As far as Simon Rodloom was concerned, Fedom, the Lord of Birac, showed no signs of a change of heart.

Despite the council having become a more nominal existence due to strengthening of the Imperial household’s authority, Simon was still a leading aristocrat. He grasped the movements of the other n.o.bles to some extent, their principles and claims, and also intended to understand their situation.

According to Simon’s insights, Fedom was clearly one of the anti-imperial faction.

He had persuaded the emperor, who actually wanted to continue the war with Garbera, and as the leader of the group promoting the peace negotiations, he had built up support for himself amongst the Imperial Court. Although his skills as a leader, as well as his wisdom, were somewhat lacking, he was much better compared to the other group of corrupted n.o.bles.

However, that Fedom was definitely acting strange. Since last night’s party – no, ever since they headed out for Seirin Valley – he had for some reason been sticking close to Prince Gil, just like a wet nurse poking her nose into people’s business here and there.

Did he say he’d educate the prince, just to raise him into a puppet doing his will?

That thought pa.s.sed through his mind, but wasn’t it a little too late to take such actions now?

Incidentally, it was also related to the prince himself. As far as he knew, Prince Gil and Fedom should have hardly exchanged any words. When the prince hung around with his young friends, Simon had always heard him call the man ‘that manipulative wannabe swine’ behind his back.

How come he seemed to generously accept Fedom’s sudden intimacy or – even worse – seemed to rely on him?

Aside from making sure by meeting with the prince in private, there was a lot of work left for Simon. A delegation from the Princ.i.p.ality of Ende had also rushed in for congratulations, although it was unusual that they decided to only a week ago. At first, there had also been talks of Ende and Garbera forming a bond by engaging royal partners, but it had probably been just one of the many things Ende and Garbera had in mind. Simon was pressed to welcome them.

But somewhere else,

“That ungrateful b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Orba!”

It was Tarkas, rudely snorting and prowling about in the room.

When he thought of the Mephian n.o.ble Fedom’s sudden visit, even if had been so abrupt, he wondered why the man had bought Orba without asking for consent.

“The one who raised him was me! s.h.i.+t, he was just about to earn his pay as a working swordsman, when of all things he had to be s.n.a.t.c.hed away by some n.o.ble…!”

“We do not understand it either, though.”

He had summoned s.h.i.+que, Gowen and Gilliam, his main swordsmen, at a private room inside the cliffs, established for Tarkas’s use. They were here because he had to change the pairings of the compet.i.tion due to Orba’s sudden departure.

“So why was it decided that Orba had to suddenly be pulled out? Although that kid may be a good swordsman, he was the so-called spearhead of the games to celebrate the wedding. If he simply wanted to purchase Orba for his abilities, I think they should’ve made him partic.i.p.ate in the fights.”

“I would also like to know – that s.h.i.+thead!” Tarkas said. “Even though he was bought by a n.o.ble, he could've at least offered himself up for the last battle as a favour. That son of a b.i.t.c.h!”

“Maybe it’s because we were supposed to kill each other. I’ll surely celebrate his new life, but I can’t get used to this feeling, and I’m bothered that he left without a single word.”

“Oh, Gilliam. Does even a man like you get lonely when one of his acquaintances leaves?”

“Shut it, s.h.i.+que! I just regret that I haven’t settled things with that guy!”

“Well, it can’t be helped that he isn’t here. Let’s consider making some exciting pairings,” Gowen said in order to calm everyone down.

Naturally, he also felt a bit strange lately.

He had no time to figure out what had happened. He had to take a look at the condition of the newcomers Tarkas had bought, and because this was different from the usual procedure, he also had to review every single swordsman.

However, something that faintly weighed on Gowen’s mind was whether Orba, who had been looking forward to a future even when his mind and body got beaten down, was now living in that very same future.

While people were busily moving about around him, former gladiator Orba seemed to have time to spare, being practically left on his own. Being tasked as a body double was fine, but he couldn’t talk unless Fedom whispered the words to him, like ventriloquism.

It’s strange...

These n.o.bles had s.n.a.t.c.hed away his brother to be a soldier. Not only had they abandoned their village but, of all things, the n.o.bility had aimed its blades at its own citizens and had taken Alice away, causing him to fall into a life of slavery and making him wear that mask.

It might be because of a whim of fate, but none other than one of those Mephian n.o.bles suddenly plucked Orba out of his life of slavery and ordered him to become a subst.i.tute for one of leading figures in the imperial family.

Theft, extortion and illegal gun trading – having lived off sipping water from the gutter, he couldn’t help but think he was a laughingstock for the crown prince. Although the fact that he still didn’t know what another day might bring was similar to being a slave.

However – being on the other side of those black plastered streets – perhaps now he could expect to find one spot, yes, just one spot of light. As the prince’s body double, he’d have the opportunity to come in contact with leading figures, other than Fedom of course. It wouldn’t be so strange to find the one who burned down his village – General Oubary – among them.

Although Orba had been hit on his head back then and had only seen him for a moment with a dazed glance, for all those two years he’d been a sword-slave, he hadn’t forgotten his face for even a day. Even now it vividly came back to him in his mind.

“Gil-sama.”

If we meet again.

I wonder what I should do then.

The boy swordsman, who had his mask removed, continued sinking in ceaseless thoughts. He would think of a way to give the guy the most miserable death possible, as long as it was conceivable in this world. Besides, if he was able to meet up with Oubary, he could trace back the lines to the time he got separated from Alice and his mother. Also, although he himself did not expect too much of it – for he couldn’t wish for the unimaginable over and over again and virtually hope for a miracle – if he found other people recruited as soldiers by Oubary, they might know something about his brother Roan’s whereabouts.

“Gil-sama, Prince. Prince Gil!”

“Eh?”

Being spoken to in such a firm voice, Orba looked to his side.

Princess Vileena was sitting at a distance not too far from him. She was in front of the altar, at the place where the valley was at its deepest, looking out over the area. Only Vileena and Orba were sitting in chairs, with a stalwart group of soldiers surrounding them, while at the front of the altar, priests were chanting hymns of prayer and blessing.

“What is it you’re thinking of?”

“Nothing,” Orba replied curtly.

It wasn’t possible for Fedom to be around him during the ceremony, so he’d told him to ‘say nothing’ in the meantime. Turning his face forward, he pretended to be concentrating on the ceremony.

