Zero no Tsukaima x Monster Girl Quest : Hero of Two Worlds

by Pea Brain Writer

The adventure has ended; the History has turned its last page. The destiny has been fulfilled; The world has reached its conclusion. That is how it should be. And yet sprung an alternative possibility; worlds that should not exist, conjured by a playful mind. Where will a history taken off-course lead to; not a living soul could tell. [Note: Guest's reviews can't be replied to.]

12. Chapter 10: Prince of the White Country

How were your New Year? The Author's were okay, but the week after that was horrid. Anyway, here's the new chapter.

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Chapter 10: Prince of the White Country

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We are finally past the town area, after running for a few minutes.

I've been so focused on looking out for enemies I don't know how far we've come, but it couldn't have been too far, since Louise is only a little out of breath.

We are climbing a tall hill using a long set of stone stairs illuminated by moonlight. The way is both long and full of twists and turns, but we eventually reach the top.

...This is...the second most stunning sight I've seen since I came here, after the two moons.

A giant tree, with its branches grown in every direction. Its trunk must be as wide as a small mountain, while its branches can each has an entire house build on it easily.

But that alone wouldn't have surprised me; we have a tree this size back home too.

It's the several ships hanging on thick ropes tied to the branches that's shocking me. This is a sight that couldn't be found anywhere back home. I didn't come here during the tour around town during the day, since there wasn't enough time to go everywhere, so this is the first time I see it.

"Is that...a port?"

They are making a port out of a tree as big as the World Tree I know; but this one is already dead and dried up.

Would the one back home become like this someday? It probably won't happen anytime soon, but maybe we should arrange a place for the alraunes living there just in case. Yeah, I'll talk about it with Alice once I get back.

Wardes: "If you're just going to stand there we will leave you here."

Wardes is as pushy as ever. I was just thinking about my home; it wasn't even that long.

After some more running, we arrive at the base of the tree. Its inside is carved out, made into a spacious room, like a reception hall. There's no one in there at the moment.

There are several stairways leading from the groud up to each of the branches. The metal plates beside each one probably denote which pier they lead to, if I have to guess; I can't read any of it.

Wardes looks at the plates, then leads us on one of the stairways. I'll have to trust his judgment on this one.

These stairs...don't look too safe. They're float stairs made of wood panels on flimsy-looking frame. Even the railing looks like it would break from a simple touch. I guess making stone stairs all the way up there would be a lot of work, but I really hope these wooden stairs are strengthened by magic or something.

Passing the first set of stairs, we come up on a platform, also made of wood. It's for resting, I guess. We are in a hurry so it doesn't—

—! Something's behind us!?

Something flies over my head, and lands on the platform—just behind Louise!

"Louise!"

Louise: "Huh?—Ahh!?"

It's a person wearing a mask. They step away from Wardes as soon as they grabbed Louise.

Louise: "Let me go!" Louise resists, but the assailant's arm holding her doesn't even budge.

What do they want with Louise? No, there's no time thinking about it; saving Louise comes first.

As soon as I unsheathed my sword, my body feels lighter. So I wasn't imagining it during the spar with Wardes; I had to hold myself back a lot because of it.

The Blade of Sigurd was just an old rusty sword, so of course what I thought was its special power at the time obviously wasn't; but then what exactly is this?

I'll think about it later. Whatever it is, it's to my advantage right now.

With enhanced speed, even if not as much as when boosted by Sylph, getting in the face of the assailant takes only a second, despite the distance, even when I'm still holding back quite a lot.

They're taken by surprised, and move to jump back, but it's too late.

*slash*

I feel the resistance through the grip of the sword as the blade cuts through the cape into the flesh under it. The person's cape and coat now have an arm-lenght gash in them.

I'm not trying to kill them so the wound isn't too deep, but the pain must've been bad enough; the arm holding Louise comes loose. Louise notices and takes the chance to shake them off.

"Louise!"

Louise catches my hand, and I pulled her to hide behind me.

That went perfectly.

The person flips back high in the air, as they did when they went over me earlier, and lands on the edge of the platform.

I can make out the figure now; it is a tall man, as tall as Wardes, and he's wearing a white mask.

"Who are you?! What do you want from us?!"

No answer. Instead, he thrusts out his black wand.

There's some kind of tingles on my skin, and my sword seems to be vibrating. This seems familiar...

...—!

"Louise get back!"

Louise: "Ah!?"

I push Louise back; there's no time to explain or be gentle here.

The wand is aiming at me.

I know what's coming, and cross my arms in front of me.

*crack!*

"Gahh!?"

My body feels like it's burning up, like muscles are being torn from the inside... This is... a lightning strike...!

...I managed to endure it. I put my arms out just now so the gloves took the hit first; I don't know if it helped, but at least I don't seem to be injured too bad.

...But I can't move; my muscles are all numb. That was as strong as the magic used by high-level succubi. I don't have Gnome with me so it still affected my body somewhat. I need a few seconds to recover; it shouldn't be any longer that the time the man takes to cast the spell again. I can do this.

Wardes: "...Winde!"

An invisible gust of wind blasts at the man, knocking him off the platform.

I take a deep breath...clench and relase hands...try moving the legs...Alright, I'm back to normal. I still feel a bit of the tingles in my muscle, but they should be gone soon.

More importantly,

"...Wouldn't he die?"

Wardes: "He still had his wand. He probably landed and escaped by now. If you have the time to worry about the enemy, use it to consider our situation. That spell can only be used by high level mages; the type that usually holds high position in military. That's more than enough proof that Albion Nobles Faction have taken noticed of our movements."

Louise: "Luka! Are you alright?!"

Louise looks and sounds like she's going to cry; this is a first. But Louise had never liked combat anyway; she was very against my duel with Guiche and her own with Kirche. She doesn't like seeing people getting hurt or die; that much I'm sure from the time spent with her.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Honestly, the punches from Guiche's golems hurt more than this; they're different types of damage.

Louise: "How can I not worry?! You were...You got hit by a high level spell! How can you act as if nothing's wrong!?"

Louise is saying she's worried about me so openly. This is much more surprising than that lightning.

"Ah, okay, it hurt a lot. But I'm mostly fine now; just still a bit numb."

I show her I can move my arms and fingers just fine.

"...!"

I didn't think she would clasp my hands just like that. Louise seems to be making sure of my condition.

Louise: "Ha...!"

As if suddenly regaining her sense, Louise push my hands away, harshly. She could've just let go normally.

Louise: "So it's no big deal after all. For how loud it was, it was a pretty weak spell." Louise turned away and starts complaining.

Once the danger passed she returns to how she normally is. I see. She is pretty similar to Alice back then in this regard; if Alice was a bit more immature. Who knows, maybe Alice was more like Louise when she was her age. Maybe I'll ask Tamamo once I get back.

Wardes: "How can that spell be weak." Wardes interrupts with serious expression. "That spell was Lightning Cloud, a high powered killing spell. Most cases resulted in dead."

Louise: "Eh? Are you joking? Luka looks completely fine though?"

Wardes: "And that is both strange and surprising. Did the enemy unintentionally reduce the power somehow, or did the leather gloves act as a protection of sort by chance? Whatever the case may be, your familiar was very fortunate to have survived that with just numbness; calling it a miracle wouldn't be exaggerating."

Louise: "I—I see..." Louise looks pale.

Well, it was probably a powerful spell like Wardes said. This is the only body I've ever had so I can't be sure, but the power of that lightning was probably enough to kill normal people easily. I'm not dead because my body is not normal. I'm not going to say that though; better to let them think it was luck.

Wardes: "It doesn't look like there are more of them for now, but that might change. Let's take this chance and board the ship."

The rest of the way is...calm. The only sounds are of our shoes hitting the wooden plank.

We arrive at a ship, tied to the branch we're on. Looking closely, it looks just like an ordinary ship that sails on sea, except for two bat-like wings made from wooden frame and sails, each one several meters long. I don't know a thing about advance science, but even I know those wings aren't enough to make this thing fly or even glide.

Wardes leads us across a gangway and onto the ship. A sailor who has been sleeping wakes up and is startled when he sees us.

Sailor: "Who are you people?"

Wardes: "Where is the captain of this ship?"

Sailor: "Sleeping, obviously. Come back tomorrow."

Sailor finishes saying and raises the liquor bottle he's holding to his mouth, ignoring us.

Wardes instantly pulls out his wand, pointing it at the man's face. Nobles really like doing that, don't they.

