The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 5

Chapter V: Inglis, Age 15—Squire and Captain (2)

The sword forged from Fufailbane’s scales was the key to a new composite technique incorporating both aether and dragon lore—“Aether Cross Lore,” Inglis called it.

“Not shabby at all. Terrifying, in fact,” Rochefort muttered in disgust. Inglis was holding him by the scruff of his neck. “If I’d taken the full brunt of that, I wouldn’t have even left a skeleton behind. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t point that thing at humans.”

Immediately after her second shot of dragon lore, Inglis had activated Aether Shell, getting ahead of it at full speed and saving him.

“There are only a few people who would stand still and try to take that. And I did save you, so I hope you don’t mind,” Inglis replied, beaming.

He paused before asking, “Why did you save me, though?”

“Because that would have been a waste. If you’re dead, I can’t fight you. Once you recover, let’s fight again. I’ll handle the revived Prismer, so don’t worry about that. I’d actually prefer to fight it myself.”

“Good luck with that one. If you can smile like that while taking down a Prismer, that’s the most peaceful the world will ever be. I’ll pass on the rematch, though. Don’t really wanna get sent back to rehab again right after I recover.”

The golden shield he bore shined and returned to human form. Arles bowed her head deeply to Inglis. “Th-Thank you! Thank you so much for saving Ross!” Her love for Rochefort was palpable in her bow, as was her concern for him and her kindly disposition. It felt totally at odds with Rochefort’s daring suicide mission.

Inglis was satisfied, having fought hard against the duo, but she still had some lingering questions. “Why did you decide to do this anyway?” 

“I-It was for my sake... I’m Venefic’s only hieral menace, so... If anything happens, it all falls to me... But if we conquered Karelia and made your hieral menaces ours, we’d be able to share the burden...”

Rochefort had been concerned for Arles’s fate after his death. And, well, the motivation made sense. A country with only one hieral menace had no choice but to press everything onto her. Karelia had both Eris and Ripple, who could each shoulder half the burden. They were able to continue the hard work of defending Karelia in large part because they could cheer each other up; their strong bond was obvious. If Venefic had conquered Karelia, it would naturally have taken on their hieral menaces, and then there would have been three—significantly lessening Arles’s burden.

“No matter how much I wrangle with the skinflints up top in Venefic, they’re not gonna cough up for any more hieral menaces. My only option was to take them from someone else—it was supposed to be my last blaze of glory. I wasn’t expecting it to turn out like this, though. You never know what the world has in store...” Rochefort shrugged in a self-deprecating manner.

“You must think so horribly of us because of what we’ve done!” Arles said. “But I couldn’t stop him—I’m so sorry!”

“You don’t need to apologize, Arles,” Rochefort said. “I was the one who put you up to it—let’s go with that.”

“No, you don’t need to apologize to me,” Inglis said. “I got to have a nice fight out of all of this. Thank you.” She bowed to them.

“Ross, this girl...”

“Yeah, she’s crazy. Even more than I am. Fascinating.” Rochefort laughed.

“However,” Inglis said, “the rest will be left up to His Majesty, and I have no control over his decisions.” If King Carlias decided to execute them, Inglis would be unable to stop that. If he jailed them, she could probably break in and bust them out—but then she wouldn’t be able to stay in Karelia, and she’d be causing a lot of trouble for Rafinha, Rafael, and the rest of her family. It wouldn’t be worth the cost.

King Carlias walked over to them, albeit with an unsteady gait. It was amazing he could already walk. “These two will be taken as prisoners of war,” he pronounced. “They will be judged at a later date... First, they must heal their wounds.”

“Your Majesty!” Arles gasped.

“That is what Inglis wishes, is it not? I shall make it so. Again, she has saved me from danger. I thank her.” King Carlias bowed his head to Inglis as he spoke.

“You don’t have to! I only did what came naturally!” Inglis daintily bowed her head and kneeled in front of King Carlias, stirring excitement among the knights.

