Arc-7 Ch-49
167
Chapter
The Scar Face
2026
『Oh? Is that how it sounded to you?』
“For starters, you’re looking for a new collaborator. That much is certain.”
『Correct. It has become quite inconvenient to keep treating that elf who does nothing but act selfishly and ignore my suggestions as a partner.』
“You want to make us your partners even though you know we’re descendants of the New Humans. And yet, your absolute priority is still the 『Extermination of New Humanity.』 I don’t have the faintest idea how you actually plan to treat us.”
『There is no need to overthink it. It is true that my ultimate priority is the 『Extermination of New Humanity,』 but it is simply a matter of not setting that as a direct, short-term objective.』
The perspectives of these Lost Items were bizarre, to say the least; dealing with them was a real headache.
Maybe it was because I was just an ordinary guy who preferred a peaceful life, but their fundamental sense of technology and time felt so distorted that I couldn’t make sense of them through words alone. More than anything, the environment itself being inside a training facility built by the Old Humans put this constant pressure on me that made it harder to think straight.
『As you can see from the information disclosed thus far, my strengths do not lie in combat or transport, but in research, specifically the analysis of existing organisms and the creation of new lifeforms. Therefore, I have no intention of engaging in direct conflict.』
“Well, that’s a relief. You’re nothing like a certain someone who’s itching to fight the New Humans with their own hands twenty-four-seven.”
『To whom are you referring, Leon Fou Bartfort?』
“You know damn well who, you Sphere.”
It was you. I was talking about you.
More than ten years had passed since we first met, yet he never once missed a chance to show his hostility toward New Humanity. It was a constant source of stress. Getting tangled up with this Sphere had completely turned my life upside down.
I’d been forced to investigate ruins in countries I visited as a diplomatic envoy, dig up obscure academic texts on ancient civilizations under my own name, and track down materials needed to replicate Old Human technology. Because I kept catering to the Sphere’s demands, I was always getting dragged into trouble or stuck scavenging for one thing or another.
Honestly, I didn’t want to do any of it, even if the pay was decent. But leaving him alone was just as dangerous. After all, his primary objective was the 『Extermination of New Humanity.』
The massive airship that served as the Sphere’s true body had capabilities on par with the entire military strength of the Hölfort Kingdom. In the current situation, where the Lost Item ships secretly maintained by the royal family couldn’t be repaired, he could wipe this country out in a matter of days. If I let someone like that run free, disaster would inevitably come crashing down on our territory.
I honestly had no idea why I had to be the one stuck shouldering all this hardship. At the very least, the Hölfort royalty ought to’ve prepared some kind of special reward for me. More specifically, I wanted cash or supplies—peerages and official positions were nothing but a nuisance.
『Even if I were to use my technology to resurrect the Old Humans, or even if we were to discover Old Humans preserved in cold sleep at another facility, it’s safe to say that sustaining their lives in the current world would be difficult.』
『Even if we were to remove the mana that exists throughout the world, it would take hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years of environmental restructuring. It would essentially turn into a massive undertaking on the scale of terraforming.』
"Is it impossible even for Lost Items of your level to accomplish that right now?"
『There’s an overwhelming shortage of manpower. At the bare minimum, I would require hundreds of facilities on the same level as myself.』
『There are likely many Lost Items that have already been destroyed despite having had interactions with New Humanity, much like that military ship in the Republic of Alzer.』
『In any case, I’ve reached the conclusion that, under the current circumstances, it’s impossible to both exterminate all of New Humanity and resurrect the Old Humans.』
Good grief. Looks like I could finally let out a sigh of relief for the time being.
The worst-case scenario I’d imagined was that the Sphere and these ruins would hit it off and join forces to immediately try wiping out New Humanity. If that’d happened, the Hölfort Kingdom, where these ruins were located, would’ve been the very first target.
Even for someone like me, whose sense of justice was paper-thin, I still wanted to avoid a situation where the country, no, the entire world, ended up perishing because of me. I definitely didn’t want my name carved into the history books of the resurrected Old Humans as 『The fool, Leon Fou Bartfort, who brought about the downfall of New Humanity.』
『Therefore, I intend to revise my future course of action.』
『Please present a concrete plan.』
『Primarily, I will proceed with the gradual provision of technology to the leadership of specific factions. Though, that is about the limit of what I’m capable of offering.』
"...Don’t screw with me."
The instant the ruins’ words reached my ears, a curse slipped out of my mouth before I could even think to stop it.