Wardes: "You would make a noble repeat his demand? Call the captain here."

Sailor: "A—A noble!"

The sailor, now widely awake, runs inside the ship like his life depends on it.

"Did you really need to do that?"

Wardes: "Extreme situation calls for extreme measure. No time to play nice."

Alice used to say that as well; she has scared her fair share of people, including four tiny bandits. Maybe it's nobles' thing, flaunting their power and authority when it makes things faster.

The sailor comes back, bringing a middle-aged man who still looks sleepy with him. From the hat he's wearing, he's probably the captain.

Captain: "What business might you have with this ship?"

The captain looks at us suspiciously. Of course; he was suddenly woken up in the middle of the night and was told nobles come to see him.

Wardes: "Captain of a royal guard squad, Viscount Wardes."

The ship captain widens his eyes like the sailors did. I'm repeating myself, but Noble status can be used to do just about anything here, can't it.

Captain: "Oh. How can we and this ship be of service, sir?"

Wardes: "I want you to set sail to Albion now."

Captain: "You cannot be serious, sir!"

Wardes: "This is an order from the Queen. Do you intend to defy the Royal Family?"

He's bringing up the queen now. Wait, isn't this a request from the princess? I'm not really sure though.

Captain: "What business do you and your companions have in Albion, our insignificant selves cannot begin to imagine; but we cannot depart until the morning!"

Wardes: "Why?"

Captain: "We have to wait until Albion is the closest to La Rochelle tomorrow. Our ship won't have enough windstone if we set out now!"

Another unfamiliar word.

"What is 'windstone' ?"

As expected; I get the same reaction as last time. Louise, Wardes, and the captain stare at me like I come from underground without any civilization whatsoever.

Captain: "Stones with power of Wind, sir. Ships need them to float." The respectful tone is probably because I'm with Wardes. Or maybe it's the cape.

The explanation was brief, but clear enough. We don't have windstones back home, but we do have spirit stone. Can they be used instead? I'll try pitching the idea to Tamamo anyway. If we can get this to work, we won't have to rely on Galda all the time.

Yeah, I'll do that when I get back, along with everything else I've thought of on the way. I'll definitely get back.

And in order to do that, we have to survive this trip first.

Captain: "Viscount sir, there are only enough windstones for the shortest trip. If we depart early we'll fall to our death before we reach the destination!"

Wardes: "I will make up for the lack in windstones. I am a Square Wind."

Square. From what Louise told me, Square is the highest level of magic users, or Mages. I guess I should've expected that of the leader of a royal guard squad.

Captain: "Then we can consider that problem solved. But you'll still have to pay for the fare."

Wardes: "What is the cargo?"

Captain: "Sulfur, sir. Right now it's worth as much as gold is. The nobles looking to establish order in the new country; for that purpose, gunpowder, along with this 'Nostrum of Fire' is needed, and they are willing to pay handsomely for it"

Nostrum of Fire? Is that some kind of nickname? For sulfur? Another thing I didn't know about. If Louise calls me uneducated again it's going to be hard to argue, even if it's not my fault for not being born here.

Wardes: "Then I will pay you in that amount."

Wardes says ridiculous things again. Is this also one of nobles' things? Alice was the same. Other than for food, she didn't spend money herself that often; but each time she did I felt like I'd faint at the amount she paid. Even now I'm still not completely used to it.

The captain smirks in a very unsubtle way, and turns to bark orders at the sailors.

Captain: "Time to leave! Untie the anchor! Lower the sails."

The sailors complain audibly, but do as they're told, quickly and expertly. In just a few minutes, all the ropes that has tied the ship to the port are all undone.

And the ship falls down.

"Wah!"

I thought we're really going to fall for a moment, but the ships immediately halts and starts going up.

Looking down from the edge of the ship, it's clear we're really floating in the air. Making a ship this huge floats, if we were to do it with magic we have back home, how much power would we need? These windstones are really amazing.

Wardes: "When will we reach Albion?"

Captain: "We'll probably arrive at Port Scarborough some time after midday."

Port La Rochelle gets smaller as the ship gains speed, from slowly floating to what can be called flying, maybe two or three times as fast as ships sailing on sea. With this speed, a round trip between Gold Port and Hellgondo wouldn't take more than a few hours at most. It's going to be a real shame if we can't build one like this back home.

Louise tugs at my shirt. She's being unusually timid.

Louise: "Earlier..."

"Hm?"

Louise: "Th—Thank you for saving me..."

"It's nothing big. Of course I'd help you."

Louise: "Wh—Why..."

"...Why what?"

Louise: "...No, nothing."

She leaves just like that, and goes up to Wardes.

What's up with her? Usually she'd be all like 'Obviously, it's the familiar's duty to protect its master!' or something like that.

Maybe she got so scared she lost her usual temper; she was like this too when we fought the golem.

Louise: "Wardes, what will we do once we get there?"

Wardes: "It seems Newcastle where the royals have set up their base is being sieged by the rebels. But there hasn't been any news of the crown prince losing his life."

Louise: "Wait. Does that mean every stretch of land from the port onward is under the rule of the rebels? How do we reach the loyalists..."

Louise looks worried.

Louise: "By the way, I was wondering, where's your gryphon?"

Wardes smiles. Then he walks to the edge of the ships and blows his fingers. The gryphon appears from under the ship and lands on the deck, scaring the sailors.

"Since we're going by a ship, it's okay to assume that we can't just ride the gryphon there, isn't it?"

Louise: "Of course. This isn't a dragon. It can't fly that far."

So if it's a dragon it would be possible. Then Tabitha's group might come after us; though they probably won't. It would be good to know if they're alright, but it would be better if they go back to the school just like that. I don't want them dragged into this if it's going to be dangerous.

So, tomorrow will be another day to brave the danger. I should rest; if there are more like that masked guy I will have to be at perfect condition.

Wardes follows the captain inside the ship, probably to do something about the windstones like they discussed, which means he won't get to rest. If something happens it would be up me to protect those two. All the more reason to rest early.

"Excuse me, is there a place to sleep?"

Sailor: "Haah? Just lie down wherever. But don't get in our way."

The difference in the treatment between me and Wardes is night and day. This is the gap between commoners and nobles.

I'll just rest my head on the fence of the ship. At least it would protect me from the wind.

This is worse than sleeping on the straw at Louise's room. I probably won't get the rest I need, but this is the best I'm going to get. Lying flat against the ground would just get me rolling on the floor if the ship rocks, though I don't know if the ship rocks up here in the sky.

Louise disappeared somewhere. But she's a noble, so she would probably get a better treatment than I do. She might even get an actual room with a bed. Anyway, no need to worry.

[...]

[...][...]

Sailor: "...bion in sight!"

Sounds of shouting and wind fill my ears as I open my eyes to a brightened sky.

The sailors are stretching, preparing to work.

Looks like I slept through the night; my neck is a bit sore.

A weight is lifted off of my right shoulder... Louise?

Louise rubs her eyes and yawns, then freezes when she realizes I'm looking.

Louise: "...What are you looking at?"

"Why were you sleeping here?"

Louise frowns.

Louise: "Why couldn't I."

"I mean, why didn't you find somewhere better? If you had told them you're a noble, you should've at least gotten a bed.

Louise looks in the direction of the head of the ship. Or rather, she just looks away from me.

Louise: "What kind of familiar are you, leaving your master and went off somewhere alone. What if something happened to me?"

Louise is at her prime today as well, turning things into my fault like always.

"What could've happened? If the ship got sink or something it wouldn't have mattered where we were, and no way anyone here would dare to harm you; the people here are too scared of noble to do something like that."

Louise: "No excuse. Whatever; I'll go check if we're close to our destination yet."

Louise gets up and walks toward the front of the ship, gazing up at something. We're already in the sky; what else could be up there?

...

...Amazing.

This ship is floating up in the sky, higher than the clouds, but even higher up there is a mass of land; so enormous I can't even tell how big it is, floating in place as if it exists in a separate dimension where things don't fall down.

"That..."

Louise: "That is the 'White Country' [Albion]. It's as big as Tristain."

A mass of land as big as a country floating in the sky: if I tell Alice, she'd accuse me of daydreaming for sure.

"Why the 'White Country'?"

Louise: "See the white fog covering the bottom of the island? That formed when water from rivers flow down the edge of the land and the droplets turn into clouds. The country is perpetually surrounded by those white clouds, so it is named the [White Country]."

