Prologue: Sumire and Sara Prepare for Their Journey

♢Sumire’s POV♢

I was humming a tune as Leona and I went around the shops in the dungeon city. My goal today was to buy clothes and items I would need for my visit to Eugene’s hometown. In other words, I was preparing for a trip! That was exciting enough on its own, but this trip was special, because I would be going with Eugene, who had recently become my boyfriend.

“You sound like you’re having fun, Sumire,” Leona said.

“What clothes do you think I should bring with me to Eugene’s hometown?”

“Ooh, yeah, visiting your boyfriend’s home is pretty nerve-racking. His dad is an important figure in the empire, so I bet he lives in a really big house!”

“Eugene said he lived in a normal place, though!”

“Don’t take his words at face value, Sumire. Eugene’s idea of normal is pretty abnormal.”

“Yeah, I’m well aware of that,” I said with a small smile that Leona returned.

At first, I had wondered if maybe I was the weird one for finding Eugene odd, since I had come from another world. But now, I knew that even by this world’s standards, Eugene was an airhead who had a hard time reading between the lines. He had once told me, “I was a solo explorer from General Education for so long that I don’t stand out at Lykeion Magic Academy,” and he still wholeheartedly believed that was the case.

Uh, no, everyone knows who you are, and they always did! He was Headmaster Uther’s favorite and friends with both Sara and Claude of the Hero Course. Also, he was the only student in the school’s history who had passed the entrance exam specifically for users with white mana. Now, he was also known for his fights against the Divine Beast Cerberus and the Demon Queen Erinyes. Everyone in the school—no, in the entire dungeon city—knew about him.

Leona wasn’t the only student in General Education talking about him. Eugene’s lack of a social life meant that he didn’t know about everyone’s interest in him. Apparently, both male and female students were eager to get closer to him, so I was relieved that I had confessed my affections to him when I had.

“Hey, Sumire, what do you think about this? Isn’t it cute?”

“Um... Wait, huh?! It is cute, but don’t you think it’s a bit too bold?”

Leona was holding a bra, but it used way less fabric than what I was accustomed to. It was sexy lingerie that emphasized its wearer’s bare skin.

“That’s why you should wear it. You should take your relationship with Eugene to the next level as quickly as possible.”

“Th-The next...” Sometimes, Leona said things that were a bit too extreme by my standards.

“Sumire, considering how formidable your rival is, you don’t have the luxury of time! Eugene will be stolen from right under your nose!” Leona exclaimed. Like me, Leona was also competing with another girl for her boyfriend’s affection, which was why she was so aggressive.

“Stolen?”

I was about to say that would never happen with Eugene when something occurred to me: Wasn’t Eugene the type to go with the flow? He had come to Lykeion Magic Academy to recover from the emotional scars of a failed romance and then immediately entered a physical relationship with Eri, who had been the first person here to flirt with him.

“By the way, if you ever want tips on seducing a guy, I’m your gal,” Leona said.

“Seducing? You’re talking about Claude, aren’t you?” I asked.

Leona’s boyfriend, Claude, was infamous for his womanizing ways. He was completely different from the much more reserved Eugene.

“Men are all the same,” Leona said.

“Really?” I hummed in thought before saying, “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to hear it.”

It was in the middle of my conversation with Leona when...

“Ah!”

“Oh?”

“Sumire?”

“Leona?”

We ran into a couple of our acquaintances. “Acquaintance” might not be the right word for one of them. She was a teammate in my exploration party as well as my rival for Eugene’s love. Our relationship was further complicated by the fact that we were currently dating the same man. It was Sara, the student council president of Lykeion Magic Academy. She had long black hair, beautiful looks, and a tall and slender frame. Today, she was wearing her own clothes rather than the school uniform. Next to her was Teresia, who performed managerial duties in the student council. She was Leona’s romantic rival.

Sara and I stared at each other. Meanwhile, Leona and Teresia were facing off.

“Are you shopping?” Sara asked.

“Y-Yeah, I am!”

Sara would be joining me and Eugene in the Grenflare Empire later—she had work she needed to finish for the student council first—so I found it awkward to confess that I had been excitedly buying new clothes and items for my trip with Eugene.

“You seem like you’re having such a good time. I’m jealous,” Sara continued. “You even went and bought new underwear.”

“Huh? Ack!” Now that Sara mentioned it, I was still holding the underwear that Leona had suggested to me.

“Sumire? Just because you’ll be alone with him doesn’t mean you can cheat and make a move first.”

“I-I won’t!”

“Oh, really? So you weren’t about to ask Leona to teach you her ways of seduction?”

“You were listening in on our conversation?!”

“You two were speaking so loudly that your voices reached my ears.”

“Then why didn’t you say something?!”

“Teresia, you’re not spending time with Claude?” Leona asked as I continued my rowdy conversation with Sara.

“No. I have to help President Sara with her work, after all.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? This is Claude we’re talking about; he cheats on his girlfriend the moment she takes her eyes off him.”

“Don’t worry. The only person I’m worried about him cheating with is standing before my eyes.”

“Oh, yeah? I did spend all of last night and this morning with Claude, so my apologies if he’s still tired tonight! ☆”

Teresia giggled. “Yes, Claude did mention that you’re exhausting. I have to heal him up. ☆”

“And you know, I seem to recall Claude mentioning that even in bed, you’re still way too prim and proper!”

“Oh dear. Claude said such a thing? He always says the first thing on his mind whenever he’s around you.”

Uh, is it just me or... Me and Sara have only just started dating Eugene, but their conversation is ten times cattier and more explicit than ours.

“Stop, stop, stop! Leona!” I shouted at the same moment Sara scolded, “Miss Teresia, this is hardly a place for a fight!”

We hurriedly stepped in between Leona and Teresia as their glaring faces edged closer and closer toward each other.

“Hmm?” Leona and Teresia looked at us, blinking in surprise.

“Sumire, that argument wasn’t a serious one,” Leona said.

“Yes, President Sara. That was a normal conversation,” Teresia added.

“Huh?! You two were seconds away from brawling!” I said.

“Yes, I agree! The murderous looks in your eyes were terrifying!” Sara said.

“You’re one to talk, Sumire...” Leona sighed.

“Apologies, President Sara, but...” Teresia started. They were giving us matching looks of disbelief.

“Sumire, your arguments are a lot worse than ours,” Leona said.

“Everyone in school has been discussing how dangerous the fights between you two are,” Teresia said.

“Huh?” Sara and I blinked, our mouths hanging open at the unexpected counter.

“What do you mean, Leona?!”

“What have the students been saying, Miss Teresia?!”

Sara and I leaned forward in sync.

“Sumire, when you lose your temper, you also lose control of your magic and conjure a gigantic pillar of fire,” Leona said.

“Urk!” I had no counterargument. She was right!

“President Sara, you’ve been quite eager to pull out your holy sword of late,” Teresia said.

“Ack!” Sara, like me, took some psychic damage. But Leona and Teresia weren’t done.

“Everyone at the academy is dreading the day you two finally start a real fight on school grounds. My juniors in the Martial Arts Club have been scared too.”

“To tell you the truth, most of the suggestions and letters the student council has received have been requests that we make you two friends. I simply kept that fact from you, President Sara.”

“You’ve got to be kidding, Leona!”

“Please tell me that was a lie, Miss Teresia!”

“Nope.”

“That was all the truth.”

They were dead serious. Sara and I looked at each other. Sara’s face, conventionally beautiful and framed by her glossy black hair, was twisted. My expression was probably no different.

“Hey, Sara?”

“Sumire... I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

Then, in unison, we nodded and said, “Let’s try to get along better.”

Chapter One: Eugene Returns Home

“Woo-hoo! The wind feels great!” Sumire exclaimed as she leaned against the guardrail of the airship’s deck and enjoyed the sensation of the air blowing against her body.

“Don’t lean over the guardrails! That’s very dangerous!” an airship staffer scolded her.

“I-I’m so sorry!” Sumire hurriedly stepped away.

I watched over her the whole time, a small smile on my face. We were riding on a regularly scheduled airship flight between Karaf, the dungeon city, and the Grenflare Empire. The airship fleet the empire had sent after hearing news of the Demon Queen Erinyes’s revival had returned home after the party that had been thrown to celebrate the students’ victory over the ancient demonic sovereign.

The party had been an exhausting affair. Top officials from all three powers, and not just the empire, had occupied my attention the whole time. The Heavenly Knight guest at the party had asked if I wanted to go home with them in their airship, but I’d politely turned down the invitation; it would have been a suffocating flight. Besides, I had preparations to make if I was to return home.

I had also asked Sumire and Sara if they were interested in coming home with me.

♢A few days ago...♢

“Your hometown? Of course I want to go! I’m so excited! ☆” Sumire replied without a moment’s hesitation.

“I-I’m going too! I’ll get right on packing!” Sara exclaimed, but another voice quickly stopped her.

“No, President Sara. We haven’t finished our preparations for the school festival. Mountains of paperwork await your signature. At least look through your existing work before you leave.”

“H-How could you... Miss Teresia, you are too cruel!”

“If you insist on accompanying Eugene to the empire, please do so after finishing work that requires your direct approval.” Teresia lowered her voice. “Besides, has the homeland given you permission?”

“It’s perfectly fine,” Sara whispered back. “The Saints ordered me to investigate the empire’s internal affairs.”

I pretended I hadn’t heard the second, quieter conversation between them. Sara’s workload is as heavy as ever. In my current state, I had no power or influence in the empire, so trying to spy through me was a waste of her time. At least I could take her on a tour through the capital.

“Oh, too bad! I’m so sad that you can’t come with us, Sara! Hope you have a good time with your work, though! ☆”

“Sumire... I’m sure I don’t have to say what will happen to you if you take advantage of my absence, yes?”

“Hmm? I don’t know what you’re talking about! ☆ W-Wait, don’t pull out your holy sword!”

“Hee hee... Swear on this sword that you won’t try anything with Eugene until I meet up with you two.”

“S-Stop, President Sara! You mustn’t use the holy sword for things like that!”

“Don’t stop me! I have to teach this girl a lesson!”

Sumire thought for a moment before asking, “So can I try something with him after you show up in the empire?”

Sara hesitated. Then she’d said, “Yes. But he’s off-limits until I arrive.”

“Oh, fine! I’ll wait until you can come join us in the empire!”

“That’s a promise, Sumire!”

***

That had all happened before we left. I hadn’t thought their conversation was one they should’ve been having in front of the guy in question, but in any case, Sumire and I were on the way to the empire together. Sara would catch up with us later.

At the beginning of the trip, Sumire had nervously said, “Whoa, airship flights are pretty bumpy, huh? I might get sick...” Now, though, she was full of energy and scampering around the deck. After the staff reminded her that she was only allowed to run on the deck during an emergency, she was so excited that she leaned over the guardrails, only to receive her second warning. The staff must have marked her as a troublemaker, because they were still keeping an eye on her.

“Ahhh! Look over there, Eugene!” Sumire yelled.

“Sumire, calm... Hmm?” I looked in the direction Sumire was pointing and was taken aback by the sight that greeted me. A giant birdlike monster, about the size of a small dragon, was flying alongside our airship. “A Roc?”

“So that’s what a Roc looks like! It won’t attack us, will it?”

“I’m not sure...”

Rocs preyed on livestock like cows and pigs but also on monsters like Goblins and Orcs. These monstrous birds were so dangerous that they occasionally appeared as Bosses in the Last Dungeon.

A staff member, having overheard our conversation, said with a smile, “Don’t worry. Rocs are intelligent creatures. Airships traveling to the empire are outfitted with magical weapons that can chase away even dragons, so it knows not to attack us. Even if that one does, we have more than enough firepower to send it running.”

After a few moments, the Roc tilted its wings and drifted away from the airship.

“We’ll be arriving at the capital in the afternoon, so please make yourselves comfortable.”

With that, the staffer walked away. He was probably hinting at us to stop making such a commotion on the deck.

“Sumire, we haven’t eaten breakfast yet, so let’s go to the cafeteria,” I suggested.

“Yeah, sounds good! I’m starving!”

We spent the rest of our trip inside the airship. When I left the capital for the dungeon city, I had taken an airship alone, and I hadn’t exactly been in the mood to enjoy the journey. This time, Sumire distracted me from any unnecessary worries, and spending time with her meant I was never bored. After enjoying the flight, I set foot in the capital, returning home for the first time in about two years.

♢Sumire’s POV♢

“Wow! So this is where you grew up! It’s such a big city!” I exclaimed, impressed at the sights around me.

Eugene tilted his head to the side at my amazement. “Is it? The dungeon city is full of people too, isn’t it?”

“It’s not the same. The buildings here are so much taller than the ones in the dungeon city, and everything’s so big! Even the roads are way wider!”

This was the first time I’d seen a city other than the dungeon city, and it felt incredibly large to me. While its atmosphere and aesthetics were completely different from my homeworld’s, it reminded me of the skyscrapers that existed in my foggy memories of Tokyo. The dungeon city’s buildings came in all shapes and sizes, crowding the streets and jostling for real estate. In comparison, “a neat and organized city” was my strongest impression of the empire’s capital.

“I guess that’s true. Our streets are wider than the dungeon city’s to accommodate the military parades we like to have. Our buildings are so large because the entire capital is like a fortress. The walls of each building are thick to protect the inhabitants from enemy attack.”

“Enemy attack?” I echoed. “I thought the Grenflare Empire was the most powerful country on the Southern Continent. Wouldn’t its capital be the safest place, then?”

“That’s not exactly true. Depending on which era we’re talking about, the empire’s lost battles against other nations or gotten attacked by terrible monsters. Damage caused by the Infernal Demonic Beasts is our biggest problem.”

“Infernal Demonic Beasts? Those are...um, really powerful monsters that can live for hundreds of years, right?” I said, thinking back to what I had learned in my classes at the academy.

People referred to the Infernal Demonic Beasts as living calamities. Currently, the existence of three Infernal Demonic Beasts had been confirmed on the Southern Continent.

“Yeah. Dark Merrow Vepar rules over the coastal waters of the Blue Sea Union. Shadowbird Raum lives in the Tharsis Mountains near the Cardia Halidom. Finally, the Giant Beast Haagenti has been sealed away in the empire’s Chryses Fields for about two hundred years now.” Eugene had listed off the Infernal Demonic Beasts with practiced ease; this was probably common knowledge among the people of this world. “A hundred years ago, the seal on the Giant Beast Haagenti loosened enough for it to wreak havoc on the capital, and it destroyed about half the city.”

“H-Half the city?!” It was unthinkable given the size of this place!

“It was after that incident that we turned the city into a fortress. Anyway, let’s go to my house.”

“R-Right. Um, when will we get to tour the city?”

“I’m sure you’re tired after that long flight, so let’s hold off on that until tomorrow.”

“Okay!”

Excited, I grabbed Eugene’s hand and held it. The streets were filled with carriages being pulled along by horses and large birds. None of the brands were ones that set up shop in the dungeon city, and some stores were selling things I’d never seen before. The fashion differed from that of the dungeon city too: The people of the capital seemed to prefer a sleeker and more refined aesthetic.

I felt like a country mouse taking her first steps in a city. Even as I looked around, I made sure not to let go of Eugene’s hand and lose him in the crowd. The capital was milling with people, ranging from residents to merchants, dressed in all kinds of clothes. On occasion, I could see knights standing guard as well as people decked out in more expensive-looking clothes or accessories.

After we’d been walking for a few minutes, a shopkeeper manning his stall saw Eugene and exclaimed, “Oh, if it isn’t Eugene! You’re back?!”

“Pops! Long time no see!” Eugene said, smiling back at him.

“It’s been forever since you showed your face around here. Looks like I was worried about nothing! Here, have this on me!”

“Thanks, pops,” Eugene said, accepting some type of food from the merchant. What was that? Noticing my curious stare, Eugene asked the shopkeeper, “Pops, can I have another one? I’ll pay you.”

“Hmm? She’s with you? Oops, sorry, that was rude of me. Here, for the young lady.”

“Thank you so much!” I said as he handed the second one to me.

It was a roll full of vegetables and meat, covered with a thick sauce and wrapped in something resembling a crepe. Since it was freshly made, it was almost too hot to hold. The delicious scent wafting from my roll stirred my appetite.

“Eat up while it’s still hot, young miss,” the storekeeper said.

“Thank you! Mm, it’s so good!”

“Glad to hear that. Come by again, you hear?” the storekeeper said, already turning his attention to the next customer. “Hey, welcome! How many would you like?”The stall must have been a very popular one.

“I’ll swing by before I leave, pops,” Eugene promised.

“Thank you!” I added as we walked away before we could get in the way of his trade. Once we put some distance between us and the stall, I asked, “How did you meet that storekeeper?”

“Back when I was attending the military academy, I bought the wraps from that stall all the time. I would be so hungry that I’d get three or four, only to be told off for eating too much...”

I hummed in thought. Eugene’s voice had gotten smaller and more subdued near the end of his story. I didn’t need to ask to know who had been the one scolding him. It must have been that childhood friend of his. Eugene’s expression was the same as it always was, so it was impossible to tell what was going on in his mind.

“This district has a lot of public facilities like the library and school as well as military buildings. My home is a little farther, but we’re almost there,” Eugene said, as if trying to change the mood.

I looked around to realize that at some point, we had walked beyond the stalls and shops. In their place, clusters of tall buildings now lined the streets. The people walking about were wearing armor and military uniforms.

“Ah, wait. I’ll eat this first.”

“Take your time.”

Eugene had already finished his wrap, so I stuffed mine into my mouth to try to catch up to him. That was when I heard someone calling Eugene again.

“You... You’re Eugene, aren’t you?”

We turned around to see someone around our age. He was wearing a military uniform over his sturdy frame. With his short, neatly combed hair and sharp gaze, he looked like a stereotypical soldier.

“Massio? Long time no see,” Eugene said, his expression unchanging.

“Yeah... It’s been two years, huh?” the boy asked, grimacing like he’d bitten into something sour.

Is he...

“Last time we saw each other was at the military academy, right?” Eugene asked, confirming my suspicions. This boy was someone Eugene had known at his old school, back before he dropped out! “What are you doing here, Massio?”

Eugene was speaking to him in a casual tone of voice. Were they friends?

“What do you think?! I’m patrolling the capital, and then I’m going to go train! Privates in the Steel Knights don’t have any vacation days! Unlike you, I don’t have time to go on vacation with a girlfriend!” Massio snarled in response.

Whoa! This guy’s really rude! And mean to boot!

“Oh, yeah? You got into the Steel Knights, huh?” Eugene didn’t seem to mind the boy’s—Massio’s—attitude. He even sounded a little jealous.

Massio seemed let down by Eugene’s reaction. “What the... Didn’t you defeat the Divine Beast and the Demon Queen? Everyone in the military has been talking about you. Saying stuff about how the emperor is going to personally draft you for the Golden Knights or even pick you as a future Heavenly Knight.”

“Is that so? Well, I’m only here because my dad asked me to come home for the anniversary of my mom’s death.”

“Oh yeah. It was around this time of the year...”

“My goal is to reach the 500th Level of Babel, so I’ll be returning to the dungeon city after I pay my respects.”

“Are you serious?” Massio looked at Eugene like he was questioning his sanity.

“Of course I am. I made a promise to Sumire.”

“Sumire? Oh.” That was when Massio finally turned his attention to me. The sharp look in his eyes softened slightly, and his expression became serious. “Miss Sumire, the Ifrit guided to our world from another, welcome to the imperial capital of Grenflare. I hope you enjoy your stay.”

His manner was so different from earlier that it surprised me, but I replied, “Th-Thank you for your kind welcome! But how do you know who I am?”

“On orders from Lady Ilia, the Goddess of Fate, those in the imperial army are to treat otherworlders with respect. It was also mandatory for us to observe the battles Eugene had against the Divine Beast Cerberus and the Demon Queen. Most of those in the military know who you are, Miss Sumire.”

“Oh...” That’s kind of embarrassing!

After he finished explaining things to me, Massio’s face turned sour again. “See you later, Eugene. Damn. Must be nice to walk around with such a pretty girl hanging off your arm!”

“Huh?” Pretty girl? Me?!

“Hey, Massio. It’s been forever since we last saw each other. What do you say to a spar? Best out of three,” Eugene said.

“In your dreams! I already said I’m busy with work today! I bet you just wanna attack me with that magic sword you used to defeat the Demon Queen.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you.”

“Screw you! I’m going back to my rounds.”

“Stay sharp!”

“Shut up!” With that, Massio stomped off.

“That guy was pretty hotheaded,” I murmured at the same moment Eugene said, “Massio sure is a lot friendlier than I remember.”

His opinion was the exact opposite of mine.

“What? Fr-Friendlier?” I said.

“Yeah. If this were two years ago, he would have challenged me to a fight.”

“I-Is that so...”

The military school Eugene had attended must have been a lot more dangerous than I had imagined. Considering how let down Eugene looked, he must have wanted to spar against Massio. He’s more interested in fighting than I thought...

“All right, let’s go,” Eugene said, walking off with a pep in his step.

I hurried after him and asked him something that had been on my mind. “Hey, Eugene, what did Massio mean by the Steel Knights and the Golden Knights?”

Eugene didn’t seem too concerned about it, but it sounded like the empire was interested in calling him back from the dungeon city. That made sense, though. After all, he had defeated the Demon Queen!

“You see, the empire has four different knight brigades...” Eugene explained. To sum up what he said, the four brigades were:

The Bronze Knights: They were in charge of protecting rural towns and also boasted the most knights of any of the brigades.

The Steel Knights: They were in charge of protecting the capital. Most of these knights were elite students who had graduated from the empire’s military academy.

The Platinum Knights: This brigade consisted of veteran knights with plenty of combat experience.

The Golden Knights: These knights were the most powerful in the empire and served the emperor directly.

“Wow!” I said after Eugene was done. “I didn’t know there were so many knights. What about the Heavenly Knights?”

“That’s another name for the strongest fighters in the empire, and there can only be seven of them. My father’s one of them, and so is the Hero of the Sword.” Eugene hesitated before adding, “Airi, my childhood friend, is one too.”

“Ah...” Shoot! I didn’t mean to remind him of her.

Upon noticing my expression, Eugene gave me a small smile. “I’ve gotten over Airi, so don’t worry about it, Sumire.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Eugene’s expression sure seemed the same as usual, so he was probably telling the truth. Had the wounds Airi left on him actually healed? “Look, Sumire. We’re here.”

“Oooh, so this is... Wait, huh?!”

I was shocked when I looked in the direction Eugene was pointing. During our trip through the capital, I’d seen so many giant buildings consisting of multiple levels. All of them had been built of sturdy-looking stones, with tall walls surrounding them. It made sense if the entire city acted as a fortress.

One house stood out with its peculiar construction. It didn’t have any fences. Instead, it was surrounded by hedges the height of my waist. Pine trees dotted the grounds, giving the impression of a Japanese garden. A pond in the middle of the garden was full of fish that resembled red koi. But the house itself was the most eye-catching part of the property. It was a one-story building, and it looked quite flat compared to the other houses. In fact, it looked like a Japanese-style house straight out of the Edo period, which made it particularly odd next to the European-style houses common in the capital.

“What’s wrong, Sumire?” Eugene asked.

“Nothing’s wrong, per se... Is that your house, Eugene?”

“Yeah. I’m home!” Eugene said, strolling right through the open gate.

I was still frozen in shock, but I pushed through my astonishment to hurry after him. “W-Wait up!”

We cut through the garden, and Eugene placed his hand on the front door. It slid open smoothly.

“It’s not locked?! Why?!” I exclaimed.

“We never lock the door,” Eugene replied.

“Don’t you think that’s taking home security a little too lightly?!”

“It’s not like we have anything worth a lot of money. We carry our valuables along with us, and my old man leaves the bigger items in the palace.”

“What if a robber breaks in?!”

“We used to get robbers in the past, but my dad beheaded them all. Now that the robbers know what fate awaits them, they avoid our place.”

“That’s terrifying!”

Was Eugene’s dad a psychopath? I fearfully entered the house, only to be greeted by a foyer and a long hallway. Eugene took off his shoes, so I copied him.

“Wow, Sumire, I’m surprised you know to take off your shoes. Most people I invite over are pretty surprised by this habit.”

“This is more natural to me. In my previous world, we also took off our shoes inside.” That being said, the sudden reversion to Japanese customs was still strange to me.

Eugene and I walked through the wooden building. It was clean, with not a speck of dust in sight.

“Two years, huh?” Eugene murmured, looking around his home, emotions swirling in his eyes.

I followed his example and looked about as well. The wooden floor was a dark and comfortable color, and sliding panels resembling fusuma separated the rooms. Beyond them, I could see tatami on the floors. It’s so Japanese...

“It’s a pretty strange home, right?” Eugene said. “My dad was adamant about replicating the buildings from his homeland. He caused a lot of headaches for the construction workers with his specifications.”

“Your dad came from the Eastern Continent, right?”

“Yeah, from a small country that was destroyed in a war. I don’t remember that, though, since it happened when I was still a baby.”

“I see...”

The Eastern Continent probably had a culture similar to Japan’s. It made me curious, but if it was always engulfed in war, it sounded too scary to visit.

“Eugene! Welcome home!”

A sudden voice from behind me interrupted my thoughts.

“Whoa!” I shouted.

“Miss Hana, long time no see,” Eugene said.

Serious jumpscare! No one had been behind us mere seconds ago. Eugene didn’t seem surprised, so he had probably noticed this person.

“Oh, my! What a cute-looking girl. I didn’t know you had it in you, Eugene!” The person speaking to us was a smiling old lady wearing an apron over her clothes. Despite her elderly appearance, she had amazing posture and was standing with her back straight.

“Miss Hana, this is Sumire. She’s my classmate at Lykeion Magic Academy and...and she’s also my girlfriend...”

“It’s nice to meet you! My name is Sumire!” I introduced myself in a hurry. Eugene actually introduced me as his girlfriend... My face grew hot.

“Oh, yes, I know. Your father told me all about her. It’s very nice to meet you, Sumire. I am Hana, a housekeeper for the Santafield family. I’ve looked after Eugene since he was a small boy. If you have any questions about him, feel free to ask me! I can tell you all about how he can’t eat spicy food or how he used to be scared of ghosts.”

“Miss Hana?!”

She laughed in response to Eugene’s indignation. She was a gutsy old lady.

“Eugene, Sumire, why don’t you go to the parlor? I’ve prepared some snacks and tea for you two.”

“Thank you, Miss Hana. Is dad still at work?”

“Yes, he is. He said that he would be back for dinner.”

“All right. Come with me, Sumire.”

“Okaaay!”

Eugene led me to a large parlor near the entrance of the home. Unlike the Japanese-looking rooms of the rest of the house, this one was European-style and had sofas. Two cups filled with tea, as well as plates of snacks, were already on the table.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Eugene said.

“Thank you!” I sat down on the sofa Eugene had gestured to. I took a sip of the tea and let out a long, relaxed sigh.

“You must be tired,” Eugene said.

“Yeah, though I don’t feel too tired. My first time on the airship must have taken more out of me than I’d thought.”

“I’ll take our luggage to the bedrooms. Miss Hana prepared one for you.”

“Um... For the rooms, am I going to stay with y—”

“We’ll be sleeping in separate rooms.”

“Okaaay...”

I supposed that made sense. It would be odder to sleep in the same room during my first time visiting Eugene’s childhood home. Besides, I was pretty scared of what Sara might do or say in retaliation if she found out I had taken advantage of her absence, so I would follow the rules Eugene set down.

After Eugene came back, we chatted for a while, but over time, my eyelids started growing heavy.

“You can sleep if you want,” Eugene said.

I only managed to make a quiet acknowledging sound before I closed my eyes and drifted off.

***

“Fwah... Hmm?” When I woke up, the light from the window was red. It was already sunset. Someone had put a blanket over my body, but no one was in the room. “Eugene?” I murmured, my voice quiet in the empty space.

“If you’re looking for Eugene, he’s training in the dojo, Sumire.”

“Huh?!” Miss Hana was standing right next to me with a smile on her face. Whoa! I could’ve sworn I was alone in here! Is she a ninja or something?! Heart still pounding, I asked, “Um, excuse me, but where is the dojo?”

“I’ll take you there.”

I followed Miss Hana as she led me back behind the house. From inside the dojo, I could hear the whoosh of a sword cutting through the air. It must have been the sound of Eugene practicing his swings.

“I’ll take my leave here. I still have dinner to prepare,” Miss Hana said with a small nod before walking away.

I returned the gesture before approaching the dojo. Wow! I thought, impressed by what I saw when I peeked inside. Eugene was swinging a sword alone. I was a complete novice in this field, so I didn’t understand complex techniques. But from my amateur perspective, Eugene’s swordsmanship was fluid. Each action flowed into the next without hesitation, and he always held his back straight. The blade cut through the air so quickly that I couldn’t follow his movements. Yet I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the dance he was performing with his sword, and suddenly, he noticed me.

“Sumire, you woke up?”

“Yeah. I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I said. Before I could step into the dojo, another voice sounded out.

“Looks like you’ve been keeping up with your training.”

I didn’t recognize the speaker. Huh? I didn’t have the opportunity to think anything more than that, because with a loud thump, the ground underneath me shook.

“Eek!” The scream flew out of my mouth, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I slowly opened them again to see Eugene on his knees, blocking the sword that the stranger was swinging down at him. “Eugene!”

“Oh! Sorry for the scare, young lady,” the stranger said with the mischievous smile of a prankster. He was a proper middle-aged man, looking to be in his forties. He had black eyes and long, black hair that he’d pulled into a messy ponytail. His clothes were of a casual Japanese style, and he had stubble on his chin. Something about him reminded me of Eugene.

“Hey, dad? Don’t you think a surprise attack on the son you haven’t seen for two years is too much?” Eugene complained.

“As the one who taught you how to use your sword, it’s my duty to make sure you haven’t grown rusty,” the man replied playfully.

So this is...

Apparently, this middle-aged man was none other than Eugene’s father.

Chapter Two: Eugene Has a Reunion

♢Sumire’s POV♢

“Thank you for making the long trip here! I heard that you were a great help in curing my foolish son of his funk. As Eugene’s father, I really can’t thank you enough!”

“My name is Sumire Sashiougi, and really, I’m the one who should thank you. Eugene’s always helping me out of trouble...”

“I’d love to hear more about your adventures, but we should have dinner first! Miss Hana’s cooking is to die for!”

And that was how I ended up eating dinner with Eugene’s family. It was a little nerve-racking to have Eugene’s father staring at me from across the table. I wasn’t sure if this was the right word to describe him, but Eugene’s father seemed like a pretty casual fellow. He was always smiling, and sometimes, I couldn’t tell if any thoughts were going on behind that expression. He looked so similar to Eugene, but he gave off a completely different vibe.

“Go ahead, young lady. Enjoy the meal. Do you know how to eat this, by the way?” Miss Hana, also smiling, asked me.

A pot of bubbling liquid was sitting in the middle of the table, filling the air with the aroma of dashi broth.

“Y-Yes, I do. Thank you,” I said before cracking a raw egg into a ceramic bowl. I mixed it up with my chopsticks, then used a ladle with holes at the bottom to scoop the ingredients from the pot before placing them into the raw egg mixture. The egg cooled down the food until it wouldn’t burn my mouth. Slowly and carefully, I bit into a piece of vegetable that had soaked up all the soup. “Whoa! This is delicious!” A sweet and salty flavor filled my mouth. I knew it. This is sukiyaki! For some reason, I was eating sukiyaki in this fantasy world.

“Sumire, I’m surprised you knew the right way to eat this,” Eugene said, eyes wide.

“You’re not having any?” I asked when I realized that Eugene’s chopsticks weren’t moving.

“I’m not a fan of raw egg...”

“Oh, yeah?”

“You’re pathetic!” Eugene’s dad guffawed. “This is the best way to enjoy it.”

“I eat cooked eggs, don’t I?”

“Blasphemy! You’re ruining the ingredients’ natural flavor! Huh, now that I think about it, you hate having raw eggs on your rice too.”

“Yeah. Miss Hana, I’d like tamagoyaki for tomorrow’s breakfast.”

“Huh? Eugene, you don’t like raw egg on rice?! It’s so good, though!” I exclaimed.

We were having a lively conversation as we shared a hot pot. This is a pretty good feeling! I reached out with my chopsticks, picked up a piece of sushi, and popped it into my mouth. Wait, I wasn’t thinking too hard about what I ate, but that was some normal sushi! Sitting around a Japanese-style table while eating sushi and sukiyaki... When did I travel back to Japan?

“Is the food to your taste, Sumire?” Miss Hana asked.

“Yes! Everything’s so delicious!”

“Oh, I’m glad to hear that.” She was still smiling, but I noticed her plate and bowl were empty.

“Um... Are you not going to eat anything?” I asked.

“I’m a maid of the Santafield family, so I don’t dare eat before my masters and their dear guest have finished.”

“What? That’s...” Group meals were more fun when everyone got to eat together. Maybe this world had a really strict caste system? I wasn’t sure what else I could say if that was the case.

“Miss Hana, act as you normally would,” Eugene said. “Sumire’s an otherworlder, so she doesn’t care about imperial etiquette.”

“Is that so? I will also partake, then.” Miss Hana started eating, not acting reserved at all.

“Eugene? What did you mean by imperial etiquette?” I asked.

“He may not look it, but my old man’s an honorary member of the imperial family, so even if we find their customs and traditions annoying, we have to follow them.”

“Hey, what did you mean by that? I don’t look like royalty?”

“You don’t own any land, and Miss Hana is the only person who works for you. It’ll only do Sumire a disservice in the future if she thinks all imperial nobles are like you.”

“Well, you got me there. Ha ha ha!”

After that rapid-fire exchange, Eugene turned his attention back to me. “Anyway, that’s the gist of it, Sumire.”

“I get it now!” I replied. “Should I learn proper Grenflare table manners?”

“Nah, you don’t have to. It’s not like you’ll be living here.”

Miss Hana immediately jumped in to scold him. “What in the world are you saying, Eugene?! If there’s any chance that Sumire might someday be your bride, there’s no harm in her learning imperial etiquette!”

“Br-Bride?!” I squeaked.

“Miss Hana...” Eugene sighed. “Sumire only just came to this world. She has more important things to learn.”

“Nuh-uh! Absolutely not! Sumire, when I can make time, I’ll teach you the basics, if it’s all right with you.”

“Of course it is! Thank you, Miss Hana!”

“Oh, you’re such a sweet girl! So polite and enthusiastic! You remind me of Eugene’s mother when she was young,” Eugene’s dad said.

“Eugene’s mother?!” Until Eugene’s dad brought her up, I had heard almost nothing about Eugene’s late mother. I felt a little bad.

“Sumire, don’t take him seriously. My old man says that about any woman when he gets drunk.”

“Oh, really...”

Just as Eugene had implied, his father had already gone through several cups of alcohol.

“Heeey, Eugene! You’re of drinking age, aren’t you? How can you turn down sake from your old man, eh?”

“I prefer drinking at my own pace.”

“And you’re even giving me lip! Don’t tell me you spend all day drinking and playing at that magic school of yours. You found yourself a cute girlfriend, so pour your dad a drink!”

“Drunkard...” Eugene was complaining, but he looked like he was having fun.

We chatted and enjoyed each other’s company until we had finished all the food on the table.

***

After dinner, we relaxed while enjoying some warm tea and cold snacks that Miss Hana had prepared for us.

“Yo, Eugene, can you go to the palace tomorrow?” Eugene’s dad asked flippantly.

“Hmm? Why should I?”

“That guy wants to see you. I’ve told him a million times that you’re a civilian now that you dropped out of the military academy, but he refuses to listen to reason.”

“That guy?”

“Master Santafield, you mustn’t call His Imperial Majesty ‘that guy,’” Miss Hana scolded.

“The emperor?!” Eugene and I shouted in unison.

“Why does the emperor want to see me?” Eugene asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? He wants to hear about you facing off against the Divine Beast Cerberus and the Demon Queen Erinyes in the Last Dungeon. He loves hearing about other people’s heroics.”

“Seriously?” Eugene frowned up at the ceiling.

“Didn’t you love hanging out with him when you were younger?” Eugene’s dad asked. “He was pretty sad when you left the country out of the blue without saying anything to him first.”

“That was when he was still the prince... It became difficult to have a casual conversation with him after he ascended the throne. But I didn’t know he still cared about me.” I could tell from Eugene’s tone that he was thinking back on the fond memories he had of the current emperor.

“Here.”

“Hmm?”

Eugene’s father threw a piece of paper like it was a ninja star, and Eugene easily snatched it out of the air. It turned out to be an envelope.

“It’s a letter of reference so you can meet with the emperor. I wrote it for you. Make sure you swing by the palace when you have time.”

“This is really sudden... But yeah, got it.” Eugene furrowed his brow before turning to face me. “Sorry, Sumire. I wanted to show you around the capital tomorrow, but looks like I won’t have time.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll stay here.”

“If you’re all right with me, I can take you on a tour of the city,” Miss Hana volunteered.

“Yes, please! I’d love that!” I cheered.

“I look forward to tomorrow, then, Sumire.”

And that was how I ended up having to spend my third day in the empire without Eugene.

