Chapter 0613 Oniwaban
-x-X-x-
"It takes about three days one way from the Imperial Capital to the designated sea area."
Myun, who had returned to the admiral's quarters before Ryo and Abel boarded and set sail, spread a chart out and explained.
But his expression was dour.
"However, to be honest, we don't really understand the island that was specified."
"Huh?"
Ryo tilted his head at Admiral Myun's words.
Abel also shook his head, as if he did not understand the meaning.
"We know the designated sea area. But there is no island around there."
"What…?"
"The captain of the detachment flagship, Jun-Ka, whom you met earlier, said he didn't know it either. Jun-Ka is one of the most experienced captains in the Darwei fleet. If even he doesn't know it, it's probably not an ordinary island."
Captain Jun-Ka seemed a calm, capable captain in his mid-forties, roughly the same age as Admiral Myun.
He carried an air that made Ryo and Abel, upon first meeting him, instantly feel that this man could be trusted…
And the fact that Admiral Myun was explaining it this way suggested he truly was an excellent captain.
An island that even that captain didn't know?
"It might be an island produced by magic or something."
At Ryo's words, Admiral Myun nodded without speaking.
Either way, it wasn't an ordinary opponent.
The ghost ship Ruri was apparently well known even in Darwei.
But it was known as the legendary ghost ship that appears in stories.
No one who actually encountered it and lived to tell the tale has returned.
And this time, they had received a 'challenge letter?' from such a ghost ship?
In truth, Admiral Myun had a lot of question marks spinning around in his head.
That said, he understood what had to be done.
Deliver the two of them.
And return.
There were a number of reasons they had formed a fleet of twenty fast ships this time.
First, obviously, to reach the designated sea area as quickly as possible.
There was nothing to be gained by taking time.
Next, the people to be rescued are diplomatic delegations from two countries.
If the ships are intact, that's fine, but if not, they must be transported back aboard this fleet.
That's why the number twenty was necessary.
Warships don't have much spare room to begin with.
Finally, as pointed out, all twenty are warships.
That's because they don't know what will happen when they arrive…
The letter delivered to Duke Rondo promised release, but… honestly, it was uncertain.
Preparing for the worst-case scenario was the admiral's job.
If they were warships, they could handle whatever happened.
That was Admiral Myun's thinking.
"I'd like to ask Duke Rondo something."
"Yes—what is it?"
Since Ryo and Abel boarded, Admiral Myun had been addressing him as Duke Rondo.
When they were on the official vessel and in the Imperial Capital afterward he had used 'Ryo', but aboard ship he avoided that.
There were other Darwei military personnel here.
They had been assigned the duty of 'conveying Duke Rondo'.
Therefore, Admiral Myun had decided to call him Duke Rondo.
"How confident are you, really, about this ghost ship Ruri…?"
"Ah… that's very difficult to answer."
Ryo said that and turned to Abel.
Abel shook his head too.
Indeed, they had won once.
But after the battle, the two of Ruri had said this:
"With these two opponents, this 'vessel' was too weak"; "Someday, we want to fight with the true body".
In other words, given the right conditions, they could become much stronger.
And now, demanding a match even to the extent of snatching a diplomatic delegation probably meant those conditions had been met, and they could fight in a stronger state than before.
Ryo and Abel recognized it that way.
"Once you recover the hostages, leave the island. They probably won't deliberately attack you or the hostages, but that island will become a battlefield. You can't know what will happen on a battlefield."
"…Understood."
At Ryo's words, Admiral Myun nodded.
As he had been told, it would likely become a battlefield.
Admiral Myun had crossed countless battlefields.
He knew painfully well that you never knew what would happen on a battlefield.
That was precisely why they had to be perfectly prepared.
If Ryo and the others who knew the ghost ship Ruri said so, following that was the most rational course.
Ryo and Abel were escorted away from Admiral Myun to the admiral's cabin at the stern.
This time, the two were guests, and because the Emperor had ordered them to be entertained, the admiral's cabin on the flagship was assigned to them.
"Ryo, you didn't sleep last night, did you? Why don't you rest?"
"No, there are still things I want to finish before we reach the island."
Abel suggested he rest, but Ryo refused and produced his usual ice slab.
When Ryo took this out, it was usually for alchemy.
"You were doing alchemy last night too, weren't you?"
"Yes. Last night's was for the Rondo Manor."
"Rondo Manor?"
"More precisely, for Friendship Token No.2-kun and the Rondo Manor Oniwaban Second Squad."
"I understand Friendship Token No.2-kun, but… Oniwaban Second Squad?"
Ryo explained, and Abel tilted his head.
It was probably the first time he had heard the term.
"I placed ten golems under Friendship Token No.2-kun. They will operate as the Second Squad, acting under the command of the leader unit, No.2-kun."
"Sorry, I don't really get it."
Ryo's somewhat casual explanation didn't make sense to Abel.
It couldn't be helped.
Abel simply didn't know the word 'Oniwaban'.
"Are they called Oniwaban because the golems are cleaning the garden?"
"Well, yes, the original meaning comes from garden guards who normally did gardener-like work…"
The Oniwaban were secret agents who carried out intelligence work under the direct orders of the shogun in the Edo shogunate.
In period dramas, they are sometimes portrayed as ninjas of the shogunate, depicted as performing sabotage like spies… but in reality, it's unclear.
There are no surviving records, so that's only natural.
Generally, it is said they were established during the era of the eighth shogun, Yoshimune… portrayed in period dramas as the rowdy shogun.
In practice, they weren't ninjas as depicted in dramas but a post that conducted regional inspections like inspectors and patrolled the city of Edo…
Well, in truth, they were called Oniwaban because they watched over the gardens of Edo Castle, so since the golems at the Rondo Manor also watch the garden, calling them Oniwaban is probably correct… or at least it must be.
"Friendship Token No.2-kun is also a leader unit like Advance Notice Officer No.1-kun. I placed ten golems under No.2-kun. They will operate as the Oniwaban Second Squad under No.2's orders."
"I see… you said they don't have combat ability, but maybe someday those things will conquer the world."
"That would be wonderful! A world ruled by desireless golems would surely be a peaceful world. Far better for the world than creatures like humans, soaked in desire."
Ryo said that somewhat happily.
Without a doubt, what would be born would be a dystopia… some dark world ruled by machines.
Abel shook his head slightly.
Three days later, the detachment fleet arrived at the scheduled sea area.
-x-X-x-
"There really is an island."
"There's one hill-like mountain… but it's almost a perfectly flat island."
Standing at the bow of the flagship, Abel and Ryo watched the horizon.
The island was already visible without needing binoculars.
"It's clearly an island."
"Yes… I can't imagine a patrol boat would have missed an island of that size."
"In other words, it must have appeared recently."
"That's what it looks like. However…"
"Ah, I can't make it out clearly yet, but I can see green."
"Probably some kind of forest or grove."
Admiral Myun and Captain Jun-Ka peered through their binoculars and talked about the island coming into view on the horizon.
"Even if it formed recently, it must be by some magical or sorcerous means."
"Or perhaps it's been there all along but was concealed by some kind of
"I see. But to conceal an island of that size whole…"
"Even Darwei's magicians or sorcerers couldn't manage that."
They didn't reach a firm conclusion, but they discussed various possibilities.
When they returned to the Imperial Capital, they would have to report to the Emperor.
At that time, of course, the Emperor would ask,
"Why wasn't this island discovered until now?"
They needed an answer prepared.
Someone who panics on the spot won't rise to a high position in a vast power like Darwei…
"So, something non-human is involved, then."
"There's no doubt about that."
That was Myun and Jun-Ka's conclusion.
That conclusion would also affect the detachment fleet's course of action.
"Duke Rondo, thinking of contingencies, only the flagship will approach that island. The other ships will remain offshore on standby."
"All right. Leave it to you. Don't worry about us—if it looks bad, withdraw. The two of us will manage somehow…"
Ryo accepted Admiral Myun's proposal and told him to withdraw as needed.
They did not want the detachment fleet to suffer damage by being dragged into trouble.
As they neared the island, more details came into view.
"There are ships anchored on the far side of the island."
"That's the fleets of the Komakyuta Principality and the Suje Kingdom."
"That's good. Even if they release people, had their ships been sunk, we would have had to claim compensation for damages."
"…From the Ruri's two?"
"Yes. If you trouble others, I think it's common sense for a civilized person to provide compensation."
"Ah, yeah… that's human common sense. But those two aren't human, so I don't think that sort of thing will register with them."
"I see, true. Differing common sense is troublesome."
Ryo accepted Abel's point.
It would be hard to make beings like the two water-attribute creatures accept human common sense.
They were not human, after all.
