The Northern Assembly (1)
An endless plain unfurled across the empire's north, stretching farther than the eye could see. A place that had known only silence now teemed with crowds.
"It's been far too long."
"I trust you've been well."
Among them, the northern nobles stood out most of all. The heads of every house had gathered in one place to exchange greetings, and each of them was a principal player in this assembly.
Some commanded great power and others little; some fielded formidable knight orders and others weak ones. But they were all neighbors who had put down roots in the north. In times like these, joining hands was the only way — the only way to keep from ending up in the jaws of the demonic beasts.
For those reasons, the alliance of houses known as the Northern Assembly had been formed. Nearly twenty years had passed since then.
"The head of House Lichtenauer is entering."
Among all the houses, Lichtenauer stood foremost — a family renowned for its swordsmanship, the house that held the north in a firm grip. That it would serve as the center of the Assembly was only natural.
Soft footsteps crossed the grass.
Save for a scant few houses, every family head was a man. And so, the moment Sien appeared, they could not help but stare — old and young alike, their wits stolen in an instant.
They say she steals your soul the moment you look at her. It's true.They say you can know a mother by looking at her daughter…Now I understand why the previous head of Lichtenauer married a Demon woman.
Hers was a beauty so striking that even the word beautiful felt like an insult. Just looking at her was enough to make a man's reason grow faint. Had she been a human noble of pure blood, they would have called her the flower of the empire without a moment's hesitation. Yes — if she had been purely human.
We northerners owe Lichtenauer a great debt, so it sits well enough with us…But can that mixed-blood woman truly weather an age as chaotic as this?
It was not simple prejudice because her mother had been a Demon. They knew the current standing of the Demon race within the empire. They had seen how many people still kept Demons at arm's length. And so the family heads attending the Assembly could not help but worry.
"A pleasure to meet you all."
"A pleasure to meet you, Head of House Lichtenauer."
Sien bowed her head in greeting, and the others followed suit.
"This is my first time at the Assembly. I hope I can count on your guidance."
"Please, don't say that. The Northern Assembly could hardly function without Lichtenauer."
"This way, Lady Lichtenauer. Everything is already prepared."
House Lichtenauer had faced a grave crisis after the death of its previous head. Had it fallen, the entire north would have seen a seismic shift in power, and the other houses had watched and waited. Before long, it became clear that Lichtenauer had, with remarkable speed, put its chaos and crisis to rest and stood as firm as ever.
Some may have felt a twinge of disappointment. Most of the family heads, however, were relieved. Nothing was more exhausting than a stable power structure coming undone and sparking conflict. It was far better to live in one's proper place within a well-ordered world.
And so they treated Sien exactly as they had treated the previous head of Lichtenauer, and guided her toward the inner tent.
"We've heard the news. You dealt with two Rifts recently, didn't you?"
"Yes. Both were fifth-grade Rifts, though. Nothing particularly difficult!"
"Even so, you handled them well. You've been through a great deal."
"Thank you, Lady Lichtenauer."
Even as they stepped into the commander's crimson tent, Sien steered the conversation with news she had already been receiving.
They can call this my first time, but I must not be led around. I am the head of House Lichtenauer — the center of the Northern Assembly, the head of a renowned swordsmanship family. I must not forget that. I have to do this well.
This Assembly was a vital occasion for Sien. It was a chance to show the outside world that Lichtenauer still stood unshaken. She had already made that showing once at the imperial court — but that had been accomplished only with the help of the Emperor and Adel. This time, she had to achieve it by her own strength alone.
She was a woman, still young, still inexperienced, and born of mixed human and Demon blood. Even so, she had to give the other family heads — and everyone else — the conviction that she could lead House Lichtenauer, and the entire north besides.
"Please, be seated."
Sien took her seat first and invited the others to theirs. The family heads settled into their appointed places, and the Assembly began.
"Allow me to express my gratitude once more to all of you who have come."
"You needn't say such things."
"I would have liked to ask after one another's well-being and share a few lighter words, but given the state of affairs, I hope you'll forgive me for forgoing that."
The family heads waved the apology aside. As if this many people would have gathered from so far merely to inquire after one another's health. Each of them had come with urgent business of their own.
"I've heard that the frequency of Rift appearances has begun to rise again of late."
"You've heard correctly, Lady Lichtenauer. In every territory, the number has doubled at the least, and in some places increased fivefold. The one mercy is that most of them have been fifth-grade, or at worst fourth-grade."
