Volume 1, Chapter 15
Volume 1, Chapter 15
Translator: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
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The visitation room in the castle of Wulls was filled with quiet tension.
「At ease.」
In response to the King’s command, the group looked up, still kneeling. As if to judge every move of each member, the dozen or so other attendees (high-profile senators and advisors) glared at them. In short, the party were not in the enemy’s home turf, to say the least. The saving grace for the Japanese members were the friendly looks given from the queen (standing next to the King) and the King’s concubines standing on either side of the royal couple.
The members of the party were wearing their Wyvern leather armor (which had been cleaned) for selling their adventuring prowess. In fact, Hiroshi’s leather armor’s refined design, combined their material, did help the members exude some presence, in a strange way. It was one of the few outfits (or equipment, at this point) that took advantage of Hiroshi’s curse of looking unfashionable in all attires.
「You have accomplished a great deed. As King, as a father, I thank you.」
「An unworthy honor, Your Majesty.」
Per their script, Tatsuya responded to the King’s words, representing the group. In order to give the impression that he was the ambassador of the group, they had decided that Tatsuya would be the one to answer anything, unless the other members were directly spoken to. In accordance with the customs of Farlane’s court, the Grand Chamberlain relayed the words spoken by Tatsuya, and the first conversation had concluded.
「At ease.」
It must not look well to keep them knelt for the entire time. The group followed the King’s orders, and stood straight, arms at their sides. They had asked the royal family for the correct posture in these scenarios, and the answer was that their posture just couldn’t be relaxed.
「With such a momentum accomplishment, the royal family would be ashamed to have your reward be nothing more than my words. Is there anything you wish for?」
The King spoke, per the script they discussed in secret last night, and Tatsuya moved to relay his predetermined response to the Grand Chamberlain. Seeing this, the King added:
「I permit you to speak directly. In your own words, tell me.」
He must have feared that the Grand Chamberlain may distort the message.
「Then I will, Your Majesty, with your permission. If this may be granted, we would wish for access to all literature in the library.」
「That won’t be a problem. Why do you ask this?」
「We have been transported to this country through a mysterious occurrence, unwillingly. Our homeland is so distance from Farlane, that we don’t even know which direction to go from here. But I have a wife back home. Everyone here has family there. We are desperate to return home, and are searching for any clue that can lead us there.」
「I see. Guests from the unknown continent. I understand how you don’t know where we are in the world. In that case, you must be in need of other assistance, too. Do you truly wish for nothing more?」
Tatsuya responded with a confident nod. While they had no idea about how they got here, they didn’t even know what assistance would aid them in the first place. They were easily surviving as is, and they had no idea what their next step should be. So, the best reward they could wish for was to access any and all pieces of literature (including those in the forbidden library).
「Very well. I will grant you access to all literature that can be read in the library. However, you must always accompany the High Monk or my secretary. Some of those books are even forbidden to touch.」
「We are sincerely grateful.」
Tatsuya said, leading the group in a synchronized bow. According to plan, this would be the end of the ceremony.
「Great accomplishment indeed. You may retire.」
Bowing again to the King’s dismissal, the group moved to leave, when one of the political leaders jumped in.
「A moment, Your Majesty!」
「What is it?」
「Permission to speak directly?」
「Granted.」
The King nodded with solemnity. The group had been warned that there may be some interjections at this point. Even as they considered this extremely tiresome, they kept their composure and listened.
「They really healed Princess Elena and rescued Princess Aearis from the spider’s lair?」
「The princesses have confirmed it, and Layotte has seen nearly the entire process of Elena’s recovery. Their background has no clause for suspicions, and as such, I guarantee that this is the truth. Or else, do you accuse Elena and Layotte of utter stupidity?」
「N-Never! But for such a young man to heal what our best doctor couldn’t…」
「Don’t judge our guests from the unknown continent with our caged mind. Even in recorded history, there are several examples where one’s appearance didn’t show their true powers.」
「This is a different story! While we do acknowledge that, save for one, no one in this group was in contact with the court, except through requests of the Adventurers’ Association, and understand that the entire ordeal could not have been a hoax perpetrated by the royal family, I, and many others, will not accept these proofs when they are solely comprised of first-hand testimony!」
Hearing this, Hiroshi raised his hand, rather timidly.
「What is it?」
「May I speak directly?」
Hiroshi asked, with his thick accent. Of course, by asking this permission, he was directly speaking to the King already, but alas, such were the customs of the court of Farlane.
「You may.」
Despite Hiroshi’s thick accent, no one in the room was going to mock him for it. They were high-ranking political figures, after all.
「First of all, I’m from the countryside, so forgive me for speakin’ rudely and for my accent.」
「Speak freely. No one here is thoughtless enough to mock a man’s accent, or deem it ill-mannered.」
The political leaders nodded in agreement, as if there wasn’t a doubt about it. Denouncing one’s accent was to denounce their hometown, which lead to denouncing their own country. It might have been a different story if his accent made him unintelligible, but as long as that wasn’t the case, no one would accuse a peasant of lacking etiquette for their accent.
