Chapter 4: Horde Invasion

I was incredibly moved. Horse-drawn carriage rides are normally quite rocky, right? They’re supposed to shake when the wheels kick up rocks or can suddenly jolt if a lacking coachman is on the job.

The forest road was a lifeline that connected Kirsch and Yoram. Though it was maintained well, there were still some less even parts of the road. So what in the world was going on? The carriage in which Princess Carina and I were riding did not shake at all.

Princess Carina reacted to my awe with an absurd question of her own. “Carriages shake?”

We were sitting next to each other and her rose-gold hair had been tickling my cheek for a while. I also couldn’t help but be distracted by that pleasant fragrance, special to girls.

The princess sighed. “I’m tired. I tried really hard...”

“Thanks for all your good work, Princess Carina. You have become a completely different person from when you first came here. You didn’t need much follow-up from me today, for example.”

The princess chuckled. “Thanks.”

The princess had started taking the initiative constantly. Well, not that much, but she had started interacting with everyone at school more, and she had also started showing up in the dining hall. Whenever she was surrounded by too many people, she would pretend she wasn’t feeling well. She had also gracefully dodged barrages of questions and invitations to dates.

Unlike her first day here, she had managed to endure her stay at Kirsch with a wondrous ability to adapt.

“All in all, it’s probably thanks to you that I was able to enjoy my days at school, Slowe.”

“Thanks to me? I do not think that is the case. I haven’t done anything.”

Yeah, I really haven’t. The only thing I’ve done is snort while scattering the troublesome people following her around sometimes.

“I was able to realize that having someone who understood me nearby was enough to change how I felt about it all, so... Yeah. It really is all thanks to you.”

Was she talking about how I would listen to her complaints patiently every day? If that was the case, then my hard work had paid off, but...

The princess laughed to herself with an eerie smile on her face. “It would be great if I met those girls sometime again.”

Though her smile was eerie, there was a reason why I found it to be very heartwarming. Would you look at that on her wrist? She wore a bracelet with a string threaded through beads that reflected the light dully, like pearls.

Apparently, just before her final class, a bunch of girls had gifted this to her. They’d said that they made this wishing for her good health, since Princess Carina often fell ill. Sir Dalton, the nearly middle-aged Royal Knight by her side, seemed to rub his reddening eyes after he heard that.

“Congratulations, Princess Carina.”

“Ah, well, this is... I’m not happy about it or anything! T-Technically, it is my duty to meet everyone’s expectations, so... It’s not that I’m happy about it.”

“Yes, I understand. I really, really get it...”

“What’s with that smile?! B-But well, as long as you get it.” The princess sighed. “Someone like me isn’t fit to be queen at all, and yet...”

Though she wasn’t very honest about it, Princess Carina seemed happy when she looked at the bracelet. Being able to see her true self like this was enough to say that my hard work had paid off.

She often put herself down, saying that she wasn’t a person who had what it takes to become the queen, but I knew better. I knew the reason why the current queen of Daryth, the Queen of Light, had appointed Princess Carina as her successor. Even now, light spirits gathered around the princess, trying to cheer her up. The queen probably realized the magical talent of this princess, who seemed to have low self-esteem.

“Jeez, my mother really doesn’t understand anything... She’s always so self-centered, and she doesn’t think about me at all.”

Not only that, but Princess Carina’s attitude towards Professor Loco Moco had been the real deal. The moment the professor had come into contact with Princess Carina’s compassion, he’d changed. As it turned out, Sir Dalton had indeed been the professor’s superior back in the Order, and albeit still awkward, the two had managed to work out their differen—You know what? Let’s just say that they did. Yeah.

“Even if that’s the case, I am on your side. I had the honor of watching your efforts from a position closer than anyone else, after all,” I said.

Princess Carina hesitated. “Thank you. You’re the only one who would say that.”

“Please don’t forget the Royal Knights. They are all on your side too, aren’t they? They will probably do everything they can to grant your wish, Your Highness.”

“That’s...that’s a lot of pressure, so I’m not sure how I feel about that. But with this, I have finished the assignment my mother gave to me,” Princess Carina said and smiled slightly.

I couldn’t imagine Princess Carina becoming someone like the current queen in the future, judging by how she behaved now, but I thought that the princess might turn out to be a queen beloved by her people, surprisingly.

“An assignment from Her Majesty?”

“My mother told me to go make friends. You are the only person who truly understands me in Kirsch, but I think I’ve cleared it for now. I can hold my head up high and return to the capital with no doubts now, but... I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get to meet the funny person that the rumors said you were.”

“I was only able to meet you because I have turned into a proper person, Princess Carina. The Cardinal wouldn’t even have thought of making the request to me if I were still my past self from just a while ago.”

“Ah, I see... Then, I suppose this was for the best,” she said.

“Um... Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. Just having a confidant makes me feel lighthearted, and learning that fact is enough already, and... I was also able to realize that my decision to suspend the Guardian Selection was correct.”

Personal retainers were the most important people to the members of House Denning, who lived to fight. Similarly, it was very important for Princess Carina to select her Guardian Knight. Even though one of the significant events that would decide her future had been suspended, Princess Carina didn’t have any regrets at all from what I could see from my spot next to her. Not only that, but she even...