"At least, they'll keep the promise written in the 'challenge letter' they sent."
"That's true. The hostages' release—and if we win, information that would be valuable to Darwei. I'm interested in that information."
On the island, there was a fairly large pier where the detachment flagship, a large warship, could berth.
The flagship slowly moored.
From the deck, they could see two figures standing beyond the pier.
Further beyond, many more people seemed to be gathered.
People disembarked from the flagship with Ryo and Abel at the front.
Of course, not the entire crew.
Only Admiral Myun and about twenty men who appeared skilled at close combat.
The others watched from the flagship.
"The two aren't blue."
"Come to think of it, they were blue the last time we met."
Ryo and Abel whispered.
This time, Ruri's two had human-like skin… tanned, wheat-colored.
"Ah, Abel and Ryo… cough cough, good to have you… cough."
Those who greeted them were the two from the ghost ship Ruri, Lau and Fan.
Fan, who appeared female, only waved silently.
But the male-looking Lau's greeting…
"Lau, are you… all right?"
Abel involuntarily asked as Lau looked unwell.
He kept coughing.
And his left arm hung limply as if his shoulder joint were dislocated.
"Ah, actually, I failed an experiment. The cough will… ahem… be cured soon. The arm will probably heal in two months or so… but in this state, I can't fight. So this time the opponent will be only Fan. In other words, Fan versus Ryo."
"…So Fan's opponent has been decided to be me?"
"Of course. Last time, my opponent was Abel, and Fan's opponent was Ryo, right?"
"Ah, yes…"
Lau asserted it as if it were self-evident, and Ryo accepted it.
There was no point arguing.
The initiative was theirs.
But there was one king among them who would not accept that directly…
"Then I get a default victory."
"What?"
"I came when called, but Lau isn't fighting, right? Then you should give half of that valuable information to Darwei already, at this stage."
"Hmm…"
Lau and Fan exchanged looks at Abel's claim.
Fan looked slightly displeased.
Lau nodded once.
"Abel has a point. Fan succeeded in the experiment while I failed. Even if it was accidental, if you call it a forfeit, so be it."
"But, Lau—"
"Fan can fight, so that's fine, right?"
"That's okay, but—"
At Lau's words, Fan puckered her lips in dissatisfaction but ultimately nodded in acceptance.
"I'll give half of the promised information. That information concerns the Choouchi Empire. You know what the Choouchi Empire is, so I don't need to explain, right?"
When Lau unexpectedly named the Choouchi Empire, Ryo, Abel, and Admiral Myun froze in surprise.
None of them had expected that information to surface.
"You know that those living in the Choouchi Empire's homeland are non-human, right? Darwei's Imperial Palace was attacked, wasn't it?"
"We know of the non-human beings belonging to the Choouchi Empire… the Phantomkin, yes. But we don't know what proportion of the population they represent. We don't even really know that empire's population."
Abel answered Lau's question.
He felt briefly that Admiral Myun might have been a better person to answer,
So he turned the question to Myun.
"Admiral Myun, how much of this is recognized within Darwei's core?"
"It's almost exactly what Abel-dono just said. The only other thing I've heard is that they've been meddling with the Peiyu country between the Choouchi Empire and Darwei."
Myun answered Abel's question.
Lau quickly cut in.
"Their meddling in Peiyu is a prelude to moving further south to swallow Darwei."
"…What?"
Admiral Myun let out a high, shocked cry at the words.
"Why would they swallow Darwei?"
"There are several reasons. But that's information I'll tell you if you beat Fan."
"After revealing only that much…"
"Even if you say that…"
Abel frowned; Lau shrugged.
Fan, who had listened silently until then, spoke up.
"Lau, maybe you should tell them everything."
"Huh? Even though we haven't fought?"
"If Ryo rushes in crazily to try to get that information and self-destructs, that would be boring."
Fan said calmly to Ryo without changing her expression.
Ryo didn't know what face to make and went "ah—" and "uh—".
She might have read their plan to attack early and break through at the outset.
"Then let the Suje Kingdom and the Komakyuta Principality folks hear it too."
Thus, Kabui Somal, Lord Protector of the Suje Kingdom, and the Bandelsh Trading Company of the Komakyuta Principality were also summoned.
"Ryo-dono, Abel-dono, my apologies."
Kabui Somal bowed as soon as he arrived.
"No, this is not the Lord Protector's fault. These two captured you on their own."
"Yeah, Ryo is right. Still, to achieve the goal of fighting them, it was unavoidable."
"As another option, I suggested invading Darwei's capital and razing the city halfway—then they might fight."
"I thought this was the more restrained option."
"Both are no good."
Ryo denied both Fan's suggestion and Lau's counterproposal.
"Causing trouble for others is questionable socially and morally."
"We're not human."
"Right. Then it can't be helped."
"Yeah, it can't be helped."
Is that really so?
Lau, Ryo, Fan… wasn't something a bit off?
Only Abel shook his head slightly.
"To be blunt, the Choouchi Empire intends to swallow all the eastern countries."
"That's bold."
"Ultimately, their aim is world conquest."
"W-what a bold claim…"
Ryo reacted in astonishment to Lau's explanation.
World conquest.
It was the dream of great rulers.
A dream one should aim for at least once after being born into this world!
"It seems there's a leader as ambitious as Abel."
"Yeah, let's avoid misleading expressions. There are heavyweights from many countries here."
Ryo and Abel whispered very quietly to each other.
Presumably, Abel = Abel I, the Liberator, was not publicly known here.
But Abel noticed and asked,
"World conquest means not just the eastern countries?"
"Yes, the Central Countries as well."
"No way…"
He quickly tried to bring his thoughts back.
"Lau, why do they want to conquer the eastern countries, or the world?"
"I don't know the exact reasons."
"What? And yet you assert their objective so definitively?"
"Yes."
"Why can you say that?"
"Fan and I, while at sea, can learn much of what happens in the eastern countries."
Lau answered Abel.
Fan nodded beside him.
The abilities of non-human beings are beyond human understanding…
"May I ask a blunt question?"
Kabui Somal turned to Lau.
"Ah, of course."
Lau nodded.
"In reporting this matter to my queen when I return. I must reveal the source of the information… is it all right to say it came from the ghost ship Ruri?"
"That's fine."
"If so… I'll have to explain that the ghost ship Ruri is completely different from other ghost ships. Frankly, I don't know if my report will be accepted…"
"You are the Lord Protector, a very high-ranking figure, perhaps second only to the king. Even so, there's a chance it might not be accepted?"
"There's a possibility."
Kabui Somal asked directly.
Fixing his gaze firmly on Lau.
"Sorry, but that's something you'll have to work on. The more troublesome the information, the more you must act."
"Hmm."
"Right… Lord Protector. The problem with the Choouchi Empire is due to the Phantomkins, yes?"
"Ah, they told me that while I was being held."
Apparently, such a discussion had taken place.
"The number of Phantomkins the Choouchi Empire possesses is extraordinary. That's why human resistance can be easily crushed."
"Extraordinary in number?"
Ryo asked.
"Yes. On the order of a hundred thousand, I suppose."
"Excuse me?"
A hundred thousand of those Phantomkins?
To Ryo, it was an unfathomable number.
Abel and Admiral Myun were also stunned.
"That's why I'm telling you now. There are actually different types among the Phantomkin… but still, I thought you should know. Frankly, we don't much care whether a human nation falls. Or whether Phantomkins conquer the world. But Ryo and Abel would be troubled, right? Your Darwei admiral would be troubled, right? That's why I'm telling you."
"You liar, Lau."
Fan muttered softly at Lau's explanation.
"Hey, Fan!"
"Lau hates Phantomkins. A lot happened in the past."
"You hate Phantomkin too!"
"Yeah, I hate them too~"
It seemed the two of Ruri shared a personal grudge and that drove them to disclose this information.
Of course, that made the information more trustworthy.
"Even the great power Darwei cannot easily stop that southern advance on its own."
"That's right. The southward move won't be immediate. But we don't have many years."
Myun's words were met with Lau's nod.
"Shouldn't we inform the Atinjo Grand Duchy?"
"No, that's unnecessary."
"Why not?"
"Because those 'two' already know. They've been acting on that premise."
Lau answered Ryo's question.
Ryo and Abel exchanged a silent look.
And then nodded.
The 'two' Lau mentioned were the two Phantomkin of the Atinjo Grand Duchy.
The Grand Duke himself and his younger brother, Duke Helb.
They had known the northern Phantomkin were moving southward, so they annexed the Ghegish-Lu Federation and the Free City Kwebasa to consolidate power.
"We'll need to return to our countries as quickly as possible."
Bandelsh, chairman of the Blue Jade Trading Company, who had been silent, made that conclusion.