「First, ’bout rescuin’ Princess Aearis, I gotta have y’all trust us on the base of the proof of hunt down at the Association. As for treatin’ Princess Elena, I can make y’all some sort of potion or another usin’ materials and equipment here in the castle. What y’all think?」
Terrified, Hiroshi desperately formed his words to the utmost manners he could muster. The political leaders could help but look at him with a more than a hint of pity, even as they were shook by what Hiroshi was saying. The truth was, most of them weren’t as suspicious of the party as they claimed to be. They were only speaking up now to establish concrete evidence (lest they give some shady characters any wiggle room down the road).
They were ready to accept a class 4 potion like the one he gave Layotte before, or any potion above class 6 for that matter. Even a class 6 potion was nearly impossible for an average adventurer to acquire. That, at least would prove that they were able to acquire precious potions. Having them crafted in front of them was approaching overkill.
「Hm… Is that possible?」
「Depends on the ingredients here. As long as there’s an expensive ingredient or two, I can wiggle ’em up to class 6 or so. If we got some stuff from ’round the hills of Spirit Spire Mountain, we could get a little higher than that. ’course the quality won’t be as good as makin’ ’em with the right ingredients.」
「If you can make us a class 6, it won’t matter if the quality is sub-optimal.」
With that, the King ordered all types of herbs and equipment in the castle to the visitation area, as much as they could fit. By “quality” Hiroshi meant the amount of HP that would be replenished. Still, Hiroshi’s potion (while not as effective as he could make it) would be much more effective than the standard potion.
「We’re in for a bit of a mess, aren’t we?」
「I mean, I can’t say we didn’t expect this…」
In the down while the ingredients were being acquired, Haruna Tastsuya whispered to each other. In fact, they didn’t worry for a second that Hiroshi would mess up the potion making. They were more worried about him going too far on some aspects.
「Is this all?」
Asked the King.
「Yes. This is all we have.」
「So, what can you make from these?」
Hiroshi contemplated.
「…With these, and one of the equipment’s I got and some off my stockpile…」
Mumbling the procedure to commence, Hiroshi was figuring out the very best he could craft with his circumstances.
「If we can use a piece of equipment and two ingredients from the bags we checked earlier, I can hit class 3.」
「…Truly?」
「I ain’t so stupid to spew a lie here. Oh darn, I gotta take out the bottles too… We got a fifty of ’em from the Cerberus fangs, so that’s ’bout it, I reckon…」
The crowd turn at Hiroshi, shocked.
「Cer-Cerberus?」
「Lord Douga brought ’em back to us the other day. ’Course, it’s meat taste bad, it’s gut can’t be made into medicine, and only it’s hide, bones, claws and fangs are worth anythin’ from it’s big lump. What a let-down monster that thin’ is.」
Hiroshi answered. Now that he had made up his mind on what to make, his skittishness had disappeared. The political leaders couldn’t conceal their tightening expressions. Normally, a Cerberus (unless someone like Julius, Douga, or Rayna was on the scene) would require ten seasoned knights and a mage to take down even a single one of them. Now this man was calling it a let-down monster? They were speechless.
「Bottles… From the fangs?」
「Yessir. And it’s possible, but not very efficient at all. ’Bout 50 bottles from the fangs of three of ’em.」
The crowd failed to react to Hiroshi’s nonchalance. Sure, Douga could take down Cerberus while humming a tune, but this sounded like Hiroshi used them recently. The crowd started to wonder when the mysterious party had hunted these down.
「When did you make those, anyway?」
「On our trip to the hot springs. They let me borrow their furnace.」
Hiroshi answered Haruna as he separated the herbs into piles.
「So how does that sound?」
「I’ll allow it. Someone bring this man’s carrier!」
The King replied instantly. Immediately, Hiroshi’s things were brought in. With his trusty carrier back in hand, he produced his accelerator, a piece of Wyvern liver, a Solmizen, and an empty bottle that exuded stunningly threatening magic.
「What is that dark-red meat?」
「A wyvern liver.」
「And that weird-looking fruit?」
「Solmizen, I used it for treatin’ Princess Elena, too. It rots real easy, so I think most folks here have never seen it.」
As he answered these questions, he boiled down and concentrated the Solmizen juice as he processed the other materials in… peculiar ways. The lot of the court magicians couldn’t help but wince at the outrageous amount of magic that burst out every time Hiroshi treated something.
「Can I help at all?」
「At this stage, Mio’s are the baseline line of stats I need. There ain’t much to make today, so don’t worry and watch.」
「Okie dokie.」
Haruna had already guessed this response, but just wanted to check. She continued to watch his potion making, quietly. She had known from the beginning that this was out of her league.
「Hoo! Hoah!」
Mixing up a few herbs with vigor, Hiroshi triggered some sort of mysterious reaction with a massive input of magic.
