2
Behind her tightly-closed eyelids — through the double barrier of the curtains and the thin silks which served as her bed’s canopy — she could feel the rays of the sun shining down on her. “Good morning, time to get up,” and “Let me sleep a while longer,” — these two parts of her shouted back and forth in their struggle to seize control of her body.
Just as she was drifting in and out of slumber, the room door opened quietly and someone entered. While the thick carpet covering the floor muffled their footsteps, she could still sense someone moving through the room. This person walked over to the side of her bed, and stopped.
“Good morning, Keno-sama. Today’s weather is good too.”
“Uuu, mmm, mhm…”
Her eyes opened ever so reluctantly, and the familiar smile of the maid Nastasha came into view.
The fact that she had been permitted to address Keno, the princess of this country, by her given name was because she was Keno’s handmaiden.
Nastasha was one of the more highly placed servants in the castle, and in her youth there had been rumors that she would become the next head maid. Her abilities were exceptional and she even had in-depth magical training; one could say that it had been smooth sailing all the way to her present station.
It was precisely because Keno was her father’s only daughter that she was permitted to stand by Keno’s side — such was a sign of the favor she had received. However, Keno felt that she would probably not wind up as the head maid, because she would probably end up becoming the first wife of some noble and then resign her position.
Seeing that Keno had already risen, Nastasha went over to the window and
forcefully opened it. Just as she had described earlier, the room was filled with blinding sunlight.
Having just departed sweet dreamland, her eyes were painfully seared by the light and she could not help squeezing them shut again. Only after her eyes had gradually gotten used to the sunlight through her eyelids did Keno slowly open them once again.
The warm sunlight poured into the room, as if to tell her that today would be a peaceful, wonderful day filled with warmth.
“Alright, Keno-sama. I shall prepare water for you right away.”
There was an empty silver basin on the small round table. After Nastasha cast a spell on it, the basin was promptly filled with clean water.
Nastasha had just cast a first-tier lifestyle spell — also known as the lifestyle spell tradition — known as [Create Water]. While zero-tier spells could also create drinkable water, the water created by this spell tasted better.
Since they both used the same amount of mana, popular opinion held that better-tasting water was superior, even if it had not been created for drinking purposes. It would seem Nastasha felt the same way too.
As a first-tier spell, the water generated by [Create Water] was not limited to just filling a single basin. While there was a time limit to it, the overall volume of water created — which would increase along with the caster’s skills — could be parceled out over multiple occasions. Therefore, there would be no spillage and waste even if she cast the spell on the basin.
Incidentally, Nastasha was a magic caster who had attained the second tier. On cold days, she could use the second-tier lifestyle spell [Temperature Change] to alter the temperature of the water until it was comfortable, or to directly heat the room.
Keno had read from a book that there was a third-tier lifestyle spell called [Hot Spring]. Apparently it was an imitation of the druid spell [Geyser]. The book’s author had written, “It feels really good,” and so Keno wanted to personally try it once.
Unfortunately, none of the maids in the castle could cast such a high-tier lifestyle spell. Therefore Keno could only read about the effects of [Hot Spring] from her books.
While there were magic casters in the castle who could cast third-tier spells, those people typically studied battle spells and did not have the time to learn lifestyle magic on top of that.
“In that case, I’ll just learn it myself!” Keno had once told the people around her — specifically her magic instructors. Back then, Keno had been younger than she was now, at an age where she could barely cast first-tier spells. It would not be unusual for someone hearing a young girl like that saying that she wanted to cast a third-tier spell — which was typically the province of the naturally gifted — to regard it as the naive declarations of a child.
That is, if that child was not Keno.
Keno’s parents — her father could cast fourth-tier spells, while her mother could go even further and cast fifth-tier spells — were genius magic casters of extraordinary talent. Thus, as the scion of both their bloodlines, everyone believed that it was very likely that she could make good on her words.
Therefore, two hours after making that statement, she had been summoned before her father and sternly rebuked. There was a limit to how many spells everyone could learn, and as royalty, she ought to learn more useful spells.
The young Keno had retorted that it was precisely because she was royalty that she should not learn offensive, defensive, or divinatory spells, and instead learn spells that would make everyone happy.
