Oo.

Ooh…?

Ooooh──!!

Suddenly, energy surged through my body. It was incomparable to what I absorbed from the magical armor puppets' cores of <Svart Industrial High School>.

‘This energy is…!!’

The first to notice my change was Hilde.

“Lara, your… hair is glowing…?”

“Yes☆ That’s right─♪ How about calling me ‘Ultra Ether Clara’?”

“What on earth is…”

Hilde, confused, was running her fingers through my light pink hair, which had started to glow a soft golden hue. Occasionally, she would bring her nose close and take a sniff.

“What on earth happened to you, Lara?!”

Sniff─

Sniff─

Behind me, I heard the sound of heavy breathing.

‘Why are they sniffing my hair? I haven’t washed it in over a day.’

…

Well…

Whatever.

I decided not to worry about it since it wasn’t important.

Hilde spoke with her face buried in my softly glowing golden hair. Her voice was muffled by the strands covering her face.

“Your hair has a different kind of ether fragrance… What is this familiar yet strange scent…?”

“Ugh… It’s dirty.”

“…[The Violet Spinning Wheel], are you insulting Lara’s hair by calling it dirty?”

“N-no, I was talking about your actions right now…”

“…”

Freya watched Hilde for a while with a disgusted look. Then she pointed at my neck and exclaimed in shock.

“You, you rascal…! Golden flowers are sprouting from your neck scar! And there’s some sort of light emanating from inside your clothes…?!”

“Oh my…☆”

What was that about?

I hastily pulled open my collar to see for myself.

Golden flowers were blooming from the scars that twisted around my neck and chest like brambles. The golden blossoms resembled the luscious grapes said to have been eaten by ancient gods… The buds emerged, scattering brilliant afterimages as they spread.

Plop─

Plop─

They grew instantly.

They bloomed instantly.

They scattered instantly.

Golden flowers grew to the point of covering my scars. The countless golden petals formed and entered my hair and body, returning as warm and gentle energy. The endless cycle and overlap eventually covered even my own wounds.

‘This should be enough to fill the ether void completely.’

Like a golden flower field dyed in the evening glow, the ether in my body was endlessly radiating light. All the golden ether was originating from the same place.

“…!”

I raised my head and looked at where the golden energy was coming from.

Following the path of the golden energy… it was all coming from the cat lazily wagging its tail in the distance.

“Ugh, where am I…? Oh, senpai…?”

And sure enough, next to the golden cat was Rota, who was groggily getting up while holding the first grimoire.

‘The owner of the golden color… Until Rota uses the first grimoire in the game, she’s the only one with this color. But for ‘her remnant,’ which only existed as an item effect in the original, to appear directly…’

I now had an idea of what the golden cat’s identity was.

“[Golden Witch]…”

“…!”

“…!”

Hilde and Freya, upon hearing my mumbling, turned their heads sharply to look at the golden cat again.

Flick

The golden cat perked up its small ears in a gesture of affirmation and spoke to me. Its voice was rhythmic, like reading a fairy tale.

『To be precise, I am her memory and her last defiance. A manifestation of the will that sought to understand the laws of the universe within the spindle woven by [Fate].』

“T-that…!”

『I am a thought construct made of the ether, a medium of [Fate], within this chaos-filled universe. I am the entity that hid to fulfill her last wish.』

“T-that…!”

『…You know, to be honest, you have no idea what I’m saying, do you?』

“T-that…☆”

Oh… I’ve been found out.

‘Even with my brilliant mind, there are things I don’t know…!’

The golden ether cat also appeared only as an awakened version of Rota’s skill effect in the game. Even if I asked about its origin and purpose… I wouldn’t know.

『Although this era’s ‘saint’ has peculiar tastes, this aspect is the same as ‘her’. It seems that similar natures are linked by [Fate].』

Me?

A saint?

And ‘her’…?

Could it be the [Sacrificial Saint] inscribed in the corner of the statue…?

‘An epithet that doesn’t appear in the game, which features only the [Fate of Three Heroes]…’

The golden cat… [Golden Witch] let out a sigh and then gazed at the enormous black snake slowly advancing toward Yggdrasil.

『…To put it simply, when the time comes for the beast god of chaos to appear, I am a replica trapped within the grimoire, only understood by a child with a [Golden] fate.』

“…?”

『The child needed to be prepared enough to face their own [Fate]…』

For some reason, I seemed to understand why she appeared now, despite her appearance being slated for the later parts of the story.

‘Rota… has gained confidence faster than in the original…’

The journey Rota has taken. The moment she stepped out of the checkpoint on her own, with me, Kara, Albit, and Freya… All these things helped her grow faster than in the original.

The [Golden Witch] spoke to me.

『It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that the only ‘saint’ and ‘witch’ who can accept my ether are in the same place at this moment.』

Then she fixed her gaze back on the ‘snake,’ muttering bitterly.

『But what shook this world with chaos… was not the [Dragon Crouching in the Abyss]… It was the power left behind by the [Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle], after all… The ‘prophet’ and the dragon’s followers…』

“…!”

The name of the prophet suddenly slipped from the [Golden Witch]’s mouth.

“The prophet is…!”

But at that moment, another shockwave from the collapsing barrier washed over us.

Rumble──!!

