by Takehaya
The night grew late almost in the blink of an eye. The band was now paused in order to prepare for the last dance.
“Layous-sama...”
After stopping when the music did, Alaia anxiously looked up at Koutarou while still holding his hands. From the surprising strength of her grip, Koutarou could guess at the unease in her heart.
“What is the matter, Princess Alaia?”
Koutarou stared straight at Alaia and whispered to her. Relieved by the sound of his voice, Alaia’s expression slightly eased up.
“Layous-sama, I... am at a loss.”
She spoke of a worry that she had kept secret.
“What is it that troubles you? If you tell me, I might be able to help.”
“Thank you, Layous-sama.”
Alaia smiled and thanked Koutarou before quickly returning to a serious expression.
“I am hesitant that if we continue this travel and safely reach Pardomshiha territory... is starting a war really the right thing to do?”
“You’re hesitant... Why is that?”
In response to Koutarou’s question, Alaia casually glanced around her.
“Layous-sama, look at our surroundings. Even though the emperor has died, the citizens’ lives haven’t changed. The people in the villages can still smile. But if I start a war to defeat Maxfern, it will come at the cost of those smiles.”
Alaia was worried about the chaos a civil war would spread through the country. If she raised a new army to fight against the old Forthorthian army now under Maxfern’s control, it would tear the country apart. Alaia was at a loss, unsure as to whether or not there was any meaning in sacrificing the peaceful daily lives of the citizens to defeat Maxfern.
That said, it wasn’t a worry she could openly confess to her friends. It was obvious that if she consulted with Flair who was very loyal to the royal families, her response would be that Maxfern should be defeated. If she asked her best friend Fauna who was a servant of the Goddess of Dawn, her response would be that justice should be served. As such, this was a problem she’d been wrestling with all alone until Koutarou appeared.
“But Your Highness, Maxfern is a criminal.”
Although Koutarou hadn’t said it out loud, Maxfern had murdered Alaia and Charl’s parents, the emperor and empress. Koutarou wanted to know what she thought about that.
“I know. But if he can establish a good government, I won’t mind. What’s important isn’t my pride, but the lives of the citizens. Isn’t that right, Lord Layous Fatra Veltlion?”
Alaia gritted her teeth. While she meant what she said, it was still painful for her.
“Your Highness...”
She’s trying to ensure the happiness of the citizens, even if she’s denied justice for the death of her parents...
Hearing Alaia’s determination, Koutarou felt humbled. Alaia must have hated Maxfern for killing her parents. And she must have felt that Maxfern should be punished for using a cowardly method such as assassination to take over the country. But more than all that, what she really wanted was to protect the everyday lives of her people, even if they wouldn’t be her people anymore. To Koutarou, Alaia was as noble and as beautiful as she could be. So much so that he hesitated to even speak.
“I will say this much, Princess, knowing that it is disrespectful.”
Koutarou had to tell Alaia to strike down Maxfern. If he didn’t, the history of this world would greatly change, and he would without a doubt be unable to return to his own world. This was a much more serious matter than preventing the poisoning of a water source.
“It’s as you say, Your Highness. There is nothing more important than protecting the lives of the citizens.”
But even knowing that, Koutarou told Alaia that she was right to feel as she did. Alaia’s love for the citizens and her heart trying to give up its hate for Maxfern and Grevanas kept him from saying anything else.
“Layous-sama...”
Alaia’s eyes began tearing up. She had believed that she was right to feel the way she did, but even then, she wanted to hear it from someone. That she was right. That what she was doing wasn’t out of self-righteousness. That it wasn’t because she was afraid of fighting. So when Koutarou agreed with her, her heart trembled. She was overcome with joy that someone had granted her wish.
“Certainly... if you were to say that in the imperial court, you might be imprisoned...”
Alaia wiped her tears away, but it was no use. Her tears kept flowing no matter how many times she wiped her eyes. They glimmered orange in the light of the festival bonfires.
“Your Highness, to a model knight, his sword is everything. Yet even if that sword were to break, so long as the oath sworn upon it remains unbroken, then the sword is still considered unbroken too. In fact, if a knight can uphold their oath despite their sword breaking, they should take pride in that.”
For a model knight, his sword was his soul. But that was only because the sword was emblematic of the vow sworn upon it. That was really what was important.
Isn’t that right, Theia?
A girl with golden hair had taught Koutarou that. And in order to adhere to those teachings, that was the only answer he could give Alaia now.
“The oath of my parents... My oath too is to protect the lives of the citizens.”
“And even though they may be gone now—”
“As long as the citizens are happy, it will be like they’re still here. And I will take pride in that they lived according to their oath...”
“Yes. It’s just as you say, Your Highness.”
Koutarou nodded firmly at Alaia. He no longer had any hesitation.
This truly is the Silver Princess. But that’s why...!
Koutarou firmly made up his mind. Though he might have been overstepping his place as the Blue Knight’s substitute, he was determined to protect Alaia no matter what. That might have been the moment when Koutarou swore allegiance to Alaia out of his own free will.
