“I know not who you are, but my liege is currently absent. Even if you are torn limb from limb, there are none here to stop it.”
His first choice of words was practically a declaration of war, but Raphael’s intent was to give a completely serious warning to his guest. And naturally enough, the hooded guest, mostly likely a sorcerer, leaped into action.
Raphael was unarmed. He was unarmed, yet wasn’t.
“Fool.”
He placed his right hand against his artificial left hand. His artificial palm let out a bright light, and a large hilt poked out of it. The artificial arm that he was given by Foll was the Sacred Sword Metatron’s sheathe itself.
Raphael drew his Sacred Sword and aimed it at the hooded intruder. The most dreadful. The sorcerer hunter. These were the dishonorable titles given to Raphael while he served as an Archangel. There were few in the world who knew that he’d killed close to five hundred sorcerers out of simple self-defense.
Even in his one-armed state, Raphael showed no signs of his skills becoming dull as he slashed in at the intruder’s torso. The only difference from before was that the strike didn’t bisect the intruder, but instead let out a dull thud and planted itself firmly into their waist.
“Gaah?!”
The intruder groaned in agony as they were sent flying back into a thick tree and ceased moving. They likely had multiple broken ribs, but were still alive.
“Hmm, it is just as my liege said. The Sacred Sword is strong enough not to break even when striking with the flat of the blade.”
Setting aside repelling arrows or the like, there were many who believed striking with the flat of the blade could conversely do more harm than good for their sword. This applied doubly so for a holy relic like a Sacred Sword, though Raphael only ever treated it like a tool he couldn’t exchange for another.
If he kept that up however, he would just continue to completely cleave all who approached him as he did before, so Zagan told him to do this as a means to hold back. Having safely avoided his five hundredth kill, Raphael removed the intruder’s hood to confirm their identity. And looking down at what was revealed, he knit his brows.
“Hm...? A horn? Is this a unicorn?”
They were a race who possessed a crystal-like horn on their forehead. And though it was beautiful, what was more amazing was that legends said that they could communicate with other worlds using that horn. They were a race of fairies who were lined up with among the strongest when it came to both mana and physical abilities. Precisely because of this they were hunted to extinction by sorcerers, and were supposed to have perished in some desolate corner of the world.
In any case, it was terrific that he managed to finish things without delivering a killing blow. Raphael ruminated over whether he should tie them up or treat them. The unicorn then opened its eyes and fixated them on Raphael. Their eyes were blood red, and they had two fangs protruding from their mouth.
“It couldn’t be...!”
“GAAAAH!”
The intruder lunged at Raphael, not with sorcery, but with their fangs.
“...I see, undead... moreover, the Night Clan.”
Raphael grasped the vampire’s face with his artificial hand and observed it as it squirmed about. It wasn’t all that strange for a unicorn to transform into a vampire, but he still felt there was something strange about it. And with the intruder’s face still firmly grasped in his hand, he looked up at the sky.
“Hmm...? I thought the Night Clan detested being out in the daylight.”
The weather was terrific today and the skies were clear. Even though they were in the forest, there was plenty of sunlight coming down on them. It would be a different story if it were a vampire on Alshiera’s level, but the one before his eyes was so weak that they were defeated with a single strike with the flat of his blade.
“So, is it something entirely different from the Night Clan?”
Raphael wasn’t able to come up with an answer on his own.
My liege may know something, though...
There were no records in the church that Raphael knew of which documented this sort of existence. And as he spent his time leisurely contemplating this, another irregularity began taking form in the intruder’s body.
“Uooooh...”
Just as Raphael heard a strange groan come from its covered mouth, the intruder’s body began crumbling to pieces. The Night Clan was capable of transforming their bodies into bats or fog, but this one was turning to sludge.
Sludge... It reminded him entirely of an incident that occurred several months ago, the residual thoughts of the Demon Lord that the Archdemon Bifrons summoned forth. He felt it was very similar to that being.
I wanted to take it alive, but I don’t have that leisure anymore I see.
If this were a monster of similar caliber, there was a possibility for it to swell in size endlessly if he didn’t dispose of it completely. If that were to occur, their Alshiere Imera celebration would go out the window. Raphael brought his Sacred Sword to the fore, but suddenly stopped.
“Let’s see. Shall I test the power my liege bestowed upon me here?”
Raphael muttered to himself as he let go of the intruder’s face and took his distance. He held his Sacred Sword in his right hand and thrust out his artificial left hand. The sides of his arm opened up as if it had other compartments besides the one hiding his Sacred Sword. Finally, a lens-like object protruded from his palm and light began converging in it.
“Burn to ash — Orobas.”
It was a flame of light. This was not the power of the Sacred Sword Metatron. This was an accumulation of aura which surpassed the Sacred Sword in the shape of a flame. And Raphael fired it at the intruder.
The flames spread out for but an instant. And as they dissipated, there was no more sludge, no more intruder, just nothing. The opening in Raphael’s left arm let out steam, and returned to its original shape.
“Such is the breath of Wise Dragon Orobas. It’s wasted on such a weak opponent, do forgive me.”
