3
The Lord’s offices.
This was the oldest structure in the capital. It was of unique construction, comprising five buildings.
On the topmost floor were the Lord’s chambers.
“Seriously… I can’t believe you delayed your departure by a whole two hours just to take a bath at a neutral city. When Risya reported that back, I doubted my own ears.”
The silvery beastperson propped an elbow against the legless chair they sat in.
Lord Yunmelngen gleefully looked down on the collected faces present.
“It was such a disrespectful, offhand request that I had to allow it. I’m just glad you’re all clean as a result. I wouldn’t want to smell all of you, either.”
There was Iska’s unit, the 907. Then there were the guests from the Sovereignty: Princess Aliceliese, Princess Sisbell, and the servant Rin. Princess Kissing from the Sovereignty was present as well, though she was there after surrendering to the Empire with her handler, the Saint Disciple Mei. With Risya, there were ten of them present altogether.
“Your faces have started to become familiar to me. Well then, what do we start with…? First, the Black Steel’s Successor.”
“Huh?!”
When the beast’s eyes landed on him, Iska’s lips pressed together slightly.
“First, let’s hear from you.”
“Yes, to report back on Katalisk—”
“Not that.”
The Lord waved a hand dismissively.
“You heard about the astral swords from the Astrals themselves. I can see from your face. So, what say you? Are you prepared to keep wielding those swords?”
“…”
When he thought about it, the role they were asking him to play had changed since he had first accepted the swords.
……I wanted peace between the Empire and the Sovereignty.
……That hasn’t changed. Not even now.
That was why he needed the astral swords.
He’d wanted to capture a purebred type from the Sovereignty and use that to force everyone into peace talks. In other words, he had thought of the astral swords as weapons that were a means to achieving peace.
“Those swords are the world’s only hope to rise again.”
He had thought that when his teacher, Crossweil, had given him the swords, too.
At the time, he had been convinced that his teacher had been talking about putting a stop to the century-long war.
Until now, that was.
“I know the truth now, so…,” Iska said.
“Hmm?”
“Your Excellency, I know what happened to you, my teacher, and the Founder a hundred years ago.”
The Lord, the Founder Nebulis, and his teacher, Crossweil…
Everything had changed for them a hundred years ago.
“Nebulis… You still think you need to fight the Empire?”
“…Silence, Yunmelngen. My hatred for the Empire has not abated in the slightest. You want to change the Empire? I’d like to see you try…”
The conflict between the Empire and the Sovereignty had continued for a hundred years.
The cause of the conflict had been the astral powers, and also not. The powers had simply been trying to flee. They had feared the calamity that had come into being deep in the center of the planet and dug their way to the surface.
That had become the vortex that had formed in the capital.
“I…”
He looked back at the beastperson, who stared down at him.
He looked into the eyes of someone who had been patiently waiting a whole century for this moment.
“All I wanted was peace, but that was also where I stopped. I never thought about what would happen beyond that. I didn’t think the future beyond that was something I should reach for alone.”
But his teacher had thought differently.
Crossweil had looked beyond peace—to when the planet would rise into a new world.
“But we found hope.”
“We might be able to defeat the calamity at the planet’s core with these swords. Once we do that, the astral powers on the surface should return to the core, too.”
Once the calamity was gone, the astral powers would likely return to the planet’s core. No other astral mages would be created. The witches and sorcerers that the Empire feared would disappear, leaving no reason for anyone to fight.
“The end of the war…”
Iska looked up at Lord Yunmelngen, who had lived and watched over these events for a century. He gripped the hilts of his astral swords.
“As long as we can achieve that, I have more than enough reason to fight.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Lord Yunmelngen smiled mischievously, then turned to someone else.
“Well, we’ve heard from one side. That’s done. Risya.”
“Yup, I’ve got this.”
Risya, who had been strangely quiet until then, clapped her hands together as though this was her moment to shine.
“So, 907 unit, you did a great job. The Lord says you may go. You can rest up in your rooms. Oh, but Mismis, you’ll need to submit a report before the day is over.”
“Just me?!”
“That’s what it means to be a commander. Okay, off you go.”
“No, why?!”
Commander Mismis was pushed from the room by Risya.
Iska also left after her.
“…”
For a moment, right before he left, his eyes locked with Alice’s. He had no time to figure out what emotion lay behind her eyes.
“C’mon, you too, Isk.”
Risya tugged his hand, and Iska was ushered out of the Lord’s chambers.
The four Imperial soldiers had left the room.
“Now, let’s hear from the other side.”
Yunmelngen leaned back in their seat and looked down at the astral mages who were still in the room.
Alice, Sisbell, and Kissing.
