Chapter 136
Crackle, crackle.
The western border garrison of the Empire.
The faces of the soldiers holding torches and maintaining strict vigilance were, for some reason, filled with dissatisfaction.
The reason was none other than—
"Has the Princess gone mad?"
"What if someone hears you?"
"No, seriously, even a passing mutt knows the western border is more heavily guarded than anywhere else because of its proximity to the Sahara Holy Land, so what's this all of a sudden..."
It was neither the Emperor's command nor the Saintess's request. Not the Empire's Spears, not the Prince, but the Princess.
It was bound to seem absurd.
"Hey, the Princess says she's going to catch some pilgrim or lizard."
"No way those bastards would pass through here if they haven't lost their minds. Anyone with a proper head on their shoulders would just swing around and go somewhere else. Even my dumb brain knows it's safer to go through the Principality instead."
"How should I know? They say pilgrims are the type to seek out hardship..."
From their perspective, the current situation was highly unwelcome.
Their already grueling duty hours had doubled, and the newcomers kept asking questions and loitering around, giving them headaches.
"I heard she tried to subjugate some lizard bastards and failed? They say that's why she's making such a fuss now."
"The Princess must really be drunk on power. Does she actually think she'll be the next ruler of the Empire?"
Even in the soldiers' minds, it was an absurd notion.
Weak in personal strength and little power to speak of.
Moreover, a woman.
Yet she desires to be the Emperor of the Empire?
"If I were His Imperial Majesty, I'd have just named the Prince or the Saintess as my successor. What about a Princess who just charges in like a rutting wild boar..."
"Hehe, then I could personally soothe her, you know."
At the soldier's vulgar joke, his companion also curled his lips up.
"Heh-heh, give it a rest. That tiny pinky of yours wouldn't even stand a chance."
"Did you see it? Wanna see? You'd be surprised, you little shit."
"Look. Look. Let's see it, bastard."
"Hold on, you bastard. I'm packing something half the size of the continent and you don't even know it."
Just as they were about to undo their waistbands—
"Strengthen the perimeter further. If even a single ant slips through, your heads will roll."
"Gasp! Yes, sir!"
Blonde hair shining brightly even at this hour of dawn.
The Princess with twin tails that sparkled like the full moon hanging in the night sky.
Clad in red armor and wielding a pure-white spear, her appearance didn't look holy, but it revealed the noblest bloodline on the continent.
Even the guards who had just been cursing the Princess quickly changed their minds and displayed instantaneous loyalty toward her.
"Tch."
Such men weren't much to her liking, but it couldn't be helped.
When the Princess turned away, the Duchess was there to greet her as if she'd been waiting.
"How is it?"
"Hardly anything. I've deployed more than four times the troops along the western border, and changed the patrols from once an hour to once every fifteen minutes. Still, I'm a bit uneasy."
"The reason for that unease?"
"It's because of the pilgrim who wounded you."
No.
"Callias von Zerban."
A glint of interest flickered in the Princess's eyes.
Duchess Rebecca swallowed a groan.
Under Princess Lavian's questioning, she'd had no choice but to describe the pilgrim's appearance.
During that, the Princess only realized who he was after hearing that he used a sword and had black hair and heterochromatic eyes.
One of the Four Great Noble Houses of Carpe.
The Margrave of the North.
The Hegemon of the North.
The King of the North.
A man who was once known as the worst scoundrel in the Zerban family, but was now a hero of the nation.
And.
'The one who wields Stella's sword.'
The corners of the Princess's lips rose.
"Making that foul face again."
"How impudent."
"Well, I am quite impudent, aren't I?"
"Tch, Rebecca. If I fought a wolf, who do you think would win?"
"Hmm, I believe my husband would win."
"Cut the nonsense."
"Thirty percent."
Thirty percent.
The Princess's smile became ambiguous.
"I win?"
"The probability of him winning, that is."
Rebecca thought.
Compared to the Princess.
Callias's strength was still frail.
Of course.
'If what I saw was everything.'
The Thunder Wolf Dragon he commanded.
And his brief display of swordsmanship.
Meager divine power and bizarre divine arts.
If that was all there was.
Callias would be slaughtered the moment he met the Princess.
But if that wasn't all.
The one to die would be Princess Lavian.
"Perhaps there isn't much difference between his skill and mine."
"Is that so?"
The Princess spread her fingers.
"The Callias you met had meager divine power, but his divine arts were unusually strong. In Carpe, the only one who could use divine arts of that caliber, as far as I can recall, was Cardinal Sylvian of Valterus."
Sylvian.
Her divine arts were so remarkable that it was said she was half the reason the Empire couldn't bring Carpe to its knees.
Her divine arts, which shone even brighter on grand battlefields, left the Empire helpless even when they tried to defend against it.
"He can wield Stella's swordsmanship and Sylvian's divine arts, and command a Thunder Wolf Dragon as well. Moreover, you said his divine power was meager, but that's probably not the case. He must be hiding his energy for some reason."
"Pardon? Is that even possible..."
Master.
A level of martial prowess only achievable by those who had broken through the Wall.
"He must be infinitely close to it."
One who is close to Master.
'And he even harbors a Frenzy Dragon.'
One who stood a step away from Master had fully contained and released a Frenzy Dragon.
He might be able to wield power comparable to a Master temporarily.
But the Princess was not afraid.
Rather, her competitive spirit ran rampant.
She felt that if she just caught him, she too would be able to break through the Wall.
And if she caught the Wolf of Carpe, her fame would rise, and she might even be able to wipe out the lizard bastards he helped in one fell swoop, wouldn't she?
Killing two birds with one stone.
Princess Lavian was aiming for exactly that.
