Chapter 8: The Principality

Chapter 8:
The Principality

 

THE THREE OF US wandered over to a shrine not far from the summer festival. I plopped myself down on the stairs, my eyes glued to the ground as tears of frustration welled.

You might think it weird for a fantasy world like this to have a Japanese summer festival. Well, tell that to someone who cares! Look, even I found it weird, but this world ran on crazy otome game logic. You couldn’t expect it to make sense.

“I really wanted a charm…”

Even now, I wanted to chase after that merchant and buy up everything he had. Alas, neither Angie nor Miss Olivia would give me the opportunity. They watched me like a couple of hawks. Although, my abject disappointment had both of them uneasy.

“You…really wanted those charms that bad?” Angie peered into my face. She had shaken off her followers. Awfully convenient how they clung to her now, given how they’d abandoned her without hesitation when she really needed them.

“I was looking forward to this day so much that I couldn’t even sleep last night.” I wiped away my tears. It wasn’t an act! My heart was seriously broken!

Livia stammered awkwardly. “Um, uh, but…I don’t think you should go about it that way. Trying to buy up all of that man’s charms, I mean.”

I understood what she meant, but what good was money if you couldn’t buy things with it?

“As long as he gets paid, who cares?” I paused and stroked my chin. “Maybe I should have offered him one hundred times his asking price…”

If his charms actually worked the same way in real life as they did in the game, they were well worth forking over a fortune.

Those charms were the whole reason I’d come to this island in the first place—one of them was a special Limited Item. The only problem was you couldn’t know if you’d struck gold until you opened it. In the game, you were in the hands of the RNG gods. Unlucky players got a simple Luck Charm. A better get was the Battle Charm, which improved the bearer’s skill in melee combat and increased stats for physical attributes. The best draw was Elemental Protection, which improved the power of your spells. It also increased your magical stats and your aptitude with the elements. In short, awesome.

I had specifically orchestrated my assignment to the group going to this island during my first year at the academy all for these charms. How did I manage this, you ask? Simple. I bribed a teacher.

The charms also gave you a leveling bonus, which was why I had avoided entering dungeons any more than absolutely necessary up until now. However, with the opportunity to obtain my sweet, sweet charm gone, my dreams of min-maxing flew out the window.

Both Angie and Livia wore creased frowns. They probably hadn’t expected me to cry.

I continued sniffling, and as the festival drew to a close, the man in the mask happened to pass by our spot. Most of his wares had sold already.

“Oh, there you are. Mister Noble, I have two extra charms. If you want, you’re welcome to them.”

I stood and pulled out my money. “Come on, I need a jackpot!”

“Uh, you realize there’s no such thing as a hit or miss with these,” he said. “They’re all good; they just have different effects.”

Moron. By that very definition, some effects are better than others!

I slowly peeled away the white wrapping from the first charm, my cheeks red from the tension.

The first charm was a white ball, about as small as a marble, adorned with metal and a red string.

Nope, this isn’t it.

White indicated healing magic, and I had no talent in that area. Useless.

I ripped the paper off the next charm only to discover a red ball. “Red, huh? I don’t have any skill in that either.”

Both charms were beautiful, sure, but I didn’t really feel any boosts just by holding them. How beneficial could they be? Now if they’d been yellow or blue, it’d be a different story. As it was, though…hit and a miss indeed.

Angie tilted her head. “What are you talking about? Aren’t you glad you got a couple of charms?”

“Well, I must be off, then.” The man in the mask clambered up the stairs. “Take care of yourselves. If I may, sir, I think those charms would better suit the two ladies with you.”

With that, he disappeared into the darkness.

Angie and Miss Olivia, huh? Guess he has a point.

My shoulders slumped as I held out the charms to the girls—the red toward Angie and the white toward Miss Olivia.

“Y-you’re giving them to us?” Angie wrinkled her nose. My earlier desperation had likely made her skeptical.

