At the Edge of the Sword
High in the mountains, a girl was resting on the branch of a fairly large tree, propping her head up on one hand.
Fssst.
At that moment, something rustled in the brush. She shifted her gaze slightly, and there, approaching through the undergrowth, was a giant feline beast with blazing yellow eyes.
It was deep night, and the wilderness teemed with savage predators driven feral by their instincts. Yet the girl showed not the slightest fear.
Her name was Trixie, the eldest daughter of the Ancient Dragon.
With her long black hair tied loosely back and her odd eyes—one yellow, one blue—she was the sort of Eastern beauty seldom seen on the continent, and she was strikingly attractive.
Compared to the mostly Western features common across the continent, her slender, delicate beauty stood out so vividly that people were always drawn to her with curiosity and affection.
After folding space and arriving on the outskirts of Marinella, Trixie had no intention of heading down into the town, even though she had a mountain’s worth of gold coins stored in subspace. It wasn’t that she disliked meeting people.
She simply felt more at ease when she could move freely, without any restraints.
The beasts that had approached her to fill their hungry bellies suddenly whined, cowered, and fled in panic. Not even mosquitoes or other pests dared come near her on instinct alone.
Dragon Fear.
The dominion of the Ancient Dragon, standing at the pinnacle of all living beings. That power had been inherited by her, his daughter, and manifested within her as well. So whenever any being fell under the influence of Dragon Fear, they would tremble in terror. Fortunately, if she paid attention, she could control it and weaken it, so it wasn’t usually a major problem.
On the contrary, in situations like this, it was convenient not having to deal with annoying pests. Still, whenever she thought of the one who had given her this power, her lips pouted a little.
That jerk. That stupid lizard. Does he even really think of me as his daughter?
She had gone without finding him for hundreds of years during her childhood; that, she could accept. But what had stung her was his attitude the last time—just standing there and watching when she was trying to block the magic beam that came flying at her, without lifting a finger to help. It had left her feeling a little hurt.
Trixie wandered around Marinella as a change of pace and ended up drifting all the way near the capital. Though she knew nothing at all about magic, the progress humanity had made in the mere dozen or so years since she’d last looked around was startling beyond recognition.
Thinking that a trip spent sampling street food and soothing her gloomy mood didn’t sound so bad, Trixie was suddenly jarred by an enormous surge of power she felt from the capital, and her heart gave a jolt.
Huh? What is this familiar presence? Don’t tell me…?
It resembled the demonic aura she had stopped on the eastern coast of the continent. Yet Trixie, who had never imagined she would sense something like this in the capital of a human nation, was a little taken aback.
Still, she dismissed it at once.
The place where the demonic aura was surging and the place she stood were far apart. As long as the trouble didn’t splash over to her, it had nothing to do with her.
That was the capital of a kingdom considered powerful in its own right; surely it was full of capable humans.
But just as a little curiosity began to stir, and she decided she would sleep for a while before looking into what was going on—
Whoosh!
A massive sword strike came hurtling toward her at terrifying speed. The attack happened so suddenly that Trixie was thrown into utter confusion, and she reflexively summoned her greatsword by instinct.
This won’t all be blocked! I just have to survive with my life intact.
In an instant, Trixie slashed the air in a cross. A split in space appeared along the path of the sword.
Like shattered glass, the crack spread little by little, gathering around her.
BOOOOOOM!
By the time the force of the sword strike reached her, it was as though a planet had exploded and fallen to ruin, erasing every living thing and every stretch of land nearby. The tremendous blast and the shaking shockwave nearly knocked Trixie unconscious. Fortunately, the aftermath did not last long and soon faded. Compared to the continuously fired demonic beam, this sword strike had concentrated all its power into a single instant of destruction.
Lucky? Like hell! Just like last time, I need to see right now which bastard has some kind of grudge against me!
Trixie huffed angrily and looked around. The mountain range where she had been was gone without a trace. The only proof it had ever existed was the howl of the scorched earth, bubbling and seething in the aftermath.
She immediately headed toward the capital of Marinella. At the very least, she would feel better if she could grab someone by the collar and shake them.
