Chapter 363: #Sequel. Sophien

... Chirp, chirp—

... Chirp, chirp, chirp—

The song of a bird chirping somewhere in the sky and the stinging sunlight that pricked her closed eyelids were annoying, and Sophien, who had been tossing and turning, found herself opening her eyes.

Then Sophien stared blankly at the sky and, while looking at the scenery, momentarily thought back to memories of what had just happened.

Sophien hung Deculein’s painting in the gallery, and having been exiled and swept up in the storm of time, her body was torn, crushed, shattered, and disintegrated in the rift of time...

"Is this the continent?"

Before being dropped into a nameless forest, not knowing whether it was past, present, or future, or whether it lay on a continent, an island, or another planet, Sophien had already been stripped of her sense of time and space.

"... How cheap," Sophien continued, her eyes scanning her own body.

The remaining lifespan for Sophien was, at most, a day or two, and her death was already determined, yet it was certainly a cheap price to pay for having held back the deterrence with her entire body.

“Even this body of mine can be broken.”

After believing her whole life that she would be immortal, she was now dying like this, and Sophien let out a hollow laugh she didn’t understand, not knowing if it was fortune or misfortune, as she forced her twisted body to stand.

The only thing left for Sophien was to find a place to die, for although her corpse was bound to undergo spontaneous combustion, she could not bring herself to die without knowing where she was.

Crunch—!

However, the moment Sophien was about to walk, a shattering sound filled the mountains, an annoying and sudden event.

Sophien turned around and looked at the place.

“

Grrrrrr—!

”

The roar of a beast was heard as a tiger chased an unknown woman in tattered clothing who was running with a child in her arms, a dangerous and precarious situation in which she ran with desperation.

Sophien could have disregarded her, but saving even one person from a tiger could have been lethal to her in her current state and might have reduced her remaining lifespan by more than half.

“It makes no difference if it is half a day, or even a quarter of a day.”

It didn’t matter to Sophien anyway, for she had no regrets in a life that was merely long and marked by an infinitely repeated cycle of regress.

Therefore, Sophien held her sword, took a step, and without hesitation, she swung her blade.

Whoooosh—!

With a rising sword wind, Sophien beheaded the tiger, and the woman was caught in the wind of the mana, causing her to lose her balance.

“

Ahh!

”

Despite that, the woman who had stumbled awkwardly remained with the child in her arms.

Sophien approached the woman without a word.

Thud—

“T-Thank you! Thank you, ma’am! I was on my way down the mountain to find a bottle for my child when I ran into a tiger...” the woman said, getting to her feet and bowing repeatedly as Sophien approached.

The woman’s scarred face, with tears hanging in her eyes, is not something I wish to look at for long,

Sophien thought.

Tap—

“Thank you so much...”

Like a red stain on the ground, a drop of blood fell, and it was Sophien’s.

“

Oh, oh!

A-Are you alright, ma’am?” the woman asked, looking up at Sophien in a hurry.

“I am not alright,” Sophien replied, shaking her head.

“

Oh

, m-my. I-I am terribly sorry, ma’am! Our house is nearby, please come, come with me! I can offer you some form of treatment, however poor it may be...” the woman said, getting to her feet.

“There is no need,” Sophien replied, rejecting her offer. “That is enough, it is already too late for me.”

“N-No, why would you say such a...”

“

Waaaaaaaahhh—!

”

At that moment, the child started to cry, and the woman, startled, tried to calm the child wrapped in swaddling clothes as Sophien’s eyebrows gave a slight twitch while she looked at the child.

“... Show me the way,” Sophien said.

“Sorry?” the woman replied, a look of confusion on her face.

“To your house, or whatever that place may be,” Sophien said, a subtle smile on her lips.

“...

Oh

, yes! Please, follow me!” the woman replied, hurrying ahead to lead Sophien.

Tat, tat, tat, tat, tat—

After skillfully traveling the mountain path and pushing through the brush, they arrived at a small cabin set on the steep middle slope of a deep mountain.

Creeeak—

“This is the place. Please, come in,” the woman said as she opened the creaking door.

Sophien followed her inside.

"Please, have a seat."

Then she led Sophien to the single bed, had her sit down, and began to pound herbs into a mortar.

“Please wait a moment. I will prepare a treatment for you—”

“More importantly, I have a question to ask of you,” Sophien interrupted.

“... Pardon?”

“There is no need for treatment. Have I not already told you that it is too late?”

Sophien wished to ask what the current time was, if this was the continent, whether it was the Empire or the Republic, or some other foreign planet.

