Around the time Luminous and Sylvia were talking in [Ruberios]...
"...Sigh..."
To keep the promise he had made to Chronoa, Adelio immediately set out for [Ruberios] with her, only to run into two problems.
The first was that Rain and Misery insisted on coming to [Ruberios] too.
At first glance, that might not sound like much of a problem, but there was one major issue: Luminous.
Luminous had already once suffered badly at the hands of that shut-in dragon, Veldora, so if a massive force suddenly showed up, she was obviously going to be on guard first.
Even if they belonged to Guy’s faction, Adelio and Ria traveling together already counted as a considerable force. Adding two more [Primordial Demons] on top of that was excessive to the point of absurdity.
...Fortunately, that problem was resolved when the timing happened to overlap with Guy’s planned invasion of the [Western Nations], and he appointed the two of them as commanders.
The pair in question looked deeply dissatisfied, of course.
Anyway,
the first issue had been handled well enough, and the second problem was...
"..."
...Ria and Chronoa, who were currently following behind Adelio in silence with expressionless faces.
...I can’t breathe...
To properly explain this second problem, we need to go back about three hours.
**
The Jura Great Forest.
As always, Chronoa and Adelio met in the Jura Great Forest, where Veldora was sealed.
Ever since the day Adelio had briefly left for [Eldorado], she had come to this great forest whenever she had the time.
So that the moment he returned, she would be able to see him right away.
"Chronoa."
"...! Adeli... o...?"
Perhaps that steady effort had paid off, because she got to meet Adelio sooner than expected.
But he had not returned alone.
At his side stood a woman with jewel-like crimson eyes and pure white hair, the demon known as [Blanc].
"...That demon beside you... don’t tell me..."
Chronoa, who had repeated regression thousands of times, had naturally gone through several loops where she came face-to-face with the [Primordial Demons].
Some of them had become subordinates of her "second benefactor," and there was even an "arbiter" who was always tasked with killing her whenever a regression ended in failure.
The same was true of Ria.
When she had become that benefactor’s subordinate along with the other two [Primordial Demons], Chronoa clearly remembered speaking with her a few times.
...Why is she here...?
Since Adelio, this was the first new variable to appear—one that might become a major turning point in the regressions.
But that was not what mattered most to Chronoa right now.
...What exactly is she to Adelio...?
Ria was a woman who always carried cruelty within her, one who had never shown kindness to anyone except fellow [Primordial Demons].
So the question rose in Chronoa’s mind:
Why did she look like Adelio’s lover?
And that question...
"Hehe. My name is Ria. I’m his lover."
...came flying straight from the woman herself in the form of confirmation.
"...L-lover... ?"
"..."
Chronoa, who had reached the realm of a [Half-God], and Hinata, who was cold by nature, were not the sort to be shaken by ordinary words. But the moment the word "lover" came out of Ria’s mouth, both of them were struck speechless as if they had suffered a heavy blow.
That was how shocking Ria’s words were.
They had never even imagined that the person they loved from afar might already belong to someone else.
"..."
Chronoa turned to Adelio, her gaze asking whether what Ria had said was true.
It was a look begging him to deny it.
But he did not. Instead, he nodded.
It was an answer of affirmation.
"...A formidable rival."
**
...And that, more or less, was what had happened three hours earlier.
That was the whole story, summarized as briefly as possible.
"..."
After that, Chronoa spent about ten minutes repeating, "I see..." over and over again. Then, all at once, her face went blank and she muttered that they should leave for [Ruberios].
Adelio, perhaps sensing something ominous, decided that instead of letting Chronoa lead the way like he normally would, he ought to keep a little distance from her this time, so he moved out in front himself.
...We’re almost there...
Since everyone in the group possessed absurd abilities as a [Half-God], a saint, or a [Primordial Demon], it had taken only a few hours to reach [Ruberios] from the Jura Great Forest.
In other words, the moment Adelio’s lifespan was about to get shorter had come around again.
Because in [Ruberios], there was one unexpected visitor waiting there that none of them had anticipated.
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