—Minutes before Souma and Julius Were Reunited—
"Do not allow yourselves to falter!" Lauren, the captain of the Kingdom
of Lastania's soldiers, was shouting from on top of the northern side of the
castle walls. "We mustn't allow even one more monster past us!"
Using her shield to bash a lizardman as it came over the walls, she was
calling out encouragement to her comrades who were close to breaking.
Having heard that several lizardmen had gotten through and were
attacking the castle, Lauren wanted to go to their aid, but because Julius and
Jirukoma were already on their way, she joined up with the defenders on the
north wall and took command there.
She was worried for Princess Tia's well-being, but to defend the
princess, as well as all the other non-combatants behind the walls, she
couldn't allow any more invaders through.
"That's good!" she shouted. "Everyone, push them baaack!"
Lauren's display of military prowess raised morale on the north wall.
She had somehow managed to force a stalemate with the pack of lizardmen
that were climbing up.
Good. We managed to recover somehow. Now...
Lauren was beginning to feel relieved, but then it happened.
"Captain! Look at the sky!" One of the soldiers was pointing to the
southern sky and shouting.
When Lauren looked up, there were countless things flying in from the
south. For a moment, she worried they were new monsters, but if they were,
they must have come from the north.
Eventually, as they approached, she realized they were wyverns with
people riding on them. It was a unit of wyvern cavalry.
A military force?! From what country...?!
Then she saw the unit of wyvern cavalry drop something. The thing fell
straight toward Lasta, and on the way down, something white opened. The
moment the white thing popped open, its speed of descent rapidly declined.
Finally, as it fluttered ever closer to Lasta, Lauren realized there was a
person hanging down beneath the white thing.
"Wait, people?!" she cried.
Why would wyvern cavalry drop a person? This was something she had
never imagined. Lauren was confused, but then the anti-air repeating bolt
thrower opened fire on the person who was coming down.
"Huh?! Oh, damn!"
The anti-air repeating bolt thrower targeted incoming objects. By the
time Lauren realized it, there were already a large volume of bolts flying
toward the descending person. She thought the person would be shot down,
but...
"Tch?! Let's do this!" The falling person shouted out in surprise, then
knocked away the incoming lance-sized bolts one after another with twin
spears.
Lauren's jaw dropped. He knocked down all the anti-air repeating bolt
thrower's bolts?! Is he a monster or something?!
When that person got close enough, she could tell he was a young man
with red hair. "Stop the anti-air repeating bolt throwers, please! We're here
as reinforcements!" he shouted.
Reinforcements... Reinforcements?! Lauren repeated the word in her
head, and when it finally dawned on her, she hurriedly gave the order to her
soldiers.
"Send the signal for the anti-air repeating bolt throwers on each of the
walls to hold fire! Those are our reinforcements!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The soldiers given the order rushed to send the smoke signal. Not long
after that, the anti-air repeating bolt throwers on each of the four corners of
the castle walls went silent.
As if they had been waiting for that, the wyverns in the air unloaded
person after person, and, just as before, the white things snapped open in
midair.
Most likely, those white things were devices meant to help with landing.
But seeing over a hundred of those round, white landing devices open in the
sky, they were like dandelion seeds dancing in the wind.
While Lauren was thinking they seemed out of place in this violent war
zone, she spotted the red-haired young man who had begun descending first
now touching down.
The red-haired young man cut himself free from the now-flat landing
device, then rushed over to Lauren.
"Wheeewww. I know I trained for this, but I thought I was going to die
there," the red-haired young man said, spinning his shoulders in a circle.
Despite having shown off the incredible feat of knocking away the giant
bolts that had flown at him, the young man seemed like he could still handle
more.
"Just...who in the world are you?!" Lauren asked in astonishment, and
the red-haired young man stood up straight, saluting her in response.
"I apologize for the late introduction. I am Strike Force Captain Halbert
Magna of the Kingdom of Friedonia military's special landing force, the
Dratroopers. Are you the commanding officer here?"
"Huh...? Uh, yes! I am Lauren Fran, the Kingdom of Lastania's soldier
captain. Um, Sir Halbert, did you just say you belong to the Kingdom of
Friedonia's military...?"
