“Your sister’s impressive,” I said to the princess. Despite the handicap of being the witch’s descendant, she had made the other top students at the academy recognize her strength.
“Y-Yes, she is.” The princess seemed equal parts proud and frustrated.
I whispered quietly so only she could hear. “What are you getting frustrated for? Sure, she’s got a strong squad, but you’ve had the Skeleton Sword Saint with you from the beginning.”
The princess pulled her gaze away from her sister and turned toward me, smiling like a blooming flower. “You’re right. I’ll have to become a holy woman deserving of you.”
“That’s the spirit.” Acquiring experience so she could accomplish that goal was important, and this mission was perfect for that. As I was thinking to myself, Bronze’s holy knight approached me. She was a woman with beautiful brown skin, sharp teeth, disheveled hair, and red eyes, all of which gave her a wild, rowdy impression. She carried two swords, one on either side of her hips.
“Are you Albert?” Although it looked like she was glaring at me, that was probably just how she looked.
“Yes. You must be Lady Serrulata,” I responded in gentlemanly fashion. The moment our eyes met, a single image flashed through both of our minds—the image of what would happen if we drew our swords right then. Skilled individuals could gauge their opponent’s strength to a certain degree just by confronting each other. We were estimating each other’s strength based on our observations and pitting ourselves against each other in our heads.
Realization flashed across her face and she took half a step back. Her reaction told me that we had come to the same conclusion in our heads—at her initial range, I would have beheaded her before she could even draw her swords. However, now that she had stepped back...
“Indeed. At that range, you’re just barely out of my reach.” She would have just enough time to draw her swords.
Sweat running down her face, Serrulata gave an aggressive laugh. “Sorry for testin’ you.”
“It’s quite all right.”
“You can talk normally. Formality’s not my thing.”
“Thanks. It’s not mine either.” I wasn’t certain where I stood relative to the knight of a foreign princess, so I had treated her respectfully, but she didn’t seem to be the type who cared for that stuff.
“Gotta say, I don’t get it. How have I never heard your name before?”
“I lived a quiet life before Lady Astrantia took me in.” It wasn’t a lie. I’d spent a long time alone in a city even the dead no longer inhabited.
“Yeah? Well, ya won’t catch me complaining about havin’ more strong people around. I’ve been curious about you ever since I heard you beat Ozias. Myra’s been singing your praises too, so I wanted to meet you.”
“And now that you have met me, what do you think?”
Serrulata grinned. “I get it now. Any other day and I’d be challenging you to a match.” Sparring with her would be a good time. Add our holy women into the mix and things would get even more interesting.
“Let’s do it sometime. There aren’t too many people who use two swords, so it might be fun.”
“It’s a promise.”
“Rest assured, I always keep my promises with women.” I didn’t think much of what I’d just said, but Serrulata seemed to be taken aback.
“Woman? Y’know I ain’t too feminine.”
“I apologize if you don’t like being seen as a woman, but in my personal opinion, you’re quite beautiful.”
“O-Oh, really?” Although it was hard to tell, her cheeks turned a little red.
“Absolutely.”
“A-All right then.” Serrulata bashfully scratched her cheek, trying to brush it off. How cute.
“Serrulata, let’s go.” A voice called out to her from the squad a short distance away. It was her partner, Euryops. Myra was next to her with a look of discontent on her face, probably because she’d had to restrain herself while Serrulata had just walked right up and started talking to me.
“Sorry, my princess is calling, so I gotta go,” said Serrulata.
“Later.”
“Yeah...” Serrulata returned to her squad.
With the arrival of the final squad, the mission could finally get underway. But before that, as was custom, I was subjected to the glares of the princess and Cuphea.
“You gave her a genuine compliment, huh? All you did was talk about my skull when it was my turn,” the princess pouted.
“I won’t deny that she’s beautiful, but is there any woman you wouldn’t compliment?” asked Cuphea. I listened to the detailed explanation of the mission as I attempted to pacify them.
The saints and Orlaya’s squad would head to the center of the city to exterminate the strongest curions, while most of the students would exterminate curions near the gate so they could easily evacuate. The plan was quite simple. It was common knowledge that stronger curions tended to gather near the centers of the Forbidden Cities.
Even after three centuries, the degree to which curions recovered their sense of self varied. Some wandered around the edge of the barrier trying to get out, while others recognized that they couldn’t escape. They would return to living whatever constituted life for them, or they would train themselves so that they could bless any intruders who ventured inside.
Exterminating all the curions in a city was an arduous, time-consuming task, and during it, I had seen all sorts of undead. From couples holding hands as they walked down the street to children playing tag—they were all enjoying the eternity the witch had given them. When it came down to it, the witch’s curse was eternal life. When they bit the living, all they were doing was sharing that blessing. They all had their own lives. At least, that was how they saw it. And I had taken that from them.
“Albert?” The princess gave me a worried look.
“What?”
“It’s just... You had a sad look on your face.”
“Must be your imagination. Anyway, we weren’t sent to the center of the city despite being part of the Colors, huh?”
“They were probably taking the rest of our squad into consideration, as well as the fact that we were only just given our title.”
“Guess that makes sense.” After the explanation, the squads were going through the gate one by one. The atmosphere was pretty tense. This place certainly wasn’t some kind of playground, but everyone seemed a little too on edge. The tragedy that had occurred during the previous mission was probably weighing on everyone’s mind. “How about we throw a party as a squad once this mission’s over?” I proposed in my usual tone.
“A party?” The princess tilted her head.
“Yeah. It’s our first mission as a squad, so let’s celebrate.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Linum agreed.
“Returning alive is definitely something worth celebrating.” Cuphea gave her approval as well.
“I-Is it all right for me to come as well?” Monia seemed a little hesitant.
“Of course. You’re a member of the squad. Hypericum too,” I assured her.
“Thank you,” said Hypericum. It seemed like she’d also be joining us.
I glanced over at the princess, who was acting a little fidgety. Because of her connection to the witch, she had been all alone in her hometown. She was probably happy to have an opportunity to celebrate with friends.
I had deliberately spoken loud enough so the others could hear us, resulting in similar discussions erupting among the nearby squads. While focusing on the mission was important, going into it with such a gloomy outlook wouldn’t produce good results. The princess smiled softly when she saw what was going on.
“Now I get it. It seems my knight has a kind heart after all.”
“Of course. My heart is made of nothing but kindness for women.”
“It’s not just women I see with cheerful looks on their faces right now.”
“They’re just extras.”
Finally, it was our turn to go through the gate. “May we accompany you?” I heard a familiar voice. It was Nemophila. Her arrival hadn’t been planned, so she must have come in a hurry. The other students were confused as well.
“What are you doing here?” the princess couldn’t help but ask.
“The liberation of the Forbidden Cities and salvation of the undead is the desire of all humanity. I thought I’d help out.” The Grave Keeper of the Golden City was standing next to her. Although the onlookers were surprised by the sudden appearance of members of the Twelve Saints, none of them knew the danger the pair posed.
Entering my formal knight mode, I spoke to the princess. “Lady Astrantia, they came all this way, so why not allow them to accompany us?” If they were entering Luzarigue either way, we might as well keep an eye on them.
“I suppose,” said the princess. With our other squadmates’ approval, Blizzard joined us.