“I wanted a different one.”

“Oh… All right.”

Miss Olivia shook her head. “I-I can’t take that.”

“I insist. It won’t do me any good. Wasn’t even expensive.” I practically flung it at her.

Miss Olivia’s lips pulled into a thin line as she cradled the charm in her hand.

I plunked myself back onto the steps and breathed out a long sigh, holding my head in my hands.

“Leon, uh, um…” Miss Olivia struggled to come up with the words she wanted.

Angie’s followers appeared from down the road, cutting her off. “My lady!”

Angie immediately took off in the opposite direction. “Sorry, I have to go!”

Her female followers charged noisily after her, but all three of her male followers stopped to circle around me.

“So it’s you, Bartfort.”

“Don’t get cocky just because you’ve been climbing the social ladder lately.”

“You’re just a destitute noble trying to butter up Lady Angelica.”

Might as well have scrawled brain-dead on their faces; they looked the part. They could blame their own hostility for most of their problems. Anyway, they had betrayed Angie when she needed them most, and anything they did from now on, unless it went truly above and beyond, would do little to earn back her trust. Their balance was so far into the negative that their best efforts would only bring them back to zero.

Get a clue.

“What? Does it get on your nerves? You jealous because Angie likes me? Too bad for you.” I crossed my arms and smirked. “If you hadn’t tossed her aside during the duel, maybe she’d like you instead. You do okay at reading the air at school, but maybe you shoulda focused on the political scene instead. Bit late to brownnose now. Don’t you feel embarrassed for yourselves?”

That pushed them to the brink. I was already steaming, so I was only too happy to brawl if they threw the first punch.

Unfortunately, Miss Olivia stepped in front of me and flung her arms out protectively. “Y-you shouldn’t fight!”

“He’s the one asking for a beatdown!” one of the boys bellowed.

“I-I’m sorry. But still, you really shouldn’t fight!”

“Tch, let’s get going. He’s pathetic, hiding behind a girl like that.”

Like you’re any better. You losers only want Angie for the support she can provide.

As they left, I turned to Miss Olivia. “You don’t have to bother with me, you know. They weren’t going to cause any more fuss than they already had. I’m sure they’d have backed down soon enough.”

They never would’ve followed through. Probably? Young, hot-blooded guys just come at you sometimes. And hey, if they did, I had some adult-level punishment in store for them. Fights between grown men didn’t end with a mere few punches.

My mood took a sudden turn when Miss Olivia let out a sob. “I’m so sorry, Leon. Really, I am. I wanted to apologize to you for so long. I am so, so sorry for causing you so much trouble when we were facing the pirates. I said such awful things to you, and I—I’m so sorry.”

Tears stained her face as she repeated herself over and over again.

I scratched my head, unsure of my footing in this situation. “There’s nothing to apologize for. Besides, I was never supposed to…”

I trailed off when I noticed an old woman standing nearby, a cane in her hand. When had she appeared? Kind of unsettling how she came out of nowhere.

“Uh, who are you?”

Miss Olivia’s eyes widened as she followed my gaze.

The old woman laughed. “No one important. My boy told me he ran into you.”

Oh. Did she mean the guy in the mask who sold charms?

I averted my gaze. “Please,” I said, “allow me to express my deepest apologies for—”

She slipped a small white bag out from her pocket. “You’re the first person who ever wanted my charms so badly they offered a fortune for them. Those charms my boy sells really are for the people at the festival to enjoy, but I feel bad leaving you with our leftovers. You’re welcome to have this.”

I peeked inside the bag. “A Battle Charm? No, the shape is different.”

“You seem to know quite a bit about my work,” she said. “That one was specially made. Do you like it?”

So, a prototype, then? It wasn’t exactly what I’d hoped for, but I could only be grateful.

“Thank you. How much—”

She waved a hand. “No need. If you really feel indebted, then visit the shrine and pray. The deity there binds people together. Quite effective.”

