“Fancy meeting you here,” I said. “I thought the fortress I saw earlier seemed familiar.”
The signs were there. No matter how vast the silver seas were, I couldn’t imagine anyone else capable of creating Zeridheavens. It was a ship without being a ship, and a castle without being a castle—in other words, the soul of the artist Farris Noin.
“Are your memories intact?” I asked.
He nodded with a gentle expression. “Once Syrica has been used, its radiance never fades. Not even in the seas outside the world.”
Syrica was restricted magic that only existed in Militia’s World. But it seemed that as long as it had been cast, the spell remained effective even if the source flowed to a different world entirely. Militia’s World was on level zero—the shallowest possible world—meaning its order and magic laws applied to all miniature worlds below it in deeper levels. Syrica’s activation was restricted, but as long as the magic laws were there, it remained effective during rebirth.
“Living among those who don’t believe in reincarnation couldn’t have been easy. You must have suffered,” I said.
“Enough to tell everyone it was my past history instead of my past life.”
As Militia’s World had been an ephemeral world, there was no way of proving it existed. In worlds where Syrica didn’t exist the idea of reincarnation must have sounded like complete nonsense.
“But to reminisce in solitude was just another form of beauty,” he continued.
I laughed in spite of myself. “You haven’t changed.”
“Neither have you, Your Majesty,” Farris said, then immediately shook his head. “No. You’ve become even stronger.”
“As have you.”
Just by facing him like this, I could tell he had more powerful magic hidden within him. That was only natural—he had reincarnated in a deep-level world.
“Oh, that’s right. Sasha,” I said, calling her over. She had awkwardly hidden behind Misha while Farris and I spoke and at my call nervously stepped forwards. “Do you remember her?” I asked Farris. “She’s the feral child who burned your Zeridheavens to a crisp.”
“Hey! What kind of introduction is that?! I didn’t burn it because I wanted to!” she objected with a hiss.
“Your Sun of Destruction was a sinister force, terrifying yet captivating. There was beauty to it, however fleeting,” Farris said.
“Ah, um... Thank you... I’m sorry for burning your ship.”
Farris chuckled, smiling brightly. He understood what it meant for me to have Sasha by my side like this. “Your Majesty. Your aspiration has come true, has it not?”
“You should come see it for yourself—see Dilhade after the Great War. In fact, you can just come back to us. Working for someone like him must be suffocating.”
For a brief moment, a shadow fell over Farris’s face.
“Isn’t that rather rude?” a sharp voice said.
A man in the same uniform as Farris came walking over, a demon with short hair and a muscular body. There was a single sword by his waist that was the same shape as Farris’s—a castle sword, he had called it.
“Lord Kaltinas is the official ruler of Balandias,” the man said. “Is it the Militia way to slander others so shamelessly before meeting in the Silverwater Ranking Skirmish?”
“Hmm. And who are you?” I asked.
“Allow me to introduce myself. Family name Epala, first name Zaimon. Top student of the Tigrisfort Academy, bestowed with the role of Fearless Fortslasher by our chief god, the Royal Tiger Maytilen.”
Top student, huh? He had to be one of the top two in Balandias.
“If you were on board Zeridheavens back then, you should know that your ruler started it,” I replied.
“It’s common practice for the shallows to make way for the depths as they pass. You flagrantly neglected to do so,” Zaimon said in a deeply critical tone.
I smiled at him. “If I’d known that was the etiquette, I would have struck back, actually.”
Zaimon frowned. “The Immovable King’s Sky Fortress Zeridheavens is the fastest and sturdiest castle in the silver seas. A train from a shallow-level world wouldn’t even put a scratch on it.”
“No matter how far the wings of Zeridheavens can extend, as long as it’s used to parade around clowns, there will be plenty of opportunities to strike,” I replied.
Zaimon’s cutting glare burned with fury. “You take that back. I will not tolerate insults towards Balandias.”
“Tell that to your master. That’s your duty as a subordinate, no?”
Unable to hold back his anger any longer, Zaimon took a step forwards and in the same movement swiftly drew his sword. At the same time, Shin stepped in front of me and drew his demon sword from a magic circle. The saw blade clashed with the Ruinflow Sword Altocorasta.
“Zaimon, that is not beautiful,” Farris said. “Conflicts between academies must be resolved through the Silverwater Ranking Skirmish.”
He gestured at Ottolulu, reminding Zaimon that the Arbitration Goddess was watching.
“Please lower your sword. No matter what the customs of the Sacred Silverwater Sea are, as people, we must maintain our manners,” Farris then pleaded.
Zaimon glanced at him without moving.
“This man is the lord I served before I left on my journey as a wanderer. Consider it a favor to me,” Farris added.
Zaimon looked back at Shin, then lowered his sword.
“It means nothing to cut down a mere ephemeral world here and now, but since it’s a request from you... There’s no helping it. You will pay for insulting Balandias at the Silverwater Ranking Skirmish.” He pointed his castle sword at Shin. “And you. Are you an aide of the ruler? If you intend on crossing swords with the Fearless Fortslasher tomorrow, you’d best bring a better sword.”
With that, Zaimon finally sheathed his sword. As soon as he did so, the Ruinflow Sword in Shin’s hand snapped cleanly into two. Their single exchange of blows earlier had cracked it.
“If Farris hadn’t stopped me, your ruler’s head would have gone flying.” Zaimon turned around, showing us his back. To Farris, he said, “Make sure you draw the line clearly.”
“I know,” Farris replied. He looked at me apologetically for a moment. “The Immovable King Kaltinas noticed my talent when I was living quietly in a remote village. Our chief god, the Royal Tiger Maytilen, bestowed upon me the most honorable role in Balandias—the Silvercastle Creator. Together with Zaimon, we are now known as the two stars of the Tigrisfort Academy.”
Two stars, huh? The other students at the lecture had mentioned that earlier. Looked like no matter what world he was born in, Farris was a talented man.