I—Lainie Cyan—stared down at the forest from atop the Airbike. Once we had decided to explore Filwach Forest, Lady Anis had proceeded at once to get ready and set out. It was a lush forest, located at the foot of a mountain range. People often compared it to the Black Forest, a famous site for extracting spirit stones, though that site was much larger in scale. “Are Lady Anis and Gark all right…?” I wondered out loud. “They’ve only just entered the woods. Look, they’re putting a signal up over there,” Tilty said from her seat behind me. Indeed, a magical flare was rising into the air. Lady Anis and Gark had agreed to indicate their position at regular intervals so that we would know that they were safe. As we approached the area where they had launched the flare, we spotted the two of them through the trees. When she saw us, Lady Anis gave us an energetic wave. “They’re fine, see?” Tilty continued. “Don’t worry. She’s a high-ranking adventurer.” “That’s true…,” Navre grumbled beside me. “Indeed. So maybe you could stand to be a little less grumpy,” Tilty shot back. Navre had remained silent for a while now, glaring at the forest below. “…Aren’t you being a little too optimistic, Miss Tilty?” he muttered. “I’ve got reasons to be optimistic. This is Anis we’re talking about. You should be more worried about Gark, don’t you think? It isn’t easy being at her beck and call all the time.” “That’s his job… Lady Anis might not listen to us all that often, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t advise her.” “Yes, that’s true, most of the time. You’re a worthy knight, aren’t you?” “…You seem to be implying otherwise, Miss Tilty. Is there something you want to say to me?” “Then let me come out with it. You do realize who she is?” “L-Lady Tilty?” H-huh? Was it me, or had the air become heavier all of a sudden…? I knew that Tilty and Navre weren’t on the best of terms, but this was something else… I had no idea what to do or how the mood had soured so quickly. “I want Princess Anisphia to understand her position. She is irreplaceable now—essential to the kingdom’s future.” “And you’re not wrong, Navre. But it isn’t fair to impose that responsibility on her. You’ve got to use a little common sense sometimes, you realize? There are exceptions to every rule. Why don’t you use your head for once?” “…Am I not simply imposing common sense on her? What do you propose I do?” “Just give her a little more time to catch up.” “…What do you mean?” “Her proper education, if you want to call it that, ended when she was just a girl. But she does know how to behave like royalty—only not due to her upbringing.” “…You’re saying she isn’t truly aware of her royal status?” Navre asked with a frown, his voice strained. Tilty let out a bored snort. “That too. But more to the point, she’s not used to having subjects and retainers around her… She can’t fully trust them.” “…So you think she can’t rely on me?” “No. I’m saying it will take time for her to develop the level of trust you’re expecting from her. She doesn’t have much experience with retainers. She can put up a good show playing at being royalty, but that doesn’t mean she’s really at home in that role. I’d say her mentality is closer to that of a commoner.” “I can see that, I suppose…” “So you understand. She’s inexperienced, so she doesn’t know how to accept your advice. She doesn’t know when to trust others, and she doesn’t know how to trust. Essentially, she needs to relearn the basics.” Navre stared back, wide-eyed. He was clearly stunned. “…It’s that bad?” “Anis has lived without retainers all this time, you know? How can you expect her to completely place herself in their care when she’s never done that before? She doesn’t know how.” “…I see…” Tilty breathed a deep sigh. I could understand all too well what she was trying to get across. Navre still seemed to be struggling to take this in, so I decided to offer my own view. “I understand what Tilty is trying to say,” I began. “It’s all about differences in perception. It really is a matter of adjusting, of letting her get used to all this.” “Lainie?” Navre answered. “What do you mean, differences in perception…?” “Lady Anis doesn’t believe that her retainers will simply follow her as a matter of course. That’s why she doesn’t know how to handle them.” “Because she didn’t take part in royal duties for so long?” “Exactly,” Tilty continued. This conversation was clearly wearing on her. “All those things we take for granted, she doesn’t. You need to make your suggestions with that in mind.” Navre remained silent for a moment, his brow furrowed. “…I’ll admit that my thinking was too shallow. But at the same time, Princess Anisphia’s position is different now. Isn’t it important that she learn how to behave around her people?” “Just because her position has changed? So what? You think it’s easy to start trusting people just like that, after being ignored for so long? After being ostracized?” “…Well…” “She’ll tell you she doesn’t care. That it’s just the way it’s always been for her. Disqualified as a royal, a nuisance as the Princess Peculiar. It’s little wonder she’s so deeply distrustful.” “Deeply distrustful…? I don’t know if I’d say she’s like that…” “She comes across as good-natured, but she’s locked her heart away behind thick walls. You’re not happy with her either, are you? She won’t listen to your judgment.” “…It’s true. I can’t deny