Chapter IV: Inglis, Age 15—Orders to Defend the Hieral Menace (4)
Heavy breathing. Gasping. Panting.
Beads of sweat appeared on Inglis’s forehead. Her cheeks flushed cherry red. The sweat trickled down them to her neck, before dripping down to her chest and absorbing into her clothing. To onlookers, she seemed even more alluring than usual. Inglis was always the center of attention, but the focus on her at that moment was more intense than usual. The boys snuck quick stares at her blushing face. She, however, was completely unconcerned, focusing her attention on what lay in front of her. Rafinha, beside her, was also sweating.
“Uh... Rafinha? Inglis? You both okay?” Leone asked.
“We’re fine!” the two replied in unison.
“I-I sure hope so...”
“That certainly does have an impressive color to it. It’s blazing red,” Liselotte said.
“Because it’s blazin’ hot!” Rafinha said.
The super-sized supreme blazin’ hot pasta—it was one of the new dishes Inglis and Rafinha had requested for the cafeteria. For the entire day, they were taking the blazin’ hot challenge.
“That doesn’t look all that edible...” Leone said, overwhelmed by the sight of the spicy dishes.
“But it is! It’s delicious!” Rafinha insisted.
“It tastes so exciting!” Inglis added.
Pullum chimed in, “Honestly, I think it looks good too.”
“Huh?!” Leone gasped, realizing she was alone in the mild camp. “You do?!”
“Yes, quite delicious, actually.”
“We’re from Alcard to the north. It’s cold up there, so we eat spicy things to keep warm. We’re used to it,” Lahti explained.
“He’s right. It reminds us of home.”
“Pullum, why don’t you order one?” Rafinha suggested.
“Well... I don’t think I can eat something that huge...”
“Then let’s split mine!” Rafinha moved some of the red pasta to Pullum’s plate.
“Wow, thank you!”
“Oh. Gimme some too, Inglis,” Lahti said.
“Sure. Here.” Inglis offered her share.
Pullum wasn’t going to have that, though. “No! None for you, Lahti!” she insisted.
“What?! Why?”
“No indirect kisses allowed!”
Lahti looked at her for a while before saying anything, but he eventually acquiesced. “Fine, fine, okay.”
“Wow! You—listening to Pullum? That’s a surprise,” Inglis said. Lahti didn’t usually go along with Pullum clinging to him.
“Well, after my screwup yesterday... I feel like I have to make it up somehow.” Lahti scratched his cheek.
“That wasn’t your fault, Lahti! You were just trying to help me, so I don’t blame you at all,” Pullum insisted. “But an indirect kiss is still not allowed!”
After a brief pause, Lahti grumbled, “Okay, okay. I can’t even talk frankly when you’re around.”
“Hey, if you keep saying things like that, Pullum’s going to get sick of you,” Rafinha warned. “And believe it or not, she’s pretty popular with the guys. She even got a love letter recently. Don’t expect a girl’s feelings to stay the same forever.”
Lahti’s chair clattered to the floor as he jumped to his feet. “Wh—?! Hey, Pullum, seriously?! Who was it from?!”
“Oh, look who’s interested now!” Rafinha teased. “You’re so easy to read. I was just kidding. If that bothered you so much, why don’t you just get your act together to begin with?”
“Ughhh...!” Lahti winced.
“That’s right! That’s right!” Partly hidden in Rafinha’s shadow, Pullum shook her fist. But Lahti’s glare made her duck back into full cover.
“Stop that, Rafinha. It’s not nice to lie,” Leone said, but she found the whole thing amusing nonetheless.
Inglis added, “That’s right, Rani. Little boys are never honest with girls they like. When he grows up a little, he’ll start lavishing her with attention.”
“Really, Inglis?!”
“Yeah. That’s just how guys are.”
“What makes you all experts on this?!” Lahti howled in anguish.
Rafinha cast a suspicious glance at Inglis. “That coming from someone who isn’t interested in boys doesn’t make you sound very convincing, Chris.”
