Twilight Overture (Premium)

by Yuri Kitayama

  But, even so...

  I want to know. Latifa grinded her teeth in frustration. She wanted to lay bare everything she knew about Miharu, Aki, and Amakawa Haruto. She wanted to talk to them about it all.

  But she couldn’t. Rio had stopped her. There was no way Latifa would disobey Rio’s words by going behind his back, no matter how distressed it made her feel.

  The most she could do was come up with a question that pressed the core of the matter in a roundabout way, and watch for the reaction. “...Mii-chan, huh? I wonder what it means. Right, Miharu?” Latifa kept a smile on her face as she fearfully addressed Miharu, who was sitting beside her.

  “Y-Yeah. Who knows?” Miharu tilted her head with a somewhat unnatural smile.

  This reaction... She really does remember Onii-chan after all, doesn’t she? Latifa deduced. She also shot a glance in Aki’s direction, who had a faint wrinkle in her brow and an obviously sour expression on her face.

  ...Does Aki remember Onii-chan too? But this... Latifa could make somewhat of a guess at how Aki felt from her expression, but she couldn’t discern the reason behind the emotion that Aki was displaying.

  “Aki?” Vera also noticed how Aki’s expression had stiffened and peered at her face curiously.

  Aki quickly put on a bright expression. “Hm? What’s wrong, Vera?”

  “...No, it’s nothing,” Vera said, shaking it off as her imagination. Then she turned to Sara and the others. “Please, continue with what you were saying,” she urged.

  “Continue... Well, what happened next was Latifa waking up and running into the jail cell, causing a huge commotion, if I recall,” Sara said wistfully.

  “Huh, Latifa did that?!”

  Starting with Vera, everyone who wasn’t present back then — including Aki and Miharu — turned their interest towards Latifa.

  “F-Forget that already!” Being the center of attention, Latifa tried to cut off the conversation in embarrassment.

  “No, I want to hear it! Right, Aki?” Vera said. Aki laughed and nodded in amusement.

  “Yeah, I do too.”

  Miharu and the older girls giggled as they agreed.

  “Let’s see. The moment Latifa opened her eyes, she started running around in search of Rio without even listening to us. Uzuma and I had to chase after her in a panic,” Sara said.

  “Geez! You shouldn’t tell them about that, Sara!” Latifa blushed red and tried to stop Sara from continuing.

  Chapter 6: Encounter

  Meanwhile, at a different place and time, while Rio was gathering information in the city of Rodania, the enchanted airship Liselotte was on had made progress along its course, crossing the kingdom boundary between Beltrum and Galarc. At this point in her journey, Amande was right before her eyes.

  “Lady Liselotte, we will be arriving in Amande shortly.” Notice of their upcoming arrival at Amande reached the private room where Liselotte and Aria were lounging. The two beautiful attendants that had come to report to her bowed their heads respectfully.

  “Finally. Once we return to the residence, our first matter of duty is taking care of all the accumulated paperwork. I’ll be relying on your help, too, Natalie and Cosette,” Liselotte grinned cheerfully, addressing the attendants who had come to give her their report.

  “Geh...” One of the maids let out a noise.

  “Is something the matter, Cosette?” Liselotte seemed to have picked up the noise perfectly clearly, as she turned to address the maid who had uttered it with a grin.

  Cosette smoothed over her expression with a hearty laugh. “No, my lady. I was just wondering if it would be better to have dinner first, as it will be dark by the time we arrive at the end of this tiring journey,” she offered.

  “Denied. I have to make up for the time lost in my work. You fully enjoyed yourself during the break in Beltrum, did you not?” Liselotte shook her head and smiled at Cosette.

  “Aww, but we were shut away in the guest house there. I didn’t even get to go shopping,” Cosette whined back, pouting her lips.

  “But you were able to rest up without having work to do, no?” Liselotte said with a sigh.

  “That’s enough, Cosette. Everyone suffered under the same conditions,” Natalia, the rather serious-looking maid next to Cosette, chided.

