Within the old tent, two knights knelt, their hands held aloft.
Before them stood a woman, an expression of utter disbelief etched upon her face as she gazed down at them.
These were the two who had just endured a fierce battle, alongside the one who had only just entered the tent.
The silver-haired girl, Adelia, undeniably the highest-ranking among them, finally broke the silence.
“In any case, have all of you managed to clear up your misunderstandings?”
“No, Adelia, you were the only one who had a misunderstanding. We would have been perfectly fine if we’d just stayed quiet… *Gasp!*”
“Raise your hands again.”
As Adelia struck her sword against the ground, the blonde, golden-eyed girl flinched violently, her hands shooting back up into position.
Likewise, the black-haired girl, who had been surreptitiously attempting to lower her hands, startled and quickly raised them once more.
Adelia, glancing up to confirm the black-haired girl’s presence, spoke with a sweet, gentle tone.
“Oh, our Lily is permitted to relax.”
“Is that truly so?”
The black-haired girl chuckled softly, then lowered her arms.
Her arms had, in fact, begun to ache intensely.
Yet, one individual—or rather, one dragon—could not stand idly by upon witnessing her plight.
It was Goldie, the blonde, golden-eyed dragon, who had been enduring the same consistent scolding right beside her.
“This is species discrimination! I condemn it! Guarantee dragons the right to arms that do not ache!”
Adelia resolutely ignored the golden-eyed dragon, who was trembling and shouting, her arms still raised.
After all, given her formidable physical capabilities, such discomfort would hardly be significant.
Disregarding the nagging dragon, Adelia turned to the black-haired girl and revealed the true purpose behind her summons.
“Now, I imagine you must be quite surprised to suddenly find yourself in a place like this. Rest assured, I intend no harm.”
“H-Huh, what?”
“I’ve called you here because I wish to bestow a gift upon Lily.”
The black-haired girl began to realize that the inevitable had finally arrived.
After all, until recently, she had been diligently working to foster the ‘yuri’ (TL Note: A genre focusing on romantic relationships between female characters) between Adelia, the main heroine, and her friend Lis.
It had to be that Adelia, consumed by jealousy over her rapidly growing closeness with Lis, had summoned her here solely to torment her.
Lily had, in fact, even strived for such an outcome, so it would have been stranger if this situation hadn’t materialized.
“Could it be that your absence from school for several days was also… related?”
“It was to prepare the ‘gift’ I intend to give Lily.”
“Hieeeek!”
While Adelia’s absence from school had primarily been to establish a new Royal Guard, she had indeed been preparing a separate gift, making Lily’s assumption, in essence, not entirely incorrect.
Naturally, Lily was gripped by terror, realizing Adelia was going to such elaborate lengths merely to torment her.
‘Even if it’s all for the sake of yuri, being hated by the P-Princess is still a little scary.’
Who, after all, was Princess Adelia?
As the main heroine, she was an undeniable ‘munchkin’ (TL Note: A term for an overpowered character) and cheat character—one who never succumbed to adversity, always stood at the vanguard to vanquish evil, and supported the protagonist in every conceivable way, both materially and spiritually.
In short, to have her as an adversary would be nothing short of a monumental nuisance.
Yet, at this very moment, she was unequivocally making Lily her target.
Lily’s cerebrum began to spin idly.
The girl’s mind, accelerating at Mach speed, swiftly concocted a series of delusional scenarios.
‘How dare you go on a date with my beloved Lis!’
‘T-That was merely a small trial between two people in love.’
‘Die!!!’
‘I’m so sorry! Please, just spare my life! Hieeeek!’
Within the black-haired girl’s delusions, no path to survival seemed to exist, no matter how she tried.
Of course, the silver-haired girl would never truly act in such a manner, but Lily’s brain, having absorbed an overwhelming influx of new information, was no longer functioning rationally.
Adelia, unaware of the tumultuous thoughts swirling within the black-haired girl’s mind, merely hoped she would be pleased with her ‘gift’.
“However, this location is far too disorganized.”
Adelia cast a disdainful glance at the scattered documents and the dragon still kneeling, its hands held high.
This was hardly an appropriate setting to present her ‘gift’.
A slightly more spacious and secluded venue was required.
Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as she continued speaking.
“I shall invite you to my chambers.”
“A-Are we truly going alone, just the two of us?”
“Of course, Lily.”
At Adelia’s pronouncement, the black-haired girl’s delusional circuits finally overclocked, conjuring the most extreme of imaginings.
‘F-Finally, I’m going to d-die… but to perish at the heroine’s hand, that’s almost a good thing.’
