by CHIROLU
1: Sequel: The Golden King and the Platinum Princess
The sunlight shone down, causing the polished blade to sparkle. The razor-sharp sword had taken countless lives and bathed in a sea of blood, but not even a single smudge tarnished its length. As it sliced through the air, streaks of light trailed in its wake.
It was a truly a deadly weapon, with even a glancing blow from it proving fatal, but it was also terrifyingly beautiful.
The incredibly sharp blade cut unerringly through the very air itself. It arced with all the elegance of a gifted dancer, an impression likely aided by the good looks of the man wielding the brilliant red long sword. His ice blue eyes were fixed straight ahead in a chilling gaze, biting just as keenly as his weapon. Even as he mixed in slight movements of his eyes as feints, the swings of his sword displayed not a hint of hesitation.
That all too dangerous sword dance was entirely directed at a single opponent. And though the blade came from every direction imaginable, that foe dodged every swing without any trouble at all. The man even switched up the tempo on his swings ever so slightly as to throw off his opponent, but he wasn’t able to scratch so much as a single hair.
It may not have been a match to the death, but it was far too dangerous to be called just training... and it had spectators.
“Super mad.”
“Do you mean ‘very angry,’ Vint?”
“Yeah.”
The spectators, one girl and one beast, shared that rather mundane exchange in quite relaxed tones.
Having offered his brief acknowledgment, the pup then started wagging his tail and continued, “That’s super mad huff.”
“Huff?”
“More super mad.”
“Hmm... So even angrier than just ‘very angry’?”
“Yeah.”
They may have been in the familiar backyard of the Dancing Ocelot, but Latina and Vint seemed like they were completely unconcerned with the spectacle unfolding before them. Still, while the aloof pup may be a different matter, it would probably be a bit harsh to scold Latina about that.
“Cut it out already!”
Though he’d been constantly dodging that relentless longsword, Dale still had time to whine, showing that he wasn’t exactly being pushed to his limits.
Latina didn’t have any real combat experience to begin with, and the swordsmanship unfolding before her was of an insanely high level, so it was completely beyond her comprehension, as if existing in a different world entirely. Plus it was all just so perfectly performed that she couldn’t really sense any danger about it, either. And that was only reinforced by the fact that Dale had become an extraordinary demon, raising his physical abilities to such a degree that even such first-rate swordsmanship didn’t seem to cause him any significant trouble.
It was then that another calm voice spoke up from behind Latina.
“To think that he would show such anger. Very well, by all means, continue.”
“I think that you’re probably the reason Sir Gregor is angry, Chrysos. And hearing you say that makes me upset, too.”
“Mad?”
“Yes, mad.”
Perhaps due to the vocabulary being used, it was hard to detect even a bit of actual anger from that exchange.
The voice from before was that of Chrysos, who had just emerged from the Ocelot’s kitchen in quite a good mood.
In her own attempt to make her feelings clear, Latina fixed a firm gaze on her sister. Before long, though, her attention drifted back towards the spectacle in front of her.
Then, all of a sudden, Latina leapt to her feet and ran into the kitchen, as if she’d remembered something. However, she wasn’t gone for long.
With a small metallic clink, the sparkling silver blade was returned to its crimson scabbard. Perhaps as an indication of the man’s extreme mastery of such combat skills, even sheathing his blade was an act of beauty.
“...It really does feel better, getting a proper workout,” said Gregor to his friend, after sheathing his weapon.
“You’re certainly looking refreshed...” Dale replied, breathing heavily but looking far from spent.
It was then that Latina came running up to the pair and offered the heavily sweating Gregor a freshly washed hand towel.
“I really am sorry for all the trouble, Sir Gregor,” Latina said with a bow of her head, because she knew that her elder sister was the initial cause of all of this.
Then, she held out a glass of cold water on top of a tray for him.
“There’s no need for you to apologize. Dale’s, well... he’s Dale,” Gregor said with a strained smile after indulging in Latina’s kindness and quenching his thirst by downing the glass in a single go. It was a pretty awful way to talk about his friend, but considering the trouble the man was always causing him, it was entirely reasonable. After all, that was just the way things were.
“I tried to stop her, but well, Chrysos said she wanted to come visit since she was coming this way anyway...”
Latina was talking about the fact that just the other day, a group of envoys from Vassilios had arrived in Kreuz.
Gregor was in charge of protecting the camp that acted as the midpoint between Laband and Vassilios, but the guard for a group of envoys including the ruler of a nation couldn’t just be left up to low-ranking soldiers. As such, Gregor left the camp to the adventurers and some of the soldiers, and took charge of protecting the envoys alongside his own troops.
Since it was on their way to the capital, the envoys were sure to stop in the town of Kreuz after passing through the forest that served as home to a great many magical beasts. So from Laband’s point of view, that made it the first place they would be welcoming the group from Vassilios into their nation.
