Chapter 120
After the Battle
“WE’RE FINALLY HOME…”
“Finally home…”
“We made it back…”
“………”
At long last, the Crimson Vow had returned to their home in the capital of Tils.
“We’re beat…” the four agreed.
It was not the walking that had exhausted them—it was all of the attention! Every single person they had encountered on the way back from the battlefield had wanted to talk to them, or shake their hands, or ask for an autograph, or rip off a piece of their clothing, or yank out one of their hairs as a souvenir. By now, they were in tatters, both mentally and physically…and their clothing was in no better shape.
“Truly, humans are the most fearsome monster of all,” Mavis said gravely.
“I can’t believe you even have the brainpower to say something clever after all that…” Reina sighed. Mile and Pauline were similarly impressed. Neither of them had the energy to come up with a response of any kind.
Much as they tried to avoid meddling attention, the streets were packed with volunteer fighters, soldiers, mercenaries, and hunters returning home. Obviously, the Crimson Vow could not be rude to the brave men and women who had risked their lives to rush to their aid. And so, the four were forced to grin and bear it, keeping smiles plastered on their faces no matter how their cheek muscles cramped.
At night, they made camp in the forest, far away from the main roads, but even then—much to the hunters’ chagrin—many found their tracks and followed them. Of course, Mile erected a barrier and sound dampening setup around the tent, but regardless of how tight their defenses were, it made them nervous to bathe or use the bathroom. By the end of the trip, things had grown rather dire.
“It’s not going to go on like this forever, right?” Mavis finally asked a question that really shouldn’t be asked.
“G…” the other three stammered.
“G…?”
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
“Don’t ask that!” Reina screeched.
“Don’t even think it!” Pauline yelled.
Mile had simply frozen in place, going pale.
“L-Let’s go to the inn!”
It would be foolish to head to the guildhall. The moment they arrived, the place would explode with celebrations that they would be unable to escape. Right now, they were tired, and all they wanted to do was rest. Most people would be unaware of how quickly the Crimson Vow could move from place to place and so likely believed that it would be several more days before the party made it back to the capital. They were, after all, four young girls, and it was obvious that Pauline in particular was not especially physically fit. If they could just get back to the inn without anyone seeing them, they could at least get a rest in before showing their faces at the guild.
And when they did visit the guildhall, they would say nothing of themselves, explaining that their victory had all been thanks to the volunteers who showed up from every kingdom—the soldiers, hunters, mercenaries, elder dragons, and members of every other race. At least, that was their plan.
***
“Miss Satodele, you’ve returned! I’ve been waiting for you! We have to get everything in writing immediately! First, we need a record of the battle that just occurred. After that, we’ll need to put out a more lighthearted Diary of a Messenger and You’ve Got This, Little Messenger! We’ll want to do A Primer to Magic of Mass Destruction and Light Magic for Dummies and Speaking with Elder Dragons and so on and so forth! We already have scribes at the ready. Everyone is bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and raring to publish your next manuscript!”
“Oh, Melsacus…”
There in front of the inn stood the young manager of Orpheus Publishing, the company in charge of putting out Mile’s—or rather, Miami Satodele’s—novels. He really was quite the go-getter. Melsacus was regularly in contact with Mile during her travels, as they exchanged letters and manuscripts, so he already had some grasp on the party’s ability to move with abnormal speed. Mile always let him know the next place they would be staying and how long they would be there, for ease of contact. Besides, he was learned and insightful, which meant he had accurately predicted the state the Crimson Vow would be in on the way home. This allowed him to determine they would be headed back at full speed, with no stops or detours. Based on all that information, he was able to calculate their date of arrival.
He had been standing in front of the inn since early that morning, which made it clear to Mile that the publishing house was desperate for the “messenger’s” manuscript—even if it meant turning down all other work.
I guess I’ll have to turn the sections in as I write them, instead of when I’ve finished a whole book’s worth, she thought. If she were to make Melsacus wait until the whole volume was done, and the publishers took on no other work while they waited, that would mean no profits for the company. This would, of course, be particularly difficult on those who had families. In fairness, the publishers’ earnings were really none of Mile’s business, as they were the ones who had seemingly made the decision to turn down all other work while waiting for hers—but she was also not the sort of person who could flippantly disregard a group of people whose livelihood depended on her.
“Um… Well, I’ll figure out something with the first book, anyway…”
Unfortunately, she had little other choice.
When the members of the Crimson Vow entered the inn, Lenny was there to greet them with a smile.
“Big sisters! What troubles you must have faced!”
“Why does it sound like you’re welcoming us home from prison?!” Mile complained.
“You all have really been through a lot lately, haven’t you? Especially that part where you received divine powers from the Goddess above and fought your way to the enemy stronghold. And there was that ultimate secret technique! What was it called…? Oh right, the Death Raptor!”
“Huh?”
The four were bewildered. How could Lenny possibly know about all of that? The Crimson Vow was the only party who could have made it back to the capital already. The troops would be slow to march, and the civilians were not accustomed to traveling such long distances. The mercenaries and hunters would be busy drinking themselves into a stupor in the towns along the way, which meant they would be moving at a snail’s pace… Plus, anyone who had been part of the battle would find themselves treated to all the food and drink they liked at the pubs in those towns. Quite a few women would probably be throwing themselves at the feet of these supposed heroes… There was not a man in the world who would let a chance like that pass them by.
So, how could Lenny possibly have known so much about what had transpired at the scene of the battle? And why was she talking as though she had witnessed it with her own eyes and ears?
“It was amazing! I don’t think I’ll ever forget your acts of courage…”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
“Huhhhhhh???”
“L-Lenny, wh-what in the world are you talking about?” Mile asked timorously.
“I mean, obviously I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! How could I miss a once-in-a-lifetime spectacular like you all just showed us?! Seeing that giant picture up in the air, hearing all the sounds—I’ll never forget a moment of it, not as long as I live! I’m sure everyone else in the world feels the same way!”