The entire island is one country. That means if something happens, we can't escape even if we run to the edge of the island.

Sailor: "A ship coming in from up-right!"

We're on the right side of the ship at the moment. I look up and see another ship coming this way from a higher altitude. It's much bigger than the one we're on, and sports a row of cannons; and it's painted entirely in black.

I've only ever seen a ship with a similarly ominous air once, and it belongs to a legendary pirate crew.

Louise: "Is that the rebels' ship...the nobles'?" Louise's brows furrow in worry.

Our ship is speeding up, probably to get away, but the other ship closes in and starts sailing parallel to us.

*boom!*

A flash, and a booming noise. Large amount of black, round objects fly past our ship.

Cannons. Was that a threat?

Our ship is slowing down. At the same time, a man on the black ship raises a bullhorn.

Pirate: "We are sky pirates! Don't resist!"

Louise: "Pirates?!"

It really is a pirate ship. I guess whether it is sea or sky, if there are ships, there are bound to be pirates.

Groups of men appear on the edge of the black ship, standing in row, armed with bows and...those are guns?

They have guns here, even without Promestein. Unbelievable.

Numerous grappling hooks are thrown at our ship, latching on the fence. Then rough looking men climb the ropes onto the ship; there must be at least thirty of them.

Louise: "Luka..."

Louise tugs at my shirt as she hides behind me, looking anxious and scared.

My hand almost went to the hilt of the sword instinctively, but I stopped myself. There are too many of them; and cannons are still aimed at our ship. Showing resistance now would be a bad idea.

But if they try to hurt someone, that would be another matter entirely.

Wardes: "You had best quit what you're thinking."

Wardes walks up to us from behind.

Wardes: "The armed men in front of us aren't the only threat. Look at the many cannons aiming at us from the hull. If you want to survive in a battlefield, you should learn to measure the opponent's force in comparison to your own."

Wardes looks haggard. He probably hasn't gotten a wink of sleep, having to use magic on the ship all night long.

"I know."

If it's about being careful, Alice had lectured me so much I used to dream about it for months; she kept insisting I was too reckless.

But if they lay a hand on the passengers, there's no way I can keep quiet.

Wardes: "Your eyes say otherwise. The enemy might even have a mage with them."

Wardes's tone gets stern at the end. He's probably try to remind me of the match from yesterday's morning and the encounter with the masked man last night.

There's a commotion from the front deck. The pirates seem to be struggling to hold down Wardes's gryphon, which is flailing around wildly.

Then a puff of white fog suddenly appear, covering only around the gryphon's head. The gryphon goes limp, and falls down, just like that.

Wardes: "Sleep Cloud. Now we can be sure they have a mage with them."

A spell that can put someone to sleep. That puts us at an even more disadvantage.

Another group of pirates get on the deck.

The one at the center dresses pretty lavishly. The undershirt that probably used to be white is stained brown with sweat and grime. Thought its gap, his sunburnt, muscular chest can be seen. Red cloth tied his messy black hair together, while his left eye is covered with an eye patch. He strides on the deck of someone else's ship with confidence; he's exactly like a pirate leader taken straight from a book.

The pirate leader takes out a curved sword, and put it at the neck of our ship's captain.

...I stopped myself in time to see he just touch the captain's face with the side of the sword.

That was close. My heart is beating fast; my body is ready to spring into action. But I can't. There are dozens of guns aiming at us; not even I when boosted by Sylph's power can outrun bullets. I can dodge them. I can even deflect them. But I can't intercept them if they're aimed at anyone too far from me.

The pirate and the captain talk for a bit. Then the pirate leader lifts the captain hat up with the tip of his sword, putting it on his own head with the other hand, before walking away.

Then he turns to to see at us, and heads our way.

Pirate Captain: "Oh, looks like we caught a big one today. You lots are nobles, huh."

He looks at Louise. My feet move by themselves, putting me between them. Wardes is warning me with his eyes. I understand his point, but I can't do as he want.

Pirate Captain: "Hm? Who're you, lad? You look like a commoner to me."

"I'm not a noble."

Pirate Captain: "Not a noble. Then what're you to that lassie? Don't tell me she's your woman?"

"I'm her familiar."

Pirate Captain: "...Huh? Familiar? You are? To the lassie here?"

"Right."

Pirate Captain looks very surprised. Then he explodes in laughter.

Pirate Captain: "Hahahaha! Lad! You sure you're not a comedian!?"

Other pirates laugh as well. I hadn't been mocked like this for a long time, until the time I tried to talk to the scylla familiar at school, and then this. Compared to what the monsters and angels were saying to me back then, what I got here is nothing; I couldn't be annoyed by it even if I want to.

The laughter gradually dies down. The pirate captain turned back to bark order at the underlings.

Pirate Captain: "Boys! Get these three up on our ship. We're gonna be rich!"

The nearby pirates grab us from behind. Louise scowls and struggles a bit; but settles down when she catches Wardes' eyes, though unwillingly.

[...]

The room we're brought to is probably one of the storage rooms in the pirate's ship. Our swords and wands got confiscated, but they didn't tie us up. They probably don't see us as a real threat; they don't even put a guard in front of the room.

We didn't see what happened to our old ship, but Wardes said it's probably forced to follow along to the pirate's hideout, so they can take their time plundering without worrying about running out of windstones and dropping down half-way through. But we are put in here first, since we, or rather Louise and Wardes, worth a lot.

Aside from us three, there are wine barrels, grain sacks, and gunpower barrels placed haphazardly in the room. Only cannonballs are piled together somewhat neatly at a corner.

Wardes: "Familiar, do you know how lucky you were?"

He gives me a disapproving look.

Wardes: "In that situation, did you realize just how much danger can a simple show of resistance lead to? That you, I, and Louise are still in one piece was simply because of the pirate's temperatment at the time. Your recklessness will be the death of us."

...I look down, unable to argue; I know he's right.

Louise: "Wardes, there's no need to be so harsh. Luka was just trying to protect me...since it's his duty as a familiar..."

Wardes: "No, Louise. What the boy here tried to pretect was his own pride. The pirate at the time didn't show any intention to hurt any of us, but to let a pirate touch Louise would be a blow to his own pride. It was all about his own ego. Someone who truly thought of your safety wouldn't do that." Wardes says coldly.

Louise went silent. Probably, she can't find any word to argue either.

It is as Wardes said. What I did risked making the pirate angry, which could've put all of us in danger. But the urge to do something that a hero would do, that I myself would do, was stronger than logical reasoning, despite knowing it might make things worse.

In a situation that can't be solved by just power and bravery, I might be more of a burden than useful. Normally Alice or Tamamo would be doing the problem solving in these cases, but none of them are here. Instead, we have Wardes. But while he is similarly cool headed, I can't bring myself to trust him like I do those two.

I can't do this myself, but I can't trust people with actual knowledge to do it either. I really am dragging them down.

...The me from before would be disheartened by the fact. The me now still is, actually, but even if they're not here with me, my friends are still a part of me; they would tell me to do what I think is best, and I know better than to doubt them.

Maybe it was a bad move on my part; maybe it would be the right choice in hindsight in the future, it doesn't matter. I have to press onward, and the way forward right now is to do something about our situation here.

Footsteps come from outside the room.

Someone stops in front of the room. The lock clicks, then the door opens.

Fat Pirate: "Food."

A fat man dressed in simple shirts and trousers comes into the room holding a bowl and a cup: an even-more-miserable-soup and a cup of water. No bread.

This is an offense to real food. At least, if Alice is here, she would say so.

Still, none of us have had breakfast yet. We have to eat what we have. I'll take it.

The pirate pulls the bowl and the cup back just before I grab them.

Fat Pirate: "Questions first. What's your business on Albion?"

Louise: "Sightseeing." Louise glares a hole in the pirate.

Fat Pirate: "Tristanian nobles going to Albion for sightseeing, now of all time? What sight are you going to see? Smoldering buildings and rotting corpses?"

Louise: "No need to tell you."

Fat Pirate: "Maybe you'd want to look at yourself before acting tough."

The fat pirate laughs, and puts the bowl and the cup down on the floor. I'm tempted to reach out to take it, but he might snatch it back again; that would be annoying.

The pirate turns around and walks out of the room. Looks like there's no trick this time.

I place the bowl in front of Louise. She stares at it, then shakes her head firmly.

Louise: "Who would eat something given by those scoundrels."

"We need to eat, or we won't have energy to do anything when it counts."