“Oh, right. When we asked her which boy she thought was the coolest, she said the Prismer, didn’t she?” Leone added.
“That’s a different story,” Inglis nimbly responded, but Rafinha and Leone tilted their heads quizzically, wanting to ask, How? Inglis had no inclination to explain, though.
Rafinha got back to the topic at hand. “Anyway, you were about to get hit by that magicite beast trying to protect Pullum, right?”
“Yeah. And that’s when that upperclassman—Silva—covered me and took the blow instead,” Lahti said. “It’s good you were able to help him, but I still messed up. When I see him again, I’ve gotta apologize.”
Leone shook her head. “He didn’t seem that angry with you, though. The way he’s treated Inglis and Yua makes me think he has something against squires, but...”
“Oh! I get it!” Rafinha exclaimed.
“Get what, Rani?” Inglis asked.
“He must be a guy who likes guys! Maybe that’s why he’s so gentle with Lahti.”
“Seriously? You’ve got to be kidding me,” Lahti remarked.
A new voice cut into the conversation. “Indeed. Could you refrain from making baseless assumptions about people?”
The sudden new entrant to the conversation was the very person of discussion.
Lahti bowed deeply and forcefully to Silva. “Um...sorry about yesterday! You got hurt because I screwed up!”
“Don’t worry about it. It was my mistake for getting you caught in our dimension shift. And more importantly, you all helped me as well. I’d like to apologize for my rudeness and to express my gratitude as well. Thank you.” This time, it was Silva bowing—to Inglis and Rafinha.
Rafinha took Inglis’s hand, rose abruptly, and bowed once. She silently urged Inglis to do the same. “No, if anything we should apologize for being rude! Anyway, we’ve all apologized, so we’re even now, right?” Rafinha grinned, and thrust her hand toward Silva.
Rafinha’s charm was in her pleasant, friendly manner. She was easygoing and didn’t hold onto grudges. In her mind, bygones were bygones.
“Of course. I’m amenable to that.” Silva shook Rafinha’s hand. Their newfound allyship was a welcome sight—but not for everyone.
“Yes, yes, that’s enough, Rani. I still have to give my own thanks,” Inglis quickly interrupted, ending Rafinha’s handshake with Silva.
Inglis could not abide any man outside the family having physical contact with Rafinha. There’s no such thing as too much caution, she thought.
◆◇◆
A week later, Ripple’s condition was still unchanged, and Inglis and the others continued taking turns on guard duty. That day was the first-year students’ shift. When Ripple lost consciousness and a magicite beast appeared, Leone immediately used her new Artifact to draw them into another dimension, allowing Inglis and the others to take care of it. The magicite beast that had appeared that day was one of the stronger ones they had encountered recently.
“Leave it to me!” Inglis stood at the front, both index fingers extended and pointed at the magicite beast. The pale blue light of Aether Pierce erupted from both her hands, making a humming sound.
Vvvssshhhhhh!
Her attack pierced countless holes into her enemy’s face, then its neck, shoulders, chest, gut, legs, and feet. The magicite beast collapsed and then disappeared before it could take a step.
“Huh?” Rafinha tilted her neck at Inglis.
“There’s more coming! Be careful!” Leone warned.
“Sure! Leave it to me!” Ignoring Rafinha, Inglis turned to the new magicite beast.
Vvvssshhhhhh!
And again, without saying a word, Inglis fired a wild burst of Aether Pierces. Riddled with holes, the magicite beast had no way to respond.
“Chris...?” Rafinha tilted her head even farther.
“They’re still coming... One more!” Inglis focused on an empty space as she spoke.
“Eh...? I don’t see anything?” Leone said, but Inglis sensed the approach of the magicite beast. She could feel the flow of mana as space twisted.
“Mm... I can tell—there you are!” Inglis extended a palm toward a point above her head.
Aether Strike!
Bammmmmm!
A gigantic burst of aether shot upward.