  Liselotte sighed with exasperation before teasing the hint of a reward. “Well, I suppose you have a point. Once everything calms down, I’ll give you a chance to go on leave.”

  “Really?!” Cosette’s face brightened.

  “Yes. That’s why I need you to put in the effort a little longer. Natalia, you too,” Liselotte grimaced as she encouraged her subordinates.

  “Understood! Leave it to us!” Cosette agreed readily. Beside her, Natalie chimed in.

  “Thank you very much.” She bowed respectfully. The prospect of a holiday had a faint smile tugging at her lips.

  “Then, let us prepare for our descent...” Liselotte began to say to wrap things up, when the enchanted ship shook, making her scream.

  “Kya! What was that?!”

  Aria immediately jumped to give directions; it wasn’t normal for the airship to sway this heavily, after all. “Investigate the cause immediately. Natalie, Cosette.”

  “Lady Liselotte! Lady Liselotte!” From the corridor on the other side of the door came the frantic sound of running footsteps, accompanied by the voice of a young girl calling Liselotte’s name.

  “That’s Chloe’s voice, isn’t it?” Aria promptly went to open the door. Chloe, the attendant in training, appeared in a panic.

  “Lady Liselotte!” Aria must have intuitively realized Chloe’s flustered state was related to the shaking of the airship, as her voice came out in a soothing tone. “Calm down. What was that tremor just now? Did something happen?”

  At her question, Chloe paused in her flustered panic and took a deep breath. “U-Umm, there’s, there’s trouble! A-A dragon, a black dragon appeared!” she said.

  Although Aria couldn’t help the way her eyes widened, she asked her question calmly. “...A dragon caused the airship to shake so much?”

  “Oh, the captain said he’d make an emergency landing in a nearby city, so the shaking was probably from him lowering the altitude of the ship... The dragon was spotted pretty far in the distance,” Chloe explained hastily.

  Aria gathered her thoughts instantly and gave Liselotte directions. “...Lady Liselotte. Some things still aren’t clear, but this is an emergency situation. Let us head to the captain in order to prepare for the worst. Please, come this way.”

  “Yes, let us go.” Liselotte swiftly stood up and moved next to Aria.

  “You three come along, too, and protect Lady Liselotte,” Aria ordered Chloe, Natalie, and Cosette.

  “Yes, ma’am!” the three attendants responded without delay, and the group made their way to bridge.

  As soon as Aria entered the bridge, she called out to the man standing beside the captain at the steering wheel. “First officer, status report on the current situation.”

  “Yes, ma’am! While we were on course for Amande, an enormous creature resembling a black dragon was spotted flying towards the north. We are now rerouting away from the area,” the first officer said, pointing northwards from the wide bridge window.

  “That’s...” Liselotte and the others looked in the direction he’d gestured towards, and they all gulped.

  In the skies to the north where the first officer had pointed was a dragon-like creature with jet-black skin. There was quite some distance between it and the airship, but its size made it easy to spot even with the naked eye.

  “Fortunately, it has yet to notice our presence. We are currently lowering our altitude as much as possible. However, we determined that flying to Amande would be dangerous, so we’re landing in a nearby city first. Is this acceptable?” The first officer explained the situation calmly despite breaking into a cold sweat, seeking Liselotte’s approval for their current response.

  “Yes
, it was a prompt and correct decision. Could you tell me our current position?”

  “We’re in the forest area towards the west of Amande, above Count Claire’s territory.”

  “West of Amande. Does that make Nor our destination city?”

  Nor was a small city located to the west of Amande. It didn’t have any particular industries it was known for, so it merely functioned as a rest stop for people to stay on their way to Amande.

  “Yes, we will be arriving momentarily. The captain is steering us in that direction right now, so I ask that you please be patient for just a little while longer.” The first officer glanced at the zealous expression of the captain before bowing his head deeply.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Several minutes later, Liselotte’s enchanted airship made a safe landing on a lake in the outskirts of Nor.