The old woman turned away and began hobbling up the stairs.

She must work at the shrine, I guess?

Miss Olivia stared after the woman in surprise.

I dangled the charm to study its design a bit closer. A normal Battle Charm came decorated with a sword and shield. Instead, this one had three crossed swords. I closed my fist around it, satisfied. “Not bad at all.”

I couldn’t have told you its effects, but I liked the design. When it came to souvenirs, I had a preference for keychains with sword designs.

It had been a busy night, but in the end, I might just have enjoyed myself. As for the shrine? Waaay too spooky to wander up there at night. I’d go in the morning. Come to think of it, didn’t the protagonist and her love interest have an event at that shrine? One that brought them closer together?

Ah! Could this be…?!

“Um, Leon,” Miss Olivia said, her cheeks flushed, “by ‘binding people together,’ did she mean…”

“I think you’re exactly right. It helps you find a partner. I’ll visit tomorrow morning. I need to pray for a good match.” I’d take a load of cash to donate, too.

Miss Olivia looked forlorn as I stepped away and left her behind, but I tried not to dwell on it. She was better off not being involved with me anymore.

 

***

 

The following morning, the schedule allotted us free time to sightsee with the condition that we return by noon for the ship’s departure.

Only airships could reach floating islands like these, which meant they often developed unique cultures of their own. Adventurers could connect these islands to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, the bad sort saw them as opportunities to invade and destroy. Regardless of how glamorous the adventuring profession appeared, a lot of unsavory types gravitated toward it.

I couldn’t claim to be much different. I’d trashed that old ruin in order to get my hands on Luxion.

I hiked up the stone steps leading to the shrine. The traditional orange archway and the shrine itself perfectly resembled those found in Japan. This whole island was so profoundly Japanese that it really did feel like being back home.

I stumbled across a shrine maiden along the way who was sweeping the grounds, an adorable girl of about ten years.

“Hello there. Does the deity of this shrine really help bind people together?”

She smiled at me and nodded. “That’s right. The deity’s blessing is beneficial for melee combat and magic, as well.”

Any warrior or magician would love this deity then.

I thanked her, but right as I made to leave, two other people walked up behind me.

“Oh…”

“So you’re here, too, huh?”

“Uh, um…”

The pathetic squeak I let out when I saw Miss Olivia in particular had Angie glancing between the two of us, her brows knitted. She and Miss Olivia had apparently met at the base of the steps by chance and climbed up to the shrine together.

The little shrine maiden smiled and greeted the two of them. “You must be nobles from the academy. Um, do you know the proper method for praying here?”

Angie and Miss Olivia shook their heads, and the girl was kind enough to instruct us.

Ahh, a cute shrine maiden. Now this is soothing to the soul. It was as if her presence alone purified my mind of all the absurdity in the game.

Anyway, that was how the three of us wound up standing side by side in front of the shrine’s offering box.

Well, this is awkward…

“So, uh, you’re supposed to give a donation, right? I wonder how much is appropriate?” Angie fished out her wallet and produced a couple of gold coins.

Miss Olivia gasped. “Y-you’re really going to give that much?”

“Is it weird? This is how much we normally give the temple.”

Thankfully, the Holfort Kingdom’s temple wasn’t the kind of monotheistic religion that rejected all others. A religious war was the last thing I needed to deal with. For the first time, I felt some gratitude for the game’s vague lore.

As I stood beside Miss Olivia and Angie, I pulled out the gold coins and the roll of cash I’d planned to use to buy the charms.

What, you think I’m crazy? No, no. See, in the game, your affection with a character increased dramatically based on how much money you donated. Therefore, I put my faith in the effects of this shrine and offered up a fortune. I’d only remembered that little tidbit last night, and it had left me lamenting that I hadn’t brought even more money.

The other two stared, dumbfounded, but I ignored them and put my hands together in prayer instead.