“Hey... Hey, hey, hey! Chris, what’s gotten into you?” Rafinha asked.
Inglis let out a loud battle cry. “Haaah!”
She leaped up as if to follow the Aether Strike. In that space above her, a magicite beast suddenly appeared in the path of her attack. Her prediction was correct; her Aether Strike swallowed the creature whole and obliterated it.
“Oh...” Inglis let out a disappointed sigh and stood in place. The light from her Aether Strike continued to rise.
Crshshshhh!
With a great sound reminiscent of shattering glass, the dimension created by Leone’s Artifact was destroyed.
“That’s amazing! You destroyed the dimension like it was nothing...” Rafinha said.
Inglis had broken through the Labyrinth of Ordeals created by Principal Miriela before. This wasn’t that out of the ordinary.
As the dimension collapsed, the scenery around them was replaced with the school courtyard where they’d begun. The Aether Strike rose higher and higher through the sunset sky, eventually disappearing from sight.
Liselotte let out a quiet laugh, partially from shock. “Ha ha ha... This reminds me of a beautiful fireworks display.” Liselotte had been looking after Ripple the whole time.
“Well...” Inglis’s face remained sullen.
“What’s up, Chris? Usually when you’ve got an opponent knocked down, you try your hardest to get them up and continue the fight... But now you’re just finishing them off quickly,” Rafinha noted.
“Was I that brutal?”
“Pretty close, if you ask me,” Leone said.
Liselotte nodded to Leone. “As usual, Rafinha understands Inglis well.”
Rafinha thought for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands. “Ah! I know! You want to sneak off and eat something tasty without us! That’s why you wanted to get back quickly!”
“Nope. I was just doing some research.”
“What kind?”
“Mm. A new technique.”
All of her friends exclaimed, “A new technique?!”
“Yeah! You and Leone got new ones, right?”
“Well, I wouldn’t really call that a technique...” Rafinha said.
“Just a Gift for the Artifact,” Leone added.
“Yeah, that’s it. I was a bit jealous, so I thought I’d come up with something new as well.” A glittering smile floated to Inglis’s face. “I decided to try something more powerful than I’ve ever used before!”
That meant she needed to use aether. Inglis’s control of it had increased, as she had recently become able to fire Aether Pierces from both hands. As a result, she’d thought of a new possibility—but for now, she was testing it through trial and error.
Rafinha laughed wanly. “I feel like something terrible might happen...”
“Agreed,” Leone followed.
“I think you’re quite powerful enough already,” Liselotte said.
Inglis silently shook her head. “It’s not about how I compare with others; it’s whether I’m satisfied with myself. And since I’m trying for a strong, new technique, I need to practice harder. But if I fight seriously, my foe goes down immediately... Ah, I wish a truly powerful enemy would appear...”
“In the end, Chris reaches her usual conclusion. You’re always so you,” Rafinha said.
Leone laughed. “We need to make sure we don’t get left behind, then.”
“Anyway, let’s return to the principal’s office when Lady Ripple awakens. It’s time for the next shift to begin,” Liselotte reminded them.
Next up were Silva and the third-years. At the principal’s office, they could report on their events and escort Ripple to them.
As soon as Ripple regained consciousness, they headed there and heard Principal Miriela speaking loudly as they approached. “Now hold on a moment! That’s nothing but tyranny! We’ve avoided major damage so far. The plan has presented no problems!”
Something slammed onto a desk. Whatever debate was occurring on the other side of the doors sounded like a passionate one.
“Huh? Is Miriela angry about something? That’s weird,” Ripple said, confused.
“Oh? She’s usually rather mad around me...” Inglis said.
“Well, duh! Inglis, you’re a handful. Ah well, let’s go.”
They had business in the principal’s office, so they had no choice but to enter. They knocked on the door, and a voice full of semi-concealed anger invited them in.
“Pardon us,” the group said as they entered.
