Volume 4 Chapter 16 Anna’s True Intentions.txt
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Time rewinds a bit, to the evening.
While Klock was still surrounded by beautiful cats, a tense atmosphere lingered at the pier.
”──No movement, huh?”
Tiet’s voice was low, laced with wariness.
”Tiet,” Anna called out softly.
Her silver hair danced in the sea breeze. Anna stood alone at the edge of the pier. The holy knight girl—her comrade—landed beside her, descending gracefully from mid-air.
With a soft clank of iron boots, the knight’s long blonde hair flowed as she approached without hesitation, then stood beside the hero.
She had been searching for Anna, who had gone on ahead. What drew her here was the immense magical power drifting offshore. Apparently, Anna had felt it too. And so, they had reunited.
Tiet narrowed her eyes, glaring out toward the horizon.
Below, the sea burned crimson under the setting sun.
At first glance, it was just the usual view of the port—but the pressure pushing up from the depths was unmistakable.
It was there, hidden beneath the water.
The Sea Dragon—Belgerona.
The very same dragon that had disappeared, taking with it a ship fleeing from the imperial capital’s bay.
They had given up the chase, opting to move ahead instead. Given the presence of the creature here, it wasn’t hard to guess—the ship must have arrived too. Their plan, it seemed, had worked.
”I told you to wait,” Anna said flatly, still staring out at the sea.
”From the looks of it, you weren’t found,” Tiet replied, tone sharp. “So not waiting was the right choice.”
Tiet’s retort cut through the moment, silencing Anna.
She’d acted on her own.
It wasn’t that anyone thought Anna, the hero, would be in danger even if she was alone. But the odds of finding anything on her own had been low. Their enemy was a saint—someone with foresight. Charging in alone was just asking to be misled.
Even so, she went.
A reckless move.
That wasn’t like Anna.
But when it came to Klock… maybe this was more like her.
…Then again, she’s not really in a position to talk. She was cut out of the Klock search too.
Tiet hadn’t come alone.
The three of them had arrived together via Hermine’s teleportation. But now, as one could see, Tiet was acting separately.
She’d been told to find Anna, who’d rushed ahead.
It would’ve made more sense to regroup before starting the search. But doing so would’ve only made it more obvious—Tiet was acting like a guard assigned to Klock.
”By the way,” Tiet added, glancing to the side, “those two are wandering around town looking for Klock. Hermine said her sister gave her a curfew. Since time’s short, they assumed you’d come up empty and went ahead.”
Technically, it wasn’t really a curfew, more like a daily report.
Instead of reporting to her father, Hermine had to check in with her older sister—the Second Princess Yureisa.
While there wasn’t a strict time limit, the expectation had the same effect.
It was essentially a leash.
All of this was for Elna’s sake—but maybe it went too far.
After all, Elna had left the country with the army at a critical time. The capital had just been attacked by demons. Naturally, questions followed.
Even for a princess, stepping onto the battlefield meant accepting the consequences.
If the demon attack had been a feint, and the Demon King’s main force had followed, the absence of the navy would’ve led straight into a catastrophic mainland battle.
Had it come to that, the imperial capital would’ve been a warzone. The scale of destruction wouldn’t have been survivable.
And Elna?
She’d have been tried as a war criminal.
In the end, nothing happened—but that didn’t erase the threat she posed to the nation.
And the punishment?
A curfew.
Remarkably light.
Still, maybe her actions, though reckless, were seen as justified.
She had been trying to maintain appearances before the Beast Kingdom.
And that act—Hermine moving the military to catch a culprit, even at the nation’s expense—would undoubtedly affect the impression left on the Emperor of the Hundred Beasts.
…Though, honestly, from his perspective, the unseen Demon King might seem less frightening than that emperor himself.
That man isn’t the sort to throw his beloved daughter to the wolves.
He probably staged forgiveness to satisfy the court.
Tiet sighed deeply.
Seeing that, Anna gave a small smile, her expression softening.
”So… it seems you were forgiven, at least a little,” Anna said.
”I think I got off light,” Tiet replied. “I only heard the summary. I don’t know what kind of conversation they really had.”
Most likely, something harsher had been said—but only Hermine knew the details.
It had been Hermine who mobilized the troops. As for Tiet, Oriana, and the hero—they were technically foreign nationals.
Not much could be done about them.
”──So, back to the topic,” Tiet said, eyes narrowing again. “Did you see Klock’s ship when that thing showed up?”
The subject shifted from past battles to the current problem.