Louise: "I said no. Why don't you eat it then?"

"I'm used to giving my share to others."

Even If I do eat, if Alice is still hungry, she would suck the nutrients from me anyway; taking more than what I would've gotten from the food even. So, making sure Alice is satisfied always comes first.

Louise went silent, glancing at the soup bowl from the corner of her eyes, but makes no move to take it.

Wardes: "Louise, do as your familiar says. An army marches on its stomach."

Louise: "Wardes...If you say so...But only if we're going to all get an equal share."

"I said basically the same thing."

Well, as long as she eats, it's fine by me.

Louise: "Hmph. I'm only doing this because I don't want my familiar to get a bad name from taking its master's food. It'd reflect badly on me."

This is Louise, so of course she's going to say that.

The soup and water are taken care of. Obviously, it wasn't filling in the slightest. Now all we have left to do is to rest and save our strength.

Wardes sits with his back against the wall, deep in thought. Louise sits holding her knees, just an arm length away to my left.

I didn't imagine we'd get caught by pirates, of all things.

What is going to happen to us now? They did say something about getting a lot of money from us. If this is a ransom they probably won't harm the hostages; I'm not familiar with how pirates work, but that's probably not always the case.

We are here on a mission, but for now our safety is more important. We need to escape.

When would be a good chance though? Thinking about it normally, it would be when the ship is on the ground.

If this ship is on the sea it might sails for months without seeing land. But supposedly this kind of ship is only floating because of these 'windstones'. The ship we came with only had enough for an overnight trip. If they are going to take it with them they will have to dock in a port somewhere within today. The captain did say we should reach a port somewhere around noon.

That would be our chance.

Louise is still depressed. If I tell her what I thought it might cheer her up somewhat, but saying my plan aloud might be dangerous.

Now that I think about it again, Wardes is probably thinking up the same plan, or a better one.

So, we have a chance, but not a way yet. If we can get the wand back for Wardes our chance would increase by a lot. The gryphon too. And a sword for me would be great.

I don't know where Wardes and Louise's wands went though. How are magic wands here different from normal sticks anyway? The ones back home were put through some kind of procedure to make them special. If it's the same here, then just any stick wouldn't do.

Actually, isn't the entirety of magic here different from the one we used? We didn't really need wands to use magic; they just make the effects stronger. How is everything is so different here, despite sharing the same sky, sea, and air?

I'm getting out of the topic. We should find some weapons. Wardes's and Louise's will be hard to find, but I can use any kind of weapons, especially if it's a stick around seventy centimeters long.

The best way to go about this would be: taking a chance when a pirate with a weapon passes by to steal it, then go to get our weapons back or just escape from the ship altogether. If we can get on the ground it should be possible to escape. The pirates should be wary of the soldiers too, and wouldn't follow us too inland.

I can hear footsteps again. It's not from the same guy.

A thin pirate opens the door.

Thin Pirate: "Hey. You guys in Albion Nobles Faction?"

Louise and Wardes aren't saying anything, but that question opens up a lot of possibilites, and questions.

Thin Pirate: "C'mon, how're we gonna know things if ya'll keep your mouth shut? Anyway, if you're one of them then sorry. Our business is only going smoothly 'cus of your nobles selves. In return, we're catching people crazy enough to take the loyalist's side."

Louise: "So this ship really belongs to the rebels?" Louise asks in surprise.

Thin Pirate: "No no. We're not hired or something. We're just cooperating on equal ground. Nothing you have to worry about. So, what's it gonna be? Nobles Faction? If so we'll get you safely to the shore."

If we tell them we are on Albion nobles' side, we'd be saved, just like that. That's what anyone would normally think; but there might be a trap in this. I'm not smart enough to determine how likely that is.

Louise: "Don't lump us together with those despicable rebels! I have business with the loyalists."

Of course, that's what Louise would say. Since Wardes isn't stopping her, I take it he has a plan.

Louise: "You rebels haven't won yet, so Albion is still a Kingdom, belonging to the Royal Family. I am going to meet them as a representative of Tristain, which means I am an ambassador. I order you to treat me as such."

Whoa. Even in this kind of situation, Louise can still talk like that. What are the nobles here taught? Even Alice, the Demon Lord, wouldn't say something like that.

The pirate laughs.

Thin Pirate: "They say honesty is a virtue, but now that you said it out loud, don't think you're going to get off easy."

Louise: "If I have to lie and bow my head to you, I'd rather die."

Ah, she's saying something like that again. Well, mindsets we've had for years don't just up and change overnight.

Thin Pirate: "Well, I'm gonna report this to the boss. Think carefully about what you're going to say."

The door closes; the pirate is gone. Louise is still scowling.

"Louise, we already talked about this dying business..."

Louise: "Shut up, I remember that. I don't have a death wish. We're going to escape from here and retrieve the letter for Princess anyway. This is related to the survival of Tristain; it won't end with just my death."

"...Okay then."

I guess I can be relieved, a little. If she hasn't given up then there is still hope.

Wardes: "You are very brave, Louise." Wardes gets up and places his hand on Louise's shoulder. "That's my bride. I'm really proud of you."

That's not the reaction I got when I did bascially the same thing.

Now, I'm still not sure how much I and Louise should risk our safety for this mission. Tamamo's words are still stuck in my head: to not get involved in politics thoughtlessly; and the troubles in Albion right now is clearly that.

Both sides clash while each claims they are in the right. I can't risk my life for people I don't know what they might be hiding. I don't want a repeat of the old Plansect Village.

But Louise is dead set on helping the princess. How can I change Louise's mind? Is there a need to change it? I don't have an answer for either.

*kachak*

The door opens while I was distracted. The same thin pirate peeks inside. That's fast.

Thin Pirate: "The boss calls."

We exchange looks, and follow the pirate out of the room. I lead, Wardes takes the rare, with Louise in between us, going up a narrow stairway.

It's cold in here, but my forehead is damp with sweat. This situation is very precarious. What would happen once we meet with the pirate leader? This ship hasn't landed yet. If the pirates choose to throw us out, we'd have to fight.

Anything can happen. I must keep calm.

We are lead to a room on the deck at the back of the ship, where the captain of the pirate is waiting.

The room is very spacious; the big dining table in the middle of the room looks unsuitably fancy for a pirate ship. The captain sits at the end of the table, fiddling with a wand with a crystal for its head. So the captain might be a mage too, though his outfit is not mage-like at all, assuming Louise and Wardes are the standard.

Surrounding the captain are several underlings grinning at us. If a fight breaks out we'll be at disadvantage in terms of numbers, by a lot.

Thin Pirate: "Hey, greet the boss."

The pirate nudges at Louise's back. Of course, Louise doesn't obey. The boss looks at her and smirk.

Pirate Captain: "Headstrong aren't you, lass. I like that in a woman, though you're a little too young for me. Well, your name?"

Louise: "Before that, give us the treatment we deserve as an ambassador, or you can forget me saying a word."

Louise is going strong as always. That's just the front though. She's actually shaking; anyone who pays attention can see that clearly.

Pirate Captain: "So, you have business with the Royal Family."

Louise: "Right."

Pirate Captain: "What are you gonna do with them? Those guys'll be gone by tomorrow."

Louise: "Not something I need to tell you."

Pirate Captain: "Why don't you join the Nobles's ranks? They're looking for mages. The pay's nothing to sneeze at either."

Louise: "I'd rather be dead."

I can't agree with this one. I don't know how both sides are like. It's too early to risk my life for either of them.

But it wasn't easy for Louise to say that either. She is shaking, because she is scared. She is scared, because she isn't trying to throw her life away.

Haa... I feel like I'm seeing a lot of my old self in Louise lately. How can I have the heart to stop her like this.

Pirate Captain: "I'll ask again. Won't you join the Nobles Faction? Not at all?"

Louise: "No way. Not now; not ever."

The boss went silent. The underlings change their expression.

Looks like it's time; no turning back now.

I should prepare myself for confrontation. I put right leg forward and bend down a little; just enough to not alert the pirates.

The number one threat here is the boss. No matter what, that wand has to be taken out first. The pirates behind us can be left to Wardes, while I'll fly across the table straight toward the boss in the instant they move.

Pirate Captain: "...Fu. Hahahaha!"

But the pirate captain laughs. It's not a grim sounding laugh either. He seems genuinely entertained.

Actually, his voice itself sounds like it belongs to a totally different person. What is going on here?

