"You know, Ruby. About that salmon sandwich."
"Huh, yes?"
Walking out of the room and down the hallway, Ruby, who was holding Aria’s hand, shivered at her words.
"Are you sure you don’t want it? I can make it quickly. There's a kitchen here."
"Ah..."
Glancing at her for a moment, Ruby closed her eyes tightly and spoke in a voice trembling with fear.
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Huh? Sorry? What are you sorry for?"
"I-I lied."
Listening to her words, Aria tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
"I... actually, I don't like salmon."
"Huh? You don't like salmon?"
"Yes... I'm sorry..."
"Then why did you say you liked it before?"
With a face expressing disbelief, she asked.
"Uh, I, I wanted to impress you, since you like salmon..."
"..."
Of course, there was plenty of room for excuses, but Ruby didn't make any.
Since her mind cleared, she had decided not to hide any of her sins.
It was absurd for her to lie, much less to Aria, who was Frey's blood relative.
Moreover, this was also her retribution for all the sins she had committed.
"I see... so that's how it was..."
"..."
Having heard Ruby's response, Aria smiled brightly and nodded.
"Heh, heh heh... ha....."
Her expression looked slightly eerie. It seemed her mental state was quite fragile.
"What about brother? Did he like salmon sandwiches?"
"Oh, that's..."
Regretting that she had spoken just now, Ruby started to contemplate upon hearing Aria's question, her face slightly crumbling.
"Um..."
For some reason, the Frey who woke up after losing his memory due to the ring surprisingly was good at eating salmon.
However, the true Frey, whom she loved, detested salmon dishes terribly.
He even spat out a piece of salmon he mistakenly ate at a restaurant a few days ago.
"H-He don't like them."
"..."
After a long deliberation, Ruby answered based on the original Frey.
Aria's expression started to waver again upon hearing her response.
"That's strange, isn't it? Whenever we played together when we were young, my brother always ate salmon sandwiches with me."
"I-Is that so?"
"W-we used to share salmon sandwiches in the field. I still remember that..."
"..."
"H-He said that the salmon sandwiches we ate were the best, and he even patted my head. So what happened..."
Aria muttered as her smile dimmed.
"Come to think of it... my brother's expression was a bit strange when he ate the sandwich. And after finishing it, he would hurriedly go somewhere and come back... Could it be..."
Although it was only a moment, an expression of utter despair flashed across Aria's face as she spoke.
For a child of her age, her condition was in utter chaos, to say the least.
"I'm really selfish, Ruby."
"Aria?"
"Until now, I didn't even know that my brother hated salmon so much that he would vomit immediately after eating it."
"Oh..."
"Despite being a bad younger sister... He was such a kind brother... and I... I'm..."
Before she knew it, a tear was streaming down her cheek.
Watching that scene, Ruby's stomach began to churn with nausea.
Wasn't she the one who attacked Frey, going so far as to force him to eat the 'salmon' he hated so much?
She mistreated and violated the person who was more precious to her than anyone else and his younger sister so cruelly.
That was just a few months ago, and now the consequences of that action were unfolding before her eyes.
"By any chance... What kind of sandwich does my brother like?"
"E-Egg sandwich. Made with rye bread..."
"Ah, I see. Okay then. Now that I know..."
Looking at Aria, who was struggling with regret and not knowing what to do, Ruby's expression turned uneasy at her smile.
"When I meet my brother again, I must treat him to that."
"Huh..."
"There's still hope, Ruby. My brother will definitely, definitely come back."
Her anxiety hit the mark.
Aria still believed that Frey would return.
"Um, just in case I wanted to ask... Does my brother still have the handkerchief?"
"...Yes."
"Hehe, that's a relief. He still had it. See, there's still hope..."
"..."
Ruby tried to regain her composure somehow.
Because... She found the truth that Frey had been reset to be unbearable for her as well.
"Aria..."
"Ruby?"
Thanks to that, Ruby eventually ended up hugging Aria tightly as they both sat down in the hallway.
Destroy Frey!!
The citizens of the Empire had gathered at the harbor, holding up placards and shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Go, Lady Ruby!!"
"Defeat the evil Frey!!"
"You are the hope of the Empire!!!"
The Hero Party, staring blankly out the window, closed the curtains tightly upon seeing the crowd, which included the orphans Frey had rescued, the children he had prevented from becoming slaves, and those he had supported with scholarships.
- Wahhhhhhh!!!
"All those people... are the ones Frey saved..."
"Stop... Don't praise us..."
"..."
But even if they plugged their ears to block them out, the hopeful cheers from outside were as vivid as ever.
"Damn it!!"
"Enough, stop it..."
To the Hero Party, the sound of the demon's voices echoing from the depth of hell would have been less hellish than what they were hearing now.
“Hello everyone, how are you?”
As the children's expressions gradually twisted, someone accompanied by soldiers opened the door and entered the restaurant.
"Are you still in the process of getting ready? You didn't come out, so I came to find you myself."
It was the second princess, Limia, who unexpectedly gained power due to Clana's betrayal.
"Ahem, I have an announcement to make to everyone."
Famous for her lack of tact, she began speaking despite the soldiers' overwhelmed reactions to the gloomy atmosphere of the Hero Party.
"First of all, Ms. Ruby? Congratulations. The whereabouts of the Hero's Armament have been discovered!"
"Eh, what?"
Approaching Ruby confidently, Limia grabbed her hand and spoke, causing Ruby to look flustered.
"The bad news is, Frey also found out where the Hero's Armament is. So you need to hurry as much as possible."
"...Where is it?"
To the children's grim question, the Princess chuckled and maintained her smile as she answered.
"At the Starlight Mansion."
"...What?"
Aria's eyes widened in shock upon hearing that. And so did the rest of the Hero Party.
“I heard it’s in the basement of Starlight Mansion...?”
"..."
As the princess's casual remark ended, there was a moment of silence.
“Is that why the rumor about the basement spread?”
"R-Really...?"
"Frey..."
"E-Everyone? Why are you...?"
As voices of despair from the children continued to trickle out, the Princess finally began to feel something was amiss.
She looked puzzled and asked questions.
"What will you do? If you go now, you'll definitely encounter the evil Frey and his group. Should I send some Imperial soldiers with you? Or..."
"W-We have to go!!"
"Huh?"
"We have to go right now!!!"
Pushing past her, someone desperately exited the restaurant.
"If it's the mansion... if I can persuade Brother within those nostalgic walls... if I can beg for forgiveness...!!!"
With a look of intense yearning, Aria began to run, as if grasping at the last bit of hope.
"We might be able to bring Brother back!!!"
"Aria..."
"..."
Leaving behind the bewildered Princess, Ruby, and the Hero Party began to follow Aria with pale, trembling faces.
.
.
.
.
.
- Crackle...!
"Huh."
Meanwhile, at that moment...
"It's strange."
Frey, who had taken on the appearance of the Demon King, scratched his head with an annoyed expression.
"Why won't it let me in?"
A massive star-shaped defensive magic circle blocked his way.
You are no longer part of this lineage.
"What's with this weird writing...?"
"...Young Master."
After incessantly pounding on the barrier and examining the silver letters that emerged within it, Frey leaned in to listen as Kania quietly whispered into his ear.
"The Hero Party is right in front of us."
"Oh? Then we should prepare to greet–"
- Zzzt...!
"...Urgh."
Feeling a pang in his chest, Frey placed his hand over it.
“...Now everything annoys me. Then...”
Looking at the handkerchief in his hand, Frey muttered with a cold voice.
- Sizzle...!
“I’ll just burn everything.”