The Sea Dragon Belgerona.
For Anna and Tiet, it wasn’t an enemy to fear. But in a town like this, it was far from harmless.
”Yeah,” Anna said, her voice low. “It came alone. I thought maybe it was a diversion… but I couldn’t leave to look for Klock. Every time I tried, it would act like it was about to come ashore. I got stuck, couldn’t slip away.”
That made sense.
If the dragon landed, the town would be flattened.
Its sheer size meant that even walking would shake buildings apart.
As long as the hero stayed close, the creature remained still—but if she moved, it threatened to come ashore. A silent ultimatum.
A simple but effective tactic: stalling.
She was a hero, a protector of the people. She’d never abandon them.
But she couldn’t fight in the sea. That wasn’t her element.
And diving in to take down the dragon wasn’t viable.
So now she was pinned—unable to advance or retreat.
A natural disaster in dragon form had her locked in place.
────Something’s off.
There’s no way that thing’s acting on its own.
A sea dragon—an apex predator—using such tactics? Unlikely.
They conquer through brute force, not trickery.
This strange behavior… it felt far too calculated.
Too human.
Adelina.
She’d come up with this countermeasure. A feint against the hero, using a dragon.
Extravagant, but effective.
She must have known Anna would come alone.
But how did she manage to manipulate the sea dragon?
And what about Hermine and the others?
Adelina’s magic power is too conspicuous. The moment she shows herself, she’ll be detected.
Once her position is exposed, she won’t have the luxury of hiding.
If they end up face-to-face—Oriana is all kindness, but Hermine?
She’s a handful.
Adelina’s actions—clearly part of her own plan—were also a source of unease for Tiet.
The reason Tiet had originally accompanied the teleportation party was tied to Hermine and Anna. There were layered intentions behind it, mostly to protect them. Truthfully, if it were up to her, she’d rather see Klock and the others flee for now.
But Adelina’s strange ability to handle situations—and how unpredictable she was—left Tiet unable to act freely. There was no way to synchronize anything with the sea dragon’s movements. Reckless interference wasn’t an option. All she could do was watch and wait.
”────Tiet?”
”Huh? Oh, what is it?” she replied, blinking herself back to the moment.
”…Did Klock seem like a bad person to you?” Anna asked.
For a moment, Tiet thought it was the same question again—but she didn’t say that aloud. She had answered before, back in front of Hermine and the others. This time, Anna wanted to hear her again, just the two of them.
”────I thought he was a small-time villain,” Tiet admitted. “But… not like how you described him.”
She gave her answer while ignoring the sea dragon, which still wasn’t attacking. It wasn’t too different from what she’d said before, but maybe now it carried a bit more of her actual feelings.
”So… you’re saying he’s still a bad person?”
”I wonder.” Tiet tilted her head, eyes thoughtful. “People usually have bad sides, right? I like to fight, after all. That guy just seems like he wants to take it easy. That’s probably why he steals instead of working properly. So, sure—he’s a bad guy. I won’t argue that.”
If someone who commits crimes is automatically a bad person, then Klock certainly fit. He had stolen. He had r*ped. That alone was enough to call him evil.
But in today’s world, people didn’t always think that way. A real bad person? That meant a murderer—someone who killed without hesitation.
And if r*pe made one evil, then what did that make Tiet? She was the one who joyfully kidnapped Klock, held him captive, and r*ped him once she found out he had no human rights. If a man had done the same to a defenseless girl, no one would hesitate to call him a monster hiding behind legal loopholes.
Tiet had done exactly that.
But was she a monster?
In her hometown of Stras, fights and r*pes were common, almost mundane. Nobody saw it as a life-destroying offense. It was more like a mistake made in the heat of the moment—something you apologized for, and life moved on. Nobody would take their own life over it. People said things like “I got emotional, sorry” or “I hit them, my bad,” and that was usually enough.
Stealing, though—that was serious. In Stras, in Crotopone, in most places, theft was frowned upon. Still, Klock’s thievery was small-time. If he were a real criminal, he’d kill the witnesses. But he didn’t. He was the kind of thief who could be fended off by a housewife with a frying pan.
He didn’t even kill Tiet. What kind of thief spares the person trying to catch him?
If anything, it was Tiet who had done crueler things—wiping out groups of bandits in the name of justice, forcing them to talk, then cutting off their heads and turning them in. She looted whatever they had, kept the gear she liked, and sold the rest. No hesitation. No remorse.
