LIGHTNOVELONLINE Book 6: Epilogue
Epilogue──Pulsation
「……So something like that happened. I should call that child as stupid disciple too now……. I’m sorry for that miss. That child had troubled you.」
「No……. Aria has saved me many times. But, I was not aware that Aria’s sorcery teacher is a dark elf.」
The sun had set and there was only the starlight illuminating the desert. Serjura and Elena who were sitting around the bonfire had finished talking about what had happened until now and they bowed to each other.
「…………」
Ron had been looking somewhat anxious since he heard Serjura’s name. He was continuing to repair the hot-air balloon in order to distract himself. He had no intention to talk to anyone about that name, even so the shock that name brought him was great.
The two children who were scared at the Coeurl Nero was also sleeping on Chako’s lap now. Noi who was the only dark elf among their group seemed to be embarrassed or perhaps nervous seeing a female dark elf with motherly appearance which was rarely seen even at the town. He was getting his head patted by Serjura while staying still.
Right now Nero was working together with Serjura, but it was fundamentally disinterested with human except Aria. It was standing guard against monster at some distance right now because it didn’t deem it acceptable for people who Aria had protected to get injured in her absence.
「I left the country right away you see……so I don’t know the situation there. My bad.」
「No, it is heartening to know how you took action for Aria’s sake. And, what will Serjura-sama do after this?」
「Let’s see……before that, can you tell me what’re you planning to do first miss?」
Serjura looked straight into Elena’s eyes.
She thought that she had strong eyes. She immediately noticed that this was the girl who Aria wanted to protect. And she felt like she could understand why that surly and awkward beloved disciple of her would risk her life to protect this girl.
But at the same time she was also feeling concern. The impression that she got from talking to her was that both Aria and Elena needed each other’s existence in the deep part of themselves.
It would be fine if the relationship of the two was of master and guard. She wouldn’t mind even if they were friends with each other. But, if Elena started saying that she wanted to come with Serjura to save Aria, it was possible that their relationship wasn’t friendship but dependence.
But, Elena nodded quietly to Serjura’s words with a calm gaze.
「First I will head to Carlfan Empire. I will disclose my identity to them and seek assistance to contact my home country. I’m thinking to contact the prime minister and ask him to dispatch bodyguard knights from the black ops along with Aria’s comrades……the “Rainbow Sword” to come here.」
Rainbow Sword was a rank 5 adventurer party that was distinguished even in Claydale Kingdom. Normally the higher ranked someone was the easier it would be to move to other country too, but someone with strength like them would also form deeper connection with nobility which made it difficult to go to foreign country.
The party members were compassionate people so perhaps they were thinking to save Aria too. But, if they were hindered to come here because of financial problem or transport problem or anything, Elena wouldn’t hesitate to use her authority in full if it was for Aria’s sake.
「I see……」
It was a calm judgment, and yet she also wouldn’t be choosy with her method. The mettle that Elena showed made Serjura nodded thinking that there should be no problem with her like that.
「I’ll also go to that surly disciple so don’t worry. That “black cat” will also come along.」
Serjura pointed behind her with her thumb. Nero snorted its nose as though it was laughing and turned aside.
「Besides……if it’s Dalton and Miranda then they might be moving already.」
「You are acquainted with the two of them……」
「It’s a past story……keep this a secret from those two.」
Serjura grinned at Elena’s question.
She was enemies with those two members of Rainbow Sword along with the retired Samantha who had tried to kill each other several times in the battlefield more than fifty years ago. They considered each other enemy at that time, but it was exactly because they were enemy that she understood that at the very least they weren’t people who would abandon their comrade.
And Serjura too…….
(I’ll take you back, idiot daughter. Even if it’s from the evil race country……)
***
The harbor city of Carlfan Empire was known as a scenic place with pure white buildings that looked like a box standing in a row.
A huge sailing ship was arriving in that harbor early in the morning. The crest drawn on its sail belonged to a powerful noble of Claydale Kingdom that anyone in the knew would know……it was the house crest of Melrose House that was still respected like a royalty by countries that respected tradition.
In this harbor a lot of merchant ships and the like were coming and going despite the time that was still early morning. That ship was receiving priority to be guided by a small ship of the administration bureau to dock on the harbor. Inside that ship was a prominent adventurer party of Claydale Kingdom.
「We finally arrived-!」
A man with medium build stretched his body. His movement was making cracking sounds here and there after around a month of sea trip.
Appearance-wise the man didn’t really have any outstanding trait and he looked like he was at the middle of his thirty. But his actual age was near forty and in addition his behavior was like someone far older than his actual age.
