"How long has it been since we sat down and had a proper meal like this?"
From the very beginning, Rozen suddenly said this.
"...I can't remember."
Magnus didn't know if he was trying to recall or resist, but after a while, he responded with a rather cold tone, as if he didn't care about such trivial things at all.
But only those familiar with Magnus could notice that, in that moment, his posture was undoubtedly more relaxed than before.
This made Rozen smile quietly and start chatting casually with Magnus.
Their small talk was full of unremarkable topics—not a word about serious matters, let alone the past. They just talked about their life at Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart.
The difference was that Rozen was usually the one asking questions, while Magnus merely responded, as if he were trying to figure out what Rozen was plotting, behaving unusually hesitant.
He couldn't help but hesitate.
After all...
"I didn't expect you would still chat with me like this."
Magnus said this indifferently.
In his view, Rozen should be hostile toward him—just like before, always butting heads the moment they met. That would have been the normal reaction.
No matter what, Magnus was the one who had slain his own kin, annihilated his own clan. Logically, Rozen should not only be hostile, but should also hate him.
And the Rozen of the past had indeed done so. Although he didn't harbor as deep a grudge as Akabane Raishin, he still viewed Magnus as an enemy and had never once shown weakness in front of him.
Now, Rozen had completely changed his attitude, so it was only natural for Magnus to feel surprised and uncertain.
And Magnus believed he understood Rozen quite well—knew that from a young age, Rozen had been incredibly gifted, in no way inferior to him, and perhaps even surpassing him. Rozen was clever, with a sharper mind than most adults—not someone who would recklessly charge ahead. So Rozen's attitude now made Magnus deeply suspicious. Was Rozen scheming something?
That made Magnus grow cautious.
But that caution was completely shaken by Rozen's next words.
"Ten-nii."
Rozen looked directly at Magnus, his tone softening, even smiling, as he called him that.
That familiar term of address made Magnus waver.
Surely, Magnus had never imagined that, after all these years, he would hear that name again?
But Rozen really did call him that.
And it came from the heart.
Because...
"It's time you told me the truth about what happened back then."
Rozen's straightforwardness made Magnus clench his fists.
But...
"What truth? I don't know what you're talking about."
Magnus replied with an unusually cold tone.
"Still trying to hide it?" Rozen wasn't surprised and instead said, "Don't bother with something so pointless. Since you think you know me well, then ask yourself—do you really think I haven't noticed something off?"
Rozen's words rendered Magnus speechless.
Seeing this, Rozen pressed forward.
"I know the events back then weren't so simple. They must've involved all sorts of things." Rozen continued to stare straight at Magnus and said, "Maybe you're wary of those things. But I'm different. You've seen what I can do—you should understand, right?"
Magnus fell silent.
Rozen's implication was crystal clear to him.
"The things you're afraid of, to me, may be utterly insignificant. Even if this involves a nation, or even the global powers, I'm not afraid." Rozen spoke as if it were only natural. "So if you're worried about dragging me into it, or afraid of the powers behind it all, then you don't have to be."
Such a bold claim—probably only Rozen could say it and mean it.
But wasn't it true?
For someone like Rozen, who could summon hundreds of thousands of magic creatures on his own, even facing a major nation wouldn't be something to fear.
How many troops does a powerful country have?
How many Automaton Dolls can a single country field?
In this world where Automaton warfare was the core of military strength, even among major nations, having more than ten thousand puppeteers in an army was a major feat. Britain's proud Machinart Corps rarely deployed more than ten thousand in a single operation. Instances requiring such massive mobilization were exceedingly rare—one could infer the true scale of a nation's power.
Yet Rozen could summon a horde of hundreds of thousands of magical creatures. Even if their individual strength varied, conquering an army of ten thousand Automatons would be easy for him.
That's why Rozen's power had shaken the world's great powers and triggered all sorts of responses, plunging the city of Machinart into turmoil.
Of course, many believed Rozen's mana wouldn't last long enough to sustain that army, so their reaction was envy more than fear. Still, none of them dared to offend him easily.
After all, if Rozen were to deploy those hundreds of thousands of magical creatures into a country and let them ravage freely, even a powerful nation would suffer grievous losses, possibly opening itself up to invasion and ruin.
So even the great powers had to tread carefully around Rozen.
If he alone could cause such fear in the hearts of nations, then what was there for Rozen to be afraid of?
Moreover, Magnus didn't know that to the current Rozen, even that army of hundreds of thousands was child's play. Let alone a single nation—Rozen wouldn't flinch even if the entire world stood against him.
As for mana consumption—that was a joke. Rozen no longer had to worry about whether he had enough mana.
With that in mind...
"Tell me the truth, Ten-nii."
Rozen laid his cards on the table.
"..."
Magnus remained silent, completely at a loss for words.
A stillness spread between them, drawing the attention of the girls behind them, who watched with complicated feelings.
Until, finally...
"No."
Magnus let out a breath and gave this answer.
There was no evasion, nor did he try to shoulder all the blame again. He simply told Rozen—no.
"Why?"
Rozen didn't waver. He stared into Magnus's eyes and calmly asked.
"It's simple." Magnus replied without the slightest hesitation. "I don't want to become an even greater sinner."
That was Magnus's reason.
Rozen understood immediately.
And then, he too fell silent.