Chapter 1

Prologue

“Hey, benefactor.”

That night, the stars shone unusually bright.

“If the world doesn’t end… what would you do?”

Lirian, lying lazily on the grass, turned her head and asked.

Each time the acrid, smoky wind blew past, faint lights flickered beneath the hill. Like stars.

But both of them knew what they truly were: divine-imbued defensive bombs buried in the ground.

And that not many were left.

And that they were humanity’s final line of defense.

Eight years. Long, if long; short, if short.

In that time, the world had been utterly ruined by the war against the monsters known as the “Abyss.”

So ruined, in fact, that no priests remained who could purify them.

“Hm?”

“Don’t ask useless things. Just look at the stars. You said you wanted to.”

“Tch, it’s the last night. Can’t I ask?”

“There’s no such thing as ‘if.’ That’s just the fantasy of dreamers.”

By tomorrow, they would know the result anyway.

Illei replied in a dry tone, and Lirian pouted.

“You’re too cold, benefactor!”

For someone carrying the weighty duty of protecting a world on the brink of extinction, she was always so bright.

Her black hair was a mess, and her violet eyes gazing at the starry sky were as pure as a child’s.

This woman was the “Sword Demon.”

Though she doesn’t look the part.

And in truth, she didn’t act the part either.

Now hailed as an unparalleled sword genius and humanity’s hero, she had once been mocked for her odd, childish ways—so much so that people had called her the “Foolish Lady.”

There seemed to be some reason behind it, but he had never learned the details.

Still, she’s gotten much better.

When Illei first met her, Lirian was afflicted with aphasia.

By persistently talking to her and teaching her about the world, he had helped her regain her voice—but her childlike nature remained unchanged.

He had tried many times to uncover the cause, but in this broken world, there was only so much one could do.

“If that really happened…”

“If it did?”

“I’d want to sleep until the sun rose and set again.”

“That sounds nice.”

Lirian nodded earnestly.

Illei Celebia Leonhardt.

He was born into the noblest and most glorious bloodline.

The only surviving royal, the leader of the Church of the Morning Star, and supreme commander of the allied forces.

For such a man, it was a humble wish—but she did not belittle his dream.

“Then can I sleep next to you?”

Illei clicked his tongue inwardly at the absurd words the woman spoke so casually.

“Ow!”

“Stop saying nonsense. Get up. Dawn’s coming.”

He flicked her forehead lightly and stood.

And then, from afar, he saw it: the endless darkness rolling toward them.

The Abyss Dragon.

The being that had appeared to end the world.

Rain poured suddenly, soaking the ground around them.

And just as the last bomb’s glow faded, that vast, black presence opened its jaws.

The battlefield, once filled with roars and screams, had fallen silent, swallowed by the sound of rain.

Illei bowed his head, and his loosened eyepatch slipped to the puddled ground.

“Why….”

His blinded left eye saw nothing.

But through the blurred vision of his right, he glimpsed a woman drenched in blood.

Illei clutched the motionless Lirian desperately in his arms.

“Why… why her!”

He cried out.

The woman had died saving the man.

That was all.

Benefactor… hey. Do you want me to tell you what I’d do if the world didn’t end?

Cold and lifeless in the rain, she seemed instead to comfort the man drowning in despair.

I’d build the biggest cabin in the world.

At the final moment of her life, she smiled more brilliantly than the stars scattered across the sky.

And then… I’d live there together with all the people I love.

She spoke her unfulfilled dream and closed her eyes.

Illei clenched his teeth, as if his heart were spilling blood.

My life… nothing ever worked out.

Hopeless. Worthless.

Born the direct heir of the emperor and empress of the Holy Empire, his existence should have been one of glory—yet his life was only marked by disgrace.

For although he possessed immense divine power, he could not control it.

Still, somehow, he had clawed his way through… only for the “Abyss” to erupt, heralding the end of the world.

And now you even take her away.

She was the reason he hadn’t lost his mind.

Her childlike innocence sometimes made him forget the battlefield around them.

In a futureless, bleak reality, she kept him from running away.

He shut his eyes tight. Something slid down his cheek—whether rain or blood, he could not tell.

God was cruel.

Not that he had ever believed in one. If a god existed, would the world look like this?

CRASH!

Thunder split the sky. A flash of white erased everything before his eyes.

The Abyss Dragon opened its maw again.

An unstoppable power gathered there with dazzling sparks.

Since being erased from the imperial register, Illei had never once prayed.

Not once.

“…Damn you, God.”

Holding Lirian in his arms, he looked upon her as the blinding white swallowed the world.

“If you really exist…”

In that pure light, he gazed quietly at her.

Unknowingly, he gave a faint smile, and his lips moved.

“Grant this woman’s wish.”

May you, in your next life, be a little happier.