So Se lu, deus E gilim fert?
What tale do you weave?
Nevaliss E suo Ez nes pelnis, Ec wop kis Sec eme cs.
You call this a fleeting vessel, but even it is a gift I bequeathed to you.
Deris E nes Sec phenoria.
Because you are also my child.
PROLOGUE
Those Who Reach for the Heavens
“Hey, are you listening, earth witch? I know you can hear me.”
Hee-hee-hee. She heard a sound like a child holding back a giggle. An androgynous voice echoed throughout the large room laid with tatami mats.
It was an exotic feature, as they were not commonly used as flooring in the Empire, yet the entire room was filled with them and choked with the smell of incense. To Rin, who had been so unceremoniously dubbed the “earth witch,” the sight of the crimson room almost seemed as if it had come from another world.
“You there, witch,” her captor said again.
“…” She was silent.
“Didn’t hear me? How odd. I’m sure you must be awake by now. Or are you just pretending so you can get the better of me in my sleep?”
“…Tsk! You monster.”
There was no use attempting to deceive her kidnapper. With her hands still bound, Rin got up from the ground onto her knees.
The reception area was as expansive as a gymnasium. Save for her, no one else was in the room except one other being—a beast that spoke the human language. The fox-like being sat cross-legged on a throne and looked down upon her, head propped in their hand. The beast grinned.
“Well, I see you’re in a jubilant mood. Is it because you managed to capture me?” Rin quipped.
“Hm? Well, whether I take any enjoyment from this depends on your next actions,” the beast replied.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, before we get into that, witch—”
“Shut your mouth!”
Witch—the word had triggered Rin into shouting and baring her teeth. It was the derogatory word used for astral mages.
“I hardly think you’re qualified to call me that, considering your repulsive form!”
“Now, that’s a bit upsetting. Am I really that ugly to you?”
The beast’s silver fur was like that of a fox, and their face was a cross between that of a cat and that of a human girl. Their eyes were as large as a kitten’s, and nearly as friendly, too.
A beastperson. Rin was completely unaware that race existed in her world, and so she asked, “What the hell are you?”
“That question again? Come on, how many times are you going to make me answer that?” the fox-like beast said with a yawn, tired of being asked the same thing over and over. “I’m just Meln.”
“…You mean the Lord, Yunmelngen?”
“Oh, so you do know who I am, then,” the Lord responded.
“You think I’d actually just believe that?!”
The Lord was the very symbol of the Empire, and therefore Rin’s sworn enemy. Then again, it wasn’t quite right to describe them as only Rin’s enemy. They were hated by Alice, the lady Rin served; the queen; and all astral mages alike. But that aside…
She never would have guessed that this beast could be the Lord.
“You have no right to call me a witch when you’re a monster!” she said next.
“Now that’s a misunderstanding,” Lord Yunmelngen countered.
“What?!”
“Well, you’re the one who wouldn’t tell me your name.”
“Of course I wouldn’t. I’d never give my name to someone like you.”
“Then what else could I call you other than witch? Stubborn much?” The silver-haired beast shrugged, feigning resignation, then continued. “Seeing as you’re my prisoner, I think you’re in no position to refuse to tell me.”
“…” Rin kept silent.
She remained kneeling, her eyes closed. That was Rin’s response—I won’t listen to you.
A captured mage had one of three fates: execution, interrogation, or human experimentation. Any was fine with her. She would rather meet one of those three unfortunate ends than follow the orders of the beast before her.
“Ahh… So obstinate,” they said. “A fine specimen of the Sovereign people, you are. You start seeing red the moment you hear anything about the Empire or Imperials.”
She heard the Lord sigh again.
“Well, what to do with you? In times like these, I’d normally rely on Risya to win you over. Unfortunately, she won’t be back for a while.”
“…”
“Oh, I know!”
The silver-haired beastperson snapped their fingers.
Before it could even register in her mind, Rin found she had been unshackled.
“Uh?! What did you…?”
She opened her eyes instinctively. Now that her hands were freed, Rin readied herself and glared at Lord Yunmelngen, who stood atop a platform.
“I have a brilliant idea,” they proclaimed.
Then the beast leaped. Like a cat, they somersaulted through the air and landed right in front of Rin.
“So,” the Lord began.
“Guh!”
Rin jumped back in a panic. The silver-furred beast peered at her face, just five yards away.
“Now, I can tell you don’t like me.”
“That goes without saying,” Rin replied.
“But, you see,” the Lord said, “I’m bored. So let’s have a competition, shall we?”
“…A competition?”
“Come at me with all you’ve got, witch.”
The beast’s beautiful, fluffy tail swayed to and fro.
“This will be a diversion for me, but it’ll be a matter of life or death for you. Win, and I’ll give you a reward. I’ll let you go free from the capital, no strings attached.”
“What did you say…?”
She doubted her own ears. Who would free a prisoner unconditionally? Especially one they had gone through all the trouble of bringing here?
The beast was looking down on her. The only reason the Lord had offered her that unbelievably convenient proposition was that they didn’t believe she could win.
“Why, you little—! To what lengths will you go to make a fool of me?!” she cried out.
“Do we have a deal?”
Lord Yunmelngen spread their hands.
It was a declaration of war. This had to be the Lord preparing for battle, something no one in Nebulis Sovereignty history—not even the former queens—had seen.
“If I win, then you’ll tell me your name. And you’ll also entertain me until Risya is back. What do you say?”
“You’re underestimating me. You think that just because I’m an earth astral mage that I can’t fight in a room without earth?”
She whipped up her skirt. A moment later, Rin held two combat knives in her hands.
“Oh? You still had weapons?”
“I’ll make you regret ever uncuffing me!”
She leaped off the tatami mat.
The intense scent of rushes wafted throughout the reception hall as Rin charged straight toward the Lord.
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