“Ahh, Lady Inglis! So elegant!”

“And so beautiful!”

“Impressive, Lady Inglis!” Reddas said. “We were already in awe of you, but now we’re even more deeply impressed!” The knights nodded along with his words.

But not everyone shared that appreciation.

“Ahh, I knew it. It was just, ‘Ooh, he looks strong! All right! I wanna fight! Off I go!’ Classic Chris...” Rafinha had quietly joined Inglis, muttering to herself. “There’s no need to thank the girl who just decided she wanted to make a mess.”

“Shhh, Rani! You’re not supposed to tell them that!”

If you were lucky enough to meet a powerful foe, you engaged in battle. It was only natural that she’d done so. That was why she required no thanks, but others were free to make what assumptions they liked. If her actions were to be taken as patriotism or loyalty, she didn’t mind. It didn’t change what had actually happened, so in Inglis’s mind, there was no problem with others mischaracterizing her motives.

“Hm? What was that?” King Carlias asked.

“Oh, nothing!” Inglis responded. “Anyway, sorry, but unfortunately I damaged the walls and the canal. I sincerely apologize.”

“That matters not. I do not intend to penalize you for the damage. You did well.” King Carlias nodded to Inglis. “I have heard news of your exploits in Alcard. I would reward your valor—what do you desire?”

“If...you would be so kind as to condemn him to fighting me again after he recovers.”

Inglis had gained many things in Alcard: a new power—dragon lore; a dragonscale sword—one which could withstand her aether at full power; and dragon meat—both delicious and curative.

But she still lacked something—a foe she could fight whenever she liked.

She’d wanted to delve into the same technology of Evel’s that had replicated Ian. She’d wanted to bring Fufailbane home with her. However, the mechanical dragon, which she assumed carried Evel’s technology, had fused itself with Fufailbane and departed for Highland. It would have been nice to secure at least one of them—but here she was, still with the need for someone she could fight whenever she wanted.

She suddenly felt her ear being pulled from the side.

“C’mon, Chris! Don’t say something silly like that! That’s too much! You just saved him, and now you want to subject him to a fate worse than death?”

“Oww! That’s not true! It’s a divine trial that just happens to let us constantly be very effective at improving each other—I’m sure he’ll love it!”

“I don’t mind being scolded by a beautiful woman,” Rochefort said, “but I’d rather that not be my life forever. Just lop off my head instead.”

“See, he doesn’t want to!” Rafinha insisted. “That kind of thing is for magicite beasts only! No way! Okay?!”

“Yeah, okay!” Inglis replied.

“Huh? You sure took that in stride.”

“So that means I can have a magicite beast for a pet?” Then I’ll give up on Rochefort and just do that.

“Absolutely not! What is wrong with you?!”

“Awww, but you just said it was okay! No fair, Rani!”

“Fighting them and keeping one as a pet are completely different! Anyway! No! No means no! Okay?!”

“Ugh...”

Arles bowed her head to Rafinha deeply. “Thank you...”

“No, you’re welcome. I’m sorry Chris was saying absurd things like that. First of all, just focus on getting better. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Rafinha answered, first smiling and then looking like she’d just realized something. Then, she bowed very deeply to King Carlias. “I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty! I was just—”

“No, I do not mind. Well, then! Someone, find a place for this man to recuperate. Hieral menace of Venefic! I place you under arrest. I trust you do not object?”

“O-Of course not! I thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving Ross!” Arles bowed very, very deeply to King Carlias.

Rochefort snorted scornfully. “How moving, Your Majesty! Sparing the life of an enemy general who nearly killed you. You must be as crazy as that girl.” He smiled with insincerity, but King Carlias was not the sort to be affected by sarcasm or provocations. He had withstood Evel’s humiliation when the Highlander had visited the palace. Compared to that, Rochefort’s words may have been simply droll.

“Hmm... Which is more mad, though? My act of sparing you two, or appointing this girl as the captain of an order of knights?” King Carlias responded with a grin.