“G…”
“G…?”
“Gaaaaaaah!!!”
Wait a second… Mile thought. When I said to show the images to as many people as possible… That wasn’t what I meant! Nanos, I know you know what I meant! And wait, actually, it was your idea to begin with! You persuaded me to make that call, which means… This was your plan from the start!
For once, there was no reply from the nanos.
Say something, you little jerks!
***
The Wonder Trio had been in the middle of taking a breather, having reached a good stopping point in the process of healing the injured, when they were assailed by Princess Morena and dragged forcibly back to Brandel.
At present, they were getting quite a few dirty looks from the all-female imperial guard and others of similar stature. Of course, the Trio were the reason that these guard members (who were comprised primarily of women of noble birth and were hired mainly to play at being knights while they were around the palace) had been dragged all the way out to the battlefield, where some of them had quite literally almost died. It was little surprise that they might harbor such resentment…
***
Mile and the rest of the Crimson Vow lived the days that followed in peace—though they knew, of course, that such an idyll could not last forever.
Mile—or rather, Adele—had now revealed her true identity to the entire continent, along with her true power, and the fact that she was under the Goddess’s divine protection. Any day now, Brandel would be issuing an official request to the kingdom of Tils to return the head of one of their noble households. Various ecclesiastical authorities would be making moves to detain her, and she would be receiving overtures and appointments of peerage from other countries. The more intellectually minded governments were sure to extend invitations to the young scholarly prodigy Miami Satodele, known not only for her fictional works but her academic texts as well, including Doctrines on Divine Rule; Being A Noble; Thought Experiments: The Elements of Capitalism, and so forth.
All in all, it had the makings of a perfect storm, and there was not a single member of the Crimson Vow who was not well aware of this. The scale of what had just transpired was far too great, and the casualties to the troops that had been dispatched to the east of Aubram too massive to overlook. For the powers in question, there would be the matter of restoring the armies, compensating nobles…and the invaluable trophy that was the so-called “Messenger.”
Brandel was adamant about demanding Mile’s repatriation, as not only her mother country but also as the kingdom where she already held a title. Tils insisted that the C-rank hunter known as Mile was unmistakably a citizen of their country, as that was where she had registered as a hunter and graduated from their country’s school under official scholarship, without anyone ever being aware that she was a runaway noble. The ecclesiastical authorities, meanwhile, claimed that the divine messenger was naturally under their protection, no matter what the various royal governments had to say about it. The Albarn Empire naturally insisted that it was they to whom the divine messenger belonged, as the battle for the fate of the world had taken place on their soil.
Before long, international conferences had reached a stalemate. The competing claims were clearly unreconcilable, leaving no country able to lay hands on Mile. But the peace that she currently enjoyed was only temporary—the eye of the hurricane, as it were.
***
“W-wait! We’ve all been offered titles?!”
A messenger had appeared from the royal palace of Tils, informing the Crimson Vow of their newly aristocratic status.
“Yes. Lady Mile, Lady Mavis, Lady Reina, and Lady Pauline: For your achievements in defending the world from danger, you have all been conferred the rank of countess. Sincerest congratulations! Frankly, with all that the four of you have achieved, I would not be shocked if you were even promoted to marquises, but I’m sure certain parties would crawl out of the woodwork to complain if things went that far. I hope you do not take offense.”
“I-I see…”
The messenger was surprisingly frank in the way he discussed the matter, but he did not seem to be a bad person.
The four members of the Crimson Vow could only look at one another in silence.
***
Even after the messenger departed, the four of them could still barely speak.
“Wh-wh-wh-what do we do?” stammered Reina.
“I-I-I-I don’t know what we should…” Mile stuttered.
“Wh-wh-wh-what the heck are we supposed to do…?” Mavis fretted.
“I-I-I-It’s just totally unprecedented…!” Pauline muttered.
After pausing to drink some tea, they seemed to finally pull themselves together.
“So…” asked Reina. “What do we do?”
“If we refuse an appointment from the king himself, they’ll think we’re harboring treasonous intent and hang us for sedition!” Mavis cried. “Or lock us away for the rest of our lives…”
The four were silent again. Already being a noble, Mavis knew how these things worked.
“I guess we’d better accept, then…”
“………”
***
“Wait, a promotion?”
“Yes. As of this very moment—upon receipt of this missive!—you, Adele von Ascham, have been conferred the rank of marquis.”
Once more, silence overtook the Crimson Vow. A messenger had just arrived from the kingdom of Brandel with a special notice for Mile—or rather, Adele. As Adele had been a viscountess and not a commoner to begin with, this was merely a promotion of two ranks. Since such promotions were primarily given for the purpose of allowing a noble to marry to a higher-ranking noble or even a royal sometime in the future, no one objected to Adele receiving such a lofty title. The palace had likely received word of her promotion to countess in Tils and decided to award her an even higher honor.
Of course, even this elevated rank came with no mention of land. Estates befitting a marquis weren’t simply lying around, free for the taking. It wasn’t so strange that she had been given a title alone, with her estate remaining that of a viscount. After all, offering her vaster lands might cause more problems. Perhaps they had even purposely left her estate as it was, so that it could be managed by a clerk. That way Mile herself could remain at the palace, all dolled up in noble garb…ready to become the bride of the child of someone with a lofty title…
This errand boy (though he seemed to, in fact, be a viscount), was nothing more than a messenger—a homing pigeon delivering news of a decision that had already been made. There was no point in Mile protesting. His job was only to deliver the message; he held no authority beyond that.
***
“Lady Mile, you have been conferred the rank of countess in the Albarn Empire.”
“Lady Mile, you have been conferred the rank of marquis in the kingdom of Aubram.”
“Lady Mile, you have been conferred the rank of countess in the kingdom of Marlane.”
“Lady Mile, you have been conferred the rank of countess in the kingdom of Trist, and appointed as advisor to the mage division of the imperial guard.”
