Three years passed. Now Elsie was eight years old. She was already starting to become a master of magic.
One day, Elsie seemed happy as she went to Zoras. “I made a spell using dragon psychic waves so I can tell people far away what I’m thinking!”
“Oh, an incredible spell if that’s so. You are a truly clever girl, Elsie,” he said, and she beamed proudly.
“Barrier Magic Level 5: Dragon Speech!”
Elsie formed a magic circle, wanting to show the spell in action as soon as possible. Her thoughts flowed into Zoras’s mind.
“He…l…lo…th…nk…you.”
The thoughts were…fractured, fragmented.
“Ah…it seems you’re having some difficulties adjusting it,” he said.
“I wanted…to express how thankful I am…” she said, near tears.
“W-well, I think your intentions came through quite clearly! It is an incredible spell! And I felt your emotions more than your words! Or…something like that.”
“Really? Oh, Your Majesty!” Her expression glowed.
“Y-yes, really. Or at least, I felt I did.”
Regardless, this didn’t change how incredible it was for an eight-year-old to develop their own spell without assistance. Zoras had heard high elves learned quickly, but she seemed to be even more extraordinarily talented than that would explain. He couldn’t wait to watch her grow up.
Seven years had passed since Elsie came to the court. She was now twelve years old and distinguished even among the Royal Alchemists.
“Your Majesty… I love this world, because you are in it!” she said. She was always with him, not because she didn’t have her own place in the court, but because he was her teacher and she owed him a great debt.
“I feel the same, Elsie. I never thought I would have something so close to a family of my own.”
“D-d-do you mean I’m to be your bride?! I’m honored!”
“I meant…you’re like a daughter to me.”
Her shoulders slumped.
“I can’t take a wife anyway. Not only could I not give her children, but the kingdom’s law forbids me from marrying,” he said, as if talking to himself about someone else. The political structure in Rodacoff was complicated. The members of past councils seemed opposed to the idea of an undying king having a wife or adopted children. The kingdom’s laws stated the king, someone close to godhood, should not have family as it could cause discord in the court.
Elsie was now fifteen years old. Once nothing more than a high elven child, she’d grown into a beautiful young woman. Her magic skill might not be anywhere close to Zoras’s, but she stood on par with any royal magic user.
Around that time, a terrifying ogre Demon King took up residence in the great forest on the kingdom’s eastern side. The nearby lord sent soldiers to fight it, but they were no match. There was concern it would only grow in power, so Zoras went to dispatch the monster, accompanied by ten knights.
“It would be easier on my own,” said Zoras, sounding bored. If he were by himself, he could travel to the edge of the kingdom, defeat the Demon King, and be back in half a day.
But taking ten knights meant preparing for travel and explaining to the local lords. He’d even have to slow down to match their travel speed—it would take four days just to get there. This seemed the height of absurdity considering the havoc the Demon King could wreak in that time.
“And now I won’t have as much time to play with Elsie,” he complained.
“Your Majesty, please understand, we cannot simply send our divine king out alone,” said Prime Minister Fudolf as he took a knee in front of Zoras.
“Yes, I know, I know.” Zoras let out a tired sigh.
“Your Majesty, I pray for your safe return,” said Elsie as she also knelt before him. Not even she could get away with ignoring decorum at her age.
“Of course I’ll return safe, Elsie. No one in this world is stronger than me.”
But the fight to defeat the Demon King was more difficult than Zoras anticipated. The monster was of a significant level and quite intelligent. On top of that, someone had given it information about Zoras, and the undead king was not at his best during the fight. He had difficulty forming magic circles.
They did manage to win, but it took quite a lot out of him. Less than half of the knights he started with were still alive.
“…I’m worthless, that’s why this happened,” he said as he and the remaining knights walked through the forest. “What sort of demigod, what sort of protector of the kingdom am I, if the natural occurrence of a mere Demon King can give me such a hard time?”
“Your Majesty… I’m sorry, this is not all your fault,” groaned a wounded knight who was being carried back.
“How can you say that? If I were stronger, this would never have happened to you.”
“This was all planned. I am so sorry, Your Majesty…the wisemen, the prime minister, I couldn’t go against them.”
“Wait, what are you saying? I don’t understand…”
A large magic circle appeared on the ground. It was some sort of barrier spell and affected a wide area—a spell cast on the forest itself.
Zoras knew a lot about magic, and he knew immediately what it was. It was a spell that drained mana from someone whose magic was attuned to a specified wavelength. And this spell was set to target him.
“Impossible… This must be why I’ve been out of sorts since coming to the forest…” Zoras paled.
He could hear footsteps of countless people approaching from the forest’s darkness.
“Come now… Please don’t resist, Your Majesty,” said Fudolf with a laugh.
One of the court magic users had their staff pressed against Elsie’s head. Her body was covered in injuries, like she’d been tortured. Manacles were clamped around her wrists, and a cloth was over her mouth so she couldn’t speak. She was clearly being used as a hostage.
“Elsie! What is the meaning of this, Fudolf?! Don’t think you’ll get away with treating her like that!”
“You may have realized this yourself long ago, but Rodacoff no longer has a need for a monstrous weapon such as yourself. You were the unwanted child born from an age of chaos, and I will now send you back to that chaos.”
At that, even the knights who’d accompanied Zoras turned their swords on him. Their mission from the start was to limit his actions, lead him, and hold him back.