A Distant Land of Ideals

At the edge of the camp, the wasteland wind swept sand and grit through the air.

Vera and W strolled one behind the other. Unlike usual, Vera was following behind W this time.

"What?" Vera's calm voice broke the silence.

"Does it make you uncomfortable to have someone following behind you?"

"..."

W's steps paused almost imperceptibly before she continued forward as though she had heard nothing.

Vera raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised.

Given W's personality, she had expected an immediate barrage of sharp-tongued retorts.

But since W did not respond, Vera was happy to enjoy the quiet.

Part of her attention drifted over the group chat logs. After Gregor had retracted that "Be careful," there had been no further word from him.

Vera remained silent.

Even those careless mercenaries could tell something was wrong with her mood. How could she not realize it herself?

To be honest, after Gregor had taken the initiative to apologize, she was no longer angry.

They had been concerned for her safety. What was there to stay angry about?

But...

An inexplicable fire still burned in her heart—not directed at Gregor or the others, but at herself...

"Hey!"

W's voice interrupted her thoughts. Vera looked at her unhappily.

"Finished checking?"

W snorted and folded her arms as she looked at Vera.

"Checking? Why doesn't our esteemed employer take a good look at where we are first?"

"?"

Vera swiftly looked around. Without realizing it, they had already wandered far away from the camp.

Looking back, the campfire was nothing but a faint speck of light on the distant horizon.

"...What are you planning?"

Vera's expression turned completely cold.

This lunatic had brought her somewhere so remote. She definitely had no good intentions.

"Nothing."

W spread her hands, wearing a deliberately innocent expression.

"Just some things... aren't convenient to do in camp."

"What the hell are you talking abou—"

Before Vera could finish—

Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep—!!!

A jarring electronic sound that made Vera's scalp tingle rang out abruptly, especially piercing in the silent wilderness.

[Time Stop Sound Effect]

The world froze instantly. Vera swiftly summoned the little demon and scanned every corner.

Another bomb! This lunatic!

I knew nothing good would come of her calling me out here!

Finding nothing around them, Vera's doubts deepened, and she turned her attention back to W.

Sure enough, a demolition device flashing red was counting down at W's waist.

Vera's face darkened. Without hesitation, she reached out, grabbed it, and hurled it into the distance!

Time began flowing again.

"Beep—!"

The instant the sound vanished, W noticed something was wrong.

She reflexively touched her waist, only to find it empty.

"You'd better... give me a reasonable explanation!"

"An explanation?"

At Vera's words, W seemed to have heard something amusing.

She casually flicked her fingers and walked toward the darkness nearby—the direction in which Vera had thrown the "bomb."

Under Vera's uncertain gaze, W picked up the still-flashing bomb from the ground.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Who would've thought? Our seemingly unfathomable employer..."

W waved it before Vera's face, openly mocking her.

"Turns out you're... a coward?"

As Vera's expression changed sharply, W gripped the bomb with both hands and gave it a light snap—

Crack.

She broke the bomb in half with her bare hands. Facing Vera, W silently mouthed:

"Boom~"

Vera stared at W's utterly vile grin, her expression darkening.

"What. The. Hell. Do. You. Want?!"

Vera felt like she was about to lose control and grind this red-haired cockroach into the dirt a hundred times.

The last time she had felt this way had been with a certain vampire...

"Nothing~"

W dragged out the word, still wearing that infuriatingly teasing expression.

"I just wanted to confirm something~"

As she spoke, she drew out another identical-looking bomb from her waist and tossed it up and down in one hand.

"Surely such a wonderful person as our employer won't refuse a tiny request from her humble employee?"

A vein bulged on Vera's forehead as she gripped the hilt at her waist.

"Looks like my previous tolerance gave you the wrong idea..."

[Time Stop Sound Effect]

Vera appeared at W's side, her sword already resting on W's shoulder, its sharp blade pressed against her vulnerable neck.

"Do you think... I really wouldn't dare kill you?"

"Ahh, yes~ That feeling~"

Unexpectedly, W's voice carried not fear, but something like... boredom?

"Yes, exactly this... sense of wrongness."

"What?" Vera frowned.

"That sense of wrongness. There's far too much of it about you..." W sneered.

"You're like that Ines. You both pretend to be Sarkaz and mingle among us."

"But you have no idea how laughable your disguises look to real Sarkaz like us."

"Is that so?"

Vera lowered her voice, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

"Then should I praise you a little? And after I chop off your head, carve 'W died of her own cleverness' onto your gravestone?"

"HAHAHAHA—!"

W suddenly burst into exaggerated laughter, doubling over as she laughed.

