Chapter 93

Itsuki’s expression stiffened ever so slightly at those words. Erika’s sharp intake of breath was audible as well. Although the antibody medicine Harold had supposedly created was keeping human casualties to a minimum, and the LP farming method provided a new source of revenue, the decline of the once-thriving forestry industry remained a persistent headache for the Sumeragi territory.

Even if the financial impact was mitigated, the mere existence of such a destabilizing factor was a net negative for the region. There was no way Itsuki would fail to bite at the bait.

"Is such a thing even possible? ...No, that’s a foolish question. But how, exactly?"

It was a reasonable question. Providing the answer was synonymous with unmasking the mastermind behind the entire affair.

In doing so, the ultimate goal for Rainer and the others—defeating Justus—would be made clear. If Harold revealed the existence of the last boss now, a figure they weren't supposed to encounter until the end of the original story, what would happen?

Harold had frequently agonized over and feared the consequences of altering the original plot. But as he continued to do so, time and again, a new realization began to take root.

He had already reached the point of no return.

Clara was alive, and Colette no longer had a reason to despise him. Consequently, Rainer no longer viewed him with the burning hostility of a man seeking revenge for his childhood friend's mother.

Thanks to the LP farming method and the antibody medicine, the Sumeragi territory had avoided a catastrophic economic collapse, meaning there was no longer any need to marry off Erika to the "notorious" Harold Stokes.

Cody, who hadn't lost his subordinates, remained a member of the Knight Order instead of leaving in disillusionment. "Frieri," the organization he was originally destined to found, was instead being managed by Harold with El’s assistance.

Furthermore, he had forged relationships in the most unexpected ways with members of the protagonist's party—Lifa, Francis, and Hugo—characters he shouldn't have had any significant ties with until much later in the game's timeline.

The Harold Stokes standing here was an entirely different entity from the Harold Stokes of the original story. With the climax fast approaching, the best course of action was to act according to the reality he had created.

Thus, Harold spoke without a trace of hesitation.

"This is the source of the miasma. Deactivate this, and the miasma stops."

He produced a hexagonal device, roughly ten centimeters in diameter. With its tangled wires and blinking lights, it looked undeniably suspicious. It hit the table with a heavy, metallic thud.

He had pocketed it while on a mission to install several of them, thinking it might eventually prove useful. Justus likely suspected him, but Harold had insisted he’d lost it during transit, and eventually, the questioning had ceased. He was continuing to play dumb, despite being a total thief.

"What kind of machine is this?"

"Are you familiar with Dragon Veins?"

"I recall them being described as paths for the energy that flows through the earth..."

Itsuki answered with the vague knowledge he possessed. That level of understanding was sufficient; they were essentially the world's spiritual arteries.

Across from them, Rainer and Colette exchanged confused glances, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

"Exactly. This device is designed to be installed at a Dragon Hole—an outlet for those veins—to absorb the earth's energy, its ki."

How it functioned was a mystery, but it was impossible for an ordinary person to comprehend something built by a man like Justus. They simply had to accept it as fact.

Besides, in this world, mystical energies like ki were far more tangible than in the world Harold had originally come from. No one was going to dismiss his explanation as a delusion.

"I don't really get it, but what happens then?"

"The ki flowing through the earth is like blood in a human body. Rainer, if you tied a rope tightly around your arm, what would happen?"

"The blood would stop!"

"Correct. And an arm deprived of blood will eventually necrose and rot away."

The room fell into a grim silence. Most of them had grasped the implication.

To drive home the severity of the situation, Harold continued.

"By damming up a Dragon Hole, the same phenomenon occurs within the earth. The miasma is, in essence, rotten blood—stagnant ki."

"Stagnant ki..."

"Ingesting it in large quantities causes this stagnation to mix with the body's internal ki, resulting in physical abnormalities."

That was the lore from the original story. Given that the antibody medicine worked, the principle likely held true here as well.

