Shinwa Densetsu no Eiyuu no Isekaitan - Volume 3 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

The twenty-eighth day of the tenth month of Imperial Year 1023

In the central courtyard of Schnee Fortress, Hiro and his comrades were making preparations for their return to imperial lands. Huginn and Muninn loaded water and provisions into a cart. Hiro took a seat nearby, watching them work out of the corner of his eye as he gazed up at the sky. He turned his head at the approaching crunch of footsteps on snow. There stood Claudia, holding her hair down as the wind plucked at her tresses.

“Will you not consider a slower return?” she asked.

“I’m afraid I have to be going,” he replied. “A lot of things need my attention.”

“Then I will not force you to stay. I wish you safe travels.”

“You know, I heard from one of the men that the royal city’s been retaken.”

This had happened on the previous day, if the soldier’s words were anything to go by. A faction loyal to Claudia had freed the imprisoned nobles and expelled the rebel army from the town. Between that and her now-complete fiendblade, her claim to the throne was unshakable.

“Indeed. I intend to stage a triumphant return once the destruction of the battle is cleared away.”

“Well, speaking as the scion of Mars, let me say that I hope Lebering prospers.”

“Oh, there shall be no question of that. In time, I shall see it grow to rival the Grantzian Empire.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” Hiro shot her a cheerful smile. “So? Are you happy? Now that everything’s gone exactly the way you planned?”

He asked the question nonchalantly, but his words were sharpened to a point. A smile spread across Claudia’s face, a little surprised and more than a little intrigued.

“Oh? When exactly did you see through me?”

“Right from the start. From the moment we met, I thought there was something off about you. Still, it was only when Flaus killed the king that I knew for certain.”

Despite being capable of slaughtering a gang of bandits by herself, Claudia hadn’t raised a finger against Flaus, even though the prince could barely hold a sword. She had only clung to the king’s body and wailed. Anybody would mourn the death of their father, but normally after grief came anger. Instead, she had done nothing but sit in shock, waiting for Hiro to save her.

“And that wasn’t all. You aren’t as good an actress as you think you are. When I saw how you smirked at Haniel’s body, I almost saw red.”

“Dear me, and I was so certain I’d hidden that. Was it truly that obvious?”

“My eyes aren’t easy to fool.”

“Ah, of course. Uranos. I will admit, that did slip my mind.”

“Was the throne really worth losing so many loyal retainers?”

“Neither my father nor my brother were fit to be king. Something had to be done. Besides, one who truly cares for their people, who values their soldiers, who loves their nation, would not flinch at the prospect of sacrifice. And as the architect of all this tragedy, it would hardly be right for me to emerge unscathed.”

She had not hesitated to turn against her own family for the sake of her nation. She was a cold and fearsome woman, Hiro thought.

“What would you have done if I had never been appointed special envoy?”

“I would have turned to the Fifth Legion. Instead of you, I would have used the second prince.”

“The second prince isn’t an easy man to use. Lebering would have fallen.”

“Then so be it. If I could not find a way, then I was never fit to be queen.”

Hiro sighed. She was audacious, he had to give her that, and she had steel in her spine.

“And you planned all this yourself?”

“But of course. First, I told my brother that Father meant to name me heir. He always was a jealous one. He did exactly what I knew he would—plot a rebellion and slay the king.”

The rest was simple, she said. A self-assured smile spread across her face as she raised her arms wide.

“Garius was never fond of Father and his conservative ways. It was clear that he would side with my brother. As would Baal—he was my brother’s tutor, you see, and he had been whispering poison into his ear for many years. Poor old Haniel was nothing if not loyal, and I knew that he would never forgive a traitor. So long as I steered my brother true, I knew that the rest would fall into place.”

“Flaus might have been jealous,” Hiro said, “but he wasn’t stupid enough to start a rebellion over something like that. He must have had some other reason.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Like, say...learning that you were an auf.”

Claudia’s confident smile instantly froze over. “You know of my kind?”

“They’re an old legend. Over a thousand years old, in fact. Once upon a time, there were oddities born among the zlosta. Their skin was white as snow, they had vast reservoirs of mana, and they were born to strange powers that zlosta could not usually possess. The rest of the zlosta shunned them, calling them aufs, or changelings.”

As the aufs’ numbers grew, so did the persecution they suffered from the rest of the zlosta. Eventually, they fled to the safety of the continent to the west, where they took on a new name: álfar. Over successive generations, their mana waned, until at last they were no more—one more footnote in the pages of history.