Wise Dragon Orobas’ blood flowed through Raphael’s veins. However, Raphael was no sorcerer, and possessed no means of putting that power to practical use. All he was capable of was momentarily amplifying his physical abilities and regenerating even fatal wounds.
So Zagan gave him the means of unleashing a dragon’s breath using the artificial arm as a medium. This was the reason Zagan gave this man full authority over the castle despite not being a sorcerer. Raphael confirmed the condition of his arm, then shifted his attention toward the city his lord was currently visiting.
“Now then, this wasn’t an opponent my liege would have any trouble with, but I haven’t a clue as to what they were.”
Raphael prayed that nothing would happen to Zagan, Nephy and Kuroka, who were all in town. And even as he worried for those he served, the butler turned back and returned to his official duties.
◇
“I said that I wouldn’t inquire further...”
Zagan was now headed to the church after parting with Kimaris. His search for Marc had come to a stalemate, but he had more planned for the day than just that.
It’s a faint prospect, but I should pass the Memorandum to my subordinates at the church. And then there’s Kuroka.
It was about a month now since he’d seen her face to face. The last time was on the uninhabited island in Liucaon. He did believe that the matter she was brooding over had improved since then somewhat thanks to Lilith and Selphy. Nevertheless, she never came to see Nephy.
Well, it’s not guaranteed that Nephy can heal her either. It’s understandable for her to be anxious.
Due to such circumstances, Zagan would have been worried about her even if Raphael hadn’t said anything. It may have been that he was the one who was looking for an opportunity to go see her. Such was the case, but...
“What’s with all this revelry?”
Every shop in sight was decorated with red and white ribbons and curtains. The
people walking through town were happily chatting about Alshiere Imera. A whole bunch of shops were selling sugary looking baked goods, and there looked to be people walking around handing them out to children too.
Zagan was of the belief that a church’s celebration would be more solemn, but apparently it was some festival where people made merry, dressed up and lined the streets with stalls. There were at least choirs singing hymns in the streets much as one would expect of a church celebration, though.
Kimaris told him to pretend he hadn’t seen anything, but that would prove to be quite difficult with it flooding his entire field of vision like this.
It doesn’t seem like anything that would inconvenience me like Kimaris said, though...
He just couldn’t understand why people were making such a ruckus over it.
“...Whatever, looks like they’re having fun, so it doesn’t really matter I guess.”
Or rather, if he did know about it beforehand, he would have brought Nephy and Foll here to play.
It looks like they would really enjoy this, but will it still be going on tomorrow?
It would be truly regrettable for him if it were only a one-day affair. He became fully aware of this on his visit to Liucaon, but enjoying ‘normal happiness’ was quite hard to do.
After walking through town with a hazy feeling in his chest, Zagan approached a tavern near the church. This was the place where he had first met Raphael, who he thought was an enemy at the time but now served as Zagan’s butler. This was also the place where he and Barbatos would come to drink once in a while. And just as he casually glanced toward it...
“The Lord cometh. The Lord cometh. Oh, the Lord cometh. Let thy shriveled heart bloom. Blessed love power. The Lord loveth. The Lord loveth. Oh, the lord loveth.”
Zagan heard the voice of his granny subordinate mixed in with a choir. It was Gremory, the one Kimaris went to chase after parting with Zagan. She managed to slip into the choir by taking on the form of a small girl. She had twisted goat horns poking from her head, but was neatly dressed in pure white religious garments.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Zagan really couldn’t just leave her be, and as he drew nearer, the boys and girls of the choir began to make a fuss.
“Oh, it’s that Archdemon person.” “We see him a lot lately, huh?” “He’s not with that elf lady today.” “Is that girl with the horns his friend?” “Huh, who is that girl, anyway?”
The children showed no signs of fear at all and were actually rather inquisitive, leaving Zagan with a slight headache. Gremory then put her fingers to her lips in an attempt to shush him.
“My liege, you’re too loud. I finally managed to shake off Kimaris here.”
“...Don’t trouble Kimaris too much. If you were planning on hiding, then don’t go adding your love power crap to the hymn in the first place.”
The lyrics had become incomprehensible gibberish partway through, and even the other children were completely perplexed by them. Gremory however, put her hand to her childish chin in satisfaction.
“Hmph, I sense a rich scent of love power drifting over from you my liege. You were surely worrying about how to invite Lady Nephy to this festival weren’t you, nyaaagh!”
“Shut it. I’ll slug you.”
“You already hit me, my liege...”
He at least held back unlike when he would strike Barbatos, but he did smack her on the head. Zagan then grabbed the tearful Gremory by the nape of the neck and turned to the children.
“Uhh... Sorry for getting in the way. Carry on.”
“Bye bye Mister Archdemon.”
The children waved to him energetically, leaving him once more with a headache as he waved back. And since he was preoccupied with them, Zagan failed to noticed that Gremory was chuckling as if accomplishing some sort of objective as he once more headed toward the church. Now a fair distance from the tavern, Zagan questioned the little granny.
“So? What are you doing here?”
