The Saintess and the Princess, and the Dragon Princess
A languid breeze blew in from the weather that had fully warmed up. The grass swayed like rippling waves in the wind. With all the faculty tied up in an emergency meeting, the academy grounds had fallen into an eerie silence, thick with the ominous tension of a storm about to break.
"I wonder how long it's been since we last walked side by side like this."
"The last time was at the year-end ball five years ago, so yeah, it's been a while."
Beneath that heavy air, two girls strolled through the academy grounds, pressed close together as if to flaunt their intimacy. One was a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl in the academy uniform that marked her as a Triam Academy student. The other looked like a student too but wore no uniform—instead, she was bundled head to toe in pristine white priestly robes, her white hair framing black eyes.
"Positions like saintess of the church and second princess of the empire don't leave much room for personal time."
The two girls were none other than Asia, the saintess of the Mitra Church, and Amelia von Eisenach, the second princess of the Elumhult Empire.
At first glance, a church saintess and an imperial princess seemed to occupy worlds with no connection. But in truth, the two had been inseparable childhood friends since their first meeting as kids—a bond that endured to this day. Amelia, who always appeared curt and cold in public, softened into genuine warmth only around Asia.
Yet even their closeness couldn't withstand the onslaught of duties and events that came with maturity. Time alone together became a luxury they could no longer afford.
"...Hmph. Probably those old fogeys in their backrooms scheming to keep us apart."
Of course, that was just the surface excuse. The real reason lay in the power struggles between the church and the empire. The Mitra Church poured its strength into holding the front lines against the sealed demons and monsters of the Dark Continent, needing vast authority and resources for its followers and itself. The empire, meanwhile, was busy checking the church's growing influence.
Asia and Amelia had been forced to keep their distance by that political tug-of-war. Amelia resented the empire and church higher-ups who bickered endlessly over their rice bowls, all at the cost of her one true friend—reduced to letters for far too long.
"Don't take it too hard, Amelia. Even if we've been apart, that doesn't change the fact that we're friends."
Asia, by contrast, voiced no regrets. Sure, she missed her friend, but the time apart had let her save countless lives on the Dark Continent's front lines. In a way, it was a necessary sacrifice.
"...You're still the same. As expected of the Battlefield Savior."
Amelia knew well Asia's boundless compassion for others, but seeing her friend speak without a hint of wistfulness still left her a bit pouty.
"Amelia...! I told you not to call me by that nickname...!"
Teasing her with the most embarrassing of her many monikers, Amelia watched Asia's face flush apple-red. Their eyes met, and suddenly, they both burst into laughter.
"Heehee."
"Ahaha."
The laughter came out of nowhere, but neither found it awkward or strange. They just hoped this moment—gazing at faces they'd feared lost forever—would last.
"Phew... By the way, I heard something happened before you arrived at the academy. That's why you got here a day late... Are you okay?"
Asia was the first to pull away from the chain of giggles. She voiced concern over the reason for Amelia's delayed arrival.
"That idiot second brother's doing? It just took a little time—no real damage."
Instead of reassurance, Amelia shrugged off Asia's saintly worry with a casual jab at her brother. In truth, the second prince's scheme to tarnish her reputation had been thwarted by Lerven without causing her any harm. Cleanup was all that remained.
"Oh... really...? That's a relief, then..."
Asia seemed unaccustomed to Amelia's sharp tongue but nodded, reminded of how the battlefield changed people over time. Time spared no one—not even an imperial princess.
Aware of this, Amelia apologized to her friend for any discomfort.
"...Ah, sorry. I badmouthed someone without thinking in front of you. Family talk always gets my blood up."
"...No, it's fine. I know what you've been through, Amelia."
Distance couldn't shake their bond, but time had reshaped their personalities and outlooks. Subtle glances exchanged the realization of how much they'd changed, until silence settled between them.
────!!!
A bloodcurdling shriek tore through the air from somewhere nearby—a grotesque wail no earthly beast could produce.
The sound demanded attention. Amelia and Asia whipped their heads toward its source.
"What was that from the forest...?"
The scream emanated from a small woods right beside them. Bushes and trees thrashed wildly in response, birds and beasts fleeing in a panicked exodus.
Amelia started analyzing the cause, but Asia bolted straight into the forest—against the tide of escaping animals.
"Asia? Where are you going?!"