Lord Protector Kabui Somal nodded in response.
"The Suje Kingdom and Komakyuta Principality fleets may depart."
Lau suddenly granted permission.
"…Is that okay?"
Abel asked suspiciously.
"You want to get back quickly and prepare countermeasures, right? Darwei's fleet is fine with that?"
"I'll report to the Imperial Capital with the fast ships. I'll stay here and see it through to the end."
Admiral Myun said, then began issuing orders to the subordinates waiting behind him.
"You were going to tell us if we won…"
"Fan said it was okay to tell."
"If that's the case, there's no need to fight…"
"Yeah, if Ryo agrees to become a skeleton, we don't need to fight."
"No, I'll fight to avoid becoming a skeleton."
Yup—Fan wanted to turn Ryo into a skeleton.
She had wanted that since the battle aboard the ghost ship last time.
"By the way, this time it's on an island, but where's the ghost ship?"
"It's underwater."
"Uh… the people on it—do they breathe…?"
"Skeletons don't breathe."
"I see. Convenient."
"Right? So Ryo too…"
"I'll pass."
They exchanged hurried farewells, and the Suje Kingdom and Komakyuta Principality fleets left the island.
Two fast Darwei ships also departed the detachment fleet and headed for the Imperial Capital.
Ryo could not have predicted these movements would lead to developments that the eastern countries had never seen before.
Remaining on the island were Lau and Fan, Ryo and Abel, Admiral Myun, and nine of his subordinates.
"Well then, with no more concerns behind us, you two can enjoy the fight."
"I've never enjoyed fighting."
"Ryo lies. He lies with a straight face."
Lau laughed as he denied Ryo's reply.
A confident denial.
"Abel, you tell them too. That Ryo is earnest and kind and a magician who hates fighting."
"I'm not a liar like you, Ryo. I can't say something like that."
"Traitor…"
"Then, Ryo, shall we?"
"It can't be helped. Let's see how far a magician without magic can fight, once more."
Fan said gleefully, and Ryo shrugged and accepted.
The two were about to open the curtain on their second battle.
-x-X-x-
"Here I go!"
"Anytime."
The next moment, a swordfight began.
Fan's offense, Ryo's defense.
Predictable, if one were to say so.
But something was not as predicted…
(Too fast! )
Ryo shouted inside his head.
(Too heavy! )
Again, Ryo shouted inside his head.
Fan's sword was too fast, and moreover too heavy.
Ryo had expected Fan to be stronger than last time.
But this was clearly beyond expectation!
"This is far different from before."
Ryo muttered a complaint without thinking.
"If it were the same as last time I wouldn't win, would I?"
"No, at that level last time it was already pretty bad."
Fan tilted his head as he spoke, and Ryo answered with a grimace.
"I worked hard so Ryo would become a skeleton!"
"You didn't have to work so hard…"
"You like blue bones, right? Don't worry, I'll make the coloring look nice."
"No, I said I don't want to become a skeleton…"
The pressure on Ryo.
It looked like the swordfight was going to be extremely harsh…
"This is… truly a battle beyond the human realm."
Admiral Myun murmured as he watched the two fight.
"If we don't step in to help, won't Duke Rondo be killed…?"
"No."
Abel stopped Admiral Myun.
"This is a fight between those two. We cannot intervene."
"But…"
"Besides, Lau over there would never allow it."
Abel said.
"The moment you try to step in, I'll chop you all to pieces."
Lau said, looking far from amused.
No one could tell whether he truly meant that, but at the very least, he would be angry if the duel were interfered with.
In that case, even if he weren't in perfect condition, everyone except Abel would be instantly killed.
The difference in ability was that great…
"It's dangerous to face her without magic. Even I can tell that."
Abel said to no one in particular.
"Ryo can't use magic. If he does, everything will be taken over by Fan."
"Right. But Fan can use magic freely. Both are users of the same water attribute… It's the worst possible opponent for Ryo."
"A magician who surpasses Duke Rondo?"
Lau answered Abel's words, and Admiral Myun was astonished.
From what Admiral Myun had heard, Ryo was a water-attribute magician on par with Lord Rowon, one of the Six Saints.
And his opponent was a water-attribute magician who surpassed that?
"No, Admiral Myun, although they look like this, they are not human—they're what you'd call monsters."
Abel corrected Admiral Myun's misperception.
"Well, depending on the definition of 'monster'… from a human perspective, we are indeed a kind of monster."
Lau answered with a laugh.
"Monsters…?"
Admiral Myun apparently didn't quite understand.
He frowned.
"Ryo told me. About your true nature. So he thought it would be impossible to outdo you in magic control."
"Oh… you know what we are?"
Lau narrowed his eyes and asked.
"Yes— dragons, I suppose, dragon kings even."
Abel stated it plainly.
"Impressive. Correct."
Lau nodded.
At that moment, Admiral Myun and his subordinates froze with their mouths agape.
Watching those frozen men, Abel continued speaking.
"By any chance, are dragons already legendary creatures in the Eastern countries as well?"
"Well, yes. In the form people imagine, that kind of dragon hasn't appeared for hundreds of years."
"Are they few in number?"
"We Blue Dragons are only me and Fan."
"Huh?"
"Both of us are Dragon Kings."
"Seriously…?"
Abel was taken aback by the sudden information.
"Ordinary humans go their whole lives without encountering a dragon. Yet Ryo has met two Dragon Kings, and Abel has met one… That's abnormal."
Lau laughed heartily at that.
Coughing between laughs.
"Ryo apparently has the mark of Ruwin. Hm? Wait, do I have one too…?"
"Ah, both of you met Nuurs as well, right? There's a very, very faint mark of Nullus."
"When did that happen…?"
"The mark of a Dragon King is like a scent. When you touch an animal, you pick up a scent, right? It's the same. Only difference is the mark attaches not to your hand or clothes but to your soul."
"That sounds quite different to me."
Abel tilted his head at Lau's explanation.
He couldn't imagine that a scent on the hand was the same as one on the soul.
But then he suddenly thought.
Those two before them were said to be Dragon Kings.
Which meant…
"Did Lau and Fan's scent attach to us too?"
"Ah… no, it didn't."
"Really? Why not?"
"Because this body is not our true body."
"Come to think of it, you said before you wanted to fight in your true form."
After the last time Ryo and Abel fought those two, Fan had said something like that.
"Clearly, in our true bodies, you couldn't possibly contend. No offense."
"No, I think that's only natural."
Abel remembered Nullus, whom they'd met in the Golden City.
Indeed, if you made an enemy of someone of that caliber… it wouldn't be a matter of fighting.
Not just the tip of a pinky—you might die from nothing more than a breath blown on you.
He felt that much of a difference.
People and dragons are simply too different in every way.
But these blue dragons seem to like fighting other races.
Is that why they use a 'vessel'…?
"Last time, I understood that this 'vessel' wouldn't win. So this time we tried to put more 'substance' into it. Fan succeeded, but…"
"Did Lau fail and end up like that?"
"Yeah. Sorry, we couldn't fight Abel."
"No, I don't mind at all. Rather, I think it was good—we were able to get information without fighting."
"Don't say things you don't mean."
"Huh?"
Lau said, laughing, and Abel met his gaze without understanding the meaning.
"A human who carries 'Ex' saying they were glad not to fight… no one would believe that."
"Even if you say that. This magic sword…'Ex'? Is it really that dangerous?"
"When you say it with such pure eyes, it makes me feel like my understanding might be wrong."
Lau gave a wry smile.
"'Ex' was Richard's sword."
"Ah… I had a hunch it was something like that."
Even Abel had thought at least that much.
Richard… King Richard, said to be the restorer of the Kingdom of Nightley.
"Just to confirm, Abel, you're a descendant of Richard, right?"
"Yes."
Abel answered while looking at Admiral Myun and his subordinates standing beside him.
They were all frozen in place.
One could say they were standing but unconscious.
"I didn't want them nosing around after finding out certain things, so I knocked them out."
"Thanks for going through the trouble."
"Don't worry about it. As for 'Ex', it should have been unusable by anyone other than Richard."
"Unusable? What do you mean?"
"I only heard it in passing, but if an unpleasant person took hold of it, it would get incredibly heavy and you wouldn't be able to move it."
"'Ex' would? Seriously…"
Abel drew his beloved sword from its sheath and looked it over.
As always, it merely glowed red.
"I've never heard a story about such a magic sword… who said it would get so heavy you couldn't lift it?"
"Of course, Richard said it."
"I-I see…"
Lau, not glowing blue like last time and looking human, sometimes made Abel think he really was human.
But no—he was a Dragon King.
A being that lived for hundreds of thousands of years… completely unlike humans.