“That’s a lie,” Vileena decided, also in a curt manner.

What…? A lie?

The timing was so excellent that Orba couldn’t ignore it, and he again gave the princess of the Kingdom of Garbera a glance.

She was again wearing a dress, but a different one from yesterday’s party, and she wore an informal tiara on her head. This close, it surprised him. Although she seemed like only a little girl the first time they met face to face, when she turned aside with a serious look every once in a while, she looked really mature.

He wondered if it was because of her clear-cut features, although Orba thought her face looked much like a doll’s. At the moment, except for being from a different birth, she seemed almost the same as...o...b... Only moving when told to, and only speaking when told to by someone else.

Indeed, when he thought about it, that was what this wedding was all about. Even though she was only fourteen years old, in contrast to her true wishes, she had to become the wife of a man she only first met yesterday, and was of a former enemy country to boot. Although he couldn’t get himself to feel sympathy for someone like her, who was born into a royal family, she seemed to have various hards.h.i.+ps of her own as well.

So, it’s the same for everyone.

He suddenly remembered that voice.

– n.o.body knows what kind of person he’ll be. Everybody longs for a world they don’t know, and pursue a meaning in life for which they’ve been born – even if he’s a priest, or royalty.

It was just like Roan said, Orba groaned deep inside.

“You really are lost in thought.”

When she once again spoke to him out of the blue, Orba impolitely replied with the words,

“So what?”

Vileena chuckled.

“For quite a while, I thought you had frightening eyes at times, but now you seem to smile, thinking of something pleasant. Please tell me, you who are about to become my husband – what is it that troubles you on such a fine day, and what on earth is this matter you can’t help but remember?”

The ceremony went on. They had grilled a dragon they just killed this morning, and while they scattered the bones across the base of the valley, the priests chanted their prayers. They called for the souls of the dragons that once ruled this planet to protect the country’s prosperity.

“Could it be that the Ryuujin, if they come back, may not necessarily give this place their blessings?”

Back when humankind landed on this planet, the dragons only roamed the fields and thought of nothing but filling their stomachs, in short, they had degenerated to being on the same level as beasts.

However, they excavated the ruins of enormous cities and artefacts of unknown purpose here and there on the planet, and there also seemed to be traces of a magical civilization that possibly used some form of ether[1]. Humankind was able to wield their first ‘magic’, Zodias, after a while, and this blessing of wisdom was said to have all been obtained from these dragons’ ruins. It was believed that the ancient dragons formed the intelligent body that once governed this planet, probably thousands of years before humankind ultimately arrived.

The custom to call those dragons of old ‘Dragon G.o.ds’ or ‘Ryuujin’ was particularly Mephian, and there was a time it had been the religious faith in all of the country. Although it was now a mere shadow of its former self, for important rituals like these, the priest who presided over the ceremony was selected and summoned from one of the tribes of nomads living in the area near the Mephian border, where the roots of the Ryuujin Faith lay.

“Like I said, it’s nothing.”

Again, Orba briefly ended the conversation.

He had received a brief explanation from the page, Dinn, concerning the history of the Ryuujin Faith, but naturally he didn’t feel too strongly about it. So, he wasn’t able to tell whether Vileena had been joking or not.

If the real prince’s and this girl’s relations grows awkward after this, I won’t be taking responsibility for it, Fedom-sama.

On the other hand, Vileena finally gave a sigh, getting lost in her own thoughts. For Garbera, the dragons having a civilization equal to or greater than that of the humans in the past was viewed upon as nothing more than a ‘dragon G.o.d’ legend. Therefore she could not experience this ceremony as something sacred. And although she had gotten carelessly and completely bored, when she glanced at the person next to her, Prince Gil – the one who would become her husband when this ceremony was finally over – she couldn’t help but be distracted. So, to slightly stave off her boredom, she tried to tease him a little. But, possibly revealing his ‘true character’, although she tried her best to look like a lady, the prince was genuinely blunt. Not only that, his brief way of talking really got on her nerves.

She wondered if it was because he was embarra.s.sed. During last night’s party, she hadn’t caught wind of his behaviour being resentful against women either. But when she thought he might be a bit like Ryucown, Vileena felt offended by herself. There was no way the bravest general of Garbera resembled someone who was rumoured to be a complete ‘r.e.t.a.r.d’ here in Mephius.

In any case, this is the same thing as war. To fool the enemy, I have to keep up the pace in this place.

Vileena maintained her smile, pretending not to be offended. It would be best if the prince fell madly in love with her. However, she didn't know whether it would work out that way if he already had some love affair with another girl. Anyway, it wouldn’t be a problem if she just kept smiling.

Grandfather also told me that he loved my smiling face above all. So in that case, I shouldn’t be mistaken.

The priests’ tedious prayers would be over soon, and then the sword-slave battles would finally take place.

It was said to be part of the ceremony that, when the dragon bones have turned to ash and are poured over the ground, the lifeblood of men is given. Nevertheless, what they did was hardly any different from your everyday gladiator battles. The only difference was that the introductory remarks were slightly more formal than usual. The arena, a levelled ground at the bottom of the valley with only some pillars staked into the earth, was even simpler than the usual.

There, the gladiators were standing in rows to the east and west sides. Orba recognized Tarkas, Gowen, and a lot of other faces he knew, and an unusually boyish smile appeared on his face.

I doubt those guys would even imagine I’m right here.

Although Tarkas was probably furious about him having left so suddenly, exactly because it happened so soon, it wouldn’t occur to him that he’d be looking down from such a high position.

Vileena, on the other hand, despite having been informed of this earlier, was looking on with gloomy thoughts about slaves having to kill each other hereafter. There was no slavery in Garbera, which was the main reason they spoke ill of Mephius as a country of barbarians.

Unsatisfied with the war, have they wilfully made a show of looking down on slaves and forcing them to kill each other?

When the divination was over, the first group of people stepped forward. The movements of the gladiators were somewhat awkward, but perhaps it was because of the unfamiliar environment up until the end of the first round, namely, until the loser was turned into a sprawled corpse on the ground.

In Garbera and Ende, with restrictions on slave companies active in the entertainment industry, there wasn’t an opportunity to see a gladiator fight. So, although the envoys had been prejudiced at first, and although it looked like they might have been enraged as the sound of clas.h.i.+ng swords ran about, before long, they ended up bending over the stands, clenching their fists tight, giving cheers along with the people of Mephius, and started giving their applause.

