EPILOGUE
The Witch’s Crown
1
The Nebulis Sovereignty. The eighth state, Liesbaden.
Mismis was panting in the cool, early morning air as she dashed through the main streets, attempting to cut through the waves of people. Unlike yesterday, crowds filled the paths.
But not just average citizens. There were also newspaper reporters and interviewers.
“Haah, ah…haa…uh! C’mon! Hurry up, Jhin, Nene!”
“Hey, Commander. If you run like that, you’ll trip.”
“We’re not going to make it anyway. It’s a transport vehicle carrying her. It’s already left.”
Nene and Jhin weren’t in a hurry as they walked down the path. Nene nibbled at her breakfast. Jhin held a gossip magazine in his hand.
“‘Explosion of Unknown Cause in Liesbaden. What’s Its Relation to the Coup?’…huh. No real information. Just stating the obvious.”
The monster called Vichyssoise.
The inhuman thing that Jhin, Nene, and Commander Mismis had witnessed was not mentioned.
They didn’t know whether the media hadn’t gotten ahold of the information or if it had been censored.
“She is not what the Imperial forces would call a purebred. Her blood is too ‘thin.’”
“The Hydra family welcomed a child with a distant relation to the bloodline.”
That was all according to Sisbell from the night before.
“Blood relations aside, that witch has got to be related to the royal family. That’s who we have to protect her from, huh.”
“Jh-Jhin… We’d be in trouble if someone hears you!” Nene warned.
“I didn’t say her name. Look, the police aren’t even so much as giving us a glance anyway.”
The people were heading to the alley, the scene of the explosion.
It was the site of Iska and Vichyssoise’s mortal struggle. There were reports of a large crater on the surface.
“They’re trying to make a blind spot by shipping the witch away at dawn. It won’t do us any good to see her off.”
“B-but…aren’t you worried?! She’s a scary monster! What if she escapes and attacks us…?”
Mismis wanted to watch Vichyssoise make her departure. At the very least, until they drove away. The witch haunted her psyche, ever since she laid eyes on her.
“And Iska’s already going over there ahead of us.”
“L-let’s go! I’m the commander, so you better—”
She wasn’t watching where she was going. A pedestrian was walking through the crosswalk, right in her path.
“Oh, Commander. Someone’s in front of you.”
“Huh? ……Ow! Ouch?!”
They crashed into each other.
Mismis’s nose bumped right into an elbow. She staggered backward.
“Ow, ouch, ouch…I-I thought I was about to break my nose…”
“Hey, little girl.”
“E-eek?! O-oh, right. I’m sorry!” She looked up in a panic, feeling someone glaring at her.
The man was the physical opposite of Mismis. While she was petite and childish, he was conspicuously tall with a handsome physique. He had coarse silver hair and a pale face with dashing features.
Had she stumbled into a top model? Mismis saw he was only wearing a thick coat on his burly upper body.
“……Tsk.” The handsome man clicked his tongue at her. “Do you have marbles for eyes?”
“I’m so sorrrrrrrrry! I-I’m poor! Please spare my money. I can give you a coupon for barbecue, if you’d like! Please take this and forgive me… Oh wait, this was for an Imperial restaurant.”
“Boss. When are you going to stop talking to yourself? He’s already gone.”
“H-huh?” Mismis opened her eyes wide.
When she raised her head, the man was no longer in front of her, crossing the street on the far end.
“He doesn’t want the coupon? What an unusual person…”
“He probably felt creeped out about bumping into a cryptid and ran off. Good judgment. I’d do that, too.”
“Jhin, whose side are you on?!”
“Hey, Commander.” Nene shrugged and poked the captain on the shoulder as Mismis puffed up her cheeks. “If we don’t hurry, we won’t make it. Plus, Iska’s already gone ahead of us.”
2
In the southwest section of Liesbaden, the city outskirts.
