A mansion. A base for keeping an eye on the Courtenay family.

Two figures are talking to each other.

One is Naina. The other is a young, featureless human male. A puppet.

“Naina, you have been dealing with a hell of a guy. It was more than just the “rubble” I heard about. I never thought someone could destroy my vessel irreparably. It was my favorite. …… Fuck ! To human……! Even though I lost control, I still lost eight dolls that I borrowed from the General! The masterpiece I built with the General!”

A faceless man speaks. In the voice of a girl with an abominable anger on it, which does not resemble his expression.

And Naina, who listens to him, is also expressionless, as if she were a doll.

(…….. Even Signe can’t do it. …… even if it is a monster that transcends demons and humans…….)

Naina’s heart was filled with resignation.

She had given up on the idea that it was impossible for her, but in the organization she had huddled with, there were people who were far more powerful than she was, demons, or monsters.

There was a faint hope that these people might be able to … but that hope had been crushed.

However, Naina does not know that just before Signe showed his non-human monstrosity, she was shot at a place where there were a lot of openings and was killed without a moment’s thought.

Signe just hasn’t gotten serious yet. It’s too slapdash an excuse for a defeated person.

“Naina. I am moving to the “Yorozu,” although it is not yet complete. If I settle in the other one I am keeping now, I will not be able to move immediately after the completion of the other one.

I will probably be stuck for a while. Collect the dolls left in your custody and those left at the mansion, and go to Benák. We can’t afford to put a damper on the Commander-in-Chief’s plans. It’s humiliating, but I’ll leave the rest to Fromy concerning the activities in the capital. Fuck. Fuck.

…… uhh, and take care of Lord Courtenay. Also, report to Benák on Albert Falconer. No need to tell Fromy. He likes to play. If he gets too interested, it will be complicated. That Albert somehow saw through me and the dolls in a camouflaged state. I’d rather not go near him with a doll now. That bastard is already my prey. I will surely kill him with my own hands.”

“Noted. Benak is from …… I believe, who operates on the eastern frontier, correct? After we take care of Courtenay, we will quickly cover our tracks here and pack up those who are left behind and head that way. There is nothing for me to tell Fromy. …… is that correct?”

“Good girl. Naina. The best thing that happened to me is that I got you, at least. If only any of those who left with you were good as you, huh, Well, you can keep up to two of my dolls. I’ll tell my former men to listen to you for the time being. The rest of you will work under Benák’s direction.”

Naina had a hunch.

She will never see Signe again, even if she moves on to another place of dependence.

She does not know if she will die or if Signe will return to emptiness, but this is where she will part ways. I had such conviction.

(Signe…..You were not even a demon tribe, but an abnormal monster. …… Still, it makes no difference that you picked me up when I had no place to go. I’ll follow your instructions as long as I have this life. …… That’s about all I have left to give…)

Empty. Dragging her body, which is dominated by a sense of emptiness, Naina moves to defend Signe’s instructions. A vain avenger. Signe’s puppet. A spoiled, powerless fool.

****

Around that time, Al asked Conrad to meet with Cerian and set up an appointment for a later date.

The time is evening. About that time the sun was about to set. Before the evening sun goes down.

The residence of the Countess Courtenay family had turned into a terrible site of horror.

Count Eden Courtenay.

His temperament is strongly elective, arrogant, and irreverent. Although he was a city aristocrat among city aristocrats, he was no less than the current head of an ancient noble family that had existed since before the founding of the kingdom.

As is usual with the aristocrats of the capital, he was far removed from actual combat. However, his skill as a mage is first-rate. He had plenty of mana and was known for his skill in using various types of attribute magic.

He was suddenly attacked by someone and ended up in a fight …… with the assailants in the mansion, killing them all.

Unfortunately, no one survives, including the Count and his bodyguards. Everyone is killed, even non-combatant, commoner servants.

Fortunately, his wife, who is a noble, and his eldest son, who is his heir, were in another house at the time, so they were not killed. …… It is said that the Count himself had anticipated the attack, and had been given instructions in advance. However, the details are unknown. It is said that everyone in the family, including the wife and children, kept their mouths shut about this matter.

The entrance hall of the mansion.

There, the body of Count Eden Courtenay, torn to shreds and exhausted, the corpses of two men of unknown affiliations who were believed to be members of the attackers’ gang, and three broken golems with black blood were left behind.

According to those who examined the mansion and the bodies, there were signs that the Count had continued to fight the attackers with only his own body, protecting his helpless servants after the defeat of his private army of close associates, his bodyguards.

Many of the servants were killed after the Count’s life light was extinguished.

When the Knights of Security raided, they heard noises as the attackers fled, and it is believed that the Count’s death struggle may have given them no time to even destroy the evidence.