Pirate Captain: "Tristanian nobles truly are hopelessly hardheaded. Still, that is a hundred times better than the shameless bunch of some country."

Even the way he talks is different.

The captain stands up, smiling a little, as the underlings behind him do.

Pirate Captain: "I apology for my unbecoming behavior earlier. To ask a noble of her name, manners dictate one has to give theirs first."

The captain grabs his own messy black hair and pulls...It's a wig. The eye covered by the eyepatch is intact and normal-looking. Even the beard is fake.

What is left is a man with short golden hair and a calm exterior.

Pirate Captain?: "I am the marshal of Albion's Royal Air Force, the highest commander of our air force...Though the 'air force' currently consists of only this lone vessel, [Eagle]. And rather than that difficult-sounding title, I'd rather use this simpler one."

The man bows once, then says with a clear voice.

?: "Crown Prince of Albion, [Wales Tudor], pleased to make your acquaintance."

! So he is the prince we're looking for. It's a surprise, but kind of not surprising at the same time.

Swordswoman, gourmet, and now pirate: it's like disguising is popular among royals or something.

Louise is really surprised, to the point her jaws hang open.

Wales: "Now, please take a seat." The prince gestures to the chairs surround the long table.

But Louise still doesn't move a muscle. Looks like she's still shocked by the revelation.

Wales: "From your expressions, I would guess that you are wondering why I am posing as a pirate."

Louise nods. At least she's listening.

Wales: "The Nobles Faction has enough money to replenish their supplies for as long as the war goes on. Cutting the enemy's supply line is a basic of warfare, but doing it upfront as a royal warship would just get us surrounded. So I thought, why not just become professional robbers ourselves."

The prince smiles a little playfully.

Wales: "I apologize for testing you, but a foreign noble taking our side is something we had never even dreamed of. So, what is this business you have with us?"

Wardes bows and answers, in place of Louise who is in the middle of regaining her speech.

Wardes: "We are tasked by Her Highness Princess Henrietta to bring this letter to you."

Wales: "Hm, from the princess. And you are?"

Wardes: "I am a magic knight, one of the royal guard squads of Tristain; the captain of Gryphon Squad, Viscount Wardes."

Wardes finishes his introduction and gestures to the rest of us.

Wardes: "This young lady is the one directly entrusted with this mission by Her Highness, Ms. La Vallière, and next to her is her familiar."

Louise curtsies nervously. I just bow normally.

Wales: "It is truly an honor to meet you all! If we have but ten more of honorable nobles such as you in our ranks, this desperate time might not have befallen us. Ah, and what is the nature of this letter?"

Louise takes out the rolled up letter from her shirt pocket, then hesitantly walks toward the prince.

She stops just in front of him.

Louise: "I...I am aware it is rude of me to inquire so, but are you really the prince?"

Oh. I forgot about that. Just because he was disguising himself doesn't automatically mean he is a prince. I must be too used to Sara and other royals' eccentricities.

Wales: "Your suspicion is only natural. It's not strange that you would doubt me after the deception. If it is proof you need, I can show you."

The princes pulls out the ring worn on his ring finger, holds Louise's hand still, and puts his ring close to the one on Louise's finger.

Both rings shine, and a rainbow is made in the space between two rings.

Wales: "The crystal on the ring I have is the Wind Ruby belonging to the royal family of Albion. The ring you are wearing is given to you by Henrietta, is it not? It is the Water Ruby, belonging to the royal family of Tristain. Wind and Water, together they creates a rainbow that connects two royal bloodlines."

The prince releases Louise's hand, and she immediately curtsies.

Louise: "My deepest apologies for doubting you."

I'm not sure what's going on, but those rings seem to be special and hard to imitated, or something like that. I guess we can be mostly sure he's the real prince.

Louise hands the prince the letter. He puts his lips to the wax seal, then gently unfurls it. Is there meaning to those gestures, or is it just flair?

Wales: "...The princess is going to get married? Henrietta...My beloved—cousin."

Even someone as dense as I can see it. There must be something between the prince and the princess.

The prince finishes reading the letter and gives it back to Louise.

Wales: "I have received the message: the princess asked for the letter. It is my most treasured possession, but the princess's wish is my wish. I will abide by it."

Louise looks hopeful. The mission is looking to be a success.

Wales: "But the letter is not on my person at the moment. I keep it in the castle at Newcastle. I didn't want to bring the princess's letter on a pirate ship, you see. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I will have to ask you to come with us to Newcastle."

That's the royals' faction's base that's under attacked. It's risky, but still better than having to break out of pirate's hideout in the middle of hostile territory.

There's one thing bothering me though. Wardes has been acting kind of strange since we've gotten on this ship. Aside from telling Louise to drink the soup, he barely said anything, and when the prince revealed himself, he stared at the prince really hard.

Just what is he thinking?

[...]

[...][...]

Wales: "I believe we should be arriving soon. Please follow me."

It has been three hours since the prince gave us real, proper food. Now he's leading us up to the deck. This treatment is actually better than what I got before being supposedly captured by pirates.

That big chunk of land is now just ahead of us. Seeing it up close makes it look even bigger, like a wall of earth and rocks that stretches out to the side infinitely. The cape we're heading for has a big castle on top of it.

Wales: "That is Newcastle."

If we continues in this direction, we'll reach it pretty soon; but for some reason we're heading down.

Louise: "Your Highness, why are we going under the land?"

The prince points up to the sky above the castle. A massive airship is up there among the clouds. The ship we're on is already bigger than the one we got on from Tristain, but that one in the sky is even larger, maybe more than twice the size of this one.

Wales: "The rebel's airship."

The massive ship slowly lower its altitude, turning their left side to the castle.

Countless number of bright flashes occur simultaneously on the side of the ship.

*BOOM!*

Louise: "Kya!"

"!"

My heart skipped a beat...We're so far away an adult would look no bigger than a tiny spot, but the sound was still deafening; even the ship under our feet trembled by the tremor felt through the air. Black smoke billowing from the side of the ship is so thick it looks like the ship is on fire.

The wall of the castle takes the countless cannonballs, and crumbles down; there are even small fires at the base of it.

Wales: "It used to be the flagship of the royal navy, [Royal Sovereign], until the rebel took it from us. Since then they have changed the name to [Lexington], naming it after the first battlefield they were victorious. They must've been very proud of that."

The prince smiles, despite talking about his side's defeat.

Wales: "That accursed ship cuts off communication between Newcastle and the outside. Sometimes it fires its cannons to harass us, like what you just saw."

Those shots might as well shook the entire sky, and it was just a harassment... Considering the size of that thing, it would be like a behemoth girl smacking a wolf girl around as a simple play.

Also, there's something, a lot of things, flying above that ship. From the shape of the wings, they look like dragons.

Wales: "With one hundred and eight cannons combined, and an entire dragon knights squadron stationed on it; the ship's defection marked the beginning where everything sprialed down. Our vessel cannot hope to match such a devil. So, we will enter Newcastle from under the continent. There is a secret port no one knows aside from us."

That giant ship: maybe if a thing that powerful existed back home, the humans might've had a chance at fighting monsters on a more equal ground.

...No, that's not exactly true. Most monsters might not be able to fight it, but there will always be high level monsters capable of sinking it single-handedly. All Heavenly Knights can do it for sure, since they can all teleport up to the ship. All it would do would just cause larger wars, more deaths, and fractures the relation between monsters and humans even more. Maybe it was for the best we didn't have that kind of technology.

It's better as it is now, where Alice, Tamamo, and the higher-ups in humans' countries come together to try to develop ways for humans to protect themselves from monsters assailants: better to do it in peacetime.

Alice did told me she was this close to declare war on humans, had she not met me first. If some country attacked the Demon Lord Castle with a ship like that, that would definitely have happened.

A ship like that is just too dangerous. If a war breaks out, Louise's country would have to fight something like that; alone if Kirche's country doesn't help. I can see now why the princess was so scared. If Wardes is among the top of the mages, the humans here probably can't fight that ship on their own, without weapons of equal power.

It's getting darker. The more we go down, the thicker the clouds become. The sunlight doesn't even reach us any more; the air here is wet and cold. We're practically going at this blind. A cliff can jump at us at any time.

Wales: "How is it? Precarious, isn't it? That is why the rebels will never come down here. For royal navigators though, this is nothing. By calculating the distance based on maps and relying on magical lights, we can navigate through the area just fine. At the end of the day, those of Nobles Faction are just boorish ruffians that doesn't know the sky."