“O Lord of this shrine, I won’t ask much of you. But please, please give me a bride!” My dearest wish spilled out of my mouth. “A kind woman of good character is all I seek. I don’t want a girl who will look down on me or make me look after children she has with other men. Please, give me a good woman!”

The other two looked exasperated, but this was a matter of extreme import. I had put my all into finding a good partner up until now, but so far, my efforts had backfired.

Lord of this shrine, please take pity on this poor soul and grant my wish!

As I prayed fervently, Angie and Miss Olivia clasped their hands together as well. Unlike me, they kept silent.

I wondered what they wished for. I had no clue about Angie, but I suspected it had something to do with a partner, since that was the purpose of this shrine. As for Miss Olivia… Greg and Brad were still both useless, but I hoped she’d hook up with one of the love interests.

Yeah, good luck. Julius and Jilk are lost causes, frankly. But that still leaves Chris.

Whatever, it didn’t matter who she ended up with. I just hoped she would be happy. And while I was on the subject, it was worth throwing in a prayer for the kingdom’s salvation as well. After that, I returned to pleading my own case.

“It’d be really great if she had huge breasts and a tiny waist. In fact, it’d be even better if she was a bit of a pervert! Frankly, I’d love a mature woman who wants to dote on me, and—”

In the midst of me rattling off my wish list, Angie and Miss Olivia grabbed me by either ear and hauled me away from the offering box, both of them flushed in embarrassment.

“Wait! I have more! I’m not done yet!”

Angie’s face burned. “You idiot, you can’t wish for all of that in front of a child!”

I glanced at the shrine maiden and noticed she had gone red as a tomato.

Wow, she’s super cute. Like man, I wish I’d had a sister more like her than the garbage piles I actually ended up with. She’s downright precious.

“I’m sorry about him.” Miss Olivia apologized to her. “Please forget what he said.”

“Oh, um, d-don’t worry! I was really, um, surprised, but good luck!”

Yeah! I’m going to need it. Definitely going to need it.

She grinned and waved after us as we descended the stairs.

 

***

 

Once we returned to the cruise liner, I stood on deck as our vessel drifted farther and farther from the island. I pulled out the charm the old lady had given me and peered at it.

“What’s that dangling from your neck?” Luxion asked.

“Now that you mention it, do you think this thing really has any effect?” I asked him.

“There’s nothing wrong with finding mental comfort in an object. Although I would advise you not to rely on it overmuch.”

In other words, he had no qualms with people praying to a higher power, but he thought I should expect to find happiness by my own effort.

I dropped the charm, letting it hang around my neck, and gazed up at the sunny skies. “Sure is hot out.”

“Indeed. By the way, I’ve been wondering something.”

“What’s that?”

“Is the reason you haven’t made a concerted effort to enter any dungeons because you hadn’t yet obtained that charm? Are you expecting some game-specific effects to come from it?”

I frowned. “I-Idiot. Of course not.”

“Oh, really? I suspected otherwise, since you still haven’t gone to retrieve the Holy Bracelet.”

I turned away, lest he read the lie written on my face. “You sure are suspicious.”

That was exactly why I hadn’t gone into that dungeon yet. I did expect the charm to function as it had in the game, but whether it would in reality remained to be seen. I felt ashamed by his criticism of my shallow thinking, though.

“It’s hard to get to the place where the bracelet is located,” I said. “Even the upperclassmen would struggle. If we’re going to reach it safely, we’re gonna have to prepare.”

“Oh? You seem in no rush to retrieve it. It concerns me that you would go about this so leisurely despite Marie’s presence.”

If Marie had played the game like I had, surely she wouldn’t do anything stupid. We wouldn’t make any real attempts at conquering that dungeon until our third term, and then we’d keep making headway there until the middle of our second year.

“On another note, I thought on this trip we would finally have a chance to unveil Schwert. How disappointing.”

