Opening

“Huh. When Hendrickson came up with that gloomy look on his face, I thought maybe something was wrong, but everyone looks like they’re having a good time.”

A large man wearing a mask came down the stairs next to the counter in the back of the Boar Hat.

“But Gilthunder and Howzer aren’t around, are they?”

The man spoke in a gentle, feminine tone that didn’t suit his grim physique and frightening mask.

“They just headed out the entrance, saying that they were going to get some fresh air,” Hawk replied proudly.

Meliodas, sitting at a table with Elizabeth, looked back and smiled. “Let them have their space for a while. How’s Griamore?”

“When I peeked in on him just now, he was fast asleep. Hendrickson is looking after him now.”

Meliodas held a mug out to the man. “Anyway, Slader. How about a beer with us?”

“Well, sure, why not.”

Arthur put a mug and three bottles of ale on a tray and brought them to where Slader had sat down next to Meliodas. “Here you are. Which would you like?”

“Thanks. What an honor, to have the King of Camelot pour my beer for me. The boy I knew way back when sure has grown up splendidly.”

“That’s right, we’ve met once before, haven’t we?” The young king, who had removed himself from his country to hone his skills, spoke unaffectedly. He poured ale into Slader’s mug and placed it in front of him.

As Slader removed his mask to drink, a slightly surprised gasp escaped from the group.

“So that’s what his face looks like…I thought it’d be scarier.” Elizabeth spoke without thinking, and then covered her mouth, embarrassed, most likely afraid she’d been rude.

But Slader smiled at her and told her not to worry.

“It’s not often we get to sit around and drink like this. You should tell us something interesting, too,” Meliodas teased.

Slader tilted his head.

“Like what?”

No one, least of all Meliodas, commented on how Slader’s voice and tone changed when he took off his mask. Among the Holy Knights, whose strength of will directly correlated to their magical power, it was not rare to meet people who changed various aspects of themselves with specialized garments or weapons.

“You saw that rainbow outside the window, right? So tell us a story about a rainbow.”

“Rainbows…Okay, let me think.” Slader narrowed his eyes a little and thought, but before long, he said he had one.

“It’s not a real rainbow, but…I did think of a story just now. Oh, and it might be a little related to Princess Elizabeth, too.”

“Oh? What could it be?” Elizabeth sat up straight in her seat.

Slader warned them not to expect it to be that amusing of a story. Then he began to reminisce about a mission he received from the King several years ago.

1

A shadowy figure ran down alleys submerged in darkness, stepping lightly so his footsteps would not be heard. In all probability it was a man. His clothes were all black, and the lower half of his face was covered with a cloth.

It was the bone-chilling hour right before dawn. Clouds spread over in the sky, and there was no visible moon.

This neighborhood was the busiest place for crime in the capital of Liones.

Taverns and cafeterias lined up side by side on the large street ahead, but at this time of night, each shop was silent and had already closed for the night.

And since it was so late, of course there were no lights or signs of people in the back alleys, either.

The man pressed his back against the cold wall and looked around for signs of anyone in the vicinity. He took out a gold coin and intently flipped it with his thumb.

After the coin spun up in the air, he caught it on the back of his left hand, simultaneously pinning it down with the palm of his right.

He lifted up his right hand and checked the face of the coin.

The face was engraved with a crescent moon, shaped like a person’s profile. In other words, the coin was heads.

“Okay, left it is.”

He turned left at the T-intersection. As he’d predicted, there was no one in the back alley. Under his mask, the man let loose a fat and satisfied smile.

The coin he received from that person had always shown them the way. As long as he followed exactly what it said, they were never caught.

This time too—they had broken into the houses of the most preeminently rich merchants in the city and had managed to carry out a great deal of money. By the guidance of the Lucky Moon, his henchmen had probably already passed out of the capital city’s walls.

The man came to another crossroads and flipped the coin again.

“This time, right.”

The alley on his right, crammed with places of assignment, brothels, and dubious fortunetellers, was a place where drifters often ended up. Or rather, one could say this neighborhood was the territory of scoundrels.

The man let down his guard a little and rounded the corner without concealing himself.

“…!!”

Then he saw who was there.

“Ugghh…Gus, chief, we’re sorry…”

Two large men lay on the side of the road, seemingly bound by rings of light.

Those were his henchmen, whom he thought had already escaped ages ago!

“Y-You guys, what happened?” Gus tightly grasped the coin in his pocket. “Did the Lucky Moon’s magic effect wear off?!”

“There is no moon in the dark before dawn.”

A young male voice called down from atop a nearby roof.

Taken aback, Gus raised his head—and without warning, the figure swooped down nimbly before his eyes.

“Bandit gang Lucky Moon. It seems like your moon-luck has just run out.”

He was a boy, short in stature, with long silver hair. But he was covered in thick armor and shouldered a sword that was taller than him.

His confident stance left no openings. His eyes were cold.

“Y-You’re not a knight…Are…are you a Holy Knight?” Gus inched backwards, retreating.

He didn’t have a prayer of beating a Holy Knight with magical powers. It was too bad about his minions, but his only option now was to save his own skin.