“Lady Mile, you have been conferred the rank of countess in the kingdom of Vanolark, and appointed honorary head of the royal family’s personal guard.”
“Lady Mile, the papacy has officially recognized you as a ‘divine messenger’ and ‘great holy maiden,’ and appointed you a cardinal.”
“Waaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
***
“Whatcha gonna do…?” asked Reina.
“H-how should I know?!” Mile sighed.
“How are you gonna handle this?” asked Mavis.
“Please don’t ask…” Mile whined.
“How do you intend to keep up with your duties as my personal warehouse and carthorse?!” Pauline demanded.
“Pauline! That’s what you’re worried about?!” shouted the other three.
“Anyway, you three are countesses now, too!” Mile rebutted.
“Oh, right…”
All four let out a collective sigh.
“What the heck are we supposed to do?!?!?!?!”
***
The peerage battle that had begun with the kingdom of Tils was now in a seven-way deadlock. The other six countries all rebuked Tils for causing trouble by trying to get a head start on the contest, saying that it would only cause trouble for Mile. Instead, they proposed that all seven powers come together to discuss this as a group.
The other three members of the Crimson Vow were, of course, incredibly skilled hunters, but they were nothing more than normal humans—albeit ones with the strength of an A- or S-ranker. Mile was a different story: a divine messenger, who held influence with elder dragons and wielded attack magic on par with the hammer of the Goddess. Besides, no other nations could hope to nab Mavis or Pauline, who were both natural-born citizens of Tils with family and ties to established entities there. After all, one was a merchant’s daughter, and the other that of a count.
This was another way that Mile was unique. She had fled her home country, calling herself a wandering C-rank hunter of uncertain origin. Therefore, each kingdom hoped to claim her as their own by appointing her a noble. The six countries competing with Brandel to make Mile their own seemed determined to ignore that Mile had named herself as the once-viscountess Adele von Ascham during her continent-wide broadcast. “She didn’t say where she was from,” some convinced themselves, “so she must hail from some other distant land with a noble household whose name just resembles that ‘Ascham.’” Others even claimed that, since she had fled her motherland, to drag her back there would be a crime against humanity.
At any rate, the other six countries had no intention of handing Mile over to Brandel, no matter what falsities they had to believe in order to justify their claims to the divine messenger. And so, all seven of these nations showed up for an international conference, one that went on for days.
In the meantime, the notices pertaining to Mile’s peerages and other appointments had already been released and could not be retracted without besmirching the honor of the country in question. Which meant that, as of now, Mile had a valid claim to noble stature across the entire region.
***
Yet again, the Crimson Vow found itself in a period of relative calm.
Unable to accept any jobs from the guild, they had made camp out in the forest some distance from the capital and taken to hunting and gathering there, lest the inn be troubled by the throngs of people beating down their door.
“This is actually pretty relaxing,” Reina sighed happily.
“It reminds me of the daily routine we had back during our prep school days, when we still needed to earn enough to cover our living expenses,” said Mile.
“Yeah, it helps to go back to your roots sometimes,” said Mavis.
“Ah ha ha…”
***
Sadly, they could not hide themselves away in the forest forever. They had yet to stop in at the guild even once since their return, and they couldn’t afford to delay the inevitable much longer. There was also a chance they might have been contacted by the Crown, something which they couldn’t truly ignore.
But no one could fault a hunter for going out to do some hunting. They had not made any promises to anyone before they departed, which meant that no one could reasonably complain about their absence, at least for a short time. Hunters were frequently absent from home while on a job—such was the life of a hunter!
Several days later, they finally made their return to the inn, only to find…
“Hm? There’s something posted up in front of the inn. It says…”
Preferred Inn of the Divine Messenger and the Crimson Vow
Visit the “Miracle Baths” hand-crafted by the Divine Messenger! Female guests only.
Experience first-hand water supplied and heated by the magic of the Divine Messenger!
See the marks left on a post from the time the Crimson Vow and the Wonder Trio crossed swords!
This is the inn where they found their way!
The four stared in silence.
“Lenny…”
“That Lenny…”
“Oh, Lenny…”
“Ah ha ha…”
“Looks like we’re really back home.”
***
“Oh, big sisters! A messenger came by from the palace. Here, they left this letter. I’m going to go tell them that you’re back and that I delivered the letter!” Lenny said, handing Mile a letter before running outside. She probably had a deferred tip to collect.
“How would someone from the palace know exactly how to handle her?” Pauline wondered.
“I’m sure they have experience with children,” Reina sighed.
Having grown up in a fairly affluent household, it had not occurred to Pauline that quite a few children might behave like Lenny when faced with the promise of a tip… Odd, considering how motivated Pauline herself was by money.
***
“It’s so wonderful to have you! Please, find a seat!”
A few days later, the members of the Crimson Vow found themselves escorted into the palace. They were led not to the audience chamber but to a space that seemed more like a conference room. There were about twenty elderly gentlemen assembled, none of whom they knew. This was no surprise—they all gave off the air of being someone very important, perhaps higher-ranking nobles, or cabinet ministers, if they were unlucky, Mile thought.
“Please, please, have a seat. We can’t begin until you do.” The man who seemed to be the chairman urged them again to their seats. The members of the Crimson Vow bowed their heads and did as they were told.
“Wonderful to have you. I am the king of this kingdom. The other gentlemen you see before you are diplomats from ours and the six nearest countries.”
He’s the KING?! the four girls all shrieked internally. He’s the most unassuming one of them all!
This was suddenly feeling very much like one of Mile’s stories.
***
“Now then, you’re telling me that you don’t know precisely why it is that this so-called ‘dimensional rift’ closed?”