They saw an unfamiliar man inside the room. He was a tall knight with long, gray hair, and he looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. From his right hand shone an upper-class Rune. From that, Inglis assumed he was a high-ranking knight. His uniform was slightly different from what Rafael and the others wore, which indicated he was from a different branch.
He must have been from the Royal Guard, under the king’s direct command. The students had already learned about them at the academy. Rafael’s knights were officially called the Paladins. Together, the two were the Grand Orders. They possessed the numbers and the brute strength necessary to be the kingdom’s primary forces.
Having already arrived to take over guard duty, Silva and the other third-years must have been privy to the conversation between the Royal Guard and Principal Miriela. None of them looked cheerful; Inglis could see the surprise, frustration, and awkwardness on their faces.
Silva in particular seemed the most confused. “B-Brother! Please rethink this! Principal Miriela is correct; we’ve done well. This isn’t necessary.”
“But Silva, you were wounded. I was so worried about you! When I heard, my heart nearly burst forth from my chest!” the knight said.
“I... I just messed up a little bit! But there are other talented students here who made up for it! Our end result was a success.”
“Did he say ‘brother’...?” Inglis asked.
“That man is Reddas Ayren, the captain of the Royal Guard. He is Silva’s older brother,” Liselotte explained.
The boys’ hair, while kept in different styles, did seem to be similar colors. Their eyes were similar as well.
Reddas turned to the new arrivals at the principal’s office. More precisely, to Ripple, as a relieved grin washed over his face. “Good evening, Lady Ripple.”
“Er, ah... Good evening?”
“I was just speaking with Lady Miriela—I have something to tell you today.”
“Yes, what?”
“The king has requested that you leave the knights’ academy.”
“Huh...?! And then what?”
“For a time, you’ll be under the protection of the Royal Guard.”
“What exactly does ‘for a time’ mean...?”
“At the risk of sounding rude, I must be clear—you will return to Highland, and His Majesty intends to welcome a new hieral menace.”
Ripple gasped in surprise, and her eyes sprang open. “I see...”
So that’s the crown’s plan, Inglis thought. She couldn’t deny that it was one solution. Ripple had suggested something similar earlier, but Prince Wayne and Ambassador Theodore had chosen not to take that route.
Theodore was the country’s line of communication with Highland. In other words, the ambassador’s will could be thought of as the will of Highland. If the crown took the opposite course of action, that suggested the problem went beyond Ripple herself; this concerned statecraft as well.
Regardless, Rafinha’s face flushed with anger. “What?! Why would you do such a terrible thing?! Ripple’s helped us for so long! You can’t just throw her away because she’s inconvenient! Ripple isn’t just a thing to be replaced! She’s in trouble now. We should be repaying her for her help!”
It was a naive, childish response. It was pure, immature—and adorable all the same. Inglis knew that Rafinha would of course have this response. If she hadn’t, Inglis would have been worried that she was seriously ill.
“Yeah... This isn’t right!” Leone quietly, but forcefully, agreed.
As did Liselotte. “Indeed!”
Reddas examined Rafinha, recognizing her. “Sir Rafael’s sister, I presume? It would do you good not to speak to me of justice. This is His Majesty’s word,” Reddas said.
“Then bring me before him so I can speak to him myself!” Rafinha insisted.
It seems like she intends to go yell at the king. I should probably stop her before she actually makes them angry, Inglis concluded.
Unexpectedly, someone else came to her aid. Silva clapped a hand on Rafinha’s shoulder and stepped forward as if to shield her. “Her words carry truth, brother! It may be His Majesty’s orders, but that doesn’t mean it’s something to be proud of! As the captain of the Royal Guard, you should persuade him to reconsider!”
Rafinha and Silva shared a nod.
Well, that’s still in the forgivable zone, but... Maybe he could stop putting his hand on Rafinha’s shoulder? I imagine he’s probably worked up and not realizing that he’s being impolite, but it bothers me. Really bothers me, Inglis thought.
“I have no intention of conveying that to His Majesty,” Reddas stated.
