kscans

Chapter 6 - v1c4 - Gattoland Burns

Judging by the color of the night, dawn would soon be upon them. He wanted to rendezvous with the Black Rose Air Fleet as quickly as possible, report the details, and immediately force a decisive battle with the Gattoland Air Fleet.

Nanahara Yoshiharu, Chancellor of the Gato Kingdom, stood at the prow of the liaison craft, his gaze fixed on the starry sky ahead.

Beside him stood Artemisia, clad in the uniform of the Gato Kingdom military, and her exclusive knight, Laggy Daylight. Also present were a Gato Kingdom captain and six sailors at the oars. As the captain, seated at the stern, played a tune on his flute, the six men rowed with oars tipped with Floating Stones. With each stroke, a seven-colored wake from the Vogstock Effect blossomed five hundred meters in the air.

A full moon shone brightly in a cloudless sky, clearly delineating the boundary between the horizon and the heavens. In the distance, they could even make out the landmass of the Apollodeo Lower Jaw Peninsula. Despite the pre-dawn hour, visibility was excellent.

Since boarding the liaison craft, neither Artemisia nor Laggy had spoken a word to Yoshiharu. After their brutal work aboard the air battleship Vera Clara was finished, Yoshiharu, along with the other two, had approached the deck chief with a blank letter bearing King Dada’s wax seal and a permit for the craft, which he had tricked the captain into writing. They had successfully escaped the air battleship. Any careless chatter now might arouse the captain’s suspicion, leading to trouble, so they had remained silent throughout the journey.

The captain and his six oarsmen were under the impression that Yoshiharu and Artemisia were on this boat to deliver an important order from King Dada to Commander Ilias. They hadn’t the faintest idea that Yoshiharu had betrayed the kingdom, that Artemisia had murdered King Dada and Lulu, and that the three of them, Laggy included, were fugitives. For his part, Yoshiharu hoped to meet up with the Black Rose Knights without them ever finding out.

Just then, the captain pointed toward the starry sky ahead.

"Lights spotted. Three airships."

Yoshiharu strained his eyes in the direction indicated and saw the distant cluster of airships, their portholes casting a brilliant glow. Judging by the number, it had to be the Black Rose Knights Air Fleet, with Commander Ilias aboard. Since they were still officially allied with the Gato Kingdom military, they were sailing through the night sky with their lights on, prioritizing a clear rendezvous with Yoshiharu.

"Signaling and approaching."

The captain stood, a hand-cannon in his grasp, and lit the fuse with a yellow phosphorus match. A bluish-purple flame sprouted from the tube’s tip, emitting a dazzling light.

As the captain approached, waving the hand-cannon, a yellow signal lamp soon began to wave from side to side near the sterncastle of the lead airship.

"Port stop, starboard once! Steady as she goes… halt! All ahead!"

At the captain’s command, the liaison craft made a gentle turn to port, kicking up a seven-colored wake in the sea of stars as it closed in on the Black Rose Knights Air Fleet…



Before long, Yoshiharu’s liaison craft pulled alongside the port side of the lead vessel, the flagship Demistri.

With a naval vessel, one would board by climbing a ladder or gangway lowered from a sally port. But with an airship, the buoyant body was directly in front of them, while the hull where the crew resided was below. Thus, they threw the rope ladder they had packed in the liaison craft down to the hull below, connecting it to the upper deck before climbing down.

"Wait here until you receive instructions."

"Sir!"

Yoshiharu said to the captain. He let Artemisia descend first, then placed his own foot on the rope ladder. As he climbed down, he sent a one-handed signal to Laggy, who remained in the boat.

"…"

Laggy, his expression unchanged, gripped his halberd and slipped the leather sheaths from its spear point and axe head.

The moment Yoshiharu stepped off the ladder and onto the Demistri's upper deck, shuuu—the sound of a blade slicing through the air erupted from above.

"Huh?!"

"Whoa!"

"Eek!"

Looking up, he could hear the screams of the captain and oarsmen who had brought them here, their voices echoing from beyond the liaison craft’s underbelly.

"U-uwaaaah!"

"Hieeeeeee—!"

With high-pitched shrieks, three oarsmen were thrown from the liaison craft. They flew past Yoshiharu’s eyes, plummeting toward the sea five hundred meters below.

Silence returned. Laggy, alone and stained with blood, stowed his halberd on his back and descended the rope ladder. Splattered with gore, his face was the same impassive wolf’s mask as always. He wasn’t even out of breath; his emotions were unreadable.

"Good work."

Laggy offered no reply to Yoshiharu’s praise. Acknowledgment was due, but Yoshiharu let it slide, thinking it cruel to demand etiquette from a werewolf. Crewmen rushed past them, climbed the rope ladder to the now-unmanned liaison craft, tossed the four bloody corpses overboard, and began lashing the boat to the buoyant body. The Floating Stones used in the oars and hull were valuable, so they would be salvaged and repurposed.

Then, Artemisia, standing beside Yoshiharu, twisted her face in displeasure.

"Dog, did you not hear me? You seem quite discontent. Is it not your duty to obey any command?"

"…"

Laggy’s expression didn’t change. He simply stood there, gazing into the empty air. A wrinkle formed between Artemisia’s brows.

"…Dog. Recite your Oath of Fealty."

She commanded in a low voice. Back in the Gato Kingdom, she had been playing the part of the "brave and kind-hearted Princess Artemisia," so she couldn’t have rebuked him like this in public. Now, back home, Artemisia openly bullied Laggy, as if to vent six months of frustration.

Laggy glanced at the void with a look of indifference, then recited in a flat tone the words he had sworn to Artemisia upon his knighting.

"…Laggy Daylight pledges his life and loyalty to his master. At any time, in any place, even should all the world become your enemy, I shall be the shield that protects you."

Hmph. A cruel, twisted smile graced Artemisia’s lips.

"Uphold your vow. Your duty is to do anything for my sake. Heel."

"…"

"Heel!"

Laggy slowly dropped to one knee, bowing his head in a show of subservience. But Artemisia’s face contorted.

"That’s not heeling. I’m telling you to throw your limbs out and lie on your stomach on the floor."

Laggy didn’t move. The Royal Guards exchanged uneasy glances at the tense atmosphere. He may have sworn an oath of fealty, but he was under no obligation to endure humiliation. This command, even from his master, was going too far.

"Was that oath a lie, you mutt?!" Artemisia berated him, but Laggy remained on one knee, unmoving. If she continued to insult him, there was no telling what might happen… Just as the knights placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, Yoshiharu whispered to Artemisia.

"…He’s here."

Artemisia glanced over. A tall figure had emerged from the sterncastle and was walking toward them. Biting her lip, Artemisia turned her gaze back to Laggy’s lowered head.

"…You ugly mutt, good for nothing but murder. You look and smell like a pig. If you stay here, you’ll offend my father’s nose. Go to the pigsty in the hold."

At her command, Laggy raised his head, his expression unchanged, and quickly disappeared into the ship through a hatchway.

With a snort, Artemisia turned to see a red-haired officer in a black uniform with golden edging walking toward her, flanked by Royal Guards.

"Oh, Father…!"

Artemisia’s face lit up. She ran to her father, throwing her arms wide to embrace him.

"Father. Father. Father…"

She pressed her forehead against her beloved father’s chest. The scent of his favorite cologne, which she hadn’t smelled in six months, filled her nostrils, and tears of joy welled in her eyes.

"You’ve done well, Artemisia. …Your presence here means… it was a success, I take it?"

With hair like blazing fire and serene, violet eyes, Commander Ilias, his tall, slender frame clad in jet-black armor like that of a stage actor, questioned his daughter while shifting his gaze to his fellow apprentice, Yoshiharu.

"Princess Artemisia’s accomplishment is one that will be sung of for a thousand years. …A gift from Her Highness to Your Excellency."

Yoshiharu unveiled the iron cage he was carrying and showed Ilias the Holy Orb of "Benevolence" floating within.

Ilias observed it for a moment with emotionless eyes, then kissed Artemisia’s silver hair.

"I swear to you now, here. …I will annihilate the Minya and bring everlasting peace to this world."

As he whispered this in her ear, Artemisia’s face, overcome with emotion, lifted up.

"Yes…! I will fight with you. We will exterminate the hateful Minya… those monsters… and cleanse this world…!"

Then, Artemisia’s expression crumpled.

"I’ll kill every last one of them! I’ll make them all pay for what they did to me…!"

She buried her face in Ilias’s chest again and began to sob aloud. Ilias gently stroked his daughter’s slender back.

"…I am the one who should be blamed. …I put everything on your shoulders… and could do nothing for you. Forgive your father, Artemisia."

"That’s not… that’s not true…"

Artemisia was at a loss for words, clinging to her father. The touch of a Minya was so repulsive she would instinctively brush it away even while undercover, but she wanted to be held by her father Ilias forever.

However, Yoshiharu cut into the father-daughter reunion with a heartless cough.

"We must confront the Gattoland fleet before dawn. Once the sun rises, they will notice something is amiss. We should take advantage of the confusion in their command and launch an attack with the Holy Orbs of ‘Benevolence’ and ‘Filial Piety.’"

Hearing Yoshiharu’s words, Ilias gently placed his hands on Artemisia’s shoulders, pulling her away from his chest, and looked into her eyes.

"I see. You have succeeded the Holy Orb of ‘Filial Piety,’ then…?"

Artemisia, her eyes still wet with tears, managed a faint smile.

"Yes, Father. I killed the second princess, Lulu, with my own hands and succeeded the Holy Orb of ‘Filial Piety.’"

As she said this, a peculiar expression flickered across Ilias’s face. It was a complex tapestry of pain, sorrow, and affection woven intricately into his eyes, brows, and cheeks. But he erased it in an instant and placed a hand on Artemisia’s head.

"I see. …You, ‘Filial Piety.’ …Perhaps it was fate. …There are strange connections in this world."

"…?"

A look of suspicion crossed Artemisia’s face at Ilias’s cryptic words.

Ilias shifted his gaze from his daughter to the captain of the airship Demistri.

"…I command you. The Black Rose Knights Air Fleet will now advance to Red Cape and engage the Gattoland Air Fleet in a decisive battle."

As he spoke, a jolt of electricity shot through the upper deck of the air battleship Demistri. Every officer and sailor present straightened their backs, clicked their heels, and looked at Ilias.

"This is a battle to decide who will rule the Grapeland Sea. The time has finally come to determine the superiority of our species—human or Minya. This will undoubtedly be a historic, decisive battle. For the sake of every human living in this world, we will win, gentlemen."

In response to Ilias’s words, the soldiers’ cheers echoed across the late-night deck. The knights, who had repeatedly suffered at the hands of King Dada’s Gato Kingdom, began preparing for the morning’s battle, ready to settle a long-standing grudge.

"I’ve had a room prepared for you in the sterncastle. Go and change, Artemisia. The knightly uniform of our order suits you well."

"Yes! Please burn this uniform and scatter the ashes in the sea, so I never have to see it again."

Artemisia replied with a smile and skipped off toward the sterncastle.

Ilias raised his head and glared at the western sea.

At dawn, the decisive battle with the Gattoland Air Fleet would begin. The time to settle a long and bitter rivalry was fast approaching.

—It will be over soon, Lala.

Beyond the starry sky, the smile of someone long gone was reflected in Ilias’s eyes.

Beside him, Yoshiharu opened the iron cage and took out the Holy Orb of "Benevolence."

Ilias stared impassively at the most powerful of the Holy Orbs as it floated in the air.

By succeeding this "Benevolence," King Dada had risen from a small nation on Gato Island to the hegemon of the Grapeland Sea. This Holy Orb, which could guarantee victory in any fleet engagement, would now bring great fortune to the Black Rose Knights.

—I will end this war in my own way.

Ilias reached out his right hand and crushed the Holy Orb of "Benevolence."

The crimson character for "Benevolence" glowed with a searing intensity before melting into Ilias’s heart.



†††



The unease of those at the top becomes an earthquake when it travels down.

If a prince loses his composure in front of everyone, wailing and ranting, his dignity vanishes. When dignity disappears, so does loyalty, and then discipline, and finally the army itself. It is the responsibility of royalty to show no emotion, to feign composure and deal with any hardship.

—That’s why I have to act calmly now, more than ever.

Toto, the Second Prince of the Gato Kingdom, desperately tried to convince himself of this, but his chaotic mind would not obey his inner voice.

The light of dawn, filtering through the porthole, illuminated the two gruesome corpses laid out on the bed, churning Toto’s thoughts into a mess.

Toto knelt on the floor, his hand resting on Lulu’s body. Opposite him, the first princess, Chouchou, also knelt, simply holding King Dada’s cold hand.

Only the two bodies, Toto, and Chouchou were in the king’s chamber in the sterncastle. On the upper deck, King Dada’s adjutant, the officers, and the captain were arguing about what to do next. Not only was King Dada dead, but Chancellor Nanahara, who had been managing every aspect of the operation, had disappeared along with Artemisia and Laggy, leaving no one to quell the chaos.

Toto desperately tried to cool his thoughts and focus on what needed to be done.

—The Holy Orbs of "Benevolence" and "Filial Piety" are gone.

He had seen with his own eyes during the duel between Gasper and Laggy that when a Successor dies, the Holy Orb separates from their body and floats. But there were no orbs around the two corpses. And a sailor on watch had said that Yoshiharu was carrying a covered iron cage when he boarded the liaison craft. He must have put the stolen orbs in there. As for the other, it was likely that Yoshiharu, Artemisia, or Laggy had succeeded it.

—Chancellor Nanahara orchestrated everything.

There could be no doubt. Otherwise, such a meticulous and audacious crime would be impossible. To make matters worse, Yoshiharu shared secrets with the king that even Toto didn’t know, such as who had succeeded which orb and what its properties were.

And.

—The one who killed them was… Artemisia…!

This, too, was almost certain. At the time of the crime, only King Dada, Lulu, and Artemisia were in the sterncastle. According to the testimony of the Royal Guard who had been standing in front of the door the entire time, Artemisia had called out from inside, without opening the door, that "the king is summoning Chancellor Nanahara." The deed must have already been done by then.

—I can’t believe it… It can’t be…

Even though the situation clearly pointed to Artemisia’s betrayal, a part of Toto still wanted to believe in her. There was no way that sweet, modest girl could be capable of something so horrible…

"Toto."

Suddenly, the first princess, Chouchou, spoke from beside him.

"You should prepare to escape from here at any moment."

Chouchou, her eyes covered by a black silk bandage, her long golden hair down, and wearing the uniform of the Gato Kingdom military, said this to him.

"…I know. I’ll get a harness and a glider ready before the air battle begins. …You too, Chouchou."

"…Yes. Chancellor Nanahara knows that you and I have succeeded Holy Orbs… Our lives are in danger, too."

"Right. If our orbs fall into enemy hands, it will be a disaster…"

Preparing a glider before a battle could earn one the scorn of being called a "coward," but the blind Chouchou couldn’t pilot one. Considering they would have to escape together, it was wiser to make the necessary preparations.

Toto desperately tried to sort out the situation and think about what lay ahead.

The battle with the Black Rose Knights Air Fleet would begin soon. Could they win?

—No matter how many battleships we have, we can’t beat the "Firebird"…

Yesterday, the "Firebird" had vaporized the enemy air battleship Viridium in an instant. If that power had fallen into enemy hands, they were defenseless.

The faint sounds of the remaining officers arguing reached Toto’s ears inside the sterncastle. Retreat or continue the operation—the debate on the upper deck showed no signs of ending. Since King Dada and Yoshiharu had decided everything, the men who were suddenly entrusted with the fate of the kingdom were at a loss, simply blaming each other.

—This is no time for that.

—Our naval fleet should have started the landing…

At sunrise, the Gato Kingdom Naval Fleet, consisting of thirty ships of the line and over a hundred transport ships deployed in Red Cape Bay, was supposed to have begun their landing. The air fleet was meant to guard the surrounding airspace and support the landing, but…

—That’s right, what happened to the landing operation…?

So much had happened that Toto had completely lost track of the battle situation. Dragging his still-confused mind along, he opened the door and stepped onto the upper deck.

"Oh, Prince Toto…!"

"Your Highness, we’ve been waiting for you…"

The adjutant and the naval and air force officers noticed Toto’s appearance, stopped their debate, and rushed over. Toto mustered his courage, hid his confusion and anguish deep within his expression, and asked in a calm voice.

"What is the status of our naval fleet?"

The officers were taken aback for a moment, then, as if just remembering, pointed to the port side.

"Ah, yes, the landing operation? You can see it clearly from over there."

Toto walked to the port side and looked out at the landmass to the northwest. The morning sun, already risen above the horizon, cast a brass-colored light on the long sandy beach and the more than one hundred Gato Kingdom naval vessels deployed in Red Cape Bay. At the water’s edge, small craft trailed white wakes as they transported soldiers, horses, and dismantled battering rams and siege cannons to the beach. Fearing the Gato Kingdom Air Fleet flying overhead, there was no sign of Callistratus’s forces attempting to stop the landing.

The objective, Red Cape Fortress, was a hazy silhouette more than ten kilometers away, nestled halfway up a mountain that jutted out into the sea. The fortress consisted of batteries carved into the mountain to shell ships passing through the Three-pronged Strait, protected by curtain walls and forts built into the mountainside. Above the fortress, at an altitude of five hundred meters, there should have been a pier for small airships, but it was too small to be seen from here.

The area around the fortress was a series of sheer cliffs, with no sandy beaches for a large army to land. The twelve thousand troops of the Gato Kingdom who had landed were to march from the beach below, climb the mountain road, and by evening, surround Red Cape Fortress. The plan was to launch an attack the next morning with the support of the air fleet… but.

With King Dada gone, the kingdom’s army had no will.

King Dada’s will—to recapture Red Cape, station the landed ground forces, find a pretext to invade the surrounding cities, and conquer the Grapeland Sea in one fell swoop—was gone. Those left behind were simply at a loss.

Toto thought about what he should do.

—What royalty needs is composure and dignity.

—Dignity commands the obedience of their subjects.

Toto spoke in a resolute tone.

"The order of overall command authority now places you, Adjutant Sergio, at the top. As things stand, you must decide the army’s course of action. Retreat or continue the operation. It’s one or the other. …What will it be?"

Spoken to in such a calm manner, Adjutant Sergio’s eyes darted left and right for a moment. The officers silently averted their gazes. Sergio cleared his throat, puffed out his chest, and clicked his heels.

"…The die is already cast. We cannot halt the landing. We will continue with the operation to capture Red Cape Fortress."

Toto nodded. It was the obvious answer, but it was significant that Sergio had declared it in front of everyone.

"Understood. What of the Black Rose Knights Air Fleet’s movements?"

"…Unknown. But we should prepare for the worst. …Let’s dispatch patrol boats in the Callistonia direction. We’ll form multiple fan-shaped search patterns to track their movements."

It seemed they hadn’t even done that yet. But Toto, who had been in a daze himself until just a moment ago, couldn’t blame others. Besides, he had never experienced a fleet battle of this scale. He decided it was best not to overstep.