Vileena soon got sick of it. Then, thinking of His Lords.h.i.+p, she again peeked to her side. When she saw a huge, grinning smile on his face, Vileena again felt a renewed disappointment appear. No matter how she looked at it, he clearly enjoyed seeing them kill each other from the bottom of his heart. She had a.s.sumed that he would like it, but not to this extent.

Suddenly, she was no longer able to restrain her feelings. The once disdainful feelings for her partner had turned into emotional disgust. It all happened so sudden, and she herself was actually quite perplexed. She was again reminded of how she, until just now, had to constantly try to subdue her emotions. Even though she was the princess of a country who had said she would give priority to her own nation before herself, she was only fourteen years old.

I can’t, I can’t!

Vileena strongly clutched her fists in her lap.

This, too, is a battle. This, too, is a trial, Vileena. My body was given a push in the back and sent forward. I can’t let my spirit lose its strength like this.

s.h.i.+que stepped forward at the arena. The cheers concentrated on this unique gladiator, with a decadent white-painted face. Looking at his opponent, however… Orba raised his eyebrows.

He’s…

For some reason, it was one of the newcomers Tarkas had hired in his good mood. Taking s.h.i.+que’s skills into consideration, it was obvious this opponent wasn’t suitably matched. Even if he was able to liven up the battle, Tarkas had struck a bad deal. This would be over in an instant.

s.h.i.+que readied his trademark dual swords. Both were single-bladed swords of middle length. The newcomer nervously stood ready on the other side. This would be over within the blink of an eye – or so Orba thought at the time.

But while he thought this, he heard a loud rumbling through the ground, which practically shook violently under his feet. During that lapse in time, a dense cloud of dust swelled up on the other side of the arena.

Those soldiers who looked up at the dust, towards whatever it was, were the first to fall victim. Although they’d gathered around the arena carrying spears and guns, they also hadn’t expected such a sudden occurrence, and were crushed to death underneath a dragon’s forelegs. As soon as the clots of blood painted the ground bright red, a scaled dragon, tinged with slime here and there, emerged from the cloud of dust. The huge-shaped ma.s.s was basically stepping forward.

It was a large-type dragon, Sozos. Chains were supposed to be tied to its feet and naturally it should have also be locked up in a cage, but the dragon had become a freed creature, and even more of them appeared all at once.

“Wh-Whaahh!!”

One soldier, stunned by the death of his colleagues, fired his readied gun. The moment he removed his aim, a sharp claw about three times his height swung down on his body and he immediately splattered into a heap of flesh on the ground. Then the other soldiers who were near him, shrieked like women, dropped their guns, and started running away. Their screams and shouts began to sound much like the rumbling in the ground.

“W-What, what’s going on?”

“Why are the dragons on a rampage?”

A large number of people started bellowing at each other underneath their tents. The dragons that were to be used by the gladiators had broken through their cages and were rampaging about. There were some people who picked up swords and guns and headed for the guards, some who ran as fast as they could, and some who spread instructions to their subordinates – mixed in with a lot of other people.

Orba stood up from his chair. For a moment he couldn’t see s.h.i.+que’s figure from under the cover of the dust cloud. Then one of the gladiators, the one who was the next to go, got kicked hard by a Baian. And another, someone from the Tarkas Group who tried to recklessly lunge at their bellies, got trampled under a Sozos.

Then, he spotted a single, small silhouette among those dragons. It was Hou Ran. She was probably running around in tears trying to stop the dragons. There were several times when she barely escaped being kicked around by the dragons’ legs.

Lend me a gun.

Orba came close to shouting those words and taking a rifle from one of the guards. However, he was interrupted halfway as he suddenly he felt a sharp pain at a certain spot on his forehead.

“Ah!”

Guided by impulse and not by reason, Orba quickly concealed his body under the table. Something was flying overhead, high in the sky, at a great speed. Someone with the intent to kill. As it took form, he had a feeling that it was aiming for the ground.

A sniper!

Blended in with the sound of the dragon’s feet, the raised screams of the people, and the angry voices, was most definitely the sound of a rifle’s gunshot that rattled his eardrums.

In the blink of an eye, the arena down below was covered in a cloud of dust. Seeing the turmoil in front of her, which was much like a battlefield, Vileena jumped out of her seat.

Able to see the rampaging dragons and the many people falling victim to them, her eyes were reflexively trying to look for an airs.h.i.+p. If she could cut in from the sky, she might be able to draw the dragons’ attention. There certainly had to be an old-type scouting s.h.i.+p among the number of crafts in the Mephian defence force.

“Hey, you, don’t come any further!”

“How rude, out of all the people that came here, just who – wahh!”

A disturbance occurred among the guards who were standing in an organized line. It wasn’t because of the dragons’ disturbance. There was a man who was running away, aiming straight for them, and although two soldiers tried to hold him back, they were cut down in no time.

Who the—!?

She meant to speak, but a lump of saliva got caught in her throat. Getting a glimpse of the bloodied sword, she recognized him as the man that should have been fighting in the arena just now. The Garberan princess barely dodged a single blow swung down from the side. However, tripping over the hem of her long dress, she fell down.

The other guards, distracted by the rampaging dragons, were moving about all over the place. Vileena nimbly rolled over on the ground and s.n.a.t.c.hed a gun from the waist of a soldier who’d been cut down. Sparks jumped out before her. The steel blade had dug into the ground but, within a short interval, he swung it down again.

Vileena’s vision was fixed on the point of the sword, as if she just fallen to the brink of the dark shadow of death. Then, suddenly, a single sword came down from the side, stopping the blow.

“Your opponent is me.”

The words came from behind the man – it was the gladiator who had been fighting him a while ago. His red lips formed into a mysterious smile.

“As soon as the dragons appeared, you headed straight this way. Who are you?”

“b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

The man shouted in a hoa.r.s.e voice, without releasing his grip, he rotated his body and pulled out a dagger from his waist. With a movement quick enough to stir up a wind, he aimed for the gladiator’s chest. However, that gladiator – s.h.i.+que – tilted his shoulders. He swept aside the dagger with his other sword, and thrust his first sword into the man’s chest.