Killing monsters and stripping them for parts. Killing criminals and taking their valuables. That was just how adventurers lived. Common sense.
They used to say that, in wars, you’d strip the corpses of enemies completely clean. That was normal. Expected.
So legally, yes—Klock was in the wrong. But in terms of evil?
Who was actually worse?
”When I was escorting him…” Tiet said softly, “I ended up falling asleep in front of him. That should’ve been the end of me. He could’ve killed me.”
She paused, looking down.
”But he didn’t. He left me there. Ran.”
Anna didn’t speak, but she listened—her face calm and unreadable.
”I mean, think about it. The person trying to send him to the gallows was just sleeping right in front of him, and he didn’t touch me. After that, I caught up to him, told him I wouldn’t hurt him anymore, and we traveled together for a while. Then Hermine caught him, not that long ago. During all that time, he might’ve been afraid of me, but he never once showed the will to kill.”
Tiet’s voice lowered further, more serious now.
”Hey, Anna. Is he really the kind of person who’d hurt you?”
Whether or not he was a bad guy wasn’t the issue. The real question was—would he hurt Anna?
If what he said was true, then maybe Sylvia’s death was caused by Klock, even if it wasn’t intentional. He triggered it. It happened because of him. So blaming him wasn’t wrong.
But what Anna said—that she was toyed with—was vague.
Klock insisted he didn’t know Sylvia. Anna said Sylvia was his girlfriend. That contradiction couldn’t be ignored. Someone was lying, or someone’s memory had gone wrong.
Unless… it made sense when you considered Klock’s ex-girlfriend, Cianie.
If Anna was Cianie, then both their memories could be true.
”He’s probably the type who can’t kill,” Tiet murmured. “Even that noble he supposedly killed—it was an accident, wasn’t it? Klock didn’t just spare me. He let that thug with the axe go, too. He’s oddly soft-hearted. Honestly… I’m starting to think your testimony, Anna, might’ve had a mistake in it.”
Tiet looked sideways at Anna as she said it.
It was a defense of Klock—but not a lie. He had spared her. He had spared Ada. What kind of man refuses to even defend himself, but then turns around and hurts the woman he loves?
”I don’t know…” Anna whispered. “The way you’re saying it… it’s hard. I mean, if Tiet—who’s got such a strong sense of justice—doesn’t think he’s a bad guy, maybe I am the one who’s wrong.”
Her eyes widened, then quickly darted away. She fell quiet.
Tiet smiled faintly. Anna didn’t really have a strong sense of justice. She was just a village girl who liked to fight. But she’d built up some strange fantasy about Tiet—as if she were the real hero in all this. That made it hard for Tiet to say what she really felt around her.
”The him I saw in my past life was really kind,” Anna said suddenly.
Tiet listened.
From Anna’s perspective, in that previous life—Klock must’ve been a good man.
So why did she see him as a villain now?
”He was really kind. So kind. Cheerful, tall, handsome… beautiful house, stylish, polite, affectionate. He remembered my birthday, knew everything I liked, and always took care of me.”
Her voice grew bitter.
”But in the end, he left. Even though I cried and begged him to stay, he walked away. That part—that pain—is something that’s never changed.”
”…Ah. Yeah,” Tiet muttered.
Here we go again, she thought. Anna was the type to romanticize the past. Make everything seem perfect, flawless. But that blurred the truth beyond recognition. Better not to take it at face value.
”Sorry. Let me ask a different question,” she said, suddenly serious.
Tiet closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, then turned toward Anna. Their eyes met—just two friends, face to face.
Her gaze was unwavering.
Anna’s widened slightly, caught off guard by the intensity.
”──Klock still hasn’t forgotten about his ex-girlfriend, Cianie,” Tiet said quietly. “Isn’t that… Anna?”
The wind rose around them, cutting through the stillness.
The sharp sea breeze clung to the two girls, its salt-laced chill soaking into their cloaks.
As the sun dipped low, casting long shadows across the rocks, the silence that formed between them felt dense—like the calm before a battle.
”…Cianie?” Anna’s voice trembled slightly, uncertain.
Tiet blinked. “Ah, yes.”
Then Anna’s eyes sharpened, as if slicing through the air.
”No… That’s not right. My old name was Sylvia.”
Her hair—strands of gold and ash mingling together—fluttered like a banner. Their gazes met.
Anna narrowed her eyes, expression distant, as if reaching toward a memory that floated just out of reach.
”Cianie was the name of a cat I used to have. Back when I was Sylvia, it was a beloved pet.”