"Understood. If that’s decided, let us wager everything on the battle before us. The command authority has merely been transferred to Admiral Sergio; our fighting strength is intact. The time has come to show the world that the Gattoland Air Fleet is the strongest."

At Toto’s rousing words, the officers puffed out their chests, clicked their heels, and responded. Then Toto, forcing his exhausted heart, toured the ship, offering encouragement to the frightened and confused sailors, and boosted their morale for the coming battle.

—We still have five air battleships intact. We still have the advantage. There’s no way we can lose this fight…!

He gathered his hope and looked to the eastern sky, where the Black Rose Fleet was likely to be. Had Yoshiharu and Artemisia, who had stolen the liaison craft, joined them by now? The desire to see Artemisia one more time, to confirm the truth, lingered stubbornly in Toto’s heart…



†††



"Ship sighted! Five Gattoland air battleships!"

The lookout’s tense voice echoed across the upper deck of the Black Rose Knights’ flagship, the Demistri.

The sun was approaching its zenith in the southern sky. Beneath the deep blue firmament, Commander Ilias of the Black Rose Knights pressed a spyglass to one eye, aiming it at the distant airspace.

Within the circular field of view, the flagship Vera Clara, boasting a length of sixty meters and a weight of three hundred and fifty tons, came into focus.

"…"

Ilias observed the enemy flagship in silence. It was twice the length of the Demistri, with twice the number of cannons. Four more ships of the same class followed behind. The fifth ship at the rear, the Fiamma Elder, was towing the buoyant bodies of three ships from the Callistratus fleet, captured in the previous air battle.

It was a majestic sight, truly befitting the name of the world’s strongest—the Gattoland Air Fleet.

"A magnificent sight, isn’t it? A fleet King Dada spent thirty years building."

Beside Ilias, Nanahara Yoshiharu, who had just betrayed the kingdom’s army that morning, spoke with his usual smile. Ilias, without even a nod of acknowledgment, replied.

"I hear an ancient forest disappears every time one is built."

"Indeed. All the trees over a hundred years old in the country have become those five ships."

"And today, they become fodder for the sea."

"Are you able to handle the ‘Firebird’?"

At Yoshiharu’s question, Ilias answered, the spyglass still pressed to his eye.

"If you do not know, then let me tell you. I succeeded ‘Benevolence’ just this morning."

"…Do you understand why King Dada needed as many as five air battleships?"

Ilias thought for a moment while observing the enemy air fleet.

"You mean the ‘Firebird’ can only be used in a limited capacity?"

If it could be used without restriction, he could simply use the "Firebird" from the beginning to the end of the air battle. But King Dada had spent thirty years building his air fleet for the invasion of the Grapeland Sea. The king himself knew best that the "Firebird" alone could not win an air battle.

"Yes. The Firebird can only be used once every two hundred days."

"…"

Ilias removed the spyglass from his eye and turned a reproachful gaze on Yoshiharu’s smile. Hadn’t King Dada just used it against the Callistratus fleet yesterday?

"Rest assured, the previous Successor’s usage is not counted. However, I urge you not to misjudge the timing of its use."

"…The enemy is the Gattoland Air Fleet. There could be no better time than this."

He spat out the words and looked into the distance.

The horizontal distance to the Gattoland Air Fleet was approximately two thousand meters. The enemy was approaching from the west, they from the east, and a light breeze blew from the south-southwest.

The enemy Gattoland Air Fleet: five large air battleships, three hundred 20cm cannons.

Their side, the Black Rose Air Fleet: three medium airships, one hundred and twenty 15cm cannons.

They were severely outmatched in both firepower and number of ships. Normally, this was an air battle to be avoided. But.

"Artemisia."

At his call, Artemisia, dressed in the uniform of the Black Rose Knights, stepped forward to stand beside Ilias.

"Yes."

Her jacket was black with golden embroidery and edging, worn over a white shirt with a decorative chest piece, with shorts, crisp white tights, and black leather half-boots. Artemisia, in her dashing uniform, wore a confident smile and looked back at her father.

"I am ready whenever you are."

According to Yoshiharu’s explanation, the Holy Orb of "Filial Piety" could "control the wind." However, it placed a heavy burden on the Successor’s mind and body, making prolonged use difficult. Yesterday, the second princess Lulu had lost consciousness and fainted while using her ability. Like the "Firebird," it demanded to be used at the perfect moment.

"…We cannot afford to misjudge the timing. Your turn is after mine. First, we strike the flagship and destroy their command structure…"

Just as in naval warfare, the most important thing in an air fleet battle was to strike the flagship first. If they could take away the command baton of the leading commander, the tide of battle would shift greatly in their favor.

—The "Firebird" can do that…

The horizontal distance to the enemy fleet was one thousand seven hundred meters.

The enemy moved first.

"Enemy fleet, underhanded jibe."

The lookout’s tense voice echoed. The enemy turned their prow leeward, presenting their starboard side to them. The gunports were not yet open. They probably assumed they would also turn leeward. They likely wanted to settle the matter with cannons while sailing alongside, but if they did that, they would be the ones to lose.

"Hold your position. Have the trailing ships prepare the incendiary boats."

At Ilias’s command, a signalman relayed the message by hoisting signal flags on the aft mast. The two trailing ships, upon receiving the flag signal, untied a total of twelve small airboats that had been lashed to their buoyant bodies and began to fly while towing them behind with ropes. Each small airboat was fully loaded with combustibles like firewood and oil, and crewed by a suicide squad wearing gliders on their backs. It was a rather archaic incendiary ship, and its chances of success, if used normally, were slim, but…

"Both the Holy Orb and the incendiary boats… timing decides everything."

Ilias murmured calmly, staring at the approaching enemy fleet.

The five ships of the Gattoland Air Fleet, seeing that they were not taking the bait, made another right turn and changed course. They took a parallel course, maintaining a horizontal distance of eight hundred meters.

Yoshiharu muttered.

"They intend to overwhelm us with firepower as we pass. Still, they’re close."

"They probably don’t have conclusive proof that the Orb of ‘Benevolence’ has passed to us. The enemy commander is just praying that the ‘Firebird’ doesn’t appear…"

Just as they were taking a gamble, the kingdom’s army was also in a situation where they had no choice but to gamble. King Dada had died just after the landing operation began, and the enemy command must have been in turmoil, debating whether to cancel or continue the operation.

—I commend your courage to face us even without your king.

According to Yoshiharu, Prince Toto and Princess Chouchou remained on the flagship. Perhaps the two royals had rallied the ship and challenged them to this decisive battle.

—However, you have lost this gamble.

Ilias pressed his clenched fist to his heart and summoned the Holy Orb of "Benevolence."

His heart grew hot, his blood began to boil.

Countless holes opened in space, and from another dimension overlapping with this world, a vermilion light seeped out.

Ilias’s crimson hair floated up as if on fire—

The vermilion intertwined to become crimson, the crimson layered to become flame, and the clustered flames called forth a scorching wind.

The clouds were torn to shreds. The very airspace turned crimson. As if the entire Black Rose Air Fleet had transformed into a burning sunrise, a crimson so dense it seemed to drip encroached upon the airspace.

Flames covered the sky—

"Benevolence."

Against a crimson halo of countless overlapping circles, that single character stood out vividly.

The halo was more dazzling than when King Dada had used it, and the character for "Benevolence" was so clear it seemed to have materialized.

At the same time, from the distance—the ruler of flames cried out.

The blue sky cracked and split, and from the fissure, a rising phoenix thrust its neck, spread its wings, and manifested its giant, steam-spewing body in this world, letting out an otherworldly scream.

Directly above the Black Rose fleet’s flagship, the Demistri, at an altitude of about seven hundred and fifty meters—

The "Firebird" beat its long wings, glaring down at the enemy Gattoland Air Fleet.

Its vast wings undulated slowly, its fluid, boiling body transforming the surrounding atmosphere into a shimmering heat haze. The intense heat of over a thousand degrees radiating from its outline traveled down the Demistri's buoyant body and was delivered as a heat wave to the upper deck, suspended by cables.

It was as if the sun had transformed into a giant bird.

Cheers erupted from the sailors of the Black Rose Fleet. Opposite them, the Gattoland Air Fleet watched in stunned silence, viewing the "Firebird" that had annihilated the Calistratus fleet’s flagship, the Viridium, just yesterday.

Ilias stood on the sterncastle of the flagship Demistri, his calm eyes fixed on the enemy Gattoland Air Fleet they were about to pass.

—This is where a long journey ends.

For some reason, a distant sense of emotion crossed Ilias’s chest.

In the sky before him, the image of a woman with whom he had once shared the same dream was more vivid than the enemy fleet. He scorned himself for such sweet sentimentality, yet for a moment, Ilias savored the sweet and bitter taste that wafted from the depths of his heart.

—Lala. The naive dream we shared ends here, today.

Ilias raised his right hand high.

Ahead of his hand, the "Firebird" burned the blue sky as it beat its wings, glaring at the enemy airships some eight hundred meters away, awaiting its master’s command.

—Humans and Minya Cannot Coexist.

Ilias lowered his right hand, his outstretched fingers pointing at the Gattoland Air Fleet, which was just now opening its gunports.

"Burn them, ‘Firebird.’"

At his command, the "Firebird" unfurled its vast wings, which resembled a waterfall of flowing flame.

In that instant—

The atmosphere peeled back, and a tsunami of fire surged from the other side of the dimension.

Its wake burned.

Clouds were obliterated.

The "Firebird" closed the eight-hundred-meter horizontal distance to zero in the blink of an eye.

Transformed into a hypersonic spear, the "Firebird" slammed its entire body into the starboard side of the Gattoland Air Fleet’s flagship, the Vera Clara. In that moment, the steel armor covering the starboard side melted like syrup.

—Too High Ideals Only Prolong the Killing.

The "Firebird"’s vast wings turned the Vera Clara's upper deck into a sea of fire. The sailors turned to charcoal without even time to scream, and the suspension cables connecting the buoyant body and the hull snapped one after another.

—Better for one side to be exterminated than to continue fighting for all eternity.

The starboard cannons fired in a salvo, like a final death cry.

The flaming cannonballs flew through the air, uselessly clawing at the void, passing by the Black Rose Fleet and falling toward the sea, trailing seven-colored tails.

Gieeee… the "Firebird" turned its blazing eyes toward the trailing ships.

—So today, I burn the country you loved.

Flames danced.

The more they danced, the more the airspace burned.

The wake of their wild dance was colored by the seven hues of death and destruction.

Cannonballs had no effect. In the first place, unlike the airships that could neither ascend nor descend from their five-hundred-meter altitude, the "Firebird" could fly freely through the sky. With a single flap of its wings, it soared to an altitude of eight hundred meters, then dove headfirst, ramming into the second ship, the Aguirre Maura, and vaporizing both its buoyant body and hull in a fiery embrace. The trailing ships desperately tried to evade the "Firebird," but the difference in maneuverability between an air sailboat and a bird was like that between a caterpillar and a hornet.

The "Firebird" gave the Gattoland Air Fleet’s third ship, the Brezza Regina, a deadly embrace. A chain of explosions erupted from within the ship, sealed by the intense heat. A part of the broadside blew out, and a tongue of crimson flame licked out from within. Sailors with their backs on fire screamed as they fell toward the distant sea.

Its firepower was just too devastating. Even the latest battleships with experienced sailors could only be unilaterally destroyed when faced with a monster that flew while burning and spewing flames. Furthermore, any cannonballs that hit it vaporized on the spot, making counterattacks meaningless.

It was a tremendous power, but the problem was time.

"It’s weakening."

Ilias muttered to himself, observing the state of the "Firebird" he was commanding.

Gradually, the brilliance faded from Ilias’s halo. Simultaneously, the "Firebird"’s fire also died down, its blazing flames beginning to subside.

The enemy’s fourth and fifth ships were still flying. If he couldn’t take them down, his three medium ships couldn’t win.

"Time’s up, I suppose."

As Yoshiharu spoke, the "Firebird" suddenly vanished into space as tens of millions of sparks. All that remained were the three burning enemy air battleships, the Vera Clara, Aguirre Maura, and Brezza Regina, and the still-intact fourth ship, the Alba Idea, and fifth ship, the Fiamma Elder, sailing in a single file line.

The three leading ships, still barely flying, had their upper hulls on fire, and with more than a third of their suspension cables severed, they wouldn't last long. The order to abandon ship must have been given, as the crew members were evacuating on gliders.

Behind them, the two surviving air battleships, as if in revenge for their comrades, were opening their starboard gunports toward them.

With two enemy battleships remaining, they couldn’t win. But.

"Artemisia."

"Yes."

This time, Artemisia was wreathed in a golden halo.

"Filial Piety."

The brightly shining character was of almost the same intensity as the light Lulu had emitted.

Artemisia, with her clear indigo eyes, fixed her gaze on the two surviving enemy air battleships.

"Perish, Minya!"

At her command, a strong wind blew from behind Artemisia, sweeping toward the enemy fleet.

Simultaneously, the twelve incendiary boats that the three ships of the Black Rose Air Fleet had been towing all raised their sails and cast off their tow ropes.

The sails mounted on the upper part of the incendiary boats’ buoyant bodies caught the tailwind fully. The small boats, already fast and maneuverable, charged like a pack of wolves toward the bovine Gattoland air battleships.

The Gattoland Air Fleet, which had been receiving a tailwind until now, couldn’t react to the sudden change in wind direction. They looked on as twelve small boats, their hulls laden with firewood, charged toward them. Suddenly, the wind had turned in favor of the Black Rose Fleet.

"Underhanded jibe!"

"Underhanded jibe!"

Shouts echoed through the airspace. But turning while catching the wind was inevitably slow. The wolf-like small boats, upon closing to a horizontal distance of fifty meters, all burst into flames from their upper decks.

The firewood loaded into the small boats’ hulls was thoroughly soaked in oil. They burned magnificently as they charged toward the air battleships. The Black Rose Knights’ suicide squads, who had been operating the sails from atop the buoyant bodies, brought the small boats to an unavoidable distance, then jumped off with gliders on their backs.

The wind howled.

The upwind incendiary boats rode the wind, while the downwind Gattoland fleet had to fight against it.

"Evasive maneuvers, evasive maneuvers!"

"It’s no good, run!"

With screams, the twelve boats crashed one after another into the starboard sides of the Gattoland Air Fleet’s fourth and fifth ships, erupting in tremendous flames.

Sailboats, made of dry wood thickly coated with paint, are highly flammable. They also carry large amounts of gunpowder. When a small, burning boat, riding the wind, crashes into a hull already vulnerable to fire—

The October sky burned crimson.

The smoke and soot rising from the burning air battleships blotted out the sky.

The upper decks of the hulls were engulfed in crimson flames, and the sailors hastily threw barrels of gunpowder overboard. But the flammable structural materials only fed the flames over time, until they became uncontrollable.

"Look, the mainmast is burning!"

"Burn, burn, serves you right!"

"Fire, fire, fire at will!"

Cheers erupted from the Black Rose Fleet, and the gunports of the three medium airships opened, their twenty starboard cannons per ship thrusting out their barrels. From the fifteen-centimeter caliber muzzles, six-kilogram cannonballs were fired one after another, striking the remaining Gattoland ships at close range. The enemy, confused by the fire, could not return fire.

"That’s it, volley fire!"

"Get ‘em, get ‘em, don’t let a single one live, finish them off!"

The excited voices of the gunners on the gun deck below reached Ilias. Once the tide turns to one side, the morale of the winning side rises while that of the losing side falls, and reversing this becomes extremely difficult.

"In the end, the power to control the wind is the most useful in air and sea battles."

Ilias gave a silent nod to Yoshiharu’s words. In battles between sailboats, whether in the sky or on the sea, the one who takes the windward position wins. As long as Artemisia was with them, the Black Rose Fleet would always be able to take the windward position in all future fleet battles. The decisive fleet battle for supremacy was, over time, turning into a one-sided affair.

"Hahaha, look, they’re writhing in agony!"

"This is your punishment for doing whatever you pleased, you cat-ears!"

"Now it’s our turn to collect tolls from you! We’ll pluck you clean down to the hairs on your asses!"

The sailors, watching the five burning Gattoland airships from a distance, spewed curses to their hearts’ content. Ilias, with a calm expression, looked up at the sky of victory.

"It’s not over yet. Now for the finishing touches."

Beside him, Yoshiharu nodded in agreement.

"In Red Cape Bay, the Gato Kingdom’s naval fleet, having completed its landing operation, is still intact. First, we must destroy them with aerial bombardment and isolate the landed kingdom army."

The kingdom’s naval fleet, consisting of thirty ships of the line and over a hundred transport ships, was currently deployed in Red Cape Bay. The twelve thousand kingdom troops who had landed on the Apollodeo Lower Jaw Peninsula from Red Cape Bay were also marching toward Red Cape Fortress. It was a massive army that covered both land and sea, but to an air fleet, they were nothing more than insects crawling on the ground.

"Just a massacre."

Those who control the Floating Sphere control the world. The Gato Kingdom’s army would soon learn this cruel doctrine through their own bones. After all, an air fleet could unilaterally drop bombs on the ground, and ground-based artillery could not reach the flying ships.

Yoshiharu verbalized the future operation.

"After bombarding the kingdom army advancing on Red Cape, we, the Black Rose Fleet, will storm Gato Island and subject the urban area and Gato Kingdom Castle to artillery bombardment. Simultaneously, our naval fleet will also pass through the Three-pronged Strait and land on Gato Island, occupying it in one fell swoop."

Currently, the Black Rose Knights Naval Fleet, fully loaded with soldiers, was cruising the Grapeland Sea, awaiting the start of the operation. This was the fleet that, had Artemisia failed to assassinate King Dada, was scheduled to occupy a couple of pirate islands in the Sea of Rocks to save face. Ilias would now give them the command to "liberate the Gato Kingdom capital from the cat-eared Minya tribe."

"By tomorrow morning, Your Excellency Ilias will be reigning as the hegemon of the Grapeland Sea."

Ilias, without even a nod in response to Yoshiharu’s words, looked out at the combat airspace.

The five ships of the Gattoland Air Fleet, once hailed as the world’s strongest, were now a pitiful sight.

For three of them, all the suspension cables had been severed by fire, and only the buoyant bodies were drifting aimlessly in the Floating Sphere. In the sea directly below them were the remnants of water columns, and amidst the scattered debris of wood, ropes, rigging, broken cargo, oil, and flotsam, the corpses of kingdom soldiers floated.

The remaining two ships were still burning, drifting in the air. A few soldiers who had managed to escape were flying their gliders toward the distant landmass. They probably intended to join up with the landed kingdom soldiers. They had nowhere else to go.

"Prince Toto and Princess Chouchou were still aboard the flagship, I believe."

Yoshiharu answered Ilias’s question.

"I hope they’re alive. It’s a pain to search for the Holy Orbs if they die at sea."

According to Yoshiharu, Toto had succeeded the Orb of "Loyalty," and Chouchou, "Propriety." He wanted them dead, but it would be troublesome if the orbs disappeared.

"I’ll dispatch a search party. For the future, I want all the Holy Orbs in our hands."

It wasn’t just Yoshiharu who responded to Ilias’s words.

