Chapter 27: Roanne, Summer
A long time ago.
God Laos delicately created the world as though he was spinning thread from wool.
The gears of providence he constructed became as rigid laws that tidied up the disorganized ball of string that was the world. Space was split into the heavens and the earth, time flowed from the past to the future, and physical objects fell from high to low.
Then, once the world had found its order, God Laos brought life to all sorts of living creatures. The living creatures woke up and took to Laos as their god like newborn chicks, and they believed that everything he said to them was justice and obeyed him.
“I have nothing more to do.”
But Laos vanished like a mirage one day without telling them what was right and what was wrong in any definite terms. The primitive world was bewildered when its absolute god left it behind.
“Give me everything you’ve got!”
The desire to rob others of everything they had.
“Save me!”
The instinctive wish to survive in the disorderly world.
“I’m the strongest, so you should all follow me.”
“Knowledge is power. You will never starve if you follow me.”
“Do not doubt God Laos. Everything is his will.”
The ambition to stand at the very top of the world!
The raw world lacked justice —this was right, that was right, and that was right too. Countless justices clashed against each other. A war against monsters, a war against the mythical races……. Countless wars, so many that not all of them had been recorded in history, broke out and drenched the earth in blood and tears.
And so, the world gained greater order with each passing death until one day, the masses gathered and formed a nation of humans.
The Kingdom of Roanne.
The kingdom had been established by Roanne, one of Laos’ five apostles. Her name had been given to her by God Laos, and it became her kingdom’s name as well, and the Kingdom of Roanne maintained her status as the strongest country in the South even though the area was teeming with a jumble of other countries. The Kingdom of Roanne had endured even as the Bahamut Empire swallowed up countless countries in the North.
Bahamut used her powerful military might to crush the countries around Roanne and turn them into weak kingdoms, but they could not destroy Roanne. This was because, for whatever the reason, the imperial family, the heart of the empire’s military might, grew weak before the royal family of Roanne.
They had tried creating dissent within Roanne to destroy her from the inside, but Roanne was huddled tightly around her silver-haired silver-eyed king and they could not find a weakness to exploit. They had sowed the seeds of decay, but those seeds had never sprouted.
Surprisingly, the sturdy Kingdom of Roanne had only started rotting during a time of peace. The euphoric high of victory she felt from the ceasefire and the relaxing tranquility that resulted created openings in her defense, once as taut as well-woven chain mail.
Roanne became littered with openings as she believed the war was over and praised her king’s reign. The Black Fox, which carried Bahamut on its back, grew larger in the lax darkness of Roanne, and it also reached out to a certain woman who was trembling in anxiety.
Luria Roanne.
Luria had been one of many princesses from Begoisha, a weak and small kingdom, and she had grown up without ever being able to make her voice heard before being offered to Roanne’s aging king. She had been fortunate enough to give birth to a silvery prince, Fernando, and had seized a life of luxury —and she indulged in it, as though she meant to reward herself for the disgrace she had suffered when she was younger.
But her brilliant future had become uncertain when Lezè Roanne, who was remarkable in every manner, also became the king’s woman. Power, authority, wealth, intelligence, ability —Luria lacked all of this in comparison to Lezè.
Luria had been seized by her guilty conscience, though she never let it show, and so she had no choice but to take the Black Fox’s hand.
In that sense, it was only natural that the Black Fox began giving Luria, who had the king’s affection, their wholehearted sponsorship.
—That was how Saiwè’s history began.
Luria whispered her motherly love to Fernando as if she meant to brainwash him with it, and she whispered of her love as a woman to the king as though she was pleading for his attention. All out of her love for power and luxury.
This was why, as a young woman, Luria had always been lonely and starved for love.
It was then that she suddenly took an interest in her personal knight. Her knight, who had been devoted to her ever since she had been much younger, loved her from the bottom of his heart —and Luria knew this.
Her lonely heart was shaken by the knight’s longtime and steadfast love, and she fell in love with him in but a moment.
The knight’s pure love crumbled helplessly before her seduction. Luria had given birth to ‘Saiwè’ as she toyed with love.
Luria fully believed that Saiwè was the king’s child and was merely disappointed that he had not been born with silver hair and eyes. But her knight had noticed that Saiwè had inherited a special trait that was passed down in his own bloodline and knew that Saiwè was, in fact, his own son. He did not tell Luria about this because he feared that Luria would murder Saiwè in the name of ‘love’ should she ever learn the truth.
But neither time nor circumstance had been on his side.
Luria was changing. She tired of her love for the knight and grew more raptured in her love for power with each passing day. Luria stopped seeking the knight out as a man, and the knight, too, realized that her heart was changing.
But he wasn’t hurt by it, for his fatherly love for his son had been growing deeper as did Luria’s love for power.
The problem wasn’t the fact that Luria was changing but the fact that all members of the royal family of Roanne received a special ring on their first birthday. The rings were a treasure that allowed the royal family to ignore the barrier over the palace and use magic within its confines, and it could only be used by those who had inherited royal blood. Saiwè was growing up fast, and it was only a matter of time before he would be given a ring only to reveal that he was not actually a prince.
The knight had eventually turned to the Black Fox for help, and the Black Fox had created a ring with similar functions as the royal family’s.
They had only gone through the trouble in preparation to use this fact against Luria in case she tried to betray them. But Luria was mad in her lust for luxury, and she was heavily reliant on the Black Fox. They hadn’t needed to use her weaknesses against her. And so, the Black Fox eventually stopped caring about Saiwè’s existence.
The knight took charge of raising Saiwè. Saiwè did not have the right to vie for the throne, so he had been the only person who had ever paid Saiwè any attention. The knight had been Saiwè’s only parent, teacher, and friend.
And that was why he had left behind a diary.
While it was for the best that he could watch over his son forever, he worried for his son’s future if he had to leave Saiwè behind while the boy knew nothing.
Then, a dozen or so years later, Luria’s verbal abuse grew worse as she compared Saiwè against Fernando, and the knight had lost his ability to reason when she hurt Saiwè badly and had defied her as he shielded Saiwè in his arms. He had slandered the Black Fox and had censured her sharply.
Luria had felt betrayed by the knight and had flown into a rage.
The knight was killed.
Saiwè had found the knight’s diary as he organized his keepsakes through his tears.
And then, he had begun living quietly so that he would not catch the Black Fox’s attention.
“Van?”
“Oh.”
Saiwè realized that his hand had stopped moving as he ruminated over his past. His pen had left a stain on the white paper, and Ianna and Rikijen were staring at the resulting black blot. Saiwè threw the sheet of paper away as if he was hiding away his faults.
“Shall we stop here if you’re tired?”
“Not at all. I was simply lost in thought. Let’s continue.”
Pointless thoughts kept disturbing his mind as concrete proof of the rotten acts that had been referenced in the diary were brought before his very eyes. Saiwè massaged his aching forehead as he picked up the documents once more.
Proof of the corruption in written form that Luria’s faction and the Black Fox had enjoyed in Roanne was scattered over the table at which Saiwè, Rikijen, and Ianna were sitting face-to-face.
Documents from the Black Fox that Eiji had been collecting ever since Camastros had been founded, documents of corruption they had retrieved based on Saiwè’s diary, and documents that Rikijen had written as he investigated noble houses with Arhad’s help.
It was the middle of July, and the three of them were collecting undeniable evidence, in written form, that they would use to topple Luria’s faction and the Black Fox.
“I’ve completed the documents regarding House Mevelnar, Lord Saiwè.”
Saiwè accepted the documents that Rikijen handed to him and scanned through them. It was so perfect that Saiwè had no need to correct anything, and it was so elaborately detailed that none could refute its contents.
“Count Mevelnar would faint if he ever saw this.”
“I hear that the count suffers from high blood pressure —wouldn’t he just drop dead instead?”
“That’s much too peaceful a death for him. He must not die until he is executed. Perhaps I should gift him some medication for his blood pressure.”
Rikijen and Saiwè bared their hearts to each other and exchanged chilling jokes without restraint.
They got along well. Rikijen was not a member of Camastros, but he knew most of their circumstances by now, and Saiwè was comfortable with him. They had been on friendly terms to begin with, and they had become genuine friends as they organized the documents together.
“Ughhh.”
The three of them stretched inside the Frieders Bookstore, which was now their new meeting spot, as they finished their work for the day.
Saiwè massaged his stiff neck as he looked up at the night sky riddled with stars. Unlike the tranquil and beautiful sky, the earth below was a dirty mire of mud. Saiwè wanted to break free of this sticky swamp.
‘It’ll be over in just six months from now.’
Roanne was a rope of leather squeezing at his throat.
Saiwè wanted to leave Roanne behind as quickly as possible and go to a new land. There, he would blossom the culture anew to suit his tastes, and then he would spend the rest of his life looking only at beautiful things.
“Good work today,”
Saiwè purposefully made himself sound cheerful to cast away the suffocation he felt.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good work.”
Ianna did not leave even after she had bid Saiwè farewell and simply stared at him. But why? Saiwè was puzzled when she suddenly said,
“Please be good to her.”
Oh.
Saiwè stroked his chin in an attempt to hide his smile.
Priscilla.
“Should we start dating?”
Priscilla had said in the spur of the moment when Saiwè had caught hold of her as she ran away, and Saiwè had agreed with no time to spare.
Just when did it start?
When did I fall in love with Priscilla……?
Saiwè had definitely been interested when he had first met her. But it had been a light interest that stemmed from work —he had not been interested in her as a woman. It had not been anything special, as Saiwè always regarded people with a light interest.
The walls around his heart were extraordinarily sturdy, so he had never held any deep feelings for others. This had always been true of the charming young ladies he had dated until now.
But Priscilla had broken through the walls of his heart and made her way inside, just like how she had shattered his delusions when they had first met.
They had experienced so much together in a time that was both short and long, and they had shared many feelings together as well. And then, he found that he had completely fallen for her charms at some point. Priscilla was too adorable, too lovely, too awesome, too beautiful, and too confident.
“Of course,”
Saiwè asserted.
He had never thought he would end up like this even in his wildest dreams. He had sneered at romantic love and had believed that he would never get caught up in such emotions, but emotions were like a natural disaster. He was so flustered even though he had never wanted this. He continued,
“I wish to take Priscilla to our new country.”
Saiwè had planned to throw away everything he had in Roanne as he embarked to their new land, and Priscilla was the first and only existence that he wanted to keep close by his side.
Surely, he could enjoy a life more beautiful than even the night sky above if Priscilla was with him.
Ianna grinned once she had confirmed Saiwè’s resolve. The anguish Saiwè had shown her during the last ball had been washed cleanly away.
Saiwè returned to his palace, which was no better than a prison to him, once he had parted ways from Ianna and Rikijen. There, he encountered someone whom he had never dreamed he would find there.
“Lord Brother?”
It was Fernando.
“Oh, Saiwè.”
Fernando waved at him haughtily. Saiwè silently wondered what the bastard was up to as he greeted him.
“It’s been a while.”
Fernando did not frequent Saiwè’s palace. And why would he? —his gloomy younger brother was of no use to him and Fernando could not have cared any less about Saiwè. Schneider, Saiwè’s half-brother, visited Saiwè much more than his actual brother did. Saiwè continued,
“You’ll be crowned king soon. My congratulations.”
“Mm.”
