“What a nice smell…it somehow makes me nostalgic,” she found herself murmuring. Though she could hardly remember it, she had a feeling that long ago, she’d smelled the same aroma here.
Are you ready?
Not yet!
Gilthunder and Griamore and Veronica and herself.
Hadn’t the four of them run around this yard and played hide and seek?
Are you ready?
Not yet!
Tears pooled in Margaret’s eyes and dripped down to dampen her cheeks.
4
“Wow, it’s true, everything is filled in!” Grace clapped her hands together in celebration.
At the workbench in the kitchen, Margaret scribbled with her feather quill, filling in the final empty spaces of the puzzle with the names of ingredients. She gazed at the beautifully completed puzzle with satisfaction. Then, as if an idea had come to her all of a sudden, she looked up at Phil who stood beside her.
“Hey, Phil…is there a meal that uses all of the ingredients in this puzzle?”
“Let’s see…I don’t think there is just one meal…but together, hmm…” Ah! the cook cried out after deliberating for a moment. “Come to think of it, there was that time…”
“That time?” Grace echoed. Phil, who’d dropped his head to mutter to himself, raised his face.
“Um, I think it was four or five years ago—the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ came to this castle.”
“The Seven Deadly Sins!” cried Grace.
Phil seemed flustered. “Oh, I’m sorry…They’re traitors to the royal family now…” He frantically bowed his head as if to end his story.
“It’s all right, I want to hear. What happened with the Seven Deadly Sins?” Margaret asked.
“Usually the only people here are the custodians, but when guests visit from the capital, servants are gathered as they are now. At the time, the cook here was my grandfather. The Seven Deadly Sins were staying here for some kind of mission. I was around twelve, and I sometimes came to help him—that day, when I peered into the kitchen…”
Phil went on to say that the person who was cooking wasn’t his grandfather, but a hulking man with silver hair and bright red eyes.
“Silver hair, red eyes and—a giant.” Margaret remembered. There was such a man amongst the Seven Deadly Sins. “Ban, the Fox’s Sin of Greed?”
“Yes, he was called Ban. He said, ‘Hey, help me out here’—and I did because I was scared, but when I tried speaking to him, he was actually fairly friendly and fun…”
And also surprisingly good at cooking, Phil added.
“I think they stayed about ten days. Ban would often lose bets with the others, and the loser had to cook, he said. I think nearly all of the ingredients in the puzzle were in the several dishes that he made then…”
“Ah, I’d like to try them.”
Grace and Phil leaned forward at Margaret’s murmur.
“R-Really?”
“I’ll make it! I’ll go buy the ingredients tomorrow!” As Phil spoke, he looked like he just remembered something. “Actually, Ban shared a piece of advice back then…When I asked what the secret was to making good food, he said to ‘do the opposite of the Chief’s cooking.’ ”
“The Chief’s cooking?”
Yes, Phil affirmed.
“Our chief is absolutely horrible at cooking!” Ban had said, laughing.
“Do you know what he said when I asked him how he made his food taste so much like garbage?”
“Wh-What?”
“It’s what happens if you disregard the diner’s feelings and make only what you want to make! So, to make delicious food, you do the opposite, got it?”
“Maybe, unknowingly, I was only making what I wanted to make. I chose my flavors to avoid being ridiculed as a country chef, but I was only pleasing myself…Ah, um, so…” Phil looked at Margaret. “From the beginning, I should have asked you what you wanted to eat, or how you were feeling today.”
“Well, really…I’m sorry I made you so self-conscious.”
Grace stepped in between Margaret, who frowned apologetically, and Phil, whose face had clouded over considerably. “That’s right! It’s almost Her Highness’ birthday, isn’t it? Why don’t we make that meal for her birthday dinner?”
Phil’s eyes shone. “Wh-What? When is it?!”
“July 7th!”
Phil and Grace eagerly nodded to each other and looked ready to hold hands as well. Margaret beamed at them with gratitude and cast another glance at the puzzle she held in her hands.
So the Seven Deadly Sins had been here. The puzzle had been next to a page that showed this castle and lake, and the hints were names of ingredients that were often used here. And they’d gone into a meal that one of the Sins had made.
It also had our names, father’s magical power, and Zaratras, so I thought one of the capital’s Holy Knights or a castle retainer had made it…
If it was the work of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, however, the sentence written at the bottom of the puzzle: “The one who solves it all shall kiss the witch and gain an invitation to the banquet”…
Kiss—the witch?
The witch among the Seven Deadly Sins could only be the Boar’s Sin of Gluttony, Merlin.
Merlin…M-E-R-L-I-N…
“Oh…” Margaret realized. Right around the middle of the puzzle, if she diagonally followed the “M” that started her own name, it spelled M-E-R-L-I-N.
“……”
Margaret gently pressed her lips over the name.
Then—
“Ah!”
Suddenly, the puzzle began to sparkle. Margaret, and of course Grace and Phil beside her, were stunned. The three of them stared at the shining puzzle.
“Aie!”
A bunch of letters she’d inscribed in the puzzle jumped out, glittering gold. They swirled and danced in the air before finally lining up to form a sentence.