When the man collapsed in front of her with a surprised look in his eyes, Vileena heaved a sigh.

An a.s.sa.s.sin…

It felt like cold hands had taken a hold on her heart. And then, suddenly realizing the situation, she looked over at Prince Gil’s side. He was jumbled together with several other people, hiding under a table. Only his face peeped out, quietly observing the state of his surroundings. Although his safety was most definitely important, it couldn’t be helped that her sense of disappointment in him only grew. When his fiancée had been attacked just now, this man had been quivering all by himself.

Then Vileena accidentally got startled, because Gil looked her way. There was not a hint of fear in his eyes, rather…

“Princess, get over here and lie down,” Gil – although, it was of course actually Orba – suddenly said.

He half-forcingly pulled at a bewildered Vileena’s arm and, after he made her lie down on her stomach like him, called out s.h.i.+que’s name. The gladiator froze over with genuine surprise. Seeing him so flabbergasted, Orba was driven by the urge to make a joke, despite the current situation.

“I’m a fan of yours,” he said. He then immediately gave a serious look. “The dragons are only a diversion. There must be a sniper aiming for us here. Find out where he is.”

“Ha, hahah...”

Suddenly being spoken to in person by the prince of his country, although he was basically given an order, even baffled s.h.i.+que. Orba, however, continued without concern anyway.

“Also inform Gowen to let anyone who can fight to lend a hand.”

s.h.i.+que started running, quick to come to action, although he turned his head every now and then. He started running past the dragons that were going mad with blood and devouring several people. While making sure to guard his back, Orba peeked out from under the table. And immediately drew back in again. He repeated the movement several times, until a gunshot also reached Vileena’s ears for the first time.

A lure?

She realized that thought with a flash. He’d purposely exposed his body like that to invite the enemy’s gunfire, so that the gladiator named s.h.i.+que could learn of the enemy’s position. This prince – just what was his true face?

A Sozos climbed up through the mayhem in the valley and was approaching their location.

“Your Highness, Princess! This way!”

Two men rushed in among the guards. Finally someone who acted in the right state of mind had come for them. Orba also decided it was a good time to leave. He stood up and led Vileena by the hand. She didn’t go against him and followed suit.

Orba was running. Maybe he had expected something like this to happen, because he had to act as a double. But right now, he didn’t have the time to think of that. Although he was worried about the safety of the gladiators, Orba decided that, considering that the gunshots had ceased, they were probably all right.

Orba and Vileena, holding each other’s hands, looked over their shoulders several times, as they rushed into a cave underneath the cliffs, led by the soldiers.

“Get into this hidden pa.s.sage for now. It leads to the other side of the cliffs.”

When the soldier struck one of the pillars in the cave with his fist, the side of the steep cliff wall rotated, opening a s.p.a.ce where only one person could pa.s.s.

“Go, hurry,” they urged the princess on.

The moment Vileena’s body was pushed inside, the wall somehow rotated again behind her.

“Huh?”

She raised her voice and turned her back when there was only darkness in front of her. There wasn’t a single lamp inside the cave, and although she looked for a switch, she couldn’t find it in the hidden pa.s.sage. Furthermore, she heard voices on the other side of the wall in some kind of argument.

Surely the enemy hadn’t planned an ambush? – she soon thought.

“Princess Vileena!”

A voice called out to her from behind. Again there were two soldiers in armour, and came from the other side of the pa.s.sage carrying lamps. However, they weren’t dressed in Mephian gear.

“Princess, make haste over here. A s.h.i.+p is coming to pick you up.”

“s.h.i.+p? What do you mean by s.h.i.+p?”

“It’s a s.h.i.+p that has come to take you away from these savage lands, to a place more suitable for someone of your n.o.ble lineage.”

“You guys…”

While the Princess Vileena was struck with a certain foreboding feeling, something like a gunshot roared from the other side of the thick wall.

It was in the instant Vileena entered the hidden pa.s.sage.

“Hey, what’s going on!?”

Several soldiers who seemed to be guarding the inside of the cliffs came their way. Then one of the soldiers who had guided Orba quickly struck the pillar again, leaving Vileena alone in the pa.s.sage she’d entered.

“We don’t know either. But it’s going well.”

As he spoke, he pulled and fired a gun from his back.

Almost at the same time as the guard up front collapsed with a spray of blood, the other soldier was about to lunge into their flanks with a drawn sword. Without having the time to accept the sudden challenge, one soldier, and yet another one, got cut down.

Orba was standing with his back against the wall, watching over this sudden bewildering development. This didn’t look like some internal discord. With the thought that Vileena was in the hidden pa.s.sage all alone, it was likely that the soldiers who had guided Orba here were involved with the dragon rampage and the sniping.

Orba gently leaned over, and took a sword from a fallen soldier. He concealed it behind his back for the time being, as the battle before him ended.

“Worthless,” the soldier who’d fired the gun said and turned around to face Orba. “What should we do with the prince here?”

“Let’s keep him hostage. Get over here, you!”

The soldier holding the sword held out his hand. It was the same hand that belonged to the one who, due to the element of surprise, had killed six soldiers in an instant. Not wearing a helmet, his face was beaming with haughtiness.

“W-Who… are you people?”

Trembling, Orba edged sideways with his back against the wall. The two had sneers on their faces, covered with their victims’ blood.

“Hmph, I didn’t know the prince of the Great Imperial Dynasty was this pathetic. After all, he can’t do a thing without his many retainers by his side.”

“A guy like this would become the Vileena-sama’s husband? Ridiculous. He’d sully Garbera’s prestigious blood. Now, Prince Halfwit of Mephius, come!”

Orba screamed and ran away from the man’s outstretched arm.

“I don’t have time to play. Now, if you don’t come quickly.”

As the soldier chased after him with mocking laughter, Orba promptly turned around, and cut him right up front with the sword he’d been hiding. Leaving a trail of blood and an accompanying scream, he jumped over his fallen opponent and quickly stabbed at shoulder of the fl.u.s.tered man holding the gun.

“B-b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”

He drove the pommel of his sword into the man’s face, who collapsed onto his knees and fainted.

Then, from the opposite side of the cave, other guardsmen from Mephius showed up. They’d probably caught the sounds of the disturbance. Orba quickly explained to them the circ.u.mstances – and ordered them to bind up the unconscious enemies. After that, he urged them to open up the hidden pa.s.sage, but it took him quite some time and effort because the soldier in charge wasn’t there.

