“Let me take you to the place where my father will be filming tomorrow.”
When Ivan made that proposal over dinner, Lombard and Yomi eagerly accepted. Now, the two of them were riding with him in the House of Juniro’s carriage to a small village just outside Van, where Moltov was at work. The destination wasn’t far.
They arrived at what seemed an ordinary farming village...but it felt a little more old-fashioned than most. Brick windmills dotted the fields, the roads were unpaved, and a meter-high wall of piled stone circled the settlement, though it was questionable whether the wall served any defensive purpose at all.
These days, most of the Kingdom’s roads were paved, and even the countryside saw enough travelers that a place this rustic was rare. For Souma, it might have been comparable to the red brick warehouses of Yokohama, or the preserved historic districts of Takehara or Kurashiki—quiet nostalgia frozen in time.
“Is he really filming in this village?” Lombard asked as Yomi, who’d been first to step down, helped him out of the carriage.
Ivan nodded, glancing up at the brilliant sun overhead.
“It’s around noon, so they should be in the middle of the broadcast. We’ve managed to increase production of the mini-jewels, but the recording feature is still being researched.”
The mini-jewels had made it possible to shoot multiple programs, but unlike the original broadcast jewels, they lacked recording and playback functions. Even with the originals, recording had only recently been unlocked, so it wasn’t something easily replicated yet.
This village feels nostalgic...but not exactly charming, Lombard thought as he looked around. To his eyes, it held little appeal.
And yet, the people of Friedonia had found value in such places, and were putting that value to use.
Remus, still in the midst of rebuilding, had plenty of ruins. Perhaps, Lombard mused, preserving some of them might also be worthwhile.
That was when it happened...
“Eeeeeek!!!”
A desperate cry rang out from the center of the village.
“Nooo! Somebody help!”
“Huh?! What’s happening?!”
“Lord Lom!”
Lombard instinctively reached for the sword at his hip, moving to shield Yomi. He was about to charge towards the source of the scream when Ivan and Margarita rushed in front of them, blocking their path.
“P-Please, wait! I told you! They’re in the middle of a shoot right now!”
“Please, settle down.”
Ivan looked desperate as he tried to hold them back.
Seeing this, Lombard exhaled slowly and released his grip on the sword’s hilt. A shoot... So the scream we heard was part of the act?
With the tension diffused, the group continued into the village.
They came upon a crowd gathered in front of a farmer’s house. Behind the spectators stood a broadcast crew operating a mini-jewel, and beyond them was the scene being filmed: a girl in an old-fashioned dirndl, styled to resemble a farmer’s daughter, struggling as a group of rough-looking men tried to drag her away.
“Dad! Dad!!!”
“Oh, please! If nothing else, spare my daughter!”
The girl fought desperately, while her father clutched at the men’s legs, begging them to release her.
The thugs only sneered.
“Little lady, if you’re gonna resent anyone, resent your old man for failing to pay back what he owes.”
“B-But the interest was changed after I signed the contract... It’s too high... P-Please, just give me a little more time!”
“Shut your mouth! You’re the one who put your stamp on the deal!”
The men kicked the father away and then trampled over him.
Just then, a well-dressed middle-aged man, clearly the ringleader, stepped forward. He seized the girl, clamped a hand over her mouth, and pulled her against him.
“Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure your little girl’s real well taken care of at my place.”
“Nooo!”
The girl screamed as the men leered at her with depraved grins. If Lombard hadn’t been told it was an act, he would have cut them down on the spot.
And then—
Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.
“Gwugh?!”
A fan hurtled through the air and struck the ringleader’s arm. With a grunt of pain, he released the girl, who stumbled free.
“Who did that?!” he roared.
At that moment, a carriage rolled up, its horses’ hooves clattering against the ground. It came to a stop directly before the gang, clearly staged for dramatic effect. Two coachmen—one wearing a tiger mask, the other a wolf—stepped down and helped a lady disembark. Her hair gleamed in the light, her features were strikingly beautiful, and her age was impossible to guess.
“Wh-What?! Who are you?!” the ringleader demanded, slightly unsettled.
The lady drew a second fan, identical to the one she had thrown, and slapped it lightly against her palm like a whip meant to tame wild beasts.
“One, where light does not shine. Two, for the sake of those who hide their tears. Three, I will render justice brilliantly! With the hammer of the Queen in the Shadows!”
Her clear, melodious voice rang out as she leveled her fan at the ringleader.
“Not only have you burdened this honest farmer with an unjust debt, you would also dare to lay hands on his daughter. Such barbarism is beneath even wild beasts. I cannot allow it to stand.”
“What’re you on about?! You may be dressed fancy, but what can one rich woman do? Bah, no matter! Cut her down!”
As he gave the order, the lady smiled.
“I am not alone.”
“What?!”
“Kagetora. Kagerou. Teach them a lesson, if you please.”
““Yes’m!””
The masked coachmen cast aside their uniforms, revealing themselves to be ninjas. In a flash they sprang into the fray, cutting through the villains with lethal precision.
Meanwhile, the lady called out to the rotund man still hiding in the carriage.
“Pancho, take the girl somewhere safe.”
“Y-Yes! Right away, ma’am!”
At once, “paunchy Pancho” waddled out of the carriage, hustled the girl away from the fighting, and reunited her with her father.
“Father!”
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe!”
The two embraced tightly while Kagetora and Kagerou continued their assault. Their skill was overwhelming, leaving the thugs at a clear disadvantage. A few men tried to break through by rushing the lady herself, but she produced a staff from seemingly nowhere and laid them out one by one.
Realizing the tide had turned, the ringleader began inching backwards. But...
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
“Gubragh?!”
A fan struck the back of his head, dropping him to the ground in a cloud of dust.
With that, the lady clapped her hands lightly.
“Kagetora, Kagerou, I think that’s enough.”
The masked men immediately pulled back and raised their voices.
“Everyone, be silent!”
“Back! Back, I say!”
They struck down any lingering resistance, restoring order. Then, once the chaos had quieted enough for ordinary speech, Kagerou vaulted into the coachman’s seat with a cry of “Hi-yah!” He maneuvered the carriage so that everyone could see its far side where the crest of the Royal House of Elfrieden was emblazoned.
“Th-That crest...!”
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
The ringleader’s face paled as the truth dawned on him. Please, let it be a mistake, his expression silently pleaded. But Kagetora’s booming words crushed that last hope.
“Who do you take this lady for?! You stand before the former Queen of Elfrieden, Elisha Elfrieden!”
From an unseen location, a grand pipe organ blared as a radiant halo of light formed behind the lady...Elisha. (Almost certainly the handiwork of the House of Juniro’s magic.)
As panic spread among the villains, Kagerou leapt down from the carriage and shouted, “People! You stand before the former queen! Bow down at once!”
“““Y-Yes, sir!”””
The ringleader, his men, the farmer, and his daughter all dropped to their knees, pressing their foreheads to the dirt. Of course they did. Even after all these years, defying Elisha, a direct descendant of the royal line, was nothing short of treason.
This was the climax. What judgment would she render now?
““...””
Meanwhile, Lombard and Yomi could only exchange yet another bewildered look as they struggled to process the absurd spectacle unfolding before them.