Fighting you is like being in jail.

Having moved countless things far away, Simmel sat on the sofa to rest, a look of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of mixed emotions, often including regret or nostalgia).

"Simmel".

Suddenly Emilia's voice rang out.

"Ok?"

Simmel looked up in confusion and saw Emilia giving her a friendly smile.

"Here, have some. You've worked hard."

Emilia picked up the tea and placed it in front of Simmel, her face full of gratitude.

She put down her tea, sat down on the sofa opposite Simmel, and said earnestly, "Thanks to everyone, I don't know what to do without you all."

"Actually... I'm the one who should apologize, sigh..."

Simmel felt a little guilty, thinking about the Demon King, and even felt that if she hadn't come, things wouldn't be like this now.

"That's not true. I heard about the Demon King from Xiaoyan. She's been investigating him for a long time and has been tracking him all along. If Simmel and the others hadn't come, things would probably be even worse than they are now. I, Puck, and everyone else might not have survived."

Emilia looked at Simmel with certainty, understanding what Simmel was worried about, but this matter had nothing to do with Simmel.

Even without Simmel, the Demon King would still attack the Earl's mansion.

"Hey……"

Simmel nodded and said nothing more.

He fell silent, watching the brown tea in the teacup before him calm down from its ripples.

……

The funeral took place three days later.

Many people were present, including many nobles from the capital. Even the five major powers of the royal candidates, except for Priscilla, were all there.

At the funeral, everyone presented Roswaal with farewell flowers and he was seated in the lounge.

When Reinhard met Simmel, he greeted him with a friendly smile.

"Simmel, here."

Thank you for coming.

Simmel smiled and said this when she saw Reinhard and the knight with medium-length purple hair standing together.

The knight standing nearby greeted Simmel politely, saying, "Hello, I am Julius Juclius, the guardian knight of Crusch. I've heard Reinhard mention you before, and seeing you today, I can see you are indeed very strong."

"This... is a bit much. I'm not actually that strong."

Simmel said modestly, especially when she thought of the Demon King, she felt that he was not up to the same level.

Reinhard, however, changed the subject with a smile and asked seriously, "I didn't ask about the details that day because of the urgency of the matter, so what exactly happened to Roswaal? As the kingdom's number one mage, his strength is not weak."

"This all started from the beginning. Why don't we go somewhere else and invite the others along?"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Julius realized that things were not simple and nodded seriously.

A moment later, in the spacious conference room.

Crusch, Anastasia, Julius, Felix, Crusch, Wilhelm, and others were all seated there. Opposite them were Madoka Kaname and her group, as well as Emilia and Tribes.

The atmosphere became very serious for a moment.

Madoka Kaname stood up immediately upon seeing everyone arrive and began to explain:

"We have called you all here because we have received news that the Demon King will soon launch an attack on the capital."

"Attack the capital?"

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. He felt that such a thing was very unlikely, after all, the guards of the royal capital were not ordinary.

Even if the Witch Cult came, they wouldn't be able to break through.

"Is it just the Demon King alone? If so, I believe we can hold out, or even win easily."

He looked intently at Madoka Kaname and spoke the thoughts of everyone.

Madoka Kaname nodded and continued, "If it's just the Demon King alone, then it's definitely not a problem."

"The problem is that the Demon King has controlled the White Whale, and at least three of the Great Sin Priests will also be acting together."

She placed her hands on the table and earnestly explained to everyone.

"What!? More than three great sins sacrificed!?"

Julius stared wide-eyed in shock.

"Beluga whale—!"

Wilhelm was so agitated that he roared, gritting his teeth as he suppressed his rage.

Fourteen years ago, when Theresa went to fight the White Whale, Reinhard van Astrea, who was only 5 years old at the time, was awakened by the Sword Saint's blessing.

Since only one person can possess the Sword Saint's blessing at any given time, those without the Sword Saint's blessing cannot use the Sword Saint's sword, the Dragon Sword, which directly led to her unfortunate death.

This became a lifelong pain for Wilhelm, causing him to hate the white whale intensely and want to kill it with his own hands.

Furthermore, Reinhard was also suspected of indirectly causing his grandmother's death, which created a rift between him and Wilhelm. Reinhard himself was also constantly plagued by self-blame.

