Chapter 148: The Conclusion of a Tragedy and the Beginning of a Tragedy<ol> <li><strong> The Conclusion of a Tragedy and the Beginning of a Tragedy</strong></li> </ol>


    * * *


    I ran in a straight line toward the strangely decorated manor.


    There was no time.


    I had no intention of taking the honest route around to the front entrance.


    Maintaining my running momentum, I leapt toward one of the manor’s windows.


    <em>Gashaaaaan</em>!!


    My body crashed through the window with a loud shattering sound, allowing me to sessfully invade the manor’s interior.


    Rolling across the ss-covered floor to kill my momentum.


    Looking around, there was the form of a maidservant lying dead in the hallway.


    She had been shed across her throat, the hallway floor dyed crimson with her blood.


    And leading from that blood-drenched floor down the hallway were scattered footprints.


    Most likely Karashia’s footprints.


    I started running while following those footprints down the hallway.


    <…I thought you had no intention of entering the manor?>


    Extra-sama, but people are dying here.


    <So what if people are dying? It has nothing to do with you.>


    …That’s true, it doesn’t concern me.


    The people of this manor areplete strangers to me.


    Honestly, whether they live or die doesn’t matter at all.


    Seeing the dead maidservant’s body rolling in the hallway didn’t stir any particr emotion in me.


    I really do have a cruel personality, huh.


    <Then why?>


    But still, Extra-sama.


    This seems like a problem that “can be resolved by hitting”, doesn’t it?


    <Certainly, if you hit Karashia, the killings would stop.>


    Honestly, they kind of had iting too.


    I don’t care what happens to the people of this manor!


    But if I look back on this incidentter and think “Maybe I could have done something back then?”, won’t I just feel uneasy and ufortable?


    <I see. If that’s your reasoning, I understand.>


    But well…


    <…We may have been toote.>


    As I ran down the hallway pursuing Karashia, every servant that came into view was already dead.


    Karashia’s actions were swifter than I expected.


    For me, this manor is just a flimsy wooden building.


    If I exert even a bit too much force, it will instantly break apart.


    Naturally, there are limits to my movement speed too.


    There are limits to how much I can reinforce the floors with magic power as well.


    “Kyaaaaah!!”


    Then a woman’s scream pierced my ears.


    It was that “Mother’s” voice.


    <Emi! The voice came from… over there! Inside that room at the end of the hallway!!>


    I rushed toward the room Extra-sama indicated and forcefully flung the door open!


    <em>Baaan</em>!!


    The wooden doors flew wide open with great force, mming against the walls with a tremendous noise.


    And then… <em>bofun</em>! They copsed onto the carpet covering the room’s floor.


    I must have misjudged my strength when opening the doors.


    The door hinges seemed to have broken.


    However… Despite making that much noise, not a single person turned toward me.


    This was likely Keranko’s room.


    The people who should have originally been in here were Keranko, the “Mother”, and Doj.


    Doj was… probably the man lying face-down in a pool of blood near the entrance.


    With brown hair slicked back and wearing a ck suit-like outfit, he had a burly physique.


    But he was already dead.


    The “Mother” was… likely the woman lying on her back over there.


    The wound running from her shoulder across her throat looked horrific.


    She wore a shimmering dress.


    With her fluffy, curly blonde hair, the description “morous beauty” suited her well.


    Although she too was already dead, soaked in a pool of blood.


    And Keranko was the one standing in the center of the room.


    Her age was probably around 14 or 15.


    She too wore a shimmering dress.


    Like her mother, she had fluffy, curly hair – though hers was brown.


    Keranko’srge eyes were opened even wider, her long eyshes trembling as her mouth opened and closed wordlessly.


    The reason was because a sharp sword had pierced straight through her chest.


    Her convulsing body gushed blood, and the fact that barely any magic power remained within her ording to my 【Magic Perception】 made it clear her life wouldn’tst much longer.


    …Ah, she’s dead.


    <em>Thump</em>, Keranko’s body copsed into the pool of blood with a heavy sound.


    The silver ring adorned with a lizard carving that she had worn on her finger was now dyed pitch ck by the blood.


    Simultaneously, the person who had stabbed Keranko with that sword stumbled and crouched down, cing both hands on the floor.


    “Fu… ufufufu, ahahahaha… haah, haah…”


    Letting out an ominous, softughter amid ragged breathing, this woman was undoubtedly Karashia.


    Her age seemed around the same as Keranko’s.


    With straight, navy blue hair.


    Unlike Keranko, she wore a in gray one-piece dress.


    “Haah… ahaha… ahahahaha! Ahahahahahahaha!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”


    Karashia continuedughing madly.


    She didn’t seem to notice my intrusion into the room at all.


    Her eyes were dull and hollow,cking any focus.


    <…We were toote.>


    Extra-sama muttered quietly.


    I had rushed over hoping to do something, anything, but this was reality.


    There was no one left to save, and my arrival did nothing to change the future that had already been set in motion.


