Mistress Of The Evil Forest

For a brief moment, all noise inside the room is extinguished.

To comprehend what Skylar just said, it seems Claire will need another minute or so to run her brain. Meanwhile, Scarlett quickly silences the guards and has them exit the room.

''W-What do you mean a duchy, Skylar?''

''Yes? Oh... if you still haven't noticed it yet, I am your distant ancestor, one that has the same blood flowing through her veins.''

Seeing Skylar proudly proclaim that, Claire finally snaps out of her confusion... or not.

''Yeah, um... I know you're related to me, but... our family was never a duchy? Can you elaborate?''

The heroine's insistent finally earns a frown from Skylar. Retracting her grand demeanor, she descends to the ground and poses a serious look.

''My child, do you have a problem with your brain? How could you not know of our Apollo Duchy's heroic contribution to the world? Perhaps... was you a lost child?''

''A-Apollo Duchy?!'' Claire exclaims.

''Hey, hey, are you serious?'' Scarlett intervenes. ''First, we have a lost imperial princess, now there's a lost royal princess??''

''No, no, how could I be a princess...?!''

''Now that I think about it, don't your hair and eye color the exact same as the Apollo guy's...?''

Claire stammers. After fumbling with her words a bit, she eventually realizes the incongruity with the whole situation. Panicking, she combs through a section of her pale blond hair, all the while muttering something incomprehensible.

''N-No, but...''

Meanwhile, Scarlett seems genuinely disturbed that she has missed this obvious detail until now. The combo of pale blond hair and green eyes is not at all common. In fact, it is very rare.

If an ordinary person sees someone with such features, they will inevitably think of the Apollo Duchy, which is a part of the Astra Empire.

That is, if we are living in an unadulterated reality.

''No, but like, we haven't heard of any heroic acts from the Apollos, right?''

In the tense atmosphere, Chloe casually speaks up, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. This statement sparks a reaction from the guardian, Skylar.

''What do you mean, young child? We, the proud children of Apollo, have always prided ourselves in procuring the most brilliant heroes of light who bravely fought back the calamities. It is insulting that you haven't heard of us.''

''But it's true.'' Chloe refutes. ''Look into any historical textbook. You won't find anything of the sort.''

''That is outrageous, you—''

This time, Skylar stammers. With a look on her face as though she has just had a terrible realization, the guardian roughly grabs Claire's shoulders.

''My child, do you remember your hometown?!''

''My h-hometown?? Of course, why...'' Claire frantically replies.

''What is it?''

''Er... Deloof? It's a small town near the coast of—''

''There is no such town with that name,'' Chloe interjects. ''Believe me, I've studied through town names many times.''

''Huh?''

''Claire. Do you even remember your parents' names?'' 

As Chloe, who has returned to her usual sharp look, pushes Claire, the heroine visibly panics, her nonsensical gestures mirroring that of her jumbled thoughts.

''I-I... no, what... how could I... who... who—who am I?''

''Calm down, my child.''

In the midst of chaos, Skylar, befitting her title of a guardian, reassuringly hugs Claire, soothing her with gentle pats to the back. Gradually, the heroine's breathing becomes more relaxed, and she seems to be alright for now.

''Skylar, was it? What do you know about this... phenomenon? It's trippy as hell.'' Scarlett steps forward. ''If everything is as you said, then was history completely rewritten? That's ridiculous.''

''...It is likely that, I'm afraid.''

''But how?!''

''A high-ranking demon.''

A high-ranking demon - Buerizth.

An enemy directly tied to the heroine—Claire's past. In the game, it is described as a humanoid figure wearing a nun or priest's outfit. It is elusive, hard to catch, hard to defeat, and exceptionally powerful.

Its ridiculous prowess comes from a non-system ability, one that allows itself to alter living beings' past on a global scale. Even if there are many restrictions, such as infrequent uses or not being able to interfere with entities of higher dimensions, etc., having the power to essentially rewrite history is simply outrageous.

Fortunately, Buerizth only appears once in the whole game. It is now likely in hibernation after unleashing a reality-changing wave upon the heroine's birth.

''Buerizth is a demon we unfortunately couldn't eliminate.'' Skylar painfully admits. ''From time to time, we were struggling to deal with what the demon had caused. In other words... correcting history. However, there has never been a case where the identity of such an influential house is compromised like this.''

''Damn. The demons are really going all-in, huh?'' Scarlet curses.

''I will need you all to brief me on what has happened so far. And... my child, fret not, for I am here to guide you.''

---

On a certain balcony in the duke's residence.

Chloe and I stand shoulder-to-shoulder, enjoying the night breeze. 'Enjoying' might be a word too positive. After all, even if we have expected this outcome, frustrating things are still frustrating.

''Hah... at this point, I'm worried my memory might not even be mine,'' Chloe complains.

''...''

After we briefed Skylar on the timeline so far, she said she wanted to speak with Claire alone, so that's why we're here. Scarlett ran off somewhere earlier with a baffled look, though.

''In the end, how did you even snap out of it?'' Chloe asks, her finger tracing the back of my hand. ''Are you a goddess or something? Hahah.''

''I don't know,'' I reply. ''Really, I don't.''

''Mghm...''

Seriously. In the game, Buerizth can't be beaten before Claire reaches the first semester of the second year. In other words, the altered history is never corrected. This is because Skylar's awakening occurs much later in the original timeline, thus delaying the process of realization.

Skylar, being a spirit sleeping within Claire, is immune to Buerizth's ability. As she is also the guardian who oversees the heroes of Apollo, her awakening is closely tied to the state of crises within the respective era, which means... she's here early because of Valstein's attack.

Is this what they call 'fortune in misfortune'?

Thanks to Valstein's move, we can now plan out our raid on Buerizth... is what I want to say, but there is really nothing we can do about it at the moment.

The demon 'appears' in the game before the player, and outside of that, we have no way of locating it. So, we have no choice but to prepare to deal with it.

For now...

''I think I'll go see Claire,'' I say, turning back into the hallway.

''Suddenly?''

''...Mhm.''

''...''

I can sense a slight surprise from Chloe, but I decide to ignore it. Walking across the empty hallway, my thoughts drift.

In the end, I haven't been able to understand the meaning of 'nothingness.' Somehow, I feel empty inside. Sometimes, I feel as though everything I've done is a waste of time.

I think these are my mood swings. Should I be relieved that I'm not constantly being shocked like Claire?

I'm not sure.

Nevertheless, I feel I should see and comfort her if she ever needs it. So, here I am, in front of her room.

''Claire.''