“Princess Carina, what do you mean by correct?”

She giggled. “Well, I suppose I’ll say that it’s a s-e-c-r-e-t.”

Then, Princess Carina put on an innocent face and closed her eyes, preparing to sleep. Everyone had their own personal boundaries. I guess I’ll stop probing into it.

“I’m a little tired. Please let me sleep for a little while... Do you hear me?” she muttered.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Princess Carina’s stay at Kirsch had probably been quite exhausting for her. There was no way I could understand the heavy burden on her shoulders as I was a person who had thrown away a glorious future and did as I pleased. At least while she’s here in the carriage...I should give her time to get some good sleep.

The person sleeping soundly next to me exuded a noble and sacred aura.

I took a look outside the small window. Throughout our journey, the Royal Knights surrounding the carriage dealt with monsters leaping out from the forest onto the path. “Still... It feels strange as a member of House Denning to be under the protection of the Royal Knights.”

Hmm. Something’s off. The forest monsters are usually very cautious, so for them to attack the knights repeatedly like this is very strange. Even monsters like them would know they didn’t stand a chance at all, and yet... Did the appearance of the dungeon have an effect on them, as I thought?

I shook my head. No, I’m overthinking it. Alicia looked very worried when she came to see Princess Carina off. Surely, her concern just spread to me, that’s all.

Just like our farewell from school, our welcome was very grandiose. It seemed that Princess Carina’s stay at Kirsh was already common knowledge in town. Almost like a repeat of Kirsch, Yoram was filled with a large crowd of onlookers pushing and shoving each other for a glimpse of her. Princess Carina declared that she would step down from her carriage and travel to the landlord’s mansion on foot so she could show herself to the people.

I wondered why she’d had such a change of heart. However, I followed her wishes and took her hand into mine as I opened the carriage door.

“She’s here! That lady is Her Highness!” an onlooker shouted with excitement.

“The person next to her is the young master of House Denning! He’s that amazing guy who beat the bandit who tried to kidnap a noble!”

Bandit? Are they talking about Sepith or something? I thought it over for a moment before I realized what had happened. Ah, I see. It’s the cover-up by the Cardinal. I guess Sepith Pendragon’s betrayal never happened in the official records, huh?

The evening sun, just about to sink below the horizon, cast its light upon the stone buildings of Yoram.

Yoram was a town constructed in a layout similar to Daryth City, the capital of this country. In Shuya Marionette, it was the top destination for the protagonist and his gang whenever they snuck out of Kirsch to have fun, but there hadn’t been any big events that took place here in the anime.

However... That same Yoram was now in an uproar over the visit of Carina Little Daryth. The Royal Knights and soldiers pushed the people away to make a path that we slowly advanced through.

Suddenly, several soldiers appeared, shouting and pushing their way through the crowd. “Young master!”

I had thought they wanted to talk to Princess Carina, but the armed men didn’t even take a single glance at her before kneeling in front of me.

“Young master! The Marshal requests that you visit the mansion!” one said.

“My father? Wasn’t he supposed to arrive late tonight?” I asked in a stupor.

“His Excellency is already here in Yoram,” the soldier reported.

The Marshal was a title given to the commander of the army of Daryth. In other words, they were referring to my father, who was the current Duke Denning.

“Slowe, you look pale...” the princess trailed off with concern.

“Well...I really wish I could meet him under better circumstances, where I had more time to brace myself.”

I had underestimated how far my father would go. Even on the battlefield, my father would always be right on the front lines, and he firmly believed in doing things hands-on. Because of that, somewhere within me, I had my doubts about whether he would really come all the way here to Kirsch and leave the battlefield behind. However, those soldiers had said that my father had already arrived in Yoram.

The plan that I had heard was that my father would come directly to Kirsch so he could direct the dungeon expedition tomorrow, but... Did he decide to come to Yoram earlier to talk to the Cardinal and the Order first?

“I am sure you know this, Princess Carina, but my father is, uh...quite a scary person.”

“I know that veeery well...” she mumbled.

I’m glad that Charlotte isn’t here right now. Even if that wand had been her spoils of war, if my father found out that I had given Charlotte permission to use it, he would definitely make me eat an iron fist as punishment.

The princess didn’t talk to me any more after that. Perhaps she was trying to be considerate of my feelings.

The sun had set and the crimson in the sky started bleeding away. I thought it might even rain after this, from the looks of things.

“Hurry!” someone shouted.

“We’ve gathered some adventurers! They say that they’ll start investigating the matter immediately!”

It’s really noisy for some reason. I could hear cries of panic mingled among the cheering crowd of people following us. Not only that, but several soldiers ran towards the mansion of the town’s landlord, passing us right by. At first, I thought that they were there because my father had come, but the desperation in their gait really bothered me.

I called out to one of the soldiers and asked them for an explanation, only to be told a shocking truth.

“Hey, when did that happen?! When did that report come in?!” I yelled back.

“I-It was just moments ago! Th-There was a report that something was off in the periodical report from Kirsch, and there was a request for aid! On top of that, the monsters in the forest have become more aggressive!”

