Arc-7 Ch-46
164
Chapter
The deepest part
2026
I had no clue why Ariel had suddenly become capable of using fire magic like Angie.
All I knew was that the fact I now had to depend on my daughter, who had abruptly awakened to her power, was proof that my foresight hadn’t been enough.
From the very beginning, this had been an unreasonably forced march. On top of that, I’d brought along my son and daughter, both of whom had no real combat experience, into an underground ruin where the “sphere” couldn’t even exert its usual strength.
Considering the overwhelming number of monsters that had attacked us, this was, no matter how you looked at it, a situation that should’ve warranted mobilizing the army.
I couldn’t help but curse my own decision, prioritizing restoring Angie’s body above everything else, while trying to keep the existence of the Lost Item hidden from others as much as possible.
But the point where we could turn back was already far behind us. If retreat was no longer an option, then only two outcomes remained: push forward and win, or fail and die.
The fortunate miscalculation was that Ariel had suddenly awakened to fire magic.
The unfortunate miscalculation was also that Ariel had suddenly awakened to fire magic.
No matter the circumstances, a father who throws his own child onto a battlefield is nothing short of monstrous.
And to abruptly alter our operational plan by depending on my daughter’s newly emerged power, it was nothing more than a gamble.
No matter how much I despised my own failure as a parent, the fact that I had no choice but to act this way showed the limits of my ability as a commander. I couldn’t understand why someone like me was rated so highly by those around me.
In the corridor swallowed by darkness, we could do nothing but keep fending off the monsters.
Even I hadn’t expected there to be this many. It seemed the radical faction of the elves truly intended to wipe out humanity.
How much ammunition did I still have left in my pack?
The steadily decreasing weight of my backpack was terrifying, but if I wanted to avoid getting killed, I had no choice but to keep intercepting them.
If I held back on ammunition and lost my life because of it, that would be completely backwards. I’d long since lost any option other than struggling to survive.
I wanted to know what Ariel was doing behind me, but that wasn’t possible. Lionel, who was firing desperately beside me, could no longer hide his exhaustion either.
Was I really going to drag my son and daughter into this reckless operation and die without even restoring my wife’s body?
Since my youth, I’d never once imagined that I would die peacefully, as if simply falling asleep on a soft, warm bed.
No matter how much I tried to justify it, the reason I’d become a noble was because I’d spent my life killing people in war.
Saying it was for the sake of protecting my country or homeland might sound noble, but those kinds of excuses would never be accepted by the families of the people who were killed.
If it were just me dying here alone in this dark underground ruin, I’d accept it.
But I could never accept dragging my son and daughter down with me to their deaths.
Even now, the only reason my fighting spirit hadn’t collapsed and I could keep resisting with everything I had was because my children were right here beside me.
All of a sudden, I noticed that the light behind us had shrunk considerably.
As I turned around, wondering if something had happened, something rushed straight past me.
The moment I recognized it as Ariel, both Lionel and I stopped our interception.
My thoughts became unnaturally sharp, and the surrounding noise and impacts seemed to fade away. Whenever I fell into this kind of state, it meant things were seriously bad.
An ordinary person would panic if their thoughts suddenly sharpened and the world around them slowed down, unable to act, but I’d accumulated enough experience on battlefields and missions to keep moving my body as usual.
Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed Lionel’s arm.
When this sensation hit, I could exert more strength than usual, so I forcibly dragged him along, backpack and rifle and all.
Without turning back, I moved next toward Ariel. At the same time, I caught sight of a sphere of light being released from her.
A kind of fear that made every hair on my body stand on end, like when enemy airships began bombarding our position during the war, or when a massive armored unit advanced toward us.
That was, without a doubt, a mass of power capable of easily annihilating humans, no, even monsters.
How Ariel, whose magical skill had always been below average, could suddenly wield such overwhelming magic, I had no idea.
The only thing I did understand was that a reckless, spur-of-the-moment method like this had an almost zero chance of succeeding.
Even someone like me, who didn’t know much about magic, could tell that sphere of light was dangerous.