"Father, would you entrust that task to me?"

Artemisia suddenly interjected. Her expression clearly still held the residual excitement of battle.

"I saw a man and a woman escaping from the flagship on a two-person glider. From their builds, I’m sure it’s Toto and Chouchou. I know both of them by sight."

Looking at Artemisia’s face, it was clear that even after killing King Dada and Lulu, her pent-up frustration had not been vented. She seemed desperate to personally avenge the humiliation of having to live as a hostage in enemy territory for six months.

"I have an idea where they’re headed. Please let me sally forth with my personal guard. I will surely bring back both of their heads and the two Holy Orbs for you to see."

Ilias considered Artemisia’s words in silence for a moment.

"…Very well. After we have annihilated the kingdom’s ground forces with bombardment, take your personal guard and descend."

Artemisia smiled brilliantly.

"Leave it to me. By tomorrow, six royal heads will be lined up in the castle."

She turned on her heel and summoned her personal guard. The guard, composed of the elite of the Black Rose Knights, eagerly donned their harnesses and inspected their gliders. Among the dozen or so who gathered on the upper deck was the werewolf Laggy Daylight, also wearing a harness.

Meanwhile, small liaison airboats approached the Floating Stones drifting in the air. Recovery crews jumped aboard and attached tow lines. Before long, all the Floating Stones, large and small, that had literally supported the Gattoland Air Fleet were salvaged and transported by the liaison boats to the Black Rose Knights’ base on Athena Island. The Floating Stones harvested today would be reshaped in the workshops of Athena Island, and in a year, they would be suspending new hulls, completely dominating the skies of the Grapeland Sea.

The Black Rose and Sword Crest Flag, fluttering from the mast of the buoyant body, announced that today marked the end of the Gato Kingdom’s era and the beginning of the Black Rose Knights’ era. Having fulfilled his long-held ambition, Ilias remained utterly calm, gazing at the sky of his historic victory…



†††



"Hah, hah, hah…"

Gasping for breath as he walked along the water’s edge, Toto, the Second Prince of the Gato Kingdom, removed the broken glider from his back, threw it onto the sand, and unhooked the harness at his front.

"Chouchou, are you all right?"

Asked by her younger brother, the blind first princess, Chouchou, placed one hand and both knees on the sand washed by the waves, catching her breath.

"I’m fine. But what about you, are you okay…?"

"I’m fine. But the situation is… pretty dire…"

Toto said, lending Chouchou a hand to help her up, and looked around.

Just moments ago, he had jumped from the burning flagship Vera Clara, holding Chouchou in front of him, their harnesses linked by a hook, with a glider on his back. He had glided for five hundred meters and barely managed to land on this beach.

Looking back, he could see the distant silhouettes of two air battleships, burning as they drifted in the Floating Sphere.

"…"

Toto was at a loss for words. From their silhouettes, they were probably the Gattoland Air Fleet’s fourth ship, the Alba Idea, and fifth ship, the Fiamma Elder. While gliding through the air, he had faintly seen incendiary boats ramming into the two ships. The wind had suddenly shifted to favor the Black Rose Fleet, and the kingdom’s ships had been burned before they had a chance to escape. It was a wind that was all too convenient for the enemy, and all too disastrous for them.

The cause, perhaps…

—Lulu’s power to control the wind… is in enemy hands…?

—Could Artemisia have stolen Lulu’s power…?

Such suspicions exploded in Toto’s mind. He didn’t want to believe it. But the events that had just unfolded before his eyes pointed to that all-too-painful truth.

—No way, Artemisia… you couldn’t possibly do something like that…

With his ankles soaked in the waves washing over the sand, Toto looked up at the two friendly airships burning as they flew. Before long, the fifth ship, the Fiamma Elder, its powder magazine ignited, turned into a fireball and shattered in the airspace. The fourth ship, the Alba Idea, caught in the aftershock, had all its suspension cables severed, and its hull, its prow pointing straight down, plummeted five hundred meters to the sea below.

Even from the beach where Toto stood, he could see the great water column that the Alba Idea had become. The three triumphant medium air sailboats of the Black Rose Fleet were approaching to salvage the buoyant bodies drifting in the air. The great air fleet that King Dada had spent thirty years building, expropriating Floating Stones and turning ancient forests into barren land, was being stolen by the Black Rose Knights in the sky above.

—It’s over. Against an air fleet, no matter how many soldiers you have on the ground, you can’t win…

Toto’s knees buckled and hit the sand. Despair washed over him. The five air battleships had been the protectors of the Gato Kingdom. Because of those five ships, other countries couldn’t touch the Gato Kingdom, and they could do as they pleased, such as imposing strait tolls. Now that their guardian deities were gone, the Black Rose Air Fleet could ravage the undefended skies of the capital as they pleased.

"We’ve lost this battle, Chouchou… The kingdom will fall…"

Despair turned into words. He couldn’t have said such a thing in front of his subordinates, but in front of Chouchou, his weakness naturally slipped out.

Chouchou stood frozen on the sand, a hand placed on her chest. Being blind, she couldn’t see the burning friendly fleet, and probably couldn’t fully grasp the situation, but…

"Even if the kingdom falls, the Minya citizens will live. You must not die."

Chouchou said this in a firm tone.

Toto turned a slightly weary expression to his sister.

"If I am a burden, please leave me here. You are His Majesty’s legitimate heir. Even if the kingdom falls, as long as you live, the hope of the Minya remains. You must live on, for the sake of the five hundred thousand Minya."

With a black silk bandage wrapped around her eyes, only Chouchou’s mouth was visible. But her earnest feelings were conveyed to Toto.

Toto looked up at the sky for a moment, then stood up and brushed the sand from his knees.

"…Sorry. …Forget what I just said. …I was just feeling a little weak."

He then took Chouchou’s hand and looked at the distant mountain range and the Red Cape Fortress carved into its side.

"…Our allies have landed just ahead. If we hurry, we can join them. Let’s go together."

Toto began to walk with Chouchou. The only luggage Chouchou had been able to carry from the airship was a small instrument case fixed to her harness. Holding the case with her treasured lute inside with her remaining hand, Chouchou walked along the beach with unsteady steps.

"…You’re royalty too, Chouchou. You’re the hope of the Minya just the same. I don’t want you to call yourself a burden. There’s no way I could leave you behind and run."

As they walked, Toto spoke these words to his side, and squeezed the hand he held.

"…Yes. …I know. …But, if things get really dangerous, promise me you’ll run without worrying about me…"

Chouchou also squeezed his hand slightly, faced forward, and walked.

At that moment, a cloud of dust rose from the distant cedar forest. Looking over, he saw a light cavalryman in a kingdom army uniform, galloping toward them. He must have been sent to search for those who had evacuated from the kingdom’s fleet. Toto waved a hand and welcomed his ally with a smile.



†††



"Whoa… Awesome. Yeah, get ‘em, get ‘em…! Kill all the cat-ears…!"

From Red Cape Fortress, situated at an altitude of one hundred and fifty meters, one could overlook the Grapeland Sea, the Three-pronged Strait, and Red Cape Bay.

Right now, the siblings Mihohara Michihiko and Kuon were at the tip of a battery, in an observation tower for spotting shell impacts, watching the grand and one-sided battle in the southeast, a spectacle one rarely gets to see.

"It pains my heart. This is far too one-sided…"

Beside Michihiko, Kuon furrowed her brow, watching the gruesome scene with a pained expression.

In the early afternoon, under the gentle sunlight, the Gato Kingdom’s naval fleet, which filled the sea, was writhing and spewing flames. The Black Rose Air Fleet, flying at an altitude of five hundred meters, opened the bomb bays in their ship bottoms and dropped barrels of oil with lit fuses—so-called "bombs"—and ten-kilogram cannonballs. The kingdom army’s sailboats on the sea could not fight back and were merely fleeing in confusion from the rain of oil and cannonballs pouring from the sky. The sea was constantly erupting with giant water columns, and the ships of the line, once called the world’s strongest, were either taking on water from direct hits, being set ablaze by oil, exploding when their powder magazines were hit, or their sailors were being burned alive on the oil-slicked sea surface, creating a hellish inferno too gruesome to behold.

A ten-kilogram cannonball in freefall from an altitude of five hundred meters has enough power to pierce from the upper deck to the bottom planking. The grand fleet of thirty ships of the line and over a hundred transport ships, assembled with the full might of the Gato Kingdom, was now, before Michihiko and Kuon’s eyes, perishing under a rain of oil and cannonballs.

"Yesterday we lost and ran all the way here… and today it’s this. How interesting…"

"Next, they’ll probably bomb the kingdom army that landed in Red Cape Bay. This is the very definition of doing whatever they want."

At the point of Kuon’s finger, the three ships of the Black Rose Knights Air Fleet, catching the wind in the sails protruding from their buoyant bodies, slowly turned, leaving the burning kingdom fleet behind them on the sea, and leisurely turned their prows toward Red Cape Fortress, where Kuon and her brother were.

The twelve thousand kingdom troops who had just landed that morning did not retreat even after the Gattoland Air Fleet was annihilated, and, as originally planned, had marched to attack Red Cape Fortress. If things continued as they were, Red Cape Fortress would be besieged by sunset, and Kuon had resigned herself to this being her final resting place. But now, the rescuing Black Rose Air Fleet had appeared and had begun their attack on the kingdom army.

Neither the archers nor the artillerymen on the ground could do anything against a flying fleet. The Black Rose Air Fleet quickly appeared directly above the kingdom army climbing the wooded mountain foothills and began to drop "bombs." The barrels with lit fuses rolled down the slope, and upon crashing into trees or soldiers, spewed oil, and flames that licked the ground immediately began to burn the soldiers alive.

The kingdom army’s situation was tragic. Since they were in the middle of a climb, the rolling barrels were like a landslide. The friendly naval fleet that had transported them here was annihilated, leaving them no escape route. They had two choices: either risk death and storm the mountain to capture the fortress, or flee. Naturally, most of the soldiers chose the latter. Ninety percent of the twelve thousand troops were either mercenaries or conscripts, so they had no desire to fight for King Dada. Thinking it foolish to die or lose a limb in such a place, a rout began.

"It’s all so fleeting. This morning they were so high-spirited, and now they’re just a mob of defeated soldiers…"

Looking down on the whole affair from the observation tower, Kuon pitied the enemy. Normally she should be celebrating the victory of Callistratus’s army, but witnessing this tragedy, she couldn’t bring herself to be happy.

Just then, the bell from the fortress chapel began to ring wildly, and bugle calls blared from all over.

"Sally forth, we’re attacking!"

"The kingdom army is in rout, pursue and finish them off!"

Duke Callistratus’s standard-bearers went around the fortress, loudly urging the soldiers to sally forth. The soldiers, who had been bracing for a losing battle until that morning, quickly regained their spirits and joyfully began to prepare for the attack.

There is nothing as fun and profitable as a winning battle. Mercenaries carry all their wealth on their person, so they can make a fortune just by stripping the dead. If they capture a town or village, they can plunder property and people as they please. It is for the promise of great rewards that mercenaries risk their lives on the battlefield, and now the time had finally come to reap the sweet rewards.

"Well, it’s a pity, but we must do our job."

"O-oh yeah, I’m gonna earn a ton and treat you to a feast…!"

Michihiko and Kuon also prepared to sally forth. They rushed down the observation tower, entered the armory to grab their respective weapons, and headed for Duke Callistratus. Just then, Callistratus, clad in pale gray armor, emerged from the main building and was about to mount his horse. The two took up positions to guard Callistratus and dashed out of the open gate tower like a gale…



†††



Even Ilias could now understand how the Demon Lord who had burned the world fifteen hundred years ago must have felt.

Looking down from an altitude of five hundred meters, the ground, from the sea of trees on the mountainside to the forests on the plains, had been turned into a sea of fire by the bombs dropped from the air fleet. The rising smoke and soot thickly veiled the sky over Red Cape.

If he strained his eyes, he could see that the kingdom army’s marching formation had been broken, and individuals or small groups of five or six were fleeing toward the forest on the opposite side of Red Cape Fortress. He could also see Duke Callistratus, leading a force of about six hundred, sallying forth from the fortress in the early afternoon to hunt down the fleeing enemy. The kingdom army’s commander seemed to be trying to rally his troops, but the soldiers were not listening and were just scattering and running. The Gato Kingdom army, which until that morning had been called the world’s strongest, was now nothing more than a disorderly mob of demi-humans.

"Fragile. So very fragile."

Of the twelve thousand kingdom troops who had landed, only about ten percent were regular soldiers. The rest were mercenaries or conscripted farmers. Soldiers hired for money would invade like fire in a winning battle, and retreat like receding water in a losing one.

"Do not use the Apollo Fire. That is for the urban area of Gato Island. Oil will suffice for burning the forest."

After sending a messenger to the commander of the bombing deck, Ilias turned his eyes to the "keel-castle," a hexagonal protrusion attached to the bottom of the ship for observing the ground, which stuck out diagonally backward from directly below the sterncastle. From there, flight soldiers with gliders on their backs were jumping off one after another, spreading their wings and gliding toward Red Cape Fortress. It was Artemisia’s personal guard of fifteen, clad in jet-black armor with gold plating. Artemisia, at the head, paid no mind to the kingdom army fleeing in confusion directly below her and made a beeline for the fortress.

"Cease bombardment. The real feast is tonight. Save the bombs and cannonballs."

Ilias sent a messenger and stopped the bombing.

Then, he spoke to the captain beside him.

"Change course, south-southwest. Target, Gato Island, Gato Kingdom Castle."

The captain repeated the order loudly, conveyed the course change to the helmsman, and gave the command.

"Course south-southwest, target, Cat-Ear Island! Let’s go, you bastards, let’s slaughter the freak-cats!!"

The captain, using the derogatory nickname for Gato Island, yelled this to the sailors on the upper deck, his spirits high.

As the boatswain and deck officers informed the sailors of their destination, the sailors too, at their respective posts, let out cheers, praising Holy Juno and Ilias.

"Glory to Holy Juno! Glory to His Excellency Ilias!"

"We’ll do it, we’ll exterminate the Minya!"

"Burn the freak-cats to death! This is payback for making humans their slaves! We’ll enslave them and make them know our wrath!!"

Morale aboard the Black Rose Fleet flagship Demistri soared. It was the cry of resentment from the Black Rose Knights, and indeed all the humans living in the Grapeland Sea, who had been constantly on the receiving end of King Dada’s Gato Kingdom. Because of its location at the entrance to the Three-pronged Strait, the Gato Kingdom had continued to monopolize trade, and the envy, jealousy, and hatred for it had seeped into the very core of the Grapeland Sea residents’ souls.

"A good wind is blowing, we’ll reach Cat-Ear Island by tonight! It’s going to be a hell of a party, I tell you!"

The captain looked up at Ilias and said this. Standing alone at the turning point of the Grapeland Sea’s history, Ilias, blown by the high-altitude wind, was wrapped in a stillness far removed from the excitement within the ship.



†††



With her back and legs stretched out straight, parallel to the ground, and her hands aligned on the control stick, Artemisia jumped from the air battleship Demistri. She caught the wind in her glider and descended diagonally through the sky toward Red Cape Fortress.

Current altitude, approximately three hundred meters. The fiery mountain range loomed closer. She could make out in detail the figures of the kingdom soldiers fleeing in confusion, driven out from the burning mountainside. Between the gaps in the treetops, she could see the Callistratus forces, merrily chasing the kingdom soldiers on horseback. It looked more like a large-scale deer hunt than a battle.

—I wonder if Toto and Chouchou are among them?

She asked herself this as she surveyed the scene below, and then denied it herself.

—No. They have a rule.

About three months ago, when she was riding in the same carriage as Toto and Lulu to the Heteromorphic Mountain quarry, Toto had said that it was a Gato Kingdom royal family rule to "go to the nearest airport if separated in enemy territory." If that was true, then the place they were heading was—.

Artemisia, still gliding, raised her gaze.

Against the blue sky, the mountainside, about two hundred meters higher than her current altitude, was carved out in a straight line. The sun was beginning to set, and the shadows of the mountain folds were vivid.

It was Red Cape Airport, built by clearing the mountainside at an altitude of five hundred meters, even higher than the battery emplaced at one hundred and fifty meters. The pier was too small for any but the smallest craft to dock, so it was not considered a place of much importance in this operation, but…

—Toto will flee there.

Artemisia roused the Holy Orb dwelling in the depths of her consciousness.

"Filial Piety."

A brilliant golden halo enveloped her glider.

The wind direction changed. A strong updraft blew from in front of Artemisia, lifting her glider from below.

"Whoa!"

"Ugh!"

The fifteen members of her personal guard following behind Artemisia were flustered by the sudden gust of wind and struggled to regain their balance.

Fufufu, laughing, Artemisia rode the air current and gained altitude. Even the large Laggy skillfully handled his custom-made glider and did not fall behind Artemisia. The other members, as expected of an elite unit, quickly regained their balance, caught the same wind, and began to ascend.

Four hundred meters, four hundred and fifty, five hundred, five hundred and fifty…

The updraft carried the personal guard swiftly to the heights of the sky, and Artemisia looked down at Red Cape Airport below her. Confirming that with the power of the Orb of "Filial Piety," she could fly above the Floating Sphere even with a glider, she changed direction and now caused a wind favorable for descent to blow through the airspace. Looking at the approaching green mountainside, Artemisia couldn’t hide her elation.

—Thank you for blabbing all your secrets, Toto.

—I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you die.

Placing the soles of her military boots on the pier of Red Cape Airport, Artemisia unhooked her glider from its harness. She looked down at the green undulations spreading out below her and thought of Toto, who must be somewhere on this mountain.

"…"

Behind her, the werewolf Laggy, who had landed at the airport second after Artemisia, also removed his glider and harness and planted the butt of his halberd on the ground. The remaining fourteen members of the personal guard also landed one after another on the five-hundred-meter-high pier without a single one missing.

"Well then. Time to go look for my dear siblings."

Artemisia smirked as she looked down at the mountain foothills, thinking of Toto and Chouchou, who must be somewhere down there.



†††



Fleeing to the enemy’s stronghold.

Normally, one wouldn’t even consider such a thing. But right now, Toto was doing just that. In this situation, if he fled normally, he would definitely be caught. The harshness of a fighting retreat in enemy territory had been drilled into him by the nobles in the grand halls and training grounds. To survive, he had to do something the enemy would never expect.

"Chouchou, are you okay?"

As he climbed the pathless terrain toward the enemy’s Red Cape Fortress, Toto looked back to check on Chouchou, whose hand he held. It was a desperate flight for just the two of them, without even an attendant, but Chouchou followed without a single complaint.

"I’m fine. …What about you?"

"I’m fine. I’ll figure something out, just trust me…"

The mountainside was densely covered with trees, hiding the two of them. The evening sun slanted through the trunks and leaves, illuminating the leaf mold underfoot in an orange glow. A moment ago, he had seen Callistratus’s forces rushing down the mountain path through the treetops. From the foothills, the sound of horns chasing down kingdom soldiers was incessant.