However, her father had said this: “Our country is not a peaceful one. There’s no telling when these quiet, peaceful days will come to an end and a king must personally go to the battlefield. Therefore, anyone with the potential to become an exceptional magic caster should learn battle-effective spells.”
After hearing her father’s answer, Keno abandoned her plans to learn [Hot Spring].
Her father’s words had been well-reasoned, and she was not yet old enough to fully understand what he meant by them. On the one hand, she lacked the courage to resist her stern father, and on the other, she was not particularly obsessed in her pursuit of hot springs.
Rather, it was because her father spoke in a kingly way, which reminded her of the stories of heroic adventure that Nastasha had once read to her. He sounded just like them, and it left a deep impression in her heart.
From that day on, Keno made a wish that she kept secret from everyone else, that she would become strong one day, like the heroes in the storybooks — or like her father — and fight gallantly for the people.
The girl who held that dream in her heart got off the bed, walked to Nastasha’s side, and began washing her face. The splashing water spattered her surroundings, but she did not mind it.
The temperature-adjusted water — made by [Create Water], which could be freely deposited within a certain radius according to the caster’s will — washed away Keno’s sleepiness.
Keno used the towel Nastasha handed her to wipe her face clean and began brushing her teeth. Then she gargled the water in her glass, rinsed her mouth, and spat it out into the basin.
After seeing Keno do all this, Nastasha cast [Destruction Water].
The water in the basin, as well as the water that had splashed out of it, vanished as though they had been an illusion.
This first-tier spell was not lifestyle magic, but belonged to one of the four great traditions — also known as the elemental traditions — and could be used for offensive purposes.
It did less damage when used against living beings than other spells of the same tier. However, it could do significant damage to Water Elementals and other creatures closely aligned with the element of water. Higher-level versions of the third tier could also affect Slimes to some extent. The fourth-tier spell [Dehydration] could do great damage to all living beings.
The lower-tier versions of these spells were typically used to eliminate water in this fashion.
After rinsing her mouth, Keno walked over to the changing mirror which was roughly as tall as she was and quickly changed into the clothes Nastasha handed her.
While certain nobles would even let their vassals handle dressing them, Keno’s family insisted on them changing on their own. It was a family rule to help them prepare for battle, so they could put on armor by themselves — never mind that full plate armor needed the help of squires to don.
However, it was perfectly acceptable to let others help comb her hair while she was changing. After wetting her curled hair with [Create Water], Nastasha pressed it down with a moistened towel. Once Nastasha let go, the hair was straightened out.
And so, Keno Fasris Invern — the sole daughter of King Fasris — took shape.
The familiar image of herself she saw reflected in the mirror was a girl with eyes that reflected all the colors of the rainbow.
These rainbow eyes were not unique to Keno. The maid who was staring at Keno while carrying out the final checks, Nastasha, also possessed them. They were called the Rainbow Eyes, and they were a common sight in the country of the Rainbow-Eyed People. Rather, it was the people who did not possess them that were a rarity.
“Now then, please proceed to the dining room, Keno-sama.”
“…Are both of them there today?”
“Yes. Both of them are waiting for you, Keno-sama.”
To Keno, mealtimes were joyful occasions, but also ones which weighed on her.
—Because she could see her father then.
Her father was frequently out on business — both in the Royal Capital and other cities — due to his eagerness to work. Even his daughter Keno would have many days when she would not get to see him at all. Therefore, she was very happy to meet her father. However, Keno’s father was very harsh on her, so he usually scolded her whenever they met, which made her uneasy.
That said, she could not run away from it.
Trailing Nastasha in her wake, Keno walked to the dining room.
Just as Nastasha had said, her parents were waiting for her within the dining room. Naturally, their maids were also present. In particular, the head maid and assistant head maid were standing behind her father and mother.
Keno’s mother had a warm, gentle look on her face — truth be told, her personality was much the same, and Keno had few memories of ever being scolded by her — and she was also a top-class magic caster of this nation, even though one could not tell just by her looks.
Her father, on the other hand, was the opposite.
Rainbow-Eyed people tended to be slender of frame and gifted in the four elemental traditions, which would lead them to enter the appropriate magicusing professions. Therefore, they were focused on spellcasting ability rather than physical abilities, and tended to lack muscular bodies. However, Keno’s father was a notable exception. Not only was he a powerful Fire Elementalist, he also possessed a brawny physique that embodied the word “powerhouse,” and his brow was deeply furrowed to go with his stern countenance.