One might have expected Itsuki to be overjoyed at finally having an answer to the long-standing crisis, but instead, his face darkened further.

"...Harold, is there a way to treat those whose ki has already been corrupted by this stagnation?"

"It’s simple. Deactivate the device, and the dammed-up ki will surge forth. If they absorb that pure energy, they should recover."

"Is that true!?"

Itsuki’s grimace vanished, replaced by an expression of radiant hope. His concern for his people above all else proved he was a true Sumeragi. Beside him, Erika was taking deep, steadying breaths.

In the original story, deactivating the device caused the pent-up energy to erupt in a shower of pale green particles across the Sumeragi territory. Patients afflicted by the miasma would recover almost instantly upon inhaling them.

Justus intended to harvest that accumulated energy, but in the original game, several devices—including the one in the Sumeragi lands—were destroyed. This forced him to launch his final plan with insufficient energy, leading to an imperfect result. Therefore, resolving the miasma issue properly now would directly impact the final boss battle.

"The device is installed at a Dragon Hole somewhere in the mountains. Deactivate it, and the flow of the Dragon Vein will return to normal, causing the miasma to vanish and the people to be saved. Understood? I said deactivate, not destroy."

"You're very insistent on that. What happens if we destroy it?"

"The massive amount of dammed-up ki will go berserk and vaporize everything in the vicinity."

"That’s a rather important detail!"

Francis reacted with his usual theatricality, but the others looked equally horrified.

It was a natural response to being told that failure meant being blown to bits.

"Stop caterwauling. It's a simple matter as long as you follow the correct procedure."

"Wh-What a relief. Don't scare us like that..."

"Lord Harold, you know the procedure, don't you?"

"I don't."

Rainer, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, and Colette, who had been looking at Harold with expectant eyes, both froze. The air in the room grew heavy once more.

"You don't know...? Then what are we supposed to do? Call the manufacturer?"

"The man who caused this mess isn't going to come just because we ask him to. Are you a complete moron?"

"Y-You have a point..."

Harold reflexively insulted Hugo, who shrunk back in his seat.

He had intended to keep his mouth shut, but his persona kept overriding his intentions. Besides, given how much he had already revealed, he felt the chances of keeping his secrets were rapidly dwindling anyway.

"Then we have no choice but to figure it out ourselves. We’ll have to start by analyzing the device's internal structure—"

"There is no need for that."

"...What do you mean?"

Harold grabbed the device from the table and tossed it to Lifa, who was sitting to his right. She caught it deftly with both hands.

"She will handle the deactivation."

"Her?"

"That’s right. Got a problem with that?"

Lifa turned a provocative smile toward Itsuki, her tone dripping with "don't underestimate me just because I'm small."

In the original story, Lifa was a prodigy of mechanical and electronic engineering, capable of hacking into unknown systems or building complex machinery on the fly. She was only overshadowed because Justus was a literal monster of intellect; in any other context, she was a genius.

Harold had already given her a device to study before they arrived, and she had mastered its structure and deactivation sequence. Since she’d confidently told him "I've got this," it would be fine.

"So that’s the plan. We move to deactivate the device as soon as Lifa is ready."

"I'm going too!"

"I-I will as well!"

"If those two are going, I guess I'm tagging along."

The trio immediately voiced their intent to join. Francis followed suit.

"Well, after hearing all that, I can hardly sit this one out."

"Fran..."

"The royal blood in my veins would weep if I abandoned a friend in his hour of need."

"...Thank you. Alright, I’ll also—"

"No." "You cannot."

Harold and Erika spoke in perfect unison, cutting Itsuki off before he could volunteer.

It was the only logical choice. Aside from the fact that Itsuki didn't participate in this event in the original story, he was the next head of the Sumeragi family. They couldn't risk him in an operation where a single mistake could result in total annihilation.

Erika was undoubtedly thinking along the same lines.

"But—"

"Think about your position."