“But why?! Don’t you care what happens to Ripple?!” Silva asked.
“I do...but I have a different set of priorities. I’m not personally opposed to His Majesty’s will either,” Reddas said.
He was likely considering the risks to the nearby people and surroundings. From the perspective of a normal person, it was safest to value those highly.
“Why, brother?!” Silva demanded.
“Because I’m afraid of you getting hurt! If Lady Ripple stays here, the same might happen again! I’m worried about you!” Reddas declared, his eyes wide and his expression extremely serious.
Rafinha and Silva both were taken aback by the unexpected response. They stood in silence.
Inglis understood Reddas’s position, though. Silva must be to Reddas how Rafinha is to me. Reddas adores him and can’t help feeling concerned about him. She felt a slight sense of familiarity.
Inglis broke the silence to move the conversation forward. “But even if His Majesty goes forth with this plan, will Highland accept?” She also casually slipped Silva’s hand off Rafinha’s shoulder.
“What is it? Do you have something else to add?” Reddas at least had the magnanimity to listen to the words of a first-year squire trainee.
At his prompting, Inglis continued. “Ripple’s presence at the academy has been the will of Ambassador Theodore—that is to say, the will of Highland. To stray from that path—then the Highland you speak of must belong to a different faction... It must be the Altar faction.”
The Altar—or properly, the Papal League. They opposed the Triumvirate, also known as the Throne faction. They were the two great forces in Highland. The current ambassador was on the side of the Throne, but in the past, Karelia had accepted Throne and Altar ambassadors in turn, striking a balance between the two in their relationship with Highland. During this back-and-forth period, the Throne had granted Eris and the Altar had granted Ripple as hieral menaces to Karelia.
“Hmm... What you say is true,” Reddas conceded.
“And what is Ripple’s condition but punishment from the Altar? I believe they’re indignant, displeased that the balance has tipped in the Throne’s favor,” Inglis stated.
Reddas hesitated before admitting, “We were not aware of that. We believed it to be merely a change in Lady Ripple herself,” Reddas admitted.
“Ambassador Theodore’s assessment differs,” Principal Miriela said.
“Ambassador Theodore is of the Throne. As their opponent, sometimes his guesses will be wrong,” Reddas countered.
“Have you received any assurance that Highland will provide a replacement hieral menace?” Inglis asked.
“No—I’ve heard it’s still being negotiated.”
Inglis continued, “Then, bearing in mind that the negotiations may take some time, I believe we should only take Ripple to them when well prepared. So far, we’ve had no major problems for both the students and the surrounding city during her stay at the academy. If Ripple’s condition were to result in greater collateral damage after her transfer to the Royal Guard, you would be unable to deny comparisons that the academy’s students fared better.”
“You can’t say there have been no problems. A child as important as Silva was injured, was he not?” Reddas, the doting brother, seeming all too like an overprotective father, was unconvinced.
Inglis had expected this reaction from him and turned his own logic on him. “Yes, even someone as talented as Silva was vulnerable. That’s how immense this threat is. Thus, you must be prepared.”
“Prepared...in what way?”
“Ambassador Theodore prepared new Artifacts for us. It’s thanks to them that we’ve prevented harm as much as we have.”
That wasn’t the entire truth, but that wasn’t Inglis’s concern. Now was the time to convince Reddas of the students’ value; they could postpone matters under the guise of a transitional period. They needed to avoid having Ripple taken away today, leaving them unable to get involved. Delaying the matter would give them time to plan their next move.
Such an idea had already formed in Inglis’s head, but she would have to ask what the others thought later.
“Hm. Then as to Lord Theodore...” Reddas began.
“I believe it would be safest to first transfer the Artifacts, select suited wielders, and train them in their use,” Inglis said.
“Hmm...” Reddas appeared to be swayed. He needed to complete his mission safely; he would probably accept a period of a few days to arrange the transfer.
Finally, Inglis fired the decisive shot. “And I believe it would be best to ask Silva to set up the handover. As a replacement for guard duty, of course.”
