Settled for Now
Alarms and the roar of explosions thundered through the Frigid Grand Ducal Castle.
Those who had been holding talks concerning the Hero rushed at once toward the source of the noise.
They were so frantic, and the magical alarms and crashing impacts so deafening, that Edward's shouts were completely drowned out. At that moment, none of them knew he had woken and was watching everything unfold.
At any rate—
Because of the uproar, everyone except non-combatants such as the weaker men had no choice but to gather at the scene of the battle. With high-ranking figures from both the Imperial Court and the Church currently residing at the Grand Ducal Castle, an intruder causing such a disturbance simply could not be tolerated.
But those who arrived froze in place at the sight that greeted them.
The Hero and Grace were locked in combat once more.
Dozens of Frigid guards lay scattered around them, and everything in the garden—flowers, trees, ornaments, sculptures—had been reduced to utter ruin.
"Pope! Why is the Hero causing another rampage?!"
"Your Majesty, after seeing this, how can you still insist we overlook her just because she's the Hero?!"
"Tenesa!"
"Hero! I told you to wait!! Why are you doing this?!"
The three who had been in the meeting with her demanded answers and scolded Tenesa. In response, Tenesa screamed at the top of her lungs, calling out to the Hero in a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation.
But—
KRAAAAAANG!!
The clash between the two was so ferocious that the earlier bout in the banquet hall looked like child's play by comparison. There was no way the Hero could hear Tenesa's screams.
And they were not the only ones watching. The Imperial and Grand Ducal knight orders, along with the Church's priests, had all assembled.
"Your Majesty, give the order!"
Among them, Garnet—captain of the Imperial knights—stepped up beside Elizabeth, eager to avenge the humiliation she had suffered at the banquet that afternoon, and begged for a command.
"Sir Garnet, stand by for the moment."
"But Your Majesty!"
Elizabeth did not give Garnet the order she wanted. Garnet was about to press her request again when—
KRAAAAAANG!!
"If anything, I fear your intervention would only increase the damage. Do not take this as a lack of trust in you."
"Kh…! Understood. I will stand guard over Your Majesty and wait."
Having seen the two combatants clash, the Empress explained her reasoning once more, and Garnet had no choice but to yield. Frustrated though she was, she accepted the Empress's command and could only stand watch over the surroundings.
KRAAAAAANG!!
"Your Majesty. Even without deploying the knights, Grace will not lose."
"I think so as well… However…"
"Yes. The Hero has grown at an absurd rate—enough that Grace is fighting in earnest."
Both of them could only stare in shock at the Hero's rate of growth.
Camilla, of course, knew Grace well—and so did Elizabeth. After all, Grace had originally been a gift from the Imperial Court, meant to strengthen ties with the Frigid Grand Ducal House.
Setting aside the full history of the Imperial Court's relationship with Grace for later, Elizabeth knew precisely how powerful this descendant of dragons was. And yet even with Grace fighting seriously, the Hero—though gradually being pushed back—was still managing to weather the attacks. It was astonishing.
"Hero…"
But while the others reeled in shock, Pope Tenesa was looking on with something closer to rapture.
"What are you gushing over, Your Holiness?! Have you completely lost your mind?!"
"Charlotte!"
Charlotte snapped at Tenesa, and Elizabeth moved to restrain her.
"Your Majesty! She may be the Hero for how strong she's become, but look at what she's doing!!"
Charlotte, however, could not hold back and kept raging.
"…We share your feelings. Tenesa, We ask you once more—is that truly the Hero?"
"It is, Your Majesty…"
"Haa…"
Elizabeth found not a single fault in her daughter's words. She gave up trying to quiet Charlotte and turned the question on Tenesa instead. At Tenesa's answer, she could only sigh.
KRAAAAAAAAANG!!
"She won't last much longer."
"Yes, it seems so."
"Edward's knight! Just kill her already!"
Those watching the exchange predicted the end was near. And Charlotte cheered Grace on at the top of her lungs.
"N-No, you mustn't!"
"Why on earth not?!"
"Th-That is… Ah! No!"
Tenesa, who had been trying to stop Charlotte, let out a scream at the sight before her eyes.
CLANG!
The Aura surrounding the Hero and her sword shattered—
"Kyaaaaaah!!"
—and she shrieked as Grace's blade was about to sever her neck.
FLASH!
"Your Holiness?!"
Charlotte stared in shock as Tenesa, still screaming, vanished in a burst of light right before her eyes.
The vanished Tenesa—
CLANG!
—appeared in front of Grace and blocked the strike that would finally have finished the Hero.
"Interfering again?!"
"Y-You must not kill the Hero!!"
To protect the Hero, Tenesa had teleported in front of her and barely managed to raise a barrier in time to stop Grace's attack.
"Hah… hah…"
As the Church's foremost figure, Tenesa possessed the combat power to back that position, and so she was able to block Grace's blow. But she had cast both teleportation and a barrier spell in such a short span, and Grace's attack power was so overwhelming, that she was left exhausted.
"Then I'll simply cut you down with her!"
Grace paid no mind to the worn-out woman and raised her sword again, intending to cut down both of them together.
"Grace, stop!"
"Grand Duchess?"
Camilla halted Grace's action.