"Brother, you should be coordinating the evacuation in case of an emergency."

"I cannot remain an idle bystander while the fate of the Sumeragi hangs in the balance!"

"Then I shall go in your stead. You have no objections, Lord Harold?"

"Don't look at me. Use your own head for once."

"There you have it. You will remain here, Brother."

The two of them tag-teamed him so relentlessly that Itsuki couldn't even find a gap to counter. Despite their supposed mutual dislike, their synergy was terrifying whenever their interests aligned.

Objectively, Erika shouldn't be going either, but having her there would be convenient.

The three of them argued back and forth for a while, but eventually, the two-on-one pressure broke Itsuki's resolve.

With the strike team decided, Francis suddenly spoke up.

"By the way, Harold. Where exactly did you get this device and all this information?"

As expected, he wasn't going to let that slide. All eyes turned to Harold.

He decided that if he was going to come clean, now was the time.

"Because the culprit is someone I know quite well."

"What?"

"Justus Freund. He is the mastermind who created the miasma."

"That’s impossible! Dr. Freund is the man who took you under his protection!"

"On the surface, perhaps. In reality, he only brought me in so he could use me as a convenient pawn."

"...Will you explain the circumstances?"

"Hmph. If you're so desperate to hear it, I’ll tell you."

Harold took a moment to organize his thoughts. If he was going back to the beginning, it had to start there.

◇

Erika was breaking out in a cold sweat. The source of her anxiety was the fact that Harold and Colette were currently in the same room.

Either one individually would have been fine. Her reunion with Colette—though unexpected in its timing—was a source of joy. Harold's sudden appearance, though she kept her face neutral, made her heart race.

But when both were present simultaneously, she couldn't afford to be sentimental.

Their relationships were a tangled web of lies and misunderstandings spanning eight years.

There was Harold, who had lied to Erika about killing Colette and her mother, and who mistakenly believed Erika still bought into that lie.

There was Erika, who knew Harold was lying but respected his wishes by continuing to play the part of the deceived.

And then there was Colette, the target of the original lie that kept Harold and Erika’s relationship outwardly hostile, yet who remained blissfully unaware of the complex friction between them.

Erika realized she was likely the only one who fully understood the gravity of the situation. This made her hesitant to act. All three of them were holding secrets, creating a tense, three-way stalemate.

While she had been hesitating, Colette had blurted out the fact that she and Erika were friends.

Colette wasn't to blame. Erika was the one who had proposed they become friends five years ago, and she was genuinely touched that Colette still cherished that promise.

But why did it have to happen now?

She couldn't deny Colette's words, so she had officially acknowledged their friendship. Erika wasn't cold enough to ignore her friend to save face.

She felt a phantom pain in her stomach—the kind born of pure stress. She didn't think her heart or body could handle much more of this.

However, as the conversation shifted, she found she no longer had the luxury of worrying about social entanglements.

The revelation of the cure for the miasma and the method to end the crisis were both things she had desperately sought for years.

And then, there was the matter of Harold’s past. She didn't expect him to confess everything, but she hungered for even a glimpse into the motivations behind his actions.

"We start five years ago. You remember the conflict in the Bertis Forest?"

Harold began his tale in a flat, detached voice. He opened with the one incident Erika could never forget.

"The invasion by the Imperial Army that resulted in heavy casualties for the Knights and the Stella Clan? As I recall, Harold was suspected of being an Imperial spy," Francis replied.

The incident had been a massive scandal, so the general outline was public knowledge. However, that "knowledge" had been carefully curated for the masses.

"That isn't quite right. Harold discovered the Empire's plan to invade ahead of time and went to the forest specifically to stop them," Itsuki corrected.

"It’s irrelevant."

"It most certainly is not! You were nearly killed because of it."

"It was a scratch."

"A magical blast that blew a hole in your shoulder and left you comatose for a week is not a 'scratch'."