“It’ll take a long time to explain... Let’s see... Have you noticed that there is a strange presence flowing through the town?”
“...You’re right, there’s some sort of mana in the air different from that of my subordinates.” Zagan replied, knitting his brows.
It vanished the moment Zagan thought he had found a trace of it, so he had yet to identify where exactly it was coming from.
I created the barrier around the city to react to any aggressive sorcery, after all.
Kianoides was a prominent metropolis even when taking into account the entire continent. It was only natural for sorcerers unrelated to Zagan to come and go, so he set it up in such a way that they could pass through without question as long as they didn’t cause any trouble. If he didn’t, the barrier would be reacting all day long, and he would end up missing any irregularity he should be reacting to. It didn’t seem that Gremory was just out here to screw around...
“An enormous accumulation of love power is overflowing from absolutely everyone! Like I could stand to shut myself quietly inside the castle when I can experience an unrivaled bittersweet aroma of love power just by walking around town!”
“Keep this up and I’ll hand you over to Orias.”
“I’m joking. I’ll lick the soles of your boot or anything you want, so please forgive me.” The granny immediately slammed her head against the ground. “Well, setting that aside... I thought to offer you a word of advice, my liege.”
“Advice?”
The old lady never really had any worthwhile to say when she had advice to offer.
But, I guess it’s also true I can’t really ignore this.
Zagan and Nephy’s lives were so far removed from a ‘normal life’ that the two of them were far too ignorant when it came to what it was lovers normally did. Even the knowledge that a date was something for the two of them to enjoy together was advice that came from Gremory. He had a really bad feeling about it, but he really couldn’t ignore it after all.
“What is it?”
“Keeheehee, no need to glare so. My liege, you have a faint understanding that today is a festival called Alshiere Imera correct?”
“I haven’t pried into it.”
Zagan promised Kimaris not to say anything. His dignity as a king wouldn’t allow him to break that promise. Such was the case, but Gremory simply nodded as if she’d seen through everything.
“I bet. Kimaris is so straight-laced and inflexible. But I do believe that ignoring it will prove to be a disadvantage for you, my liege.”
“A disadvantage?”
Instead of answering, Gremory pointed to a passerby on the street. It was a young man. He wasn’t wearing a costume, but had a large parcel with a ribbon on it in his hands. And for some reason, he had a strangely happy smile plastered on his face.
Before long, a young girl ran up to him. The young man hid the parcel behind him in a panic, and the girl clearly saw him do so. The two of them exchanged greetings in a fluster for a brief moment before he held the parcel out to her. And just what was it that happened next? The girl smiled greatly and embraced the man.
“What are they doing...? It looked like the man was handing over a gift?”
“That’s it,” the young Gremory then took on the tone of a wise old sage, “Alshiere Imera has a tradition of presenting gifts to one’s sweetheart!”
“Wh...at...?!”
Zagan looked up at the sky. It was already past noon. Not only that, he had yet to finish his business with Kuroka and his subordinates.
I haven’t prepared a single thing for Nephy despite such a custom existing?!
This was a truly grave situation. Moreover, if he were to give out gifts, he wanted to think of something for Foll, Raphael and the others too.
“Now, what will you do? Will you return to the castle empty-handed? Or will you abandon your duty and dedicate yourself to searching for presents?”
Zagan glared at the laughing granny... or rather, the lau
ghing little girl, and ground his teeth.
The choice to not prepare gifts on such a day is clearly nil!
Zagan only just learned of what exactly Alshiere Imera was, but he didn’t think Nephy was oblivious to it when she spent time talking with Manuela and Chastille in town. Nephy surely realized that Zagan didn’t know and chose to keep quiet. Even now, she was completely unable to coax him for presents, though he wanted her to realize that seeing her do so would be a reward for him.
However, Zagan couldn’t let that stand.
But what do I do about Kuroka?
Zagan promised to answer his faithful butler’s request. Moreover, this involved Raphael’s foster daughter, one could say that she was like a cousin or niece to him. It was unthinkable for him to leave her be. Zagan felt like he had never been so cornered until this very moment. However, he didn’t spend all that long anguishing over it. He looked to Gremory, and spoke with the dignity of an Archdemon.
“Don’t underestimate me, Enchantress Gremory. I’ll prepare a present for Nephy. I’ll also go check on Kuroka’s condition. Do you think me some narrow-minded king who has to choose one or the other?”
His voice was more than just overpowering, it was straight up aggressive and threatening, leaving Gremory wide-eyed.
“Now that’s my Archdemon... yes, precisely so, that’s precisely what makes you my liege!” Gremory trembled in delight and fell to a knee. “Then your servant Gremory ought to put all effort into aiding you, my liege... So, what do you plan to start with first?”
“...Hmmm, I’ll start with Nephy’s present.”
He would of course check on Kuroka, but her instincts were sharp precisely because she was blind. If he were to visit her while all restless, she could end up taking him into consideration instead.
“Keehee, I thought you would say that, my liege. How about it? I have a terrific shop in mind, so shall I escort you there?”
“Hmph. That’s what makes you my right hand. Please do.”
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 8 (Premium) Page 8