"Grand Duchess! For the young master's future alone, this one must not be left alive!"
But this time, Grace had no intention of holding back. The woman was a genuine, grave threat to the Master she was sworn to protect. She would leave no future trouble behind.
"I know that! But you must not!!"
Camilla did not deny it—yet she stopped her again.
"Why on earth not?!"
"Exactly! Your Majesty! Grand Duchess! Why can't we just end this?!"
Not only Grace but Charlotte as well raised her voice in protest.
"That is…"
Elizabeth was about to explain when—
"She's disqualified as a Hero! Even if the Goddess herself summoned her, how can someone with a personality like that be allowed to stand?!"
Charlotte could not comprehend the situation at all. She cut off her mother the Empress and shouted.
"I will explain everything once things are settled. Endure it for now…"
"How am I supposed to endure this?! If Edward's knight won't do it, then I will—!"
"Charlotte!!"
"Your Majesty! She's causing another scene instead of staying quiet!"
Even Elizabeth's scolding could not make Charlotte back down this time.
At that moment—
"I-I was staying quiet!"
Hearing their exchange, the Hero shouted in denial of Charlotte's words.
"Who would believe that?!"
"Hero, please remain still! Calm yourself! If you cause any more disturbance, it will truly become difficult!"
Naturally Charlotte did not believe her, and Tenesa was only trying to soothe the Hero into submission.
"I'm telling you it's not true!!"
But the Hero seemed genuinely aggrieved. She shouted louder and began drawing up mana again, trying to cloak herself in Aura.
At that—
"Hero!"
Tenesa barked a sharp command and drew from her robes a golden figurine shaped like a set of scales.
The Golden Scales of the Goddess
A holy power to suppress the Hero's will
THUD!!
"Urgh!!"
A radiant golden light enveloped the Hero's body and slammed her hard into the ground.
"Urgh!! What is this?!"
The Hero tried to rise and move again, but the golden light still bound her, leaving her completely unable to budge. And the black Aura that had wrapped her body vanished entirely.
Her eyes, which had turned a sinister crimson under the Aura's influence, regained their original color and light, and her hair fell limp and disheveled.
"I truly did not want to resort to this method… but I had no choice."
"Ah…! Ah…!"
The sight of the golden light banishing the black Aura and transforming the Hero's ominous form back into that of an ordinary girl looked for all the world like the purification of something evil.
"What is that?"
"A sacred relic the Goddess bestowed upon the Pope—for use when the Hero acts of her own accord."
Watching this, Charlotte asked Elizabeth beside her.
"No—Your Holiness! Why didn't you use it sooner?!"
Having heard the Empress's answer, Charlotte immediately rounded on Tenesa again. If she had used it from the start, the situation would never have spiraled into such chaos, and Edward would never have collapsed.
"…To avoid forcing the Hero's actions in a way that would make her feel hostility toward our world."
"She's already attacking like a Demon King, and you're talking about not making her feel hostility?! When I take the throne, the first thing I'll abolish is a Church headed by people like you!!"
Hearing Tenesa's answer, Charlotte flared with rage and made a threatening declaration.
"…Your Majesty."
But instead of answering Charlotte, Tenesa called out to Elizabeth.
"…Speak, Pope."
Elizabeth no longer scolded Charlotte either. It was more than enough reason for her to be angry, and Tenesa showed no intention of protesting the outburst. Both of them simply wanted to settle the present situation and talk again later.
And so—
"We will leave only enough personnel to treat the wounded and restore order, then return to the Church."
The Pope stepped back.
"Very well…"
And the Empress granted permission.
"Your Majesty!"
"Grand Duchess!"
"Enough! I will explain everything!"
"Grace, I will tell you everything later. Endure it for now…"
Naturally neither Charlotte nor Grace could accept this outcome, and Elizabeth and Camilla did everything they could to calm them.
And it was not only those two. Camilla also had to struggle to soothe the Hero she was responsible for. Even as she was being dragged away, the Hero kept resisting.
"Aaaargh!!"
THUD!
But the sacred relic in the Pope's hand was absolute. No amount of resistance from the Hero made any difference.
"Hero, let us return."
"No! Hyunwoo! No—Ed is here!…"
"…Then we shall take our leave. Your Majesty."
Using the sacred relic to forcibly restrain the Hero, Tenesa departed the Grand Ducal Castle together with her priests.
Even as they left the estate—
"Liar! You said you'd help me!! Liar!!!"
—the Hero loudly cursed the Pope. But Tenesa only remained silent and dragged her away by force.
"No!! Ed! Hyunwoo! Ed!! Hyunwoo!!!"
Even after they passed through the front gates of the estate, the Hero kept screaming his name loud enough to reach the Grand Ducal Castle.
The nickname of this world, and the name she had originally known him by…
But—
To the very end, Edward did not answer her.
She simply left with the Church's people.
And so…
The chaos that had begun at the Frigid Grand Ducal Castle from the debutante that afternoon was, for the moment, settled.
But…
Those who sought to kill the Hero, and those who sought to protect her—
Without a single exception—
In time…
Every one of them would come to regret having settled the incident this way.
For afterward…
Even greater incidents, endless waves of chaos, would continue without end.