2
Birthplace of Witches.
Sisbell’s eyes glittered as the pair emerged from the door of the astral power institute.
“Iska! And Rin! You’re both safe!”
“It was really close, though. I have no idea what would have happened if Rin hadn’t been there.”
“…Same goes for you.”
Rin stood up as Iska let her down.
She was pouting and seemed rather cross.
“I can’t believe you practically came out unscathed while I was the only one who suffered blows… Ouch.”
“Rin?!”
“…No, I apologize, Lady Sisbell. There is nothing wrong with me at all.”
“But you look like you’re in terrible pain.”
“I will treat myself later.”
Rin straightened herself before Sisbell. The left side of her face was blue and swollen, and her clothes had been sliced from her shoulder down her side. It was easy to see she was hurting.
“We’re also glad that you’re all safe,” Iska said.
“No, I’m happy you’re safe, Iska. All we did was run… Oh, but there was that weird ghostlike thing that caught us on the way out, though.”
“We’ll swap stories later. Let’s get out of here.”
Jhin heaved his gun case onto his shoulder and motioned with just his eyes to the roof of the ruins.
There were holes of various sizes, left in the wake of the astral energy that had surged up from underground.
“Given all the astral light that shot up, there are gonna be one or two witnesses outside. If they catch sight of us, they’ll think we’re suspicious. We need to book it, at least to beyond the wall.”
“W-wait! We’re doing more running?!”
Jhin, the commander, and Nene had started sprinting as fast as they could go. Sisbell also tried to race as fast as she could so she wouldn’t be left behind. But the moment she lifted her leg to make a break for it…
…a thin strand of light appeared out of the blue.
It was finer than a hair. The glowing string, which seemed thin enough to melt into the atmosphere, shot toward Sisbell’s neck as though lunging for prey.
The princess herself hadn’t realized she was being targeted.
Iska, who had been watching his own companions, had been slightly too slow.
Only one person was able to react.
That one person was a certain Sovereignty servant whose eyes had never left Sisbell.
“Lady Sisbell!”
“What?! ……Rin?!”
The princess screamed.
Rin, who leaped on her, was caught in the strand of light that had appeared from nowhere. It was like a thread from a spiderweb. As it bound Rin’s arms and legs, several more strings appeared to immobilize her.
“What?!”
“What…? Miss Rin?! That’s!”
Jhin, Nene, and Commander Mismis noticed the situation behind them. Before the three of them could act, Iska had unsheathed his black astral sword.
“Rin, don’t move! I’ll—”
“All right, Isk. You’re the one who shouldn’t move, got that?”
His feet locked into place, as though he were frozen.
It’s not that he had obeyed the command. Rather, he had stopped in his tracks from the surprise of a door opening out of thin air and the unexpected person who had appeared from it.
“…Why…?”
“Hmm? Why what, Isk?”
“…Why…are you here?”
From below black-rimmed glasses, the clever-looking officer of the Imperial forces smiled mischievously.
Risya In Empire.
The Saint Disciple of the fifth seat and the Lord’s staff officer.
“Risya?!”
“Yoo-hoo, Mismis. It’s been a while. How have you been?”
Risya gave Mismis, whose voice cracked from surprise, an offhanded wave. She used her other hand to reel in Rin, who had been caught in astral threads.
“R-Risya, that light isn’t…”
“Oh, you mean this? That’s right—it’s astral power. But make sure you keep it a secret from the other Imperial force members.”
“What?!”
“Also, Isk.”
The Saint Disciple had once again turned her gaze on him, her perceptive eyes already locked onto the black sword he held at the ready.
“How long are you going to keep that out? Sheathe that blade, will you?”
“…………”
“Oh, what’s wrong?”
“…I will. But please explain what’s happening.”
He returned the weapon to its sheath. Rin was still bound and immobilized. Behind him, he could feel Sisbell glued to his back, shaking uncontrollably.
…I don’t know what happened, but this is bad.
…Unit 907 has been spotted with two witches.
