“...Huh?”

    A little while after the new year began,

    “...What is this?”

    Lunar, the Moon God, who was spending time alone in the basement of a deserted back alley guild, widened her eyes in surprise at something she saw.

    The Final Ordeal has begun.

    It was a system log indicating the start of the Final Ordeal.

    “What... is this?”

    Lunar, who had been desperately searching the system logs for months to find any trace of Frey in a world where he had disappeared, was puzzled by the unfamiliar message.

    The Ordeals were supposed to end already...?

    According to her knowledge, the ‘Ordeals’ were only prepared up to the fourth one.

    But a Final Ordeal?

    Even she, who was a divine being until recently, found herself puzzled by this turn of events.

    “What is going on...”

    With a face full of confusion, she stared intently at the system window in front of her, then her eyes lit up.

    “...Maybe this is a clue.”

    Frey had completely vanished.

    The heroines were in despair.

    The world was unknowingly sinking into ruin.

    Finding Frey was essential to overcoming this situation, and discovering this fact was like finding a pearl in a sandstorm.

    “So, who triggered this?”

    She began to scrutinize the log with keen interest.

    “...?”

    But then she noticed something strange.

    “There is no executor?”

    All the previous Ordeals had specific executors.

    The first three were executed by the Demon God Eclipse, and the Fourth Ordeal was executed by that disgusting eye.

    But for some reason, the Fifth Ordeal’s executor was blank.

    As if it had automatically started without anyone’s intervention.

    “This is strange...”

    As she kept checking and rechecking the log, Lunar’s expression started to twist.

    “What is this?”

    The contents of the Ordeal were corrupted and unreadable.

    Was it because of her lack of divinity?

    But her divinity shouldn’t have been completely depleted yet.

    “Hmm, this...”

    At a glance, it was a very peculiar Ordeal.

    “Is this... what my sister always talked about... a bug?”

    Muttering to herself, she was about to close the log.

    “Hah, I thought I finally found something... Huh?”

    Then she stopped her hand and focused her gaze on one part.

    Ordeal Participant: Roswyn Solar Sunset

    “Roswyn...?”

    And with a blank expression, Lunar repeated the name she saw.

    “Wait a minute.”

    Soon, she stood up abruptly and muttered with a dazed expression.

    “Why did I forget her?”

    Seeing her name finally jogged her memory.

    Roswyn Solar Sunset.

    The descendant of her most cherished individual, and a child she had once cared for.

    And the girl who, due to her foolish actions in countless cycles, was ultimately abandoned.

    “I have to find her.”

    Lunar, now aware of Roswyn’s existence, began moving hurriedly with a panicked expression.

    “Where is she now...”

    Then she suddenly looked around with a blank expression.

    “...”

    It dawned on her that she had been in Roswyn’s information guild all along.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    “I don’t know what exactly is happening...”

    Putting aside the logs she had been combing through, Lunar urgently began searching the empty information guild.

    “I need to find her quickly...”

    The image of Roswyn smiling with a smug expression whenever Lunar praised her effort, despite her lack of talent, came back to her fondly.

    “She had no talent, but she was willing...”

    Unknowingly forming a bittersweet smile, Lunar suddenly stopped talking and her expression hardened.

    How to be Forgiven by Frey Again

    On top of the vast amount of documents, in Roswyn’s characteristic scribbled handwriting, there were notes marked with stars emphasizing this sentence multiple times.

    “...”

    Lunar, looking at the inefficiency yet utmost effort characteristic of Roswyn, felt an indescribable emotion rising within her.

    “...I was too harsh.”

    How did things turn out this way? Why was she so foolish? What should she do to be forgiven by Frey again?

    Reading the densely written documents filled with these thoughts, Lunar muttered with a dark expression.

    “I could have supported her more.”

    Lunar could vividly picture Roswyn quietly withering away while working alone in this dark room.

    “Ugh...”

    She now really wanted to meet Roswyn.

    She wanted to talk to her face-to-face.

    Shameless as it was, she still wanted to comfort her, who was probably trembling with loneliness.

    “...Wait.”

    As she rummaged through Roswyn’s room, Lunar looked at her dusty hands and muttered softly.

    “But... Why did I forget about her?”

    A fundamental question overtook her.

    “And why didn’t Frey’s party contact her after the Fourth Ordeal?”

    As the questions deepened, Lunar’s expression became dazed.

    “If I don’t know... I have no choice.”

    Encasing herself in a gentle glow, she murmured.

    “...I have to go ask directly.”

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    A little while later.

    - Knock, knock, knock...!

    Covered in a moon-colored robe, Lunar knocked on the door of the snow-covered seaside cabin.

    “Hello! Everyone!!”

    There were numerous footprints leading to the entrance of the cabin, indicating many visitors had come before her.

    “Please open the door! I have something to ask!!”

    But most of the footprints showed signs of having turned back.

    “Haa, haa...”

    Continuing to knock, Lunar started exhaling heavily, her breath visible in the cold air.

    Something feels wrong...

    She had an inexplicable feeling of unease gnawing at her since earlier. She felt she needed to quickly find out Roswyn’s whereabouts.

    “I’m the Moon God... Please open the door, I have something important to say...”

    She inserted a small amount of lunar mana through the crack in the door and whispered in a trembling voice.

    - Thud...!!!

    “Ah!”

    The door suddenly burst open.

    “W-what is it?”

    Serena, who came rushing out barefoot, holding her now quite swollen belly, spoke urgently.

    “Is it news about Frey? Has he finally returned? Or has he sent a message through you?”

    “...”

    As she finished speaking, the rest of the heroines, who looked emaciated and exhausted, crowded around the door and stared at the Moon God.

    “That... that is...”

    Unable to muster the courage to say something so unexpected, Lunar hesitated, thinking it was all part of the effort to save Frey, she closed her eyes tightly and spoke.

    “Do you know where Roswyn is!?”

    The sudden, profound silence that followed.

    I should have assessed their condition first...

    “What do you mean by that?”

    Serena’s voice, which cut through the silence, was tinged with a sharp edge.

    “Uh, well... That is... I mean...”

    But then she was cut off by Serena’s next words, which left her stunned.

    “Who is Roswyn?”

    “...What?”

    Lunar’s face, which had been momentarily blank, began to harden.

    “Who is Roswyn that you’re asking us /genesisforsaken