Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 22 - Chapter 7

The Silver Sword

Wednesday, November 24th

When he first heard the report from Granado, Vandarion could scarcely believe his ears. That was just how confident he’d been in his plan.

“Is this true, Granado?! They truly managed to contain the virus?!”

“There’s no doubt about it. Princess Theiamillis herself took control of the situation, and the virus was disposed of before it had a chance to spread.”

“To think she could see through all of that... Curses!”

Unable to contain himself, Vandarion slammed his hulking fist into his sofa’s armrest. The sofa was made of high quality wood and was rather well constructed, but even it creaked under the weight of his rage. That was just how forceful the blow was.

“Get to investigating where the information leak came from right away!”

“I have already ordered an investigation, my lord. However, Vandarion-sama, there is an even greater problem at hand.”

“What now?!”

Vandarion was in a foul mood, and his tone betrayed his aggression. But Granado had known Vandarion for a long time and was quite familiar with these outbursts. He knew that Vandarion’s anger was not directed at him, and so he calmly continued to operate the nearby control panel.

“Please take a look at this.”

Vandarion and Granado were currently in Vandarion’s private room. Since it was where he spent most of his personal time, it was richly decorated with art and lavish furniture. But since he and Granado frequently used it for secret talks as well, he’d had it outfitted with a computer capable of generating large holograms. At Granado’s instruction, said computer turned a specific video into a hologram for Vandarion to view.

“This is...”

“This is footage from a recent news broadcast. Intentionally staging journalists at the scene ended up backfiring. They reported the incident in real time.”

Appearing on the hologram was Princess Theiamillis and a knight in blue armor serving as her guardian. They were fighting several large, humanoid-type mobile weapons. Their teamwork was flawless and despite the fight being two against six, they gradually wore the mobile weapons down. It was inspiring—exactly the kind of story the people just ate up.

The journalists who’d actually captured the video were reporters from a news outlet that had been there on what they believed to be unrelated business. Really, Vandarion had called for them, falsely believing he knew what would happen that day. He was betting on them capturing Elfaria’s faction blowing up the trailer and spreading the virus. It would even look like they’d done it on purpose, and the story would seem especially credible coming from a neutral news outlet. It would hamstring Elfaria and help slant public opinion against her. That was the plan.

However, Vandarion’s multilayered trap ended up becoming a flattering feature on the young princess and her cohorts. All the footage the journalists captured showed them in an exemplary light. Moreover, the situation itself was suspicious. Rumors began circulating that the army had actually been planning on using the bioweapon. It seemed the journalists had even picked up bits and pieces of Yurika and Theia’s emergency broadcasts about the bomb.

In the end, the entire thing had blown up in Vandarion’s face. Not only had Elfaria’s faction been able to prevent the virus outbreak, they’d likely collected any damning evidence that was to be had from the bomb. Then there was the snafu with the news. Vandarion’s reputation would undoubtedly take a hit for this. In the worst case scenario, the military could lose its support entirely. The whole thing could be described as nothing other than a massive blunder.

My fear of that brat’s powergrab was what caused this in the first place... Damn it!

Vandarion was talking about Elexis. Knowing that Elexis had one up on him drove Vandarion to make a desperate play to try and get ahead. That folly would cost him.

“...Is this a warning that reckless pride will get the rug pulled out from under me?”

“The problem here was much more mundane than that. Pride is only a slight flaw comparatively.”

“So even if it wasn’t for my pride, the information still would have been leaked and the results would be the same? Is that what you’re saying? Mm... You certainly are calm, Granado.”

“In that sense, failing here has its advantages. There is still time to recover.”

Though public opinion might change, the Imperial Army still dramatically overwhelmed Elfaria’s faction in terms of manpower and resources. There was also the fact that Elfaria was still evading the law. So even if Vandarion had made a major blunder, it wasn’t fatal. Like Granado said, they could still recover from it.

