74 - Prologue: Two Fugitives
New chapter start. It will be a long one from here.
A single figure ran through the forest, as if cutting through the darkness of the night.
That slender shadow, sprinting far off the main roads of the Kingdom of Albestein to avoid prying eyes, was actually two shadows overlapping as one.
"Lumiria-sama! Hold on tight!"
"Y-yes...! But Shannon! The pursuers are already...!!"
A small shadow clung to the figure accelerating as if kicking away the night dew. They were a pair of youths. A boy clad in silver light armor and a girl wearing a pale pink dress. The boy, who had a spear mounted on the belt at his back and held the girl in both arms, grimaced at her words.
The androgynous boy with long tawny hair tied back, Shannon Ilmelta, raced his thoughts. It had been about an hour since they were discovered by the pursuers. The physical reinforcement via magic was nearing its limit. The opponents were formidable, gradually crushing their options and narrowing their path like a drive-net fishery. Honestly, there were only a handful of means left to resist.
(Even so, I must at least save Lumiria-sama...!)
As he dashed between the trees, deep wrinkles were carved into Shannon's androgynous face amidst the hardship. He leaped to cross a shallow slope formed by nature. In the brief moment of suspension, illuminated by the moonlit night, he saw the face of the girl in his arms.
Long silver hair mixed with red and lapis lazuli eyes. That face with the well-defined bridge of the nose, which he had seen since childhood, grew more beautiful year by year. Seeing her expression clouded, Shannon grit his teeth.
He knew it was useless to be indignant about this situation. Still, considering the hardships that had fallen upon this girl, Lumiria El Albestein, he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. He wanted to point his spear at this absurdity.
"Shannon, the canyon is just a little further. If we escape to there...!"
"But!"
At Lumiria's words, the remaining means became even more limited. No, she, his master, had chosen this. If that was the case, then there was nothing more.
"I am aware of the danger. I must pass through this crisis and head to the Margraviate of Radock no matter what."
"Kuh...! As you wish!!"
There was no other way, and Shannon squeezed out his last bit of strength to run through the forest, and then his field of vision suddenly opened up.
It was a dead end. The trees ended, and he had reached a sheer cliff.
A drop of a hundred meters. At the bottom of the valley, a river flowed that merged into the Great Carton River.
Being a river flowing through a narrow canyon, the current was fast and turbulent. He knew it was sufficiently deep. If they dove in, they could certainly shake off the pursuers. But with a body at the limit of both stamina and magic, would it be possible to do so while protecting Lumiria? The answer was unknown. That was exactly why it was an option he wanted to avoid as much as possible with the means he had left.
However.
"Hmph... you certainly make me go through a lot of trouble."
The voice called out from behind erased any other safe options.
Turning around, a man appeared accompanied by three subordinates. He was a large man. His height likely approached two meters. With short-cropped black hair and several scars on his face, he was a man whose mere presence suggested a veteran of many battles. He wore silver armor like Shannon, but because he was the First Knight Commander of the Kingdom of Albestein, it was of a higher quality.
The man looked at them with pity.
"It is not too late even now. Hand over the princess and surrender to the Minister. I might even put in a good word for you, Shannon."
"Who would ever do that for a traitor!"
Shannon couldn't help but snap at words that sounded more like provocations than persuasion. Seeing this, the man looked at him as if looking at an untrained puppy and let out a deep sigh.
"Traitor, huh... Then what about the royal family? Can it not be said that a royal family that cannot protect the country, cannot protect the people, and lets them starve is defying its own role?"
"Sophistry...!"
"Whether it is sophistry or deception, it does not matter. Such things change depending on one's position or the person looking. The essence of the matter is that the people are dying because the royal family cannot manage the Dragon Veins."
Shannon could not talk back to the man's words. It was true that Lumiria had failed to control the Dragon Veins during the last ritual. Even though it was her first time, he knew that as a result, the country's economy had declined and people had died.
"Blue blood, you see, is only half a person if it just exists. One becomes a full person only when they fulfill a role commensurate with the taxes poured into that blood. At the very least, the current royals who tilted the country are all half-persons. No, perhaps they could even be called a blight."
"You...!"
"At the very least, I believe it is better to aim for a country without a king. However, I was cautioned by the Minister that it would be too hasty. One must not disregard the authority of the royal family. If it is too hasty, the country will collapse from the inside, and as long as the Dragon Veins exist, the royal blood still has utility. Therefore, the Minister will likely arrange a marriage between that princess and a duke. It is appalling that she hates it and runs away."
"That is just simple usurpation!"
"The birth of a new country is generally like that. If one started alone in a completely new land, it would be different, but if one overthrows the predecessor of a new country in an existing land. Regardless of whether that is good or bad, if the country is left solely to the royal family as it is, destruction is unavoidable. In that case, is it so strange to bet on the side with more possibility for the sake of survival?"
"Even so! Such a thing cannot be permitted!"
"I believe I taught you this long ago, Shannon. That people cannot choose all the options."
"Is that why you chose... and sided with the Minister and the duke, Master Richter...!"
"I believe I also taught you not to use polite language with an enemy, Shannon. If you show respect to an opponent you must kill, your blade will inevitably dull. Especially for a half-baked person like you."
Then the man, Marquis Richter Centaur, pointed the tip of the spear in his hand toward Shannon. That action was as if it were a letter of severance from a master to his pupil.
"Either way, you are checkmated. If you wish to fulfill your duty as royalty, offer up your body. Or will you take it? You, a half-baked person who still does not know who they are and wanders aimlessly?"
"Kuh..."
Shannon took a stance. He had bought time through the dialogue. But then, a reply came from Lumiria in his arms.
(Shannon... the formula is complete)
It came. Then, further dialogue was useless.
(Yes... I will definitely protect you!!)
While still holding Lumiria, Shannon glared at his master, Richter, once more and leaped backward. Beyond that, there was no footing.
"No way!?"
The destination of the two, who fell into the river flowing through the canyon while embracing each other, could not be found even by the moonlight.
●
At that action, which could be called either a suicide jump or seeking life in the midst of death, Richter let out a large sigh.
"Haa... Search the surrounding area for now. Though it is likely useless."
"Is that alright?"
"I do not mind. I will give the old man Minister a suitable report."
At Richter's words, the three subordinates who had been waiting dispersed. After confirming that, he once again peered into the canyon where Shannon and the others had fallen. It was a height of nearly a hundred meters. Even with physical reinforcement via magic, he was almost impressed that they jumped so far.
"Whether you escape with the princess or rouse yourself to counterattack, make sure you survive, you stupid disciple."
In the voice of his mutter and bitter smile, there was a conviction that the disciple and the princess would survive.
Due to Golden Week, the next update will be tomorrow.