Fernando put on airs as he toyed with his silver hair. He was showing off. Saiwè had been envious of his silver hair and eyes once, but he only found them laughable now.
“What business do you have here? —I’m sure you must be busy preparing for your coronation.”
“Hmm. Wasn’t Mother looking for someone for you to wed?”
What nonsense is he talking about now? Saiwè hid away his true feelings as he smiled deeply.
“She is, but the idea still makes me rather uncomfortable. Shouldn’t you be getting married first, Lord Brother? You will be king soon, so you should hurry and take a wife who will watch over the people warmly.”
Saiwè was being completely insincere. He would drag Fernando off the throne before some poor ignorant woman was sacrificed to him.
“No woman out there suits my tastes, tch.”
Saiwè inwardly censured him fiercely as Fernando grumbled.
Of course not.
Just how many girls have you beaten to death thus far, Lord Brother?
Fernando and Luria had done their best to keep it a secret, but Saiwè already knew everything.
Fernando pretended to be a cool prince and acted normally on the outside, but he lusted after young girls and mistreated them behind closed doors. He let his violent temperament run wild against the young girls weaker than he —that is, against young girls whom he could treat as he wished.
‘Dirty bastard.’
There’s no excusing how disgusting you are. You piece of trash.
“I see. But surely it must be difficult to find anyone of your ‘class.’ I suppose Mother will have her work cut out for her,”
Saiwè quipped back sarcastically, but he smiled flippantly as if he meant no malice.
“Ahem.”
Fernando cleared his throat because he mistakenly thought that Saiwè was complimenting him. Then, he snuck at glance at Saiwè and said,
“I recall seeing a woman in your palace before.”
“……?”
Why was he talking about Saiwè’s palace out of nowhere?
“Did you find a girl you liked in my palace? Was she a maid?”
“No, she wasn’t affiliated with the palace. You know, that young and petit commoner girl who stayed in your palace for a while.”
Saiwè’s expression immediately stiffened up. Fernando continued,
“Is she yours?”
“…….”
He found his answer in Saiwè’s silence.
“Did your tastes in women change? You used to only see overripe beauties, and only once in a while at that.”
“Tastes……can change.”
Saiwè only just managed to pry his lips open.
“Hmmm. But you’ll have to break up with her anyway when you wed. She was totally my type —why don’t you hand her over to me?”
Priscilla looked significantly younger than her age. Her age aside, Priscilla’s looks coincided perfectly with Fernando’s preferences.
Goosebumps broke out beneath Saiwè’s clothes. Fernando tended to be oddly fixated once he had taken an interest in something.
“I’ll have to break up with her one day, but I am courting her sincerely at the moment. Don’t you already have a lot, Lord Brother? Won’t you please leave your poor younger brother’s woman alone?”
“Hmm. Well…”
Saiwè turned around and walked away before Fernando, who was wistfully licking his lips, could utter any more bullshit.
He would have shouted and asked Fernando if he was crazy, if he wanted to die, and say that he would never let that happen if he could have things his way. But Fernando was like a twisted imp who was more inclined to do something the harder someone was trying to stop him. Saiwè could not risk turning Fernando stubborn.
Saiwè’s visage was frozen.
‘How dare you, you dirty bastard.’
Saiwè put away his bloodlust as he left Fernando behind and walked inside his palace. Fernando recalled the adorable girl who smiled like a little bird whom he had seen by chance and clicked his tongue wistfully.
~~*~~
“Good work today.”
“You too.”
Ianna and Rikijen always discussed various things as they made their way back to the Institution dormitories after their work was done for the day.
Philosophy, commerce, science, politics, diplomacy……their discussion was fruitful no matter the topic. Ianna felt her horizons broaden every time they talked because Rikijen was well-informed and had a unique perspective.
“What kind of revenge do you want to take on House Owen?”
But the topic of their discussion today was Rikijen’s revenge.
“Naturally, I want to erase House Owen from the world, as if they never existed to begin with. Just looking at House Owen’s crest makes me seethe with anger.”
Rikijen would succeed in getting his revenge. There would be a bloodbath in Theodore once Schneider returned. And House Owen, Rikijen’s nemesis, would be one of its sacrifices.
House Owen was Luria’s largest supporter, and they helped the Black Fox illegally distribute drugs and turned a blind eye to their slave trade —they were one of the biggest reasons why such dark clouds hung over Roanne. The poison used to assassinate the king had also come from House Owen’s distribution network. House Owen may be one of the Five Founding Houses, but it was beyond recovery.
“What about the people of House Owen?”
This was the revenge that Ianna had wanted to ask about. She continued,
“Whom will you take revenge on, and how?”
“Hmmm…….”
Rikijen’s rough breathing grew calmer. He continued,
“I’ve thought about that quite a bit myself. At first, I wanted to kill everyone —from the marquis’ immediate family all the way to the household employees and those who were without fault in the matter— just like how House Owen murdered my entire family just to keep our mouths shut.”
Rikijen frowned as he shook his head. He continued,
“But I don’t want to do that anymore. I hate condemning people for being guilty by association.”
“How come?”
Ianna disliked guilt by association too, but she could understand where it came from. No one could blame Rikijen if he wanted to set House Owen’s entire household ablaze.
“How come?”
Rikijen parroted back as though he had heard something strange. He continued,
“Is that truly something that you should be asking, when you’ve suffered from it yourself? Why do you even think I dislike guilt by association to begin with?”
Ianna blinked as she thought that Rikijen had gotten her good. Rikijen scowled as he pushed his glasses up.
“Well, not that you’re the only reason. I’m a victim of it myself, so I don’t want to blame people for crimes they didn’t commit, and I also don’t want to lower myself to Marquis Owen’s level.”
The entirety of House Owen, even the completely innocent servants who had only been doing menial tasks, had been executed in the past. Rikijen surely had played a hand in that, which meant that it had all been a part of his will.
But now, Rikijen was providing one reason after another to justify why he didn’t want to do that anymore. Had he changed?
“In any event, that is why I only plan on personally punishing those who were directly involved in my family’s deaths. As for the rest —well, I’m sure Prince Schneider will deal with them in accordance to Roanne law if they are guilty.”
Ianna smirked.
“All right. Then, how do you plan on punishing your enemies?”
“I’m still in the middle of thinking about it. How should I kill them so I can resolve my grudge? I could tear apart Wels Owen, Marquis Owen’s second son and the main culprit behind everything, with my bare hands and it still wouldn’t be enough. Hmm. There are a few ideas for revenge that I’ve had since I was young —would you care to hear them?”
“Tell me.”
To beat him to death with a wooden club, to burn him at stake, to overdose him on drugs, etc. Rikijen listed his systematic, varied, and violent ideas for revenge like he was a merchant haphazardly putting up his wares for display.
His tone was calm, but Ianna could feel that he was hurting. Surely, Rikijen’s soul was bruised and battered from thinking about these kinds of things ever since he had been a young child.
Ianna listened to him quietly, but she did not offer any opinions. Rikijen’s revenge was his alone.
They arrived at the Institution quickly as they conversed.
Ianna went to Heinrich’s magic tower as if it was only natural once she had parted ways with Rikijen.
It was summer and the hot humidity was unyielding, but nighttime was a different story. A refreshing breeze pushed away the day’s heat and cooled the earth, and she could hear the bugs singing instead of the clamor of a crowd of people. The scene, once jam-packed with people, had subsided into the darkness. Ianna quite liked the cool, quiet, and dark summer night.
“Ianna.”
But it was truly strange. Once she had seen Arhad, the nightscape, which she so liked, seemed to erase from her field of vision, and she could see only him as he stood at the entrance to the tower with his arms open in welcome. He continued,
“Come on in.”
Arhad would look out the window whenever it was time for Ianna to return, and he would come to greet her by the entrance as if it was only natural.
Thump. Thump.
It was such a familiar occurrence, but Ianna’s quiet heart grew noisy. Her slow and leisurely gait grew rushed.
Ianna pulled into Arhad’s arms like a magnet. She buried her cheek into his solid collarbone as she sighed deeply.
‘I like this…….’
She liked Arhad’s cool skin. She liked his cold fragrance, which surged into her nose if she pressed into him, and she liked his body, which was sturdy and held her up even if she relaxed and leaned into him in exhaustion. It was like she was resting comfortably against a tree while taking in the refreshing air.
“Good work today.”
She also liked his considerate voice and his gentle words. She liked the way he received her as if it was only natural that he was her nest.
She liked everything about him. She liked everything, but what she liked most was the fact that Arhad loved her.
Ianna flushed red as soon as the thought crossed her mind and realized this about herself. She squeezed her fingers and clutched at his clothes.
‘What do I do?’
Should I just tell him?
Arhad pulled her in tight before Ianna could even finish her thought, but then he let her go and took her hand instead.
“Let’s head inside.”
We’re not going to kiss?
“……!”
Ianna startled and vigorously shook her head as she realized what she had been wistfully thinking.
Click.
Ianna followed Arhad into his study. He sat down at his desk, and Ianna sat down in the chair next to him. There was a mountain of documents piled on his desk.
Arhad poured cold tea, which he had prepared in advance, into small teacups with ice inside them. Ianna poked the pile of documents.
“Is it all right for me to be here like this when you have so much work to do?”
Preparations for establishing their kingdom and work for Camastros. Arhad was truly busy as of late. Ianna wondered if she was being a bother by visiting him every night.
The gentle flow of tea stopped falling, and Arhad wore a serious look on his face as he said,
“I’m busy. I’m busy, but going out to meet you and talking to you is my favorite time of day and it’s my only time of rest, so please don’t take it from me.”
“……I wouldn’t dream of it. I want to be with you even if I’m being a bother.”
Arhad squeezed the teapot when he heard the candid words Ianna had uttered as if it was nothing. Ianna studied his eyes. She continued,
“May I?”
“……Why are you even asking? —This is the last time I’m going to say this, but you’re never a bother to me. I’ll end up working myself to death if you don’t come find me like this. I mean it.”
Ianna chuckled quietly, thinking it had been a joke, and Arhad did his best to avoid her laughter. He quickly put the teapot down before Ianna saw the crack that had formed in the porcelain handle.
Ianna read through a document as she sipped her tea to cool away the heat. It was a list of candidate locations where they could set up the capital of the country they would establish. One of the names on the list was Semastair —a familiar name because it was the base for Arhad’s main forces.
“Our capital will be Semastair unless the situation changes drastically. Do you object?”
“Not at all. I like it.”
“I see. I was thinking about what we’ll name our country, but we can decide that slowly. Also, I’m thinking of granting you a new surname and knighting you officially once we leave Theodore and arrive in Semastair.”
A surname. Ianna almost couldn’t believe that she would soon have a surname other than Roberstein. Arhad continued,
“Pick one that you like.”
Arhad had given her the freedom to choose, but Ianna had already decided on one. She pulled Rise out from her subspace.
“Rise. I want to take on the name you came up with. It’s the name of my sword, which symbolizes me, so it will also make a good surname.”
“Is that so? Do as you like.”
Arhad looked pleased. Ianna was happy because Arhad was happy.
Ianna put the document back where she had found it and picked up another document from the top of yet another stack. It was a report on the situation in Theodore.
—It had been two weeks since Wiffheimer had declared war while representing Bahamut on the king’s birthday, or rather, the day the late king had passed.