"Maybe 'Ex' shines red like a magic sword, but I don't think it's a magic sword in the usual sense."
"Huh? I don't get it."
"Well, whatever. Time will tell. For now, the fact that Abel can use it probably means 'Ex' recognizes him as a provisional master."
"Provisional, huh. So I need to make more effort so I'll be properly acknowledged."
Abel said that, tapped his beloved sword lightly, and sheathed it.
"Human life is short, given the time they're allotted. It's tough in many ways."
"Well… from the dragons' perspective, yeah. Still, even without facing your true body, some can put up a fight. Ryo, in particular, is like an incarnation of effort."
"That's true. Well, whether Ryo is truly human or not, I honestly don't know."
Lau's latter words were so quiet they didn't reach Abel's ears.
While Abel and Lau chatted like that, Ryo and Fan's sword clash continued.
Last time, during the duel, Ryo ended up covered in wounds.
But this time…
Clang, clang, clang….
A small, high-pitched sound rang out.
Among the sword strikes, the little pellets of ice Fan hurled pinged off something and were repelled.
"Amazing, Ryo. At the moment they hit, you generate an ice membrane to deflect them, and then you carefully erase that membrane afterwards."
"If I erase it before it can be taken, it can't be taken."
"Very philosophical."
"No, I don't really understand what you mean."
Fan said, impressed, while Ryo had merely been stating facts and didn't share that sense of philosophy.
Generate when needed, erase when unnecessary.
Do the most basic things carefully.
Ryo believed that philosophy lay at the deepest core of his actions.
So he decided to carry it out faithfully.
However…
"Ugh."
A muffled sound escaped as Ryo was suddenly blown away.
To Ryo, it felt sudden, but to those watching from a distance, what had happened was immediately obvious.
"A huge ice pillar suddenly formed, wedged into Ryo's stomach, and blew him away?"
"Mass attacks are strong. The defender can only use inertia equal to their own weight, but the attacker using magic can add velocity… this world is absurd."
"Don't use words like 'mass' or 'inertia'… words like Ryo would use."
"Huh? Really? Didn't Abel learn those in the castle?"
"No, I didn't."
Abel shook his head honestly.
"Eventually, everyone will start using those words."
"Is that so?"
Lau said casually, and Abel grimaced.
"I was suddenly blown away."
"Then, at the moment you hit the big tree behind you, you absorbed the impact with a lump of water?"
"You figured that out well."
"Lau does that a lot. He used to say 'butsuri'."
"…What? Physics?" (TLN: 'Butsuri' = Physics in Japanese)
Among Fan's words was a surprising term, and Ryo widened his eyes.
Ryo wanted to glance at Lau, who was looking his way along with Abel, but Fan didn't give him the chance.
Clang, clang…
Ryo deflected Fan's flurry of blows.
Of course, since the sword Fan wielded was swung with non-human strength, Ryo wanted to avoid taking it head-on with Murasame.
Murasame wouldn't break… but if he kept taking hits, Ryo's arm would wear out.
Still, Ryo always wondered.
Murasame is a sword that produces blades of ice through water-attribute magic.
Yet it could be used even in a magic-null space.
Also, Fan couldn't take control of it.
Since it was convenient, he decided to ask.
"This Murasame… it's an ice sword, but Fan, you can't steal control of it, right?"
"Steal control? Ah, like erasing it or claiming it as my own? Yeah, can't do it."
"I could use it even in a magic-null space—why is that?"
"Who knows? The best thing is to ask the person who gave it to you directly."
"My master who gave me this… has no head above the neck, so he can't speak."
"Huh…?"
At Ryo's words, Fan's eyes widened in surprise.
Fan, who rarely changed expression, seemed to show a big change for the first time.
"That guy… the one who gave Ryo that sword is the Water Fairy King, right? The same one who gave that robe and boots."
"Yes, that's right."
"He has no head above the neck so he can't speak…?"
"Yes, he's never spoken."
"I knew that guy's really strange. Makes no sense."
Fan shook her head slightly.
Apparently it made no sense to her.
To Ryo, everything was nonsensical, though.
Either way, the overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation did not change.
(Reminds me of the Alba residence.)
What floated in Ryo's mind was the battle at Duke Alba's residence in Twilight Land.
A swordfight in a magic-null space.
The opponent was one of the top swordsmen of the land… rather, one of the top vampires.
Outmatched in strength and speed, equal in technique…
(Back then, endurance saved me.)
Because Ryo wouldn't break no matter how long it went, the opponent grew impatient.
But this time, Ryo could not count on that either.
Because Fan was someone Ryo had already beaten once.
Anyone, seeing an opponent who had previously defeated them not breaking, wouldn't rush in recklessly out of impatience.
They know their opponent is strong.
They would rather hesitate to plunge in to finish off what looked like a fallen foe.
For fear it's a trap.
Losing means carrying psychological scars for a long time afterwards.
(If I could exploit that, it would be good…)
Yes, Ryo's only edge over Fan was one thing.
He had once beaten her.
That was all.
How could he take advantage of such psychological wounds?
If many of the clashing elements were even, perhaps a stratagem could be used to manifest that hesitance.
Disrupting an opponent's composure is the most basic stratagem for interpersonal combat… the phrase Ryo habitually said.
But with such differences in strength and speed, it's difficult.
Fan understood there was such a gap.
From the previous match, Fan knew Ryo's strength and speed.
And on top of that, she had prepared to surpass them.
The result of that was plainly visible.
He couldn't surpass with the sword.
He couldn't surpass with magic.
Then… yes, there was only one thing left.
"Come forth, Neil Andersen!"
At Ryo's voice, the knife's scabbard glowed faintly.
The light of alchemy.
An ice submarine appeared behind Fan, who faced Ryo.
At that moment, Fan's attention was about to shift to her rear.
Of course—she had seen Ryo's scabbard glow.
She understood alchemy had been used.
And she felt that something had appeared behind her.
So it was impossible to keep every nerve fixed only on Ryo.
Past defeats, psychological wounds, prompted a check behind.
Exploit that gap!
The generation of Neil Andersen was a decoy.
A lure to pull even a fraction of Fan's attention away from Ryo.
The instant Fan tried to check her rear, Ryo lowered his upper body and leaped in all at once.
Rising from a low stance, Murasame attacked Fan.
A trajectory that would cleave Fan's torso clean in two.
But Fan thrust her left hand in, deflecting Murasame's path!
Fan's left arm was sliced off, but that wasn't the point.
Fan rolled sideways while tipping her upper body forward, and with her right hand alone, she thrust her sword forward.
Forward… toward Ryo.
Ryo, immediately after his attack—rather, he himself had rushed toward Fan's sword.
There was not enough distance to evade.
Fan's sword pierced Ryo's left shoulder, and with the rotation of the body, it gouged deeply.
From the shoulder down… Ryo's left arm was gone.
"Screw it! Deploy: 'Dynamic Steam Mine II'! Mark 256 torpedoes, 32 rounds. Open forward launchers. Fire!"
Responding to Ryo's voice, Neil Andersen's forward gunports opened, and torpedoes were launched.
Fan rolled and dove forward to put distance between herself and the Neil Andersen that had appeared behind her, but thirty-two torpedoes were fired as if tracking that movement.
"Freeze!"
Fan instantaneously gave up on trying to take control of them, understanding they were generated by alchemy, and froze all the torpedoes.
But that, too, was a trap.
What Fan leapt into to put distance from Neil Andersen were… the mine cluster of the 'Dynamic Steam Mine II' generated by alchemy.
The instant her body touched them, the mines triggered in a chain reaction… and Fan was frozen solid.
"These are ice generated by alchemy. Even Fan cannot seize control of them."
Though Ryo had suffered a severe wound to his left shoulder, somehow he had managed to encase Fan in ice…
-x-X-x-
"No way… Fan was frozen in ice…?"
Lau murmured, eyes wide.
His surprise was to be expected.
The two of them were blue dragons.
Dragon Kings.
They could be said to be the pinnacle of water-attribute monsters.
And such a being was frozen in ice?
Sure, it wasn't the dragon's true body.
Still…
Impossible!
Yet in reality… she was frozen.
If that had been the dragon's true body, it could break the ice by sheer force without magic and escape.
But the body being used as a vessel now couldn't.
It was sturdier than an ordinary human, but still not remotely comparable to a dragon's body…
"May I call this my victory?"
Ryo asked quietly.
A fight with no clearly defined victory conditions.
Killing the opponent would be a victory.
The opponent's surrender would be a victory.
But if the opponent was encased in ice, you can't confirm it.
So he asked the witness, the partner who would vouch for it.
"I acknowledge it—Ryo's victory."