「Viro is already an actual “uncle” now.」
「I don’t want to hear that from you Mira.」
「……Aaan?」
Even a forest elf who was over a century old would look like a twenty years old. And if it was an elf who was raised in the forest they also wouldn’t lose their innocence yet even after living that long. But Mira who had lived in human country for more than a century had completely become “old lady” inside to a degree that would make her outside appearance felt like a fraud.
「You guys, don’t fool around. Come down and do your preparation. Be quick.」
The leader Dalton sighed in exasperation seeing the two of them glaring at each other. He too was a mountain dwarf whose age had gone past a hundred, but rather than his age, it was his height that stood out more seeing that he was more than 180 cm tall when a dwarf’s height was normally around 160 cm.
Beside him was a large human man who was even taller than him. He was wearing light metal armor and a great sword on his back. He was watching his comrades’ exchange with a wry smile while being fully equipped like that.
「You too Feld, is your preparation finished already?」
「There’s the matter of her highness the princess but, Aria is Viro’s student right? Shouldn’t you worry a bit more about her?」
「That girl you see……it feels like worrying for her will be just a pointless endeavor.」
Viro scratched his head awkwardly in respond to Feld’s exasperated voice.
After all that disciple had done a lot of crazy things ever since she was seven years old more than five years ago, so there was trust between them to the point that they wouldn’t worry about the other.
But, Aria was a complicated existence for Feld. She was his comrade but she was also a good looking girl who drew his eyes toward her. At the same time he was also thinking of her like a little sister that he should protect.
If either her appearance or her conduct matched her actual age, he would be able to treat her as a “child”, but he often almost mistook her as a girl of the same age because of how reliable she was.
「You guys, the princess has higher priority than Aria. We’ll go to the palace right away with that person after we arrived at the harbor. There we’ll talk with this country’s prime minister. You come along Mira. Viro and Feld, you two go buy carriage and food.」
「Yes yes.」
「Mira is the one going with you?」
Mira casually replied at Dalton’s words while Viro glanced at her with a puzzled look.
If there was negotiation then Viro usually would also be present, and Feld was still considered a noble so it should be fine to take him along to make him be seen. That was what Viro wanted to say but Dalton’s face turned bitter.
「……They won’t come out at the open but there’s also dark elf in this country. Try imagine if Mira accidentally run into one of them.」
「Aa~……I see.」
「Are you two talking about mee……?」
When the topic about dark elf came up, Mira put on a warlike smile which was unusual for a forest elf like her.
The white skinned forest elf and dark skinned dark elf were hating each other. That hostility already existed even before the dark elf got called evil race. It was said that the prejudice both sides were harboring toward each other was solidifying from hearing their parents grumbling about it for generations.
Mira herself had her prejudice toward dark elf fading from living for a century in human city, but evil race was a different story. That too was because of how she got thoroughly enraged by an evil race woman who she met in the battlefield decades ago. Even now she would reflexively leak killing intent when she caught sight of dark elf.
.
「Everyone of Rainbow Sword, I am already finished with my preparation.」
It was then, a woman carrying a leather suitcase and a parasol called out to them as though she had been waiting for when their talk was over.
「Baroness Layton, I say, we will be finished with our preparation before the ship arrived at the harbor.」
「That’s good to know.」
Dalton and the baroness bowed their head to each other, while Viro’s complexion worsened because those words were most likely pointed to him who still hadn’t finished preparing.
Baroness Sera Layton.
She was a high ranked maid for the royal family and also a black ops knight who was one of the people in charge of the security of the queen’s palace.
Originally a high ranked noble should be the one sent to negotiate with Carlfan Empire, but the king who was worried for his daughter’s safety made a request for her to be the one sent out because she was someone really trusted and also known by the important people of various countries.
Usually she was constantly wearing nothing but maid uniform, but today she was wearing an adult dress with calm navy blue color.
「Everyone, I believe all of you are already aware of it but, our highest priority is the safety of her highness the princess. Of course, it is also desirable for her highness’s bodyguard, Aria to be also rescued if possible, but we shall prioritize bring her highness back home.」
Aria had become her daughter although it was only through adoption, but she was acting coldly because she was separating her personal matter from public matter. Even so…….
「I am asking for everyone’s full cooperation. I too will not spare any effort to provide assistance with my all. If the stupid nobles of Carlfan Empire make trouble to get in the way of rescuing her highness and my daughter, I shall remove them physically if need be.」
「「…………」」
Dalton and Feld fell silent by the sudden extreme remark from this prim and proper lady.