“Correct,” said Mile. “There are a number of possible explanations but no way of determining the truth. It could be that our attack destroyed whatever apparatus—er, magical formation—was on the other side, or that the operators were disabled—um, the mages were killed. Or it could have been that whatever stars were in alignment fell out of place, and the rift would have closed at that time regardless. Or there could be any number of other reasons. Which means…”
The king picked up where she trailed off. “The invasion has stopped for now, but there’s no telling when it might happen again. And by then, the four of you may have already reached the end of your lives, yes?”
The others in attendance fell silent. The king of this country seemed to have an accurate grasp on the situation. He was their ruler, after all.
The invasion might come again at some point in the future when no one involved in the current goings-on was still alive. What might become of the world then?
“Actually,” Mile piped up, “there’s no need to worry about that. We were able to expel the invaders this time—which means that whichever brave heroes are there to replace us next time will be able to do the same!”
There’s no one in existence who could possibly replace you! the attendants screamed silently.
After that, the king explained that everyone in this room would be carefully considering how the members of the Crimson Vow were to be rewarded and celebrated, and their treatment going forward. With that, the palace conference drew to a close.
“How we are to be treated?” Mile spoke under her breath, but clearly her expression had given her away—she caught the diplomat from Brandel staring at her with a glint in his eyes.
***
“What are we gonna do?” asked Mavis.
“What can we do?” sighed Reina.
“There’s nothing for us to do,” said Mile.
“Ah ha ha…” Pauline laughed bitterly.
Sure enough, there truly was nothing that they could do while they awaited the results of this international conference.
“Well then… I guess we could go stop in at the guildhall?”
“Right.”
Now that Mile mentioned it, the others realized they had yet to drop in. It was getting to be high time they did so. In fact, their visit was long overdue. Since they had not taken a job through the guild as of late, there was no mission completion report to give. However, that was no excuse for not at least making their presence known.
A look of dismay fell over all four of their faces. The longer they put things off, the worse it was going to get.
“Guess we should get going.”
“Yeah…”
***
“It’s the Crimson Vow!!! Huzzah!!!”
The moment the party crossed the threshold of the guildhall, they were met with cheers and applause. They had tried to time their arrival to a moment when there would be the fewest possible people present, but apparently, they hadn’t had much success.
“Excellent work, Crimson Vow! The guild master is waiting for you! Please come right this way!” The clerk jumped out from behind the counter, a broad smile on her face. She grabbed Mile’s hand (she was at the front of the group) and ushered her along, the other three following them up to the guild master’s office on the second floor.
“Why didn’t you come here as soon as you arrived?! Normally, people stop in before they go to their inns! Do you realize how many days it’s been?” The guild master lit into them the moment they stepped into the room, but it was clear he was not truly angry. Rather, his face split into a smile. “You really did a bang-up job! I can’t imagine that being thanked by the likes of me would mean anything to you, now that you’ve saved everything and everyone in the entire world, but allow me to thank you anyway! Thank you. Thank you truly,” he said, and then bowed his head deeply.
Normally the Crimson Vow might be humble and tell him “Please, there’s no need for that!” But clearly, this was not the time for modesty. It was more appropriate to quietly receive his thanks.
Then, they all sat.
“I hope you’ll forgive me for getting right down to brass tacks. It’s going to start causing a lot of conflicts if we can’t reconcile your statuses,” he said plainly. The members of the Crimson Vow nodded in reply. “To start, you are all now S-rank.”
“…What? Huh?!?!”
“Th-there must be a mistake,” Mile sputtered. “Rank promotion isn’t just about contribution points—there’s a set amount of time you have to serve as each rank as well… That’s a rule that not even nobles can bypass!” The other members of the Crimson Vow nodded vehemently, but the guild master shook his head.
“There’s another clause that people often forget about: ‘Unless they are a national hero who saves the kingdom.’”
“Ah.” They all sighed. Now that they thought about it, they had heard something like that. And if that was the requirement, it was one that they had most certainly fulfilled.
“Ha…ha ha ha…” A dry laugh crept out of Mile’s throat.
“If you four aren’t promoted to S-rank, it’s going to be embarrassing for all the other S-rankers! They might even retire in protest. Besides, no one else could ever be promoted to S-rank. Please, think about the other hunters… I cannot allow you to refuse.”
The members of the Crimson Vow were silent. What he was saying made sense—far too much sense. If they did not deserve S-ranks for saving the entire world, then it would take saving the entire star system, or even the galaxy, for anyone else to rise to such stature.
“To be frank, out of consideration for the current S-rankers, we discussed whether we should create a new, higher rank. But S-rank already encompasses everything above an A-rank, with no upper limits, and it’s not as though anyone after you would ever achieve that rank again, so we’ve put that conversation aside. S-rank is an appropriate recognition of superhuman feats such as yours.”
Again, the members of the Crimson Vow were silent. Everything he said was so logical that there was no protest they could possibly raise.
“Also, though this isn’t directly related to your situation, we’ve abolished the requirement for a minimum term of service. A lot of folks have been advocating for this change for a while, and it was pretty firmly requested by the upper brass of Tils, so it had already been provisionally decided at the last Guild conference. We’re just waiting for official ratification. We’re going to be making a preliminary announcement along with your rank promotion. That should shut up any of the remaining dissenters.”
The silence continued. All of them—especially Mavis—had been striving for an A-rank. And now, they had flown straight past both B-rank and A, straight to S. To be an S-rank, a living legend… This was something that every hunter yearned for—the stuff of dreams.
“W-we’re going to be S-rank hunters, living legends…” Reina stammered, thoughts running a mile a minute.
“Listen, even if we didn’t give you S-ranks, you four are already legendary!” the guild master interjected.
“That’s true…” sighed the four. He was right.
“In all seriousness,” he continued, “why would you all spill the beans like that? This is gonna cause big problems in the future. Or rather, I suppose it already has…”
The girls’ shoulders slumped.
“At the time,” Mile explained, “we thought it would be just the four of us heading into battle. We didn’t expect to make it home alive… So, we decided to reveal everything, sparing no detail that might convince as many people as possible to have as much faith in us as possible, no matter how little it might help. We weren’t thinking about what would come after…” She laughed dryly.
