"Kyah?!"

Rose falls on top of something soft.

Shaking her head while getting up, Rose realizes that there are two girls pinned under her.

"Ah, so sorry!"

"Rose-senpai, can you please get off?"

"Alexisama, kindly refrain from touching anywhere weird."

Alexia and Natsume are glaring at each other even while pinned down under Rose.

When Rose gets up, the two immediately spring up and turn their backs against each other.

Rose feels slightly saddened at seeing the two of them not getting along.

"You two, fighting is not good……ah!"

Halfway through her words, Rose realizes all the gazes gathered on her.

This place is a dim, large s.p.a.ce. Surrounding them are all the women in black. Among them are even Alpha, Epsilon, and the captured Nelson.

"Umm, we're……"

Understanding that there's no way out of this situation, Rose raises both hands as a start.

Then she forces a smile onto her face, trying to appeal to the enemy her lack of hostility.

Next to her, Natsume-sensei is pitifully trembling in fear. The moment Rose thinks to herself that she must do something, Alexia smoothly steps forward.

"Apologies, we stumbled and fell. The door happened to be right in front of us, there was nothing we could have done."

Today Rose learns that persuasion is all about having a confident att.i.tude.

Even if it is a bald-faced lie, by saying it with the confidence of a demon king, it becomes extremely troublesome to refute.

'Er, sure, let's go with that then' is the att.i.tude with which everyone is looking at Alexia.

"Very well, you all may come along. But stay quiet, do not touch anything, and do not stray off. Perhaps this is something that you all should know about as well."

So says Alpha after giving Alexia a glance. Then she immediately begins firing off instructions, after which the women in black scatter.

Alexia clinches a slight guts pose and murmurs "Did it!"

Now the only ones left are Alpha, Nelson, Rose, Alexia, Natsume, and a as-yet unidentified woman in black who is not Epsilon.

"What are your intentions in doing all this?"

Nelson glares at Alpha while still restrained by the woman in black.

For some reason, everyone is sure that Alpha is smiling underneath her mask.

"It is said that long ago, the hero Olivie had cut off the demon Diabolos' right arm and sealed it on this land."

"What about it? Did you come in search of the arm?"

Nelson scoffs.

"That sounds interesting too, but…… that is not what we wish to know. We are here in search of information about the Order of Diabolos."

Alexia reacts to the mention of the Order of Diabolos. Rose notices at the corner of her eyes Alexia's gaze turning grim.

"Whatever that means……"

"We know that you can't answer us. That's why we're here, in person. In search of the truth that had been buried within the darkness of history."

Alpha turns around, and walks towards a large statue. The clacking of her heels reverberates in the s.p.a.cious area.

"So, a statue of the hero Olivie."

Alpha's words cause Rose to tilt her head in puzzlement.

"Hero Olivie……? But Olivie was a man, was he not?"

The statue that Alpha had identified as that of the hero is the figure of a woman brandis.h.i.+ng a sword. A beautiful, gallant, almost divine even, figure of a woman warrior.

"We already have a general understanding of everything. All we were lacking was solid proof. The truth of the past, the true aim of the Order, and……"

Alpha reaches out to the statue, and gently strokes its cheek.

"……Why I have the exact same face as the hero Olivie's."

At which, she turns around, the mask on her face gone.

"Elf……?"

No one knows whose murmur that was.

However, every single person had their breath stolen by her beauty, all while coming to the same realization. Her face is indeed an exact copy of the statue's face.

"Don't tell me, you are the elves'…… but you were supposed to have manifested demon possession and died……"

"So you do know something after all."

"……!"

Nelson hurriedly clamps his mouth shut.

"We already know the truth of 'demon possession.' For the Order that wishes to control the world order, our existence must be quite the thorn in your side, no?"

Nelson keeps his eyes down, remaining silent.

Rose has no idea what they're talking about. But she sees that Alexia seems to have at least some understanding, and Alpha does not look like she's just spouting absolute nonsense.

An organization with such power would not be dabbling in archeology just as a mere hobby. There must be some enormous reason. The reason for Shadow Garden. And perhaps also, the reason for the Order of Diabolos.

The recent academy attack incident surfaces in Rose's mind. There is no way that that was unrelated.

Two gigantic organizations are embroiled in an epic struggle hidden from the sight of the common people. Rose finds herself s.h.i.+vering at this realization.

If there comes a time when their struggle grows in intensity, how can countries ignorant of their existence deal with the fallout?

"We also know that the aim of the Order is not merely the revival of the demon. However, we had no proof. And so, everyone, let's all go together and see for ourselves."

After saying that, Alpha pours magic into the statue. The rising density of magic causes the very air to quiver.

"This much magic…… you really do have demon possession. Did you Awake by yourself……?"

That absolutely outrageous amount of magic causes s.h.i.+vers to run down Rose's spine. If this woman turns her spearhead against a country, how much would that country have to lose in order to stop her?

"Long, long ago, there was a great battle that happened on this land. The hero sealed the demon, and innumerable lives were lost. The magic of both hero and demon mixed and gathered into a whirlpool, which also sucked in and sealed the memories that had nowhere else to go. In short, this place is a grave where ancient memories and the grudges of the demon lies."

The status begins to s.h.i.+ne in response to the magic. Then letters of the ancient language float up, cladding the statue in a rainbow of colors.

"Hero Olivie. I thought that you would answer me."

There appears the hero Olivie, looking like a mirror image of Alpha.

"What on…… how can this be……"

Nelson's legs are shaking.

Olivie turns her back on Rose and the others, and begins walking. The direction that she is heading towards is gradually dyed with a light that begins spreading everywhere.

"Come, let us take a trip into the world of fairytales."

Alpha's voice is the last thing left as the world disappears amidst a blinding light.