"The enemy all think the kingdom soldiers are fleeing east. They won’t expect anyone to flee toward the fortress. If we wait near the airport, an ally will surely come for us in an airboat. Just hold on a little longer…"

Toto encouraged Chouchou and climbed the mountain slope.

The twelve thousand kingdom troops who had landed in Red Cape Bay had been unilaterally savaged from the sky by the Black Rose Air Fleet, and then finished off by Callistratus’s forces, and had scattered. They seemed to have fled in the direction of the port city of Callistonia, on the opposite side of Red Cape Fortress, but they would probably face intense hunting of stragglers along the way. The Minya, with their cat ears on their heads, were particularly targeted by humans, and being conspicuous, it would be difficult for them to escape on land.

And the Black Rose Air Fleet, after annihilating the kingdom army on the ground, had turned their prows south-southwest and departed. With the Gattoland Air Fleet wiped out, their destination was undoubtedly the defenseless Gato Island, Gato Kingdom Castle.

—My home is about to be burned…

Despair closed in on Toto’s chest. No matter where he looked, he could see no hope. Even if he managed to reach Red Cape Airport in this situation, would rescue really come? If the castle was captured, would there even be time to send a search party?

—Is this… the end…?

Toto swallowed the weak words that were about to escape.

He faced forward and grit his teeth, climbing the slope.

—No. Don’t lose hope. If I give up hope, it’s the end for the Minya.

—I have to survive. For the five hundred thousand Minya to continue living happily…!

He wanted to reach the airport before sunset if possible. If not, he would have to find a hiding place and camp for the night. Hoping for an improved situation in the morning, Toto and Chouchou silently climbed the pathless road…



†††



"I’ve… got a good nose… not as good as a dog’s… but better than a pig’s…!"

Michihiko said this, practically on all fours on the pathless terrain off the mountain road, sniffing the leaf mold as he tracked the enemy’s escape route.

The evening sun was still on the western horizon, and the shadows of the treetops fell on the mountain slope. Kuon, her favorite greatsword on her back, walked behind her brother.

"Is being better-nosed than a pig something to boast about? You should at least beat a dog before you brag."

"Shut up… Dogs are… too tough. Pigs, even I can handle them pretty well…"

While paying his respects to dogs, Michihiko looked up at the slope and climbed the mountainside. Kuon let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Isn’t that the direction of the fortress? Would anyone be foolish enough to flee toward the enemy?"

Though she complained, she did not leave her brother’s side.

"…Can’t be helped, the scent of a woman is coming from this way… This woman, something’s wrong with her body, she’s walking funny…"

Looking at the slight indentations in the leaf mold on the slope, Michihiko muttered to himself. Kuon looked at the same thing, but could only barely make out what looked like the tracks of a person, and couldn’t notice the fine details like Michihiko.

"Brother, your looks are bad, your speech is vulgar, and you’ve never been popular in your life, but otherwise you are exceptionally talented."

"Shut up, idiot… you’re praising me too much…"

"If you improved a few things, you should be a bit more popular."

"Shut up, I-I’m fine as long as you’re cute. There they are, see…"

Michihiko lowered his voice and beckoned to Kuon behind him.

Kuon, careful not to make a sound, climbed the slope and stood beside Michihiko, looking ahead through a gap in a fallen tree.

"—!"

Kuon gasped. About seven meters ahead, in a clearing where the trees thinned out, a woman was sitting on a tree stump, and beside her, a boy stood upright, wary of his surroundings.

Both were in the white and gold uniforms of the Gato Kingdom army. The epaulets with edging and the gold braid on their chests were marks of high-ranking officers. And the woman’s eyes were covered with a black bandage, and she was holding an instrument case to her chest…!

(Toto and Chouchou…! There’s no mistake…)

Kuon whispered to her brother. Michihiko licked his lips.

(Luck is… on our side…)

(…If we take them both down, our names will be made…!)

Ever since their mother was divorced by Yoshiharu, they had received no support and had always struggled with poverty. They wanted to let their mother, who had suffered so much, live in luxury. The siblings exchanged nods and devised a plan to ensure their kill…



†††



Someone is following us.

Suddenly, Chouchou said this, and Toto became wary of his surroundings.

The evening sun was just about to hide behind the horizon. The afterglow, dyeing the gaps in the treetops a bluish-purple, provided visibility.

The slope of the mountain had ended, and they were in a clearing in the forest. Chouchou was out of breath, so he had her sit on a tree stump, while Toto twitched the cat ears on his head, searching for any presence around them.

There was indeed a strange presence… The moment he sensed it—

With a rustle of footsteps, two figures, who appeared to be from the Oyashima tribe, emerged into the clearing.

"—!"

So they had been followed. But there were only two of them. From their appearance, they were neither of the Black Rose Knights nor Duke Callistratus’s forces, but likely mercenaries.

One was a girl in her late teens with reddish-brown hair tied to one side and yellowish-green eyes. She carried a greatsword as tall as herself diagonally on her back and wore a black jacket with gold buttons and a deeply slanted hem, with a gold-leaf pauldron and breastplate. Dressed in a strange, eastern-style outfit, the girl stood tall and announced herself.

"I am Mihohara Kuon, a mercenary in the employ of Duke Callistratus. This is my brother, Michihiko. After devising a plan, we concluded that such a thing was unnecessary and have decided to challenge you to a one-on-one duel, face to face."

Speaking in a polite tone, Kuon indicated the tall, slender man beside her, who wore a white shirt and black trousers, had an eyepatch over his right eye, and long, unkempt hair.

"Guhehehe… My name is Michihiko. I’m gonna peel off your pretty face and put my ugly one on you instead…"

The mercenary called Michihiko, with a vulgar laugh, uttered what was probably his signature line in his own mind, drew his favorite scythe from his waist, and with bloodshot eyes, licked the blade.

The sister named Kuon stood resolutely, chest out.

"I believe you are His Highness Toto, Second Prince of the Gato Kingdom. I humbly request that you face my brother Michihiko in a fair and square duel."

They were an unnaturally polite enemy. They had had plenty of opportunities to ambush them, yet they had deliberately appeared, announced themselves, and challenged him to a one-on-one duel instead of a two-on-one.

"…"

Toto tensed and placed a hand on the hilt of his rapier.

Neither of them seemed like a particularly formidable foe. He couldn’t imagine the sister being able to handle the greatsword on her back with her physique, and the brother’s appearance and lines were those of a common thug. His weapon was just an ordinary scythe used for farming.

—Using a scythe in a duel is the mark of an amateur…

It looked frightening, but the blade of a scythe is on the inside of its curve, not the outside. This meant it couldn’t be used for slashing, only for stabbing with the tip of the blade or for pulling the enemy into one’s own space and cutting them by wrapping around them from the outside. In a sword fight, a situation where the enemy enters one’s own space is rare, and if it happens, it’s only when one has already lost. It would be understandable if a peasant in revolt came at him with a scythe, but it was not a weapon a mercenary living on the battlefield would choose.

His appearance, his words, the weapon he used—all screamed small fry.

There was no way he could be a match for him, who had succeeded the Holy Orb of "Loyalty."

"…I don’t mind. …However, I can’t hold back. I don’t have the luxury. …Your brother, and you, will die here. If you’re fine with that, then come at me."

Toto said this sincerely. He didn’t want to kill anyone if he could help it. Especially the girl named Kuon, who looked to be about his age. Even if it was to survive, he was reluctant to kill a girl.

But contrary to Toto’s thoughts.

"Brother, His Highness Toto has accepted. Please be sure not to do anything cowardly and defeat him head-on."

"Kekeke… Princey, you… you’re an idiot… …I’m telling you, I’m disgustingly strong…?"

Perhaps surprised that Toto didn’t run, Michihiko seemed even more pleased, licking the blade of his scythe.

Toto drew his rapier and took a half-stance.

"…Sorry, but I’m short on time. Mihohara Kuon and Michihiko, was it? As you guessed, I am Toto Gattoland, Second Prince of the Gato Kingdom. I’ll remember you siblings’ names. For mercenaries, your stance of announcing yourselves and challenging me to a one-on-one duel is worthy of praise."

Michihiko took a step forward, and still without a proper stance, letting his tongue crawl over the blade, he glared at Toto with an upward gaze that was almost all whites of his eyes.

"…Princey, you… you’re talking as if you’ve already won… I’ve peeled the skin off the faces of many guys like you…?"

"…Is that so. I won’t be peeling any skin. I won’t cause you any pain, so rest assured."

Behind Toto, Chouchou was flustered, her hand on her chest.

"Toto…"

"It’s okay. It’ll be over soon. Don’t worry, just wait there."

Though he knew Chouchou couldn’t see him, Toto looked back over his shoulder at his sister and smiled.



Chouchou, bewildered by the sudden appearance of the siblings, could only watch from a short distance away, careful not to get in Toto’s way. She knew a duel was about to begin, but the fact that she could do nothing was frustrating and mortifying.

—Isn’t there anything I can do?

—Holy Orb of "Propriety." What kind of power do you have…?

Six months ago, on the night of the celebratory banquet, Chouchou had succeeded the Orb of "Propriety" at King Dada’s behest. But unlike the other Successors, Chouchou still didn’t know what kind of power the Orb of "Propriety" held. This orb, no matter how many times a Successor asked, always gave the same answer.

Even now, as Toto was about to fight for his life, the orb’s answer was the same.

《When the time is right, I will act through you.》

—When is the time right?

《When I decide it is.》

The Orb of "Propriety" answered curtly and returned to silence. Chouchou felt irritated. Why was her orb the only one that couldn’t be used in battle at its owner’s will?

—In the first place, why did King Dada have me, who is blind, succeed this orb?

—Why make me, who is useless in battle, a Successor, instead of a mighty warrior…?

There was no voice to answer Chouchou’s questions.

Only King Dada’s words from when she had succeeded "Propriety" echoed in the back of her mind once more.

‘You are the right person for "Propriety." I’ll say it again, you’ll understand why once you succeed it. After you understand the ability of "Propriety," you must not tell anyone the truth about its nature. And the rest of you, do not ask Chouchou about the power of "Propriety." This is for the sake of the kingdom, and for Chouchou herself. Understood?’

It made no sense. She hadn’t even been able to understand the ability in the first place. King Dada, knowing the nature of "Propriety," had judged Chouchou to be the right person. Why was that…?

Without understanding, Toto was already about to face battle.

—Please, don’t die, Toto…

All Chouchou could do was pray…



Toto turned his eyes back to Michihiko before him and raised the tip of his rapier to the level of his enemy’s heart.

—I won’t lose to a guy like this.

In the training grounds, to save his brother Gaga’s face, Toto had deliberately held back. Jangiacques had seen through it and returned the favor in kind. But this was a real battlefield, a place for killing. He couldn’t afford to hold back. And Chouchou was here too. If he lost, Chouchou would also die.

—I can’t waste time on small fry. I have to take him down quickly or I’ll be in danger.

The sound of blades clashing could attract more enemies. Prolonging the fight was the worst thing he could do.

—I’ll end this in one blow…!

Toto roused the Holy Orb of "Loyalty" dwelling in the deepest part of his consciousness.

A pale green light exploded around him, drawing a geometric pattern on his back.

"Loyalty."

Michihiko and Kuon showed no reaction to the emerging character and halo.

—They don’t know about the Holy Orbs…?

Normally, they should have been bewildered by the sudden appearance of light, but Michihiko just continued to glare at Toto with an upward gaze that was almost all whites of his eyes.

Michihiko’s right eye was hidden by an eyepatch. Toto focused his own gaze on the remaining left eye—

Without meeting his gaze, Michihiko crouched like a cat, lowering his posture and fixing his eyes on the ground.

"…?!"

Toto was taken by surprise. In a sword fight, not meeting the opponent’s eyes was unthinkable. But Michihiko, without looking at Toto’s face, fixed his gaze only on his feet, and suddenly—

The ground rumbled.

Michihiko’s scythe was at his knee.

Instinctively, Toto twisted his body, gripped his rapier in a reverse grip, and swung it up from the lower right.

Clang.

The scythe met the rapier. Michihiko didn’t make eye contact. Toto saw a blade pattern on the outside of the scythe as well. This scythe was double-edged, meaning it could be used for slashing. The moment he realized that, Michihiko, of all things, wrapped his left hand around the back of Toto’s knees, and—

"Ah!"

The moment he realized his mistake, Toto was on his back on the ground.

Michihiko’s scythe flashed before his eyes.

"Toto!"

Chouchou’s scream.

Instead of the scythe, Toto met the eyes of Michihiko, who was now on top of him, and—

"Loyalty."

That one character shone brilliantly.

From their locked gaze, he sent a blast of psychokinesis at Michihiko.

"Dammit…"

Michihiko groaned. His movement stopped.

"I win."

The tip of Toto’s rapier pierced Michihiko’s throat from right to left.

The feeling of a shin bone shattering.

"Brother!"

Kuon’s scream.

Blood gushed from Michihiko’s pierced neck.

Toto quickly pushed Michihiko’s body off, using the momentum to get up, re-gripped his rapier, and—

"Sorry."

After apologizing, he swung his rapier sideways and sliced deep into Michihiko’s Adam’s apple.

"…! …! …!!"

Michihiko couldn’t even utter a death rattle. He fell to his knees, his eyes wide, and a torrent of blood spewed from his slit throat as his upper body arched back.

"—!!"

Kuon’s eyes widened.

Michihiko’s neck, pierced and then sliced horizontally, was half-severed and looked like it would fall off any second.

Toto flicked the blood from his rapier and sheathed it.

It was an unpleasant feeling. It was the first time he had killed someone with a sword. A black cloud welled up from the depths of his chest, seeming to seep into his entire body.

His neck half-severed, Michihiko was still alive.

With his last ounce of strength, he wove words.

"…K-Ku… on…"

Kneeling, his neck and mouth drenched in fresh blood, Michihiko turned only his eyes to his sister.

"…Take this guy’s Holy Orb…"

The next moment, a silver light exploded from Michihiko’s silhouette.

Dazzling as the sun, it formed a divine pattern behind Michihiko—

"Wisdom."

That Oyashima character appeared.

"…Huh?"

Toto was stunned for a moment.

Why was a small fry wreathed in this light, bearing this character?

"…I’ll give it… to you."

Saying that, Michihiko turned a blood-soaked smile to Toto, regained his stance, stepped in deep, and swung his scythe horizontally.



"…Huh?"



Toto could only stare at Michihiko in front of him, his mouth agape.

Sway.

Michihiko stood before Toto, a ghastly smile on his face, and licked the blade of his scythe again.

"I warned you… I told you I’ve killed a lot of guys like you…"

Michihiko’s half-severed neck was somehow reattached.

And the scythe Michihiko held was sticky with blood.

Thump.

Something fell with a sound.

Toto lowered his gaze to his own feet.

From his sliced-open abdominal cavity, its contents were spilling out.

"…Huh…?"

His vision swam.

His knees gave way on their own and hit the ground.

He couldn’t muster any strength. Toto put his hands forward and got on all fours.

Thump, thump. From Toto’s sliced-open stomach, his insides spilled out one after another.

"Toto…?"

Chouchou, catching the foul smell, called out in an anxious voice.

A gurgle of blood welled up from the back of his throat and overflowed from Toto’s mouth.

The strength in his hands gave way as if a prop had been removed, and Toto collapsed face down on the spot. He could feel his own blood flowing out, staining the surrounding grass.

It was cold. His consciousness was fading.

—Am I dying?

He realized it.

—No, that’s… impossible.

—I have a goal, to create the "White Nation."

Gurgle. Dark blood overflowed from Toto’s mouth.

It wouldn’t stop.

—I am the protagonist of my own story.

—There’s no way I can die here, defeated by some small fry…

But he couldn’t put any strength into his limbs. His body was growing cold.

Just then—from beside him, he heard a familiar voice.

"I heard a noise and came to see, Prince Toto?"

With a cool voice, the sound of multiple footsteps echoed from the top of the slope—

"Oh my, oh my… what’s this? Are you dying?"

Artemisia, dressed in the uniform of the Black Rose Knights, said this cheerfully, looking down at Toto, who had collapsed face down on the ground.

"…"

Toto no longer had the strength to answer. The more blood he lost, the fainter his consciousness became.

I’m dying. I’m going to die here.

That fact alone, he could faintly understand.

"Artemisia… Your Highness… It was me, I killed him…"

Beside her, Michihiko proudly reported to Artemisia, licking the blood from his scythe.

Artemisia furrowed her brow and glanced at Michihiko.

"Oh my… licking a scythe. So people like that really exist…"

Artemisia said this, and with the tip of her shoe, she inserted it under Toto’s prone body and carelessly kicked him over, turning him onto his back.

"…"

In Toto’s fading vision, the faint smile of Artemisia looking down at him was reflected.

Artemisia looked at Toto’s deeply and widely sliced abdomen and the things that had spilled out from it, and laughed.

"You lost to that scythe-wielding thug over there? So weak. You’re the Successor to the Orb of ‘Loyalty,’ aren’t you? Normally, would you lose to an opponent like this in a place like this?"

Seeing that sneer, Toto finally understood everything. His father, his sister—they had been killed by Artemisia. And if this continued, Chouchou would suffer the same fate…

Artemisia knelt beside the dying Toto, drew a knife from her waist, inserted the tip into Toto’s torn abdominal cavity, and prodded it.

"Three months ago, when we were on a date in the night forest, you told me, didn’t you? Everyone is the protagonist of their own story~. I want to create a story where humans and Minya live together happily~, or something like that…"

Artemisia was saying something, but right now, Toto could only think of one thing. Chouchou, he had to save Chouchou at least…

"So your story is about dying after being taken out by some small fry before you can even chase your dream. How strange. Your life is like a failed work written by a third-rate author."

Artemisia, while rummaging through Toto’s abdominal cavity with her knife, asked.

"Hey, did you want to sleep with me?"

Her lips turned up into a crescent moon, and she brought her sneer close to Toto’s eyes.

Toto’s vision was fading. His thoughts, his consciousness—they would soon disappear. To think that the last thing he would see in this world was this ugly smile, a reflection of Artemisia’s true nature.

Before his vision disappeared, one thing.

There was something he had to do.

—For Chouchou.

Toto summoned his last ounce of strength and raised his right hand.

"You were always so kind to me because you wanted to sleep with me, right?"

With his right hand, he grabbed Artemisia’s ankle.

—At the very least, I want to avenge Lulu.

—Drag her down, get on top of her, and crush her throat with my own hands…

—And with that… my story… will end…

As he summoned his last ounce of strength, tears of frustration welled up in Toto’s eyes.

I was a fool to believe in humans. They never intended to get along with the Minya from the start. And yet I believed them, told them all my secrets… and because of that, King Dada and Lulu are dead, and now Chouchou is going to suffer a terrible fate. I was too naive. If only time could rewind. I’ll protect Chouchou, just Chouchou, damn it, damn it, damn it…

With Toto still gripping her ankle, Artemisia brought her lips close to his ear.

"Too bad. I’m not into doing it with freak-cats."

Artemisia drove the knife she had been holding in Toto’s abdomen straight up toward his heart.

Toto’s right hand, which had been gripping her ankle, twitched—and fell to the ground.