  Relieved that they landed on the water safely, Liselotte gave her thanks to the captain. “That was a wonderful landing, captain. I am most grateful to you.”

  The elderly captain bashfully shook his head. “Not at all... It is merely my job. I am glad you were unharmed, princess,” he said humbly.

  “I see there is another enchanted airship docked at this lake. What would you like to do, Lady Liselotte? I believe the symbol on that flag belongs to the house of Duke Huguenot.” Aria asked as she looked out the window of the bridge. There was one more airship floating next to the airship Liselotte and the others were on.

  “Duke Huguenot may be on board, yes. For now, we should hear what their crew has to say. After that, we can continue our preparations to disembark. Is that possible, captain?”

  “Of course. Leave it to me.” The captain held his right hand against his chest respectfully and bowed.

  After that, under the experienced directions of the captain, preparations for disembarking were made. At the same time, Natalie the attendant led several of the airship’s crew members to make contact with the other airship. Within a quarter of an hour, the small boat Natalie had departed on returned to Liselotte’s airship.

  “After discussing with the other side, we have ascertained that the airship belongs to Duke Huguenot. On board along with the Duke was the hero, Sir Sakata, and Second Princess Flora, but they have all gone out to visit the governor of Nor at the moment,” Natalie explained concisely.

  Liselotte’s eyes widened faintly. “...The hero, hmm. No one was hurt, right?”

  “No. They landed on the water without incident, it seems.”

  “...I see. That’s fortunate, then.” Liselotte sighed in relief before turning to the captain next. “How are the preparations to disembark going, captain?”

  “They have been arranged. However, the lake does not appear to be very large, so I fear the waters may be a tad too shallow. It would be preferable to alight via the smaller boats...” The captain assented, seeking Liselotte’s judgment on whether it would be an issue.

  “I don’t mind. Let us depart right away. It seems they’ve come out to greet us anyway.” Liselotte nodded, looking over where there was a small crowd of people waiting on the land next to Nor, flustered. She shrugged her shoulders.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Liselotte and the others boarded a small boat that sailed over to the land. “Why, this is a surprise, Lady Liselotte. Welcome to our city. It has been a long time,” the man serving as Nor’s governor greeted respectfully.

  He had probably assumed Liselotte was on board the airship when he spotted the Ricca Guild’s symbol on the flag. There was no way he would forget the face of the great lord’s daughter, so he wasn’t all that surprised.

  Liselotte was also familiar with the man’s face, as she returned his greeting politely. “It has indeed been a while, Baronet Bochsa. If it weren’t for this situation, I would have loved to have a relaxed chat with you, but...”

  “The dragon-like creature comes first, yes. I’m sure you may be aware already, but actually...” Baronet Bochsa turned to look behind him.

  “’Sup, Liselotte.”

  Sakata Hiroaki, the young man who was summoned as a hero, interrupted Baronet Bochsa and boldly announced his presence from behind the soldiers, raising his right hand and casually calling out to Liselotte. At the same time, he spotted the party of attendants Liselotte had behind her and let out a whistle at their beauty.

  “It is nice to see you again, hero.” Liselotte replied to Hiroaki with a sociable smile.

  “Ah, you don’t have to address me like we’re strangers, you know? I don’t mind if you call me by my name instead of ‘hero’ all the time. I told you this before, didn’t I?” Hiroaki said, turning a rather expectant gaze towards Liselotte.

  Liselotte gave a friendly smile and shook her head sadly. “While your offer is most generous, I am afraid I cannot do such a thing.”

  “Sir Hiroaki, we are in the middle of an emergency. Let’s save the casual conversation with Lady Liselotte for a more appropriate time.” Roanna Fontaine — a cute girl in her mid-teens with blonde hair in curled ringlets — came over and scolded Hiroaki.

  “Oops... You have a point. Darn it.” Hiroaki gave a small shrug of exasperation.

  Liselotte bowed her head deeply. “Lady Roanna, it’s good to see you again. And Princess Flora, Duke Huguenot — you as well. I’m glad to see you all safe. May I ask where all of you were heading?”

