by Hiro Ainana
“Yes, we had a practice duel on the deck.”
“Yes, and then you treated me to some of your delicious cooking, remember? It was on par with the cuisine of the royal castle or the Saga Empire’s imperial court.”
Sara had started to look relieved until her sister added more superfluous details.
“W-was it, by any chance, that transparent soup…?”
“No, that takes much too long to make.”
“I see…”
Sara’s expression softened again, and her grip on my hand relaxed a little.
“Transparent soup? Is that the consommé soup that Father asked you to make for the next evening party?”
Come on—can’t we move on from this topic already?
Unfortunately, I couldn’t simply ignore the words of a member of the duke’s family; I nodded reluctantly.
“An evening party, you say…?”
Sara furrowed her brow, conflicted.
She probably wanted to eat it, but since she’d relinquished her status as a noble, she might have a hard time participating in the party.
As a friend, I decided to throw her a line.
“I was thinking of bringing consommé soup next time I visit the Tenion Temple, too. Do you think the head priestess and everyone would like it?”
“Yes, of course! I’m sure they’ll all be thrilled!”
She accepted my suggestion with high enthusiasm.
I didn’t think the head priestess could eat much, but she should be able to handle some soup.
This time, it was Miss Ringrande who was acting a little sullen at being left out.
“Satou, are you after my sister? Sara left home to join the temple because she didn’t like living as a noble, you know. If you’re trying to use her to get ahead in society, you’ll have to fight me first!”
“Sister Rin!”
Sara’s lovely eyes widened at her sister’s challenge.
It didn’t seem like she really harbored any ill will toward Ringrande, so I smiled at her before answering the accusation.
“Lady Ringrande, there is no need to worry about any such thing. I consider Lady Sara a dear friend, but I would never harbor such high aspirations.” For good measure, I added, “And I don’t want to get ahead in society, either.”
“I see… Very well, then.”
Ringrande didn’t seem entirely convinced. She was probably still sorting out her emotions.
Sara, meanwhile, smiled bashfully when she heard the words dear friend. As the granddaughter of a duke and a chosen Oracle priestess, she most likely found friendships only rarely.
“I’ll believe you, at least for now. So, how did you get so close to Sara, anyway?”
“I was appointed to be Lady Sara’s guide during her visit to the Muno Barony, and we eventually became close after that.”
“Close…” Both Ringrande and Sara muttered.
Though they were repeating the same word, their expressions were very different.
Sara cracked a small smile, while Miss Ringrande had the wariness of a mother bear protecting its young.
Hmm. Maybe I should have phrased that a little more carefully?
“Lady Sara! Come quickly! The prince! His Highness Prince Sharorik draws near!”
The priestess burst into the room, dispelling any minor regrets on my part.
What could that dangerous prince possibly want with Sara?
Considering his general attitude toward women, I was a little worried.
The Old Capital in Turmoil
Satou here. In a psychological manga I once read, there was a line that went something like, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” I suppose this mantra might apply in parallel worlds, too.
“You wait here, Sara. I’ll take care of His Highness.”
“No, I’ll go with you.”
Miss Ringrande wanted to protect Sara, but she was too stubborn to hide away and let someone else take care of it.
She had no apparent intention of letting go of my hand, either. She led me toward the door to the temple, too.
I told Arisa and Mia to go join Liza and the rest.
Unfortunately, we ended up running into the prince and his attendants on the way to the temple’s drawing room.
The only attendants with the prince this time were the boy knight and one of the chamberlains. There was no sign of the shield-bearing knight who had kept him in line before.
“How unusual to see you set foot inside a temple, Your Highness.”
“Rin! So it was you riding that wooden Pegasus!”
The prince was all smiles, in stark contrast with Ringrande’s displeased expression.
“Please do not call me by a nickname, Your Highness.”
“Why not? What’s wrong with using a nickname for my fiancée?”
“Your former fiancée. I obtained permission from His Majesty before leaving the kingdom.”
So she’d had enough of his philandering, basically.
The prince, on the other hand, didn’t seem to know when to give up.
“Those are your words, not mine. I don’t recall approving of any such thing. I’ve dealt with all my illegitimate children, and Yureen and Demetina have both agreed to welcome you. What’s the problem?”
What, indeed? Even I can tell that there are plenty of problems here. For one thing, his use of the phrase dealt with was definitely alarming. I had no desire to become any more acquainted with his dark side.
“Have you forgotten what you did to a bride the night before her marriage into another family? It nearly caused a county to defect from the kingdom.”
“Razena? That’s already taken care of. And that churlish duke has been replaced.”
The prince’s smile couldn’t have been any scarier if he tried. For lack of a better word, it made him look soulless.
“…So, what business might you have at the temple today?”
Glowering at the prince, Sara stepped in to interrupt.
“Why, you insolent—”
The back of the prince’s hand flew toward Sara’s face.
“Ah!”
A heavy thud overlapped with Sara’s scream.
There was no way I was just going to stand by without protecting her, of course.