Gus turned around and tried to run back down the road he came from.

But it was already too late.

A beautiful lady knight wielding a flamberge smiled sweetly at him.

Scanning the vicinity, Gus saw more new figures on the rooftops.

On the left was a large armored man with his face covered by a strange round helmet.

On the right was a handsome man raising a bow shining with magic.

“Y-You guys…”

“We are an order of knights directly under the King’s command—Dawn Roar,” the boy declared coolly, walking up behind the flustered Gus.

“Daw…Dawn Roar?!”

The two henchmen, fallen and beaten, moaned. “Aren’t you guys that group of battle knights that specializes in killing…Why are you interested in petty thieves like us!”

“Beats me.” The lady knight curled her lips. “All we do is follow the orders of His Majesty the King. Even if the target is an insect, or a foreign brigade, if ordered to kill, we kill. If told to capture, we capture.”

“Good news for you ‘petty thieves.’ This time we weren’t ordered to kill. The order was to take you alive.” As the boy with the longsword spoke, the beautiful lady raised her right hand.

A shining band floated up from her fingertips. It was the same light that had captured Gus’ two henchmen.

“Gaghh.” Gus clenched his teeth. There was nowhere left to run.

But just then—

Unexpectedly, the door of a shabby tavern on the right swung open.

Out came a large man, drunk and unsteady on his feet, and a longhaired man supporting him with his arm.

The two of them staggered out into the alley as though they didn’t notice the tense scene.

“Come on, let’s get it together now.”

“Aaahh, Slay, you’re so nice. Is it okay if I take you back home with me?” the large man said in an infantile manner that didn’t match his frame and leaned against the longhaired man. For his part, the man called Slay, his cheeks slightly flushed, looked attentively up at the large man.

Male prostitutes?

An idea flashed through Gus’ mind.

With a sudden motion, he thrust the large man away and seized hold of Slay’s arm.

“Hey! If you don’t want this guy killed, let me go quietly!” Gus shouted, squeezing his arm around the neck of Slay, who’d staggered and fallen to his knees. “Hahah…looks like I still had a bit of moon-luck left.”

Even though they were knights specializing in assassinations under direct control of the king—or rather, precisely because of that—Dawn Roar had to be very careful regarding murders outside of their orders.

Above all else, if they let an innocent citizen die, they wouldn’t be able to show their faces to the famously compassionate King of Liones.

Just as Gus had suspected, the four members of the Dawn Roar slowly lowered their weapons.

But the expression on all their faces was discomfited—or perhaps sympathetic.

“…You really have run out of moon-luck,” the lady knight muttered.

But those words apparently didn’t make it to Gus’ ears.

Dragging Slay, Gus looked back at the young knight behind him. “Move out of the way!”

The boy eyed Gus with amused exasperation but obediently stepped aside.

Gus laughed loudly.

“Ha! Even those under direct orders of the king can’t do as they please, hey. The story on the streets is that the king has been pretty sickly lately, too. When he dies, I could talk with my boss and get you set up with some other—”

He wasn’t able to finish saying “work.”

All of a sudden, it was as if a firework had been let off in front of his eyes.

“Guuugghhh…aaahh…” Gus fell to his knees on the spot, grabbing his nose.

Burning pain. Lukewarm liquid flowed down his palm. The taste of iron thickened in his mouth.

Not knowing what had happened, he raised his head and saw Slay whom he’d held trapped just a moment ago standing right in front of him. There was blood dripping from his fist. Gus finally understood that Slay had punched him.

“Even if the king himself forgives it, even if heaven forgives it, I won’t forgive such language about the king,” Slay said coldly.

His icy gaze was completely different from earlier. The air grew tenser.

Gus even imagined the man’s stature and physique had changed. Was he always so big? I thought he was supposed to be a nice guy?

He burst into a cold sweat. Overtaken by fear, Gus flailed his arms wildly.

But Slay dodged his assault easily, and slowly put an iron mask—where had he gotten it from?—over his own face.

“Makeup!”

With that strange yell, it seemed that Slay’s body grew even larger.

“W-What are you?” Gus cried, falling onto his backside.

“I am Slader, the captain of the Dawn Roar. Not that you have to remember that.”

Underneath the mask, his eyes narrowed. He seemed to be laughing.

“Ah, aaah…gotta get away…”

I gotta get away. While thinking that, Gus couldn’t move a single finger.

The terrible pressure radiating from Slay—Slader—stitched him to the spot.

“F-Forgive me…”

“Settle down. We aren’t going to kill you. Jillian.”

At Slader’s words, the lady knight once again raised her right hand. Her fingertips shone, and a band of light cast at Gus’ body constricted him with a terrible force.

“Uuuaagghh…” Unable to withstand the pressure, Gus toppled over.

The large man in the helmet who had jumped down from the rooftop picked up the two fallen henchmen onto each of his shoulders.

Before Gus lost consciousness, the young knight walked up to him. However, he called out to Slader without looking at Gus.

“Sorry, Captain Slader. We’ve wasted your rare day off. We thought we would be enough for such small fries as these.”