Whether he was eating or not, he always wore a gauntlet on his left arm that was shaped to resemble a Gryphon’s talons.
It was the national treasure known as the Gauntlet of the Gryphon Lord. It was a magic item that could summon a Gryphon Lord for a total of 24 hours in the span of a week. Since the summoned Gryphon Lord could be resummoned in a week’s time even if it were killed, generations of kings had historically used it to call up a vanguard for them. However, Keno’s father was the only one who did not use it in that way.
“Good morning, Father, Mother.”
“Good morning, Keno.”
In contrast to her mother’s gentle greeting, her father simply furrowed his brow and nodded curtly, but that was how he usually was. Rather, if he had smiled like her mother had, Keno would be confused instead.
Nastasha pulled the chair back to let Keno take a seat, after which breakfast was served.
This country had a thriving dairy industry, and so the royal capital did not want for fresh cheese. Of particular note was the fact that it was to be expected that the dining tables of the royal household would have at least three different kinds of cheese on them. In addition, there was sour cream, drinks made from blending milk and the freshly squeezed juices of four different fruits, and so on. Also, there were thick slices of evenly roasted ham. The plates laden with white bread were accompanied by intoxicatingly beautiful pats of golden butter.
Keno — along with her father and mother, who were dining — looked at the ring on her right hand, but the sapphire-blue gemstone set into it did not change color.
They began to eat.
Eating was a place for etiquette. Since it had been inculcated into her ever since she had come of age, it had long since become a part of her.
As they ate in silence, her father placed his fork on the table with a quiet clink. She glanced over and saw that her father had picked up his napkin to wipe his mouth.
“Now then, Annie. To what degree have her magical abilities improved?” Annie was the name of Keno’s mother. She was called Annie Fasris Invern.
Annie put down her fork and wiped her mouth as well.
“My husband, currently this child seems to have gotten a feel for the second tier. Who knows, she might soon become capable of wielding its rudiments.”
“I heard that a fortnight ago. In other words, there’s been no improvement, am I wrong? Keno, what do you think? Do you feel stronger than before?”
Keno swallowed her food, then put down her fork and wiped her mouth like her mother had. During that time, she thought about how to answer her father, but the truth was that she did not feel much different between now and two weeks ago. It was like how nobody could sense how much they were growing every day without measuring it.
It was true that she had felt something strange when she had first become capable of casting first-tier spells. It was like gears meshing within her body.
However, there had been no signs before that.
Therefore, she could only answer honestly.
“I’m not sure.”
“I see. Honesty is a good policy, but that alone cannot be all. You are my first child. In the future, your younger brothers and sisters will be born, and you will have to be an example for them.”
“My King… she is still young—”
“—Shut up.”
Her father coldly interrupted her mother’s impending criticism.
“However young she is, she is still royalty.”
The King’s gaze was cutting as it turned to her. Frightened, Keno glanced pleadingly to her mother.
“She is a girl—”
“—She is more than a girl, she is a princess, she is royalty. While there is no need to outdo everyone else, being overshadowed will be troublesome. After all, you are a better magic caster than I am.”
Her father turned to look at a place without anyone and he coughed. “Which is why we got married, didn’t we,” he muttered. Then, he looked at Keno again with his steely eyes.
“For that reason, I gave this child to you so you could teach her, but you have been too lax with her education, I think. Live combat is the best form of training. While she is a child and not yet fully grown, surely she ought to start weapons training too, no? It’s important to see if she’s gifted in that field too.”
It was true that Keno’s father was inferior to her mother as a magic caster. However, given that her father was able to fight with a spear, he was the better combatant.
“I am opposed to that. According to what I have seen, I don’t think this child is like you — gifted with weapons. Until she awakens an affinity for one of the four great powers, we ought to keep on training her as a magic caster. More importantly, I forbid her to take part in anything as dangerous as live combat.”
“Back then—”
“—Things were different. Rather than learning to write with both hands—”
“—It’s faster to learn to do it with just one, I know that’s what you want to say. However, we don’t know where her talents lie. Don’t you think it would be better to let her try everything? I feel that would be better to help this child prepare for her future.”