“And?! What was my father’s response to that?!”

“The Marshal discussed this matter with the Order and since it has come to this, the Marshal will take direct command over the response to the situation!”

“My father, going out of his way to take command...” I trailed off. “Hey, sorry about stopping you. Please go ahead.”

“Yes, sir!”

The situation was probably an emergency, where every second counted. However, Kirsch Mage Institute was a treasure trove of mages of all talents, even though they were still wet behind the ears. In terms of fighting ability, a bunch of monsters going a little wild in the forest wouldn’t be a problem for them. There were even many soldiers there in preparation for the dungeon expedition.

Even though I lined up all these facts...the worried look I saw on Alicia’s face as I left Kirsch wouldn’t leave my mind.

“I am very sorry, Princess Carina, but I must take my leave here.” I turned around and faced the opposite direction of the landlord’s mansion. Though I felt guilt towards my father, I would return to the sch—

“Wait, Slowe,” a familiar voice called my name. I couldn’t help my eyes drifting over on instinct.

There was a man walking in our direction with numerous soldiers behind him.

“Where do you plan on going? I’m right in front of you.”

The man with a crimson coat on his back had an overwhelming presence, and just the mere sight of him was enough to make people cower with awe and fear. Feeling the effects of it, the crowd broke out into a silent commotion around him.

Kirsch was in big trouble, but I couldn’t help stopping in my tracks. It even felt as if my heart was being squeezed hard by the claws of a vulture. However, this reaction was only natural. I could honestly say that I had seen this coming.

After all, this man was the person who put more expectations on my shoulders than anyone else, and he had also always been firmly on my side, even in the world of Shuya Marionette.

“Slowe, are you okay? I think you should listen to a rundown of the situation from the duke at least, though. Surely there’s enough time for that.”

I had probably made a very strange face. Princess Carina looked at me with worry in her eyes, and she gently embraced my sudden anxiety with her kindness.

“Yes, you are right,” I said slowly.

“Well, I was in your care at school, so it’s my turn now. Do you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Your Highness.”

The future queen’s warm hand overlapped my right hand. “Well then. Shall we head off, Slowe?”

“Yes, Princess Carina. Let’s.”

Now then, here I go. A very important person is waiting for me right there.

“It has been a while, father.”

“...Indeed.”

I stared straight forward at the man. My father, Balderoy Denning, was the man in charge of the military in this country and had been an antagonist in Shuya Marionette. His face seemed to shift with strong emotion. It was the first time I had seen that face on my father, and...

“H-Huh? Slowe?”

If this had been the anime, this probably would have been quite a moving scene. However, that appeared out of nowhere. An overwhelming pressure fell on my shoulders. I immediately pulled the princess over and brought her into my arms.

“You... How dare you!” a Royal Knight shouted in indignation at me, sending off bloodlust in my direction. I completely ignored him.

After all, I sensed an enormous, dreadful chill going down my spine.

“Father... There is something there! Its target is Princess Carina!” I yelled.

Indeed. It was aiming for this kind girl. That was why I had brought Carina Little Daryth into my arms. Maybe because I’d pulled her a little too hard, she was pressed tight against my chest. My heart, which had been calm, now thumped hard in my chest. I smelt her pleasant fragrance, and I could feel her soft chest through my clothing. However, I didn’t have the heart to enjoy it at all.

“Wh-What is this? I can’t breathe...” The princess in my arms seemed to notice it too.

Princess Carina, the triple-element master who had easily demolished monsters in the dungeon, was now paling in fear. With that, the Royal Knights standing near the princess finally realized what was going on.

“Please do not worry, Princess Carina. I will protect you,” I declared.

“...Whoa. You’re so close, Slowe...” The princess mumbled in a daze.

The very next moment, I felt as if my shoulders were being crushed by an overwhelming weight. My chest hurt, and I couldn’t breathe. Despair fell over me, and it felt as if I had no hope of being alive after a few seconds. This strong hatred in the atmosphere was on a whole other level compared to when I had first met the Great Spirit of Wind.

Suddenly, a deafening roar rang out from somewhere, piercing my ears. It was the roar of someone in such a great rage that they were about to destroy the world in a frenzy.

“In the sky, huh?!” I exclaimed.

The roar rattled my eardrums. From somewhere up above, with the sun long gone, that thing came down with its crushingly heavy aura.

●

It wasn’t anywhere to be found. It also didn’t know how long it had slept.

However, one fact was clear. The country it had loved, the places where it had precious memories with her... It was all gone. Thus, it gave its inferno to those impudent monsters that monopolized that land.

But...it didn’t understand. Why did I wake from the sleep of death? Searching for the reason, Sekhmet followed the sounds. The Guardian Dragon, which had lived for ages, had become closer to nature as time passed. It was so closely tied to the world that it could even sense the voices of invisible spirits.

The people who’d inherited the blood of the woman it had loved were strongly adored by light spirits. If somebody with her blood was indeed alive, then it should be able to hear the whispers of light around that person.

It listened carefully. I can hear it. There were two whispers nearby.

Its body wasn’t anywhere close to being alive, but it summoned the last of its strength and took to the skies.

And then, it found the source. That was why it had come here.