“Mm... Yes, that would be good. I agree.”
If Silva was transferred off of guard duty, Silva’s safety was instantly guaranteed. Given Reddas’s personality, that must have been the Royal Knight’s priority.
Inglis turned to face Miriela. “And as I have no authority to make this decision, Principal Miriela, do you approve?”
It took less than a second for Inglis’s vision to be filled with Rafinha’s face, her fingers tugging on Inglis’s cheeks. “Well, I don’t! What are you thinking?! Do you want to abandon Ripple?! No, absolutely not! Even if it’s you, Chris, I’m not gonna back down on this!”
With her cheeks stretched out, Inglis couldn’t speak properly. “Au-au. Ifnaw rychem hrantau fumhen vav. (Now, now. It’s not like I’m trying to do something bad.)”
“Huh...? What do you mean?”
“Vulow vuhai orvee feefin ev, rhy? (You know what I’m always thinking of, right?)”
Rafinha took a moment. “You want to fight strong foes, eat tasty food, and wear cute clothes?”
“Enh olvay vi ahn aurh fai. (And always be on your side.)”
“Can I trust you? Because I do. Is that okay?”
“Vef! (Yes!)” At Inglis’s nod, Rafinha finally let go of her cheeks.
“They seem to have had a conversation, but I didn’t understand a word of what Inglis said,” Liselotte whispered to Leone.
“For some reason, those two always understand each other... It’s some kind of special power,” Leone whispered back.
“I-I see... Well, let’s go with the proposal from Inglis and Reddas.” Principal Miriela had seemed angry before, but she was calmly nodding along now. Inglis assumed the principal must have realized what she was planning.
“Lady Ripple, are you satisfied with that?” Reddas prompted.
“Yes... I’m fine. If everyone says so...” Ripple gave a small nod.
“Then, it’s decided. We’ll move ahead by beginning the transfer process to the Royal Guard tomorrow. Is that acceptable, Lady Miriela?”
“Yes, that will be fine.”
Reddas turned to Silva. “And you’re good with this, Silva? I have high expectations.”
“Understood, brother.” Silva nodded, holding back his emotions.
Lastly, Reddas turned his gaze to Inglis. “Inglis, was it? Are you in the squire program?”
“Yes. First-year student, Inglis Eucus of the squire program.”
“Hm... Your speech, your nerve, and your wit—quite impressive for one your age. Thank you for saving me from Lady Miriela’s fury. For a while, I looked entirely in the wrong.”
“Well, of course you did,” Principal Miriela grumbled. She was in charge of directing Ripple’s guard. Inglis understood her lack of enthusiasm for criticism.
“You flatter me,” Inglis said to Reddas, bowing to him.
“I’ll remember you. When you graduate from the academy, you should join the Royal Guard. Runes and brains are different things, and the era where squires would be treated as inferiors has passed. We’ll prepare a path for you in our staff where your talents can be used to their fullest.”
Inglis refused immediately. “I hope to be posted to the front lines. I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to pass on any opportunities that would put me behind a desk.”
The last thing she wanted to do was engage in scheming and brainstorming as general staff. She’d already done that in a position of more responsibility, as king. She was done with that.
“What?! Very well, but...” Inglis’s response had clearly thrown Reddas off. He must have thought she’d be pleased by the offer. Meanwhile, Rafinha giggled.
“Then, if you’ll excuse me. I’ll send over the officer overseeing the transfer later.” With that, Reddas left the principal’s office.
Rafinha giggled again. “He didn’t get you at all, Chris.”
“He really didn’t. Don’t join the Royal Guard after you graduate from the academy, Rani.” Inglis was going to follow Rafinha, but she certainly didn’t want to be with the Royal Guard, likely to be transferred to the rear.
“If you want me to promise you that, you’re going to have to give me an explanation for earlier, okay? What’s going on?”
