The Calfaan Empire, a great power in the west, is comprised of the Emperor’s family and four grand ducal houses. Bordered by the sea to the south, its vast lands consist of grasslands and deserts, making trade and animal husbandry its main industries.
Lacking thick trees for construction and high-quality stone, the empire relies heavily on sandstone for its buildings. To protect against sea winds, they apply a special plaster mixed with unique chemicals, creating terraced white buildings that line the port town, known as one of the most scenic spots on the continent. For the past ten days, a foreign sailing ship has been docked there.
It belongs to the Melrose House, a noble family known as the old royal family within the great eastern power, the Kingdom of Claydale. This visit is unofficial, yet also official.
“Has permission not been granted yet?”
In the mansion of the lord who governs the port town, a man and a woman faced each other. They were not alone in the room; their guards stood behind them. However, the guards were overwhelmed by the pressure of the woman’s smiling face and could not interject. The man, sitting on the sofa and bearing the brunt of the pressure, wiped the sweat from his increasingly broad forehead with a handkerchief.
“Yes, I understand what Lady Leighton is saying. I do understand… Of course, our empire is willing to offer full cooperation. However, some are hesitant about using our security network without disclosing information about the person you are searching for, and about allowing your Shadow Unit and affiliated Adventurers to operate within the empire…”
The Cruz man’s apologetic words gradually diminished under Sera’s gaze.
Prime Minister Belt, who received the order from the Kingdom of Claydale’s royal family to search for the Princess, sent his most trusted subordinate from the Shadow Unit and the strongest Adventurers to the west.
Baroness Sera, who has the same skin as the people of the Empire, and Dolton, a dwarf honorary noble, went to the Imperial capital to meet with His Imperial Majesty and request cooperation in protecting and searching for a certain person.
However, the name “Princess Elena” has not been made public. Even with a female guard, the disappearance of a princess could lead to scandal. Therefore, details were only given to a few high-ranking nobles, including the Emperor and the Prime Minister. They promised to cooperate as a friendly nation, but using the Empire’s guards and Shadow Unit required a certain “just cause.”
The biggest problem is that there is no guarantee that she is in the Calfaan Empire.
The information that the Princess and her guard were sent to this area was based on Carla’s testimony, who can use transfer magic, and was only a “high probability,” not confirmed information. Therefore, the Kingdom of Claydale could not send a large number of search parties to this area, and Sera, as the wife of a middle-ranking noble, was in charge of negotiations, as the Kingdom could not force the Empire to do anything.
But Sera was convinced that Elena was in the Calfaan Empire.
In a way, it was because she felt that the words of Carla, the most untrustworthy and dangerous person, and who had a connection with Aria, must have meaning and were the most reliable. That is why she obtained permission to disclose information to the Calfaan Empire that she had not revealed to other countries.
Two girls went missing. One was the Princess, who was abandoned by her mother in the royal palace and cared for like a daughter, and the other was taken in as her adopted daughter since childhood for a mission. Sera, as a surrogate mother, could not back down.
“I am well aware that this cannot be made public, and His Majesty, who also has children of the same age, is also saddened by this. Please wait a little longer…”
“I am grateful for your country’s cooperation. But at least, could you grant permission for the Adventurers to search? Surely, ‘Lord Orhan,’ who has children, understands?”
“Y-yes, that’s right… Hmm?”
The man, realizing the meaning of Sera calling him by name, broke out in a cold sweat and suddenly noticed something, placing his hand on his chest.
“…Please wait a moment.”
“Please.”
As Sera agreed, the man quickly stood up and disappeared into the next room with his subordinates.
Before the door closed, Sera caught a glimpse of a Long-Range Magic Communication Tool. Making one requires rare adamantite from high-ranking Mystic Beasts, and one small enough to fit in a chest would be a national treasure.
“As expected of the Prime Minister of a great power,” Sera thought, impressed. Then, timing it so that no one else could see, Viro, who was standing behind Sera as a guard, whispered in a voice only she could hear.
“…Sera, was that okay? You were negotiating quite strongly, but isn’t that Marquis Duran, the Prime Minister?”
Although they are friendly nations, they are equal as countries. The Kingdom of Claydale has greater national power, but the Calfaan Empire, which is still engaged in skirmishes with the Evil Race, has greater military power.
Viro wondered what the point was of negotiating so strongly when the Prime Minister of the Empire had come all the way from the Imperial capital to the port town, even though it involved the Princess.
“Unless you put pressure on the Adventurer’s Guild here from the Empire, even you won’t be able to move freely, right? I would be troubled if we wasted time.”
“Still, he’s the Prime Minister, you know? What if you offend him…? Besides, calling the Marquis by his first name, are you two acquainted?”
As Viro asked anxiously, Sera turned slightly and gave a meaningful, bewitching smile.
“When I was a teenager, I met him several times as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen. At that time, I received quite passionate proposals, and he asked me to call him by his name. But, at the time, Marquis Duran had an older fiancée from a grand ducal house in his home country, and of course, I have seen his wife’s face after the marriage.”
“Whoa…”
Viro couldn’t help but groan upon hearing that.