“ ‘GO TO THE BASEMENT’?”
At that moment, beneath their feet—
Thunk…It sounded like something large had moved.
5
When they followed the message and headed to the aged castle’s basement, a small room that was being used to store food, they discovered a passage had opened in the stone wall in the back. At the end of the stairs that continued from there was a large secret chamber.
“Wow…amazing…” Phil, who carried a lantern and stepped in first, blurted out in wonder. The chamber was twenty feet long and wide, and the ceiling stood over ten feet tall. A large window hollowed out in one of the walls was inlaid with vivid stained glass. It seemed strange that a basement room should have a window, but apparently it opened to the island’s cliff and must have been invisible from the outside due to some kind of magic. The stained glass was a geometric pattern made up of a combination of several colored glass squares about four inches on each side. The rainbow light that shone through it cast the same design upon the stone floor.
“How beautiful…”
In the center of the room was a wooden table that should have been too large to bring down here. A white earthenware tea set for five was laid upside down on a beautifully textured wooden tray. The chamber hadn’t been visited in so long that a layer of dust coated everything, but there were no strange odors.
“This stained glass design…is the same as that puzzle, isn’t it?” Grace said while gently touching the glass.
“Ah…you’re right.” Margaret turned toward the window and held up the puzzle. Sure enough, it was exactly the same.
“The invitation to the banquet—I wonder if it was the right to enter this room?”
“Perhaps the Deadly Sins held banquets here.” Margaret smiled.
“That’s it! How about we have our banquet here as well?” It was Phil who said this. “A banquet for Her Highness’ birthday. Please have your feast here.”
“Lovely!” Grace clapped her hands and hopped. “I’ll put some fight into cleaning this room! I’ll have Er
ica and Agatha help as well and have this place sparkling!”
Phil and Grace were looking at each other again and nodding.
Seeing the two of them like that, Margaret pulled up the hem of her dress and gave a lady’s curtsy.
“Really—thank you. I’ll look forward to it.”
“No, Your Highness, it’s nothing!”
As the two of them gaped in humble surprise, the princess smiled at them with all of her heart.
Chapter Six
The Fate Altered by the Giant
—from Diane
Rain continued to fall.
The weather in Britannia at the beginning of spring was unstable, so rain itself was not rare.
But a rain so violent, and that continued for so long, was very unusual. It had already been several days. The showers became stronger each day and showed no signs of stopping whatsoever.
Yet another day had passed since Diane became confined to that place. For the woman, who was part of the giant clan, it was difficult to find somewhere her large body could escape the rain. After wandering among the mountains, she crouched in the shadow of a huge rock she’d finally found, holding her knees.
“Chief…I wonder how he’s doing.”
Diane didn’t really know what had happened. She’d been summoned by Zaratras, the Captain of the Holy Knights, regarding some kind of grave matter, only to find him stabbed to death. What’s more, before she knew it, she found herself surrounded by the kingdom’s Holy Knights.
If she and the others tried in earnest, then destroying the capital might have been easy, but they couldn’t possibly do that. At that moment, all they could do was split up and run.
We were supposed to rendezvous later, but as for where and how…we didn’t decide a thing…
Diane’s large frame was easy to spot, and news of her sightings seemed to circulate immediately. How many Holy Knights had she battled until she found that rock? From the information she gathered in those moments, it seemed that Zaratras’ younger brother, Dreyfus, and Hendrickson had taken command. Were they the masterminds? She didn’t know.
The only thing she did know was that they, the Seven Deadly Sins, had been set up by somebody. As to who—she no longer cared, figuring that it was just the way humans were.
“I don’t care anymore…” Her stomach was empty and she was drowsy. She had a feeling that some time long ago, she’d held her knees in the shadow of a boulder, alone like this. As to when, though, she couldn’t remember.
The rain continued to hammer down upon the boulder. She could hear the rumbling noise of rushing water from somewhere. She remembered that there was a creek not far from where she sat. It had to be the sound’s source.
But—somehow, it’s a little strange…
It was too ferocious for a stream, and occasionally she even felt tremors in the earth. Diane reluctantly left the shelter of the boulder for the rain and began walking through the forest.
Oh!
Peering through the shadows, she swallowed her breath. The sheer volume of it was incredible. The muddy flow swallowed up huge boulders, snapped trees at the roots, and rushed downstream in a powerful torrent.
Actually, wasn’t there a human village downstream?
She’d caught a glimpse of it the day before in passing. If a current of such strength reached that settlement, it would be gone in a moment.
Did everyone escape already?
It’s been raining for so many days…They must have run away long ago…
Still—some people might have missed their chance.
Diane shook her head emphatically.
“Nothing to do with me.”
All humans were selfish and cunning and only thought about using others. Yes, they were always like that. Always.
“…”
Diane dropped her gaze to the ground.
But maybe, that village—is the one we passed through a few years ago on a mission.
All of the Seven Deadly Sins had stayed in an old castle on a lake farther downstream. But Diane the giant, unable to enter, had slept alone on the bank. At that time, a few mischievous children had come all the way from a nearby village to see the giant. Hiding timidly, but with twinkling eyes, they had peered up at Diane.