And by a Saint Disciple at that.
It was treason. They’d likely be executed. Rin and Sisbell as well. That, or they might even face a fate worse than death.
“I’m going to be frank. Are you going to put us down?”
“What a good question, Isk. So you know exactly where you stand. It seems you haven’t completely abandoned your duty as an Imperial soldier.”
“…………”
“So I’ll answer you. Isk, this is the Empire. I don’t have the power to decide that. Whether an Imperial soldier lives or dies—”
Risya looked up at the sky.
Another door of light opened above her head.
“—can only be decided by Lord Yunmelngen.”
A silver-haired beast leaped from the door of light. Somersaulting around like a cat, they landed lightly next to Risya.
“Was that a good introduction, Your Excellency?”
“You may do as you like. I don’t have any interest in how you introduce me.”
The beast stood on two legs.
“Th-they talk?!”
“Did you think only humans were capable of speech? …Oh. I suppose phrasing it that way will cause misunderstandings. Well, I suppose I don’t mind that.”
The beast smiled at Mismis. Though they had the splendid fur of a fox, their face was between that of a human and a cat. And while their eyes held the charm of a child, they were also strangely uncanny.
A fox? A cat?
What kind of beast was this?
“…Hey, Miss Saint Disciple.” Jhin, very deliberately, looked between Risya and the beast next to her. “Knock it off with the jokes.”
“Hmm? What’s the joke, Jhin-Jhin?”
“His Excellency is a hulking man with a beard. He comes by once a year to the Imperial base.”
“Yes, he’s a body double. The ninth one, historically, in fact.”
“……What did you say?” Jhin was taken aback. “What does that mean? You’re saying he’s a fake?!”
“That’s right. I mean, look how tiny the actual Lord is. The civilians would raise a stink if they found out.” Risya easily nodded. “The real Lord is standing next to me.”
“…”
“Oh, you still don’t believe me?”
“…Course not.” Jhin accepted her gaze fully as he said that. “That talking animal surprised me, but what you’re saying is impossible… We didn’t join the Imperial forces to serve some creature.”
“In that case, why do you think you joined?” the silver-haired beast asked. There was intelligence in their eyes. And a glint of fangs in their mouth. “If you think that a staff officer and Saint Disciple serve someone other than the Lord Yunmelngen, please enlighten me as to who it could be.”
“……Uh.”
“So you may think of this as an honor. I rarely show myself, after all.”
None of them had anything to say. Even Rin, who was struggling against the astral threads she was caught in, was appalled and distracted as she listened to the beast. Iska couldn’t stop his legs from shivering in place.
…Is this beast supposed to be the Lord?
…Ridiculous. How could anyone ask us to believe that?!
His rational mind refused to let him accept it.
However, there was something peculiar about the beast’s aura, something uncannily intimidating. Though they weren’t going to fight, Iska felt something radiating off the creature that was even greater than the aura of a purebred. It was almost like that of the Founder.
“Ah, so you’re Iska.”
A smile reached the Lord’s eyes, which narrowed into the shape of crescent moons.
“You’re Crossweil’s successor, yes? You have the astral swords, so you must be.”
“…Why do you know my master?!”
“I know him better than you do. Yes, I came to chat.”
Pat.
The beast placed a hand on Rin’s head.
“Why, you little!”
“Oh, what a feisty witch you are. I haven’t had a human try to bite me in a while. Seems you’ll be entertaining. Well, I am pleased with this. Let us go home, Risya.”
“What? Already? Weren’t we going to check out this facility?”
“The ninth seat can do that. My priority is playing with this witch. See.”
The Lord grabbed Rin’s neck. The moment they did that, they finally turned their gaze ahead.
“Third Princess Sisbell.”
“H-how do you know who I am?!”
“Let us have a conversation in the Imperial capital. This also concerns you.”
Then they disappeared…
…through the door of light, with Risya and Rin behind them.
“I will be waiting, Successor of the Black Steel. Let us speak of matters that will determine the planet’s fate.”
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