She trailed off, starting to feel hopeful.
Halbert gave her a firm nod. "Yes. Souma... King Souma Kazuya of
Friedonia received a request from Sir Julius, the former crown prince of
Amidonia, and I have come here under his orders to provide support."
"The reinforcements Sir Julius mentioned... Ah! Then is your main force
getting closer too?"
The Kingdom of Friedonia was the major power in the east now. It was
unlikely they would have sent a force of fewer than 10,000 troops. That
force had to be getting close now.
Or at least, that was Lauren's hope as she looked expectantly to Halbert,
but Halbert awkwardly scratched his cheek.
"Uhh, nope. We're an advance party. It'll still be some time until the
main force arrives, so we were sent ahead due to our high mobility. We're
here to probe the strength of the monsters, and to support the local
defenders so that the city doesn't fall before the main force can arrive."
"I... I see..." So the main force was still a way off. Lauren's shoulders
slumped.
Halbert put a hand on her slumped shoulders and gave her a grin. "Oh,
don't you worry. The Dratroopers are the cream of the crop in the Kingdom
of Friedonia's National Defense Force. Now that we're here... Whoa!"
Halbert jumped up onto the edge of the wall, impaling one of the
climbing lizardmen with his right-hand spear. Then, at the same time, he
burned the impaled lizardman with flame magic before kicking it down into
a group assembled in front of the wall. When it hit the ground...
Boom!
...the burning lizardman exploded. The nearby lizardmen were sent
flying by the blast wave. Not only that, the flames kept spreading to the rest
of the nearby lizardmen, and they all turned into writhing fireballs.
"""Gugyagyagyagyaggya...""" the lizardmen screamed.
"That's that," said Halbert. "I'm not letting them over this wall."
With flames and smoke rising behind him, Halbert pulled the spear he'd
thrown back to him with the thin chain that was connected to the base of
both his spears' shafts. He puffed his chest up in a way that made him look
reliable.
Lauren had been struck dumb by the speed with which he acted, but a
complaint came down from the sky.
"Don't you say, 'I've got this!' Stupid Hal! What kind of knight jumps
down alone and abandons his dragon, you dummy?!"
"Whuh?!" Lauren let out yet another cry of surprise.
Looking up in the direction the voice came from, there was a red dragon
diving straight down from the sky at them. The dragon opened its mouth
wide and spewed fire, cutting a straight line across the pack of lizardmen
trying to scale the castle wall.
Bwoooooooooooosh!
A wall of flames rose up, scorching the lizardmen before their eyes. In
the middle of that incredible scene, Halbert was bowing his head to the red
dragon.
"Hey, Ruby, sorry! It looked bad down here, so I couldn't help myself..."
"No, do help yourself! Don't scare me like that, you dummy!"
The red dragon turned its head away, pouting like a young girl.
Lauren could no longer recognize the scene before her as reality. Her
mouth hung open. "I-Is the Friedonian military this...ridiculous?"
"I wouldn't want you thinking of our family as typical, you know," a
beastman girl with fox ears and a tail said as she jumped down from the
deep red dragon's back. The fox-eared girl walked over to Lauren and
extended her right hand. "You must be the commander. It's a pleasure to
meet you, you know. I am Hal's superior, as well as the operational
commander of the Dratroopers, Kaede Foxia."
"...Oh! I'm Captain Lauren!" Lauren hurriedly took Kaede's hand. But
even as they exchanged a firm handshake, Lauren eyed Kaede dubiously.
"Um... Since you descended from a dragon, does that make you a dragon
knight, Madam Kaede?"
"No. Ruby... That red dragon's knight is Halbert, you see. Halbert and I
are engaged, so she lets me ride her under the reasoning that the spouse of
my spouse is kind of like my spouse too."
"Huh...? You are Sir Halbert's spouse and superior, and that red dragon
is his spouse too?" Lauren was getting confused.
Kaede smiled wryly. "I can explain the details later, you know. There are
more important things for now." Kaede looked toward the castle as she
spoke. "I've been ordered to have our 200 Dratroopers cooperate with the
defenders from each of the walls to keep the monsters out, you see. The
first order of business is to secure the walls."