From high above in the skies, Sekhmet set its sights on the girl with rose-gold blonde hair, and it flew down from the great heavens, descending towards the girl doted on by light spirits.

It landed on the ground before Carina Little Daryth, the princess of Daryth.

The overwhelming howl of the dragon shook the air once again.

Seeing a being at least ten times taller than themselves, the people of Yoram were floored. How big would it be if it stretched its wings? one onlooker wondered.

The black dragon boldly showed its obsidian body—barely distinguishable from the night sky—to the greatest military force of Daryth, the Order of the Royal Knights. The monster, also called the King of the Skies in the north, had manifested right before their eyes.

“A dragon, and a black dragon at that?!” Duke Denning said in shock.

The eyes with a fiery glow looked towards the duke.

Why? Why? Why would it come here, right at this moment? Questions streamed in the duke’s head.

“Duke! What is all this noise?!” the Cardinal yelled. He had come from the mansion after he heard the commotion outside, and now he also saw the black dragon before them all.

The moment the Cardinal’s eyes met the creature’s cold, inhuman ones, he realized a chilling truth. The Commander of the Order had a glorious history where he’d wielded his sword as a fellow Royal Knight several decades ago. However, the strength of this creature far surpassed the level that any mere human could hope to achieve. The Cardinal felt the incredible pressure from the dragon as it stared down at the humans. The Royal Knights around Carina were also visibly stricken with fear, frozen to their spots.

While these humans were overtaken by their fear, the black dragon slowly opened its mouth. None of them could even hope to compare to the dragon’s might due to the sheer difference in scale between humans and a higher species. Their instincts screamed at them all. If you don’t want to die, then run.

“Wait.” Besides Slowe, the Cardinal was the only one who realized just what the dragon’s glowing stomach was implying. “Don’t tell me, this dragon’s aim is—”

The Cardinal, who also served as the Royal Commander, had read an account of this in a book somewhere.

“Whenever the black dragon’s stomach is engulfed in light, beware.”

“It is an inferno. An inferno that nothing can withstand.”

That glow was the telltale sign of Dragon Breath. After a direct hit, not even the target’s bones would remain. And directly in the dragon’s crosshairs was the girl said to be the future of Daryth.

This was why the Cardinal, who’d sworn his undying loyalty to Daryth’s Royal Family of Light, immediately cried out without any care of humiliation or damage to his reputation:

“Royal Knights, protect Her Highness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

●

At the end of the long road connecting Kirsch Mage Institute and Yoram, a crowd of people waited at the ready at the main gates of Kirsch. The gate was made of large stones piled on top of each other and noble students brandishing their wands, commoners wielding swords, and soldiers all stood around it in their various positions.

The noble students here were all talented, with names famous across the whole campus, such as the Mithril of House Lasbury, a marquess house, and the Three-Legged Crow of House Woodaul, a baron house.

“What in the world happened?!” Shuya exclaimed. “Ah, it is you, Lord Woodaul! Your dark magic is at full-throttle! What is going on?”

“Oh, Shuya... It seems that the dungeon core has been stolen,” the male student replied slowly.

“It seems?! You sound way too relaxed about this!” Shuya couldn’t help but exclaim.

It was clear that if the sturdy gates were breached, an avalanche of monsters would flood in and invade the school. Everyone who could fight was gathered here, holding their weapons and showing what it meant to be a mage to the monsters piling onto the main gates.

“Why would the monsters come to the school just because the dungeon was destroyed though?!” Shuya continued.

“Why would I know something like that? But the truth is if they get past here, the school is doomed. See, there’s another bunch coming now. It looks like a group of kobold soldiers. Shuya, do something about them with your flames.”

Shuya inhaled sharply and cast his spells. The kobold soldiers were extremely nimble and easily dodged Shuya’s Fire Arrows.

“Oh, wow. That’s pretty pathetic, Shuya,” the older boy barked out with a laugh.

“This isn’t the time to be laughing! Ugh, they’re coming this wa— W-Whoa, you’re awesome! Well, I mean, your dark spell is a creepy three-legged crow as always, but still!”

“Calling it ‘creepy’ was one word too many. That aside, Shuya, look behind you. Your friend is here.” Woodaul gestured.

“Hey, Shuya! I couldn’t find you anywhere... Why are you here, of all places?!” Alicia exclaimed.

“W-Whoa, Alicia! That’s my line! What are you doing here?!”

“I heard rumors that monsters were trying to swarm us so I came to see what had happened! Then I found you here, and...” Alicia looked around. “More importantly, what’s with that gigantic horde of monsters?! Ugh, from the looks of this, it’s obvious what happened in the forest!”

“Obvious?! What is?” Shuya exclaimed back.

“That a monster stole the dungeon core! This is called a horde invasion, you know! Jeez, what are the soldiers doing?! If they let this kind of thing happen, then they’re nothing more than useless salary thieves, sitting around and getting paid for nothing!”

“Y-You just...” Shuya was at a loss for words. “What are you saying so loudly around this many soldiers?!”

“Is there a problem with speaking the truth?!” Alicia retorted. “Shuya, look! The cathedral’s being set up as a shelter! Come over...here!” Alicia pulled at Shuya’s arm, trying to drag him away.

