“Wh-what… what do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said.”
“No, it’s a lie… Ray is an Ordinary. There’s no way…”
She stumbled backward with shaky steps, her feet dragging across the ground.
In contrast, I continued to advance toward Maria.
Then, I told her.
I explained why I had revealed my true identity and laid out the current situation in its entirety.
The doubts Maria had harbored would likely all melt away—thawed by a cruel, biting truth.
I spoke for a while. As I did, I manifested my Attribute, the Ice Sword, showing her the symbol of the Ice Sword Sorcerer.
Maria understood the moment she saw the magic. She, too, was a member of the Three Great Noble Families. She was capable of recognizing even a glimpse of the refinement within such magic.
And so, I bared the whole truth to her.
“No… that can’t be…”
“It is the truth. And Maria, I need your help.”
“W-with what? What are you going to make me do?”
Maria was trembling with fear.
It was only natural. I understood why she wouldn't want to believe a story like this. However, too much evidence remained for it to be anything else. This was, without a doubt, the truth.
“It is this—”
I put the plan into words.
In that instant, her fear transformed into white-hot rage.
“No! That’s impossible! I could never do something like that! You know how I feel, so how can you even ask!?”
“I have to. We have to.”
“But still!”
I closed the distance between us in a single stride and firmly gripped Maria’s shoulders.
I stared straight into her eyes, which were currently consumed by anger. Those beautiful, sparkling crimson eyes burned with fury.
Maria was screaming that she could never do such a thing to the sister she loved more than anyone else.
I felt the same way.
I didn't want to do anything that would hurt Rebecca-senpai.
But we had no choice.
To save her, I had to break her.
To liberate her from the suffering she had endured until now, we had to kill our own hearts.
“Maria. We are accomplices.”
“Accomplices…?”
I looked down, steeling my resolve once more. I placed my right fist over my heart, feeling the steady thumping of my pulse.
Then, I snapped my head up and faced Maria again.
“…I know. I don’t want to say these things. I don’t want to do this. I feel the same as you, Maria. However… the gears are already in motion. To save Rebecca-senpai, I can’t do it alone. I need your strength.”
“…”
“This is a sin. Even if it’s to save Senpai, plunging her into despair is… heart-wrenching. But if we’re together, we can carry the weight of it. Maria, please. Help me.”
“…”
My hands were shaking.
At a time like this, memories of Rebecca-senpai flooded my mind.
Shortly after I had enrolled, she had called out to me while I was out running.
Even though she knew I was an Ordinary, she spoke to me as an equal.
Since then, we had ended up in the same club, and I truly owed her a great debt of gratitude.
I remembered how shocked I was when I learned her secret during summer vacation. I never would have dreamed that Rebecca-senpai drew manga about love between women.
In that moment, I had seen her serious expression for the first time. Engaging in her art, Senpai had looked more radiant than ever.
And then, there was that moment when we parted.
Senpai had been in tears.
Now, I finally knew the truth behind those tears.
But after this, I would surely force an even more sorrowful experience upon her.
I had intended for my resolve to be settled long ago, yet the trembling in my hands would not stop.
“Ray…”
Maria whispered my name and softly touched my shaking right hand.
“Right. Of course… There’s no way you’d actually want to do something like this to Big Sister, Ray.”
“No…”
“I’m the same. I don’t want Big Sister to suffer anymore.”
“…Neither do I.”
I looked down, clenching my fists to endure the pain. My heart felt as though it might shatter at any moment.
“But do we really have to?”
“It’s the only way.”
“I see…”
The wind blew.
Our hair fluttered silkenly in the breeze.
The sunset.
The light of the gloaming wrapped around us.
We simply stood there, our eyes locked.
Maria’s eyes were wavering.
No, mine were too.
My emotions were in constant flux.
It had been that way for a long time. But I had to control them to face Rebecca-senpai.
Because that was what was necessary to save her.
“Hey… Ray, have you been fighting this whole time?”
Maria suddenly asked about my past.
“Yes. My Master was the Ice Sword Sorcerer. When the Far East Campaign ended… I succeeded her.”
“So you’re a genuine member of the Seven Grand Sorcerers?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry for hiding it until now.”
“Dummy. I know that’s not the kind of thing you can just blurt out.”
“I suppose so…”
A brief silence followed.
Maria stared intently at the setting sun.
I watched her profile. Her snow-white hair and skin were dyed in the hues of the sunset. It was a fantastical sight, one that felt almost detached from reality.
“It’s necessary to save Big Sister, right?”
“Yes.”
“Can you definitely save her?”
“…I swear it. I will save her, no matter what.”
“Okay. I understand. I’ll help you.”
Maria turned toward me and gave a fragile, fleeting smile.
I hadn't wanted to force this role onto her. I had thought it would be better if I shouldered everything myself.
But I realized that Maria was absolutely essential for facing Rebecca-senpai. To ensure the plan was ironclad, she had to be there.
“You and I are accomplices then.”
“We are.”
“Hehe…”
“Is something wrong?”
“…I just feel like you and I have been together for a long time.”
Maria said such things, though we had only met a few months ago. I had no memory of meeting her in the past.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You’re special as a sorcerer, of course… but I feel a strange sense of familiarity with you.”
“I see…”
Silence fell between us once more.
Looking down from the roof, I could see the preparations for the Post-festival Party were already underway.
I had already sent a letter to summon Rebecca-senpai here. All that remained was to wait.
The Master and the others were likely already moving.
Furthermore, Bruno Bradley and Evan Bernstein were also in play… every piece was moving, advancing toward their respective goals.
In a way, we were being made to dance to this script. We were being forced into these roles.
But that was fine.
I had a mountain of things I wanted to say. There was a part of me that wanted to demand to know if there wasn't some other way.
However, in the current situation, this was the optimal solution.
And even if I had known the truth earlier… if I were asked if I could have found another method… I wouldn't have been confident.
Ultimately, I had chosen this. It had been presented to me, and I had selected it of my own free will.
I had no regrets.
My life had been nothing but a series of regrets. Mourning the past, regretting the deaths of my comrades, living only to shoulder the weight of sadness.
But this time, I didn't want to regret anything.
That was why I had to face Rebecca-senpai with unwavering resolve.
“Maria. The details are—”
We went over the plan together.
We discussed the upcoming steps, exchanging opinions until the final arrangements were set.
“Sigh… I always seem to end up with these kinds of roles.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Honestly, don’t look so grim.”
“But…”
“It’s fine. I don’t think we sisters could have ever truly faced each other if we didn't do something like this. It’s a good opportunity.”
“It helps to hear you say that.”
“Pull yourself together, Ray! It’s almost time, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
The two of us waited for Rebecca-senpai on the roof.
The sun had already dipped below the horizon. The twilight light was now nothing more than a faint glimmer.
And finally, the veil of night fell.
A bonfire had been lit in the schoolyard for the Post-festival Party. Its light was clearly visible from up here.
Then, from below, I heard it—the rhythmic tap, tap of footsteps.
They were steady and approaching.
A moment later, the door creaked open.
Standing there was Rebecca-senpai.
“Maria…? Why are you here?”
Unable to grasp the situation, Rebecca-senpai simply stood there, stunned.
I had decided to let Maria take the lead for this part. She had specifically asked me to leave it to her.
Maria entwined her arm with mine and spoke.
“Big Sister. Ray and I… we’ve decided to start dating.”
“Eh…?”
It was beginning.
We were accomplices.
And now, we would begin to pile up our sins.
All to carve despair into Rebecca-senpai’s heart—