I hate enemies who stay hidden and gather knowledge.

Time was precious. Without fully knowing the reason behind his impatience, Orba privately clicked his tongue.

Several minutes after Vileena had disappeared into the hidden pa.s.sage, they finally opened the door.

The first thing Orba heard was the sound of men and a woman struggling with each other.

As expected, if he could say so, men were holding Vileena on both sides and trying to drag her along through the narrow cave pa.s.sage.

“Unhand me, you insolents!”

Vileena’s voice left the trail of an echo throughout the narrow cave. The Mephian guardsmen set out ahead of Orba.

“Who’s there? Where are you taking the princess?”

“Stupid Mephian savages! Don’t you get it!?”

As the enemy soldier answered back, he pulled out a pistol. The Mephian soldier was about to counter-attack immediately, but,

“Wait, you’ll hit the princess!”

Orba took command as he tried to lay low. In that instant, suddenly something unbelievable occurred.

Having lost her restraints on one side from the man holding the gun, Vileena lightly jumped up and raised one foot from her dress. Taking in the brunt of the force from her foot, the gun dropped from the soldier’s hand. Quickly recovering from his initial shock, Orba made a quick decision.

“Now—! Don’t use guns, charge!”

In response to Orba’s orders, the soldiers armed themselves with swords and spears and rushed into the other party.

Although one of them showed signs of fighting back, in the blink of an eye he was overwhelmed by the Mephian force.

“Draw back, draw back!”

Eventually they commenced their escape, leaving the princess in place.

The Mephian soldiers raised cries of war and chased after them, but it was a narrow cave after all. One Garberan soldier came to a halt and started rapidly firing at them, making them lose their joint effort as they had to take cover here and there. Providing cover for his allies thus, when his bullets inevitably ran out, he removed a knife from his pocket, jabbed it into his own neck, and finished himself off.

Orba hadn’t witnessed these details to the very end. The rest was an issue between Mephius and Garbera, where he himself was unrelated. Aside from that, the safety of the people he knew weighed on his mind and he followed the road all the way back through the cave.

When he came back, the disturbance had settled a bit. The dragons were lying with their long necks on the ground, or leaning against the huge slopes in the valley, spewing out blood. They had sunk beneath the gunfire of the sword-slaves, including Gowen, and the artillery the Mephian soldiers had brought out. Having played quite an active role, Gilliam and s.h.i.+que’s swords were wet with vast amounts of blood, and their muscles heaved along with rough breaths.

However, the strained look didn’t leave their faces, rather, their looks were coated with a preparedness for death. This was hardly surprising, because the guns the Mephian soldiers had set up were currently pointing in the direction of the sword-slaves.

“What’s the meaning of this, Tarkas!?” a red-faced Fedom berated Tarkas.

The dragons that had suddenly gone on a rampage had been brought along by the Tarkas Group, and several people had witnessed some of the sword-slaves pointing their swords at Gil and Vileena. Although Tarkas had a pale face and desperately told him he ‘didn’t know either’, Fedom didn’t have the ears to hear it. If he would have had a gun in his hands, he would’ve likely used it to shoot Tarkas on the spot.

Most of the sword-slaves were forced to disarm themselves, and had to cross both arms over their heads. However, there was confusion on the faces of even the guards pointing their guns. After all, the ones who’d fought back against the dragons first were none other than those slaves.

Still shrouded with dust, the smell of earth and gunfire abundant, there was confusion in the air.

“Wait!”

Orba stepped forward. The surprised soldiers holding the guns made way. Fedom glanced over at Orba and twisted the corners of his mouth.

“What? When you b.u.t.t in like this—”

“Who are you speaking to? Don’t you recognize me, Fedom?”

Shutting his mouth with a start, Fedom gave him a disgruntled look. Seeing such a thing for the first time, Tarkas snickered.

“This man may be involved in a country-wide conspiracy. Maybe someone took advantage of him, right? I believe that the Mephians who hired these people without knowing a thing are also responsible. But we can’t say who. If I see anyone s.h.i.+ft his responsibility and execute even one of these sword-slaves without permission, I will have his head – I’ll take it off with my— our sword!”[2]

“I agree.”

Turning around, Orba raised his eyebrows in surprise. Vileena came walking up to them. She seemed to be wavering a little, but if you took into account the mayhem from a little while ago, you could say she was carrying herself rather firmly.

“Ah, princess!”

Her maid Theresia rushed over to her, probably having been worried about her all this time, and Vileena greeted her with a thin smile.

“Even though it was a gladiator that aimed for my life, the one that rescued me was the gladiator over there. We won’t be able to come to a simple conclusion with the current circ.u.mstances, will we?”

Although her dress was covered with sand, her face bore countless beads of sweat, and her braided hair had become frayed here and there, her pupils were filled with a clear purpose.

Straight after such a commotion…

Instead of being panicked, she was a.n.a.lysing things calmly. Until some time ago, he’d only seen this girl as a puppet, but it was only after she was injured and knocked about, that it roused his flesh and blood, and Orba actually felt that she was a person with the same beliefs as he had.

“Besides,” the foreign princess suddenly cast down her eyes and gnashed her teeth. “They were probably our Garbera’s— General Ryucown’s subordinates.”

That evening, Orba was in a single room inside the cliffs. It was the same room he’d spent his time in yesterday, as it was made appropriate for the Imperial Family to stay in.

While he didn’t grasp the full story behind the situation, they had judged it too dangerous to go back to a city in Mephian territory with only themselves for now. With their military power currently forming a line of defence in the valley, they were waiting for reinforcements to arrive from the city.

Of course, several people from Garbera, including Vileena, and the delegation from Ende were being confined in the valley as well. At any rate, the atmosphere had gotten complicated.

The moment the Mephian soldiers, who had chased the enemy down the hidden pa.s.sage, had slipped out to the valley on the other side, they’d witnessed a dragonstone s.h.i.+p flying up into the air. It was a high-speed cruiser that could carry about ten people, and it had probably been waiting on the other side of the cliffs until just a while earlier. So they might have been planning to take Vileena?

Vileena had said these were ‘Ryucown’s actions’.

Ryucown was a great warrior from Garbera. Even Orba knew his name. It seemed only obvious to claim that this chain of disturbances was plotted by Garbera.