Rochefort cackled. “Just a jape...perhaps. Pardon me.”

King Carlias let silence hang over the room for a moment before ordering, “Take them away.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Reddas and the knights nodded, leading Rochefort and Arles away.

“Oh good, His Majesty realizes making Chris the captain of an order of knights is as scary as almost getting killed...” Rafinha muttered as she watched them leave.

“That’s not very nice,” Inglis objected. “Even if I do get to spar with him, I’ll make sure he isn’t seriously wounded.”

“That isn’t what I meant—”

As Inglis and Rafinha bickered, King Carlias called out to them. “Rafinha...”

“Huh? Ah, yes?” Rafinha was a bit flustered, as this was the first time King Carlias had called for her directly.

“You as well saved my life. Not once, but twice. Let me thank you—”

“Oh, it was nothing—Chris said the same, but it was the natural thing to do! You are our king, after all!”

As Rafinha stood at respectful attention, King Carlias smiled. “What do you desire? Your achievements are no less than those of Inglis.”

“Oh, it’s okay! Just like Inglis, I didn’t really—”

Inglis pinched Rafinha’s lips shut.

“Wuhveh vu vunh, Hlif?! (What are you doing, Chris?!)”

“She does have one wish! But it doesn’t look like she can say it, so I’ll speak for her.” A sly smile drifted to Inglis’s face.

◆◇◆

Barely an hour later, Inglis and Rafinha were in a room in the palace. The sound of fabric shuffling had stopped—Inglis had finished changing. Her hair, which had been ruffled from the battle, was also freshly combed.

“There, that’s perfect! You really do look good in absolutely everything! ♪ Now turn around for me—twirl, twiiirl! ♪ And give me a smile!”

“Sure. Of course, Rani.” Inglis, as instructed, spun twice, then a third time, in front of a large mirror. Her cape, which floated in the air as she did, was embroidered with a large and highly visible version of the insignia of he—or she—who commanded Karelia’s Royal Guard.

“This outfit’s great! I always thought it would be pretty cute.”

“Yeah, you’re absolutely right, Rani.” Inglis had always admired the outfit her hieral menace friends got to wear.

“And I think it’s perfect for what we’re about to do! I don’t want to get too hung up on the formalities, but it really makes a difference!” Her breath was ragged with excitement.

“I love how cute this is. Plus, now I match Eris and Ripple.” The uniform prepared for her appointment was based on the one the two hieral menaces wore, but this one had a rank insignia added to the cape. It reflected Karelia’s culture and traditions. Inglis had appreciated how they’d looked in uniform, and she felt fortunate to try it on herself.

“I think they’re implying that you need to follow in their footsteps and not do anything silly.”

“Well, I have no intention of being just like them. I’m taking a different approach, one where I’ll have a fun fight where no one has to sacrifice themselves.”

“You will win, right? We will make it in time?” Rafinha’s expression was suddenly serious as she gripped Inglis’s hand. The battle here with Rochefort had only been a prelude. It was very good to have gotten a chance to try out the dragonscale sword and a new technique utilizing it—but the real fight awaited. The Prismer had not yet reached the forward operating base at Ahlemin, but after a brief ceremony, they had to hurry along. Rafinha was clearly worried.

“Leave it to me,” Inglis responded. “I’m your squire, Rani. I won’t let anything happen that would make you sad.”

“Remember—I believe in you.”

“I know. It’ll be okay. Anyway, let’s go. His Majesty and Reddas are waiting.”

The others had waited for Inglis and Rafinha to change before the ceremony. Taking Rafinha’s hand, Inglis led her from the dressing room, her chest tight with nervousness.

“Hmm...I think this is a bit tight.”

Perhaps it was also the uniform. The fabric was stretched across her chest, a bit uncomfortably.

“I guess it’s for Eris and Ripple... It’s a bit...constraining...” As she spoke, she fiddled with her top to loosen it. That, at least, improved things a little.