that her past experiences have probably led her to this lack of trust, but that doesn’t mean we can let her stay this way. Her Highness’s circumstances have changed. Many nobles now look to her for guidance. Her contributions to the kingdom can’t be made by anyone else. If she doesn’t realize that, it will only cause her trouble in the future. Not to mention for Queen Euphyllia.” “You’re a stubborn man, aren’t you…?” “U-um…Tilty? Navre? Please try to relax…,” I interrupted, hoping to get them to cool down. “Navre, I think what Tilty is trying to say is that even though you’re right, you need to give Lady Anis time to accept your advice.” “…I understand that she wasn’t treated as a member of the royal family for years, and that she isn’t used to her current situation. Still, she has to learn to adapt sometime, doesn’t she?” “You can’t expect her to immediately have confidence in those who made her feel small for so long,” I said. I purposefully kept a harsh edge to my words. Navre gawked. “Are you taking her distrust of the nobility into account, Navre?” I continued. “People were always criticizing her behind her back. Yes, I think she’s beginning to open up now, but wounds like that don’t heal quickly…” “That’s…true, yes.” “You raise excellent points. However, no one can learn how to properly conduct themselves without time and the right opportunities. That’s why we give people a lengthy education. It’s why practice and patience are so important. Lady Anis has less experience in this than most others. Lady Tilty is saying we need to give her time to catch up, and if we want her to move faster, we need to think carefully about how to encourage her.” I stole a quick glance at Tilty, watching as she turned away with a huff. Navre’s expression darkened as he heaved a tired sigh. “…That won’t be easy. I don’t know how to handle her.” “Who do you think Lady Anis trusts more, Master Navre? You or Gark?” “…You’re telling me to act more like him?” “No. My advice is to be more flexible around her. From what you’ve seen, do you think she places a lot of trust in conventional relationships?” “…No.” “We all see her as an individual, and we follow her because we respect who she is as a person. I don’t serve her because she’s royalty. It’s fine to respect her position and give her your loyalty as a subject. But you also need to see her as her.” “I see…” “If you insist on sticking to a master–subject relationship, you’ll only hurt her. Please try to remember that. That’s why Tilty is angry. Because she’s Lady Anis’s friend.” “Don’t put words in my mouth, Lainie,” Tilty muttered, reaching out to grab me by the cheeks. “Argh!” Her pinch hurt, but I could hardly let go of the Airbike, so I just had to endure it. Navre heaved a deep sigh. A visible crease had emerged between his eyebrows. “…That will be very difficult for me.” “It might look easy to build a relationship with someone, but it can be challenging, too,” I told him. “Lady Anis is complicated, in many ways. I think you should just be honest with your feelings, Master Navre. You want to serve her as royalty, and you want her to trust you and act properly.” “…That’s what I’ve been saying.” “That all comes from your sense of duty. That’s why Lady Anis doesn’t like it. If it came from your heart, I’m sure she would hear you out.” “…So that’s it.” “If you want to get through to her, be open about how you feel,” Tilty added. “She tends to keep her distance from people when she doesn’t understand their thoughts or feelings.” Navre fell silent again, breaking into a stern frown at our explanations. I felt a little sorry for him, but he had to figure out a way to work with Lady Anis. After all, she was a great individual, but she wasn’t without her flaws. She had a vulnerable side, so we all needed to know how best to support her. I hoped that Navre would find his own answer. I wonder if they’re all right down there…? The forest below was eerily quiet. The wind was all we could hear. “Achoo!” “Are you cold, Lady Anis?” Garkie asked, worried. “A little. The rainy season only just ended, so it’s a bit chilly out here,” I answered, squinting as I glanced farther into the woodland. I felt my expression hardening as we delved deeper into Filwach Forest. “…Lady Anis? Is everything okay?” Garkie must have noticed my heightened caution, as his tone had taken on a serious note. “Do you want to know what I really think?” “Please. I’m probably thinking the same thing…” “It’s really creepy in here.” “Tell me about it…” We exchanged glances to make sure that we had both sensed it. “I’m not surprised those adventurers were scared out of their wits,” Garkie said. “This place is spooky.” “It’s unnaturally quiet,” I nodded. “I can’t sense any living creatures at all. Not one…” “Forget about monsters, I haven’t seen any birds or beasts, either. It’s hard to believe we’re actually in a forest…” Yes, we had both sensed this unnatural quiet. It was clearly wrong, somehow. There were no animals. Not even any birds. There were lingering traces of life here once, but too much time had passed to figure out where it had all gone. This place was supposed to be abundant in greenery and wildlife, but the only discernible noise was the swaying of trees in the wind. It was like every last living thing had somehow vanished, and my feeling of foreboding was stronger than ever. “This also isn’t the calm before a stampede, right?” Garkie