"I'm grateful for that, but...if you have 200 troops, then that's fifty per
wall, right?" Lauren asked. "No matter how elite all of you are, is that going
to be enough to break through the current situation?"
Lauren was worried, but Kaede grinned at her. "It's true, the number of
troops we landed in the castle is 200 strong, but...you're forgetting
something important, you know."
"Forgetting something important?"
Kaede raised her index finger and pointed straight up.
Lauren followed where she was pointing, and...finally, it dawned on her
what Kaede was trying to say.
"That's right... We still have a force that's super strong against landbased troops up there, you know," Kaede said with a grin.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, around that time, there was an energetic voice on the
southern wall.
"Ookyakya! The cavalry's here! Time to let loose!"
"Young Master, why are you so eager?!"
It was Kuu and Leporina, the master and servant duo from the Republic
of Turgis.
The two of them had descended along with the Dratroopers.
When Kuu, participating as a visiting general, had learned of the
existence of the Dratroopers, he'd asked Souma to let him parachute in too.
Naturally, Souma had been hesitant at first. "I told you not to do
anything dangerous, didn't I?"
"Come on, Bro! If it makes a difference, I can make my own
parachute!"
Kuu's words had put Souma in a bind. The parachute was a matter of
life and death during a drop, and even if an amateur could make one
themselves, it wasn't a thing they should try. However, if he refused, Kuu
may make one himself and drop in anyway, so Souma had relented in the
face of Kuu's enthusiasm and begrudgingly given the okay...on the
condition that, along with Leporina, experienced Dratroopers would also
accompany them.
Like a skydiving instructor with a novice skydiver, the Dratroopers had
fastened themselves to Kuu and Leporina as they dropped, and now they
were joining up with the defenders on the southern wall.
In contrast to Kuu, hyped to experience his first drop, Leporina still
seemed frightened, because her face was pale, and her bunny ears were
down flat. "I think...this may be the most I've ever regretted being in your
service."
"Ookyaya! Then you've never been all that dissatisfied before, huh?"
"Yes, I have! I'm saying this is the worst!"
"Well too bad for you, huh? Now then." Kuu jumped onto the edge of
the wall, looking at the pack of lizardmen swarming toward it beneath him.
The massive force pressing against the walls was an unusual sight for Kuu.
"There sure are a lot of 'em. You'd never see this in Turgis."
"H-Hey? Who're you people?" one of the defenders hesitantly asked as
Kuu was peering over the edge of the wall.
Kuu tapped his shoulder with his favorite cudgel, then smiled at the
defender. "Didn't I already say? Reinforcements. That's what we are."
"Reinforcements?! It was reinforcements that fell from the sky?! WhWhere are you from?!"
Kuu grinned. "Where, you ask? The Republic of Turgis."
"The Republic of Turgis? That country way to the south sent us
reinforcements?"
"Yeah. Only two of us, though."
"T-Two?!" The defender was blinking, no longer able to make heads or
tails of the situation.
It was already hard to believe that the Republic of Turgis on the southern
edge of the continent would send reinforcements to this little country in a
corner of the Union of Eastern Nations, so when he was told they were just
two people, the soldier must have felt like he was being tricked.
Satisfied by the soldier's befuddled reaction, Kuu jumped down from
the wall to slap him vigorously on the shoulder. "I'm kidding, man. We're
really here on behalf of the Kingdom of Friedonia. We just happen to be
visiting generals from the Republic of Turgis."
"S-Sure..."
"Well, now that we're here, you've got nothing to worry about!" Kuu
jumped onto the edge of the wall again, clubbing two lizardmen who had
climbed up, knocking them back into the swarm below. "Hah... Hoh...
Alley-oop!"
Bouncing along the bumps of the edge, whenever Kuu found a
lizardman attacking someone, he whacked it with the cudgel Taru had
specially made for him and sent the monster flying.
"Hey, guys! You ever hear this before?" Kuu shouted to the defenders
from the edge of the wall. "They say a Turgish soldier's worth a hundred
men! That means me and Leporina are worth 200 reinforcements!
