“Are you awake, my lady?!”
The Nebulis palace, Star Spire.
The sky was still gloomy, and dawn had only broken enough to color the sky in a blush. Schwartz, who had arrived to wake the princess, couldn’t believe his eyes.
She was awake.
Sometimes, the princess did wake early on her own, of course, such as when she was hungry or when she had taken too long a nap the day before. These things did happen.
But this time…
“What in the world are you doing, my lady?”
She was sitting at her desk with a history book cracked open. She was even taking notes.
He couldn’t believe it.
“I’m studying.”
“You’re what?!”
These words, which would be the last thing the princess would say, made Schwartz drop the tea set in his hands.
“Oh?! P-pardon me! I can’t believe I did that…”
Mira didn’t respond.
She was too busy trying to get used to studying. She didn’t have the time to react to tea spilling on the floor or cups breaking on the ground.
“Schwartz, please leave my meal on the table.”
“A-as you wish… Um…” Schwartz peeked at her history textbook. “What has gotten into you, my lady? I thought you hated studying…”
“No reason in particular.”
She was copying vocabulary words from the textbook.
“I’m a princess, after all. I decided that I should be cultured to a minimum degree. Someone teased me for not being able to recite the names of the previous queens.”
“You were teased? By whom?”
“…”
Oh no.
Though she thought that in her head, Mira didn’t show it on her face.
“You’ve heard of them before.”
“Is it one of the palace’s vassals?”
“I’ll leave that to your imagination. As you can see, I’m busy. Now, if that’s all you’re here to talk about—”
“No, I had a very important report for you!” Schwartz hurried to straighten himself. “It is as follows: The parade in the vicinity of the palace has been canceled.”
“All right,” she replied, without looking at Schwartz.
She had no interest. Salinger would come to challenge her again within a few days. That was all she cared about.
However…
“More and more of the sorcerer Salinger’s victims have emerged by the day. The Fourth Division suffered a large case of arson, so we had to cancel the parade.”
“……Huh?”
Almost unconsciously, Mira stopped writing. Because she hadn’t been listening, she had only caught half of what the attendant had said. But she was sure she’d heard Schwartz say Salinger’s name.
“Schwartz, give me a more detailed report.”
“Yes. Since two weeks back or so, the central state has been plagued by frequent arson cases, resulting in injury. In every case, eyewitnesses claimed Salinger was responsible for the fires.”
Since two weeks ago?
That was strange. She and Salinger had been battling each other for weeks.
……He always ends up close to death after I defeat him.
……And he’s committing arson in that condition? While injured? That’s not possible.
She also couldn’t think of why he would do so.
Salinger was only after mages with the greatest astral powers. He wouldn’t go after civilians.
But most importantly…
✦ ✦ ✦
“The people are the audience for my performance. An actor who cannot respect their audience is second-rate!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Salinger adhered to a moral code. Though it was twisted, he had an unshakable aesthetic. Would the man who would choose death over betraying his ideals attack normal people?
“Schwartz, those reports can’t be true.”
“P-pardon me?! My lady, what makes you think that?”
“Just a hunch.”
That was because she had fought him two weeks ago. She considered simply saying that, but there was something she wanted to confirm first.
“Schwartz, where did this testimony come from?”
“The victims. At present, the Hydra are managing the investigation, as Sir Janess from the Astral Guard is one of the people who was attacked.”
Yes, she knew about the issue with the Astral Guard.
She had met Salinger on the day of the crime.
……That incident left a strong impression.
……Is that why everyone is blaming all the crimes that have occurred since on Salinger?
She could understand why they suspected him. But all these accusations were false.
Mira was conflicted. They hadn’t even bothered to get to know him, yet they looked down on him all the same. She didn’t like it.
She was the only one with the right to look down on him—since she was the only one who truly knew him.
“I see,” she murmured, as though she were trying to convince herself.
She let out a long breath, then shut her thick textbook with a thump.
“Schwartz, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Nebulis Sovereignty, western mountain range.
The place took five hours to reach by limited-express train from Saclaris Nebulica.
Had he been in the cheap seats, the journey would have been wearisome, but fortunately, Salinger was sitting in a first-class booth.
He had enough space to stretch his legs and had been offered cheese and sparkling wine during the journey.
“…So? Mira, did you think this would satisfy me?”
“Are you dissatisfied?”
“You’re wasting my time.”
It was a four-seat booth.
Salinger didn’t even bother to hide his irritation as he sat across from the princess.
Unusually, Mira had chosen the location of their next match. He had felt dubious when she had told him to come to the station in the evening, then brought him onto a train for a trip.
“Why did you change the location of our fight?”
“I’ll explain once we arrive.”
The golden-haired girl who replied was focused on reading a history textbook, for whatever reason. She wasn’t even looking at him.
Salinger, who had reached the limits of his boredom, started to stand.
“Actually…,” the girl murmured. She turned the page of her thick book. “Salinger, do you dislike the Sovereignty?”
The question was incredibly vague.
Salinger hesitated for a moment but decided to answer, as she apparently wanted him to.
“Not really.”
“So you just dislike the royal family?”
“That’s right.”
“What do you think of the Sovereignty’s civilians?”
“They’re the audience for my performance.”
“Yes, that’s right. You did say that.”
The conversation ended there.
He assumed silence had permanently settled around them until she spoke again.
“We’re headed to the rocky ridge of the Evess Mountain Range.”
“You mean that remote region?!”
For the first time in a while, Salinger raised his voice.
He had heard of the place before. Supposedly, even first-rate climbers steered clear of the region’s rocky areas, and many would-be adventurers had fallen or slipped there, never to be seen again.
“Interesting. So even you were growing bored of the normal battles we were having. Going to a secluded region ordinary people couldn’t even think of approaching is the perfect arena for our battle!”
“Yes. A band of thieves is hiding out in that area. Apparently, they’re all armed and have astral powers, so please be careful.”
“How ridiculous. Why would I…? Hmm?”
He stared at the girl across from him.
Then he narrowed his eyes.
“Mira, what did you just say?”
“I’d like help taking down the bandits. That is why we’re on this excursion.”
“You’re kidding me! Why would I—?”
“I can’t fight you until I finish this up. Despite how I may look, I am still a princess. I must fulfill my duties.”
She pushed the textbook to him, dead serious.
“I’ve memorized it. Please quiz me.”
“Hmm?”
“You claimed I was uncultured for being a princess, as I didn’t know the names of the previous queens. Thanks to your provocation, I decided to memorize them all.”
Mira didn’t even blink.
He wondered if maybe she really was just a doll, but Salinger couldn’t find it in himself to turn away when he saw her dewy eyes staring at him.
“Then how about this? If I get the answers right, will you help me?” she asked.