♢Eugene’s POV♢

Einherjar Palace, where the emperor resided with his family, was situated in the heart of the capital of Grenflare. Several Steel Knights were always standing guard at the massive front gate, keeping their eyes peeled for danger or intruders. When I was a kid, I had always entered the palace from the back door, but since I had an official invitation today, I walked in from the front. There was already a line at the entrance.

“Next! You look pretty young. Are you a student? Show me your papers,” the guard demanded.

“Of course. Here you go.”

I was wearing a Lykeion Magic Academy student uniform, so the Steel Knight at the entrance must have thought me suspicious. I couldn’t blame him, so I handed him the envelope with the letter from my father.

“Why, this is... Only those in the imperial army can use this envelope. Are you related to someone in there? Let’s see who signed this...” The guard paused. “What terrible handwriting. It’s illegible!”

“I’m sorry...” My father’s handwriting had always been terrible.

The Steel Knight gave up on deciphering the signature. Instead, he held some sort of magic item over the envelope.

“Looks like this is the real deal,” he said. “You may enter the palace. What business do you have in there?”

“An audience with His Imperial Majesty.”

“Another one? So many people have been coming here to speak with him. His Imperial Majesty allows the citizens to voice their opinions to him directly. Many come to the palace for that very reason, and the waitlist is so long that some have waited three days for an opportunity to speak with him. Will you still wait even after... No, I suppose that’s a foolish question to pose to someone who has already made the trip here. All right, you may enter! Just keep walking straight and you’ll reach the audience chamber. Ask a guard if you get lost.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Next!”

The Steel Knight had been kind enough to give me a heads-up. After thanking him, I passed through the gate. Between the front gate and the palace were a vast garden and a wide stone path. Now that I thought about it, it had been a long time since I had come this way. Back in the day, I had followed this path whenever my dad took me to the palace, but this was my first time walking it alone.

The complex designs gracing Einherjar Palace’s walls slowly came into view. If I remembered correctly, the emperor from a few generations ago had been obsessed with art, and he had been the one to order the decorations. It was said that the most valuable piece of art in the capital was the palace itself. Even when an Infernal Demonic Beast attacked the capital a century ago, everyone had prioritized protecting the palace.

At the large door to the palace, another guard stopped me, and we had pretty much the same conversation I’d had at the front gate. When I was a kid, I was allowed to go in and out as I pleased, I reflected. I walked down the wide corridor and saw the giant door leading into the audience chamber, as well as the crowd of people milling about in front of it. Are they...

They were probably the people waiting their turn to speak with the emperor. I heard that the emperor spent less than an hour a day listening to the voices of his people, and that each visitor only got about a minute with him. Yet crowds of people always came for that valuable sliver of time.

After receiving my ticket from the knight in charge of managing the line, I looked between the number on my ticket and the number on the chalkboard hanging next to the door. Over a hundred people are ahead of me? Looked like I couldn’t have my reunion with the emperor. Just in case, I gave the knight next to the line the invitation that my father had handed me, but he couldn’t read the signature either. Dad...

I sighed before walking over to the wall and leaning against the window. For a while, I enjoyed the view outside. It was a nice day. Sumire and Miss Hana were probably strolling through the city about now. From the window, I could see a garden with pretty flowers blooming here and there. Oh, yeah, when we were kids, we used to play hide-and-seek around there... I was lost in my memories when...

“Eu?”

A voice called out my name. Or, more accurately, my nickname. It cut through the chatter of the waiting space before the audience chamber and reached my ears. I didn’t need to turn around to see who it was. I had spent most of my life listening to this voice. Two years had passed since I had last seen her, but I could never forget her.

I couldn’t answer her. Though I lowered my gaze from the view outside the window, I hesitated to face her, but in the end, I turned around. As I expected, it was her—Princess Airi Areus Grenflare—standing there. After a long absence, I was finally seeing my childhood friend and the seventh princess of the empire again.

“Eu... It’s been too long.” The woman speaking before me was a noble knight wearing pure white armor with a crest resembling a golden lion embedded in the metal. Her face was familiar yet completely different.

You’ve grown into such a beautiful woman. The Airi in my memories was still wearing the uniform of the imperial military academy. She had really matured in two years. These days, my childhood friend was a general as well as a Heavenly Knight, meaning she was one of the most powerful warriors in the empire. Meanwhile, I was still a student, lazing my days away in a foreign country. Our positions had flipped. Right, now’s not the time to get lost in sentimental musings. She’s talking to me.

“Long time no see, Princess Airi,” I said, placing my right hand over my chest and lowering my head. My dad was imperial nobility, but I was a commoner. This was the proper etiquette when greeting Airi, a princess. If I were in the army, I would need to kneel instead or something, huh?

“Eh?” She sounded confused at my behavior. “Hey, um, Eu? Why don’t you treat me like you—”

“Airi, what are you doing over there?” someone interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. I glanced up to see that this someone was a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes. He looked every inch like a stereotypical noble.

“Berthold! This is Eugene, who was the valedictorian at the military academy. I told you about him, remember?”

“Ah, yes... So you’re the pathetic man who failed the selection exam and fled to a different country?”

The man next to Airi didn’t mince his words. Berthold... I’d heard of him before. He was a young and talented general who was clawing his way to the top, making a name for himself despite his status as a lower-ranking noble. He was also Airi’s current boyfriend. That was what I’d heard, anyway, and apparently, the rumors were true. When they stood next to each other like this, they looked like the perfect couple.

“How can you say that?” Airi said.

“We mustn’t keep His Imperial Majesty waiting. This is a very important time for him,” Berthold said.

“I know. But at least let me speak with—”

“We don’t have time for that!”

I was listening to their argument when...

“Heeey, Eugene! Whatcha doin’ there?” a familiar and relaxed voice sounded out. He was probably hoarser than usual because he had drunk too much last night.

“The Imperial Sword!” Airi and the knight next to her hurriedly straightened their backs.

“Oh, if it isn’t Airi! And Berthold is with you? Did I get in the way of some young love?” my dad asked as he strolled up to us. He was wearing his usual hakama and carrying his sword at his waist. He didn’t match the palace’s aesthetic at all.

“N-No, of course you didn’t! Come on, Airi. We must hurry to His Imperial Majesty!”

“R-Right...”

Berthold and Airi walked off in the direction of the audience chamber. Airi kept glancing back like she wanted to say anything, but she never ended up doing so.

“Eugene, whatcha doin’ here?” my dad asked again. “Did you forget the invitation?”

“I showed it to the knights here, but they said they couldn’t read the handwriting.”

“Hmm? They couldn’t read it?”

“Well, I can, but...”

I handed my dad the envelope. Having overheard our conversation, the knight who was managing the line ran over to us, face pale. “M-My deepest apologies, Imperial Sword!”

“Oh, it’s fine. No worries. Sorry for my ugly handwriting.” He clapped his hands on the shuddering knight’s shoulders a few times before heading for the audience chamber, the cheery smile on his face never wavering. After a few steps, he turned around to say, “Eugene, you coming?”

“Wait, me too?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I told the emperor that I would take you to meet him at noon today.”

“You never said a thing about that to me, and it’s already past noon.”

“Yeah, we’re late, so we gotta hurry.”

And whose fault is it that we’re late?! I swallowed the words before they could escape and followed my father into the audience chamber.

I had never exchanged words with the emperor before. All my conversations with him had taken place before he’d ascended the throne. Back when he was a prince, my old man had been his bodyguard, which meant they had been together all the time, so we used to see each other a lot.

When the emperor was a prince, he had often been the target of assassinations. He was almost always hanging out at our house, sharing our meals and drinking our alcohol before falling asleep on the floor. My impression was that he was kind of a slob. That explained why he got along with my father so well. I remembered how Airi and I used to watch the two adults with matching exasperation.

After he became the emperor, I had only heard rumors from my dad and Airi about how he’d changed. My dad had lamented that the emperor had turned into a square, while Airi had complained about how strict her father had become. My only response to them had always been “Oh yeah?” After all, I had never met or spoken with His Imperial Majesty back then.

At the time, I’d figured that I would eventually have the chance to reunite with the emperor, as it was a tradition for the emperor to greet new soldiers after they graduated from the military academy. Once I made a name for myself, I’d get more opportunities to chat with him too. Today, though, I was finally standing before him, and...

“It’s been too long, Eugene,” the emperor said. Several years had passed since I had last heard his voice, but it sounded colder than in my memories.

“Yes, it has, Your Imperial Majesty,” I said, kneeling before him.

I stole a glance at him. He was around my father’s age, but he looked much younger. The emperor had a handsome face and blond hair, and he was staring down at me with an austere look in his eyes. To his right was my father, the Imperial Sword. He was yawning, looking like he wanted to fall asleep. Normally, the chancellor would have been standing on the emperor’s left, but I didn’t see the familiar face of Chancellor Leopold there. Instead, there was a beautiful woman. I couldn’t tell how old she was, but she looked younger than the emperor.

Had Chancellor Leopold retired? He was over seventy years old, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he had. The old man had treated Airi and me like we were his own grandchildren, so I had wanted to say hello to him after spending the past two years in the dungeon city... Was this woman the new chancellor, then?

The only people who could stand at the same height as the emperor’s throne were the Imperial Sword and the chancellor, so I was pretty confident in my guess. Isn’t she too young for the position, though?

“Eugene,” the emperor said, interrupting my derailing thoughts and bringing me back to the present. His voice carried easily in the wide audience chamber. “I heard you defeated both the Divine Beast Cerberus and the Demon Queen Erinyes. Twice now, you have brought glory to the Grenflare Empire. I am impressed.”

“Thank you very much, Your Imperial Majesty. I am honored to hear your words of praise,” I said, choosing the safest and most basic response.

“In imperial law, those who have passed the 100th Level of the Last Dungeon Babel receive the same rights and privileges as commanders of the Golden Knights. If you wish, I can bestow that status upon you, Eugene. What say you?”

“I...” I thought back to what Massio had told me. Hearing these words from the emperor himself made me proud, but I couldn’t just accept his offer. I was ruminating on how I should turn him down when someone interrupted the proceedings.

“My apologies, but I have something I’d like to say, Your Imperial Majesty!” It was Berthold, the knight who had been with Airi earlier. Wait, he was a general, wasn’t he? “The otherworlder Ifrit and the top Saint Candidate from the Cardia Halidom aided Eugene in his fight against the Demon Queen. I believe that if it hadn’t been for their assistance, he would never have won against the Demon Queen. It is far too early for him to earn the same privileges as a Golden Knight commander!”

Berthold’s opinion went directly against His Imperial Majesty’s. Was it all right for him to be this blatant in his disagreement? When I looked over at the emperor, I saw that his expression had twisted slightly in distaste.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” he said. “Stand down.”

“My apologies,” General Berthold said, lowering his head and falling silent.

“Now then, Eugene. What do you say?” the emperor asked me.

Hey now... This makes it even harder for me to turn him down... I was racking my brain for a good way to word my thoughts when a familiar drawl broke the silence in the audience chamber.

“Eugene, you haven’t forgotten the Santafield family motto, have you?”

What are you blabbering on about, old man? Read the room, I wanted to say, but I fought back the urge. How could I ever forget it, anyway? I had to keep my promises. My father had repeated these words countless times ever since I was a kid. A swordsman who couldn’t keep his promises would never attain a meaningful victory. That was the Santafield family motto, and we lived and died by it.

Let’s head up to the 500th Level together, Sumire. That had been the promise I’d made with her, and I still hadn’t fulfilled it yet, so there was only one answer I could give the emperor.

“My apologies, Your Imperial Majesty. I still have something I need to finish at Lykeion Magic Academy. Until I do, I can’t return to the empire, nor can I join the Golden Knights.”

After I turned down the emperor’s offer, muttering broke out among the audience chamber, but I wouldn’t take back my words.

“The cheek!”

“How dare that impudent brat reject His Imperial Majesty’s generosity!”

“Does that peasant even know his place?!”

Ugh, wow, they’re not holding back. My old man wasn’t speaking up in my defense either.

The woman standing to the emperor’s left spoke up for the first time. “Now, now, everyone. Surely this is no big deal. Your Imperial Majesty, won’t you graciously support this young swordsman’s attempt to challenge the Last Dungeon?”

The chattering in the room quieted down immediately at her words.

“Of course I will,” the emperor said reluctantly before standing up.

Had my answer put him in a bad mood? He disappeared through the door at the back of the audience chamber, and the chancellor followed after him. As for my dad... He was yawning, looking sleepy. Look... You know what, never mind. This is how he always acts.

Since the imperial army would be using the audience chamber for a military council, I was chased out, as I was an ordinary citizen. When I passed through the reception room, I bowed to the higher-ranking officers and aristocrats.

“Eu...”

Right before I left the reception hall, I thought I heard her calling my name again. I spun around, but the crowd of people was so thick that Airi was nowhere to be found.

***

As I stepped back into the hallway of Einherjar Palace, I heard a guard proclaiming, “His Imperial Majesty will not be seeing anyone else today. Come back tomorrow!” The time for audiences had ended.

Is it because I used up too much of his time? If that was the case, I felt pretty bad, and I issued a mental apology to everyone in line. Now that I had finished with my personal errand, though, I no longer had any reason to stay in the palace. Figuring I could go home, I turned and made my way for the exit only for someone to call out to me.

“Mister Eugene! Please hold on a minute!”

I turned around to see an older knight clad in golden armor. A Golden Knight? He answers directly to the emperor. I didn’t recognize him, so I cautiously asked, “What is it?”

Granted, we were still inside Einherjar Palace, the imperial residence. Though I didn’t know the Golden Knight standing before me, I doubted he was anyone suspicious. A symbol resembling two pairs of wings had been engraved into his breastplate, meaning he was at least a captain in the Golden Knights.

“Chancellor Ekaterina wishes to speak with you,” the knight said.

“The chancellor? With me?”

I had never met the chancellor before. I’d left the empire two years ago, and she must have been appointed to her position some time after that. She shouldn’t know me at all.

“She said that she can reschedule if you have something to do later. What do you say?”

“It’s all right. I have time now, so I can go see her.”

Looked like I couldn’t worm my way out of this. I followed the Golden Knight, who took me to a large door right next to the one leading to the audience chamber. I was well familiar with the room beyond the door, since it had once belonged to old Chancellor Leopold. Airi and I used to play here all the time.

The Golden Knight knocked on the door, and a woman’s voice rang out from behind it. “Come in.”

“Please enter, Mister Eugene,” the knight said to me. This would be as far as he would take me, then.

“Excuse me.” I walked into the room a little nervously. I hadn’t been in here since I was a child.

“At ease,” the sophisticated-looking woman who had been at the emperor’s side said to me from where she was elegantly sitting.

She was wearing a dark blue dress underneath her black cape—oddly severe color choices for a woman. I could tell they were expensive from the detailed patterns embroidered on the hems of the dress and cape. What really caught my eye about Chancellor Ekaterina was her beauty, though. Like Airi and other imperial aristocrats, she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Was she of noble birth?

“Eugene Santafield, at your service,” I said, placing a hand over my chest and lowering my head.

“Greetings. I am Ekaterina, the chancellor of the Grenflare Empire. Though this is our first time meeting each other, I’ve heard much about you.”

As expected, she was the new chancellor. Why wasn’t she giving me her last name, though? Nobles in the empire placed great value on their surnames, and the chancellor was the emperor’s right-hand person. They had enough political power to rule the empire in the emperor’s place should anything happen to him. Saying that the chancellor was one of the most prominent people in the empire was no overstatement, so under normal circumstances, I would’ve expected her to have made a big deal of their surname.

Incidentally, my father, the Imperial Sword, was the commander in chief of the imperial military, giving him power over the entire army. However, he rarely issued any orders. Whenever the army went into battle, he just led the charge himself—it was all he knew how to do. Airi had once told me that the emperor had often scolded him for this tactic. Granted, every time my father charged into the enemy army alone, he returned with the enemy commander’s head. I’d heard that the strategists complained about how their plans were always wasted on my father.

“What can I do for you today?” I asked the chancellor.

“You’re a serious one, aren’t you? Despite the similarity in appearance, you are quite different from your father. Lord Jubei does whatever he wishes, so I had anticipated that his son would be the same.”

“My father is... Well, he has his own way of doing things.”

Jubei was my father’s name. People on the Eastern and Southern Continents had pretty different naming conventions. From what I’d heard, my mother had been the one to name me Eugene. My father had wanted to name me Musashi. No offense to my dad, but to this day, I was glad that my mother had been the one to win that argument.

For a while, Chancellor Ekaterina and I engaged in some small talk. She summoned me here yet has nothing she wants me to do and nothing she wants to say to me? The thought must have been obvious in my expression, because she gave me a meaningful look.

“By the way, Mister Eugene,” she said. I realized she was about to get into the topic she’d called me here to discuss. “I hear you’re a professional Barrier Mage. Is that right?”

“Yes. I have a license.”

Now, this was unexpected. I had thought she would want to talk about the Divine Beast or the Demon Queen.

“Well, then, Mister Eugene the Barrier Mage. I would like to commission you for a job.”

“A job?”

The chancellor of the empire wanted to hire me, a student? Surely the empire had tons of experienced Barrier Mages it could employ, so there must have been a deeper meaning behind this request.

“Yes, that’s right,” Chancellor Ekaterina said. “Will you accept it?”

“I...” Normally, I would have turned down such a suspicious request. But this was the chancellor, one of the most powerful people in the empire. I was worried that if I turned her down, and she took offense, it would cause problems for my father, so I figured I could at least hear her out. “May I hear what the request is?”

In response, the chancellor shook her head, her expression theatrically sad. “Unfortunately, the details are a state secret. Once you hear what the request is, you’ll have to take it. If you wish to decline, you must do so now.”

“I see...” How troublesome. After thinking about it for a moment, I replied, “Very well. In that case, I gratefully accept the job. Will you tell me the details?”

No matter how suspicious the request was, the chancellor had chosen a nobody like myself for it. I would take it as an honor.

She chuckled. “I had no doubts you would, son of the Imperial Sword.” The smile on her face was gentle. From that expression alone, I didn’t think she was plotting anything nefarious. But then again, I was dealing with the chancellor of the empire; she was probably used to mind games. I waited for her to continue, never letting down my guard. “Very well. I shall inform you of the details. Mister Eugene, do you know of the Infernal Demonic Beast that’s been sealed near the capital?”

“Yes, I do. The Great Beast Haagenti, right? When I was a boy, my teachers used to threaten us by saying they brought misbehaving children to Haagenti.”

“Understandable; the Great Beast Haagenti is a symbol of fear among imperial citizens. To tell you the truth, though, the seal on that Infernal Demonic Beast is breaking.”

“Huh?”

It had been around two hundred years ago that the Great Beast Haagenti first appeared in the Chryses Fields. Despite suffering heavy losses, the empire had done everything in its power to seal it away. Still, the seal almost breaking wasn’t unheard of. The last time it had happened had been a hundred years ago, and it had caused the calamity that had ended with the capital half-destroyed.

“As I’m sure you know, Mister Eugene, living calamities like Infernal Demonic Beasts cannot be completely sealed away. Even inside the barrier, miasma builds up, eroding the walls until they reach their limit. The time for that has arrived, that’s all.”

“The seal on the Great Beast Haagenti is breaking...” I murmured. The Infernal Demonic Beast of legend might be free again? My brain was having trouble processing such important information. Chancellor Ekaterina had been right to say that this was a state secret. “So, what would you like me to do?”

She won’t ask me to seal the Infernal Demonic Beast away, will she? In that case, it wouldn’t even matter whether I accepted or rejected the request. It was impossible.

“You wish to know the details of my request, yes?” Chancellor Ekaterina said. “Tomorrow, a survey team will go to inspect the Infernal Demonic Beast’s seal. I would like you to accompany them.”

“Accompany the survey team?” That sounded doable, even for me.

“I’m counting on you, Mister Eugene.”

“Understood; a man never goes back on his promises. I’ll accept the job.” But still, why would she go out of her way to request this of a student? Asking the chancellor a question as petty as that seemed rude, but... “Why would you hire someone as inexperienced as me?”

“Hee hee. I can understand your confusion.” She must have anticipated my question, because she gave me a beautiful smile. “To tell you the truth, I can use Destiny Magic and am capable of Clairvoyance.”

“Clairvoyance?!”

That was the same power that a priestess of the Cardia Halidom possessed. It was so rare that you could probably only find one person on each continent capable of it.

“I do not possess as much power as the Priestess of Fate. Unlike her, I cannot hear the goddess’s voice. However, the emperor expects great things from my Clairvoyance and even granted me the position of chancellor because of it. I must live up to His Imperial Majesty’s expectations.” Chancellor Ekaterina’s expression was serious.

“So, according to your Clairvoyance, I should accompany the survey team to the Infernal Demonic Beast’s seal?” I asked.

“Though it is merely one of many futures, I foresaw that your involvement would lessen the damage caused by the Great Beast Haagenti’s unsealing.”

“Now I understand your reason for choosing me.” My suspicion faded. I had no issues with this job if it would help the empire.

“Thank you very much, Mister Eugene. I will pass along your compensation through the Imperial Sword.”

“Yes, that works for me.”

I would have to report this to my father later. After accepting the job from the chancellor, I left her room.

***

When I got home, my father, looking and acting uncharacteristically flustered, ran up to me and demanded, “Hey, Eugene! Did you actually accept a job from the chancellor?!”

“Should I not have?”

“Well, no... I mean, it’s no problem if you made the call. Did she say anything weird to you?”

“No, not really. The only other topic she brought up was her Clairvoyance.”

“I see. That’s good.”

I’d worried that the chancellor’s Clairvoyance was also a secret, but according to my father, everyone was aware of it. Lykeion Magic Academy was just too far away for news of the young chancellor to have reached it.

“Eugene, you’re going out tomorrow too?” Sumire asked.

“Sorry, Sumire. I have work.”

“Boo!” Sumire pouted.

We’d planned that I would show her around the capital only for my personal errands to wreck the schedule two days in a row. I was feeling pretty bad when my dad spoke up.

“Why don’t you take Sumire with you?”

I stared at him for a moment. “Is that okay? I heard that this job was top secret.”

“It’s fine. Besides, Sumire, the Ifrit reincarnator from another world, is like a walking, talking state secret herself. You’ll be safer with Eugene.”

“HUH?” Sumire looked shocked at my father’s words, and I probably wasn’t faring any better.

“Hmm? You didn’t realize? According to the goddess’s teachings, taking care of reincarnators from other worlds is our top priority. Pictures of Sumire have been circulating among the knights of the capital. Should anything happen while you’re here, guards will rush to your aid,” my dad said.

“Now that you mention it, Massio said something along those lines.” I hadn’t expected things to be blown so far out of proportion, though.

“Wow, all that for me? I don’t know if I’m important enough to warrant that,” Sumire said, looking ill at ease.

“Then come with me and the survey team to check out the Infernal Demonic Beast,” I said. “The Imperial Sword gave us permission, so I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Yep. I’m willing to bet the Golden Knights commander will lead the team, so just give him my name and he’ll let Sumire come along.”

“Thanks, dad.”

“No problem.”

In times like this, he was a great help.

“Sounds good. Yay! I’m finally gonna hang out with Eugene! ♪” Sumire cheered, sounding like she was in a better mood.

“I’ll prepare some bento boxes, then,” said Miss Hana, as considerate as ever.

They were acting so casually, like we would be going on a picnic tomorrow instead of surveying the Infernal Demonic Beast’s seal. Not only that, but this was a direct request from the chancellor. I’m going to have to keep my wits about me, I vowed to myself.

♢The next day...♢

“See you later!” Sumire said.

“We’re setting off. Bye, dad, Miss Hana,” I said.

“Watch yourselves,” dad admonished us.

“Stay safe, Eugene and Sumire,” Miss Hana said.

Having finished our breakfast, Sumire and I went to the north gate of the capital, which was the survey team’s meeting point. The Chryses Fields, where the Infernal Demonic Beast had been sealed away, were north of the capital. We traveled there via spindle-legged curlews—birds large enough for people to ride on.

At first, Sumire had been terrified of them. She’d been squeaking, “Huh? They’re huge! And scary!” but now she was cheering, “They’re so fast! Yahoo!” I was glad she was enjoying herself.

When we reached the north gate, the only person standing there was the guard. Influenced by the miasma leaking out of the Infernal Demonic Beast’s seal, the monsters roaming the Chryses Fields were more dangerous and vicious than normal. As a result, merchants were avoiding the Chryses Fields, which meant the north gate was always empty and quiet.

Sumire and I stood in the shade of a tree to wait for the survey team. I took advantage of the free time and started swinging my sword while Sumire muttered what sounded like a spell under her breath. That was when I finally noticed what she was wearing.

“Hmm? Sumire, is that robe...”

“Oh, you noticed? The headmaster lent it to me!”

She was wearing the magical robe that she had used against the Demon Queen during our Deus Discipline on the 100th Level. It was such a valuable treasure that if she’d sold it, she could probably have purchased a small country from the Blue Sea Union.

Headmaster Uther, I’m impressed you have no issue letting her bring something like that abroad... His decision was flabbergasting. At the same time, though, I thought back to what the headmaster had said to me before we left for the empire.

♢Some time ago...♢

“Eugene, Sumire leaving Lykeion Magic Academy for a while means that I won’t be able to supervise or protect her. As her guardian, you’ll have to do that in my place,” the headmaster told me, looking uncharacteristically serious, before I left.

Supervise? That’s a pretty dramatic way of putting things, I thought. “Understood, Headmaster Uther. You can trust me to protect her.”

“You’re not understanding, Eugene. Have you not noticed any recent changes in our resident Ifrit?”

“Recent changes? Uh, Sumire’s working really hard to improve her magic.”

Slowly but steadily, Sumire was getting better at handling her mana. But the headmaster just sighed at my response.

“I suppose spending so much time together would blind even you, Eugene. Sumire’s mana has doubled since her arrival in our world.”

“Huh?”

Though the words surprised me, they weren’t unthinkable. Indeed, I had felt that the mana surrounding Sumire was increasing by the day, but I hadn’t thought the change was too dramatic. To think that she had doubled her mana levels in only a few months...

“She belongs to a divine race that went extinct during the ancient times. To put it more accurately, she hails from a race that the goddesses whisked away to the heavens after deeming them too dangerous for the surface. In mana levels alone, she is already the most powerful student in Lykeion Magic Academy.”

“She’s that powerful? But surely she’s not at your level, is she, Headmaster Uther?” I replied. I was shocked, but I was still half-joking.

However, the headmaster’s expression remained stern. “She’ll surpass me in time. Of course, that’s only if we’re looking at mana levels.”

“More powerful than you?” I gasped.

The revelation was frightening. In all my time at the empire and the academy, I had never met a mage who could even come close to standing on equal footing with the headmaster. Yet Sumire would grow even more powerful than him?

“Keep this in mind, Eugene. Mentally, Sumire is a young girl who reincarnated to our world from another, but physically, she holds divine strength. It’s impossible for a human’s mind to find balance in a god’s vessel. Sumire is sweet and kindhearted, but there is always the chance that her body’s influence will deify her spirit. So far, I’ve seen no signs of that happening. However, it is the inescapable truth that the mana inside of her is growing by the day, and she’s already close to the pinnacle of what humanity is capable of. I’m counting on you, Eugene. Keep an eye on her. She’s your precious partner, isn’t she?”

I replied with a serious nod. “Understood, Headmaster Uther.”

***

And now, back to the present.

“What’s wrong, Eugene? You have a scary look on your face,” Sumire said. She’d stopped her incantation and was giving me a smile.

This was the same Sumire as always, so I replied as I always did. “Nah, it’s nothing. Have you gotten better at handling your magic?”

At my question, Sumire’s smile stretched into a grin. “Check this out. I picked this up recently.”

After saying that, she murmured something I couldn’t understand. It wasn’t the standard tongue of the Southern Continent, which everyone at Lykeion Magic Academy used. It also wasn’t the language of Sumire’s previous world, which she had taught me a bit of.

The next moment, goose bumps stood up over my body. Unlike before, no sparks appeared in the air, and Sumire looked the same as she always did, but... The mana... It’s so thick... It’s even difficult to breathe...

The pressure was similar yet different to what I’d felt in the Seventh Sealed Prison underneath the school. That was where the headmaster sealed away the Demon Queen and other creatures of legend. This mana was about as powerful as the mana emanating from that prison, and yet a single girl was the source of it.

“What do you think? The Fire Elementals and I are really good friends now,” Sumire said, giving me her usual smile.

“It took me by surprise... But I don’t think you should use any spells in that state. It would be dangerous if you lost control of your magic.”

“You think? But okay, if you say so, Eugene. Thanks...” She said something in that indecipherable language again, and the thick mana dispersed into the air.

My back was drenched in sweat. I would’ve been a lot more panicked if the headmaster hadn’t warned me in advance. I would have to thank Headmaster Uther after I returned to the dungeon city. And I mustn’t lose my composure over Sumire when she was my partner. I felt that I still needed to work on myself. This was no time to be celebrating us clearing the 100th Level. That was when I noticed a group of people approaching us.

“Eugene, are they...?” Sumire asked.

“Yeah, looks like the survey team’s here,” I replied.

Sumire and I walked over to greet them. As I got closer, I took the chance to look them over. Over ten of them were Platinum Knights who looked like they had plenty of experience in the field. A few Golden Knights were among them, likely as the Platinum Knights’ leaders. With this many people, it was closer to a survey troop than a survey team.

I should probably say hello to the leader. Figuring it was one of the Golden Knights, I scanned the group to see which one it was when... Huh? I noticed a knight in pure white armor emerging from the back of the group. On their breastplate was a symbol that resembled a lion with a pair of golden wings spreading from its back. It was proof that this person was a Heavenly Knight. I’d seen that emblem only yesterday. In fact, I’d met this knight yesterday too.

“Eh? Eu?” The female knight stared at me, eyes round as saucers.

I can’t believe this. Did Chancellor Ekaterina not know about this? Impossible. She had said herself that she could see the future. If the chancellor had been the one to choose the members of this team, she didn’t even need to use her Clairvoyance. This was all part of her plan. She had been the one to appoint Airi, a princess of Grenflare, as the leader of this survey team.

Chapter Three: Sumire Meets the Princess

♢Sumire’s POV♢

The woman standing before us had beautiful blonde hair that shone in the sunlight as if bejeweled. Her deep blue eyes were like sapphires. The white armor with the golden emblem she was wearing had been polished so well that it looked smooth as silk. The female knight carried herself in such an elegant manner that she seemed to have just stepped out of a painting. Wait, she was a princess, wasn’t she? Would that make her a princess knight instead of a normal female knight? She was also...

Eugene’s childhood friend... From Eugene’s stories, I had figured that she would be pretty, but the real deal was way more beautiful than anything I had imagined. Eugene had left the empire to study abroad at Lykeion Magic Academy because Princess Airi had dumped him, so I figured that he wasn’t feeling too good about this, but...

“Oh, wow! So you’re a graduate of the magic academy?”

“That I am! I guess that makes you and Sumire my juniors.”

“What was your dungeon record?”

“The same as yours, Eugene—the 100th Level. In my case, it took me five years to get up there, though.”

“Five years...”

“That’s not as uncommon as you might think. Many students can’t reach the 100th level at all.”

“Did you try exploring the floors above the 101st Level?”

“The floors above the 101st Level... Well, it’s hell up there. The monsters are far too powerful for someone like me. Eugene, are you serious about aiming for the upper levels?”

“Yes. I made a promise to Sumire, after all.”

“That’s amazing. I’m rooting for you.”

“Thank you.”

Eugene was chatting up a storm with a court mage in the same carriage. Apparently, the mage would be the one in charge of investigating the seal, and Eugene would be his assistant. As for Princess Airi—Eugene’s childhood friend—she had been shooting furtive glances in Eugene’s direction for a while now. Sometimes, she would catch my eye, and we would immediately look away in unison.

She’s not quite how I imagined her... From the stories I’d heard, I’d thought she was a coldhearted princess who had lost interest in Eugene after finding out he didn’t have the talent to become a Magic Swordsman. However, she looked like she desperately wanted to speak with him.

When we first saw each other at the meeting spot, Princess Airi had tried to say something to Eugene before the person next to her (her fiancé?) had stopped her. He was a handsome-looking officer named General Berthold. I could understand his wanting to stop his girlfriend from calling out to her ex-boyfriend, though.

Wait, I’m Eugene’s girlfriend right now! I figured that I should be more jealous of the fact that my boyfriend’s ex was trying to get closer to him. However...

“How’s Headmaster Uther these days?”

“He’s doing well. A little too well, if you ask me. I had a training session with him a little while back, and he completely beat me up.”

“Oh, wow, a personal training session from the headmaster?! I’m so jealous!”

Eugene wasn’t paying attention to his childhood friend at all. It looked like he really had gotten over his past.

“Eugene, will this be your first time seeing an Infernal Demonic Beast?”

“No, I had to deal with them a few times during my military academy days. I’ve gone on extermination missions against the Black Sheep they create.”

“Ah, right. Getting rid of Black Sheep is an assignment they give to the cadets.”

“I was pretty freaked out the first time I saw one.”

“Ha ha, same here.”

At this point during his conversation with the court mage, Eugene looked over at me and said, “This’ll be Sumire’s first time seeing an Infernal Demonic Beast, so I think she’ll be taken by surprise.”

“D-Do they look that terrifying?” I asked.

“Terrifying might not be the right word. They don’t look like living creatures, so...” Eugene paused.

“They’re hard to describe, aren’t they?” the court mage said.

I’d heard that this would be a safe mission since the Infernal Demonic Beast was sealed away, but now I was feeling unsure. Just as I was thinking that it would suck if this turned out to be a scary job, the horses whinnied and the carriage we were riding in clattered to a sudden halt.

“Eek!”

“Sumire!”

I almost fell forward, but Eugene placed a gentle hand on my shoulder to keep me upright.

“Th-Thanks, Eugene.”

“I take it we’ve entered the Infernal Demonic Beast’s territory,” Eugene said to the court mage instead of answering me.

“Looks like it,” the court mage agreed. “The horses are too afraid to keep going.”

Their expressions were graver than earlier. Eugene looked over at me and said, “Let’s get out. We’ll have to travel on foot from here.”

“O-Okay.”

Eugene helped me out of the carriage. We were standing in an open field covered with weeds, with short trees dotting the landscape here and there. It didn’t look like anyone had bothered to maintain the area. A single hill stood in the distance. Nothing here appeared to have been built by human hands, save for a path so slim that it could barely fit a carriage stretching toward the hill.

Eugene, the court mage, and I walked on the path. Princess Airi, the general, and the knights under their command surrounded us in a protective circle. Aside from the occasional cloud, the sky above us was a clear blue, and the fields were a bright green. It all made for a beautiful sight, but...

It’s kind of creepy. I wondered why I had that impression, and it didn’t take me long to land on the reason. I couldn’t hear the chirping of birds, the buzzing of insects, or the distant howls of beasts. There were no signs of life anywhere.

We walked down the path without exchanging any words. Only our footsteps broke the silence. After we’d walked for long enough that I was getting tired...

“Baaaahhhh!” A dark shadow suddenly popped out of the ground.

“Black Sheep spotted. Deal with it,” Princess Airi ordered curtly, and the knights around her jumped into action.

“Yes, ma’am!”

Wh-What the heck is that?!

The creature that they had called a Black Sheep was the size of an elephant. It was entirely covered in black tentacles, and it had four big eyes on its head. A long tongue hung from its mouth, dripping saliva onto the ground. It wasn’t emitting its horrible screech from this mouth, though. Instead, the noise came from a second gaping mouth on its stomach.

“Baaaahhhh!”

A Golden Knight stepped forward to slay the Black Sheep. Its cacophonic death cry echoed through the air as it collapsed to the ground, and its body bubbled and melted away with a sizzling noise.

“Stay away from it, Sumire,” Eugene warned. “Touching its corpse can both curse and poison you.”

“Eek!” I hurriedly darted behind Eugene and grabbed onto his arm. Th-This is so scary!

I sensed someone’s gaze on me and looked around to see Princess Airi watching me. However, she averted her eyes when she noticed me staring at her.

“Let’s keep moving,” Princess Airi commanded.

We resumed our march. Black Sheep attacked us countless times, but the knights fought them off every time. Though they had scared me at first, I eventually got used to them. Still moving my legs, I struck up a conversation with Eugene and the court mage.

“Um, going back to your earlier conversation, but what does an Infernal Demonic Beast look like?” At my question, Eugene and the court mage exchanged looks. Huh? I didn’t say anything weird, did I?

“Ah, sorry, Sumire,” Eugene said. “We weren’t clear in our explanation.”

“Miss Sumire, the thing about the Great Beast Haagenti is that... Well, we can already see it.”

“Huh?”

I looked in the direction the court mage was pointing but saw nothing there except the path winding through the fields and the hill in the distance. Thinking that the monster must be on the hill, I squinted and scanned the area. Still, nothing.

“Wait, huh?” That was when I noticed something: the hill was moving. “Th-That hill!”

“That’s the Great Beast Haagenti, Sumire,” Eugene said.

“I was surprised the first time I saw it too,” the court mage said.

I couldn’t respond; I was at a total loss for words.