“I agree on that point. However, I feel that it should wait until she’s at least reached the second tier first. If you want her to take part in martial instruction, then it should at least wait until her body is fully developed first.” The two of them locked gazes, neither of them letting up.
A while later, her father looked away.
“I understand. I’ll continue leaving it in your care.”
“I am deeply grateful, my King.”
“—Keno.”
Keno jumped as she heard her father’s steely voice. Her father noticed it, but ignored it and began speaking.
“As the royal family of this country, we enjoy luxurious lives, and the loyalty of many people. And all that is because we have done our duty as the nation’s royalty. Therefore you must learn and absorb everything and make good use of it. It is true that our country is peaceful now. But who knows, we might be invaded someday. Therefore we need a wealthy nation and a strong army.” “…I don’t want to invade other people.” Her father’s face twisted slightly.
Was he angry, or was he laughing, or perhaps sad? It was a nuanced expression that was hard to make out. However, there was no severity in what he said next. “There is no need to invade others. A strong army is a deterrent force. However, thoughtless intimidation will lead to conflict. It is the duty of a leader to gain information on other nations, strike a balance, and seek the growth of his country’s strength. Do you think military might is unnecessary?”
“No.”
Keno shook her head.
Among the many races — the Rainbow-Eyes making up 90% of this comparison — a nation of five million people was not too big. However, it was only because the surrounding countries were roughly the same size that a balance could be achieved. In the recent half century, there had not been any large-scale wars in the nearby nations either. However, that simply meant that there were no wars of conquest. When a monster with great individual power showed itself, that was when the fate of a nation would be decided — and depending on the circumstances, an alliance might need to be formed.
For example, there had been over 50,000 casualties when a Behemoth appeared, and the memory of it was still fresh in the hearts of many. Keno knew very well how important it was to gather the mighty together to deal with such opponents.
“You do not need to do everything by yourself. Gather the people you trust and borrow their strength. I am not unique in strength among the many kings of history, but even I have people that I trust.”
Even if one looked through the history of the royal family, one would probably only be able to find people comparable to her father — who had been hailed as stepping into the realm of heroes — within its first generation.
“Therefore, gathering the strong and seeking strength that lies in a different direction from your own might be the right way. But what does that mean? Perhaps learning spells that make everyone happy might be one way to do it. However, this is a suggestion from your father. You cannot neglect your own strength. People feel at ease under the protection of the strong. Being a member of the royal family, is a form of strength that draws the masses to you. Naturally, such strength implies possessing charm, wealth, and authority. But if you take it to an extreme, then the king’s personal power is the most easily understood strength of all — and it can better ensure your safety. After all, charm, wealth and authority can sometimes fail to ensure everyone’s safety.” “Yes, Father,” Keno replied.
“Good,” the King replied as he picked up his fork again. In other words, it meant that he was going to continue eating. Her mother also hastened to follow and Keno began eating again as well.
After they had finished, the maids served up three light purple drinks. This was purple tea with a hint of milk added to it. It was accompanied by lightly sugared biscuits.
The three of them looked at their rings and then helped themselves.
Keno — who had a sensitive tongue — sipped the tea that had cooled down. It was only then that she realized two people were looking at her.
Had she breached some form of etiquette? Keno had no idea what was going on. However, this sort of thing happened from time to time. Keno would eat in silence but they would stare at her. It happened more often with her father, whom she rarely got to meet.
She tried glancing upward to take a look, but he did not look angry. So what on earth was going on? Keno tilted her head — or at least she did so in her heart — and drank her purple tea. She let the tea wash away the sweet biscuity taste which lingered in her mouth. However, drinking too much would be greedy. She could not misjudge the balance between tea and biscuits.
Keno focused on feeding the biscuits and tea into her mouth in sequence, and her father’s gaze left her.
“—So what else do you have planned for Keno today?”
“After this meal, we will be learning about magic in my room until lunchtime. After that, Balen-sensei will instruct her as usual.”
“I see. In that case, let me sit in on the lesson today. I’m quite interested in how Keno takes her lessons.”
Keno could not help her surprise.
This was probably the first time her father actually wanted to watch her learning.