However, even then, Shuya clung to the main gates. The school was in great danger, and there was no way he could run with his tail between his legs without doing anything. Meanwhile, Alicia tugged at Shuya’s uniform, wanting to bring one of her very few friends to safety.

“You stubborn mule, stop trying to look all cool!” she said, frustrated. “Not only that, but Shuya, there’s no way you can do anything about a monster that huge, so come over here!”

“S-Stop it, Alicia! My clothes will stretch out! Wait, what?! That’s a cyclops!!! E-Everyone, that monster must be the dungeon master! Those are only supposed to exist in the north, so I am very sure of it! If we defeat it, then the monsters will definitely return to the forest!”

Shuya, drawing on his experience as an adventurer, knew very well that the giant with one eye shouldn’t exist here in the south. His intuition told him that this was the monster who’d caused the horde invasion.

“If that’s the dungeon master, then... Whoever beats it will be awarded a decoration from the country,” another student muttered.

Having absorbed the dungeon core, the cyclops was much larger than normal. It held up one of the fallen kobold soldiers from the ground in one hand and used it as a shield from the spells as it advanced forward. Whenever its meat shield was worn out, the cyclops would once again grab a monster that died in front of it as a new shield.

“Burn it together with the monster it’s using as a shield!” a student shouted.

“Earth magic! Use earth magic to stop it in its tracks!”

“Oh, yikes. Even my dark spell wouldn’t work on it, huh?”

Panicked students inside the gate shouted left and right. Seeing them, the cyclops couldn’t stop roaring with mocking laughter as it continuously tossed dead monsters in their way. At the same time, lightning struck somewhere with a booming crack. The students nearly fell onto their backs at the thunderous sound. The moment they had noticed their lapse in attention...

“Aaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Lightning struck very close to us!”

“Huh?! That big monster isn’t there anymore!”

The cyclops had seemingly disappeared into the darkness. The mages had lost sight of the enemy monster who had taken advantage of the chaos.

“Hey, y’all. You’re not used to fighting, unlike those brats from the north, huh?”

The cyclops came down on them from above. It had leaped into the sky, going through a series of flexible movements and mimicking a spring with its body. It had never occurred to anyone that something so large could jump that high. This cyclops had evolved after endless battles to the death in the dungeon, and its jumping ability greatly surpassed the students’ expectations.

Without giving the students time to catch their breath, the cyclops took out the hidden dagger from its back and it swung towards the heart of the student with red hair.

“Shuya, watch out!” someone cried.

In the brief moments before the attack reached him, Shuya finally realized the facts. As Alicia said, I should have taken shelter in the cathedral...

However...

“Newkern, get out of the waaay!!!!!!!!!”

The spell of the former Royal Knight struck the side of the cyclops’s face, blowing it off spectacularly.

“The main gate has fallen! Everyone, please do not panic, and evacuate calmly!” the headmaster’s voice rang out in everyone’s minds.

Since the cyclops had taken down the school gate, monsters poured in from the forest. If these were just forest monsters and not dungeon monsters, the students could have dealt with the enemies with their own abilities. However, this was a horde invasion of dungeon-spawned monsters advancing in unison under the orders of the cyclops, their dungeon master.

“The headmaster is holding up a barrier centered around the front of the cathedral! Monsters can’t get in! We must run there!”

Students fled towards the square before the cathedral, guided by the headmaster’s voice. Charlotte was one of them. She had run here as fast as she could from the dorms, panting for breath.

Charlotte looked up and saw a monster with wings overhead, flying as if it owned the place. It laughed mockingly with a shrill cry, almost as if it was declaring that the world belonged to the monsters.

“That’s...” Charlotte gasped. “No way. Tina!”

Charlotte spotted her friend, who was shaking with fear at the many monsters closing in on her. Dozens of monsters lay dead on the training grounds, and the newbie mage stood in the center of them all. Had she been practicing magic this late into the night?

“She works way too hard! She even has talent... If she practices that hard, there’s no way I can win against her!” Charlotte couldn’t help but complain out loud.

Charlotte was so scared that her legs were shaking. This was more terrifying than the time she’d gone down into the dungeon, and on top of that, Charlotte was a failure of a mage. However, there wasn’t any hesitation nor anxiety in Charlotte’s heart as she made her next move.

“One, two, three, four! Okay, I probably can deal with them!” Charlotte exclaimed.

No. I can’t, she thought at the same time. For a girl whose magic was only useful for stopping little pebbles... For a girl who couldn’t even stop the movement of mini golems, which weren’t even alive... Dealing with monsters was a pie-in-the-sky dream.

However, ever since she’d sprinkled that perfume, she had felt confident somehow. She was ready for anything, and she felt as if she could do anything. Even if that had been an effect of the Pendragon jinx, which gave the user a temporary false sense of omnipotence, it was just fine.

“Lock on. Lock on. Lock on,” she chanted. “All right!”

She pointed her wand towards the monsters she could see on the training field. This wasn’t an offensive spell. She pictured the hands on a clock in her mind and imagined the monsters’ movements coming to a sudden halt.

“Can you really do it?”