“It’s true,” said Reina. “You gave up not only the fact that you were a noble but that you were Miami Satodele, which we were never going to tell anyone.”
“Huh?” There was almost an audible sound as Mile’s neck craned slowly in Reina’s direction, shock upon her face. “R-R-R-R-Reina, wh-when did you…?”
“I mean I figured it out a long time ago. Mavis and Pauline did, too.”
“H-h-h-how?!”
“Wait, no—seriously, did you think that we didn’t know?” asked Mavis.
“Hold on,” said Pauline. “I thought we were all operating under the premise that you knew that we all knew but that we were just pretending not to know. Did you actually not realize that…we…knew…?”
“Whaaa?!”
It was a shot straight to Mile’s heart.
“I mean, the plots of the books were pretty much just rearranged versions of your folktales, and the turns of phrase and standard tropes were all the same,” Reina elaborated. “I’m pretty sure everyone from the prep school knew, too, and I’ll bet the folks from that academy you went to forever ago figured it out as well. You’re always blabbing about that sort of stuff…”
Mile slumped in dismay.
“Anyway, it’s not your concern, but a lot of other people are going to be promoted as well. Obviously, we couldn’t recognize everyone who participated in the battle. That would be way too many people, especially since there are some hunters who were promoted not long ago, and some who still don’t have the qualifications. Giving someone a rank that doesn’t match their abilities is basically a death sentence,” the guild master explained. The Crimson Vow nodded gravely. “Also, unlike the soldiers, who participated as a unit, most of the hunters participated of their own volition, not as part of any job. Unfortunately, we aren’t a charity, and we can’t reward them for voluntary service. If we were to pay every hunter a reward commensurate to their participation, we’d go bankrupt. The civilians all participated without pay; it wouldn’t do for the hunters to get special treatment.”
The Crimson Vow simply nodded. It was what it was.
“However,” the guild master continued, “the Crown will be providing some manner of reward. They will also be paying a sum to the families of those who passed away and offering provisions for the education and employment of their children. And not just in Tils—from what I hear, other kingdoms will be doing the same. The royal family would never risk damaging their reputation simply to save a little money. Their citizens would lose faith in them, and all their hunters would relocate to other lands. Hunters aren’t like farmers, tied to the land, or members of the Merchants’ Guild, tied to their clients. They won’t risk their lives for a town or country that no longer suits their fancy, and they can up and leave at any time. Having one or two depart in this way wouldn’t have much of an impact, but if every hunter in the country was to abandon us…”
There was no need for him to complete that sentence.
Bodyguards for merchants. Monster culling. Procurement and supply of meat and medicinal herbs. Profits for the inns and weapon shops and eateries and pubs. Not only would they lose the workforce for necessary jobs, but also, the departure of the hunters’ disposable income would be a blow to urban economies. The result was that no country would dare mistreat their hunters.
Additionally, though she’d had no notion of things to come, Mile’s activities had ensured that the orphanages of the surrounding countries were now in a solid financial position, expanding their facilities and able to accommodate far more children. There would be orphaned children of the heroes who died fighting for the country—nay, the world. No one would dare treat them cruelly.
Though this whole matter had nothing to do with them, the Crimson Vow could only nod in agreement.
Then, the guild master’s tone shifted, and he addressed Mile with a serious look in his eye. “Is it going to happen again?” It was no surprise that the guild master had more or less the same question as the king had. It was naturally a question that would concern anyone in a position of responsibility. Unfortunately, Mile still was not prepared to provide an answer.
“I don’t know,” she said sadly. “Nor do I know what the intention was of the ones who created the dimensional rift—or if they even had a reason to begin with. I don’t even know if it was a natural phenomenon or something that someone created intentionally. I’m also not certain if our final attack permanently disabled whatever means by which the rift was created or if it was only a temporary fix.”
“I see…” The guild master hung his head in the face of so many unanswered questions.
But even while the threat from this other dimension may not have been fully neutralized, it was not as though they did not have some things to be happy about. The monsters might attack once more, or it might never happen again. There would always be anxieties about the future, but for now, facing down a common threat had brought the world together, quelling some of the fighting between races, and even between humans themselves.
Any future problems would be problems for those alive at that time to deal with. It was not as though they could look after the planet forever, thought Mile.
“Anyway, that’s all the depressing stuff out of the way. There were a lot of people hurt in that fight, but thanks to you all, damages were still kept to a minimum. Playing the role of heroes who stood on the front lines of the battle to save the world, risking their lives with no reward, has really bolstered the reputations of hunters all around. The people who participated in that battle will no longer be vilified as the dregs of humanity… Not to mention the fact that you shouted the name of our guild branch across the continent, so we’re now known as the guild that produced not only the divine messenger and the rest of the Crimson Vow but also the A-rank party the Roaring Mithrils and countless other heroes of the front lines. Thanks to you, I’ll almost certainly be bumped up two ranks in the guild master rankings, with bonus pay to match—er, ahem!”
The Vow pretended not to hear that last part. The guild master was always working so hard—it wouldn’t hurt for him to get something out of this as well.
“And, of course, we’ve got a party planned! Well, it’s probably just gonna end up being another drunken throw down, but we have a feast arranged. We won’t be able to fit everyone inside a place of business, so we’re going to have part of a main street blocked off to traffic instead. It would be hard to get all of the food and drink into the main city square, and we’d end up with a lot of non-hunters slipping in for the free food and drink… I know you all don’t drink much, but this will also double as a memorial for the fallen. We’ve gotta really live it up if we want the joy and gratitude of the living to reach the ears of the fallen… So, you all had better come, too.”
“Understood,” Mavis nodded, accepting the guild master’s instruction in her capacity as the group’s representative. There was no way they could possibly refuse.