“It looks like it’s doubled in size since the last time I saw it.”

“Ah, yes... Recently, it went through some kind of growth spurt. According to Chancellor Ekaterina, the seal may break within the next six months.”

I couldn’t even focus on the conversation Eugene was having with the court mage. Infernal Demonic Beasts are that big?! The Divine Beast Cerberus, which I had met on the 20th Level of Babel, and the dragon we’d fought on the 50th Level looked tiny in comparison.

After a bit more walking, we arrived at a fence that had been built around the Infernal Demonic Beast.

“Only those who can use barrier magic may proceed from here,” the court mage said. “Eugene, come with me.”

“Understood. Sumire, wait here for me, all right?”

“Okay. Be careful, Eugene. Do you need my mana?”

Eugene couldn’t create a magic sword with his own mana, so I figured I should lend him mine. I held Eugene’s hand, but he stopped me.

“It’s fine. We’re just checking on the seal today, and it wouldn’t do if we accidentally set off the Infernal Demonic Beast.”

“But...won’t those nasty Black Sheep from earlier attack you?”

“Black Sheep don’t appear this close to the Infernal Demonic Beast. Apparently, Black Sheep are monsters created from body parts that have fallen off the Infernal Demonic Beast. We’re not sure if it’s some kind of instinct, but they have a tendency to move as far away from the Infernal Demonic Beast as they can. The closer you get to an Infernal Demonic Beast, the fewer Black Sheep you’ll see.”

“Is that right? But seriously, be careful.”

“I know.” He gave me a few gentle pats on the head. “All right. See you.”

Then Eugene and the court mage entered the sealing fence, their backs getting smaller and smaller as they got farther away. At first, I kept an eye on them, but they were conversing as they examined a stake-like object that had been stuck into the ground. It looked like they would take a while, and like Eugene said, it didn’t look like any monsters would appear beyond the fence. I was wondering how much time they would need for the investigation when someone spoke to me.

“Excuse me.”

“Huh? Y-Yes?” I turned around to see Eugene’s childhood friend, Princess Airi, standing right next to me. Wow, she’s pretty... When I was standing this close to her, her doll-like features looked even more beautiful than before.

“Your name is”—she hesitated—“S-Sumire, yes?”

“That’s right! My name is Sumire Sashiougi.”

“I am pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Airi Areus Grenflare. I have something I’d like to discuss with—”

But before the princess could finish speaking, a Golden Knight ran up to us.

“Princess Airi! They’ve finished looking over the seal!”

Behind him, I saw the court mage returning to us.

“I see. We should hear what they had to... Huh?” Princess Airi tilted her head to the side.

“Hmm?” I thought it strange too. Why isn’t Eugene coming back? For some reason, he alone was heading deeper into the seal.

“Eu?” Princess Airi looked uneasy. She had probably already forgotten what she had wanted to say to me.

Both the princess and I stared after Eugene, only for him to suddenly turn around and look at us. He gave me a smile and waved his hand. This was likely his way of telling me not to worry, but...

Th-The princess looks really mad! Eugene, come back! Of course, my mental cry for help never reached his ears.

♢Eugene’s POV♢

“Hmm... The Sealing Braces supporting the barrier are in worse shape than I expected,” the court mage said as he looked over the seal, beads of sweat dotting his forehead. As his assistant, my job was to carry his tools. “Eugene, we’re getting pretty close to where the Infernal Demonic Beast is. Are you feeling all right?”

“I’m fine. In fact, I should be asking you that. How are you holding up?” I asked. He was looking worryingly pale and sick, and I thought he should probably rest for a bit.

“I think we can stop our investigation here,” the court mage panted. “Someone else came to check on the seal about a month ago, and he said that it would last half a year. But after seeing it for myself, I’d say that it’ll break within three months.”

“Three months...”

The court mage and I turned around to look up at the Infernal Demonic Beast, which was towering above us like a mountain. It was so monstrously large that it didn’t seem possible for it to be a living creature. But the slow pulsing of its breathing proved that it was one indeed.

“Wow, Eugene, you haven’t broken a sweat,” the court mage said. “Do you think you can get even closer to it?”

“I...” I hesitated before deciding to give him an honest answer. High-ranking officials in the empire were all prideful, and court mages were no exception, but I felt like I didn’t have to worry about insulting him. “Yes, I think I can.”

“What mastery over Barrier Magic, and at such a young age! All right. I’d like you to get as close to the Sealing Braces as you can and record it with this magic item. Don’t push yourself, though!”

“Understood.” I accepted the magic item with a nod and handed everything else to the court mage, who stumbled back to where the Golden Knights and Sumire were waiting.

Now then... I looked up at the giant black mountain, which seemed to stare right back at me. A rumbling noise sounded out at steady intervals. I still remembered my surprise at learning this was the sound of the Infernal Demonic Beast’s breathing. I slowly moved forward, the miasma and mana growing more oppressive with each step I took. If I hadn’t been protecting myself with my Barrier Magic, I wouldn’t even have been able to breathe. But... When compared to the Seventh Sealed Prison underneath Lykeion Magic Academy... It was much better than that. The prison was a full course meal of curses, poison, mental corruption, miasma, and hallucinations. Here, I only had to endure a raging storm of miasma and mana.

“Even so, it’s getting pretty bad,” I muttered to myself. I was close to the Infernal Demonic Beast’s body.

Using the magic item the court mage had handed me, I recorded the Sealing Braces. These were much closer to the Infernal Demonic Beast, so they were in critical condition, looking like they would snap apart at any second. I doubted they were still functioning. I wasn’t too familiar with Sealing Magic, but this was...

“Oh? Isn’t that a Star Cancer Beast? Wow, no one really bothered to deal with it, huh? I can’t believe how large it’s grown.”

“Eri?”

It had been a long time since I had heard the Demon Queen’s voice. She hadn’t said a word to me since my arrival at the capital, so I had assumed that the distance had prevented her from reaching out to me with telepathy.

“Of course not. I was asleep.”

“You were just sleeping?”

“It’s not like you’ll visit me or anything!”

“Sorry about that. I’ll be back in about ten days.”

“That’s too long! Just wait for what I have in store for you when you come back. I’ll drain you dry! ♡”

I didn’t respond for a second, scared of what awaited me after my return to the dungeon city. But something else piqued my interest. “Eri, are you familiar with Infernal Demonic Beasts?”

“Hmm? Is that the name humans use for them? Star Cancer Beasts are organism-like entities born from the miasma and malignant mana that build up within the planet’s ley lines. The people on the surface call them living calamities, but they’re not actually alive. This one is a tad too large, though.”

“You call this a tad?” I couldn’t believe her standards.

“Goodness, this is a shoddy excuse for a seal. It’ll break in a matter of days.”

“Days?” That made no sense. The court mage had said that the seal would last for three more months. Then again, I, a complete amateur, had also sensed that this seal wouldn’t last that long. I had only noticed this because I had approached the Infernal Demonic Beast, though.

“I’ll give it ten days at most,” Eri said. “At the earliest, it’ll break in a week.”

“Are you positive about that?”

“Most likely.”

I’d known Eri for a while now, so I knew that her “most likely” was closer to a “definitely.” Apparently, her habit of saying things into fruition was left over from when she’d served the goddesses in Heaven. Granted, she occasionally told “lies” now that she was a fallen angel, but I felt that she wasn’t fibbing right now.

I sure picked a great time for a homecoming... The legendary Infernal Demonic Beast that had almost obliterated the capital a hundred years ago would become unsealed within ten days? The timing couldn’t be worse. I hurried back to Airi, Sumire, and the court mage to inform them of this terrible news.

***

“Your Imperial Majesty, please take a look at this!” the court mage said, waving his hands dramatically as he showed us the images I’d taken of the barrier. The watching nobles and military officials murmured among themselves before they started yelling, anger and confusion evident in their voices.

“This is terrible. The Sealing Braces are completely broken... They can’t maintain the barrier in this state.”

“Oh no. If the Sealing Braces aren’t working, the barrier won’t hold either!”

“The reports we received were all inaccurate! What were the mages doing?!”

“Make them take responsibility!”

“This isn’t the time for recriminations!”

“So? How long will the barrier last?” the emperor, who had been sitting in silence, asked. Though he had furrowed his brow, he was still calm and was resting his cheek on the palm of his hand.

“I’d say about ten days. That’s the best-case scenario,” the court mage replied, giving the same answer Eri had. Ten days had been the time limit that all the court mages had come up with after discussing and calculating it together.

Upon hearing the court mage’s answer, the emperor stood up and declared, “Taking care of the Infernal Demonic Beast is our top priority. Suspend all other events!”

“Understood, Your Imperial Majesty!” the chancellor replied, and everyone else lowered their heads in acknowledgment.

However, some still looked unsure about something, and one of them spoke up. “Pl-Please pardon me, but may I confirm something? Will we also suspend our celebrations for our thousandth National Day? Prominent figures from multiple countries have already made plans to visit us. Among those VIPs is Saint Oriane, the Priestess of Fate, from the Cardia Halidom...”

“The celebrations will be pushed back. I will personally write them all letters of apology,” the chancellor said in a firm tone.

“We will hold a strategy meeting to devise a way to reseal the Infernal Demonic Beast. Intelligence officers, military nobles, and knight commanders, gather in the meeting room at once!” the marshal of the imperial army yelled.

“Yessir!” the knight commanders replied in unison.

The audience chamber was abuzz with activity. My work had finished, so I was looking for the right time to leave when...

“Wait.” Everyone fell silent at the emperor’s voice. “Eugene Santafield.”

“Y-Yes?” I hurriedly replied.

“You did well. I grant you the title of baron to commend you for your hard work. The chancellor will contact you later to inform you of your other rewards.”

“Huh?!” My surprise trumped my gratitude.

“Oh? His receiving a noble rank is a given?” the chancellor at the emperor’s side asked, looking equally shocked.

I glanced over at my father, who was standing on the emperor’s other side, but he was yawning. Would it kill him to have a bit more interest in his own son? The emperor stood without another word and left the room, and the chancellor followed him.

“Imperial Sword! Please join us in the meeting room!” someone called.

“Sure thing,” my father replied.

If he had to participate in the strategy meeting, he probably wouldn’t return home tonight. Everyone moved to the meeting room, still looking on edge.

“Eu,” someone called. I didn’t need to turn around to recognize my childhood friend’s voice.

“What can I do for you, Your Imperial Highness?” I asked, placing a hand over my chest and bowing to her.

“Ugh! Why are you acting so dis... Never mind. Will you join the strategy meeting?”

“You’re asking... I mean, you wish for me to join the meeting?”

I was about to say that, as a commoner, I had no right to sit in on a military meeting until I remembered that the emperor had just given me a noble title. He’d bestowed the accolade unceremoniously, and nothing was in writing, but the emperor’s word was absolute. As a baron, I was on the lowest rung of the ladder. However, I still counted as nobility, which meant I could participate in the meeting.

“Airi, what do you think you’re doing?” General Berthold, standing next to Airi, asked, his voice trembling with barely suppressed anger.

“You heard it yourself, Berthold. Eu saw the Infernal Demonic Beast’s seal from up close. His opinion is valuable.”

“It is not! We have the footage from the recording magic, and we can use that to decide on our course of action.”

“Well, yes, but... Eu, I’d like for you to come.”

“I...”

What should I do? Sumire was waiting for me at home, and I hadn’t accounted for this in my schedule. To tell the truth, I really didn’t want to go to the military meeting. But this was an order from the princess, so simply turning it down sounded like a bad idea. I was still pondering this when...

“Eugene, you gonna join the military meeting?” my father asked, strolling up and butting into our conversation.

“Mister Santafield!”

“Imperial Sword!”

“Sumire’s waiting for me, so I wanted to go home,” I told him.

“Yeah, the Infernal Demonic Beast’s miasma can sap away at your strength even after you leave the vicinity. I think checking up on her is a good idea,” dad agreed.

“Oh... So you won’t be at the meeting,” Airi said. She walked off, looking crestfallen.

General Ber-what’s-his-face glared at me, though he didn’t say anything. What? You didn’t want me to be at the meeting, did you? Well, whatever. I figured I could go home, but just then, another person ran up to me, calling my name.

“Eugene! Thank you so much! It was thanks to you that we could get a more accurate assessment of the seal! Things would have been dire if you hadn’t been around!” It was the court mage who had investigated the barrier with me.

“Ah, no, it was nothing,” I replied. “I’m glad that I could be of service.”

“I’d also like to request your presence at the strategy meeting to offer your insight on how we can reseal the Great Beast Haagenti. Of course, you don’t have to come to today’s! We’ll be holding daily meetings until the day of the operation, so you can choose whenever is convenient for you. Please!” The court mage lowered his head in a deep bow. This offer was also hard to reject, albeit in a different way from the earlier one.

“All right,” I said. “Call on me any time my skills or experience would be useful. I’ll make sure to go to the meeting that day.”

“Thank you so much! I’ll take my leave then, Eugene, Imperial Sword!” The court mage jogged off. I doubted his workload would allow him much sleep in the coming days.

“Welp, I guess I should peace out for the meeting. I don’t know the first thing about magic, so it’s not like I’ll be able to understand anything they discuss, though,” my father said, stretching his arms above his head. He turned away and walked a few paces before he paused and looked back at me. “Hey, Eugene.”

“Yeah, dad?”

“It’s been so long since you’ve visited the capital, so why don’t you go grab a meal with Airi at least once before you leave?”

“Eh?” Even to my own ears, I sounded foolish.

“Airi’s been wanting to talk to you, hasn’t she?”

“Well, yeah, but...” Of course I’d noticed that, but even so, I’d been avoiding her.

“Make up with her, yeah? There’ll come a day when you’ll never be able to see her again, no matter how much you wanna.”

“Got it...”

With that, dad sauntered off. I figured he was talking about my mom, who had passed away soon after giving birth to me. It was almost the anniversary of her death, and visiting her grave was a yearly tradition for me and my dad. However, dad and the rest of the imperial army would be busy in the coming days dealing with the Infernal Demonic Beast. Would he have time to visit mom’s grave?

I guess I’ll have to go by myself if he can’t fit it into his schedule, I thought as I returned home.

***

That night, Sumire, Miss Hana, and I had dinner together.

“Oh... So I guess your dad won’t be coming home for a while, then?” Sumire said.

“Probably,” I replied. “And I wanna apologize in advance. I might have to attend the strategy meetings to help come up with a way to reseal the Infernal Demonic Beast.”

“Mm-hmm, got it! Good luck with your work!”

“I’m really sorry about this, Sumire.”

“It’s fine! No worries! ☆” Though I’d never ended up fulfilling my promise to show Sumire around the capital, she nodded, seeming unperturbed.

“More importantly, Eugene, you became a baron?! Congratulations!” Miss Hana said, beaming at me.

“Eugene, you’ve become a noble!” Sumire exclaimed.

“I may have become a baron, but it’s not as if His Imperial Majesty gave me any territory or subordinates. At best, I can enter stores that don’t accept commoners and receive some special treatment. But those stores are so expensive that I wouldn’t be able to go there anyway.” So, in the end, nothing had changed.

“Yeah? Still, I feel like being a noble is really impressive.”

“That’s not true. Status-wise, Sara is way more important than I am. She’s the top Saint Candidate of the Cardia Halidom, after all. She’s the equivalent of a marquess in the empire, which means she would be right after the imperial family and duchesses in the hierarchy.”

“Oh right, now that you mention it, Sara is a big shot in her country. While we’re on the subject—will she arrive soon?”

“I haven’t heard from her. Miss Hana, has Sara contacted us?”

“No, I have not received any word from your schoolmates, Eugene.”

“I wonder when she’ll come...” Sumire sighed.

“She’s the student council president, so she probably has lots to do before the school festival,” I replied.

I wished that I could have invited her to the empire when I had more time to spend with her. I couldn’t do anything about the timing of the anniversary of my mother’s death, though. If she couldn’t make it for this trip, I’d invite her some other time.

After dinner, I trained in the dojo for a while. Sumire practiced her magic control. My father never came home that night.

“Good night, Sumire,” I said.

“Mm. Good night, Eugene!”

After seeing Sumire to the guest room, I returned to my room and lay down. My thoughts were preoccupied by the Infernal Demonic Beast, the deteriorating barrier around it, and my childhood friend. Talk with her, huh? After all this time, though? In the past, we could have talked all day and night. Airi loved to come up with schemes to become the empress, and I would ramble on about how I would become as amazing an Imperial Sword as my dad.

But the selection exam had crushed my dream.

Nowadays, my goal was to reach the 500th Level of Babel and return Sumire to her original world. Since my childhood friend was likely still aiming to become the empress, I had no idea what we could talk about. I sifted through possible conversation topics all night but came up empty. By the time I realized it, I had already fallen asleep.

***

“Eugene, why do your eyes look like those of a dead fish?”

I was dreaming—or maybe it was more akin to a memory from when I had first enrolled at Lykeion Magic Academy. This was a conversation I’d had with Sara when we were a two-man party. We were still on the 2nd Level of Babel, and Sara hadn’t become the student council president yet. I must have dreamed about this since I had fallen asleep while reminiscing about my past.

Back then, Sara and I had been classmates in General Education. I was a Swordmaster who specialized in Barrier and Healing Magic, whereas Sara was a Cleric who was better at wielding her sword than casting healing spells. We had made for a rather bizarre team.

“Dead fish? That’s pretty mean,” I replied.

But when I looked into a nearby river, the reflection of a man with dull eyes greeted me. I did indeed resemble a dead fish. It had been a month since I’d arrived at Lykeion Magic Academy after fleeing from the empire and Airi, and I still hadn’t gotten over her.

“A Jackalope!” Sara exclaimed. I looked up to see the small monster charging toward me. Instead of dodging it, I grabbed it by its antlers. “Thank you, Eugene! Hi-yah!” Without hesitation, Sara killed it. It was a clean kill, ending the beast before it even had the chance to scream.

“Looks like you have a lot of experience,” I commented.

“Clerics of the Cardia Halidom aren’t permitted to eat livestock. We’re only allowed to eat monsters that harm people. Still, don’t you think forcing us to survive solely off our own catches is an unreasonable demand? Thanks to this rule, I’ve had to become good at hunting monsters.”

“Wow... That sure sounds difficult.”

“I hear that the Saints feast together every day. That’s why I absolutely must become a Saint!”

I had only just heard that Sara was a candidate for the Eight Saints, the highest authority in the Cardia Halidom.

“I thought Saint Candidates were supposed to be good girls.”

Sara gave me a meaningful smile. “You’d be right. Clerics aren’t allowed to speak without permission. Everything we do—even the way we walk, sit, and sleep—has to be exactly as it was written in the scriptures. Eugene, you should visit the halidom one day and see how all the Clerics speak to you with the exact same expression. We’re even instructed on how to smile.”

“The halidom’s nunnery sounds like a pretty scary place.” It sounded stricter than the imperial army.

“Mm-hmm. That’s why I can do whatever I want at Lykeion Magic Academy. No one’s watching over me here.” Sara stretched, groaning as she did so. I was a little jealous of her. “Buck up! I don’t know what happened to you back home, but you’ll forget all about your problems with some exercise!” She smacked me in the shoulder.

When we had first formed a party, I had avoided talking about myself. I was grateful to Sara for never pressing the issue.

“Right. Thanks...” I replied.

Sara helped keep me in good spirits during my first year at Lykeion Magic Academy. It had been so long that I had almost forgotten about that until my dream. These days, she was a Hero Course student, a Paladin, the student council president, and one of the most famous students at school. Perfection was demanded of her at every moment. Though this was probably the life expected of a Saint Candidate, it must have been suffocating for the real Sara underneath that title.

I wonder if coming to the empire will let her be herself again, even for a moment. That was the thought going through my sluggish brain when I woke up that morning. The sunlight was shining through the crack between the curtains. I had overslept. Getting too close to the Infernal Demonic Beast had taken its toll on my body. But when my brain caught up to what my blurry eyes were seeing, I wasn’t sure what to think.

Huh? Sara?

Before me was Sara’s beautiful face, slack in sleep. Her long hair was right before my eyes. Was I still dreaming? But this was definitely my room, and everything looked awfully clear for a dream.

Thud thud thud! I heard footsteps approaching. Then, after two knocks, Sumire’s voice called out.

“Good morning, Eugene! I’m surprised you oversl—” The door swung open and revealed Sumire, who froze as she took in the sight of Sara and me underneath the same blanket. “Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh... Why? Wha... Eugene!”

“W-Wait a second! I don’t know what’s going on either!”

Sumire’s mana was spiking at lightning speed. At this rate, she would lose control and cause an explosion at any second.

Sara yawned and opened her eyes. “Hmm? Oh, I wanted to wake you, but I ended up sleeping with you, Eugene! ☆”

Now that I was getting a better look at her, I saw that she was still wearing her travel clothes. In other words, she had only just arrived at my house. If I had to guess, Miss Hana had told her to come wake me up.

“Sara! You traitor! Thief!”

“Oh, come off it! Let me have this, at least! Didn’t you try to sneak into his bed at night?!”

“I did not! We’d already agreed that we would play fair with no head starts!”

“Huh? Wait, you really didn’t try anything?”

“You didn’t believe what I was saying?”

“I didn’t.”

Sumire shot Sara a wordless glare. I couldn’t blame her. Sara, you’re a Saint Candidate, aren’t you? Try having a little trust in other people. Although I guess it’s because of her status as a Saint Candidate that she’s like this. Everyone in the imperial army knew that the Eight Saints of the Cardia Halidom were a collection of oddballs.

“Sara, thank you for making the long journey here,” I said, stepping between them before the fight could escalate.

“I’m so sorry it took me this long, Eugene,” Sara said. “So, where’s your father?! I have to get his permission if I’m to marry you into the halidom.”

“Calm down, Sara. Work’s gotten pretty busy for my dad, so he won’t be home for a while.”

“Whaaa? Is that so?”

“Hey, Sara? Do you mind stepping outside for a bit?”

“Uh, Sumire, is that fire covering your hand?! Wait, don’t touch me with that! Ouch!”

Within seconds, the room was filled with the sound of lively conversation.

***

Two days had passed since Sara’s arrival in the empire. I was currently showing her and Sumire around the capital. I’d worried that the officials would summon me to a strategy meeting to discuss resealing the Infernal Demonic Beast and reconstructing the barrier around it, but the imperial army had yet to reach out to me.

Granted, my expertise was in antipersonnel Barrier Magic. I couldn’t cast barriers on the scale necessary to seal away the Infernal Demonic Beast, and I didn’t have any experience handling them either. I’d already informed the court mage of this.

They probably won’t call on me, I figured. As much as that thought gave me relief, I was also a little disappointed. I had thought that I could offer my strength, paltry as it may have been, to help my homeland against the impending danger.

On the morning of the third day since Sara’s arrival, my dad returned home, looking bedraggled. He was wearing different clothing from when I’d last seen him. He must have stayed in the palace this whole time for the strategy meetings.

“Hey, dad. Will you be staying home today?” I asked that thinking that I would have to introduce him to Sara, since this would be their first time meeting. However, his answer was something I’d never expected.

“Eugene, let’s go visit your mom’s grave.”

Chapter Four: Eugene Pays His Respects

Lila Santafield—that was my mother’s name. I’d never spoken to her. She’d fallen ill and passed away before I had even turned one, meaning that she had died soon after giving birth to me. From what I heard, she had always been a frail woman.

I knew what she looked like from a portrait that my dad had made using recording magic and a piece of paper. I had a copy of this portrait on my desk in my dormitory room at Lykeion Magic Academy. It was something like a good luck charm, but I found it difficult to imagine my mother as an actual person; she was more like a storybook character to me.

***

Over a year ago, back when I was in a two-man party with Sara, she visited my room to discuss a strategy for dungeon exploration. That was when she noticed the picture. “The lady in this picture is your mother?”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Her black hair and eyes are so beautiful,” Sara murmured. “She must be from the Eastern Continent.”

“Hmm... Apparently, my mom visited my dad’s homeland in the course of her travels, which was when my dad fell in love with her. I don’t know where she was born.”

“I see... I’d love to visit your homeland one day.”

“The Eastern Continent is always at war, and it’s no place to live. I don’t recommend going there.”

“Ah, yes, you’re right.” At my words, Sara’s expression clouded over. “The last time the Eastern Continent saw peace was five hundred years ago, wasn’t it? When the Sword Saint put a temporary stop to the fighting?”

“Apparently. I hear that my family line is descended from that legendary Sword Saint, but I personally doubt it. The surname isn’t even the same.”

“The legendary Sword Saint, Zeke Walker... I hear he was half-human and half-elf, but you look like you’re completely human.”

“My old man looks human too. Well, if someone’s gonna claim they’re a descendant of the Sword Saint, their prowess with a sword is more important than their appearance.”

“Your Niten Enmei-ryu is... How should I put it? It’s a style that’s optimized for actual combat situations. Like it’s designed solely to kill the opponent...”

“Well, that’s because our ancestors created this style to survive the war.”

“It’s ironic that your specialties are healing and defensive magic, then.” I couldn’t respond to that, and Sara shook her head. “Hey, stop feeling bad for yourself! Come on, let’s continue discussing our strategy to get through the dungeon.”

“You handle the fighting. I’ll handle the healing and serve as the bait. How’s that?”

“Ugh! That’s the same plan as always!”

That was the conversation that had emerged from my sea of memories.

***

♢A year later...♢

“Who’s the lady in this picture? She’s so pretty!”

“That’s my mom. She passed away shortly after I was born, so I only have this picture to remember her by.”

This was a topic I had discussed with Sara in the past, but Sumire, who had only recently come to my room, had asked me the same question.

“Oh? She looks so elegant with that lovely long black hair!” Sumire’s expression changed, though I couldn’t place the emotion on her face. “Hmm?”

“What’s wrong, Sumire?”

“She kinda reminds me of Sara...”

“R-Really?”

Now that she mentioned it, the gentle smile on my mother’s face in the portrait was a little similar to Sara when she was in her Student Council President Mode. However, Sara didn’t put on any airs around me, and she was always so aggressive in her approach to me, so I didn’t really have that impression of her.

“I see... So Sara looks like your mom, huh?”

“Sumire, I don’t really think that’s true,” I said, patting Sumire on the shoulder as she crossed her arms, deep in thought.

I’d never had a conversation with my mother before, so I could only imagine what kind of person she had been. My father only ever said that she had been “a good woman.” It was impossible to get a clear idea of who she had been in life.

“Maybe I should grow out my hair too!” Sumire said.

“You look good with your current haircut.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

I thought the short bob suited Sumire. Besides, explorers usually had short hair. It was easier to groom and take care of during explorations, and it didn’t get in the way during battle. If I remembered correctly, Sara had long hair because of religious reasons or because she was a Saint Candidate or something.

Sumire was still staring at my mom’s picture, humming to herself as she thought about something.

Sara looks like my mom, huh? I’d never considered it before, but now that the thought was in my mind, I could see how Sumire had come to this conclusion. Well, I’d never met my mom before, so I couldn’t compare the two. That was all that was going through my head at that moment.

***

“It’s been a year since we came here last,” dad murmured.

We were in the empire’s public cemetery, located on the outskirts of the capital. Rows of headstones lined the massive grounds, with my mother’s among them. Granted, we’d buried her ashes in her actual grave in our homeland on the Eastern Continent. Underneath her headstone here were some of her clothes and accessories.

The graveyard was so large that each district had a number. My mother’s grave was in District 57. I used to come here every year until I left for Lykeion Magic Academy, so I remembered exactly where it was, and it didn’t take me long at all to notice something strange as I kept up with my dad’s brisk pace.

“Dad? Mom’s not this way.”

“Don’t worry. This is the right direction today.”

Apparently dad hadn’t just gotten lost. Thinking it strange, I nonetheless followed him. Past the cemetery, there was a forest. Beyond it was where aristocrats like the imperial family and nobility rested. Fences and barriers surrounded the forest to prevent any grave robbers from stealing the expensive accessories and jewels that were buried with them, and two soldiers stood on guard at the only entrance into that part of the cemetery.

“Halt! The area beyond is restricted!” one of them yelled as we approached.

“I have a permit,” dad said as he showed the guards a piece of paper that had been stamped with something.

“Let me see that... This is the chancellor’s personal stamp. Is this real?” The guard looked me and my dad over.

“Suspicious. What business do you have here?” the other guard asked. They clearly thought we were up to no good.

Is dad’s face not well-known throughout the empire? As the Imperial Sword, he should be a pretty prominent figure.

“It’s a personal affair, so I can’t say. We have a permit, yet you’re saying you won’t let us through?”

“That’s right! This is a holy place where the emperors and empresses of the past are laid to rest. We can’t let any suspicious fellows through!”

“Oh? I see, I see.” Dad narrowed his eyes, a thin smile on his face. At some point, he’d rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“H-Hey, dad!”

The guards yelled as they unsheathed their swords.

“You bastard!”

“You dare resist?!”A quiet shing reached my ears, followed by the clattering of the soldiers’ armor falling to the ground in pieces.

“Huh?” they exclaimed in unison.

The swords they were holding had been cut in half as well. My father had used the battojutsu—the combative art of quick-drawing a sword from its sheath—he excelled at. I couldn’t track the movement of his sword at all. I had only seen the instant he’d drawn the sword and the instant he’d returned it to the scabbard. It wasn’t as if I had been slacking off at school or anything, but I still had a long way to go before I reached my dad’s level.

“Hey, what’s the commotion?” Another guard emerged from the office past the entrance. Judging by what he was wearing, he was of a higher rank than the guards out here.

“Captain! This man attacked us!”

“Call for reinforcements! We have to arrest him!”

“What?! Who are— Huh?!” The guard they had referred to as captain widened his eyes. “You’re Lord Jubei, the Imperial Sword, aren’t you?”

“Eh?” The guards looked surprised. Unlike them, the captain obviously knew both dad’s face and title.

“Imperial Sword, what brings you out here?” the captain asked.

“A personal errand,” dad replied. “May we enter?”

“Well... Even if you are the Imperial Sword, I can’t allow someone without a permit to enter.”

“I have a permit. I showed it to those two over there, but they said they couldn’t let any suspicious persons through.”

The captain sucked in a breath before shooting the two guards a death glare. They averted their eyes awkwardly. The captain snatched the permit from them, looked it over, and then sighed.

“There’s nothing wrong with the permit, so I’ll return it to you. Please pass. As for these two, I’ll punish them with—”

“Ah, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m not offended,” dad said. He walked through the door with a light wave over his shoulder. I gave the guards a quick nod before following him.

We slowly made our way through the dark forest. Only the wind in the leaves and the singing of the birds broke the silence.

“You could’ve warned them or something before resorting to your sword, dad,” I said without stopping or slowing my pace.

“Don’t you think that those two would’ve died if we really were bandits?” dad replied.

“Well, yeah...” He was right. Despite thinking us suspicious, they hadn’t seemed to realize that they were within our swords’ range—their combat stances had been full of openings.

“Hopefully, they’ll be a bit more cautious next time.”

“Is that why you did it?”

“Nah. I just wanted to pull a sword on them.”

“I knew it...” My dad hadn’t changed a bit. He had come up with a random justification for attacking the guards after he did it.

We walked a bit farther through the forest before my dad stopped and said, “We’ve arrived, Eugene.”

“Arrived where?”

Before us was a small chapel. Dad approached it and pushed the door, which swung open with a creak. Though no one was inside, someone must have been taking care of it, because I couldn’t see a speck of dust anywhere. The statue of a goddess stood right before us in the dim lighting, staring down at us in silence. In her hand was a large pocket watch.

This is a chapel dedicated to the Goddess of Fate, Ilia? The more popular deities in the empire were Althena, the Great Goddess, and Thora, the Fire Goddess. It wasn’t too strange, though, as the Goddess of Fate was widely worshipped across the Southern Continent. But still...

“Dad, I thought you were a follower of the Great Goddess Althena,” I said. I remembered that he had converted after immigrating from the Eastern Continent and going to work for the empire. I, too, was a follower of Althena.

“It’s fine for today,” he replied, placing a magic item I had never seen before in front of the goddess statue. Next to it, he lined up a number of magical stones. They were expensive looking—each likely cost over a million gold—and they were all radiating high levels of mana.

Dad barely has any knowledge of magic... And yet he was organizing the magic items and stones in a complicated-looking pattern. I had learned about this way of placing things at Lykeion Magic Academy.

“Dad, is that Summoning Magic?”

“I’m impressed with your knowledge, Eugene,” dad said without turning around. There was a soft noise as he placed a magic stone—the last one—and then he took a step back. “Let’s pray, Eugene,” he said before he knelt before the statue.

To whom? Though I desperately wanted to know, his voice was so firm that there was no point in asking. I clasped my hands together and prayed to Ilia, the Goddess of Fate. About ten minutes passed. Dad didn’t say anything, and the air in the chapel was completely still. How long are we supposed to do this for?

“Huh?”

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than the magic items and stones began to give off a golden glow. The Summoning Magic is activating? Summoning Magic was complex, and dad didn’t know much about magic. He hadn’t even chanted an incantation.

I could only use Healing and Barrier Magic, but that was enough to make me a mage, so I knew the theory behind spellcasting. I had never heard of a spell that activated after you created a magic circle with stones and items and then offered prayers for over ten minutes. And yet the Summoning Magic was working right before my eyes. The stones that cost over a million gold each were crumbling away into glimmering dust.

What did he summon?

Once all the stones had disappeared, a small, feminine shadow appeared in the bright light emanating from the magic circle. Her proportions were so well-balanced that she couldn’t possibly be human. The air was so pressurized with mana that I had to hold my breath for a second. I had experienced this feeling before, but even without that experience, I could tell with a look what dad had called.

A pair of white wings protruded from the woman’s back. I had met two people—once on the 100th Level of Babel and once in the Seventh Sealed Prison of Lykeion Magic Academy—who hailed from the same species.

“An angel...” I breathed. Dad had summoned an angel, a servant of the goddesses in Heaven.

Dad was still silent. Why did he feel the need to call forth an angel? I waited for him to explain himself, but he didn’t.

Meanwhile, the angel’s eyes blinked open slowly. They were bright orange, like her face housed twin suns. Simply meeting her eyes caused my whole body to tense. What should I say to her? The moment we looked at each other...

“Eugeeeeene! Oh, how you’ve grown! As your mother, I’m so happy!”

In the blink of an eye, the angel was right in front of me, and before I even realized what was happening, she pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Wha?” was all I could manage. My brain had ground to a halt. What did she just say? I couldn’t get my thoughts in order.

That was when my dad finally opened his mouth. “Eugene, this is your first time speaking to her, but this is Lila, your mom.”

“Eh? Wait, what?” I was too shocked to say more.

The angel hugging me had mana on par with the Divine Beast Cerberus and the Demon Queen Erinyes. It was all I could do to breathe when enveloped by such power.

“Oh, Eugene! Are you so touched by this reunion with your mommy that you can’t even speak? I’ll baby you as much as you want! ☆”

My brain felt like it was going to explode. I still hadn’t recovered from the shock, and now the petite angel was ruffling my hair.

When my blank mind finally calmed down enough to process thoughts again, I asked, “Um, are you really my mom?”

“That’s right, Eugene,” the angel—no, my mom—said with a cheery smile.

She was quite short, only reaching my chest. Age-wise, she looked like she was only about twelve or thirteen years old. Her slender frame was exactly that of a child. She had impeccably brushed light blonde hair that grazed her shoulders, a youthful-looking face, and big orange eyes. Between her appearance and her literally breathtaking aura, she was a walking contradiction. Though I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask, the first thing that caught my attention was...

“You look completely different from how dad described you.”

I thought back to the portrait that was hanging at home. The woman who had been magically recorded there was a mature-looking woman with long black hair.

“Oh, that. Angels are spirits, so we can’t do anything on the surface in our original form. When I met Ju, I was in a simulacrum that I was using to investigate the surface.”

“A-A simulacrum?”

“To put it simply, it’s an intricately made magical doll. There’s less than a 0.00001 percent difference between a simulacrum and a human, so it’s basically the same thing as a person.”

“Uh-huh...” I didn’t really understand the details, but apparently, the mom I’d seen in the pictures was her fake body and this angelic form was what she really looked like. Another question came to mind. “Why were you on the surface if you’re an angel?” And she had even created a remarkably human puppet to move around here.

“Heh. I’m glad you asked that, Eugene! Every single day, we angels spend our time running chores for the goddesses and watching over the surface. I’m happy with my work, but Lady Ilia felt sorry for us and asked if any of us wanted to go to the surface!”

“And you volunteered?”

“That’s right! The only way to go to the surface is to become a fallen angel, so it was like a dream to explore it.” Mom looked up with an ecstatic expression, as if recalling a happy memory.

“But you were really unlucky. Of all the places you could’ve landed in, you ended up on the Eastern Continent with its endless wars,” dad said.

“What are you saying? I wasn’t unlucky at all—I ended up meeting you there, Ju! ☆”

That must have been my mom’s personal nickname for my dad; I’d never heard anyone else call him “Ju.”

“I suppose. Praise be to the Goddess of Fate for bringing us together, Lila.”

“Oh, you, trying to act cool just because Eugene’s here! I don’t mind coddling you like I always do!”