Ookyakya!"
Seeing Kuu laugh heartily, all the soldiers felt a little more relaxed. This
boy might be exaggerating, but from the rampage he'd just gone on, it
might not be a total lie. When they looked at his baseless smile, it made
them think, We can't let him beat us. We can keep going.
The soldiers, who had been hanging their heads before, now raised their
faces, their morale restored.
Then an especially big lizardman appeared behind Kuu. Unlike the
others, the surface of its body was red too. The red lizardman swung the
claws from both its hands at Kuu.
"Whoa!" Kuu caught the claw strike by holding his cudgel up
horizontally. However...
"Kishaaa!" the lizardman hissed.
"Urgh..."
In the back of the lizardman's open maw, Kuu could now see red flames.
Oh, crap. Some of them can breathe fire too?!
Kuu already doing his best to fend off its claws. If it breathed fire at him
now, he wouldn't be able to dodge. Kuu broke into a cold sweat. Then...it
happened.
Whoosh!
"Gugyaah?!"
The arrow flew in and struck true, stabbing into the lizardman's right
eye.
The lizardman's face aimed up and away, and the ball of fire it spit flew
off in a completely different direction.
Kuu turned his neck to look, and Leporina was on the opposite edge of
the wall with bow at the ready. She immediately nocked another arrow.
"I won't let you kill Master Kuu!"
Leporina's second arrow flew, this time piercing the left eye.
The red lizardman held its eyes and flailed around.
"Here's a little something extra. Eat this too!"
While his enemy was faltering, Kuu spun his cudgel around and bashed
its jaw from below. There was a snapping sound, and the red lizardman fell
limply over the side of the wall.
"Whew..." Having escaped from a close shave, Kuu wiped the sweat
from his brow. "Ook... You saved me there, Leporina."
"Really, now. Worth a hundred reinforcements? I've never heard
anything like that, you know?"
"Well, duh? I'm going to make sure everyone knows it from now on!"
Kuu made a big show of spinning his cudgel around before tucking it at his
side. "It may be an exaggerated boast, but we can make it real. If I crush a
hundred of these things, it'll start sounding believable!"
"Don't say that like it's easy!"
"We're doing this, Leporina! Let's show the northern lands just how
strong Turgish warriors can be!"
No sooner had he said that than Kuu raced off in search of his next
target. His promise to Souma that he wouldn't do anything dangerous was
long since forgotten.
"Ookyakya! Hey, soldiers of Lastania! It's time to hold your ground! If
you think you can't win a fight, call for me! I've got this!" Kuu boasted as
he beat down the lizardmen close to him.
It was as unclear as ever what basis he had to say any of this, but his
energetic voice felt invigorating somehow.
"Yeah! Let's do this thing!" the soldiers called.
"Heh! We can't let our Turgish guest hog all the glory!"
"This is our country! We've gotta defend it ourselves!"
The soldiers' morale rose even higher, and everyone on the walls got
fired up.
Leporina, who could sense the heated atmosphere as she followed Kuu,
smiled. This is it. This is the young master's charisma.
He was a bit of an idiot and had a way of flying off the handle
occasionally, but Kuu always led the way, taking risks himself, and roused
those following behind him.
There were kings like Souma who were skilled at using people. There
were empresses like Maria who drew the respect of their people. Even so,
the one Leporina wanted to serve was Kuu, and Kuu alone.
Though...if he could refrain from being quite so reckless, he'd be even
better...
While Leporina was thinking that, Kuu pushed her to hurry up. "Come
on, Leporina! We've still got another ninety or so to take down!"
"When you said you'd defeat a hundred, you were serious about that?!"
Leporina cried out incredulously, and then it happened.
From far in the sky above Kuu and Leporina, there was the sound of
trumpets. Bwoon! Bwoon! They blared several times, as if warning them to
be careful.
Hearing that sound, Kuu and Leporina's faces grew tense.
"Oh, crap! It's starting! Hey, you people! Get away from the walls for a
bit!"
"Everyone!" Leporina called. "The wyvern knights will soon commence
bombing! Things are expected to go flying, so move away from the outside
of the walls, and get down!"