“It’s all right, Simon. We’re janitors. It’s our job to keep the town clean.” Slader winked at the boy, Simon. Jillian, the lady knight, shrugged.

“Really, Captain Slader? Your boyfriend seems to have run off.”

He looked around, and the man whom Gus had thrust aside earlier was no longer there. He must have been completely scared off and run away.

“Oh well. Guess that was to be expected.”

The man with the bow laughed. “Captain Slader has poor luck with men, too. Or rather, poor taste in men?”

“Thank you for your concern, Weinheidt. As soon as we’re done here, we’re withdrawing,” Slader said, picking up Gus by the arm like it was nothing at all.

2

“Commendations on the successful mission, everyone.”

Sitting in his bed in his pajamas, the luxuriantly bearded King Bartra thanked his knights for their hard work.

The five knights of the Dawn Roar kneeling before him bowed their heads solemnly.

The royal castle of Liones stood atop the low hill overlooking the capital. The king’s bedroom was on the top floor of the central tower.

This early in the morning, the castle was not yet crowded with the knights and ladies of the court in attendance. With the guards ordered to leave as well, the surroundings had fallen silent.

“The Lucky Moon coin—how nostalgic,” King Bartra said. In his fingers he held the coin with the crescent moon engraved on the face, which Slader had given to him. He squinted at it.

“With all due respect, was that coin originally Your Majesty’s?”

The king nodded in response to Slader’s question.

“That’s right. Or to be more precise, it was something that we gave to our former wife.”

“Her Majesty…the late Queen?” Jillian asked.

“Indeed. This coin was said to have only a small quantity of magic, but it would show you the way when you were lost. She seemed to use it only rarely…But, if she had used it back then, that monster may not have gotten her.” The king cast his eyes down sorrowfully.

Some ten years ago, Queen Caroline and some friends had gone to visit a spring outside the capital. It was there she was attacked by a monster and came to an untimely death.

“She went out without taking a single Holy Knight, and her group mostly consisted of ladies. It was a terrible situation. They couldn’t defend themselves. It was only some time after her remains had been brought back to the castle that we realized that several of the ornaments she had had on her were missing.”

“So she had the coin back then…”

“Yes. The monster that killed the queen was caught several years later, but we still didn’t find the lost objects. Someone probably picked up the things after they had been scattered among the bushes and concealed them. We put out an official notice to the jewelers and secondhand dealers, but we hadn’t found anything up until now.” The king abruptly suffered a fit of coughing. With one hand he motioned Slader, who had instinctively stood up, to stand back.

“We are fine. Do not worry.”

“But, sire, your complexion does not look well. Please rest. We will come again afterwards.”

“No. We are fine. It will subside soon.”

The king, who had become remarkably thin over the past year, straightened his back and resumed speaking.

“A few days ago our magic Vision revealed to us, ‘The Lucky Moon will wane in the capital’s dark before the dawn, and the Rainbow of Healing will shine on the unsightly.’”

The king’s magic Vision was, so to speak, the ability of foresight. From vague images and phrases, he could infer events that would occur close to him.

“Just as we predicted, the Dawn Roar captured the thieves that had been using the Lucky Moon. The only part left is the Rainbow of Healing.”

“Rainbow of Healing. Your Majesty has some idea as to its meaning?”

“Yes. We believe the foresight most likely refers to the Rainbow Crystal necklace that the queen always wore. It must have been lost back then.”

The king slowly passed his gaze around at Slader and each of the other members.

“We are not sure of the exact meaning. But our magic Vision seems to tell us that searching for the Rainbow Crystal will determine some other fate as well. We apologize for making you work so much, but please continue to lend us your strength.”

“We are unworthy of your kind words. Please, don’t worry about us.” Slader bowed his head. “We have already obtained information from the boss of the thieves we captured as to who is controlling them behind the scenes.”

“Well, please let us hear it.” The king smiled contently.

Slader gave a slight bow and looked towards his subordinates waiting behind him. Weinheidt nodded and began to speak.

“Is Your Majesty familiar with an old castle at the tip of the peninsula, far to the south of here?”

3

Tethel awoke from the cold.

Sometime while he’d slept, his thin blanket had been taken by the boy sleeping next to him.

Tethel got out of bed, sniffling. The ten children packed into the narrow, musty room were sleeping as deeply on the cold stone floor as if they were dead.

In the distance, he could hear the familiar sound of waves.

High up on the wall, light seeped through a small hole just large enough for an arm to pass through. It seemed that dawn had already broken.

Tethel leaned on the bare stone wall while rubbing his thin, wasted arms.

“Hey! When are you going to stop sleeping! Get up, you brats!”

The thick iron door burst open violently, and a heavyset red-faced man stepped inside.

The children all sprang to their feet. Of course, Tethel stood up, too, and bowed his head to the man.

“Good morning, Mr. Chad!”

“Good news, brats, it’s time for work!”

“Thank you!” the children chorused stiffly and followed Chad out of the room.

They passed through a narrow, damp hallway and climbed a set of stairs before their eyes were abruptly scorched by bright light. They had emerged into the courtyard of the old castle.