His whole body convulsed twice—and then Toto stopped moving.

His open eyes quickly turned a whitish opacity and ceased to blink.



"He’s dead."

Looking down at Toto’s corpse, Artemisia said with disinterest and looked around.

Fifteen members of the Black Rose Knights’ personal guard, including the werewolf Laggy, had gathered and had already surrounded Chouchou.

"Toto…"

Surrounded by a wall of personal guards, the first princess, Chouchou, collapsed to the ground, seemingly unable to fully grasp what had happened.

"You can tell by the smell, can’t you? Your precious little brother is dead, princess. Killed by that piece of trash over there."

As Artemisia spoke coldly, the Holy Orb that had left Toto’s body and was now floating in the air caught the corner of her eye.

"Loyalty."

Flashing that one character, the Holy Orb floated gently above Toto’s corpse, wreathed in a cold flame.

Artemisia’s mouth twisted.

"…This is an unlucky orb, isn’t it? Three of its owners have died in quick succession. And it’s not even that strong…"

Normally, Artemisia should have succeeded it. Though she had already succeeded "Filial Piety," it was possible for one person to succeed multiple orbs. There was even a legend that if one person succeeded all eight orbs, Holy Juno would appear and grant them one wish.

But Artemisia was not drawn to the Orb of "Loyalty." It seemed like an evil spirit that brought death to its owners one after another. But she couldn’t just leave it here.

Just as she was pondering this—

"P-Princess… Kuon… wants this…"

Suddenly, Michihiko interjected from the side, jerking his chin toward his sister.

Kuon bowed her head demurely and knelt on one knee.

"…With all due respect, if Your Highness has no need for this, I humbly request that you allow me to succeed it. For a long time, it has been my family’s dearest wish to obtain a Holy Orb. It is a selfish request, but I beg you, I beg you, I beg you…"

Saying this in a tone as if she were coughing up blood, Kuon placed both knees and the palms of her hands on the ground and bowed her head deeply. It was an eastern world’s way of pleading. Artemisia looked at the two suspiciously.

"…This is the scythe-licking thug’s spoil of war. If you want it, do as you please."

She gave her permission carelessly. And then—

"Th-thank you so much…!"

Kuon lifted her wide eyes, quickly rushed to the Orb of "Loyalty," and unceremoniously crushed it.

"Ah, ah, ahhh…"

A pale green light converged on Kuon’s chest, the character for "Loyalty" shone with particular brilliance, and then it melted into her heart.

Kuon’s face lifted, and from her eyes, tears of emotion spilled out.

Kuon knelt again before Artemisia, placing her fist on the ground.

"Thank you so much! I will never forget this kindness. I, Mihohara Kuon, will surely master the power of the Orb of ‘Loyalty’ for you to see!"

Artemisia dismissed Kuon’s tear-streaked thanks with a single snort and looked around.

The afterglow in the sky was now only a faint remnant on the horizon. It seemed they would be camping here for the night. The guards lit their lanterns, illuminating the captured Chouchou, and snickered.

"…"

Whether she was aware that she was surrounded by enemies or not, the first princess, Chouchou, staggered to her feet, walked to Toto’s corpse, knelt in the blood-soaked grass, and caressed her brother’s face with both hands.

"Toto…? Toto…"

She caressed his body, which had lost its warmth and was beginning to stiffen, confirmed that there was no answer to her calls, and understood what had happened.

"Toto…"

Chouchou’s heart was torn to shreds and bleeding. He was a kind younger brother who was always considerate of her blindness and would invite her on outings. He should have found it a bother to deal with her, but he never showed it, and even today, he had been protecting her with his own body.

And now, that kind brother would no longer answer her calls…

"No, please, don’t go, Toto…"

Chouchou embraced her brother. She prayed for his warmth to return. But his body only grew colder and harder…

"No, please, Toto…"

Tears overflowed from Chouchou’s bandaged eyes. The hands she had wrapped around his corpse tightened, but her brother gave no response.

"Don’t cry. You’ll see him tomorrow."

Artemisia said this, walked over to the kneeling Chouchou, grabbed her hair, and forced her head up.

"Tonight, the men over there will teach you plenty of things you don’t know. After that, I’ll chop your head off in front of the castle."

A guard forcibly tore Toto’s corpse from Chouchou’s hands. Toto, she let out a short scream, and Chouchou fell to the ground, stretching her hands out as Artemisia held her by the hair.

"I’ve always wondered. Do you have eyeballs?"

Asking this, Artemisia untied the knot of the black silk bandage that Chouchou always wore around her eyes with one hand.

The bandage fell, revealing Chouchou’s silver eyes.

Her pupils were a whitish opacity and did not reflect any light. But under her long eyelashes, those colorless eyes, combined with her golden hair and snow-white skin, possessed a strange beauty.

Artemisia peered into Chouchou’s face, a look of surprise on her own.

"Well now, aren’t you a beauty. And you have a good figure, too. Lucky for you lot. Tonight’s going to be a fun night."

She said to the surrounding guards, and a chorus of vulgar laughter rose from the men.

Artemisia, still holding Chouchou’s hair, studied her features once more with a thoughtful expression and tilted her head.

"You’re beautiful, but you have something extra."

Saying this, she drew the knife from her waist with her right hand, and while still holding Chouchou’s hair with her left, she placed the blade at the base of her right ear.

"It would definitely be better without this."

Fresh blood spurted out.

Chouchou’s scream tore through the darkness and echoed through the mountains.

The hair she was holding tore from its roots, and Chouchou screamed, her face scraping against the ground. A pool of dark red blood spread on the dirt.

"Having four ears is strange."

Pinching Chouchou’s severed right ear between her fingertips, Artemisia studied the dripping appendage while looking down at Chouchou, who was screaming, her forehead pressed to the ground.

Blood overflowed from between the fingers she held against the severed surface of her right ear. Chouchou could only curl up, crying and screaming.

"You should have two ears. We’ll leave the cat ears and cut off the human-like ones. Just one more, bear with it."

Saying this, she now grabbed Chouchou’s hair with her right hand and forcibly lifted her head up, placing the blade of the knife in her left hand at the base of her remaining left ear.

As Chouchou sobbed, Artemisia brought her lips close and, in the same casual tone one would use to recommend a fashionable outfit to a friend, said,

"This will balance things out, you see?"

Again, fresh blood spurted out.

The severed piece of flesh flew through the air and fell to the ground.

"I pledged my life and loyalty to my master."

Suddenly, the werewolf Laggy, who had been standing behind her, said this.

Artemisia turned around with a questioning look.

"…Who gave you permission to speak, dog?"

Laggy did not answer her question, but picked up the piece of flesh that had fallen to the ground and threw it to Artemisia.

The piece of flesh hit Artemisia’s chest and fell to the ground.

What had rolled on the ground was a left wrist, still clutching a knife.




Sometime, somehow, Laggy’s halberd had become stained with blood.

"I must fulfill my vow."

Artemisia finally noticed the blood gushing from the severed surface of her own left hand.

Her mouth opened. Her eyes widened.

The blood wouldn’t stop. Her knees gave way and hit the ground.

She lifted the spurting stump to her eye level.

"My haaaaaaaaaand!!"

This time, it was Artemisia’s scream that echoed into the twilight.

In her line of sight, Laggy had lifted the fallen Chouchou with his left arm and was whispering in her ear.

"Wrap your arms around my neck."

Like a knight protecting his lady, Laggy covered the body of the Chouchou he had lifted with his cloak.

Artemisia finally realized that her own dog had bitten her.

No, that her left wrist had been severed.

"Youuuuuuu muuuuuuuutt!!"

The personal guards rushed to Artemisia’s side. Artemisia, clutching her severed wrist, fell to her knees, her face a demon’s mask as she looked up at Laggy.

"Kill him!! Kill him!!"

A hoarse scream escaped Artemisia’s bloodless lips.

"Kill that ugly dog!!"

The personal guards finally came to their senses and drew their weapons.

A forest of gleaming silver blades was pointed at Laggy and Chouchou—



Laggy held his halberd with his right hand and lifted Chouchou with only his left, whispering once more in her ear.

"Wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight."

Chouchou didn’t understand what was happening.

The sharp pain from her severed right ear. The nauseating scent of blood rising one after another. The strong arm that lifted her. The coarse fur. A scent she had smelled somewhere before.

"You are…"

"…A stray dog from the castle. Your hands, behind my neck."

Amidst the din and the scent of blood, Chouchou responded to the deep gentleness in that voice.

"Yes."

She reached out her hands, wrapped them around the back of Laggy’s neck, and clung to him tightly, so tightly.

—I know this person.

She had met him once.

Six months ago, on the night of the banquet, on the rooftop of that round tower, just once.

But she remembered.

Even without seeing anything.

—I remember you.

Clinging to him, she buried her face in the coarse fur of Laggy’s shoulder.

—The one who listened to my song.

She could hear his strong heartbeat.

From the sensation of her arms around him, she knew this person was not human. The smell, the fur, the bulging, taut muscles—they were those of a beast of the wild.

But Chouchou could see a gentle and noble knight.

A true knight who helped the weak and crushed the strong, Chouchou could see him.

"I believe in you, Sir Laggy."

"…Do not let go."

"Yes."

Holding Chouchou in his left arm and gripping his halberd with only his right, Laggy glared at the personal guards who had become his enemies—

Fourteen steel blades descended on Laggy like a sudden shower.

The silver curtain was torn apart by a single right-handed swing of the halberd, cutting diagonally up from the lower left.

The curtain ripped, pieces of flesh flew, and the silver shower turned into a crimson mist.

"Gyah!" "Gieeh!"

One man’s right hand was sent flying as he screamed; another fell to his knees, arching his back as fresh blood spurted from the gash in his breastplate; and another lost everything above his neck, his torso collapsing to the ground.

The head that had been flying through the air fell to Laggy’s feet a moment later.

"Come closer, and you will be cut."

At his declaration, the remaining eleven steel blades scraped back in unison.

In one blow, he had cut down three men.

If they entered the range of the halberd, their plate armor would be torn like paper, and they would be bisected without even a chance to parry.

Every member of the personal guard realized that, as Laggy had said, if they got closer, they would be cut down.

But one among them was not afraid.

"Ihih!"

Mihohara Michihiko, from beneath the feet of the eleven personal guards, closed the distance to Laggy’s feet in a low stance.

"Ihih, ihih, ihiiiiih!!"

He let out a strange cry, a look of such glee on his face that he seemed about to drool, and swung his scythe, aiming for the legs.

"…"

With a hard clang, clang, Laggy parried Michihiko’s scythe with the shaft of the halberd held in one hand.

Michihiko was fast. He was accelerating. Since his left hand was occupied holding Chouchou, he had to deal with him with only his right.

"Iiiiihihiiiiih!"

The scythe, swung with a high-pitched cry, sliced through Laggy’s left shin.

Laggy stifled a groan and swung the halberd, spun in one hand, at Michihiko’s torso.

"Ihih!"

Michihiko, of all things, placed the sole of one foot on the halberd’s shaft, used the rebound to leap, and now, parallel to the ground, planted the soles of both feet on the trunk of a tree, landing softly like a cat. He looked up at Laggy and licked his scythe with delight.

"Ihihih… I’ll shear that fur of yours, wash it, dry it, and make it all fluffy…"

Laggy silently readjusted his hold on Chouchou in his left arm and re-gripped the halberd in his right.

—Fast. Strong.

Michihiko was strong enough for Laggy, who had fought countless enemies, to recognize it. He looked like a thug and his lines made no sense, but his fighting technique was top-notch.

Furthermore.

"Mihohara Kuon, entering the fray!"

The wind tore.

A flash of light.

"Guh!"

Sensing danger, the halberd shaft he had brought up horizontally in front of his face was severed.

"…!?"

Still holding Chouchou with one arm, Laggy leaped backward.

The shaft of his weapon was broken.

The thick steel-cored shaft, like a twig.

"Prepare yourself!"

A small girl, a greatsword as tall as herself with its tip swung behind her back, her long, tied hair flowing in the wind, leaped toward him.

The girl was wreathed in a shining crest. In the dazzling, deep green halo behind her…

"Loyalty."

That one character was seared into Laggy’s retina.

—Dammit.

The moment he realized it, his body froze.

He had experienced the same phenomenon when he dueled with Gasper.

But the power the girl before him was using was far stronger than then.

As if bound by steel restraints, his body wouldn’t move an inch.

I’m done for.

"Shih!"

With a short exhale, Mihohara Kuon’s slash cut diagonally upward—

And stopped.

It stopped just short of bisecting Chouchou and Laggy.

"—!"

At the tip of the girl’s blade was Chouchou’s body.

"…I do not cut women!!"

Michihiko’s voice overlapped with Kuon’s words.

"For you, I’ll even cut a woman…!"

A blow from the scythe came flying toward Chouchou.

He couldn’t dodge it. Fresh blood scattered.

"Laggy!!"

Chouchou’s scream.

"Ihiih!!"

Michihiko, with the tip of his scythe still embedded in Laggy’s shoulder, pulled it out with all his might.

Heavy bleeding from Laggy’s torn left shoulder. The fresh blood even stained Chouchou. The strength in the arm holding Chouchou was failing.

To protect Chouchou, Laggy had sacrificed his own shoulder.

Furthermore, sensing a turn in the tide, the eleven remaining personal guards, like a torrent of steel blades, surged toward Laggy again.

Laggy had no choice but to throw away his broken halberd and parry the swords with his right arm alone, dodging the rain of steel with his body movements.

"Laggy!"

"…Just hold on."

Chouchou could do nothing but cling tightly. She couldn’t see what was happening, but she could hear the humans’ breathing and screams, the terrible sound of steel clashing against steel, and she could feel Laggy’s breathing, close to her, becoming more ragged. And yet, she could do nothing.

"Uoh!" "Guah!"

Laggy did not retreat. He knew that if he showed his back here, he would be killed. Despite being wounded in his arms, torso, and legs, he fought on, his own body a shield, not allowing a single finger to touch the Chouchou he held in his left arm.

"This guy!" "H-help…"

A guard who fell and had his face stepped on had his neck broken. A guard whose side was gouged by Laggy’s claws screamed as he rolled on the ground. The elite of the Black Rose Knights were being trampled by an unarmed Laggy.

But.

"Loyalty."

Again, a deep green flash erupted, and Kuon’s slash came down.

"Kuh!"

He barely dodged it. From his experience so far, Laggy knew he must not look into Kuon’s eyes. He had to read the trajectory of the slash just by her torso and footwork and dodge it.

Even so.

—What is this girl…!?

Inwardly, Laggy was astonished by Kuon. Kuon’s physical strength was superhuman, enough to surprise a werewolf. Wielding a greatsword as tall as herself like a bamboo sword, Kuon hunted Laggy down.

Two steps, three steps, Laggy staggered back.

—This is bad.

The bleeding was sapping his strength. His left arm was occupied holding Chouchou, and he couldn’t fully defend against Kuon’s transcendent swordsmanship. Laggy realized he had encountered the strongest enemy of his life in the worst possible situation. At this rate, Kuon’s blow would soon find its mark.

To get through this.

—Bet everything on one moment.

Read the trajectory of the sword without making eye contact. With a sword that large, there was no room for trickery. With her superhuman strength, she had no choice but to keep unleashing killing blows.

Like a bolt of lightning, Kuon flew at him.

Without ever looking at her face, Laggy fixed his focus only on the tip of the sword swung behind Kuon’s back.

"Shih!"

Laggy did not dodge the killing blow unleashed with a short exhale.

A flash—

"—!!"

A wet squelch of flesh.

A high-pitched metallic sound.

Kuon’s hands flew upward. Her eyes widened in astonishment.

The greatsword left Kuon’s hands and flew into the starry sky, spinning.

"Move…!"

Kuon dodged Laggy’s unleashed kick with god-like speed.

"Onibunchou!"

As she lost her balance and fell to the ground, Kuon saw her own sword, sent flying, fall over the edge of the cliff.

Of all things, Laggy had struck the flat of the Onibunchou's blade mid-swing and sent it flying upward. A parry of divine skill—if he had been a blink of an eye earlier, his wrist would have been cut off; a blink later, and his torso would have been bisected. Not missing the momentary distance created between him and Kuon, Laggy quickly turned and, still holding Chouchou in his left arm, leaped into the trees.

"He fled, after him!" "The dog is wounded, after him, after him!"

The remaining personal guards, driven by anger, charged into the trees in pursuit of Laggy.

Kuon did not follow them, but instead pursued her beloved sword that had fallen down the cliff, leaning over the edge.

"Onibunchou—!!"

Letting out a sorrowful cry, Michihiko stood beside Kuon as she called the name of her beloved sword, "Onibunchou."

"What are you doing… you shouldn’t have let go…"

"I have to find it…!"

Kuon said this and, without a care for Laggy, set foot on the slope of the cliff and went to search for her fallen sword.

"What are you… which is more important, me or the sword…"

Michihiko sighed, followed his precious sister’s back, and also went down the cliff.

"What are you doing, chase the dog…!"

From the other side, Artemisia’s hoarse curses reached them, but Kuon and Michihiko, without a care for their master’s command, disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

In the grassy area where Toto’s corpse still lay, two members of the personal guard remained, attending to Artemisia’s wound with first aid. Having tightly bandaged her left upper arm and applied gauze to the wound, Artemisia, with a pale face, glared in the direction Laggy and the others had fled.

"Chase them…! Don’t kill them, capture them alive!"

She yelled curses in a hoarse voice. One of the personal guards shot a series of signal arrows into the night sky to report the emergency, while another blew a horn. The soldiers remaining in the fortress and those hunting the remnants of the kingdom army at the mountain foothills would notice their master’s predicament.

"Your Highness, let’s return to the fortress for now and get that treated. It’s too dangerous to continue the search with this wound."

"Leave Princess Chouchou to Duke Callistratus. His Grace knows this mountain well. He’ll surely know where they’re hiding."

Artemisia threw a resentful gaze at the soldiers who were trying to persuade her and grit her teeth.

"…Be sure to capture both of them and bring them before me! I won’t be satisfied until I’ve tortured them, until they’re crying and begging me to kill them, until I’ve humiliated them…!!"

From her beautiful face, words like those of an old crone were spun out, and Artemisia glared into the dark night road. As the soldiers said, if Callistratus returned, they would be found soon. After all, Callistratus could literally "fly" using the Holy Orb of "Brotherhood"…



†††



The royal capital was burning.

The Black Rose Air Fleet, which had suddenly approached Gato Island, began a one-sided bombardment of Gato Kingdom Castle and carried out a bombing raid on the urban area. Hundreds of barrels of oil were dropped from the air, and the inextinguishable flame "Apollo Fire" ignited the oil-soaked houses, instantly turning the ground into a sea of crimson flames.

The bottom of the starry sky was boiling red. The three medium air sailboats were taking a spiral course, closing the distance to Gato Kingdom Castle at the center, while simultaneously bombarding the castle and bombing the urban area. The five hundred thousand Minya citizens were fleeing in confusion, and their screams and the frantic ringing of bells seemed to reach even the airplane "Falco" flying at an altitude of six hundred meters.

