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"Cough… cough… cough…"
August Sans, having returned from the netherworld, lay coughing on his bed.
The figure before Titania was not the vigorous middle-aged man who had spoken with Orun and the others, but a frail, weakened elder.
"Are you going to die, my lord?"
Titania addressed him in a voice devoid of emotion.
"Hahaha… Maybe I am… I've used up almost all my strength."
"I see. In that case, I shall watch this world as it heads toward destruction."
"Hey now, the human you call your lord is about to die. Don't you have anything else to say?"
"Not particularly."
"Sigh, how sad. —Well then, time for my final task."
August said this as he forced himself upright. He managed to stand, but his weakened body made even supporting himself a struggle. His knees trembled unsteadily.
"…What are you doing?"
"I've got somewhere I need to go real quick. Want to come along?"
"It might be a good way to kill time."
"You could just honestly say you're curious and want me to take you."
"Shut up."
Exchanging light banter with Titania, August walked with slow, deliberate steps toward the neighboring room.
A magic circle was drawn on the floor of that room.
Once August stepped onto the circle, he spoke.
"To the Phoenix Shrine."
In response to his words, the magic circle glowed brightly, and August's figure vanished from the spot.
"Haah… I'm exhausted…"
Having teleported to his destination, August muttered while breathing heavily through his shoulders.
He now stood inside a shrine located in a certain place.
"Why come to a place like this now, of all times?"
"To deliver a gift to the young ones of the future. Though from their perspective, it might feel more like harassment."
August answered Titania's question with an amused laugh.
"That doesn't answer anything."
Ignoring Titania's dissatisfied murmur, August walked over to the crystal orb enshrined like a divine object.
He raised his hand toward the orb.
In an instant, an enormous quantity of formulas emerged from the crystal and filled the entire interior of the shrine.
"Let's see… The date was March 29th, Year 629 of the Four Saints Calendar, right?"
While searching his memories, August manipulated the art principles.
"On that day, make it so the floor boss of the ninety-second layer of the great southern labyrinth—the black dragon—can leave the boss area… And set the whimsical door's destination to the fiftieth layer as a fixed change. That should do it."
"…Why are you specifying a date more than five hundred years in the future?"
"I told you, it's a gift for the young ones of the future. In a sense, this marks the beginning of the story."
"What does that even mean?"
"You don't need to understand right now."
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"Ah… I'm so tired… I think I've done everything I needed to…"
Back in his own room, August lay down on the bed.
"What exactly were you trying to accomplish?"
Titania let out a voice tinged with exasperation.
"…You'll understand eventually. Oh, right. There was one more thing left."
August had been wearing a satisfied expression, but he suddenly remembered something unfinished and turned his gaze toward where Titania was.
"—Titania."
"Wh-What? You suddenly look so serious…"
"What are you going to do from now on?"
"What do you mean? Like I said earlier, I will simply remain a bystander and watch the end of this world."
"…I figured as much. …There's one thing I want to tell you."
"What is it? You've been acting even stranger than usual today."
"Just listen, okay?"
"..."
"If you choose to remain a bystander, that's fine too. It's a decision you made for yourself. There's only one thing I can say to you right now. Remember the name 'Orun Dula.' He is the man who, centuries from now, will resolve to stand against them. After getting involved with Orun, do you think you'll still be able to remain a mere observer?"
August squeezed out the last of his strength to speak those words.
He had already been physically weakened, and on top of that he had repeatedly performed acts that required enormous power—interfering with the netherworld and meddling with the art principles.
The price for that was, naturally—
"You manipulated the art principles, spending what remained of your life, all for the sake of 'Orun Dula' and 'centuries from now'?"
"Either way, my life was going to disappear even if I did nothing… I just wanted to leave behind… at least a little something that gave meaning to the fact that I lived…"
With those final words, August fell into sleep.
"... You really were a selfish man right up until the very end. But that's exactly why I…"
Titania murmured in a voice that faded like a whisper.
There was no longer anyone in that place who could hear the voice of the fairy.
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(Note: The black dragon being able to leave the boss area in the first chapter was something the Hero of the Fairy Tales had set up in the past.)