As soon as we emerged from the long tunnel cutting through the mountain range, the border came into view. Around that time, Elize began nodding off behind the wheel.

“Professor... I’m sleepy...”

“Go lie down in the back and get some rest.”

Everyone riding in the cargo section connected to the driver’s cabin — even the Hero and Adele Mouin — had already passed out cold.

Dr... ru... rung.

Torrung...

Kendreik and Gray, taking turns snoring right next to Balmung’s ears, were making such a racket that Balmung looked like he was having a nightmare.

No surprise — everyone had finally let their guard down.

“You’re not sleepy, Professor?”

“I am.”

That was all I said. Sure, I was tired — but our safety still wasn’t guaranteed.

We were parked in the middle of a wide, empty road. No people. No buildings. Not even a single tree. Just flat, open asphalt where I brought the car to a stop.

It was time to change drivers.

Elize, now relieved of duty, pulled out some ragged, half-destroyed bone-shaped stuffed toy from who-knows-where and fell asleep clutching it.

Just as I reached for the wheel again, I felt something off.

│)

In the rearview mirror, at the far edge of the extended trunk section (the truck had been customized from a sedan, so the trunk was [N O V E L I G H T] separate), something was peeking out — or just about to.

│ㅇ)

│)

Peeking... not peeking...

│ㅇ)

│)

Peeking... not peeking...

What the hell is that little shit doing back there?

│) =3

Our eyes met — and it ducked out of sight.

But this thing never showed up without a reason. I wasn’t going to ignore it this time either.

I brought the vehicle to a halt again, stepped outside, and opened the trunk.

And — holy shit.

To my surprise, lying there in that filthy, ratty mess... was Eve.

What the hell is she doing here?

For some reason, she’d been sleeping inside the trunk, her eyes closed. Maybe she felt my presence — she slowly opened her eyes.

She frowned a bit, tensing up reflexively.

“......??”

Once she realized it was me, her hunched shoulders loosened.

Relief spread clearly across her face.

Then... a head tilt.

“......?”

Eve moved her fingers.

‘You. Here. Why?’

She was asking what I was doing here — I was speechless.

So I answered:

‘This. Mine. Car. You. How. Here.’

‘Walked.’

‘Why.’

Apparently, why was too abstract a concept. Eve furrowed her brows, thought hard for a while, then grinned and lightly brushed her own shoulder with her hand.

‘Don’t know.’

Why the hell don’t you know?

How did she even sneak in? When did she get here?

Did that Scout│ㅅㅇ) tell her to get in?

Regardless, it was... kind of nice to see her.

‘Come front seat?’

‘Yes.’

We still had a long way to go. Better to treat her like a human being than leave her packed like luggage in a windowless trunk.

│ㅂㅇ)

And for some reason, the little thing looked pleased too.

***

Near the border, we boarded a smuggling vessel — our prearranged escape route.

Now, normally you’d expect a smuggler ship to be a dinky cargo hauler — but if it’s an Empire-backed smuggling company, it’s on a whole other level.

First off, it’s not even a ship — it’s an airship. And it flies in fleets of ten or more at once.

Each run, they ship out tens of thousands of tons of contraband all over the world.

Among that cargo? Drugs. Doping agents. Whatever you can name. Yeah — they’re full-on criminals.

Thirty minutes later, the fleet of ships lifted into the sky.

The earth below slowly shrank away from the window.

“Ehhh~ kinda feels like we’re stowing away.”

“We are stowing away.”

Gray bared her snaggletooth while peeking out the window. Balmung chimed in flatly with his usual deadpan.

Inside the silent cargo bay of the airship, everyone exchanged awkward glances.

The Dante Assassination Squad, the Hero’s party, an elephant... No one knew how this group ended up in the same place, but this was definitely the first time we were all together in one room.

“Professor. Gray has a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Isn’t that Adele Assistant over there?”

At that, Adele Mouin furrowed her brows.

“‘Assistant’? I’m a cleric, thank you very much. And who exactly do you think you’re pointing at?”

“Huh? Adele-sis is mad.”

Balmung and Kendreik looked equally curious. They’d both seen Adele around during assassin training sessions, so the face was familiar.

But this Adele over here... Her vibe was off. Her expression was sharper. There was even a cross-shaped mark (†) carved into her cheek.

“She’s not Assistant Adele.”

“Seems like it. So... a twin?”

“No... not even a twin. Just someone else entirely.”

“Hey, miss. What’s your name?”

“...Adele.”

“She says she’s Adele?”

“.......”

How the hell was I supposed to explain this?

“She’s someone else. Period.”

“Ehh...”

“What’s with the ‘ehh,’ dumbass? If Professor says it’s someone else, it’s someone else. Can’t you tell she’s from Kreutz?”

While Balmung was rubbing his hands like a schemer...

“Shut it. Even I could figure that out.”

Suddenly ticked off, Gray tried to punch Balmung — but he ducked easily. With their height difference, just tilting his head back put her out of range.

“Hey, assassins over there. All from Hiaka?”

“That’s right.”

“Ugh, shit. So annoying...”

“What’s your problem? I thought you were a cleric.”

This time, Gray’s temper shifted targets.

Just as things were heating up, the Hero raised a hand.

“...Excuse me.”

Just two words — but his voice was steeped in sorrow.

“I’m listening.”

“I recognize the others, but... who is that one?”

He pointed toward someone — and everyone turned toward the corner of the cargo bay.

There, huddled up... was Eve.

Caught off guard by the attention, Eve pulled her hood low and nervously glanced my way.

“Huh? Oh yeah, Professor. Who is she?”

“Such a beauty...”

“Wha—??”