However, more than all of those things...

“What is the name of your child?” Sophien continued, staring at the pale face of the woman.

“... My child’s name, ma’am?” the woman replied, her eyes widening in surprise.

“Indeed, that child’s name is what I asked for,” Sophien replied.

The tone of Sophien’s voice, as she asked that again, was rather lively, with an inflection that was far too cheerful for a person who was dying.

“

Umm...

”

It was sudden for the woman, but in her eyes, all of Sophien's appearance and poise were noble, as she must have been a person of such high status...

“His name is Keiron,” the woman replied.

“

... Haha.

”

At those words, Sophien smiled a smile she didn't even know she had.

Looking at him now, that black-haired one crying in his mother’s arms, I see that for a mere baby, he already shows clear marks of his future,

Sophien thought.

“... Keiron, is it?” Sophien replied, as she lay down on the bed. “I see.”

It was a muttered word tinged with admiration, but her completely broken body seemed unable to hold up any longer, and Sophien’s consciousness gradually became muddled.

“... A-Are you alright, ma’am?”

The voice of the woman she had met by chance grew fainter as she hurriedly smeared herb powder over Sophien’s wounds, though there was no chance it would do anything.

“...

Hmm

,” Sophien murmured, her eyes gently closing. “I feel a bit... tired.”

The world became distant, obscure, and dark, and Sophien's body, whose life had come to an end, slowly stopped functioning and sank down in tranquility, reaching the end she had long desired.

Having finally been freed from the regression that had stolen her death, Sophien could neither hear nor see anything, her flesh and spirit completely separated...

—

Your Majesty.

... And just as she was about to savor her end, a voice rippled out, and she opened her eyes once again.

The sight before Sophien’s eyes was rather disconcerting, for though she had certainly met her death and her eyes and ears should have been blind and deaf, everything was visible and audible as she looked around.

... Sophien was on a lakeshore, a wondrous and dreamlike sight with beautiful lotus flowers on the clear water’s surface and a hazy mist rising.

—

Your Majesty.

At that moment, that familiar voice seeped into her once more, and Sophien knew who he was without looking.

—

Keiron.

At the mention of the name, a smile touched his lips.

—

Yes, Your Majesty.

—

Is this a dream?

Sophien asked, with a glare directed at him.

Even Sophien, who learned everything with ease, had no choice but to ask Keiron, as she had never experienced a space like this and could not tell if it was a dream or the afterlife.

—

This is a magical space, Your Majesty. It would appear our souls have been temporarily trapped within this place.

It was a magical space, and furthermore, it was a grand magic that could imprison a soul.

—

He is a formidable man.

Keiron replied, his voice carrying a hint of a chuckle.

Sophien, too, wore a similar look on her face.

It was evident whose doing it was.

—

Of course, I am sure that it is to keep the last promise he made to Your Majesty.

With those words, Keiron pointed, and at the sight of the square wooden plate where the lake met the land, a smile came to Sophien’s lips until she could not hold it in and burst out laughing.

—

Game of Go, indeed.

The game of Go was the final match Sophien had requested from Deculein, one he had promised to play but she had abandoned on a whim.

—

Yes, Your Majesty, the final match remains.

Therefore, this was a magical space invented and manifested by the future Deculein, who had continued to develop on his own, a space that could even hold a soul, with the medium for this fantastical magic being the promise they had made during their lifetime.

—

We will not be released from this place until the final match is over.

At Keiron’s words, Sophien nodded her head.

—

In that case.

If it is true that we cannot escape, and that damnably lovable man is the one who put me here... then I shall accept it.

Sophien walked past the mist that hung over the lake, splashing through the water as she went, and sat down before the Go board.

—

You will stay by my side until Deculein comes?

It was a question that did not even need to be asked.

—

Of course. I, Keiron, will serve Your Majesty for all eternity.

Keiron replied with satisfaction.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

That is all I need. As long as he is at my side, I would be able to concentrate on nothing but the game of Go.

—

Then we shall wait for him.

Sophien said, looking down at the Go board and the Go stones.

—

And while we do, we’ll think of how to defeat him.

For the opponent who had not yet arrived, a man worthy of being called a master of the game of Go, no amount of practice or preparation would be enough, and therefore time would pass in an instant.

—

However, it seems to me that this final match...

At the thought that brought her contentment, Sophien stopped speaking, touched her lips with a finger, and smiled.

—

... It will take rather a long time.

It was a wish that was all too humble for the Empress.