As she listened to the girl, Tsukiyomi Fuya's expression turned deathly grave.
If things were truly as Su Yuzu had said—
that the Abyss which had awakened from the floor of the deepest abyss was the Seat of Evil, that the "person" who had torn apart the holy radiance left behind by Saint Michael was the Seat of Evil—
then the gravity of the situation was far, far beyond anything Tsukiyomi Fuya, or Imperial Capital University for that matter, could ever set right.
More than a hundred years ago, the Seat of Evil had already been a Seventh Sequence Esper.
She had all but slaughtered every Aberrant and every "Beast" above the Seventh Sequence in this world.
And before she plunged into the Abyss, she still dragged the last batch of Sixth Sequence Aberrants down with her.
It could be said—
the Seat of Evil was very nearly the strongest warrior in all of human history.
Though... no one had ever seen the Seat of Evil's true face beneath that heavy suit of armor.
Some said it was a burly, hulking man, and that when Kirishika sat on his lap she looked as tiny and delicate as a child.
Others dared to guess... that beneath the heavy armor was actually a girl who looked almost childishly young.
In the end they even made a film out of it—The Flowers of Evil.
In it, Kirishika shed her cumbersome wedding gown and still managed to slip into the armor, to embrace the frail girl, to erase her power, to erase the light on her body that was slowly turning pitch-black, and to plunge into the deepest abyss together with her.
But—
no matter what people guessed... if the Seat of Evil had not truly died back then, and had instead been converted into an Aberrant—
then she would inevitably be a being even more dangerous than Kujou Iruka had once been.
She had once single-handedly guarded the future of this era; now... it seemed she meant to single-handedly shatter this era's peace.
And yet—
what was actually running through Su Yuzu's head at this moment was something else entirely.
That era had not yet had the Eye of Insight.
And who could say whether those strange Black Gears—the so-called Aberrant Activation Devices—had even been born yet.
But... artificial "Beasts," the Chimera Amalgams, surely had not appeared back then.
So then—
since the Seat of Evil had been able to plunge into the Abyss.
Didn't that mean the Seat of Evil was actually a rather adorable girl?
Judging by the momentum of a game's plot, this ought to be the case as well.
The protagonist of Sunken Throne—or rather, the final Boss—was bound to be an adorable girl who would make players' eyes light up, one they'd even want to spend real money on.
After all... it was an eroge~
In an instant Su Yuzu was brimming with enthusiasm.
And besides—
she thought of yet another thing.
Kirishika.
It seemed the Seat of Evil was not the only one who had failed to die.
The Seat of Evil's lover, that era's rule-type ability user—Kirishika—seemed to have survived just the same.
Only... Su Yuzu thought back to the pure-white girl she had met in the street, the one who had hidden so adorably behind her at the police station. That Kirishika was the one who better fit the impression of the girl Su Yuzu had seen in The Flowers of Evil.
But... in her Sister's memories?
Su Yuzu recalled a Kirishika brimming with sinister menace, as though she reigned over the whole world—her tone exactly like that of the enigmatic little creature from those anime that looked like children's cartoons but were actually dark, deep, and cruel, the one who offered to grant the magical girls their wishes.
The two didn't match up at all.
Yet twelve years had passed, and her appearance still hadn't changed in the slightest.
One thing could be confirmed—
she was Kirishika.
Combined with her own mission—
[The Flowers of Evil has already bloomed.]
[Mission Objective: Find Kirishika.]
[Mission Reward: Ten-Pull Search Voucher.]
[…]
Kirishika was certain to become a crucial breakthrough, so... how exactly should she find Kirishika?
Perhaps a stroll along the seaside would be a good option.
"All right~~~"
"Stop thinking so much." Watching the girl before her seemingly lost in serious thought, Tsukiyomi Fuya reached out and, as though coaxing a pet, gently kneaded and played with Su Yuzu's cheeks.
So... soft...
In any case, they felt wonderful.
And when she saw the girl lift her head and look up at her with a completely dazed expression, the satisfaction swelling inside Tsukiyomi Fuya grew richer still.
Little Yuzu really was the best "pet."
Whether to Feed her or to cradle her in one's arms as a body pillow to sleep with... she was a superb choice for either.
What a shame... Tsukiyomi Fuya glanced at Soga Yura, whose cheeks had puffed up until she nearly resembled a blowfish, looking so wronged and pitiful that at any moment she seemed ready to drop into full meme-face mode, "( .0.0° ).°".
Honestly~~
Hadn't she looked so majestic and imposing just now, back when she deployed her domain?
At school, Little Yura always wore an eternally cool, distant smile, the very picture of a courteous Eldest Young Lady who kept everyone at arm's length.
So how was it that after meeting Little Yuzu... she had evolved into such a crybaby?
Could it be that whenever the two sisters were together, some marvelous complexation reaction took place?
It seemed she wouldn't be able to coax Little Yuzu into sleeping at the observatory tonight; she would have to return Little Yuzu to her Sister for a day.
A slight twinge of regret stirred in Tsukiyomi Fuya.
Still... watching Soga Yura's expression, watching how remarkably obedient Little Yuzu was in the palm of her hand, a certain thought rose up in Tsukiyomi Fuya... maybe she should just carry Little Yura off along with her too.
For Little Yuzu's sake, taking home one more—a Little Yura who clearly didn't look nearly as soft—was no trouble at all.
After all, she was her own student, and Little Yuzu's Sister.
Only in that case, she'd probably have to get a new bed.
Her current narrow bed made it a squeeze to fit even herself and Yuzu, but~ in a certain sense, that was exactly right.
Cramming in three people, though, would be a bit hard to pull off.
She kneaded Yuzu's little face. "If that awakened... 'Throne'?"
"Is really the Seat of Evil."
"Then what comes next... is no longer something Yuzu, or even Teacher, can solve."
"Yuzu..."
"Just rest well, that's all you need to do."
She said nothing more, made no grand boast that she could definitely handle it.
She thought back to how, in Soga Yura's memories, Kirishika had addressed her: "My young junior—"
This crisis... perhaps could not be resolved even if she ascended to a "Throne."
But Su Yuzu still didn't feel as though the sky were falling, still hadn't sunk into anxious dread.
She was still holding one card.
A card that, short of the direst emergency, must never be played early.
Looking at Tsukiyomi Fuya before her, the girl gave a soft nod.
"I understand~"
But Yuzu turned her gaze out the porthole.
Find Kirishika.
She absolutely had to find Kirishika.
The girl sitting on the reef, kicking at the water, gazed with pure, innocent eyes at the research vessel moored at the temporary dock.
It seemed... to link with the girl's gaze.
"Yu... zu."
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