A strange silence followed Serr’s words.

Tap- tap- tap-

Above it, the rhythmic sound of Hermilla tapping the table.

She does this often… tapping on the table like that.

Is it a habit…?

Tap- tap-

After seven more taps echoed, Serr, wearing an enigmatic smile, spoke.

“Now, I’m not saying I’m absolutely correct. But it’s something to consider, Noah.”

“Mm… Okay.”

At the same time, Rubia’s arms tightened around me.

“Furthermore, that might not be all there is to it.”

“Huh…?”

“Even Juur has two innate abilities: Clairvoyance and Telepathy.”

“Ah, right. That’s true. Juur, Alex, Mia… and me too.”

Hermilla has two?

Serr and Rubia, equally surprised, snapped their heads toward Hermilla.

“Haha… Some of you already knew, but I figured it was time to reveal it.”

Under our intense gazes, Hermilla chuckled wryly.

“It’s… Longevity. That’s my second innate ability.”

Longevity…?

Living for a very, very long time…?

“Longevity… Does that mean…”

“Hermilla. Are you an old woman?”

“Gasp! S-Serr…!”

“Serr! You can’t just blurt that out! What if she’s actually ancient? You’ll hurt her feelings.”

Creak. Hermilla’s jaw tightened.

“Oh, is that so? Hm, then Hermilla, are you our ancestor?”

“No, no, that doesn’t sound right either. ‘Ancestor’ is a bit… Hmm… How about ‘elder’? A life-elder.”

Grind.

With each comment from Serr and Rubia, a dangerous grinding sound emanated from Hermilla’s clenched jaw. But instead of stopping, they seemed to enjoy teasing her even more.

Just as the veins on Hermilla’s jaw began to bulge, Rubia interjected.

“Well, honestly, it doesn’t matter how old Hermilla is. Age is just a number between friends, isn’t that right, Rubia?”

“Absolutely. I don’t care at all. She looks like she’s in her twenties anyway.”

Just like that, the lid was slammed shut on Hermilla’s brewing anger.

“…Yes, that’s right. I’m… eternally twenty-something.”

“If you’re so sensitive about it, you must be really old. Hehe.”

Snap. Hermilla finally snapped, shattering her coffee cup as she jumped to her feet.

“Serr, won’t it hurt if she actually hits you?”

“I imagine it would, so I’ll dodge. Even if close combat isn’t my specialty, I’m not so slow that a life-elder can land a punch on me.”

“…Life… elder. Haah… Fine. Serr is right; some people do have two innate abilities. However, the second ability always awakens later than the first. It amplifies something they already possessed.”

Admitting defeat, Hermilla plopped back into her chair.

“Hmm… Considering the circumstances, Noah’s ability might be similar. Rather than gaining a new power, it’s amplifying something she already had.”

Tap- tap- tap- Hermilla resumed tapping the table.

“Of course, as Serr said, it could be two separate abilities. Nothing is certain yet, so it’s best to keep an open mind.”

Tap- tap-

[That’s not it.]

Kartia’s voice suddenly burst from the bracelet, stopping Hermilla’s tapping.

“Kartia, do you know something?” Serr asked, making Hermilla twitch.

[Rather than knowing, I can sense it because I’m connected to this idiot. But no, that’s not quite right. It’s… how should I explain this… hmm…]

Kartia furrowed her brows, shook her head, then sighed dramatically.

[Ugh, forget it. The more I think about it, the worse I feel. I don’t want to deal with this. I quit.]

At that exact moment—

“Oh my.”

Pop! Carpeng’s ears and tail suddenly sprouted from me. Not only that, tiny ice crystals floated around, cooling the last of my strawberry milk, and a few feathers drifted in the air.

Why now?

Feeling the weight of the tail against her, Rubia giggled and began petting it vigorously.

Watching this sudden phenomenon, Serr took a sip of her coffee before speaking.

“Now that I think about it, Noah. There’s something I’ve been curious about.”

“Mm? What is it…?”

“The Beasts of the End that reside within you… To them, you are…”

But Serr couldn’t finish her sentence. Dong, Dong, Dong, The dinner bells rang.

“FOOOOOOOD!!! IT’S TIIIIIIIIIIME!!!”