Indeed. The trumpets were a signal from the wyvern cavalry that they
were going to start bombing.
"B-Bombing?!" a soldier yelled.
"Hey, hurry and get away from the walls!"
The defenders hurried away from the outside of the wall, getting down
on the cobblestones.
Then the 200-wyvern cavalry that had been standing by in the air since
dropping the Dratroopers suddenly swooped down and dropped their barrels
on the packs of lizardmen around the castle walls. The barrels were packed
full of explosives. The explosive barrels, which had their explosion time
adjusted with fuses, exploded just before falling into the packs of
lizardmen.
B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-Boom!
The explosions went off continuously, occurring in all directions
horizontally. The blast waves and vibrations even hit the soldiers who were
ducking and covering on the wall.
When they finally raised their faces to look around, pillars of flame were
rising outside the walls to the north, south, east, and west. The spreading
fireballs cooked the lizardmen packs, and a strangely savory smell wafted
through the air.
The wyvern cavalry who had dropped the explosive barrels dove again,
scorching the remaining lizardman packs with their fire breath. Those
flames set off the explosives that had been scattered around by barrels
reaching the ground without going off, and they turned the outside of the
walls into a sea of fire.
The lizardmen simply burned away, unable to do anything.
"Ook. Wyverns are sure amazing, huh..." Kuu said in admiration,
peering out through a crack in the wall.
The currents in the air were violent, and the Republic of Turgis was too
cold to begin with, so his country had no air force of its own, and no
country had ever used one against them.
The first air raid he had witnessed was beyond anything he'd ever
imagined.
There must have been 5,000 lizardmen, and in an instant, seventy to
eighty percent of them had been incinerated.
The lizardmen who were fortunate enough to escape the flames were
crawling, and he could see them scurry away into the nearby forest.
If similar scenes were unfolding at each of the other walls, there were
maybe only 1,000 lizardmen left. They wouldn't attack until their numbers
were replenished, at the very least.
Kuu stood up and dusted himself off. "Ookyakya! At the end of the day,
I only managed to get about ten of them, huh?"
"Then why don't you give chase? Alone." Leporina asked, exhausted.
Kuu just shrugged. "I'd love to, but I can't see a thing through all the
smoke. I'll let 'em off for today."
"...You will, will you?"
"Well, I've got more important stuff to do, anyway." Kuu slammed his
cudgel down on the cobblestones, then shouted to all the Lastanian soldiers
who were dumbstruck from the aerial bombardment. "Okay, the attacks
been knocked back! Let's hear you shout! Victoryyyyy!"
"Victory." Hearing that word, the soldiers of Lastania finally got the
sense that they had won.
Thrusting their shaking hands toward the heavens, they shouted from the
bottom of their lungs.
"""Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"""
The soldiers' cheers echoed through the evening skies of Lastania.
◇ ◇ ◇
They heard explosions from the north, south, east, and west walls, and
then black smoke rose in all four directions.
That was most likely the result of aerial bombardment by the same
wyvern cavalry that had dropped the Dratroopers.
The lizardmen had no means of launching an anti-air attack and
defending against aerial bombardment, so they were being unilaterally
bombed to death. Even if it wasn't enough to exterminate them completely,
it could be expected to lower the pressure from Lizardmen pressing in on
each wall.
Meanwhile, around the same time, the battle near the castle was
reaching its conclusion.
Hearing the situation from Julius, I ordered Aisha and the few royal
guards in the gondola Naden was carrying to work with Julius and Jirukoma
to exterminate the lizardmen attacking the castle.
While it went without saying that Aisha was strong, the royal guards
were confident in their skills too, and together they could make short work
of the ten or so Lizardmen in the area around the building.
"Naden, there's another one over there!" I called.
"Roger that! Unaaaa!"
Crackle!
Naden, still in her young girl form, let loose an electric shock, piercing a
lizardman on the roof of the castle.
The lizardman who she struck went rigid, unable to utter a sound, and
then collapsed to the ground, twitching. It was apparently still breathing.
"Why, you!" Aisha raised her greatsword to deal the finishing blow.
"Hold on, Aisha!" I held out my hand and stopped her. "Take that one
alive."