But Trixie had to stop before reaching the capital. Though her life had not been especially long by human standards, what she saw was still utterly unfamiliar to her. She widened her eyes in shock. She had been startled when she saw a meteor fall, but the sight of it being sent back into the far reaches of space sent a shiver through her entire body.
Uh… r-right. There must be some reason. Surely they didn’t attack me on purpose? They can’t be that bad.
She shelved the thought of grabbing someone by the collar and changed her plans, deciding that since she was already in the capital, she might as well eat something warm at an inn and rest for the night.
—
The hero’s party spent the night in rooms assigned to them in the royal castle after the events of the previous night. Once things had settled by morning, knights arrived under royal orders and approached them with care and courtesy, explaining that they needed to investigate what had happened and that the castle had invited them for that purpose.
In truth, if they had unleashed an attack of that scale, there would have been no excuse if the charge of treason were laid on them. But since no one had died and there was no reason to believe the hero’s party had any malicious intent, an investigation was simply being conducted to determine what accident had occurred.
The inquiry began secretly at dawn, before the sun had even risen. The four members of the hero’s party and Agatha, who had been present at the scene, were brought one by one to Marinella’s investigative bureau and questioned individually.
"These are the suspects’ statements, Director."
"Good. Everyone’s had a rough morning."
Ignoring his subordinate’s sharp, clipped tone and movements, the director accepted the documents and began to skim them at speed. He was clearly no mere figurehead appointed to head the bureau; it took him less than a minute to review all four pages.
Haa… should I call this fortunate, or what…?
Seeing his superior press a hand to his forehead and close his eyes, the subordinate watched him carefully. It was rare for the bureau chief, always razor-sharp and cold, to show any sign of emotion.
The director lowered his eyes again to the line where his findings were written.
Following the use of the forbidden artifact Soul's Cry, which violates international law, the holy knight of the hero’s party went berserk. This situation must be reported to the royal castle.
The director pulled out a fresh sheet and began writing up the report at once. It was the judgment he had reached immediately after reading the testimony.
Independent rebellion by the duke, using the mythic item Soul's Cry. The hero’s party is presumed innocent.
When he finished writing and stamped the bureau chief’s seal at the bottom, he took out a clean paper envelope, placed the document inside, and sealed it shut.
"Take this directly to His Majesty right now. And from this moment on, no blame is to be placed upon the hero’s party."
"Understood. I’ll go at once."
The subordinate accepted the envelope, saluted, and left the office. The director, having finished his urgent work, could still clearly recall the scene he had glimpsed the day before.
Haa… if they truly intend rebellion, they’re all dead men walking.
Called in by an emergency dispatch and dragged to work before dawn, the director rubbed at his brow, exhaustion heavy on him. Still, things had gone better than he had expected.
There was one magical law in effect within the investigation room: a commercial spell array developed by the Scoti Magic Tower, modeled after the effect of a mythic item that distinguished liars from the truthful. The maintenance fee was notoriously steep each year, but wealthy kingdoms all contracted with the Scoti Magic Tower to lease it.
Though the spell array’s effect was slightly inferior to the original mythic item, it guaranteed such an extraordinary level of credibility that, if cross-checked, it could even carry legal force.
The hero’s party and Agatha testified, just as Hilde had told them to, that they had drunk tea prepared by the duke, collapsed, and then been forcibly bound by Soul's Cry before going berserk. The director, who knew exactly what effect Soul's Cry possessed, could hardly believe that “going berserk” made any sense—but after seeing the party’s terrifying martial strength firsthand, he could not make a rash judgment.
Have we avoided the worst-case scenario?
A duke’s rebellion was an enormous incident, of course, but compared with the hero’s party betraying the kingdom, it was nothing at all. He only hoped this matter would not make the hero’s party bear resentment toward the kingdom.
—
Summoned to the reception room at the center of Marinella’s inner castle, the hero’s party and Agatha arrived at a door under the guidance of the prince’s aide.
The grave expressions of the knights standing guard on either side of the door made it clear that the people inside were no ordinary guests.
"I’ve brought His Majesty’s important guests."
When the aide spoke to the knights, one of them nodded and knocked on the door. After receiving permission to enter from inside, the knight gently opened it.
Once they stepped inside, the king and the prince greeted them. Unlike when they had met in the banquet hall, their expressions now carried a hint of tension.
