Chapter 3: Returning Home
In a city to the east of the Beltrum Kingdom, two women entered an inn just as the sun began to set. It was Celia and Aria.
Being the hour that it was, many of the nearby inns were fully occupied. They had to go around several places before they were fortunate enough to find a room.
“Thankfully we found a room,” Celia said once they entered, sighing tiredly as she sat down on the bed.
“Indeed. You’ve worked hard carrying us such a long distance.”
“You must be tired too.”
Aria shook her head. “All I did was hold on to you.”
“But I’m sure it wasn’t the most comfortable journey having to be carried—having to hold on—the whole way... We were moving pretty fast too.”
In the end, Aria had held on to Celia the entire way from Amande while they flew. Celia tilted her head, struggling to find the right words to describe how they moved, but—
“It was fine. Your body was perfectly comfortable to hold on to.” Aria giggled.
“J-Jeez! Don’t make fun of me!”
Celia ducked her head, blushing.
“I’m not making fun of you. That aside, we did travel at a considerable speed. What was even more impressive was how little air resistance there was...”
When an object traveled through the air, it collided with the air it was traveling against. This caused a force opposite to the direction of travel, also known as air resistance.
“It seems my wings of light create a wind barrier around the caster, neutralizing the force of air resistance. Although I’m not sure how much speed it can withstand...”
Celia herself was yet to fully understand how alis luminis worked herself. But Rio had said something about using a barrier to reduce air resistance when flying with spirit arts, so she figured this magic did something similar.
“Does that mean you can increase your speed even further?”
“Yes, although it depends on my magic essence. But the faster I try to go, the less efficient my essence consumption is, so it’s not optimal for traveling long distances.”
Rio was able to fly faster and for longer without taking breaks, but that was because Rio had a ridiculous amount of essence.
“I see... At this rate, we’ll be able to reach Cleia tomorrow morning. Will your magic essence last until then?”
“Yup. I have the essence crystals Liselotte gave me as well. I’ll rest up tonight, and whatever I don’t recover I’ll refill from the crystals.”
While it varied from person to person, it was generally said that thirty percent of one’s magic essence could be recovered by sleeping overnight. Recovery speed fell while awake, so the most effective way of recovering lost essence was to sleep well.
“Got it. If we run low on essence crystals, I can hunt monsters for their enchanted gems, so just say the word.”
“Thank you. But I’ll be okay for now. You rest up too...”
“Understood,” Aria said.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, while Celia and Aria were checking into the inn...
Elsewhere, at the capital of the Claire territory in the Beltrum Kingdom, Cleia. Sneaking around outside the count’s estate grounds were a few mercenaries.
“Hey, Arein. The others have assumed their posts,” Lucci whispered to Arein.
They were the members of the Heavenly Lions. At his waist was the black enchanted sword that had once belonged to Lucius Orgueil, their former leader. The sun had set, and their surroundings were almost dark.
“All right. Now we wait until Mr. Reiss arrives. We’re going to take shifts keeping watch! You go sleep first,” Arein ordered.
But Lucci’s gaze remained fixed on the count’s estate. “Say, Arein... Mr. Reiss’s goal is capturing the count’s wife, right? Why don’t we go in first and grab her, then?” He wondered why they couldn’t act before Reiss’s arrival.
“Dumbass. They think we left the fort and went to Galarc, remember? How are we going to explain things if we invade first and capture her? Are you going to hand her over and just tell them the truth?” Arein asked in exasperation.
While Charles wasn’t a concern, his father Duke Arbor was quite formidable. He was yet to trust Reiss completely either. If they acted out of line, it was possible they could completely lose his trust. Even if they managed to hand the count’s wife over with a plausible explanation, the situation put Reiss at risk of suspicion. That was why—
“In order to avoid complicating things, we have to refrain from making noticeable movements ourselves. It’s best we wait for Mr. Reiss to arrive and help Charles capture her himself,” Arein added.
In the first place, they had no way of knowing whether Celia was headed for the Claire territory at all. Even if she came, they didn’t know whether she intended on taking her parents away. She could arrive before Reiss, or she might not arrive at all.
If it was possible for the count’s wife to be captured without issue, there was no need or urgency for the mercenaries to act and complicate things. And if they were to act, then they had to do so in a way that could be reasonably explained.
“But if that woman comes... We have to act then, right?”
“That’s right. We’ve been ordered to erase her if she arrives on an enchanted ship before Mr. Reiss. In a way that doesn’t identify us, that is.”
“In other words, our mission is to finish off that tiny brat, but not capture the count’s wife, right?”
“Yeah. If we kill that woman, she won’t be able to take the count’s family anywhere.”
“I see... Well, as long as I get to fight her.” Lucci grinned eagerly. He was looking forward to a rematch with Celia after crossing swords at the fort.
“You know we have no reason to fight her head-on when she’s in her best condition. Why do you think we went to Galarc to bring reinforcements to surround the mansion with?”
“To ensure we’d be able to end her, no?”
“Well, you could put it that way... But the goal is to capture her before she can do anything. And the reason why we want to do that is...”
“So we can kill her before she casts any weird magic?” Lucci guessed, finishing Arein’s sentence with an unimpressed look.
“Exactly. So you do get it. I don’t know what kind of magic or sorcery she used at the fort, but she’s no stronger than your average girl on the streets without it. She’s no threat without her magic.”
That’s why they’d kill Celia before she could use her magic. It was as simple as that.