She must be a throwback, Hiro thought. That’s why King Svarov was so hesitant to give the throne to Flaus. And she used that to stoke his envy into murder.

Claudia tittered. “You should have seen my brother’s face when he first learned what I was. It was truly fearsome. I believe it was at that very moment that he embraced zlosta supremacy.” She cocked her head, her smile amused. “And that same knowledge convinced you that I would be worth using. Am I wrong?”

“What gives you that idea?”

“I am the descendant of one of Mars’s closest comrades, beloved by my people, and a fine fit for the throne—and I am an auf. I would make an ideal pawn, if the situation called for it. Surely that did not escape your notice.”

That, he could not deny. The moment Hiro had laid eyes on Svarov van Lebering, he had made up his mind to have Claudia replace her father. Even had the coup not occurred and the king remained alive, he would have found some other way to depose him.

“Perhaps, but there wasn’t any need for this much bloodshed. That’s the difference between the two of us. I wouldn’t have sacrificed innocent people to seat you on the throne.”

“Our methods may differ, but they amount to the same thing in the end. Father is gone, and I am queen.” Claudia laid a delicate hand on the hilt of Hauteclaire. “And as queen, I must warn you that while you truly do have my gratitude, I have no intention of being your puppet.”

“I don’t need you to be. All I want is for you not to stain your forefather’s legacy.”

“Oh? And I was so certain you would come at me with force. Are you saying that you mean to leave me be?”

“Whatever it is you’re after in the long run, right now, our interests align. As long as you stay out of my way, I don’t care what you do.” Hiro laid his own hand quietly on the hilt of Excalibur as he fixed Claudia with a penetrating gaze. “And if our goals do end up bringing us into conflict, I will crush your hopes then.”

“I eagerly await the day that you try. Although I suspect that you will come around to my side before the end.”

“Whatever do you mean by that?”

“Lord Hiro, do you love the Grantzian Empire as it is now?”

Hiro gave no reply to that.

Claudia reached out to lay a hand against his cheek. “But how could you? Knowing what became of the children of the Black Hand after Mars’s death—why, it must break your heart.”

As she said, the tale of the Black Hand had not ended happily. Fearing the popularity of Mars’s five generals, the third emperor had arrested them all—with the exception of Lox—on trumped-up charges and put their entire bloodlines to the sword. The rest of Hiro’s Crow Legion, feared for their prowess in battle, had not escaped either. According to the history books, they had plotted rebellion only to be exposed and purged.

“The fifth emperor’s apology may have restored their honor,” Claudia continued, “but it does not undo the cruelty of their deaths.” Her eyes seemed to challenge him as she covered her mouth with a sorrowful hand. “Do you not wish to avenge the stain on their legacy?”

“What would it matter if I did? Our goals might intersect for the moment, but they will never be the same.”

“Nations are not built on kindness, Lord Hiro.”

“Maybe not, but even so, I will walk my own path. No one else’s.” Hiro gently brushed Claudia’s hand aside. “May we meet again. If fortune favors it.”

Claudia gave a tinkling laugh. “Someday, you will realize where your allegiance truly lies. And when that day comes, you will indeed see me again.”

With that, they went their separate ways.

Hiro stopped in front of Huginn and Muninn. “Are we ready to leave?”

“Yes, Your Lordship!” Huginn chirped. “Whenever you like!”

At that moment, the gates to Schnee Fortress shuddered open. The trio turned around as one toward the noise. A lone rider passed through and came barreling toward them—a man they knew.

“Your Highness!” Drix cried. “You must return to the capital at once!” He leaped down from the saddle and stumbled into a bow in front of Hiro. “Brigadier General von Bunadala is trapped behind enemy lines in Faerzen! Lady Celia Estrella rode to her aid but was caught in an ambush from Draal!”

Why was Aura behind enemy lines? What was Third Prince Brutahl playing at? Why were there Draali forces in Faerzen? Questions flooded in Hiro’s mind, but one rose above them all. He tried his best to quiet his pounding heart as he spoke.

“Are they all right?”

“We don’t know, Your Highness. We’ve heard nothing!”

Hiro’s hands balled tight into fists. He breathed out, long and slow, and closed his eyes.

“Send our fastest horse to Garda. Have him bring the Crow Legion to the capital. From there, we will march into Faerzen—” He stopped and shook his head. There was a better way. “No. We will march into the Grand Duchy of Draal.”

Three sets of eyes widened in confusion at his words.