It turned out that the Seira we knew as a member of the Guard Corps’s Fifth Squadron was actually Princess Aria of Sorcera—a kingdom that neighbored our own kingdom of Silvesta.
The ruler of Sorcera, King Sodom, had ended up getting possessed by a demon, and the princess had fled her newly taken-over country, barely managing to escape with her life. To conceal her identity, she had changed her name from “Aria” to “Seira.” After that, she had joined Astaroth’s Guard Corps to hone her sword skills so that she could retake her country.
During that time period, the Knight Corps of Astaroth had also come back with a knight who had amnesia. Her name was Alma, and she turned out to have been both the commander of the Sorcera Royal Guard and Seira’s personal attendant.
Once we had learned who Seira really was, the Fifth Squadron had set off to stop Sorcera from invading the royal capital and snatching the Orb of Light. Seira ended up striking down the demon-possessed King Sodom—her own father—and together we succeeded in preventing the invasion of Astaroth. After the squadron finished off Baron, the demon behind everything, as he fled, the kingdom of Sorcera was finally liberated.
However, the scars of losing their sovereign had run deep. Seira and Alma returned to Sorcera together to help them rebuild. A kingdom that had lost their king needed an icon to symbolize their reconstruction, and Seira, who had risked her life to save her country, had the ability to guide its people. She could become their light of hope.
It wasn’t likely that Seira would ever come back to the Guard Corps. She had already succeeded in doing what she needed to do. After she’d fulfilled her goal of retaking her homeland, there was no reason to think that a Princess of Sorcera would go back to work as a guard in the royal capital—much less in another country.
That was why we had to learn to get by without her. The lone, refreshing flower that had bloomed in our wasteland had been transplanted back to its original location. All that remained here was a bunch of uncultured boors—myself included.
Seira had played an important role in the Guard Corps. Strong personnel were always appreciated, of course, but plain old power wasn’t the be-all and end-all—for an organization like ours, having someone who could serve as a morale booster was a necessity.
Losing Seira, who always managed to lift our spirits, was a huge blow to us all.
I sure hope this doesn’t have any major negative repercussions...
No doubt Commander Bolton harbored the same concerns I did, in that regard.
✦ ✦ ✦
It didn’t take long at all for our concerns to be proven valid.
When I got back to the guard station, I saw Spinoza and Fam facing off. A bunch of other guards had gathered around them to gawk.
Spinoza roared. “Since you won’t shut your cocky little mouth, I’m gonna shut it for you—with my fists!”
Fam let out a mischievous giggle. “You’ll have to get ahold of me first—and I doubt you can pull that off.”
It felt like things were about to escalate into an all-out war.
“How could they possibly have such short fuses...?” I couldn’t help but sigh in the face of all the commotion. I had only taken my eyes off them for a few minutes and they were already at each other’s throats.
Normally, at that point, Seira would intervene and things would calm down. Unfortunately, she wasn’t there—and she probably wouldn’t ever be coming back.
I couldn’t just let them fight, or they’d make a complete mess of the guard station. I didn’t want either of them to get injured, as well. They might’ve been troublemakers, but they were also unquestionably indispensable assets.
The other guards did nothing to try and stop them; quite the contrary, they were getting pumped up about it and cheering. They might’ve just been excited to see how the battle would end too; there were even some people betting on who would win.
There wasn’t enough time to call in the commander—and besides, if a hotheaded guy like him tried to rein them in, we’d probably have a total bloodbath on our hands. That meant it was up to me, their squad sergeant, to stop them.
Fantastic. I guess this is just how things will be from now on, I sighed, thinking about the size of the hole Seira’s absence had left in our team.
In the meantime, Spinoza and Fam were just about ready to lunge at each other.
I didn’t want to have to do this—but I have no choice.
My plan was to activate my Iron Target skill, take both of their attacks, then incapacitate them—but I never got the opportunity.
At that exact moment, a voice rang out from behind me as clearly as a ringing bell:
“You two are both being very bad!”