“Sadly, I am not.” But Allen shook his head. His demeanor was calm yet serious.

“What I told you was real. I don’t care if you believed it or not, but all of the things I said really happened. Not a single thing was a lie.”

Thumbeline looked at him, lost.

It was natural to have doubts. He was talking about her, but why did it feel as if it was someone else…?

Could it be that the ‘her’ in that world was completely different from the ‘her’ she was now?

She knows herself more than anyone else in this world! Forget about thinking, she couldn’t even imagine that she could do all those things for a single human.

And the worst part, he said that he was the queen’s sworn enemy! Then doesn’t it mean that she, helping him like he said… she was betraying her beloved queen!

A shiver ran through her body.

She couldn’t imagine such thing!

Then does it mean that he was lying…?

"...... if what you said was true," she said in a low voice, suppressing her violent emotion. “… why did I do that?”

He said solemnly, “That’s what I want to know myself. Why?”

“… …”

“… I asked you at that time. You’re dying and I couldn’t do anything. Why? Why did you save me? You’re supposed to hate me and kill me?”

After that time, he was always asking the same question. Why did Thumbeline sacrifice herself for him?

There are many possible answers and judging from the situation, there is one thing that crossed his mind.

But was that really is?

However, the only person who could confirm that guess was already gone and so the possibility remains nothing but a conjecture!

“… …”

“Do you know what you said?”

“What?”

“‘I won’t let you die because the only one who has the right to kill a lowly human like you… is me. As long as I’m not the one who killed you, then you need to survive… until the moment I do so.’”

“?!”

“You said that.”

After hearing those words, Thumbeline made a strange expression. “I can’t believe it.”

She shook her head.

“I can’t believe it… Are you saying you’re from another dimension? Huh! That’s a lie! Crossing parallel dimension isn’t as simple as crossing alternative universes!”Thumbeline roared. She looked like she was denying Allen's claim but at the same time, she was making an excuse for herself. An excuse that would make Allen's words into nothing.

However,

“He’s not lying.” A voice echoed in the whole room. It didn’t come from Allen but to another person who was walking through the door.

Seeing this person’s sudden appearance, Thumbeline’s whole body shivered as she immediately kneeled.

“Alkrasha…” Allen called out.

The person who entered the room was Alkrasha; the infamous Insect Queen.

“How’s your body?” Alkrasha walked past the kneeling Thumbeline as if she didn’t saw her.

“I’m fine, the wounds are already healing.”

“… That’s good.” Alkrasha’s face turned solemn as she cast a glance at Thumbeline who was already sweating heavily.

Did her majesty hear what Allen said?

What would she do if her queen thought that she was a traitor?

“Y, your majesty, I…” Thumbeline swallowed drily.

But contrary to her expectation, Alkrasha’s tone was soft. “I overheard what you were talking about. I didn’t know you have a, rather peculiar connection with my servant…”

“Y, your majesty! Those things he said, I couldn’t possibly do! He must be lying!” She pleads but Alkrasha completely ignored her.

She looked like a defendant pleading her innocence inside a court.

“He wasn’t lying.” Alkrasha’s voice was sharp.

“All he said was true… I don’t know whether what he said about you is real or not but he truly came from a parallel world, similar to this one. And the fact that he really met you and me in that world isn’t a lie either.”

“B, but your majesty… forget about the difficulty of crossing dimensions, the existence of such world is already questionable enough!”

“Are you implying my judgment is mistaken, Thumbeline?”

“I, I dare not…!”

Looking at Thumbeline who looked like a little girl being scolded by her mother, Allen started speaking as he sits on the bed.

“Well, truthfully I don’t know how I cross worlds. I heard that one could only do that if they are chosen by some God and then call themselves as chosen ones but… after my death, nothing like that happened. I just woke up and found that I was already in this world… no calling of God or meeting them whatsoever.”

“Wait, what did you say?!” Thumbeline suddenly stood up like a cat with her tail being stepped on.

“Y, you died?!”

“The me who died isn’t in this world. It’s one from the other earth. If there’s an easier way to say it, then I’m reincarnating. Before I know it, I was already reborn in this world”

Allen was saying that while shrugging his shoulder as if it’s a joke.

“Who killed you?!” Thumbeline was unable to hide her agitation.

Suddenly the situation was turned into an unpredictable direction.

“Hm?” Allen frowned from Thumbeline’s reaction. “You don’t need to know... right?”

“Who killed you?” Thumbeline’s heart started beating fast. She didn’t know why…

This is like that… right!? If what he said was real, then I was supposedly died after protecting him and so I can’t forgive him for dying after!

If not then isn't her life was just spent in vain? That would be extremely laughable!

That should be it!

“Myself…” Allen answered casually. “I killed myself…”

““What?!”” the two women didn’t expect this kind of answer. In fact, if Allen said he was killed by a monster then they wouldn’t feel surprised at all. But, he actually killed himself?

“Why?”

“… …” Allen didn’t answer and rested his body on the bed formed by beautiful flowers.

“… that’s another story. Anyway, Alkrasha I came here for a reason… I didn’t come here for a fight.”

Alkrasha felt dissatisfied by Allen for cutting the story but she still leaves it be.

“Of course, I asked you to come here to live in this place.”

“Unfortunately that’s impossible.”

Sharp light shot from Alkrasha’s eyes.

“What?”

“I need to protect my people so I can’t stop in a single place.”

“Do you really think that you have a choice?” Alkrasha grunted, looking at him with outrage in her eyes.