Elize asked, and Balmung’s comment made Kendreik visibly startle. For reasons I couldn’t even guess.

“Um... she’s...”

I started to explain, but—

“.......”

I didn’t know how to explain it.

Someone I know?

The monster of Starfall Mountain?

Next, they’d ask what kind of relationship we had — and I had no good answer for that either.

So I took the easy route.

“My friend.”

“Ah.”

“I see.”

“She’s hearing impaired. Can’t understand speech well. If you want to say something, tell me.”

Elize muttered, ‘The Professor has... friends...?’

So I grabbed her cheek with my thumb and forefinger.

“Aiiee—why, whyyy...?”

“.......”

Then I told Eve to introduce herself. Greet everyone.

Eve shook her head stubbornly in refusal.

‘Greet.’

‘No.’

‘Make friends. Them. People.’

‘No.’

‘Why.’

‘Don’t know.’

...Well, yeah. She only ever acted friendly with me. Even Ran, who taught her sign language, got the cold shoulder.

But we couldn’t keep going like this forever. Eventually, she’d have to develop some social skills.

Just then, Kendreik’s stomach let out a growl.

Grrrooowl—

Big guy meant big organs — and big rumbling too.

“Ugh...”

The embarrassed oaf scratched his head.

“Hey mister. Got anything to eat?”

Adele Mouin looked hungry too.

They weren’t wrong — we’d all been on the move for hours with nothing in our stomachs.

“All right, everyone gather up. Time to eat.”

“What do we have?”

“Rations.”

I pulled out the Imperial MRE packs I’d bought earlier from [Inventory].

One-touch heating, a full-course set: rice, bread, meat, even dessert.

I made Eve’s portion myself.

Just then, someone tiptoed over wagging her metaphorical tail — Elize.

Sniff sniff.

“......?”

“This smell... I’ve smelled it before. Haven’t we met somewhere?”

“.......”

“Where was it? It felt really close. Ah! Do you live at our academy?”

Elize had probably roamed every inch of the place all year round with her MiniMiniMungs. She must’ve visited Starfall Mountain at least once.

She crouched beside Eve, edging closer. Eve turned away, retreating as far as she could, then reached out and grabbed my sleeve.

A rough, ‘Help!’ gesture.

I turned to look at her: ‘Don’t know.’

“......??”

It must’ve felt like her world was collapsing.

Well, it couldn’t be helped.

Eventually, she’d need to open up to others — and starting with Elize wasn’t the worst idea.

“Food’s ready, Professor.”

“Got it.”

The MREs had finished heating, and mealtime began.

I had to help feed Eve.

She avoided anything with a strong smell, but stuff like chiffon cake? She adored it.

“......♡”

Elephant or not, she ate like a squirrel.

Nibbling bite by bite like she was gnawing on nuts — and before I realized it, a whole big slice of chiffon cake was gone.

‘Tasty?’

‘Yes.’

We’d all suffered to get here, and yet she was the one dining like a queen... But no, I told myself — no dark thoughts.

Still, when I handed her mine, she gladly took it too.

“Should I give her mine as well?”

“...Sure.”

And just like that, Eve devoured Balmung’s cake too. Three in total.

Her face practically glowed with joy.

‘More. None?’

‘None. You. Pig.’

‘???’

But when I tried to eat my own meal... I couldn’t.

Maybe it was the sleep deprivation from planning everything.

“You want mine?”

“Wah~!”

I handed my plate to Kendreik, the big guy. He happily chowed down on meat, stew, and chocolate.

Adele Mouin ate quietly without complaint.

And the Hero...

He ate like a man who’d just lost his job. Forcing down his food with a dead gaze.

Like livestock chewing on feed.

...Should I just take that away from him?

That was the mood as we ate in silence.

Knock knock—

Around that time, a smuggler opened the door and handed me a projector the size of a human head.

“Here it is.”

It was something I’d asked for in advance.

“Thanks. Didn’t expect you to get it while in the airship.”

“Hey, pay me enough, I’ll steal one from the captain himself.”

“Frequencies?”

“All pre-set.”

After he left, Balmung asked:

“A projector, Professor?”

“To watch the news.”

“The news.”

“That commotion with the Stellar Throne⁺₊⋆ Stigma at the casino — there’s no way they’re keeping it under wraps now.”

Not just the assassination squad — even Adele Mouin and the Hero sidled closer.

A public battle between Constellations was a rare event, maybe once every few years. When it happened, the whole world watched.

And so, all eight of us crowded around the tiny screen.

Pop—

Just as expected, every channel on the projector was flooded with news about the casino incident.

—“The Stellar Throne and the Black Star Throne are on the verge of a clash! A siege, or possibly a defensive stand, is unfolding before our eyes!”

Battle footage played.

The two Thrones were colliding.

The clash of light and dark was like a giant game of territorial conquest — both forces staining each other like paint.

The more territory one gained, the stronger their influence became.

—“The Stellar Throne’s Agion appears to be preparing an aggressive assault. Shown here are dozens of Stellar soldiers. The Black Star Throne is countering with their elite guard.”

Inside a massive sphere of light, a man stood like a god.

In the darkness swirling like smoke, a woman stood facing him — like a deity of the underworld.

—“The root of their conflict is presumed to be the treasure of the Eternal Arc, though details remain unconfirmed...”

One of them might die today. If that happened, the world would spiral out of control.

All the Thrones would scramble to uncover the truth. And information about the “Peacemaker†” would spread like wildfire.

“Glory.”

“...Yes?”

Those cold, blue eyes turned toward me.

“Come with me for a moment.”

Before the chaos grew any worse—I had to tame this bastard while I still could.