Lau stated that plainly.
At those words, Ryo thawed the ice coffin and drank a potion at the same time.
His left shoulder and left arm were regenerated.
It didn't look like he had lost a limb at all.
He then watched the thawed contents warily.
Because Fan might be enraged.
As Abel had been told, Ryo thought Lau and Fan were Dragon Kings.
Water-attribute dragons.
The pinnacle of water-attribute monsters.
Naturally, they were entirely different from humans in every way.
So they probably had never been frozen before.
Yet she'd been frozen by Ryo, exploiting her negligence.
She might go berserk…
Fan stepped out of the ice.
Her expression remained one of wide-eyed surprise.
Then she looked around left and right, found Ryo.
And ran at him!
Ryo tensed his body.
"Amazing, Ryo!"
Fan wrapped her arms around Ryo's waist, lifted him high like a child, and shouted.
"Huh?"
Ryo, taken aback by the unexpected development.
"I didn't expect to be frozen!"
Even during battle, Fan rarely changed expression, yet she was smiling and shouting in excitement.
Lau shrugged as he watched.
"It's been a while since Fan is that happy."
"She hardly ever changed expression even while fighting."
Abel observed.
"Well. Still, she's happy in her own way. But a full-on beaming smile like now is pretty rare."
Lau, too, smiled.
"Ryo, become my royal guard and fight me every day! I'll make you not just blue bones but a cloak too."
"Um, why would that be…?"
"A wonderful fight like this—you'd want it every day, right?"
"I'll pass. I wouldn't be able to handle it mentally."
"If you become a skeleton, you won't break mentally, you know?"
"That's not the point…"
Fan, now more earnest than before, urged Ryo to become a skeleton.
Ryo continued to refuse.
"You said before. You didn't want to be a skeleton because you wouldn't be able to eat cake."
"Ah… I think I did say that."
"Then I'll make a skeleton who can taste cake!"
"Excuse me?"
"If I do that, you won't resist becoming a skeleton!"
"Well… is that possible?"
"No idea."
A cake-tasting skeleton… where would food go for creatures without organs?
"Because you won this, Ryo, she'll cling to you even more."
"Why are you looking at me with such pitying eyes!?"
"No reason…"
Abel averted his gaze at Ryo's protest.
The roles were reversed from the usual.
"Why do Leonor and Fan insist on fighting me…?"
"Being popular is tough."
"See? You're giving me that look again!"
Ryo protested once more.
The world is an unruly place…
"This is sword combat, so Abel should absolutely be the one to do it."
"But at the end, that was alchemy, right? A magic alchemy version that freezes anyone who comes in."
"Yes—Dynamic Steam Mine II. I deliberately made it by alchemy and engraved it on the scabbard."
Ryo spoke of this with confidence, puffing his chest out as he explained.
"You said the things created by alchemy can't be seized, didn't you? During the Neil Andersen."
"That's right. As expected of Abel, you remember well."
"It was fairly shocking, after all. So that means it works even against Dragon Kings?"
"Yes."
Then Abel noticed something.
"Ryo's water-attribute magic is amazing, but… if you use alchemy, you can freeze Ryo as well?"
"Eh…"
Logically, that was sound.
"T-that's…!"
He seemed to have never considered that possibility until now.
After a moment of being at a loss for words, he admitted it.
"It would indeed turn out that way."
He frowned.
Imagining being trapped in alchemically-made ice.
"From now on, I'll need counters not only to magic but also to alchemy."
Alchemy's heights still lie ahead…
Lau and Fan, who had been talking a little apart from the others, came over.
"Thanks for playing with us."
"Please spare me from life-or-death games."
Ryo answered Lau honestly.
For these two, it was play, but for humans, it was life-or-death.
"Well, species traits can't be helped."
"Will there ever be correction for species disparity…?"
"As a substitute, how about I give you something good?"
"…Better to receive than not."
Ryo agreed to Lau's proposal.
When told unexpectedly you'll get something good, you should accept.
Refusing gets you nothing.
Afterward, it would just mean more asymmetric battles.
They lose and it's no big deal for them, but for Ryo losing could mean death—asymmetry.
So accept whatever you can get!
"I want something really good!"
"You wear your desires on your sleeve…"
Ryo insisted, Abel shook his head.
"This was a life-risking fight. Give me something fitting…"
"Well, you were promised information about Darwei if you won—that was given before the fight started."
"Ugh… that's true, but…"
Ryo was at a loss for words at Abel's calm point.
It was true, though…
"So… something good huh? What counts as good?"
"Bones, right? Give him both the white bones and blue bones?"
"I am not a dog…"
Lau tilted his head, thinking; Fan offered a straightforward suggestion, Ryo refused.
"So then something cliché?"
"A country, money, beauties? In the Eastern countries, we could kill the royals and give it to you right away?"
"No, why are you suggesting the same things as the Akumas…"
Ryo rejected their proposals again.
"Did the Akumas make similar offers to Ryo? I don't like them, but they have an eye for good things."
"They're not respectable, but Akumas can spot good things."
"Why are they enemies yet rivals who recognize each other's strength…?"
To Lau and Fan, Akumas were enemies but also rivals.
The fight between dragons and Akumas that Ryo had heard from Dragon King Nullus in the Golden City resurfaced in his mind.
They had fought each other to the death, apparently.
Ryo shook his head slightly.
"A rivalry born of fighting with all your might? What is this, a shonen-manga trope?"
His mutter went unheard by anyone.
"If not bones or a country, there's not much we can give, right?"
"Humans are complicated. We live in the sea, you live on land… many differences."
Lau and Fan talked seriously.
Trying to think of something to give Ryo.
Ryo suddenly remembered and asked.
"Earlier, sea monsters were moving from north to south around the archipelago region—what was that about?"
Yes, they had also encountered a swarm of krakens…
"That was because of the Phantomkins. Their movement scared the northern monsters away."
"Why?"
"The Phantomkins capture monsters and make them servants. You know that?"
"Oh… now that you mention it."
Ryo nodded at Lau's question.
Abel nodded beside him.
In Tiger Mountain and the Ryokusou Plain, Phantomkins had led monsters.
"They tried to do the same with sea monsters."
"…Can they control sea monsters?"
"No, they can't."
"That's a relief."
Ryo felt genuine relief.
If a swarm of controlled krakens had been coming, the Darwei fleet would have been in trouble.
Even the Neil Andersen would struggle against a kraken swarm.
Of course, he planned to fight and defeat them eventually, but…
There was truly too much to do!
"However, the sorcery spell those casters use to try to control them is something sea monsters hate. They used it on a large scale, so everyone headed south."
"A simple question—don't monsters run away from you Lau and Fan?"
"What do you mean?"
Lau tilted his head, not understanding Ryo's question.
Fan did the same.
"Well, I thought since you were Dragon Kings, the monsters would run."
"No, they don't run. We don't harm them."
"Huh? You don't eat them?"
"We don't eat them."
Ryo asked in surprise; Fan nodded in answer.
"Dragons don't need to eat monsters or animals."
"What!?"
Lau's words surprised Ryo.
Because…
"My neighbor Ruwin and his subordinate dragons absolutely love meat."
They love monster meat, apparently.
Especially Ruwin loved the meat Ryo seasoned with his spices and rice balls.
"Oh, Ruwin's just a hedonist."
"Eh…"
"He can live without eating, he just likes to eat."
Humans can live without sweets, but those who love sweets will eat them.
Probably the same.
"I didn't know that…"
"That's why the red dragons settled in Rondo where there are no humans."
"Such deep reasons…"
"Deep?"
Ryo nodded gravely, while Abel listening beside him couldn't agree.
'To each their own' is a convenient phrase.
Ryo returned to the conversation.
"If we attach something those sorcerers use—the thing sea monsters hate—to our ship, could we make it so we're not attacked at sea?"
Abel was the most surprised by Ryo's words.
"You were thinking about that?"
"Yes. I said before, didn't I? That in the western countries, anti-sea-monster magic formula was developed, and is quite effective."
"You did say that. But I'm not sure it works on krakens."
"That's true. But if it's that sorcerer's method… say it's like a talisman, if you stick it on a ship, maybe it won't be attacked."
Ryo spoke proudly.
He thought it a clever idea.
But…
"I wouldn't recommend that."
Lau frowned.
Fan frowned beside him.
It seemed the Blue Dragon Kings didn't think it was a very good suggestion.
"Sure, krakens basically flee, but megalodons will attack like crazy."
"Megalodon?"
"A giant shark from long ago, about twenty meters long, I remembered…"
Abel tilted his head at Lau's explanation; Ryo answered from his Earth memory.
A massive shark said to have existed millions to tens of millions of years ago—could it still be on this 'Phi'?