"But will he really come?"
"If he's confident in his abilities, he'll definitely come. My instinct tells me so."
"Your instinct is never right, Princess."
"This time it's real. See this wound?"
"Don't casually show your bare skin."
"The wound is stinging right now. This wound is a medal I earned from killing a strong enemy. I deliberately didn't use holy water, and every time, my medal warns me of danger."
"You sound like some blowhard mercenary."
"Anyway. He's coming."
Her hands and feet were already tingling with anticipation.
She wanted to face him in battle quickly.
The skills of the man called the hero of the nation.
"But what about the one you summoned?"
"Ah, that eunuch bastard? He was spouting some bullshit about coming another way and whatnot, then said he'd handle it himself. He said he'd take care of it, so he'll probably do something. Otherwise he'll die by my hand, anyway."
Whatever the case, all we had to do now was wait.
"The moon is particularly... today."
As the Princess waited for his arrival, the Duchess gazed at the moon rising in the night sky.
The moon was unusually bright tonight.
And the shadows cast beneath it felt exceptionally large.
"Hmm? That's a big bird."
"Sure is. Looks strange, too."
But that wasn't their concern.
* * *
Whoooooosh.
The fierce wind strikes the flesh.
The sky is dark, the wind is cold.
But Serena's face was flushed red.
Her body was hot.
"Are you alright? Your body is hot."
"I-I'm fine!"
Serena was currently gliding through the night sky. This was none other than gliding made possible by Callias, who possessed the Wings of Leteti, an artifact of the Vira tribe.
If that alone were the case, her face wouldn't have reddened, but first of all, the artifact took the form of a ring from which the wings unfolded.
Therefore, Callias couldn't carry everyone and was carrying the lightest among them, Serena, in his arms as they flew across the border.
The firm arm wrapping around her waist.
Her first time ever being held in a man's embrace.
It was broad and warm.
Moreover, with the bright moon, his face was exceptionally visible, and even his scent was rich.
Enough to make her drunk!
Even an elf, called the incarnation of beauty, couldn't help but be intoxicated by Callias's appearance.
A moonlit night with a full moon.
A man and a woman flying through the sky.
Beneath the picture-perque scene, the scent wafting through the air.
'How can his eyelashes be like that...'
A high nose bridge and sharp jawline.
Even the depth of his gaze.
Serena's heart thumped and thumped, fickle and relentless, pounding and pounding again.
"Is this your first time flying? Are you scared?"
"N-no. I-I'm fine."
"For someone who's fine, your heart seems to be beating awfully fast."
"..."
Serena's face turned explosively red.
Her heart started beating even faster.
Come to think of it, being held tightly in one arm meant they were touching in many places.
Not just the sound of her heartbeat, but many other things were touching as well, which was inevitably a novel experience for Serena.
While she couldn't say a word—
"Hold on tighter. You'll fall at this rate."
"Pardon? Ah, yes sir."
When she wrapped both arms around Callias's neck, their faces drew close enough to nearly touch.
Serena and Callias's eyes met.
But that was only for a moment.
As if they had coordinated, both turned their heads to the side.
Serena buried her face in his shoulder, and Callias looked beyond the border.
'Her body temperature is higher than I thought. Are elves originally warmer than humans?'
He had thought an elf's body temperature would be somewhat lower, but that didn't seem to be the case.
'Her waist is thinner than I expected. Does she really only eat grass for meals?'
But why are her breasts so large?
Just as he was puzzled by this discrepancy—
Callias's eyes twitched.
They had already crossed the border.
The original planned landing spot using Leteti was a gently rising mountain range.
A small peak located near the border. They were going to descend slowly from there and head toward the Holy Land.
Callias's eyes looking at the peak grew cold and calm.
"Someone's there."
The clouds obscuring the moon shift.
And the figure that had been hidden by them appears.
A man who had driven several spears into the mountain peak and was glaring at him with the eyes of a beast ready to tear him apart.
Hair of gold.
Eyes of wall—blue eyes.
Armor of black.
In his hand, a crimson spear.
"Luteon."
It was the traitor Luteon.
'How did he know to wait here?'
But there was no time at all to ponder such concerns. The moment he noticed his approach, the bastard immediately sprang into action.
He swiftly pulled out the dozens of spears planted in the ground and began throwing them.
"Serena!"
"Yes!"
Kwaaah!
The speed of each incoming spear was tremendous.
'Has he grown?'
Well, the bastard was a genius once called second only to Esther even in Carpe.
There was no way he hadn't grown.
His right hand held the Wings of Leteti.
His left hand held Serena.
Callias had no hands left.
'Damn it.'
He couldn't draw his sword.
A dilemma: either drop Serena or be pierced by those spears.
As if sensing victory, a vivid sneer appeared on Luteon's face.
But Serena's hands were free.
He gripped her waist more firmly.
As if responding to him, Serena drew her bow and pulled the bowstring.
Verdant energy concentrated on the arrow.
"Though meager, I shall show my lord what an elf's bow can do."
The spears were thrown all at once.
Against the dozens of spears tearing through the air, Serena's slender arrow was loosed.
And in that instant—
Paang!!
With a tremendous recoil, it split into dozens of arrows of light, shooting down the thrown spears.
Truly remarkable archery.
But that was not the end.
"Iki."
As she called forth the spirit.
Her entire bow blazed fiercely.
"Wrath of the Forest."
Then, as if a powerful divine power focused, a fire arrow intense enough to light up the night sky left her fingertips.
Hwaaaaaah!
Instantly, the air grew searing hot, and the fiery energy was so intense it parched the lips.
When it left her hand.
Callias saw it.
The sight of Luteon's face distorting.