Considering the strife between the Empire and the Sovereignty, no one would have ever imagined three Sovereignty princesses would gather in the Lord’s chambers like this.
“What grandeur you three princesses have. And the extra.”
“Who are you calling an extra?!”
“Hee-hee. You really are so entertaining. You immediately shifted to anger, just as I thought you would.”
Rin had shouted, but the Lord seemed satisfied with her response.
“But you all look so stone-faced. And you haven’t said a word.”
“…”
The Lord’s words and eyes held a challenge in them.
The beastperson had seen through them. Alice told herself this, half because she had already resigned herself to what was to come, and half because she was resolved. Alice curled her hands into fists.
“You’re not wrong. There has been something on my mind.”
“Shall I guess?”
The Lord rested an elbow on the chair’s armrest.
“What has you apprehensive is what happens to your ability to fight after we defeat the calamity.”
“…”
It was true. However, Alice couldn’t admit that. She couldn’t let her guard down in front of the leader of the Empire yet.
“You’re putting the cart before the horse. You’ve already assumed we’ll be able to defeat it and that there’ll be a future, which is proof you still don’t understand how dangerous it is.”
The Lord shrugged.
“But we’re all free to dream. Allow me to humor your thoughts. Once the calamity has been defeated, all the astral powers will return to the planet’s core. In other words, the astral powers will leave the astral mages. You won’t be mages anymore.”
The Lord’s pupils were thin as slits, like a predator that had caught its prey.
“A Sovereignty without astral mages would fall within two days under a full attack from the Empire. What a terrible thing… That’s your fear, isn’t it?”
“…”
The Lord was so correct that she felt chagrined; she could say nothing.
In these hundred years, Lord Yunmelngen truly had thought about the future more than they ever had. The beastperson must have considered every possibility.
In other words, they had two options:
If they didn’t defeat the calamity, then the entire planet would be destroyed.
If they did, then the Sovereignty would be destroyed instead.
No matter what they chose to do, only unhappiness waited.
That was the ultimate internal conflict all the astral mages present struggled with. It was the issue just barely keeping them from taking the final step they needed to commit to fighting the calamity.
And that was why…
“Then why don’t I give you a reward?”
Alice couldn’t immediately understand the Lord’s motive.
“A reward? Are you trying to take advantage of our weakness?”
“Oh, Princess Aliceliese, it seems you don’t trust me.”
The Lord gave her a strained smile.
“I hope to destroy the Planetary Calamity both on a personal level and as the Lord of the Empire. But I know there will be obstacles. Elletear will block us before we can reach the calamity.”
“Yes, she likely will…”
“The calamity is harmful both to the world and to Elletear. And just as I said before, though Elletear has abandoned her human form, she still can’t fully rid herself of her human emotions. They’re still there, but just barely. If you go to face her, she might let her guard down.”
But would she?
Alice wasn’t sure she could trust the Lord at their word.
“And I think I’ve changed my mind. I can’t stand to see you in such pain.”
“Alice, I think I would like you to disappear right here and now.”
She recalled her sister’s warped sadism.
She had no idea if the calamity’s power had made her a monster on the inside as well, or if that was Elletear’s true personality. In any case, Alice hadn’t sensed any kinship from the sister she shared blood with.
“I don’t think Elletear will be any less belligerent toward us for being her sisters. I believe we shouldn’t assume she will be, either.”
“Hmm?”
“So, I—”
“Even if that may be the case, we have to defeat her.” The black-haired girl had interrupted Alice. “The witch is the Zoa’s sworn enemy. It doesn’t matter whether she will let her guard down in front of her sisters. We must go in with a definitive plan regardless.”
Kissing Zoa Nebulis IX.
She gripped a black knife in her right hand, almost the same way Iska had gripped his swords.
It was very similar to the black astral sword. The knife was an imitation that Kissing had asked the Astrals to forge for her.
“I won’t question how we do this, though I don’t know what your plan is.”
The Lord glanced at the knife and narrowed their eyes.
“Let’s return to the subject at hand. If we’re able to defeat the calamity and Elletear, I’ll prepare a great reward for you. So help us.”
“Don’t kid yourself!” Rin’s bark echoed throughout the Lord’s chambers. “None of us are guaranteed to survive a fight against the Planetary Calamity. If you want Lady Alice to risk her life, then tell us what this reward is you have!”
“Ah, yes. I had something to speak to you about, too, Princess Sisbell.”
“Are you listening?!”
“Of course. You want to know what the reward is, don’t you? But it’s not you I should tell, Rin. There’s someone else who should know. Risya, please prepare it.”
The Lord snapped their fingers. They beckoned Sisbell, who had been silent all this time, to come over.
“I think you should be the messenger.”
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