“H-Hey! You’re snuggling too close to me! Eugene’s watching, you know?”

“Don’t be so hardheaded! ♡ It’s good for a married couple to be affectionate! ☆”

Wow, dad looks all flustered. Dad was popular among the women of the empire, but he always dodged their advances without so much as changing his expression. Mom really was the only woman for him. The thought made me happy, but... A guy who looks over forty is acting all lovey-dovey with a girl who looks around twelve... How should I put it? I felt like I was witnessing a crime. The age of majority in the empire was fifteen, so dad would be arrested if someone else stumbled upon this scene.

Yet another question came to mind after hearing them talk. “Dad, are you and mom still meeting regularly? You could’ve told me about her.” I realized that I sounded like I was pouting, and honestly, I kind of was. Apparently I was the only person who hadn’t known about my mom, so I couldn’t help but feel left out.

Both of their expressions clouded over at my words.

“I’m really sorry about that,” dad said. “But according to your mom, Heaven has its own rules. Even if it’s parent and child, they can’t allow an angel from Heaven to meet with a human from the surface.”

“I’m sorry for making you feel so lonely all these years, Eugene,” mom said. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time too, really. But even with Ju, I’ve only been able to meet him once a year.”

“Once a year? Is that so?” It must have been tough for a married couple to be apart for so much of the year. It made sense that they would want to take advantage of that time to speak without anyone butting in.

Mom’s face brightened. “But, you know what, Eugene? The goddesses in Heaven saw all your hard work and accomplishments! They were praising you, and they were so happy when I told them that you’re my son! That’s why I was allowed to meet you like this!”

I was shocked. “The goddesses what?!”

“I mean, you defeated the Divine Beast Cerberus! Everyone in Heaven’s been talking about it.”

“Everyone in Heaven’s been talking about me?” It didn’t seem possible. To think that the goddesses would be complimenting me...

“But there’s something I need to apologize to you for,” mom said, her face turning sad.

“Wh-What? What is it?” Mom’s expression kept changing so much that it was hard to keep up.

“It’s about your constitution,” dad said.

“My constitution?” I echoed. “You mean the fact that I can only use white mana?”

“Yes, about that... I think it’s because of my genetics as an angel. There’s a limiter on angelic mana to prevent us from hurting others, so when we fight, we need to use angel-exclusive weapons. This is mine.” A white spear appeared in the air, floating before my mom. It was simple and lacked any ornaments, but I sensed it contained more mana than Sara’s holy sword.

“Huh? But I thought you gave birth to me using a simulacrum that was no different from a human body?” In that case, it didn’t make sense that her angelic constitution would have been passed down to me.

“I thought so too, but apparently, your mom’s angelic mana was still inside the simulacrum, and you ended up inheriting it.”

“I’m so sorry, Eugene. There’s no precedent of a child born between a human and an angel, so it took us a long time to figure out the cause behind your mana.”

Both my dad and my mom lowered their heads to me in apology, but I said, “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

If I had heard about this two years ago, I might have been a lot more upset about the truth. However, it was thanks to my unique constitution that I had ended up at Lykeion Magic Academy. If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have met Sara or ended up aiming for the top of Babel with Sumire. Though I wasn’t able to fulfill my dream of becoming a Magic Swordsman as powerful as my dad and fighting for the empire, I didn’t hate the life I was leading now.

“Thank you,” mom said. “I’ve been blessed with such an amazing son.”

“Going on a journey really does wonders,” dad said. “You’ve become a fine young man, Eugene.”

Mom hugged me while dad ruffled my hair. They were treating me like a child, but I didn’t mind. That was when I noticed my mother’s expression change to one of surprise.

“Mom?”

“Hmm?” She pressed her nose against my body like a dog would. “Oh? Eugene, I smell another angel on you.”

“Huh?” My heart skipped a beat. The only angel that came to mind was a certain fallen one, but instead of saying her name, I brought up another. “Er, maybe you’re smelling Leeta on me. That was the angel I met on the 100th Level of Babel.”

“Oh, wow!” dad exclaimed. “Eugene, you met an angel other than your mom before? The Last Dungeon sounds like a wild place.”

He looked impressed, but mom’s expression was still dark.

“No, this isn’t Leeta’s youthful mana. This mana belongs to a more experienced angel. I’m guessing she’s around my age, or maybe a little younger...”

“Aw, man. The cat’s already out of the bag? Hi, Lila! Long time no see! ☆” The voice that sounded throughout the chapel was...

“Eri?” I said at the same time mom exclaimed, “No way! Erinyes?!”

“Hey, Eugene. Does that voice belong to that Fallen Queen you fought on the 100th Level?” dad asked.

“Y-Yeah, that’s right.”

“Wow. I expected her to sound a lot scarier.” Dad didn’t sound too bothered by Eri’s intrusion.

“Eri, how are we hearing your voice?” I asked.

“Well, that’s because I sensed Lila descending to the surface! As her junior, I have to say hello.” Eri’s voice replied.

“H-Her junior?”

“Eri was my junior when we were attending angel school. I specialize in investigating and monitoring, and Eri specializes in combat. We often paired up to study what was going on in the Demon World. To think that you would become a fallen angel, though! Don’t you feel guilty for doing that to the goddesses?!” mom yelled. I didn’t even know they had a school for angels.

“How can you blame me? Freya was so selfish! Who in their right mind would want to work in that rotten environment forever?”

“Well, yes. Dealing with Lady Freya can be difficult...”

“Anyway, Lila, I thought you were working under Eir, the Water Goddess.”

“I got transferred. It was so boring working for Lady Eir. She almost never brought back any work for us.”

“How lucky, getting to do nothing at work all day. If I had been working under her, I wouldn’t have become a fallen angel.”

“Speaking of which, come back to Heaven. You were sealed away for a thousand years, so I’m sure you’ve spent enough time repenting for the whole fallen angel thing.”

“Nah, I think I’ll stay a fallen angel for a bit longer. Life on the surface is awesome!”

“Oh, you... You’re setting a bad example for the younger angels, you know?”

Their conversation was very casual. Mom and Eri must have been good friends.

“Lila’s amazing. She’s met the Demon Queen and the goddesses?” dad was saying, still looking impressed at mom’s connections.

I, on the other hand, was a lot more worried about what Eri might say. Unfortunately, the topic moved into dangerous waters.

“Oh, yeah, why do I smell you on Eugene’s body?” mom asked. “Simply fighting him on the 100th Level wouldn’t leave that much of a scent on him. Don’t tell me you cast some weird curse on him?!”

“I would never do that, Lila! ☆ Every week, Eugene and I—”

“Mom!” I frantically interrupted. “Eri is locked up in the Seventh Sealed Prison underneath Lykeion Magic Academy. As a member of the school’s Biology Club, I have to go in there to check on everyone and give them food, so that’s probably when Eri’s miasma got onto me.”

I wasn’t lying, and the story I made up should make sense.

“Hmm. Is that so? Eri hasn’t been doing anything weird to you?” mom asked.

“I-I’m fine!”

In reality, there was a Contract of the Flesh between us. That was a nicer way of describing the salacious relationship we had, but I didn’t want to get into that with my parents. Actually, I didn’t want them to ever find out that the Demon Queen had taken my virginity.

“Well, if you say so,” mom said, though she didn’t look convinced.

“You call the Demon Queen ‘Eri’? Are you two close?” dad murmured. He was an airhead who surely didn’t mean anything with that question, but it was enough to catch my mom’s attention.

“Hmm? That reminds me... You only let the goddesses and people you really trust call you by that nickname...”

Oh, no! Mom’s suspicious again! I was trying to come up with another excuse when...

“Oops, my communication spell is about to wear off. Well, have a nice family reunion, you guys! ☆” After that, we could no longer hear Eri’s voice.

“She never changes,” mom sighed.

“I’m glad you’re having fun at school, Eugene,” dad said. I was grateful for his careless personality. But then, his expression turned serious. “Eugene.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s time to get into the real reason I brought you here.” Dad’s tone had completely changed.

“The real reason?” Wasn’t it to let me meet my mom again? Was there something else?

Mom looked like she knew what dad was talking about. “Oh... I saw it from Heaven, so I wanted to bring it up too. You’re talking about that, aren’t you? There’s only a few days left, right?”

At those words, I also understood what they wanted to discuss.

“Eugene, what I’m about to discuss is highly confidential, so I’d like it to stay between us. It’s about the resealing of the Great Beast Haagenti. The mission will probably end in failure.”

“Huh?” My dad had said the words in such a grave tone that they could only be the truth. “The resealing of the Great Beast Haagenti will fail?” I echoed without thinking. The expression on his face was so serious—so different from his usual smile—that in that moment, he didn’t look like my father. “B-But, we were able to seal it again a hundred years ago, right?” I asked, still reeling from the surprise.

“Yes, that’s right. The plan was to seal it away again using the exact same method, but no matter how many times the chancellor used her Destiny Magic, she could only see futures where it ends in failure.”

“No way...”

The imperial military boasted the largest magic research lab on the continent, and its size far exceeded that of Lykeion Magic Academy’s. Our magical technology was evolving every day. If the mages of a hundred years ago had successfully sealed the Great Beast, it couldn’t possibly be beyond the capabilities of modern mages.

“There are a lot of reasons for the upcoming failure,” mom said, raising her finger like a lecturer.

“Lila, can you enlighten us? I hear that the court mages are at their wit’s end.”

“Mom, do you know how to seal it away?”

Dad and I stared at the small angel.

“Haagenti has grown too big. Normally, it has to be let out to rampage at regular intervals to release its miasma, but so many powerful barriers have sealed it away that it can’t break free. Thanks to all the miasma building up inside of it, it’s grown twice as big as it was a hundred years ago.”

“Twice as big?” I echoed.

“Oof,” dad murmured. No wonder the method that had been used a hundred years ago wouldn’t work now.

“Do you two know how Star Cancer Beasts are born?” mom asked, flipping the interrogation onto us.

Dad and I looked at each other. The term “Star Cancer Beast” wasn’t one we were that familiar with. It must have been the terminology that those in Heaven used for Infernal Demonic Beasts.

“Nope.”

“Not at all.”

Dad and I shook our heads. We knew how dangerous Infernal Demonic Beasts were, but how they were born was a complete mystery to us. All we knew was that the Chryses Fields had served as the Great Beast Haagenti’s territory since two hundred years ago.

“This world is crisscrossed by something called ley lines,” mom said. “You can think of them as the world’s arteries, as they carry mana to all corners of the planet. Sometimes the mana can collect in nodes called mana pools. There are only a small number of them. The people on the surface call pools of positive mana Consecrated Bastions or Fountains of Life. One such pool is hidden inside the imperial residence.”

“Huh?” I looked at my dad in surprise.

My dad nodded with a frown and replied after a moment, “Yeah, there’s one in there. It’s a heavily guarded state secret, though. Only the imperial family and a handful of others know about it.”

“A liquid with powerful healing properties wells up from the Fountains of Life. People on the surface call it Elixir. The Grenflare Empire has relied on Elixir to maintain the most powerful army on the continent. However, nothing good ever comes for free.”

Dad nodded again at mom’s words, his brow still furrowed. “The more water that’s taken from the Fountain of Life, the more miasma flows into the Infernal Demonic Beast, which is a negative mana pool.”

“That’s right. Ley lines are wells of natural energy that are kept in check by the balance of positive and negative mana. The previous emperor mistook the Fountain of Life for an infinite power source and took too much from it. As a result, no one in the empire can use any proper Healing Magic, and the Great Beast Haagenti has only gotten bigger and bigger.”

“It must have been because he was rushing to empower his troops so he could conquer the continent. That’s why Healing Mages and Barrier Mages were viewed as inferior, much like Eugene was.”

“I didn’t know that...”

The empire I knew only valued those who could use offensive magic, and no one considered support magic to be useful. I had never once questioned this set of beliefs, but to think that was the reason behind our culture...

“Well, what really made things worse was how they sealed the Great Beast Haagenti in the first place,” mom continued. “Eugene, do you know how the seal from a hundred years ago worked?”

“Um... A hundred mages gave their lives to seal it away, right?”

It was said that the Great Beast Haagenti had already rampaged through and destroyed half the capital at this point. To stop it from causing any further damage to the city, a hundred of the empire’s strongest mages had worked together to seal it away. It had been close, but they had accomplished the task at the cost of their own lives. The empire’s textbooks still taught the names of those hundred mages to commemorate their courage.

Mom nodded, her expression grave. She crossed her arms and hesitated before she slowly replied, “Sacrificial Arts. That was what they used.”

“Sacri... Huh?”

Sacrificial Arts were a type of spell that would temporarily give one nearly limitless magic at the cost of one’s lifespan. It was forbidden since it would kill the user. All countries in the Grenflare Empire, Holy Alliance, and Blue Sea Union restricted it, and any who used it was severely punished.

“The empire hid this part of its history. I only learned about it recently myself,” dad said in a quiet voice. If the Imperial Sword, the emperor’s right-hand man, had been kept in the dark, then it was little wonder that I didn’t know about it.

“The Church of the Goddess was the one to issue the ban on Sacrificial Arts, meaning that the technique goes against the teachings of the Goddess of Fate. But a hundred years ago, the church made an exception. That was the only way to stop the Great Beast Haagenti. If no one could have sealed away the Infernal Demonic Beast, it would have killed everyone in the capital,” mom said.

Even knowing that the victory a hundred years ago had been the result of a forbidden technique, I had to ask, “So why won’t the same thing work this time, mom?”

“Ju, you said that three hundred sacrifices have been prepared for the resealing, right?”

“Wha—?!” I exclaimed, but dad only nodded, his expression unchanged. “Is that allowed?”

“I hear it’s the only way,” dad replied, sounding deeply conflicted.

“That’s right. The Goddess of Fate shares that opinion. The imperial military as it currently is stands no chance against a Star Cancer Beast that has grown this large.” Mom’s voice bordered on emotionless.

“But wait, then that doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t it work?” I asked. “Mom, if three hundred mages all use Sacrificial Arts, then it should seal—”

“The three hundred sacrifices are all prisoners on death row. They were chosen because they would die anyway and not because they’re mages,” mom interrupted.

I was shocked speechless, and it took my mind a moment to make sense of what she was saying. “Will that even still count as Sacrificial Arts?”

“Technically, it will. The basic premise of Sacrificial Arts is turning life energy, or anima, into mana. However, even if the spell itself is the same, the quality of mana will differ. A hundred years ago, the mages willingly used their lives to protect the capital, whereas this time, the prisoners are being forced to do so. I don’t need to tell you which method will result in worse mana.”

“I figured that was where the problem was,” dad sighed as if he had expected it.

“Next, let’s discuss how the resealing process will work,” mom continued. “First, we have to dispel the old barrier, then we will have to let the Great Beast Haagenti rampage about and let out its miasma. Only after that will we be able to cast the new barrier around it and seal it away again. The problem is that second step. We’ll need bait to keep the Infernal Demonic Beast into one area and contain the damage to the capital.”

“I understand the issue there,” I said. “The prisoners’ mana is too weak to act as bait.”

“A hundred years ago, the leader of the empire’s mages occupied Haagenti’s attention. And of course, of the hundred mages who’d offered their lives to seal the Star Cancer Beast away, he was the first to die,” mom said.

“I offered to act as bait, but the emperor and that cute chancellor opposed.”

“You what, dad?!” I exclaimed, whipping around to look at him.

“Eugene, I wasn’t volunteering to die, you know? The Niten Enmei-ryu has techniques to cut through and parry mana, so I figured I could use them against the Infernal Demonic Beast.”

“It wouldn’t work,” mom said. “Infernal Demonic Beasts are attracted to powerful mana, and Ju doesn’t have enough to interest it. I’m sure that it would instinctively sense that it would be too dangerous to take on the most powerful Magic Swordsman in the empire too. Choosing you as bait would only result in the plan’s failure.”

“Oh... The cute chancellor said the same thing,” dad sighed, his shoulders slumping.

Mom looked to the side. “Um, Ju? That young chancellor you’ve been mentioning...”

“Huh? Oh, uh, I...”

“Well, whatever. We shouldn’t discuss this in front of Eugene.”

“Yeah... Later, then?”

“Huh? What are you guys talking about?” I asked, looking back and forth between them.

“Oh, nothing,” they both said, refusing to elaborate. Was something up with the chancellor?

“I only have one piece of advice,” mom continued. “The empire shouldn’t depend on its own strength alone to reseal the Great Beast Haagenti. It should ask the Cardia Halidom and the Blue Sea Union for help. This is too difficult a fight to face alone.”

“Yeah, I know that, but the emperor’s a proud guy,” dad said, rubbing the back of his head.

“Now’s not the time to worry about pride!” mom snapped. “The barrier around the Star Cancer Beast will break in a matter of days!”

“I’ll say something to him. He’s probably already reached out to the others, though.”

“Communications between the countries on the Southern Continent has a long way to go, though it’s not as bad here as it is on the Eastern Continent. The Great Devil’s revival is also imminent, you know?”

“Yes, I know, as much as it hurts to admit. It’s not the time for humans to be fighting each other.”

“Hey, is there anything I can do to help?” I asked, cutting into my parents’ conversation.

“Huh? Stuff you can do?” dad said at the same time mom exclaimed, “What are you saying, Eugene?!”

“That bait thing you two were talking about... I was thinking, since I’m a mage, I can probably handle it, right?”

“Oh, come now, Eugene. You can use magic, but you’re a swordsman at heart,” dad said. He must have thought I was joking, because he wasn’t speaking in a serious tone.

For a moment, my mom said nothing. When she finally spoke, she did so slowly, as if choosing her words carefully. “No. You may have more mana than Ju, but your mana levels are still those of an average mage. You won’t work as bait for the Star Cancer Beast either.”

She seems like the type who can’t hide secrets from others. Thinking quickly, I blurted, “If I get mana from Sumire, an Ifrit, I can do it.”

Sumire had a limitless supply of mana, and I could access it through Mana Link.

“Oh, yeah!” dad said, sounding excited. “That would—”

“Absolutely not!” mom yelled, her voice so loud that I couldn’t hear the rest of dad’s sentence.

“Lila?”

“Mom?”

“Absolutely not! It’s far too dangerous! No way! I won’t allow it!”

Dad looked at her for a moment before sighing. “She’s right, Eugene. You don’t have to shoulder this. You’re still a student.”

“Under imperial law, I’m an adult.”

“All right, it’s time to go home,” mom said, patting me on the back and ignoring me. “Sumire and Sara are waiting for you at home, aren’t they?”

“But mom, I still want to chat with—”

“Don’t worry! We can meet again. I’m not always going to be free, but we can speak at your school. You’ll have to be inside a church dedicated to the Goddess of Fate as well as set up a barrier to keep my aether from leaking outside, though.”

“That sounds a bit too difficult for me,” I said.

My Barrier Magic’s range was so tiny that containing two people was my limit. Where could I find someone who could cast a barrier large enough to contain an entire building and powerful enough to hide an angel’s presence? Maybe the headmaster could? The idea of being in his debt was a scary one.

“Eugene, I’m going to talk with Lila some more,” dad said. “We need to come up with a way to seal away the Great Beast Haagenti.”

“All right. I’ll go home first,” I said. Though I wanted to stay some more, I turned to leave the chapel, but my mom fluttered to me before I could reach the door.

“Wait, Eugene!”

“What’s—” I turned around to see mom already right before my eyes. Before I could do or say anything, she’d wrapped her slender arms around my head.

“You’ve grown. Every time I could sneak away from my duties in Heaven, I would watch over you, Eugene.”

“Mom...” After some hesitation, I hugged her back. Despite her small frame, her back felt impossibly big.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t meet you all these years. You must have been so lonely.”

Had I been? For as long as I could remember, my lack of a mother had been a given. I’d often wondered what kind of person she was. When my classmates at the military academy had talked about their parents, I might have felt a little jealous because I didn’t have any memories of my mom. But...

“I’ll come see you again, mom.” Even if I could only meet her once a year, I could still speak with her through this chapel. That was a happy thought.

“Yes, come see me anytime. If I’m not busy, we can talk for as long as you want.”

“That sounds good. Okay, I’ll be going now, mom, dad.”

I waved to my parents and left the chapel. Then, without stopping, I made my way through the forest and headed back. My mind still hasn’t caught up with all the revelations... To think that I could see my mother again. The thought filled me with a vague sense of happiness that followed me all the way home.

***

“Your father isn’t coming home today either, Eugene?” Sara asked, pursing her lips unhappily. According to her and Sumire, they had spent the morning touring around the capital.

Sumire took a sip from her cup of warm tea. “Nothing we can do about it, Sara!” she said.

The rhythmic thunk of a knife’s edge against a cutting board was audible from the kitchen as Miss Hana whipped us some food. Meanwhile, I was still having trouble focusing. But I couldn’t just sit around staring into space. I had something to tell them.

“Sara, Sumire, I’d like to speak with you two about something,” I said.

“About our marriage?” Sara immediately replied.

“Sara! You’re moving too fast! You have to start from engagement!” Sumire exclaimed.

“I’m trying to talk about something serious...” I said.

“Hmm? So am I,” Sara replied.

“Yeah, we’re being serious too,” Sumire agreed.

Their eyes were so devoid of humor that they scared me.

“O-Okay, but let’s discuss that next time,” I said. “To tell you the truth, the capital might be in danger. I’m really sorry to ask this of you, Sara, since you just arrived here, but you two should leave.”

The chancellor had said that the matter of the Infernal Demonic Beast’s seal was a state secret. As Sara was from the Cardia Halidom, I had to keep this from her. It was difficult to come up with a way to convince her when I couldn’t go into details. However...

“Oh, you’re talking about the Great Beast Haagenti,” Sara said, as if that were a given.

“Huh? Sara, how did you know about that?” Judging by this reaction, Sumire hadn’t been the one who told her about it.

“The Priestess of Fate contacted me with communication magic. She told me to be careful if I was heading for the capital.”

“So the halidom already knows about it, huh?” My mother, an angel, knew about it. It made sense that the Priestess of Fate did as well. “In that case—”

“I won’t leave. If the seal on the Great Beast Haagenti breaks, then so many lives will be in danger. What kind of Saint would I be if I ran away while knowing that?”

“I’m going to stay too,” Sumire said. “I’m good enough at magic now that I can protect myself.”

Neither of them had hesitated to give me her answer.

“Still...” I stopped myself before I could say that it would be dangerous. The straightforward look in their eyes said it all: “We’re partners, aren’t we?” Looks like I was worrying over nothing. “All right, we’ll all stay in the capital. As a lower-ranking noble, I might be summoned to the strategy meetings to discuss how we can reseal the Great Beast Haagenti. If anything happens before we can figure something out, and the citizens of the capital are put in danger, I’d like you two to help with the evacuation.”

Both girls gave me firm nods.

“You can leave them in our hands, Eugene,” Sara said.

“Of course, Eugene!” Sumire said.

Will I actually be summoned to the meetings, though? The court mage who had investigated the barrier with me had said that he would notify me if they had need of my magic, but I hadn’t heard from him since. According to my father, no one had figured out what to do yet. They couldn’t possibly execute a plan knowing through Destiny Magic’s Clarivoyance that it would fail.

Right as I was thinking that I would help Sumire and Sara with evacuating the civilians if I never ended up being summoned, a loud voice rang out from the foyer.

“Is Eugene Santafield home?”

Finally. This must be a summons from the court mage. I held up a hand, stopping Miss Hana before she could answer the door, and went to get it myself. Since he had called for me by name, things would go smoother if I went in person.

A Steel Knight was standing at the entrance, back straight. The moment he saw my face, he pressed his fist against his chest and lowered his head in a slight bow. I copied the motion.

“I’m Eugene. What business do you have with me?” I figured he was here to summon me to Einherjar Palace for the anti-Infernal Demonic Beast strategy meeting, but...

“Princess Airi has summoned you, and a carriage awaits you outside! May Her Highness have a bit of your time?”

She wants to see me now? I could never have expected that my childhood friend was the one who’d sent for me.

Interlude: Princess Airi

♢Airi’s POV♢

These days, Airi Areus Grenflare, the Seventh Princess of the Grenflare Empire, was a household name throughout the empire. But when I was born, the easiest way to find my name had been to start from the bottom of the line of succession. My mother was of middling rank, and as her daughter, I hadn’t enjoyed exceptional favor. Nonetheless, I had received a strict upbringing as a princess, and my mother had told me that one day, I would be married off to a prince of a neighboring country. I hadn’t seen anything wrong with this future.

One day, back when my father was still a prince, he had almost lost his life to an assassin hired by someone who had wanted him out of the race for the crown. The plan had been to kill him while he was checking things out in another country and make it seem like he had been attacked by a wayward dragon.

He had only survived because a mercenary who had fled from the conflicts on the Eastern Continent with his son had stepped in to save him. That mercenary was Jubei Santafield, who later became the Imperial Sword. My father had told me that the mercenary had killed the dragon with nothing but a sword. He’d hired Lord Jubei as his bodyguard on the spot. Eugene Santafield was the boy that Lord Jubei had brought with him from the Eastern Continent, and he was soon to become my childhood friend.

I first met Eu in the primary division of the imperial military academy. I still vividly remember how I challenged Eu to a fight during our first meeting, only for him to soundly defeat me. After that, I went to Eu’s father and asked him to train me in the way of the sword as well. Since we were the same age, we became fast friends.

Eu was always practicing with his sword. I knew how to wield one too, since it had been part of my royal education. But Eu’s training was a level beyond what I was familiar with.

One day, I asked him, “Eu? Why do you spend so much time training?”

“The sword is all I have.”

“All you have? What do you mean?”

“My homeland on the Eastern Continent was wiped out. My mother died when I was still a baby. And my dad always says that if he dies, I’ll have no one left to protect me except myself. Weaklings don’t deserve to live.”

“Why, that’s...” I was struck speechless. Eu was only eight at this time. I would never have expected him to be practicing his swordsmanship with such a mindset.

“Ideally, I’d like to become as strong as my dad so I can protect others too,” Eu added. His father had always been his ideal.

“Then will you protect me too?” The question just popped out of my mouth.

“Sure, after I become stronger than I am now.”

“You’re already plenty strong.” Over the course of fifty matches, I’d only been able to beat Eu once or twice.

“No, I’m not strong enough to protect you yet, Airi. I still have to train. And after I become strong enough, I’ll protect you.”

“O-Oh.”

I doubted the earnest Eu had been slyly trying to impress me, but in retrospect, that was probably the moment that he stole my heart away. He was my first love.

Though assassins were sent after my father again and again, Eu’s father defeated them all. Tired of the constant attempts on his life, my father sent all his children into the military academy’s dormitories. It would have been hard for anyone suspicious to enter the dorms, and, since the military was under the emperor’s direct command, my father didn’t have to worry about involving a third party in the imperial troubles.

The military academy’s training regimen was tough, but it was much more fun than learning how to be a proper princess. In the army, it didn’t matter if you were a princess or a noble or a commoner. The rule was to treat everyone equally. Granted, that was only on paper. Cliques still formed around members of the imperial family and nobility.

I wasn’t popular, and the lack of support or friends was scary at first. Not that I’d ever complained or admitted that to anyone. Since I was close to the bottom of the order of succession, other members of the imperial or high-ranking aristocratic families often picked fights with me.

“Why, hello there, Lady Airi. I see that as usual, there’s practically no one hanging around with you. What do you say to a duel between our attendants? The loser has to do anything the winner says.”

“Wha—?! There’s no way I can do that on such short notice!” This was typical of the challenges that they issued to me back at the academy.

“Oh? To think that the Grenflare imperial family could produce a coward who would flee from a duel!”

I gritted my teeth. They probably weren’t serious about the challenge, and they were taunting me knowing that I would turn them down. But still...

“All right, then I’ll take you on. How many people will you send?”

“Huh? Who are you?”

“Eugene Santafield. I’m Airi’s friend.”

Still, Eugene would step in every time.

“A kid who just entered the military academy plans to take us on alone? We’ll make you regret it!”

“Oh, come now. You’ll see how good I am after a fight.”

“I don’t know what backwater country you’re from, but I’ll pummel you so bad that you’ll never be able to act tough again. C’mon! Let’s settle things at the duelling grounds.”

“H-Hold on!” I exclaimed. “Eu, are you sure you can win?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me.” Eu was always confident.

The boy from the imperial family who’d picked a fight with me, as well as his followers, surrounded us so we wouldn’t run away, glaring at us the whole time. It was five against one. Our opponents were our seniors in the military academy. I could only watch, my heart pounding with worry, as the fight started.

“Let’s get started, you insolent brat!”

“Thank you for taking the time to fight me.”

The Swordmaster facing off against Eu swung his sword in wide arcs as a warm-up. Though Eu was still so small that he was only half the Swordmaster’s size, he was calm, raising his sword with measured grace. The outcome of the fight was clear from the start. Eu defeated every single one of his opponents, clinching such a clean victory that their swords never once grazed him.

The boy who’d picked a fight with me had grown pale. He had issued the challenge as well as added the clause that the loser had to obey the winner. We had a witness overseeing the duel, and everyone in the school knew about the bet.

“Looks like you’ll have to listen to everything I say from now on,” I told him with as much hauteur as I could muster.

“F-Fine. I’m a man of my word.”

That was how I gained a group of followers. I lost count of how many times my influence grew thanks to duels like this, and the person who won them all didn’t even seem interested. Every time a duel ended, he would start doing practice swings as I addressed the defeated noble.

“Eu, why do you always train right after winning a duel?” I asked him once.

He hummed in thought for a moment before replying, “That fight wasn’t much of a workout, I guess.”

Saying that right after wiping the floor with five seniors? I watched him practice for a bit, though my eyes never once captured his sword as it sliced through the air. He looks like he’s having so much fun whenever he has a sword in his hand. He was still the exact same as when I first met him.

“Why are you training so much, anyway?” I had posed this question to him so many times before, and I knew exactly how he would answer. I kept asking because I wanted to hear the words from his mouth.

“Well, I have to protect you, don’t I?”

Look at you, trying to act all cool! I barely bit back a squeal of happiness, and it took a gargantuan effort to keep the smile off my face. A princess of the empire couldn’t possibly look silly in public. Eu was still swinging his sword, so I grabbed his hand and tugged on it.

“Come on, how long do you plan on practicing for, Eu? Let’s head back to the dorms.”

“The duelling grounds are perfect for practicing Niten Enmei-ryu techniques—there’s plenty of space—so—”

“You can’t use the duelling grounds for training! Didn’t you get in trouble for that just the other day? And besides, you have a dojo at home.”

“I can’t get any good training there. My dad keeps interrupting me and challenging me to spar.”

“He’s a pretty childish man, huh?”

Eu’s father was an oddball who liked swords far more than Eu did, but Eu looked up to him and wanted to be like him. After my father became the emperor, my surroundings and the way people treated me changed drastically. Eu remained the same, though. He stayed by my side and fought for me whenever anything came up. That always made me happy.

Then, two years ago, the selection exam happened at the church. I never once forgot what happened that day. My childhood friend, Eu, became a swordsman who could only wield white mana—a failure of a swordsman who couldn’t deal any damage against his opponents.

“Eu, we should go back.”

“Yeah... Sure...”

He had loved swords so much, but after the selection exam, it was like someone had plucked his soul from his body. He was always staring into space and zoning out. I had known Eu since we were children, but I had never seen him like this before.

I-I have to do something! I thought. He had always come to my rescue, so this time, I wanted to be the one to save him.

I immediately went to see my father. As the emperor, he already knew the results of Eu’s selection exam.

“So, what do you want to do, Airi?” the emperor asked the moment I approached him.

Eu and I had planned on getting engaged after the selection exam, and we’d already asked my father’s permission. My father was the emperor, and Eu’s father was the Imperial Sword. At the military school, we were at the top of our class, so my father probably expected a lot from us.

“I don’t mind you marrying him,” the emperor continued. “Eugene is the Imperial Sword’s son. I’ve known him since he was a boy, and he’s grown into a man I can trust. However, it would put you at a disadvantage in the contest for the crown.” Though he kept his tone calm, he wasn’t mincing his words. The Grenflare Empire valued military officers. Someone like Eu, who could only wield white mana, could never reach a position of influence within the army. “Now that you’re of age, your imperial duties include finding a fiancé. Scores of people, both from within and without the empire, have expressed their interest in you. If you don’t choose Eugene, you can pick your favorite from here.”

He handed me a heavy stack of paper containing information on numerous sons of high-ranking imperial nobles and princes from the Blue Sea Union. I had zero interest in any of them.

“Father, what would happen if I chose Eugene as my fiancé?”

“Hmm... Since you have seven colors, you’ll be chosen as a captain of the Steel Knights, with a promotion to commander guaranteed in the future. Eugene can only use Healing Magic and Barrier Magic, so he would become a Bronze Knight. As a Bronze Knight, he would be sent to some small, rural vassal state, where he would work for three to five years.”

“Oh no! Could I at least have him on my team?”

“The culture fostered by the previous emperor has made it difficult for Healing Mages to find success in the empire. There’s little use for them when the empire can produce as much Elixir as it wishes. The only work for a Barrier Mage is monitoring the seal on the Great Beast Haagenti. It’s not as if they need to defend the empire, as it’s been over a hundred years since anyone tried to invade us. As the emperor, though, I could use my power to forcibly transfer him to the Steel Knights, but—”

“Then, please—”

“But I doubt his peers would welcome him. I know what you want, Airi, but what does Eugene want?”

“I... He...”

I couldn’t answer that. Would Eu be happy if I took advantage of my father’s influence and added him to the Steel Knights, only for the people around him to treat him like my accessory? I thought about it for a moment, and in the end, I didn’t ask my father to do anything.

I’ll become the empress and change the empire! Unlike my father, I had no ambitions to unify the continent by force. My dream had been to create a peaceful yet powerful empire, but now, I wanted to create a country where people like Eugene could break the glass ceiling.

Fortunately, my Rainbow Ability was so rare that it appeared in only one person every hundred years. With this power, I wouldn’t lose to my older brothers or sisters. Before my father had claimed the throne, the struggle for succession had been bloody, which was why he’d given us equal opportunity to ascend the throne.

“The next ruler will be the one who contributes the most to the empire. However, anyone who does harm to their siblings will be immediately stripped of their right of succession.” That was the rule the emperor had imposed on us. Instead of fighting among ourselves, we competed by doing our best for the empire.

Things had gone well in the beginning. I had started from the position of captain and worked my way up until I became a Heavenly Knight. I had assumed that reaching this rank would get me close to being the first in line for the throne, but my success hadn’t been satisfying as of late. The reason for that was obvious.

My childhood friend, Eu, had become so famous that he would no longer need my help. He’d beheaded the Divine Beast Cerberus in the Last Dungeon, Babel, the trial that the goddesses imposed upon the people of the surface. He’d even defeated the legendary Demon Queen Erinyes. Everyone in the empire was wondering when the “son of the Imperial Sword” would be coming back. These were the same people who had made fun of him for his lack of an Ability back when they had first heard about him studying abroad at Lykeion Magic Academy.

Was I merely a figure of the past to Eu? He’d even found a new girlfriend at Lykeion Magic Academy. It had been so long since we last saw each other, and yet he was treating me like a stranger. I couldn’t blame him; I had been the one to suggest that we spend time apart. But even so, I desperately wanted to speak with him.

That was why I took the forceful route of using my authority as the princess to summon him. He should be here soon. Given the short notice, it might take him longer than I would have liked. But I knew he would come, since he was a conscientious person.

What should I even talk to him about? What could I possibly say to him after all this time? I continued to wait patiently for him.

♢Eugene’s POV♢

Shoot, I’m late. I was hurrying to join Airi, but I was running late because along the way, I’d bumped into the court mage with whom I had investigated the Infernal Demonic Beast’s seal the other day. Apparently, the plan to reseal it had been overhauled.

“The Imperial Sword’s intel cleared a lot of things up for us! Thanks to him, we’re feeling more hopeful that our plan will work. I wonder where he got all that information, though. We know so little about the Infernal Demonic Beasts.”

Dad had probably gotten the information from mom. According to the court mage, the plan would be put into action the day after tomorrow. He wanted me to participate, since there wouldn’t be enough Barrier Mages or Healing Mages on hand. We’d ended up talking for so long that I lost track of time.

The place Airi had wanted us to meet was a high-end restaurant on the corner of the capital’s main street. How nostalgic, I thought. This restaurant was kind of like a hidden gem among the imperial and high-ranking aristocratic families. Memories of the birthdays Airi and I had celebrated here flowed through my mind. After our academy training got tougher, though, I hadn’t been able to make time to come here.

I gave Airi’s name to the front desk, and a waiter emerged from the restaurant to guide me to the second floor. The restaurant wasn’t too full, but they could have been turning away customers to make sure we had a modicum of privacy.

I found Airi immediately. She was sitting near the back of the restaurant in a bright red dress, looking down at the table with a troubled expression on her face.

I walked slowly toward her, and the waiter said, “Princess Airi, your guest has arrived.”

Airi’s face shot up. “Eu...”

“Eh?”

I was at a loss for words. I had never once seen Airi like this before. Her expression was wavering, like she was about to burst into tears. She looked so fragile in this moment that I couldn’t find the words to say to her.

