Chapter 26: Groundwork and Quickening

Part 1

“Whewww……”

Ianna’s white breath escaped from her lips like smoke. The air that she had breathed in through her nose settled heavily inside her lungs. She had come to sit and meditate on top of a rock in the mountains that people rarely frequently on her last day before she began her last year at the Institution.

She had thought that her jumbled thoughts would make her head explode all winter long. Her heart was being eaten away by complicated emotions and refused to settle.

Ianna had gone on a trip with Arhad at the beginning of winter. And Arhad had dropped a bombshell on her at the end of their trip.

“I’ve decided not to be the emperor of the Bahamut Empire.”

“I’ll build a new country.”

His declaration that he would not usurp the Bahamut imperial throne but build a new country instead alone had been enough to make her dizzy with surprise.

“I want you to destroy that heart.”

But it was his request that she destroy the Demon’s heart that left her in mute amazement.

“But why?”

“I don’t need it anymore.”

“Won’t the Demon’s knowledge disappear if I destroy the Demon’s heart?”

“No. Sharing hearts doesn’t simply mean that you have two hearts now. They start interacting with and influencing each other without end. The Demon’s knowledge that I gain every time I collect another fragment is ‘imprinted’ on and accumulates in my current heart as well. I won’t be able to gain any new knowledge once the Demon’s heart is destroyed, of course, but that won’t be a problem since I’ve already acquired most of everything.”

“What if it has an effect on your power? Like your control over mana, for example.”

“It won’t. ‘My power’ comes from my soul and my current body, not the Demon’s heart. My control over mana, my swordplay, my intellect, and all of my other abilities —everything. The only thing I gain from the Demon’s heart is the Demon’s knowledge.”

He had answered her every question with perfect composure.

“The Demon’s heart is similar to human hearts in that it can’t produce divine power. And yet, it’s pointlessly large and greedy despite that, and it’s demanded an incredible amount of divine power from me ever since I connected myself to it. I’m far better off without it. And, putting my personal issues aside, the world is better off without it too. It destroys the world’s equilibrium and leads it to destruction. You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”

According to Arhad, destroying the Demon’s heart was only the logical thing to do. But Ianna had still been worried and reluctant to agree to it.

“Very well. But putting everything else aside —like power, knowledge, or even equilibrium—, the Demon’s heart is still your heart too. Destroying it would put you in agonizing pain.”

Ianna had realized that Roberstein’s heart was her heart too when she had connected to it. She wouldn’t die even if it were to be destroyed because she still had another heart to sustain herself with, but it was still her heart. She would suffer excruciating pain if it was destroyed.

“I can withstand a little pain.”

“That’s just what you think.”

“I’m being honest. The pain will only last a moment. It’ll be difficult, I’m sure, but I can bear with it.”

Ianna had stepped up to him. The distance between them had shortened because Arhad had not stepped back, and Ianna had stabbed her finger at his chest where his heart was.

“Your heart in here isn’t in normal condition either. What will you do if something happens to it because of the terrible pain?”

“…….”

“There was something that I’ve been thinking ever since I learned that you had two hearts. ‘I’m glad that Arhad has two hearts because it means that he has a spare just in case something happens, right?’ I think this even now. But you want me to stab one of your hearts out of existence? No, more importantly, you want me to put you through agony?”

Ianna had glared at him after she had said her piece. Arhad, who had been looking back at her, slowly looked away.

“I see. You don’t like it when I’m hurt.”

“Yes. I worry for you.”

Arhad had smiled faintly at Ianna’s hardened reply.

“I don’t like having to ask this of you either. That’s why I’ve tried to destroy the heart with my own hands before. But I couldn’t because of the special characteristics of the space called Pandemonium and because of the seal maintained by the fragment of Roberstein’s sword. You’re the only one who’s capable of destroying the Demon’s heart.”

“So?”

“Ianna, I may look complete on the outside, but I am always exhausted by my lacking on the inside.”

Ianna, who had still been disturbed by the idea, had pursed her lips.

“Like I said before, the Demon’s heart forces me to crave for life. I don’t want to be like this anymore, but the ‘need’ always breaks my will. The shame and inferiority complex I feel because of this exhausts me, and it makes it impossible for me to live as myself. And this isn’t something that can be solved even if you supply me with divine power.”

Arhad had grabbed her hand, which had still been prodding at his chest.

“I no longer wish to be swayed by something other than my own will. I want to try living on my own terms, something that you’re always talking about, with only my normal, human heart.”

In the end, Ianna had had no choice but to agree to his request.

Truly, so much about her life had changed that day. The things that had changed that day had hammered her soul dozens, hundreds of times a day ever she had come back from her trip.

Whoosh.

Spring was just around the corner, and winter’s last breath wrapped itself around the bare branches. The small buds that had begun sprouting on the branches cowered for a moment before straightening themselves out again. Was it only her delusion that they seemed to tilt her way and reach out toward her without stopping?

Rise was stabbed into the ground before her. It looked no different than it had when she had first received it at the dwarves’ village, and it was scattering the dawn around itself.

Ianna steadied her breathing and opened her eyes. Rise glowed even more brightly as soon as she did, as if it had been waiting only for her to finish her meditation. The sword had been forged in her image, and it seemed to share her newly cleared state of mind in its endlessly clean beauty.

Ianna scrutinized every aspect of Rise’s appearance.

‘It’s an excellent sword no matter how many times I lay my eyes upon it.’

Ianna had never cared about a sword’s sharpness or quality before, but she found herself unsatisfied by any other blade now that she had Rise.

She thought back on her sword’s name as she looked to it.

‘To rise up…….’

A new dawn, the time to put the past behind and begin a new present that could not be predicted.

‘Very well. Let’s do as Arhad wants.’

Time solved all things. Ianna accepted everything that had changed that winter and straightened out her heart completely.

She would do everything as Arhad wanted. Whether it be building a new country. Or destroying the Demon’s heart.

‘I’ll trust him since he said he’ll be all right. He wouldn’t shorten his own life and leave me behind.’

Ianna stood up from the rock now that she had become able to think boldly again. She picked Rise up. The sword shone even more brightly in Ianna’s hand —it’s perfect mistress.

Swish!

Rise created a fresh gale as it sliced through the air in the clear and cool forest. Ianna trained like she always did as she brandished her sword to her heart’s content.

Pshhh.

The branches danced when the sword’s gale hit against them. Rise’s gale was chilling yet clear, and it cut away even the winter wind as it instigated the quickening of new life.

‘A country where my creed will become as justice.’

Arhad had asked her to be the guidepost of his new country. The task was so daunting that it was burdensome, but Ianna was also honestly excited and intrigued.

She was already living this life a second time anyway, so why not play around in the big pond too while she was at it?

‘All right, let’s do this.’

Ianna decided that she would do things properly if she was to do it at all. And to do things properly, she first needed to have a clear understanding of her own creed, which was to become the foundation of their new country. She needed time to judge what was right from what was wrong.

‘I have plenty of time, so I’ll think things through slowly.’

Ianna sensed someone nearby just as it was about time for her to head back. She returned Rise to its sheath.

‘This reminds me to the mountain behind the manor. It’s the perfect place to train.’

She always found herself recalling that place whenever she trained inside a mountain or a forest like she was doing now. It had once been her only place of refuge.

‘Do I need to go there?’

She had no lingering attachments to it. She had even bid her place of refuge farewell so that she would not have to step foot inside the Roberstein lands again. But she wondered if she might need to visit the giant tree stump there once more. If she might need to visit Phaemdra’s roots, in which Roberstein’s heart was sealed.

‘I’ll have to visit when I get the chance.’

Ianna reached out. The ring that Arhad had given her sparkled on her ring finger. She was so accustomed to the ring being there now that she felt like she would feel lonely if she was ever without it.

Buzzz.

A black space spread out before her. She carefully placed Rise inside the subspace she had summoned before closing it back up again. She would have never let the sword leave her person if she could have it her way. But Rise was too eye-catching a sword to be carried around by a mere noble girl who just so happened to be skilled in swordplay.

It wasn’t that Ianna cared about others’ eyes. But things would become a pain if Rise’s existence was made known to the public. It was a terribly excellent sword in Ianna’s eyes, and she had handled countless blades, so what would others think about it? At the present, Ianna was too limited to be able to perfectly brush away all human curiosity and greed. And so, she had put off making Rise known to the public to a later time.

~~*~~

A new semester had started at the Institution. The Swordsmanship Department held an orientation before classes began.

Ianna took a look around her surroundings. Familiar faces had disappeared because people had graduated, and fresh new nervous first-years had taken their place.

‘This will be my last year seeing things like this.’

Ianna had soundly met her graduation requirements. This was why she was on the list of hopeful graduating students alongside Arhad even though she was only in her third year.

Her everyday life would change completely once she had graduated. She would begin working in earnest, either by taking on tasks like organizing important documents or by throwing herself into the blood and gore of battle.

And she would do this not in Roanne but in another land.

‘No. Arhad changed his plans, so things might change as early as this year instead of next year.’

Her heart was pounding.

‘I have to keep my wits about me since I don’t know how things will play out anymore.’

The orientation started.

The department head of the Swordsmanship Department this year was a sixth-year named Kierik. His sword skills were on the plainer side when compared to the department heads before him. In exchange, he was intelligent and made good decisions, and he had made many improvements to the Swordsmanship Department during his tenure in the student council, which he had joined as a first-year. He was magnanimous in temperament and was not the type to hold grudges. He was also crafty and never lost his composure no matter how much trouble was erupting around him. This was why Kierik was popular with the other students.

“I have a special announcement to make.”

And yet, Kierik, of all people, looked nervous as he stood at the podium. The students in the department took interest and paid close attention to what he was saying. He cleared his throat before loudly saying,

“The Valgenta Institution and the Theodore Academy will begin a student exchange program this year!”

Everyone doubted their ears.

Put in simple terms, a student exchange program offered students an opportunity to study at another school on scholarship.

The Valgenta Institution had already made many such agreements with foreign countries. Students were only allowed to stay at another school for one semester under the program, but many students who wanted to visit foreign lands took advantage of it.

But most students only took part in the program seasonally, as if it was a trip, instead of during the normal school year. This was because few other schools could match the Institution’s education quality.

There did exist a few students who applied to the program during a regular semester. They were generally those who had poorer grades in the Institution and wanted to raise their scores at another school. And yet…

“Nobles from the Theodore Academy will be coming to the Institution?”

It was difficult to comprehend. The Valgenta Institution may be renown throughout the world, but this wasn’t some school in a foreign country they were talking about —it was the Theodore Academy, attended by Roanne’s haughty nobles, so what could they possible gain from a student exchange program?

“Will anyone even come?”

“Maybe. But whoever it is will probably just strut all over the place arrogantly.”

The students reacted negatively.

Nobles and commoners were both human, but they each lived in different worlds. The class system was firm in the present, and commoners could only barely manage to rise above by struggling desperately and still also needed sufficient wealth and luck on top of that. Nobles were born high and mighty, and commoners were born humble and lowly. The students had already long since resigned themselves to this unfair world.

But the Institution presented them with a fair education system that allowed them to achieve good results so long as they had talent and put in the effort. It was only in the Institution that they could enjoy freedom and equality to their heart’s content. It was only natural that they had ill feelings about nobles, who were enshrouded by their entitlement, intruding upon the Institution.

They were ultimately destined to work under the king and the nobility and they struggled desperately to stand out before the nobility during the school festival, but those were separate matters.

“Well, I’m sure there are at least some nobles who aren’t like that.”

A few students looked to the few exceptions to the norm in the Swordsmanship Department, which included Ianna in their number, before turning forward again.

“But why are they starting this program?”

“Just hearing about it is awful.”

Most students could not see the point of this student exchange program. Surely, it would only cause a commotion.

The noble students from the Theodore Academy would surely act high-handedly toward the commoner students of the Valgenta Institution and offend them. And the commoner students of the Valgenta Institution would not be able to adjust to the Theodore Academy, which had been built exclusively for nobles, and displease the noble students. Each side was already familiar with their own way of doing things, and mixing the two worlds together would be uncomfortable for everyone involved. It was surely for the best that the two remained separate forever.

Kierik cleared his throats as he was showered with the students’ unhappy gazes and began explaining the details that he had heard from the faculty.

“It’s like the school festival. People have been saying for a while that nobles from Roanne should have priority over foreign nobles when it comes to recruiting talent from the Valgenta Institution because the Institution is a part of the Kingdom of Roanne. But students of the Institution don’t have a lot of chances to meet with outsiders outside of the school festival, right?”

“Right.”

“That’s why everyone’s so eager for the festival.”

“Indeed, the festival is an event of vital importance. But the school festival had to be cancelled last year due to the epidemic. The dean of the Theodore Academy decided that we needed to have another way for young nobles to be able to forge a relationship with young talent. And that’s what the student exchange program is supposed to be. But it’s not just any ordinary student exchange program.”

Kierik asked the teaching assistants to hand everyone a sheet of paper. It contained a detailed explanation of what the student exchange program would entail. Ianna read it over attentively, as its contents would surely become a hot topic of debate within the Institution.

There was a lot written down on the page, but the important points boiled down to the following.

Students from Theodore and Valgenta would attend the other organization as an exchange student for exactly one month, once a year. The details of the program varied slightly depending on the regulations of each respective school.

The Theodore Academy did not have many students, as only young Roanne nobles could attend, and students of each year were assigned to their classes at random with only a few exceptions. All students at the Academy focused their studies on subjects relating to governance, such as kingship, political science, management, and history, and could also take lectures in the refined arts, such as art or music, in accordance to their hobbies.

And so, Institution students visiting the Academy would not be able to choose which major they wanted to take. There was a limit to the kinds of classes they were able to take. They obviously could not take classes on kingship, as the lectures were tailored specifically for future rules and had little relevance to commoners. But classes on etiquette, gourmet, tea ceremonies, music, and the like were open to Institution students.

On the other hand, classes in the Institution were separated by major, so exchange students from the Theodore Academy would have to choose a major to attend. But the program only lasted for a month, so the Academy’s students were only at the Institution to enjoy the experience. With that in mind, the Institution would allow Academy students to take any class they wished regardless of the major they had chosen.

If they wanted to scout out military talent, they could take Swordsmanship Department classes, and they could also take Fashion Department classes if they were curious about how beautiful clothes were tailored. In other words, they were allowed to take classes from two completely unrelated majors if they so wished.

Exchange students would each be assigned an assistant from the school they were visiting. The assistants would do their best to help the exchange students enjoy their stay without any problems.

There were two types of assistants in the Institution. One was an assistant from the major the exchange students had chosen, and the other was a reserve assistant prepared in case the exchange student was taking classes outside their chosen major.

Every student who volunteered to be an assistant would be interviewed for their sociability, etiquette, and how much they knew about the Institution before they were selected for the role. Successfully selected assistants would receive a variety of benefits.

There were also a few precautions in place in consideration of the students’ respective differences in station.

Nobles from the Theodore Academy were not allowed to insult commoners from the Valgenta Institution, and they would not only be fined heavily for each offense but would also be barred from recruiting people from the Institution for the next five years. Not only would the offending nobles be humiliated because the resulting rumors would be vicious, but they would also find themselves at a disadvantage when scouting individuals of talent from the Institution in the future.

Likewise, students from the Valgenta Institution also could not be rude toward noble students from the Academy. Students who visited the Theodore Academy as exchange students would need to acquaint themselves with the rules of the nobility and keep to them perfectly. They were also disallowed from being friendly with the noble students without the latter’s permission.

The people who had drafted the program had taken a lot of consideration into resolving these points, as these were what the students would be the most concerned about.

“High-ranking nobles probably won’t apply, right? Talent will flock to them in droves even if they don’t do anything.”

“Who can say? A lot of high-ranking nobles attend the school festival. So they might be at least a little interested in the student exchange program too.”

“Isn’t studying and bickering amongst themselves all they do in the Theodore Academy anyway? There’ll probably be a lot of students applying just for fun.”

The students began clamoring amongst themselves —they had begun comparing the program to the school festival, just as Kierik had suggested, at some point. Kierik hit the podium as the mood in the hall began to change.

“Please take a look at the very last line.”

Every student turned their eyes to the bottom of the page.

“As you can see, the Theodore Academy and the Valgenta Institution will jointly host an end of year party at the end of December. Theodore and Valgenta will host the party in turns, and Valgenta will be hosting the first one.”

It was only reasonable. Hosts were in charge of receiving their guests. So how could the nobility host for commoners first? It would also allow both sides to save face if the Valgenta Institution hosted the first party and the nobles followed suit in their own style afterward.

But the students were skeptical.

“Will the nobles be satisfied with our party?”

“Ugh, they’re obviously only going to ridicule us. I’m embarrassed already.”

“Don’t we host the school festival every year, everyone?”

Kierik yelled over the commotion. He continued,

“We don’t need to take after the nobles’ parties. The nobles are probably sick and tired of their flashy parties already, so there’s no need for us to go out of our way to host yet another one for them. We can just consider the party as a continuation of the school festival.”

“That’s true.”

“Wouldn’t that actually make it more exquisite in the nobles’ eyes?”

Ultimately, the students had accepted the student exchange program, albeit half-heartedly. There would likely be a lot of noise, but this was the beginning of a close relationship between the Theodore Academy and the Valgenta Institution, which had treated each other like total strangers for ages.

Orientation was over. Ianna immediately went up to Arhad’s room to meet with him.

“Did you know about this?”

“I didn’t. I’ve never had the time to spare over matters regarding the Institution. Besides, being the Institution’s dean is Heinrich’s personal career. I’ve never had any reason to interfere and require reports about it from him.”

The members of Camastros respected each other’s individuality and respected each other’s personal career choices.

Heinrich may be affiliated with Camastros, but he was also an archmage, one of the strongest mages in the world, and the dean of the Institution, who was responsible for countless students. He researched magic ardently apart from his work with Camastros, and he was also sincere in his management of the Institution.

Arhad was attending the Institution, but he trusted that Heinrich would take care of any matters pertaining to the Institution well and had not been paying much attention to it. This was why Heinrich had been managing the Institution’s affairs at his own discretion.

Arhad pulled a communication artefact out of his pocket and activated it. Heinrich picked up quickly.

[Is something the matter?]

“I heard about the student exchange program today. Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

[I approved it because I thought it was a good program for the students. Should I not have?]

Heinrich sounded bewildered.

“I don’t mind it, but Ianna might.”

[Oh……I see. I suppose she would, considering her circumstances. Did Little Ianna disapprove of it?]

Arhad cast a sidelong glance at Ianna. Her brows were furrowed, but she still waved her hand no.

“She says she doesn’t mind, but I’m sure it still concerns her.”

[I will keep it in mind for the future. Please send her my apologies.]

Ianna gestured wildly to Arhad. She was embarrassed and wanted him to end the conversation quickly. Arhad smirked as he disconnected the call and, as if it couldn’t have mattered any less, simply said,

“Should I overturn it?”

“Pardon? Why?”

“I thought that this might stress you out.”

“Not at all. I wasn’t planning on paying much attention to it. I’ll be fine, so please just leave it be.”

“Are you sure? Be honest with me.”

“I’m really all right. This simply means that I have the option to take part in the student exchange program, and I don’t intend on taking it. I’m fine with anything so long as it doesn’t affect me.”

“But nobles will be coming to the Institution. The atmosphere around the Institution will change, and it might affect your everyday affairs too. I can overturn the entire thing if you don’t like it, so let me know anytime.”

“And how would you overturn it, exactly?”

“I’ll buy off some nobles and have them complain. They can just say that they don’t want to study alongside commoners or something.”

“Ruining the student exchange program like that would only make the relationship between the nobility and the commoners even worse.”

“What do I care?”

Arhad replied apathetically.

“There’s no need for that. I am planning to keep my head down and graduate quietly to follow you regardless of whether the student exchange program takes place or not.”

“Quietly? Then, does that mean you’ll stop doing things that stand out?”

“I do things that stand out?”

“Often. Like winning the swordsmanship tournament, winning a spar regardless of who your opponent is, punishing those who pick a fight with you, or stepping out against injustice…”

She had only won because it was only natural for her to win every fight. People had picked fights with her to her face, so she had simply beaten them dreadfully with either her words or her actions right there and then. She did not remember ever having stood up against injustice on purpose. Those who were doing bad deeds around her simply knew better and removed themselves from her view. Arhad continued,

“You’ve become a target for envy and jealousy because you’re always the top of your class. A lot of students in the Swordsmanship Department train under your instruction regardless of whether they’re your seniors or your juniors. There’s a rumor going around saying that you’re actually a lot kinder than you look because you teach others so well if only they ask for help.”

It was only natural that she was the top of her class, since she had trusted her talent and had trained hard. And, what was she supposed to do about the fact that people liked to follow after her on their own when she was training? They would likely leave her alone if she expressed her anger at them, but Ianna did not wish to do that. They were all people who envied her and were trying their best to grow stronger. She did not want to be cruel to such people.

“Hmmm…….”

Ianna sighed.

She wondered if she truly did stand out that much. Perhaps it was problematic that she didn’t care what others did so long as she did not mind the situation.

“I’d prefer that you don’t stand out too much. It’s fine if you’re only around commoners, but don’t stand out too much when the nobles are watching. I don’t want you to expose too much of yourself.”

“Very well. I’ll be careful.”

Ianna kept the things that Arhad had told her in mind. He was right in saying that it wasn’t a great idea to catch the nobles’ attention. Arhad would stand out with her if she stood out too much, and that could lead to all sorts of unexpected problems down the road.

“I suppose we’ll have to spar somewhere where others can’t watch,”

Ianna muttered as she clenched her hands into tight fists. Arhad smiled in great fun as he watched her blaze with obstinacy. It was adorable how she refused to stop sparring with him until the very end.

“You’re right.”

Ianna shot him a look and narrowed her eyes.

They were still sparring every day. Ianna had been growing stronger by the day, but their matches were still at a draw that showed no signs of tipping to one side or the other —perhaps Arhad had been provoked into putting in more effort as well.

Be it in their matches with their swords or with their emotions.

~~*~~

Part 2

The student exchange program was a hot topic ever since classes had begun. It was the first formal collaboration between the Theodore Academy and the Valgenta Institution ever since the two schools had first opened their doors. An anxious excitement surged within the Institution at the thought that nobles and commoners might mingle together.

Students from each department began applying to the program a week after classes had started.

Students in departments that were heavily related to the nobility, such as the Stewardship and Fashion Departments, were explosively interested in the program. This was their opportunity to demonstrate the things they had learned in class in high society.

Apart from studying, the biggest thing students could gain from the program was connections. Nothing could be better for them than the chance to forge a relationship with powerful nobles from Roanne. It helped them gather information, as they could observe young future rulers from up close and gauge their temperaments, abilities, and relationships. This was why even those students in majors that had nothing to do with the nobility was seriously considering whether they should apply to the program or not.

“Hannah from the Fashion Department said she was applying immediately, right?”

“Well, I’m sure she’s confident. She gets solicited from a lot of nobles at the school festival too.”

Those who were brave, confident in their skills, or ambitious did not miss the opportunity. After all, pioneers tended to gain a lot from the experience.

“Are you going to apply too?”

“I don’t know.”

But not many applications left the departmental offices. Not many students had applied even though it had already been a few days since applications were opened. Everyone who had applied had gotten into the program without needing to be interviewed.

“Now’s the best time to apply since everyone’s being hesitant about it, but I’m a bit scared to be one of the first people to apply because we don’t know how the nobles will react.”

“There’s always next year if things work out well this year. My personal safety come first and foremost to me, so I’m going to wait and see for now. What if this years’ students will come back in tears?”

This was the first year the program would be in effect, and no one knew how it would turn out. New programs tended to have a lot of problems at first, and they also made a lot of noise. The student exchange program would not be an exception to the rule. And it was obviously the commoners who would suffer should any problems arise. Most students had elected to be cautious and observe the situation first.

“Will you be applying, Sir?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

The Swordsmanship Department was also noisy as of late because of the student exchange program.

“A noble young master I know of invited me to come and said that he would be my mentor.”

“Is that what they’re calling assistants at the Academy?”

“Yeah. We’d be crazy to call nobles our assistants, after all. They’re calling it mentor and mentee over there so make it sound all sophisticated.”

“I’m jealous, in any case. A noble asked you to come?”

“Well, I think it’s a huge pain in the ass. I’m probably going to be forced into a life contract to that young master if I apply and he ends up being my mentor. But it’s not like I can exactly say no either.”

A lot of students in the Swordsmanship Department were acquainted with the nobility. Roanne was a militant nation, and her nobles were favorable to powerful warriors no matter how lowly their station. This was especially true of the Institution’s Swordsmanship Department students, who were all young individuals of talented coveted by nobles all across the world.

This was why the Swordsmanship Department was more at ease than were other departments. Life contracts were practically their only worries. But the students still hesitated in the face of an unknown future just like everyone else did. Everyone was afraid of firsts.

Thwack, thwack.

Ianna simply continued to strike her dummy, so secluded from the atmosphere around her that it was almost as if she was a part of another world. She simply continued her training regimen without change, as if she had never even heard about the student exchange program to begin with.

Other students were stealing glances at her.

“I guess our Lady Junior isn’t interested at all?”

“Why would she be? I get where she’s coming from. The nobles were really cold to her during the school festival two years ago.”

“But things should be better now that she has House Roberstein’s support, right?”

“I’d still bet that she won’t apply. She could have applied directly to the Theodore Academy to begin with if she wanted attend, so there’s probably a good reason why she went out of her way to attend the Valgenta Institution instead.”

“But didn’t His Royal Highness Prince Schneider personally ask her to be his knight? He even promised her a dwarven sword, so isn’t it only natural that she’ll comply? She can’t keep a wall between herself and the nobility forever if she’s going to serve royalty, so she’ll probably have to start forging some connections with them. It’d be a good opportunity for her to apply as an exchange student.”

“What are you talking about? Our Lady Junior’s been leaving Prince Schneider high and dry. Haven’t you heard? —it’s a pretty famous story.”

“Ack. That’s crazy.”

“She’s been ignoring invitation to the nobles’ parties too. I heard from a noble lord who’s been employing me.”

“That’s amazing.”

It was about then that the students began feeling nihilistic.

“Hey, why don’t we just worry about ourselves? Lady Ianna’s got her head on straight, so she’ll figure things out well enough on her own —why should we have to worry about her?”

“But I’m so curious about what she plans to do. Any path she decides to take will probably be a good one, so I feel like it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to follow after her.”

“That’s true.”

“Hmm. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if she ever became my superior. She’s pretty, and cool, and amazing…….”

“How suspicious. Do you have a crush on Lady Ianna or something?”

“What? N-no?”

Someone flushed furiously red as his dark desires were exposed. His friends began wagging their tongues at him.

“Wake up. You’re practically a squid when compared to Little Arhad.”

“I said I don’t,”

he mumbled quietly —he knew best about his sad circumstances without others having to point it out to him.

“Are you interested in applying to the student exchange program, Miss Ianna? I was thinking about applying too if you are,”

asked one of Ianna’s juniors who followed her and trained hard with her as his eyes sparkled.

“…….”

Everyone had already determined that Ianna would not apply, but they still listened closely in quiet anticipation anyway. There were several nobles in the Swordsmanship Department, but none as high-ranking as Ianna. They would feel reassured if Ianna applied with them.

“No, never.”

But Ianna cut down their anticipation at once with her curt reply.

“I see.”

Her junior gave up immediately, as Ianna rarely went back on her decision once she had already decided.

“Don’t rely on me and do what you want to do.”

“But’s I’m scared. I’d rather observe the situation first.”

“That’s an option too. There are a lot of bastards among the nobility who regard commoners as animals instead of people, so it’s possible that things could get dangerous for you if you apply.”

Ianna let out a breath, which had grown ragged from running, and narrowed her eyes sharply.

Thinking about the Theodore Academy tended to sour her mood. She regarded the time she had spent at the Academy as a horrific nightmare. She had suffered all sorts of unreasonable things there, had been forced to surrender any and all expectations she had ever had of others, and had ultimately dropped out.

The people who had been running behind Ianna stiffened up slightly.

“But it can also be a good opportunity for you. Like everyone says, it’s not easy for commoners to forge relationships with the nobility.”

Ianna despised the Academy, but that did not mean she intended to negatively affect the lives of other Swordsmanship Department students. Which was why she honestly laid out the advantages of applying to the program to them. She continued,

“It’s not a bad idea to meet the nobles in person if you plan on serving them in the future.”

Ianna had seen many warriors who had become mercenaries after growing tired of the caste system as they served the nobility. Exchange students would be able to experience the caste system firsthand and learn whether they could live with it or not early on, which meant that they could save themselves a lot of time in the future.

“And decent nobles do exist, so you might even find someone you’d like to serve one day if you apply as an exchange student.”

“Miss Ianna!”

Just then, Professor Filliger Ashltondt, who had been overseeing the students’ training, called out to her. He continued,

“Could you please see me for a moment?”

Ianna wiped away the sweat at her brow as she walked up to him.

“Did you need me for something?”

“This might take a while —do you mind moving elsewhere?”

“Very well. May I drop by your office in a bit? I’d like to tidy up first.”

Filliger left ahead of her, and Ianna washed up and changed into neater clothes. Then, she made her way to Filliger’s office.

“You’re here? Take a seat.”

Filliger, who was sitting on the sofa, pointed to the seat opposite of him. He continued,

“I’m sure you must be thirsty since you’ve been training.”

He poured Ianna a glass of cold water when she sat down. Ianna thanked him and drank the water while keeping an eye on him. What had he called her for?

“Your skills seem to be progressing rapidly by the day. It’s nice to see that you motivate your seniors and juniors alike to train harder. The students’ skills have grown noticeably better ever since you first started here.”

“I’m glad that I’ve had a positive influence on them. But my influence aside, none of their progress would have been possible if not for their own efforts. They’ve only grown more skilled because they’ve all been working hard.”

“Haha, yes, that’s true.”

They exchanged small talk for a bit before Filliger got straight to the point.

“About the student exchange program, Miss Ianna…”

Ianna stopped drinking her water. Filliger continued,

“Would you mind being an assistant? Students who become assistants receive certain benefits. Such as extra credit or monetary compensation…….”

Filliger’s words trailed off. Ianna had no real reason to be an assistant. She was easily the top student of her year without any need for extra credit, and she also had the support of the mysterious man who had been willing to spend 500,000 gold on her for just one day.

“No thank you.”

Ianna had thought that he would ask her to be an exchange student, but he had asked her to be an assistant instead. But she did not plan on being an assistant either, so she flatly turned Filliger down as soon as the words had left his mouth.

“Hmm, is there anything I can say to change your mind?”

“No. I have neither the intent nor the desire to be an assistant. I am also not cut out to be an assistant. But, considering that you’ve gone out of your way to ask me, is there a shortage of willing assistants?”

“That’s not the issue. There are more than enough volunteer assistants from the Swordsmanship Department, but…….”

Filliger let out a deep sigh. He continued,

“Sigh. It’s a bit embarrassing, but allow me to be frank. His Majesty the King asked me if I could persuade you into being the exclusive assistant to one of the students who will be coming to the Institution as an exchange student from the Academy, Miss Ianna. I am supposed to act as a role model to others and am therefore not supposed to be entertaining such requests, but, as a faithful subject to the king, I could not refuse him.”

The king. Ianna immediately understood what Filliger was trying to say.

“Is it a member of the royal family?”

“Yes.”

“If it’s a member of the royal family of the appropriate age to attend the Academy…….”

“It’s Princess Angelina.”

Ianna pursed her lips.

Why was Princess Angelina coming here?

“To tell you the truth, this program was proposed by the dean of the Academy at His Majesty’s command. There was an uproar in the royal palace this past winter. Princess Angelina secretly submitted an application to the Institution’s Fashion Department, and the shocked admissions officer reported it back to the royal family. The Princess pleaded with His Majesty to send her to the Institution instead of the Academy when he grew angry with her. His Majesty treasures Princess Angelina dearly and always listens to what she has to say. I hear that the student exchange program was the compromise they reached after taking many other things into consideration.”

“…….”

“It might have come to be through questionable circumstances, but I sincerely believe that this program will be beneficial to the Institution’s students. It’s a great opportunity for them to make new connections, wouldn’t you agree?”

Filliger was not wrong. It was only now that Ianna had learned that the program had been a result of Angelina’s obstinacy, but it still undoubtedly had its benefits.

Students might even be able to stand out in Princess Angelina’s eyes if things went truly well for them. It was as difficult for commoners to catch the attention of royalty as it was to pluck a star from the heavens, but the students would be granted the opportunity. What greater chance would they have if they were able to meet with a member of the royal family in person and study together?

But Ianna’s mood dropped like bricks. She twinned her fingers together as she looked back at Filliger.

“I understand what happened. But, if you’re asking me to be her ‘exclusive’ assistant, then does that mean she will be applying to the Swordsmanship Department?”

“It may seem unbelievable to you, but yes.”

Ianna squeezed her fingers together.

“Has she even held a sword before?”

“No. She is a complete amateur.”

Exchange students would be graded on a pass/fail basis as if they were taking electives. They could technically pass so long as they attended lectures, but they still had to show sincere interest in the majors they had chosen. This was why exchange students had been limited in what majors they could apply to.

Ianna disliked Angelina, but she also acknowledged that the princess was well-rounded. Not only was Angelina a peerless beauty, she was also a flower of high society who was skilled in a number of arts, such as dancing, singing, needlework, and conversation. She was also smart and able to use magic, having inherited both the blood of the royal family and the blood of House Winnifried.

She could have been easily admitted to any school but the School of Martial Arts, so why did she insist on applying to the Swordsmanship Department despite never having even held a sword a before?

“Why is she applying as an exchange student to the Swordsmanship Department when she initially applied to the Fashion Department?”

“The program is only a month long, and I am told that she gave up on the Fashion Department because she would not be able to gain much from attending for just a month no matter how much effort she put into her studies. She apparently preferred to apply to the Swordsmanship Department and scout out individuals who might one day protect her as her knights. It’s not very strange that the princess applied to the Swordsmanship Department, considering what the purpose of this program is. The nobility is highly interested in the Swordsmanship Department, and it isn’t all that strange for the princess to be interested as well.”

But Ianna’s doubts weren’t assuaged by Filliger’s explanation. He continued,

“She also claims to want to study swordsmanship for self-defense. She’s aware that she’s a beginner, and she says she will practice only the basics and will concentrating on learning theory instead. She’s studied basic theory before, so she will not have any issue taking upperclassmen lectures.”

“I still don’t understand. She can study that in the royal palace or at the Theodore Academy if it pleases her. Why did she try to apply to the Institution to begin with?”

“I’m told that she has always been very interested in the Institution.”

Interest? What kind of interest?

The princess had never shown any interest in the Institution in Ianna’s past life. Talented personnel would flock to her and bow down before her in want of serving her even if she did nothing. There existed some odd exceptions, like Schneider, but most of the royal family, Angelina included, was indifferent to the Institution. But now, in this life, Angelina had not only tried to apply to the Institution as a proper student but had also created the student exchange program.

‘It’s probably Arhad that she’s interested in, not the Institution itself.’

Arhad was the only plausible cause for her change. Angelina had a crush on Arhad. She had even asked Ianna to break up with him during the king’s birthday party last year. It was clear to Ianna that Angelina was stirring up yet another fuss over Arhad this time too.

Angelina had probably wanted to apply to the Swordsmanship Department to begin with because that’s where Arhad was, but she had probably decided to apply to the Fashion Department instead because it was impractical for her to apply to the Swordsmanship Department as a proper student. And she had probably jumped at the opportunity to attend the Swordsmanship Department once the king had created the student exchange program for her. Her desire to learn swordsmanship was probably just an excuse. But things were still strange even then.

“Is Princess Angelina aware that that His Majesty wants me to be her exclusive assistant?”

“Of course she does, since it’s important. His Majesty came to me only after he had finished discussing things with the princess. I’ve asked the princess for her opinion as well, and she told me that she dearly hoped you would agree.”

Ianna’s thought circuits creaked.

‘What the hell does this girl want with me?’

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

Filliger asked gingerly when Ianna frowned.

“Are you aware of the relationship I currently share with the princess, Professor?”

“Hmm? Did something happen?”

Filliger made a serious face. Was he truly not aware? It had been quite an infamous incident. But then again, Filliger was uninterested in the happenings of high society and he had even stepped down as the head of House Ashltondt to devote his heart and soul to fostering the younger generation, so it was entirely possible that he wasn’t. He continued,

“Please tell me honestly and without sparing any details if something happened between you and the princess, Little Ianna. We can’t be careless about this matter since it concerns the royal family.”

Ianna could not tell her attentively listening professor that she had made Angelina cry over matters relating to blind love. But she still had to explain things to him, so she chose to tell him only the important information.

That being……how Angelina had a crush on Arhad and had tried to force Ianna into breaking up with him last year during the king’s birthday party.

“And yet she wants me to be her assistant?”

“Oh dear…”

Filliger sighed and fell into a moment of silence. Then, he continued,

“I understand. Princess Angelina is someone who’s always gotten what she wants……. This is true of every member of the royal family, and not only the princess, so I would ask that you try to be understanding. Besides, the princess is barely seventeen. She’s young, and she hasn’t learned to fully control her emotions quite yet.”

“She is only a year younger than I.”

Filliger chuckled dryly as he looked back at Ianna.

“Most nobles your age are overflowing with passion and often find themselves in trouble for it. You’re the exception to the rule.”

It was certainly true that Ianna was an exception.

Even Ianna had been swayed by the emotions she had been unable to put away around this time in her past life. But there was no reason for her to be so over-passionate now. She had already been alive for so long if you added both her past and current lives together. Though she did admittedly feel like she grew a little younger when things came to Arhad.

“Wouldn’t His Majesty also be aware of this?”

Ianna had made Angelina cry, had embarrassed the princess in front of a crowd, and had even stolen away the man the princess had a crush on. How would the king, who purportedly treasured Angelina, view Ianna?

“……I would assume that he is.”

“Then I cannot fathom why they would ask this of you, Professor. Especially Princess Angelina.”

Was Angelina trying to harass her via legal means? Or was the princess simply trying to see Arhad again by sticking close to her?

Ianna scowled heavily.

‘This is unpleasant.’

Ianna didn’t care about Angelina’s crush on Arhad since Arhad would only look to her, she didn’t care, but…….

No, she acknowledged it. She did care.

Ianna found the very idea of Angelina loitering around near Arhad unpleasant regardless of whether the princess got in the way of his work or not. She disliked the interest the princess paid him.

‘I don’t like it when others lay their eyes on what’s mine.’

Ianna flinched once she had thought as much. She realized that she had changed quite a lot. Her feelings for Arhad had become so dense that even she was beginning to notice them. And she had found it so natural to be blazing in her possessiveness of him.

‘I need to get myself under control. I’m being immature. I’m not some young child who doesn’t want her toys to be taken away from her.’

Though Arhad would obviously like her all the more for being this way……it was quite a serious illness indeed that she was even thinking this to begin with.

Filliger began murmuring to himself and crossed his arms as Ianna was growing embarrassed at herself.

“I knew that the two of you were dating because there was no way that I wouldn’t know while teaching the Swordsmanship Department, but to think that Princess Angelina had done something like that because she had a crush on him too. But when did that even happen? I thought that Mr. Arhad rarely attends parties?”

“Their first and last encounter was during our debut.”

“Then Princess Angelina has had barely any contact with him at all. Oh, did she fall in love with him at first sight at the debutante? Hmmm.”

Filliger looked puzzled as he stroked his chin. He continued,

“Should I say that she’s pure, or that she’s simply naïve…?”

Filliger had probably been completely blindsided by this turn of events. After all, what kind of high and mighty royal would suddenly fall so head over heels for a common-born man who had just been adopted into a low-ranking noble house just because of his appearance that she had openly quarreled with the noble girl whom he was dating?

Even Ianna had never expected Angelina to develop a crush on Arhad. She recalled how Angelina had been like in the past. She had clung to Schneider, pallid and terrified, with tears dangling from her jewel-like sapphire eyes.

“I implore you to aid Killiko, Lord Brother. The emperor of Bahamut has been beheading the nobles’ heads and sending them to the palace. He says he’ll behead my husband and me as well if we don’t surrender completely and flee. How could a human being be so cruel?”

“Killiko is reaping what she sowed. Do you even know just how many Killiko nobles offered their land and authority to the emperor as soon as he declared war? Besides, you’re the queen of Killiko now, Angelina. I’m already busy enough with the daunting task of keeping Roanne in order, so deal with your own kingdom’s matters on your own.”

“But my Lord Brother……. That doesn’t change the fact that we are still siblings. And Roanne still has some leeway to spare. Please help me. My husband is ready to go to war. But I don’t wish for that. Ah, I’m so, so scared. What do I do? I’ve only seen the emperor’s face once from afar, but just recalling what he looked like makes my hair stand on edge. I have nightmares of him holding up his sword to behead me with that terrifying expression on his face every night.”

That was what Angelina had said.

Ianna remembered this because Angelina had stirred up so much of a fuss with Schneider back then. She hadn’t cared much about Angelina and therefore did not remember if she had been slain by Arhad or had perished in some other manner, but there was one thing that Ianna was certain of. Angelina had only known Arhad as the emperor of Bahamut at the time, and she had despised him in her terror.

Arhad had no reason to attend parties in the royal palace of Roanne in the past, and Angelina, who had practically been caged inside the palace, had never met him in person. So it was only due to the so-called butterfly effect that Angelina had met Arhad and had developed a crush on him in this life.

“Then again, it’s most certainly true that Mr. Arhad is handsome. He’s attractive enough to compare to a royal attendant.”

It was true. Employees of the royal palace were chosen carefully. Their identities were secure, and they must be of a high station, even if they were commoners, and unquestionably skilled. They also needed to be rather good-looking.

And even among them, only very attractive individuals of noble birth had the right to serve the royal family as royal attendants. But Arhad was still significantly more attractive even when compared against them.

“I’ve heard that there were many noble girls who saw Mr. Arhad from afar and liked him secretly even before he was adopted into House Callisto. So I suppose Princess Angelina simply wasn’t able to help herself.”

Ianna marveled yet again as she heard what Filliger had said. Nobles were much more possessive than were royals. The royal family could get their hands on whatever it was that they wanted, but the same was not true of nobles. Nobles tended to do anything in their power to get what they wanted regardless of the self-restrain they paraded on the outside, so it was strange that Ianna had never known of this until now. Perhaps the nobles hadn’t wanted Arhad that much?

‘Or perhaps Arhad dealt with them quietly?’

Filliger laughed heartily as Ianna lost herself in thought.

“Are you worried about the women around Mr. Arhad? I see that even you know how to be in love. Every noble girl who’s ever been interested in him were arranged into marriages already and are living well, so you needn’t worry over them.”

Ianna had actually been worried that Arhad had simply killed them off. It looked like their parents had forced them to marry before they fell any deeper in love with a lowly commoner, but she was glad to know that they were safe and well nevertheless.

‘But I’m sure Arhad would have behaved himself even if they didn’t get married off, so it wouldn’t have been a problem anyway.’

“In any event, I understand why you wouldn’t want to be the princess’ assistant. I’ll see what I can do.”

It sounded like Filliger had reached a conclusion.

“Wasn’t it an order from the king?”

“It would have been, if Institution was directly affiliated with the Kingdom of Roanne, but the Institution has always been free to stand against outside pressure. I may be a faithful servant to the king, but His Majesty will not go as far as to break tradition and order this of me.”

Ianna contemplated for a moment before she made a decision and asked,

“Professor, would I have to assume responsibility for the princess all day long if I agreed to be her assistant? And would I be in charge of her protection too?”

“Hmm? No, that won’t be necessary. She’s still royalty, so I was planning to ask that she be accompanied by a royal knight at all times regardless. You would only be responsible for helping her adjust to the Institution’s system, and it wouldn’t impact your training much either because you would only need to be with her in the classes you have together. Why do you ask?”

“May I have some time to think about this matter?”

“What made you change your mind so suddenly?”

“Let us call it a whim on my part.”

Ianna didn’t know why Angelina had applied to the Swordsmanship Department and was asking for Ianna to be made her assistant, but she wondered if it would be better to keep a close eye on Angelina and prevent the princess from being ridiculous. Besides, she was also curious as to why the princess was acting like this to begin with. She continued,

“I will let you know by tomorrow.”

Ianna contacted Arhad as soon as she had left Filliger’s office. She reported back everything she had Filliger had discussed and asked,

“Did you know that the princess was coming?”

[No, I didn’t care to. Should I pay more attention to her going forward?]

“No, there’s no need for that.”

[Then, should we just kill her? It’ll be better to deal with her now if she’s concerning you that much. Just give me the word.]

Arhad’s coldhearted words suddenly made Ianna pity Angelina. The princess had only succeeded in wasting away her life if she had truly come to the Institution because of Arhad. She would be nothing but a victim of the butterfly’s effect that Ianna had set in motion.

Oh, but then again, she’ll still end up dying at Arhad’s hands just like before regardless of the butterfly’s effect, so perhaps I’m only shedding crocodile tears for her…….

Then, Ianna could not help wonder if Arhad’s and her humanities were at risk, seeing that they were pondering over another’s death like it meant nothing to them at all. Making light of death as a creed would only pose a negative influence on the kingdom they were to build. Ianna reflected upon herself as she said,

“No. Please just let her be.”

[Are you sure? Then what are you planning to do?]

“It’s only a month, so I’d at least like to try. I don’t know what the princess if up to, so I’d feel better is she was close by where I can keep an eye on her.”

[Don’t waste your time on pointless things.]

“It didn’t sound like being an assistant would consume much of my time. All I need to do is help her a little initially.”

[But it’s still such a waste of……no, do what you want to do.]

Arhad had been about to stop her, but his words fell flat like a loose arrow suddenly taking a nosedive instead of flying straight. Ianna found it funny.

“You’re not going to stop me?”

[I don’t want to stop you from doing something you want to do.]

It would have been so nice if only he had stopped right there, but Arhad had to go ahead and tack on nonsense too. He continued,

[I don’t care what you do as long as you don’t abandon me.]

Ianna furrowed her brows.

“Why would I abandon you?”

When would Arhad ever fix this bad habit of his?

Arhad’s anxieties relating to Ianna were not easily corrected. The dreadful anxiety lying dormant deep inside his heart tended to show in the form of words such as, ‘Don’t abandon me,’ whenever Ianna thought she might finally forget about it.

Now, Ianna knew that the way he would be absolutely dumbstruck whenever she did something nice for him only to later doubt himself and pitifully wonder, ‘Was it all just a dream?’ was because he was highly expectant yet extremely unconfident when it came to her.

[Ah, that was just by habit.]

He had gotten much better about it now. But the tightly-stacked layers of anxiety within him had yet to be fully absolved even though their relationship had progressed significantly. Which was why he continued to speak aloud his anxieties subconsciously or by habit.

“It’s not that I won’t abandon you, I can’t. Do you truly believe I could leave you even if I wanted to?”

[I know. I misspoke.]

He sounded happy. There was a spring in his voice that hadn’t been there before. But Ianna knew that it still hadn’t been enough. She had not been able to understand Arhad’s anxieties back when she hadn’t known their cause, but she could accept it now.

Though Ianna didn’t know why, the Demon, Arhad’s previous incarnation, had been abandoned by Roberstein and trapped underground alone for ages. In the place where the surging negative emotions dyed your soul black and drove you crazy. His anxiety had been planted in him like a great tree, and she could not rip out its roots with nice words alone.

Then, what was she to do?

Ianna hastened her pace. She had been walking over to the magic tower where he was as they conversed.

Slam!

Ianna immediately flung the door open when she arrived at Arhad’s room. Arhad had pushed aside his piles of documents to either side of his desk and was leaning over his desk in between, and he sat up straight with his eyes opened wide when he saw her.

What else could she do? She would have to work hard to scrape out each root one by one.

Ianna grabbed Arhad by the collar before he could even say anything and pressed her lips against his.

“…….”

Arhad had grown used to being pulled into kisses like this by now, and he closed his eyes obediently. He would have never resisted even if he hadn’t been accustomed to them, and a mysterious delight tickled Ianna’s heart because he quietly accepted her head-butt to the lips.

‘It tastes like blood…….’

She could taste the tang of blood from their lips. It didn’t sting, so it was likely Arhad’s lips that had torn, not hers. Ianna reflected on her actions. Arhad’s lips were never safe around her these days.

But what else could she do? She still felt a little awkward and embarrassed to kiss him in any other way than by violently pulling him in by the collar. And it wasn’t as if Arhad was complaining either. Which was why Ianna always ended up grabbing him by the collar to kiss him……but she fell slightly into contemplation as his once-smooth lips kept tearing.

Ianna recalled the time when Arhad had kissed her first. He had wrapped around her deftly and created a strange mood in the air as he had done so…….

The hair on Ianna’s skin stood at end. She was starting to grow accustomed to the strange mood that Arhad sometimes created, but her heart still beat furiously with a queer anticipation every time.

Ianna was a quick study. She adapted quickly too. But she could not for the life of her grow indifferent to this queer anticipation. She studied Arhad with her eyes slightly lowered.

But she still needed to change something. She wanted to clear away his anxieties and make him happy. She wanted to make him just a little more impatient.

Ianna decided to slowly pull out the ‘Arhad experimentation notebook’ that she had hidden away inside her heart. She would test things slowly because she was still nervous. Very, very slowly.

The next day, Ianna sought Filliger out and told him that she would agree to be an assistant.

“Truly? Thank you. I’ll be sure that you get your extra credit and compensation. Though I suppose you won’t really need either, as you’ll probably be the top of your year again regardless and you have an affluent sponsor behind you.”

“That doesn’t matter. I still ought to receive what I am due.”

Filliger laughed heartily.

“Indeed. Also, I’ve taken note of your circumstances, Miss Ianna, and I will be sure to keep a careful eye on Princess Angelina on my end as well. I doubt things will get to this point, but I will step up and stop the princess if she starts harassing you —so don’t you worry about that. Oh, but you mustn’t be rude to her just because she’s surly with you. Understand?”

“But of course. And I will not be requiring your help, Professor.”

Ianna had decided to see this as a fight of sorts.

She would not turn down a fight that another picked with her. Angelina was free to torment her as much as she pleased. Angelina was free to linger around Arhad if she so wished. After all, she would be the one to pay the consequences of her actions.

Ianna surged with the twisted anticipation to see how Angelina intended to annoy her. She wasn’t worried at all. Angelina was nothing more than a day-old puppy in every sense of the term.

“Is that so? But I’ll still keep an eye on her just in case.”

Filliger smiled.

~~*~~

Part 3

Time passed quickly.

Ianna was to stay at the Institution until the end of April, when the exchange students would visit, and she would leave for Marquis Chaipan’s lands for her practical experience in May, the second round of practical experience periods during the spring semester.

Students needed to apply ahead of time and receive the noble’s permission to visit their lands in order to gain practical experience there. Ianna, too, had sent her application to Marquis Gellonian Chaipan. Her letter of acceptance had been returned in hardly any time at all. He had apparently sent it back as soon as he had received her application.

Lady Ianna Roberstein,

Are you finally paying a visit to my lands?

I have been waiting eagerly for your application.

Sir Fredrick Holt and the rest of my knights are all delighted to know that you will be coming.

I have started putting them through hellish training so they will not embarrass themselves in front of you.

My wife tells me that she wants to treat you to a delicious meal.

It seems like she’s been wanting to meet you in person because I praised you so highly.

I pray you will be here soon.

Gellonian welcomed her fervently. Even Professor Filliger, who had handed her the letter, had clicked his tongue at the fuss Gellonian Chaipan was making.

Finally, it was the day for the exchange students from the Theodore Academy to arrive at the Valgenta Institution.

For security reasons, the students hadn’t been told which nobles were visiting. The roster of exchange students and their assistants would be passed out after orientation today. Assistants would be assigned at random during orientation if the exchange students hadn’t specified for anyone in particular.

Hustle bustle.

The nobles’ carriages arrived at the Institution gates one after another. Curious students who had come outside to see studied the house crests painted on the carriages and the faces of the nobles who stepped out of them.

Ianna was also waiting by the entrance. But she had her back to the wall and sighed ceaselessly. She did not care about any visiting nobles others than Angelina.

“Heyyy. Isn’t Princess Angelina supposed to be coming?”

The students’ whispers reached Ianna’s hears.

“I hear she’s like an angel.”

“To think that we’ll get to see her in person…….”

Rumors that the princess was coming had exploded all throughout the Institution. This news had been made an exception to the security measures so that the students had a chance to become acquainted with the situation. Ianna sighed, knowing that she was soon to be at the focus of everyone’s attention again.

Clatter.

A white carriage with glittering decorations came from afar and stopped before the gates.

“She’s here!”

It was Angelina.

Clatter.

A knight helped Angelina climb down from her carriage.

“Oh my god!”

No one who had laid their eyes on Angelina could hide their astonishment. Some were even dumbstruck by her beauty and were staring at her blankly. Putting even the fact that she was royalty aside, Angelina was praised as the most beautiful women in all of Roanne. Rumors even suggested that she was even one of the most beautiful women in all of Roanne’s ancient history. How could anyone not be stupefied in the face of such beauty?

“Make way!”

The crowd made a path for her at the royal knight’s sharp cry.

‘Is she here?’

Ianna moved off the wall and straightened herself out. She observed Angelina as the princess stood at the center of the crowd at a distance away. But the princess was pallid. She also seemed a bit skinnier than before. And it even seemed like she was trembling, perhaps due to nerves…….

‘Was she ill?’

Ianna tilted her head to the side as she stepped forward. Angelina’s gaze fell upon her as she stood beside the path that had opened up with her crimson hair swaying behind her.

Ianna’s eyes locked with Angelina’s. Angelina’s sapphire eyes wavered as soon as Ianna entered her field of vision. Ianna stared flatly back at her.

‘If you’re here to harass me, then go ahead and try.’

It would be little more than playing house. Ianna was confident that she would not twitch even a single eyelash over the princess.

Angelina quickly made her way over to Ianna. Ianna simply stood her ground.

“……?!”

Then, Angelina threw herself in Ianna’s arms. It had been such a sudden attack that even Ianna had been caught completely off guard. Everyone around them stared to look at Ianna and Angelina, who were suddenly stuck together.

“…….”

The silent staring prickled. Everyone was staring so pointedly that Ianna felt like she had become a hedgehog. Ianna stood awkwardly and she brought her hand, which had lost its original direction, up to her forehead.

‘What the hell?’

Angelina was short, and her head barely reached Ianna’s ears as she buried her face against Ianna’s shoulder. Her slender fingers were clutching on Ianna’s clothes like they were her lifeline. Her fine silver hair swayed in the wind before Ianna’s very eyes.

Ianna felt incredibly awkward. Was this also one of the wicked schemes that Angelina had planned before coming here? ……But Angelina was acting too strange for that to be true. Angelina was shivering in Ianna’s arms like a baby bird who had been drenched in ice-cold water. Even Ianna found her so feeble and pitiful that she could not pry the princess off of her.

‘What is she playing at?’

Ianna’s competitive spirit, which had been clamoring that she would not simply stand down if Angelina acted out, quickly evaporated. Ianna turned her eyes to look at the royal knight. It looked like even he had been surprised by Angelina’s sudden actions, as he seemed to be having trouble just gulping.

‘Oh gosh.’

Ianna quickly smacked her tongue as she tried to pull Angelina’s arms off. But Angelina only flinched and buried herself deeper into Ianna’s embrace. Ianna wondered if the princess had lost her mind for some reason or if she was doing this on purpose.

‘And it’s not like I can shake her off while everyone’s watching.’

Ianna ultimately decided to push off gauging Angelina’s intentions for later and decided to deal with the immediate situation for now. She would have to package the princess in a good light as she dealt with things, of course.

“Princess,”

Ianna whispered by Angelina’s ear as she wrapped herself around her. She continued,

“Is someone blackmailing you? You may be at ease if not. You have no enemies here.”

Ianna’s saying that there were no enemies here also carried the arrogantly implicit meaning that she would personally kill any enemies if they were present. Angelina stopped shuddering and slowly calmed down, perhaps because she had been relieved by Ianna’s brusque but calm words.

Then, Ianna calmly continued whispering to her,

“Please let go of me if you’ve calmed down.”

“Oh! I-I’m so sorry.”

It was only then that Angelina came back to her senses and apologized as she pulled herself out of Ianna’s embrace. Ianna straightened out her disheveled clothes and pat them down. Her upper body smelled of perfume now because Angelina had been hugging her so tightly.

Angelina remembered that she and Ianna were on bad terms now that she had regained her senses. Perhaps that was why Ianna was acting almost disgusted, as if something dirty had touched her. Angelina’s face flushed red as she grew embarrassed.

“I’m truly sorry……about before,”

Angelina whispered quietly. Ianna looked to Angelina again once she was sure that her clothes had been straightened out. The princess was wriggling her fingers as if she didn’t know what to do with herself.

“Why don’t you head inside for now?”

Ianna did not intend to accept Angelina’s apology unless the princess meant to give up on Arhad completely. But it was still curious to her that someone from the royal family had put aside their obstinacy and was apologizing to her. Ianna continued,

“There are many eyes on us at the moment, so we should talk again at a later time.”

Ianna looked to the knight who was hovering behind them, and he quickly stepped forward.

“We must make our way to the dean’s office, Your Highness. Please allow me to escort you.”

“Okay.”

Angelina was staring directly at Ianna even as the knight escorted her away. She looked so much like a puppy staring at her owner that it made Ianna feel uncomfortable.

‘Why is she acting like that?’

Just then. Another carriage had approached while the situation had been settling down and had stopped behind Angelina’s carriage.

“……!”

Ianna even forgot that Angelina was still present as the flag fluttering above the new carriage stole away her attention. The ever so familiar crest drawn on it truly took her by surprise.

Clatter.

The carriage opened, and a lightly dressed man calmly climbed out from it. His blue eyes met Ianna’s red ones. Ianna was rendered speechless as she looked back at him, and the neat lines of his eyes curled into a grin.

“It’s been a while, Ianna.”

Ianna mumbled back his name.

“Young Master……Harchen.”

Harchen Roberstein.

Why was her half-brother in front of her right now?

“Harchen.”

Ianna whipped her head to the side when someone called out from beside her. Angelina had called his name with great familiarity and while looked very relaxed, as if she was speaking to someone whom she had been close friends with for years.

They were a rather surprising combination.

Harchen nodded back to her in greeting while Ianna was bewildered, and he gently said,

“You should be off, Princess.”

“Yeah.”

“Please escort her, Sir Kanto.”

The knight gently led Angelina away. She continued to steal glances at Harchen and Ianna as she left.

The crowd began dispersing in a messy fashion as Angelina, the center of their attention, left the scene. But Harchen and Ianna remained standing where they were.

“We should be going too,”

Harchen said lightly, and Ianna felt her head begin to hurt. He had apparently come as an exchange student as well. But Harchen had been admitted to the Theodore Academy four years before she had started at the Institution, and he should have graduated by now. So why was he here?

“Can I accompany you to where the orientation is being held, Ianna? I don’t know the way.”

Harchen spoke to her kindly and waited for her to reply, like he always did. Ianna had ignored him often in the past.

“……Of course.”

But now she nodded back at him ever so slightly. She no longer had any reason to ignore him. She had brushed away the guilt and resentment she had felt for him when she had accepted the flower he had given her in their carriage on the day of her debut.

They conversed on their way to the orientation. Generally, Harchen asked Ianna questions, to which she replied. Still, this was the first real conversation the blue and red half-siblings had ever shared. They hadn’t been able to hold even the shortest conversations before because Ianna had always ignored him.

Ianna acknowledged that the feelings inside her had truly changed as she conversed with Harchen.

‘It’s truly over.’

Harchen was no longer a vestige of the past that befuddled her. Ianna felt so much more at ease now that she had realized this. Harchen, who had been studying her expressions, smiled pleasantly.

“Didn’t you graduate?”

Ianna asked after they had arrived at the orientation and had sat down next to each other. Now that she thought about it, Sarachè hadn’t told her about Harchen’s graduation when they had met earlier in the year.

She and Sarachè hardly ever discussed personal matters. They barely talked about House Roberstein either. Harchen’s graduation, however, should have been a big enough issue that Sarachè would have mentioned it, but she had not.

“It’s because of the epidemic last fall. Unlike the Institution, the nobles pressured the Academy to close as soon as the rumors about an epidemic began spreading. I still had one more semester left to go. And that’s why I have to finish one more semester before I can graduate.

“Oh…….”

Now that she thought about it, she had heard that the Theodore Academy had closed during the incident with Margarita. It was only natural. Nobles generally cared only about themselves, so what noble would be crazy enough to stay in a city filled with people when there was an epidemic spreading around?

“Did you return to the Roberstein lands?”

“No. I stayed behind in Theodore and did some charity work. I mostly helped take care of sick children at an orphanage.”

He had truly inherited Sarachè’s kind disposition. He continued,

“I had to take one more semester before I could graduate, and then they started the student exchange program. I thought that this might be God Laos’ way of telling me to come visit you.”

Harchen smiled awkwardly when Ianna looked dubious.

“I was joking. That’s not the only reason I came to the Institution. Her Royal Highness Princess Muziniel asked me to look after Princess Angelina, and I was worried about her myself.”

“You seem rather close with the princess.”

“I suppose? But I’ve only met her last fall, so we haven’t even known each other for a year yet.”

But then, how had they gotten so close?

Harchen told her before she had the chance to ask.

“The princess called me over to ask about what kind of person you were. And then we ended up seeing each other more frequently.”

“Excuse me?”

Harchen raised his hands in surrender when Ianna grew displeased.

“I didn’t tell her much. Besides, I don’t know much about you to begin with.”

“Would you happen to know why the princess was asking after me?”

“Hmmm. It seemed like she’s been having nightmares. It’s apparently been quite some time now too.”

Nightmares?

“What do her nightmares have anything to do with me?”

“Who can say? Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

Ianna fell into thought.

‘Was the fact that I’m dating Arhad that shocking to her? Did we get married in her dreams or something? But wait, that wouldn’t explain why she suddenly hugged me. Did I die in her dreams? I suppose that would make sense. Perhaps she apologized because she got scared.’

“Oh, Little Ianna!”

Ianna had been thinking all kinds of thoughts to herself when Herrace walked through the door and called out to her upon seeing her. He continued,

“You’re early!”

The professors had been nervous about having commoners be the only assistants to the exchange students, so each department had specifically asked a few noble students to apply as assistants. Herrace had agreed to be an assistant at Filliger’s behest.

Ianna and Harchen turned around.

“Oh…….”

It was only then that Herrace saw the blue-haired man sitting next to Ianna and hesitated. Then, Harchen surprised Ianna yet again.

“Hey, Herrace.”

He waved and greeted Herrace in an extraordinarily friendly manner. He had even called Herrace’s name without even the slightest hesitation.

‘Do they know each other?’

But perhaps they didn’t, since only Harchen seemed at ease and Herrace looked disconcerted.

“Um……hello.”

Herrace came back to his senses and scratched his face. He continued,

“You must be Sir Harchen Roberstein, yes? It’s nice to meet you.”

“This isn’t our first meeting.”

Harchen pulled out a pair of glasses from his pocket. He continued,

“You don’t recognize me?”

“Huh……?”

Herrace quibbled as he squinted. He felt like he had seen Harchen somewhere now that the older man had put on his glasses. And then, he suddenly jumped up.

“Wait! No way!”

Herrace’s eyes mellowed as he pointed at Harchen. Harchen slowly nodded back.

“Do you finally recognize me? It’s me. Hansen.”

“So it really is you, Sir Hansen? But I thought you had brown hair?”

“It was a wig. My real appearance is a bit eye-catching, after all.”

“Huh.”

Herrace’s jaw had dropped and did not seem like it would close anytime soon. He probably wouldn’t have noticed if they bug flew inside. Ianna looked between Herrace and Harchen in turns. They were apparently acquainted. This, too, was truly a surprising combination.

“How do the two of you know each other?”

“Oh……well…”

Herrace flushed red. He continued,

“I’ve been frequenting an orphanage lately. We became friends there.”

“An orphanage?”

Harchen had said that he was volunteering at an orphanage. He had Herrace had apparently met there.

Herrace had been rather busy after summer last year. He had always vanished off to somewhere, saying that he had someplace to be, immediately after training. Ianna had thought that he had been studying something, but he had apparently been spending his time at an orphanage.

“The kids really like Herrace. They can tell that he genuinely cares for them. Their attitudes change completely as soon as he leaves. It almost makes me feel lonely.”

“Gosh, please stop that.”

“But it’s true, isn’t it?”

Herrace fanned his face with his hand to stave away the rising heat.

“Yes, well……. I’m grateful that the children like me so much, but I’m always embarrassing myself in front of the staff. I’ve only been visiting so often because I like the children.”

Harchen laughed impishly.

“Don’t you visit every day? You’ve even donated all the money you’ve been saving up until now, and you’ve even been working part-time jobs to help fund the orphanage. You’re pretty famous among the orphanage directors, you know?”

“Ack!”

“That’s remarkable.”

Herrace furiously shook his hands when Ianna praised him.

“It’s not as impressive as he makes it out to be. I’m just doing what I want to do to the greatest extent that I can.”

Or so he said, but Herrace seemed to be in a good mood nevertheless. It wasn’t exactly embarrassed, per se, but it bewildered him whenever the people from his household praised him for visiting the orphanage. This was why he had been keeping it a quiet secret from his friends, including Ianna.

But, even if he had only been doing it for his own self-satisfaction, he still felt rewarded anyway now that Ianna, his idol, had commended him for his efforts. He felt acknowledged.

Ianna stared at the blush on Herrace’s cheeks. His mien had been very sunny as of late. Ianna had thought that it was only because he had realized something during their trip to the West over break that had spurred him to increase his training, making both his body and mind much healthier. But there had apparently been another reason as well. He had found positive worth in watching over the children. That worth was piling up in his life and changing him for the better.

Ianna tilted her head to the side and said,

“I’m growing rather curious now —perhaps I might pay a visit someday?”

She was curious to see what Herrace was doing at the orphanage. Besides, she bore some responsibility over him for meddling with his life, so she needed to check up on him periodically. That aside, she was also curious to see how good he was to the children that Harchen claimed they loved him to death.

“That sounds great. I’m sure the children will be happy to see you.”

“You’re right. I’m sure they will. Kids like heroes, after all.”

“What hero?”

Ianna huffed at Harchen’s joke and shook her head. She continued,

“The children will probably be afraid of me since I’m not as affectionate as either of you. I’ll just be visiting to help with some heavy lifting.”

It was true that she had a weakness for children. But that did not mean that she was kind. She could not help that small and weak things subconsciously pulled at her attention, but she did not enjoy being with them or like getting close to them.

Ianna had lived a destructive life in her past life. She had paid attention to only her own life in her solitude.

I’m busy enough just protecting myself.

I don’t have the leisure to look after others.

Isn’t it better to ignore someone completely if I can’t be fully responsible for them?

Her cold policies had stemmed from her fierce sense of duty, but she still felt like she was avoiding others from time to time. From that standpoint, it was only natural that Ianna tended to distance herself from fragile things that required care and protection from others. She was not friendly with children. Moreover, she had no reason to even be around them in the first place.

“I’m awkward with children.”

“Aren’t you close with Finn?”

“He’s a special case.”

“Hmmm. You say that, Little Ianna, but I already know that you’ll be good to them. You’re always actually a lot kinder than you say you are.”

“…….”

“I think that the children will like you a lot, Little Ianna. After all, children instinctively recognize good people and end up liking them.”

“So you mean to claim that you’re a good person yourself?”

“No. That’s not what I meant. Oh, but Sir Hansen…”

Herrace stammered, realizing that he had dug himself into a hole, and changed the topic. He continued,

“Or is it Sir Roberstein now? How should I address you going forward?”

“You can keep addressing like an older brother like you have been. I haven’t stopped being Hansen just because my real name happens to be Harchen Roberstein. But Hansen is a fake name, so I’d be happy if you could call me Harchen.”

“Oh, all right. Sir Harchen it is, then…….”

Herrace snuck a glance at Ianna. Ianna realized what was making him fidgety and shook her head.

“Don’t mind me. It’s true that I’m planning to leave House Roberstein eventually, but we aren’t particularly hostile to each other.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Herrace breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down next to her.

Ianna stole a glance at Harchen. The tranquil air about him hadn’t changed despite what she had said. It looked like Cherno and Sarachè had already informed him beforehand.

He was like a peaceful lake. Harchen had been famous for his kind and composed temperament even in the past. But he seemed even more radiant in this life, perhaps because he hadn’t suffered the death of his mother, which had impacted him greatly before.

‘I must have been so unseemly before. To think that I’d even made someone like him ignore me and scorn me……. But yes. From Harchen’s point of view, I’d done so many things that I could never be forgiven for.’

Herrace had asked Harchen how he had ended up coming to the Institution while Ianna was lost in her thoughts, and Harchen had repeated the same explanation he had first given Ianna.

“Oh, so your semester was pushed back. I suppose the epidemic left some lasting consequences behind its wake. But Sir, have you stopped coming to the orphanage? Elly’s been asking me why you haven’t been coming.”

Harchen smiled faintly and quietly asked,

“Has Elly been well?”

“Of course. Though she’s been sulky because she missed you.”

Harchen laughed out loud.

“And is Nissi still just as sassy as ever?”

“She hasn’t changed one bit. She’s always making a fuss while running away from Elly. But it seemed like she’s started to give up as of late. I see her resting quietly in Elly’s arms sometimes.”

“That’s a lot of progress, no?”

“It’s all thanks to Elly’s hard work.”

“They must be rather close? What kind of children are they?”

Ianna asked as she broke out of her reverie. They must both had strong relationship to these two children in particular, as they were specifically discussing about them.

“Oh, Elly’s a bit like the leader of the kids in the orphanage. She’s very obedient. And Nissi’s a kitten that Elly picked up off the streets, but she’s a lot bigger now. She’s very wary and has an attitude, so it’s been hard for Elly to get close to her.”

“Elly’s a good kid. Even people who don’t really like children get close to her pretty quickly.”

“She must have something about that puts people at ease, I suppose?”

Ianna grew curious as she listened in Harchen and Herrace’s conversation.

“Why hasn’t she been adopted yet, then?”

“I hear that she’d had a lot of problems with her previous parents. She’s asked the orphanage to look after her until she becomes an adult, and she’s promised to pay them back for it later.”

“Does she have a way to feed herself once she’s grown up?”

“She’s smart and she has the talent for magic. She says that she wants to attend the Institution someday. I’ll introduce her to you when you visit the orphanage.”

Then, Harchen asked,

“Can I come with when the two of you visit?”

“Of course.”

They decided to focus on the student exchange program for a week first and visit Elly and the orphanage afterward when they had the time to spare.

“Hello.”

Rikijen arrived a little late just then and greeted them as he approached. Rikijen had also been picked as an assistant. He had volunteered for the position not only because he always worked hard to maintain his status as the top student of his year in his department, but also because he was, for better or worse, heavily interested in Roanne’s nobility.

“How are you feeling, Rikijen?”

“I am perfectly fine. For how much longer are you planning to worry about me, Lord Herrace? It’s already been months since I no longer needed bedrest…….”