However…

Orba started thinking it over. If that had been Garbera’s doing, there were too many unnatural aspects.

“Gil-sama? Gil-sama!”

He was a little late to react to the voice calling out to him. The page, Dinn, had just placed several wine bottles and three gla.s.ses on the table. It was these items that told Orba everything.

“You’re still a little late in noticing, aren’t you?”

“I’ve never been called by that name, you know?” Orba said, shrugging his shoulders. “Names aside, the ‘sama’ doesn’t sit well either. It’s awkward. You don’t have to overdo it when there’s no one else around.”

“No. Anyone can keep an eye out, and you never know who’s straining his ears. Besides, I’m not such a skilled person either. So I’m not confident I can change my behaviour when it really matters if I don’t regularly keep calling you Prince Gil. You too. If you don’t get used to it – if you don’t constantly behave like a prince should – you might expose yourself when push comes to shove.”

The still twelve, thirteen-year-old boy answered, puffing up with a n.o.ble’s pride.

“Get used to it, huh?” Orba said, as he noticed the full-scale window that reached from the floor to the ceiling.

Because the curtains were drawn, he couldn’t look out over the valley. While the balcony was packed with soldiers on guard, because the balcony itself protruded directly from the cliff, he didn’t have to worry that they could hear their conversation.

That was when he remembered, and Orba smiled, thinking back. When Tarkas had been accused by Fedom, he’d offered some timely help, and afterwards, Tarkas had bowed over to him in grat.i.tude many times over. He would never forget that hapless, tear-filled face for the rest of his life.

“Seeing the number of gla.s.ses, who are the guests coming over?”

Just when he was about to answer, the soldier guarding the other side of the door informed them he had visitors.

“Let them in.”

Being flanked by two soldiers on the left and right, two people came in that Orba had ordered to call over some time ago.

Entering quite timidly, probably due to surprise and nervousness, were the person in charge of training sword-slaves, Gowen, and the gladiator, s.h.i.+que.

“Thank you for coming.”

Speaking up first, Orba acknowledged the two as they came into the room. Although he displayed a princely thin smile, naturally, in his heart, he couldn’t help but find their unusually abashed behaviour amusing. The normally fearless Gowen fumbled muttered words of greeting out of his mouth, which he could barely hear, and s.h.i.+que kept staring around in wonder.

He realized that, most likely, they’d been like this ever since receiving an ‘invitation from the prince’, and Orba had a hard time resisting the urge to burst out laughing.

Dinn was also equally surprised. He had thought either Fedom or another prominent Mephian figure would come in.

“Wait – what’s the meaning of this? I can’t have you inviting gladiators without permission. If Fedom-sama finds out—”

“I’m the prince, right? Can’t I do as I please? Or am I not allowed to talk with somebody without your approval?”

As he brought up again their earlier conversation about behaving like a prince at all times, Dinn couldn’t give a reply. By Orba’s command, he helplessly poured wine into their gla.s.ses and treated the two visitors to a drink.

“These guys have worked well as sword-slaves. If it wasn’t for their efforts, I might not have been able to pick up this cup. We should hail them as national heroes!”

He raised his hand to put gla.s.ses together, the two nervously joined in. Enjoying his companions’ reactions, Orba slightly sipped his drink. It was essentially not so strong.

‘Prince Gil’ didn’t quite seem to go onto the main subject, even though his guests grew more uncomfortable, so s.h.i.+que finally broke the ice. It looked like he unexpectedly had more guts than Gowen in this kind of situation.

“Although I thought it strange that you spoke to me back then, how come you are f-familiar with our names?”

“You said you’re a fan,” Gowen said. “B-But I haven’t fought in the arena myself these past several years. Even back when I was a gladiator, I don’t remember having any fights to leave such a mark. So, really, where Your Highness learned the name of someone like me…”

“Really, I’ve known,” Orba said, purposely grimacing. “Is it something so inconvenient that I know your names? Or does an outrageous thing, like a prince indulging himself in gladiator fights, go against your conscience?”

“N-No, never!”

“No, never mind. Drop it. I’ll give the instructions later.”

Although he didn’t know what these instructions were, Gowen’s face stiffened and s.h.i.+que frantically took a step forward.

“Please forgive us, Your Highness. We are but lowly gladiators. We’re not used to a place like this, let alone know the proper etiquette when talking to people of royalty. We barely even know one language… If we have in some way offended you…”

Orba kept staring at the fl.u.s.tered s.h.i.+que with cold eyes, but then,

“Kuh…”

Finally, he couldn’t bear it any longer and sputtered a laugh. He took another shot, and then Orba started clutching his stomach, laughing loudly. The two stared blankly at him.

Dinn turned pale, and kept rebuking him, saying “Prince, Prince!”. However Orba said, “Who’s this prince!?”, wiping the tears from his face and laughing once more.

“You still haven’t found out, Gowen? This is so unlike you! So you’re quicker with the sword than with words?”

Taking a smallsword hanging on the wall, he thrust it out right in front of Gowen’s eyes.

“Although I haven’t used it in the arena many times, it was you who taught me the basics of using a smallsword. Show refinement in your posture, strain your upper arms, but keep it supple from the elbow down – isn’t that so?”

He lightly thrust out the tip of his sword in a dance, performing his steps around Gowen. s.h.i.+que then raised his voice in surprise. Orba gave him a wink, with a smirk on his face.

“Could it be – no, but – although his voice is quite similar… n-no, but…”

Orba took one step forward, aiming for s.h.i.+que, who couldn’t seem to reach a decision. s.h.i.+que easily moved his face away from the sword’s tip, swinging through the air. He took a step back on reflex.

“Will you allow me to scar your face? So it’ll become a bond between me and you?” Orba said, grinning. Instead of s.h.i.+que, who was moving his white throat, gulping up and down, Gowen raised his voice.

“Orba!?” he shouted recklessly.

The two sat at the table, taking in the shock, and it looked like not all doubts had been completely cleared away. They listened in astonishment as...o...b.. explained how things had gotten this way. No one interrupted him in the meantime, and Dinn continued serving the three at the table with a half-sulky att.i.tude.

“Hrm,” Gowen grunted. “I’ve been alive for many years and haven’t heard such an odd thing. But, without the mask, your face really does resemble the prince’s. Honestly, I already thought he was quite young, but didn’t think it was this much.”