Chapter Five: Eugene Is Challenged to a Duel

Airi and I were having dinner in the restaurant, the silence between us broken only by the music the pianist was performing.

“Pr-Princess Airi, here are the appetizers for today,” the waiter said, his face nervous as he set the plates down on our table.

Airi’s brooding expression was probably stressing him out. More than enough time had passed since I arrived for her to calm down, and yet Airi still hadn’t said a word.

“Uh, Princess Airi?” I said.

“Call me by my name and not my title, like you used to,” she muttered.

“Okay, um, Airi. So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“What, are you going to leave as soon as you hear what I have to say?”

“No, that’s not—”

“In that case, we don’t have to jump into the main topic right away, do we?!” she snapped before turning her head away with an angry expression.

The time my childhood friend turned into a drama queen.

“You just thought of me as a drama queen, didn’t you?”

“No, no, of course not.”

“It’s written all over your face.”

It was like she could read my mind. She had always been like this.

“Here are your bowls of Pearl Turtle soup,” the waiter said, adding two more bowls to our table.

This was what people called a full-course meal, wasn’t it? None of the restaurants in the dungeon city or its magic school served food in such high style, and the cafeteria at the military academy likewise offered only simple dishes too. I had no idea what the proper etiquette was here, so I was sneaking peeks at Airi as she ate and copying her.

The next course was brought out. It was a plate of fried white fish with a vegetable sauce ladled over it. Airi was elegantly using her fork and knife to cut up the fish into smaller pieces before lifting them to her mouth. She even looked graceful tucking her bangs behind her ear.

“Eu, you’re not eating?” she asked, noticing that I was staring at her.

“I-I am,” I replied before awkwardly taking a bite. I-It’s delicious! This wasn’t a flavor I’d ever experienced before, but I knew that it was good.

Airi was sipping wine from a glass. I’d had some as well, and it tasted worlds apart from the cheap three-hundred-gold-a-cup wine I would order from the bars in the dungeon city. Though alcohol didn’t really affect me, it helped to soothe my nerves. Airi’s expression was softer than earlier too. I was just thinking that I could probably ask her why she’d summoned me when someone suddenly spoke to us.

“Oh? Now, this isn’t a pair you see every day. You two are dining here as well, I see.”

I glanced over. A sophisticated-looking man was standing next to us, gazing down at us with a pompous expression. I recognized his face and jumped to my feet to greet him.

“Prince Ashton, it’s been too long!”

Prince Ashton was the eldest son of the emperor as well as the current crown prince. He was over ten years older than Airi and me, so he had already graduated from the military academy by the time we entered it. However, since I had spent so much time with Airi, I had had many opportunities to meet him. He was the commander in chief of the imperial army, second in rank only to the marshal. Prince Ashton was popular among the soldiers, and he had garnered widespread praise by resolving the countless conflicts that broke out around the Blue Sea Union border with a minimum of casualties. Of all the candidates for the next emperor, he was undoubtedly the closest to taking the throne.

“There’s no need for stuffy salutations, Eugene,” Prince Ashton said. “Long time no see. I’ll only be in your hair for a moment.”

“Ashton, don’t you think it’s rude to interrupt us while we’re dining?” Airi said.

“Oh, don’t be like that, Airi. I’m worried about you. I heard that you and your team will act as bait for Great Beast Haagenti the day after tomorrow. That’s no job for a member of the imperial family.”

“Father already approved of it, so it’s nothing you should concern yourself with!”

“You’ll be acting as bait?! Airi!” I couldn’t help but interrupt.

“You haven’t heard about it, Eugene?” Prince Ashton said. “In that case, help get my sister under control.”

“I’m not out of control!” Airi smacked her hand against the table, causing the cutlery to clatter.

“The Imperial Sword didn’t look happy that the intelligence he brought has become the foundation of this plan,” Prince Ashton continued.

“Well...”

“I’ll bet.” Airi was both the daughter dad never had and his cute apprentice in swordsmanship. There was no way he would ever have approved of a plan that involved her putting herself in danger as bait for an Infernal Demonic Beast.

“I apologize for the interruption. That’s all I wanted to say.” Prince Ashton walked away, his shoes clacking against the floor. He had come here only to speak with Airi rather than to eat. But I couldn’t care less about Prince Ashton at this moment.

“What was he talking about?!” I demanded. “You’ll act as bait for the Infernal Demonic Beast?!”

“The Imperial Sword... I mean, your father told us that using prisoners to activate the Sacrificial Arts will end in failure. We need spirits that are loyal to the empire, so the emperor was asking for people willing to offer their lives to save their homeland.”

“And he chose you?”

“No one was willing to raise their hand at first. Not that I can blame anyone. But I thought this was my chance. If I survive, then I could shoot up the line of succession and—”

“You’ll die, Airi,” I said, cutting off her words. “Do you know how Sacrificial Arts work? It’s taboo because it burns away your lifespan. Becoming the empress doesn’t mean shit if you die!” By the end of my impromptu speech, I was yelling at her, heedless of the fact that we were inside a restaurant.

Airi was silent for a moment before she replied, “It’ll be fine. We asked the Cardia Halidom’s Church of the Goddess for aid, and a skilled Destiny Mage will help us with the plan. They can cast Sacrificial Arts powerful enough to reseal the Infernal Demonic Beast without actually killing the sacrifices. And you know that the priests and priestesses of the church can use magic that restores one’s lifespan if they accumulate good karma, right? So I won’t die. I think.”

“It was the Church of the Goddess that banned Sacrificial Arts, and yet the halidom has people who can use them?” That was a surprise. Did Sara, a Saint Candidate, know about that?

“Don’t worry about me, Eu,” Airi said, giving me a faint smile.

“How can I not?”

“Enough about me. Tell me about what’s been going on with you. What have you been doing at that magic school? And what about those two cute girlfriends you have?” She paused for a moment. “Are they really your girlfriends? You didn’t seem interested in girls at all back at the military academy.”

“Huh?!” I hadn’t expected her to take the conversation in this direction. “Th-That goes for you too. Aren’t you engaged to that Ber...whatever?” I shot back, trying to hide how much her question had taken me aback.

“Oh... Right. Him... Well, as a princess of the imperial family, I had to get engaged to someone after I came of age, so I had no other choice,” Airi replied, her eyes darting about. She clearly didn’t want to discuss this. “So! What’s the Last Dungeon like?! Are the monsters in the dungeon stronger than the ones in the empire?”

“I dunno... I’m still only at the 100th Level, so I don’t think they’re that powerful.”

“The 100th Level is plenty impressive.”

“It’s still far below the 500th Level.”

“Are you serious? About reaching the 500th Level, I mean.”

“Of course I am.”

“That’s far crazier than my plan to reseal the Infernal Demonic Beast! That record hasn’t been beaten in five hundred years, you know?”

“That’s what makes it worth the challenge.”

“You haven’t changed a bit, Eu.”

“Really?”

“Really. Your skills with a sword have improved too. I saw the footage of your fight against the Divine Beast.”

“When I fought it, it was the first time in a long while that I’d swung a sword, you know?”

“Huh? You’re kidding me! No way! How come?”

“Thanks to someone dumping me, I wasn’t able to hold a sword for a long time.”

At my words, Airi grimaced. Oops. That sure was a buzzkill. Must have had too much to drink.

“Ngh... Oh... I see...” Airi was saying.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” I demanded.

“Y-You’ve got it wrong!”

“I’ve got what wrong?”

“H-Hear me out! The truth is...”

And with that, Airi began her story. It had been a long time since I had had such a long conversation with my childhood friend. It almost felt like old times. Throughout her story, Airi kept apologizing to me about how she’d asked for some time apart after the selection exam. She also told me that she had wanted to reach out to me all this while.

We talked until the restaurant was about to close, after which we went outside. Airi had to participate in the strategy meeting to work out the details for the plan to reseal the Great Beast Haagenti. I was casting a sobering spell on myself as she boarded the carriage she’d flagged.

“I’m really sorry, Eu,” she said.

“It’s fine,” I replied, and then she left.

Even after she did so, I stood there, lost in thought. Like Airi had said, she must have wanted to apologize to me for a long time, because she had looked more at peace afterward. I wasn’t worried about the past, though. Rather, I was concerned about the plan that was soon to unfurl. The prince’s words were stuck in my head. “I heard that you and your team will act as bait during the plan to reseal the Great Beast Haagenti.” Would it really succeed, as Airi said?

I can’t get rid of the bad feeling in my chest. It was nothing more than a feeling, but it was the same as the one I’d had on the 20th Level before the Divine Beast Cerberus appeared as well as on the 100th Level right before the Demon Queen showed up. To get to the bottom of this, I decided against heading home and went somewhere else.

***

“Mom...”

I had come to the chapel in the forest beyond the cemetery, the same one that I had visited with my dad the other day. I could only meet mom once per year, but I had been told that I could speak to her any time I wished. Though I’d planned on calling for her until I received a reply, she responded a lot quicker than I’d expected.

“Oh, Eugene. Did you miss hearing mommy’s voice that much? ☆” the angel’s voice sounded within my head.

“I have something to ask you.”

Mom sensed my mood, and her tone lost its teasing edge. “Ah, so you’re here to discuss something serious. What is it?”

So, I explained to her the new resealing plan I’d heard from Airi.

***

“It won’t work. With that plan, the chances of a successful resealing are less than fifty percent. It would also kill most of the people offered up for Sacrificial Arts.” As an angel from Heaven and a servant of the Goddess of Fate, mom was absolutely certain.

“I’d like to know what I can do about that.”

“I’m sure, but...”

I lowered my head. “Please! Mom!”

“Okay, if you twist my arm!” Mom said, her voice a little happier than before.

We spent the night in that little chapel coming up with a plan.

***

It was morning by the time I returned home. I was on my way to my bedroom when Sumire and Sara grabbed me.

“Ah! Eugene is coming home after spending the night outside!” Sumire yelled.

“D-Don’t tell me you were with that childhood friend of yours this whole time...” Sara gasped.

“O-Oh no... Is he going to dump us?”

“No, don’t say things like that! If he’s going to dump one of us, he should get rid of you!”

“Excuse me? I’ll burn you to a crisp.”

“I’d love to see you try.”

Sumire and Sara were seconds away from brawling.

This wasn’t anything new, though, so I spoke to them as if nothing were wrong. “Sumire, Sara, I have a favor I’d like to ask of you two.”

“Sure thing,” both of them agreed in a heartbeat.

“I haven’t said anything yet...”

“I’d never turn down a request from you!” Sumire chirped.

“So, what do you want us to do?” Sara asked.

Both of them were giving me their full attention.

“Thank you...” I said before laying out the plan that Eri, my mom, and I had stayed up all night coming up with. Then we left the house and headed straight for Einherjar Palace.

***

We arrived at the audience chamber. Thank goodness His Imperial Majesty named me a baron. I simply had to give the guards my name to be let inside. Though the guards stopped me right before the audience chamber, I used my dad’s name to force my way through.

Inside, the strategy meeting for tomorrow’s mission to reseal the Great Beast Haagenti was wrapping up. The plans that would be distributed to the soldiers must have been finalized, awaiting only the emperor’s approval.

I took a deep breath before yelling, “Excuse me!”

Immediately, everyone in the room turned to look at me. As they all began muttering angrily, two members of the imperial nobility approached us.

“Lord Eugene! You weren’t summoned!”

“Who are those two behind you?! How dare you bring outsiders here?!”

The chatter ended as soon as the emperor spoke up, his voice echoing in the audience chamber.

“State your business, Eugene Santafield.”

“Please forgive my audacity in stating this, but the plan to reseal the Great Beast Haagenti tomorrow will fail! I have this on the authority of the most powerful Destiny Mage I know!”

Everyone in the audience chamber reacted as one, staring at me with a mix of fury, suspicion, and surprise. The angriest looks were from the strategists and court mages who had come up with the plan for the imperial military.

“Are you suggesting that our strategy will fail?!”

“Show us your evidence! We’ll have you pay if it’s nonsense!”

“Your status as the Imperial Sword’s son doesn’t absolve you of your impudence!”

They were totally justified in their statements. Anyone would get mad if some brat barged in and declared that their plan would fail right before the emperor’s eyes. I remained silent and glanced at my dad, who immediately understood what I was trying to say.

“My son would never say something he didn’t believe in,” he said in a casual tone, as if this were an everyday conversation. Even those who must have wanted to argue closed their mouths.

“And? Is that all you have to say?” the emperor asked. He must have known that about me too. That made things a lot easier.

“No. I haven’t even gotten started yet.”

“Let’s hear it, then. You have an alternative plan, don’t you?”

I breathed in before beginning. “Your Imperial Majesty, I do indeed have a plan, and it’s to slay the Infernal Demonic Beast.”

My words echoed through the audience chamber. Murmurs once again broke out among the crowd. After all, I had offered to kill a creature that, for the past two hundred years, could only be contained by sealing it away.

“That’s impossible.”

“What a fool.”

“He should get his head checked out.”

The gathered nobles and military officials were, as expected, saying whatever they wanted to about me. But I refused to back down. Their original plan would result in countless deaths, and Airi would be the first of them. I glanced in her direction and saw that she was looking at me with a perplexed expression.

“Hmm. I see. I’m interested in hearing how you intend to slay the Infernal Demonic Beast, but first, I’ll need to hear what grounds you have for saying that the plan to seal it would fail.”

At the emperor’s words, the murmuring quieted down again.

Mom, an angel from Heaven, was the one who told us that the plan would fail. But I can’t say that here. My parents had told me to keep quiet about mom, so I’d come up with a plausible lie. I would say that Headmaster Uther, the most powerful mage on the continent, had been the one to give me the information. Last night, I’d reached out to him using Communication Magic to ask if I could use his name like this.

“Ha ha ha! Looks like things have gotten interesting in the empire. Use my name as you please. Tell me everything when you return,” he’d agreed without the slightest hesitation. I’d known the headmaster would understand.

“The...” I started, but just as I was about to launch into my story, a guard threw open the door and ran in.

“Your Imperial Majesty! I apologize for disrupting your meeting! We’ve received a Hotline from the Cardia Halidom!”

Hotline was an emergency communication spell that only the heads of the Grenflare Empire, the Cardia Halidom, and the Blue Sea Union could cast. It was said that it was only used in times of international crisis.

“Connect us,” the emperor said calmly.

After a bzzt, a holographic screen appeared in the air. Displayed on it was a young and beautiful woman with long blonde hair. A buzz arose among the gathered nobles and officials, and behind me, I heard Airi suck in a breath.

“S-Saint Oriane!”

Everyone knew the name Oriane Ilia Cardia. She was one of the Eight Saints of the Cardia Halidom, meaning that she was a head of the leading country in the Holy Alliance. Normally, becoming a Saint required one to work one’s way up from a nun to a cardinal before being voted into office. That was why most Saints were elderly women. However, there existed an exception. The Priestess of Fate was chosen not by the people but by Ilia, the Goddess of Fate. The current Priestess of Fate was Saint Oriane.

“I apologize for the sudden intrusion, Emperor Grenflare,” Saint Oriane said.

“What business do you have that necessitates the use of Hotline?”

Saint Oriane giggled. “I heard something interesting. You are planning to reseal the Great Beast Haagenti, yes? But as it stands, your plan will fail.”

Shock rippled through the audience chamber before everyone glared at me.

Huh? Wait, this is bad, isn’t it? Almost like they might mistake me for a halidom spy...

“Eugene! You bastard! You must be a halidom spy!”

“Isn’t that woman behind you a Saint Candidate from Cardia?!”

“What?! You were leaking our state secrets?!”

I knew I had to say something, but Saint Oriane beat me to the punch.

“Just so you know, I only learned about the operation to reseal the Infernal Demonic Beast because Lady Ilia told me about it.”

Once again, silence followed her words. The Priestess of Fate was special; she was the only person who could hear the voice of the goddess. There was a lot of weight behind her statement.

“Lady Ilia said our strategy would fail?” the emperor asked, sounding peeved.

“She said the possibility of failure is high if the plan proceeds without adjustment,” Saint Oriane replied. “However, she also said there’s a young imperial swordsman who can carve open a new path.”

Everyone whipped around to look at me again. This... This is mom’s doing, isn’t it? When we were working on the plan together last night, the most difficult part had been course-correcting aspects that had already been put into action. It looked like mom had gone to the goddess for help.

“I see. Very well. It appears that we have to rethink our strategy,” the emperor rumbled.

“Your Imperial Majesty, a moment, I beg of you! Why did Eugene remain silent about the risk of failure?! Why wait until the last minute to bring it up?! He’s untrustworthy!” someone yelled.

That was a fair point. I looked around to see who had made the objection and saw that it was General Ber-whatever, Airi’s fiancé.

“He’s right, Eugene. Let me ask you again. How did you know that our plan would fail?”

At the emperor’s words, everyone stared at me with suspicion.

I puffed out my chest and proudly rattled off a lie. “Last night, I received communications from Headmaster Uther of Lykeion Magic Academy. He told me that, according to his Clairvoyance, danger was approaching the empire. Then he told me how to prevent it.”

“The Clairvoyance of the dungeon city’s King Uther, the best mage on the continent, hmm? I see, I see.” Saint Oriane gave me a meaningful smile. She must have known that my story was completely made up, but it seemed that she would take my side here.

“Your Imperial Majesty, we’ve confirmed that Eugene Santafield has a close relationship with King Uther of Lykeion Magic Academy. He is the only one with permission to enter enclosures full of the king’s prized ancient mythological creatures.”

The one speaking loud enough for everyone in the audience chamber to hear him had an armband marking him as an intelligence officer. It made sense, then, that he knew what I was doing in the dungeon city. Granted, the true reason King Uther let me enter those enclosures was that I was the only one who even could.

“Understood,” the emperor said. “It appears that we have put ourselves in the debts of several powers, but for now, I am grateful for the help. Chancellor, relay a message of gratitude to the dungeon city for me later.”

“As Your Majesty pleases,” the chancellor said with a respectful bow.

“Now then, Eugene. Let’s hear it. How do you propose we slay the beast?”

At his words, I nodded and replied, “Yes, Your Imperial Majesty!”

Then I revealed the plan that we’d come up with the night previous.

♢Last night...♢

“Mom, is there no good way to seal away the Infernal Demonic Beast?”

“Good way, huh? I looked into it myself, but we’re talking about a Star Cancer Beast with two hundred years’ worth of miasma inside of it, right? Sealing it away without any casualties will be difficult,” mom said. I could tell from her voice that she was genuinely unsure of what to do.

“Is it really impossible?”

“Hmm... Eugene, I can understand where you’re coming from, but...”

“If I don’t do something, Airi will...” But right as I was about to give up hope...

“Hey, Lila! You know a method, don’t you? Why don’t you tell him? ☆”

A familiar and oddly cheery voice rang out. The owner of the voice must have been eavesdropping on my private conversation with my mother. However, I was more focused on what she’d just said.

“Eri, what method are you talking about?”

“Excuse me! Erinyes! Don’t say such irresponsible things! There’s nothing we can do about a Star Cancer Beast that’s grown this—”

“You should act as bait, Eugene. No one will die if you do that,” Eri said, easily talking over mom.

“I should?” I murmured, but I could hardly hear my own voice over my mom’s yelling.

“Don’t be foolish! There’s no way I would let Eugene do something that dangerous!”

“Whoa, whoa, Lila! Let’s crank down the volume!”

“I wouldn’t have turned it up in the first place if you hadn’t said something so ridiculous! Eugene, don’t listen to this fallen angel and her nonsense.”

Mom was doing her best to talk over Eri, but I wanted to hear what she had to say.

“Eri, can you tell me more?”

“H-Hold on, Eugene!”

At my words, Eri’s laughter turned a tad more mischievous than usual. “Hee hee. Of course! ☆ It’s really simple, actually. A Star Cancer Beast’s body is mostly made up of black mana, which is formed from negative energy that builds up inside the ley lines. Since Eugene specializes in white mana, he can withstand its attacks. Half measures won’t cut it. Eugene is the only one who can do it, because he has nothing but white mana inside of him. See? Easy peasy.”

“I can withstand an attack from an Infernal Demonic Beast?”

Really? The white-mana-only constitution that had caused me such despair during my selection exam when I was fifteen would actually be useful here? I was getting really excited, but mom’s voice brought me back down to reality.

“Listen. The Star Cancer Beast isn’t just black mana. It also has indigo mana, which has the properties of poison and curse, and violet mana, which has the property of death. Eugene doesn’t have any resistance to them, so there’s no question that he’ll die!” mom pointed out, sounding exasperated. “Stop saying the first thing that crosses your mind!”

But her words made me realize something. Indigo mana and violet mana? I know someone who possesses both...

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that,” Eri said. “Eugene and I have a contract, so he’ll be fine.”

A long silence reigned over the chapel before mom finally said, “Huh?”

“Ugh.” You seriously spilled the beans about that? I guess she didn’t have a choice. If she didn’t, then mom would worry.

“Wh-wh-wh-what are you talking about? Explain yourself, Erinyes!” mom yelled, sounding flustered.

“Um, well, th-that’s... Mom, calm down.”

“Hee hee! See, Eugene and I are bound by a Contract of the Flesh. That gives Eugene resistance over my black, indigo, and violet mana, which means he can put up a fight against the Star Cancer Beast. In fact, he could probably even defeat it if he forces it to expend enough mana.”

“A C-Contract of the Flesh?! You slept with my son?!”

“Rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub, Lila! ☆”

“You’re so dead! I’ll wring your neck the second you come back to Heaven, just you wait!”

“Omigosh, Lila, you’re soooo scary! I guess it’ll be a while before I return to Heaven! ☆”

“Eugene! How could you fall for this woman’s wiles?!”

“Th-That’s not what happened, mom. I was depressed since I could only use white mana and had to give up on becoming a Magic Swordsman. Eri was the one who snapped me out of my funk. She’s my savior.”

“Eugene...” mom sighed.

“Yup, for such a cool guy, Eugene’s self-esteem is in the dumps. So I figured that I’d lend him a hand! I never expected him to be your son, though, Lila! ☆ Or should I call you mama instead?”

“In your dreams! Dummy!” Mom’s voice was so loud that my ears were ringing.

In the end, mom agreed to me acting as bait for the Infernal Demonic Beast, though she complained the whole time.

“Fine. I understand that Eugene is the most suitable candidate,” she sighed before pointing out the next problem we needed to consider. “But the Star Cancer Beast is starving from all the time it’s spent inside of the seal. We’ll need an enormous amount of mana to keep its attention. We’ll also need mana from its nemesis—either Heaven or the goddess—to make sure it sees you as a target. I don’t think Eugene meets any of those requirements.”

Like she said, my mana levels were average at best, and I wasn’t a devout believer in the goddess. I didn’t meet either of those two conditions. The current strategy would get the necessary mana by offering the lives of the death row convicts through Sacrificial Arts. It also counted on Airi and the Heavenly Knights, who were followers of Althena, the Goddess of Victory, acting as the bait. Members of the imperial family all worshiped Althena, after all.

“Ah, about that... If I was close to Eugene, I could lend him some mana. But I know another way. I’m sure you do too. Right, Eugene?”

I knew exactly who Eri meant. “You mean Sumire and Sara, right?”

“Ding ding ding! ☆ As an Ifrit, Sumire has an infinite supply of mana. As a Saint Candidate, Sara is a devout follower of the goddess of fate. If you Mana Link with those two, you’ll be able to meet both conditions!”

Mom heaved a heavy sigh, and Eri and I looked at her.

“Mom?”

“What do you think, Lila?”

“Vexing as it is to admit, it’s not bad,” mom replied. She sounded truly reluctant to admit that.

“All right. I’m going to discuss this with Sumire and Sara.”

“Aw, man! If only I was near the empire!”

“Thank you, Eri. You were a great help.” My words of gratitude to the complaining Demon Queen were genuine.

“You can thank me with your body! ♡”

“I’ll, uh, do my best.”

“Do you two even realize what you’re discussing in front of his mom?”

Mom sounded so close to the breaking point that I immediately stopped. Continuing this conversation here was way too dangerous. “Thank you, mom.”

“I’m going to report what we discussed to the Goddess of Fate, just in case. If we’re going to do this, then, like Eri suggested, we should weaken the Star Cancer Beast as much as possible. I agree that Eugene is the only person for the job, but you can’t become overconfident. If things get dangerous, escape as quickly as you can. Normally, someone from the surface couldn’t possibly deal with a Star Cancer Beast alone. Also, keep in mind that people won’t trust you off the bat when you bring all this up to them, and remember that you can’t tell them about angels. That part is absolute, okay?”

“Yes, mom. I understand.”

Mom was being so serious with her reminder that I gave her a firm nod to let her know I got it. And that was how, with knowledge offered by an angel and the Demon Queen, we came up with a plan to slay the Infernal Demonic Beast.

***

In the audience chamber, I laid out the plan that I had come up with my mom and Eri as well as discussed with Sumire and Sara. Of course, I didn’t tell them everything. Since I couldn’t mention mom or Eri, King Uther received the credit. The strategists and court mages, who had been staring at me with open suspicion, became more and more interested as I went on. The emperor’s cold gaze never wavered, and it was impossible to tell what was going on behind his eyes.

“Eu... No way...” Airi seemed almost too shaken.

“Lord Eugene’s idea would end in fewer deaths...”

“Don’t you think it relies far too much on his strength alone?”

“That also means that in the worst-case scenario, we’ll only lose one person.”

“But can he really defeat the Great Beast Haagenti?”

“He doesn’t have to! If he can reseal it with the least casualties possible, then the plan is a success!”

“That’s right! This isn’t a bad idea!”

“Not that we would expect anything less from the son of the Imperial Sword!”

The buzz of conversation filled the room. People who had regarded me with open dislike were now practically singing my praises.

“It is a sound strategy. It’s exactly what I heard from the goddess,” Saint Oriane said, to the audible surprise of the nobles and officials. That comment was the deciding factor.

“It is settled, then,” the emperor said. “We will proceed with Eugene’s idea. The strategists and court mages can finalize the details.”

“Eu!” Airi, who had been listening in silence, ran forward. “Why?!”

“I’m sorry, Airi,” I said. “Stealing your thunder like this...”

“That’s not what I’m mad about! What’s wrong with you, volunteering yourself as bait?!”

“I already explained—since I only have white mana, I’m perfect for dealing with the Infernal Demonic Beast.”

“B-But, still... I’ll go with you! Two’s better than one!”

“You’d just be going to your death. Adding one more person to the fight won’t change anything.”

“B-But!” Airi’s mouth worked for a few moments before she whispered, “Why? Eu, why are you...”

“I don’t want you to die, Airi.”

“But I... I abandoned you...”

Airi hung her head like she couldn’t wrap her mind around what I was doing or saying. Why was she acting like this? When we were younger, we had understood each other without having to exchange any words. Who in the world would want to see their childhood friend die? I was wondering what I could say to get through to Airi when a loud voice rang out in the audience chamber.

“Hold it! Eugene Santafield! If you truly plan on enacting that strategy of yours, then prove your strength! I challenge you to a duel!”

It was General Berthold, Airi’s fiancé.

***

“I, in place of His Imperial Majesty, shall bear witness to the duel between Lord Eugene and General Berthold,” Chancellor Ekaterina said.

We had moved to the coliseum within Einherjar Palace. Traditionally, matches were held before the emperor here, but the emperor had walked out, telling us that he only wanted to hear the result. Most of the people who had been at the meeting were here out of personal interest, though. The stands of the fairly small coliseum were packed with people. With everyone chatting among themselves, it was very loud.

“I can’t believe you have to duel him, Eugene. Will you be okay?” Sumire asked, looking nervous.

In contrast, Sara had absolute faith in me. “He’ll be fine, Sumire. This is Eugene we’re talking about.”

“This isn’t to the death, so we’ll just take it easy,” I replied. Opposite me, my opponent was having his own conversation.

“Bert, what are you thinking?! Why would you say something like that?!” Airi yelled.

“Your cowardice is equally baffling, Airi,” General Berthold responded calmly. “Didn’t you want to use the accomplishment of resealing the Infernal Demonic Beast to improve your chances of taking the throne? Do you plan on sitting back and letting someone else take what’s yours?”

“I...”

So this was the reason he’d challenged me.

“A fine reason indeed! A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Berthold, I’m rooting for you!” A tall and broad-shouldered man gave a hearty laugh as he clasped General Berthold’s shoulder. A claymore as long as he was tall was slung from his back. His presence was imposing, and despite the casual way he was carrying himself, I couldn’t see any openings someone could take advantage of.

This was Edward J. Walker, the Hero of the Sword. He shared the surname of Zeke J. Walker, the Sword Saint, and was a descendant of his. Unlike me and my dad, Edward practiced the same style of swordsmanship that was taught in the imperial army. He and my father, the Imperial Sword, were the two strongest warriors in the empire. The claymore he carried was the Holy Sword Collbrande, a treasured weapon of the Grenflare Empire. Legend had it that a single swing of Collbrande could produce a blade of light powerful enough to slay a hundred monsters. The idea that the Hero of the Sword would be watching this fight made me more focused.

“All right! I’ll be the judge, then.” The Imperial Sword—my dad—darted to the middle of the coliseum and crossed his arms with an amused expression.

“Oh, come now, Lord Jubei. Surely you’re not planning to rule in favor of your son?”

“Lord Ed, do I look like someone who would do such a thing?”

“No way.”

“This is simply the best spot to observe the fight.”

“I see. You got the jump on me.”

They both laughed. I had no idea what about that brief conversation had been so funny. Everyone thought the two viewed each other as rivals or enemies, but it seemed that, in reality, the Imperial Sword and the Hero of the Sword got along pretty well.

“Fighters, step forward!”

At dad’s command, I walked up to the stage in the middle of the coliseum. On the opposite side of the stage was General Berthold, my childhood friend’s fiancé, who was glaring at me. I recalled what I knew about his background.

Just in the past year, General Berthold’s success had been meteoric. He looked to be around my age and Airi’s, but I had never seen him at the military academy. Airi and I had attended the central campus in the capital. The military academy also had northern, southern, eastern, and western campuses, so he could have been a student at one of those. I hadn’t heard his name during the inter-campus tournaments, so he hadn’t started out famous.

People had only started paying attention to him after the selection exam he took when he was fifteen. There, he discovered that he had five-color mana, which allowed him to become a Hero-in-Training. He also had an aptitude for the Holy Sword Collbrande, which was in the possession of the Hero of the Sword.

The Holy Sword Collbrande chose its wielders. Even if someone got their hands on the sword, they couldn’t draw out its strength if they didn’t have that natural affinity. General Berthold had achieved his current position through his aptitude and his status as the next Hero of the Sword.

I only know all this because I was curious what kind of man Airi was engaged to...

“Whoa, Eugene, are you serious? You actually took time out of your day to look this guy up?”

“Eri, stop reading my mind without permission.”

“Hey, you’re the one mumbling his way through an internal monologue! I just happened to hear it.”

Let a guy monologue in peace. Sheesh.

General Berthold was clad in an elaborate yet lightweight suit of white armor that was decorated with gold accessories. It matched what Airi was wearing. With his blond hair, blue eyes, and princely features, he looked annoyingly good in it.

“Eugene Santafield! Come at me!” General Berthold yelled.

He had already whipped out his sword, and I could see that he had Enchanted it with green mana. It wasn’t just the sword either. Green mana swirled around his body as well. That meant...

Wood element... A wind magic sword, huh? It was a good and balanced choice. A wind magic sword could be used for both offense and defense. Wait, magic swords are allowed? Oh dear.

I had received a steel sword as my weapon for this duel, and I wasn’t sure it could hold up against a magic sword. That being said, if I used my white mana, my sword would become absolutely useless.

Sumire came running up to me, calling, “Eugene!”

“Sumire?”

“What’s the matter, Sumire?” dad asked.

“Eugene can’t use an offensive magic sword, so may I give him my mana?!”

“Sure. You can’t offer any direct assistance to Eugene during the duel, but transferring mana should be fine. Bert, what do you say?”

“Humph! Very well! You’re truly pathetic, unable to fight without a woman’s help!” He just had to add that last insult, but in any case, General Berthold didn’t oppose me accepting Sumire’s mana.

“Thank you, Sumire. You saved—” I couldn’t finish thanking her, though, because Sumire had thrown her arms around me and squeezed. Then her Ifrit mana poured into me.

“Eugene,” Sumire whispered. I figured she would cheer me on, only for her to say, “Beat that guy up.”

That was a pretty violent request.

“Leave it to me, partner,” I replied with a wry smile.

After completing the Mana Link, Sumire released me and said, “Do your best!” With that, she hurried off the stage.

Sara rushed over to her and yelled, “That was so unfair, Sumire!”

“You should’ve gone up and hugged him too.”

“I can’t possibly show off my powers while surrounded by people from the empire!”

“Oh yeah, and my mana is incompatible with yours, so it wouldn’t have worked!”

Their conversation reached me up on the stage. I was just thinking about how I couldn’t put on a pathetic show with them watching when I felt eyes boring into me. It was Airi, staring at me with an extremely irritated look on her face. Was she angry after seeing me and Sumire? If she wanted a hug, she could ask for one from her betrothed. But, hmm... I can’t put it into words, but I get the feeling that she and General Berthold aren’t like normal lovers. I wasn’t sure why, but it probably had something to do with what Airi had said about how her engagement was only a formality.

“Are you two ready?” dad asked in a serious tone.

“I’m ready to go, Imperial Sword.”

“Same here.”

I focused all my attention on my opponent, blocking out everything else. The spectators’ chattering, Sumire and Sara’s conversation, and Airi’s sharp gaze faded away. These types of duels were common back at the military academy. Since the practice didn’t exist at Lykeion Magic Academy, I was feeling almost nostalgic.

“The winner of this match will act as the vanguard in the operation to slay the Great Beast Haagenti,” the chancellor announced, her voice cutting through the noise.

That was right. The result of this duel would finalize the plans against the Infernal Demonic Beast. I nodded, keeping my mind blank.

“Begin!” dad yelled. The next moment...

“Wind Espada!”

General Berthold lunged at me like a gale. He was so fast that I would’ve been cut down if I had blinked. He swung his wind magic sword down on me. I couldn’t—didn’t—move. If this fight had taken place back when I was in the military academy, I might’ve lost. That was how skilled he was with a sword. However...

When compared to the Divine Beast Cerberus? General Berthold was so slow I could’ve yawned. I took a step to the left to dodge. In the same movement, I used my flaming sword and slashed away the blade of the general’s magic sword. A soft kling sounded out. General Berthold still hadn’t noticed that I had avoided his attack or that I had broken his sword. I swung my flaming sword in a horizontal slash, aiming it at his neck, and—

“Enough.”

Dad’s sword blocked mine. Granted, I had intended on stopping my sword a hair’s breadth away from the general’s neck, and so my flaming sword hadn’t actually touched dad’s. In any case, the duel was over.

“Huh?”

That was when General Berthold finally realized the situation he was in. The blade of his magic sword had been completely lopped off, and a flaming crimson sword was being pointed at his neck. If dad hadn’t stepped in, he would have been beheaded—or so he was probably thinking. His face paled, and he fell to the ground, landing on his behind.

“Why didn’t you kill him?” Eri asked.

“Why in the world would I kill him?!”

“Huuuh? Don’t be such a square. Just murk this guy! ☆” Eri sounded like she truly didn’t understand.

At least make it sound like a joke. You’re terrifying!

“The winner is Eugene!”

At dad’s announcement, a loud commotion rose from the crowd. I worried for a moment that the match had been boring, since it had ended so quickly, but then again, I wasn’t here to put on a show. I looked over to Sumire and Sara, and then raised a fist to tell them I’d done it.

“Hooray! ☆” they cheered, hugging each other.

That was when I noticed a large man walking toward me. It was Lord Edward, the Hero of the Sword.

“Amazing!” he said. “Not that I expected anything less from the son of Lord Jubei. Will you fight me next? I won’t use Collbrande, of course!”

“Huh?” I blinked.

“Wait a sec!” dad butted in. “I haven’t had the chance to take on Eugene using a magic sword yet. All right, Eugene. Fight me too.”

“What the heck, dad?” For some reason, I was being challenged to a duel by both the Hero of the Sword and the Imperial Sword.

“Enough, Lord Jubei, Lord Edward. Eugene, please return home and rest up for tomorrow.”

“Whaaaaa?!” At Chancellor Ekaterina’s words, both dad and the Hero of the Sword cried out in disappointment. Were they children? I understood now why they were such good friends. They were both single-mindedly obsessed with swords.

“Thank you, chancellor,” I said.

“You fought well. We’re counting on you tomorrow,” she replied with a kind smile.

I glanced over at General Berthold. He was still on his hands and knees, his head hanging low. Airi was patting his shoulder and saying something to cheer him up. After a brief exchange, Airi’s expression changed to one of irritation.

“You’re a prince! Stop moping around and stand up!” she yelled before she delivered a kick to General Berthold’s butt, sending him flying.

Oof, he’s really henpecked, I thought before I left Einherjar Palace.

***

On the way home, Sara said, “I’m sorry, Eugene, but Saint Oriane will be arriving in the capital soon, and I have to go greet her.”

“All right. I’ll take you to where you need to go.”