And something was wrong with Ariel herself. Her eyes were empty, her expression completely devoid of any fear or excitement.
Not caring if I got caught up in it, I reached out toward her. The sluggish flow of time felt irritating.
The instant my outstretched right hand made contact with her right hand, I grabbed her with all my strength and pulled her into the side passage where we’d been hiding just moments before.
I threw myself over Ariel’s fallen body.
One second passed, or maybe it didn’t. In a state like this, there was no way to measure time accurately.
In any case, almost at the exact same moment I shielded Ariel, a massive sound tore through the corridor, and the shockwave and heat slammed into our bodies.
The ground was riddled with cracks and collapses in multiple places, wide enough for a massive chasm to split open, leading straight down into an underground dungeon and ancient ruins. Fragments from the shattered ceiling looked ready to come crashing down again at any moment.
All I could do was pray that my body would hold out long enough to act as a shield and protect Ariel. At the same time, I couldn’t stop worrying about what might’ve happened to Lionel after I’d forcefully yanked him toward me.
In any case, the only thing spinning relentlessly through my mind was the desperate hope that the tremors would stop soon. It was maddening how, at times like this, time seemed to stretch endlessly, dragging each second out far longer than it should.
The moment the violent shaking finally subsided, I remained on all fours and swept my hand across the cold metal floor.
I’d been so focused on pulling Ariel to safety that I’d barely paid any attention to my rifle. That was a painful and dangerous oversight.
We were still in the middle of combat. There was every possibility that the surviving monsters would regroup and launch another attack at any moment.
Then, mixed among the scattered metal fragments that had likely fallen from above, my palm brushed against something with a familiar weight and texture. From the feel of it, my rifle seemed to still be intact.
“Lionel, are you okay?”
“……”
“Can you hear me, Lionel?”
“You don’t need to worry. I can hear Father’s voice clearly.”
The voice that replied in a calm, polite tone was unmistakably that of my eldest son back home. Knowing he was alive and able to respond let some of the tension in my body finally ease.
A quiet sigh of relief slipped out of me, but I still had to check on Ariel, who’d collapsed onto the ground.
There was also the looming possibility that the monsters could attack again at any moment, so I couldn’t afford to waste any time. Right now, even a single second’s delay could cost us our lives.
“sphere, you okay too?”
『Please don’t underestimate me, Leon Fou Bartfalt. Destroying my terminal with firepower on the level of anti-personnel weapons isn’t something that can be done easily.』
“If you’re talking like that, I guess you’re alright. Lionel, can you stand up and keep watch over our surroundings?”
“I think…I should be able to manage it somehow.”
“Good. I’ll leave monitoring the area to you for now. sphere, lend me a bit of your power.”
『You’re always borrowing my power, you know.』
“I don’t need your attitude right now. Just take a quick look at Ariel’s condition for me."
『……Understood.』
Sensing the seriousness in my expression, Ball dropped his usual teasing tone and moved closer.
If the monsters didn’t come at us in the meantime, I wanted to properly evaluate Ariel’s condition.
Ever since she released that small orb of light earlier, Ariel hadn’t shown any meaningful response.
There weren’t any visible external injuries, but it was entirely possible she’d hit her head hard when she collapsed face-first onto the floor.
On top of that, suddenly unleashing high-powered magic without any prior training could easily put an immense strain on the body.
Magic could have adverse side effects, causing internal complications, and in the worst-case scenario, it could even lead to death.
For now, I decided to start dealing with what I could while leaving Ariel lying where she was.
It wasn’t unusual for inexperienced recruits, those lacking proper resolve, to be overwhelmed by the battlefield. Some would freeze up, while others would faint outright, their minds unable to process the relentless barrage of blinding flashes, shockwaves, and explosive noise.
I’d learned how to handle situations like this the proper way countless times, enough to grow completely sick of it, while running across battlefields as nothing more than an ordinary foot soldier.
First, I loosened the belts and restraints around different parts of Ariel’s clothing to make sure nothing was restricting her movement. At the same time, I checked her pulse and blood circulation at her neck and wrist.