Heinzel’s thunderous roar echoed across the area.

“…Tsk. I’ll ask later. As I told Lady Rubia, come to my outpost after midnight. There’s something important to discuss.”

Serr nodded curtly and walked off, away from the cafeteria.

…She’s not eating?

“I should get going too. I need to help with the meal distribution. See you all at midnight.”

Hermilla also stood, heading towards the sound of the bells. Then, she stopped, turned back, and shouted with a playful smile,

“Today’s special! Steak! Real beef, not monster meat!”

“Gasp… B-beef…!”

“Hehe, make sure you come!”

With a wave, Hermilla hurried off.

“Noah, do you want steak?”

“Yes! Rubia, you’re having some too, right?”

Rubia shook her head, smiling, and helped me up. Then, she leaned in close and whispered,

“Shall we go eat something… else?”

“Huh… W-what…?”

“Something much tastier than steak.”

“Is… is there such a thing…? Even now…?”

“Of course.”

Rubia grinned confidently and took my hand.

“How about it? There’s dessert too. Shall we go?”

“Yes! Yes!”

A bright, unsettling smile spread across Rubia’s face. At that moment, the floating feathers and ice-infused strawberry milk vanished, swatted away by Carpeng’s tail.

[…Quite the stamina.]

With Kartia’s dry comment, the tail disappeared as well.

***

“Has Lady Hermilla not arrived yet?”

“Who knows? We split up earlier.”

“She mentioned steak… Didn’t she eat dinner?”

Serr tilted her head, then clicked her tongue at the sight of me snuggled against Rubia.

“At least eat while you’re at it. Or rather, make sure Noah eats. Can’t you see how pitiful she looks?”

“Oh my, don’t misunderstand. She ate plenty. And Noah enjoyed it quite… Hmm, anyway, it wasn’t forced. Hohoho.”

“Hiik… E-enjoyed…?! Rubia! Don’t say things like that…!”

“Hm… If it was consensual, I have nothing to say… but we are in a war. Please exercise some restraint.”

“Wartime… That’s true. I’ll… restrain myself, then?”

Her tone was agreeable, but laced with reluctance.

Rubia has gotten so much more shameless…

“Haa… Do as you please. Since Hermilla isn’t here yet, let’s put the main discussion aside and address something I’ve been curious about.”

Serr handed us a large mug and a small coffee cup.

“The Beasts of the End. Noah, what is your current relationship with the ones connected to you?”

I absentmindedly dropped Tylant’s ice cube into the mug and tilted my head.

“My relationship…?”

“Yes. Are you… on good terms with them?”

On good terms?

“To be clear, I’m not asking because I have a problem with it. I’m purely curious, so answer honestly.”

Poof! My tail popped out, waving in the air, seemingly chasing the floating feathers.

“…Perhaps it’s just me, but I find it a little strange. Even putting aside Tylant and Valoran… Carpeng, wasn’t he the Beast that killed Luchi?”

Everything froze.

The ice in my mug.

The drifting feathers.

My waving tail.

“In the past, Rubia was wary of that murderous aura. I was, too. But you, Noah, you never showed any such reaction. So tell me, what exactly do you feel toward those Beasts?”

“…Ah.”

Serr was… right.

Before, the mere sight of them would have made me want to kill them immediately.

But now… instead of that…

Creeeak…

Lost in thought, I was pulled back by the sound of the door opening. Hermilla entered.

“Hmm… Did I interrupt something?”

“…No. Have a seat. Noah, we’ll continue this later.”

“…Okay.”

I nodded weakly, burying my face in Rubia’s embrace. Her arms tightened around me.

“Now that we’re all here, let’s get to the main topic.”

Serr straightened up and pulled a small letter from her subspace.

“Rubia has already read this. Hermilla, take a look.”

Hermilla nodded and took the letter.

“…It’s from Lady Sirin?”

Rustle. Hermilla unfolded the letter, her expression twisting.

“The End of the World. Lady Sirin has sensed the first Beast of the End awakening there. Laila.”

Serr continued,

“Laila’s full awakening is expected right after Brunhilde’s demise.”

“Which means…”

“Yes. We’ll need to split our forces.”