Rikijen had still needed to recuperate a little more after the epidemic even though the spirit kings had cured him completely. He was healthy, but his stamina had bottomed out.

Rikijen cast a glance at Harchen.

“You must be Lord Harchen Roberstein.”

There were thorns in his tone of voice. Ianna wondered if they stemmed from his general animosity toward nobles.

“Yes. Are you a friend of Ianna’s? It’s nice to meet you.”

Harchen greeted Rikijen kindly before Rikijen extended his own greetings. Rikijen was a little disconcerted that his somewhat cheeky tone had been returned with kindness as he pushed up his glasses.

“You must be a very peculiar noble lord. You seem to be here as an exchange student, but I can’t help but question why a nobleman from House Roberstein has decided to sit together with Lady Ianna…….”

“Rikijen.”

Rikijen replied in a very placid tone, unlike the tone he had been speaking to Harchen with, when Ianna called him.

“Yes, Lady Ianna?”

Rikijen had long since knocked down the sturdy walls that he normally kept around his heart for Ianna. And that wall had all but disappeared after the incident with Margarita.

“I’ve told you so many times now, but you really shouldn’t act like that before a noble. Aren’t you going to be an assistant starting today?”

“Of course. I’d have to be crazy to act like this before any other noble lord.”

“You acted like that with me too at first —why are you pretending otherwise?”

“I was just being immature back then.”

Rikijen had learned a lot and had matured during the past two years. He was becoming more similar to his past as the prime minister of Bahamut with each passing day. Ianna sometime felt the dense scent of cologne wafting from him sometimes.

“And you were like that with Young Master Harchen just now too.”

“I thought that a noble from House Roberstein had purposefully sat next to you with malicious intent. But it appears that it was not the case. It was a pointless worry on my part. My apologies, milord.”

‘So he was being thorny with Harchen not because of his generally hostility toward nobles but because of me.’

Ianna realized anew just how much she had been elevated in Rikijen’s eyes.

“That’s quite all right.”

Rikijen bowed his head when Harchen forgave him and sat down behind Ianna.

A lot more people filed into the orientation after Rikijen. Ianna had thought that not many people would participate in the program because it was brand new and still had many elements of risk to it, but there were a lot more people than she had expected.

Seats hadn’t been assigned, but nobles and commoners each stuck to their own stations and sat apart from each other. The different in social station was all too apparent.

Dean Heinrich and a few other people in charge entered the hall with a stack of documents by the time the hall was packed to the brim with people and noisy conversation was breaking out here and there. Angelina accompanied them inside.

“Whoa!”

People forgot how to breathe as they took in Angelina’s beautiful appearance. The commotion died down at once.

But Angelina ignored every envious gaze that turned her way and frantically began searching her surroundings as soon as she entered the hall. Her eyes only stopped their search once they had met with Ianna’s, who was looking back at her.

She pulled her knight by the hem of his clothes as she quickly made her way over to Ianna’s group. Everyone made way for her before anyone even asked them to. Angelina reached them shortly thereafter and gingerly asked,

“May I sit with you?”

Their surroundings had been crowded, but everyone outside of Ianna’s group immediately left their seats as soon as the words had left Angelina’s mouth.

“If it pleases you.”

Angelina sighed, as if in relief, when she heard Ianna’s astringent reply and sat down in front of Ianna while gathering up her skirt. Ianna studied her with a vague look in her eyes.

The orientation concluded quickly without any unnecessary flourish. Assistants were paired with exchange students at random, and they were given a brief period of time to get to know one another.

“Hello. I’ll be in you care.”

“Mm.”

Nobles and commoners, who had no real reason to ever mingle with one another, came into contact. It was obviously awkward, but things were generally peaceful and placid. No noble could dare act out when even Angelina, a princess, was being docile. Besides, the nobles who had decided to participate in the first ever student exchange program between the two schools were overflowing with adventurous spirit and were all open-minded and amicable.

“Hello. You’re Little Rikijen, right?”

“You must be a son of House Bendham. I am familiar with House Bendham’s renown.”

Rikijen was paired with the young lady of House Huzergo, a house famous throughout the entire world for their flower business, and Herrace was paired with the young son of House Ottoc, a house with strong foundations in the grains processing business.

“The point of this program was to experience attending the Institution, a school renown all across the world, so it didn’t matter which major I chose. You’re in the Swordsmanship Department, and I was worried for the princess too.”

Harchen, who had mostly taken humanities classes in the Academy, had also applied to the Swordsmanship Department, but he was taking lectures outside of the department as well. His exclusive assistant was Rupert, an honest and hard-working fourth-year honors student.

“I’ll serve you with everything I have, Lord Harchen!”

He was one of the students who accompanied Ianna in her training. He and Herrace had often pat each other’s backs as they vomited together.

“Lady Ianna… Sniff. It’s an honor.”

He was so touched to the point of tears that he had been included within Ianna’s circle. Ianna looked astringent, and Harchen chuckled like he was having great fun.

“You’re rather popular, aren’t you?”

Ianna turned back to Angelina instead of quipping back. Angelina was chatting quietly with Calendula Huzergo, a daughter of a count and the exchange student paired with Rikijen, with whom she was apparently acquainted.

“Well, let’s all do our best this month.”

Ianna, Herrace, Rikijen, and Rupert decided to stick together so they could all quickly adjust to being assistants. They agreed to share information and help each other out as needed. After all, two heads were better than one, and four heads were better than two.

The noble students from the Academy, save for Angelina, had decided to live in the Institution’s dorms for the duration of the month. They had resolved to fully enjoy the Institution experience before applying to the program.

Rikijen proposed that they all had lunch together as a group for the month. After all, it was normal for students to have classes in both the morning and the afternoon unless they had purposefully only signed up for classes clumped together in only one or the other. It was easier to eat lunch inside the Institution.

Ianna agreed because it sounded rational, her friends and Angelina agreed as if it had only been a matter of course, and the remaining two nobles agreed alongside them.

And so, orientation had concluded.

“I hear that the flowers from the Huzergo gardens are extraordinarily fresh and lovely.”

“Oh my.”

Calendula narrowed her eyes as she opened her fan. She continued,

“Are you already trying to butter up to me?”

“Not in particular, no. My parents were florists, and I am being honest when I say that flowers from the Huzergo gardens were always a cut better in quality than any of our other plants.”

“That wasn’t half-bad even as flattery, but I’m all the happier to hear it because you seem sincere. I think we’ll get along just fine.”

Rikijen deftly curried Calendula’s favor before he guided her away to their first lecture. The Swordsmanship Department students also made their way to the Swordsmanship Department buildings. And then, the entire department was left paralyzed.

Angelina was a flower among flowers, and she was also a flower that had been cultivated within the deepest gardens of the royal palace. Hardly anyone ever had the chance to see her even inside the palace unless she was attending a party. Those who had never laid their eyes upon her before swarmed to her like bees.

The male students staggered in both body and soul because her beauty had transcended their every imagination. They were somewhat accustomed to beautiful women because of Ianna, but the Swordsmanship Department generally consisted of burly men. Besides, Angelina, who was delicate and stimulated their protective instincts, gave off a very different air about her than did Ianna. She was the most beautiful woman there was in accordance to Roanne’s standard of beauty.

“My word. She’s truly beautiful.”

“How did an angel like her decide to come here……?”

Angelina received their familiar gazes, but she still squirmed in discomfort.

The royal knight Kanto’s protection was like a sharpened blade. He had been dispatched to guard the princess, so he would be held accountable should anything happen to her. On the other hand, however, he thought that it was only natural that the princess was at the center of everyone’s attention and simply let the students be so long as they didn’t approach her physically.

Ianna grew a little concerned for Angelina. How should she put it? She felt like she was watching a small white rabbit being exposed to savage beasts.

No one would dare look to Angelina with dirty intentions because being decapitated would be the least of their worries if they ever harbored treacherous thoughts against royalty, but Ianna still couldn’t help but wonder if Angelina was truly all right.

The ruckus did not die down even after the bell signaling the beginning of lectures had chimed. The students seemed stupefied as they wasted time with their jaws hanging.

Craaaaash!

A thunderous roar bellowed as Ianna slammed her scabbard into the ground. The students snapped back to their senses like they had been struck by lightning as the sound, which was louder than what any normal impact would have made, reached their eardrums.

“Why don’t you all get back to what you were doing?”

Ianna’s words, colored by a hint of bloodlust, seemed to grab them by the collars as they fell into the instantly resulting silence.

“Oh, right. I have class to go to.”

“Ahem.”

The students came back down to earth one by one as they were hit with Ianna’s bloodlust. Angelina was truly pretty, but she was also far beyond their reach. Angelina was someone whom Ianna, a daughter of a count and someone whom they sincerely respected, had to attend to personally as her exclusive assistant. They clicked their tongues as they left the area.

“Wow…”

Angelina looked to Ianna with envy. Ianna ignored her and flipped open her books.

Surprisingly, Angelina worked hard during class. And the next class, and the next class after that……. Ianna had assumed that she would slack off in class if she had come to the Institution with other motives, but her assumptions had been off the mark.

“May we speak alone for a minute?”

Ianna asked the princess for a private audience once they were done with the classes that they were to attend together for the day. Angelina looked nervous as she nodded back.

“Y-yes, of course. Please leave us, Sir Kanto.”

Kanto obediently stepped outside.

“Please allow me to apologize once more,”

Angelina said immediately as soon as she and Ianna were alone. She continued,

“I am truly sorry about what happened last time. I was being immature.”

Her face dyed scarlet as Ianna looked back at her in silence, and she apologized yet again.

“I will never again act like such a child. I swear this to you.”

Ianna found it ridiculous that Angelina was apologizing after having somehow matured so much in just half a year, but she did not take it lightly because she could hear the sincerity in Angelina’s voice.

“There are a few things that I am curious about, Princess. May I ask them?”

“Y-yes.”

Her sapphire eyes looked to Ianna almost pathetically, as if she was a puppy staring at the food in her owner’s hands.

“First, what made you want to apologize so suddenly?”

“Oh, it was because I was clearly in the wrong, of course. I was too swayed by emotion to be in my right mind back then. I thought myself as a protagonist, and you as a wicked supporting role, Lady Roberstein. But it was actually I who was the wicked supporting role, not you, when I actually sat down to think about it. I was wicked to the two of you, like a villainess from a romance novel. Oh, the villainess is the daughter of a ruler who has a crush on the male lead and gets in the female protagonist’s way in this book I’ve been reading…….”

What the hell is she talking about?

The princess chattered away absentmindedly as her face flushed red. Ianna almost wondered if Angelina had only been so quiet until now because she had been waiting for the chance to shower all these words on her. Angelina sounded dreamy as she chattered away about some novel she was reading. She was now listing off all the many ways that the villainess in the novel had harassed the couple from the story.

“Princess.”

Angelina snapped back to her senses when Ianna cut her off, her patience having worn thin, and fanned herself with her hand.

“I’m sorry. I tend to space out like this from time to time.”

“To sum it up, you believe that you were in the wrong to get between Sir Arhad and myself while we were dating.”

“Y-yes. I do.”

“Does that mean you’ll stop doing that now?”

Angelina nodded vigorously.

“Yes. I won’t ever get between the two of you again.”

“I thought you liked Sir Arhad?”

“N-no, I don’t!”

Angelina’s pale cheeks flushed red for a moment before immediately growing pallid again. She continued,

“No, that’s not what I meant. I do still like him, I think —ah, I’m sorry. Yes, I do like him. But I’m going to give up on him. He’s much too in love with you, Lady Roberstein, and, I’ve been having some mental issues as of late…….”

Angelina breathed raggedly as she worked up a cold sweat. Ianna could hear that her heartbeat was growing faster. Ianna made a face.

“May I ask what you mean when you say you’ve been having mental issues? Is Her Royal Highness Princess Muziniel opposed to your crush, perhaps?”

“No. It’s a personal issue of mine.”

Ianna recalled what Harchen had told her about Angelina.

“Young Master Harchen tells me that you’ve been having nightmares lately, Princess. Is it because of them? May I ask what kind of nightmares you’ve been having?”

“Oh.”

Angelina shuddered for a moment before she furiously shook her head no. She continued,

“You would only laugh, since they’re only dreams born from my delusions. I’m not very inclined to tell anyone about them. I’m sorry. But yes……it’s because of the nightmares.”

“Hmmm.”

In any event, she had promised to give up on pursuing Arhad. Which meant that she had no real reason to investigate the contents of Angelina’s dreams. She also felt like it should be all right to accept Angelina’s apology.

“I understand what you are trying to say, Princess. I will accept your apology.”

“Oh, thank goodness. And…….”

Angelina’s lips quivered as she spoke her next words with great difficulty. She continued,

“I……I would like to be friends with you.”

“Why?”

Ianna promptly replied. She continued,

“We have no reason to be friends, Princess Angelina. Nor were we on good terms to begin with. I will have to refuse if you’re only asking because I am your assistant. I prefer to separate my public affairs from my private ones.”

“No. It’s not because you’re my assistant —I truly just want to be friends with you.”

Angelina grabbed Ianna’s wrists in desperation. She continued,

“I’m being honest. Truly.”

Angelina said this, but Ianna would have to be stupid to fail to realize that she had played a major role in the princess’ attempt to attend the Institution. Ianna pried off Angelina’s fingers as she calmly said,

“I dislike things that aren’t certain. And so, I will ask you directly. Why did you come to the Institution? I heard from Professor Filliger that the student exchange program was created because you tried to submit an application to the Institution. What is it that made you want to attend the Institution so badly?”

Angelina hesitated for a moment before she carefully opened her mouth.

“I wanted to try experiencing more things.”

“Experiencing more things?”

“Yes. I realized like I’ve been living too much like a doll until now. I know that I am of noble birth, but I am far too ignorant of the world around me. I realized that, at this rate, I was doomed to live in confinement inside the palace walls until I was married off to someone, and I would know nothing of the world outside until the day I died. My own will wouldn’t matter.”

This was true.

No one would ever ask Angelina to do anything dangerous. Everything would be presented to her on a silver platter before she even had the chance to want to try something.

“Does a flower grown in a greenhouse require the rain?”

“I think that it’s best for her future that we take pity on the flower when she stirs up a fuss. After all, it is her fate to be plucked by the gardener and given to another of his choosing when she’s in full bloom.”

Even Schneider had said this about her. Her excessive dependence on another and her feeble disposition was only natural, considering her background. And Angelina would have continued to live her life in this manner.

“I felt so terribly frustrated when I realized this about my life. I was so frustrated, and I wanted to break free.”

Had she never realized anything, that is.

“Being surrounded by nobles all the time in the Theodore Academy felt no different from being raised preciously inside the palace walls. I was trying to rebel when I blindly decided to apply to the Valgenta Institution. But I was caught, and it was only by pleading with my Lord Father that I barely managed to get in through the student exchange program.”

In other words, she had brought about the student exchange program not because she was trying to harm others but because she was desperately trying to fight for her own life.

“I do not intend to cast aside the burdens I bear in my duties as princess. But I still want to be able to live my own life. And I want to experience so much more.”

Ianna’s eyebrows twitched. Oh, this is a bit……. Angelina urgently grabbed hold of Ianna’s arm yet again.

“And I wanted to witness your life from up close, Lady Roberstein —you, who is able to live freely despite being the daughter of a count. And I truly, truly wish to be friends with you. Honest.”

Angelina’s desperation was rather odd. Her sapphire eyes were sparkling even in her desperation, but she was acting like a deathly ill patient with an elixir before her very eyes. She was almost like religious zealot who believed she could be saved so long as she believed in god.

Just then, Ianna spotted a familiar shape from behind Angelina and took her eyes slightly away from her. Angelina continued to rattle on, having failed to notice his approach.

“Ianna,”

Arhad called out to her.

“……!”

Angelina’s flesh broke out in goosebumps when his voice passed over her. Her white cheeks flushed red for a moment before instantly growing deathly pale. Ianna observed the change carefully.

Angelina turned around jerkily. She forgot how to breathe for a moment as the man whom she had dreamed about in her delusions for nearly a year appeared before her in the flesh.

Arhad took his eyes off Ianna and glanced back at Angelina. His golden eyes, which had been ever so warm as he looked to Ianna, lost their warmth like a sea of ice as soon as they took in Angelina’s dazzling silvery colors.

Their eyes met. The heartless gold crushed Angelina’s soul as they clashed against her silvery light. Angelina was dumbstruck.

“Hello, Princess.”

Angelina, who had been standing around in mute shock, immediately snapped back to her senses when Arhad greeted her.

“H-h-hello,”

she said as her lips quivered fiercely.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

And she immediately said bade them farewell.

Angelina fled back the way she had come. She had hardly any reason to run before in her life, and her breath was ragged from her lack of stamina as she ran away and made herself scarce.

“Ack, Princess!”

Kanto, who had been watching from afar, was shocked by Angelina’s sudden actions and quickly ran after her.

“…….”

“…….”

Ianna and Arhad were rendered speechless. They watched the fleeing princess’ retreating figure, stupefied.

“The hell? I thought you said she was here because she had a crush on me?”

That was what Ianna had assumed, but…….

Ianna furrowed her brows a little as she scratched her cheek. The way that Angelina had blushed as soon as she heard Arhad’s voice suggested that she still had feelings for him, but she did not know how to explain why Angelina had then immediately grown so pale, like she had seen a monster or something, that it almost looked like every last drop of blood in her body had drained all the way down to her feet.

Arhad laughed twistedly, finding the princess so incredibly foolish.

“Are you sure she likes me? She seemed more scared than fond of me.”

He was right. Angelina had most certainly been scared.

No, it was too cutesy to say that she had merely been scared. Angelina had looked abjectly terrified. Arhad continued,

“What is she playing at?”

Arhad shared Ianna’s conclusion and found the princess absolutely absurd.

“Did you do something to the princess?”

“Didn’t you tell me not to? I didn’t do anything.”

“What about before the student exchange program?”

“There’s no reason why I would waste my time over someone I don’t even care about. I danced with her once at your debut —as I’m sure you already know.”

But then, why was Angelina so terrified of him?

Ianna was still lost in thought as she walked behind Arhad. Arhad scowled and grabbed her by the shoulders when he realized that she wasn’t focusing on him.

“Let me know if she ever gets in your way.”

“I don’t believe she’ll be a problem, considering what I gauged of her just earlier.”

“Is that so? Can I ask about what happened between the two of you today?”

Ianna would have told him everything regardless. She told him about everything that had happened today without omitting a single thing.

Like how Angelina had seemed terrified and had run into Ianna’s eyes as soon as she saw her. Or how Angelina had only calmed down once she was with her and had apologized to her repeatedly after Ianna had officially become the princess’ assistant. And lastly about how, and this might have only been Ianna’s delusion, Angelina had clung to her in a peculiar manner that seemed to suggest that Angelina held some sort of blind faith about her.

Arhad fell silent after hearing about Angelina’s bizarre behavior. Then, when they had walked over to somewhere secluded, he said in a frigid voice,

“Ianna. I’m being serious when I say this, but…….”

“Yes?”

“Let’s just kill her.”

The more Ianna talked to Arhad about Angelina, the more often their conversations tended to end with the subject of Angelina’s death. Until now, Ianna had opted to simply watch over the situation and ignored it as if Arhad had simply suggested that they shared a meal. But even Ianna couldn’t help but acknowledge the severity of the situation when he went from asking, “Should we kill her?” to saying, “Let’s just kill her,” with a hint of bloodlust in his voice. Arhad continued,

“Judging by how much she’s been pestering you, she’ll only be harmful to you in the future —I doubt she’ll ever be a benefit. You won’t need to worry about anything since I’ll be sure to clean up after everything. How does that sound?”

Perhaps it actually wasn’t all that serious —it looked like Arhad was simply annoyed.

“Hmmm…….”

It was true that killing her was the easiest solution. Arhad was thorough, and Ianna did not doubt that he would successfully disguise the princess’ assassination as an accident. He might even use her death for their benefit, as wicked as it was.

It wasn’t a terrible idea. But Ianna wasn’t inclined to agree.

“Ianna.”

Arhad had her stand still. His cold hand caressed her slightly stiffened cheek. He continued,

“I told you before. Don’t pour out your pity like you’re some kind of merciful saint. It’ll only tire you out. Are you pitying that girl because she’s groveling like a puppy while trying to live her life for herself?”

“No.”

This wasn’t pity. Ianna drew the line. She continued,

“I don’t pity her. But I still don’t believe that killing her is the right thing to do.”

“Why not? Her pestering might even grow worse in the future.”

“You don’t know that for certain.”

“The princess has already crossed the line. What else would you call the student exchange program but a nuisance? It’ll be easier for us to just kill her.”

Ianna looked up as she felt his fingers brush past her ear. His large hand on her cheek had warmed up at some point. His golden eyes, which held a tint of crimson in them because of Ianna, were not as inanimate as they had seemed when he was looking at Angelina. Arhad looked like he was having great fun —perhaps he enjoyed touching her face.

Why was she reluctant to kill Angelina?

It was because Arhad was acting like this.

The man was impartial with and uninterested in everyone who wasn’t Ianna.

The world was just a large chessboard to him, and the masses merely pieces.

There was something inhumane about the way he maneuvered state affairs without much care, like he was simply playing a boring game, or the way he suggested killing people like he was merely pushing useless pieces off the board.

Ianna recalled what he had told her every time she witnessed the way he cruelly proceeded only toward his goals.

“And that’s why I’m hoping you’ll guide my path as my creed, Ianna. Stand before me when I lose my way and realize your will as my sword.”

It hadn’t been merely empty words when Arhad had asked her to guide his path with her creed.

There was no telling where his wickedness might lead him if Ianna didn’t rein him in. He might even destroy the world, like he was simply overturning the board, if he lost interest in it one day. Just like how he had trampled over the entire world, uncaring of the fact that he was being made the target of the entire world’s grudges, and had opened a festival of blood in the past.

This was why Ianna wanted to be more cautious than any other. Until now, all she had to do was train in her sword without much thought. Her sword was a selfish tool that existed only for her. It was her means of elevating her self-esteem, protecting what was hers, and punishing her enemies.

She had determined to wield her sword for Arhad after she had met him, but that too had simply been for convenience’s sake. And things were different now.

“I will have to create the foundation for a world that can realize your creed.”

Now that Arhad had said that, it meant that Ianna had the duty to clearly define the identity that the group they were to lead would take.

Trees had to be planted properly from the very beginning if they were to split open the earth and grow sturdy roots. It was only when the trunk was healthy that the branches would grow strong and bear plentiful leaves.

The same was also true of nations. She had to ensure that the roots were properly planted. And the seed that was to lay down those roots was none other than Ianna’s creed.

‘What is my creed?’

Ianna was earnestly jotting down things about herself whenever she had the time to spare.

Her values and her thoughts.

The things she liked and disliked about her life…….

The things she deemed important, and the things she was wistful about.

And the way she treated others.

Until now, she had simply ignored them, exercised violence against them, or simply murdered them if she didn’t like someone or they got in her way. But she didn’t think it was right for this particular ‘personal creed’ of hers to become the ‘justice of a nation’ and eventually turn into a ‘social norm.’

It wasn’t right to think so little about death. Their country would become no different from Bahamut or Sidian the moment they began making light of life.

Ianna had always viewed murder as the method of last resort, but she had started pushing it back even further now that she was actually thinking into things.

“…….”

Ianna was still deep in thought as she rubbed her face into the hand on her cheek without realizing what she was doing. It was only when Arhad flinched that she broke free from her thoughts and looked back at him somewhat nervously, though she didn’t know why she was nervous. Arhad was acting strangely, but Ianna only tilted her head to the side before she began expressing her opinions.

“I’ve said this to you multiple times now. I will kill her myself if I ever come to believe that she will pose a harm to either of us. I would have suggested that we kill her even before you did if I thought that Angelina was going to get in our way.”

“…….”

Arhad didn’t reply. Ianna placed her hand over his before he could pull it off her cheek. He stayed it obediently. Ianna laced her fingers through his as they rested beneath hers.

“Please trust my judgment and wait. Didn’t you tell me that you would let me do whatever it is that I wanted? That you would follow my will in its entirety?”

Ianna, who had been looking up at Arhad until then, lowered her eyes. She buried her face deeper inside his palm because she like the sensation on her cheek, or perhaps it was simply because she wanted to grumble, and muttered,

“I’ve been thinking hard about the homework you gave me. I will figure out what to do with Angelina in due time.”

“……Very well.”

Ianna looked up when she heard his suppressed voice.

“But if you truly dislike the idea…….”

“I don’t.”

There was a slight flush to Arhad’s cheeks.

“Why are you acting like this? It’s a little strange…….”

“It’s nothing. All right. Do as you please.”

‘It can’t be nothing —did I do something again?’

But she knew she was feigning ignorance. She could tell how Arhad was feeling just by looking at the expression on his face. Arhad was bewildered by something, and he was also delighted. Ianna wondered what on earth she could have possibly done before she finally realized that she was holding his hand and nuzzling her cheek against him. Ianna clicked her tongue.

‘I’m being ridiculous.’

She had only meant to do what her heart desired, but now she was acting like a cat.

‘But does that mean he likes it when I do this?’

She was certain of it. Ianna laughed to herself as she squeezed his hand.

‘A monster powerful enough to devour the world whole and then some. And it feels like I’m the one holding the reins.’

But no, she actually was holding the reins.

“…….”

A strange thrill electrified her heart. A drowsy delight coursed through her veins and travelled to every nook and cranny of her body. Her eyes narrowed, and her lips curled into a smile.

‘I like this.’

Arhad had composed himself somewhat while a pleased Ianna was busy writing down, ‘Rubbing my cheeks against his hands,’ in her Arhad notebook and he said,

“So, it’s not that you’re pitying Angelina?”

“I’m not. I simply happened to grow a little interested in her.”

“Interested?”

Ianna had felt the sincerity in Angelina’s confession. She had not been able to discern whether the princess’ distressed confession had been the whining of a young child grumbling about a moment’s discomfort or the desperate struggling of a grown adult trying to find her own path in life. But the way Angelina had stepped outside of the greenhouse that nurtured her to find her own path in life had touched Ianna’s heart, even if only slightly.

Though, she did not intend to give Angelina any kind of special help, of course, since it was only right that people found their own paths.

“Yes. But only enough that I’d like to watch over her by her side instead of being hostile to her during her stay as an exchange student, since she went out of her way to confess her thoughts to me.”

And that was all. Ianna did not care about what Angelina felt or thought. Arhad smirked.

“I still think that girl will become a dreadful nuisance.”

“You think she’ll get in the way of our work?”

“That’s not what I meant……no matter.”

Arhad pinched her cheek slightly once he was done speaking and turned away. Ianna tilted her head to the side before she followed behind him.

~~*~~

Part 4

“Ohohoho.”

Fancy flowers and fancy sculptures. A fancy table and fancy deserts. A tea party for two was being held in a palace decorated with glamor.

Fancy jewels and a fancy dress. The fragrance of fancy perfume.

Luria’s crimson lips curled into a smile as she folded her fan.

“Angelina is an immature little brat. To think that she would apply to the Valgenta Institution, a place teeming with dirty commoners, just because she lost her head over a man. My, it’s hilarious.”

Luria snorted. The way that the wench who had been born with everything dangled from her pretty little head with love like a child was so detestable to her that she almost wanted to hit the girl.

But Luria welcomed Angelina’s choice nevertheless, her spite for the girl be damned. Luria had incited the king, suggesting that he let his daughter do as she wished out of pity for even just a brief moment, when Angelina’s pleas made him hesitant. And so, Angelina had been allowed to attend the Valgenta Institution.

“Angelina must be a thorn in Muziniel’s side since she doesn’t know how to be as wicked as Lyxillia. Well, I suppose I should be grateful for that. Ohohoho. And isn’t it hilarious? —the lover of the bastard Angelina’s lost her head over is the same wench that Schneider’s been chasing around. How nice it would be if Angelina drove them apart! I hear that Schneider’s been losing his mind in his lovesickness —don’t you think he might even break off his engagement with Lilith, that sly vixen, once his rival gets out of his way? Ohohoho. Angelina can wed the son of a mere viscount, Schneider can wed the illegitimate daughter of a count, and House Tarwitt can withdraw their support for him. Aha, haha. Ridiculous.”

Luria rattled on loudly by herself for quite some time. But she soon tired of talking to herself and took a deep breath. She smiled as she turned to the person sitting before her.

“Wouldn’t you agree?”

Opposite of Luria was a young man who looked just like her as he elegantly sipped at his tea.

“Saiwè, my son.”

Saiwè did not reply. But Luria was accustomed to his silence and simply rambled on. But she still ended up pouting when Saiwè hadn’t said a word even after she had exhausted every topic of conversation.

“Say something.”

Saiwè’s teacup clacked as he put it down.

“It was to my understanding that Angelina told our Lord Father that she wanted to grow as a responsible member of the royal family as she lived alongside the people and broaden her horizons. My Lord Father contemplated over her pleas heavily before he granted her permission. Am I wrong?”

“Of course you’re wrong.”

Luria giggled. She continued,

“That was just her excuse. Don’t you know what that wench did last year? She’s nothing but a decorative glass rose, but she tailed after a man with her cheeks flushed rosy red. And the naïve little girl, who’s never raised her voice before in her life, had a row with a whore’s daughter on His Majesty’s birthday. It was probably from lovesickness that she fell ill for some time afterward. Silly wenches blinded by love can’t see anything but the object of their affections.”

“Hmmm.”

Saiwè was finally reacting. His lips had curled up as if he had found something amusing, and his smile was captivating. Luria admired his beautiful face, which had taken exactly after her own, and felt as pleased as she did when she looked into a mirror. Saiwè continued,

“Is this something you know from experience?”

“Why would I have ever experienced that? I’m not empathizing with the wench, I’m simply stating the facts.”

Saiwè tilted his head slightly to the side.

“Then, Mother, do you mean to say that you don’t love your husband —His Majesty the King?”

“Of course I love him. I love him very much. Can’t you tell from how sincerely this mother of yours devotes herself to His Majesty?”

“But didn’t you call Angelina a child for being in love just earlier? By that logic, it would make you immature as well, Mother.”

“I meant that she should have taken a better look at the man she fell for even if she found herself floundering in love.”

“Aha,”

Saiwè exclaimed as if he had suddenly realized an important truth.

Indeed.

You ‘love’ money and power most, and that’s why you abandoned the man you seduced in the name of ‘love’ and switched over to the aging king while using ‘love’ as your excuse.

You erased the ‘love’ that had once graced those pretty lips of yours from your memories, as if it had never existed in the first place. After all, you had fallen into a deeper ‘love’.

And so readily too. Wouldn’t you agree?

“You’re exactly right, Mother. But you haven’t called me here just to discuss Angelina, have you?”

“You’re so unaffectionate. My own son never comes to visit me unless his mother calls for him. Visit me more often and share some tea with your mother.”

“I’m sure that you have more than enough madames to enjoy tea and gossip with.”

“Seeing the same faces all the time bores me dreadfully.”

“Then why not ask my Lord Brother Fernando instead?”

“Fernando is busy. But you aren’t, no?”

Her words made Saiwè’s heart wrench. The displeasure that was wrung out pooled like wastewater. Nausea surged up his throat and threatened to slip past his lips. Luria continued,

“Isn’t it about time for you to start thinking about marriage, Saiwè? Are there any noble ladies whom you fancy? Get married and help out your mother and brother a little.”

Members of the royal family other than the would-be king took on new surnames upon marriage and were granted land and the title ‘archduke’ as they became independent from the royal family. Luria, who was currently in a struggle against Schneider, wanted to marry off Saiwè quickly because he would be allowed his own political power once he was cut off from the royal family. It made her anxious that she only had the Black Fox on her side. She wanted an ally whom she could trust completely. And Saiwè was best suited for the role.

“Even Lord Brother Fernando hasn’t wed yet. Shouldn’t his marriage come first?”

But it was difficult for Luria to find Fernando a suitable woman because of his peculiar disposition.

Luria recoiled when Saiwè brought up Fernando while feigning ignorance.

“I need to think more about Fernando’s perspective bride. So I’d like to see you married first, Saiwè.”

Then, Luria quickly changed the topic and said,

“But Saiwè, you mustn’t behave as childishly as Angelina. Understand?”

“I’m sorry to say that I could not even if I wanted to, for I do not have a woman in mind.”

“In that case, you should marry for convenience.”

Saiwè stared quietly at Luria’s impatience for a moment before he nodded ever so slightly.

“Very well. But I don’t wish to get married so soon, so how about next year?”

Luria’s visage brightened.

“Are you sure?”

“Why not? But I will not get married this year.”

“That’s a wonderful idea! Hoho, I’ll have to start picking your bride today. Goodness, are you even aware of how popular you are with the ladies? You’re so handsome because you took after me.”

Saiwè blossomed into a smile. His smile was pure and seemed to hold no lies within it at all.

“I am glad that I took after you, Mother.”

He was truly grateful that he had inherited her lust for power. It was why he had been able to decide to cast aside Roanne so readily. Saiwè was planning to leave Roanne at the year’s end. So it didn’t matter to him at all whether Luria planned a ball for him next year or even the year after.

“Ohoho.”

Her son’s sugary words lifted Luria’s mood, and she fanned her flushing face cool as she savored the warm sunlight. She continued,

“I’m so happy you have your head on straight now. You used to be so rebellious as a child that I never knew what to expect of your future.”

“I suppose I went through my rebellious phase a little early. I get embarrassed when I think back on how inept I used to be at controlling my emotions.”

“Mm.”

Luria snapped her fan shut at brought it to her lips. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to recall a past so hazy that she hardly remembered it at all.

In Luria’s past was a faithful knight who had guarded her ever since she had been a mere princess of Begoisha. She had clung to him, who looked only to her and cared for her, when she had first entered the royal palace. She had even had illicit relations with him without anyone’s knowing.

Then, about a dozen or so years ago, he had been murdered for offending both her and the Black Fox.

Luria was egocentric and had felt so terribly betrayed at the time. But she was so drunk on power now that she had even thrown away her motherland and she hardly felt anything for her knight at all anymore.

“That, ah, sigh. I don’t remember his name at all. But was it because that bastard died? I do recall that he used to care a lot about you.”

“…….”

“Ugh, whatever.”

Luria cast aside her irritating thoughts as she contemplated over how she should go about choosing Saiwè’s bride. She continued,

“It’ll be unseemly if I picked out candidates myself, so I suppose I will have to hold a ball.”

Luria began flushing red.

“You’re my son and the only true brother to Fernando, who will one day be king, and you will inherit only the best territory as an archduke, so the ball to find you a bride must be more dazzling than any other. The floors will be lined with only the most luxurious carpets, and chandeliers decorated with amethysts will be hung from the ceilings. And we’ll fill the halls with flowers adorned with gold and diamonds. Oh, and it’ll be nice to install a giant chocolate fondue fountain so that the guests can enjoy warm scones and cookies on the spot.”

Even the very thought of hosting a grand and extravagant ball where she could enjoy her luxury made her so jubilant that she thought her tongue might roll up and so ecstatic that she thought her head might freeze.

Luxury was like a drug. No one could go back once they had a taste of it. They would cling to it hideously so that they may continue enjoying it forever.

Saiwè graced a faint smile on his lips as he watched Luria imagine the ball.

It was important to be wary of greed. People would grow vulgar, like his mother, if they didn’t control themselves.

The sight of her clashed openly against his idea of pride and made disgust crawl up from within him like bugs.

In one sense, Luria was his greatest teacher. She walked the wrong path and showcased the results for him, thereby keeping him from doing the same.

“I’ll be taking my leave now,”

said Saiwè as he slowly emptied his heart of his disgust and rose from his seat.

“Why are you always so busy?”

Luria crossed her arms as she shot a glance at her son.

Her second son spent more time alone as she and the powers that followed her showered their attentions on her first son.

Unlike her first son, who had grown up with a violent and impulsive temperament because nothing stood in his way, her second son had grown up to be a quiet and secretive man whose heart she could not read by the time she had noticed.

Her second son was always courteous to her, but she could not help but subtly feel that he had grown distant. The poised and elegant air he carried around himself was to Luria’s tastes, but she did not quite like the distance she felt between them.

“It’s not even like you’re doing anything in particular. You rarely attend parties, nor do you join the nobles in their gatherings.”

Saiwè was always reading somewhere in the palace or practicing his archery. Luria had ordered someone to surveil him once, only to learn that he went shopping, watched plays, or read at bookstores whenever he left the palace.

“Perhaps you consider parties and gatherings as work, dear Mother, but the same does not hold true for me.”

“Is that so? Then, what will you be doing today?”

“I will be visiting a bookstore outside of the palace. I like to pick books out by hand from the endless rows of bookshelves as I savor the scent of paper. I am looking forward to buying so many books that my arms grow numb from carrying them and that I may sequester myself inside my chambers to read them.”

Luria looked sickened as she watched over Saiwè’s excitement.

“You live a truly boring life.”

“Books are repositories of knowledge. They are among the greatest inheritances that our predecessors have left behind for future generations. You should do some more reading yourself, Mother.”

Luria waved her hand.

“Ugh, I dislike things that make my head hurt.”

“Then why not exercise some more instead? What will you do if the fleeting things you possess wither away before you’re done fully enjoying them?”

Luria frowned heavily. Her second son was generally mild and amiable, but he tended to spit out some truly offensive things from time to time. He was probably only saying them as a jest, of course. But……and she was sure she was simply mistaken, Luria felt thorns in his words when he said them.

“You’re speaking like that again. Stop it.”

“Goodness, I was only trying to think for your benefit, Mother.”

“And now you’re just nagging at me for keeping you. Enough —just go.”

“I hear and obey.”

Saiwè walked away with a gorgeous smile painted on his face. Glamor, glamor, glamor. The expression vanished from his face as soon as he had left Luria’s overtly glamorous palace.

It’s because you’re so stupid that neither the man you killed nor the Black Fox ever told you.

That I, whom you gave birth to, am not the son of the king.

I eagerly await only for the day that I can fling away this tiresome and dirty cocoon. The very day that I will shove this rotting cocoon into your ear before I soar into the sky like a free butterfly.

Saiwè toyed with the ring on his thumb. There was a powerful barrier around the royal palace that prevented anyone who was not royalty from being able to use magic. But the barrier was not omnipotent. That much could be inferred just by seeing how easily the Witch Margarita had ignored the barrier with her spell.

Saiwè’s ring was an incredible artefact that could circumvent the royal palace’s barrier. It was something that Saiwè’s real father had asked the Black Fox to create for him as soon as he had realized that Saiwè was not the king’s blood. This was the only reason why Saiwè had been able to live as a member of the royal family for over twenty years.

Saiwè could not help but question it whenever he realized anew how mighty his ring was.

‘Why hasn’t Bahamut been able to conquer Roanne yet if they have this much power?’

History regarded the Bahamut imperial family as demons. They were commonly regarded to be at the very summit of the food chain, and none could dare pose a threat to them. The only thing that could kill them was time. So why had Bahamut failed to destroy Roanne?

The royal family of Roanne was not all that remarkable, according to Saiwè’s observations. The king was a pig easily swayed by the likes of a women who just so happened to be skilled in bed. The crown prince, Fernando, was a mindless puppet controlled by Bahamut who deluded himself into thinking that he was all-powerful.

Saiwè did acknowledge Schneider. But Ianna and Arhad were still much more powerful when it came to military might. And even they could not oppose the imperial family quite just yet.

‘So why?’

Their centuries-long war would come to a close in but an instant if they infiltrated the royal palace like Margarita had and assassinated the royal family. So why hadn’t Bahamut done that yet……?

‘Are they using the Roanne to keep the rest of the world from turning against them? But I doubt they would prolong a war for entire centuries just for that. Or perhaps there’s a secret power hidden inside the Kingdom of Roanne?’

Saiwè kept his doubts in one corner of his heart as he put on his robes and exited the royal palace. He avoided the people’s eyes as he made his way to ‘Frieders Bookstore,’ an up-and-coming star in the publishing business.

The Frieders Bookstore was the largest bookstore in Roanne and was relatively new, and it boasted the greatest selection of books in the entire kingdom. It was famous for even being able to find and sell forbidden texts for the right price.

Creak.

A happy fragrance wafted around him as soon as he walked through the bookstore entrance.

“Sigh…….”

Saiwè took in a deep breath of the musky scent of books.

He loved books. They were his parents that had brought him outside when he had been locked up in the royal palace, they were his teachers that freely poured out their knowledge unto him, and they were his guideposts in life that allowed him to form his own independent creed.

The Frieders Bookstore could be called the king of the publication world. And it belonged to Saiwè.

He was raptured as he looked to the bookshelves sprawled out before him. The densely packed rows of neatly organized books satiated him, as if he had eaten his fill of every piece of history that existed in the world. Saiwè was the king of this small yet gigantic kingdom.

Luria had always given him a vast allowance since he was young —he was still her son, after all—, and he had only ever used it to buy himself more books. He locked himself in his chambers as he poured over them like a madman, and his discernment concerning them grew better by the day. The piles of books he had finished grew exponentially inside his study.

Saiwè had wandered the world outside the palace with his real father once everyone else had stopped paying much attention to him, and he had opened up a small bookstore, Frieders, once he had grown old enough.

Initially, the Frieders Bookstore had only old books that Saiwè had read and liked and precious texts that he had bought using the royal family’s power. It was only natural that rumors saying that the Frieders Bookstore only sold the best books had spread amongst the people.

Saiwè had accumulated wealth thanks to this, and his business had flourished. And he had done all of this covertly so that no one in the royal family would know.

Flip.

Saiwè pulled out a book from a bookshelf and flipped through it. It was a story about a knight’s epic tale that had been written by an accomplished author, and it brought a smile to Saiwè’s lips.

Books, filled with the annals of history and knowledge, were the basis of all culture. Saiwè, who loved books, loved culture as well, and he had tried his hands in all kinds of cultural arts, such as acting, music, and painting.

Saiwè loved beauty. He disdained Luria’s extravagant luxury, but he welcomed the idea of making oneself more beautiful —in moderation, of course. Beauty was one of the key things that lead history on its path, and it was also the goal that all cultural arts strove for. This was why Saiwè also had a foot in the fashion, jewelry, and cosmetics industries as well.

He leapt into any field of work that interested him like a moth to flame. His businesses failed from time to time, but Saiwè had an excellent eye for things and he was by and largely successful. And each success filled him with wealth, power, glory, and pride.

Saiwè had worked like a madman while concealing his true identity, and he found that he was a hugely influential player in Roanne’s cultural businesses by the time he had stopped to reflect back on himself.

His pseudonym was ‘Van Frieders’.

It was commonly known that prima donnas of famous theater troupes were eager to meet Van Frieders, a mysterious masked man and a great businessman.

Saiwè had joined Camanstros when Shawn had come to him to recruit Van Frieders. Shawn had not been able to conceal his surprise when Van Freiders had disclosed his true identity as Saiwè Luria Roanne.

Saiwè was very proud of the name Van Frieders. And he carried an overflowing affection for books, which had made it possible for him to know this pride.

‘Fools don’t understand the greatness of books.’

Saiwè scorned Luria yet again before he pulled out a book about Bahamut and Roanne from the bookshelves. His desire to study the relationship between Bahamut and Roanne grew by the day. Saiwè hated the royal family of Roanne and had done his best not to learn more about them if at all possible, but his greed had gotten the better of him.

Still, he was not planning to swim in a sea of books today. Saiwè made his way over to a café in the corner of the bookstore once he had purchased his books. It was a place where customers could read or meet up with other people. Someone whom he had been meeting up with often as of late was reading inside the café.

“Hello.”

Rikijen turned around immediately when Saiwè greeted him. He jumped up out of his seat and greeted Saiwè back.

Saiwè sat down opposite of Rikijen and studied the latter’s clothes. They were so well-coordinated that even Saiwè, who had a good taste for these things, approved of how refined they were. Their colors, their designs —everything about Rikijen’s clothes suited him. Rikijen’s clothes played a huge part in how classy he looked. His clothes were not cut from luxurious cloth, but their subtle stiches and sturdy finish were extremely neat.

“I find myself impressed by your clothes every time we meet, Little Rikijen. I don’t know who designed them, but I can feel the soul of a master craftsman in each and every stitch. You must have an excellent eye for these things, considering how well you coordinate what you wear.”

“……Is that so? I am honored for your praise, Your Highness.”

Rikijen sounded astringent, perhaps because he found the topic awkward, so Saiwè pointed out the title of the book he was reading and gently changed the topic.

“How do you like that book?”

“I can see why you recommended it. I’ve learned a lot from reading it, especially since it supplements its descriptions on how mages and warriors mutually complement each other with diagrams. Thank you for recommending me such an excellent read.”

Saiwè had gotten closer to Rikijen after the Margarita incident.

Ianna had meant to go find Saiwè after she had rescued Eiji, but she had fallen sick in bed for a week. Saiwè and Rikijen had ended up spending quite some time together as a result. They had tried talking about all sorts of things to break the awkward silence between them, and they had found that they both shared the hobby of reading in so doing. They had starting meeting up often ever since to discuss the books they had read and spend time together.

Truth be told, Saiwè had an underlying motive in befriending Rikijen.

Rikijen was Ianna’s precious friend.

He was the reason why Eiji, whom Saiwè assumed was ‘Shawn,’ had been kidnapped by the Witch.

And he was the top third-year student of the Institution’s Political Science Department, whom Arhad was personally sponsoring.

Saiwè had determined that RIkijen was someone worth getting closer to after taking everything into consideration. And Saiwè had only grown fonder of Rikijen when he realized that Rikijen’s intelligence outshone even his own.

Rikijen, too, had a reason for getting closer to Saiwè other than out of gratitude for looking after him and their shared hobby. He wanted to learn more about the nobility as he prepared to utterly crush House Owen both politically and economically.

Rikijen had initially seethed with hostility when Saiwè had first disclosed his full name. Saiwè was Luria’s son, and House Owen, which had mercilessly slaughtered his entire family, was Luria’s greatest supporter. But Rikijen had put aside his emotions when he remembered that Ianna and Saiwè were friends. Saiwè may be Luria’s son, but he did not believe that Ianna would have entrusted him to trash while he was unwell.

And he had made the correct decision. Saiwè was a good man. The way that Saiwè always spoke politely to others despite being a prince was especially impressionable.

Rikijen obtained information from Saiwè, and Saiwè feigned ignorance while passing along the information despite being fully aware of what was happening. In return, Saiwè too obtained information regarding Ianna from Rikijen.

“You mean that Angelina has been getting along with Little Ianna?”

“Yes. At the risk of being rude, I would even daresay that the princess chases after Lady Ianna like a little puppy. Everyone was bewildered by it at first, but it’s become the norm now. Our group of exchange students and assistants is planning on visiting the orphanage next week, and the princess will be joining us.”

Saiwè laced his fingers together as he thought about Angelina, the childish princess. He had heard rumors that Angelina had started acting odd last summer, but had she truly been touched in the head?

‘Or is even that child attempting to change?’

In any event, he figured that she wouldn’t pose much of a problem, considering that Ianna and Arhad were simply letting her be. Saiwè decided to forget about the issue known as Angelina.

“Oh my, Rikijen!”

A vivacious voice rang through the café like a bell just then. Both Saiwè and Rikijen turned to look at a woman whose prettily colored skirt was fluttering as she waved back at them.

“Miss Priscilla?”

Rikijen had also grown a lot closer to Pricilla after the Margarita incident. They had been close enough to share a greeting if they ever crossed each other’s path even before the incident. But Pricsilla was a kind woman who had rescued him without any hesitation whatsoever when he, a patient of the epidemic, had been covered head to toe in wounds and was dying in the streets, and she had also knocked down the walls surrounding his heart.

Priscilla was extraordinarily positive and bubbly. Perhaps some would say that she talked a lot and call it a flaw, but some people shaved away at others’ energy when they talked while some gave others more energy —and Priscilla was certainly the latter.

Besides, Priscilla was someone who worked hard and enjoyed what she did. Rikijen had never disliked her. He had never been initially repulsed by her either, as she was not a noble. Ultimately, even the sensitive and edgy Rikijen had ended up becoming good friends with her.

He had also been turned into Priscilla’s dress-up doll. All of his clothes were Priscilla’s works.

“What brings you to a bookstore, Miss?”

“I’m here for some books on fashion for homework that I need to do before I graduate. You’re always so hard at work, aren’t you? Are you here with a friend today?”

It was only then that her eyes, which had been fixed on Rikijen until then, looked to Saiwè, who was sitting opposite of Rikijen.

“Ack!”

Priscilla drew in a sharp breath as she felt his amethyst eyes pulling her in. Then, she said,

“Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh!”

Her face turned bright red as she stomped her feet.

“You’re so handsome! You’re totally my type!”

“Wait, Miss…….”

Rikijen tried to stop her, but Saiwè had beaten him to the punch.

“Hello. Are you a friend of Little Rikijen’s?”

Saiwè was feigning ignorance, but he already knew who Priscilla was.

She was Ianna Roberstein’s roommate. The woman who had found Rikijen on the streets and had brought him to Ianna.

But no. Saiwè had actually known about Priscilla since even before that.

Priscilla was famous in the apparel industry. Her skills were whispered about behind the scenes through word of mouth, and many had acknowledged her after she had started making Ianna’s dresses. Her fame had skyrocketed, and she had become exceedingly high-profile.

Comically enough, she was also known as the ‘Mad Dog.’ She had earned the name due to her tendency to lunge blindly at something once she was determined to do it and never let go until she had accomplished whatever it was that she had wanted to do. Saiwè knew about this as well.

Saiwè smirked as he watched the gentle swaying of her blonde hair and the adorable shape of her eyes.

‘You can never judge a book by its cover. She’s so petite.’

Priscilla was staring at his face so hard she looked like she was almost about to start drooling when Saiwè slowly opened his mouth and said,

“It looks like you’ve taken a liking to my appearance.”

“Oh, of course I have! You’re totally my type!”

Rikijen stared at her candid outpour of goodwill with dumb amazement. She continued,

“I happen to know a lot of good-looking men, you know? Hmm, there’s even one guy whom I would even consider to be the most attractive man in the world, and it’s brilliant to be able to look at him, but he’s almost too surreal……. And he’s not really my type because he’s too expressionless and cold.”

Priscilla had walked up to the table at some point and had grabbed Saiwè’s hand, which had been resting there.

“But I really like your face. You’re so cool. I prefer people like Little Ianna, who are absolutely oozing with sexy pheromones even when they aren’t really doing any……oh, whoops.”

Priscilla continued to toy with Saiwè’s hand even as she cutely smiled while pointing out her mistake. She touched his hand subtly as she went on and on about how handsome he was.

Saiwè gently squeezed his captured fingers and trapped Priscilla’s in his instead.

“What……do you mean by this?”

Saiwè smiled bewitchingly as he asked after Priscilla’s intentions.

He was accustomed to this situation. People flirted with him, both as Saiwè Luria Roanne and as Van Frieders, so often that he was sick and tired of it by now. People whispered confessions to him frequently, like flower petals were falling from their lips, as well. They had all approached him with rosy cheeks just like Priscilla was doing right now.

Had the woman fallen for him at first sight……?

Saiwè was wondering how he should go about turning her down when the excited Priscilla panted and said,

“Please wear my clothes. Ack…….”

“…….”

“Oh my gosh. Even your bone structure is attractive.”

Saiwè immediately realized that he had been completely mistaken. She had not grabbed his hand in an attempt to seduce him. She was feeling for his bones to study his physique.

She was a very peculiar woman, just as he had heard. He had been about to respond to her out of habit because he was so accustomed to people coming on to him, but he had nearly made a snob out of himself instead.

“Pft.”

Saiwè was delighted by how Priscilla had shattered his embarrassing delusions as if with a club.

He was about to pry off the tiny hands that were openly fondling his own, but he stopped before following through. The rough and hard callouses on her hands left a deep impression on him.

She was not only a genius of another level but she also put in the effort too.

‘She’s incredible.’

Saiwè had a high evaluation of Priscilla. He simply let her hands be and curled his eyes into a smile without prying them off.

“Why don’t we begin with introductions. It’s nice to meet you, Miss. My name is Saiwè Luria Roanne.”

“Roanne? You were a prince? Omigosh, omigosh, to think I’d suddenly meet a prince. You have such an attractive face. And your physique is sturdy too. Do you exercise? And your proportions are so, omigosh. You’d look amazing in my clothes.”

“Thank you for the compliments. May I have your name, Miss?”

“Oh, I’m Priscilla. I make clothes. Anyway, Your Highness, would you maybe be interested in my clothes? Because I have a design in my notebook that I think would suit you really well. I can make it in a few days and give it to you if you let me. Won’t you please wear it just once?”

Her eyes glistened avariciously as she studied what Saiwè was wearing. She continued,

“Oh my, you have excellent tastes. You seem to have an eye for this, so I can guarantee that you’ll be satisfied by my clothes. I’m certain you’ll like them.”

Priscilla grabbed Saiwè’s hand tight as she pleased,

“So please. Please?”

Saiwè tilted his head to the side. Priscilla continued to shatter his notions of common sense. She still only cared solely about his appearance even after she had acknowledged the fact that he was a prince. And she still continued to repeat her request that he wear her clothes.

A prince of Roanne should have been a surreal existence to a common woman, so wasn’t she being a bit too indifferent to him?

Rikijen quickly elaborated for him.

“She’s always like this. She’s extremely appearance-focused and doesn’t care about anything else so long as someone’s face is to her tastes.”

“It’s true. I really like people who look charming. Oh, I’ll take a seat here, okay?”

Priscilla plopped herself down on the seat as she licked her lips. Then, she pushed the notebook she had been carrying around under her arm in front of Saiwè. She continued,

“Please take a look, Your Highness. This is my design notebook. It’s filled with designs I created especially for attractive people just like you.”

Priscilla flipped the pages of her notebook one after another as she enthusiastically explained about each design. Saiwè was inwardly astonished as he quietly studied her designs while listening.

‘Her talent is amazing. I see. She’s the one who designed Rikijen’s clothes.’

“This is the one that I’m hoping you’ll wear, Your Highness.”

Saiwè carefully studied the page that Priscilla had pointed out to him. Saiwè had an eye for beauty, which he had trained up as he led the world of fashion, and even he thought that her design was spectacular. Not only did it suit him, just as she had said it would, but it also had the latent potential to sweep through the markets like a storm and grow immensely popular.

“I know that it might be rude to change up another’s designs, but may I add a few touches to it?”

“Huh? Sure. Of course! This design is for you, after all, Your Highness!”

Priscilla passed him a pencil, and Saiwè erased a part that wasn’t to his tastes. His actions were earnest, as if he was brushing off the dust covering a famous painting.

“What if we do this here instead? This is just my opinion, of course. Your design is already amazing even without having to fix it.”

Priscilla’s eyes opened wide as her design had become tidier without any hint of unnecessary additions.

“Wow, your tastes are amazing! It’s so much better now!”

Priscilla beamed in delight. Her smile seemed to be sparkling. It left a deep impression on Saiwè.

“Very well. I would certainly wear this if you made it for me.”

“Really? Thank you so much!”

“How shall I compensate you? I rather like the design, so I will pay you as much as you’d like for it.”

“I don’t need money. It’s a gift. Since I really like Your Highness’ face and body —oh, wipe.”

Saiwè tilted his head to the side as Priscilla wiped away her drool on the hem of her sleeve.

“But I’d still like to pay you regardless. Is there perhaps a noble whom you’d like to reach out to, Little Priscilla? If you’d like, I can…….”

“No, no, no! I honestly don’t want to be paid. Nothing will make me happier than to see you wearing the clothes I made, Your Highness. That’s the greatest reward you could ever give me.”

“Still…”

“Strictly speaking, shouldn’t I be the one paying you, Your Highness? Like, a modelling fee or something? Oh, I’m not saying that I dare employ a prince as my model, of course. I just mean that I’d like to give you my clothes as my way of thanking you. I’m bothering you just to satiate my greed as a designer, after all. So please just accept it!”

Saiwè vividly felt Priscilla’s passion and pride as they spoke.

I see.

This woman is so in ‘love’ with her work that she doesn’t have the leisure to care about anything else.

She was so in love that she was not swayed by Saiwè despite his good looks, handsome enough to shake any heart, the power and authority he had as a prince of a large kingdom, or his wealth, so vast that she could spread her arms open and still never be able to fully embrace it.

Normally, love referred to the dizzying passion that existed between people. But Saiwè also included anything that someone regarded as most important and dearly cherished, such as their values or creed that they favored and enjoyed, in his definition of ‘love.’

Saiwè was rather skeptical about the former kind of love, which had such a short expiration date, but he was heavily interested in the latter kind, which could be called the entirely of someone’s life.

Power, money, intellect, work……. Someone who could safeguard their love without being swayed by external factors, no matter what it might be. Someone whose creed was firm as they walked their own path. This was the kind of person Saiwè liked.

Saiwè would not have hated Luria had she been a competent woman who moved independently only for power because she loved power too much.

The reason why Saiwè hated her was because she had conceived him out of her feather-light and ‘frivolous’ love and had thereby trampled over his pride. He was so ashamed of how she loved power and luxury so much while being so incompetent that she allowed herself to be swayed this way and that by louts.

And that was why Priscilla intrigued him. There weren’t many people like her in the world.

‘What to do?’

Saiwè had a huge influence over popular culture. It would be easy for him to make her one of the best designers in the kingdom —no, the world— if he decided to sponsor her.

Priscilla probably wouldn’t need his sponsorship since she was already doing well enough on her own, but he could not deny the itch in his hands.

He was simply curious. His feelings were pure, and he wanted to see how far this woman, who absolutely overflowed with passion and talent, could go. His feelings were twisted, and he wanted to see if her love would change once she had tasted the thrill of power and wealth.

‘I suppose I’ll start by getting to know her better.’

Saiwè beamed.

“Please just call me Saiwè, Little Priscilla.”

“Goodness, but you’re still a prince……. Is it really alight if I call you by your name, Lord Saiwè? Oh my, I’ve already gone and said it. Hoho.”

Saiwè smirked back at her audacity.

Saiwè and Priscilla hit it off well. They enjoyed talking to each other, as they both had ample knowledge about fashion. Saiwè especially complimented the clothes that Priscilla had given to Rikijen. And Priscilla, in turn, was touched that he had seen her designs for their true worth.

“Did you hear that, Rikijen?”

an excited Priscilla asked the quiet Rikijen. But Rikijen didn’t reply.

He had simply returned to reading as their discussions turned to the topic of fashion —there was too much jargon flying around for him to understand what they were talking about to begin with, and he wasn’t all that interested either. He had fallen back inside the pages as soon as he had turned the page because the book that Saiwè had recommended him was simply that fascinating.

“Hey!”

“Ack!”

Rikijen yelped in surprise when Priscilla pinched him.

“Lord Saiwè! Was just! Talking about how great and pretty and awesome your clothes are! Clean out your ears and listen carefully!”

“Yeah, sure. They’re super duper awesome. I’ll treasure them and pass them down as an heirloom.”

“You’re so mean. There wasn’t any soul in your words!”

Saiwè looked to them fondly as they squabbled. He rather liked both Rikijen and Priscilla. Those with overflowing talent and keen acumen were both to his tastes.

Ianna Roberstein was surrounded by truly wonderful people. Saiwè smiled as he thought that birds of a feather truly did tend to flock together.

~~*~~

Part 5

Two weeks had passed since the student exchange program had begun.

Angelina took her classes so truly, truly seriously that the people around her had been shocked. The students of the Swordsmanship Department had nearly fallen into a crisis when they saw her studying so hard that she had practically buried her nose inside her books.

And it wasn’t only the lectures. Though she was only doing endurance training because she wasn’t strong enough to wield a sword yet, she took her training seriously too and met all the goals that her professors had set for her every day.

She even followed Ianna to the training grounds every day and ran outside of classes.

“Huff, huff!”

And she was hard at work running even now.

Men’s gazes were naturally pulled toward her as her tightly tied silver ponytail bounced in the air and her pale cheeks dyed crimson. But they scattered away quickly enough.

Angelina was truly, truly, truly pretty, but they all knew that she was a girl whom they could not dare covet. Besides, they had already grown so accustomed to seeing a pretty girl, Ianna, running that they were practically sick and tired of it, so they also grew accustomed to Angelina soon enough. Thus, not many people stared at Angelina for silly reasons.

“Haah…”

Angelina collapsed to the ground after she had run five laps. Her knight had flinched when he saw the dirt getting on her clothes, but he did not approach her. Angelina had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was not to care whether she hurt herself or got dirty.

“Princess.”

Harchen, who had also been running, came over to her. Like Angelina, he was also focusing on endurance training as he enjoyed his Swordsmanship Department classes.

He saw the pep in Angelina’s face and smiled.

“You’re adjusting well.”

“Mm.”

Angelina smiled as well. She continued,

“I think it’s because I like it.”

“You like it? You don’t find it difficult?”

“It is rather tough, and it hurts a lot, and my ladies-in-waiting have been crying about all the knots in my muscles…….”

She placed a hand over her heart. It was beating furiously. Her skin was flushed with heat, and she was out of breath. She continued,

“But I feel like I’m alive when my heart is racing like this. And I love this feeling so much. This must surely be what vitality is.”

“I’m glad you enjoy running.”

Angelina whipped her head to where the new voice had come from. The newcomer continued,

“Stamina is important no matter what you do. Please be sure to keep up with your endurance training even after you’ve gone back.”

Ianna was walking over while wiping away her sweat with a towel. Angelina stared back at her.

Angelina had run five laps, but Ianna had run several times that number. Sometimes, she had been running at full speed, and sometimes, she had been controlling her pace and going slow, but she had always been faster than Angelina regardless.

Angelina no longer ignored Ianna. She could not. She had learned just how hard Ianna worked, just how amazingly talented Ianna was, by sticking close to her. She was ashamed that she had once thought lowly of Ianna for not being feminine enough.

“I will,”

Angelina replied quietly. Ianna looked down at the princess with a strange look on her face before she turned around and began running again. Angelina chased after her crimson hair with her eyes.

“We’re finally going!”

Today was the day that they had planned to visit the orphanage. Herrace, who had informed the orphanage director of their visit beforehand, cheerfully led the way. Accompanying him was the members of the student exchange group, whom he had gotten closer to as they dined together every day for the past two weeks. The group was rather glamorous, as high-standing nobles like Calendula Huzergo, Pascal Ottoc, Harchen Roberstein, and even Princess Angelina were included in their number.

“Phew.”

Rupert, one of the only commoners in the group, had butterflies in his stomach. He always found himself disconcerted and wondering if he truly belonged. He was truly glad that Rikijen was here with him.

They arrived at the orphanage.

“Elly’s been incredibly excited to meet you,”

Herrace said excitedly as he opened the large doors. He continued,

“She’s even said that she’ll make sure to have Nissi with…….”

Whoosh!

“Huh?”

Something small and white shot out as soon as Herrace opened the door.

“Someone catch her!”

A girl cried out from inside. The group quickly chased the escaping white object with their eyes.

Ianna, who was at the very back of the group, leisurely watched the white object that running toward her with her outstanding dynamic vision. It was a cat that was as white as snow.

She tried to reach out for the cat. And then, the cat’s eyes met hers.

“……!”

The cat froze up just then. She had stopped while running as if time itself had paused. She was staring holes into Ianna with one of her front paws still up in the air —Ianna almost wondered if the cat had fainted with her eyes still open.

“Heyy!”

shouted a girl with messy brown hair as she shot out from the orphanage like an arrow. She reached the cat in but an instant and grabbed her by the tail.

“Meowww!”

cried the startled cat. Her fur bristled up as she swiped her front paws at the child in a rather menacing manner.

But the girl dodged deftly before she picked up the hissing cat.

“Why do you keep running away? I told you that today’s an important day!”

“Meowww!”

The cat struggled something fierce and scratched the girl’s arms. The girl glowered.

“Oh, you ungrateful little brat! Stay still!”

“Meow!”

“Elly!”

Elly, the girl who was grappling with the cat, beamed sunnily with Herrace called her name.

“Oh, hello there, Mr. Herrace. Whoa!”

The cat had tried to escape her while she was distracted, but she had failed because Elly had tightened her hold around her.

“Why don’t you just let her go? Nissi always comes back when she’s hungry anyway.”

“But I made sure to clean her up today since we have guests coming over……. And she’ll be all muddy again by the time she comes back.”

Nissi, the struggling cat, looked like she was about to start frothing at the mouth. Ianna reached out, thinking that there would be no end to it at this rate. She also pitied Nissi for being kept against her will even though she was struggling so desperately because she hated it. Ianna grabbed the cat by the scruff of her neck.

“The cat looks rather distressed……”

So why not just let her go and wash her again later?

But Nissi froze up like ice yet again before she could finish her sentence.

“…….”

Ianna pulled away, bewildered. Nissi was weird. She hadn’t exactly done anything to scare the cat either, and yet Nissi froze up as soon as their eyes met, as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have seen, as soon as Ianna had grabbed hold of her, as if she had touched something she shouldn’t have touched.

Was she sick?

“Oh……?”

Elly tilted her head at Nissi’s baffling behavior before looking up at the shadow that had cast over her tiny frame.

Ianna turned her gaze to Elly. Elly was a normal girl whose features could be found anywhere. The messy bob of her hair was a common shade of brown, and her skin had been tanned slightly by the sun. She was around ten years old, perhaps? Ianna felt strange as she looked to Elly.

‘Do I have a favorable impression of her?’

Ianna now understood what Herrace and Harchen had meant when they said that Elly had a comforting air about her. She was being rather rough with the cat, but her round face and gentle eyes gave off a kind impression. Her small frame and kind atmosphere soothed Ianna’s heart. Elly was the kind of child who would not feel dangerous at all even if she was holding a blade.

And, perhaps it was because she was rather ordinary, but Ianna would not have found it strange at all even if the child had suddenly slipped into their group out of nowhere. Elly felt like she would naturally melt into their lives like a drop of ink melting gently into water. The child was like the trees or the grasses. Ianna had felt something similar before.

‘Saki?’

Ianna furrowed her brows.

“…….”

Elly was staring blankly back at Ianna while Ianna studied her. Elly’s mouth was agape, and she looked like she was about to start drooling any minute now. Ianna had no idea why the cat and her owner were acting like this.

“Elly.”

Ianna awkwardly called out to the girl and waved her hand in front of her face as the silence grew longer. Elly snapped back to her senses and flushed beet red.

“Wow……you’re so pretty. You’re so pretty, Miss.”

Ianna’s eyebrows twitched at the sudden compliment. Elly readjusted her hold on the still-frozen Nissi and grew bewildered when she realized that everyone was looking at her. She continued,

“Oh, I, I’m sorry. I’ve made a fool of myself in front of such important guests. Wow.”

Her eyes opened wide.

“There’s so many of you……. And all of you misses and misters are so good-looking…….”

The entire group was eye-catchingly attractive, and Elly was raptured for a moment as if she was looking at a bunch of expensive dolls before she slapped her cheeks and came back down to earth.

“Gosh, why am I like this today? It’s so nice to meet you all! I’m Elly. Please come on in!”

Elly threw the orphanage doors wide open in her excitement.

“Big Sis Elly!”

“Did you catch Nissi?”

“It’s Mr. Herrace and Mr. Hansen! Huh? Wowie. There are so many cool misters and misses here.”

The children came running out. Elly stood in front of them and sternly shouted,

“Guys, don’t be rude! These people are…….”

Herrace placed a hand on Elly’s shoulder.

“It’s all right. You can be at ease.”

Everyone in the group visiting the orphanage today had decided not to wield their authority as nobles before the children. It wasn’t right to demand respect for their station when they had come to volunteer at the orphanage and play with the children. Besides, there was little point in flaunting their prestige before children who didn’t know any better.

Anyone who was uncomfortable with this had been free to leave, but no one had left. No one in the group disliked children, and there was no reason to hold back when Angelina, the highest-ranking of them all, had consented too. It had been possible only because everyone in the group had mild dispositions.

The children opened their eyes wide.

“Are they friends of Mr. Herrace and Mr. Hansen?”

“They must all be really nice then!”

The children welcomed Ianna’s group without a single hint of wariness. But they were not always like this with people at first. They had all been abandoned before, and they did not take to strangers very easily.

“Will you be playing with us today?”

“Why are all your friends so shiny, Mister?”

“It’s like they’re from another world.”

The children looked extremely close to Herrace as they clung to him. They had opened their hearts to him because he visited often and poured out his sincere affections on them. And the group could see this clearly.

“Welcome.”

The director of the orphanage was a kindly and virtuous woman. Gingerly, she said,

“I don’t know if any of the work here is appropriate for such noble persons as yourselves…….”

“Oh, please don’t worry about that. We’re just visiting like we normally do.”

Herrace and Harchen were familiar with the children, and, while they had been a little awkward at first, the rest of the group got along with the children as well.

Calendula circled around the orphanage as she taught the children the names of the plants one by one. She clicked her tongue when she saw the garden that they were running around in.

“It’s far too dreary as a place for children. Shall I drag along some servants with me next time and have them plant some trees and flowers?”

“You’ll be visiting again?”

asked Rikijen, who had grown rather close to Calendula during the past two weeks, and Calendula nodded back.

“Perhaps around the time the student exchange programs ends. I could not call myself the heir of House Huzergo if I saw a garden this dreary and simply let it be.”

Pascal Ottoc passed around snacks to the children.

“Wowwww!”

House Ottoc worked in the food processing industry. He had asked his servants to bring him some snacks that the children might like because there were piles of it stocked up in his household’s warehouses, and he had most certainly made the right call. The children’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets as they stared at the cornucopia of snacks piled up before them.

“Once upon a time, a prince and a princess…….”

Angelina was reading to the children. Her kind and gentle voice and her lovely appearance drew in the children’s attention. She was also great at emoting as she read, and the children cried and laughed as she recited the story.

‘The children are happy.’

Angelina’s cheeks flushed red in her sense of accomplishment.

Bang!

Ianna and Rupert were doing some heavy lifting instead of playing with the children. Ianna was hammering as she mended the fence.

But then she felt a persistent gaze on her. She snuck a glance. It was Nissi. Nissi had been observing her from afar ever since she had first met the cat.

“Hey, get closer.”

Elly walked up to Nissi from behind and pat at her behind. But Nissi only flinched —she did not take a single step toward Ianna. She would observe Ianna cautiously, but then she would turn her head to the side if Ianna stared back at her. It was almost like she was human.

What the hell is up with that cat?

“Idiot!”

Elly picked Nissi up while expressing her frustration.

“Meowwww!”

Nissi began twitching up a storm again. Ianna waved her hands.

“I don’t think the cat likes me very much —you can let her be.”

Ianna had played with cats before, and she could tell more or less when they liked or disliked something. Those cats that were friendly to her would walk up to her curiously and rub their heads on her legs. But Nissi was simply staring daggers at her from afar, so Ianna was certain that she probably disliked her, though she didn’t know why.

“That’s not it at all! Just look at how she keeping lingering around you, Miss. She’s super wary of people because she’s been treated badly before, you know? But she keeps tailing after you. She definitely likes you.”

“Meowww!”

“Hey, keep still, will you?! I’m trying to talk you up to the miss you like so much! Quit acting like this!”

