"The War Game is overrrrrrrrr!"
"""Waaaaaah!"""
Beyond the projection, with the giant's collapse, the long event at last came to an end.
Immediately after, huge cheers of all kinds rang out from all over the city.
It was the crowd's acclaim for a festival unlike anything they could ever experience in ordinary life, and for a spectacle of a scale they had never seen before.
Win or lose, it had been a thoroughly satisfying event that raised the excitement of everyone watching.
"Huh? Wait, wait!"
Even so, there were still those who would not simply be swept away by the public mood.
"What is it?"
"No, listen. I got caught up in the atmosphere and cheered too, but now that I think about it, wasn't that giant on the same side as Little Rookie?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Then why does defeating it count as Little Rookie winning the War Game?"
"Th-that's...?"
"Now that you mention it, that does make sense."
The doubt that began with one citizen soon spread across the entire plaza.
At that, the emcee holding the microphone in the plaza, Ivri Archer of Ganesha Familia, also known as Fire Inferno Flame, made a very troubled face.
In truth, he too had ended up announcing the conclusion without realizing it, swept along by the mood.
And the same was true in the gods' meeting place.
"Hahaha, what a relief. Contrary to my worries, it all wrapped up without any trouble. Thank goodness. Yes, truly, thank goodness."
To be precise, unlike the other gods who were quietly murmuring among themselves, Apollo alone was chattering in a strangely loud and cheerful voice.
As if it had nothing to do with him.
"Still, this is troublesome. Nothing has been properly settled. In that case, perhaps both sides should withdraw for now and set another date to settle this fairly...?"
"What bullshit are you spouting, Apollo?"
But the other party was also an immortal god just like him.
She had more than enough years behind her already.
Even if that opponent was Hestia, who was usually a little clumsy and a bit lacking in some respects.
Above all, before the War Game had even begun, she had already been thoroughly taken advantage of by Apollo, leaving her favorability deep in the negatives and her alertness long since blown past MAX.
Under those circumstances, there was no way a clumsy attempt to change the subject or shift the mood would work in the slightest.
"He, Hestia?"
"As for the winner and loser, that was decided from the very beginning. Did you forget? The whole city was already shown, through the Mirror of Far Sight, the scene of Hyakinthos, your side's commander, being completely subdued by that Magus of ours. The outcome itself was basically over then and there."
"Ghk! Th-that..."
"The battles after that were... well, a sort of bonus stage, I suppose. It was just the Magus's personal entertainment. Bell and the others were cleaning up the mess before things got any worse."
At Hestia's explanation, Apollo looked around at the other gods nearby, hoping against hope.
Hoping someone would object on his behalf.
Sure enough.
"She's right, Apollo."
"Fun is fun. A match is a match."
"That's a completely different story to begin with."
"The world of competition is a cold one."
"Ahaha, poor Apollo."
"Ganesha hereby gives full and immediate agreement with everyone's opinion this time!"
The other gods of the Familia, grinning and snickering as if they had enjoyed every last bit of it, held the same attitude.
Not a single one sided with Apollo.
Well, in a way, that was only natural.
"D-dammit...! Ouranos!"
In a final act of desperation, Apollo pinned his last shred of hope on the old god of the Guild and called out to him pitifully.
"The winner has already been decided. The War Game is Hestia Familia's victory. I will not accept any objections, nor any request to overturn it."
"Y-you've got to be kidding! Then you should've said that from the start! Why did you stay quiet until now and only say that after the fact...!"
"I have just now confirmed the relevant facts. As the mediator, I will personally apologize for neglecting my duty."
"Th-this is ridiculoussssss!"
Apollo screamed in despair.
His handsome face had gone pale blue and was already looking gaunt.
Still, considering the emotional suffering he had endured all day, it was hardly impossible to understand.
However, his true ordeal was only just beginning.
"A. Po. Llo?"
"Hiiik!"
"You're prepared, I trust?"