She had always put it off to someday in the future, but...just like how Slowe Denning had decided to change his way of life after he saw his future, Charlotte had finally hardened her resolve to start a new life.

“Can you really do it? You, who have always run away from your past?”

“Can I do it?! This isn’t the time to be thinking about that!” Charlotte yelled. “Reach them, Clock—”

Just like that, for the first time in her life, the princess of a destroyed kingdom waved her wand in answer to the whispers of the spirits.

●

The dragon howled.

No. Wrong. It had sensed the whispers of the light spirits around her, but the girl engulfed in the flames hadn’t inherited her blood. Surrounded by this blazing, all-encompassing inferno, the black dragon admitted that it had made a mistake.

I can’t see. I can’t see anything. This body is already dead. I can’t even feel the heat of the flames. Its only choice was to rely on the whispers of the light spirits now.

The dragon turned the entire surrounding area into ash in the inferno, and the monster once called the Guardian Dragon roared again. It stretched out its enormous wings and flew off.

And now, within the hellish field of burning flames left behind...

The Cardinal wavered as he walked unsteadily like a zombie until he finally found the princess and grabbed her by the shoulder. “Your Highness! Are you hurt anywhere?!” he shouted.

“I-I’m fine, Maldini. Slowe protected me, so... But that thing... That thing earlier... It’s the first time I’ve ever seen something like that.” Princess Carina laughed nervously. “D-Dragons sure are scary, huh? It’s definitely impossible to tame something like that...”

The entire area, including the landlord’s mansion itself, had been utterly destroyed by Sekhmet. It was almost as if a hurricane had gone by. Even the residential area where many nobles lived had been turned into dust.

Screams and cries for help rang out from all directions, the voices piercing through the dark night.

“Commander! There...there is some bad news from the adventurers we sent into the forest,” a knight approached and reported.

“Speak!”

“According to the adventurers, there is a horde invasion underway. They say that a monster probably stole the dungeon core and that the current dungeon master caused all this!”

“A horde invasion?!” Maldini exclaimed in shock. “It’s unthinkable for a monster that powerful to appear in a remote area like that!”

“Not only that, there is a great probability that Kirsch is the target of the invasion, and—”

That black dragon earlier, and now a horde invasion. Just where do I start? The Cardinal racked his brain for options. Then, Duke Denning, who had desperately been using wind magic to quench the fires, approached the Cardinal.

“Your Highness!” he exclaimed, addressing the princess. “Where is my son, Slowe?!”

“S-Slowe?” Carina looked around, but she couldn’t find him anywhere. “H-Huh? He was just here moments ago.”

Suddenly, droplets of water sprinkled down from the sky, almost as if they were trying to cool the princess’s red cheeks.

The area was already shrouded in darkness, and now, there was rain. Large droplets of what was no longer just a drizzle of water poured down from the overcast sky and pattered steadily against the ground, washing warmth away from the world.

In the sky, the moon illuminated the clouds with a white and blue glow.

This was the first time that the people in Yoram felt frightened by the light that had usually watched over them.

The townsfolk of Yoram clamored around a group of soldiers, the atmosphere tense as they confronted them.

“Why are you stopping us?! Let us go on to Kirsch!” one shouted.

“You’re supposed to be soldiers, aren’t you?!” another added.

“We can’t let you go because our jobs are to protect you, the people of Yoram! Look at that! It’s a monster! If you enter the forest now, you’ll all be finished!” a soldier yelled.

The soldiers in armor desperately tried to stop the townsfolk from leaving.

●

Ah, jeez. The soldiers and townspeople near the exit to the forest path have started arguing again. This is getting quite troublesome... Well, to be frank, this whole situation is no joke.

Many pairs of red eyes belonging to monsters gleamed in the forest and looked towards the commotion. Some of them were frenzied, leaping out towards the town. The monsters were normally quite docile, but now they were all aggravated by the dragon’s roar.

“Adventurers are currently searching the forest! Please wait here until they return!” the soldier pleaded.

“I can’t wait for that! My child is in Kirsch!”

The back-and-forth continued. It’s only natural that the soldiers are stopping them, though. Right now, the forest path was swarming with monsters. Going in was practically asking to be killed, and the soldier only spoke the truth. If common folk with little combat experience tried to enter, they would just die for naught at the claws of berserk monsters before they could reach Kirsch.

A loud and insistent snort sounded out from somewhere nearby.

“That just now was an Earl Orc, wasn’t it? There’s no way that monster could have lived in this forest, so it probably came out of the dungeon...” I muttered.

This was definitely a horde invasion. The dungeon core had fallen into the hands of a foreign monster. Thinking back on it, Alicia’s worry had probably been in anticipation of this very event.

You know, she’s probably pissed off right now, shouting, “I told you so!” I shivered. I dreaded the next time we would meet. She might even slap me in the face... No, a slap is still fine. Worse, she might even punch me. I sighed inwardly. Ugh. To be honest, things are so terrible that I’ve done a three-sixty and gone past panicking and I’ve moved into calm territory instead.

A completely new turn of events had started ever since Princess Carina came to visit Kirsch. Still, I should have known better. I knew very well that Shuya Marionette’s world was a harsh and cruel place. That was the very reason why the anime’s Piggy Duke never took his eyes off Charlotte.