“I know where the airship dock is, so I’ll be fine. Rest up so you’re ready for tomorrow. You were really cool in that duel, by the way. ♡” Sara gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek before hurrying off.

I looked over at Sumire and our eyes met. Maybe she was looking at me because she also wanted to hug me.

“Ready to go home, Sumire?” I asked.

“Y-Yeah! Let’s go!”

In the end, she didn’t. The moment I returned home, I was hit with a wave of exhaustion. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t slept properly since yesterday, so I immediately went and threw myself onto my bed.

“Good night, Eugene. Sleep tight,” Sumire said before closing the door.

Even though it was still bright outside, I fell asleep in an instant.

***

The sound of someone entering my room woke me, and I called out, “Who is it?”

It was still dark outside the window. Just what time was it?

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“But it’s not good for your body to oversleep.”

The intruders turned out to be Sumire and Sara.

“Good morning, I think?” I said.

“It’s midnight right now, Eugene,” Sumire informed me with a giggle.

“Are you hungry? We’ve brought you some food and tea,” Sara said, lifting a tray. On it were a few balls of rice flavored with salt, each about the size of a fist. Next to them were thick slices of ham and some boiled eggs.

“Sara and I made them together.”

“Sumire was the one who made this ‘onigiri’ dish. They’re delicious.”

“Thanks, you two,” I said. I was starving, so I wolfed everything down. While I was eating, Sara lit the lamps in the room, keeping the light dim since it was nighttime. After I finished, I clapped my hands and said, “Thanks again, you two. It was delicious.” They didn’t respond, though. Instead, they stared at me, eyes wide. “What’s wrong, you two?”

They looked so serious that I was getting nervous. Now that I was getting a better look at them, I noticed they had changed clothing at some point during the day. Both were wearing gowns made of a thin, lace-like material. I’d never seen these clothes before.

“Eugene, you’ll be acting as bait for the Infernal Demonic Beast tomorrow, right?” Sumire asked.

“Yeah, that’s right. So, I figured that I would rest up after some light train—”

“No. You have something more important to do,” Sara interrupted me.

“Something more important?”

Tomorrow was the operation to kill the Infernal Demonic Beast. The general staff headquarters of the imperial army had told me that they would prepare everything, from equipment to weapons to magic items. All I needed to do was show up with Sumire and Sara, who would then lend me their mana. Was there something else?

“Eugene, you know that you can’t Mana Link with me and Sara because we have incompatible mana, right?”

“Yeah. That’s why I’ll be directly borrowing Sumire’s mana, while Sara lends me her mana through my sword.” That was what we had decided. At least, that was the plan I’d heard about.

“There’s an even better way,” Sara said before she placed her hand on my cheek.

That was when I noticed that both she and Sumire had drawn nearer, resting their knees on my bed. They were so close that I could reach out and touch them. It was hard to tell at first in the dim lighting, but their skin was visible through the semitransparent fabric of their gowns. An unfamiliar sweet aroma was wafting from their bodies.

“Sara learned something new from that Saint Oriane person.”

“Yes. She taught me a method that can not only stop our mana from repelling each other but also improve the power of our Mana Link.”

“Is there really a m-method like that?!”

Mom and Eri had said nothing to me about that. Was this a secret technique that only the priestess, with her ability to hear the voice of the Goddess of Fate, knew about? I waited for Sumire and Sara to tell me more.

“Eugene...” Sumire started before trailing off.

“...have sex with us,” Sara finished for her.

“Huh?” Did I hear them right? I was about to ask Sara to repeat herself when I noticed that the two were blushing so fiercely that their red cheeks were visible even in the poor lighting. “Uh, S-Sumire? Sara?”

“Saint Oriane told us to!” Sara burst out. “She said that if we strengthen the Contract of the Flesh, we can guarantee your safety!”

“D-Did she?” The Priestess of Fate really said something like that?

“She said that if th-the three of us sleep together, it’ll stop our mana from clashing.” Sumire groaned, her face turning even redder. “Th-This is so embarrassing!”

“We’re doing this for Eugene! And remember what else Her Holiness said? She said that she sensed the shadow of an evil woman around him, so we have to take him back from her!”

“An evil woman?” I knew immediately who Sara was talking about. The last person I talked to who would have said something like that was... Mom said something, didn’t she?

“Yup, Lila’s the most likely culprit!” Eri’s telepathic voice responded to my thoughts.

“Sara, does this Essence of Allure stuff really work? Eugene isn’t acting any differently.”

“How strange... Her Holiness said that any man who breathes in this fragrance would fall head over heels for the wearer...”

“That’s what I’m smelling?!”

What in the world did the Priestess of Fate give them?! I’d heard that the Saints of the Cardia Halidom were schemers, and it turned out that the rumors were true. The Essence of Allure grew stronger and filled the room until it seemed like there was a light mist in the air.

“Eugene... ♡” Sumire and Sara said in unison, pressing closer and closer against me until they practically shoved me onto the mattress. The embarrassment of earlier had disappeared from their expressions, replaced by ecstasy. With both of them on me, I had no way of resisting.

“Eugene... ♡” Sumire whispered again.

“Stop spacing out! ♡” Sara said.

The two girls took turns kissing me. The wet sounds of their tongues tangling with mine filled the room. I only noticed they’d taken off my clothes when I found myself naked. With a rustling noise, the girls removed their own garments.

“Sumire... Sara...” Without thinking, I pulled them both into a tight embrace.

“Ngh... ♡”

“Ah... ♡”

Their impatient moans reached my ears. This was totally different from how they usually acted—they sounded consumed with desire. My head was spinning. Maybe my barriers were powerless to protect me from the Essence of Allure. The light from the moon and stars entered the dark room through the window, illuminating Sumire’s and Sara’s naked bodies. The girls I was so used to seeing looked more akin to goddesses right now.

“Sara... There’s not enough room!”

“I should say the same, Sumire... Get out of here!”

However, it was clear from their whispered argument that they were the same pair they had always been.

“Stop fighting...” I managed to say through the fog addling my mind.

“We’re not fighting! ♡” Sumire giggled. “Right, Sara?”

“Today, the three of us will be the best of friends, ♡” Sara said. “Isn’t that right, Sumire?”

The two of them turned down to look at me, moving in sync. Their eyes burned like those of a carnivorous animal as it stared down its prey.

“Aw, man. You used to be my Eugene,” an exasperated sigh sounded in my head. At least, I was pretty sure that was what I’d heard.

“Eugene, I like you! ♡ I love you! ♡”

“I’m in love with you, Eugene... ♡”

The two pressed their warm bodies against mine. That night, I shared a deep connection with Sumire and Sara.

Chapter Six: Eugene Faces Off Against the Infernal Demonic Beast

Clang... Clang... Clang... Clang...

The deep ringing of a bell sounded over the capital as everyone, their backs laden with their belongings, made for the southern side of the city. They were evacuating on direct orders from the emperor, who had announced a “military training exercise” for the upcoming resealing of the Infernal Demonic Beast.

The civilians, as well as the surrounding countries, had been told that this was only a rehearsal for the real deal. They would bunker down in the many parks and plazas that doubled as evacuation sites in the capital. Since the evacuation sites would distribute plates of fancy food to the evacuees, the citizens were treating this like a picnic. Everyone had cheery expressions on their faces.

I was heading in the opposite direction, making my way to the north gate in a horse-drawn carriage. Sumire and Sara were with me. Given my role in today’s operation, the imperial army had sent this carriage to my home to pick me up. The walls were enhanced with noise-canceling magic as well as a floating spell so that we didn’t feel the shaking of the wheels.

Normally, Sumire and Sara would have been arguing with each other. But today, they were incredibly quiet and well-behaved. They kept looking down, their faces flushed, or staring out the window. They were doing anything they could to avoid looking my way. I, too, found it hard to relax whenever I remembered what had happened last night. However, the silence was even harder to deal with, so I decided to break it with some conversation.

“Hey, Sumire,” I said.

“W-Wow! What nice weather, don’t you think?!” She was making it incredibly obvious that she was dodging both my gaze and my topic of conversation. The weather wasn’t even nice.

“Hey, Sara,” I tried again.

“O-Oh no! I have to write a report to Her Holiness!” Sara pulled out a piece of paper and a pen as if she’d just remembered. She wasn’t writing anything, though, and both girls’ faces were still bright red.

Looks like a chat is out of the question. As for why they were both acting this way, it was because of the Essence of Allure that Sara had used the night previous. Instead of putting me under its spell, it had affected the two of them. Thanks to the Essence of Allure, Sumire and Sara had been...well, uncharacteristically forward last night, even though it had been their first time. Meanwhile, my Barrier Magic had protected me from the essence. Since they had woken up that morning and recovered their bearings, they hadn’t been able to look me in the eye.

I was thinking that it would take a while until they calmed down when a cold voice echoed in my mind.

“Had plenty of fun last night, didn’t you?”

It was Eri. “You were able to sense that too?”

“Of course I could. Since we’re in a Contract of the Flesh, I can feel it when you sleep with other women. Aw, man. And now you have a Contract of the Flesh with them too. Oh, poo.”

Eri and I weren’t lovers. Not that I was aware of, anyway. Yet I couldn’t wipe away the odd sense of guilt. “Now that you mention it, is it all right to have contracts with multiple people?” I asked to change the subject. Somehow, though, I didn’t think this was a good topic to fully take our minds off things.

“On the Southern Continent, you’re allowed to have a Contract of the Flesh with multiple people, yes. Ilia is pretty laissez-faire when it comes to stuff like that.”

“Hmm? So you mean it’s different depending on the goddess?”

“The teachings of the Western Continent state that you can only have a Contract of the Flesh with one person. When you try to enter a second one, it barely has any effect. The Goddess of Fate in charge of the Western Continent is young, and she’s pretty strict about these kinds of things. You’re lucky we’re on the Southern Continent.”

“R-Right...”

Eri’s voice never changed from that flat, frigid tone. This conversation was also pretty hard to keep up. Walk faster, horses!

Soon after I mentally encouraged the horses to speed up, the guard outside said, “Lord Eugene, Miss Sara, Miss Sumire, we’ve arrived at the Great Beast Haagenti’s territory! We’ll have to travel on foot from here.”

We left the carriage and began the trek deeper into the rolling Chryses Fields with the Black Knights surrounding us as our bodyguards. The wind was humid, and I doubted that the cloudy weather was the only culprit. The miasma was corrupting the mana in the air, making it hard to breathe. I peeked behind me to see how Sumire and Sara were holding up.

“Are you all right, Sumire?” Sara asked.

“Y-Yeah,” Sumire replied. “I’m still okay.”

“Here, take my hand. I’ll block out the miasma with the goddess’s light.”

“Thank you, Sara.”

I was worried about Sumire, since she wasn’t used to miasma. Sara was already handling it fine, so I would leave Sumire to her. The farther we walked, the clearer the looming shadow of the Infernal Demonic Beast became. I had come to the Chryses Fields enough times that the creature’s silhouette was familiar to me, but today, it looked completely different.

“Um, Eugene?” Sumire said nervously. “Was this how it looked the last time we came?”

“That’s the Infernal Demonic Beast?” Sara gasped, her voice trembling just as much as Sumire’s was. “It’s quite different from what I heard.”

“The Infernal Demonic Beast is standing,” I said.

The black mountain I had seen countless times throughout my childhood had taken on the shape of a hulking creature. It looked nothing like any monster I had ever encountered, but if I’d had to compare it to something, I would have said it most closely resembled a giant boar. From this front angle, I couldn’t tell how many legs it had, but from its body sprouted countless spike-like protrusions. Its eeriest feature was its three eyes, each wide open. This was the first time I’d ever seen the Infernal Demonic Beast open its eyes.

I have to fight that thing? I grew even tenser at the thought. After a bit more walking, we reached a simple base. It didn’t look like much, but with multiple layers of walls and barriers, it wouldn’t be easy to breach. This was the front line, if I had to guess.

A massive war tent had been erected, and a large group of people were waiting for us inside. I recognized Chancellor Ekaterina—who, as marshal, headed the army—and my dad, the Imperial Sword. Lord Edward, the Hero of the Sword, as well as the Golden and Heavenly Knights—the most powerful fighters in the empire—were inside too.

Airi, of course, was there as well, and she gave me a worried look when I walked in. Rather than tell her not to worry, I smiled at her, and her expression changed into a complicated mix of exasperation and anger.

It’s not just the military. High-ranking nobles are here too. I was wondering why that was, but when I saw the person at the back of the tent, I got my answer. The man stood out even among the patrician faces in the crowd. Huh? The emperor is here?

I hadn’t expected that at all. Why would he come to such a dangerous place? We would be fighting the Infernal Demonic Beast here. He must have sensed the unspoken questions on my expression, because he spoke.

“I see you’ve made it, Eugene.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty!” I replied, kneeling before him.

The emperor remained silent, simply staring at me. I couldn’t ask him anything without him giving me permission to speak, so I waited for his next words.

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

What did he have to apologize for? I blinked a few times in confusion.

“Bring it here.”

At the emperor’s command, about five Black Knights lugged in a heavy and austere-looking box. I recognized one of the knights as the third best student in my year. Massio looked like he wanted to say something to me, but in the end, he held his tongue. With a heavy thump, they set the wooden box in front of me.

“Open it, Eugene.”

“Y-Yessir.” Still confused, I slid the lid off the black wooden box. Inside was... “A sword?”

It was a black sword with a bright orange blade. It looked to be of average length and size—hardly something that needed five people to cart around.

“Lord Eugene, could you pick up that sword?” Chancellor Ekaterina asked with a smile.

“Um...”

“Hurry up, Eugene,” dad said when I hesitated. “Just try it.”

Unsure of what was going on, I reached out for the sword. When I gripped the hilt, it fit my hand so well it was like my fingers were sliding into grooves carved specifically for them. I slowly lifted the sword. It was the perfect weight—not too heavy and not too light. For some reason, an impressed “Whoa!” was rising from the crowd.

“Eu, amazing!” Airi’s voice reached my ears through the commotion. What was so surprising about my being able to hold a sword?

“The only people in the empire who can wield that divine sword are the Hero of the Sword and the Imperial Sword,” the emperor said.

“Only dad and the Hero of the Sword?”

“It’s so heavy for others that they can’t even hold it.”

I tilted my head at the emperor’s words. What was a divine sword, anyway?

“Lord Eugene, that sword is made of orichalcum, and a fang from the Divine Beast Cerberus was used to create its core. It’s a powerful weapon, but only two people in the empire can even use it. Neither the Heavenly Knights nor Collbrande’s wielders could even lift it,” the chancellor said sadly.

So not even Airi or General Berthold could wield this sword? And it contained a tooth from the guard dog of the underworld, which I’d fought in Babel? I was looking over the sword when a regal voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

“You’re the boy from back then! I’ve been waiting for you!”

I jumped and looked around, but no one seemed to have noticed it. I was the only person who could hear the voice. In the next moment, the sword in my hand glowed in all seven colors of the rainbow, filling the tent with bright light. The impressed murmurs and exclamations from the watching crowd reached a fever pitch.

“Hmm, that didn’t happen to me,” the Hero of the Sword commented.

“Does that mean the divine sword chose Eugene?” dad asked.

“Of course it did,” Chancellor Ekaterina said. “Lord Eugene was the one who passed the Divine Beast’s trial.”

“Eugene, I bestow upon you this sword,” the emperor said.

“Upon me?”

“This is a present from His Imperial Majesty. Please make good use of it in the battle against the Infernal Demonic Beast.”

At the chancellor’s words, I looked down at the black sword made from orichalcum and the Divine Beast’s fang. “Thank you so much, Your Imperial Majesty! With this sword you’ve lent me, I swear I’ll defeat the Inf—”

“You’ve misunderstood, Eugene. I said that I would give this sword to you. The divine sword is yours.”

“Huh?” Wait, what? Is it really all right for me to accept something this important?

“Don’t die. If you die, I’ll confiscate it from you. Return to us alive.”

At those words, I finally realized that the emperor had been encouraging me.

“I promise. I will definitely survive,” I said firmly.

“Good. Now then, let us go over the operation one last time,” the clear voice of Saint Oriane Ilia Cardia, the Priestess of Fate, sounded out over the base.

Even the clacking of her shoes against the ground sounded like a beautifully composed piece of music. Some went so far as to believe that the young Saint of the Cardia Halidom was a celestial figure who had descended from the skies. I had figured that the imperial army would take command, but it seemed that the priestess herself would be the one going over today’s mission. The emperor was silent, so apparently he had no issue with this.

“Three hours from now, the seal on the Infernal Demonic Beast will break,” Saint Oriane said, her words hushing the crowd. “That is why we have spent the past few days setting up barriers around the old ones. Isn’t that right, Your Imperial Majesty?”

“Yes, that’s exactly right, Saint Oriane.” The one who had replied was Chancellor Ekaterina.

“Those barriers alone cannot contain an Infernal Demonic Beast. That is why we need someone to act as bait.” Saint Oriane looked straight at me.

Faced with her inhuman beauty and piercing eyes, I balked, but I took a small breath before saying, “Yes, and I’ll be the one doing so.”

“Precisely. We’re counting on you, Lord Eugene Santafield. I am ecstatic that you and our Saint Candidate, Sara, became even closer last night.”

Behind me, Sara’s shoulders jumped. Just how much did Saint Oriane know?

“She’s preeeetty suspicious, isn’t she?” I heard Eri say.

Don’t say things like that.

“However, Lord Eugene alone does not suffice as bait. He needs to receive an inordinate amount of mana from the Sumire the Ifrit as well as the holy mana that the Infernal Demonic Beast despises from Sara. Are you two ready?”

“Yes, Saint Oriane!” Sara said.

“We are, Your Holiness!” Sumire said as well. Both of them sounded nervous.

The Priestess of Fate smiled, her expression full of saintly kindness. “Good. After receiving mana from them, you have two jobs you must complete, Lord Eugene. Please keep the Great Beast Haagenti’s attention for as long as possible. In saying that, though, I must also acknowledge that the Great Beast Haagenti will undoubtedly target you, as you will possess the mana of both an Ifrit and a Saint Candidate. Do what you must to avoid being slain.”

“Understood...” I thought back to that mountain-sized monster. My job was to survive in a battle with it.

“And one more thing,” Saint Oriane said. “This task is optional—carry it out only if you find the opportunity to do so. The third eye on the Great Beast Haagenti’s forehead is its core. Its heart, in other words. It’s also called the Philosopher’s Stone. By shattering it, you can destroy the Great Beast Haagenti. This would be a very dangerous task, as you’d need to get close to the Infernal Demonic Beast to accomplish it. Please only attempt it if you have enough strength to do so.”

“Understood,” I said again with a nod.

If I could break the Great Beast Haagenti’s third eye, the people of the empire would no longer need to live in fear of it. But could I really do that? I couldn’t say anything certain at this point.

“Lord Eugene, do you have any questions?” Saint Oriane asked, staring right at me.

It was a simple operation. There was nothing for me to ask about. This must have been her way of asking if I had steeled my will.

“No, I don’t,” I replied curtly.

“I like the look in your eyes,” Saint Oriane said, then giggled. “You remind me of the man who saved the world a thousand years ago.”

“That’s... You think too highly of me.” I had never expected anyone to compare me to the legendary hero who had freed the world from the fearsome Great Devil’s rule.

“Excuse me? Eugene is a much better man than that loser,” Eri’s irritated voice sounded in my head.

Eri, did you fight Sir Abel?

Eri had been a proper demon queen a thousand years ago, but she didn’t really like to talk about that period of her life.

“It’s a secret,” she said, dodging the subject.

“All right. It’s time to put the plan into action,” Saint Oriane said with a clap of her hands. Things had been progressing even during my pointless conversation with Eri.

“Over here, Eugene,” Sumire said.

“Okay.”

Sumire and I faced each other. First, I needed to borrow the limitless mana of an Ifrit. Before I could hold her hand, she said my name and hugged me. Then she pressed her mouth against mine.

It’s so hot! Burning mana filled my body. This was completely different from all the times we had used Mana Link while exploring the Last Dungeon.

“The contract has strengthened the Mana Link, and Eugene only possesses white mana, which easily takes on the properties of other mana. Hee hee... I see. So this is what happens,” Saint Oriane said, sounding amused.

After a long kiss, Sumire stepped away with a satisfied sigh. My body was filled to the brim with mana as hot as magma.

“Eu-Eugene, your hair color...”

“Huh?”

At my father’s words, I realized that my hair had turned red. This had happened the last time I’d received a large amount of mana too. The Mana Link had worked.

“Eugene, be careful. Promise me you’ll come back safe,” Sumire said, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. She didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the people around us.

“I will. Thank you, Sumire.”

I tended to overthink these things, but her straightforward concern was easy to read. I was about to give her another hug when someone bopped me on the head.

“Ahem. Don’t get so lost in your own world.” It was Sara, who was skewering me with a glare. “It’s my turn. Move, Sumire.”

Sumire scurried away, and Sara stood in her place. Unlike Sumire, Sara was well aware of the eyes on her. In that sense, we were pretty similar to each other.

“Uh, Sara.” I reached out to hold her hand, but her glare intensified.

“Don’t tell me that you’re going to kiss Sumire but not me.”

“I-I can kiss you too.” The force of her words made it impossible to say anything else.

“Here.”

Sara closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Whereas Sumire had been the one to kiss me, Sara wanted me to be the one to initiate it. I glanced at the crowd. Sumire was frowning, and behind her, Airi looked like she was in a foul mood. For now, I put them all out of my mind and kissed Sara. As I did, Sara wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

The mana that flowed into me was warm and nothing like what I had experienced earlier. Until now, Sumire’s mana and Sara’s mana had always repelled each other inside my body, preventing us from Mana Linking properly. But this time, I didn’t feel that at all. Their mana entered me without issue.

Sara and I stayed together like that for a few minutes before she stepped away and sighed, her cheeks flushed. She looked up at me, and her eyes widened.

“What is it, Sara?” I asked.

“Eugene, your back...”

“My... Huh?” I looked behind me, and I was just as surprised as Sara was by what I saw. A single large white wing had sprouted from my back.

“Ohh...”

“How sublime...”

“Is that what happens when you take in mana from a Saint Candidate?”

I could hear the people in the tent murmuring in response to what had happened to me. But the real reason I had grown this wing was probably...

“It probably has to do with Lila, right?”

You think so too?

I agreed with Eri’s guess. It was likely because I had angelic blood. I couldn’t explain that to the excited crowd, though.

“You look like a one-winged angel, Lord Eugene,” Saint Oriane said.

She was the only person who didn’t seem taken aback. The priestess must have known that this would happen. In that case, I wish she’d tell me how things will turn out... Saint Oriane gave me a pointed look. She must have read my mind. That meant my next course of action was...

“All right. I’ll be heading out, then,” I said to everyone in the base.

The Infernal Demonic Beast was far from here, and I didn’t know how to use any Flying Magic. But knowledge from the wing on my back poured into my mind. I lifted into the air as if I had been born with the ability to use Flying Magic. With this wing, I would reach the Infernal Demonic Beast in no time. But before I could leave, I was pulled into a sudden hug.

“Eugene!” It was both Sumire and Sara, and they sounded on the verge of crying.

“See you two later,” I told them.

“Do your best, Eugene!” Sumire said.

“Don’t push yourself, Eugene!” Sara said.

I smiled at them before speeding into the air.

***

I cut through the air, soaring higher and higher. The black mountain below me was shaking slowly, and the wind carried the rumbling of a beast. I looked down at the black mountain—no, at the Great Beast Haagenti as it slowly took on the shape of a monster. Maybe it was a trick of my mind, but I could have sworn that one of its giant eyes swiveled toward me. Its low and menacing growls shook the miasma-contaminated air.

Keeping myself airborne with Flying Magic, I looked down at the gigantic frame of the Great Beast, the living calamity that had troubled the Grenflare Empire for two hundred years. Now that I thought about it, this was my first time seeing its entire body. I looked around.

The imperial army, numbering around two hundred thousand, was on standby near the capital in a formation that surrounded the Great Beast. If I died while acting as the bait, they would be next in line to fall. I’d heard that the emperor had given firm orders that the army was not to permit the Great Beast Haagenti to enter the capital. In the soldiers’ eyes, this battlefield was where they would die. Though the individual soldiers were each about the size of a pea from this height, their commanders stood out. One of them was my childhood friend, riding atop a pegasus. She must have been looking up at me with worry.

“We will start the operation on your signal, Lord Eugene. Give it whenever you please,” Saint Oriane had told me.

I let out a quiet breath. The hand holding the divine sword I’d received from the emperor was trembling.

“Are you trembling, Eugene?”

“Yeah, with excitement.”

Eri giggled. “Of course you are. You’re the man I have my eye on, after all.”

My banter with her helped take my mind off the difficult task I faced. All right! Having made my peace with what would come next, I took out the magic item I’d been given earlier and tossed it at the Great Beast Haagenti. It exploded with a boom and a flash of light. Though the magic item was flashy, it couldn’t deal any damage. At my signal, the soldiers around the Great Beast Haagenti moved forward as one.

The operation had begun.

All the mages raised their staves. The glow of the countless magic circles was breathtaking. They were dispelling the old seals around the Great Beast Haagenti; without removing them, we wouldn’t be able to put any new seals in place. For a while, I didn’t see any changes, and I continued to wait, hovering in the air.

But then, a noise like breaking glass sounded through the air. It was coming from all directions. The magical stakes that had kept the Great Beast Haagenti sealed underground broke one by one until finally—

“Graaaaagh!” the Infernal Demonic Beast roared.

The ground shook, and several members of the imperial army fell to the ground. It wasn’t an earthquake. It was the shock wave from the Great Beast Haagenti breaking free. I gritted my teeth and endured the violent release of miasma and mana. Breathing in this air would be enough to knock out a normal person. Even with the barriers around my body, I had to cover my mouth with my hand.

“Graaaaaaagh!” the Infernal Demonic Beast roared again, the sound more akin to an explosion.

Finally, the seal that had kept it in place for two hundred years broke, and the Great Beast Haagenti could reveal the full scope of its body.

“Wait, this is the...” I gasped as I stared up at the beast towering over me.

Mere seconds ago, I had been the one looking down at it. The unsealed Infernal Demonic Beast was far larger than I’d imagined. It lived up to its title of living calamity. Its body, so great that I couldn’t even fit the entire thing in my field of vision, appeared almost godlike.

“Eugene! Get out of there!”

I snapped back to the present at Eri’s panicked yelling. I hadn’t noticed the Great Beast Haagenti slowly bringing down one of its giant—far too giant—front legs on me. Right, this thing’s aiming for me. It hadn’t eaten anything for two hundred years, and it had a grudge against the goddesses for keeping it sealed under the earth. I was the perfect target for its wrath.

The Great Beast Haagenti’s paw was drawing closer, looking more akin to a black wall than a foot. I dispelled the Flying Magic and lowered myself onto the ground.

“Barrier Magic: Sanctuary.” It was the most powerful barrier I could cast. Normally, casting it would have emptied my mana, but Sara’s mana had increased my overall capacity.

“Eugene! I told you to run away!” Eri’s voice sounded in my head.

“If I run, it’ll follow me, won’t it?” I shot back. Fleeing would mean I was sentencing the imperial soldiers around me to death.

“Yeah, but... Ugh, fine! Eugene, you idiot! Listen to me. Don’t do anything stupid, like trying to tank a Star Cancer Beast’s attack. Not even I’m able to take it without sustaining damage.”

“It’s too much even for you?”

Even as we talked, the Great Beast Haagenti raised its front leg again and brought it down on us.

“That’s right! Listen. The Star Cancer Beast is so big that it doesn’t have an actual physical body—it wouldn’t be able to endure its own weight. Its body is mostly composed of miasma, or contaminated mana. Think of the Great Beast Haagenti’s attack as an incredibly powerful spell.”

What Eri was saying was so complicated that I couldn’t fully understand it.

“I was thinking of just dodging its attack before it could hit me,” I said, already in the stance for Skystep. The Great Beast Haagenti’s paw was getting closer and closer, like the night sky was bearing down on me.

“You’re too naive. The range of the Star Cancer Beast’s attack is far wider than it looks. You won’t be able to make it in time if you dodge to the side.”

“Oh...” In that case, I would have to cast the most powerful barrier I could to try to withstand it.

Eri chuckled. “Thank your lucky stars that you’re contracted with me, Eugene. What you have to do right now is charge at the Great Beast Haagenti’s body.”

“Huh?” Did I hear her right?

“Save your questions for later! Hold up that magic sword of yours and charge the Great Beast Haagenti! Don’t forget to keep up the barriers around your body!”

“A-All right! Niten Enmei-ryu: Fire Stance!”

The mana Sumire had given me swirled around the divine sword, turning the blade red. The sky above me was completely blotted out by the black wall.

“Go, Eugene!”

“Seriously? Dammit!”

I shook off my doubts, spread my wing, and flew toward the Great Beast Haagenti, stabbing my crimson sword into that black wall. The sensation of diving into water—a swamp, rather—assaulted me. Eri had been right when she said that the Great Beast Haagenti was a vessel for mana rather than a body of flesh and blood.

“Ugh...”

The miasma was so thick that if I took a breath, my lungs and organs would surely rot away. It was like I had dove into a toxic bog. Within seconds, I had lost all sense of up or down, left or right. Trusting that the wing on my back would take me where I needed to go, I flew up when...

Boom! An unbelievably powerful explosion erupted behind me.

“Gah!”

Even with the barriers protecting me, it sent me flying. By the time the incredibly long shock wave had passed, I found myself sprawled on the ground. I struggled to catch my breath, the taste of copper in my mouth.

“Eugene, look up.”

If Eri hadn’t urged me to, I wouldn’t have even bothered trying to move my head.

A faint but familiar voice reached my ears. “Fire!” It was Airi giving the command.

Fwump fwump fwump! Countless spells fell upon the Great Beast Haagenti. Tens of thousands of imperial mages were launching their attack. Since the seal was no longer restraining it, there was nothing standing between its body and the army’s offensive. It let out what sounded like a screech of pain, the sound echoing around me. The black fog-like exterior of the Great Beast crumbled off in pieces.

“Flimsy, isn’t it? The Star Cancer Beast sucks up miasma from the earth to create its enormous body, which is both its greatest weapon and its greatest weakness. The mana epidermis covering it is very fragile.”

I was out of breath, but I managed to reply, “Just as the Priestess of Fate said.”

As spells continued to rain down on the Great Beast Haagenti, a massive hunk of fire, about the size of a small mountain, struck the creature, exploding into embers that burned the mana layer. Is that Sumire’s Fireball?

“Oof. Ifrits are no joke,” Eri said. Sumire’s attack was so powerful that it had even left a demon queen in disbelief.

The flames elicited more pained groans from the Great Beast Haagenti, and... Pop! Pop! Pop! Black creatures grew from the ground. They were Black Sheep, foul creatures birthed from the Infernal Demonic Beasts.

Why show up now?! Or wait, I guess it’s because we’re attacking their master? The Great Beast Haagenti wasn’t agile, so it must have created the Black Sheep as substitutes for its arms and legs.

“Baaaa!”

“Eek!”

“Oh, shit!”

“Don’t leave your stations!”

The Black Sheep, their bodies covered in vile black tentacles, were attacking the imperial army. The knights ran forward to defend the mages, who were still casting attack spells at the Great Beast Haagenti. Though they were putting up a good fight, the Black Sheep were devouring them whole or using their tentacles to ensnare and strangle them. The battlefield had descended into chaos.

Where’s Sumire?! Worried, I looked over to where she was and saw an arrow of light pierce through a Black Sheep’s hulking body. Sara was protecting her.

“Eugene, can you really afford to worry about others right now?”

Eri’s question made me realize the situation I was in. An army of Black Sheep were racing at me, their voices raised in cacophonic baying. At the same time, the Great Beast Haagenti was slowly but surely turning toward me with thunderous footsteps.

Come on... Move... But my body refused to obey my commands—it was still recovering from the earlier damage. Then...

“Sacred Sabers of Light!” Golden blades vanquished the hundred or so Black Sheep that had been coming for me. “Are you all right, Eugene?!”

The ground shook as Edward, the Hero of the Sword and one of the most powerful fighters in the empire, landed next to me. The azure two-handed magic sword he was easily holding with one hand was the Holy Sword Collbrande. He’d saved me.

“Thank you, Lord Edward.”

He laughed. “Good. Looks like you’re okay!”

I really wasn’t, but in any case, I was alive.

Just then, we were interrupted by a Black Sheep even larger than a dragon. “Baaaaa!”

Oh no! This is way too big! Sensing danger, I lifted my sword.

“Niten Enmei-ryu Thunder Stance: Fenrir!” In the next second, the Black Sheep was split apart vertically. Someone—well, I knew perfectly well who it was—landed next to me with a light thud. “Hey, Eugene. Still kickin’?”

The man next to me was a swordsman with stubble on his chin and black hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. In his hand, he held the demonic sword Ame-no-Habakiri. It was dad, the Imperial Sword and the most frightening swordsman in the empire.

“Yeah, somehow, dad.”

“All right. Lord Edward and I will buy you some time. Your opponent’s that way.” Dad jerked his thumb in the direction of the Great Beast Haagenti, which hadn’t halted its slow approach.

It glared at us with eyes full of murder before lifting its front legs, prepared to crush us. Oh no. This is really bad.

“Dad! I mean, Hero of the Sword! We have to retreat!” I yelled.

Unlike me, neither my dad nor Lord Edward was that good at Barrier Magic. Dad’s mana was the complete opposite of mine, being closer to pure black. As a Magic Swordsman who specialized in offense, he couldn’t possibly withstand the Great Beast Haagenti’s miasma. But despite my warning, dad’s only reaction was to exchange a look with the Hero of the Sword.

“What do you say, Imperial Sword?”

“Hmm. My son’s right. We can’t defend ourselves against the Great Beast’s miasma...”

“But simply running away is quite a vexing idea.”

“All right. I’ll go left.”

“Then I’ll go right.”

“Huh?” Before I could figure out what they were talking about, the two strongest fighters in the empire dashed toward the Great Beast Haagenti. “H-Hey, wait!” I yelled, but they were so far away they were already specks in the distance.

“Sacred Sabers of True Light!”

“Niten Enmei-ryu Thunder Stance Arcanum: Kirin!”

A white light flashed past a black light, both slashing across the Great Beast Haagenti’s eyes. It screamed so loudly that I had to cover my ears. At the same time, the Great Beast’s body swelled. The earth shook, the wind howled, and lightning flashed across the ground. Just by thrashing in pain, it was causing a scene that looked like the end of the world.

Its outer layer was still crumbling, and it looked much smaller than before. Even so, it was big enough that it filled my entire field of vision.

“Graaaahh!” the Great Beast Haagenti screeched as it gathered a blinding light in its mouth.

“This isn’t good. That’s the Star Cancer Beast’s Scream of Death. Any living creature that hears it will have its soul ripped from its body. You’ve got to stop it, Eugene.”

“Easier said than done!” I exclaimed, even as I shifted the leftover Ifrit and Saint Candidate mana from my body into the divine sword. It was so much mana that a normal sword would have shattered, but the divine sword, which contained Cerberus’s fang, didn’t even creak from all the power. “Niten Enmei-ryu: Flying Sparrow!”

I swung my sword, sending a crimson blade of light into the Great Beast Haagenti’s gaping maw. Behind the shock wave of the Flying Sparrow were attacks from the Imperial Sword, the Hero of the Sword, and the Saint Candidate. The Great Beast Haagenti screeched, but it wasn’t the Scream of Death.

Phew... I slowly collapsed onto the ground, completely spent of my own mana and what I’d borrowed from Sara and Sumire. I didn’t have any stamina left either.

“Destiny’s Magic: Goddess’s Seal ‘Heaven’s Cage,’” a beautiful voice sang out as thousands of chains wrapped themselves around the Great Beast Haagenti.

The new Sealing Magic has activated? Saint Oriane was the one who’d cast it. Of course, no single person could use such a powerful spell on their own. This feat required the caster to channel mana from many lives offered through Sacrificial Arts. The Great Beast Haagenti was struggling against the painful chains holding it in place, its third, red eye glimmering on its forehead. If I break that... It would kill the Great Beast Haagenti. But I didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.

“Good job, Eugene,” Eri’s gentle voice sounded in my head.

“Eri... Give me some mana,” I begged the demon in a hoarse voice.

“What in the world are you saying? Accepting the Demon Queen’s mana in the state you’re in would be certain death.”

“But I can’t let this opportunity...” I replied, each word a struggle.

I was so close. If I completed just one more task, everyone in the empire would be able to live without fear.

“Listen, Eugene. Thanks to you, we could seal away the Star Cancer Beast with a minimum of casualties. You should be satisfied with that.”

Having said her piece, Eri broke off her telepathic communication. She was probably right. My body couldn’t withstand the stress of accepting her mana. I could still hear the Great Beast Haagenti’s pained screeching. As if in response to its agony, toxic miasma filled the air around me. No one save for me could approach the Great Beast. I had no other option but to stay here on the ground, keep my barriers up, and wait for rescue.

“Eu!”

A familiar, nostalgic voice sounded overhead, and with great effort, I looked up to its source. A beautiful knight in shining white armor cut through the miasma, her shimmering blonde hair flowing behind her.