The prince laughs in amusement.

Wales: "Halt."

Sailor: "Halt. Aye, sir"

The ship slowly comes to a halt. This specific location must have some kind of significant, but I can't tell at all.

The prince laughs again, probably noticing our confusion. He then points up.

Above our heads is a massive hole, no, a cave. It's probably more than three hundred meters wide. If a hole that big is on the ground it will probably be mistaken for an entrance to Hell or something along that line.

Wales: "Slow ascent."

Sailor: "Slow ascent. Aye, sir!"

The ship slowly rises upward into a hole, with the ship we rode from Tristain following behind us.

Wardes: "This is just like real sky pirates, isn't it, Your Highness."

Wales: "This is exactly how sky pirates operate, Viscount."

It's slowly getting darker the higher we go up. It's going to be a complete darkness soon.

...For some reason, I can still see. The wall seems to be glowing pale white light. If that's not magic but something natural, then they're probably something like moss or mushrooms; I can't really tell from here.

We're finally out of the long tunnel and into a large cavern. Aside from the white glow there are also lamps on what looks like a pier as the light source. A lot of people are standing on the wooden planks, waiting for us. About half of them throw ropes toward the pirate ship; the sailors on our side tie those rope to the metal stumps, then the people on the pier pull us toward them.

A wooden gangway is placed on the gunwale of the ship. The prince leads us up to the port, where a tall old man wearing mage-like clothes is waiting, along with several men.

?: "Hoho, we have got quite a big catch today, have we not, Your Highness."

The old man says as he looks at our first ship that's also being docked.

Wales: "Rejoice, Parry. We have sulfur. Sulfur!"

Men: "Uohhhh!"

The men around the port cheer at once. The old man even has tears in his eyes.

Parry: "Ohh, sulfur! The nostrum of fire! With this we finally have a way to defend our honor! There has never been such a joyous day in my sixty years of service."

They're being so happy over sulfur. Am I missing something here? I should have paid more attention to Lucia's lectures...

Parry: "Your Highness. Ever since the start of the rebellion, we were not able to do anything but swallowing the bitterness day in and day out. But now, with this much sulfur in our hands..."

Wales: "We can show those insurgents the pride and honor of Royal Family, even in our defeat."

Parry: "An honorable defeat! My old bones is shaking with excitement! Oh, regarding that, the rebels made the declaration that they will commence a full-on assault tomorrow at midday. It is truly fortunate Your Honor makes it in time."

Wales: "Truly what they call by a hair's breadth! To be late for a fight is a warrior's disgrace!"

...So the prince's army don't think they can win this battle.

Parry: "By the way, who might our guests be?"

Wales: "Ambassadors from Tristain. They come to meet us on an important matter."

The old man, Parry gives us a quizzical look, as if to ask what business do we have with a royal familiy that will be gone in a few days. But it's only for an instant; in the next second he smiles warmly.

Parry: "My, my, what a pleasant surprise. I, Parry, the chamberlain in service of His Highness the Prince, welcome you all to the Kingdom of Albion. It is a shame we cannot provide an appropriate reception, but tonight will be a feast. By all means, please join us at the tables."

The old man, Parry bows once, then goes off to manage the soldies transporting goods from the ships.

Wales: "Lady La Vallière, please follow me."

We go up the stairs from the dark cave, and are immediately out in a courtyard. My eyes hurt from the sudden brightness, though I can just see that the walls around here are still intact. This isn't the part that got hit by those cannons earlier.

From the courtyard we enter a tower, walk upstairs, and enter a room. Which tower, which room, I couldn't remember. I don't even know which part of that castle we saw from the outside we're in right now.

This room is so normal looking it's hard to believe it belongs to a prince. A normal sized wooden bed, a set of a desk and a chair, a tapestry depicting a war of somekind on one side of the walls, and that's it. Even the guest rooms back at Demon Lord Castle look more extravagant.

The prince sits down at the chair and pulls out a drawer, remove his necklace, and does something with its inside. Louise leans forward to peek—that's a bad manner.

The prince notices, but instead of being mad, he shows a sheepish expression.

Wales: "It is my treasure box of sorts."

The prince takes out a piece of parchment: a letter, and read it gently, like how he did with the letter Louise gave him earlier. I can't make out the contents, but there are a lot of wrinkles and stains on it. He must have read it many times. And the look in his eyes right now, it is similar to the princess's when she wrote that letter in Louise's room.

Once he finished reading, he folds the letter, puts on a seal, and hands it to Louise, who bows as she takes it.

Wales: "This is the letter I once received from the princess. It is now returned to her."

Louise: "My deepest gratitude."

Wales: "Tomorrow, the Eagle will leave this place along with noncombatants. Please get on the ship and return to Tristain."

Louise looks at the letter she got from the prince. The look in her eyes changes as she raises her head.

Louise: "I, well, Your Highness...Earlier you had said 'an honorable defeat'. Does the royal army have no chance of winning?"

Wales: "We do not. We have three hundreds men; the enemies have fifty thousands. There is not even a slim chance left for us. The most we can do is to show them our bravery and dignity in the face of death."

Louise: "Does that include Your Highness's demise as well?"

Wales: "Of course. I intend to be at the forefront: the first to fall."

As I thought.

Louise bows deeply, and speaks to the prince.

Louise: "Your Highness. Please forgive my disrespect, but I have something I want to say."

Wales: "Do say your mind, whatever it may be."

She's going to say it, isn't she.

Louise: "The letter you handed to me..."

I knew it. Louise noticed it too, and probably thinks this is the last chance we have at changing anything.

Louise: "When she tasked me with this mission, Princess's mind seemed to be elsewhere. It was not politics, or country's survival that she was thinking about. It was as if she was yearning for a lover...And the box contaning the letter in your drawer: there was a portrait of Princess on the inside of the lid. Your Highness's expression as you kiss the letter. If I am not mistaken, Princess and the Crown Prince Wales, you are..."

This is a total invasion of privacy. But the prince still smiles as he answers.

Wales: "You mean to say that I and Henrietta, my cousin, are involved romantically, is that right?"

Louise hesitates for a split second, then nods.

Louise: "That is what I imagined. Please forgive me for my insolence. If that is true, the content of that letter..."

The prince puts his hand to his forehead, his brows furrowed, his mouth in a staright line. After a moment of contemplation, he opens his mouth.

Wales: "A love letter, as you expected. It is as Henrietta told you, if this love letter is to be handed to the emperor of Germania, it will be disastrous."

The prince looks at the letter in Louise's hands.

Wales: "How can it not be, when she had sworn an eternal love to me in the name of Founder Brimir. As you know, making that vow is only permitted in the bond of matrimony."

So it's just as I imagined. This is like it comes straight out of a novel.

Wales: "If that letter is to be publicized, she will have violated the sin of bigamy. The emperor of Germania will no doubt denounce the marriage; the alliance will not happen, and Tristain will have to face the terrible might of the Nobles Faction alone."

Louise: "So, Princess really is in a romantic relationship with Your Highness, is she not?"

Wales: "It is in the past."

Louise's hesitance is instantly replace by a determined expression.

Louise: "Your Highness, please escape! Escape to Tristain!"

Wardes steps closer to Louise and put his hand on her shoulder. But Louise can't be stopped now.

Louise: "Please, Your Highness! Come with us to Tristain!"

Wales: "That I cannot do."

Louise: "Your Highness, this is not my wish, but Princess's! Is that not what written in the letter I handed to you? I was given an honor of being Princess's playmate since we were very young! I know her well! There is no way Princess will ever abandon the person she loves! Please tell me, Your Highness! Most likely, there is a request for you to escape in that letter!"

Wales: "There is no such passage." The prince shakes his head.

Louise: "Your Highness!"

Wales: "I am of royal blood. I do not lie. I swear upon my, and the princess's honor: there is not a single passage that asks me to escape in that letter."

The prince's tone and expressions is hurtful, completely different from the calmness he had displayed all this time. Louise's words probably hit home.

Wales: "Henrietta is a princess. She will not risk her country's safety for personal matter."

The prince's words have a strange weight to it that makes it hard to think of them as a lie. Going by the examples I know, that is how things are supposed to be, for royals.

Wales: "Lady La Vallière, you are a virtuous soul. Your eyes are straightforward, honest. I do have to warn you. With that honesty, you are not fit to be an ambassador. Do get yourself together."

The prince put his hand on Louise's shoulder.