They chatted with the guild master until the proceedings for their rank amendment were complete, after which they exited down the back stairs, so as not to be accosted by anyone down in the lobby…
***
“Marcela, you have been promoted to viscountess. Monika and Aureana, citizens of the kingdom of Brandel and fellow members of the C-rank hunting party the Wonder Trio, you have both received the title of baroness.”
The three girls stood frozen, unable to speak. The man who had been waiting patiently behind Marcela to assist poked her gently in the back, prompting her to quickly start speaking again. Monika and Aureana followed suit. “Th-this is most pleasing to hear…”
“Y-yes! Most pleasing indeed,”
How did it come to this…?
Marcela was already a noble’s daughter to begin with, so she became a viscountess. Monika and Aureana, both originally commoners, rose to the level of baroness. A baroness still was not a noble, strictly speaking. It was, at best, a symbolic honor bestowed upon commoners, but it was still an honor that could be passed down to their children.
Because the nanomachines had intentionally broadcast scenes featuring the three girls, they had become extremely popular with nobles and commoners alike. The world had watched as Marcela had prioritized carrying the battle forward over healing herself, even in spite of her serious injuries; meanwhile, Monika and Aureana had supported her with expert teamwork and magic abilities equal to that of an A-rank mage.
No matter how great their achievements, elevating a commoner to a true noble was unthinkable in a conservative kingdom like Brandel. The kingdom’s top brass were far more set in their ways than the leadership of Tils, who had been happy to elevate the status of the Crimson Vow—who had fought side-by-side with Mile, the messenger, and were world-saving heroes in their own right—to help shine a light upon their kingdom. That said, the Crimson Vow included Mavis, a noble, so they must have sensed that their citizenry would not look favorably upon them clearly showing preferential treatment to nobles over commoners.
By contrast, Brandel must have felt it sufficient to concentrate on Marcela, the noble’s daughter, who had led the other two in battle. They had given her two comrades the highest reward a commoner could receive.
Certainly, Aureana and Monika had made great efforts by Marcela’s side, letting off spell after spell during the battle, but the authorities of Brandel would say that it would not do to grant commoners excessive rewards. The girls were still nothing more than a pair of powerful commoners who were especially good at combat magic. It was different for Marcela. She was a beauty, trusted even by the common folk, who was overflowing with magical talent, brilliant and bright, refined and poised, the pride and joy of nobles, already the darling of many, including the royal family themselves.
And, of course, Marcela would need a higher rank if she were to be a worthy consort to the prince…
Monika and Aureana were likely to be in high demand as well, given their talent for combat magic, their status as close friends of the messenger, and their association with Marcela, who was at the top of the list of marriage candidates for the princes—not to mention their close working relationship with Morena, the stratagem princess. Plus, the pair of them were sure to be adopted by some noble household or other, after which they could marry into other noble families without any limitation.
Marcela’s own father would also be elevated from baron to viscount, it seemed. Perhaps the king thought it awkward for a father to be of lower status than his own daughter, or worried it would become a liability for Marcela if other nobles tried to use her family’s lower rank to manipulate her. Perhaps it was merely a reward for having fathered the outstanding human being known as “Marcela.”
Either way, all three members of the Trio shared a single thought:
How did it come to this?
***
Princess Morena’s status amongst the nobility of Brandel had skyrocketed overnight. First, there was the excellent performance of her all-female imperial guard; then, the success of her special operatives, the Wonder Trio, operating behind the scenes in their plot to locate Viscountess Ascham. Finally, there was her performance in battle, when Morena had taken to the front lines alongside the Wonder Trio, with only a handful of fighters by her side.
Of all the countries that had taken part in the Final Battle of Albarn, only Brandel could boast of a royal so high in the line of succession appearing on the front lines. This was inevitable, as the other royals had been preoccupied with leading the main armies to fight in the Final Battle of Aubram to the east.
That said, Morena painted a very pretty picture: a young, tender, and beautiful young lady who, despite being a noble high in the line of succession and bearing the royal coat of arms, chose to take her place down in the trenches rather than sit pretty on a hill giving orders from afar. Princess Morena, toughened by her experiences fighting monsters during her time as a rookie hunter, fearlessly faced down orcs and ogres with her powerful magical attacks. Yes, it turned out, she had a talent for magic—though this should come as little surprise. Like most noble families, royals carried generations’ worth of the most magically gifted blood in the land, thanks to selective breeding.
Then there were the other noble girls who had fought desperately to protect Morena, all too aware what it would look like if they let the princess die while they lived to come home…
The nanomachines would never pass up a chance to relay so moving a scene.
Plus, even if they had actually met only once, Princess Morena was an acquaintance of Mile’s. As such, it was natural that the nanomachines would choose her to be one of the stars of their continent-wide highlight reel up in the sky.
The whole country—nay, the whole continent—had witnessed the bravery of Princess Morena and her personal guard, which had been conceived of and established by Morena herself, and included the Wonder Trio. The beautiful princess had not backed down an inch as the monsters approached her, though she trembled with fear, tears streaming down her cheeks. She had stood proudly, blasting them with spells.
Every noble and royal who witnessed her heroism but were not present on the battlefield themselves swallowed their shame and swore they would never let that girl cry again—that they would protect her with their lives. The commoners likewise wept, seeing a young royal fighting on the front lines for their sake. In that moment, Princess Morena seized the hearts of the masses and became the idol of people all over the country—nay, the world!
Already there was fervent talk among both the nobles and the common folk that perhaps Morena ought to be their next monarch—that their kingdom’s security would be assured if she were to lead them. Furthermore, the neighboring kingdoms had all begun scheming about having Morena marry their own crown princes.
Her fifteen minutes of fame had arrived.
The noble women of the princess’s guard had similarly been inundated with marriage proposals from the heirs of higher-ranking noble families. Which meant that Morena’s all-female imperial guard, which had only just been established, was about to crumble in a rush of resignations.
***
“Well, this is a pickle. What to do…?”
