Published at 22nd of January 2020 4:05 pm

Volume 2, Chapter 1: The Unmotivated Runaway

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

A dozen soldiers all began to draw magical circles at once—

It gave birth to a massive flash of lightning. It almost seemed like they’d fire it to intimidate their opponents…

He gazed at the light. “Like I said, you’ve got this wrong. I’m tired, and my limbs are all heavy, and why do I have to go through this again?” Ryner Lute complained.

A stream of lightning flashed and struck out a huge chunk of ground at his feet.

Ryner sighed. “Bullies…”

His black hair was messy, and his black, motivationless eyes looked awfully done with what was currently happening. His lanky body had the tendency to slouch, and for some reason he was currently wearing the white battle armor and robe of Roland’s strongest soldiers, the Magical Knights. In spite of his armor, he was overflowing with laziness.

“Also, I’m actually, like, pretty against bullying. Yeah. So let’s make peace here and all take naps instead,” Ryner said, lacking even the vaguest nervousness as always.

In an instant, thunder roared.

Several places around his feet were all gouged at once.

“Uu… seriously? I’m not allowed to leave? I hate running, you know. It’s such a pain… get what I’m sayin’?”

Even as he spoke, lighting was shot all around him like a storm. A storm made to destroy. It was powerful enough that if he took a direct hit, he’d be burnt into charcoal.

That destruction fell incessantly upon Ryner’s surroundings, like it was raining an abnormal light. He avoided it with great agility, despite his tired eyes. That, too, was abnormal…

There was someone else with him, too - a blue eyed beauty who dodged the lightning with ease. Her glossy golden hair fanned out around her as she moved. Her unusually handsome face was accompanied by a slender and graceful body clothed in leather armor. She had a longsword sheathed at her waist.

She was truly a beauty of an unbelievable degree. She could steal anyone’s eyes, forcing a sigh out admiration out of them…

Ryner looked at her. “Hey… you…”

He let out a sigh… of lamentation.

Even in this situation, she was completely expressionless. She reached into her pocket, and took out some dango to eat…

“Mm. Dango from Wynnit’s really is delicious.”

“…Hey, this isn’t really the time for that, is it!? What’s up with you! Don’t you understand the situation here? It looks like they’re gonna kill us!”

“Hm. But you don’t seem nervous at all?”

“I don’t wanna hear that from you! Geez,” Ryner said and sighed. “I’m getting really tired for some reason… I’m gonna take a nap, so make sure things go well while I’m out, okay?”

In the midst of that destructive rain of lightning, Ryner carelessly layed down on his side…

In the end, neither of them had a word like “nervous” in their vocabulary…

They were currently passing through the border between the Roland Empire and Imperial Nelpha. They were trying to do so without authorization, so… that would be why security guards were currently attacking them with magic. To top it off, there was a massive wall at their backs keeping them from advancing. So they were completely closed in.

The soldiers surrounded them.

A bearded man who appeared to be the soldiers’ commanding officer came forward. “Hahah! We finally caught you, you taboo breakers! There’s no way you can get away now, just try! I’ve served for twenty-five years! There’s no way you guys can get past a veteran border patrol officer like me!” He even struck some kind of pose while he spoke in that heated tone of his.

Ryner completely ignored him and spoke to the beauty beside him instead. “Hey, Ferris. This is my first time being attacked crossing here, so I have some seeeeeeerrious doubts. Hear me out?”

Her expression didn’t change in the slightest, and she responded flatly. “No. I’m busy with dango.”

“……”

She hadn’t hesitated at all… her response was fast enough to give him vertigo.

“What does that even mean!? God, I don’t get you… I’ve said it tons of times already, but think about the situation we’re in! This isn’t the time for you to be ‘busy with dango,’ is it!?”

Ferris’ cold eyes darted to Ryner, her expression unchanging. “So?”

“Huh? Ah, um… er… w, well, even if you say ‘so?’ all cold like that, I’m not scared of you! Uu… it’s not like that! So answer my question.”

“So what is it?”

“Well see, it’s like, weird, yeah? We’re leaving the country on that guy - the king’s - order’s, right?”

“Right.”

“Then why were we suddenly attacked while we’re trying to leave? And they even called us taboo breakers! But we’re here on the king’s orders so we should be authorized, right?”

“Right,” Ferris said with a nod, bored.

By the way, a ‘taboo breaker’ was someone who had practiced the Roland Empire’s magic, then attempted to leave the country without permission. They could be a runaway, a deserter, or something similar. When these ‘taboo breakers’ were caught, they were forced to endure a harsh punishment.