“…Hehe.”
Her mother smiled, and the wrinkles between her father’s brows deepened.
“What’s so funny about that?”
“I was wondering why you’d say something like that all of a sudden. Heh…”
“It just occurred to me. There’s no other reason.”
“Alright, alright. Hehe… then I shall quietly await your arrival, my King.” “There’s no need to wait for me. I don’t want to disturb Keno’s education.”
“I know. However, I still think that it’s best to select a suitor for Keno first. It’s somewhat late for a princess… even for a noble heiress. I remember I was eight back then.”
“No. You were nine.”
“Oh, is that so? I can’t believe you still remember.” Her mother smiled, while her father frowned.
“Ahem! I know what you’re trying to say. However, Keno is the only child of our bloodline. We cannot be sloppy about this. Should we not wait longer?”
“If we do not start thinking about this early on, all the good candidates will have found spouses by then. Our child will then become a leftover woman that nobody’s willing to buy.”
“Don’t talk about buying and leftovers… Being a few years younger shouldn’t be a problem, no? I will carefully consider that matter. Understand? That’s all for this topic.”
“Yes, yes, yes…”
You need to work hard on this, she heard her mother whisper. Her father wrinkled his brow, looked around at the maids, and then reached for the desserts.
After dessert was over, Keno returned to her own room, where she took various textbooks before heading over to her mother’s room.
She knocked on the door of her mother’s room, and the person who answered was her mother’s personal maid, who was both the assistant head maid and the number two maid in the castle.
She entered the room and began her lesson with her mother.
Regardless of which tradition of magic one was studying, the important thing when one was starting out was to get a feel for it. Most of the people who had learned to use magic had done so through the feeling of making contact with the world. Anyone without that experience would be unable to cast spells. However, there were no teachers who could teach this part to their students in sufficient detail, and so many people stumbled here.
However, Keno had already crossed that hurdle. Therefore, she was learning about what she would need to know for future professions.
Keno’s mother was a wizard, and so she focused on improving her arcane magic casting ability, while Keno had talent as a sorcerer, so the lessons she received were focused on improving her sorcerous ability.
Compared to wizards, sorcerers relied much more on feeling. Therefore, Keno’s training focused on closing her eyes and using her heart to sense the waves her mother emanated when casting spells.
She did not know how much time had passed since the lesson had started.
—Suddenly, Keno felt something.
It was difficult to describe that sensation in words. However, it was more powerful than her mother, like a great wave, something that defied description.
This was a sensation she had never experienced before, and Keno could not help opening her eyes.
She saw her mother, who was surprised by her daughter suddenly opening her eyes. And at that moment— Pain stabbed into Keno.
It was an agony she had never experienced before, which made no sense to her.
Keno collapsed to the ground amidst the pain, as though something had been ripped out of her.
It hurt so much that she could not speak. Keno could not believe anything could hurt this much in the world.
She wept tears of pain. In her tear-dimmed vision, she could see the two maids collapsed on the ground as well, their faces distorted from pain and agony. Beside her, her mother was going through the same thing as well.
Her mother’s face was twisted in agony and her forehead was slick with sweat.
But even so— “[Reinforce Armor]!”
Her mother cast a spell on Keno.
However, it did nothing for the pain she was feeling. It did not decrease in the slightest. Her mother should have noticed that from the expression on Keno’s face.
“[Anti-Evil Protection].”
Keno grit her teeth against the pain and tried not to moan, and as she did she felt her mother cast a spell on her again. However, it did nothing for the agony racking her.
“Spi…rit? Or flesh? [Undead Form].”
As an advanced version of [Mind of Undeath], this spell could briefly grant its target various properties of the undead, both beneficial and baneful. This spell now took effect on Keno, but even so, it did not help with her pain.
“Ooog! Just, this… girl!”
Her mother bit her lip — bright red blood immediately spurted out — and grabbed Keno’s arm. Surely Keno would have moaned from the pain since her mother had used too much force. But the full-body agonies she was experiencing were too strong and Keno did not feel the pain in her arm at all.
Her mother walked as though she were dragging Keno — no, she was dragging Keno — over to the door. No. It would be wrong to say that she was walking.
Her mother was on all fours, desperately crawling forward.
