Chapter 217
Zzzzt.
Birdsongs wrapping the warm sunlight and the bustling noise of the empire's busy streets filled the imperial princess's ears.
"Mmmmm! Feels good."
A blonde woman stretching.
Golden hair tied in twin tails, a single spear slung tightly across her back.
She was the empire's imperial princess, Lavian.
After the Undying Corruption, she had secluded herself indoors for a long time and only now barely came outside. The reason was because she had trained with the Spear Sacred Water by the Emperor's command.
That's right. Spear Sacred Water.
With the empire's great sacred water, she had broken through the wall during that time.
Her current outing to the imperial capital was a kind of vacation.
A reward vacation.
Originally, the Spear Sacred Water was a fortune that one might barely receive once in a lifetime, but Lavian, who had drunk up to three of them under the name of imperial princess, shattered the wall at a very young age and became a Master.
This was the empire's blessing, and for the imperial princess, it was a stepping stone to advance one step toward her dream.
"Should I go drink alcohol to my heart's content."
She heard that if you become a Master, you don't get drunk easily no matter how much you drink.
Recalling such trivial things, the imperial princess's footsteps, which were strolling freely down the street, suddenly stopped in front of something.
"……."
Gulp.
'What is that, why is it here?'
Even though she had become a Master who transcended human limits, Lavian trembled.
Because before her eyes, a black-haired man sitting on a restaurant terrace, elegantly slicing meat, came into view.
Black hair, and eyes with a grey hue like a wolf—an uncommon appearance.
A knight whose features were so beautiful, as if crafted by a god, that they were hard to describe with words.
"Kallias……."
Why on earth was he here?
Lavian's mind went completely blank.
She remembered the past events.
The empire's northern gorge that the beastmen tribe used as their base.
Ablepicks.
There, Lavian had seen it by chance.
Him fighting the Undying Corruption.
Then taking the Saintess as a prisoner and commanding a dragon, one of his subordinates.
And hadn't she even received help from that dragon?
There was no way she couldn't know.
The memory of that day was also the most shocking day of the imperial princess's entire life.
'What do I do.'
She came out after several months to enjoy some freedom for once, but it got twisted from the start.
In the first place, she couldn't understand why such a dangerous person was leisurely slicing meat in a restaurant in the imperial capital as if nothing was wrong.
'That's a famous restaurant, though.'
How on earth did he know about a famous restaurant and was eating alone by himself…
"For now……."
Lavian drew the spear from her back.
She was scared, but this was an opportunity.
Since that day, the Emperor's gaze had only grown colder.
She might be able to change the look of being called useless with this opportunity.
From what she had heard in passing, the man was a traitor that even the gods had personally issued an oracle to destroy.
If she engaged him slowly over time, the empire's spears would gather on their own.
'Even if I can't win, confronting him is something even I can do.'
Through harsh training, she had driven herself relentlessly all this time.
No matter how strong the man was, as long as they were both Masters, the difference in skill shouldn't be that large.
"I am the empire's spear."
The only ones the empire's spear would bow her head to were the gods above that sky and the Emperor.
No matter what stood before her eyes, there was no reason to fear.
Lavian concealed her presence.
Gripping her spear tightly, she secretly took Kallias's back. The basics of gaining the upper hand in battle was a surprise attack.
Taking the back when the opponent let their guard down and gaining an advantage.
That could be called the fundamentals of combat.
Lavian completely hid her presence and moved behind the man sitting on the terrace.
She was quieter than a cat and as stealthy as a moving shadow, so she was certain he would never notice.
Just as she was about to bring the spear to Kallias's neck.
"Come and have a meal with me."
"Uwaah!"
Crash!
At his sudden voice, Lavian fell over in surprise.
'I'm screwed.'
She was so tense that she ended up falling at the suddenly heard voice.
The imperial princess froze in her prone position and couldn't move at all.
But Kallias continued his meal without caring.
"The empire's food is quite good. Chef. What spices did you use in this dish? It's a scent I've never encountered before."
"Ah, that is made by drying and grinding the gallbladder of an earth dragon, then roasting it. Not only does it add savory flavor and remove unpleasant odors, but it also stimulates appetite with a scent rarely found in this world."
"There's no place where earth dragon isn't used."
"Haha, isn't earth dragon originally a byproduct created by dragons? Though it may not be as good as a true dragon, an earth dragon is still a dragon, so the taste is top-notch."
"Hoho… is dragon tasty?"
Kallias's eyes gleamed with interest.
"According to ancient texts, it's described as the taste of heaven. But well, there's no way to obtain it now. Hehe."
"If you can obtain it, can you cook it?"
"Of course! If you bring it, sir knight, I'll risk my life to cook the taste of heaven!"
"I'll remember those words. Ah, serve the same dish to the lady lying face-down here as well."
"Of course."
The chef disappeared again, and Lavian was still unable to rise from her face-down position.
"How long do you plan to stay face-down."
"U-um……."
She rose from her spot, walked hesitantly, and slowly sat down in the chair opposite Kallias.
She looked like a rabbit in extreme wariness.
"You shattered the wall."
"D-do you… know me?"
"I haven't seen you properly. But I've seen you several times."
Since he had blocked her path several times, there was no way Kallias wouldn't remember.
"……."
"I didn't expect you to become a Master in just a few months. Did you take the Spear Sacred Water?"
"How do you know that!?"
Seeing the surprised Lavian, Kallias was inwardly dumbfounded.
He was the one who had ransacked the empire's garden, yet she was surprised by something so trivial.
"…It seems you haven't earned the Emperor's trust."
"How rude!"
"Whether it's rude or not is not something that matters between you and me."
"What do you mean?"
"It means there's no reason to be polite to the empire's imperial princess."