Rafinha sulked at her. “What are you doing, bragging? Mine’s so loose!”

“Oh...? Aha ha ha, I think yours looks great. Don’t worry about it. It’s fine. You’re adorable.”

Whenever Rafinha shot her a look about this topic, Inglis normally found Rafinha’s hands on her or Rin aggressively crawling over her, so Inglis hastily tried to smooth things over.

Rafinha had also changed into the uniform of the Royal Guard’s captain. The cut was the same, but where it strained for Inglis, it hung limply for her.

As they left the dressing room, they were greeted by the voices of Reddas and the knights.

Several knights gasped. “Ah! How—”

“Those uniforms look so good on both of you!” others exclaimed.

Hearing them, Inglis tried to cheer up Rafinha. “S-See? Everyone says they look good on us. It’ll be fine.”

Rafinha sighed, and her sulky expression turned to nervousness. “Are... Are you sure about this? Having me do this...?”

Inglis and Rafinha were both in the uniform Eris and Ripple wore—and both bore the insignia that marked them as commanders. Inglis would be, for this battle, the lieutenant of the Order of the Royal Guard and the lieutenant-colonel of the Royal Guard in the field. Rafinha would be, for now, the captain of the Order of the Royal Guard and the colonel of the Royal Guard in the field. That was what Inglis had answered for Rafinha, when King Carlias had asked for her wish.

“It’ll be fine. His Majesty gave his assent. You should be proud.”

“B-But...still...”

“You’ll be fine. We’re doing the same thing as always, remember?” In other words, go toe-to-toe with a powerful foe, together. She could just think of it as King Carlias giving his stamp of approval to their actions. “It’s temporary, so we can go back to the knights’ academy when it’s over—and after all, I am your squire. This way is more natural. If command were mine alone, as a squire I wouldn’t be able to demand the proper respect, would I?”

In what world could a squire overtake their knight, who they were supposed to serve, in rank? At that point, they could no longer be called a squire. But Inglis Eucus was sure that she was Rafinha’s squire. That was how she’d chosen to live, and that was absolute. So—even if it were a formality—she wanted Rafinha to stand above her. That was why Inglis was the lieutenant and lieutenant-colonel, and Rafinha the captain and colonel.

Rafinha chuckled in amusement. “I’m not really sure what you mean by that, but I’m sure you have your reasons.”

“I do.” If Rafinha had done nothing, this would have been impossible, but thanks to King Carlias offering to fulfill a wish for Rafinha, Inglis could take this opportunity to arrange their positions as such. King Carlias no doubt felt that this would keep her on a shorter leash, which was fine by Inglis. This would let her feel more comfortable as she went into battle with the Prismer, so it presented her with no problems. It was a win-win situation.

“Well, fine. The colonel is supposed to issue the lieutenant-colonel strategic orders, right? I believe the traditional one is ‘do something about this.’ Is that okay?”

“Yes, understood.”

The two smiled at each other as they made their way before King Carlias. Filled with tantalizing smells, the hall was already prepared for a banquet. Inglis had heard something was planned as a celebration, but she hadn’t expected this quantity or quality of food. “Ooh, this is incredible!”

“Wow!” Rafinha gasped. “I want some of the fish! And then some crab and some shrimp!”

“Yeah. We’ve been eating so much dragon meat lately, some seafood will be a nice change of pace!” Dragon meat may have been the most delicious thing they’d ever tasted, but after all meat all the time, it was only human to want some variety. And the selection of dishes seemed to be just what was needed to satisfy those cravings.

King Carlias cleared his throat. “And here you both are—girded for the battle that will decide the future of our land. Those uniforms suit you well.”

Inglis and Rafinha nodded in satisfaction at his greeting. “Thank you!” The two bowed reverently and kneeled before him.

“The situation affords no delay. I will make this short—in this time of danger, I entrust Inglis Eucus and Rafinha Bilford with full authority over the Royal Guard. You are to set forth at once for Ahlemin and destroy the Prismer!”