It was a system created to avoid leaking the Roland Empire’s magic to other countries.

Of course, if they had permission from the king, there wouldn’t be any problems…

That should’ve been the case, but Ryner looked around. The soldiers, steeped in killing intent, had surrounded them like they were preparing for an all-out war. It was an explosive situation.

“So why’d this happen, anyway?” Ryner wondered.

Ferris didn’t even stop eating to respond. “Who knows.”

“Hey… you threatened me to come all the way out here with that sword of yours. Don’t go pretending it’s got nothing to do with you now!”

“Mm. The king’s orders were to accompany the older women loving sex maniac out. Because he didn’t know what you’d do then, I was ordered to kill you instantly should you prove unmanageable.”

“…Kill me instantly…? Well, I had the feeling Sion would say something like that, but… why am I a sex maniac, again!?”

“It’s your face.”

“Uwah… at least hesitate… wait, no! Augh, geez! I’m through with you! Like I could travel alongside someone like you! It was strange from the start, right? Why do I have to listen to what that guy says? He rummaged through my report all on his own, became king without me knowing, and to top it off, gave me a blank faced girl with a bad personality as a partner! Seriously, I’m done! I’m going home! And sleeping! Okay!?”

Ryner yelled out his words to the soldiers surrounding them and began to walk.

It was like he didn’t care at all about the atmosphere surrounding them…

The soldiers watched him for awhile, dumbfounded, before speaking. “Wait!! E-even if you say that, we won’t be deceived! You definitely won’t get—”

Ferris suddenly spoke. “Alright. Dango break’s over. Now, then.”

She unsheathed the sword at her hip. The soldiers made thoughtless noises as she did.

She spun her sword around gracefully, then pointed the blunt side at the back of Ryner’s head and swung.

“Gyahh!?”

It hit with a dull sound, and Ryner collapsed on the ground. It drained him of the power to get back up…

The soldiers winced at the scene before them. “Eh? Ah, wait… what does this mean?”

Ferris ignored them completely. She turned on the heel of her foot and stared up at the giant iron wall.

“Mm.”

In an instant, her body disappeared.

No, it didn’t disappear… she just jumped with such speed that she appeared to disappear, but she didn’t.

Her sword flashed, and in the same moment, the gate was torn into two equal pieces.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Ryner muttered, amazed, from his spot on the ground.

The soldiers’ expressions were matching exaggerated shock - their mouths had fallen open, but no sounds came out.

It was an unbelievable scene - her swordsmanship was so fast that no one had seen how exactly it happened. She’d sliced through the iron gate like it was so soft that it couldn’t offer any resistance to her sword…

She was an absolute monster.

If a monster like her were to lift a hand against them, they’d be killed in a second…

“And to top it all off, she’s got a bad personality… uu… seriously, why do I gotta travel with her…”

For some reason, Ferris grabbed Ryner’s back.

“Gyah!?”

She tugged to confirm that he wasn’t ready to stand yet, then moved her hand to his collar. “Let’s go, Ryner.”

She dragged him slowly through the gate.

Trying to stop her would just be reckless. So nobody did anything.

They somehow managed to progress.

Time moved on, and Ryner and Ferris left the Roland Empire for neighboring Imperial Nelpha.

Ryner trudged along the highway, looking like he’d given up. He sighed. “Geez, I get it already… I don’t want to be killed by you, so I’ll obey. So? Is our goal seriously to go find the Heroic Relics scattered across each country like I wrote about? Is it really okay to believe in that?”

Ferris, who was walking beside him, nodded. “It doesn’t matter if I believe in it or not. But our injust king’s holding hostages, so there’s nothing I can do but obey his orders.”

“Hostages? Ah, right… they did say something like that back in the royal court. Your little sister, right?”

Ferris shook her head. “My sister’s life is fine. Because she’s my sister. She can do anything by herself. More importantly, if I don’t listen to the king’s orders, Wynnit Dango will be destroyed… if I couldn’t live off their dango, then what could I live off of?”

“……”

So what?

Ryner scowled, but delving into that issue would be a pain, so he just nodded. “The king really is a horrible guy, isn’t he? And to top it all off, I gotta do this with someone with as bad of a personality as you… with him as king, the country’s already done for…”

“Hm. It’s just as you say. On top of being despicable, he’s made me accompany a sex maniac. It’s obvious what kind of path he’ll bring the country down.”