"There might be someone inside! Even if not, I can't just ignore this after seeing it firsthand!"
Rushing headlong into danger without confirming anyone needed saving—that impulsive heroism had earned her the Battlefield Savior title, as Amelia well knew. But unlike the front lines, Asia had no knights or weapons here. She was utterly defenseless.
"Seriously, the girl who used to freak out over a single bug...!"
Feeling the sting that time had changed her friend too, Amelia chased after her.
*
The moment they entered the woods, a foul stench assaulted them—along with an unsettling aura permeating the area. The deeper they went, the thicker it grew, wrinkling their noses in disgust.
"What the hell happened inside the academy to cause this stench and energy...?"
Leading the way with a grave expression, Asia scanned the surroundings. Then her eyes caught something far more horrific than the stench or aura: chunks of flesh and bone strewn everywhere, oil-black blood staining the grass and underbrush. And in the center, a boy sprawled on the ground.
"Over there—someone's collapsed!"
"...Let's check it out."
Spotting the figure amid the carnage, they hurried over. Asia knelt immediately to assess him.
"Unconscious, minor abrasions all over, head bleeding... fractured arms too... Not light injuries. Treatment first..."
Hands clasped in prayer, eyes closed, Asia summoned a brilliant light from her palms—the miracle of healing any Mitra priest could wield. The boy's wounds knit closed under its glow.
Amelia stood guard behind her, glancing at the boy's face.
...Lerven?
She recognized him—the enigmatic powerhouse dragged into her brother's scheme. She'd heard rumors of his enrollment amid the bad press, but never imagined reuniting like this.
But... why was he with Princess Sidus...?
She didn't question why he lay collapsed in this remote woods. What puzzled her more was Sidus, slumped against a tree trunk behind him.
Judging by their positions and traces on their bodies, it looked like Lerven had shielded Sidus from whatever turned the surroundings into meat chunks.
But the rumors painted Lerven as the one who'd inflicted worse than death on Sidus—a disgrace no one prized pride more than her. Sidus should want to devour him alive. Lerven surely felt the same.
Then this situation doesn't add up...
Lerven protecting Sidus, and Sidus protected by him? That defied logic in most scenarios.
As Amelia furrowed her brow at the deepening mystery—
Twitch.
"......?"
Her sharpened gaze caught a faint movement from Sidus. Just once.
Relaxing her frown, Amelia approached.
"Phew... Emergency treatment's done. Now just move him somewhere safe and wait for him to wake... Huh? Amelia? Another patient over there?"
Having finished with Lerven, Asia jumped up at Amelia's movement, but Amelia shook her head.
"No."
Sidus showed no signs of consciousness or injury beyond a few scratches. She wasn't a patient.
"She's conscious, and her body's fine... Not a dragon, but definitely not hurt."
Patient didn't fit Sidus at all.
"...Could you explain what's going on here, Princess Sidus?"
Amelia fixed her with a cold, demanding stare.
"......"
Poof.
Sidus sprang up as if nothing had happened, casually brushing dirt from her clothes. Midway, she feigned surprise at spotting Amelia.
"Oh, Amelia? Long time no see. What brings you here?"
"......"
Amelia was speechless at the sheer audacity—thick enough to choke even the most brazen. Sidus, princess of rival Dracapolis, had always been prickly, but this situation made it worse.
Letting it slide would only let Sidus slip away with excuses, so Amelia pressed on the incident's trigger.
"What happened in these woods? Care to enlighten me?"
"I-I passed out, so I don't know what went down?"
"...If my eyes aren't deceiving me, you were clearly awake, Princess."
"What do you know? I just woke up!"
"...You don't act like someone who blacked out moments ago... Fine, at least you remember how you passed out, right?"
Sighing deeply at Sidus's persistent denial, Amelia rephrased to pry out the truth.
But Sidus's response this time was—
"......"
Silence.
"...Princess Sidus?"
Staring at her face, Amelia noticed it flushing redder by the second.
As she opened her mouth to comment—
"A-anyway, I said I don't know! Later!"
Boom!
Wings unfurled, Sidus rocketed into the sky with a sonic crack, vanishing in an instant.
"...That wasn't the reaction of someone clueless."
Gazing after her with exasperation, Amelia realized from that blush: Sidus knew most, if not all, of what happened.
**
"Insane, totally insane...! How did I end up protected by that guy...!"
And as expected, Amelia's hunch hit the mark.