"Big shark, huh… well it's a monster, but the description matches."
"The big ones get up to fifty meters."
Lau pictured it and answered; Fan spread his arms to show how huge.
Apparently, there are sea monsters scarier than krakens.
Perhaps the sea is indeed a world humans shouldn't enter…
After a long discussion back and forth…
They settled on jewelry.
"For now, this."
Lau handed over a surprisingly blue jewel about half a fist in size.
"This doesn't look like a magic stone."
"A regular gem? Oh, but it's not a stone."
"Not a stone?"
Ryo tilted his head at Fan's words.
If it's not a magic stone, isn't it a gem?
"It's a Blue Dragon's Tear."
"Dragon Drop…! "
A gem produced by dragons, appearing in many stories around the world.
"Does it have any effect…?"
"Nope, nothing?"
"Oh, okay…"
Ryo felt deflated at Lau's one word.
"Want something with effects?"
"Not really…"
"Then how about this? This annihilates all land life, Akasha's…"
"No thanks!"
He certainly didn't want something that dangerous.
"I accept this Dragon Drop… this Blue Dragon's Tear!"
Ryo declared, and Lau and Fan nodded happily.
But Ryo thought he ought to say one thing.
"Just don't cause trouble for others."
"Huh?"
"Don't take hostages or half-destroy cities to lure me out."
"Understood. If we want to fight, we'll come directly to Ryo!"
"Uh… ah, okay… well, that's…"
Ryo reluctantly nodded, conjuring unsettling images in his head at Fan's words.
"After this, I'll go to the Darwei capital and challenge Ryo to a fight…"
"Multiple consecutive fights are a problem."
Ryo said firmly, cutting in at Fan's words.
He had to make it clear now or things would be terrible.
"Okay. Take one day off, tomorrow…"
"No!"
"Alright. Take one week, next week…"
"No!!"
"Fine. One month from now…"
"Please give me more time…"
After terse back-and-forth bargaining, they agreed to wait half a year.
"I'll train fully for six months."
"I'll train until then, too."
Fan and Lau said as they left.
"Abel, I'm exhausted."
"It sure looked tough."
"You say that like it's someone else's problem, but next you'll fight Lau, Abel."
"Yeah… I know. What are we doing wrong to end up in this?"
"Such a strange coincidence. I was just thinking the same too. Something must be wrong. On the level of fate or destiny…"
What is fate?
What is destiny?
They searched for answers they could not find.
Cheer up, Ryo and Abel.
-x-X-x-
On the afternoon of the day Ryo and the others left the capital, an alarming report arrived at the Imperial Palace from the north.
"Peiyu is advancing south!"
Peiyu is a country located north of Darwei.
Further north of Peiyu, it seems, lies the Choouchi Empire that had been a problem not long ago…
"Peiyu attacked? Are you certain that intel is not false?"
Upon receiving the report, Emperor Tsuin checked with Prime Minister Bian.
It was natural to ask.
The power ratio between the two nations was said to be somewhere between twenty to one and thirty to one.
If Darwei were invading, that would be one thing—but it made no sense for Peiyu, overwhelmingly weaker, to invade Darwei.
Moreover, relations between the two nations were not that bad at the moment.
The King of Peiyu had ascended ten years earlier, and since then had paid tribute to Darwei.
Darwei had sent back more than what it received… especially rice and other foodstuffs—so there was no discernible reason for war.
"It seems to be true that five thousand Peiyu cavalry have moved south and are attacking our cities."
"I don't understand it."
Emperor Tsuin shook his head slightly.
That said, they could not sit on their hands.
That same day, an imperial edict was issued directly to Prince Ryun.
He was ordered to lead ten thousand Imperial Guards and drive off the Peiyu army.
The night before Prince Ryun's departure, at the Kouri Royal Residence.
There, Prince Kouri, the Second Prince, and Lord Rowon were drinking coffee.
"Rumor is that Your Highness Kouri recommended Prince Ryun to His Majesty to repel Peiyu."
"That's right."
Lord Rowon asked with a faint smile, and Prince Kouri answered with a faint smile as well.
"Why? Up until now, when repelling foreign foes, hasn't Your Highness recommended Prince Churei of martial renown instead? Any prince who can command the Imperial Guards should not lose. In other words, this is a fine opportunity to accumulate merit. Prince Ryun, who will command ten thousand Imperial Guards this time, shouldn't lose either."
"Yes, Ryun should win. If he didn't, that would be a problem. He is a person Darwei will need going forward. It would be inconvenient if he died in some place like that."
"Then why…?"
Lord Rowon had asked that far, then tilted his head as if suddenly remembering something, and immediately became convinced.
"…Is the aim to keep Prince Ryun away from the Ryun Royal Residence?"
At Lord Rowon's words, Prince Kouri said nothing and sipped his coffee with that faint smile.
"Now, Duke Rondo of the adjacent Rondo Manor is to the south. If Prince Ryun goes north… the Ryun Royal Residence will still have forces, of course, but compared to normal, it will be astonishingly fragile. In that situation, you are predicting Prince Bin will move."
"…"
"Prince Bin, said to be losing sound judgment day by day, has his hatred directed at Prince Ryun. If Ryun's family remains defenselessly in front of him… it is highly possible he would have, say, the remaining rank-two adventurers attack."
"…"
"But why? Why have them attack the Ryun Royal Residence in that weakened state?"
Lord Rowon addressed the largest question to the silent Prince Kouri.
Prince Kouri, still smiling faintly, opened his mouth.
"As I said before, Ryun is a person Darwei will need going forward. There are not many with such talent and generalship. But in the past month, he has become stronger than we anticipated."
"Stronger than expected?"
Lord Rowon tilted his head at Prince Kouri's words.
"Yes. His heart has grown too strong. That makes him difficult to manipulate for my purposes."
Prince Kouri still wore a smile… but Lord Rowon noticed a keen light in the depths of his eyes.
Something beyond Prince Kouri's expectations had occurred.
That it had 'become too much'.
That was very unusual.
"Why has he become too strong?"
"People strengthen other people's hearts."
Prince Kouri answered Lord Rowon's question in a slightly roundabout, euphemistic way.
"In other words, because of someone around Prince Ryun, his heart has become stronger than expected? If it is someone Prince Ryun trusts that much… it would be Chamberlain Lin Sui, but he has been with the prince from the start. If we limit it to the past month… ah, I see. It must be Her Highness the Princess."
"Yes. Princess Shio Fen."
"I have never met her… but is it really that much?"
"Yes. She is a heroic woman. If circumstances were different, she would become an empress."
"Ohh…"
It was rare for Prince Kouri to praise someone to this extent.
Lord Rowon was therefore surprised.
He continued,
"So, we should have her removed now?"
Prince Kouri gave no reply to that.
However, he seemed to want to tell Lord Rowon something.
"Lord Rowon, your disciple will remain at the Royal Residence. But I would like you to refrain from advising on this matter."
"Hmm, Lu Yao, is it? She is talented… but it can't be helped."
"Yes, I admit she is excellent."
"Well then, if she dies because of this, she only amounts to that kind of person."
Lord Rowon shrugged and drained his coffee.
A few days after the punitive force led by Prince Ryun left the capital, late at night.
Princess Shio Fen, who had been sleeping, was awakened by the sound of bells.
Her maid Mifa immediately entered the room.
"Shio-sama, the Royal Residence is under attack. Put this on."
Princess Shio Fen donned the outer cloak Mifa handed her.
Then the princess's guard captain, Bizis and Lu Yao, commander of the Prince's Yulin Guard, burst into the room.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang…
The loud ringing of a bell was clearly heard.
"This is…"
"The installed defensive alchemy tool! Enemy attack!"
Princess Shio Fen frowned as Lu Yao answered.
Bizis and Mifa reacted calmly, but they were surprised.
Surprise was natural.
This was the Ryun Royal Residence.
An attack on a prince's castle should never happen.
But…
"Since Prince Ryun took troops and equipment, we are indeed thinner in defense than usual."
In a calm voice, Princess Shio Fen, who was in charge of the Royal Residence in Prince Ryun's absence, pointed out the obvious.
"Your Highness, please move to the shelter!"
"Understood."
Without asking any questions, Princess Shio Fen accepted Lu Yao's command.
Lu Yao, as the commander of the prince's guard, ordered evacuation.
That was the optimal choice.
The shelter was a refuge protected by the hardest walls and doors.
On modern Earth, it would be akin to a panic room.
When a house is attacked by burglars, it's a room to hide in and buy time until the police arrive…
The shelter is a building designed to secure the safety of the person being targeted by attackers by having them take refuge there.
"This way."
