“I wonder if that was really the right thing to do.”
Clara muttered to herself in her room at the Dandole family’s residence in the Magic Academy.
Lately, she hadn’t been attending classes much, citing poor health. In fact, ever since she obtained the Divine Protection in the dungeon, she hadn’t felt well, and she had lost a little weight.
Her brother, Rookwell, thought that her role as Crown Prince’s primary fiancée had become too much of a burden, and he visited her every day out of concern. However, her fiancé, Crown Prince Elvan, no longer came to see her as frequently as he used to.
Rookwell seemed dissatisfied with Elvan’s attitude. As the future commander of the Knight Order, he had been a close aide within the academy, but he and his best friend, Mikhail of the Melrose House, were gradually distancing themselves from the Crown Prince’s faction.
Elvan probably stopped visiting Clara because she had become a troublesome woman. Clara, with her memories of her previous life, could understand that even if she couldn’t accept it. But the biggest reason was probably the “heroine” who had been by Elvan’s side recently.
Although her appearance was different from the “heroine” Clara knew, her actions and “role” were exactly like the heroine from the Otome Game.
She would delve into the hearts of the capture targets who harbored darkness, giving them the words they wanted, completely affirming them, and spoiling them. However, the “heroine’s” dependence on men was strong, and Rookwell and Mikhail naturally distanced themselves from her due to her unusual pampering and uncritical affirmation. But the men who had been captivated by the “heroine’s” pampering were now constantly by her side.
Crown Prince Elvan, Prince Amor, Baron Nasanitaru’s son, and Theo, the butler who admonished the “heroine” and watched the three with a cold eye, were the Otome Game capture targets currently by the “heroine’s” side.
What were the Crown Prince and Prince thinking, distancing themselves from the Dandole and Melrose houses, the leaders of the Royalist Faction? If things continued like this, the country would be divided, leading to new conflicts, weakening the monarchy’s central power, and creating an opening for other countries to exploit.
Even if they made the viscount’s daughter, the “heroine,” Alicia, their princess, she could unite the country if she cleared Elvan’s darkness and awakened as a king. But even to Clara, those three didn’t seem to be awakening.
They had to eliminate the “heroine,” Alicia. And urgently.
To that end, Clara was plotting to forcibly start the major event that was supposed to occur in the second year, the “Evil Race Conspiracy.”
The “Evil Race Conspiracy” was a major event that took up to half a year, and it was originally supposed to occur only in the Crown Prince’s route. But in this real world, flags didn’t mean much. Originally, it was an event related to the villainess Carla, where she invited the Evil Race into the Kingdom of Claydale, and the outcome would change depending on the capture targets’ favorability towards the “heroine” and their degree of awakening at that time.
If a certain number of capture targets had a certain level of favorability towards the “heroine,” the “heroine” would be kidnapped to the Evil Race Nation along with her companions, and they would go on an adventure, eventually defeating the Evil Race King or reaching a reconciliation route.
However, if the favorability was low, the kidnapping event wouldn’t occur, and another war with the Evil Race would break out. If the favorability was at its lowest, even the “heroine” could die, leading to a bad ending.
And Clara’s knowledge from her previous life included information about the Evil Race’s hiding places. Clara evaded the Shadow Unit’s eyes and succeeded in contacting the Evil Race’s “collaborators” using hired individuals, and they were able to secure an invasion route to the Royal Capital, which they had been struggling to attack.
Unlike the game, Alicia hadn’t awakened her light attribute mana yet. Clara planned that in this state, she could eliminate her with a high probability.
The plan probably had many flaws. If Clara were in a normal state, she wouldn’t risk drawing in the Evil Race with such ambiguous information. But Clara chose to carry out the plan, making excuses to deceive herself, saying it was for the sake of the kingdom and for Elvan.
“I won’t forgive…”
Such words unconsciously leaked from Clara’s lips.
Without realizing that her emotions weren’t from a sense of justice worrying about the future of the country, but from an ugly jealousy of having Elvan taken away…
There were Evil Race members other than my master in this country. Moreover, they were vampires, and they weren’t treated as monsters but were plotting something in this country as the vanguard of the Evil Race Nation. And it was Carla, a noble of this country, who had invited the Evil Race, who were said to be enemies of the human race, into this country.
“What are you thinking?”
“Nothing… there wasn’t a significant reason.”
Carla lightly joked in response to my question, like a girl who had played a prank. But in the depths of her eyes, a dark flame still burned, and I could feel her hatred for this Kingdom of Claydale.
“Did you want to become a vampire?”
“…You say interesting things.”
Even if she looked calm, her body, which would cough up blood just from moving vigorously, must be in considerable pain even in peacetime. Even if others pointed fingers at her, I wouldn’t deny her if there was a way to escape the pain.
I took Carla’s cold hand and turned her face towards me. Carla, who always wore an emotionless smile, smiled in a troubled way.
“Aria, you’re mean.”
I told her to live even if she became a monster. But Carla wished to die beautifully in a life of pain.
There is no right answer to how to live. Only you can decide how to live your own life.
Carla has her own sense of aesthetics. She is particular about her way of dying, and from Carla’s point of view, who has obtained the Divine Protection and can now destroy things herself, the Evil Race she invited in the past is no longer necessary.
But Carla’s sense of aesthetics didn’t allow even discarded things to be used without her permission.
“I will clean up my toys myself. Aria, kill your enemies and become stronger.”
“…………”
Smiling like baring her fangs, her crazed, strong purple eyes shot through me. Judging calmly, even if I used the Iron Rose, I would be slightly inferior to Carla, who had obtained the Divine Protection. Carla’s Divine Protection, which she had obtained so desperately, was highly compatible with her abilities, and I couldn’t say that I had completely mastered the Iron Rose yet.