First Prince Gaga Gattoland, sitting in the cockpit of the Falco and looking down at the ground, twisted his face in frustration. Women and children fleeing in confusion through the narrow streets, numerous corpses floating in the canals, the burning government office, cathedral, and Chamber of Commerce Building. The scenery of the Gato Kingdom, the richest and most sophisticated in the world, had turned into a hellscape in just one night. It was only natural that this would happen if the enemy air fleet entered the skies above the capital, but still, where was his invincible Gattoland Air Fleet and what were they doing?

Gaga yelled at the pilot’s seat beside him.

"Damn it, we’re stopping them. I can’t face my subjects if we just let them do this!"

"Uh, stopping them is impossible. The Falco doesn’t have any weapons."

Just then, the mechanic Leonardo, who was kneeling on the root of the left wing, poked Noah with his finger and pointed in the direction of Red Cape, and Noah realized.

"Right, let’s go to Red Cape. Maybe the king doesn’t realize his own house is being bombed."

"…Red Cape? It’ll take time to get there now… no, but with the Falco… For an idiot, that’s a pretty good idea! I’ll adopt it, you stupid woman!!"

"Try praising me a little more properly~"

"Shut up and fly to Red Cape! …Forgive me, I’ll be back soon, bear with it, my people…"

Gaga looked back over the aircraft’s tail at the distant silhouette of Gato Island, wreathed in orange flames. The enemy ship silhouettes, highlighted by the flames bursting from the ground, were trailing seven-colored wakes and were just about to reach the skies above the castle.

How had it come to this? Looking back, Commander Ilias’s scheme might have started six months ago, when Artemisia visited this island as a ward. He hoped that the brave Artemisia hadn’t incurred King Dada’s wrath and been executed… Worried about such things, the Falco, carrying Gaga and Noah, flew straight for Red Cape.

From the Gato Kingdom to Red Cape would take about three hours by sailboat, but with the Falco, it would only take about ten minutes. But that time felt terribly long for Gaga. As he waited impatiently, the overly bright light of the full moon illuminated the distant silhouette of Red Cape.

But…

"What is this?!"

The sea area around Red Cape Bay, where the Gattoland soldiers were supposed to have landed, was filled with many Gattoland sailboats spewing black smoke, burning as they drifted on the sea. Some had half their hulls submerged, some were broken in two, some were completely overturned with their bottoms exposed. The full moon’s light revealed a sea that had become a graveyard of ships. He could also see burned sailors clinging to blackened planks and timber floating on the waves.

There were no undamaged ships in the surrounding sea area. From the way the sailboats had been destroyed, they had probably been bombed from the sky. Many ships were charred, and most of their masts had burned. Gaga looked down at the devastation from above, stunned, and realized what had happened.

"…The naval fleet has been wiped out. …And I don’t see our air fleet anywhere nearby. …You mean we lost? The world’s strongest Gattoland Air Fleet, to just three medium ships."

It was an unacceptable fact, but the scene reflected in Gaga’s eyes now spoke more eloquently than anything of the events that had taken place here during the day.

Furthermore.

Leonardo, who was on the left wing, poked Noah’s shoulder and pointed at the distant night sky.

Beyond Red Cape, on the other side of the strait, at the tip of the Granadio Upper Jaw Peninsula, the sky in the Gray Cape direction was glowing red and flickering.

"Is that… no way… Gray Cape has fallen too?!"

"Confirm it, hurry…!"

Urged by Gaga, Noah opened the throttle and flew past Red Cape.

The Three-pronged Strait, the entrance to the Grapeland Sea, is formed by Gray Cape, which corresponds to the upper jaw, and Red Cape, the lower jaw, sandwiching a strait about seven hundred meters wide. The Gato Kingdom had fortified these two capes and made them its own territory, which was why it had been able to implement the toll.

But now, looking down from an altitude of seven hundred meters, Gray Cape Fortress also had its curtain walls collapsed, and its batteries and buildings were engulfed in flames. Perhaps the powder magazine had exploded, as the upper edge of the cliff was gouged out as if bitten by a monster. He could see a group of lights marching toward the fortress at the tip of the cape, and as those lights entered the fortress through the collapsed section of the wall, they quickly spread out and mopped up the remaining enemies.

"Gray Cape is also under attack…!"

"That’s… the flag of the Seven City Alliance."

Noah, approaching Gray Cape, strained her eyes in the darkness to confirm the situation. Unlike Red Cape, which had a fortress built by carving out a mountainous area jutting into the sea, Gray Cape was an easily assailable terrain with only batteries and defensive facilities placed at the tip of a flat cape. The kingdom army that had been defending Gray Cape was already gone, and on the batteries that had looked down on the ships passing through the strait, a military flag with gold embroidery on a red background was illuminated by bonfires, fluttering in the night wind.

"The seven cities of the Granadio Upper Jaw Peninsula were also in league with the Black Rose. Knowing that our air fleet had been annihilated, they sent all their mobilized troops to Gray Cape…"

Gaga bit his lip as he confirmed that the upper and lower jaws that had held the Grapeland Sea had been broken off.

—The kingdom has lost.

—Gato Island will fall soon. The kingdom will be destroyed…

He had no choice but to admit it.

"Oh man. This is bad. The kingdom is finished."

Noah, holding the control stick, said this nonchalantly, as if it had nothing to do with her.

But Gaga, who would normally have retorted with a curse, fell silent. Noah, who had of course been expecting a curse, was taken aback and looked at him.

Gaga, after thinking with a serious expression, turned a hard, stiff expression to Noah.

"…What happened to my father? Chouchou, Toto, Lulu? They were all on the same battleship. You mean they were all taken out together?"

At those words, Noah’s expression also clouded over slightly. She had interacted with those three legitimate children normally and knew they were good people.

"I want to believe they’re all alive, but from the looks of it…"

"…I won’t believe it. …They’re not dead, someone must have survived. …Otherwise… I’ll be the only one left in the Gattoland royal family!"

Gaga’s words were filled with anger, confusion, and sorrow. Even Noah, who usually made fun of Gaga’s every word, couldn’t do it now.

"…If they’re alive, it would only be if they escaped from the air battleship on a glider. In that case, they would have landed in the mountains of Red Cape. …And if so, the place they would go is… Red Cape Airport."

The Gattoland royal family had a rule to assemble at the nearest airport when separated in enemy territory. It was easier to escape from the sky, where only a limited number of people could come and go, than on the ground, where a large number of civilians were hunting down defeated soldiers.

"Noah, can you land at Red Cape Airport?"

"Not with the Falco. There’s no runway there. But, going back to Gattoland Airport once and then going to Red Cape Airport by airboat might be an option."

Gaga considered Noah’s proposal in silence. As she said, with that method, they could at least dispatch a rescue airboat to Red Cape Airport before dawn…!

"It’s decided, Noah, return to Gattoland Airport. We’ll switch to an airboat and rescue Toto and the others. It is the duty of the first prince to help his suffering siblings!"

Noah, who would usually have showered Gaga with curses every time he pushed a troublesome job on her, was now, unusually, thinking in silence. She had spent time with Toto and Lulu several times, and had even camped with them, along with Jangiacques and Lucifer. Though their statuses were different, she liked them for treating her like a friend.

Therefore.

"Four Benney gold coins, I guess."

At that reply, Gaga hung his head, and then lifted a look of utter exasperation.

"Still money at a time like this?!"

"Of course. We’re risking our lives too."

Though exasperated by Noah’s money-grubbing, Gaga had no choice but to agree.

"…You’re the worst. But if you work for money, I can trust you. I’ll pay you, so get flying!"

"Thanks for your business~. Okay, heading to Gattoland Airport!"

Noah tilted the control stick and turned the Falco’s nose back toward Gato Island. With the Falco’s speed, it wouldn’t take long. At Red Cape Airport were the security knight Jangiacques and his attendant Lucifer. With their help, he would come back to rescue Toto and the others.

"Hang in there, everyone, I’ll be back soon!"

Noah yelled this toward the silhouette of Red Cape and opened the throttle.



†††



"Sir Laggy, your injuries…"

With her arms wrapped around the back of Laggy’s neck, clinging tightly, Chouchou asked with concern.

Horns were blaring from the mountain foothills below them. Signal arrows were also being shot one after another into the night sky. The fact that Princess Chouchou had escaped must already be known to Callistratus’s six hundred men.

Holding Chouchou with one arm, Laggy wandered aimlessly through the pathless mountainside, where the dense forest spread endlessly, treading on the fallen leaves. He seemed to have shaken off the pursuit of the personal guard, but he had no idea what to do next.

Laggy climbed the slope and came to a place with a view. The landscape opened up, and the bright full moon cast shadows on the mountain folds. The foothills were thin and narrow, and he could see the silver-gleaming Three-pronged Strait right there. In the dark sea of trees, the lights of torches were moving here and there, like fireflies.

"…Callistratus’s forces are here. They know the mountain well. We must choose our hiding place carefully…"

Below, fire arrows were occasionally being exchanged. Soon, the Callistratus forces who had been hunting kingdom soldiers on the plains would learn of Chouchou’s escape and turn back this way.

If they went down the mountain, they would be hunted. But if they climbed, their escape routes would narrow and they would eventually be caught. Covered in sword wounds, Laggy’s strength was being sapped with time. But there was nowhere to run.

Suddenly, Chouchou whispered.

"I heard the faint sound of the Falco’s propeller just now. I think Gaga and Noah, who were on guard duty in the kingdom, were probably on it."

"…?"

"The sound quickly faded away. Gaga, having learned of the kingdom fleet’s defeat, might return to Gattoland Airport, get on an airboat, and come back to Red Cape Airport. There is a rule in the royal family to flee to the nearest airport in case of defeat. So, there is a possibility of hiding near the airport and waiting for a rescue airboat…"

Laggy considered Chouchou’s proposal in silence and answered.

"…Artemisia knows that the evacuation point is the airfield. Prince Toto leaked the secret, so she probably has guards posted there even now."

"…Yes. …It’s a faint hope. But Gaga will probably come back with allies. If we can join forces with them, perhaps…"

As Chouchou proposed this, she lost confidence in her own words and fell silent.

Laggy thought again.

It was a hope as thin as a thread, but it was better than nothing. They were completely surrounded by a superior enemy, and there were only the two of them. Moreover, Chouchou was blind and useless in a fight. Other than betting on rescue from allies, a self-powered breakthrough was impossible. It wasn’t as if he had betrayed Artemisia with a chance of winning, so he was grateful for even a chance to fight.

"…Understood. …We will hide near Red Cape Airport and wait for an opportunity."

Laggy readjusted his hold on Chouchou with one arm and stood up, looking up at the slope ahead. He couldn’t see it from here, but at an altitude of five hundred meters, there was a small Red Cape airfield carved into the mountainside. Since he had landed there with Artemisia and the others on a glider just a while ago, he roughly knew the way. If he went off the mountain path and climbed the slope, he would probably find a place to hide…



†††



From the end of the mountain path, a light cavalryman with a lantern hanging from his saddle came galloping. His armor was that of the Black Rose Knights’ personal guard.

"Halt!" "Who goes there, halt!"

The attendants of the "Three Saints" member, Callistratus, challenged him, calling for him to stop. The personal guard pulled on his reins, stopped his horse, dismounted, and knelt before Callistratus, bowing his head.

"I take it you are Duke Callistratus. I have a report and a request from the Vice-Commander of the Black Rose Knights, Her Highness Artemisia."

"I’m listening."

"Currently, we have defeated Prince Toto of the Gato Kingdom, but due to the betrayal of a werewolf, the first princess, Chouchou, is on the run in the mountains. It is believed she is heading for Red Cape Airport. Her Excellency Artemisia has suffered a severe injury to her wrist and is unable to command. It is Her Excellency Artemisia’s request that Duke Callistratus lead his forces and take command of the search for Princess Chouchou."

Hmm, Callistratus nodded briefly and looked at the mountain range of Red Cape, which stood out against the night sky. A fortress was built on the mountainside at an altitude of one hundred and fifty meters, and above that, at an altitude of five hundred meters, a small airfield was constructed. The pursuers were now narrowing their search range from the foothills to the summit, but if they took their time, a rescue airboat could arrive and they could escape.

"So, this is what she wants."

Sensing Artemisia’s intention, Callistratus abruptly roused the Holy Orb of "Brotherhood" and was wreathed in a golden halo.

A dazzling beam of light suddenly pierced the forest, and both the messenger and the attendants flinched for a moment. Callistratus alone, with a cold expression, looked up at the night sky through the gaps in the branches.

"It is a pity. But the direct bloodline of the Gato Kingdom royal family must be ended here tonight."

Saying this, he lightly kicked off the ground.

"Ooh…"

The attendants who were used to it said nothing, but the messenger who saw Callistratus’s flight for the first time let out a groan. With one leap, Callistratus jumped over the canopy of branches, placed the soles of his shoes on a branch as thin as a child’s arm, and leaped a second time. With the lightness of a butterfly, he flew off into the starry sky.

"That is the power of the ‘Three Saints’…"

The messenger was at a loss for words, just looking up at the night sky where Callistratus had disappeared. With that power to move with almost no restriction from the trees covering the mountainside or the slope of the mountain, Princess Chouchou would be found soon…



†††



In the time it takes to flip an hourglass twice, the Falco had returned to the airspace around Gato Island and Gato Kingdom Castle. But.

"The castle has fallen!"

Fires were rising from all over Gato Kingdom Castle, and on the hexagonal roof of the great cathedral, the Black Rose and Sword Crest Flag was fluttering in the wind. The flight soldiers who had glided toward the castle just a while ago must have pushed their way into the castle and set it on fire. Even from the Falco, Gaga could see the corpses of kingdom soldiers lying in the courtyard and training grounds.

The urban area was also a sea of fire. He could also see citizens fleeing on the ground and countless fallen bodies that were no longer moving. The Black Rose Knights’ crest flags were flying over the theater, the Chamber of Commerce Building, the official residence, and the reservoir, and he could see from above that the Minya citizens were being herded into the main square by armed knights.

If he raised his gaze, he could see the three ships of the Black Rose Air Fleet, flying leisurely at an altitude of five hundred meters, bombarding Gattoland Airport. He could also see flight soldiers jumping from the airships, spreading their gliders, and flying toward Heteromorphic Mountain.

The Black Rose Knights, having occupied the castle and the urban area, seemed to have just now turned their swords toward the airfield they had not yet suppressed. Since they had annihilated the Gattoland Air Fleet during the day, they had probably lowered the priority of the airfield, which had no threatening forces. Gaga and the others had to land at the worst possible time, right into an airfield being attacked by cannon fire and flight soldiers.

"This is impossible! Even if we land, we can’t get out by airboat!"

"The royal family’s exclusive airboat is hidden in a different location. Just land, once we’re down, we’ll figure something out!"

"No way, the Falco will be destroyed!"

"Are you okay with Toto and Lulu dying?! Shut up and land without another word!"

Forcibly ordering the reluctant Noah to land at the airfield, Gaga glared at the surrounding airspace.

The Black Rose Air Fleet was approaching Gattoland Airport to a horizontal distance of about one thousand meters and was bombarding the small craft near the pier, but perhaps because they intended to reuse them later, they were refraining from attacking the airport facilities such as the warehouses, inspection station, and control tower. The hiding place for the royal family’s escape airboat was in a completely different location, a little way around the mountainside at an altitude of five hundred meters, so the airboat should still be safe. But if the flight soldiers landed on Heteromorphic Mountain and began their search, escape would become difficult.

"I don’t wanna land~"

"I’ll make it worth your while, just land!"

Forced by Gaga, Noah made two descending turns and, amidst the fierce bombardment, lowered her altitude toward the runway of Gattoland Airport.

The enemy air fleet, having noticed the Falco, added to their bombardment. Successive impacts on the runway sent up clouds of dirt. Dropping cannonballs on a dirt ground would only make holes and not have much effect. What was scary was…

"Grapeshot!"

Grapeshot, a cylindrical shell filled with small pellets, began to explode on the runway, targeting the landing Falco. Upon impact, dozens of pellets scatter around, a type of ammunition with extremely high lethality against personnel.

"Don’t mind it, go!"

"I have no choice but to go! You better pay for this?!"

She was already in a landing posture, so she couldn’t turn back. Noah, on the verge of tears, pushed the control stick and lowered her altitude to make a forced landing on the bombarded runway—

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa."

Along with Noah’s scream, a tremendous cloud of dirt, lines of fire, sparks, and explosions blocked the view from the windscreen.

Even with his seatbelt on, the impact was enough to slam his body against the windscreen. Leonardo, sitting at the base of the wing, also curled up his body and clung desperately to the struts—

"Ngyah!"

With such a cry, the Falco came to a stop on the runway, nose-dived.

"Let’s go, run!"

Gaga jumped from the cockpit and looked up at Noah and Leonardo.

"Ah, sorry Falco, I’ll be right back, hang in there!"

Noah, with tears in her eyes, apologized to the Falco, which had one wing and its landing gear broken, and its entire fuselage riddled with holes.

"…"

Leonardo, without a word, took Noah’s hand and started running.

The sound of cannon fire exploded around them. Rising dust, the smell of gunpowder, the trees on the mountainside burst into flames, and sparks danced up toward the starry sky.

Just then.

"Prince?! What are you doing here?!"

As Gaga, Noah, and Leonardo left the runway and headed for the airboat’s hiding place, Jangiacques, in the formal attire of a Gato Kingdom security knight, and Lucifer, dressed as his attendant and self-proclaimed demon lord, rushed over.

"Jangiacques! Good timing!"

"I saw the Falco and came running, what on earth is happening?!"

During a battle, the defense of Gattoland Airport was the job of the security knights. Jangiacques seemed to have been about to engage the Black Rose Knights’ flight soldiers here, but was surprised by the Falco’s sudden landing and had rushed over. Gaga, while running, said,

"No time to explain in detail, I order you, Sir Jangiacques, to abandon Gattoland Airport and redeploy with us to Red Cape!"

Given an order in a tone that brooked no argument from the first prince, Jangiacques had no choice but to obey.

"Y-yes, sir! I will accompany you! …Lucy, you too!"

Beside Jangiacques, the attendant-in-training Lucifer, dressed in a daring outfit of a white and gold vertically striped skirt that ended above her knees, revealing her thighs, was running while thoughtfully placing the back of her hand under her chin.

"Are you perhaps thinking of running away? The opportunity to release my hidden power is now here…"

"Use your power for the prince! Your hidden power, I haven’t seen it yet!! Anyway, let’s go, run!"

Jangiacques grabbed Lucifer’s hand and forcibly ran with her.

"H-hey, how bold, you, you’ve been quite aggressive lately…"

For some reason, Lucifer, blushing and muttering to herself, was swept along, and the five of them, aiming for the escape airboat’s hiding place, ran through the burning forest…



†††



Bonfires were lit on the pier of Red Cape Airport, and a personal guard was standing watch. Laggy, who had secretly climbed the slope behind the airport, hid in the rocks at an altitude of five hundred and thirty meters, from where he could overlook the airport. He steadied his ragged breath and surveyed his surroundings.

