one else is watching, Lieve gently sits down and inverts the king's body on top of her own.

　The upper half of the body is lightly raised. Using her own body as a makeshift bed, she wraps the king's body behind her and hugs him softly.



　She holds him close to her, and his heart beats regularly in her left breast.

　Her bare skin, exposed by the tear in the fabric of her breast, feels the beating of her Lord's heart in minute detail.

　If you secure the back of your head by pressing the tip of your nose against the nape of the neck, you can softly smell the Lord's scent. The gentle breathing in my ears was very pleasant.



"------"



　It's a perk.

　I felt that I was being insolent, which is unbecoming of a vassal.

　Riebe quietly and carefully sealed it away in the back of her mind.