“Please rest easy, Your Highness. No matter what you decide, I will definitely protect you.”
“Depending on the circumstances, I may no longer be a princess. I might become just a powerless little girl.”
Alaia wiped away more tears and smiled. She was trying to say that she wouldn’t mind even if he abandoned her.
“Even if you become a normal girl by adhering to your oath, you will forever be my highly esteemed lord.”
Even then, Koutarou’s answer didn’t change. The girl who had taught Koutarou the way of the knight would never forgive him if he abandoned Alaia.
“Thank you, Layous-sama... I will take pride in those words for the rest of my life...”
Alaia pressed her face into Koutarou’s shoulder as her own shoulders began trembling. Koutarou thought that she was crying, but the band had just started playing again and he couldn’t hear her to tell for sure.
Koutarou and Alaia then spent some time just standing there as they were, Alaia with her face buried in Koutarou’s shoulder. Koutarou simply held her hands and looked up into the starry sky above.
Sorry, everyone... It doesn’t look like I’ll be coming back...
As he stared up into the night sky, he apologized to everyone he knew would be waiting for him back home.
When the last song of the night reached its midway point, Alaia finally lifted her head and looked up at Koutarou.
“Layous-sama, you really are different...”
As she said that, Alaia’s eyes revealed more emotion than ever before. They conveyed feelings of deep trust and affection. It was at that moment that Alaia began realizing that she was in love with Koutarou.
“I was born in the country, so I am aware that my dancing is bad.”
“Heehee, no, that’s not what I meant, Layous-sama.”
Alaia smiled again, but this time it was a defenseless smile that she had only ever shown her parents and Charl before. Koutarou felt like his heart had been pierced when he saw it.
“You are with
out a doubt a Forthorthian knight. But something about your heart is different. Without losing your mysterious kindness, you are still a strong and proud knight.”
“That’s...”
That was probably because Koutarou had been born into a country that had never known war in his lifetime. He had the gentle kind of heart Alaia desired. But that heart was naive in the ways of war, and that was a fatal weakness on the battlefield. Koutarou, however, had been given extraordinary power. He had the armor that Theia had given him and the gauntlet he had borrowed from Kiriha. He had been able to survive with those. And it was with his naive heart that he stood before Alaia now. Through a series of coincidences, the boy named Satomi Koutarou was able to meet Alaia without changing.
“I am envious of the person you truly serve. Just how did they make someone like you into a knight?”
“Well, at first they tried to kill me.”
“My... Then that truly would be impossible for me, heehee...”
Eventually they began moving to the music once more. More than half of the last song was already over, so there wasn’t much time left to dance. But dance they did, and all who beheld them that night were treated to a wonderful sight that they would never forget.
The Beginning of the Legend
The village’s harvest festival spanned the course of three days. As today was now the second day, people had gotten up in the early morning to prepare for it.
“Zzzzz... Zzzzz... Zzzzz...”
Koutarou was not one of them. He was such a heavy sleeper, in fact, that he continued to snooze despite his bustling surroundings.
“Wake up, Veltlion! Hurry and wake up, you!”
“Ow! What are you doing, Theia?!”
However, after taking a powerful blow square to the chin, not even Koutarou could remain asleep. He came to, instinctively snapping at the usual culprit for such a thing.
“I am not Theiamillis-san! It’s me, Clariossa! Hurry up and open your eyes!”
“Hmm? H-Huh...?”
Counter to his sleepy expectations, the person he saw in front of him wasn’t Theia. It was a girl wearing glasses.
“Keep it together! This is an emergency!”
“Emergency...?”
Koutarou was still in a daze, but seeing Clan’s serious expression and hearing the desperation in her voice woke him up completely.
“Clan...?”
“That’s right, Veltlion! Something terrible has happened!”
“Something terrible?”
Now that he had his wits about them, Koutarou remembered the situation they were in, and the significance of Clan using the word “emergency” finally sank in.
“What is it, Clan? What happened?!”
Seeing Koutarou come to his senses, Clan felt a little relieved, but she continued talking at the same rapid pace.
“It’s terrible! The people are collapsing all over the place!”
“What?!”
“They’re all in pain and have high fevers!”
“You don’t mean...?!”
“That’s right! Minister Maxfern has already poisoned the water source!”
Any remaining desire Koutarou had to sleep vanished thanks to Clan’s report. She explained that the first ones to come down with symptoms were the elderly and infants. Because of their low tolerances, their conditions grew worse over the course of the night and they developed high fevers and chills. Though the village doctors and priests were taking care of them, the number of patients just kept increasing. By the time the sun rose, normal, healthy adults were coming down with the same symptoms. People were getting sick one after another, and eventually even the doctors and priests took ill. When Koutarou woke up, patients were lying all over the village. By then, the large majority of the villagers had come down with the same thing.
