Lord Weller throws down the soldier on his shoulder, and releases the other man he had dragged in with his left hand. The army regulation coat is stained black from the shoulder to the chest, who knows the blood of how many people it took for that. There’s even some white substance on the unsheathed sword, that’s fat, you know.

Basically I don’t want to look at him, but I instinctively turn around out of concern for the wounded.

They’re all wearing the yellow and blue striped Shou s.h.i.+maron army uniform, one was chopped on the back, the other completely degutted, both silent.

“…Are they dead?”

“No, both are still alive.”

Wolfram squats down, pressing his fingers to their jugular before replying. Finally, I find my voice to continue,

“Are they dead? Hey!”

I kick aside the chair and step in between the two men, carefully touching the young soldier. His body is unnaturally cold.

“I saved the soldiers who were left outside the door, but there’s still conflict at the main gate. Although the guards are brave, the overwhelming numbers aren’t in our favor. What’s happening, king of Shou s.h.i.+maron? Why has it come to this?”

“Who are you?”

Saralegui steps in politely.

“It’s okay, Storob. He is the amba.s.sador from Dai s.h.i.+maron.”

I simply use my ears to listen in on Lord Weller’s interrogation of Saralegui, but my eyes never moved away from the soldier before me, and my fingers move slowly towards the wound on his stomach.

“I was wondering who it is, turns out it’s His Majesty Belar’s new favorite, Lord Weller. As you can see, there are the kings from two countries in this room, I was hoping you would show at least the most basic manners, but to you, I suppose it’s pointless to speak of this now.”

“You are correct, it is pointless now.”

I leave only a small part of my brain to hearing their duel of words, then I put my hand on the casualty’s body. When the tip of my pointer finger touches the open wound, my white fingernail is instantly stained red, while the flesh of my finger brushes against a completely unreactive body. A wave of stimuli like a current darts around in my body, and the voices in the room start becoming distant.

“I come to the capital under His Highness’ orders, only to find the entire city empty upon the king’s departure for vacation. It took me all the way to the port before I could catch up, but then I find the hotel surrounded by swords and spears, and they’re soldiers wearing the Shou s.h.i.+maron uniform, in other words the attackers and defenders are all in the same uniform… Your Majesty Saralegui, I hope you can explain what the matter here is. Because I am bound by duty to report this to His Highness Belar.”

“It is as you see. Lord Weller, this in an internal conflict, if only on a smaller scale. Because they’re against my diplomatic plans, so they want to use drastic measures to prevent my leaving for Seisakoku? The reason they’re wearing the same uniform, is because they’re all Shou s.h.i.+maron soldiers.”

“If so, Your Majesty Saralegui, as king of Shou s.h.i.+maron, do you plan to ignore the internal conflict here, and leave the country of your own accord?”

“I didn’t think that he would care so much about such trivial matters in another country, His Highness Belar really is an extremely generous man!”

Saralegui says in a theatrical tone.

“O Amba.s.sador from Dai s.h.i.+maron, I ask you not to worry. Today the soldiers taking the opportunity and their uprising, is well within our expectations! This is a great chance to catch the rebels who had previously worked on too small a scale all at once.”

Saralegui steps lightly to the window, peeking downwards out through the gla.s.s. But then he returns to his usual second in the next second! Goes to show that his exaggerated att.i.tude was just a hoax.

“After the battle dies down, let’s leave. We’ve long ago prepared a secret tunnel in antic.i.p.ation of these circ.u.mstances.”

“Secret tunnel?”

“One made especially for royalty.”

“Looks like I’ll be tagging along as well.”

I subconsciously turn to the speaker. Who is this ‘I’?

Saralegui reveals an elegant smile like a young girl’s, then says something completely contradicting his smile.

“Is that His Highness Belar the Second’s orders as well?”

“That’s right. Whenever there is a suspicion of improper conduct, Dai s.h.i.+maron has a duty to invigilate Shou s.h.i.+maron. You should be well aware of this, Your Majesty Saralegui.”

“What a bother.”

The boy king sighs, lightly shrugging his slender shoulders and arms. He c.o.c.ks his head slightly, and the pale golden hair originally gathered around his neck instantly floats down.