「Mio-chan. Can you tell what he’s doing?」
「Alchemy. Mixing two materials to convert it into something different. And better.」
Haruna and Mio’s conversation echoed through the visitation room, where there had been no other sounds except for those produced by Hiroshi’s work. The crowd was speechless at Hiroshi wrangling materials he needed into existence. By the way, he had crafted the malt required for Miso and soy sauce this way, too (Or forcibly mutated them, to be more accurate). Of course, he simply cultures them now, instead of doing things the hard way.
After converting (upgrading) several materials this way, he mixed the densely concentrated Solmizen juice and Wyvern liver, and heated them up. After boiling them for awhile, he quick-cooled it with a spell before pouring it into another container and putting that into the accelerator.
「Speaking of, what are you using the accelerator for this time?」
「Speedin’ up the magic reaction. A week’s worth of reaction in five minutes.」
Haruna response to this was to be amazed at the complexity of Advanced potion making. The accelerator, which had become an ace player in the kitchen from creating all sorts of fermented foods and spices like Miso, soy sauce, bonito flakes, mirin, ponzu, steak sauce and dipping sauces. This was only its second time used for creation a potion (after the class-4 potion last time).
「It outta be ready ‘bout now.」
Hiroshi said, and extracted the potion, which had changed to a clear, vibrant red.
「Boom. Now, to bottle ‘em.」
With that, before Haruna or Mio could even offer to help, he bottled up 50 class 3 Healing potions.
「By the way, if ya swap out the Wyvern liver for a Mana-eater core, it’ll make Mana potions instead with the same recipe.」
「What about Stamina potions?」
「Mix the Wyvern liver with the Mana-eater core, and swap out a few herbs.」
Hiroshi answered, as he handed over his work. Taking the bottles, the King glanced over at his doctors and potion makers. They answered with shaking voices:
「It is undoubtedly a Healing potion. We are certain of that, but…」
「None of us have ever seen a potion above class 4…」
「It is obvious that this is much, much more potent than the class 4 potion we received the other day. However, the question of whether or not this is a class 3 potion… Well…」
Potions of class 3 and above are practically mythical artifacts. Recipes for them had been preserved, but there was no potion maker alive who could execute them. Besides, no one knew where the majority of ingredients these recipes called for could be found (unless they were created, of course, by a method like Hiroshi’s). Even with the aptitude, a potion maker would most likely not have the opportunity to even test said recipes.
In short, they were in a predicament where it was exceedingly difficult to prove that this potion was in fact, class 3.
「Class 3. In order to confirm this…」
「We just might have to have Lord Douga or Lord Felnork severely injured.」
「OR cut off someone’s arm…」
As the conversation of the crowd moved towards the violent edge, the Japanese party could only watch with disgust.
「In any case.」
The King spoke up, to shut down the rather trigger-happy conversation.
「Whether this is truly a class 3 potion or not has no bearing on the matter at hand. We only had Hiroshi create the potion to prove that he had treated Elena. And this potion proves that, and some. Any objections?」
「…I shudder to think what he might do next if we object to this.」
「…We have no choice but to accept it, practically.」
「…This was an unnerving experience, to say the least.」
They all chimed in agreement with the King. In truth, they could all feel cold sweat running down their backs after witnessing the unimaginable event that just took place. To them, the most terrifying part was that the operator of such a performance was so nonchalant about it.
「Now, this session is finally concluded. While this should go without saying, none of what happened here leaves this room.」
「Of course.」
「For now, let’s say that he crafted a class 4 potion here. I will plan for a discrete and accurate confirmation process for the potion that won’t waste any of it.」
「I’ll leave that to you. You are all dismissed.」
And so, the presentation had finally concluded by the King, who actually kept his cool throughout the ordeal.
「I am sorry you had to do that, earlier.」
The King had skipped out on some business to come apologize to the Japanese party, who were waiting in their room in formal attire. Of course, all five members were there.
The formal attire they wore now was different from something they would wear to a ball, but something more suited for attending a private gathering with the royal family. The design resembled a suit, with clean cuts and edges. This attire was unisex, which let all the Japanese members match. Some of Farlane’s fashion was actually quite similar to that of modern-day fashion on Earth.
「Don’t worry ’bout it. I saw it comin’ from the beginnin’, to be honest. Pretty easy to handle, actually.」
「On the other hand, no one who was there will underestimate you, now.」
Tatsuya and Makoto cracked a light chuckle. Anyone who would underestimate Hiroshi after that would not be the sharpest tool in the shed, to say the least.
「So. It’s quite a ruckus out there, anythin’ goin’ on?」
「An accident while training new recruits. Apparently a sword broke during a session, and the broken blade seriously injured one of them.」
「Seems a bit excessive for that.」
Tatsuya pointed out. Hearing this, the King grinned and said:
「Can you blame them? His eye may have been gouged out, but we still used a class 3 potion, something that should be held in the treasury, on a mere recruit.」
The group fell speechless. This was much more serious than they thought. Hiroshi, naturally, was the first one to recover.