Looking down, he could see hundreds of torches stuck to the foothills of Red Cape, illuminated by the full moon, wriggling like insects. A force of six hundred had spread out and was gradually narrowing their search range, climbing toward the summit. The enemy must already know that Chouchou was somewhere on this mountain. If even one of them spotted them, whistles and horns would sound, and they would be surrounded in an instant.

"…We can no longer descend. If rescue doesn’t come, it’s over."

Laggy said to Chouchou, who was sitting beside him in the shadow of a rock.

"…Yes. …I am prepared…"

After Chouchou’s answer, there was silence.

Laggy was worried about the wound on Chouchou’s right ear. He had disinfected the area with wine from his leather pouch, but he had no gut string to stitch it. If she didn’t get proper treatment soon, it would become infected, and a bluish-black welt would spread like a spider’s web from her face to her neck, and in the worst case, she would die.

Was there no way to save at least Chouchou? As Laggy was thinking—

"Um… Sir Laggy. May I ask you something?"

He had a good idea what she was going to ask, but Laggy gave a silent nod.

There was another silence. Realizing that a nod alone wouldn’t reach Chouchou, Laggy answered.

"…Go ahead."

Urged, the first princess hesitated for a moment, then spun her words with a careful tone.

"…As I recall, I only met you once, Sir Laggy, about six months ago, on the roof of the tower. And I, rudely, thought you were a stray dog that had wandered into the castle…"

Laggy let out a short sigh and turned his eyes, which had been glaring at the foothills, to Chouchou.

"…At that time, I entered the rooftop where Your Highness was without permission and listened to your song in silence. Taking advantage of the fact that Your Highness couldn’t see… I pretended to be a dog."

When he said this self-deprecatingly, Chouchou turned a hard expression to Laggy and shook her head.

"…While I was singing, I realized you were not a stray dog. Through music, I was able to sense what could be called the shape of a heart. That event was a first for me as well. That’s why… I remembered you."

"…"

"…Why did you save me?"

"…"

"…You have betrayed the master to whom you swore allegiance. …Even if you survive this predicament, you will be branded a traitor, unable to call yourself a knight, and will be left destitute. And yet, you saved me, whom you had only met once… why?"

It was the question he had expected. Laggy turned his gaze back to the lights of the enemy soldiers scattered on the foothills and gave the answer he had prepared in advance.

"I had disliked that master for some time. I was thinking of doing something like that if I got the chance. I feel good now. It would have been even better if I had cut off her head."

"…"

Chouchou listened to Laggy’s words in silence.

Of course, it was a lie. He disliked Artemisia, but since he received a salary, a position, and a place to live from her, he had no intention of betraying her. Compared to his days in the colosseum, where he killed innocent gladiators every day, he felt no pain in working under Artemisia.

And yet, he had done this because—

—It was unbearable to see you treated so cruelly.

Ever since I was born, I have been despised as a monster with no other skill than killing. And yet, you sang a song for me. That was the first time anyone had ever been kind to me. That’s why I broke my knight’s oath and cut off Artemisia’s wrist. …But such a thing, I’m too embarrassed to say it out loud.

Chouchou must have been disappointed to hear his answer. That was fine. In reality, he was just a killer, a big fool who had betrayed his lord without even a plan for the future. If she held strange illusions about him, she would soon be disappointed.

Chouchou, having received his answer, faced Laggy for a while, and then, still sitting on the stone, straightened her posture.

"Sir Laggy. I have a request."

"…"

"…If we get through this predicament, would you become my exclusive knight?"

Hearing this, Laggy blinked, and turned his gaze to Chouchou. After hearing his excuse, why would such a thing come up?

"…Did you hear my words? I cut off Artemisia’s wrist not for you. I was waiting for the opportunity to do so for some time. Besides, if you make a rebel who cut off his lord’s wrist your exclusive knight, it will tarnish Your Highness Chouchou’s name."

"A blemish on one’s name doesn’t hurt if you don’t mind it. …So… what is your answer?"

Chouchou, with an extremely serious expression, pressed Laggy for a reply.

Laggy swallowed his words and said.

"…Your Highness does not know my appearance. I am ugly, ill-mannered, and have killed hundreds of innocent people and received rewards. And the way I kill is not by piercing with a sword, but by tearing out the enemy’s vitals with these fangs. I am not a knight, but a beast. A princess who makes a beast who betrayed its master her exclusive knight does not exist even in fairy tales."

When he spat out his thoughts as they were, Chouchou swallowed her words for a moment, thought for a bit, and then opened her mouth again, as if apologetically.

"Um… trying to play the part of a ruffian with your words, and trying to deceive me with your frightening appearance, is meaningless to me, who cannot see. I can only see the heart of the person in front of me."

"…"

"I see a single true knight who helps the weak and crushes the strong. I have never before met a knight so kind-hearted and brave."

Receiving her words, Laggy was stunned for a moment.

His mouth fell open on its own.

—What is this?

Everyone had feared his frightening appearance, mocked him, and thrown stones at him.

—Me, a true knight?

Ignoring Laggy’s confusion, Chouchou said in a serious tone,

"…I will do everything I can to ensure that no one tarnishes your honor, and that your family will not go cold. So please… exchange vows of master and servant with me."

Chouchou’s words stabbed deep into his heart.

The place where it stabbed grew hot, and an unknown emotion burst forth from it.

Laggy was bewildered and didn’t know what to do. He was afraid that if he gave a clumsy reply, Chouchou would gouge out the true feelings behind his words.

Swallowing the words that had started to form in his throat, he forcibly put on a sullen face, turned back to the foothills, and dodged the issue.

"…Now is not the time for such leisurely things."

"…"

"…First, we must prioritize survival. We can think about what comes after, after we survive."

Not just his hands and feet, but even his words were trembling. Laggy, who had never been afraid no matter what predicament he was in, was now clearly afraid.

"…Yes. And, if we do survive… will you grant my request?"

"That… If we can… as Your Highness wishes."

He managed to feign composure and replied curtly. The situation was dire, and Laggy was no longer thinking about survival. But if it would make Chouchou happy, he could at least make a verbal promise.

Chouchou let out a sigh of relief and smiled with just her mouth.

"…I’m glad. …I was wondering what I would do if you refused. …It takes quite a bit of courage, doesn’t it? To ask someone for something like this yourself."

Saying that, Chouchou took a deep breath and lifted her face.

"…Let’s survive, Sir Laggy. …Gaga will surely come to help. He pretends to be crude, blunt, and cold, but at his core, he is a very kind younger brother…"

Then, silence descended again.

Laggy kept his eyes on the foothills and did not turn back to Chouchou. He was afraid that if he turned to her, she would sense the trembling in his hands and feet.

There was another concern.

—Even if the prince comes to rescue us by airboat, he won’t be able to dock with this security.

The encirclement was narrowing toward the summit. There was a watch on the pier, on alert for any approaching airboats. An airboat could carry at most a dozen or so soldiers, while Callistratus’s forces numbered over six hundred. And there were strong enemies mixed in, like Kuon, Michihiko, and Callistratus himself. For Prince Gaga to fly into such a situation was like a moth flying into a bonfire…

—Left and right, it’s all despair.

—It seems I won’t be able to become Princess Chouchou’s exclusive knight…

Laggy found that thought a little disappointing.

If he survived this predicament and could become Chouchou’s exclusive knight, he felt a new life would open up for him.

Ever since he had betrayed Artemisia and come here, he had been holding Chouchou, who was clinging to his neck with both hands, in his left arm. In such a predicament, with both of them covered in blood and pursuers on their heels, Laggy, of all things, felt a faint sense of happiness. The softness and warmth of Chouchou’s body that he held, and the breath he could feel by his ear were the source of his happiness. If he could get through this pinch, land in some unknown country, and go on a journey of adventure holding Chouchou with one arm, he was sure every day would be as fun as a dream…

As he was letting his thoughts wander and looking up at the Floating Sphere, just then—

In a corner of the distant sky, a faint seven-colored spray exploded.

"…Hm?"

Laggy strained his eyes. The Vogstock Particles that made up the Floating Sphere were reacting to the movement of matter, creating a rainbow-colored spray. A faint spray of red, yellow, and green was slowly approaching, heading for Red Cape airfield…!

"…Your Highness, a ship…!"

Forgetting that Chouchou couldn’t see, Laggy pointed at the distant airspace. Chouchou lifted her bandaged eyes, turned her face in the direction Laggy was pointing, and strained her ears.

Laggy strained his eyes. It was a small air sailboat, shaped like a moth. It had no buoyant body and was flying by catching the wind in a mast set on its upper deck. The hull itself was made of Floating Stone, so it was likely a boat for the exclusive use of royalty.

A horn sounded from the Red Cape airfield below. Other horns reacted, circling the mountain, and several fire arrows were shot toward the airboat, signaling the emergency. He could also see the battery groups located at an altitude of one hundred and fifty meters, even lower than the airfield, turning their barrels toward the approaching ship.

"…It’s an allied ship, no doubt, but…!"

Boom, a cannon sound from below. Three, four flaming arrows shot up toward the airboat, flying past just beside the hull.

On the airfield’s pier, at an altitude of five hundred meters, field guns were being lined up. He could also see the personal guards bringing longbows and drawing them on the airboat. At this rate, they couldn’t get close to the airport. Even if they forced a docking, they would be killed by the surging Callistratus forces.

—It’s no good, we can’t escape…!

Laggy, in despair, couldn’t help but look up at the heavens—

"!?"

He was struck by even greater despair.

"We meet again, werewolf."

In the sky he looked up at, with the full moon at his back—a man was floating in the air.

Pale gray armor. A jet-black cape fluttering in the night wind. Deep-set silver-gray eyes, full of deep thought, captured Laggy and Chouchou in their sights.

"Brotherhood."

In the center of the golden halo he wore, that one character burned brilliantly.

"Hand over Princess Chouchou, and I will let you go. Leave."

The "Three Saints" member, Callistratus, held a battle-axe in each hand and called out, still floating in the air at an altitude of about five hundred and eighty meters.

Laggy raised the back of his right hand in front of his face, extended three fifteen-centimeter-long silver claws from the tip, and gave a silent reply.

"To think a knight such as you still existed in this age."

Callistratus sent his praise to Laggy, and then, trailing a seven-colored wake from the Vogstock Effect, he descended nearly fifty meters in an instant and swung his battle-axe before Laggy’s eyes.

"A pity to have to kill you."

Space cracked.

A blazing blow was met.

The air boiled, space cracked again and again, and from the cracks, flames seemed to be born, such was the fierce exchange of battle-axe and claws. With each clash, the Vogstock Particles drifting at an altitude of five hundred and thirty meters reacted, and a seven-colored spray scattered in the night darkness.

Callistratus’s armor shattered, and sparks flew. Callistratus, freed from the shackles of gravity, attacked with movements that neither bird nor man could achieve, and Laggy was instantly bleeding from all over, his fur soaked in his own blood, but he did not stop fighting.

"Laggy!"

"Nuuuh…!!"

Hearing Chouchou’s cry in the corner of his ear, Laggy summoned all his strength. The wounds he had received from Michihiko and Kuon opened again, and blood dripped from his soaked fur. Kicking up the pool of blood at his feet, he swung his thick claws as if to gouge out space, but he couldn’t even graze Callistratus.

—The Three Saints…!

He was facing one of the three swordsmen whose names resounded throughout the Grapeland Sea. He knew he couldn’t win easily, but even so.

—He is outside the Laws of the World…!

A duel is premised on fighting under the same physical laws as an opponent with two arms and two legs. But Callistratus was hardly affected by gravity and inertia, which made it all the more difficult for someone as experienced in combat as he was. When life and death are decided in a tenth of a blink of an eye, there is no room for thought, and it is common sense to fight with the body’s reflexes, but the attacks were coming from outside that common sense.

"Guh…!"

A battle-axe grazed his head. If he had been a blink of an eye late in dodging, his brains would have been splattered. His movement distance was slightly extended relative to his footwork. It wasn’t too extended, just enough to maintain a half-step distance, an annoying extension that could crush his head at any moment if he made a mistake.

The more he fought, the more his body was whittled away. He had already taken about three blows that would have been fatal to a normal human, but thanks to his thick hide and muscular armor, he wasn’t dead. But the more he fought, the more he bled, the more his vision blurred, and the more the strength in his arms drained away.

—I want to get at least Princess Chouchou away…

Out of the corner of his eye, Laggy confirmed the allied airboat fleeing from the cannon fire. The sound of the enemy soldiers’ whistles, rushing up the mountainside, was gradually getting closer.

—Even if by some miracle I beat Callistratus, I can’t escape.

No matter where he looked, there was only despair.

But.

—If it’s just Princess Chouchou, she can escape.

Laggy had arrived at the only solution.

The only move to break through this despairing situation was—

—I just have to throw my life away.

It wasn’t something to agonize over. It was only natural for a knight to offer his life for his master.

—I am the shield that protects Princess Chouchou.

—A Shield Without Life or Desire.

Then, with his back still to Chouchou, he threw only his words.

"Swear to me that you will do as I say, Your Highness."

"Laggy…?"

"I will save at least you, Your Highness."

Callistratus closed in. Laggy, having made his resolve, took a step forward himself.

The battle-axe howled as it cut through space, and Laggy’s claws met the steel blade, deflecting it, and striking it down. He let out a kick, bared his fangs, and Laggy continued to fight back, but gradually, Callistratus pushed him back. The deep wound on his shin from Michihiko, the blood loss, and the exhaustion were taking their toll, and he couldn’t keep up with Callistratus’s fighting technique, which transcended physical laws.

But Laggy did not retreat.

Bleeding from all over, creating a pool of blood at his feet, he held his ground.

Callistratus swung his battle-axe up.

Of all things, Laggy stepped into the range of the axe himself.

"Laggy!!"

Chouchou, sensing something, screamed.

Callistratus’s battle-axe drove deep into Laggy’s left shoulder.

It shattered his shoulder bone, severed the thick, hard muscle fibers, and the blade bit into the base of Laggy’s neck.

Like a geyser, blood gushed from Laggy’s severed carotid artery.

But, ignoring it, Laggy wrapped his arms around Callistratus’s back, putting him in a bear hug.

"Nuh!"

Callistratus’s expression showed a hint of panic.

At the ends of Laggy’s arms, wrapped around his back, his claws gleamed dully.

"I’m taking you with me, Duke."

Creak… Laggy’s claws dug into Callistratus’s back.

"Guh…"

Callistratus placed the palm of his right hand on the head of the battle-axe still embedded in Laggy’s neck and pushed with all his might.

More blood splattered Callistratus’s face. But the strength in Laggy’s arms, squeezing his whole body, did not loosen. On the contrary, his claws dug deeper into his back, trying to reach his spine.

"Nuh… oooohhh!"

Finally, Callistratus let out a groan and tried to punch the axe head to sever Laggy’s neck, but he couldn’t shake off Laggy, who had already thrown his life away.

Laggy turned only his head to look back, and through the gaps in his blood-soaked hair, he looked at Chouchou.

Chouchou was calling his name.

This person truly cared for him. From Chouchou’s expression and her cry, he knew that, and Laggy, on the verge of death, felt the happiest emotion he had ever felt.

—She’s truly a good person.

—It was a shitty life, but I’m glad I met you at the end.

Since he was going to die anyway, he could be honest. He had only ever told lies, but since it was a one-time shame, he wanted to put his honest feelings into words at the very end.

"The truth is, I wanted to hear your song, so I saved you."

"Laggy!!"

"Live, and sing."

He had been able to put his true feelings into words and tell someone. Laggy was, from the bottom of his heart, satisfied with that.

In a flash, Laggy’s blood-soaked fangs bit into Callistratus’s neck.

The gush of blood from Callistratus’s carotid artery mixed with Laggy’s, and the two warriors, drenched in each other’s blood, took each other’s lives.

Summoning his remaining strength, Laggy bit down and crushed Callistratus’s cervical vertebrae.

At the same time, the tips of his claws crushed Callistratus’s spine.

The seven-colored particles that had colored the wakes of both of them enveloped the area like a fog.

The red of blood mixed with the seven colors of the Vogstock Particles, and the starry sky was painted with the colors of a dream, like a cruel cathedral painting.

He poured all his remaining strength into his fangs.

Betting his entire life, Laggy severed Callistratus’s lifeline.

Callistratus was no longer reflected in Laggy’s retina. Only Chouchou’s song, which he had heard in that round tower six months ago, echoed.

It was a melody that purified the soul. A pure, transparent song, like snow that covered this rotten world in white.

—Your song is proof that I lived.

Laggy’s feet, soaked in blood, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.

Beside him, Callistratus, his neck half-severed, fell, and in the pool of his own blood, convulsed twice, three times.

"Laggy—!!"

Chouchou held the blood-soaked Laggy to her chest and, drenched in blood herself, cried out.

"No, Laggy, live, live, live…!"

Crying tears from her unseeing eyes, she held Laggy to her chest and screamed.

With dark blood dripping from his neck, Laggy desperately drove the fragments of his remaining consciousness and turned his gaze to Callistratus’s corpse.

From his body, a Holy Orb wreathed in a cold flame floated up—

"Brotherhood."

That dazzling character floated.

Laggy summoned his last ounce of strength and told Chouchou.

"Your Highness… About three steps away… to your right… the Orb of ‘Brotherhood’ is floating…"

Having said that much, gurgle, Laggy coughed up a clot of blood.

The time left was short. Laggy showed the only way Chouchou could survive in this situation.

"…Crush it… succeed its power… Soar through the sky… and get to the airboat…"

That was the only way. No, that way was still left.

The Successor to "Brotherhood" could fly. He could surely even jump to an airboat that couldn’t dock.

"…Your Highness… quickly… the Holy Orb of ‘Brotherhood’…"

His vision went dark. He could no longer see the Orb of "Brotherhood." It was cold. There was no blood left. Before I die, let me at least confirm your safety. Please, just you, live…



"Laggy, no, live, live!!"

Chouchou, while understanding what Laggy was trying to tell her, still clung to him, refusing to let go. There was no way she could just leave him here and fly away to escape by herself.

Isn’t there something? Something I can do?

Just then—

《My power is outside the Laws of the World, and demands a price from the Successor.》

Suddenly, the Holy Orb of "Propriety" spoke to Chouchou from within her consciousness.

《Are you prepared to pay the price?》

Chouchou was taken aback for a moment, but quickly turned her consciousness to the orb.

—Save Laggy. I’ll do anything for that. Don’t let Laggy die.

She pleaded.

And then—

Chouchou could feel the Orb of "Propriety" that had melted inside her spreading something like ripples.

It was an unpleasant wriggling, like her insides were being combed with a brush. But Chouchou endured it and let the Orb of "Propriety" do as it pleased.

After a while, "Propriety" spoke again from the depths of Chouchou’s consciousness.

《…Your lifespan is scheduled to end at the age of sixty-five, but would you mind shortening it by about thirty-five years?》

Chouchou was momentarily confused by what the orb was saying. But.

—If I save Laggy, I will die at thirty?

《Quick on the uptake. That’s right. By sharing thirty-five years of your life, you can save Laggy’s life.》

Chouchou shouted.