“I thought about the same,” s.h.i.+que said, having completely reverted back to his normal att.i.tude. “Better yet, aren’t you more of a handsome man like this?”

Gowen shook his head.

“But is it all right to be so open about this with us? Isn’t this a state secret?”

“It's 'not' all right,” Orba quickly said. “But if I pretend to be a prince all on my own, I won’t have any breathing s.p.a.ce, right? I thought at least you’d be able to keep your mouths shut.”

“Ohh?”

“What’s with those eyes?”

Receiving a squinted look from s.h.i.+que, Orba uncomfortably turned his head to the side.

“Well, never mind. You’ll get used to my face.”

“No, that’s not it. Orba, it’s not that the mask’s been removed. Something in the atmosphere has changed, you know?”

“The atmosphere?”

“The gladiator in you, somehow, seems to have been crushed by something ‘invisible’ to the eye, yet your eyes seem to constantly be s.h.i.+ning. While, among the gladiators who are mostly ruffians, you were apparently seen as some sort of dangerous person. You gave ‘em the chills. Now, however, even if there’s no reason for it, part of you seems to have completely lightened up.”

“Though, posing as the crown prince, I seem to carry this country’s weight on my back? You’re taking Mephius rather lightly.”

“Even so,” s.h.i.+que said with a puzzling smile.

Strangely feeling like he was being treated like a child, Orba started to get a little irritated.

“Anyhow,” Gowen interjected. “If you’ve been trained as a body double before the wedding, does that mean they already expected a surprise attack like today on Mephius?”

s.h.i.+que also turned serious and shook his head.

“That seems a little bit too strange, right? All of the Mephian soldiers were taken by surprise and were hardly able to deal with it. If the prince… I mean, Orba, hadn’t given those orders, we would’ve stayed in the confusion too, and both the prince and the princess could have been killed by the sniper, right?”

As expected from a swordsman with this much experience, he took a good look at the situation. Orba held out the wine bottle to Gowen, who had drained his cup.

“Ah.”

Raising his voice, Gowen gave a forced smile. He still was a little uneasy about this situation.

“Weren’t there any signs that Tarkas knew something?”

“N-Nah. He seems to persist that he didn’t know or was aware, but… that man isn’t the type to put on a false show. I fear it’s likely that he truly doesn’t know anything at all.”

“But the ones who were about to kill Princess Vileena, and shoot the two of you, were the newcomers that Tarkas had brought in. If I’d at least kept one of them alive…”

s.h.i.+que curled his red lips. But he couldn’t have expected to arrest his opponents in the middle of the melee. There was only the one swordsman whom Orba had hit unconscious and tied up. Right now he was being interrogated, or possibly in the midst of torture.

“And Hou Ran? She’s so good at handling the dragons, if it’s her, she should know something about that rampage.”

“They say they’re questioning her about the drugs. Although it seemed that she let one of the newcomers take care of the dragons, it has credibility. But I’ve gotten a better opinion of Tarkas. Because she comes from a tribe of the Ryuujin Faith, and yet came to like handling the dragons, she was the number one person to doubt. And even though the provincial council finds it to be obvious that she applied the drugs, he continues to keep sticking up for Hou Ran.”

“So, when it comes to it, Tarkas can be a good guy?”

“According to Tarkas, after he was to be the presenting gladiatorial group, he was approached by a merchant who offered considerable financial support. Apparently, he’d jumped in without a second thought, because the Tarkas Group could then somehow carry that load on its own. He claims he had to take in those ‘newcomers’ as a trade-off.”

“So that guy’s pulling the strings? But if he had to lay out a lot of money only for those newcomers, he must likely be on a short list of names here in Mephius, right?”

“That’s…” Gowen said, having regained his usual calmness. “If only it were so. Whether it’s a true or not, any mention of this ‘person’ is only coming from Tarkas’s mouth. Nevertheless, you could say it was a bold cooperation, but there’s no clear evidence to catch him by the tail. It’s fruitless anyway. This obviously won’t be any ordinary foe. You can conclude that something of a larger scale is behind this.”

“For example, the Garbera Kingdom?” s.h.i.+que asked.

“I believe there’s no doubt Garbera’s involved.”

Orba chose his words carefully.

The soldiers he’d personally faced in the hidden pa.s.sage, clearly held feelings of love and respect for Princess Vileena. However, that was also why it was such a baffling issue. According to s.h.i.+que, it was likely that not only Orba, but also the princess, was about to be killed back then. There was no question that those people, who had been planning to help the princess get back home, wouldn’t try to get her killed.

Gowen c.o.c.ked his head in thought.

“It’s not entirely unlikely that Ende was about to exact revenge on Mephius and Garbera either. They too, could bear a grudge for the alliance they once wanted to form with Garbera, being called of all. Most of all, if these two countries become allies, Ende would be the first to get into danger.”

“Aren’t you jumping to conclusions now? If that’s the case, instead, it’s like virtually giving us a justification to attack Ende.”

“You’re right,” Orba agreed. “Especially if both royals get killed, the momentum will be terrible. Until yesterday, Mephius and Garbera were mutual enemies, but then they will join hands for a firmer cooperation to thrust the sword of revenge at Ende.”

“Oh. Such a princely speech, huh?”

“Shut it.”

Suddenly, it grew noisy near the room’s entrance, and the atmosphere was again about to become strained.

It looked like the palace guards had prevented someone from entering the room. In an instant, Gowen and the rest prepared themselves, as if an enemy was about to break in.

“I’m sorry. Will you please go back to your rooms?”

Hearing the guards’ polite words, Orba spoke up without batting an eyelid.

“Dinn, let them in.”

“Prince. On your own accord, again…”

“It’s okay. If you want, you can go ahead and reveal my social status.”

“If I do, you will be hanged!” he said in complaint, although it was the same for all who were already inside. Dinn sighed and obeyed his orders. And although Dinn felt gloomy when he gave them permission to enter the room, he took a startled step back when the door opened.

Watching the ones who entered, Gowen and the rest hurriedly sat up straight as well, and stood up from their seats. Although he had about expected this, Orba, too, was inwardly surprised.

