"Love?"
Pinching the cigarette Ruslan had tossed her between her fingers, Koyanskaya rolled it back and forth.
"I never expected to hear such a word repeated so often from your lips."
"I truly never expected Scandinavia to operate according to such rules."
"One hundred villages in total, with roughly one hundred people in each village."
"There are ten thousand people in all of Scandinavia. Ordinarily, no species could possibly continue reproducing in such a harsh environment with numbers like these."
"What utterly meaningless happiness—wouldn't you agree?"
Her expression grew somewhat bored.
"There is truly no value in bullying them at all."
"Honestly, my motivation is practically being drained away."
She repeatedly examined the cigarette in her hand, as though it held more value than the humans raised in captivity within this Lostbelt—humans who had no meaning in living at all.
After all—
According to what that person had said, this thing was the crystallization of humanity's suffering.
"Still, perhaps this is what they call an excess of love? It is completely contrary to my interests."
"Indeed. Humanity must not perish."
A faint sigh mingled with the Queen's voice.
"After all, humans are lovable children who survived those years like flames."
"I."
She spread her arms in a gesture as though she were embracing someone.
"A god."
"Will always love humanity."
"I know nothing of other worlds, but that is how my world is."
"I have already decided to love them eternally. How could I destroy them?"
"...Your Majesty, do you mean that you will protect those humans?"
"To Your Majesty, are humans worthy of protection?"
The motion of fiddling with the cigarette stopped. Koyanskaya narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at the goddess—the Queen.
"Why do you keep saying such things, you fox?"
"How could I possibly destroy them?"
The