Now, upon hearing news of the white whale, he could no longer suppress his desire for revenge.

"Mr. Will, calm down."

Crusch looked at Wilhelm with a sorrowful expression, unable to bear it.

"I'm sorry... I lost my composure."

Wilhelm paused, took a deep breath, and calmed himself down.

The next second, he looked at Madoka Kaname with a serious expression and asked earnestly:

Is your information reliable?

"I can guarantee it's absolutely reliable."

How could information provided by the Demon King himself be unreliable?

Madoka Kaname's eyes gleamed with a sharp light as she stared intently at Wilhelm.

At this moment, Anastasia pondered for a moment and then asked seriously:

"So, you want to invite us to fight alongside you? And is that Demon King really that terrifying?"

"It's terrifying."

Simmel answered, and he couldn't help but turn pale at the mere thought of the Demon King.

Anastasia nodded, then said seriously, "Is there any evidence to prove the authenticity of the information? After all, this is the first time I've heard of it, and it's with the High Priests of Sin. High Priests of Sin usually don't act together, so it seems unlikely."

No.

Madoka Kaname said frankly.

"This...this is just one side of the story, isn't it? Aren't there any other evidence?"

"No. If Roswaal's death isn't enough to prove it, then there really isn't."

"It's hard for me to believe information that's neither true nor false."

"That's true."

Madoka Kaname sat down, completely agreeing with Anastasia's words.

Then Homura Akemi looked at Anastasia with a subtle expression and said seriously, "Let's wait until the Demon Lord arrives before we talk about it."

"This...isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Simmel looked surprised when she heard this.

Homura Akemi said nonchalantly, "After all, we can't provide any evidence to prove it."

At this moment, Kitahara Iori laughed comically and said seriously:

"This time I'm on the other girl's side. After all, anything without evidence is fake. Hehehehehe."

Are you trying to scam people?

"Well said, I also support the young lady."

Kazuma Sato comically followed suit, looking at Anastasia with anticipation.

Anastasia was now in a bit of a predicament, not expecting the opposing team to split up on their own.

Moreover, the way he was deliberately watching the show felt really off.

Why aren't you playing by the rules!

Shouldn't we be trying our best to persuade us to believe this at this time?

However, Reinhard stepped forward and said seriously, "Regardless, I will take this matter seriously. I believe in Simmel, and it's better to believe it's true than not."

"Oh dear, it seems there's a clever person here."

Yakumo Yukari unfolded her folding fan and looked at Reinhard with a smile.

"So, what is Miss Crusch's decision?"

Madoka Kaname looked at the silent Crusch, waiting for her question.

After a brief silence, Crusch nodded and said seriously, "This is indeed something that needs to be taken seriously. Moreover, it involves the White Whale, so I will make preparations in advance."

Then everyone's eyes turned to Anastasia, making her blush deeply.

"I'll join too. I take back what I just said; I suspect you guys were bullying me, a girl."

"No, it's just that there's no evidence to prove it."

Hachiman remarked with a sigh, momentarily at a loss for words.

Stop it, you can't beat them.

They were all outsiders, enjoying the spectacle and thinking things were going well.

The conversation became much clearer after that, and with the Demon King's attack confirmed, they began to make plans in various aspects.

After their conversation, Simmel and Frilian stood in the garden to catch their breath.

Frillie sat on the lawn, gazing up at the twilight sky, lost in thought.

"Frilian, what are you thinking about?"

Simmel asked curiously.

"I was just thinking about Tribes, and who that person she was talking about was."

Frillie said blankly.

"How to say?"

“Several times Tribes had asked me if I was that person, but I didn’t know what ‘that person’ meant. Then she was very disappointed, so I wondered what ‘that person’ meant.”

"Does she not want to talk about it?"

"Ah."

Does anyone else know?

"Rem and Ram don't know. But Roswaal should know, though he's no longer here."

"And what about Parker?"

"Hmm? I completely forgot. I'll go ask about it later."

"Ah."

Simmel affectionately ruffled Frillie's hair, his eyes filled with tenderness.

……

Meanwhile, Rem was sorting through Roswaal's belongings in his study.

Suddenly noticing a book with a black cover, she immediately knew what it was.

A book of wisdom, a book that can predict the future.