There were two academies in the capital of the kingdom of Tils. One of these was August Academy, and like Eckland, the school Mile had attended in Brandel, it was considered the lesser of the two.
This was where Mariette found herself, sitting in the girls’ dormitory and fretting. Like Aureana of the Wonder Trio, Mariette was a commoner and a scholarship student. Unlike Aureana, who had achieved her position on her own strengths, Mariette’s status was thanks to Mile’s tutoring bootcamp and an elevated magical level courtesy of her dedicated nanomachines. Furthermore, while Aureana came from a poor, backwater town, Mariette was the daughter of a middle-class merchant.
However, she had always been a kind girl with a strong sense of justice, who would never sully her hands with foul deeds. She would never fear being abandoned by the servants of the Goddess who had lent her strength. If anyone could be called a “saint,” it was Mariette.
So why was a girl like her in such turmoil?
“We’ve already gotten over a hundred requests for my hand in marriage and overtures for adoption…” she muttered, restating what was written in the letter she had received from her father.
Mariette—a commoner whose father managed a mid-sized business. She had previously achieved a modicum of fame among religious types and healing mages and hunters. Thanks to Mile, she had been a spectacle since the day of her entrance exam, called the “Goddess,” the “H-Bomb Princess,” the “Holy Bombshell,” and “Defender of the School,” among a variety of other nicknames. Add to that her friendship with the divine messenger and the fact that she was exceptional not only at healing but also at combat magic… She was a bit of a celebrity, and it should have been no surprise that the marriage proposals from nobles and the heirs of wealthy merchants were coming tumbling down on her like an avalanche.
(Incidentally, the “H” in “H-Bomb” here referred to a type of magic where water came rushing forward with the force of a bomb. It had nothing to do with hydrogen or nuclear fusion.)
Mariette’s family couldn’t hold back the tidal wave of nobles, moguls, and temples bearing down on them. No matter which of the many, many overtures they might choose to accept on behalf of their daughter, they’d then have the rejected petitioners to deal with. Most importantly, however, Mariette herself was too young for all of it. She was not yet of age, and there was no way she wanted to be handed over to some much older man whom she had never even met.
“What do I do?” she continued to moan. She suddenly sprung up, a light bulb practically popping on above her head. “I know! I’ll become a priestess!”
Apparently, she had just stumbled upon a way out of this mess.
“I’m an easy target for all of these people because I’m on my own with no real support. But if I attach myself to an entity of such power, then no one will pay any attention to me. It’s an untouchable position, one that no noble family or religious organization could complain about. They’ll have to leave me alone!”
“That’s it!” she declared. “I’ll be a priestess of the divine messenger and work as her personal assistant! If I’m a priestess, then there will be nothing to stop me from working for her and no one to complain about it. No one could force any betrothals or marriages upon a priestess! I’m sure that Miss Mile will protect me!”
It seemed she had found her escape route…
***
“What?!”
This time Mile had been called into the palace alone, without her fellow members of the Crimson Vow. Expecting something to do with Brandel, or concerning her position as the messenger, she obediently went where she was told, listening politely to what the king had to say. Until—
“Th-they’re building me a shrine?!?!”
Surprise! It was yet another absurd turn of events.
“Is it not only natural that we should provide a dwelling for the divine messenger?” the king asked. “It shall be built at the nexus point of Tils, Brandel, and the Albarn Empire, so that no one will have any reason for complaint.”
Though he was cordial toward Mile, he did not speak as humbly as one might expect a human addressing a goddess, a lower life-form groveling before the supreme. Mile was thankful for this.
Incidentally, what sat at the nexus point of the three countries was…the lands governed by Kelvin von Bellium—formerly the lands of Baron Allemain.
“We will establish a site with a thousand-meter radius, centered at the place where the three lands meet. It will be holy ground which no kingdom may infringe upon, with the shrine at its center,” he continued. “Surrounding the shrine will be a residential area for various priests and acolytes, inns for the believers who make their way there on pilgrimage, as well as shops for essentials. The outermost area will be greens, parks, and fields. A narrow river flows through the area, so between that and the wells, there shall be no want for water. And, of course, we will dedicate a piece of our kingdom’s adjoining lands to establish an estate for Tils’s Countess Mile von Ascham.”
In fact, there would also be an estate made available for Countess Ascham in the Albarn Empire just adjacent to the planned shrine. It seemed both kingdoms had been rather forceful in relocating the various lords who originally governed those lands to other areas—on favorable terms, of course. These relocated nobles were not only being given better estates than Mile but now also had a powerful political card up their sleeves, leaving them little reason to complain. And, naturally, the citizens of those lands were riotously overjoyed to learn that they would now be in the charge of their very own savior…
It seemed that the palace would be dispatching a trustworthy magistrate as well, so at the very least there would be no fief-related matters to deal with—not that there was anyone who would ever try to deceive or betray the divine messenger. If anyone tried, the first co-conspirator they attempted to recruit would detain them and turn them in to the authorities.
Brandel, meanwhile, had simply upgraded the estate of the former Viscountess Ascham to a marquisate, though it was quite distant from the holy land and scarcely large enough to be considered worthy of Mile’s new status. There were likely a few reasons for this:
1) The majority of the population believed that Mile would soon marry into royalty or a greater noble title and thus have no need for more ample lands.
2) A family estate that had been passed down through the generations carried more weight than a new grant of land.
3) Mile would likely be moving about the country with some frequency, not holed up in her shrine all the time.
“Wh-wh-wh-wha…?”
It seemed everything had been settled…
Without Mile’s involvement.
***
“What?!” The other members of the Crimson Vow were stunned when Mile returned from the palace with her news.
“D-d-d-does that mean…?” babbled Reina.
“Are you g-g-going to—” Pauline stammered.
“—retire from being a hunter to live at a temple?” Mavis concluded.
“You’ve gotta be kidding uuuussss!!!” the three screamed.
Mile, anticipating their reaction, had thankfully already set up a preemptive sound barrier to protect her eardrums.