A distance from the throng of buildings in the shopping district was the military police headquarters, located in a block lined with old buildings. The troops formed a line in the early morning.
They were looking ahead at a single escort vehicle.
It housed Vichyssoise, the culprit caught in the act of maiming people and damaging property. The car was going to whisk her away to the central state.
“Lady Alice, preparations for the vehicle are complete.”
“……”
“Lady Alice, wake up. Get a grip.”
“Hmm…b-but I was with the chief for questioning all night. I’m sleepy.”
She closed her eyes as she stood at attention. As Rin jostled her, Alice held back her large yawn.
“I can’t believe it. It was absurd to question me. You know much more about Vichyssoise, Rin.”
“You were the one who captured her, so it stands to reason, Lady Alice.”
“…Hmph.”
She knew that. The one who had turned the tables on Sisbell’s assailant had been Iska. However, Alice was proceeding to feign ignorance that Sisbell had hired an Imperial unit.
She wouldn’t tell them Iska’s name.
In which case, she ended up being the hero who had apprehended Vichyssoise. Since the witch had been such an atrocious monster, it made sense to pin this achievement on Alice.
…It’ll increase goodwill for the Lou… And keep the coup targeting my mother’s life in check.
Her sleepiness was an issue. Just standing there absentmindedly made her eyelids start to droop.
“Lady Alice, would you like me to pour you some tea?”
“Sure… Haah … Could hold back this drowsiness…… Zzz …”
“Please don’t sleep while you talk.”
Rin’s voice grew distant. Her head couldn’t register it anymore. She had no idea what she was saying.
“Tha…ha……Sisbell…so……”
“? ”
She picked up on her sister’s name, but it was no use. She couldn’t make out the rest.
“Oh, the Imperial swordsman.”
“Where?! Where?! Here?!? Iska! Iska! Where is he?!”
She snapped back to her senses. Her brain fog cleared. Her leaden body felt light as a feather.
“Rin, where is he?”
“Gotcha.”
“……………”
“Lady Alice, I approve of you wanting to battle your formidable enemy. However, please use more discretion. I wish I didn’t have to say this.”
Suddenly she came back to reality. The military police were observing her, wondering what was going on with her outburst.
“…I’ll get into the car.”
“Yes.”
They headed to Cadillac One, the vehicle for the royal family, parked behind the grounds.
Her goal was to monitor Vichyssoise. Alice would ride in this car and travel with the escort vehicle to the central state.
…I need to return to the palace… I’m just returning home ahead of Sisbell.
There was something that was unusual. Rin would not be riding with her.
“Lady Alice, please be careful. Vichyssoise is not the girl you know. She is a literal monster.”
“……”
“She was entirely inhuman when she battled the Imperial soldier.”
“I know that Iska had difficulties.”
Iska had fought the Founder Nebulis and the sorcerer Salinger. Yet, even he had been forced into a close match when battling Vichyssoise. She realized more than enough what a threat Vichyssoise was.
“If she tries to escape, I’ll attack her with all I’ve got. I’ll assume she’s an Imperial soldier.”
“Please think the same of the Hydra as well.”
“…I intend to.”
That was Vichyssoise’s clan.
With the assassination incident, they were the closest to being guilty.
“This coup has heightened my awareness. I will stay with my mother to protect her. During that time, I will leave Sisbell in your care.”
She got into the car.
She beckoned to Rin from the open window and whispered quietly into her attendant’s ear.
“Rin, listen closely.”
“Yes.”
“If she gets close to Iska, stop her. Make sure not to forget to report it to me.”
“Is that the only reason I’m here?!”
“I’m serious about both matters.”
She really was worried about Sisbell, too. However, Alice’s true motive was to keep an eye on Iska to make sure he wasn’t stolen away from her.
…A strange dilemma… But it’s fine. Once he is done guarding her, I won’t have to worry.
It was just until Sisbell returned to the central state. Once that happened, all ties between Iska and Sisbell would disappear.