“It doesn’t matter, really.” Diane clenched her teeth.
Then slowly, she knelt and pushed both her palms against the ground.
“Why am I doing this?”
Magical power surged from her body. It was swallowed by the earth. Before long, off in the distance, she heard intense tremors.
1
“See? We’re starting to see it,” Griamore said, pulling his horse toward the carriage. Elizabeth’s head poked out from a window.
“Really? Where?”
“Ellie! Don’t stand, it’s dangerous!” Veronica’s voice came from inside, but Elizabeth wouldn’t listen. She leaned out until her shoulders were nearly outside as well.
“You don’t need to do that, you’ll see it clearly if we go a little further—see?”
The carriage slowly rounded a bend in the mountain road. Before long, a large lake stretched before them.
“Wow!”
“There. You see it, yes? Near the shore on our side, on that island, is the royal villa.”
It was just as Griamore said. On the lake’s placid, glimmering surface, which reflected the mountains on the opposite shore, floated a small island, upon which stood a cozy little castle.
“That’s where sister is!”
“Ellie, it’s dangerous so sit! We’re almost there!”
Rebuked by Veronica, Elizabeth’s face finally withdrew from the window.
“Is it true that I visited once before as a baby?” Just her voice was audible through the window as she spoke to Veronica.
“It seems so. I was still young, too, and don’t remember anything,” Veronica replied. Hearing that, Griamore called to Gilthunder, who rode a little ahead of him.
“Do you remember, Gil? We went there as well, years ago—were we about six?”
“Who knows? Were we?” Gilthunder answered curtly.
“I don’t recall much of it either, but I think we played hide and seek in the courtyard. Looking at that castle now, I feel like I’m starting to remember.” Griamore narrowed his eyes and urged his horse forward to line up beside Gilthunder. “Hey, are you really not going to stop by the castle? Princess Margaret is there, isn’t she?”
“I’m not,” Gilthunder said without looking over. “You’re more than capable of dropping Veronica and Elizabeth off at the castle on your own.”
“Yup, yup. Let’s go on ahead. I’m burning to test it.” Howzer, who was walking his horse in front of the carriage, loosened his reins slightly to approach them. He was carrying a long spear under his arm. He badly wanted to try out the new weapon he had received from Dreyfus, the Holy Knight Captain.
“You there, keep the chattering in moderation,” Holy Knight Nicholas called out from the other side of the two horses pulling the carriage. Y-Yes, responded the three apprentices, who were childhood friends, before quickly separating their horses.
Their destination was not the royal family’s villa up ahead but a small village farther north.
Werewolves had appeared near the village, which was called Isula, and killed several inhabitants. The report had reached the capital only recently.
It was decided that Nicholas would investigate the state of affairs, and the apprentices were ordered to accompany him. Hearing that Isula was in the same direction as the royal villa, Veronica demanded that she be brought along and ended up following in a carriage.
Before long, the party saw a forked road ahead of them. The path on the left swerved from the mountains and headed down toward the lake. The path on the right continued on, toward the village of Isula.
“Well then, I’ll escort Princesses Veronica and Elizabeth to the villa.” Griamore stopped his horse and raised a hand toward Nicholas and the others as the carriag
e turned its nose to the left and began to clatter down the hill.
“Ah, send Princess Margaret my best regards. Take care.”
“Yes, sir. After I say hello, I’ll catch up to you!”
Watching Griamore follow after the carriage, Gilthunder halted his horse for just a moment.
Past the brush-laden, untamed hills was the lake’s sparkling surface. The bright summer sun shone high in the heavens. From where Gilthunder stood, the island and castle floating on the shining mirror of a lake appeared as silhouettes, with only the shapes of the two towers and the keep’s roof in distinct relief. Neither the windows nor the yard was visible.
Margaret was there.
Gilthunder gazed at the silhouette wistfully. Even those few seconds of reflection were interrupted by the ringing caw of a raven from above. Gilthunder quietly spurred his horse and caught up with Howzer and the others.
2
“Hmm…so this is the first time a werewolf has attacked humans?” Nicholas stooped uncomfortably to ask the elderly man, who stood only half as tall as the Holy Knight.
“That is so. Originally, up until about three years ago, this area wasn’t even connected to the mountains where the werewolves live. Yes, that was right after the news spread of the Seven Deadly Sins’ mutiny.” The elderly man, who was the village mayor, stretched up to point at the distant mountains. “That year, there were torrential rains in these parts, and this village was almost swallowed by the rising stream. At the last moment, however, the flow shifted.”
“The flow shifted?”
“Indeed. West of the village, you saw a large difference in elevation, did you not? Now it is a garden, but the stream flowed there before. A mountain upstream collapsed, and the terrain transformed—”
The village of Isula was a small settlement of houses dotting a narrow bit of flat land between the mountains. The villagers grew vegetables in tiny plots and kept goats and sheep in the hills. It seemed there were also people who hunted.
“I see. So the stream’s course twisted further away. You narrowly escaped death.”
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