Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 446: Hope

It's warm.

When I lifted my head, I saw the eyes of a woman looking at me.

“...Mom.”

“You’re finally awake—”

My mother was saying something to me. My head hurt too much to understand her words, but I could tell from her expression that she was deeply sad.

“If you just hold on a little longer, I’ll take you to a place where it doesn’t hurt—”

“......”

When my mom is sad, I feel sad too.

To me, my mother was the entire world. Because I was in pain, my world grieved with me. I wished I could be healthy and free of pain. I wanted a strong, healthy body.

I didn’t want my mom to be sad anymore.

That was the only thing I ever wished for.

Maybe that wish came true—because at some point, I stopped hurting. Life was poor and lacking, even a child could tell, and there wasn’t anything you’d call abundance. But I was happy.

Even so, I could tell.

There were times when a shadow passed over my mother’s face. And I somehow knew that shadow would eventually tear my mother and me apart.

“There’s something I forgot to bring.”

“......”

“I’ll just go back for a moment. I’ll be right back. Just a few nights, and I’ll be back. So don’t get sick. Listen to your teachers—”

It was all full of things I couldn’t understand as a child. All I understood was that my mother was leaving me. And I would have to wait for her to come back—not knowing when.

But—

I nodded.

Because I knew, no matter how long it took, no matter how many nights passed, my mother would come back to me just like she promised.

So every time the sun set, I’d bring a chair over to the window, climb up, and stare down that faraway alleyway.

One day, two days.

One year, two years.

Yes, that’s right.

I had always been waiting.

And then, when I grew older, I couldn’t bear to just wait anymore. I decided to go find her myself. To find the mother who had once been my entire world—I stepped out through the window I’d always looked from.

I turned the corner of that alley I’d only ever gazed at.

And then—

I lost my way.

You could say I became a lost child. So—how much time did I spend wandering, trying to find my way back?

Still, it wasn’t all meaningless.

Even though I thought I was just lost and aimless, I experienced unexpectedly joyful things. And now, I had a family of my own.

Yeah.

I built a place to return to—on my own. Everyone’s waiting for me.

So—

I don’t have time to be lying around in a place like this—!!!

Thoom—!

It happened the moment I steeled my resolve.

Thoom—!

Something massive collapsed with a crashing impact, shaking my whole body. Maybe because of that, I was finally able to escape the tight confinement that had trapped me like a prison.

“Pwah—!”

The first thing that burst out was a breath I felt like I’d been holding for ages. My chest and heart felt like they would explode from the sharp inhalation. In front of me was a massive divine statue.

The once-floating godly statue had lost its posture and fallen, rolling across the ground.

I didn’t know what had happened, but somehow it had broken whatever weird brainwashing or hypnosis it had cast over me.

I think—I’d started seeing a desert or something like that...

━━Hioooong...!

Then I heard a familiar cry. You could probably guess it just from the sound—but of course, it was a spider. Because spiders go hiooong.

“Bael!”

━━Hioooong...!

When I turned my head, the paper spider Bael raised its two front legs toward me, alternating them. Was it a gesture of joy?

“Bael, come back!”

But the smile of delight on my face soon twisted into a frown.

Because Elga, with Bael perched on her shoulder, looked to be in terrible shape.

“Elga-nim, are you all right...!?”

“...Well, I’m alive, somehow. But that one over there is in worse shape than me.”

Shff.

Elga’s hand pointed toward Ayra, who was groaning with a horrific wound. The only small relief was that Priestess Miriam had reached out with a glowing hand toward Ayra.

“Your Majesty, this may leave a scar.”

“...Nngh.”

“Still, I feel strangely energized. Right now, I feel like I could even bring someone back from the dead. Maybe it’s this bright space—”

As she spoke, Miriam looked just as energized as she claimed. The healing light flowing from her hand touched my cheeks and gently faded.

If Priestess Miriam is here, that must mean...

I turned my head and spotted the man fighting the giant.

Compared to the massive body, he looked as small as an ant. I didn’t know how he could be fighting so fiercely. But he was someone fit to be called the protagonist of this story.

No matter what he did, I wouldn’t be surprised.

What I had to do now was use the time he was buying us to gather my family and break through this crisis together.

Cough.

Maybe her senses were returning—Ayra vomited a large mouthful of blood. But her face had far more color than before.

“Ayra-nim, are you all right?”

“...Looks like the world really loves me. Escaping death’s doorstep yet again—surely they meant me when they spoke of Ayra von Taranteira, the queen who even defies death.”

“If you’re cracking jokes, I suppose you’re not doing too badly.”

“It’s not a joke.”

As I approached, Ayra clenched and opened her hand. Meanwhile, Priestess Miriam approached the visibly injured Elga and reached out a hand.

“Rapid healing might feel a little ticklish.”