Wiffheimer had dawdled quite a bit for someone who had declared war in such an imposing manner. But he had brought hell to Theodore, Roanne’s capital on the day that Schneider’s army had clashed against Bahamut’s in the East.
It was difficult to send people through Wiffheimer’s Gates because they were unstable, but monsters could pass through freely become no one cared even if they perished. As long as the Gates were connected to their colonies, the monsters would sense the life on the other side of the Gates and naturally cross over regardless of whether they had been brainwashed or not.
Wiffheimer had opened dozens of Gates and sent over monsters that were incomparably more dangerous than the monsters that he had sent previously, and he also summoned a few knight orders and mage orders from Bahamut to battle.
But the amount of power that Roanne had scraped together in her anxiety after Wiffheimer had declared war was nothing to scoff at. The people rallied around Shingardra Solsavier, the archmage of defense, and successfully defended against Bahamut’s attacks. And the Roanne army grew only stronger as they heard news that Schneider was successfully defending the East and even pushing the Bahamut army back.
“I can’t figure out your secret at all, Little Arhad! I need to observe you from up close. But, what’s going on here in Roanne? What? —Wiffheimer?! That stupid old fart isn’t dead yet and he’s even declared war?!”
Maimayè Leviagè, who had abandoned the Magic Tower of Fire, had also aided in Roanne’s defense as he fumed.
Camastros and the beastmen mercenaries were also aiding Roanne, and Roanne and Bahamut’s forces almost seemed equally matched. That was stated in the report as well.
But Ianna and Arhad thought otherwise.
The Bahamut imperial family was being too quiet despite having declared the war themselves, and Wiffheimer, too, was only conducting battle through his proxies —he had yet to take to the field himself. Ianna had been asking after Wiffheimer’s whereabouts as she cleaned up the enemy armies, but she had yet to catch even a glimpse of him.
It was obvious that they had something dirty up their sleeve.
“Ianna. There’s something that I’ve been suspicious of for a while now, but now I’m convinced that I’m right.”
Arhad put away the document that Ianna had been reading with a serious expression on her face as he looked her in the eyes. He continued,
“The Bahamut imperial family is currently in the middle of a succession. That’s why they haven’t come down yet.”
“A succession?”
Ianna asked, alarmed. She continued,
“What makes you think that?”
“I can feel the imperial family’s fragments slowly merging into one.”
The presence of the fragments of his soul, which he shared with them through blood, was growing clearer. It was as if separated droplets of liquid were slowly coalescing into one. He continued,
“I think Empress Shailince’s and Princess Isabella’s fragments are being transferred to Crown Prince Taylon.”
Ianna immediately understood what he was getting at.
The Bahamut imperial family had been gathering the Demon’s fragments for generations. They transferred ownership of their fragments to the reigning emperor to focus their power.
During an imperial succession in the Bahamut Empire, the entire imperial bloodline, including the reigning emperor, would transfer ownership rights of their Demon’s fragments to the next emperor. In other words, the fact that the fragments were merging into one meant that Taylon was preparing to succeed the throne.
Transferring ownership rights meant that they would have to take the Demon’s soul, which stuck to their hearts, and pass it to someone to whom they were related to by blood. This process not only consumed a lot of mental energy but also took a long time.
“Doesn’t the crown prince need to have children before he can take the throne? The current crown prince doesn’t have children…….”
Ianna recalled the Bahamut imperial family’s practice of incest. The crown prince needed to have children before he could take the throne.
“Taylon Bahamut doesn’t care about continuing the legacy. He plans to complete the Demon by gathering every fragment and the Demon’s heart within his generation. Bahamut believes that they can gain eternal life if they complete the Demon, so they see no reason to have children in preparation for the next generation.”
Arhad’s hypothesis sounded plausible, but there was still something that Ianna just couldn’t understand.
“But why did they go through the trouble of declaring war if they were going to hold a succession?”
“I……don’t know why they’re doing the succession in this situation. But, and this is just a guess on my part, the war probably wasn’t Crown Prince Taylon’s idea. He’s not the kind of bastard to start a war so hastily. I think he was roaming the world in search of more fragments when another member of the imperial family decided to go ahead and take action, and then he returned and interfered with their plans. That’s probably why the war’s been progressing so slowly.”
Ianna made a strange face.
“You seem to know Taylon Bahamut well.”
But you shouldn’t have even met him yet.
“I’ve gathered a lot of intelligence on him,”
Arhad replied calmly, and Ianna passed over the matter even though she felt like she was grating against sandpaper.
“I understand. That must be why the imperial family is dawdling even though it seemed like they would invade at a moment’s notice.”
“Which is why now is our chance. Wiffheimer must still be somewhere in Theodore, so we’ll need to find him and kill him before the succession is complete.”
It would be troublesome if Wiffheimer was hale and hearty and pitched in when the imperial family was active. It was for the best that they killed him as quickly as possible.
Killing Wiffheimer was Ianna’s most important mission. Ianna had to be the one to kill him, as there was the danger that Wiffheimer might notice Arhad’s existence and report him to the imperial family if Arhad assisted her.
Arhad would lie in wait on the day that Ianna killed Wiffheimer, and he would only jump out to absorb Wiffheimer’s fragment after Ianna had killed him.
“When will the succession be over?”
“I don’t know. But I’ll feel it when it is.”
“Understood. I will do my best to kill him before that happens. I will aim to kill him in one lethal blow.”
Ianna readjusted her grip on Rise and glared into the air as she imagined Wiffheimer, wherever he was. Arhad watched as Ianna resolved herself while clutching Rise tightly as he put down his documents and rested his chin against his hand.
“Shall we spar for a bit if you’re done with your tea?”
“Yes!”
Ianna welcomed his proposal. She had reached a very important stage recently.
They headed down to the training hall in the tower’s basement.
Clang!
Their swords clashed against each other after a brief greeting.
They were so similar in skill that, if it didn’t look like there would be a victor even after they had sparred for about an hour, one of them would pull out and end the match.
But today was a special day.
Ianna had successfully regained the skill she had once commanded in the past. She had reached the stage she had climbed to at thirty-four when she was still only eighteen.
It was a very odd sensation.
Reaching the stage she had been at in her past life made Ianna feel like she had finally torn free of the cocoon choking her and like she was engulfed in a wonderful sense of freedom.
Ianna took in the world beyond her cocoon. What she saw was a vast dark sky that seemed to have no end.
She ripped off the threads as sturdy as steel chains. Her once-confined wings found their freedom at last and stretched.
Then, the strange sense of exaltation filled her breath. She was seized with the sudden confidence that she could use her wings to fly to the furthest reaches of the sky, no matter where that might be. It was a feeling of invincibility that she hadn’t known even in her past life.
Eventually, Ianna cast aside the cocoon of her past and began to fly. She flew higher and higher. She accelerated faster and faster until she became as a single ray of light piercing through the darkness. The dark sky lit up like it was being burned away. Is this what it would feel like if the sun exploded before her very eyes? Her field of vision was so white that she couldn’t see.
Meanwhile, Arhad felt a chilling hallucination that a mysterious hole had opened up in his chest as he faced off against Ianna.
A tiny spot that Ianna’s sword was aiming for.
Space-time raged and drew into that one spot as it tried to dismantle everything that he was. Her sword hadn’t reached his heart yet, but the hallucination felt as vivid as reality.
The illusion of extinction violently created an opening in Arhad’s once-flawless defense. This had never happened before in his life.
“……!”
Ianna’s sword dug into that opening like a dagger and attempted to make his hallucination a reality. The unfamiliar sense of danger that told Arhad that he would die if he didn’t stop it spread sharply along his nerves. This allowed him to pull himself free of his hallucination as he grit his teeth and brought down his own sword as hard as he could.
Claaang!
Their swords broke, unable to withstand the impact, and tumbled across the floor. Their bodies rushed closer together and collided as they failed to avoid each other.
Arhad saw how tightly Ianna was still holding her broken sword and tried to pry her off. But then he had no choice but to freeze as she leaned into him like cloth taking to water.
“……?”
Arhad was bewildered as he took hold of Ianna, who pulled so defenselessly into his arms despite having unleashed a terrifying attack just moments prior. He couldn’t tell if she was simply trying to get him to lower his guard or if she was signaling that their match was over.
He didn’t think for long. After all, there was no reason for Ianna to resort to a honey trap, no?
“Ianna?”
Ianna was in a daze and did not respond. Arhad grew nervous because she was acting strange. He pried her out of his arms and grabbed her hard by the shoulders.
“What’s wrong? Ianna!”
“Oh.”
Ianna only managed to break free from her joy when she felt the pain in her shoulders. Her legs quivered as her strength left her. She would have sunken down on the spot had Arhad not been holding her up.
She felt dizzy and brought a hand up to her forehead.
“No. It’s nothing…….”
“It’s obviously not nothing.”
Arhad sat her down and brought over a cold wet towel. He knelt down on one knee as he tenderly wiped the sweat off her face.
Ianna saw the worry on his face through her blurry retinas.
“You were amazing today, but have you been pushing yourself too much?”
Another face began to overlap Arhad’s.
Ianna had surpassed her past self, but now she was seeing the darkened mien that had been the last face she had seen in her past life. The withered face that had seemed despairing, resigned, and enraged. That wretched face that had only made her cowardly think that she had finally won in the past.
I don’t want to see it!
“Ia……mph.”
Ianna wrapped her arms around Arhad’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
I never want to see you make that kind of face again.
I won’t feel victorious even if I see it.
Ianna wanted to erase the last look she had seen on Arhad’s face in the past that occasionally made her heart ache, just like how she had surpassed her past self.
Her impatience made her kiss more aggressive. Arhad had sat down at some point and lost his balance as Ianna pushed against him.
Ianna, who had been kissing Arhad like she was clinging to him, returned to her senses as she felt a dull impact only to find Arhad pinned underneath her.
The intelligent light in her eyes began boiling with turbid emotions. His coolness that she so liked had disappeared as his body grew feverish.
His feverish flesh touched the back of her head. Her lips fell on his, as hot as flames, as she was pulled down into him. Veins popped out of his rugged arms as he tightened his hold around her waist, and his anxious fingers caressed the back of her neck.
Ianna wanted to flee for a moment when she felt the persistence of his lips, but they pressed against her as if they had been waiting eagerly for this.
The heat seized her.
She grew bewildered and restless as the mysterious heat that, unlike the summer heat, permeated all the way down to her very bones. But it was a peculiar pleasure, not embarrassment, that spread across every nook and cranny of her body as Arhad’s body heat, hotter than even the summer, was transferred to her.
She liked Arhad when he was cool, but she liked him even better when he was hot. Ianna was honestly immensely satisfied whenever Arhad changed so abruptly like this.
Ianna was flipped over at some point, and she found herself with her back to the floor. She was still caught in Arhad’s arms with no space between them, and the pressure on top of her made it difficult for her to breathe. Their breaths mixed into each other and made her dizzy. Her heart raced so fast it might explode. Her blood, coursing furiously through her veins, felt like it was as hot as lava and threatened to boil her alive. It was so hot that Ianna parted her moistened lips and moaned.
She slowly opened her eyes as she felt their lips pull away. Arhad stared down at her tenaciously with downcast eyes as she was lying in a tangled mess.
