"It was about 30 years ago. There was a small country named 'Solomon' in a conflict region on a certain island. Although Solomon's military strength was inferior to that of other countries, it was blessed with one advantage: terrain that was difficult to attack but easy to defend, to the extent that the country was called 'impregnable'."
"Impregnable…"
"Yes. We've been to the Hero of Light's country before, right? 'Vivalk', was it? Just like that country, Solomon was good at defense strategies that made use of the terrain."
"I see."
Vivalk was called a 'natural fortress' if I wasn't mistaken.
I could imagine how strong Solomon's defense prowess was.
"But at the end of the day, Solomon was just a weak small country. If other countries were willing to dig deep into their treasuries, Solomon's prided defense strategies and advantageous terrains would prove meaningless. The only reason it was able to maintain its peace was that its neighboring countries were constantly at war, keeping each other from growing bigger."
"That's… an ironic story… For it to be able to keep its peace only because the countries surrounding it were at war…"
"That's just the way it is. It was an age of conflict. That's why the people of Solomon lived in constant fear. All they could do was think about 'the day' that would come someday."
"..."
It went without saying that 'the day' was the day Solomon was invaded.
I was sure the people couldn't be as calm as the people of Berqua.
"Then, one day, Solomon's third princess was born. She wasn't just an ordinary princess. The moment she was born, a shining shield appeared as if to celebrate her birth, emitting a warm light that enveloped her and her stunned mother. Yes, she was the 'Shield' Saintess."
That reminded me, I'd heard that the Holy Sword appeared in front of Elma the moment she was born.
Well, back then I was only about one, so I didn't remember at all.
"On top of that, her eyes held a mysterious glow, as if she could see through everything. The king was convinced: 'This child will be Solomon's hope', he said. However, if the information about her was exposed to other countries, Solomon might face a calamity before she could grow. Hence, the fact that the princess was the 'Shield' Saintess became the country's most important secret—at least, until the day she was forced to stand on the battlefield."
"Forced to stand on the battlefield…"
Don't tell me?! When I knitted my brows into a deep frown, Shiva-san nodded, "Yes," and said, "Solomon decided to start a war. By taking advantage of the absolute protective power of the 'Shield' Saintess and her all-seeing 'eyes'. With just a glance, she was able to figuratively strip the enemy camps naked."
"…I see. Certainly, with that Solomon should be able to win battles even if it had inferior forces… However…"
"I know. It was too harsh a situation for a little girl who had been raised in a box her whole life. I even ended up wetting myself on my first battle." Shiva-san said with such a light tone, shrugging her shoulders, but she must have been really scared back then.
"Oh dear." Maybe I was making a sad face? Shiva-san gently softened the corners of her mouth and said, "You are so kindhearted. It's all in the past now, don't make such a sad face. But thank you. Your feeling makes me very happy."
"N-no problem…"
Shiva-san smiled. "Okay, continuing where I left off, Solomon's rapid advance continued in that manner, and eventually the long history of conflict came to an end. Solomon unified all countries."
"And so peace… didn't happen, right?" I hesitantly asked.
"Yes," Shiva-san nodded in response and said, "Sure, Solomon was able to gain temporary peace. Everyone was happy, and if it had continued that way, the country would have thrived on tourism by now, I think? After all, there were many beautiful places there."
But that didn't happen, Shiva-san continued, "The most feared thing after the war ended is for the war to start again. Which, in Solomon's case, was for the power of the 'Shield' Saintess, the one who made the unification possible, fell into the hands of forces with rebellious thoughts. Even if the countries had been unified by Solomon, there was no way all of them could accept that, so it was a natural concern."
"…Right. If they were content with what they had, there wouldn't have been any wars in the first place."
"Exactly. Not knowing when any of them would rebel, the king and the higher-ups of the country reached a conclusion, that is, to erase the saintess."
"That's so…"
"I know right, that's so selfish of them. Well, with that, they joined forces and tried to assassinate the 'Shield' Saintess, but the name of the 'Shield' wasn't just for show. They failed to kill her and she escaped—then after various twists and turns, she found herself here now."
"I see…"
I never thought Shiva-san had led such a harsh life.
She had said "After various twists and turns" with such a light tone, but she must have been through an untold number of hardships then.
I have to make sure she is happy from now on.
Mhm, I inwardly vowed again, clenching my fists.
"Oh, by the way," Shiva-san's mood did a 180 and she said in a playful way, "Solomon was destroyed soon after. Well, it's only natural. While the king and his retainers thought that the peace would continue without me, they were only able to suppress other countries because of me. With my absence, the other countries started a coup d'état, resulting in a great war that sunk the whole island into the sea."
"Ehh…"
No, no, I didn't think you should talk about such a thing with amusement…
"Uh, so, how's your family…?"
"Who knows? I don't care enough to look for them. My father needs no mention, my mother was creepy, and my sisters always bullied me, I don't have any good memories of them, to be honest. So whatever happened to them is of no concern to me."
"I-is that so…?" My face twitched, feeling complicated.
"That is so," but Shiva-san just smiled bewitchingly and said, "I care about those who treasure me, and as for those who don't, I can't be bothered about. Here comes the question: do you treasure me, darling?"
Fufu, Shiva-san gave me a teasing look, but I unhesitantly nodded vigorously and answered, "Of course, I do, now and forever. I'll make you happy, so please continue to be by my side."
"!" Shiva-san's face instantly reddened at that moment.
Then, with a blissful smile on her face, she said, "…It'll be my pleasure," before bringing her body closer to mine.
As an aside, various things happened after that, causing us to get back quite late, and Magmell forced me to sit on my knees, but that was a story for another time.