The prince’s hand, clad in a metal gauntlet, was stopped dead by my own palm.
Clearly, he had planned to backhand her with all his strength.
If he hit an ordinary girl like that, her neck would probably snap, killing her instantly. Even Sara, who was level 30, would’ve undoubtedly sustained a severe injury.
“Your Highness!”
Miss Ringrande stepped toward the prince menacingly, but he held her off with one arm and glared at me.
“Interrupting my conversation with Rin was bad enough, but making physical contact with royalty? That’s a guaranteed death sentence, plebian.”
Wow. I’ve never been called a “plebian” in real life before.
“Do it.”
“Yes, sir! It’s okay if I take both of them out, riiight?”
The young knight drew his sword.
How could anyone want to cause bloodshed at a temple in a world where gods were real, tangible beings?
“Stop!” Ringrande shouted.
“Sorry! Prince’s orders, I’m afraid.”
Ignoring her, the boy pointed his sword toward me.
In reality, it would be easy for me to defeat him in combat, but I could get in big trouble if the action was construed as drawing my sword on royalty. Instead, I decided to take the classic Japanese strategy of nonaggressive defense.
Stepping in front of Sara to protect her, I pulled out a wet towel from Storage by way of the Garage Bag and used it to intercept the young knight’s sword. I’d forgotten to put it in the laundry after bathing yesterday.
“What in the world is that? Some kind of magic item?”
“It’s just a towel.”
“A towel?! Don’t you dare mock me!”
Oddly enough, the boy didn’t like my honest answer to his question. Flying into a rage, he came at me like a berserker. All right, then.
“I thought I told you to stop.”
Just then, Miss Ringrande’s sword came up and stopped his.
Thank goodness. I didn’t want my favorite towel to get ripped.
“Tch! It’s impolite to interrupt a battle, you know. But if it means I can fight the Witch of Heavenly Destruction, I’ll be happy to take care of those nobodies later.”
The boy knight licked his lips eagerly, but I was pretty sure he was thoroughly outclassed.
Sure enough, the young man was on the temple floor with a broken sword in a matter of seconds.
“What is the meaning of this?!” the prince demanded.
“I’d like to ask you the same question. First you try to kill my little sister, then my apprentice who protected her? Are you perhaps trying to get the Ougoch Duchy to withdraw from the Shiga Kingdom this time?”
Miss Ringrande’s tone was dripping with sarcasm.
“This brat is your younger sister? What a terribly plain child. To think that I should have to marry such a girl…”
“Excuse me? Are you out of your mind?”
The prince’s remark was a bombshell, but Miss Ringrande could get herself accused of treason with a reply like that.
Sara, unable to process the sudden turn of events, clung to my sleeve and listened nervously.
“I’m quite sane, thank you. I must wed the daughters of three dukes to attain the rank of emperor.”
“Are you trying to usurp the throne? Everyone knows that Prince Sortorik is an excellent heir, skilled with both the pen and the sword.”
“Usurp, you say? Hmph, so you support that so-called prodigy, too…” The prince scoffed at Ringrande’s anger. “Don’t you know why the ‘Oracle’ was split between temples?”
Hmm? Does the prince know why?
Miss Ringrande looked shaken by the prince’s confidence.
“What do you…?”
“The time of great upheaval is upon us. An era of drastic change will come, just as when the ancestral king and the first hero of the Saga Empire founded the kingdom.”
It was as if the prince was delivering a monologue onstage.
Miss Ringrande was too entranced by his words to move.
As for myself, I wished he’d refrain from using loaded phrases like great upheaval and era of change. That was sure to trigger some dangerous flags.
“And it is I, Sharorik Shiga, who will defeat the demon lord, overcome the trials of the era, and create a new kingdom—no, a new empire of all humanfolk!”
Since there were no middle names in this kingdom, his dramatic declaration of his name felt a bit lacking.
“Rin! Abandon the hero of the Saga Empire and return to me! If you do so now, I shall forgive the past and welcome you with open arms!”
The prince had decided to shelve their former issues as he tried to win back Ringrande.
Miss Ringrande’s eyes, on the other hand, were so cold they could’ve frozen a bonfire.
Just as she opened her mouth to give a sharp response, though, more red dots appeared on my radar.
In addition to the two representing the prince and the boy knight, there were now ten others.
Seven were in the plaza in front of the Tenion Temple, while three more were behind it.
According to my map search, the three in front were remaining Wings of Freedom members, while the rest belonged to the assassins’ guild Hog’s Hoof.
The former group must have been the ones who came on that ship. Wondering what happened to the guards I sent, I checked the ship to see that they were locked in a fierce battle with the other Wings of Freedom members.
Come on, you’re not supposed to trigger events in two different places at once.
“Lady Sara! There is danger afoot! You—”
Charging in, the temple knight stopped short when he saw the chaos.
Outside, temple knights were fighting the Wings of Freedom group, while the assassins were coming in through the back door of the temple.
Instead of joining the battle, my kids were heading toward the warehouse to find me.
