Ilyce said, "I'm sorry," and let Latifa out without it. Her study, with a door by its side leading to the rooftop garden. The association's headquarters is connected to a separate building with a multilayered feel behind it, which also has rooms for the staff. This rooftop garden also serves as a link, so to speak.

　The ornamental trees and lawn, all of which must be natural, are well maintained.

　Latifah rolled the wheel of her wheelchair with her hand, as she always did, and dexterously turned it around.

'I'll see you later, brother,'

　Latifah turns sideways and bows her head unnaturally. Again, a voice sound that seems to fade away is emitted without emotion.
　It's a voice that makes me feel like my emotions are being unintentionally shaken up. And yet it has a mature sound to it. Although she has been asleep for many years, her actual age is so far removed from her appearance.
　Maybe that's why she's trying to adjust to the passage of time without even realizing it. Thinking of the time that has passed, Latifah is already an adult. That's probably why she's forcing herself to approach it as a child.

　She may be trying desperately to force herself to pretend to be an adult, even if only on the surface.
　But sadly, that tallness is also a proof that she is aware of the approaching death. But even if it is the same death that Ilyce wants, the death that Latifah thinks of as a child must be different.

　Two, no, many views of life and death abounded here. Harshly.
　And it was close to home.....

'Latifa-san, would you like to have a little chat with your sister?'

　Loki spoke in a mature tone and went behind Latifah, who wheeled around with her thin arms. Then he held the handle and smiled smugly.
　Latifa's head was nodded violently several times as she would have smiled like a blooming flower. Her nodding and the swaying of the coverings, which lagged behind her nodding by one tempo, must have been a violent bumping of the head inside.

　Here's another unsteady girl who can't seem to get by. Loki, who looked for a place to rest and found it in Ars, can be considered a dependency. You can find your own value in the only place you can find it, so on the one hand you are happy and on the other hand you are lonely. It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on it.

　Maybe he found a sympathetic part in Latifah, or maybe he simply read the air, but either way, there was a section of Loki that he was more or less into her.
　I don't want to think that it was because he was in a good mood to call her 'sister' though.

　I'm sure that Latifah is still a child, even if she superficially acts like an adult. You can feel the joy that can't be hidden by just wearing a headdress.
　It seems that Ars wasn't the only one who was relieved by this. The same goes for Ilyce and Loki, who acted on it.

　Ars will explain the details to Loki later.
　Watching them walk out into a garden full of color, Ilyce gave a grand sigh and the wrinkles between his eyebrows deepened.

''Then I suppose I'd better hear it from the fact that your magic power is dripping down the drain like a twisted faucet. I'd say don't be too chic, but you're not, are you?

　Ars nodded, then leaned against the massive office desk where Ilyce propped her elbow. Immediately behind him, Ilyce was poking his hand in the air, crushing his cheek.
　To be honest, leaking magic power is a sign of immaturity. I can understand why she wants to warn me not to be chic.

''It's not the main point, but oh well. I actually used my eyes while on a mission. No, I guess I should call it an unusual ability.

　As for Ars's eyes - that is to say, the magic eye - Crockel only mentioned it, and he himself has not been able to obtain confirmation. It is true that using the unusual ability 《Gra-Eater》 causes pain in the eyes, so there must be some kind of relationship.
　The fact that it is the magical eye itself is not the most likely possibility. There should be a little more to be learned if the research on the Demon's Eye progresses, though.

''You ate it?''
'Yeah, that in itself is the usual, but there seems to be a mix of magical powers in my body. I'll have to check it out, but there's nothing wrong with my body. Either the rate of substitution is slow, or it can't be replaced.

　Ars speaks matter-of-factly. That may be partly because he is underestimating the situation. Even though it's the first time it's happened, there's no direct physical alteration.

''So I'd like to ask you a few questions about Ilyce's magical eye.
"I wouldn't hide anything from you. In fact, I'm not sure I understand the magic eye as well as you do. It's not the same as being able to handle it and understanding how it works. And vice versa.
I know. But I can't afford to have that kind of time.

　Ilyce turns his attention to the garden behind him, as if he's deliberately perverted. Then his mouth arches in a sneaky way.

'Let's put the joke aside, kid. You are definitely more powerful than us. You can call it a magic eye. It's a power that surpasses human knowledge. I know what you're going to say. I'd never call myself a human being either.