They went quiet for a moment. Then Ryner spoke. “Hey… you know I’m not actually a sex maniac, right?”

“I could say the same of you. You know that my personality isn’t really bad, don’t you?”

And so, Ryner and Ferris glared at each other…

A few seconds passed.

For some reason, Ryner was far more worn out than a moment ago. He walked, dead tired, dragging his feet. “Anyway, we’re like, supposed to be finding the Heroic Relics scattered across every country. They might be hiding an amazing hidden power…”

“Mm. Right. We can’t let other countries get their hands on such tremendous hidden power.”

“Well, they’re kinda like fairy tales, so I doubt anyone else has thought to seriously search them out though. I think we’re probably good on that front…”

Ferris looked dubious. “Mm? Really? But I heard from the king that you’re the one who wrote that splendid report on heroic relics.”

Ryner smiled bitterly. “Splendid report… huh. Well, I did write it, but… whatever. Anyway, we busted through the border a little too flashy, so it’s not like we can just walk right back into Roland now, so we might as well chase after Nelpha’s heroic legends. Geez, how’d this get to be such a pain… anyway, let’s head for Nelpha’s imperial capital.”

“Mm. Is there a heroic relic there?”

“No… there isn’t, but… to tell you the truth, I could only find information about Roland’s relics for my report. So we’ll have to research the heroic legends in Nelpha if we wanna find Nelpha’s Heroic Relics.”

“Hoh. So that’s what we’re going to the imperial capital for?”

“Yup. To visit the royal library.”

“Then let’s go,” Ferris said. Her pace turned brisk.

“Hey, d’you think you could walk a little slower? You’ve already hit me here and there, and I’m covered in injuries… also, I’m tired, and my legs feel heavy, and I really don’t like walking and traveling with that “alright, let’s reach the next town today” attitude, you know? So—”

Ferris unsheathed her sword, and turned to point it at Ryner.

“Alright alright!” Ryner said, flustered. I understand, ma’am. I’m walking, I’m walking.” He began to walk again. “Shit, you’re a demon! How did you even destroy that massive gate? What are you?”

Ferris ignored his question. “I don’t want to hear that from you. You’re always taking hit after hit from my sword, but you’ve shown me you can avoid it… so I could be asking you the same thing.”

“Uwah… you’ve even figured that out?”

“Obviously. Next time I’ll strike you dead with one hit…”

“You’re gonna kill me!?”

They walked along the highway while carrying on that sort of conversation.

The path they walked led to Nelpha’s imperial capital.

---

The scene changes once again, this time to the most powerful and most unnecessarily large building in the Roland Empire: the king’s residence, the castle.

The castle’s master was within a single, almost plain room.

His silver hair had an air of nobility, and his golden eyes reflected a strong will, and he was fairly symmetric.

Sion Astal.

An illegitimate son of the king, Sion had climbed to the top of the ladder after a brilliant service in the campaign against the Kingdom of Estabul.

He was the hero king who’d identified the misgovernment of the previous king and led a revolution with blinding skill. The king, still only nineteen, was born with exceptional charisma, power, and cunning, the likes of which he used to gain the support of the people.

But the government was what really accepted the support of the people, and the so-called nobility hated him for it…

“Hmm,” Sion mumbled. His gold eyes narrowed, and his thoughts were wrapped up in the documents he was staring at. “If this river isn’t managed soon, it’ll become problematic for the nearby village… I’ll need the development on Lord Beryl’s land to wait a bit for this. But there’s no way Lord Beryl will listen quietly… hmm…”

From his side, “Um… Lord Astal.”

It was sudden, but Sion didn’t raise his face. “Hm? Ah, wait a minute, Fiole. Right now, I need to… okay.” He finally turned to face Fiole. “What is it? Did something happen?”

Fiole was a young man of 16 or 17 who stood a little shorter than Sion and had a familiar smile. But right now, he was a little mad. “Don’t ‘did something happen’ me, Lord Astal. Just how long do you plan to keep working without a break?”

“Huh?” Sion thought for a moment. “However long it takes, I suppose.”

Fiole swiped the documents Sion had been looking at. “You haven’t left your seat for twenty hours now, and you never look away from your work. Also, you aren’t eating often enough… you’ll destroy your body like this! So take this! Until you eat it all, I’m not giving you these documents back!”

Fiole pointed to the luxurious meal he’d brought in on a serving cart.