Their gazes entwinned into each other like two snakes coiling around each other. Their damp breaths swept over each other like deadly poison.
Arhad opened and closed his swollen lips. His hazy golden eyes surrendered to passion as they pleaded with her. Recently, Arhad often looked like he was either going crazy in his want to say something or like he was pleading to hear something he desperately wanted to hear.
Ianna already knew what that was.
She touched his lips. As if she was telling him to say what it was that he so wanted to say.
But they exchanged no words.
The hand Arhad was using to prop himself off the floor clenched into a fist, and he released Ianna from the prison of his arms as he listlessly sat himself up. Ianna stared up at his bitter profile as she lay down.
She was confident that she knew everything there was to know about Arhad, and yet he still seemed so unfamiliar from time to time.
‘I don’t understand. Why is he holding back?’
She had overlooked it at first. But his attitude felt stranger to her as of late as he so frequently forced himself to hold back even though he looked like he would rather die.
‘Does he want me to confess first that badly? But why?’
Arhad looked away when Ianna stared holes into him and tried to change the mood.
“You were amazing today. I thought I was going to die. You’re not upset with me about anything, are you?”
“Upset……who could say?”
Ianna mumbled meaningfully as she sat up, and Arhad looked back at her in concern. She continued,
“I simply overcame a wall that I’ve been trying to surpass for a long time.”
“Is that so? Congratulations.”
“Which means I’ll be counting the days until I finally defeat you. I’ll have to work hard.”
Ianna looked Arhad directly in the eyes as she declared war on him, prompting Arhad to smile.
“You’re already working hard enough.”
“I’ll work even harder. I want to defeat you, after all.”
“Yes, yes, be sure you do.”
Arhad pat her head like she was a young child. Ianna glared at him because it sounded like he was making light of her.
“Don’t say that so half-heartedly.”
“I’m being incredibly serious right now.”
“Then why tell me to win? Do you not mind losing?”
“Who said I didn’t mind? I’m giving it my all too because I don’t like losing. But I also don’t feel like losing to you would be terrible since you love the sword far more than I do and you’re trying so hard. And I……am more desperate to win our other match.”
His desires colored the hesitation in his voice. He continued,
“That’s one victory that I don’t ever want to concede to you.”
Their other match. Ianna and Arhad were still locked in another match of ‘who will give in and say the words to upturn this slow-progressing relationship of ours?’ Both of them were fully aware of the match, but neither had quite put it to words just yet.
This was the first time they had ever expressed it out loud. It only served to show just how impatient Arhad was feeling. Ianna realized that she had been mistaken. Ianna was more passionate about their duel of swords than their duel of emotions, but Arhad was the opposite.
She was so curious.
‘Is he refusing to confess to me first because he wants to win the match? ……But why?’
It’s only natural that I want to beat you at the sword, but why?
Does he want to feel superior in terms of emotions……? Ianna guessed foolishly, but Arhad wasn’t such a shameful person.
She was certain that he had a good reason for acting this way, but she could not figure it out for the life of her. She could ask, but she was certain that he would feign ignorance and ask her what she was talking about.
“Ianna.”
He was still pleading with his eyes in his wish for Ianna to put it to words first.
Then, he reached out to her like a pitiful dog, as if he was begging with her to please take his hand. He looked so pathetic in his desperation that it made Ianna’s heart choke up and cry out.
‘I don’t know his reasons, but he wants it so much…….’
Ianna reached out as if she was bewitched.
To be honest, Ianna didn’t mind losing their duel of emotions, just like how Arhad didn’t mind losing their duel of swords. She had been mistaken at the time, but she had seen her knight’s oath as being Arhad’s victory and had given it to him readily even still. She was only being competitive now because Arhad had picked a fight with her.
Ianna’s desire to win waned as her feelings for Arhad grew stronger. Her heart grew weaker whenever she saw Arhad acting so desperately like this.
But Ianna jumped up and resolved herself anew just as their hands were about to touch.
‘No. That would be no better than taking pity on him.’
Ianna thought about it from another perspective. She would be furious if Arhad lost a sword match on purpose just because he had taken pity on her. A victory won because her opponent had taken pity on her was not a genuine victory.
‘I’m going to give our duel of emotions my all, just like how you’re taking our duel of swords seriously for me.’
Losing in their duel of emotions meant enduring and enduring her emotions until she had no choice but to spit them out.
‘If you want to defeat me, then you’ll have to work a little harder to make it so that I want to say it so badly that I’d rather die. Just like how I’m training hard to defeat you. You might be feeling impatient, but I still have enough composure to wait.’
Ianna had noticed her feelings, but her desire to convey them wasn’t driving her crazy quite yet. She was ready to be Arhad’s real lover, but she was not anxious to do so quite yet.
After all, she only needed to not say the words —she could still share her emotions with him and touch him physically. She was content with how things were now. She had no reason to confess to him first quite yet, other than out of pity.
“I suppose you’ll have to work hard too.”
Yes, do work hard.
Her spite, which had been piling up, reared its head.
Is it just my delusion that you seem to be avoiding me as of late when you should be working as hard as you can? You won’t kiss me unless I kiss you first, just like today. You corner me so hard it’s dizzying as soon as I initiate, but still.
Ianna kept down her discontent as she pulled Arhad up by the hand. She feigned composure as she helped him up.
Arhad’s chuckle sounded like a sigh.
~~*~~
House Owen.
It was one of the Five Founding Houses, and it was the second strongest house among all the current duchies and marches. Currently, House Owen was so large that it had begun to covet the power of House Tarwitt, which had been the strongest house ever since the kingdom was founded.
The current Marquis Owen, Martin Owen, was neither competent nor incompetent. He was simply more ambitious than he was capable, and he was a villain who cared neither about his means nor his methods if it meant he could gain more power and wealth —he was a bat-like man who was very apt at being successful in life.
“Whew…….”
Martin Owen breathed out a puff of smoke as he stared out the window.
There was never a quiet day in Theodore. It was always noisy with the sounds of clashing weapons, the sounds of bursting magics, and the sounds of screaming and shouting.
Many of the nobles in the capital had taken refuge, but Martin was staying comfortably in his manor. After all, he knew that Bahamut would never touch him.
‘I honestly wanted to erase my second son from the family tree when I first learned that he was involved with the Black Fox because of his drug habits.’
But Bruce, and executive of the Black Fox, had offered Martin an alliance through his second son, and Martin had decided that it was smarter to take the hand that was offered to him rather than risk the notorious Black Fox’s retaliation. He had turned his precarious situation into an opportunity.
It was thanks to this that Martin had gathered money and power over the last twenty years, and it was also thanks to this that House Owen, which had once been the weakest of the Five Founding Houses, was now large enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with House Tarwitt.
‘Of course, even I regretted it when I learned that the Black Fox was working for Bahamut.’
Martin was still a citizen of Roanne, and he was the head of a house with a lengthy history. The thought that he had personally offered Roanne up to Bahamut, the enemy nation, on a silver platter made him bitter.
But he had not been regretful for long. Martin had decided to stick with Bahamut until the bitter end. The milk had already been spilt, and he found Roanne the weaker of the two when he compared her military might against Bahamut’s. Roanne had no future, and he had already crossed the point of no return.
Most importantly, Bruce had tempted Martin with his wicked tongue. Bahamut planned to conquer the world, but it would obviously be impossible for them to control every corner of the vast earth. Thus, Bahamut was planning to install puppet kings on the throne of other countries and allow them to manage the nobles who were loyal to Bahamut. Bruce had told Martin that he would be made the puppet king of Roanne.
Martin had been successfully tempted by those words.
‘Roanne is as good as mine so long as I do as Bahamut tells me. Luria’s a fool and Fernando’s just a puppet —there won’t be any more reason for me to have to humor them. Hah. Roanne is all mine.’
Even just imagining it made him feel satisfied. Martin harrumphed and savored his smoke one last time before he rubbed his cigar out against the ashtray.
“Butler!”
“Yes, Master.”
The butler who had been standing by outside the door entered the room with his head bowed as soon as Martin called for him.
“I’m sure my first son is doing well on his own —what is my second son doing?”
“The Second Young Master is out with the foxes.”
“Even in a situation like this he’s……. Enough! Has there been no news of Prince Schneider’s death yet?”
“No.”
“Tch,”
Martin clicked his tongue.
‘Damn the Black Fox —they said that Schneider would die as soon as he stepped foot into the East. Just what the hell are they doing?’
Schneider had been very popular with the insects as of late. Martin grew anxious when he learned that Schneider had managed to defend himself, but he did his best to clear his anxiety away and think about a more positive future.
‘They said they’ll kill him, so I’m sure they will. They’re monsters, after all.’
Martin shuddered as he recalled the man who had once terrorized Roanne several decades ago.
‘And Fernando will be crowned king soon. There’s nothing that Schneider can do about that from the East.’
He would have to begin purging Schneider’s forces once that happened, and he would be swamped with work. Martin flipped though the documents that were piled up on his desk. The documents contained information about the nobles whom he was planning to purge.
~~*~~
It was mid-August, and the heat that had been relentless all summer long was beginning to dither. Ianna had finished organizing her documents. Schneider now had more than enough just cause to drag Fernando off the throne.
But Schneider could not leave the East at the moment. He had been met with incredible danger two weeks ago at the end of July. The rumors in Theodore claimed that he was holding his ground, but was that truly the case? She could not get in regular contact with Schneider, but Ianna had teleported a letter and a single document over to him with magic.
I have finished organizing the documents.
How and when you conduct the rebellion is up to you, Your Highness.
Please make a decision.
Also, are you truly doing well in your fight against the ‘Bahamut Emperor?’ You claimed that you were all right, and I hear the masses are praising Your Highness for standing your ground against that monster, but will you truly not require us to interfere?
We will need to know your exact situation in order to put together a plan. I ask that you please relay your situation in detail without even the slightest fabrication either by letter or by magic.
~~*~~
“Thank you, truly.”
Meanwhile, Schneider was thanking the man standing in front of him sincerely as his aide was tending to his wounds.
The man grinned audaciously.
“I never thought that I’d be hearing you thank me, Your Highness.”
“Of course I should be thanking you. I’ve been hard-pressed for extra hands, Ryan. You vanished off the face of the earth after you graduated despite the many love calls I sent you —who would have thought that you’d have been spending time with such a big shot? And your skills have improved greatly too.”
The man whom Schneider was exchanging words with was Ryan, who had been the department head of the Swordsmanship Department two years ago. Ryan stroked his now-darkened chin —he hadn’t been shaving.
“Ahaha. I only met and befriended the Lord Mage by chance while I was wandering around……I never thought he would end up being someone so rumored.”
Ryan looked up at the sky. A certain middle-aged man was floating in the sky as he carefully observed the Bahamut camp. Schneider found the middle-aged man, Ryan, and the people accompanying them truly reliable.
“Was it by god’s will that you befriended the Archmage Ensheila and that you and your companions came to aid me?”
Ensheila.
He was one of the Ten Archmages, and he had received the name ‘Azure,’ which was referred to water, wind, and spatial magics. Ensheila could manipulate the sky at will, he was called the greatest archmage alongside Wiffheimer, and he was famous for using dark blue mana.
Schneider observed Ensheila, who was often called the pinnacle of mana control. His mana was like the vast sky itself. It was overflowing with vitality, and it almost seemed to be alive.
