Facing the Truth
I... created all of this?
Don't listen to her, Mina! She's just trying to provoke you!
You do have a talent for fresh jokes, mortal forever hounded by women.
Do you really think I would need to deceive you at this point?
Th-that's because your attacks aren't working, so you're stalling for time!
Hmph. You are one who simply refuses to listen.
I even went out of my way to show kindness for once.
...I see. So it started when things went out of sync.
Commander...?
W-wait!
Do you also believe Mina's the culprit, Hilde? Isn't she your precious comrade in arms?
Sorry to cut you short, but there is no culprit here.
The rookie wouldn't even be capable of realizing what she did in the first place.
Did something click for you?
At the time...
I was facing Asmodeus.
It was certainly too soon for a confrontation.
And at that moment... the rookie appeared through a quantum tunnel.
...Right.
I was chasing the Replacer King... but I ended up somewhere completely different.
When I confronted Asmodeus, it was right after the Replacer Queen had withdrawn.
At that point, you should've still been with my apprentice aboard the dimension ship [New Ohio].
What...?
Quantum tunnels are unstable, rookie.
That instability allows even probabilistically impossible outcomes to manifest in reality.
Then... are you saying I went back to the past?
No. If anything...
It would be more accurate to say you reached the future.
A new world branched off through the quantum tunnel, one aligned with the future you desired.
Then what does that mean, Commander?
Are you saying... all of this happened because of me?
No... That's impossible...
She's the one who set the Counterside on fire in the first place!
Oh? And yet you were perfectly fine just a moment ago, were you not?
Surely you're not about to claim your skills kept you alive, are you?
That's...!
This is a world of possibilities born from the instability of the quantum tunnel.
And it was your will that put those possibilities into motion.
My flames were nothing more than stage dressing. One way or another, this outcome was inevitable.
That's absurd!
Commander! Say something!
...
Commander...?
Hmm. Looks like Hilde has already noticed.
So tell me, young Wolf.
Why did you come back here instead of chasing that King or whatever you called it?
Don't be ridiculous. There was no reason for that...
The only reason I'd do that is...
...Narae was my only friend.
And when she was about to die in front of me... again...
I could do nothing but watch...
Mina...
Right up until I entered the quantum tunnel, I kept thinking.
That maybe... if only I could turn everything back.
That maybe I could stop Narae and say the things I never got to say.
Is that so wrong?
Wanting to turn things back, if it were possible?
Why...?!
Why did she sacrifice herself as if she had nothing to live for?
Damn it...!
Mina's... crying...
Hmhmm. Looks like it's finally sinking in.
Now then, what will you do next, outsiders?
What do you mean by that?
You've finally found the one you were so desperately searching for.
Her lingering attachment to her friend interfered with the quantum tunnel, splitting the timeline.
But time simply does not turn back.
No matter how much you cling to the past, all that remains is a wasteland like this.
...
Wouldn't it make more sense to point your blade at the young Wolf, not me?
Well, you may take your time to think, if you'd like.
Watching you falter and lose everything because you cannot choose would be entertaining too.
Ahahahaha!
Y-you're wrong! Mister and Asherah would never do that!
Rosaria, you're not fully assembled yet, and your heart's broken too!
Not fully... assembled?
...Are you referring to my height?
Yeah, that's right!
Y-you're small, unfinished, and your heart is completely wrecked!
Y-you miserable rusty tin can, not even worth scrap—how dare you...?!!
...Then is there a way to fix this?
Oh ho...?
...Asherah?
Rosaria, you knew from the beginning that Mina was the cause of this world, didn't you?
Then you must also know how to fix it.
Maybe, maybe not.
At the moment, I do not feel inclined to extend such kindness to you trivial mortals.
W-what?!
You're responsible for bringing things to this point too!
...It's okay, Asherah.
Like you said. Finish me.
N-no! Don't say something like that!
But...
There's still a way.
Don't make things up. There's no way to fix this at this point.
...Don't be so quick to decide, rookie.
For now, let's trust the Captain.
Commander, even you...?
Thanks, Hilde.
No need to thank me. I simply thought that trying it wouldn't hurt.
So, what is this method?
Could you at least tell your acting servant about it?
Oh? You dare make demands of me while calling yourself my servant?
A-a shoulder ride...?
Omega wanted to ride on Mister's shoulders too...
Ahahahaha!
I granted you the honor of carrying me on your shoulders, and you still have the nerve to claim you did me a favor?
Very well. I will permit it this once, as a special exception in recognition of your audacity.
...I'm surprised you would indulge such wordplay.
What whim has taken you this time, Asmodeus?
Since I have achieved my goal, there is no reason to linger somewhere without a television or potato chips.
And more importantly...
...I've already taken care of the necessary measures.