When Sion saw it, he laughed like he was troubled. “Fiole, you’re scary. I get it, I’ll rest for a bit.” He raised both hands as a show of surrender.

Fiole made a face that screamed ‘well, obviously’ and skillfully performed his duty of clearing Sion’s desk and lining up his meal.

Sion folded his arms. “More importantly, Fiole. Lord Culliard’s fiefdom isn’t paying taxes in opposition to the nobility.”

“You still want to talk about work?” Fiole asked as he continued to set up the food. “I’ve already compiled a document regarding the fiefs’ opinions on the matter. But I’m not showing it to you until you’re done eating!”

“I-I get it, I get it, I tell you. But you’ve already compiled a document? Then there are already problems, even in these early stages… I knew leaving it to you was the right thing to do. You’re excellent.”

“W-what’re you saying all of a sudden? Nothing will come of praising me so much!” Fiole said, embarrassed, his face going red.

“I was serious,” Sion said with an honest expression. “You’re always helping me out quite a lot. But if you’ve managed to compile a complete report in such a short amount of time, you probably aren’t sleeping much at all either, are you?”

Fiole shook his head. “I’m fine. I was raised in a poor family, and lost both parents to the war the previous king caused. You found me and my little sister while we were homeless and took us in. It’s only natural that I’d devote myself to you. But…”

Fiole’s eyes, which still carried some of the innocence of youth, scrunched up in an all-out scowl.

“How am I supposed to repay my debt to you when you’re always busier than I am?”

Sion laughed. “So you’ve been thinking of repaying me. Hmm, that is a problem. It’s a little different from my ideals. I won’t accept your repayment. The nobility opposes you because of your low social status, so I can’t officially promote you, even if your excellence is clear to anyone’s eyes. Those nobles want to use you in secret…”

Fiole shook his head. “What are you saying? This is plenty enough for me. Life here is like a dream, and thanks to you, I’ve even been able to properly provide for my sister. I don’t need status on top of—”

“That’s wrong!” Sion said, cutting Fiole off a little too loudly.

“Huh…?”

Sion met Fiole’s eyes, then smiled and spoke. “You mustn’t think like that, Fiole. Status is relevant. Your birthright is relevant. This is still a country with a noble class and a king… but when you look at me, am I truly more noble than you? When you look at the nobility, do you think they’re more noble than you? They’re not. Everyone’s the same. I believe that people are intrinsically equal. Of course, we all have our roles to play, but… someday, that’s the kind of country I want to create. A country without war, where everyone is equal…”

Sion paused for only a moment before continuing.

“I’ll overcome any number of obstacles for that goal. In order to revamp the old, rotting system we’ve made enemies of the nobility in a short amount of time. They only cared about their own protection and money, after all. Fixing the them will take time, and I’ll need excellent people like you for the job. But even those aren’t what’s most important…”

Sion closed his eyes. Countless images rose up beneath his eyelids. The dead body of that dog he’d been sent. The faces of the nobility as they called him the son of a filthy, lowborn mutt.

She may have had humble origins, but his mother’s smile was the most noble of them all…

Sion smiled. “What’s most important is that we don’t give up, Fiole. That’s what I think. Your status may be low, but… please don’t give up on it. People may look down on you, but in the end, you’re not alone. I’m sure all sorts of people are by your side, so… well, that’s what I was told a long time ago. I’m just passing it on.” He shrugged.

Fiole was at a loss for words. All he could do was stare wide-eyed at Sion…

“What’s up, Fiole? Did I say something strange?”

Fiole shook his head, flustered. “No! Not at all! I just…”

“Hm. You just?”

Fiole laughed happily. “I’m just so glad that you became king of this country…”

“Huh?” Sion’s eyes widened. “Hey, nothing will come of praising me.”

Fiole shook his head. “It’s true. I think you should be proud of the fact that you’ve become king. Now my sister will be able to grow up in this country, thanks to god’s grace.”

Sion’s expression turned trouble. “You’re praising me too much.”

Fiole smiled. “No, it’s just the right amount. My opponent’s the king, after all~ Buttering you up can only help me.”

“Ahh, I see. You’re quite the schemer. You really are excellent.”

“Hey, stop repeating that and get to eating. Soon, the nobility will assemble as the doors open to their dinner party.”

Sion nodded earnestly. “A swarm of nobles doesn’t just have ‘dinner.’ Geez. Having periodic banquets just isn’t something I can get used to. It’s such a waste of the peoples’ tax money… and all they do at them is frantically try to marry off their daughters to me, and I’m sick and tired of overambitious girls trying to court me.”