Given the high levels of Miss Ringrande and the prince, I decided to leave fending off the enemies to them and take Sara with me to meet up with the others.
“Lady Ringrande! I’ll take care of Lady Sara. Please defeat the attackers!”
“All right, I suppose.”
Miss Ringrande filled an amulet-like object under her cloak with magic power, and it activated Anti-Arrow Defense and Body Strengthening buffs.
What a useful magic item.
Just then, the temple knight standing near the entrance of the shrine went flying, as if he’d been hit by a dump truck.
GROOROROWN.
With a bizarre roar, a giant monster appeared at the entrance with dark-gray tentacles sprouting from his head.
It was a lesser hell demon, only level 30, but he had three unusual race-specific abilities: Stretch, Steel Body, and Regeneration. It would be tough to fight him in close quarters with ordinary weapons, but the prince’s Holy Sword or Miss Ringrande’s magic should make quick work of him.
From behind the demon, a number of mechanical-looking silver flying insects were zipping into the temple.
Behind them, I saw another lesser hell demon outside spewing the insects from his nest-like head.
He seemed to have the race abilities Production and Defense Wall and the skills “Lightning Magic” and “Direction.”
“There she is! That’s the girl, Sara! If we capture her, we can still rescue our brethren and resurrect His Majesty the demon lord! Our comrade will take care of the fools around her, now that he’s a demon.”
An intellectual-looking fellow in a purple robe appeared behind the demon and kindly explained their entire plan.
That was nice of him. I guess I’ll go easy on that one.
“Master! Instructions, please!”
Liza poked her head out from the door to the storehouse.
I was proud of her for not just jumping into action.
“Help me protect Lady Sara. Lady Sara, my apologies.”
I lifted her up bridal-style and headed to the storehouse.
“They’re getting away! After them!”
“Do you really think I’ll let you do that?”
“Out of the way!”
One of the remnants of the cult tried to chase after us and was immediately reduced to a corpse by a slash of Miss Ringrande’s sword.
“…A lightning broadsword? Is that the Heavenly Witch of Destruction?! What is one of the hero’s followers doing here?!”
The intellectual turned pale when he saw the purple lightning crackling along Ringrande’s sword.
A streak of lightning shot toward the man, but a gorilla-like lug jumped out to take the hit instead.
The men who charged the prince and his young knight were already lying in a pool of blood.
People here really have no problem with killing…
I felt a little sick, but I pushed it down and rushed into the storehouse with Sara in my arms.
My radar let me know that some silver insects were flying after us. They were about level 15—low enough that my friends should be enough to handle them.
“Liza! Defeat those bugs, please.”
“Understood!”
There were a total of five of them behind us, a bit too many to leave to Liza alone.
“Tama and Pochi, you two take on one of the insects together. Nana, protect the others.”
“Okaaay.”
“Of course, sir!”
“Yes, master.”
The beastfolk girls rushed toward the insects with their weapons at the ready.
“I…I can fight, too!”
“Then please take care of one, too, Lady Karina.”
I quickly gave Miss Karina an assignment. At her level, she probably wouldn’t be able to
beat it, but with Raka’s barrier, she should be able to at least hold her own.
As I lowered Sara to the floor, I used my free hand to take out the remaining two with pebbles from Storage. The insects burst on the impact, their remains scattering everywhere.
That would be tough to clean up after.
“Sara, stay near Nana, please.”
“O-of course.”
Nana equipped a Kite Shield from Storage. Her usual shield was too big to fit inside.
“Arisa, take this!”
“Okeydoke!”
Miss Karina produced the demon-sealing bell from her chest and tossed it to Arisa.
As soon as she caught it, Arisa filled it with magic until it glowed blue, then rang it to slow the silver pests immediately.
“Satou.”
“Master, more insects!”
Hearing Mia and Lulu call out, I looked back to the entrance to see a man guarded by two of the bugs. It was the beefy guy who took the lightning strike for the academic one earlier.
“What?! It’s not working!”
Arisa suddenly cried out in surprise. She must have tried to use chant-less Psychic Magic on the bulky cultist.
“Arisa, hide behind Nana with Mia…” I stepped in front of Nana as I spoke, my eyes on the muscular man. “He’s a demon.”
As if on cue, the man’s body swelled up immensely. As it grew, it smashed through the wall between the temple and the storehouse, scattering stones and dust.
According to my AR, he was a level-45 intermediate hell demon. He looked like a bipedal bull with purple skin.
I walked toward him steadily, holding in my hand the fairy sword I’d taken out of the Garage Bag.
Trying to intimidate me, the demon snorted and breathed red flames from his half-open mouth.
GELWBAOOOWN.
As he roared, a multitude of fireballs formed around him.
Sorry, but those aren’t coming anywhere near me. I used Break Magic from the magic menu to dispel the fireballs.
Then, with a casual swipe, I sliced the demon’s head off, along with the arm he tried to use to defend himself.
Almost too easily, the demon turned to black dust and scattered into nothingness. All that was left was the used long horn and a large, low-grade core.
“Huh? How did you defeat a demon so easily?”