There Is No World For ■■

* * *

In a warehouse that had been completely burned black.

Beyond the half-collapsed wall, two elves were searching for something amidst the melted rebar and charred debris.

They were sifting through the burnt bone fragments and were digging under the collapsed rubble. Each gesture was followed by a pungent odor, and with every step, the charcoal spewed ash.

And despite the tedious search that lasted a long time, they were unable to find what they were looking for.

Only after their bodies were completely covered in soot did the two elves stop their search and collapse to the ground.

A short silence ensued. And as the floating soot particles began to settle, the silver-haired elf broke the silence.

“Comrade Miridith, we should stop here.”

“…Comrade Rime.”

“If we cannot find it even after such a thorough search, perhaps the humans must have taken it already.”

The silver-haired elf, Rime, spoke calmly. Her tone was indifferent, as if what they lost was merely a trivial item.

Upon hearing that, Miridith hung her head. Her hands trembled slightly.

“My brothers... they will blame me, won't they?”

“Comrade Miridith, there is no need to say such things. It was because they believed in your ideals that Rhe and Rhegon were willing to risk their lives and follow you to Earth.”

“But…”

“There is no fault in desiring peace.”

Rime continued while dusting off Miridith's shoulder.

“If you give up here, you will only let their deaths be in vain.”

“…I know. Thank you, Rime.”

Rime didn’t respond. Instead, without saying another word, she simply pulled Miridith into a hug, patting her back until the trembling subsided.

And as time passed, a breeze began to blow from somewhere. It was a warm breeze as if it were carrying the morning sunlight.

Had that much time passed already? The two elves dusted themselves off in silence as they stood up.

“Let’s just search for one last time.”

“If that is what you wish, Comrade.”

The two planned to search the burned warehouse again. Or rather, they were about to.

Just as they returned to the warehouse, someone appeared from beyond the collapsed wall.

Sensing the presence, the two elves drew their weapons and turned around.

“Who… is it?”

As soon as they saw the faces of the intruders, the elves wore blank expressions.

The ones who emerged from behind the wall were a woman with an eyepatch and a man being dragged by her.

The elves were familiar with both faces. The man was the very human they had fought recently, and the woman with the eyepatch was…

“…Holy Sword, Freya Cahn?”

“Oh, ya recognize meh?”

There was no way they wouldn’t know her. After all, she was the Earthian chosen by the Holy Sword who brought disgrace to the Holy Nation beyond the dimensional portal. How could they not recognize such a famous person?

“…Why are you here?”

Without even realizing it, Miridith glanced at the human man beside Freya Cahn, who was sighing heavily.

Was this a trap? Was everything about her brothers’ bodies being in this warehouse a lie?

However, contrary to her expectations, she felt no hostility from the two.

In fact, she felt a hint of kindness from Freya Cahn.

“Well Elf Princess, shall we start with greetins’?”

“…Princess? All elves are equal. Just because my father is the general secretary doesn’t mean that I am a princess.”

"Oh, really? Sorry 'bout that. I'm good with deez sorta things. So, what shoulda call ya then?"

"Miridith. That’s enough."

Freya Cahn glanced at Rime, who had her sword drawn with wary eyes. It was a look asking for her name, but Rime didn’t respond.

Feeling awkward, Freya Cahn shrugged her shoulders.

"Aight then, Miss Miridith? Ya planning to head to Lord Howe Island, to duh academy, right?"

"...How do you know that?"

"It's all over the news, ya know. Although it hasn't been announced that Princ—Miss Miridith is duh wan enrolling, the ole world knows an elf is, mate."

"..."

"So, just to be safe, I plan to escort Miss Miridith to duh academy. How’s that sound, mate?"

Miridith narrowed her eyes as if she was struggling to grasp the situation.

"Why are you extending such kindness to me?"

"I wanna stop Demerond from crossing the dimensional portal in case Miss Miridith gets urt. Ya old man is, well... ya get what I mean, right?"

Freya Cahn couldn’t bring herself to say, 'because ya old man is a nutter who'd terrorize Earth duh first chance he gets.'