“Hahaha. But I’m sure there are plenty of kids who genuinely yearn for you, Lord Astal. If you weren’t king, but had some other title instead, I think I’d ask you marry my little sister.”

“Hmm, really? I’m sure your sister’s a good kid. How old is she, again?”

“She’s three years to my junior - fourteen years old.”

“So what’s she up to now?”

“Thanks to you, she’s been able to start school. It seems she’s pretty excellent in school, unlike me - she has good grades. She has a good attitude about it and works hard. Recently she even sent me a letter… my boss’s work has been too busy, so I haven’t had the time to send out a reply… ah, she’s probably getting lonely, isn’t she?”

“…H-hey, are you implicitly blaming me for working without resting too much there?”

Fiole resolutely shook his head. “No. I’m not blaming you implicitly, I’m blaming you directly,” he said. Then his face softened to concern. “Really, if you don’t take better care of yourself, you’ll end up ruining your body.”

Fiole looked like he was going to cry. Sion shrunk back. “Yeah, I get it. After the banquet I’ll return to my room to sleep for the first time in awhile… In exchange, you have to take the weekend off.”

“Huh? Take it off? N-no way, sir. There is absolutely no way I can—”

“Hmm? You’ve been trying to stuff me into a bed this whole time, but you yourself don’t intend to rest? Then I won’t sleep either.”

“Th-that’s so childish… Even if I don’t rest, I—”

“I’m not telling you to rest for your own sake. It’s for your sister’s sake. Go see her.”

“Ah.” That shut Fiole right up. He was silent for a moment. “Understood. Then I will take advantage of your proposal.”

He looked happy.

---

The previous king had constructed that salon for recreational purposes. It was made in a fan shape with the king’s seat as the point. The building was called the Blue Phantom Palace, and decorations were plastered here and there along the entire span of the floors and ceiling, if he recalled, and it was as if the entire nobility of Roland - all thousand and their wives - was engaged in friendly conversation.

High-class meals, needlessly expensive wine…

Sion looked at it all… and sighed.

Just how much did it cost to have routine banquets like this…?

He had Fiole try to run the numbers once, but all it did was make Sion’s head hurt. If he took that money and spent it elsewhere, just how many people could he save?

But it wasn’t like Sion, the king, could stop these money-sucking banquets. The nobility’s power was too strong.

Sion crossed his arms, his bitterness clear on his face. If only he could deal with the nobles that’d been personally supported by the previous king…

Nothing had changed at all.

No, that wasn’t exactly right. Since he’d dealt with the previous king, something had begun to squirm under the surface.

Several men wearing military uniforms surrounded Sion as if to protect him. When they looked at him, they pulled similar bitter smiles. One in particular was a man in his mid twenties with perfectly arranged red hair and sharp red eyes, along with perfect straight posture. He spoke to Sion.

“It’s bad of you to look so glum, Sion. C’mon, look. Pretty girls are looking your way. Let’s go over there, c’mon. Mingling with the nobles is another important part of the king’s work, yeah?”

“Claugh, you just want to go pick up girls yourself,” Sion said, fed up with him.

“Ah, you figured me out…”

“You’re here as my army, so don’t just think about flirting…”

“Oh, is that what you’ve been doing?”

He looked the other way to a charming boy with wavy blond hair, blue eyes who left a stylish impression.

“At a banquet like this, if you reach out to the nobles’ daughters, their parents will figure you out, too… it’s happened to me before, so cut it out, Claugh, sir.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Calne. If your senior’s in trouble, you help him out, alright? That’s a junior’s job.”

“I’d bow! Bow all the way down, face to the ground! The nobles’ kids will whine and cry like dogs… and then they’ll say to take responsibility, like some kind of pet, and then I promise fidelity.”

“Hohoh… fidelity, eh? I know about that too. I heard you and Lord Paul’s wife—”

“Wah! Wahh! What are you saying in front of Sir Sion!?”

Claugh and Calne began to argue, up in arms.

Sion had met them both in the military before he became king. They’d become allies, aided him in the revolution, and now that he was king maintained roles as chief vassals.

Right now, their voices were steadily getting louder.

“Geez… it’s human nature to reach out to lots of girls, is it? No, no. Of course I don’t wanna become an adult like that.”

“You’re seven years older than me, aren’t you already an adult!? I-in the first place, Lord Paul’s wife and I… well… um… in any case, it was serious!”