Wales: "However, you might be the right person to send to a kingdom on its last breath, since a regime at its last days is so very honest itself. After all, aside from its honor, there is nothing else left for them to protect."

The prince looks at a basin on the table, which is filled with water. There's something that looks like clock hands on it. It looks like some kind of clock? A water clock? There's nothing like that back home.

Wales: "It's almost time for the party. You are the last guests our kingdom will ever have. By all means, please join us."

Louise bows, and walks out of the room, hanging her head. Wardes sends her off at the door, and returns.

Wardes: "Familiar, aren't you going to follow Louise?"

"You're her fiancé, shouldn't you console Louise?"

Wardes: "I have something I need to speak with His Highness."

"I do too."

Something he needs to speak with the prince; is he thinking the same thing?

Wales: "Hah. Do slow down; I will speak with both of you. Who would have thought a prince on his death's door would be so popular."

Wardes: "Then familiar, let me speak first. It won't take long."

"Go ahead."

Wardes walks to the prince's side and speaks quietly. I can't hear anything, but the prince's expression brightens.

Wales: "What a joyous request. Of course, I accept!"

Wardes: "It is truly a great honor."

Wardes bows and exits the room, glancing my way before closing the door.

So Wardes talked about something else. After all, what I'm going to talk to the prince isn't something that would be over so fast.

...I am really going to do this, aren't I? After all those warnings to myself not to get involved in politics of other countries. But I guess I really can't let this go, after all I've been through myself...

Wales: "Familiar—Young boy, are you really Lady La Vallière's familiar?"

"I am. On the back of my left hand here are familiar's letters." I raise my left hand as a gesture, without taking off the glove.

Wales: "Hoh. I've never heard of a human familiar before. There are a lot of things I have yet to know, it seems. How unfortunate that I won't have the chance to know any more of them."

When speaking with me he uses a bit more informal tone. That makes it a bit easier to speak with him.

Wales: "And, what is it you want to speak with me about?"

...I need a few deep breaths before taking this on.

I've made up my mind, but I'm still nervous. I know what I have to say, but I'm not sure if I'll do it right.

There is still an option to back out, to not say anything at all...but I'm not going to take it. If I let this go without doing anything, I'm definitely going to regret it later.

"Prince, are you relieved that you're about to die?"

The prince doesn't react immediately.

Wales: "...What do you mean by that?"

Tamamo: "Luka, when you are trying to convince someone, don't say you understand them or that you were like them, unless you can back it up immediately. Depending on how desperate they are, they might even close off their hearts to you."

As Tamamo said, I can't risk going the easy way. I don't know if I can do this, but I've gotten better at persuading people from all the negotiations I did during the last four years. Probably.

"Normally, people are afraid to die, and won't understand why someone can rush headlong to their death. But for some, death gives them comfort, helps them carry the weight they otherwise wouldn't be able to bear. It's because they know they are about to die that they can gather the strength to keep going just a little longer, then they won't have to worry about everything after that."

The prince listens quietly, looking straight at me.

Wales: "A young boy such as you is claiming to know death?"

"No, that's not what I mean. What I know is death as an escape. And I'm nineteen, not that young anymore."

Wales: "You are not joking, right? Well, at this point, I don't intend to doubt every little thing anymore. All right, I will ask you as fellow adult men: you are saying that you understand the concept?"

"I am. The reason differ from person to person, but the feeling should be quite similar. In your case, I believe it's something like this: the problem you are facing is something you absolutely cannot turn your back to, but also one you can't solve with your power. So, the answer is to die trying, so that you won't have to live with the failure. Am I wrong in saying that?"

Wales: "...You made my situation sound a bit too mundane in my opinion, but you are not exactly wrong."

He didn't deny it. This hasn't blown up in my face yet; I can still keep going.

"The thought of dying doesn't scare you anymore; rather, you feel relieved thinking about your death. Instead, you become scared at the thought of surviving. You're afraid you won't know how to live on."

In the end it boils down to that. We can't bear the thought that we would become failures, to lose our self-worth. Louise, the prince...the past me and Alice.

Wales: "...With such a young age, you speak as if you have experieced it yourself."

"I know what my wife will say to you if she is here. 'If you want to die, then die; but don't think dying will make anything better'."

The prince flinches, probably not expecting a commoner to say that to him...Or maybe he's surprised I'm married.

"I'm not smart like her so I don't know if she would say anything else. But we both know well how people willing to throw their lives away for their beliefs are. If we had followed that path, we wouldn't still be living."

The prince seems to have calmed down. He's looking at me like he's trying to catch a lie.

Wales: "Then, why had you not?"

"We pulled each other back. We both rushed to our deaths without fear, but couldn't bear to see each other doing the same. So we swore to live for our beliefs, together."

The prince smiles warmly, looking satisfed.

Wales"Hmm. Is that the start of your love? It's like something out of a novel. That's even more dramatic than my life right now."

"Well...I guess..." When he say it like that, it's kind of embarrassing.

"When our children were born, we swore to not raise them to be someone willing to die for their belief, but to be someone willing to live for what's important, no matter how hard it may be."

Wales: "You truly are blessed..." The prince smiles, looking genuinely happy with me.

"And that's why I am certain. The letter the princess sent to you today told you to run."

He drops the smile.

"You probably already know that you couldn't fool Louise earlier. As for me, I don't know the princess that well, but I do know that no one can sit still as their loved ones die. This is the same for everyone; whether they are a commoner, a prince, a princess, a hero, or a demon lord."

The prince is still. Then he slowly smiles; an acceptance.

Wales: "...Haha. It's my loss. I never expected there would be someone to say it straight to my heart like that, since everyone here are all like me. But more than anything, I would never have expected there might be a person like you."

The prince looks at me straight in the eyes.

Wales: "Actually, ever since I have decided to die honorably in the battlefield, I have always been curious how someone else in a similar situation might think, might feel. Everyone here is loyal to the Royal Family. Even If I ask, they would all give the same answers. Thank you truly for sating my curiosity.."

The prince bows to me. In another circumstance, I might be more surprised and flustered.

Wales: "I should warn you not to say what you did to any other noble, though. They will take it as a desecration of honorable death and an insult to their pride. Well, what you said, while not entirely correct, did strike at the essence."

The prince looks calmer now, and more laid-back.

Wales: "The honorable death is, for those in our situation, the only worth we have left. We have lost land, prestige, wealth, even loved ones; with no possibility to recover, nor even to take revenge on those who wronged us. The only thing we have left, is our pride. The only way to protect it is to not run, to not surrender, to show resistance until our last breath. To lose even that, is to lose not just our life, but our very soul. That is what we are truly afraid of."

I can imagine that, easily. After all, I was just like that once; that's why I know how hard it is to break out of it. Without Alice, I might never have managed it at all. And if everyone here is pulling each other along in the same direction...

But that's not everything, is it.

"It isn't entirely impossible though. Some of you can escape from here, then find a way to take your country back. There were people who succeeded, weren't there." I'm totally guessing here; I don't know the history of Halkeginia.

Wales: "...And that is where you are correct. An honorable death is just part of the reason. For us, who are nobles and warriors, that is pride. But in all honesty, it is as you said. We have accepted death with open arms; Death is what sets us free from worry for the future. It is the same for everyone here."

The prince gesture with his arm to the side, as if to indicate this place as a whole.

Wales"To hope that we can yet recover from this is far too difficult for us; to taste defeat yet again while holding on to such hope will be too painful to bear. And so we have chosen to accept our fate. If we expect what is coming, it is not as terrifying. Many of us know that."

He let his hand down.

Wales: "That is all I can say for everyone else. Now, for me, my rejection to Lady La Vallière's offer was in part because of the same reasons; but another part of it was because I don't want to burden Tristain, burden Henrietta with our problem."

I can kind of guess that too.

Wales: "If I escape to Tristain, the rebels will have the perfect excuse to invade: on the claim of unjust intervention of Albion's internal affairs. If it comes to that, Germania will use that chance cut ties with Tristain. Your effort in retrieving the letter will be for naught."

"From what I heard, Albion—ah, I mean the Nobles Faction, after they conquered Albion, would invade Tristain anyway. Something about unifying every country as one."

Wales: "Ah, the declaration the rebels [Reconquista] use to justify their existence, that they will take back the Holy Land. At first we only thought of it as an excuse to justify their rule, and that they have no intention of setting their sight on other countries any time soon. I just learnt from you that Tristain considers the possibility to be real, enough to try to form an alliance with Germania."