“Then let us make a grand recovery indeed. We’ll stick to fair play for now.”

“I believe that is for the best. It should make it harder to catch us.”

Satisfied that Vandarion had regained his cool, Granado nodded. Granado was a stoic man, but he was clearly satisfied right now. He was displaying it on purpose. Sensing that, Vandarion put on a smile—something he rarely ever showed others.

“I’m glad to have you at my side, Granado.”

“I’m honored.”

“I’d like you to share some of that ice in your veins with me.”

“But I have none of the molten will you do, Vandarion-sama. Surely it was nothing other than destiny that brought our powers of fire and ice together.”

“Well said! If this is destiny, then I’m sure dominion of this country is in our hands!”

Vandarion had lost his head and sight of himself in a fit of rage. But he had a trusted comrade and old friend in Granado, which helped him regain his cool. Unless the bond between the two of them could be broken, Elfaria and Theia were still a long way from victory.

On the night following the virus incident, Yurika, Koutarou, and Theia were finally reunited with their friends at the base in the heart of Pardomshiha territory. The three of them arrived with captured imperial soldiers in tow, and it was only after hearing their story that the full extent of Vandarion’s trap became clear.

The soldiers in the transport convoy had been lied to. They were told they were moving large mobile weapons to the front lines, and the metallic box that contained the virus weapon was explained away as chemicals intended for maintenance. And with the lies they’d been fed, they believed that Elfaria was after the mobile weapons when they fell under attack. That was why they’d deployed the mechs to counterattack. It never occurred to them that they were pawns protecting the trailer.

The fake faction soldiers stationed in the woods were in a similar boat. They had been told Elfaria’s faction was transporting mobile weapons through the area. They’d been given instructions to disguise themselves and approach the trailer to destroy it. They didn’t know there was a bioweapon inside, and they didn’t know they’d be attacking their own comrades. If Theia and the others hadn’t shown up, they too would have been sacrificial pawns. They would have been framed as faction soldiers that intentionally spread the virus, but the virus would have seen them dead before they ever went to trial.

Fortunately, however, everyone had come out on the other side of Vandarion’s nasty plot alive. The captured imperial soldiers were grateful for it and readily shared their stories with Elfaria, who would record them all to use as ammunition in her showdown with Vandarion.

“Curse you, Vandarion! To think you’d use such a cruel plan... What do you take the lives of your allies and citizens for?! And you call yourself human?!”

Upon hearing the report on the situation, Theia was enraged. Her booming voice echoed through the command room, startling Koutarou and everyone else wide awake.

“Calm down, Theia! They say the first person to lose their head is the first to lose, period!”

“I won’t lose! As if I would ever lose! I would never hand over Forthorthe and her citizens to such a heartless man!”

Unlike Elfaria who was angry but remained calm, Theia was erupting with rage. She couldn’t stand the thought of Vandarion using people’s lives like pawns in some game. It was like he was actively trying to trample over everything the royal families had worked so hard to protect. And that was the final straw. Theia was beside herself. Not even the words of her dearest friends could reach her now.

“Theia-chan really is a princess, isn’t she? Did you feel the same way inside when things were happening underground, Kiriha-san?”

“My heart was far from calm when I saw my hometown turned into a battlefield and my people being killed... I understand how Theia-dono feels.”

“I do as well. Alaia-sama felt the same way when she made her stand, although she was a bit more composed...”

While the girls of room 106 sympathized with Theia, none of them could find the right words to console her. They were in a different country on a different planet. The historical, cultural, and socio-political differences reduced them all to mere platitudes. It was hard not being able to comfort their suffering friend.

“Clan-san, you sure are calm, aren’t you? Is that just the difference in your dispositions?”

While everyone was struggling to say something, Maki turned to the one person who might be able to get through to Theia. That was Clan, a fellow princess of Forthorthe. But she blushed furiously when Maki dragged her into the spotlight.