I shook my head. “You gave the airbike a name? You do realize I’m the owner, right? Oh well. Schwert, was it? Has a nice ring to it, so I guess it’s fine. What’s it mean?”

“Master, do you know how some people liken airbikes to fish? They’re smaller than a ship, after all.”

“Sure.” I shrugged. “I’ve heard of that. And?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Schwert means sword.”

I clapped my hands together. “That’s awesome! Now I like it even more. It does have a sharp front end, so the name fits perfectly.”

“Yes, originally I wanted to go with swordfi—no, never mind.”

I had to give him props, he had good taste when it came to names. “You sure did make a lot of improvements to it. That metallic paint job is incredible.”

“I see no problem with it,” he said, seeming to interpret my comment as criticism. “If you’d like, I could add a little blue? Then it would look even more like a swordfi—no, never mind.”

“I’ll leave the color coordination to you.”

“Very well. Also, do note Schwert is a bit moody and stubborn when it comes to making adjustments. So please, be careful when you ride her.”

Huh. He sure was showering it—her?—with affection. Come to think of it, he’d done basically the same thing with the Partner before.

I better not say anything critical about either one of them, then.

At about that point, Chris suddenly popped onto the deck. Luxion hid behind my back.

Chris’s face was lined with exhaustion. It was quite obvious he’d just escaped from some ladies. “Honestly, I can’t find any alone time on this ship.”

The moment Chris noticed me, he put on a fearless smile and strode over, the wind tousling his hair. It did nothing to diminish his good looks—which only infuriated me.

He pulled off his glasses and said, “Bartfort, I heard you had a match with Brad. Why not duel me as well?”

I snorted. “Brad challenged me in something he knew he sucked at, but you want to challenge me in something you’re good at? He had way more guts than you.”

Chris’s face pulled into a sneer. How immature, getting worked up over such an insignificant insult. “Fine, I’ll challenge you under the same terms. Duel me.”

Chris specialized in the sword to the extent that he was near worthless at literally everything else. Wait. That meant he was the same as Brad! Ugh, these love interests really were critically unbalanced.

“It’s not like I actually consider myself that good with the sword, you know.” He dropped his gaze, slipping his glasses back on.

I shook my head. “Disgraceful. You’re a Swordmaster. Have a little confidence.”

“I’m telling the truth! I’ve practiced with the blade for years, but my father insists I have no skill. When I went home, he called me a failure and dismissed me from his tutelage.”

Ahh, his family must have given him a real earful.

It obviously bothered him a lot, but I couldn’t blame them, considering what he and Team Idiot had gotten themselves into.

Thinking back on the game, Chris had some kind of inferiority complex because his father was the Sword Saint—or something like that. Talk about annoyingly angsty. Moreover, it wasn’t just him; all the love interests had ridiculously cumbersome backstories. You could fill whole notebooks detailing their extensive tragedies.

I cursed about it under my breath, once more fed up with the whole thing.

Luxion, hidden behind my back, whispered, “Are you sure it’s not merely your basis of comparison that’s skewed? Perhaps you have led a shallow, boring life.”

Shut up! Fine, okay? The only special thing about me was that I’d reincarnated here from another world. But I was still better than these depressing jerks! At least, I thought I was. Right?

“You call yourself a failure after you put all that effort into becoming a Swordmaster?” I snapped. “Well, if you have no talent, what’s that say about the rest of us? The ones who couldn’t reach your level even if we wanted to?”

He pinned me with a glare. “Devote everything you have to swordsmanship, then say that to me. I will be more than happy to apologize—or whatever it is you’re after. What do you know about me?”

Oh, boo-hoo. Ask me if I care. I crossed my arms. “I don’t know anything, and I don’t particularly want to either. But I could say the same to you. What do you know about me? If you want to whine to someone who’ll take pity on you, go crying to Marie.”

“I hate people like you,” he hissed. “People who don’t put any effort into anything they do.”