Kallias sighed and placed his knife and fork on the plate.
"I'd rather talk about something more constructive."
"What constructive conversation?"
Constructive conversation out of nowhere.
The imperial princess frowned inwardly, unable to gauge his intentions.
From her perspective, he kept saying things that seemed completely off-topic.
"I've never left alive anyone who tried to ambush me. The reason I'm making an exception today is because you're the imperial princess."
"…What on earth are you saying."
When she was reprimanded for the imperial princess trying to ambush, her pride was hurt, but she needed to understand his true intentions first.
He wanted something.
The imperial princess wanted to know what it was.
"The empire has two heirs, the imperial prince and the imperial princess, but the prince is treacherous and the princess is light-minded, so neither has the qualifications to be emperor."
"You scoundrel! How impudent!"
Bang!
Just as Lavian slammed the table and rose, about to raise her spear again.
Swish.
"Gasp."
Before she knew it, two grey knights were on either side of her, aiming a sword and spear at her neck.
"Imperial Princess. Time is short, so I'll speak briefly."
Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Kallias then looked straight at her and spoke.
"Don't you want to become emperor."
"!!"
Seeing her so startled that she couldn't say anything, Kallias gazed at the distant sky.
"It would be best to go to the Emperor's side."
"How dare you say you'll assassinate His Majesty the Emperor!"
"I won't. Someone else will."
"What?"
"I merely set the stage. The choice is yours."
Rattle. Just as Kallias was about to rise and leave.
"Your meal is served."
The chef placed a large steak before the imperial princess.
Having paid, Kallias looked at Lavian and said softly.
"It might be your last supper, so enjoy it slowly. It'll be difficult for a while."
Then his figure disappeared.
Lavian couldn't even sense Kallias's movements, which vanished as if evaporated.
Feeling the gap between them anew, she looked at the dish steaming before her.
"The Emperor……."
As the imperial princess was mulling over his words and about to pick up her fork.
Whoooosh.
Along with a strange wind, the sky suddenly began to darken.
Looking up at the sky, Lavian finally pieced together Kallias's words like puzzle pieces in her mind.
"The Emperor…… to His Majesty the Emperor!!"
Along with the back of the imperial princess running off.
In the sky, massive dragons were flying in swarms toward the empire.
* * *
Tap, tap.
Walking out without hesitation, Kallias strolled the empire's streets and saw the emptied imperial capital.
Then, boom! Craaaash!! Explosive sounds rang out in succession.
Dragons landing and shattering the empire's buildings.
And the screams of people crying out in terror lingered at the edges.
Various voices reached his ears.
Fleeing citizens, rushing knights.
Among them, quite a frequent number stopped in their tracks while running, losing their minds to the majesty of the dragons draped over the empire.
Yet even so, the figures of knights who risked death and leveled their spears before the dragons could be seen in great numbers.
It was a brave and beautiful sight.
If only there wasn't a dragon blocking his path.
(Why did you do such a thing?)
He was the leader of these dragons.
Among the dragons, known as the most violent and powerful. The black dragon. Venisiup.
"You asked why."
(Yes. This place is the domain of you humans. If this place is made into a battlefield, it would result in great damage to humans. Why did you choose this place as the battlefield?)
Venisiup knew.
A thousand years ago.
No, from thousands of years ago, he knew humans.
A weak race that gets hurt even by tiny beasts, sometimes annihilated.
The only thing better about humans, who were worse than ants, was their own persistence and solidarity.
The pride of humans who overcame crises together was somewhat exemplary even to dragons and could be called honorable.
The stronger the human, the more this stood out.
Rather than personal advancement, they showed a national and humanitarian appearance.
Humans like the one before his eyes did not do such things.
No matter how different their forms might be.
"The gods want my death. Humans who follow the gods also want my death. Then is there a reason I should embrace them?"
(I see. I understand.)
Looking at the empire being destroyed in real-time, Kallias spoke.
"A thousand years is too distant a time for humans. Unlike you all."
They had settled in peace.
The continent belonged to humans.
That had become too familiar.
It was taken for granted.
"When awakening someone, it's best to awaken them clearly. That way, they'll come to their senses."
(I see. So it's for the humans after all. But I wonder if it has any meaning. All the humans here will die today.)
A tone of certainty.
Kallias more or less agreed with that.
Three hundred dragons were running amok.
No matter how large the empire was.
If they freely unleashed their breaths, the empire would sufficiently disappear from the continent.
Half of humanity disappearing today was also possible.
But it didn't matter.
Kallias was not a hero.
He was neither a saint nor someone who fought for humanity.
He was merely a person who clearly knew what he should protect and what he shouldn't.
Just one mere human.
And.
"I'm not generous enough to show goodwill to those who tried to kill me."
He was also someone who had to return what was done to him a hundredfold.
The corruption that appeared with the dragons.
With their battle, knights wielding the empire's spears were gathering one after another.
"And if the empire's humans die, that's what you lot did. I didn't do it, so why pour that responsibility on me. If we talk about who started it, the gods who try to kill me would bear that responsibility."
(Sophistry.)
"Besides."
A grey light began to stir from the sword sheath Kallias held.
"Now isn't the time to worry about such things. Before worrying about humans, how about worrying about yourself first."
(A sword? Even Stella couldn't kill me, so what reason do I have to fear your sword?)
At this, he grinned.
"That's obvious."
Because I'm not Stella.
Click.
Kallias sheathed his sword.
The grey light emanating from the sheath grew even stronger.
Flinch.
Venisiup's eyes twitched.
Before he knew it, grey ash had begun to fall like snowflakes around the area.
"You'd better be careful."
There's nothing here for me to protect.
Just as the black dragon, sensing danger, was about to unleash his black breath.
A grey sword covered the empire's sky.