“First, we prevented them from taking Ripple outright. Those were royal orders. Even if we disagree, serious resistance would make us traitors on the spot. Now, if you’re okay with that, then I am too, but...”
Principal Miriela gasped. “A-Absolutely not! Please try to keep your ideas to sensible ones...!”
Ripple was surprised as well. “Th-That’s a pretty bold thing to say, Inglis...”
“There’s no way we could do that!” Rafinha said. “Rafael would be our enemy! And we don’t know what would happen to Ymir...”
“I agree. So, rather than that, we can pretend to cooperate while extending the schedule—and use that time to settle on a plan,” Inglis explained.
“Oh! Great idea!” Rafinha nodded, her expression very earnest.
“Principal Miriela, I apologize for overstepping,” Inglis said.
“No, I don’t mind. I understood your intentions... And I wasn’t thinking with a cool head. If I had been too aggressive with Reddas and made him angry, we may not have even had this respite.”
“But what shall we do now, Principal Miriela? There isn’t much time. We have to hurry.” Silva’s impatience was plain in both his words and his expression. He seemed desperate.
Is there something else he’s feeling? Rebellion against his brother, maybe? Inglis pondered.
“Hm... There’s one thing that comes to mind right now...” Principal Miriela began.
“What do you propose?!” Silva impatiently asked.
“We allow Ripple to absorb the mana from me and Silva, as we have special-class Runes... That power is then used to summon magicite beasts. Until that stops, we keep defeating the magicite beasts. Only demihuman-type magicite beasts appear, and the number of those is limited. If we wipe them out, we’ll effectively neutralize the danger that Ripple brings...”
Principal Miriela’s suggestion sounded familiar somehow...
“What...?! That’s nothing but brute force!” Silva replied.
“Indeed it is. And if we proceed with that plan in the time we have left...” She danced around the idea reluctantly. It was obvious that this wasn’t her preferred choice.
“Miriela?! Isn’t that what Inglis suggested earlier?!” Ripple asked.
“Y-Yes...”
It sure was. If the group wanted to solve this problem quickly, they needed to resort to forceful measures. Plus, it wasn’t technically disobeying royal orders. They could justify their activity as a coincidental increase in Ripple’s drawing of magicite beasts.
Leone’s eyes widened. “I-Inglis... Did you...”
“Did you actually...” Liselotte began.
“Chris, is that why you said that to Reddas?!” Rafinha and the others looked at her suspiciously.
Inglis evaded their questions with a smile. “Let’s do our best!”
Ripple raised her voice. “That’s no good! It’s too dangerous! Eris isn’t here, Rafael isn’t here, Wayne isn’t here, Lord Theodore isn’t here—everyone’s gone! I won’t let you expose everyone here at the academy to that level of danger!”
Inglis understood where Ripple was coming from. Ripple normally exhibited a cheerful personality and a lack of deep thinking, but she was a hieral menace who valued her mission. She valued herself in how well she could protect the people of the land.
“I’d rather just go along to Highland than have that happen!” Ripple yelled.
She didn’t want to expose the students at the academy to a desperate all-out fight. She thought the best course of action would be to give herself up quietly.
“Ripple, consider this,” Inglis said. “I don’t think that’s the best way to keep the surface safe.”
“Huh...? What do you mean?”
“Reddas may not have realized, but Ambassador Theodore thinks this is punishment from the Altar, and I agree. That implies we wouldn’t have a simple rotation of hieral menaces. If you wanted to make someone subservient, would you help them when they said they needed it? Now, if we were to bow and scrape and offer something much more...”
“Offer...what, Chris?”
“Surface land, probably. Or more precisely, a city and its inhabitants. Remember what happened in Nova where Cyrene was, Rani. I think they may want to take a whole city with the Floating Circle.”
Ripple’s face tensed. “No! Th-They can’t...”
“That’s even worse! Cyrene said she wouldn’t let such a thing happen, but other Highlanders won’t do the same!” Rafinha exclaimed.
“That’s right, Rani.”
