Chapter 242.1. Sena’s Joy

-???’s POV-
The Imperial Palace towered over the center of the capital city. Rather than living in the floating sky castle due to its inconvenience, the direct royal family members resided in rooms permitted only to those on the castle’s top. In one such room, alone, Genshin Seina was laughing.
It wasn’t her usual composed and refined laughter. 
She was laughing heartily, clutching her stomach in amusement. 
If it were her strict governesses or tutors concerned with manners, they would have frowned and warned her against such unbecoming laughter.
But now, in her bedroom with the canopy bed, there was no one to scold her.
“Haha, I did it!”
After a fit of laughter, she rolled onto the bed and lay down, gradually regaining her composure. 
Her silvery hair spread across the bed, and her beautifully red eyes, like rubies, narrowed with delight.
Running her fingers along the smooth sheets, she transformed her cherry-colored lips into a smile. 
Pressing her head against the pillow, she kicked her feet playfully.
“I finally managed to sense the anomaly. It took so long…”
Sena turned on her back, gazing at the canopy above as she murmured joyfully.
Using her wristband-shaped device, she tapped on it and reread the reason for her good mood.
[Crisis for the Agate Family! Is Dog Puppy Company Facing Acquisition Threats?]
“Hehe. That’s the first time such a development has been reset. Who would have thought Menou Marquisate could face a crisis of being crushed?”
It wasn’t that Elizabeth had done something wrong, nor was she detested. But Menou Marquisate had been an obstruction.
Menou Marquisate was a crucial support for Duke Kanna. Yet, Elizabeth, Sena’s fiancée, was aiding Shin. No matter the outcome, Menou Marquisate was a troublesome faction that supported the rise of the Kamiya family with a double standard.
With abundant funds and powerful magic armor, Shin had shone in the spotlight. Trying to resist was futile against such a corporate giant.
“No, I never even considered resisting.”
Recalling her past experiences, Sena muttered with a wry smile.
Yes, she had never thought of resisting. She had assisted Shin in becoming the emperor and even loved him.
After losing her family, he had been her sole ally, and she had felt grateful and trusted him completely.
Until the realization hit that it had all been a lie.
A chilly gaze settled in Shin’s eyes, and her brow furrowed.
It had all been a farce. A grand play orchestrated by Kanna Dukedom. A meticulously plotted scheme.
Sena had learned of this on the eve of Shin’s coronation ceremony.
Why had she gone to the treasury, even now she couldn’t remember the reason.
All she recalled was speaking to the severed head of Ashtaroth that was sealed away in the treasury.
Ashtaroth, the Demon God they had managed to defeat by joining forces.
It had bluish-black skin, two horns protruding, the very image of an evil demon.
The severed head of the Demon God possessed all knowledge and was willing to share everything it knew.
Sena remembered asking, excitedly, about the future that lay ahead, filled with happiness and peace.
“O Ashtaroth, do we have a peaceful and happy life waiting for us now?”
It was just a confirmation. Since my older brother’s passing, I regretted my ambitions and aimed to become a virtuous saint, with a head full of dreams.
The head of Ashtaroth, seated deep within the treasury, slowly opened its eyes and spoke, reflecting my hopeful face in its pupils.
[Such a future does not exist.]
Baffled by the single returned word, I asked with a puzzled expression,
“D-Does this means there’s some calamity? But I have Shin-san, and dependable comrades too! We will overcome any difficulty that comes our way!”
I thought that way at that moment. With the strength of all my companions combined, we could conquer any hardship.
I believed that deeply, from the bottom of my heart.
Clutching my fist and looking at me earnestly, Ashtaroth smirked.
[Recall it well. How many times we had repeated this conversation? What you learned in your first interaction.]
“W-What… Ugh!”
After I heard Ashtaroth’s words, I heard gears-like sounds clicking into place.
And then, a torrential flood of memories rushed over me.
“S-Such a thing! It’s all… No, it was all a lie?”
Ashtaroth would reveal everything. Knowledge even I wouldn’t want to know, knowledge that would be better left unknown.
I remember the first time I talked to Ashtaroth. Feeling a hint of deception in Shin’s actions, I secretly went to ask Ashtaroth during the enthronement ceremony.
That’s when I found out. Collaborating with Duke Kanna, Shin sacrificed many and killed my family to become the Emperor.
I had been frolicking around, ignorant of such matters. I trusted and leaned on Shin, believing in him from the depths of my heart.
My body trembled violently, and I crouched on the floor. The trembling showed no sign of stopping, and I stared at Ashtaroth’s head with a face of despair.
[Your memories have returned, haven’t they? Then, will you utter the same thing next?]
Ashtaroth called out, almost mocking.
Right. I had wished for it. I had wished for this.
“Ashtaroth… Can this… No… Can it be redone?”
[You should know. By using all of my remaining power, you can rewrite this world. You can create a divine realm instantly, and construct a world equivalent to the beginning.]
The words he repeated, and I understood them to be true, but I still hesitated and swallowed hard.
Ashtaroth, possessing all knowledge, could create a divine realm. It could overwrite the world.
Regardless of those living now or those who have passed away, it could rewrite memories anew.