“…”

Three corpses lay fallen in the garden.

One was an unfamiliar young man with a pretty face. The other two had been criminals who had frequently visited the small castle.

They all clutched bloody weapons in their hands. Perhaps they had killed each other.

“Clean this up. You know the drill. Tear off their clothes and throw them away, wash the weapons, and take them to the storehouse. Throw their corpses over the cliff out back into the ocean.”

“Understood.” The children nodded with vacant expressions and went right to work.

Tethel wasn’t sure what kind of place he was in.

All he knew was that the master of this old castle, which stood atop a cliff on the coast, was called Lord Irving.

He also knew that, of the regular visitors to the castle, not a single one was honest.

There was a boisterous racket in the old castle almost every evening.

Night after night, it reverberated with flirtatious voices, laughter, and screams.

Sometimes there would also be the howls of fearsome beasts.

And the following morning, there would be corpses in the courtyard or in the reception hall.

Ever since Tethel was kidnapped several years ago, he had lived here and been forced to do dirty work.

“Tethel” wasn’t even his real name. He had already forgotten the one that his parents had given him.

He had heard that in the language of some distant old country, Tethel meant ugly.

When he first saw Tethel, Lord Irving had crowed raucously: “What an ugly kid! Someday we might be able to sell him to a freak show.” And just like that, his nickname had stuck.

The corpses were already starting to stink, but by now all the children were used to it and no longer said anything.

They stripped the clothes from the corpses, their hands becoming stained with blood in the process. Then several of the children lifted the naked bodies and carried them to the back of the old castle.

Behind the castle there was a steep cliff, and beneath that was the ocean.

Shivering, Tethel and the others threw the corpses down into the water.

Someday, I’ll be thrown off from here, too, he thought.

But he was already past feeling fear.

He wanted to find peace soon.

4

“Ah, I see. So that’s the old castle.”

The five members of the Dawn Roar advanced through the wilderness with their horses in a line and halted at a spot from where they could see the castle. The wind from the ocean blew against them and stirred up Slader’s long hair.

“It’s pretty run-down, huh. But from what I’ve heard, there’s been a noble family living over there for many years.”

Jillian narrowed her eyes at the armored knight Hugo’s words. “Rather than saying they live there, isn’t it that half of them are imprisoned?”

“I heard that the family has some royal blood.” Slader sighed. “The story goes that since he was a child, the nobleman there was self-indulgent, pleasure-loving, and fond of seeing blood. His parents and siblings abandoned him and his relatives didn’t know what to do with him either, so ultimately, he was placed in there. The king always heard the rumors and seemed to be troubled by them, but it’s difficult to deal with him because of his partial lineage.”

“I don’t care about that, so let’s hurry up and get this over with. Anyway, they’re probably just a bunch of deviant punks. Just like those Lucky Moon guys.” Simon unsheathed his longsword and swung it easily. In the distance, bushes were mowed down by some invisible force, and a rabbit hiding underneath them darted away, startled.

“It seems like someone came to greet us while you were talking.” Slader dismounted slowly.

Just as he said, they could see five horses heading their way along the road leading to the castle. And behind those they could see about a dozen marching figures. It was clear from one look that they were a group of bandits and thieves: Each one of them wielded a different set of armor and weapons.

“Hey hey, who the hell are you bastards?” bellowed a large man with a scar on his face. Brandishing a grim sickle, he had run out ahead of the others and approached them. Judging from his red face and blond hair, he might have been related to the savage northern tribes.

“Oh, not this type of act.” Slader grimaced under his mask. “He seems to be lacking in intelligence.”

“Not your type then?” Weinheidt laughed, and Jillian shrugged her shoulders atop her horse.

“Captain Slader likes the strong and gentle type. But as far as looks go, he has wide tastes, so he just appears to be fickle.”

“Fickle, that’s a bit harsh.” Though he said so, Slader didn’t seem particularly angry.

The large man brandished his sickle. “What the hell are you guys talking about so calmly over there! Idiots!”

“Well, I wouldn’t say we’re idiots. But we are here because we have business with the lord of the castle, so would you kindly take us to him?”

“Gahahaha,” the man guffawed. His companions on the horses behind him, and the men on foot who had finally caught up, also vulgarly opened their mouths and roared with laughter.

“You bunch of has-been knights? If you want to see Lord Irving, you have to get past us fir—”

The man didn’t finish what he was saying.

There was a flash of light, and in the next instant, a splash of blood.

All at once, the head of not just the man at the front, but of all five of the mounted men, flew off with a foolish popping noise and fell down onto the rocks.

“You understand now, right? Was that enough?” Simon grinned broadly.

The horses were left uninjured, but, spooked by the sudden change, scattered away, still carrying the bodies spurting blood like water fountains.

The men on foot stood staring, flabbergasted, but they finally seemed to understand their situation. About half of them hastily ran off, but the remaining half lost their temper and raised their weapons.

“For crying out loud…Simon, you’re too quick-tempered.” Slader released the reins of his horse. “Go. Eat some grass or something over there.”