"Huh? We're taking prisoners?"
"It may teach us something about the ecology of the monsters. I want to
catch one, at least."
"Understood. Phew... Take this!"
Aisha thrust her greatsword into the ground, then landed a hand chop on
the back of the twitching lizardman's neck. The lizardman's back arched for
a moment, and then it went limp and stopped moving. Its eyes were rolled
back, and it was foaming at the mouth.
...I dunno, even if it was a monster, I felt bad seeing that happen to it.
I hesitantly asked Aisha a question as she dragged it over by the tail.
"There was a nasty noise there. Are you sure you didn't kill it?"
"I held back a little, so it should be fine...probably."
"O-Okay then..."
Looking closer, the monster was out cold and didn't seem to be dead, so
I had a royal guard bind its mouth and body, then lock it inside a tower near
the castle.
That was it for enemies outside the royal mansion.
Jirukoma came rushing over. "The royal family and refugees have been
left behind inside the royal mansion. I want to rescue them, but there may
still be lizardmen inside the building. I would like to request help from the
royal guard."
"Okay." I nodded and gave the order. "Work with Jirukoma, search
every nook and cranny to eliminate any lizardmen, and save the royal
family and refugees! They may be hiding in the shadows, so exercise due
caution!"
"""Yes, sir!"""
The royal guards saluted me, then went inside the castle with Jirukoma.
Only Aisha, Naden, Julius, and I were left behind. Time drifted by as
everyone remained awkwardly silent. Julius was looking toward the castle,
and Aisha was cautiously watching him. I guessed it was time for me to say
something.
"I hear there were people left behind, but are they okay?"
"I decided that rather than try to move them out, it was safer to have
them stay in one place until things settled down," Julius said. "They were in
a place deep inside, and the entrance was tightly sealed, so they should be
all right."
"I see."
"Yeah..."
...Yeah, this was awkward.
Julius and I had met leading opposing armies on the field of war.
Julius had invaded the Elfrieden Kingdom together with his father Gaius
VIII, who had lost his life during that war. He should be trying to take
revenge against me, as his father's killer, but I was also engaged to his
younger sister Roroa, so things were complicated.
On top of that, he was the one asking for reinforcements, and I was the
one providing them.
While we were both unable to find the words to say, Aisha eyed him
warily. Her hands had not left the hilt of her greatsword, as if she were
saying, "If you make even one wrong move, I'll kill you."
We were enveloped by an air of tension.
As the only one unacquainted with Julius, Naden sensed the uneasiness
in the air, and her eyes darted busily back and forth between our faces.
"Wh-What? Why's everyone so tense?"
"Bro... Big Brother..." Roroa said hesitantly.
Turning toward her hesitant voice, I saw that Roroa and Tomoe, who
had been told to stay in the gondola where it was safe until things were
settled, were getting out. Behind Tomoe was her bodyguard Inugami.
Seeing his sister, Julius's eyes narrowed. "Oh, it's Roroa..."
She walked slowly over and stood beside me. She opened her mouth as
if to say something, but she couldn't quite find the words, and her mouth
just bobbed open and shut. I couldn't blame her.
My relationship with Julius was complicated, but hers was too.
They were brother and sister by blood, but they had also been political
enemies. She had driven him out for the sake of the people of Amidonia,
and then protected them by marrying me and bringing her country with her.
No doubt she felt guilty over driving her brother out.
Meanwhile, Julius had used his connection to Roroa to save the
Kingdom of Lastania. In a life-or-death crisis, Julius had relied on the little
sister who had been his enemy.
"Roroa," he said at last.
"Ah!"
Julius walked forward to stand in front of Roroa. That naturally meant
the petite Roroa would have to look up at him. Before the uncertain Roroa
could look up, Julius quietly lowered his head.
"You did well to bring King Souma here. Thank you."
Roroa's eyes went wide. "Brother...I..."
"I no longer have my position as the crown prince of Amidonia. Now
I'm just a guest seeking refuge in this country. You needn't be polite with
me. You speak in merchant slang with Colbert and the others, don't you?"
Julius raised his head.