“Still... How much longer is he going to take?” I muttered.

At this point, every second counted. If I wanted to return to Kirsch as soon as possible, I needed a horse. After I’d protected Princess Carina from the Dragon Breath, I’d spoken to a certain man who had been rendered dumbstruck by it all.

As long as Headmaster Morozov and Professor Loco Moco were at Kirsch, they should be able to deal with most potential situations. However, this was the world of Shuya Marionette, and I always had to plan for the worst possible scenario.

I went silent at that thought, thinking back on what had happened earlier. So that’s a dragon, huh? It’s the first time that I’ve seen one in person. Shuya... That guy was able to face an extraordinary being like that in the anime. Like I thought, he really is nothing to laugh at. I’ve faced a real dragon myself now, and I can understand that. That thing isn’t something humans can hope to match.

That wasn’t all. The dragon that I had just encountered was bigger than the dragon Shuya had fought and was way more famous. After all, that black dragon... That was the Guardian Dragon of Huzak.

That dragon was a legendary creature and had disappeared a hundred years ago. There was no way it would appear now, right? Wrong. There was no way I could mistake the characteristics of a monster related to Charlotte. So...that was definitely Sekhmet.

“Milord!”

There were very few people who called me by that title. I turned around and Silva, the former Knight of the Twin Wings—now wearing a white cape—approached me, bringing not one, but two horses with him. One more than I had asked for.

“I have brought over horses that even among those owned by the Order are especially brave and calm. Milord, are you possibly planning to head down the path by yourself? Right now, the army is making preparations to make the journey to Kirsch, with Duke Denning at the center of command. If you head there with them, then—”

“Silva, this is a horde invasion,” I cut him off. “I do not have the time to wait for my father to act.”

“That’s what they call ‘reckless,’” Silva said firmly. “Even if you are fine, the horses would collapse midway.”

Silva probably had an inkling of what was going on with the dragon as well. Like Professor Loco Moco, he too had been an adventurer once. This extremely talented swordsman had clawed his way up to the top of the candidates for Guardian Knight despite his commoner status. However, I could still hear the fear in the man’s voice.

It couldn’t be helped. Dragons were mighty beings, and it was rare to even get a glimpse of one in the south. Just the thought of facing such an overwhelming being again would instill fear in anyone’s heart.

“I’m sure you came to the same conclusion as I did. Even if my father directly requests the Cardinal to dispatch the Royal Knights, the Cardinal would not be cooperative. To add to that, the current scale of troops here in Yoram means that they cannot travel down the path quickly enough.”

If the dragon had headed towards Kirsch, every second counted. That dragon had been in a rage. It probably realized that Huzak had been destroyed... It might have appeared before us because it mistook Princess Carina for a descendant of the Royal White Lilies since she has the favor of light spirits.

“Milord... The Order is not such a cold-blooded organization.”

“But it’s the truth. With the possibility of the dragon coming back, they wouldn’t dispatch the Royal Knights to Kirsch. After all, Carina Little Daryth is in this town. Her safety is more important to the Royal Knights than Kirsch Mage Institute. You would know that since you interact with them every day.”

Silva stood still and didn’t reply. He probably knew that I was speaking the truth.

Hearing my father’s request, the Cardinal would probably say, “We do not have confirmation that the dragon in question is attacking Kirsch. There is also the possibility that the dragon might return here to Yoram.”

The Cardinal placed the royal family on a pedestal above all else. That was why he and the Royal Knights would use all their resources to protect Princess Carina.

“In that case, milord, I shall go with you,” Silva declared.

“Don’t be stupid. You’re currently in the Order and you are an important part of the royal family’s military force. Even if the Guardian Selection has been suspended, you’re still the top candidate for the Guardian Knight,” I reminded him.

Silva was silent for a moment, but he spoke up again with conviction. “I cannot let you go alone, milord. If I leave you be, then from the looks of it you will head down the forest path all by yourself.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“You would,” he said firmly. “That’s why you bade me bring you a fearless horse of the Order.”

I should have expected nothing less from him. Silva was very sharp; that hadn’t changed. He had always been a man who wouldn’t take a lie at face value. I didn’t have the time to argue with Silva right now, so I relented.

“Fine, you’re right. I am positive that the dragon is headed to Kirsch. That is why I asked you to bring along a courageous horse that can withstand traveling down the path in the current state it is in. A normal horse would be too afraid of the monsters.”

“Milord... Please be realistic!” Silva pleaded. “No matter how great you are at magic, there is no way you could make your way down that path in time! It’s the horse that’s actually running down the path, not you yourself! If your horse gets hit by a monster even once, it’s all over!”

“That’s not necessarily true. Silva...if you lend me your sword, it would be possible.”

That was the real reason why I had summoned Silva.

“My sword? Milord, are you insane?”

Currently, traversing the forest path was a thorny task with many difficult obstacles on the way. It probably wouldn’t be possible with just my own power. This was completely different from defeating No Face or Sepith Pendragon.

“Silva, I’m always serious. If I have your Mystical Sword, then...it is possible.”