“Assassination is no fun,” Lucci muttered. It seemed he was only interested in defeating Celia in a direct confrontation.
“That part of you resembles the commander the most.”
Arein recalled the late Lucius and mumbled to himself.
“Ha. But the new commander is you. Keep it together, Commander Arein. I will move exactly as you order.”
“That’s what I should be saying. I may be in charge of the group, but you’ve got the commander’s enchanted sword. Don’t forget you’re the face of the squad now.”
The two glared at each other for a moment.
“Yeah... I won’t do anything unworthy of this sword.” Lucci touched the sword at his waist and nodded with a serious expression.
◇ ◇ ◇
The next day, Celia and Aria departed from the city early in the morning and arrived at the Claire territory capital of Cleia before noon. The two passed through the gate and entered the city. Like the last time Celia was here, there were unemployed citizens loitering the streets.
Celia only learned afterwards that Duke Arbor had pulled strings, forcing migrants to flock to the territories of the nobles of the princess’s faction. Among those migrants were those formerly employed in Duke Huguenot’s territory.
In order to prevent public order from falling apart, Roland was doing his best to prepare temporary employment for them, but the situation was rather harsh.
“...” Celia looked around at the city listlessly and sighed. There was nothing she could do.
“Does the state of the city bother you?” Aria asked.
“Huh...? Yeah, I last came here several months ago, but I wasn’t able to look around the city at the time...”
The last time she came here had been with Rio. When she recalled that moment, sadness filled Celia’s eyes.
“In that case, perhaps we could secretly look around before we leave. We traveled so fast, there was barely a chance to enjoy the journey. Besides...”
“Besides?”
“I’d also like a proper break from time to time. Especially if it’s with a trusted friend.”
Out of consideration for her old friend, Aria offered those words with a sigh.
“I see... Then let’s take our time on the way back. As thank you for keeping me company on my business, I’ll keep you company on your break.” Celia smiled happily.
“In that case, let’s get your business over with. It’d be tragic if Duke Arbor’s forces made a move before us.”
“You’re right. Let’s go.” Celia pulled herself together and nodded.
“But before that... There’s a chance Duke Arbor’s forces are already here, so I have an idea.”
“What do you mean?”
The two held a quick strategy meeting before heading for the count’s estate.
◇ ◇ ◇
Later, at the Claire estate...
Hidden in a corner of the grounds, Arein and Lucci monitored the path leading from the front gate for every visitor approaching the estate.
“Hey.” The first one who spotted her was Arein.
“Hey now, who’s that babe?” Lucci’s eyes widened as he saw the approaching visitor.
A young blonde-haired woman dressed in an adventurer-like outfit was walking down the path. She had a slender and toned body, as though she had trained quite a bit, but her glamorous figure was still well padded in all the right places.
Above all, what was most remarkable about her was her shapely, sculpture-like face. There was no doubt she was beautiful enough to turn the heads of every man and woman she passed in town, making them stop and stare in awe.
Now, the identity of this woman was naturally Celia’s old friend, Aria... But Lucci was completely distracted by her appearance.
“Dumbass. Look at her waist,” Arein warned him.
“Yeah, it’s a nice waist. I’d love to put my hands around it.”
“Not that. It’s a sword—and a rather sharp one, at that.”
“Huh? Oh, is that an enchanted sword?”
Lucci finally directed his gaze to the sword at Aria’s waist.
“She isn’t just a visitor, she must be some noble’s knight. I think I’ve seen her before somewhere...” Arein muttered, glaring at Aria with a sense of déjà vu.
“Shall I go and find out for you?” Lucci suggested, ready to go and hit on her.
“Stop messing around.”
“Tch. It’s not like there are any guards around.” Lucci eyed her regretfully. That was how attractive a woman she was.
“The other guards are watching other locations.”
During that time, Aria marched through the gate and onto the estate grounds. That seemed to make Lucci finally give up.
“Nothing we can do, I guess...” He sighed.
Ten more minutes passed after that without any particular movement from the patrolling guards or servants. But then a new person came down the path, drawing the attention of the mercenaries.
“Tch, this one’s got a hood on.”
Lucci clicked his tongue. As he described, the new visitor was wearing a hood pulled down over their face. However—
“That height is suspicious...” Arein mumbled.
“True. That’s around the same height as that brat.” Lucci glared harshly.
“They’re armed as well. It doesn’t look like a cheap weapon, but it doesn’t seem well used either.”
There was over seventy meters between Arein and Celia, but he observed her carefully.
“Hmm. Do you think that brat bought a new sword before returning home?”
“It’s possible.”
“Which means this is the one we’re after, right? What do we do first? Will it be a problem if she enters the mansion? Shall we kill her first?”
“...” Arein didn’t answer Lucci immediately. The reason was because if the hooded figure wasn’t Celia, they’d have to deal with the trouble of disposing of an extra corpse. There was also the risk of being spotted by the patrolling guards.
However, like Lucci said, it would be just as troublesome if Celia entered the mansion. This was the only opportunity they had to ambush her from an advantageous position. Sure enough—
“We have no other choice. Let’s do it. I’ll attack with magic from here. You close in on them, finish them off, then confirm their identity and come back. If it isn’t that woman, bring the corpse back here.” Arein decided.
“Got it.”
“All right, go! Photon Projectilis.” With that order, Arein held his hand up at Celia and recited the spell.
