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Volume 5 Vampire Tea Party Epilogue Part 2

「I am not plotting anything, I am not doing this for fame, and I am most certainly not acting out on anyone’s orders. All I did was using a differential function of {Another Cosmology} so that I could slightly change your perceivable definition of one second throughout the Game that you just went through. To put it in other words, I changed one second of your world so that it would last for a thousand years instead just for you, although originally this power is meant to be used a little differently, mainly, to accelerate my own speed and the speed of the objects that interact with me. . . .  more or less like that.」

Canaria bend her hand slightly downwards, and when she did that, there was a noise that sounded as if the air itself was being split apart. . . . and then in the next moment, Leticia felt that something warm was slowly dripping down her cheek, followed by the sound of something falling onto the ground next to the throne with a clutter. It took her a moment to process that the thing dripping from her cheek was actually her own blood, and the thing that now landed next to the throne was actually a small piece of rubble, no bigger than ordinary average-sized stone.

She did not know where did Canaria got it form and when did she managed to throw it at her, but she understood one thing right away: that she did not see that piece of rubble being thrown at her at all, and she did not even feel any pain when it cut her cheek when it flew past her. That was definitely not normal. No human being should be capable of throwing objects with such speed. However, Canaria managed to do that, she must have throne that pebble at a speed that approached, or perhaps even exceeded that of the First Cosmic Velocity.

Admittedly, her mind was still filled with rage, but not rage strong enough to cloud her reason and the ability to comprehend that something that should normally not be a able to happen have happened and the mysterious nature of the phenomenon that just took place. She would have never anticipated that someone as unassuming as Canaria could do something like that, and yet, here she was.

「Im. . .  impossible! Instead of simply accelerating the matter itself, you changed its definition of one second to increase the speed of that pebble’s movement in such a way. . .!!!!? S-Such a thing. . . .」

「Oh come on now, you were totally going to say something along the lines of 「Such a thing should not be possible. . . . . . . !!!」, right? Well let me tell you then, that what I did just now is not that unusual of a thing as you seem to be thinking it is. The Cosmology of the Egyptian Gods is not that different from our own outer space because of the weight of the oxygen, and that same rule holds true even here in Little Garden. Jewels can be created without oxygen for burning; rivers can be made simply from the hydrogen generated by the leves on the trees. Ignoring the rules of the material world, such small miracles can happen because the rules that govern the Cosmology are different than the ones that govern the outer space, and essentially I am doing the exact same thing. . . . although the thing that I am using is still pretty much in a blueprint stage.」

Saying that, Canaria laughed with her songbird-like voice and then showed a happy smile, but Leticia was far from being happy. Cosmologies are the secrets of the Pantheons of the Gods and one of the most powerful forces that exist within Little Garden. It is something that goes far beyond the realm of the Almighty, and can be said that this is the forbidden power accessible only to the Chief Gods of any given mythology. . . and this young woman right here was saying that she possesses a power that is a blueprint of something like that?! But if what she is saying is true and she does have the power that can rival the Cosmologies of the Gods, they she would definitely be able to resolve the contradictions that plagued Leticia’s mind.

「Then. . . . that Gift Game that you made me go through. . . . 」

「That was a mixture of the genuine recollection-type Gift Game with my own power. A record of the moments of the sunset of the Vampire race, the moment of their greatest downfall witnessed by your sister.」

Faced with such answer to her questions, Leticia did not have any other choice but to accept the facts for what they were. She then commanded the shadow at her feet to stand down, and with a loud *CLANG!* sound, the spears she wanted to skewer Canaria with fell to the ground one by one as well.

Feeling tired, Leticia sat back on her throne as well. Now that she got her answers, her lips regained some of their color, and the burning light of rage disappeared from her eyes, which now became somewhat dull and lifeless. Thrusting her back against the backrest and her elbows on the armrests, she hunched over and covered her face with her hands. She tried to close her eyes to forget the things that she saw within the Gift Game, but even after with her eyes closed, she could still see the image of her sister, ugly and distorted, with scales covering every part of her body.

Her hair, once the beautiful color of gold has become white and rough like the skin of a snake. Her once lovely, cherry-colored lips were now dried and torn up all the way into her ears, and her teeth have all turned into fangs that were so long that they protruded out of her mouth. And yet, even though the scandals caused by the lies which were spread by the Poets and Storytellers have been slowly turning her into such a monstrosity, she never stopped for the good name of her clan and her queen until the bitter end.

It was exactly like the Poet who came to visit them that day said: Lamia and the entire Vampire clan could have spared themselves the suffering and hatred that were directed towards them if only the allowed the curses that were directed at Leticia to properly reach her. But they have never done that. Instead, they have chosen to protect the honor of their ruler, even after she has fallen so low as to become a Demon Lord.

. . . . My dear sister is not a monster that the Poets are making her out to be.

These words were the proof of Lamia’s trust in Leticia that she was repeating to herself so many times that they have become like her personal prayer, and a wish that she hoped with all her heart to one day come true.

Of course, Leticia felt such a strong anger and disgust towards those who cursed and ridiculed her sister that she knew she will never be able to forgive them. . . . but there was someone else who deserved her ire and not to ever be forgiven more than anyone else. It was Leticia herself. Because ultimately, it was not the rebels and their army who were responsible for causing the downfall of the Vampire clan and ushering them into an era of eternal twilight.

The one responsible for the destruction of the Vampire clan, their ideals and everything that they ever held dear. . . was a foolish Demon Lord who allowed her anger and primal instincts to cloud her better judgement. Yes, that fact is perhaps the most important one out of everything that Leticia learned today: that she was the biggest fool among all the fools, and nothing will ever be able to change that.

「 Ah. . . aaaahhhhhh. . . . . .」