Earth’s Doom Starts with… Me?

'Stab! Stab!'

The bloody night appeared to have quieted down for quite a while. Although in reality it only took around 1 minute at best for Firiell to swiftly took the heart out of her uncle's chest, for me, it felt like a fleeting peaceful moment that flowed slowly.

... Tonight's a bit cold, huh.

'Schlop!'

"Big sis Chae. I've taken out his heart." Firiell said with a resolute face.

"Good. Now off you go." I smiled at her. I knew that she was talented magic-wise, but finding out that she was also good in emotional intelligence and in adapting was a pleasant find.

"Go? Go where?" She questioned so innocently while holding a bleeding heart.

"I'm sure you'll know. Anyway, one more thing before you go," I pinched both of her cheeks, pulling them until her mouth was stretched, "smile. You're allowed to be happy that your king has died."

"H-huh?" Her face flushed red, and I chuckled upon the sight of a flustered her. It may not be an easy feat to get her self-esteem back up after the emotional abuse Erenduill made her went through. It may take a long time. And we didn't even know the full story yet and to what extent did that bastard really went.

But at least, this time she wouldn't need to face that alone.

"It should be about time." I grinned and let her cheeks go.

She stared at me for a while, before suddenly gasping in realization and nodded. She closed her eyes, seemingly focused on something. I counted back from 3… 2… 1…

'Thump!'

"Oop, careful there." I leaned forwards and caught her falling body into my arms, carefully supporting her head.

"Did... Did she just activate the crest's first phase?" Jeanne gulped and helped me carry her body away and gently placed her on flat ground.

"Should be it," I nodded in approval, "she should be able to handle this. This may sound a little bit cruel, but... She will never be a queen as long as she's under the shackles of her past king."

"You have a point... Now we just have to wait for her to wake up." Jeanne sighed and slumped her shoulders, while gazing at the unconscious girl's face.

"Don't worry. The first phase is basically just like watching a movie. She won't die, at least," I patted Jeanne on her back to reassure her, "but it can be pretty taxing for her mental health, probably. Since she had to relive her family's past."

"In the meantime, we should keep her body somewhere safe… That's right, where should we go now?" Jeanne gasped and looked up towards me.

"Huh? Isn't that obvious?" I tilted my head.

"Eh? Where?"

"Our new castle, of course." I smiled.

--------

"Where the heck are those two idiots?" I sighed as I helped strap Firiell's body on Jeanne's back using what was left of the unconscious elves' armor. Before we got cozy in the castle, we needed to find the rest of our friends first. Just how far did they go?

"I and Firiell got separated from general Zhang earlier since there were too many enemies. I think he went south." Jeanne answered while pointing over my shoulder.

"Can't be helped. Let's look for them," I shook my head in annoyance and started walking towards the direction she pointed at, "but it's weird. What are they doing anyway? There's no way they're down… Right?"

"It's hard to sense their mana here, since there are too many people here. It's all muddled." Jeanne frowned and followed my lead.

"Well, at least one of them should be safe. I can guarantee that general Emilio is all fine and dandy," I hopped over a pile of sliced-up tree monsters, "watch your steps."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked while she effortlessly floated past the pile.

"I, uh… You see, I… Caged him up. But for safety, I swear!" I flailed my arms in front of my chest. Uh, uh, how should I explain this?

"Haha."

"Huh?" I blinked a few times when I saw Jeanne chuckled upon hearing my reason.

… Was her mind okay?

"It's okay, Chae. You don't have to explain yourself." She laughed as she walked beside me.

"Um, uh— aren't you curious why I caged up a general?" I scratched my cheek nervously and avoided eye contact while we kept strolling around, looking for two individuals.

"I'm not curious, because I already know why," she smiled at me, "I may not know the specifics, but I know you did it with a good intent."

"Heuk—" I was taken aback by her answer, and started to feel my cheeks getting warmer. Ack, I bet my face was as red as a cooked lobster now!

"There's no need to prove yourself," she giggled, "you're adorable when flustered, Chae. It's rare to see you like this. You've always been very composed, very calm no matter what situation we put you in."

"Ah… Th-thank you," I sheepishly said as I felt butterflies in my stomach, "but, one thing, though. I'm not always composed, ahaha. Do I appear like that?" I laughed solemnly.

