Chapter 290 – Suspension.

“Anyway, I almost got into trouble.”

Krikaliev watched Kayaba and Diana, who were speechless, and opened his mouth.

“Diana, did you know exactly what this ritual meant and tried to proceed?”
“…I thought it was a ritual to summon demons to destroy the holy ground.”

Upon receiving his question, Diana licked her lips and answered as if muttering. She looked like a child who was frightened by Chama Krikaliev’s inability to meet her eyes.

“A demon? Diana, did you bring in something like that to try to destroy the Holy Land? If such a thing appeared, people wouldn’t be safe.”
“Because I couldn’t see any other way to achieve Master’s purpose.”

While Kayaba asked with a puzzled expression, Diana continued.

“Rachel left the Holy Land in the name of being guided by the followers. Boas, Arun, and Kayaba were also bound for their respective duties.”
“But didn’t you agree with them?”

When Kayaba asked curiously, she smiled bitterly.

“How nice it would have been if I had been able to shamelessly sympathize with them.

At her words, he finally shut his mouth. Diana was of her saintly lineage, and she had no choice but to inherit the name of a saintess at the invitation of many people. Since there have always been saints in the Holy Land, Diana must have been an indispensable symbol for them.

“Is that why you asked Rachel to bring her primal witch for this ritual?”
“Yes, she did her sorry to her. She said that if she brought only that witch, she might be able to save Master.”

As Diana answered Krikaliev, Usher, who had been listening to them, interjected.

“Is it because of this ritual that you took Belka with you?”

The ritual she was going to perform was unknown to him, but he could tell that she was not very good at pretending.

“Master? This child.”

When Diana was taken aback by Usher’s sudden interruption, Krikaliev shrugged her shoulders.

“Somehow, this time I received a new disciple.”

At that, she looked at him in surprise, and Kayaba also looked at him unexpectedly. The moment the eyes of the two focused on Usher.

“I’m also the lover of the little girl you took away.”
“Could it be that witch? But isn’t she, too, a woman?”
“Looks like this, boy. It’s clothes. I’m doing this for a reason.”
“…I see. I’m going to do something bad again.”

Diana’s face darkened even more. Even though she was expecting what Gomel would do to the girl, she left her Belka to him. Usher couldn’t forgive her no matter how much Diana had her circumstances. She heard firsthand what the alchemist called Gomel had done to her girl, and saw the traces left behind. But, of course, she was a disciple of Krikaliev.

“Anyway, that’s what you did. Accept whatever this guy says. You’re no longer an adult either.”

In fact, Krikaliev pushed him as if urging him. Usher looked at Diana in surprise.

“Yes, it should.”

She also knelt down as if awaiting her verdict. As Usher pondered what to do with her, she realized that her image was familiar to her. Even with Marie, who took care of Diana when he was little, she also resembles Sif, who should be in Lantua by now. This made Usher angry at her, but he couldn’t quite figure out what to say to her.

“…If you see Belka later, apologize first. I’ll think about it then.”

So, Usher decided to delay his answer for a while.

“And even if the ritual was successful, it wouldn’t have produced the results you wanted.”
“Yes? Why? Obviously, with this ritual, the sacred ground can be destroyed.”
“It’s a trap to deal with guys who want that.”

In the first place, since it is the liberation of Clifford and Clippa, it is nothing more than a list of meaningless letters and figures. Diana was speechless at Krikaliev’s words and looked back at her ceremonial hall. It seemed even more unbelievable that her ritual, which she had prepared with great care, was a trap.

“Anti Genom Genos isn’t the devil you think he is. He’s more like a golem if you ask me.”
“Master, how do you do that?”
“Because there were some things I found out while fighting Bar Gadget. The bottom line is that even if I summoned him, he would rather have kept the holy ground and would never have tried to get rid of it.”
“I can.”

Diana was devastated by the fact that even that had no meaning, so Krikaliev sighed and got up from her steps.

“Even if it’s not finished, where is it? First of all, I’m already stuffy to get out of this room.”
“…Yes.”

Diana finally smiled helplessly and she took his hand.

“Are you done now?”

Usher asked Krikaliev, looking at the sky that he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Or did you expect at least one castle to collapse?”
“It’s not like that…”

When he couldn’t erase his embarrassed expression, Krikaliev shrugged his shoulders.

“Isn’t life originally like that? There’s no such thing as a cool ending.”

Currently, Kayaba and Diana were not by their side. They needed to sort out the fuss they made as they moved upstairs.

“But it’s good that I don’t have to be chased anymore.”
“So shouldn’t you finish your job now?”

As he said, it was time to visit the girls. Krikaliev, as if knowing where they were, started moving ahead, and Usher followed him, and all he could see was the forest he had glimpsed from above. Unlike the mangrove forest he had seen in Parz, Usher’s eyes were filled with large and small trees with proper roots and branches on the ground.