“Our personalities are different, yes. But in my case, just over a year ago, I was... Um... What I mean to say is that I feel more regret and shame than anger...”

“I understand how you feel. I feel the same way about Darkness Rainbow.”

In Clan’s case, she had once been on the wrong side of an evil scheme. That’s why upon seeing Vandarion’s evil deeds, while she did feel anger, she was primarily forced to take a long look at herself and her past actions. The reflection and regret outweighed her anger. In order to reach out to Theia now, she’d have to get over her own past. And as a former member of Darkness Rainbow, Maki could relate to that.

“Then it’s Satomi-kun’s time to shine.”

“What? Why me?”

“You’re the only one who’s gone through this twice. Both two thousand years ago and today, right?”

Shizuka believed that Koutarou was the only one whose words would truly resonate with Theia. Koutarou had saved Forthorthe with Alaia in the past, and now he was here to do it again with Theia. That had to mean something. Shizuka was sure of it. If Koutarou couldn’t get through to Theia, no one could.

“Landlord-san, I’m not that special. Besides, I’m an Earthling.”

“Shut up! Get going!”

“Wh-Whoa!”

Shizuka refused to listen to Koutarou’s rebuttal and forcibly pushed him forward. With a martial artist’s touch, she sent him stumbling forward just enough to put him right in front of Theia.

“You agree with me, don’t you, Koutarou?!”

“I, uh...”

When Koutarou appeared before her, Theia looked to him for camaraderie and agreement. Since he hadn’t been listening to her for the past few moments, however, he didn’t know how to respond. Interpreting this as indifference, Theia turned her wrath on him.

“What?! You don’t?!”

“Calm down first, okay?”

“If you’re a knight, why wouldn’t you swear to defeat Vandarion?! Don’t you have any pride?!

“Now, now...”

“You fool!”

Up until now, Theia’s anger had been directed at Vandarion who seemed remote and elusive. But Koutarou was right here. He made a much more convenient target. Koutarou didn’t know if this would do anything to help him get through to Theia, but at the very least, it would help calm her down some. The girls knew that as well, and so they gladly watched the beating commence.

When confronted with Theia’s intense rage, Koutarou at first tried to calm her down. But after a few minutes, he had lost his patience and they ended up butting heads in a shouting match. Things eventually turned physical, erupting into a full-on brawl.

Lord Pardomshiha went to break them up, but Ruth politely held him back. At first he didn’t understand why, but as he watched the brawl unfold, it started to make sense.

“Die! Just drop dead already, you damned disloyalist!”

“You crappy princess! I’m not gonna forgive you for this this time!”

“If you think you can do something about it, then I dare you to go ahead and try it!”

“I’ll beat you so bad that flat washboard of yours starts swelling!”

“Now you’ve said it, you hack knight! You didn’t even notice my chest has started to develop!”

Despite the intense screaming and wild fists flying, Theia and Koutarou actually meant each other no harm. And before long, Theia’s fury for Vandarion was single-mindedly refocused on Koutarou. This was perhaps her way of venting. Watching this all through adult eyes, Lord Pardomshiha reached a certain conclusion.

“So Princess Theiamillis is your rival in love, is she? Her Highness is a powerful opponent, Ruth.”

Theia and Koutarou were just playing. This was Theia’s way of engaging him. Of saying she needed him. That’s why Elfaria and the others left them be. And by Lord Pardomshiha’s estimation, it took a truly special knight indeed to get into a fistfight with a princess.

“Father... You’re wrong. Her Highness is no opponent for me.”

Ruth went a little wide-eyed after hearing what her father said, but she eventually blushed a little and shook her head.

“That’s awfully confident of you.”

Lord Pardomshiha took Ruth’s response as a sign of confidence, which impressed him. Ruth was always so sincere and humble. However, Ruth smiled wryly and shook her head again.

“It’s the opposite. If anything, I have no confidence whatsoever.”

“What?”