"Yes… Even at our first meeting, I think I was more agitated than you were, even though it must've been way more confusing for you," she smiled, but her eyes looked somewhat melancholic, "I must've come across as a bad leader, didn't I?"

I stared at her for a bit, observing her face that almost seemed too lonely for her usual cheery, disciplined self.

"Not really. The way I see it, you were much more composed than I was. However anxious you were, you sure did a great job at hiding it," I smiled, "do you understand what I mean?"

"Um, sorry, I don't think I follow…?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You." I raised my bloody finger towards her head with a little smile.

'Flick!'

"Ack."

I chuckled while she flinched after I flicked her forehead lightly. She watched me with wide eyes, seemingly bewildered by my behaviour.

"You're setting up too high of a bar for yourself, and yet you set your bar low for everyone else," I explained, "stop that, silly, you're going to go crazy at this point." I grinned.

"Huh? I… Am I… Doing that?" She asked, still staring at me with visible confusion.

"It's okay to seek self-improvement, and that's actually a good thing," I sighed, ignoring her obvious question, "but allow yourself to fail, too. Mistakes are improvements. As long as you keep going along the path you chose, be it a success or a mistake, you're still going forward."

She suddenly stopped walking, and gaped.

"Well, my point is… Making mistakes isn't always a bad thing, you know. There are things that you can only learn from mistakes. That being said, don't be too hard on yourself." I scratched my head while fumbling with my words. I was never great with words, let alone comforting people. But I hoped she understood what I was trying to say…

"Hahaha."

"Huh?" I frowned in confusion. Did she just chuckle again? "What's funny?" I inquired.

"Nothing, Chae," she kept laughing lightly, but this time with a smile that reached her eyes, "I'm just happy to hear you say that."

I blinked my eyes a few times, a bit shocked. Uh, that was a good thing, right?

"Glad to hear that, then." I smiled back in response, although still confused.

"Actually, I—"

"Ahahahaha! Come on, porcupine~ Don't be so stiff~"

Just when she was about to say something, we both turned our heads to the familiar, playful voice that entered our ears. General Zhang? And he was with porcu—no, general Emilio? Dang it, his habit of calling people using their nickname was rubbing on to me.

"Don't play around." General Emilio growled, clearly pissed by the sound of it.

"But hey~ This ice cage little cub made for you sure is pretty sturdy~ You should live here forever, porcupine! Tee-hee!"

"What the heck." I deadpanned when I saw the two generals bickering against each other.

One of them was messing around, poking the other who was sitting patiently inside my ice castle. One of them occasionally laughed and 'kyaah'-ed, while the other occasionally let out a low growl and plentiful loud sighs.

Yep, it was already absolutely clear which one was which.

"Hey, eel. The heck are you doing, bothering a sick person?" I walked up and smacked the fluffy white-haired man right in his head from behind.

"Ah, little cub, Jean-jean~ I was just accompanying porcupine, you know? So he wouldn't get sad and lonely. What's up?" He giggled while rubbing the back of his head.

"You do know that lying to and about a general for personal gain can be considered a felony, right?" General Emilio said with a flat expression, but an angry voice.

"Wait, really? So I'm a felon?" I chimed in.

"Of course. You're just a special case, so normal rules don't apply to you." General Emilio explained swiftly.

"What is this blasphemy? Is this some kind of monarchy? Let me have free speech." I frowned.

"Caging a general isn't in the rule book, but can also be considered as an assault and—"

"Gotcha, gotcha. You're out, no need to threaten me like that." I pouted and released my ice magic, freeing the stoic general.

"Good," he stood up just like that, no thanks, no formalities, nothing, "now, report, please."

"… You can be annoying too, sometimes, you know that?" I huffed and explained quickly about the fact that Erenduill was now dead, and about how I told Firiell to take out the crest because of this and that. Of course, I left out the part where I was feeling blue for a little bit.

"I see. So we've succeeded in killing him," general Emilio nodded, "then, our next step should be to claim the throne, and lead the army towards the minotaur kingdom."

"True. And for that, we need Firiell to wake up first, and make her hand the throne to us willingly. She just needs to declare it's ours, and then we'll let her be the actual queen." I happily agreed. Finally, we're one step closer to going home.

"But first, what do you plan to do with the crest?" General Emilio questioned.

"Hm?" I raised my eyebrows as all eyes went towards me.