Crossing her hands before her waist, walking gracefully, but showing a firm pace, was Princess Vileena of the Kingdom of Garbera. Behind her, her chief attendant Theresia followed suit. Although both their expressions were stiff, the colour of readiness and determination shone through.

“Ahh, even though she’s supposed to never enter the other’s chambers before marriage. Although I do understand this is a disgraceful act for a Garberan lady, this has somehow turned into an unforeseen situation. Please forgive us for our rudeness, Prince Gil.”

It seemed that the first to show her determination was Theresia.

In any case, because the ceremony had been interrupted halfway, Gil and Vileena still weren’t officially a married couple. Orba again took on the mask of a prince and offered them a seat, but Vileena remained standing stock-still.

“Please, have a listen, and pay no heed to my impoliteness.”

The first thing she said, Vileena said with the look of a soldier challenged with war. It was due to her errand, the subject, and, most of all, due to her expectations. Vileena charged that this matter was never an incident directed by her country, and that Garbera didn’t feel inclined to stir up trouble with Mephius once more.

“But,” Orba interrupted his adversary. “Is this Ryucown not someone from Garbera?”

When his name was spoken, she cast down her eyes for a moment. She tightly chewed on her lip, and immediately regained her composure. The scowling look that she gave seemed to consider Orba as an enemy.

“Yes. Now that this has happened – it’s too late. When my country is informed of this incident, Ryucown will be stripped of his knighthood, and lose his Garberan nationality.”

“So this was a scheme by Ryucown alone?”

“It only seems most likely. Those soldiers who tried to take me away also used Ryucown’s name. And right now, there’s only one person in Garbera who has the strength to attack Mephius like this.”

“Ryucown?”

“Indeed.”

“What kind of person is he?”

The black pupils in her bright and beautiful eyes opened wide. Orba’s tone of voice was mild, and she hadn’t been prepared for him asking her such an unexpected thing.

“Of course, he is famous enough that his name is known even in our Mephius, but we know nothing of his true nature. Have you happened to meet him, your highness?”

“Yes… I have.”

Ryucown’s lineage came from a powerful clan of an area that had recently become Garberan territory and, in the generation after his grandfather, had officially become a retainer to the House of Garbera. However, Ryucown’s father lost part of his territory due to a skirmish with an equally strong clan, and his family was forced to practically live the life of commoners. Most of the n.o.bles who had become central figures in Garbera had supported the country that was built around the Garberan royal family as dukes[3] for generations and stood firm against any influence from the ‘outside lords’.

When Ryucown was ten, he served as a knight commanding a single unit. After getting his first military feat at the age of thirteen, and having many more successes up to the age of twenty, they said he was simply not able to get out from his rank as a knight apprentice.

The status of ‘knight’ was not a familiar term in Mephius, so she made it easier to understand by explaining it as a n.o.ble among warriors. In Garbera, all the people that led the army beneath the king were knights. Although not all n.o.bles were knights, a commoner couldn’t ever be one. Ryucown too, because the earlier mentioned dukes considered him an outside connection, didn’t seem able to become a knight so easily.

And then, the story traced to five years ago.

At that time, a rebellion took place in Garbera against the royal family.

Having expected to be the leader among the dukes, a man named Bateaux, in cooperation with a number of local clans that had been a.s.similated by Garbera several years ago, had played a central role in staging the revolts. Although it was considered to have probably been a plot by Mephius, Vileena refrained from speaking about that for the better.

Nine years old at the time, Vileena had been out to play at her grandfather Jeorg Owell’s estate, but Bateaux wanted nothing more than to have that palace. At midnight, they were struck by a sudden attack.

Although Jeorg, who was at the time retired, fought a commendable battle with a small company of men, the reinforcements he was waiting for didn’t seem to come. As he judged it pointless to just increase the number of deaths like this, he decided to submit. With the palace surrendered to Bateaux, Jeorg himself, Vileena, and the others were held hostage.

Jeorg had been injured during that battle. Even without taking his illness into account, the wound was a severe one, and he’d been bedridden ever since. There was a short supply of doctors and medicine, and naturally they couldn’t get any supplies from the outside. And the soldiers, who had barely survived the battle, were also in a condition that if one didn’t lose his life yesterday, he would do so today.

At that time, Princess Vileena was the one who took over Jeorg’s place representing the monarchy in the negotiations with Bateaux. While she had the body of a child, she argued with him on a grand scale. She insisted on keeping herself as a hostage and demanded of him that, first, her wounded grandfather and the dozens of injured soldiers, as well as the women, be released. Bateaux, impressed by the young girl’s courage, complied by releasing half of his prisoners, but Jeorg would remain among the remaining half’s hostages.

However, although the rebellion had been very effective in its initial stages, it also contributed to internal discord among the families during their struggle for power, and one month pa.s.sed in which they were being suppressed one after another. In the end, only Bateaux remained with his hostages at the estate, while he continued holding the fort. There was only a little water and food left, but Bateaux didn’t intend to lay down his sword. It looked like he was prepared to die in battle.

Be that as it may, his resolution made his troop’s morale drop. The people of the palace, who’d become hostages, found collaborators among several of the soldiers. Although several of them were tasked with keeping a tight watch in the castle’s underground waterways, one day, they succeeded in making an opening between the watch for but a short amount of time. They tried to take it to their advantage by setting at least Jeorg and Vileena free.

However, Vileena refused. She wasn’t sure whether only her wounded grandfather and her young self would be able to escape. And even if they did, Bateaux was bound to find out that they disappeared, completely ruining their secret route in and out of the castle. And the people left behind would stand no chance. They would either starve to death with Bateaux, or might die, swallowed up in the fight when the Garberan army started their relentless a.s.sault, as they would no longer have to worry about rescuing the royals.

Although Jeorg was lying on the floor, he agreed with his granddaughter, and they worked out a plan. Vileena had secretly made a rough sketch of the palace layout including the soldiers’ positions. She handed it over to a young lad among the hostages and told him to ‘join the Garberan troops outside, waiting for this.’

After getting this information, the Garberan army gathered a number of capable hands and sent them into the palace. They used the same route through the underground waterways. Vileena guided them to the hostages, who were imprisoned separately, and they rescued them right away.

Among this small number of elite troops was, of course, the 23-year-old Ryucown. As soon as he gave the sign that the hostages were freed, the Garberan army commenced its attack. And, when the defending forces were too busy with the a.s.sa