Even if he is a Marquis, he probably can’t raise his head to his wife, who is a princess of a grand ducal house. The power of the grand ducal house must have been a major support for the young noble, who was only a diplomat at the time, to become Prime Minister.
What would happen if his wife found out that he had gone wild in diplomacy with another country and proposed to a baron’s daughter who was a lady-in-waiting to the Queen?
“This is special because we don’t have time. I can’t do that kind of diplomacy every time.”
“…I see.”
As Viro replied flatly, directing a pitying gaze towards the door the Prime Minister had disappeared through, hurried footsteps echoed from beyond the door, and the door was flung open vigorously by the Prime Minister himself, without even knocking.
“Lady Leighton! We have received word from the border that a girl who appears to be the one you are looking for has been found!”
After that, Sera and the others began to move busily.
The girl who was found was discovered by chance(・・) by a young imperial noble on his way home, along with several children who appeared to be orphans, and was taken into protective custody in a town near the border.
The young noble himself used a special code to contact Marquis Duran, who is known as a moderate in the Empire.
He proposed that the target should first recuperate locally for a few days before being transferred to the Imperial capital, but Sera half-threatened Duran and arranged to rush to the site with only the Rainbow Sword members and Sera, without any subordinates or companions.
It would normally take at least two weeks to get from the port town to that regional town, even in a hurry. Sera and the others first headed to the Imperial capital to arrange for a military high-speed carriage.
Normal carriages are only slightly faster than walking. This is because horses cannot withstand long-distance travel otherwise. However, military carriages have a certain degree of self-propelled function due to Magic Tools, similar to Dolton’s carriage, and by using trained warhorses, Sera and the others arrived at their destination in less than half the time.
“Lady Elena… I’m so glad you’re safe!”
“…I’m sorry for the worry. But as you can see, I’m fine.”
Elena smiled kindly and squeezed Sera’s hand tightly in return, as Sera knelt down and took her hand with a voice filled with emotion.
Elena’s hair was longer and uneven than Sera remembered, and her slightly thin and tired skin was a little tanned and red. But even dressed in the clothes of a lower-ranking local noble, her beauty was not diminished.
It was an impossible stroke of luck to be reunited with the Princess in just a few weeks, after she had been missing for over two months, and it was not certain if they would even be able to meet her in this land. But it was not just a coincidence, but the result of their(・・) unyielding spirit and actions bearing fruit.
“…Where’s Aria?”
Feld asked Elena what everyone was concerned about but could not bring themselves to say out of fear of disrespecting the Princess.
The girl whom the Princess trusted more than anyone else and who had protected her at the risk of her own life was not there.
Sera and the members of the Rainbow Sword stared straight at the Princess, while the young noble named Lawrence, who had protected Elena, slightly distorted his mouth.
“Before that… let’s talk about our future course of action first.”
Elena, looking more mature than before, perhaps due to her haggard appearance, met everyone’s intense gaze and stared back.
Sera and the members of the Rainbow Sword, sensing the “will” of royalty in the depths of her azure eyes, naturally knelt on the spot.
“This will be… a rather long story.”
This town has a Long-Range Magic Communication Tool in preparation for the Evil Race’s invasion, but the only Magic Tool capable of long-distance communication that connects countries is in the Imperial Capital. The first priority is to contact the Prime Minister in the Imperial Capital and have them inform the Kingdom of Claydale of Elena’s safety.
Before coming here, Elena and Ron discussed that Elena had not been acting with the men, but was protected by Ron while acting with the children.
And with Sera and the others arriving, it was decided that Elena was not kidnapped from the Imperial Capital, but that the Princess of the Kingdom of Claydale had made a goodwill visit to the Calfaan Empire using the ship that Sera and the others came on, and that she would stay in the Calfaan Empire for a while without immediately returning to the Kingdom of Claydale.
“Elena-sama, are you sure about incurring a debt to the Empire?”
“Incur as many debts of that level as you can. They are a friendly nation, so they won’t make unreasonable demands. At most, we’ll lose out on tariffs for a few years.”
Originally, the Kingdom of Claydale was the cause of the Evil Race’s invasion. Elena dismisses it as a small price to pay if she can return safely as a result and prevent a scandal for the Princess.
The Empire doesn’t want to antagonize the Kingdom of Claydale to the point of war, so they probably can’t do more than what Elena said. Also, depending on Elena’s actions within the Empire, there is a possibility that negotiations can be advanced favorably.
For Elena, negotiations with other countries were a necessary item to solidify the foundation of her faction.
“Sera, you will assist me in the Imperial Capital. I will use your connections… I also hope that Lawrence-sama will lend us his strength.”
“Understood… Your Highness.”
After dismissing everyone else, the young nobleman who remained in this place as the only benefactor—Ron, dressed in noble attire, nodded with a solemn face. As the Third Prince, it could be an action that hinders the interests of the Empire, but Ron, who owed them a debt, proposed it himself.
Looking at the big picture, abandoning profit to gain benefit. The short month that he spent with Elena and Aria had a great impact on the values of Ron, who is a prince.