“How ticklish could it—pffthahaha!”

This was the moment I keenly realized how valuable it is to have a healer in your party. If I’d known, I might’ve brought another priestess as a wife.

Just then, Ayra pinched my nose.

“Hyek—!”

“I sensed a very impudent thought just now. But given the urgency of our situation, I’ll let it slide. I am a generous queen, after all.”

Shff.

Ayra let go of my nose.

Then she unrolled the magic wand I’d gifted her and muttered an incantation. A strange magic circle appeared in the air—and something came tumbling out of it.

“We’re finally out! Narmee! We’re out!”

“Unni, I get it, but move your butt! You’re crushing my back!”

“Mirna-nim, Narmee-nim. Please get off me first before you say anything.”

It was Mirna, Narmee, and Professor Stella. I was both confused and overjoyed to see them fall from the air.

“Teo, have you forgotten who gifted you the [Squirrel Vault]? Spatial storage magic is no big deal for a queen like me.”

“Ah!”

Now the pieces fit in my head. While under attack, Ayra had hidden Professor Stella and the twin sisters Mirna and Narmee inside a space she’d conjured herself.

I’d thought they’d vanished without a trace—but now, relief and hope filled me.

Yes. Hope. It was hope that moved my body.

“This time—we all fight together!”

At my ringing cry, I saw the ladies’ faces fill with determination. A completely different mood from when we were overwhelmed by the giant earlier.

“Unni, now’s the time to use that.”

“I know.”

Mirna pulled something from her bag—a small black block of wood, about the size of a palm. When she snapped it in half, black smoke began to billow from the wood.

At the same time, Narmee and Mirna muttered an incantation in unison. The black shadow soon took on the form of a dragon—not inferior at all to the giant.

When it spread its wings and let out a roar—

Stella and Elga grabbed onto the scales at the tip of its tail. The dragon’s massive wings beat once, launching them like arrows past me.

KWAAAAH—!!!

The dragon and the giant crashed violently together. Elga, propelled into the air, raised her halberd high and brought it down with all her strength toward the giant’s body.

“Meteor Slash!”

Accelerated by speed upon speed, Elga’s razor-sharp halberd collided with the giant’s ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) body—carving off its upper left shoulder in a clean slice.

I was stunned.

I never realized Elga was that powerful.

Then Ayra said,

“Elga’s halberd fought the Flame Church for a long time. Even back when gods didn’t exist in this world—it has been cutting down enemies. There’s a reason it chose her.”

Ayra’s gaze turned to the twin sisters, Mirna and Narmee, chanting their spell.

“The same goes for the dragon. When the god of flame was still a nameless spirit, the dragons fought it fiercely. Same with the elves. This place is full of his weaknesses.”

Stella leapt from the dragon’s back, landing on a huge shoulder and arm. She twisted her body acrobatically and drove a dagger into its flesh.

“Fairy technique: Random Hitting!”

Her attack naming style was a bit... questionable.

But Stella’s physical ability far exceeded what I’d estimated. I didn’t know the noble ladies could fight this well.

I’d brought them hoping they’d help—

But I hadn’t done anything myself.

Because my magic didn’t work on the giant known as the god of magic. Ayra seemed to be in the same situation—catching her breath as she surveyed the battlefield.

Then Ayra spoke calmly.

“There’s a way to defeat it. But Teo—I'll need your help.”

“My help?”

“Inside that giant is Solomon. His body was used as the vessel for a god. He was probably prepared for it from the beginning.”

“So what do you need me to do?”

“But—maybe because he had such a strong sense of self—he hasn’t completely disappeared. You saw how he flinched at the name Beatrice, right?”

“Beatrice...”

“That thing is, in a sense, a giant Ars-Nova. The principle is the same. If we fluster it and draw out Solomon’s lingering consciousness, we might find a way through.”

As always, Ayra’s explanations were hard to follow.

Maybe because she lived in such a self-contained world—she didn’t seem to think she needed to explain further. She just believed I’d understand and carry it out.

“First, you need to kiss me.”

“A kiss?”

“No time to explain.”

Pressed by Ayra, I kissed her. Amid the urgency, the softness of her lips felt oddly out of place.

Then Ayra said,

“That was actually a lie.”

“What...?”

“But thanks to it, I feel stronger now.”

Shing.

She picked up Mirna’s longsword from the ground. Drawing it from its sheath, the light reflecting off the sharp blade flashed in Ayra’s dark eyes.

“This cool sensation... I haven’t used a sword since I took the crown. It’s been a long time.”

Clack.

She dropped the scabbard and stepped forward, gripping the blade with her slender hand as she walked across the glowing ground.

“Teo Gospel—on my signal, charge in!”

Her bright, ringing voice filled me with strength.

And I ran.

Toward tomorrow.