According to a rumor that they heard, she had brutally subdued her son who was throwing tantrum about coming along to save his big sister before boarding this ship.
Viro who had been aware of that severity of Sera from before let out a sigh before muttering.
「……You’re saying that, but ain’t it you who doted on that girl the most?」
「Did you say something……?」
「Nothing at all!」
***
At the Claydale Kingdom, in a mansion that was owned by a high ranked noble inside the royal sorcery academy, a girl who was clad in crimson dress was enjoying a tea’s aroma on a wide terrace.
「There’s nothing to do.」
The long hair that was so black as though to devour the light undulated and entangled the finger that was fiddling around with it.
Her skin should be called as unhealthily pale instead of white. The dark circles around her eyes made it looked like her eye sockets were caved in. Because of those she gave off the impression of a ghost rather than a sickly person.
She was one of the crown prince’s fiancées and a count’s daughter, Lady Carla Lester.
There was a smile on her lips despite claiming to be bored. But that wasn’t a sunny smile to reassure people. It was a delighted smile that made others anxious.
The royal family and her father had imposed house arrest on Carla.
It was a punishment for attacking the holy church in the capital, massacred the members of the devotion corps who were considered as virtuous people, and harmed Nathanital, the grandson of the head priest who was a baron of the robe.
But an amicable settlement with the holy church had been reached perhaps because the holy church’s hand also wasn’t clean in this matter, even so there was no erasing the scandal. Carla’s father, Count Lester wished for the achievement of producing a queen from his house, while the royal family also wanted to form connection with influential noble, and most of all there was the secret agreement between Carla and the king, so they could only punish her lightly with house arrest.
An aide of Carla’s father had come to this mansion several times in order to monitor Carla.
Carla’s father and his aide acted haughtily toward her when she was little, but since they noticed that Carla’s strength had surpassed her father who was the head of the royal sorcerers, the father refused to meet his daughter while the aide had fear that couldn’t be hidden inside his eyes when he looked at Carla.
She wondered what kind of face her father would make if she killed his aide. She once had burned an aide until only his bones remained, but her father who hated scandal covered up that case.
「Fufu」
Nathanital whose face was burned by her still hadn’t recovered fully even now after a month had passed. His face still had burn wound on it. She had meticulously burned it to that degree, so it would surely need half a year until the nerves of his face were regenerated.
It was only once a week, but her fiancée the crown prince Ervan sometimes visited her.
He came to visit her partly because the king told him to do so, but it was also because of his own earnestness as her fiancée. Because of that he was feeling cornered and ran toward that foolish woman for consolation, but Carla felt that foolishness was of his was likeable.
Even his dear little sister went missing, so his heart was falling even more ill. He was a truly, truly foolish and adorable man.
He was the symbol of Claydale Kingdom’s glory and happiness that Carla hated.
She wondered how chaotic the country would become, how many people would die if he became king.
Because of that Carla was sowing the seeds of discord by supporting the noble faction, invited the evil race into the country, and buried his supporter in the darkness.
The greater the anxiety surrounding Ervan became, the more he would become dependent to that foolish woman. Seeing his heart getting further away from Lady Clara who was genuinely loving him was unbearably delightful.
When Ervan gave both his body and heart to that woman, she wondered which one she should kill to create the greatest hurt. A smile formed on Carla’s lips as she imagined that.
「There’s nothing to do.」
Even so she was feeling bored. She knew the biggest reason of that.
That was because “she” wasn’t here.
Aria……the only girl who would kill her.
The only human who Carla recognized.
She wanted to fight her to the death in the middle of the burning capital. She wanted to be killed by Aria who had gotten serious.
Rather than dying from sickness, rather than dying in the hand of riffraff, rather than dying from getting judged and put under guillotine, she wanted to live solely for that girl’s sake and die by her hand.
If it was Aria then she would certainly return alive no matter what kind of rigorous circumstance befell her. She would use all those hardships to nourish herself and obtained the strength that could kill Carla before returning.
But, soon it would be Carla who started getting bored with a life that lacked stimulation because that girl wasn’t here.
.
「Perhaps I should go to pick her up soon. Will she be happy I wonder?」
Carla closed her eyes ecstatically like a girl in love……a chillingly sweet smile formed on her lips.
***
It was a dark room, with damp air, and wall and floor that were made from stone…….
Inside an underground prison of an old castle that was located north of the desert, there was a wounded girl who was chained to the wall. She quietly opened her eyes and glared at the “darkness” with strong jade green eyes.