Elly dug her knuckles into the struggling cat’s head. Nissi hissed with her teeth barred before raising her front paws.

Powpowpowpowpow!

“O-ow!”

Five consecutive kicks exploded against Elly’s cheek. Elly ended up letting go of Nissi, and Nissi ran away.

“Having fun?”

Elly rubbed at her cheek in annoyance before grinning back.

“Her haughtiness is annoying sometimes, but it’s also kinda charming. Besides, isn’t she really pretty?”

“She is pretty, but…….”

Nissi was certainly a gorgeous cat. Any cat lover would stare at her at least once if they ever crossed paths. Her white fur and jewel-like eyes left a lasting impression. Ianna continued,

“Won’t she run away for good at this rate?”

“I’ve caught her again every time she’s tried, so she’s given up by now. And she’s a glutton who shows up again whenever she gets hungry. Anyway, Miss, aren’t you hot?”

Elly flicked her finger. A cool breeze stirred up. It was the kind of breeze that refreshingly dried up the sweat on one’s skin. Ianna’s eyes took in a conspicuous color. Elly was using magic ever so naturally.

“Are you planning on applying to the Institution one day?”

“I think so? It’s not like I have anywhere else to go. But I’m not actually sure yet. That’s just what I said to the director to reassure her.”

A crystal of ice materialized when Elly drew a circle with her finger. Another sheet of ice formed on the ice with each additional spin. It was like a blossoming flower.

“This is a gift.”

Ianna accepted the beautiful flower of ice Elly had made with her magic. It was a rather surprising accomplishment. You could make a lump of ice with just a simple magic circle, but you needed precise control and willpower to manifest something with such a concrete shape.

Moreover, most people learned how to control mana in their late teens, but Elly, who had said that she was around ten or so, was already moving the mana around as if it wasn’t anything at all. She had incredible talent. She would probably be accepted anywhere with her kind of talent.

“Isn’t it pretty? It’s pretty, right?”

Elly’s eyes were sparkling like a puppy waited to be praised.

“Yeah. Thank you.”

Elly beamed, delighted by Ianna’s gratitude.

“I’ll make more since you like it, Miss!”

Flowers made from earth, flowers blossoming from fire……. Elly was excited as she used magic to create all sorts of flowers. She was a bright and affable child by nature.

But she apparently had multiple issues with her parents? Had they mistreated her? It was only right for anyone who had mistreated such a good child to be punished by the heavens. Ianna resolved to do anything in her power to help the girl if Elly ever found herself in trouble —it was quite uncharacteristic of her.

“You’re a good kid.”

Ianna stroked Elly’s head. Elly dithered.

“Hehe.”

She smiled bashfully, delighted by Ianna’s touch.

Ianna began mingling with the children because she had nothing else to do once she had finished mending the fence. The children found it difficult to approach her at first because she was so brusque, but they quickly stopped being wary of her and gathered around her when they saw Elly stuck by her side while chattering away.

The children talked to Ianna about all kinds of things. The topic of parents had come up too, and Ianna learned that they had very diverse reasons for being in the orphanage. Some of their parents had died in war or from disease, and some of the children had been kidnapped by human traffickers but had nowhere else to go after they were rescued. Others had been parted from their parents because of sudden accidents or other certain reasons. And some had been abandoned by their parents.

“I wanna wear shiny armor and protect the princess too!”

Those children who were interested in the sword had sparkles in their eyes when Herrace praised Ianna and told them that she was far more skilled with the sword than he.

“I wanna use my sword to get rid of the bad guys!”

“Can I become a swordsman too?”

“If you work hard,”

Ianna said optimistically, but the truth was that it would be difficult for the child to become a knight. Commoners who attended the Institution were an exception to the rule because of their outstanding talent, but knights were generally children from wealthy families or noble households. Even if they somehow did manage to become knights one day, the orphanage children would only be scorned for their humble origins.

These children were no different from the weakest creatures that had been abandoned in the jungle because they didn’t have any parents to protect them until they had grown old enough. The crown supported them to some extent, but that was all. These children were alone, unlike other children who were fundamentally loved and supported until they came of age, and they would have to crawl up from the very bottom with only their own strength.

And, with no support whatsoever, it would be a very long climb for them to crawl up to where they wanted to be. So long as they didn’t have the innate talent to overcome such adversity, that is.

It couldn’t be helped to some extent because everyone had different circumstances, but surely these children would find the world particularly unfair…….

Ianna thought that every child deserved the same opportunities. Their starting lines may be different depending on their parents and their circumstances, but there needed to exist some manner of institution that would allow all of them to reach the same heights if the put in the requisite effort.

But the establishment would simply stick its fingers in its ears and ignore it even if someone screamed themselves hoarse about the need for change. The people who were already accustomed to the existing system, and the nation’s sense of values would fear change and avoid it.

And so, Ianna continuously observed her surroundings and drew and redrew the country she and Arhad was to create inside her head. A country where one’s abilities were of the upmost importance. A country where the people freely climb the social ladder and would not be ignored simply for having humble origins. A world in which everyone could stand at the radiant starting line so far away and emerge victorious if only they put in the effort.

‘If you work hard.’

Ianna hadn’t lied. In such a country, these children would be able to become knights and more so long as they had the talent and they worked hard without giving up until the bitter end.

“Is it true, Mr. Herrace?”

“Mister! I’m gonna train even harder now!”

“Mhmm. Little Ianna’s really amazing, you see. She never lies. So make sure you keep working hard!”

Ianna turned to Herrace. She had thought this all day long now, but Herrace was being truly sincere with the children. He was sincerely having fun when he played with the children, and he was sincerely being affectionate to them when he hugged them back as they sought his affection. Herrace was kind, and he was like a warm lamp to these children who were starved for love.

Ianna thought it would be wonderful if helping the innocent and weak was only a matter of course in her new country. Especially if they were children. It was every adult’s duty to take care of young children regardless of whether the children were related to them or not. It would be wonderful if there were many people in the world who were so sincere with such children like Herrace was.

“Miss, Miss! What do I need to do if I wanna be strong like you?”

“You’re so cool, Miss. You can beat up anyone you don’t like. I wish I was super strong just like you.”

The girls were interested in Ianna too, and not only the boys. And this made Ianna realize yet another truth.

Children were fundamentally pure. It didn’t matter if they were good or bad in disposition —their souls were all the same blank slates when they were born. People changed depending on what kind of lives they led. Just like how the color of their divine power could change as they lived their lives.

The children in the orphanage were all equal —their gender didn’t matter. They all did laundry together regardless of their gender, and they all played together too. It didn’t matter if they were playing with dolls or pretend swords.

Ianna had experienced a lot of prejudice because of her gender. Would people have still accused her of selling her body like her mother had she been a man? Would they have still stared at her like a monkey behind bars for wearing her sword at her waist?

Even if people weren’t being malicious about it, the world still divided up gender roles as easily as if it was simply breathing. Women had to raise children and take care of the household because men could not give birth. Men had to make money outside the home and do all the heavy work because women were physically weaker.

It could be said that these distinctions were only logical if you considered the physical differences between the sexes. Besides, people could also sincerely want to take on their respective gender roles too.

But it became problematic when logic overpowered people’s wills. If people weren’t given any opportunities even before they developed their wills, if they were taught that some things were only natural, if they were coerced into thinking that the reality surrounding them was the only right way to go about things…….

For example, women were fully capable of growing strong in a physical sense, but society called it weird and rejected, ignored, and even scorned the very idea. Even Ianna had only started being taught the sword when she had been fifteen in her past life. Unlike how boys would have started endurance training ever since they were much younger.

‘So in conclusion, it boils down to national norms and education?’

She had been thinking a lot today.

The sun had dipped behind the royal castle and the day was growing darker. It was time to head back now.

“Sniff.”

The children had grown attached to Ianna’s group and were loath to part with them. Some of them even hid their faces in their hands to cover up their tears.

“We have to say goodbye, guys.”

Elly consoled the other children like the leader of the orphanage that she was and stepped up to represent them. She continued,

“Thank you so much for visiting us today. We enjoyed it more than you’ll ever know —me too, of course.”

Elly said her thanks, but she did not make them promise anything for the future. It was harder to have hope only to be disappointed. It was much happier to not have any hope at all and meet them again when they weren’t expecting it.

She grabbed tightly to Herrace’s hand.

“Mr. Herrace and Mr. Hansen, your friends are the best. They’re all such good people. It’s all thanks to you two that we even got to meet them in the first place. I’m always so grateful that you keep visiting our orphanage.”

“C’mon now. We only visit because we like you guys.”

Herrace grinned back at the beaming Elly, and Harchen stared at Elly, who was bobbing Herrace’s hand up and down, before he stroked her on the head.

“…….”

Elly looked up and smiled faintly back at Harchen before she looked directly at Ianna, who was standing behind him.

“Oh no, I don’t see Nissi anywhere.”

Elly brought up Nissi again and let go of Herrace’s hand as she ran up to Ianna.

“Nissi again?”

“She’s gonna be really sad if she can’t see you anymore, Miss. She might even cry. She won’t even be able to say goodbye……huh?”

Elly’s eyes grew moist as she rambled about Nissi, and tears suddenly began spilling down her cheeks.

“Huh? Why am I……?”

She rubbed her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Miss. This is strange. It’s really strange. I stopped crying like this a long time ago.”

She covered her eyes with her hands.

“It’s been a really long time since I last cried. Really.”

She wiped away her tears on her sleeves. Then, she smiled at Ianna, who had stiffened up.

“I’m sorry. I know I was talking about Nissi, but I think I was the one who wanted to cry. I like you, and I don’t want to say goodbye.”

Ianna was stunned by the sudden confession and awkwardly asked,

“But why me……?”

“I don’t know? My heart started beating really fast as soon as I met you. I really like being near you, and I feel so relieved when I’m around you……. And it makes me so sad that I won’t be able to see you again,”

Elly mumbled before she furiously shook her head. She continued,

“No. Please don’t feel burdened by what I said.”

Had Elly perhaps inherited the blood of the mythical races? The things that Elly had just said reminded Ianna of what the mythical races felt about her.

‘She might look like a normal human, but she might even be a beastman.’

Ianna grew curious about Elly’s identity.

Ianna stared heavily down at Elly before abruptly saying,

“I’ll visit often, so don’t worry. And let Nissi know too, since you claim that she likes me.”

Ianna had been thinking about visiting periodically, since she had gained a lot by being with the children in the orphanage today.

“You’ll be visiting again? I’m so happy!”

Elly beamed cheerfully. Her smile alone told Ianna that she had made the right decision.

“Oh, and there’s this child I know —would it be all right if I brought him with me next time? He’s around your age, and he needs more friends.”

“Of course! There are a lot of people who visit with their kids.”

Ianna had asked because she had been worried that the children might feel deprived, and she was relieved to know otherwise. She decided to bring Finn with her next time. Finn had few opportunities to meet children his age due to his circumstances. She thought it would be nice if he could make some friends here. There would be no issues as to his safety, since he would still be under her protection even if he ran around the orphanage to his heart’s content with his new friends.

“Please visit anytime. We’ll be waiting for you!”

It was time to bid farewell. Elly and the other children waved at them.

“Goodbye!”

It wasn’t only Ianna who had gained a lot today. The others had each gained something too. The edges of Angelina’s eyes flushed red as she waved back while standing next to Ianna.

And so, the group began walking away from the orphanage. A white ball of fluff was sitting on the orphanage roof.

“…….”

Nissi was staring endlessly at Ianna. She continued staring as Ianna grew smaller and smaller until she eventually disappeared from view.

~~*~~

Part 6

She had no idea what Taylon was up to because he hadn’t been in touch.

She had locked the emperor in his chambers because she might murder him if she had to suffer his presence.

Wiffheimer, who had been normal until recently, had grown obsessed in his research after he had encountered the dragon and had holed himself up in his laboratory.

She had no idea where Isabella was because she was travelling around in search of the swordsman she had met that day.

“…….”

The Knights of Grundewalz, who had been in charge of dealing with the dirty work, had collapsed.

Margarita had died.

Dorcianna had decided to go to Roanne on a whim.

The Black Fox, who had been doing well until recently, was grating on her nerves.

Shailince threw the report she had been holding at Payne, who was groveling at her feet.

“This is appalling, Payne.”

“I-I have sinned greatly.”

The blood drained from Payne’s face as Shailince’s bloodlust squeezed at his throat.

“Sigh.”

Shailince Bahamut was growing weary of the situation. Just how much longer must she put up with this?

The Bahamut Empire had never stopped warring ever since she had first been founded. Members of the imperial family yearned for blood and life, for despair and wailing, and for hatred and rage since the day they were born. They wished for a destructive war that could let them savor everything.

‘If only that bastard hadn’t been so careless with his seed.’

Scratch.

Shailince’s nails clawed the throne. She was furious at Philliad, her husband and her elder brother. She had designated her generation as one of preparation for her son and daughter, but Shailince too had strongly inherited the cruel blood of Bahamut. She had taken on all the imperial family’s administrative duties after she had put the emperor under confinement, but sitting in a chair all day long had proved to be ever so dull. Shailince missed the glorious days she had known twenty years ago. Those days when she had indiscriminately destroyed everything as she drenched herself in blood and madness.

‘I see. Should we have continued the war instead of stopping it?’

She had been entertaining the thought frequently as of late. She hadn’t been in her right mind because of the loss she had felt back then, but she had determined that it would be impossible for them to overpower the entire world in their incomplete state. She had decided to spend the rest of her generation in preparation so that Taylon and Isabella could conquer the world in theirs. And so, she had paused the war.

But it had actually been easier to find Demon’s fragment beneficiaries back then. The fragments liked to appear on the battlefields, where madness lingered in the air. The bastard child who had inherited the blood of Bahamut would have found it difficult to suppress their true nature, making it likely that they would have appeared in the middle of warfare. Perhaps it might have been easier to find the bastard child if she had ignited a war all across the world.

And Roanne.

The reason why she and her forefathers hadn’t conquered Roanne for centuries —no, why they ­couldn’t conquer Roanne even if they wanted to— was because of the royal family’s ‘mysterious power.’ It was precisely because of this power that the Bahamut imperial family could not conquer the royal family of Roanne. And in every war too, regrettably.

Crown Prince Taylon saw the ‘Demon’s heart’ in Pandemonium as the key to resolving that issue. And so, they had decided to wait until Taylon opened a path into Pandemonium and retrieved the Demon’s heart before they reignited the war, but…….

They had long since completed their preparations. The strength they had gathered was on the brink of exploding. Roanne was falling apart and had become as Bahamut’s puppets, so they could easily ruin the kingdom even if they didn’t massacre her royal family. Though the gluttonous heads of the Roanne royal family would grow drunk on their power, perhaps.

Tap, tap.

Shailince slowly tapped against her armrest.

Tap.

Then, her finger stopped moving. Payne flinched and shivered.

“Payne.”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty?”

“We will begin our conquest of the world as of now,”

Shailince declared with her hair-raisingly dark voice. She continued,

“We will start by thoroughly crushing Roanne.”

Payne looked up, unable to hide his surprise.

“Are we going to war?”

“Yes. When was the king of Roanne born again?”

“At the end of June, Your Majesty.”

“How appropriate.”

Shailince got up from her seat and slowly made her way to the window. She drew the curtain and took in the sunlight, which was cold and wilting even though it was technically spring.

“Is it mid-April right now?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Then Roanne must be in the midst of enjoying a spring that is beyond their means.”

A chilling breeze blew past and rustled Shailince’s black hair. She had been so familiar with the frigid air brushing her cheeks since the day she was born that it was practically another part of her body now. She would have no problem even if she was to spend the rest of her days here. The wealth and glory she was to enjoy would last eternally. She continued,

“Let us destroy the spring.”

But she was not satisfied to settle with what she currently had. Shailince wanted to enjoy so much more, she wanted the entire world and not just the North at her feet, and she wanted to get drunk on the ecstasy of death and destruction.

She found it so trivial when the pigs of the South, who never realized how truly blessed they were, wrapped themselves tightly in their selfishness and quarreled amongst themselves that she wanted to behead them all. She wanted to rob the fools who took the blessings of nature they were born into for granted, as if they were nothing but pebbles by their feet, of everything they had.

She had endured and endured and endured this scorching thirst for so long. And the thirst had frozen cold and turned into the callous heart of a commander as soon as she had decided to invade Roanne.

“We will devastate the land in May and June while the flowers and shade still cover the earth, and we will begin crushing Roanne underfoot in earnest after her king’s birthday.”

Shailince summoned Wiffheimer with her ring. Wiffheimer paused the important work he had been doing and appeared before her when she, the de facto ruler of the Bahamut Empire, called for him.

“You called, Your Majesty?”

Wiffheimer, who was normally tidily dressed and had an air of leisure about him, looked different today. His appearance was messy, and there was irritation written plainly on his face.

His magical research had taken a turn toward madness after he had met Ianna and the dragon that day. His life’s goal was to brainwash every monster in the world and create an army of monsters with which to conquer the world, and in so doing, he would kill the dragons, the strongest creatures in the world, and become the strongest himself alongside the Bahamut imperial family.

He had been confidant —until he had actually encountered a dragon, that is. He was one of the people who knew best about just how powerful the blood of Bahamut truly was. Besides, the magic he was pioneering had nearly reached its limits, and the monsters under his command were first-rate. Thus, he had thought that it would be possible for them to eliminate the dragons if he and the imperial family worked together.

But he had realized differently as soon as he had met the dragon. Monsters were subordinate to the Demon and had no choice but to obediently obey his orders because he owned a fragment, but he had yielded immediately as soon as he had seen the dragon. Surely, the dragons must be deeply related to the Demon somehow…….

‘But how?’

Dragons were living creations with no relation to the Demon’s fragments, according to the research conducted by the Bahamut Empire and the Tower of Truth. But several things about the dragon he had met had struck him as suspicious. Isabella had readily passed over those points, but Wiffheimer had not.

First, the dragon’s colors.

‘Why did it have a black body with golden eyes? Kandemayon has black eyes. According to the records, those colors belonged to the Demon. Is it a new dragon? Or perhaps it’s something else that simply took the form of a dragon?’

Second, his heart had resonated.

‘It was certainly much larger in scale, but my heart definitely beat faster like it did when it resonates with another fragment. That dragon wouldn’t have possessed a fragment, did it? Or perhaps I was simply being deluded? If not, then…….’

His suspicions, when gathered together, had drawn into one hypothesis, but Wiffheimer had immediately dismissed the ridiculous idea. There was no way that the dragon could possibly be the Demon, which was currently unconscious.

‘But then, what else could it be?’

Wiffheimer only just managed to push his doubts into one corner of his heart. He had no way of resolving his questions since he had no way of confronting the dragon properly yet.

‘I suppose I shall have to wait until the crown prince completes the Demon.’

He trusted Isabella to find the swordsman who had exuded a mysterious air about him. She would find him without fail.

Wiffheimer had thrust himself into his magical research as soon as he had returned to the imperial palace. He wanted to complete the great magic, which he called ‘Heart Sharing,’ that he had been devoting his entire heart and soul to devise. The Bahamut imperial family would gather all of the Demon’s fragments and the Demon’s heart before long. Which meant that Wiffheimer, too, would have to die when he handed his fragment over to them.

The Demon’s completion had become Wiffheimer’s ‘mission’ since the very moment he had received his fragment. And the imperial family’s fragments were so large that it had been long since that Wiffheimer’s own fragment had been overpowered by theirs. He pledged his full loyalty to the Bahamut imperial family, and he was prepared to hand over his fragment at any time.

At the same time, however, Wiffheimer also wanted to overturn the world alongside the imperial family. He wanted to savor the destruction. He wanted to dominate monsters and terrify the world, and he wanted to stand atop the peak of the world too.

In theory, he could use Heart Sharing to transfer his soul to another body and live on with all of his memories even after he had handed over his Demon’s fragment and died.

The imperial family had promised to grant Wiffheimer dominion over the monsters once he was reborn in his new body. Owners of a Demon’s fragment could command the monsters into obeying another. And so, Wiffheimer had been hard at work shaping a new body for himself as of late.

“What is it?”

He was busy, but he still had to faithfully answer to Shailince’s summons. He posed his question courteously as he wiped the vexation from his face.

“How much has the development of our monster army progressed, Wiffheimer?”

“We have reached our goals, but my disciples are still brainwashing more monsters in the Lotso Mountains and the four corners, since the more the merrier.”

“Is that so? Then I will give you a month to prepare. Release the monsters across the entire world in the middle of May, but be sure to hide the fact that they are affiliated with Bahamut. And be especially sure they crush Roanne. Then, be sure the army is ready for battle in July, when we will declare war on the entire world.”

“……?”

Wiffheimer failed to comprehend what she was saying at first and furrowed his brows. But he flushed red in excitement soon enough.

“We’re waging war?”

“Yes.”

“I am more than happy to comply, but has His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince approved of this? I had thought that he hasn’t been in contact.”

Shailince placed a hand over her heart.

“I decided this on my own, but only because I have determined that war is the best option after taking everything else into consideration. More importantly, I cannot bear it any longer. I am sure that Taylon will be understanding of my choices.”

Shailince sighed and turned to Payne next. She continued,

“Payne, I will send over a thousand knights to Roanne, so take advantage of the chaos and prepare for war. Gather up food and supplies and construct our supply lines and bases. You are free to kill off any nobles who get in your way and set their lands ablaze. And let me know immediately if you require additional support.”

“I hear and obey!”

Shailince’s lips twisted into a smile.

“The king’s birthday is at the end of June. His death will raise the curtains on the flames of war. And Payne, make sure that you are the only member of the Black Fox who knows of our plans to invade.”

Payne tilted his head to the side when he heard her unexpected orders.

“Might I dare ask why?”

“I am doubtful of the circumstances behind Margarita’s death. She should have killed her off sooner if she was planning to kill her. Dorcianni has always been an unpredictable wench, but this incident was much too sudden even for her.”

Payne replied sensitively when he heard what Shailince had muttered.

“Has she betrayed us?”

“Who could say? I cannot conclude anything because she had done much for us in the past, but I still have my suspicions. In any event, we don’t know where Camastros’ spy may be hiding in the Black Fox’s ranks, to be sure to keep our plans to yourself until we begin.”

~~*~~

Two weeks had passed since the group had visited the orphanage. The student exchange program, which could be described as having been both short and long, was coming to a close. And nothing much had happened.

Ianna had been wary of Angelina at first, worried that she might cause some problems, but she had stopped caring about the princess in the latter half of the program and simply went about her own life. Angelina was focused on her studies and did not cause even a single issue. And she chased Ianna around like a puppy. Though she always ran away whenever she happened to run into Arhad by chance.

“Good morning, Princess!”

“Hello!”

“Yes. Good morning, everyone.”

Angelina gently returned the other students’ sonorous greetings as she accompanied Ianna in her morning training.

“Today’s the last day.”

“You’ve worked hard this past month.”

“You’re amazing —it must have been so difficult to match Little Ianna’s training schedule since she’s something else.”

The students saw Angelina in a different light than they had initially. At first, they had regarded her as nothing more than a delicate and beautiful princess. But vitality had begun coursing beneath her pale skin now that she had been doing endurance training with Ianna for an entire month. Her face and figure were both teeming with life.

More importantly, Angelina seemed human as she struggled to do her very best. She had been an angel from the heavens whom they could not dare even look up to, and yet she now seemed just as human as they were.

“Pant, pant.”

Angelina was running behind Ianna yet again today. But, as always, she could not catch up to Ianna no matter how much she ran. Not that Ianna had any reason to match her pace. It was as if Ianna didn’t care at all about whether Angelina ran behind her or not. Ianna had been like this since the very first day they had met, and she was still like this even on the last day of the program. Ianna may have folded her hostility, but she was still indifferent to Angelina nevertheless.

‘Perhaps I was making too light of this.’

Angelina had always won over others’ love easily, and she had thought that she would quickly become friends with Ianna too. But she realized now that she had been conceited.

‘So what else must I do?’

Angelina was frightened as she recalled the nightmare she had been dreaming almost every day as of late.

‘Do I really have to kill him before that happens……ack!’

Angelina snapped back to her senses and vigorously shook her head no.

“Pant, pant.”

She panted heavily as she poured strength into her legs. She wanted to get even just a little closer to Ianna.

“Ah!”

But she pushed herself too far, and she fell as she tripped. She fell so hard that she tumbled across the dirt. She became covered in dirt and dust, and she scraped her arms and knees painfully.

“Oww…….”

She looked at the blood smeared on her palms. It hurt. Tears welled in her eyes.

She was a princess who could do nothing by herself but cry. And idiot who had no choice but to rely on others. She had been delusional about the boundaries between novels and reality to begin with, and now she was also a fool who couldn’t even differentiate between dreams and reality.

‘I feel like I’m going crazy.’

She had tried to change during her month at the Institution. If she alone could change, then perhaps she could alter the horribly realistic and dreadful future she had envisioned in her nightmares too.

She had tried so hard. And she had felt rewarded for her efforts.

But that was all. One month had been far too short, and today was the last day. It was already over before she even had the chance to try anything. She had no choice but to return to her original life.

‘I see. It was far too late to start trying now. There’s nothing I can do. I’ll have to live the same exact life I saw in my dreams. And I’ll die the same exact way too.’

No one would believe her even if she told them about her nightmares. Everyone would simply think she was mentally ill. That being said, it wasn’t as if she had the courage to cast everything aside and run away either. Angelina felt powerless, as if she was being crushed beneath a giant’s hands.

‘I’m so scared…….’

Her hands balled into fists as she huddled into herself.

‘No, no, it’s just a dream. You’re so stupid, Angelina!’

She sniffled as she cried.

‘It’s definitely just a dream, but I’m still so scared. I’m so stupid.’

“Are you all right?”

Angelina whipped her head up when she heard a voice falling upon her from above. Ianna had extended a hand toward her with an astringent look on her face. Angelina grabbed onto tightly to Ianna’s hand.

“Um… Little Ianna?”

Angelina said gingerly. Ianna, who had been applying medicine to her knees, raised her head and looked her in the eyes. Angelina worked up some courage and asked,

“Have we grown a little closer?”

Ianna contemplated for a moment before she opened her mouth in reply.

“We are not close, but we are at least acquainted. I did not plan to become friends with you to begin with, Princess.”

Angelina shuddered as Ianna drew a firm line between them.

“I see. I’m sorry. One month was much too short for that, wasn’t it? I suppose I really have made too light of this.”

Angelina nodded back in resignation. She continued,

“But still…”

She looked back at Ianna with a pitiful expression on her face.

“Would you save me if I ever found myself in danger?”

Why was Angelina asking this?

“Depending on the situation, then perhaps?”

But Ianna still answered nevertheless. It was one thing if Ianna was in a situation where she had to kill Angelina, but she would probably save the princess for moral reasons otherwise.

“Truly? Thank you so much!”

Angelina beamed, apparently having been greatly satisfied by Ianna’s answer. She was like a pallid and wilting flower who had suddenly come back to life as she blossomed vividly once more. Ianna tilted her head to the side, thinking Angelina a truly puzzling girl, before she resumed applying medicine to the princess’ knees.

“Ouch.”

“Please bear with it.”

Angelina had scraped her knees quite badly. A chunk of her white flesh had been torn off and looked like a puddle of blood had been dumped over a layer of snow. The red wound on her otherwise flawless skin was strangely offensive to Ianna, a perfectionist.

Besides, while her words were still cold, she no longer detested Angelina. She didn’t exactly like Angelina either, but Angelina had still made quite the progress since Ianna regarded most people as simply ‘people she happened to know.’ Ianna had truly disliked Angelina previously.

‘I know now that the words she said to me a month ago were sincere.’

Angelina, who had claimed to want to experience more things, had truly been working hard this past month. She had been busily running around all over the place to try and experience everything that she possibly could.

She had spent most of her time chasing after Ianna, but she had also been attending other various lectures with Harchen’s help when she wasn’t. She had apparently visited the orphanage a few more times too. Ianna stood corrected, as she had thought that Angelina had been all talk and would give up in just a few days from the difficulty of it all.

Angelina had also meant it when she promised to give up on Arhad. Angelina had chanced across Arhad several times as she stayed by Ianna’s side, but she only ever exchanged greetings with him —she had never held a proper conversation with him. Or rather, she had always suddenly recalled something she had to do and fled from his presence. She had blushed red upon seeing him the first few times, but she had stopped doing even that as of late.

‘Nightmares, was it?’

It was apparently Angelina’s long-time nightmares that had changed the childish princess so.

‘I’m a little curious about what she’s been having nightmares about.’

But that was all there was to it. Ianna had absolutely no intentions of interfering with Angelina’s life, so she killed off her curiosity and focused on treating the princess’ injuries.

“Um, you could have just left me to the nurse in charge of the infirmary.”

“You need to apply first-aid treatment immediately if you don’t want it to get infected. I will escort you to the infirmary once I’m done, so please ask the nurse to treat you with high-grade medicines then.”

Ianna raised her head as she apathetically continued,

“I touched your body because I believed this to be the best course of action, Princess, but I can escort you to the infirmary immediately if you are uncomfortable.”

“N-no, not at all. Please continue treating me, Little Ianna.”

“Very well.”

Angelina stared at Ianna’s fingers as they moved carefully around her knees.

‘She said we weren’t friends. And she said that she didn’t plan on being friends either.’

And yet, Ianna’s touch was so heartful and caring. Angelina’s panic had settled down and her impatience had vanished, and she had been able to observe Ianna clearly over the course of this past month.

But she still turned around and reached out for me when I fell and hurt myself so badly I couldn’t get back up. She’s considerate of my injuries and she’s treating me personally. She was brusque at the orphanage too, but she was good to the children even still.

She must surely be busy enough with her own work, but she always helps others as much as she can if people need it, and she’s always willing to teach in the training grounds if anyone asks.

She might be a bit cold with her words, but she’s a good person.

Angelina grabbed hold of Ianna’s hands when she was about to pull away after applying some bandages.

“Thank you, Little Ianna.”

“Oh, you’re welcome.”

Ianna felt burdened and gently pulled her hands away when Angelina’s sparkling gaze fell upon her.

Angelina, who had gone to the infirmary to finish getting treated, had said that she wanted to visit the orphanage and play with the children one last time and hold an afterparty to celebrate the program’s last day. Ianna didn’t refuse, as she believed it was only right to finish strong. The others also agreed.

The orphanage had changed a lot.

The once-humble orphanage now looked like a cozy home with a beautiful garden because Calendula Huzergo had poured a lot of money into developing the orphanage garden and Angelina had secretly hired professional carpenters to repair the building. The children had been busy tending to the trees and the flowers as of late.

“Like this, you’re supposed to do it like this.”

“Wow, you’re so good at this, Finn!”

Finn was there as well.

Ianna had brought Finn along with her on her second visit to the orphanage. He had been shy and hesitant at first, but he was still just another child. He had grown closer to the other children within a day and was clearly very happy. He had been wistful to the point of tears when it was time to go home. Then, he had started visiting with Benfomè in tow even when Ianna wasn’t able to take him.

Finn loved plants, and he had also inherited the blood of elves, who were loved by the plants. He was skilled at tending to plants despite his young age, and he taught the other children how to love the plants.

“You’re so good at this, Finn!”

“Hehe.”

Finn was especially close to Elly, whom he treated as if she was really his older sister. Elly took great care of Finn as well. Surprisingly, Finn also got along well with Rikijen. Rikijen knew a lot about flowers because his parents had been florists. Finn enjoyed talking to Rikijen.

“These are so good, Mr. Pascal!”

Pascal Ottoc had decided to sponsor the orphanage and send them regular shipments of delectable snacks after getting to know the children.

He had felt so content, something that he had never experienced before, that first day when he had seen the children blissfully enjoying the snacks that had been manufactured by his house. He had nagged the employees at House Ottoc’s factories to create even tastier snacks for the children, and the research team, whom he had urged with a hefty bonus, had successfully created a new snack derived from chocolate.

The new snack had driven up profits. Pascal had been personally acknowledged by Viscount Ottoc, and his position as the heir of House Ottoc had been solidified in the heat of the moment. Pascal had started being even kinder and more generous to the children after that.

And so, the orphanage had become a great environment for the children to grow up in.

“And the prince and the princess lived happily ever after.”

Angelina was sitting near Ianna as she read the children a story. Reading storybooks to such good children gave Angelina a measure of psychological peace. She was also relieved because she knew that no one could hurt her when Ianna was nearby.

Angelina snuck a glance at Ianna. Ianna was leaning against the wall as she quietly observed the peaceful orphanage. Angelina was inwardly relieved. She had even gained the leisure to reflect on her endlessly terrifying nightmare.

Her nightmare was usually a series of brief scenes. The many things that the protagonist of those scenes had seen, felt, and thought during them vanished from her mind every time she woke. She could not remember anything concrete. Like the exact words she had exchanged with someone in conversation, for example.

But there were a few scenes and emotions that she remembered clearly. And one of them happened at the very end of the dream and was terrifying to the point of numbness.

‘On his orders, someone who looked to be Sir Arhad’s knight cut off my head.’

Her dreams always ended the same way. Rough-looking knights would grab her violently and force her to her knees before him. And Arhad ordered her execution as apathetically as if he was simply plucking a flower.

Then, one of the knights would draw his sword, and she would feel a biting sting at her neck in her abject terror. She would wake up as she felt her world spin upside-down.

Angelina shuddered.

‘He’s so scary…….’

His indifferent and chilling eyes landed on her just once in her dream. But she could not grow accustomed to his gaze no matter how many dozens or hundreds of times she saw the same dream. Her breath caught, and she thought she might faint every time his eyes fell upon her. She had crushed on him in reality, but he scared her so much in her dreams that she thought she might go insane from terror.

And her dreams mixed into her reality. The fear she had felt when their eyes had locked as they danced during her debut overlapped with the terror of her dreams. She liked Arhad, but she was also mind-numbingly terrified of him at the same time. And her terror had won once a bit of time had passed. She had even wondered if she should ask her father to have him killed. But she still liked Arhad too. And it was crazy to have someone killed over a dream that wasn’t even real no matter how hard she thought about it.

Angelina had assumed that her dreams foretold the future, and she had begun seeking for ways to change it other than the extreme method called death. Her dreams showed her many things that led up to her ultimate ruin, and that was where Angelina had found her answer.

‘If my dreams are real, then Little Ianna will become a knight to my Lord Brother Schneider, who will one day be king.’

The Schneider in her dreams had sat in the very same throne that the king was sitting on now. And Ianna had been standing upright by his side.

Angelina had pleaded with Schneider to help her, but he had refused her cold-heartedly and she had fallen into despair. And Ianna had not concealed her contempt for her.

Ianna, whom Angelina had once thought was nothing special, had enjoyed Schneider’s full trust in her dreams. All the nobles had scorned her once, but she had become a powerful knight who was feared by all. Even the dream Angelina had thought that Ianna was incredible.

Then, in another scene, Ianna and Arhad had been fighting. Ianna had been pushing back against Arhad on a battlefield erupting with fountains of blood. She had been Roanne’s one and only hope.

‘If my dreams come true, then Little Ianna’s the only one who can save me. She’ll be a truly amazing knight one day, after all.’

That was why Angelina had decided that she absolutely must become friends with Ianna. But she had been shaken by a keen sense of embarrassment and shame as soon as she made her resolve.

Angelina’s life in her dreams had been no different than that of a prettily decorated doll’s. A doll who was decorated with beautiful dresses and jewelry as she stood by her husband’s side, a doll who could not do anything by herself without the help of her ladies-in-waiting, and a doll who was so incapable and powerless that all she could do was cling to her husband and Schneider in tears and beg them for help. She had been very different from Ianna, who had drawn her sword and had personally cut down her enemies herself.

Dreaming the same dream hundreds of times had the same effect as living that life hundreds of times. Angelina had matured in the meanwhile, and she had grown ashamed of the atrocities she had committed against Ianna previously.

Angelina knew that she ought to apologize. And so, she had apologized sincerely. She also knew that she had to put aside her feelings for Arhad. And so, she had given up on him. It had been shockingly easy. She would truly have to be mentally ill to keep crushing on someone who had beheaded her over hundreds of times. She had only blushed when meeting him at first because the whispers of her first love had remained with her like a gentle spring breeze.

And lastly, Angelina knew that she had to change.

‘I’m so sick of it.’

Angelina absolutely did not want to live the life she had lived in her dreams. But she was still a princess. She had been enjoying so many privileges, and she would continue to enjoy so many more in the future. She could never leave behind her identity as a princess. And so, Angelina had searched. For the answer to the question……what kind of life should she live as a princess?

Thus, she had come to the Institution.

“Your voice is so nice, Miss.”

Angelina hugged back the girl who had run into her arms while giggling. Why was it? She felt like she would be able to find her path as she felt the child’s warmth.

‘Hmmm.’

Angelina felt secure enough to delve a little deeper into her terrifying nightmares.

‘Is Sir Arhad actually royalty in another land? I don’t really remember, but he seemed more like royalty than a mere noble. Well, I suppose it’s possible. But… Little Ianna and Sir Arhad appear to treasure each other deeply right now, so why were they fighting in my dreams of the future? Little Ianna looked like she hated Sir Arhad a lot. But Sir Arhad seemed to still love her as much as he does now.’

Angelina’s blood drained from her face as she pondered.

‘D-did they break up because of me, maybe? Did I cause some kind of misunderstanding between them? And maybe that’s why Little Ianna hated Sir Arhad in my dreams and why he killed me……. Yes, I’m sure that must be it!’

It made so much sense! She had read about similar plots so often in her romance novels!

Things were finally starting to make sense.

‘Angelina, you idiot! You’re the villainess! Just what on earth did you do……?!’

Angelina may have matured from her terrifying nightmares, but she was still girlish when it came to reading romance novels. She reproached herself as she called herself a villainess.

‘In my dreams, Sir Arhad invaded kingdoms other than the one I was living in too. He probably became twisted because he couldn’t end up with Little Ianna. He would rather destroy the entire world if he couldn’t have her…….’

And then, Angelina found hope.

‘Then, will that future disappear if he does end up with Little Ianna?’

Angelina nodded to herself, certain of her conclusions. Then, she clenched her hands into fists.

‘I’ll absolutely make sure I don’t get in their way. No, I’ll even help them out if I can!’

Ianna was simply enjoying the tranquility, completely oblivious as to what Angelina was thinking as she looked back at her. Elly, who had been searching all over the place, walked up to Ianna.

“Have you seen Nissi, Miss?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Hasn’t Nissi been chasing you around all day? She was peeping at you like some kind of stray cat every time I went looking for her.”

This was true.

Ianna had simply been pretending that she hadn’t noticed the source of the staring. And sure enough, she spied a tuft of white fur from the other side of the wall. Nissi was hiding as she peeked at her.

Nissi had started showing up around Ianna ever since they had first met her at the orphanage two weeks ago. But she only observed Ianna from afar —she never came close to her.

‘What a funny cat.’

Ianna simply let Nissi be. Being so obsessively watched by such a trifling creature reminded her of Keigus Dimitri’s chimeras, but Nissi was adorable and her gaze wasn’t offensive to her.

“Oh, I found her!”

Elly spotted Nissi as she followed Ianna’s line of sight. Nissi jumped up and ran away when Elly ran up to him. In any event, she was one truly funny cat.

“Thank you for all your hard work.”

“It was a great experience.”

“You better not be strangers when we meet again.”

The group bid each other farewell at the orphanage entrance. Today was the last day that the exchange students from the Theodore Academy would be staying. They had no more reason to see each other unless they purposefully decided to meet up.

Calendula leisurely proposed,

“Let’s meet up often. I would find it regrettable if my bonds with you all were to be cut short.”

Everyone concurred, though to varying degrees. They were all good people.

Calendula Huzergo and Pascal Ottoc, the nobles whom Ianna had met for the first time through the program, were from relatively influential houses. They were dignified but not haughty, and they were good-natured and were not ignorant to the ways of the world.

Rupert was an earnest and good man. He had the tendency to cower before persons of high social standing whom he normally had no reason to ever encounter, but he was passionate about his work and always strove to do his best. He apparently had five younger siblings back at home and was therefore great with children, and he had swiftly become good friends with Herrace, whom he had already been acquainted with prior to the program. The two of them had promised each other to visit the orphanage regularly.

“It’d be nice if we could meet up at least once a year.”

Everyone agreed, but Ianna privately mused on her skepticism.

‘We grew closer this past month because we were stuck to each other at all times, but distance can make the heart grow colder. Oh, but I suppose this has nothing to do with me either way.’

Ianna took a step back as she watched over the rest of the group discuss.

‘After all, I won’t be here anymore after this year.’

“Ack!”

A powerful gust blew just then.

The people walking along the streets hurried to grab hold of their hats and skirts. Soft pink cherry blossom petals fluttered between them. A few petals came flying past and caught in Ianna’s hair.

‘There are still cherry blossoms……?’

Ianna pulled out the petals tangled in her hair as she looked forward. The scenery was beautiful. The days had grown longer as the cold winter had passed and spring had come upon them, and the sun’s warm light shined on the earth for longer durations of time. The spring sun painted the world, which had once been frozen by the chilly air, in beautiful colors.

The warm yellow sunlight, the clean blue sky, the fluffy white clouds. The gentle brown earth, the fresh yellow-green leaves, the pastel pink flowers. It was spring.

Last autumn had been a nightmare, and winter had been the time to sort it out. People only found relief again once spring had arrived. They could enjoy the beauty that spring had brought about because the bright and warm spring had soothed their anxieties and scattered away the darkness.

Whooosh…….

The shower of petals stopped as the wind left them. The petals fell lifelessly to the ground and became dirty. The cherry blossoms, which had blossomed splendidly in March and April as they heralded the spring, slowly withered one after another and were now coming to an end. Spring, too, would be over in just a month.

Ianna lightly kicked at the petals tumbling by her feet as she thought,

‘It ended so quietly without incident.’

It was peaceful.

Angelina, whom she had thought would cause trouble, had not only been well-behaved but had also chased her around like a puppy. And Ianna had been ready for her to cause some trouble too.

It was peaceful.

And it wasn’t only Angelina —nothing annoying had been happening as of late. Her relationship with Arhad was getting better by the day, and Schneider’s letters, which he had used to send daily, had long since stopped. The Black Fox, which had been butting heads with Roanne recently, was being suspiciously quiet, and even Bahamut was only pestering the countries around her —she did not show any particular interest in Roanne after Margarita’s demise.

It was peaceful.

It was too peaceful. So peaceful, in fact, that it was actually strange. Was it only her delusion that this peace felt like the calm before a storm?

People were melting into the warm spring as they softened their anxieties, let their guards down, and savored in the peace……and Ianna could not help but think that there must surely be a dagger lying in wait somewhere to slice through the spring and pierce through that opening.

‘But it’s only natural.’

This peace could not continue forever. It was destined to end someday. She didn’t know how long the peace would last, but she must always be cautious if she wanted to block that dagger.

Still, she hoped that nothing much would happen for the next eight months, when she would graduate from the Institution and leave Roanne.

Ianna was slowly wrapping up her life in Roanne. She had lived in Roanne for decades if she combined her two lifetimes together, and she wanted to prepare for her farewell to this land slowly and without any outside interference. And when she was done, she wanted to leave peacefully and quietly without any lingering regrets.

She would have been able to do so for certain had this been her past life. Roanne had been doing relatively well until she had turned twenty-two. But so many things had changed after she had been reborn that she could no longer predict the future. She hoped that fate would show her mercy and allow her to rest after toiling so. After all, so much had been happening in quick succession until now.

……How nice would it be if nothing happened?

~~*~~

Part 7

The end of April.

The student exchange program had safely concluded. It was now time for Ianna to head for the Chaipan lands.

Ianna packed her things and met up with Arhad. He had promised to see her off.

“You’re leaving again.”

Arhad clicked his tongue and expressed his displeasure, but that was all. He had loathed the idea of Ianna leaving for her practical training and had told her that she needn’t go before she had even applied. He could register as doing her practical training under the house of a noble under his banner, and she could have simply spent the month at her leisure.

“I would like to graduate from the Institution normally.”

It was technically abnormal for her to graduate early after just three years, but she would still be taking one of the Institution’s official routes toward graduation nonetheless. She had been doing so well over the past two years, and she didn’t want to suddenly make her graduation illicit over just one month.

Besides, doing as Arhad suggested would mean that she would need to stay in hiding for a month to conceal the fact that she was skipping her practical training, and she would hate for that. And lastly…

“I’ve made a promise to Marquis Chaipan.”

Arhad muttered to himself as he recalled Ianna’s determined words. That damned promise……. Ianna genuinely took her promises seriously. She would keep her promises to the bitter end, especially if she had uttered them with her own mouth, unless she absolutely couldn’t avoid breaking them. Take her contract with Sarachè, for instance.

Ultimately, Arhad had folded.

Ianna had been born and raised in House Roberstein, a house known for producing civil officials, and had immediately come to the Institution from there. She had been experiencing a warrior’s life as both a student of the Institution and a member of Camastros, but that wasn’t enough. Getting in some practical experience in the Chaipan lands, which was regarded as a holy land of sorts for knights, would prove to be an invaluable experience for her.

Moreover, Ianna had been telling Arhad of her thoughts about their new country without reserve recently. She told him about the way she wanted to do things and what kinds of things she wanted to see. And Arhad memorized everything she said.

Ianna wanted to create a country centered around meritocracy. In that case, both fairness and unfairness must co-exist, and it would be beneficial for them to refer to the Institution when creating the foundations of their country, since the Institution was renowned for its excellent meritocratic system. Arhad wanted Ianna to properly experience as much of the Institution’s systems as she could as she figured out its pros and cons for herself.

Finally, as always, Arhad wanted for Ianna to be able to experience many things.

“We truly don’t have much more time now. It’ll be good if you can enjoy as much as you can here before you have to leave.”

“Thank you. We have the rings now, so I’ll contact you often.”

“Contact me every day, not just often.”

Ianna smiled as she told him she would.

They slipped out of the Institution and made their way to Theodore’s gates. Then, Ianna felt a familiar gaze on her.

‘Again?’

It was Nissi. It had been long since Nissi had established herself as Ianna’s stalker. She would even sneak inside the Institution to follow Ianna around from time to time. Ianna truly couldn’t understand the cat.

‘And it’s not like I can tell what a cat’s thinking either.’

She would be away from Theodore for a month. Ianna doubted that Nissi would actually leave Theodore and decided to simply leave her be.

“What is this?”

“Meowwww!”

“Oh.”

But Arhad did not. Nissi struggled desperately as Arhad picked her up and dangled her before Ianna. Ianna continued,

“She’s the cat I told you about. Please let her go.”

Ianna had told Arhad about Nissi. But this was the first time Arhad had actually met the cat. Arhad held Nissi up even higher so that their eyes were level. Nissi froze up stiff.

“She’s suspicious.”

“Is she under a spell, by any chance?”

“No, but she’s acting so strangely. And yet it doesn’t seem like she’s a beastman or a monster.”

Nissi dropped from Arhad’s grasp and landed on the ground when Arhad let go.

“…….”

But it was strange. Normally, Nissi would have fled as soon as her paws hit the ground, but today she was simply sitting there while shivering.

‘Poor thing looks terrified.’

Ianna stared into Nissi’s diluted pupils as she crouched down. She pat Nissi on the head. She had known Nissi for nearly two weeks know, but this was her first time actually touching the cat.

“……!”

Nissi spasmed for a moment when she felt Ianna’s touch before she promptly ran away. But she dithered after ten or so steps, stopped, and looked back.

A strange feeling seized Ianna. She would be leaving Theodore for a month starting today. For some reason, she felt like she had to say farewell to Nissi. It felt like the moral thing to do.

“Come here.”

Ianna gestured with her fingers even though she doubted Nissi would comply. Surprisingly, however, Nissi hesitated before she took one and then another step closer to Ianna until she was within her reach. Nissi, the coy and cautious cat, carefully licked Ianna’s fingers.

‘What’s this?’

Ianna’s mood lifted.

Pat pat.

Nissi stayed still even as Ianna began stroking her head again. Quietly, Ianna told her,

“You won’t be seeing me for a while.”

Nissi flinched. Her eyes shook as if she had actually understood what Ianna was saying. Ianna continued,

“Stay well until we meet again. And don’t bully Elly too much.”

Nissi hurriedly ran away when Ianna pulled her hand away. Ianna stood up and looked to Arhad. He was staring at Nissi’s retreating figure with narrowed eyes.

“Let’s go.”

Arhad turned away from Nissi when Ianna pulled at him.

They arrived at Theodore’s gates quickly enough.

“Contact me through the artefacts if you need to tell me something, and teleport to where I am if you need to meet me in person.”

“I will.”

Arhad did not fret anxiously because he had an immediate means of contact with Ianna and could go to see her whenever he so wished.

Ianna quite liked his newfound leisure. But she disliked it too. She wanted to see Arhad struggling with his emotions. She truly liked the way his face contorted whenever he was madly absorbed with her.

Smooch.

Which was why she raised her heels, grabbed his face, and planted a kiss on him. She had worked hard, and now her hands had left his collar and were rested on his cheek and the back of his neck instead.

Her hands heated up. They were being heated by the fever on Arhad’s skin. Arhad’s face no longer flushed bright red as it had at the very beginning, but a gentle fever still circulated through his body.

His breath flowed into her and seeped into her heart. Her heart beat loud and fast. It was so loud that she almost wondered if Arhad could hear it too.

The unfamiliar rhythm overwhelmed her for some reason. Slowly, Ianna pulled her lips away. And she tried to set her heels back down. But Arhad pulled her in fiercely by the waist, caressed her cheek, and pressed their lips together once more.

“…….”

Their lips parted, and their eyes locked from a distance so close their eyelashes were almost touching. Their foreheads touched. Their gazes entwinned into each other like two knotting snakes, just like the way their black and crimson hair was entangled between their foreheads.

‘Oh.’

Ianna shivered as she stared into his golden eyes and felt every nerve in her body stand at edge. Lately, she had been finding exactly the face she liked best right before her very eyes.

Indeed. She had never thought she would ever find herself saying this, but the way that Arhad was so madly absorbed with her seemed truly, truly dangerous……and promiscuous.

Ianna blushed furiously. She found herself strange for being like this.

She pushed Arhad away slightly as she broke free. Arhad readily let her go. Ianna glanced back at Arhad in his insecurity. It bewildered her, but she truly liked the impatient look on his face.

Ianna was pleased as she smiled with a faint blush. The affection and confidence exuding from her smile without her notice was truly lovely. She was endearing, and she was provocative.

Arhad recoiled. He hid his hand, which had been about to reach out to her, behind his back as if nothing had happened, and he clenched his fist so hard his nails were biting into his flesh in the lieu of grabbing hold of her.

“I’ll be back.”

“……Come back soon.”

And so, Ianna departed for the Chaipan lands.

“…….”

Nissi hesitantly tried to run back to where Ianna was.

“No.”

But Elly appeared behind her and pulled her back.

“Don’t follow her, stupid. Are you a stalker or something?”

“Meow!”

“Get your act together. She’ll be back in a month. Besides, weren’t you the one being all coy with her whenever she tried to get close to you?”

Elly picked Nissi up. But she let go quickly enough because Nissi struggled against her.

“Can you grab Nissi for me, Mister? I keep letting go of her because this body’s way too weak.”

Harchen, who had been standing quietly beside the young girl, reached out and picked Nissi up. Nissi stared longingly at Ianna as she grew farther away.

Ianna arrived at the Chaipan lands a few days later.

~~*~~

Two weeks later.

Ianna was patrolling the Allacamorah Forest with the Knights of Exatium.

“No problems today either.”

“Wait, look here. There are claw marks on the tree bark. There are press bear marks.”

“And it’s not just one or two. Did a colony form around here or something? We should look around a bit more.”

Ianna extended her senses as she followed quietly along behind the whispering knights.

‘Three to the east. Two to the north. Over thirty to the south. The colony must be to the south.’

But she did not state her observations out loud. She was heavily limited in her actions because she was currently acting as a student of the Institution’s Swordsmanship Department and the daughter of Count Roberstein. She had to hide her abilities as best as she could until she confronted Bahamut directly.

Still, she needed to stay wary of her surroundings so that she could manifest the full extent of her powers at any time even if she wanted to hide them. It was a taboo to let her guard down. It was a lesson that Ianna had taken to heart after several experiences.

“Found it.”

They had found the colony of press bears in the south once they had passed through the north and the east. Press bears were dangerous monsters that could swing their arms with the strength of twenty grown men with each swing. It was easy for them to tear apart a tree with their arms whenever they wanted.

“We’ll have to make a report. We’re heading back.”

The team leader quietly ordered for his team’s return. The five knights slowly stepped backward so the press bears wouldn’t take notice. Press bears were rather sensitive monsters. But they were simply eating the honey from a beehive, completely ignorant of the situation. This in and of itself was proof of how truly skilled the knights were.

Ianna looked around the lush green forest as they moved away from the colony of press bears.

The Allacamorah Forest was the largest forest in Roanne. It was Roanne’s largest place of lumber production, and large roads leading to the north, east, center, and west of the kingdom crossed through it. It was also a dangerous region where monsters tended to lurk.

It was impossible to fully eradicate the monsters because they kept cropping up no matter how many were killed. Nor could the people here burn the trees to chase away the monsters because they were needed for lumber. Moreover, the monsters were a part of the forest’s food chain. They played a vital role in maintaining the forest’s ecosystem. Thus, the monsters’ numbers had to be maintained by whittling them down through regular subjugations lest they grew too numerous. And patrols were vital in determining when subjugations needed to take place.

The Chaipan lands were responsible for maintaining the safety of the Allacamorah Forest and its surroundings mountains. Ianna’s practical training was meant to assist with that. She felt the flow of time whenever she entered the Allacamorah Forest.

‘It’s already been two years.’

The Allacamorah Forest. The place where she had met Finn and Mursi. It was difficult to believe that it had already been two years since those critical times. Time felt like it was moving slowly, but it always seemed to have sped by quickly whenever she collected herself and looked back.

“And that concludes our report!”

The recon team returned to the castle and reported the change they had found in the forest.

Subjugations generally took place once a season. It had only been a month since the expedition that had taken place for spring in April. But the monsters’ movements had been rather strange recently. Their numbers were increasing rapidly. The leaders of the march were nervous and wondered if an accident had occurred somewhere within the forest.

“Good work. Be sure to go and eat.”

They had been on duty since dawn that day, and it was too late for breakfast once they had gotten back from work. The cafeteria was quiet because everyone else working in the castle had already finished eating.

The knights received their food rations and plopped down at a table. Ianna sat with them.

“Phew. I’m worn out.”

“My head hurts because we’ve been on such high alert every time we go out on patrol. And I lose my appetite too.”

The knight who claimed to have no appetite was already on his third portion. He was packing away his food rather well too, perhaps because his hunger betrayed his supposed lack of appetite.

Ianna ate heftily today as well. Her team leader watched as she ate no less than the other knights were eating and asked,

“How’s practical training been going for you, Miss Ianna? Are you having any trouble?”

“Not at all.”

“I knew you wouldn’t. Anyway, have you been on patrol before? I was surprised because you seemed so seasoned for a rookie on her first practical training excursion. Most rookies tend to make the mistake of stepping on a branch and accidentally making noise at least once, but you erase your presence so well that I actually have to look back to make sure you’re still with us.”

“You are correct.”

“Well, I did think that you’d do just fine with recon when I saw you in the training grounds.”

All the knights praised her. They were all members of the Knights of Exatium, Marquis Chaipan’s first knight order. It wasn’t easy to be acknowledged by them because they were a group of people who revered the martial arts, but Ianna had earned their acknowledgement in just two weeks as they observed her working in the training grounds and the Allacamorah Forest.

‘Does not making mistakes warrant praise too?’

She had tried her best not to stand out, but it looked like it would be impossible for her to not stand out at all. Then again, perhaps she had no choice but to stand out, since she was bound to expose some of her talents as she trained.

The team leader smiled in content as he said,

“You’re a hard worker already, Miss Ianna, so I’m sure you’ll be able to use fortification freely do if you work just a little harder.”

He was likely just trying to encourage her, but Ianna was a bit embarrassed.

“I’ll do my best.”

That was all she said before she turned her attention back to her meal.

At the moment, Ianna was pretending to be a rising star in the world of swordsmanship who was exceptionally skilled at swordplay for her age but still a little clumsy with fortification.

It had only been Frederick Holt and a few members of the second knight order who had witnessed the true extent of her skills two years ago during the minotaur incident. Frederick Holt had imposed a gag order to stop rumors from spreading, and Marquis Chaipan had imposed a second gag order after the fact, so his faithful knights had not spread any information about her outside of their ranks.

More importantly, all knights walked the path of martial arts, so they all knew what it meant for someone to have a colored fortification. They respected Ianna as a warrior for having reached that stage, and they had been moved that she had sacrificed both her arms, even as a swordswoman, to save a young child. No rumors had spread about Ianna’s crimson fortification because the knights were loyal.

Ianna was relieved. Only a very few swordsmen could use colored fortification. Ianna used her crimson fortification when she was pretending to be the leader of Camastros. And the Black Fox was already aware of the leader of Camastros’ crimson fortification. This was because Ianna had no need to show off the true extent of her skills as a student, but she needed to display her skills properly quite often when she was working for Camastros as Arhad’s proxy.

Thus, she would find herself in quite the predicament if it was revealed that she, a student, could use crimson fortification. Anyone could guess that they were one and the same if it was made known that two people in the Kingdom of Roanne could use crimson fortification.

‘I’ll have to be careful.’

She had grown strong enough to be able to fell most of her enemies even without using a powerful fortification. She could slice apart the minotaurs along the Lines of their musculature and slaughter them if she had to revisit that incident as she was right now. The ability to see Lines was truly an amazing skill. She could even shatter a boulder with a tree branch so long as she could sense its Lines.

Once she was done with her meal, Ianna made her way over to the back of the cafeteria to prepare today’s quota of firewood. She raised up her axe.

Smash.

The wood split cleanly. She could chop it without expending much strength because she had cut it along its Line.

Smash, smaash.

The firewood piled up quickly beside her. Ianna filled up the quota in no time at all and put down the axe off to the side before she leisurely made her way over to the training grounds.

“Are all students from the Swordsmanship Department like that?”

“She’s capable of doing anything as long as she gets the hang of it because she’s talented. Probably.”

“You graduated from the Swordsmanship Department too, Team Leader, but even you can’t chop wood as quickly as she does.”

“I’m just not that used to it because I only do it when I need to. Doesn’t it seem like Miss Ianna’s learned how to chop wood professionally? It’s like she’s an expert woodcutter or something.”

“Now that’s a terrible joke if I’ve ever heard one.”

Sharp glints appeared in the eyes of the knights who had been training in the training grounds as soon as Ianna walked in.

“I’ve been waiting for you. Now please, spar with me.”

“Why not spar with me first? I’ve been sharpening my blade for this.”

“I’ll definitely win today!”

Marquis Chaipan’s lands were a holy land of sorts for knights. They trained to safeguard the current peace and to stop any future enemy attacks. These were the knights’ jobs, and Ianna’s practical training was tailored to complement them. Ianna, too, spent most of her time holed up in the training grounds training unless it was her turn to go patrolling.

Ianna took this as the chance to leave her books and studying behind to focus solely on her training. She prioritized muscle training. She had decided to focus on bettering her swordplay because she could not train her fortification or divine power with so many people watching.

A tempered physique and a diverse variety of attack patterns were important in swordplay. One’s physique determined one’s speed, strength, senses, and ability to react. It was possible to readily surpass the realm of humanity by reinforcing one’s body with mana, but that was cutting corners. Which was why Ianna pushed her body just a little past her limits every time to strengthen herself and used mana only to increase her body’s upper limits. Otherwise, she used classic training methods to temper her body normally.

“Please come at me one at a time.”

And, as for the diversity requirement. Having a diverse variety of attack patterns meant that she had a wide range of possible attacks to work with. Fickle and difficult to predict attacks could disrupt her enemies’ concentration. A secret move could be as a fatal blow to her foes. Ianna sparred against the knights to test the usefulness of the new attacks she had invented. She would correct any weaknesses and improve upon any strengths, mix it all together, and create a sword style of her own.

‘I’m growing stronger.’

The feeling of growing stronger always brought her overflowing joy. She was maturing rapidly. She felt like she could reach the heights she had reached in her past life in just a few more months.

‘I want to surpass my past self.’

Ianna had been improving continuously in the past until she had been killed by Arhad, but she had been forced to a standstill when she had died. She wanted to know what lied beyond that level.

‘I want to reach the very peak of strength.’

She was not referring to the peak of swordplay. Swordplay would keep developing and developing. Its growth would flatten, perhaps, but it would never truly stop progressing. The peak of strength that Ianna was referring to was Arhad.

‘I’m going to win.’

It was the greatest desire Ianna harbored.

And yet, she and Arhad had been tying nonstop for the past two years even though Arhad was most certainly not going easy on her. In other words, it meant that she was currently toeing the line that signaled the peak of strength. Ianna was overjoyed, but she was also cautious.

‘Don’t you ever get conceited.’

She was only just managing to maintain a draw against Arhad by doing her very best. She was standing on a thin layer of ice, and she would fall behind him as soon as she let down her guard. Her mind sometimes grew lax as she immersed herself in these peaceful times, but her goal to best Arhad would seize her again every time.

Ianna trained like she was in a trance during her stay in the Marquis’ lands.

“Draw!”

“Draw!”

“Miss Ianna wins!”

She entertained her opponents and generally tried to end her spars in a draw. But it would be suspicious if she always ended things in a draw, so she was doing her best to tie only against exceptionally skilled knights and occasionally bested those who were not. Her ability to gauge her opponent’s strength grew too as she guessed how strong each knight was before they sparred.

“It’s my turn next!”

“It’s actually mine, you know?”

The training grounds in the Chaipan lands was similar to the beastmen’s Passio. The people there wished to fight against strong opponents, and they welcomed Ianna, an up-and-coming individual of remarkable strength, with open arms. Gellonian Chaipan, the master of the castle, was of no exception.

“Come see me for a minute, Little Ianna!”

Gellonian shouted sonorously.

~~*~~

Gellonian had been in the middle of training his knights when Ianna had first arrived in his lands, and he had immediately run out to greet her. He had even called out his family to give her a hospitable welcome.

Then, he had led her to an underground training hall as soon as they had finished eating.

“I’ve been waiting eagerly for you to visit my lands ever since I first received Sir Holt’s report about you.

“I won’t tell a soul.

“I would like to see the level you’ve reached with my own eyes.

“Won’t you show me how powerful you are without hiding your strength?”

Ianna had known that Gellonian Chaipan was an upright and incorrigible man ever since her past life. Besides, she knew that she should at least repay him for keeping her secret.

Gellonium was stupefied when he saw just how densely crimson Ianna’s fortification was.

“Amazing.”

He requested to spar against her without using fortification. And Gellonian, who was lauded as the king’s sword, was forced to his knees before Ianna in just thirty minutes.

Gellonian Chaipan was not weak. Actually, he was remarkably strong. He was a warrior of the highest caliber, who was renowned all throughout the continent, and hardly anyone could emerge overwhelmingly victorious against him. The few who could were monsters who had already surpassed the realm of humanity.

For example, say there was a gigantic iceberg floating in the sea. Gellonian Chaipan stood at the very peak of the iceberg and stared covetously at the skies above, but the sky was the territory of monsters. The sky was not something that those standing on the iceberg, tied to the ground that was the sea, could dare even imagine about. Ianna and Arhad were absolute beings who resided in the sky.

No one had been able to stop Arhad as he stood at the very peak in the past —only Ianna had been able to even oppose him. There had even been absurd rumors suggesting that Ianna Roberstein had been born for the sole purpose of stopping Emperor Arhad Ro Ralzo Bahamut.

Thus, it was only natural for Gellonium Chaipan to be defeated by Ianna, who had almost reached the level that she had reached in the past. He was drenched in sweat, but the fact that he had even been able to hold out for thirty minutes was amazing in and of itself.

“Are you a member of the mythical races, perhaps?”

Gellonian asked in disbelief, but Ianna already had a decided answer for him.

“Of course not.”

She was human. Though she was technically a ‘special’ human.

Gellonian lowered his head before her.

“I beg you to help me.”

He was currently able to dye his fortification in a faint color, and he wished to rise to the next level. Which was why he respectfully requested Ianna’s counsel. Ianna contemplated as she looked down at him.

‘Well the Marquis have to die in this life too?’

The knights taught by Gellonian were the Kingdom of Roanne’s protectors. The stronger they were, the stronger Roanne’s military was too. And Marquis Chaipan carried a huge influence over Roanne’s military. Moreover, Gellonian had something about him that drew people to him. This was why he had been killed early into Arhad’s war of conquest. He was someone who would have become dangerous had he lived any longer.

But Arhad had declared that he would not be Bahamut’s emperor in this life, and he had entrusted Ianna with the full rights to decide how their future country was to develop. And, after much repeated thought, Ianna doubted if it was even worth conquering the entire world. She had accepted this goal as if it was only natural back when she had thought that she would one day be affiliated with Bahamut, but she was reluctant to accept it now that she herself was in a position to make decisions.

Ianna knew all too well about the chaos that had ensued during Bahamut’s war of conquest. Chaos and suffering were the innate characteristics of war. Everyone, friend and foe alike, suffered when war broke out, save for those who stood to win glory, power, and wealth through war or those who rejoiced at the prospect of destruction.

Furthermore, Arhad had forcibly assimilated the countries he had conquered into Bahamut and had coerced them into adopting Bahamut’s culture and way of thinking. The world had been thrown into a crisis as various different cultures were jumbled together. Everyone had surrendered to power and trembled in fear as they lamented their misfortunes. Ianna didn’t even need to recall her past life. This same scene could be found anywhere in any of the countries that were currently at war.

‘I want to avoid war unless it’s absolutely necessary.’

Ianna was fundamentally only good at looking after her own people and was indifferent to anything that had no relation to her. She was also selfish, and she didn’t care one whit even if her people caused others suffering.

But that didn’t mean that she wanted to go out of her way to destroy others’ worlds. Of course, she would rise up and fight and destroy others so completely they would never attack again should they invade her world first, but she was loath to flex her strength and harm others who were doing just fine on their own. She didn’t wish to waste her people’s time over war either.

Rather than forcing her country to expand through world domination, she wanted to gather like-minded people while creating her nation and build up a sturdy foundation.

‘In which case, I have little reason to find Gellonian my enemy.’

She could not foresee the future, but she wanted to forge a good relationship with him for now. To be precise, she would leave some distance between them, but she would still do her best to counsel him and make him indebted to her. Arhad had already permitted her to help Gellonian.

Ianna had been sparring with Gellonian every evening over these past two weeks. He had already understood the mechanisms behind divine power, so Ianna offered him advice that he took as life lessons.

Gellonian had made rapid progress in controlling divine power. He had finally gotten past his rut and was peering at a new level. Gellonian was as grateful to Ianna as if she was his life’s savior.

~~*~~

Part 8

Gellonian had proposed something that Ianna had truly not expected when he called her over.

“Today is the day I conduct my regular inspection of my lands. It’s also the day I get some fresh air with my wife and children. You only seemed to spend your time in the castle or in the forest —why not tour my lands with us today?”

Ianna shot a glance at the knights who were looking to Gellonian with admiration in their eyes.

“A tour of your lands with your family. It’s an honor.”

“What are you talking about? The honor is mine.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

“Oh, good. There’s only so much you can see out the carriage window, so why don’t we go on horseback?”

And so, Gellonian and Ianna left the castle on horseback. The carriage with Gellonian’s wife and children followed slowly behind them. Four escort knights accompanied the carriage just in case.

The Chaipan lands were a very important strategic position in Roanne, as it connected the kingdom’s central, eastern, western, and northern regions. It had a sizeable floating population, since many travelers, merchants, and mercenaries passed through it, and there were multiple colossal smithies that were several buildings large each.

Bang! Bang!

The sound of weapons being hammered resounded from the open doors. The stands out front were crowded with customers who wanted their weapons to be repaired ahead of their long journeys.

The green mountains and forests surrounding the territory were refreshing to look at, but they were also spooky because monsters lurked within them. The knight orders camped outside the castle in turns to prepare against the monsters that could attack at any moment.

Clack, clack.

Knights equipped from head to toe led the way, followed by around a dozen of soldiers close behind them. The well-maintained blades at the ends of the soldiers’ spears glistened in the light.

Everyone carried at least one weapon with them at all times, and not just the soldiers. Travelers, mercenaries, citizens of the land —everyone. What was most impressionable was that even children were equipped with at least one wooden weapon, be it a sword, a spear, or a bow.

“Are all children required to learn martial arts?”

“Yes. I believe that everyone should at least know one way to protect themselves. All children in my lands are required to learn basic martial arts and self-defense regardless of gender.”

It stood to reason. There would always been good-for-nothings who crossed the line even if things were regulated through laws and education. There was no point in rebelling if the difference in strength between someone and their attacker was too large, but being required to learn at least one basic martial art could still help at least a little, so it was worth taking the time to learn it. Anyone who had no interest in martial arts would find it a drag, perhaps, but they were only required to learn the basics.

Ianna nodded as she pulled her notebook and pen out of her pocket and began scribbling something down. Gellonian was interested in what she was doing.

“What are you doing?”

“I might find myself in charge of a territory of my own one day, so I’m writing down the things I like for reference.”

She would technically be in charge of a country and not just a territory, but the only difference between the two were their respective scales. Ianna had a lot to learn before she could take responsibility for any land. She was still just a novice in this particular field.

Ianna had technically owned the Roberstein lands in her past life, but she had abandoned that despicable territory and had devoted herself to serving Schneider and therefore did not have any experience in managing it. She had been learning a lot from Arhad as of late, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“Am I perhaps being discourteous?”

“Not at all. It’s an honor that you think you can learn from my lands. I hope you’ll fill an entire notebook with the things you learn here.”

Gellonian grinned. He continued,

“Not only are you talented, Little Ianna, but you work hard too.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Ianna was always happy to hear such praise.

“Hello, my Lord!”

“Thank you, my Lord —we are always safe thanks to you.”

The people of the land beamed and welcomed them when they saw Gellonian and the carriage carrying his family. Their respect for their liege was visible for all to see.

Ianna found that there was leisure in the people’s faces as they toured the lands. They trusted that Marquis Gellonian would protect them no matter what may happen. They had faith in his strength.

The people did whatever they wanted under his powerful protection, and the lands, filled with their vitality, developed by the day. It was the same as most of the lands in Roanne.

Ianna felt her ideas solidify during her stay in the Chaipan lands. It was better to build a strong internal foundation than it was to conquer the world.

‘I’d rather have a sturdy smaller country than a shabby larger one. It would be nice if my people could live as they wanted to.’

Ianna wished for her future people to live out their own lives. She wished for them to polish the swords they would each carry inside their hearts, and she wished for them to shine radiantly.

She was not referring to military might. The sword inside their hearts were their dreams and ambitions.

Ianna wished for her people to take those swords and clear away any obstacles in their path as they advanced. She wished for them to grow powerful in their chosen fields, and she wished for them to successfully achieve their goals.