“See you, Rin—at the palace.”
“Yes, Lady Alice.”
The window of Cadillac One began to roll up.
The attendant bowed. While Alice was staring at Rin, she didn’t notice something behind the moving car.
Outside of the grounds, a boy and girl made their way to the facility.
“We’re right on time. Look, Iska.”
The large escort vehicle surrounded by military police started to move.
That five armored cars stretched behind indicated they were carrying a threat.
“I believe that’s the vehicle carrying Vichyssoise. Just as I anticipated, they waited for dawn before leaving.”
“They really did. We didn’t see her get in though… Is that fine?”
“That isn’t an issue.” In disguise, Sisbell stared at the escort vehicle from the shadows of the building. “We’ve made sure she hasn’t escaped. We will leave the rest to our family inquisitor. I cannot be preoccupied with that assassin all the time.”
Her grip tightened around Iska’s sleeve. She wasn’t going to let Vichyssoise get away. Her fingertips were trembling with fear.
…I mean, she was almost assassinated…by a real monster at that.
And there was a possibility that there was another one.
They would need to prepare to head to the central state with bated breath.
“Once I reach the palace, that will settle things. Because I can reveal who targeted the queen using Illumination…”
“We’re waiting for word from your attendant, right?”
“Yes. Shuvalts will be able to talk to the queen sometime today. A plan to safely head to the central state should reveal itself to us naturally.” Sisbell pointed at the way home.
—Let’s withdraw. Before the military police see us.
Iska turned around, reading her mind. Tugging on his sleeve, Sisbell followed him.
“…Iska.”
“Hm?”
“Was it hard to fight Vichyssoise? What did you think as an Imperial Saint Disciple?”
“Former.”
“You’re so particular. Then as a former Saint Disciple?”
“…You saw the ruins of that destruction. Even I can’t guarantee that I’d be able to win again.”
He could say that about purebreds as a whole. If the Founder’s descendants could be defeated easily, the war between the Empire and Sovereignty would not have continued for a century.
“But it’s not about how strong she was.”
“Huh?”
“There’s affinity when it comes to astral power. It’s not a simple matter of physical strength…”
Kissing could have eliminated even that Magic Shot of Corpses with her thorns.
Alice probably could have dealt with it using her ice flower.
But…Iska had felt something that surpassed all notions of relativity.
“She was eerie. I guess it was a sense that something was out of place. I couldn’t get my mind off what it was I was fighting.”
He hadn’t been able to focus on the battle. That experience had been unknown territory for Iska.
“…Is that what you would call fear?”
“I guess it’s being fainthearted for a guard.”
“……No…” She stopped.
As though implying something, Sisbell gripped Iska’s hand in the shadow of the building, in the humid air.
“Like I said last night. In the past, I witnessed a monster other than Vichyssoise. Because of that, I could no longer trust the royal family.”
“Yeah.”
“Something even more terrifying than Vichyssoise …”
“…What did you say?”
“I knew by instinct the moment I saw it. It wasn’t human.” The witch princess clung to his arm.
This was different. She wasn’t trying to seduce him. She was just a girl clinging to him in a cry for help, tormented by fear.
“I feel the same. Iska, it happened to me, too. Since the night I saw that jet-black monster, I have not been able to stop trembling…”
“? ”
“I’m frightened—of the possibility that it won’t end with Vichyssoise. It’s not about her powers. I think nothing in history has been as strong as the Revered Founder. But…that monster was more malignant and twisted……”
The youngest princess hugged his side. Sisbell buried her face in Iska’s chest, desperately enduring a sobbing fit.
“I can’t help but feel as though…there is a monster that should be called a ‘witch’ in its true meaning.”
Four days until the coincidental meeting with the weakest purebred in the royal family .
The eldest princess and the Successor of the Black Steel—Elletear and Iska would cross paths like ships at night.
Iska would come to learn about an extremely different type of “witch.”
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