"...Oh, fine! I get it." Roroa scratched her head, then crossed her arms as
if she'd come to terms with it. Then, she faced Julius straight on. "So,
uh...it's been a while, huh? How've ya been?"
"Well, I'm healthy enough, as you can see. The people of this country
have been treating me well, and thanks to your reinforcements, we were
able to deflect today's offensive. Let me thank you again for passing my
request for aid on to King Souma."
"H-Hmmph. You'd better be grateful." Roroa looked away and pursed
her lips. "I wasn't expectin' it to be like this when we met again."
"Heh, I could say the same."
"I'm not gonna apologize for havin' ya run out of the country," Roroa
added aggressively. "That time... it was all I could do to protect the people
of the principality."
"I failed as a ruler, so I'm not in any place to complain," Julius said. "If
you acted in the interest of the people, be prouder of it. You needn't feel
guilty about it."
"I-I'm not really feelin' guilty about it!" Roroa said, flashing her teeth at
Julius. "Nyahh!"
I dunno... Watching from the side, they looked like any brother and
sister talking.
According to Roroa, they had only spoken the bare minimum that was
necessary in Amidonia. She'd been playing innocent out of concern for how
her father and brother would see her. Now that that was over and she was
being open about her feelings, I was surprised just how much they looked
like a normal brother and sister.
Julius shook his head in exasperation. "You're childish as ever, I see. It's
been a year since you went to be with King Souma, hasn't it? Shouldn't you
have conceived a child by now?"
"Wha?!" Roroa panicked. "What're you sayin'?! Me and Darlin', we
haven't...uh..."
"Don't tell me you haven't even laid a hand on her yet?" Julius said in
exasperation, having apparently picked up on what Roroa meant.
Roroa turned so red that I thought her face might start shooting flames.
It seemed she wasn't good at having the matter addressed directly. It wasn't
a reaction I saw from her often, so I thought it was a little cute.
While she was in that state, Julius kept talking. "Roroa. You are the head
of the Princely House of Amidonia now. If you birth a child, the bloodline
of the Princely House of Amidonia will be protected. You have a duty to
produce heirs who will tell the stories of the Royal House of Amidonia's
military accomplishments. I implore you to make King Souma fall in love
with you as soon as possible."
"Oh, geez! Lay off! Now I know how Big Sis Cia felt!" Roroa quickly
hid behind me. Then she stuck out her face to hiss and give Julius a
menacing look.
Since when did she come from a cat beastman race...?
Now that Roroa had hidden, I faced Julius again. "I've come in response
to your request for aid. It will still be some time before the main force
arrives, but I've brought 200 Dratroopers as an advance party."
"I am deeply grateful for your assistance." Julius knelt and bowed his
head.
The man I'd once competed with during the negotiations with Madam
Jeanne was now bowing down to me... It was a strange feeling.
"This feels weird. Please, just stand up and talk normally. Or else..."
"Or else?"
"I'll call you 'Big Brother.'"
"...I'll ask you to spare me that, if nothing else." Julius stood up and
looked me straight in the face.
There wasn't the grimness that had once been there, and he looked
relaxed, as if something that had been possessing him had moved on.
Then Julius moved the discussion along. "I know it's odd for me to say
this as the one making the request, but why did you respond to my call for
aid? We fought each other before. You could have ignored me, couldn't
you?"
"I didn't want to put Roroa through any more pain than she's already
been through."
"How soft...is what the old me would have said, but now...I think I can
understand. Is Roroa that big of a deal to you?"
"Roroa's family now," I said. "I'll protect my family, come whatever
may."
"Family...huh."
Julius and I eyed one another. Like we were each probing the other's
intentions.
I could hear Aisha and Naden talking behind me.
"Madam Naden, you and I are His Majesty's family too, right?"
"You bet we are. And when we include everyone's little sister Tomoe,
we're a family of seven."
"Then, do you suppose that makes Sir Julius my brother-in-law?"
"No, I don't think it works that way."
I wanted to say, Um... Could you two take the relaxed conversation
elsewhere...? But, no, it was reassuring to have the two powerful ones close
by. That way, I didn't have to be afraid of Julius.