The national treasure of Daryth, the Mystical Sword, was traditionally given to the official candidate for Guardian Knight. It wasn’t a normal sword; it was made from magical ore. For those who couldn’t use magic, this miraculous ore provided the wielder with the power to fight toe to toe with a mage.

“How would the Mystical Sword of Light help you to make the journey there? Milord, this sword isn’t as convenient as you think.”

Due to the materials it was made from, the Mystical Sword could be enchanted with a magic element. In fact, due to the sheer amount of ore used in its production, the average mage couldn’t even pour enough magic into it to enchant it. The sword in Silva’s possession was a magical sword enchanted with the power of Lectrikuhl, the Great Spirit of Light and the guardian deity of Daryth.

“I am not lying. I will be able to make my way to Kirsch if I use that sword. You can just say that I attacked you and stole it off you or something. I shall take full responsibility for everything.”

Silva went quiet. The light emanating from the sword at his hip seeped out from its sheath.

It was out of the question to hand over this national treasure to anyone else without official permission. The Mystical Sword of Light didn’t technically belong to Silva. Daryth’s royal family was only lending it to him temporarily since he was the top candidate for Guardian Knight. And yet here I was, telling him to hand it over to me even though I had considered the possibility of Silva being charged for this. Yeah, I know. I am a selfish, terrible, and utterly awful human.

In the end, I hadn’t changed at all compared to back then, when I had decided to become the blackhearted Piggy Duke.

Silva hesitated for a long while. However...

“At this rate, they’ll break through! Someone go call for reinforcements!” a soldier shouted.

“Yes, sir!”

I saw people trying to get past the soldiers, wanting to get onto the path to Kirsch. At this rate, this might escalate from a dispute into a riot. I suppose I can’t wait any longer.

“Sorry, but I don’t have any more time. I’m heading off,” I said.

It would be cruel of me to ask him to decide on the spot. Lending a national treasure to someone else, even temporarily, could even lead to him getting the death penalty. It’s obvious that he would hesitate.

I ignored Silva, who was deep in his thoughts, and saddled up on the horse he’d brought over, taking its reins into my hands. It would have been the best-case scenario if I had the Mystical Sword, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. I would make my way to Kirsch on my own power alone.

This horse is quite calm, I noted. I should have expected nothing less from those used by the Order. If I have this horse, then I should be able to make it to Kirsch. I’ll need to thank Silva, as just being able to borrow this horse is a huge help. And...it’s asking too much for me to rely on him after everything that happened.

After all, I was a terrible person who’d ignored this man all this time, even though I thought of him as my friend for life.

Silva spoke up after a moment of silence. “Please wait.”

“What is it?”

“Milord, I... If I ever had one more chance... There were a lot of things I wanted to ask you if I ever had the chance to talk to you like this. What happened to you back then? Why did you—”

“Leave this for later, Silva.”

“But now, talking to you like this, I can tell. Milord, you actually haven’t changed at all from your past self.”

There were yells and screams, and then the sounds of spells exploding somewhere. In the tug-of-war between the soldiers and the townsfolk, it seemed that the townsfolk had only gotten more upset. This is bad. At this rate, a large group of people will force themselves into the forest. That would only result in tragedy.

“Becoming a little chubby didn’t change who you were on the inside. Surely we just weren’t able to see past your facade, and I only realized this fact just now. So that’s why—” In the darkness, a man spoke. It was the man who had managed to rise all the way to the top candidate for Guardian Knight somewhere without my knowledge. And then, he got onto the other horse with way more grace and skill than I’d had.

“Don’t do something stupid!” I exclaimed. “Right now, you are under the command of that Johannes Maldini! If you come with me, then you’ll also be charged! Your current station is next to the princess!”

“I do not mind.” This guy smiled as if that all didn’t matter to him one bit.

“You don’t mind???” I parroted. “Seriously...”

“No matter what kind of crime I get charged for, it doesn’t matter. To start, I was simply going with the flow when the Order took me in. I wasn’t there because I wanted to be. Yes, indeed... No matter where I go, I am nothing but a mere commoner.” Silva drew the Mystical Sword, and brilliant light flowed out into the dark night.

The people arguing at the entrance of the forest path, who hadn’t stopped at anything up until now, looked over our way to see what had happened. Suddenly, someone realized just who Silva was. They all cried for help, pleading for the commoner hero to help them.

The current Guardian Knight was Rudolf Delfrey, the strongest man in Daryth and the right-hand man of Daryth’s queen, and he always had the symbolic Mystical Sword of Light with him. And now, the other man who held the companion Mystical Sword of Light cast away his white cape, the symbol of a protector of royalty, almost as if he was answering the cries of the townsfolk.

This was proof of his conviction: the conviction that he wouldn’t be tied down by the title of Royal Knight.

“Are you out of your mind...?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“To be frank, milord, I actually share the same opinion as you. That black dragon is definitely heading towards Kirsch. We certainly have no time to stand around here in a place like this.”

The man who had risen from commoner to the top candidate for Guardian Knight now threw away everything without hesitation and raised his shining sword into the air.

“Milord... I shall leave this in your hands.”

Seeing this man’s conviction, I—