"W-wait, Hestia! I-I was wrong! Like I said earlier, that child was just so cute that I couldn't help myself...!"
"Shut. Up."
Smack!
"Gyaaaah!"
""O-oh, wow...""
A clean hit, packed with the restrained fury of a goddess!
The effect was tremendous!
"Hestia's surprisingly merciless."
"M-mundigasa's got some skill, I'll give her that."
"Well, the real part starts now."
Just a moment.
Let's pause and go over the conditions tied to the outcome of this War Game.
As I recall, the losing side was supposed to grant the winner anything they asked for.
And Hestia, as the victor, faithfully carried that out.
"Confiscate all his assets! Disband his Familia! And exile him permanently!"
"Never set foot on the land of Orario again!"
The instant her declaration ended, a miserable scream rang out through the gods' meeting place.
But this too was inevitable, and fate.
Undeniably the self-inflicted result of a fool.
Serves you right, you pervert.
*
"Ow, it hurts..."
"Ugh, my arm...! I can't feel my arm...!"
"It's still attached. Stop whining, idiot."
"Hey! Does anyone have any potion left?!"
"Idiot, like hell there is."
"Just lay them down somewhere comfortable and do basic first aid with bandages and splints. We don't have any other options right now."
"When I go back this time, I'm definitely confessing to her."
"Hey, shut that mouth!"
"Seriously, don't. I just got chills. It's really all over now!"
"You must never say that!"
Here, where the thick dust had settled and the fierce heat of battle had also died down.
All across the War Game site, pained groans continued to spill out.
But among them, the faint traces of relief and gratitude were only natural for those who had barely survived with their lives.
From a little distance away, a woman approached the boy watching the scene.
"Ryuu."
"Thank you for your hard work, Cranel."
"Ryuu, you too... thank you."
"Not at all."
The masked woman who had joined the War Game as Bell Cranel's ally, Ryuu Lion.
The two of them looked at each other and smiled faintly with satisfaction before turning their eyes back toward the field.
Seeing the injured being supported by those who were still relatively unharmed, and receiving first aid here and there, they could both clearly feel that today's huge event was truly over.
"I wonder if Mikoto is all right?"
"Judging by how steady her breathing is, she should be fine for now."
"Of course, she should still get a proper examination from a medical Familia later."
At Ryuu's words, Bell let out a relieved breath and said, "That's a relief."
Just as she said, the woman lying quietly behind them, Mikoto, was breathing no differently than usual.
To anyone who didn't know the circumstances, she might even look as though she were simply taking a leisurely nap.
"Excuse me, Cranel. May I ask you one question?"
"Oh, what is it?"
Then Ryuu's gaze returned to Bell.
And with it came a question.
"Why did you help them?"
"That's..."
At her question, Bell said nothing for a while.
Watching him, Ryuu looked away again and voiced her honest thoughts about what had happened today.
Or perhaps she was probing him once more to confirm something.
That was how foolish and unreasonable Bell's choice had been today.
At least by ordinary standards.
"Honestly, this incident was never something that should have exhausted either me or your bodies to this extent."
From the start, the winner had basically been decided the moment he, the Magus, stepped forward.
"Personally, I find that rather displeasing... but yes, I understand. He was clearly a powerful man with more ability than anyone, and his motives and justification were solid. The ones at fault were the other side."
There was no reason anywhere for us, for you, to have gone this far.
At Ryuu's candid explanation, Bell had no answer beyond awkwardly scratching his cheek.
Then, after a moment, he opened his mouth.
"Just... because."
"Just because?"
It was truly foolish.
Truly absurd.
And yet, it was exactly the kind of answer that was so unmistakably him.
"Wasn't it because you received a request from the goddess Hestia? I had assumed there was at least some such circumstance."
"Lady Hestia didn't say anything else. The Magus only joined the War Game this morning, after all. So I don't think she had any time to tell me anything separately."
"Then why?"
"Exactly as I said. I just... didn't like it when it was done that way."