‘Is that really mana?’
Perhaps it was because it was colored, but it felt much more complete than mana normally did. No, the color wasn’t the issue. A strange sense of déjà vu was tickling his heart.
‘It’s similar to the power the mythical races used to break the curse from before, and it’s also similar to the relic’s power. It’s somewhat different, but it feels full of life.’
Schneider was staring openly at Ensheila’s mana as he closed his eyes.
The letter that Ianna had sent him a few days back crossed his mind.
“…….”
He had not been able to reply to her letter for days. He had been in a pit of agony ever since he had received it.
“Phew……ugh.”
Schneider was in the middle of a sigh when he groaned as his entire body was wracked with pain. His body, which had never known injury while he had been living in Theodore, was now covered in deep wounds. It was practically a miracle that he was still alive.
‘I would probably be dead if it weren’t for the relic and that man’s whims.’
Schneider had only survived because of his enemy’s mercy.
‘Philliad Sarvon Bahamut,’ the Bahamut Emperor.
Schneider still grew dizzy whenever he recalled his first encounter with that man.
~~*~~
Schneider immediately unified the scattered nobles fighting in the East as soon as he had arrived at the end of June.
They had been flustered because Bahamut’s invasion had come so quickly, but they were all older, middle-aged nobles who had warred against Bahamut previously. Schneider valued their experience highly.
“Allow me to be frank. This is my first large-scale battle. I’ve read the records dozens, hundreds of times, but I will likely still be lacking. I hope that you, who have fought Bahamut before in the past, will make up for what I lack.”
All the nobles, whether they were a part of Schneider’s faction or Fernando’s, wanted to stop Bahamut first and foremost and wasted no time in putting together a plan based on their experiences, and Schneider lent his ear to their ideas. There were still a few who tried to misguide Schneider because they were greedy for power or those who grumbled because they disliked Schneider despite the situation, but they were filtered out naturally on their own.
With Schneider at the helm, the Roanne army devised plans to catch the enemy off guard and desperately defended themselves. Was that why? The onslaught of the Bahamut army’s attacks, which had been coming like an outpour of beans from a torn bag, were beginning to slow.
Things were looking good from the outside.
But Schneider’s intuition was still sounding the alarm bells.
‘Those bastards are scheming something.’
Schneider had a feeling that the Bahamut army was slowing down on purpose. Bahamut had been preparing for this war, so it made no sense that they could block the Bahamut army so easily.
But what else could he do?
Schneider was like a cart tumbling down a hill. He had no choice but to ram into it and continue onward even if something appeared before him. He would be the one to break into pieces otherwise.
Pow! Pow!
Roughly two weeks ago, Schneider had begun stepping out into the battlefield for every battle and had cast his spells at the enemy.
“Ahh!”
Screams erupted every time his spells, cast by his faint silver mana, fell onto the battlefield.
Schneider had grown rapidly more proficient in magic ever since he had received the relic. It had brought a new momentum to his already remarkable talent.
But then, one day.
“……!”
Schneider had been out on the battlefield again, and he had instinctively raised his shield when he felt a sudden terror that made his hair stand on edge.
Craash!
He was stuck by a mighty impact no sooner than he had raised his shield. A dagger that seemed sharper than a viper’s fangs had dug slightly into his shield. He had definitely cast an Alarm spell to warn himself of any incoming attacks, and yet there had been no warning.
Schneider had been about to look to the direction from which the dagger had come before he promptly raised his shield again.
He had poured his mana into his defense, and yet a longsword had broken past his shield and pierced into his arm. Schneider had grit his teeth against the burning pain as he glared forward.
“Sure enough, you’re still a member of the royal family of Roanne despite your youth…….”
A middle-aged man who was black from head to toe had stood before him while chuckling dryly. All the knights who had been guarding Schneider had fallen behind him.
The man had muttered,
“It’s been a long time since I last felt this displeasure. But it’s not all that bad.”
“Who are you?”
“Philliad Sarvon Bahamut.”
Schneider’s breath had caught when the man boldly declared his name.
“The Emperor of Bahamut?”
Schneider found it difficult to believe.
Philliad Sarvon Bahamut was from the same generation as his late father, King Harios Maxium Roanne. He had to be at least over sixty. No, perhaps even older.”
The late Harios had aged quickly as time had passed. His once-taut skin had wrinkled and sagged, and his once-solid muscles had been replaced by greasy lumps of fat. He had looked like a sickly old man in the days leading up to his death.
But Philliad, standing before Schneider’s very eyes, was youthful, though he was pale, and his muscles were as hard as stone, though he was on the leaner side. He was like a starved predator.
“Emperor? That is no longer my title. I laid down everything before I came here, and my son will soon take the throne.”
The insides of Schneider’s head became a tangled mess. He had not known that Bahamut had also been preparing for an imperial succession, just like how Fernando was about to be crowned.
Crunch.
Philliad had pushed harder. Schneider had pulled together his silver mana to stop Philliad’s sword from pushing past his creaking shield. Their respective mana had clashed tightly against each other.
Cruuunch.
It was Philliad’s brute strength that had broken the balance between them. Schneider had tossed away his shield when he felt it beginning to crack and had taken some distance from Philliad. Philliad had not pursued him and had simply continued to observe Schneider’s actions from afar.
“Your Highness!”
The knights who had been facing Bahamut soldiers from elsewhere had begun running up to them in a rage. Philliad’s attack had been sudden and shocking. Philliad had broken through an entire line of defense all by himself to attack Schneider —there hadn’t been any time to guard against him.
“Stop! Don’t break formation, and keep fighting the Bahamut army!”
The knights stopped in their tracks as Schneider’s command fell upon them like lightning. Schneider continued,
“I’ll have you executed if you disobey! Now go!”
The knights were worried for Schneider, but most of them still obeyed his command and returned to their formation. Only a few still watched Philliad warily from a distance.
“You don’t need your knights to protect you?”
Schneider had worked his brains furiously as Philliad spoke with intrigue. Was he simply deluding himself? He could not feel any bloodlust from Philliad. He would have already been dead if Philliad had intended to kill him to begin with.
“If you’ve determined that I will not kill you, then you are correct,”
Philliad had said slyly as if he had read Schneider’s mind.
“Why not?”
“I want to talk to you.”
Philliad had looked as leisurely as if he was simply out on a walk on this bloody and gory battlefield where weapons clashed and spells exploded. Schneider had not wanted to grow impatient, but he could not help but be daunted before he could stop himself because he could feel their difference in dignity all the way down to his very bones.
Schneider had bitten down at his lip as he said,
“Then stop the war and call for an official conference…….”
“No. I can’t allow myself to displease my family.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly what I said. I have to seem desperate. My flesh and blood only gave me back my freedom so I could kill you.”
‘His freedom?’
Philliad had smirked and stroked his chin when Schneider had hesitated in his inability to understand what Philliad had meant. Philliad had continued,
“I said something pointless. Do be understanding, Prince. In any event, is it true that Harios Maxium Roanne is dead? I hear that he had quite the pathetic end.”
“…….”
“Twenty years! It is a long duration of time in which a human, who cannot live even a hundred years, can change multiple times over and then some. I am sure that Harios must have changed too, just as I have grown to enjoy warfare and whatnot.”
“What is it that you want to say?”
“Bahamut and Roanne had always faced each other within the same generation. You are from the next generation, Prince, and you are therefore not my opponent.”
Philliad had then extended his hand. Philliad had claimed that he wouldn’t kill him, but Schneider had still been nervous and had overlaid yet another Shield on top of the Shield already covering his body.
Thwack!
His Shield had been torn away with just one flick of Philliad’s fingers. Schneider, who was promptly rendered powerless, had glared sharply. Mana had drawn around him like a black cloud and had squeezed at his throat.
“Kgh!”
Schneider had clawed at his throat as he was being choked, but mana was not a physical material that he could touch. Philliad had sneered at Schneider as his hands had clutched at the empty air.
“You will never best me with mana, Prince. The royal family may be skilled at handling mana, but mana fundamentally belongs to us.”
Schneider had no idea what nonsense Philliad was going on about, but he was certain that Philliad had said it for a reason. Schneider could not break free of Philliad’s mana restraints at all. Philliad had continued,
“The only reasons why the royal family was able to stand against us for centuries was first……because of the ‘strange power’ that protects you. I may be choking you, but a mysterious power will be invoked just as you are about to die.”
Just as Schneider was starting to grow pale, a crimson aura had flowed out from his heart and had beaten away the mana around his throat. The mana had startled and fled from him, and Schneider had sunk down and coughed as he regained his ability to breathe.
“As I’ve just demonstrated, we, the Bahamut imperial family, cannot kill a member of the royal family of Roanne directly. The mysterious power weakens us, and it keeps the royal family from dying at our hands. Additionally…”
Philliad had brought down his dagger into Schneider’s hand as the latter clutched the earth.
Pow!
“Ugh!”
Schneider had groaned reflexively. But his pride had refused to allow him to keep being beaten like this and had forced him to pull himself together. He had gritted his teeth and drawn his sword.
Shhhh.
Then, something alarming had happened. His wound had closed up quickly, and the pain had disappeared. The wounds he had received earlier had vanished as well. Schneider had been perplexed as Philliad monotonously explained,
“It also heals your wounds. Just what on earth is that power?”
“Your Highness!”
The knights and mages who had been watching over Schneider ran up to him in shock. But they were all mercilessly ripped apart as soon as they had entered Philliad’s range.
Schneider quivered, unable to beat back his powerlessness and humiliation. He had been forced to watch his subordinates die, but the difference in skill between himself and Philliad was too obvious that he couldn’t do anything to stop him.
“I dislike being interrupted. So next time, be sure to make the soldiers protecting you stand back. They’ll only die vain deaths otherwise……. I am fully capable of slaughtering the lot of you and ending this war if you offend me, so do keep this in mind.”
Next time. Schneider understood that Philliad did not intend to kill him for the time being. His pride had crumbled and hit rock bottom as he shouted,
“Just what is your reason for keeping me alive?! I don’t want to hear your excuses about not being able to kill me directly. You can simply have another do it in your stead!”
Philliad had blabbed some queer nonsense about not being able to kill members of the royal family directly, but he was capable of pushing Schneider to the brink of death like he had done earlier. He could have simply had another slit Schneider’s throat at that point, and Schneider would have most certainly died right then and there.
“What a clever prince you are. But our lineage has always hated those who were born well-off, and the royal family of Roanne has always been one such target of our hatred. There is only meaning if we kill you ourselves. Oh, but I no longer care about any of that. I simply want to enjoy my newfound freedom.”
Then, Philliad had clicked his tongue as he tired of the sense of defeat lingering on Schneider’s visage. He had continued,
“Struggle for all you are worth, so that I may enjoy my freedom for a while yet. But it will put me in trouble if you only struggle normally, so I do hope you’ll grow quickly. I will end my battles with you in a draw until the day you do.”
“What on earth……?”
Freedom —freedom! What on earth is he talking about? Schneider was furious at his inability to understand why Philliad was acting like this, but he did his best to suppress his fury. Philliad had paid Schneider no heed as he said,
“You may have inherited the strange power of the royal family of Roanne, but you’re still quite clumsy. And it looks like you haven’t even found the ‘second method’ the royal family has for standing against us. I will help you find it.”