Don’t put any effort in? You bet your pretty boy face I have.

I’d slaved in the fields my whole childhood and studied by lantern light. Meanwhile, my sisters had electricity in their bedrooms and never had to set foot in the fields. They’re girls, you have to take precious care of them! people said. Ugh, it made me want to vomit. This world treated men like garbage.

“What a coincidence!” I threw my hands up in the air. “I absolutely despise you and your little pals, too. Especially Brad and Greg. I expected better from them, and they betrayed me.”

Worst of all, they’d managed to pinpoint the number one thing I didn’t want, like a direct kick to the nuts. I swore to myself I’d see them pay.

Suddenly, the blaring of a warning siren interrupted us.

I scanned the area. “What’s going on?”

“We haven’t seen anything all trip!” Chris exclaimed.

Just then, a white cloud billowed around us, and monsters appeared everywhere, left and right. As the ship moved deeper into the cloud, creatures poured out of the mist by the dozens—no, hundreds!

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

They resembled pinkish-gray marine life and swam through the air as if it were an ocean. Their numbers soon increased beyond counting, and they only grew.

We were already quite a distance from the island, with no other airships in sight. Crew members stumbled onto the deck, weapons in hand, but they soon cowered at the overwhelming quantity of monsters. One young man trembled as he clutched his sword.

Chris stormed over to him. “What in the world is going on here?! What’s with all these beasts?!”

“W-we have no idea. They appeared out of nowhere. Th-this has never happened before.”

Chris wasn’t the only one panicking; the crew was losing it, too.

“Why are they only surrounding us?” I asked, keeping a wary eye on the monsters. “Why aren’t they attacking?”

Normally, when you stumbled across a monster, it immediately attacked. These remained eerily well-behaved as they encircled us.

Luxion peeked over my shoulder. I knew he would only risk exposure in front of this many people if he felt we were in real danger. Chris’s gaze landed on Luxion for a moment, but he ultimately ignored him. Everything else was already too ridiculous for Chris to worry about a floating robot.

“The monsters are under something—or someone’s—control,” Luxion said. “Their behavior doesn’t match the data I have on file.”

While some monsters did move in groups, I’d never heard of—let alone seen—a cluster being controlled before. Although… Something glinted on their foreheads. I couldn’t get close enough to check myself, but Luxion helpfully pulled up a feed to show me a close-up.

“A crest?” I said. “I feel like I’ve seen that one before.”

“It’s the Principality of Fanoss’s crest,” said Luxion.

“Fanoss?” My jaw dropped. “You’re kidding!”

The Principality of Fanoss had once been a dukedom in Holfort Kingdom, but quite a while ago, they had declared their independence. Whatever the case, they took the stage as the last enemy in the game.

Luxion turned his single eye toward me. “Do you know something about them?”

“In the game, they launch a war on the kingdom. But it’s way too early for that. They don’t make a move until the third year. We should’ve had more time.”

“And what relation do monsters have with Fanoss?”

I took a breath and thought back. “Fanoss has a Magic Flute that can control monsters. But I had no idea it could manipulate this many.”

We faced several thousand, maybe even ten thousand. The monsters completely surrounded our cruise liner.

A few girls had come on deck, and they shrieked at what they saw.

“Hey, someone do something about this!”

“Y-you at least have weapons on board, don’t you?!”

“I’ve never seen so many before!”

We might have held our own against a few dozen monsters, or even a few hundred, but our cruise liner was no match for this. While we did have weapons, the ship prioritized comfort. It wasn’t made to engage in battle.

The girls and their servants fled back inside, but the uproar only continued to grow. Some of the crew regained their bearings enough to fire guns at the monstrous horde.

Luxion, however, was the picture of composure. “I will have the Partner and our main ship launch immediately. Master, give me the order.”

“Do it! How long will it be until they arrive?”

“I will speed them along as much as I can, but it will still take some time.”