"That is hardly good news, in any case. And it will have cost more lives."
The family heads nodded, their faces grim. Every single person was precious now. The aftermath of the great war had already all but erased a generation. To lose one able-bodied man was not simply to lose one life.
One by one, the family heads gave a detailed account of the damage each territory had suffered from the sudden surge of Rifts. Only by knowing one another's circumstances could they decide who would give aid and who would receive it.
"At present, the gravest problem is the highways connecting the various houses. The Rift incidents have torn up the roads again, to the point that not even people can pass, let alone carriages. They need urgent repair, but so many stretches have been destroyed that we don't even know where to begin."
At that, Sien quickly called for a map. She studied it for a moment, then pointed to several places with her finger.
"From here… to here. Is that right?"
"Yes. The highways throughout that entire region have been destroyed."
Sien gazed at the marked zone and sank into thought.
This highway network doesn't bear directly on Lichtenauer's interests. Leaving it unrepaired wouldn't cause us any immediate trouble. But if we let it stand, the other houses will surely take heavy losses.
After a brief pause, she called several family heads forward — all of them people who would suffer direct harm from the ruined roads.
"How many people can you each mobilize for the highway repairs?"
"Manpower we can more or less cover. The problem is the cost of the restoration itself…"
"Funds, then. Don't worry about that. Lichtenauer will assist you."
The family heads she had named — and the others besides — looked at her with a flicker of bewilderment.
"Lichtenauer will?"
"Yes."
A considerable number of houses already owed Lichtenauer a debt. Whether the sums were large or small, the fact of the debt was plain, and most of those houses had yet to repay it. And now Lichtenauer was offering further aid. Of course their reactions were complicated.
"Lady Lichtenauer, we are deeply grateful for the offer, but as far as we are concerned…"
"Don't worry. I have no intention of recording this as a debt."
"I beg your pardon?"
"We cannot cover the entire sum, but we will bear a substantial portion of it — and we will not hold that portion over you as a debt."
To collect on existing debts, each house first had to be stabilized. And that stabilization required the highways to be restored. In a situation like this, placing a debt of the heart would yield far more than placing a material one. Having reached that conclusion, Sien went on.
The Assembly's agenda continued from there. The heads of each house put forward their views, and the most reasonable proposals were winnowed out — conclusions that might not satisfy everyone, and might not profit everyone, but that would allow them all to go on living together.
"I think we've put out the most urgent fires, at least for now."
When every item of business had at last been settled, Sien rose from her seat and said as much, and the family heads nodded. They had come with a measure of worry and concern about her. What they found instead was a beautiful family head who had led the Assembly far more ably than anyone had expected — the woman who would carry Lichtenauer's future.
"What is the next item on the schedule?"
"Ordinarily, the knights of each house would hold sparring matches, or the soldiers would stage mock battles, but…"
"But? Is there some problem?"
"The truth is, several houses took casualties in recent fighting."
"Meaning even those they would have sent to the Assembly were wounded."
"Precisely so."
If that was the situation, there was nothing to be done about it. Sien was on the verge of letting the matter pass without fuss when someone spoke up.
"And so we thought we might hold a sparring match among the attendants instead. What do you say?"
"…I beg your pardon?"
Hoofbeats sounded across the grass.
A man on horseback had at last arrived in the north. The long journey had left a weariness on him, but the clean, composed aura that clung to his body was undiminished.
"Whoa there! Who are you?"
A sentry on patrol moved to stop him. The man on horseback rummaged inside his coat and produced an identification token.
"Just an old knight who's come home, that's all."
"Deri… Deri…? Ah. Would you be Sir Deri, by any chance?"
"Hmm? And how would you know me?"
"Of course we know you! You served as an Imperial Knight, didn't you?"
The highest honor a knight could attain was to serve the Emperor at his very side as an Imperial Knight. When a territory produced one, it held a festival. Even after such a man had fulfilled his duty and returned to his hometown, he was held in the deepest respect by all who knew his name.
"Welcome home, sir. Ah — have you heard the news?"
"News? What news would that be?"
"The Northern Assembly happens to be meeting today."
"Hahaha. What's an old man like me supposed to do there?"
"Not at all, sir. The family heads will be delighted, I'm sure. I'll send word at once."
He told them it was fine, that they needn't bother — but there was no stopping the soldiers' enthusiasm. In the end, Deri, former Imperial Knight, found himself formally invited to the Northern Assembly… without the faintest idea of who he would find there.