“Yeah, exactly that,” Heki replied. Tempera Village descended from a group of mercenaries that the Arcana Kingdom had kept secret. It was also home to an astonishing ten Rare Art bloodlines, a literal powerhouse of a village. “To be honest, I want all ten bloodlines. However, I realize it would be more or less impossible to do so right now. It wouldn’t go well at all.” Sukreen had failed in that regard. Although it was wrong of her to hide it and use it maliciously, the Art of the Shrine Maiden was a useful Rare Art. She should have been kinder to the girls from that bloodline, and she also should have built good relations with the village they were from.
“If possible, I would like you to acquire one of their experts to work as a teacher, like my older brother did. Then, if we’re unable to acquire the bloodline, we can at least secure the technique...” By older brother, Heki meant Tahlan. The three of them were a little shook up just from hearing his name. Even though he had been indirectly praised, they all were happy about it.
“Well, anyway, like Toris said, first try to build up a foundation after you’ve made your greetings. If we take it slow and steady, it increases the likelihood of things going well.” He hadn’t told them to do absolutely everything they could to bring back the bloodline. Instead, he had told them to take something with them and get to know the people there. It was a reasonable job and only suitable for those who could be responsible. Not to mention, going back and forth would take a lot of time. This might as well be a kind of punishment for the three young women.
“Ran of the Silver Demon is detested by the people of her hometown and is unable to return. However, she often returns to the village to train the other four. I want you three to tag along. I have already spoken about this with Arcana, so if you won’t go, someone will go in your place.” Similar to how Sansui and the others had all left their towns for a year and a half, the young women would be spending a year and a half of their youth on this task. Although, being able to restore their honor in such a short time made it all worthwhile.
“Understood, Your Highness Heki.”
“I will do my best to protect the kingdom.”
“I am incredibly grateful for your consideration.”
They had no reason to decline.
Thus, the trio of Deyiaoe Utto, Magyan Toris, and Baigao Shiyoki had become envoys for the Magyan Kingdom. Traveling alongside Four Vessels Yabia, Bursting Venom Suji, Drunken Fist Kazuno, and Mist Shadow Konoko, they headed towards Tempera Village. On the road, they had real reason to be glad that they were with a delegation from Arcana, as the three women from Magyan had no attendants with them. None of them had anticipated it being this long of a journey, so the trio was struggling. It wasn’t an issue of stamina; they were having trouble keeping up with the Temperans’ pace.
Despite that, they carried on with their journey until they were a day’s walk from Tempera Village. The seven of them huddled around a campfire, feeling relieved that tomorrow would be their last day on the road. Everyone was feeling relaxed, so Yabia decided to address the trio. “Um, so, I’ve got something I’d like to ask you...” If she were to say something careless, she could cause problems for Ran and Sunae. Regardless, she went ahead and asked, completely letting her curiosity get the best of her. “Oh, if you don’t want to say, that’s totally fine, okay? It’s nothing big or anything... If it’s inappropriate, I’ll shut up...” Yabia said, rambling on a bit.
Utto, Toris, and Shiyoki all glanced at one another, noticing her awkward way of speaking. “You don’t need to worry about us being royals. We plotted a revolt, after all, and we lost at the royal exhibition match. You can address us more casually,” Utto responded. The three of them had come this far without even a single attendant, so their position was plainly obvious. They were prisoners without chains.
“That’s what I don’t get.” Suji, Kazuno, and Konoko all nodded along as Yabia said what they were all thinking. “I get that Prince Tahlan is popular. Even by our standards, he’s a great guy, he’s popular in the Arcana Kingdom, and he usually attracts every lady’s eye whenever he’s traveling somewhere.” Tahlan was a hit with the ladies and everyone knew that. He was the prince of a great nation, he was attractive, he had a good personality, and he was both strong and smart. Every woman who knew him liked him. However, Yabia had no idea how someone could be so in love with a man that they would plan a revolt on his behalf. “That said, there’s never been anyone else who’s even come close to committing a crime. You all went as far as plotting treason for him. I don’t understand why.”
They understood the queen’s feelings and why she had wanted him to be king. They could also understand the pain and regret he must have felt if he had been unable to take the crown due to problems with his talents. However, they couldn’t understand why these three in particular had joined in as fighters. They had been blessed with the Royal Presence, born into one royal family or another, then trained as skilled warriors. Even if Tahlan couldn’t become king, he would still certainly have lived a joyous and fulfilling life. Was it worth throwing all of their gifts away for one man? The four of them, who had left their village seeking opportunity, struggled to understand.
“Well...um...”
“Even though we weren’t in any sort of relationship with Prince Tahlan, and Prince Tahlan had no desire for it, we went ahead and did it anyway... That’s what you’re asking about, right?” Magyan Toris said, filling in for Yabia’s awkward silence.
“Yes...”
If Prince Tahlan had been having relations with all seven of the princesses and he wanted to use them in order to become king, they could have understood that. However, the seven princesses, who had no relationship with Prince Tahlan whatsoever, had selfishly barged in and tried to make him king.
“As you can tell by my name, I am a Magyan, so my situation was different from the other six. I’ll explain my side.” As it hadn’t evolved into a full-blown revolt and had instead been hushed up, usually talking about the reason behind the events wouldn’t be allowed. However, they were far from Magyan with no one around. Moreover, they were speaking with martial artists who had asked, yet who were uninvolved in their local politics. “To put it bluntly, I can’t say I didn’t think I would get something out of it...”
“By getting something out of it, does she mean...?”
“I think so, based on context... She’s very open about it.”
Two of the Temperan women thus whispered amongst themselves.
“Besides that, I felt that Prince Tahlan had the right to be king.” Toris continued to speak, ignoring the secret conversation between the martial artists. “As you all know, Prince Tahlan is a wonderful person. We thought it wasn’t a good enough reason to deny him the throne just because he didn’t have the Royal Presence.” Disregarding what she had said first, Toris’s words made sense. “Though it is the custom and has over time become law, I thought it would be beneficial for the country if that were to change.”
The reason Sunae was next in line instead of Tahlan was, to put it crudely, simply tradition. Surrounding nations followed the same custom, so it’s not like Magyan was the odd one out; however, if Magyan were to adopt a new method, such a change would have been accepted. If anything, it would have made more sense logically. “However...looking at it now, going as far as to plan a revolt was...a result of us not seeing the bigger picture.” Tahlan and the others had said the same thing—there wasn’t actually an issue with Heki and the other eligible heirs.
So what was the reason for them revolting and trying to make Prince Tahlan king? “We thought we had to do everything we could to make him king, even if he didn’t want it himself.” Magyan Toris had acknowledged her own recklessness, even though anyone could be susceptible to that sort of heedless idealism. The martial artists knew of that all too well and could all sympathize. “At least, that was my reasoning... I don’t know about the others.” Within the Magyan Kingdom, there was the idea that Tahlan should become king. Although the other kingdoms understood that, what would they think about it?