As we spoke, the largest beast we’d seen so far burst through the cloud. It looked like a whale, and on its back rose some sort of man-made construction—a building.

“A monster that’s been turned into an airship,” I mumbled. “So the princess is here.”

The princess of Fanoss wielded the Magic Flute. If she led this horde, we were in for some real trouble. I’d never dreamed we’d face her while still first-years. This was the final boss! Come on!

Battleships appeared around the enormous whale, an armada bearing the principality’s crest. The cloud behind them dispersed, swallowed up by the monsters and the battleships, revealing a floating island fashioned into yet another airship.

Chris lifted a trembling hand and adjusted his glasses. “The principality?” His voice was strained. “What are they thinking, entering the kingdom’s airspace like this?”

Pretty obvious, wasn’t it? This was an invasion force. Although they only had a few airships, they compensated for their lack of military power with the number of monsters at their command.

While other students retreated to the lower levels, Angie and Miss Olivia hurried onto the deck, probably to see what the fuss was about. They spotted me and made their way over.

“Leon, there you are!”

“Leon! Oh my… What’s that beside you?”

Miss Olivia meant Luxion, currently floating next to me. She and Angie glanced at him, then studied the feed he projected.

“What is that thing? Is it safe?” Angie furrowed her brow.

Miss Olivia reached a tentative hand and tested the image projected into the air. “Leon, is this round robot doing this…?”

It would be too exhausting to explain, so I kept it simple. “Oh, this guy here? He’s my familiar. Go on, say hi.”

“Excuse me, ‘familiar’? I cannot accept this. Familiar implies magic, and I have nothing to do with magic. I am the ultimate culmination of scientific labor. That I cannot compromise on. But I digress. It is nice to finally meet you ladies. I serve a supporting role for my master. You may call me Luxion. And I am not a familiar, but rather a robot equipped with artificial intelligence.”

Miss Olivia’s expression turned to awe, as if genuinely impressed.

Angie just frowned. “What an odd familiar. Leon, I didn’t know you possessed any skill with magic. But I believe the more important matter is our current problem. It seems the principality is here—but why do these monsters accompany them?”

I shrugged. I knew the reason, but only because I’d played the game. It would look suspicious if I revealed anything now.

Chris pointed at the whale. “Wait. Someone is coming out.”

Angie squinted and her brows shot up. “Princess Hertrude?”

“Uh, um, do you know her?” Miss Olivia asked, even as she continued to inspect Luxion.

“I met her once, in the past,” Angie said. “But why is she here?”

People across the deck gasped as a large image of the princess was projected in the sky high above the enormous whale monster’s head. Everyone went rigid with tension as a megaphone roared above the noise.

“I am the Principality of Fanoss’s first princess, Hertrude Sera Fanoss.” Despite her youth, the princess maintained an impressive poker face. “And on behalf of my country, I declare war on Holfort Kingdom!”

I’d known they would come eventually, but I was not at all prepared for this now. “Come on,” I muttered. “Even if they were going to accelerate their invasion, this is still a bit soon, isn’t it?”

“You foolish noble children. It’s time for you to choose your fate. Will you surrender or die? I give you one hour to decide.”

Just one hour to make our move. They were going to use us as pawns for negotiations in their crusade against the kingdom.

Angie slammed her hands against the railing. “She plans to take us as hostages? How loathsome!”

The crew members fell into a panic, but a few students on deck kept calm. They likely figured being taken hostage at least meant they wouldn’t be killed.

The principality sent a small boat down toward our ship.

Luxion whispered, “Master, things seem to have taken a turn for the worst.”

“You can say that again.”

I glanced at Angie. The rest of us were small fries compared to her; she was the daughter of a duke’s family, one descended from royalty. From the principality’s standpoint, she was the most valuable hostage available.

I wanted to cradle my head in my hands. Why was a third-year event happening now?

“Where did everything go so wrong?”