    I felt neither sadness nor resentment.


    Whether these strangers lived or died was none of my concern.


    That seemed to be my true feelings from the depths of my heart, as my heart didn’t stir in the slightest.


    To be honest, I felt a slight revulsion toward that fact about myself.


    However, more than that, what upied my mind even more was a sense of powerlessness.


    I had be strong.


    I had grown stronger.


    For most problems that could be resolved by hitting, I could simply knock them down and move forward with arrogance.


    That was the arrogance I had developed.


    But it was impossible here.


    I was toote.


    I couldn’t do anything.


    My arrogance had its overextended nose cleanly snapped, leaving me dumbfounded.


    And yet… the situation continued to unfold further.


    “Ahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahaha… Ugh!!?”


    “!!?”


    The madlyughing Karashia suddenly grasped her chest before her face fell straight to the floor… where she didn’t move an inch more.


    “…Eh?”


    A reflexive voice escaped me.


    Not a shred of magic power could be sensed from Karashia’s powerless body lying on the floor.


    Which meant her fate was easy to conclude.


    Namely, she too had died.


    “…Hah?”


    Eh? Why?


    Why did you die too?


    It makes no sense.


    <Karashia did say her body was frail, didn’t she?>


    Extra-sama provided an exnation to my confusion.


    <She originally had a frail body… and likely did not possess much magic power either. For such a person to wield the magic sword in a half-berserk manner, having her magic power drained as a result… you know what would happen.>


    Her magic power… was drained to depletion…?


    <For a healthy person, it may have only caused nausea, dizziness, or temporary unconsciousness. But she was not like that.>


    Her body was… frail.


    <Yes, her body was frail. Hence, she could not endure her magic power being depleted and died. That’s likely what happened.>


    ……………………


    What is this?


    What is this utterly inevitable conclusion?


    No other sounds could be heard, suggesting everyone in the manor had died.


    There was no wind either.


    Only the sounds of my breathing and heartbeat echoed through the room.


    …Had echoed.


    However.


    <em>Dosari</em>.


    The sound of something falling over came from the hallway behind me outside this room.


    I instinctively turned around.


    What entered my field of view then was…


    …What could only be described as a manor with an “outwardly strange” appearance.


    First, the roof was bright red. Bright crimson red. Additionally, the window frames and other key areas were also painted red.


    The walls were coated yellow, with red polka dot patterns drawn here and there.


    With only pure white snow piled up around it, its outward appearance stood out bizarrely.


    “Hah!?”


    <Eh!?>


    Extra-sama and I both inadvertently let out sounds of surprise.


    I should have been standing inside the blood-drenched room of this strange manor!


    But instead…


    I looked around.


    This was… outside!


    I was standing right in front of the entrance to the manor!!


    Apart from the manor itself and the neighboring storehouse, a vast silvery world stretched out around me.


    The blizzard had stopped, no wind blew.


    No snow fell either.


    However, the surrounding hazy fog limited visibility.


    <Wh-What in the world…!?>


    Even Extra-sama didn’t understand what had happened, seeming bewildered.


    What was this?


    What happened to me?


    Did I… warp outside from inside the manor’s room?


    Why?


    <I don’t know! This is… strange! Strange, isn’t it, Emi!?>


    You don’t need to tell me, Extra-sama!


    I was confused.


    Well, of course I was.


    Even Extra-sama didn’t know what was happening.


    But then, a voice reached my ears from inside the manor, adding even more confusion.


    “Stop it, Keranko!!”


    It was that shrill, hysterical scream from a woman.


    “H-How cruel, Karashia Onee-sama… Don’t be so rough? Look, the palm of my hand has turned red…”


    “Oh my! This is terrible, Keranko-chan! We should treat your injury right away!”


    “Oh dear, Miss Keranko…”


    Then the familiar voices of the same three people from before assaulted my excessively sharpened hearing.


    Yes, they were familiar voices.


    No, not just the voices.


    The lines they spoke were familiar too.


    I had… just heard those very lines when eavesdropping from the storehouse.


    “…In any case, I cannot hand this ring over to you. Excuse me.”


    “Uwaa~~ Onee-sama is being mean~!”


    “Oh my! Karashia, you are the older sister, aren’t you? Why don’t you indulge your cute little sister’s request a little!”


    “…’A little’, you say, Mother? This dress, these hair ornaments, this ne – Keranko has taken everything from me! And still you say ‘a little’!? That’s enough!!”


    “You must not talk back to your mother! Doj, do it.”


    “Yes!”


    “Wh-What are you going to do, Doj! Stop… Stop it! Aah!”


    I had heard this exact exchange just before.


    This was strange.


    This situation was strange.


    Because the owners of these voices had all…


    Died, just before.


    <This is… this is bad.>


    It seemed Extra-sama had realized what was happening to us here.


    She muttered quietly:


    <Time is… looping.>


    The voice echoing in my mind trembled faintly.