She would not be involved in their success or their defeat, and she would not take responsibility for them. It was only natural that everybody should be responsible for their own lives. But she still believed that there must be a strong foundation so that they needn’t worry about external enemies threatening their goals —destructive elements like war and crime. That foundation would be as justice and law inside the country, and as diplomacy and military might outside the country.

Justice would decide what was good and what was evil. Anyone could be called ‘good,’ since everyone possessed a different creed. Something that one person defined as good could be evil to another, and vice versa. If good existed, then it was only natural that evil did too.

Ianna knew that it would be impossible to exercise complete control over good and evil. The world would be engulfed in chaos and disorder if it was impossible to control at all. But there existed a way to maintain the public order to some extent —law and justice.

It was possible to maintain the public order in a country’s society through a harmony of justice, a voluntarily accepted set of morals, and legislation —a set of regulations forced upon everyone.

It was important to define justice and law properly from the very beginning, which was why Ianna was devoting her heart and soul to contemplate them. It was easy enough to tell just how important this was by considering the traces left behind by ruined nations that had long since disappeared from the face of the world, but there was an entire era that cut into Ianna’s mind and taught her a greater lesson than any one country ever possibly could.

‘The Holy Age.’

Ianna knew from the memories she had inherited from Roberstein that the gods of the Holy Age had lacked responsibility. Morals had been lax. No laws had governed the age. The gods, stuck in the rut called ‘eternity’, had felt no need for them. Thus, the Holy Age had been destined to End.

And so, she would determine powerful and logical justice and laws to be as the foundation of her country and strengthen it from the inside. There would likely be people who would be discontent with her country because their creed was too different from her justice. But she would not lay a hand against them, so they were free to live as they wished outside her borders. She did not care if they established another country elsewhere, waged wars, or what have you so long as they didn’t cause harm to her country. On the other hand, anyone who wanted to join her country would have no choice but to obey her justice.

She would use diplomacy and military might to protect the people of her country. Ianna preferred to resolve disputes through diplomacy, as she did not wish to wage war. This was something that would be accomplished by people like Rikijen, and not Ianna personally.

She would have no choice but to use military force if diplomacy didn’t work, but there would never be a need for that if she was so powerful that her victory was all but assured. She knew this was true because of the way that the countries neighboring the Bahamut Empire crawled at Bahamut’s feet.

Ianna pondered all sorts of things as she tried to visualize the country she wanted to create.

A country that other countries were too afraid to pick a fight against.

A country that could easily win every fight that was brought to her.

A country that could survive well enough on her own without having to fight others to rob from them.

A country in which everyone could pioneer their own lives in relative safety.

Wouldn’t such a country be the one and only true superpower of the world?

This was only Ianna’s ideal. But she was sure to find the outline for her new country if she supplemented, rectified, and shaped her ideal into something more realistic.

Ianna’s eyes were like a hawk’s as she surveyed her surroundings. Every soldier in the Chaipan lands had volunteered for the job. It had been their personal desire to become a soldier.

‘A voluntary army is much better than a drafted one.’

A draft was inevitable if something truly urgent came up, but she could always prevent that by keeping a close eye on how her soldiers were trained.

A voluntary army carried the downsides of having to spend a lot for national defense, but it also came with merits in that it meant the country would have numerous skilled soldiers, that those with an aptitude for warfare would have little resistance against enlisting in the army, and that normal people could choose to focus on their own daily lives. Ianna cast her vote on having a voluntary army.

She also thought that it would be nice to have an arena like the beastmen’s ‘Passio’. The strong grew competitive when they were brought together. If anyone genuinely wanted to enjoy battle, then they could battle in the arena to their heart’s content. They could relieve some stress while simultaneously polishing their skills.

‘Not bad.’

Ianna was busily jotting down her ideas in her notebook when Gellonian suddenly asked,

“Where do you plan to go after graduating from the Institution?”

Leisurely, Ianna answered,

“To where I most want to go.”

“And where do you most want to go?”

“I want to go where my people are.”

“Your people. In any event, you plan to leave Roanne, yes?”

“Yes.”

Gellonian had already known that Ianna planned to leave. He regretted that someone as strong as Ianna planned to leave the kingdom, but he respected her wishes nevertheless.

“And what will you do with your strength once you’re there?”

“I will protect what is mine,”

Ianna replied as she closed her notebook. She continued,

“My people, my lands, my things —I will protect everything.”

There were different kinds of power. Military might, economic might, authority, talent……. And those with power tended to harbor powerful ambitions. Possessive desire, a desire for conquest, a lust for authority, the desire to destroy…….

Ianna, too, harbored a powerful ambition.

‘My sword, which makes me strong, is not only my hobby but also my means of feeling accomplished and the path I will walk in life until the day I die. It is also the means by which I will protect my everything.’

Ianna’s sword was her hobby, her talent, and her job, but it was also her path and her shield. Her sword was her everything, and it was also that which would protect her everything. It was not something that existed for destruction.

‘I will use my strength to protect what is mine.’

This was the lone sword that stood upright inside her heart —her ambition and her creed. Her strength had always been used for this purpose. How must she wield her strength if her selfish creed and ambition was to be applied on a national scale?

She found her answer easily enough.

‘Defense.’

She would wield her strength to protect her country and her people.

But she could not accomplish anything if only she was powerful and if only she protected her country alone. Things would be all right while she was there, but everything would crumble apart quickly if she wasn’t. It would lead to the entire country relying upon one person and pushing all the responsibility on her alone, and she alone would bear everyone’s censure and resentment if something went wrong……which wasn’t great. The Holy Age had taught her as much.

“Isn’t that a bit too simplistic considering how incredibly skilled you are?”

Gellonian asked teasingly —he had thought that she was merely referring to a territory when she referred to what was hers. He continued,

“But it is a good desire. I am sure the people of your lands will be happy indeed.”

“We can never be certain of happiness. I will only prepare a foundation by which they can find happiness themselves —but I will not promise to make them happy.”

“Are those two different things?”

“Very. I will not be responsible for another’s life. I already have my hands full with my own.”

Ianna looked forward as she flicked her reins. She continued,

“I believe that everyone should be responsible for themselves. And so, the people of my lands must be responsible for themselves as well.”

“Hmmm. In other words, you mean that anyone who wishes to be happy must make the effort to grab their own happiness.”

“Yes.”

Ianna told him about the society that prioritized ability and effort that she was always trying to visualize. Gellonian was intrigued by her opinion.

“How interesting. But there are all kinds of people out there. Not everyone is like you. There are people who are extremely lazy and are simply living their lives day by day. And there are also those who are in despair because they’re ambitious but lack the talent to succeed in the fields they want to work in. Such people will be forced into the lower-class of your lands without any means to climb up the social ladder.”

“I suppose they wouldn’t have much of a choice if they have neither a good background nor a stroke of fortune on top of a lack of talent and effort. I will only open the doors so everyone has an equal chance to succeed. Whether they seize the opportunity and what they decide to do with it is their personal problem.”

If someone wanted to live a lackluster life, then they would have to be content with their lackluster life. Only petty thieves would want to lead good lives while also being too lazy to actually put in the effort required.

On the other hand, if someone fell into despair because they were too untalented to succeed no matter how hard they tried and tried, then they would have to make a compromise, keep what they wanted to do only as a hobby, and find another way to make a living.

“People aren’t perfect. Those in the lower class might find themselves discontent with your way of doing things.”

“If there is a way to lead a good life just by trying and they still don’t want to do even that, then it is only right for them to be stuck in the lower class. I will never change my opinion on this matter, and the laws of my land will reflect my opinions. If people dislike the way my lands are run, then they are free to go elsewhere.”

“They’re free to leave if they don’t like it……. I’m curious —what will you do if they still insist on staying? Judging by your personality, I assume you would detest them.”

“Detest them? You misunderstand me. I do not detest their way of life. It’s their life, and I have no reason to argue with them about how they choose to live it. Though it’s another story if they blindly demand that I take responsibility for them, I suppose.”

“That’s what you think, but will those in the upper class in your lands think the same? Humans tend to belittle those whom they think are lesser than they.”

“Whom they choose to detest or not to detest is their prerogative……is what I’d like to say, but not if that’s what the general atmosphere in my lands will be like. I don’t think highly of judging another’s lifestyle and whispering behind their back.”

Ianna thought for a moment before she nodded. She continued,

“I would like to create a society where it is only natural to respect another’s life choices as much as one’s own.”

“That will be difficult, but it will make for a good society.”

“I suppose it’ll be a little easier if that respect is based on ‘justice.’”

“Oh?”

Ianna pondered yet again while Gellonian expressed his marvel.

A certain word had been tugging at her for a while now —class.

She would have to put some more thought into this matter, but she did not intend to divide social classes in accordance to people’s lifestyles. Her people would simply be living out their own lives. Nor did she think that social rank should matter when it came to occupation.

She was skeptical about the current dichotomous system between the nobility and commoners. Ianna had suffered greatly because she had been stuck right inside the gap between the two, and she had somewhat negative feelings about the entire system. She had once lived as a duchess in her own right, and she had also spent time living amongst commoners in the institution, and the experiences culminated into a certain unyielding realization.

‘Both commoners and nobles are still just human. It’s only social class that distinguishes the two.’

But she still thought that an ‘upper class’ needed to exist. Humans liked to rank themselves and each other, so some manner of class system would still have to exist. And if a class system was going to exist anyway, then Ianna would rather guide it in a positive direction.

‘But the problem is how. I’ll have so spend some more time thinking about this.’

Ianna looked to Gellonian. He was smiling brightly in greeting at some children who had chased after his horse. One child reached out to him, and he bent down to shake their hand.

Ianna looked behind her. The knights behind the carriage did not hide their admiration for their liege. Their sparkling eyes were filled to the brim with their respect for him.

‘Marquis Chaipan would have commanded that same respect even if he wasn’t a nobleman. People would have looked to him as a leader no matter what his station was.’

She felt like she would find her answer here.

Arhad had granted her a limitless power. He had broken past the boundaries of thought when he had told her that he would establish a country in accordance to her wishes, and he had gifted to her an infinite freedom.

Ianna had been entangled in stereotypes and prejudice, in familiar laws and systems, but a special tree had taken root in the long life she had led and began to grow now that her shackles had fallen off. The tree called the ‘world’ stretched its branches endlessly in her mind.

“Oh.”

She found that Gellonian had been looking at her when she returned to her senses. She continued,

“My apologies. I get tunnel vision when I’m deep in thought.”

“I see —and have you finished thinking?”

“For the most part.”

They chatted lightly without exchanging any deeper conversation as they enjoyed the rest of the tour. The only thing Ianna saw during the inspection was peace.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to say to you,”

Gellonian suddenly said earnestly.

“Yes?”

“You said that everyone should be responsible for their own lives, but there exist those who truly, truly want to take responsibility for themselves but cannot. I hope that you will not turn away from such people.”

His were truly the words of a knight.

“I will keep that in mind,”

Ianna replied as she shook her reins.

There were many things that Ianna had found herself impressed with during the two weeks she had spent in the Chaipan lands. That which touched her heart the most was something that Marquis Chaipan and his knights always strove to adhere to.

Chivalry. An inflexible yet valuable, and shameful yet noble, code of ethics that belonged only to knights.

Ianna had never thought too deeply about chivalry before. She had technically been a ‘knight’ in her past, but she had been more a swordswoman than an actual knight. Her entire definition of the word ‘knight’ had been ‘a sword that a master wields in accordance to their will.’

But Ianna had heard so much about ‘knighthood’ from the knights in Marquis Chaipan’s castle, the holy land of knights, that she was almost tired of it, and she decided to rethink her opinion on the matter. And then, she had taken an interest in ‘chivalry’, the code of conduct that all knights must possess.

Courage, honor, justice, humility, loyalty, generosity, valor, sincerity, compassion……. Knights must strive to foster these virtues and protect the weak with their strength. The words alone did not quite strike home with Ianna. She had even wondered if there truly existed a knight who could even keep all of these virtues to begin with.

But she had still found the code of conduct called chivalry, so entangled into the universal ideas of virtue, quite memorable. She thought that she would need to sit down and study it property someday.

And as for why?

Any problems that arose in the Chaipan lands were resolved quickly because the knights always adhered to chivalry. The knights despised injustice. Ianna thought it was wonderful how they always scrambled to aid those who were in trouble. The people respected the knights for setting such a good example of kindness, and they were grateful to the knights from the bottom of their hearts.

Moreover, the knights were absolutely loyal to Marquis Chaipan. This was not only because Marquis Chaipan was a master worthy of their respect but also because ‘loyalty’ was incorporated within the chivalric code.

Morals became worthy when they were accepted into society as justice. The members of that society would then begin trying to uphold those morals. This was why Ianna thought that the moral called chivalry possessed immense worth. It was such a shame that chivalry pertained only within a society of knights.

More importantly, the chivalric code shook Ianna to her core. Chivalry encompassed many of the values that Ianna sought after. She had an intense hunch that told her that she would find the core values that penetrated through the roots, trunk, branches, and even the leaves of the country she would create if she studied the chivalric code.

“Do invite me over should you ever possess a territory of your own one day. I would love to see it.”

“I will, if it is possible.”

Gellonian brought his horse up next to Ianna’s.

“Is it rude if I ask you which country you plan to go to? I am only asking out of simple curiosity. After all, I will need to caution the royal family to never make an enemy of that nation.”

“It’s not rude, but it is difficult for me to answer.”

“Is that so? I understand. I only pray that it’s not Bahamut. It’s not, right?”

Ianna smiled a little as she watched Gellonian grow anxious over what he had just suggested. He let out a sigh of relief. He continued,

“So it isn’t? Thank goodness. Bahamut is teeming with monsters already, and it would spell calamity if you decided to join them too.”

“I heard that you were elevated to the station of marquis because of your achievements in the war against the Bahamut Empire. May I ask you to tell me some war stories? —I’m rather interested.”

“Hmmm. For starters, Bahamut soldiers are dreadfully well trained.”

Ianna had to agree. The army that Arhad once led had been fundamentally different in quality from any standard army. It had apparently been the same even before Arhad too, when the Bahamut imperial family was in power. Gellonian continued,

“But the same can also be said of the Kingdom of Roanne’s army. After all, we’ve been able to hold our own against Bahamut, which consolidated the North together, for over a millennium. And unlike Bahamut, Roanne has an abundance of war supplies……. The war has always been a tug-of-war between two equally strong opponents. But that balance was nothing but a castle of sand easily demolished by the Bahamut imperial family. That bastard, Taylon Bahamut, was especially terrible.”

Taylon —the blood drained from Gellonian’s face as he uttered the name of the crown prince of Bahamut whom Ianna had never met. A serious look crossed Ianna’s mien.

Three separate people had determined that Taylon Bahamut was terrible. Filliger Ashltondt, who had once been a general of the royal guard, had called Taylon a demon in the “Demon of War.” Absilot Tiger, the Mercenary King, had called Taylon crazy. And Gellonian Chaipan had grown so pallid just by mentioning his name.

Just what kind of person was he?

“Mana stops listening to you whenever the Bahamut imperial family makes an appearance. Soldiers who are too used to controlling mana in battle are usually the first to perish. It doesn’t only create a sense of loss —it brings about a poignant terror.”

Ianna expressed her interest.

“So how was Roanne able to stand her ground against Bahamut for centuries?”

She had wondered this for quite some time. The question had always cropped up in her mind from time to time, but she had always put aside her curiosity because she had not found it important. After all, the only member of the Bahamut imperial family she had ever faced before was Arhad, and she had been the only one capable of standing against him.

But she was to face the rest of the imperial family now, so she needed as much information about them as she could get. Isabella, whom Ianna had chanced across, had been a monster. Ianna thought that Isabella was strong enough to destroy Roanne all on her own. Which meant that Isabella’s predecessors must also have been that powerful. So, how had Roanne stopped them? Had there existed heroes capable of stopping them?

“They were stopped by the royal family of Roanne.”

“The royal family?”

“How old are you again?”

“I’m eighteen.”

“Then you’ve never experienced a war with Bahamut. It’s not a very known fact, but only the royal family of Roanne is capable of opposing the Bahamut imperial family. The imperial family loses their power for some reason whenever the royal family makes an appearance. The royal family is powerful, but not as powerful as the imperial family, so it was always strange that the imperial family would suddenly grow weaker. I don’t know why this happens.”

“I see.”

Ianna pushed her questions to a corner of her heart and did not mention them again.

“I get worried whenever I see what Roanne is up to these days. People who’ve never experienced the war are one thing, but even those who have lived through those grim days have grown lax. Bahamut isn’t done with their war. What will we do if Bahamut declares war on us again while we’re still in this state?”

Gellonian let out a sigh. He continued,

“I’ve been making sure the soldiers in my lands are training hard for now, but I hope the royal family regains their senses soon. I’m hoping that Prince Schneider, who is wary of Bahamut, will be the next king, but that isn’t set in stone……hmm?”

Gellonian stopped his horse.

Ahh!

“……What? Was that a scream?”

Ahhhhh!

Save me!

But human screams weren’t the only noises they heard.

Rooooar!

Roars that didn’t belong to human voices mixed into each other chaotically and surged up to the heavens while the earth trembled violently.

And the dreadful noise wasn’t coming from just one direction. The racket was rampant everywhere —there was no point in guessing where it had come from because it was hell everywhere.

Neigh!

Gellonian’s and his knights’ horses snorted at the ominous mood that was spreading from all around them. Ianna’s horse, too, kicked at the ground nervously. Ianna fell into thought as she calmed down her horse.

‘A monster wave?’

No matter how well-managed a territory was, monsters would sometimes pour explosively out from their habitats without any warning.

Ianna was not worried. The Chaipan lands were close to monster territory, and it was sufficiently prepared to be able to readily resolve any emergency that may occur. Which was why she had thought that the disturbance would be over quickly if they travelled around the lands quickly and exterminated every monster they came across, but…….

Ianna steadily expanded her senses.

“……!”

She was alarmed by the sheer number of monsters that had been caught in the web of her senses.

‘That’s significantly more than I was aware of.’

Ianna worked primarily inside the Allacamorah Forest. But she would go to a secluded forest or mountain to train her senses on days when she didn’t have to patrol. Not only did training to grasp the monsters’ characteristics, habitat, and numbers with her senses alone help her improve her skills, but it also helped her grow more familiar with monsters. Ianna believed that her training would help her in establishing and protecting a country.

Ianna had a rough estimate of all the monster habitats there were around the Chaipan lands and how many monsters resided in each thanks to her training. But, though she had no idea why, she was sensing significantly more monsters now than the total number of monsters she had estimated were near the Chaipan lands.

“Ahhhh!”

The number of breathing organisms she sensed decreased rapidly with each scream. Those breaths, as feeble as wilting flowers, did not belong to monsters.

“This is serious. It’s an unprecedented emergency.”

The leisure vanished from Gellonian’s visage. He continued,

“This isn’t any simple monster wave. It’s an invasion from an unidentified outside force.”

Gellonian, who had also expanded his senses to grasp the situation, came to a similar conclusion as Ianna’s.

He rode up to the carriage window. He opened it to reveal his wife, with their two daughters a little over the age of ten in her arms, and his son, who had a hand on the hilt of his sword as if he meant to protect his mother and younger sisters.

“My wife.”

Ianna’s eyes took on a conspicuous color. Gellonian’s wife was more composed than she had expected. So were her daughters in her arms and her son who was guarding them. Ianna had thought that they would be trembling from the horrible noise, but they weren’t —Gellonian was a great knight and they were truly his family.

“Go back, get the castle organized, and comfort the people. I will trust you to guard the castle.”

“I understand.”

“Please let me fight, Father.”

His son tried to open the carriage door and step out, but Gellonian stopped him. But it wasn’t because he wanted to keep his son out of danger.

“Go back to the castle and protect the people with the third knight order. Order the other knight orders to depart the castle and clean up any monsters they find in the areas under their respective jurisdictions.”

“I will.”

Then, Gellonian turned to the knights, who had been keeping an eye on their surroundings, and ordered,

“Escort the carriage back to the castle!”

“Yessir!”

The knights urged the coachman to hurry when they received Gellonian’s orders and the carriage accelerated away.

“You should come with me.”

“Yes.”

Ianna was staring at the retreating carriage in worry even as she answered and asked,

“Will it be all right for them to leave like that?”

“My wife was once a renowned mage. She’s stronger than most knights, so there’s no need to worry about her.”

She could feel Gellonian’s powerful trust in his wife in his words. Ianna was convinced and nodded back.

Gellonian pulled hard at his reins.

“Let’s go!”

Ianna pulled out a set of robes from her subspace and followed behind him as Gellonian raced toward where he sensed the greatest danger. They were heading back in the same way they had come.

“……!”

The scene spreading out before them was appalling.

They had passed by this place only an hour ago. The peace they had seen just an hour ago had evaporated like it had only been a mirage.

To where had the happy little boy who smelled like freshly baked bread as he walked around gone? The parents on a spring outing hand-in-hand with their children?

The flowers that had once been beautifully arranged in a bouquet were laying trampled across a dirtied ribbon. Crimson bloodstains were scattered around the fallen flowers on every side.

All kinds of monsters were running amok with bloodshot eyes. They were drooling at the feast of delicious humans scattered before them. Those monsters that had lost their ability to reason long ago lost themselves to their appetite as they came to this place. People were fleeing, and monsters were chasing after them.

“Stop them!

“Hey! They’re getting through!”

The monsters kept pouring out without end like angry bees. Warriors, like mercenaries or knights, had taken up their weapons and were frantically tried to cull the monsters, but there were too few of them in comparison that they could not prevent the monsters from attacking the civilians.

“Haah!”

Gellonian yelled loudly as the aura condensed inside his body burst out. His powerful aura exploded everywhere like a bomb that had been dropped down from the heavens.

“Kgh!”

Everyone paused for a moment, like time itself had stilled, as his sharpened bloodlust fell upon humans and monsters alike.

Shaaaaa!

Gellonian drew his gigantic sword and instantaneously shot a crescent-shaped fortification toward an area where the monsters were densely crowded.

Pooow!

The monsters, frozen in the face of his bloodlust, were slain before they even had the chance to react.

Gellonian jumped down from his horse and rushed into the horde of monsters without a moment’s hesitation. Monster blood erupted around him like a rainstorm. A piece of monster flesh was flung outside the twister and fell to the ground with every swing of his sword.

“It’s the lord!”

The cornered people cheered, and the monsters roared crazily as they swarmed toward Gellonian like moths captivated by a flame.

Everyone was focused solely on Gellonian, and no one looked behind him.

“Hwooo.”

A fortification refined to its very limits flowed over Ianna’s sword in accordance to her will. Her colorless fortification was faint despite being powerful, and serene despite being violent. Ianna had finished preparing, and she brandished her sword while completely killing off her presence like ghost.

Piing…….

A strange noise sounded as the air was rent.

Riing-.

Everyone heard a strange ringing in their ears as they felt their vision go white.

Crack.

The vast dimension called space shattered and a deafening roar burst out from it like a storm.

“Ack!”

Those who had regained their senses and looked forward gasped in astonishment. Had a taut string of death passed through the world? The monsters were falling apart as their bodies were sundered in two.

Swish!

Ianna had already vanished from her horse.

Her black robes fluttered behind her like a curtain of death. She was so fast that most ordinary people only perceived her as a black wind.

Swish! Slash!

Headless monsters, unable to register even their own deaths, staggered in the wake of the reaper’s robes. Large monsters were sundered into multiple parts before they crumbled to the ground.

“What is that?”

The people’s gazes were drawn to the soundless destruction even as they urgently moved the wounded and brandished their weapons to slay the monsters.

It was only natural that monsters were breaking apart inside the storm that Gellonian was stirring up. But no ordinary person could comprehend how the unidentified northern wind that had blown from seemingly nowhere was somehow reaping the monsters’ lives.

The two destroyers resolved the situation quickly.

Whooosh.

Ianna stopped and stood still once the monsters’ numbers had decreased to the point where the people here could take care of them on their own. It was only then that they realized that the black wind had been a person.

“Whew.”

Ianna steadied her breathing.

She had taken great pains to develop a certain technique after her experiences at Sidian. She was quite pleased with how the results of her training were manifesting in a real battle.

The boundary between life and death. The narrow margin between controlling her divine power and fleetingly letting go of it. There was no color to her divine power in that state. She could camouflage it as mana if she used it as fortification and it would still be hundreds of times stronger.

She had taken this idea from how she had transferred her divine power to Towe back then, and this technique made her presence very faint and was excellent for surprise attacks. It would become amazing once she tempered and polished it more and perfected it.

Ianna walked up to Gellonian. He was looking back at her in wonder as he gathered his breath.

“I think it’ll be for the best if you and I split up, Marquis. I will strive to resolve the situation on my own end.”

He nodded and accepted her proposal.

“It’s fortunate that you were here in my lands when this happened. Thank you.”

Ianna secured her robes and immediately left the scene as soon as she had received Gellonian’s approval. She looked like a black shadow fading away. People grew afraid as they watched her.

“Please save me!”

Desperate screams were resounding from every direction. Ianna expanded her senses and made her way to where she had judged there was the most danger.

Buzzz.

Her ring began shining just then. Ianna quickly activated the artefact. As soon as she connected, she hurriedly said,

“Arhad, I’ll contact you later because something urgent has come up.”

[Is it monsters?]

Arhad immediately got to the core of the matter. Ianna brought her ring closer to her lips instead of turning it off.

“How did you know?”

[It’s not only the Chaipan lands, where you are, that’s under attack right now. Monsters are running amok all across the continent. Theodore too.]

Ianna was alarmed.

“Theodore —you mean Roanne’s capital?”

[Yes. The monsters have brought hell into Theodore. You’ll be surprised by what you see when you return.]

Ianna leaned her ear into her ring. She heard strange noises coming from it besides Arhad’s voice.

“But there are no monster habitats near Theodore. Where did they come from?”

[Bahamut.]

That one word alone explained everything. Arhad continued,

[I suppose they were getting annoyed that nothing was working out the way they wanted it to.]

Arhad laughed as if he was having great fun.

[The bastards opened up Gates. I was wondering why they were being so quiet lately, and it turns out that they were preparing Gates. And it’s quite a difficult spell too —good for them.]

“What are Gates?”

[Remember how you once noted that travel would be more convenient if teleportation was an easy spell to cast? Gate is an imperfect spell that makes what you thought a reality.]

In other words, Gates were doors of sorts. It was a spatial spell of the highest level that connected two distant locations together and reduced the distance between them to ‘zero.’ It wasn’t a perfect spell, however, so people using them occasionally died after being caught inside a dimensional rift.

[I don’t know about anywhere else, but most of the Gates in Theodore are connected to the Lotso Mountains. And some of them are connect to the heart of the Lotso Mountains.]

The Lotso Mountains could be called a holy land for monsters that humanity couldn’t pioneer. There resided high-leveled monsters that had been alive for centuries —millennia, even— and mid-level monsters that had been chased out of the center of the continent.

The heart of the Lotso Mountains, in particular, was an area filled with such dreadful monsters that even other monsters were terrified of them. Ianna could easily imagine what kind of state Theodore was currently in if she considered what kinds of monsters would be coming out from the Gates that had appeared there.

“Bahamut truly is remarkable.”

A lion-like monster with sharp horns all over its body instead of fur was roaming the area when it spotted Ianna and rushed toward her. The roaring monster speeding directly at Ianna was bisected into two halves before her.

Ianna passed through its carcass quickly as she continued,

“To think that they could even send monsters all over the continent. Why didn’t they do this earlier?”

[They didn’t have Wiffheimer Potestas in the past.]

Wiffheimer Potestas.

He was the strongest of the Ten Archmages, and the branch of magic he was acknowledged for when he had been elevated as an archmage was ‘destruction.’ He was peerless when it came to destruction magic. And on top of that, he was a genius who was experienced in other branches of magic as well.

Ianna recalled the man who had been standing on the basilisk’s head when she had faced Isabella.

[It was Wiffheimer Potestas, Bahamut’s head mage, who took the lead in opening the Gates. Of all the mages who came before him, he’s the one who’s come closest to the true nature of magic.]

But Ianna had never met Wiffheimer in her past life. He had either been eliminated by Arhad early on, or he had spent the majority of his time holed up inside the Bahamut Empire.

‘That’s not important right now.’

“What should I do?”

[Stay in the Chaipan lands for now,]

Arhad replied promptly when Ianna asked. He continued,

[I think the monsters are focused more heavily on Theodore than anywhere else. It’s even possible that the imperial family or Wiffheimer came here in person, considering the scale of things.]

Ianna startled.

“Will you be all right? You won’t get caught?”

[I’ll be fine since I’m with Lord Heinrich. Our resonances will overlap with each other. All they’ll know is that there’s a Demon’s fragment nearby. And I can always slip away if I judge that things are getting dangerous, so don’t worry about me. In any event, things will probably be more dangerous here, so stay where you are. You have to complete your practical training, don’t you?]

“What use is there in practical training at this point?”

[She hasn’t had her act together for some time now, but Roanne is a powerful country and she’s the only country capable of standing against Bahamut. She has potential. I estimate that she’s more than capable of stopping the monsters and that the Institution will remain in operation. It was operational during wartime previously, after all.]

“I understand. In any case, are my friends safe?”

She prayed they were. She no longer wanted to even imagine a life where even one of them was missing. She would feel so empty.

[They should be, if they were inside the Institution. The monsters haven’t been able to penetrate the barrier yet. I’ll find out and contact you again when I have an update. I’ll keep an eye on your friends, so don’t worry about them.]

“Could you please also find out about the orphanage?”

Her worries about the Institution had subsided somewhat, but she was also worried for the children in the orphanage, which was outside of the Institution’s barrier.

Screech!

Kack!

Ianna slew every monster she happened across along her way. She could see all the corpses they had been chewing on by her feet.

She was certain that Theodore probably looked similar. Rather, it could even be worse, since even Arhad had called it ‘hell.’ But the children in the orphanage had neither a barrier nor a protector.

[I’ll go and check on the children now, since I know you’re concerned about them. You just be careful that you don’t stand out too much while looking like yourself.]

Ianna opened up her subspace and pulled out a mask with a plain pattern on it that she had bought at a store.

“I’ve already been wearing robes. I’ll put on a mask too.”

[I suppose I didn’t need to warn you.]

Ianna put on the mask and saw a flock of griffons pecking at a corpse.

Griffons had the sharp beaks, large eagle wings, and the claws and powerful lower bodies of lions. They lived in the Lotso Mountains and the Great Forest of Shaob.

‘Are there Gates that lead to the Lotso Mountains or one of the four corners here too?’

“How do I close a Gate?”

[You destroy its arrangement of mana. It’s just another spell, after all.]

The answer was very plain. Arhad continued,

[But it won’t be easy to find them. Wiffheimer made sure to conceal the Gates’ magical aura, so I can’t grasp their exact locations. It’s about the same as trying to find any normal open door.]

“I’ll keep that in mind. But, will it be all right if I destroy the Gates? There aren’t many people capable of dispelling Wiffheimer’s magic because he’s a fragment beneficiary, right? Would it give away my location?”

[It’ll be fine. I found one and studied it, and the spell is weak enough that anyone skilled at controlling mana could dispel it. Wiffheimer would have had other mages cast the spell with him, since he couldn’t have cast something on this scale alone, and the magic became weaker as a result.]

“Hmm.”

[The bastards will be expecting the Gates to be destroyed. Actually, they won’t even care if the Gates are destroyed, since they can always reopen them as long as they have the coordinates. Feel free to destroy them if you want to.]

“I will. And how will Camastros respond to this situation?”

She could hear Arhad smirking.

[Even I couldn’t predict this at all……I’m still thinking. What do you want us to do? Bahamut’s goal is to ruin Roanne, so I couldn’t care any less even if we just watched as they bickered against each other. My goals may have changed to destroying Bahamut and establishing a new kingdom, but I don’t see any reason to step up and help Roanne. And I’ll say this up front, but you don’t need to feel responsible over the fact that we may have been grating on Bahamut’s nerves. They’ve been crazy for war since before we were born, and they would have done something like this at some point anyway even if we didn’t provoke them.]

“I don’t intend on assisting Roanne either. Nor do I feel responsible, since, as you said, this is between Bahamut and Roanne. Please decide how Camastros will respond yourself. I will obey your guidelines when I am acting as Ann of Camastros. But…”

Firmly, Ianna continued,

“I will continue helping ‘people’ in an individual capacity. I will not turn away from innocent people trying to survive, so long as my power and circumstances allow it.”

She did not think it was just to refuse to help the weak and innocent who sought salvation from their despair if the situation was manageable and she had the strength left to spare. Besides, it was unpleasant to her that they weren’t being killed by fellow men but being devoured unilaterally by monsters, which were controlled by greed.

[If that is your will.]

Ianna smiled because she found Arhad, who always respected her wishes, reliable.

She entered an area where shadows had dyed the ground black. She looked up to find a flock of several dozen or so griffons circling the skies. They were peering down and sneering at the people running around while evading their sharp talons.

In a quieted voice, Ianna said,

“I need to exterminate some monsters. I’ll contact you again.”

[All right. I’ll think some more about what Camastros should do and let you know when I’ve decided.]

Their connection ended, and Ianna focused on the situation at hand.

It was like watching kites and chicks. People were shooting arrows and magic into the air, but the griffons, trained in the perilous Lotso Mountains and the four corners of the world, evaded them easily. Occasionally, the griffons would swoop down at terrifying speed, snatch up their prey, and climb up again.

“Hwooo.”

Ianna breathed out a long breath.

‘It’s been a while.’

Her bloodlust was seething.

There was cruelty living hidden inside her. It was poured out unto those whom she had determined was her enemy. There was a reason why she had been called grandiose names like the Sword Demon of the Battlefield or Slaughterer in her past life. She hadn’t had much of a chance to demonstrate her cruelty in this life. After all, she needed to hide her skills, and she had grown accustomed to the peace.

But what about now? She was standing in the middle of a disaster where monsters were swimming around her like fish waiting to be scooped up.

The situation was what it was. And she had more than enough strength to spare.

She was wearing her robes and a mask. No one around her knew who she was.

There was nothing stopping her.

The key had been inserted into the padlock keeping the chains wrapped tightly around her body. The lock clattered to the ground when the key was turned. Her chains clanked as they fell apart.

‘Shall I?’

Crack.

A dark light filled her eyes as she turned her head to the left and right. Their color was not one of impassioned flames but of death and blood.

Clink.

Rise, the sword of the sun, flew out from her subspace. The sword resonated with her, happy to be in its mistress’ hands, as soon as she drew the blade.

Ianna accelerated.

Tatata, tata, ta.

The time between each collision between her shoes and the ground grew longer.

Craaash!

The earth itself cracked, as if a giant had stomped over it, when she kicked off. Bloodlust exploded out from Ianna’s very being.

Shaaaa!

Her mana, dyed in bloodlust, reached out to the griffons and grabbled them like hands from hell. It snatched them up and dragged them down from the skies like a net of steel.

“Screeeeech!”

The griffons froze up when they felt the heinous bloodlust sweep over them like a calamity. They began falling like wingless birds as the wind of mana froze and stopped supporting their wings. Meanwhile, a twister had formed on top of the place where Ianna had left behind deep footprints in the earth.

Swiiiish!

Dozens of curved fortifications embroidered the sky, like reeds swaying in the wind, with each swing of Ianna’s sword. The glistening fortifications tore through the air like whips. It was like sunlight was scattering all over the place after the dark clouds had cleared away.

Fwoosh!

The griffons fell to the earth with a shower of blood as the sunlight hit them. It was truly a cruel yet surreal scene.

“Screeech!”

The griffons that had been harassing or eating people on the ground immediately flew up when their brethren were killed en masse and plummeted to the earth like hail. They never knew that letting go of the humans in their grasp and trying to flee for their lives was the last thing they would ever do.

It only took a moment, a single moment, as a single stroke seized its opportunity.

Swish…….

A gigantic arc of light rent through all the griffons that had taken to the sky at once. None of them had survived.

“A-ahh.”

The stupefied people could do nothing but gape as their nightmare was ended so abruptly by the griffons’ mass death.

They knew that it was a human who had brought about this turn of events because Ianna had shown herself as she stirred up a storm of her fortification. But she had vanished again like smoke as soon as she had landed on the ground, so the people rubbed at their eyes, wondering if they had simply been hallucinating her. Still, they knew that it had not been a dream when they looked to how terrifyingly smooth the cuts on the griffons’ carcasses were.

Part 9

Ianna took care of three more similarly dangerous situations before she climbed up to the clocktower, the tallest building in the Chaipan lands.

There would be no end to this if she didn’t close the Gates. But, as Arhad had said, it was impossible to locate the Gates by feeling for the flow of mana alone. She needed to observe the monsters’ movements in order to find the Gates.

Ianna surveyed the entire territory.

‘Looks like there are several Gates.’

She took note of a few places where she thought she would find the Gates before she spotted a horde of several dozen minotaurs charging toward the clocktower.

“Grooowl!”

Ianna confirmed the direction they were coming from before she jumped down. There was a minotaur just moments away from snatching up a crying child who was fleeing from it where she intended to land.

She aimed her sword just as she saw the ground.

Swoosh!

The minotaur was skewered from head to toe and burst into a shower of blood as she landed. All the other minotaurs nearby began charging toward her.

Ianna pushed the child behind her. He had fallen over and was about to pass out from fear and exhaustion. Calmly, Ianna said to him,

“Take heart.”

It was the same exact situation as she had been in about two years ago when she had rescued Finn. No, she was technically in a worse situation now. There were several times more minotaurs now than there had been back then. But Ianna was not the immature and desperate girl she had been back then either. She held her sword directly in front of her and stopped the oncoming charge just as she had back then.

Craaaash!

Moo!

There was a deafening crash, and the minotaur that had collided against Ianna howled in agony as it was flung aside. Its horns had visibly broken, and its skull had shattered and pieces of it were lodged into its brain. The minotaurs behind it, too, collided into their flying brethren and broke their bones as they fell over.

“I’ll have to pay you guys back in full,”

Ianna muttered as she straightened herself out, and she slashed her sword vertically down. The fallen and floundering minotaurs instantly perished.

“Keep your eyes closed.”

Ianna picked up the wide-eyed child and secured him under her arm before she ran after another group of minotaurs charging ahead like a ghost.

“Raise your shields!”

There was a group of nervous knights holding up their shields before them as the minotaurs rushed at them like a tidal wave. They were standing there with the resolve to die.

“Spears!”

Craaash!

The knights held up their mana-imbued shields and poured strength down their thighs as the minotaurs collided against them. Spearmen stabbed at the agitated monsters that were steaming from their nostrils from behind the shields. The monsters were giving way.

It was going well at first. But they could not know how any more charges they would need to block.

“Prepare for the second wave!”

the commander of the eighth knight order shouted in encouragement. But then, someone with a tremble in his voice said,

“P-please look ahead, Commander!”

“Why……? Huh?”

There had undoubtedly been an avalanche of minotaurs before him.

So where had they gone?

“Ack!”

The commander looked behind the minotaurs that had been stabbed to death and immediately startled. Minotaur carcasses were covering the earth like grass. Most had either had their hearts destroyed by a single thrust to their chest or had fallen over beheaded.

“Ah, ahh…….”

And at the center of it all was a quivering child who had soiled his pants. The commander could not make heads or tails of the situation.

Ianna had rushed toward where the minotaurs had come from while the knights and the child were staring at each other. Minotaurs tended to charge in a straight line, so she would likely find a Gate if she retraced their steps.

“Ahhh!”

“Die!”

She saw the monsters growing in number as she ran, proving that she had been right on her money. Their numbers began increasing exponentially at some point until there were just as many monsters around her as there were people. There were so many monsters that she could barely hear any human voices beneath the monsters’ roars.

Ianna stopped running when her path was blocked.

She reinforced her vision and found a boundary filled with monsters and people. Monsters and humans alike were fighting bloodily near the boundary and inside human territory, and only monsters filled the other side of the line. It was a like watching a tide crossing over the horizon.

‘There must be a Gate behind the monsters.’

But just as Ianna jumped into the fray and into the sea.

Screeeeeeech!

A high-pitched noise, like claws raking across a blackboard, ravaged the battlefield. People and monsters alike lost their focus as the hair-raising noise dug into their eardrums.

The dense stench of blood spread across the battlefield. The balance of power had crumbled and had ended several fights as soon as the noise had sounded. Ianna furrowed her brows and looked up to where the shockwave had come from. The sky was black.

Screeeech!

Several dozen bat-like monsters were flapping their wings as they cried heinously. A few were circling above the battlefield, but most of them were clumped together like a dark cloud where Ianna guessed the Gate was.

Ianna grew stern. They were dangerous bastards who should never be allowed outside the Lotso Mountains.

‘I need to move faster.’

Crunch.

Her heels dug into the soil as Ianna poured strength into her feet.

“Kgh!”

Peter, a soldier of the Chaipan lands, prepared to meet his death.

This was a melee. Knights, soldiers, and mercenaries alike were jumbled together and frantically trying to cull the monsters. But there were so many of them, and the humans were being pushed endlessly back.

His head hurt and his body lost strength every time the unidentified monsters in the air screeched. So many people had died because of them already. The monsters were only flying in the air for now, but they were strong enough to make their opponents weak just by screeching, and the humans were doomed if they decided to swoop down and attack all at once.

It was just around sunset, and the darkness was closing in from afar. The black monsters were flying excitedly as they welcomed the darkness like it was their home. He felt like he had fallen inside a dark abyss that no light could reach.

‘My wife. My children.’

His beloved wife and children flickered before his eyes like an illusion. But all he saw when he pulled himself together was a monster glaring at him right before his very eyes.

Peter allowed his spite to boil.

‘My family lives in this land, and I’ll be the one to protect it!’

He spat into his hands and picked up his spear.

“Eyaaaah, ack!”

Pow!

But he was forced to bow his head as soon as he charged murderously at the monster before him. His helmet had suddenly grown heavier.

And it wasn’t only him. Every person and monster in line with him had their heads stepped on in turn and were forced to bow.

“Ack!”

Greg, a highly-skilled mercenary, stooped over when someone’s boot stepped on his head. There was a black-robed ghost, not the monster he had been fighting, standing before him when he quickly straightened himself out.

“Haah!”

Greg brandished his axe because he thought the figure was his enemy. The figure dodged the terrifying trail his axe left behind like an apparition before grabbing his arm and pointing him in another direction.

“Turn around, and kill them.”

“You crazy nutjob!”

What kind of joke was that supposed to be, when they were all on the brink between life and death? But Greg’s eyes nearly popped out of his sockets when he turned back around to give the figure a piece of his mind. The path in front of the unidentified robed person was completely empty.

Slash! Pow!

Ianna brandished her sword mercilessly as she surpassed the realm of humanity. She had no need to hold back since she was surrounded only by enemies. No monster could possibly stop the sword being wielded by the tyrant’s hands. There were several high-class monsters thrown in the mix, but they too were similarly powerless.

Rise had become as the scorching sun in accordance to Ianna’s will. Its translucent flames devoured life endlessly. Everything in the sword’s path was rent apart —be it heads, arms, legs, fangs, claws, or weapons.

She cut a refreshing line through the wave of monsters before she finally glimpsed the end. She had assumed that there would be more monsters as she grew closer to the Gate, but she had been wrong on that count. The monsters were actually getting sparser.

Ianna left mountains of corpses behind her as she finally reached her first Gate.

‘So this is a Gate.’

It looked like a large vortex as tall as ten grown men. It was raging quietly, like the eye of a hurricane, as it sucked in mana. There were hardly any monsters around the Gate —a stark contrast to the tidal wave Ianna had just pierced through.

But she figured out why that was quickly enough.

Screeeech!

Several gigantic bat-like monsters were shrieking as they were stuck inside the vortex. They were blocking off the Gate so no more monsters could pass through. It only took but a moment for Ianna to realize that the wicked aura the trapped monsters were giving off had chased the other monsters toward the humans and that this was why the area around the Gate, which should have been teeming with monsters, was so empty.

One of the trapped bat monsters’ and Ianna’s gazes met in mid-air. Technically, she was only looking at one of its eyes. The monsters looked a lot like bats. But they were different from normal bats in that their claws, dragging against the earth as they tried to pull themselves out from the Gate, were as large as a fully-grown person and they had ten eyes each rolling around while looking all over the place.

‘A kambat.’

It was a type of monster that lived in the eastern Lotso Mountains. Hundreds of them lived together in a cave, like normal bats did, and they were very communal creatures.

Kambats only left behind utter ruin in their wake when they passed by. Trees, rocks, steel, grass —they ate anything and everything, and they sometimes descended the mountains and devoured villages whole.

‘Did the Gate open near a colony of kambats?’

Apparently, Wiffheimer was determined to wipe the Chaipan lands off the map. No —it wouldn’t be only the Chaipan lands. The voracious kambats would devour everything. A cauldron of kambats was a bigger pain in the neck than a single high-class monster was.

‘Who knows what’s happening elsewhere.’

Bahamut had tossed the entire continent into chaos today. Ianna was almost curious to know how they had managed to hold back all this time when they had this much power at their disposal.

Ianna erased the stray thoughts from her head and decided to focus on the Chaipan lands, where she currently was.

Several strokes of luck had piled on top of each other. First, the Gates were small. Second, this Gate had been blocked off because too many monsters had tried to pass through it at once. Third, the kambats that had passed through first had not started feeding yet because they were waiting for their brethren. And finally, Ianna had arrived on scene before things could get any worse.

But the other kambats stuck in the Gate had also noticed Ianna now that the first one had seen her.

Shaaa.

Kambats were high-class monsters and could cover their claws with powerful fortifications. They brandished their fortified claws as fast as lightning at Ianna, who had been standing still. But they couldn’t harm her because she was too far away. She used Rise to readily block any fortifications that were sent flying her way from the distance.

Screeech!

The kambats stuck in the Gate shrieked as they flew into a rage.

Rumble rumble.

Then, the kambats in the air rolled their eyes and fixated on Ianna too. The hundreds of eyes recognized how strong she was and were dyed in bloodlust.

The kambats looked disgusting with their ten bloodshot eyes each. And Ianna was being glowered at by dozens of them. A weak-willed person would have gotten a heart attack on the spot.

Squish.

Squeeelch.

She could hear the moist sound of the kambats’ eyes rolling in their sockets from everywhere. Ianna stood in the midst of it all and sharpened her eyebrows as she moved her lips.

“What are you looking at?”

Her voice was frigid.

Her heart was as strong as steel and did not know fear. She simply found the hundreds of eyes on her offensive. Ianna was awkward about small amounts of goodwill, but she absolutely was unshaken by such absolute animosity.

Or, perhaps she was? After all, she wanted to slaughter them all so badly that it sent a chill down even her own spine.

Shhh…….

A small breeze stirred up beneath her feet. It grew into a bigger gale as it was drawn into Rise, which she was holding in her hand.

Claaang.

Divine power and mana mixed into each other around Rise and raged violently. A powerful wind circled around Ianna like a tornado. Her black robes flapped, and her crimson hair fluttered like a flame where it escaped her hood. The crimson aura that flared from the fortification covering Rise displayed the full brunt of its might in its full, transcendent glory.

Pure divine power. In other words, life itself.

Monsters coveted life. And the most vivid of all life was currently dangling from the crimson sword like the most appetizing fruit. The kambats grew more ravenous than they had ever been in their lives.

Screeeeech!

The kambats trapped inside the Gate struggled so hard to break free that they didn’t seem to care even if they accidentally destroyed it —they didn’t even care if parts of their bodies were torn off in the process. The once-blocked Gate was opened. The kambats behind the Gate exploded out. The kambats in the air were drooling as they descended. And they all had only one target —Ianna.

The heavens and the earth darkened around her, but Ianna simply waited quietly for the right time. And just as her entire world was about to be covered in darkness.

Booooom!

She thrust Rise powerfully into the ground. And she sundered the earth.

Shaaa!

Rise’s fortification pierced through the darkness the kambats had created like the sun scattering its rays over the world when it rose above the horizon. The fortification was translucent, but the attack resulted in light.

The kambats’ crimson blood dyed the twilight sky a deeper shade of crimson. Ianna’s world opened up again with just that one attack, and every last kambat that passed through the Gate had perished.

Screeeech!

The Gate continued to spit out kambats. Ianna kept her sword in thrust in the ground and stood still without closing the Gate on purpose. Even if she closed it, Bahamut would simply open yet another Gate leading to the colony of kambats since they already knew its coordinates.

It was impossible for her to exterminate every last one of them, but she still had to diminish their numbers just in case. It would spell trouble if the kambats appeared somewhere else in the continent outside the Lotso Mountains. The continent was fortunate that Ianna had chanced upon this particular Gate.

“Come.”

The kambats swarmed her like moths to flame as if they had understood what she said.

Several dozen minutes later, Ianna was drenched in blood as she brandished her sword on top of the kombat carcasses littering the ground. They weren’t swarming out from the Gate like they had at first. She had simply killed off that many of them.

‘Let’s leave things at this.’

Ianna conveyed her will to the flow of mana manifesting the Gate’s whirlpool as she shook off the blood from her sword.

‘Will you please scatter for me?’

Pooow!

The mana scattered immediately when Ianna asked it to, and the Gate instantly shrank and quietly closed. Dark red blood exploded yet again. A kambat that had been passing through the Gate just then had been bisected cleanly in two. It had died such a ridiculous death for a high-class monster that had terrorized the Lotso Mountains for decades.

Ianna collected her breath as she opened up her subspace. Kambat claws and leather were amazing materials, but most normal people had no reason to ever happen across them. But there were hundreds of kambat carcasses lying around Ianna now.

‘I’m sure I’ll have use for it someday.’

She pushed all the kambat carcasses into her subspace before checking in on the tides of battle. Many of the other monsters had also died as a result of Ianna’s fight against the kambats. The people here were more than strong enough to deal with the rest.

‘I should go elsewhere.’

Her body vanished like a mirage.

There were five Gates in the Chaipan lands in total. Ianna closed three of them.

She had purposefully decided not to dispel the other two. Bahamut might take special notice of the Chaipan lands if she didn’t leave a few behind. Besides, she still needed Gellonian to see them with his own eyes.

She would have dispelled them if they had been connected to particularly dangerous regions, but they were connected to regions with monsters only powerful enough that the people of the land could still deal with them.

Ianna only dispelled the three Gates that were connected to dangerous regions before she quickly made her way around the vast Chaipan lands to subjugate monsters.

She slaughtered monsters until the sun had set, and a lot of people had witnessed her black robes in the meanwhile. But the short evening was over, and it was hard to see now that it was night, so no one could spot her anymore. Ianna passed through like the night breeze as she brought life to the people and death to the monsters.

The hell that was the Chaipan lands only settled down the next morning. That being said, it only meant that the immediate crisis had passed. The battle against the monsters still yet continued. But this was a battle that the Chaipan knights could win so long as they never let their guards down.

“Whew.”

Ianna was a little tired. She had been moving around nonstop for the last twelve hours while subjugating dangerous monsters, and she had been the greatest player in resolving the situation here.

A tree with branches thick enough for a person to stand on caught her eye. She climbed up on top of it after deciding to take a moment of rest.

She sat on the branch and leaned against the tree as she surveyed her surroundings. Only large puddles of blood remained on the earth because Ianna had pushed all of the carcasses inside her subspace.

‘This subspace is amazing.’

The subspace was a third dimension where time was still. There were ranks to the subspace spell. High-leveled subspaces expanded space, but the subspace inside the ring Arhad had given her was practically infinite. It swallowed the monster carcasses without any problems, even when they numbered in the thousands.

It had said in the instructions about the artefact that Arhad had written down for her that there was no reason for the subspace to ever reach maximum capacity, but it was only now that Ianna truly understood what he had meant by that with no room for doubt.

‘It reeks of blood.’

She had only just finished carrying out a massacre here, and it wasn’t exactly the best place to rest. She wanted to go somewhere clean where she could relieve herself of all her fatigue if she was going to rest, but no such place currently existed because monsters were roaming all over the territory.

Ianna called for Innis and Shweia.

[Ianna!]

[Hello.]

Innis slammed himself against Ianna’s cheek as soon as he appeared. Shweia peevishly sat down on her shoulder and folded his wings.

They understood what she wanted before she even said a word. Innis cleaned up the blood around Ianna in an instant before washing her body. That her fatigue was blown away was simply a bonus.

Shweia blew away the stench of blood and ushered in the cool and clear dawn wind. Ianna’s nose, which had been paralyzed after smelling nothing but blood and corpses all day long, finally cleared. Her heart, sharpened from bloodlust, settled down as she smelled the clean fragrance of nature.

Ianna looked to the sky. The sun was rising slowly to illuminate the world just like it had yesterday, but the world of today was vastly different from what it had been just a day prior.

‘What is Bahamut planning?’

According to Arhad, monsters had invaded not only the Theodore and the Chaipan lands but the entire continent. Things were operating on too grand a scale for this to be simple retaliation.

‘Are they planning to start a new war after using the monsters to throw everyone into chaos?’

Ianna pondered about how she should respond as she imagined the worst-case scenario. The fact that she would leave Roanne next year wouldn’t change. But she would have no choice but to assist Roanne because of her station if war broke out before she graduated from the Institution.

She imagined all sorts of things, including only helping out just enough that she wouldn’t stand out and dropping out of school before leaving Roanne. She was fishing around for her best option when she even began thinking about eliminating the cause entirely.

‘What if I assassinated the Bahamut imperial family?’

Bahamut would collapse immediately if the imperial family was assassinated. The world would change in some manner, but it would at least be better off than when they had been alive.

Ianna estimated her strength.

She had clashed against Isabella last summer, which was almost a year ago already since it was now May. Her skills had developed greatly during that time. She was just about as strong now as she had been when she had died in her past life.

Last year, she had judged that she was not able to beat Isabella.

‘But can I win if we fought now?’

But Isabella probably hadn’t been only fooling around this past year either.

[Where’d the Demon go?]

Innis, who had been keeping a wary eye to make sure no one else was around, asked gingerly.

“I told you he’s not the Demon.”

[Where’s the bastard who is like the Demon but can’t be called the Demon?]

Ianna had introduced Arhad to the spirits a few months back.

She had thought the world might really end at the time.

The spirits had done everything in their power to attack Arhad. They acted like lovable pets around Ianna, but she had been made to know just how great their beings truly were as they manifested the great power of origin encompassing the earth, water, fire, and wind. Ianna had managed to coax them into stopping, but they had been so amazing that even Ianna had grown dizzy for a moment.

The spirits had screamed as they called Arhad the Demon and was hostile to him. They were terrified that the End would come yet again. They had raged, claiming that they did not wish to see the Demon harm Ianna.

Ianna had explained the situation and had firmly asserted that their fears would not come to pass. The spirits had agreed to compromise once she expressed her hopes that they could get along with Arhad. But they were still just as wary of him as ever. Arhad, too, still disliked the spirits as much as he always had, though he no longer spoke ill about them.

“He’s not here. And his name is Arhad, not ‘the bastard.’”

[You mean the bas……I mean, Arhad really isn’t with you right now?]

Innis wagged his tail in disbelief.

“What was Roygen of the Holy Age like that you’re acting like this?”

[He stuck so close to Roberstein that she hardly ever had any time to herself, or something like that? He absolutely hated it when Roberstein wasn’t in his line of sight.]

Shweia chirped as he laughed.

[He’s not the Demon anymore, stupid. He’s like Ianna. He’s not the Demon who was insanely obsessed with Roberstein, but a human who was reincarnated with the Demon’s soul. He’s not the Demon. Honestly, I’m relieved.]

Ianna brooded over Arhad’s attitude. It was true that Arhad was obsessed about her, but he still respected her and her freedom well enough.

Arhad was the Demon, but he was also not the Demon.

Just like how Ianna was Roberstein but was also not Roberstein.

And Ianna liked Arhad just the way he was. He was the one person in the world who could understand her. He always told her that her life was radiant.

Ianna chatted with the spirits and rested well before she contacted Arhad again.

[Are you all right? You’re not hurt?]

Arhad knew that Ianna had no reason to be wounded by monsters, but he still worried for her anyway. Ianna rather liked his worrying. There was a faint smile on her face as she made herself more comfortable and mumbled back,

“I’m a little tired.”

All the tension left her body whenever she heard Arhad’s voice. That was simply how much his presence relieved her. She even felt herself growing sleepy. Innis had relieved her body of its fatigue, but her mind was still exhausted after seeing nothing but blood and corpses all day long.

She could sleep without a problem even if she was surrounded by the most powerful monsters in the world so long as Arhad was by her side.

[…….]

Arhad fell silent. Ianna snapped back to her senses when she realized he was acting strangely and immediately said,

“I’ve recovered thanks to Innis. I’m fine. Don’t come.”

[How did you know I was about to Teleport? Are you sure you’re all right?]

“I’m perfectly well.”

Ianna told Arhad about everything she had done until now.

[Good work.]

Ianna felt smug as Arhad praised her. She didn’t care much when others praised her, but Arhad’s praises made her feel thrilled and uplifted. She wanted him to keep praising her.

She did not dislike herself for feeling this way. A year ago, she would have disliked herself for acting like a child, but not anymore.

‘It feels so good.’

She was growing more familiar by the day with the foreign joy that she hadn’t known back when she had kept others out of her life. Her excited mood settled down and she asked about the situation in Theodore.

[Theodore’s still a mess, but your friends are safe.]

Slowly, Arhad told her the news. There was no word from Eiji or Dorcianni, who were at the Black Fox’s base together, and Taro had refused to leave Lalatua’s side.

Arhad had brought Rikijen under his protection as soon as the incident had exploded, and Herrace had taken the orphanage children to the Paella Company. There, he continued to safeguard the children with the mercenaries from the Tiger Mercenary Guild.

The Institution, which was a safe zone, was bustling with refugees. The students of the School of Martial Arts and the School of Magic were exterminating monsters under their professors’ guidance.

The only surprising news had been about Priscilla.

[When did your roommate get so close to Saiwè? Saiwè’s apparently keeping her safe in the palace because they were attacked by monsters while they were out on a date in the theaters.]

Ianna had no idea.

Had it been a month ago now? Priscilla had told her about meeting the prince —Saiwè, that is— while they were in their dorm room.

Something about how he was exactly her type, how good-looking he was, how cool he was, how amazing his sense of style was, how she had vowed to measure him down to his very bones when she got to measure his body proportions…….

Priscilla had been so interested in Saiwè she had almost appeared insane. It reminded Ianna of how Priscilla had been when the two of them had first met.

Priscilla would chat with her happily whenever she came back from meeting with Saiwè after learning that Ianna and Saiwè were acquainted. She hadn’t talked about anything special. Priscilla normally sung praises of how intelligent Saiwè was or of how amazing his fashion senses were. They were royalty and commoner, but their interests were aligned and one thing had led to another.

Or at least that had been Ianna’s read of the situation as of two weeks ago.

But still……a date?

“Do you mean to suggest that they are lovers now?”

[I don’t know. That was just the report Saiwè gave me, and I told you exactly what he told me. Still, it’s not like them going on a date automatically makes them lovers, no?]

“Is that how it works? In any event, this truly caught me by surprise…….”

Ianna was rather curious to know how things had unfolded, but she decided to put aside her curiosity for now and focus on the situation in Theodore. Theodore must surely still be hell, so it wouldn’t be good for her to simply relax and enjoy the peace.

“Thank you for looking into this.”

[It was only a matter of course. Also, I’ve thought about it, and I’m planning to have Camastros cooperate with Roanne as much as we can. So long as we don’t suffer any casualties, that is.]

Ianna was intrigued by his answer. He hardly cared at all about anyone other than herself. He was usually a cold-hearted man who couldn’t have cared any less about who lived or died so long as he reaped as much benefit from the situation as he could.

“What made you decide that?”

[You said that you didn’t want innocent people to die, didn’t you?]

Ianna was rendered speechless. He continued,

[I told you before. I’ll do what you want. Besides, I’m sure fewer people will die unjust deaths if we make a move.]

“But doing so could harm us too.”

[Harm……. After thinking about it, I realized that we stand to gain quite a lot by acting constructively in Roanne’s best interests too. Bahamut still thinks that we belong to Schneider, so they’ll rage against Roanne even harder the more we interfere. All we need to do is keep our true identity hidden.]

Or so Arhad said, but Ianna knew that she was the sole reason why he had decided this. She felt an even greater burden of responsibility on her shoulders as she realized that she could move someone as ridiculously powerful as Arhad with just a single word.

“I’ll be sure to do my best.”

Arhad chuckled from the other side of the ring when he heard her sincere words.

[I’m glad to hear it.]

Ianna looked up at the sky. It was morning now, and the day had grown bright. She stood up on the branch.

“I should go find Marquis Chaipan now. I’ll contact you again later.”

[All right. Don’t push yourself.]

Ianna took off her robes and went to go find Gellonian. She asked around a bit before she finally found him, and he was staring down at a large map as he formulated a strategy with his knight order commanders.

“Oh, Miss Ianna. You were safe.”

The knights surrounding them, wary of their surroundings, welcomed her warmly and invited her inside the fold.

“My Lord,”

Ianna called for Gellonian. He whipped his head around. Ianna tidied her attire as she walked up to him. She continued,

“There’s something I need to tell…….”

She wasn’t able to finish her sentence. Gellonian had pulled her into a bear hug with his large physique.

“Thank you —thank you so much!”

He was holding her so tight she thought she might burst as he shouted.

The knights were bewildered by their liege’s sudden action. He had been acting as dignified as any liege lord should be only moments ago. But now he was like any other foolish old man.

Why was he so grateful? What had Ianna done?

“Wait, my Lord…”

It was only natural for Gellonian to be so thankful to her, considering everything that she had done for his lands. But he was expressing it too openly before his knights, who weren’t aware of the situation. Ianna was not happy for their newfound curiosity.

“Whoops.”

He came back to his senses and let go of her when she knocked on his sturdy steel armor. He looked back at her with his eyes not only brimming but simply overflowing with goodwill. He continued,

“You came at a good time. I trust you aren’t hurt?”

I was almost injured because of you just now…

Ianna massaged herself where she ached from being pressed against armor and nodded. Gellonian beamed. He continued,

“Can we talk alone for a bit?”

He ended the meeting and ordered his knights to hunt down the monsters before taking Ianna to a nearby stretch of woods. It was only when they were somewhere completely secluded that Gellonian, whose patience had dried out, finally asked,

“The Black Wind —that’s you, yes? The rumors were spreading everywhere even though it’s only been a day since the situation unfolded.”

“The Black Wind?”

“Supposedly, it’s a mysterious wind that breezed past when people were in despair because the monsters were too strong, took care of the monsters, and whisked away.”

They didn’t know whether it was the black robes of a reaper or the black cape of a hero, but it would swoop down the battlefield like the wind itself and always leave behind mountains of monster carcasses in its wake. And it would never harm people.

“My knights scattered throughout my lands told me something a tad more concrete. They said that an unidentified swordsman wearing black robes were running quickly around the place while taking care of the monsters. That would be you, yes?”

“It appears so.”

“I knew it! I’ve been hearing reports about the same thing happening all over the place all night long.”

People had been battling against the monsters in the dark of night, when the monsters would suddenly and mysteriously stop moving and grow silent.

Then, when the people nervously waved their torches to see their surroundings better, the monsters they had been fighting on the bloody battlefield had all vanished like they had suddenly evaporated on the spot. The only proof of the merciless slaughter that had taken place in the dark without their notice was the pools of blood and the ownerless slabs of monster flesh that had been left behind.

“This was also you, yes?”

“It likely was. I possess a subspace artefact, and I collected most of the carcasses of any high-class monsters I killed.”

“Amazing! You’re the best!”

Gellonian clenched his fists in his excitement. He continued,

“I had an inkling that you were the one behind the rumors, but I was growing worried because I hadn’t heard back from you in so long! Oh, I also heard that monsters that can only be found in the Lotso Mountains had appeared, but people thought that they were hallucinations created by magic because no corpses were ever found. Would you happen to know anything about that?”

“It’ll be quicker to show you.”

Ianna opened her subspace and pulled out a carcass of each type of monster she had slain in the night. Gellonian’s visage grew paler with ever additional carcass she pulled out. There were six in total, and Gellonian could name all of them.

“My word. You mean to say that these things appeared in my lands?”

“There were several dozen of each. And several hundred of the kambats. There were also many mid-class monsters weaker than these, but I’ve taken care of any that I deemed were dangerous.”

“You took care of these terrible monsters, and at least a thousand of them in total, all by yourself?”

Gellonian gaped without finishing what he wanted to say in his astonishment. He only barely managed to keep himself together as he suspiciously asked her,

“Are you a dragon, by any chance? Or the daughter of a dragon, perhaps?”

Ianna shook her head no, but Gellonian was still looking at her like he was positive that she wasn’t truly human. If she wasn’t a dragon, then surely she must at least have the blood of the mythical races running in her veins. He had heard that her mother had been a commoner, and he was certain that she couldn’t have possibly been any normal commoner. He continued,

“My people regard the Black Wind as a hero. And I can certainly see why. No, even calling you a hero isn’t nearly enough.”

“You’re embarrassing me. I only did what I naturally ought to do,”

Ianna replied awkwardly, and Gellonian chuckled faintly before turning serious once more.

“How did the monsters from the Lotso Mountains get here?”

“There is something I must show you regarding that. Please follow me.”

Ianna brought Gellonian to a Gate. Hordes of monsters were coming out from the whirlpool just as they arrived.

“What……is that?”

“I asked a powerful mage whom I’m acquainted with, and he told me that it’s a high-level spell called Gate. You can consider it as a door that connects to somewhere far away.”

Ianna explained to the bewildered Gellonian about Gates in detail. He listened attentively to her explanation as he glared at the Gate in astonishment.

“A door that connects to the Lotso Mountains. No wonder there were so many powerful monsters that normally shouldn’t be found in this area…….”

Gellonian let out a heavy sigh. He continued,

“I’ve been receiving requests for reinforcement from Theodore and our surrounding territories for a few hours now. Which means that it wasn’t only my lands that were affected.”

“I’ve heard that it’s been happening all across the continent —not just Roanne.”

Ianna calmly explained the situation to him. Gellonian fell into a moment of silence before he finally spoke again.

“What kind of wicked people would do something like this? What is their goal? How many highly skilled mages do they have that they can overturn the entire continent like this? Funnily enough, I don’t see a point in even asking these questions. Of everyone in the entire world, only Bahamut is capable of doing something like this. I can’t help but wonder if they mean to start a war after using the monsters to throw the continent into chaos. This is serious. We’ll have no choice but to dance to their tune at this rate.”

No wonder he was a renowned commander who had once defended the front lines in the war against Bahamut. He had arrived at the correct answer. He continued,

“For now, we’ll have to do something about the monsters. How can we destroy that thing? It’s magic, so is destroying the arrangement of mana all we need to do?”

“Yes. But I believe that it would be better to leave it be.”

“Hmm? Why is that?”

“There were actually five such Gates in your lands, my Lord —I’ve destroyed three of them because dangerous monsters were pouring out from them, and I left the other two intact on purpose because I judged that your knights were more than capable of dealing with the monsters that were passing through them.”

Gellonian failed to hide his surprise. Ianna continued,

“I judged that it was better to leave a few Gates open in order to escape the mastermind’s notice. The enemy will pay special attention to this land if all of the Gates here were to disappear. And if new Gates are opened here, it’s possible that the new ones might connect to habitats where even more dangerous monsters live.”

“Remarkable!”

Gellonian exclaimed in excitement as soon as the words had left Ianna’s mouth. He continued,

“Just how much more do you plan to amaze me? How can someone like you even exist? You’re ridiculously strong, and you even have such deep insight…….”

Gellonian showered Ianna with praise for some time before he pulled himself together and cleared his throat.

“I agree —it will be better to leave the remaining two Gates open. But, can I ask you to keep a watch over one of them just in case? I will take care of the other one myself.”

“I will.”

Part 10

The Gates didn’t change much the next day. The number of monsters pouring out from the Gates decreased naturally after the onslaught on the first day.

“……!”

Ianna had been hunting down monsters near the Gate, and she rushed toward it when she felt something change.

The Gate had vanished of its own accord.

[Looks like they don’t plan on maintaining the same Gates indefinitely. Then again, I suppose it’s only natural. There isn’t a point in keeping a Gate open if all of the monsters in the area it’s connected to have left. Besides, even Wiffheimer has to rest from time to time, since it probably consumes tremendous willpower to maintain spells all throughout the continent.]

“Will they be opened again?”

[It’s highly likely. People are already struggling because they haven’t been able to finish cleaning up after the monsters from the first wave of Gates, so it should be quite the spectacle if there’s a second wave too.]

They had been right in their predictions. The second wave of Gates opened up en masse two days later. Chaos struck the continent like a cataclysm.

The entire continent was groaning under the sudden waves of monsters. The number of regions that fell to ruin increased exponentially. And those ruins, filled with mountains of human corpses, became as new monster habitats.

Also, the Gates’ existence was revealed to the world. The world was large, and many people had seen monsters pouring out from them. But they couldn’t believe that any one group of people could possibly do something to the entire continent at once and wailed, believing it was an omen of the revival of the great Demon.

Those who had suffered Bahamut’s terrible power before had their suspicions and observed Bahamut’s movements carefully. But the Bahamut army was still silent, just as it had been for the last twenty years.

The people’s doubts tilted toward the Demon’s revival. The Temple of Laos was teeming was people seeking salvation from the God Laos.

The Chaipan lands had survived hell largely thanks to Ianna.

Kyaaaa……kk!

Kwoooo……kk!

It didn’t matter how strong the monsters were. Weak or strong —they were all forced to offer their lives to her.

Ianna cleaned up the monsters as she made her way quickly around the Chaipan lands. The marquis’ soldiers were accustomed to battling monsters to begin with, but they grew even more proficient still as they eked out victory upon victory against the monsters with Ianna’s help.

And the Black Wind grew more famous in the Chaipan lands by the day. There was even a rumor that stated that the Black Wind would melt into the darkness at night and quietly eat the monster carcasses away.

The Black Wind’s somewhat special-looking sword was equally rumored. More people had naturally witnessed Rise in action as Ianna continued to take action herself.

A week had passed since the first wave of Gates. They were on their third wave now.

“Die!”

Kwoooh!

The people of Marquis Chaipan’s lands had grown strong enough to stop the monsters themselves even without Ianna’s help. This feat had only been possible because the people had been taught to fight and had been greatly concerned about monsters to begin with.

Ianna only helped out when things were truly perilous as she made her rounds, and she left the rest in the people’s capable hands.

“I regret that I cannot make your deeds known. Why must you hide your identity so thoroughly? Isn’t it suffocating? Don’t you want to be revered? Don’t you want to be a hero?”

Ianna could not tell him the real reason, so she simply told him that now was not the time. She also calmly added,

“I do not wield my sword for glory. I care not about how the people judge my actions.”

Gellonian seemed deeply impressed by her response. He nodded quietly and asked no further on the matter. Then, he got to his main point.

“Would you please listen to a request of mine?”

“Of course. I am a student of the Institution, and I am here in your lands for my practical training experience.”

“A student, and training…”

Gellonian laughed at the absurdity of it all. He continued,

“The words don’t suit you at all. In any case, I believe that my people and I are fully capable of stopping the monsters in my lands now. I ask that you visit the villages outside my lands and save more people before you return to Theodore.”