Since Kreuz had a very open policy towards outsiders to begin with, there was a welcoming mood in the air in regards to the visit from the beautiful young ruler of Vassilios and her envoys. It was really no surprise that they would be given such an enthusiastic welcome.
And as that was going on, Dale and Latina went out to see the festivities along with Chrysos.
The regulars of the Dancing Ocelot included both guards charged with maintaining public order in Kreuz, as well as gatekeepers tasked with protecting the city walls.
“Looks like the advance party has arrived, and the envoys from Vassilios will make it here tomorrow. Plus there’s the location of the gates. We’ll have to ensure their path from the southern gate to the local lord’s manor is secure, so we’ll be real busy tomorrow.”
The captain of the guards let that slip with a grumble, largely because he felt a greater sense of duty towards letting someone who should be at the center of that group know these things than he did towards keeping such things under wraps. The girl in question, though, just nodded with a brief, “Yeah,” while spinning around a water jug she seemed to have taken a liking to.
The jug Chrysos was holding was full of water and fragments of vegetables that still retained their roots. It was questionable if they would ever reach a point of being edible, but it was still plenty enough to stimulate her curiosity, and she seemed to be quite fond of observing the roots steadily growing out as of late.
Meanwhile, Latina, who was seated next to her sister, tilted her head a bit.
“It’s true that the southern gate is closest to the forest, but still... They decided to enter from that direction, even though it’s a bit of a rough area?”
“It just doesn’t seem plausible to have them circle around to the east or north. There was an alternative plan to send them through the residences in the western
district, but now that their arrival is the talk of the town, we can’t simply ignore all the folks saying that they want to see the envoys.”
“I see... The people of Kreuz sure do love their festivities, and everyone seems to really be looking forward to it...”
“In that case, how about limiting traffic on the street in front of the place for today? It’ll have a big impact on the amount of customers we have coming and going, though...” Kenneth muttered, then shot his overly serious employee, that adorable waitress, a gentle smile. “That would mean the shop would be open but effectively not conducting business, right? Well, there’s no need to worry about the folks who are always hanging around, so it shouldn’t be a problem if you go out to see.”
“Wah...!”
Latina brought both of her hands up to her cheeks, seemingly shocked to find that her inner desire to go out and see the sights had leaked out. She even went a little red with embarrassment.
Kenneth’s words prompted an apologetic look from Latina, but Chrysos was clearly full of enthusiasm. Her big golden eyes went wide, and she looked to be thinking about something.
“Hmm... Perhaps it would be better to have my countrymen come to this place rather than going out to see them.”
“But Chrysos, there are going to be a whole lot of people, so that would be dangerous...”
“A demon lord cannot be harmed by anyone but a hero, so there should be no issue.”
“That’s not what I meant...”
“Latina, even if we didn’t go, I’m sure Chrysos would head out on her own. You’ve got to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t wander off and get lost in the crowd,” Dale chimed in, making a face that clearly showed he had already given up. But it was better for his mental health this way, rather than risking something happening where he couldn’t see.
In addition, Dale claimed that he wouldn’t lose sight of Latina, no matter how crowded it got. It was hard to tell if that was a power granted to him by the name engraved on his left hand as her retainer, or simply a matter of his own unique skills.
“Well then...”
Latina was a very curious girl by nature, so there was no way that she wasn’t interested seeing the town in this sort of festival mood.
“Plus, we’ll have to give Adelina’s group a break during that time, right?” Dale said, looking over at a group of three girls completely collapsed on a table. The girls had been run ragged watching over a free-spirited demon lord, possessed of both nimble footwork and an utter unpredictability when she wasn’t at either the Ocelot or the manor. It was difficult to imagine the results of releasing her into such a large crowd of people. But though it was hard to say just what Chrysos would do, the toll watching over her had taken on Adelina’s group was readily apparent.
Latina certainly seemed to be in agreement, giving Dale a troubled smile as a response.
“Me too, Sis!”
“I’d really prefer not to pile on even more baggage for me to look after...”
“As his parent, I won’t ask you to go through all that trouble. Don’t worry about Theo.”
“I don’t want Dale. I want to be together with Sis!” the young son of the store’s owners bluntly stated, but unfortunately neither his father nor Dale paid him any heed.
Then, two days later, just as they had been informed, the envoys from Vassilios safely arrived in Kreuz.
A group of Labandese soldiers led the procession down the street after passing through the southern gate. And the throngs of people were neatly parted to either side of the road. The path from the southern gate to the lord’s manor in the central district was under strict watch by a great many guards and specially assigned adventurers, to such a degree that not even a stray kitten would go unnoticed.
The flag held by the soldiers leading the way displayed the coat of arms of the great noble Eldstedt clan. Behind them was the only member of the party on horseback, a young black haired swordsman. Catching a glimpse of the youth tasked with both leading and protecting the procession was also something that had drawn the crowd. After all, he was a champion who stood alongside the Platinum Hero, and was next in line to become duke.