“Airi?” I rasped. My childhood friend, atop her pegasus steed, was the only one who’d come for me. She lifted me from the ground with one hand and hoisted me onto the pegasus’s back before taking off again like an arrow. “Thank you...”

“I should be the one saying that! You didn’t flee, so the military was able to keep its casualties to a minimum. The Priestess of Fate and the other mages are casting a new seal, and with her around, I doubt it’ll fail. Thank you.”

I breathed a sigh of relief at Airi’s words. The Great Beast Haagenti’s scream shook the air.

“Fire!” came a sharp command, and attack magic stabbed into the Great Beast Haagenti. The monster was so big that the barrier had not completely encased it yet. The commander who had launched an attack through the gaps in the Sealing Magic was...

“General Berthold?” It was Airi’s betrothed. He cut a brave sight as he stood in front of his soldiers, courageously pressing the attack until the barrier could be fully erected.

Airi hummed, nonplussed. “He’s really putting his back into this.”

“You could stand to cheer him on a little harder. Isn’t he your fiancé?”

“Oh, shut it! I don’t want to hear that from you! I can’t believe you would k-kiss two girls in front of me, you womanizer!”

The insult and this kind of casual conversation were a blast from the past. But then, an exchange between the imperial soldiers reached my ears.

“How are the Imperial Sword and the Hero of the Sword? Are they all right?!”

“Hurry and get them to the medics! They’re in critical condition!”

“Dammit! The empire will be in deep trouble if anything happens to those two!”

“Huh?! W-Wait, what happened to dad?!” I whipped my head around to try to see.

“Don’t worry. They ignored their orders and charged at the Great Beast Haagenti, even though they can’t use any Barrier Magic. The miasma knocked them out,” Airi informed me in a calm voice.

“B-But they said they’re in critical condition.”

“The Priestess of Fate and Chancellor Ekaterina foresaw this with their Clairvoyance, so the healers are already on standby. Their lives aren’t in danger.”

“O-Oh...” Now that she mentioned it, the Imperial Sword and the Hero of the Sword helping me hadn’t been part of the plan. They must have been acting on their own initiative. “What were they thinking?”

“Before they took off, Lord Jubei said, ‘I can’t let my son hog all the glory,’ and the Hero of the Sword said, ‘A hero who doesn’t act at the darkest hour is no hero at all.’ Father’s going to give them a proper tongue-lashing later.”

As we conversed, the pegasus was carrying us farther and farther away from the Great Beast Haagenti. Below us, the gargantuan monster was still struggling against the chains. It would take about an hour before the resealing was complete.

“Airi, do you have any Elixir? I lost mine when the Great Beast Haagenti tossed me aside.”

“I do, but we already have healers waiting for you.”

Though Airi sounded perplexed, she handed me an Elixir, and I chugged it down. It didn’t lift the weariness from my limbs, but I could feel the mana flowing through my body again. I slowly reached for the divine sword hanging from my belt and gripped the hilt. Good! Looks like I won’t have trouble swinging it.

“Eu?” Airi asked, giving me a confused look.

“Airi, I want you to take me back to the Great Beast.”

As I’d expected, my request stunned her. “Wh-What are you saying?!”

“I’m going to complete this mission. The Priestess of Fate told me to break the Great Beast Haagenti’s core if I can, remember?”

“You can’t! You’re already at your limit!” Airi retorted immediately, but I shook my head.

“I’m not, so long as you help me.”

“E-Enough with your ridiculousness! I’m not helping you!”

“You want to become empress, don’t you?”

“What meaning is there in becoming empress if you die?!” Airi pulled on the pegasus’s reins to guide it toward the base, but I grabbed her hand to stop her. “Eu?”

“I won’t die. Look over there.” I pointed to where the Infernal Demonic Beast was thrashing in pain. “The Great Beast is weak. We might never have another chance like this.”

The Great Beast Haagenti’s outer layer of miasma was crumbling to dust, but it wasn’t destroyed yet, for the third eye—its core—still remained.

“I-In that case, I’ll go with you! I won’t send you down there alone!”

“No. You pushed yourself to save me earlier, didn’t you? Your armor is breaking.”

Airi possessed rainbow mana, so she could naturally use Barrier Magic. However, hers wasn’t as powerful as mine, meaning she couldn’t completely neutralize Haagenti’s miasma. Even now, she looked to be in pain from our proximity to the Great Beast.

“How do you plan on attacking it, then?! You can’t deal any damage with your mana!”

Airi was right. Any sword I enchanted would deal zero damage—it couldn’t defeat anyone or anything. That was why...

“Lend me your mana, Airi,” I said, reaching out my hand.

“Huh?”

If I had done this after the selection exam, I might not have ever needed to distance myself from Airi. Back then, we hadn’t been able to work things out. But now? I could use what I learned at Lykeion Magic Academy to save the empire.

“Please, Airi,” I said again, but she completely misunderstood what I wanted.

“Y-You want us to kiss?! Right here, right now?!” she exclaimed, blushing furiously.

“Uh, no... Holding hands is enough for Mana Link...”

“Eh? O-Oh! Uh-huh... Is that so?” Airi’s expression flattened so I could no longer read the emotions on her face. Regardless, she was engaged—I couldn’t possibly ask her to kiss me. “Fine! If you insist!”

Airi tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder before grabbing my right hand. She was strong from all her years of wielding a sword, and yet her fingers were soft and slender.

Mana Link. Though I’d worried it wouldn’t work, it turned out that I was fretting over nothing. Airi’s mana flowed into my body. It didn’t feel like the blazing magma of Sumire’s Ifrit mana, nor did it feel like the warm spring sunlight of Sara’s Saint Candidate mana. Instead, it was a powerful and rough energy, akin to a stormy sea. What further set Airi’s mana apart was the fact that it was...

“So this is rainbow mana,” I murmured as a soft seven-colored glow emanated from the blade of the divine sword. This was rare mana that only a few people in the entirety of the empire’s history had ever possessed.

“Ngh...” Airi furrowed her brow.

“Are you okay, Airi?”

“I-I’m fine, but how much more mana are you going to take from me?!”

“Oh, this is enough,” I said, immediately letting go of her.

Airi was panting. I could feel my own heart picking up speed. What the... This feels different from Sumire’s and Sara’s...

Eri sighed in exasperation, distracting me from my confusion. “The Mana Link between childhood friends who love each other caused a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, huh? Eugene, that rainbow mana is something you can only use once, got it?” she said, sounding bored.

Only once?

“You have me and two cute little girlfriends, and yet you still haven’t forgotten about your first love, eh?”

No, I...

“What’s the matter, Eu?” Airi asked, bringing her face close to mine.

I sucked in a breath before replying without changing my expression, “It’s nothing, Airi.”

For now, I have to complete my task. I could worry about everything else later. Resolve burning in my chest, I tightened my grip on the divine sword. Its blade still shone with all the colors of the rainbow.

“It’s so beautiful,” Airi murmured. “And to think that the blade can channel all seven colors of mana at once... Even the empire’s orichalcum swords couldn’t withstand it.”

“It must be because of the Divine Beast’s fang,” I replied.

Rainbow mana was said to be divine in nature. According to legend, the only human who used it to its maximum potential like this was the legendary hero, Abel, who had defeated the Great Devil a thousand years ago. That I, a human, could wield all seven colors at once was likely because of this divine sword. However, the mana enshrouding the blade seemed as ephemeral as a shimmer of hot air. It looked like it might extinguish itself at any second. Like Eri said, I only had one chance of attack.

Airi and I flew higher until we were hovering above the Great Beast Haagenti’s head.

“What do you plan on doing from here? Can you use Flying Magic?” Airi asked.

Before she could say anything else, my wing sprouted from my back. I had gotten accustomed to using it.

“Thanks, Airi,” I said, carefully balancing on the pegasus’s back.

“You’re absolutely not allowed to die, Eu. Come back alive no matter what!”

“Of course.” The emperor had said something similar to me. They really were father and daughter. “See you, Airi.”

I raised my hand to her before jumping off the pegasus’s back. The wind roared in my ears. I could use the wing on my back to decelerate, but I didn’t want the Great Beast Haagenti to notice my approach, so I let gravity pull me down. After falling for a bit, I felt murderous fury directed toward me, so sharp that it was like a physical stab, making me grunt. The Great Beast had noticed me.

Whoosh! Countless black thorns flew toward me. They weren’t that fast, but a single swing of the divine sword would be more than enough to dispel the rainbow aura on the blade. I couldn’t use it to deflect the attack.

Niten Enmei-ryu Wood Stance: Willow Rose! It was a swordplay technique to deal with attacks from all directions, but it wasn’t enough to protect me from hundreds of thorns. The small spikes dug into my arms, shoulders, and legs. But they didn’t slow me; I continued to fall.

Keeeeekeekeee keeee... A dissonant creaking noise sounded around me, like the Great Beast Haagenti was gritting its teeth. Maybe it was afraid. Its third eye, the color of old blood, was staring right at me. Bang! The black spikes that had been directed toward me returned to the Great Beast Haagenti to protect its weak point—its core—like an obsidian turtle shell.

I fell, aiming right for it. The rainbow aura around my blade was getting dimmer and dimmer. Come on, hold on for just a little longer! I stabbed the divine sword straight into the miasma around the Great Beast Haagenti’s shell. Though it had hardened into a mineral-like substance, the blade sliced through it as easily as a needle pierces silk.

“GYAAAHHHHH!”

Its death knell was so loud that I thought my eardrums would burst. In the next second, the Great Beast Haagenti exploded, sending me flying. I protected myself with Barrier Magic. The shock wave shattered my barriers, but I erected new ones around me, burning through my reserves of mana. I was in the air for so long that I started to wonder if I was actually flying, but then I slammed into the ground, bouncing a few times like a ball before coming to a halt.

I... I thought I was a goner...Saint Oriane, I wish you would’ve told me that the Infernal Demonic Beast would explode if I destroyed its core... Maybe she didn’t know that either.

“Eu! Eu!” I could hear someone calling my name in the distance, but before I could figure out whether my ears were playing a trick on me, I passed out.

***

I woke up. Above me was a beautiful painting depicting the legend of Althena, the goddess of victory, triumphing over the goddesses of old. I recognized this painting.

“The infirmary in Einherjar Palace?” I murmured.

When I was a kid, Airi and I had picked a fight with a stray wyvern that had wandered into the palace, only for us to be carted into this very infirmary with grievous injuries. Back then, I had been laid up in this same bed. I sat up, my body screaming with agony at the movement.

“Pain means I’m alive, I guess,” I said before stretching.

How long had I been out for? I was looking around for a clock when the door opened with a creak. Who was it? Dad? Airi? Sumire? Sara? It turned out to be none of them.

“Eugene Santafield, I see you’ve woken up.”

“General Berthold?”

What was he doing here? The question passed through my mind for only an instant before I realized what the answer must be. Is he here to assassinate me? It wasn’t too crazy a notion. General Berthold was ambitious, and I had been a key figure in the operation against the Great Beast Haagenti. Not only that, but I was his fiancée’s former lover (I think?). He must hate me. It made perfect sense that he would target me while I was confined to a sickbed.

Is there a sword or something?! I looked around but saw no weapons within reach. Shoot! I used to laugh at the way my dad never let go of his sword, even in sleep. Turned out he had the right idea. If push came to shove, I would have to use the hand-to-hand techniques passed down through the Niten Enmei-ryu to defend myself. Before I could raise my hands, though...

“I deeply apologize for all the disrespect I’ve paid you, Mister Eugene!”

“Huh?”

I stared, mouth hanging open, at the sight of General Berthold bowing to me at a perfect ninety-degree angle.

Chapter Seven: Eugene Receives a Confession

“My apologies! Lord Eugene!”

“Huh?”

General Berthold was bowing to me at a perfect ninety-degree angle. Comparing military ranks to the noble hierarchy, a general was on par with a marquis. More than that, though, this was unthinkable behavior from someone who had treated me with such open antagonism.

“Uh... General Berthold? Please raise your head.”

“No! You are the hero who defeated the Great Beast and saved the Grenflare Empire! And there is no need to refer to me by the rank of general! I’m sure that I’ll be relieved of my duties and sent off to some rural post.” The casual way he spoke of his own awful future left me speechless. He must have recognized the pity in my expression, because he added, “This is actually a wonderful opportunity. My duel with you left me painfully aware of my own weakness. I plan to retrain myself from square one!”

General Berthold was speaking in such a pleasant tone that I had to wonder if this was really the same guy who had regarded me as his enemy until just the other day.

“But if you do that, then wouldn’t it make trouble for Ai—I mean, for the princess?”

If her betrothed went off to some countryside post, my childhood friend wouldn’t have anyone at her side to support her. I worried that my question had overstepped our boundaries or ticked him off, but that didn’t seem to be the case. General Berthold stared into space for a moment, deep in thought about something, before walking closer to me.

Then he murmured, “Um, Lord Eugene?”

“Y-Yes?” Isn’t he standing a bit too close?

“You know that it’s common for the emperors and empresses of the Grenflare Empire to die at the hands of assassins, right?”

“Of course. The emperor before the previous is said to have met that fate.”

Airi’s great-grandfather had been a famous warmonger. Though the official records stated that he had died young from illness, a common conspiracy theory was that he had been assassinated. No one knew the truth.

“The Grenflare Empire has started countless wars over the years, always in the name of unifying the Southern Continent. Because of this history, the foreign powers around us despise our country, which is why our ruler lives in constant fear of assassination.”

“Yes, that’s common knowledge,” I said after a moment. What was General Berthold getting at? I couldn’t tell what his true intentions were.

“Lord Eugene, have you heard the rumors that, as a precaution against assassinations, emperors and empresses throughout imperial history always have multiple hidden children?”

“Well, yes, I have.”

It was certainly possible. The emperor had over ten empress-consorts and a lot of children. Even with all those offspring, it made perfect sense for the emperor to have more secret ones, so the imperial bloodline wouldn’t die out to revolutionaries or foreign assassins.

General Berthold brought his face close to mine and whispered, “Lord Eugene, what I’m about to say absolutely must stay between us.”

Between that solemn admonition and the direction our conversation had been headed, I had a guess about what he was going to say.

“I’m a secret son of the emperor, which means Airi is my half-sister.”

“Huh? Whaaaat?!” Even I had to admit that I sounded foolish in my surprise.

“You have to keep this a secret.”

I asked the pretty reasonable question, “Wait, but then, why are you engaged to her?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s because Airi wiped the floor with every swordsman the emperor picked out for her. I hear she said, ‘I refuse to have a man weaker than me as my husband!’”

“That’s... That’s certainly a very Airi thing to say.”

The image came to mind all too easily. When we were in the military academy, Airi and I were at the top of our class in swordsmanship. Finding a man stronger than her must have severely limited her options.

“However, it wouldn’t do for the most promising candidate for the throne to be single. So, left with no other option, I was chosen as a temporary substitute.”

“So, you’re not actually going to marry...”

“I can’t. Under imperial law, siblings can’t get married. We were going to call off the engagement at some undetermined point in the future.”

“I see...” That explained why they didn’t feel like a pair of lovers. But this raised another question. “In that case, why were you so aggressive with me?”

I had thought that General Berthold, as Airi’s fiancé, had viewed me as a rival since I had been her friend since childhood. However, if they weren’t actually engaged, that changed things.

At my question, General Berthold fixed me with a glare. “Every day, I had to put up with a constant stream of ‘Eu was better than you,’ ‘Why can’t you be as good as Eu with a sword?’ and ‘If only you were Eu.’ How do you think you’d feel in my shoes? Not only that, but we had to spend hours every day training with swords! An imperial noble who’s never sent out to the front line doesn’t need to train that much!”

“Ahh, that’s because she trained in the dojo with me every day.” That was the daily routine we’d kept up from the day we met.

“Exactly! I was raised as a commoner, so I have tons of things I have to learn if I want to be a good general. But every day, for hours on end, I have to put up with Airi pummeling me into the ground. After all the years I spent hearing what a failure I am compared to you, can you blame me for holding a grudge against you?!”

“Oh, I... Sorry about that.” He was absolutely right.

General Berthold heaved a heavy sigh. “Airi was really agitated after you formed a party with the Ifrit girl. It was horrible.”

“Agitated?”

“Honestly, I was so scared that I couldn’t even get close to her.”

I could see from the look on General Berthold’s face that he wasn’t joking.

“She could’ve reached out to me...”

“Airi’s weirdly proud. She was always saying that she would’ve flown to Lykeion Magic Academy without hesitation if you had only asked her to go.”

“Me, have Airi come to the school?” I never even considered that.

“After that, you started dating the Ifrit girl and the Saint Candidate, right? Airi was crying nonstop that day.”

It took a few seconds for his words to sink in. “Huh?!”

Airi was crying? Airi, the girl who always held her head high and never let anyone know her troubles? That Airi?

“I was pretty surprised. I didn’t know Airi could act like a stereotypical maiden.”

Based on what he was saying, the shock I felt was much stronger than what General Berthold had gone through.

“Airi... I didn’t know she...” I murmured, but before I could put my thoughts into words, General Berthold shot me a look like he couldn’t believe how I was missing something obvious.

“You’ve always been the only person for Airi.”

I couldn’t say anything to that, nor could I deny it. Instinctively, I could tell that this wasn’t a lie. General Berthold was probably right.

“Well, I was pretty grateful for that. Since she was crying for a few days afterward, we didn’t have any trai—”

His words were cut off by a loud bang as someone kicked open the door.

“Bert!” Airi was standing there with a thunderous look on her face.

“Airi?”

“Hey, sis...”

“Eu, you’re awake! I’m so glad,” Airi said, smiling softly at me before her expression reverted to its earlier fury. “Bert! What in the world are you saying?!”

General Berthold grinned at her. “Since you refuse to be honest about your feelings, I communicated them for you. Crying for days on end over a broken heart? Like a lovestruck mai—”

“Niten Enmei-ryu Fire Stance: Stallion Kick!”

“Uwaahh!”

Airi closed the distance between her and General Berthold in a second, then delivered a masterful roundhouse kick, sending him flying.

That’s one of the few weaponless attacks in the Niten Enmei-ryu.

Dad had taught her this technique so she could handle anyone who attacked her while she was outside the palace in her capacity as princess and thus didn’t have her sword. I could use it as well, but I wasn’t as good with my fists as I was with my sword. Airi was actually much stronger than me in hand-to-hand combat.

It had been forever since I last saw Airi’s kick, and her movements were much more fluid than before. I stared at General Berthold as he practically flew across the room and at Airi’s beautifully extended leg. I wondered if I should tell her that since she’d kicked while wearing a short skirt, I could see her underwear. Looked like she still preferred red.

“What are you staring at, Eu?!”

“You’re acting very improperly, Your Imperial Highness.”

“Shut up! I told you to call me by my name!”

“You’re acting very improperly, Airi.”

“Humph!” She turned her head away with a pout.

This exchange brought back memories of past conversations between us. I glanced over at General Berthold. He had caught himself and fallen safely, and he was giving me a thumbs-up while still prone on the ground.

The message in his eyes was clear: I’m leaving the rest to you, Lord Eugene!

I’m not sure what you want me to do...

“Hey, Eu?” Airi held my hand.

“Airi...”

General Berthold’s words from earlier flashed through my mind. “You’ve always been the only person for Airi.” My past attitude toward Airi might have been cruel. She wanted to say something to me, and I also had something I wanted to tell her. We opened our mouths at the same time, but then we heard footsteps approaching the room. Airi immediately let go of me.

“Eugene! You’re awake!”

“Eugene, I’m so glad to see you up.”

Sumire and Sara walked into the room. Behind them were the Priestess of Fate and the chancellor.

“You were right, Saint Oriane. He really is awake,” the chancellor said.

“The goddess told me he would be. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, Saint Oriane,” I replied.

“Lord Eugene, I apologize for springing this on you so soon after your awakening, but His Imperial Majesty wishes to speak with you. Will you come with us?” the chancellor asked.

“Understood.”

I was still feeling sluggish, but it wouldn’t impede my movements. My body was pretty sturdy, if I did say so myself.

“Here, Eugene, I’ll lend you my shoulder!” Sumire said, rushing up to me and taking my arm.

“Thank you, Sumire.”

“Eu! I’ll support you from your other side.”

“Eugene, I will!”

Airi and Sara rushed up to my other arm, opposite Sumire, and ended up in a standoff. Sara’s eyes widened in surprise, but she recovered in an instant and gave Airi a bright smile.

“Princess Airi, you can leave taking care of Eugene, my lover, to us. Isn’t that right, Sumire?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah.” Sumire nodded.

At Sara’s words, Airi responded with a beautiful smile of her own. “Oh, no, you don’t have to do that, Saint Candidate of the Cardia Halidom. Eu is the savior of the empire. I will take responsibility and handle his affairs. All right, Eu. Take my hand.”

“Eugene, surely you’ll pick me, right?”

“Eu, you know what you have to do, right?”

“Eugene.”

“Eu.”

Sara and Airi stared at me with their large eyes. What on earth was going on here? Sumire was staring at me with keen interest. Hey, stop treating this as entertainment.

“I can walk on my own, so don’t worry about me,” I said. “Airi, Sara, thanks.” Unable to choose between them, I slowly made my way to the door.

“Aw, man, he fled,” I heard General Berthold, who had completely recovered from Airi’s attack, complain.

Shut up, Bert.

“Come with me,” the chancellor said. With her taking the lead, I went to the room where the emperor awaited me.

***

“This is...”

I had thought that the emperor would want to see me in the audience chamber, but to my surprise, the chancellor took me to the Golden Mirror Hall. This was the largest room for balls and banquets in Einherjar Palace. Inside, many nobles and officers in fancy dresses and suits were enjoying a party. In the middle, the orchestra was playing an elegant tune. Mountains of fancy food and rows of expensive wine were lined up on the table.

“This is a party to celebrate the slaying of the Great Beast,” Sumire said. “I was here with Sara earlier. You’re the person I really wanted to spend time with, though.”

“I would have been nervous if I’d had to be alone, so I’m glad that I had Sumire with me.”

Sara seemed used to these kinds of events, but even she was taken aback by the sheer energy in the room. The party we’d had at school to celebrate our victory against the Demon Queen Erinyes had been a grand affair, but this was several times the scale. Someone poked me in the head, distracting me from the party.

“Why are you looking like this has nothing to do with you? You’re the star of the show, you know?”

“Airi?”

“C’mon, stand up straight. No slouching!” She slapped my back, forcing me to correct my posture. I heard her take a breath before she shouted, “Your Imperial Majesty, Eugene Santafield has arrived!”

Her voice echoed through the room, and everyone swiveled their heads around to stare at me. At first, there was only a scattered applause, but soon, more people joined in until the sound of clapping hands was as loud as thunder.

“All right, let’s go,” Airi said, tugging me forward by my hand.

“Do your best!”

“See you in a bit.”

Sumire and Sara wouldn’t be coming with me for this. Apparently, the chancellor had already thanked them for their contributions. The music from the orchestra changed from an elegant waltz to a gallant march. Feeling somewhat awkward with all the eyes on me, I approached the emperor and knelt before him.

“Eugene Santafield, at your service.”

“At ease, Eugene. You’ve done the empire an incredible service.”

At the emperor’s words, the applause and music died down, leaving silence to reign in the room.

“Thank you for your kind words.”

“Name whatever reward you wish. You may even ask for the title of grand general, the same rank your father holds.”

The crowd was suddenly abuzz. Was the emperor serious? A grand general had as much authority as a duke, which was the highest position in the noble hierarchy. It made sense to me if this was more like an honorary rank and he wasn’t actually asking me to lead the imperial army. If I chose this as my reward, I would be set for life.

The emperor silently awaited my response. The guests who filled the Golden Mirror Hall were all staring at me, as were Sumire and Sara. Sumire looked especially worried. No need to fret; I won’t give up exploring Babel with you. I met her eyes and nodded. She must have understood what I was trying to convey, because she nodded back at me. As for other people whose gazes caught my attention...

Airi...

My childhood friend’s eyes were as kind as the day we met. On the day of the military academy’s selection exam, I’d thought she’d betrayed me. I’d thought that she’d abandoned me because of my useless ability. But I had been mistaken. My childhood friend had never changed. This whole time, we had simply misunderstood each other.

I have to put my thoughts into words. I realized I had been in such a rut that I’d traveled abroad without saying a word to anyone, and that despite that, Airi had never stopped thinking about me. Once I’d thought through what I wanted to say, I looked up at the emperor.

“Your Imperial Majesty, I have but one wish.”

“Speak.”

I hesitated for a moment before stating it: “I would like the slaying of the Great Beast to be considered Princess Airi’s accomplishment in the race for the throne.”

My words sent a ripple of commotion through the crowd. Airi naturally had the most explosive reaction.

“What in the world are you saying, Eu?! Don’t be ridi—”

“Very well, Eugene,” the emperor interrupted his daughter.

“Father, no! I could never steal Eu’s accomplishment from—”

“Airi.” The emperor’s voice rang through the room. “You are now the leading candidate for empress.”

Immediately, exclamations of shock filled the Golden Mirror Hall.

“What?!”

“Why is that, Your Imperial Majesty?!”

“I can’t accept this!”

The second prince and the third princess stepped forward. They were second and third in line for the throne. Well, they had been second and third.

“Hmm. You require an explanation?” The emperor rested his cheek on his hand, looking annoyed. “Has anyone managed a greater feat than slaying the Great Beast Haagenti, which stood as an obstacle to the empire’s prosperity for over two hundred years? If so, I will make that person the leading candidate for the throne. Well?”

At his words, the members of the imperial family closed their mouths. Airi was still looking around, unsure. A loud laugh broke through the silence. When I looked, I saw that it had come from Prince Ashton, who had been the leading candidate for emperor.

“Congraulations, Airi,” he said.

“A-Ashton?”

“Father once said that he would give the crown to whomever contributed the most to the Grenflare Empire. That honor should go to whomever defeated the Great Beast Haagenti.”

“B-But, Eu was the one who...”

“And you were the one who brought him here, weren’t you? You have every right to claim this. All right, I suppose that I should aim to become the marshal rather than the emperor.” Looked like Prince Ashton was willing to accept the emperor’s decision.

“Airi, as the next empress, I hope you will work even harder to improve yourself. For now, you may all return to the festivities.”

With that, the emperor left the room. Airi was staring blankly after him. In the next second, she gasped as if she’d just come back to herself, and she ran over to me.

“Eu, um... I don’t even know how I can thank you...”

“Congratulations, Airi,” I said, forgetting to attach her title to her name.

“Eu!” She grabbed my hand. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her cheeks flushed pink. Her skin was hot, and when she pulled me into a hug, I felt her equally high body heat.

“Airi?”

“Hey... I still need you, Eu. I’d like you to come back to the empire and support me. Please.”

Surrounded by the loud conversation and music, my childhood friend confessed to me. She was so sweet that she didn’t even seem like the same person I’d known for so many years. Her dark sapphire-blue eyes stared straight into mine.

“Airi...”

“Eu...”

I’d subconsciously drawn closer until our faces were practically touching. The last time we’d looked at each other like this had been at that fateful moment two years ago. Even after reuniting, there had been an invisible wall between us, and that was probably because of my own hang-ups. Airi never got closer than necessary either. I felt like that invisible wall had crumbled away today.

But I can’t return to the empire yet. I had made a promise to Sumire, my partner, and I also had to consider my relationship with Sara. The place I belonged to now was Lykeion Magic Academy. What should I say? As I continued to hesitate, Airi reached out to my cheek, but right before she could touch me with her pale, slender fingers, a lovely soprano interrupted us in a sing-song voice.

“Sorry to barge in at such an intimate moment! ☆ Hello, Lord Eugene, slayer of the legendary Infernal Demonic Beast.”

We turned to see Saint Oriane, the Priestess of Fate, standing next to us in her pure white habit.

“What is it, Saint Oriane?” Airi asked, her expression immediately shifting to a vexed one.

Airi is currently the leading candidate for empress, which means Saint Oriane interrupted us knowing that she would cause offense to the next empress? She surely had some ulterior motive. I looked past her and... Ack.

Behind Saint Oriane, I could see Sara and Sumire. I was preparing myself for them to rush over and lecture me, but something about them seemed off. Sara’s face was blank; she looked like her mind was miles away. Sumire seemed to be alternating between fretting about Sara and staring at me, emotions swirling in her eyes. Don’t worry, Sumire. I won’t break my promise.

“Is something the matter, Saint Oriane?” I asked. She had come here calling my name. I couldn’t ignore her.

Saint Oriane giggled. “I’m here to speak with you about Sara. This decision was actually made yesterday. As you had to prepare for your battle against the Infernal Demonic Beast, we held off on informing you. Come here, Sara.”

Sara took a step forward. Saint Oriane shot her a meaningful look, but Sara’s nervous gaze was fixed on me.

What is it? Saint Oriane’s words immediately answered my unspoken question.

“To tell the truth, Sara, who was once a Saint Candidate, has received an offer to become the next Saint. As a result, her name will change from Sara Iglesia Lodis to Sara Ilia Cardia. I hope that Saint Sara and you, her betrothed, will live happily ever after. ☆”

It took a second for her words to sink in.

“Huh?” I gasped.

“What?!” Airi squawked.

We were speechless for a moment, but I recovered first. “Sara?”

“I-I didn’t know! I only learned about this myself...” So that explained her earlier odd behavior. There were more questions I wanted answers to.

“I hear that the citizens have to vote for their Saint. How can this decision be so sudden?”

Saint Oriane laughed again. “The goddess has sent a revelation, telling me that Sara is to become the next Saint. Though we will still hold a vote of confidence, it’s safe to say that this decision is already final. The words of the goddess are absolute for the citizens of the halidom.”

“I see... But what did you mean about me being her...” Before I could finish my second question, Chancellor Ekaterina walked up to us.

“You really got one over us, Saint Oriane.”

“Did something happen, Chancellor Ekaterina?” I asked.

“A certain rumor has been flying around the Cardia Halidom as of late,” Saint Oriane said, answering me in the chancellor’s place. “Apparently, the people are saying that Sara, who was chosen to become the next Saint, and her fiancé Eugene, a young swordsman from the empire, have defeated the Great Beast Haagenti.”

“Saint Oriane, I ask that you stop with your obvious lies. The intelligence officers of the empire told me that the rumor originated from the Church of the Goddess.”

Rather than confirm or deny Chancellor Ekaterina’s blunt words, Saint Oriana merely smiled.

“Eugene, you’ll be marrying Sara?”

“No, Sumire, I only just heard about this right now. I’m not even sure what’s happening,” I replied, flustered.

Saint Oriane chuckled. “Please do not fret, Sumire. Sara may be the next Saint, but the current Eight Saints are all very healthy. It’ll be a decade at the earliest before she replaces one of us, so you can take your time in exploring Babel. ☆”

“Uh-huh...” Sumire nodded, looking confused.

Wait, that’s not the problem here.

Chancellor Ekaterina said what I wanted to say before I got the chance. “Lord Eugene is our empire’s hero. We cannot have you making decisions about his future allegiance without consulting us.”

However, Saint Oriane’s smile never wavered. “Of course. The wife of the empire’s hero should be given the highest position in the Cardia Halidom. I’m sure that this union between hero and Saint will only improve relations between the Grenflare Empire and the Cardia Halidom, the leader of the Holy Alliance. ☆”

We were stunned into silence. She was saying openly, with a radiant and innocent smile, that Sara and I were political pawns. It was almost refreshing how obvious it was that she didn’t view us as people.

I’d heard that the Saints of the Cardia Halidom were schemers, but the rumors didn’t do justice to the truth. They were terrifying. My pride refused to take this lying down.

“I—”

“I refuse to accept that!” Airi yelled, talking over me.

“My, oh my, Princess Airi. You won’t celebrate the relationship between our next Saint and your hero?”

“M-Making decisions without his involvement is sure to cause him trouble! Isn’t that right, Eu?! You’re troubled, right?!”

At Airi’s words, Saint Oriane’s smile widened. “So you’re saying that Lord Eugene’s feelings are important to you?”

“O-Of course they are! Isn’t that right, Eu?! And besides, you’re still way too young to get married, aren’t you?!”

Saint Oriane and Airi both turned to look at me. Not only they but Sara, Sumire, and the chancellor were all giving me their undivided attention.

“I...” But before I could answer, Saint Oriane once again interrupted me.

“But of course, that goes without saying! ☆”

Good grief, can a guy get a word in edgewise around here?

“Listen, Saint Oriane...” I tried to complain.

“Didn’t you enjoy a night of passion with our Sara and Sumire over there just yesterday? ☆ It’s unfortunate that your seed didn’t take, though.”

“Huh?!” The atmosphere completely froze in response to Saint Oriane’s explosive statement.

“Saint Oriane!”

“Your Holiness!”

Sara and Sumire were blushing so hard they were beet-red.

“Lord Eugene... Don’t tell me you slept with the next Saint of the halidom,” Chancellor Ekaterina sighed.

Okay, but she wasn’t the next Saint last night... I guess that’s not the problem, though. A shiver crawled down my spine. M-Murderous intent?! Its source was obvious.

“Eu... I see how it is... Mm-hmm...”

“A-Airi...”

The light had faded from my childhood friend’s eyes, and she’d wiped all expression from her face. She took a step forward.

“You idiot!”

In the next second, a lightning-fast kick connected to the side of my head. I instinctively defended myself against the attack, but her power broke through my guard and sent me flying. It had been forever since I’d last been hit by a Niten Enmei-ryu kick. I went rolling across the ground, and by the time I’d managed to find my balance again, Airi was already sprinting away. The party guests around were looking on in curiosity, murmuring among themselves.

“A-Airi...” In the end, I hadn’t been able to respond to her question.

“Oh, what am I to do with her,” the chancellor muttered before she went after Airi.

“Eugene...” Sara took a stumbling step toward me, but before she reached me, Saint Oriane intervened, grabbing her and Sumire’s hands.

“I have to discuss something with you, Sara. Sumire, I’d like you to be there too! ☆”

“Eugene!” I heard the girls calling out to me as they were dragged away.

Why would she take Sumire too? I couldn’t do anything but watch them disappear. As I sat there, mind blank, my father suddenly appeared from behind me.

“’Sup, Eugene. Saw Airi running off and crying. What did you do?”

“D-Dad?!” When did he show up? “I heard that you were in critical condition from the Great Beast’s miasma.”

“I’ve already recovered.”

He didn’t look injured or anything. I was glad that he was fine, at least.

“Hey, Eugene Santafield.” Someone clasped my other shoulder. I turned to see a handsome man with blond hair and green eyes—General Berthold. “Airi was crying. What did you do?” he hissed into my ear.

“Nothing... It’s a lot to explain,” I whispered back.

“I’m the one who’ll go through hell when she throws her tantrum, you know?”

“I... Sorry...”

His words offered me a glimpse of the sorrowful life a younger brother with a tyrannical older sister must lead. Though other people came up to me to talk, Airi never once showed her face in the Golden Mirror Hall again.

***

I escaped the crowd and sat down in a chair in the corner of the venue, heaving a sigh as I did so. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t had the chance to eat anything yet, so I grabbed a few small plates. After partaking in some ham and cheese, I felt thirsty. Glasses of wine and liquor lined the giant table. I was wondering which one I should go for when someone spoke to me.

“Um, Eugene?”

It was the voice of a young woman, and she sounded extremely nervous. For a second, I didn’t recognize whose voice it was, though it sounded familiar. Before I could fully remember, I turned around and froze.

Two years ago, at that unforgettable selection exam, I had been absolutely convinced that my childhood friend had abandoned me, as I only possessed the horribly weak white mana.

“L-Long time no see! You look like you’re doing well...”

“Yeah... Long time no see.”

The awkward-looking girl standing in front of me was an acquaintance from my military academy days. She was Airi’s friend, the girl who’d made the comment that had caused me to drop out in the first place.

Chapter Eight: Eugene Learns the Future

“U-Um, Eugene? I, uh...” Airi’s friend was fidgeting as she looked at me. Her name was Camilla Vena. She had dark brown hair pulled up in a ponytail and violet eyes. If I remembered correctly, she was the second daughter of a lesser noble family.

“Do you have business with me?” I asked, my voice cold even to my own ears. We’d chatted quite often during my military academy years, but truthfully, my last impression of her had been so awful that I wanted to forget she even existed.

“Ahh, well, uh, I was thinking that I said something kinda nasty the last time we met, so, like... Sorry about that! ☆” She apologized with such a guiltless smile on her face that I stood up in silence. But before I could leave, she stopped me with “W-Wait a sec! Are you still mad at me?”

Do you seriously need an answer to that? I wondered, but apparently, she did. Now that I thought about it, she had never been the type of person to read the room. I walked away at a brisk pace only for Camilla to follow me. I figured that if I ignored her for long enough, she would give up, but she wasn’t letting up. After a while, I had no choice but to stop in the middle of the hall. There was no one else around.

“Er, hello? How can I convince you to forgive me?”

She was still spouting that nonsense.

“Hey, use your brain, Eugene. This is a critical time for Princess Airi. If she hangs around with someone as inept as you, people will start spreading weird rumors about her. You don’t want that, do you?”

