The Royal Capital Gallia (1)
Under the clear sky, the carriage glided smoothly along the snowy road.
Thud. Thud.
The heavy jolts pulled Aria back to consciousness.
Someone was gently pinching her cheek.
The fingers were slender and soft, so……
“Azazel?”
“Sleep well, sis?”
She was right.
When Aria opened her eyes, she saw the girl with luscious red hair—Azazel Anaide—smiling brightly beneath her pointed hat.
‘I must have dozed off.’
Aria brushed her bangs aside and lifted herself from Azazel’s lap.
Azazel looked disappointed as she withdrew her hand from Aria’s cheek.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
A nightmare, huh.
That wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Mm, it wasn’t a good dream.”
They say terrible experiences leave deeper marks than happy ones.
Aria’s dreams mostly replayed the torment she had endured over the past year.
That was why she hated dreaming.
They were filled with nothing but painful, exhausting memories.
“You were frowning like a crumpled piece of parchment, so I asked.”
A crumpled piece of parchment.
Such an elegant way to put it.
“Did I really look that distressed?”
“Yeah. I was worried too.”
The reply came from the opposite side.
It was Ashtain, the man with striking black hair and black eyes.
“Is that so? I’m sorry……”
Aria instinctively began to apologize, then glanced at Ashtain’s expression.
As expected, he looked displeased.
“……Thank you for worrying, Ain.”
“No need to thank me.”
When she expressed her gratitude, the Hero turned away, looking satisfied.
It felt a little embarrassing.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who thought so—Azazel vigorously rubbed her arms.
“Ugh, you’re giving me goosebumps. My sides are freezing over here while you two are dripping honey. Absolutely dripping!”
“Sorry, Azazel.”
“Why are you apologizing, sis? It’s all Ashtain’s fault.”
“I-I’m not blameless either, am I?”
“You’re asking me that? You’re such an idiot, sis.”
The witch waved her hand dismissively in exasperation.
At Azazel’s prickly reaction, Ashtain chuckled and patted her head.
“Don’t pet me! You’re messing up my hair!”
Her words were sharp, but she didn’t actually pull away.
She says she hates it, but she secretly wants it.
She really was like a cat.
Aria joined in, gently stroking Azazel’s soft hair as well.
“Huh? Sis too?”
The witch found herself being teased by both of them.
Before long, her hair had turned into a magnificent bird’s nest.
“……What the heck. My neatly styled hair looks like a smashed broccoli now.”
She grumbled while trying to fix it.
The sound of giggling filled the carriage with warmth.
Several weeks had passed since Azazel’s confession.
Ashtain had successfully eradicated the monsters that had been rampaging on Mount Ascendio.
He gathered Aria and Azazel together and explained everything that had happened.
The attacker who looked exactly like him.
The truth waiting at the Gallia Royal Palace.
The Holy Sword’s suspicious behavior.
He told them everything without hiding or filtering a single detail.
The words were difficult to accept at face value.
But Aria simply nodded without raising any questions.
‘What do you want to do, Ain?’
‘I was planning to head to the front lines, but that guy’s words are bothering me.’
There was truth at the Gallia Royal Palace.
The word “truth” had a way of stirring people’s curiosity.
Even Pandora from Greek mythology had succumbed to misguided curiosity and unleashed disaster.
‘Are you going to the palace?’
‘If necessary, I’ll have to.’
‘……Both of you, wait a second.’
Azazel, who had been listening nearby, raised her hand.
Ashtain gave her the floor.
‘Speak, Azazel.’
‘Do I really need to hear this story?’
‘We’re comrades, aren’t we?’ ‘We’re comrades, right?’
They say lovers start to resemble each other.
When the two answered in unison, Azazel found herself at a loss for words.
Comrades, huh.
Not a bad feeling.
Blushing, she crossed her arms.
‘Well, I don’t have anything urgent to do right now, so I’ll tag along.’
And so, they were now riding in this carriage toward Gallia, the capital of the Gallia Kingdom.
However, there was one fact Azazel had overlooked.
She would have to endure being stuck between the two lovers during their passionate phase.
These two displayed a far more intense affection than most couples who flaunted their relationship.
Watching them in real time was enough to make her feel internal injuries.
The relative deprivation was no joke.
‘This is depressing, seriously.’
Azazel resolved that she absolutely had to get a lover, no matter what.
Meanwhile, Aria let out a sigh and gazed out the window.
Snow had been falling heavily for the past few weeks, blanketing everything in white.
“………I can’t believe there’s this much white trash.”
It was unbearably dreadful.
Anyone who had served in the military would surely understand.
Snow falling on weekdays was tolerable.
But when it poured down on weekends……
‘There was no such thing as personal time or anything else.’
When Aria shivered, Azazel looked at her curiously.
“Huh? What did you say, sis?”
“Ah, nothing.”
“Come on, tell me.”
Azazel reached out and tickled Aria’s armpits.
It was a sensitive spot, so Aria twisted and resisted.
“Hyah! Azazel! I-It tickles!”
“I’ll keep going until you tell me!”