“You plan on boarding my s.h.i.+p, don’t you?”

By now I feel as though his voice is getting further and further away, and my head has become real dizzy. Even my consciousness is beginning to blur.

A vague pain travels from the tips of my fingers to my wrist, then to my arm, spreading throughout my entire body from my shoulder joints, following my blood vessels to my brain, feet, heart…

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly I feel a strong impact. Wolfram’s high voice is almost like a wail, and he even grabs my shoulders, shaking me violently.

“Yuuri what stupid thing are you doing now… Are you trying to heal these two?”

“How is that… stupid?”

I just want to do what I did countless times before. Just help them stop the blood a bit.

“Has the bleeding stopped? Didn’t you help me do this before…”

My tongue feels clumsy, my words slurring as though I’m drunk. When my hand is forcefully pulled away from the soldier’s body, not only an I unable to squat down myself, I practically fall backwards as though having slipped.

“How many times have I told you, it’s very dangerous to use maryoku on human land! How are you, does it hurt anywhere?”

“I forgot about that long… Ah, my head—so dizzy. Wait a sec. Actually I’m not in that much pain, it’s just I’m—really—dizzy. Wait a sec—I’ll be—fine in a moment.”

Truth is, it hurts to even talk. I lean the back of my head on Wolfram’s chest, desperately trying to suppress the pain under my eyes. That pain is like the ache you get before a cold and a fever, it’s agonizing just trying to move a finger.

My half-a.s.sed maryoku probably couldn’t save even one of them, huh? It’s just like someone said a long time ago, maryoku isn’t everything. I stare at the beautifully embroidered silver wallpaper as I contemplate, hearing the clash of metal and yells of the soldiers vaguely from outside the building.

In front of my hovering gaze is the figure I missed to the point of wanting to cry.

It’s Conrad.

He creases the scarred eyebrow slightly, looking at me as though he wants to say something, yet hesitating. Although I can’t hear his voice, but I can read the too-familiar word on his lips.

Yuuri.

Having lost my sense of self-control, I do my best to lift my hand, heavy as a stone--

Who cares what color his clothes are!

The color of his clothes doesn’t matter at all!

Conrad’s knee moves forward, and his right foot is lifted from the ground. But in a moment something bright grey blocks my line of vision, and I can no longer see his glowing silver irises.

The piercing sound of metal then reverberates throughout the room, flying sparks disappearing behind the table, where the light cannot reach. My mind is functioning at a lower capacity than normal, so I can’t understand what’s happening, and it takes me a long time to realize that those are the sounds of battle. Using his unsheathed sword to parry the first attack, Gunter jumps behind me. Only then do I realize that the bright grey thing that had blocked my view was his back.

“If you take even one step closer to his Majesty, I won’t hold back!”

“Are you serious, Günter?”

Right now, all I can hear is Conrad’s wavering voice, and the sound of blades changing direction. Lord von Christ’s long hair slides down to his upper arm from his shoulders.

“You dare deny that you are the dog of the opposition? For all we know, you are the a.s.sa.s.sin Dai s.h.i.+maron sent to kill His Majesty the Maou and set back the mazoku!”

“I had no idea s.h.i.+n Makoku’s envoy would be here.”

“Who would believe a traitor like you!”

Günter’s aura as he dashes forth follow the wind back down to where I am, quick and so sharp it almost cuts my cheek.

“You are no longer a member of s.h.i.+n Makoku! Completely different from us, who’ve sworn our loyalty to the Maou!”

“Günter, even so. I have no reason to cross swords with you…”

“I do!”

The rare attack that thrusts from the bottom upwards cuts off the tip of Conrad’s sword.

Stop, Günter! That isn’t something you would do!

Come to think of it, I really haven’t seen this royal instructor go physical. I know he specializes in maryoku and IQ. But how are his fighting skills? Faced with Conrad, a sword master for eighty years, would he be killed for his deliberate provocation?

“…Stop… Stop them, Wolf. Won’t it be bad if he gets hurt on human soil? d.a.m.n, why won’t my head stop spinning…”

“Who are you saying will get hurt? Conrad?”

