It was around that time that Analissia had bought out the city’s slums and turned them into the special development zone. The special development zone was officially created to bring relief to the poor and stimulate the economy. The Order of the Elect, who had previously been responsible for the welfare of the city’s poor, put up some resistance and had needed to be strong-armed to the extent that half of their members were banished from the city, but by now, people simply took their existence as a matter of fact.
There were all sorts of rumors surrounding the special development zone back then. They said that the dead there walked among the living. That Estoll had developed an elixir that returned the dead to life. That it was a place where one could reunite with lost loved ones. Whispers of the secret arts that had returned the king’s wife to the living spread all over the city.
At the time, Tina had thought that they were no more than rumors—the drunken ramblings of traveling bards, after all, could fan the flames of even the most outrageous tale. But the rumors spread further and further each day, from villagers to merchants, and in the end, even the nobility was asking questions about the special development zone.
And yet, the zone’s construction proceeded without incident. After all, it had brought prosperity to Estoll and enriched the common folk. A few dark rumors could be simply laughed off. And Estoll prospered with a puppet king on its throne.
The problems had started when Estoll began formally considering a declaration of war on the kingdom of Sindoria. It had been one thing to turn a blind eye to Analissia’s political manipulations when it had benefited the people, but this was another thing entirely. It was a war that promised no chance of victory. A one-sided declaration that would make the Holy Land Estoll’s enemy as well. It was an eventuality that had to be avoided at all costs. Many of Tina’s coreligionists, who had been brought up alongside her in the Holy Church of the Ancient Dragons, were enlisted in Estoll’s military. The last thing Tina wanted was to see them sent off to a senseless, futile war.
One day, William, the crown prince of Estoll, came to Tina with a request. “I suspect that Prime Minister Analissia Rainfiel may in fact be a loathsome demon. I realize what a shameful thing I am asking you to do, Tina, priestess of the fire dragon, but I need your strength to defeat that woman.”
Tina attacked in the dead of night. She’d watched carefully and struck at a time when Analissia’s two greatest allies, the girl with the Demon Eyes and the current chief court wizard, were away. But when she drew close, she found her mark ready.
“There you are,” Analissia said. “I’ve been waiting, you know.” Tina hadn’t spoken a word about the plan to anyone other than the prince, but somehow, Analissia knew everything. She had laid in wait and led Tina into a trap.
But Tina was a stronger fighter than Analissia had expected. She crushed the dolls sent after her and cut down the assassins. In the end, Analissia was forced to use the power of a demon. A pair of bat-like wings appeared on her back, her eyes turned red, and her alluring, voluptuous body sprouted an inhuman tail. If Tina had doubted William’s words, she now had proof.
They clashed swords, but something was wrong. Without warning, the power of the fire dragon in Tina’s body simply abandoned her. “No!”
And so, Tina found herself effortlessly defeated by the demon she had come to slay.
~ ‡ ~
Nacht froze up when she heard the story of Tina’s duel with Analissia. It wasn’t long ago that she’d beaten the fire dragon within an inch of its life for daring to hurt Aisha. It occurred to her that a dragon on the verge of death might not have had the spare power needed to extend its blessing to Tina. Was that my fault too? she wondered. The timing simply seemed too terrible to be believed.
“Miss Nacht? Is something wrong?”
“Ha ha!” Nacht laughed stiffly. “Never you mind that!” She coughed, hoping she had successfully deceived Tina. Tina gave her a suspicious look. “But that’s quite the wild plan, storming in all by yourself like that. You must be quite brave, Tina.”
“I-I wouldn’t say I’m particularly brave,” Tina said. “I am the priestess of the fire dragon. In terms of strength in battle, at least, I am confident that I’m the strongest in all of Estoll. And even if I were to lose, I don’t usually have to worry about my opponent killing me.”
Tina held the blessing of the fire dragon. To slay her would be to make an enemy of the fire dragon itself. Moreover, many worshiped her as the priestess who could hear the words of the dragon. Were the fire dragon’s new priestess to suddenly die, the Holy Church of the Ancient Dragons was sure to launch an investigation. If they did, it would only be a matter of time before the prime minister’s true, demonic identity came to light.
“I would have liked to have the support of the Church in that attack, to be honest,” Tina said. “But I only became a priestess recently, and on top of that, I had insisted on returning to Estoll. And besides, there was no time before the war was to start. I suppose I had no options other than to fight alone.”
“So in other words, you don’t have any friends.”
“N-No!” Tina protested. “I simply didn’t have anyone I could trust as a partner!”
“Sorry, that was rude,” Nacht apologized. “Well, now you can count on me. For a little while, anyway.”
“That...doesn’t make me feel much better, somehow...” Tina said, slumping her shoulders. “I believe I may have overestimated my abilities. I neglected to think that, without the exalted fire dragon’s power, I am nothing more than a frail adventurer.”
Tina was an orphan raised by the Holy Church of the Ancient Dragons. It was an upbringing that didn’t afford much personal freedom, and from a young age, Tina had decided that she wanted to become an adventurer in order to ensure that she and the other children would always have enough food to fill their stomachs. But in a twist of fate, she had happened to encounter an injured dragon near the Leegh mountain range. The dragon was a strange being that spoke like a child. Apparently, its older sister had been chastising it for something, which was why it was in such a sorry state. It seemed like a much more foolish being than the dragons Tina had heard of in fairy tales. The dragon glared at her, and as Tina began to fall to her knees to beg for her life, it ordered her to render it assistance.