From what I could tell, her breathing seemed steady, and there were no signs of blood loss.
Meanwhile, sphere hovered directly above us, slowly sweeping the crimson light emitted from her eyes over Ariel’s motionless body.
It scanned the front first, then moved along the sides, and finally checked her back, circling around her completely so It could visually confirm for itself whether there were any injuries.
『Observation complete. No lacerations, bruises, fractures, or any other external injuries are visible on Ariel Fou Bartfort’s body.』
“That’s what it looked like to me as well.”
『I recommend calling out to her to help bring her back to consciousness.』
“I know, but we can’t speak too loudly. There could still be surviving monsters nearby.”
I took a piece of cloth from my belongings, dampened it with water from my canteen, and gently wiped her face. Then I slid my backpack beneath Ariel’s legs, lifting them slightly to improve blood flow to her head.
After a short while, a faint hint of color began to return to her deathly pale cheeks. Now, all that was left was to wait for her to wake up.
Just as I started to feel a small sense of relief, Lionel came back. This time, though, his face had gone completely pale, almost bluish.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“…I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Report properly. Even if it’s something hard to say, holding back information can get us killed.”
“…Well… there are a large number of burned monster corpses…”
“…Ah… I see.”
Burned corpses were never an easy sight to take in.
If the fire hadn’t been intense enough, charred hair and skin would peel away, exposing raw red flesh and pale white fat underneath. If the flames had been strong, the bodies would carbonize completely, preserving their forms and locking them forever in the exact posture they died in.
The monsters’ upper bodies were disturbingly similar to those of humans. Most animals instinctively feel revulsion toward the corpses of their own kind, unless they engage in cannibalism.
It wasn’t surprising that Lionel, experiencing real combat for the first time, had his spirit shaken and worn down after witnessing something so grotesque.
"No survivors, huh?"
"That’s what I think. At least, from everything I’ve seen."
"Got it. Lionel, keep calling out to Ariel and try to bring her back to consciousness. Sphere, stay on guard and keep watch over the surroundings."
『Understood.』
With that settled, I could finally focus on tending to Ariel without having to worry about what was happening around us for the time being.
Maybe it was because they were twins, born on the exact same day of the same year, but Lionel and Ariel, despite their different genders and personalities, sometimes showed signs that made it feel like their hearts were somehow connected.
Honestly, it stung a little knowing that my voice, as their father, didn’t seem to reach her nearly as well.
Thanks to Lionel, who kept calling out to her the entire time, Ariel’s body began to twitch faintly, and little by little, the light returned to her eyes.
This should be alright now, I thought, as I took out the small bottle I’d kept in my backpack, uncapped it, and carefully poured a small amount of its contents into Ariel’s mouth.
"……Ugh, what is this?"
"You’re awake."
"It’s bitter and sweet at the same time, and it reeks in both my mouth and nose."
"It’s a recovery medicine made by boiling down extracts from several types of medicinal herbs. Don’t spit it out, just swallow it."
"Someone give me some water. If I drink something like this, my tongue’s gonna feel weird."
"Here, take the canteen."
Now that she’d finally regained her composure, Ariel took the canteen Lionel handed her and began drinking straight from it.
In a situation like this, where we couldn’t easily replenish our water supply, I should’ve stopped her from drinking too much.
But right now, Ariel’s recovery came first. If it came down to it, I could always let her drink from the water I was carrying.
I placed my palm against her forehead to check her temperature. It was still low. I wondered if giving her something to eat might help bring it back up.
"You should eat something. Lionel, you should eat too."
"But shouldn’t we be conserving our supplies, considering what lies ahead of us?"
『There’s no need to worry about that.』
"What do you mean, Sphere? Did something happen?"
『I’ve received a message addressed to me from the central area of the ruins. It’s providing us with a safe route forward.』
“No matter how you look at it, this is obviously a trap. That’s the same guy who was just sending monsters after us, trying to kill us.”
“Father, what should we do?”