She was willing to use force if need be. She won’t let anything she desired to leave from her hands.

Nothing in this world could escape from her grasp!

Allen sighed.

He really didn’t know how he managed to get the attention of the infamous Insect Queen.

“I came here to ask for your help, Alkrasha.” Allen didn't change his expression, but his words cut straight to the core.

“Help?”

“I can’t protect my people with me alone, or even with the help of my friends. I fear that even if I proceed with this path, it would still reach the same ending as my former world. I would lose…”

“… …”

“I’m not certain about the real power of the upcoming Demon King’s army. But I always believe that what I have seen until my death is nothing but a small part of his real force. Besides, I don’t know how far I could reach with my power right now but I only know one thing. Time won’t wait for me.”

Although absolute strength can defeat anything but in this matter where time is running fast, being strong wouldn’t be enough, and only being intelligent wouldn’t make one win.

“If the Demon King finally appeared, the gears of fate will finally start spinning. And if I don’t have enough power when that moment comes, I don’t think I would have enough strength to protect my people.

Even if there were ten, no dozens of superhuman in the world, it would still not enough.”

Due to his and Mia’s actions, specifically the returnee’s actions, the world is beginning to change, one that is different from what he knows.

Although something like this isn’t completely bad this is also not something good. In this world, he couldn’t predict anything anymore.

Once again, he was standing in the starting line, blindly looking at the path in front of him, not knowing what lies there...

“So you’re saying…”

“… Alkrasha, please cooperate with me!” Allen stood up and bowed at Alkrasha. This wasn’t the time to feel shame!

There were many complications between Allen and the infamous Insect Queen; Alkrasha in the other world. If Alkrasha saw him before she would certainly try capturing him or killing him on the spot. It was also similar to Allen who will do anything to avenge his people.

But in this world, all were back to the beginning. There was no chain of hatred existed yet.

That is why Allen decided to forget all his hostilities for Alkrasha.

The story of his former life has already reached its end so there’s no use thinking about it.

That world is already a memory. That life is already finished.

It’s time to create a new story…

And this world is now a new future.

“… please help me protect my people.”

“Do you know what you’re saying?” Alkrasha asked, her cold voice emanating to the surrounding.

“… I know it sounded absurd but Alkrasha, I still want to ask you.”

Allen didn’t know why Alkrasha seemed to like him.

Certainly, the Alkrasha he knows was playful and would either play small or big pranks to anyone, especially her enemies. Greatly showing her Sadistic side.

… But she didn’t have the personality to fall in love, especially to a mere human like him. More like, does she even know the word [ Love ], existed?

She was bad, cruel, tyrant, and very scarily terrifying.

But to like… him?

It would be fine if it was just because she still didn’t have a mature mental state unlike the scary Demon General; Alkrasha, but that gap was more than enough to perplex Allen.

However, this is not something to be cast away!

This is an opportunity!

He might sound selfish and shameless but this is still a big advantage!

“I don’t have any reason to protect the humans, nor do I care about their well-beings… though except you, I don’t care what happens to them. Whether they survive or not is none of my concern!” Alkrasha refused with a cold voice.

“Alkrasha, you said it before that we could be friends or even partners. If we team up, we could defeat any enemy.”

“I didn’t say that to protect the humans!” Alkrasha roared.

“I know… but even so, I need your strength. Please lend it to me!”

“… human, you said it yourself. You would never hand this world to any invaders… so why now?”

“I just realized that I can’t force all of you out in this world. I’m not that dumb but we could still hope for coexistence… with equal rights, if possible?”

That was the truth! In Allen’s heart, he felt that this world that was riddled with problems likely wouldn’t be able to return to how it once was.

In fact, Allen did harbor such hope in the beginning, but after seeing and realizing all things he had seen and experienced while living in two worlds, his way of thinking gradually began to change.

Rather than hope for things that might never come, he might as well increase his own strength and rely on himself instead to continue living on. And the strength he needed is not only his personal power but influence!

Yes! Influence!

So that best thing to do now is to find an ally! A friend that he could fight with!

That is one of the reason why he had made [ Vivite Liberi ]! It will be an organization composed of human and non-human allies that would boost his strength in the upcoming war!

And the infamous Insect Queen is one of the best candidates there is!

“Unfortunately I’m not the least bit interested in weak creatures like humans. So you should stop now, you will only waste your time.”

“Alkrasha!”

“But…”

Alkrasha thought for a moment.

"… you said that I would become someone’s subordinate didn’t really sit well with me......" she said with a different feeling from before and touched her chin.

“A Demon King… what kind of existence is he?”

Allen shook his head. “I never met him before…”

“Hm…”

“Come on, Alkrasha even if it’s just a bit, please help me. Aren’t we friends?” Allen started pleading like a child.

“A friend you tried to kill and even beat pretty badly…?” Alkrasha rebutted angrily.

“But you’re the one who tried to kill me first!”

“… In the first place, did you really think that I would let you leave this place?” Alkrasha’s tone suddenly became sharp.

“… …”

“You’re saying as if you would be able to leave this place and protect those worthless pests? Did you really think I would let you?” Alkrasha was tapping her foot and glaring at him.

“… …”

Thumbeline who is keeping her silence all this time looked at him and then back at Alkrasha. She didn’t know what to do or say in this situation.

Allen shrugged and avoided eye contact.

“I will… even if it kills me, I need to go ba--!”

Before he could finish speaking, Allen’s neck was suddenly grabbed by Alkrasha. The force within her gripped was enough to leave a mark.

“Absolutely not!”