The other four knights also alighted from their steeds. Their five horses formed an ordered line and ran back down along the way they had come.

“I hadn’t planned on stirring up trouble from the get-go, but…oh well.” Slader already grasped a greatsword with a saw-like blade. “Let’s settle this quickly.”

“Understood.”

The five bodies of Dawn Roar—an order of assassin knights under direct royal command—began to shine with magic.

5

Having finished disposing of the dead bodies, the exhausted Tethel and the others returned to the courtyard. There they found Rick, a thin young man who was always by the lord’s side.

The children’s eyes shone. That Rick had come out here meant that he might just show it.

As they expected, Rick smiled and announced, “Good job, everyone. I have a reward for you from the lord.”

The children raised a joyful cheer and followed him into the castle.

They walked down a dark corridor and went up the central stairs of the main hall.

The master was indifferent to the castle’s maintenance, and it had fallen into ruin, with broken things and piles of dust everywhere. There were cobwebs on the ceilings, and several of the portraits hung on the wall were so filthy with soot, their faces were indiscernible. The armor on display was all rusted.

But upon climbing to the top of the stairs and reaching the top floor of the tallest tower, the surroundings were completely transformed.

They were greeted with a properly polished hallway and a red carpet. The dignified wooden door in the far back was embossed with a beautiful rose design.

“All right, line up, everyone.”

Enthusiastically, everyone fell into two rows. Tethel took advantage of his small frame and succeeded in taking a position in line in front.

Rick looked around them with a self-important air—and then, offhandedly, he spoke as if he had just remembered:

“That’s right, I almost forgot. The lord told me it was about time to cut down on the numbers of rag pickers as well.”

As he said so, from behind the rows, three kids who had still been standing on the stairs suddenly collapsed with a thud.

“…Huh?”

Tethel, who was out in front, didn’t understand what had happened.

One of the kids screamed.

Without their noticing, their caretaker, the red-faced Chad, stood behind them.

In his hand, he grasped a bloody blade.

There was a puddle of blood at his feet. And three children fallen on the ground.

Tethel gasped, but he didn’t scream. The child who’d cried out had gotten killed, too, as an afterthought.

I don’t want to die—if I die here, I won’t get to touch it.

Tethel ground his teeth and hung his head.

“Well, I guess that’s enough. All right, the rest of you head inside.”

Rick slowly opened the door.

The six children left passed through it without looking back.

A month had gone by since they last entered this room.

Covering the floor was a carpet so thick your feet sank into it. From the ceiling, an extravagant chandelier with innumerable bright candles illuminated the room.

There was a window on the back wall, but it was blocked off by thick curtains. In the center of the room was a large, richly ornamented sofa where a man lay stretched out.

He had almost no hair and was very overweight. His age was difficult to determine.

He probably couldn’t even stand by himself anymore. Whenever he left this room, he was always carried in a litter.

This man was none other than Lord Irving, the master of the castle.

“Lord Irving, you seem to be doing well,” the children chorused just as they had been taught.

“Such dirty brats,” the lord said in a voice hoarse from alcohol. “All right…Here’s your reward for completing a month’s work.”

“Thank you very much!”

The lord sluggishly raised his plump hand, with rings bedecking each of its fingers, and the scrawny Rick proceeded to the back of the room.

Rick tore off the black cloth covering it by the wall.

Aaahh.

A sigh leaked out from the children’s mouths.

Like the rest, Tethel also stretched out his neck as if drawn toward it.

By the wall was a life-sized statue of a woman carved from marble, looking as though she were alive.

A crystal pendant about the size of Tethel’s thumb hung around her neck.

The crystal glittered like a rainbow from the light peeking in through the window.

With a pompous air, Rick removed the pendant from the figure’s neck and, holding the chain with both hands, came back to the children.

Tethel and his peers almost didn’t breathe. They stared at the crystal, transfixed.

“All right…so then, you’re first.” Rick slowly approached the boy standing next to Tethel, leaned over, and placed the pendant around his neck.

“Thank you very much…” The boy spoke in a feeble voice, gripping the crystal tightly in his hand. Tethel let out a sigh.

I’m so jealous. I want to push him over and steal it right now.

But if I do that, I’ll definitely be killed.

No. I don’t want to die without touching it.

He ground his teeth again and stoically waited his turn.

“Okay, your time is up.” Rick forced the boy, who’d closed his eyes in absorption, to open his hand and grabbed the pendant.

“Ah…”

Moaning once more, the boy momentarily attempted to resist, but he gave up right away and crouched down on the spot.

“Next. Your turn.” Rick turned around to Tethel.

“Yes. Please.” His heart fluttering, Tethel stuck out his neck.

“Hmm, seems likes it’s rather noisy outside,” Lord Irving’s hoarse voice remarked, displeased.

Chad, who had been standing at the door leading to the exit, bowed and left. Rick, still clutching the pendant, also began walking over to the window.

“Aahhh…”

But it was my turn. Without thinking, Tethel had stretched his hand out in front of his chest. He withdrew it in a hurry.

At the window, Rick pulled back the thick, scarlet curtains slightly and tried to see the situation outside.