Ianna accepted.

The Black Wind blew outside the Chaipan lands. And a week passed by quickly.

Meanwhile, the sun-like Rise had been etched into the people’s minds. Some people had even drawn the sword and carried their drawings around as talismans. The people rejoiced at the knowledge that someone strong and mysterious was aiding them.

Ianna had heard about the rumors from the marquis, but she did not ask him to silence them. She would put Rise to sleep and take up a normal sword again once she was back in the Theodore. And so, the rumors didn’t really matter.

Besides, she did not think that it was a bad idea to let the people see it as a symbol of hope. After all, even the smallest seeds of hope could grow into a powerful driving force for life and become as a sword to beat back crisis.

~~*~~

It was the end of May.

Ianna had finally completed her practical training experience, which she had to partake in at least once as a student of the Swordsmanship Department.

Normally, practical training comprised of working alongside skilled knights, learning how to serve the nobility, or capturing relatively strong monsters in reasonable safety.

Upperclassmen were sometimes invited to more dangerous trainings to get their names out. But students who lacked experience being in places where they could die at the blink of an eye were never pushed into it. Besides, there was not much danger inside Roanne to begin with.

Ianna’s experience had been abnormal in every sense. No one ever protected an entire territory alone in the name of practical training.

‘Amazing, simply amazing.’

Gellonian snuck a glance at Ianna, who was standing quietly in front of him. His lands had been incomparably safer than the surrounding territories thanks to her diligent efforts. She was truly remarkable.

‘I wonder why on earth this young monster is still a student in training?’

Gellonian probably would have dropped out of the Institution early if he had possessed Ianna’s strength at her age. After all, she would be acknowledged no matter where she went and would likely succeed at anything she put her mind to.

“Is it a game to her?”

he muttered as he finished writing up a certain document. He signed and stamped the bottom of the page. It was a document that officially recognized that Ianna Roberstein had successfully completed her practical training.

He would have given her a decorated certificate, stamped with the king’s seal, and an ample reward instead of this measly document if he could have things his way. But he had given up on the idea because Ianna had not wished for that.

“Your training will be extended for two weeks due to emergency, yes?”

“Correct.”

Ianna had asked him for a document stating that her training would be extended for two weeks. Her training was technically over, but she would be going around from place to place to help more people for the time being.

“I know this is hardly appropriate given the situation, but don’t you have exams coming up?”

The Institution’s final exams normally took place during the second week of June. Gellonian knew this because he had attended the Institution himself. The two weeks prior to the exams were important if one wanted to score well. He continued,

“You were the top of your class for the last two years in a row. Are you planning to give up on your grades during your last year? Won’t you regret that?”

Gellonian thought that Ianna was giving up on her grades for the greater good. It was a praiseworthy sentiment, but Gellonian found himself rather wistful.

“I studied all the materials for my classes back in April ahead of my practical training, so I’ll be all right. I have good memory, so I’ll be fine as long as I brush up on everything a day or two before the exams.”

……Amazing!

Gellonian was impressed yet again as he pulled out another sheet of paper and began writing relevant details down on it. He folded the documents into an enveloped and sealed it by pressing his seal against the wax.

Rattle.

He stood up from his seat and walked over to Ianna personally instead of beckoning her over.

“Here you are.”

Ianna accepted the envelope and stored it away inside her subspace. Gellonian was terribly frightened by the silent and dark subspace wavering next to her.

Just how many monster carcasses had she piled up inside?

He didn’t even want to imagine the answer —not after witnessing the subspace swallowing up dozens of monsters in one go. Hell wasn’t elsewhere. It was right there inside her subspace.

‘My thoughts are wandering.’

He erased them from his head as he led Ianna outside his office. The knights they met in the hallway saluted to him before bidding farewell to Ianna.

“The Marquis informed us that you patrolled the area around the castle captured many monsters all on your own, Little Ianna —that’s amazing for someone your age.”

“The world may be chaotic right now, but I hope that you’ll take it as an opportunity to polish your skills and grow into an outstanding swordswoman.”

“I’m sure you’ll even be able to become a royal knight without much difficulty if it’s you, Miss Ianna.”

“Please consider coming back here if you don’t have anywhere else to go after graduating. You’ll have a lot of good senior knights here. Hahaha!”

“Ahem!”

They were only saying this as a formality, but Gellonian grew embarrassed and cleared his throat repetitively. His knights noticed immediately and stiffened up. They saluted quickly and swiftly made themselves scarce.

“…….”

It still weighed on Gellonian’s heart that no one else knew of Ianna’s true achievements.

Moreover, Ianna had asked two favors of him. First, she had asked him to pretend he didn’t know anything if anyone asked him about the Black Wind. Specifically, she had asked him to say something like, “I don’t know. I’d like to meet them myself,” instead of “I know of the Black Wind but was asked not to disclose who it is,” and naturally feign ignorance. She wanted to make it seem like a wandering swordsman who had been roaming the world had just so happened to be in the Chaipan lands by chance before leaving after dealing with the monsters.

Second, she had asked him to claim that he had destroyed Gates himself. He had been against this, but he had caved to her request in the end.

‘I know she said she has to hide her skills, but I still find it regrettable.’

He had once asked Ianna when she planned on revealing her true skills. All she had said in reply was, “When the time comes.”

Gellonian lamented quietly to himself.

‘To think that someone so remarkable is leaving Roanne.’

Most of her relationships had probably been forged in Roanne, so wouldn’t it be better for her to stay if she didn’t particularly care about what country she was affiliated with? Roanne was a great kingdom envied by all. The standing of living was exceptionally better here than elsewhere, and that was Gellonian’s evaluation before his patriotism came into play.

‘But it’s understandable why she lost her love for the kingdom…….’

He recalled the occasional rumors that he had heard about her ever since she had been born and the scandalous rumors about her from the Institution.

Those who would hate on an innocent child. Those who were convinced that their imaginations were the truth without even confirming it beforehand. Those who pointed their fingers and scorned her for being dirty without even learning about the details of the situation first.

Gellonian defended her to everyone he knew, but those who already believed whatever they wanted to believe refused to listen. It was almost as if they were covering their ears on purpose because they simply wanted to keep insulting her.

Realistically, it was understandable. Just how much injustice had she suffered? —the rumors shared by many in a situation where the spread of information was limited was normally accepted as the truth. It was understandable that an ignorant third party might criticize her for getting into the Institution illicitly if they perceived it as the truth.

Everyone had to be honest for there to be no one in the world who suffered unjustly because of lies, but that was impossible. Not everyone in this complex world was righteous. It was easy for a small lie to snowball into the truth. It was easy for the truth to be distorted in the face of malice and selfishness.

But, naturally, the scales of lies fell from people’s eyes when they witnessed the truth. Just like how the bad rumors about Ianna had stopped completely after she had won the swordsmanship tournament and Schneider had tried to win her over by gifting her his most treasured sword.

But just how many people who had once insulted her had apologized to her sincerely after the truth had been made known? They were probably only a very, very few, if any at all.

The truth may have been made known, but things didn’t just end there.

It wouldn’t make the deep wounds she had suffered simply vanish.

‘The fools.’

But what could be done about them? Humans were foolish creatures.

Besides, only Ianna had the right to choose whether she understood and accepted them.

Roanne, a kingdom teeming with the wounded. Perhaps this wasn’t the only reason why she was leaving Roanne, but surely it had at least influenced her decision somewhat.

Gellonian hid away the bitter feelings in his heart as he saw Ianna off at the gates to his lands.

“I’ll be taking my leave now,”

Ianna bid him farewell. She continued,

“I’ve learned a lot during my stay in your lands.”

Gellonian stared at her. She seemed amazing to him anew —she, who had been so hurt by people, was about to go and rescue them.

‘I see.’

It was not right to simply regard her as a wounded girl. She had surpassed her past and her background, her sex and her age, and she was now a respectable person who deserved to be praised by all.

He walked up to her. He placed his fist over his heart and banged his armor over the left side of his chest.

“You saved so many lives.”

“…….”

“You are their hero and my benefactor. I extend to you my deepest gratitude on everyone’s behalf. I vow to aid you with everything in my power should there ever come a day when you require my help.”

Gellonian smirked. He continued,

“I’ll wait eagerly for the day you come back as your true self. When that day comes, I’ll let everyone know. That the Black Wind who came for us was none other than you, Little Ianna.”

“Please don’t.”

Ianna was embarrassed as she left the Chaipan lands.

It had been a week since the third wave of Gates, but a fourth wave never came. But the continent was entering a dark age even still.

The world was in chaos. Some lands were beyond recovery, and entire villages had become monster habitats…….

Ianna visited such places and quickly dealt with any dangerous monsters during the two weeks after she had left the Chaipan lands. Meanwhile, the Black Wind had become a legend all throughout the continent.

‘Oh…….’

Her head hurt every time she recalled the exaggerated rumors about her.

‘It’s starting to get embarrassing now that things have blown up like this.’

It had been Ianna’s decision to exterminate more monsters during these past two weeks, but Arhad had been the one to initially propose it. That rumors about the Black Wind had spread throughout the continent like wildfire had also been Arhad’s doing.

Ianna had been exterminating monsters near the Chaipan lands when Arhad had unhappily said to her,

[You’ve been quite famous as of late, Miss Black Wind. What are you planning to do if Bahamut starts targeting you?]

“The wind will blow away and vanish soon.”

[I see that you still don’t fully understand just how rabidly obsessed the Demon is with you. Don’t you know that Isabella Bahamut has been searching for skilled swordsmen with fire in her eyes?]

“Hmmm.”

[So, I had an idea.]

“That being?”

[We’ll make rumors about the Black Wind exterminating monsters spread all over the continent and make it difficult to pinpoint your exact location. That way, Isabella won’t be able to look for the Black Wind even if she wanted to. I’ll make sure the Chaipan lands are buried beneath the rumors too, so she won’t even think of looking there.]

“Even when I won’t actually be exterminating any monsters?”

[We’ll have to mix in a bit of truth with the rumors, of course. Rumors without any truth are just nonsense, after all. Which means that you’ll have to run all over the continent for another two weeks, but I can just supply you with teleportation scrolls to make that possible. I’ll use my informants to spread the rumors while you’re at it.]

Ianna had been reluctant.

“Must I?”

[That’s the best way to keep Bahamut from focusing on any one specific person. I heard that you even used Rise.]

“I didn’t create the rumors on purpose.”

[I know, but you still have to clean up after your mistakes.]

Ianna ultimately caved after bickering with Arhad for a bit. He was simply too skilled a speaker.

Ianna did not think it was insignificant. Arhad normally didn’t tell her to do anything she didn’t want to do, but he was being strangely enthusiastic, and he had been oddly zealous about persuading her too —though she was sure he had good reason for it. She also doubted just how grandiose any rumors could possibly get.

Rumors, it turned out, could be terrifying.

A small truth grew wings and took flight, and it cast a colossal shadow over the ground. And the people believed that the truth was as large as its shadow. It was all because of the unusual circumstances.

Any lands not on the frontier had poor defenses against monsters to begin with, so they had taken a lot of damage. After all, there were countless people who had never seen a single monster before in their life.

So many people had despaired. They searched more desperately for hope as they fell deeper into despair, and their hope became as the Black Wind, who breezed past and cut down entire monsters whole with an awesome sword.

And the people took the bait.

‘Ugh.’

The rumors weren’t bad, but they were still burdensome.

Ianna worked harder to subjugate the monsters whenever she grew embarrassed. And the rumors gained more credibility the harder she worked.

Rumors about the Black Wind had spread uncontrollably by the time Ianna finally returned to Theodore after her two weeks of slaughter. Not only had Ianna been working hard, but Arhad had also sent over a powerful gale to strengthen the rumors too.

And then, Ianna had realized something.

‘How am I supposed to use Rise in the future?’

It was truly a trivial problem.

~~*~~

Theodore was a mess.

The imposing and sturdy buildings were destroyed, like they had been bombed, and the trees lining the streets were broken and neglected. There was black smoke climbing up to the sky —was there a fire somewhere? The murky sky swallowed up the black smoke and covered the sun.

The stench of smoke, the stench of blood, the stench of corpses.

The sounds of steel clashing against steel, the sounds of malice-filled shouting, the sounds of screaming and death throes.

It was cacophonous. The peaceful Theodore was no more.

Ianna looked around the capital and thought,

‘To think that I’d see monsters wandering the streets of Theodore so soon. It only happened in the middle of the war in the past…….’

She had heard that, while Theodore had suffered many casualties on the first day, things were still functioning because Roanne’s military was condensed inside her capital. But that only meant that Theodore was still fine ‘somehow’ —it didn’t actually mean that things were truly all right, especially not at a time like this when the entire world had been plunged into hell.

“Grr?”

Ianna ran into a wolf monster as she walked ahead. It glared at her when she didn’t run, and it raised its head once it had gauged her strength.

“Howlll……yelp!”

Ianna kicked it away as it tried to howl for its brethren. And it died to Ianna’s sword before it could get up again.

Ianna went toward the street where the Paella Company was located first. The street, once swarming with people, was desolate. Only soldiers and warriors roamed around, accompanied by the sound of clashing steel. She studied the street carefully as she walked.

“Meow!”

And the small white animal that had been observing the street entrance from afar spotted her immediately. Ianna saw her too. She saw a white ball of fur jump down from a one-story building. The ball of fur quickly ran over to her.

Ianna stopped and waited for the ball of fur to reach her. She clung to Ianna’s legs and cried vehemently as soon as she did.

“Meow! Meow! Mew!”

It was Nissi. Nissi cried as she circled around Ianna’s legs. It was almost like the cat was sorrowfully whining, “Where did you go after leaving me behind? What took you so long to come back?” A bunch of white fur was left on Ianna’s black pants because Nissi was rubbing her head against Ianna’s legs so fiercely.

Ianna stood awkwardly as she looked down incredulously at the crying cat.

‘What’s with you?’

It was ridiculous that the stalker cat, who had only observed her from afar day after day and had only allowed Ianna to pet her just once just as Ianna had been leaving, was acting like this.

‘I guess she really has grown attached to me.’

An awkward look crossed Ianna’s face as she placed her hands under Nissi’s front legs and picked the cat up. She looked into Nissi’s face as the cat’s hind legs and tail dangled in the air. There were tears filling Nissi’s round eyes.

‘Do cats cry too?’

She didn’t know if Nissi was crying out of sorrow or if it was simply a biological phenomenon, but the cat looked so pitiful and cute. Ianna relaxed and brought Nissi in for a hug.

“Have you been well?”

Her words were brusque, but the kindness in Ianna’s voice tickled the cat’s twitching ears.

“……!”

Nissi’s tail went straight and all her fur bristled up as she struggled out of Ianna’s arms. It was only after she had taken some distance from Ianna that the cat quietly began observing her again.

The cat was as fickle and unfathomable as ever. Actually, were all cats like this?

‘In any event, I’m glad she’s safe.’

Ianna quickened her pace and swiftly made her way over to the Paella Company building. There were two large men yawning by the entrance as they guarded it.

Ianna had never met these men before, but they didn’t seem unfamiliar to her either. She could see sharp canines in their mouths as they yawned, and an air of danger radiated from their entire beings, as if they were savage beasts, that made their opponents want to cower.

“Yawn. Huh?”

One of the yawning men’s eyes opened wide as they saw Ianna walking up to the building.

“Hey! Lass! Yer the scarily strong Lil’ Ianna!”

“Do you know me?”

“Yeah, course I do. I saw ya back at Passio,”

the man replied as his tail wagged fiercely. It was only then that Ianna realized why they felt so familiar.

‘They must be beastmen.’

The beastmen told her that, while the rest of the continent had been in an uproar as the Gates opened and closed, things had actually been pretty quiet in the four corners. The monsters had caused mayhem by leaving the Lotso Mountains and the four corners in droves, so it was only natural that the four corners had been quiet.

Which was why Absilot had gathered everyone who had been chilling in the Girohai Desert and liked to battle and sent them all over to Theodore. They had left Girohai and come to Roanne without a single complaint. They had come to protect the Paella Company and to fight the powerful monsters that had invaded the capital.

“Hurry inside!”

The man opened the door while sighing in relief as if he had finally found salvation. He was acting rather strange. He continued,

“There’s a certain hysterical woman inside who’s been lookin’ for ya all this time, so please go and deal with her.”

“Heeeeeey!”

Someone ran out of the doors like the wind and sent their fist flying no sooner than the words had left the man’s mouth. Ianna avoided the fist by a paper-thin margin and used her opponent’s speed against them as she returned a fist of her own.

Pooow!

Craaaash!

Ianna’s opponent was sent flying back and tumbled into the tables and chairs inside before finally slamming into the wall when Ianna counterattacked.

“Ouch!”

“What?! Is it an enemy?!”

Those who had been resting on the first floor or polishing their weapons as they prepared to head out jumped up and looked to the door. A warm welcome filled their eyes as soon as they saw Ianna standing there.

“Wait, that’s……!”

“Yer finally here!”

Ianna, who had returned a punch in the heat of the moment, looked between her fist and her opponent collapsed and twitching against the wall. She looked around at the ruckus to find that the building was teeming with people whom she deemed were beastmen.

“Mm.”

The person whom Ianna had sent flying spat out bloody phlegm as she stood back up. She continued,

“Yer just as strong as ever. Gosh.”

She shook out her mane-like hair and straightened herself out. It was Konya Lion, the lion beastwoman. She massaged her aching chin as she walked up to Ianna. She continued,

“It’s been a while! Dang, is it ‘cause yer still a growing human? It feels like ya matured a lot even though it’s only been a year, yeah?”

“You were here too.”

Konya smirked as she crossed her fingers behind her head.

“Well, I like fightin’ and all!”

The children climbed noisily down the stairs from the second floor when they heard that Ianna was here.”

“Miss!”

“It’s Miss Ianna!”

Finn and Elly were beaming as they ran up to her. Ianna hugged the tiny children hugging her back. She was glad they were all safe and sound.

“Hehe.”

Elly’s cheeks were rosy as she wriggled inside Ianna’s arms and raised her head.

“Have you seen Nissi by any chance, Miss?”

“I saw her just before I got here.”

Nissi prowled inside through the doors just then. The cat scowled back, as if she was asking, “What’s it to you?” when Elly threw her a sidelong scowl.

“She hasn’t even been eating properly these last two weeks because she was waiting for you, you know? I told her that you’d probably be back at the end of May or the beginning of June because that’s when I thought you were coming back.”

“She was waiting for me? For two whole weeks?”

Elly was saying something strange. How did the cat understand human speech well enough to wait two weeks for her? Ianna shot a look at Konya.

“Konya, is Nissi by any chance a…….”

“Nope.”

Konya immediate guessed what Ianna had been about to ask and promptly waved her hands. She continued,

“I took a closer look too, ‘cause she was acting all weird and all, but she’s just a wee lil’ kitty. One hundred percent animal.”

“……Is that so?”

Nissi had walked up to them at some point. Elly picked her up, and all Nissi did was quietly wag her tail —she did not rebel like she had done before.

“You’ve tamed her.”

“She’s become a lot gentler after almost being eaten by monsters a few times. She listens to me now too. And she’ll always stay on a rooftop nearby even if she goes off on her own.”

Elly smirked and continued,

“Anyway, Miss? I said something weird just earlier, right? The truth is, Nissi’s very intelligent and can understand what people are saying.”

“She can?”

Ianna looked to Nissi in shock, surprised by the sudden revelation, but all Nissi did was twitch her ears as if it was only natural.

“Yeah. You know that she likes you a lot, right? She only runs away because she’s embarrassed. It’d be nice if you talked to her more often. Wanna give it a try?”

Elly pushed the cat out toward Ianna. Nissi waved her tail. Was it only Ianna’s delusion that Nissi looked expectant?

‘Animals can understand human speech?’

Ianna was not very knowledgeable about animals. She only knew that they were the origins of all monsters and that they were creatures that people could commune with but not speak with. But the gods, the Demon, magic, and monsters existed in this world, so it wasn’t all that strange for a cat to be able to understand human speech.

Ianna recalled how she had bid the cat farewell before leaving for the Chaipan lands. Nissi had been acting strange back then too. Had the cat understood what she was saying? Ianna thought for a moment, unsure of what she was supposed to say to the cat, before she said,

“Hello?”

“Meow!”

Nissi replied in apparent satisfaction. Probably.

“Little Ianna, you’re here!”

Mursi welcomed her belatedly as he climbed down the stairs —he had been busy organizing documents earlier. He continued,

“Everyone was worried about you, but I knew that you’d be safe. I heard that things were a mess in the Chaipan lands too —you must have been through a lot.”

Ianna sat down at one of the tables and began discussing with Konya and Mursi.

“Things were truly hectic on the first day.”

Mursi sighed.

“I regretted the fact that I didn’t send Finn away to live with Absilot so much I thought it’d drive me crazy when I heard the monsters pounding on the company building to break inside. But we had Benfomè here with us. It was thanks to him that we were able to go and rescue the children at the orphanage after we caught our breath. But Little Herrace and Elly were already holding the monsters back by the time we did.”

“Mr. Herrace is amazing!”

shouted Elly, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation while playing with Finn and Nissi. She continued,

“He’s definitely going to be an awesome knight one day. I guarantee it!”

“What did Herrace do?”

“Little Herrace was stopping all the monsters by himself with some magical support from Elly. The monsters swarmed the orphanage because they felt the children’s presences inside, but he fought at the entrance and didn’t let a single one get past him. To be honest, I never realized he was so strong. I almost didn’t recognize him because he was cutting the monsters down so demonically, and I had to rub my eyes to make sure that he was actually the same Little Herrace that I knew.”

It looked like their trip to the West had borne fruit.

Back in the Lotso Mountains, Ianna had witnessed Herrace killing people like crazy, even though he hadn’t been able to kill before, in his desire to rescue her. He was someone who was ordinarily extremely kind but could become as cruel as he needed to when he was protecting his own. Ianna decided to ask him for his side of the story when she returned to the Institution.

“And Elly was great at magic too,”

Mursi said as he stroked her on the head. He continued,

“I’m sure she’ll become a skilled mage one day. She’ll need to find herself a good teacher.”

“Hehe.”

Elly beamed, happy for Mursi’s compliment.

“I’ve taken the chance to officially sponsor the orphanage children until they come of age.”

“You’re a good person.”

“What use is money if not for things like this? Also, a lot of beastmen dropped by little while ago, including Little Konya.”

The beastmen had accomplished a great number of things in the capital. They had lived in one of the four corners, where powerful monsters resided, since the day they were born, and they had great fun beating up the monsters in Theodore too —and the monsters prioritized attacking them over humans because beastmen were apparently more appetizing. They had given the humans a chance to prepare a counterattack. Which were why the beastmen staying with the Paella Company were immensely popular. They were working as high-ranked mercenaries and were raking in money.

Rumors about the Black Wind also cropped up naturally in the conversation as they discussed the monsters. Mursi praised the Black Wind, saying that they must surely be someone amazing if they truly existed, while Konya mumbled,

“I’m real curious about who it is. I wanna have a go with them.”

Ianna simply kept quiet.

Once the conversation had wrapped up, Konya stretched and shouted,

“Argh, I wanna eat some puratai!”

“Puratai?”

“Huh? They’re a type of monster that lives in the Girohai Desert, and they’re also called desert pigs. They look a lot like boars. And they’re amazin’ when sliced up and roasted. But they all went away when the Gates opened up —I guess they all passed through to somewhere else.”

Konya sighed deeply. She continued,

“We’re carnivores, ya know? The monsters around these parts are usually insect-types or reptile-types, but they both taste awful. So we’ve just been nibblin’ on human food this whole time. It’s good enough, but sometimes I just wanna dig into something a bit more raw and drizzlin’ with gravy and just devour it whole.”

Konya licked her chops. Ianna contemplated for a moment before she turned back to Konya and nodded toward the door.

“Let’s go outside.”

“We gonna fight?”

Ianna led the confused Konya outside to the front yard. The other beastmen who had been standing by inside followed them out, curious to see if they were really going to fight.

Ianna opened her subspace and reached in. She was holding a gigantic horn when she pulled back out. It was followed by a colossal pig.

“This is a puratai, right?”

“Gaaasp! Yeah! Where the heck did ya find one?”

“Just along my way.”

There were sparkles in Konya’s eyes. Ianna dug out ten or so more puratais from the several dozen types of monsters she had piled up inside her subspace.

“Wooow!”

Joyous cheers were breaking out around her.

“You givin’ this to us for eatin’? Yeah?”

“Why else would I be giving this to you?”

“Yer such a good human!”

Konya and the other beastmen noisily gathered some firewood and started a fire. They cut up the puratai and roasted it in but an instant. And they immediately began chomping into the meat like animals. They were going completely wild. One beastmen with greasy lips shouted,

“You eat with us too, lass!”

“You guys just enjoy yourselves.”

Ianna put the delighted mercenaries behind her and went back inside the building to say goodbye before she came back out. It was time for her to return to the Institution now that she had confirmed that the company and the orphanage children were both safe and sound.

Loud noises and a foul stench swept over her as soon as she had arrived.

She sighed to herself at the sight of the Institution spread out before her. The sight of intellectual students walking around campus with heavy books was nowhere to be seen.

“How much longer do we have to stay here?”

“My son’s with the military in the eastern district, but it’ll apparently still be a while before the situation settles down.”

“I hope things blow over soon.”

The people were clearly exhausted. But they believed in the kingdom’s potential and repeated their hopes that the days would pass quickly and peace would return once more.

They were rather relaxed. It was all thanks to the Institution’s barrier, which had prevented the monsters from intruding for over a month. Their daily lives were continuing as normal within the barrier, which was why they were able to lean toward hope even as they toed the boundary between hope and despair.

‘But the monster invasion is only the beginning.’

Most average civilians were unable to grasp the situation and were simply waiting for everything to be over. But Ianna predicted a long future of darkness ahead of them.

‘The monster invasion is on a completely different scale from the mayhem the Black Fox caused in Theodore before.’

Ianna had realized this as she travelled across the continent. The Gates opened all over the world that unleashed the monsters from the Lotso Mountains was simply preparation for Bahamut before they began stretching their once-huddled body.

‘It’s war.’

Bahamut would make their move once the world had regained its equilibrium after the monsters and people had finally managed to reclaim their everyday lives.

‘There’ll be chaos everywhere. And Dean Heinrich will have to remove the barrier when Bahamut orders him to.’

The Institution’s barrier was Zicara Valgenta’s spell, but it would vanish once its core was removed. And the core was passed down between successive deans. This was why the Institution’s deans were appointed only after a rigorous selection process.

It was the historic cradle that had nurtured prominent individuals for centuries. A place where refugees could rest with an easy mind. What would happen if the Institution was destroyed?

The records stated that Bahamut didn’t slaughter all civilians during war, but that did not mean that they should take it easy. After all, there was a reason why Bahamut had allowed Heinrich to go to the Institution at the latter’s request.

Ianna could feel the winds of war.

Everyone would be thrust into difficulty when it started. Leaders would have to guide the people and seek out ways to withstand those tumultuous times.

‘I…….’

Ianna was lost in thought as she cut through the crowds and made her way to Heinrich’s magic tower. There was especially a lot of people near the magic tower. It was because people thought they would be safer if they were closer in proximity to Heinrich. But it was quiet inside the tower, however, because it wasn’t open to the general public.

Ianna contemplated about Arhad’s situation.

Arhad had been locked up inside the tower for the past month once the situation had unfolded. He hadn’t even been able to come out to greet Ianna when she had returned to Theodore. He had to stay close to Heinrich because he risked being found by a possible fragment beneficiary from Bahamut if he wandered the capital streets.

‘He must be suffocating.’

She felt her bloodlust rise against the Bahamut imperial family, who was effectively imprisoning him. Had it been in her power, had she been able to declare for certain that she was stronger than them, then she would have immediately infiltrated the Bahamut imperial palace and murdered the whole lot of them so she could finally gift Arhad his freedom.

Part 11

“Ianna.”

Ianna looked up because someone had called her name as soon as she stepped inside the tower. Arhad was coming down the stairs.

She had contacted Arhad as soon as she had returned to Theodore. He had left his room as soon as she did and had been looking down into the first floor ever since. Even though Ianna had told him that she would be visiting the Paella Company building first.

“Welcome back.”

He pulled her into his arms. He continued,

“You’ve worked hard.”

Ianna felt her face flush red.

She felt like she had finally come ‘home.’ Not her home in the physical sense, but in the psychological sense.

A place that would never change no matter what she did. A place that was always there, as if it was only natural, whenever she looked back. A place they gave her peaceful rest when she returned to it exhausted. A place where no other may intrude.

It was there, in Arhad’s arms, where Ianna melted in her exhaustion. The fatigue she had been carrying around was flushed out like water as she was lured by a deep and relaxing rest. She needed neither a soft and plushy sofa of geese down nor a warm and yummy soup. All she needed was Arhad. Ianna slowly brought her hands up to his back.

“……Yes.”

It was only then that she finally folded her aching wings. Ianna was the object of terror to monsters and the symbol of hope to the people, but when she was with Arhad, she was simply another tired, ordinary human. Only Arhad could ever see her like this. Ianna found herself rather strange for being this way. Then again, it was only natural for her to be like this, considering everything he did for her.

He supported her and lifted her up without reserve. His yearning and love for her was overflowing.

Ianna trusted Arhad as much as she trusted herself. She did not mind showing him her weaknesses. She could no longer even imagine a life without him. He was not only her home but also her king —an absolute figure in both her life and her heart.

Still in Arhad’s arms, Ianna mumbled,

“I’ll work even harder going forward.”

So I hope you’ll see me as someone like that too.

Ianna wanted to be Arhad’s equal. She did not want to be on the receiving end all the time. Arhad was her king, and Ianna was his knight. If Arhad pushed her forward from behind, then she would pull him forward from in front. She wanted to be someone who could assist him.

She wanted to be the forest in which he could freely speak his innermost thoughts, the tree he could lean against when he was struggling, the sword that would act on his behalf when his hands were bloodied and tired from slaying his countless enemies, and the guide who would take his hand when he lost his way.

Which was why she had to mature more and grow ever stronger. Considering what was to come, she had to grow strong enough to fell his enemies, like the Bahamut imperial family, in a single blow.

She had been growing curious about something as of late. It had to do with how strong she was.

“Come on in.”

Arhad led her into his room by the hand. There was a warm meal on the table next to some sweet cookies and tea that had been set aside for dessert. A temperature maintaining spell had been cast over it so it wouldn’t cool.

Ianna, who had only been chewing on hard jerky during her rigorous schedule, grew hungry as soon as she saw the table.

“Let’s talk while eating.”

Ianna ate as she listened to his updates on the Institution.

Students from the School of Martial Arts and the School of Magic, the two combat-oriented schools, were exterminating relatively weaker monsters under the military’s or their professors’ guidance. The monster invasion had been the start of despair, but it was also an excellent chance for the students to grow quickly accustomed to real battle since they had always been preparing for battle-oriented careers to begin with. And so, each department was subjugating monsters for class or for practical training experience.

This was another reason why Arhad had no choice but to confine himself in the tower. He had supposedly been sent to a region far away. Thus, he could not allow anyone to see him here.

“Are the students helpful in subjugating the monsters?”

The Institution’s practical training experiences had been conducted on the battlefields until twenty years ago while Roanne had still been at war with Bahamut. But things had changed to giving students only a light taste of real battle while subjugating monsters or serving nobles at their estates once the war had stopped, so the current students did not have any experience fighting on battlefields where lives were lost in but an instant.

“Helpful enough, I suppose? They might lack experience, but they’re all still geniuses in their own right.”

Arhad was right. It was easy to gain experience so long as you had talent. Though anyone could be traumatized when they took their first life.

Arhad told Ianna all sorts of things as he contentedly watched over her as she ate. He got to his main topic only after she had finished her meal and was wiping her lips with a napkin.

“War will break out soon.”

Ianna had expected it, but it took on more weight when Arhad asserted it as such.

“I suppose there’s no choice. When will it begin?”

“Eiji and Dorcianni say that Payne hasn’t decided on a date quite just yet. But the Black Fox has gathered enough war supplies, and they’ve also finished building camps and supply routes. They also say that there are Bahamut knight orders standing by at some of the Black Fox’s bases.”

Ianna recalled how the Bahamut army had swept through the Roanne army in her past life. They had been so powerful that it had almost been like they were simply sweeping humans aside like they were sweeping leaves with a rake.

But what about now?

“Are they strong?”

“They’re not as strong as the knight orders under the imperial family’s direct command, but Bahamut has taken great pains to nurture them these past twenty years, so they’ll at least be stronger than Roanne’s royal knights.”

“I see.”

It was obvious that Roanne would find herself being pushed back. Ianna continued,

“War. Are we still planning to leave six months from now?”

“Yes.”

“What will we do if war breaks out before then?”

“I thought about it while you were traveling all over the world, and I came up with two options. I want you to choose which one we take. Hear me out.”

Ianna corrected her posture as she lent her ear to Arhad’s words. Arhad continued,

“First, we can modify our plans and leave for the East this month before the war begins instead of staying in Roanne. I’ve already finished preparing for everything, as we’re good to leave as soon as you give the word. Bahamut intends to destroy Roanne first, so what we gain out of choosing this option is that we can quietly grow stronger while Bahamut and Roanne duke it out amongst themselves and weaken each other. And then we can establish our kingdom once we’re ready.”

“I see. And the second?”

“We stay in Roanne and help fight off Bahamut.”

Bahamut wouldn’t grow much weaker under the first option because Roanne would be pushed back too easily. Under the second, however, Roanne could deal a large blow against Bahamut because Arhad’s forces would be helping her.

Bahamut would then grow more bloodthirsty for Roanne because she would think that Arhad’s powers were a part of Roanne’s military and not a separate third party, and Bahamut also wouldn’t pay much attention to the East. Arhad would take that chance and prepare to establish their kingdom.

“I don’t know exactly what kind of county it is that you want to build, but it’s not a bad idea to paint a good image of ourselves in preparation for the future. But, as I’m sure you’re already aware, this option would put us in danger as well.”

It was a difficult problem, but the decision came to her rather easily.

“I’ll go with the second option.”

“Truly? Can I ask why?”

Though I have my guesses,

Arhad mumbled to himself. After all, Ianna would not be able to abandon the people she had grown close to.

“There’s something I’d like to ask before I tell you.”

Arhad had thought that she would answer readily, and he was intrigued when she posed him back a question instead.

“That being?”

“Arhad, are we capable of taking on the entire Bahamut imperial family?”

“Hmm?”

“I felt it as I was going around exterminating monsters. I am very strong.”

Ianna was just about as strong as she had been when she had died at Arhad’s hands in the past. Arhad had been thirty-nine, and it had been over ten years after he had successfully eliminated the Bahamut imperial family. Ianna continued,

“Exactly how strong are you and I?”

Ianna was genuinely curious.

A year ago, she had judged that she was slightly weaker than Isabella. But she had since obtained Roberstein’s divine power and her swordplay had progressed brilliantly, so she did not know if her assessment still held true.

“There’s little point in comparing ourselves against the Bahamut Empire as a whole. But are we truly strong enough to take on the imperial family?”

“……Who can say?”

Arhad’s reply was belated. He appeared confused as well. His concerns showed on his face.

He had eliminated the entire imperial line in the past. But that was only because he had set traps and devised schemes to destroy them one by one.

And he, too, had been wounded in the process. And neither could he ignore the forces he had lost —forces that he had been nurturing ever since he had been young. He had made up for it by absorbing Bahamut’s forces later, but it had still hurt quite a bit at the time.

Taylon Bahamut, in particular, could be called the ultimate culmination of the madness created by the Bahamut imperial family. Taylon was so amazingly talented and insanely crazy that Arhad could not help but wonder if the former had been born specifically in preparation for Arhad’s eventual birth. Most of Arhad’s injuries had been the result of fighting Taylon.

And so many things had changed now. Arhad tried to compare himself to the Bahamut imperial family.

‘The bastards are remarkable. I would have never considered standing against them around this time in the past. But right now, I’m either about as strong as I was when I killed them five years later or even stronger.’

Arhad had been faithful to the present ever since Ianna had scored her first draw against him. And he, too, had grown dazzlingly stronger alongside her. He could not quite measure exactly how strong he was now, but he was incomparably stronger now than he had been at this time in the past.

He reflected a little —was he allowing himself to get caught up, even now in the present, in the fact that the Bahamut imperial family was powerful and had been the only people capable of endangering him in the past? The wall of his stubborn thoughts that told him it was still too early crumbled before Ianna’s words.

And a new path appeared behind the toppled wall. But the future it led to was completely unknown to him.

“I don’t know. I’ve never actually faced them either. But I’d rather avoid it if at all possible.”

That was all Arhad could say.

He had no way of knowing just how powerful the Bahamut bastards had grown. It was entirely possible that the imperial family had been stronger than him in the past when he had killed them and that he had only defeated them because they had been caught off guard and other such variables.

Perhaps it would be easier to determine who was stronger if they faced the bastards directly, but Arhad did not wish for that. After all, he could still reach his goal just fine by taking the safer route and putting in the extra time.

Most importantly, Arhad did not want to put Ianna in danger. The bastards would surely go insane the very moment they laid their eyes on her.

“Then…”

Ianna began saying as she saw just how uneasy Arhad was. She continued,

“What do you plan on doing if the imperial family shows up while we’re helping Roanne fight off Bahamut?”

‘Is this why she was asking?’

“I was planning to pull out and avoid them. Until just now, that is. But I can’t bring myself to decide for certain because I don’t know how much stronger than us the Bahamut imperial family is. Do you want to beat the imperial family up front? Even at the cost of exposing your identity?”

“Not quite. It’s foolish and downright stupid to expose myself recklessly when I don’t even have a proper grasp on how powerful they are. But it’s true that I don’t want to avoid them just because of the danger.”

Ianna was honest. She continued,

“I don’t wish to turn tail and flee just because my enemy is strong.”

She was someone who had once hurled herself against the giant wall called Arhad like a moth to flame.

“I’ve been thinking —why not keep acting while hiding my identity like I have been and fighting the imperial family instead of withdrawing if they decide to show up? To be honest, I thought that I was a little weaker than Princess Isabella when I fought her last year. But things are different now. I might even win?”

“…….”

“It’s for the best that they never show up in Roanne, but I’d like to try fighting them if they do. And if I think I can keep it up, then it wouldn’t be terrible to expose myself just a little instead of staying in hiding in such a suffocating manner, no?”

“I suppose.”

“And I’d have an escape route prepared in case they’re too strong for me, of course. That should be possible for you, yes?”

“It is.”

“……You seem rather unwilling. Is it too risky? I don’t mind withdrawing like we were originally planning to if you’re against it.”

Arhad stared at the obvious disappointment in Ianna’s face.

Ianna didn’t know. She didn’t know just how terribly obsessed Roygen was with Roberstein. Just how badly the Demon’s fragments, filled with Roygen’s life, craved for her.

Arhad was the Demon, and he was not the Demon.

Arhad was the Demon, but he loved Ianna as Arhad.

He was the actual soul, so he could suppress the vicious obsession with his love. But the imperial family was another story. There was no telling how they would treat Ianna.

They would find their brains paralyzed by the burning greed and affection they felt for the first time in their lives. And that greed would put Ianna in danger. Or, it might even make them fall in love with her.

Arhad hated that. He hated for anyone other than himself to feel any sort of dense emotion for Ianna —be it malice or goodwill. But he would do it if that was what Ianna wished for. Besides, Ianna’s proposal was a rather sensible one once he took his own emotions out of the picture.

“It’s risky. But I also think it should be fine to do as you suggest.”

“Then…?”

“But let me ask you something before I decide. Why do you insist on staying in Roanne to fight against Bahamut? You don’t need to be here if all you want is to fight the imperial family. We could always leave Roanne for now and strike at the empire from behind while Bahamut is busy with Roanne. Have you grown attached to Roanne?”

Ianna hesitated before she gingerly replied,

“Not Roanne, per se……. I have many reasons why —must I explain them all?”

“This is an important matter, so yes.”

“Hmmm……. For starters, even if we may be weaker than the imperial family, the fact is that you and I are stronger than any other. It’ll be possible to deal Bahamut a sizeable blow if we act while hiding our identities inside Roanne. You yourself admitted that this is something we can gain if we choose the second option.”

“That I did. And?”

“On a personal level, I’d like to settle my matters cleanly. I only have a few months left. I’d like to graduate from the Institution, and I’d like to complete my contract with House Roberstein without any further trouble. I’d need to stay right here in Theodore for that, which means that it’s only natural that I stand against Bahamut too.”

“Pft.”

There was a laugh mixed into Arhad’s sigh.

Truly, the woman was stubborn. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say she was utterly inflexible. To think that she was still considering such trivial details even when the situation was as dire as it was now.

‘But it’s not a bad thing.’

He liked how Ianna always kept her promises no matter what. She was trustworthy. She was someone who instilled confidence. That in and of itself was so valuable that its worth could not be measured.

“And like you said, though it’s not Roanne I’ve grown attached to, I have grown somewhat attached to the people I’ve been spending time with during my life here. They will suffer if we leave without a word, and they might even die. Thinking about that doesn’t exactly put me in the best mood. And…….”

“I expected as much. All right. Is there more?”

“I have two more reasons. Though I’m a bit embarrassed to say them aloud.”

“Two?”

Ianna dithered, but she ultimately said,

“I believe that a leader’s each and every word and action is important when they are leading a group. If the leader fights, then so too will the people beneath them. If the leader flees, then so too will the group. And if the leader is strong only before the weak and weak before the strong, then the rest of the group will see that and follow their example.”

Ianna believed that it was necessary, at least to some extent, to beat back the providence of the law of the jungle. She continued,

“We haven’t established our county yet, but, as people who are trying to establish a country, I don’t believe it’s right to flee just because things might get dangerous. Nor do I believe it’s right to simply slip away when innocent people will be suffering because of the war. Doing that will surely influence our people in some manner. I’m sure it’ll affect Camastros too, to being with.”

Arhad felt himself growing a little inspired by her words. Her reasons were understandable.

“I see. And what’s your last reason?”

“I would like to eliminate the Bahamut imperial family as quickly as possible.”

Ianna’s cheeks flushed slightly red even though she was talking about murder.

“Why?”

Arhad was a bit taken aback. Ianna was not the type to be hasty. He continued,

“Because it’s suffocating to be in hiding all the time?”

“No. I can bear with that, but you’re denied your freedom. You’ve had to live in hiding because of Bahamut since the day you were born.”

Arhad had practically been confined to Heinrich’s tower ever since he had been born here. He was a bomb-like existence who had contained the terrifying Demon inside him since the day he was born, and he had lived by being bound to both Bahamut and the Demon so he could become the demon to eliminate the imperial family. This was true even now after he had nurtured his vast influence, taken hold of incredible wealth, and expanded his area of action.

Ianna looked to him and quietly continued,

“I want for you to be free even just one day sooner. I wish for you to be able to live as a normal person who lives his own life. You told me before. That you wanted to live in accordance to your own will.”

Her words touched his cold heart and melted it.

Arhad pressed his lips together.

Who else in this entire world would wish so much for him, think so much on his behalf?

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he had the whole world in his grasp, so who else would treat him equally like any other person or pay such sincere attention to how he lived his life?

It was only Ianna.

“…….”

Arhad covered his eyes with a hand. Ianna was too lovely and too endearing.

“Though establishing a kingdom will also constrain you in one way, I suppose.”

Ianna smirked, finding her own words comical, without ever realizing what Arhad was thinking. Arhad brought his hand back down. He could see the flush on her cheeks that had been born of her bashfulness.

“That’s not a constraint. It’s something I myself want.”

He reached out slowly and grabbed Ianna’s hand as she stood opposite of him. Ianna followed him obediently, and Arhad slowly pulled her in. He continued,

“You are the only one who can set me free.”

He toyed with her hand. Her hard palm and fingers were so charming and so endearing. He wanted her hands to grab hold of him forever.

“And you are the only one who can fetter me.”

He pressed his lips deeply against the back of her hand. With everything in his heart that held her dear.

Ianna blushed furiously just then.

Arhad hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary, nor was it strange for him to kiss her on the back of her hand, but his words and his kiss were ever so heated. The heat was ticklish and exhilarating.

Arhad took his lips a little away from her hand, and he stared directly at her as he whispered,

“So let’s do everything your way.”

Was it just her imagination? It was so scorching it was almost strange.

Ianna swung her dorm room door open wide. She saw Priscilla sprawled out listlessly on her bed. Priscilla looked up, wondering who it was, and her eyes grew round as she spotted the welcome face.

“It’s been a while, Priscilla.”

Priscilla jumped up as Ianna greeted her.

“Little Ianaaaa! Ahh, you…!”

Priscilla ran up to Ianna and hugged her. Normally, Ianna would have pried her off immediately, but she let it slide just this one time.

“Have you been well?”

“No, I was so scared! I was nearly eaten by monsters while I was walking down the street! What on earth is going on? Is the world really about to end? We haven’t been able to take classes or go outside for the past month……. I was slowly dying in this dull room alone because my beautiful Little Ianna wasn’t here! But I’m so relieved and happy now that you are. Please protect me, my lady knight!”

Ianna listened to Priscilla ramble in her excitement before she gently pulled the older girl off.

“Of course I’ll protect you if you’re with me, Priscilla.”

“Kyaah, you’re so cool!”

“But were you really in the room this entire time?”

“No. I made a huge mistake.”

The elated Priscilla suddenly withered up like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her. She continued,

“I was actually locking myself up in here because I was thinking about that, and not because of the monsters. What do I do, Little Ianna?”

Priscilla was melancholy. Ianna furrowed her brows.

“What kind of mistake?”

“I kissed Prince Saiwè before I could stop myself.”

Ianna’s thoughts stopped in their tracks. Priscilla started sniffling when Ianna failed to respond out of bewilderment. She continued,

“This is lèse-majesté, right? I mean, it’s still sexual harassment even if he wasn’t a prince. I’ve been regretting my actions this entire time. I’ve been self-reflecting, but I’ve had to confine myself here because I think I’ll still jump on Prince Saiwè like some kind of animal as soon as I see his face again.”

“Why……?”

“Because I like Prince Saiwè?”

Priscilla said gloomily before Ianna could finish asking her why she had kissed him.

“You like Prince Saiwè?”

“Yes.”

“So you kissed him? You kissed him first?”

Priscilla nodded. Ianna stared back at her in bafflement for a moment before taking off her overcoat and sitting down on her bed. Then, Ianna asked,

“Since when?”

“I only knew for sure after I kissed him. But I think I liked him before that too. I’ve been going out with Lord Saiwè pretty often, and we share a lot of interests and our personalities mesh well together, so I’ve been growing fonder of him every time we met. And then the way he so leisurely fired off his arrows to deal with the monsters when they invaded, and the fact that he kept me safe in the palace until the situation finally started settling down were the final nails in the coffin. I was blown away.”

Arhad had told Ianna about that. Priscilla clenched her hands into fists in her excitement. She continued,

“I’ve dated a lot of men, but I’ve never met anyone like him before. He’s strong, thoughtful, considerate, sexy, dresses well, is good at talking, and always praises my clothes…….”

Her praises dragged on and on. Ianna grew more puzzled as the praises continued.

Was Saiwè really someone so perfect that he deserved all that praise?

Ianna had judged that, while Saiwè was indeed skilled at the bow, he was a prince with a lot of personality issues. But listening to Priscilla made him sound like some kind of impossibly perfect man. Priscilla was clearly blinded. That, or Saiwè was being sly with her.

‘No, that’s not it. I’ve probably just haven’t seen that side of Prince Saiwè because our interests don’t align.’

Now that she thought about it, Saiwè was good-looking, smart, and powerful from a normal person’s perspective……so it was entirely possible that someone might describe him as perfect.

“And most importantly, he’s handsome and exactly my type! I feel I’ll start hyperventilating whenever I see him. I just want to pounce on him…….”

Priscilla’s overflowing praise suddenly took a turn for the animalistic. She clapses her hands together as her eyes sparkled. She continued,

“Do you think it’s because he’s a prince? Are all princes like that? No wonder why the main characters of novels or plays are always crying after a prince.”

“It isn’t like that,”

Ianna denied it at once. Saiwè was a special case, and not all princes were like him. Even Fernando, Saiwè’s older brother, had a decent face but had a disaster of a personality.

“Right? I knew Lord Saiwè was special.”

“But I’m fairly certain that he isn’t as perfect as you claim he is.”

“Goodness, I don’t think he’s perfect, you know? If he was, then he’d either not be human or he’d be a fraud.”

Priscilla generally acted like a young and bubbly girl, but there were occasionally times when she seemed truly mature. This was one of those times. Ianna looked back at her in surprise.

“Hmmm…….”

Priscilla brought her finger to her lips and frowned a little. She continued,

“Lord Saiwè seems to have a lot going on. There are times when he says extremely sharp things that I can never understand. But everyone has at least one or two dark secrets, you know? So I get it. And besides, I like him too much to hold his secrets against him.”

It sounded like Priscilla was being sincere. Ianna felt a little peculiar as she asked,

“But in any event, you like Prince Saiwè as a member of the opposite sex. What will you do about it moving forward?”

“Uwaah.”

Priscilla, who’s eyes had been sparkling as she sung Saiwè praises just earlier, pulled at her hair as a hollow look entered her eyes. She continued,

“I’ve been thinking about it. I should give up, right? I mean, Lord Saiwè’s a prince, and I’m just a commoner.”

She sounded rather feeble, especially considering that Priscilla was normally someone who knocked down everything in her way and pressed forward like a rampaging rhinoceros.

‘Priscilla is right, realistically speaking.’

The royal family of Roanne had never before taken a commoner as a legal wife. If they truly wanted a woman, they would first make her a lesser noble and take her in as a mistress. It was true even if the genders were swapped. But even then, such cases were rare.

After all, the royal family didn’t have much reason to even meet with commoners in the first place.

Every attendant and lady-in-waiting that served the royal family and had access to the palace was the son or daughter of a noble. The servants and maids doing odd jobs around the palace were commoners, but they were not allowed to even meet with the royal family because they were forbidden to enter any place where the royal family planned to stop by.

In other words, it was impossible for commoners to meet with the royal family even by pure chance unless they personally visited the Institution, like Schneider and Angelina, or in special cases like with Saiwè.

‘But Prince Saiwè plans to leave the royal family.’

But Ianna didn’t tell Priscilla that Saiwè would no longer be royalty in the future. Not only was it a secret, but she also didn’t want to interfere in their relationship.

Priscilla continued, uncaring about whether Ianna responded or not.

“I might be able to go out with Lord Saiwè, a prince, because I’m good friends with you and you’re the daughter of a count, but I won’t ever be allowed to marry him legally. Society will never allow it, so I can only assume that our relationship is destined to end one day no matter how much I want to be with him.”

“It’s possible for you to stay with him if you become his mistress.”

“I don’t want that,”

Priscilla cut Ianna off immediately. She continued,

“I prefer being in an exclusive relationship. I want my man to look at me and only me.”

Ianna had to agree. Priscilla continued,

“Our difference in station is one thing, but there’s also family to consider too. He can’t make up for a horrible mother-in-law. I’m more stubborn than most, and I can completely overturn my relationship with someone if I have to —but I’ll never let them beat me. I can even be bold and do my best to get along with them as long as I want to. But Her Highness Luria might murder me in secret even before she becomes my mother-in-law.”

A mother-in-law…….

Apparently, Priscilla had already imagined getting married to Saiwè. Her imaginations truly transcended Ianna’s.

“I met Her Highness Luria while I was at Lord Saiwè palace. She likes beautiful things, so she did show some interest in my dresses because they’re pretty popular with a lot of young noble ladies. But she was also clearly wary of me. She openly told me that several noble ladies were offering Lord Saiwè their hands in marriage. And it was obvious to me that she despised me just because I’m a commoner.”

Ianna felt the need to rein in Priscilla’s reckless imagination a little. Saiwè would leave the royal family soon enough, so it didn’t really matter whether he was royalty or not.

“What does Prince Saiwè think about you?”

The most important thing was how Saiwè felt about Priscilla.

Nothing would work out unless Saiwè liked Priscilla too. Ianna recalled how skeptical Saiwè had been about love. He had seemed like he would never fall in love. She was worried that Priscilla might get hurt by a one-sided crush.

“Do you mind if I brag a bit, Little Ianna?”

“That was sudden.”

“I’m quick on the update when it comes to love. If I start thinking that a man might like me, they tend to confess their feelings to me sooner rather than later. And I got the hunch this time too. There’s this odd, tingly mood that settles between us from time to time.”

Priscilla thrust out her chest with pride. She continued,

“The last time I saw Lord Saiwè was when he brought me back to the Institution. That’s when I kissed him, because I couldn’t hold myself back, right? I lost my mind for a moment and pressed my lips against his, but then Lord Saiwè suddenly grabbed the back of my neck and pried my lips open, and his tongue was so rough and hot —kyaah…….”

“…….”

“Ack.”

Priscilla was squirming when she saw Ianna staring back at her in bewilderment with her lips pursed, and she startled as she covered her mouth. She continued,

“Was that too inappropriate for you, Little Ianna? No, right? You got that far too, right?”

Ianna looked a little sour for a moment before she replied,

“So it looks like Prince Saiwè likes you back.”

Priscilla furrowed her brows a little and let out a deep sigh as she sank down and sat in front of Ianna. She rested her cheek against Ianna’s knees.

“I would have pushed him down already if he was a commoner.”

“Pushed him down……?”

“But it’ll never happen, realistically speaking. So I’ve been reflecting on myself for being so thoughtless when I kissed him.”

“What happened afterward?”

“What do you mean what happened? I ran away back to the dorms and I’ve been locked up in here ever since.”

“Will you give up on him?”

“I know I have to, but I don’t want to. I’d decided that because I couldn’t stand to see him being nagged at by Her Highness Luria just because of me, you know? But then I went ahead and kissed him in the end because I couldn’t hold myself back. Gosh. Ugh, I hate the thought of never seeing him again, but how am I supposed face him? Should I tell him I changed my mind? Argh.”

Priscilla sighed again and again before she suddenly switched tracks and jumped up. She continued,

“Or maybe I should just go ahead and have a passionate relationship with him until just before marriage? It doesn’t matter who a prince dates as long as he doesn’t get married to them, right? It’s not like me to give up without even trying! Ahh, I wanna see Lord Saiwè!”

Ianna observed as Priscilla busily paced about.

She was truly intriguing.

She cried passionately about liking Saiwè even though she’d only known him for a few months, she had kissed him deeply, and she was charging only straight ahead like a rhinoceros. Ianna felt like she had become a slow turtle crawling behind her, and it made her feel strange.

‘Get that far…….’

Ianna recalled the look on Arhad’s face when he had kissed her on the back of her hand as she mused over those words. The heat she had felt back then began to flare up inside her heart again. She tried to erase that strange sensation as she felt herself growing hotter inside. But she could not erase it so easily.

And so, she purposefully thought about something else.

She wondered if she should ask Saiwè what he intended to do about Priscilla, but then she shook her head no. She was uneasy about intruding upon a problem between other people. It was something she had never done before.

‘This is something they should figure out between themselves.’

And yet…

“I’m not sure how I feel about calling the continuation of your feelings into question due to your station.”

“It can’t be helped.”

Ianna stared quietly at Priscilla.

She wanted to bring Priscilla with her to her new country if Priscilla was all right with it. She had grown attached to Priscilla, and she was loath to leave her behind in a land that was soon to become a battlefield.

If Priscilla decided to follow her, then Ianna would make sure that she became someone whom none could dare ignore. Ianna wanted to make it so that Priscilla could do everything it was that she wanted to do. That was how attached to Priscilla she was.

‘And Saiwè will leave Roanne too.’

But Priscilla’s roots were still in Roanne. She had lived in Roanne, her homeland, all her life.

‘But maybe I’ll ask her before I leave.’

Ianna was lost in thought when Priscilla abruptly asked,

“By the way, Little Ianna, will you be attending the king’s upcoming birthday party?”

“Yes. I promised I would.”

She only had to attend two more parties now. The king’s birthday and the Thanksgiving of Laos.

“I’m happy I get to dress you up in my clothes again, but I don’t know how I feel about the kingdom holding the king’s birthday party at a time like this.”

“That’s how it always is. It’s actually precisely because of these times that they’ll hold the party to show off to the nobles that they’re hale and hearty. They’ll also be aiming to loosen some of the extreme tension in the air.”

“Madame Sarachè said that she wouldn’t be able to make it. She sent you a letter while you were away.”

Priscilla handed Ianna the letter.

Ianna ripped it open and read through it. Half of it was filled with her worries for Ianna, and the other half expressed that she didn’t think she would be able to accompany Ianna to the party. At the very end of the letter, Sarachè had left a note that Ianna had predicted but still found mysterious nevertheless.

—No monsters appeared in the Roberstein lands.

In tidy letters, Sarachè had written that a lot of people from neighboring territories had come to the Roberstein lands because of it.

Ianna folded the letter back up and placed it on top of her desk.

The Robersteins had rarely ever been invaded by monsters since times immemorial. They hadn’t invaded in her past life when Arhad had led the monsters and invaded Roanne with them either. Perhaps there was a barrier that prevented monsters from entering.

Ianna hadn’t known why the Roberstein lands had been safe in the past, but she had a vague idea now. She didn’t know the exact mechanisms behind it, but the lands were probably being influenced by Phaemdra or by Roberstein’s seal.

Ianna laid down on her bed and closed her eyes and she organized her schedule.

Her final exams would begin in a few days, and the king’s birthday would be held during the last week of June.

Then, Camastros would hold a meeting, and Arhad would announce that they would be establishing a new country altogether. Arhad had already started the groundwork, but it was only then that they would begin preparing on the large scale.

‘My schedule will be tight for the rest of June.’

~~*~~

Part 12

Final exams had concluded. Ianna had answered all her questions calmly, and she had scored well, just as she had been confident that she would.

She met up with Rikijen in the library.

“You were safe.”

“I’ve been sitting inside the safety of the library and studying this entire time —of course I was safe. I see that you’re doing just fine yourself, Lady Ianna.”

“Were you worried about me?”

“Worried? The world would have ended already if things were bad enough that something happened to you. Even ordinary people survived the ordeal just fine, so I determined that the world wasn’t ending anytime soon and decided to stop worrying about it. Lord Arhad kept the couple at the bakery safe too, so I’ve had absolutely nothing to worry about.”

“Don’t be too relieved just yet,”

Ianna said.

“Why? Did you hear something?”

Ianna didn’t answer his question and simply told him to mind himself.

The barrier around the Institution would vanish as soon as Bahamut gave Heinrich the order. He had no choice, if he wanted to keep the fact that he had betrayed Bahamut a secret. Arhad would likely be sure to keep Rikijen safe, but it would be for the best that Rikijen was careful too.

Ianna had determined to wander around the streets of Theodore and help clean up the monsters until the king’s birthday took place. Which was why she had entered the city immediately after parting ways with Rikijen.

“Come help out over here if you’re done!”

“On my way!”

Ianna looked around at her surroundings. There were a lot of people who looked and dressed differently from the people of Roanne. They were all foreign mercenaries.

Warriors and mages were precious nowadays.

Many countries found themselves on the path to destruction because of the monster waves that had rippled across the entire world. They had not been able to deal with high-class monsters with their reserve soldiers alone.

Other countries realized the danger as they watched their neighbors fall and grew desperate to secure military personnel. Mercenaries had become invaluable as a result.

The Kingdom of Roanne had opened up her royal coffers and gathered mercenaries from all over the world. It had been accomplished under Schneider Lezè Roanne’s powerful leadership. He had cut Fernando, the crown price, into pieces with his words when the latter utterly failed to grasp the reality of the situation and simply tried to show off his self-pride.

‘Which is why monsters are quickly disappearing from Theodore.’

It was exactly as Arhad had told her.

The kingdom had been recruiting mercenaries for the past month, and Ianna had only returned to Theodore a week ago. They were working so quickly to clean up the monsters and restore national facilities that Ianna could already feel the change in the capital even though she had only been back for a week.

‘I’m sure they’re working even harder because of the king’s upcoming birthday.’

Ianna stopped looking around and turned instead to Herrace, who was walking beside her. He was accompanying her on their way to the Paella Company.

“I heard that you protected the orphanage. Mr. Mursi even described you as a demon, you know?”

Herrace looked bashful as he scratched his cheek.

“I ended up swinging my sword desperately when I realized that I was the only one who could protect the children.”

“That’s amazing.”

Ianna pat him on the shoulder. He blushed red at her sudden praise.

“I only did what anyone would do.”

“And I only said what anyone would say. I heard that you’ve been going outside after classes to rescue even more children too.”

It hadn’t been easy to find Herrace as of late.

She had only gotten the chance to hold a proper conversation with him after they had busily finished their exams today and had promised to visit the Paella Company.

As soon as the first wave of Gates had opened, Herrace had made his way around to every orphanage in the vicinity to rescue the children. Most of them had already been destroyed, but sometimes the children had locked the doors and were hiding quietly inside. Herrace then rescued the children and brought them over to Mursi.

Mursi had taken in every single one of them. Herrace felt apologetic for putting such a heavy burden on Mursi and tried to give Mursi the money he had received from his household as support, but Mursi had stopped him and told him not to worry about it.

Both Herrace and Mursi were truly good people.

“And then you exterminated monsters with the beastmen after they’d arrived, right? It looks like you’ve been busy while I wasn’t around.”

“I don’t mind being busy as long as I can help. But, to be honest, I couldn’t believe it at all. I can’t handle mana at all, so to think that I can actually help people with my swordplay alone…….”

Ianna heard what Herrace had mumbled and calmly said,

“I told you that mana isn’t everything. Even if you don’t use mana, you can still win just by avoiding your opponent’s attacks and aiming for their weak spots. You’ve realized that after our trip to the West and after what happened here, right? Have some more confidence in yourself.”

Herrace nodded, and Ianna added,

“Besides, it’s great that you have such a strong will to help others. The talent needed for controlling mana that you lack the most is willpower. So, keep at it. You’ll be able to control mana eventually. You’re doing just fine.”

“Am I? I didn’t do all this just because I wanted to be able to control mana……but it’d be nice if I could. Then I can help even more people,”

Herrace responded cheerfully. He continued,

“I’ve been learning a lot from the beastmen. They’re all such skilled fighters.”

“Your house hasn’t said anything about how you’re going around with mercenaries?”

“They told me to do what I wanted to do.”

Herrace had said that the beastmen were mercenaries he had met during his trip to the West and had asked the viscount if he could help them subjugate the monsters. Viscount Bendham hadn’t only permitted it but had offered Herrace monetary support as well. He had judged that it wasn’t a bad idea for his son to deepen his bonds with mercenaries who were popular as of late.

They arrived at the Paella Company building.

The doors opened, revealing the beastmen, disguised as mercenaries, each maintaining their own weapons with a sharpened air about them. They certainly seemed different from how they normally were.

“Hey, yer here?”

Konya, who had been grinding her sword with a black whetstone, greeted Ianna and Herrace cheerfully. Nervously, Herrace asked,

“You said to come prepared today, right? Where will we be going?”

“To a lizardmen colony.”

Lizardmen were bipedal lizard-type monsters. They were incredibly quick on their feet, shrewd, and also propagated quickly.

“We’re gonna be workin’ with the kingdom to attack them.”

“We’re collaborating with the state and not acting as an independent mercenary guild?”

Ianna was puzzled. Lizardmen were strong, but they were only middle-rank monsters and Roanne’s royal knights or the mercenaries were fully capable of dealing with them on their own. She asked,

“The Kingdom of Roanne is strong enough to deal with lizardmen on her own. Is there a lot of them?”

“There are molugas right in the middle of the colony.”

Ianna frowned, and Herrace easily recalled what a moluga was because he had been studying monsters recently.

“Ack, aren’t molugas high-class monsters?”

Molugas were much smaller than dragons, but they looked similar. They had the capacity for reason, but They were just as vicious as any other monster. And most importantly, they were capable of using high-level magic.

“Yeah. I hear that Theodore took a whole lotta damage ‘cause three of them showed up right at the start. They completely devastated an entire region and made their nest there, and the lizardmen made their colony nearby ‘cause they wanted to curry favor with them.”

“Hmmm…”

“But then, a week ago, was it? A female moluga left the nest, and people found out that she had laid an egg. The kingdom decided that now was the best chance to attack ‘cause molugas with eggs don’t attack unless you attack their eggs first. Besides, it’s a Roanne bigshot’s birthday is a few days, right?”

“Are you referring to His Royal Majesty the King?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. They apparently wanna rack up some big achievements before the bigshot’s birthday. And the molugas are some of the strongest monsters holin’ up here in Theodore right now.”

Ianna had never fought a moluga before in her past life. Molugas were often called the leftover embers of the dragons, which were legendary creatures, and they were one of the stronger monsters that called the heart of the Lotso Mountains home.

Konya shook her head.

“But there’s no choice, yeah? This is the best chance the humans’ll ever get.”

Ianna had to concur. Konya continued,

“The Roanne army’s only sendin’ their best knights, and we’ll only be sendin’ our stronger members too. But yer comin’ with us, so it should all work out just fine, right?”

She grinned.

“I’m not going to act openly. Like I’ve told you before, I’m going to keep my robes on and watch over the situation while occasionally helping out if things get dangerous.”

Ianna was planning to accompany Herrace and the beastmen today to get a better grasp on Theodore’s current situation. She had no plans to collaborate with the royal knights to subjugate monsters.

“That’s more than enough. And everyone we’ll be sendin’ are all guys who’ve hunted high-class monsters in the four corners before. They said not to make light of them just ‘cause they lost to ya.”

Certainly, all the beastmen currently present were powerful even in Ianna’s eyes. The molugas would be busy guarding the female and the eggs, so they were surely more than capable of eliminating them if they used that fact to their advantage.

The mercenaries finished their preparations as they chatted.

“Now, let’s go!”

Ianna and Herrace followed after a few dozen mercenaries. Ianna was wearing gray robes. They walked for twenty minutes or so before they started seeing a fully armed Roanne army. They numbered in the hundreds.

Ianna narrowed her eyes.

Most of their flags bore Schneider’s insignia. In other words, the army was under Schneider’s command.

Ianna grew curious.

‘Is Schneider personally taking the field?’

The mercenaries rendezvoused with them. They didn’t have much to discuss, as they had already convened the other day to plan things out. The Roanne army was loath to talk with mere mercenaries, and the mercenaries —the beastmen, to be exact, were similarly reluctant to speak with humans.

“When will this be over?”

“Those damned monsters just won’t stop coming.”

Konya, who had heard from afar as the knights chatted amongst themselves, barred her teeth and growled.

“Ain’t that only obvious? They have no idea just how many monsters live in the Lotso Mountains and the four corners. This is only just the beginning.”

“Precisely.”

Ianna scowled and looked between Konya and the beastman she was conversing with.

“The monsters are flourishin’ in the Lotso Mountains and the four corners, just like how the humans began flourishin’ in the heart of the continent after drivin’ the monsters out. It’s only obvious that the monsters are gonna start pourin’ out once the dam breaks. It would’ve happened eventually even if stuff hadn’t happened now.”

“Yer right, Miss.”

“Ain’t this just the result to them livin’ peacefully by themselves while avoiding all the dangerous fights? Monsters are poppin’ up endlessly in the corners, but the humans are sitting here and fightin’ over all this fertile land by themselves…….”

Konya sneered dismissively. She continued,

“Well, not that it’s any of our business. We’re just here to make some quick change while fightin’ and to keep Finn and Mursi safe.”

Their conversation belied their deep hatred of humanity. They were fond of some humans, like Ianna and Herrace, but they still despised the human race as a whole.

The beastmen did not perceive the crisis at hand as their problem. Rather, this was actually beneficial to their race. After all, the dangerous monsters from the four corners had flocked to human territory.

Ianna pondered over something for a moment before she walked up to Konya.

“Why don’t your people leave the four corners and claim territory in the heart of the continent? Aren’t you strong?”

“Ya askin’ ‘cause ya don’t know? It’s ‘cause we don’t have the numbers. Besides, most beastmen a fundamentally animals, yeah? We’re too naïve. We’ve nearly died out before ‘cause the humans tricked us good. It’s hard for us to live in the heart of the continent if we don’t wanna make an enemy out of humanity outright.”

“…….”

“I’m just sayin’ that humans don’t know how to live symbiotically with anyone other than themselves. The only other races they live together with are their livestock and their pets, yeah? And even they get mistreated pretty often.”

Konya’s cynical words dug into Ianna’s heart. She felt uncomfortable, and her thoughts grew complicated. But she could not organize them into anything sensible quite yet.

“We’re here!”

The lizardmen had set up their colony next to a quietly flowing river. They had dug tunnels underground and built a dense ring of round huts made from mud.

“Screech.”

The bipedal lizardmen were similar to humans. They were equipped with leather armor and weapons that had been crafted from their own technology. They were omnivorous, and they cooked. They cried when something sorrowful happened to them, and they cackled gleefully when something delightful happened to them.

The colony was swarming with lizardmen. Ianna hadn’t spotted any molugas yet.

The plan was for the royal army to attack from up front to draw their attention so the mercenaries could hit them from behind. This was their best option, as they two groups were not accustomed to working together. Besides, the proud knights were loath to attack their enemies from behind, whereas it was better for the mercenaries to launch the surprise attack because they were more accustomed to actual battle. The mercenaries also had another role to play. They would go through the lizardmen’s warehouses and rescue any humans they had imprisoned.

Monsters hated humanity and the mythical races, and they regarded people as delicacies. Lizardmen were no exceptions to the rule.

There had used to be a rather sizeable village where the lizardmen had made their colony. The humans who had lived there had not been able to escape the sudden attack, and the lizardmen had rounded up the survivors inside food storage warehouses instead of killing them immediately. Mages had already confirmed that many humans were being locked up inside the warehouses.

In a clearly nervous tone, the knight captain in charge of the extermination mission shouted,

“Begin!”

Ianna concealed her presence as she followed the mercenaries to the back of the colony.

Shaaaa!

An enormous wave of mana spread out from the royal knights just as they were about half-way there. Ianna looked behind her.

The royal mages were preparing a powerful spell to draw the lizardmen’s attention, and the mana around them was boiling. Within it was an aura of magic that Ianna was familiar with but now only considered to be something from the distant past.

‘Schneider’s here. He must be with the mages.’

Ianna was a little surprised.

‘But, already?’

Normally, magic felt the same regardless of who was casting it. It was possible to guess how powerful as spell was by gauging the circulation of mana in the air, but it wasn’t possible to know who was casting it. The same was true of fortification. Transparent fortification and even cloudy white fortification, the color coming from the compression of mana, felt the same regardless of who was creating it.

But those who were superhuman and had exceeded the limits of ordinary people were a special case. Take for example the blue mana of Ensheila, the Mage of Azure Skies, or Ianna’s crimson fortification. Not only were their auras visibly distinct, but they also had a particular feeling to them as well.

Schneider had also been one such special case in the past. He had been a powerful mage with silver mana, and he had possessed all the qualifications of an excellent liege. But he had never had the chance to allow his talents to fully blossom because he had been busy sorting Roanne out after she was devastated by the civil war and stopping Bahamut’s invasion.