The gazes of the two, along with the other one, all turned toward me. Honestly, I wanted to avoid making this decision if there were any way I could.
After forcing our way forward like that just to restore Angie to her original state, the result had nearly cost my daughter her life.
The depletion of our supplies was far worse than I’d expected, and everyone except Sphere was already showing clear signs of exhaustion.
One part of me kept whispering that we should turn back and head home immediately.
Another part of me kept insisting that we should press on straight toward the core.
In any era, the duty of a commander is to make decisions, give orders, and bear responsibility for any failure that follows.
I couldn’t help but feel, once again, that I was completely unsuited to being either a lord or a commander.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※
“Are you okay, Lionel?”
“I’m fine.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Even though you used some up during the fight and while resting, you’re still carrying what amounts to two people’s luggage.”
“If you’re going to say that, Father, then you’re the one who—”
“I’m used to carrying heavy loads.”
“Don’t call it heavy!!”
I kept calling out to Lionel, who was carrying both his own pack and his little sister’s on his shoulders.
Our eldest son had been given a proper education as the heir by Angie, so he’d grown into someone quite resilient and patient.
When it came to personality, he actually seemed to resemble my older brother, the one who properly attended the academy, more than me, his actual father, who grew up without ever receiving a proper noble education.
However, compared to his younger siblings and other children around his age, he was less assertive and had a tendency to hide his own weaknesses.
Because of that, our conversations tended to go more smoothly when I dealt with him not as father and son, but as lord and heir, sharing only what was necessary.
According to Angie, that kind of distant relationship was common between parents and children in great noble houses, but to me, it still felt a little lonely.
“Stop struggling and squirming around so much. If you drop it and it gets dirty, it’ll be a disaster.”
“I can walk on my own!”
“No, you can’t. Rest your body, even if it’s just a little, and conserve your strength.”
I warned Ariel, who was fidgeting restlessly on my back, and made her stay still.
Ever since she was small, our eldest daughter had always been overflowing with energy, far more than she should’ve had. Even when she had a fever, she’d still run around outside, and once, out of pure boredom, she even climbed a tree while still wearing her child-sized dress.
Why was it that, on the outside, she looked so much like Angie in her younger days, yet on the inside she turned out to be such a wild child?
Then again, if Angie hadn’t been raised as the daughter of the Redgrave ducal house, she might very well have grown up with a personality a lot like Ariel’s.
Even now, in her mid-thirties, Angie would still act like an excited child whenever the two of us went out on an adventure together.
For the time being, until we reached the core of the ruins, there was nothing else for it but to carry my pack against my chest, keep Ariel on my back, and continue moving forward step by step through the dark passage.
Lionel was carrying two full packs, his own and Ariel’s, but since we’d already used up a fair amount of ammunition and drinking water in the battles so far, it didn’t seem to be too much of a burden for him.
My own pack had been reduced to about seventy percent of what it had been at the start of the journey. The twins, who weren’t used to this kind of activity, were probably going through supplies faster than I was.
“Should I take over, Father?”
“Ariel’s much lighter than Angie, so it’s no trouble.”
“Please don’t ever say that in front of Mother.”
“…By the way, how does Father know Mother’s exact weight so precisely?”
“Well, I’ve carried her on my back plenty of times before.”
“……”
“What are you two doing?”
“we were not doing anything suspicious.”
Well, to be completely honest, whenever I carried Angie, there was always a faint trace of guilty pleasure mixed into it.
After giving birth to the children, Angie’s body had grown even more voluptuous, soft and warm. The feeling of her pressed up against me was undeniably pleasant.
Her weight felt like the very weight of happiness itself, so during our adventures together I’d often come up with some excuse just to carry her on my back.
Compared to that, Ariel’s weight felt far lighter than her mother’s, which honestly made me a bit uneasy. Were girls her age really supposed to be this light?
“Are you eating properly at the academy in the royal capital? Even in high society, where being slim is considered beautiful, a body as skinny as a plucked chicken will only earn you a poor reputation.”
“I’m not restricting myself or anything. I just love moving my body and eating delicious food.”