Whether it was my honest feelings or just a blunt reaction, as someone who’d nearly been killed over and over again in these ruins, this was something I absolutely couldn’t accept.
It was true that, unlike the Sphere, these ruins probably possessed almost no military power of their own. They might be able to create creatures specialized for combat, like the monsters I’d fought up until now, but even that was only possible through the elves’ cooperation.
From my perspective, I’d figured we could resolve the entire issue simply by sealing the ruins off and leaving them completely isolated.
"Are you planning to make more of those monsters? They might be strong, sure, but they’re not much of a threat against trained humans equipped properly and working with a solid plan."
『Yes, it is true that my assessment regarding the development and deployment of biological weapons was naive. Specifically, the use of tomb-robbing adventurers as live test subjects was a clear miscalculation. No matter how much New Humanity has declined over generations, I should have anticipated the existence of exceptions such as yourselves.』
『It would not be an exaggeration to say that Leon Fou Bartfort’s abilities as a soldier, assassin, and intelligence agent rank among the elite of this era.』
"That’s not a compliment, Sphere."
I wasn’t playing the role of a soldier or a spy because I wanted to. All I ever wanted was a job that paid enough to support a family, even as a commoner, marry a wife with a nice rack, and live out a quiet, peaceful life. Managing territory as a titled noble of count rank, attending all kinds of conferences to give political opinions, acting like some glorified errand boy for Lost Items—I didn’t want any of that, not even a little, from the bottom of my heart.
The god responsible for the fate that dumped this life on me must be some twisted, sadistic bastard with a rotten core. The only thing they’d actually granted me was marrying Angie, who was both beautiful and well-endowed. Honestly, I’d trade away my entire life if it meant I could just keep my wife and kids exactly as they are.
『The boy appears sufficiently intelligent, and that young lady’s magic holds considerable destructive power. It’s safe to say that the existence of multiple individuals whose strength is reminiscent of the New Humanity of old has now been confirmed.』
『Confirmed. In fact, we’ve verified the existence of heroes whose combat capabilities surpass those of Leon Fou Bartfort, as well as a Saintess capable of wielding Lost Items.』
『If I were to attempt resistance through military force, I would most likely be the first to be crushed. In such a scenario, altering tactics is a fundamental principle of strategy.』
"Then what exactly are you planning to offer?"
『Immortality.』
"Whoa, whoa, whoa."
"Isn’t that pushing things a bit too far?"
『Oh? And why would that be? You should’ve already witnessed the precious sample I created with your own eyes.』
"What the hell are you talking about?"
『I am referring to Angelica Fou Bartfort.』
My heart started pounding violently in my chest. It felt like the scattered gears inside my head suddenly snapped into place and began turning all at once. Blood surged through every corner of my usually underused brain in a single rush, enough to make my head feel feverish.
I wanted to curse my own optimism for making it all the way to the core without seriously questioning why the ruins had reduced Angie’s body in the first place. There was no way a Lost Item created by the Old Humans, who despised New Humanity to their core, would do something beneficial for us without some kind of catch.
Almost every adventurer who’d approached these ruins had been wiped out by monsters, to the point where the government had started treating the string of disappearances as a serious issue. In the middle of all that, Angie had reached the core, whether by sheer luck or terrible misfortune, and had her body altered until she looked like a child. Since there hadn’t been any obvious symptoms, I’d assumed she was fine for the time being, but what if that appearance carried a deeper, more dangerous meaning?
『Has your wife exhibited any signs of memory loss or noticeable changes in her personality?』
"...For now, I haven't noticed anything unusual. Though I didn't meet Angie until we were already in our late teens, so I wouldn't know what she was like as a child."
『In other words, even from your standpoint as her husband, she's the same person. You're okay with acknowledging that, right?』
"What are you trying to imply?! Are you saying that the younger Angie is someone else entirely, and that the real Angie exists somewhere else!?"
『If that's what you desire, I can make that a reality as well. By cloning somatic cells and implanting memories, it's possible to produce a clone that is almost indistinguishable from the original.』
"Wh—!?"
『However, since the transmission of memory data is an extremely delicate process, I can't guarantee the outcome you're hoping for at this stage.』
『So, for the time being, it's restricted to the physical modification of New Humans?』
『Yes, and even that alone is a groundbreaking achievement. Do you understand now just how much influence my technology would wield in the current world?』
Honestly, the sheer scale of this conversation was so overwhelming it made my head spin, but my instincts had been warning me for a while now that the technology hidden within these ruins was dangerous.
What would actually happen if there were another person exactly like me?