"Do it now!!"

There was not a moment’s hesitation. Dying at thirty meant she had eight years of life left. If Laggy hadn’t saved her, she would have died tonight anyway. She had nothing to regret.

《You’re the first Successor with no hesitation. Normally, everyone agonizes over it.》

Suddenly—from around Chouchou, a silver radiance exploded.

A tremendous light, as if a sun had been born, enveloped the entire area—

On Chouchou’s back, a halo, almost materialized, like layers of snowflakes, was born and began to rotate.

"Propriety."

The one character that floated in its center also emitted a dazzling amount of light, its cold decorations shining as if to boast of its own existence.

The light enveloped Chouchou and Laggy.

A cool scent filled Chouchou’s chest, washing away the smell of blood.

A warm scent and temperature, like spring flowers, was transmitted from Laggy’s body. As if a light source had been born inside Laggy’s body, from the dozens of sword wounds he had suffered, beams of light shot out.

"—!!"

Even Chouchou, who couldn’t see, felt that light. She could feel Laggy’s body, which had been growing colder, regaining its temperature.

And then—she could also feel the core of her own soul growing cold.

Just as the Orb of "Propriety" had said, she was now, through this light, sharing her own life with Laggy. The more Laggy regained his temperature, the more the center of herself was being whittled away. She was aware of that.

—It doesn’t matter.

—I don’t mind sharing everything I have.

Chouchou, still holding Laggy’s hand, prayed. To offer Laggy her life, her soul, everything she was born with, she prayed…



†††



Flaming cannonballs drew dozens of fiery lines in the night sky toward the small airboat.

Each time a cannonball grazed them, the small boat swayed precariously, and a chorus of screams and shouts erupted from the five people crammed into the narrow seats. If they were thrown from the boat, they would plunge five hundred meters to the sea surface below, so everyone desperately clung to the gunwales and endured.

The sound of cannon fire was incessant. From Red Cape Fortress, like a porcupine, scarred trails of shot stretched toward them. If they stayed here, they would be shot down sooner or later, but…

"Damn it, get closer, Jang! We’re docking no matter what!"

First Prince Gaga, on the small airboat, turned to his side and ordered Jangiacques, who was desperately operating the mainmast.

"This is impossible…! They completely know we’re coming!"

Confirming the situation at Red Cape Fortress, about six hundred meters away, Jangiacques let out such a scream. Behind him, the pilot Noah and the self-proclaimed demon lord Lucifer were huddled together in the narrow seats.

"We’re being shot at like crazy, no way—! Let’s run, Prince, no way~~!"

"Where are we going and what are we trying to do in the first place? If it’s your hobby to charge into danger, I won’t stop you."

They were saying whatever they pleased. And further back, the mechanic Leonardo, in charge of the rudder, was—

"…"

As always, not saying a word, silently engrossed in fine-tuning their course.

Gritting his teeth, Gaga once again confirmed the mountain range of Red Cape Fortress that stood in their way. From the battery at an altitude of one hundred and fifty meters, twenty-centimeter cannons, and from Red Cape, at the same altitude of five hundred meters as their small airboat, twelve-centimeter field guns, were raining grapeshot and shrapnel on them.

A flower of fire and soot bloomed around the airboat. Grapeshot wouldn’t explode unless it hit something, but if it was a direct hit, not only the sail but all five of them would be killed instantly.

"It’s dangerous, it’s dangerous, what if the sail tears?!"

The loudest, Noah, was screaming her head off.

Gaga, still looking straight ahead, said,

"But if we don’t dock, we can’t rescue them!"

Somewhere on that mountain, Toto, Lulu, and Chouchou might be. Even if it’s just one of them, please, have escaped.

"There’s no one asking for rescue! Let’s get away for a bit, or we’ll fall!"

"Shut up, you stupid woman, what did you get on this boat for?!"

"If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have gotten on! I’m going home, let me off!"

"Jump off by yourself, you stupid woman, I’m not giving up—"

"Over there!!"

Suddenly, Jangiacques’s voice overlapped with the end of Gaga’s sentence.

"Above the airport, it’s shining!"

"…!?"

Gaga glared at the triangular mountain range that cut out the starry sky in the direction Jangiacques was pointing, about six hundred meters away, near the pitch-black summit—

Suddenly, a ball of light was born before his eyes.

"Ooooh…!?"

Even without being pointed out, it was a light so dazzling that everyone on the airboat could see it.

At a position higher than the Floating Sphere, around an altitude of five hundred and thirty meters, a golden sphere, as if a child of the sun had suddenly been born, appeared, casting the shadows of the trees on the surrounding mountainside radially.

"What is that, a Holy Orb…!?"

"Someone’s there, someone’s standing there…!!"

Gaga and Jangiacques strained their eyes into the light. The dazzling light gradually subsided, and they could see that it was drawing a geometric pattern, like the halo of a divine image.

Gaga strained his eyes further.

In the center of the crest, an Oyashima character.

"Brotherhood."

Gaga noticed that the one bearing the shining character was a man over two and a half meters tall.

"…Laggy…?"

Laggy was holding someone in his left arm. The woman who had her arms wrapped around the back of Laggy’s neck, completely entrusting her body to him with a look of utter trust was…

"Chouchou!!"

Gaga let out a voice mixed with astonishment and joy and pointed at the distant mountain range.



†††



Fuuu… Taking a deep breath, the blood-soaked Laggy once again looked down.

The mountainside was deeply gouged and almost vertical. One misstep and he would tumble five hundred and thirty meters to the sea surface, becoming food for the fish of the Three-pronged Strait.

If he were alone, that would be fine, but right now, he was holding his liege in his arms.

"Are you all right now? If it’s still tough, you don’t have to force yourself…"

Unable to fully grasp the situation, Chouchou asked such a leisurely question from close by.

Laggy shook his head.

"…The rescue airboat is right there. It’s a long shot, but this is our only bet."

He turned only his eyes back to look at the halo of the Orb of "Brotherhood" he had just succeeded.

Events had taken such a sudden turn that even Laggy himself hadn’t fully grasped the situation.

He had resigned himself to death and fought Callistratus to a draw… felt Chouchou’s hand holding his as she cried… and immediately after, was enveloped in a dazzling silver light, and a cool sensation circulated throughout his body… and of all things, Laggy’s wounds had completely healed.

He didn’t know what had happened to him, what Chouchou had done.

Even when he asked Chouchou, she only told him that the Orb of "Propriety" had healed him. He felt that Chouchou had become a little haggard, but with the rescue airboat right there, he couldn’t dally. He had asked Chouchou to succeed the Orb of "Brotherhood" that had floated up from Callistratus’s corpse. But she had convinced him that ‘it would definitely be more useful if Laggy succeeded it,’ and since he couldn’t waste any more time, he had crushed the Orb of "Brotherhood" on the spot and obtained the power to fly… or so he should have.

—Can I really fly?

When he asked the Orb of "Brotherhood" dwelling in the deepest part of his consciousness—

《It’s more like the power to control gravity than to fly.》

The Orb of "Brotherhood," in a voice that was neither male nor female, said something he didn’t quite understand.

—Gravity?

《The force that pulls things down. Depending on your aptitude, you can freely manipulate gravity.》

—I don’t think I have such an aptitude.

《Think for yourself. You’ve met a few Successors of the Holy Orbs before, haven’t you? Does anything come to mind?》

Asked, Laggy thought. So far, he had seen the abilities of Successors like Gasper, Toto, Michihiko, Kuon, and Callistratus, and had actually fought them. There was a difference in the brilliance of their halos depending on the user, and their effects were also different.

For example, even with the same "Loyalty" Successor, the psychokinesis he had been hit with by Kuon was far more powerful than the one from Gasper. At that time, he had been holding Chouchou, so he had been saved by Kuon’s mercy, but if Chouchou hadn’t been there, Laggy would have been bisected.

—It’s not that the Orb of "Loyalty" is weak. Gasper was inferior to Kuon in aptitude…

In both strength and stamina, Gasper was far superior to Kuon. What else could have created the difference between them…?

As he was thinking, as if sensing his worry, a voice said,

"You can fly, Laggy."

Suddenly, Chouchou, held in his arms, whispered such a thing.

Laggy, his train of thought interrupted, shrugged.

"I hope so. If not…"

If he failed, Chouchou would die too. He wanted to practice if he could, but if he dallied, the airboat would be shot down or he would be killed by the enemy soldiers crawling up the mountainside.

"…When I succeeded the Holy Orb, King Dada said that to draw out the orb’s power, the one character written on it is important…"

Chouchou looked up at Laggy and continued to encourage him.

"…The eight Holy Orbs are said to represent the eight virtues a warrior should embody. ‘Benevolence,’ ‘Righteousness,’ ‘Propriety,’ ‘Wisdom,’ ‘Loyalty,’ ‘Trust,’ ‘Filial Piety,’ ‘Brotherhood’… A warrior who embodies all of them will become a Messiah who saves the world…"

"…"

"…The one character written on the orb is the key to activating its power, isn’t it? For ‘Loyalty,’ it’s loyalty; for ‘Filial Piety,’ it’s respect for one’s elders; for ‘Benevolence,’ it’s a sense of justice… A Successor who has richly cultivated that virtue can draw out the orb’s power more strongly."

Hearing this, Laggy considered the situations so far.

Gasper and Kuon had succeeded the same Orb of "Loyalty," but Kuon had wielded a far more powerful force. The difference between them… was it loyalty?

"King Dada had Lulu succeed the Orb of ‘Filial Piety,’ not Gaga. From King Dada’s perspective, he must have judged that Lulu had a heart more befitting of ‘Filial Piety’ than Gaga…"

Hmm, Laggy grunted. If that was the case.

"What does the ‘Brotherhood’ I succeeded mean?"

"‘Brotherhood’ refers to the love for one’s neighbor. A neighbor is… a parent, a sibling, a friend, a lover, someone you have met and have a connection with in the course of your life."

"Love for one’s neighbor… I don’t have that aptitude…"

Far from loving, he had killed the people he met on the spot, both in the colosseum and on the battlefield. It didn’t seem likely that a killer like him could fly.

Chouchou smiled.

"There is no one more befitting of the Orb of ‘Brotherhood’ than you. Completely surrounded by enemies, with nothing to gain by helping me, you still threw yourself into battle. For me, whom you had only met once…"

Saying that, Chouchou put new strength into the arms she had wrapped around the back of Laggy’s neck.

"I believe in you, Sir Laggy. I will proudly declare to the whole world that there is no one as kind to their neighbor as you."

Chouchou buried her face in the fur of Laggy’s shoulder.

Laggy’s insides burned hot. Whether it was embarrassment or happiness, Laggy himself didn’t know, but the trust transmitted from Chouchou’s arms surged through his entire body as a hot power.

Laggy once again looked straight ahead.

Their current position was at an altitude of five hundred and thirty meters, and the airboat was flying at an altitude of five hundred meters, avoiding the cannon fire.

An altitude difference of thirty meters, a horizontal distance of about six hundred meters to the allied airboat.

In the space separating Laggy and the airboat, several fine fragments of Floating Stone, shattered in the daytime air battle, were floating like pumice stones. As Callistratus had done in the fleet battle the day before, he might be able to use them as stepping stones to get to the airboat.

—I can fly.

—I can fly.

Having made his resolve, he readjusted his hold on Chouchou in his left arm.

"…Here I go, Your Highness."

Entrusting her life to him, Chouchou clung tightly to Laggy and turned her face in the same direction.

"Yes. I believe in you."

Receiving Chouchou’s words, Laggy’s halo increased its light even more.

From the very depths of his soul, a boiling power surged up.

—I can fly!

Encouraging himself, Laggy took a big step with his right foot over the edge of the sheer cliff—

"Brotherhood."

That one character shone like the sun—

"Whoa?!" "…!!"

For a moment, Laggy’s body plummeted vertically—

"Nuh, nuh, oh."

With a groan, Laggy desperately stepped alternately with his left and right feet—

His falling speed decreased.

His descent angle, which had been almost vertical, became slightly gentler… it seemed.

"Y-you’re sliding?!"

"I-I’m sliding, and moving forward!!"

Laggy’s body, wreathed in a silver light, was in a far from elegant posture, but at any rate, he was flailing his legs and sliding diagonally down through the air.

His descent angle, which had been close to eighty degrees at first, gradually drew a gentle curve and was brought back to about sixty degrees—

Laggy, at an altitude of five hundred meters, spotted a fragment of Floating Stone drifting in the Floating Sphere, and—

"Kuoh!!"

Desperately flailing his legs as if rowing through the air, he slid diagonally down, caught the fragment of Floating Stone with the sole of his right foot, and—

"Nunh!"

With a flash of spirit, he leaped.

Laggy’s body, still holding Chouchou, drew a parabola and floated up into the night sky again.

"…You’re floating?!"

"Somehow…!!"

His golden halo blazing, Laggy, still gritting his teeth, desperately searched for the next stepping stone in the Floating Sphere, flailing his legs ungainly as he flew through the air, caught the next Floating Stone with the sole of his left foot, and—

"Kuh!"

With a grunt, he leaped again with all his might.

Ahead, amidst the starry sky torn by still-burning arrows, the rescue airboat was approaching. About four hundred meters left. He could see someone on the airboat waving their arms desperately at him.

Though still clumsy, Laggy was getting used to the sensation of floating. It couldn’t be called flying, but he was aware that the force that made things fall had become extremely small.

Ahead, his vision captured four Floating Stones that could be used as stepping stones. They were of different sizes, but from the feeling he had gotten so far—

"I think I can make it…!"

Encouraging himself, Laggy literally soared through the sky.

"Laggy, that’s amazing…!"

Though she couldn’t see, from the repeated movements, Chouchou understood that Laggy was running through the air. The smell of the ground disappeared from under her feet, she felt the high-altitude wind on her cheeks, and the cannon fire that had been incessant was receding behind her.

"Laggy, you’re flying…!"

"I wonder if you can call this flying…"

For Laggy, it wasn’t so much flying as it was crossing over stepping stones in the air with the effect of gravity extremely reduced. The fact that his ungainly way of flying was invisible to Chouchou was a saving grace, if anything.

Meanwhile, Chouchou was just clinging to Laggy.

She knew she was on the verge of life and death, but of all things, Chouchou was now very happy.

She couldn’t see anything, but in her heart, she could paint this scene like a picture.

Amidst the flying, burning cannonballs, Laggy, holding Chouchou, flew through the starry sky, creating a seven-colored spray. The seven-colored wake, drawing a parabola, was a rainbow in the starry sky. Each time Laggy leaped, a new rainbow was born, and the two of them were as if in a fairy tale world.

Such a scene was vividly painted in Chouchou’s mind.

"Laggy."

Unconsciously, Chouchou called his name for no reason.

"Yes."

Replied, Chouchou, a little shy, turned her face to Laggy from close by.

"Keep your promise."

Something she didn’t need to say now, Chouchou deliberately said now.

But Laggy, dutifully, replied while drawing a rainbow wake in the night sky.

"…To become my exclusive knight, you mean?"

"…Yes. But first, from me."

Chouchou knew that Laggy had leaped again.

The sound of the wind being torn apart sounded close to her ear.

Chouchou said.

"…Chouchou Gattoland appoints Laggy Daylight as my knight. I swear to protect the honor of your family and to share my wheat and hearth so that your family will not go hungry."

Laggy, while leaping through the starry sky, fixed his gaze on the silhouette of the airboat ahead.

He could see the figures of a boy and a girl on the boat, sending cheers his way.

He had to return his words of oath to Chouchou. But Laggy thought—

—An oath of master and servant is nothing more than superficial words.

It might have had meaning in an age when the name of God was truly revered and feared, but in this age where conquest and plunder are justified in the name of God, there are no knights who would keep their oaths at the risk of their lives.

—An oath is just words. You can lie as much as you want.

It was a time when it was normal for everyone to deceive, betray, and trample on others for their own desires. In this day and age, those who believe in oaths are the first to die. Just as Laggy had betrayed his oath to Artemisia and cut off her left wrist just a moment ago. This was a world where those who betrayed trust were rewarded.

There was only one piece of Floating Stone left drifting in the Floating Sphere.

Laggy readjusted his hold on Chouchou in his arms with one hand.

He confirmed her body temperature.

—But I swear on my soul.

In the midst of this rotten world, so that you may continue to sing.

So that your song may cleanse this world.

"Laggy Daylight pledges his life and loyalty to Chouchou Gattoland. …At any time, in any place, even should all the world become your enemy, I shall be the shield that protects you."

Tearing through the starry sky, the werewolf made his final leap.

High, high—a great rainbow, like a bridge to the stars, arched across the night sky.




—From this moment on, I am not a living being.

—A shield without life or desire.

—A shield only for you.

Against the backdrop of the deep blue full moon, the two silhouettes crossed the rainbow bridge.

Receiving Laggy’s oath, Chouchou opened her mouth and concluded the words.

"May we, master and servant, prosper for all eternity."

Normally, Chouchou would have to place the flat of a sword on Laggy’s shoulder here. But now, she was being held, so she couldn’t.

Instead, Chouchou rested her head against Laggy’s chest.

"Thank you, Laggy."

She smiled and buried her face in Laggy’s fur.

It smelled of blood, mud, gunpowder, and fresh summer grass.

The blind beauty put strength into her clinging arms and whispered to the flying werewolf.

"My White Knight."

Immediately after, Laggy landed with both feet on the deck of the airboat, still holding Chouchou to his chest.

The airboat swayed from side to side—

"Chouchou!!"

Cheers erupted from within the boat, and the first prince, Gaga, took Chouchou from Laggy’s arms and embraced her.

"Chouchou, thank goodness, you’re alive, Chouchou…!"

Beside him, Laggy, having used up all his strength, his halo disappeared, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Laggy?! Why, how are you and Chouchou…!?"

Jangiacques rushed to help the blood-soaked Laggy up and tried to ask what was going on, but—

"Let’s just run for now, we can talk when we’re somewhere safe!"

Noah, who wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, grabbed the rudder and turned the airboat, pointing its bow to the opposite side of the fortress.

"Alright, let’s retreat to a safe airspace. Chouchou, are you okay, Chouchou…!"

The mainmast, operated by Jangiacques, caught the wind. The airboat, having recovered the two, left the combat airspace like a fleeing rabbit.

"Laggy saved me. He risked his life for me…"

"I understand, I’ll hear the story later. Well done, Laggy, you broke through the enemy lines all by yourself and rescued the captive princess! Truly the work of a true knight!"

Gaga sent his highest praise to Laggy. It was an achievement that could not be praised enough, no matter how many words he used. He then entrusted the care of the collapsed Laggy to Noah and Lucifer and confirmed that Chouchou was uninjured.

"I’m so glad you’re alive. Truly… so glad you’re alive."

Unusually, his voice choked with tears as he praised her, Gaga held Chouchou’s hand and repeated the same words.

The airboat carrying the seven of them caught the night wind and flew off into the sea of stars. From behind them, the sound of cannon fire echoed again and again.

The airboat’s figure melted into the starry sky. The sky once again belonged only to the stars, and with its eternal tranquility, it repeated its eternal twinkling…