”Ah… right, you mentioned that once…” Tiet murmured. “But I wasn’t talking about the cat. I meant—Klock’s ex-girlfriend—”
”I don’t know anyone by that name.”
Anna cut in sharply, tone suddenly rigid.
The gentle mood between them cracked like ice beneath a footstep. She turned away, lips pressed tight.
The name “Klock’s ex-girlfriend” must’ve hit something raw.
Her finely sculpted features turned cold.
Her eyes narrowed, slicing like knives.
”…You went by Cianie before, didn’t you?” Tiet asked hesitantly.
”Yes. But it was a name I borrowed from a pet,” Anna replied—sharp, curt.
She was clearly agitated.
Tiet didn’t back down. Her brows furrowed, frustration written on her face.
”I didn’t do anything wrong…” she muttered under her breath.
Anna noticed the tension. She exhaled, quiet but long, then reached into her coat.
From a pocket, she pulled out a small bag—one of Hermine’s handmade magic pouches, compact yet capable of holding far more than its size suggested.
From within, she drew several charred fragments.
Blackened, cracked—burnt remnants.
Among them: a fragment of leather. Faint, but legible, was a single word burned into it.
”Cianie.”
Tiet’s eyes widened.
She understood immediately—it was a collar.
That meant the other burnt pieces were probably personal effects too. Relics from a long-lost home, destroyed in another life.
”I cherished that cat deeply,” Anna murmured. “I may have mentioned the name, but never in this life. Not like that.”
Her voice was calm, but firm.
She wasn’t Cianie.
Not the one Tiet meant. Not the woman who’d once been Klock’s lover.
That was her claim, and she stated it with the certainty of someone who had turned over every thought a thousand times.
Tiet scratched her cheek. “But still… It’s not exactly a common name.”
She frowned. The pieces didn’t fit together.
If Anna had denied it so completely, there was no room for argument.
But even so, it was hard to shake the sense of unease. A stubborn, lingering doubt.
”Actually… I was calling myself Cianie,” Anna admitted at last.
Tiet blinked. “What?”
”It’s strange, right?” Anna went on. “If I truly was Klock’s lover, how could I forget the name I used with him?”
She gave a dry laugh—without joy.
”The relationship was five years long. That’s not something you forget. If I were truly Cianie, then Klock would have only known me by that name. And yet I forgot it? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Tiet’s thoughts tangled.
That did seem too convenient.
…Wait. No, hold on—
”Tiet,” Anna said quietly, interrupting her spiraling train of thought. “There’s something else I need to clarify.”
”Huh?” Tiet looked up, startled.
Anna’s voice was soft, but heavy with something unresolved.
She hesitated, searching for words.
”I was reincarnated. I died. But now I’m alive again. I met Klock once more… And because of that, I don’t think our relationship ever officially ended. I didn’t lose him to death. So I’m not his ex.”
”…Huh?”
Tiet stared blankly at her, totally lost.
Anna’s face flushed ever so slightly, a tinge of pink touching her cheeks.
She looked… awkward.
Like a rural girl shyly confessing she had a crush.
”You know… I’ve been thinking a lot, lately,” Anna continued, her voice low. “And it’s all thanks to you, Tiet. You made me realize I’ve been going in circles—asking myself if I should really kill Klock, or if I’ve been wrong this whole time.”
Her eyes drifted toward the sea.
”I never said goodbye. I never even told him we were breaking up. Isn’t it strange? You need two people to start a relationship… it should be the same to end it. And yet, I decided we were over without ever saying a word.”
Tiet’s brain stalled.
This was a hero of humanity.
A woman carrying nations on her shoulders.
And here she was, unraveling her emotional mess in a deeply personal monologue.
”No, but… you were the one left behind…” Tiet tried to argue.
”I’m such an idiot,” Anna said with a bitter smile. “Seventeen years. What was I doing all that time? I died, and somewhere in that darkness, I assumed it was over. But now that I’m alive again… shouldn’t we talk first? Shouldn’t we decide what comes next—together?”
That smile stayed on her lips, but it wasn’t sorrowful.
There was something… hopeful about it.
”I should’ve been angry. I should’ve scolded him for abandoning me. Only then should I decide whether to kill him.”
Tiet’s head spun.
That conclusion felt wrong. Backwards, even.
Anna still clearly loved him—but she was also furious.
Maybe this confusion was the result of those two emotions crashing into each other for years.
”Wait. Why would you kill him after confronting him?” Tiet asked, bewildered.