Thinking I could just divide my workload in half and relax was way too naive. For instance, if one of us got assigned to indoor desk duties while the other handled field work, conflict would inevitably arise over how unfair that split was, even if we were technically the same person. When it came to lovers or family, there'd definitely be arguments over who got to spend more time with them. And if the solution was simply to clone everyone else involved too, then the population would explode, and the collapse of the nation would become unavoidable.
"Even so, I don't believe for a second that those in power would ever allow technology like that!"
『Oh? And what's your reasoning for that?』
"If technology like this ever went public, society would descend into total chaos! Cloning living beings is a blasphemy against life itself!"
『I'm not discussing ethics; I'm simply presenting the technology currently in my possession.』
"That excuse won't cut it. You've been going on and on about that dangerous objective of 『Exterminating New Humanity』 this whole time."
『Young lady, do keep this in mind. I never stated that I would personally be the one to destroy New Humanity. It is New Humanity itself that will ultimately choose its own downfall.』
"Then explain exactly what you mean by that!"
Lionel and Ariel’s tones were growing sharper by the moment. It felt like both of them were starting to grasp the sheer horror of what these ruins were trying to accomplish. The more I learned, the deeper the terrifying nature of these ruins, no, of the "Old Humans" who once ruled this world, sank into me.
Just what kind of monsters were our ancestors to have actually defeated beings like this? If the environment itself, the mana, hadn’t been on their side, the roles of the destroyed and the destroyer might’ve been completely reversed. Crystallizations of such horrifying technology were buried across the world, just waiting for a single trigger to set them all off at once. Just imagining it felt like staring into a worst-case scenario. I honestly wanted to beat the hell out of my past self for poking his nose into things that should’ve been left well enough alone.
『In any era, the most important thing for a living organism is self-preservation, in other words, survival. Among the three primary desires: appetite exists for nutrient intake, sleep exists for rest, and the sexual urge is necessary for passing on one’s genes.』
『However, regardless of whether it is Old Humanity or New Humanity, there are limits to cellular division and metabolism within a biological body.』
『But with my technology, it is entirely possible to delay the aging of the human body. From the rejuvenation I performed on your wife to sex reassignment, androgyny, or even cloning, all of it lies within my power to grant!』
『Pseudo-immortality is a goal humanity has pursued in every era. In fact, one could argue that the very activity of organic lifeforms, who are born with the inherent concept of death, is itself a form of resistance against that death.』
『Leaving behind descendants is nothing more than a secondary means of self-preservation. No matter how similar they may appear, a parent and a child are entirely different individuals. But if you can create a clone of yourself, you can suppress excessive population growth, and even enable permanent rule by the exceptional.』
『It doesn’t appear that you’re presenting this opinion sincerely. Please state your true intentions instead of hiding behind such platitudes when addressing your negotiation partners.』
『Isn’t it obvious? There’s no technology more tempting to those in power. It’s human nature to cling to eternal life, even if it means the destruction of their own nation.』
Nausea rose up from the back of my throat. What these Lost Items were describing was unmistakably nothing less than a blasphemy against life, the one irreplaceable thing that can never be substituted.
Maybe it was because I’d been involved with farm work and livestock ever since I was a kid, but I’d had plenty of chances to think deeply about the nature of life. You sow seeds, tend to the sprouting shoots, drive away pests, and keep watering them until, at last, the plants bloom and bear fruit. A male and female come together to produce eggs or offspring; you raise them with care, and then, while giving thanks to the life that has grown, you bring about their death, taking their flesh and blood as your own source of vitality.
That’s why life is something that links with other lives to shape the world itself. And yet, I could never fully rid myself of the self-loathing I felt toward my own ability, the capacity to take a life without hesitation, even that of another human, the moment I recognize them as an enemy.
The technology these ruins possessed had no need for such natural processes; it was a closed, self-contained world that could persist forever. Just imagining that kind of world extending into the future made me feel sick to my core. At the very least, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with living in a world filled with nothing but clones of myself and people who never die.
"…I’d like to believe that people today aren’t quite that foolish."
『I suppose that’s your perspective. But don’t you think that’s a bit naive?』
"How can you be so sure?"
『History shows that those who stand at the top of the social hierarchy are the ones most obsessed with immortality. There’s never been a ruler who didn’t want their power to endure for all eternity. That holds true regardless of whether we're talking about Old Humans or New Humans.』
"Your view of Old Humans is rather cynical."
