"Hey, hey, hey, there are way too many people here!"
"They said this was a post-apocalyptic setting, so how are there still so many people!"
Veliona, who was being squeezed by the sea of people while pushing her way inside, kept muttering incessantly as she grabbed the short-haired, timid Seele and tried her hardest to squeeze through the crowd...
"Good thing Bronie had the foresight—how does Bronya feel?"
High above the sea of people, Bronie and Bronya were sitting cross-legged on a medium-sized rotary-wing cargo drone, conspicuously flying over the crowds.
"It is a very novel experience... flying over the crowd on a drone..."
Bronya glanced down at the crowd below and nodded thoughtfully.
"Haha, Bronie said escaping through the air would be a brilliant idea."
"I wonder what Seele and the others are doing..."
Looking at the incredibly crowded scene below, Bronya suddenly thought of something, and her expression became a bit worried.
"You definitely don't need to worry, Bronya. Didn't you notice Big Sis Veliona's attitude toward your little cute Seele?"
"Even though she complains about how timid she is, if anything happens, Big Sis will definitely be the first one to step up."
"You have to trust in Big Sis's strength andreliability, Bronya."
She gave her companion's shoulder a hard pat and gave her a clumsy thumbs-up.
"Yes, Bronya believes them."
The latter nodded solemnly, continuing to observe the reveling crowd below.
"So this is what people are like in the apocalypse... I remember that waiter saying... they just defeated the 12th Herrscher not long ago, right?"
"That's right... If Bronya guesses correctly, this city might have been the last city of humanity back then."
"Everyone below already understood the future of humanity at that time, or at least the future of this generation of civilization had already been brought to an end."
"If you put it that way... this isn't really a celebration... hmm... is it the indulgence before the apocalypse?"
Bronie nodded, offering her own assessment.
"Ah, right. So the Previous Era of this world... perished when they fought the 13th Herrscher... hmm?"
Thinking of something, Bronie looked at Bronya with a thirst for knowledge.
"No, the Previous Era perished under the power of the 14th Herrscher, the Final Herrscher... As for the 13th Herrscher."
"There are very few records in the databases of Anti-Entropy and Schicksal. You could say we only know that the 13th Herrscher exists, and that this Herrscher apparently didn't cause any casualties. Other than that, we know nothing."
"Suddenly, the 13th Herrscher seems so much more mysterious. All the previous Herrschers were just rampaging and killing, then gotten utterly defeated by humanity in the end..."
"This one feels... Hmm, Bronya, do you think this Herrscher might be similar to the Leader from Anti-Entropy?"
"What do you mean by that, Bronie...?"
"Maybe this Herrscher was just a soldier of Fire Moth, maybe a really strong and famous one at that."
"And then, without realizing it, or perhaps willingly, she became a Herrscher... then she let her own comrades kill her!"
"Then, chances are, this Herrscher was an absolutely beautiful girl, the kind everyone's in love with, who willingly let her comrade kill her"
Bronie's imagination ran wild as she described some incredibly melodramatic plot, making the corner of Bronya's mouth twitch.
"And, and then! At the end of the story, the beautiful heroine lies in the handsome hero's arms, smiling as she gives him one last flower before closing her eyes to sleep peacefully."
"...Bronya is deeply shocked by Bronie's associative abilities, and declares that there's a slight possibility Bronie's theory is correct."
"Although Bronya feels this script is more like filming some kind of tragic soap opera."
"Ahem, isn't it pretty good though..."
Bronie gave an awkward smile, then seemed to think of something again. By the way, Bronya said—
"Bronya, do you remember what Big Sis Seele said when we met up with her and the others?"
"Yes... she said this world seems to be some kind of trial for Bronya... Bronie, do you mean...?"
"Maybe we can unravel the mystery of the 13th Herrscher from the Previous Era here?"
Bronie showed a somewhat excited expression.
"After all, they couldn't have thrown us into the Sea of Quanta just to make us spectate the carnival before the Previous Era's doomsday, right?"
Seemingly convinced by her companion's string of arguments, Bronya nodded, accepting her theory.
"So, shall we proceed according to my previous hypothesis?"
"After all, we don't have any other guesses for now, do we?"
After a brief thought, Bronya still agreed with her companion's unreliable opinion. After all, as she said, they had no other theories.
-
"Alright, we've arrived."
Just as the two were discussing, the drone carrying them finally flew over the sea of people and arrived in front of the Fire Moth building.
Just as the two jumped off the drone, another dissatisfied voice emerged from behind them—
"Hey, hey, hey! I struggled so hard to squeeze out of the crowd, and you two guys took a plane?!"
Long-haired Seele emerged from the crowd, panting heavily, and glared at the two of them in front of her.
"Ah, well... this is the power of technology, Miss Big Seele."
Bronya pinched the bridge of her nose, as if trying to push up non-existent glasses, and explained seriously.
But Bronie noticed something was off...
"Big Sis, where's the smaller Seele you brought along...?"
".....?"
"Huh? Where is she??? I was holding her hand the whole time???"
Big Sis looked completely bewildered, holding the ribbon in her hand, and turned back to look for her anxiously.
"Oh my~ Are you looking for this cute little girl? ♪"
A cheerful and playful young girl's voice rang out by the main entrance.
The lovely pink-haired girl was holding the bewildered Seele aloft, as if she were a kitten.
"Oh dear, what a poor little kitty. Lost in the crowd by the adults in her family, unable to find her way~"
"I felt sorry for her, so I brought her back~"
"Don't let her wander off again next time~"
The pink-haired girl set the short-haired Seele—whom she'd been holding high in the air—down on the ground. Seele immediately scrambled backward, flusteredly retreating behind Bronya.
"Thank you for helping us find Seele... May I ask, what is your name, miss?"
"Oh, how heartbreaking~ As you can see, this shy, blossom-like maiden—is none other than Elysia!"