“I mean both of them, but it really is rare to see Günter use a sword.”

I raise the head I was resting on Wolfram’s chest, trying to break free from his grasp. If I can’t stand, I’ll walk over there on my knees, or crawl there. I must stop this battle before either one of them gets hurt.

“If they’re serious about this…”

Wolfram notices what I’m trying to do, supporting me with both hands as he says,

“It should be hard to tell, although it might actually be Conrad at a disadvantage.”

“What?”

“You still can’t move about like that! Don’t bother so much, just let them fight it out!”

“But Günter can’t use maryoku here, right? So you’re saying that on sword skills alone they are completely evenly matched? And hey, you, the other one is your brother, right?”

Surprisingly, Wolfram looks relaxed, saying in a shocking tone,

“If it weren’t for you fainting right now, I’d do anything to run up there and take Günter’s place, and I think Gurrier feels the same way I do.”

“Take… Take whose place!”

“Aren’t you the same? If you don’t whack him a couple times, you’ll never be satisfied.”

Take a baseball bat and K him a couple times.

“…He’ll probably get grievously hurt.”

Why am even I thinking such scary thoughts.

Saralegui, on the other hand, is still leaning against the window pane, looking at Günter and Lord Weller with interest. His expression says that he is watching as a bystander, but there’s no confusion or contempt there.

I immediately pull my gaze away from the boy king and back to my men, because there’s a cringe-worthy sound of clas.h.i.+ng metal coming from the battle.

The curtain-less windows s.h.i.+ne in the morning light, and the blades gleam silver. From my position, it’s easier to follow the path of the light than the actual movements of the sword.

“I didn’t teach you everything I know just so you can wear this uniform!”

I’m jolted back to reality by Gunter’s words of agony.

I almost forgot, Lord von Christ is an educator with students all around the country, it’s no wonder he was given a military position although he’s not a military man. Even though the current situation is so tense, but just imagining him as a demon trainer in the past, makes me laugh out loud.

Wolfram, who is long used to battles, mumbles the moves they’re using, while Lord Weller takes the opportunity to parry aside Günter’s sword. Although it has nothing to do with me, but I still start worrying if the destructive power of the weapon itself will make a difference.

“Then why do you raise soldiers? Is it so they can die an honorable death on the battlefield?”

Lord Weller’s voice is colder than the dueling blades. On the other hand, Günter’s words seem more agitated, the emotions displayed by both sides feel completely different.

“I live to raise soldiers who are loyal to the country, s.h.i.+nou, and his appointed His Majesty the Maou, until the very last moment…”

“And most people do as you wish, don’t they?”

Suddenly there’s a ‘clack’, then deep and short sounds of impact. Compared to the clanging of metal against metal, their battle now has become much more dangerous. Because their power had nowhere to go, now it’s directly reached their weapon and arms.

Lord Weller curves the corners of his lips. I don’t know if he’s smiling or not. Can’t read him at all.

“Don’t be too greedy.”

“Why… Didn’t I teach you to be His Majesty’s sword and s.h.i.+eld?”

Right now all I can see is Günter’s back. That s.h.i.+ny light grey robe of his, floats gracefully with his every move and the track of the blade that I can vaguely see, is like a dancing with a sword.

The two long swords cross in mid-air, making a faint sound of friction. Their st.u.r.dy hilts overlap, so close their faces are almost touching.

“…You should stay by the Maou’s side.”

“I give those words back to you, every one, because only the most honest of men can accomplish it.”

Lord Weller’s light brown eyes darken, then he forces open the eyelids that were going to close.

Then he uses the part of the hilt that juts out, causing his opponent’s blade to sink deep inside, before turning around quickly. He’s not using brute strength, but the power in his arms.

At that moment there’s the sound of gla.s.s shattering, instantly reverberating the air in the room.

Günter’s sword, having been broken from the roots, falls to the ground dully.

“Looks like that is not a weapon made for war. And also, Your Excellency the Royal Instructor… Lord von Christ, you don’t seem accustomed to killing people.”

A cold sweat has broken out on my palms, my nails digging so deep they leave marks. I grip my fist so tightly, using so much force even I feel the pain.

