“I mean, Alte Schloss is more... you know?” Hydemary said, bringing up the Society’s headquarters. “That place is more striking... or more eccentric.”
“Magicians remodeled that place half to death, remember?” Suimei said. “Obviously it’s gonna have different vibes. It’s a total haunt among haunts. You can’t lump that place with other castles.”
“Something’s strange...” Lefille commented grimly.
“Hm? What do you mean, Lefi?” Suimei asked.
“Something in the air,” Lefille said. “Nobody is here, but I can tell something is going on.”
“Hm...?” Suimei remained confused by her unclear answer.
“The air... is prickly,” Liliana agreed.
“It’s as if we’re in the middle of a battle,” Lefille elaborated. “The atmosphere outside is different from usual.”
“Is it?”
Suimei turned his attention to the window. The sky was dark and cloudy. And since the town and its walls were largely made of stone, there was a lot of gray outside.
It was while looking outside that Suimei noticed that nobody was walking around on the streets. The city had been far livelier the last time he’d seen it.
This was definitely strange. What’s more, parts of the walls appeared to be damaged.
“Suimei, there!” Hatsumi yelled, leaning out the window in a fluster. “Over there! On the closest wall! Look!”
“The wall...? Huh? What’s that?” Suimei followed Hatsumi’s finger and saw a flag flying over the wall.
A beat later, Felmenia raised her voice. “The winged flag is raised above the tower! A siege?!”
“Yes, the same happened when Saadias was attacked...” Hatsumi said. “I saw the same kind of flag back then too.”
“So the capital is being attacked right now?!” Suimei asked in a fluster.
Suimei, Felmenia, and Hatsumi were clearly thrown off by the unexpected situation. In contrast, the other three appeared calm; Liliana simply didn’t let her panic show, Hydemary wasn’t capable of much expression to begin with, and Lefille had predicted this was the case from the beginning.
What could they possibly be fighting...? Well, there was no need to ask. It was practically impossible for a human army to be attacking right now, so the obvious answer was demons.
Felmenia urged the group on with a stiff expression and hurried down the corridor. Once they found someone, she called out to him in a voice demanding answers.
“You there! What’s the situation?!”
“Wh-White Flame?!” the man yelped. “When did you return?!”
“Now’s not the time for that!” Felmenia yelled. “Explain the situation! Briefly! Is King Almadious unharmed?!”
“Ma’am! Demons have invaded our territory and have reached the capital! We’re currently defending the city! His Majesty is in the briefing room! Reiji-sama, Princess Titania, and the honored hero of El Meide are with him!”
“A demon invasion?!” Felmenia shouted.
“Yes! Demons suddenly appeared within our borders!”
“What were the northern nobles doing?” Felmenia asked.
“According to reports from those we’ve sent out the long way around, there is no evidence the demons passed through their territories.”
“That’s impossible...” Felmenia muttered.
“The demons manifested around eighty kilometers from the walls. They then proceeded to attack the capital directly...”
Demons had appeared out of nowhere. It was an outrageous story, but not impossible. That man was among the demons, after all.
Felmenia dismissed the man she was questioning, who gave her a quick bow before returning to his duties.
“Well, things have gotten pretty crazy here,” Suimei remarked.
“Astel has had minor conflicts with its neighbors, but never anything of this scale...” Felmenia commented.
“To think I would have the opportunity to kill some demons immediately upon returning...” Lefille said, an air of delight in her voice.
“We only trained for a short period, but it’s time to show the results,” Hatsumi added cheerfully.
“Indeed,” Lefille agreed.
“I’m worried... about Mizuki,” Liliana mumbled anxiously.
“Yeah. This is a first for her...” Suimei agreed.
Mizuki had only just recovered from being in that condition. The mental strain this situation must have exerted on her worried him. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom.
“Elliot being here is a relief,” Suimei said. “Things should work out one way or another with him around.”
“You’re right,” Felmenia agreed. “Elliot-dono is very reliable.”
“How unexpected...” Liliana said, looking at Suimei suspiciously. “I didn’t think... you assessed El Meide’s hero... so highly. You always... curse at him.”
“This and that are different matters,” Suimei said. “He definitely knows his way around a fight. Anyway, where’s this briefing room?”
“Follow me.”
Felmenia led the group toward the briefing room where Reiji and the others were. Before long, they reached the doors, and Felmenia approached the royal guard who was standing on duty outside.
“White Flame!”
“Good work. Are His Majesty and Reiji-sama inside?” she asked.
“Y-Yes!”
“Then allow me through.”
“No, um, you may enter... but the others...”
“Not a problem. I’ll take responsibility. If anyone asks, I am entirely to blame.”
Felmenia had an unusual air of authority about her. Where had her typical airheaded behavior gone? Hatsumi rubbed her eyes as if to rid her sight of a sudden illusion.
“That’s... Felmenia-san, right?” she whispered.
“It is...” Liliana whispered in agreement.
“This is certainly unexpected...” Lefille joined in.
Almost everyone here was witnessing it for the first time. Well, she’d acted all haughty like this before too. Or maybe it was better to say she’d led a social life where this kind of attitude had been a necessity.
On the heels of Felmenia’s no-nonsense approach, Suimei’s group was ushered into the room. Inside were King Almadious, Reiji, Mizuki, Graziella, Elliot, Christa, and what looked like several officers. They were surrounding a large table, looking at a map of the capital.
“Your Majesty! Felmenia Stingray has returned!” the guard announced.
“Ooh, Felmenia. You’ve come back,” the king greeted her.
“Sire. I received a brief explanation on the way,” Felmenia said. “It seems this is quite the emergency.”
“Indeed it is,” the king agreed. “We cannot afford to be careless.”
And as that went on, spotting Reiji’s completely bewildered look, Suimei called out to him.
“Yo. I’m back?”
“Wha?! Suimei?!”
“Suimei-kun?! Why are you in Astel?!” Mizuki shouted.
“Something unexpected happened. Here, your souvenir.”
With that, Suimei held out a gift like he was a father returning from a drinking party.
“Oh, mm, thanks... Wait, now’s not the time for that!” Mizuki yelled.
“Seems so. Sounds like you’re under siege or something?” Suimei asked.
“Yeah. Demons suddenly popped up out of nowhere right next to the capital...” Mizuki confirmed.
“Well, you know. I’m glad you’re both safe,” Suimei told her and Reiji.
“You decided to show up awfully late,” Graziella commented cynically.
“A bunch happened to us too,” Suimei explained. “Besides, there was stuff we had to do there to help here, yeah? Though we did fit in some time to kick back and relax too.”
“I see. Meaning you have plenty of energy,” Graziella said. “Seems there’s no need for restraint.”
“At any rate, I never thought I would see you within Astel’s briefing room, Princess Graziella,” Felmenia remarked.
“Neither did I,” Graziella agreed. “Those demons truly do not discriminate.”
“Graziella-sama,” Liliana said. “It has been... a long time.”
“Indeed it has. I’m glad to see you in good health, Liliana Zandyke... But what is that stuffed doll?” Graziella asked.
“This is... Mr. Penguin,” Liliana answered. “Very... very important.”
“O-Oh. It’s awfully cute. Is it some sort of magical tool?” Graziella said, coming to an odd conclusion. “I’ve heard of such spells.”
“Huh? Oh, yes. That’s right.” Liliana averted her eyes.
“Like I thought,” Graziella said, petting the penguin as Liliana held out it to her.