“Then I’ll take you back by force,” Sirius said.
His entourage drew their weapons at once. They weren’t ordinary guards either. They were Bazlata’s elite unit, comprising the house’s best warriors, and they’d racked up a litany of achievements fighting at Sirius’s side on the battlefield.
But the village was prepared too. Armed villagers who must’ve been lying in wait suddenly appeared, surrounding them.
I’m sure they’re just militia. They’re no match for seasoned soldiers fresh off a campaign. And three of us are Gifted. My sister’s the only real threat here, Sirius thought, certain of their advantage.
She hasn’t seen real combat in ages. I can handle her on my own. The war made me stronger. Strong enough to beat her.
But he had no way of knowing every single one of his opponents had a combat-type Gift.
“Move in!”
“Raaah!”
Sirius and his guards charged straight toward Seren. While both siblings used dual blades, Seren used Blue Magic while Sirius wielded Green Magic, which meant their fighting styles were completely different.
Her usual strategy involved mixing ranged attacks like Ice spells with close-quarters swordsmanship; she froze her blades and slowed enemies with a chilling aura.
Sirius, on the other hand, used Wind magic to boost his speed, so he relied on lightning-fast hit-and-run attacks. Seren knew that, of course, but she didn’t know how much faster he’d gotten. He was so quick now that normal people couldn’t even follow his movements anymore.
Let’s see if you can keep up with me, Seren.
He rushed past a volley of ice shards and then vanished from her field of vision. Before she knew it, he was behind her, both blades raised for his finishing blow.
“Too slow.”
But she blocked them—effortlessly.
Claaaaang!
“What?!”
And in that instant, she destroyed his momentum.
How could she have anticipated that?! Surely it was a fluke...
He jumped back to reset the distance, then launched another fast assault, but nothing got through. Even worse, his sister’s freezing aura began to slow him down, gradually neutralizing his biggest advantage.
Damn it... At this rate— No, don’t panic! If I can just keep her occupied, the others will handle the rest.
But when he glanced at the rest of the battle, his blood ran cold.
“Argh... Lord...Sirius...”
“Huh?!”
His trusted comrades, whom he’d assumed would be winning, were scattered across the courtyard like corpses. One after another, they groaned.
“Too...strong...”
“We...lost...”
“I failed...”
They weren’t dead, but that only indicated his opponents had held back. They’d been merciful. And their restraint could’ve only meant they were much stronger than he and his crew.
“There’s no way!”
This can’t be happening! My elite unit, the pride of House Bazlata, all crushed by the militia of some no-name town in the sticks?! And worse, it happened in the two minutes I was busy dueling with my sister?!
He’d been so focused on the battle in front of him that he’d missed everything.
How’d they lose?!
“What happened, Barrett?!” Sirius shouted, turning toward the squad leader, a grizzled, battle-hardened veteran. “How did this happen?! How has this happened?!”
“I-I can hardly believe it myself, but I think...they are all...Gifted.”
“What?! That’s ridiculous! Nobody could receive a Blessing out here!” he replied, his brain instinctively rejecting that possibility. “One Gifted person would be enough. A whole group of them...” He trailed off in confusion, realizing Barrett would’ve never lied to him.
“Anyway,” Seren said nonchalantly, “wanna keep going? It’s been a while since we last sparred. I don’t mind continuing.”
Most of all, he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t beaten his sister. He’d finally gone to war, fought, and grown. He knew he’d gotten stronger, yet he hadn’t closed the gap between them at all.
“How are you this strong?!” he blurted.
“It’s not like I’ve just been lounging around, you know. I hunt in the Forsaken Zones and go dungeon diving. Between them, I basically train every day.”
“This city has a dungeon?” Sirius asked in disbelief.
“Oh, technically, it’s still a village, not a city.”
“WHAT THE HELL KINDA VILLAGE IS THIS?!” he roared, forgetting his manners completely in his shock.
Could you have blamed him? Even if he had somehow bested his sister, he’d still be hopelessly outnumbered with his team wiped out. There was zero chance he could’ve dragged his sister back now.
“We lost,” he muttered, head dropping. His swords slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground.