『I’d rather you see it as me looking through an unfiltered lens. My research samples don’t just cover the existing New Humans—they also include stored data on Old Humans. You can’t make accurate observations if you’re carrying around biases.』
"So you’re deliberately dangling this technology in front of the big shots to lure them into tearing each other apart? That’s one hell of a nasty streak you’ve got."
『I won’t deny it. This is how I choose to wage my war against the New Humans.』
Once, there was a king of a great nation who hungered for immortality.
The king spent the gold stored within his treasury to hire countless adventurers, only to be swindled, and his kingdom fell into ruin.
In one territory, there was a noble lady obsessed with eternal youth.
She assaulted neighboring floating islands and abducted young men and women, trying to preserve her youth with the lifeblood she drained from them, but she was branded a monster and put to death.
On a certain floating island, there lived a pair of young lovers.
The man set out on a journey to bring the woman the gift of endless life, but he exhausted himself along the way; the woman waited for his return, yet in the end, she grew old and passed away.
This world is overflowing with countless fairy tales and stories of those who sought immortality, only to meet their destruction.
Most of those endings serve as preachy lessons: excessive greed destroys the self, and pursuing what doesn’t exist only brings misery to everyone around you.
Many of those tales were likely rooted in truth. Even in this age, there are plenty of beauties willing to stake their lives on preserving their looks, and powerful figures desperate to cling to life through any means.
And yet, the treasure that such greedy people could never obtain, no matter what methods they resorted to, was sitting right before my eyes.
Even so, my mind was racing as I desperately searched for the best way to dispose of this troublesome prize.
"Don’t cause any more chaos. If you’re serious about this, I’ll destroy you right here so completely that you’ll never move again."
『Oh? Do you truly believe you can?』
"What?"
『I’m the only one who can restore your wife to the way she was. I’m the one who holds dominion over life and death here.』
"You...!"
『Besides, you may be the commander of the unit sent to investigate this floating island, but I recall quite clearly that you said you’d already called for reinforcements.』
"........."
『In other words, you're merely a field commander; you’ve got a superior who issues the orders. Even if my technology’s worthless to you, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worthless to your superiors. Do you understand?』
Damn it, it really hit me right where it hurts.
It’s true that the one who asked me to investigate the Elf Village was Jilk. No, if I trace it back further, it was Lady Olivia, the Saintess of the Temple.
The reason Lady Olivia didn’t completely seal off the dungeon after the previous incident was probably because, in addition to her compassion for the elves, she intended to assess the ruins that had been lying dormant underground.
And yet, I went ahead and requested reinforcements from the Royal Capital. I don’t know how long it’ll take for them to arrive, but there’s no doubt the Holfort Kingdom Army will get involved.
I had absolutely no idea what the top brass would do once the elves who plotted the rebellion were captured.
What would happen if the fact that we were monopolizing immortality technology got out to other nations?
If it were used as leverage, offering an imperfect form of life extension to bring other countries under control, that’d be one of the better outcomes.
At worst, nations would scramble to seize the technology of the ruins, potentially igniting the flames of a new war.
After all, lives were on the line. Even I’ve got no interest in immortality, but I’m still attached enough to life that I want to avoid dying some pointless death.
The ugly desires of humanity from all across the world would be directed at the Holfort Kingdom all at once. I’m not stupid or optimistic enough to believe conflict could be avoided.
No matter how much Lady Olivia’s efforts secured victory in the war against the Principality of Fanoss, if we kept getting targeted by nations from all over the world, defeat would eventually come.
To begin with, the Royal Ship, a Lost Item and a treasure the Royal Family had kept hidden, was still destroyed from that war.
Things might be different if the "Sphere" cooperated, but it’s a hyper-dangerous object in its own right, something that could bring calamity upon the world.
There’s no guarantee that its targets for annihilation wouldn’t one day turn toward the Holfort Kingdom itself.
Furthermore, I didn’t trust the upper echelons of the Holfort Kingdom in the slightest.
They never grew weary of their endless power struggles within the royal court, and I utterly despised the way they looked down on lower-ranking nobles and commoners, wielding their lineage as the very basis of their authority.
The King was younger than me and lacked competence in many areas; besides, I had no fondness for the court nobles surrounding him, who played the role of loyal subjects while whispering slander behind the scenes.
The former King was the most unreliable of them all, and although the former Queen possessed extraordinary political acumen, whether she could be trusted was an entirely different matter.
That cunning former Queen, whose aging had noticeably slowed, undoubtedly held the court firmly in her grasp. However, she had married in from another country, and there remained a real possibility that she might monopolize the technology of the ruins for the benefit of the Royal Family.