Then.

“—?!”

The glass and wooden frame of the window burst into pieces, and Rick toppled, face-up, convulsing with spasms.

Tethel and the other children promptly covered their mouths and stifled their screams.

“Wh-What’s wrong!” Lord Irving waved his hands around in a panic. The back of his sofa blocked the view from where he lay, and he couldn’t see in the direction of the window.

Tethel flew out from the middle of the paralyzed children and rushed over to Rick, fallen on the ground.

A single arrow was lodged in his chest.

Rick was no longer breathing.

Tethel forced open his hand and plucked the crystal free.

It was my turn, after all.

It was warm—it felt almost numbing.

His body was engulfed by vibrations that felt as though they could erase all his pain and suffering.

Tethel closed his eyes in rapture. I want to go to sleep holding this forever. As long as I have this, everything is fine.

He sunk to his knees on the spot, curling up his body and sinking further down to the floor—

“Alley-oop.”

Unexpectedly, a shadow fell across the hole in the window.

A young man with a thin beard stuck his head in through the hole. He carried a large bow in his hand and had a quiver on his back. Without a doubt, this man was the archer.

“What’s this? Just a bunch of kids? Isn’t this the lord of the castle’s room?” The man looked around, bewildered, at the children standing stock still in the room.

“What’s this…What’s happened…Rick! Answer me!” Lord Irving, who still didn’t know what was happening, waved his hands.

“Ah, so you’re over there.”

The man kicked off the window frame and jumped into the center of the room.

Letting out feeble bleats of terror, the children clung to the wall. Still clutching the crystal, Tethel slipped in among them and leaned against the wall near the exit.

The other children were in a froth of panic, but Tethel remained calm.

I’ll see how this goes, and if there is an opening, I’ll make a run for it.

The man with the bow and arrow paid the children no attention. Instead, he walked around to the front of the sofa and looked down at Lord Irving.

“So, you must be Lord Irving.”

“And who are you?! How rude!”

The lord foamed at the mouth. However, ultimately he was only able to move his two arms.

“Do you realize that I’m a member of House Irving,” he shouted, “with an ancient and honorable lineage connected to the king?”

“Of course, I am fully aware of that.” The door creaked open and a hulking masked man entered the room. “We are the Dawn Roar, an order of knights directly serving the King of Liones. We are here upon King Bartra’s orders.”

“What…what did you say…” Irving turned deathly pale. Trying to escape, he flapped his short legs and struggled with his arms to get up. But he was unable to stand and instead tumbled clumsily from his sofa.

“Anyone! Is anyone there…Rick! Chad! Davis!”

“Unfortunately, there is no one left to hear you.” The door opened once more, and this time, a beautiful lady with honey-blond hair entered. She held a sword with a wavy blade dripping with blood.

“We dealt with them all,” she said. “You should have at least hired some men with some skill.”

“We are the king’s shadows. It is one of our duties to handle the underworld in the underworld, burying issues that should not be made public. Lord Irving, prepare yourself.”

The lord shrieked and frantically struggled on the floor. But his fat, ugly body only rolled over heavily.

“Somehow, this feels like we’re torturing him to death.” The masked man sighed.

“Want me to do it?” the archer asked, removing an arrow from his quiver.

But the masked man shook his head.

“From what I’ve seen, his body must place a considerable burden on his heart. If that’s the case, there’s no need for blades—this will do.”

There was a bam and the air became heavy.

Tethel felt as though he were being pinned down by an invisible hand, and his vision grew dark. Clunk, clunk—around him, he saw the other children fall down.

For a moment he thought he, too, would lose consciousness and bit his lip desperately to avoid it. I’m not going to die here—I’m going to live, no matter what.

“Oh…”

The masked man surveyed his surroundings.

“I thought I had shown some restraint, but I wonder if I caught them too. If so, I did an awful thing.”

At his feet, Lord Irving was no longer moving. His eyes were wide and blank, and his dark red tongue lolled loosely out of his mouth.

The lady and the man with the bow and arrows checked on each of the children.

“They’ve just lost consciousness.”

“They’re all so scrawny…This is so sad. They probably weren’t getting fed.”

Tethel waited, holding his breath. The two approached. The crystal in his hand was going to be discovered.

“Hey, all done here yet?”

The door opened for a third time, and a boy with silver hair came in from outside.

Instantly Tethel jumped to his feet and ran. He thrust aside the boy and scrambled out the door.

“Ah, wait!”

“Simon, catch him! That boy has something!” the lady’s voice traveled through the air.

Tethel ran desperately on trembling legs. I don’t care what happens now. This crystal is mine. I’m never going to give it to anyone. He trampled over the bodies of the children killed earlier and sprinted down the stairs.

“I told you to wait.” The silver-haired boy jumped over Tethel’s head and stood in front, blocking his way. “Do you want to be cut down?”

A sword longer than he was tall gleamed in the boy’s hand.

6

Weinheidt descended the stairs with his bow on his shoulder. “You’ve got some guts. You’re the runt here, but you didn’t fall to Captain Slader’s Overpower and even tried to run.”