Fortunately, Miridith seemed to understand her thoughts and nodded awkwardly.

She pondered for a moment, then looked at the man standing beside Freya Cahn.

"Did you also come after me with such intentions?"

The human man, Dung Beetle, sighed softly as he met her gaze.

"No. I was dragged here against my will."

"...Dragged?"

Freya Cahn, who was listening to their conversation, chimed in.

"It's nothin’ special. I kinda picked him up to track ya."

She picked him up? Miridith looked at him, slightly taken aback. Dung Beetle shrugged nonchalantly and asked her.

"Anyway, did you find any keepsakes?"

Keepsakes. As soon as she heard that word, Miridith's expression darkened.

"...No. We haven't found them yet."

"You cannot find them even with two High Elves here? They must be pretty small."

"Yes, two small necklaces."

Dung Beetle covered his mouth and tried to recall something. He remembered that on the day he resurrected in the warehouse, those maggots were shouting about finding necklaces on the elves' bodies.

- Hey! We’ve hit a jackpot! There’s a necklace on this elf’s body!

It was definitely somewhere deep inside the warehouse... And after pondering for a moment, Dung Beetle spoke to Freya Cahn.

"Senior."

"Senior, ya say? I told ya to call me Master, mate."

Ignoring Freya Cahn's nonsense, he continued.

"...Can you wait for 30 minutes?"

"To fin’ those keepsakes or whateva? Will 30 minutes be enough for ya?"

"Yes, it should be sufficient."

With that, Dung Beetle entered the ruins. He passed by Miridith, who was looking at him expectantly, and Rime, who was glaring at him with sharp eyes, before standing at what used to be the center of the warehouse.

He tried to recollect where the elves' bodies had been. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the spot where they had been was now buried under debris of the collapsed ceiling.

Dung Beetle turned his head and extended his hand toward the onlookers.

"Can someone lend me a sword?"

Surprisingly, it was Rime who handed him a sword. She immediately threw the sword she was holding to Dung Beetle.

Catching the flying sword, Dung Beetle swung it towards the collapsed wall.

BANG!

The sword, imbued with his Surging Wave mana, destroyed the half-burnt concrete pile, as ashes poured out from the broken concrete.

He could hear the sound of coughing behind him, but Dung Beetle ignored it and continued with his task.

Using the sword and mana as a broom to sweep away the ashes, he searched through the ruins, as if sifting through them.

His cleaning skills, honed from his janitor days, hadn't gone anywhere. And within three minutes, he found all sorts of remnants hidden beneath the ashes.

It’s not here.

He moved to the next spot, and the next.

And by the time he broke the fourth collapsed wall and cleared the ashes and debris, something shiny caught his eye.

"Found it."

Among the ashes, Dung Beetle found two pieces of gold shaped like seeds. The chains had melted away, leaving only traces around the gold.

"Ah!"

The two elves’ expressions brightened noticeably when they saw the pendants. Dung Beetle handed the sword and two keepsakes to the two elves, who came to him with glowing expressions.

"Thank you. One day… I will repay this favor."

Tears welled up in Miridith's eyes as she received the keepsakes. The clear tears washed away the ashes on her face as they flowed down.

And it seemed that Rime, who was standing behind her, was no longer able to suppress her emotions either and already started to tear up.

Dung Beetle, who had suddenly made the two women cry, couldn't handle the atmosphere, so he took a step back and waited for the elves to calm down.

"Helpin’ ’em to fin duh keepsakes huh... You’re not so bad eh, mate."

Freya Cahn, who had approached him before he even realized, spoke up.

Not bad…? If she wasn't the elf princess, I would have killed her the last time.

Dung Beetle suppressed a wry smile. Though his actions had their advantages and disadvantages, he hadn’t done it out of kindness.

He was simply thinking about the person who killed the owners of the keepsakes—the elves Miridith called her brothers.

The Player.

Yes, these two elves were potential allies who shared the same enemy as him.