No, more accurately, I couldn’t dismiss the likelihood that she would aggressively exploit it as a powerful diplomatic bargaining chip. She truly was a woman so brilliant I’d never want her as an enemy, yet at the same time, I simply couldn’t bring myself to trust her.
『Of course, I can promise you certain benefits as well. Let me think… how about we completely remove those scars on your face?』
"............"
『There’s no need for any surgical procedures. If you step into a cultivation tank, I can give you smooth, radiant skin in just a matter of hours.』
For a moment, just a fleeting, passing moment, my heart wavered.
Resignation, resentment, regret.
Heavy, negative emotions flooded the vessel of my heart in an instant, threatening to spill over.
The Scar-Faced Heretic Knight. The Ugly Upstart. The Ill-Tempered Country Lord.
Ever since I’d become a noble, I’d been subjected to more foul insults and ridicule like that than I could possibly count.
I had no intention of starting fights, but my way of doing things was to accept any fight that came my way. To begin with, being a noble was the kind of profession where the moment you let other nobles look down on you, you were finished.
There was a time when, after nearly losing my life on the battlefield, I was granted a peerage I never asked for and had no idea how to live with.
If these scars hadn’t remained on my face, maybe a marriage proposal from someone chasing after my fame or fortune would’ve worked out, and perhaps my life might’ve been a little smoother.
That thought drifted across my mind for just a fleeting moment.
I deliberately steadied my breathing and slowly turned my gaze behind me.
Standing there were my son, a handsome boy who didn’t resemble me in the slightest, and my daughter, a beautiful girl who took after Angie.
"I’m sorry to disappoint you, Ms. Shabby Ruins. I haven’t grown so senile that I’d fall for such sweet talk."
『Oh, is that so? I thought I’d made quite an appealing proposal in my own way.』
"Well, normally that’d be true. There are plenty of men who care about their looks, and even more so when they’re high-and-mighty nobles who have to present themselves before the public."
『Then why?』
"I’ve lived with this face for over thirty years. Even if it’s ugly, I’ve grown somewhat attached to it."
『You’re telling me you’d throw away a life of eternal youth and longevity, along with a handsome face, just for that?』
"Scars are proof of how a person has lived. There are plenty of people who dream of a life where they eat delicious food, live in a lavish mansion with endless wealth, and are surrounded by beauties. But can you truly feel happiness in a life where everything is handed to you from the very beginning, where you’ve never known hunger or suffering? Sometimes, a single copper coin earned through your own desperate effort holds more worth than a mountain of gold handed to you by your parents."
It had been, without a doubt, a life filled with hardship.
There were moments when I’d cried out, asking why I had to endure such things.
Even so, the path I’d desperately walked up to this point was the very proof that a man named Leon Fou Bartfort had truly lived.
No matter how much others mocked me as a scarred eyesore, I couldn’t accept having the life I’d fought through as myself replicated perfectly as it was.
Even these scars carry the feelings of those who tried to kill me, and of those I myself had killed, carved into them.
If they were so easily erased, then where would the regrets of those people go?
To live means inheriting not only the feelings of your allies, but those of your enemies as well.
That’s a state of mind a machine that plays with life for sport could never understand.
"Besides, without these scars, the ladies around here would be screaming and throwing themselves at me, and then Angie would get jealous. So, they’re just right for keeping me out of trouble."
"……No, yeah, that’s definitely not it."
"Wouldn’t it be more like the other nobles being intimidated and keeping their distance while watching your mood?"
"In the first place, I’ve never even heard a single rumor about Father being popular."
"Stop pointing that out. Father’s going to get grumpy."
"……You kids, quiet down for a second. Your Father finally tried to look cool, and you’re ruining it."
Angie, along with our son and daughter, are so sharp-tongued it almost makes me want to cry.
Why are kids at that age so hard to deal with?
Or is the problem me?
Did they grow into such ruthless personalities because they inherited my blood?
I’m done with this. I’m going to restore Angie to normal and head straight back to the mansion.
Once I dump all the troublesome matters onto the people in the Royal Capital, I’ll shut myself up in my villa and spend some time doing nothing but eating and sleeping.
"Kihi… hihihi…"
A faint, grating sound, like insects scraping their wings together, echoed from somewhere nearby.
When I turned toward the source, the bespectacled elf slumped on the floor came into view.
Now that I thought about it, he’d been completely silent ever since the ruins revealed the history of the elves.