As Bell answered Ryuu's question, he thought back.
The Magus's meaningful words just before the War Game began.
The giant that appeared on the battlefield after that.
The difficult path that had led them here.
And the miraculous encounter and hidden story no one else knew.
"Maybe if the Magus had used some other method, I would have stayed out of it too."
If he hadn't brought out the giant.
If he had fought in a more ordinary, less flashy, more efficient way.
If he had fought like other adventurers, on a small and conventional scale.
Bell Cranel might not have moved either, just like everyone else.
"Did you think his way of doing things was too much?"
"No, it's just... I couldn't accept it, I guess. It felt like, 'This doesn't seem right,' or something... Ahaha, I'm not very good at putting it into words. I think I moved because of that sort of feeling."
"As expected... you are far too kind. To the point of being foolish, truly."
"Ugh, I'm sorry."
"I'm glad you understand. This time, that wasn't praise either."
It was not just a casual remark, but a clear warning with a stern expression.
At her quiet rebuke, Bell shrank a little and lowered his head.
For a while after that, the two of them said nothing.
Then, after a bit, it was Bell who spoke first this time.
"Even so."
If the same moment came again.
"I think I'd still make the same choice."
"Because you still wouldn't be able to accept it?"
"No. That too, but... more than that, how should I put it..."
For a moment, Bell fell silent and sank into thought, then opened his mouth again.
And it was an unexpected answer that Ryuu, listening beside him, had not the slightest way of anticipating.
"Because the Magus... would want that side."
"What do you mean...? That's not a very understandable answer, from my perspective."
"Well, it's a little hard to explain in words."
To be honest, if you really got down to it, both this and that were all just a kind of "game" to that person.
As soon as Bell finished speaking, Ryuu's expression twisted in a frightening way.
So that meant...
"A game, is it. That battle from a moment ago, where he toyed with people's lives?"
"N-no! Don't make that scary face! What I mean is...!"
Bell was startled by Ryuu's intense reaction, which was unlike her usual self, and flustered, unable to continue properly.
Instinctively, he sensed that if he misspoke here, something enormous would happen later.
So, after desperately racking his brain, he said,
"Th-the way I heard it from someone I recently got to know, the Magus has a bit of a... no, a lot of a 'childish' side to him."
Just a little.
He had now gone and spoken part of the "truth" he himself had come to know.
"There is no such evil, deviant child anywhere in the world."
"That's definitely tru... no, wait! What I mean is, he has a lot of immature sides! His tastes are kind of childish! And I guess, for me, I can sort of relate to that!"
"Cranel?"
Ryuu's reaction was, naturally, pure confusion.
But seeing the strangely sincere look on Bell's face, she decided to keep her mouth shut for a moment and not argue back.
Seeing her quiet down, Bell thought she had calmed a little and continued his explanation.
"I didn't know at first, but now that I think about it again, I kind of get it."
This person just wants to play with us right now.
"The person who told me said the Magus's anger was probably mostly gone the moment he smashed the castle in the beginning. What happened after that was some kind of boasting? A performance? A test? Something like that, apparently."
Well, it's only something I heard from someone else in the end.
Only then did Ryuu have a question.
What exactly was this boy talking about...?
"You heard that. From where...?"
"Hey, Beel~!"
"Ah, Welf!"
But with the sudden interruption from a third party, the answer to her question would have to wait a little longer.
Far off in the distance.
The boy's companion, whom they had been separated from for a while, was coming over.
And behind him, dragging the Magus, the culprit behind this whole mess, along the ground with one hand like a piece of luggage.
"Ghk! Crozzo, could you maybe move me a little more gentlemanly, since we're civilized people? It's just that my head keeps slamming into the rubble on purpose from earlier... agh!"
"Huh? Ah, sorry, bro. For some reason I can't hear too well since a while ago. Must be from the injuries you caused, so please understand."
"...Sigh. Fine. Do whatever you want."
Watching the two of them, Bell could think it once more.
It really was all over.
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