“Ariel clearly eats way more than the other young ladies.”
“Then it must just be youth. Well, when I was young, if I simply ate, trained, and slept, my body would grow stronger without me even having to think about it.”
“I do pay attention to my figure, you know. I don’t want to get fat like Grandmother, and I don’t want my chest and hips to grow as big as Mother’s either.”
“…Don’t say that in front of Angie herself. She’s actually quite self-conscious about it.”
“I’d rather not die yet, thank you very much.”
The noble ladies of high society seemed to take delight in competing over their own beauty while secretly speaking ill of each other’s flaws, an utterly hollow contest.
Once matters of noble pride and the hierarchy between houses became entangled, things only grew even more complicated.
They’d brag about how much money they could sink into beauty treatments as a way of flaunting their family’s wealth. If you didn’t visibly show off your financial prosperity to the people around you, it was only a matter of time before someone started looking down on you.
Angie herself had admitted that feelings like that might’ve been part of what drove her desire to regain her youth.
As for me, I didn’t really care whether Angie aged or put on weight, but apparently that stubborn competitive streak was exactly what defined a true noble.
By contrast, Dorothea, who simply wanted to be loved by my brother forever, was actually pretty unusual for a noblewoman.
Maybe, when I restore Angie to her original state, I should ask for a body that’s even younger than she really is?
While I was idly indulging in those kinds of foolish fantasies, we kept steadily making our way closer to the core of the ruins.
“The monsters really aren’t attacking us at all. If this is the will of the ruins cooperating with us, then things just got a whole lot easier.”
『I suppose it’s difficult to determine the likelihood of that.』
“Well, if they were actually planning to welcome us in, I doubt they’d go so far as to give us some over-the-top greeting that nearly gets us killed. You Lost Items never make any sense in how you think or act, so you’re always a pain to deal with.”
“I’m sure they just got scared off by my incredible performance!”
“…Lionel, shove something into Ariel’s mouth from behind and shut her up.”
“Understood.”
“Wha!?”
It looked like something, whether it was portable rations or drinking water, I couldn’t really tell, had been forcefully stuffed straight into her mouth.
In place of Ariel’s shrill voice, the sound of chewing started echoing throughout the passage.
Setting aside Ariel’s idiotic take, which came from her suddenly awakening to fire magic and getting completely carried away, it was entirely possible that the entity within the ruins had deliberately sent those monsters to attack us in order to gauge our combat strength.
Not every negotiation was carried out on equal footing.
More than ten years had already passed since the Sphere and I fought each other to the death and ended up forming a cooperative relationship, yet the initiative had never once been ours, it had always remained with the Sphere.
Agreements were always forced through under conditions that favored the stronger side. There was no way that a being capable of destroying the world without exaggeration could ever form an equal relationship with a mediocre provincial lord.
At best, what we could hope for was a relationship where the Sphere would occasionally lend us its power for gathering information or simply to pass the time.
“That power is dangerous. If possible, it’d be better if you didn’t use it again.”
“Ehh~?”
“You passed out after using it. A power you can’t even control yourself will only end up destroying you.”
“I’ll be fine. Somehow, I feel like I’ve started getting the hang of it, so next time I think I can actually use it properly.”
“Specifically?”
“Well, deep inside my body it goes ‘Gwaaa~’ like that, and when my head starts feeling all ‘Fwaa~’ and then settles down, if I clench my right fist really tight, flames go ‘Bobob!’ and burst out.”
“Lionel, translate that into something a human can understand, please.”
“I’m sorry, Father. Even though we were born on the same day as twins, that’s beyond me.”
My own head wasn’t especially sharp, but even I couldn’t make any sense of Ariel’s abstract explanation.
Still, it seemed like she herself was starting to grasp the sensation of drawing out that power.
Even if I tried to strictly forbid her from using magic again, Ariel wouldn’t obediently follow my orders.
Among new recruits, this type showed up every now and then. Those who bragged about having the strongest arm in their hometown usually acted exactly like this.