「His eye went out, and a class 3 potion healed that?」
He asked. With his experience in the past two months, an injury that serious (no matter how fresh) did not heal with a potion. If a child’s arm was torn off, and they took a class 5 or so potion (with overkill healing powers) only the wound would heal, without re-growing the limb.
「You didn’t know? Potions class 3 and above regrow body parts.」
「…I had no idea.」
「Interesting. And you’re the one who made it.」
「Didn’t exactly have the opportunity to use a potion like that on someone with a missin’ body part.」
Hiroshi groaned, and the King laughed. Finally, the rest of the group caught on to the real cause of the commotion.
「All of that’s going on because his eye healed?」
「What else could it be about?」
Haruna asked timidly, to which the King answered with growing glee. Naturally, that would cause a commotion. But the Japanese members held back their complaints like “why did you have to use it in such a public setting!?”
「By the way, they claimed the potion to be of mysterious origin, and tried it without expecting any results. We had permission from his guardian, too, so we won’t have any complaints for this.」
「You seem pretty happy that you have an opportune test subject.」
「Who me? While I feel sympathy for the boy, I’m glad we could secure the final push to get those politicians on our side. No one would dare make someone who can whip up class 3 potions on the spot an enemy of the nation, much less with some shaky conspiracy.」
The King said with nonchalance in response to Haruna’s questioning.
「He is the King, after all…」
「I guess you can’t run a country without a bit of this…」
「Why did someone like him let Elle get into that kind of trouble, anyway…?」
Hearing Tatsuya and Makoto’s exasperated (yet impressed) reaction, Mio spoke out loud her question.
「Unfortunately, the King is just a man. He can be opportunistic enough to take advantage of a sudden occurrence, but he remains a pathetic creature who can barely protect his daughter. He can barely keep the peace between his children. What a laugh.」
With this father’s confession in response to Mio, the group felt like they could sense at least a part of the King’s difficult situation. No matter how much power one held, a single person could never keep control of every aspect in life. No great leader has ever ruled without a fair share of resistance and pushback. King Regnas, especially, (despite his reputation among neighboring nations) only had enough smarts to pluck out some seeds that could sow disarray over fighting for the throne.
Perhaps because of Farlane’s wealth and stability, it’s underlying issues tended to remain largely under the surface. Even the problems that become apparent are often more dangerous to approach than leaving them alone. The various political and policing bodies, especially, were locked tight with regulations. The previous king deserves the credit for making it much more difficult for corrupt nobles to abuse the common people.
While the opposition’s rhetoric was disturbing, their actions (for the large part) followed their expectations. As such, the royal family had found it difficult to charge any of the opposing nobles with a serious crime. The people would forsake the law if their leaders do, and the current system of law (engineered by the previous king) surpassed even royalty. As a blowback to the tyranny of the King before him, the hurdles set for amending these laws were sky-high, making amendments almost impossible without a unanimous vote.
This situation had festered resentment in the top 1% of the country. This was especially a problem when the loopholes in these laws allowed the people who lost money in the previous King’s reform to work with the like of Barold and get away with ridiculous false accusations, making the lives of royalty severely more tiresome. In order to take care of these shenanigans, they would have to start by amending some laws, but the only damage at the moment was that the integrity of both the royal family and the nobles were falling into the ground, in a forced-suicide sort of way. And the opposition, of course, played their roles perfectly around messengers and guests from other nations, which made it even more awkward for the royal family to ask for foreign aid in the matter.
In light of the chain of recent events, Aearis had been left with all of the rippling damage from Farlane’s governing structure.
「But thanks to you, we are approaching a breakthrough in the series of issues that have been consuming us. I can not thank you enough.」
「We just kind of stumbled into all this ruckus, we’re only lendin’ a hand ’cus we wanna. Besides, this ain’t close to bein’ over. We just barely dodged the biggest… arrow.」
「True. Speaking of, do you have the all-purpose potion prepared for what’s ahead?」
「Done. We got enchantments on our clothes, so all we gotta do is drink ‘em.」
Hiroshi said, as he produced some small bottles. Each member from the party drank the entire bottle at the same time. Cringing at the bland (because of the Solmizen) but medicinal taste (from the other ingredients) each member of the party finished their coffee-creamer-sized vial.
「Now, we gotta look at our big kahuna.」
「I expect Katrina to be insulting in some way…」
「Any insults that can be seen as such are the least of our problems.」
Tatsuya declared, against the King. Of course, this wasn’t reassuring in the slightest, but the King was nonetheless somewhat relieved that, even though he had instructed them to do so, that they could be so frank with him.
「Then, I should excuse myself. I will see you later at the banquet.」
「Alrighty.」
The king existed with solemnity, carrying out two vials of Hiroshi’s potion for each person. The second chapter of the opening act was about to begin.
***
Princess Katrina was simply… unhappy.
「Who do those buffoonish adventurers think they are!?」
She spat out with vigor, as she remembered what had happened at the banquet earlier. Dining with royalty was an honor beyond mere adventurers’ worth, she thought. Yet, they held their heads high, confident as ever.