“Got it.”
Lucci had already drawn Lucius’s enchanted sword before he replied, enhancing his physical body. He ran towards the hooded figure—at this point, he was sixty meters from Celia. With his body enhanced by the enchanted sword, he could close such a distance in a mere two or three seconds.
“Ugh...!”
“Huh?”
Arein, who had been ready to fire the magic circle in his hand, let out a sudden cry. Sensing something was wrong, Lucci immediately whirled around.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Aria stood there with her enchanted sword in hand, having just rendered Arein unconscious.
◇ ◇ ◇
As Lucci and Arein had guessed, the hooded figure had been Celia; she was walking down the path to her family’s mansion. The two were plotting to attack her from a mere sixty to seventy meters away.
It’s quiet...
There was no way for Celia to know that. Aria had ordered her to approach the mansion as naturally as possible, so she focused on moving her feet down the path.
Incidentally, this was the strategy the two came up with before heading for the mansion: because it was possible Duke Arbor’s forces were already planted at the estate, Aria would approach first to check for any enemies hidden on the grounds. After entering the mansion and giving Celia’s family a brief explanation of the situation, Aria would slip out the back and search the area. Celia would then approach the mansion from the front gate and lure out any hidden attackers. That way, Aria would be able to ambush any lurking enemies from behind and meet up with Celia before returning to the mansion. This was their plan.
Over ten minutes had passed since Aria entered the mansion. Celia’s arrival had been announced to the gatekeeper, so she was shown straight through the gate.
She approached the mansion, when she spotted her parents looking out the front entrance of the mansion. Celia held back the urge to run up to them. If there really was someone watching her, running towards the mansion could have an adverse effect. That’s why she feigned composure as she approached the entrance, but when she eventually stepped inside—
“Father! Mother!” Celia said emotionally as she reunited with her parents. She used all of her tiny body to hug both her parents at the same time.
“Celia!” Her father, Roland, pulled her close and patted her on the back gently.
“Celia, oh Celia. My darling daughter.” A silver-haired woman of small stature hugged Celia lovingly. She didn’t look a day over her twenties, but her actual age was over forty. Her name was Monica Claire, and she was Celia’s mother. It seemed like Celia’s young appearance was inherited from her mother.
At any rate, Monica hadn’t been in attendance at Celia’s wedding to Charles, and she hadn’t been able to meet Celia the last time she sneaked into the basement with Rio. It had been a long time since Celia last saw her mother.
“Mother...” Celia clung tightly to her mother, feeling the loneliness from being separated until now. Incidentally, there was a reason why they hadn’t met until now. It had to do with the rare congenital disorder that appeared within the Claire family bloodline.
In short, some people were born with unstable constitutions.
When they were healthy, they could run and jump perfectly fine. As long as they took care of themselves, their life spans were unaffected, and they could live perfectly normal lives.
But there were times where they would fall ill without warning and be forced to rest. While there was no risk to their lives if they stayed on bed rest, moving around too much in this weakened state could potentially kill them. Their conditions could get so severe, they would be unable to walk more than a few meters.
The duration of this condition varied from person to person, but they were forced to live in bed the entire time. And there was no telling when the next bout of this disorder would be—it could be weeks, months, or even years.
That was why most people afflicted by this disorder never left the city they were born in. Monica had never left Cleia in her life either—Roland did everything in his power to spend time at home with her over his secondary residence in the capital.
Incidentally, this disorder was said to reveal its symptoms in the affected within a few years of birth. In other words, those who showed no symptoms in their childhood were spared from this disorder.
Fortunately, Celia was born without this disorder, but Celia’s mother was born with it.
Digressing further, it was often a risk for women of the Claire bloodline afflicted with this disorder to give birth. If their condition deteriorated during the pregnancy, they could potentially lose their life. That’s why Roland and Monica had once disputed heavily over whether to make an heir together. It was only after many trials and tribulations that their daughter Celia had been born.
“I’m sorry it’s been so long... If you’re here now, does that mean you’re okay now?” Celia asked, peering at her mother’s face worriedly.
“Yes. The last time you were in the basement of the mansion, I was on bed rest. I recovered two months ago, but the six months of lying down took a toll on my muscles, so I’m not fully back to normal yet.”
Monica didn’t seem to consider her body’s disorder unfortunate at all. She giggled cutely as she answered. There was a charm to her that was unthinkable for someone over forty years old. Even a teenage boy could fall for her.
“I see...”
“Don’t make that face. Nothing will happen to me as long as I rest.”
Monica touched Celia’s cheek gently.
“I’ve wanted the three of us to hug together again. Heh.”
Roland gathered his wife and daughter in his arms.
“It’s suffocating. You—step back a little.” Monica gently let him down, making him step back.
“Ah, okay...” Roland nodded dejectedly and loosened his hold on them.
“...” Feeling like she had finally returned home, Celia smiled happily. However...
“U-Umm, there’s something I need to discuss with you...”
Unfortunately, she couldn’t continue to enjoy her family time like this forever. After being attacked at the fortress, Celia feared that Duke Arbor would make a move on Roland and Monica next. She had hurried here in order to inform them all about it.
“That’s right... Aria explained things briefly. She went to check on the grounds as planned, but was everything okay on your end, Celia?”
Roland took another step back and pulled himself together, showing worry for Celia.
“Yes, as you can see. But what’s more important right now is the two of you. Duke Arbor may come for you. I came here today to tell you that.” Celia looked between her parents’ faces from her mother’s arms.