“Help me? Do you mean to suggest that you’ll train me or something of that sort?!”
“It’s something similar.”
Schneider had worked the gears in his head. He raged at the fact that Philliad was being merciful to him out of simple curiosity, but he still accepted the fact that he had no choice but to accept all the same. It was humiliating, but he had needed to hurry before Philliad changed his mind.
“I will not decline your offer. But I will make you regret it without fail!”
Sparks had flown from Schneider’s eyes. Philliad had quite liked those sparks and had smiled.
“I am already past the point of regret. I no longer care about what happens next. I simply wish for my merriment to last. Oh, and…”
He pulled out his sword from Schneider’s shield, which had been lying in the dirt. He continued,
“I will end our battles in a draw, and I will help you grow, but I did not offer to teach you nicely, nor did I say that I would allow you to return in one piece.”
“……!”
Philliad had made a strange face at Schneider as the blood had drained from the latter’s face.
“Surrender if you ever wish to die. It would simply mean that you have reached your limit.”
Afterward, Philliad had continued the war as if he had simply been fooling around. He had forced the Roanne army to fear the imperial family as he ended each successive battle in neither victory nor defeat.
There was a reason why it was said that it became difficult to control mana when the Bahamut imperial family took to the battlefield. Philliad dominated all the mana on the battlefield as easily as if he was simply breathing, as though he meant to prove that he had meant it when he had said that mana belonged to the imperial family. Roanne suffered many losses.
Philliad had offered to help Schneider grow stronger, and he tortured Schneider until he was on the brink between life and death every time before he sent Schneider back.
Schneider grew blindingly stronger as he held his ground against death time and time again. Perhaps it was because of the relic, but his recovery was also miraculously fast. Still, his eyes grew darker with each successive battle.
He was confident that he could eliminate Fernando and take the Roanne throne, but he was not confident that he could defeat the Bahamut Empire in battle. After all, Bahamut had three more monsters like Philliad with them.
The previous kings had somehow managed to keep beating back Bahamut in battle. Schneider was tasked to do the same. But he had a gap of twenty years to bridge. He regretted the fact that he had allowed himself to be content with the luxurious peace.
And so, two weeks had passed.
He had received Ianna’s letters a few days prior.
And today……unexpected reinforcements had come to aid him in battle.
“It’s only in war that these kinds of bastards come crawling out. And it’s only fun if you’re facing a difficult opponent. Isn’t that so, Ensheila?”
Ensheila of Azure Skies. He had suddenly entered the fray with his disciples.
Surprisingly, Ensheila’s azure mana did not fall under Philliad’s domination and obeyed only Ensheila. Not only that, but Ensheila had obstructed Philliad’s ability to dominate mana as well.
Philliad had battled against Ensheila with great fun and had let the Roanne army go free.
Consequently, the Roanne Army had taken much fewer losses than usual. It was all because Ensheila, his disciples, and Ryan, whose skills had improved drastically, had busily supported them.
But Philliad had not forgotten about Schneider even as he was fighting Ensheila. Schneider had been beaten by him as dreadfully as he usually was, and he was a right mess.
~~*~~
This was the exact situation that Ianna had asked Schneider to inform her about. Schneider had spread rumors saying that he was on equal footing with Philliad to keep up morale, but the truth was that Philliad was beating him violently.
“Phew.”
Schneider signed yet again.
He could not simply put Philliad behind him and return to Roanne.
No —even if he did, could he truly stage a rebellion when Bahamut was the power backing Fernando? And even if the rebellion was successful, could he truly stop the Bahamut Empire?
Schneider’s self-confidence had begun to bottom out as he fought Philliad, and there was a dark shadow over his face. He clenched his fists. His fingernails dug into the palms, but his heart hurt more than his hands did.
“Please be patient, Your Highness,”
Ryan said warmly from beside him as Schneider’s visage grew darker. He continued,
“You will fail at things that you are ordinarily capable of accomplishing if you are rushed. If Your Highness does everything you can and keep a steady mind right now, then I am certain that you will be able to accomplish what you wish for.”
His words were clichéd and closer to theory than to practice. But they were what Schneider needed to hear most at the moment, and comically enough, they swiftly pulled Schneider out from the bog of agony.
Schneider suddenly turned to Ryan and said,
“You truly are a good person.”
“Pardon? That was sudden…….”
Ryan was always positive, and his swordsmanship was the real deal. He also had the insight to recognize when another was in a predicament and the sense to encourage them in just the right way, like he was scratching an itch.
Schneider coveted Ryan for his excellent skills.
“Come under my banner if you have nothing else to do.”
“My apologies, but I do not wish to be tied down quite yet. I never knew this before, but I apparently have the disposition of a wanderer. I would enjoy my freedom for a while yet.”
Schneider sighed as Ryan scratched his head while turning him down. He was rejected quite often as of late.
“I see. Then I suppose I should do what it is that I can.”
Schneider put his bitter feelings of rejection behind him and glared at the Bahamut flag fluttering over the enemy camp. His current goal was to become able to match Philliad in terms of skill. He didn’t know why Philliad was extending this pointless mercy to him or why the Bahamut Empire was simply allowing the situation to unfold as it was, but it was fortunate that he had the opportunity to make up for the twenty years he had lost.
Ensheila walked into the barracks just then.
“Thank you, Lord Ensheila.”
Schneider expressed his gratitude with genuine sincerity. He was grateful that Ensheila was fighting alongside them even though he was not a citizen of Roanne.
“Not at all. I had always planned on stepping forward before it was too late.”
Ensheila was incredible, but even he was pallid because facing Philliad had drained him. He studied Schneider’s condition before he clicked his tongue.
“Roanne has acted as the shield to block Bahamut for generations. Harios is dead, and the role now falls to you, Prince —but it looks like that will be difficult. What to do…”
“There is something I must request of you about that.”
There was a glint in Schneider’s eyes. He continued,
“Lord Ensheila, please teach me how you were able to obstruct Philliad’s domination over mana.”
The unfathomable power of the mythical races.
The mysterious power of the relic.
The second method which Philliad had mentioned.
And Ensheila’s azure aura, which felt so different from mana!
Schneider intuited that these four things actually pointed to the same thing. And he had to obtain that power. That was why he knelt before Ensheila.
“I beg of you!”
“Do you not know about divine power yet, Prince?”
“Divine power?”
This was new to him. Schneider shivered as if he had been struck by lightning. He continued,
“Is it different from mana?”
“Hmmm. Did the royal family of Roanne have no knowledge of divine power? Then again, most people use it without knowing what it is. I suppose that such must have been the case for the royal family as well. You have not been awakened yet, Prince.”
Ensheila made a decision. He continued,
“Learn how to control divine power from me, Prince.”
“Yes!”
Schneider’s visage radiated with a light that suggested that he was resolved to die if needed.
That night, he picked up his pen and replied to Ianna’s letter.
Then, several days later, he heard news that Fernando had been crowned as king.
~~*~~
“All hail King Fernando!”
“Long live the king!”
It was the end of August, two months after the late king had passed away.
Fernando was no longer the crown prince, but the king. He celebrated his ascension in the royal palace for several days. The current state of affairs was a mess, but colorful salutations erupted in the skies all the same.
The vacant throne had now been filled, but that solved nothing. Theodore was still a crucible of chaos, but Fernando’s faction was over the moon. They simply continued to host extravagant parties as if they couldn’t have cared any less for the people’s suffering. The other nobles grew indignant as they watched Fernando fool around wantonly and squander the royal coffers.
“What on earth is His Majesty doing?”
“How could he be hosting parties in a situation like this?”
On the other hand, there were also skeptical voices that asked if anything would change even if Fernando stepped up to act.
“There’s no solution to this. Is there no one at all who is capable of killing Wiffheimer, that demon?”
Wiffheimer and his Gates were truly horrifying.
The endless streams of monsters pouring out from the Gates and Wiffheimer, who liked to appear every now and again, were a bigger problem than the Bahamut army, which had recently lulled their onslaught somewhat thanks to Roanne’s ferocious defense.
Wiffheimer had been periodically opening more Gates all throughout the world after he had declared the war, but he opened them most frequently in Roanne. New monsters kept pouring in by the day, and there was no end to them no matter how many they killed. It was also impossible to stop Wiffheimer from appearing out of nowhere, as if he had dropped down from the sky, and casting explosive large-scale spells at will.
“Prince Schneider already has his hands full holding the emperor in the East…….”
“If the other members of the Bahamut imperial family show up in the middle of all this…….”
Was this how Roanne’s one thousand five hundred-year history ended at Bahamut’s hands? The people’s malcontent and anxiety only grew.
The Institution had permitted its students to go on indefinite leaves of absence just before the semester started again in September because the situation was what it was.
Most of the students of the School of Martial Arts and the School of Magic remained in school. Foreign students stayed to make money by acting as mercenaries, and Roanne national students stayed to protect their homeland.
Many students from the other departments also stayed. The monsters had thrown the entire world into chaos —not just Roanne. There were several other countries that were being attacked by Bahamut just like Roanne was as well. But the Institution was so safe it was almost eerie. Nothing could attack the Institution for some reason, be it Bahamut soldiers or monsters. Was it because of the barrier? Regardless of the reason, many students had decided that it was better to stay in the safety of the Institution and aid with the war efforts.
“It’s been a while, Heinrich.”
Wiffheimer paid a visit to the safe Institution. He had barged into Heinrich’s magic tower without bothering to notify Heinrich beforehand, and he whisked his robes back as he sneered. He continued,
“You look as boring as ever.”
“It has been a while, Wiffheimer. Don’t pick a fight with me as soon as you arrive, and take a seat.”
Heinrich dealt with him calmly.
Wiffheimer sauntered over, stole Heinrich’s seat, and perused the books that Heinrich had been reading.
“So, how is the research for your pitiful grandson coming along?”
“That’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Wiffheimer’s beard twitched.
“Tch, it’s depressing that someone who was once my rival has become so lame. To think that you would spend your entire life for your beloved grandson even though you were skilled enough to obtain a Demon’s fragment. Though I’ve always known that you were pointlessly soft…….”
“Make it quick. Why are you here?”
“Well, I was here to see you for the first time in a while, for one.”
Wiffheimer surveyed the room. He took in all the information about Heinrich’s, whose eyes were glistening with his will, room in one fell swoop. He continued,
“I wanted to tour the Institution.”
Then, he stood up and looked down at the Institution through the window. All sorts of information poured into Wiffheimer’s mind.
“And I wanted to see the barrier’s core that Zicara Valgenta left behind.”
Heinrich, who had been watching over him quietly, furrowed his brows as Wiffheimer held out his hand.
“Are you planning to lay a hand against the Institution? I thought that Bahamut wasn’t planning to touch the civilians?”
“We aren’t. They’re to be our slaves, after all.”
Bahamut’s destructive desires pointed only to strong individuals who were above them or were trying to stand above them. The other insects were to be exploited, so it was Bahamut’s policy to let them keep their lives unless there was a reason to kill them. Wiffheimer continued,
“I’ve heard that the Institution babies were being bothersome as of late, but I couldn’t care any less about that. Besides, you’re here. I merely want to confirm what Zicara Valgenta, the first archmage, left behind, so bring it here.”
“…….”
“I am a proxy for the Bahamut imperial family. Do you not remember your orders?”
