In the lower-class district in the royal capital, there existed a bar, the so-called ‘Dawn’s Gate’. It was a rather calm bar with barely any visitors, which allowed Johan Helldars to gulp down his blood wine in anger without bothering anybody. A week had passed since the duel. In this one week, Johan’s life had taken a complete 180 turn.

After his loss against Terakomari, he had been thrown out of the 7th corps. Before this, he had already been moved to this very corps, but now he had no more place to belong to, no other corps to join, meaning that he had to quit the army all-together. Previously, he had been called the ‘Hellflame Slaughterer’, considered a genius rookie, and he could have very well made his way up to become a Seven Crimson Deva. And yet, everything had been stolen from him because of that brat.

“Ahh, I can’t take this..Hey, give me another cup.”

“You’re drinking too much.”

“Who cares, I have the money.”

“That’s not the problem here..”

Eventually, Johan still received another cup. The master of this bar was a foreigner you rarely saw in the empire—harboring deep dark skin. He belonged to the Senryuu Race. If he were to die here, outside the range of his own country’s magic nucleus, he would not come back to life. Hence, people who had the guts to open a shop like he did must either have some certain circumstances, always thirst for battle and trouble, or hold confidence that they could win against no matter who tried to kill them. Johan was aware of this, and turned towards him.

“Hey, Master. Do you know this Terakomari Gandezblood?”

“The new Seven Crimson Deva, right? She’s gotten pretty famous for being the youngest general ever.”

“Right. But, she actually isn’t powerful at all. I should have been the one to become the next Seven Crimson Deva, but she stole that from me!”

“That sounds tough.”

“It is tough! With this, the history of the Mulnight Empire changed. Normally, I should be the one to control the 7th Corps..”

Johan didn’t even pick up on the Master’s disinterested sigh. This guy was only thinking about Terakomari. How should he burn her to a crisp? What should he do to become the next Seven Crimson Deva? And, this fact led to the worst possible scenario.

“That sounds pretty interesting.” A sickly-sweet voice spoke up.

Johan turned towards that voice in surprise, only to find a girl with a fox mask sitting next to him.

“Wha..since when were you..?”

“My, are you getting drunk? I’ve been here the entire time.” The girl let out a snicker.

Because of the mask, Johan couldn’t make out her face, but she really didn’t seem too trustworthy. At the same time, the girl softly waved the glass in her hand.

“You are Lieutenant Johan Helldars from the Imperial Army, right?”

“..How do you know about my name?”

“Because you’re quite famous, Mr ‘Hellflame Slaughterer’.”

Johan narrowed his eyes. Just talking with this girl made the wine taste worse. Time had passed quite a bit as well, so Johan decided to make his way home, raising his hip, when it happened.

“Terakomari Gandezblood.”

“!?”

“You hate her, right?”

Johan gulped. He realized that he was about to be swallowed up in her ominous atmosphere.

“Who are you?”

The girl showed another snicker.

“My name is Millicent. I’m from ‘Inverse Moon’.”

Johan was baffled. This ‘Inverse Moon’ the girl mentioned so nonchalantly—Wasn’t that name of the terrorist organization that caused a great ruckus in the six countries a few years ago? They had the ominous slogan of “Dying is the Living Ones’ cherished desire”, and they had planned on destroying the magic nuclei the various countries possessed.

“That’s a bad joke alright. You won’t deceive me with that.”

“You don’t have to believe me. But, I think hearing me out might be quite beneficial to you.”

She gulped down the wine. Or at least, she tried to, because the glass bumped into her fox mask.

“..Are you sure you’re not the one being drunk?”

The girl’s ears, not hidden by the fox mask, were slightly red.

“You don’t have to believe me. But, I think hearing me out might be quite beneficial to you.”

“Hm? What? Did we go back in time..?”

“What are you talking about? You really are drunk, aren’t you.”

The girl said, and removed her fox mask. Her almond eyes conveyed a certain beauty. And this time, she gulped down the rest of the wine. Or rather, it wasn’t even wine, it seemed to be juice. She must be underage still. The girl put down the glass, and glanced over at Johan. Her wicked, evil eyes were brimming with aspiration.

“You’re a soldier of Mulnight, right?”

“Y-Yeah..still am as of now.”

“There’s a barrier around the Empress’ residence. But, you should be able to get inside.”

Johan was at a loss. He just stared at the girl—at Millicent—in disbelief, as she flashed a devilish smile.

“—How about we work together? Both you and I have a personal grudge with that girl.”