“Hmm...” Roland hummed in thought. It was at that moment that a loud explosion could be heard outside the mansion.
◇ ◇ ◇
A short while ago, outside where Aria and Lucci were facing each other.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Aria asked Lucci. He had whipped around after she hit Arein on the back of the head with her sword hilt and knocked him out.
“Well, well... If it isn’t the babe who went into the mansion just now.”
Despite being on the receiving end of a surprise attack, Lucci was extremely composed. In fact, he even had a relaxed grin on his face. This was because he knew from all his experience that panicking was unhelpful in unexpected situations.
“Answer my question.”
“Say, want to have a good time with me?”
Aria shook her head in annoyance. “This conversation is going nowhere.”
“Hey now, don’t say that. I’m glad to be talking to you, you know?” Lucci said, carefully assuming a combat-ready position.
His opponent was someone capable of surprising them and knocking out Arein. There was no way he would let his guard down.
Judging from his features, this is the enchanted sword user from the Heavenly Lions that Celia mentioned. He looks like a thug, but he’s apparently quite skilled. And his sword’s ability is...
Even without crossing swords with Lucci, Aria could tell who he was from his behavior. She began walking in a circle around Lucci while keeping a close eye on his enchanted sword.
There’s no helping it. At worst, an unconscious man may have to be the only prisoner I can capture.
She glanced at the unconscious Arein and made a decision.
“The fact you left me alone means you prefer me over him, right?” Lucci asked, also glancing at Arein before looking at Aria.
“...” Aria sighed heavily, too annoyed to reply.
She had aimed for Arein first because he had a magic attack aimed at Celia. She could see that Lucci was equipped with a troublesome enchanted sword, so while she had wanted to take him out first, she prioritized Celia’s safety.
“I’m going to assume your silence is affirmation.” Lucci grinned smugly.
“I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding, but I suggest you surrender immediately if you do not wish to die. Unless you’re claiming to be related to the Claire house—in which case I ask that you present proof.”
The fact they were hiding in the bushes and attacking people passing by was more than enough proof they were suspicious, but she had to go through the right process.
“I should be asking you that. Who are you to Count Claire? I’ve never heard of him having such a skilled female knight,” Lucci asked in return.
“I will assume your avoidance of the question means you are unrelated. I don’t know which country hired you mercenaries, but I will use force if you refuse.”
“Really, now.”
Aria insinuated that she was aware of Lucci’s background. Lucci’s gaze grew sharper at that, and the two took on positions fully prepared for battle.
They both moved at the same time.
Each side possessed their own enchanted sword. Their physical bodies were enhanced to a similar level. The moment they were within range of each other, they both swung their swords at the same time.
The screech of metal clashing against metal repeatedly echoed through the air. The two swords clashed multiple times in the span of one or two seconds.
Unable to reach a resolution in a single round, the two stepped back and caught their breaths before closing in for a second round.
“Whew. You really are a fine woman! How about we go for a round in bed as well?” Lucci whistled in admiration and praised Aria.
“I refuse.”
Aria paid Lucci’s flirting no mind and charged forward.
“Whoa!”
Lucci deftly handled Aria’s attack and proceeded to aim a counterattack at her in return. But Aria immediately distanced herself again. Without pausing to rest, she swiftly ran in an arc around Lucci.
Tch, she sure moves around a lot. In fact...
Lucci clicked his tongue, sensing something was off. It felt like Aria was overly aware of his counterattacks. She never stopped moving, even in situations where it would normally be safe to do so.
Lucci was able to use his enchanted sword to cut through space, teleporting his blade to a point within his field of view. It was a sure-kill move against anyone who was unaware of the sword’s ability. But it was still difficult for Lucci to aim precisely against a moving target, so he was unable to use that ability against Aria when she moved.
“You already know what my sword’s ability is, don’t you?” he guessed after he’d watched her move for a while.
“...” Aria neither confirmed nor denied it. But Lucci was convinced that she knew and narrowed his eyes warily.
There aren’t many who know the ability of this sword...
It hadn’t been long since Lucci learned to use the sword. It was possible she had seen Lucius use the sword before, but it was hard to imagine Lucius would have shown the sword’s abilities to anyone. Which meant...
“You heard about it from Celia Claire, didn’t you? So that hooded figure who went inside just now was her after all...”
Lucci’s focus turned to the mansion for a brief moment. At that, Aria took the chance to approach him. She swung her sword and overwhelmed him, forcing him backwards.
“Should you be looking away right now?”
“Ugh...!” Lucci was knocked off balance. While he managed to keep a hold of the hilt, the sword was blown back so far, he was leaning backwards.
Aria proceeded to close in on him, swinging again.
“Huh?!” She suddenly leaped aside as though she had noticed something. At almost the same moment, darkness spread on the ground one step away from Lucci, the blade of his enchanted sword emerging upwards. If Aria had been one step closer to him, the blade would have gone through her foot. Upon closer inspection, the blade of Lucci’s sword was covered in darkness, and its length was shorter than before.
“Seriously? You evaded that?” Lucci grinned. Although his attack had missed, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
So he showed an opening and feigned weakness on purpose. Being able to use traps like this is rather annoying...
Aria looked down at the enchanted sword reaching out of the ground in annoyance. He had made her lower her guard before activating the sword’s ability and attacking from an unexpected position. It wasn’t so easy to avoid a move like that. However...