“Ah!”

Slowly, I regain strength in my legs. Putting my palms on my trembling knees, I force myself up. Finally, success!

When I turn to face them, Günter with just a hilt in his hand, is using the grip to pry away Lord Weller’s sword.

“That’s enough!”

I move before Wolfram can grab my clothes, rus.h.i.+ng in between the two men. I throw my arms open wide, with my back facing Günter. I know who I should be standing in front of now, who I should be protecting. What I’m doing is right, absolutely not wrong.

“Your Majesty!”

Upon hearing the words leave his mouth, Lord Weller himself looks surprised. As he frantically tries to pull back, he loses his balance and falls unseemly.

“Enough for you?”

“Your Majesty, have you any idea how dangerous that was? You need not protect me! In the middle of a heated battle, please don’t…”

“Stop talking!”

The hand that was reaching for my shoulder is suddenly pulled back.

“You started this, so don’t go preaching there all self-importantly, Günter!”

“Y-yes, my lord.”

“And stop arguing in front of me, looking even more childish than I do! For someone long over a hundred years old, you’re still so childis.h.!.+ And where do you think this is? This is the location of a summit between the leaders of two countries! Look at Saralegui, so mature and serious. Do you know how much older you are than him?”

“I’m… very sorry… Your Majesty.”

Günter sags his shoulders and apologizes, while beside him Lord Weller sheathes his sword, making a hearty ‘ke-chang’ sound.

And then, I stand facing him, hiding my emotions deep within my heart before raising my head to look at him.

“About my subordinate’s insolent actions towards Dai s.h.i.+maron’s amba.s.sador, I am deeply sorry, it was our fault.”

“…We were just playing around, please don’t mind.”

After our mild conversation, Saralegui claps his hands thrice. The sound echoes around the high ceiling, then sinks downwards.

“Such an interesting situation is rare indeed, although I have no idea what went on between the teacher and student over there.”

He walks over to me slowly, then grabs my arm with his slender fingers,

“I don’t wish for my hard-earned friend to get caught in the crossfire, so I plan on evacuating this place, and Yuuri’s coming with me. If you have no intention of protecting your king, go ahead and continue with your charade.”

“W-wait a second, Sara!”

“Yuuri, let’s go. This is a secret tunnel, doesn’t that sound exciting? I always wanted to take this kind of tunnel as a kid, but grandpa butler wouldn’t let me adventure around the tunnels in town.”

“…You even have a butler?”

As expected of a natural born prince, I didn’t even have a nanny. Before I can voice my opinions as a commoner, Saralegui grans my hand and jumps into the furnace.

“Eh, w-w-w-w-what?! A Star Tour without water?!”

“Careful, Yuuri, don’t bite your tongue now.”

“Haat ih dah theh aaah (What is down there aaah), uyaaaaey--!”

We slip down a long slide in the darkness. My b.u.t.t hurts, and because friction creates heat, it feels like it’s burning to a crisp. Instead of calling it a secret tunnel, it’d probably be better to say it’s a hidden roller coaster.

The tunnel suddenly reaches an end, and we’re tossed into the air, before landing onto our tailbones on the dusty ground. The air here smells musty, but it isn’t unbearable. And then my companions fall onto us, one by one.

“Oorgh”, “Ump-rgh”, “Pu-argh”, “Gaaah”—they should be about as heavy as a million stones.

“That hurts—Get off! Get off now!”

The small animals hiding in the darkness squeak as they make their speedy escape. Before my eyes can get used to the darkness, I use my hand as a subst.i.tute to feel my way around, and when I touch the ground, I find and pick up a smooth and dry sphere.

“Whose is—Waah-lee-leh!”

A lit torch approaches, and I realize that the thing in my hand is an old dry skull.

“H-h-h-he’s dead, so we’re facing a deadly area ahead! W-wait, Saralegui, this is the way, right? You aren’t Indiana Jones, are you?”

“Of course it’s right. This used to be a kitchen, that’s probably leftovers.”