I’d assumed he’d fallen into despair and lost the will to resist, but once he started laughing, the sound only grew louder and louder.
『What is it? Got something you want to say?』
『I’d appreciate it if you could keep it down a little. I’d like to discuss our future policy with the New Human.』
"SHU… T… UUUUUUP!!"
Like a wind-up toy snapping into motion, the four-eyed elf abruptly sprang to his feet.
His head hung low, making it hard to see his face, but his eyes burned with a disturbing, bloodshot glow.
His mouth stretched wide in an unnatural grin, saliva clinging to the corners and foaming, while the bulging veins on his face made it obvious he couldn’t contain his raw fury.
When an elf, whose appearance is normally more refined than a human’s, lets their expression collapse like that, it ends up looking even more grotesque. Sometimes, those well-formed features only make the ugliness stand out all the more.
"Y-YOU! To think that foolish humans like you would dare deny the noble history of us elves!? I won’t accept it, I won’t accept it, I absolutely will not accept thisss!"
"Get a hold of yourself and speak properly, my ‘wise’ Mr. Elf."
"Father, why do you always have to provoke your opponents like that?"
"It’s pointless telling him. You already know his personality’s been rotten for ages."
"It really is a mystery why Mother ever chose to marry Father, isn’t it?"
"Oh, shut it. You act like some old man yourself, yet for some reason you’re ridiculously popular with the girls at the Academy, aren’t you?"
"Hold on, I haven’t heard anything about this. Lionel, are you messing around with girls at the Academy even though you’re engaged to my brother’s daughter!?"
"I am not! Stop jumping to ridiculous conclusions!"
"LISTEN TO WHAT I’M SAYIIIIING, HUMAAAAANS!!!"
Ah, so the four-eyed elf finally snapped.
His shrill voice cracked and twisted, sounding exactly like the buzzing wings of a venomous insect.
Maybe I pushed him a little too far?
Then again, he’s the one responsible for this entire mess, so I don’t really feel like holding back.
"I won’t let you humans leave this rrrruin alive!!"
"And just what exactly do you think you’re going to do about it?"
"I’ll do thiiiis!!"
The four-eyed elf slammed his hand down onto a nearby machine.
At the same time, the cylindrical tanks filled with monsters began rising upward.
The liquid inside the tanks spilled out, drenching the floor, and the monsters that emerged looked like creatures freshly torn from the womb; honestly, they were so revolting it made me want to gag.
Just looking at these things makes it obvious that the technology in these ruins is far too dangerous for the current world. It’d probably be best to wipe everything here out without leaving a single trace.
"DIE!! DIE!! DIEEEE!!"
"You don’t look anything like a noble race, Mr. Elf. Mind showing us a bit of that lofty, all-knowing dignity you’re supposed to have?"
"SHUT UUUUUP!!"
Yeah, I figured it’d end up like this.
Why is my life always this damn troublesome? Would things have gone a little smoother if I hadn’t turned down the ruin’s proposal?
"Father, why do you insist on provoking the enemy for no reason!?"
"This is the absolute worst!! I seriously can’t believe you!!"
My kids are being unbelievably cold. And just moments ago, right before we entered the ruins, they were acting like fresh-faced new recruits.
┳━━━━━━━━━━┳
Authors Note
┻━━━━━━━━━━┻
This is essentially a conversational setup between Leon and the ruins. In this story, Leon firmly belongs to the faction that refuses to plunge the world into chaos through the use of Lost Items.
The ruins, on the other hand, aim to quietly infiltrate the ruling class of present-day humanity, the descendants of the New Humans, and manipulate things from the shadows. Its goal is to gradually make humans so dependent on its technology that society won’t be able to function without it.
However, since it lacks the overwhelming combat capabilities of Luxion or Ideal and relies entirely on fostering technological dependence, its chances of success aren’t particularly high.
The four-eyed elf, constantly being provoked by Leon, is a bit pitiful, but he’s about to go through something even more miserable soon. Well, he’s a villain, so it can’t really be helped.
Starting from the next chapter, the story shifts into battle. Just how many more fights are left before this arc finally wraps up…? (stares off into the distance)
Postscript: At the request of the client, sugu-sama, 05__sio-sama, and Barimaru-sama have kindly provided illustrations.
Thank you very much.
sugu-sama: Pixiv (Warning: Adult content)
05__sio-sama: Pixiv (Warning: Lots of skin)
Barimaru-sama: Pixiv
I’d greatly appreciate any opinions or impressions, as they help motivate my future work.
~~~End~~~