If I keep an eye on his sword, I can tell when the ability is activated. There has to be some process to casting the ability and attacking too...
She could see a chance of victory. She had been able to see his ability with her own eyes, so there was no need to observe him any further. With that, Aria prepared her next attack.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
Three hooded men appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Aria.
He had more men after all... Aria sighed in annoyance.
After explaining the situation to Roland and Monica, Aria’s first priority once she left the mansion was Celia’s safety. She had headed straight for the entrance of the grounds, where she discovered Lucci and Arein hidden in the trees to the side, leading to their current situation.
“As you can see, I’m being hit on by a babe. But it seems she’s a bit of a wild one, and our flirting got a little out of hand.”
Lucci looked over at Arein, who was still unconscious, and explained the situation to his fellow mercenaries.
“You need to end this woman quickly. The sound of your swords reached the garden. Any longer and the guards will come.”
“Tch, guess I have no choice.”
The four mercenaries decided to take out Aria together.
“Magicae Displodo!” Aria recited in a quiet voice, aiming her hand in the air. A magic circle appeared.
“Wha...!” The mercenaries hurried to stop her, but Aria leaped away from them and onto the branch of a nearby tree. She then fired the magic cannon into the air. A deafening boom could be heard throughout the estate.
Her ability to remain calm in this situation and rapidly cast a magic spell without any hesitation was remarkable.
“You...” The mercenaries glared up at Aria angrily.
“I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t want the guards to find you, so I called them over,” Aria said simply. With this, the guards of the estate would gather within the next few minutes.
“Tch.”
Lucci swung his sword, warping his blade to slash at Aria while he remained on the ground. But Aria leaped to another branch before jumping down to the ground. The branch Lucci slashed fell to the ground behind her.
“Surround her!”
The mercenaries charged towards where Aria landed. They wanted to finish her off before the guards arrived to prevent her from spreading any information.
The members of the Heavenly Lions were all equipped with mass-produced enchanted swords. They weren’t unique pieces like Aria and Lucci’s swords and could only enhance their physical bodies, but that enhancement was far stronger than using magic to enchant their physical abilities. The mercenaries drew near faster than expected.
They’re fast!
Aria’s eyes widened faintly. But in contrast to her surprise, her body moved calmly. She deflected the swords of the three mercenaries with precision, then backed away to make sure they couldn’t get behind her.
“Th-This woman...!” Even though three men were attacking her at once, they couldn’t land a hit on her. Sensing Aria’s strength, panic started to spread across the men’s faces.
“Ha ha! Strong, isn’t she?!” Lucci was the only one who remained back, laughing happily.
“This is no laughing matter!”
“We have to silence her quickly!”
They had the advantage in numbers. With enough time, they should be able to take her out. But they didn’t have time to waste in a situation like this.
However, Aria was in a similarly pressured position.
Each one of them has extremely high skill. So this is the rumored Heavenly Lions. This might be a bit of a problem...
If she had been facing three knights that had their physical abilities enchanted with magic, she would have had no issue suppressing them.
But against three veteran warriors with bodies enhanced through enchanted swords, that was no longer the case. Furthermore, the most dangerous man was waiting behind them, and she had to spend some of her attention watching how he moved. Considering the ability of his enchanted sword, she could be attacked from anywhere. Under such unfavorable conditions, merely being able to block all their attacks was a feat.
“Hey, Lucci! You need to fight too!” one mercenary yelled in anger.
“Don’t panic. There’s an order to this. Once you three are rejected, it’ll be my turn to win her heart!” Lucci replied, thrusting his enchanted sword forward. His sword moved through empty space, but he wasn’t trying to stab the air.
The tip of his sword was swallowed in darkness, and a similar darkness appeared behind where Aria was retreating. The blade flew out from that darkness. The three mercenaries had made it easier for him to aim by directing where Aria could move. It was improvised teamwork, but it had gone well.
“Oh!”
Aria had naturally expected Lucci to attack from behind, so she’d noticed the blade early on. However, although she had noticed it, she was unable to react.
This was because of the three men surrounding her from the front, left, and right. If she tried to turn around and deflect the sword behind her, they would attack. But if she continued facing them at this rate, Lucci’s enchanted sword would stab her.
The teamwork of the mercenaries created a situation where she couldn’t avoid the attack even though she knew it was coming. There was only one thing she could do: avoid the sword behind her without looking.
Merely avoiding it could create more openings for further attacks, but this was her only choice to get out of this dilemma without injury. Moreover, her current stance was too unstable for her to jump. She wouldn’t be able to put much distance between them, and she’d be targeted the moment she landed.
Thus, Aria twisted her body with her feet on the ground.
“That’s what I thought!” Lucci had been waiting for the moment she tried to evade him. He shifted the enchanted sword to swing in the direction she was evading.
“Guh...” With no other choice, Aria braced herself for impact. She wouldn’t be able to block other attacks if she blocked this one, but there was no other option for her.
“Aria!” a girl’s voice shouted; it was an extremely familiar voice to Aria. In the next instant, a fifth sword that didn’t belong to the mercenaries appeared in Aria’s field of view. That sword swung upwards from below, deflecting Lucci’s enchanted sword just before it reached Aria’s body. Metal clashed against metal.
Lucci’s enchanted sword flew in an unexpected direction, slashing through the air before disappearing into the darkness and returning to its original position.