“Didn’t you say it was serious the last time you committed adultery, too?”

Their completely unproductive conversation greatly perplexed Sion. “H-hey, you guys, you’re too loud. Think you could be a bit more discreet? I get the point, so it’s okay if you want to go over by the girls, Claugh.”

Claugh stuck out his tongue. “Hah! If the king orders me to!” With that, Claugh disappeared into the crowd of nobles.

Sion heaved a sigh. “It’s only times like this that he calls me king.” He noticed Calne staring at him like he wanted something. “Alright, alright. I’m fine here, so you go and see Lady Paul.”

Calne’s face shone. “I’d prefer if you didn’t take that detail into consideration… but… well, I’ll take you up on that!” Calne said and ran off with a bounce in his step.

“Geez, those two… I wish they’d follow Fiole’s example,” Sion said, smiling bitterly.

Now that he was left alone, several women in dazzling dresses grew closer…

No matter which he looked at, they were all showy and beautiful in that characteristic noble way, where it was clear that their beauty was bought with money.

One caught met Sion’s eye as he looked and turned red. Another looked at Sion, brimming with confidence, and spoke.

“Lord Astal. I trust in good spirits?”

“You shouldn’t hide in a corner like this. How about you go to the center of the party?”

“My Lord, would you care to take my hand?”

Sion smiled, and took a tone wholly different from that which he’d used when talking to Claugh and Carne before. “My, you are a beautiful woman. Are you inviting me? Even though only the most distinguished of nobles are in the Blue Phantom Palace today…”

She laughed. “My… Lord Astal, you’re certainly a joker. Nobody here shines brighter than you.”

“I see. And I see no women shining brighter than you inside this Blue Phantom Palace, either. It seems the goddess of luck has smiled upon me tonight.”

“Well, aren’t you good.”

As soon as Sion had replied to the woman, a crowd of six noblemen had looked his way and moved closer. A tall man with narrowed eyes spoke.

“You’re as popular as always, King.”

Sion returned his smile. “Lord Beryl, Lord Paul, Lord Ishurna. Are you enjoying yourselves this evening?”

“As always, when the king opens the doors to the Blue Phantom Palace for banquets it dazzles and amazes me,” the pudgy middle-aged man called Ishurna replied. “To those such as myself, whose territory lies in the Roland countryside, it is truly magnificent… as expected, of course.”

“Oh, not at all,” another noble said, and the other nodded in turn.

Sion narrowed his glittering eyes. “Really? Lord Paul, Lord Ishurna - perhaps it is due to your administrative abilities outshining my own. I heard of your recent bountiful harvests?”

Paul and Ishurna’s faces distorted in unison. “Mgh…”

According to Fiole’s report, those two had a history of imposing unfairly heavy taxes on their fief as well as leaving them in manure soiled clothes during the previous king’s era. The two nobles quietly studied Sion with cold eyes, but their lips were frozen in smiles.

“Please continue to do your best for Roland’s sake.”

“L-leave it to us!” Paul said.

“For the sake of this country, we have cut down on our own thoughts,” Ishurna said. “Isn’t that so, Merill?”

One of the girls who’d called out to Sion before nodded. “Yes, Father. We are always devoted to His Majesty in mind and body.”

The other girls did make an attempt to check their severe expressions, to their credit.

A man that Sion didn’t know the name of who’d been quiet the whole time resolutely marched up past the other nobles and bowed before Sion. He more or less introduced himself, then continued. “By the way, Your Majesty. This has been unfortunate indeed… I happened to overhear your conversation a moment ago.”

Sion tilted his head at his sudden words. “Unfortunate…? To what do you refer? I’m sorry, I don’t understand…”

He was shocked at Sion’s reaction, and fell into silence like he’d been struck when he least expected it, and soon panicked. “Ah… well, c-could it be that you don’t yet know…? Th-then please forgive my rudeness.”

“You don’t need to apologize. More importantly, what exactly do you mean?”

“Ah, to hear it from my mouth is a bit…”

Beryl smiled bitterly. “You mustn’t stop there. You’ve already said too much. It’ll only weigh on his mind.”

“Th-that is so. Though I’m not sure a showy place like this is ideal for broaching this topic…”

Sion shook his head. “I don’t mind. Please tell me.”