“Yes!” Again, Inglis and Rafinha’s voices overlapped.

“Lady Inglis! Lady Rafinha! Congratulations!” Reddas was the first to raise his voice and begin to clap.

The knights gave their own applause as well. “Congratulations!”

“Lead us well!”

“Then, I have prepared a meager feast for you,” the king pronounced. “At least for a short while, you can refresh yourselves.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Just as Inglis and Rafinha’s eyes began to gleam, though, a knight rushed inside, panicking.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! A message from Ahlemin! The Prismer is approaching the outskirts of the town!”

“Wh—?! That’s sooner than I had heard!” Inglis exclaimed. The assumption had been that she had several days to spare, but the movements of the Prismer seemed to have changed. She couldn’t be certain what that meant, but it probably wasn’t good. There was no time to waste.

“We need to hurry to Rafael’s side!” Rafinha insisted.

However...

Grrrgl! Grrrrrrrrgl!

Sometimes their stomachs had different plans.

Inglis and Rafinha looked at each other, then bowed deeply. “Forgive us, Your Majesty!” they said, and before long, the two were off.

“All right, Chris! Full speed ahead!”

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Inglis pulled hard on the Star Princess’s mode-shifter. 

Clunk! Whirrrrr!

Its engines roared to life. With the distance to Ahlemin taken into account, this was the fastest way. It had been loaded aboard the Steelblood Front ship when they had returned from Alcard and used by Reddas, who was the first to arrive at the palace.

“We’re off!”

“Mm. I’m counting on you!” King Carlias nodded to Inglis and Rafinha. They shot him their best fearless expressions.

Inglis and Rafinha took that as their cue to depart. Each carried a large package. Specifically, it was the food which had just been served. They had wrapped it up to go—in the insignia-emblazoned capes which they had just been given. They couldn’t do anything like eating it in front of King Carlias, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t scarf it down as they flew.

“Lady Inglis is truly unpredictable!”

“Wrapping up the food in her cape?!”

“I’m in awe...”

As the Star Princess sped away, the knights muttered among themselves.

“A trifling matter set against much greater ones. An army marches on its stomach, after all,” King Carlias responded calmly.

◆◇◆

The town of Ahlemin was spending a sleepless night racked with tension and clamor.

“Hurry it up! The enemy’s almost here! To your places!”

“All entrances to the tunnels are open! Be ready to fall back quickly at any moment!”

This Prismer had been encased in ice, originally laid to rest in Ahlemin. The town’s development had always taken the Prismer’s presence in mind when planning. Subterranean tunnels were just one aspect of this, and they had been further expanded in preparation for this battle. Food and supplies had been brought in, transforming the place into an underground fortress. Under both Ambassador Theodore and his predecessor Ambassador Muenthe, Karelia’s forces had begun to adopt Flygears and Flygear Ports, but the mechanization of their forces was far from complete. These preparations were intended to allow infantry on foot to remain under cover while fighting over a wide area.

As the knights nervously rushed from their tunnels to take up position to fight the Prismer, Yua watched the lurid scene blankly. She was seated on the roof of the tallest building in town, her legs dangling in the air. She thought it was probably the building where the Prismer had been kept. Others had commented that it wasn’t the best place to relax, but she liked it there. It felt like home, somehow. When she had free time, she slacked off on the roof, which was precisely what she was doing now.

“Heeey! Yua!” She heard her name called from an approaching Flygear.

“’Sup, Beanpole?” It was her classmate at the knights’ academy, Morris—one of her few friends.

“What do you mean, ’sup?! Don’t you see the commotion?! The Prismer’s coming!” Silva yelled angrily from a separate Flygear. The students from the knights’ academy had mostly gathered in one place, but when Yua was still absent, they’d asked Morris for her location. Naturally, Silva had come to collect her.

“Sorry, Four-Eyes. It feels good here...”

“Quite the big shot, aren’t you?” Silva scoffed. “Not afraid of a single thing even in a situation like this, just going on with life as usual.”