After careful consideration, Miriela said, “I must agree with Inglis on this one. No matter what Reddas says, people far above us are scheming something.”
“If not, negotiations would be much slower going, and the Royal Guard would suffer significant losses. Maybe even the capital too, if they did poorly,” Inglis noted.
“That would be bad enough, but also, command of hieral menaces is in theory entrusted to the Paladins—to Prince Wayne. If the matter with Ripple were to paint the Paladins in a bad light, the prince could be held responsible and lose his duties. If so, what would happen to the academy?”
“Worst of all, couldn’t it spiral into a civil war? If the trade were for land, Prince Wayne might not keep silent when he hears of it—and if the crown predicts a backlash, they can preemptively position the Royal Guard and the new hieral menace to attack him from the rear. Caught between that and Venefic’s army, the Paladins would be torn to pieces.”
The ambassador with Venefic’s army belonged to the Altar faction. If the Karelian king’s men held the same allegiance, they could coordinate to attack Prince Wayne and Ambassador Theodore.
“That’s ridiculous! My brother would never attack an ally from behind! He’s not a bad person like that!” Silva shouted.
“Then things will become even more dangerous. They’ll just find someone who will. To countries, people are like pawns. Easily replaced,” Inglis replied coldly.
Silva stared at her, surprised. “You get so excited in battle, but you’re frighteningly calm and ruthless in situations like this. How can you stay so detached?”
“Well, life experience, I guess?” Inglis said with a smile, but Silva only responded with a confused look. There was no reason he’d know of Inglis’s experiences in her past life.
“I’d... I’d like to say that that would be unthinkable...” Miriela said, “but it’s true that relations between His Majesty and Prince Wayne are anything but good. We must keep the possibility of that worst-case scenario in mind.”
Inglis nodded. “So at this rate, the worst case is civil war, and the best case is... Hmm. If negotiations stretch out, Prince Wayne and Ambassador Theodore resolve the situation with Venefic without great losses and return, and as a result, nothing happens. Something like that would be our best outcome. If the situation worsens, I believe the forceful solution from before would be effective,” she suggested.
“In conclusion, we need to carefully assess how things turn out before we take decisive action.”
“I suppose.” Inglis chuckled to herself. She would, of course, prefer to see a situation where she had to use force, and she expected it to turn out that way. Isn’t it so exciting, imagining just how strong the foes called forth may get? she thought.
From the feel of her own practice, she could tell that the new technique she was developing required a foe of a certain strength to be viable.
I hope an opponent comes through that’s sufficient enough to use it.
“C’mon, Chris. Your thoughts are clear as day on your face. Stop smirking like that,” Rafinha chided.
“Oh, right. How embarrassing.” Inglis dropped her delight and assumed a serious expression once more.
Leone sighed. “Well, Inglis is as usual, and I have a feeling we’ll pull through as usual too.”
“Indeed. That broke the tension right at the end,” Liselotte said.
“Anyway, Silva, for that reason, try to postpone our handoff of Ripple for as long as possible,” Miriela said.
“Understood. I’ll do what I can.”
The principal continued, “Also, Prince Wayne and Ambassador Theodore need to be informed of this. We should send a messenger right away. After that, as I said, we’ll carefully watch the situation. I’m going to lean on all the connections I can to find out how the negotiations are going. Furthermore, Ripple—please don’t think your sacrifice is a better option. Believe in us.”
“Okay... I’m really sorry, everyone...” Ripple stared at the floor, her voice weak.
“Don’t worry about it. If anything, I thank you for the opportunity,” Inglis remarked.
“Chris! Everyone’s being serious, stop joking around!” Rafinha scolded and yanked on Inglis’s cheeks again.
“Mmh, ah fewhuh! (No, I’m serious!)”
“About fighting, you mean?”
“Vef! (Yes!)”
Ripple chuckled as she watched Inglis and Rafinha. “Sheesh. They’re good girls—brazen, but in the right way.” After a rough day, a faint smile had finally crept to her face.
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