“In order to get him to turn our way, Her Highness and I have to work together.”

“Is he that hard to deal with? He certainly doesn’t look like it...”

Ruth indicated it was hard for her to catch Koutarou’s eye, but Lord Pardomshiha believed him to be a perfectly normal teenage boy. Lord Pardomshiha knew he’d be laughed at for being such a doting father if he said it out loud, but could hardly imagine that Koutarou would be able to ignore Ruth’s charm.

“He’s more serious than me, firmly keeps to reason, and doesn’t hesitate to correct the mistakes of others, even if they’re royalty... He really is a model knight. And because of that, he’s untouchable.”

Deep trust and love could be seen in Ruth’s eyes when she spoke of Koutarou. But Lord Pardomshiha believed what she said. He knew Ruth wouldn’t have fallen in love with Koutarou if he weren’t sincere and upright. It was only the untouchable part he took issue with.

“At his age, I imagine a little sex appeal is all it would take to break him...”

“Impossible.”

Ruth adamantly shook her head. If Koutarou’s heart could be moved so easily, Ruth never would’ve gotten involved with him. It was because he didn’t move at all that her feelings for him had grown so.

“After all... not even Princess Alaia could sway him.”

Not even the legendary Silver Princess could convince Koutarou to stray from his ways as a knight. And if Alaia couldn’t do it, Ruth was certain she couldn’t.

“Princess Alaia?! What are you say― Wait!”

An idea flitted through Lord Pardomshiha’s mind and he frantically looked over at Koutarou. From his waist hung two swords, a golden and a silver one. Both had distinct crests carved into them. And then there was his armor. That brilliant blue...

Lord Pardomshiha suddenly felt like he’d been hit by a car.

“Impossible! Ruth, are you serious?! If so, then that boy’s—”

Lord Pardomshiha was starting to understand what Ruth was saying, but it was quite a shock. It was far easier to doubt his daughter’s sanity than to believe what she was telling him.

“It’s just as you suspect.”

“Wh-What?! Then that boy... That man...”

“That man is Satomi Koutarou-sama. He wears beautiful blue armor, wields a dazzling silver sword, has defeated a giant dragon, and saved the country in the middle of a coup d’etat. He is the legendary man―”

In contrast to Lord Pardomshiha’s increasing confusion, Ruth was extremely calm and spoke with great certainty about the man who was currently in the middle of a fistfight with Theia.

“―who was once known as Layous Fatra Veltlion.”

Ruth was proud. She was finally able to introduce her father to the man she loved. And as she did, she held her head high and smiled brightly.

“Are you saying that he’s the Blue Knight?!”

To Lord Pardomshiha, Ruth’s confession was a jolt to the heart. He thought he might keel over on the spot.

With a private flight and Darkness Rainbow’s magic, escaping from Planet Alaia wasn’t all that difficult for Elexis and the girls. DKI wasn’t under much scrutiny from the military. If anything, they were quite willing to look the other way thanks to Elexis’s recent alliance with Vandarion. Needless to say, Elexis had no trouble making it back to DKI headquarters on Forthorthe by noon the next day.

“Watching news footage of yourself? Think you’re some star, do you?”

“You’ve been trying to pick a fight with me since yesterday, Maya. Did I do something to upset you?”

“Not really. I’m the same as always.”

First thing upon returning to his private room at HQ, Elexis turned on his computer. He was gathering information and had a particular interest in how the previous day’s events were being reported. There was a lot he wanted to know, like how the public was responding and if his cover had been blown. And he’d get that information any way he could, whether it was reading the news or buying it from informants.

“Just do as you please. You don’t have to mind me. I’ll do my own thing too.”

Maya sat down alone on the sofa in the corner and poured herself a glass of wine. Elexis knew she’d been in a sour mood since yesterday, though he didn’t know why. He was sure, however, that if he were the reason, Maya would’ve left by now. Surely it had to be something else. Satisfied by that much, Elexis figured he’d join her as soon as he was done with what he was doing.

