CHAPTER 1
The Planet Keeps a Memory
1
The largest city in the world, the Imperial capital, Yunmelngen.
The city was divided into three sectors. The first was where the government and research facilities were gathered. The assembly would convene there and use its full authority to decide all political matters of the Empire.
The second sector was the residential district. Seventy percent of the Imperial capital’s populace lived there. Next door was the world-leading business district that tourists all over the world visited.
Then there was the third…
It was the permanent residence of the Imperial forces and had numerous magnificent training grounds.
“So we’ve finally made it to the capital…”
They were in front of a vacant lot in Sector Two. Sisbell looked up at the sky after getting out of the car. It was already the middle of the night. The sun had set beyond the horizon and the faint gloom of the clouds expanded.
It wasn’t pitch-black. Despite it being the middle of the night, the sky above the Imperial capital was bright.
“It’s too bright for nighttime…it makes me feel uneasy.” Sisbell seemed somewhat exasperated as she sighed. “The light from the buildings of the business district is so radiant that I can’t even see the glow of the stars. It would be hard believe it if it were the Sovereignty.”
“Shh, they’ll be able to hear, Miss Sisbell,” Commander Mismis whispered in a panic.
This was the worst place in the world a witch could be. Had anyone heard Sisbell, the military police likely would have forced their way over from anywhere.
“Hey, Jhin Big Bro, we’ve finally made it home, haven’t we?”
“Home is still home, no longer how long it’s been.”
“But I’m not sure I’m happy about it…,” Nene said. “I think I’m more nervous.”
“We’ve got a huge job ahead of us, that’s for sure.”
Jhin and Nene were both looking up ahead at the checkpoint.
“Okay, everyone get in. You’re driving, Nene.” Risya waved them over from inside the car.
Her face was covered in bandages; they also wrapped around her thigh over what appeared to be a painful wound. It was the aftermath of the fight with Luclezeus, one of the Eight Great Apostles.
On the way over to the capital, instead of finding Lord Yunmelngen waiting for them, they’d gotten caught in a trap set by the Apostles. The Empire was no monolith. The Apostles had been waiting vigilantly for an opportunity to strike against Lord Yunmelngen.
…Luclezeus’s cyberbrain is gone.
…We’ve unquestionably cut ties with the Apostles after that battle.
They couldn’t let their guard down in the capital.
Assassins under the employ of the Apostles could strike at any moment.
“Oh, little Nene, you know where Castle Tower Seat is, don’t you?”
“Y-yes…,” Nene answered.
“Then off we go!” Risya proclaimed. “Can’t keep Their Excellency waiting.”
The car drove off. Unit 907, Sisbell, and Risya, the Lord’s staff officer, headed toward the Lord’s residence.
“Hey, Isk?” Risya, who sat across from Iska, looked at him. “What’s wrong? Why the glum face?”
“…I think you could make a guess,” Iska answered.
“Because of all the trouble that’s going to come from picking a fight with the Apostles?”
“There’s that too,” he responded.
“Then is it nerves from having an audience with the Their Excellency?”
“That’s another reason.”
But he had been prepared for both of those things. In actuality, the one thing he wasn’t internally prepared for was something else entirely…
“Are you really that surprised I returned to the capital?”
It was his master—the black-haired man dressed in matching black garb. He couldn’t wipe the image from his mind.
“…I wasn’t expecting to see him so soon,” Iska said.
“You mean the man you served under, Isk?”
“I didn’t serve him—he was my teacher.”
The Black Steel Gladiator, Crossweil.
He was the Lord’s former guard and the first owner of the astral swords. He had wandered throughout the Empire, finding and training youth with promise. Iska and Jhin were the only pupils of his who had endured his agonizing training to the end. After giving Jhin a specialized sniper rifle, and Iska the astral swords, their teacher abruptly went into hiding.
“He left us and disappeared,” Iska said. “I can see how we could run into him by chance. But I didn’t think he’d appear at a time like this…”
“If you’re going to go see Yunmelngen, you ought to hurry.”
It had been too sudden.
The moment they met, he had told them to go see the Lord. Not only that, his master had addressed the ruler of the Empire so casually, which took Iska aback.
…Risya, his staff officer, calls the Lord “Their Excellency.”
…But my master doesn’t.
He said Yunmelngen. Almost as though the Lord was a personal acquaintance.
“Do you know anything about it, Risya?”
“Hmm…just that it’s complicated between them,” she replied. “If you’re that curious, why don’t you ask Their Excellency himself?”
There Risya was, saying that as though it was obvious. She turned to look out the window of the car as though something had suddenly occurred to her.
“Right on time. Nene, turn there and pull over.”
They had arrived at a gigantic building that towered over its surroundings. Castle Tower Seat, also sometimes referred to as the “windowless building.”
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