Seventh District.
Ryuu and Aki were fighting side by side.
Aki had been embarrassed about Cid earlier, but the moment she found Ryuu, she understood there were more important things she had to do.
Her best friend's condition was terrible—not physically, but mentally.
If Ryuu could still look like this after being talked to by Cid, then the problem was serious.
So Aki forcefully dragged Ryuu out "for a change of scenery."
If they didn't deal with what was eating at her heart, Ryuu would break.
But with the city in this state, they couldn't just go for a walk.
So while "strolling," they also fulfilled their duty:
Killing dark faction enemies.
Aki wasn't good at fighting and didn't like it, but she possessed a powerful binding spell—"Delusional Gana."
It lowered the target's overall stats and had a high chance of forcing the enemy to stop in place.
As support magic, its performance was absurd.
Even a Level 3 enemy would pale when faced with it.
And once immobilized, what usually followed was Gale's lethal strike.
With their coordination, even a Level 4 adventurer would need to tread carefully.
And within the dark faction, Level 4s weren't common thugs—they were cadre-class.
So when these two teamed up, it meant "unstoppable."
At least against the enemies they were seeing right now.
"Ryuu… are you okay?"
After yet another fight, Aki looked at Ryuu—her face covered in blood—with worry.
Honestly, Aki believed Ryuu should be resting.
But the situation didn't allow it.
"I'm fine," Ryuu said.
She took an extra breath. Her eyes were openly exhausted.
She couldn't even remember how many enemies she'd killed over the last two days.
She only knew this:
No matter how many she killed, more kept coming.
"Are you alright? I'll help!"
In front of Ryuu was a man whose arm had been sliced open, and beside him, a woman crying.
This—protecting the innocent—was the meaning of Ryuu's fighting.
"You're adventurers, aren't you?! Why didn't you come sooner?!"
Seeing the man's wound still bleeding, the woman finally snapped.
She didn't dare aim her fury at the dark faction who hurt her husband.
But the elf in front of her was from a "justice" Familia.
Good people were the ones who got guns pointed at them.
Ryuu didn't argue. She just kept working.
Once she finished bandaging the man, Ryuu tried to leave—
But Aki grabbed her and stepped in to speak with the woman, whose sobs had softened.
"Adventurers are people too. We get tired like Ryuu. We get hurt like your husband. We cry like you.
We're all trying—aren't we?
Can you apologize to Ryuu?
If you don't, she'll be very sad."
"Aki… it's not necessary," Ryuu said quietly.
"No, it is necessary.
If she doesn't apologize, later—when she remembers—she'll regret hurting you."
Aki's tone was firm. She wouldn't let Ryuu run.
And there was another reason she didn't say aloud:
With Ryuu's current mental state, she truly needed to hear an apology.
The woman stayed silent for about ten seconds, then lowered her head, sniffling.
"…I'm sorry. I really am. I'm so sorry."
She was just an ordinary person who'd nearly been driven insane by brutal reality—not someone born evil who loved shifting blame.
Now that her husband looked better, she wasn't hysterical anymore.
"It's… alright," Ryuu said.
But she looked awkward—almost at a loss.
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
Before, she would just stew alone, never expecting a real apology.
A few days later, she'd forget, and she'd forgive.
She'd seen enough suffering to know: people in pain say things you shouldn't hold against them.
She simply didn't expect there could be a method like Aki's.
"Please be careful from here on. If you can, stay in the shelter."
Aki handed over a small vial of medicine, then pulled Ryuu away.
"Aki… that was your last potion…"
Ryuu didn't know how to judge what Aki had done.
Orario's overall supply situation was deteriorating.
Yesterday, when the Astraea Familia received supplies, each person only got three basic potions.
That was yesterday's allotment.
Today, the whole Familia—eleven people—might only receive three bottles total.
And it wasn't that they lacked money.
There simply wasn't anything left to buy.
In wartime, the Guild stockpiled materials and Finn distributed them freely.
As a strong mid-tier core force, Astraea's allotment was comparatively generous—
But "generous" was still "war rationing."
In war, resources burned like they were free.
And because of that, even though Aki came from the elite Ganesha Familia, she wasn't any better stocked than Ryuu.
Aki was too kind.
Supplies never stayed on her for long.
"That's exactly why it doesn't matter whether I have it or not," Aki said, smiling easily. "And Ryuu will protect me, right?"
Ryuu truly admired her—how she could still smile in a time like this.
Ryuu couldn't.
"Aki… is your justice forgiveness?"
"Not exactly. But even for someone truly wicked… I might still want to give them one more chance. So maybe it is?"
"Aren't you afraid? The person you spare might hurt others. Might even hurt you."
"Haha. Then I guess that's the price you pay for carrying out justice."
Ryuu fell silent, unsure how to respond.
Even she found it hard to accept Aki's justice.
Or maybe precisely because it was Ryuu—because Aki was her closest friend—she couldn't accept it.
"Ryuu, are you worried about me?
This kind of justice is dangerous. I might die at any time.
But that's okay. Justice flows on."
Aki knew how dangerous her path was.
But she couldn't lie to her own heart.
This was the justice she chose to uphold.
She wouldn't change.
If the ending of that justice was destined to be tragic—she would accept it.
"What dazzling justice," said a voice.
The voice belonged to the evil god—the representative of the Greatest Evil.
Under the two girls' shocked stares, the god's lips curled into a smile filled with "malice."
But in that moment, even Ryuu—who had spoken with Erebus before—had no attention to spare for him.
Because at Erebus's side was a beautiful woman in a formal dress, her eyes open.
Ryuu didn't recognize her at first.
But after Aki had attended the meeting, she'd told them the woman's name—
And with the name came the legend of her past.
Recalling those details now, Ryuu felt the wooden sword in her hand weigh a thousand jin.
She couldn't hold it steady.
Aki was a little better—but only a little.
She suddenly remembered Cid.
Because Cid had warned her in time, she'd escaped a first clash with that woman.
If she could survive this too—
Aki wanted to stop being shy, and accept Cid's confession.
And if this truly was the end—
Then like the stories in heroic sagas—
Sing for justice.
Aki stepped forward, smiling.
"An honor to meet you, Miss Alfia."
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it