I myself leaned toward that kind of personality, so I understood it well. Especially back when I’d run away from home and joined the army.
“If you’re going to use it, then you’ll follow my instructions. I’ll be the one who decides when and where you use your magic.”
“Absolutely?”
“Absolutely. You nearly died from your own magic, you know.”
“Well… that’s true, I guess.”
“I want to bring Angie back to normal, but I don’t want to do it by sacrificing any of you. I’m sure Angie feels the same way.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Letting a sharper edge slip into my tone as a warning, Ariel uncharacteristically lowered her head.
If she could always behave this modestly and stay this well-behaved, both Angie’s and my burdens would probably be cut in half.
The four of us, parent and children, plus one Lost Item, continued moving forward through the dark passage. As we went deeper into the ruins, the cracks running along the walls and floor gradually began to diminish.
At the same time, the number of faintly lit sections increased, along with the sounds of something slowly operating. It was a sensation I knew all too well.
Ancient relics that surpassed modern civilization were like colossal beasts, simply lying in wait for the moment they’d awaken. One wrong decision, and not just a single person, but an entire clan could be driven straight into ruin.
A dizzying illusion swept over me, as though I were crawling through the esophagus of some enormous serpent, willingly making my way toward its stomach. I wanted to believe it was nothing more than the result of Ariel’s weight pressing down on my back.
『We have arrived at the deepest section.』
Before us stood an exceptionally massive metal door. It seemed this was our destination.
Suppressing the urge to turn around and bolt with everything I had, I gently set Ariel down. Even the twins seemed to sense that whatever was waiting for us beyond this point wouldn’t be anything resembling a peaceful welcome.
Steadying my breathing, I pulled out tools from my backpack and began making preparations. Ever since long ago, no matter how terrifying the battlefield, handling my firearms like this had always helped calm my nerves.
I was fully aware that this aspect of my nature was rather dangerous, but at my core, I was probably closer to a low-ranking adventurer or a sky pirate than anything else.
It was only through sheer coincidence that I’d managed to succeed as a soldier and rise into the ranks of nobility. Getting dragged into incidents involving Lost Items or entangled in matters connected to the royal family, life really was unpredictable.
“What’s on the other side of that door?”
『Scouting is impossible. High-level protection is interfering with any attempt at information gathering.』
“No openings at all, huh… If we could at least figure out how many opponents there are, we’d be able to plan some kind of countermeasure.”
“Father, does this mean it’s really going to turn into a battle?”
“Most likely. Getting cold feet now is pretty unlike you. Your judgment’s a bit off today.”
“I can imagine fighting dungeon monsters or wild beasts, but this’ll be my first time seriously fighting against people or elves outside of training.”
“That’s fair. Well, you two should be fine.”
Among my children, my eldest son Lionel, my eldest daughter Ariel, and my second son Leah had all participated in the feudal army’s training and possessed solid, dependable ability.
They’d eaten far better meals and received far superior training compared to when I first joined the military, so I wasn’t particularly worried about them when it came to dealing with ordinary rioters.
However, this time, the opponents were incomprehensible Lost Items and radical elves who viewed humans as inferior beings.
There was no denying that the chances of this turning into a life-or-death struggle were high.
I steadied my breathing once more and adjusted my mindset. From this point onward, I was no longer acting as a father, I was the commander leading this unit.
“I’ll explain the operation now. Everyone, give it everything you’ve got.”
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Authors Note
┻━━━━━━━━━━┻
This chapter serves as a breather between battles, filled with moments of interaction between parent and child.
With this chapter, all posts for this work in 2025 have now been brought to a close.
The next chapter will be posted once we’ve entered 2026. Until then, I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year.
Postscript: At the requester’s request, illustrations have been created by Suzuhara Shion-sama and Osuwani-sama.
Additionally, 9430-sama has also posted the requested illustration.
Thank you very much.
Suzuhara Shion-sama: Pixiv
Osuwani-sama: Pixiv (Please note: contains adult content)
I’d greatly appreciate any opinions or impressions, as they’ll serve as encouragement for future chapters.
~~~End~~~