If they had acted that way in their neighboring nation across Spirit Spire Mountain, the United Nations of Midas, she would have understood. But their entitled attitude towards the royal family of Farlane… How dare they?
What made matters worse for Katrina was that all of them barely looked at her, and only spoke to Layotte, Elena, and Aearis, in a very (albeit they attempted to conceal this) familiar manner.
Katrina could forgive them for listening to Layotte or Elena instead of her. Both of them were her superior, after all. What she would not stand for was them speaking to Aearis, ignoring what she was about to say. What’s worse, those peasants acted like they had personally known the Crown Prince for a decade!
While she kept her cool on the outside, she had desperately concealed her overwhelming rage. She could say, with certainty, that she had never been forced to endure so much self-restraint before in her life.
「And Layotte! Treating that no-name, peasant potion maker as if he was better than me!? Must he be reminded of his position as the Crown Prince of our great nation Farlane!?」
Katrina rambled on nonsense as she punched her pillow. Of course, anything she was saying now had no grounds, objectively speaking. In fact, Katrina had never even started a conversation for the entire duration of the banquet. Moreover, she had cleanly ignored a question that had come up in a conversation. In the first place, the royal family was the one with the familiar attitude, and the Japanese party had kept solemn etiquette. They knew how to behave in a public setting like this.
One could point all of this out, but to Katrina, who was rapidly losing touch with reality (at least internally) it would go in one ear and out the other.
「Barold! Can’t you get rid of those fools!?」
「Have patients, Princess Katrina.」
A man, whose presence was so non-existent that one might forget his face even as they looked right at, held back Katrina as she went on her enraged tirade. Just like the man who had attacked the party during the mission to return Aearis to the Temple, this man was utterly lacking in any sense of individuality.
「If we make a move now, we will be suspected, for sure. We are already under scrutiny for the incident with Princess Aearis.」
「Scrutiny? Why?」
「The man who attacked Princess Aearis, allegedly, looked just like me.」
「What an outlandish accusation.」
Katrina replied, with a healthy dose of irony. Nodding, Barold continued. He didn’t let on that they were under scrutiny from the beginning, nor that he was confident that he could get away with it all using the loopholes of the law.
「Indeed. That being said, preconceptions can be a binding force. Once the seed of suspicion is sewn, it can be very difficult to get rid of it.」
Katrina nodded with a begrudging expression in response. From experience, she knew that she couldn’t refute. Of course, in most cases of when she considers herself a victim of wrongful preconceptions are largely due to her own part or entirely imagined.
「So, I think the best course of action is to stand back, and wait for them to trip. If you wish, I can manipulate the mindless crowd to push them into a corner, so they have no choice but to trip.」
「You’re right. It’s becoming more suffocating lately. Let’s not be too hasty. Barold, I’ll leave the details to you.」
「As you wish.」
Hearing Katrina so easily convinced to relinquish the operation to Barold, he couldn’t help but see her as easy prey.
True, Katrina was well-educated. Her appearance (“miraculous” as praised by those in and out of Farlane) may even surpass that of all of her sisters (save Aearis perhaps, whose physique was still developing) and her behavior in public made her come across as a wise woman, indeed. Still, if one were to ask if she was a competent member of royalty…? The answer was a firm no. The quality of one’s education guarantees no correlation to one’s character. Katrina was a prime example of the discrepancy. Worst of all, Katrina had chosen to ignore reality, once she saw that it contradicted the theoretical world she had learned. It was no wonder that her education was wasted on her.
She was talented in keeping face and making excuses, but was too stupid for anything else. As she (optimistically) assumed that her reputation suffered no damage after she made excuses and kept face, she was far from competent. Although she had some talent for relentlessly bullying the defenseless (like Aearis) behind closed doors, she lacked the capabilities to square off against anyone with a semblance of self-reliance (like the Japanese adventurers) and never bothered to give anything a second thought before delegating the dirty work to her inferiors.
Still, if she would only take responsibility for the results, one could argue for her talent as a leader, but Katrina would (without exception) dodge said responsibility, claiming that she had nothing to do with those actions, despite any and all concrete evidence to the contrary. Without her beauty, royalty, and eligibility as a Priestess Princess (although she was the backup’s backup) she would have been an outcast long ago. Coincidentally, her first attempt at undermining Aearis had succeeded, convincing the majority of Aearis’ fake persona (that was very unrealistic for a child under ten years old) leading to her getting off scot-free until now. If Aearis were to go public with these events, she was sure to reap what she sowed.
Of course, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the appearance of these adventures had suddenly dampened her winning streak.
The contamination of the mineral veins were almost complete, and now they were even stronger than before; their progress was reversed in just a day. Although it was too late, Katrina couldn’t help but regret not forcefully disposing of Aearis earlier. She had sent minions to Piaranork’s nest to check on her work, but the powerful defense from Aearis’ Hereditary Spell had prevent Barold’s men from doing anything to them, and so they were left alone. The spell would have only lasted a month, which would not have been an issue for Katrina if there were no interference.
