[No title provided]
“Prazia! Take care of the fast ones. Don’t let them get near the civilians!! Duchess, use your magic to bind these monster bastards’ feet around here! Princess, contact the imperial palace right now and report the situation!”
I shouted to my companions as I slashed through the nearby monsters.
Kwaaaah!
Sek!
Even as I cut down one that had lost all reason and turned into a complete monster lunging at me, I quickly scanned my eyes around to check if there were any civilians who hadn’t evacuated yet.
No matter that this was some lawless fringe area on the outskirts of the empire, it was still a place where poor folks lived ordinary lives. As a fellow imperial citizen—and someone who’d chosen to wield a sword for others—I couldn’t just stand by and watch innocent people drop like fallen leaves.
To prevent further casualties, I drew up my aura, but with buildings everywhere, going all-out risked sweeping up innocents in my attacks. I had no choice but to dial back my power as much as possible.
Thankfully, Polo—the next strongest after me—was battling the monsters I’d missed on the opposite side, dropping them one by one. Before coming to the academy, he’d sparred with me more than anyone, so he didn’t even need instructions; he’d secured his position and was prioritizing civilian protection.
“Tch. A Lord is still a Lord. Even if you’ve gotten stronger, taking on this many is too much.”
“You—!”
“Rookie. You shouldn’t be glaring at me like that right now. Haven’t you noticed what these guys have in common?”
Common point? How the hell would I know that? They were just trash from the back alleys peddling illegal drugs anyway…
Wait.
“Drug dealers? Drak?”
“Exactly. Their common trait? They’ve all taken the drug. Simple ingestion gives short-term physical enhancement, but with a special trigger phrase… well, as you can see, it awakens the dragon blood dormant in that grand duchess’s veins, birthing a chimera.”
“Simple fix, then. Kill you, kill them all.”
I glanced around, gauging that we’d handled most of the chimeras, then swung my sword at his limbs to seal his movements.
“Nice try.”
Shiiiik.
But right after, gray mist erupted from his arm.
…Smoke screen?!
Figuring he was trying to escape, I gripped my sword tighter and slashed swiftly—
“…M-Mommy.”
“!?!!”
My blade halted dead in the thickening fog, just as my eyes adjusted to reveal a child I’d never seen before, about to be bisected at swordpoint.
“Grraaah!!”
Craaack!
I forced an insane overload on my arm muscles to wrench the blade’s path, hearing something snap inside as blood welled up in patches.
Muscles torn internally?!
Ignoring the searing pain, I barely redirected the swing elsewhere. The kid was unharmed, just calling for her mom.
“Changing your sword’s trajectory mid-swing like that. I was looking forward to watching an imperial hero cleave an innocent child in two, but alas, disappointing.”
“You bastard…”
The mist cleared with his voice, revealing him on the opposite side now. A frantic woman—who’d seemed to be searching for the child—rushed over and scooped up the crying girl. From the looks of it, they’d been evacuating together when the kid slipped her hand in the panic.
I kept them in my peripheral until they escaped the battlefield, then finally re-aimed my sword.
“You sure that’s wise? Rush me again, and I might snag another innocent.”
He had a point. Without knowing his exact ability, charging blindly could cost someone else their life. The sudden kid, his instant repositioning…
“The mist acts like portals…?”
“Oh? To think someone would spot that so quickly. Quite the keen eye for a Lord, eh?”
His face rippled like mist, hiding his expression, but I imagined widened eyes of surprise. Though his flat, machinelike tone—devoid of inflection—made it all the more unsettling.
“Just as you guessed, my mist swaps positions. My personal combat prowess isn’t much, but I’ve honed its applications for all sorts of tricks. Ahh… all thanks to Her grace…”
He clasped his hands prayerfully at the end, bowing like a true zealot.
“So put down that sword. Even if you reach me, I’ll just grab more hostages. I’ve scattered my mist all over these outskirts.”
Classic civilian-shield blackmail. I was furious, but my hand was wrecked—muscles and veins ruptured inside, barely usable—and I didn’t want to kill others just to take him down. All I could do was glare silently.
“Wise choice.”
“Shut your trap. No need to grovel—your precious sub-cult leader’s next on my list anyway.”
“…Hah.”
Did declaring I’d kill his god incense him? His rippling face froze, then flared like flames. The emotional surge made his fury obvious through the distortion.
Once he calmed, he touched what passed for his chin and dropped a bombshell.
“I heard before you arrived. The current Lord’s son seems to have taken this drug.”
“…!!!”
Polo had indeed ingested Drak back at the academy to fool that infiltrating dealer. We’d thought it lucky—no side effects, just enhancement—but for it to backfire like this…!
“You’ve blasphemed Her, so pay the price you must.”
“Shut your fucking mouth—!”
“Son of a—!!”
But I couldn’t block the verbal wave from his mouth. I hurled my sword aside and bolted toward Polo.
If he turned like those dealers—ripping into people the moment they transformed—I was the only one who could stop his rampage. But I didn’t want to cut down my friend with this blade.
Resolving to block his frenzy with my body, I tackled him from behind in a bear hug, pinning his smaller frame tight to keep him from harming anyone.
This soft-hearted guy—even mindless—would torment himself forever if he hurt innocents.
“Uh… um…”
“It’s fine, Polo!! I’ve got you locked down!! So…!”
“Ugh…”
My first friend in this world. Sure, I’d approached him scheming for my future at first, but somewhere along the line, this kind soul had stuck by me. I couldn’t lose him now.
“…You.”
“Leave it to me, Princess!! I’ve got this guy—!”
“No, open your eyes.”
“Pardon?”
What? I cracked my eyes open to four women glaring daggers at me, their gazes brimming with betrayal, shock, and sorrow. What the…?
The vibe was off, so I glanced down sheepishly.
“Uh… think you can let go now…?”
Polo nestled snug in my arms, same as always.
Yeah. Same as always.
He’s fine?
Polo looked sharp aside from scratches from the chimeras—no torn flesh, mind intact. The issue? His cheeks flushed red from my grip, shrinking bashfully.
A tomboyish yet feminine beauty in that pose made for a weirdly delicate picture.
“Uh… sorry.”
I eased my hold. As I peeled off his back, Polo turned away, straightening his rumpled clothes.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…It’s fine.”
I get what you’re all thinking, but no. I don’t swing that way, and Polo said he’d moved on anyway!
“What the—!?”
Thank god the mist guy’s outburst drew the stares. Sensing killing intent fiercer than his threats, I silently thanked him for the timely distraction.
“Why hasn’t he changed?! A human should—! Filled with regret and desire—! Consumed by filthy greed, losing himself—!”
I didn’t get the mechanics, but maybe the phrase tempted or corrupted them, and succumbing turned them monstrous.
“Kuh… Her power fails?! Such irreverence—!! You’ll all pay—!”
Frothing at Polo’s immunity, he realized time was short and summoned mist to flee.
“Tch!”
Whoom!
I swung to disrupt him with wind pressure, but he vanished without a trace—fully committed to escape.
Regret and desire, huh…
I had a hunch why Polo resisted, but imperial troops’ approach let me shelve it.
““““…””””
More pressingly, I needed to explain fast—or die. Physically, socially, whatever.