Julius pulled his sheathed saber from his belt and offered it to me.
I narrowed my eyes and asked him, "What's this supposed to mean?"
"When I sent the request, I said I was willing to offer you my head. If
you want it, let me do as I promised."
"...You were serious?"
"Of course. If you strike me down, that will be one less worry regarding
your rule over Amidonia. In exchange, I'd like you to look after this
kingdom to the end."
There was no indecision in Julius's eyes. He'd already made up his
mind, it seemed.
I slowly took the saber, and Julius bent down and extended his neck so it
would be easier to cut.
"Darli—"
Roroa was about to say something, but then forced herself to stay silent.
Thinking she shouldn't say anything, she swallowed the words.
Now, what to do...
"Lord Julius!"
A young girl coming out of the castle with Jirukoma raced over, putting
herself between Julius and me. She hugged Julius, who was still hanging his
head.
The young girl looked up at me, her eyes filled with a strength of
emotion that belied her charming appearance.
"I see you are King Souma Kazuya of the Kingdom of Friedonia. I am
the princess of this country, Tia Lastania."
"Oh, right... I'm Souma Kazuya." I was thrown by the girl's intensity
and responded in the way I normally would. So, this was this country's
princess, huh?
Princess Tia made a desperate appeal to me. "We are very happy, and
grateful, to receive reinforcements from the Kingdom of Friedonia.
However, though I hesitate to say this as the one receiving assistance... I
must ask you, please, be magnanimous and forgive Lord Julius!"
"Princess Tia! This is dangerous! Please stand down!" Julius barked.
"I will not let go! I don't want to see you killed!"
Though Julius tried to tear her off him, Princess Tia held on tight and
wouldn't let go. She was putting her life on the line to save Julius.
"I've heard the situation from Lord Julius! I know that Lord Julius
risked his head to make this request for aid! But he did that for us, the
Kingdom of Lastania! I do not know what kind of man Lord Julius was
during his time in the Principality of Amidonia. However, in his time here,
Julius has led a force of volunteer soldiers, striking down the monsters that
attack, and serving this country. He is irreplaceable to this country! And
also to me!"
Seeing Tia speak quickly and try to persuade us...
Oh, that makes sense...
Roroa and I got it. The reason Julius seemed to have grown as a person
was likely thanks to this princess here. I could read between the lines and
see her love for Julius. Her feelings for him, and his for her, had made
Julius who he was now.
Though, hold on, I never meant to cut Julius down in the first place.
It wasn't like taking his head at this point would change anything, and,
more than anything, I didn't want to make Roroa sad. Besides, it felt like
Julius had offered me the sword knowing I'd think that way. It was
probably a symbolic formality, like we were cutting off our past
relationship.
But Princess Tia, who didn't know that, was desperately trying to protect
Julius.
Now, how am I going to get this situation under control? I wondered.
Then, suddenly, it came to me.
"...Very well. If you will accept a certain condition, I will refrain from
bringing retribution on Julius."
"If it is something I can do, then anything!"
"Princess Tia!" Julius hastily tried to make her take it back, but Princess
Tia stubbornly refused to listen.
"Now then, what might your condition be?" she asked.
"I wish for you to take the name of Amidonia from Julius by your own
hands."
"Take his name away? Um, do you suppose that is something which I
can do?"
"Yes, and if it's you, it can be done quite easily, I think."
"It can?" Tia was nonplussed.
Meanwhile, Julius, who understood what I was saying, immediately
took on an angry look and glared at me. Oh! There was still some
semblance of his old face there.
Then, having apparently figured it out, Tia clapped her hands. "Oh, I
see. I just need to have Sir Julius marry into my family. If he does that, he'll
be Julius Lastania, not Julius Amidonia."
"Princess Tia, this is the sort of thing you need to think through
carefully..." Julius said hurriedly.
But Tia agreed with a smile and a nod. "I will accept your condition. I
know my mother and father will accept Sir Julius."
"...Urkh."
"Wahahah!" Jirukoma laughed. "Looks like it's time for you to pay the
piper, huh, Julius. Congratulations. Well, from the looks of you two, it was
just a matter of time anyway."