The best option, in the sense of eliminating Aearis, was to assassinate her directly, but (unlike a time-bomb transportation spell) attacking Aearis directly with an Attack spell within the castle would leave the wielder exposed to becoming discovered, which would have left Katrina with no excuse. Besides, while Douga and Rayna had low Magic Tolerance, their Magic Defense were surprisingly high. Without eliminating them (Douga, in particular, who had high Defense stats against Ranged Attacks) she could not have killed Aearis in any direct matter. On the other hand, it was difficult for Barold (not an assassin in any way) to kill a member of the royal family (no matter how young) with a physical weapon, and hiring an assassin without Douga and his team finding out about it was difficult.
So, considering that having Aearis missing rather than dead was more advantageous to them, Barold had trapped her with a Binding spell and a transportation spell to send them to the most dangerous enemy within range, Piaranork. The last thing Katrina had expected was for them to be rescued within three days. In fact, the last adventurer that had fought Piaranork before this had done so over half a year ago. The odds were incredibly in her favor.
Come to think of it, it seemed like things were not going Katrina’s way since the horde of Venomous Wolves were taken care of with no casualties all because of those adventurers. She had heard that about 220 antidotes were used that day, which meant that (if all went well) the casualties would have been 220 men, and the mineral veins would have been tainted with the affliction of 220 men. Considering that the antidote healed them immediately, there might have been more casualties without them. Katrina had come to realize that this band of adventurers had been tangling up their schemes for months, now.
And now, they had completely healed Elena, detected the specific poison used, and had locked them out of poisoning her again. Now that her guard was up, it didn’t seem likely that they could poison Elena any longer, even with a different poison. While Barold had instructed tasteless and odorless poison to be put in the drinks of Elena, Aearis, and the adventurers, he did not expect those to pan out.
Before I ditch this ditz, I have to keep an eye on that party.
While he wouldn’t let it show (like Katrina) Barold was just as annoyed by the Japanese party as she was. It would be difficult to turn the tide from here, but Barold wouldn’t stand a chance until he eliminated those pesky adventurers. He would have to fall back behind square one, but if he could take care of Elena and Aearis somehow, even if Katrina were to be executed, he could temporarily eliminate the Princess Priestesses. Then, the mineral veins would be naturally corroded by affliction (Barold would call this “cleansing”) allowing him to accomplish his goal.
In truth, Barold was itching to start working towards getting rid of the lot of them. Still, he had decided to hold Katrina back and standby because his scheme had been so cleanly dismantled since their emersion. He thought it would be too careless to make a move without understanding them further.
「For now, Princess Katrina, why doesn’t Your Highness use her beauty to show what true royalty means to those buffoons?」
「It goes without saying.」
Katrina responded, with an irritated scoff. Katrina and Barold did not yet know that even in the beauty department, she was about to face utter defeat.
「Thank you for coming, all. I know we all have busy lives.」
Finally, the ball had begun by the King’s declaration.
「Tonight’s party is to celebrate Elena’s health and Aearis’ safe return, as well as welcome the men and women who were an integral part to saving their lives.」
The room stirred a bit hearing this. Most of them were under the impression the ball was only to celebrate Elena’s recovery. While they had heard that Aearis was missing, then had returned about a week ago only to perform the purification ritual in the Temple before disappearing again, but most of them had not expected that she would make a public appearance today.
The attendees were split down the middle when it came to their reaction towards Aearis’ appearance. One half was aghast that Aearis had the gall to show up at a public event without shame, and the other half was simply relieved that she was unhurt. Even the latter half were most relieved that the national crisis of their missing ten-year-old Priestess Princess in direct line of the throne was resolved before dire consequences; this didn’t mean that they personally approved of Aearis.
While many who have been astute to Katrina’s activities of late would rather see Aearis maintain her duties as Priestess Princess rather than pass them down to Katrina, of all people, but even they didn’t approve of Aearis herself. They only acknowledged the reality that Aearis had been successfully performing purifications, and the fact that (even if all the rumors about Aearis were true) they still saw Aearis as a better fit for the job than Katrina.
Unfortunately, almost none of the invitees were genuinely happy to see Aearis safe (without accounting for her royal status).
「First, my daughters have something to say.」
The King said, with a gesture, and Elena emerged from the back, solemn. Her physique was far from completely healthy, but an adequate amount of vitality was emanating from her body. At this rate, she would regain her healthy physique in no time.
「My most humble apologies for leaving everyone worried for my sake.」
Elena bowed deeply, as she spoke in a clear, projecting voice. Watching her from the wings, Tatsuya, Makoto, and Haruna were trying to determine who seemed relatively reasonable in the crowd. Hiroshi, who was already drowning in the general atmosphere, and Mio, who had been speaking to Aearis (being more talkative than ever before in her life) were useless at the moment.
「Yikes. Prince Katrina isn’t exactly modest, huh…?」
「You said it. Sure, it’s a good look for her, but…」
With that, Makoto and Tatsuya glanced at Haruna and Aearis.
「What’s up?」
「Hm? I just thought you guys are going to make quite a splash when you go out there.」
Makoto said, honestly.