I shouldn’t have asked. Then, this is an ape, an ape, right? Otherwise no sort of gourmet would use human bones to make a soup. Or maybe this guy is a member of the kotsuchizoku, and we can use his ‘bone signaling’ to contact home.

So I gather my guts and grab its lower jaw, making it clack and trying to leave a message.

“Old pal, time’s up. I mean, good fellow, we’re currently underground. We, who believe in ancient creatures of legend, are now in an old abandoned tunnel, and headed deeper inwards.”

No reply, guess it’s just a normal skull, after all.

The pa.s.sionate Royal Instructor who’s always keen to impart his wisdom, calmly explains.

“Your Majesty, that’s not a kotsuchizoku. Although they particularly enjoy being buried or left in the surface, they extremely hate underground pa.s.sageways with cobwebs.”

“Aiya!”

The cobwebs that the kochi, otherwise known as the kotsuchizoku, are now tangled in my hair.

“Yuuri, this way!”

An excited Saralegui waves at me from ahead. It took me forever to get used to the darkness, and now I can vaguely see his pale skin.

Just as Günter accidentally trips and has to be caught by someone in front, I notice Lord Weller is following directly behind me. He looks hesitant, and after a moment he speaks to me in an overly formal and distant tone. His face is still trained forward, though.

“Are you okay?”

Maybe he thinks that speaking softly can avoid the others overhearing, but I too face the sparkling distance, which may be the exit, instead of looking his way.

“Perfectly fine.”

“His Majesty Belar the Fourth is also very concerned about you.”

“That’s right~ He’s your ‘Your Majesty’, right.”

“After all, the parting that time in the desert was rather disconcerting.”

“Please pa.s.s on my apologies, for making him worry.”

This is when Saralegui turns back again.

“Yuuri! It’s the exit, see, I was right!”

The person waving at me, king of Shou s.h.i.+maron Saralegui, and Sigourney Weaver[1] with the childish voice, otherwise known as Dai s.h.i.+maron’s His Majesty Belar the Fourth, are actually on opposing sides. Saralegui must escape from Dai s.h.i.+maron’s control, and His Majesty Belar the Fourth always wanted to defeat his uncle. If someone were to ask me who I wanna help, for now I’ll definitely say Saralegui.

“Are you getting along well?”

“Yes.”

“Is that so? But he is…!”

Conrad never finishes his sentence.

Because having noticed that we were whispering to each other, Günter is running our way, hair flying everywhere.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

Under the almost-noon sun, the outside is extremely piercing to the eyes. When we push past what looks like a manhole, we come to the back of a little hunter’s cottage in a forest. Thank goodness for the long and winding underground tunnel. We’ve come such a long way we can’t even hear the voices of the soldiers.

Storob and another Shou s.h.i.+maron soldier release the horses that were previously tied together. Saralegui looks at the only one simple carriage and asks,

“Can you ride?”

His words bring back painful memories, and I heave a deep sigh.

“I can ride, but I can’t make the horse move.”

“Same here, then let’s take my carriage. It’s slower than riding horseback, but at least it’s much safer.”

“Thanks. But if I’m alone, my companions will worry… Günter, I’m here! Can they get on the carriage too?”

“Of course, it takes a day and a night to get to the harbor. We can’t rest on horseback, but we can take a breather in a carriage. Oh, yeah!”

Since Storob is occupied, I have to take his place and help Saralegui onto the carriage. He weighs as much as a kid, seems like the bona fide prince is slender from head to toe.

“Lord Weller isn’t taking the carriage too? Aren’t the two of you close?”

c.r.a.p, he found out.

“Ahh—but—”

I glare at Günter, meaning ‘it was all your fault!’. But since I’ve automatically turned on a water heater myself, I guess I have no right to blame anyone else.

“His riding skills are superb.”

“Is that so? Then that makes him feel much more dependable.”

His reply seems to be insinuating something.

“Come to think of it. He… seems to have a brother who looks a lot like him.”

I don’t know what Saralegui is trying to find out, so I can only pretend not to hear him. Thankfully he doesn’t continue asking.

More importantly, what does ‘look a lot like him’ mean?

If he meant a brother who is ‘surprisingly similar’, then we just happen to have a pretty boy right here staring daggers at us.