Sure enough, the one who had repelled Lucci’s blade was Celia. Celia flipped her sword after her swing and brought the blade back down on the other three mercenaries.
“Whoa!”
The elegant swordsmanship made the three men back away from Aria.
“I apologize for arriving late,” Celia said, lining up beside Aria.
“Not at all. Thank you for that. But I’m shocked—when did you learn that kind of swordcraft?” Aria asked in surprise. Celia’s movements just now were impressive even to a swordmaster like Aria. Although they were in the middle of battle, she couldn’t help herself from asking about it. When she shot Celia a sidelong glance, she could tell there was a keen light in her eye that wasn’t there before. However...
“I’m actually cheating a little. I’ll explain it to you later,” Celia said with a wry smile. She was still her usual self.
“Please do. I would love to hear it. But for now, I assume I can entrust my back to you?” Aria asked with a smile.
It was strange. There was nothing logical about it. As far as Aria knew, Celia was a sorcerer that should be protected in this situation, yet she felt assured enough to leave her to fight.
Celia nodded firmly. “Of course.”
Thus, the battle changed from four on one to four on two. Aria and Celia still had the disadvantage in numbers, but there was a vast difference between taking four people on at once compared to taking on two people each. With a reliable partner by her side, she had nothing else to worry about.
Celia and Aria watched the mercenaries carefully.
“Hmph. Well. Guess this is it, huh? We’re retreating.”
With a glance at the unconscious Arein, Lucci clicked his tongue and ordered a retreat.
“What about the plan...?” one of the men asked him.
“The plan failed. We might have a chance of winning, but dragging out the fight and getting one of us captured would be the worst-case scenario,” Lucci explained.
Although Reiss would probably be able to silence us anyway... he thought with a bitter frown.
He had a fairly certain hunch that Reiss had used a magic artifact to silence their comrades that were captured during the attack on Rio’s mansion in the Galarc Castle. Among those captured was Ven, a man he had worked with for many years now.
Those who failed their mission would be silenced. As mercenaries, this was the line of work they were in—there was nothing they could complain about. But that didn’t mean they were willing to lose their comrades.
“Once we retrieve him, we’re getting out of here.”
Lucci shot another distracted glance at Arein and urged his comrades to hurry. But neither Celia nor Aria was about to let them leave so easily.
“You seem to think you’re going to leave like this. Did you think we would allow that?” Aria asked coldly.
“Yeah, I do.” Lucci stabbed his enchanted sword in the ground. Darkness immediately spread everywhere.
“Wha...”
Aria and Celia watched the area around them cautiously. But Lucci hadn’t activated his enchanted sword to harm them.
Darkness spread around where Arein laid on the ground. The darkness swallowed him like a swamp, and his body reappeared on the ground by the sword.
“Hey, take care of him,” Lucci ordered one of the men. A mercenary picked up Arein’s body and threw him over his shoulder.
“Aria, let’s let them leave,” Celia whispered to Aria.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. We want to avoid any unnecessary fighting as well. If they’re here, then that confirms Duke Arbor is after mother and father. It won’t be strange for the main army to show up soon. These men might even be a distraction for them...”
It was possible another squad could be marching upon them right at this moment, in order to target Roland and Monica. That’s why Celia decided it wouldn’t be wise to draw out the battle. Oddly enough, her reason for withdrawing was the same as Lucci’s—they both had people they wished to protect.
“Very well...” Aria agreed without sheathing her sword. Meanwhile, the mercenaries slowly and carefully backed away. The one carrying Arein went first, flanked by two others for protection.
“Hmph.”
Lucci guarded them from the rear, holding his enchanted sword ready to use at a moment’s notice. But Celia and Aria showed no sign of following them, so they quickly made their departure.
◇ ◇ ◇
Several hours later, before noon, a number of Beltrum’s enchanted airships landed on the lake beside Cleia, the capital of the Claire territory.
Led by Charles, the Beltrum army’s knights and soldiers marched straight into the city and made their way to the count’s estate. They entered the estate without any warning and rudely threw open the front door of the mansion.
“Count Claire! Count Claire!” Charles yelled from the entrance.
“What’s all this commotion about?” Count Roland Claire appeared before them. He took one glance at Charles, the armed knights, and Reiss and Renji behind them.
“Well this is a rather showy gathering.” Roland sighed with a frown.
“Where is your wife?” Charles demanded, getting straight to the matter at hand without any greeting. It was an extremely rude act towards any noble, be it a lower noble or someone as high ranked as Count Claire. One would have no right to complain if they were told to leave. However, there weren’t many nobles who could stand up to Charles.
Roland paused. “Why do you ask?” he asked after a moment.
This seemed to convince Charles that Roland was worried for his wife. “I’ve heard that your wife is a skilled healer. There’s an important figure in need of emergency treatment. Your wife is being summoned to the capital to treat them,” he said in a pleasant tone.
Roland’s expression stiffened. “I thought you were aware that my wife has been in poor health since birth?”
“Of course I am aware. But we will be sending her by airship. I believe you said her ailment wasn’t a life-threatening disease, merely one that makes her feel unwell, no? This is an emergency; she can endure a little discomfort,” Charles declared brazenly. His insensitive words showed no understanding of the congenital disorder Monica was afflicted with.
“Even the shaking of the ship is too much for her when her condition is poor,” Roland said calmly, his brow furrowed.
“Are you saying she’s in poor condition right now?”