In the end, Heinrich retrieved the barrier’s core just as Wiffheimer wanted. Wiffheimer scrutinized it carefully before he began laughing haughtily.
“Hmmm. I’d heard that it was filled with the essence of Zicara Valgenta’s magic. But this is nothing special. I’m done with it now. More importantly, stop worrying about the Institution and worry about yourself. You’re in danger right now —didn’t you know?”
Heinrich’s heart jolted when he heard Wiffheimer’s pregnant words.
“Why would I be in danger?”
“Who could say? Hahaha.”
Wiffheimer left as he laughed unfathomably.
Heinrich stood alone in the dean’s office that Wiffheimer had made a mess of. He dug through his past to figure out why Wiffheimer had said that.
Researching minority groups, sending over lists of talented individuals —he had been completing the imperial family’s orders perfectly.
‘The only things that would put me in danger are Little Arhad and the fragment in my possession.’
There was no reason that the imperial family would know about Arhad. If they did, the imperial family would have come to kill Arhad personally without bothering to send Wiffheimer over with a warning.
‘In that case, does it mean that it’s about time that they want to take my Demon’s fragment from me?’
There was a bitter look on Heinrich’s face as he contacted Arhad.
Arhad had been with Ianna at the time.
They had finished organizing the evidence of corruption and had asked Schneider to make a final decision. They had prepared flawless physical proof and had covered every possible doubt, and there was no way that Fernando and Luria would be able to escape.
The public was on Schneider’s, who was out on the battlefield and doing his best to keep Bahamut at bay, side. Fernando and his faction’s reputations were so horrible that most of the people would still support Schneider even if Schneider came back with unreasonable evidence and executed Fernando’s faction at once.
Schneider had two options to choose from.
First, he could lay low while shaving away at the Black Fox’s and Fernando’s power and emerge victorious when his chances were looking good. Second, he could disclose the relationship between Bahamut, the Black Fox, and Fernando immediately, expose the king’s faction, rebuke them, and stage a revolution.
The first option would take too long. There was a real possibility that Roanne would fall in the meanwhile. All they could do as they watched Fernando’s faction was force a laugh.
But the second option was far riskier. The Black Fox was still pretending that they had nothing to do with Bahamut, but they would run rampant, like a shadow-dwelling creature that had been dragged out into the light, if Schneider unveiled everything. They might even relish in the fact that they were finally free to act openly. The Black Fox would likely act aggressively once their relation to Bahamut was made known.
Moreover, trying to overthrow Fernando’s prospering faction with Schneider’s evidence would be no different from trying to swat at a cluster of bats with a club. It was highly likely that the bats would startle and immediately seek out an even greater shadow —Bahamut— to mooch off of.
Schneider had a lot to lose no matter which option he took.
There had been no news from Schneider for a while after he had received Ianna’s letter and word that the organizing was complete. But a letter had arrived for Ianna today. Camastros had received a letter as well. This was because Schneider had yet to realize that the organization that Ianna was affiliated with was Camastros.
“I’m opening it now.”
Ianna had brought the letter to Arhad without opening it so they could read it together. The contents of the letter surprised them.
I’ve received your summary of the evidence. I slammed my head down against my desk multiple times in rage as I read it and gave myself quite the bump.
I am truly, truly grateful that your organization has decided to aid me in this matter. The information was so thorough that I had to wonder if you were affiliated with an intelligence organization, but surely that’s not the case, no?
I will have to push the revolution off for later because the situation is not ideal at the moment. I have no other option. Allow me to honestly confess my current circumstances to you.
Philliad Sarvon Bahamut…….
Ensheila and Ryan…….
Divine power…….
…….
And that concludes everything. Philliad will massacre the Roanne army in the East if I run away. It infuriates me, but I will not be able to leave the East until I finally kill him. I would not be able to defend Roanne from Bahamut even if I did somehow manage to return right away. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I am far too weak. I need to stay here and hone my skills. I pray that you will wait for me until my preparations are complete.
I would ask that your organization worked with the nobles under my banner and Camastros to quietly eliminate the nobles in Fernando’s faction in the meanwhile. Duke Shingardra Solsavier will rally the nobles in my stead, so feel free so go to him should you require any assistance.
I’ve also let Duke Solsavier know that, if Fernando attempts to do the absolutely unthinkable, he is permitted to half-kill Fernando and lock him up —I will take care of the aftermath. I don’t mind if you take on this role instead.
I am so ashamed as I write this that my face is flushing.
I will return by the end of this year no matter what without fail. I thank you again.
Ianna’s letter had contained Schneider’s honest, if somewhat embarrassed, report about his situation, whereas the letter to Camastros had contained similar contents but without some details.
Ianna carefully read over Schneider’s situation again before she asked,
“What is Philliad planning?”
Arhad had robbed Philliad Sarvon Bahamut of his ownership of every fragment he had possessed. He had no more fragments to transfer to Taylon. The succession would only take place between Taylon, Isabella, and Shailince. It was not very strange that Philliad, who alone was free from the succession, had come down to the South.
What was strange, however, was his suspicious behavior.
“Prince Schneider sounded like he was being pushed to the brink of death every day —will he truly be all right alone?”
“I told you not to worry about him. This is a good thing for Schneider. It’ll be painful, but this opportunity to grow was practically sent down to him by the heavens.”
“But if Philliad ends up killing him…….”
“He won’t. The contents of the letter suggest to me that he’s only free until Schneider dies, but he’s been imprisoned for over twenty years —he’ll want to enjoy his freedom for as long as possible.”
“Hmmm.”
Ianna was dubious, but Arhad could not fully assuage her doubts. His convictions, including his assumptions about Taylon previously, were based off his experiences from his past life, so there was nothing more he could say.
Philliad Sarvon Bahamut.
He was incredibly powerful not only because he was of Bahamut blood but also because he had nearly completed the Demon’s fragments once. His problem was that he was hedonistic and had lusted after many women in his youth and that he was extraordinarily arrogant. He had lost the fragments that the Bahamut imperial family had been gathering for over a millennium because of one moment of indiscretion.
Shailince and their children had been furious with him. Thus, Philliad had been imprisoned for over twenty years, unable to do anything.
It wasn’t because he was family that Shailince and their children hadn’t killed him in their half-crazed fury. It had only been because Shailince had needed to be able to bear more successors in case anything happened to Taylon or Isabella, who had been young at the time.
Shailince had wanted to strangle Philliad to death right then and there, but she had held back. But she had still taken revenge. That was why she had imprisoned Philliad for over twenty years so that he, a hedonist, would not be able to do anything —even die.
And Philliad, who had nothing else to do but think during that time, had gone half-mad in his boredom. Moreover, and surprisingly, he had managed to break free of the Demon’s influence because he had been removed from his desires and had nothing to do but reflect on himself. He had grown to be faithful not to the desire to gather the fragments but to his own ‘personal feelings.’
Some of the emotions that he had ruminated over during the last two decades included feelings of boredom, fatigue, and tedium. He did not feel guilty for his crimes, but he did not hate his family either.
Philliad had been alive back when Arhad had begun his conquest of Bahamut in his past life. Philliad had been grinning as he confessed his feelings when Arhad had met him by chance.
Philliad had willingly told Arhad everything he knew about Bahamut purely for revenge and entertainment. Then, he had died while fighting with the imperial family against Arhad.
‘His freedom and entertainment are one thing, but his true motive is to help Schneider grow stronger. He wants to get in the Bahamut imperial family’s way.’
It was a good thing.
“Then, what should we do now?”
“We’ll have to do as Schneider says. Let’s start thinking about the details.”
Arhad and Ianna put their heads together as they came up with a plan. Most of them boiled down to Ianna stepping up and dealing with everything. Arhad was bitter because he could not do anything that had to do with Camastros while Wiffheimer was still in Theodore.
“There’s nothing I can do other than go over documents in the tower, I see.”
“Please don’t say that —approving documents is important work too. I can’t help but respect you whenever I see you hard at work all day.”
Heinrich contacted Arhad just then. He explained that Wiffheimer had visited the tower and what had happened during the latter’s stay.
[Wiffheimer told me to worry about myself because I’m in danger.]
Ianna was alarmed, and Arhad calmly asked,
“Did he tell you why you were in danger?”
[No. Wiffheimer may act suspiciously, but he isn’t one to lie. Is the Bahamut imperial family planning to kill me so they can gather the fragments together? Or is there perhaps another reason? Perhaps they know I’ve betrayed them? Will things still be all right at this rate?]
Heinrich was anxious, but Arhad could do nothing to assuage his anxieties because he did not know the reason either.
Arhad fell into thought as the rest of their conversation ended fruitlessly. Ianna watched over him contemplate for a while before turning to the clock.
“It’s almost time for my appointment…… Should I not go?”
The look on Arhad’s face was so grave that Ianna of all people had offered to break off her engagement. Arhad shot a glance at the clock before he shook his head.
“No. You can go. I need some more time to think.”
Click.
Ianna took one last look at him as she opened the door to leave. There was a dark shadow over his face as he lost himself in thought.
There was a mountain of documents on his desk, as per usual. The number of documents he approved daily was ridiculous, and yet new documents still piled up every day.
Was it because he had been working too hard as of late?
His haggard visage looked tired, and he was looking a little skinnier than usual.
“…….”
Ianna dithered before she went back to Arhad. Her lips were pressing gently against his forehead by the time he returned to his senses.
“Please don’t push yourself.”
Their eyes met. Ianna continued,
“I still have time to spare, and certainly more than enough ability, so please entrust me with anything if there’s more that I can do. I will work harder so that you won’t have to push yourself.”
Ianna grew embarrassed as she promised this and fled the room.
“…….”
Arhad stared at the door that Ianna had exited to as he picked up his pen. He had a lot of work to do.
He began calmly signing some documents, but he only got through a few pages before he flung his pen aside. He buried his face against his desk as if he was crumbling and wrapped his hands around his head.
“Sigh.”
He looked up and rested his head against his hands. His face was as red as if he had caught a cold.
He was parched. It was dizzying. His heart was racing so fast it might burst.
He wanted to tell her he loved her so badly it was driving him insane.
I truly love you, I love you more than anything in the world. Always, now, and forever —I will love you eternally for as long as I live. I love you so much!
If he were to convert the feelings piled up in his heart into words, then he would die of old age long before he finished saying them.
But he did not want to pour his burdensome feelings on Ianna if she wasn’t ready yet. He was holding back because he would keep burdening her and keep pressuring her once he finally confessed. He wanted to do his best to wait until Ianna was ready and confessed to him first.
‘No, that’s just an excuse.’
Actually, the truth was that Arhad wanted be victorious against her once, just once, in love. He wanted for Ianna to be unable to withstand her own feelings and shyly confess her love for him with her own lips so badly it was driving him insane.
But it was not because of petty pride. Arhad’s goal in life, the ‘victory’ he was aiming for, was to have Ianna in her entirety —so it didn’t really matter who confessed first.
He could have confessed to her a year ago, when Ianna had seemed to notice his feelings as she asked him why he had kissed her on the forehead, had he wanted to.
The reason why he had begun a war of nerves and had challenged her to shatter their current relationship first was because he was courteously declaring that he would not pressure her until she was ready but would do his best to get her to fall in love with him and because he eagerly desired to cure himself of his affliction.