We didn’t talk any further and returned to the campsite in silence.
Carla seeks power to die, taking everything with her.
And I engraved in my heart to become even stronger in order to free her from pain.
Several days later, Nero, Carla, and I arrived at our destination, the Marquis Kendras Territory.
This marquis territory, which faces the Kondo Mine, one of the largest mines on the continent, has many miners who do physical labor. Not only humans but also beastmen and rock dwarves with excellent physical abilities dig for iron and copper, and merchants gather in search of weapons and crafts created by the skilled mountain dwarf craftsmen. It is a very lively city.
But we didn’t stop there and headed straight for the city along the border. Like the city of the Assassin Guild’s northern frontier branch that used to be there, there is a large chapel in the mining area to mourn the deaths caused by accidents. It used to be a region ruled by a baronial family related to the Kendras family, but the family line died out about ten years ago, and now it is under the direct control of the Marquis Kendras House.
In that castle where the baronial family once lived, and where no one should be living now except for the caretaker, that man… Grave is waiting for me.
The Shadow Unit members found Grave’s hiding place at the cost of many sacrifices. But in that information, I glimpsed Grave’s intention to call me.
I don’t know why Grave is with Marquis Kendras of the Aristocratic Faction, whom he used to be an enemy of. Was there something mutually beneficial between Grave, who believes that the royal family should be strong for the sake of national security, and the Marquis Kendras House of the Aristocratic Faction? Did he think that abolishing the Crown Prince and making Elena a puppet would strengthen the royal family according to the Aristocratic Faction’s wishes? But none of that matters. If Grave is going to block the path that I and Elena are going to take, then I will overcome it and move forward.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave here.”
“Understood.”
Carla, whose goal is the Evil Race, separated from us on the way. According to Carla, the place where undead like vampires are is always the underground tomb (catacombs) under the chapel.
Even for Carla, who has Divine Protection, high-ranking vampires are not opponents to be underestimated. But Carla will probably not stop walking, just like me.
Carla has her own battle. I have my own battle. We met eyes for a moment, then turned our backs at the same time and started walking towards our own battlefields.
Once, tens of thousands of people lived in this town, but now it’s said that only a few thousand remain. Is the decline due to the absence of a ruling lord, or is it because of the vampires lurking in this land?
The Evil Race’s Vampire Clan hasn’t made any major moves yet. As they did in that mountain village, they shouldn’t show themselves until they’ve gathered a certain number of forces. Even if their main force is in the Underground Tomb (Catacombs) as Carla says, they can’t be completely absent from the castle.
Avoiding the town, Nero and I headed towards the castle in the Forest, and we began our assault as soon as the sun rose.
“Gaa…”
–Forest–Corpse–
Nero suddenly stopped, and a signal of intent was transmitted from his antennae.
“There are ‘failures’ in the Forest?”
–Yes–
They probably have failures that can move even under the sun lurking in the Forest for警戒. I don’t know how many there are. Even if they don’t have Combat Arts and their combat ability is only about that of a regular soldier, they’ll rush into the castle if a commotion breaks out inside.
If I had a large weapon like Dolton or Feld’s Rainbow Sword and could use sweeping Combat Arts, I could deal with them, but with my weapon, it would take time to deal with a large number of enemies. So, I should eliminate the ones outside the Forest first, but if I spend time annihilating the scattered enemies, Vampires will come out at night.
At that moment, Nero, who had been standing still in front of me, silently stepped forward and waved the antennae extending from his ears towards the castle.
–Advance–
“…You’re saying to go ahead?”
When I said that, Nero slightly turned around and changed the shape of his mouth as if smiling.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Gaa.”
We nodded to each other, and we separated in the Forest and started acting again. Nero must also have a grudge against Grave. But Nero prioritized me settling things with Grave and volunteered to take on a supporting role.
There’s no hesitation in my choice. If I take too long to decide, Nero’s feelings will be wasted.
Concealing my presence, I ran through the still dimly lit Forest in the morning, reached the stone wall of the castle, hung my Blade Scythe Style Pendulum on the protruding stone wall, and climbed up as if running.
Inside the castle, all the windows were closed, and after nailing boards over them, they were covered with curtains to block out the light from outside.
The size of this castle, which could be said to be inappropriate for a Baron’s family, was originally a remnant of a fortress built along the border during the old Dandole Duchy era to expand human territory. The walls are unnaturally thick compared to castles of the current era, and the inside of the castle, which rejects not only light but even outside air, faintly smelled of mold and blood.
There’s no sign of people living in the castle. The only ones inside are Undead who aren’t even breathing and their failures, and even then, there’s a slight amount of light for the sake of the failures who can’t secure visibility in complete darkness, and for the sake of the only “human” who exists.
In the great hall where many people and soldiers would have gathered in the past, a man sat on a dilapidated, decayed sofa, swirling a glass of blood-like red fruit wine in the light of a candle lit on a candlestick, and as his left arm holding the glass creaked, a Dark Elf woman darker than the night appeared from the darkness.
“It seems a prey has strayed in. A lost person, or another spy from somewhere… May I use them as Bait as usual?”
“Do as you like.”
The Dark Elf woman smiled thinly at the man’s reply, bared her fangs from her lips, and disappeared into the darkness again. When her presence completely disappeared, the man leaned back on the sofa and smiled for the first time on his face, crushing the expensive glass made of crystal with his prosthetic left arm.
“…You’ve come, Aria.”
The second Grave subjugation battle. Aria wields her Blade to settle things for sure this time.
How will the Evil Race get involved there? How will Carla and Nero move?
Next time, Stealth battle with a Vampire inside the castle.