  “Hahaha. Though we hadn’t made an appointment, we were actually in the middle of heading to Amande to meet with you when we spotted that black dragon on the way. That’s why we landed here in a hurry. We only just arrived moments ago,” Duke Huguenot replied openly, traces of a sigh mixed in with his words.

  “In that case, would you know if any damage has been caused?”

  “No, it seems like it has only been flying around the skies of this area so far. Though we don’t know what it’s after...”

  “...Thank you. It seems we’ll need to have a proper discussion to organize what information is available and how to deal with it.” Liselotte sighed worriedly before turning to Baronet Bochsa beside her. “Baronet Bochsa, could you kindly provide us a place for that?”

  “Of course. It may not be the most ideal, but I am more than willing to invite you all to my estate.”

  ◇　◇　◇

  After that, Liselotte and the others were led to the dining hall of Baronet Bochsa’s estate. Though the tea was being prepared not by Baronet Bochsa’s servants, but Liselotte’s attendant girls.

  “Now, I know this is a gathering of people of different affiliations, but with the circumstances as they are...” Liselotte began the emergency meeting as the chairman.

  The main attendees of said meeting were Aria, Baronet Bochsa — who governed Nor — the commanding officer of the Nor soldiers, and the visitors from Beltrum: Duke Huguenot, Hiroaki, Flora, and Roanna. The upper staff of the airship crews were also in attendance. While Duke Huguenot’s group were technically foreigners, the situation called for an open exchange of information.

  “The first matter of concern is that dragon-like creature’s identity and objective. If you’ve noticed anything at all, no matter how small, please speak up. The first person to notice it was someone on your ship, Duke Huguenot. Is this correct?” Liselotte said, seeking information as she looked around the room. In order to consider the potential damages and measures to deal with it, she wanted as much information as possible.

  Duke Huguenot sighed and began to speak with a burdened expression. “Yes, our captain did. I was also in the bridge at the time and saw it immediately. It was flying through the northern skies at a tremendous speed when it suddenly started to circle the area instead.”

  “The northern skies... before it circled around here? It sounds like it could either be searching for something, or perhaps demonstrating something.” Liselotte contemplated worriedly, placing a hand against her mouth.

  “Ah, just a question...” Hiroaki raised his hand.

  Liselotte reapplied a smile to her face. “Yes, hero. What is it?”r />
  “Is that a real dragon? You’ve been calling it a ‘dragon-like creature’ for a while now.”

  “...We cannot be sure. There are harmful creatures very similar to dragons that exist — we call them demi-dragons.”

  Hiroaki’s eyes widened in interest. “Oh? How’s it different from a real dragon?”

  “According to some people, demi-dragons are the descendants of dragons. Their power is highly inferior to that of a real dragon, but they come in a wide range of variants — some demi-dragons may be small, while others may be large,” Liselotte explained.

  “Oh, so the usual. They’re not as strong as real dragons, but still pretty strong.” With no basis at all, Hiroaki guessed at the strength of these creatures.

  “They’re definitely not just ‘pretty’ strong. The smaller variants of demi-dragon that the Proxia Empire employs the use of are savage and tenacious with skins of steel. And when it comes to the larger variants, they’re practically natural disasters. There have been entire cities in the past that have been annihilated by larger demi-dragons, you know?” Liselotte shook her head furiously, emphasizing the threat.

  “Then no matter if it’s a large demi-dragon or real dragon, that thing flying over there is bad news?”

  “Yes. I believe it is probably a demi-dragon, but it certainly is far more than any human can handle,” Liselotte nodded with a darkened expression.

  “Hm? Why do you think it’s a demi?” Hiroaki asked curiously.

  “Neither creature appears near human settlements very often, but true dragons are very rarely witnessed in comparison to demi-dragons. As far as I know, there hasn’t been a true dragon spotted in this area for the last several hundred years. Even when dragons are sighted, most of them turn out to be demi-dragons that were mistaken for dragons. Statistically, a demi-dragon is far more likely.”