“Ah, praise. Thanks.”

“No, that wasn’t praise! It was sarcasm!” Though, if he were to be honest, it would be half praise. While everyone else was trying to tamp down their fear and face the Prismer, Yua was calm and unaffected. That was impressive, at least.

“Whew, looking at you I’m beginning to think we might have a chance. You’re not intimidated at all.” Morris sighed.

“There’s no reason to be intimidated,” Yua replied. “It’s not that scary... You know, I can sense it...”

“Anyway...let’s group up and join Principal Miriela! Morris will give you a ride!” Silva said.

“Sure thing.” Yua nimbly leaped onto Morris’s Flygear.

“All right, let’s go!” With Silva in the lead, they set a course for the sector running along the eastern wall. Sailing through the air above the town, Silva suddenly grunted. “Here they come! I’ve spotted a swarm of magicite beasts!”

A group of birdlike magicite beasts dotted the eastern sky. Silva shouted to quickly inform the knights formed up on the ground. “Everyone! I’ve spotted the enemy to the east! Several flocks of birdlike magicite beasts! But they’re carrying something in their feet... Wait—those are humanoids! Humanoid magicite beasts!”

“They’re what?!”

“What the hell?!”

“Is that even possible?!”

A stir spread among the knights on the ground. Was Silva mistaken? He certainly wasn’t lying. Still, he’d seen demihuman magicite beasts before, but these seemed different. And besides, he knew the demihuman ones had been wiped out. There was no way there’d be more.

So just what were these?

The Prismer had an effect like the Prism Flow itself, transforming the local fauna into magicite beasts. Were these Highlanders who had been transformed, since they were vulnerable to the Prism Flow? No, there were too many. There was no way so many Highlanders would have approached the Prismer. They lived in Highland precisely so they could avoid the threat of Prismers and the Prism Flow.

“S-Silva! What are those?!” Morris asked.

“I don’t know! Anyway, we need to tell the principal!” Silva and the others rushed toward the knights’ academy’s Flygear Port, which hovered over the eastern walls. Miriela was there, commanding her students.

“Principal Miriela!” Silva called.

“Ah, Silva! Thank you for bringing Yua!”

“There’s an emergency! What are those humanoid magicite beasts?! I doubt they’re Highlanders, and weren’t the demihuman magicite beasts wiped out?!”

“I don’t know, but we don’t have time to think about it right now! Magicite beasts are magicite beasts! Intercept them without hesitation!” Miriela said sharply, bearing a stern expression.

“But—!” Just as Silva spoke, he felt something like a morning mist suddenly fill the air around him. It shimmered faintly, in every color of the rainbow.

The knights on the ground were in an uproar.

“Huh?! What’s that?!”

“Is it doing something like the Prism Flow?!”

“Stay on guard! Even the smallest animal around you may become a magicite beast!”

Suddenly, one knight collapsed after letting out a guttural “Gahhhhh!” Then, just like that, his body began to transform. It bloated, gained a hard, stony outer skin, and began to glitter like a gem.

“H-He turned into a magicite beast?!” another knight screamed.

“Impossible! How can a man turn into a magicite beast?!” Silva gasped. His fears had not been mistaken. He was watching a horror unfold before his eyes. It was no trick, no illusion. This was reality. And that knight wasn’t the only one screaming...

“Gah! Aaagh! It burns! The Prism Powder—?!” Morris, piloting a Flygear with Yua riding behind him, began to tremble and squirm. As if something was hidden under his clothes, a bright light shined in every color from his chest.

“Morris! I don’t know what that thing is, but get rid of it! It’s dangerous!”

But Silva’s words didn’t reach him in time. The Flygear lost control and crashed to the ground.

“Ah—?!” Yua managed to leap out and land safely. But Morris, along with the aircraft, came to a crashing halt, and just like the knight before, his body began to transform. “Beanpole...?” she asked.

“Grahhhhhhhh!”

With that, Morris was no longer human.