Schneider’s magic now felt similar yet different to the aura he had given off in the past. It was youthful and overflowing with vigor.

‘I’m fairly certain he wasn’t this strong last year during the incident with Margarita. He’s matured quickly.’

Ianna stood in place and stared at where it was coming from for some time.

“Let’s go!”

The mercenaries moved faster now that the royal army had successfully drawn the lizardmen’s attention. Ianna, too, looked away and quickly ran after the distant mercenaries.

“Screeeech?”

“Screech!”

The lizardmen, who had been enjoying their everyday lives, took up their weapons and let out a combative cry. Their cries quickly turned into screams. The mages of the expedition were using flame magic to rain boiling oil down on them from the heavens.

“Fire Rain!”

“Wind Storm!”

The mages cast flame and wind spells on the oil-covered lizardmen colony. The fire took to the oil as soon as it hit and dyed everything red, and the wind fanned the flames had spread them quicker.

The lizardmen were no match for the royal army. They were simply massacred.

Ianna hid with the mercenaries and watched as the royal knights killed the females and the newts that had come out screaming from their burning homes.

“I know they’re monsters and all, but I still don’t know how I feel about attackin’ their colony,”

Konya muttered suddenly while clicking her tongue.

Puzzled, Ianna asked,

“Why?”

“‘Cause they ain’t all that different from us if ya ignore the fact that we can’t communicate with them and they’re our natural enemies. I mean, you saw it too, didn’t ya? They live just the same as we do as long as they don’t get tangled up with us or any humans.”

“…….”

“So killin’ the weak ones who’re just livin’ in the colony, and especially the babes, is a bit…….”

Ianna looked to Konya as the latter mumbled on before she turned back to the lizardmen who were being slaughtered.

Konya had a point. Monsters lived well enough on their own so long as they didn’t come across any humans or the mythical races. Highly intelligent monsters, in particular, weren’t all that different from humans. But all monsters lost their ability to reason and became bloodthirsty as soon as they caught sight of any other race —particularly humans or the mythical races.

Monsters were their natural enemies and needed to be eliminated.

Which was why Ianna had always dealt with them mercilessly. It didn’t matter whether they were young or fully matured. She didn’t even care if she killed them in their own colonies. But Konya’s words had reminded her of the relationship between humans and beastmen and made Ianna pay more attention to the monsters too.

Still, Ianna regained her composure as she reminded herself of what had happened. It was the lizardmen who had attacked the human village first. They had undoubtedly brutally slaughtered any human children they had found.

“It doesn’t change the fact that they still need to die, so don’t waste your pity on them. Besides, we aren’t slaughtering them for no reason —we’re doing it for revenge and to recapture the village.”

“I know that, okay?”

Stomp stomp stomp stomp!

Kwooooooh!

Footsteps shook the earth and a bloodthirsty roar covered the sky. Water poured down from the heavens. One of the molugas had taken to the sky and was casting water magic. The fight was finally beginning.

“Let’s go.”

The mercenaries finished off any fleeing lizardmen while the moluga and the other lizardmen were heading toward the royal army, and they slipped inside the colony to rescue the captured humans.

“Thank you, thank you!”

The rescued humans thanked them with tears streaming down their faces. They sobbed about how the lizardmen had been treating and eating them like livestock. They lamented about how they had been put to work and how they would be whipped or even killed if they resisted even in the slightest. But the beastmen mercenaries were apathetic to the humans’ tears.

“There’s a refuge for ya set up that way, so get goin’.”

They humans ran to the refuge as quickly as they could. From behind them, the beastmen muttered,

“It’s not like they’re any better.”

“Did they already forget how they used to enslave the mythical races and abuse us in the past? I guess anything goes in this damned world as long as yer strong.”

Ianna accompanied the beastmen in rescuing the humans. Many of them had still been alive.

Most of the lizardmen were dead now. And the mercenaries had hardly taken any casualties. They were all quite skilled, after all.

Boom! Boom!

Kwoooooh!

They could hear a continuous stream of clashing weapons, explosions, and screaming. It signaled that the lizardmen, who had been acting as the moluga’s shield, had been annihilated, and that the moluga and the royal army were now beginning to battle in earnest.

“Let’s go.”

The mercenaries hid their presences and quickly ran over to where the noise was coming from. The royal army was struggling desperately against two furious molugas. The female moluga was sitting on the nest with her eyes glinting fiercely behind the two male molugas. In her arms were four eggs that were still incubating and one growling hatchling.

“As we planned, half of us will get them from behind while the other half will go for the mother.”

The mercenary captain gave his orders. They were quick to act because the groups had been decided upon beforehand. Ianna was with the group that would deal with the mother.

“Gyaaaah!”

The mercenaries were very efficient in their offense.

One of the molugas, which had been focusing solely on the royal army until then, fell in but an instant.

The surviving moluga was enraged as it watched its kin perish, but it could not do anything about it but be wary of the mercenaries who had shown up out of nowhere. It swung its claws at the group approaching the female and scattered terrible magic everywhere in an attempt to protect her.

But the mercenaries reached the female anyway. The female moluga had cast a sturdy shield around herself as she protected her hatchling and eggs.

“Do it!”

The mercenaries fortified their blades and began beating on the shield like hail when their captain gave the signal. The shield, once as smooth as glass, began to crack.

Eventually, the shield shattered. The mercenaries’ attacks fell on the mother’s body like a deluge. But the mother did not counter and simply curled into herself. All just to protect her hatchling and eggs.

The enraged male moluga roared from afar. Ianna suddenly felt uncomfortable as she looked between the raging male and the huddled female.

“Something feels wrong,”

muttered Herrace, who was also attacking the moluga from beside Ianna.

“Gyaaaah!”

Just then, they heard another roar that did not belong to either of the adult molugas.

“Ya crazly lil’…!”

One of the mercenaries cursed as he was startled while brandishing his sword. He had tried to cut the mother’s head off, but it had instead pierced the hatchling as it tried to protect its mother.

The hatchling died, and madness dribbled down the eyes of the mother that had lost her hatchling.

Splat!

Black poison shot out from the moluga’s maw. Not only that, but she also began casting large-scale curse spells in succession.

“Cough!”

Several mercenaries fell to their knees as they were hit by the unexpected attack. They were quickly weakened by the poison and the curses.

“Ya fool!”

“I’m gonna beat ya for this later!”

The mercenaries cursed at their colleague who had killed the hatchling and redoubled their attacks on the female moluga. But the wounds vanished from the moluga’s figure and her body hardened quicker than the mercenaries could attack.

Female molugas grew hundreds of times stronger and lashed out recklessly if they lost their young. The first sign of their rampage was that their wounds healed completely and their bodies became harder than cast iron.

‘Things have taken a turn for the dangerous.’

But just as Ianna was wondering if she should step up.

“Move!”

One large man shot out from a dark corner of the colony, but from neither the mecenaries’ nor the royal army’s sides, like a bird. He threw a gigantic spear, covered in a dark red aura, at the moluga’s head like a ballista.

Pow!

The spear not only pierced through the moluga’s head but also decapitated it completely.

Craaash!

The spear hadn’t slowed down even still, and it only stopped and fell to the ground after it had blasted apart the building behind the moluga.

Spash!

The headless moluga’s neck flopped and sprayed blood everywhere as it fell. The male moluga froze up as it watched the female die. The royal army took the chance to kill it too.

“Thanks, bro!”

The mercenaries walked up to the man who was retrieving his spear and thanked him.

“I was aiming for the moluga myself, so I just did what I came here to do. Besides, I should be thanking you too. I was wondering how I should go about getting rid of the lizardmen, but you guys went ahead and did it for me.”

The beastmen showered the unidentified man who had come from nowhere with their curiosity and goodwill. The man, who had thrown his gigantic spear like it was a bolt of lightning, had a bulky physique packed tightly with bulging muscles. He had all sorts of scars covering his skin, and he had black tattoos all over his body.

Ianna’s own curiosity had piqued as she observed him. He was carrying his spear, still dripping with blood, on his back as he picked up the moluga’s eggs.

“Are you crazy?!”

The royal army was here. They had been about to rebuke the mercenaries for accidentally killing the hatchling, but they stopped when they saw the giant man. They began talking noisily amongst themselves. Then, someone shouted,

“It’s the King of the Arena!”

The King of the Arena?

Ianna’s ears twitched. She felt like she had heard the title somewhere, but she couldn’t recall exactly where.

“The ace of the battle arena!”

It was only after hearing this that Ianna recalled who he was.

He was the man she had seen in the battle arena in January last year. His deft skill with a greatsword had left a deep impression on her. Arhad had called him the ace of the battle arena and someone who preferred to live a bloody life there.

“I know you.”

Someone stepped forward from within the royal army’s ranks. The knight captain, who had been about to rebuke the mercenaries, stepped back. Ianna pulled at the hood of her robes to better conceal her face. He continued,

“You’re a fighter from the East. You showed up at the battle arena like a comet falling from the heavens a few years back.”

It was Schneider.

His countenance was haggard and filled with fatigue, but his eyes were gleaming. The sharp air around him subsided as it was gradually replaced by goodwill.

“You must be the prince of Roanne,”

the man replied brusquely.

“Such insolence!”

the knight captain of the royal army shouted in fury, but Schneider stopped him.

“Indeed I am, Titan. What brings you here? Are you hunting monsters these days because the arena was destroyed?”

The man —Titan— pointed to the beheaded moluga on the ground.

“I’ve been wanting this bastard’s head and eggs ever since I first heard that a moluga appeared in Theodore. I can take it with me, right?”

“Not everything, no —but you did slay the female so you may the carcass with you. But I can’t quite say the same about the eggs. Why do you want them?”

“I’ve been researching breeding. That’s what I need the moluga eggs for. I will not use them for any other purpose besides research.”

“Will you hatch them?”

“I plan on hatching and raising two of them. What is it that concerns you?”

“You wouldn’t release them out to the wild once you’ve raised them, would you?”

“No, never,”

Titan replied with the force of his powerful will.

Schneider ultimately permitted it. He did not wish to quarrel with Titan over some mere monster eggs. Moreover, Titan was an individual of immense skill, and he did not want to leave any bad feelings between them. After all, Schneider was in a situation where he wanted to gather as many skilled warriors under his banner as he could.

“Have you been hunting monsters?”

“I have. I’ve been killing everything that’s entered my line of sight.”

“You have my gratitude for that. Come find me if you ever need assistance with your hunts. I’ll be sure to tell the palace guards your name.”

Schneider forged a bond between himself and Titan. He communicated that he was willing to grant Titan any favor that he could.

At the moment, it was imperative for Schneider that he brought more people over to his side. And he was fully aware of the fact that building up trivial matters like this one by one could help leave a good impression on others.

Schneider and Fernando were competing for the throne. They were currently at a 50-50 standstill, and there were still many people who had yet to commit to a side.

But Schneider could tip the scales ever so slightly in his favor and make it 51-49 just by showing a little goodwill, which in turn would become as his pillar of support.

And this was why he then turned to the mercenaries and continued,

“It is only right to punish you for the crime of putting everyone in danger for killing the moluga hatchling, but I will overlook your error just this once since all’s well that ends well.”

“We have nothing to say for ourselves. Thank you.”

Schneider looked toward the cloud of dust a little way off. The mercenary that had attacked the moluga hatchling was already being beaten up and cursed at by his peers.

He turned back to Titan. Titan nodded at him, asking quietly if he had something else he wanted to say. Schneider, who had been bold until now, hesitantly asked,

“You there. I saw that you were using a dark red fortification earlier.”

“It is an ability usable to anyone who has reached a certain level. You should already know this yourself, don’t you, Prince?”

“I do. That’s not what I meant, but…….”

Schneider’s lips moved ever so slightly as he posed his question. He asked,

“Would you happen to be familiar with a crimson aura, a little different in color to your own, that feels more mysterious and filled with life? Or would you happen to know anyone who can use it?”

Titan frowned. Ianna, who had been listening in to their conversation from afar, also flinched.

“No.”

“I see. I was only asking because your power happened to be a similar color.”

Schneider sighed before he turned around to face the people who were looking to him and shouted,

“Good work, all of you. The royal army will be publicly commended for this achievement, and the mercenaries will receive their rewards and a small bonus by the end of today.”

“Hurrah!”

“We did it!”

Everyone cheered, overjoyed by the fact that they had successfully subjugated the molugas.

“We will now begin to clean up this area. Burn the lizardmen carcasses and clear away the debris. Second platoon —be sure to load the moluga carcasses on the wagons.”

Schneider then climbed up on a horse that his subordinate had brought him and shouted,

“The mercenaries will disperse of their own accord when you’re done, and the royal army will return to the palace.”

“Yessir!”

It was only after he had heard the royal army’s sonorous reply that Schneider left the scene with a few knights in tow.

Ianna watched his retreating figure.

‘Is Schneider still looking for me?’

Ianna had used her divine power to dispel the curse in front of him back when Margarita had placed a curse on the royal palace. Saiwè had informed her that Schneider had been pestering him to disclose her name for a few days afterward.

She had thought that Schneider had given up since she had never heard any updates on the matter…….

But it was understandable. Schneider had always been the type of man who never concealed his overwhelming interest in and fondness of the strong.

‘I’m glad he’s stopped caring about me.’

Schneider had stopped trying to approach her after last autumn. His letters, which had seemed to come just as she was about to forget about them, had stopped coming as well. It relieved Ianna to know that Schneider had withdrawn his interest first.

Ianna began helping out with disposing the lizardmen carcasses. She observed Titan as she did.

“I will take my leave now.”

Titan, who had been helping with the carcasses, straightened himself out. He slung the moluga eggs and the female moluga’s head across his back as all the mercenaries looked at him. They waved at them.

“Thanks, bro!”

“I’ll buy ya a drink the next time I see ya!”

Titan’s lips twitched as he turned around. Then, his eyes locked with Ianna’s, who was staring back at him from afar.

But it only lasted for an instant. Titan only looked to Ianna with interest for a moment before he quickly made his leave.

‘He’s familiar.’

His powerful spearmanship. His overwhelming size. That alone wasn’t enough for her to identify any one particular person.

But then she recalled what Arhad had said at the battle arena on Founding Day last year.

Arhad fundamentally did not care much about others. He only remembered or showed interest in people if he found them useful or if they were his enemies. And Arhad had known about Titan.

‘And Titan only appeared in the battle arena a few years back, right?’

That was also about when Camastros, which had been scattered all throughout the world before, had revealed their name in Roanne and had begun to act more publicly.

‘Is Titan, Rust?’

Rust.

An executive of Camastros. The man with a dragon drawn on his mask.

Titan had been very curt in his speech today, unlike how he normally spoke in Camastros, but that was likely because he was more familiar with his colleagues.

‘And his face stiffened up ever so slightly when Schneider asked him if he was familiar with a crimson aura. Rust would know that it belongs to Camastros’ Ann.’

She started growing a little curious about what kind of person Rust was.

~~*~~

Part 13

After defeating the molugas and the lizardmen with the beastmen and Schneider’s army, Ianna continued to raid monster colonies and massacre them until the day before the king’s birthday. During that time, she had begun thinking about problems that had never crossed her mind before.

Those problems had to do with the scope of her allies and the breadth of her mercy.

In other words…….

The scope of her allies referred to what kinds of people she would accept as being on her side.

She had only ever had to think about it in human terms in the past, but that was no longer the case now. She now counted too many members of the mythical races as her friends —like Finn, Chendelf, Taro, and Konya.

The answer lay within her personal values. Ianna did not care about another’s race —if they were hostile to her, she would also be hostile to them without fail. If they were friendly to her, then she would at the very least not be hostile to them. In other words, there was little point in figuring out the scope of her allies.

‘I won’t have different types of allies in my country either. All I need to know is whether someone is friend or foe.’

Anyone who was hostile to her country was her enemy —it didn’t matter who they were. But anyone who wasn’t hostile to her country could become her ally if they so wished. It didn’t matter if they were humans, the mythical races, or even monsters.

‘And if they’re my allies, then they must be able to live freely within my borders.’

Currently, the mythical races were not able to live in the heart of the continent as themselves. It was because they were hostile to humanity. Humanity, which had made its home in the heart of the continent where nature’s blessings were abundant, refused to coexist, and the mythical races could only live freely in the four barren corners of the world that were teeming with monsters.

Despite the world around them, Ianna hoped that her friends of the mythical races could roam around the lands under her jurisdiction with their heads held high. Chendelf had promised he would come to her. He was willing to step foot in the world of man purely out of his trust in her, and she did not want for him to become isolated from the rest of the world because of it.

But then, what would she have to do?

She would have to declare that race didn’t matter from the very beginning. She would have to make this declaration a part of her country’s justice, and she would have to doubled down on it with laws. The resistance might be extreme, but she would simply have to put up with it. Still, those who refused to accept other races until the bitter end would have to be asked to leave.

‘But there’s a problem with that too.’

No living creature could break completely free of the law of the jungle. After all, everything that lived needed to eat something weaker than they. They were either eaten themselves or they starved to death. Everything that lived ate something that was weaker.

‘Which means that we’ll have to adapt, at least to some extent.’

It couldn’t be helped that people needed to eat. But everyone needed to be aware of the fact that they, too, could be eaten one day. The same was true of humans as well.

Ianna had seen countless humans die as she exterminated the monsters. She had also seen monsters treating humans like livestock.

In other words, even humans, who ruled over every other race, could be murdered, eaten, or enslaved by another race. Those who had suffered at the monsters’ hands raged in indignation and hatred, but had they themselves not done the very same to other races just because they happened to be stronger?

Ultimately, it was impossible for everyone to live together in perfect harmony. It was hypocrisy to suggest otherwise.

‘Which means that we have no choice but to be selfish.’

But they still needed to show at least some mercy to those who were suffering. Which was why Ianna also needed to decide upon the ‘breadth of her mercy.’

It would be limited by her need to safeguard the happiness of the people on her side.

She would punish her enemies, weak or strong, if they were hostile to her country and attacked first.

But she would also minimize the damage done to the weak and innocent as much as possible.

Ianna had come to a conclusion, more or less. But her thoughts were raw and crude, and she would need to take a long time to refine them.

‘My head hurts.’

She felt like her head would explode because she had been agonizing over this alone.

‘There are so many problems that crop up when I discuss with others that I was never aware of when I thought about it alone. Moving forward, I should only decide the general outline of things on my own and figure out the details together with others.’

Ianna naturally came to realize how important it was to ask others for help. She also realized that it was impossible to be a lone wolf and decide upon everything alone when establishing a country.

It was only obvious.

A country didn’t belong solely to the person establishing it. It was a place in which countless people would one day live. She could not compromise the importance of her creed, but she would have to listen to the opinions of others and be willing to adjust if she was truly thinking about their lives.

~~*~~

It was the day of the king’s birthday party before long.

“It’s party time, Little Ianna!”

Priscilla had made Ianna a dress from a harmony of black and red cloth and silk. Ianna had finally matured as a woman as she turned eighteen, and the dress highlighted all her feminine charms.

Ianna was a little uncomfortable because the dress was open here and there, but she decided to bear with it because Priscilla had clenched her fists as she clamored about how she had always wanted to dress Ianna up in something like this.

“You’re sooo pretty! That’s my muse for you!”

Priscilla had been melancholy as of late, and she had finally cheered up. But she looked a little skinnier than usual. Ianna looked to her cheeks, which looked slightly hollow, and gingerly asked,

“What will you do about Prince Saiwè?”

“Hmm…….”

The smile faded from Priscilla’s mien. Bewilderment took its place. She continued,

“I’ve been worrying about that for some time now —it really isn’t like me at all. I’m certain that Lord Saiwè likes me, but I have no idea what he plans to do about it.”

“Shall I ask Prince Saiwè for you on the sly?”

“Kyaah!”

Priscilla wrapped her hands around her cheeks as she screamed. She continued,

“Please don’t do that! I’ll figure things out on my own.”

“……Are you certain?”

Ianna decided not to ask Saiwè outright because Priscilla was so against the idea. But she did decide that she would still observe him during the party. After all, Saiwè would be attending the party because every member of the royal family had to attend the king’s birthday party.

It was entirely possible that Saiwè might ask her about Priscilla first. After all, Ianna was still Priscilla’s roommate.

Ianna boarded the carriage as Priscilla saw her off. Harchen was waiting for her inside.

He had left for the Roberstein lands upon completing his extra semester and graduating, but he had since returned to the capital. He had wanted to learn more before he officially began his education to succeed the house, and he had also wanted to help those who had suffered when the Gates had opened. The Count and Countess Roberstein had permitted it despite their general worry for him, and he was currently staying in their manor in the capital.

He had agreed to escort Ianna to the party in Sarachè’s stead, as his mother was unable to attend.

“Hey there, Ianna.”

“Meow.”

Nissi also greeted Ianna coyly from Harchen’s arms when Harchen said hello. The cat had a blue ribbon tied around her neck. Nissi was the very picture of a noble’s beloved pet cat with her soft white fur and luxurious ribbon.

“You’ve brought Nissi with you?”

“She’s been missing you terribly. I was permitted to bring her inside the party venue on the condition that she behaves.”

Perhaps it was because the cat truly had missed her, but Nissi never took her eyes off Ianna, who was wearing a dress and beautifully decorated.

Ianna reached out to pet Nissi’s head. Nissi perked up her ears and sat quietly as Ianna petted her, and she rubbed her head against Ianna’s hand when Ianna tried to pull away.

Then, Nissi jumped out from Harchen’s arms and carefully sat down in Ianna’s lap. She got some fur on Ianna’s dress, but Ianna did not shoo her away and simply savored the cat’s warmth because all she had to do was brush her dress off before she entered the party hall.

“You have to be good, all right?”

“Meow,”

Nissi meowed and wagged her tail when Ianna spoke. It felt like she was telling Ianna not to worry.

‘She apparently understands human speech, so I’m sure that’s what she meant.’

Ianna smiled a little because she found Nissi adorable, and Nissi stared at Ianna’s affectionate smile as if she had been captivated.

Harchen was sitting opposite of them as he observed the good relationship between them. A mysterious emotion filled the expression on his face.

They arrived at the party hall in the royal palace. It needn’t even be said that the mood was unsettling. Normally, almost every noble attended the party, but there were a lot of absentees today because many nobles were still sorting out their territories after the Gates had opened.

“Sir Harchen!”

“Have you been well? It’s been a while.”

This was the first party Harchen had attended in some time, and his friends flocked to him. Ianna tried to make her way to a corner of the hall like she always did. But Nissi began floundering in Harchen’s grasp when she saw Ianna move farther away.

“Ianna. Would you mind keeping Nissi with you?”

“Very well.”

Ianna took Nissi in her arms and made her way to the sofa in the corner of the hall, which was practically reserved for her at this point.

There was someone else sitting on the sofa already, but Ianna ignored him and sat down anyway. Saiwè, who had been sipping at his wine as he sat on the sofa, tilted his head to the side.

“Would this be Nissi?”

“How did you know?”

“Little Rikijen told me. He said that there was a white cat named Nissi that was extremely attached to you.”

The friendship between Rikijen and Saiwè had truly taken Ianna by surprise. She had only asked Saiwè to look after Rikijen when he had been hurt during the Margarita incident —who would have thought that it would trigger such a solid friendship between the two?

“You must be on good terms with Rikijen.”

“But of course. He’s a good friend of yours, after all.”

Ianna scowled.

“You haven’t gotten close to him only because he happens to be a ‘good friend’ of mine, have you?”

Ianna would hate for that. It felt like there was an ulterior motive at play when someone wanted to become friends with another simply because they were yet another person’s friend, instead of when two people grew closer because they were charmed by each other’s person. It was unbecoming of a healthy relationship. Moreover, Ianna disliked being forced in between other people’s relationships.

Actually, Rikijen himself was shrewd and cunning, so Ianna would have simply ignored it and trusted him to take care of himself if Rikijen had been the only person in question. But she had retorted sensitively because Priscilla was also involved.

“Isn’t that only obvious? He’s a good friend of my future ruler —of course I have to get close to him……but would I lose points with you if I said that?”

Saiwè drank a sip of his wine. He continued,

“I won’t deny that this was one reason why I’ve gotten close to him, but I truly meant it when I said that it was because he’s a good friend of yours. After all, you keep a wall around your heart and don’t allow many inside, so he must be a truly remarkable person indeed if you care about him. And, without exception, all of your friends have been amazing people.”

He truly had a silver tongue.

Ianna held Nissi in her arms as she leaned back against the sofa. They had arrived at the party early, so there was still time before it officially started.

She and Saiwè exchanged news for some time. They mostly spoke about what Ianna had done in the Chaipan lands and the current state of Theodore.

“How is Priscilla faring?”

A topic that had been weighing on Ianna’s mind suddenly came into discussion. Ianna immediately sat up straight and looked Saiwè directly in the eyes.

“Why are you asking?”

“There’s no need for you to feign ignorance.”

Saiwè seemed vaguely irritated as he put his wineglass down on the table. He continued,

“I’m sure she would have told you everything. Am I mistaken?”

Saiwè had set out the carpet before her. So it was only right that Ianna obliged and began walking on it.

“She’s lost a lot of weight —perhaps it’s been causing her stress. She hasn’t even been sleeping property because she’s been agonizing so much. You’re clever, so I’m sure you already know what it is that she’s been agonizing over, yes?”

“…….”

“What are you planning to do? Is it the difference between your stations that’s weighing on your mind?”

“Perish the thought. I won’t be a prince for much longer, and I’ve never cared much about someone’s station so long as I liked their person.”

“If that’s the case, then it must be an issue of the heart.”

Priscilla was certain that Saiwè liked her, but it was still possible that she was mistaken. Ianna continued,

“I recall that you were very pessimistic about love. So, please allow me to say this just in case. I have no right to interfere in your relationship, but I will not forgive you……if you are simply toying with Priscilla for your own entertainment.”

Saiwè stared quietly back at Ianna before he let out a soft sigh.

“It’s true that I’ve conducted a few mischievous experiments on her out of curiosity, but that was months ago. I find that I barely understand myself nowadays. I’ve been pondering over the issue continuously in my utter disbelief that I, someone who dreads love, could possibly experience it.”

Saiwè did not go into more detail after that. It was a private matter, so neither did Ianna pry. But she could still make her own assumptions.

Exactly one year ago, when she had shared her first meaningful conversation with Saiwè, Ianna had realized that they were very similar. He was very pessimistic about love, and he deeply distrusted its durability. Saiwè continued,

“Was the thing I understood as love, truly love?”

Saiwè was currently going through the same process of mulling over the concept of love that Ianna was. Which was why Ianna realized that Priscilla might have actually been right when she claimed that Saiwè liked her.

After all…

Saiwè was similar to Ianna.

And Ianna been pondering over this very matter for a long time.

……And she was close to reaching a conclusion.

Ianna asked,

“Do you still doubt love?”

Did he still think it could change so easily?

Did he still think it was a feeble emotion that was easily shaken by external wealth and power?

Saiwè fell silent for a moment and he answered only after he was finished thinking.

“My doubts cleared away after seeing you and Sir Arhad together. I learned that there exists love that isn’t like what I think it is. And I’m very happy for it.”

Saiwè had connected them with the word ‘love’, but Ianna did not refute it. He continued,

“I know I said that I was still pondering, but the truth is that I’ve more or less reached a conclusion myself…….”

Saiwè got up from the sofa as he spoke, and Ianna followed him up with her eyes.

“And I believe that I’ve been making too light of love. Love is like a natural disaster. It’s not something you can control with your will. You can be wary of it and push it away, and yet you can still find yourself sinking in it before you ever had the chance to realize. And it’s all too late by the time you do.”

“…….”

“I’m certain you probably concur.”

That was all Saiwè said before he bid her farewell and left the party hall.

Ianna slowly stroked Nissi’s fur without another word. The cat had been curled up quietly while Ianna and Saiwè were speaking, and she was carefully licking Ianna’s fingers now.

“Little Ianna!”

Angelina, who had been observing them from afar, immediately came running as soon as Saiwè disappeared. She looked visibly relieved as soon as she sat down by Ianna’s side, just as she had been several months ago. She continued,

“It’s been so long! Have you been well?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, your dress is so pretty. I’ve been thinking this for some time now, but I really like your dresses. I’d like to order them for myself.”

Angelina complimented Ianna’s dresses for some time before she then turned to Nissi, who was sitting on Ianna’s dress, and took on a tone of pride. She continued,

“You know what, Nissi? You should be grateful to me. I was the one who made sure you were allowed inside the party hall!”

Ianna looked up as she felt people’s eyes on her. Those nobles who knew about the small ruckus she and Angelina had caused a year ago were staring at them with a strange look in their eyes.

Apathetically, Ianna said,

“You’re bothering me, so please leave.”

She didn’t mind being blunt around Angelina now. Angelina looked back at her with rejection in her eyes.

“Won’t you let me stay with you just for today? I promise I won’t be a nuisance. I’ve been anxious lately because of the monsters.”

“Why are you so worried? Things might have been different in the Institution, but the royal palace is overflowing with people who will protect you should anything happen.”

“But I feel safest when I’m with you, Little Ianna.”

It was truly strange. But now Ianna simply took it as only natural instead of finding Angelina absurd.

Ianna waved her hand.

“Very well, but only if you keep others from approaching.”

“All right. Thank you!”

Angelina visibly brightened up. She called over an attendant and said a few things to him, and he bowed to her in return. Then, he proceeded to stay on standby and stop anyone who tried to approach Ianna or Angelina. People stopped trying after the first few were turned away.

Unfortunately, however, some people were powerful enough to ignore Angelina’s orders.

“Are you still in the middle of discussing something important?”

“My Lord Brother Schneider!”

Angelina stood up, startled, which meant that Ianna had no choice but to stand as well.

‘He’s been avoiding me as of late, so why is he here today……?’

Schneider stared directly at the baffled Ianna for a moment before he greeted her.

“It’s been a while.”

“It has, Your Highness.”

“I was worried about you when the commotion with the monsters first broke out, and I’m glad to see that you’re safe. I heard that you were in the Chaipan lands?”

Ianna flinched. She was worried that Marquis Chaipan might have told Schneider about her. Schneider continued,

“Don’t misunderstand me. I looked into the matter myself because I was worried about you, my lady. I asked the marquis, and he informed me that you assisted him with exterminating monsters.”

It looked like Gellonian had kept his promise. Ianna felt bad about having doubted him.

“Thank you for saving the people.”

“I only did what I ought.”

“Is that so? By the way, what’s with the cat?”

Schneider asked as he turned to Nissi, who was still in Ianna’s arms. It was only obvious that he should ask, since it was rare to see a cat inside the party hall.

“……?”

But he suddenly squinted and looked Nissi directly in the eyes just as Ianna was about to reply. Nissi, too, stared directly back at him.

“This cat gives off a strange feeling.”

“A strange feeling?”

“Or perhaps not.”

Schneider looked away from Nissi and turned back to Ianna. He continued,

“I have something to discuss with you, Lady Ianna —may I have some of your time?”

He was being earnest.

Schneider hadn’t spoken to her in months, and now he suddenly claimed to have something to discuss with her —Ianna grew curious as to his intentions. But just as Ianna was about to nod back in consent.

“N-n-no, Lord Brother, you mustn’t!”

Angelina, who had been looking dubiously between them in turns, grabbed at the hem of Schneider’s sleeve. The blood drained from her face as she vigorously shook her head.

Schneider raised a brow.

“And why on earth not?”

“Please don’t take Little Ianna away. Little Ianna has a prior appointment with me. It’s very important.”

“An appointment? How important is it?”

“Yes. It’s very, very important. But I cannot tell you what it is about.”

“I have something important to discuss with her as well. Do share her for a moment.”

“Absolutely not. Little Ianna is supposed to stick with me all day today.”

Schneider’s visage stiffened.

“Why are you acting so childishly, Angelina? Let go.”

“Ah, umm……then, in that case, please see me for a moment, Lord Brother.”

Angelina led Schneider out to a nearby terrace. Ianna was curious about what they were talking about, but she gave up on her curiosity because it was impolite to eavesdrop on another’s conversation.

“What are you talking about?!”

Schneider suddenly raged. He was so loud that Ianna could hear him easily without even trying. He continued,

“It’s not true, so don’t you dare run your mouth about it!”

“R-right? I know. My apologies, Lord Brother. I was only worried…….”

Swish!

Schneider furiously swept aside the terrace curtain. There was a fierce expression on his face.

Ianna was alarmed. She had never seen him be so furious before in this life. What on earth had Angelina said to him?

Angelina had withered up like a criminal behind him.

Ianna grew curious as she was overcome with regret. She should have just eavesdropped…

Schneider still looked furious as he walked out, but he stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of Ianna. He bit at his lip when he saw the mildly intrigued expression on her face before he quickly organized his emotions.

“Do speak with me for a moment now.”

Ianna obediently followed him out to a terrace.

Now that she thought about it, all sorts of things had happened on the terrace. She had been embraced by Arhad to chase away an annoying man, and she had hurriedly jumped down from it and had accidentally been seen by Schneider.

Schneider gripped the terrace bannister and muttered,

“I was surprised last time. You jumped down from here while wearing a dress.”

He was starting there?

Calmly, Ianna replied,

“I had no choice at the time, as something urgent had come up. I am embarrassed to have shown you something so bizarre.”

“I’m not rebuking you —I’m simply trying to say that I was surprised.”

It sounded silly, especially coming from Schneider. Ianna felt awkward about continuing the topic, and so she decided to change it.

“What did you wish to discuss with me?”

“Ah.”

Schneider looked serious as he turned around. He continued,

“There’s only half a year before you graduate from the Institution, yes?”

“Yes.”

“And you plan to leave Roanne after graduating?”

Ianna didn’t know what he intended, but she judged that there was no need to avoid him. It didn’t matter how Schneider decided to react after he heard her answer because she was perfectly capable of leaving with Arhad regardless. Even if she wasn’t and was forced to stay, Arhad would go as far as to wage war against Schneider to take her with him.

Which was why Ianna decided to be bold. It was for the best that she didn’t give Schneider any room to doubt. Besides, Arhad would like it better if she acted this way.

“I do.”

“And you still don’t intend to agree to being my knight?”

“I don’t.”

“Then…”

Schneider had been about to say something, but he closed his mouth and shook his head. He continued,

“Never mind.”

He didn’t say anything for a while after that. Ianna kept quiet and waited for him to speak up again.

“You truly never change.”

“Is that so?”

Or so Ianna said, but Ianna personally thought that she had changed quite a lot. She had changed a lot of things about herself, like her attitude with other people and how she felt about Arhad.

Though it made sense to her why Schneider would think that she hadn’t, as she was still consistent in her refusal to compromise.

“Did you call me here because you wished to reconfirm my intentions?”

“Yes.”

He looked her directly in the eyes. Schneider continued,

“I thought that it was only right that I should give up if the other party refused me to the bitter end. That’s what it means to respect others. But perhaps I was simply being arrogant. After all, I’ve never been unable to have what I want until now. I never realized how difficult it is to give up on something.”

“…….”

“I acknowledge now that there are some things in the world that I can’t have no matter how much I want it. And it looks like I’ll have to learn how to give up too. Indeed. My trying to sway you any more than I have been will likely not end well for the either of us.”

Schneider tapped himself on the head. He continued,

“The alarm bells have been sounding in my head rather frequently as of late. Shall I say that it feels like something is going wrong? I feel like my head’s about to explode. Yes, even now…….”

He brought his hand back down as he looked to Ianna with a strange fever in his eyes.

Why was that?

Ianna was familiar with the light in his eyes. She felt like she had seen in quite often in the past, in her last life. No, she was certain of it. Schneider had looked to her with the same exact expression on his face before.

But it was strange. She hadn’t thought anything about it back then, but now she felt a little danger from it.

Why was that?

She felt like she did and didn’t know the reason why.

She had come to realize many things thanks to Arhad in this life. Which was why she had doubted, ‘Surely, he doesn’t……,’ for a moment as she looked to Schneider, but she firmly denied it because her doubts bordered delusion.

But it still made her uncomfortable.

Ianna had been about to look away before she knew it, but she realized that this was something she absolutely could not do and simply stiffened up and grew openly wary of him instead.

“And what of it?”

The light in Schneider’s eyes wavered. He carefully chose his next words for some time before he finally spoke them like he was letting out a sigh.

“I’ve decided to give up.”

Ianna was happy to hear it.

She smiled as her heart grew lighter.

“Thank you.”

“……My apologies for constantly trying to appease you against your wishes.”

Schneider grew bitter as he watched Ianna smile upon hearing that he was giving up. But he did not intend to take back the words he had already spoken. Though he would probably choose not to say them again if he had the chance to do it over.

He had judged that he was in a rather perilous state of mind as of late. It was only right that he should give up on Ianna.

“But I find myself rather wistful about simply letting you leave like this.”

Still, he did not feel as though he could send her away with no strings attached. He felt like he would regret it for the rest of his life if he did that. Schneider had contemplated this matter for some time now, and the conclusion he had reached now began to pour out from his lips. He continued,

“I’ve seen your overflowing potential these past two years and have been desperately trying to appease you. I feel like my stomach would churn if you one day become renowned all throughout the continent before I even had the chance to experience how truly competent you are.”

Giving up didn’t mean that he was done. Ianna tilted her head to the side.

“So…”

Schneider reached out to her with grim resolve. Ianna reflexively stared down at his hand.

“Won’t you help me for just half a year?”

She could feel how nervous he was. Schneider was normally composed, and it was rare to hear him sound like this.

“The political landscape isn’t looking too good right now. His Majesty’s health worsens by the day, and Fernando, the incompetent fool, is prancing around in delight as if the throne is already his. The Black Fox is running wild, and there were even the Gates that opened up and invited monsters, which were likely from Bahamut, upon the masses.”

Schneider sounded terribly calm in his certainty that Bahamut had been behind the monsters and Gates. But it wasn’t strange for him to say this, as there were many people who believed that Bahamut had masterminded the entire event.

He inched his hand, which he had extended toward Ianna, a little closer to her.

“Just half a year. I will let you go, no matter who decides to take you, after half a year. But in exchange, I want you to experience me as a person just as I will be experiencing how capable you are during that time. There’s still a chance that you might change your mind, no? Though I admit the chances are low, considering that you haven’t changed even after all this time.”

“…….”

“I promise, with everything that I am, that I will give up on you after half a year. I would welcome you with open arms if you happen to change your mind and come to me first, of course, but I swear that I will stop sending you the letters that you never wanted to receive and that I will stop clinging to you.”

Ianna studied Schneider instead of readily taking his hand. It wasn’t a bad offer, especially considering that she was planning to stay active and Roanne and rescue more people for the next half-year anyway. At the same time, however, it was not a matter that she could readily agree to.

“I suppose this will only be a loss to you, no? Is that why you’re so hesitant?”

But Schneider wasn’t done yet. He continued,

“In return, I will accept three of your requests. I will one day be the king of Roanne, and I will set no conditions on the nature of your requests. There won’t be a time limit either.”

He listed the things that he could currently do for her in his attempt to persuade her.

“And when you leave my service, I will give you enough gold, silver, and treasure to last you for a lifetime of luxury. If I ascend the throne, I will never make an enemy out of whichever country that you choose to belong to. I will do everything in my power to assist you should you ever find yourself in trouble there. How does that sound?”

Ianna had no interest in riches, and she did not want for another country to be allied with her out of charity. She did not need his promise for assistance either, as she would deal with her problems on her own if she ever found herself in trouble.

But the fact that she would be helping Schneider anyway as a member of Camastros, and her certainly that Roanne would be able to hold out against Bahamut a little longer if she actively helped Schneider as an ‘individual’ moved her heart, just a little.

‘Most importantly, he promised that he would really give up on me.’

Ianna knew better than to trust spoken promises, but she also knew that Schneider was not the type of person to go against his word.

She was beginning to grow curious.

“Why are you making me this offer, Your Highness? The only talent you’ve seen from me is that I’ve won the swordsmanship tournament.”

“Indeed. Even I find myself a little unreasonable.”

Schneider smiled from the absurdity of it all before he shook his head. He continued,

“But I also trust my intuition. And my intuition tells me that you’re remarkable and that I will regret it if I let you go because you’re someone who can be of immense help to me.”

Ianna stared up at Schneider quietly before she dropped her gaze down to his hand, which was still reaching out to her.

He was truly a marvelous person.

And she was grateful to him.

Like Arhad, Schneider too had valued Ianna very highly in both this life and her last. He had done everything for her that he could.

Ianna did not take his hand and pulled it down by the wrist instead.

“This is not a matter that I can decide so readily. May I have some time to think about it?”

“I will wait.”

Schneider sighed and leaned against the bannister. He continued,

“It’s terrible. There are so many problems I need to address. Bahamut is an even bigger problem than Fernando.”

“Are you saying that because of the monster Gates?”

“Yes. But that’s not the only thing I’m worried about.”

“Then…?”

Schneider shot Ianna a glance as she expressed her interest before he replied,

“I trust that you can keep your lips sealed. I believe that Bahamut is behind the Black Fox.”

Ianna flinched. He continued,

“It angers me to the point I’m afraid I might lose my mind when I think about how much money we’ve been pouring into the Black Fox. I regret that we’ve let the bastards permeate so deeply into our ranks. Do be careful that you don’t catch their attention.”

The fact that Bahamut was behind the Black Fox was still supposed to have been a top secret. So how did Schneider know?

“What makes you think that?”

“I’ve no doubt that the curse on the palace last year and the epidemic that ravished Theodore were the Black Fox’s doing. But I did doubt that the Black Fox was capable of bringing about incidents that not even an archmage could resolve, and I also found the incidents both familiar and repulsive. I immediately went to the royal archives and read through the books that pertained to Roanne’s enemies. And there I learned that, historically, it was only the Bahamut imperial family that could harm Roanne so. That was when I started wondering if the Black Fox had connections to Bahamut.”

Schneider clenched his fist. He continued,

“Likewise, the monster Gates incident was something that only Bahamut could pull off. But the Black Fox, which I’ve been keeping a close eye on, suddenly began acting strangely at exactly the same time. They’re acting as if they’re preparing for war. I personally raided one of their bases, but the bastards who were guarding were too strong to be mere ruffians, and they were also organized as if they belonged to an army backed by a country. That made me certain that Bahamut is behind the Black Fox.”

Then, Schneider had begun to question everything. He had even been wondering if the Black Fox and Bahamut were backing Fernando.

Fernando had always taken the Black Fox’s side when they had clashed over matters pertaining to the Black Fox. He wondered, ‘Why is the bastard defending the Black Fox so?’, which then led to him questioning the mysterious power that was funding Fernando and Luria. He could not identify the source of their funds no matter how hard he investigated, and he strongly intuited that this was because it was the Black Fox’s doing.

“I’m not fully certain quite yet, but I plan to assume that ‘the Black Fox’ and ‘Bahamut’ are backing Fernando as I investigate further.”

Ianna applauded him in her heart. Truly, Schneider was an intelligent prince. He had successfully caught the tiger by its tail.

Schneider sighed heavily.

“I predict that war will break out soon. The Black Fox’s explosives, the spell cast on the royal palace, the epidemic, the monster Gates —I believe that all this was done to devastate Roanne before Bahamut declared war. After all, Roanne is truly ill.”

He stepped away from the bannister and straightened himself out.

“And that’s why I must become Roanne’s king. I am objectively the only royal who can break us free from this situation.”

“I would have to concur. Thinking rationally, however, I believe that it will be extraordinarily difficult for you to stop Bahamut as you are right now, Your Highness, even if everything you say is true and you do end up taking the throne.”

Schneider scowled in frustration —he couldn’t deny it because it was true— before he suddenly began to justify himself.

“It’ll be difficult, but I can still get it done. Shall I let you in on a secret, Lady Ianna?”

Ianna was unimpressed. She had been one of Schneider’s closest aides in the past, so she already knew most of his secrets. In particular, there was no reason she wouldn’t know if this secret was something that could help him stop Bahamut. Schneider continued,

“There exists a treasure in the palace that protects the entire kingdom. Is a type of ‘sacred relic’ that Queen Roanne de Roanne once received from God Laos long ago.”

Ianna’s brain stopped working.

“A few years after our war with Bahamut ended, my Lord Father showed me the treasure and proudly exclaimed that it was thanks to it that he had been able to stop the Bahamut imperial family.”

Ianna’s heart was racing. It was possible that the relic Schneider was referencing was one of the pieces of Phaemdra that she was searching for. But then, she became dubious. Schneider had never told her anything about the relic in the past.

‘Am I simply not remembering it? No —there’s no way I would’ve forgotten something so important. Perhaps he never told me because I didn’t believe in god?’

Ianna had believed that theology was nonsense, and she had never offered up a single prayer no matter how difficult things had become for her. She had loathed even hearing anything about god. Perhaps that had been why.

“What is this relic?”

Ianna displayed her fierce curiosity, unable to hold herself back.

“Hmm?”

Schneider turned toward her as he felt her intrigue. He had simply been rambling because he could not endure how pitiful he was feeling, and Ianna’s reaction had been beyond his expectations. He asked,

“Are you curious?”

“Yes. Very much so.”

Schneider crossed his arms and refused to speak.

He didn’t know why Ianna was interested in the relic, but it was welcome news for him. He cheered up, happy to know that he had finally found something that would give him an advantage in his relationship with Ianna for the first time ever.

“It’s difficult for me to speak about in detail because it’s a state secret, and, though I acknowledge I’m being petty, I need a weapon to work with, so I will only tell you if you agree to accept my offer. I can even show it to you in person, if you so wish. It’s something that only those with the king’s permission may see.”

Ianna furrowed her brows. She had displayed too much emotion. It was entirely possible that Schneider might have simply told her anyway in his wistfulness if she had simply asked if such relic existed while pretending not to be interested in it. Schneider continued,

“I must head back now. Do take some time to consider my offer. I’m sure you’ll find it beneficial as well, my lady.”

Part 14

Schneider opened the door and left. Ianna sighed and followed suit. But she could not get very far because Schneider had suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Ianna could see gorgeous platinum-blonde hair glistening from past Schneider’s shoulder. She stepped out and stood next to him, wondering who it was, only to immediately develop a headache when she saw a certain woman blocking their path.

“Lilith.”

“I’ve been searching for you for some time, Your Highness —I see that you were with Lady Roberstein.”

It was Lilith Tarwitt, Schneider’s betrothed. Her fan was covering her face below her nose, but her sharp eyes were more than enough to convey how sour her mood was.

Angelina was standing behind her holding Nissi and looking like she was at a complete loss as for what to do, and Nissi’s eyes were sparkling with intrigue.

“There was something I needed to take the time to discuss with her.”

“With a young lady who has nothing to do with the world of politics?”

“Whatever do you mean? She’s still the one and only daughter of House Roberstein. Besides, we were not discussing politics. I was simply trying to persuade her into serving me, like I always have been, because I am in need of her sword.”

“I cannot understand. Lady Roberstein is not the only swordsman of exceptional skill. Must you truly meet with her privately and in secret to appease her? Must you truly go so far?”

“Sigh.”

Schneider furrowed his brow as he touched his forehead.

“I meet privately with others too —it’s not just Lady Roberstein. Lilith, are you being like this because Lady Ianna is a woman?”

“It’s not her sex that makes me anxious —it’s your attitude, Your Highness. You’ve been sending Lady Roberstein letters and approaching her warmly every time you see her for two entire years now. You’ve never done so much for any other.”

“I only seem like I’m acting differently because the others have always readily accepted my offers. I would have done exactly to them as I am to Lady Ianna had also they rejected me at every turn.”

“No, you would have lost interest in them first, Your Highness! Lady Roberstein is the exception!”

Schneider bit down at his lip.

“Haven’t I already told you not too long ago? I won’t…….”

“How am I supposed to believe you when you keep……?”

Ianna wanted to leave immediately now that they had suddenly started arguing. Who would have thought that she would see Lilith arguing with Schneider over something like this in this life too?

In the past, she had simply regarded Lilith as a rabid dog barking irritably, but things were a little different now. It weighed at her heart now that she had begun wondering if Lilith had a good reason for acting like this in both now and in the past.

But Ianna immediately cleared those awkward thoughts away. Schneider had never once, in either of her lifetimes, approached her as a man. He had never brought up the subject. And that had been Schneider’s will. And today, he had even said that he would give up on recruiting her if only she helped him for half a year. That was Ianna’s conclusion.

It was clear-cut and peaceful.

Schneider always kept his promises. This was something Ianna had learned after standing by his side for over a decade in the past.

“Lilith, you know that Lady Ianna has a lover. Why are you acting like this?”

Angelina ran up to them as their voices grew louder and quickly grabbed hold of Lilith’s dress. Schneider turned to her and narrowed his eyes.

“You haven’t said anything pointless to Lilith, have you?”

“I have not.”

Schneider looked to the large clock on the wall and scowled.

“Lilith, I need to take my leave now because I have urgent matters to attend to. Talk to me after the party if you have something to say.”

“……Very well.”

Lilith only just managed to gather her breath —she had been on the brink of hyperventilating— as she saw Schneider off. Schneider quickly left the scene, and only Ianna, Lilith, and Angelina remained.

“Then I shall take my leave as well.”

Ianna tried to leave as quickly as possible. But Lilith held her back.

“May we speak for a moment?”

Ianna stopped a sigh from escaping her lips. The king’s birthday party was always so tiresome. Last year, it had been Angelina, and this year, it was Lilith.

“Please make it quick.”

Ianna could already guess the gist of what Lilith wanted to say. And she had absolutely no desire to quarrel with Lilith at length.

“I will never tolerate His Highness taking a mistress so long as the worst-case scenario does not happen where I am unable to bear a child. And His Highness has promised as much.”

Was anyone asking?

Ianna was about to retort, but she kept her mouth closed because she did not want to anger Lilith when she was already clearly upset. Lilith continued,

“Allow me to be curt. If you intend to be with His Highness someday, please perish such thoughts at once.”

Lilith had been elegant when they had met at Ianna’s debut. But Lilith had cast aside any semblance of elegance now and was simply being hysterical.

Ianna was displeased.

“You seem to be questioning my relationship with His Royal Highness Prince Schneider, but please allow me to remind you that I have a lover. I ask that you do not slander me or order me around because of your preposterous delusions.”

“Is that so? Then please decline His Highness’ offers under no uncertain terms.”

“But I already have been, to as much as I am able, have I not? Besides, whether I accept or decline them is entirely up to me. There is no reason why I must allow you to order me around.”

“Then you’ll decline him either way, yes? Please continue declining him. And don’t you ever meet with my man dressed like that ever again.”

Dressed like what?

Ianna studied her dress. It was splendid because Priscilla had designed it, but it was still just another party dress. Ianna was baffled as she asked,

“I beg your pardon? I’m only wearing a dress.”

“His Highness might see you as a woman.”

There were thorns in Lilith’s each and every word. They were thorns by the name of jealousy.

Ianna clicked her tongue.

“I do not become a different person entirely just because I happen to be wearing a dress. His Highness has been treating me simply as a person and as a swordswoman regardless of my attire.”

“That’s just what you think, and you are being naïve. People’s attitude changes depending on what the other party is wearing. He will treat you as nothing but a warrior when you are wearing scruffy training gear, but he will see you as a lady when you are wearing a gorgeous dress and beautiful makeup. Do you understand?”

“His Highness’ attitude toward me has never changed even though I’ve been wearing dresses to every party I’ve ever attended, no?”

Even Ianna had to agree that she looked starkly different from how she normally was when she was wearing a dress and makeup. Most men would surely be charmed, as Lilith was suggesting.

But Schneider was no ordinary man. Ianna had always thought this, but she truly had to wonder if Lilith was underestimating Schneider a little too much. The only time Schneider had ever changed his attitude had been when Ianna had jumped down from the balcony while wearing a dress. It had nothing to do with ‘dressing like a woman’ like Lilith was suggesting. Ianna continued,

“I find it offensive, but I do concede the point. I don’t care about what you want, but I will never serve His Highness as his knight. Naturally, I will not serve him as his woman either. As I’m sure you must know by now, I have a lover. I do not ever intend to betray him.”

“Are you confidant that your feelings will never change and that you’ll love him always? No matter what trials you may face?”

The question had been like a surprise attack. Ianna felt like a fierce wave had crashed against her entire being.

The light had only just begun to awaken and shine through the disorderly chaos. Ianna nodded slowly, ever so slowly, because she did not yet have the confidence to illuminate that budding emotion with her words.

“I see.”

Lilith opened her fan and hid her face behind it as she sighed. She had grown slightly pale. She continued,

“I am aware that I’m being overly sensitive. But please, I beg for your understanding. I’ve been betrothed to His Highness ever since I was young, and I have only ever been looking to him. And I am anxious because the first person he has ever paid so much attention to in his life is a fellow woman. I have never received as much attention from him as he gives to you.”

Ianna understood. She had once agonized over the same issue herself. That she would have no choice but to distance herself from Arhad if he ever found himself a life partner.

Arhad clearly cherished her dearly, so his partner would surely be bothered by her. Which meant that she would have to tactfully avoid him first. That was what she had thought.

But the fact that she had even considered this at all meant that her feelings for Arhad exceeded the feelings a knight should hold for her liege. She would have never entertained such pointless ideas if she only regarded Arhad as her liege.

Schneider and Ianna had only been liege and knight in the past. She had been his ‘knight’ and not his ‘woman,’ so it was only natural for her to stand by Schneider’s side. And she had been vexed at Lilith for being jealous out of her inability to understand that.

But Ianna understood where Lilith was coming from now, though she was still just as irritated. Ianna did not care much about Schneider, but she had no way of knowing how Schneider felt about her. This was true of both now and the past.

“I will take my leave now. I am sorry.”

Lilith offered a short apology before she gracefully returned to the other ladies who were waiting for her from afar. Her steps were as light as a butterfly’s wings. She smiled and chatted with the ladies, as if nothing had happened at all, once she reached them. The woman who had been jealous and angry just moment ago had already long since vanished. Her two-facedness was terrifying.

“Wow…….”

Ianna turned around when she heard someone voice their wonder. Angelina was blushing red as she fanned her face with a hand. She continued,

“I nearly fainted because I was afraid things might play out like my nightmare.”

Her nightmare.

Ianna had previously judged that she had no reason to know more about Angelina’s delusions, but what she had said just now changed Ianna’s opinion.

Angelina’s nightmare had something to do with her. It was why the princess continued to cling to her.

Ianna could not have cared any less before she had learned this, but it was in her nature to need to know more about anything that was deeply related to her.

Angelina, who had been waiting for Schneider and Lilith to leave, immediately stuck right next to Ianna.

“Did my Lord Brother Schneider say anything strange?”

“Anything strange? But more importantly, Princess. Please tell me more about your nightmare. Do I play a role in it?”

“Ack.”

Angelina opened her eyes wide in shock.

“Please tell me what your dreams are about.”

Ianna recalled what Arhad had once told her after she had hallucinated. She continued,

“I may be able to help you break free of your nightmares if you tell me about them. If you tell me what I did in your nightmares, then I will endeavor not to do the same in the waking world. I will not disclose this information to any other, so please tell me.”

“That’s…….”

Ianna hammered in her point when Angelina expressed her reluctance.

“Our relationship will end here if you refuse, Princess.”

“Ack!”

“I do not intend to continue any sort of relationship with someone who has approached me for reasons that they themselves find uncomfortable to speak about.”

Angelina’s countenance shadowed over.

“Ah, umm. Please give me just a little bit of time. I’m not prepared to tell anyone about it yet.”

Ianna could do at least that much.

“Very well. Please give Nissi here.”

Nissi, who had been observing the situation with great interest, climbed into Ianna’s arms. Ianna adjusted her hold on the cat as she asked Angelina,

“In any event, Princess, would you happen to know anything about the relic inside the royal palace?”

Nissi suddenly startled and smacked Ianna’s arm as she flailed. Ianna wondered why the cat was acting up out of the blue, but she did not pay it much mind.

“A relic? But there’s no such thing inside the palace, I don’t think? Have you mistaken it for the relic inside the Great Temple of Laos?”

Apparently, Angelina did not know.

‘Does Arhad know?’

To Ianna, Arhad was someone who knew practically everything. Ianna decided that she would have to ask him about it after she had discussed Schneider’s offer with him once the party was over, and she waited for the king to make his appearance.

“Presenting His Royal Majesty the King!”

An attendant loudly announced the king’s arrival from the other side of the doors. Trumpets sounded. Harios slowly made his way inside the hall as the doors opened wide for him.

Today was the king’s birthday. It was a day meant to celebrate the fact that he had been born with warm life, but the king looked sickly and there was not a trace of vitality to be seen in his pallid visage.

‘He truly looks like he’s at death’s door.’

The party opened with celebrations of Roanne and never-ending praises of Harios Maxium Roanne. Next, were some words of consolation for the casualties of the monster Gates and some words of encouragement that they could survive these troubled times if they all worked together.

“I thank you for coming to celebrate my birthday despite these difficult times. Forget your troubles just for today and enjoy the party!”

“Long live the king!”

Everyone brought up their wineglasses and cheered for the king.

Harios took his first sip of wine to commence the party. Everyone else followed suit.

“……!”

Ianna spat out her wine as soon as it touched her tongue. She also knocked Angelina’s wine out of the latter’s hands just before she took a sip.

Smash!

“It’s been poisoned! Don’t drink it!”

Someone screamed in shock before Ianna had the chance to say anything. People everywhere had thrown down their glasses and were vomiting the wine or rinsing their mouths. But there were also those who hadn’t done that in time.

Smash!

A glass of wine fell down from the very forefront of the party. A crimson mixture of wine and blood spilled from the king’s lips. His heavy figure crumbled before the entire hall.

“Your Majesty!”

Nobles began screaming from every corner of the hall as the king collapsed. Those nobles who had also ingested the poison also began collapsing one after another as they groaned.

“Lord Father…….”

The blood drained from Angelina’s face. Ianna grabbed her by the arm to stop her from staggering as her legs began to give out. She held Angelina up as she promptly scanned her surroundings.

‘What? What’s going on?’

The king wasn’t moving, and the nobles were rolling around the floor while pleading in their agony. It was likely not a very potent poison, as they hadn’t died on the spot, but it was a quickly acting poison nonetheless.

Only they could possibly be brazen enough to poison the wine being shipped inside the royal palace. The Black Fox —in other words, Bahamut.

‘Are the bastards here?’

Ianna immediately concealed her presence.

“Little Ianna, my Lord Father…”

Angelina was clutching at Ianna with tears pouring down her face as she looked to the fallen king.

The doctors, who had been on standby from afar because the king was unwell, immediately rushed inside. A few ran to the king, while the others scattered amongst the nobles. The doctors immediately began administering first aid on the king, and Schneider, Fernando, and some other high-ranking nobles began discussing things with serious looks on their faces from close by.

Ianna gently pushed Angelina forward.

“You should be there too.”

But Angelina dithered and stepped back, unable to bring herself to step forward.

“I-I’m so afraid.”

Her teeth were chattering, and she was trembling like a leaf. She was so unfamiliar with the sight of her father collapsed on the floor and heaving blood that it terrified her.

Shortly thereafter, the doctors looked up from the king they had been tending to with distressed looks on their faces.

“His Majesty has passed away.”

Harios Maxium Roanne, who had once been the Silver Lion who commanded over the battlefields but had spent his later days defanged in the arms of an enchantress, had passed away.

His had truly been a sudden death.

Clang…… Clang……

The bell tower tolled as news of the kings’ death spread throughout the palace. The melancholy bells tolled as they conveyed news of the kings’ death not only to Theodore but to the entire kingdom. There was something ominous about the sound.

“Sooob, sob.”

Angelina began weeping, unable to accept the death of her father. Ianna clicked her tongue as she heard the bells tolling between Angelina’s wailing.

‘To think that the king would die now of all times. Things are truly becoming messy.’

The poison, which had killed the king of the kingdom.

Ianna recalled the unpleasant sensation at the tip of her tongue. She rinsed her mouth with water from nearby and spat it out just in case some of the foreign substance had been left behind.

‘Who was it?’

Schneider had been expressing his gloomy condolences for his departed father, but he also clenched his fists as he flared with anger. His nails dug into his flesh and broke his skin.

‘Who was it? The Black Fox? Bahamut? Or perhaps…….’

Schneider glared at Luria. But she was pallid and in great shock. Schneider scowled.

‘It wasn’t that woman? No, it’s highly likely that she had some connection to this. If the Black Fox is behind Luria and Bahamut is behind the Black Fox, that is.’

Near the king’s swiftly cooling corpse was Duke Sam, Marquis Chaipan, and four other marquises.

Marquis Owen drew a cross in the air before he quietly said,

“We cannot leave the throne empty. Especially at a time like this. Your Royal Highness Prince Fernando, the Crown Prince, you must ascend the throne as quickly as possible.”

“Ah, right. Am I the king now?”

The death of his father, who had cherished him dearly, had made Fernando gloomy, but a strange joy suddenly began spreading across his face. Schneider bit down hard at his lip as he felt Fernando steal a glance at him.

‘Did this have to happen now of all times?!’

It was truly horrible timing.

The Black Fox and the monsters were crawling all over the place, but the crown prince was Fernando and not Schneider. In other words, it was only natural for Fernando to ascend the throne.

‘Is civil war the only recourse?’

But it wouldn’t look good to begin quarreling for the throne immediately after the king had passed away. He could ignore the people’s eyes and try to start a bloody battle anyway, but starting a civil war would only exacerbate Roanne’s problems with her foreign enemies.

But just as Schneider was doing his best to forget his melancholy over his father’s death and was thinking so hard about the future he thought his head might burst open.

Shaaaa.

He sensed all the mana in the party hall falling into one great flow and pouring in from everywhere. The mana collapsed and clumped together until it created a whirlpool.

Schneider’s eyes opened wide.

‘A Gate!’

A Gate was opening up inside the party hall.

Gyaah!

Kwooh!

Surely enough, monsters sprang out from the Gate accompanied by their familiar roars.

Gyaaaaaah!

Smash! Smash!

“Kyaah!”

“Ahhhhh!”

The bloodlust-filled roars shattered the glass windows, and the broken shards fell inside the hall. The monsters were surely powerful if they had been able to shatter glass with their voices alone. Those who could fight grew tense and began shouting for weapons, and those nobles who had no knowledge of the martial arts could only scream in terror.

Thump thump thump.

Footsteps were thundering from behind the hall, and human voices were mixed into the monsters’ roars —perhaps the soldiers guarding the hall were clashing against them.

But the monsters that the soldiers had failed to stop breached their lines and invaded inside. Their roars filled the hall.

Grrrr.

It didn’t take long for the monsters to begin showing up all over the place with their eyes glistening. And there were many of them. It had all happened so suddenly that there hadn’t been enough time to prepare any countermeasures.

“We must do something about the monsters first, Lord Brother,”

Schneider said to Fernando through clenched teeth. Fernando nodded back —they had no choice but to cooperate in this situation. The reins of command were naturally handed over to Schneider because Fernando did not have much experience personally leading soldiers to subjugate monsters.

Shaaaa.

Mana with a faint silvery glow began to gather around Schneider.

“Anyone who can fight or use magic will assist me in creating a path. Duke Solsavier, use defensive spells to protect those who can’t and follow behind!”

The knights who had been standing by inside the hall in case of emergencies and any nobles who knew how to fight gathered around Schneider while those who could not fight gathered behind Solsavier.

There were significantly fewer warriors and mages than civilians, and Schneider understood that every last one of them would be helpful in resolving the situation. However, they had all left their weapons behind because they were attending the party. Schneider opened up his subspace and poured out the high-quality weapons he had been storing away onto the floor.

“There’s no time to lose. Hurry up and take up a weapon!”

The monsters came rushing for them as soon as people began picking up the weapons. There was an ugly mood in the air.

“Ack!”

Grrr!

It was truly hell.

“Little Ianna, sob. Sob.”

Ianna dragged the weeping Angelina along and pushed her inside the crowd of civilians. She observed the situation as she pondered about how she should act.

‘It’s a bit dangerous.’

The monsters were pushing the nobles back. Shingardra Solsavier was also struggling to cast and maintain his wide-scale defensive spells.

But, was it purely by chance? Ianna could see that the monsters were visibly avoiding the members of the royal family —in other words, they were not attacking Fernando, Schneider, or Linus.

‘This again?’

Strangely enough, the monsters had always avoided Schneider in the past as well. Even the most ferocious monsters had avoided him. Apparently, whatever powers were at work applied not only to Schneider but also to the rest of the royal family.

Ianna, who had observed all of this in but a moment, quickly grabbed Angelina by the shoulders.

“You were skilled a magic, right, Princess?”

“Sob, sob.”

Tears fell from Angelina’s face as she wept. Ianna continued,

“Please help Duke Solsavier protect the people here. I must go. I’ll leave Nissi in your care as well.”

Ianna pushed Nissi into Angelina’s arms and tried to leave, but Angelina grabbed her by the clothes and refused to let go.

“I-I’m so scared. Sob. Sob. Lord Father……. Please don’t go, Little Ianna. Sob.”

Angelina was having a panic attack with tears streaming down her face.

“Please pardon my discourtesy.”

Ianna raised her hand no sooner than the words had left her mouth.

Smack.

She slapped Angelina across the face. Angelina was so shocked that she stopped crying entirely. Then, she began hiccupping at the stinging pain that she had never felt before in her life. Ianna watched Angelina grab her aching cheek before she calmly continued,

“You are a princess. Pull yourself together.”

“…….”

“With power comes responsibility. You’ve enjoyed your authority as a princess until now, and it is therefore your responsibility to protect your people. And you have the ability to do so.”

Angelina looked to Ianna with shaking eyes as the latter pushed her toward Solsavier. Ianna continued,

“Didn’t you say you wanted to change? This time, instead of relying on others to protect you, use your own power to protect yourself and those around you.”

Angelina stopped crying and held Nissi in her arms as she made her way over to Shingardra in her bewilderment. Ianna walked past the terrified nobles and toward the battlefield resounding with the clashing of weapons.

Then, she picked up the closest sword that had tumbled to the floor. Every sword around her was of good make, as they all belonged to Schneider.

“Reinforcements are here!”

someone shouted from one end of the hall. Elite troops and mages were pushing into the ruined palace and clashing against the monsters even as they shout resounded. The reinforcements had killed the monsters on their way here, which meant that they had cut open a path.

“All knights under my command —follow me and evacuate the civilians!”

Fernando quickly stepped forward. It was plainly obvious that he simply wanted to slip out of this hellscape. But the people did not have the leisure to notice or care. They simply followed blindly behind Fernando, thinking that they had finally been saved.

Ianna spotted Saiwè quietly observing the situation from behind the reinforcement troops. He spotted her too and waved when she gleefully walked up to him.

“It looks like things here have become a right mess while I was out on a walk. I gathered together the scattered army as quickly as I could. But why did the king pass away?”

“He was poisoned.”

“What a truly ridiculous death.”

Saiwè was rather callous for someone who had just lost his father.

“How are things like elsewhere, Van?”

“It’s perfectly fine everywhere else. It’s only like this here. This must be Bahamut’s work, yes? In any event, it looks like I’ll have to make a move.”

Saiwè opened up his subspace and pulled out his bow and quiver. He pulled at his bowstring as he asked,

“What will you do, Ann?”

“The monsters seem evenly matched with the Roanne army in terms of strength, but I am thinking of going around and helping out where there is the most danger.”

Ianna had decided to only help when things were truly dangerous instead of stepping forward to the frontlines. This was the royal palace of the Kingdom of Roanne, which had a history that spanned over a millennium. There were many other people here beside her who could put down the monsters. She continued,

“I’ve also considered closing the Gates outside, but I’ve decided against it. We can’t be reckless when we don’t even know what Bahamut is scheming.”

“An astute choice. Well then.”

Saiwè lightly jumped up to a bannister and drew his bow.

Crunch.

The veins popped out of his fair and sturdy arm. His eyes, as frightening as a savage beast’s, scanned his surroundings as he found his trajectory. He pulled his bow so taut that it was practically screaming, and he fortified his arrow with mana before he released it.

Poow!

His arrow pierced straight through a monster’s head. Ianna looked around. Fernando and the civilians who had followed him were gone, but Shingardra and Angelina, who had been protecting them, remained.

Now that he was relieved of his duties to protect the people, Shingardra cast his magic everywhere and began massacring the monsters. He was the greatest mage in Roanne, and, while he specialized in defensive magic, he could still cast other spells were greater skill than could most other mages. So it was only natural that the monsters were being slaughtered.

“Sob.”

But Angelina surprised her. Ianna had thought that the princess would have escaped with the others, but she was casting spells at the monsters even through her tears. Not only did Angelina use defensive spells to protect those who were in danger, but she was even using offensive spells to attack the monsters too. Even Shingardra, who was also busy attacking, looked back at her in surprise from time to time.

‘Did she take what I said earlier to heart……?’

Ianna felt a little strange as she ran into a swarming horde of monsters. Her fluttering dress was a nuisance, but it did not diminish her skills.

The monsters raiding the palace were all high-class. Their flesh was like steel, and mediocre attacks could not even scratch them.

Swish!

But their flesh gave way like the softest of cakes at the lightly brush from Ianna’s sword, and pieces of their bodies soared through the air, like branches being pruned by a gardener, when she brandished her sword with her strength.

Pow!

She not only dug into their flesh but rent them open when she kicked them with her heel or toe, and their bones shattered with she punched or kicked them with her reinforced arms or legs.

The monsters could not even perceive Ianna’s attacks. Not only were her attacks too swift, but she had also concealed her presence so well that she seemed like the air itself. She only made her presence known in the very instant she was attacking, the very instant when the once-living monsters met their death.

“Kwoooh!”

“Ahhh!”

A soldier began screaming in pain as a monster grabbed him by the arm. Ianna ran up to him like a ghost before the monster could rip it out and quietly brandished her sword.

Slash!

It was the monster’s arm, not the soldier’s, that fell to the marble floor.

Swish!

Her sword danced eerily. The trails of light it left behind crisscrossed the monster’s body several times over. A moment later, the monster’s bulky frame fell apart in pieces. Ianna’s crimson dress fluttered around her legs like a flower bud.

“Graaawr!”

A monster, which had been seeking out its next enemy, saw her fierce crimson and rushed toward her. It was twice as tall as a man. It reared up its massive axe as it made to split Ianna in two.

The soldier was dazed when the monster that had been about to rip out his arm had suddenly fallen. And now, some lady in a dress had appeared before him out of nowhere and was in danger of dying. But just as he gasped a startled breath.

Tang!

Ianna stomped hard against the ground and lowered her center of gravity. She poured strength into her thigh and calf as she rotated halfway around and whipped her sword in a powerful diagonal slash. Her dress blossomed as her curvaceous figure spun around.

Boooom!

Sparks scattered as a thunderous roar filled the air.

“Kwoh!”

The sword beat back the axe.

The monster’s arm was flung backward as Ianna spun around yet again. Then, just before she turned back toward the monster again, Ianna used the centripetal force from her spin to wield her sword with all her might.

Bam!

The monster, which had tried to split Ianna in two, was itself bisected as it fell backward. It had happened in but an instant.

The soldier was rendered speechless —and Ianna was gone by the time he had blinked.

“Ughhh…….”