Bizis, the princess's guard captain, led the way; Princess Shio Fen followed, with Mifa last.
The maids waiting outside the room surrounded them and moved as an escort.
"Those two can handle it."
Lu Yao murmured softly and ran toward the main gate.
"What's the situation?!"
Lu Yao began assessing the situation as soon as she reached the main gate.
Before she could get an answer, she understood.
Things were pretty bad.
"Captain! We can't hold like this!"
"There are too many enemies!"
Reported Lu Yao's direct subordinates from the magic artillery unit.
They were reporting while casting magic artillery.
Their magic collided with the enemy's and annihilated on contact… but the enemy's magic barrage was far too numerous.
Some shots got through the barrage and dealt damage to the gate and walls of the Royal Residence.
The Royal Residence was a small castle.
Hence, its gates and walls were given magical defenses through alchemy.
Therefore, they would not fall easily.
Especially now, in a state of combat, the magical defense systems were operating at maximum output.
However, that did not mean they were invincible.
If hit by enough magic artillery, they would be worn down.
The damaged spots were repaired using the magic power of the mana stones.
In other words, if hit repeatedly, the defense systems would eventually run out of magic.
Thus, although the magic artillery unit was intercepting enemy magic by annihilation… even that could be penetrated.
"Where are my gauntlets?"
"Here."
Lu Yao's gauntlets, developed to enhance magic artillery.
"…This is our last set?"
"Yes. Twenty sets—everyone is equipped."
"Even though His Highness left half behind, there are simply too many enemies."
Lu Yao muttered in frustration.
She had developed forty sets so far.
Half had been taken by the expeditionary force led by Prince Ryun.
He had thought that twenty sets would be enough, but…
"Did we misjudge Prince Bin's willful self-destruction?"
Lu Yao's gaze fell on the attackers.
Among them were a few familiar magicians…
All belonged to Prince Bin's forces.
In short, Prince Bin had even brought his own Royal Residence troops into the attack on the Ryun Royal Residence.
Not only the eighty Second-Rank adventurers that had been mentioned.
"Even if he captures the Royal Residence, Prince Bin would have no future."
Everyone understood that.
Whether there was evidence or not no longer mattered.
They had so openly attacked the Royal Residence.
The Emperor would be furious.
The patrol soldiers who defend the capital might not raise their hands against Prince Bin's Royal Residence troops.
So this assault might actually succeed.
But beyond success, Prince Bin nor his retainers would have a future.
For now, what Lu Yao had to do was to defend this main gate.
The rear gate was not structured to let large armies pass.
So the enemy there didn't seem so strong.
However, if this main gate fell… the moment it did, a large army would surge in and occupy the whole Royal Residence.
"It can't be helped."
Lu Yao murmured, then chanted.
" 'Moonlight Causality'."
At that moment, the bracelet Lu Yao wore on her right arm emitted a soft light.
It was the light of alchemy.
The bracelet split into twelve pieces, floated in the air, began to spin, and then flew forward.
Enemy magic artillery flew in.
The twelve 'moons' moved through the air one after another and collided with the magic artillery.
Magic that struck the 'moons' changed direction by 180 degrees and…
"Ugh."
"Gya! "
"Ugh…"
It struck those who had fired it.
"Oh!"
"As expected of the captain's 'moons'…"
Even her direct subordinates, who rarely saw Lu Yao's 'Moonlight Causality', were astonished.
The 'moons' created by Lu Yao's extraordinary alchemy reflected the enemy's magic artillery.
"Drink a mana recovery potion while you can. Get yourselves ready."
On Lu Yao's order, the magic artillery team sprang into action.
(Against Prince Bin's Royal Forces… how long can we hold?)
Lu Yao's heart did not feel at ease.
"What was that just now?"
The assault force was led by Lin Sui, said to be Prince Bin's right hand.
Though he had been rumored missing, in fact, he had been underground in the capital.
For a certain purpose.
Having achieved that purpose, he returned to Prince Bin's Royal Residence and was immediately appointed commander of the assault force.
They had deployed sufficient forces to take the Royal Residence that had dispatched troops on an expedition, and had been advancing the artillery duel advantageously, but suddenly several of their magicians fell to an enemy's magic artillery.
They were naturally astonished.
"Report! Captain Lu Yao has appeared at the enemy main gate."
"I see."
Lin Sui nodded once.
That made things clear.
"So that was the rumored 'Moonlight Causality'."
"As expected of Lord Rowon's beloved disciple."
"If only Lu Yao had been in the expeditionary force, this attack would have been easy."
Comments from the staff could be heard, but Lin Sui did not respond.
Their plan had already been formulated and set in motion.
Lu Yao's appearance had been anticipated.
They would proceed as planned.
"Double the density of magic artillery fire."
"This rate of fire, this many shots…"
Lu Yao muttered without thinking.
The defenders were overwhelmingly disadvantaged.
Even though Lu Yao had activated 'Moonlight Causality' and all twenty members of the magic artillery team wore the gauntlets.
Still, some of the enemy's magic artillery broke through their interception and damaged the gates and walls.
Every time those were repaired, the mana of the mana stones installed for the Royal Residence's magical defense was consumed… and soon it would run out.
Once depleted, they would break through the main gate at once, and the Royal Residence would be ravaged.
Princess Shio Fen had at least been moved to the shelter…
The shelter was protected by a separate system of mana stones from the gates and walls, but even that was not perfect.
"Gah…"
A sudden, violent headache assailed Lu Yao and she dropped to one knee.
"Captain!"
"I'm fine! Continue the interception!"
A gunner called out, but Lu Yao brushed it off.
She knew the cause.
Overuse of 'Moonlight Causality'.
Originally, it was built on the assumption of intercepting with six moons.
But against today's volume of magic artillery, six moons would not be enough.
Judging so, from the start, she had sent out the design's maximum usable number—twelve moons.
Yet that placed an astonishing strain on her body, causing a headache severe enough to make her lose consciousness.
This time she hadn't blacked out, but dropping to a knee was unavoidable…
This was why she had hesitated to use
Lu Yao grimaced at the dark future that would follow if the battle continued as it was.
But at that moment…
From the depths of the road, ten blue lights streaked out of the darkness.
"Ugh."
"Guh…"
"Ugh."
Moans of agony escaped from the attackers who had been impaled by spears.
"Huh?"
Lu Yao and those guarding the main gate did not understand what had happened.
Something had rushed in at high speed and attacked the assailants, it seemed…
The things that pierced through the assailants and ran in the opposite direction, then turned and raced back toward the attackers.
"…Golems?"
No one was sure who muttered that.
At the head of that group of golems was one with a yellow scarf around its neck!
"Friendship Token No.2-kun?"
Lu Yao murmured in disbelief.
Wheels appeared from its legs and it moved at high speed.
That mechanism had not existed before.
Perhaps it had been hurriedly added for this occasion…
After dealing two blows and momentarily driving back the assault force, the Rondo Manor's Oniwaban Second Division, led by Friendship Token No.2, arrived before Lu Yao and the others.
Friendship Token No.2-kun led the line, properly arranged.
Each held an ice spear in their right hands, braced them, and repeatedly charged.
"Token No.2-kun… thank you!"
Lu Yao's words elicited no reply from Token No.2.
But Lu Yao understood from its expression:
"I'm glad I made it in time".
"Token No.2-kun and the others should charge at the enemy magicians like they did just now and break their formation. At the same time, we will switch to magic artillery attacks."
The magic artillery unit, which had been desperately defending, would now attempt an offensive because of Token No.2-kun and the others' arrival.
At that time, more magicians from the assault force were seen entering the fray.
Token No.2-kun raised its left hand.
It seemed to rally the golems of the Oniwaban Second Division behind it.
Then they charged.
With Token No.2-kun, its yellow scarf fluttering, at the forefront, the Oniwaban Second Division burst forward.
-x-X-x-
"Alright. We'll conduct a magic bombardment in coordination with Duke Rondo's golem unit's charge."
Captain Lu Yao gave the order.
"So that really is Duke Rondo's…?"
"The yellow scarf around its neck—it's the same thing the captain was tinkering with before…"
"I've seen her pat its head happily a few times…"
Such conversations rippled through the magic artillery unit.
"I'll intercept the enemy bombardment. The entire magic artillery unit will fire on the enemy assault team!"
"Understood!"
At Captain Lu Yao's further command, every member of the magic artillery unit nodded.
Up ahead, the Golem Oniwaban Second Unit had launched its charge.
Of course, they were not originally designed for combat.
Considering that their base model was a paddy-field management golem, that was only natural.
Thus, they were incapable of typical combat movements… bending knees, lowering the hips to stabilize, rotating the waist, and thrusting a spear forward in sync.