“No, but her condition could worsen in transit. Couldn’t you bring them to the mansion?”
“Impossible. The patient is even weaker than that. Your wife absolutely has to be the one to go to the capital.”
“We’re getting nowhere like this...”
“No, this decision is final. If you refuse...” Charles implicitly threatened Roland with forcefully seizing his wife if he refused to hand her over.
“I see. In that case, I have no choice.” Roland backed down reluctantly.
“Hmph.” Charles smirked triumphantly. But for someone so well known for being a devoted husband, Roland had accepted the situation rather easily.
If someone familiar with Roland’s temperament were here right now, they would probably find his reaction odd. Normally, Roland would have raged and revolted against Charles the moment he declared he was bringing Monica to the capital. Sure enough...
“However, I’m afraid I am unable to hand her over to you,” Roland said with a shrug.
“You’re refusing after all? We are prepared to use force to some degree...”
“You can use force, but my wife isn’t at home right now.”
Charles tilted his head, unable to comprehend what he said. “What...?”
“It seems my wife finally got fed up with me. She stormed out of the mansion today, saying she was going to find our daughter herself.” Roland sighed heavily.
“Wha... That can’t be! Find her! Search the harbor as well. Hurry!”
He’d probably had a bad feeling—or rather, he’d expected it. Charles gave the knights under his command the order to search the estate, but they were unable to find Monica anywhere, and Charles’s angry roars echoed throughout the mansion.
Please look after your mother, Celia.
Roland walked outside the door by himself and stared up at the sky in the direction of the Galarc Kingdom in the east.
◇ ◇ ◇
In the skies to the east of the Beltrum Kingdom, a single enchanted airship belonging to Count Claire was flying. The ship seemed to be in a hurry, as it flew towards the Galarc Kingdom far faster than normal, without any concern for magic essence consumption.
In the special guest room of the ship, Monica Claire was seated on the bed. Beside her was an attendant that had accompanied her from the mansion.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Monica said.
“It’s me, mother.” Celia entered. Aria was behind her.
“Welcome.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Couldn’t be better,” Monica replied with a soft smile.
“We’ll arrive in Amande this evening.”
It had taken Celia and Aria an overnight trip to reach Cleia as they had departed in the afternoon, but this time, they had fortunately left Cleia in the morning. If they hurried along like this, they would arrive on the same day.
“I can’t wait. Your father’s always been such an overprotective worrywart, I’ve never left the city even once.”
It was her first time leaving the city since she was born. She probably wasn’t lying about looking forward to it.
“Umm, about father...”
“It’s fine.”
When Celia brought up her father, who had remained in Cleia by himself, Monica shook her head with a fleeting smile.
“It’ll be okay,” she stared out the window and said, as though to convince herself. It was clear she was thinking of her husband.
As Monica turned her face to stare into the distance, a ray of light ran down her face. It almost looked like a droplet falling from her eye.
◇ ◇ ◇
Earlier in the day, after Celia and Aria had repelled the mercenaries and returned to the mansion.
“My dear Celia. Can you take your mother to the Galarc Castle with you?” Roland suddenly asked.
“What about you, father?”
“I will remain here. I may leave the city for work, but I cannot abandon this land and the people that His Majesty entrusted to me. Besides, if I go to Galarc as well, I will no longer be of use to King Philip and Princess Christina,” Roland said, giving his reasons for staying in Beltrum. This was the duty of a noble.
“...”
It was why Celia couldn’t ask him to abandon his duty and come with her. However, it was clear from her expression that she was worried.
“It’ll be okay. Don’t make that face, Celia. Duke Arbor still has a use for me right now. He will have no choice but to use me for a while, in fact.”
That’s why there was no need to worry about anything happening to him, Roland explained in a calm tone.
“But your mother is a different matter. There’s no telling when and how Duke Arbor may make a move on her. I don’t have the power to stand up to them right now. If they grab her while I’m away from Cleia, I don’t know what I would do...”
The fact that Lucci and his men had been hiding on the grounds was confirmation that Duke Arbor was willing to make a move. If Monica remained in Cleia like this, Roland would be unable to protect her if he got desperate enough to act.
“That’s why I’d like you to take her somewhere safe. I can only pray that her condition doesn’t worsen while traveling... Please take care of her, Celia.”
He had many apprehensions towards sending her outside the city. But Roland entrusted Monica to Celia, believing it was better than her remaining in the mansion.
“Yes. Leave it to me, father.” Celia nodded quietly.
“You too, Monica. Please watch over Celia,” Roland said to Monica.
“Of course.”
“I’m sure you feel uneasy about your first trip outside, but...”
“I’ll be fine. You’re just too overprotective...”
The two exchanged words while gazing at each other.
“But it’s because you’ve protected me all this time. Because you’ve protected me until now, I’ve been able to live a happy, peaceful life. Thank you for everything. I love you,” Monica said to Roland.
“Why so formal all of a sudden?”
“My husband is staying behind for the sake of his family. It’s only right to say some words of appreciation and love. No... I can’t say enough.”
“Did you fall in love with me again?”
“I do every day.” Monica nodded, reaching to stroke Roland’s cheek lovingly. She then wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
“Ha ha.” Roland grinned shyly. The two continued to embrace each other for some time.
“Take care of yourself.” Monica bid her husband farewell.
These were troubling times. Roland was in the midst of a power struggle. There was no knowing when they would meet again, or if they would ever meet again. It could even be Monica who met an untimely end first with her weak constitution.