The child stood on the landing, Simon blocking his path ahead. Behind Simon, the armored knight Hugo was coming up from below.

Slader, who had followed Weinheidt down, leaned over the child. “What’s that you’re holding?”

He was a startlingly ugly child.

His left eyelid twitched—it must have been injured when he was very young—and his eyes looked mismatched in size. His nose was so flat it was only two holes in his face, and he had a huge mouth.

His clothes were so stained with dirt and filth that the original color was impossible to identify. He was so scrawny that his age was impossible to guess.

“Show me.”

Slader reached towards the child’s chest. But the child only shook his head and made no move to open his hand.

“I can feel a slight wave of magic.”

“Captain, that is the Rainbow Crystal.”

Jillian glided down the stairs.

“One of the children upstairs was muttering deliriously about a crystal. I think they were using its healing power to manipulate people. Multiple bands of thieves trafficking people and objects, and also killing…I feel like throwing up.”

“His Majesty would lament this.”

Slader shrugged his shoulders.

Then the child in front of him shouted, “Kill me! If you want this, kill me!”

“What are you saying?” asked Slader. “We’re not going to kill you. You were probably kidnapped and forced to do dirty work, right? C’mon now, hand over the Rainbow Crystal. Once you do that, you’ll be free.”

“I don’t want to! I’m not handing this over!” Shrinking, the child hugged the crystal even more tightly. “If you’re going to take it, you’ll have to take it from my dead body!”

“Captain Slader. This is becoming a nuisance. Why don’t we just dispose of him?” Simon recommended, the guard of his longsword rattling.

Slader narrowed his eyes and stared down at the child before letting out a gasp. “Are you a girl?”

“What?!” everyone gathered cried in spite of themselves.

The child was so very dirty and withered, not a single shred of girlishness was apparent.

“No, you’re wrong…I’m not a girl…” Even as the child said this her manner was that of a flustered child, and the truth was evident.

After a moment, still clutching the crystal, she started sobbing quietly.

“Good grief…What should we do?” Hugo asked in an embarrassed tone. Simon, seemingly giving up on the whole affair, said he would gather the horses and went down the stairs.

But Slader continued to stare at the girl.

Light from the small window fell onto the landing at a slant. The glow made her dirty cheeks gleam.

A kidnapped child, forced to do dirty work.

Slader had been the same.

When you’re living every day not knowing when you might be killed, you can’t live without lying to yourself. I know that myself all too well.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

The girl rasped, “I’ve already forgotten my real name…Here, I was called Tethel.”

“Tethel, eh? That’s a strange name. Phew…” Slader exhaled. “Unfortunately, I have to tell you something about that crystal. I hear that someday it will lose its healing power.”

“Huh?” Surprised, Tethel raised her head and nervously loosened her hand.

Inside, the crystal was still shining like a rainbow.

“Apparently, in order to sustain its power, once every ten years or so it needs to be purified with a druid’s prayers. And I’ve heard that well more than ten years have passed since it last received those prayers. Not to mention, that crystal has been used so badly here, I wonder if its power might not disappear completely before long.”

“N-No way…” Shaking, Tethel gazed fervently at the crystal. “But then…what should I do now?”

Suddenly her eyes overflowed with tears again.

“Just kill me, then!” she shrieked. “I want to die! How could an ugly girl like me possibly live by myself after this?”

“Captain Slader.” Hugo gave a fleeting glance through his helmet. He was signaling that at that moment, he’d be able to pluck the crystal from Tethel’s hand easily.

Slader leaned over in front of Tethel, bending his large body slowly. “Killing you would be simple. But are you really okay with that?”

“…”

Slader continued, gazing into Tethel’s eye under her twitching eyelid. “You must have thought about dying many times. And you had opportunities too, right? There’s that cliff outside. But you didn’t do it—why?”

“Because…If I worked hard, I would get to touch the crystal…”

“Are you sure that was the only reason?”

The girl had no reply.

Slader looked off into the distance. “A very long time ago, I was also in a situation very similar to yours. I didn’t remember a single thing—not my real name, not my parents’ faces, not even my own birthday. Many times, I was nearly killed, and many times, I also wanted to die…but never did. Many people died around me, but I didn’t die.”

“…”

“Just above us here, several children were killed. It would have been easy for you, too, to end up like them. But you’re alive.”

“Yes, but…”

“Do you really want to die? If you say that’s the only way, then I’ll kill you. In any way you like. I can split you in two with this greatsword. You could be pierced by arrows. Or would you like to be strangled?” As he spoke, Slader looked around at his friends in turn. As if in response, Weinheidt raised his bow, and Jillian created a ring of light at her fingertips. “It’ll hurt. No matter which you choose.”

“Ung…uuungh.” Finally, Tethel broke down sobbing, still holding the magical crystal.

Slader continued to speak, slowly bringing his hand in front of hers.

“I think you are lucky, and I think you are strong. You didn’t lose consciousness when I used Overpower, and you were even brave enough to try to run away when we were distracted. I admire that. As long as you have that, you’ll be able to keep on living.”