All they could do was brace the spear at their waist and charge forward.
And, at the right moment, thrust their arms out to strike with the spear.
Only those two movements.
However, they possessed a trait that none others did.
Hardness.
They were made of ice created by Ryo.
Naturally, that ice was unbelievably hard.
Equivalent to about twenty layers of
Ryo had originally thought they would simply serve as shields with that hardness… yet there they were, charging forward under Token No. 2-kun's lead.
And the power of their charge was astonishingly strong.
"All our spells are being deflected!"
"Even side thrusts with spears won't penetrate!"
"Their spears pierce through everything!"
The assault troops were thrown into confusion under the Second Unit's charge.
From the rear command post, the turmoil among the front-line magicians was visible.
"What are those things?"
"Likely golems…"
"They must be from the Rondo Manor."
"But Duke Rondo shouldn't even be there!"
In this operation, it had been strictly ordered that the Rondo Manor not be attacked.
Even if its master, Duke Rondo, was absent, no one knew what kind of defenses might remain there.
It was fairly well known that a magician sung of by bards manipulated golems in that residence's garden.
Many from the Censorate had entered the Rondo Manor at some point and had seen them there.
Of course, none of those Censorate officials had gone out of their way to spread tales of what they had witnessed inside.
Still, perhaps some had told their families.
Or perhaps, while discussing the popular topic of Duke Rondo with a companion, they had let slip a word or two.
Or perhaps another overheard Censorate officials talking among themselves about the golems of the Rondo Manor.
No door can shut every mouth.
Through various channels, the story of the Rondo Manor golems had become known to many.
Ryo himself had never intended to keep them a secret, so their notoriety was of no concern to him…
Nevertheless, for those present, the sudden appearance of the Rondo Manor's golems here was utterly unexpected.
They hadn't touched the Rondo Manor.
And yet, the golems had come on their own to attack.
"What on earth is Duke Rondo thinking?!"
Anyone, not just Lin Sui, would have shouted the same.
Though Ryo would likely say it was not something he cared to hear from those attacking a Royal Residence.
Because of the golems' incredible hardness, the enemy's front-line magicians had sustained heavy injuries and could no longer perform the synchronized bombardments they had earlier.
Not only the magicians but also swordsmen and halberdiers wielding spear-like weapons were unable to stop the golems' charge.
And then…
"Enemy bombardment incoming!"
"Raise a
"No, deal with the golems first—!"
Even from the command post, the chaos was clear.
"I had planned to wait until the main gate fell, but so be it."
Lin Sui issued an order to the staff beside him.
"Unleash those adventurers. Have them coordinate with the assassins we planted inside the Royal Residence and kill Princess Shio Fen!"
This assault was a race against time.
If only the patrol troops guarding the capital showed up, they could be handled easily.
So long as they bore the insignia of Prince Bin Royal Residence, no one would dare interfere.
But if the Emperor's Forbidden Army appeared, that would be another story.
Their strength was on another level.
Everything about them was different.
Prince Bin was already under the Emperor's suspicion.
In such a situation, the Forbidden Army might easily be dispatched under direct orders to eliminate them.
Reports had already reached Lin Sui: the assassins smuggled into the Royal Residence via concealed cargo had begun their attack on Princess Shio Fen.
They were preventing her from reaching the shelter.
However, due to her strong escort, killing her outright was proving difficult.
Originally, the plan had been for the assassins to hold her off until the main gate was breached, at which point the Second-Rank Adventurers would strike and assassinate her.
But the main gate still held…
They had known that Captain Lu Yao's Prince Ryun Imperial Guard was elite.
But believing its strength had been reduced after sending forces to the expeditionary army, they had attacked under careful calculation.
"Dealing with Lu Yao alone is troublesome enough—but Duke Rondo's golems too? If this assault fails, I'll surely be purged."
Those words were whispered so faintly that none around him could hear.
Inside the Royal Residence. Fifty meters from the shelter.
Princess Shio Fen's group was being held back.
"Where did these assassins come from?"
"They must have been hiding inside the Residence beforehand."
"They slipped past Captain Lu Yao's alchemy barriers? Incredible."
Even as they spoke, Attendant Mifa and Guard Captain Bijis never stopped their blades.
They had managed to wound the enemy, but not fatally.
Because the assassins kept their distance.
Their intent was clear…
"A delaying tactic?"
"Waiting for the main force to break the gate?"
Both Mifa and Bijis fought calmly, analyzing as they did.
The two of them, supported by several maids and members of Prince Ryun's Imperial Guard, surrounded and protected Princess Shio Fen.
They were being stalled, but since the assassins weren't rushing in, none of them had taken fatal wounds.
At that moment, Mifa noticed the moonlight dim.
Instinctively, she looked up.
Something was floating in the sky some distance away…
"What's that?"
"What is it?"
At Mifa's words, Bijis also looked up.
There, dozens of shapes gleamed in the moonlight…
"Enemy reinforcements?"
"From the sky?"
Neither Bijis nor Mifa had anticipated that.
The number of shadows increased rapidly—until they finally blotted out the moon.
"About a hundred?"
"Yes. They seem to be using kite-like devices—their physical abilities are high."
It wasn't a flight assault using Flight Rings, but rather an attack using glider-like contraptions.
"That's quite a number."
Princess Shio Fen too looked up and murmured.
"However…"
"Yes, there's no problem."
Mifa's words were smoothly continued by Princess Shio Fen.
They were certain.
An aerial assault would not succeed.
"The Royal Residence is a small fortress. And this one was designed by Captain Lu Yao, who is also an alchemist. She even accounted for assaults from the sky using Flight Rings."
Princess Shio Fen murmured softly.
Since the time when Ryun had been merely a prince, he had been disliked by the Three Princes.
Even directly attacked.
Now that he was an imperial prince, the threat to his life was greater than ever.
Knowing that, his residence naturally had to be equipped with defensive systems.
It would be one thing if it were technically difficult… but Captain Lu Yao was the designer.
She was the beloved disciple of Lord Rowon, said to be the greatest water-attribute magician and alchemist in all Darwei.
Though only nineteen, there was not a single alchemist in Darwei who did not know her name.
This Royal Residence, designed by her to protect her master, Prince Ryun,
possessed defensive strength far beyond the attackers' expectations, its main gate still holding firm.
As Darwei's 'Chuo Chuang' region possessed Flight Rings, aerial assaults and infiltration were always anticipated…
Boom. Boom. Boom.
A deep, resonant sound echoed every second.
From the turrets built on the corners of the Residence, fireballs shot skyward with each thundering pulse.
Each blazing orb struck its target unerringly among the shadows blotting out the sky.
Each hit ignited another figure,
Their dying screams faintly audible but not clear from the ground.
"Automated alchemical interception?"
Guard Captain Bijis asked aloud.
"It was integrated into the Residence from the design stage—to defend itself even when Captain Lu Yao was away."
Princess Shio Fen replied with a faint smile.
Truly, it was a spectacular sight.
Even for Princess Shio Fen, who as a princess of Bosuntar had grown up surrounded by top-level national alchemists and alchemical devices, she had never seen a mechanism on this scale.
"Rather than saying 'as expected of Darwei', it should be 'as expected of Captain Lu Yao'."
"You are absolutely right."
At Princess Shio Fen's words, Mifa nodded.
Most of the figures hit by fireballs were incinerated midair, but a few barely evaded and had their kites set aflame instead.
Naturally, they plummeted from the sky—and where they fell…
"They're falling into the Rondo Manor…"
"Some appear to be freezing solid mid-fall, before hitting the ground."
"…It seems the Rondo Manor's defenses rival this Royal Residence's."
Bijis and Mifa spoke in astonishment, while Princess Shio Fen gently shook her head.
"Duke Rondo shouldn't be there, though…"
"Captain Lu Yao said so— Duke Rondo is an incredible alchemist."
"Yes. She said that while examining the golem wearing Duke Rondo's scarf. That there were many parts even she couldn't understand."
Guard Captain Bijis stated the fact, Princess Shio Fen recalled, and Lady Mifa added the detail.
They had once witnessed Captain Lu Yao examining Friendship Token No. 2-kun, from the inside.
At that time, Captain Lu Yao's eyes had sparkled as she admitted there were aspects she could not comprehend.
And she had looked absolutely delighted.
"Both of them are extraordinary alchemists. Having such people standing with Lord Ryun is truly a blessing."
At those words from Princess Shio Fen, Mifa and Bijis both nodded deeply.
As for the frozen ones who had fallen into the Rondo Manor— it remained a secret that they were quietly gathered in one corner of the garden by the golems of the Rondo Manor Oniwaban First Unit, led by Advance-Notice Officer No. 1-kun.