As he sat atop his splendid black war horse with his chilly gaze fixed forward, the swordsman really did have the air of a champion about him. Still, there were some women amongst the crowd who couldn’t help but sigh upon seeing him, perhaps because they saw that the tales of his beauty in the epics sung by the bards were no exaggeration.
He was followed by the group of devil envoys, with their wonderful horns of all shapes and hues on clear display. The loose clothing they wore was of a sort not seen in the nation of Laband. The decorations dangling from their horns and their necklaces made from a dazzling rainbow of gems and beads were a novel beauty to the people of Kreuz. As the two nations had no contact up until now despite being neighbors, the sight of these envoys from Vassilios was one of great curiosity for the townsfolk. The particularly quick-witted merchants from amongst the crowd were already planning out arrangements to start selling Vassilios-style accessories in the back of their minds. After all, if this friendly mood between the two countries continued to rise, such things were sure to become popular.
When they saw the elaborately crafted vehicle the devils were surrounding, excitement rushed through the crowd like a wave. After all, it was no mere carriage.
It was being pulled along not by horses, but by a scaled reptilian magical beast of a sort not seen in Laband. Its scales sparkled in the sunlight, changing color based on how the light struck them. And it seemed to have no problem at all dragging along the vehicles affixed to it. It may have been traveling at a leisurely pace, but you could sense its strength simply from the way it moved.
The magical beast alone would have been enough to draw the eye, but the vehicle itself was truly splendid, too. It gave the impression of a massive jewel case, with minute decorations adorning the chassis alongside the countless gemstones.
It was clearly a vehicle meant for nobility, having the air of a work of art about it.
One person sighed at the sight of the elaborate decorations, while another’s thoughts ran wild at the thought of the young, beautiful ruler riding inside.
“Well, they are using it to carry their luggage,” Chrysos threw out there without even a hint of hesitation.
“At least have your double ride in it!”
Normally, Chrysos should have been the one at the very core of this procession. And yet here she was amongst the crowd, standing next to her sister and holding fruit juice and a skewer she had bought from a stall.
“Ah, this skewer is delicious. It was seasoned with just the right amount of salt. And just what spices did they use, exactly...?”
For the time being, let’s put aside the fact that her sister was acting rather unconcerned, too.
“It would be possible to secure some degree of food locally, but transporting the supplies was crucial. It was a rational decision to make.”
It was hard to deny that, hearing it put so bluntly.
It was certainly pretty to look at, but that magical beast and carriage seemed pretty sturdy. Even ignoring its ability to transport a VIP, it must have also been capable of traveling along the still-undeveloped roads through the forest. Plus Chrysos, the one who was supposed to be riding in it, was already here, and if it would otherwise be empty, this was a more sensible thing to do.
Normally, it would be standard for the leader of a nation to have at least one vehicle of their own serving as a symbol of their authority. But in Vassilios it was different, as there was no need to ostentatiously flaunt one’s right to rule. The leader of the nation was the demon lord, who was selected by the gods. As the country of devils, Vassilios abided by the gods and the nation was also ruled from the shrine, making it a sort of religious state.
For that reason, the First Demon Lord’s authority was absolute, so there was no need for them to display it more than was absolutely necessary. That was why C
hrysos didn’t think anything of riding in a mere wagon despite possessing such an extravagant vehicle.
After thinking things through from that angle, Dale too was satisfied.
“Well, first impressions are important. Based on advice from Rose and Sylvia, I had a vehicle that might be popular over here repaired. Though the reaction is even greater than I had expected.”
“I feel like you don’t see things that flashy in Vassilios very often though, right...?” Latina asked, tilting her head.
“That is certainly true,” Chrysos immediately agreed. By nature, the people of Vassilios weren’t fond of elaborate furnishings or gaudy baubles.
“It was a hobby of the previous demon lord... Or I should say, of his favorite mistress. He had many such things built in order to attract her attention. Though it was damaged, it had been preserved in the recesses of the shrine, since it could someday serve some use. Well, it seems to have served as a perfect example of a ‘local specialty’ of my nation.”
Vassilios had a harsh climate and was unsuited for farming, but it was blessed with abundant resources beneath the earth. The vehicle was really doing a good job of advertising that fact through the gems adorning it, as well as the decorative skills possessed by the nation.
“Did you prepare any gifts to present to Laband or anything...?”
“This visit is ultimately just the preliminary stages of negotiations. Once we have officially established diplomacy between our nations, I shall prepare such things,” Chrysos responded to Dale. “Well, I shall prepare at least the minimum, at least, if such a thing is only natural.”
“Well it’s not like you’re becoming a vassal state or something, so I guess it’s pretty tricky to figure out how far to go with it, huh?”
“The differences in values between our two nations also makes deciding such matters quite complicated.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
Dale and Chrysos chatted away in the middle of the crowd over a topic that would be hard to call mere idle gossip. It was then that Latina butted in, her voice trembling.
“Dale... I think I just locked eyes with Sir Gregor. Was I just imagining it, maybe...?”