“Pfft! You’re a reject swordsman who can only use white mana, and you aspired to be an Imperial Sword?”

Those horrible words from two years ago echoed in my mind. She was the one who...

Not even Camilla could miss or misinterpret the way I was glaring at her. “Wait... I’m sure I’m barking up the wrong tree, but could it be that I was the reason you dropped out of the military academy?!”

“Yeah, you freaking were!” She was so slow on the uptake that I couldn’t help but yell at her.

“You’re kidding!”

“Why would I be kidding?! I quit the day after you insulted me to my face!”

“Huuuuh?! But, like, after you left, the Imperial Sword came to the military academy and was like, ‘My son transferred to Lykeion Magic Academy to train. Please don’t contact him for a while,’ so I was like, ‘Oh, okay, so he’s off training.’ Like, it made total sense.”

“My old man did that?” This was the first time I’d heard about that. But then, I’d been depressed for an entire year over my selection exam results, so even if my old classmates from the military academy had paid me a visit, I wouldn’t have wanted to see them. My dad had made the right choice in warding them off for me.

“But, like, Airi and everyone at the military academy were all, ‘Your words were totally uncalled for. Apologize to him later.’ Soooo, here I am! Tee hee! ☆ Please forgive me! ♡” I felt my blood pressure spike again at the fake-cutesy way she delivered her apology. “D-Don’t glare at me like that! Come on, I’ll do anything to earn your forgiveness!”

“You’ll do anything?” That’s nice and all, but there’s nothing I really want from you... That was when I noticed something: her uniform. It was extremely plain and didn’t bear the emblem of the Grenflare Empire. At first glance, she almost looked like she was wearing commoner clothes, which meant... “You got into the intelligence corps?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right! I’m not a good fighter, and I’m pretty dumb, but my teacher told me that I’d make a pretty good spy since I can make fast friends with pretty much anybody! So I know a lot of stuff! If there’s anything you wanna know, just ask me.”

“I see...” Inspiration flashed through my mind. “Camilla, come here.”

“Huh?”

“You said you would do anything I said, right?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Without hesitation, I led her through the confusing hallways of Einherjar Palace. I knew which paths to take to avoid anyone spotting us. Airi and I had explored every inch of this castle during our childhood years. Eventually, we reached a hallway full of empty rooms that no one ever used anymore. I twisted one of the doorknobs. As I remembered, the lock on it was broken, letting us into the empty room. I entered first and then gestured for Camilla to follow me.

“Eu-Eugene, where are we?”

“Apparently, prisoners of war were kept in here, but the empire doesn’t use it for that purpose anymore,” I said as I cast a barrier over the door with the broken lock. The doorknob froze with a clicking sound. Now, no one could enter or leave the room.

Camilla must have realized that, because she took a step back. “Eugene, are you going to...”

“I don’t want anyone overhearing what I have to say,” I said.

At my words, Camilla looked surprised for a moment, then hugged herself tightly. “I see... Fine.”

“Uh, what? I haven’t even said anything yet.” I wasn’t sure what she was getting at. Blushing, Camilla reached up and slowly undid the buttons of her shirt. Huh? I was too shocked to say or do anything. She opened up her shirt, revealing her skin and her plain bra. When she placed her hands over the fastener of her skirt, I yelled, “W-Wait! Why are you taking off your clothes?!”

“Huh? Aren’t you trying to say that you’ll forgive me if I show you my naked body? Isn’t that why you brought me to such an isolated spot?”

“No! Put on your clothes!”

“Don’t worry about it! I really don’t mind,” Camilla said. Still with the front of her shirt open, she placed her hands behind her back and looked up at me.

“Argh...” She’d really thrown me off my game. If she’d done this on purpose, then she was really something. Well, not that it matters.

Without Camilla noticing, I carefully cast a magic circle on the ground. It was a Contract-type magic circle. I’d learned the theory at Lykeion Magic Academy, and Eri the Demon Queen had taught me how to actually use it. Though I’d never planned on putting the lessons into practice, paying attention in class always paid off.

“Let me ask you again,” I said. “Camilla, there’s a favor I’d like to ask of you, and you said that you would do anything I say, right?”

“Yup! I’ll do anything! ☆” Camilla said without a hint of caution.

She’d get a big fat zero if she were getting graded on her conversational skills with a mage. If we were at Lykeion Magic Academy, she would’ve gotten a failing grade and been forced to retake her exam. The military academy’s magic classes only taught attack spells that could deal direct damage to opponents and healing spells to close up wounds. However, they always impressed upon the students the importance of “words” when holding a conversation with a mage.

“All right. Hold out your right hand.”

“Hmm? Okay.” Camilla complied, looking like she suspected nothing. I grabbed her hand. “Wh-What is it, Eugene?”

“Camilla Vena.”

“Y-Yes?” At my stern tone, Camilla’s expression became tense.

“Report all the intel you gather in your capacity as an intelligence officer to Eugene Santafield and keep this a secret from everyone around you.”

“Wh-What are you saying? There’s no way I can do that.”

Right. Of course not. The intelligence corps couldn’t give outsiders access to the information their agents gathered. That was why I was borrowing Eri’s indigo mana, which contained the power of curses, to activate this spell.

“I, Eugene Santafield, forge this contract with Camilla Vena.”

“Ahh!”

Camilla’s body jerked backward, and I could see a mark over her left breast. It looked like a tattoo of a black feather. Her taking her clothes off saves me the extra effort of having to check. The contract was in place.

“Eugene, wh-what did you do to me?!”

“A Contract of Words. You said you would do anything, didn’t you?”

“What will happen if I break my promise or if I try to dispel the curse?”

“Try it then.”

Camilla’s face grew even tenser at that. Her scores in magic classes weren’t very good, if I recalled correctly. I doubted she could break the curse herself.

“Um... What should I tell you, though? I’m still a newbie in the intelligence corps, so I don’t know any deep state secrets...”

“Don’t worry. I only want information about Airi and people who might become her enemies.”

“Airi?” Camilla tilted her head. “But the intelligence corps already heard that you rejected her when she tried to get back with you.”

“They already know that?!”

“Airi’s next in line for the throne, so it’s a given.”

“A given, huh?” Becoming the next empress was a really big deal.

“Hmm, so I just have to give you information about Airi, then?”

“Yeah. If anything happens, just tell me. I’ll return to the empire.”

I’d made a promise to Sumire, so I couldn’t stop exploring Babel, but if Airi was in trouble and needed my help, I wanted to be there for her. Knowing Airi’s personality, she would never ask me herself. That was why I needed someone to give me information. I could’ve asked my dad, but as the Imperial Sword, he was probably really busy. Camilla was in the intelligence corps, owed me, and had even said she would do anything for me. She was perfect for the job.

“All right. Let’s get back to the party,” I said, removing the barrier from the door and returning to the hallway.

“H-Hey! Wait up!” Camilla said as she hurried after me. Of course, she only did so after putting her clothes back on. As we made our way down the hall, Camilla asked, “So, like, give it to me straight. How do you feel about Airi?”

“Does it even matter to you?”

“It does! You’re the guy the next empress is in love with!”

“Actually, I’m surprised you’re able to speak with me so casually. I put a curse on you.”

“Hmm, well, to tell you the truth, I thought you were gonna do something worse. I was surprised that you didn’t even lay a finger on me!”

“And if I had?”

“I’m confident that I could have you eating out of the palm of my hand! ♡” She looked up at me through her lashes. She didn’t seem to be joking. “So, are you gonna do anything to me?”

“No!”

I swore that I would never try anything with this woman. I doubted that anything good would come of it. We continued to chat about nothing as we headed back toward the party venue.

***

“See you! I’ll reach out to you later! ☆” Camilla said, smiling at the person who’d cast a curse on her, before running off. Her impudence was something I wished I could emulate myself.

I’m glad I returned to the empire. This homecoming gave me the opportunity to move past the bitter memories from the selection exam two years ago.

“Ah, Eu! Found you!”

I didn’t even need to turn around to know who was calling my name, but of course, I did so anyway. It was my childhood friend, glaring up at me.

“Airi, listen, um...”

The words didn’t come, and we stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before she broke it. “Humph. It’s fine. Now that I think about it, it’s not so surprising that you would do stuff like that if you’re lovers. Anyway, come over here.”

She tugged on my hand and took me to an area that was heavily guarded, even for Einherjar Palace. There were always several guards on watch and patrolling the corridors, so I’d never come here even as a boy.

“Airi, this is...”

“The treasury. Do you remember when we got in trouble for trying to sneak in here?”

“Like it happened yesterday.” We had almost died thanks to the numerous traps that had been set up to instantly kill any intruders. After a number of adults were forced to intervene and rescue us, they’d scolded us for hours. “Why are we here?”

“Father told me that it wouldn’t do if the hero who defeated the Infernal Demonic Beast were to leave the empire empty-handed, so he said that, as a reward, you can pick anything from the treasury so long as it’s under Grade III.”

“I don’t really need that. He already gave me the divine sword.”

“He gave you that before the mission, didn’t he? Father’s offering you a gift, so just take it,” Airi said, walking forward.

I followed her until we got to a thick steel door engraved with a complicated magic circle. It was a seal as powerful as Lykeion Magic Academy’s “Taboo,” or, in other words, the Seventh Sealed Prison.

“We’re going inside,” Airi said.

“Affirmative, Princess Airi!” replied the guard on duty outside.

It took a long time for the door to open, and when it finally did, Airi and I went inside the room, which was full of golden light.

“This is...” I breathed.

“...Amazing,” Airi finished for me.

We were at a loss for words. The room was as large as some of the grandest lecture halls at Lykeion Magic Academy. Despite its size, the sheer number of gold bars, precious stones, and magic items made it look small and cramped.

“Is this your first time in here?” I asked Airi, who was looking around with her mouth hanging open.

“I-It is! Father said that now that I’m considered the crown princess, I should take a look at what will someday be mine...”

I hummed in acknowledgment and looked around again. This was truly amazing. Was it even okay for me to be in here? I was an outsider and not part of the imperial family...

“Go on. Look at whatever you please,” Airi said.

“You make it sound so easy...”

There were so many valuable and rare items that even if I’d had an entire day, I wouldn’t have had the time to look at everything. Wondering what I should do, I slowly walked around the treasury. Magical accessories like rings and necklaces had piqued Airi’s interest, and she was rummaging through them with a serious look in her eyes.

What’s that? I wondered as a conspicuous treasure caught my eye. It was at the back of the treasury, as if the imperial family had left it there and forgotten about it. The treasure was a mirror so giant that I had mistaken it for a wall at first. It was easily several times my height, as if it were intended for giants.

“Hey, Airi, what’s up with that huge mirror?”

“You can’t take that with you. It’s a Grade I treasure.”

“I’m not gonna.” How would I even have taken it back with me? It was enormous.

“That’s the Akasha Mirror. People say that it reflects the future or the truth, but it’s been completely unresponsive for over a hundred years. That being said, it saved the empire from danger countless times in the past, which is why it’s in here.”

“Hmm.”

This was the first time I’d heard any of that. On a whim, I walked closer to the magical mirror. Though it was a mirror, the glass was pitch black and reflected no light. Even when I walked right up to it, I couldn’t see my own image in it.

“What are you doing, Eu?”

“Oh no, I was just wondering if I could see anything in it.”

“I already told you that nothing has shown up in it for over a hundred years,” Airi replied in an exasperated tone. But then, in the next moment...

Waah! Waah! Waah! Waah! Clatter clatter clatter clatter... Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! I could hear some soft noises. They were coming from inside the mirror.

“Hmm?” I narrowed my eyes and peered into the glass. There was something blurry inside. “H-Hey, Airi! There’s something reflected in the mirror!”

“What?! Really?!” Airi rushed over with a surprised look that soon morphed into bewilderment. “There’s nothing in there.”

“Oh?” Apparently, I was the only one who could see the reflection.

“What’s the mirror showing you?”

“Let’s see... Huh?”

The image became clearer and clearer, and I made a foolish sound when I recognized it. Inside the Akasha Mirror—a treasure that could depict the future—I saw the great armies of the Grenflare Empire, the Holy Alliance, and the Blue Sea Union slaughtering each other.

I saw a vision of war.

Epilogue: An Angel’s Complaints

“See you, Eugene! Take care of yourself.”

“Thanks, dad. I’m off.”

We were at the airship dock, and I was on my way back to the dungeon city. Normally, my dad never left the emperor’s side, but he’d come all the way here just to see me off. He wasn’t the only one present, though.

“Lord Eugene, I’ll tell His Imperial Majesty about what we discussed.”

“Thank you very much, Chancellor Ekaterina,” I replied with a small bow.

What I had seen in the Akasha Mirror, the treasure that reflected the future, was a war between the imperial army and the armies of the Holy Alliance and the Blue Sea Union. I didn’t know what the cause of the conflict was. However, I was positive that I had seen a massive war embroiling the Southern Continent, so I’d reported this to the Imperial Sword and the chancellor.

“What troubling news... To think that the Akasha Mirror, which has been dormant for a century, showed such a future,” Chancellor Ekaterina said, resting her hand against her chin as if deep in thought.

“No need to fret, Chancellor Ekaterina. The union between the empire’s hero and our next Saint will serve to prevent such a thing from coming to pass,” Oriane, the Saint and Priestess of Fate from the Cardia Halidom, replied with a bright smile on her face. According to the revelation she’d received from the Goddess of Fate, there was a very high chance of war breaking out. This was, apparently, confidential intel from the halidom.

“So, you’re saying that Eugene is to bridge our countries and bring peace?”

“It won’t be long until the Great Devil returns. I hope the halidom and the empire can remain good neighbors! ☆” Saint Oriane always had a smile fixed on her face, so I couldn’t read the emotions underneath.

“Though the Northern Continent is very far from us, the Great Devil and the demonic sovereigns who ruled over it will soon come back to life. Not only that, but it’s rumored that there have been sightings of the Fiend Dragon Glasya-Labolas, the oldest Infernal Demonic Beast in the world, which once claimed the Southernmost Continent as its territory. There have also been reports of small-scale Stampedes at the Last Dungeon Abyss on the Northernmost Continent... This isn’t the time for us humans to fight among ourselves.”

“Yes, Chancellor Ekaterina. I agree. So, we’re counting on you, Eugene! ☆”

I hastily nodded and replied, “R-Right, I’ll do my best.” This is her way of reminding me that I mustn’t treat Sara with disrespect. Not that I had any intention of doing that.

That was when I noticed someone staring at me. Actually, I had noticed it for a while. Large blue eyes were fixed right on me.

“You’re going, then, Eu? I still can’t believe how you just went off and left me in the treasury last night.” It was my childhood friend, Airi, the next empress of the Grenflare Empire.

I had actually spent a bit of time with her, just the two of us, yesterday. It had been nostalgic; I finally felt like we’d restored the relationship we had in the past.

“I’ll return to the capital again, Airi,” I said. I had already told her that I planned to continue my ascent of the Last Dungeon, Babel. I’d been tempted to stay in the empire and support Airi, but my promise to Sumire came first.

“Come back if I ever call on you. Promise me!”

“Yeah, I promise.” Airi grabbed my arm. Her beautiful, sparkly blonde hair was right before my eyes. Her face was so close to me that if either of us took a single step forward, we would kiss.

“Hey, Sara, things aren’t looking good for us.”

“Yes, we could really be in trouble here. Let’s go, Sumire!”

“Huh? W-Wait!”

After the whispered conversation, I heard footsteps approaching us.

“Eugene,” Sara said. “It’s about time for us to leave.”

Her appearance wiped Airi’s expression from her face.

“Got it, Sara. All right, I should get—”

“No, Eu. Stay a bit longer.” Airi’s grip tightened on my arm. She even placed her hand on my shoulder, preventing me from moving.

“Let’s go, Eugene.” Sara grabbed my other arm.

I seriously couldn’t move anymore; the next empress and the next Saint had their hands on me. Wh-What should I do? I was racking my brains for a solution when Sumire latched onto me, forcing me into a hug despite the two other girls.

“Let’s go hooome, Eugene!”

Airi looked annoyed, but after a moment of silence released me, albeit reluctantly.

“All right,” I said again. “I should get going.” When Airi didn’t reply, I asked, “Airi?”

“Shut up! Get through Babel as quickly as possible and come back to me!”

Slap! She smacked my shoulder with all her strength. I could’ve dodged it, but I didn’t. Now my shoulder was throbbing with pain.

“Ah, to be young again!”

“I can’t say I approve of how many girls he’s leading on...”

“Oh, you’re such a prude, Lord Jubei. Heroes are lovers, after all.”

My dad made a grumpy noise. It was pretty uncomfortable listening to his conversation with the chancellor. I waved at Airi, who was still glaring at me, and boarded the airship headed for the dungeon city.

***

“Wow! We’re so high up! This feels awesome!”

“The imperial airship doesn’t feel half bad.”

Sumire was as excited as she had been on the ride here. Sara was much calmer, but she seemed to be enjoying herself too.

“Do you two want to go to the cafeteria?” I asked, thinking that if we continued being so loud, we might get into trouble again.

“Sure!” Sumire replied. “Let’s go!”

“Yes,” Sara agreed. “We should go before it gets too busy.”

The decision was unanimous, so we headed for the airship’s cafeteria.

***

It was between mealtimes, so there weren’t a lot of people eating. I ordered some bread and a thick steak. Sumire ordered pasta with bacon and tomatoes. Sara ordered fried fish and a salad. The three of us chatted as we enjoyed our food.

“Hey, Eugene? That screen is showing us footage from Babel, right?” Sumire asked, pointing at a giant Satellite System screen. On it, I could see students from Lykeion Magic Academy challenging the Boss of some floor.

“Looks like it,” I replied. “Based on their weapons, I’m guessing they belong to the Spearmanship Club.”

Everyone in the exploration party wielded polearms. Usually, when members of a party all used the same kind of equipment, it meant they belonged to the same club.

“They must be challenging the Boss on the 50th Level,” Sara said. “To take part in the Unity Tournament, you need to have cleared the 50th Level first.”

“Wow, Sara! You know so much!” Sumire said.

“Of course I do. I’m the student council president, after all.”

“The Unified Combat Tournament at the school festival, huh?”

Last year, I hadn’t met the conditions to participate. I hadn’t even been capable of dishing out damage back then. But now...

My thoughts must have been obvious from my expression, because Sara leaned in closer and asked, “Do you want to participate, Eugene?”

“I... I’m wondering about that. Sara, you were in the tournament last year, right?”

“Yes, I was. I lost in the semifinals, though.”

“Wow! Someone was stronger than you, Sara? Were you not allowed to use that holy sword of yours?”

“I couldn’t win, even with Curtana. The higher-ranking members of the Swordsmanship Club are monstrously powerful.”

“Ahhh, right! I think I remember Leona saying that the Swordsmanship Club was really tough.”

Hearing them discuss the tournament made my desire to join in even stronger. According to Sara, the Unity Tournament allowed people to join on the day of. I’ll enter the tournament if I feel like it, then.

After eating, we enjoyed some free time. I couldn’t get any time to myself, though, since Sumire and Sara barged into my room. Thus, our lively trip through the air continued.

♢The next day♢

Our airship landed in the dungeon city, Karaf.

“We’re finally home!”

“I really do feel much better with my feet on solid ground.”

Sumire and Sara were both stretching. I hadn’t been able to get in much training on the airship, so I wanted to visit the training grounds and swing my sword for a bit. As I thought about that, I looked up at the Last Dungeon, Babel where it pierced through the heavens. I should’ve been used to the sight of it by now, but I felt like I hadn’t seen it in a long time.

“All right. Let’s go our own ways and...” I began, but I was interrupted by a student running up to us.

“President Sara!” The student had long hair and elegant glasses. I recognized her as...

“Ah, Miss Teresia. Why are you in such a rush? What is it?”

It was Teresia, the student who handled general affairs for the student council.

“There’s no time for questions! Because you stayed in the empire longer than you said you would, there’s a huge backlog of work piled up!”

“Ahhh, right... Sorry...”

“Come on, let’s go! I’ll help you get through it all!”

“Eugene! Sumire!” Sara cried out to us with a distressed look on her face as Teresia dragged her away. But we were powerless to help her.

“Heeey, welcome back, Sumire! Eugene!”

“Leona! Hi, we’re home!”

Next to approach us was Leona from the Martial Arts Club. I figured she was here to talk to Sumire, but she trotted up to me.

“Eugene, I have a message for you from a dungeon guide named Amaryllis. Apparently, she wants you to visit the Dungeon Union.”

“Miss Amaryllis said that?” I asked. She was our party’s exclusive dungeon guide. “What did she want?”

“Mm, well, I didn’t ask for any specifics, but it looked like an emergency.”

“Got it. I’ll go see her. Thanks,” I said.

“You’re welcome! Sumire, what’re you gonna do now? Since we’re preparing for the school festival, a lot of classes are on break.”

“Really?! Gosh, I don’t know what I should do, then...”

“The Martial Arts Club is gonna do something for the school festival, so wanna help us prepare for that? We’re gonna do a man-powered amusement park.”

“What the heck?! That sounds like so much fun!”

“Then come and watch us work on it. We need someone who can use Fire Magic too.”

“Fire Magic?! Oh, me...”

Sumire and Leona skipped off, still chatting. They always looked like they were having fun together. Speaking of which, the Biology Club held a circus every year, since we had so many Monster Tamers. Well, I’m sure the seniors will do whatever they want, so I won’t have anything to do. I was in charge of the Seventh Sealed Prison “Taboo,” which was full of mythical creatures that weren’t allowed aboveground.

Since I was alone for the moment, I heeded Miss Amaryllis’s message and made my way to the Dungeon Union building.

***

It had been forever since I had last visited the Dungeon Union. As per usual, it was full of explorers. However, there was one difference from the norm: Not as many student explorers from Lykeion Magic Academy were present. They were probably busy preparing for the festival.

I looked around for Miss Amaryllis, but that quickly proved pointless: As soon as she spotted me, she sprinted over.

“Mister Eugene, I was waiting for you! Come here! Quickly!” She dragged me into a room. Was something the matter?

“What happened?” I asked.

“Mister Eugene, look at this! It’s a letter from the supervisor of the 100th Level!”

“The supervisor?”

I had to think for a moment before I remembered that angel with the bright smile. Miss Leeta, an angel, was the supervisor of the 100th Level. I accepted the letter from Miss Amaryllis and read through it. In giant letters, Miss Leeta had written:

Why haven’t any of you come to accept the Gifts for the 100th Level after I went through the trouble of making them?!

100th Level Supervisor, Leeta Archangel

“Ah...”

“What does it say?” Miss Amaryllis asked, peering down at the letter curiously.

I couldn’t give her an immediate answer. Well, it’s not like I’d forgotten about them... I had just kept putting it off.

The letter was simply an angry complaint from the angel.

Extra Story: Eugene and His Childhood Friend

Let us go back in time to the night before we left the empire. I’d seen a foreboding future in the Akasha Mirror and reported it to my father and the others. After that, the Hero of the Sword and the Golden Knights dragged me off for a night of drinking. Though I could use Healing Magic to alleviate the effects of alcohol, no spell could do anything about physical weariness. The moment I returned home, I fell into a deep sleep.

It was when I felt someone shaking my shoulder that I woke up. At first, I assumed Sumire or Sara was the culprit, but I was wrong. Normally, I would have noticed if a stranger had snuck in, but I’d remained asleep until they grabbed my shoulder. Clearly this woman was far too familiar with the layout of my house; that was the only way she could have entered and stolen her way into my room without making a sound.

My childhood friend, Airi, was sitting on the windowsill wearing casual clothing rather than her customary imperial uniform. She was well aware that the doors of my childhood home were seldom locked.

“Airi? What are you doing here?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

“I snuck out of the palace. You’ll be returning to the dungeon city tomorrow, right? I want to walk around and see the capital at night, and I want you to come along with me. This is an order from your next empress! ☆” She grinned at me, her smile exactly the same as it had been when we were children.

I couldn’t possibly turn her down after seeing that, so Airi and I made our way to the capital. The city was lively at night. Though the Great Beast Haagenti was no more, monsters still roamed the northern plains, which was why the knights were on a twenty-four-hour rotation to guard against them. The canals flowing around the city were always busy with ships full of imports and goods. As the capital was the largest mercantile city in the empire, merchants sold their wares day and night, meaning that the bars and red-light districts were always busy. That was how the capital’s downtown area had earned the nickname of “the city that never sleeps.” And it was in that city that Airi and I were wandering around.

“This is our first time strolling together at night, isn’t it?” Airi said.

“It is, now that you mention it,” I replied. “The military academy’s curfew was so strict.”

Before we’d entered the military academy, we were children who couldn’t even defend ourselves, so we hadn’t been allowed to walk around the capital at night. Currently, we were walking around the commoners’ district. Everywhere we looked, there were people yelling or lying on the ground passed out drunk. It didn’t look very orderly at all, but we were here because Airi wanted to be. Apparently, she often hung out with Camilla and her other friends in the aristocratic district, and she wanted to come here precisely because it wasn’t one of her usual haunts.

“Asshole! You blind or somethin’?!”

“Yeah! Fight, fight, fight!”

“I’m rootin’ for both of ya!”

A fight broke out between two drunkards, with spectators cheering and mocking from the sidelines.

This definitely isn’t a place for the princess... I sighed before glancing behind us. I could sense several people hidden in the shadows, following us from a distance—Airi’s guards, presumably. I felt bad that we were keeping them out this late at night.

“Hey, Eu, what do you say about checking that place out? Doesn’t it have an interesting ambience?”

Airi was pointing at a sign for a bar over a stairwell heading downward. I could hear quiet muttering among the guards. Yeah, I get it. From a bodyguard’s perspective, that’s the worst place you could choose. Some criminal organizations used the basement bars in a city’s lower quarters as their hideouts, and the capital was no exception.

“Airi, if you want to enjoy good food and drink in the lower quarters, you have to go to larger bars like that one there. This is something I picked up while in the dungeon city,” I said, feigning savviness while pointing at a tavern, its walls glowing from all the lanterns and lamps hanging off them. It was full of patrons, so I doubted it would be bad anyway.

“Hmm? Well, if you say so. Let’s go there!”

Fortunately, Airi had agreed immediately—I sensed relief from the guards—so we walked inside the noisy pub.

Soon, a generous portion of bone-in meat and an entire fried fish sat before us, and Airi exclaimed, her eyes widening, “Whoa, such large cuts of meat and fish! How are we supposed to cut these up without a knife and fork?!”

“We can just bite into it... Well, that’s what I’d like to say, but you’re right—these are way too big.”

With the pocketknife I used while exploring, I quickly diced up the meat into manageable sizes. There was, in fact, a small wooden fork on the plate, but Airi didn’t recognize it as cutlery. I supposed I couldn’t blame her; a princess would never have the opportunity to see something like that. I demonstrated how to eat the dish, and Airi wasted no time in mimicking me.

“Mm! I’ve never tasted something like this before, but it’s delicious!” she said.

The seasoning was simple—just salt and some spices—but both the meat and the fish were very fresh.

“The ale’s kind of warm, though,” I said. No one had cast a cooling spell over the black ale, so it was at room temperature. Despite that, it was stronger than the ales of Karaf, so it wasn’t too bad.

“Hey, youngsters! Enjoying some drinks?”

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

A drunkard joined our table while we were still working on our meal. He threw back the ale in his large wooden mug, swallowed with an audible gulp, and ordered some more. I could tell that the bodyguards three tables away were preparing to get up, but I held up my hand in a signal to them to stop.

“This is our first time here,” I told the drunkard. “Do you have any recommendations?”

“Is that so? I see, I see. Then you’ve gotta try this! Hey, boss, give this table some of that on me! Don’t worry about it, youngster. Today, we’re celebrating the emperor’s slaying of the Great Beast Haagenti! Gotta enjoy your drinks when toasting to that!” With a hearty laugh, the drunkard left.

“Who was that?” Airi said. “An acquaintance of yours?”

“Nah, I’ve never met that man before. He was a cheery guy.”

Drunkards like him were common in the dungeon city, and I supposed there was no reason they shouldn’t exist in the capital too.

“I-I suppose they’re common in pubs...” I doubted Airi would ever have encountered someone like that in the fancy restaurants she frequented in the aristocratic district.

The dish that the drunkard had ordered for us turned out to be several small fish that had been fried whole. I’d never seen this before, so I, like Airi, was pretty nervous about eating it.

“It’s good!”

“This is exquisite.”

The roe-filled fish had been seasoned with salt before frying, and it tasted like a kind of local delicacy. Apparently, this was a common dish from the Eastern Continent, and it was the Imperial Sword’s favorite. Dad likes this stuff? I hadn’t known that. I occasionally shared a drink with him at home, but I’d never had the chance to go out drinking with him. Next time I come back to the empire, I’ll ask him what his regular haunts are.

“Excuse me! Another drink, please!” Airi called out to the waitress. I’d lost count of how many she’d had.

Is she drunk? But her face hadn’t turned red yet. I guess she can hold her liquor.

The thought had only barely passed through my mind when one of the bodyguards, who’d been watching from a distance, slid up behind me and whispered, “Lord Eugene, it’s hard to tell from looking at her, but Princess Airi is a lightweight. Please cut her off before things get out of hand.”

I looked behind me only to see that he’d already disappeared into the crowd again. He was amazing at his job.

“Airi, think it’s about time to go?”

“Huuuh? Noooo, I can still drink!”

She wasn’t slurring yet, but she was already sounding like a whole different person. The bodyguard was right about Airi’s low tolerance for alcohol. After settling the bill, I returned to Einherjar Palace, Airi’s arm slung around my shoulders.

***

“Halt! Who goes... Pr-Princess Airi?!”

As expected, the guard at the gates stopped us, but his eyes widened in shock when he recognized who I was supporting. I was wondering how I could explain this to him, but to my relief, one of the bodyguards, who was hanging behind us, gave the guard a quick rundown of what had happened.

“All right, I should get go...” I started, figuring that I could leave the rest to the bodyguards now that we’d arrived at Einherjar Palace in one piece, but the bodyguard handed me a piece of golden paper with the imperial emblem on it.

“Lord Eugene, this pass will give you access to anywhere you want on the palace grounds. Princess Airi still sleeps in her old room. We’re entrusting her to your care.”

Wait, seriously? Is it really all right for me to take this? Actually, is it all right for a guy like me to enter the princess’s room, especially now that she’s single again? I was worried, but then again, Airi was the one who’d kicked off this adventure by breaking into my room. I suppose it’s not an issue, then.

It wasn’t like I could simply dump a drunk Airi on the ground, so I took her down the long hallways of Einherjar Palace until we reached a giant red door. A young female guard was standing in front of it, but before I could take out the entry pass and show it to her, she said, “Lord Eugene, please enter!”

Since she recognized me, she had no issue letting me inside. Uh, no, you should still check if I have a pass...

I walked into my childhood friend’s bedroom. It had been forever since I last set foot in here. And it’s as large as I remember it. It was plainly decorated, but everything—the desk, the chair, the carpet, and even the mirror—looked expensive. I lowered my drunk friend onto her massive canopy bed, and...

Airi was so intoxicated that she’d been completely silent, but now she suddenly said, “Hey, Eu?”

“Whoa!”

Airi wrapped her arms around me, dragging me down onto the mattress with her. We ended up with her on the bed and me looking like I was pressing her down on it.

“You were feigning sleep?” I asked.

“No, the alcohol just chose now to clear up,” she replied with a giggle. It was clear from the mischievous smile on her face that she was lying.

Well, I’m just glad she woke up. “Okay, good night, Airi.” But before I could leave, she grabbed my arm. “Hmm?”

“Don’t tell me you plan on going home already?”

“It’s past midnight, and I have to take an airship back to the dungeon city tomorrow.”

“Exactly! We won’t be able to see each other for a while, so stay a while longer! I’m not letting you leave until the morning sun rises!”

Her cheer from earlier was gone, replaced by an angry look. When she got in one of her moods, she refused to listen to anything I had to say, and she still had my arm in her grip. Left with no other choice, I stayed and looked around this room that I hadn’t visited in years. Something caught my attention.

“That dagger on the wall...”

It was a small blade for use by a child. My dad had bought it for Airi and me to celebrate something.

“Brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, we used to spar with blades like that all the time.”

“Hey, speaking of which, do you remember that one time when we were exploring the river behind the capital...”

We continued to chat about our shared childhood memories. There were so many things to talk about. Eventually, we were both so tired that we ended up falling asleep side by side, like when we were kids. Airi’s bed was so big that it could easily fit two adults sleeping next to each other.

When the morning sun shone in the window, I woke up and placed the blanket over Airi’s still-slumbering form. I opened the door, careful not to disturb her, and left her room.

The same female knight was still standing guard outside. As I exited the room, she said “I’m glad you two had such a fun night! ☆” What in the world was she implying?

I yawned and stretched. I had been in a deeper sleep than I’d realized, and I didn’t feel any sign of a hangover. So, with the sky still dim, I hurried home with a pep in my step.

***

By the time I got home, the sky was becoming bright with the morning light, and I saw Sumire and Sara waiting for me. Any vestiges of sleep still remaining faded immediately when I saw them.

“Eugene, welcome home! ☆” Sumire said. “Where were you sleeping around last night?”

“Eugene, slinking home in the morning when you have two girlfriends waiting for you? I’m glad you got to enjoy yourself, at least,” Sara said.

This wasn’t good. I had to say something. “No, wait, you two have the wrong idea.”

“I bet you were spending time with that princess friend of yours.”

“Oh my goodness, Sumire! You mustn’t make such baseless accusations. Eugene, look me in the eye.”

Sumire and Sara leaned in close to my face.

“I was...” I was in Airi’s room, yeah, but we didn’t do anything! was what I wanted to say, but I stopped myself.

“Eugene, do you seriously think they’ll believe you? If you were in their shoes, would you believe yourself?” Eri’s exasperated voice sounded in my head.

I’d snuck out in the middle of the night and gone drinking with another woman, even granting said woman was a childhood friend. Then I’d spent the rest of the night in that same woman’s room. Knowing all of that, would I believe a “Nothing happened”?

No way. I gave up.

“Eu?”

“Eugene, why aren’t you saying anything?”

The pair weren’t going to let me slip away with this. I had no other choice. I would beg for forgiveness even if I had to grovel on the ground! But before I could, they grabbed my arms and dragged me inside.

“Hurry, Eugene. We have to get back to school today, remember?” Sumire said.

“We must pack,” Sara added.

Their expressions were darker than usual. “Sumire? Sara? You two aren’t mad?”

For a while, neither of them said anything until Sumire muttered, “I was worrying about what would happen if you didn’t come back.”

“Sumire was crying, like, ‘What’ll we do if he says he wants to stay in the empire?’”

“I wasn’t crying! You were the one who looked like you were about to burst into tears!”

“N-No! I trusted Eugene completely!”

“So did I!”

Upon hearing their words, I felt terrible. “I’m sorry for leaving without saying anything, Sumire, Sara. But right now, my goal is to reach the 500th Level of Babel. I won’t return to the empire and abandon you two.”

“Okay! I know you wouldn’t!”

“Of course you wouldn’t.”

Their expressions were brighter than before. I’m glad.

“But gosh, to think that Eugene would get back together with his princess childhood friend. Right, Sara?”

“There’s not much we can do about that, Sumire. The empire allows polygamy, so I suppose we’ll have to forgive him for the occasional infidelity.”

“W-Wait. Wait a second.” Was it just me, or were they talking with the assumption that something had happened between Airi and me?

“It’s okay, Eugene. Sara and I are very generous people.”

“But we only permit infidelity, got it? You mustn’t become serious about her.”

“Wait! I already told you nothing happened!”

“Oh, Eugene! It’s not very manly of you to hide things like that!”

“Just so you know, you’re not allowed to date anyone other than Sumire and me at school.”

“I don’t plan on dating anyone!”

“These two must think of you as a wild womanizer!” Eri was laughing, but I couldn’t see the humor in the situation.

Looks like I have to clean up my act...

Afterword

Hello, it’s Isle Osaki. Thank you for reading the third volume of Zero Damage Sword Saint. This volume was the Empire Homecoming Arc, and the childhood friend princess who appears in the Japanese subtitle of the series finally reunites with Eugene. Her design already appeared in the first volume, but this was our first time seeing her as a character. Despite her gentlewoman-like looks, her personality is anything but; this gap is what makes her one of my favorite heroines.

The dad who kept appearing in Eugene’s flashbacks also makes his appearance in this arc. All in all, it was a fun story to write. The only difficult thing was that Eri, who is the poster girl of the series, is in the underground prison back at the school, which means that it was hard to work her in here. Next time, we’ll be returning to the school setting, so I hope Eri will be able to show up more.

In the next volume, I plan on writing the School Festival Arc, which is very much something you’d expect to see in a story about school. I hope to introduce lots of different students, but Osaki is very bad at coming up with new characters, so I always have trouble when writing chapters with lots of new people. I’ll do my best to write, though, so I hope you’ll look forward to that.

Finally, I’d like to thank kodamazon again for all the wonderful illustrations. Like with the Zero Believers series, I’m always handing in my manuscripts so close to the deadline that I cause my editor, S-san, a great deal of worry. To all the readers who support me, I hope you’ll continue to read and enjoy the Zero Damage series.