“Uwaaaaahhhhh!”
She heard a howl of pain. The source of this deep sound that she had never heard before was Nastasha. It was completely different from her usual subdued and elegant voice. Nastasha was rolling on the ground and had reached the door. “Uuuooooohhh!”
She roared in a thick, coarse tone, then stood up to lean against the door, grabbing the handle and pushing it open slightly. However, after just that much, Nastasha whimpered quietly and collapsed.
She did not move after that, as though she had passed out from the pain, or as though she were dead.
Her mother advanced toward the tiny gap that Nastasha had sacrificed herself to make. The pain coursing through Keno was enough to make a man faint or even die, and it was so powerful it even stole the strength to scream or cry. However her mother was enduring that pain while still working to take her and run.
Although it had taken who knew how many minutes just to travel a few meters, her mother showed no signs of giving up.
The door opened slowly from the other side, and then stopped when it hit Nastasha’s head.
Her mother grabbed Keno’s hand and tightened.
Perhaps her mother believed that the culprit behind this incomprehensible deed was about to show themselves, but it was not to be.
The person who appeared before her was her father.
He looked like he had aged decades in an instant. He used his spear as a crutch as he moved in front of the two of them.
“My… king…”
“Ke — alright…?”
Her father looked like he was suffering too. Even so, he had managed to come all this way here because he was strong beyond the realms of man.
“Throughout… the city. Use… [Teleportation]…”
“Under… stood…”
Her father’s speech was broken as he withstood the tremendous pain. But Keno’s mother seemed to have fully understood her father’s meaning.
The desperation on her mother’s face turned to terror. It was not just because of the pain afflicting her. Higher-tier spells demanded greater focus. Naturally, a spellcaster who could cast said high-level spells would typically have developed similarly potent powers of concentration. It would not be a problem under normal circumstances. But there were times where they would need to focus even during special circumstances like this.
Perhaps it was because of the pain or because she needed to focus herself for a spell, but more sweat beaded on her mother’s forehead. And then— The spell did not go off.
“Ooogh. Not… failure. This is — interference!”
“What—”
In Keno’s blurred vision, she saw her father’s face shift into puzzlement as he forgot his pain. After that, the two of them moved over Keno as though they were trying to squash her flat.
It was heavy.
But Keno understood the feelings of the couple.
Keno could feel how strongly they loved her, and the tears flowing from her eyes were not because of pain.
But the agony did not change. It seemed to ignore their love, tormenting Keno with the same suffering it had from before.
It hurt so much that she lost her sense of time.
She could not even feel the weight of their bodies on her. She had lost all sensation in her body. All that remained was the ever-intensifying pain. She should have died.
Why—
Why would—
What—
Who—
Would do such a terrible thing—
Questions kept bubbling up in her mind, but like bubbles — they burst. At the same time, her consciousness also — just at that moment, Keno suddenly sensed herself making contact with something huge. It felt a lot like the moment when she cast a spell, but it was not the same.
That sensation was also impossible to describe in words. However, Keno could feel her father, her mother, Nastasha, and all the people working in the castle.
That was all.
And with that, Keno passed out.
By the time she came to, she did not know how much time had passed.
The pain from before had vanished, as though it had all been a lie. It even made her wonder if she had been dreaming.
Keno suddenly wondered about her parents.
She shifted her vision and instantly spotted them.
Her mother and father were there. Both of them were standing in the room.
“Mo—”
Keno only managed to utter half of the word. The other half stuck in her throat and refused to be said.
That was because she saw the strangeness of her father, her mother, and the two maids. But the terror welling up in her was promptly extinguished.
Keno bit back the deeply unpleasant shift in her mood and looked at the faces of the four of them.
It was not dementia. The four of them were wobbling as they moved, as though they had lost their senses. The way they did it strongly resembled a certain kind of undead being Keno had learned about during her monster lore classes.
Keno touched her face.
—It was cold.
She checked her pulse.
—There was none.
She suspected that she might have felt at the wrong place and shifted the finger on her wrist, but no matter where she checked, she could not find a pulse.
Panicked, Keno looked around the room and found a dressing mirror. She looked at herself. At a glance it seemed as though nothing had changed. Yet there was one area which was completely different.
It was her crimson eyes.
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