Does Ianna truly like me? Will she truly never leave me? What do I do if I confess because I can’t hold it in any longer and she ends up hating it? The dam will break and my emotions will flood out like a deluge once I confess —what if she finds that burdensome? What if she runs away?
His pure love for her, which he had never had the chance to utter in their last lives because Ianna had been too hostile toward him, was afflicted with the illness called anxiety. The affliction seized him frequently and made a coward out of him.
Arhad wanted to break free of the vicious cycle wrought by his endless fetters. And to completely cure his illness, Arhad needed Ianna to voluntarily utter her sincerity without being pressured into it.
Ianna did not lie. She was a dreadful woman who never changed her mind until she died once she had made it.
Arhad was certain —no, he fanatically believed— that he would be free of his horrible anxiety forever if Ianna confessed to him first and became his real lover instead of dating him under the pretext of a lie because he had forced her into it like they were doing now.
So please, just this once! He wanted to be victorious just this once. It was the first and last victory he would ever wish for. Arhad did not mind losing to Ianna for the rest of his life if he could only have this one victory.
And so, he waited. I’ve always been waiting for you, so I will be patient and wait for you again. This will be my final victory and my final wait.
His patience was both bitter and sweet. He could finally see the end of the duel that had always frustrated him so.
He was still nervous, but he believed that he could endure it. But he was made to ardently realize something as of late. His patience, which he so trusted, would dry up at some point.
Ianna had started acting in ways that made it difficult for him to endure. Had it started two months ago? Arhad truly thought he would lose it whenever Ianna said such endearing words and acted so lovingly. It was clear to him that Ianna’s heart had changed, but his rationality snapped several times a day because she refused to say the words, as if she meant to convey that she was not ready yet.
Arhad pressed against his throbbing brow and closed his eyes. He was glad that Ianna wasn’t here to see him acting so pathetically.
Creak.
He leaned back against his chair and looked up at the sky outside his window. The earth was a mess because of the war, but the sky was so endlessly clear. His heart, which had been racing so fast it might burst, slowly steadied its beating as he stared up at the clear blue sky.
‘……I need to decide whether I’ll stay or leave today.’
He hadn’t told Ianna yet, but he was reaching his limits so quickly that it alarmed him. Not his psychological limits, but a physical limit that arose from the fact that he only had one body.
He was still in Theodore because he was loath to part with Ianna, but she was actually his only reason for staying. He had to hole up in the tower and only work on documents because he could not act in public, and even then, his work was still going inefficiently.
Arhad shot a glance at the pile of documents next to his desk. It was so tall that it threatened to collapse, but the pile never decreased in size no matter how many documents he approved.
Most of the documents had been sent to him by those under his sphere of influence. He had a lot of documents regarding the establishment of their new country to take care of too, but it had been difficult to make time for them because Bahamut had opened the monster Gates and declared war. He had also frequently missed the best timing to take care of some things that he had to deal with quickly.
But these problems could be solved if Arhad went to the East. He could oversee things personally and give orders without requiring others to send him reports.
‘I can’t stay crouching like this forever. If I consider things rationally, it’s only right that I go to the East and prepare to establish our kingdom while Schneider is acting as a shield against the imperial family.’
The reason why he was still dawdling despite having made a rational assessment was simply because he did not want to part from Ianna. But now, he believed that he had to leave if only for Ianna and himself.
Leaving Ianna’s side was something that he would have refused to do no matter what in the past.
But Arhad’s extreme behaviors had changed.
He had never felt fulfilled no matter what he accomplished ever since the day he was born, even in his past life. Wealth, power, knowledge —he only knew his greed, and he was never satiated no matter how much he devoured. He had tried to take more because he still felt lacking no matter how much he tried to fill himself, and he grew sick and tired of his dreadful boredom.
It had only grown worse in this life. Not only was he weary of the world now that he had recovered the Demon’s memories, but he wasn’t even interested anymore because he was simply trying to reclaim the things that he had already taken previously.
He had lived like a stringed puppet until he had met Ianna because he hadn’t wanted to change anything. And he had only wanted Ianna ever since he had finally met her again.
But love was able to satisfy Arhad now, and he had changed.
Love.
Perhaps some would find love trivial. Perhaps they would sneer at him for throwing everything else away just to cling to something like love.
But there was so much more to love than mere lust. Respect, charity, companionship, patriotism, parental affection……. A heart that held something irreplaceably dear and all the emotions that came from enjoying it or worrying over it —all of that was tied to the word called love.
The Balance sought to maintain the equilibrium of the world. But the world would have long since stopped moving if equilibrium was the only thing that existed.
People induced the world to change by leading it toward imbalance. That was how the world moved forward.
In that sense, wouldn’t it make sense to say that ‘love’ was the thing that created ‘time’?
He wanted to be loved by her, and his rabid love had blinded him. He had wished to turn back time even if it meant losing everything. Just as how the great power to interfere with time had blossomed from the evil soul that could neither produce divine power nor possess a power of its own…….
Arhad’s stopped time had begun to flow because of his love for Ianna.
He could do anything if it was for her. He wanted to establish a new country for her because he thought that Ianna wanted one. And, curiously enough, it stoked his personal greed too. He had suffered in the Holy Age, and he had been displeased in his past life. He had been scorned at and held in contempt for the way he was born, and he no longer wanted to see the strong escape their sins just because they were strong or the weak be penalized for sins that weren’t their own just because they were weak.
If he wanted to build a country with strong foundations……then he would need to leave.
‘I also need to leave if only because of the Demon’s fragments too.’
It was the imperial succession, which had begun after Bahamut had declared war, that had changed things.
What was it? Why were they starting the succession all of a sudden? Why had Wiffheimer sent Heinrich a warning?
Things didn’t bode well. He could feel that staying in Roanne was growing more dangerous by the day because he could not say why the bastards were acting this way with any degree of certainty.
‘Ianna can hide her presence even if they show up. But I can’t do the same because of the resonance.’
The imperial family would chase him down until either he or they died as soon as they found him. It was better for him to leave Roanne.
‘I could simply barge into the imperial palace and kill the whole lot of them if I was certain that I could do it, but I can’t because I don’t know how strong they are. I don’t know what’ll happen.’
Arhad still continued to find buts and what-ifs even as he thought things through in a pessimistic light. It was all because of Ianna.
‘I don’t even know how strong our side is compared to Bahamut.’
Ianna was maturing blindingly these days. Her skills had been developing truly rapidly ever since she had acted strangely when they had sparred that one time.
Arhad, too, had regained the power he had once commanded in his past, but he still found himself being overwhelmed or even frightened every now and again as he sparred against her.
‘But safety is paramount.’
Arhad finally came to a decision after thinking over things again and again.
‘I have no choice.’
He stroked the ring on the ring finger of his left hand.
He could contact Ianna whenever he so wished. He was happy just to talk to her. If his heart was a foodstuffs warehouse, then his conversations with Ianna were like sacks of wheat. Enough wheat that he could eat without going hungry for the time being piled into the warehouse every time they conversed.
But it was still too cruel to have to live while only eating wheat.
He could always come to see her when he missed her……and for now, that was enough. He would be all right, since they would only be apart for a few months.
Perhaps he was even running away.
Like a coward, because he was afraid that he might end up confessing his love for her first, unable to withstand the love that heated up his heart.
“We’ll have to part for a while, Ianna,”
Arhad said suddenly after Ianna had returned after finishing her work.
Ianna was startled.
“What are you talking about?”
Arhad calmly explained the situation to her.
“…….And that’s why I’ve decided to leave and prepare to establish our country.”
“I see. You’re right.”
There was a complicated expression on Ianna’s face. She understood the situation, but she still felt strange. Arhad had always tried to keep her from leaving, but this was the first time he was leaving her first.
Arhad smirked when he saw that Ianna could not focus.
“I’m going to transfer some of my responsibilities to you, so focus.”
Ianna snapped back to her senses and looked up. Arhad continued,
“You take care of everything that happens in Roanne moving forward, Ianna. As of today, you are the new leader of Camastros.”
“Pardon? Me?”
Ianna blinked and asked when Arhad dropped a bomb on her.
“Yes. Didn’t you ask me to trust you with my work? You should already be aware of what the job entails because you’ve been working closely with me. You’ve even pretended to be the leader of Camastros before too, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“That’s true, but isn’t this too sudden and too serious? I’ll do it if you insist……but do you truly believe that I can do this?”
Ianna was feeling rather burdened.
“I know that you’re lacking experience. But the only way to make up for that is to actually gain more. Use this as your opportunity to gain more experience.”
“Hmmm.”
Ianna was not actually that lacking in experience because she had once been a commander-in-chief in her past life. But she still felt burdened nonetheless.
She had acted in accordance to Schneider’s orders in the past, and she had not cared about her soldiers’ lives as she led them. But things were different now. Each and every person under her command would be one of Arhad’s people. She felt burdened by the weight of their lives.
“You can do it. I am handing you this heavy responsibility so readily only because I know that your abilities are remarkable.”
His words rang sweet. Ianna’s ears twitched. Arhad continued,
“I’m certain that you’ll finish your work here more splendidly than I could have ever imagined.”
Ianna grew determined. But she still felt just as burdened as ever.
“Ianna, I’m not telling you to assume responsibility for everything.”
Arhad took Ianna’s left hand in his own left hand. Their paired rings clattered against each other as their fingers entwinned. He continued,
“You know that I’ll always be behind you, right? Contact me whenever you’re troubled or if you want to consult with me about anything. Don’t I always tell you? I like it when you rely on me.”
It was only then that Ianna’s expression relaxed. The sense of burden subsided when she thought about how Arhad would be right behind her, and she flared with confidence and motivation. She shook their clasped hands like a handshake.
“I will do my best not to have to rely on you. I will finish my work so perfectly all on my own that you’ll be surprised.”
“Very well. That’s very like you.”
Arhad stared back at Ianna for some time before his expression finally settled. He continued,
“Make sure to be very careful of the imperial family. Don’t face them directly if they happen to show up, and contact me immediately if they do. I know your skills have been advancing rapidly, but never let your guard down. You’ll be in trouble with me if you act recklessly like you’ve done before.”
Ianna blushed crimson as she recalled her colorful past record.
“I’ll keep that in mind,”
Ianna replied resolutely because she no longer wanted to deceive him.
Arhad finished transferring everything over to her just a few days later. Everyone in Camastros supported Ianna in her new role as Camastros’ de facto leader.
“Please be careful.”
Ianna saw Arhad off after he had finished packing a few things.
“Don’t ever forget to contact me every night.”
“I won’t.”
Arhad kissed Ianna deeply as a farewell gift.
The kiss had been just as passionate as ever, but Arhad’s retreating figure after the kiss was so unfamiliar to Ianna. She continued staring at his back. But Arhad never turned around.
Ping…….
Arhad vanished after casting Teleport.
Ianna stared vacantly at the empty spot where Arhad had been before he had left like he had no lingering regrets holding him behind. Her heart felt so heavy it could have been weighted down by stones.
‘And he used to act like he’d die if I wasn’t around…….’
She was lonely and sad even if she pretended otherwise.
Ianna kicked at the pebbles on the road as she forced herself to cram her feelings into one corner of her heart.
‘I should get to work.’
It was time to work.
—“Roanne, Summer” End
ToC Chapter 28