“There’s a forest here too.”

Looking at it this way, I wondered if it was true that trees were as precious as people say. So far, when I’ve been to places where people live, I’ve felt that places without trees are rarer.

“It’s because the places where people settle are usually fertile enough to grow trees and grass without any problems. Did you see any other forests on the way here?”

Come to think of it, I had never seen a forest while coming from Parzu to the Holy Land. Mangrove trees were sometimes seen where there was water, but other than that, there were only traces of small grass or dry grass. On the way to answering his question, Usher suddenly felt a cold touch on his feet and looked down to see the water slowly rising. Even though there were still trees and grass growing around, Usher was startled by the water seeping between his toes.

“Mister, isn’t there something like pacitilla here, too?”

When I asked Krikaliev, who had stopped his steps before I knew it, he stroked his chin.

“Hmm, things like Pacitilla only live near Parz.”

Usher tried to say he was glad then, but he couldn’t.

“You never know. Something new might have happened while I was gone.”

Because at the same time he continued talking, there was a splash and a sound like something falling into water. Usher thought it would be all right with Krikaliev by his side, but he couldn’t stop his tension at the sound of “Shoo,” As if the water was being cleared. Could it be that a monster is approaching? It was a moment when I was nervous and looked around. Suddenly wet with water, the feeling of being cold and wet and the feeling of a lump pressed against my back. I was surprised by the feeling that reached me without a sound, and it felt like my heart was dropping for a while.

“Aha ♪ Usher got it ♪”

The girl’s playful voice, like blowing wind into his ear, made Usher realize that it was Erica who leaned on his back.

“Erika?! Where have you gone…!”

Reassured that it was her, he tried to ask her worried mind, but when he turned around behind her, he couldn’t follow her words at the sight of the girl she found. Had she even gone into the water? Erica, whose hair seemed to weave the night sky with a thread, sparsely golden and dripping with water droplets, was smiling happily at him with an innocent gray light. It was a shame that his heart melted away just by seeing her in her eyes.

“Ehihe, you were with Verdi?”

Usher hated Erica for saying that she had been with Belka as if it was natural, but he couldn’t say anything.

“Is it okay to come here alone when there is no one to protect you?”
“Yes, Malhut can see at this distance.”
“Is it really like that?”

Krikaliev listened to her and seemed convinced, but Usher could not hide her displeasure.

“Malhutra. Who else is that?”

Could it be that someone else was by the girls’ side? Erica tilted her head in a puzzled way when she asked if she felt bad at the thought that someone unknown to her would be right next to her Belka.

“Ahaha ♪ Are you jealous?”
“Ugh, that’s it.”

Usher was in trouble because he couldn’t bear to affirm or deny it, so Krikaliev hinted.

“Kid. Malhut is the name of that golem from earlier.”
“Ah…”
“Ahaha!”

For a while, only the clear laughter of the girl resounded in the forest. It was around the time Usher’s face turned red and Erica’s laughter had barely stopped.

“Then I have work to finish, so let’s go. If anything happens, the golem will protect you, so don’t be jealous.”
“Ugh, no!”

Krikaliev also said he had work and went somewhere, so in the end, only Usher and Erica were left here.

“Do you know where Belka is?”
“Yeah, we’ve been together all along.”
“Then let’s get there quickly.”

When she asked her, Usher asked with confidence at the sight of Erica nodding her head.

“Boo. Bare mouth?”

However, as she was embarrassed by Erica’s somewhat dissatisfied answer, the girl smiled and tapped her lips with her finger. As her thin fingers flicked against her thick pink lips, Usher stood blankly and shook her head.

“Oh, no. I still don’t know if you’re really one with Belka.”
“Chii, you don’t have to worry about that. Even though you’ve done more naughty things ♪”
“Ugh, but it’s not impossible.”

Besides, if she had been lying about what she was with Belka, which she didn’t quite understand, but she could understand a little, Usher would never be able to forgive himself.

“Boo, okay. Then let’s go to Verdi.”

Erica had her cheeks puffed out at the sight of him, but for a moment she was relieved by the way she obediently took the lead. She glanced back at Usher.

“Hee hee ♪ Instead, if what I said is true, do I have to do it?”

Usher nodded blankly at the sight of the faintly gray light staring at him, illuminated by the light shards and seeping through the leaves. How long did they walk, following the girl who was walking lightly on the water and waving like a tail in the starlit night sky?

“Verdi! Who did you bring?”

Before long, the forest receded, revealing a vast lake reflecting the sky. After the sun had set and gone beyond the horizon. Even so, a large band of hazy light remained between the sky and the ground, which were still dyed in indigo with traces of the sun. In the middle of that lake was the girl Usher had been looking for so long. Red hair that bloomed like a flower on a summer day, skin that was as soft as white flowers, and golden eyes that glistened like sweet honey.

“…Ah.”

Under the starlit sky. He met the girl again.