“M-M-M-Mile,” Reina sputtered. “A-a-a-are y-you planning on becoming a goddess?!”
“The ‘god of a new world’?!” Pauline gasped.
“Are you starting a new religion?” Mavis wondered.
Mile had known they would be surprised, but…
“Without you, that’s the end of the Crimson Vow!” said Reina.
“My earnings are going to plummet!” said Pauline.
“Yeah, if we don’t have Mile, how are we supposed to carry all of our luggage and spoils and food?” said Mavis, far more calmly than the other two.
“Huh?” Mile was dumbfounded. “I mean, I don’t want to leave you all behind, but you’ve all achieved what you set out to do as hunters, right? Reina and Mavis, you wanted to reach A-rank, and Pauline, you wanted to earn enough money to start your own business…”
“What?” The three hunters went slack-jawed.
“N-now that you mention it,” said Mavis, “not only did I get the A-rank that I was hoping for, but better yet, an S-rank. My goal after that was to serve as a knight, which already happened when you appointed me your holy knight and protector. I couldn’t hope for any higher title than being the holy knight of the divine messenger, which is worth way more than serving a crusty old king I’ve never met. My name is known throughout the land as a legendary hero, victorious in a battle to protect the world, fighting for justice by a holy decree… I’ve done everything a knight could ever hope to do. All of my wishes have come true!”
“I also got my wish to become an A-rank,” agreed Reina. “I’m more famous than I ever could have dreamed of, and I’m sure someone would love to publish my memoir…” Her dearest wish had always been to become famous enough to put out a memoir, in which she could memorialize the contributions of the Crimson Lightning for generations to come. Now that she had an S-rank, all she had to do was sit down and write her life story, and a publishing house would handle the rest.
“If you want to publish a book, I can introduce you to some good people,” said Mile. “You don’t have to pay anything up front if they think the book will sell, though you will have to shell out for the necessary expenses if it doesn’t have as much potential. But, I mean, based on the manuscripts you’ve shown me before, and with the notoriety you have now, I’m sure any publisher would leap at the chance!”
While the three of them talked excitedly, a dark look came over Pauline’s face. “I suppose all of your dreams have come true, but what about mine?!” she screamed.
“Well, I mean, you’re a countess now,” Reina responded. “Can’t you just start a business from your estate? A noble managing her own business could take advantage of all sorts of perks, and it’d be way easier to do business with other fiefs and countries—not to mention the crazy amount of name recognition your reputation would bring. As for capital, you can’t tell me that the reward money we’ve just gotten and the income from your estate wouldn’t be enough. I can’t see anyone complaining about you running a business for the sake of investing in your own land. I’m pretty sure the temple would even approve of you using your title of ‘holy maiden’ as a business trademark, if you asked Mile. No one could possibly complete with that that.”
“Ah.”
Between recent happenings and the previous tale of the miraculous retreat from Ascham, which was already known across the land, Pauline was famous throughout the Empire. Given how many soldiers they’d saved, her reputation was as good as it could possibly be.
“And anyway, won’t all of you have estates now?” put in Mile. “You’ll have to start governing them.”
“Oh…”
While Mile had been given a higher rank in her home country of Brandel, her lands had not changed. They were already being governed by a seneschal, and while she had received titles in other lands, those were all honorary and did not come with any real responsibilities. In those cases, the only other people who had anything to do with her current promotion were the Trio. She was not a real vested noble and would not be receiving any lands, only status and a stipend. Even a royal power could not unilaterally give someone an appointment in their own country and force them to work or immigrate there.
Here in Tils, however, all four of them, regardless of their prior status, had been granted the title of countess—not an honorary title but a real one—with an estate, to boot. Counties were not given out lightly. This was a bold statement from Tils that the members of the Crimson Vow were theirs and theirs alone. That said, the recent battle had caused enough turmoil to create some openings in the peerage, between the nobles who had been stripped of their power for refusing to send troops to the front line and those who had died during the battle itself.
The fact that Mile had been named a countess and not a marquis was probably because officials had felt the four fellow party members should all receive the same treatment. This would look far better to the average citizens of the kingdom—evidence of the way Tils differed from the snobbier Brandel.
Conveniently enough, Pauline had been granted the lands where her family home was located. Once a barony, this area had been annexed to another adjacent barony, forming a smallish county. However, said barony had then been seized due to corruption and spent several years under the watchful eye of a palace magistrate. The matter had been since settled, and as it so happened, the neighboring baron had been stripped of his title, too, thereby leaving a large estate available to be granted to Pauline.
Mavis, meanwhile, had been given lands near her own family’s, the thinking being that her father and brothers would be able to help her keep an eye on things. Reina was given lands roughly halfway in between the two, a somewhat smallish county that was desirable by virtue of its location and the fertility of its soil. It was widely agreed that it was far better to receive a smaller, more viable tract than a vaster land where nothing grew, and with the dignity of the kingdom on the line, they certainly couldn’t grant one of the saviors of the world a sad little territory full of rocks and sandy soil.
The estates were all slightly removed from one another, one in each cardinal direction with the capital in the middle. If all four were to have been situated in in the same part of the country, it might have looked like favoritism toward a certain region. Plus, keeping the capital in the middle meant the members of the Crimson Vow were more likely to use the city as a common meeting point, and they would have to pass through when visiting one another.
The leadership of Tils really had put a lot of thought into this.
This was all a very long-winded way of saying that the Crimson Vow’s days as hunters were indeed over…assuming they didn’t run off to another country and leave their lands behind, as Mile once had. Yet unlike Mile at the time, everyone in the continent knew their faces. No matter where they went, they would be known not as a hunting party but as the divine messenger and her disciples, or the saviors of the world. Never again would they be able to take a job—normal, dangerous, or otherwise—without people flocking to them.
Operating as the Crimson Vow was no longer possible, which meant they would have to disband.
As they realized this, the four fell silent.
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