Vera had to adjust the angle of her sword slightly to keep W from crashing into the blade in her fit of laughter.

"What are you laughing at?!"

"That's why I said you aren't convincing at all!"

W stopped laughing and lifted her face.

"What Sarkaz has a grave?"

Before Vera could fully consider the meaning behind those words, W's expression abruptly changed, and that mad smile faded.

"Ahh... Employer, just talking is so boring."

W firmly caught the bomb she had been tossing, then lightly pressed something with her thumb.

"Let's... play a game."

"Beep—"

With a soft sound, the display on the bomb's casing lit up, and bright red numbers began to tick down.

"This bomb... is real."

W lightly tossed the bomb upward, then let it fall.

"Let's see who has more nerve~"

"Heh... I can just leave. Even if that bomb is real, you'll be the only one who gets blown up!"

"Is wasting time really a good idea?" W tilted her head, her smile sweet and vicious.

"The bomb... is about to explode~"

[Time Stop Sound Effect]

Vera looked at the bomb, its numbers about to hit zero, and made her judgment in an instant—

It's probably fake again... She just wants to see me panic!

W was indeed as composed as ever, and there was no controller in either of her hands.

"How boring..."

Vera punched W in the stomach, then turned and headed back toward camp.

"..."

The second time stop began.

Expressionless, Vera walked back to W, punched her again, then picked up the bomb and threw it away.

Time began flowing again.

"Urgh!" W clutched her stomach with a muffled groan and staggered back several steps.

The bomb thrown into the distance hit zero at that exact moment—

"BOOM—!!!"

"What?!"

The violent explosion thundered across the wasteland, and blazing fire instantly lit up the night sky.

Vera stared at the brilliant fireball in the air, disbelief written all over her face.

She abruptly turned to W.

W slowly lowered the hand clutching her stomach. There was no surprise on her face; instead, she wore a sickly smile.

"See..."

"I told you... you're different from us."

"Is something wrong with your brain?!"

Vera stared frantically at the collapsed W, pointing at the distant blast site, her fingertips trembling slightly.

"Why would you gamble with your own life? Even if you confirmed I'm not Sarkaz, so what? What good does that do you?!"

W did not answer at once. She simply lay down and gazed up at Kazdel's night sky, forever shrouded in haze.

After a long while, she finally spoke in an unusually calm tone.

"Tell me... why did you give that guy a name?"

"A name?" Vera froze, then anger surged through her again.

"This is why you went insane? It's just a name!"

"Just?"

W repeated the word, savoring it.

"That 'just' in your mouth is something many Sarkaz... can never obtain in their entire lives."

"..."

Vera fell silent.

She suddenly thought of the mercenaries in camp. They addressed one another by codenames or crude nicknames. It seemed... she really had rarely heard a proper name that belonged to a "person."

"Tell me..."

Vera's expression suddenly became strange as an absurd thought surfaced uncontrollably.

"You made such a huge fuss, even risked your life... Don't tell me it was because... you were jealous?"

W: "..."

W's body stiffened.

The next instant, she sprang upright, her voice suddenly rising.

"Huh?! Jealous?! Me?! What stupid nonsense are you talking about?!"

"I'm not like that piece of trash who doesn't even have a name! My 'W' was inherited from a famous dead mercenary! It's a codename, and it's a trophy! Proof of strength!"

Seeing how desperately she tried to explain herself, Vera found it even more absurd. She instinctively asked:

"But isn't it still a codename?"

"..."

W froze again, her mouth hanging open, yet no sound came out at first.

She glared at Vera, complicated emotions shifting in her eyes. In the end, everything settled into an almost empty calm, with even a trace of... barely noticeable disappointment.

She slumped back down, her voice muffled.

"What a shame..."

"What?" Vera hadn't heard clearly—or rather, she hadn't understood that abrupt, contextless remark.

W raised her head and turned to look at Vera. Moonlight illuminated half her face, and her usual madness and mockery were gone, leaving only self-derision.

"I used to wonder... what kind of place could raise a Sarkaz like you."

Her gaze fell on Vera's face, as though tracing something.

Someone who could smile so... beautifully.

"But in the end..."

W turned back, once again looking into the endless darkness. Her voice returned to its usual tone, but it was far hollower.

"A place like that... doesn't exist at all."

There was no soil that could nurture someone like her:

Someone who would unconditionally give something as extravagant as a name...

Who would so readily offer others kindness and trust...

Who valued life and did not turn a blind eye to suffering...

The ideal place she had hoped for.

It simply did not exist.

"It does."

Under W's puzzled gaze, Vera stepped closer and spoke earnestly.

"A place like that exists."

"There..."

"Is my homeland."