"W-Were you really hurt that badly...?" Colette asked, her voice trembling.

"I'm standing here now, aren't I? Shut up and listen."

Erika could see Harold’s irritation at having his vulnerabilities exposed.

Since that incident, Itsuki had been obsessed with preventing Harold from throwing his life away. Like Erika, Itsuki had stared into the abyss of losing Harold and never wanted to return there.

Since then, he had made a point of admonishing Harold, even knowing it would only draw his ire. Unfortunately, his words rarely seemed to stick.

"I neutralized an Imperial Major General and did the heavy lifting for his capture. My reward was being detained as a spy and being sentenced to death two weeks later."

"That’s insane! You’re the one who stopped the war!" Rainer shouted.

He was right. Harold’s actions that day were heroic, worthy of a medal. Had he not acted, the Empire's schemes might have sparked a bloody civil war between the Knights and the Stella Clan.

The fact that he had been wearing an Imperial uniform—the fastest way to reach the front lines and warn the Knights—should never have led to an execution.

And yet, it did. Harold finally revealed the truth behind that absurdity.

"The invasion was orchestrated by a man named Harrison. And the man holding his leash is Justus."

"...You mean, the one responsible for that war was..."

Erika’s voice shook with a mixture of shock and burgeoning rage.

In contrast, Harold remained chillingly indifferent.

"Correct. Furthermore, Justus manipulated the Deliberation Chamber to ensure I was sentenced to death. He waited until I was rotting in a dungeon before making his grand appearance. He gave me a choice: 'If you aren't content to sit here and wait for the executioner, come with me'."

It was the ultimate coercion. He had manufactured the crisis himself, only to offer himself as the only means of salvation. It was a level of malice that defied belief.

Itsuki and Rainer were vibrating with fury toward Justus. Colette and Hugo looked at Harold with profound pity for the injustice he had suffered.

"I had no desire to be his lackey, but it was the perfect opportunity to learn his ultimate goals. This device is one of the things I discovered during my time in his service."

"...But why? Why would Dr. Freund do all this?"

"He’s compromised the upper echelons of the government for some grand design. The Bertis Forest and the harvesting of Dragon Veins are merely steps in a larger process. I have no interest in trying to fathom the mind of a lunatic who experiments on the Stella Clan."

"Human experiments? You mean he started a war just to get test subjects!?"

"The chaos of a battlefield is an excellent cover for a kidnapping."

"Damn it! Harold, the people he took... are they okay?"

"...I managed to get two of them out. I wouldn't call either of them 'okay', though."

"Kh...!"

Francis slammed his fist onto the table, his face contorted with frustration. He had nowhere to vent the rage boiling within him.

Hugo muttered a soft "No way..." and fell silent. He looked as though he had realized something terrible.

A heavy, mournful silence descended upon the room. Even Yuno, standing in the corner, had her head bowed, her fists clenched white against her skirt. Through it all, only Harold remained unmoved.

"And another thing, Rainer."

"Y-Yeah?"

"That sword that was stolen from you? Harrison gave the order. Which means Justus is the one who wanted it."

"Are you serious...? So Harold almost dying, my parents getting hurt, all those innocent people suffering, the Sumeragi people dying from the miasma... it’s all that Justus guy’s fault!?"

"As far as I've determined, yes."

"I’ll never forgive him! I’m going to beat him into the dirt!"

Rainer’s declaration was a roar of pure defiance. Erika felt exactly the same—as did everyone else in the room.

While the specific reasons for their anger varied, they all shared one common, burning spark.

A shared indignation at the man who had dared to put Harold through such hell. Erika had never felt a hatred this cold or this sharp in her entire life.

"Do as you like. But you won't get the chance unless we fix the miasma first."

The chorus of "Yeah," "Of course," and "Yes" that followed was a chaotic mix of voices, but every single one of them was a vow of absolute commitment.

Naturally, Erika’s voice was the strongest among them.