"On our way here we were attacked by mercenaries and a skilled mage. We thought they might've been sent by the Nobles Faction who was trying to stop the marriage."

The prince's eyes widen.

Wales: "The rebels knew you will come here? Isn't this supposed to be secret?"

"It is a secret mission. The princess told Louise in her person in Louise's room three nights ago, saying that she can't trust anyone else. The only ones to know about this mission are us three. We set off immediately on the next morning, and were attacked on that day and the day after that."

Wales: "In just one day, how can...—! Could it be...there is a mole in Tristain's court?"

Huh...? Now that I think about it...

Secrets being found out is so common I didn't think about it when we were attacked by the masked man. But now that the prince mentioned it...maybe it's true?

Wales: "How can this be... The rebels are much more determined in invading Tristain than I thought. Not to mention they are already that far ahead...Is one whole country not enough for them?"

The prince looks much more agitated than when talking about his own death. Because it is the princess's country, no doubt.

Wales: "Then even if Tristain and Germania form an alliance, they might not be able to withstand the invasion."

"What do you mean? Two against one still isn't enough?"

The prince is silent, his expressions serious, his eyes sharp as if looking at an enemy.

Wales: "Albion's navy is much more powerful than any country on Halkeginia. You have seen that Royal—no, that Lexington with your eyes. A single ship doesn't make an army; Albion also has fifty ships of the line. Though not all of them are brand-new, they are all battle-ready. If we are to combine the navy of Tristain and Germania, we will likely get a similar number."

So even two against one, the number is just even.

Wales: "However, on the technological aspect and the expertise, Albion far surpasses them. Add Lexington in to the mix, and dragon knights that are said to be unrivaled by any country, Albion has a vastly superior air force."

I heard from the princess that Albion's army is stronger than Tristain, but never got to hear the details. Now that they are explained to me in details, I'm starting to get a faint idea of how bad of a situation Tristain is in right now.

Wales: "On the way here, I did say the rebels were hoodlums that don't know the sky, but in the army there are quite a number of highly skilled military men that holds neutral position in politics. Their aerial prowess are unmatched by any generals in Halkeginia. Tristain and Germania will no doubt have to face an uphill battle. Aerial battlefields are barely affected by most topographical elements, leaving a battle largely to the number, quality, and deployment of the force itself. For that, the rebels hold the advantage."

The prince looks stern, then shakes his head.

Wales: "This is something for the living to worry about. It's meaningless for someone who won't live to see it like me to think about it...That's what I thought. But your words have made me start thinking of the future. Even if I die, not everything is going to end; that is natural. Yet it is only now that I truly realized its true meaning."

The prince's expression is different now.

Wales: "...You make me want to see what is going to happen from now on, want to see Tristain avoiding the ruin we face. For me to do that I will have to live on...But to fight and die here, alongside my loyal vassals, upholding the name of Albion Royal Family until my last breath is also not mistaken. Can I discard that choice?"

The first time we met, the prince was calm, decisive, sure of everything, unflinched by the notion of death.

The prince now is hesitant, anxious about his choices; but in that hesitation there's a small light not there before.

He looks much better as he is now.

The prince raises his gaze and smiles.

Wales: "If I can't come to a decision by tomorrow, this will be the last time I can speak my mind with anyone. If that is so, I am happy that someone is a young man such as you."

"Thank you." I bow, since it seems like the right thing to do here.

Wales: "The first time we met on that passenger ship when you covered for Lady La Vallière, at the time I thought, 'Such bravery in his eyes'. Now I see that bravery runs much deeper than that."

"Thank you very much. Though I got scolded by Wardes for putting Louise in even more danger."

Wales: "Well, that's true as well. Hahaha."

There's nothing else to say. It's time to say goodbye and leave the prince to his thought.

*kachak*

...I should be far enough from the room that he wouldn't hear me.

"Haaa..." I let out a long breath, trying to get builded up stress out with it as much as possible.

That was so tense. If I wasn't used to meeting with the kings and queens occasionally, there's no way I could've pull that off. Even then, I feel like my whole body is ready to drop just seconds after coming out of the room. It's never easy having the fate of somone depending on a skill you're not confident of.

In the end, I couldn't change the prince's mind completely, but there's nothing more I can do. The decision is his to make.

I have meddled enough in other country's politics; I hope Tristain won't be dragged into a mess because of this.

Well, let's just get back to Louise and Wardes.

I already found Wardes, leaning against the wall on the hallway. Didn't he leave before me? Is he waiting for me?

Wardes: "Took you long enough, familiar. Any longer and I would have started to suspect you have assassinated the prince."

"Uhm, even if it was just a joke, can you not say that here. If a soldier overheard that, we're not going to be laughing anytime soon."

Wardes is laughing though.

Wardes: "And what did you two speak about?"

"...A secret."

Wardes: "Keeping secrets from your master's fiancé; why, if that isn't suspicious."

"Well, what did you talk with the prince about then?"

Wardes: "A secret."

"See."

Wardes: "But you will know about it tomorrow. Even if it's just for formality's sake, I guess I will want the blessing from the familiar as well. We did get one that could speak human's language after all."

"..."

Wardes's gone.

I knew it. Wardes is hiding something.

I had a feeling since that duel at the port town; his eyes back then wasn't just cool, but cold. I couldn't see it before then, but in a fight, it was very clear.

The words just now as well. At a glance it looked like a simple joke, or a jab, or a tease to fluster me. But all three combined is still not as much as the other part: the emptiness. As if it was just a line he memorized for a play, without putting any real emotion into it.

What exactly is Wardes hiding?

Also, what was he talking about? What's going to happen tomorrow? How many things do I have to keep an eye out for?

[...]

[...][...]

The party is lively. The soldiers merrily drinks and talks among themselves. The women serve food and drinks with a smile. The king, even when being a target for a joke from the retainers, didn't get angry, only laughed. When the prince comes in, the women looks at him with hearts in their eyes.

Everyone is trying not to think about tomorrow, or maybe they truly belive what's going to happen tomorrow is something to be happy about.

But for outsiders like me and Louise, these figures and sounds seem like they are from a different world. Like a play that goes on without any regards for what's happening in reality.

For me who has been living in a peaceful world, a world that is on its way to our ideal, the atmosphere here making me sick. Louise probably feels even worse; she is already on the way out of the party.

Even though Louise is in that state, Wardes is nowhere to be seen. And he is her fiancé. Really.

Well, I'll just go look for her myself. I want an excuse to get out of here anyway.

The hallways outside is really dark. Even with the candle the server gave me, I can only see a few steps ahead of me.

There's a palely lit spot beside the windows, illuminateed by the moonlight. A girl is standing there, looking outside. That pink hair can't be anyone else but Louise...who is crying?

She was definitely crying. She wipes her eyes when she saw me approaching, but it's useless, since her cheeks are wet again in no time at all.

I don't know what it is about yet. I should just stand next to her for now.

I feel a weight on my left shoulder; Louise is resting her forehead against it.

Louise: "What's wrong with them...hic..Why, why did they choose to die? Why did...hic...Prince Wales choose to die."

"Yeah..."

Louise: "Princess...the person he loves told him to run. Why...hic...why does he still want to die...They all care only about themselves...! They don't care about the people they left behind at all..."

"Yeah. You're right."

My hand move by itself, placing on Louise's back, and rubs it gently, like how it is used to doing when consoling Neris.

Though I felt that Louise is similar to me at times, Louise is still just a girl. She might be strong, but still just a girl.

This isn't how it should be.

Louise shouldn't have to face something like this yet. She shouldn't have to be sad for problems caused by adults.

Someday Louise will be strong enough to face hardships alone, maybe without putting up the violent exterior. Until that day comes, she needs someone with her. If only she has someone...

---

PBW: "Fuu. There goes a course of long conversations. The Author typed it out with all his might. How natural it sounds, is unknown, but after fixing in four times over, it should be passable."

Ilias: "Luka...He has grown up a lot. He was not completely stupid before, but being able to apply his experience in convincing others is an acheivement."

PBW: "Well, it's been four and a half year of constant negotiations; of course Luka would've learned some things, even if he wasn't particularly talented at them. After all, there will always be some people who just won't listen to monsters, so even Tamamo and Alice will get stuck sometimes. After beating your super form, there was practically no need for Luka to get any stronger at fighting, but there was plenty to improve as a negotiator."