“Great work, everybody!” Luke called out. “Anyone who’s injured, please come over here and we’ll get ya patched up!”
He wasn’t only treating his own people either; he extended the offer to Sirius’s crew too, who were technically his enemies.
“You’re injured too, aren’t you?” a woman asked him.
Sirius looked at the cut on his arm, where Seren’s Ice magic had grazed him. It stung mildly, so he began shaking his head—and then he looked up at the person who’d asked the question, and his jaw dropped.
She was unbelievably beautiful, with pointed ears.
“It’s no trouble at all,” she said. “Many in my clan can use White Magic. It’ll only take a moment.”
“You’re an el-el-el...” he stammered.
“Hm? What is it? Is this your first time seeing an elf? We’re not all that different from humans, you know. We all live equally here in this village. Oh, forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Philia. I work very closely with your sister.” She gave him a gentle smile. She was graceful and refined, but unlike the stiff, rehearsed way of nobles, her movements were natural and effortless. Her aura felt positively divine.
Sirius’s heart pounded. His face was flushed. His mouth was still open, but the only sounds he could manage were nonsensical babbling.
“Ah...uh...baa...”
“Hm? You’re looking awfully flushed. Are you all right?”
“Ack?!”
The elf suddenly leaned in, peering at his face, and that was all it took to knock him down for the count.
Thud!
“H-Hey! Wake up!”
That was the day Sirius Bazlata fell in love with an elf.
✦ ✦ ✦
The letter contained just two sentences:
Dear father, please forgive me. I won’t be coming home for a while.
—Sirius
In response, a single voice rang out: “Siriuuuuuuuus?!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“He still hasn’t responded?” Raoul asked, fuming.
“N-No, my lord. We’ve sent multiple summons, but there’s been no reply at all.”
Rumors had spread that his older brother Luke, whom he’d assumed was rotting away in exile, had apparently been building a city out in the wilderness. Raoul had ordered the governor of the North, Dant, to investigate and report back.
The first report had come back negative, saying no such settlement existed.
But the rumors had continued to spread until they seemed to multiply by the day.
Suspicious, Raoul had sent another demand for a formal report and summoned Dant to the capital. Raoul had waited, but Dant had never shown up.
“Perhaps Governor Dant betrayed you and sided with Lord Luke...”
“Ha! That lowly worm dares to defy me?!”
What really infuriated Raoul was his inability to confirm any of the rumors. Most people he’d sent to investigate never returned; in fact, they’d stayed and settled in the very town they were sent to look into. As a result, no one had returned with actual information.
Even the independent team he’d dispatched separately from Dant had vanished.
“Delicious food, cozy homes...” his vassal mused. “Rumors say that after you visit, you’ll never want to leave. Maybe they’re true?”
“Don’t be stupid! It’s a barren wasteland! Nobody can grow crops out there! And there are two bloody Forsaken Zones nearby!” Raoul slammed his fist down angrily. “You expect me to believe someone built a city in a year out there?!”
Just then, another vassal entered with an unfamiliar man.
“Who the hell are you? I’m busy! I’ll have your head if you waste my time!”
“L-Lord Raoul, this man claims to be a subordinate of Governor Dant’s.”
“What?”
The man had come to expose Dant’s betrayal. “I risked my life to get here...” he said. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if they caught me. But I did it for your sake, Lord Raoul...”
“Enough with the speeches! Get on with it! Do you have any proof?”
“Y-Yes, right here!” The man pulled out a document containing a record of Dant’s survey of the wastelands.
“Give it here!” Raoul snatched it away.
But when he read it, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Double-layered defense walls, a population approaching ten thousand, and a dungeon beneath the city? Nonsense! You think you can feed me garbage and get away with it?!”
“I-I swear it’s real! I found it stored in Dant’s personal study!”
Raoul wanted to write it off as impossible, but anxiety fluttered in his chest.
What if it’s true? he thought.
For the first time, a genuine shiver of panic ran up his spine.
“Send out an investigation team disguised as refugees. Consider it a covert mission.”
“Y-Yes, my lord!”
“Tell one to stay behind. If it comes to it, he will eliminate Luke.”