"SELENE!"

My voice was different this time.

Raspy to the point of pain, as if I could no longer form any kind of words.

She collapsed where she stood — the body I had rebuilt, assembled especially for her...

Me? Aren’t you the fool in a situation like this?

I muttered inwardly, a frustration that would not leave me.

But... hey, this is not the time for that. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

If I did nothing, everything Selene had done would be for nothing.

Time to play my trump card.

Yes, my only chance to seize control of this rotten, dirty game.

Oh — Valeria? Of course she was surprised.

Her eyes widened clearly, pupils dilating, mouth parting slightly as if stunned by what had just happened.

Perhaps she hadn’t expected someone as selfish as Selene or me to sacrifice for one another.

Heh. How dare she underestimate the two of us.

"The dimensional wall..." Valeria said, sounding tense at whatever ’miraculous’ magic Selene had just used.

In the choking moment — more precisely, with her hand still around my throat — I began to maneuver.

"You lose..."

"To a thirteen-year-old elf."

My tone was mocking, showing how I’d used Selene (politely, of course) to draw out the full breadth of her abilities as an Arcanist Mage.

But, I thought... that was only a small part.

Nothing compared to the creations she would yet bring forth...

"You monstrous little demon!"

Wow, another nickname added to my list...

Before my thought finished, she added another.

Oh — I mean... "Her Majesty."

"Kairi... Izumi."

"Who are you, really?"

What a waste of time that question is...

"That need not be discussed."

"And didn’t you say I was imperfect? Now I’m fully part of the Veylith line. Selene made me this way."

I said it with a bright smile.

A victorious smile, actually.

Not long after, Valeria lowered my small body gently, as if placing a doll.

"Alright, then."

"I will give you a challenge."

Ah, a challenge? How cliché.

I straightened the rumpled collar of my pajamas and faced her.

"How?"

Valeria cleared her throat for a moment, then said,

"I will permit you to participate in this year’s Finality Exam—"

Huh? Did I hear that correctly?

Wait... is this a new route based on her Narration?

Didn’t Selene say it would take five more years?

"No. It doesn’t have to be like that."

"You only need to bring this."

"What is it?"

She produced something with her magic.

When I examined it more closely, it felt like a VIP pass embedded within my body—something akin to a genetic permutation, subtle yet unmistakable.

"You and Selene... are surprisingly interesting," she said.

"She has been given the same."

"You two are truly anomalies—uninvited guests in an orderly system built for the ordinary."

She said it with a chuckle.

Wait... weren’t we fighting a moment ago?

Honestly, the sudden shift in situation and genre left me confused.

Something felt off in this narrative.

Oh, hold on...

"Relax — I’ve already changed it to slice-of-life genre."

Crazy, she really changed the narrative...

Her words pricked something in me; maybe because Valeria’s ability felt genuinely magical... almost too magical.

I could only nod in agreement.

"Oh, I see. So... how does your power actually work?"

She grimaced, blinked, and said,

"That? Of course it’s a secret."

"But clearly... it has to do with science, my dear Kairi."

Valeria watched us for a long moment.

Her gaze was not admiration but observation — like someone who has found a small flaw in a system that was supposed to be perfect.

There was curiosity there, but cool and measured; the way one looks at a specimen that has strayed from its habitat.

Then, with no emotion, she called it interesting.

"You two," she finally said, her smile thin and cold, "are not coincidence. You are... an uncertainty."

Her gaze flicked briefly to Selene, still collapsed, then back to me.

"It seems the system was never designed for beings like you," she continued calmly.

"Two anomalies supporting each other, forcing the story to run like a train derailed from its tracks."

She chuckled softly, almost inaudible.

"In fact — that is why you are so interesting."

Huh. Interesting in what way?

I snorted.

"By the way... regarding this story," I said casually, "you don’t have to pretend to be a spectator swept along by the current. You’re the one holding the pen."

My stare never left her.

"Wasn’t it supposed to be you holding it from the start?"

Valeria looked at me for a moment, as if confirming something she already knew.

I did not deny it.

For me, that brief silence was more than enough as an answer.

Then all of a sudden, the air around us changed.

Not heavy — but quiet, as if time itself were holding its breath.

I turned.

"By the way, about that one..." my tone dropped, without sarcasm. "Valeria, I’m your biggest fan."

A beat, then I added, "Really."

Agatha Christ— I mean, Valeria Augusta Christie — looked at me with an almost inhuman calm.

As if time froze, stopping without anyone separating us.

"Oh? Of course I know," she said, smiling thinly.

"You read my works the same way those who came before and after my passing away self did."

She looked at me for a moment.

"That is not remarkable."

For some reason, those words felt colder than rejection.

I took a slow breath.

"Precisely because of that," I said.

"I do not need it now."

"Yours...," I added.

A small smile traced my lips — neither mocking nor proud.

"Oh, I mean... Your Grace."

A bad habit of honoring things that can no longer answer back.

"I respect you sincerely, Miss Christie," I went on.

"But I do not want to be saved by a story that has already ended. Shouldn’t I not exist in this tale?"

Agatha did not argue.

Nor did she plead.

She simply remained silent — as if she had long expected that answer.

Valeria stepped forward, reclaiming the space between us.

"If you insist," she said lightly, "then you must pass the Finality Exam first."

"Only then will we talk about it."

She leaned in slightly; her voice dropped, almost kind.

"If you truly want to give my pen in your own way, prove it without inheritance or aid."

Then she paused, and the smile on her face widened.

"And so Kairi, about your question..." she said softly,

"Did you know that a person’s temperament can be manipulated by certain chemical compounds?"

She stopped for a moment.

"And don’t forget — space and time have their own limits."

Her smile was thin.

"Because of that..."

"People are easily convinced."

"Deceived, with no one to trust."

"But oh, yes... of course."

I answered without hesitation.

"You’re the expert in this field, aren’t you?"

Valeria grinned, canted a wink.