　Ilyce's body, which loses its life and turns into water, is still perceived as more like a monster by those who do not know it. It is too far removed from humanity. The impossible is possible it is both a miracle and a monster. There is a fine line between the two. In particular, the human creature is incapable of accepting phenomena that are beyond its imagination.

　I'm not going to be able to say the same thing, even if I try to use human language.

　Suddenly, Ilyce remembered to mention her knowledge of the magic eye.

''I see, I didn't tell you that. About taking control of the Demon Eye.''
I don't have a problem with that either. I do understand the limitations.
'Not so. Demon eyes have their own nature and characteristics. Isn't it the nature of your magical eye to be consumed by magic?

　Ars piqued and turned his consciousness to the back. Even if this is a magic eye, its main feature should be the absorption of magic power. There is no doubt about it, though.

''So you're saying that the absorption of magic power itself isn't its essence?
That's just speculation. The evil eye has the greatest power that the evil eye can possess. There are many things it can do. For example, its greatest ability is to create life. In fact, you can make people think you gave them life. In my case, if we talk about the power of creation to the fullest extent, then [Leviathan] is that.

　On the contrary, it's the only way to go, even. What you can do is just a byproduct of the magic eye that is not the essence of the magic eye. In other words, it's the power of the magic eye alone.

The ability to absorb magical power is an effect of what lies beyond that.
It's just a theory.
'No, I've had a chance to examine the Eye of Providence, including the magical formula there, and it's clearly changed from before. Has Illyis ever felt that the magic eye grows and evolves?

　Ilyce snorted at the question and thought it out. It comes to mind, but there hasn't been a decisive change to dismiss it as such.

''It's not like everything was done from the beginning. But when it comes to the thing [Leviathan].......no, it's nothing.
Hey!　Don't be a waste.
'Not so. It may not be a good story for you, or for the holder of that provylevance.

　Ilyce began to speak only from experience. It seemed to cause her more or less pain.

'I can't say it well, but I understand the Demon Eye. Can you say that I assimilate the magic eye? It's not like I was this water body from the beginning. It was a gradual process, even after my eyes were opened. There were times when I was severely thirsty. However, when I realized that everything in this body had turned into water, I might have been assimilated into the demon eye. That's where I was able to handle [Leviathan] for the first time.

　The power of creation that flows in. You can understand how to handle it. As if it had been written into my brain from the beginning, as if the knowledge had been there from the beginning it was like a feeling I remembered.

'I don't know how to describe it as growth or evolution,'
Well no, I'm glad to hear it.

　Whether her explanation is true or not, there is nothing I can do in the end. It's an eye I've had for years. The only way to save yourself from the evil eye is to crush it before you open it.
　Then there was no guarantee that it would be effective after the eye was opened.

　It didn't seem like a life to be spared now, but it wouldn't be just another life like it was when he was in the army.
　Ars took a breath and released it into the air with a somewhat otherworldly implication, "I'll have to look into it.

　So far, there are no problems. That didn't mean he was going to be optimistic, but he had a feeling that those around him wouldn't leave Ars alone.

　Looking at the young man with concern, Ilyce looked at the old woman.

'You're a human body, unlike me, so don't be so cowardly...' said Ilyce with a hint of a sneer as he pushed Ars back. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it, and if you're going to be able to do what you couldn't do, then you're going to want to support it greatly, even if you still have some regrets.

　Good thing he couldn't see Ars's face, he added his usual extra words. In a teasing tone, Ilyce still carefully spun the words.

'There's not much you can do while you're alive. Don't let the old lady tell you that before you can't get it back... haha, don't let the old lady tell you that. If there is something you can do, I'll help you too. I don't care if the dreams I have are as good as the ones I have. I want to leave you something when you wake up.

　Ilyce, who uttered the forbidden phrase himself, scratched his cheek in self-mockery.


'If you show me something sweet, that is. I'm inclined to interrupt you if you show me something sweet. Ars, you're the least interesting person I've ever met. You could build an era. But why are you and I so clumsy? Is it the fate of the evil eye?

　She herself would not think that clumsiness was common to the magic eye. Realizing what Ilyce was trying to convey, Ars turned her gaze to the ceiling and glanced behind her.

It's a nasty fate.
Agreed.