A soldier, who was being crushed like an ant under the arm of a monster so tall its head reached the ceiling, was groaning. He could feel death creeping closer to him. Time had slowed. He wondered if this had happened because he was at death’s door.

“Gyaaah. Gyah.”

He began tearing up as the monster’s drool fell above his head and the pressure crushed the air out of his lungs.

But just then, a pair of heels landed on top of the monstrous arm that was pinning him down. A crimson mix of dress and hair fluttered around him beside his ears.

Swish!

A single sword thrust itself down into the monster’s hand.

Shaaaaa!

A crimson twister began coiling fiercely up the monster’s thick wrist, elbow, upper arm, and shoulder. The arm split open as the wind passed it and spluttered blood as it was ripped apart.

A flash of light shone from the center of the twister when it finally reached the monster’s head. The brilliant flash split the monster’s head in two as it crumbled down. It erupted in a fountain of blood.

The falling droplets of blood looked like flower petals in the soldier’s eyes. An elegant dress was floating down like a single flower.

It truly happened slowly. But the moment the flower landed on the floor had come and gone in but an instant. The droplets of blood drew concentric circles as the flower stepped over them.

Click.

He heard the heels touching the floor. He snapped back to his senses when he heard it —was it clear or dull? The blood that had been on the heels bounced back up from the floor and mixed into the blood that was still in the air, but the flower had already vanished by then.

Ianna kept her presence concealed as she moved. But time seemed to slow whenever she attacked several monsters consecutively or when she was rescuing people, and the people nearby could see her fluttering crimson dress. Those who were in the rear and not the frontlines saw Ianna more frequently.

The crimson dress was more tenacious than the windblown cape of a knight on the battlefield. The lovely heels suited the battlefield better than the crude boots that soldiers wore. This was all thanks to the skills of the woman who was wearing them.

‘No wonder His Highness Prince Schneider was trying so hard to appease her.’

But even still, none of them had an accurate grasp on exactly how skilled Ianna truly was.

“Sob.”

Angelina continued to cast spell after spell even as she thought about her late father. Her magic had saved many soldiers’ lives. She had only studied up to mid-leveled spells, but even her superficial learning had saved dozens of lives today.

And the experience was changing something in Angelina’s heart.

Angelina had tried to assist Ianna as soon as the latter had rushed into the fray. But she had realized that Ianna did not need her assistance as she watched Ianna appear here and there in flashes of light as she saved people.

‘Little Ianna is truly strong.’

Naturally, Schneider had seen Ianna as well.

‘She’s truly strong. And it looks like she’s still hiding the true extent of her skills……. Just how strong is she? No wonder she’s rejected me at every turn.’

Schneider observed Ianna every time she came in his line of sight. His heart was racing.

“…….”

Her arrogance as she turned him down dozens, hundreds of times.

Her confidence in her skills.

Her obstinacy in that she never changed her mind no matter what once she had made it.

Her preposterousness as she jumped down from the terrace bannister in a dress.

Her beauty as she wielded her sword…….

He liked all of it. There was nothing about her that he didn’t like.

But those were feelings that he would have to give up on.

Once the monsters had been mostly cleared, Schneider shouted,

“We’re destroying the Gates!”

Luria had returned safely to her own palace. She gathered the army and mages around her palace as soon as she returned as she quickly ran inside.

Her ladies-in-waiting were puzzled. The party had only just started, so why had Luria returned already? And Luria looked so uncharacteristically disheveled too…

“You’ve returned, my lady.”

“Shall I prepare you some warm tea?”

The ladies-in-waiting did not let their bafflement show as they greeted Luria with courteous decorum. After all, they would be whipped as soon as Luria found offense in even the smallest things.

But Luria simply ignored them and sauntered directly into her chambers.

Bang!

She slammed the doors shut behind her, kicked aside the luxurious carpet on the floor, and began stomping. The floor seemed to crack for a moment before a cleverly hidden trapdoor revealed itself and swung open.

“Did you enjoy the party, Your Highness?”

asked the fat man —Bruce— who climbed up from the trapdoor as he smirked.

“What the hell just happened?! You told me that you would only make the king bedridden and unable to act!”

Luria shrieked. She continued,

“But he died! And why did you poison the nobles too?!”

She grabbed at her disheveled hair.

She had been sick and tired of entertaining the aged king as of late. What Luria loved was the king’s station —she did not love the man named Harios.

She had long since grown accustomed to coquetry, but that did not mean the act repulsed her any less. She would not have willingly had anything to do with the old and smelly Harios if only she could have kept her authority without him.

A month ago, the Black Fox had heard her complaints and had asked her for the right to ship wine into the castle. They had offered to make the king an ill man who could pass away at any moment and get him off her back. Luria had jumped at the opportunity and had immediately accepted their request.

But the king had passed away. And Luria was frightened.

It was true that she had been helped by the Black Fox in getting it, but the power she had held for nearly thirty years now had all been granted to her by Harios.

And Fernando was not yet king. He was the crown prince, but he had a powerful opponent in Schneider. What would happen if Schneider somehow became king instead? That would spell the end for her.

“Goodness. It looks like the king was so frail that his body couldn’t withstand even a little poison.”

Bruce truly looked wistful as he spoke. He continued,

“But that wasn’t our doing, you know? Don’t you see? The nobles will only be sick for a spell —they’re still alive, no? Well, I suppose some may have died too.”

Bruce licked his lips. Luria was uncomfortable, but she had no choice but to nod because everything he had said was true. It bothered her that his tongue was flicking like a snake’s, but what else could she do when he was simply calling it for what it was? Besides, Luria was in no position to criticize the Black Fox.

“Then, what about the monsters? Goodness, what horrible luck. How could a monster Gate have opened up as soon as the king was poisoned……?”

Luria suddenly felt a chill run down her spine as she glared at Bruce, who was smiling slyly back at her. She continued,

“You aren’t behind the Gates opening up all over the world right now, are you? No, right? It has nothing to do with you, yes?”

Bruce shrugged.

“And what if I say it does?”

“What?”

“It’s because we’ve been persecuted pretty badly as of late. You’ve heard of the Black Fox’s creed before, yes? We pay back what we’ve suffered hundred-fold.”

Luria was astonished by how open he was being. Bruce continued,

“The Gates opened up most frequently in Roanne, did they not? It’s all because of Schneider. We would not have put special focus on Roanne as we attacked had Schneider not set up Camastros to oppose us. In any event, there’s nothing more that can be done now that the king is dead. We will assist you in crowning His Royal Highness Prince Fernando as king, Your Highness.”

Luria’s, who’s lips had been quivering in her bewilderment, eyes glistened.

“And you think Schneider will simply keep quiet? He and Lezè will do anything in their power to drag us down.”

“You have us on your side, no? We will give them no choice but to keep quiet. We will send Schneider out to the frontier. And that is where we will have him die…….”

“What? How?”

“Please come a bit closer, Your Highness…….”

The blood drained from Luria’s face as she heard what Bruce had whispered.

“B-Bahamut?”

Crash!

Luria shot up out from her seat. Her chair fell backward with a splendid crash. She continued,

“A war with Bahamut? Do you even know what you’re saying right now?”

“Of course I do.”

“Nonsense —how dare you say utter such insanity before me……?”

“Please wait just a moment.”

Bruce was content in his composure. Luria glared at him with her pallid visage.

“Your Highness, Your Highness! It’s horrible!”

It didn’t take long until a lady-in-waiting came running to her door, completely out of breath, and hammered at it a few times before swinging it open. Luria glowered at her.

“How dare you barge in here without my permission!”

“But, the Bahamut Empire has declared war on us!”

Luria dropped her jaw. Bruce whistled with a look of pure composure on his face.

“What will you do now?”

Luria wasn’t brainless.

“You would have anything to do with Bahamut, would you……?”

“What will you do now?”

Bruce repeated his question instead of answering Luria’s. But his tone had suddenly become high-handed. And Luria found her answer in his change in attitude. Bruce continued,

“Will you have the fact that you took our hand be revealed and lose your head to Prince Schneider right this very instant?”

Luria trembled in fright as she touched her throat.

“Or will you watch as Roanne crumbles away and enjoy riches and glory until the day that you and your precious son lay dead?”

Luria had no choice. No —she had never had a choice ever since she had first stepped foot inside Roanne.

There was no way that she, a foreign princess who had been sold to an aging kind and had been robbed of her youth, would hold any love or patriotism for the Kingdom of Roanne. The only things she truly valued were wealth, power, and her own safety.

“We plan on treating you as best as we can in Roanne, the kingdom that forced you to squander your youth in an old king’s bed. Prince Fernando will be king, you will be the king’s mother, and you will be showered with riches and glory. Even as the rest of the people suffer in agony.”

There was a vulgar smile on Bruce’s lips.

~~*~~

Part 15

“We’ve closed all the Gates!”

They had successfully slain every last monster and closed every Gate near the buildings.

“Carry the injured to the infirmary, and lay the dead in one area and draw up a list of their names,”

Schneider ordered before he looked around to assess the damage.

Fernando had abandoned any noble who had been poisoned and had escaped only with those who could still move. Some of the nobles he had abandoned had passed away, and the soldiers had taken many losses while trying to protect them.

‘Many have died.’

That being said, they had done well considering that they had been attacked out of the blue while they had been enjoying a party. And Schneider knew exactly whom he should thank that this result was even possible to begin with.

He looked around for a bit more before he immediately spotted Ianna. She was standing against a wall in the corner with a dulled blade beside her as she quietly observed her surroundings.

Her makeup had been ruined somewhat, but she did not look much different than she had when she first stepped foot inside the party —especially in comparison to everyone else. She was likely drenched in blood, but it didn’t show because both her dress and hair were already crimson. Schneider almost thought she was an illusion because she alone looked so untouched despite the mess around her.

Her presence was so faint it was rather queer. She looked watered down, as if his eyes were out of focus, even though he was looking directly at her. It had been like that when she was fighting as well. He could only perceive her when she chose to make her powerful presence known.

But Schneider felt like he could always find her no matter where she was.

‘Not that it even matters, I suppose.’

Schneider chose not to approach her.

‘I want to go home.’

Ianna felt gross and wanted to go home, unbeknownst to the looks that Schneider was sending her way. It didn’t show because her dress was black and red, but it was drenched and heavy with monster blood.

‘I should go.’

Now that she had decided, Ianna got up from the wall and made her way to Angelina. Nissi was following behind Angelina as she helped tend to the wounded. Nissi was the first to notice when Ianna came close and dangled from Angelina’s dress as she meowed.

Ianna found it curious. She was still concealing her presence and should not have been so easily seen by others. And yet, Nissi had spotted her so readily.

‘Are her senses simply better because she’s a cat?’

Ianna saw that Nissi’s paws were dyed red with blood. She could not find Harchen anywhere —perhaps he had evacuated with the other civilians.

‘I’ll have to clean her up before I send her back to Elly,’

Ianna thought as she made her presence known and picked Nissi up. The people around her startled and flinched because she had suddenly turned up out of nowhere.

“Princess.”

“Little Ianna!”

Angelina whipped around as soon as Ianna called her and clenched her fists. The knight, whom she was bandaging, yelped as she inadvertently pulled too hard. Angelina continued,

“Ack, I’m so sorry!”

“Not at all!”

Angelina finished bandaging him before she immediately stood up. She hugged Ianna tight.

“You’re so, so amazing. You’re amazing, Little Ianna. You saved so many people.”

The knight, who had been moved and was touching the bandage that the beautiful Angelina had done for him, looked puzzled as he heard what she had said. His reaction was only natural, as only a few people knew of what Ianna had accomplished in battle today.

Ianna pried Angelina off as she replied,

“I am thinking of taking my leave now —and I don’t need the flattery.”

“I-is that so?”

Angelina grew extremely anxious now that Ianna had said she was leaving. It was no wonder, really, as something like this had happened inside the palace, which was supposed to be the safest place in the kingdom. She continued,

“Please take care on your way back.”

But she did not try to cling to Ianna. Ianna found it quite unexpected as she turned around.

And only moments after Ianna had left the scene.

“……!”

Ianna felt a serious wave of mana flood over her like an ill omen.

Shaaa…….

Ianna immediately erased her presence as soon as she felt the ominous feeling and hid herself behind some debris toward the back of the ruined palace. Those who had been sneaking glances at her startled as she seemingly evaporated and began looking around in bewilderment.

Buzzz!

A small magic circle drew itself in the sky, and an elderly man dropped down from it. The alarmed people prepared themselves for combat.

Ianna’s expression grew frigid. She knew who he was.

The elderly man was dressed in luxurious robes, and his lips twitched into a smile.

“How did you enjoy my little greeting, my dear, worthless little friends of Roanne.”

“Who are you?!”

Schneider shouted savagely. Judging by the situation, it was obvious that the mage, who had teleported inside the royal palace, had been responsible for bringing about this situation. No —Schneider was certain that the mage was even responsible for the Gates that had appeared all throughout the continent.

“Oho, it’s an honor that the renowned Prince Schneider of Roanne is asking for my name. I’m happy to find myself face to face with the last prince in Roanne’s history.”

“How dare you spout such wild nonsense…….”

Craaash!

A knight standing behind Schneider grew enraged and tried to step forward, and a bolt of lightning fell from the heavens and burnt him black.

“How dare you interrupt me while I’m speaking?”

Schneider’s face grew even tenser at the fearsome display of magic.

“Your Highness.”

Shingardra applied two then three layers of protection magic on Schneider as he stood beside him. His expression seemed deadened.

The elderly man spread his arms open wide.

“Oho, Shingardra Solsavier. Do you remember who I am? You were still just a green rookie when I saw you last. You’ve aged quite a bit, haven’t you?”

“How are you here?”

“The title of archmage is a problematic one. This rookie doesn’t know his place and is being impertinent with me just because we happen to share the same title.”

Schneider pushed Shingardra aside as he stepped forward and said,

“Your name.”

“I suppose I should at least acknowledge your vigor. I am Wiffheimer Potestas.”

The mood froze over as soon as the elderly man’s name echoed clearly through the air. Wiffheimer laughed. He continued,

“Judging by the looks on your faces, I suppose that’s all the introduction I need.”

It had not only been enough —it had been terrifying. Everyone in the world knew Wiffheimer’s name.

Wiffheimer Potestas was the greatest of the Ten Archmages. No, he was even recognized as the greatest mage to have ever lived in the Age of Magic.

He was called the ‘Archmage of Destruction’ because of his pursuit of destruction magic, and he was so skilled that his magical prowess was said to rival even the gods’. Destruction went hand-in-hand with evildoing, and Wiffheimer was notorious. Even children would stop crying if they were threatened with Wiffheimer’s name.

But that wasn’t important at the moment.

Wiffheimer was the imperial court mage of the Bahamut Empire. Why had he suddenly appeared out of nowhere after the king had been poisoned to death and monster Gates had opened inside the royal palace? The people were frozen in place, as shocked as if they too had been struck by lightning, as the implications of the sequence of events dawned on them.

“Why has the head mage of Bahamut suddenly graced us with his presence?”

“Dignified until the very end even despite the situation, I see. But you should already know, Prince, if you’re clever, no? I am here to kill the king and open the Gates. And I am also here to convey the will of the imperial family of Bahamut,”

Wiffheimer admitted candidly. He continued,

“I’m sure you’ll hear the news officially soon, but, as of today, we of Bahamut are declaring war against the entire world.”

He had truly dropped a terrific bomb. The people were in a bewildered daze. Wiffheimer enjoyed the foolish looks on their faces as he cackled.

“Did you enjoy the peace you’ve known until now? We’ve finished our preparations in the meanwhile.”

“…….”

“I felt no need to inform any other country, but Roanne is our one and only arch-nemesis, so I came here to deliver the news personally. Well, I suppose I also plan to attack Theodore too?”

Wiffheimer leisurely waved his hand. A new magic circle appeared before him. He continued,

“You will have no need to listen to my words the next time we meet. For you will die before you have the chance to hear them.”

Schneider thrust out his hand.

Pooow!

Wiffheimer’s magic circle shook as it was disturbed. But the arrangement of mana inside it did not scatter.

“Oho, to be able to shake my magic —as expected of the royal family of Roanne. But you’re still too weak.”

Wiffheimer continued cackling as he pushed his hand through his magic circle and vanished as if he was melting into the air. Silence filled the area.

“That wasn’t a dream, right?”

But the silence only lasted for a moment. It was quickly replaced by noisy chatter.

“Was that really Wiffheimer Potestas who was here just now?”

“T-there’s going to be war.”

“We’re going to war against the Bahamut Empire?”

“But why so suddenly……?”

War usually had a pretext behind it. Bahamut, too, had justified their war when the empire had first been established. Their justification had been that they wanted to resolve the food crisis in the North and punish the selfish pigs of the South who hogged all the food to themselves.

But later, Bahamut had never stopped warring even after becoming rich from the tributes they received from other countries. It had seemed like they would never stop warring until they had suppressed the entire world.

Then, Bahamut had suddenly stopped the war with no warning about twenty years ago.

People had thought that Bahamut was finally putting an end to their cycle of greed and were beginning to consider coexisting peacefully with other nations. The much-awaited peace had made the people forget about the war as if it had simply been a bad dream.

“Wiffheimer said that their preparations were complete.”

“Were the bastards preparing for war as we enjoyed the peace?”

“My word.”

The war’s ending had only been a mere delusion. The peace had only been a curtain, and Bahamut had been stockpiling her strength with bated breath.

Ianna slowly stepped out from behind the debris while everyone else was busy being terrified.

‘It’s finally come to war.’

Ianna glared up at the sky where Wiffheimer had disappeared.

She had wanted to rush at Wiffheimer as soon as he had appeared and had nearly revealed herself, but she had held herself back. There were many eyes present, and she needed to exercise caution.

She would have attacked him in a heartbeat had Wiffheimer been a simple warrior, but he was a mage. And magic was, in short, miraculous. It was a power that could make possible the things that were ordinarily impossible.

And Ianna knew just how terrifying mages could be.

Previously, Keigus had used magic to speak through his chimeras. If she accidentally gave him the chance, then Wiffheimer could use a similar spell to inform the Bahamut imperial family about her in but an instant.

There existed a high-leveled spell that was capable to creating another self. She would have found herself in trouble if she had attacked only to find that Wiffheimer had been a mere illusion.

Ianna had carefully observed the archmage instead of going out of her way to attack him. His face, his voice, his attitude, anything of note about his body, the particular flow of his mana —she studied everything about him. All so she could deliver the lethal blow one day in the future when she had the chance.

“For now, we should finish what we started,”

Schneider said quietly, and the people began moving about in melancholy.

Schneider walked up to the late king’s corpse. Fernando had also abandoned the king’s corpse, just as he had abandoned anyone who couldn’t move freely.

‘Are you satisfied?’

Schneider looked resentfully down at the dead Harios. He had revered his father so much as a child, but his father had made a mess out of Roanne before passing away so pathetically.

‘I will never be the kind of king you were, Lord Father,’

Schneider resolved himself fiercely before he organized his emotions and personally carried Harios’ corpse to a cart.

“I have an urgent message!”

A messenger came running to him while shouting just then. Schneider looked exhausted as he turned to the messenger. How could there possibly be anything more urgent than the king’s passing and Bahamut’s declaration of war?

“Ack!”

The messenger had come running to the palace, where the king’s birthday party was taking place, as soon as he had received his ominous report from the communication tower. He frightened as he saw the mountains of monster carcasses, and his mind was thrown into chaos when he witnessed the king’s corpse lying next to Schneider.

The messenger knelt before the prince.

“What’s happened?”

“B-Bahamut has invaded.”

“What?”

“The East is crumbling. The most current news is that they are unable to stop Bahamut because the empire is too powerful.”

It had only been minutes since Wiffheimer had declared the war.

The council was convened.

“I am not yet king because I haven’t been formally crowned yet, but I will assume the position of his proxy for now. Well, it’s only a matter of time, I suppose,”

Fernando said haughtily. He continued,

“You’ve all heard the news about the East, I take it? I would like to send you there, Schneider.”

A vein popped out of Schneider’s temple.

‘He wants to send me to the frontier? Does he plan to ascend the throne without any obstacles while I’m not around?’

Schneider was cursing explosively at Fernando on the inside, but he forced himself to maintain his composure as he replied,

“But Wiffheimer Potestas declared that he would personally attack Theodore when he declared the war. Wiffheimer is a dangerous archmage who specializes in destruction magic. We will need as many mages as we can get if we are to stop him.”

Schneider stood up and surveyed the nobles around him as he forcefully asserted,

“And I am sure that you are all aware that I am the most powerful mage in Roanne after Duke Solsavier, yes? It’s most certainly true that the East is in danger, but I cannot possibly leave Theodore when Wiffheimer is threatening to attack. There are many powerful individuals beside myself who can go to the East…….”

“Let me ask you this.”

The edges of Fernando’s lips curled up into a smile. He continued,

“Are you the only mage in Theodore? Can the rest of the mages here together not stop Wiffheimer, the only mage Bahamut is sending, just because you won’t be here?”

Schneider realized his mistake as he looked around himself. The other mages sitting on the council did not look happy.

It had been Schneider’s error. He was accustomed to Fernando twisting his words like this. Which was why he needed to think about all the ways that Fernando could possibly find fault with him every time before he spoke.

But the even bigger headache was the fact that this was the only reason he had to justify his stay in Theodore.

“That is not what I meant. I am simply saying that we’ll need as many mages here as possible.”

“As many as possible? Aren’t you overestimating Wiffheimer a little too much?”

“He is the mage who opened the monster Gates and endangered the entire world. Are you suggesting that it is an overestimation to be wary of someone like him?”

“Ahem. Well, I suppose it is true that he’s dangerous. But it’s not only Theodore that’s in danger. Would you assemble every last mage in Theodore just because the capital is in danger? The other regions will require mages as well. Or are you suggesting that we hand over the rest of the country outside of the capital to Bahamut on a silver platter?”

“…….”

“Besides, we’ll need a member of the royal family to consolidate and command the nobles in the East. Just like how the royal family has always done in the history of our war against Bahamut. The royal family has never holed up inside the capital. But I am the king’s proxy, Linus is too young, and Saiwè is a playboy who knows nothing but his books. And the princesses are flowers who have never known war.”

Everything he was saying was true. Fernando, the king’s proxy, could not leave Theodore. And they needed a powerful commander to lead the army in the East where Bahamut was invading. Fernando continued,

“Or are you simply saying things because you don’t want to go to the East, Schneider? Are you planning to turn a blind eye to our citizens there who are suffering?”

Schneider wanted to rip Fernando’s mouth apart as the latter preached at him. It was all too obvious that Fernando had prepared his speech in advance for the specific purpose of forcing Schneider to go to the East.

But there was nothing that Schneider could say in rebuttal.

‘I’ve been caught in a trap.’

Schneider quietly ground his teeth together. Fernando was thrilled at his victory when Schneider did not respond and smiled in contempt.

“You wouldn’t, right? So, go to the East. And be at ease, for the other mages and I will be sure to defend Theodore together. Besides, don’t we have Duke Shingardra Solsavier, who is the highest authority in defense magic, here with us? Your teacher?”

Fernando smirked as he saw the stiff look on Shingardra’s face. He continued,

“I am sure that the Duke will rise to the challenge and protect Theodore well, yes?”

“……I will do all that I can.”

Schneider felt like his blood was flowing in reverse.

‘He’s planning to keep Duke Solsavier from me and pin everything on the duke if things go badly in Theodore.’

Schneider opened his mouth to refute, but Fernando slammed his fist down on the table before he could.

“You and I were both equals as princes until a few hours ago, Schneider, but that is no longer the case. I am the king’s proxy who will soon be crowned! I will not tolerate any excuses or insubordination from you.”

The conference was concluded. That Schneider would be sent to the East was all but an established fact.

Schneider had a heavy scowl on his face as he walked out of the conference hall.

‘Fernando will ascend the throne while I am away at the frontier. He will purge my powers once he has. And he will surely have me assassinated. Bahamut might try to kill me on his behalf under the pretext of war.’

The mere thought that the Black Fox was behind Fernando and Luria, and that Bahamut was behind the Black Fox, made him feel like he was drowning in a swamp that he could not swim out of.

Schneider brought his hand up to his aching forehead.

‘I don’t have enough evidence to justify a civil war, and neither can I allow the bastards to see me slip up. The best solution for now is to face the Bahamut army in the East and either find proof that Fernando has taken Bahamut’s hand or come back and stage a revolt if any problems crop up. And I absolutely must keep myself safe until the time has come.’

Schneider resolved himself to polish his magical abilities even further. He had been focusing on his magic studies as of late, and he was seeing results.

‘So, how do I stop Bahamut?’

He recalled the relic beneath the royal palace as soon as he thought about Bahamut. The treasure that protected Roanne. He had a strange premonition that told him that only the relic would grant him a solution for overcoming his current situation.

Back when they had first ascertained that the war was over and the parties were held without pause, a drunk Harios, who hadn’t lost his radiance yet, had brought the young Schneider beneath the palace to visit the relic. He had loved Schneider, his exceptionally bright son, most back then, and he had sung praises of the relic to his young son.

“Schneider, my beloved son. Look at this. This is the thing that has granted us victory.”

Schneider recalled his memories about the relic vividly and could remember every last word his father had said about it, but he did not know how the relic was used.

The curious Schneider had asked Harios about the relic, but Harios had simply replied that it was a rule that information regarding the relic was only passed down when the next king ascended the throne. He had been embarrassed about having made the mistake of telling his young son about the relic. And so, in return of keeping quiet about the matter, Schneider could only ask Harios for his permission to come down to see the relic again from time to time.

But Harios had passed away before he could convey anything. Schneider recalled hearing something about how the Temple of Laos would visit the newly crowned king instead if the previous king passed away unexpectedly.

‘Oh dear.’

A chill ran down Schneider’s back. If Bahamut was truly supporting Fernando from behind the scenes, then they could even learn about the relic through him. That, at the very least, was something that Schneider absolutely had to prevent. He pondered so hard he thought his head might explode as he returned to his palace.

“Who?”

Then, he learned that an unexpected visitor had been waiting for his arrival as soon as he returned. He continued,

“Sir Harchen Roberstein?”

He opened the doors to his parlor. A young man of blue colors was sitting on the sofa while calmly drinking tea. Harchen stood up when he saw Schneider enter.

“You’re here, Your Highness.”

“Indeed.”

Schneider and Harchen were not particularly close. They would exchange greetings should they ever encounter each other in the palace, but that was it. Schneider had never met with Harchen one-on-one before.

“My apologies for my sudden visit. Did the conference end well?”

Schneider crossed his arms as he sighed deeply.

“Of course it didn’t. The entire kingdom is in a crisis, and I came back with more worries than I had walking in. But why have you come for me, good sir?”

“There is something I need to tell you.”

Schneider was suspicious as he sat down.

“Then speak.”

Harchen cleared his throat before he began speaking.

“It has to do with the relic beneath the royal palace.”

Ianna was with Arhad late into the night.

She was a little late because she had only visited him after washing Nissi, sending the cat back to Elly, and washing the blood off herself. She told him about everything that had transpired today and about everything she had discussed with Schneider.

“He promised to give up on me if I accept his offer.”

“Schneider isn’t the type to make empty promises. But people aren’t fully rational all the time. There are times when emotions can overtake reason. You know this, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Schneider might change his mind if you show him the true extent of your skills. But I won’t simply sit back and watch even if he does, of course, so it’s fine to do as you wish.”

Ianna felt a little uncomfortable because Arhad had assented so readily.

Almost like she was making an excuse, Ianna replied,

“I heard that there is a relic beneath the royal palace of Roanne. I want to see it. It’s apparently thanks to this relic that Roanne is able to stop the Bahamut imperial family —might it be a piece of Phaemdra?”

“Hmmm.”

Arhad’s expression grew solemn.

“It’s likely, since only things that pertain to Roberstein are able to shake the imperial family emotionally, but it’s also equally unlikely. Laos might have set up certain measures before he disappeared.”

“Then, what else could it be?”

“Who can say? I don’t know much about the royal family of Roanne either. It’s true that the Bahamut imperial family becomes weaker in the presence of the royal family of Roanne, but I couldn’t find any data as to why no matter how hard I looked. But, after hearing what you’ve just told me, it looks like the relic beneath the royal palace might play a role in it. You’ll want to see the relic for yourself, since you’ve decided to dig up the secrets of the Holy Age.”

He added that Ianna had all the more reason to see the relic if it was indeed a piece of Phaemdra. She would need to gather all the relics in one place if she wanted to break the seal and make Roberstein’s heart fully hers. A seal could not be broken if it was not complete.

Ianna felt strangely unpleasant as she replied,

“Then, does this mean that you approve of me assisting Prince Schneider?”

Arhad stared back at her quietly before he nodded meekly.

“Like I said earlier —do as you wish. I’ll support you from behind no matter what you choose to do.”

“…….”

Why was it?

Ianna did not like it when Arhad was being meek like this. She had been planning to try to persuade him otherwise if he was opposed to her decision, but it felt oddly unpleasant that he had assented as if it was nothing to him.

Where had these twisted feelings come from?

Feeling twisted, Ianna sarcastically quipped,

“I’m glad that you trust me, but why is it that, strangely enough, it feels as though you’re letting me loose?”

“Isn’t this want you wanted?”

“Yes, but…”

But Ianna had nothing to say after that and ultimately closed her mouth. Arhad observed her for a moment before he smirked.

“What? Would you rather I keep you always by my side and refuse to let you go anywhere?”

“No. That’s not it, but…”

She liked Arhad, but she didn’t want for that.

“I know. And I won’t do that. After all, it’s not what you want. It’s sufficient for me that you told me about this in advance. This way, I can simply adjust to your plans.”

“…….”

“I’m only saying this because I trust you.”

That was all he needed to say for most of Ianna’s discomfort to subside. Then, he continued,

“And more importantly, I don’t want to force anything on you.”

Ianna was grateful that Arhad respected her will and supported her unconditionally. And she was also apologetic. But it felt like he was suppressing all his own feelings to prioritize hers when he said that he ‘didn’t want to force anything on her.’ Ianna felt like, at this rate, Arhad would simply agree even if she suggested that they died together.

Ianna stood up from her seat and plopped back down next to Arhad.

“……?”

She quietly looked up at Arhad, who looked puzzled about what she was doing.

Was he holding back?

Perhaps it was because her personality was twisted that she wanted to provoke Arhad just for the sake of it.

She grabbed his face with one hand and stretched up a little as she gave him a surprise kiss.

“…….”

Then, Ianna began slowly sucking in the soft lips that were quietly being held between her own. Then, she lowered her eyes ever so gently as she observed him.

Arhad, too, was observing Ianna. He lowered his own eyes, just as Ianna had, before he brought his hands up.

He placed one hand over her cheek, which covered that side of her completely, unlike how Ianna was barely managing to keep his chin in her hand, and he wrapped the other around the back of her neck. Ianna tilted her head up ever so slightly as she sat back down.

She was the one who had initiated the kiss, but in the end, he was kissing her. There was no helping it, as Arhad was both taller and larger than her.

Ianna felt strange, like she always did, as she drowsily rubbed her cheek against the hand that was covering the side of her face.

At first, she had labored over how suffocating it had felt because just sharing quick pecks with him had been enough to stir her heart, but she had grown accustomed to it now, and, while she couldn’t quite explain it, now she felt as though something was lacking.

She felt like they were stagnated even though there must surely be a way they could share even more. Like there was a fragile obstacle in her way on an otherwise open path.

Ianna knew what this feeling was. It was hilarious that she was applying it to the concept of kissing, but this was what she felt when she had broken past one stage and was trying to climb up to an even higher level.

To put it more crudely, should she say that kissing now simply felt like it was only a taste of the possibilities? That kissing no longer satisfied her the way it used to?

Was it similar to how a drug addict began wanting more and more potent drugs with time? And it wasn’t limited to drugs —wasn’t it normal for the threshold of satisfaction to increase when you were doing something you enjoyed?

‘Is Arhad satisfied just to press our lips together like this?’

It looked like he, too, had grown more accustomed to kissing, as he now had the leisure to observe her as they were kissing, but the faint blush was still present on his visage as it had always been.

Ianna disliked how composed Arhad was about kissing. And she also disliked the idea that Arhad might be satisfied with kissing when she wasn’t. It made her feel like she alone had grown odd.

Ianna tried to break away as her mood grew peculiar. But she could not. Arhad had pulled her in by the back of her neck and had pressed his lips even harder against hers.

The kiss was more tenacious, more mysterious, and longer than usual. And, after being exposed to such peculiar and impulsive feelings for some time, Ianna found herself in conflict.

Should she, or should she not?

Ultimately, she decided that she would.

Priscilla and Saiwè had done it mere months after they had first met, so why on earth couldn’t she do it too?

Ianna brought her other hand up to Arhad’s cheek. She wrapped her hands around either side of his face as she stood up. Arhad opened his half-closed eyes wide as Ianna suddenly sucked in his lip. And then, he stiffened up.

He thought he was hallucinating for a moment as the soft flesh that had only ever lingered outside of his lips suddenly wormed its way inside.

The flesh that hesitated after quickly brushing past his tongue began to flee in embarrassment. But Arhad pulled Ianna in and hugged her tightly just then.

“……!”

Ianna, who had grown so awkward about this new exchange that she had tried to run away as soon as she had gotten a taste of it, found herself being pulled back. It was not only her lips that were pulled back but her entire body as well, and she found herself imprisoned in Arhad’s arms. Her lips were spread open as something feverish pushed its way inside.

“Oh,”

Ianna moaned airily. This deep kiss, which Ianna had initiated on impulse, made her mind go blank. The sensation of the moist flesh wandering inside her mouth and the mysterious feeling spreading throughout her entire body rendered her unable to focus.

Her breathing, which would not disturb even if she ran for several hours straight, was ragged. Ianna squeezed her eyes shut because it was so much denser than simply pecking at his lips. This felt strange. It felt so strange.

She came back to her senses as she felt the sofa at her back. Arhad’s body was trapping her own. Her heart was beating explosively, and her face was flushed crimson.

Ianna pushed Arhad, who had climbed on top of her, back. It was only then that Arhad returned to his own senses and pulled away as he began to get up. But he did not take his hand away from the side of her face.

He looked down at her as he quietly asked,

“What was that?”

It was Ianna who wanted ask him the very same question.

But she could not. There was a shadow cast over Arhad’s face. He looked much more bewildered than she was, and something about him felt extremely dangerous. Ianna felt like she would find herself in big trouble if she misspoke.

In her embarrassment, Ianna ended up saying something sullen despite herself that she would later end up kicking her sheets in bed for.

“Are you truly all right with me assisting Prince Schneider?”

“…….”

What did I just say?

No sooner than the words had left her, Arhad pressed his thumb against her moistened lips and quietly whispered,

“Of course not. So don’t provoke me so recklessly like that.”

“…….”

“Do I look relaxed to you? I’m not. I’ve been doing my best to hold back. This is something you want to do, so I’ll suppress my feelings and support you. I’m barely managing to keep myself from killing them all and sticking you right by my side.”

The light in Arhad’s eyes grew darker and darker still. He had looked composed on the outside, but his emotions had been piling up layer upon layer on the inside. And just now, those suppressed emotions had clearly made themselves known and were falling into Ianna’s heart like rain.

Had he lost his mind? Ianna was delighted.

“So, don’t provoke me.”

The emotions oozing from his eyes were pressed down and down again. But Ianna hated that. She wanted to dig them back out.

“What do you think about me?”

She didn’t quite know what exactly it was that she wanted to do. But she still wanted to ask.

“…….”

Arhad observed her persistently. But Ianna was already familiar with his gaze. Slowly, Arhad answered,

“You’re an amazing swordswoman……whom I want to keep by my side and watch over, should I say?”

He had returned her the same answer that he had given when she had once asked him if he loved her through clenched teeth because the very idea had displeased her so. Once again, Arhad did not confess that he loved her.

But his answer still felt different to Ianna.

Why was that? Was it because she was aware of his feelings now?

Or was it because of what they were doing?

Ianna grew a little embarrassed because Arhad’s words sounded like he was saying that he was keeping a tight grip on his feelings and was prepared to endure suppressing them until she was ready. Ianna covered her lips with her hand as she turned her head to avoid his gaze. Arhad glimpsed the redness of her ears and cheeks and seductively asked,

“I can keep kissing you like we did just now, right?”

Ianna stole a glance at him. He did not wait for her to reply. He took her hand away from her lips and slowly leaned in. He stopped just before their faces were about to touch, and, in a voice crushed with desire, whispered,

“I’ll do it anyway. You’re the one who started this.”

Then, he quickly pressed his lips against hers as soon as the words had left him, as if his patience had finally run dry. Ianna found her head tilting back and her closed lips parting anew as his hot and impatient lips pressed into her. His flesh tumbled its way inside and greedily stole her breath away.

The intimate embrace, the heavy contact, the deep kiss.

“Oh.”

Ianna furrowed her brows a little because a torrent of emotion suddenly poured over her. It wasn’t that she was displeased. Rather, she was so strangely delighted that she found it difficult to handle. A fever flushed across her face.

It was hot.

Why was it so hot?

Ianna accepted Arhad instead of rejecting him.

She had no reason to reject him.

It felt strange, but the feeling of something filling the emptiness in her heart was electrifying.

……But it was hot. So very hot.

~~*~~

Part 16

Ultimately, Ianna decided to assist Schneider.

And Ianna made an even more important decision after discussing with Arhad and the other convened members of Camastros.

‘I’ll make Schneider king within the next half year.’

Someone had to be king, and Schneider was the best choice. There had been a reason why Roanne had managed to exist until the bitter end in Ianna’s past life. The biggest reason had been because Ianna had kept Arhad at bay, but the fact that Schneider had the people’s hearts and a benevolent rule had also played a part.

It was a win-win situation. Schneider could ascend the throne and safeguard Roanne as he so wished. In return, Ianna’s side could buy time by having Roanne, led by Schneider, fight Bahamut.

Camastros held no particularly strong feelings for Roanne and was satisfied just to have Roanne fight Bahamut for them. After all, the members had all gathered either because they enjoyed battle or because they despised Bahamut and the Black Fox.

Ianna requested for an audience with Schneider two days later. Schneider accepted her request without hesitation and welcomed her inside his palace.

“I will assist you, Your Highness.”

Schneider was overjoyed.

“That’s the first good news I’ve heard in this muck of a situation.”

“You must be in quite the pinch, I take it?”

“Indeed. And very much so. I’ll be sent to the East in a week’s time. I have no choice but to go and stop Bahamut there.”

A shadow fell over Schneider’s mien before he quickly brightened up again. He continued,

“But I’ll figure out a way to overcome this crisis without fail. I’ll be victorious within the next six months. And I’ll also try digging into whoever’s behind Fernando while I’m focusing on the war.”

Ianna asked,

“What sort of work would you have me do?”

“I’d like for you to protect Theodore until my return. I seriously doubt that Fernando will do the job properly. Theodore will fall quickly under him……and if Theodore, the heart of Roanne, crumbles, then there’ll be no way to salvage the situation. I want you to aid the Roanne army in stopping Wiffheimer and getting rid of the monsters. Can you do this?”

“I can, but…”

“Thank goodness. It reassures me to know that you’ll be here.”

“Is that all?”

“I want to ask you to help me investigate Fernando, but that would be difficult for you because you dislike meddling in Roanne’s politics. So long as you can protect Theodore and resolve the immediate problems before us, the other nobles under my banner can figure out the rest.”

Schneider was delighted, and Ianna began to recite the words that she had prepared to say to him in advance.

“I did not offer you my assistant to do such simplistic work, Your Highness.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“I will help you take the throne.”

Schneider’s face grew stiff as he listened to what she had to say. She continued,

“You will be the king of Roanne in half a year, Your Highness.”

“Is this a jest?”

“I am being serious.”

“Of course. You’ll be helping me take the throne…….”

Schneider wore a solemn expression on his face as he stroked his chin. He continued,

“I acknowledge your talent. Are you suggesting an armed revolt? But I can stage a revolt whenever I so wished, and I’m confident that I’ll emerge victorious if I do. The reason I haven’t done so is because I wish to ascend the throne in a lawful manner. I need just cause.”

“You’ll have more than enough just cause. It’ll take some time, but my master will provide everything that you need to ascend the throne.”

Schneider’s hand stopped moving. The person behind Ianna was undoubtedly the bastard who had won her for 500,000 gold before she had caught Schneider’s eye. Schneider narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized the poised expression on Ianna’s face.

“And who would that be?”

“I cannot tell you. In any event, please write me a contract in return for my helping you take the throne by using every means at my disposal, Your Highness.”

“A contract?”

“Yes. I would like a written record of our promise.”

Arhad had told her to ‘do as she wished,’ and that he would ‘support her from behind no matter what.’ And he had been telling the truth.

Ianna had thought that Arhad was neglecting her, but that was never the case. Arhad had supported her choice and had prepared her something tremendous.

Ianna rummaged through her bag and pulled out two sheets of paper.

“This is paper that I’ve prepared.”

Arhad had told her to write a contract so that Schneider could not cross his word. A written contract weighed heavier than a verbal promise. And Schneider would never be able to cross his word, considering the special characteristics of the paper Arhad had prepared for her.

“Are you asking for a written contract because you don’t trust me?”

“It is incorrect to say that when regarding matters of work. I am simply suggesting that we make everything clear. There is no reason not to write down our contract so long as Your Highness does not intend to break your promise, no?”

Schneider looked down at the paper and fell into a moment of silence.

“Very well. Let us do as you wish.”

He laughed out a sigh as he picked up the sheets and studied them. He felt something strange coming from the paper. He continued,

“I feel the aura of magic. Is this paper special?”

“No one other than you or I may read what is written on this paper, Your Highness. You will not need to be wary of any potential leaks of information.”

“Is that it’s only function?”

“If one party speaks of this contract or destroys the contract without the other party’s consent, they will die.”

“…….”

Schneider, who had been inspecting the paper without much thought, stiffened up. The pages suddenly felt ghastly in his hands. He briefly wondered, ‘Seriously?’ because he could hardly believe that mere paper had such capabilities, but this was Ianna. There was no reason for her to lie.

Once again, Ianna urged,

“Please write the contract on this paper.”

“Doesn’t that mean that we can die just by speaking about it accidentally? Why go that far?”

“It is not possible to speak about an important contract by accident. All you need do is ensure that you make no errs, no? You are simply gaining additional personnel at your beck and call, Your Highness, but this is a risky proposition from my standpoint. You must at the very least contemplate death before your promise bears any real weight.”

She had a point.

Schneider was willing to make any number of such promises so long as it meant he could ascend the throne quickly and with just cause. After all, he would not die so long as he kept his word.

But it did make him bitter.

‘Does she truly dislike me that much?’

He smiled wryly as he placed the magical paper back down on the table.

“When you say that you’ll help me take the throne, does that mean you’ll keep assisting me even if I’m not crowned within half a year?”

“Yes. But my master has stated that it will be done before that time is up.”

Ianna pushed a sheet toward him. She continued,

“Only if Your Highness agrees to a written contract, that is.”

“Why has he agreed to aid me? Is it just because I agreed to give up on you, Lady Ianna?”

“There are other reasons, but they are a secret. I will inform you of them once the contract is signed.”

“Contracts are important. All parties concerned must be fully aware of the entire situation before anything is written down. Is this not common sense?”

Calmly, Ianna replied,

“Please understand that I cannot tell you everything before the contract is signed. Our agreement will be void if you cannot trust me on this. And to be honest, I would not regret that.”

“Didn’t I promise to give up on you and hear out three of your requests?”

“I suppose. While it may sound heartless, Your Highness, only you would regret not making this contract —after all, any request I could make to you I can also make to my master…….”

The blood drained from Schneider’s face. Ianna continued,

“But I am asking for the contract anyway because only you can tell me more about the relic. I pray that you consider this as a ‘trade’ by which we can mutually benefit, Your Highness.”

A trade.

Schneider stared down at the paper.

“Very well. Let us write it now.”

Ianna Roberstein will assist Schneider Lezè Roanne in ascending the throne.

In return, Schneider Lezè Roanne will compensate her with the following:

First, he will not attempt to recruit Ianna Roberstein under his banner in any way, shape, or form once the contract is executed.

Second, he will accept three of Ianna Roberstein’s requests:

–

–

–

Any party who speaks of this contract will be killed by the contract.

Any party who breaches this contract will be killed by the contract.

1515.06.30

Ianna Roberstein.

Schneider Lezè Roanne.

Ianna’s requests would be written down in the blank spaces under the second provision of the contract. Schneider hesitated, but he ultimately braced himself and stamped the contract, and Ianna, too, pulled out the seal she had brought with her and stamped it.

The contract paper glowed for a moment before it returned to normal.

Schneider pulled out two envelopes, put a copy of the contract inside each, and sealed it with wax. He stamped the wax as well.

The contract was complete.

“Phew.”

Schneider sighed as he used a handkerchief to wipe away the cold sweat on his brow. The light only returned to his eyes when he witnessed Ianna pull up her black subspace and put her contract inside it.

‘The magic used to create a subspace is a difficult spell.’

It was one of the highest-level spatial magics. There was no way that the act of tearing space apart by its seams and shoving a new space inside it was an easy feat.

Ianna was a woman of many secrets. Schneider wondered if she was skilled at magic too and gingerly asked,

“Do you know how to use magic?”

“No, this is an artefact gifted to me by my master.”

But an artefact with a subspace spell imbued into it was not something easily found.

“Gifted? Did he create it himself?”

“Perhaps.”

Schneider chuckled despondently at Ianna’s vague answer.

“Was the paper also given to you by your master?”

“Perhaps.”

Her vague and guileful replies confirmed his suspicions. He put together a list of the most powerful mages he knew of in his head and searched through it. But none of them were charismatic or wealthy enough to make Ianna pledge her fealty to them.

“Can you not tell me who he is?”

“You will know when the time is right. However, it is possible that you might realize who he is even before that, and my master has said that he will allow that possibility.”

“Very well. But I pray that you’ll answer my next questions. Why has your master agreed to assist me in ascending the throne?”

He was genuinely curious. Schneider had only asked Ianna to lend him her military might in return for his giving up on her. But the other party had offered to give him something greater first. Why was that? He continued,

“Is it because he supports me as a citizen of Roanne?”

Schneider offered the most likely circumstance that he could imagine.

“Technically speaking, my master is a foreigner.”

“A foreigner. But then, why?”

“When two things are closely related and one falls, so too will the other. My master plans to fight the Bahamut Empire in the near future. But he does not yet have the requisite strength to face them directly. And so, he needs another power to keep Bahamut at bay until he is ready, and the Kingdom of Roanne is best suited for the role. But Roanne is as good as in Bahamut’s grasp if Fernando is to be king. And that is why he has agreed to aid you in taking the throne.”

Schneider listened to Ianna’s words and fell into contemplation.

‘Is he foreign royalty?’

It was highly likely. But it was surprising to think that there existed a country other than Roanne that was willing to stand against Bahamut.

Any country besides Roanne would be forced to tuck their tails between their legs in defeat when faced with the Bahamut Empire. The countries in the North, in particular, were barely only countries in name and were no better than mere vassal states that paid tribute to Bahamut.

“Then to summarize, he means to use me.”

“It is more apt to call it a trade, as Your Highness will be benefitting greatly as well.”

Ianna was correct. Schneider had a lot to gain.

Besides, he would have to go to war against Bahamut anyway if he was crowned king. The other party was offering to get rid of the pain-in-the-ass called Fernando in exchange for something that Schneider would already have to do anyway.

Moreover, while he didn’t know what kind of person Ianna’s master was or what kinds of powers he held under his influence, in the long-term, Schneider was essentially gaining an ally whom he may be able to cooperate with in the fight against Bahamut.

Schneider was pleased with the trade and nodded back.

“Very well. Now, will you tell me about how you intend to assist me?”

“I will bring you proof of Luria Roanne’s collusion with the Black Fox, a list of the powers supporting Fernando because the Black Fox knows their weaknesses along with said weaknesses, and proof of the relationship between the Black Fox and Bahamut. And, while it won’t be possible to rip them out from their roots, we will eliminate the Black Fox’s current leaders and reduce their power drastically.”

Ianna had listed off such incredible things with such nonchalance that Schneider froze in place.

Was all that truly possible in just half a year?

No, more importantly, the things that Ianna had just listed had been exactly the same problems that had been causing Schneider grief. She was practically saying that she would resolve everything perfectly and tidily for him.

“Is that possible?”

“It is. We’ve already secured most of the proof —we need only organize it.”

“Oho!”

Schneider felt so refreshed for the first time in ages that he sighed in relief. He continued,

“I might even dance in the plaza if you can really do that for me. In any event, it looks like your people are fairly certain that Luria Roanne is conspiring with the Black Fox.”

“We’re not simply certain —it is the factual truth.”

“…….”

The fires of rage flared up from within Schneider.

Luria Roanne. That woman was the main culprit who was undermining Roanne.

It was not entirely her fault, as she had been dragged here as a young princess and it was the king who had taken her in as his woman. But she had enjoyed all sorts of riches and honor that Roanne had given her and she had even given birth to the crown prince, so, as a citizen of the kingdom, it was only right that she acted on Roanne’s behalf.

But she hadn’t. Instead, she had become as the putrid foothold for the Black Fox to manipulate Roanne as they pleased.

Schneider was burning in his rage against Luria when Ianna uneasily asked,

“Will you be all right in the East? Our contract can only be fulfilled if you are alive and safe, Your Highness. And Bahamut will be after your life.”

“I will be fine. I feel as though I’ll have a solution for that soon,”

Schneider replied while looking visibly brighter than he had when Ianna had first seen him today. Ianna was surprised as she leaned in toward him.

“May I ask what this solution might be?”

Schneider’s heart stung as he looked back on the sincere expression on Ianna’s face. He did his best to ignore it.

“I’ll take the relic with me when I go.”

“The relic? What is the relic, and what sorts of functions does it have?”

He grew a little mischievous when Ianna expressed her curiosity.

“You’ll have to use a request if you wish to know. You’ve decided to draw a line between work and private matters, so I can’t simply tell you. You agreed to assist me, and we even drew up a written contract, so your requests will go into effect starting today. How does that sound?”

“Starting today? Very well then —I will use one. Please tell me everything you know about the relic. Everything —without omitting a single thing.”

Schneider felt his mischief evaporate when Ianna agreed all too willingly. She truly did not put much value in the three requests that ‘Schneider Lezè Roanne’ had agreed to accept for her. Especially considering how readily she had used her first one.

Schneider felt a little disappointed as he pulled out the still-warm contract that he had only just sealed. He wrote down, ‘To tell her everything he knows about the relic,’ in the first blank before he sealed it again and asked,

“Have you ever heard tales of a king of Roanne falling in battle?”

Ianna shook her head no. Now that she thought about it, the reason why the Kingdom of Roanne had been able to survive her countless battles against Bahamut was because her kings had personally stood on the battlefields.

Schneider cleared his voice and solemnly continued,

“The relic is called the ‘Armor of Roanne.’”

The Armor of Roanne.

Ianna mouthed the unfamiliar term and let it sit on her tongue.

He had agreed to tell her everything he knew about the relic, so Schneider began by telling her about how his father had taken him to see the relic when he was young and everything the late king had told him.

“I don’t know much about its exact functions myself, but I am certain that it is a small metal shard with the power to protect the royal family of Roanne.”

“A small metal shard?”

A metal shard was not likely to be a piece of Phaemdra. Instead, Ianna recalled the sword fragment that the dwarves treasured back in the Karankell Rocky Mountains.

“Is it something like the fragment of a sword?”

“A sword? That’s oddly specific.”

Schneider stroked his chin as he recalled the relic he had seen beneath the palace. He continued,

“Who could say? —it didn’t look like a fragment of a sword to me. But it’s also so old that it may have eroded over time……. So perhaps it could be a fragment of a sword, appearance-wise, as you suggest. I don’t know what it was originally supposed to look like, but I am certain of the fact that it is a special metal shard that is the only one of its kind in this world.”

“And you’re able to bring it outside?”

“I can. The soldiers standing guard over the relic are on my side.”

“That’s not what I meant —are you able to touch the metal shard?”

“Hmm? Of course I can.”

Ianna was bewildered. Only Roberstein was able to touch any fragments of Roberstein’s sword. Then, was it not a sword fragment? Schneider continued,

“I’m told that it has separate active and inactive states. The relic is deactivated when the king currently in possession of it passes away, so the newly crowned king must go to the temple, conduct a ceremony, and reactivate it. Or, the new king must accompany the previous king to the temple to inherit the relic without deactivating it.”

Ianna was convinced that the relic was not a sword fragment but something else entirely as she heard more of Schneider’s tale.

“Your house is also related to the ceremony at the temple.”

Then, Schneider said something that she truly hadn’t expected to hear. Why was he bringing up House Roberstein out of the blue? Ianna’s curiosity only grew instead of being assuaged.

“Related?”

“I hear that House Roberstein’s ‘heirloom’ and ‘blood’ are required for the ceremony and to activate the relic. But I don’t know why.”

Schneider tapped his finger against the table as he continued,

“Sir Harchen sought an audience with me a few days ago on the king’s birthday. He told me that House Roberstein would support me, and he also gave me some information about the relic. To be honest, my late father didn’t tell me much about the relic, like I told you earlier, and I didn’t know much about it until I heard from Sir Harchen.”

Harchen?

“Sir Harchen has already brought the heirloom to the capital as the head of your house’s proxy. I had wanted to drag him to the temple with me the very day we met, but I decided to cast away my impatience and prepare thoroughly first. The Great Temple is on my side, but we need to set the story straight so that bastard Fernando doesn’t catch wind of this. So we agreed to visit the temple in two days’ time. He’ll tell me more about the relic then.”

Harchen.

Ianna muttered her half-brother’s name.

His name had been cropping up in her life rather often as of late. He hadn’t had much of a relationship with Ianna in both this life and her last —she couldn’t have cared whether he was actually there nor not—, but he was entangled in much of her work recently. She was starting to grow suspicious of him.

And what on earth was the heirloom of House Roberstein?

‘I didn’t know that this heirloom even existed in the past.’

Ianna had slaughtered everyone in House Roberstein in the past. Then, she had returned House Roberstein’s lands to the crown and had become the sole successor to the name. She had sneered at the household, as she had been the only Roberstein left after having massacred the rest. All because of her twisted desire for revenge.

‘Prince Schneider never told me anything about the royal palace’s relic or my house’s heirloom either.’

Schneider would have told her about the Temple of Laos, the royal palace’s relic, and House Roberstein’s heirloom after he had been crowned king, and yet he had never done so.

‘But why didn’t he?’

Did he not tell me on purpose?

Did he think there was no reason to tell me?

Ianna suddenly wanted to see the relic with her own two eyes as she pondered over the riddles of her past.

“Would I be able to accompany you when you visit the temple?”

Schneider seemed to have anticipated her sudden ask as he replied,

“Is this your second request?”

“Yes.”

He readily accepted her second request.

“Come to the Temple of Laos before daybreak in two days’ time.”

Then, Schneider extended his hand. He continued,

“I will be in your care.”

“I will strive to do my best,”

Ianna said as she took it.

Ianna went to see Harchen before she returned to the Institution. She could find him more often in the Paella Company building than in the Roberstein manor in the capital as of late.

“Missss!”

“Meow!”

Both Elly and Nissi came running to her as soon as Ianna opened the door. Nissi kicked against the ground and jumped up, but Elly pushed her aside and flung herself into Ianna’s arms. Elly stuck her tongue out at Nissi after she succeeded in placing herself in Ianna’s embrace.

“Meowww!”

“Ack! Ack!”

Nissi cried sharply before she began kicking at Elly to pry apart a bit of space so she could squeeze herself in Ianna’s arms.

Ianna awkwardly ended up hugging the both of them. Nissi had cast aside her prior timidity at some point and was now approaching Ianna assertively, and Elly, too, had followed suit and cast aside her previously mature attitude and was acting more like a child her age.

“Come on in.”

“Little Ianna!”

“Miss!”

Harchen, Herrace, and Finn were sitting at the table that Elly and Nissi had just come running from. Finn, who had lost his chance to run to Ianna when she walked in, was eyeing Elly and Nissi enviously. Ianna brought Elly and Nissi to the table and brought Finn inside her embrace as well.

Ianna requested Harchen for a private conversation.

“You’re coming too? That’s not a terrible idea.”

Harchen grinned when Ianna told him about her conversation with Schneider. Ianna felt a little strange, as his reaction suggested that he had expected things to play out this way. Harchen said,

“Actually, one of the reasons I came to the capital was to deliver the relic to His Highness. Our house has decided to support Prince Schneider, after all.”

“I see. In any event, may I ask about the heirloom of House Roberstein?”

“No need to be so awkward about it —you have every right to know too. I don’t really know how to explain it, but it’s just a shard of metal.”

Ianna frowned a little.

A shard of metal?

“I left it in the manor —but if you’re curious, would you like to come back with me to see it?”

Ianna did not turn down his offer. She would be able to see it in just a few days’ time anyway, but she could not best her curiosity.

They stepped back out once their conversation was over, and Elly tottered up to them and cheerfully announced,

“I wanna learn magic, Miss!”

“Magic?”

Elly nodded back vigorously.

“Yes, and for real. All the really amazing mages began studying when they were young, right? I wanna learn magic sooner rather than later, since there are monsters crawling around everywhere and now even the Bahamut Empire’s invading too.”

“A fine idea.”

Elly was a child with an immense aptitude for magic. The current state of affairs was one thing, but it was better for her to start learning as soon as possible too. But, naturally, she would need a teacher if she wanted to learn magic. And she would also need money. Ianna lost herself in thought as she wondered if she might be able to help the child.

Money would not pose a problem. Ianna had her savings, and she could also ask Arhad to sponsor Elly and provide monetary support if necessary.

It was more important to find Elly a good teacher. Ianna began listing all the mages she knew in her head.

Heinrich, Maimayè Leviagè, Saki Celtz, Dorcianni Demariposa, Lalatua El Mardial…….

Schneider, Arhad.

How should she put it?— Ianna had only just realized it again anew, but she truly did have many friends in high places. But they were all rather eccentric and had very strong personalities, which made Ianna hesitant to ask them to be Elly’s teacher. And they were all surely busy too.

“I’m thinking about studying under Lord Mage Heinrich!”

But Ianna had never needed to worry. Elly had already decided on her teacher before she had brought up the subject. Ianna found it rather peculiar, as Elly had so boldly named an archmage, whom people normally revered, as her would-be teacher. Elly continued,

“That way, I can stay with Mister Herrace and also read a lot of books.”

“I see.”

Ianna nodded. Heinrich already had a disciple in Lalatua, and he had a milder personality in comparison to the other mages Ianna knew.

The members of Camastros focused on their personal lives when they were not actively working for the organization. So it wouldn’t be strange even if Heinrich decided to take in another disciple.

But Heinrich was already busy enough —he worked for Camastros, researched medicine for Herrace, and was the dean of the Valgenta Institution.

“But Lord Heinrich is a busy man —do you think he’ll take you?”

“I’m thinking of asking my grandfather personally,”

Herrace chimed in. He continued,

“Though it’s possible he would have taken Elly in anyway since she’s so remarkably talented. Besides, mages exercise a rigid hierarchy between themselves. Miss Lalatua will probably end up looking after Elly more than my grandfather does.”

“Hmmm. Princess Lalatua, you say…”

Ianna wasn’t worried about Heinrich teaching Elly, but Lalatua on the other hand…

“It’ll be all right. Miss Lalatua is surprisingly kind to friendly, pretty, or special girls. Though she may decide to be mischievous from time to time.”

Is that how it is? Ianna was convinced as she recalled how amicable Lalatua was to her, like a fox wagging her tail.

“You’re so cool, Mister!”

Elly ran up to Herrace and acted cutesy with him. She grabbed his arm while grinning from ear to ear, and when her emotions had settled down somewhat, she expressed her sincere gratitude.

“Thank you so much. I’m an orphan, and I don’t have any money. I probably would’ve ended up doing ordinary odd jobs if no one helped me, right? I’d never even get the chance to dream about becoming a mage.”

Herrace smiled back kindly and replied,

“You’re talented, Elly. The Institution is a great place and would have admitted you even if I didn’t help you, and you would have been able to become a great mage anyway, even if you didn’t attend the Institution, because you love magic so much. But I’ve decided to help you, so I’m going to help you as much as I can.”

“Okay. Then I’m gonna become an awesome mage, and I’ll help you too, Mister, if you ever need my help.”

Ianna stared openly at Herrace and Elly as they whispered to each other. Herrace looked up, feeling Ianna’s gaze on him, and his cheeks flushed red.

“I’m not offering because I think I’m amazing or anything like that. But you’re helping me, Little Ianna, so I wanted to help someone else too.”

“Was anyone asking? Besides, the fact that you’re able to help others when you’re already busy enough trying to look after yourself is amazing in and of itself. And the things you told Elly just earlier sounded quite marvelous too.”

“Then why are you staring at me like that……?”

“Just because I thought you’ve matured a lot?”

Herrace had been kind since the day that Ianna had first met him, but he hadn’t had much composure back then. Now, however, he was very composed. Mature, even.

Herrace was a year older than her, but Ianna had always regarded him as a boy a year younger than her. One reason for this was because she had already lived one long life, but there had been another reason as well.

He would look to her with sparkles in his eyes, like he was doing now, when she gave him even the tiniest of compliments. Perhaps she saw him as a boy because he always seemed to regard her as a pioneer in life.

“Can Finn come too, Mister?”

“Miss?”

Finn, who had been listened in quietly to their conversation, startled and turned to Elly. He was terribly surprised. Elly continued,

“I wanna learn with Finn. Weren’t you interested in becoming a mage too, Finn? I’ll teach you. Besides, Theodore’s about to become a battleground, so won’t it be better for you to stay in Lord Heinrich’s magic tower, where it’ll be safer?”

“But Dad said he was gonna send me over to Uncle Absilot’s place.”

“What do you want to do, Finn?”

asked Mursi, who had appeared behind them at some point. He continued,

“If Lord Heinrich agrees to take you in, then I’m okay with sending you to him too.”

Mursi shot a glance at Ianna. Truth be told, Ianna was the person he trusted the most. He trusted that, if he sent Finn to the Institution, Ianna would do everything in her power to protect him.

Ianna understood what Mursi was thinking and nodded back.

“I will keep an eye on Finn if he decides to come.”

Finn wriggled his fingers and contemplated for a moment before he turned earnestly toward his father.

“Then, I wanna stay here. I wanna be with Miss Ianna and Miss Elly.”

In the end, it was decided that Elly, Finn, and even Nissi would be coming to the Institution. The mercenaries would escort the other orphanage children to the Kingdom of Toraca, where it was comparatively safer.

Clatter clatter.

Harchen and Ianna exited the Paella Company building together and made their way to the Roberstein manor by carriage. Inside the carriage, Ianna studied Harchen’s quiet profile as he gazed outside the window.

Suddenly, she recalled the flowers he was sending her.

He had sent her flowers ever since she was younger, and he was still sending them even now. Recently, there would be lulls between each delivery, but she would find his flowers delivered to her again just as she was about to forget about them. Ianna had been keeping them in a vase inside her room —she had stopped rejecting them as of late, and Priscilla quite liked them too.

She was curious.

“Young Master,”

Ianna called to him. Harchen’s azure eyes turned to her.

“It always sounds so strange when you call me that. Won’t you just address me as your brother?”

“No thank you.”

“Then how about simply calling me by my name? I find it a bit uncomfortable to be called Young Master.”

Ianna closed her mouth for a moment, but she resolved herself before she spoke up again.

“In that case, I would not refuse, Harchen.”

“Mm.”

Harchen smiled in good cheer. Ianna looked back at him like he was queer before she finally asked,

“There’s something I’ve always been curious about. Why do you always send me flowers? Even back when I used to reject them time and time again.”

“Different flowers have different meanings, so I felt like I could convey things through them that I couldn’t convey through words. And, flowers also have the ability to thaw out solidly frozen hearts. Just like yours was.”

Ianna was about to say that it hadn’t been his flowers that had caused her change of heart.

But she couldn’t say that flowers had played no role in the matter either.

Ianna found Harchen strange for sending the flowers, but not in a bad way. And it was true that she sometimes felt her coagulated emotions mellow when she saw the fresh flowers he had sent her. Nor could she deny that sometimes, just sometimes, her hardened emotions would even melt away too.

“I’ve always wanted to apologize.”

Harchen was looking directly back at her. He continued,

“I wasn’t able to understand your situation when I was younger. And I was cruel to you because of it.”

“You have never been cruel to me. If anything, it was I who was cruel to you.”

“Is that so?”

Harchen didn’t quite deny it and simply smiled subtly before he turned back to the window.

“Will you keep sending me flowers?”

“Yeah.”

What a strange person.

And a truly kindhearted one.

Ianna stared into him before she too turned her gaze outside the window.

The vibrant Theodore had vanished completely in just the span of a few months. The once-handsome buildings had crumbled to ruin, and the scarlet flames were busily torching everything. The black smoke rising to the heavens disturbed all who saw them.

Bahamut’s main forces were dawdling to the west of the empire and on Roanne’s eastern border, so it would take some time before they made their way to Theodore, Roanne’s capital.

But Theodore was as good as a battlefield anyway because Wiffheimer had declared that he would attack the capital personally. He was a powerful archmage who could use extraordinary means, like the monster Gates, to attack the capital. Wouldn’t he also be able to create a Gate leading the Bahamut army’s main forces directly here too?

The people of Roanne were anxious —they didn’t know when his surprise attack would come. But even still, they recalled the war from twenty years ago and slowly reawakened their battle senses. They may have grown content in the recent peace, but they had fought Bahamut for ages, and they made their desperate resolves as they burned brightly in their rage against the empire.

Part 17

They arrived at the manor.

Ianna followed Harchen into his room. His room was tidy and organized, and the furniture and interior design —all of which had been readied to his tastes— carried the same air about them that Harchen himself exuded.

Harchen walked over to his desk and pulled out a box from the drawer. It was then that Ianna’s heart began beating quickly. This was something that Ianna was rather familiar with by now.

“Watch.”

Click.

Harchen opened the box. Ianna looked inside it expectantly. Resting quietly inside the box was a small, tied-up shard of metal the likes of which she had seen before.

‘It’s a fragment of Roberstein’s sword.’

She could tell even just from looking at it. That this small shard was a piece that had broken off from the metal that belonged to her soul.

Ianna recalled the shape of the sword that was pierced through the Demon’s heart. It had been missing several pieces of its blade. Ianna wondered just how many pieces of it had scattered across the world, and if it was truly all right to simply leave them there.

Apparently, she had already recovered all the memories she could from the sword. Her heart was simply beating a little faster than normal —she did not see any hallucinations or illusions like she had previously.

“Only people from the Roberstein Clan can touch this.”

Harchen pulled up the shard by the strings tied to it and held it in his other hand. He continued,

“But even the Roberstein Clan finds it difficult to touch. We instinctively feel incredibly repulsed by it. Father said he always felt uncomfortable when he looked at it too. He always said that looking at it made him want to put it somewhere far away.”

Ianna didn’t know why, but the dwarves had been incredibly amicable to their fragment of Roberstein’s sword. So why was the lineage that had inherited Roberstein’s name so repulsed by it? —it was contradictory.

In her head, the things that Terranodin had once told her dimly overlapped with the things that Harchen was saying now.

[But her feeble soul had completely lost its ego, and Roberstein was overcome. Her crimson soul was a foreign substance to the body, and it took on a blue light as it resisted Roberstein’s soul and became a man as it took on characteristics that were completely opposite of hers. The same result repeated itself no matter how many times Laos tried, and that is how the Roberstein Clan came to be.]

If she picked apart Terranodin’s words, they suggested that Laos had forced Roberstein’s soul inside the Roberstein Clan. Laos had not cared one whit about the clan’s own identity or soul. He had simply created the Roberstein Clan as a vessel to preserve Roberstein’s soul while it was not alive.

So it was only natural that the clan was repulsed by Roberstein. They detested the powerful soul flowing through their veins so much that their appearance had turned blue as they rebelled.

But then, why did they keep this fragment as an heirloom?

Harchen held it out to her.

“Do you want to try touching it?”

Ianna accepted it without a word.

Buzz—. Buzz—.

The small fragment began vibrating subtly, as if to express that it had finally met its true master. Ianna and Harchen looked down at it quietly.

Two days passed quickly.

“You’re early.”

Ianna met Schneider, with his entire being wrapped tightly inside his robes, outside the temple. He personally retrieved a box, about the length of his forearm, from beneath his carriage before he sent it away. He continued,

“Sir Harchen said that he would arrive early and begin preparing with the pope —have you seen him?”

“No. I only just got here myself.”

Ianna’s eyes had been glued on the antique box in Schneider’s hands ever since he had arrived. She asked,

“Is that the relic?”

“It is. Slipping this outside proved quite the difficult task. That bastard Fernando kept putting me on surveillance since yesterday……,”

Schneider grumbled, but he cleared his throat when he saw how openly Ianna was staring at the box. He continued,

“Are you curious?”

“Yes. And very much so.”

“In that case, I’ll let you take a quick peek.”

Despite calling it a ‘quick peek,’ Schneider opened the box wide for her to admire at her leisure.

Just as Schneider had suggested a few days back, the metal shard inside the box did not look like a fragment of a sword. It was too flat and too large to be one. If it was a fragment of a sword, it would have had to be a piece of a large sword like a bastard sword that was then sliced into thinner pieces.

And, while it did look like a metal shard, it was too strange in color to actually be metallic —it was the color of freshly fallen snow upon a hilltop. More importantly, Ianna did not feel as though it belonged to her like she had felt when she saw the heirloom that Harchen had shown her or the large sword fragment in Karankell.

This was not a sword fragment.

But her heart was still racing.

And, though she didn’t know why, it gave her a strange sense of déjà vu.

“May I touch it?”

“It embarrasses me to make you use our contract for such trivial requests. I’ll simply accept any similarly trivial requests moving forward.”

Ianna took the shard out of the box that Schneider was holding out to her.

‘This is…….’

It absolutely wasn’t a sword fragment. It felt more like a piece of armor than it did a piece of a sword.

‘Right, this…’

She was oddly familiar with its texture and shape.

‘This looks like a dragon scale.’

She remembered dragon scales rather vividly, as she had once held onto Terranodin’s scales as she flew on his back for a full week.

Dragon scales were new materials that Ianna had never come into contact with before meeting Terranodin or Arhad’s draconic form. They had felt like a metal that was harder and stronger than mithril.

And the metal shard in her hands right now felt exactly the same. She was certain that Terranodin’s crimson scales would look exactly like this one if you washed it of its color. Terranodin’s scales had felt hot because they were imbued by the fire’s aura, but the shard in her hands felt pure and unblemished.

Terranodin, the Flame Dragon, had crimson scales, Gamadaian, the Earth Dragon, had brown scales, Millanikonè, the Forest Dragon, had verdant scales, Frillianu had azure scales, and Kandemayon, the Chaos Dragon, was said to have black scales.

‘But I’ve never heard of there being a white dragon.’

Was she only deluding herself into thinking that it was a dragon scale? Ianna returned the shard to Schneider’s box without being able to gain much new information from it.

