[Sorcerous Dynasty Sarion] was a nation whose appearance naturally wove together two opposing faces.
It was a landscape where the grandeur of nature, fitting for a forest inhabited by elves, mixed seamlessly with buildings that had advanced alongside magitech.
The closer we got, the more obvious it became just how well those two elements were fused. It had a kind of splendor completely different from Velzard's White Ice Palace, which made it feel all the more striking.
As I slowly looked around while flying toward the World Tree, Chronoa, who was flying beside me, spoke up.
"By the way, what were you thinking about earlier? Your face was pretty stiff."
She meant that moment right after we transferred here, when I had blanked out without saying a word.
At her question, I kept my mouth shut for a moment, then brushed it off and changed the subject.
...I still hadn't properly explained my circumstances to her yet.
"...Nothing. I just had something on my mind. More importantly, are you going to check the World Tree's roots again this time?"
"Hmm... I probably should, right? I don't know this elf emperor, Ermesia, after all."
Chronoa, who moved freely through the air, pressed a finger to her lips and lifted her gaze as if in thought.
It seemed she wanted to see for herself what kind of person Elmesia was.
'That doesn't mean I can let her meet her so easily.'
Elmesia was close enough to that Hero—no, to that man—to be like family, so I absolutely had to prevent her from meeting Chronoa.
If he were to learn Chronoa's true identity by mistake, there was a very high chance the flow of time would be thrown off.
Chronoa herself knew that too, which was why she only hesitated like this instead of saying it outright.
"I guess it can't be helped... I am curious, but until this [Regression] ends, I'll hold myself back somehow and not meet her in person!"
Chronoa said it loudly with her eyes shut and a bitter smile, like a child forcing herself not to be stubborn.
"......"
Watching her from right beside her, I couldn't answer easily.
Like the me from my previous life, she looked like someone for whom enduring things had become a part of everyday life, and that bitter smile made me feel guilty for no reason.
So I said,
"Don't worry. This will be the last time."
It was the best comfort I could offer.
'To end this endless regression and set her free.'
That was the best outcome I could help her achieve.
Of course, I had no way of knowing whether this really would be the last time.
I might not even be the decisive variable. Maybe I was just another cog that had entered the cycle starting this round, doomed to repeat these regressions again and again without ever remembering them.
Even so, I had no intention of giving up so easily.
I'd already made that promise back then.
"...Yeah, that's right. This time, we'll definitely make it work!"
Fortunately, my words seemed to reach her. Chronoa erased her bitter smile and gave me a bright one instead.
A fresh, innocent smile that suited a girl her age.
"...Adelio, you'll help me too, right?"
"Yeah. It was a promise."
Not a [Contract], but a promise.
Reminded once more of that word, so unlike a demon, I let out a faint smile without realizing it,
and the smiles on both our faces lasted until we reached the World Tree.
A small cave leading to the World Tree's roots.
Standing before it, the girl who had been watching the demon continue upward along the World Tree puffed out her lips, her cheeks flushed red.
"...Idiot. Why would you say something like that?"
She had meant to keep these feelings buried.
"If you say things like that... it makes me want to stop holding back too—"
Her heart had suddenly started racing.
Like a girl becoming aware of her feelings for the first time, Chronoa's heartbeat showed no sign of slowing down.
As she stood there with her eyes closed, feeling that pounding in her chest, Hinata's voice rose from deep within her.
[...Chronoa. Do you... like Adelio?]
Hinata's question sounded slightly flustered.
Realizing what she truly meant, Chronoa let out a sigh and answered.
"...Yeah. I think I do. Just like you, Hinata."
[What? I-I don't particularly...]
Seeing Hinata, who rarely showed much emotional change, get flustered, Chronoa puffed out her cheeks.
"You don't have to hide it from me. We share the same body. There's no way I wouldn't know."
Chronoa had already known.
That Hinata liked him too.
"Whew... I didn't think I'd really fall for him."
To both of them, Adelio was something like salvation.
Compared to all the time they had spent repeating regressions, the time since they had come to know him was very short, but the time their emotions had crossed was far longer.
He understood the pain of being a [Regressor], had continued helping them all this time, and always showed consideration for the person in front of him.
Like just now, whenever she showed even the slightest sign of sadness, he always noticed first and comforted her, and he treated the part of her born from a [Skill] as a person in her own right.
That gentle kindness passed through Chronoa and reached Hinata as well.
And in the end, that kindness gave rise to a single feeling.
A new feeling called love.
"...Thank you. And... I like you, Adelio."
Still too embarrassed to convey those feelings to the demon directly, the girl quietly repeated the words to herself.
With that, Chronoa headed for the World Tree's roots, while I headed for its summit.
And when I arrived there, I immediately spotted Elmesia sitting alone in the garden.
She noticed me soon enough and waved.
"Oh~ you showed up right on time again, didn't you?"
"You told me yourself that this is the only time the [Mages]' guard is somewhat relaxed, so I matched my timing to that."
"Hmm~ I told you last time too, you can stop being so formal. It's just you and me here anyway."
By elf standards, Elmesia had me visit [Sarion] almost every day—in other words, at least once a month.
She claimed it was only natural because she had put forward 'mutual cooperation' as the contract, and under that arrangement I had to provide her with information regularly... but that was obviously just an excuse. She seemed to call me over because she was bored from being stuck here.
Considering how she sometimes asked pointless things like whether I'd heard any interesting rumors lately instead of asking for information, I was one hundred percent sure of it.
"...As for the formal speech, I'll try to change it gradually later. Right now, there's something more important I need to say."
Something important.
It was a necessary step for the board I intended to set up from here on.
"Something to say? What is it? Go on, tell me."
Maybe because this was the first time I was asking her for something, Elmesia immediately looked intensely curious.
Watching her, I moved my lips once before finally getting to the point.
"I would like you to arrange a meeting between me and one of your acquaintances, Your Majesty."
That was the heart of it.
I was asking her to let me meet someone I could never reach on my own.
"An acquaintance? Who exactly do you want to meet badly enough to ask me?"
At that request, Elmesia tilted her head and asked back. I looked straight into her eyes and calmly spoke his name.
The disciple of Sylvia, whom she thought of like a younger brother, and—
"[Hero of Flash] Leon Cromwell. I want to meet him."
The Hero of old legend who would one day become a Demon Lord and be forgotten.
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