Editing Tytania:Volume 5 Chapter 8 (section)

=== III ===
“This was the end of a man who desired to become a hero in an age where no hero was needed.”

Kneeling on one knee upon the floor, Doctor Lee closed the eyelids of the deceased with awkward movements. He closed the eyelids of Duke Idris Tytania.

“What will you tell his younger brother, who idolised his elder brother? He might descend into madness.”

“As long as he does not ask, there is no need for us to tell him.”

As Miranda and Doctor Lee were exchanging those words, shadows burst into the room. There were two of them. Everyone reflexively aimed their weapons, only to lower them immediately. Because one of them was Duke Jouslain. They didn’t know who the young, beautiful woman supporting him was. Francia was not a public figure and had never appeared before others.

“Duke Jouslain, what happened to your face?”

“Doctor, is that you? The Clanner got me good.”

“I see. I shall hear the details later, but what became of the Clanner?”

“I killed him. With my own hands.”

Doctor Lee let out a whistle. It was the sort of whistle that made one wonder which was the most clumsy between him and Hyulick.

“So you’ve done it, then. Well, let us tend to your wounds.”

“No, there is no time for that. This palace is about to explode. If we do not leave immediately, we shall end up dying alongside Ajman.”

“I see, so that was the origin of that space urban legend. Understood. Hey, everyone, withdraw immediately!”

Doctor Lee shouted towards the back, urging Jouslain and the others.

“Go on ahead. We will follow shortly. There are still some who have not returned.”

After watching the two depart, Doctor Lee turned his gaze elsewhere.

“Hey, Mahdi, be satisfied with whatever treasure you managed to cram into your rucksack. Give up on that sack you’re dragging across the floor.”

“What!? There are at least fifty platinum<ref name="ftn28">“White gold” (白金) is pronounced “platinum”.</ref> ingots in this bag. Tsk, if only Walenkov was still alive…”

“Then you would be dying alongside the platinum.”

As Miranda responded coldly, two more figures came running in. It was Hyulick and Seraphine.

“Did you two manage to make a profit as well?”

“Well, something like that.”

“Then let us leave this place at once. Hurry.”

And so, Hyulick and the others ended up passing by Jouslain and his group.

Jouslain continued to run, unable to see.

“What happened, Francia?”

Francia’s grip tightened.

“In the room just now, Duke Idris was collapsed on the floor. His right arm had been torn off… he was dead.”

“I see… So Ajman killed him.”

Jouslain turned his head, but it was of course impossible for him to see Idris in his current state. Idris likely would not have wanted Jouslain to behold the sight of his own death. ''It must be divine dispensation'', thought Jouslain.

“Idris… Perhaps you were the one who truly loved Tytania the most, exactly the way she was.”

Jouslain did not know if those were his true feelings, mere sentiment, or a hypocrisy used to deceive his own conscience.

It did not matter if he did not know.

“Let us go, Francia.”

“Yes.”

Jouslain and Francia set off running, arms entwined. Even so, it was at most a brisk pace, yet someone watched their forms with glittering eyes.

It was Countess Theodora.

She stood upon the gallery overlooking the great hall, her left hand resting on the handrail and her right gripping a percussion cap pistol. She should have fled immediately, but she could not bear to let Jouslain and Francia escape her sight, so she aimed the muzzle at them in silence. She intended for them to die without ever understanding what had happened.

With a thunderous roar, the pistol discharged. Her target was Jouslain’s head. She had, of course, taken careful aim, but the distance was too great. While Theodora was a marksman approaching the level of an expert, she had not yet reached the realm of the divine. It appeared as though a lock of Jouslain’s hair had flown away, but in truth, it was nothing more than a hole that had been punched into the wall.

Francia spun around and fired her heat gun without a moment’s hesitation. It missed once again, yet Theodora was forced to duck low to avoid the blast.

Suddenly, the world turned monochrome<ref name="ftn29">“Black and white” (白黒) is pronounced “monochro”.</ref>, and a thunderous roar battered her eardrums. The bomb, planted by the late Clanner, had detonated in the ceiling.

The chandelier, now a mass of crimson flames, fell from above with the howling sound of rushing wind.

That was the final sight Countess Theodora beheld in this dimension. She never lived to see the scene beneath the falling debris, which descended like a torrential rain, as Jouslain shielded Francia beneath his body.



“Good grief, it seems everyone has well and truly exhausted their good luck.”

Miranda gave a wry smile, her forehead and hands bleeding and several places in her field uniform torn. Aside from Walenkov, every one of the pirates who had infiltrated the Tytania Clanner Palace had managed to survive.

Amidst the chaos of flames, smoke, and alarms, with the living and the dead intermingled, they had actually made use of the panic to successfully escape the palace. Had they remained fixated on the platinum ingots, Mahdi alone might have been left behind.

Upon breaking into a deserted, ransacked restaurant, they searched for safe food and drink, eventually discovering light beer, sports drinks, ham, cheese, and biscuits. Whilst offering thanks to the patron saint of pirates, they hydrated their throats and filled their stomachs in silence for a while. Once they had caught their breath, a Tytania patrol car passed by on the street outside the shop. It was moving away while asserting safety and order to the citizens.

“I wonder who is issuing these orders?”

“Perhaps Count Elman. He probably wouldn’t handle command in a war, but he would manage the routine work without much issue.”

Seraphine turned on the television in the shop. An emergency special programme had just begun. A middle-aged female presenter appeared, seated alongside an elderly gentleman with a bright, intelligent look in his eyes.

''“… Well, what will become of space and human society moving forward? I would like to ask political commentator Mr&nbsp;J.&nbsp;Caposhbar.”''

''“Please, call me a general social scientist<ref name="ftn30">''“Social scientist” (総合社会科学者) is pronounced “social scientist”.''</ref>. And I do hold a PhD.”''

''“I apologise. Then, Dr&nbsp;Caposhbar, what will become of space, and what should we do?”''

''“Since the single greatest superpower has vanished, it is only natural that anxiety and confusion should arise. However, this situation will not last forever.”''

''“It would be a problem if this continued for long. I cannot even begin to imagine the extent of the impact it will have.”''

''“As citizens, we have no choice but to remain calm, not panic, and carry on with our daily lives. We hope that Tytania will appoint a successor as soon as possible and work to resolve this confusion.”''

''“It appears that several directives have been issued in the name of Count Elman, but are these merely provisional?”''

''“That is likely the case, but there is still very little information available. I cannot say anything for certain.”''