Forgive me for being a burden of a wife.
Monica said this through her expression, but not her words. She knew that Roland didn’t consider her a burden by any means. Just like how Roland fulfilled his duty as a noble without any objection, Monica understood that her duty as his wife was to flee to safety. Which was why she would do just that.
“I will. Take this chance to enjoy your time outside. Have a safe trip, my dear Monica.”
Thus, the Claire husband and wife bade their farewells.
◇ ◇ ◇
Later, back on the enchanted airship headed for Amande...
“Then, I will be going now, mother. Please call me if you need anything.”
Celia and Aria left Monica’s airship suite and made their way through the ship’s corridor.
“...”
Seemingly distracted by something, Celia let out a sigh; it was almost as though she was releasing an emotion that couldn’t be described in words. While she wasn’t completely lost in her own world, she certainly seemed to have her mind on something.
“If you’d like to talk to someone, I’m all ears. It can be a complaint, a concern, anything.” Aria shot a sidelong look at Celia’s face and offered to be a conversation partner.
“Huh...? Oh, thank you.” Celia snapped back to her senses.
“I’m not upset about anything. I believe in my father,” she explained.
“I know,” Aria acknowledged frankly.
“It’s just...”
“It’s just?”
“Yeah... This feeling isn’t a complaint or a concern. It probably isn’t appropriate to be thinking this at a time like this... But I thought it was kind of nice. Watching mother and father, that is.”
“They’re wonderful parents. I also admire them greatly,” Aria agreed with a smile.
“Right, admiration. I felt admiration. The way they were able to understand each other beyond words, the way they’re connected even when they’re apart—it made me think this is what a married couple should be.”
“I see... So you felt the desire to get married?” Aria asked flatly.
“Who knows...? I used to be against the thought of marriage, but...” Celia was slightly taken aback, but the thought of marriage resonated oddly comfortably in her heart. She didn’t get worked up and deny it outright.
“...”
Instead, she blushed belatedly like there was someone of the opposite sex she’d immediately thought of.
“Well, color me surprised. It seems like you have someone in mind?” Aria’s eyes widened. She couldn’t think of anyone around Celia whom she seemed to be interested in.
“Oh, come on, don’t tease me.”
“Either way, this isn’t a topic to discuss here. Please tell me more about it another time.”
“Oh, right. I’m sorry, Aria,” Celia suddenly apologized as though she had remembered something.
“Hmm? What are you apologizing for?”
“We agreed we’d take our time returning so that you could get a break, right? But now we’re heading straight back to Amande as fast as we can.”
“Oh, is that it? Don’t worry, we can go another time.”
Aria smiled softly, happy that her friend remembered the conversation which could barely be called an agreement that happened just after they arrived in Cleia.
“I know this won’t make up for it, but let’s have a talk after we return to Amande tonight.”
“I’d be happy to.”
“Yay. It’s a promise.”
This time, Celia and Aria made a proper promise. This was what happened on the enchanted ship headed from Cleia to Amande.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, back at the Claire territory, in the capital of Cleia...
Reiss informed Charles that he was stepping out to check the city and left the estate with Renji. Once he reached the city, he planned on meeting up with the mercenaries hiding there. Thus, he visited a certain inn. Lucci and the other men waited for him in a room there, ready to report on what had happened before Reiss arrived in Cleia.
“I see. So that’s the situation.”
“My apologies, Mr. Reiss. It was my fault. I let my guard down.”
Arein apologized to Reiss, ashamed of how he was immediately knocked out by Aria’s ambush attack.
“There was nothing you could do. I cannot say for certain, but based on your description, it sounds like that person was Liselotte Cretia’s trusted confidant, Aria Governess. Not even I expected her to accompany Celia Claire all the way to Cleia.”
In fact, if Celia had gone to Cleia alone, the mercenaries would almost definitely have succeeded in their assassination.
Celia’s close combat abilities were a product of magic, so there were plenty of openings to attack her when that magic wasn’t being used. However, Aria’s presence as her guard completely filled those openings.
They keep exceeding my expectations, I see. Good grief... Perhaps I should assume they’ve seen through everything?
Just whom was Reiss referring to, and what had they seen through? He almost seemed to be wary of some supernatural opponent that couldn’t be seen.
“But won’t Duke Arbor hear of how we were working behind his back? That may put you in an unfavorable position, Mr. Reiss,” Arein said, expressing his concern for the negative effects of failing at their plan.
“Indeed, things may become a bit more troublesome, but he should be able to overlook something of this degree. I’ll deal with it when the time comes. At least it came with perfect timing.”
“What do you mean?”
The mercenaries tilted their heads, unsure of what he meant by “perfect.”
“I’d like to go and retrieve all my trump cards in preparation for the future. I will therefore be revisiting my old haunts. This should give Duke Arbor some time to cool down, and I won’t have to see him face-to-face either. Renji, Arein, and Lucci will accompany me.”
“Obviously. I’m not letting you put off my flying lessons for later.”
Renji was greedily eager to become stronger, so he had no objections to accompanying Reiss wherever he went.
If they truly have seen through everything, then I have no choice but to prepare enough power to oppose them. It’s too much for me to handle right now, so I’ll have to consider activating that.
What was Reiss going to fight with, and what kind of battle was he planning on bringing about? At the moment, there were only a few people who knew the answer.
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