Like a calf being led to the slaughterhouse, Lily wept mournfully within her heart.
****
Until recently, Adelia had been grappling with a singular, perplexing question.
How does one achieve absolute dominion over humanity?
It was a conundrum she had never before contemplated, nor even conceived.
Yet, at this very moment, she found herself in dire need of an answer.
The aged royal advisor, a venerable old man, fumbled with his monocle as he spoke.
“If there is anything you do not know, perhaps you should pay a visit to the Royal Palace Library?”
“A library?”
“The Royal Palace Library houses a considerable collection of materials, some of which predate the fall of the former empire.”
“I am well aware of that. But surely, there is nothing there that would prove helpful?”
Adelia knew this to be profoundly true.
She had, after all, devoured every single book within that library before her tenth birthday.
For her, to read was synonymous with remembering.
However, the old man then spoke of a different category of texts.
Within the Royal Palace Library of Elia, there exists a section that is never, under any circumstances, accessible to young children.
All books deemed hazardous are meticulously stored within that restricted zone.
“I speak of the Forbidden Section. While I may not know the precise nature of the Princess’s inquiry, answers to most profound questions can indeed be found within its confines.”
And there, amidst the Forbidden Section’s shadowed shelves, she discovered the very answer she sought within a particular tome.
‘The Necronomicon.’
The book she unearthed after relentless inquiry contained truth, justice, reality, and even order and harmony.
Adelia entered the room where Lily was confined, carrying a single book in one hand and a leash in the other.
****
Within Adelia’s chamber, the girl could be seen, trembling faintly as she nibbled on the prepared snacks.
She was as adorable as a kitten wary of an unfamiliar environment.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“The macarons are delicious. This is the last supper.”
“Oh, do eat slowly. There is still plenty more.”
Adelia found herself content simply by watching the girl, whose mouth delicately moved as she consumed the sweet treats.
How long had it truly been since she could behold Lily in such a state?
How many days had elapsed since that presumptuous Marquis’s daughter had stolen her girl away?
Now, the time had finally arrived to claim Lily as her own, and to impart the knowledge that had infiltrated Adelia’s mind to this small girl.
This was the ‘gift’ she had painstakingly prepared over the past several days.
Adelia unfurled the book she had brought.
‘That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.’
Within its pages lay the struggles of ancient humans and gods, the creation of new life, and, most importantly, the very knowledge she craved.
The knowledge, an affront to human reason, churned within her mind as if possessing a malevolent will of its own.
“Princess? Your eyes look strange. They’re spinning.”
“…”
“Princess…?”
Lily struggled to comprehend the phenomenon unfolding before her very eyes.
As the silver-haired girl opened the book, several distinct types of script became visible within its pages.
Letters that, while unrecognizable, were inexplicably comprehensible.
Lily’s consciousness was, in that moment, utterly captivated by them.
From the silver-haired girl’s lips emerged a voice utterly alien.
“It has been a truly long wait.”
Yet, it was still Adelia.
For the desires that drove her remained unchanged.
Her obsession and possessiveness toward the black-haired girl.
The instant she opened the Necronomicon, those very desires alone defined her essence.
Thus, her reason found a way to coexist with the incomprehensible knowledge now flooding her mind.
Adelia fastened the leash around the neck of the black-haired girl, who had collapsed, having lost consciousness.
“Indeed, a leash suits you well. Now, rise, Lily.”
“H-Huh… what…?”
The black-haired girl pushed herself up, her eyes unfocused as she stared at Adelia.
She seemed utterly unaware of how her own body was moving.
“P-Princess, my body feels strange. It won’t m-move properly…”
“Hmm, this is slightly different from the test. Lily, would you try raising your right hand?”
The black-haired girl obediently raised her right hand.
Her consciousness, however, clearly recognized the abnormality of the situation.
‘Huh, this is strange. Why did my hand suddenly go up?’
The sight of the girl with a question mark floating above her head was adorable, but her condition was far from ideal.
It was a discordance, a result of the soul from another dimension combining with the body of this world.
“Does this mean only the physical body can be controlled?”
“P-Princess?”
Lily attempted to call out to the silver-haired girl, her tongue fumbling, but the words failed to form correctly.
Adelia clicked her tongue.
She had been told that this spell was supposed to subjugate both the soul and the body, but the current situation wasn’t so bad.
A human mind?
She could personally train it.
To make Lily look only at her, unable to turn her gaze elsewhere.
“Lily, next is…”
Adelia’s lips twisted upwards, forming a sinister smile.