asked. “No. It’s more difficult to make sense of—and more ominous, to say the least. Something is definitely happening here, but I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this before.” “…What should we do? Shall we send up a signal and turn back?” “…I want to go a little farther in. Hopefully we can find some clues as to what’s behind all this, at least.” I’d promised Navre that we wouldn’t wander too far into the forest, but if we failed to turn up anything, I wouldn’t be able to shake my anxiety. I felt a little guilty about it, but I decided to keep going. Garkie was by my side. But there was still no sign of any animals or birds. It was simply quiet. The sound of our footsteps as we walked reverberated like thunderclaps. “Why does it feel so weird, though?” Garkie asked. “I don’t know. That’s what worries me.” “Right… If the animals and monsters had been attacked or driven away, there ought to be some sign of the disturbance.” “But there’s nothing. I can’t even think of any monsters that could have done this. It’s unsettling. If we could find something to explain all this, at least I wouldn’t feel so on edge.” We continued to push ahead. Garkie was right. How could everything have vanished, without leaving so much as a trace? It was like they had just been just living their lives, until one day, they were spirited away en masse… At that moment, I stopped in my tracks. A distant scent was tickling my nose. “Lady Anis?” “Quiet, Garkie,” I whispered. He was confused, but he obeyed. I concentrated on the smell and recognized it as blood. It was so faint that I had to wonder whether someone was deliberately trying to hide it. I tried to follow the trail, and Garkie did his best to move as quietly as possible. He soon noticed it, too. We had to walk for some time, but we did eventually come across the source. “…Wh-what the hell is this?” “This is awful…” What we found could only be described as barbaric. It was the corpse of a monster, violently torn to shreds. It had been devoured, with those parts that the perpetrator deemed inedible casually discarded. “What a mess. Whatever did this ate everything it could and left the rest…” And there was something else bothering me. The remains of the monster’s body had been burned to a crisp. I couldn’t tell whether these burns had been the cause of death or occurred after its death. In any case, I wasn’t familiar with any monsters that displayed this sort of behavior. “Cooking its prey before consuming it? That sounds almost human…,” I wondered aloud. “…Are there any monsters like that?” Garkie asked. “None that I can think of.” This was definitely an unusual situation. I set about looking for further clues when I sensed it—a prickling, as if a fire had been lit on the nape of my neck. Something wanted me dead. My body reacted immediately, drawing the Celestial and bracing myself. “Lady Anis! Watch out!” Garkie cried. At that moment, something came flying for me, forcing me to shield myself with the Celestial. It was a stone, about the size of a human fist. It bounced along the ground, radiating enough heat to scorch the leaves of nearby bushes. What on earth could have thrown that rock? I turned in the direction from which it had come. The next moment, a figure emerged from the depths of the forest—a man with bull-like horns protruding from his head. With his ultra-muscular physique, he didn’t look at all like an ordinary person—but even more startling was the fact that his body was shrouded in flames. “What the…?!” “He’s too humanlike to be a monster… Is that a demi-human?!” “Augh, aaauuuggghhh!” the figure roared. Garkie and I stared. As the cry rattled in our heads—a disorderly mixture of grief, wrath, and malice—the heat swelled even higher. It would probably burn my lungs if I breathed it in too deeply. With a scream that shook the air, the flaming demi-human swung his fists my way. I quickly backed away, keeping my distance while Garkie stepped forward to shield me. The burning creature flailed his arms and made contact with Garkie’s sword. A high-pitched, metallic screech rang through the trees. “Whoa…! This guy’s powerful!” Garkie cried, stumbling back from the unexpected impact. The demi-human wasn’t about to let that opportunity pass, launching a powerful kick for his target’s gut. Garkie quickly leaped back to parry the blow—but as he moved away, the demi-human shifted his attention back to me. “Haah…!” I deployed my magic sword, moving to cut the creature down. The blade rapidly dispelled the flames and sank into my attacker’s arm. I tried to follow through and completely dismember the limb, but the resistance was too strong. “Lady Anis!” “Garkie! Signal Tilty and the others!” I instructed as I pushed back against the creature. Without wasting a moment, Garkie released three magic shots into the sky—the emergency signal that we had agreed on before setting out. Tilty and the others would know to hurry down. “Gaaauuuggghhh!” The flames roiling from the creature’s body swelled once more as if to rip me apart, and a new burst of heat exploded outward. I wouldn’t be able to cut through his arms, I realized. Instead, I kicked the deformed figure in the stomach. I risked burning myself, but it was my only chance to fall back. The man-creature staggered, but he quickly found his stance again, flailing his fists at me. “Why, you…!” I swung the Celestial around to