Within the deafening roar, I heard the green dragon Offnir’s maniacal laughter. He stood in a menacing posture atop the giant snake’s head, looking like a threatening mantis.

[Hahahahah─!! Haha, hahaha!! I have!! Succeeded─!!]

In the path of the [Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle], dark ether armaments were forming and firing at those trying to block its advance.

Whoooosh──!!

Swoosh swoosh swoosh──!!

A wave of dark armaments surged.

Thousands and tens of thousands of dark ether weapons of different shapes were endlessly appearing. Faintly contained within them was the aura of the ether skills of the noble faction students from <Public Bana Boarding School>.

“…!”

Freya saw it and spoke with trembling eyes.

“T-those are…!”

『Correct, those are remnants left by the [Fate] of the worshipers sacrificed within the serpent. The serpent erases others' [Fate] and infinitely cycles, mastering all knowledge of this world. It seems it has now absorbed the ‘Golden Armament’ I left behind… Attacks using the ‘Golden Armament’ won’t work anymore.』

“T-then… are we unable to resist the serpent at all…? Is this… is this… is our [Fate] to be destroyed by folly…”

Freya murmured despondently, closing her eyes.

“My [Fate] is… ‘Ignorance’… a fool who can’t do anything. Ultimately… no matter how much I struggle to escape [Fate], this is what it comes to…”

“…!”

For the first time, I heard Freya’s [Fate]. She believed it to be a curse that couldn’t be changed, no matter how much she struggled. That was why she had isolated herself from the story in the game.

‘…Freya.’

For the first time, I fully understood Freya’s resignation. I could see why she lived such a lonely and desolate life.

『…You are a strange child. Your [Fate] is closer to that of a sage of this era than anyone.』

“…Pardon?”

Even hearing that, the [Golden Witch] spoke to Freya in a nonchalant tone. It was as if she was answering a child’s question about something obvious.

『There is nothing closer to the truth than knowing that you don’t know. When you think you know, that’s when ruin and arrogance come.』

Freya spoke with a desperate voice. Her pitiful purple cat ears trembled mournfully.

“T-then what should we do now…?!”

『…』

The [Golden Witch] now looked at Rota, who had fully awakened.

『Start from ignorance… and create new magic.』

“Yes…!”

Even though she had just woken up, Rota somehow seemed to know what she needed to do. The letters of the first grimoire she held in her arms were softly glowing golden.

The [Golden Witch] flicked her tail as she looked back at us. Her gaze, which moved from me to Hilde, Freya, and then Rota, glittered with gold.

『Let’s use all of my remaining ether to create something.』

“…!”

『…This will likely be both a joyful meeting and a farewell.』

“A-a farewell?!”

The [Golden Witch] spoke to us one last time.

『Before we begin, each of you can ask one question. Do you have anything you wish to ask?』

After resolving each of our curiosities, we awakened the students of the Inquiry Faction and headed to the ‘Sage’s Room’. And in the center of the ‘Sage’s Room,’ with the [Golden Witch]’s help, the one creating new magic was…

…not Freya, but Rota.

*

The library of the Inquiry Faction.

The rooftop under the spire where the ‘Sage’s Room’ is located.

We returned to the place where I had fought Offnir intensely.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Hilde, who couldn’t sit still and kept glancing my way.

Me, in a softly glowing golden, fully charged (temporarily) state.

Freya, who erased her grave expression and returned to her original self.

These three decided to head toward the [Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle].

“…”

As I looked at the scars on my body, where golden flowers were blooming, I thought.

‘My physical condition is really good right now. If I assume I’m a dodge tank in this fully charged (temporary) state, then the combination of bruiser+magic dealer+tank…? It’s not a bad combination. With this lineup, there’s a chance…!’

Now that a way to approach the [Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle] had emerged, I quietly reignited my determination for the upcoming battle.

“…”

While I was having those thoughts, Hilde quietly took my hand.

She didn’t even ask anymore; she just grabbed it.

“…Lara, are you really okay?”

“Yes☆ I’m perfectly fine─♪ Maybe this is my prime☆ Is your body itching for some action? How about a light sparring match~☆”

“…I’m fine.”

“Hehe─♪”

“…?”

“…I thought you would sneak a peek while gauging the ‘distance’~☆”

“…”

“You always sneakily☆ silently do that~☆”

“…”

I chuckled and joked with the girl who had troubled my heart all day. Surely she would forgive this small bit of revenge.

‘Being surprised by unexpected physical contact… she needs to be more aware of that.’

Hilde looked into my softly glowing golden eyes and spoke.

“…Because Lara asked me to trust her.”

“…”

“Then I will trust you forever.”

“Hahaha…☆”

…

…

…

Ah, I don’t know.

If I continue thinking here, it might become a big problem.

So I quietly nodded my head.

“…Yes. Thank you for trusting me.”

“…No. Thank you for keeping your promise.”

“…”

“…”

Beside me, I heard Freya tapping her chest in frustration.

“You, you crazy girls… you, you crazy girls… Are you planning to set Yggdrasil on fire…?!”

“Why would Yggdrasil burn☆?”

“Th-that’s just… Oh dear…”

“…?”

When I tried to inquire about the ominous prophecy.

『Let’s begin. The story of gold.』

“…!”

Flash─!!

A brilliant golden light began to burst forth from the Sage’s Room.