He appeared to hesitate, but finally steeled his resolve. “Understood… however, I only just learned of it from some nobles conversing over that way… in any case, the boy you recently appointed to a high post, Fiole—er, I seem to be forgetting his surname… but I hear your commoner secretary was found slaughtered a short while ago…”

Sion’s eyes narrowed.

Fiole… had been killed?

In an instant, his mind collapsed into chaos.

While Sion had been enjoying himself at a banquet… that boy was…

While he was conversing happily with a woman… that boy was…?

This wasn’t right. In the first place, he hadn’t heard it first. He heard it from nobles, and according to the rumors, he’d just been killed…

“My, my,” Beryl said. “This conversation reeks of blood. It isn’t suitable at all for the occasion. Of course, it is unfortunate, but one could say that if someone had to be killed, it’s good that it was just a commoner.”

Paul continued, a smile rising to his face. “Yes, quite right. Quite right indeed. If a noble had been killed, it’d be quite the problem.”

Last was Ishurna. He was also fixed with a smile. “Now, let us stop this dreary conversation and rouse our spirits. Merill, some wine for the king?”

“Yes, Father.” She seperated herself from Sion’s arm and went to fetch some.

“…I see. So that’s how it is,” Sion whispered to himself in a voice too soft for others to hear.

“Hm? What was that?”

Sion shook his head. And then… he laughed. It reached every corner of his face, leaving it without a single trace of gloom. All smiles, he finally replied. “Yes, you’re right. I also think it’s for the best that a commoner was the one who was killed. I shudder to think of if it’d been a noble. Everyone, your words have been a great comfort to me. Thank you, truly.”

He looked around his surrounding with that smile. Several of the smiling nobles had averted their eyes…

“……”

Sion held his smile.

He already knew that these guys always played by those sort of rules. They always, always had, since long ago…

Killing intent swelled in his heart. Dazzling hatred swelled in his heart. But he didn’t let it show on his face.

“Now then, let’s enjoy this evening,” Sion said with a smile. He forcefully took the hand of Merill, the girl who’d just returned with wine. “Now, my lady, would you mind taking my hand for a song?”

“My, would you be pleased with me?”

“But of course.”

He set out for the center of the room, all while accepting the stares from nobles with a cloudless, sunny expression…

---

It was a horribly plain room.

Nothing inside could be considered a luxury. Only the bare essentials for living were present.

A desk and a bed—

He didn’t use a magical light. Instead, the room’s lightsource was a candle atop the desk.

When he saw what lay in the dead center of the room, Sion whispered a curse. “Shit… shit. This is my fault…”

Fiole was in the center of the room. He was broken, submerged in a huge pool of blood. He was chopped up so unnecessarily fine; it seemed to be done just to spite Sion.

“…It’s my fault!” Sion yelled and punched the wall hard. It didn’t hurt at all. Only blinding anger swam through his head, painting over all other feelings.

The nobles’ smiles rose to the front of his mind. Those dim smiles didn’t think of people’s lives or their feelings.

Sion moved to punch the wall again, but was stopped by Claugh who’d come in behind him.

“Stop it, Sion.”

Sion turned. He saw the blood flowing out of his own fist. “My bad. I’m done. Would you mind leaving me for a bit?”

Claugh’s face clouded up. He went quiet.

“Please.”

“…I get it. C’mon, Calne.”

“But—”

“We’re going.”

“…Alright.”

The two of them left the room, closing the door behind them. The room fell even darker than it’d been before.

The candle was illuminating a letter on the desk. Sion picked it up and read.

Eslina, thank you for always sending me letters. Sorry my reply is pretty late. But you seem well. That really reassures your big brother. It sounds like your grades are good too, and that you’re doing your best, so I’ll do my best to cheer you on.

I am blessed with a good boss. Lord Astal, the king, is a wonderful person. He treats commoners like us just the same as anyone else. I’m truly glad that he became king of this country. I think we can be proud of Roland as long as he leads it. I’d like it if you could meet Lord Astal once, too.

Ah, right, Lord Astal has given me vacation time this weekend. See, isn’t he kind? I think I’ll go see you then. It’s been awhile since I’ve come home. Make me mom’s special stew, okay? You’re good at cooking, just like she was. You’ll become a great wife. If your partner were Lord Astal… well, that’s not something people of our status should be saying, is it~?

In any case, I’m looking forward to seeing you this weekend.

Fiole Folkal

Fiole had really been looking forward to seeing his sister. He also managed to convey that he enjoyed working for Sion from the bottom of his heart. His letter painted a wide and hopeful future. And yet, his letter… was dirtied here and there by blood.