“It’s nothing special, no? But it glowed crimson while my father yet lived —while it was active, that is. I felt irritated, like I was yearning for something, whenever I saw it. And it made me feel like I was being unconditionally protected. It only feels strange to me now that it’s lost its light.”

“A crimson glow……,”

Ianna muttered, but Schneider urged her to enter the temple as he began walking away.

“You may touch it again after the ritual’s concluded, if you’d like.”

Ianna pulled up her feet, which felt like they had been nailed to the ground, and followed suit as Schneider made his way to the temple.

The priests of the Temple of Laos began their days much earlier than did the average person. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but some priests had woken even earlier than their peers to begin cleaning the temple.

But the temple was silent today without a soul to be seen, perhaps because the pope had pulled few strings. Only the sound of Ianna’s and Schneider’s footsteps broke the peaceful silence within the temple walls.

Thud thud.

The path was no longer unfamiliar to Ianna as she followed after Schneider. Ianna knew exactly where he was going as soon as they reached a certain entrance up ahead.

Normally, the entrance was guarded by holy knights. Past this place were the stairs that led underground. And past the stairs were the gravestone, the Temple of Laos’ treasure, and the vines.

“Welcome.”

Standing before the stairs was a middle-aged man wearing a white habit.

His name was Centir. He had been a pope of the Faith of Laos until the day that Ianna had died. But they had never interacted much, as Ianna had not believed in god. They had greeted each other offishly when they met, but that was all.

A Centir much younger than the man from Ianna’s memories greeted her. He looked nervous. But that was only natural, as he was about to bear witness as the new master of a national treasure succeed it.

The three of them went down to where the gravestone was. Harchen, who had arrived ahead of them, was already standing near the gravestone and staring at the sword fragment, which he was hanging from up high from its string.

“Oh, you’re here.”

He lowered his hand and approached the other three once he had spotted them. Schneider expressed his interest in the sword fragment that Harchen was holding.

“Is that the heirloom? How very strange. It feels similar to how the national treasure feels when it glows……. Indeed, it feels exactly like this gravestone before us. Would you mind if I touched it?”

“Please go ahead.”

Schneider reached out for the fragment. Ianna narrowed her eyes when she saw his fingers touch it.

‘How is the prince able to touch it?’

Schneider quickly drew his hand away.

“Hmm, it strangely feels as though it’s rejecting me.”

“Is that so?”

Schneider and Herchen were conversing when Centir suddenly opened a trapdoor on the floor.

“Please, go inside.”

It led to a set of stairs leading further down. Ianna’s eyes took on a conspicuous color.

‘A basement beneath a basement?’

Ianna had only been granted permission to observe as a member of House Roberstein, so she followed behind the other three only after they had gained some distance from her.

They followed the light of the pope’s torch as they travelled to their destination in the darkness. There was a small altar there. On the ceiling directly above the altar was the bottom of the gravestone that paraded its majesty up on the floor above.

And the vines that were wrapped around the gravestone stretched out from it as if it had taken root there.

“We will now commence the ritual.”

Centir pulled out a box from beneath the altar and opened it. Ianna, who had seen many curious objects inside boxes as of late, sharpened her vision as she stole a glance inside.

Lying inside the box was a black metal shard. It looked very much like the white national treasure.

‘And what’s that now?’

First a white shard, and now a black one.

Ianna had wondered if the national treasure was a dragon scale, but she had written it off as a delusion because she had never heard of a white dragon. But the black shard she saw now confused her.

“Pope, why does the object you’ve just taken out look so similar to the national treasure I’ve brought with me? What are these?”

“All I know is that the Black Prophet left this here with us before he left. It is a pair with the white shard that you’ve brought, Your Highness.”

The Black Prophet.

Ianna understood as soon as she heard the name.

Kandemayon, the Chaos Dragon.

Ianna was certain that the black shard was one of Kandemayon’s scales.

‘But then, what’s with the white one?’

The three men began discussing the ritual while Ianna was deeply lost on thought.

“……And this is how the ritual will be conducted.”

“How complicated. And I don’t even understand it.”

Centir brought Schneider and Harchen before the altar once he was finished with his explanation. Ianna had returned to her senses by then, and she carefully surveyed their surroundings.

Clatter.

Centir placed the black and white shards atop the altar. And then, something curious happened. The two shards fit perfectly together to create a circle. It was as if they had always been a circle to begin with and had been split in two.

Clang.

Harchen undid the string on the sword fragment and placed the fragment at the center of the circle. The fragment rang clearly as it met the shards.

“Chaos,”

he said as he brought his thumb over the sharp end of Roberstein’s sword fragment. Crimson blood spurted out where he pierced his flesh and flowed down the fragment.

And then, an extraordinary phenomenon began to take place.

Buzz……. Buzz…….

The black shard absorbed Harchen’s blood and began to vibrate.

And then, it took on an aura indescribable by words. If Terranodin’s scales had felt like hot fire, then the black shard felt disorderly, like it would messily scatter about everything around it.

Perhaps that was why everything around the shard felt like it was being dismantled and jumbled into each other.

Like the mana, or the air.

And even the people.

Ianna felt uncomfortable, as if there was a haze shimmering just above her skin. And it wasn’t only Ianna —the others felt the similarly uneasy.

Life existed as an assortment of countless systems. Hair, flesh, bones —life was composed of an intricate array of systems.

When a living being died, the systems that comprised it were destroyed and became undone. A body no longer able to move soon became unable to maintain its shape. It was dismantled, eaten, and scattered. That, was death.

This was why chaos reeked heavily of death.

“Law.”

Centir ignored his rising nausea and pressed his thumb against the fragment. This time, Centir’s blood was absorbed into the white shard.

Buzzzz!

The white shard began to glow blindingly and, just like the black shard had, began emitting a special aura.

To put it simply, it felt like order. The light of chaos was transformed from the disorderly to the orderly, like what the name ‘Law’ suggested.

But the transformation did not flow in only one direction as order and disorder found equilibrium. Disorder was being turned into order, and order was being turned into disorder. Chaos and Law continued their cycle as they maintained equilibrium.

It was a very mysterious experience. Ianna could feel a grand vastness, as if the entirety of the world was held within them, from the shards before her eyes.

And Ianna had felt the very same vague greatness before.

‘The Balance of the World.’

The Balance was invisible and only existed as an abstract feeling. But the phenomenon unraveling before her eyes felt like a visualization of that very Balance.

If the Truth actually existed, then surely this was it.

Schneider looked nervous as he stepped forward.

“You who made a contract in the Chaos and was born as the Law. I seek to fulfil the covenant forged with the Law, paid for by the perpetuation of existence, with my life.”

He pressed his thumb against the sword fragment, and his blood flowed evenly into both shards.

The conjoined shards floated in the air and began spinning circles. Slowly, a silvery light began glowing from the spinning shards. It was Schneider’s light.

The flowing light began to draw an exorbitantly complicated pattern with the shards at its center. The light twinned and twinned into itself until it had completed a pattern reminiscent of the geometric shapes of a high-leveled magic circle. The light looked beautiful, like blooming flowers.

Schneider placed a hand over the left side of his chest and bowed his head, as if enthralled, once the pattern was complete.

“I am your spartoi, your Guardian.”

Ianna, who had been watching the scene unfolding before her in a slight trance, recoiled when she heard the familiar terms.

“I, Schneider Lezè Roanne, hereby greet you.”

Pooow!

While and black light began pouring out from the shards.

The outpour of light melted into the pattern created by the silvery light. The silvery light simply absorbed the other light, as if the black and white light had always belonged to it to begin with. The lights mixed into each other, but their colors never changed.

The pattern shrank until it looked like a drawing that had been etched onto the shards. It melted into the shards, like a stamp, before vanishing completely.

“Oh…….”

The others had only been watching, but Schneider gulped as he felt something change.

‘Spartoi and Guardians?’

Ianna began ruminating over the words that Schneider had said now that things were just about wrapping up.

‘Kgh!’

Then, she gasped as a strange pain assaulted her.

Her heart hurt.

It wasn’t the heart inside the left side of her chest but her ‘other heart,’ and it was in agony, as if the northern wind itself had breezed past it. It wasn’t a physical pain, but an emotional one resulting from breathtaking sorrow and deep affection.

She worried, pitied, felt guilty, and wanted to protect.

And then, Ianna realized a single certain truth.

Roberstein’s seal had been temporarily shattered. By ‘Roberstein’s’ own will.

And then, something peculiar happened.

Swiiish.

The vines began growing down from the bottom of the gravestone, where they began. The approached the shards and twisted around them as if they were protecting the shards.

A crimson light began to shine at the ends of the vines. The crimson light blossomed like flowers before it flowed down like blood and melted into the shards the vines were shrouding.

The black and white fragments were dyed crimson. They did not actually change in color but were enveloped in a crimson aura.

A little while later, the vines let go of the shards as if they had their own will. Then, they coiled back around the gravestone and fell silent, as if nothing had happened in the first place. The seal was back in place.

The shards, too, were simply glowing in the crimson light —but they too went back to their original place and fell silent, as if nothing had happened.

Centir cautiously walked up to the shards. He carefully retrieved the black shard while wearing gloves, as if it was a precious treasure, as he said to Schneider,

“The ritual is concluded. Please retrieve your treasure as well, Your Highness.”

Schneider reached out and grabbed the white shard. It was now glowing crimson, just as he had told Ianna earlier.

“So this was the token of the covenant between the God Laos and the royal family of Roanne that was handed down through the generations.”

Ianna, who had been glaring at the bottom of the gravestone, turned around. Schneider wore a strange expression on his face as he looked down at the shard. He continued,

“Pope, I felt it instinctively. I only realized it just now, but I was contracted to the God Laos ever since I was born. Something connects me to god, though I don’t know what it is —perhaps it’s magic? I feel strange. Did all the previous kings of Roanne feel this way?”

“Supposedly, yes. That is what is written in the records passed down to each successive pope.”

“Do your records have any mention of the covenant?”

“No. The records state that only the God Laos and the contractor know about the covenant. What you feel now, Your Highness Prince Schneider, is likely the covenant itself.”

“Then, what of the terminology spoken during the ritual? The ritual mentioned a ‘perpetuation of existence’ —but what does it mean?”

“There are no records of what the terms spoken during the ritual mean. We priests have tried to interpret those words since times immemorial, but we simply memorize them now because we have failed so many times. But, why do you ask? Is there a problem?”

“Well, I’m not quite sure how I should put it, but I suddenly had the feeling that I should worker harder to protect Roanne moving forward. But it’s a little different from the affection I’ve always carried for the Kingdom of Roanne. It almost seems a little coercive……oh, I don’t know.”

Schneider shook his head. He continued,

“It is a good thing for me. I feel stronger for some reason, but it’s only right that I offer my gratitude to god a hundred, no, a thousand times over if this is the gift he gave me in exchange for protecting Roanne.”

Centir smiled as he watched Schneider touch himself.

“It appears that the God Laos truly loved the progenitor of the Kingdom of Roanne.”

“The Founding Queen who was loved by god? —very well.”

“It is said that each of the previous kings brought the shard with them to war. The kings always maintained their strength no matter how far they were from the shard, but, for some reason, they were said to have been accompanied by good fortune, like healing faster or avoiding serious injury even if they were wounded, if the shard was nearby.”

“It’s likely thanks to this crimson aura. But, it’s strange.”

There was a strange light in Schneider’s eyes as he stared at the crimson glow. He continued,

“This aura isn’t a part of the covenant. It’s a separate power, and one that was granted in addition to the covenant after it was forged.”

“The Faith regards this crimson aura as one of God Laos’ special powers. The gravestone is actually just for show —the true relic we are guarding are these vines. It is a medium through which god grants his power. In other words, God Laos granted his powers to the shard.”

“Is that how it is?”

Ianna listened closely to their conversation before the pope urged them all to leave and she was the last one to follow him out of the secret room.

Just before she left, she stole one last glance at the pointed end of the gravestone. Countless vines were wrapped firmly around it as they held it up.

She had a hunch that this was where the core of the seal was. The vines didn’t carry the seal —they simply grew out from the seal’s core. In the beginning, they had probably just been very small vines that had taken root inside the gravestone.

Ianna looked to the colossal gravestone once she had left the secret room behind.

A new vine had probably grown and twinned around the gravestone anew with each successive king of Roanne who had conducted the ritual. The gravestone had been covered in vines as a result.

Badump, badump.

Ianna’s heart was resonating with Roberstein’s heart, which was incompletely sealed. But she did not collapse like she had last time. She simply recalled Roberstein’s memories vividly, as though they were her own.

‘Laos.’

Ianna tried to recall Laos.

But there was no information pertaining to Laos in her fragmented memories. The only memories she could recall here were of the times she had slept alone in her solitude, the times she had mercilessly executed any gods who had sinned, and the times when she was chatting away with the boy Roygen or the spirits.

There were other powerful memories besides these. But it pained her to try to remember them.

Roygen had been fine when he was young and had only known Roberstein, but he had grown to be unable to hide his hatred of the other gods and his greed for life as he learned more about the world.

But Roygen had endured and endured when he was with Roberstein. It was, rather, the other gods who could not tolerate Roygen’s presence. They scorned him for being a deadweight god who could not produce divine power, and they shunned him because he had absorbed the evil they had thrown away into Pandemonium.

And the other gods had been so cruel to him.

Roygen had ultimately lost his patience with them and had started committing deicide. Ianna stopped reminiscing because Roberstein’s emotions grew too powerful as the collapse of Paradise accelerated.

It was only now that Ianna agreed with Arhad when he said that nothing good would come out of trying to recall her memories about the Holy Age.

But it wasn’t because she hated Roygen. Roberstein had always loved Roygen, her boy. But, in conclusion, though Roberstein loved him…….

‘She was also extremely depressed.’

Roberstein had wanted badly to die, and her depressed emotions crashed over Ianna like a raging wave when Ianna tried to reminisce about the latter half of the Holy Age.

Roberstein was the god who had arbitrated all of Paradise with her absolute power, but the depravity she had felt over not being able to kill her beloved Roygen, the sharp sense of duty she had felt as she failed to arbitrate Paradise properly, and the shame she had felt about not doing anything until Roygen had finally snapped had exhausted her.

And…….

That’s where her memories stopped. There was something else that was important, but the memories were missing, as if they had been cut out.

“What are you doing, Lady Ianna?”

Ianna, who had been standing around in a daze, snapped back to her senses when Schneider called out to her. Everyone was waiting for her by the entrance.

“I will see you again later.”

“Be safe in your return.”

Ianna claimed that she had business at the temple and parted ways with Schneider and Harchen. Once they left, she turned to Centir, who was standing next to her, and said,

“Could you please spare me a moment of your time, Your Holiness?”

Centir was surprised but granted her a private audience nevertheless. Ianna found herself sitting opposite of him in his room.

“What did you wish to speak to me about, Sister Ianna?”

“You said that the vines wrapped around the gravestone was the real relic earlier, yes?”

“It is a secret known only to a few. I trust that you will guard the secret well, dear Sister.”

Centir smiled benevolently. He looked like he was in a good cheer, so Ianna gingerly asked,

“Is there a reason why the temple disguises the gravestone as the relic?”

Centir stared quietly back at Ianna for a moment before he nodded.

“It is a secret, but I will tell you, as they say that excessive curiosity poisons the mind.”

Ianna was glad that he was willing to tell her, but it also made her feel somewhat astringent.

“If it’s a secret, then why are you so willing to tell me?”

“You’ve already participated in a ritual that is only known to the sitting pope, those of House Roberstein, and the next member of the royal family who is to be crowned king —what else is there to hide from you?”

Centir leaned forward and secretively whispered,

“But most importantly, you have a very special aura about you, Sister. Have you ever seen anything similar to the vines just earlier before? You give off the same feeling that the vines did. I was in the middle of wondering whether you have received power from God Laos himself.”

Ianna’s eyes sparkled. It was because she had found a hint in Centir’s words —a hint that pertained to objects that were similar to the vines; in other words, the other relics. Her voice took on a subtle tone as she resolved to dig up as much information as she could.

“Anything similar? There are others that are similar?”

“It pertains to the secrets that I referenced earlier. Please wait here for a moment.”

Centir got up from his seat, walked over to the bookshelf by the wall, and pulled out a few certain books without the slightest hesitation.

Rumble.

Then, the bookshelf split in half to reveal a small hidden safe.

Ianna was truly surprised. Was he really showing his safe to someone whom he had never met before just because he could feel a special aura from her? Centir was far too drastic.

He pulled out an old book from the safe before he returned.

“This is the last volume of the journals that the Black Prophet left behind. It contains the last part of the prologue of the Holy Book, and it narrates the events that took place after God Laos created the world and before he disappeared. The Holy Book was revised to change the tone ever so slightly dramatize certain events, but the contents remain more or less the same. But there are a few parts that were left out of the Holy Book on purpose.”

Centir put on his glasses as he opened up the journal. He started at the back of the journal as he flipped past page after page before he stopped shortly thereafter.

“This is what the journal says.”

We returned to Phaemdra after the world was complete.

But Phaemdra was still comatose, and it was difficult for its dying body to maintain the seal.

At this rate, the seal would be shaken and possibly be undone.

Laos separated the healthier parts of Phaemdra’s body from the rest and used it as the seal’s cores. He connected the cores to his own heart to ensure that the seal would last forever.

There were four cores.

A branch, a vine, a flower, and a leaf.

Laos did not keep them all in the same place, for he was terrified that the seal might come undone.

The branch and the vine, he gave to two of his followers.

The leaf, he sent over to where it was the hottest, so that it may become as shade.

The flower, he sent over to where it was the coldest and most desolate, so that it may become as green fields.

The rest, he set aflame. The roots, however, reached all the way down into Pandemonium, so he left the stump untouched.

Burning it turned up a seed that carried Phaemdra’s soul within. He sent the seed over to where the cleanest winds blew.

“This is from when Laos bids farewell to Phaemdra in chapter 1 verse 4, yes? That part was actually somewhat dramatized. The Holy Book states that he left Phaemdra eternally, but God Laos actually only parted with Phaemdra temporarily —and he eventually came back to find Phaemdra again.”

Centir closed the journal. He continued,

“The priests of the ancient past said that God Laos left eternally because they wished to conceal Phaemdra’s existence and leave no records of what I’ve just told you about. Why do you think they did this?”

“Because the relics are connected to God Laos’ heart.”

God Laos was the medium by which the king of Roanne gained his powers. There were many who would grow greedy over the relics if this truth was ever made known to the world.

“That is also correct, but there is another reason. Phaemdra was likely a special tree from the Holy Age. And we are wary of this mysterious thing that is currently sealed inside it. We hypothesize that this something is capable of waking the Demon slumbering inside Pandemonium.”

He technically wasn’t wrong.

Roberstein could have drawn the sword that was pierced through the Demon’s heart if she was unsealed, which was likely the Demon’s resurrection that the priests referred to.

Though the Demon had already been reincarnated as Arhad, and Arhad planned to get rid of the Demon’s heart, of course.

“…….”

Ianna stared at the journal in Centir’s hands. She had been deep in contemplation as Centir was reading the journal to her.

There was a massive amount of information in the journals. She wanted to read all of them, no matter how many volumes there were. She wanted to borrow them if it was possible, and she had the impulse to steal them to read if she could.

Unbeknownst to Ianna’s wicked thoughts, Centir kindheartedly continued,

“Almost every priest believes the theory that the Demon is asleep deep underground inside Pandemonium to be true. We only teach it as a myth so that we don’t make the people anxious. We call the four relics the ‘keys to Pandemonium’ because we believe that they can open Pandemonium and resurrect the Demon.”

Ianna almost doubted her ears for a second.

“The keys to Pandemonium?”

“Yes.”

Ianna turned the gears in her head like crazy when she heard the familiar term. Her excellent memory recalled when she had heard it before quickly enough.

“Where is the key to Pandemonium and the large fragment of the Demon that you dwarves are said to protect?”

“Are you just pretending not to know, or do you really not know? The relics of the Holy Age are supposed to be in the four corners.”

It was something that Bruce of the Black Fox had said to Chendelf while Chendelf was being tortured. The words had shocked Chendelf, and he had remembered everything that Bruce had said down to the very last detail and had relayed it to Ianna word for word. Centir continued,

“We could not hide them away completely, as the relics were the only way to prove God Laos’ existence and gather new followers after he disappeared. But the outside world was told that the real relic was the gravestone because the relics are so hugely important. Only a very select few know that the vines are the real relic.”

In other words, the keys to Pandemonium were the pieces of Phaemdra.

“The vines are here, the branch is in the Temple at Jinzai, the flower is in the Himalapè Ice Fields, and the leaf is in the Girohai Desert. They demonstrate the miracle of life in each of these four locations. In our case, the relic is used to treat wounded soldiers. It is the grace of god.”

Ianna paid close attention to what Centir was saying as she listened.

She did not know how Bahamut had learned about the pieces of Phaemdra. But she could guess why they were searching for them. They were probably trying to resurrect the Demon.

And the Bahamut imperial family probably hadn’t read Kandemayon’s journals. They would not be going through such efforts to find the keys to Pandemonium if they had.

“To my knowledge, only the few members of the mythical races living in the four corners of the world and the members of the royal family of Roanne are able to receive God Laos’ divine blessing. But I can feel his presence form you, dear Sister, so I could not help but wonder if you had perhaps been blessed by one of the other keys. Am I correct?”

“Well……somewhat.”

“I see! Are you perhaps a member of the mythical races?”

“No, but I cannot divulge the details.”

“I understand. I am certain that, like His Highness Prince Schneider, you too have received a divine mission from God Laos.”

Ianna had replied halfheartedly because she did not know how to refute him, but Centir had found his own explanation and was all smiles and joy.

Ianna was very glad that she had asked Centir for this private audience.

First things first, she now knew the location of all the relics save for the flower. The branch was the wand being kept at the Temple at Jinzai. The vines were here, and the leaf in the Girohai Desert was most likely…….

‘Titanus.’

The lone green mountain in the Girohai Desert that had seemed almost like a mirage. Phaemdra’s leaf was likely somewhere inside it.

‘He said they were connected to Laos’ heart.’

The relics probably received divine power from Laos’ heart, and it was probably thanks to Laos’ divine power that the areas around the relics were overflowing with life. The relics could even create a green mountain in the middle of the desert because every relic was a piece of Phaemdra, the progenitor of all flora.

Ianna changed the topic once she had finished thinking about the relics.

“What do you think about the dragons?”

“They are mysterious lifeforms, I suppose? I believe that the dragons, too, received a divine mission from God Laos.”

Centir did not know anything about the dragons. But there were plenty of other people whom Ianna could ask, so she simple nodded without being too disappointed.

“Then, would you happen to know anything about the ‘Five Prophets’?”

The Five Prophets.

They were said to have lived before God Laos had disappeared —in other words, at the dawn of the Age of Magic—, but only records of one of them, Queen Roanne de Roanne, had survived the passage of time. There were only mentioned briefly in the Holy Book.

“The Five Prophets… It was said that God Laos and the Black Prophet had five followers when the world was being created. But, aside from Queen Roanne de Roanne, the records only state that the other four had ‘existed.’ And they were only referenced a few times in the Black Prophet’s journals. Only the Black Prophet and Queen Roanne followed God Laos until the very end, and the ardent believers of the time followed them in turn.”

Centir looked to the clock that was hanging from the wall. He said,

“It is almost time for worship, so I will have to take my leave.”

“Oh, thank you for sparing me some of your precious time.”

“I was happy to have spent this meaningful time with you. Is there anything else you wished to say?”

Ianna did not hold back and said,

“Could you please lend me the Black Prophet’s journal?”

“Of course.”

Truly, Pope Centir was an easy person to work with.

Part 18

Ianna took the journal with her and hid inside a dark alley as soon as she had left the temple. She opened up her subspace and pulled out a bracelet that felt strongly of the West. It was the communication artefact that Terranodin had gifted to her.

‘I can use this to talk to a dragon directly.’

She hesitated for a moment —dragons were mythical beings, was it truly all right to talk with one so readily?— but Ianna braced herself and poured mana into the bracelet anyway. She talked to Arhad, the Demon’s reincarnation, just fine, and she herself was someone special too —so who cared?

The artefact lit up not too long after she had imbued it with mana.

[It has been a while. What is your business?]

Ianna heard Terranodin’s disinterested voice as soon as she was about to greet him.

Was it because he wasn’t human? Terranodin did not demand courtesy or formality from her. Ianna had been pondering over how she was supposed to start the conversation, so she was happy that he had immediately asked her what her business was.

“I will be blunt. Is God Laos a dragon?”

“I have not the authority to tell you.”

His reply was swift, but it had been lacking in content.

Ianna also asked him what it meant that someone had been contracted in Chaos and born as the Law and if Guardians were first born as spartoi before they were contracted into their positions, but Terranodin had only told her that he could not answer.

“What exactly is a prophet?

“Was the prophet Roanne de Roanne a spartoi and a Guardian?

“What is the covenant between the royal family of Roanne and God Laos about?”

[I have not the authority to tell you.]

“In that case, please tell me how one goes about becoming a Guardian.”

[I have not the authority to tell you.]

“What if I said that I want to be your Guardian?”

[I would not accept you.]

“…….”

A vein had popped out in Ianna’s temple by then.

This damned dragon never had the authority to say anything. But he had been the one to give her the artefact and tell her to contact him if she had any questions. Ianna simply sighed, as she couldn’t exactly run up to the dragon and shake him by the collar or anything either.

Terranodin had not answered her question, but Ianna was certain that Laos was a dragon. And…

“I am your spartoi, your Guardian.”

From those words, she could guess that the royal family of Roanne were a dragon’s spartoi and Guardians.

‘Spartoi’ were living beings born from a dragon’s body and a piece of their soul, and ‘Guardians’ made a contract with a dragon in which they would help protect the barrier in exchange for a wish.

Queen Roanne de Roanne, a follower of Laos and a prophet, was said to have been at God Laos’ side and had watched as he created the world. She had lived a long life, like an elf, and had aged like a human only after God Laos had disappeared.

She had probably been a spartoi, born of Laos’ flesh and blood, and his Guardian who had been contracted to him. And the royal family had likely inherited both the spartoi blood and the Guardian’s contract.

So what was the contract about?

“You who made a contract in the Chaos and was born as the Law. I am here to fulfil the covenant forged with the Law, paid for by the perpetuation of existence, with my life.”

It was too difficult to decipher.

Ianna stopped thinking. Neither Schneider nor Centir had known. Arhad had said that he didn’t know much about the royal family of Roanne. The dragons refused to tell her. It was something that she would never be able to solve unless someone told her the answer, so Ianna decided to stop wasting her mental energy over it.

“Then at least answer me this. How many fragments of Roberstein’s sword were scattered throughout the world?”

In the last of Roberstein’s memories, her sword had been shattered, much like her heart, to the point that it barely managed to keep its shape.

[That, I can answer. Laos retrieved all of them, save for two. One was entrusted to House Roberstein, and another was left in the South —these are the only two that remain. I have not the authority to tell you why a fragment was entrusted to House Roberstein. Laos left the fragment in the South because the dwarves implored it of him.]

Which meant that there were no more sword fragments.

And so, Ianna concluded her conversation with Terranodin. She was satisfied just to hear the answer to her last question from him.

~~*~~

Ianna and Herrace brought Elly and Finn to the Institution two days later. Heinrich had agreed to take Elly in as his disciple —perhaps Herrace had put in a good word for her.

Finn had decided to stay with Elly and learn the basics of magic from her instead of becoming a disciple alongside her.

“I want to be a gardener,”

Finn had said when he declared that he had his own dream now. He had always liked tending to plants, and he had further developed his talents in the garden that Calendula Huzergo had developed for the orphanage.

But he had agreed to learn magic so he could learn how to protect himself, so he could stay close to Elly and Ianna, and because it would be useful in tending to plants.

Mursi was calm even though his one and only son had said he wanted to become a gardener instead of succeeding the company.

“I never planned to pass down my company to Finn to begin with. I will hand over the company to an employee I trust when I retire.”

“Will the Paella Company still be able to trade with the beastmen even after you’ve stepped down, Mr. Mursi?”

Mursi smiled wryly when Ianna voiced her worries.

“I entrusted Toraca exclusively to my employees precisely because I was worried about the same thing. We humans need to be able to trade peacefully with the beastmen even if I’m not there. And things have been going rather smoothly. I only employ good people, so I trust that no problems will crop up in the future on that front.”

Ianna was dreaming of a country where members of the mythical races could roam about freely. She planned on creating a reasonably-sized kingdom in the East and ensuring its internal stability instead of conquering the entire world.

But the West, where the beastmen resided, was on the opposite side of the continent from the East, where her new country would be established, so it would be difficult for the beastmen to travel there. Which meant that most beastmen would have to maintain the status quo. Ianna wished for the Paella Company, which had opened the gates for trade between the humans and the beastmen, to flourish even more and spearhead the relationship between the two groups.

‘I’m probably just being meddlesome since I’m sure they’ll do just fine on their own……but…’

But what If Ianna needed the ‘leaf,’ the relic of the beastmen that was said to be the foundation of the mountain in Titanus, in order to undo the seal?

Ianna groaned. She wanted to push off worrying about that particular bridge until she crossed it. It was too far in the future to be thinking about it now. Probably.

Heinrich was waiting at the entrance by the time Ianna and Herrace brought Elly, Finn, and Nissi to the tower. He smiled benevolently as he said to them,

“Welcome.”

“Hello, Teacher!”

“Hello!”

Elly greeted him amicably, and Finn greeted him loudly right along with her. Heinrich chuckled as he pat them on their heads.

“Well, shall we go inside so I can see how skilled you are?”

Elly paraded her skills to Heinrich at the magic testing grounds inside the magic tower, and Heinrich was startled and praised her for being so talented despite her young age.

“Has someone taught you magic before?”

“I found a book about the basics of magic by chance and studied it myself! It was fun.”

“That’s remarkable. In that case, you can keep using books to further your studies, and you can ask for my permission when there’s something you want to test for yourself and I will give you the materials you’ll need. And I’ll check in on your magic periodically. To be honest, I am not the type of teacher who frets over my disciples and puts strenuous effort into teaching them. But I will answer all your questions as truthfully as I can. And I will get you any book you want.”

“Okay, thank you!”

Then, Heinrich took them to the magic laboratory where Lalatua was. Lalatua was in the middle of an experiment, and Taro was struggling as he read a book.

“Teacher!”

Lalatua beamed when she first spotted Heinrich, and she collected herself when she saw Herrace, Ianna, and the children with him. She continued,

“Ohh. These must be the children whom you’ll be taking into the tower, yes? This must be Elly, and this must be Finn, right?”

“Yes. Be good to them, Lalatua, and don’t be cross with them like how you used to bully Arhad when you were little.”

“Goodness. I’m an adult now, Teacher. And he was the one who bullied me, you know?”

“Is that so? I suppose I’ll believe you. But say hello to these children for now. I have work to do and need to be on my way.”

Elly bowed to Lalatua from the waist once Heinrich had left.

“Please take good care of me, Lady Lalatua! Can I keep calling you Lady Lalatua?”

“No, that’s much too stiff. Just treat me like your older sister.”

“Okay, Miss. Ah!”

Elly pointed at Taro, whom Ianna and Herrace were exchanging a pleasant conversation with, and laughed as she exclaimed,

“It’s a tiger!”

Taro startled and turned around when Elly suddenly dropped a bomb on him. Elly grinned as she stopped pointing. She continued,

“……Well, he looks like one.”

“A-ahem. I get that a lot.”

Elly nodded as she looked between Lalatua and Taro in turns.

“So, what’s going on between you two? You were both in the lab together —were you doing something naughty?”

“U-uh, what? Is that what it looks like?”

Taro scratched the back of his head while smiling widely, but Lalatua cut him off.

“We’re not like that. Right?”

“Right…….”

Taro made a gloomy face. Lalatua took one last look at him before she huffed and began organizing the experimental tools on her desk.

“Help me clean up so we can go out and eat. And tie up my hair for me first.”

Her charming hair cascaded down when she tilted her head to the side. She was very clearly showing off the white skin of her nape on purpose.

Taro rushed over and tied up her hair with practiced hands. His touch was delicate, as if he was handling a sacred treasure. Then, he began helping her clean up in great cheer.

Lalatua pushed and pulled, stringing Taro along. They had barely made any progress in the last two years —Ianna and Herrace shook their heads.

~~*~~

“The palace has already finished their preparations for war. They’ve been sitting on their power for over twenty years now, and it’s on the brink of exploding. But they’re still dawdling instead of launching a large-scale attack, and I don’t know why. Wiffheimer officially declared the war, but he hasn’t even attacked Theodore like he said he would yet.”

Shawn sighed, finding everything a pain in the ass. He continued,

“I only have intel on the South. All information regarding the North is handled by informants affiliated directly with the imperial palace, so I regret to say that I don’t know what’s going on.”

Bahamut was stalling at the moment. Their prediction that war would break out like a balloon exploding after a needle had been taken to it had been completely off the mark.

“I thought that Wiffheimer would turn Theodore into a wasteland the very next day.”

“Did something happen inside the imperial palace, perhaps?”

The executives were discussing why Bahamut might be delaying the war when Shawn suddenly clapped his hands together.

“For now, please let me introduce a new comrade. Please come in.”

Click.

A slender person wearing Camastros’ uniform opened the door and walked in. She took one look around the room before she laughed with a thick voice.

“What a fun gathering.”

It was Dorcianni. She had decided to join Camastros for convenience’s sake. But the plan was that she would mostly act independently instead of helping with Camastros’ work.

The mood in the room dropped as the other executives felt like she was looking down on them, but she then continued with a hint of intrigue in her dry voice.

“I’m Bell. A mage.”

Bell.

Dorcianni claimed to have taken a liking to some bluebells she had chanced upon while sightseeing around Roanne. Eiji had asked her about her codename after she had plucked a whole bunch, brought them back with her, and was playing with them, and so she had settled on using ‘Bell’ as her codename.

“I loathe having to attach meaning to anything other than the Truth and magic. I’m moody too, so I tire quickly of things that were once precious to me or I don’t think too much about something and don’t assign any meaning to it in the first place.”

The codename suited Dorcianni well.

As soon as she had taken her seat, Arhad quietly said,

“We must always keep our guard up —it doesn’t matter whether Bahamut starts their war tomorrow or a month from now.”

“But of course.”

“Van, Gold. Use Shawn’s organization system and organize the evidence we have that the nobles and Luria Roanne are conspiring with the Black Fox.”

Van and Gold acknowledged the order.

Gold had been in very good cheer as of late. He had found his sister at the location Formido had leaked to them. The siblings had shared a tearful reunion before Gold had taken Shion Sabelix to their base in the East.

“I want revenge.”

Once she was safe, Shion had promised to help them fight Bahamut by creating a large number of bombs that would be useful to them. She had suffered unspeakable things at the hands of the Knights of Grundewalz, and she was blazing with the desire for vengeance.

Van, too, nodded without a word.

“Shawn, Bell. The two of you will assist me in organizing the evidence we have that the Black Fox is affiliated with Bahamut and that all the goods that the Black Fox has been gathering is being transferred to Bahamut. Rust, Caesar, Giselle. The three of you will clean up the monsters in Theodore.”

Arhad continued to assign roles long after that. Then, he opened the floor to discuss how to run their new country.

They had told the executives that they would establish a new country early on. The executives were very interested in the prospect, and they were thrilled that they would be the one to build its foundations from the very beginning. They were delighted that they might be able to leave their mark on a great work that would remain in the great flow of time as a grand record.

They had good opinions to share, all based upon their personal experiences. Arhad and Ianna listened carefully to their counsel.

But they would need many more people to complete the picture. This way, they could find problems that no one person could consider alone and come up with more good ideas.

It was almost time to end the meeting.

“We will focus on organizing the evidence until the war breaks out. Ann will stop Wiffheimer if and when he begins his assault on Theodore, so the rest of you will focus on your work and deal with either the Bahamut army or the monsters. Prince Schneider will handle the East while we handle things here in Theodore.”

“Will Ann be able to deal will Wiffheimer by herself?”

“It won’t be a problem.”

“Will the prince be all right? All our work will have been for nothing if the prince dies in the East. Of course, it’s a good thing he’ll be fighting Bahamut, but still…….”

“We’re practically spoon-feeding everything to him, so he can just go ahead and die for all I care if he still can’t manage to do his part. In that case, we can simply leave and let Roanne fall to ruin,”

Arhad said coldly before he ended the meeting.

That day, the fact that Camastros would establish a new kingdom was announced to the rest of its members. The members cheered fervently at the news. They preferred to let the fallen empire destroy herself and build their own country anew rather than to take the empire for themselves.

~~*~~

Meanwhile, in the Bahamut Empire.

“Get your act together, Isabella. Where is your dignity? Sit up straight!”

Shailince rebuked Isabella, who was sitting listlessly on the floor with her face against the sofa, in sharp disapproval.

“Mother.”

Isabella’s ruined appearance was returning to its former glory. Her lustrous black hair was tangled on the sofa before it smoothly flowed down to the floor. Sorrow was practically oozing from her melancholic beauty. She continued,

“I’m so sad……,”

Isabella mumbled gloomily —she still hadn’t forgotten the bastard even though an entire year had already passed. She had carefully combed through the world in her travels in search of any promising swordsmen, but she had not met anyone who had given off that same peculiar aura. All she had to do now was to look in the central regions of the South.

“Just where on earth is he?”

Shailince scowled.

“How much longer do you intend to obsess over him? If you plan on getting pregnant with that bastard’s child once you’ve caught hold of him…….”

Isabella waved her hand.

“I don’t, so please don’t worry about that. I don’t need children —I just want the person himself. Just you wait until I get my hands on you.”

Her crimson tongue slowly slipped over her lips. She continued,

“I’ll lock you up behind bars and I’ll never let you go. Sigh.”

The mana around Isabella undulated around her at her strange whisperings. It was sympathizing fervently with her emotions.

“My word…….”

Shailince could not understand Isabella’s melancholy for the life of her.

“You don’t understand because you never saw him, Mother. You’d lose your mind if you saw him too. Ahh. I’m pretty certain that he’s the Black Wind bastard who was active when the Gates were opened. But I can’t find him at all because he scuttled all around the place like a rat before he finally disappeared.”

“Start focusing on the war now. This bastard sounds like he has quite the sense of justice, so who knows? —he might come crawling out on his own once we overturn the world.”

“Right? I’ll have to redouble my efforts in killing. If only he or that stupid thief would come crawling out before us already. But how much longer must we stay here, Mother? We’ve already declared the war. My Lord Brother does not seem like he’ll show up anytime soon —can’t we just go by ourselves?”

“Wait just a little while longer. He did contact us, after all.”

And just then.

Creeeeeack.

They heard the heavy iron gates on the first floor of Shailince’s palace opening. Shailince and Isabella turned toward it.

Their hearts began to race. It was a resonance.

Clank, clank.

The hair-raising sound of steel grating against steel echoed down the quiet corridor as the chains on his boots dragged along the floor. The ladies-in-waiting walking along the corridor froze in place and immediately knelt as he passed by.

The boots’ owner took off the black mantle he had been wearing. The cold air lingering on the mantle was shaken off.

The bold lines of his body covering him from head to toe made him look like a perfect statue. The lean muscles of his back made him look like a high-handed savage beast staring down his prey in the darkness.

The man opened the door without a moment’s hesitation. When he saw the delighted welcome on the two women’s faces, he languidly said,

“It’s been a while.”

Taylon Bahamut, the crown price of the Bahamut Empire, had returned.

~~*~~

“What is it?”

Ianna and Saiwè were meeting with Rikijen in a secret room inside the Frieders Bookstore. Rikijen was wondering why she and the prince had gone out of their way to meet him here.

Ianna said,

“Rikijen. You’ll follow Arhad and me in the future, right?”

“Of course I……wait, His Highness Prince Saiwè is here with us right now.”

“It’s all right —I plan on following them as well. I am on your side.”

Rikijen was immediately convinced as he recalled Saiwè’s circumstances.

“I see. But why are you asking me this out of nowhere?”

“Because we’ll be working together if that’s what you wish for, Little Rikijen.”

Rikijen furrowed his brows this time because he didn’t understand what Saiwè had meant.

“What do you mean? Why would I suddenly start working with…….”

“We’ll be tidying up the royal court of Roanne within the next year, Rikijen.”

Rikijen opened his eyes wide and expressed his interest when Ianna spoke up.

“And here I thought the fighting would go on for some time because both factions are equally powerful. Will there be an outside power coming into play? Or are you only saying that because both Prince Fernando and Prince Schneider will grow desperate and end up killing each other?”

“We will be assisting Prince Schneider. And House Owen, an ally to the crown prince, will also be a target of our purge.”

“……!”

Rikijen clenched his hands into tight fists. The blood immediately drained from his face.

The fact that Fernando was being supported by the Black Fox and Bahamut had not been revealed when Schneider had revolted in the past. House Owen had quickly cut off their tail when it became increasingly evident that Fernando would lose his dogfight against Schneider and had survived only by the merit of being one of the Five Founding Houses.

And then, House Owen had suddenly crumbled out of nowhere one day. Ianna had sneered at how ridiculously the house had fallen in the past, but now that she knew about Rikijen’s circumstances, she was certain that they had fallen to his schemes.

“We plan on getting rid of House Owen sooner rather than later.”

She felt sorry for Rikijen, who wanted to get his revenge using his own power as he had once done in the past, but Ianna could no longer ignore House Owen because the situation had changed. Schneider needed the royal court firmly in his grasp if he was to stand against Bahamut for a long time.

“Does that mean I won’t be able to have my revenge?”

There was a quiver in Rikijen’s voice. His ashen eyes, stained with hatred and sorrow, shook from behind his glasses.

“Let me finish. Weren’t you listening earlier? Will you work with us?”

“Work with you……?”

Rikijen muttered as he looked down at the table.

“I know you wanted to get revenge on House Owen on your own. And I also know that you are more than capable of doing it. But like I said earlier, we need to purge House Owen within the next year. Even if we decided to leave House Owen untouched, you’re still weak and you wouldn’t be able to get your revenge until much later in the future. But at this rate, Roanne will fall to Bahamut long before you’ve finished your preparations.”

“…….”

“If possible, I want for you to complete your revenge as quickly as you can. Even if only for your sake.”

Hatred and painful memories gnawed away at a person’s heart. Ianna knew that the tragedy that had befallen his family was truly painful for him, but him lingering on his revenge would not be good for his future. She continued,

“And more importantly…”

Ianna looked Rikijen directly in the eyes.

“I need you.”

Rikijen Rostari.

The young prime minister of the Bahamut Empire who had managed the empire’s astronomical finances and had put revolutionary new policies in place as he led the state.

His exceptional intelligence and calm rationality had made him renown throughout the entire world. It was thanks to his devoting his everything to bring progress to Bahamut that the people of the empire had seen their quality of life change rapidly for the better.

He had sometimes been called the Prime Minister of Blood and Iron for his merciless stance against criminals, but it had also been due to this that Bahamut had cleaned up so quickly. He was infamous for being so unreadable that it was like he was always wearing a mask to hide his emotions, and it had also been due to this that he always walked away from every negotiation with the advantage.

Ianna and Arhad needed Rikijen in the country they planned to establish. Ianna hoped that Rikijen would focus only on their new country and spend none of his talents elsewhere.

He was still young and inexperienced, and his talents hadn’t fully blossomed quite yet, but they had overcome adversity together, and Ianna was certain that he would mature fully with enough time and preparation.

“……You need me?”

The light had returned to his eyes as he pushed up his slipping glasses and looked back at Ianna.

“Yes. I want for you to be free from your revenge as quickly as possible so you can join me and exercise your talents where I am. I want you to complete your revenge quickly and without any regrets so that you can be as my strength.”

“…….”

“I’m not saying that I take your revenge lightly. I just want you to end House Owen quickly and thoroughly so that you won’t have any lingering regrets.”

Rikijen stared back at Ianna, but he did not reply. Ianna maintained their eye contact as she extended a hand to him. She continued,

“If you decide to work with us, you’ll have to stick with me and Prince Saiwè until House Owen and the Black Fox both fall to ruin and disappear. You can have your way with House Owen. We’ll help you. So, how does it sound? Will you work with us?”

Rikijen stared at Ianna’s hand, which had not wavered in the slightest as she reached out to him, before he slowly raised his own hand to take hers.

“I’ve been gathering intelligence on House Owen in secret for some time now. Lord Arhad helped me.”

Ianna felt Rikijen squeeze her hand tighter and tighter. He continued,

“I thought about how I should destroy them, how I should murder them, whenever I had the time to spare. In my head, I’ve already cast them down to hell dozens, hundreds of times. But I felt like my rage would never subside no matter how many times I killed them. I know why I felt this way. It’s because my family will never come back, and the agony they suffered at those bastards’ hands will never be undone, even if I killed them over and over again. But…”

Rikijen looked back up and into Ianna’s eyes.

“I am certain that, no matter how I choose to enact my revenge, they will surely suffer in hell if you help me go through with it. Their deaths will be my family’s salvation. And my revenge will finally be over.”

“Wait, that’s…….”

“I’m just saying what I feel, so you needn’t be so uptight about it.”

Ianna closed her mouth as a strange feeling washed over her.

Rikijen had never hidden his contempt for Ianna in the past. And yet, he was displaying such deep trust in her now. Rikijen was the one person who had changed the most between her past and current lives, and Ianna could not help but feel strange whenever he acted this way.

“I’ll work with you. Thank you for letting me join you when I’m still so inexperienced. It made me happy to hear that you value my abilities highly and that you need me.”

Rikijen grinned. He continued,

“I’ll be sure to work hard.”

Ultimately, Ianna smiled back. Her newfound relationship made her feel truly, truly strange, but it was a nice feeling nonetheless.

“You truly do value Little Rikijen’s abilities highly, don’t you, Little Ianna?”

“It is because he will be someone incredible one day.”

“It’d be nice if I could become someone you think so highly of too.”

“You’ll need to work hard for that.”

“Hey. Can you two please stop exchanging embarrassing compliments about me when I’m right here?”

Ianna, Saiwè, and Rikijen were chatting about trivial matters as they walked away when they spotted a familiar blonde-haired girl bargaining with the prices at a fabric store.

“I know we’re at the brink of war, but that’s still way too expen……huh? Ack!”

The owner of the blonde hair, Priscilla, felt their gazes on her head and turned around only to be immediately taken aback.

“Hello…….”

Saiwè tried to say something to her, but Priscilla immediately sprang away like a released arrow. Saiwè stared at her retreating figure for a moment before he quickly began chasing after her.

“I hope things work out for them.”

“I agree.”

Left behind to themselves, Ianna and Rikijen stared at Priscilla and Saiwe’s now-distant retreating figures and cheered them on from the bottom of their hearts.

~~*~~

Part 19

A few days later, Schneider met with Ianna in the palace just before his departure ceremony.

“I’ll leave everything in your capable hands.”

“I’ll be sure to do my best.”

Schneider looked like he had lost a bit of weight as he smiled.

“It gives me strength to see you like this right before I leave.”

The king had suddenly passed away, the date of Fernando’s coronation had been decided, and it was announced that Schneider would be departing for the East —and it had all happened in truly quick succession.

Schneider had met with the nobles under his banner continuously as soon as his date of departure had been decided. The nobles were anxious and requested audiences with him to try and salvage the situation.

Schneider had not turned down their requests because he wanted to keep those nobles under his banner. He repeated that he would come back victorious endlessly and endured the storm of their doubts before he made them promise to continue supporting him.

And that had continued for several days. Schneider’s efforts paid off, and most of the nobles stayed with him. Today was the last day.

Even Schneider, as remarkable a man as he was, could not help but be fatigued. And this was after his stamina had improved greatly after the ritual in the Temple of Laos. He was glad to have met Ianna amidst his exhaustion.

He extended a hand to her.

“Why don’t we shake hands before I go?”

Ianna did not refuse and took his hand. Schneider squeezed her hand tight as he shook it up and down.

His contract with Ianna.

He did not know how Ianna had gathered evidence of Luria’s collusion with the Black Fox. But he trusted her nevertheless. His wasn’t a vague or irresponsible trust. Her actions he had seen until now more than warranted his trust.

If Ianna perfectly achieved the things she had promised him, then Schneider could push Fernando and Luria aside and take the Roanne throne easily. He was trying to devise other plans too just in case things went awry, but he earnestly hoped that things would go smoothly.

“I’ll contact you when the time is right. Please come back alive.”

“You needn’t worry about that. Victory tends to accompany me wherever I go,”

he replied half-jokingly and half-seriously as he promised to come back alive.

Then, Schneider’s eyes turned to the side. There was someone standing next to Ianna who was quietly watching them shake hands. Schneider asked him,

“Are you here to send me off as well?”

“Yes. I pray that you’ll return to us safely, Your Highness.”

Arhad Callisto. The adoptive son of Viscount Callisto and Ianna’s lover.

It wasn’t strange for him to come see Schneider off. Many lesser nobles had visited Schneider in secret to wish him success in battle even though they weren’t quite under his banner. It looked like he had decided to accompany Ianna since she was coming to see Schneider anyway.

But Schneider felt unpleasant. Why was that?

His eyes. That look on his face.

His bold —arrogant, even— attitude seemed to come naturally to him even as he stood before the prince of the kingdom. Schneider felt like he was looking at an equal, or perhaps even someone of a greater station than himself. It was almost like he was before his late father who had passed away just a few days prior…….

“Thank you.”

Arhad naturally took Ianna’s hand and brought it back down as soon as she was done shaking Schneider’s.

“I will be helping Ianna assist Your Highness in taking the throne. We will be in your care.”

A small spark ignited between Arhad and Schneider when Ianna looked up at Arhad for a moment.

“Is that so?”

Schneider closed his eyes before he opened them again. His eyes were the very picture of composure. He continued,

“Are you also affiliated in the same organization as Lady Ianna? I am grateful for your assistance.”

Schneider felt like he could finally see where Arhad’s confidence, which he had felt both at Ianna’s debut some time ago and was feeling again now, came from. Arhad was also involved in the same organization, which expanded outside of the kingdom’s borders, that Ianna was.

‘And he’s likely part of the organization’s upper brass too. Is he the very bastard who coaxed Lady Ianna away?’

Schneider was disgruntled as he scrutinized Arhad. He scanned Arhad up and down from head to toe with sharpened eyes before he realized that he had faced the man’s brazenness before.

‘But where?’

Schneider searched through his memories until his face stiffened up in his royal ire.

What if…

What if the 500,000-gold bastard from the school festival was also this man?

His guess became a doubt, and his doubt soon became as certainty. Flames began blazing inside him.

But what could he do?

He couldn’t undo what had already been done.

Schneider sighed inwardly as he saw how Ianna kept her hand quietly in Arhad’s. He brought one hand up to his throbbing temple as he waved with his other one.

“I’ll be off now. Hopefully, I’ll see you again.”

As soon as they had left Schneider’s chambers, Ianna asked Arhad,

“You said that you’d only stop by to see him off —why did you go out of your way to reveal yourself to him?”

“I wanted that bastard to know exactly who was helping him. I don’t want to have to bow down to him until the day I leave Roanne, after all.”

They hadn’t been walking for long when they ran into someone Ianna was happy to see.

“It’s been a while since we last met like this, Ianna.”

“Teacher.”

Gerard Hephlood.

Gerard looked between Ianna and Arhad with great interest before he chuckled thoughtfully.

“Do you have a moment to talk?”

Ianna looked up at Arhad as if she was seeking his permission.

“I’ll see you later.”

Arhad stroked her hair and inadvertently met her eyes as she stared openly back at him. She was so endearing to him as she looked back at him with such a straightforward gaze that Arhad could not help himself.

Smooch.

Arhad planted a brief but affectionate kiss on her forehead. It came ever so naturally to him now.

He grinned like a fool as he slowly broke away from her. He told her to come find him in the trail behind the Institution after she had a leisurely discussion with Gerard before he left.

“…….”

Ianna tidied her slightly disheveled hair as she stared at Arhad’s retreating figure. She did this subconsciously without actually meaning to.

Gerard studied her from beside her.

There was a faint crimson flush on her cheeks, and her eyes were filled with a deep affection. It surprised him to see his cold student like this, but the teacher smiled because it was nice to see.

“Shall we go?”

Ianna followed Gerard to his office inside Schneider’s palace. There, Gerard said,

“I heard that you were safe and well, but I was still worried. It relieves me to see you again.”

“I’m glad that you’ve been well too, Teacher.”

Ianna had contacted Gerard periodically after she had first arrived in Theodore when she was fifteen. But she had been so busy as of late that she had only been able to send him brief letters to say hello —she had not had the chance to meet him in person.

Ianna’s heart was at ease as she looked to Gerard. She wanted for her teacher to live a long life. It was difficult for her to even imagine how much worse her past life’s childhood would have been if he hadn’t been there.

Which was why her will quietly blazed brighter. She needed to get rid of Luria and Fernando for Gerard’s sake too.

“You’re planning to leave Roanne once you’ve graduated from the Institution, right?”

Ianna was surprised as she looked back at him.

“How did you know?”

“I heard about it back when His Royal Highness Prince Schneider tried to enact a new law to keep you from leaving. Though it fell through, of course.”

“I’m glad it did.”

Gerard chuckled kindly as he asked,

“Was it your choice to leave?”

“Yes.”

Her reply was firm. Gerard looked back at her quietly with pride and wistfulness, but he soon put aside the wistfulness he felt as a citizen of Roanne. And, as her teacher, he asked,

“Can I ask you what you plan to do once you leave?”

Ianna fell into thought for a moment.

But she soon returned her beloved teacher an honest answer.

“I can’t tell you the details, but I will work to turn my creed into justice.”

“Oho?”

Gerard was intrigued as he pushed his glasses up. He continued,

“It sounds like you intend to form an organization and act as it’s leader. And a large organization, at that.”

Gerard was Ianna’s teacher who had laid out the foundation for her way of thinking and had taught her how to hone her willpower, and he had precisely understood what she was saying. He continued,

“It will be difficult. Everyone is different, and it won’t be easy to bind them all together under one rule of justice.”

“I do not believe that everyone will accept my creed. But I formed my creed from my experiences in this world, and I do not believe it is a mistaken one.”

Gerard had expressed his concern, but Ianna had not been shaken despite honestly agreeing with him.

Ianna had looked back at the past, focused on the present, and begun imagining the future ever since Arhad had asked her to be his guidepost.

What about this? What about that?

This is satisfactory. This isn’t good enough.

What if I do this? What if I do that?

And so, her creed had begun taking a concrete shape. She had neatly organized her indecisive and disorderly thoughts into simple questions.

She had learned more about herself as she organized her thoughts. And she had grown sturdier.

“I don’t want my people to suffer the same pains that I have, and I want my people to experience the same joys that I have too, so I believe my creed to be right and will turn it into justice. At the very least, I want it to apply where I will go.”

‘Right’ was a subjective term. Rightness depended on one’s personal creed, so something that was right to one person could be wrong to another.

But personal creed was influenced by justice. This was why Ianna wanted to turn her creed into the justice of the world in which she lived. She continued,

“I’m sure I’ll have to go through a lot of trial and error, of course. And there’ll surely be a lot of things about my creed that displeases people.”

If she felt there was an error in her creed, then she would have to change it little by little. Doing so would surely help the people who trusted her and followed her.

“But I don’t intend to compromise on the fundamentals.”

Gerard nodded in satisfaction as soon as Ianna had finished speaking.

“Indeed. Someone who leads an organization from up front must be both more flexible and inflexible than any other.”

He did not ask the eighteen-year-old girl before him what on earth she was talking about. He only supported her wishes and cheered her on.

Gerard pat Ianna lightly on the shoulder. He continued,

“I am excited to see how your life unfolds. The fate you’ve chosen will surely be the very best life you could ever live.”

Ianna listened to him as she recollected something that had happened a very, very long time ago in her memories. Gerard had always told her that she must choose everything for herself, including her fate, instead of allowing fate to force a choice on her.

Don’t get hurt and cry because of the cruel people around you.

Don’t lose to them.

If you submit to a fate that runs contrary to your own wishes and consent to it, it will become as a bog that will hold you down and never let you escape.

Ianna, your life belongs to you and it is yours to pioneer.

Build your future with the choices that you yourself will make, and don’t let fate decide things for you.

Ianna could not possibly express how much his words had consoled her as a young girl. Her teacher’s lessons had served as the opportunity for the crybaby girl to grow sturdier.

“So this is the fate you’ve chosen. You pitiful thing.”

But Gerard had slapped her across the face and pitied her after she had purged House Roberstein.

Suddenly, Ianna grew curious.

‘Why did Teacher suddenly pity me back then?’

Gerard was not the kind of person to pity another for no reason. He did not believe it was right to consider another’s life to be lesser than his own. Ianna had been tremendously consoled by this attitude of his, and she was endlessly grateful for it.

He had initially been furious with her for committing a sin so depraved that it was only right to censure her and scorn her for committing it, but he had pitied her when all was said and done. Ianna had felt betrayed by him and had cut their ties.

‘It made sense for him to be angry, but he’s not the kind of person to pity.’

Ianna decided to find an answer to the question she had held onto for such a long time.

“When do you take pity on someone, Teacher?”

Gerard was surprised by her sudden hypothetical question, but he calmly laid out his thoughts nevertheless.

“When they’re so swayed by their surroundings that they’ve lost sight of their own life.”

Ianna’s cheeks grew stiff. Gerard continued,

“I pity those who don’t know how to love themselves and ruin their lives. Wouldn’t you agree? To be so caught up in the lives of others that you can’t learn to treasure your own…….”

Back then, Ianna had been so seething in her hatred for and bloodlust toward others that she hadn’t been able to love herself. Her self-confidence as a person had hit rock-bottom.

Ianna had clung only to her sword because, while she had loved herself as a swordswoman, she had loathed herself as a person. She had been extreme in her inability to forge personal relationships with others.

If she had loved herself, then perhaps she would have been able to ignore House Roberstein and focus on pioneering her own life since she had more than enough ability to do so. Perhaps she would not have felt only hatred for Arhad just because he had broken her sword.

Gerard had pitied her because he had known this about her. Ianna’s heart stung.

‘I’m sorry,’

Ianna apologized to the Gerard of the past. She deeply reflected on herself for being so busy looking after herself that she had not even tried to understand the thoughts or feelings of others.

‘Now that I think about it…….’

Ianna recalled how she had been applauded as flowers rained down upon her during the school festival.

She had not been able to understand back then. She had not understood why people acknowledged her and applauded her when she had given up on being loved by others and had decided to focus only on her own life.

But she understood now.

It wasn’t because she had sought love that she hadn’t been loved.

It wasn’t because she had refused love that she had received it.

The choice of loving her or not had always belonged to others —it didn’t matter if she sought it or not.

Then, why was it that she was loved and acknowledged in this life when she hadn’t been in her last?

It was because Ianna had made herself the focus of her life as she squared against the world. She had prioritized tempering and polishing her talents even despite the cruel environment she had been in, and she shone more brightly than any other as a result.

It was because she looked after not only herself but had also learned to look out for the feelings of others too. Because she had the leisure to give and share instead of being desperate only to receive.

Ianna had not had such leisure in her past life. She had not known how to give when she was younger, and she had only wished to receive from others. When she had grown older, she had neither given nor even wanted to receive.

But she had found the leisure after being reborn. She still didn’t care to receive, but if someone gave her something while she focused on her life, then she would cautiously give them something back.

‘Arhad taught me how to give.’

Arhad had only ever given to her in their past life.

He had given, and given, and given.

Ianna had never once accepted what he gave her. But she had started wanting to accept him as she died, and she had even started wanting to give him something back.

I will be your knight.

That had been the start of the change in her heart.

Arhad had unintentionally given her a new life even as she died. And even in this life, he gave, and gave, and gave…….

Arhad loved her unconditionally. This was why Ianna could love everything about herself today.

He had taught her the value of her own worth. This was why Ianna now knew that she was someone valuable no matter what she did.

He had taught her how to give. This was why Ianna now wanted to become someone who knew how to give first.

“…….”

Ianna’s face flushed slightly red. Gerard chuckled as he watched Ianna suddenly start blushing from her own thoughts after she had asked him such a sudden question.

“I think this every time I see you, but your expressions look much nicer now. You used to be so thorny when you were younger.”

Ianna snapped back to her senses and blushed even brighter when she saw the pride in Gerard’s face. He continued,

“You must have met many good people at the Institution. And among them, that young man from earlier must have given you quite a lot. No?”

“……You’re right.”

Ianna grew embarrassed for some reason and looked out the window to cool her face down. Gerard, too, looked out at the blue skies. The birds chirped like little bells as they soared, and the skies were peaceful like the calm before a storm.

“I sense the great flow of history.”

Ianna glanced back at Gerard. He continued,

“History is like a storm that circles between all sorts of things as it flows……like birth and death, like prosperity and decline.”

His eyes were bright and clear like those of a sage looking into the future.

“If the world grows chaotic and noisy, then a light appears and ripples through the chaos to straighten it out. When the groundwork for darkness is set, so, too, does the light begin to quicken.”

Gerard slowly turned forward again. He looked to Ianna and smiled broadly.

“I am very much looking forward to seeing what that light will be.”

Ianna went to where Arhad was waiting for her after she had parted with Gerard. They frequented the trail often, and he was waiting for her on the hill behind the Institution. Arhad was sitting and looking down at Theodore and the Institution. Ianna stood in place and watched him from behind.

Why was it that it made her so happy just to see his back?

“Don’t just stand there and come sit down next to me, Ianna.”

She was only standing there quietly and looking at him, but Arhad felt her presence and called out to her. He continued,

“It’s hot elsewhere, but it’s pretty cool here.”

It was exactly as Arhad said. It was definitely summer now, but the cool breeze stole away the heat lingering on her cheeks.

“Your teacher…….”

Ianna told Arhad about the conversation she had shared with Gerard.

Nowadays, there was nothing that Ianna kept from Arhad except for her past life. She told him her every thought and feeling without reserve.

They talked about all sorts of things. Monsters, the mythical races, discrimination, class hierarchy, opportunities, education, systems —Arhad listened attentively when Ianna conveyed her thoughts and feelings to him, and he gave her is own opinions.

Arhad knew a lot and had a lot of experience, as he was already meddling deeply with foreign politics and managing several territories and companies. His every word was filled with nourishment, and he broadened Ianna’s horizons greatly. Ianna truly enjoyed spending the time to discuss things through with Arhad.

Even a few days ago, after she had observed the ritual Schneider had conducted in the Temple of Laos, Ianna had immediately returned to Arhad and told him everything that had happened. She had even gingerly told him about her hypothesis.

“Might Laos be a dragon?”

Arhad had been bewildered, as if he had been completely blindsided by the idea, and he said that the circumstances seemed to suggest she was right.

Then, she had told him that Roberstein, in today’s terms, had been extremely depressed.

Ianna thought that the gods were no different from humans other than the fact that they produced divine power in their hearts. They were so similar that she wondered if Laos had created humanity after the gods.

Roberstein had a powerful ability and amazing willpower, but she was still just a god. According to her memories, the guilt she had felt about watching someone precious to her Fall and the responsibility she had felt as the world around her raced toward the End had utterly ravaged her mind.

Arhad had stared back at Ianna in silence after she had told him about Roberstein. Ianna had grown uneasy, but the words that Arhad had said next had completely made her lose her tension.

“Are you all right?”

Arhad had been quiet because he had been worried that Ianna had been influenced by Roberstein and was depressed.

“…….”

Ianna had been telling him about Gerard as she recalled this, and she rammed her forehead against his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

His large hand covered her head. It made her feel good as his large hand stroked her hair. Ianna closed her eyes as she savored his affectionate touch.

Ianna thought that Roberstein was stupid as she ruminated over the god’s memories.

‘She tried to be responsible for everything just because she was powerful. But I don’t think there’s a need for that.’

Ianna recalled something that Saki Celtz had said to her once.

“I can agree with you using your abilities for your friends. But please don’t feel like you’re responsible for stepping up to protect mankind from crisis. This problem was created by human hands, and that is why it ought to be solved by human hands too. Lady Ianna, you must not feel guilty about staying quiet even if you do have the power to resolve the situation.”

At the time, Ianna had thought that any problems that cropped up because of the Demon’s fragments were a prolongation of the Holy Age and that she, as someone who had within her the powers of the Holy Age, had a duty to resolve them. She had concurred with Saki otherwise.

The world belonged not to one but to all. Thus, it was everyone’s responsibility when there was a problem with the world, and everyone had to resolve it together.

It wasn’t right to depend on just one person simply because they were powerful.

‘And that’s why I won’t sacrifice myself all the time like you did. I won’t burden myself with duty. I will be selfish and only look after my own, and I will trust the world look after the rest. I won’t isolate myself like you did.’

Surprisingly, Ianna did not think that Roberstein had been very strong.

Roberstein had been powerful. She had been so powerful that she had stood all alone, but she had also been quick to collapse because no one was there to prop her up. She had not been able to recover once she started to crumble.

What else should she call it if not weakness?

‘I will be stronger than any other as I stand beside Arhad. I will prop him up if he should fall, and Arhad will do the same for me.’

The harmony between physical strength, built up with talent and effort, and psychological strength, built up through trust and affection. That, was absolute strength.

‘And I will stand with my people as well.’

Ianna had been resolving herself with her forehead still pressed against Arhad’s shoulder when he raised up her face.

“Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m not hurt.”

Ianna closed her mouth instead of finishing her thought. She stared deeply into Arhad.

‘I’m sure it’s only because you’re here with me that I can think such things.’

Ianna liked the way his golden eyes were filled with only her. It felt like she was being enshrouded in light.

Suddenly, the summer heat came over her.

Flush…….

It was hot.

It was so hot that even her face was flushed from the heat.

She was not very susceptible to the heat, and yet she was so hot. It was always so hot whenever she was with Arhad as of late. It was summer all day long. The summer heat made her gasp for breath. Ianna looked away and started fanning herself with her hand before she could stop herself.

“Is it hot?”

Arhad wrapped his hands around her face. His hands were cool and dry, but her face only flushed hotter. Ianna couldn’t regulate her temperature very well today.

Her breathing quickened, much like her quickening heartbeat. Her shallow breaths fluttered like a butterfly and landed on Arhad’s lips.

Arhad laced his fingers behind her neck and tugged her closer. Ianna closed her eyes before she knew it as his face drew near. His dry lips sought the heat as they pressed against her restless ones.

Smooch.

“…….”

Their short but deep kiss made her bashful for some reason. Ianna was about to close her eyes when she decided to peer up at him ever so slightly instead. She saw the dense golden color of his eyes. Their noses brushed against each other, and his lips, to which her heat had transferred, closed in again.

Smooch.

Their breaths tangled densely into each other. Their lips broke apart when Ianna looked down and pulled her head back ever so slightly. But Arhad’s abandoned lips chased after hers at if he was being drawn to them.

Smooch.

Three times.

Ianna squeezed her eyes shut because she felt strange.

“…….”

Arhad’s heart began to race when he saw the curves of her eyes as she squeezed them shut as if in embarrassment right before his very own. It began to burst out from his turbid heart in heaps. A fierce dislike surged up into his eyes. His hands squeezed over Ianna’s face and nape.

I hate it.

Pretending to be indifferent.

Pretending to be calm.

Pretending to be considerate.

Pretending to be composed.

I’m sick and tired of pretending already.

So… You can accept at least this much, right?

You’re the one who started it. Right?

At least, that was how Arhad justified it to himself as he loosened his grip on the monster’s reins that he had been clutching this entire time.

He pulled Ianna in from the back of her neck. Her lips parted as her head tilted back, and something hot pushed its way inside when she took in a rough breath.

Her back was being gradually lowered as Arhad’s other hand touched the ground. His thumb, resting on her cheek, and his four fingers, tangled into her hair as they wrapped around her head, squeezed.

He held her firmly so she could not escape, and he indulged in his greed without holding back.

“Ah…….”

Ianna could not breathe as his dense greed wandered the inside of her mouth and left its sticky trails behind as if he was marking his territory. Her feverish body trembled as the sloppy sounds made a mess of her ears.

They had already exchanged this kind of kiss several times, but she always felt strange whenever they did it. She felt like all the blood in her body was boiling, and it threatened to drive her insane.

She rather liked kissing Arhad. To be honest, she liked it quite a lot. It made her feel just how ardently Arhad wanted her, and the feeling that he had grown closer drowned her in ecstasy whenever they kissed.

It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t bad……and yet it was.

Her mind was spinning circles, and it was so uncomfortably hot. Ianna normally had great control over her body, so she could not help but perceive this as a dangerous threat. The alarm bells were ringing in her head.

She grabbed his arm to get him to stop, but that only served to provoke him more as he pressed harder.

Thump.

Ianna was pushed and pushed until she finally found herself with her back on the ground. It was only after he had satiated his greed by kissing her for some time that Arhad finally regained his ability to reason.

“Haah.”

It was only after he had pulled away from her raw crimson lips that Ianna’s figure filled his eyes.

She was always so neat and tidy, and yet she was a complete mess now. Her face was as red as her hair. Her eyes and brows, which normally gave off a cold impression, had collapsed in her bewilderment and her utter loss as for what to do.

Oh, you’re endearing.

You’re so endearing.

Truly. You’re so very endearing.

“Ianna…….”

Arhad clenched the hand he was using to prop himself up from the ground. His feelings, which he had only just managed to keep crammed inside his heart, threatened to spill out all at once.

“I…….”

Arhad was about to say something on impulse before he bit down hard at his lip to stop himself.

But why?

Ianna felt like she knew what he had been about to say.

Why not just say it?

Ianna almost said in the moment.

She wasn’t trying to tease him. She was being sincere. Ianna wanted Arhad to say it.

After all, she wanted to hear him say it.

Ianna raised her hand to grab and gently squeeze Arhad’s, which was still caressing her cheek. She felt really good now that her initial bewilderment was subsiding. A strange pleasure overtook her as she looked up and watched him try to collect his breath.

His eyes were drenched in deep affection, his cheeks were a jumbled mess of crimson heat, and his lips were swollen because he had done as he had pleased with them. The once-tidy collar of his shirt was crumpled, his entangled fingers were tense, and his cold body had warmed up. His voice was hoarse as he desperately forced down his emotions.

Each aspect of him became as a prickling stimulus that prodded at her heart. Her heart squeezed tight.

Ianna had always liked watching Arhad go crazy like this. She did pity him for being so anxious all the time and hoped that he would gain a measure of composure, but the truth was that she truly enjoyed watching him lose his mind.

‘Perhaps I’m rather twisted myself.’

More —I want to tease him more.

More, more, so much more —I want him to like me more.

Ianna was somewhat embarrassed as she realized this about herself.

I see.

Her realization was sudden and had come over her like the summer heat.

She called it sudden, but it actually hadn’t been very sudden at all. She was simply certain of it now.

“…….”

Ianna pulled Arhad’s hand from her cheek up to her face. She buried her face into his palm to conceal the strange form her expression had turned into.

I…

Arhad, I…….

But Ianna could not continue.

Her heart tickled.

Just like a flower bud that was about to blossom.

— “Groundwork and Quickening” End

—To be continued in Volume 9