「In any case, you’re pretty chill about this whole thing.」
「It’s not that I’m not nervous, but I do have some experience in these kinds of settings, and a certain someone behind me is going to need some back-up.」
With that, Haruna chuckled looking at her partner of two months. Still a mysterious one, as he was so easily choking up now, in contrast to his confidence at the royal meeting earlier. Of course, the people present at that meeting were relatively reasonable, and both the King and Queen, along with his two concubines, had been pressuring the crowd silently as to keep them from intimidating the Japanese party too badly. A meeting like that under normal circumstances most likely would have left the majority of the Japanese party incapacitated, let alone Hiroshi.
Upon first seeing Haruna in her current attire, everyone in the party but Hiroshi had either let out an exasperated sigh or froze solid. The team was worried about this, but with the change in scenery, the team seemed to be back to normal. As to why Hiroshi was completely unaffected by Haruna’s beauty (according to Hiroshi) was because he would wind up dead if he was caught entranced by his natural predator. Could anyone blame Haruna for wanting to cry, just a little bit? Even though neither of them held any romantic feelings for each other, this was bordering on being too harsh.
Still, Haruna was having difficulties grasping the difference in situations when Hiroshi could and could not function. When they infiltrated the castle with Aearis, she could understand because he was rather skittish working outside of his comfort zone, but from time to time, he would become extremely sheepish, in situations that didn’t even involve women at all. At the very least, she hoped that he could at least see through blatant lies and keep his cool.
In any case, now that Hiroshi seemed to be far less useful than expected, Haruna had to compose herself. In fact, he knew that putting on a brave face was the best way to beat the nerves. While there were those who couldn’t pull that off, those who could had to pull their weight as well.
「Elle, you’re almost up.」
「Y-Yes.」
「You got it.」
With Mio’s encouragement, Aearis puffed her chest, straightened her back, and walked into the hall, with a solemn expression. In that instant, the entire hall fell completely silent.
「Everyone, I am terribly sorry for all the trouble you have gone through.」
Her delicate, clear voice filled the room, corner-to-corner. As she finished her sentence, she slowly bowed, as far as she could go, in slow precision as decorum demanded. Everyone there was entranced by her. Even Katrina, even the King and Queen faded in comparison to this girl, merely ten years old.
Aearis was truly beautiful, pure, and elegant.
Albeit with some juvenile vernacular here and there, Aearis sincerely continued speaking from her heart, and the attendees could only watch in awe. Even if she was acting, the Princess speaking on the platform now was so contradictory from the mental image of the vile princess, planted in the majority of the attendees. It was difficult for anyone to maintain their mental image of a cruel and vain princess, while Aearis held back tears, apologizing for those who had lost their lives by being caught in the crosshairs of the scheme to assassinate Aearis. If Aearis was acting, this was a marvelous performance. However, most felt that her emotions behind her words were authentic. While she may had been making some dramatic choices, no one would have thought that she was lying outright.
There was another point that contradicted the rumors regarding Aearis. Rumors had it that her appearance was vile, as if to reflect her personality. However, the girl pouring her heart out now (albeit too young to possess a complete display of beauty) was regal and elegant, exuding a mystical sense of beauty. Her hair and eyes, as well as her facial features all but guaranteed her direct lineage from the King and Queen, and her appearance was anything but ugly. While Princess Katrina at this age had possessed the same elegant beauty (albeit more flashy than mystical). No one doubted that in five years’ time, Aearis would possess irrefutable beauty.
Katrina was watching this all. Her sister, and the number of people reevaluating her sister grow with every word Aearis uttered, as she kept an aloof expression covering her consuming rage all the while.
That pest.
Aearis was wearing her official priestess garb, rather than a dress. The attire, usually kept well-hidden, accentuated Aearis’ innocence and elegance, as well as her mystical aura. Katrina could not stand that Aearis wore that garb (which Katrina would, quite literally, kill to wear) as if she was born in it. She would have felt better if Aearis seemed to struggle to fit the attire, or something, but she could not say that Aearis was being worn by it. In fact, Katrina’s pride prevented her from it.
「She’s finished, it seems.」
Barold muttered without much inflection, watching Aearis take another deep bow.
「The rats are coming out.」
「Let’s see what they have to offer.」
As Barold commented, the party of five entered on the King’s order. The third one in line, a teenage girl, had turned the entire ballroom awestruck again. This time, that included both Katrina and Barold.
Haruna, third in line, was wearing a simple, blue mermaid-style dress that didn’t show too much skin. Her long golden locks were purposefully untouched, flowing down her back. Only accessorized by a simple pair of earrings and a necklace, the simplicity of her outfit further accentuated her natural beauty.
Customarily, for someone of Haruna’s body type, even a mermaid-style dress would come with a large opening in the chest or back, but her dressed only revealed her neck and shoulders, at most. This, in turn, completed her gifted silhouette even more, exuding more sensuality than she would have by revealing more skin.