“You idiot,” Sion whispered. “I told you that social status meant nothing at all, Fiole…”

He looked to the pool of blood. A normal person would surely faint at the sight of so much. Sion drew closer to Fiole’s torn body… and held it.

“You’re an idiot. Don’t praise me that much… I’m so powerless… I can’t protect anything…”

Sion’s gold eyes distorted in sorrow for a moment in the dim candlelight… but they soon narrowed.

He stayed like that for awhile, then sharply breathed in. “Claugh! Calne! Get in here.”

The door opened. When they saw Sion’s clothes dyed red with Fiole’s blood, they were at a loss for words. But Sion didn’t mind.

“Claugh, you’re in charge of burial preparations. Calne, protect Fiole’s sister Eslina before the nobility gets to her as well. We should… let her see her brother one last time, shouldn’t we?”

With that, Sion made to leave the room.

“Ah, Sion, sir,” Calne said. “Are you alright? I really think I should accompany you back to the royal court. They killed Fiole. They’ll be after you next…”

Sion shook his head. “It’s the other way around, Calne. Because they couldn’t kill me, they aimed for Fiole instead.”

Claugh nodded. “The king’s role comes with a monster attached. From the Eris family…”

“Eris… family, you say?”

“Yeah. There’s no way you haven’t heard of them, right? They’re a super noble family, given the special name of the swordsman’s clan. They’ve guarded the Roland Empire’s king for generations. Sion’s the king, so he’s backed by that household. So as long as he’s in the royal palace, no one can kill him.”

Sion shrugged. “That’s how it is. So rather than worrying about me, you should be careful that you don’t get killed. If any more of my subordinates let their guards down and are killed, it’d honestly hurt.”

Claugh laughed, relaxed. “They can’t kill those of us that survived the revolution. Also, we understand the danger thanks to Fiole. I’ll tell the others to be cautious.”

“Mm. I’m counting on you.”

With that, Sion left the room.

---

The garden path back to the royal palace was again lit by stars.

Sion stopped and gazed at the sky…

A voice resounded from somewhere. It was a gentle voice, yes, but it was wrapped in ecstasy…

“Sadness. Hatred. Anger. Remorse. Revenge. Resignation. I wonder which ones of those are swirling around in you?”

It was only a voice. Even if Sion looked around, it was unlikely that he’d be able to ascertain a presence. So he just continued to stare at the sky as he answered the empty air. “All of them, Lucile. No, all but resignation.”

He spoke to Lucile, the current head of the Eris family, who didn’t show his form. When he did, he was awarded a shill but innocent cackle.

“Will you make those hateful fellows repent now?”

“I want to,” Sion answered immediately.

Suddenly, a lone man appeared in his field of vision. He acted like he’d been there all along.

He had golden hair, closed eyes, and a face so well-proportioned that one wouldn’t instinctively think of him as human.

Lucile’s mouth, scarlet and glossy like a devil’s, gently curved into a smile. “Then let’s massacre them. I’ll help you. It’s my specialty, see. Massacre.”

Dread and ecstasy gushed from his whole body. It was an atmosphere that made it hard to form words, but… Sion smiled. “No, not yet. Fiole wouldn’t want that. It’s not time yet. I need a little longer to put things together first. Then we’ll crush them in one fell swoop.”

“Hmm. Do you have the self-control to wait until then? You’re shaking with anger, gnawing through your lips.”

Blood was in fact dripping from Sion’s smiling lips. At some point, he’d bit through them… Sion wiped at the blood. “I can bear it. If I’d said that I’d make them repent now, you’d have killed me, wouldn’t you? Isn’t that why you showed yourself?”

“We don’t need incompetent kings, kings that can’t understand when the time is right, or kings who are weak of heart, after all,” Lucile said. Just like how he’d appeared, his form disappeared into the night.

Sion confirmed that he was gone, then heaved an exhausted sigh. “I feel a little depressed… maybe it’s because I haven’t slept. I should sleep today, just like Fiole said to…”

Clouds obscured the moon. With only the light of the stars to guide him, they seemed so much brighter. It was almost like they’d been lying in waiting for the moment the moon’s power weakened…

For the moment the king’s power weakened…

“…Geez… this place is truly a breeding ground for monstrous greed. I’m a little… jealous of Ryner and Ferris, who can travel and do as they please…”

Sion stretched his arms wide towards the starry sky.

“They must’ve entered Nelpha by now,” he mumbled.

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