"You’ve all had a rough morning, being questioned since early dawn. Please, make yourselves comfortable."
On the table set in the exquisitely decorated reception room were tea and light refreshments arranged in quantities matching the number of guests. It was a considerate gesture, since the hero’s party had been questioned so early they hadn’t even had breakfast.
The hero’s party returned the courtesy and took their seats. The saintess cautiously glanced around, then brightened a little when she spotted a cake from Rainy Bakery. The castle’s intelligence staff had already learned their tastes and prepared accordingly.
"I’ve heard a little of what happened. The title of Duke of Eilate will be removed from the kingdom’s nobility registry from now on. As for the ones who interfered with you in the banquet hall, they’re currently under intensive investigation, so don’t worry about them."
When the king finished speaking, he took a sip of tea. Edan noticed that the king was trying to gauge their mood. For the ruler of a kingdom to lower himself this much, he thought, meant the man was worried that their anger might spill over and spread through the country because of the duke. But Edan had no intention of letting this pass.
"There’s one thing I find puzzling, though. It doesn’t seem as if the meteor-fall spell was cast by the duke…."
Seeing Edan’s cold gaze, the king gave a small start. The others, excluding Edan, tensed slightly. His attitude toward the king seemed just a little disrespectful.
But Edan didn’t care. As a mage from the Scoti Magic Tower, he came from a place whose talents were recognized well enough to allow them to pursue their convictions regardless of the rank or status of the person before them.
The king wore a solemn expression. He cleared his throat and spoke.
"That was an unavoidable judgment. If you hadn’t handled the situation well, it might have been the best choice available."
"So in the end, you were prepared to wipe out everyone in the capital."
"If a meteor had fallen on the capital, yes, that would have been the result."
The king let out a quiet sigh inwardly. He could see what Edan was after. It was the same as demanding compensation for themselves after salvaging the royal family’s mistake. The saintess, who had been watching while eating cake with a fork, looked thoroughly entertained.
"Hah. You don’t need to put it so bluntly. We’ll reward you for what you want. You’re the heroes who protected this kingdom."
At the king’s acknowledging words, Edan closed his mouth. The prince, who had been watching, added a word of his own.
"We didn’t judge lightly either. We were willing to bear responsibility for the deaths of many citizens living in the capital, and we were inside the royal castle. If the spell had activated, both my father and I would have lost our lives as well."
The mood suddenly turned solemn. The hero’s party had assumed the members of the royal family had already escaped before activating it.
Coldly speaking, fleeing from the meteor-fall in order to prepare for the future would have been the rational choice. But staking their lives for the peace of the continent and the stability of humanity was an honorable act.
"I apologize for the rudeness the duke showed Your Grace. This matter will be dealt with severely."
Jaeun, the prince of Marinella, bowed his head toward Hilde.
Hilde shook her head.
"It’s all right. I’m not in a position to account for every private wrongdoing of my vassals."
Her benevolent tone seemed to move the king and prince deeply. At their reaction, Hilde let a faint smile appear on her lips.
She had already sensed that this might be the place to get something out of the prince.
"Then might I ask a favor?"
"Of course. I’ll see to it as best I can. Name anything."
The king nodded. Seeing the look in Hilde’s eyes, Jaeun felt his heart stir at her beauty, but at the same time he sensed a vague unease.
"From what I’ve learned, Your Highness sometimes changes your appearance and goes out to see the capital. Is that correct?"
"...Yes, that’s right. If I stay only in the castle, it’s hard to understand the atmosphere of the kingdom, so I sometimes conceal my identity with an artifact and walk around."
Jaeun did his best to hide his startled expression. She had clearly realized who he was when he had watched her near Rainy Bakery that time. In truth, even if she had noticed, it wasn’t that serious, but the fact that he had hidden it did not look particularly good.
"That artifact is likely one that imitates the effect of the mythic item Archi's Mask, isn’t it?"
"Exactly. But why are you asking…?"
The prince asked with a puzzled look. By contrast, the hero’s party immediately understood Hilde’s intention the moment she mentioned the mythic item.
"Right now, three mythic items, including Archi's Mask, are buried in the garden near the banquet hall. They’re the items the duke promised to give me."
Hilde had resolved to wring out as much as she could, now that her party had suffered for it.