defend myself against the oncoming fist, and while my blade cut easily through the flames, the arm stopped it again. But my attacker didn’t emerge unscathed. Blood gushed from his wound, and the force of my blow had alarmed him. He leaped backward. “…So hot…!” I gasped. Those flames engulfed the man head to toe, so I couldn’t get too close. I had to keep my distance, but the figure was fast and incredibly agile. Those flames had to be the result of some kind of magical effect, but even when I dispelled the magic with my sword, his body was tough enough to withstand the attack. …He is going to be a pain… But no enemy was invincible. If I unleashed more of my dragon power, maybe that would do the trick! It would probably also help to boost the strength of my blade enough to deal real damage. This was one inexplicable opponent, but I would have to deal with him first and get some answers later. With that in mind, I readied the Celestial. All of a sudden, a voice pierced the air. “Oh, this won’t do. Not at all. This prey is mine.” Letting my intuition guide me, I leaped backward a good distance to a safe vantage point. The next moment, a gigantic snake slithered out from amid the trees, turning its head to the deformed figure and coiling around him. “A-aaauuuggghhh!” The man struggled to free himself, but the snake only tightened its grip. After a moment, a woman emerged from the shadows of the trees. Her long blue hair and crimson eyes possessed a bewitching light, while her faint smile was no less mesmerizing. “She’s controlling the monster…?!” Garkie exclaimed. “Oh-ho-ho… Now this is a quandary.” The woman chuckled. “I came here only to collect my prey… So how about we pretend this never happened?” Her facial expressions remained unchanged, but the light hidden in her shockingly red eyes grew in intensity. A wave of unease fell over me—a kind that I was well acquainted with. She was attempting to alter our perceptions in some way. “Garkie! She’s trying to charm you! Don’t make eye contact!” “G-got it!” A charm ability. I had experienced it many times now with Lainie, though this one was especially unpleasant. Garkie must have sensed it for himself, as he shook his head in an effort to regain control of his senses. He, however, was unable to fully withstand its effects, and so he ended up shielding his eyes with one hand. Those crimson eyes, with their bewitching gleam and their ability to ensnare those who looked into them… In other words, this woman could only be one thing. “Lady Anis! What’s going on?!” a voice called from overhead, interrupting my thoughts. Tilty, Lainie, and Navre quickly descended on their Airbikes to join us. “What in the world…?!” “Be careful! That woman is a vampire! And she can manipulate monsters!” “A vampire?!” Navre startled, bracing himself as he fixed the woman with a glare. Tilty’s expression turned grim, while Lainie stared back at the vampire in astonishment. “Who are you people? How do you know about vampires? And those mysterious vehicles of yours…” The woman’s smile vanished as she watched us suspiciously. Her eyes lit up, however, the minute she spotted Lainie. “…Tiris? No, you’re someone else… But you look just like her…” “Huh…? You know my mother?!” “…Your mother? Oh? Ho-ho-ho, ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” The woman choked on her laughter. When finally she managed to catch her breath, she stared at Lainie. The pressure in her gaze was so strong, Lainie had to take a step back. “Tiris had a daughter?! That traitor?! Yes, you’re hers, all right! No wonder you know about vampires!” “T-traitor…?” “Yes indeed! A betrayer, irredeemable! An eccentric! An idiot! And so pitiful! And you’re hers, daughter to that wretched fool!” The way the woman’s eyes moved, taking everything in while remaining utterly composed, was bizarre, almost uncanny—as if looking at us, but not seeing us. The mood was so heavy that none of us dared make a sound. “I’m curious about those tools of yours as well. Yes, yes indeed. Then perhaps I’ll help you? Daughter of Tiris, child of that wretched, hopeless traitor—why don’t you come with me?” Huh…?” “You know nothing, you poor thing. We’ll forgive you. We’ll save you. So, come with me.” “Wh-what are you talking about?! My mother was no traitor!” “Oh, but she was! A fool who turned her back on our noble mission! You don’t even understand what I mean, do you? You poor soul. Is that why you’ve joined these humans?” The vampire woman continued her display of grief, as if she had just witnessed a terrible tragedy. It was clear from the way she was talking to Lainie that she didn’t like any of us. “…Sounds like you’re not fond of humans. Do you expect us to just do what you say?” I interjected. Having regained her composure, the vampire woman flashed us a soft grin and lifted her hands to her cheeks. “Oh, fear not. Your pitiful lives are in safe hands. I will take you mercifully.” The vampire woman’s shadow undulated and shimmered—and a huge thing emerged behind her. With a sickening squelching sound, a bloody lump of flesh took shape at her back, like dough being kneaded. “What…?!” “She’s summoning monsters from her own flesh…?!” Wriggling and writhing, the creature—no, creatures—peeled themselves away from the vampire woman. They all had crimson eyes, all of them turning with vacant stares to take us in. “Now, you too shall join us!”
Chapter 90
20 min read