All the while, the blue of her dress, combined with her quiet, collected attitude had discouraged the male gaze in spite of her sensuality. Her calm blue eyes that shone in intelligence spoke volumes in conveying that she was no easy woman. In short, she was a rose in a glass case. While her appearance sent many men into a tizzy, no one was allowed to lay a finger on her. Anyone who knew how she looked everyday shared the same impression: she had bloomed.
Even the attractive women that went before and after her, and in fact all the women in the ballroom faded in comparison to Haruna, save for Aearis, whose mystique allowed her to rival Haruna’s presence. Not just women, either. Even Tatsuya, who had appearance well enough to not fade away in this ballroom filled mostly with beautiful men and women, was utterly ignored by all. Hiroshi, a forgettable country boy, had no chance of receiving any form of acknowledgment.
「What the…」
Katrina whispered, shaking. Her beauty, which had become one of the few points of pride left for her, had been decimated by her younger sister and some random girl from who-knows-where. Everyone’s eyes were glued at Haruna and Aearis, ignoring Tatsuya making a short spiel, representing the group. To be honest, anyone but Haruna could defile any decorum imaginable, and no one would bat an eye. Any and all movement by Haruna was met by gasps in the crowd. A cliché locking of the eyes would stop anyone in their tracks, and being stared at by her calm, yet all-penetrating gaze caused anyone with a secret to look away in a hurry, only to inevitably have their gaze drawn back to Haruna.
In a sense, the entire ballroom was under Haruna’s control.
「Now, in consideration of Elena’s wellbeing, there will be no dancing tonight. Instead, Lady Haruna has offered to perform a song for us. I have been told that she has a divine voice. May I trouble you?」
The King started, after toasts were made and the attendees were left to mingle. Haruna responded with an elegant bow:
「If my voice won’t offend his majesty, it would be an honor. What shall I sing?」
「Hm. A joyous tune. From your homeland.」
「As you wish.」
With another bow, Haruna stepped forward with both class and presence.
「While it didn’t originate in my country, we sing this as a group at the end of each year. It has significant meaning to my homeland.」
With that, she inhaled deeply, and began singing brightly.
It was a classic. A familiar song in Japan, as carolers formed at the end of the year to celebrate the passage of another year. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t sound quite right without a harmony, but Haruna sang it acapella, powerfully.
「…!」
As soon as Haruna’s voice reached their ears, both Katrina and Barold were assaulted with an indescribable disgust, at the same time. No matter how dense, most would at least sense the magnificence of her tune. True to its title, this song enveloped most members with bliss, but in turn agonies Katrina and Barold.
Once Haruna had concluded her joyous tune, Katrina and Barold were worn down to the point where they found it difficult to keep face. It wasn’t just the two of them, either. All of the nobles, officials, and servants (whom Barold had spent years recruiting) were all dripping in cold sweats, panting. Some of the servants standing by the wall had nearly fainted. The only thing that they had in common was that they all stored a large amount of affliction in their bodies, as a result of Barold’s brainwashing. Barold reached the only logical conclusion:
「The power… of the Goddess?」
He mumbled, defeated, as he somehow managed to offer a weak applause amidst the thunderous roar around him, which also served to drown out his utterance, preventing from reaching even Katrina.
「How did that little…」
Throwing his metaphorical mask out the window, Barold couldn’t help but shoot Haruna a glare. Haruna responded with a gentle smile. Desperately keeping down the urge to striker her, Barold tried to observe if his poison was effective. It wasn’t a quick-acting poison, but after expending so much energy to sing that way, she would be showing some symptoms if the poison was effective.
「…They didn’t come completely unprepared, it seems.」
Watching them consuming what is given to them without much suspicion as they conversed with the members of the royal family, Barold admitted his defeat for the night. Now that he had taken more damage than expected, it would be difficult for him to manipulate the foreigners into a trap. He still would have made a move, if it weren’t for the unassumingly alert members of the royal family. Barold didn’t feel up to stepping into a tiger’s den at the moment.
「Haruna-sama. May I ask for a favor?」
「What is it?」
「Everyone was so enthralled with your voice earlier… Could you play a fun, cheerful song? Like a fairytale?」
「It would be my pleasure.」
In contrast to her demeanor from before, Aearis asked in a sweet tone, appropriate for her age. Of course, Haruna would have never refused. A shiver crawled down Barold spine as he overheard this.
「Princess Katrina. Let us retreat.」
「…Why?」
「An encore.」
Katrina paled. She looked around the room to find that the people who had been affected adversely by the tune earlier had already left.
「How aggravating… There’s nothing we can do now, I suppose…」
「Unfortunately, even we can’t deny that the tune is majestic to the common ear.」
With an utter sense of defeat, Katrina retreated with the excuse of feeling under the weather. Just as they exited the ballroom, the song had begun. Nearly falling to her knees from it, they scrambled far enough.
「We must eliminate that harlot at all costs…」
「It seems that way…」
Their grand scheme paled in light of the immediate threat Haruna possessed to them. Ironically, this defeat had increased the bond between Katrina and Barold.