Anna looked directly at her.
”He left me. So I must choose. If we continue our relationship, we continue it. If we break up… then I kill him.”
”WHAT?!”
Anna remained calm.
”I was the only daughter of House Croce. He took my purity. The bloodline ends with me. If I choose to break up with him… then he becomes the man who destroyed my house. In that case, he’s my enemy. Naturally, I must kill him.”
The sea wind howled, cutting through them.
Tiet no longer remembered the looming sea dragon.
Her thoughts were consumed by Anna’s twisted logic.
She desperately wished for Hermine to be here. She was better with these kinds of conversations. Tiet was out of her depth.
Then—Anna looked at her again, eyes narrowing.
”Tiet, you said Cianie was Klock’s lover. You heard that from him, right? When? …Because if that woman was cheating, I have to know.”
Before she realized what was happening, Tiet’s sleeve was in Anna’s grip.
Too late.
There was no escape.
Oh no.
All the women who’d been with Klock during the last fifteen years… Anna was treating them as cheaters now.
Landmine. Huge one.
Tiet hadn’t seen it until she stepped on it.
”W-wait, Anna! I’m calling Hermine! Let’s—let’s calm down and sort this out first, okay?”
”I’m fine. I can handle a dragon,” Anna said flatly. “More importantly… tell me.”
And so Tiet, held firmly in Anna’s grip, stammered through an explanation.
She tried to talk her down gently—like handling fragile glass.
But Anna’s resolve didn’t waver.
All Tiet could do was regret that she’d started this conversation while Hermine was away.
* * *
Elsewhere—at that same moment.
The sun had set completely.
In a narrow alley bathed in the quiet of twilight, a lone woman crouched in the shadows between buildings.
Hermine, noble magician of unmatched power, was peeking around a corner like a spy.
Her breath caught.
No way.
Seriously?
Her eyes locked onto a scene just ahead.
There were two people.
A girl crouched in front of a man—her hands moving with practiced familiarity.
Hermine watched in frozen horror.
…W-wait. Are you—?!
She swallowed.
No, it couldn’t be.
That can’t possibly fit in your mouth—
She let out a silent scream in her mind.
The genius of the hero party was witnessing something that defied all known magical logic.
And in that moment, Hermine could only think:
“That’s not how human anatomy works…!”
The princess of the magic superpower was peering in with bated breath at the activities of a person she was seeing for the first time.
Notes:
• Tiet – A companion and friend of Anna. A holy knight from the royal capital. She wears light armor and carries a shield adorned with a dragon holding a sword, indicating her affiliation with the National Military Police. She is concerned about Anna’s well-being and tries to support her emotionally.
• Anna – The legendary Hero, chosen to defeat the Demon Lord. Her past life is Sylvia Croce. She is described as a heavenly being with overwhelming skill and a merciless attitude.
• Hermine – Daughter of the Emperor of the Second Empire of Dusselhelm. A companion and friend of Anna. The mage. She is pragmatic and encourages Anna to focus on her duties as a hero rather than her personal revenge.
• Elna – Female. A young apprentice mage. Her appearance is that of a child with white hair reaching her shoulders. She wears a black hooded mantle with strange patterns. Her relationship is as an apprentice to Hermine, the Great Mage. Her power involves advanced magic, including spatial teleportation. Her combat style is magical, and she is described as childish and easily provoked.
• Oriana – A Princess. A companion who assists in explaining the situation to the kingdom. She is supportive and helps Anna navigate her responsibilities. Her appearance is slender, with dark hair and sharp features.
• Adelina – The slave girl.
• Sylvia – The hero who accuses Klock of abandoning her in her past life. She was reborn as Anna after dying in a fire and holds a grudge against Klock.
• Cianie – A noble girl with a fluffy white and light blue dress, indicating her high status. She has a hesitant and flustered personality but is kind and courteous. Her relationship with Klock begins as an accidental encounter and develops into a romantic interest. She has a fiancé but expresses feelings for Klock, complicating their relationship.
• Ada – Female. Ada the Wild Wind. An A-rank adventurer. Her appearance is striking, with black hair mixed with fiery red, multiple earrings, and an axe spear as tall as she is. She is incredibly strong and fast, with a Unique Skill called the ‘Blessing of the Wind’ that enhances her speed and agility. Ada is ruthless in combat but shows a surprising willingness to negotiate. She is highly respected in adventurer circles and feared by criminals. Her relationship with Klock is adversarial, as he stole from her and escaped using trickery.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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