Someday, when he managed to exact revenge on the Player, the goodwill he had shown the elves would surely prove to be greatly beneficial.

While Dung Beetle was lost in his thoughts, Freya Cahn looked at him with a peculiar expression.

She smacked her lips and said.

"Oi, do ya really not wanna be my apprentice?"

"...I'm sorry."

"Sigh, why dincha like duh idea? Is it ’cause I suddenly drew my sword?"

"It’s not because of that. I actually learned from that. It's just that I have some personal reasons."

Dung Beetle expressed his refusal indirectly.

This was already the third time —once when they were still at the bar, once while she was dragging him to the warehouse, and now.

By now, Freya Cahn also seemed a bit disappointed as she licked her lips.

"No matter how talented ya ar’, ya will eventually hit a wall if ya jus self-study... It's a shame."

"I apologize."

"Whatcha apologizing for... Oi, then how about ya enter duh academy?"

The academy? Dung Beetle frowned without realizing it.

"If ya want, I can at least write ya a leder of recommendation."

"..."

"Even if ya dun wanna be my direct apprentice, goin’ to duh academy will make sure ya talent doesn’t go to waste. Plus, it wouldn’ urt to ave a familiar face when that Elf Pri—Miss Miridith enrolls."

Dung Beetle smiled awkwardly. He was contemplating how to refuse this offer. Freya Cahn sighed upon seeing his expression.

"Didn fall for the elf, huh? Crikey, I musta really lost my touch."

Fortunately, Freya Cahn didn't push him any further. Instead, she pulled something out of her coat and handed it to Dung Beetle.

"At least take this."

What she handed him was a small dagger about the size of a palm. The blade shone with a blue light and was covered with intricate engravings.

It didn’t look like something from Earth; the lettering seemed to come from beyond the dimensional portal.

"…What's this?"

"It’s duh weapon imbued with duh true intention of duh swordsmanship I used in the bar earlier."

A weapon imbued with the true intention of martial arts? Dung Beetle's eyes widened as he looked at the dagger and Freya Cahn alternately.

"Why are you giving this to me…?"

"Jus ’cause."

"…"

"Jus kiddin’, it’s 'cause ya seem to need it."

She placed the dagger in Dung Beetle's palm and continued speaking.

"It’s an amazin’ talent to be able ta copy martial arts just by lookin’, but it’ll become a poison someday ‘cause ya talent, body, n mana will all be outta sync."

It was sincere advice from someone who had reached an incomprehensible level. Dung Beetle etched her words deep into his heart.

"Duh swordsmanship in this dagger emphasizes balance. It’ll prevent extreme discrepancies to some extent."

"…May I ask the name of this swordsmanship?"

"Do ya know what I was called before they called me duh Holy Sword?"

Hearing her question, Dung Beetle tried to recall the name of the swordsmanship he had seen in a documentary.

"Comet Sword…?"

"Ya know well. That's duh name."

Dung Beetle looked anew at the blue dagger—a dagger containing the true intention of the Comet Sword. It was a treasure beyond words and a stroke of luck.

He carefully tucked the dagger into his coat.

Meanwhile, having somewhat composed themselves, the elves wiped their tears and approached Freya Cahn.

Freya Cahn crossed her arms as she stared at the two elves.

"So, what will ya do, Miss Miridith?"

"…I will accept your kindness, Holy Sword."

"Good on ya, wise choice."

As soon as the two elves agreed, Freya Cahn snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, three brightly glowing feathers appeared in the air and descended onto Freya Cahn’s and the two elves' shoulders.

Confirming that the feathers were securely in place, Freya Cahn grinned at Dung Beetle.

"See ya next time, young bloke."

"Yes, see you next time."

Dung Beetle bowed his head. The elves blinked, unable to understand what the two were talking about.

"Um, what exactly are these feathers…"

Just as Miridith was about to ask, Freya Cahn snapped her fingers again.

Snap.

With that sound, the three of them vanished from Dung Beetle's sight.

It was a casual farewell, just like their meeting.

***

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