“I-It’s really nothing! Seriously!”
“That ‘nothing’ is exactly what I’m curious about!”
She was a persistent witch.
Aria was at her wit’s end.
“White trash” wasn’t something that should come out of a Saintess’s mouth.
She might get teased for it.
So she tried to keep her mouth firmly shut.
But things rarely go as planned.
“Hah! S-Stop it!”
“You made me mad, sis! Who stops talking halfway through?”
“I-If you think about it, you were the one eavesdropping!”
“That’s the problem! If I hadn’t heard it, it’d be fine! But it went in my ears! I’m curious!”
“You’re being unreasonable—hyuk! Ahak! I-It tickles!”
Ashtain let out a small sound of admiration at the noticeably brighter atmosphere compared to when it was just the two of them.
Maybe having one more woman really did liven things up this much.
Still, watching any longer made Aria seem a little pitiful.
“Aria doesn’t like it, so stop.”
“Hmph. Are your eyes full of knots, Ashtain? I’m bonding with sis right now.”
Was “bonding” the right word for this?
Ashtain scratched his chin and frowned.
“Is that…… so?”
Aria shook her head vigorously.
“No! Ain, it’s not! D-Don’t be fooled, h-hit!”
But Azazel’s palm covered Aria’s mouth even faster.
“Sis, hurry up and say it!”
“Mmph! Ugh, ugh!”
What kind of answer was she expecting while her mouth was covered?
At this point, it seemed like Azazel just wanted to tickle her.
Ashtain decided not to interfere.
Aria sometimes wore a gloomy expression.
If this could make the shadow over her disappear, even a little, that would be enough.
Besides, he had no desire to butt in and get scolded.
When the Ashtain she trusted took a passive stance, Aria realized there was no point in enduring any longer.
“I’ll tell you! I just have to say it, right?!”
Azazel grinned.
“You should’ve done that from the start!”
“……Are you really my big sister, Azazel? I feel like the younger one here.”
“Sibling fights are normal!”
Having never had a sister, Aria couldn’t tell if that was true.
She sighed and pointed out the window with her index finger.
“I just looked at that and called it white trash.”
“Wow, even Aria sis curses at people?”
“That’s why I didn’t want to say it……”
Wait a second.
Aria sensed something odd in Azazel’s words.
“What did you say? People? I was talking about those white snow piles over there.”
Now it was Azazel’s turn to look confused.
“Huh? Snow? You weren’t talking about those guys wearing white masks?”
Guys wearing white masks?
Just as Aria tried to look out the window again, Ashtain pulled her into his arms.
“Hyek?”
Aria found herself helplessly embraced by Ashtain.
Blushing, she looked up at the Hero.
“A-A-Ain?”
“Stay still. We’re under attack.”
An arrow had embedded itself in the seat where Aria had just been sitting.
Ashtain drew the Holy Sword and was about to open the moving carriage door when Azazel stopped him.
“It’ll be easier if I handle it.”
“I suppose so.”
“So leave it to me.”
“……Alright.”
A chill filled Azazel’s red eyes.
“How dare these insects lay their filthy hands on my adorable sister?”
Thud.
Azazel opened the carriage door and stepped out, floating into the air before landing on the roof.
They could hear sounds from above.
Ashtain closed the open door and pulled Aria into his embrace.
He seemed to be trying to reassure her.
Creak.
A small rectangular window beside Ashtain slid open.
Through it, the coachman shouted in an urgent voice.
“Looks like today’s an unlucky day for all of us. Those are the White Talons! Damn it, I thought this area was safe!”
Ashtain asked calmly.
“What are the White Talons?”
“Bandits who’ve been expanding their influence lately! Their methods are vicious. They like money, but they especially enjoy toying with people. You’d better be prepared, miss.”
The coachman glanced at Aria, and she responded with a bewildered expression.
“Excuse me? M-Me?”
“Is there any other beauty here besides you?”
At the coachman’s warning, Ashtain spoke plainly.
“It’s fine.”
“What is?”
“She already went to deal with them.”
Ashtain pointed at the carriage ceiling with his index finger.
The coachman furrowed his brow.
“Who did?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. More importantly, how did you know those guys in white clothes were the White Talons? They could just be wearing white.”
“Is that really important right now?”
“I’m just curious.”
The coachman clicked his tongue in disbelief, as if scolding a young man who didn’t understand the gravity of the situation……
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion rang out, loud enough to be heard even inside the sealed carriage.
The coachman whipped his head forward and gaped at the horrific scene before him.
The White Talon bandits had all been reduced to ashes, burning brightly.
“I’m back.”
Azazel opened the carriage door and stepped inside, her voice calm.
Ashtain rubbed his ears.
“You sure made a racket.”
“They’ll get scared and run if it’s loud, won’t they?”
“Thank you for your hard work, Azazel.”
“See? Only sis ever cares about me.”
Through their conversation, the coachman inferred that the woman named Azazel was responsible for what had just happened.
“………W-What the hell are you people?”
Ashtain shrugged.
“We’re the Hero’s party.”