“Oh, come now. I’d love to join you for a drink. Just give me a minute. There’s something that caught my interest.”

“Something caught your interest?”

Seemingly pleased by what Elexis said, or perhaps having her own curiosity piqued, Maya picked up the bottle and two glasses before walking over to him.

“This video.”

Elexis shifted the hologram he was watching so Maya could see it too and replayed it from the start. It was a news segment run by one of Forthorthe’s major networks.

“This is footage of the battle yesterday, isn’t it?”

Maya peered at the video out of the corner of her eye as she handed Elexis a glass and began pouring. The mellow smell of a sweet wine made from Forthorthian fruits filled the room.

“That’s right. But this here is the important part.”

Elexis took a sip from his glass with his right hand while using his left hand to operate the panel. As he did, messages appeared as if surrounding the hologram. Information networks in Forthorthe allowed people to comment directly on parts of the video that stood out.

“What’s this? The boy’s completely buried in comments.”

“That’s right. Everyone has their eyes on Koutarou-kun.”

When Elexis paused the video on Koutarou, the screen was so littered with comments that he could no longer be seen. Only glimpses of his blue armor appeared through the text.

“But I know how they feel. And I think everyone’s reminded of a certain name we hear all too often when talking about the history of our nation...”

Elexis tapped on the panel again to clear away the comments. The last of the video was Koutarou dueling the giant mobile weapons. It then cut back to the studio where newscasters explained the details of the fight. Since Elexis knew all that already, he cut off the video and began playing another.

“It just so happens that there are a lot of links from that video to this one.”

“Oh... this is the boy too. And in private? Where did this come from?”

“Based on the height of the camera and the surroundings, it seems a child recorded it.”

“What? And it was leaked for some reason?”

“Something like that, I’d wager. But just take a look. You can see his inhuman speed.”

A video, most likely filmed by a young child, by the title of “The Blue Knight Found!” had been uploaded to Forthorthe’s pangalactic network some days ago. It was a montage of a teenage boy doing some rather impressive things.

At first, the video had been written off. What the boy had been recorded doing was so blatantly superhuman that everyone suspected the footage was doctored. But after the battle on Alaia, the “Blue Knight Found!” video started getting a lot more attention. The boy in the blue armor had been recorded with multiple cameras at multiple angles doing some truly extraordinary things. It seemed, then, that the original video of him posted online might be the real thing after all.

“And this is what’s truly extraordinary, Maya.”

Unlike the footage from Alaia, the “Blue Knight Found!” video was taken from up close. You could see the boy’s expression and his movements much better. But that wasn’t all. A certain possession of his had caught people’s eye.

“The boy’s... sword?”

“That’s right. This silver sword... I hadn’t really thought about it that much before, but if it’s that sword, then things are going to get a little complicated.”

Thinking it over again, Elexis realized there had been plenty of hints. The blue armor, his relationship with the princess, a giant red dragon... Moreover, he’d known that the Folsarians were descendants of Grevanas and his magicians. But most telling of all was that silver sword hanging at his waist in the hologram. Elexis had experienced its frightening power firsthand.

Though most of it was circumstantial evidence, it all seemed to point to the true identity of the boy in question. It was just so farfetched that the rational Elexis had discredited the possibility.

“‘That sword’?”

“The holy sword Signaltin. The sword of kingship. The sacred treasure of Forthorthe said to have been lost two thousand years ago.”

That was the real question. Was Signaltin the silver sword hanging from the boy’s waist? After seeing Alaia’s crest carved on it, many people had started to think so. And Elexis was one of them.

“Could Koutarou-kun be a descendant of the Blue Knight, I wonder? Or perhaps...”

If that sword really was Signaltin, whether the boy in the blue armor was the Blue Knight himself or just a descendant... A major player in the fate of Forthorthe had arrived on the scene.