“But I’m so ugly!” Tethel snapped and raised her face.

It really was awful. Because she had been crying, snot dripped from her nose, and her eyelids were swollen so one of her eyes appeared merely as a slit.

“I remember some things from before I was kidnapped. I remember there wasn’t anyone who loved me!”

“All you have to do is hide your face.”

Slader grinned under his mask.

“There’s a lot of ways. You can wear a mask or use makeup. There are a lot of people who can say what they really think with their face covered more easily than when it’s exposed.”

“Are you talking about yourself?” Tethel looked up at Slader, wiping away her tears and snot with the back of her hands.

Slader winked. “Maybe.”

Tethel bit her lip and thought, but before long, she raised her trembling hand and placed the Rainbow Crystal in Slader’s palm.

“Thank you,” Slader said.

A small rainbow quickly rose up from the crystal.

The light formed a small arch, as if to leap over Tethel’s head, and disappeared.

“A rainbow…”

“The Rainbow of Healing will shine on the unsightly…Huh,” Slader murmured. Abruptly, he removed a rivet from the leather glove of his left hand.

This was no ordinary metal rivet, but a magical tool with runes on its front, called an Incantation Orb.

“Your Majesty, are you listening?” Slader spoke to the orb, and it began flashing.

“We hear you very well, Slader!”

King Bartra’s voice flowed out, its cadences matching the orb’s flickering. The orb had the power of Distant Communication.

“We have recovered the Rainbow Crystal.”

“Excellent work. You should return immediately.”

“Understood. In addition, we have five children in our custody who were forced to assist in the evil deeds here. Please permit us to bring them back to the capital.”

Tethel’s mouth gaped open with surprise.

“We understand. We shall order a high-speed coach from a village nearby to arrive as soon as possible,” King Bartra responded without hesitation, and the Distant Communication ended.

“All right,” Slader said. “It is time to withdraw. Hugo, check inside the castle one more time, just in case, and while you’re at it, secure a room we can rest in. Weinheidt, meet up with Simon and tell him what the king said, please. Jillian, wake the unconscious children upstairs.”

“Understood,” the Dawn Roar members assented.

At Slader’s brisk orders, the group quickly dispersed. The captain turned to face Tethel, still dumbfounded at his feet.

“You go help Jillian, too, and explain things to your friends.”

“Really? Is it really okay to trust you guys?” asked Tethel.

Slader nodded. “I hope today will be your new birthday. I’m sure that you have the divine protection of the rainbow.”

As Slader said that, Tethel finally smiled.

Her face was as ugly as ever, but the smile was somehow charming, and reflexively, Slader found himself smiling back.

Ending

“So, what happened to the children?” Arthur inquired.

Slader answered while pulling down his mask over his face again.

“I heard that two of them remembered their names and the villages they lived in and were returned to their parents. The rest entered into service in knight houses and merchants’ shops.”

“And Tethel?” Elizabeth asked, choking up. Tethel’s sorry story had moved her to tears.

“She had a predisposition for magical power, and there was talk about having her train to be a Holy Knight. But I heard she said that she didn’t want to fight and left the capital to learn under a traveling sorcerer.”

“Ah-ha,” Merlin folded her arms and interjected with a noise of approval. “There are a lot of sorcerers who hide their faces. And some even make themselves look uglier, thinking it more fitting to a sorcerer’s image. Her face wouldn’t be anything to worry about.”

“As though you’re one to talk.” Slader smiled wryly. However, the beautiful Merlin continued unperturbed.

“Both beauty and hideousness are only skin deep. Based on how you use it, it can be a weapon or a weakness. People are not born equal, and many things are influenced by luck. However, as long as you have a chance, starting over is also quite human.”

“That’s so true…” Elizabeth, who was still crying, sniffled and nodded. “I don’t know my parents’ faces or where I was born, either. I might have led a miserable life just like Tethel’s. But my father and my older sister welcomed me as a real part of the family, and everyone in the kingdom treats me kindly as a member of the royal family, too. I’ve been so blessed…I better spend the rest of my life repaying that debt…”

“You’re doing enough already,” Meliodas said.

“Thank you very much, Sir Meliodas…Hyaah!”

“Don’t grope the Princess while saying nice things.” Slader emitted his Overpower, and Meliodas’ head was pressed against the table.

“B-By the way, what happened to the Rainbow Crystal? I’ve never seen it,” Elizabeth asked, her smile slightly strained.

“Since it had been used by evil people for so many years, it needs to be purified for months, years, before its power can be fully restored. His Majesty seems to have parted with it for now. It’s probably in the custody of a druid.”

“I see…” Elizabeth looked out the window into the distance.

The other day they had visited Istar, the sacred land of the druids. She recalled the druid leaders they had met there.

Though Elizabeth had heard she was descended from them, even now, she didn’t feel that she could be certain of anything.

“I’m sure it will be returned to you someday. It is a keepsake of your mother’s,” Slader comforted her.

“No, I’m all right. I’m sure there’s someone else who needs the power of that crystal. I myself need to be a healing force, too,” Elizabeth said, smiling.