Once the interrogation—no, the conversation—was over, Helic sounded uncertain as she muttered, “...So it has already eroded this far. Things have derailed more than I expected."

“D-Derailed? Did I do something wrong? Is that it?” said the Frost Queen, looking frightened. She confessed inadvertently. “Of course, I did eat one or two slices of cake in secret at dawn… But can fate really become twisted due to that?”

“No, of course not. That makes no difference at all. When I say things have derailed, I am referring to the current situation.”

“The current situation?”

Helic nodded. “I think it will be easier to understand if I just showed you.”

Helic placed a few pebbles on her desk and picked up one of them. “Here. Think of this dull, ugly rock as Seo Jun-Ho. “

“...Contractor is not that ugly. Could you please replace it with that pretty stone over there?”

“No,” Helic said indifferently. She picked up the pretty rock. “This one is a transcendent.”

“A transcendent? Then, what does the ugly rock represent?”

“It represents...