Elena told Sera and the others that Ron was a collaborator and told them what had happened so far.
“Aria… stayed behind alone to let us escape from the Evil Race Army.”
Everyone except Elena and Ron gasped at those words.
Approximately two thousand Evil Race Army soldiers. Furthermore, the existence of a Rank 6 Earth Dragon that seemed to have been employed. Stopping that alone would be close to impossible to survive. Even Feld and Viro, who knew Aria’s abilities, thought it was hopeless because they knew the battle. Even so–
“I don’t think Aria is dead.”
Among them, only Elena’s eyes looked straight ahead and believed in Aria’s survival. She believed in her, who had survived even in the most desperate situations.
“Two months at the most. This is the longest I can stay in the Imperial Capital. If we have two months, Aria will definitely take action. So…”
Elena cut off her words there, and focused even more strength into her slightly moist eyes and looked at the Rainbow Sword.
“As a Princess, I request all of you in the Rainbow Sword. Find Aria…”
＊＊＊
“W-Who are you!?”
Desert Town Cutlass, occupied by the Evil Race Army.
All who resisted were killed.
Those who knew the opportunity had already fled.
In this way, the town, where the remaining residents were temporarily confined to their homes, had regained its superficial tranquility.
Still, perhaps there were houses still smoldering, or perhaps they were burning corpses, as a burnt smell drifted in even from a distance.
The one who raised his voice was not an Evil Race member, but a Cruz. Judging from the equipment painted in black, they were not residents who had fled, but members of the Leesan Syndicate who had betrayed the town.
The Leesan Syndicate joined hands with the Evil Race to drive out other factions from this town, and invited the Evil Race Army. However, seeing them outside of town like this, it can be inferred that things didn’t go as planned and they were only being made to do troublesome patrols outside.
However, the dozen or so men who raised their voices were frightened by something. They were so lacking in composure that they pointed their arrows at a single woman who had only come to see the state of the town.
“Stop!!”
The men were frightened by something, and had already stopped at the first voice and stood silently, drawing their bows towards the cloaked woman.
Arrows were released from multiple bows. They hadn’t aimed properly, but still, perhaps due to the influence of the archery Skill, several arrows headed towards the woman—and were blown away just before that.
“…………”
The gradually strengthening wind swirled up the hem of the woman’s cloak and the sand of the desert.
With that much power, even a person who approached could be blown away. However, if they knew that it was not a high-level attack Magic, but an [Air Curtain] that only repelled level 2 arrows, the men would know even more terror.
“——Hii.”
Some of them, realizing the difference in ability, let out muffled screams, and the cloaked woman turned her right hand towards them as they tried to run away.
“——[Hurricane]——”
The level 4 Wind Magic [Hurricane] raged, swirling the men into the sky and tearing them apart with blades of wind.
Still, several men escaped from the range of the [Hurricane] and turned their backs to run away.
『——Gaa!!』
A black shadow attacked them. The shadow clawed at the fleeing men like a gale, picked up the last survivor in its mouth, and dropped it at the woman’s feet.
“Have you seen a pink-haired girl?”
The Dark Elf woman and the jet-black Mystic Beast Kuaal—Serejula and Nero—met the Princess in the desert and learned the whereabouts of the girl they were looking for.
While opposing the Evil Race Army and the Earth Dragon… the two had not given up on the girl’s survival.
They accompanied the Princess until the hot air balloon was repaired, and after seeing off the departing balloon, the two headed for Cutlass as their first destination.
If she is alive, she is either running away or captured. The two have been kidnapping and interrogating soldiers several times like this, but no information has been gathered.
“…Looks like we guessed wrong.”
——Affirmative——
Nero snapped the neck of the man who knew nothing, and the two let out a sigh. However, their gazes were directed in a certain direction.
The man knew nothing. And he couldn’t say why he was scared. He was frightened by something and couldn’t put it into understandable words.
——Threat——
Serejula frowned slightly at Nero’s sudden signal.
“…You mean it feels dangerous?”
——Affirmative——
There is some kind of “threat” present. But I don’t know what it is. If it’s a threat, it could be an Earth Dragon, but I don’t think they would use a Dragon to dispose of the Leesan Syndicate, who have become a nuisance.
Serejula silently jumped onto Nero’s back, and Nero silently ran in that direction.
There is no need to confirm. But I had a bad feeling that I couldn’t ignore.
After running for a few hundred meters, there was a sand hill made of wind, and Serejula and Nero couldn’t help but gasp at the sight that spread out beyond it.
There, black, scorched sand and dozens of charred human remains were scattered.
How much power would it take to do this?
How much Mana would it take to burn such a wide area?
How crazy would you have to be to do something so terrible?
The reason the two gasped was not because of the scorched sand as far as the eye could see, nor the countless charred corpses.
In the scorched desert, a girl with wavy black hair, walking through the corpses like a girl dancing in a flower garden, flickered like a mirage and disappeared into the desert sun.
I wonder who that could be… (feigning ignorance)
Next time, the point of view will return to Aria.
I thought the geographical relationships might be confusing, so I updated the continent map.
Click to open a high-quality page.