The poison that was plaguing the village wasn’t reacting to any kind of treatment. No antidote, medicine, or even spiritual energy technique would work. No one who had displayed symptoms had yet recovered on their own either. Everyone was still suffering.
Alaia and the others had begun showing the same symptoms too. The first one to collapse was the young Charl. By dawn she had developed a high fever and was in pain, and after her were Alaia and Fauna. Even Flair who had bravely resisted the symptoms was laid down on a bed just moments ago.
But fortunately, neither Clan nor Koutarou seemed much affected. Koutarou showed no sign of any symptoms at all, while Clan was only running a low-grade fever. As such, the two of them were taking care of Alaia and the others.
With a staff in his hand, Koutarou approached one of the beds.
“Caris, I have something I want to ask you.”
“...Huh?”
Lying in that bed was the magician Caris. When she began suffering from the fever, they’d unbound her and put her in bed to rest. And the staff in Koutarou’s hand was the one they’d confiscated from her when she was first captured. It worked as a way to amplify Caris’s magic when she cast spells.
“I’ll free you and give you back your staff. In return, can you try removing the poison with your magic?”
Koutarou was willing to release Caris and return her staff if she would attempt to use her powers to help those who had fallen ill. It was that kind of deal. Normally freeing an enemy spy like Caris would be unthinkable, but things were getting desperate. The village was overflowing with patients and cases had started turning fatal.
“You... want me to heal people...?”
“Yeah, it’s not a bad deal for you. You’ll need to treat yourself too after all.”
Caris was meekly staring up at Koutarou. Her face was getting red, and it was obvious that she was suffering from fever and chills herself. Koutarou looked almost as if he were praying as he stared at Caris.
“...I understand. I’ll give it a try...”
Seeing the earnestness in his eyes, Caris accepted his offer.
“You will?!”
“Yeah...”
He sounds like he’s telling the truth...
Caris nodded and pulled herself up. Koutarou hurriedly rushed over and supported her.
“Then please get to it right away. You can start on yourself.”
“I understand.”
While helping Caris sit up, Koutarou handed her the staff. She took it from him and held it in both hands. She then closed her eyes to focus.
“...Blue Knight, support me like this for a while...”
“Leave it to me.”
She put the tip of the staff to her forehead and slowly began reciting an incantation.
“Gather, spirits of life. Come together and nourish, like a wide river enriching the earth. Pour that rich power into my body, fill my weakening life, and dispel this wicked malady.”
Caris was speaking in the language that was used for ceremonies in Forthorthe during this time period. The complex grammar and expressions guided the mana within her and in her surroundings to focus into her staff. The gathered mana made the staff shine blue so clearly that even Koutarou could tell it was working.
Wow, so this is real magic...!
It wasn’t the first time Koutarou had seen Caris use magic, but it was his first time seeing her use it right in front of him with her staff. He was rapt as he watched this mysterious spectacle unfold before his very eyes.
“Life to life, death to death. Divide the coming shore and correct my fate!”
When Caris finished her incantation, the blue light from her staff enveloped her body. It was a sign the spell had activated.
“Phew...”
Caris let out a heavy sigh. As she did, the blue light enveloping her body disappeared. Guessing that the spell was now complete, Koutarou, slightly excited, asked her about the results.
“So how did it go, Caris?”
However, in contrast to Koutarou’s enthusiasm, Caris regrettably shook her head.
“...Sadly, it didn’t work. I tried using the highest class of healing magic I know, but there’s no
change in my condition. It might not be a normal poison or disease...”
“I see...”
Koutarou’s shoulders drooped, and Caris’s body went limp in his arms. The staff fell out of her hands and onto the floor. After gently laying her back down on the bed, Koutarou put a wet rag on her forehead.
“You did well, Caris. Thank you. Now rest.”
“Yeah...”
Caris quickly closed her eyes.
“And when you can move, feel free to leave. I’ll let everyone know.”
“You’re a sincere man...”
“In return, just don’t do anything to anyone, okay?”
“I know... You really are a strange one...”
She said nothing more after that. She was either sleeping or was in too much pain to speak. Koutarou couldn’t tell, but he had no intention of forcing a girl in her condition to talk anymore either way. He left Caris and went to check on the other girls.
“The Blue Knight stole the antidote from the enemy and used it to treat the afflicted, but at this rate... people are actually going to die...”
Alaia, Charl, Fauna, Lidith, Flair... Counting Caris, there were six girls lying down on the beds in the room. They were all groaning from their high fevers and chills, and it was easy to tell what would happen if their conditions continued to get worse.
“Blue Knight...”
Realizing Koutarou was close by, Charl reached out with her hand. He quickly took it and was aghast at her high temperature.
“Princess Charl, don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Heh, I’m fine. This is nothing...”
Despite her fever, Charl grinned and giggled courageously. She was determined not to worry Koutarou. Koutarou saw right through her, however, and her bravery was almost enough to drive him to tears.
“I’ll be well soon, so when I am, play with me some more...”